The Los Angeles Times has had enough of President Bannon and his toady Donald Trump attacking journalists, saying they should “keep its mouth shut” and calling them the “enemy of the people”. They have a new line of swag called the “Free Speech Collection“: In the collection are two different styles of t-shirts and mugs: They sent out an email […]

The news broke on January 20, 2017 that as many as 38 schools could be closed in Michigan, 24 of those in Detroit, due to “poor academic performance.” Parents in the city, and throughout the state, were understandably stunned, as this announcement represented an abrupt change in the state’s previous position on school closings: Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration has switched […]

House Republicans plan to keep their ‘repeal and disgrace’ plan secret until the last possible moment First, the good news: Showing up and getting all up in your Representatives’ grills, especially during Congress’ recess, left elected officials “blown away.” Republicans still can’t agree a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act because, according to Politico, “the process has been bogged […]

Two Michigan House Democrats are calling for the resignation of Gary Naeyaert, the head of Betsy DeVos’s anti-public education group Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP) following remarks he made at a Senate Education Committee meeting on Tuesday. GLEP was founded and is heavily funded by the billionaire Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. During his testimony, Naeyaert expressed frustration over what […]

“I wanted to shake her, like I like to shake my wife.” Gary Naeraert is the Executive Director of the Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP). GLEP was founded and largely funded by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to influence policy and law in Michigan with the aim of promoting charter schools and the elimination of traditional public schools. The […]

In the aftermath of the American Civil War, black Americans found themselves unable to attend colleges and universities because they simply were not allowed entrance into them. In response, they were forced to form their own institutions of higher education. These institutions are now referred to as Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs). Today, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos issued […]

Back in 2009 when the Affordable Care Act was being debated, all it took was for three or four tea partiers to gather with anti-Obamacare signs on a street corner and they got all sorts of publicity. Now that the tables have turned, that sort of publicity appears hard to come by, at least in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District. This […]

Private school vouchers are the zombies of the education reform agenda. No matter how many times they are defeated at the ballot box, they just won’t die. Vouchers are overwhelmingly unpopular with voters, contribute to school segregation, don’t help poor families attend the “school of their choice,” and the most recent research on vouchers suggests that the students who use […]

This is madness. A Michigan law passed by Republicans allows for schools that don’t meet specific requirements for academic achievement to be simply closed. Shut down. Kids thrown out. It’s a draconian step, one that essentially tells parents, “We don’t want to make the investments in your children’s schools needed to bring them up to par, so we are giving […]

Well, it looks like Betsy DeVos is at it again. This time she’s sharing her thoughts about education and teaching with her new friends at CPAC, the conservative political conference going on right now in National Harbor, MD. Here’s a quote from her “prepared remarks” on Thursday: “The faculty, from adjunct professors to deans, tell you what to do, what […]

If you’re a Republican — or know someone who is — the time to speak out in support of the ACA is now. The last time I ran into Theresa, I was getting ready to attend the Save Our Healthcare rally in Warren, Mich., in January. Theresa is a lifelong Republican, and I don’t know who she voted for in […]