A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it. Named after the legendary character "Crazy Eddie" in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye." Expect news and views about culture, politics, economics, technology, and science fiction.
It's time to say goodbye to the Year of the Snake and hello to the Year of the Horse. What do you know about the Year of the Horse?
0:00 Kai Feng, reporter for ABC Chinese, explains the significance of the horse in Chinese culture and history, 0:49 why 2026 is a 'fire' year, 5:10 and how people across Asia celebrate Lunar New Year.
Not only did ABC News (Australia) explain Lunar New Year, it explained the importance of horses to humans. Bonus educational content!
Throughout Detroit's history, the legend of the Nain Rouge (Red Dwarf) dates back to its founder, Antoine Cadillac. This Detroit Devil has been spotted on the eve of Detroit's worst events in its history and as the legend goes, is feared to be the harbinger of disaster for Detroit if spotted.
MLive produced that video in October 2020, a year of no Marche du Nain Rouge, and disaster did befall the city, although no one claimed to see the Nain Rouge. I guess that's because the disaster was global, not local, so not a result of the Nain Rouge's curse.
What started as a parade attended by a couple hundred people back in 2010 has grown into a parade that draws in thousands of attendees every year.
Here's to everyone enjoying themselves at today's celebration of Detroit's hidden history. May they have even more fun marching and partying that I had writing this entry!
Fat Tuesday is tomorrow -- kicking off Paczki Day in Metro Detroit. Where is your favorite place around town to get paczki.
I got lucky with this clip, as WXYZ has disabled embedding on most of their YouTube videos the past couple of years. That's why I haven't used them, despite them being a staple of this blog until the pandemic. I wasn't so lucky with Fox 17 WXMI in Grand Rapids' How they're made: Sandy's Donuts celebrating Fat Tuesday with Paczki all day! I didn't find out it wouldn't embed until after I got the following screengrab.
It’s paczki time again, and the seasonal Polish treat is available at Sandy’s Donuts on Leonard Street in Grand Rapids, Mich. starting Monday, Feb. 12, until Saturday. (Rebecca Particka/MLive)
Legend has it that if he sees his shadow then winter will continue for another six weeks but if Punxsutawney Phil does not see his shadow spring will come early.
Woody the Woodchuck made her prediction for the season during the Howell Nature Center’s annual Groundhog Day Celebration on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.
Woody saw her shadow and was scared back into her den. Rep. Elissa Slotkin was on hand with a proclamation from Congress thanking the Howell Nature Center for it's work for the community.
Woody the Woodchuck, Michigan’s official groundhog who resides at the Howell Nature Center, began forecasting the weather in 1999. Since then, those at the center say she’s had a nearly 70% accuracy rate in her predictions.
This is one of the reasons I pay attention to Woody as well as Phil. Another is that her predictions are for Michigan, where I live, which could have entirely different weather than Pennsylvania, so both animals could be right.
Speaking of Phil, MLive had this to say.
Although he has a much longer track record, Punxsutawney Phil, on average, has only gotten his prediction right 30% of the time in the past 10 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information.
“It’s nice to be able to rave that we’re better than Punxsutawney,” Tina Bruce, Howell Nature Center CEO, said. “I just think Woody does a much better job for her residents and her state.”
This year, Phil did not see his shadow from his home in Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania meaning he thinks spring is coming early.
While the staff at the Howell Nature Center are actually observing Woody's behavior, I suspect the handlers at Gobbler's Knob are checking the long-range forecast instead. Follow over the jump for NOAA's U.S. climate outlook for February 2024.
I'm heartened to see that the western Great Lakes states of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, along with Iowa, form the safest region from climate change. Half of the ten safest cities from climate change are in these states. As I wrote the last two times I examined this subject: "I'll take it. It reinforces my feeling that leaving California for Michigan has turned out to be a smart move, literally, the longer I live here." I just wish that the economics were such that people would move here instead of into harm's way. That would make a great subject for another post. Stay tuned.
In a warming world, Michigan stands out as a relative winner. With protection from the Great Lakes, Michigan will be spared from some of the worst effects of climate change, including extreme drought, intensifying hurricanes and wildfires.
Michigan looks increasingly attractive in a country where wildfires turn million-dollar mansions to ash in California, intensifying hurricanes sink homes along Florida’s coasts, and cities like Las Vegas and Phoenix face the alarming reality the Colorado River will no longer sustain them.
