The following essay was written by Dianne Byrum. Dianne is a former state Representative and state Senator and is currently a Michigan State University trustee and the Michigan Director for Defend Democracy Project. Over the summer, the January 6th Committee presented overwhelming evidence proving that Donald Trump and his extremist supporters in the Republican Party planned, promoted, and paid for […]

During last night’s gubernatorial debate, GOP nominee Tudor Dixon asserted that a difference between her and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was that Dixon was a small business owner, whose company had been “crushed during the pandemic by Whitmer’s Covid policies.” Curious, I decided to look into Dixon’s “small business.” Here’s what I learned… Dixon’s business, Cornerstone Foundry Supply (CFS), manufactures nothing–it’s […]

Cultural conservatives are trying to make the 2022 midterm elections about education in general, and the (phantom) issue of “parental rights” specifically. As someone who has been involved in education at various levels for the past 40+ years, I’ve not seen any evidence of a widespread lack of parents’ abilities to guide and influence their children’s schooling. To be sure, […]

In 2018, multiple prominent Michigan Republican legislators flew to Hawaii on at least two separate occasions, paid for by the California-based Institute for Research on Presidential Elections. As reported by Bridge Magazine, the trips, which also included trips to Puerto Rico and elsewhere, were part of an effort to change the way our presidents are elected: More than 20 Michigan […]

Just over 13 months ago, the attempted overthrow of the democratic election of 2020 began.  For those doing math in their heads right now, I am not talking about the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Building. I am also not talking about the statements by the former President on Election Night that we should stop counting the ballots because he […]

So, about Virginia… The election in Virginia was not about “education”–it was about racism, and white supremacy. Maybe if establishment Democrats hadn’t tacked hard right on education, starting with Bill Clinton and reaching a crescendo with Barack Obama and Arne Duncan, we wouldn’t have given up the “high road” on public education. There’s been a lot of discussion about the […]

With Halloween right around the corner, people across the state are hunkering down with their pumpkin-spice beverages and their Halloween candy to enjoy their favorite scary movies. This is  exactly the kind of escapism we need right now.  But just like any good horror movie, there’s a twist: The really spooky activities are happening at Clerk’s offices in our local […]

There are just over two months until the next election date in Michigan. The last election for some communities was a month ago. Did you vote? Do you know who the candidates were? There was also an election in May for some communities. Many people had no idea.  Voter turnout in presidential years is often relatively high (in the November […]

Two weeks ago, I attended DEFCON for the third time. DEFCON is a conference where a group of mostly white-hat hackers and experts in various fields come together to determine best practice recommendations for shoring up vulnerabilities with web security and safeguards against malicious hackers.  This year, I was given the opportunity to speak at the convention in the elections […]

Man, that’s GOTTA hurt… While there have been a few rational actors in the Michigan Republican legislative caucus who have refused to subscribe to The Big Lie that Donald Trump won more votes than Joe Biden in Michigan and, in fact, across the entire country, most have been vocally all in on it. The only the way The Big Lie […]

On a hot day in early summer last year, there was a press conference held on the lawn of the Mason Historical Courthouse in Ingham County. It was being held by the Islam’s Secret Agents. The is the sort of intemperate rhetoric that serves no purpose but to mislead and rile a certain group of people. For those who may […]