This is what happens when conservatives lose a battle. They prepare for war. You know that the end of lawful segregation didn’t end opposition to a more equal society. Anxiety at the loss of government-sanctioned racial superiority, upon which this nation had been built, first transmuted into support for a “law and order” agenda. And when Watergate took Nixon down, […]

With the U.S. Supreme Court hearing testimony tomorrow on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage bans in places like Michigan, I thought it would be a good time to repost my interview with April DeBoer and Jayne Rowze. Although much has happened since our interview a bit over a year ago – like the addition of a fourth child to their […]

Instead of being tied to a job for the insurance benefits, Americans have the freedom to pursue their dreams. Ever since he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 10, Shawn Dhanak says he worried about what he was going to do when he was no longer covered by his parents’ insurance. He remembers his grandmother telling him, “You […]

There’s been so much in the news about over-the-top idiocy from Michigan Republicans lately that I thought I’d just put them all in one post. Over the past week or so, they’ve been trying to further degrade a woman’s right to choose a safe and legal abortion and to corrupt our democracy by rigging the electoral system in favor of […]

Yesterday when Michigan Governor Rick Snyder announced that his administration would not appeal a decision by U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith that compelled Michigan to recognize nearly 320 same-sex marriages performed in March of last year, he said hes was doing because he wanted to “follow the law” as laid down by Judge Goldsmith. Here is his full statement (emphasis […]

Last year, nearly 300 same-sex couples took advantage of a one-day window of opportunity to legally marry in the state of Michigan. It was a joyous day which Anne and I documented with words and emotional photos HERE. While the federal government via Attorney General Eric Holder quickly affirmed that the federal government would recognize the marriages as legal, the […]

At a conference today, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) agreed to hear the marriage equality case of April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse. The two women have adopted four children but are not able to adopt them together because they are not married thanks to Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage. The original suit was challenging Michigan’s adoption laws […]

“What the state has joined together, it may not put asunder.” Connie Greer and Diane VanDorn of Ann Arbor (formerly Dexter). Read about their story HERE. In a huge rebuke to Gov. Rick Snyder, Attorney General Bill Schuette, and anti-LGBT homophobes in Michigan, a federal judge today ruled that the state of Michigan must recognize the marriages of the nearly […]

In order for Dave Agema to be removed from his position as a member the Republican National Committee (RNC), he must be convicted of a felony. The RNC’s rules don’t have any other escape hatch to remove toxic cancers like Dave Agema. A dog can sometimes shake off fleas but Dave Agema, a profoundly racist, homophobic, xenophobic bigot is more […]

Prove to your constituents that you care about everyone in the state — not just big-money special interests. Dear Governor Snyder: I didn’t vote for you in either election, but you are Michigan’s governor. I haven’t agreed with you on much, but you did support Medicaid expansion in Michigan, although you could have done a lot more to urge the […]

Yesterday, the 6th Circuit Court upheld same-sex marriage bans in four states. Their decision was the opposite of four other federal court decisions on this issue, all but ensuring it will end up in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court. Their 2-1 decision, as explained in the majority opinion (read it HERE), was flawed, something made obvious and clear […]