Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
December 7, 2022
(Detroit Free Press) Michigan taxpayers will help cover the costs associated with the recounts of two ballot proposals allowed to proceed by the state's elections panel despite concerns the exercise would provide fodder for election misinformation and questions about the legality of the request.
The review won't change the outcome of Proposals 2 and 3. Michigan voters approved the proposals by wide margins. Proposal 2 − which establishes early voting and other election changes − received nearly 60% of the vote in the recent Nov. 8 election while Proposal 3 to enshrine abortion rights in the Michigan Constitution received nearly 57% of the vote.
The recounts will not review enough votes to possibly change the outcome, the Michigan elections director said during a Board of State Canvassers meeting Monday.
"It's frustrating and it's really not a good use of taxpayer dollars," said Oakland County Clerk Lisa Brown, a Democrat, who said the costs imposed on the county will depend on how long the recount takes but will include pay for election workers and staff. The assertions of fraud in the petitions in the recount are inaccurate and false, she said. "It is this continuing narrative of spouting disinformation, misinformation," she said. .............(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/12/06/recount-michigan-proposal-election/69704471007/
Michigan taxpayers to help foot bill for Proposals 2, 3 recounts that won't change outcome
(Detroit Free Press) Michigan taxpayers will help cover the costs associated with the recounts of two ballot proposals allowed to proceed by the state's elections panel despite concerns the exercise would provide fodder for election misinformation and questions about the legality of the request.
The review won't change the outcome of Proposals 2 and 3. Michigan voters approved the proposals by wide margins. Proposal 2 − which establishes early voting and other election changes − received nearly 60% of the vote in the recent Nov. 8 election while Proposal 3 to enshrine abortion rights in the Michigan Constitution received nearly 57% of the vote.
The recounts will not review enough votes to possibly change the outcome, the Michigan elections director said during a Board of State Canvassers meeting Monday.
"It's frustrating and it's really not a good use of taxpayer dollars," said Oakland County Clerk Lisa Brown, a Democrat, who said the costs imposed on the county will depend on how long the recount takes but will include pay for election workers and staff. The assertions of fraud in the petitions in the recount are inaccurate and false, she said. "It is this continuing narrative of spouting disinformation, misinformation," she said. .............(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/12/06/recount-michigan-proposal-election/69704471007/
December 7, 2022
(Detroit Free Press) The Grinch and a reindeer have a drink at a bar …
According to news accounts, two men, both in their 30s, attended a work-related holiday party Saturday at Hotel Indigo in Traverse City in costumes, got into a heated argument that turned violent when the Grinch took a swing at the reindeer.
Neither WPBN-TV in Traverse City nor MLive, which also gave an account of the incident, named the men, nor did the publications mentioned how the fight started or was about.
The Free Press left a message with the Traverse City police seeking more information.
But both outlets reported that police, who were called, arrested the man dressed as the Grinch — the grumpy, green potbellied character in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" written by Dr. Seuss, in films and even a song — in connection with assault. ............(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/12/06/grinch-punches-reindeer-traverse-city-hotel-party/69704353007/
Grinch punches reindeer at Up North party
(Detroit Free Press) The Grinch and a reindeer have a drink at a bar …
According to news accounts, two men, both in their 30s, attended a work-related holiday party Saturday at Hotel Indigo in Traverse City in costumes, got into a heated argument that turned violent when the Grinch took a swing at the reindeer.
Neither WPBN-TV in Traverse City nor MLive, which also gave an account of the incident, named the men, nor did the publications mentioned how the fight started or was about.
The Free Press left a message with the Traverse City police seeking more information.
But both outlets reported that police, who were called, arrested the man dressed as the Grinch — the grumpy, green potbellied character in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" written by Dr. Seuss, in films and even a song — in connection with assault. ............(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/12/06/grinch-punches-reindeer-traverse-city-hotel-party/69704353007/
December 6, 2022
Grinch punches reindeer at Michigan party
(Detroit Free Press) The Grinch and a reindeer have a drink at a bar …
According to news accounts, two men, both in their 30s, attended a work-related holiday party Saturday at Hotel Indigo in Traverse City in costumes, got into a heated argument that turned violent when the Grinch took a swing at the reindeer.
