Mark Maynard | 2012 | February

Walking the secret passageways of Harry Bennett’s heavily-fortified Ypsilanti castle

By Mark | February 21, 2012

I just received a note from Nathan Ayers, the guy who won the first $1,000 grant from A2Awesome. He wanted to let me know that, back in 1984, the television program PM Magazine ran a feature on Harry Bennett’s fortress on the banks of the Huron River, in Ypsilanti. Bennett, for those of you don’t know, was Henry Ford’s Chief of Security, and, as such, is rumored to have done all kinds of unspeakable shit in order to advance the agenda of the Ford Motor Company, and keep the employees from unionizing… Here’s the video.

And, here’s an interesting aside, as long as we’re discussing Bennett. I received an email a year or so ago from a fellow who claimed to have information about the murder of one of Henry Ford’s mistresses, on the grounds of Greenfield Village, at the hands of Bennett and his goons. As details were never forthcoming, and since it could well have been made up, I never noted it here, but I do wonder just how many people Bennet killed for Ford, and whether it’s conceivable that any of the ugly business was done on either the Village grounds, near Hitler’s boyhood home, or, here, in Ypsi.

Here, by way of background, is a clip from a short article about Bennett, and his role at Ford.

…Shortly before World War I, workers flocked to Detroit by the thousands, where Henry Ford promised prosperity by offering the then unprecedented wage of $5 per day for industrial workers. Ford opened job positions to African-Americans, in a age when they were denied many industrial jobs. Ford’s showcase was the River Rouge plant, an industrial power house where every auto part was not only assembled, but also fabricated.

In 1929 when the Great Depression struck, Ford cut back his workforce. Detroit, like many industrial cities, badly suffered through the economic outrage, with evictions and hunger.

Fearing communist influence, Ford fought unionization. He was aided in this effort by Fr. Charles Coughlin, a Detroit Catholic priest who won a national audience, first supporting Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, but then turning against it, offering race-based and anti-Semitic diatribes. Ford hired a former prize fighter, Harry Bennett, as his security chief, and Bennett ruthlessly went after any union sympathizer.

In 1932 hungry Detroit workers marched on the Rouge. The march was organized by Communist Party members and four were killed on the “Ford Hunger March.”

Eventually the union came to the auto industry, with General Motors the first to sign after the 1936 sit-down strikes, which began in Flint, Michigan. Ford finally signed a United Auto Workers (UAW) contract in 1941, but not before the “Battle of the Overpass,” where Bennett’s thugs beat Walter Reuther and other union organizers trying to pass leaflets at the Rouge’s gate…

Sadly, as very few in this country seem to know their labor history, and of the sacrifices that were made by our ancestors, who, in many cases, gave their lives so that we might have a middle class, a 40 hour work week, and laws keeping children out of factories, I fear that we’re going to have to face the likes of Harry Bennett again.

Posted in A2Awesome, History, Ypsilanti | Tagged anti-Semitic, automotive industry, Battle of the Overpass, castles, Charles Coughlin, Communism, exotic animals, FDR, fear of Communism, Flint, Ford Hunger March, Ford Motor Company, Ford Service Department, Ford's Service Department, General Motors, Great Depression, Greenfield Village, Harry Bennett, Harry Bennett's Castle, Henry Ford, Hilter, Huron River, industrial revolution, labor history, lions, mansions, manufacturing, middle class, murder, Nathan Ayers, New Deal, PM Magazine, private armies, race baiting, River Rouge, safe house, secret passageways, strike breaking, threats to the middle class, tigers, turrets, union busting, Walter Reuther | 36 Comments

Washtenaw County Commissioner Conan Smith clarifies his stance on Emergency Financial Managers

By Mark | February 21, 2012

Yesterday, Washtenaw County Commissioner Conan Smith dropped by the site and left a few comments, as he’s known to do on occasion. Well, one of those comments, which pertained to Michigan’s Emergency Financial Manager law, drew quite a bit of criticism, and, to his credit, Smith came back this evening and responded to it. Here, for those of you who don’t generally follow the comments left on the site, is Smith’s original statement, which was left in response to a post that I’d written concerning the legality of the Emergency Financial Manager program in Michigan, followed by comments left by readers calling themselves Dragon and Busy Dying, and, then, ultimately, Conan’s response.

