Start BJJ for fun and fitness

One of the best ways you can get in shape and learn a new skill is by taking up Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ).  Regardless of what you do for a living and where you stand physically, Jit-Jitsu is something that is made for human beings of all shapes and sizes.

In the Detroit metro area, there are some great BJJ gyms, such as Stronghold Jiujitsu in Livonia, Kaizen BJJ in Northville, and 313 BJJ in Midtown Detroit.

BJJ is great for fitness and self-defense whether you’re over 50, a working mother, a couch potato, a college student, working a 9-5 job, a former veteran or an athlete.  What’s great about BJJ is that unlike other sports, there is very little equipment needed to start. You essentially just need to buy an affordable BJJ gi or a BJJ rash guard and then walk onto the mat of your local BJJ gym.  However, before you do that, here is an overview of some important aspects of BJJ history and its benefits.

Brief History
Jiu-Jitsu or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art that stems from Japanese judo and involves grappling and ground fighting. Carlos Gracie is known to be the father of modern Jiu-Jitsu while his lineage has been successful in popularizing the sport throughout the world. The basic concept of Jiu-Jitsu is to use technique, skill, and leverage that to overcome a larger and stronger opponent. Brazilian Jiu-jitsu provides the practitioners with physical and mental benefits, and the discipline to create a strong character which can be used as an overall benefit in all fields of their life.

Physical Benefits
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can provide you with far more extensive results than a typical aerobic exercise. One of the first differences you will notice after you begin training is how easy it is to lose weight and keep it off. Jiu-jitsu training is rigorous and tough but you won't even notice how hard you are working when your mind is occupied with learning and developing new skills and techniques. So, it is easy to fall in love with the process when there is so much fun involved. Jiu-Jitsu will work every muscle in your body, building strength in your core and increasing your overall endurance.

Mental benefits
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is also known as human chess. The sport involves using a lot of skill and technique, forcing you to make timely decisions in order to win, hence improving your critical thinking. Along with the physical aspects of the sport, it has a sweet science to it which puts your mind against your opponent’s mind. Not only that, Jiu Jitsu is therapeutic, and a great way to relieve stress, a third space where the only things that matter are learning a new technique and trying it out in live sparring.

Fun
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is an incredibly rewarding sport. You will meet people from all walks of life sparring and training on the mats and you are likely to make some new friends on the way. Walk into any academy and ask the newcomers why they train, and they will tell you how addictive Jiu Jitsu is and how it has changed their life. The culture and atmosphere in a Jiu-Jitsu academy will make you fall in love with learning and improving yourself. So get started, and best of luck for your journey.

Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu is your Tip of the Week for the week of July 1, 2019. Please check back in next week for more advice on your home, health, personal finances, or other useful topics.

Anecdotal thoughts on the governor's race

A friend of mine, who I've had the pleasure of knowing for more than a decade, Brenna Lane posted some anecdotal thoughts on the race for governor of Michigan on her personal Facebook page. She addressed some things that she had seen about Democratic candidates Shri Thanedar of Ann Arbor and Abdul El-Sayed of Detroit.

With her permission, I wanted to share her thoughts with everyone as a guest commentary. The following are her observations on Shri Thanadar's campaign as well as her personal experiences with Abdul El-Sayed, which I publish here with only minor editing.

Stock photo by Sanja Gjeneor/Pixabay

Some anecdotal thoughts on the Governor's race here in Michigan:

Story #1
In my economically distressed neighborhood in Highland Park, there are Shri Thanadar signs everywhere. While driving home yesterday, I saw a van in the parking lot at Dean's liquor store at McNichols and Second. It was unmarked, but two men stood at the open back doors, one handing bundles of Shri signs to the five or six men waiting in line to receive them while the other counted cash and gave it to a man who had a bundle of signs under his arm.

I later saw my neighbor go by carrying a Shri Thanedar sign. I asked him if he was pulling it out and he said, "no, I'm putting them in all up and down the block." I asked, "Willie, why are you supporting this guy?" and he replied, "because they gave me $20 if I put out 20 signs."

Story #2
During my junior year of high school, I attended Andover High School in Bloomfield Hills. Abdul El-Sayed was in my grade. We had Calculus and AP Physics together. He was generally kind, humble, and very smart.