Neither WPBN-TV in Traverse City nor MLive, which also gave an account of the incident, named the men, nor did the publications mentioned how the fight started or was about.
The Free Press left a message with the Traverse City police seeking more information.
But both outlets reported that police, who were called, arrested the man dressed as the Grinch — the grumpy, green potbellied character in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" written by Dr. Seuss, in films and even a song — in connection with assault. ............(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/12/06/grinch-punches-reindeer-traverse-city-hotel-party/69704353007/
December 6, 2022
(Bloomberg) Twice as many abortion clinics closed this year compared to last, following the US Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.
As of November, 42 independent clinics had closed this year, most of which were in the South and Midwest. That’s up from 20 in 2021, according to a Tuesday report from Abortion Care Network, an association of community-based abortion providers. Independent clinics provide 55% of abortion services nationwide.
The Supreme Court ruling has resulted in a wave of tighter abortion restrictions, including near-total bans in around a dozen states. While some clinics are still operating in those places, many have shut down. Others, like Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Mississippi provider at the center of the Supreme Court case, have made relocation plans.
There are currently 14 states that have no clinics providing abortion care, per ACN.
In the months immediately following the Supreme Court ruling, the number of legal abortions in the US fell 6%, according to the Society of Family Planning, an abortion and contraceptive advocacy and research group. ............(more)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-06/twice-as-many-abortion-clinics-closed-in-2022-as-last-year?srnd=premium
Abortion Clinic Closures Double in Year After End of Roe v. Wade
(Bloomberg) Twice as many abortion clinics closed this year compared to last, following the US Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.
As of November, 42 independent clinics had closed this year, most of which were in the South and Midwest. That’s up from 20 in 2021, according to a Tuesday report from Abortion Care Network, an association of community-based abortion providers. Independent clinics provide 55% of abortion services nationwide.
The Supreme Court ruling has resulted in a wave of tighter abortion restrictions, including near-total bans in around a dozen states. While some clinics are still operating in those places, many have shut down. Others, like Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Mississippi provider at the center of the Supreme Court case, have made relocation plans.
There are currently 14 states that have no clinics providing abortion care, per ACN.
In the months immediately following the Supreme Court ruling, the number of legal abortions in the US fell 6%, according to the Society of Family Planning, an abortion and contraceptive advocacy and research group. ............(more)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-06/twice-as-many-abortion-clinics-closed-in-2022-as-last-year?srnd=premium
December 6, 2022
....(snip)....
In a brief interview with POLITICO on Saturday, Walker seemed to mistake which chamber of Congress he was running for and also appeared to think the outcome of his race would determine control of the Senate.
“They’re not [less motivated] because they know right now that the House will be even so they don’t want to understand what is happening right now,” he said of voters. “You get the House, you get the committees. You get all the committees even, they just stall things within there. So if we keep a check on Joe Biden, we just going to keep a check on him.” ...........(more)
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/05/warnock-walker-georgia-senate-runoff-2022-00072147
Maybe someone should tell Herschel Walker which office he's running for
....(snip)....
In a brief interview with POLITICO on Saturday, Walker seemed to mistake which chamber of Congress he was running for and also appeared to think the outcome of his race would determine control of the Senate.
“They’re not [less motivated] because they know right now that the House will be even so they don’t want to understand what is happening right now,” he said of voters. “You get the House, you get the committees. You get all the committees even, they just stall things within there. So if we keep a check on Joe Biden, we just going to keep a check on him.” ...........(more)
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/05/warnock-walker-georgia-senate-runoff-2022-00072147
December 6, 2022
(Detroit News) A life prison sentence for Adam Fox, a convicted ringleader of a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, is sufficient for trying to "light the fire of a second revolution," federal prosecutors said late Monday.
The maximum penalty could help deter terrorism and widespread, anti-government, militia extremism that has flared in the two years since Fox and a group plotted to kidnap Whitmer, angered by the governor's pandemic restrictions, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
The memo was filed one week before the 39-year-old Potterville resident is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court in Grand Rapids for heading a plot that represented the largest domestic terrorism case in a generation that has shed light on political extremism in Michigan. So far, seven people have been convicted on state or federal charges related to the plot while an eighth individual, FBI informant Stephen Robeson, was convicted of a federal gun crime.
