Tag Archives: Oregon

Michael Shuman… there’s a local business revolution on the horizon, and we can make it happen

By Mark | February 3, 2013

Last week, I had the opportunity to spend a day with economist and author Michael Shuman. Shuman, for those of you who aren’t familiar with his work, is probably our nation’s foremost authority on the importance of cultivating, supporting and investing in local businesses. The stated purpose of his visit to Ann Arbor, which was [...]

Posted in Economics, Local Business, Locally Owned Business, Michigan, Uncategorized | Also tagged Amy Cortese, Austin, banks, Book People, Borders, business attraction, business retention, Colgate-Palmolive, crowdfunding, Daryl Issa, economic development, Economics, Google, investing, IRA, local investing, locavesting, Michael Shuman, Mission Markets, SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission, self-dircted IRA, self-directed IRA, smart growth, startup investing, tax abatements, Tom’s of Maine, triple bottom line, walkability, Washtenaw County Economic Development, Washtenaw County Office of Community & Economic Development | 29 Comments

Exploring Michelle Rhee’s destructive influence over Michigan education reform

By Mark | January 10, 2013

I’m spending my evening getting acquainted with Michelle Rhee, the controversial former chancellor of the Washington, D.C. public schools, who’s gone on to a lucrative career as a hired gun in the fight to destroy teachers unions and privatize American public education. While I’d heard about her in the past, and I’d known that she’d [...]

Posted in Education, Michigan, Politics | Also tagged Catherine Ferguson Academy, charter schools, collective bargaining, D.C., David Tepper, dismantling of public education, District of Columbia, education reform, for-profit charter schools, Jeff Clark, Kevin Johnson, Michelle Rhee, Michigan Education Association, no child left behind, Norm Donohoe, PACs, Paul Scott, Philip Anschutz, privatization, Proposition 2, public education, Rupert Murdoch, StudentsFirst, tenure, threats to public education, Tim King, Waiting for Superman | 31 Comments

Why can’t Michigan vote like Oregon?

By Mark | November 7, 2012

Remember how, a few months ago, I posted video of myself eating a fried pie on the street in Portland, while talking with a guy about the plotting of the 1994 attack on Nancy Kerrigan? Well, that guy… a former Michigander by the name of Dave Miller… has asked that I share the following article, [...]

Posted in Michigan, Other, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged ball shaving, campaign finance reform, Dave Miller, election fraud, election reform, elections, electoral college, Maytards, Nardies, voting | 9 Comments

On finding myself in the Oregon darkness, not far from Ape Canyon

By Mark | August 27, 2011

When I was a kid, I was fascinated by the prospect that we were surrounded by bigfoot. I had a ton of books about the evidence of their existence, and I spent a good deal of time traipsing around in the woods, thinking about them. Maybe it was all the episodes of In Search Of [...]

Posted in Mark's Life, Uncategorized | Also tagged 1924, Ape Canyon, bigfoot, cabins, cryptozoology, David Spivey, docudrama, Fred Beck, gold miners, gold mining, Mount St. Hellens, pant shitting, rock throwing, Sasquatch, Sasquatch: the Legend of Bigfoot, Washington State | 17 Comments

Monkey Power Trio to record tomorrow in Oregon wilderness

By Mark | August 25, 2011

As best as we can figure, it’ll be our 17th year/day as a band. Wish us luck… Here we are, about to eat lunch, after hiking up to Tamanawas Falls. Right now, we’re setting up instruments and getting ready.

Posted in Art and Culture, Monkey Power Trio, Special Projects | Also tagged Government Camp, Tamanawas Falls | 12 Comments