Hoo boy… The Detroit News conservative pundit and cartoonist Henry Payne has an op-ed with such comically convoluted (il)logic that it deserves public derision. His piece, “‘Pasha’ Dingell and the rise of Washington power” basically implies that Dean of the House John Dingell has secured his power through massive contributions from corporations and their lobbyists. He then goes on to […]

Grassroots power in action! NOTE: This post has been updated. See below. A little under two weeks ago, my pals that run the Facebook page Save Michigan’s Public Schools announced a rally to support education and teachers in Michigan. Their page is the premier online resource for all things education in our state. It was started by Ann Arbor educator […]

A candidate for a new age

Public Policy Polling (PPP) released a poll today that, among other things, asked the question, “If the candidates for Senate next year were Democrat LOLGOP and Republican Justin Amash, who would you vote for?” The answer? LOLGOP won 23% to 22%.

Think about that just for a minute. Justin Amash is losing to a Twitter handle.

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Making connections for change The 2013 is underway and the energy in the Brody Hall Auditorium is high and fun. I’ve already had conversations with former Progress Michigan Executive Director David Holtz, outgoing ED Zack Pohl, radio host Tony Trupiano, Katie Oppenheim, Julia Smith-Heck, Elizabeth Pellerito and Elizabeth from the Michigan Nurses Association and others. Word has it that Democratic […]

Evolve already The American Family Association is publicly declaring their head-in-the-sand view that public opinion on marriage equality is experiencing a sea change. In a piece in the Detroit Free Press about the potential for a statewide vote on repealing Michigan’s same-sex marriage ban in 2016, Gary Glenn of the AFA makes their position very clear: “We simply don’t believe […]

What does ‘not on my agenda’ actually mean? I can never remember… Rick Snyder’s self-described “relentless positive action” to make Michigan a better place to live and a more prosperous state does not apply to the LGBT community, despite the damage our anti-gay laws are doing to our economy. He was recently asked about extending civil rights protections to members […]

GOPocrisy at it finest

Lee Fang has a great piece up at The Nation this week detailing new evidence of the unrelenting hypocrisy of Republican legislators on the Affordable Care Act. After spending four years demonizing it, many of them continue reap the political gains from the benefits it brings to their communities.

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The edifice begins to crumble I was on the the Night Shift with Tony Trupiano Show last night talking about Governor Rick Snyder relentlessly flouting the law in the hiring of Detroit Emergency Manger Kevyn Orr. Tony brought a Detroit Free Press op-ed to my attention that I hadn’t seen and which is a must-read, in my opinion. Titled “It’s […]

A well-planned, strategic vision for Michigan’s only statewide LGBT advocacy group Over the past month, there has been a plethora of great news for the LGBT community both nationally and here in Michigan. Recent polling by PPP shows that a full 70% of Michiganders believe that gay couples should either be allowed to marry or form civil unions. This echoes […]

Financial Review Team??? We don’t need no stinkin’ financial review team

The Detroit Free Press has obtained copies of the emails between Governor Snyder’s staff and Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr that prove that he was basically offered the position before the financial emergency had even been declared in Detroit. Under Emergency Financial Manager law that was in effect at the time, Public Act 72, a state review team had to make the determination that Detroit was actually in a financial emergency before an Emergency Financial Manager was hired. This detail … sorry – LAW – did not appear to get in the way of Governor Snyder making the assessment himself and hiring Orr before the process had been completed.

All the gory (and illegal) details await you after the jump.

Detroit Love

An anonymous donor stepped up recently and paid the entire $142,000 tax bill for Detroit’s Masonic Temple, allowing it to continue under its current ownership. This week, the Masonic Temple revealed that the generous donor was Detroit’s own Jack White, who has played nine concerts at the Masonic Temple in the past.

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