One time, I was waiting for our bus with my girlfriend who had presented a paper in one of her classes that day. She was dressed up for the occasion - wearing a skirt (out of character for her) and it was the first day she had ever worn makeup to school (the first time her mother ever allowed it). She was heavy handed with the makeup, and her look that day was a stark contrast to the way she normally dressed, which was a much more conservative, nerdy-bookish look.

Four guys on the basketball team, all seniors, approached us and asked my friend if she was planning to "go to 8 Mile" (that is, become a prostitute). They continued by asking her how much she would charge, making hand signs mimicking oral sex and thrusting their hips as they laughed. She was trying not to cry, I was telling them to fuck off.

Abdul El-Sayed was walking down the hall, saw what was happening and got between us and the guys. He asked them if that's how they thought men behaved. He asked "do you feel proud right now? getting laughs from your friends at the expense of her feelings?"

I don't remember everything Abdul El-Sayed said that day in high school, but it was basically like "you guys are seniors, this girl is a sophomore, pick on someone your own size or better yet, don't be the kind of man who picks on anyone."

The called him a f****t, and her a whore again a few times and then left. Abdul El-Sayed apologized to both of us. He said that things will be different when we were out of high school and the boys grew up to be adults.

Although I'm still not sure he was right on that last part, Abdul El-Sayed was standing up to bullies that were bigger than him and pushing back against toxic masculinity when he was 16 years old. Even if I didn't love his politics, I would still vote for this guy because of his character. He truly is a servant leader.

This is a crucial primary. Please - get out and vote. And if you employ people, please give them the time to vote.

Your children and their smile

Dr. Jamie Reynolds

Braces are often a rite of passage for middle school students with overbites or crooked teeth. However, the oral problems those braces are solving likely started way back in elementary school – possibly as early as the first or second grade.

So perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that the American Association of Orthodontists recommends children make their first visit to an orthodontist no later than age 7.

“That doesn’t mean they are going to get braces,” says Dr. Jamie Reynolds, an orthodontist, national and international lecturer and author of World Class Smiles Made in Detroit. “In fact, it’s pretty unusual to put braces on a child that young.”

But with those early visits, the orthodontist might be able to head off problems before they get worse. Reynolds says these are a few of the things an orthodontist would be checking with your child:

• Are the jaws growing properly? You would think the upper jaw and the lower jaw grow pretty much in tandem, but you would be wrong. The upper jaw stops growing around age 8 while the lower jaw keeps on growing like the rest of the body. That means orthodontists can spot problems with the upper jaw earlier and recommend treatment if it’s needed, Dr. Reynolds explains.
• Is there enough room for the teeth to grow in? Sometimes permanent teeth don’t have enough room to grow in properly, possibly because a baby tooth is in the way. Generally, baby teeth fall out on their own, but occasionally a stubborn one needs to be pulled so that the permanent tooth doesn’t start growing in an awkward direction and become impacted. “Removing a misbehaving baby tooth is often the simplest and best solution to a problem that could become much bigger,” Dr. Reynolds adds.
• Are there too few or too many teeth? One of the things an orthodontist would do when examining a young child is to make sure the correct number of permanent teeth are forming. Extra teeth can be removed, but if a child is a tooth or two short the orthodontist will wait until all the permanent teeth are in before starting any treatment. “Before I went to dental school, I assumed everyone had the same number of teeth – 32,” Reynolds says. “But it’s not unusual at all to see people with missing teeth or with extra teeth.”
• Does the child snore?  Snoring is a potential sign of sleep apnea, a condition in which a person stops breathing while sleeping. It can cause serious health problems and has been diagnosed in children as early as 4 or 5 years old. One common and treatable type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea, in which the airways become partially or completely blocked by the tongue or fatty tissues of the throat. An orthodontist can widen the child’s palate so the upper jaw expands, and that expands the nasal passages. It also provides more room for the tongue so it rests on the roof of the mouth and not the bottom.

“Usually, orthodontists offer complimentary exams so it really is a good idea to have your child checked out by an orthodontist at age 7,” Reynolds says. “The odds are that no treatment will be necessary. But if problems are starting to develop, early detection could make a big difference.”

