Michigan

Howdy! I am planning to move to the southeast part of Michigan around this new years. I am excited to get out of my state and see what other parts of the USA have to offer. But one thing that really worries me, and that I wanted to reach out about, is the winters in the north.

I'm moving from Texas, so for the most part, snow or ice is rare, and it usually meant the whole city shut down for a few days if it happened that year. And now I need to coordinate a moving truck up to Michigan, which from what I know, snow is to be expected? Do y'all have any tips for dealing with this?

I'll also be moving into a suburb area, is there anything I need to know about that? I've heard shoveling snow is kinda important, is that true? How often do you need to shovel snow?

Thanks y'all

For those not in the know: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howell,_Michigan#20th_century

They are probably right,

“Wayne Disposal is a Subtitle C landfill that is highly engineered with multiple safety measures in place and frequent inspections...It’s probably vast overkill, but that’s okay

but getting ahead of the OMGosh! greatlakesnow.org/2024/08/sout… @michigan

of course what Miller misses is that all of this government oversight really messes with the actual price of water. I for one suspect water is far greater value than the capitalists claim candgnews.com/news/miller-advo…

Republicans and Democrats qualify for the ballot automatically. The West campaign did the hard work by collecting over 25,000 signatures of Michigan voters attesting they think their neighbors should have a right to vote for him, but the SOS denies that because an official in Colorado didn't dot her i's correctly. freep.com/story/news/politics/…

Always wondered what happened to them. So happy they're safe & sound!

Michigan is famous for its fruit festivals. Visitors can sample cherries at the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City or blueberries at the National Blueberry Festival in South Haven.

The Apple Festival in Charlevoix and the Romeo Peach Festival feature fruit later in the season.

As a diverse crop-producing state and the top producer of asparagus in the country, Michigan has an agricultural scenery that is a picturesque blend of crop fields and fruit trees.

However, beneath this facade lies a harsh reality of precarious work and exploitative labor practices for Michigan’s farmworkers, who are often invisible to people who enjoy the fruits of their labors, according to the Michigan Farmworker Project’s ongoing research.

Let me recommend: Bill's Hot Dog Stand in Ypsilanti.

It's a drive-in. Open your window and eat in the parking lot. Get their dogs with everything on it + a mug of root beer. If you don't eat dogs, at least get the root beer!!! I don't even like root beer that much, but I now dream about the root beer from Bill's.

Absolute reasonable prices, too: got 4 dogs & 2 mugs of root beer for around 10$ total!

What's your recommendation for unexpectedly good food in Michigan?

Michigan lawmakers didn’t just pass an $83 billion budget early Thursday, they also approved nearly 100 other bills during a marathon 19-hour session before finally breaking for summer recess.

Some of the bigger policy changes, such as opening the Legislature and governor’s office to Freedom of Information Act requests and expanding unemployment benefits to 26 weeks, made immediate headlines.

Read on to learn more about the "Taylor Swift bot ban" and the bill against the ludicrous "Gay Panic Defense."

Anger or hatred is like the fisherman's hook. It is very important for us to ensure that we are not caught by it. -- Gautama Buddha
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

According to the state, a small population of juvenile spotted lanternfly was recently detected in Lambertville [Monroe County]. The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the findings last week.

~Adult~ ~spotted~ ~lanternfly.~ ~Photo:~ ~Pennsylvania~ ~Department~ ~of~ ~Agriculture,~ ~bugwood.org~

“The infestation was detected through spotted lanternfly monitoring traps deployed by Michigan State University (MSU), as part of collaborative survey initiatives with MSU, MDARD, and the USDA,” MDARD’s Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division Director. Steve Carlson said in a statement. “This work is a critical component of our ongoing efforts to identify and limit the spread of spotted lanternfly in Michigan.”

The spotted lanternfly is an invasive plant hopper native to eastern Asia. It was first found in the U.S. in 2014 and spread rapidly.

See it. Squish it. Report it.

