As I mentioned in my last post, I have been traveling in China for work for the past two weeks. I’m now back in Michigan and have finally recovered from my jet lag and the 12-hour time difference. I appreciate your patience during my absence. Regular posting will now resume : ) Back in 2011, shortly after Republicans took control […]

A “yes” vote in the Senate is all that stands between these RFRA-type bills and Governor Snyder’s signature.

The Supreme Court will soon decide King v. Burwell and the fate of the health coverage of 8 million or so Americans in states that chose not to build an Affordable Care Act marketplace. It’s difficult to understate how ridiculous the argument the guys who want to destroy Obamacare are making in this case is. But I suppose it’s no more […]

Marc Solomon, national campaign director of Freedom to Marry, talks about the road to marriage equality. With a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality expected in just a few short weeks — and a historic victory for marriage equality in Ireland last week — anticipation, and hope, are high among those who support the right of same-sex couples to […]

“What voters are looking for in this election is someone who is going to be a champion for everyday people,” Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager said earlier this month. “For young people, that’s debt-free college, that is finding that job after you graduate.” The words “debt-free college” are treated like some bizarre fantasy that can only happen in an utopian future […]

Even before the fictional Elmer Gantry men of the cloth have tumbled from their high places beyond the altars whenever daylight exposed their secret lives. Last week Rev. Matthew Makela of St. John’s Lutheran church in Midland, Michigan, was forced to resign after Queerty.com posted screen shots of him from Grindr, a social app for homosexual men. Makela, an associate […]

This is the first chapter of my new story The Not-So-Holy Bible, which is about a boy trying to fix his mom and himself so they can escape his miserable grandparents. You can get it free for your e-reader here with the code PA52P. My hope is you’ll enjoy it then share it and give it a positive review — […]

“The future of labor is the future of America,” labor leader John Lewis said, during the Great Depression. And for a long time, you had to squint to see that future because it’s so bright. America capitalized on its enormous advantages after World War II with unprecedented growth that was — thanks to the labor movement — widely shared. However, […]

The death of democracy? I have been traveling around China for the past week and, despite the incredible growth of capitalism here, it’s clear that the government controls much of what happens in this beautiful country. From investments infrastructure that result in modern, butter-smooth highways to the wind energy installations that surround cities like Qingdao, the government is in charge […]

The Republican Party is the strongest it has been in decades and could be on the verge of a victory that could give them more electoral power than at any time since 1920, the year women first voted for the president. That’s the conclusion of Sean Trende and David Byler who have put together an index of party strength: You […]

“We wanted to bring everyone in the progressive community together to talk about issues that they are concerned about and working on every day and to have some fun doing it.” As I wrote about last week, our friends at Progress Michigan are having fundraiser in Ann Arbor on June 3rd that features comedian Al Madrigal from The Daily Show […]