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NEWS & VIEWS Feedback
Vol. 41 | Issue 18 | Feb. 17-23, 2021
Y our B EST contributor. — @ eric _ noooooooov ak , I ns t ag ram
W e rec eiv ed q u it e a f ew c om m ent s in res p ons e t o las t w eek ’ s c ov er s t ory, a lis t ic le by Jerilyn Jordan of s ex t oys f rom loc al s t ores t o
hat’s the difference between a se toy and a regular toy?
s p ic e u p q u arant ine.
A: Location, location, location. —S t ev e R oc a, F ac ebook
Necessary content. — @ bibat h ediv a, I ns t ag ram “If you would’ve told us that we would’ve
Las t w eek , R ac h el M addow c it ed S t ev e N eav ling ’ s blog abou t R ep u blic an s t at e S enat or M ik e S h irk ey s aying h e believ ed t h e
spent most of 2020 — and, as it’s shaping
Jan. 6 ins u rrec t ion w as a “ h oax ” du ring h er
up, most of 2021 — alone, at home, in bed, with one hand in our pants and the other in a Dorito bag, we would have said ‘we’re more
S BC s o . e ne s rst reported by MT, w as als o p ic k ed u p by t h e D et roit dailies , Washington Post, and ot h er ou t let s . T h ank
of a Takis Fuego family,’ but yeah.” This is the
you f or s h aring ou r s t ory, and f or g iv ing u s
best opening sentence I’ve read coming from M T . Thanks for that tear of hilarity. —
c redit !
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NEWS & VIEWS
Senate Democrats are more comfortable being prey than predator.
SHUTTERSTOCK
Informed Dissent
Wolves at the door By Jeffrey C. Billman
I wanted to ignore Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. It would be a low-rent, low-stakes sequel whose ending was obvious from the opening credits, I assumed. I was mostly correct. The evidence of Trump’s guilt was undeniable and irrefutable. So was the cowardice of the Republican minority that would inevitably acquit him. It didn’t matter how compelling the House managers’ case was or how harrowingly dramatic their presentation. epublicans would find an excuse — a half-assed complaint about the process rather than the merits of Trump’s actions — just as they’d done 13 months ago during the first impeachment trial. This time, the twofold, self-contradictory excuse went like so: (1) The trial was unconstitutional because Trump is now a “private citiz en.” (2) The House improperly rushed Trump’s impeachment before he left office. Needless to say, these aren’t serious arguments. (Democrats were supposed to move more slowly through
impeachment, but try Trump faster? Or does impeachment not apply to the last month of a president’s term? ) They’re not intended to be. They exist not to convince but to provide cover. The calculation was transparently cynical Don’t offend rump’s supporters (you’ll lose votes), but don’t endorse Trump’s rhetoric (you’ll lose funders). No one embodied this cynicism better than Sith lord Mitch McConnell, who, after voting to acquit the former president, made an effective case for Trump’s conviction. “American citiz ens attacked their own government. They used terrorism to try to stop a specific piece of democratic business they did not like,” the minority leader said. “… They did this because they had been fed wild falsehoods by the most powerful man on earth — because he was angry he’d lost an election.” He voted to acquit, McConnell continued, “because former President Trump is constitutionally not eligible for conviction. There is no doubt this is a very close question.
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Donald Trump was the president when the House voted [ on Jan. 13] , though not when the House chose to deliver the [ impeachment] papers.” Not mentioned: McConnell, then majority leader, refused to recall the Senate from its recess to try Trump before Joe B iden’s inauguration. inThere’s nothing particularly in teresting about Mitch McConnell’s well-documented duplicity or amoral lust for power. Nor is there anything Republinovel about the thin reeds Republi cans grasped at to project intellectual coherence while bending the knee conservato MAG A. Writing about conserva tive politics in the Trump era is like listening to an AC/ DC record: The basidetails change, but the song is basi cally the same. Still, two surprises happened on Saturday that lent drama to the fait accompli. he first was the House managers’ decision to call witnesses — which the Senate agreed to, then Democrats capitulated in exchange for nothing. pecifically, House managers wanted to call a Republican congresswoman who issued a statement corroborating a CNN story about a phone call between Trump and House Minority Leader K evin McCarthy in which rump refused to call off the rioters during the insurrection. The testimony might not have changed Republican votes, but it would have increased the political price of acquittal. Trump’s lawyers knew this. So did Senate Republicans, who threatened to drag out the trial for weeks. Democrats could have called their bluff. nstead, they caved. Like kindergarteners, they wanted their recess. Or, as Sen. Chris Coons reportedly told House managers, “People want to get home for V alentine’s Day.” It was an own goal for the ages. As House manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, the star of the trial, put it: “If you make yourself a sheep, the wolves will eat you.” Democrats were perhaps saved from their own fecklessness by surprise number two: Seven Republicans voted to convict Trump, making this the most bipartisan impeachment trial in history. Most were predictable: Sen. Mitt Romney of U tah voted to convict Trump a year ago. Sens. B en Sasse of Nebraska and Pat Toomey of Penn-
sylvania condemned Trump after the Jan. 6 riot, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska demanded his resignation. They and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine rejected a Republican motion in late January to declare the trial unconstitutional. More unexpectedly, on the trial’s first day, ouisiana en. ill assidy joined the apostates in a second vote on the impeachment’s constitutionality. V ery unexpectedly, on Saturday, Sen. Richard B urr of North Carolina declared Trump “guilty of inciting an insurrection.” Applaud them for swimming against the tide. B ut they weren’t jumping on a live grenade. B urr and Toomey are retiring. Cassidy and Collins won’t face reelection until 2026 . Neither will Sasse, though he might seek the G OP’s presidential nomination by carving out an anti-MAG A lane. If Romney runs in 2024 , he’ll need U tah’s independents and Democrats. Murkowski is up next year, but Alaska’s new ranked-choice system means she doesn’t have to cater to the MAG A crowd. It goes without saying that the half-doz en other Republicans with purported presidential aspirations obsequiously backed Trump. State parties in Nebraska, Louisiana, and North Carolina denounced their treacherous senators. Trump allies in the House lashed out at McConnell. And Trump bootlicker Lindsey G raham announced that B urr’s vote made Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump the favorite to replace B urr — never mind her lack of qualifications or New Y ork residency — which must be unhappy news to far-right candidate Mark Walker, who’d already condemned B urr. These are the outlines of the forthcoming power struggle: Trump will insert himself into primaries to reward loyalists and punish adversaries. McConnell will try to hold back a flood of fringe candidates while keeping his caucus together by refocusing their enmity on the Democrats’ agenda. His tightrope act will allow no room for compromise. Herein lies a lesson Democrats would be foolish not to learn: Though Trump’s culpability was never in dispute, Democrats couldn’t muster 6 0 votes to convict him. How do they e pect to overcome a filibuster on anything substantial? f course, eliminating the filibuster is a wolf move, and Senate Democrats are more comfortable being prey than predator. Subscribe to Informed Dissent at billman.substack.com.
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FEATURE
How a Michigan couple radicalized the state’s GOP and emboldened its insurrectionists By Steve Neavling Two months before Trump supporters stormed the U.S.
Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, an angry mob descended on the basement of the TCF Center in downtown Detroit. Shouting “Stop the count!” and “Let us in!” they pounded on the windows of a large conference room, where workers were counting absentee ballots for the general election. A prayer circle broke out, and some held signs that read “No Reason for Treason” and “Christians for Trump.” Police scrambled to stop them from getting inside as election workers looked on in fear. At the center of the chaos were state State Rep. Matt Maddock, R-Milford, and his wife, Michigan Republican Party co-chair Meshawn Maddock — an antagonistic, Trump-loving power couple whose influence is growing as the state P shifts further to the right.