Delaware truck driver Barry Croft, the other convicted ringleader, is set to be sentenced Dec. 28.
"When the aim of that kidnapping is to terrorize the people and affect the conduct of government, it is so pernicious that only the most serious sanction is sufficient," Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler wrote. "The sentence imposed by this court should reflect the incredibly dangerous threat posed by Adam Fox and Barry Croft’s attempt to light the fire of a second revolution." ................(more)
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/12/05/whitmer-kidnap-plotter-adam-fox-life-sentence-sufficient-feds/69703476007/
Feds say life in prison 'sufficient' for Whitmer kidnap plotter
(Detroit News) A life prison sentence for Adam Fox, a convicted ringleader of a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, is sufficient for trying to "light the fire of a second revolution," federal prosecutors said late Monday.
The maximum penalty could help deter terrorism and widespread, anti-government, militia extremism that has flared in the two years since Fox and a group plotted to kidnap Whitmer, angered by the governor's pandemic restrictions, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
The memo was filed one week before the 39-year-old Potterville resident is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court in Grand Rapids for heading a plot that represented the largest domestic terrorism case in a generation that has shed light on political extremism in Michigan. So far, seven people have been convicted on state or federal charges related to the plot while an eighth individual, FBI informant Stephen Robeson, was convicted of a federal gun crime.
Delaware truck driver Barry Croft, the other convicted ringleader, is set to be sentenced Dec. 28.
"When the aim of that kidnapping is to terrorize the people and affect the conduct of government, it is so pernicious that only the most serious sanction is sufficient," Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler wrote. "The sentence imposed by this court should reflect the incredibly dangerous threat posed by Adam Fox and Barry Croft’s attempt to light the fire of a second revolution." ................(more)
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/12/05/whitmer-kidnap-plotter-adam-fox-life-sentence-sufficient-feds/69703476007/
December 6, 2022
(WSVN) - A Florida man accused of having sex with a dog and destroying property has been arrested.
Chad Mason faces a variety of charges, which includes sexual activity involving animals.
According to Clearwater Police, Mason was seen having sex with a dog in the 2600 block of McMullen Booth Road, Sunday.
When someone at the apartment complex confronted Mason, he fled the scene and started to cause a commotion in the surrounding area. ...........(more)
https://wsvn.com/news/local/florida/florida-man-accused-of-having-sex-with-dog-destroying-property-near-tampa/
Man accused of having sex with dog, destroying property near Tampa
(WSVN) - A Florida man accused of having sex with a dog and destroying property has been arrested.
Chad Mason faces a variety of charges, which includes sexual activity involving animals.
According to Clearwater Police, Mason was seen having sex with a dog in the 2600 block of McMullen Booth Road, Sunday.
When someone at the apartment complex confronted Mason, he fled the scene and started to cause a commotion in the surrounding area. ...........(more)
https://wsvn.com/news/local/florida/florida-man-accused-of-having-sex-with-dog-destroying-property-near-tampa/
December 6, 2022
(HuffPost) Atlanta Hawks announcer Bob Rathbun convulsed and lost consciousness on Monday while he and analyst Dominique Wilkins previewed the team’s NBA home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Rathbun was about to shuffle through his notes when he leaned back and began what appeared to be some sort of seizure.
https://twitter.com/reddawg77089/status/1599944852707360769
Bally Sports Southeast, which airs the Hawks games, said on Twitter that Rathbun was “treated for dehydration” and was “stable and responsive” as he headed to the hospital for “further evaluation.” ............(more)
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bob-rathbun-seizure_n_638f3758e4b0214ec9830f14
Atlanta Hawks Announcer Bob Rathbun Convulses And Faints On Air
(HuffPost) Atlanta Hawks announcer Bob Rathbun convulsed and lost consciousness on Monday while he and analyst Dominique Wilkins previewed the team’s NBA home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Rathbun was about to shuffle through his notes when he leaned back and began what appeared to be some sort of seizure.
https://twitter.com/reddawg77089/status/1599944852707360769
Bally Sports Southeast, which airs the Hawks games, said on Twitter that Rathbun was “treated for dehydration” and was “stable and responsive” as he headed to the hospital for “further evaluation.” ............(more)
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bob-rathbun-seizure_n_638f3758e4b0214ec9830f14
December 6, 2022
The Easy-to-Miss Twist That Makes the Supreme Court’s New Gay Rights Case So Strange
A graphic designer refuses to make custom websites for same-sex weddings. Colorado says that’s fine.
