Thoughts for the Day, May 12, 2021: Lindsey Graham is a master at saying whatever benefits him at the time, even if it contradicts something he previously said. See my onion of the day.

Finally, something that makes sense that will help small businesses address the worker shortage issue they are encountering.  Unemployed Michiganders will need to prove they are searching for jobs to continue qualifying for benefits when the state restores a suspended requirement by the end of May.  Employers have been clamoring for this change as they struggle to fill job openings.  This requirement is coming just in time as the tourist, construction and golf seasons in Michigan heat up.

A Georgia prosecutor said on Tuesday that the man accused of killing eight people at spas in and around Atlanta had targeted some of the victims because they were of Asian descent, and said she was planning to seek the death penalty against him. The prosecutor believes the murders were a hate crime. The suspect, Robert Aaron Long, 22, who is white, was formally indicted on murder charges on Tuesday for the killings at three massage businesses in and around Atlanta. More to come as this case moves forward.

The National Rifle Association’s attempt to evade a legal challenge from New York regulators was tossed out by a federal bankruptcy judge on Tuesday in a ruling that cast further doubt on the association’s embattled chief executive, Wayne LaPierre. The ruling was a victory for Letitia James, the New York attorney general, whose office is seeking to remove LaPierre and shut down the gun rights group amid a long-running corruption investigation.  LaPierre, the face of the American gun lobby had sought to end-run Ms. James prosecution by relocating to Texas and filing for bankruptcy there. The testimony over a 12-day trial led the judge, Harlin D. Hale, to declare, “The N.R.A. is using this bankruptcy case to address a regulatory enforcement problem, not a financial one.” Judge Hale, the chief of the federal bankruptcy court in Dallas, also said Mr. LaPierre’s move to file for bankruptcy without telling the association’s board of directors, or his own chief counsel or chief financial officer, was “nothing less than shocking.”  I cannot believe any reasonable board would allow the CEO to remain after doing and end run such as this.   House Republicans voted to oust Representative Liz Cheney from their leadership ranks over her refusal to stay quiet over Trump’s election lies and his role in the January 6 insurrection. The decision took place by voice vote during a brief but raucous closed-door meeting in an auditorium on Capitol Hill, after Ms. Cheney made a defiant final speech that drew boos from her colleagues.  We have not heard the last of Liz Cheney. Tiger Manager A.J. Hinch is going to have his patience tested again and again this season. Last night the Tigers entered the 8th inning with a 7-0 lead over the Kansas City Royals. By the time the Tigers came to bat in the bottom of the 9th inning the score was tied 7-7. Fortunately the Tigers scored in their half of the inning to win 8-7. Hinch praised the team’s ability to fight through adversity and remain focused when they could have gotten frustrated and gave up. He didn’t say anything about the poor pitching and defense that led to the 7 runs the Royals scored in just two innings. The sad part was that Tiger starting pitcher Matthew Boyd pitched six innings of shutout ball and didn’t get credit for the win. The win went to Greg Soto who gave up the tying run in the ninth before getting the final out.

Stay safe, wash your hands regularly, social distance, wear your mask properly and schedule your vaccine.

Orchid of the Day:  Governor Whitmer for reinstituting the “seeking work requirement” for remaining eligible for unemployment benefits.

Onion of the Day:  Lindsey Graham who yesterday said, “The people who try to erase Trump are going to wind up getting erased.”  I guess Graham wants us to forget that he said the following in 2016. “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed…….and we will deserve it.“

Quote of the Day: “While a shutdown that is inconsistent with governing law should be avoided under all circumstances, in any event, there should be no shutdown before the governments of the United States and Canada complete their efforts to resolve this matter, pursuant to their bilateral treaty, which directly addresses transit pipelines such as Line 5,” the Canadian government’s amicus brief filed in federal court in Grand Rapids protesting Governor Whitmer’s executive order shutting down the Line-5 pipeline.