Like the violent insurrection on Jan. 6, the protest in Detroit was inspired by falsehoods about the election. Earlier in the day, Matt Maddock falsely claimed on social media that 35,000 ballots “showed up out of nowhere” in the middle of the night and that Democrats “were pretty much cheating in front of poll watchers.” “Who is available to go to (TCF Center) right now to help monitor the vote?” he pleaded on Facebook. “Need help.” An identical message was posted on two Facebook pages operated by rightwing groups founded by the Maddocks. The posts were shared more than 1,800 times, whipping up unfounded fears that Democrats were stealing the election. My friend drove to a land ounty
from quite far away, per your request,” Nicole ML responded on Facebook. Hundreds of people commented on the Facebook pages, expressing outrage. “This election is a sham!” Barbara Nutt responded. “Damned thieves!!!” cried Joel Krupa. “They are stealing our election!!” echoed Leah Reed Sprague Davis. ear od please send your faithful warriors to help,” Imelda Flint wrote. Laura Williams had another idea: “Insert sleeping gas to the vents!” Inside TCF Center, Meshawn Maddock, who wasn’t wearing a mask, whipped out her phone, adorned with a Trump 2020 sticker, and recorded video of election workers. Her husband paced back and forth and posted a live
PART ONE of an ongoing series on right-wing extremism and the radicalization of the Michigan Republican Party. Facebook video in which he falsely suggested Republican poll watchers were not allowed to monitor the count. As the evening grew on, the mob grew bigger and spilled outside the building. “Thank you all for answering the call,” Matt Maddock posted on Facebook later in the day. “Dems are doing every trick in the book to obstruct poll watchers. They are denying access, blocking poll watchers from seeing the voter lists, shutting down elevators, chaining exit doors, telling volunteers to leave as they arrive, prohibiting volunteers from returning when they leave and more.” The truth was, more than 100 Republicans had signed up to monitor the polls, and they were allowed to observe the votes. No evidence of voter fraud was ever found. Like with the Jan. 6 insurrection, Trump supporters were trying to disrupt the democratic process. A day after the TCF Center incident, Meshawn Maddock urged followers on Twitter to eep up the fight, escalating the kind of dangerous rhetoric that inspired insurrection. “Do not back down,” she tweeted. “Democrats are trying to steal this
election and they are not even trying to hide their treachery.” The protest and the falsehoods that led up to it were a prelude to the violent riot at the . . apitol, where five people, including a Capitol Hill police o cer, died. or two months, the Maddocks continued to play an outsized role in the “Stop the Steal” movement, pushing false claims about voter fraud, fomenting outrage, and encouraging Trump supporters to challenge the election. They routinely made baseless claims on Twitter and Facebook pages where participants discussed civil war. As tensions were reaching a boiling point, Meshawn Maddock helped promote and organize busloads of Michigan residents to travel to Washington, D.C., for the Jan. 6 rally, where she delivered a speech a day before the insurrection, fusing together Christian nationalism and Trumpism. Standing next to her husband, she declared Trump was “the greatest president this nation will ever know.” “No matter what happens today or tomorrow, now that od reigns, we trust the ord, but we never stop fighting,” she told the swelling crowd.
MEET THE MADDOCKS
Matt Maddock, a bail bondsman, early Tea Party organizer, and longtime grassroots activist, was elected to the state House in 2018 with an endorsement from reality-TV star Duane Chapman, aka “Dog the Bounty
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Hunter.” With a fanatic devotion to Trump, Meshawn Maddock ascended the Michigan Republican Party ranks and served on the national advisory board for “Women for Trump,” organizing pro-Trump rallies and wine-andcheese events ahead of the election, where guests gathered without wearing masks, in violation of pandemic orders. She also was one of the most outspoken opponents of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID-19 restrictions, peddling falsehoods about the virus as it claimed thousands of lives in Michigan. Even after the infamous Jan. 6 riot, a month later, the former stay-at-home mom was elected co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party, a move that political observers say demonstrates the radicalization of the state’s GOP and a sure sign that Trumpism isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. eff Timmer, who headed the Michigan Republican Party from 2005-2009, says Meshawn Maddock moved up the party ranks by fully embracing Trumpism, antagonizing opponents, and indulging in outlandish conspiracy theories. She is now “the most powerful person in Michigan Republican politics,” he says. “She is nuts. Her husband is nuts. They are crazy, stupid, and mean,” Timmer tells Metro Times. “They think they are saving the world.” bout five years ago, the Maddoc s co-founded the Michigan Conservative oalition, an influential collection of right-wing organizations and pro-Trump groups aimed at recruiting and training an “army of conservative activists.” The mission of the coalition, which goes by the name of Michigan Trump Republicans, is to shift the state GOP further to the right. “The Republican Party had taken a wrong turn,” the coalition’s website states. “That turn was that the Party was headed left, away from the principles that our Founding Fathers had laid out in our Constitution. It was no longer even following its platform. A handful of volunteers felt called to guide the GOP, and especially the Michigan Republican Party, back to the ‘right’ side of the road.” In 2016, the coalition began hosting Battle Cry, a two-day training event billed as the largest conservative conference in the Midwest. The aim is to recruit and train conservative precinct delegates to reshape the party’s agenda. Its past events featured speakers such as My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, Trump operative Corey Lewandowsi, and rightwing writer Michelle Malkin. The coalition is also known for hosting boisterous rallies. After Rep. Justin Amash, a Michigan Republican at the time, called for Trump’s impeache-
Two days days before the insurrection, Meshawn Maddock declared, “As a leader for Republicans in Michigan, I’m going to stand shoulder to shoulder with Americans that know voter fraud is real. … Now is not the time for summer soldiers and sunshine Patriots, now is the time for brave men to do the right thing.” ment, the coalition held a “Squash Amash” rally in Grand Rapids in June 2019 that drew more than 100 supporters, many of them waving American flags and holding pro Trump signs. “If President Trump were standing next to me, do you know what he’d say? e would say, ustin, you re fired,” Meshawn Maddock, wearing a Women for Trump shirt, told a screaming crowd. The coalition also held rallies to disrupt town hall meetings held by U.S. Reps. Elissa Slotkin and Haley Stevens, both Democrats, because they supported impeachment. For the Maddocks, politics is a noholds barred fight between right and wrong. “I feel like it’s time for conservatives to start using the same tactics that the left has used for a long time, and I don’t want to be passive about it anymore,” Meshawn Maddock told Bridge last year. “I’m really not interested in bipartisan or reaching-across-the-aisle politics. The world is divided right now, and I’m OK with it, because the truth is, I feel like I’m on the right side.” A day after Christmas, the coalition declared on Facebook that “Trump Republicans will dominate the party.” Earlier this month, Matt Maddock and the coalition spoke in support of U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a newly elected Georgia Republican who spread QAnon conspiracy theories that allege the government is run by a secret cabal of Satanic pedophiles, blamed alifornia s wildfires on ewish space lasers, and endorsed baseless claims that school shootings in Florida and onnecticut were staged false flag” events. “SHE is Trumps GOP!” the coalition said of Greene on Facebook. “We need to embrace her.” As many Republicans on the national level tried to distance themselves from Greene, Matt Maddock boasted that he donated $100 to her campaign. “You should too,” Maddock posted on Facebook. At a Black Lives Matter march in Milford in June 2020, Meshawn Maddock stood along the side of the road with her husband and booed young demonstrators, many of whom of them teenagers, who were chanting “Black
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Lives Matter” and marching with signs advocating racial justice. “They called the kids losers and entitled brats and gave them the thumbs down,” Sarah Moore, a 65-year-old Milford activist, tells Metro Times. “They said Black lives don’t matter in this community. I was appalled.” Moore, whose family has been active in the community for generations, said the Maddocks are a disgrace to Milford. “This is not the community for them. I’ve never dealt with anything like them,” she says. “They’re horrible people.” She says the Maddocks have a big wooden cross on their lawn and used to fly the onfederate flag.
