ReportWire

Tag: Hamtramck

  • 80-year-old Detroit-area bakery expands – Detroit Metro Times

    [ad_1]

    A long-standing Detroit-area bakery known for its hot dog buns has expanded, boosting its production capacity and hiring 25 more workers.

    Hamtramck’s Metropolitan Baking Company says its recently completed expansion project added 37,000 square feet of state of the art facilities to its original location, growing its capacity by nearly 40%.

    The 80-year-old business is known for providing steamed hot dog buns to local coney island restaurants. It now provides buns, rolls, and other bread products to restaurants and schools across the U.S. Its hot dog buns are even served in New York City’s Yankee Stadium.

    The family-run company was founded in 1945 and originally operated out of two Hamtramck homes.

    “My father, Jim, had the vision to more fully automate the plant and is now beaming with pride,” MBC president George Kordas, who is the grandson of the company’s founder, said in a statement. “I wish my grandfather could see this moment — the shiny new state of the art facilities and our reach across the country would certainly impress him, but what would matter most is knowing that Metropolitan still carries forward his passion for quality baking and his respect for the people who make it possible — our employees and our loyal customers.”

    Kordas said the expansion includes a new break room and lockers for its staff, most of which come from the community and live within five miles of the bakery. The expansion also features new shipping docks that will lessen the impact of trucks on neighborhood streets, he added.

    “We have an incredible, dedicated team, which is why we were confident in this latest expansion,” he said. 

    According to Kordas, the bakery produces 240 dozen buns per minute and roughly 140 loaves of bread per minute, working nearly round the clock six days a week and using roughly 800,000 lbs of flour. 

    Its products are primarily sold under the Kordas brand name. In addition to hot dog buns, its products include Pullman breads, brioche buns, Kaiser rolls, and more.

    Kordas said the company is debt-free and has “a conservative attitude,” declining grants and other opportunities on principle — including a potential incentive from the Michigan Agriculture Commission.

    “Our view is that a financially stable city can do more for its people and infrastructure, better schools and improved public safety,” Kordas said. “Hamtramck has been good to us — it’s a wonderful community — and the last thing we want to do is slow down progress. Instead, we want to grow opportunities and take our Detroit pride to customers across the country.”


    [ad_2]

    Lee DeVito

    Source link

  • Federal judge upholds Hamtramck’s Pride flag ban, dismisses lawsuit

    [ad_1]

    A federal judge on Monday upheld Hamtramck’s ban on flying Pride flags on city property, dismissing a lawsuit that argued the restriction was unconstitutional. 

    U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson said the city’s flagpoles are reserved for government speech, not a public forum for residents. 

    In his 12-page opinion, Lawson ruled against Hamtramck Human Relations Commission members Russ Gordon and Cathy Stackpoole, both of whom filed the lawsuit in November 2023. In an act of defiance, Gordon and Stackpoole displayed a Pride flag on public property on Joseph Campau Avenue on July 9. Two days later, the city council removed the pair from the commission.

    As a matter of law, the plaintiffs’ claims under the First and Fourteenth Amendments fail, the judge ruled, saying the “well-settled rule that government speech in a nonpublic forum is not subject to First Amendment regulation.” 

    The ruling is a victory for mayor Amer Ghalib and Hamtramck’s all-Muslim city council, which in June 2023 unanimously adopted a “flag neutrality” ordinance allowing only government and national flags to be displayed on public poles. Although the resolution barred religious, political, and ethnic flags, it was widely understood to target the Pride flag after months of heated debate in the city, where more than half of the residents are believed to be Muslim. 

    In their lawsuit, Gordon and Stackpoole argued the flag ban violated their free speech and equal protection rights. 

    “It is unconstitutional for the government to select what speech will be permitted, and what speech will be prohibited, based on the content or viewpoint of the message conveyed by the speech,” the lawsuit alleged.

    But Lawson rejected that argument, holding that Hamtramck was entitled to close the flagpoles to private expression and reclaim them “for government speech.”

    “The First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause does not prevent the government from declining to express a view,” the judge wrote. 

    Lawson also dismissed claims that the ordinance favored religion or discriminated against LGBTQ+ residents, noting that the resolution only authorized American, Michigan, Hamtramck, and Prisoner of War flags, along with flags of nations reflecting the city’s international character.

    Police remove an LGBTQ+ Pride flag in Hamtramck. Credit: Viola Klocko

    “No such transparent motive to advance religiosity is patent in the resolution entered here, which did not endorse the flying of any banner representing any religious sect or creed, and where the roster of flags prescribed consists exclusively of secular standards of local, state, national, and international entities,” Lawson wrote. 

    City attorney Odey K. Meroueh said the decision vindicated the city’s policy. 

    “Today’s ruling confirms that Hamtramck has the right to decide what it communicates on its own property,” Meroueh said in a written statement. “The Court’s decision vindicates Mayor Amer Ghalib and the City Council for adopting a neutral policy that treats every group and every viewpoint the same. The plaintiffs were removed from their appointed seats on the Human Relations Commission because they knowingly violated a valid rule while acting in their official roles. This case was about neutral rules, fair enforcement, and responsible city governance, not about suppressing anyone’s speech.”

