Ludington City Council Meeting, February 24, 2025: Pride and Prejudgments

[XLFD]

Ludington city officials can't be too proud of what happened at their February 24, 2025, meeting of their city council (agenda packet here).  With City Manager Kaitlyn Aldritch absent, the council had only one action coming up through their committee, that being the introduction (first reading) of a slightly revised "chicken ordinance" passed a couple years ago for a two-year trial, the only change with the retraction of its sunset provision.

Also missing was any type of report or action from the new city manager, making some citizens speculate that she may already be taken aback by the muddled politics of the area or the belligerence of the mayor.  Mayor Mark Barnett would hog the action items this evening, and the city would reflexively approve four summer events we generally take for granted:  the Gus Macker (June 13-15), along with the JayCee's Children & Pet Parade (July 3), Freedom Festival & Fireworks (July 4).  The mayor's last action item took a little longer to figure out and probably explained why there was an absence of any clergyman at the start to lead an invocation.

Sheriff Kim Cole was called in for that duty and he did a fine job of it before taking off.  The Ludington Torch has a strong feeling that the various pastors used over the last two years took a pass this evening because they would almost inevitably see the council approve the fifth event, a new "Ludington Pride Festival" scheduled to be held at the center of the city at Rotary (City) Park on July 26.  

While the Ludington Torch is enlightened enough to not care what people do on their own property or desire to ban any group from renting a hall and celebrating what makes them special, we do take issue with exalting pride in an unknown way in a very public, very visible place.  When this request came before the parks committee, they never explored what this 'pride festival' would feature, rather they shot it through without any kind of review beyond the ambiguous application's contents and told them they needn't bring it back to committee.

XLFD: (8:00 in) Paraphrasing CS Lewis:  'The essential vice, the utmost evil, the deadliest sin is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil and that banished us from the Garden of Eden.  Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind…… it is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began'.

I looked up pride in relation to the Cornerstone Baptist Church, whose pastors have given the first three invocations of the year, and where Mayor Barnett serves as the chair of the Elder Board.  They were only critical of pride and the deception and ruin it breeds in Biblical times and now.

Why would this council close off a park to the general public and shut down a street in July in order for some to celebrate the devil’s most effective and destructive tool-- pride?  Admittedly, the last two July's this council had greed bacchanals in this chamber, raising tax rates unlawfully and taking $300,000 extra of the taxpayer's money.   And then, the police thief hosts lavish gluttony banquets dropping money belonging to the taxpayers to buy over $300 in plaques from a city official's business and spend over $100 at the brewery across the street to pat his poorly trained force on the back.

Why should we expect humility and other virtues to emanate from this council when they allow all of this without a blush among themselves, and sit mute when their Police Captain Kaveman wipes his butt with the Constitution and banishes a citizen from a public park without any authority just because that citizen was almost victimized by the city's negligence? 

Back then, you wanted to close off the park in order to kill deer that no park user or visitor has complained about having therein.  Now, you are on the precipice of closing another public park and a street in order to welcome a celebration of the greatest of sins.  Seek humility within yourself." [END comment]

One would think that a council that denied medical marijuana facilities for over 15 years and recreational marijuana facilities for over 6 years on the basis that it would give the city a negative image, that they would welcome a pride festival without any sort of boundaries.  We had actually hoped that one of the councilors would be absent in the hopes that Mayor Barnett, who ran for office on his Christian values being in contrast to the past mayor, would have the opportunity to cast a tiebreaking vote.  

But that wouldn't happen, the big surprise related, but not captured on the committee's minutes, was Councilor Mike Shaw's admission (at 34:15 in) that he heard at the committee that a 'drag show' would be part of the program and that even so, he would support the pride festival even if children were exposed to it, because he believes in freedom of speech.  Funny, I don't remember him (when he was in the audience as a councilor candidate) standing up last year when I was thrown out of a meeting for daring to have low-key background music during my public comment.  I do remember that he was explicitly running on family values and praising humility (the antonym and antithesis of pride) to get his seat:

 

When he voted for the pride festival, Shaw showed his true dedication to humility, wisdom, and righteousness.  Councilor Winczewski actually had the best argument, to have it sent back to committee for further details about the request.  Barnett would try to perfunctorily appease his Christian base by having a concern about parking situations when it was on the same day as a Rhythm & Dunes concert, but Councilor John Terzano recognized what he was doing and spoke back as if he was a civil rights attorney representing the group, who didn't have any representative at the meeting. 

In the end, only Councilor John Kreinbrink would vote no to the festival and would do so without comment on it.  It should be noted that pride festivals have happened in this same area before, but this was the first time it ever came before the city council for approval.  In the past, former CMs John Shay and Mitch Foster allowed these to coopt Rotary Park for a day without bringing it before council (in violation of the city charter) so as to avoid any controversy or appearance of hypocrisy.  With Trump in power and progressivism in decline, expect this to be especially noisy and visible this year. 