DOWNPLAYING COVID-19
The Michigan Conservative Coalition garnered national attention last year by organizing Operation Gridlock, an anti-lockdown protest that intentionally jammed the streets in Lansing in April and inspired similar demonstrations nationwide, including a protest two weeks later that led to a heavily armed mob entering the state Capitol building. Maddock spoke with some of the intruders and later told The Detroit News, “I like being around people with guns.” Since the pandemic broke out in Michigan in March, the Maddocks have downplayed COVID-19, peddled misinformation about the virus, and criticized masks. is less lethal than the flu,” Matt Maddock posted on Facebook in October. According to the World Health Organi ation, the flu ills between , and 650,000 people a year worldwide. By contrast, COVID-19 has claimed 2.4 million lives across the globe in the past year — and that’s with tight social-distancing restrictions that aren’t in place to combat the flu. In November, Matt Maddock led an effort to begin impeachment hearings for Whitmer over her handling of the coronavirus, which include social-distancing measures that researchers have said saved lives. “She has exceeded her constitutional authority, violated the constitutional rights of the people of Michigan, issued
orders that are not in the best interests of the people of this state, and used the Pandemic as an opportunity to reward political allies,” the impeachment resolution stated. Then ouse pea er ee hatfield, a Republican, quickly shut down the process, saying he doesn’t support impeaching someone “because we disagree with them.” Whitmer dismissed the impeachment calls as a political stunt. “Governor Whitmer doesn’t have any time for partisan politics or people who don’t wear masks, don’t believe in science, and don t have a plan to fight this virus,” hitmer s spo eswoman Tiffany Brown said in a statement at the time. On its website, the Michigan Conservative Coalition claims “masks are dangerous to your health” and includes a link to a video that has since been removed from YouTube for containing misinformation about the virus. In November, Meshawn Maddock said she’s boycotting retailers who sell masks as gifts. “Any retailer that is selling masks this holiday season will not get my $ #BoycottMaskGifts,” she tweeted. “No one should want to give MASKS!?”
TRYING TO OVERTURN THE ELECTION
After the TCF Center event, the Maddocks grew in prominence as they continued to push falsehoods about the election. In one bogus claim in early December, Meshawn Maddock insisted she had obtained a list of dead Michigan voters and posted it on Facebook, along with the home addresses of the allegedly deceased people. She claimed more than 2,000 people “voted in Wayne County by absentee ballot that were CONFIRMED deceased.” “Just imagine if our Secretary of State (Jocelyn) Benson DID HER JOB and checked all 83 counties?!” Maddock wrote. The post was shared hundreds of times before people on the list began calling her out. “I’m certainly not dead!” one woman responded. Another man said, “Two people in my neighborhood are on this list. They’re very much alive. Hell, their boys play baseball with my sons.” At a Stop the Steal rally on Dec. 8, Meshawn Maddock declared she won’t end the battle to overturn the election “until my president tells me to stop.” “It is fake news that Donald Trump supporters are giving up,” Maddock told the crowd. “It is in the Lord’s hands, we trust him, but we are going to do our work while we are here. We have seen too much. Have you seen cheating? Have you seen that they’re trying to steal this election? We’re not
going to give up. No matter what happens, we are going to eep fighting.” The following day, Matt Maddock released a letter demanding a “complete forensic assessment” of the state s election results, claiming there were numerous irregularities” and eyewitness accounts of fraud. The letter, posted on Maddoc s aceboo page, inspired outrage. eads need to roll,” endy han responded. o when do we start riot s,” Michael J. Bayard asked. On the thread, Matt Maddock posted, t ain t over.” n ec. , when the state s electoral college delegates voted in support of President-elect Joe Biden, the Maddocks disregarded state law and held their own caucus with an alternate slate of delegates to certify” the election for Trump. They tried to enter the state apitol, which was closed because of credible threats of violence,” to deliver their votes for Trump but were stopped by Michigan tate Police. After the video-recorded stunt, in a conspiracy-laden press conference, Meshawn Maddoc declared they weren t bac ing down. “If the fake news and the leftist Democrats and even the deep state neverTrumper epublicans and the media and big tech, if they thin that voters who have been disenfranchised and do not trust our election system right now are just going to go away, if they think we re ust going to roll over after what we ve witnessed has happened and that we re ever going to trust our elections again, they re wrong,” Maddoc said. In the Legislature, Matt Maddock made several attempts to overturn the election. n late ecember, he and Daire Rendon, R-Lake City, joined a federal lawsuit filed by Trump supporters to challenge the results of the election. The suit asked a judge to allow lawma ers to certify states election results, a move that would enable the epublican led Michigan egislature to re ect iden s victory. ut a udge turned down the suit, calling their arguments flat out wrong” and a fundamental and obvious misreading of the onstitution.” s the an. rally in ashington, . ., neared, the Maddoc s amplified falsehoods about the election and alluded to civil war. On Twitter, Meshwan Maddock insisted, P T was robbed of this election” and o not bac down. Democrats are trying to steal this election and they are not even trying to hide their treachery.” n ew ear s ay, Meshawn Maddock tweeted, “Good morning January st, ,” a reference to the evolution-
Matt and Meshawn Maddock at a Republican Party fundraiser. | JONATHAN OOSTING, BRIDGE MICHIGAN
ary ar. In an interview with the anti-lockdown group tand p Michigan, Matt Maddoc also spo e about civil war. “As soon as we lose our faith in elections, the next step after that, the same thing that happened after the civil war,” Maddoc said. They lost faith in elections because there was inade uate elections going on. The next step was a civil war, so we re treading on really, really thin ice.” Two days days before the insurrection, Meshawn Maddock told the Detroit Free Press, s a leader for epublicans in Michigan, m going to stand shoulder to shoulder with Americans that know voter fraud is real. … Now is not the time for summer soldiers and sunshine Patriots, now is the time for brave men to do the right thing.” In the meantime, Meshawn Maddock helped organi e and promote buses of supporters from suburban etroit to ashington, . ., for the rally. n an. , a day before the insurrection, Maddoc and other epublican lawmakers from Michigan wrote a letter to Vice President Mike Pence, urging him not to certify the election, uestioning the validity of hundreds of thousands of ballots” in battleground states. Later in the day, Meshawn Maddock, flan ed by enormous Trump flags, delivered a speech to thousands of people, saying over buses” are headed from Michigan to ashington, . . Calling Trump “the greatest president this nation will ever now,” she
said, e have the scales lifted off our eyes. omehow we are able to see what other people can t see. t s our ob to show that to them.” “No matter what happens today or tomorrow, I know that God reigns, we trust the ord, but we never stop fighting.” er husband, standing ne t to her, lifted his fist. On the day of the insurrection, Meshawn Maddock declared on Twitter, t s Trump s party now.” On the day of the insurrection, just hours before Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, smashed windows, and assaulted police, Meshawn Maddock posted a now-deleted video on Instagram in which a man yells, e need to march on the Capitol when we are done here and drag these people out of power.” The Maddocks insist they did not participate in the riot and were in a hotel room when the violence bro e out. nstead of uic ly condemning the insurrection, Maddock complained about Twitter loc ing Trump s account on the day after the insurrection. Twitter loc ing the President s account is unbelievable in a year of o ay That s ot Possible,” she tweeted. nly after she came under fire from people within her own party did she speak out against the violence. condemn the violence and breaching of the capitol in the strongest possible terms,” Maddoc tweeted the day after the insurrection. “The rally was supposed to be a peaceful event and people who bro e the law should be held accountable. am horrified by the
death of the young woman and pray for the healing of our nation.” But shortly after, on the right-wing social media site Parler, Maddock echoed a uote from Michael lynn, one of non s most high profile adherents, that said “Trump will remain president.” t s all apologies and prepared statements on Twitter, but over on Parler, incoming Michigan GOP chair Meshawn Maddoc is still busily spreading conspiratorial nonsense about Trump remaining president,” oshua Pugh, communications director of the Michigan , tweeted on an. .
