Former MI-07 Congressman Mark Schauer rode the Democratic tidal wave into office in 2008, defeating “The Original Tea Partier” Tim Walberg, only to be sent packing by a fickle MI-07 electorate in 2010. Since his defeat that put Walberg (eww) back in office, Schauer has stayed involved in politics and now works with the BlueGreen Alliance (BGA) as the national […]

Yup. I got an email today telling me that the Michigan Democratic Party is finally getting involved in various recalls around the state and asking me for money to help with the effort. Which recalls? The ones against Democrats. Fellow Democrats: Last week, the Michigan Republican Party and its Tea Party allies succeeded in the first steps to recall Democratic […]

By now you’ve surely heard about the Occupy Wall Street protest rally happening in New York City. The rally cry of “The Other 99%” is resonating across the country as these protesters, many coming in from far away, protest the Wall Street firms and individuals that ran our country into an economic black hole and came out shiny clean and […]

Tomorrow night is Michigan Planned Parenthood’s 14th Annual Ann Arbor Beer Tasting. They hope to raise $2,500 for the cause while raising awareness about the important role Planned Parenthood plays in the lives of Michigan women and women across the country. From their Facebook page: Get your tickets NOW!http://miplannedparenthood.org/page/14th-annual-ann-arbor-beer-tasting Three ticket levelsLager $30Pilsener $50Stout $100 The battle to protect Planned […]

Okay, THIS is totally cool. In his 18 years at Pinckney Community High School, Jim Darga, the principal, said, the homecoming queen had always been crowned at halftime of the school’s football game. Never before, though, had she had to be summoned from the team’s locker room. Brianna Amat, the first girl to make the Pinckney varsity football team, said […]

A federal judge in Michigan today smacked down a new Republican-passed law that will throw tens of thousands of Michiganders off the welfare rolls with little notice, temporarily halting its implementation. A federal judge today accused the state of “sleight of hand,” and halted plans to end welfare benefits to nearly 41,000 Michigan residents. U.S. District Judge Paul Borman determined […]

As I reported back in April, two pension boards in the City of Detroit filed suit in the U.S. District Court challenging the Republican-passed Public Act 4 — The Emergency Manager Law. From a now-unavailable Detroit Free Press article: The City of Detroit’s two pension boards have challenged part of the state’s new emergency financial manager law, calling it unconstitutional […]

Reporting by the Livingston County Press & Argus shows that Michigan schools will take hit of over a half billion dollars under a new plan by Michigan Republicans to eliminate the state’s Personal Property Tax (PPT). The elimination of a state tax on business furniture and machinery would further cut funding for Michigan’s public schools, state and school officials said. […]

Yesterday at their two-day state convention in Detroit, Michigan AFL-CIO members elected Karla Swift as the organization’s new president. Swift replaces Mark Gaffney who led the group for 12 years. Karla Swift (pictured right with UAW president Bob King in Lansing), is a long-time organizer for the International Union, the UAW and for various community groups. Most recently she was […]

Not surprisingly, there is a huge push to “Buy Michigan” to help our local economy these days. For example, there is Buy Michigan Now, BuyMichiganProducts.com, Buy Michigan First, and Think Michigan Made. With all of this, I was shocked to see this on my parking ticket last weekend: Click for a larger version Really, Ann Arbor? You’re outsourcing the processing […]

This past week, Rep. Tim Walberg (MI-07) sponsored a jobs fair. So far, so good. I’ve been waiting for him to do something, anything related to jobs so I view this sort of thing favorably. Unfortunately, the fair doesn’t appear to have been very successful. On Wednesday, I hosted a Job Resource Fair at the Jackson County Fair Grounds. This […]