Mark Maynard | fear tactics

Conan Smith says he and his fellow Washtenaw County Commissioners aren’t prepared to vote on merging Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti’s Convention and Visitors Bureaus; Will Potter on how the threat of terrorism has been used to quiet activists post 9/11; and Edgar Cayce making beautiful music …on episode 26 of the Saturday Six Pack

By Mark | September 14, 2015

This Wednesday evening, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners is expected to vote on the future of the Ypsilanti Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (YACVB). According to most folks, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that our elected officials will vote to close the Ypsilanti bureau and shift their $1.17 million annual budget to […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Civil Liberties, Politics, The Saturday Six Pack, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged AAACVB, activism, ag gag laws, Alicia Ping, Andy LaBarre, Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Conan Smith, Edgar Cayce, Edgar Cayce and His Guitar, FBI, fear, Free Speech, Green Is The New Red, Michael Flores, Ronnie Peterson, Ruth Ann Jamnick, Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, Will Potter, Ypsilanti Area Convention and Visitors Bureau | 43 Comments

Washtenaw County Commissioner Conan Smith on why he thinks the Ypsi Area Convention and Visitors Bureau needs to close, journalist Will Potter on the prosecution of activists as terrorists in the wake of 9/11, and the music of Edgar Cayce and His Guitar …on this weekend’s edition of The Saturday Six Pack

By Mark | September 11, 2015

[My friend Caleb Brokaw, who is truly one of the kindest, most thoughtful people I have ever known, has cancer. And there’s going to be a fundraiser for him and his family Saturday night at the Blind Pig featuring a reunited Black Jake and the Carnies. While I’d love for you to listen to this […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Civil Liberties, Corporate Crime, Economics, Marketing, The Saturday Six Pack, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged AAACVB, ag gag laws, AM 1700, Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, animal rights, Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Caleb Brokaw, Chicago Tribune, Conan Smith, domestic terrorism, Edgar Cayce and His Guitar, environmental terrorism, fear, fear mongering, Free Speech, fundraisers, Green Is The New Red, investigative reporting, Jim Cherewich, journalist, Knight-Wallace Fellows, Michael Flores, Ronnie Peterson, TED, Will Potter, YACVB, Ypsilanti Area Convention and Visitors Bureau | 6 Comments

Would the Republican leaders of yesteryear have engaged in birtherism?

By Mark | August 28, 2012

I find myself, for some reason I don’t quite understand, watching grainy, old footage of William F. Buckley this evening, instead of doing something that I might actually enjoy, like reading the motivational affirmations of Old Spice pitchman and rising action star Terry Crews. I think, subconsciously, the seed was planted earlier today, when I […]

Posted in Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged anti-intellectualism, birther, Chris Matthews, conspiracy theories, fear mongering, Gore Vidal, Hurricane Isaac, Lee Atwater, lying, Newt Gingrich, Nixon, Noam Chomsky, Pat Buchanan, race, race baiting, race card, rat fucking, reality deficient, Reince Priebus, RNC, Terry Crews, wedge issues, William F. Buckley, Willie Horton | 33 Comments

Chris Hedges seeks to challenge legality of NDAA in court

By Mark | January 17, 2012

As it’s late, and as I’m exhausted, there’s not going to be a lot in the way of thoughtful analysis, but I wanted to let you all know that one of our favorite people, Chris Hedges, has filed suit against the Obama administration on the grounds that the recently signed National Defense Authorization Act is […]

Posted in Civil Liberties, Corporate Crime | Also tagged Bruce I. Afran, Carl J. Mayer, Chris Hedges, corporate fascism, corporate state, corporate takeover of politics, due process, fear, indefinite military detention, Leon Panetta, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, NDAA, Obama, Occupy, Occupy Wall Street, Robert Mueller, terrorism | 11 Comments

“Free speech is free speech but it’s not without consequences”

By Mark | January 9, 2011

After yesterday’s horrific events took place in Arizona, the 73 year old, seven-term sheriff of Pima County, Clarence Dupnik, addressed the press. He was exceedingly blunt. Not only did he suggest that the heated political climate in Arizona may have contributed to the day’s events, but he said that his state had, over the course […]