Vote for the least dangerous

The packing I can do tonight is done, so a short post. The Detroit Free Press ran an editorial about the five people running for the Republican nomination for governor of Michigan. The primary is August 2. It clearly says it doesn’t endorse any of them. None are qualified. However, it did pick one as “least dangerous.” And it started by saying yes, we do endorse Republican candidates – when the Democrats choose someone who is not qualified. And incumbent Democrat Gretchen Whitmer clearly is qualified to serve a second term. They recommend voting for this least dangerous candidate because it is possible the nominee could win and lead the state. The least dangerous is the one who doesn’t want to overturn the 2020 election and doesn’t spout conspiracy theories. Yeah, that’s where we are. There are four Ukraine updates with a bit to briefly share: Kos of Daily Kos had a lot to say about a news report saying Russia might possibly gearing up to attack Odesa, Ukraine. He wrote there is no scenario where Russia could make a serious effort against Odesa. Besides, in the Donbas territory Russia is trying to take it hasn’t advanced at all in two weeks. Kos quoted tweets from Yaroslav Trofimov:

“Putin opened his mouth, like a python, and thought that we’re just another bunny. But we’re not a bunny and it turned out that he can’t swallow us—and is actually at risk of getting torn apart himself,” Zelensky tells us. Looking forward to an avalanche of killer bunny memes. Western weapons supplies are beginning to have an effect in Donbas, Zelensky says. Ukrainian fatalities down to 30 a day from 100-200. Ukraine used to be able to fire 1,000-2,000 shells to Russia’s 12,000 daily. Now it can fire 6,000 as Russia experiences shortages.

That last bit about experiencing shortages is saying Russia is firing nowhere near 12,000 shells daily. The number is much closer to none. Charles Jay of the Kos community reported that there is an agreement to ship the millions of tons of Ukrainian grain that can’t get to the rest of the hungry world because of Russia. Notably, Ukraine signed a deal with Turkey and the UN and Russia signed a deal with Turkey and the UN. They did not sign the same piece of paper. Jay explains how the deal works. And less than 24 hours later Russia violated the agreement, firing a missile at the port of Odesa. Mark Sumner of Kos discussed several things going right for Ukraine. One of interest to me is that Ukraine has effectively (maybe not literally) surrounded the Russian forces in the town of Vysokopillya a ways northeast of Kherson. Russia called for a corridor to allow the troops to escape the area. Yeah, Russia would claim to create an escape corridor for trapped Ukrainian civilians, but then fire on them when they tried to actually escape. In this case Ukraine said surrender troops and equipment or be eradicated. In another post Sumner wrote that there might be 1,000 Russian troops in the surrounded town of Vysokopillya. The rest of the post talks about Kherson being effectively surrounded and Russians trying to flee while they can. Local sources say there is growing chaos and fear among the troops and collaborators still in the city. Finally, the post has a few videos of Russian incompetence. I think Ukraine updates might be the one topic I try to keep reading while I’m traveling.

Like handing your ballot directly to the nasty guy

Laura Clawson of Daily Kos reported that the Postal Service slowdown engineered by the nasty guy and his toady at the head of the USPS has perhaps changed the outcome of an election. Michigan had a primary on August 4. For a race in Sterling Heights 165 ballots that were postmarked on July 30 arrived on August 10. They could not be counted. That race was decided by 87 votes. Sterling Heights clerk Melanie Ryska told Crain’s Detroit:

It's not uncommon for us to receive 10 or 20 (late absentee ballots) here and there. But just to get this number at this time is very unusual.

Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Inquirer reviewed the situation. The safest way to vote in a pandemic is by mail. The nasty guy started railing against the Postal Service, saying vote by mail would be a disaster. And now he is working to make sure it is a disaster.

In addition to that the nasty guy’s campaign, with help from the Pennsylvania GOP, are suing to sharply restrict the number available ballot drop boxes. They want only one box for Philadelphia’s 1.5 million voters. They want to force residents to put ballots in the mail as they go about killing the Postal Service.

