Last week the body cam footage of the police shooting of Alonzo Lee Perkins was released to the public by the Detroit Free Press. The video shows 18-year-old Lee-Perkins running away from police who are shouting at him. Officer David Gozalez raises his gun and fires off four shots, three of them hitting Lee-Perkins in the back.

On Sunday, October 11, hundreds of people gathered to celebrate the life and legacy of Curtis Renee.  Curtis dedicated their life to advancing human liberation. They introduced themselves to people, saying,

“Hi… My name is Curtis Renee. I am a non-binary person. My pronouns are they/them/theirs. If we are family, lovingly call me sibling, nibbling, nib, family, offspring, pibling (for nieces and nephews). If we are friends, lovingly call me Curtis or Curt, friend homie.

The Detroit City Council continues to confuse surveillance with safety. More disturbingly, their recent capitulation to the high-tech industry is coming from a lightly veiled fear of our young people who gather in public spaces. Since the takeover of Belle Isle by the State, young people, especially, have not felt welcome in that park with its visible State Police presence. Other city parks, especially Maheras Gentry, have become gathering spaces for younger people on warm summer days.

This week, the Detroit City Council acted to pave the way for former state legislator Harvey Santana to fill the appointed, at-large vacancy on the Board of Police Commissioners. The interview of Santana, conducted by council members Scott Benson (District 3) and Renata Miller (District 5), raised serious questions about the functioning and perspective of some on the City Council.

The United Nations meeting this week in New York offered a glimpse into shifting global relationships. The President of the United States continued his campaign against the basic principles of international cooperation. He positioned the U.S.A. as a violent, outlaw state, threatening the annihilation of Iran, affirming continuing lethal strikes on small boats, and threatening the government of Cuba. He effectively announced to the world that he is willing to commit war crimes, and he doesn’t care what the world thinks. The President said he was "reasserting American power" with "unmatched military might" and promoting “America First”.

This week I got an email from a friend in New Mexico expressing solidarity with those of us in Michigan opposing massive data centers. The note highlighted the work of  Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, who have opposed the expansion of nuclear weapons for nearly 40 years.  They have been at the forefront of groups identifying the link between the expansion of data centers and nuclear weapons. CCNS highlighted the efforts of people in Ypsilanti Township to stop the University of Michigan partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in the construction of a massive data center.

This week, Detroiters organized to block an effort by the Board of Police Commissioners to eliminate public comments via Zoom. The motion to restrict virtual comments provoked a firestorm of resistance. A petition against the motion was circulating online, public letters had been written by advocacy groups, people called and emailed commissioners, and over 40 people signed up for public comments.

The forces behind the rapid expansion of massive data centers have launched a public relations campaign to undermine widespread and growing opposition. The extent of the resistance to data centers is unprecedented. Stories of people reaching across differences to join in opposition are widespread.

As the votes in primaries across the country were counted, Donald Trump appears to be one of the losers. Many political observers are taking note that a Trump endorsement did not mean an automatic victory. And some republicans even shied away from his stamp of approval.

The United States has been attacking Iran for almost six months. These attacks are unjustified and violate all standards of decency. They are the consequences of men in authority who think that violence brings strength. Increasingly, these men are learning that physical force is limited.

In a country unable to find agreement on almost anything, the efforts to stop Data Centers have emerged as a unifying symbol. Especially in small towns and rural communities, people are finding ways to work together to protect their homes and families from massive developments. Neighbors are exchanging ideas about rising electric bills, loss of wetlands, and methods of influencing public officials. They are helping each other frame issues in ways that matter to people and encourage them to think about our connections and collective responsibilities to each other and to the future.

More than sixty years ago I walked on to the campus of Marietta College. Many of my days there were spent along the rivers or in walking among the ancient burial mounds holding the remains of the peoples who lived on the land more than 2000 years ago. It is a place of old and sometimes wild beauty.  Marietta sits at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, one of the largest watersheds in Ohio, covering more than 8,000 square miles, providing water for cities, small towns, farms, and forests.

This week we have been given ample reason to question continued funding of the US military. In a Senate hearing requesting an additional $87.6 billion in supplemental funds, $67 billion of which is for the war on Iran, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth revealed that the cost of the war on Iran thus far has been $37.5 billion in military spending.  This calculation does not include the toll on human life, on the people of Iran, on the people around the globe struggling with the inevitable effects of restrictions on oil and petroleum-related products, or on the distortions of life created by a war that has no purpose but to kill.

Much of the country has been suffering from the smoke of wildfires raging in Canada. Detroit, along with Chicago, New York, Toronto and other Great Lakes cities, is recording some of the worst air pollution in the world, with an Air Quality Index hitting 800.

This year, marking the 250^th anniversary of the United States, many people planned gatherings to think about our collective past and our possible futures.  For many of us, the Fourth of July holiday marks the beginning of summertime. Family reunions, fireworks, friends, and space to enjoy the world.

After a contentious meeting offering more than two hours of public testimony the Detroit City Council voted 5-4 to extend the ShotSpotter contract for 9 months. The decision will cost the city and additional $2.1 million dollars and brings the total cost of ShotSpotter to $10.56 million. 

The Detroit Fireworks display is a highlight of the city, marking the beginning of summer. Families and friends gather at the river’s edge to watch what is often billed as the world’s largest fireworks display. Most summers, more than a million people gather to enjoy Hart Plaza and neighborhood parks.  The fireworks are an international celebration of freedom, honoring the independence days of both the United States and Canada from colonial rule.

Fascism comes in many guises.  Brown shirts, storm troopers, hooded men with guns, and gangs of bullies with torches are all well-known, recognizable images. These are superficial expressions of efforts to dominate and control the lives of people. These forces are made possible by a complex network of laws, actions, and attitudes fostered by those seeking authoritarian control.

In the early hours of June 10^th, federal agents arrested seven young people connected with efforts to force the University of Michigan to divest from the Israeli government in the wake of the war on Gaza. With SWAT team armament, the Department of Justice roused college students, handcuffed them, and put them in armored cars because of their alleged actions during the 2023 - 2025 protests against the US support for Israel. Eight young people, one of whom is out of the country, are charged with conspiring to orchestrate a campaign of intimidation and terror targeting homes, businesses, organizations, and individuals.