Last night, Gov. Rick Snyder held what was billed as a “public town hall” but was, in actuality a campaign rally given that the host and emcee were unabashed Snyder supporters and seven out of the eight questions he answered were softballs pitched by supporters. The room was less than half full despite Snyder’s press flacks claiming they had turned […]

After facing withering criticism for failing to agree to debate Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer, Republican Governor Rick Snyder announced with great fanfare that he was going to do ten town hall meetings where voters could ask him questions. They said Schauer was welcome to tag along if he wanted, and then slammed him with a truly unprofessional insult, calling […]

When Rick Snyder came into office, Michigan had the nation’s 5th highest unemployment rate. After nearly four years of his relentless positive Republican action, guess where we’re ranked now? Yup: 5th. That number doesn’t tell the full story either. The only reason we’re ranked 5th instead of 4th or less is because so many Michiganders have left the job market. […]

On October 8th, the fourth season of the FX hit TV show, American Horror Story will begin. However, you don’t have to wait until October to experience the real American horror show of corporatist governors that put corporate interests ahead of working families. People in states like Michigan get to “enjoy” that every day. Today, AFSCME is releasing a series […]

NOTE: With the impending election, trying to keep up with all of the news is like drinking from a firehose and, with a day job and other activities I’m involved in, I simply don’t have time to do an individual blog post for everything that is going on. I’m considering doing a “grab bag” like this one every day or […]

The scandals just keep piling up More evidence has emerged that being a business mogul associated with, a relative of, or even hired into the Snyder administration gives you some perks not enjoyed by others. You might, for example, have contracts with the state tossed your way like Snyder’s cousin, George Snyder. You can impact legislation that benefits you and/or […]

This past weekend, the Chairs of both the Michigan Republican Party, Bobby Schostak, and the Michigan Democratic Party, Lon Johnson appeared on Fox 2’s “Let it Rip!” program to discuss the upcoming election. Schostak showed up without a tie, carrying an aloof and almost derisive attitude. He struggled to defend his candidates time and again. In contrast, Johnson was well-dressed, […]

When Public Act 4, Michigan’s amped-up Emergency Manager law, was signed into law in early 2011, it was immediately put to use in Benton Harbor. It was the first time the new version of the law, which allows the state to impose an unelected person in charge of an entire city and gives them the power to dismiss local elected […]

This post has been updated to include information about Baird asking for a refund of the back interest he paid when he settled his tax bill. Richard Baird, already busted for getting a tax break on residences in two states and being registered to vote in both Michigan and Illinois, now has another issue to deal with: although he’s been […]

It’s been a terrific week of polling for Michigan Democrats. I’ve written about two polls (HERE and HERE) that statistical ties for Mark Schauer and Mark Totten with Gary Peters pulling away from Terri Lynn Land. Yesterday, a USA Today poll conducted by Suffolk University gives even better news. Here’s the synopsis: Mark Schauer leads Rick Snyder for Governor by […]

Governor Snyder has a new ad out this week called “Generations”. Like his previous ad, his voice has been altered to sound lower in pitch than his actual voice, a manipulation that is the perfect metaphor for the way he manipulates the facts in order to take credit for things that either didn’t happen or for which he had no […]