CONAN:

Mark, your point about EM’s not being charged with developing sustainable strategies for a city’s turn-around is the most critical one to me. The long-term fiscal health of a city depends not on some quick-fix tricks like divesting assets or restructuring contracts, but on a community committing to a path to prosperity that may take decades to travel. The EM is decidedly not the individual to set that course — thank our lucky stars. Rather the EM’s optimal role is to right the ship — to come in, take (sometimes dramatic) corrective action to end a fiscal emergency and put the community back in a place where the threat of bankruptcy or insolvency isn’t a constant distraction.

In my opinion, it’s when EM’s take their charge to mean more than that that we get the dictatorial exercise of power that people so rightfully fear. The decisions about systemic change in a community belong to the residents and the elected officials, and a good EM would be smart to recognize when the voice of the citizens should speak louder than whatever distant enabling legislation led them to that community in the first place.

DRAGON:

Why don’t you introduce yourself Conan Smith. Husband of state Sen. Rebekah Warren, D-Ann Arbor, boss of local know it all Murph.

“Mark, your point about EM’s not being charged with developing sustainable strategies for a city’s turn-around is the most critical one to me.”

That’s why I have spent my time figuring out sustainable strategies for Ypsi. But I will keep these sustainable strategies secret, hoping the citizens of Ypsi are stupid enough to believe my bullshit.

“The long-term fiscal health of a city depends not on some quick-fix tricks like divesting assets or restructuring contracts, but on a community committing to a path to prosperity that may take decades to travel.”

So you feel our pain? That’s nice.

“The EM is decidedly not the individual to set that course — thank our lucky stars.”

Conan Smith started things off. In addition to being the chair of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, he is the Executive Director of the Michigan Suburbs Alliance, representing suburban cities that ring the metro Detroit area. Smith has gone on the record as generally in support of Public Act 4 saying:

We absolutely need it.

“Rather the EM’s optimal role is to right the ship — to come in, take (sometimes dramatic) corrective action to end a fiscal emergency and put the community back in a place where the threat of bankruptcy or insolvency isn’t a constant distraction.”

What are these corrective actions? Please help us not be constantly distracted.

“In my opinion”

We know your opinion.

“At the forefront of any emergency policy should be a respect for our democracy and a recognition that overriding a vote of the people is an act of last resort. Michigan citizens are also extraordinarily responsible individuals, rarely pointing the finger at another for their problems.”

But Mr Smith we are pointing the finger at business tax cuts of 1.6 billion while running a surplus.

“it’s when EM’s take their charge to mean more than that that we get the dictatorial exercise of power that people so rightfully fear.”

How can we prevent this?

“The decisions about systemic change in a community belong to the residents and the elected officials”

So why are you in favor of taking this right away from elected officials?

“and a good EM would be smart to recognize when the voice of the citizens should speak louder than whatever distant enabling legislation led them to that community in the first place.”

Are you also a stand up comedian?

BUSY DYING:

Conan,

Thanks for your feedback (if this is, indeed, Conan).

What you don’t mention–and it’s something at the bottom of local outrage about PA4–is the root cause of things like working-class public school systems “failing”: continued withdrawal of funding, thought, resources… in short: support.

It’s like this: if you put a bandaid on a massive leg wound, so that you can save sutures and gauze for your cronies, the person with the leg wound is going to fail to thrive, to say the least. Then you want to send in a specialist to chastise the victim for his leg wound, and to rummage around in drawers searching for other kinds of bandaids to put on it.

It’s this fact–that Republicrats are more interested in material wealth than in human welfare–that the 99% have awakened to. Emergency Managers are a mistake, no matter what race / class you are, and no matter how much “tidying up” they appear to do. If you fail to take a stand on this issue, your base is eventually going to punish you at the polls (despite the fact that the Governor might hook you up with some sweet swag).

