Betsy DeVos tweeted the other day about the lack of innovation in today’s public schools, saying: “Most students are starting a new school year that is all too familiar. Desks lined up in rows. Their teacher standing in front of the room, framed by a blackboard. They dive into a curriculum written for the ‘average’ student. They follow the same […]

“So much for running a government like a business. You can keep the $100 your tax cut will give me, if you take responsibility for your conduct and reimburse me what your potholes have cost me.” That’s the message Ann Arbor attorney John Minnock had for Gov. Rick Snyder this week, as reported by the Detroit Free Press. He wasn’t […]

Confessions of a liberal who was afraid to call out Trump/Russia connections in 2016 A few days before a New York Times poll of expert executive branch watchers collectively rated Donald Trump as the worst president in American history, The Intercept‘s James Risen made an observation that still chills me: “One year after Trump took office, it is still unclear […]

At the end of January and again at the beginning of February, I spent ten days in the hospital. I took a bit of a break from my normal hyper-consumption of political news and, when I dipped my toe back in, I found that the fire hose of cacophony that I had been drinking from before my illness had only […]

But there are plenty of good arguments for it There’s one time in most Americans lives when you can be sure that they are studying the history of this nation — eleventh grade. For this one year, most sixteen-and-seventeen-year-olds take a deep dip into the lore of this country that has gotten so many things right and wrong. If their […]

In the aftermath of yet another horrific school shooting, this one leaving 17 students and teachers dead in Parkland, FL, President Trump has ignored the cause of the problem, and has instead offered an almost incomprehensibly bad solution to the wrong problem–suggesting that teachers who agree to carry loaded weapons into schools, and received some sort of firearms training, would […]

Anything less than a wave will be a victory for Trump You probably don’t need nightmare juice. Sorry, but here’s a shot: “Elections are about choices,” [Vice President Mike Pence] said in the interview, in which he discussed his midterm outlook in detail for the first time. “If we frame that choice, I think we’re going to reelect majorities in […]

Teachers can’t get their schools to pay for the professional development they need for the jobs they have now. Most teachers I know are paying out of pocket for travel to and from conferences, registration fees, professional membership dues, and graduate courses. Where’s the money going to come from to purchase each teacher a weapon and provide the training needed […]

Republicans never gave a shit about the deficit, but they’ll definitely pretend they do again. Let’s be ready this time. You may be shocked to learn Republicans are eagerly exploding the deficit after a decade of using fears of financial imbalance to stunt our recovery. It’s shocking in the way the sun coming up or a Burrito Supreme giving you […]

His knows his supporters want to be lied to and he loves giving them what they want Here’s one lesson of 2016 that we can’t ignore: Just because you see through Donald Trump’s bullshit, you can’t assume it isn’t working. Trump isn’t meant for you. In fact, you should just assume that the more upset he is making you, the […]

I have largely avoided writing about Michigan’s gubernatorial this cycle. We interviewed both Gretchen Whitmer and Abdul El-Sayed on The Sit and Spin Room podcast early on but I have been watching the primary unfold without saying much. Partly because it’s so early and partly because I haven’t been “wowed” by any of the campaigns. However, this week, the campaign […]