Stephen Tuttle | Author

Do the Math

May 1, 2021

We're making some progress against Covid-19, but if this were an athletic contest, we'd still be behind.

Nearly 10 percent of the country's population, almost 32.5 million Americans, have been infected. We continue to assume that number is low, as not everyone, or even most ... Read More >>

Give Reform a Shot

April 24, 2021

2020 wasn't a very good year. At all.

Aside from the horrific toll of the pandemic and the post-election insanity, we became a lot more violent. Murder rates were the highest in the last two decades, according to the FBI. Other violent crimes increased comparably.

Ch... Read More >>

Wrong and Expensive

April 17, 2021

Tucked away in the southeast corner of Cuba is a natural harbor wedged between hilly terrain. Called Guantanamo Bay — guantanamo means “land between two rivers” in Taino, the language of indigenous Taino people — we leased it from the Cubans in 1900, and t... Read More >>

Spring Cleaning

April 10, 2021

It would seem winter has timidly departed, probably, so some local spring cleaning is in order.

Traverse City's proposed fish pass project becomes more and more mysterious. No one can yet tell us which fish species will be allowed passage and which, other than sea lampreys, ... Read More >>

A Long History

April 3, 2021

The media, and much of the public, have suddenly become aware of discrimination against Asian-Americans and Asian immigrants. This newfound awareness comes on the heels of a nightmarish massacre in Atlanta. Eight people, six of them Asian women, were gunned down in three separate location... Read More >>

Immigration Futility

March 20, 2021

Congressional Republicans say President Joe Biden is “entirely to blame” for a growing mess on our southern border. That's quite an accomplishment given that Biden has only been in office a couple of months.

It wasn't Biden who left 3,000 unaccompanied non-citizen chil... Read More >>

Do You Recall?

March 13, 2021

Recall elections, or at least the threat of them, are suddenly all the rage. We'll recall Republicans who supported the Donald Trump impeachment and recall Democrats who initiated pandemic-related restrictions. Almost none will succeed.

In California, Gov. Gavin ... Read More >>

Cancel This

March 6, 2021

It seems we are either part of what's being called “cancel culture” or we're claiming we must cancel cancel culture while merrily doing our own canceling.

To be sure, we are quicker than ever to demand someone be fired, recalled, or impeached, or some company be ... Read More >>

Not a Clue

Feb. 27, 2021

Surely politicians wouldn't be so clueless that they'd lie about COVID-19 deaths or take a vacation during a statewide emergency or spend taxpayer money on expensive groceries and booze for themselves. Of course they would.

Let us pause, then, for a moment to consider the br... Read More >>

Look Up

Feb. 20, 2021

Now that we've solved all our earthly problems, perhaps we should look skyward. There are issues lurking up there.

This all started in October 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, which did nothing more than blink and send a simple radio signal. Many alive at the time w... Read More >>

More Voters ... or Less

Feb. 13, 2021

Legislators are busy at work trying to change the voting systems they created. About 500 bills have been introduced across the nation, and more than 100 of them, in 28 states, would restrict our ability to vote.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice — and full credit t... Read More >>

No Future

Feb. 6, 2021

If she's the future of the Republican Party, the party is in deep trouble.

By now, you've likely heard of Marjorie Taylor Greene, the new congresswoman from Georgia. Her connection to reality or, for that matter, sanity, is limited.

Taylor Greene has an interesting habit o... Read More >>

Quite a Month

Jan. 30, 2021

Well, that was quite a month for at least some members of the Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners.

First, Commissioner Brad Jewett introduced a resolution opposing the latest pandemic restrictions issued by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). The... Read More >>

Very Busy Very Fast

Jan. 23, 2021

This isn't going to be easy. President Joe Biden and his thin congressional majority are walking into troubled times both domestically and internationally.

The divisions we now see and must somehow confront, ably abetted by silent or overtly enabling politicians, have spilled into... Read More >>

Dear Trump Supporter

Jan. 16, 2021

It is tempting to be sympathetic to your angst since you, like so many before you, have been scammed by Donald Trump. But unlike those taken in by Trump casinos, Trump Air, Trump University, Trump suits, and all the rest, you haven't yet become aware of your own delusions.&... Read More >>

Baby Steps

Jan. 9, 2021

It didn't take the ultra-progressive wing of the Democratic Party long before they started carping away at President-elect Joe Biden. His cabinet nominees, so far the most diverse group ever, wasn't diverse enough. Or he wasn't aggressive enough combating the Trumpian nonsense. Or he wasn... Read More >>

Tiny Houses and Big Raises

Jan. 2, 2021

Let's start by assuming 2021 will be better. The mysteries of local government, however, will remain the same.

The Traverse City City Commission and their overlords at the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) continue their obsession with eliminating ... Read More >>

The Other 2020

Dec. 19, 2020

Well, that was an interesting year. And there was more to it than a pandemic we didn't stop and a delusional soon-to-be ex-president who won't accept reality.

In fact, 2020 was a pretty eventful year, good and bad, without the election or pandemic.

The Best Christmas

Dec. 12, 2020

Some people believe this will be the worst Christmas ever.

There's no doubt this year will finish with significant challenges. But the worst Christmas ever? Probably not worse than the multiple Christmases during the Civil War. And then there was the 1918 pandemic, World War I, th... Read More >>

Disappointing the Progressives

Dec. 5, 2020

President-elect Joe Biden is likely to disappoint the more progressive folks in the Democratic Party. Some are already complaining.

The Sanders/Warren/Ocasio Cortez wing of the party has an agenda: the Green New Deal, single-payer “Medicare for All,” reduce... Read More >>