On Tuesday, WOODTV8 posted a story with the following headline, Grand Rapids sets record for number of 70-degree-plus days in calendar year.
The brief story on channel 8 provided some data and a few graphics, like the one here above, which shows that the record for 70 degree plus days in 2024 is the most, with 85 days still remaining in the year.
Besides the graphics and a brief narrative, there is one major omission in this story – the reporter failed to mention Climate Change.
There are two types of Climate Denial
The first type of climate denial is the one that most of us are familiar with, where institutions and people simply deny that human activity has been drastically impacting the planetary climate, specifically by warming the planet to a likely unsustainable level.
Despite the fact that the large majority of Climate Scientists, many of which are part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), have been saying for several decades that Climate Change is a scientific fact, there continues to be plenty of denial.
Now, some of this denial is rooted in religious belief, but a large majority of the climate deniers are motivated by political, ideological and economic reasons. In fact, it has been well documented for years that many fossil fuel corporations have not only denied Climate Change, but have funded other groups to promote climate denial.
Maybe the most notorious climate denier has been ExxonMobil. GreenPeace provides an excellent historical timeline of when and how the fossil fuel corporation has denied that the planet is warming because of human activity.
ExxonMobil and other fossil fuel companies have been funding numerous groups, like the Heartland Institute to promote climate denial. In fact, the online source DeSmog, provides an excellent database for anyone who wants to research organizations or individuals who engage in climate denial. For instance, the Grand Rapids-based group, the Acton Institute, has a history of climate denial, plus the database lets you know which groups have been funding the Acton Institute to promote that Climate Change isn’t real. Also, check out this fabulous interactive map from DeSmog, which provides more insights into how climate denial groups are connected.
Then there is the role that politics plays into climate denial. If you look at the Oil & Gas industry alone (there are lots of industry sectors that contribute to Climate Change) you can see that the large majority of money coming from the Oil & Gas industry has gone to the Republican Party since 1990, according to the OpenSecrets.
However, the second form of climate denial is what most of us participate in. Let me put it this way, you can believe that Climate Change is real, but continue to participate in the very systems that perpetuate Climate Change. For instance, the Biden Administration is on pace to approve as many oil and gas leases as Trump did, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. In other words, if you voted for Biden thinking that the Climate Crisis would lessen, then you are mistaken.
Another example of how simply voting for the lesser of evils doesn’t result in reversing the harm of the current Climate Crisis is the Inflation Reduction Act that the Biden Administration adopted in late 2022. A report from Oil Change International, entitled, Biden’s Fossil Fuel Fail: How U.S. Oil and Gas Supply Rises under the Inflation Reduction Act, Exacerbating Environmental Injustice, makes a mockery of President Joe Biden’s claims of “climate leadership.”
A third example of simply thinking that voting will make a difference with Climate Change is the simple fact that the Biden Administration has adopted the largest ever US Military Budgets every year he has been the president. The US military is one of the largest consumers of fossil fuels, and even consumes more fossil fuels than most countries around the world. Check out the essential report, No Warming, No War:How Militarism Fuels the Climate Crisis — and Vice Versa.
What Can We Do?
- Stop participating in ineffective, feel good activities. We have to see the big picture and not just do things like sign petitions, vote or buy “earth friendly” products.
- We have to educate ourselves and look at the systems of power that are perpetuating Climate Change. Read Stephen D’Arcy’s essay, Environmentalism as if Winning Mattered: A Self-Organization Strategy.
- At the same time we have to resist these systems of power, and by systems of power I mean – the US Military Industrial Complex, the current Agri-business food system, Capitalism, White Supremacy, the Prison Industrial Complex, transportation systems, the media system and other systems that perpetuate the Climate Crisis.
