Friend of the Blog™ (hey, if Stephen Colbert can have a Friend of the Show™…) Sugar Law Center is having a very special night next week, Wednesday, November 16th. First, they are hosting the Leonard Grossman Memorial Lecture. As you know if you read this blog regularly, Sugar Law Center is suing the State of Michigan over the Emergency Manager […]

You can tell a great deal about a given situation, as they say, by following the money. As anti-union, anti-teacher Republican state Rep. Paul Scott faces the voters of his district in a recall election tomorrow, it’s useful to see who has been pouring money into his coffers for the past couple of months. All of this information is available […]

After several years of hearing how Democrats are demoralized and unwilling to get involved in politics and elections, an event in Ann Arbor showed that the so-called “enthusiasm gap” is slimming and not just by a little bit. On Sunday, Obama for America (OFA), the official campaign of the Obama reelection drive, opened their campaign office in Ann Arbor. Despite […]

Next Saturday, the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) is having its first-ever Fall Issues Convention. It is called Engage Michigan and is being chaired by former Secretary of State candidate Jocelyn Benson. Here’s a bit about what is being envisioned, from Chair Benson: What intrigued me most was when the conversations turned to the people in the room: what could we […]

This is exactly the kind of civil disobedience I can completely get behind. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker appeared at a public policy breakfast at the Union League Club in Chicago. A collection of about 50 Occupy protestors purchased tickets and sat quietly, dressed to the nines, eating, conversing and waiting. Waiting until Governor Walker took the podium to give a […]

Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich had a mini-debate this past week, just the two of them. During this debate, Cain expressed his utter shock at the fact that [you won’t believe this] the news media actually looks into the pasts of presidential candidates and investigates the things they say and do. Tea party organizers explicitly limited to the discussion to […]

I’m getting a bit weary of the obnoxious political commentary suggesting that the Occupy movement is full of spoiled brats with plenty of money. The reality is that many people in the middle class, people like me, for instance, are one or two missed paychecks from losing everything. President Obama and the Democrats want to put people to work on […]

The effort by Michigan Forward to repeal the odious Emergency Manager Law in Michigan (Public Act 4) is nearing the final stages. However, they are still short of the necessary signatures to put this on the ballot in February. Many of the folks who were working the hardest on signature gathering over the summer were teachers who have now gone […]

Senate Republicans today blocked a vote on yet another one of the components of President Obama’s jobs plan today. This one would have invested $60 billon in building and repairing our nation’s crumbling infrastructure and was fully paid for by a 0.7% (!!!) surcharge on income over $1 million. A bridge too far for Republicans, apparently. Republicans in the Senate […]

During her time as governor, Jennifer Granholm made significant investments in diversifying and expanding Michigan’s economy. These things take time to have their impact but, according to a new study, they are. Michigan is second in the nation in recovering from the recession. Michigan’s economy is recovering from the recession at the second-fastest pace in the U.S., lifted by reviving […]

In one of the sickest and most vile acts of irony yet seen in Michigan under the current Republican regime, Michigan Republicans yesterday passed a bill that lays out specific pathways for legalized bullying in our schools. It is effectively a “Blueprint for Bullying”. The bill passed 26-11 along party lines. It now goes to the House of Representatives. Legislation […]