A BFD for the D

Last night I “appeared” on the Night Shift with Tony Trupiano radio show to talk about Netroots Nation being held in Detroit in July of 2014. If you are unfamiliar with Netroots Nation, this segment will give you a better idea of just how big a deal this is.

Audio after the jump.

You knew this was coming, right?

Progress Michigan released a report this week that outlines how the corporatist group American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is working hard to turn our students into nice little profit centers by handing over their education to for-profit corporations. The report also shows how this pernicious campaign is playing out in other states, as well.

Michigan is home to nearly a quarter of the charter schools in the country and roughly 80% of our charter schools are run by for-profit businesses. What is their funding model? To funnel the taxes used for public education into their bank accounts. They do this by getting all sorts of breaks our traditional public schools do not get, including hiring non-unionized teachers.

ALEC, a corporate-funded group that produces a copious amount of model legislation for their corporatist legislative members to use in their state legislatures, has their on all of that sweet, sweet education money and their plans are playing out perfectly in Michigan.

Click through for much more.

Caring teachers shouldn’t be treated this way

The following is a guest post from Carina Hilbert who blogs at the blog The Grumpy Language Teacher blog.

In this piece, Carina describes the closing of her school where she was doing what she was called to do: educating our students. As you read it, it is very clear that this is an educator who puts her students above all else. More importantly, you see a school system where progress was truly being made. Despite this, her high school in Albion is being closed due to budget constraints.

It’s a sad testament to our lack of investing in our public schools that dedicated teachers like Carina Hilbert are seen as “unaffordable”. I look forward to the day when Michigan teachers are seen as the valuable assets they are, not as “expenses” to be trimmed because our state government isn’t willing to make the necessary investments in public education.

Read her essay after the jump.

While Senate Democrats push for a vote, their Republican counterparts claim they need more time to think. Honestly, what is there to think about? It’s not as if Medicaid expansion hasn’t been in consideration for a year. Even with the recent tweaks in a bill introduced and approved by the Michigan House, this is not a difficult decision. Medicaid expansion […]

Wait, I thought they were all bums that needed to be tossed to the side? Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr has hired Detroit City Council member and President Pro Tempore Gary Brown to work on his staff. Brown, who made around $73,000 as a Council member, will be making $225,000 in his new position. Brown seems like a truly competent […]

Can you hear me NOW? Anne and I were up until after 1:00 a.m. watching the livestream of the Texas Senate last night, riveted by the drama and tweeting like mad people. We weren’t alone. At 1:00 a.m. ET, there were nearly 200,000 people watching the livestream. In the end, I ended up with three new heroes yesterday, all of […]

Taking the show on the road The Livingston County Democratic Party has graciously asked me to be the headline speaker at their June meeting this Thursday, June 27th at 7 p.m. The meeting will be held at party headquarters at 10321 Grand River Road, Suite 600, in Brighton. Here’s their announcement: A Michigan blogger whose writing brought nationwide exposure to […]

Effective change in Detroit must come from communities, not from the top down This Saturday, the Change Agent Consortium (CAC), a coalition of Detroit faith, labor, and social justice groups, will hold their Advance Detroit Summit at the Bethany Baptist Church (15122 W. Chicago) in Detroit. The event is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is open to the […]

The people are leading their “leaders” This afternoon, a coalition of LGBT leaders and Michigan House Democrats announced package of legislation that will repeal the ban same-sex marriage in Michigan, a position supported by a majority of Michiganders. According to a statement by House Dems, the package of legislation involves two bills and a resolution: The first piece in the […]

They can’t pass a farm bill but they can pass indefinite detention In the weeks since Edward Snowden released classified details about the NSA’s programs, the House GOP has reaffirmed the indefinite detention of American citizens, blocked the president’s plan to close Guantanamo Bay prison and held a hearing to defend the NSA. Meanwhile, Speaker Boehner joined Dick Cheney and […]

A BFD in the D Last year at the Netroots Nation after-party, Anne and I, along with Marcy Wheeler (“Empty Wheel“) were chatting in a somewhat inebriated state with Netroots Nation board member Adam Bonin. “You should bring Netroots Nation to Detroit!” we told him. “Michigan needs to know that they haven’t been forgotten by the rest of the country,” […]