‘We will not let hate win’

Earlier this month, self-described “straight, white, Christian, married, suburban mom” Mallory McMorrow, a Democratic Michigan state senator representing suburban District 13, learned she had been targeted as a pedophile “groomer” by a Republican legislator in a fundraising email. She responded from the Michigan State Senate floor (above).

More:

“State Sen. McMorrow on reclaiming faith from being used as ‘a weapon to hate people,'” Jack Jenkins, RNS, via National Catholic Reporter

“Michigan state senator blasts colleague who accused her of grooming in fundraising email,” Kelsey Carolan, The Hill

“Smeared as a Groomer, a Michigan Democrat Goes on Offense,” Blake Hounshell, New York Times

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Michigan to Charge Ex-Gov. Rick Snyder in Water Probe

The Flint water system was privatized by Republican Governor Rick Snyder. Then people started getting sick.

“Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, his health director and other ex-officials have been told they’re being charged after a new investigation of the Flint water scandal, which devastated the majority Black city with lead-contaminated water and was blamed for a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, The Associated Press has learned.”

— “Michigan plans to charge ex-Gov. Snyder in Flint water probe,” Ed White, David Eggert, and Tammy Webber, Associated Press

More:

“Everything we know about charges Rick Snyder, others face in Flint water scandal,” Joe Guillen and Christine MacDonald, Detroit Free Press

Updates:

“Flint water crisis: Michigan charges ex-governor Rick Snyder,”  BBC News

“Ex-Governor of Michigan Charged With Neglect in Flint Water Crisis,” Julie Bosman, New York Times

“2 ex-health officials charged with manslaughter in Flint,” David Eggert, Ed White, and Corey Williams, Associated Press

“The Unfinished Business of Flint’s Water Crisis,’ Anna Clark, ProPublica

Related:

“Judge gives preliminary OK to $641 million Flint water crisis settlement,” Ron Fonger, MLive

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‘I’ll Sue!’ Says Most Litigious President Ever

After losing to Joe Biden in the election, Donald Trump is continuing his economic stimulus policy of full employment for lawyers, suing in several states to try overturning his rejection by a majority of voters, claiming his victory has been “stolen” because states are actually counting actual votes. He first asked several states to stop counting votes while he seemed to be ahead, before all the Biden-leaning mail-in ballots were counted. Mr. Trump, former owner of the failed U.S.F.L. New Jersey Generals football team, essentially asked the refs to stop the game in the 3rd quarter and declare him the winner.

Donald Trump had already used campaign funds to pay lawyers in pre-election lawsuits, and continues to make his supporters pay for his sore-loser legal claims, but state taxpayers will foot the bill for defending election boards against the spurious suits. It’s not surprising that Mr. Trump would resort to the courts for his hail-mary legal claims. In 2016, while he was the GOP candidate, Donald Trump was involved in 3500 lawsuits. His legal team should be grateful to be paid with campaign funds. As a businessman, Donald Trump had a habit of stiffing his lawyers.

UPDATE: Donald Trump has found a way to further his baseless legal claims for free — he’s going to pay for them with your tax dollars. Attorney General William Barr has authorized the U.S. Department of Justice to pursue these wacky conspiracy theories in violation of common sense. This also violates long-standing DOJ policy, so the director of the Election Crimes Branch, the official in charge of election fraud investigations, has resigned.

Trump Enthusiasts Respectfully Await Final Election Returns

In an historic display of good citizenship and patriotism, armed supporters of defeated candidate Donald Trump gathered at vote processing centers to dispute arithmetic and threaten election workers. God Save the Republic.

More:

“Faced with defeat, armed protesters in Arizona insist election stolen,” Mimi Dwyer, David Shepardson, Reuters

“Election officials worried by threats and protesters,” Nomaan Merchant and Tim Sullivan, Associated Press

“Philadelphia police arrest armed men allegedly heading to vote-counting center,” Cameron Jenkins, The Hill

“Increasingly normal: Guns seen outside vote-counting centers,” Tim Sullivan and Adam Geller, Associated Press

“‘It’s not over’: Trump supporters flock to state capitols after Biden victory is announced,” Susan Miller and Jordan Culver, USA Today

“The Next 2020 Election Fight? Convincing Trump’s Supporters That He Lost,” Miles Parks, NPR News

Updates:

“Philly Vote-Counters Getting Death Threats Because of Trump’s ‘Deranged’ Theories: Republican Commissioner,” Jamie Ross, Daily Beast

“Arkansas police chief resigns after calling for violence against Democrats,” Blake Ellis and Melanie Hicken, CNN

“Republican Philadelphia official responsible for vote counting says office getting death threats,”Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill

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Image (“Trump Enthusiasts, after James Whale“) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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COVID-19: President Trump Urges Insurrection

Last week President Trump told governors to “call the shots” on reopening their states’ economies, then called on mobs of his followers to “liberate” states with Democratic governors, specifically the battleground states of Michigan, Minnesota, and Virginia. His rabid supporters turned out at state capitals, and some of them were armed.

