MGoPodcast 9.Supplemental: Abdul El-Sayed
42 minutes
Wherein we interview Michigan gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed. This podcast is not and does not constitute an endorsement of the candidate. When a former Michigan athlete (lacrosse before it went varsity) is running for governor and reads the site and asks to come on the podcast we say "Okay, but we're not lobbing softballs".
Abdul did this whole interview without any notes and was very engaged in the toughest questions we could throw at him, so a lot of this interview went off anyone's idea of a script and got into some granular back-and-forth on complicated issues and events. That makes it hard to write up—what do you leave out?—so I'm going to present MGoBlog's questions below and you can get Abdul's answers by listening to the podcast.
Things discussed:
- Abdul's incredibly depressing Wikipedia page. How offering to serve got him thrown into a commission to run the Detroit Health Department after the emergency manager had shut it down. What did he do there?
- (at 7:30) Flint Water Crisis: What's the DEQ gotta do now? If the "money's there" where is it, how much will it cost? Could it have been faster? Will anyone believe them when they say the water's clean? What's Flint fatigue? How were the measurements made?
- (at 12:20) Lead Abatement Report: After Flint stuff his report on lead poisoning was changed? By whom? What level of lead is "safe"? How to operate a bureaucracy, setting culture of serving the public versus "closing the ticket."
- (at 18:20) Single-payer "MichCare" plan? How does it control costs, what's the upfront investment and transition costs, how does it compare to other plans? What are the incentives in the system and how do you change that?
- (at 23:20) Vis a vis recent Supreme Court decisions and a White House that would have substantially different views on, uh, civics: What is under the scope of a governor? Specifically would he as governor use state resources to support ICE and enforce federal immigration policy and political incarceration he doesn't agree with?
- (at 27:54) Brian's YIMBY hour: How do you address the relationship between housing and property assessments caught in an impossible Proposition A situation between rate of housing prices and rate of inflation? How do you decide the mils? How often do you do it? Note: on this question Abdul primarily addressed over-assessment that was leading to tax foreclosures in communities adjacent to gentrification, and education funding, while Brian was asking more about the Ann Arbor housing crisis (where nobody can sell their home). Brian recommends City Observatory dot org. Also SightLine.
- (at 35:31) Education: School of Choice effect on school districts in lower income communities. Promulgation of charter schools? Funding of charter schools?
- (at 37:30) Lightning Round: Regents for Michigan State: can we get two D's who didn't go to Michigan State? Ballot proposal to legalize marijuana? Ballot proposal against partisan redistricting? Plan to reduce the cost of a college education? Favorite Michigan athlete of the last 15 years?
MUSIC
"Across 110th Street"
"Where No Man Has Gone Before" Alexander Courage
THE USUAL LINKS
- Helpful iTunes subscribe link
- General podcast feed link
- Direct download link
- What's with the theme music?
Consider the gauntlet thrown down, sir.
I really don’t understand your argument. It sounds basically like “both sides are the same,” which is an obnoxiously wrong one, but it is also mixed with “neither side matters,” which is equally off-base.
I will obviously agree that more sides has the potential to add more nuance to the political arena, but we have what we have right now, and it’s important to fight to make the best of it.
True that you did not understand my argument. Both sides are the same in their capitulation to tribalism, exhibited in conformist views that necessarily subordinate the optimal set of choices in favor platform. You've selected all views of Party B, where I choose some from A and some from B. This is nothing you haven't heard before, but it remains logically sound: my view is better, both as an individual and for the society. My views aren't the optimal set for all, but there is a set from Party A and Party B which could be reasoned and agreed to. If there were no parties. But the existence of them ensures that neither wants to grant the other a victory so nothing is done. You choose Party B, but your result is nothing. I choose neither in the hopes reason, some day, when both parties are abolished (or at least subordinated to reason).
I never said the do not matter, or at least did not intend to. They matter a great deal in terms of ensuring the country has no progress.
Has a Democrat Ever said the current Republican administration is doing a good job.
Has a Republican Ever said the current Democratic administration is doing a good job.
EVER.
They are All BS.
Keep politics off the blog. Well that rule is bs I guess.
The fact that you believe that says a lot about how much you’re actually paying attention.
And slinging hyperbole is somehow better?
I can say yes in a few instances, but only on a local scale. For example in 2006, I remember a republican, who lost in the primary election, supported the sitting democratic rep for re-election rather than his republican primary opponent. Hindsight being 20/20, the republican who won the primary has shown to be a sham, so it makes sense. That said, I know this example is a rarity.
Even more rare, we actually had a mayoral race in my city where both candidates wanted and agreed to avoid any negative ads or statements about the other candidate. They live on the same street, and the loser now is working with and for the new mayor. It's honestly been a really nice point for the city. Doubt it will ever exist on a national or state-level, but there's some light within all the darkness.