Dr. Jamie Reynolds is recognized on an annual basis as one of the top orthodontists in metro Detroit. His book, World Class Smiles Made in Detroit, puts an emphasis on the many benefits of having a great smile. Reynolds – who is a national and international lecturer on high-tech digital orthodontics and practice management – attended the University of Michigan for both his undergrad education and dental studies, and did his orthodontic residency at the University of Detroit-Mercy.

Stay sober this Memorial Day weekend

Tequila - Photo by Miguel Prado

Here comes the summer drinking season—Memorial Day, June graduations and weddings, Fourth of July, the beach, and barbecues!

What could go wrong?

Plenty, if you don’t have a plan for getting through the summer sober.

In Alcoholics Anonymous, we call the period from Thanksgiving through Christmas and New Year the "Bermuda Triangle" of sobriety—many alkies come in, but not all make it through.

If anything, summer is more dangerous for people in recovery, because there are so many social cues to drink.

What’s a recovering alkie or addict to do?

Here’s some kitchen-tested advice that gets passed along the Twelve Step meetings as holiday periods approach.

No. 1: Have an exit strategy.

Even before you get to the event, whether it’s a barbecue, a wedding, or holiday party, have a plan for leaving as soon as you feel uncomfortable. When everybody’s drinking, the pace of conversation and behavior, in general, seems to suddenly accelerate.

This is an extremely uncomfortable moment for people newly in recovery, and sometimes for people who have been clean and sober a long time.

When that moment arises, you want to have a plan for leaving. Did you come in your own car? Can you call an Uber or a cab? Will public transportation work? Or can you just walk out of there? Determine your exit strategy even before you enter. Don’t stick around once the drinking heats up. You won’t be missed. Everyone else will be too drunk to remember whether you stayed or left.

No. 2: Get a drink.

As soon as you get to the event, go to the bar or beverage area and get yourself a soft drink or juice—and carry it with you everywhere. People are far less likely to offer you a drink, or force a drink on you if you’re already holding a drink.

If people ask you what you’re drinking, tell the truth. The more insistent they get that you should be drinking, the more likely it is that they need a program, too.

If you put your drink down, even for a microsecond, it’s no longer your drink. Go back to the bar or beverage area and get a new one. That’s because alkies have this very slick trick of switching out their beverage "accidentally on purpose."

"I thought it was my Coke!" we exclaim pitifully. "How could I have known that it was actually someone else’s rum and Coke?"

It doesn’t even matter if you are maintaining visual contact with the drink—once it hits the table, it’s no longer yours. Go back and get a fresh one.

No. 3: Remain anonymous.

You don’t have to tell people that you are now sober in Alcoholics Anonymous or clean in another Twelve Step program. It’s nobody’s business. Sometimes, the newly sober tend to "overshare" with people in our lives. You are not in a Twelve Step meeting when you are at a party featuring alcohol (or other substances). You are out in the big, bad world, where no one cares that you are clean.

You do not owe anyone an explanation for your choice not to drink. Your sobriety is, in fact, none of their business. You do not need to share that vital information with anyone. Remember that the last name of every Twelve Step program is "Anonymous."

No. 4: Stay home.

There is no law that says that newly clean and sober people must test their sobriety or abstinence at every family or social event that comes along. If you’re feeling shaky about your recovery, don’t tempt fate. We love to do it, but ultimately, it could be a self-defeating choice.

If you feel that a particular event may be too much of a test for your recovery, make up an excuse and go to a meeting instead. Give your own sobriety a chance.
So there you have it—four ways to stay clean and sober through the often treacherous summer holiday season. Come Labor Day, you’ll be sober as a judge…instead of having to appear in front of one!

Publisher's note: This guest commentary is presented by New York Times bestselling author Michael Graubart has published Sober Dad: The Manual for Perfectly Imperfect Parenting (Hazelden).

Fatal Music - Review

The twists and turns in Peter Morfoot’s “Fatal Music” make this crime novel an enjoyable read. The book is the latest in a series following Homicide Captain Paul Darac of the Brigade Criminelle as he uncovers clues to catch a killer.

At first, this at-home death of an elderly woman looks as cut and dry as a heart attack in a hot tub but deeper exploration from Darac (and brilliant intuition) prove there is more to this investigation than meets the eye. Set in France, the author wastes no time in setting the tone for a compelling story that not only heightens your imagination but also provides a smooth soundtrack along with it.