A photo of the Ohio protesters banging on the statehouse windows looked familiar:

“One wears a Guy Fawkes mask. Two men wear Trump-branded baseball caps. Two women, the closest to the windows, shape their mouths into the same elongated howl as Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream.’ American flags obscure some of the protesters in the back.”

“It looked awfully familiar to Michael Satrazemis, the director of photography for ‘The Walking Dead’ and director of ‘Fear the Walking Dead,’ two shows that seem a little scarier these days, since they’re about a zombie apocalypse that begins with an uncontrollable pathogen.

The visual trope is ‘classic horror,’ says Satrazemis. It plays on the common fear of claustrophobia, making the audience “\’feel the walls are closing in and the world is shrinking around you. And there’s no way out.’”

— “That Ohio protest photo looked like a zombie movie. Zombie movie directors think so, too.”Maura Judkis, Washington Post

Mr. Trump must be nostalgic for his MAGA zombie rallies, and uneasy about the likelihood that he won’t be having any rallies before November’s election.

Flint, Michigan: Residents Pay Full Price for Undrinkable Water

“Residents in Flint, Mich., are about to start paying the full cost of their water again, even though what’s flowing from their taps has yet to be declared safe to drink without an approved filter.

On Wednesday, state officials will end a program that has helped pay residents’ bills since a series of ill-fated decisions by state-appointed emergency managers left the city’s water system contaminated with lead. Since that 2014 disaster, the state has spent roughly $41 million in credits to help offset local utility bills. Residents have gotten a 65 percent credit each month on their water use, while commercial accounts received a 20 percent credit.”

— “Flint residents must start paying for water they still can’t drink without a filter,” Brady Dennis, Washington Post

Flint residents pay one of the country’s highest water rates for the privilege of receiving lead-laced drinking water that poisons their children. About 40 percent of Flint residents live below the poverty line.

The Flint water system was privatized by Republican Governor Rick Snyder.

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State Workers In Flint Got Water Coolers a Year Ago

“Employees at the state office in Flint, Mich., have been drinking from coolers of purified water since last January — the same month that representatives from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality assured residents the water was safe to drink.”

— “State workers — but not residents — in Flint, Mich., have been getting purified water for more than a year,” Yanan Wang, Washington Post

More:

“Amid denials, state workers in Flint got clean water,”Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press

“Document: Snyder Admin Trucked In Clean Water for State Building in January 2015,” Sam Inglot, Progress Michigan

“Flint water crisis: Michigan made sure state employees had clean water 8 months before everyone else,” Libby Nelson, Vox

“Flint Mayor: Water Still Showing Lead Levels Beyond What Filters Can Remove,” Alissa Walker, Gizmodo

Pistol Packin’ Bra Kills the Woman Wearing It

Michigan Republican official Christina Bond, a 55-year-old motorcycle-riding church administrator, former military police officer and mother of two, fatally shot herself in the head on New Year’s Day while adjusting her bra holster.

Some Americans carry handguns for self-protection, and each year thousands of them shoot themselves, hundreds fatally. Congress and state legislatures have blocked firearm injury research, so we don’t know how many of those victims kept their handguns in Second Amendment support garments or in their underpants.

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Rusty Chevrolet

“Rust Cheverolet,” lyrics by Jim DeCaire & Joe Potila, performed by Da Yoopers.

A “Yooper” is an inhabitant of Michigan’s “U.P.” or Upper Peninsula, where it has been known to snow. The term also applies to the variety of American English spoken in the U.P.

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Turkey Terror Stalks Commerce Township!

Someone is terrorizing Commerce Township Michigan (population 40,186). “I have to go to the post office at 6 o’clock in the morning to avoid him,” said 69-year-old Edna Geisler. “He tried to come right in the door,” said neighbor Rick Reid. “He bit me on the elbow.”

The terrorist: “Godzilla,” a 25-pound tom turkey.

“With video: Godzilla the wild turkey stalks Commerce Township woman,” John Wisely, Detroit Free Press

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