We need to engage in direct action. One great example is from a report put out by the Indigenous Environmental Network in 2021. The report stated that Indigenous-led resistance campaigns against pipelines in the US and Canada have reduced greenhouse gas pollution by at least 25% annually since these campaigns began. - While we are resisting systems of power, such as Capitalism, we need to create new economic systems that are based on cooperation, are eco-centered and not based on perpetual growth. In Stephen D’Arcy’s essay mentioned in #2, he addresses what he calls the transition phase, where humanity is transitioning to something new and truly sustainable.
- Get involved in a local organizing/resistance group or campaign. If these groups are not adopting any of the previous points listed here, then challenge them to do so. The future of humanity and ecosystems is dependent on what we chose to do that does not protect our own asses, but fights for future generations.
Do you ever feel like you are stuck in some strange commercial news time-loop, where the local news media just repeats itself as a tactic to avoid having to question those who run Grand Rapids? It would appear that those who manage MLive are doing just that.
For the past few weeks, MLive has been running a story on the new DeVos/Van Andel proposed downtown development project. The story was first reported on September 21st, so GRIID provided a robust critique of the MLive coverage. A day later, MLive decided to sidestep doing real journalism and simply published a piece entitled, 5 things to know about the massive, skyline changing Grand Rapids riverfront project. I also provided a response to MLive’s recycled reporting.
Hoping that their readership has short term memory loss, MLive further milked this story, with their latest pulitzer prize reporting and catchy headline, 4 things to know as Grand Rapids weighs $544M incentive for massive skyline defining project.
True to its headline, this most recent mLive piece provides 4 subheadings – 1) What’s proposed?, 2) How does the Transformational Brownfield subsidy work? 3) Residents want a bigger affordable housing commitment, and 4) What’s next? In turn, I will provide some responses to each of the 4 MLive things to know.
What’s proposed? – MLive’s answer provides a summary version of their initial article from September 21st. There is a brief mention of the acreage involved in the DeVos/Van Andel development project, that there will be 2500 parking space – just enough for the apartment/condo dwellers and the businesses that will occupy the space – plus a repeat of the rental costs of the proposed apartments, which will be “priced at 150% of Kent County’s Area Median Income.” In other words, let’s make these apartments expensive. Well, not DeVos/Van Andel expensive, but high enough so that only people making six figure salaries and up can afford them. This might actually move Grand Rapids up the list of most competitive rental costs in the country, where they currently sit at #11. This also fits into the narrative that the GRPD have crafted, where the new downtown entertainment venues will result in adding more cops. I mean, we can’t allow unhoused people to ruin the activities and sense of entitlement of the bourgeois that will frequent the amphitheater and the soccer stadium, at least those that will being living right by these venues.
How does the Transformational Brownfield subsidy work? – Here, MLive does a reasonable job in explaining how the Transformational Brownfield subsidy actually works. Unfortunately, MLive then avoids questioning he claims of the DeVos/Van Andel proposal by failing to verify their claims. Here is what the article states:
Project officials say the project isn’t feasible without the subsidy because high-rise towers are very expensive to build, and the amount a developer can charge for rent isn’t high enough to cover the cost of constructing the building. The site itself is also challenging and pricy to build on because of its proximity to the river and the condition of the soil, officials say.
Well, shit, if project officials say this is the case, then it must be true. I mean, the God-fearing DeVos and Van Andel families would not deceive the public to by using public subsidies now would they?
Residents want a bigger affordable housing commitment – This talking point from MLive is just ridiculous. MLive only cites one person from the group Together West Michigan, which hardly represents “residents.” The lone-person cited from Together West Michigan thinks that the DeVos/Van Andel development project could do more to support affordable housing. Unfortunately, they offer no suggestions to either expand the $8.5 million the DeVos/Van Andel project would contribute over a 20 year period to the City’s Affordable Housing Fund. $8.5 million over a 20 year period is $425,000 annual, which is chump change for these two billionaire families.
