Generally speaking, the political writing I do is catharsis for me. It helps me to deal with the things that upset me in the realm of politics and government. But, every once in awhile, I write something that actually makes me more upset. My most recent piece for A2Politico is one of them. The piece is titled Whirlpool Corp — […]

I have a piece up at A2Politico this week that talks about how Democrats in the Michigan legislature are finding ways to have a voice in our state despite their minority status. Using the example of the “anti”-bullying bill passed by Senate Republicans earler this month, I show how they managed to impact a similar bill that was passed by […]

I have a new post up at A2Politico that talks about the recalls going on around the state of Michigan. I won’t spoil the fun by reprinting it here. Go have a look. It talks about the recalls against Republicans, Democrats and Governor Snyder as well. Here’s a list of the 26 recalls against Republicans and their current status so […]

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 […]

I have a new piece up at A2Politico that looks at the impact on the area in and around the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on being named “The Most Beautiful Place in America” by “Good Morning, America” viewers. It talks about the history of the formation of the national park, why some locals are not particularly happy about all […]

In March of 2008, Governor Jennifer Granholm signed into law legislation called the Michigan Planning Enabling Act (Michigan Public Act 33 of 2008.) This new law replaced three separate laws governing planning for municipalities, townships and counties, bringing their separate provisions into one unified law. Among other things, PA 33 changed how counties must set up their Planning Commissions, requiring […]

UPDATE: The full LOLGOP/Eclectablog interview can now be found HERE. My piece this week at A2Politico is a don’t-miss interview with “Pete Nicely”, the man behind LOLGOP. I won’t ruin the experience by putting much here but you really owe it to yourself to click through and read the whole thing. This. Dude. Is. Funny! In Ann Arbor, a man […]

The original deadline for the petition drive to put the recall of Michigan governor Rick Snyder expired. However, recall organizers have elected to continue their effort. From my latest piece at A2Politico: Perhaps the biggest challenge for the recall organizers has been the extremely short period of time Michigan laws allow for the collection of petition signatures. The petition language […]

Yesterday, Borders Books announced that it was going out of business and liquidating its assets. This will put another roughly 11,000 people out of work including many right here in Michigan. It’s a huge loss both in terms of jobs and in terms of having a good bookseller around. But P.D. Lesko at A2Politico points out, there is at least […]

I’m in Minneapolis for the Netroots Nation progressive bloggers conference. Yesterday I had a full day of workshops, meetings, networking and helping out with Netrrots for the Troops. You can read my write-up at A2Politico: “Dispatch from the Netroots Nation Progressive Bloggers Conference” Pictures and everything! Enjoy.

I have a new piece up today at A2Politico that shows just how far Michigan’s CPA-style Emergency Financial Managers (EFMs) will go to cut costs. Michael Stampfler is Pontiac, Michigan’s EFM. He has the dubious distinction of being the first Michigan EFM to use new powers granted by Michigan Republicans to cancel a union contract. What went nearly unnoticed was […]