So Bunch is not putting his ballot in the mail. Putting a stamp on it and hoping for the best is not a strategy, not after the nasty guy has put his stamp on the USPS. Putting a ballot in the mail is like handing it directly to the nasty guy. Better to vote in person. As for the risk, we already routinely go to the store.

Keith Knight of Kos has a cartoon of the nasty guy installing new mailboxes to help with the election. They have a little hum – because thy include a shredder.

Walter Einenkel of Kos has suggestions for making sure your vote is counted.

* Vote in person if you can and vote as early as you can.

* If you vote at home personally take your ballot to a drop box or the city’s election office.

Commenters to Einenkel’s post recommend going to vote.org to verify what’s possible in your location.

Jeremy tweeted:

Trump will declare victory early Nov 4th—after his fearless covid denying voters vote in person—while Dem mail in ballots take weeks to count—Trump’s harassing mob will stop counters early to force victory. Left must be in streets Nov-Dec till all votes are counted. Stop fascism!

Greg Dworkin, in his pundit roundup for Kos quoted Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times.

If Trump is leading on election night, in other words, there’s a good chance he’ll try to disrupt and delegitimize the counting process. That way, if Joe Biden pulls ahead in the days (or weeks) after voting ends — if we experience a “blue shift” like the one in 2018, in which the Democratic majority in the House grew as votes came in — the president will have given himself grounds to reject the outcome as “fake news.”

The only way to prevent this scenario, or at least, rob it of the oxygen it needs to burn, is to deliver an election night lead to Biden. This means voting in person. No, not everyone will be able to do that. But if you plan to vote against Trump and can take appropriate precautions, then some kind of hand delivery — going to the polls or bringing your mail-in ballot to a “drop box” — will be the best way to protect your vote from the president’s concerted attempt to undermine the election for his benefit.

Some tweets by Benjamin Franklin:
One

In the next 83 days, you will be subject to an endless stream of diversions and distractions. Most of them are going to look like Ben Shapiro reading the lyrics to WAP - stuff to make you gawk, laugh, and most importantly mock. They’re there to suck up all your time and focus.

Trump will seek to distract you with big racisms. The point is to shock and awe us, to clog up our brains and feeds with crap, to “flood the zone with shit” as Bannon says. Take a step back from the day and your life will improve measurably. That’s why I don’t read the news.

There are only two important things to focus on:
1) register to vote and vote.
2) figure out where to show up on election night to protest. Find your local protest groups, wall of whatever, they’re already there. Ask them where to go on election night. And be ready to go.

Two

The people telling you not to worry about the integrity of the election, that this will be solved by just voting when trump has made it clear he will cheat to win, are enemies of the people. They want you unprepared for the contested election.
…
The most obvious sign that someone is not on our side is that they are attempting to discourage the idea that we will have to mass mobilize right after the election. Mass mobilization is the only thing our enemies fear and they will do anything to prevent it.

Three, speaking of Democrats

They’re going to contest the election but they’ll drag it out, zig and zag, to avoid crossing a “red line” that will make it obvious what they’re doing. There will always be a plausible solution to the crisis on the table to muzzle mass mobilization, and a network to push it.

Remember 2016? Remember the Jill Stein recount and the Hamilton electors? Those were both dead ends that were hyped up so people would feel like they didn’t need to protest. They’re going to do the same thing again for 2020 in the immediate aftermath.

Four, in response to a tweet about the nasty guy accusing his predecessor of treason and everyone seems to shrug.

In a functioning country, we’d have journalists pushing back on that. But the media has been taken over by the same criminal network that installed Trump. They will treat this crisis like it’s business as usual, they will normalize atrocities. Anything to keep people calm.

Five

With every day that passes, it should be clear that the people and institutions you were told were playing 4D chess never had a plan to solve the Trump problem. They weren’t on our side. The plan they had was to stall and lead us into a rigged election. A massive betrayal.

And a tweet from Emaz responding to a comment by Franklin about Americans thinking that laws will stop fascism. People have been saying:

Trump can’t win the primary.
Hillary is way ahead.
Mueller will save us.
The intelligence community will save us.
Pelosi will save us.
Our laws will save us.
Our institutions will save us.
Now it’s “Biden will win & Trump will be escorted out.”