As a counter proposal, I would say that it seems more than fair to suggest that the DeVos and Van Andel families could give $10 million each per year towards the City’s Affordable Housing Fund. This would result in $20 million a year over the next 20 years and the DeVos and Van Andel families could pay that amount through their tax-free havens they call foundations. In addition, the City could require that the DeVos/Van Andel development project make half of the one bedroom and two bedroom apartments truly affordable, charging $500 a month for a one bedroom and $800 for a two bedroom. This would be more than fair, considering there are currently thousands of renters that don’t make a living wage and many of them have to work two jobs or have two incomes just to survive.
What’s next? – Here, the MLive reporter just says that the city’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority will discuss the proposed project on October 16th. Unfortunately, MLive fails to inform its readers that the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority meets at 8:30am, making it near impossible for working people/families to attend. I also noticed, that as of this posting, the City’s Meeting portal has yet to provide any information about that meeting on October 16 and will likely wait until a few days before to post anything.
The City will then make the final decision on whether or not to approve the DeVos/Van Andel project, which in all honesty seems like a done deal. I mean, when was the last time that the City of Grand Rapids ever denied any proposal coming from the co-founding Amway families?
Zeeland company exposed as a weapons manufacturer that makes parts for bombs being used to murder Palestinians
Yesterday, about 75 people make the trek from Grand Rapids to Zeeland, Michigan, to confront and expose a weapons manufacturer that is profiting off the murder of Palestinians.
The group Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids organized the action, which took place on the anniversary of the Hamas act of resistance to the Israeli occupation and Israeli Apartheid.
People arrived at the site of the company known as Woodward, around 1pm. Activists then lined up along the sidewalk that was directly across from the factory where Woodward makes parts used for weapons systems being used by the Israeli military against Palestinians living in Gaza.
This is not the first time that Woodward has been exposed for their role in profiting off of the Israeli genocide. Last November, students protested at a Woodward facility out west. A few months later, in February of this year, activists shut down Woodward MPC manufacturing facility in Niles, Illinois, as reported by Mondoweiss. The Mondoweiss piece also included important details about the role of Woodward, stating:
Woodward is responsible for creating the parts of war equipment and bombs used to drop on Gaza. On its website, Woodward says it provides “control and actuation solutions on air superiority and air defense missiles, direct attack missiles, guided bombs and rockets, anti-ship missiles, guided artillery and mortar rounds, hypervelocity vehicles, training and target missiles, and launch boosters.”
The Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids organized action lasted just shy of 2 hours. The action included chanting, signs, banners, and numerous Palestinian flags. At one point there were also several speakers that spoke passionately about what Israel has been doing to Palestinians since 1948, the ongoing occupation, and the current genocidal campaign.
I attended the action as the designated police liaison. During the action I only saw one police car from the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department, which just drove by the action. There were security people from the company on the side of the road where the protesters were standing, wanting to make sure that people did not step on their property. In fact, they were so insistent on people not stepping on their grass that their security people stayed outside for most of the protest to monitor those protesting. In addition, there were numerous other employees or security staff, from this same company who came out at various times during the protest, often filming those protesting.
There were also two counter-protesters that showed up shortly after the PSGR action began, one with an Israeli flag and the other holding a sign – Bring them home now, referring the Israeli hostages. These two counter-protesters stood at the opposite end of the intersection, choosing not to engage the PSGR action.
Towards the end of the Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids action, several people laid down on the ground and covered themselves with white sheets, in order to represent the countless number of Palestinians who have been murdered by the Israeli military over the last year.
At this point I don’t know if there will be more actions or an organized campaign to confront the Woodward company on their profiting from the murder of Palestinians. If and when there are future actions, GRIID will try to report on them and any potential campaigns.
On Saturday, MLive posted an article entitled, 3 Michigan cities among most competitive rental markets in the country.
The article is based on recent data from the group RentCafe, which is nothing more than an entity that provides information about rental markets and quaint tips for renters on how to decorate their apartment. RentCafe should not be seen as a serious source, especially since most of their staff come out of the Real Estate industry.
