On Wednesday this week, the Sugar Law Center held their annual reception and fundraiser called “ESSENTIAL: Advocacy for Community Justice”. The event started with the first annual Leonard Grossman Memorial Lecture given by civil rights attorney Michael L. Pitt. Michael L. Pitt All photos by Anne C. Savage. Click any photo to see larger versions. Please do not reuse without […]

The Detroit Free Press characterizes a move by the Michigan Supreme Court as a “victory” for Governor Rick Snyder. The reality is that it is a solid defeat for the 99% and a “victory” for the 1%. The Michigan Supremes basically said it’s okay to tax seniors’ pensions but not okay to raise taxes on the 1%. A divided Michigan […]

Adam Zemke announced today that he will be running as a Democrat for Michigan’s 55th House District to unseat Republican Rick Olson. The district is strongly Democratic after recent redistricting making this a very likely win for the Democrats. Zemke ran for a seat on the Washtenaw County Commission in 2010 and lost by only 723 votes in the Republican […]

The organization that tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to recall Republican Governor of Michigan Rick Snyder has reformed into a Super PAC called “Michigan Rising”. Yes, the times are certainly exciting and the optimist in us says that they are also changing for the better. Nationwide November election results clearly indicate a shift in public opinion when it comes to radical legislation. […]

Benton Harbor schools are a whisker away from getting a — you guessed it — an Emergency Manager. The State of Michigan will conduct a preliminary review of the “critical and alarming financial situation” at Benton Harbor Area Schools. This is the first step in a process that would determine if the school district needs a state-appointed emergency manager. It […]

Detroit News’ blatherer Nolan Finley outdid his normal degree of insipidity today with an editorial piece titled “Hollywood ramps up to help Obama”. I was watching an episode of “Hung,” the filmed-in-Detroit HBO series about a guy with a super big — well, the story line isn’t important — when all of a sudden an Obama campaign commercial broke out. […]

Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, the dude who took a pot shot at the White House last Friday has been charged with attempted assassination of President Obama. An Idaho man accused of firing two shots at the White House last week has been charged with attempting to assassinate President Barack Obama or his staff. Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, made […]

This is depressing: I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms of journalism […]

Last week, I wrote about the so-called “anti”-bullying bill passed by the Michigan Senate a couple of weeks ago that is not only not anti-bullying but, in fact, is generally known as “The License to Bully Bill”. In my article, I mentioned two Ann Arbor teenagers who stepped up to respond in a powerful way. Two Ann Arbor-area students, Katy […]

More We Can’t Wait awesomeness from the Obama White House: We Can’t Wait: Obama Administration Proposes Historic Fuel Economy Standards to Reduce Dependence on Oil, Save Consumers Money at the PumpNext phase in national program for light-duty vehicles will save consumers thousands of dollars at the pump while saving billions of barrels of oil, curbing pollution, enabling long-term planning for […]

Back in October, I wrote about Brianna Amat from Pinckney, Michigan. In the span of about 30 minutes, Brianna kicked the game-winning field goal at her school’s homecoming game and then was chosen as the Homecoming Queen. She’s been feted around the country for what she did and has remained remarkably humble about it the entire time. From my piece […]