There isn’t a week that goes by that I don’t hear some version of, “Wait, you don’t do this as your full-time job?!” And the answer is always the same: No. This blog is what I do when I’m done with my full-time job as a chemist and nearly full-time (volunteer) job as the Chair of the Washtenaw County Democratic […]

Earlier this year, the City Council of Jackson, Michigan passed a non-discrimination ordinance (NDO) that prohibits discrimination against anyone for housing, employment, or public accommodation based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The vote was 5-2. Shortly thereafter, a local group of Jackson residents, supported by clergy in local Catholic churches, started to circulate petitions to rescind the NDO and […]

Here’s a handy way to help history know how big of a creep you are Bill O’Reilly really may be in trouble this time. As an occasionally offensive hack whose Twitter icon is a self-cleaning elephant, I’ll let the free market decide if the career of host of the interminable O’Reilly Factor should survive revelations that Fox News seems to […]

Let’s face it, every day America is becoming more and more like a fascist society. The ascension of Donald Trump to the presidency and the takeover of so many of our state governments by corporatist stooges who are dismantling protections and public schools and civil rights is plain to see and those who are most vulnerable depend on the rest […]

Given the events over the past two months with the ascension of Donald Trump to the presidency, I don’t need to tell you that our progressive values are under daily assault. With blue states like Michigan under total Republican domination, it goes without saying that we are all feeling the brunt of their anti-women, anti-worker, anti-public schools, anti-government attacks on […]

Recently, I spent the day observing two student teachers. Both were teaching instrumental music in middle and high schools, and each was assigned to an experienced, master teacher. But that’s where the similarities end… One of the student teachers was placed in an urban school and the other in a rural school. The differences between these two schools were stark, […]

Republican Congressman David Trott from Michigan’s 11th Congressional District has a long and sordid history profiting from the “human misery” caused when his foreclosure business threw victims of the Bush Recession out of their homes. He didn’t just run a foreclosure-based law firm. He created a vertically integrated machine to ensure that he got profit every step of the way: […]

In 2013, a new nonpartisan group called CROWDPAC launched a new fundraising model for potential political candidates. Similar to Kickstarter, CROWDPAC allows candidates to raise money through financial pledges. The pledges are not collected unless the candidate actually decides to run, giving them a chance to see how much support they have before making their decision. As an example, Kathryn […]

It’s been a bit difficult for me to blog these past few weeks with everything going on in the world. Fortunately, the poet in me has regained her inspiration to create. April is one of my favorite months of the year. It’s a month that encourages me to celebrate poetry every day. It’s a month where poetry isn’t just an add-on, […]

FYI: Fully funding research for autistic people of all ages would help a lot more than just sporting a pin Who can be mad at something as gauzy as “awareness,” especially when it’s tied to a serious disability like autism? Given that we’re faced with an administration who is looking to cut everything the government does to aid our physical […]

Two years ago, after privatizing Michigan’s prison food services to a company that then set out to prove what a fiasco this sort of thing is with scandal after scandal after scandal after scandal), Gov. Rick Snyder finally fired Aramark. He then hired another private firm, Trinity Services Group. Since that time, Trinity hasn’t fared much better, racking up $2.5 […]