Stephen Tuttle | Author

The Circus is Coming

Feb. 22, 2020

We're two caucuses and a primary deep into the Democratic primary circus. This might be a good time to review the frontrunners.

Let's start on the left. No, farther left. Keep going, and you'll eventually arrive at Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Sanders describes himself as a... Read More >>

Kalkaska County is now a Second Amendment sanctuary county. Gun owners there will now be safe from an intrusive government and so-called red flag laws, universal background checks, and prohibitions against semi-automatic long guns and high-capacity magazines.

As a b... Read More >>

Death & Disease

Feb. 8, 2020

John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Christina Mauser, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester, Ara Zobayan. Do any of those names ring a bell? Those are the seven people not named Kobe or Gianna Bryant who died in the same helicopter crash.

Like always, we've d... Read More >>

A Little Sunlight

Feb. 1, 2020

Most consider the phrase “Congressional ethics” a bit of an oxymoron. Their strong law-and-order instincts weaken considerably when it comes to policing themselves.

Back in 2012, Congress passed legislation euphemistically called the Stop Trading on Con... Read More >>

The Iowa Caucuses

Jan. 25, 2020

On the evening of Monday, Feb. 3, after a full day's work and despite what might be horrible weather, Iowa Democrats will trudge to schoolhouses, fire stations, and other public buildings for their caucuses. It isn't a night for the timid.

They won't show their iden... Read More >>

More War

Jan. 11, 2020

Another military entanglement in the Middle East without an obvious plan, purpose or exit strategy. We've been watching a similar movie that never ends.

Neither Iran nor their terrorist proxies are likely to be subdued by our missiles and bombs .

... Read More >>

More of the Same in 2020

Jan. 4, 2020

Despite what seemed like a busy year politically, not much actually changed in 2019. We're likely to get more of the same in 2020, making some predictions easy.

Locally, we already know Traverse City's Downtown Development Authority (DDA) wants to extend their TIF ... Read More >>

Choosing Good Will

Dec. 21, 2019

Another year without peace on earth or good will toward anyone. Pretty much the same as last year, and the year before that, and before that.

We still have wars percolating away in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Pakistan, Ukraine, South Sudan, Somalia, Nig... Read More >>

Human Error

Dec. 14, 2019

Despite the advances made over the millennia, we humans continue to insist on maiming and killing ourselves, or others, in ever more inventive ways and with ever more poor decision-making.

Our cell phones are the latest culprit.

The Na... Read More >>

Has He Done Enough?

Dec. 7, 2019

We know, for a fact, it is illegal to solicit or receive information from a foreign national or government to influence a federal election. We know that because it's written in black and white in the statutes.

We know, for a fact, President Donald Trump asked the n... Read More >>

Giving Thanks

Nov. 30, 2019

Thanksgiving is the best of holidays, except maybe for some cooks. It's a time when family, friends, and oftentimes stragglers with no place else to go are all welcome.

It has the added advantages of outstanding food and no secular connections; most everybody celeb... Read More >>

Boycotting Everything

Nov. 30, 2019

We are in an epidemic of boycotts, or at least attempted boycotts. These are bipartisan efforts, with both the left and the right mightily offended about something, offering up a long list of targets. The strategy is simple: Don't buy these products, don't shop at these stores, and don't ... Read More >>

“Untold human suffering … ”

Nov. 16, 2019

A recent report in the publication Bioscience, signed by 11,000 scientists in several different fields from 150 countries, declared we are in a “climate emergency” and warned of “untold human suffering.” That doesn't sound good at all.

This i... Read More >>

Taking Orders from a Fool

Nov. 9, 2019

What happened to those Trump generals? And where were their defenders?

Our presidents seem to have an affinity for the military. Uniformed officers, with chests bristling with ribbons, make for a most excellent photo-op. It's a physical manifestation of the real po... Read More >>

More and Less

Oct. 26, 2019

As Washington goes from bizarre to surreal, here at home our local DDA wants more than it was promised, and a local school board gave us less than we deserved.

Legislation enacted in 1975 permitted the creation of downtown development authorities (DDA) to correct a... Read More >>

"It is Illegal ... "

Oct. 19, 2019

In June of this year, George Stephanopoulos of ABC News interviewed President Donald Trump. He asked the president, among many other things, if he would notify the FBI if a foreign government gave him negative information about a political opponent. Trump said he'd want to see the informa... Read More >>

Make the Investment

Oct. 5, 2019

Democratic presidential candidates touting universal pre-kindergarten and free tuition to state colleges and universities might be on to something. Now, if we could just get the politicians and bureaucrats to be equally interested in K–12 public education.

Fun... Read More >>

Into the Abyss

Sept. 28, 2019

We're sending troops to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This is a response to Iran's shoot-down of an American surveillance drone and, more recently, their alleged attack on a Saudi oil refinery and depot.

The troops are an effort to establis... Read More >>

Fire!

Sept. 21, 2019

October 8, 1871, was a very bad day for fires in the United States.

At the end of an unusually hot and dry summer, railroad workers clearing brush outside of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, accidentally set a fire that quickly turned into a wind-aided conflagration.
Read More >>

Perflouroalkyl and Polyflouroalky Substances

Sept. 14, 2019

Quite a mouthful, otherwise known as PFAS. Now the trick is to actually keep them out of our mouths.

PFAS, first developed in the 1940s, is not a single thing but a massive family of man-made chemicals — nearly 4,700 of them now, according to the Environmental Prot... Read More >>