Another one bites the dust Yesterday, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder declared a financial emergency in Hamtramck, Michigan. As I’ve written about before, this will be Round Two for the culturally-diverse city. They had an Emergency Financial Manager, Lou Schimmel, back in 2000 when John Engler was governor. Hamtramck (spelled correctly, pronounced “Ham-TRAM-ick”), is rare in that the city actually asked […]

“Chalk one up for the good guys”

Last week, I posted a piece titled “Lee Fang exposes the State Policy Network & corporate domination of public policy”. In that piece, I wrote about The Nation journalist and investigative reporter Lee Fang’s work to show how the State Policy Network (SPN) was waging a multi-pronged war to influence legislation, policy and public opinion at the state level across the country. One of the things that Fang reveals is that SPN affiliates have started their own wire services to bring their skewed version of the news to readers all over America. Here in Michigan, SPN affiliate Mackinac Center for Public Policy has done just that.

Thanks to my pals at Progress Michigan, however, today SPN and Mackinac Center lost a round in the battle to sway public opinion and government policy.

It’s much worse than you think

I was recently contacted by journalist Lee Fang and asked to review his new book The Machine: A Field Guide to the Resurgent Right. I received the book yesterday and hope to have a full review out in the next couple of weeks.

As a lead-up to the April 24th release of his book, Fang has published a stunning piece at The Nation titled “The Right Leans In”. I call it stunning because it shows just how much power the corporate-funded right has amassed in shaping public policy in America, operating primarily at the state level. If you thought our biggest problem was the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), you are quite wrong. ALEC is simply one piece of an intricate network formed to push the conservative agenda and turn it into laws and public policy across the country. Fang’s piece is essential reading for every progressive in the country.

Click through for much more.

Coming soon to a state near you

Lee Fang over at The Nation has a great piece up titled “Pro–’Right to Work’ Groups In Michigan Outspend Union Counterparts”. In it, he shows how anti-union groups are dramatically outspending pro-union anti-Right to Work for Less groups in Michigan.

Details on this and so much more after the jump.

If you’re going to take over our state, you at least need to file the paperwork

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy has long been the “policy house” for far-right conservatives in Michigan. Much like the national American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), their purpose in life is to create anti-union, pro-business policy and to assist in getting legislation passed that makes their policy law. In the process they work diligently to shape public dialog and the opinions of lawmakers in pursuit of their goals.

This is not a secret. They do it publicly and are brazen in their efforts.

Michigan Representative Sander Levin sees what they do as lobbying, which it is. He has proof and is now asking the Internal Revenue Service to look into the tax filings of this non-profit group which claims they do no lobbying. Rep. Levin sent the IRS a letter asking them to investigate…

Anyone wanna buy a sewer? Lotsa Emergency Manager tidbits to report today. Highland Park schools Emergency Manager takes the reinsAs I reported last Friday, a new Emergency Manager has been appointed in Michigan, this time it’s the Highland Park school district that has been taken over. You can read about Jack Martin HERE. He’s also on the team that is […]

A couple of weeks ago, I spent about 20 quality minutes in the Green Room of Fox News Detroit with Nolan Finley, the Editorial Page Editor of the Detroit News. In that short time, I got to listen to him debate charter schools with another guest. His main and emphatic argument, one echoed by most charter school proponents, is that […]

Since his election last year, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has played the good cop/bad cop game to perfection. While he stays above the fray and issues calming and non-threatening platitudes, his Republican colleagues in the legislature enact a conservative agenda with a rapidity that Democrats can only marvel at. Time and time again, Snyder has talked about how a particular […]

I’m sorry, but I am having a very hard time believing that this is actually coming from liberals: A free-market think-tank at the center of a controversy over Freedom of Information Act requests to labor-studies departments received a series of death threats and bomb threats Thursday night and early today. Personnel at the Midland-based Mackinac Center for Public Policy reported […]

Talking Points Memo has an exclusive report detailing sweeping Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy to three of the biggest universities in Michigan. The universities involved are Michigan State University, University of Michigan, and Wayne State University. The Mackinac Center For Public Policy, based in Midland, Mich., submitted the FOIA requests last Friday […]