Recent Posts

Sen. Reid & Obama administration target biggest example of “choosing winners” we have: Big Oil subsidies

Sen. Reid & Obama administration target biggest example of “choosing winners” we have: Big Oil subsidies

Big Oil subsidies are, simply put, indefensible

Conservatives who are dead set against making any investments in new technologies that can help propel our country and its economy forward are famous for using the argument that this is “picking winners and losers”. The irony is that, in order to even be considered for federal government subsidies, new technologies — like renewable energy projects, for example — must have already proven themselves as winners that are simply in need of a kickstart to make them affordable and profitable.

With negotiations over the upcoming sequester — automatic, across the board budget cuts — ready to dominate the headlines, both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Obama administration are suggesting that it’s time to end one the most glaring examples “picking winners” that we have in this country today: $4 billion in subsidies to Big Oil companies.

More after the jump.

Read more ›
Convicted Oakland County Dem Chair accuses state Chair Brewer of election scam involvement 2 years late

Convicted Oakland County Dem Chair accuses state Chair Brewer of election scam involvement 2 years late

Really? NOW you bring this up?

During the summer of 2010, across the state you could find paid petitioners circulating petitions to put the “Tea Party” on the November ballot. Candidates were recruited and it looked as if the tea party folks were finally going to get some skin in the game instead of trying to take over the Republican Party.

It later turned out to be a giant scam, orchestrated by people in the Oakland County Democratic Party including its chair Mike McGuinness. He and another party employee, Jason Bauer, were both convicted of forging election paperwork to put people on the ballot as Tea Party candidates, some of whom were never even contacted about running as phony candidates.

Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) Chair Mark Brewer denied all knowledge or involvement in the embarrassing scandal. However, out of the blue, McGuinness resurfaced this week in the comments section of the Michigan Liberal website to say he was recruited by Brewer for this scheme. With Brewer being challenged as MDP Chair, the timing is so suspicious as to be completely unbelievable.

More after the jump.

Read more ›
AUDIO: Speaker at Americans for Prosperity workshop refers to “ethnically challenged” charter school students

AUDIO: Speaker at Americans for Prosperity workshop refers to “ethnically challenged” charter school students

Hoo boy…

At a recent Americans for Prosperity-sponsored “Citizens Watchdog Training” workshop in Warren, Michigan, one of their speakers was a prominent Michigan conservative and member of the North Oakland Tea Party Patriots, Norm Hughes. During his talk, he used a phrase I have honestly never heard before: “ethnically challenged”. What is “ethnically challenged”? I have no idea.

Let’s roll tape, courtesy of Progress Michigan (after the jump.)

Read more ›
If immigration reform were supposed to make the GOP look less like the party of intolerant white guys, it isn’t working

If immigration reform were supposed to make the GOP look less like the party of intolerant white guys, it isn’t working

But did we mention that Marco Rubio’s parents were born in Cuba? Immigration reform isn’t a chance for Republicans to win more Latino votes. It’s their only hope to stop getting fewer and fewer Latino votes. Senator Marco Rubio, who would like to be the GOP nominee in 2016, knows that to win the presidency, he at least needs to […]

Read more ›
Calling all progressive activists! The deadline for submitting a Netroots Nation session proposal is soon!

Calling all progressive activists! The deadline for submitting a Netroots Nation session proposal is soon!

The most energizing conference you will EVER attend

As regular readers of this blog know, I am a regular attendee of the national Netroots Nation conference. Last year, Anne got involved as a staff photographer and you can be sure we’ll both be there again this year in San Jose, June 20-23. Netroots Nation is, simply put, the most high-value conference of the year for progressive activists. You can get a flavor of it by reading our posts from last year HERE, HERE, and HERE.

A big part of what makes Netroots Nation work is that the panels and trainings are put on by some of the top activists in the country. Some you may know, others you may not. Either way, the quality of the panels and trainings is exceptional. Along the way, you’ll make some amazing connections, as well, connections that will stay with you into the future.

Find out how YOU can participate by submitting a panel or training proposal for Netroots Nation 2013 after the jump.

Read more ›
To the self-described “patriots” of 2013: My friends, this is NOT what tyranny looks like

To the self-described “patriots” of 2013: My friends, this is NOT what tyranny looks like

You Keep Using That Word, I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means

With the reelection of Barack Obama and the subsequent resurgence in tea party rhetoric about “tyranny”, stoked white hot by talk of enacting a handful of sensible gun regulations, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how our present-day “patriots”, and I use that phrase very loosely, have perverted the meaning of the word tyranny and the philosophies of our Founding Fathers.