CONAN:

Busy Dying, you’re absolutely right that the 30+ years of public policy that drained resources out of urban areas and essentially created the financial crisis that our cities on the edge (like Ypsi) now face is the real challenge. No EM’s going to really be able to save a city in this environment.

I’d like to be able to point the finger exclusively at Republicans for the systemic disinvestment (and they have been more responsible than Dem’s, driving “reforms” to the revenue sharing formula, designing tax expenditure systems that push resources to exurban areas, leading the creation of infrastructure bonds that allow rural areas to have both high-quality roads and low taxes….I could go on) but the truth is that Democrats have been consistently complicit or worse. The Granholm administration, for example, with the support of a Democratically-controlled House slashed statutory revenue sharing to near meaningless amounts in order to fill holes in the state budget (a pass-the-buck strategy used by Engler before and Snyder after).

Long diatribe… sorry. In short, state leaders haven’t taken care of cities the way they should. And they’re not likely to do an about-face and suddenly restore primacy to urban areas in the state’s investment strategies.

So, if state funding or significant policy change is not forthcoming, what do you do in a community whose financial decisions no longer allow it to serve the basic needs of its residents? Do you let it fail? That’s one option…allow the decisions up and down the political hierarchy to run their course. But the consequences of a government’s collapse are simply too great. You have to have an emergency action policy.

Now, my own approach to this is not that of this Legislature or those past. I do not believe that a singular hero can keep a city from insolvency. EFM, EM, whatever. I do agree that the State needs tools to ensure that a community is on the path to financial stability and that the leadership is held accountable to that outcome. Is take-over the ultimate action for consistent egregious behavior? Possibly. But we’ve yet to see a city — not Highland Park, Flint, Pontiac, Detroit, Hamtramck, Ecorse or Benton Harbor — where the local leaders were intransigent about financial reforms. Were some of them over their depth? Absolutely. But that is a time for mentorship, not dictatorship.

About PA4 specifically….lots of people claim based on a handful of clipped quotes that I’m a proponent of the current emergency management system. I’m not. If you take the time to read the whole article (based on one short conversation with Ryan Stanton) that gave everyone the heebie-jeebies about me and the EM law, you’ll see that I’ve always thought it had huge problems.

Michigan had an active Emergency Financial Manager law on the books (think Highland Park, Hamtramck, Benton Harbor, Ecorse and Detroit Schools) before PA4. That law had all the wrong-headed anti-democratic underpinnings that the current law does. Worse, it even failed to do the job it was designed for.

PA4 made some serious and badly-needed improvements to that existing law. It raised the bar on overriding labor contracts. It allowed for earlier and softer State interventions. It permitted local elected officials to exercise some of the powers previously allowed only to an EFM. When I said, dragon, that we definitely needed it, that’s what I was talking about, and I meant it.

PA4 also made some unnecessary and hideous politically-motivated changes. New managers have powers beyond addressing financial control, running to ordinances and even the existence of a community. The law goes too far — way too far — in empowering an individual in this way.

Like many things that come from Lansing, PA4 has its good and bad sides. I think we’d be smarter as a state to only seat an Emergency Manager after a city has declared bankruptcy and craft a policy that focuses on how we provide elected officials (who are mostly lay-people) the support and resources they need to get their community back on track.

Posted in Civil Liberties, Economics, Politics, Ypsilanti | Tagged Benton Harbor, Busy Dying, Conan Smith, Detroit, Dragon, Ecorse, Emergency Financial Manager, Emergency Financial Manager Act, Flint, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Jennifer Granholm, Lansing, Michigan Suburbs Alliance, PA4, Pontiac, Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners | 6 Comments

Speaking on behalf of Christ, Santorum warns of Obama’s plans to feast on the blood of euthanized seniors

