Can you hear us now? On the heels of most of the major school administrators coming out against Governor Snyder’s failed education experiment on students in Detroit — the Education Achievement Authority – four members of the Michigan State Board of Education are now calling on lawmakers to vote against the latest version of House Bill 4369. The four members […]

Plain and simple, tomorrow is the deadline to submit a panel proposal for the Netroots Nation conference in Detroit this summer. Need details? Start by clicking HERE.

A year and a half ago, I wrote a rather lengthy piece titled “Majority white communities avoid Emergency Financial managers with help from Republicans Denby and Rogers”. In it, I told the rather convoluted story of how now-State Representatives Cindy Denby and Bill Rogers had, during their time as local government officials, gotten their municipalities and county into severe debt […]

UPDATE: I have heard that there may be a vote this week on expanding the EAA statewide with what is essentially no limit to the amount of schools that can be included in it. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR STATE HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE AND YOUR STATE SENATOR TO EXPRESS YOUR OPPOSITION TO HOUSE BILL 4369. Thank you. When Eastern Michigan University was founded […]

Democracy is just SO inconvenient sometimes… Last week, the Michigan House Financial Liability Reform Committee me to discuss a bill calling for a federal Constitutional Convention to take up the issue of a federal balanced budget. 20 states have already done so; 34 are required. Whether or not a Constitutional Convention is a good idea is a matter of debate. […]

What’s happening in Kansas is particularly reprehensible, but discriminatory laws in the name of religion are a troubling national trend. I admit, I don’t know much about Kansas aside from The Wizard of the Oz. Dorothy was sure eager to get out of there. The good-hearted girl would be even more desperate to escape these days, I’d wager. The eyes […]

NOW is the time to be heard PLEASE SEE UPDATE AT THE END OF THIS POST. The Michigan Department of Education is proposing sweeping changes to the rules that govern how special education students are accommodated in our state’s public schools. The public comment period is short and ends at 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 13, 2014. The state website […]

Today’s interview is with a teacher who wishes to remain anonymous because they still work within the EAA. Like some of their colleagues in the EAA, veterans who are certified teachers with experience educating kids, this teacher sees the model as flawed. More importantly, they describe the system as run by administrators who do not know what they are doing. […]

Next Saturday, my good friends at Equality Michigan have their annual fundraising dinner at the Motor City Casino in Detroit. This year’s special guest is Richard Carlbom who is the Campaign Manager for Minnesotans United for All Families and Director of State Campaigns at Freedom to Marry. According to Equality Michigan, Carlbom will also be making “a special announcement you […]

Those who depend on the kindness of corporations are the truly dependent As news broke that the United Auto Workers’ effort to organize its first plant run by a foreign automaker in the South failed by 87 votes, conservatives celebrated. They were celebrating how the scare tactics of Senator Bob Corker, who likely violated the Wagner Act, and other local […]

EAA EXPANSION BILL STALLED IN STATE LEGISLATURE With all of the heartbreaking news and stories coming out of Detroit, particularly in regards to the education of Detroit students, I thought it would be nice to start with some good news today. According to an article in the Detroit Free Press today, the bill to codify the Education Achievement Authority in […]