    The case highlights a growing cultural clash in Hamtramck, where conservative Muslims have teamed up with right-wing groups opposing LGBTQ+ rights. Since the 2023 ban, residents have reported vandalism of Pride flags on private property and growing hostility toward LGBTQ+ people. 

    The ordinance reversed a 2021 council vote that allowed the Pride flag to fly outside City Hall. That decision was one of the final acts of then-Mayor Karen Majewski, who lost reelection after Ghalib campaigned against the flag policy.


    [ad_2]

    Steve Neavling

    Source link

  • Federal judge upholds Hamtramck’s Pride flag ban, dismisses lawsuit

    [ad_1]

    Viola Klocko

    Someone waves a Pride flag in front of Hamtramck City Hall.

    A federal judge on Monday upheld Hamtramck’s ban on flying Pride flags on city property, dismissing a lawsuit that argued the restriction was unconstitutional.

    U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson said the city’s flagpoles are reserved for government speech, not a public forum for residents.

    In his 12-page opinion, Lawson ruled against Hamtramck Human Relations Commission members Russ Gordon and Cathy Stackpoole, both of whom filed the lawsuit in November 2023. In an act of defiance, Gordon and Stackpoole displayed a Pride flag on public property on Joseph Campau Avenue on July 9. Two days later, the city council removed the pair from the commission.

    As a matter of law, the plaintiffs’ claims under the First and Fourteenth Amendments fail, the judge ruled, saying the “well-settled rule that government speech in a nonpublic forum is not subject to First Amendment regulation.”

    The ruling is a victory for mayor Amer Ghalib and Hamtramck’s all-Muslim city council, which in June 2023 unanimously adopted a “flag neutrality” ordinance allowing only government and national flags to be displayed on public poles. Although the resolution barred religious, political, and ethnic flags, it was widely understood to target the Pride flag after months of heated debate in the city, where more than half of the residents are believed to be Muslim.

    In their lawsuit, Gordon and Stackpoole argued the flag ban violated their free speech and equal protection rights.

    “It is unconstitutional for the government to select what speech will be permitted, and what speech will be prohibited, based on the content or viewpoint of the message conveyed by the speech,” the lawsuit alleged.

    But Lawson rejected that argument, holding that Hamtramck was entitled to close the flagpoles to private expression and reclaim them “for government speech.”

    “The First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause does not prevent the government from declining to express a view,” the judge wrote.

    Lawson also dismissed claims that the ordinance favored religion or discriminated against LGBTQ+ residents, noting that the resolution only authorized American, Michigan, Hamtramck, and Prisoner of War flags, along with flags of nations reflecting the city’s international character.

    Police remove an LGBTQ+ Pride flag in Hamtramck. - Viola Klocko

    Viola Klocko

    Police remove an LGBTQ+ Pride flag in Hamtramck.

    “No such transparent motive to advance religiosity is patent in the resolution entered here, which did not endorse the flying of any banner representing any religious sect or creed, and where the roster of flags prescribed consists exclusively of secular standards of local, state, national, and international entities,” Lawson wrote.

    City attorney Odey K. Meroueh said the decision vindicated the city’s policy.

    “Today’s ruling confirms that Hamtramck has the right to decide what it communicates on its own property,” Meroueh said in a written statement. “The Court’s decision vindicates Mayor Amer Ghalib and the City Council for adopting a neutral policy that treats every group and every viewpoint the same. The plaintiffs were removed from their appointed seats on the Human Relations Commission because they knowingly violated a valid rule while acting in their official roles. This case was about neutral rules, fair enforcement, and responsible city governance, not about suppressing anyone’s speech.”

    The case highlights a growing cultural clash in Hamtramck, where conservative Muslims have teamed up with right-wing groups opposing LGBTQ+ rights. Since the 2023 ban, residents have reported vandalism of Pride flags on private property and growing hostility toward LGBTQ+ people.

    The ordinance reversed a 2021 council vote that allowed the Pride flag to fly outside City Hall. That decision was one of the final acts of then-Mayor Karen Majewski, who lost reelection after Ghalib campaigned against the flag policy.

    [ad_2]

    Steve Neavling

    Source link

  • Hamtramck bar The High Dive sold to new owners

    Hamtramck bar The High Dive sold to new owners

    [ad_1]

    Hamtramck bar The High Dive has been sold to new owners.

    That’s according to a Wednesday social media post by David Lew, aka Los Angeles artist Shark Toof, who acquired the former Carbon nightclub in 2018.

    With a heavy heart filled with extreme gratitude, this is an official announcement to let all of our Community know The High Dive will be changing hands.

    Thank you beyond measure to everyone who participated in the vision and art piece The High Dive was, is, and will always be. You were more than part of the business but part of the art, colors to my painting. Textures to The High Dive.

    The High Dive’s most celebrated moments were being able to watch some of the best talent grow into their own.

    Every DJ, musician, aspiring professional, amateur, mid career, I hope you felt seen, heard, cared for. All of your voices mattered to me. We had some of the absolute best techno in Detroit. We had some of the most innovative parties. I truly tried to give a platform to the underrepresented.