This state’s two peninsulas, meanwhile, have ample freshwater – the Great Lakes contain 90% of North America’s supply, lower temperatures, and vast swaths of undeveloped land.
Michigan is a climate haven. MLive's Lindsay Moore explains.
To answer the question MLive asked in both videos — no, literally not "everyone." After all, other states are also climatehavens and they will also receive climate refugees. However, could tens of thousands if not millions move to the Great Lakes State and millions more to other climate havens? Absolutely.
I'm in favor of getting people to move here, both because it's a safer place to live (but not immune from the extremeweather associated with climatechange as the second video mentioned) and because the state has room. Detroit alone lost more than one million people since its 1950 peak and other Michigan citieshave lost people as well, so they alone could take up the slack — that is, if they can become better places to live and work. People moved out of Michigan to seek work, so state and local governments need to work with businesses to promote and create sustainable industries to employ the people who move here and rebuild infrastructure to support them in a warmer and, for Michigan, wetter world. Infrastructure and housingconstruction to accomodate people moving here will provide a lot of jobs by themselves, but that only lasts so long. Ask Las Vegas, for example.
Families explain their stories as they flee climate crises to resettle in Michigan's haven. (Kaytie Boomer, Jacob Hamilton, Sheri McWhirter, Cory Morse, Garret Ellison all with MLive.com)
Note that one family moved to Ann Arbor, a city that I can say from personal experience is already a great place to live and work, and another didn't need to live near work at all, so they could live anywhere. Both of them already had connections to the areas where they relocated, so I expect more of the early wave of migrants will be those already familiar with Michigan. If so, welcome back! Michigan missed you!
Punxsutawney Phil has emerged from his burrow to forecast there will be six more weeks of winter. The spectacle that is Groundhog Day at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, was back to full status.
I'm not surprised. It would be difficult to predict an early spring when a major winter storm stretching from New Mexico to Maine is dropping snow and ice across the country. At least the crowd watching was enthused enough to chant "Six more weeks." I guess they're just happy to be in person during the pandemic after last year's scaled-down ceremony.
Winter promises to make its presence known on the very day Michigan’s official groundhog was set to weigh in on the possibility of the season’s early end.
Woody the Woodchuck’s annual prediction has been delayed because of the impending snowstorm, the Howell Nature Center announced in an email on Feb. 1, Groundhog Day eve.
The announcement said the center made the “difficult decision” under the guidance of Woody and its meteorological expert, now that a winter storm warning is in effect for Livingston County and most of southern Michigan.
The in-person event has been rescheduled for 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 5.
I bet Woody's handler will say Michigan will have six more weeks of winter on Friday, too.
Piles of snow! Just based on the forecast, hundreds of schools closed in advance of the storm, including the college where I teach, although I'm running my classes remotely, so my class today is still meeting over Zoom. No snow day for me today!
The city of Hamtramck has elected its first Muslim Mayor, Amer Ghalib. Nearby in the city of Dearborn, voters elected the city's first Arab-American mayor, Abdullah Hammoud.
It's about time that the leadership of both cities reflected their populations. Congratulations to both Ghalib and Hammoud!
The marching bands from Michigan and Michigan State teamed up for a Halloween-themed show during halftime of the football game between the schools on October 30, 2021 at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.
He uploaded another Halloween recipe today, but I'm saving it for next year. After all, I'm an environmentalist; I conserve my resources.
That's it for Halloween and October 2021. Stay tuned for November's first post tomorrow, when I might extend spooky season one more day by writing about Day of the Dead.
NBC's Stephanie Stanton reports outside of the Texas Capitol where more than 5,000 people are rallying against Gov. Greg Abbot's new law that bans nearly all abortions in the state.
That report focused on Texas, particularly in Austin and Houston, but the important action will took place in Washington, D.C., where the Supreme Court, which begins its session today, will decide on a case involving Mississippi restricting the time period for legal access to abortion. CBS Evening News reported on that demonstration in Thousands gather in D.C. for 2021 Women’s March.
Thousands gathered in the nation’s capital Saturday for the 2021 Women’s March. This year’s march focused on reproductive rights as a response to abortion restrictions implemented in some conservative states. Nikole Killion has more.