While the MLive article does provide some information on the cost of rent in Michigan and how Grand Rapids, Lansing and Detroit are in the top 20 of the most expensive in the country, the article fails to provide details on the actual cost of rent in each of these cities. MLive does cite the National Low Income Housing Coalition date for Michigan, but not for each of the three cities where the rent is too damn high. See above graphic.
However, the most egregious aspect of the MLive article is the complete lack of perspective on the realities that most tenants in Michigan are facing, especially when it comes to rental costs. Why does the MLive reporter fail to talk to renters and get their take, their lived experience of just how expensive rent is in Grand Rapids, Lansing and Detroit? Are we likely to see a follow up article or even an entire series of articles dedicated to sharing the stories of working people, many of who have multiple jobs just so they can afford rent? Hell no!
In fact, the only thing that the MLive article said about renters in Grand Rapids, was a quote from RentCafe, a quote that should clarify who RentCafe’s target market is. “The Grand Rapids metro area thrives on a diverse and expanding economy attracting recent graduates and young professionals who want to be close to major Midwestern cities like Detroit and Chicago.”
None of this, however, is surprising, when one comes to terms with the ongoing mantra of places like Grand Rapids, which has been saying for decades that they want to attract “talent” to move to this city. Of course, what city officials and other so-called city leaders mean by talent is just what RentCafe cites – recent graduates and young professionals.
Grand Rapids leaders and the commercial media has long abandoned working class people and people who are subjected to poverty conditions. These people, roughly 47% of Grand Rapids residents, live paycheck to paycheck. They just don’t matter, especially since they are not entrepreneurs. Welcome to the harsh realities of West Michigan Nice!
A weekend of copaganda in Grand Rapids: When GRPD expansion fits into the plans of the GR Power Structure
Over the weekend, there were numerous local news stories that centered around gun violence, policing and the GRPD.
Unfortunately, the news coverage was not only uncritical, it provided another platform for the GRPD to spread their copaganda. For those who frequent the GRIID blog this type of local news coverage would not be surprising.
Five weeks ago, I deconstructed a story about the GRPD providing so-called security during a Trump rally. In that story Chief Winstrom once again made the claim that it is the GRPD’s job to keep people safe, which is simply not true.
Both channel 8 and channel 17 reported on an anti-gun rally in downtown Grand Rapids, which also included the GRPD as a co-sponsor and Chief Winstrom as one of the speakers.
Both news stories cited Chief Winstrom who said:
“If the whole city turned out for this, we’d have mass layoffs at the police department. Because we wouldn’t need so many police.”
I would caution people for taking Winstrom’s claim as anything but serious, since the GRPD and all police agencies would never support reducing their budgets or the number of cops. Equally important is the fact that even if all the residents came out to that rally, it would not fundamentally change the reality of gun violence. In fact the only way to directly impact gun violence would be through real policies that targeted gun manufacturers and community wide social movements.
In addition, when people in Grand Rapids have turned out against hate and violence in large numbers – 3,000 for an anti-war march in 2003, 10,000 for an immigration justice march in 2006, or the 5 to 6,000 that showed up in 2020 for a Black Lives Matter march against police violence – the GRPD harassed, intimidated and arrested people for taking action against violence. However, these actions were not addressing the kinds of violence that Chief Winstrom is opposed to.
A platform to promote the need for more cops
On Friday, WOODTV8 ran a story that was straight up copaganda. In his forthcoming book, Copaganda: How Police and the Media Manipulate Our News, author Alec Karakatsanis defines copaganda as, “a special kind of propaganda, employed by police and news media, that shapes our fears and influences the social investments we make to address those fears.”
The 2 minute and 35 second WOODTV8 story featured a GRPD Captain explaining why the Grand Rapids Police Department has been recruiting more cops, along with the methods they have been using. The news reported failed to say anything about the fact that the public is paying for the new GRPD recruitment methods, the cadet training process and then the new salaries and benefits once these cops are hired.