    I do not know what the next hands have in mind for The High Dive, and I encourage you to follow me on FB as Haley Dive or on IG as SHARK _ _ TOOF for potential updates

    The High Dives’s social media accounts will be turned over to the new owners.

    Thank you Community.

    The High Dive Loves You.

    See you on the dancefloor.

    David

    Under Shark Toof, the club was remodeled with what he described as a Victorian-era “parlor look — borderline burlesque” (except perhaps for that red fiberglass shark head peering out of the front of the building), and focused on techno and DJ nights.

    “I really want people to have that sensation when you walk in somewhere and say, ‘Where has this bar been all my life?’” the artist previously told Metro Times. “I want to take people out of their element.”

    No word on the club’s new owners, but we’ll be sure to keep our eyes peeled.

    [ad_2]

    Lee DeVito

    Source link

  • How Passenger Recovery normalizes sobriety through music and art

    How Passenger Recovery normalizes sobriety through music and art

    [ad_1]

    When Christopher Tait first entered recovery for drugs and alcohol, creating and experiencing music and art made the journey feel like a reward rather than a punishment.

    For him, creativity became an essential avenue for growth and enrichment.

    When the local musician and Electric Six band member was first getting sober in 2011, he says finding help in the Midwest was extra difficult. For touring artists especially, the drives are long, the free time is minimal, and finding places for support is few and far between. 

    So, in 2016, he founded Passenger Recovery, a nonprofit organization with the mission of helping touring artists in recovery stay sober. 

    “There was a point in 2013 where I was on tour… There was nowhere to go for coffee. There weren’t any support groups. I didn’t have service at the time. My two options were to sit in the bar or I could sit in a freezing cold van in the middle of winter, so the inception came from that,” Tait says. “We just started telling local promoters that we would take people to meetings, or take them to coffee or to go do laundry or anything if they were trying to stay sober.” 

    Since then, the initial vision for Passenger has significantly expanded. 

    The organization created an online meeting-finder for touring musicians called Passenger Compass, which includes over 30,000 support groups in the United States and United Kingdom. 

    In 2022, the nonprofit was accredited by Faces and Voices of Recovery as a Recovery Community Organization (RCO), serving as a community anchor for people seeking recovery or transitioning from treatment.

    “We were originally running this out of our house,” Tait says. “We would have people come stay on the futons or hang out in the backyard if they just needed to get out of the bar venue atmosphere, and then when we started doing advocacy events which transitioned into what we have now.”

    With support from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Passenger opened a physical space in Hamtramck in early 2024.

    The location, situated between music venues in Detroit and Ferndale, is a full-circle moment for Tait, who played his first show in Hamtramck with his high school band in the mid-’90s.

    Hamtramck, once thought to have the most bars per capita than any other U.S. city, used to be limited in recovery support. Now, Passenger offers eight weekly support groups, as well as music and art advocacy events, recovery coaching, translation services, and more.

    “We just have a lot more freedom to do different types of more exciting programming, and beyond doing advocacy events in the community, we actually have a place now where we can provide enrichment,” Tait says. “If people are interested in recovery but they don’t want to go to a specific type of group, we can point them in a different direction or we can give them information or they can hang out there.”

    He adds, “It’s really an attempt to normalize recovery in people’s everyday life. Instead of you going to treatment or you go to a support group and then you’re back out in everyday life, what if everyday life is something that’s motivational and positive overall and there’s someplace that you can go where you can feel safe to do that, to just exist as somebody who’s interested in making a change?”

    At Passenger’s space, one half is dedicated to recovery resources, while the other focuses on the arts, featuring rock biographies, instruments, and board games. Visitors can attend a 12-step meeting one day and an open mic or yoga class the next — in a space covered in local and global art, much of which is made by recovering artists. Passenger also collaborates with organizations like MusiCares and the Phoenix to extend its reach into the broader metro Detroit community.

    “If I’m in recovery, I can’t assume that the world is going to shape itself around my changes, and so I think it’s really important to still have books about the struggles and the demons and the reality of being somebody in the music industry, so that we can learn from it,” Tait says. “Our goal was to try and make it as well rounded as possible, and I really feel like people have felt comfortable. We’ve gotten a great reaction from it.”

    click to enlarge

    Courtesy photo

    Passenger Recovery recently hosted a Ukrainian music event. Director Christopher Tait is pictured on the far right.

    Cultural representation is also important to Passenger, especially in Hamtramck, sometimes called “the world in two square miles.”

    “If we’re looking to assist people with well-being beyond just recovery from drugs and alcohol, we have to listen to the community,” Tait says.

    Recently, Passenger hosted a Ukrainian music event and a hip-hop mental health panel. Plus, the organization met with Hamtramck’s new Chief of Police, Jamiel Altaheri, to discuss SUD (Substance Use Disorder) support for the Muslim community.

    Passenger also does outreach in local food banks and schools, partnering with the Detroit Friendship House and connecting with the Hamtramck Drug Free Community Coalition to introduce SUD education through music programs in schools. The nonprofit also runs a virtual youth series called “If You Can See It, You Can Be It,” where music professionals discuss recovery and health in the entertainment industry, helping underserved youth who envision creative careers make positive decisions.

