And they’re off! Last night the Michigan Energy & Environment for Obama Team kicked off its effort to reelect President Obama at the Arbor Brewing Company in Ann Arbor. Environmental luminaries from around the state were in attendance in cluding Ken Berlin, the Director of the National Energy & Environment Team. Berlin told us that the team formed 18 months […]

We all agree, this isn’t easy Last night, the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan held a public panel discussion on Public Act 4 — Michigan’s Emergency Manager law. On the panel were Deputy State Treasurer for Local Government Services Roger Fraser, Chairman and CEO of Michigan Forward Brandon Jessup, Benton Harbor Emergency Manager […]

The real Shady Willard A few weeks ago, I asked you to call Mitt Romney a liar. I’m not the only one obsessed with Mitt’s lying, of course. Fine minds including Steve Benen, Greg Sargent, Jonathan Chait and Jamelle Bouie have all been struggling with Mitt’s disturbing willingness to dissemble and the media’s even more disturbing unwillingness to call him […]

Right, dude. Whatever. Last May, I posted a piece titled “Don’t let ANYONE EVER tell you racism isn’t alive and well in the USA” that showed a bumpersticker and t-shirt saying “Don’t renig in 2012”. The t-shirt actually showed the Obama campaign logo on it making it clear what it was about. From my post: That bumpersticker says “Don’t RENIG […]

Now THAT is adorable So, so cool: On Saturday night at Scotiabank Place, a Toronto Maple Leafs fan named Alicia stood on the ice during the second intermission wearing a blindfold. When it was removed, she looked up at the video scoreboard and read a message from her girlfriend, an Ottawa Senators fan named Christina. Schmaltzy music played. Out walked […]

Warning! Warning, Will Robinson! Today, language for three different petition drives to add amendments to the Michigan constitution received the okay from the state elections panel. One would give home health care workers collective bargaining rights. Another would add specific phrases from the Declaration of Independence to the state Constitution. The third is the petition for the Protect Our Jobs […]

We actually got lucky The clean-up after the monster, record-breaking F3 tornado that hit the village of Dexter where I live continued apace over the weekend. Most of the damaged homes in the Huron Farms subdivision have been shored up, their roofs covered with blue tarps and windows & doors boarded up. By way of an update: Over a hundred […]

Stay tuned… Earlier this month, I wrote about an effort being spearheaded by Jocelyn Benson to put a constitutional amendment up for vote in November called the Corporate Accountability Amendment. The amendment would bring a level of transparency to our state’s elections that is sorely needed: Michigan has some of the weakest lobbying and ethics laws in the country, with […]

Dude, that doesn’t even make any sense Mitt Romney claimed this week that the Obama administration wants gas prices to be high: [Romney] called for President Barack Obama to fire what he called the “gas hike trio” of Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson. “These three, this trio of his energy […]

Hoo boy… “Psychological projection or projection bias is a psychological defense mechanism where a person subconsciously denies his or her own attributes, thoughts, and emotions, which are then ascribed to the outside world, usually to other people. Thus, projection involves imagining or projecting the belief that others originate those feelings.” That definition of projection succinctly defines what is happening with […]

MITT ROMNEY, Y U NO BELIEVE IN ANYTHING BUT MITT ROMNEY? There’s only one explanation: Mitt Romney is a robot sent back from the future to destroy Mitt Romney. How else do you explain this passionate defense of a woman’s right to a safe abortion? Or who can forget, “I like mandates. The mandates work.” And here’s my favorite: “The […]