Additionally, the GRPD spokesperson then made the claim that as the city grows, so should the Grand Rapids Police Department. The cop stated,
“We want to expand our numbers in the next couple years quite a bit. So I would say in the next couple of years — without speaking for the city commission, they’d have to approve it — but we would like to be in that 330 or 340 range. There’s a lot going on downtown with the amphitheater coming in, the soccer stadium. There’s excitement with the river transformation. There is a lot of great restaurants and nightlife down here.”
It seems that in addition to Grand Action 2,0, the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce and its members, the GRPD also wants to cash in on all the events and entertainment venues. It is rather instructive that the GRPD is using these entertainment venues and activities in downtown as a justification for expanding their department.
The only rational explanation I can think of is that the GRPD will be making sure that the unhoused/those suffering under the weight of Capitalism and political dissidents will not interfere with the profit making plans of the those that have dictated the development of downtown. This makes sense, since the history of policing has always been about the business of protecting the interests of the elites, which in Grand Rapids means serving the interests of the GR Power Structure.
Palestine Solidarity Information, Analysis, Local Actions and Events for the week of October 6th
It has been 1 year since the Israeli government began their most recent assault on Gaza and the West Bank. The retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel, has escalated to what the international community has called genocide, therefore, GRIID will be providing weekly links to information and analysis that we think can better inform us of what is happening, along with the role that the US government is playing. We will also provide information on local events and actions that people can get involved in. All of this information is to provide people with the capacity of what Noam Chomsky refers to as, intellectual self-defense.
Information
Why massacring civilians is Israel’s deliberate strategy
Europe’s weapons deals with Israel reward genocide
Biden’s Gaza Genocide is Now Biden’s Greater Middle East War
Words Kill – Why Israel Gets Away with Murder in Gaza and Lebanon
Israeli Strikes on Gaza Kill 90 in One Day, Including 6 at an Orphanage
‘Western Press Obscured the Sheer Terror of What Israel Had Carried Out’
A Year of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza: A Reflection
Analysis & History
HAMAS, ISRAEL, AND THE FOG OF OCTOBER 7: WHAT WE KNOW NOW
Investigating War Crimes in Gaza
Local Events and Actions
Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids
Monday, October 7: One year of genocide, one year of RESISTANCE! 12:00pm – arrive at meetup location, 1005 e Giddings Ave, Grand Rapids
12:30pm – carpool and caravan to rally site. **We will publicly announce the rally site for anyone wishing to drive separately or arrive late.**
1:00 – 3:00pm – rally and die in at west Michigan war profiteer
3:00pm – travel back to meetup location
Image used in this post is from Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids.
MLive fails to report on the long standing connection between the US Chamber of Commerce and West Michigan
On Wednesday, MLive posted an article entitled, U.S. Chamber of Commerce taps West Michigan business leader for advisory role.
The MLive article was brief, with some information about the person appointed to the advisory board and a listing of the other current board members. However, the article failed to do two important things. First, there was no mention of the fact that several other people from West Michigan have played a significant role with the US Chamber of Commerce. The MLive article also omitted any history or critical perspective about the US Chamber of Commerce since it was founded in the early part of the 20th Century.
The MLive writer could have mentioned that Amway co-founder Jay Van Andel was appointed as the Chairman of the US Chamber of Commerce from 1979 to 1980. This meant that Van Andel was the head of what is known as the largest lobbying organization in the United States, according to Source Watch.
Not only is the US Chamber of Commerce the largest lobbying group in the country, they have a long history of getting the US Government to defend the economic system of Capitalism and work to silence and even repress those that are anti-Capitalists. In fact, in 1934 the US Chamber of Commerce convinced the US Justice Department to set up an agency “to investigate, record, control, and prosecute all subversive agitators,” according to Alyssa Katz’s book, The Influence Machine: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Corporate Capture of American Life.
Getting back to Jay Van Andel’s tenure as the Chairman of the US Chamber of Commerce, it is important to note that during the 1970s there was tremendous pressure from the public and numerous citizen-led groups to push the US Government to adopt more regulatory standards for consumer products.
