BRAAA-AAAINS!!!

With the approval of the PA 4 repeal ballot initiative imminent, the predictable (and predicted) fight over what happens next is fully underway.

Using a truly astonishing act of mental gymnastics and pretzel logic, Republicans, aided and abetted by Attorney General Bill Schuette, are convinced that we will simply revert to the original statute, Public Act 72. Though this law gave Emergency Financial Managers much less abusive authority than the Emergency Managers under Public Act 4, those municipalities and school districts currently under the thumb of a local dictator beg to differ with this view of things.

Join me on the Zombie Law Roller Coaster after the jump.

Romney Hood: stealing from the Middle Class to give to the rich

At a campaign stop in Stamford, Connecticut yesterday, President Obama referring to Mitt Romney’s economic plan, the one that pays for historic tax cuts for the super wealthy by increasing taxes on average Americans, renamed Mitt Romney “Romney Hood”. He’s a reverse Robin Hood, said the president, stealing from Middle Class Americans to give to the very rich in our country.

It was brilliant.

Transcript and more after the jump.

Voting is sexy. It’s really astonishing and heartbreaking how few people vote in our country’s primaries. It’s heartbreaking because these are the elections where we can actually impact the political future of our country. If you want your state to be more progressive, it’s at the primary where you can choose between candidates who are more or less progressive. It’s […]

Go, Chevy!

A Chevy ad released last month to celebrate the Detroit Pride festival has gone viral beyond anyone’s prediction. The ad, originally a tiny $750 buy in the Motor City Pride edition of Between the Lines, has been viewed by well over 10 million people.

See the ad after the jump.

The Students First kiss of death

State Representative Maureen Stapleton had received the UAW endorsement for the newly drawn 6th House district seat as a Democrat. However, thanks to a “kiss of death” endorsement by Michelle Rhee’s anti-teacher, pro-charter schools group Students First, they have withdrawn their endorsement and are throwing their support behind Rashida Tlaib, instead.

Details after the jump.

A face for radio… Just a quick note to let you know that I’ll be on the First Shift with Tony Trupiano at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow, Monday, August 6. We’ll be talking about the fake Democrats in Michigan (past posts HERE and HERE) and the state Supreme Court decision on the repeal of Public Act 4 (post HERE.) You can […]

Dude, you are NO Democrat

In my piece last week about fake Democrats, non-Democrats running as Democrats in Michigan, I declined to characterize Cody Bailey as a fake Democrat. However, the more I have dug into his campaign in Michigan’s 11th State House District, the more I have become convinced that he is, indeed, a solid Republican, running as a Democrat in the 11th District simply because a Democrat is more likely to win. In my opinion, the clear choice for progressives in that district is his opponent David Knezek.

My justification for this change after the jump.

Well-played, Nike. Well-played.

I’m not a big television ad fan and I’m even less a Nike fan. But they have a series of commercials on television during the Olympic games that I positively love.

The first one I saw is called “Find Your Greatness. — Jogger” and the second one is “Find Your Greatness. — Baseball”. See them both after the jump.

NOW we’re getting somewhere

This morning the Michigan Supreme Court issued an order directing the Board of State Canvassers to certify the nearly quarter million petition signatures to put repeal of the anti-democratic Emergency Manager Law on the November ballot.

More after the jump.

When union families win, we ALL win

The Protect Our Jobs ballot proposal has gathered enough petition signatures to be placed on the November ballot and awaits approval by the Michigan Board of State Canvassers. The measure will enshrine collective bargaining rights in the state Constitution, ensuring that anti-Labor forces won’t be able to deny Michigan workers their legal right to bargain for better wages and benefits.

The organizers of the effort have shifted their emphasis from “Protect Our Jobs” to “Protect Working Families”, a more descriptive title for what they are trying to accomplish.

Let’s take a closer look at this, shall we?

By now, most Michiganders know about the revelation that Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger engaged in monumental election fraud. Although the Republicans are hoping beyond hope that the voters in this state will forget all about the fraud and that the issue will die before they return to work in mid-August, many of us are determined to ensure that this decidedly does NOT happen. An assortment of outlets including Eclectablog and Tony Trupiano of the First Shift with Tony Trupiano radio show are keeping the issue very much alive.

Joining that effort is Progress Michigan and We Are The People Michigan. This week, they filed a Freedom of Information Act request for more information on the investigation of Bolger and Rep. Roy Schmidt conducted by the Michigan State Police.