I wrote all that, and similar stuff over the last few years, so that you are prepared. I’m also preparing myself. The election will be a mess. The nasty guy will claim victory, even though fraud by him and the GOP is and will be obvious.

This is a crime syndicate. The nasty guy is a member. It has infiltrated the GOP enough that junior members can’t speak out. It has likely infiltrated the Democrats (I’m particularly suspicious of Speaker Pelosi who has done a lot less than she could have).

We have to prepare ourselves to mobilize, starting before the election. The only thing this crime syndicate fears is massive ongoing protests. As a sign of that fear notice how they fought protesters in Portland, OR.

What a black ally looks like

I survived the night under a duvet. The heating repair guy was here shortly after 8:00 this morning. The problem was the thermostat, which has been replaced. My house is warm again. I’m disappointed the old thermostat lasted only 8 years.



The Michigan primary for the Democratic nominee for president is tomorrow.

I’ve said several times over the last year my candidate of choice is Elizabeth Warren. Alas, Super Tuesday happened while I was gone (I did check results the next day) and Warren dropped out. As did Bloomberg (see what spending a half billion got him). Buttigieg and Klobuchar exited just before Super Tuesday (won’t have to type those names for a while). Looks like Steyer disappeared too.

That leaves Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. At one time, back when the Democratic field had two dozen candidates I made a list of how I felt about all of them. Sanders and Biden were at least in the problematic category, perhaps lower (at the top were Warren, Booker, and Castro – no white men). Bernie seemed to be an angry man with a white savior syndrome. Joe couldn’t keep his hands off women (fortunately it was just his hands and just their back or shoulders).

So I am left with a choice between two I don’t like all that well. I like that Bernie wants a revolution in politics, but can’t seem to draw the support to make it happen. In addition, he can’t seem (or doesn’t want) to rein in the misogyny of his most ardent supporters. I don’t like that Joe seems content with restoring a pre nasty guy era, leaving intact many of the things that led to the rise of the nasty guy.

I’ve read the Detroit Free Press endorsement of Biden (though I think their opinion that Joe can reach bipartisan solutions is naive given the current GOP) and what Freep readers say about both men. On my walk this morning I mentally listed advantages and disadvantages of each.

I was able to make my decision after reading a short piece by Cheryl Deniece tweeted by Fernand Amandi. Deniece explained why black people like Biden. He is an old rich white man and he played second fiddle to a powerful, young, smart black man. He did so not for a couple days, but for eight years. Biden did not undermine the black man, but willingly became the wing man. What other “establishment” white politician has ever done that? This is what a black ally looks like.

That explanation earns Joe a vote.

Let there be light

I came home this evening to lights in houses down the street. I opened the door and could hear the radio playing – if it loses power while on there is no way to turn it off. So, yes, I have power. According to the bedroom clock it came on about 2:45 this afternoon. That's more than a day earlier than the electric company originally estimated. Yes, power was back before my cooking session with my friend and debate partner and before my evening in the library.

Alas, the outage trashed my saved browser tabs. So all those wonderful things I was going to tell you about before my travels have been lost. Well, there was one I remembered and found again.

Gary Glenn has been the head of the American Family Association in Michigan, meaning he is the state's top homophobe. He was instrumental in getting the 2004 marriage protection passed here and has been making life as nasty for us as he possibly can. There have been many times in the last dozen years that when Glenn spoke the GOP legislators here jumped to do his bidding. Thankfully, his influence is waning.

But back in the beginning of this month in the Michigan primary, Glenn won the GOP nomination for the state House for the 98th district. That includes Midland and small communities nearby.

I recently received an email (asking for a donation) that said there are several homophobes that won their primary in GOP safe districts. In Glenn's district, however, there is a belief that he can be defeated.

Vote for me!

I heard there are 11 people on the ballot to be the Democratic candidate for state representative of my district. The primary is Tuesday and the incumbent isn't running. I have a pile of campaign flyers and I don't think I've gotten one from each of the candidates yet. The flyers list qualifications and endorsements, then give general platitudes. However, they say little about their views on what I think are important issues.