Although it is widespread across the nation, one particular example of it here in Michigan really ignited my thinking on this. A tea party state Senator, Patrick Colbeck, has taken to posting passages from the Declaration of Independence on his Facebook page this week. That, in and of itself, is no big deal, of course. However, the quotes he has chosen make it clear that he is making a direct comparison between the King of England during the period before the American Revolution and our current President, Barack Obama.

Much more after the jump.

Read more ›
Michigan Sen. Colbeck introduces “patriotism” bills modeled after bill pushed by Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann

Michigan Sen. Colbeck introduces “patriotism” bills modeled after bill pushed by Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann

Draped in a flag, carrying a cross

With all of the struggles Michigan faces right now, it’s good to know that things aren’t so bad that religious zealots and “patriots” like Senator Patrick Colbeck have time to worry about censorship in the teaching of American History in our classrooms. This week, Colbeck introduced a bill to remedy this egregious (and essentially nonexistent) problem. The bill is modeled after legislation promoted and passed in 2001 by far-right conservative and tea party goddess Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota. Bachmann’s bill copies a law passed in North Carolina in 1997.

Details after the jump.

Read more ›
Tony Trupiano is BACK, Jack!

Tony Trupiano is BACK, Jack!

A progressive gift to Michigan returns to the airwaves

I have been woefully remiss in not writing about the disappearance of our beloved progressive voice of the Michigan radiosphere, Tony Trupiano (probably because it was too painful to contemplate.) Right before the holidays, the radio station that he was on was closed by Clear Channel and with it went Tony’s show, First Shift with Tony Trupiano. Though it wasn’t a political move by all accounts, it was a huge loss to Michigan progressives.

Thankfully, after some hard work and what I can only imagine was a great deal of anxiety and heartburn, Tony has landed an evening show on 1130 AM WDFN. The show, called “Night Shift”, will stream via iHeart radio from 7-8 p.m. and then be on “regular” radio as well from 8-10 p.m. You can read Tony’s piece on this HERE.

There’s more after the jump.

Read more ›
ACLU and labor coalition file suit to block Michigan’s Right to Work legislation

ACLU and labor coalition file suit to block Michigan’s Right to Work legislation

The fight continues…

My good friend Bonnie Bucqueroux, a professor at Lansing Community College and owner of the esteemed Lansing Online News, has joined with the American Civil Liberties Union and a coalition labor groups to file a lawsuit intended strike down Michigan’s recent Right to Work law. The suit contends that the legislation was passed in violation of the Open Meetings Act when Republicans locked down the Capitol and wouldn’t even allow journalists, including citizen journalists like Bucqueroux, to cover the unfolding drama.

Details after the jump.

Read more ›
Mich AG enters lawsuit over ins. coverage for contraceptives, plaintiff Tom Monaghan calls birth control “gravely immoral”

Mich AG enters lawsuit over ins. coverage for contraceptives, plaintiff Tom Monaghan calls birth control “gravely immoral”

Your tax dollars at work

Domino’s founder and billionaire Tom Monaghan filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration late last year, fighting the mandatory coverage of contraception provision in the Affordable Care Act. Monaghan calls contraception use “gravely immoral” and doesn’t want to have to pay for his employees’ health insurance if the insurance covers birth control.

This 19th Century puritan is using his vast wealth to promote his religious “morality” and force others to abide by his rules. It’s not enough for him to make the personal choice not to use contraceptives. Instead, he feels the need to impose it on others as well.

Our far right conservative Attorney General here in Michigan, Bill Schuette, has now entered the suit, filing a brief in support of Monaghan’s moral crusade.

Details after the jump.

Read more ›
Think electoral vote distribution-related election rigging is over in Michigan? It’s not.

Think electoral vote distribution-related election rigging is over in Michigan? It’s not.

Do NOT trust Michigan Republicans on this

There are reports all over the internet saying that the Republican plan to change how electoral votes are assigned in order to exploit their insidious gerrymandering of Congressional districts is dead in the water in Michigan.

It’s not.

The reports about the death of this scheme, which is basically a billboard saying: “Welcome to the Michigan Republican Party where we can’t win elections unless we cheat”, are based on comments made by both Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville and Governor Rick Snyder. But, as I pointed out earlier this week, both Richardville and Snyder said nearly the exact same words regarding making Michigan a Right to Work state only to turn around and jam it through in less than a week during the inflamed duck session.

More after the jump.

Read more ›
Quantcast
Quantcast