In response, the US Chamber of Commerce created astroturf group (fake group) called Citizen’s Choice, that sought to undermine efforts for further regulation. As the Chairman of the US Chamber of Commerce, Jay Van Andel decided to house this astroturf group in the Chamber’s headquarters. At the same time, Van Andel used the Amway corporation’s 300,000 distributors at the time to sign up as members of Citizen’s Choice to oppose business and consumer product regulation, as is documented in Katz’s book.
Jay Van Andel’s son Steve, was Chairman of the US Chamber of Commerce from 2001 – 2002, a fact that is also omitted in the MLive story. I’m not sure if the MLive reported was unaware of the West Michigan connection to the US Chamber of Commerce, or maybe they don’t want to talk about these connections and this history out of fear of retaliation from the Chamber and its members in Washington and in West Michigan.
For months now, we have all had our minds carpet-bombed by political ads on a variety of platforms. This is not surprising, since buying political ad space and time is what accounts for the bulk of campaign contribution spending by candidates.
In the case of incumbent Hillary Scholten, they have out raised and out spent their opponent, based on the latest campaign finance data just before the primary. Rep. Hillary Scholten is hoping to get re-elected, so many of their ads are either middle of the road on messaging or they embrace more conservative messaging like the issue of safety.
In one of Scholten’s most recent political ads, an ad that uses rather intense music and quick, zoom in video transitions. However, the narrative and the statistics used are what should concern people, especially people who care about immigration justice.
The person featured in this political ad, is Muskegon County Prosecutor D. J. Hilson. Hilson begins his comments about Scholten by say, “When it comes to our safety, Hillary Scholten is all about action.” When the prosecutor says “our safety” does he mean those of us who live in the 3rd Congressional district?
Hilson continues with some “evidence” that Scholten is committed to our safety, saying:
“As an attorney she worked in the Justice Department enforcing our immigration laws.” We all should be convinced by this “evidence”, despite any real concrete examples or her track record in the Justice Department on immigration matters, but Scholten does look impressive walking down steps.
Next Hilson says, “In Congress Scholten worked across the aisle to spearhead legislation to increase border security, hire 22,000 Border Patrol Agents and crack down on drug cartels. That is the type of action we need in Washington.” This part of the political is just plain bullshit. Increasing border security and Border Patrol Agents just means the further criminalization of immigrants who have fled political violence, economic despair and climate disaster, only to show up at the US/Mexican border and suffer further abuse.
Rep. Scholten has supported bipartisan legislation known as the Dignity Act. However, the Dignity Act is not Comprehensive Immigration Reform, nor does it address more structural elements of root causes of immigration, such as the US role in supporting military and trade policies in Latin America that have destabilized most of the region, along with the fact that more and more people are being displaced and forced to flee their homelands because of Climate Change. (See Todd Miller’s excellent book, Storming the Wall: Climate Change, Migration and Homeland Security.)
What the immigrant justice movement is demanding – a movement led by immigrants – is more humane policies and practices when people show up at the border, such as expanding the US asylum policy. Unfortunate, the Biden Administration has done just the opposite. Biden has used Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which was previously used by former President Donald Trump. This policy has restricted and limited immigrants from applying for asylum, which has sparked numerous legal challenges. In fact, the deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, Lee Gelernt, said of Biden’s restrictive asylum policy: “This is not a ‘win’—it’s a monstrosity. Asylum is a human right.”
On the matter of “cracking down on the drug cartels”, the political ad provides no evidence or verification of said claim. Using a staged image of what are meant to look like drugs on a table in front of a cop is no evidence. But that doesn’t matter, because it sounds like tough on crime shit. In fact, what Hillary Scholten and the Democratic Party is doing is adopting a slightly milder version of what Trump wants to do regarding immigration policy.
