THIS is positively astounding. In 2007, Judy Taylor, an artist based on Mount Desert, won a competition to create a mural for the lobby of the Department of Labor (MDOL). The work was to depict the “History of Labor in the State of Maine,” and was commissioned by the Maine Arts Commission. Taylor’s work is of 11 panels which you […]

Normally I really enjoy Talking Points Memo bit this piece from Josh Marshall is, in my opinion, just laughable in how full of wrong it is regarding the U.S.A.’s response to the situation in Libya. At the end of last week I couldn’t help tweeting that everything I was seeing in Libya was bringing out my inner foreign policy Realist. […]

I am reposting this from Voice of Detroit without adding much to it. It pretty much speaks for itself. Essentially, Republicans in the Michigan Congress are trying to enact a lifetime ban on social services for anyone convicted of a felony. The implications for felons who have paid their debt to society and are trying to begin new lives is […]

Beautiful. Spend three quality minutes with this video. A response from a teacher to a patronizing jerk who asked him, “You’re a teacher, Taylor. Be honest. What do you make?” In addition to being a teacher, Taylor Mali is a slam poet. His website is here. Here’s a transcript of the video (link). He says the problem with teachers is, […]

On the heels of over 6,000 people protesting at the Capitol building in Lansing this week, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is getting more flak, this time from students at the University of Michigan. Snyder has been chosen as the commencement speaker for the Spring Commencement ceremony and a whole lotta U of M students are having none of it. At […]

Liveblogging from the Michigan Capitol protest rally in Lansing today… 1:15pm – This guy is a teabagger. I overheard him tell the guy next to him, “Well, I’m going to try to get some recognition for this sign and get it plastered all over the fucking place.” He stopped to pose for me no fewer than three times and he […]

The other day, I blogged about President Obama coming out in firm and vocal support for the Paycheck Fairness Act. I told the story of my mother wearing a button with “59¢” on it, representing the amount of money a woman earned over thirty years ago for every dollar a man made to do the same job. Today, as I […]

Yesterday, over 1,000 people flooded the lawn in front of the Capitol in Michigan and filled the Capitol itself at an AARP-sponsored protest rally. Photos by my friend, Larry. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to stop the state Congress from passing the oppressive Emergency Financial Manager act which creates Super Czars to take control of municipalities which the Governor has decided […]

I’ll be talking with Susie Madrak on her online radio show Virtually Speaking tonight. Madrak blogs at Suburban Guerrilla and she’ll be talking with Jude Toche of the blog First Draft and Dave Johnson from Campaign for America’s Future about the recent political upheaval in Wisconsin. I’ll be on to talk about what’s been going on in Michigan and how […]

Cross-posted at Blogging for Michigan and Public News Forum. NOTE: Please check back regularly as I will update this post as new information becomes available. There are two big rallies scheduled in Lansing this week at the Capitol building to protest Governor Rick Snyder’s rights-stripping Emergency Financial Manager law and his budget. His budget, as you probably already know, transfers […]

I said all along last fall that Rick Snyder’s persona as a “Nice Guy” is a bunch of bullshit. Well, if you didn’t believe me then, perhaps you will now. As most of you know by now, Snyder’s proposed changes to our state’s tax code do all sorts of nasty things. Rachel Maddow has been highlighting all week how Republican […]