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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

And then there were three

Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer announced today that she will NOT be a candidate for Governor in Michigan in 2014. Her stepping aside narrows the immediate field from four to three: 2010 candidate and Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, Detroit-area Congressman Gary Peters and former MI-07 Congressman Mark Schauer. While that’s not to say that others won’t throw their hat into the ring, these three are certainly the top three at the moment.

My analysis after the jump.

Why do I get the feeling there’s a LOT they aren’t telling us?

The Michigan House Republicans released their “2013-14 House Republican Action Plan” (pdf) today and, while there’s much I still need to digest, there were enough glaring LOLs in it to warrant pointing them out.

The 21-page plan, titled “Brighter Days Ahead”, is almost half “Executive Summary” and is full of photos of happy, smiling white people. Reading the Executive Summary is an odd experience. If you didn’t know better, you’d think it was either a Democratic proposal or something a bipartisan group put out. You honestly would never know that this is the party that focused so intensely over the past two years to crush unions, demonize teachers and other public employees and that led the way in the Republican War on Women.

Details after the jump.

Don’t be the punchline of a dumb joke

There’s a joke that talks about a guy stranded on a desert island. A man paddles by on a raft and asks, “Would you like some help?” “No,” answered the guy, “God will help me.”

A few days later a boat pulls up and the driver asks, “Would you like some help”? “No,” the guy answered again, “God will save me.”

The next day a helicopter lands on the island and the pilot says, “Hop on! I’ll help you!” “No,” says the man a third time, “God will help me.”

A week later, the man is despondent. “God, why won’t you save me?!” the man shouts to the heavens.

A booming voice from the sky answers, “Dude, I sent you a raft, a boat and a helicopter. What else do you want from me?”

This is exactly the situation Detroit was in with regard to Belle Isle. Long a “jewel” in Detroit, it has fallen into shameful disrepair over the past couple of decades. The State of Michigan offered to lease the island from Detroit, make it a State Park, and restore it back to some semblance of its original beauty.

Find out how the Detroit City Council blew it after the jump.

The answer depends on who’s asking the question

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder was on Bloomberg News this week to deliver an upbeat, cheerleading assessment of our state that had him reversing his opinion on the economic benefits of Right to Work. Where last we he said, “Over 90 percent of the jobs that you’re looking at aren’t going to be in a situation where right to work is even relevant…Let’s keep in mind what the economy is really about”, on Bloomberg, he changed his mind. Again.

Details on this and more after the jump.