“Michigan Governor Rick Snyder Political Suicide” by DonkeyHotey When in doubt, change the messenger Further demonstrating an inability to deal effectively to the poisoning of Flint’s drinking water with a powerful neurotoxin, Gov. Snyder took the bold step of replacing his communications director and his press secretary: Gov. Rick Snyder removed his communications director and press secretary Thursday amid the […]

NOTE: There is simply too much news arising from the poisoning of Flint’s drinking water to do separate posts for everything. Therefore, I am assembling various news items into a single news round-up on a semi-regular basis. You can follow all of our coverage HERE. Former Snyder advisor concedes that “running government like a business” led to the poisoning of […]

This post has been updated below. Transparency was something Gov. Rick Snyder crowed about during his first election campaign. He issued a white paper titled “Create A Culture Of Ethics In Michigan’s Government” in which he said, “As Governor, I will ensure that government is open, fair, and accountable to the citizens by making Michigan a national leader in transparency […]

The history of Medicaid expansion in Michigan as part of the Affordable Care Act is a long and troubled one. The Republican-led legislature hemmed and hawed and finally passed it in a way that wasted hundreds of millions of dollars and unnecessarily delayed working poor Michiganders from obtaining coverage. When they finally got around to passing it, they did it […]

Bryan Mielke is running for a second time for the House seat in Michigan’s 99th House District, a race he lost to House Speaker Kevin Cotter two years ago. He announced last fall and it wasn’t until recently that the Republicans finally fielded a candidate. At that point, hilarity ensued: Republicans have turned to Roger Hauck as their candidate to […]

After passing legislation to slash revenue sharing to already struggling urban areas including Flint and after passing an anti-democratic Emergency Manager Law – Public Act 4 – and after passing another anti-democratic Emergency Manager law – Public Act 436 – after voters rejected the first one (and making it democracy-proof with an unnecessary appropriation) and after these Republican-appointed overseers – […]

Four state Senators, Phil Pavlov, Joe Hune, David Robertson, and Goeff Hansen have had quite enough of uppity Detroit teachers who have staged “sick-outs” to draw attention to the deplorable – unconscionable, really – conditions in their schools. Images and stories of dead vermin, mushrooms growing out of the wall, disintegrating floors, walls, and ceilings, and clear evidence of black […]

It’s difficult to get Republican candidates to provide straight talk about Social Security and Medicare during an election year because both programs are immensely popular with voters and the candidates would rather not be too specific about possible reforms. They remember the dismal failure of George W. Bush to build support for privatizing Social Security in his second term. These […]

It’s clear that the story of the poisoning of Flint, Michigan’s drinking water by the Snyder administration has finally broken through to the national news. It’s not only being reported by major national news outlets, presidential candidates are now weighing in. Today, Hillary Clinton issued this statement: The situation in Flint, Michigan, is extremely concerning. No parent should have to […]

Yesterday afternoon while most of us were driving home from work or home getting ready for dinner, Gov. Rick Snyder signed Senate Bill 571 into law. It’s now Public Act 269 of 2015. This legislation started out innocuously enough as a 12-page campaign finance reform bill that involved how funds are collected and distributed by organizations that manage “separate segregated […]

[This post has been updated below.] The flow of thousands upon thousands of Syrian refugees escaping violent extremism and war-like conditions in their country has been in the news for months. Many Michiganders were relieved to see Governor Rick Snyder extend the welcome mat to those escaping oppression and violence. However, after the recent terrorist attack in Paris, Gov. Snyder […]