In the world of handshakes, there numerous different types. One well-known one is the “Yank and Pull” handshake designed to manipulate and demean its recipient: Yank and Pull: This handshake is considered a power play, as it’s when a person decides to grab your arm and pull you in close towards them and inside their territory/personal space. There are three […]

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, shown here sweeping up horse manure, has led an effort to suppress Democratic turnout in Michigan elections by fighting to uphold a ban on the option to vote a straight-ticket in our elections. The legislation, passed by our GOP-dominated state legislature, was a blatant attempt to harm Democrats’ chances given that one-half of all voters […]

President Obama’s nomination of the moderate federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court is, perhaps, his most blatant trolling of Republicans during his entire presidency. Make no mistake, Garland is eminently qualified. Not only that, he’s liked by Democrats and Republicans alike. NPR’s SCOTUS-watcher Nina Totenberg described Garland as a “gentle individual” and pointed out that Republican […]

The following guest post was written by Nick Krieger, an attorney and former clerk in the Court of Appeals. Follow him on Twitter at @nckrieger. His essay is published here with permission. Enjoy. “Republican senators have dishonored the original meaning of the United States Constitution” We hear it almost every day. Like a broken record, the Republicans in the United […]

As the celebrations over the U.S. Supreme Court decision in King v. Burwell (which upheld the Affordable Care Act [again]) and their decision in Obergefell v. Hodges (which found same-sex marriage bans to be unconstitutional) begin settle down, it’s worth looking at a third case they decided this week that should have progressives applauding. This one, Texas Department of Housing […]

The law has delivered great progress, but there’s still more work to be done. With LGBT Pride Month still in full swing, it’s a great time to celebrate the progress made by and for the LGBT community, especially in healthcare access thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). At the same time, there’s a lot at stake this month, between […]

Marc Solomon, national campaign director of Freedom to Marry, talks about the road to marriage equality. With a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality expected in just a few short weeks — and a historic victory for marriage equality in Ireland last week — anticipation, and hope, are high among those who support the right of same-sex couples to […]

Members of the tea party caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives spend enormous amounts of energy and time waving around the U.S. Constitution and making claims about how their opponents don’t respect it. However, a recent move by several House Republicans, including Michigan’s Tim Walberg, show just how little regard they have for the Constitution when it interferes with […]

Prove to your constituents that you care about everyone in the state — not just big-money special interests. Dear Governor Snyder: I didn’t vote for you in either election, but you are Michigan’s governor. I haven’t agreed with you on much, but you did support Medicaid expansion in Michigan, although you could have done a lot more to urge the […]

Earlier this week the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Environmental Protection Agency’s rulemaking regarding pollutants from coal-fired power plants. The ruling allows the EPA to put tighter controls on the plants to prevent pollution in one state from having negative impacts on the health and safety of residents of another state. Michigan Attorney General was one of […]

Anyone who thinks that the wealthy who are buying elections are doing it to help the country is in for a rude awakening. The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission is a staggering blow to democracy. But it’s certainly not the only obstacle average Americans face in the fight to maintain a fair election process. Because […]