CALLS TO EXPEL REP. MADDOCK
ollowing the insurrection, emocratic lawmakers have called for disciplinary actions against Matt Maddock, and moderate epublicans have distanced themselves from the couple. A day after the riot, state Rep. Rachel Hood, D-Grand Rapids, called Matt Maddoc a domestic terrorist” who incited an insurrection. e must be censured and have committees stripped,” ood tweeted. tate ep. braham iyash, amtramc , introduced a bill to investigate and expel Maddock from the House, saying it appears he violated his oath to the Constitution. don t thin censure goes far enough,” iyash tells Metro Times. “You can t serve in a representative democracy if you don t believe in it to begin with. verything he has said has been baseless. t s an assault on our democracy.”
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Other Democrats support taking action against Maddock. “It’s clear by his actions that Rep. Maddock does not believe in the very oath to uphold the Constitution that he took yesterday,” House Democratic Leader Donna Lasinski, of Scio Township, said in a statement last month. Among those calling for Matt Maddock’s resignation were the Oakland County Democratic Party and the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. “This attack, by our own fellow citizens — many from Michigan — to subvert the will of voters and the legal results of a free and fair election, is not and should not be construed as a partisan issue,” Jody LaMacchia, chairwoman of the Oakland County Democratic Party, said in a statement. “But more than just seeing each and every person who was present and committed acts of violence, vandalism and sedition accountable, we must hold elected officials who egg this traitorous behavior on — and the donors who funded it — accountable.” An online petition signed by more than 9,000 people calls for a recall of Matt Maddock. “No matter which party you belong to or candidate you support these people incited domestic terrorism and have no place to have any position of power in our community,” the petition states. “This couple and the President has made a mockery of our most sacred institutions including the peaceful transfer of power.”
‘UNHOLY LUST’ FOR TRUMP
Although Trump is no longer president, his influence on the Michigan Republican Party is stronger than ever. Moderate Republicans who try to distance themselves from Trump and the baseless conspiracy theories are being squeezed out of the party. But the state GOP is making a dangerous gamble. Democrats have seized control of the state’s three statewide positions — governor, attorney general, and secretary of state — and Trump lost by 150,000 votes. Without moderate Republicans, the party risks alienating voters who are turned off by Trump. Some Republicans tried to steer the party away from Trumpism. On the day of the insurrection, Republican activist Dennis Lennox called for Maddock to “withdraw” her nomination. “If she doesn’t, the convention should suspend the rules and elect a candidate from the floor. Period,” he tweeted. Other well-known Republicans, including Northville Township trustee Chris Roosen, former state Sen. Mike Kowall, and GOP strategists Greg McNeilly and Matt Marsden have also
The Maddocks were behind an attempt to block the ballot count at Detroit’s TCF Center. | DEVI BONES, SHUTTERSTOCK
“They think they have this calling that Trump was sent from God. They’re fucking crazy. There’s no other way to put it. There is no touchstone to reality.” - FORMER MICHIGAN REPUBLICAN PARTY HEAD JEFF TIMMER
spoken out against Maddock as party chairwoman. Not only is the party deeply divided, it’s facing legal troubles. As delegates prepared to vote for the party’s leadership earlier this month, outgoing GOP Chairwoman Laura Cox leveled serious allegations against U-M Regent Ron Weiser, who was vying for her seat and was endorsed by Meshawn Maddock. In a letter to the Michigan Bureau of Elections, Cox claimed that Weiser may have violated the Michigan Campaign Finance Act by using party funds to shell out $200,000 to Shelby Township Clerk Stan Grot to get him to drop out of the GOP race for secretary of state in 2018. Despite the accusations, Weiser defeated Cox with 66% of the vote, becoming Michigan GOP co-chair along with Maddock. The Michigan Bureau of Elections is investigating the claims. Timmer tells Metro Times that the party, controlled by leaders with an “unholy lust for Trump,” is headed down a dangerous path. “They think they have this calling that Trump was sent from God,” Timmer says. “They’re fucking crazy. There’s no other way to put it. There is no touchstone to reality.”
14 February 17-23, 2021 | metrotimes.com
In the weeks after the riot, the Maddocks and high-ranking Republicans in Michigan continued to downplay the deadly riot and peddle misinformation about election fraud. At a diner with Hillsdale County Republicans on Feb. 4, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, a Clarklake Republican, falsely claimed the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was “a hoax” and “staged” by Trump opponents. “That wasn’t Trump’s people. That’s been a hoax from Day One. That was all prearranged,” Shirkey, the state’s highest-ranking Republican said, of the riot. “It was arranged by somebody who was funding it.” Shirkey has also cozied up to militiamen. Two weeks after dozens of armed protesters forced their way into the state Capitol last April to protest Governor Whitmer’s stay-at-home order, Shirkey spoke at one of their events, sharing a stage with one of the 13 men charged with plotting to kidnap Whitmer. “Sometimes politicians get it backward,” Shirkey told the protesters. “That’s when these groups need to stand up and test that assertion of authority by the government. We need you now more than ever.” By embracing domestic extremists
and advancing falsehoods about the election, Michigan Republicans have emboldened Trump loyalists and paved the path for the insurrection, according to Timmer and other observers. “Michigan was the dress rehearsal for Jan. 6,” Timmer says. While Republican leaders on the national level are trying to unify the party to win back moderate voters, the GOP in Michigan and other states are becoming more extreme in their embrace of Trumpism. In Arizona, the state party censured the Republican governor for imposing COVID-19 restrictions. In Oregon, GOP leaders have claimed that the Jan. 6 riot was a “false flag operation designed to discredit President Trump” and passed a resolution condemning 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump. The Hawaii Republican Party tweeted a defense of QAnon believers and praised the “high quality” work of a Holocaust denier. In Wyoming, the state party censured U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney for voting to impeach Trump. One thing is clear: Republicans have eroded trust in the democratic system. Nearly a third of Michigan’s registered voters still believe Trump won the election or are unsure who did, a Detroit News poll found. About 30% of Republicans nationwide viewed the D.C. rioters as “patriots,” a YouGov Direct poll found. “Crazy or dangerous or seditionists or mean or racist or xenophobic isn’t a dealbreaker for these people,” Timmer says. The Maddocks declined to comment for this story.
CULTURE
Detroit rapper Trick Trick.
