Stephen Tuttle | Author

Symptoms of an Old Disease

June 3, 2017

The man in the airline terminal screamed at the Hispanic man, an American citizen, telling him to go home. The woman at the Walmart scored a rare 2-for-1 hate special when she insulted a Latina, then hurled a racial slur at an African American woman in the same encounter. 

Th... Read More >>

Explaining a Parallel Universe

May 27, 2017

Take a moment, please, and think a kind thought for the tortured souls of Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Kellyanne Conway, and any other spokesperson for President Donald Trump. It isn't their fault.

Theirs has been a bumpy road right from the beginning. Immediately after el... Read More >>

Not Quite Free Speech

May 13, 2017

Our publicly funded universities and colleges are having a bit of a problem with that pesky constitutional free-speech business. Some students attending those institutions seem to have no clue at all. 

These schools — considered an arm of the government because of their... Read More >>

Our Future As Past

May 6, 2017

Our bridges might not be falling down but way too many are getting close. The rest of our infrastructure isn't doing much better.

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) completes a quadrennial survey of our infrastructure; their most recent report card gives us a D-plus.&n... Read More >>

The 100-Day Fever

April 29, 2017

President Donald Trump is right about one thing: The first 100 days is a ridiculous way to judge a new president.

This began in the first 100 days of FDR's first term when a compliant and fearful Congress passed huge chunks of legislation designed to bring the country out of the G... Read More >>

Bumpy Skies

April 22, 2017

United Airlines and their passengers are having a relatively bad couple of weeks. United dragged a man off a flight with cell phone cameras rolling, and their CEO botched a number of explanations and apologies. A few days later they removed a couple on their way to their wedding over seat... Read More >>

Deeper Into The Quicksand

April 15, 2017

Already sick from the dirt diet that is the Middle East, we've decided to add Syria to the menu. We should be asking why. 

Syria became an independent state and an original member of the United Nations in 1945. Things deteriorated after that.

Regular coups bedeviled t... Read More >>

Locally Grown Issues

April 8, 2017

We have parking, tree and communication issues, all locally grown.

Some people are now claiming downtown Traverse City has a parking problem. No kidding.   

Parking is scarce downtown, at least in part because planners and decision-makers from a couple decad... Read More >>

Awash In Drugs

April 1, 2017

We are the sickest, most pain-riddled and depressed country on the planet. It's not even close. 

We consume more prescription drugs than the rest of the world combined. And we take them for almost everything. According to research published in the Journal of the American ... Read More >>

The Two Week Slump

March 25, 2017

President Trump and his Republican allies are in a nasty two week slump. Perhaps we should check in. 

That American Health Care Act the Republicans rolled out, initially and enthusiastically supported by the president, wasn't received warmly. At all. They're now stuck with it... Read More >>

Unions and Pot Farms and Beer, Oh My!

March 18, 2017

Northern Michigan continues to move in unexpected and mysterious ways.     

There is talk, and that's all it is at this point, of Munson Medical Center (MMC) nurses unionizing. They've taken no formal steps to do so and have started no real organizing effo... Read More >>

Environmental Backtracking

March 11, 2017

“I'm a very big person when it comes to the environment. I have received awards on the environment.”  That's what President Donald Trump said in a meeting with business leaders on January 23.

We'll just ignore the fact that no one can find any awards he's ever won... Read More >>

Be The President

Feb. 25, 2017

Sigh. The President of the United States is a liar. There are politer ways to say it, but if he was your child you would have to take away his toys and make him go stand in the corner. 

We begrudgingly accept that politicians exaggerate their accomplishments and minimize thei... Read More >>

We'll Pay an Import Tax

Feb. 18, 2017

Our new president has pledged to bring back manufacturing jobs, a reality that has already been happening for the last seven years. Since 2010 there's been an increase of more than 800,000 new manufacturing jobs compared to the five million we lost in the previous ten years. 

Read More >>

The March

Jan. 28, 2017

That was a pretty impressive beginning as protests go. Millions of women -- and men too -- gathered all over the country, including thousands here in northern Michigan.

There were plenty of issues in evidence, but mostly they were protesting the manifest misogyny of President Dona... Read More >>

Trusting Blindly

Jan. 21, 2017

President Trump wants us to trust him blindly while refusing to place his assets in a blind trust. His sons will run his businesses, he says, and they will never discuss it, ever. Trust him. 

Modern presidents and cabinet officers are almost always people of substantial means... Read More >>

Reasons to move away from fossil fuels

Jan. 14, 2017

In a few days, a new administration will be seated in Washington. Those now designated to develop our energy policy are either climate change skeptics or outright deniers who intend to facilitate more oil, gas and coal production.

Let’s assume they are right. If our climate ... Read More >>

Nominations and polls

Jan. 7, 2017

Every president-elect is faced with the immediate problem of hiring and nominating many people for many jobs. Many, many jobs; nearly 7,500, including nearly 1,500 requiring Senate confirmation.

Many positions will go to career bureaucrats who at least have some idea of what they&... Read More >>

Questions

Dec. 31, 2016

The new year always starts with more questions than answers, doesn’t it? Some political, some not. For example:

■ Did you know we’ve had a satellite called Cassini circling Saturn since 2004?

■ Who would have thought Donald Trump owns, or partially owns, less t... Read More >>

Christmas of your choice

Dec. 17, 2016

Christmas appears to have survived another year. Nativity scenes everywhere are breathing a sigh of relief.

The claims that Christmas is being attacked sprout up annually. If such a battle has ever really existed, Christmas continues a long winning streak. That’s because Chr... Read More >>