A group of 13 Greenpeace protesters are suspended from the St. Johns Bridge over the Willamette River leading to the Portland, Oregon harbor. The icebreaker MSV Fennica has been in the harbor for repairs and planned to return to Shell Oil’s artic drilling area. Oil drilling there cannot take place without the equipment being delivered by the Fennica. They are […]

Look out, Indiana! It’s coming right for you! After having been beta tested in Michigan, the Emergency Manager model of “saving” “failing” municipalities from their own corruption, malfeasance, and ineptitude – or as is more often the case, the implosion of their manufacturing base and disinvestment – is being rolled out in the states of Indiana and New Jersey. In […]

The healthcare provider is under attack. Let’s rally the troops. Imagine someone who always looked out for you was getting beat up by the school bully, or was getting smeared by an enemy at work who was telling vicious lies about them. You’d leap to their defense, right? After all, if they’ve been there for you — no matter what […]

My Facebook feed has been an endless stream of diatribes against Dr. Walter J. Palmer, DDS, the American dentist who paid over $50,000 to murder a lion lured out of a wildlife sanctuary. With the help of some guides, Palmer shot Cecil, a human-friendly animal, with a crossbow and then “hunted” him for the next 40+ hours as the animal […]

As the group Citizens for Fair Taxes is rolling out its effort to put a proposal on the ballot to compel Michigan corporations to pay their fair share in taxes in order to get our roads fixed, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce is in panic mode. And well they should be. Internal polling by the group shows that 69% of […]

To get and keep a job, you need a reliable way to get there. If you lose your job – particularly if your income was low to start with – affording and maintaining a reliable vehicle is difficult, maybe impossible. And without a reliable vehicle, it’s harder to get or keep a job. Especially in areas, like much of Southeast […]

Members of Congress do not receive reimbursement for their housing while they are in Washington, D.C. Their $174,000 salary is presumed to cover that. Some sleep in their offices to save money. Others room together in shared living spaces. Most rent apartments. However, Michigan’s Congressman from the 8th District, Mike Bishop, seems to be using tax dollars to pay for […]

Bill Schuette has been raising campaign funds since last year’s election even though he is term-limited making it quite clear that he plans to run for governor in 2018. What he’s counting on, apparently, is that Michigan voters will overlook the millions upon millions of tax dollars that he has spent in his crusade to deny civil rights to LGBTQ […]

Less than 30 percent of older adults who need hearing aids actually get them. Rep. Dingell is determined to change that. This week, let’s do more than celebrate 50 years of Medicare, one of the most successful social programs in this country’s history. Let’s also talk about how we can improve Medicare over the next 50 years. That’s the message […]

It took corporate America about four years to get the subtext of Donald Trump’s birtherism. But when he decided to use his announcement that he was running for president to reveal his belief that immigrants are criminals and rapists, Madison Avenue was forced to recognize that they probably shouldn’t be tolerating a guy whose comments would get him kicked out […]

Retired four-star general Wesley Clark was the Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO from 1997 to 2000. Following his illustrious military career, he became a prominent Democrat, running for president in 2004 and supporting other Democrats financially and with endorsements since then. He was critical of the Bush administration’s response to the 9/11 attacks, saying, “You’d be taking them to […]