Michigan, allegedly, does not permit for-profit charter schools. And yet one of the largest for-profit charter management corporations, National Heritage Academies (NHA), is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. And they take the “for profit” part seriously: NHA funds itself partly by charging its schools high rates. For example, the New York Daily News reported that NHA owned property in Brooklyn […]

The following essay was written by Ann Arbor-area activist Danny Steinmetz. Enjoy. Vice President Mike Pence made the Billy Graham Rule famous when he made it public that he does not have private meetings or dinners with women. It is in the news again recently because Robert Foster, a candidate in the Mississippi Republican gubernatorial primary, refused to let lesbian […]

A lawyer who has dreamed of unchecked GOP power now has a client unafraid to abuse it If you had any doubt who William Barr is, your worst fears were confirmed this week. He is a man utterly devoted to bending the law to grab political power for Republican presidents to use with impunity. Exhibit A: The Justice Department announced […]

The first democratic presidential primary debates took place this past week in Miami, Florida over the course of two nights. Twenty out of twenty three candidates qualified to stand on the debate stage, and ten candidates stood each night (we seriously have to work on pushing some people out of this race). On the first debate night, moderators Chuck Todd […]

Don’t honor Snyder for poisoning one of America’s great cities UPDATE: Rick Snyder has decided that he will not poison Harvard, certainly because there are too many white people there. On Wednesday, he informed the Kennedy School that he’s “turning down” the fellowship he’d been offered. Finally, an appointment that’s more toxic than putting Betsy DeVos in charge of the […]

The week ended with yet another excellent article from Peter Greene​ in Forbes, this time on the dangers of “Tax Credit Scholarships”, one of Betsy DeVos major thrusts as Secretary of Education under Donald Trump. So, what are Tax Credit Scholarships? They are complicated financial mechanisms that allow businesses to divert their tax payments to fund specific private and religious […]

From swiping overtime pay from 8 million to hiring foreign workers over Americans, Trump has always fought for your right to earn less. June 16, 2019 marks one of the darkest days for workers since the New Deal. We are now living in the longest period without a minimum wage increase in the history of the minimum wage. “This sad […]

It’s not every day that a candidate tees themself up to be rejected by voters TWICE and to be defeated by not one, but TWO sitting U.S. Senators. But this week, that’s precisely what John James did, announcing he will run for U.S. Senate in Michigan a second time, this time facing off against the highly popular and well-funded Gary […]

We’re finally seeing how voter suppression, mass incarceration, the war on women and the demise of labor all feed off each other. Unfortunately, conservatives figured that almost 50 years ago. Abortion is being criminalized in state after state, punishing poor people and people of color. We have no attorney general. Prosecutions of Trump’s political opponents seem inevitable. War crimes are […]

We are excited to share this guest post from Dr. Ryan Shaw, assistant professor of music education at Michigan State University. Dr. Shaw received his Ph.D. in Music Education from Michigan State University and earned master’s and bachelor’s degrees in music education from the University of Michigan. His scholarly interests include arts education policy and the ways that policy affects […]

Secretary of Education and Disney villain Betsy DeVos spoke to a group of education writers in Baltimore the other day, and it appears her feelings are hurt. “I never imagined I’d be a focus of your coverage. I don’t enjoy the publicity that comes with my position. I don’t love being up on stage or on any kind of platform. […]