Stephen Tuttle | Author

Voter Fraud Claims Mostly a Fraud

Dec. 8, 2018

Another election, another series of claims of fraud and other shenanigans.
 
This started in 2016 when we were told “millions” of fraudulent votes had been cast in California, mostly by non-citizens. To be fair, they did find half a dozen attempts by non-citize... Read More >>

Plenty of Booze, No Pot

Nov. 24, 2018

The Traverse City City Commission will be considering a new fee for establishments with liquor licenses. It is, they claim, an effort to offset nearly $300,000 in annual costs associated with alcohol-related incidents. In fact, according to City Manager Marty Colburn, fully half of police... Read More >>

Election Hangover

Nov. 17, 2018

Well, that was sort of interesting. Let's try to make some sense of it.
 
Locally, there were no big surprises. Republicans we expected to win, did. Traverse City reiterated their opposition to tall buildings downtown; perhaps the City Commission will eventually take notic... Read More >>

“All persons ... ”

Nov. 10, 2018

Well, that was unpleasant, wasn't it? Now that it's over we can go back to the airwaves full of prescription drug commercials. 
 
We should, however, take a few minutes to consider one of the proposals made by President Donald Trump during the campaign. He promised pl... Read More >>

Find a Reason

Oct. 29, 2018

Are you going to vote? Do you vote for someone or against their opponent? 

We know how people claim they make voting decisions. We also know they might be fudging. 

Almost everybody claims they vote for the person, not the party. Yet, more than 70 percent of vote... Read More >>

Find a Reason

Oct. 27, 2018

Are you going to vote? Do you vote for someone or against their opponent? 
 
We know how people claim they make voting decisions. We also know they might be fudging. 
 
Almost everybody claims they vote for the person, not the party. Yet, more than... Read More >>

Our Saudi “Friends”

Oct. 20, 2018

Surveillance video taken on Oct. 2 shows journalist Jamal Khashoggi walking into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. There's no evidence he left alive.  
 
Khashoggi, a legal alien resident of the United States, was one of Saudi Arabia's leading journalists and an... Read More >>

Three Reasons to Vote

Oct. 13, 2018

Things were going so well. The candidates for federal and statewide office were playing nice, and even their television ads were mostly positive, often clunky, but issue-oriented and at least marginally informative.
 
That has now changed, and the ugliness we loathe but ha... Read More >>

Just Wrong

Oct. 6, 2018

There is now a movement afoot, loosely called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. It's a beauty. 
 
Legislatures in eleven states — Connecticut, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont — ... Read More >>

A Flood Of Debt

Sept. 29, 2018

Parts of Texas are once again under water. The Carolinas are in the midst of a slow-motion flood catastrophe. Major flood events, once a spring tradition along some rivers but rare elsewhere, are now commonplace.
 
What happens to those people who get flooded?
 ... Read More >>

The Wrong Target

Sept. 22, 2018

You might have noticed Republicans running for federal and statewide office are no longer touting their connections to and love for President Donald Trump. It's not that their infatuation has necessarily ended, but primary season is now over. 
 
The much-touted Trump ... Read More >>

A Thirsty West

Sept. 8, 2018

Some folks out West are about to face troubling times; they're running a bit low on water.
 
The Colorado River Research Group, an unofficial collection of 10 scientists, recently released their conclusions on the future of the upper and lower basins of the Colorado River. ... Read More >>

Laboring for Little

Sept. 1, 2018

Labor Day, which became an official federal holiday in 1894, was created to honor working Americans. There once were parades and celebrations. Now there are mattress sales. 
 
Our appreciation for working men and women seems to have waned at about the same pace as our... Read More >>

Back to Basics

Aug. 25, 2018

Schools will soon be in session again. The criticism should start shortly thereafter.   
 
At some point in our not too distant past, public schools and their teachers became villains. We don't know exactly when that happened but we do know how: Politicians and th... Read More >>

The Good Ol' Days Delusion

Aug. 18, 2018

We are now being told that some of us are suffering from something called “cultural anxiety” as a result of our losing our traditional American culture. Good grief. 

This is nonsense perpetrated by some politicians and pundits eager to find yet another wedge issue... Read More >>

Dumb and Dumber

Aug. 11, 2018

Whatever became of conservatives and liberals?

Those calling themselves conservatives today bear little resemblance to the philosophy first espoused by William F. Buckley, or Barry Goldwater, their first flag-bearer when he campaigned for president in 1964. 

Liberals ... Read More >>

A Primary Primer

Aug. 4, 2018

An oddly quiet primary season ends Tuesday when 30 percent or so of Michigan voters will head to the polls. Maybe we should take a last look at the candidates, or at least some of them. 

(Michigan is an “open primary” state meaning unaffiliated voters can cast bal... Read More >>

Unity Park

July 28, 2018

We've known for a long time that Traverse City's downtown surface parking lots would serve a better purpose if they were developed. Our Downtown Development Authority (DDA) reminds us of this with some frequency. New tax revenues, additional downtown housing and commercial businesses, and... Read More >>

A Little Humanity

July 14, 2018

The truth is, we've never much liked immigrants. This “nation of immigrants” was skeptical almost from the beginning. And, so far, we've never had a president or Congress able to craft an immigration system that works.

George Washington wasn't sure we needed any more i... Read More >>

Bizarre and Unnecessary

July 7, 2018

Why does he keep doing it?  Why does a president who seems to be winning keep exaggerating and lying? It is bizarre and completely unnecessary.

One theory suggests it's all part of some diabolical strategy to benumb the public to the horrors yet to come. Another claims he act... Read More >>