There are two things that worry me most about Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy and the national, even international, megaphone it gives him. The first is that he’s so outrageous that he makes a zealot like Ted Cruz seem “reasonable”, a terrifying prospect. Second, and equally worrisome, Trump is giving voice, cover, and even legitimacy (in some people’s eyes, anyway) to […]

Last week, the Board of Regents of Eastern Michigan University revisited their interlocal agreement with Gov. Rick Snyder’s failed experiment on Detroit school kids known as the Education Achievement Authority. They had agreed a year prior to reevaluate their participation in the partnership with the EAA based on their progress on four specific items: A stronger partnership is forged between […]

This week the Republicans in the Michigan House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 13, a bill that would eliminate the option of straight-ticket voting on Michigan ballots. While they claim it’s to make us all “more responsible” voters, the obvious intent is to make it just that more difficult to vote in Michigan. In fact, Progress Michigan recently showed how […]

When I wrote up my piece following Monday night’s LGBTQ forum in Ann Arbor where a community forum took place on the topic of a ballot initiative for LGBTQ civil rights, I indicated that Wayne State University Law School Dean Jocelyn Benson had helped to write the ballot language. That statement came from civil rights attorney Dana Nessel’s opening remarks: […]

The guest post was written by Sommer Foster, the Political Director for Equality Michigan and a long time political activist. You can follow her on Twitter at @SNFoster. I used to be a self-proclaimed ally. I had a gay best friend. I had gay and lesbian family members. I voted against the gay marriage ban. I pushed back against homophobic […]

Yesterday, despite massive protests by faculty and students, the Eastern Michigan University chose to stay in their interlocal agreement with the Education Achievement Authority, Gov. Rick Snyder’s failed experiment on Detroit children. Here’s how they explained themselves: Mike Morris, the chair of Eastern Michigan University’s Board of Regents, said if he had to choose between staying the course with the […]

Today a Republican-led House Elections Committee voted to eliminate the ability for people in Michigan to cast one vote for all of the candidates in a given political party with one vote. These “get big government out of my life” conservatives are only against rules and regulations when they aren’t benefiting them and they know that creating long waits, longer […]

[NOTE: This piece has been edited to correct a claim that Wayne State University Law School Dean Jocelyn Benson had helped draft the ballot language. This statement, based on civil rights attorney Dana Nessel’s opening remarks, was, apparently, inaccurate. I have corrected this post and issued a correction with audio HERE.] Last night, the Jim Toy LGBTQ Community Center sponsored […]

By April of 2014, at least eight Washtenaw County-area schools had pledged not to accept student teachers from Eastern Michigan University’s College of Education program until EMU ended its interlocal agreement with Gov. Rick Snyder’s failed experiment on Detroit school kids – the Education Achievement Authority – and disengaged from the EAA entirely. Yesterday, the Washtenaw County Education Association renewed […]

Oh, my… Former staffers for ousted tea party philanderers Cindy Gamrat and Todd Courser have filed a federal lawsuit against the Republican leadership of the Michigan State House of Representatives claiming they were wrongfully terminated. The 36-page lawsuit, which you can read HERE, outlines repeated attempts by Ben Graham and Keith Allard to alert House Speaker Kevin Cotter and the […]

Sen. Dave Robertson (R-Grand Blanc Township) is the chairman of the Senate Elections and Government Reform Committee. You would think that a man in that position would be working night and day to figure out how to make voting as easy as possible so that we would have more Michiganders participating in the democracy that is the bedrock of our […]