According to Michigan.gov's Michigan Invasive Species website…

Spotted lanternfly feeds on more than 70 different plants including grapes, apples, hops and hardwood trees. The insects cause direct damage by sucking sap from host plants and secreting large amounts of a sugar-rich, sticky liquid called honeydew. This honeydew and the resulting black sooty mold can kill plants and foul surfaces. The honeydew often attracts other pests like yellow jackets, flies, and ants, affecting outdoor recreation and complicating crop harvests.

Anger or hatred is like the fisherman's hook. It is very important for us to ensure that we are not caught by it. -- Gautama Buddha
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

If you need a car or truck, can't afford the massive depreciation hit from a new vehicle but want to express pride in Michigan's manufacturing base, you still have options.

Assembly

Components

Propulsion

Stampings

Tooling

Logistics

Testing

Other Facilities

Archaeologists made an intriguing find this week at Michigan's Colonial Michilimackinac, Mackinac State Historic Parks officials said, an 18th century brass trade ring.

Researchers with the archaeological program at the Mackinaw City museum identified the piece as a trade good sometimes known as a "Jesuit Ring," parks officials announced in a press release.

"It's incredibly exciting," Dominick Miller, chief of marketing for Mackinac State Historic Parks, told The Detroit News.

Possibly following in the traditions of Christmas decorations in November and summer Black Friday sales, some municipalities have been celebrating American Independence Day weeks in advance. Much of a super-genius as I am, I never really understood what's the rush. In any case, the linked article from our pals over at BridgeMichigan lists the pyrotechnic spectacles planned and already passed here in the Great State of Talktothehand-and-Belial.

Just to—ehmmm—present the other side of the coin for those who appreciated a pretty explosion, here's Planet Detroit's "Michigan fireworks add to air quality problems".

Screw humans: maybe it is time to consider a different way to celebrate the Fourth of July: from the Humane Society: "Fireworks: An explosion of fear for animals"

Oh, and a premature Happy Canada Day to our friends to the North…uh, and South! You know…the ones with better beer and better health care…

What We Want Now
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation on Wednesday — which also was Juneteenth — to celebrate the contributions of Black athletes in the Negro National League. The Detroit Stars was one of the original eight teams represented at the birth of the league in 1920.

May 2 will be known as “Negro Leagues Day” in Michigan, the day in 1920 that its first game was played.

Rep. Helena Scott (D-Detroit) who sponsored the legislation to recognize the league, told a legislative committee in May 2023 that the league and its athletes stood up against racism and pursued greatness. “Without the influence of these exceptional players and the Negro League, Major League Baseball wouldn’t be what it is today, and America wouldn’t be the country that it is today,” Scott said during a state House Governmental Operations Committee hearing last year.

Be vigilant; guard your mind against negative thoughts. -- Gautama Buddha
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

From our friends over at BridgeMichigan, Sneha Dhandapani writes about the spreading idea in the Michigan legislature of a statewide ban on cellphones in school. Some state representatives and school districts don't think that's such a good idea…

While there is currently no bill in the Legislature to implement a statewide ban in Michigan, some individual schools and districts are experimenting with the policy, hoping to improve academics and curb rising levels of anxiety and depression tied to social media.

A study by Central Michigan University surveyed more than 600 students between seventh and 12th grade and found learning increased with a decrease in smartphone use, including at school and during homework. A separate study found that students who did not have cell phones in a classroom had higher levels of course comprehension, lower levels of anxiety and higher levels of mindfulness than those with cell phones.

Whether you're a parent or not, aren't higher comprehension, lower anxiety and higher mindfulness qualities we want in our students?

State Rep. Matt Koleszar, D-Plymouth, a former teacher, said he “would be uncomfortable with a state mandate on (cell phone bans in classrooms) as no two communities are the same.” Koleszar emphasized support for local control and allowing teachers to make their own decisions regarding cell phone use policy.

[Rep. Brad Paquette, R-Niles,] called a potential statewide ban “one of the worst ideas that we could come up with as legislators.” He emphasized that allowing schools and districts to make their own decisions regarding cell phone policy is important because “this is a cultural learning issue where kids are gonna have to learn how to deal with these distractors at some point in their life.”

