I voted for Trump in 2016 and 3rd party in 2020. Grew up in a Republican household listening to Rush Limbaugh because my parents did, and became an independent in college after becoming disillusioned by the GOP, but would often vote “socially conservative”. I still have what most of Reddit would call very conservative values, but what my Republican friends would call liberal values. I have no real political home. My ballots usually look like a weird mix of voting Republican, 3rd party, and Democrat down ballot. 🤷‍♂️

Anyway.

At the start of the year I would have told you that I would vote 3rd party, but I got into that little ballot cubicle yesterday and I just couldn’t do it. Trump has given American voters a non-stop litany of reasons not to vote for him, even if you are a conservative. It’s like if he said to himself “what could I do to turn voters against me” and by golly he did it. And not just reasons not to vote for him, but it’s like he’s screaming at us to vote against him and make sure he loses.

So I think Harris will carry Michigan because I know so many people in a similar situation. If someone like John McCain was running against Harris I could and probably would vote for him. Trump isn’t a “conservative”. It’s baffling to hear people think he is. Too much is at stake. Every 4 years it’s “this is the most important election of our lifetime” but now it actually feels like it. It’s different than any other election in my lifetime.

One day I hope we will have two or more viable sane political parties to choose from again instead of feeling like “I have to vote against the other party”. But for now, this conservative stands firmly with the rest of you - and I voted Democrat in the presidential election for the first time.

Last thing I would say to my Democrat friends, please don’t fight and argue political issues with your conservative friends who are also voting for Harris and accidentally push them back into voting for Trump. At least not right now. I have witnessed that happen a couple of times in the heat of an argument. I feel like right now all social issues get set aside and we vote together as Americans to make sure Trump doesn’t end up back in office.

With that said, assume nothing and go vote. Voting early was easy. I just showed up and voted like I normally would on Election Day. Exact same process. The line looked crazy long, wrapping around the building outside, but I had voted and was gone in under an hour.

Do you still wear a mask in public?

Anyone you know sick after the holidays?

Why does traffic in Michigan merge at the beginning of the merge lane, instead of going to the merge point, like zipper merging? The way it’s done in Michigan is idiotic. I drove my car down to the merge point because traffic was backing up along the on ramp and a car tried to pull out aggressively in front of me to block me from reaching the merge point. The merge lane was empty, but could have fit something like 25 cars. Some pickup truck was trying to block my merge, but I got in traffic and everything was fine. Why do Michigan motorists torture themselves? Is this normal behavior for residents of this state? Zipper merging makes wait times go down and helps the flow of traffic.

Specifically looking for salons like this in Howell, Lanaing, Brighton, Ann Arbor, and/or Ypsilanti

Please respond to this question kindly, or simply don't respond at all. I know the area I currently live in is fairly conservative, so I tread warily in Michigan subreddits. Please don't respond attacking my identity, but rather answer the question if you have an answer :3

Our family has had a cabin on 80 acres in the Hiawatha Forrest that was bought by my great grandparents back in the 1920’s.. went by this weekend and up to the Whitefish Bay Scenic Byway.. The UP is bing stop mined, around our cabin all the National forest is being destroyed.. along the scenic byway one side of the road is Whitefish Bay, the other is strip mined forest that was protected until these thieves stole it. This is the history of our time in this state and what we let happen.

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

consist flowery unpack long political smile liquid important advise unwritten

Basically the title. I saw the mods survey, asking how to handle the frequency of these posts, and I hope this can be in consideration. Main reason: At least one or two of the recent posts don't seem to be truthful. A friend sent me one of the post minutes before I drove by the supposed active zone, and there was nothing there, and I even asked the local businesses to confirm. Another friend had the same experience. I don't want to speculate on the intention of the individuals making incorrect and/or misleading posts, but asking for photos/videos should at least weed out some of the bad actors. Thoughts?

Does anyone know if there are going to be protests in Lansing on March 4?

ETA: I see there are some downvotes here, and I'm genuinely curious: Are these downvotes because I'm trying to find optimism in a Trump presidency, or because I voted for the other gal? If you downvote, leave a comment too! For the sake of discussion. I'm open to other opinions.

TL;DR: Serious and positive responses only please: What potential good can come from this, no matter how small? Please try to leave negativity at the door. We all already know what can (and will) go terribly wrong. I need a bright spot in my day.

I'll go first - from what I read, Republican candidates are generally more supportive of cryptocurrency, so maybe my .0000043 BTC will rise in value. Your turn!

Basically title. I'm disappointed in my county, our state, and our country as a whole for our lack of intelligence and empathy, not just for other humans but for the planet we're slowly destroying, all to pay $.30 less at the pump and fuck over the brown people. (I'm simplifying, of course.)