By Mark | February 20, 2012

I heard a comedian by the name of John Fugelsang do a pretty brilliant bit the other day on the incredible disconnect between the teachings of Jesus and the actions of those who invoke his name in the pursuit of political power. It’s nothing we haven’t discussed here before, but I enjoyed Fugelsang’s perspective, given that he’s the offspring of a former nun and run-away Franciscan Brother, and knows a thing or two about the Bible. And, so, when I read in the news today that Rick Santorum, who professes to be the most religious of our current candidates for president, was in fact the least charitable of the bunch, Fugelsang’s concise, thoughtful diatribe on hypocrisy came to mind. I was going to post video of it here, but, then, at the last minute, I changed my mind, and decided to share something even funnier – this video of Santorum being interviewed a few days ago by James “Focus on the Family” Dobson instead.

That’s right… Obama is taking us down a road that leads directly to the forced euthanasia of seniors. Yes, just as gay marriage has led to rampant beastiality, contraception will surely lead to old people being dragged from their beds in the middle of the night and bludgeoned to death by the dark forces of Obamacare. But, what would you expect from a President who is clearly doing the bidding of Satan?

Oh, hadn’t you heard? Yeah… well, it seems as though Obama is following “a different theology” than the rest of us. Here’s some of what Santorum had to say yesterday.

…Obama’s agenda is “not about you. It’s not about your quality of life. It’s not about your jobs. It’s about some phony ideal. Some phony theology. Oh, not a theology based on the Bible. A different theology,” Santorum told supporters of the conservative Tea Party movement at a Columbus hotel…

As for Santorum’s claims about the prevalence of unwanted euthanasia in the Netherlands, they appear not to be true. At least, it would seem that laws are on the books to keep such things from happening. The following comes by way of Wikipedia:

…The law allows the medical review board to suspend prosecution of doctors who performed euthanasia when each of the following conditions is fulfilled:

– the patient’s suffering is unbearable with no prospect of improvement
– the patient’s request for euthanasia must be voluntary and persist over time (the request cannot be granted when under the influence of others, psychological illness or drugs)
– the patient must be fully aware of his/her condition, prospects and options
– there must be consultation with at least one other independent doctor who needs to confirm the conditions mentioned above
– the death must be carried out in a medically appropriate fashion by the doctor or patient, in which case the doctor must be present
– the patient is at least 12 years old (patients between 12 and 16 years of age require the consent of their parents)

…Euthanasia remains a criminal offense in cases not meeting the law’s specific conditions, with the exception of several situations that are not subject to the restrictions of the law at all, because they are considered normal medical practice:

– stopping or not starting a medically useless (futile) treatment
– stopping or not starting a treatment at the patient’s request
– speeding up death as a side-effect of treatment necessary for alleviating serious suffering

And, on top of that, Santorum’s numbers don’t add up. In 2010, 136,058 people in the Netherlands died. During that same year, there were 3,136 cases reported in which a physician assisted in the death of a patient. That’s nowhere near the 10% number that Santorum notes. Furthermore, it’s my understanding that only 182 of those 3,136 cases were actually assisted suicides. The others, if I’m not mistaken, were instances in which patients were allowed to die on their own, without intervention. But, you don’t get to be the frontrunner of today’s Republican party by sticking to the facts. It’s far better to take the stage and say, categorically, that the government of the Netherlands murders over 6,500 people per year, and that’s what Obama has planned for us. That’s the kind of shit that wins elections.

It’s been a while since I’ve read the Bible, but I have to think that, somewhere in it, there has to be something about lying being wrong. But, it seems, the more “religious” you claim to be, the less you need to worry about conforming to what Jesus actually taught. Case in point – Santorum came out a few days ago, saying that the murder of Iranian scientists was, “a wonderful thing.” (Can someone point me to the place in the Bible where Jesus says murder can be a wonderful thing?) But, apparently it’s OK in this instance, though, as Iran is a theocracy. As Santorum pointed out not so long ago, when talking about Iran on the campaign trail, “They’re a theocracy that has deeply embedded beliefs that the afterlife is better than this life… When your principal virtue is to die for Allah, then it’s not a deterrent to have a nuclear threat… It is in fact an encouragement for them to use their nuclear weapon.”

