“This new scheme flies in the face of the Constitution.” Washtenaw County Clerk Larry Kestenbaum is rather legendary in the Ann Arbor area for his incredible grasp and deep understanding of Michigan election law. He is passionate about it, in fact. Which has led him to being put in a rather interesting situation this week. Six out of the seven […]

The 1960s called, they want their racist rhetoric back I know we’re not a true “post racial” society. I want us to be. But I know we aren’t. But, at least in most public discourse, it’s definitely no longer acceptable to say racist things or to make derogatory remarks about specific races. Call it ‘political correctness’ if you want but […]

Two days of hearings yield a disappointing lack of action. The Senate Government Operations Committee spent two days hearing testimony on Medicaid expansion and debating three possible paths forward. It voted for all three — which means there will be yet more debate and delay on legislation that could make a life-or-death difference for nearly 500,000 Michiganders. The committee did […]

Just a totally harmless cloud of heavy metal-laden black dust, no problem at all The large piles of petcoke that have been stored on the banks of the Detroit River delivered a little surprise to the residents of Windsor across the border last weekend in the form of a thick black cloud of dust kicked up by a storm. Here’s […]

The quest to become a more perfect union always upsets the less perfect As the son of the first parents in my subdivision to divorce, I recognized all the less-than-subtle signs of a family falling apart. Doors slamming, people staring at their toes as they grab the mail, days when it seemed as if the house was empty — yet […]

I would See the update below for a rally to support fast food workers in Detroit at 10 a.m. this morning. Arnobio Morelix, a student at the University of Kansas, did some figuring recently and determined that, if McDonald’s employees earned a living wage of $15 per hour, the cost of their “famous” dollar menu would only increase 17¢. This […]

Frugality is apparently NOT a job requirement Kevyn Orr scored a pretty sweet deal when he signed on as the Emergency Manager for Detroit. In addition to a car, a driver and a body guard, he’s also got a nice suite in the posh Book Cadillac hotel. This is on top of his $275,000 annual salary. Orr’s contract (pdf) also […]

Government Operations Committee to discuss Medicaid expansion on Tues. and Wed. Speak out in support. There are at least half a million reasons to support Medicaid expansion in Michigan: providing healthcare coverage to nearly 500,000 uninsured Michiganders, largely the working poor, plus bringing more jobs and revenue into the state. The only reason to oppose Medicaid expansion? Trying to sabotage […]

Michigan represent!

Michigan’s next Secretary of State, Professor Jocelyn Benson was on Up with Steve Kornacki this morning, talking about what’s happening in Michigan right now, how Detroit got to where it is today, and our path forward. It was a refreshingly smart and thoughtful conversation.

Watch it after the jump.

If you have to stop people from voting to win, your ideas suck As North Carolina passes the most offensive set of voter suppression laws in the nation, you have to hand it to Republicans. Pursuing voter ID is a poll-tested strategy: consistent majorities support these laws under the guise that they’re protecting the integrity of elections. The only problem […]

A little justice please? Early this month, I wrote two pieces about Brooke Harris, a teacher fired first from a Flint charter school for helping students to organize a fundraiser for the family of Trayvon Martin and more recently fired by the Education Achievement Authority (HERE and HERE.) At Brooke’s per-termination hearing, she learned that she was being accused of […]