Stephen Tuttle | Author

A Place at Our Table

Nov. 18, 2023

We typically celebrate Thanksgiving without much thought of how it all started and if it was even an especially good idea for one group of initial celebrants.

According to the History Channel, the first Thanksgiving took place in October of 1621 in what is now Plymouth, Massachuse... Read More >>

It’s the Politicians Who Are Failing, Not the Country

Nov. 11, 2023

Some national political candidates believe they can curry favor and earn our votes by telling us this is a failing country, or worse, a country that has already failed. It is nonsense.

In fact, there was never a time when we were perfect, and much of our past is definitely not gre... Read More >>

On Tuesday, Nov. 7, local elections will be held in many communities across Michigan, including Traverse City. These elections are critically important, but with no statewide or federal offices up for grabs, will likely attract an embarrassingly low voter turnout. It’s a shame.

Our Chaos Reality

Oct. 28, 2023

Science and math have their chaos theory that posits, among other things, that the smallest changes can create unpredictable and major disruptions elsewhere. The example most often used is the tiny amount of extra wind created by the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in Africa might s... Read More >>

Congressional Dysfunction

Oct. 21, 2023

There was a time when we could reasonably rely on Democrats behaving like a dysfunctional family. There were southern Democrats who were overtly racist and opposed to any semblance of civil rights legislation versus the Democrats proposing that very legislation. There were the Vietnam War... Read More >>

Just Ask Siri

Oct. 14, 2023

Those who believe artificial intelligence (AI) is a genie still struggling to get out of the bottle are sadly, perhaps even dangerously, wrong. AI is loose and already both helping and looking for trouble.

Let’s back up a bit. Just what is artificial intelligence? According ... Read More >>

The Oldest Bigotry

Oct. 7, 2023

Abraham, a busy fellow, is credited with creating the foundations of all three major monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Judaism came first, almost two millennia before Christ arrived and longer still before Mohammad.

It didn’t take long for the multith... Read More >>

Tilting at Budget Windmills

Sept. 30, 2023

By the time this column goes to print, the federal government could be shut down. Or, more rational voices within the Republican party will have been heard and at least some sort of stopgap budget deal will have been made to keep the government running.

This trip to the edge of an... Read More >>

A Non-campaign Campaign

Sept. 23, 2023

You might have noticed the pregame activities for Traverse City’s TIF 97 extension campaign have already begun.

TIF 97 has been rebranded as the Moving Downtown Forward TIF, adding some pizzazz to it. And the third parking deck, touted for years as crucial, is not a parking ... Read More >>

Safe, Secure, and Fair

Sept. 16, 2023

Republican loyalists have their reasons for continuing to support Donald Trump.

Some simply can’t stand Democrats or Joe Biden and would vote for a lamppost if it was identified as a Republican. (Plenty of Democrats are just as blindly partisan.) Others claim they liked his ... Read More >>

Back to School...For Most

Sept. 9, 2023

Is there a dramatic teacher shortage in our country? Let’s see.

The country’s K-12 students have now returned to class, all 55.4 million of them being taught by just more than 4 million teachers. Most will be in traditional brick-and-mortar classrooms

Here... Read More >>

Bank Accounts Instead of Scoreboards

Sept. 2, 2023

The college football season has begun in earnest, and almost everything about it, and college sports in general, is wildly different than it was just a decade ago. The goal of the game is essentially the same, but everything surrounding the game and college athletes has changed.

C... Read More >>

Lessons of Lahaina

Aug. 26, 2023

It’s not as if they didn’t see it coming.

As early as 2016, Hawaiian Electric’s own internal documents highlight a growing risk of
failure of above ground transmission lines in storm and high wind conditions. They added that such failures could result in fi... Read More >>

Children at Risk

Aug. 19, 2023

Missing children, including those being exploited for sex and labor, have been much in the news lately. The numbers are staggering, but most children categorized as missing are not being trafficked.

We should also point out, though we shouldn’t have to, children are not miss... Read More >>

The Whataboutism Epidemic

Aug. 12, 2023

“Whataboutism” is a real word—at least according to Merriam-Webster—but so far, it hasn’t been officially recognized by any organization of psychologists, psychiatrists, or other mental health counselors. It is, however, a condition that afflicts more and mor... Read More >>

Some Local Odds and Ends for August

Aug. 5, 2023

Now that it appears the 2024 presidential election will be between someone indicted for dozens of felonies and an incumbent with an allegedly misbehaving son…well, let's take a break and see what’s happening locally.

That Hartman-Hammond bypass is turning into one ver... Read More >>

Where Facts Go to Die

July 29, 2023

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says Florida is “where woke goes to die.” He could have more accurately said Florida middle schools are where facts, history, and reality go to die.

Those Florida students will receive some interesting information about racism in gene... Read More >>

Inconsiderate Protesters, Intolerant Speech

July 22, 2023

Last month, there was a bit of a dust-up at North Central Michigan College (NCMC) in Petoskey. They have a regular, ticketed event called the Luncheon Lecture Series, and on June 22, the lecture didn’t go so well.

The invited speaker was Paul Meneghini, the Community Engagem... Read More >>

Falling Farther Behind

July 15, 2023

Time for our semi-regular unofficial update on how the climate versus humans fight is progressing. We humans have thus far avoided a knockout blow, but we are way, way behind on points.

Let’s start with our normal advisory: Climate is weather patterns existing over a wide ar... Read More >>

Zoning Changes Deserve Discussion

July 8, 2023

The Traverse City Planning Commission recently recommended several zoning changes designed, they say, to help alleviate our current housing shortage. Any debate should come into sharp relief when the proposals are next discussed by the City Commission.

Though you won’t find ... Read More >>