    “When I was first in recovery, I knew I needed to make changes,” Tait says. “Music has been such a positive force in my life, and I know it’s beneficial for people to find ways to express themselves.”

    He adds, “I can’t imagine life without music and the arts. They’ve made everything in my life more vibrant.”

    More information on Passenger Recovery’s team and upcoming events is available online at passengerrecovery.com and on Instagram @passengerrecovery.

    [ad_2]

    Layla McMurtrie

    Source link

  • Fact check: Whitmer didn’t snub Hamtramck city officials at Negro League event

    Fact check: Whitmer didn’t snub Hamtramck city officials at Negro League event

    [ad_1]

    When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other state officials joined more than 100 Negro League baseball fans to celebrate Juneteenth at Historic Hamtramck Stadium on Wednesday, city officials were nowhere to be found.

    Residents, including former Mayor Karen Majewski, took to social media to question why their elected officials didn’t turn out to an event that honored Hamtramck’s unique place in Negro League baseball history.

    Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib, a Muslim and self-described Democrat who has clashed with others in his party over his positions on LGBTQ+ issues, suggested he was disrespected by Whitmer and her staff.

    “No one informed me that the governor is coming, city manager had no clue, and it seems that there is a disconnect somewhere,” Ghalib responded on Majewski’s Facebook post. “We will find out who is responsible for the miscommunication and disrespect of the city leadership and fix that problem soon.”

    Turns out, there appears to be no “disrespect.” Whitmer decided to come at the last minute, making it nearly impossible to coordinate her visit with city officials so soon before the event. In fact, event organizers didn’t know Whitmer was coming until less than an hour before her arrival.

    And it wasn’t her event. It was organized by the Friends of Historic Hamtramck Stadium and Hamtramck Parks Conservancy.

    And what Ghalib doesn’t mention is that organizers of the event invited him and the all-Muslim Hamtramck City Council to the event during a June 11 public meeting, but they didn’t show up.

    Ghalib, who says he was nearby at another Juneteenth event, insisted he knew nothing about the event, despite being invited on June 11. He claims on Facebook that “we never heard” of the event, and “I was never invited.”

    Curiously, Hamtramck Police Chief Jamiel Altaheri was at the event.

    State Rep. Abraham Aiyash, a Democrat from Hamtramck, attended the event and dismissed claims that something sinister was at play.

    “It was a very last minute decision,” Aiyash said of Whitmer’s arrival. “For what it’s worth, I was notified less than an hour before the event. Definitely wasn’t anything nefarious.”

    Whitmer arrived at the event shortly before noon and headed to Detroit afterwards for another Juneteenth celebration — the groundbreaking of the Doctor Violet T. Lewis Village, a 105-unit affordable housing development on the site of the former Lewis College of Business, Michigan’s only Historically Black College and University (HBCU).

    The apparent misunderstanding comes at a critical moment for Democrats, and the criticism by Ghalib underscores the growing disconnect between Democrats and many Muslims, who are angry with President Joe Biden for supporting Israel’s brutal war in Gaza, where tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians have been killed. During the presidential primary election in February, many local Muslims and other supporters of Palestinian rights voted “uncommitted” to send a message to Biden.

    The presidential election is expected to be a nail-biter in Michigan, and as a swing state, it could play a deciding role in who wins nationally.

    Whitmer, who is a co-chair of Biden’s 2024 campaign, previously said she opposed the uncommitted campaign because it would help put Donald Trump back in office.

    “It’s important not to lose sight of the fact that any vote that’s not cast for Joe Biden supports a second Trump term,” Whitmer said in February during an interview on CNN’s State of the Union. “A second Trump term would be devastating. Not just on fundamental rights, not just on our democracy here at home, but also when it comes to foreign policy. This was a man who promoted a Muslim ban.”

    As far as the war is concerned, Whitmer has been largely quiet lately but said in April that she hopes “we can have some peace very soon.”

    That same month, Whitmer condemned chants of “death to America” by some activists at a Dearborn rally. The group that held the rally said they opposed the chants.

    “This hateful rhetoric is unacceptable, and does not represent Michigan or Dearborn,” Whitmer’s office told Fox News Digital at the time. “The Dearborn community is full of hardworking, proud Americans. Our state is diverse, and we are proud of it.”

    At the Historic Hamtramck Stadium event, Whitmer signed a bill recognizing May 2 as Negro Leagues Day in Michigan — commemorating the first day a Negro League game was played.

    “This league was not only a crucial part of baseball history but also a testament to the strength, resilience and talents of Black athletes who overcame significant barriers to play the game that they loved,” Whitmer said. “By commemorating this day, we pay tribute to their legacy and ensure that their stories of perseverance continue to inspire future generations.”

    Also in attendance were Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrest II and state Rep. Helena Scott, D-Detroit.

    “As a Detroit native, but also as a Black man, I am particularly proud to see this day recognized in the state of Michigan,” Gilchrist said. “As one of the eight founding teams of the Negro Leagues, the Detroit Stars are a testament to the rich sports history of our city and state. This acknowledgement not only honors their legacy but also educates and inspires our communities about the resilience and achievements of these pioneering athletes.”

