In a 2011 paper published in the journal Nature, Elsa Cleland studied the impact of biodiversity on ecosystems. Her study concluded with this summary: Evidence from multiple ecosystems at a variety of temporal and spatial scales, suggests that biological diversity acts to stabilize ecosystem functioning in the face of environmental fluctuation. Variation among species in their response to such fluctuation […]

Some on the right seemed ecstatic when Rolling Stone disavowed its story about a sexual assault on the campus of the University of Virginia because of discrepancies in the account of a gang rape from a woman named “Jackie.” The article clearly lacked the ethical rigor necessary for exposing a rape accusation to the world. Katie Klabusich called it a […]

This past summer, President Obama issued Executive Order 13672 which will add prohibitions against discrimination based sexual orientation and gender identity in federal contracts. EO 13672 modifies previous Executive Order 11478 by substituting “sexual orientation, gender identity” for “sexual orientation” and Executive Order 11246 by substituting “sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin” for “sex, or national origin”. Last […]

When the final numbers were tallied, the race in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District wasn’t even close. David Trott beat Bobby McKenzie by nearly 16 points, an astonishing feat even in the conservative 11th District. Being the wealthy guy that he is, Trott was essentially able to buy the seat. With the final campaign filings in, we now know just how […]

The table was set, the supporters were there and prepared, and the Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents in Ypsilanti were set to act on a resolution to end their contractual relationship with the increasingly controversial and toxic Educational Achievement Authority (EAA). Though it currently involves only a dozen Detroit schools now, Republicans want to take this state takeover district […]

Back in 2011, a man named Pasquale “Pat” Battaglia posted a blog entry on the website of the Lapeer County Tea Party Patriots titled “The God and Country Education Project”. In it, he introduces something he calls “American Christian Academies” and denounces the “progressive” movement who he says have taken “less than 3 generations to completely obliterate our schools”. Fast […]

During the 2014 campaign in Michigan, we were told repeatedly that Republicans hadn’t cut education funding. Despite the fact that they had actually taken BILLIONS OF DOLLARS from our schools each year, the told us with a straight face that, despite all of the evidence to the contrary, they had increased funding for our classrooms. Now, just a few weeks […]

Last night after the announcement that a grand jury had failed to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year old in Ferguson, Missouri, I read a comment on Facebook that said, “White privilege is me being outraged and angered by the #FergusonDecision rather than utterly terrified.” It took some time for that […]

“Our nation is a nation of immigrants. More than any other country, our strength comes from our own immigrant heritage and our capacity to welcome those from other lands. No free and prosperous nation can by itself accommodate all those who seek a better life or flee persecution.” – Ronald Reagan Last night, President Obama announced the he is taking […]

Federal District Court Judge George Caram Steeh has found that a lawsuit challenging Michigan’s anti-democratic Emergency Manager law, Public Act 436, can move forward based on its disparate impact on African Americans in Michigan. The suit alleges that PA 436 is unconstitutional based on nine specific causes: Denial of “substantive due process” by violating the right to vote of Michigan […]

Evolution is tough for bigots. They struggle as the world around them changes and evolves and becomes better, more accepting of people who are different than them. Chauvinists struggled with the women’s suffrage movement in the early part of the 20th Century and then again during the fight for equality in the latter half of the 20th Century. Racists struggled […]