Twice now when a candidate has been at my door I've stepped out and talked to them. I've asked them about privatization and adding sexual minorities to the Michigan civil rights bill.

The first candidate was pleased I spent the time talking and she thanked me for broadening her view of privatization. She had originally thought lots of things could be privatized given enough legal oversight. I said that when schools are privatized taxpayers now have to pay for profit. When prisons are privatized, the company has incentive to lobby for harsher prison terms. She got the point, but why did she not understand that before? Should I favor her because she gets it now?

The second one was this evening. He understood what I meant by privatization (his wife is a teacher). But he was unaware that sexual minorities are not covered by the state civil rights law. Should I vote for him because he gets it now? Or avoid him because he needed to be educated? This one campaigned with the chief of the fire department, who stood quite straight during our discussion.

A third stopped by a few days ago. I heard her put her flyer in my door, but figured it was a sales flyer. I didn't retrieve it until later. I'm annoyed because my desk is close to the door and if she had glanced in the window she would have seen me and perhaps made a bit more noise. I suppose I should get the doorbell replaced. Alas, her flyer doesn't list contact info.

This is a chance to broaden the diversity of the state House. But in which way? One of the women? The African-American? The Arab-American?

With the way the state is gerrymandered, many of the big races, including this one, will be decided in the primary. Whoever wins the primary will get my vote in November. Which reminds me, I've heard nothing of GOP candidates.

Featuring the kids

Not that long ago, certainly in 2006, when gay couples went to court to demand marriage equality any children of those couples were carefully kept out of sight. There was still lots of talk of same-sex marriage being harmful to kids. The couples didn't want to make the public relations problems worse.

Then last summer in the big equality cases Justice Kennedy wrote that treating same-sex couples differently “humiliates” their kids. In addition the big studies claiming harm to kids have been thoroughly discredited in the media.

And now the kids are featured in these cases. It is a broad statement of this is who you are harming. And our society is geared to protect the kids.

From hiding kids and talk of harm to featuring kids and talk of protection is quite the change in attitudes and perceptions.



Due to Michigan's gerrymandering both of my sisters ended up in the same state senate district. This year Garnet Lewis, a lesbian, is in the race for that district. So be sure to vote in the primary. Alas, I have my suspicions the district is rigged for the GOP so she may not have much chance of winning in November. Other gay and lesbian candidates, of which there are several, might have a better chance.

Obsessed with the Occupy movement

Yeah, I voted in the GOP primary yesterday. I've batten down the hatches in anticipation of GOP robocalls and requests for money. Alas, my candidate got so few votes he wasn't even listed in the statewide results by the Detroit Free Press. And the Freep did list results for Herman Cain, who got 0.1% (Cain -- and Bachmann and Perry -- dropped out after the ballots were printed, a long time ago). I know my candidate, Fred Karger, is still running, because he is fighting to get on the ballot in North Carolina.



Lou Dubose, writing in the March 1 edition of the Washington Spectator (subscription required), notes a big topic at CPAC this past month was how to thoroughly discredit the Occupy movement. Along those lines there is a new movie, Occupy Unmasked, that tries to claim Zuccotti Park was full of rapists and druggies, and where lots of people died. The movie was created by the same people that stung ACORN and did the hit job on Hillary Clinton that became the basis of the Citizens United case. We know how they treat honesty. We also know how many people bothered watching that Hillary movie.

From the Occupy Wall Street blog, there were large Occupy to Shut Down the Corporations protests in Portland, San Diego, New York, Salt Lake City, St. Louis, Kansas City, Atlanta, Charlotte, and elsewhere across the country and around the world. This post includes descriptions and photos (alas, the photos have no captions). Some protests had large crowds.

But nothing was mentioned in the news I heard. Hmm.




I mentioned my favorite animated short film, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, won the Oscar. It is now on YouTube and just as charming the second time. Well worth the 15 minutes.