    [ad_2]

    Steve Neavling

    Source link

  • Hamtramck City Council passes resolution demanding boycott, divestment of Israel

    Hamtramck City Council passes resolution demanding boycott, divestment of Israel

    [ad_1]

    click to enlarge

    Steve Neavling

    Hamtramck City Council is the nation’s first all-Muslim council.

    The Hamtramck City Council on Tuesday became the first city outside of California to approve a resolution endorsing a movement that advocates for boycotts and divestment to end support for Israel over its brutal attacks on Palestinians in Gaza.

    The only all-Muslim city council in the country unanimously approved the measure in support of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

    The idea is to send a strong message of support to Palestinians and “to end the genocide” in Gaza, council members said at the meeting.

    The cities of Hayward and Richmond in California passed similar resolutions in January and May, respectively. But those cities targeted specific companies to boycott, while Hamtramck’s resolution went further in support of the entire BDS movement.

    Among those in support of the BDS resolution was Matthew J. Clark, a Jewish attorney and longtime member of the Jewish Voice for Peace, the largest progressive Jewish, anti-Zionist organization in the world.

    “Supporting the Palestinian people right now is of course not antisemitic,” Clark told the council. “I am a Jewish person, and I stand with the Palestinian people against the genocide going on. I oppose genocide because I’m Jewish — because my people have suffered from the Holocaust, a horrific genocide. For that reason, I say ‘never again’ to anybody, especially the Palestinian people.”

    Mayor Amer Ghalib said the time has come for the government to listen to its people.

    “Most American people are against the war, but our government of course does not listen to the concerns of the people,” Ghalib said. “It seems like we are ruled by a minority in this country, and that’s a problem. The voice of the people is not being heard.”

    Launched in 2005, the BDS movement targets businesses and institutions accused of contributing to violations of Palestinian rights as a protest to Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territories.

    In 2016, then-Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder passed an anti-BDS measure that bars the state from hiring businesses that boycott individuals or public entities of a foreign nation. The legislation, however, does not prevent cities from passing their own BDS resolutions.

    On the local level, pro-Palestinian activists set up an encampment at Wayne State University to pressure the school to end investment in Israel-connected companies. Police resorted to force to break up a similar encampment at the University of Michigan.

    Since the war began in October, Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 34,500 people.

    On May 20, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court sought arrest warrants for leaders of Hamas and Israel, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for alleged war crimes. Netanyahu and his defense minister are accused of starving civilians, willfully “causing great suffering, or serious injury,” willfully killing and intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population.

    In Hamtramck, more than half of the population is believed to be Muslim. In January 2022, Hamtramck became the first city in the U.S. to have an all-Muslim city council.

    Hamtramck also became one of the first city councils in the nation to call for a ceasefire in October. In December, the council renamed a stretch of Holbrook Street to “Palestine Avenue” as a demonstration of solidarity with residents of Gaza.

    But the council has come under fire for its anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. In June 2023, the council unanimously banned the Pride flag from being flown on public property.

    Ghalib and other Hamtramck leaders also began meeting with Republicans, despite the GOP’s opposition to Muslims in the past.

    Hamtramck officials were also among the leaders of a movement to vote “uncommitted” in the Democratic primary election in February because of President Joe Biden’s support of Israel.

    [ad_2]

    Steve Neavling

    Source link

  • Five questions with Joe Jack Talcum of the Dead Milkmen

    Five questions with Joe Jack Talcum of the Dead Milkmen

    [ad_1]

    Mojo Nixon don’t work anywhere anymore, but Philly punk songwriter Joe Jack Talcum of Dead Milkmen fame, who helped bring Mr. Nixon to wider acclaim, still tours and will be sliding into Small’s on a smoked banana peel May 4. We asked Joe a few hard-hitting questions, and he was bitchin’ enough to answer.

    1. If you could remove one thing from the world, tangible or intangible, wrap it up and permanently eject it from society, what would it be?

    Toenail clippings. It if was up to me, toenail clippings would dissolve into the air the instant you clipped them. I have nothing against toenails. It’s just the clippings that bother me.

    2. If you could add more of one existing thing to the world, what would it be? Here’s the catch: You can’t say “love,” you can’t say “tolerance.” Anything but those two things. And cicadas. You can’t say cicadas.

    Silence. We need more of that in our noisy world. One thing I love about shopping at Aldi is that they don’t play any music over the loudspeakers. It’s a relatively quiet shopping experience. And it’s rather relaxing. We could use more of that.

    3. You draw. Obviously you can draw whomever or whatever you damn well please. But who would you like to have sit in a room across from you while you drew them?

    Just about anyone really. But, if I have to be specific, I’d choose Montana Jordan.

    4. Say you’re on a 415-date global tour and your roommate has to be from the animal kingdom. They’re not selling merch or anything, just keeping you company. What creature do you choose?

    Cat.

    5. Someone sculpts you on the side of a mountain to start a four-person Rushmore-esque monument. You have no choice. You’re already up there. What other three people would you want carved in that mountain with you?