In a recent article entitled, Kamala Harris Surrenders to Trump on Border Security and Endorses the War On Drugs, writer Phil Wilson states:
Harris has adopted a strategy of offering a feast to the reactionary right while cunningly spreading crumbs for progressive voters. She told us, effectively, that the vast majority of people desperately attempting to seek safety on US soil will be sent back to the starvation, death squads, cartels and paramilitary forces that chased them to the US border. These people, often undertaking perilous journeys across nearly impenetrable jungles, mountains and deserts, flee for their lives. They come to the US to be rejected and maligned by those guarding the borders of one of the most underpopulated nations on earth.
Wilson ends his article by saying, “Trump has proven that there is a massive market for bluster, bullshit, impossible promises and dummied down, simplistic narratives. Harris and the Democrats have taken notes and want a piece of the action. There is no border crisis, but no end to ambitious politicians who want to scream for higher walls and more Draconian punishment for the most vulnerable people, those trapped between the rock and hard place of US power.”
Besides supporting Israel’s genocidal policy against the Palestinians, Rep. Scholten is pushing a harsh, militarized US border policy that makes a mockery of the words ascribed on the Statue of Liberty, and instead embraced xenophobic nationalism.
Outgoing US President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned the American people about the Military Industrial Complex in his farewell address in January of 1961. Eisenhower said:
“We have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. . . . This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. . . .Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. . . . In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”
Indeed, the US Military Industrial Complex has only grown since Eisenhower warned us. The US weapons cartel/industry is one of the most powerful lobbies in DC, providing millions annually to both the Republicans and the Democrats, according to data from the Center for Responsible Politics.
Another way that the military industrial complex has impacted the US, is through the massive Pentagon spending that goes to universities and other institutions for research purposes. William Hartung, who has been writing about and researching Pentagon spending in recent decades, just published an article entitled, The Pentagon Goes to School: The Battle for the Soul of American Science. In that article, Hartung states:
The divestment campaigns launched last spring by students protesting Israel’s mass slaughter in Gaza brought the issue of the militarization of American higher education back into the spotlight.
And now, Pentagon-funded research is once again on the rise, driven by the DOD’s recent focus on developing new technologies like weapons driven by artificial intelligence (AI). Combine that with an intensifying drive to recruit engineering graduates and the forging of partnerships between professors and weapons firms and you have a situation in which many talented technical types could spend their entire careers serving the needs of the warfare state. The only way to head off such a Brave New World would be greater public pushback against the military conquest (so to speak) of America’s research and security agendas, in part through resistance by scientists and engineers whose skills are so essential to building the next generation of high-tech weaponry.
In this important article, Hartung provides a link to DoD contracts with universities and other research facilities, 469 to be exact, that have received funding from the Pentagon.
Pentagon funding for Michigan Schools and one research facility in Grand Rapids
It was no surprise to see that schools like U of M and MSU are on the list of schools to receive massive funding from the pentagon, as both major Michigan universities have a long history of providing research and training for the US military.
What follows is a list of places that the Pentagon has provided funding to in Michigan, with the first number being the ranking in the 469 recipients, along with the amount of money they received in 2022:
- #15 – University of Michigan: $82,277,000
- #86 – Michigan Technological University: $20,345,000
- #99 – Michigan State University: $16,019,000
- #141 – Wayne State University: $8,457,000
- #272 – Van Andel Research Institute: $941,000
- #292 – Western Michigan University: $650,000
- #323 – University of Detroit Mercy: $387,000
- #338 – Saginaw Valley State University: $325,000
- #401 – Eastern Michigan University: $87,000
- #425 – University of Michigan, Dearborn: $53,000
- #433 – Central Michigan University: $44,000
- #438 – Calvin University: $40,000
I sent Emails to both the Van Andel Research Institute and Calvin University to ask them what kind of research they were doing with the money they received from the Pentagon contract. If I get any answers I will publish their responses.
