Opinion

A Slope Too Slippery

By Stephen Tuttle | June 22, 2019

A recent report in The New York Times was troubling on so many levels. The article said the United States was conducting a cyber attack on the Russian power grid, including the installation of malware into their system.  The punchline: The intelligence community now so distrusts President Trump that he had not been informed of the operation. If true, that sounds like a big problem. It should come as no surprise to anybody that ... Read More >>

Because They Can

Spectator

By Stephen Tuttle | June 15, 2019

President Donald Trump and Congress are working, they say, to curb the ever-increasing  costs of prescription drugs. They have made it a bit easier for generic drugs to come to market, a good thing. But they have a long way to go.  The president, not surprisingly, wrongly claimed drug prices decreased in 2018. They did not. According to an Associated Press investigation, drug prices increased, on average, six percent last year. They found ... Read More >>

How Financial Disclosure Could Diminish Corrupt Electoral Practices 

Guest Opinion

By David Frederick | June 15, 2019

The continuing dysfunctionality of the federal government is, in part, attributable to a single presidential candidate. His failure to comply with traditional norms pertaining to financial disclosure protocols denied voters access to information relevant to his candidacy. His repeated refusal to provide federal income tax returns, accompanied by an unprecedented barrage of intentional lies, attests to the importance of that information being made public. Is there anything the citizens of Michigan can ... Read More >>

Parties Without Purpose

Spectator

By Stephen Tuttle | June 8, 2019

There was a time when political parties had a coherent philosophy. Or at least something we could describe in a sentence or two. And there were stark differences. Not so much anymore.   That philosophy is now identical for both the Republican and Democratic parties: Maintain self-protection above all else, and prioritize dollar signs instead of ideas or issues. Both parties are just special-interest fundraising machines. We can occasionally get a glimpse ... Read More >>

What Putin Wants

Guest Opinion

By Jack Segal | June 8, 2019

The 22-month investigation of Russian meddling into the 2016 election has wrapped up with indictments against multiple Russian officials, a Russian “troll farm,” two shell companies, 13 Russian civilians, and 12 Russian military intelligence officers. The Russian attacks included hiring Internet hackers in third-world countries to carry out phishing attacks. They succeeded in stealing files from the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign, then worked with WikiLeaks to distribute information that ... Read More >>

Local Trouble, Local Progress

Spectator

By Stephen Tuttle | June 1, 2019

Let's catch up with some local news.     104th District Sate Representative Larry Inman has been indicted by the feds. He's accused of soliciting a bribe, attempted extortion, and lying to FBI investigators, serious charges.  All the evidence we've seen, so far, involves some email communications between Inman and union leaders regarding legislation to repeal Michigan's prevailing wage law.  The unions wanted to keep the law in place. The Inman emails read as ... Read More >>

Parents, Get a Life!

Guest Opinion

By Mary Keyes Rogers | June 1, 2019

I spoke with a woman whose 30-year-old children still drop off their dirty laundry to her each and every week. She doesn’t mind because she figures this is the only way she will get to see them. Are you kidding me? Just as teenagers go through a healthy and natural period of surly rebellion as they emotionally detach from their parents and become increasingly independent, so should parents! If not for the good ... Read More >>

Bruising Our Shins

Spectator

By Stephen Tuttle | May 25, 2019

Let's see how that trade war thing is going.  Our Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says there is not yet evidence of any increased economic gain as a result of the tariffs we've imposed, and it appears the number of jobs gained and lost are about the same. Several companies, including Walmart, Target, and Macy's, have already indicated the tariffs will likely force price increases on multiple items.  And our trade imbalance with ... Read More >>

Two-Track Economy

Guest Opinion

By Tom Gutowski | May 25, 2019

There’s no denying that by traditional measures, the economy is doing fine. As of this writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is well over 25,000, unemployment remains very low, wages have begun rising, estimated GDP growth in the first quarter was 3.2% (though it’s expected to be revised slightly downward), neither inflation nor deflation are a problem, and personal bankruptcy filings are low. What’s not to love? Plenty. Forty million Americans, including one ... Read More >>

Food Lunacy

Spectator

By Stephen Tuttle | May 18, 2019

Some extreme vegans would like us to avoid California almonds and avocados. Not because they've been tainted by pesticides or other chemicals, and not because they've been adulterated with non-vegan food products.  No, it's because the bees that pollinate most of those crops are brought in by truck from other states thereby stressing them unduly. They believe native bees should do the pollinating. If only.   There are about 4,000 species of bees ... Read More >>