Orchid of the Day: Ronnie Spector,78, lead singer from the Ronettes, who passed away yesterday.
The refusal by Representative Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader, to be interviewed by the House committee scrutinizing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol is not a surprise. No one expected him to voluntarily agree to be interviewed. However, I am surprised that he is denying what he said immediately following last years insurrection. He was caught on tape condemning the insurrection and Donald Trump but a year later he is saying we misinterpreted what he said. How stupid do some politicians think we are?
Hospitals are short-staffed compared to previous stages of the pandemic. Now those shortages are forcing hospitals to close beds, even as more people are getting sick: On Wednesday, the total number of hospital inpatient beds available across Michigan was down 884 compared with the peak of the April 2021 surge. That includes about 250 fewer ICU beds. The loss in hospital bed capacity isn’t because of a shortage of furniture or space. “The limiting factor is almost never space. The limiting factor is people.” said Dr. Darryl Elmouchi, leader of Spectrum Health West Michigan. Elmouchi has been the public face of the hospital system’s pandemic response. In November when he was about to make yet another important announcement of moving to “code red” status for operations he paused not because it was unjustified, but because there was no code past red. “I’d say we’re beyond red now,” Elmouchi said. “So, whatever the shade darker, that’s where we’d have to put ourselves from a staffing standpoint.” Thank you to Bridge Magazine for this story.
Per the Detroit News today, this week marks a year since unprecedented indictments against former DHHS director, Nick Lyon. The case is moving slowly, bogged down by disputes over millions of documents. An attorney for Lyon urged a judge Wednesday to dismiss involuntary manslaughter charges arising from the 2014-15 Flint water crisis, saying the criminal case would have a chilling effect on public employees at all levels of government. On Wednesday, Elizabeth Kelly, a Genesee County judge, heard arguments over whether the charges should stick. Prosecutors have lost key court decisions involving documents that were seized from state offices during the investigation. Search warrants apparently swept up records that include confidential communications involving lawyers during the Snyder administration, including Flint water issues and even the Detroit bankruptcy. Kelly recently ordered the attorney general’s office to set up an independent team to comb through records that could violate attorney-client privilege. It could cost millions of dollars. It has been nearly seven years that Nick and his family have been held in legal limbo. He has been denied his right to a speedy trial. The charges against him are not valid and should be dropped immediately.
The Justice Department and FBI took a major step today in its investigation into the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol as Stewart Rhodes, the leader and founder of the far-right Oath Keepers militia, was arrested on Thursday and charged along with 10 others with seditious conspiracy over what prosecutors said was their wide-ranging plot to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6 last year and disrupt the certification of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s electoral victory. These arrests are a big deal. I am sure there are certain politicians who are feeling the investigation closing in on them.
What are you doing today to stop violence? What are you doing today to expand mental health services for those in need? What are you doing today to make sure your guns are not are accessible to minors in your household?
Stay Safe. Social Distance. Wear your mask when indoors in public places. Schedule your vaccine and booster.
Quote of the Day: “Michiganders deserve unbiased policing, transparency and accountability from their state police, and that’s what they’re going to get,” State Police Director Col. Joseph Gasperr said during a Wednesday media event outlining the problems identified in a recent report about racial bias in traffic stops by state police troopers.
Onion of the Day: Prince Andrew who has been forced to relinquish his military titles and royal charities and can no longer use the title “His Royal Highness,” per an official statement coming from Buckingham Palace.