Tag Archives: ALEC

Charter schools are putting both our children and our democracy at risk, says former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch

A few days ago, education historian Diane Ravitch, a former Assistant Secretary of Education under the first President Bush, was interviewed by Bill Moyers on the subject of school privatization. In the interview, Ravitch, who was once a staunch supporter of No Child Left Behind, talks of her ongoing research into the $500 billion K-12 […]

Posted in Detroit, Education, Michigan, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

How Dick DeVos made Michigan a right-to-work state

If you haven’t read it yet, Andy Kroll has a great piece on the DeVos family in the most recent issue of Mother Jones. Of particular interest to me was the section detailing how Dick DeVos pretty much single-handedly orchestrated the passage of so-called “right-to-work” legislation last year. Here’s a clip. …For Dick DeVos, the […]

Posted in Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

Matt and Rene Greff, after supporting Snyder for Governor, now work to unseat him

Democratic stalwarts Matt and Rene Greff, the owners of Ypsilanti’s Corner Brewery and Ann Arbor’s Arbor Brewing Company, angered a number of their progressive brethren in 2010 when they publicly came out in support of their friend, Rick Snyder, who was then running in the Republican primary for Governor. The Greffs shared their reasons for […]

Posted in Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 62 Comments

If Detroit was a person, Kevyn Orr would be selling its kidneys

This weekend, upon hearing Kevyn Orr’s suggestion that we explore the possibility of selling the art collection of the DIA in order to satisfy the creditors of Detroit, it occurred to me that our newly appointed Emergency Manager might find it a bit more difficult to pillage the public coffers on behalf of Wall Street […]

Posted in Art and Culture, Detroit, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 32 Comments

Raising the minimum wage in Michigan is the right thing to do

At the end of last week, Democrats in Lansing, led by State Senator Bert Johnson, proposed that we increase Michigan’s minimum wage to $10 an hour, from $7.40, where it’s been set for the past five years, in spite of the rising cost of living. Given that it would make Michigan’s the highest minimum wage […]

Posted in Economics, Michigan, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

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