Forget the basics in this soundtrack though, Morfoot gives us an advanced lesson in some of the greats of Jazz. Being sure to mention names like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Thelonious Monk, Morfoot exposes readers to the tone of his novel through the music Darac is mesmerized by. Whether playing a club, listening to it, or admiring it, Jazz is clearly Darac’s first and longest love.

Aptly named “Fatal Music” for the obvious ode to Jazz, the arts do not stop there. Morfoot ties in the high-profile world of France’s art scene where Darac finds himself in the quarters of famed art collectors and curators piecing together how a famous painting could have anything to do with the murder of his jazz queen. From the seedy streets and Jazz clubs of the Babazouk to the cultured world of art lovers this investigation has Darac (and his team) scrambling to find answers and as each clue is revealed, more action unfolds.

Suspense, drama, and action make each page turn quicker than the last and your heartstrings to pull more than the strings on Darac’s guitar. With so many opportunities for motive, means and just plain hatred, figuring out who is the culprit will leave readers blown away by jazz and crime.

Publisher's note: This review of "Fatal Music" was written by Shalen Franchini. It is the first in a series of book reviews that will appear on this blog in the coming weeks.

"Fatal Music" by Peter Morfoot went on sale today from Titan Books.

10 tips to prevent a rape

The following is a guest commentary from Ricardo Moore, who represents the Warrendale and surrounding neighborhoods on the Detroit Police Commission. This column is presented as part of the semi-regular Tip of the Week feature.

It has been reported by Detroit Police ChiefJames Craig that the crime of Criminal Sexual Conduct (Rape) has risen on the streets of Detroit. As Vice Chairman of the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners, it is my mission to help keep every woman, man, and child safe from any and all criminal attacks. Please report all crimes that occur to the Detroit Police Department by dialing 9-1-1. When crimes are not reported, it gives law enforcement leaders lower crime data. Unreported or unknown crime is known as the Dark Figure of Crime.

Photo by Adina Voicu/Pixababy

I would like to thank Sgt. Darren Laur and his wife Beth for providing the following safety tips:

Awareness: Your first line of defense. Most people think of kicks to the groin and blocking punches when they hear the term “self-defense.” However, true self-defense begins long before any actual physical contact. The first, and probably most important, component in self-defense is awareness: awareness of yourself, your surroundings, and your potential attacker’s likely strategies.

The criminal’s primary strategy is to use the advantage of surprise. Studies have shown that criminals are adept at choosing targets who appear to be unaware of what is going on around them. By being aware of your surroundings and by projecting a “force presence,” many altercations which are commonplace on the street can be avoided.

Use your sixth sense. “Sixth Sense.” “Gut instinct.” Whatever you call it, your intuition is a powerful subconscious insight into situations and people. All of us, especially women, have this gift, but very few of us pay attention to it. Learn to trust this power and use it to your full advantage. Avoid a person or a situation which does not “feel” safe–you’re probably right.

Self-defense training. It is important to evaluate the goals and practical usefulness of a women’s self-defense program before signing up. Here are two tips:

1. Avoid martial arts studios unless you specifically wish to train in the traditional martial arts techniques and are prepared for a long-term commitment. Many women’s self-defense programs teach watered-down martial arts techniques that are complex and unrealistic under the stress of an actual attack;
2. The self-defense program should include simulated assaults with a fully padded instructor in realistic rape and attack scenarios, to allow you to practice what you’ve learned.

Escape: Always your best option. What if the unthinkable happens? You are suddenly confronted by a predator who demands that you go with him–be it in a car, or into an alley, or a building. It would seem prudent to obey, but you must never leave the primary crime scene. You are far more likely to be killed or seriously injured if you go with the predator than if you run away (even if he promises not to hurt you). Run away, yell for help, throw a rock through a store or car window–do whatever you can to attract attention. And if the criminal is after your purse or other material items, throw them one way while you run the other.