KAHN SANTORI DAVISON
The (not-so) bad guy
Detroit rapper Trick Trick stars in new FX series ‘Hip Hop Uncovered’ By Biba A dam s
Hip-hop is more than the world’s most dominant musical genre — it’s a culture that spans across colors, creeds, and several generations. For every moment, there are people in front that are the voices and faces that lead it, and then there are people behind who support, encourage, and sometimes even finance it. everal of the figures behind the scenes in hip-hop music and culture are telling their stories in the new FX series H ip H op U nc ov ered, which premiered on Friday, Feb. 12. The six-part series dives deep into the street culture that was and is the foundation of hip-hop, and how many of urban America’s untold street stories are instrumental in some of your favorite rappers’ songs and success. Eugene Henley, known as B ig U , a street enforcer turned artist manager from Los Angeles, is an executive producer of the series and came up with the original concept. He then called out to his network of behind-the-scenes heavy hitters across the country: James Antney from New Y ork’s Supreme Team crime family, better known as B immy; Jacques Agnant, also from New Y ork, infamously known as Haitian Jack; the only woman to participate, Debra Antney, a New Y ork native turned Atlanta power broker.
And Detroit’s own Christian Mathis, best known around here as rapper Trick Trick. n the very first episode, rick rick says, “I’ve done a lot of horrible shit, but I did it with love.” K nown as the leader of the G oon Sqwad, a rap group (and sometimes team of street enforcers), Trick Trick is the only cast member who’s also a music artist himself. B ut it isn’t just his hit songs like “B ooty B ounce” and “Welcome 2 Detroit” that he’s known for. It’s his towering height, cool demeanor, deep no-nonsense voice, and his leadership in Detroit’s hip-hop community — and, occasionally, controversy. “I can be a very destructive person when I want to be,” Trick Trick tells M et ro T im es in an exclusive interview. “I love very hard. I love my family. I was brought in a family where I was taught to love my family, we don’t have the normal family quarrels. My brothers and sisters and I were extremely tight, and when one had a problem, we all had a problem. My father was a Marine … his father, his father was a monster. [ Lau g h s ] I guess you can say I have the genes of a monster Marine.” I have great memories of Trick Trick. He’s U nk to me, a term of endearment for a person who’s like an uncle, but who isn’t really your uncle.
I remember my 30th birthday party, where he had a member of the G oon qwad drop me off in my own car because I was too tipsy to drive. “I’m not leaving until I know who is taking her home,” he said. That’s the Trick Trick I know: a man who, above all things, always wanted to make sure that the people he cared about were straight. “I was taught that if someone goes against that which you love, you defend it with everything you got,” he says. “A leader leads by example. The example that I happen to set (in Detroit hip-hop) was one of loving hard, one of unity, and family.” And there were moments when, as Detroit’s primary hip-hop enforcer, his mission wasn’t always aligned with what others wanted to see. Like in 2014 , when Rick Ross wouldn’t take the stage at then-Chene Park, because … well, because Trick Trick said he couldn’t, due to what he claims is a “No Fly Z one” in Detroit for those who don’t support him and other local artists. Concertgoers saw Trick and a crowd form a human blockade, which resulted in Ross canceling his show. Or the infamous chain that belonged to a young rapper known then as Y ung B erg that made the rounds on social media after being snatched
off his neck in Detroit by “somebody.” Embarrassed, Y ung B erg eventually changed his name to Hitmaka, and is now a music producer and currently a V P at Atlantic Records. “I don’t regret shit,” Trick Trick says. “I don’t regret not a fucking thing on this earth that ever happened to me or for me. As far as No Fly Z one is concerned, hell naw … I’d do it again in a heartbeat if I felt like I had to or I needed to address that kind of energy.” He argues that his No Fly Z one message of national artists not coming into Detroit without booking Detroit acts as openers and putting intense pressure on local radio stations was successful. “Detroit artists are doing well now,” he says. “Detroit artists were playing events like Summer Jam … Detroit artists are on the radio now. As far as I’m concerned … it worked. My intentions were pure, though sometimes violent. B ut if you spare the rod, you spoil the child. If somebody had a problem about the way I said shit was gon go where I’m from … it was gon go my way. Whether the city like it, the police like it, the music industry like it or not.” Trick Trick’s not a fan of doing press. In fact, he wasn’t super excited to do this interview with M et ro T im es . I had to chase him down with the help of my own street connections. B ut U nk has love for those who have love for him. We talked about B ig Proof, who he talked about in H ip H op U nc ov ered. His brief segment on the Detroit rap legend’s death is moving. I saw him the day after P died. The close-knit hip-hop community gathered in mourning at Northern Lights, and he held me close. He said, “B eeb … you can chill here with me.” Despite his gangster persona, Trick’s always been incredibly empathetic. As we end our interview, I tell him that I lost my mom to the coronavirus pandemic. He lost his own mother in 2019 . He advises me to pull close to my family and share her memory with others who knew her — that’s how he got through. “G od gave you everything you need, B iba. A mind to make decisions — and talent and time,” he says. “Take your thoughts and control them. Don’t allow who you are to be defined by what other people think about you in their head. That’s their problem, not yours. nd remember that you can’t fi yesterday because the only thing you have right now is today, and it’s a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.” Say hello to the (not-so) bad guy. H ip H op U nc ov ered also features appearances by Detroit’s Royce Da 5’9 ” and M et ro T im es contributor K ahn Santori Davison.
metrotimes.com | February 17-23, 2021
15
CULTURE
The WGPR-TV Museum.
KELLEY O’NEILL
A first for TV
The nation’s first Black-owned TV station, founded in Detroit, is now a historic landmark By K elley O ’ N eill
WGPR-TV, the Detroit
broadcast pioneer and first television station in the U nited States to be independently owned and operated by frican mericans, is now officially a historic landmark. n eb. 1, the first day of lack History Month, the - Historical ociety announced that the station had been added to the ational egister of Historic laces, the federal government’s official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. he station was founded in 1 by Dr. illiam . anks, an attorney, businessman, and founder of the fraternal order of the nternational ree and ccepted Modern Masons and rder of Eastern tars, after he purchased 10 . M, the first M radio station owned and operated by frican mericans in Michigan, in 1 . nspired by the radio station’s success, anks began looking into . hannel 2 on local H antennas , located at 1 E. efferson in Detroit, went on the air on eptem-
ber 2 , 1 , and remained open for 20 years. Detroit was never the same. anks founded both stations with a purpose to serve as a career springboard for young people and provide much-needed ethnic diversity to local television. - opened doors to aspiring reporters, producers, directors, salespeople, accountants, and managers. “ oung people just sort of flocked to us from all over,” says anks’s daughter enicia regory, who became vice president and station manager for - and - M. nlike other local Detroit stations, independent - didn’t have to rely on a national network to supply its programs. he station filled the majority of its broadcast day with shows produced by local writers, producers, directors, and performers. his original lineup of programs set - apart as the voice of Detroit. hile the station was lack-owned, it was dedicated to serving the entire metro Detroit region and its many ethnic groups, and included programming such as the popular D ino’ s Greec e T oday and P olis h S h ow c as e.