Ironically enough, Rep Paquette, one of your own proposed exactly this idea in 2022…

In Michigan, then-state Rep. Gary Eisen, R-St. Clair Township, sponsored a 2022 bill that would have required districts to prohibit cell phone use during the school day. The proposal died in committee, however.

One of the weakest excuses I've heard against any cellphone ban is from parents, saying "what if I need to contact my child in case of an emergency?!" Is calling the school not an option?

My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I'm happy. I can't figure it out. What am I doing right? -- Charles Schulz
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Following up on !michigan@midwest.social post Tribes urge U.S. to weigh in on Line 5 case as appeal sits in court, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has dragged back kicking and screaming a court case that should have never left the State judicial system…

“This case never should have left state court in the first place, and after this long delay caused by Enbridge’s procedural manipulations, we’re elated to welcome Nessel v. Enbridge back to its rightful judicial venue,” Nessel said in a statement. “The State has an obligation and imperative to protect the Great Lakes from the threat of pollution, especially the devastating catastrophe a potential Line 5 rupture would wreak upon all of Michigan. As we’ve long argued, this is a Michigan case brought under Michigan law that the People of Michigan and its courts should rightly decide.”

~645~ ~miles~ ~from~ ~Superior~ ~to~ ~Sarnia.~ ~Graphic:~ ~Laina~ ~G~ ~Stebbins~

When a coalition of 63 tribal nations from the U.S. and Canada submitted a brief in support of returning the case to state court, David Gover, managing attorney for the Native American Rights Fund said in a statement that a rupture in the pipeline would destroy the right to hunt, fish gather and continue living in land ceded by the Anishinaabe in 1836.

“This is another step towards enforcing the permanent shut down of Line 5. We appreciate Attorney General Nessel’s persistence in the fight to protect our waters from a catastrophic oil spill in the heart of the Great Lakes,” [legislative and political director for the Michigan Sierra Club Christy] McGillivray said. “Michiganders have every right to protect themselves from the most dangerous oil pipeline in America, and Attorney General Nessel is representing the will of the Michiganders she works for. It’s past time Line 5 was shut down once and for all.”

Everything I say is a lie…
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Some days, those who would ~~command~~ ~~govern~~ represent us just make it too easy for, among other things, finding "post fodder."

In the shadow of Michael William Nash's demonstration of his 2^nd^ Amendment rights on Saturday, according to The News…

Twelve Michigan House Republicans have sponsored a bill this month to the name the AR-15 "the official rifle of this state," drawing criticism from opponents who labeled the proposal unserious and inappropriate.

For those who don't know, the AR-15 is a semi-automatic rifle. Bear that in mind when reading the following.

State Rep. Brian BeGole, R-Antrim Township, a former Shiawassee County sheriff, was the primary backer of the AR-15 measure and said in a statement issued Tuesday that thousands of people in Michigan own an AR-15. […] “This distinction recognizes these law-abiding gun owners who are often vilified just for having a firearm as a hobbyist or to keep their homes and families safe," BeGole said.

That's some hobby. Keep their homes and families safe. Safe from the government BeGole has represented most of his life, according to the oft-debated 2^nd^ Amendment.

However, Ryan Bates, director of End Gun Violence Michigan, said BeGole's bill was about "worshiping the rifle that is the preferred weapon of mass shooters." […] Bates noted that on Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on bump stocks, a rapid-fire gun accessory that was used in a mass shooting at a music festival Las Vegas in 2017.

"That shooter used 23 AR-style rifles modified with bump stocks to kill 58 people and injure nearly 500 in mere minutes," Bates said. "We now live in a world where any deranged person can turn an AR-style rifle into a machine gun capable of firing 400-800 rounds per minute, a level of firepower that quite simply overwhelms law enforcement."

We all know that rabbit and pheasant can get pretty mean. And who doesn't like their venison pre-ground? To quote my favorite philosopher and thinker, myself…

It’s forever High Noon in this nation of cowboys.

Ah, almost forgot! Use it everyday!

Alt link for your convenience via archive.is

If you can't see the crazy person on the bus, it's you.
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