BY MARK JOSEPH STERN
DEC 05, 20226:15 PM
(Slate) When you first hear the facts of 303 Creative v. Elenis, you may be stirred to sympathy toward the plaintiff. According to her lawyers at Alliance Defending Freedom, Lorie Smith is just a humble website designer trying to make a living in accordance with her Christian beliefs. That means she must respectfully decline to create a wedding website for any same-sex couple, as such unions contradict her faith. Intolerant bureaucrats in Colorado are threatening to punish her for these deeply held beliefs. And so she has reluctantly asked the Supreme Court to shield her from this persecution.
That’s the story that ADF told the Supreme Court on Monday during oral arguments in 303 Creative. It’s the story that the court probably will adopt if it sides with Lorie Smith, as it very likely will. But it bears, at best, only a passing resemblance to the truth.
The true origin story of 303 Creative is much less sympathetic than the lawyer-crafted narrative. Before this litigation, Lorie Smith appeared to be a normal website designer who advertised her services to all potential customers. In 2016, after ADF took her on as a client, she rebranded as a conservative Christian who channeled her faith in God through her work. Indeed, her revamped website included language seemingly finessed to transform her into a First Amendment test case, explaining that her “expressive content … communicate[s] ideas or messages.” Also worth noting: No same-sex couple has ever asked Smith to make them a wedding website; in fact, she has never made a wedding website for anyone. Her work to date focuses on local politicians, dog breeders, contractors, and houses of worship—not celebrations of life events. Nonetheless, ADF sued Colorado on Smith’s behalf in 2016, challenging a state law that bars anti-gay discrimination in public accommodations. Smith one day might be asked to make a same-sex couple’s website, ADF asserted. And when that day comes, she wants the right to say no.
303 Creative was one of many cases that ADF took on after 2016 to undermine LGBTQ non-discrimination laws. The organization was trying to argue that these laws violate the First Amendment, at least when applied to wedding goods and services. One such case, Masterpiece Cakeshop, reached the Supreme Court—but it was not resolved on the merits in the way ADF preferred. Instead, the justices got tripped up on the question of whether baking a cake constituted free speech, and decided it on other grounds. Others involved similar gray areas—a florist, a photographer—and fizzled out in lower court. 303 Creative had the benefit of involving “pure speech” rather than what lawyers call “expressive conduct” (like making a floral arrangement). ADF wanted this as a black-and-white dispute about Colorado compelling Smith to express a message in support of same-sex marriage that infringes on her conscience. ..........(more)
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/12/303-creative-gay-rights-free-speech-supreme-court.html
The Easy-to-Miss Twist That Makes the Supreme Court's New Gay Rights Case So Strange
The Easy-to-Miss Twist That Makes the Supreme Court’s New Gay Rights Case So Strange
A graphic designer refuses to make custom websites for same-sex weddings. Colorado says that’s fine.
BY MARK JOSEPH STERN
DEC 05, 20226:15 PM
(Slate) When you first hear the facts of 303 Creative v. Elenis, you may be stirred to sympathy toward the plaintiff. According to her lawyers at Alliance Defending Freedom, Lorie Smith is just a humble website designer trying to make a living in accordance with her Christian beliefs. That means she must respectfully decline to create a wedding website for any same-sex couple, as such unions contradict her faith. Intolerant bureaucrats in Colorado are threatening to punish her for these deeply held beliefs. And so she has reluctantly asked the Supreme Court to shield her from this persecution.
That’s the story that ADF told the Supreme Court on Monday during oral arguments in 303 Creative. It’s the story that the court probably will adopt if it sides with Lorie Smith, as it very likely will. But it bears, at best, only a passing resemblance to the truth.
