“In any event, bad policy alone would not be grounds for an investigation by my office. The suggestion that these public health policy decisions, by themselves, should be investigated because different approaches could have resulted in fewer deaths is inappropriate and violates well-established ethical guidelines for investigations by law enforcement agencies.” Dana Nessel to Republican legislators who asked her to investigate Governor Whitmer’s covid-19 policies related to the use of nursing homes. Unfortunately for former Republican governor Rick Snyder and former head of DHS, Nick Lyon, AG Nessel did not apply these same principles when it came to filing criminal charges against them in the Flint Water Crisis. This strengthens my belief that the charges against Snyder and Lyon are politically motivated.
The lack of transparency in the top levels of Michigan’s state government continues to be under fire. Per the Detroit News. the Michigan Legislature has rejected more than 130 bills aimed at boosting transparency and ethics in government since a national nonprofit organization rated the state last in the the subjects six years ago. The statistic shows Michigan officeholders’ ongoing resistance to laws that would provide the public more information about their decisions, including disclosing their communications and revealing potential conflicts of interest. Similar measures have already been enacted in the wide majority of other states. Michigan is one of only two states that fully exempt lawmakers and the governor’s executive office from Freedom of Information Act requests, meaning they don’t have to release internal emails and other documents, like most state agencies. Michigan is also one of two states that don’t require lawmakers to file any type of personal financial disclosure to shield against potential conflicts of interest. And it’s among a minority of states that place no restrictions on departing legislators becoming registered lobbyists. Do you think the Senate has our best interests at heart?
New York governor Andrew Cuomo continues to be under fire for his misrepresenting nursing home deaths as a result of Covid-19 and as a result of some inappropriate behavior toward women. Even state Democrats are calling for his resignation. However, a recent survey shows that 50% of the electorate do not want him to resign and only 35% say he should resign. The odds are against Cuomo according to the traders of PredictIt, a political predictions market that’s more or less a sportsbook for policy wonks. The traders put the odds that the Cuomo stays in office through 2021 at just 28% as of Saturday morning.
Speaking of odds, I was shocked to see that the Michigan Wolverines are tied with Baylor for the second best odds to win the NCAA basketball tournament per Fan Duel Sports Book, even after the injury to Isiah Livers. Only Gonzaga has better odds. I am not in a hurry to place my money on Michigan.
Stay safe. Wash your hands regularly. Social distance. Wear your mask properly. Schedule your vaccine.
Quote of the Day: “How in the hell do these other 48 states work?” asked state Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, a champion of the open government legislation. “Obviously, they’ve figured out how to make transparency work.”
Orchid of the Day: Hunter Dickinson, Michigan’s freshman center for being named second team AP all-american.
Onion of the Day: Purdue Pharma for their role in the opioid crisis. Purdue Pharma is trying to end thousands of lawsuits over its role in the opioid crisis. The company presented a plan that would end the Sackler family’s control of the company and would direct revenue toward abating the addiction epidemic which they played a significant role in creating.