Yes, that's Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel being interviewed at the end. Go Dana!
Across the country thousands of women rallied for their reproductive rights, becoming the largest women’s marches since 2017. This comes as Texas recently placed a ban on abortions once a heartbeat is detected.
While I find the circumstances distressing, I'm glad this event had the highest attendance since the first Women'sMarch in 2017. The causes needs that level of popular support.
Attorney General Nessel participating in the Washington, D.C., Women's March wasn't the only Michigan angle to this story. Follow over the jump for two reports from the west side of the state.
Take a look into the world of vaccine passports: what they are, why Republicans and Fox News are having a meltdown about them, and the potential equity problems associated with them.
Leave it to the comedians to educate their audience about why the reality-based community might have issues with using smartphones as vaccine "passports" because they exclude low-income people.
Desi Lydic investigates how the COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately affecting working women.
The interview segments perfectly illustrate the problem. My reaction as a empty-nester working at home is say I'm laughing because it hurts too much to cry.
What was the most annoying thing that happened during the pandemic? Michael Kosta and Roy Wood Jr. reveal the winner of The Daily Show’s Bracket of Bulls**t: Pandemic Edition!
Pull up your mask!
Follow over the jump for the most read entries about the pandemic from the tenth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.
The U.S. coronavirus death toll has topped 550,000 as experts warn the next surge of cases is already here. But as CBS News' Omar Villafranca reports, doctors say the rise in cases can be slowed. Then, Dr. Dara Kass, an emergency room doctor and medical contributor for Yahoo News, joins CBSN's Elaine Quijano with more.
As I'm typing this, Johns Hopkins lists the current U.S. case count at 30,405,361 and total deaths in the country at 551,503. That's a grim update.
After announcing that the United States has surpassed 30 million cases of Covid-19, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said she had a feeling of "impending doom" about the pandemic.
I'm with Dr. Leana Wen; we're in a race between vaccines on one hand and variants on the other. We need people to continue wearing masks and staying socially distant in public even after they are vaccinated at least until this wave is over. Otherwise, we could stumble at the finish line of this pandemic. That's both frustrating and dangerous.
That completes the look at the U.S. passing 30 million cases, nearly 10% of the country. Follow over the jump for videos about the next milestone, 600,000 dead in the U.S. from COVID-19.
Federal District Judge Judith Levy has been given a 416-page proposal to pay dozens of attorneys in the Flint water crisis combined civil lawsuits.
I'm not going to muster any outrage over this proposal. As the expert WXYZ interviewed pointed out, attorneys fees of 25-33% of a settlement are normal. Also, as Melissa Mays pointed out, at least some of the attorneys deserve their full fees. Without the lawyers' work, the plaintiffs would have little or no money to compensate them for their injuries. That written, at least some legislators are doing what they can to limit the fees so that plaintiffs can receive more, as MLive reported in State House resolution asks judge to limit attorney fees in Flint water crisis settlement.
Flint area members of the Michigan House of Representative have introduced a resolution urging a federal court judge to limit attorney fees related to a $641-million proposed partial settlement of lawsuits related to the city’s water crisis.
State Reps. David Martin, Mike Mueller, John Cherry Jr., Cynthia Neeley and Ben Frederick introduced the resolution Thursday, March 18, and Cherry said in a news release that attorneys for Flint residents should be limited to 10 percent of the settlement rather than the more than 30 percent they are seeking.
“I have lived in the city for about a decade now,” Cherry said. “I’ve seen my neighbors and friends get hurt. To see the attorneys ... ask for such a large cut really bothers me.”
The policy resolution is an indication that the legislators don’t have legal authority to lower the fee request but want to express the opinion of members of the state House, Cherry said.
U.S. District Judge Judith E. Levy must decide on the motion for fees and expenses, which would drain the settlement fund of more than $200 million before it can be distributed to those who were harmed by Flint water when it contained elevated levels of lead, bacteria and chlorination byproducts.
As the article states, the legislature is merely trying to make a request; it's entirely up to Judge Levy to make the decision. When she does, I'll tell my readers about it.
MLive's article concluded with a caveat about the settlement.
Even if the proposed settlement is given preliminary approval later this year, the water crisis lawsuits will continue against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, city water consultants and bond companies involved in setting up financing for the Karegnondi Water Authority.