Santorum, who believes in an afterlife better than this one, and just criticized Obama not governing in accordance with “Biblical law,” apparently struggles with the concept of irony.

While we’re on the subject of Santorum, did you happen to see today that he’s suggesting that the federal government sell off all public lands? Who needs national parks anyway, right? Now that they’ve all been photographed, what’s the purpose? Plus, just think of all the beautiful monocle cases and cigar boxes we could make from that old growth timber.

You might also be interested to know that he’s come out and essentially said that we should abolish public education, in favor of home schooling, like during the good ‘ole pioneer days… Which makes total sense, given that what we need as a nation isn’t doctors looking for cures to deadly diseases, and high-tech entrepreneurs, but girls that know how to churn butter and boys who can count high enough to know when they’ve put three seeds in a hole.

I’ve got to think that the people of Michigan will wake up before the 28th, and send this guy back to Pennsylvania once and for all, for the good of the nations, but you never know. People could vote for him just out of sheer dislike for Mitt “I loved Michigan so much that I tied the family dog to the roof of my foreign car and sped away the first chance I got” Romney.

Oh, and speaking of euthanasia bracelets, I’d like to have one made that says, “Please Kill Me if Santorum Wins.”

Posted in Observations, Other, Politics, Religious Extremism | Tagged abortion, American Heartland Forum, assisted suicide, beastiality, Bible, charity, Christianity, crazy things people think that Obama wants to do, euthanasia bracelets, euthanasia of seniors, fear mongering, Focus on the Family, gay marriage, health care, homeschooling, hypocrisy, Iran, James Dobson, Jesus, John Fugelsang, nuclear weapons, Obama, Obama is the Antichrist, Obamacare, religion, Santorum, tea party, terrifying the elderly, The Netherlands, theocracy, what would Jesus think | 39 Comments

What should I do in Toronto?

By Mark | February 20, 2012

I need some advice. Later this spring, I’ll be heading to Toronto with the family, and, as I’ve never been there before, and as don’t generally associate with Canadians, I’m not sure what I should do when I’m there. Or, to be more specific, I’m not sure what I should do, once I’ve scoured the entire city, looking for obscure Degrassi Junior high filming locations. According to Linette, there’s a shoe museum, and good Chinese food, but, as far as I know, that’s about the extent of what the city has to offer… So, if you know of something cool, please leave a comment.

While we’re on the subject of Degrassi, did you hear the news late last week that Neil Hope had passed away? Hope, who played Derek “Wheels” Wheeler in the classic Canadian coming-of-age drama, apparently died five years ago, alone, in a Hamilton, Ontario rooming house, but the news just now became public. Hope, who had a long history of alcoholism, is said to have died of natural causes.

Speaking of Hope, here’s one of my favorite episodes that centers around his character. It’s called, Best Laid Plans.

And I know that it’s unlikely, but I’d like to see if maybe I could convince Pat Mastroianni, who played Joey Jeremiah, to recreate the drugstore scene that takes place at the 16-minute mark, with me filling in for Wheels. I think that would be incredibly cool.

And, yes, apparently all of the episodes of Degrassi Junior High are now available on YouTube… Enjoy!

Posted in Mark's Life, Pop Culture, sex | Tagged acting, alcoholism, another famous person has died, Best Laid Plans, Degrassi Junior High, Derek "Wheels" Wheeler, filming locations, Joey Jeremiah, Neil Hope, Pat Mastroianni, sightseeing, teen sex, Toronto, Vincent Massey Public School | 18 Comments

Ypsilanti Immigration Interview: Gillian Ream

By Mark | February 19, 2012

Apparently, people keep moving to Ypsilanti… Today’s interview is with a young woman named Gilliam Ream.

MARK: When did you move to Ypsilanti, and what brought you here?