The true origin story of 303 Creative is much less sympathetic than the lawyer-crafted narrative. Before this litigation, Lorie Smith appeared to be a normal website designer who advertised her services to all potential customers. In 2016, after ADF took her on as a client, she rebranded as a conservative Christian who channeled her faith in God through her work. Indeed, her revamped website included language seemingly finessed to transform her into a First Amendment test case, explaining that her “expressive content … communicate[s] ideas or messages.” Also worth noting: No same-sex couple has ever asked Smith to make them a wedding website; in fact, she has never made a wedding website for anyone. Her work to date focuses on local politicians, dog breeders, contractors, and houses of worship—not celebrations of life events. Nonetheless, ADF sued Colorado on Smith’s behalf in 2016, challenging a state law that bars anti-gay discrimination in public accommodations. Smith one day might be asked to make a same-sex couple’s website, ADF asserted. And when that day comes, she wants the right to say no.
303 Creative was one of many cases that ADF took on after 2016 to undermine LGBTQ non-discrimination laws. The organization was trying to argue that these laws violate the First Amendment, at least when applied to wedding goods and services. One such case, Masterpiece Cakeshop, reached the Supreme Court—but it was not resolved on the merits in the way ADF preferred. Instead, the justices got tripped up on the question of whether baking a cake constituted free speech, and decided it on other grounds. Others involved similar gray areas—a florist, a photographer—and fizzled out in lower court. 303 Creative had the benefit of involving “pure speech” rather than what lawyers call “expressive conduct” (like making a floral arrangement). ADF wanted this as a black-and-white dispute about Colorado compelling Smith to express a message in support of same-sex marriage that infringes on her conscience. ..........(more)
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/12/303-creative-gay-rights-free-speech-supreme-court.html
December 6, 2022
(Guardian UK) A marathon election campaign will enter its final sprint on Tuesday when voters in Georgia decide the last seat in the US Senate – and shape the next phase of Joe Biden’s presidency.
Opinion polls suggest a narrow lead for incumbent Democratic senator Raphael Warnock over his Republican challenger, former American football star Herschel Walker.
Victory for Warnock would give Democrats 51 seats in the 100-seat Senate, a stronger hand than they currently hold in an evenly split chamber where Vice-President Kamala Harris casts the tiebreaker.
It is the second time in two years that a Senate race has gone to a runoff in Georgia because neither candidate secured a majority on election day. But the Peach State is showing little sign of election fatigue, with officials reporting record early voting turnout.
National and state Democrats are also not slowing down as they come out to support Warnock. Last week saw celebrity-led events including a concert by the Dave Matthews Band, canvassing with actors Tessa Thompson and America Ferrera, and a rally targeting Georgia’s Asian American community featuring Jeannie Mai Jenkins and Daniel Dae Kim. ..........(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/04/georgia-runoff-democratic-us-senate-majority-joe-biden
Georgia runoff: full steam ahead for Democrats as they aim to solidify Senate majority
(Guardian UK) A marathon election campaign will enter its final sprint on Tuesday when voters in Georgia decide the last seat in the US Senate – and shape the next phase of Joe Biden’s presidency.
Opinion polls suggest a narrow lead for incumbent Democratic senator Raphael Warnock over his Republican challenger, former American football star Herschel Walker.
Victory for Warnock would give Democrats 51 seats in the 100-seat Senate, a stronger hand than they currently hold in an evenly split chamber where Vice-President Kamala Harris casts the tiebreaker.
It is the second time in two years that a Senate race has gone to a runoff in Georgia because neither candidate secured a majority on election day. But the Peach State is showing little sign of election fatigue, with officials reporting record early voting turnout.
National and state Democrats are also not slowing down as they come out to support Warnock. Last week saw celebrity-led events including a concert by the Dave Matthews Band, canvassing with actors Tessa Thompson and America Ferrera, and a rally targeting Georgia’s Asian American community featuring Jeannie Mai Jenkins and Daniel Dae Kim. ..........(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/04/georgia-runoff-democratic-us-senate-majority-joe-biden
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: Detroit, MI
Member since: Fri Oct 29, 2004, 12:18 AM
Number of posts: 77,080