It is not often I pay attention to speeches by politicians, but this speech by Mallory McMarrow, Michigan Democratic State Senator from Royal Oak, got my attention thanks to a referral by my good friend Nancy Murray. As a result, I am starting out today’s blog by giving McMarrow my Orchid of the Day and sharing her speech as my Video of the Day. It is worth every second of your time.
Orchid of the Day: Mallory McMarrow for her speech yesterday in the Michigan Senate.
Video of the Day: Mallory McMarrow’s speech. It is special.
https://news.yahoo.com/michigan-state-senator-pushes-back-143048001.html
As a follow up to my blogs from last week about the hazards of driving while black. Here is a something that made me think. A 2020 national study of more than 100 million traffic stops found that Black drivers were 20 percent more likely to be stopped than white drivers relative to their share of the residential population. Black drivers also were 1.5 times more likely to be searched than white drivers, though they were less likely to be carrying drugs or guns. That is right, they were less likely to be carrying drugs or guns. I am pretty sure this does not fall within the normal thinking. Grand Rapids has known of such disparities for years, including in its own police department. In 2017, the city released a study showing that Black drivers were twice as likely to be pulled over by Grand Rapids Police as white drivers and more likely to be searched than non-Black drivers. The study was part of an effort to reduce bias in the department. Driving while black is an issue in this country whether some of us want to admit it or not.
After reading the following article in The Guardian today, I cannot imagine the emotions that must be going through this Ukraine marine commander knowing that it is most like his days and those of his troops are numbered, and his life will most likely end.
A Ukrainian marine commander fighting in Mariupol has said his forces are “maybe facing our last days, if not hours”, as another Russian ultimatum to the remaining Ukrainian troops in the besieged port city to surrender or die expired with no mass capitulation. “The enemy is outnumbering us 10 to one,” Serhiy Volyna, a commander from the 36th separate marine brigade, said in a video message posted on Facebook. “We appeal and plead to all world leaders to help us. We ask them to use the procedure of extraction and take us to the territory of a third-party state.”
Two former Tiger aces are off to good starts this season. Max Scherzer is 3-0 for his new team the Mets. Yesterday, he had a no hitter through five innings and then gave up his only run in the sixth inning before being removed. Justin Verlander is 1-1 so far but has only given up 6 hits over 13 innings and has a WHIP of 0.69. Verlander, 39, has not pitched in nearly two years following Tommy John surgery in 2020. Verlander is contracted to make $25 million this year. Last year, he made $33 million even though he did not pitch one inning. Scherzer,37, is also coming off an injury sustained in last years playoffs. Scherzer was unable to pitch last year in the World Series for the Dodgers. Scherzer is contracted to make $43 million in the current season and in each of the next two seasons. And that is why they are no longer Tigers.
Pray for peace and tolerance. What are you doing to stop the violence? Get vaccinated and get your booster.
Onion of the Day: Miguel Cabrera. After collecting his 2,997th hit tonight with and infield single in the second inning, Miggy was thrown out trying to go from first to third on an RBI single by Victor Reyes. It was the first out of the inning, which is one of those unwritten rules in baseball, “You never make the first out at third” because it can kill a rally. Instead of having one run in with two on and nobody out, the Tigers had one out and a guy on first. Reyes was thrown out trying to steal second for the second out. If Miggy doesn’t get thrown out at third, Reyes doesn’t get thrown out as second and then the walk to Torkelson would have filled the bases with nobody out. Rally killed because Cabrera gets thrown out at third for the first out of the inning. And that is why it is an unwritten rule in baseball.
Quote of the Day: “Shut up, sit down and take notes.“ The response to my friend, Dan Jeffery, by his 94 year-old mother after he told his mother he would talk to the hospital doctor after finding out his 94 year old father had pneumonia. When the doctor came in she then proceeded to give the doctor a piece of her mind using words that are not fit for this blog.
Questions of the Day: How many people knew that black drivers who are pulled over for traffic violations are less likely to have drugs or guns than whites?