GILLIAN: We (my partner Adam and I) moved here in July 2011. Honestly, coming to Ypsi was just a happy accident. We were planning to stay in Ann Arbor… but suddenly and unexpectedly had to leave our house – so we had less than 30 days to find a new place to live for two people, two cats and a dog. We looked all over Ann Arbor, found one place that was pretty nice, but that was stretching the price range, and would have left us homeless for almost a month. (July is a terrible time to look for immediate occupancy in A2.)

Just as we were starting to get desperate a coworker sent out our plea via email and Facebook to the Ypsi neighborhood associations and his various Ypsi connections. (I believe the title was, “Here’s a chance to steal a household from Ann Arbor.”) We got an email within a couple of days about a great little house, bigger and $400 cheaper than the Ann Arbor place we looked at, walking distance to Depot Town and with a fenced-in backyard for the dog. I couldn’t be happier about the decision. We’re pretty much hooked on Ypsi now.

MARK: According to my files (yes, I keep files on everyone), you work for a non-profit in downtown Ypsi. I don’t seem to have any information on Adam, though. Does he work, go to school, etc? And, if so, where?

GILLIAN: Adam writes software for a small company that specializes in restaurant management software – scheduling, inventory, that kind of thing. The company was started in Ann Arbor but their employees are international, so he works from home. (I also work from home about half the time – another reason we wanted a bigger house.)

MARK: Where have you lived prior to Ypsilanti?

GILLIAN: Adam and I both grew up in Ann Arbor (and met at Community High oh so long ago). He’s lived in Ypsi before and was also in Plymouth for a while. I’ve been all over – Baltimore, Toronto, and almost a year in Thailand. I moved back to Michigan for grad school in 2007.

MARK: I won’t hold you to it, but I’m wondering if you’re planning on staying in Michigan for the foreseeable future, now that you’re back.

GILLIAN: Yep, I’m pretty committed to staying in Michigan. Coming back home for grad school was very intentional – I had been doing international development work in Toronto and came to the realization that I had a lot more power to make a difference here than in Kenya. I guess I was ready for a longer term commitment to a community. It also helps that both my parents and Adam’s parents are all within 30 minutes. It makes holidays a little hectic, but in general it’s nice to be close.

MARK: Have you made friends here? It’s OK to say, no, by the way. I’ve heard that it can take up to three years for people to make friends when moving to a new place.

GILLIAN: Yes! I think that’s why I like Ypsi so much.To be fair, we had a few good friends here before moving, and Adam was getting pretty involved with Bike Ypsi, but I’ve met a lot of great people. It’s actually a nice balance of familiarity for me – I like seeing familiar faces around town, but Ann Arbor had been getting to the point where I couldn’t go anywhere without seeing people I knew from a million years ago – it’s a very small town when you grow up there.

I will admit, though, that my fears of not seeing as much of my Ann Arbor friends have kind of come true. The Great Washtenaw Rift is real.It takes some extra effort to overcome it.

MARK: Do you have any childhood friends from Ann Arbor who now live in Ypsi, or are you the only one?

GILLIAN: Not many at the moment, but there’s kind of an Ypsi revolving door with Ann Arbor kids. My best friend lived in Ypsi when she moved home after 10 years in Chicago, but she went back to Ann Arbor just a couple months before we moved here. Another friend from high school is currently trying to buy a house here. I also run into a fair number of people I know from A2 around town. (For example I see Erin Dion, who I went to elementary and high school with, almost daily at Beezy’s – it turns out she used to live in the house I live in now!)

MARK: Do you own a home, or do you rent?

GILLIAN: Rent (see above). But we’re looking at buying within the next couple years and Ypsi has moved to the top of the list of places where we’d look.

MARK: Do you have any questions about Ypsilnati that I could, maybe, help you with? Have you seen anything, or smelled anything, for instance, that just doesn’t make sense?

GILLIAN: Glad you asked! Do you know anyone who has tried the Bul Taco at the Chick Inn? I am intrigued and terrified.

MARK: Hmmm. I usually get the fried chicken basket, and Linette usually opts for a Hammy Sammy wedged between two Paul Bunyon burgers. (She calls it a Triple Down.) So, we’ve never tried the Bul Taco. (Does it really just have one “l”?) But I suspect that someone in the audience can help you out.

