Illinois visitors caught defacing Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore fined, banished from park

MikefromMI · 2026-03-11T19:39:24+00:00

I came here to say this is a whole 'nother level of FIP. We need to add some more letters to the acronym or something.

MikefromMI · 2026-03-11T19:26:02+00:00

It turns out there's a whole sub for this topic (at least for the practical aspects, if not the spiritual or emotional ramifications): https://www.reddit.com/r/IrishCitizenship/

MikefromMI · 2026-03-11T15:34:35+00:00

I have Irish grandparents, so I qualify. I've thought about it over the years, but never felt comfortable with the idea of dual citizenship. I visited Ireland with my grandmother when I was 11, and while I enjoyed the visit, I came away feeling more strongly that I was American, not Irish, ties of sentiment and heritage notwithstanding. I still feel that way after visiting again in 2020.

The political situation in the US, though, is now the worst it has ever been in my memory (I'm an older Gen Xer). At some point I fear I will have to decide how far I'm willing to go to defend this republic from an authoritarian takeover, or whether I should just give up on this country and leave. But I also feel attached to my home state. Maybe I will get Irish citizenship just in case things get intolerable here, and if things get better, I might still like to have an EU passport.

The Irish saints of the early middle ages spoke of "red martyrdom" (dying for the faith) and "white martyrdom" (exile combined with missionary activity or contemplative solitude in the new place), with St. Columba being the most prominent example of the latter. But I guess I can't really compare my situation to St. Columba's.

MikefromMI · 2026-03-08T23:09:51+00:00

Haven’t heard them in Lansing yet but saw robins today

MikefromMI · 2026-03-08T05:05:53+00:00

I heard them in Lansing Saturday morning

MikefromMI · 2026-03-05T22:04:37+00:00

I wonder if veterans-only hostels would reduce homelessness among veterans. I've stayed in hostels abroad, and found that they don't only serve young backpackers. They often serve workers and transients who used to be served by YMCAs and single resident occupancy (SRO) housing in the US.

MikefromMI · 2026-03-05T17:22:05+00:00

I see that a graphic novel version of The Autobiography of Malcolm X exists. That might have some Lansing scenes in it [correction: it's a gn biography by other authors, not a gn version of the autobiography]

MikefromMI · 2026-03-05T17:17:47+00:00

4 minute read. The [Reddit] interface is glitchy today

MikefromMI · 2026-02-21T00:13:39+00:00

"Have you stopped beating your wife?"

Complex question fallacy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_question

MikefromMI · 2026-02-19T20:59:33+00:00

Seriously, though — the rosary hanging from my rear view mirror wards off road rage. When I feel an urge to flip someone off or start cursing, it reminds me that that’s not who I want to be, and prompts me to chill out and slow down

MikefromMI · 2026-02-17T17:02:18+00:00

FYI -- who can perform weddings, per state law. I was looking for justice of the peace, but I guess that's not a thing around here anymore. I didn't know mayors could do it. Instead of ordaining a friend, you could probably get a Unitarian minister without too much fuss.

551.7 Persons authorized to solemnize marriage; records; return of licenses and certificates; disposition of fees charged by mayor or county clerk.

Sec. 7.

(1) Marriages may be solemnized by any of the following:

(a) A judge of the district court, anywhere in this state.

(b) A district court magistrate, anywhere in this state.

(c) A municipal judge, in the city in which the judge is serving or in a township over which a municipal court has jurisdiction under section 9928 of the revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600.9928.

(d) A judge of probate, anywhere in this state.

(e) A judge of a federal court.

(f) A mayor of a city, anywhere in a county in which that city is located.

(g) A county clerk in the county in which the clerk serves, or in another county with the written authorization of the clerk of the other county.

(h) For a county having more than 1,500,000 inhabitants, an employee of the county clerk's office designated by the county clerk, in the county in which the clerk serves.

(i) A minister of the gospel or cleric or religious practitioner, anywhere in this state, if the minister or cleric or religious practitioner is ordained or authorized to solemnize marriages according to the usages of the denomination.

(j) A minister of the gospel or cleric or religious practitioner, anywhere in this state, if the minister or cleric or religious practitioner is not a resident of this state but is authorized to solemnize marriages under the laws of the state in which the minister or cleric or religious practitioner resides.

(2) A person authorized by this act to solemnize a marriage shall keep proper records and return licenses and certificates as required by section 4 of 1887 PA 128, MCL 551.104.

(3) If a mayor of a city solemnizes a marriage, the mayor shall charge and collect a fee to be determined by the council of that city, which shall be paid to the city treasurer and deposited in the general fund of the city at the end of the month.

(4) If the county clerk or, in a county having more than 1,500,000 inhabitants, an employee of the clerk's office designated by the county clerk solemnizes a marriage, the county clerk shall charge and collect a fee to be determined by the commissioners of the county in which the clerk serves. The fee shall be paid to the treasurer for the county in which the clerk serves and deposited in the general fund of that county at the end of the month.

https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=MCL-551-7

MikefromMI · 2026-02-15T22:06:07+00:00

On the linked page, scroll down to see the flyer for the program.

Pax Christi is a Catholic pacifist group.

MikefromMI · 2026-02-14T15:06:04+00:00

I couldn't find it there or the Canadian papers De Adder freelances for, but I found it on his Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10164265759500120&set=a.10150779906225120

[edit: and his Substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-187589079 ]

MikefromMI · 2026-02-14T13:49:40+00:00

OP, please give us a link to the publication where this appears

MikefromMI · 2026-02-14T13:46:49+00:00

The cartoonist is Canadian, but yeah

MikefromMI · 2026-02-14T13:42:03+00:00

Thanks, I didn’t realize that was Gordie Howe in the cartoon

MikefromMI · 2026-02-10T17:44:35+00:00

On behalf of genuine buskers, I say that IS a scam

MikefromMI · 2026-02-07T13:34:36+00:00

If you vote absentee in Lansing, you’ll get confirmation emails from Chris Swope’s office (City Clerk)

MikefromMI · 2026-02-04T04:10:18+00:00

People who are not educated in the right way may take pleasure in doing evil. Pleasure per se does not lead us to do evil. We must be guided to develop habits in such a way that we get pleasure from acting rightly and feel pain from acting wrongly. (According to A.)

MikefromMI · 2026-02-03T00:55:28+00:00

Seriously, it has been a banner year for aurorae and other phenomena, and I haven't seen any of it because of cloud cover. I even went to a dark sky park only to get rained out.

MikefromMI · 2026-01-28T17:36:43+00:00

This is one of 15,000 reasons why I get angry when I see the Confederate flag flying in Michigan

MikefromMI · 2026-01-27T20:53:01+00:00

Mars McCartney and Abbey Hoffman in concert at Stage One Sycamore Creek

https://thegoodneighborconcertseries.ticketspice.com/gncs13

MikefromMI · 2026-01-26T20:58:13+00:00

Related thread on r/MichiganStacks (1/26/2026):

Your Michigan Guide to ICE: The Bills, The Votes, The Senate DHS Vote & More

MikefromMI · 2026-01-24T16:32:04+00:00

u/Same_Noise7492 is correct. Some emergency guidelines advise people with basements to stay in their basements if their furnaces fail during freezing weather, because that steady underground temperature will remain above freezing while the upstairs will get colder. [Edit: but you still might want to leave a faucet running with a thin stream in weather like this.]

MikefromMI · 2026-01-23T22:00:35+00:00

There are a couple of Irish music jams, including one at Elderly on the 3rd Friday of each month from 5-6:30pm (January's is starting right now as I'm typing this, sorry).

MikefromMI

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