Have you had a chance to look at the other State Open Threads lately? There are some fabulous activities going on in other parts of the country led and/or promoted by Kossacks. Here are just two of them, from recent coverage:
WASHINGTON STATE Open Thread — Want 500,000+ new voters in WA State?
North Carolina Open Thread: Municipal Elections 2015
Please check them out--and then come back to let us know if there are analogs of these projects you would like us to take on in Michigan.
We don't have a one-size-fits-all solution available to us, to get us out of the very deep hole we're now in relative to the crises we are facing. From virtually unchecked police brutality taking down hundreds of black and brown Americans every year, to the refusal of the recalcitrant states refusing to permit expanded Medicaid coverage to their citizens, to the virulent war on women that seems only to increase in deviousness, to the increasing evidence of worsening and accelerating climate change--and you know I've left out a few--there is no shortage of causes we could choose to focus on here in Michigan.
It might be especially appropriate for us to concentrate our immediate efforts on protecting democracy, especially since we have already served as a laboratory for restricting it (via the many Emergency Manager takeovers and the voiding of the citizen referendum that would have ended them). Or to have us take the lead in calling for the safeguard of our fresh water resources, ensuring that access to clean and safe water is considered a human right, not a commodity controlled by the market. We've had bitter experience with that issue, too.
There are other possibilities. What say you? What's happening in your part of the state that you'd like to see us take up collectively?
We have a powerful and wide-reaching megaphone here. How do you want to make the best use of it?
In a few short days, we will be having our inaugural meetups in Northwestern Michigan and in Western Michigan. Here are the details:
Friday, August 14th, at 4:00 PM, at the Democratic Party HQ for Benzie County, 9930 Honor Highway, Honor, MI. It's between Indian Hill Road and the Cherry Bowl Drive-In on the North side of the road. Afterwards, anyone who’s able to stick around can regroup nearby at Papa J’s [no relation to Papa John's!] for a great meal and more stimulating conversation.
Saturday, August 15th, 2:00 PM, at a private residence in Holland, MI. (RSVP for the address & to let the host know how many to expect for lunch :)
Operators are standing by now for your RSVPs. :) It's always fun to talk politics; even more fun to talk about how we are going to turn MI Blue again, starting with flipping the MI House. Please join us so that we can work together toward those goals.
Please help us build this weekly Michigan thread so that it includes relevant to turning MI Blue again that you would like me to highlight. MI contributors always welcome!
You can reach me through kosmail at peregrine kate.
Or say hi through email here: peregrinekate@gmail.com
And please follow me on Twitter @peregrinekate
(though I do confess I have a looong way to go before I use Twitter effectively.)
I'll start off the conversation by asking what your favorite summertime destination in Michigan is. Home, or away? What do you like to do there, see there, hear there?
I like to spend at least some time at the lakeshore. One of the big lakes, that is, preferably Michigan or Superior. (I'm not a morning person, alas, so it's sunsets for me.) I'm planning to head out that way two weekends in a row, just to hang out on the beach for a few hours each time. Amazing how refreshing a short time away can be, isn't it?
Glad you're here. Hope all's well. I'm all ears.