Stephen Tuttle | Author

A Florist, a Baker, a Website Maker

March 5, 2022

The United States Census Bureau breaks down religious beliefs into the broad categories of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, unaffiliated, and atheist/agnostic.

Although more people now declare themselves to be unaffiliated with a specific denomination, far more Amer… Read More >>

Inviting Death

Feb. 26, 2022

We Americans have been challenging death with some success. Until recently, we didn't knowingly invite it into our homes and businesses, nor did we choose to expose our children to it.

We know, for example, a certain number of people are going to die in tr… Read More >>

As voters, we like to claim that party affiliation is less important than the quality of the candidates we select. Only seven states, including Michigan, now allow us to vote for every candidate of a single party by filling in just one circle on our ballots. Even so, according to Pew Resear… Read More >>

Banning History

Feb. 12, 2022

There are now at least 11 states — Idaho, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Arizona, North Dakota, Arkansas, Florida — that have passed legislation banning the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in their public schools.

That's sor… Read More >>

Twin Myths: Tall Buildings and a Bypass

Feb. 5, 2022

Do you know what downtown Traverse City needs? More tall buildings and lots of them.

We can't stop there. We need smaller houses on smaller lots to avoid a dystopian future of actual elbow room. Those yards where kids could throw a ball or climb a tree with maybe enough … Read More >>

Safe from Fairness

Jan. 29, 2022

There are some things about the 2020 elections we know to be facts despite all the noise coming from the losers.

We know, for example, there was neither widespread fraud nor voting irregularities sufficient to change the outcome of local or national elections. We know early voting b… Read More >>

New Districts, Same Players

Jan. 22, 2022

We're now well into our constitutionally required decennial exercise in reapportioning legislative and congressional districts. As populations changed, our Founders thought it wise to reevaluate our district's borders every 10 years. It didn't take long for politicians to figure out they co… Read More >>

Who's Next?

Jan. 15, 2022

Let's assume, regardless of what happens in 2024, Joe Biden is not the future of the Democratic Party, and Donald Trump is not the future of the Republican Party. Let's further assume neither Biden nor Trump will be their party's nominee in 2024, age having discouraged the former, and the f… Read More >>

A Letter from 2050

Jan. 8, 2022

We thought the new year might be a good time for those of us living in the future to explain what is happening with the mess you left us. It's not as if you weren't warned.

Way back in 1896, Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius appears to be the first to have predicted increases… Read More >>

A Danger to Themselves and Others

Jan. 1, 2022

When will this pandemic end? If by “end,” you mean disappear, the answer is never.

Most medical experts now agree the COVID-19 coronavirus is likely to be with us in some form forever.

As this is being written, the United States has recorded more than 52 mi… Read More >>

The Only Gift Ideas You Need

Dec. 18, 2021

This time of year we're told it's better to give than receive, and it's the thought that counts. That makes it a lot easier to suggest some gift-giving ideas.

To all healthcare workers, a full week without a single new Covid case or death. We'd all hope for a much longer break… Read More >>

Second Thoughts

Dec. 11, 2021

Supreme Court watchers are now predicting another expansion of gun owners’ rights, an interpretation of the Second Amendment its authors never imagined.

New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen could give New York residents the

right to carry a concealed we… Read More >>

Conspiracies Everywhere

Dec. 4, 2021

This will one day undoubtedly be referred to as the Golden Age of Conspiracy Theories. There is hardly a subject you can mention that does not have one or more groups claiming some manner of conspiracy exists sure to threaten us all.

There are so many outlandish conspira… Read More >>

Still Burning and Banning

Nov. 27, 2021

The first incident we know about took place in 213 BCE when Emperor Qin Shi Huang, upon conquering new territory, ordered all books, scrolls, or other papers that mentioned his predecessor be burned, lest he be compared unfavorably.

The latest we know about occurred November 8… Read More >>

A Few Holiday Turkeys

Nov. 20, 2021

According to research conducted by the Economist/YouGov, fully 28 percent of Republicans believe Donald Trump will be “reinstated” as president on or before Jan. 1, 2022. That means around 14 million people believe, or have been led to believe, a delusion that is … Read More >>

The Distance We Must Still Travel

Nov. 13, 2021

There was certainly more than one reason Democrat Terry McAuliffe lost his gubernatorial race in Virginia. But many think the tipping point in that campaign occurred when McAuliffe had the temerity to say this: “I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach ..… Read More >>

Consumers Lose Again

Nov. 6, 2021

The Build Back Better legislation, President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion social program and climate legislation, is no more. It was maimed, dismembered, and chopped in half by the whining, quibbling, and obstructing interference of Democrat Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Si… Read More >>

Climate Update

Oct. 30, 2021

It's once again time to run our irregular statistical check on that pesky climate change business. Whether you believe in actual climate change science or think this is all part of some natural cycle or don't believe anything unusual is happening, it's hard to deny some of the numbers.

The Ugly Side of Unregulated STR

Oct. 23, 2021

We've traveled this road before and found it bumpy and uninviting. Now the Michigan legislature wants to drag us down the same route.

Thanks to recent reporting by Craig Manning in The Ticker, we know House Bill 4722 and Senate Bill 0446 would prevent cities and towns from regulatin… Read More >>

The Democrat Dilemma

Oct. 16, 2021

The Democrats' two big legislative initiatives, the infrastructure bill and the budget reconciliation bill, have stalled. They have no one to blame but themselves.

President Biden initially said there would be no connection between the two massive bits of spending; that they were di… Read More >>