Stephen Tuttle | Author

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 >>

Red and Blue Restaurants

June 30, 2018

The Traverse City Film Festival recently announced they would be presenting a lifetime achievement award to Jane Fonda, who will appear at this year's event.

The reaction was predictable from all sides; she's been both a movie star and divisive political activist for more than fou... Read More >>

Declare Victory

June 16, 2018

Now that we've decided to cozy up to North Korea while alienating our allies, maybe we should be mindful we're still fighting real wars.  

You might recall the War that Never Ends in Afghanistan. It started as an effort to remove the Taliban from control of the country b... Read More >>

Now We'll See

June 9, 2018

With all the chatter about self-pardoning, justice being obstructed, and witches being hunted, maybe we should see if President Trump is doing anything else. 

His three big issues during the campaign were immigration, tax reform, and trade.   

Let's see... Read More >>

The Problem in the Mirror

May 26, 2018

Thank goodness our politicians have found the villain in the opioid crisis and overdose epidemic: It's the drug companies or the drug distributors. Honestly, we didn't much care about this when the fatality was some homeless person under the Cass Street bridge. Now that it's visiting ever... Read More >>

A Billion Here, A Billion There ...

May 19, 2018

 

The Department of Defense got a big raise for 2018 and 2019. Their budget, now beyond $700 billion annually, means our defense budget is larger than that of the next seven countries ... combined. 

Maybe that will make us stronger. Maybe taxpayers will be on the... Read More >>

Fixing Non-existent Problems

May 12, 2018

Both Congress and the Michigan Legislature hope to enact laws they claim will place new work requirements on Medicaid and food stamp recipients. The rhetoric surrounding these efforts certainly implies we've got ourselves plenty of deadbeats out there receiving benefits to which they migh... Read More >>