16 February 17-23, 2021 | metrotimes.com
“ ou cannot discriminate and say, e’re only going to show lack shows and that’s it,” regory says. “ ou wouldn’t survive in the market. ou have to reach out to the whole community.” ne popular show, T h e S c ene, was basically Detroit’s version of S ou l T rain. T h e S c ene featured music and dancing and attracted artists such as tevie onder and the our ops to appear on the air with host at Morris during its run from 1 -1 8 . hat show was spun off into T h e N ew D anc e S h ow , which ran from 1 88-1 and featured early Detroit techno artists like ybotron. nother original, Big C it y N ew s , covered local, national, and international stories relevant to Detroit’s frican merican community. A ll N ig h t M ov ies made the first station in the Detroit television market to broadcast 2 hours a day. t was also the first local station to use electronic news gathering E cameras, which created an edge over local stations still using 1 mm film. ther shows included F ac e t o F ac e,
D et roit C rim e A lert , Gos p el T im e, S t ric t ly S p eak ing , and T alk of t h e T ow n. “ have always believed that lackowned broadcasting stations are important to the community and to lack people,” wrote anks’s granddaughter heila regory in her book, A Leg ac y of a D ream s : T h e Lif e and C ont ribu t ions of D r. W illiam V enoid Bank s . “ ithout them, there can be distortion and lack of vital information to both minority and majority communities.” oday the building that housed - is the home of the illiam . anks roadcast Museum, which opened in anuary of 201 on Martin uther ing Day. he museum’s mission is to preserve the amazing history of - and its early days and to highlight the station’s contributions to local television programming. isitors to the museum can e plore the history of - and - M in colorful story panels, videos, memorabilia and interactive displays. T h e W GP R - T V M u s eu m is loc at ed at . Jefferson e. Detroit facebook. c om / w g p rm u s eu m .
metrotimes.com | February 17-23, 2021
17
CULTURE Higher Groud
Detroit native gets grant to help bring diversity into the marijuana industry By Larry Gabriel
“Cannabis is essential and
we’re excited to bring you some of the best, high quality indoor flower on the market,” reads the mission statement from Neighborhood Essentials. “We know it’s about more than the high. It’s about your health and well-being.” That’s next-level thinking about marijuana. For many years there was a fight to legalize it, to make marijuana a legitimate part of our lives. Advocates for the plant have successfully flipped the script in moving marijuana from outcast to essential status. It’s become an attitude that says that marijuana is here —let’s make it the best it can be in the community. That seems to be the plan at Neighborhood Essentials, a marijuana microbusiness owned by Tre Hobbs. He’s a legacy Detroiter who qualifies for the social-equity aid offered by city and state programs. Hobbs grew up on the east side before attending Henry Ford High School and later getting a freeagent shot in the NFL as a wide receiver. He didn’t stick with any football team, so now he’s about to embark on a career in cannabis when Detroit begins granting recreational marijuana licenses in a few months. “Our neighborhoods were devastated by the war on drugs,” reads the mission statement. “Sadly the impact remains today, but we’re actively working to shift the narrative. Neighborhood Essentials plans to be a community partner, giving back in ways that enrich and repair. We’re not merely providing cannabis, but essential medicine with education on proper usage.” Detroit’s new recreational-marijuana ordinance allows for 35 microbusinesses licenses. This new category of commerce allows licensees to grow up to 150 plants, process marijuana into edibles and concentrates, and sell products to the public (but not other marijuana businesses), all from one facility. Neighborhood Essentials recently got a leg up on achieving its lofty goals when Hobbs was selected for a $50,000 Momentum grant from the Californiabased Eaze cannabis company. Eaze is a large cannabis-delivery company
that also markets its own brands and products and will soon be expanding into Michigan. The grant aims to give minority owners some momentum into the cannabis industry. Neighborhood Essentials is one of 10 companies chosen for the 2021 class of Eaze’s Momentum business accelerator, which includes a 12-week business-development program. “Neighborhood Essentials is the voice that will bridge the gap between the legacy and legal markets,” says Hobbs. “I will host classes for people who have an interest in the cannabis business.” The “legacy” market is the old illegal or “black market,” which has trafficked in marijuana for several decades and has not easily given in to the legally regulated system. That market has survived on a system of extreme personal loyalty between clients, sellers, and growers. The mircrobusiness model might be a way for people to make that leap to legitimacy. “We empower our communities with resources and tools that restore and create pathways of success for future generations,” reads the mission statement. It’s the kind of thing one usually hears from a socially oriented community organization — not a marijuana outfit. However, there have always been lofty goals attached to marijuana legalization, such as ending the war on nonwhite communities and ending mass incarceration. Now Tre Hobbs has entered the fray. He doesn’t even have a location picked out yet, but he’s got some startup money, a business plan in hand, and a goal of being essential to the community. That’s a pretty good beginning. Now if the city can just stay on schedule for granting licenses. When these new licenses come through in Detroit, it will alter the operation of marijuana businesses. There will be microbusinesses with their boutique products. There will be consumption lounges where you can drop in and imbibe. There will be licensed event organizers who can throw a marijuana party anytime or anywhere.
18 February 17-23, 2021 | metrotimes.com
Tre Hobbes started cannabis company Neighborhood Essentials.
While dispensaries have been the face of marijuana and the illegal market has been the looming shadow of the market, these new businesses will make an impact closer to where social equity lives.
Michigan medical marijuana patients can medicate while on probation, court rules Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em, probationers. Well, only if you have a state-issued medical marijuana license, that is. Thursday marked a win for medicalmarijuana patients in Michigan after the Michigan Court of Appeals voted to allow those with state-issued medical cards to continue to medicate while on probation without being penalized for doing so, the Associated Press reports. The 3-0 vote, however, applies only to those who’ve registered as medicalmarijuana patients through the state’s medical program, which has been in effect since 2008. Michigan’s recreational marijuana users are not protected while
COURTESY PHOTO
on probation and can still face penalties. Recreational weed sales were legalized in the state in 2018. The ruling cited the case of Michael Thue, a medical-marijuana patient who, while on probation for a “road rage incident” near Traverse City, was barred from medicating during his probationary period. At the time, Circuit Judge Thomas Power declined to hear an appeal, but on Thursday the appeals court pushed back on Power’s decision, indentifying previous Michigan Supreme Court decisions and examining Michigan’s medical-marijuana law to support their ruling. According to judges Mark Cavanagh, Deborah Servitto, and Thomas Cameron, the law “preempts or supersedes ordinances and statutes that conflict” with it. The ruling provides much-needed clarity for cases like Thue’s who, unfortunately, will not benefit from the ruling, as his probation concluded in December. —Jerilyn Jordan
metrotimes.com | February 17-23, 2021
19
Savage Love
CULTURE Q:
I ’ m a g ay g u y liv ing in N ew Y ork in h is lat e 2 0 s . M y boyf riend h as really been em ot ionally im p ac t ed by t h e p andem ic , h av ing been a f ront line w ork er. I t ink e s sufferin from some mild dep res s ion or at t h e v ery leas t s om e int ens e anx iet y, s o I j u s t w ant t o p ref ac e t h is by s aying I c om p let ely s ym p at h iz e w it h w h at h e’ s g oing t h rou g h . Bef ore t h e p andem ic , w e h ad a really g ood s ex lif e, bu t lat ely h e h as n’ t been int eres t ed in s ex at all bes ides a f ew as s is t ed m as t u rbat ion s es s ions . W h ile I k now t h at t h es e aren’ t u s u al t im es , I c an’ t h elp f eeling rej ec t ed. N orm ally, I w ou ld s u g g es t op ening u p t h e relat ions h ip f or t h e s ak e of bot h m ys elf and h im , and I t ink t at e mi t bene t from a in s ex w it h s om e g u ys w h ere t h ere is n’ t an em ot ional inv es t m ent . O f c ou rs e, rig h t now t h at is n’ t an op t ion. I w ant t o be t h ere f or h im and w e ot h erw is e h av e a s olid relat ions h ip , bu t t h is is s u e h as been m ak ing m e f eel h u rt . I ’ v e enc ou rag ed h im t o m as t u rbat e w it h ou t m e, bu t I do w is h h e c ou ld inc lu de m e m ore in h is s ex u al lif e. D o you h av e any ot h er t h ou g h t s or adv ic e? —T h ank s F or R eading
A : As much as I hate to give you an
unsatisfactory answer — you aren’t satisfied with what you’re getting at home and you’re not going to be satisfied with what you get from me either — the only way to find out whether his loss of libido is entirely pandemic-related, , is to wait out the pandemic and see if your se ual connection doesn’t rebound and or if opening up the relationship is the right move for you guys as a couple. ut if you suspect the collapse of your boyfriend’s libido has more to do with what he’s witnessed and endured as a frontline worker than it has to do with you or your relationship, , therapy will do him more good than sleeping with other guys or masturbating without you. rge him to do that instead.
