I guess we’re supposed to be thankful for this? Michigan Governor Rick Snyder said this week that he’s done robbing from our children to balance the state’s books after he took $1 billion from the school fund to help pay for an 86% tax cut for businesses. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said Tuesday that his next budget proposal likely won’t […]

Tea Party homophobe and Troy, Michigan Mayor Janice Daniels led the way to the city losing out on $8.4 million in federal transportation funding for a state-of-the-art transit center this week. After a decade of planning, a regional transit center is off the table after the Troy council voted Monday to pass up a design contract that would have paved […]

No, seriously. Barack Obama is such a freak for taxing your ass off that he has imposed a Christmas tree tax this year. Those danged Democrats! Those guys will tax anything. Executive Director of the Michigan Christmas Tree Association Marsha Gray says most Christmas Tree operations are small farmers. “When we have so many different individual farmers it’s difficult for […]

This morning, President Obama signed an Executive Order establishing a National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security. You can read the Executive Order HERE (pdf) and the comprehensive plan itself HERE (pdf). This is the part of the Executive Order that is most compelling for me: Sec. 2. National Action Plan. A National Action Plan shall be created pursuant […]

War on Christmas? Really? What the heck is it with conservatives and their outrage that people dare to say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”? That’s what I say. This year, Hanukkah is December 20-28. Kwanzaa is December 26. I have lots of friends who are Jewish and a bunch that celebrate Kwanzaa as well. I even have some solidly […]

Republicans got very, very busy in the short time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. One of the things House Republicans did was to vote to turn down federal funds for creating a statewide health exchange to help make health care insurance available to all Michiganders. In an action with major implications for health reform in Michigan, the state House has voted […]

In a letter to Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, Senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin are urging the governor to reconsider the Emergency Manager law, citing constitutional concerns and its divisive nature. December 14, 2011 Govemor Rick SnyderP.O. Box 3001iLansing, Michigan 48909 Dear Governor Snyder,We are writing to express our concern regarding the state’s Emergency Financial Manager law. We are deeply […]

In the increasingly likely event that Michigan Forward and Stand Up For Democracy secure enough petition signatures for the referendum to repeal Public Act 4, the law immediately goes on hold. This leaves the question “what now?” Will the previous law go back into effect or, because PA 4 replaced that law, will there simply be no law allowing for […]

For most of the summer, Jonathan Mahler has been working on an article for the New York Times Magazine about Benton Harbor. At one point, my wife and I met him there over pizza and beers to give him a bit of our perspective, primarily as outside observers unhappy with the new powers granted the city’s Emergency Manager Joe Harris. […]

More “We can’t wait” goodness from the Obama adminstration today. The White House today will announce new rules proposed by the U.S. Department of Labor that would provide minimum wage and overtime protections for nearly two million workers who provide in-home care services for the elderly and infirmed. Many of these workers provide critical in-home health care services such as […]

Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff for Secretary of State Colin Powell was absolutely amazing on The Rachel Maddow Show last night. He was talking about the end of the Iraq War and the shameful response coming from Republicans, including those running for president. The only way I can explain it, Rachel, is their hatred of President Obama. And […]