Tag Archives: Mackinac Center for Public Policy

On embracing a future without police and fire personnel

I’ll admit that I was concerned when I first heard the news that we’d be laying off unprecedented numbers of police officers and fire fighters across the state. I understood, of course, that it was vitally important that our most wealthy citizens be allowed to stop contributing toward the greater good, but, being the Nervous […]

Posted in Mark's Life, Michigan, Observations, Other, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

ALEC, the move to codify the extremist Republican agenda, and the Michigan connection

Reading a column by Paul Krugman just now on the role of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in pushing so-called “Stand Your Ground” legislation around the country, I was reminded by a recent article in Mother Jones about how ALEC, working through the Mackinac Center, played a role in passing Michigan’s Public Act 4, […]

Posted in Civil Liberties, Michigan, Politics | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Blogbaby episode four: Pete Larson on Graduate Student Research Assistant Unionization

[While I’m busy scrubbing poop from diapers and other articles of clothing, several friends have been kind enough to provide content for this site, through a program we’re calling Blogbaby. Today’s contribution comes from my friend and former bandmate Pete Larson.] Mark has been on to me for several weeks to write something for his […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Education, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

U-M study finds that death rates are 34-40% higher for construction workers in right-to-work states

If you ever find yourself wondering why it is that Republicans have it in for folks associated with institutions of higher learning, look no further than this recent study released by Roland Zullo of the University of Michigan’s Institute for Research on Labor, Employment, and the Economy. Here’s a clip from the study’s executive summary. […]

Posted in Economics, Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Overton Window

If you loved The Turner Diaries, but always wished that the racism and references to “ethnic cleansing” weren’t quite so overt, there may soon be reason to celebrate. It looks as though Glenn Beck, the teary-eyed patron saint of Tea Party movement, is working on what sounds to be a kinder, gentler version of the […]

Posted in Media, Observations, Other, Politics | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 39 Comments

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