When I flew into Providence a few weeks ago, to attend the Netroots Nation conference, I caught a taxi from the airport to the hotel with a fellow by the name of Bob Sloan. Bob, like me, had won one of the Democracy for America scholarships, and we talked about our work as we made […]
Last night, I reprinted a letter sent by a Michigan school Superintendent to our Governor, asking that his school be converted over to a prison. Given that we fund corrections better than we do education in this state, he argued that it would be in the best interests of his students. He was clearly attempting […]
Nathan Bootz, the Superintendent of Ithaca Public Schools, sent the following letter to Governor Rick Snyder. It was reprinted in a recent edition of the Gratiot County Herald. Dear Governor Snyder, In these tough economic times, schools are hurting. And yes, everyone in Michigan is hurting right now financially, but why aren’t we protecting schools? […]
I haven’t seen the new numbers, but, in 2008, I remember reading that Michigan was one of only four states that spent more on corrections than on higher education. And this, if I’m not mistaken, is happening in spite of the fact that Michigan’s prison population is dropping. I mention this because I just saw […]
I’ve been thinking about Michigan prisons quite a bit lately. It seems as though, all of a sudden, the subject is everywhere… The University of Michigan’s annual exhibition of art by Michigan prisoners opened today. There’s an article on the Daily Kos this evening about how, under Governor Snyder’s Emergency Financial Manager plan, non-elected officials […]