Your right to fight. Unfortunately, no matter how diligently we practice awareness and avoidance techniques, we may find ourselves in a physical confrontation. Whether or not you have self-defense training, and no matter what your age or physical condition, it is important to understand that you can and should defend yourself physically. You have both the moral and legal right to do so, even if the attacker is only threatening you and hasn’t struck first. Many women worry that they will anger the attacker and get hurt worse if they defend themselves, but statistics clearly show that your odds of survival are far greater if you do fight back. Aim for the eyes first and the groin second. Remember, though, to use the element of surprise to your advantage–strike quickly, and mean business. You may only get one chance.

Pepper spray: Pros and cons. Pepper spray, like other self-defense aids, can be a useful tool. However, it is important to understand that there can be significant drawbacks to its use. For example, did you know that it doesn’t work for everyone? Surprisingly, 15-20% of people will not be incapacitated even by a full-face spray. Also, if you’re carrying it in your purse, you will only waste time and alert the attacker to your intentions while you fumble for it. Never depend on any self-defense tool or weapon to stop an attacker. Trust your body and your wits, which you can always depend on in the event of an attack.

Home invasions: A crime on the rise. The primary way to prevent a home invasion is simply to never, ever open your door unless you either are certain you know who’s on the other side or can verify that they have a legitimate reason for being there (dressing up as a repair person or even police officer is one trick criminals use). In the event that an intruder breaks in while you’re home, you should have a safe room in your house to which you can retreat. Such a room should be equipped with a strong door, deadbolt lock, phone (preferably cell phone), and a can of pepper spray or fire extinguisher.

Avoiding a carjacking. Lock all doors and keep windows up when driving. Most carjackings take place when vehicles are stopped at intersections. The criminals approach at a 45-degree angle (in the blind spot), and either pull you out of the driver’s seat or jump in the passenger’s seat.

A travel tip. Violent crimes against women happen in the best and worst hotels around the world. Predators may play the part of a hotel employee, push their way through an open or unlocked door, or obtain a passkey to the room. As with home safety, never open your door unless you are certain the person on the other side is legitimate, and always carry a door wedge with you when you travel. A wedge is often stronger than the door it secures.

Safety in cyberspace. Although the Internet is educational and entertaining, it can also be full of danger if one isn’t careful. When communicating on-line, use a nickname and always keep personal information such as home address and phone number confidential. Instruct family members to do the same. 

Guest commentary: Human trafficking (sex and labor)

Human trafficking - Photo by Imagens Evangélicas

Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery in which traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to control victims for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts or labor services against his/her will.

Sex trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act, in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age, (22 USC § 7102). Sex trafficking has been found in a wide variety of venues within the sex industry, including residential brothels, escort services, fake massage businesses, strip clubs, and street prostitution.

Labor trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purposes of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery, (22 USC § 7102). Labor trafficking has been found in diverse labor settings including, domestic work, small businesses, large farms, and factories.

Traffickers use violence, threats, blackmail, false promises, deception, manipulation, and debt bondage to trap vulnerable individuals in horrific situations.

For more information, please call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center: 1(888)373-7888.

Today's guest commentary comes to us from Ricardo Moore, who represents the Warrendale and surrounding neighborhoods on the Detroit Police Commission.

Tip of the week: 3 tips to prevent buglaries

Editor's note: this column was sent in by Commissioner Ricardo Moore, who represents the Warrendale and surrounding areas on the Detroit Police Commission. It was originally authored by Investigator Brian Fountain of the Detroit Police Department.

Being proactive is the key to preventing home break-ins. There are only two ways to enter the home - a door or a window.

Tip 1: Secure the doors

Photo by Brian Lary

First and foremost, all exterior doors should be made of solid wood or metal. Hollow doors can be punched out.

The best locks to attach on the doors are deadbolt locks with a one inch bolt. Shorter bolts can be pried out of the door jamb.

The strike plate and the hinges are the keys to your doors not being forced open or kicked in. The strike plate and hinge screws should be long enough to reach the wall studs (usually, three to four inches).

This will help to protect the doors against a forced entry attack.

Tip 2: Secure the windows
All windows should be alarmed or have bolt locking devices attached. Window bolt locks can be purchased for under $20 at the large home improvement stores.

You can put a nail between the two sashes on double hung windows or put a block of wood in the window to keep them from being forced open.

Security bars are an option, but keep in mind one set should be installed inside the home and a child should be able to unlock them and get out in case of a fire.

Basement windows should be alarmed or changed over to glass block windows.


