UPDATE: I hadn’t taken into account that the National Heritage Academies actually began their ad blitz at the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News on Sunday. This post has been updated to reflect that. It’s Day Four of the explosive Detroit Free Press exposé of Michigan charter schools and also Day Four of the National Heritage Academies complete takover of […]

UPDATE: This post has been updated to include an email Taylor Grenawalt sent to Lt. Governor candidate Lisa Brown, as well. UPDATE 2: Grenawalt has scrubbed his Facebook and LinkedIn pages, removing references to working for the Snyder campaign. UPDATE 3: Grenawalt has been fired from the Snyder campaign. Details HERE. In late May, an aspiring college-aged man named Taylor […]

There are four things that, in my opinion, should NEVER be put in the hands of for-profit corporations: healthcare, education, national security, and prisons. Why? Because when a profit motive is involved in anything, corners will always be cut in order to enhance the profitability of the enterprise. And, in these four situations, that means the lives of actual living […]

My wife Anne, who lived in St. Louis, Missouri when we met, often tells people that I “wooed her with Michigan”. And it’s true. Michigan has so much to offer from big cities to secluded forests and everything in between. We have over 19 million acres of forested land, about 4 million of which is state-owned. This immense amount of […]

The corporatist front group Mackinac Center is waging a no-holds barred, blatant attack to destroy teachers unions and they seem to have a particular hatred of the Michigan Education Association (MEA). The group, heavily funded by millionaires and billionaires like the Koch brothers and the DeVos family, is shameful in their approach. They have used the Teacher of the Year […]

In February, Terri Lynn Land accidentally confirmed that she was confirmed that she was speaking with Super PACs about funding her campaign, something that is against the law and something she had done before. One of the groups she mentioned is the notorious anti-Choice group Susan B. Anthony List. Apparently Land’s outreachwas successful because this week the Susan B. Anthony […]

As I wrote about this morning, Michigan’s largest for-profit charter school company, National Heritage Academies (NHA) responded to a blockbuster new investigative report being published at the Detroit Free Press this week by buying up all of the ad space on the front page of their website as well as the website of the Detroit News. It turns out that […]

NOTE: This post has been updated HERE. The Detroit Free Press is running a spectacular, week-long series on charter schools in Michigan and the woeful lack of oversight and accountability our state exercises when it comes to charters. While some states have outright bans on for-profit schools, 61% of Michigan charter schools are run by for-profit corporations and over a […]

I don’t mean to keep hammering away at Terri Lynn Land but … Okay, I DO mean to keep hammering away at her. But, honestly, there have been few politicians, particularly here in Michigan, who have given us such rich fodder to work with. In today’s episode of “Oh My Goddess, I Can’t Believe This Woman is Running for the […]

Yesterday, the Small Business Association of Michigan heard from both Democratic and Republican candidates for Governor and the U.S. Senate. They were asked a single question to answer: “If elected, what will you do to help small business thrive in Michigan?” Republicans Rick Snyder and Terri Lynn Land appeared in person while Democrats Mark Schauer and Gary Peters appeared via […]

I was tempted to use all six facepalm images we have in our portfolio for this piece because it’s one of those “one facepalm isn’t adequate to convey my utter disgust” sort of moments. One of the big insurers that stands to lose money if its clients are forced to take a financial “haircut” in Detroit’s bankruptcy is Syncora. This […]