Looks like I'll be updating my readers about the lawsuits for years to come.
A judge...rejected a request to dismiss misdemeanor charges against Rick Snyder Thursday in the Flint water crisis.
I fully expect Snyder's attorneys will file that appeal, which will delay trial for quite a while. I'm not worried. As I first wrote two years ago, "The wheels of justice are grinding slowly in this case, but I expect they will indeed grind exceedingly fine."
Of course, the reason for the lawsuits and prosecutions is the damage lead in Flint's water did to its residents. "60 Minutes" covered that in The legacy of the Flint water crisis.*
Six years ago, lead seeped into the tap water in Flint, Michigan, while state and local officials said everything was fine. Now, the same doctor who proved something was wrong is taking the first comprehensive look at the thousands of kids exposed to lead in Flint. Sharyn Alfonsi reports.
I am glad to feature Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha again. She has been a real hero to the people of Flint, especially its children.
*Last year, I wrote that I might feature the PBS 'Nova' episode "Poisoned Water" in a future post. To that, I can add a "Frontline" episode about Flint's water, which I expect will earn a News and Documentary Emmy Award nomination or two later this year.
Michigan recorded its first two cases of coronavirus on March 10, 2020. This timeline shows how the pandemic played out over the last year in Michigan, along with measures taken by the state government and Governor Gretchen Whitmer to slow the spread of the virus.
The numbers lined up next to the government actions tell quite a story, one of restrictions being imposed and coronavirus infections falling and then being relaxed and the disease returning. I hope people in the state learn from that.
Wednesday marks one year since Michigan's first reported COVID-19 cases, and a year ago, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency, which was followed by a slew of executive orders aimed at stopping the spread.
I'll return over the jump with WXYZ's look at the future of the pandemic in Michigan. That's after WDIV/Click on Detroit's retrospective, which examines what Americans in general and Michiganders in particular have already learned about the pandemic and our response in Coronavirus pandemic 1 year later: What we wish we'd known.
Dr. Frank McGeorge discusses the past year of the coronavirus pandemic.
I agree with Dr. McGeorge about the significance of asymptomatic people being infectious and masks preventing spread of the disease. If mask wearing had been recommended earlier and mask production had been ramped up sooner to match the need, millions fewer would likely have avoided infection and many thousands would still be alive.
Follow over the jump for what the present and future might hold in store, even though Dr. Arnold Monto of the University of Michigan reminded WDIV's viewers that the past year was worse than predicted, which means that my readers should take the prognostications with a grain of salt.
Learn the history of the once-a-year pastry treat synonymous with Fat Tuesday, otherwise known as Paczki day in Michigan. Just don't call this calorie juggernaut a doughnut.
1000 calories — wow! As I first wrote in 2014, "After discovering paczki when I moved to Michigan 25 (now 32) years ago, I finally knew why today is called Fat Tuesday."
It's a time-honored tradition for metro Detroit bakeries, and a day that usually draws in big crowds for small businesses. We're of course talking about Paczki Day.
Those paczki look delicious, but I'm going to abstain again, not only because of the pandemic and mydiabetes, but also the snow Jenn Schanz mentioned. I couldn't get out of the house even if I wanted to!
Citing concerns following last year's super-spreader event, New Orleans officials have restricted Mardi Gras celebrations and banned alcohol sales in the French Quarter through next Tuesday. David Begnaud reports.
Hamtramck looks less disrupted than New Orleans, something I never thought I'd write here. We here in Michigan seem to be dealing with social distancing measures better and we're used to the snow and cold, which New Orleans isn't. Speaking of the weather, I plan on writing about the winter storm and its connection to the changing climate tomorrow. Stay tuned.
A look at the a week many mid-Michigan residents will not soon forget after heavy rain and dam failures resulted in massive flooding across the region.
...
How did the dam fail? What happens next? When the Edenville Dam failed on May 19th, 2020, it started a chain of events that would devastate thousands of lives, homes, and property. So much so that President Donald Trump has approved an emergency declaration throughout mid-Michigan hit with catastrophic flooding.
In addition, this month's flood resulted from the second highest single-day rainfall in Detroit history. Welcome to four precipitation records in four years.