Tip 3: Watch for suspicious people
Burglars will always knock on your door before they break in. Watch for suspicious persons or cars and report them to 9-1-1 as soon as you are sure they are casing the neighborhood.

IMPORTANT: Your safety is law enforcement's first priority!

Guest Commentary: Things the Emergency Manager Should Do

Erik Drader, a resident of the other fine neighborhoods in Detroit, posted a series of comments on the Facebook page for this blog that outlined what he thinks our soon-to-be appointed emergency manager should do once in office. I agree with some of ideas and disagree with others. However, I think this is a great way to start the conversation about what the emergency manager for Detroit should do.

Therefore, with his permission, I am proud to present his comments as a guest commentary on this blog.

There is no entity or organization in the country that is more wasteful, incompetent, and utterly broken as Detroit city government. Given that, the emergency manager should dismantle as much of city government as possible, and transfer the authority and operations to different organizations and/or units of government. Use Cobo, Campus Martius, Eastern Market, and the Riverwalk as successful examples of the city turning over responsibility to dedicated non-profits, private/public partnerships, regional authorities, or different units of government, and replicate these successes as much as possible. 

I would love to see the city completely get out of the transit business and hand off everything to the new regional transit authority  The city should let Belle Isle become a state park, and then try to find partnerships to help fund and maintain as many other city parks as possible. 

I would also like to see if city airport could be turned over to the county airport authority and expanded. City airport could be a huge asset if the runways were expanded to allow full size aircraft to land there. The City tried to do that while Mayor Coleman A.Young was in office, but there were too many businesses and residents that would have had to move at that time. That area has experienced massive population loss and abandonment, so it should be much easier to acquire the needed land now than it was 30 years ago.

There are many departments that should be eliminated and turned over to state or county control. The departments of health, human services, and human rights are good starting points. The City should also look at turning over property tax collection to the county. 

Any help that we can get from other law enforcement agencies should be welcomed and expanded as much as possible. The county sheriffs department offered to take over responsibility for policing the bus system a couple years ago, and was turned down. The state is willing to deploy more state police officers in the city to help out. Wayne State is willing to help police areas that are a little outside of the Wayne State University district.

If the Detroit Police Department can turn over certain duties and/or partner with other law enforcement agencies, coverage can improve and response times can be cut. Also, there needs to be reorganization within the DPD itself. Shortly before leaving the job, Chief Ralph Godbee said that the DPD had 100 officers working on payroll, which was still being done with paper and pencil. He said that they planned to spend $600,000 on a new payroll system to try to get more efficient. WTF? An organization of 2,500 employees can be properly serviced by a payroll department of 3 civilians. Also, a modern payroll system doesn't cost $600,000 to purchase. Internal restructuring and outside partnering could result in hundreds of additional police patrolling the streets, without any additional expenditure from the city. 

These are just starting points. There is much more that can be done to cut costs and improve service delivery. 

Also, the EM should figure out exactly how much long-term debt is owed by the city and how much of that debt the city can actually afford to pay, and then make a settlement offer to the unions and bond holders. The 2007 United Auto Workers contracts are a good template to work from. The city should set up a union-controlled Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association with a set amount of seed money (negotiated in settlement talks) and then switch over to a defined contribution retirement plan for all city employees.

If the unions and bond holders can not come to a settlement agreement with the city, bankruptcy should then be pursued.

Breaking Down the Ballot Proposals

Interior of the Michigan Capital - Photo by Frank Nemecek

 David Baschal, a local activist and resident of Detroit's nearby New Center neighborhood, sent me his breakdown of the 6 ballot initiatives. The views here are his own.

For those who live in Michigan, here is a rundown of the state proposals with my peanut gallery comments.

Proposal 1 is about the recent changes to the Emergency Manager law. It keeps the law passed in 1990, but gets rid of the unlimited power that recent changes gave to EMs. Vote "no" unless you like totalitarian rule.

Proposal 2 restores collective bargaining rights that state laws have taken away. Vote "yes" to restore those rights.

Proposal 3 increases renewable energy to 25% by 2025 and caps utility rate hikes to 1% per year - oil and energy companies are against it. Vote "yes" if you like to breath clean air.

Proposal 4 allows home healthcare workers to organize, requires background checks for them, and preserves patients' rite to hire who they want. Vote "yes" to protect home healthcare consumers and workers.