Ah the ole “both sides are the same” argument. Classic
In fact, there used to be a greater degree of harmony in our politics compared to now. It flares up from time to time, but even in recent history, the parties were much more similar and there was less animosity between them. Bipartisanship might be a thing of the past but its not something that has never existed in our history.
I live about 2100 miles west of Ann Arbor and wouldn't have had a clue any of these (except Flint water, I guess) were the issues. Interesting to read the bullet list.
Terry Gross had a great interview with the scientist who blew the whistle on Flint last week, it's an amazing (and totally infuriating) story. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/06/25/623126968/pediatrician-who-exposed-flint-water-crisis-shares-her-story-of-resistance
I heard that interview. She's an example of a doctor from the MSU medical school doing good work for children unlike another doctor there.
And no canines were harmed in the course of that interview.
Just blew the no politics policy right out the window. WTAF?
Interview whoever you want, but maybe just keep it off the Michigan "Sports" blog when it has no relevance. I heard YouTube is great.
I still can't edit threads.
These are the real issues. And what's up with the funky bug at the bottom of the comments pages, with the content smushed on the left? CSS is hard.
I just wanna edit threads.
I'm a major past romanticizer but I really miss the old site.
Listened because I'm curious to find out what kind of fruitbats are running for office up there since I left the state in my rear view for warmer climates and better economies. Does not seem to have improved. Same old rhetoric.
Anyone not aware of MGoBlog's runner's bias ("bias" is not a George Carlin four-letter word btw) might be surprised that a politician showed up looking for an interview. Honestly, that's pretty strategic on the part of the candidate: The @mgoblog twitter account has for a long time been a friend to left-leaning ideas, it's got a poopton of followers, and the site is well-known to be popular with the fan base and brings together people from all over the state. If someone was looking for exposure in a crowd sympathetic to their platform, this would be a good stop.
Even after listening, count me in the crowd that found it disappointing that MGoBlog decided to get involved and self-violate one of the most sacred rules (even though it's been said "it's for the public, not for the admins"). Looks like only about 30% of the replies aren't in favor of the politic-wading, so I doubt that's going to be a deterrent. Did it make me curious? Youbetcha. Was it interesting? Nah.
Listened to the first part on my way home and was not wowed. His answers about Flint were super flimsy. Brian tried to press him on it but to no avail. On one hand it's our moral imperative to use the state's rainy day fund to replace every inch of lead pipe in Flint; but not two breaths later he says that pipes don't even cause lead poisoning (which is true). Why then would we spending hundreds of millions of state dollars on a symbolic gesture? His attack on the DEQ's report that the water was safe was just a hand-wave away too simply because it didn't fit into his "moral imperative" narrative.
My impression was that he's very good at weaving appeals-to-emotion together with just enough policy to make it seem plausible.
So he's another fucking politician? Yawn...
MGoBlog 3.0.... they've gone to plaid!
Wow, this site is officially gone now. I remember when i got excited to read the blog. Now, i can't even read the front page without the owner breaking his own rules. First, it's don't talk shit about okorn, then writes a 6 page front page article completely undressing him. Now, it's politics. Can't have a post without 80 million people trying to get into it with bluey. And no app. Im sorry Magnus for committing to your page sooner.
Got it. In Seattle we have the opposite problem. The real estate boom has driven property taxes so high that people have to leave the city to stay in homes they’ve lived in for decades. In the worst case, it’s driving people to homelessness.
My monthly mortgage went from $5500 to $7000 in 3 years
Everyone is going to be leaving once the Cascadia Subduction Zone bursts.
WOW! Again, in Michigan, during the recession property taxes plummetted (sp) with the housing values but then could only rise with inflation (Headlee Ammendment). This and reduced state revenue sharing caused the poorest of cities (Flint, Detroit, Pontiac, Muskegon, etc.) to be taken over by outside managers named by the State.
The one part you're leaving out is the people forced to move out of their homes are leaving with a big check because of the huge increase in value.
A huge paycheck? Sure, if they are willing to completely leave the area, their friends, their livelihoods, etc... if they want to stay anywhere close to the city, there is no paycheck left.
Hey, honestly, that's what you signed up for. At some point you had to have known that could happen. In fact, it may have been part of your reasoning to buy where you did. Get in now, sell when it's supa hot fire. Location location location. You're not going to get much sympathy when your mortgage is $7000. Good for you though man, that's something to be proud of (no snark at all), as I'll never have the ability for that kind of mortgage. But honestly, no one feels bad for you. Nice humble brag.
This was an ill-advised post.