The third-biggest snowstorm in metro Detroit's recorded history has plows humming among tall snow piles on roadways across southeastern Michigan this morning.
...
With 16.7 inches of snow since the storm arrived early Sunday, it's the most to fall since Dec. 1 and 2 in 1974, when 19.3 inches fell, as recorded at Detroit Metro Airport. The snowiest was April 6, 1886, when 24.5 inches were reported...
Add the snowiest month in Detroit history and that's now six precipitation records in four years. As I wrote in the first entry I wrote about the storm, welcome to weather weirding in the 400 ppm world.
I haven't been keeping as close track of Michigan precipitation records since then, as this blog has become more national and international in its focus, but it wouldn't surprise me if the state has racked up more in the past five years.
President Trump is heading to Michigan today after threatening the state and making false claims about voter fraud as flooding devastates the state. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell joins Stephanie Ruhle to react.
At least he's not threatening to withhold disaster relief now, as the caption for the MLive video reported.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extended Michigan’s stay-at-home order until June 12 and the state of emergency until June 19.
The pandemic response even overwhelmed what would have been the focus of the clip in normal times, Aquaman and Game of Thrones star Jason Momoa visiting metro Detroit. Even he wore a mask on the way out. Welcome to celebrity in a time of plague.
I told my readers to "stay tuned" as "I [would] post another entry about impeachment" at the end of It's Okay To Be Smart asks 'will we all eat bugs in the future?' It's not about today's vote or comedians making fun of the event, although I'm sure I'll write about both soon, but about the public demonstrations both for and against impeachment that occurred last night across Michigan and the rest of the country.
Hundreds of supporters, as well as protesters, are attending rallies and speaking out across metro Detroit as President Donald Trump prepares to hold a rally in Western Michigan Wednesday.
The protest in Ferndale happened at the same location as the People's Climate March in 2017, so I know the area well. I'm sure some of the same people were at both demonstrations. I wasn't one of them. While I support impeachment, I think the stress of doing so was one of the factors contributing to my diabetes. Stress is one of the triggers of autoimmune diseases and type I diabetes is an autoimmune disorder, so I'm taking a breaking from stress as much as I can.
The same dynamic played out across the state. Follow over the jump for videos from outside metro Detroit.
Vox returned to the Trump administration's laxer enforcement of the ESA in today's The problem with the endangered species list, which focused on the controversy around delisting the gray wolf.
When are we done protecting the gray wolf? ... When European settlers first came to America they were set on “civilizing” the land. This meant a lot of rash, sweeping changes — one of which was to eradicate a familiar target: the gray wolf. Bounties were placed on the animal across the US. By the1930s, the once plentiful wolf population was decimated.
Decades later, restorations efforts have led to an extensive recovery of the animal. The Fish and Wildlife Service thinks we’ve done enough, but conservationists say our work is far from done.
“In our view, this proposal is premature because wolf recovery in the lower 48 states is not yet complete,” says Zack Strong, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group. “Wolves have not yet returned to significant areas where they once existed historically and where there is still suitable habitat.”
[Me:] The last year I lived out in the country, the deer ate my shrubs up to the seven foot level. Good thing they were eight feet tall at the time. I vowed that if I were still in my house the next firearms deer season, I'd finally break down and buy a rifle and a deer hunting license. Fortunately for the deer, my house sold that April, so I didn't have to follow through.
Hey, I was a Republican for 22 years. Some habits die hard.
[Andrea G:] No, you're exactly right. In most parts of the U.S. we have wiped out the top predator (wolves), so now there are too many deer. The hunting lobby likes it that way, as a response to the narrow window of time in which it's legal to hunt. So, in the long run we have two options: Reintroduce wolves and persuade people not to shoot them, or eat the deer ourselves until their population reaches a more natural level. In the mean time, our forests are being overgrazed. ... [Me:] Getting more hunters and eating more deer is the response I expect. Actually re-introducing wolves would be too much for most people. On the other hand, allowing wolves to spread on their own, which is happening, and then convincing people to leave them alone might be doable.
Iwasverycynical about how Bill Schuette handled this case and this segment confirms my cynicism. I described what Schutte hoped to achieve three years ago in a comment.