Proposal 5 requires 2/3rds majority for any tax change; it is financed by Manny Maroun; it would allow just thirteen state senators to commandeer the senate. Vote "no" if you like democracy.

Proposal 6 requires a vote for any international bridge to be built. Canada has agreed in writing to pay for the new bridge and all cost overruns. Canada money will count as Michigan's money spent on infrastructure that the U.S. Government matches. That money will be spent on other infrastructure projects (roads, overpasses, etc.) within Michigan. Vote "no" unless you want to protect a billionaire’s monopoly of an international crossing.

If you would like to post a guest commentary, please see the contact me page on this blog.

Guest Commentary: Virtual Precincts Don't Address Real Problems

I have to admit that I'm torn in regards to the "virtual police precincts" that Detroit's Police Chief Ralph Godbee announced yesterday. I've advocated cutting administrative jobs within the police department for years. However, what I've advocated for was to cut the jobs at headquarters, rather than the ones in the precincts.

I'm still not sure about these "virtual police precincts." That's why I'm glad to have a retired police sergeant, and longtime resident of the Warrendale neighborhood, David L. Malhalab available to share his thoughts. The comments below are his own, with only minimal editing from me.

Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee has foisted the most outlandish reorganization plan on the residents of Detroit - one that will put the lives of Detroit Police Officers and residents in danger.

He will close precincts - a necessary public building that should be kept open, at all costs. Close City Hall, cut the City Council staff and budget, but keep police precincts open 24/7. Detroit is not Boston or Lansing, it is Detroit - a deeply troubled city with very serious crime problems. Say goodbye to Detroit's false claim of "community relations."

Godbee, the Chief that shouldn't have been, and with the apparent approval of Mayor Dave Bing, will close the precincts between 4 p.m. - 8 a.m. (16 hours) to the public. Precincts have been an essential safe haven, crime reporting, and contact point between the community and the police. It is outrageous and simply, defiantly wrong to close any Detroit Police precinct for any time.

There needs to be some restructuring  within the police department - some inside police duties should be shifted to sworn civilians - but to denigrate and deceive Detroit residents, into believing that police officers don't serve the needs of residents by working inside the precinct stations - is a damnable lie - and Chief Godbee comparing officers who work inside to "Maytag repairman - waiting for a crime to happen" is insulting, and clearly dim witted. Godbee has insulted all police officers in Detroit and throughout the nation, with this clear misrepresentation of what police officers do - while assigned to inside duties.

Detroit needs more police officers on the street patrolling, but officers are needed to take thousands of police reports that citizens make inside the station - that patrolling officers can't take - which frees officers to keep patrolling.

Detroit needs police detectives in the precincts - to investigate the crime that patrolling officers and desk officers take. They need to be the contact point for residents who can't figure out where to go to get follow up information on their reported crime.

Crisnet, the primary crime report system for DPD has been a mistake and a ball and chain around the ankles of police officers since former Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings approved using it - it keeps police officers from properly patrolling the streets - I have complained about it for years - former Assistant Police Chief Ronald Haddad (now Dearborn Police Chief) wrote an infamous memo, confirming my criticism of Crisnet.

Every police chief since Cummings has said that Crisnet would be dropped. It has not been - so police officers continue to be burdended by a slow crime report system.

Councilman Gray Brown has said that he could save the Detroit Police Department $8 million dollars, but has failed to put his suggestions on the table. He continues to try con Detroit residents with his ignorant blather - rather that putting a concrete proposal out so it can be discussed.

Bing put his faith and the lives of Detroit police officers and residents in the hands of Godbee - and we have got nothing good from him.

I have complained about the low hiring standards, lack of training and lack of equipment in the Department, and for years about the nepotism, favoritism, and cronyism that has corrupted and destroyed the Detroit Police Department.

I have said for years that Detroit police officers and residents deserve better from its political leaders and it police executives - Godbee's 'virtual precincts' and his lack of real, solid, and creative solutions to the Departments problems and Mayor Bing's support of him - shows that both Bing and Godbee need to be replaced, and the sooner the better - for the safety of officers and residents.

What do you think ???

DAVID L. MALHALAB
SGT  DPD RETIRED