Q:
M y dad is dying . H e h ad a s t rok e t w o days ag o and is in a c om a w it h no brain f u nc t ion. M y au nt ( h is s is t er) is t rying t o m ak e m e f eel g u ilt y f or not t rav eling t o s ee h im . E v en t h ou g h I ’ m p reg nant and h ig h - ris k . I w ou ld h av e t o t ak e an airp lane ac ros s t h e c ou nt ry and m u lt ip le p u blic bu s es t o s ee h im . I w ou ld h av e t o ris k m y baby’ s lif e t o s ay g oodbye t o a m an I lov e w it h all m y h eart . S h e ins is t s t h at if I don’ t , I didn’ t lov e m y dad. I ’ m h eart brok en. I k eep c alling h is h os p ic e, and t h ey s et t h e p h one nex t t o h is h ead s o I c an t alk at h im . H e w as s o ex c it ed abou t m y p reg -
By D an S av ag e
nanc y, and I k now h e w ou ldn’ t w ant m e t o ris k it . Bu t now not only am I g riev ing m y f at h er, I feel uilty and sel s . m I ri t t o be ang ry? M y au nt ’ s brot h er is dying . S h e’ s s ad. E v eryone is s ad. But t is is not t e rst time s e s u s ed g u ilt t o t ry and c ont rol ot h ers in m om ent s of t rau m a. Cryin n y bdomen
A:
here has to be someone in your life who would be willing to step in and tell your aunt to go fuck herself. f there isn’t, M , send me your aunt’s phone number and ’ll do it. . ., ’m so sorry about your dad — who is already gone — and ’m sorry your kid won’t get to meet their grandfather. nd you have every right to be furious with your aunt for giving you grief when you have all the grief you can handle right now. Don’t get on that plane. nd if your aunt never speaks to you again, M , just think of all the guilt trips she won’t be able to drag along on in the future.
Q: I ’ m
a 2 6 - year- old h et eros ex u al irl. fter four years it my boyfriend ( and w it h t h e p andem ic on t op of it ) , w e s t art ed t o ex p erienc e s ex is s u es . I t ’ s m ainly f rom m y s ide: I ( alm os t ) nev er g et s at is f ac t ion ou t of s ex . I ’ m alw ays ent h u s ias t ic abou t h av ing s ex , bu t I don’ t f eel “ inv olv ed, ” and I c ou ld lit erally be s olv ing m at h p roblem s in m y h ead ile e a e se . s t e situation is f ru s t rat ing , I t alk ed t o h im and s u g g es t ed t h at m ore f orep lay c ou ld h elp m e s t ay eng ag ed and enj oy t h e s ex . H e w as p u z z led by m y “ need f or f orep lay” t o reac h org as m bu t c om m it t ed t o t rying . o e er after minimal initial effort e s t op p ed t rying and t h e lim it ed f orep lay c eas ed. H e p robably g ot f ru s t rat ed by t h e am ou nt of t im e I req u ire t o “ w arm up and is efforts dried up and e bean rebu n me ene er I attempted t o init iat e s ex . R ec ent ly af t er h e t u rned m y s ex u al adv anc es dow n yet ag ain, I dec ided t o m as t u rbat e. T h e res u lt w as im bein upset and takin offense at m y “ u np leas ant beh av ior. ” S h ou ld I f eel g u ilt y abou t m as t u rbat ing w h en h e t u rns m e dow n? I ’ m h u rt and v ery f ru s t rat ed by t h is s it u at ion. asturbation lone urns ars
A:
llow me to decipher the message your pussy is desperately trying to send you, M H, as you lay there doing math problems while your boyfriend
20 February 17-23, 2021 | metrotimes.com
JOE NEWTON
treats your body like it’s a leshlight “ ouldn’t you rather masturbate alone and in peace than ever have to fuck this asshole again? ” Everyone requires a little foreplay, women require more than men do, it takes women longer to get off than it takes men five minutes on average for men, 1 minutes on average for women , and very few women can climax from vaginal intercourse alone. ny straight guy who isn’t willing to do the work — provide the necessary foreplay and come through with the non-PIV stimulation or concurrentwithstimulation required to get a woman off — doesn’t deserve to have a girlfriend. D M .
Q:
I ’ m a 5 3 - year- old g ay m an, and I ’ v e nev er been h ornier in m y lif e. I really need t o g u z z le abou t a q u art of j iz z rig h t now . I h av en’ t been dat ing anyone and t h e C O V I D is olat ion h as int ens ied my loneliness but it s t e lack of D t h at ’ s driv ing m e t o dis t rac t ion. T h e las t t im e I s u c k ed a dic k w as t h e af t ernoon os n eles be an its rst s utdo n. ere s t e t in I ust ad t e rst dose of t h e v ac c ine and t h e s ec ond is s c h edu led in a c ou p le w eek s . I s it s af e t o s u c k s om eone’ s dic k w h o h as als o h ad t h e v ac c ine? E v eryt h ing I f ou nd on Goog le only t alk s abou t h ow t h e v ac c ine m ay affect pre nant omen. at about us c u m w h ores ? —Got t h e F ev er f or t h e F lav or
A:
here have you been predicted at the beginning of the pandemic —
based on what little we knew about transmission at the time — that we were entering a new golden age of glory holes. wo months later, the ew ork ity Health department was recommending “barriers, like walls, that allow se ual contact while preventing close face-to-face contact,” aka glory holes — and that was the harmreduction advice given by health professionals long before vaccines became available. eeing as you’re vaccinated, your risks are going to be lower. ut to play it safe, build your own glory hole, invite a guy over, tell him to keep his mask on, and avoid close face-to-face contact by staying on your knees on the other side of that
barrier.
Q:
I w ant ed t o s ec ond s om et h ing you w rot e abou t k ink s las t w eek . Y ou s aid — I ’ m p arap h ras ing h ere — t h at k ink s are h ard- w ired, bu t s om e p eop le do m anag e t o ac q u ire t h em . M y h u s band is int o rop e bondag e. I g av e it a t ry a c ou p le of t im es at t h e v ery s t art of ou r relat ions h ip , bu t f or w h at ev er reas on being t ied u p didn’ t w ork f or m e. W e h ad g reat v anilla s ex , and h e h ad a s m all s t able of bonda e boys on t e side. fe mont s af t er t h e loc k dow ns beg an, h e s t art ed to orry about ettin rusty. I offered t o let h im p rac t ic e on m e. I don’ t k now w h at c h ang ed, D an, bu t w h en h e t ied me up for t e rst time in a decade I as so turned on t rst I t ou t it w as t h e p ot edible, bu t w e’ v e done it a bu nc h of t im es s inc e, t im es w h en I w as n’ t h ig h , and I ’ v e enj oyed it j u s t as m u c h or m ore. N ow I ’ m t h e one p es t ering h im t o g o g et t h e rop es . I s om eh ow ac q u ired h is k ink and h e c ou ldn’ t be h ap p ier! —R es t ric t ions O f P andem ic E nables D ev elop m ent P . S . , I w ou ld’ v e c alled in t o s h are ou r “ p andem ic s ex s u c c es s s t ory” f or you r p odc as t , bu t m y m om and bot h s is t ers all lis t en t o t h e s h ow , and t h ey really don’ t need t o k now .