Political courage

An interesting day -- and I mean that in a good sense. Much of the day was spent in training in how to contact delegates to next year's General Conference. This is the gathering of world-wide United Methodists that has the responsibility of updating the denomination's guiding Book of Discipline that happens every four years. As has happened for the last 36 years there will be an attempt to remove the phrase, "Homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching." This time there is a chance the removal will succeed.

As part of the effort in getting it passed Reconciling Ministries Network and the Methodist Federation for Social Action are training people to contact their local delegates to make sure they know how we feel about particular votes. My area has 8 delegates and 4 alternates. I am to contact two of them, but I'm not the only one to contact those two.

One of the delegates I am to contact is head pastor of the downtown Detroit church. The church is across the street from the Occupy Detroit protests and has opened its doors to the protesters. The church and pastor are already known for their social action, the congregation has already declared they welcome gay people, and his lesbian daughter sat two seats away from me during the training. Some in our group wondered why spend the effort on him, but the national trainer said we are to contact all delegates. So this will be an easy one, though I was warned he might turn the conversation around and question me on whether I'm doing enough.

I don't know much about the other delegate assigned to me, though I hear we will have handbells in common. She is definitely not one to be antagonistic.

This evening was our church Harvest Dinner -- turkey and all that. Much to my surprise my state senator, Glenn Anderson, appeared. One of the people in my Sunday lunch group served a two year term as mayor of the city where the church is. He knows the senator and invited him when they met a couple weeks ago. Anderson brought his wife and a young man. The young man had a name tag declaring him to be a candidate for state House and will run in my district. I sat with them during dinner and learned a few things.

The young man is Cody Bailey and is currently a senior at my undergrad Alma Mater -- yup, he's young. He is hanging around Anderson to get to know how things are done. He begins his own campaign process in January. I've met candidates a year before the election then didn't find them on the ballot, so he may not actually make it.

Though Anderson has a couple more years before he is term-limited in the state Senate he has decided to run for US House. The year of redistricting is the best time to do it, he says. That means he will take on John Conyers, the House member with the second longest service, having been elected in 1965. Conyers' district used to be mostly Detroit and now is half suburban. In addition, he is 82 and showing his age and his wife is in jail. Anderson thinks he has a good chance.

To my friend and debate partner: Anderson is not the one in the Metro Times article you recommended to me. So, yes, there are three, maybe four, Democrats vying for that seat.

Here's a plug for Anderson. Equality Michigan, the group that advocates for gay rights in the state, just had their big gala awards dinner. During that party they gave Anderson an award for political courage.

Get your voter guide right here

Between the Lines has published their voter guide for next week's Michigan primary. I'll let you look up your own district, I'll note that Natalie Mosher, who is taking on Thaddeus McCotter for US House in my district, is endorsed by MI Dem LGBTA Caucus. For the governor's race the Lansing Association for Human Rights PAC has rated Virg Bernero as Extremely Positive.

Here is BTL's endorsement of Virg Bernero. They feel that not only will he fight for gay rights, he is better than Andy Dillon as the one who can lead Michigan back from the financial mess it is in.

And a pair of interviews with Bernero and Dillon. Bernero's brother Victor was gay (died, not ex-gay, he's referred to in the past tense), so supporting our causes comes naturally to him.

In search of a leader

The Detroit Free Press came out with their endorsements for governor of Michigan for both parties. The primary is next week. Here's their reasoning:

For GOP: Pete Hoekstra. He has served in the US Congress, where he's not term limited, and thus has had time to learn how to compromise and negotiate to move legislation. This is in contrast to the state legislators who only learn how to toe the party line because their next job will likely come through lobbyists. Hoekstra is also different because the rest (4 other candidates) think they can force their ideas through on charm or that their ideas are so obviously right everyone will naturally see it.

For Dem: Andy Dillon. He is the current Michigan House Speaker, so has some experience herding cats. He is also willing to buck "common wisdom" and traditional Dem supporters to explore new solutions to Michigan's problems. This editorial works to dispel the myth that Dillon is a wolf in sheep's clothing, that he really is a true progressive who compromises to get some gain rather than stick to beliefs and get no gain. Dillon's only opponent is Virg Bernero, who seems to be grabbing hold of hot issues that aren't the state government's to solve (like Wall Street regulation and federal trade policy).