Schuette is a Republican, but he doesn't owe Snyder much in the way of favors. He's going to thread a narrow path. On the one hand, he's going to use this to make enough of a show that he'll help himself look "independent" for a general election. He might even harm Snyder as long as it also hurts the current Lieutenant Governor, Brian Calley, helping himself in the primary. On the other hand, he doesn't want to hurt Snyder so badly that it makes him look disloyal to the GOP. He especially does not want to force Snyder from office. The last thing he wants is Calley as an incumbent Governor to run against in a primary. That will be quite a balancing act!
I think Schuette did exactly what I described in this case, which was to look tough and independent while not going directly after Snyder. It worked for him, as he became the Republican nominee, not Calley. However, his strategy resulted in a lot of frustration, which the town hall audience expressed and WXYZ reported in Flint hears from prosecutors who dropped water charges.
Prosecutors who dropped charges against eight people in the Flint water scandal explained their decision in a public forum Friday night, telling frustrated and shocked residents they must look at hundreds of mobile devices and millions of documents that a previous investigative team never reviewed.
The one person named by the audience was Snyder. I don't blame them for blaming him.
Prosecutors who dropped charges against eight people in the Flint water scandal have explained their decision in a public forum.
I still think "The wheels of justice are grinding slowly in this case, but I expect they will indeed grind exceedingly fine," but they can only grind so slowly because of the statute of limitations, which imposes a deadline nine months from now.
Flint resident Marijoyce Campbell, 65, speaks firmly from the heart as she please for justice to the new Flint water prosecution team during a community meeting on Friday, June 28, 2019 at UAW 659 in Flint. Some of those who came to the meeting at UAW Local 659 were angry over how the cases were initially handled and worried about whether anyone will still be held responsible. A few shouted at Fadwa Hammoud, Kym Worthy and other attorneys working on the current investigation as time ran out at the end of the two-hour meeting. Friday’s meeting was billed as the first opportunity for Hammoud and Worthy to explain their decision to dismiss criminal charges against current and former state and city employees and two former emergency managers of Flint. It was also bill[ed] as an opportunity to discuss the investigation going forward.
Eight remaining Flint water prosecutions have been dismissed by the Department of Attorney General, officials said Thursday, June 13, 2019. Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy issued a statement saying the cases are being dismissed without prejudice -- meaning they could be refiled -- in order to conduct a full and complete investigation, a shocking conclusion to the high-profile criminal prosecutions.
This video presented the headlines and facts, although I think its interpretation that this is the conclusion of the case is premature. WXYZ had the reactions from officials and people on the street in its two videos, beginning with last night's Flint Water Crisis: Charges Dropped.
WXYZ captured the desire for justice from both expert observers and the people affected, which included the possibility that charges will likely be refiled and the resulting cases will be stronger.
The Michigan Attorney General's office announced Thursday that they have dismissed all pending criminal cases connected to the Flint Water Crisis that were brought by the former Office of Special Counsel.
The quote from Former Attorney General Bill Schuette reminds me that Iwasverycynical about how he handled this case and still think Dana Nessel's more direct approach is a necessary improvement.
The attorney general says her office will not respond further on the investigation until prosecutors speak directly to the people of Flint.
I'm looking forward to hearing and reading more on this investigation at the end of the month. Until then, this news just reinforces my observation that "The wheels of justice are grinding slowly in this case, but I expect they will indeed grind exceedingly fine." If anything, they're grinding even slower than I expected, but also much finer.
I begin with WOOD-TV reporting on how municipalities in Michigan are implementing the proposal by opting out of allowing commercial production and dispensaries in Voters getting a say about marijuana sales.
Voters in Michigan decriminalized recreational marijuana in November, but in the months that have followed, dozens of municipalities have opted out of a major part of the voter-approved proposition which allowed for the manufacture and sales of weed.
I will have to follow municipalities where opting out is put on the ballot and whether those votes succeed or fail.
That was about the federal government allowing cultivation of industrial hemp, which is not the same as marijuana for medicinal or recreational use, but it's a start.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell became the first U.S. congressperson to speak at Hash Bash in Ann Arbor Saturday, April 6 2019.
If nothing else, she said the right things to get that crowd to cheer. It is also another good sign that the federal government is on the path to decriminalizing marijuana. I couldn't have imagined her saying any of this a year ago.
As I have written before on this date, "Here's...to marijuana legalization following in the tracks of marriage equality!"
