Who elects these geniuses??? As Michigan struggles with crumbling infrastructure that we don’t have the money to fix, failing schools that we have stopped investing in, and cities in crisis from a collapsed manufacturing base, one Republican, Saugatuck state Representative Bob Genetski has a solution: eliminate the state income tax. No, kids, I’m not kidding. Michigan voters could decide whether […]

Message to teachers: Sit down and shut up. NOTE: The location of Brooke Harris’s pretermination hearing, which is now closed to the public, has been changed. See update below. In April of 2012, Brooke Harris, a teacher at the Pontiac Academy for Excellence charter school, was fired for attempting to assist her students hold a fundraiser for the family of […]

[Please see the update below] Last week, I questioned whether or not Michigan Senator Joe Hune is actually intelligent enough to be a senator. Today, that question is just as pertinent as we learn that Senator Hune is adamantly opposed to marriage equality in Michigan, despite the sea change happening in the opinions of Michiganders. In a recent article in […]

Ahhhh… I’m sitting here sipping on my water bottle this morning, the last piece of My Socialist Independence Day Vacation: it’s filled with the deliciously pure water from the D.H. Day Campground just outside of Glen Arbor, Michigan. Anne and I spent the past week there and I always return refreshed but also reminded that one of our greatest national […]

Dude, do your JOB! I had a look at the state senate district maps recently and was horrified to learn that, after working hard to get solidly progressive Rebekah Warren elected to the senate, she’s actually no longer my senator. Instead, thanks to the flagrantly gerrymandered 22nd senate district, I’m now if he’s reelected, I’ll be “represented” by Joe Hune. […]

“When you let creatives be creatives, magic can happen.” I finished reading Lizz Winstead’s book Lizz Free or Die (purchase it HERE) a couple of months ago and, via Twitter, she agreed to an interview. Realizing that Netroots Nation was coming up and that we would both be there, I sent her a direct message saying, “What’s the chance I […]

Change is coming fast

U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman ruled today that a case being brought by a Michigan lesbian couple challenging Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriages can move forward. Earlier this year, Judge Friedman suggested that the lesbian couple, Jayne Rowse and April DeBoer, who were suing to be allowed to adopt each other’s children, broaden their complaint to challenge the same-sex marriage ban itself.

However, on March 6th, Judge Friedman decided to delay his decision until the U.S. Supreme Court gave their rulings on California’s Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act. During that hearing, he repeatedly challenged the notion that there is some rational government purpose in preventing same-sex couples from marrying. Now that that the Supreme Court has ruled decisively on the side of marriage equality, Judge Friedman is prepared to allow Rowse and DeBoer to challenge Michigan’s ban.

Click through for details.

All eyes are on Texas

My pals at Burnt Orange Report have published a new website where you can follow all of the goings-on in Texas in the Republican’s War on Women. It’s called STAND WITH TEXAS WOMEN.

Their announcement after the jump.

Two of Ann Arbor’s most stalwart & savvy progressives talk politics

Anyone who has worked with me in organizing things in the Ann Arbor area knows that I’m fond of holding meetings at Arbor Brewing Company in Ann Arbor or the Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti. They have an inviting atmosphere, vegetarian-friendly food, and excellent beers. However, since 2010, I have occasionally had pushback for giving them my business from Democratic purists who can’t get past the fact that the owners, Matt and Rene Greff, donated to fellow Ann Arbor business owner Rick Snyder during the 2010 Republican primary.

To hear some people talk, you would have thought that the Greffs had gone out and campaigned for Rick Snyder. While these same critics will patronize nearly every other business in Ann Arbor without administering a political litmus test, Rene and Matt seem to get special attention and invective others do not.

A couple of weeks ago, the Greffs announced that they would be holding a fundraiser at their home for Democratic candidate for governor Mark Schauer. Anne and I sat down with the two of them last Friday night in Ann Arbor to talk about their experience in the Democratic limelight over the past few years, their long history of supporting Democrats and progressive causes, and their excitement about the Schauer candidacy. During the conversation, we joked about them doing a “Greff Apology Tour” but the fact is, they were far more level-headed and realistic about the state of the race in 2010 than most of their critics and, in fact, do NOT apologize for their decision.

Enjoy after the jump.

Rawrrr: beer. Anyone who has spent any amount of time in downtown Ann Arbor has probably happened upon a tall, slender monster playing the violin. Playing it very well, actually. The Violin Monster is a legend in this area, no question. During an interview last Friday with Matt and Rene Greff, owners of the Arbor Brewing Company and the Corner […]

Wow, what a week! It yet another stride forward for same-sex couples, a federal judge today struck down Michigan’s ban on domestic partner benefits for public employees. What it remarkable about the ruling is that the judge cited intent by the authors of the law to specifically target same -sex couples in his decision. In his 51-page ruling, [U.S. District […]