    Rodney, Dan, and Dean.

    [ad_2]

    Jimmy Doom

    Source link

  • Lapointe: Could Michigan’s ‘uncommitted’ vote tip the election to Trump?

    Lapointe: Could Michigan’s ‘uncommitted’ vote tip the election to Trump?

    [ad_1]

    click to enlarge

    Jim West/Alamy Live News

    Two days ahead of Michigan’s Presidential primary election, a rally in Hamtramck urges voters to choose “uncommitted” instead of Joe Biden.

    In the United States, the Democratic President runs for re-election even though it is clear to both his friends and to his foes that he is not as sharp as he once was.

    In Eastern Europe, the wily dictator in Moscow goes on the muscle. Among other targets, Poland ranks high on his list. And in the Middle East, the very existence of Israel is being debated.

    “Arabs would choose to die rather than yield their land to the Jews,” the Saudi king warns the American President.

    You’ve probably guessed by now that we’re not talking here about 2024; or about President Joe Biden of the United States; or about President Vladimir Putin of Russia; or about Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.

    Instead, it is a flashback to 1944 — 80 years ago — from the book His Final Battle: The Last Months of Franklin Roosevelt, by the late Joseph Lelyveld. (Full disclosure: I enjoyed working for Lelyveld at The New York Times).

    Published in 2016, His Final Battle chronicles the 1944 campaign, the end of World War II, and Roosevelt’s death in 1945, at the start of his fourth term, as the Cold War began. In some ways, this timely book reminds us that history doesn’t always repeat itself but sometimes it echoes and rhymes.

    Although every analogy wears thin when extended, one thematic through line of current events seems distressingly similar to circumstances of eight decades ago: the world of global power politics is shifting again and the American electorate will have a significant voice in how it changes.

    Which brings us to Dearborn, to Arab Americans, to Muslim Americans, to young antiwar voters, and to the possibility that this segment of the Michigan electorate in November could steer the state and choose the fate of the nation and the world.

    And that could bring the return of former President Donald Trump, a large, loud, orange-faced, yellow-haired demagogue who is now older, meaner, and more reckless than three years ago when he tried to cling to power by sending lynch-mob rioters to the Capitol to murder Trump’s own vice-president.

    Crunch the vote numbers. Trump won Michigan by 10,000 votes over Hillary Clinton in 2016 but lost to Biden by 154,000 in 2020. Both times, Michigan backed the winner. But last week, more than 100,000 voted “uncommitted” in Michigan’s Democratic primary as a protest against American support for Israel.

    Should those numbers increase — and should the war and the boycott of Biden carry into November — the absence of these Democratic voters could tip the tilt toward Trump in Michigan, one of a handful of “battleground states” expected to decide the Electoral College.

    If so, as we did eight years ago, we will again toss our car keys to the loudest, biggest, crudest drunk in the bar and we will once more say to him, “Here you go, Butch! You get us home.”

    And what might that ride be like?

    In his first term, Trump harassed Muslim Americans and Arab Americans at airports with his “Muslim ban.” He tormented brown-skinned immigrants at the southern border by splintering Latin American families apart when they entered from Mexico.

    Trump now vows more vicious crackdowns with internment camps and deportations. He and his followers dehumanize immigrants as “illegals” and blame them for crime.

    “Our country is being poisoned, it’s really being poisoned,” Trump told personal fluffer Sean Hannity of Fox News Channel. “I call it migrant crime.” At Eagle Pass, Texas, last week, Trump spoke of a “Biden migrant crime wave.”

    It matters little to Trump or to his Make America Great Again supporters that serious crime is down and that immigrants generally break the law less than American citizens. Ignore that. What matters most is that scary image of a Venezuelan man arrested for murdering a Georgia student while she jogged.

    His dark face is in heavy rotation on Fox. You must understand, America, that, in the MAGAt view, this mug shot represents all immigrants and they must be feared because they bring drugs, sex slavery, and welfare abusers to our nation. Yeah. Because Trump says so. OK, pal?

    Plus, they will take our jobs and vote Democratic. So, be afraid, America! Build that wall! In two recent trips to Detroit’s blue-collar suburbs, Trump has used blood metaphors to suggest that immigrants contaminate American genes and that foreign nations export lunatics and mental patients.

    In Clinton Township last fall, Trump said immigrants are “destroying the lifeblood of our country.” Would he dare say such a thing in Dearborn? Fat chance. A proud and convicted sexual predator who was recently found guilty of (and fined for) financial fraud, Trump has called his opponents “vermin.”

    That kind of talk went out of style around the time of Roosevelt’s death, but Trump revives it now for an appreciative audience. Will voters in and around communities like Dearborn and Hamtramck (and around the college campuses) evaluate their binary choice this autumn in a realistic calculation?

    Who’s best for them: Biden or Trump? Would Biden ever call them “vermin?”

    In the meantime, another of Trump’s TV family — Brother Tucker Carlson — goes to Moscow to kiss the rear end of Putin, Trump’s political pal. Carlson also praises the goodies at a Russian grocery store and marvels at the cleanliness and beauty of the city.