A:
hanks for sharing,
ED
Q u es t ions ? m ail@ s av ag elov e. net F ollow D an on T w it t er @ F ak eD anS av ag e or s av ag elov ec as t . c om
metrotimes.com | February 17-23, 2021
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Free Will Astrology
CULTURE ARIES: March 21 – April 19 theists like to confront religious people with accusations like this “ f od is so good, why does he allow suffering in the world ” heir simplistic, childish idea of od as some sort of Moral oliceman is ignorant of the lush range of ruminations about the Divine as offered down through the ages by poets, novelists, philosophers, and theologians. or e ample, poet t phane Mallarm wrote, “ pirit cares for nothing e cept universal musicality.” He suggested that the upreme ntelligence is an artist making music and telling stories. nd as you know, music and stories include all human adventures, not just the happy stuff. bring these thoughts to your attention, ries, because the coming weeks will be a favorable time to honor and celebrate the marvelously rich stories of your own life — and to feel gratitude for the full range of e perience with which they have blessed you. . ., now is also a favorable phase to rethink and reconfigure your answers to the ig uestions.
TAURUS: April 20 – May 20 B logger Rachel C. Lewis confides, “ love being horribly straightforward. love sending reckless te t messages and telling people love them and telling people they are absolutely magical humans and cannot believe they really e ist. love saying, iss me harder’ and ou re a good person,’ and, ou brighten my day.’” hat would your unique version of ewis’s forthrightness be like, aurus hat brazen praise would you offer hat declarations of affection and care would you unleash hat naked confessions might you reveal he coming days will be a favorable time to e plore these possibilities. GEMINI: May 21 – June 20 t’s a good time to become more of who you are by engaging with more of what you are not. et in the mood for this heroic e ercise by studying the following rant by emini poet dam agajewski who writes in olish , translated by emini poet lare avanaugh “ ead for yourselves, read for the sake of your inspiration, for the sweet turmoil in your lovely head. ut also read against yourselves, read for questioning and impotence, for despair and erudition, read the dry, sardonic remarks of cynical philosophers. ead those whose darkness or malice or madness or greatness you can t yet understand, because only in this way will you grow, outlive yourself, and become what you are.” CANCER: June 21 – July 22 n her story “Homelanding,” Margaret twood writes, “ ake me to your trees. ake me to your breakfasts, your sunsets, your bad dreams, your shoes. ake me to your fingers.” ’d love you to e press requests like that. t’s a favorable time for you to delve deeper into the mysteries of people you care about. ou will generate healing and blessings by cultivating reverent curiosity and smart empathy and crafty intimacy. ind out more about your best allies LEO: July 23 – August 22 eo poet arsan hire suggests, “Document the moments you feel most in love with yourself — what you’re wearing, who you’re around, what you’re doing. ecreate and repeat.” his would be an e cellent e ercise for you to carry out during this alentine season. ou re in a phase when you re likely to enhance your lovability and attract e tra support simply by intensifying and refining the affectionate compassion you feel and e press toward yourself.
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By R ob Brez s ny VIRGO: August 23 – Sept. 22 ou’re about to reach the end of your phase of correction and adjustment. o mark this momentous transition, and to honor your ever-increasing ability to negotiate with your demons, offer you the following inspirational proclamation by poet eannette apolitano “ don’t want to look back in five years’ time and think, e could have been magnificent, but was afraid.’ n five years, want to tell of how fear tried to cheat me out of the best thing in life, and didn’t let it.” LIBRA: Sept. 23 – Oct. 22 t’s not a good time for you to be obsessed with vague abstractions, fear-based fantasies, and imaginary possibilities. ut it is a favorable phase to rise up on behalf of intimate, practical changes. t least for now, also want to advise you not to be angry and militant about big, complicated issues that you have little power to affect. n the other hand, encourage you to get inspired and aggressive about injustices you can truly help fi and erroneous approaches you can correct and closeat-hand dilemmas for which you can summon constructive solutions. SCORPIO: Oct. 23 – Nov. 21 “ he most beautiful things are those that madness prompts and reason writes,” declared author ndr ide. s a writer myself, will testify to the truth of that formulation. ut what about those of you who aren’t poets and novelists and essayists Here s how would alter ide’s statement to fit you “ he most beautiful things are those that rapture prompts and reason refines.” r maybe this “ he most beautiful things are those that e perimentation finds and reason uses.” r how about this one “ he most beautiful things are those that wildness generates and reason enhances.” ny and all of those dynamics will be treasures for you in the coming weeks. SAGITTARIUS:
Nov. 22 – Dec.
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he poet ayyirah aheed has some advice want you to hear. he writes, “ e easy. ake your time. ou are coming home to yourself.” will add that from my astrological perspective, the coming weeks will indeed be a time for you to rela more deeply into yourself — to welcome yourself fully into your unique destiny to forgive yourself for what you imagine are your flaws to not wish you were
someone else pursuing a different path to be at peace and in harmony with the e act life you have. CAPRICORN: Dec. 22 – Jan. 19 “ he chief object of education is not to learn things but to unlearn things,” wrote author . . hesterton. He was e aggerating for dramatic effect when he said that, as he often did. he more nuanced truth is that one of the central aims of education is to learn things, and another very worthy aim is to unlearn things. believe you are currently in a phase when you should put an emphasis on unlearning things that are irrelevant and meaningless and obstructive. his will be e cellent preparation for your ne t phase, which will be learning a lot of useful and vitalizing new things. AQUARIUS: Jan. 20 – Feb. 18 ergei achmaninoff 18 1 ultimately became one of the 20th century s most renowned composers. ut his career had a rough start. S ym p h ony N o. 1 , his first major work, was panned by critics, sending him into a four-year depression. Eventually he recovered. His ne t major composition, P iano C onc ert o N o. 2 , was well-received. don t anticipate that your rookie offerings or new work will get the kind of terrible reviews that achmaninoff s did. ut at least initially, there may be no great reviews, and possibly even indifference. eep the faith, my dear. Don’t falter in carrying out your vision of the future. he rewards will come in due time. PISCES: Feb.19 – March 20 ncient reek playwright Euripides was popular and influential — and remains so to this day, 2, 00 years later. ut there’s a curiously boring aspect in five of his plays, A ndrom ac h e, A lc es t is , H elen, M edea, and T h e Bac c h ae. hey all have the same e act ending si lines, spoken by a chorus, that basically say the gods are unpredictable. as Euripides lazy rying too hard to drive home the point r were the endings added later by an editor cholars disagree. he main reason ’m bringing this to your attention is to encourage you to avoid similar behavior. think it’s very important that the stories you’re living right now have different endings than all the stories of your past. This week’s homework: Lis t en t o and dow nload m y m u s ic f or f ree. s ou ndc lou d. c om / s ac redu p roar
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