neonvincent

This video did not fit the theme of CNN and MSNBC report on the connections between U.S. conservatives and the Canadian trucker protests without me putting in more work than it was worth.

I almost used the following video for Judge Doom and the Red Car to replace the clip that had been taken down, but it cut off before ever mentioning the Red Car. Darn.

Now it's time for me to rotate to my political articles from the first half of 2015. Here is the first, which is a retrospective of the past year's most read. Look, two stories about the Green Party and no Trump!

Top elections stories of 2014 about underdogs, endorsements, millages

( With 2015 already into its second month, it is well past time to look at the top Washtenaw County election stories of 2014 before moving on to this year's election news. Based on the number of Facebook shares and likes, five stories stood out, the top three of which shared a common theme, underdogs in last year's general election. The other two were about favorites. One was about the candidates endorsed by Detroit's major daily newspapers, while the other was about a millage proposal. Both the endorsees and the millage proposal went on to crushing wins. )

From Nablopomo on BlogHer.

So what is the NaBloPoMo theme of the month?
BEGINNINGS
January 1st is a blank slate, and you can make the year anything you want it to be? Leave your job and embark on a new career. Open that blank document and start that novel you always wanted to write. Join that online dating site, signup for a new class, or close your eyes and point to a place on a globe to plan your next vacation.

Beginnings can be scary, but as the adage by Lao-tzu goes, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." You can take a single step, right? And after that, it's just putting foot before foot, taking your new journey slowly and letting it unfold at its own pace. Along the way, blog about your experience, not only so readers can follow along, but so that you have a record of how far you've come any time you feel yourself falter.
...
So what are you beginning this year? If you can name at least five things, it means you have at least five blog posts inside of you. And if you can do five posts, you can certainly expand that and do an extra 25 or so.

I have no problem popping off a post a day, as blogging about sustainability and politics in Detroit means never running out of material, so I've signed up again. I'm one of only two politics bloggers there, and the other one has already missed the goal of posting every day. Is this it? skipped the 3rd, 4th, and 6th. Yay, me.

On that note, here are the posts with the beginnings tag from this week.

Nablopomo for January 2012: Beginnings
This one has two versions of Chicago's "Beginnings" one from Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire, and the other from the 27th Lancers Drum and Bugle Corps.

Occupy the Rose Parade, plus an astronaut on gardening in space
I love the Rose Parade, space exploration, and Occupy. I couldn't resist all three in one place.

2012: The Mayan Apocalypse? Yeah, right
Prepare for a year of DOOM!

Last night was the beginning of the primary/caucus season for 2012
And a year of politics, too.

WXYZ begins its North American International Auto Show coverage
This is a Detroit blog, after all.

Governor Snyder sued twice this week
Good going, Nerd.

New beginnings for two Metro Detroit transit projects
21st Century mass transit is "not dead yet!"

And that's it for this week.

Now I find out about this!



Detroit Free Press: Sierra Club's Green Cruise draws cyclists, health enthusiasts to Ferndale
August 14, 2011

Hundreds of people turned out for the Sierra Club's Green Cruise in downtown Ferndale on Saturday, the precursor to next weekend's Woodward Dream Cruise.

The seventh annual event included a human-powered parade on West 9 Mile from Woodward to Planavon -- a parade renowned for its unabashed geek value, with its horde of cyclists on every conceivable style of two- and three-wheeler.
...
Dozens of displays were set up at the event to highlight organic foods, climate change, wind power and more.
...
Virtually everything was free -- even food, beverages and bike maps.

I'm sorry that I missed this event; it looks like exactly the kind of thing someone like me, who is interested in sustainable actions in Metro Detroit, and who really likes Fabulous Ferndale (I was just there this evening), should be attending. Besides, it will make me feel less guilty about enjoying the Woodward Dream Cruise as a spectator.

For two videos and more commentary, surf over to Crazy Eddie's Motie News.

A petition against the criminalization of walking

A.J. Nelson was just four years old when he was killed in a hit-and-run by an intoxicated driver in Atlanta. Now his own mother, Raquel Nelson -- who was also hit by the car while trying to save her son -- faces up to three years in prison for A.J.'s death.

Raquel and her three children got off a bus and -- with several other passengers -- attempted to cross a five-lane highway to get to her apartment across the street. Standing at the median, little A.J. reportedly saw someone else jaywalk and ran out into the street to follow. Raquel ran out after him to stop him. But it was too late. Both Raquel and A.J. were hit by a vehicle, and A.J. died in the hospital a few hours later.

The driver, who admitted having a few beers and pain medication that afternoon, spent just six months in jail. This Tuesday, a judge will sentence Raquel Nelson to serve up to 36 months in jail for the death of her own son.
...
Though the stop itself was directly across the street from Raquel's apartment where she got off the bus, the closest crosswalk was nearly a mile away. After a long day out in Atlanta, and a missed transfer, Raquel crossed the street with other passengers on the bus, taking the most direct route home.

Raquel was prosecuted for "vehicular homicide" and other charges because she and A.J. didn't use a crosswalk to walk home. Unfortunately, she is not the first grieving mother to be prosecuted for the hit-and-run death of her child in Atlanta. The same prosecutor who convicted Raquel for her son's death also convicted another Atlanta mother whose daughter was killed in a hit-and-run while attempting to cross the street.

Full story at Grist: When design kills: The criminalization of walking

Petition at Change.org: Cobb County GA: Release Grieving Mother of Hit-and-Run & Install a Crosswalk

Consider this to be a follow-up to oil prices dropping 10 percent. All stories from WOOD-TV's YouTube channel.

First, the stories before the drop in oil prices last week.

Gasoline averaged around $4.29 per gallon in West Michigan on Tuesday night, but there are several ways to avoid paying the wholesale price.

( See if you notice any theme tying the rest of these videos to high gas prices. )

Now, the videos after the price dropped.

Patrick DeHaan of gasbuddy.com told 24 Hour News 8 it appears prices have peaked for the foreseeable future.

( And how has the price drop affected people's outlook about the economy? )

Above originally posted to Crazy Eddie's Motie News as Grand Rapids Sustainability Video spam courtesty of WOOD-TV.