    All this just before Putin’s main opponent dies under mysterious circumstances in a prison in Siberia. Since being fired by Fox and striking out on his own, it is as if Carlson cannot decide whether he wants to be Charles Lindbergh or Tokyo Rose.

    Those who have studied the Roosevelt era and World War II will recall that Lindbergh — the star-crossed aviator — took up the “America First” cause and national isolationism before Hitler invaded Poland in 1939 and Japan attacked the U.S. Navy in 1941.

    Lindbergh got too close to Nazi Germany and his political career crash-landed. Trump and others of his Republican party are using the same scare tactics, urging protectionism and isolationism mixed with racism disguised as nativism. Among many right-wing media contenders, Carlson is the best at this.

    Tokyo Rose was the collective nickname for the female radio propagandists (more than one) who broadcast from Japan to American soldiers and sailors during the war in the Pacific, subtly whispering subversion into their ears along with songs from home that the men may have missed.

    Even all those years ago, sinister people figured out how to use the medium of broadcasting to manipulate minds and undermine truth. Today’s fools like Hannity and Carlson are simply the current generation of user-friendly tools who twist the truth in traitorous ways.

    And from his glass coffin in Moscow’s Red Square, the long-embalmed Lenin is laughing loudly (with a Russian accent?) at two, new useful idiots.

    Subscribe to Metro Times newsletters.

    Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

    Metro Detroiters join global day of action calling for ceasefire in Gaza

    [ad_2]

    Joe Lapointe

    Source link

  • Kitab Cafe and Bookstore is opening its Midtown location this weekend

    Kitab Cafe and Bookstore is opening its Midtown location this weekend

    [ad_1]

    click to enlarge

    Steve Neavling

    Kitab Cafe’s new location at 411 W. Canfield St.

    Earlier this winter, we found out that Hamtramck’s Kitab Cafe would be opening a second location in Detroit’s former Avalon Bakery space. Now, the spot has announced it will hold a soft opening this Friday, Feb. 16.

    An Instagram post from Feb. 14 showcasing he inside of the new Midtown location says hours will be 6:30 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. Plus, all Hamtramck favorites will be available, including La Colombe Coffee, Zingerman’s pastries, and made-to-order sandwiches.

    The original Kitab Cafe was opened in January 2023 by married co-owners Asma Almulaiki and Ahmed Alwhysee with the goal of creating a welcoming and diverse space, great for remote workers or people just taking a drink to-go.

    The pair initially thought the cafe would be more of a bookstore, as “kitab” means “book” in Arabic, but its coffee and food have become popular. The spot offers baked goods, baguettes, and soups from Ann Arbor-based Zingerman’s, plus a variety of coffee items, with a few Arabic drinks including Adeni chai and Yemeni coffee.

    The cafe’s book collection at its Hamtramck location includes many titles by Arabic authors, with some self-help books, many children’s books, and some other options. We’ll see what the new spot’s literature will contain.

    There’s not much information on any new offerings at the new location or a date for a grand opening, so you’ll just have to go in and check it out.

    Subscribe to Metro Times newsletters.

    Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

    [ad_2]

    Layla McMurtrie

    Source link

  • Detroit Councilwoman Mary Waters aims for Thanedar’s congressional seat, pushes for ceasefire in Gaza

    Detroit Councilwoman Mary Waters aims for Thanedar’s congressional seat, pushes for ceasefire in Gaza

    [ad_1]

    click to enlarge

    Steve Neavling

    Detroit City Councilwoman Mary Waters (center) gathered with supporters Thursday to announce her candidacy for Congress.

    Detroit City Councilwoman Mary Waters, a former labor union organizer who served three terms in the state House, announced Thursday that she’s running for the U.S. House of Representatives seat held by Shri Thanedar.

    Standing outside Hamtramck City Hall, Waters distinguished herself from her two challengers by calling for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.

    “Voters want the killing to stop,” Waters said. “Most human beings, when you care about people, want to eliminate violence. Kids in Gaza are being killed by the thousands.”

    Waters said Hamtrmack’s mayor and all-Muslim city council plan to endorse her, which is expected to give the progressive Democrat an edge in cities with large Muslim populations.

    The 13th district covers Hamtramck, Highland Park, Harper Woods and large swaths of Detroit, the Grosse Pointes, and Downriver communities.

    Thanedar, a Detroit Democrat, has been an outspoken supporter of Israel and even criticized fellow Democrats who have shown sympathy toward Palestinians, who have come under a brutal, relentless military campaign by Israel in Gaza. Thanedar also renounced his membership in the Democratic Socialists of America over its response to the conflict and suggested U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American serving in Congress, was an antisemite.

    The other Democrat in the race, former state Sen. Adam Hollier, of Detroit, received more than $2.7 million from the pro-Israel political action committee United Democracy Project when he ran against Thanedar four years ago.

    Hollier, a realtor and captain in the U.S. Army Reserves who previously held governmental staff roles for state senators, ran against Thanedar in 2022 and came in second, winning 23.5% of the vote compared to Thanedar’s 28.3%. He has since secured numerous endorsements, including from Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, former Michigan Gov. James Blanchard, former Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, a dozen state lawmakers, and the influential Black Slate.