The fact that so many universities and other research institutions have received large sums of money from the Pentagon should be cause for concern, even outrage. On top of the fact that in Michigan alone, the combined contracts come to roughly $130 Million. Now, just imagine how many student scholarships could have been provided for $130 Million.
As someone who has been monitoring the Grand Rapids area news media over the past 4 decades, I have certainly seen how sectors of power get a different type of treatment by local news agencies.
This preferential treatment was on full display in a WOODTV8 story from Monday, September 30th, with a digital headline that read, “Amway hires new president and CEO.”
Considering the power that the Amway Corporation and the founding families – DeVos and Van Andel – have in this community, what channel 8 posted was no surprise. However, I believe it is still worth showing people just how WOODTV8 acquiesced to the company, which is often referred to as a pyramid scheme.
The Amway Corporation sent out a Press Release on Monday morning, which I am including here below in its entirety. The parts that are bolded in the Amway Press Release are what WOODTV8 posted as a “news” story.
Amway, the world’s largest direct selling company, today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Michael Nelson as President & Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Nelson succeeds Milind Pant, who had served as CEO since January 2019.
“Amway is looking to the future with energy and confidence,” said Board Co-Chair Steve Van Andel. “We’re ready to build on the momentum of recent years, grow from our strengths and answer market needs of today in a way that only we can. The Board is thrilled to welcome Michael to this crucial position, and we’re certain that he brings exactly what Amway needs to continue leading, growing and thriving in the industry – now and well into the future.”
Nelson brings more than three decades of Amway experience to the office, having held critical leadership roles in Strategy, Supply Chain, Human Resources, and Technology, among many other disciplines across the organization. His expertise spans business strategy, people management and development, and global operations, making him uniquely suited to the CEO position. His tenure with Amway also gives him a deep understanding of the company’s legacy, its strengths in developing science-based health and wellbeing solutions, and its vital partnership with Amway Business Owners around the world.
“This business is special, and no one understands that better than Michael,” said Board Co-Chair Doug DeVos. “He knows who we are, where we can go and how we can get there. Today, that’s especially valuable as Amway pursues a bold and innovative agenda toward growth. We believe Michael is a leader who will honor all that’s special about Amway, and help us grow because of it.”
As President and CEO, Nelson will lead nearly 14,000 employees supporting one million Amway Business Owners across the globe. The Amway business, started by Jay Van Andel and Rich DeVos more than 60 years ago, will continue to be a private, family-owned company with a family-led board of directors.
“I’m honored and grateful to Doug, Steve and the rest of the Board for the opportunity to help guide this remarkable organization in our shared purpose,” said Nelson. “It’s a mission that’s been close to my heart for more than 30 years, and I look forward to partnering with the Board, my colleagues and Amway Business Owners to build on the legacy and success of the last 65 years. There’s tremendous potential and an even brighter future ahead.”
Nelson is a well-known leader in the West Michigan community, serving as a board member for the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, Economic Club of Grand Rapids, The Right Place and the West Michigan Regional Air Alliance. His dedication and deep roots will continue to strengthen Amway’s longstanding commitment to contribute meaningfully to the West Michigan community.
As former CEO Milind Pant departs, the Amway Board of Directors wishes him the best in his future endeavors.
“The Board thanks Milind for his service and leadership over the last six years,” said Van Andel. “He steered us through global challenges and sharpened our business strategy. Today, we’re well positioned to continue leading and growing in the health and wellbeing industry.”
Besides channel 8’s re-printing of the majority of the Amway Press Release, they made no effort to talk about what this change means, how it might impact West Michigan, nor the implications of having a new CEO that has been strategically embedded in other institutions in the Grand Rapids Area…..which GRIID noted in Part II in my series on the Grand Rapids Power Structure.
In Part VI of the Grand Rapids Power Structure series, where I talked about the function of the local news media, I stated – “While there are nuances within various news media outlets, the main function of most news media is to serve and normalize power.” This example from WOODTV8 merely affirms the normalization of power in this city.
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 