Three other people would comment during the first period.  Annette Quillan would rise in favor of the continuation of the chicken ordinance, noting that there haven't been any complaints raised with the two properties with chickens in the city.  Daniel Jensen would remind the council of recent EOs (executive orders) passed by the Trump Administration and how it should wind up affecting even the council with its implications towards bureaucratic agencies.  

But right after me, Jefferson Henry spoke (11:15 in).   The legal case that he and Ray Karboske has with the state and others has been recently strengthened with some unearthed documents showing that state agencies have been acting inappropriately, and under the direction of some notable Ludington power brokers.  Mr. Henry has been somewhat exasperated by the city's reluctance to work with them to figure out the extent of the improprieties, as the case is likely to toggle back to Judge Jeff Nellis with the prospect that DNR Chief Ron Olson can testify in regard to the distribution of funds by the Michigan Waterways Commission, an advisory committee, among other inconsistencies. 

He would speak again during the second comment, talking about a recent FOIA 'dodge' by the DNR and urged the council to consider and pass a prepared resolution in the city attorney's possession.  Newsflash, it was neither considered nor passed.  This reporter tried to synthesize my understanding of how the city acts with what they are being asked to do here, and how they fall short of their ideals:

XLFD:  "Through experience, I've found that city officials ignore issues brought before them when they don't have a viable argument for the defense of their actions or policies.  For months I've seen Mr. Henry, Mr. Karboske and others come before this council and lay out a pattern of grave injustices by state agencies and local actors negatively affecting their businesses and livelihoods for over five decades. 

Much of this unjust activity came with willing participation by the city in the past, your corporate bottom line came out much better when several private marina businesses predating your own foray into that field suffered due to unfair competition by the city-- who, with unlawful complicity from the state, both of which these businesses pay a large burden of taxes to, just to see that money used against them in a most unfair and disrespectful way.  

Ultimately, truth and justice are being pursued which may not improve the position of the city corporate, but in the city's ethos truth and justice should always be worth pursuing, especially when our citizens and/or business owners are victimized by unjust lies for over half a century.  Your continued silence is compliance with what has gone down and loudly declares what contempt you have in seeing the truth come out and justice prevail.  [END comment]

For sixteen years in Ludington, truth and justice has been the goal of the Ludington Torch, in spite of city hall's best attempts to suppress both.  They will embrace lies, withhold knowledge, accept undeserved subsidization, and court injustice if it improves their overall position and will do so at the expense of hapless citizens, business owners, and property owners.  

And if they can do it in the course of running two public marinas without a care for the bottom line-- because the state will arrive with cash and credit in their yachts to bail them out-- to unfairly compete with private marinas, they can do it to other businesses meaningful to you.  Undeserved pride and hubris run deep in our city official's blood, one hopes they display that at the city's first official pride festival in July.

[Willy]

If people have a particular sexual proclivity that's their business as long as they keep it to themselves and it doesn't involve illegal behavior. The problem with the gay crowd and their allies is that they insist that everyone must accept their life style and behavior and they  also think that it's their right to display their fetishes publicly. If anyone has seen other "pride" functions there are always displays of deviant behavior and it is done openly in front of public view within the presence of children. It was only a matter of time before this was going to be displayed, with City approval, in Ludington. The current regime and those in charge have been leaning that way for some time now.  I for one am not in favor of what is being planned.

How many sexual functions are put on by heterosexuals. Why not promote other festivals celebrating kinky sex oriented lifestyles which could be put on in order to satisfy all the other fetishes  that exist in the human condition. 

My advice for Ludington is to stick to family oriented celebrations and steer away from any celebrations that feature sex and drugs. Keep these desires behind closed doors.

[XLFD]

I don't think the city council realized that this year's Pride Festival will likely get ugly (more so than the women with 5:00 shadow) due to the fact that it will take place about 1/2 year into the DJT Administration and these easily-to-dupe alphabet soup cast of characters will not only celebrate pride in their sexual dysphorias, but turn it into a political festival, where they will 'fight' against Trump's actions against DEI, Musk's actions against their sources of government funding, and whatever else the corporate media will whip them into a frenzy with by that time.  

You know what would be funny.  Seeing them march down to City Hall/LPD Station after the festival is over with and having their own J6-style after party, but without the involvement of the FBI, Antifa, and other embedded feds.  Also potentially funny:  Willy, could you whip up one of your electronic art masterpieces, putting the mayor and perhaps other council members (Terzano, Shaw at the least) participating in a drag show?  If it's good, I'll print it out and take it to show-and-tell at the next council meeting.

[Willy]

[XLFD]

Well played, Willy.

[AnxiousGuy]

There is a certain orange guy that plays YMCA at all his rallies and claims it is one of his favorite songs. It’s seems to be used as an insult here. Am I missing something?

[Willy]

I also like the song. When listening to the music and lyrics one would consider it an uplifting, positive song. However after familiarizing oneself with the history of the YMCA it takes on a much different sort of meaning. No insult intended. Just pointing out the hidden message the song carries.