We knew that March 10, 2020 would be a historic day as it was the Presidential Primary Election in Michigan and voters exercised their vote to select their party’s nominee for the Presidency. I spent Election Day, as I always do, fielding calls and questions from local clerks, ensuring that polls were open, tabulators working, and issues dealt with.  One […]

Our political process was tested in 2020 in ways that it has never been tested before.  With the outbreak of COVID-19 nationwide, election administrators were forced to come up with creative ways to make sure voters could cast their ballots safely, while trying to avoid large gatherings at polling places, wherever possible. Election infrastructure and processes had to be updated […]

In the past few weeks, Republican Congressman Tim Walberg (MI-07) has made public statements about being “cancelled” — the latest GOP buzzword for being held accountable by your constituents — that suggest that he will use his position on powerful House committees to punish the corporate donors who will no longer fund his political campaigns due to his signing onto […]

There is a common convention that sunshine is the best disinfectant. While that does not apply to the COVID-19 pandemic (wearing a mask, washing your hands, using hand sanitizer, and getting vaccinated when you are eligible are the answers there, not sunshine), it does apply to another scourge that has plagued Michigan for decades; one that will hopefully be rectified […]

In Washtenaw County where I live, the COVID-19 infection rate of Black residents is 13%, about the same as the percentage of Black residents int the county (12.3%). However, of the people who are hospitalized, 27% are Black and Black residents are 23% of those who die from virus. Worse yet, statewide, less than 5% of the people who have […]

Nearly two months ago, the federal government made billions of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds available to the states. Michigan is in line for over $5 billion in relief funding, including $2.1 billion to re-open schools in our state. However, so far, none of that money has been allocated and, if its not used by the end of March, we […]

I really tried to see “both sides” of this “reopen the schools” debate for the longest time…I know how hard it is to try to get anything done with little kids at home in normal times–multiply that by 100 during this pandemic. And I get the frustration that comes with trying to juggle work, bills, child care, and all the […]

When a Trump-supporting bail bondsman is your chief critic, that says … everything I don’t typically write about the failings of mainstream media sources because, in general, I think they do a pretty good job, considering the environment they are working in. But an article in this morning’s edition of The Detroit News is so bad that it warrants comment. […]

The Michigan State Legislature, under the leadership of Mike Shirkey and Lee Chatfield has furthered the ‘boys club’ misogyny that has been present for years, its leaders have actively supported the insurrectionist militias that have attacked the Michigan and U.S. Capitol buildings, and has been incredibly backward in its view of LGBTQ+ rights. It being February, and Black History Month, […]

I have taken the past couple of days to reflect on how Mike Shirkey and the Republicans in the Michigan State Legislature have contributed to the culture of misogyny and support of the insurrectionist militias that have attacked the U.S. Capitol. But these are not their only sins. They have also victimized and persecuted members of the LGBTQ+ community through […]

Yesterday I highlighted the bad behavior of the Michigan Senate Majority Leader, a handful of his colleagues, and the sexist environment that they have engendered through decades of underrepresentation for women in the halls of power in Lansing. But misogyny is not their only sin, so I thought it appropriate to share another.  The recent impeachment trial of Former President […]