It's done and over and short of an actual civil war I'm not sure there's anything we can do about it. So for the sake of our mental health, can we not compile a list of potential positives of this outcome, no matter how small? I know that they will be few, far between, and likely overall insignificant, but over half the active voters in the country voted for this guy (or party) for some reason, and I'm (perhaps ignorantly) hopeful that some of them have semi-intelligent reasons for voting republican.

I'm not trying to ignore all the terrible things that could potentially (likely) happen in the future. I'm just trying to curb my anxiety response. Help me out folks. What's 1 actually potentially good thing that could come from this shitshow we've brought on ourselves?

I'm looking to get more involved. Where are the next protests in the Metro Detroit area?

Also- does one need to get a permit before organizing a protest in a town?

I live in a real rural, conservative area just above the border and there are no places near me (that I know of) to meet people short of going down to Adam St in Toledo. I just want to find a nice down-to-earth place to grab a beer and make friends without shouting over the music in a nightclub, and google doesn't really give any helpful answers. Any suggestions are appreciated!

I’m going to Frankenmuth alone for a three-day work trip in December, and I wanna feel comfortable enough to go out in the late evening for a drink or some food?

I’ve been to Frankenmuth before with family during the day, but never alone overnight, of course I intend to practice safe and careful practices but should I be worried about being African American?

Whitmer announced the companies would invest $16 billion total and create 12,000 jobs. But all the projects are behind schedule and two have downsized, reducing best-case job expectations by 13%.

Bridge found:

• Two years after the subsidies, hiring remains at less than 2% of promises

• Should the projects under-deliver or fall apart, new rules could make it harder for Michigan to claw back money already spent

• The state paid at least $70 million to buy land for two of the gigafactories, payments that Michigan officials did not explicitly disclose

• Michigan spent another $78.3 million on one startup, Our Next Energy, that promised to create 2,112 jobs and invest $1.6 billion in an EV gigafactory. Instead, it has 50 workers at the project in southern Wayne County and laid off 25% of its company-wide workforce.

Bridge used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain records showing that Michigan has already given $51 million in loans and spent at least another $600 million on utility hookups and factory equipment, in addition to the land purchases for two of the five battery megadeals, Ford and Gotion.

General Motors expects to start production at its Ultium Cells EV battery factory near Lansing in 2025, instead of 2024 as first planned. The state has spent 91% of the $186.1 million it promised toward the site, including $120 million given directly to GM.

GM has received at least $468 million of the state’s combined $600 million incentive promise for a battery factory in Delta Township and an expanded EV factory at Orion Assembly in north Oakland County.

Combined, the projects have hired 120 workers total out of the 4,000 publicly touted by Whitmer when the subsidy was announced.

Of the five projects, only LG Energy Solution Michigan in Holland hasn’t received a large up-front payout, documents show.

Automakers such as Ford are losing $100,000 or more on each EV sold, regardless of the number of sales.

Instead of Michigan’s traditional economic development guidelines, Messer’s agency created individual metrics for companies that received the SOAR funding.

As a result, instead of waiting for funding once they created jobs, companies could get taxpayer money by meeting milestones like securing private funding for projects, buying machinery or setting up factories.

The rules changed because automakers demanded flexibility amid the historic transition to EVs — and Michigan needed to remain competitive with others states vying for the deals, Messer said.

EV sales are expected to increase to 10% of new car sales this year, so long as buyer incentives and tax credits for manufacturers remain, Keating said.

Economic development officials say they moved quickly to help Ford and GM because they are two of Michigan’s largest businesses and sales drops affect the state’s overall economy.

About $314.6 million in taxpayer money has been spent so far on the [Ford] site, which a citizen’s group continues to challenge in court. (Bridge used the Freedom of Information Act to request all the spending details on April 24, with the document release still pending.)

Documents obtained by Bridge show the state gave ONE funding not for job creation, but for reaching funding milestones: ONE has received four payments totaling $63.3 million from May 2023 through March 2024, along with a $15 million loan.

After Michigan subsidized the company, ONE laid off over 150 people starting in late 2023. An investor pulled out, and the board of directors replaced founder Mujeeb Ijaz with a CEO who has automotive experience.

Some of Whitmer’s fellow Democrats are proposing reforms that would direct tax money over 10 years to other priorities: $2.5 billion over that time would go to megasites, while $2 billion goes to transit, $1 billion for affordable housing and $500 million for community building.

Michigan’s Republican legislators, meanwhile, want to increase oversight of SOAR to give legislators a stronger voice in approvals, along with tying corporate awards to overall company performance in the state.

Layoffs at one site, Republicans said, should be factored into whether the state gives a company money for a different project.

detroit/metro area preferred

This a 24x36in acrylic piece I just finished ❤️ Go Blue〽️

?

Better to do it now in the primary than in the general election. It gives a good vent for the frustrations of our voting block without, y'know, potentially electing a populist dictator into office. Unfortunately, with our two-party system, any vote that isn't for Biden is in effect a vote for Trump. So best to do it now than to tear off an arm to remove a splinter later.