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Sen. Kuipers Proposes Public School Secession Option
UPDATED: There have been additional legislative proposals related to this one
Conservative State Senator Wayne Kuipers proposed an interesting piece of legislation (2009 Senate Bill 636 Authorize “neighborhood schools”) recently that would:
[...] "authorize “neighborhood schools” run by parents and teachers under contract to a sponsor, such as a ( Read more... ) -
GR Press Obscures Single-Payer Demonstration With Tea-Bagging
This past weekend the group Single Payer Michigan organized an event to advocate for a single-payer healthcare system. There was, predictably, very little coverage of the event in the media. The only mention I could find was in the Grand Rapids Press which presented the issue as though the two sides were equal in size/scope (even though the vast ( Read more... ) -
Congratulations to Rep. Dave Agema
Mega dittos to Michigan Rep. Dave Agema for being voted the LEAST EFFECTIVE legislator in the House of Representatives.
Effective Leaders
by The Grand Rapids Press | Sunday May 31, 2009, 3:35 AM
"Kent County's Mark Jansen has the distinction of being named the most effective state senator in a survey of political insiders sponsored by Lansing ( Read more... ) -
More Bad GOP Math: Atty. Gen. Mike Cox Edition (Ver. 2.0)
In an article in the Grand Rapids Press covering Attorney General Mike Cox's (unsurprising) announcement that he's now entered Michigan's gubernatorial race, the barrister made the following declaration:
"When you reduce tax rates, revenue going into government actually increases."
Context: What Cox is referring to is the Laffer Curve - an ( Read more... ) -
More Bad GOP Math: Grand Rapids Regional Chamber of Commerce Edition
(NOTE: I'm going to go out on a limb and consider the Michigan Chamber of Commerce a "Republican" organization given that they almost universally support the GOP with their financial contributions).
The Grand Rapids Press just ran an op-ed from Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce President Bill Jackson ("Opinion: Eliminate the MBT, open Michigan ( Read more... ) -
Guantanamo Bay Prison is not Arkham Asylum
The Republican uproar over the closing of Guantanamo Bay is utterly amazing. They’re crazed with fear over moving the 240 prisoners into a supermax prison in the US, and now they’ve pulled some of the weaklings on the Democratic side of the aisle with them and blocked the funding to make the moveGuantanamo Bay prison is not Arkham Asylum ( Read more... ) -
Another Reason the Bush Administration's War Crimes Justifications are Bunk
Bruce Fein and Mark Danner were on a recent episode of Bill Moyer's Journal making the case for an investigation of the Bush Administration's war crimes. As Danner notes, Cheney ironically provides the most compelling justification for why trials need to proceed (rebutting the argument that this is a 'dead issue' that is 'in the past') given that ( Read more... ) -
Bush Administration Whitewashed Yet Another Investigation to Cover up Crimes
Inspector at Pentagon Says Report Was Flawed
By DAVID BARSTOW | Published: May 5, 2009
"In a highly unusual reversal, the Defense Department’s inspector general’s office has withdrawn a report it issued in January exonerating a Pentagon public relations program that made extensive use of retired officers who worked as military analysts for ( Read more... ) -
Employee Free Choice Act Works Just Fine in Practice
The deceiful, moneyed, faceless anti-union forces trying desperately to kill the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) have centered most of their campaign on false or misleading hypotheticals ( Read more... ) -
State Senator Introduces "Concientious Objector" (ie Anti-Contraceptive) Legislation
Michigan senate republican Roger Kahn just introduced a "concientious objector" bill that would "mandate that health care facilities accommodate the wishes of an employee who does not want to participate in certain health care services," an attempt to bring a national effort down to the state level ( Read more... )