    In November, the Detroit City Council voted in support of a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, and Waters was one of the biggest proponents.

    Waters invoked Martin Luther King Jr.’s anti-violence philosophy. “We must free hostages immediately and demand a ceasefire now,” Waters said. “As a member of Congress, I will work to cut the Pentagon War budget and use the dollars for safe streets in America by funding community police foot patrols and fighting poverty while increasing social security payments for our seniors.”

    The primary race for Congress will take place in August.

    Waters also said her top issues are seniors, veterans, single mothers and families, public safety, affordable housing, poverty, literacy, foreclosure prevention, jobs, and health care.

    A former labor union organizer, graduate of the University of Michigan, and breast cancer survivor, Waters was the first Black woman to serve as floor leader when she served in the state House, where she racked up a perfect attendance record.

    Waters’s entry into the race adds a new dynamic to the primary contest. As one of two at-large Detroit council members, Waters has proven she can win in the state’s largest city. She unseated incumbent Councilwoman Janee Ayers in the general election in November 2021.

    She also served in the state House from 2001 to 2006 and rose to minority floor leader.

    Waters is also popular among labor union supporters. She previously served as the original organizer of the United Auto Workers Local 2500 while working at Blue Cross Blue Shield.

    In her first term on the Detroit City Council, Waters has become one of the most progressive members, advocating for affordable housing, foreclosure prevention, and water affordability. After a spate of shootings in downtown Detroit in April, Waters announced she was exploring a measure to create gun-free zones in Greektown, the riverfront, Hart Plaza, and Spirit Plaza.
    If elected, Waters said she will be a staunch advocate for her constituents.

    “I will be accessible,” Waters said. “You will see me in person. I’ll be working in the community. I will be more than a picture on a card in your mailbox. I will be more than an expensive TV ad. Please don’t vote for a political ad on your flat screen TV.”

    For his part, Thunder has had a bumpy first term. His former communications director, Adam Y. Abusalah, leveled troubling allegations against Thanedar on social media.

    “In my first meeting with Shri and another staffer (who also quit) he said ‘I don’t care about policies or legislation right now. I just need you to focus on my re-election,’” Abusalah wrote. “I always reminded him that congressional work & campaign work needed to be separate but he didn’t care.”

    Abusalah added, “… what’s important to know is that Shri is all about himself. He’s the most ignorant, self-centered, and uninformed human I’ve ever worked with.”

    He claimed Thanedar was more obsessed with his social media presence than his work as a lawmaker. Abusalah quit as communications director in May, after serving in the role for several months.

    In a statement to Metro Times, Thanedar’s chief of staff, Patrick Malone, said none of the allegations were true and suggested Abusalah was acting out because of Thanedar’s support for Israel following the attack by Hamas.

    Subscribe to Metro Times newsletters.

    Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter



    [ad_2]

    Steve Neavling

    Source link

  • Michigan City Bans Pride Flags From Public Property

    Michigan City Bans Pride Flags From Public Property

    [ad_1]

    HAMTRAMCK, Mich. (AP) — A Detroit-area community has banned LGBTQ+ flags from publicly owned flagpoles after a tense hourslong meeting that raised questions about discrimination, religion and the city’s reputation for welcoming newcomers.

    In protest, a woman speaking during the public comment portion of the Hamtramck City Council meeting kissed a woman standing next to her Tuesday night.

    “You guys are welcome,” council member Nayeem Choudhury said. “(But) why do you have to have the flag shown on government property to be represented? You’re already represented. We already know who you are.”

    Some members of the all-Muslim council said the pride flag clashes with the beliefs of some members of their faith. Businesses and residents aren’t prohibited from displaying a pride flag on their own property.

    “We want to respect the religious rights of our citizens,” Choudhury said.

    Hamtramck, population 27,000, is an enclave surrounded by Detroit. More than 40% of residents were born in other countries, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and a significant share are of Yemeni or Bangladeshi descent.

    The council voted unanimously to display only five flags, including the American flag, the Michigan flag and one that represents the native countries of immigrant residents.

    Mayor Amer Ghalib made the flag a campaign issue when then-Mayor Karen Majewski flew one on city property in 2021.

    “We serve everybody equally with no discrimination but without favoritism,” he said.

    Hayley Cain said she chose to live in Hamtramck after moving from California because it was known as a diverse community.

    “I’m questioning whether it is. … The pride flag represents making space for all humans on all the spectrums, and this is where we’re going as a human species,” Cain said. “You can’t stop that.”

    Dawud Walid, director of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights advocacy group, said Hamtramck’s strict flag policy doesn’t discriminate against anyone.

    “If there was one group that was not being granted access to something while others were then we would have a problem,” Walid said.

    He said some Muslims who oppose an LGBTQ+ flag are no different than conservative members of other religions with similar views.

    “Flags carry symbolism. Those symbols carry social and political messages,” Walid said.

    Detroit City FC, a professional soccer team that draws thousands of fans to games in Hamtramck, called the council’s decision “inexcusable.”

    “Pride flags send a powerful message that all are welcome and that the community values diversity,” the team said on Twitter.

    [ad_2]

    Source link