The nuclear deal that United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia and China made with Iran is the epitome of giving peace a chance. Rejecting it would set us on a likely path to war. Accepting it gives us the hope of preventing Iran from ever gaining a nuclear weapon without a tragic, wasteful military conflict. Of course, the […]

Students starting the new school year have one less thing to worry about thanks to the Affordable Care Act. With the announcement this week that Western Michigan University (WMU) will no longer offer student health insurance, there were probably more than a few students wondering, “Now what?” Fortunately, the Affordable Care Act has the answer. Thanks to the ACA (aka […]

Matt Taibbi is probably right. Donald Trump’s campaign has stopped being funny. Now it’s beyond a living satire. Even Paddy Chayefsky wouldn’t let things get this vile. We’re now under the rock seething in the squishy, stomach-turning underbelly of conservative politics that has festered in the resentment of a politics that has capitalized on the anxieties created by the growing […]

I wrote the following on my Facebook page yesterday: “This is more than just an outrage. It is more than just two tea party zealots forcing their ill-conceived and obsessive behavior and “ideas” upon the unwashed and uneducated who have followed them with gusto and hearty resolve. This is more than just about hypocrisy and plain stupidity. “What it is […]

Why did Wisconsin’s Republican Party decide it immediately needed a voter ID law before the 2014 election? The law’s proponents claimed it was necessary but offered no evidence — less than zero — to support that claim. “As there is no evidence that voter-impersonation fraud is a problem, how can the fact that a legislature says it’s a problem turn […]

NOTE: This post has been updated HERE. The worst-kept secret in Lansing is that theocrats and über-moralists Cindy Gamrat and Todd Courser are having a sexual affair. Republicans and Democrats alike have been trying to bust the two for months without success. This morning, however, we have definitive proof from Todd Courser’s own mouth that they have had an ongoing […]

Look out, Indiana! It’s coming right for you! After having been beta tested in Michigan, the Emergency Manager model of “saving” “failing” municipalities from their own corruption, malfeasance, and ineptitude – or as is more often the case, the implosion of their manufacturing base and disinvestment – is being rolled out in the states of Indiana and New Jersey. In […]

Less than 30 percent of older adults who need hearing aids actually get them. Rep. Dingell is determined to change that. This week, let’s do more than celebrate 50 years of Medicare, one of the most successful social programs in this country’s history. Let’s also talk about how we can improve Medicare over the next 50 years. That’s the message […]

The Republican Party’s approval rating is now lower in the Pew poll than at any time since 1992. It’s lower now than it was during the government shutdowns in 2013 and the mid 1990s — lower than the absolute nadir of George W. Bush’s presidency when we were actively losing two wars as the global economy teetered on the edge […]

Michigan legislators met for two days this week (without taking attendance or casting any votes) then folded up shop and went home for a one-month recess. They did this as our state’s roads continue to crumble and without passing any legislation to deal with the ongoing road and bridge repair crisis. UPDATE: @EmptyWheel reminds me that they did actually take […]

Study shows that access to physicians went up, not down — exactly the opposite of what ACA opponents predicted. Once again, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is proving its critics wrong. Opponents of the ACA, or Obamacare, have been falling all over themselves proclaiming that an influx of new patients will overburden the healthcare system, creating a dire doctor shortage. […]