Thoughts for the Day, February 4, 2025: Michigan politics is screwed up beyond recognition.

Our state government is screwed up beyond recognition.

Only in Michigan would this happen.

Yesterday, the Democrat controlled Senate sued the Republican controlled House for not bringing forward 9 bills that were passed in 2024 by both chambers, but have been sent to the governor for signature. The Democrats in their suit say the Michigan Constitution says each bill "passed by the Legislature shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the governor."

The Democrats are saying the Republican controlled House is ignoring its constitutional responsibilities by not forwarding the bills to the governor for signature.

The senate Democrats are missing one important fact in their suit. The Democrats controlled both chambers when the bills were passed, but the Democrat Speaker of the House, Joe Tate, refused to forward the bills for the governor’s signature. Where was their lawsuit in 2024 when the legislation was passed? Why wasn’t Governor Whitmer demanding that Joe Tate send the legislature to her for signature? These are my Questions of the Day.

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If I lived in the U.S. leading up to our revolution, what side would I have been on?

This is a question I have pondered many times in my life. Would I have seen through the rhetoric and lies of the British government and the King of England? Would I have recognized the dangers of remaining under British rule? Would I have spoken out and become a member of the resistance? Or, would I have remained silent for the safety of myself and my family? Would I have fought for the revolution, or would I have supported the King and British rule? Would I have been willing to put my life on the line as a revolutionary?

I first started asking similar questions of myself in the late 60s and early 70s as the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement were taking place. In those early years, I tended to follow the views of my parents, which were to support our government leaders. It wasn’t until I was out on my own, out from under my parents’ roof that I started to develop my own views that were different than my parents. I started to develop views that were supportive of MLK and the civil rights movements. I supported the anti-war movement. After Watergate and Nixon, I realized that government is fallible and must earn our respect. Supporting our government blindly is a mistake.

We are at a similar crossroads now. Things are happening now which can easily be justified if I lose compassion for those in need and those who immigrated to our country to improve their lives, like most of our great-great-grandparents. Decisions are being made that are not for the benefit of the whole of our country but instead, are for the benefit of a certain segment of our country. Will I remain silent and accept what is happening or will I push back?

I have chosen to fight what is happening. I have chosen to speak out. I have chosen to resist. I have chosen to inform others about what is going on in our federal and state governments, when it grows contrary to my beliefs. I have chosen to follow the advice of John Pavlovitz.

Today is an important day.

Today there will be more entrepreneurial malevolence generated by those in power, there will be more unhinged social media ramblings designed to distract and distort, there will be a disheartening newsfeed waiting to pummel you with novel atrocities, there will be a flood of such shocking unkindness that you will be tempted to relent to it all.

Please don't.

Refuse to make peace with such madness today.

Allow yourself to be newly outraged, to be deeply grieved again, to get sickened at the sight of it all once more—and let that fuel your activism.

Transform all that outrage and grief and sickness into a fitting and visible response against what should not be abided by decent human beings.

Do this to stay tethered to your humanity, do it so that those who are under duress right now will know they're not alone, and do it so that the exhausted people around you are reminded that the cruelty they are slowly growing accustomed to isn't to be accepted.

Mass deportations are not normal.

A Cabinet filled with billionaires and insurrectionists is not normal.
Hungry children and sick seniors being cut off from aid is not normal.

Massive internment camps are not normal.

Already vulnerable people being preyed upon by our government is not normal.

White Christian nationalism shaping our legislation is not normal.
A President live-tweeting his sociopathy and mental degradation is not normal.

This is not at all normal.

And the greatest collective and individual sin of those of us witnessing it all, would be to let it become normal.

So, sustain your anger, hold on to your soul, and refuse to grow comfortable with this madness.

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Let the lawsuits begin

From the NY Times tonight, Workers from across the federal government set off a legal counteroffensive against President Trump and Elon Musk on Tuesday, challenging the legality of efforts to raze their agencies, single them out publicly or push them out of their jobs.

The raft of lawsuits, filed by F.B.I. agents, public sector unions, representatives of older Americans and liberal-leaning legal groups, hinges on fine points of law that deal with matters ranging from the privacy of taxpayer data to intricacies of federal rule-making. But together, they amount to the opening shots in an emerging legal battle over the constitutional order, checks and balances and the founders’ vision of the separation of powers.

It will be up to the courts to decide whether the president has the power to not only direct the executive branch, but also to forcefully recast it in his own image. It may also be up to the judicial branch of government to find a way to ensure that its own decisions are enforced.

In short order on Tuesday, three government unions sued the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, or OPM — the federal government’s human resources division — to block an effort to convince roughly two million federal employees to resign from their jobs early.

Two groups of F.B.I. agents and bureau employees sued to block Mr. Trump from releasing the names of agents and staff members who participated in the investigations into the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, trying to head off what they fear is a looming purge.

Labor unions and a retirees’ group sued the Treasury Department to restrict access to sensitive Treasury systems that contain the private information of millions of Americans — and that the plaintiffs say may have already been compromised by Mr. Musk’s employees through what he has labeled the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

Separately, a group of transgender plaintiffs led by advocacy organizations and the American Civil Liberties Union sued to block Mr. Trump’s order to defund gender-transition treatments for people under the age of 19. Two other pending lawsuits seek to block an executive order that would require the Bureau of Prisons to transfer trans female inmates to men’s prisons. On Tuesday evening, one of those suits won a temporary restraining order, signed by Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the District of Columbia. It bars the Justice Department from transferring trans women to men’s facilities or denying them gender-transition treatments, as mandated by one of Mr. Trump’s executive orders.

Earlier, two federal employees, using pseudonyms, sued OPM to block the agency’s access to the email address that sent the governmentwide resignation offer, which was similar to one Mr. Musk had sent to Twitter’s employees after acquiring the company.

As these cases work their way through our courts, we will find out how strong courts will be in curtailing the power of the executive branch of the U.S government. We will also find out how far the courts will go to enforce their decisions when they go against the Trump/Musk presidency.

This issue will be dominating the news media for months to come.

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Quote of the Day: “And the greatest collective and individual sin of those of us witnessing it all, would be to let it become normal.” John Pavlovitz in his blog, The Beautiful Mess

Orchid of the Day: Those who are pushing back on Trump/Musk by filing lawsuits against many of Trump’s executive orders from last week.

Onion of the Day: The Democrats in both chambers of the Michigan legislature. See above story.

Lyrics of the Day: Yeah, I'm sittin' on this barstool Talkin' like a damn fool. Got the twelve o'clock news blues. And I've given up hope On the afternoon soaps And a bottle of cold brew. Is it any wonder I'm not crazy. Is it any wonder I'm sane at all.

Well, I'm so tired of losin'. I got nothin' to do. With all day to do it.Well, I'd go out cruisin'. But I've no place to go. And all night to get there

Answer to Lyrics of the Day for February 3, 2025, “Who are you” by the Who. My favorite Who song.

Question of the Day: Where was their lawsuit in 2024 when the legislation was passed? Why wasn’t Governor Whitmer demanding that Joe Tate send the legislature to her for signature in 2024 when it passed? See above about the Michigan legislature.

Video of the Day: Shaboozey's FULL Thanksgiving Halftime Show. This should have been the Song of the Year at the 2025 Grammy’s

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