GILLIAN: Yep. Just one “l.” Rumor has it it’s a Bul Go Gi taco.

MARK: Where else do you eat when you eat out in Ypsi?

GILLIAN: Two words: Hidden. Dragon. I can not get enough Ma Po Tofu. It’s a little embarassing to say how often I eat there, but I will tell you it was the #1 thing I was excited about when I moved to Ypsi. I was introduced to the place probably 6 years ago by friends who used to live in Ypsi, and we’d go at least once a month – they’d drive from Northville and I’d come from Ann Arbor. The secret is that you have to ask for the Chinese menu.

MARK: Do you read Chinese? Or do you ask for the Chinese menu, and then ask for them to read it to you?

GILLIAN: Oh yeah, I should have clarified – The Chinese menu is in both Chinese and English. It’s just got more traditional Chinese dishes than the American-Chinese menu that they usually give to white people. Their American-Chinese food is okay too, it’s just nothing special.

MARK: What’s a typical weekend like for you?

GILLIAN: To be truthful, weekends involve a lot of cleaning, grocery shopping and working, but right now it’s Friday afternoon and I’m working from Corner Brewery, so I guess I can’t complain. Other than that, I try to get a board game in – scrabble or something geekier, and I usually try to do something outside, too – either riding bikes or going for a hike with the dog. You also might catch me at Hidden Dragon on Sunday night.

MARK: I’ve heard taht, prior to moving back to Michigan, you lived in Baltimore and Toronto. As I have some friends in Baltimore, and almost lived there myself, I was wondering what you made of it? I’ve always had the sense that there’s a certain similarity to Ypsilanti.

GILLIAN: I’d never thought of it that way before, but I do think Baltimore and Ypsi have a certain similarity. When I lived in Baltimore I used to joke that all the stores were locally owned, but only because most big companies didn’t want to invest there. You could say the same of downtown Ypsi, where Deja Vu and Jimmy John’s are really the only “big chain businesses” I can think of. It’s something that appeals to me about both places – I’d much rather hear “there’s a new BBQ restaurant going in on Michigan ave” instead of “we’re getting a Denny’s.”

Baltimore’s also awesome because it’s like the undiscovered gem of the east coast. Rent is cheap so there are lots of warehouse studios and live music venues. It takes a little while to find the good ones but until you do you can take the train to DC for $6 (which is what I used to do almost every weekend). I have a lot of friends that moved to Baltimore right after I left and have stayed there. In fact, my friend’s husband just opened a pizza place (hershspizza.com).. if you’re ever visiting.

MARK: As for Toronto, I just visited there for the first time, and liked it. I’m curious to know if you ever considered a permanent move to Canada? And, if so, why?

GILLIAN: So, after gushing about Ypsi and Baltimore’s awesome grassroots grittiness, I’ll admit the truth: I LOVE TORONTO. It might be the best city on earth. It’s a great place for biking (or was until Rob Ford became mayor), there are free festivals every weekend, and for $6 you can take a ferry to an island in the middle of the harbor with an amusement park, a disc gold course and your choice of nude and non-nude beaches.

The live music might have been my favorite part (hit up NXNE sometimes – it’s a chiller, cheaper version of SXSW – think $30 for a festival pass instead of $400). In 2006 I saw 75 live bands play over the course of the year. Canada also invests heavily in the arts, so you can go to the symphony or see 10 plays on any given night for less than $15.

Rob Ford aside, Canadians on the whole are refreshingly down-to-earth politically. It was awfully appealing to stay in a place where elections only last 5 weeks, where people don’t mind paying taxes to have a great place to live, where you can marry whoever you want to and where the police don’t waste time chasing down pot heads…

So yeah, I strongly considered becoming Canadian. But in the end I decided I wanted to invest in a community long-term, and I wanted to be back in Michigan. So, I’ll be fighting the good fight here until further notice.