Michigan has been suffering from a lack of leadership. The current governor is a wimp. Both House and Senate are term-limited, so leaders don't have time to develop beyond their ability to make sure lobbyists are satisfied.

As for my important issues… Hoekstra may know how to compromise, but he is still pushing the GOP party line and is endorsed by the Tea Party. He also supports marriage as one man, one woman (as do the rest of the GOP lineup). Dillon opposes gay marriage, but would not deny benefits. He supports civil unions.

And Bernero supports gay marriage. I hear he had a gay uncle or brother who died in the AIDS crisis a couple decades ago.

My vote will be for Bernero, though I won't have much of a problem supporting Dillon in November if he happens to be the candidate.


Publius allows one (at least in Michigan) to see what exactly will be on the ballot. In addition it has links to Free Press and League of Women Voters evaluations. Alas, I won't have much to vote on because the Dem US House, state House, and state Senate candidates are all unopposed. I had wondered why the Free Press didn't bother printing endorsements in these races. Alas, Natalie Mosher, the Dem being thrown against Thaddeus McCotter for the US House is a nobody. Sigh.

Last man standing

Between the Lines has an article by Eric Rader that reviews the candidates for Michigan Governor. The five candidates on the GOP side can be dispensed with quite quickly, even if one looks only at their record on behalf of gays. Most endorsed Prop. 2, the constitutional gay marriage ban. Mike Cox as Attorney General went so far to say that Prop. 2 also bans domestic partnerships and benefits to same sex couples. Even the "best" of them oppose the anti-bullying bills that can't get through the GOP controlled senate. A pox on the lot of them.

There are only two vying for the Democratic nomination. Andy Dillon's record appears to be a strong effort to water down legislation that would help us. That leaves Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero. He has the most positive gay record out there. He has spoken at Lansing's Michigan Pride rally even before he was a candidate for governor and has consistently supported our efforts.

The primary is August 3. I've heard the idea that since the GOP candidate is almost assured a win on November (a reaction to wimp Granholm), it is a good idea to vote in the GOP primary to get the best GOP candidate. Alas, as far as I can tell, there isn't one.

Michigan primary: What to do?

What's a poor Democrat in Michigan to do? Next Tuesday's primary is a botched affair and leaves few choices.

First, a review of the candidates through the help of columnist Chris Crain from Between the Lines who, alas, only looks at the top 3 candidates. His take:

Clinton: She's even more cautious than Bill. When he brought up gay issues and the GOP pulled out his knives, he backed down and we ended up with Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act. It is doubtful she would fare nearly as well.

Edwards: He says all the right things, but he has a habit (as does Romney and Huckabee) of changing his message according to his audience. We can do without the slipperiness.

Obama: Also says the right things with a few things in his favor. He brings up gay issues before national audiences. He refuses to pander and will not polarize. He sticks to his ideals (though I’m personally annoyed with that ex-gay gospel singer debacle).

Kucinich: The ideal candidate on gay issues, but… At least he recommends Obama as a second choice.

Strange that the Dem candidates have all stated pro-gay platforms on the campaign trail and have been pretty much ignored by the press. The GOP candidates, however, are being grilled on their positions both from the mainstream media to highlight how uniformly anti-gay they are and from conservative commentators who claim the candidates are not anti-gay enough.

But back to the primary dilemma. Since Edwards and Obama have withdrawn their names a write-in vote for them means the ballot will not be counted. That leaves essentially 4 options: (1) Sit out, which has the advantage that my name won't go on a political party "preferred voter" list, (2) vote for Clinton (see above and add in high negative ratings), (3) vote for "uncommitted" (which is a way to embarrass Clinton, but the delegate is free to vote for Clinton anyway), (4) vote for Kucinich. The NewsHits column of Detroit's Metro Times explains why a vote for Kucinich is preferable. Other than getting on that voter list, there is nothing to lose (which is damning with faint praise -- and typical for this political year).