This scenario was entirely predictable. The latest call for an emergency manager in Metro Detroit is coming from an unlikely place — the affluent Northville Public Schools. Stalled contract negotiations between administrators and employees have school board members discussing the possibility of seeking an emergency manager, which under state law must be appointed by the governor. Emergency managers have the […]

I’m still giggling about this. Conor Friedersdorf from The Atlantic went to see the midnight showing of the new “film” about Sarah Palin called “The Undefeated”. He was the only one who watched the whole thing. The other TWO moviegoers left early. It isn’t strictly accurate to say that I sat through the whole movie alone. Just as the previews […]

Times are tough. People are out of work and many have been for a long time. You can almost imagine Michigan Republicans sitting around smoking cigars and drinking 20 year-old scotch wondering…wondering… “Hmmmm…let’s see…we shortened the time they can get unemployment, slashed aid to the working poor, cut education, eviscerated labor unions (especially teachers hahahahahahaaa) and started taxing old people. […]

I was a bit dubious when I was asked to begin posting some of my stuff at My.Firedoglake.com. I haven’t been a fan of the main site in a very long time and I detest most of what I see & hear from Jane Hamsher. But the new editor of the My.FDL site encouraged me, saying they were trying to […]

A blow for blogger freedom is being struck this week in Michigan. University of Michigan professor Juan Cole, blogger at Informed Consent, is suing both the CIA and the FBI to obtain files they have on him that he believes were obtained from these agencies spying on him. The ACLU is joining him in his suit. The American Civil Liberties […]

Yikes, this goes back a ways. Kenneth Gladney was a guy who attended at rally in St. Louis and claimed he was attacked by “union thugs”. He had his day in court this week and, as Media Matters reports, he lost big time. It took a St. Louis County jury less than 50 minutes to return a not guilty verdict […]

THIS is unbelievable. When Jason and Julie Bass had to rip up their front lawn to replace a pipe, they decided to rebuild it this spring with raised beds and filled them with vegetable plants. Their front yard garden of cucumbers, tomatoes and peas has since landed the Oak Park couple a ticket, a court date and support from around […]

Howzabout a break from all the crazy political insanity in my state? Our neighbor kitteh, captured by my wife last year. Meow!

Just when you thought the Republicans in Michigan had completely lost their minds, this week we find they had just a bit more of their minds to lose. On July 7, both the state House and Senate passed bills that will allow children under the age of 10 to carry loaded weapons to go hunting. I’m not making this up. […]

My good friends at Clean Water Action (CWA) are hosting their first weekly “Wednesday Volunteer Activist Night” this week on Wednesday, June 13 (tomorrow). There are locations in both Ann Arbor and East Lansing. Details below. As someone who spent some time at these weekly events, I can tell firsthand that these are some of the most awesome activists you’re […]

It’s bad enough that Michigan is run entirely by Republicans at the moment. But now we learn that our GOP-led Supreme Court has completely lost its mind. Yesterday, they ruled that homelessness is no excuse for sex offenders not registering their home with the local officials. A Michigan Supreme Court says homeless sex offenders must report their home address to […]