Tag Archives: infrastructure

Grand Rapids shows us how economic development is done right… home-grown food entrepreneurship over dollar stores

By Mark | November 18, 2012

A few months ago, when I was in Grand Rapids, attending the annual BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies) conference, I had the occasion to hear a speech given by the city’s Mayor, George Heartwell. I can’t find my notes at the moment, but I seem to recall that, buried somewhere in the long [...]

Posted in Economics, entrepreneurism, Environment, Michigan, Sustainability, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged Amway, Ave Maria, BALLE, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, David Frey, economic development, false equivalence, farmers market, food entrepreneurship, food hubs, Grand Action, Grand Rapids, hope, local food, local food production, national chains, Tom Monaghan, Water Street, Water Street Redevelopment Project | 41 Comments

The New Yorker enthusiastically endorses Obama, saying his reelection is “a matter of great urgency”

By Mark | October 26, 2012

God, I love the New Yorker. Their endorsement of Obama is one of the very best things that I’ve read over the course of this past year. It’s thoughtful, comprehensive, and brilliantly written. Following are two brief clips. One pertains to Obama. The other pertains to Romney. I’d highly recommend following the link, though, and [...]

Posted in Media, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged 47%, Affordable Care Act, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, AmeriCorps, Ayn Rand, bipartisanship, Bush, civil rights, class warfare, Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Elena Kagan, equal pay for equal work, FDR, Freeloading 47, gay rights, Global Warming, Guantánamo, gun control, Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, marriage equality, New Deal, Obama, Obama is a Socialist, Obamacare, Pell grants, predator drones, Republican lies, Republican obstructionism, right-wing extremism, Romney, Sonia Sotomayor, stimulus, Supreme Court, women's rights | 17 Comments

Did someone fall through Ypsi’s tridge on Friday night, and, if so, what should we learn from it?

By Mark | September 2, 2012

I felt bad about disrupting the local drug trade, but, on Friday night, a bunch of friends and neighbors decided to take our pajama-clad offspring into Riverside Park, to look at the blue moon. While we didn’t encounter any illegal activity during our late evening walk, we did see something odd. While we were making [...]

Posted in Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged ambulance, blue moon, EMT, kids, kids activities, moon, Riverside Park, taxes, tridge | 40 Comments

Robert Reich and Molly Ringwald answer questions on Reddit

By Mark | May 2, 2012

I doubt that they coordinated it, but, a few days ago, at roughly the same time, both Robert Reich and Molly Ringwald were on Reddit, answering people’s random questions. Following are some of my favorite responses. I was going to specify who said what, but then it occurred to me that it might be more [...]

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged antitrust, Bill O'Reilly, Breakfast Club, campaign finance reform, Citizens United, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, Earned Income Tax Credit, fear of Communism, Glass-Steagall Act, health care reform, income disparity, Joe McCarthy, Judd Nelson, McCarthyism, Molly Ringwald, Plutocracy, Robert Reich, single-payer system, tax reform, the growing gap between rich and poor, unions, Wealth and Poverty, Works Progress Administration, WPA | 10 Comments

Obama’s fiery response to the Republican budget

By Mark | April 5, 2012

President Obama delivered an uncharacteristically fiery speech the other day, at an Associated Press luncheon. You’ll find the video below, but, first, here’s a clip from an editorial about the speech that ran in yesterday’s New York Times. President Obama’s fruitless three-year search for compromise with the Republicans ended in a thunderclap of a speech [...]