Mgoblog is already risking it's audience with this disappointing site design. Choosing to promote politics on here is certain to alienate a significant portion of the readers. You have ostensibly endorsed a candidate. When our politics are anonymous we can be united in our fandom.
You shouldn't do this again regardless of party affiliation.
I'm going to take a break from here for a few weeks. Hopefully the website returns to it's previous quality before football season.
The new design took eons to put in place. I wouldn't hold your breath.
I will say that many aspects of it are well-done and a vast improvement. However, there are a lot of finishing touches that aren't there, and some just plain weird UX decisions (the bizarre nested thread phantom boxes, and how spell check is broken on chrome in the text editor for comments, comes to mind). Kudos to the company who stepped in to get an upgrade done - Drupal is a hellish platform, and I'm not sure why a migration to a better one wasn't made - but the finished product smacks of a small regional firm that is relatively new to the industry, or just doesn't specialize in UX and design.
Hey, I know we are all willung to forgive the unfortunate and inexplicable breaking of the "no politics" rule.
In exchange, can we count on the cancellation of the assanine and dreaded "Draftageddon"?
We could call it all even. Deal?
Blasphemer!
If I knew the exact date Draftageddon would drop, I'd start a "There are..." thread just for it.
You bastard. Stop trying to destroy the very fabric of this nation. No peoples can survive a discussion about who’s better, Rutgers’ left guard or Indiana’s long snapper.
Michigan athlete. Reads mgoblog.
Good start, but you can only have my vote if you’re playing Reddit Risk
If I had a vote, he'd lose it for playing Reddit Risk.
Both sides of reddit risk are the same
"This podcast is not and does not constitute an endorsement of the candidate."
Oh, man. That's the funniest thing I've read on this blog in a long time.
Almost as funny as the upgrade being an actual upgrade.
I got excited that there was a podcast posted, but when I realized what the topics were I did a Homer Simpson backing into the bushes.
Anyone know what the new rss url is? The old link errors ito.
What are his views on Draftageddon?
That was a good listen. I learned stuff. Thank you.
Time and place. Right time, wrong place.
Two things:
One, some of us don't feel comfortable commenting about stuff like this because we're genuinely worried about being un-personed due to holding views that are disagreed with, and have reason to think so based upon some social media statements that are vague enough that they might mean exactly us or nothing at all like us. I consider the proprietors to be acquaintance-level friends with whom I've rejoiced over business and family success, mourned through loss, and empathized through brutal health struggles. I'd like to keep it that way.
Two, while I don't think this was a wise idea, an interesting counterpoint that could mollify some people while also having real productive value would be to have, say, Ace interview a certain leading moderate-conservative health care policy intellectual. This is obviously a huge interest of Ace's, and said policy wonk can ably discuss the other side of the issue. If done respectfully and fairly, as stated would happen for gubernatorial candidates, it could be very enlightening. And has a real chance of working due to various shared interests.
Just thoughts.
Exactly -- Ace regularly singles out people on Twitter all the time. If you don't believe X, you are a trash human being. For example, Ace saying "it's okay to be terrible and assault people you disagree with": https://twitter.com/AceAnbender/status/1011369565274693632
I'm not a fan of that tweet either, but Ace didn't say or imply "assault," and while he may be referring to many he disagrees with, he only lists one specific type of person. Given that I am discussing the very fact that tweets like that are awfully vague and could mean very unfortunate things, and that I worry that people can be falsely conflated with subjects of such tweets, I feel obligated to point out the distinction.
I understand what you're saying. But, it seems nowadays that the distinction between "fascists" and "people I disagree with" has become so small as to be negligible. I, in my life, have never actually met a fascist. Yet, by Ace's tweet history you'd believe they are pervasive in our society. The conclusion is that either many people I interact with actually are fascists, or we're operating under different definitions. To me it seems simply a reapplication of Godwin's law; if we can equate our enemies with the worst possible characters (tbh direct Nazi equations are just as common) then we're justified in any sort of action against them.
This sort of discourse seems exactly what's wrong with the political climate today.
Nice post. Fascism is big powerful encroaching government mixing with corporatism to control most everything in a society. Things like speech (currrently conservative speakers can’t speak on many college campuses), individual rights ( 2nd amendment) currently under attack.. ask yourself who is using fascist playbook with the likes of Antifa? It’s not small government conservatives. Check out Saul Alinsky’s rules for radicals if you want to know what’s guiding this “Resistance”.
lol. I'm pretty sure listing your real real dumb identity politics grievance list isn't sticking to discussion about policy.
If you think government should be bigger and control more and not less, well that’s more fascist leaning than advocating for less government control.
I'm so close on my Hannity bingo card. Can you say something about George Soros or Hillary Clinton please?
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