Opinion

Inman Must Step Down

By John DeSpelder | Aug. 17, 2019

A lot has been said about the charges that the United States of America has made against State Representative Larry Inman. Charges of fraud, extortion, and lying to the FBI. There have been calls for Mr. Inman to step down from his seat representing Michigan’s 104thDistrict, which is all of Grand Traverse County. These calls have come not only from the public and the Democratic opposition but also from Mr. Inman’s own ... Read More >>

Shadow Grasping

Spectator

By Stephen Tuttle | Aug. 17, 2019

The quadrennial invasion of presidential candidates is now fully upon Iowa. It's the Democrats this year, nearly two dozen strong, and all of them in a hurry; there is much to do.  The Iowa caucuses, frighteningly, are less than six months away. And no Democratic candidate has ever been nominated after finishing worse than third in Iowa.   There are mandatory campaign stops; county fairs, picnics, barbecues, farms, diners and backyard cookouts. The ... Read More >>

40 Every Day

Spectator

By Stephen Tuttle | Aug. 10, 2019

One headline said the nation was “shocked”; another, we were “stunned.” If true, why? Mass shootings have happened for so long and with such regularity we shouldn't even be mildly surprised. Another week, another massacre.   It has happened at a grade school, middle school, high schools, community colleges, and universities. In churches, synagogues, and mosques. In warehouses, office buildings, and government buildings. In nightclubs, bars, and at sidewalk cafes. At malls and ... Read More >>

Is Socialism Compromising American Economics?

Guest Opinion

By David Frederick | Aug. 10, 2019

A good first step in developing an answer to this question is to define socialism. Surprisingly, that is more difficult than would be expected. A quick internet search will display a dozen or more definitions. The problem is they conflict with each other. Wikipedia deals with this by concluding that the word socialism gets bantered around so much that it has, for all practical purposes, lost meaning.   The issue is further muddied ... Read More >>

Time Growing Shorter

Spectator

By Stephen Tuttle | Aug. 3, 2019

Some cities and states have accepted, and are responding to, climate change realities, while the federal government continues to ignore them. Or worse.  Traverse City is making a significant commitment to solar power. Berkeley, California, is moving away from natural gas, prohibiting its use in new commercial buildings and multi-unit housing developments. Other cities are following similar paths.  The federal government is heading in the opposite direction, and that's a problem.  A new ... Read More >>

Of Dollars, Dregs, and Decks

Spectator

By Stephen Tuttle | July 27, 2019

Lake Ann, Maple City, and Empire have each recently rejected efforts to purchase land by a company associated with Dollar General stores. Fair enough; communities have the right to establish their own zoning and exercise control over their future.  It's the snobbishness of the opposition, accompanied by a demonization of dollar stores, that troubles. These stores aren't portals to Hell. Dollar stores — Dollar General and Dollar Tree are the two main players — ... Read More >>

A Case for Patriotism

Guest Column

By Mary Keyes Rogers | July 27, 2019

Well, that was unexpected. On the Fourth of July, my husband’s USA cap and my American flag shirt evoked dirty looks and obscene words about our current president as we walked in downtown Traverse City.  “Are they talking to us?” Honestly, it took us a moment to figure out why these people were reacting so terribly to us. The obscene comments came from teenagers who had taken the mental leap, misidentifying patriotic citizens as ... Read More >>

Safe, Legal, and Timely

Guest Opinion

By Tom Gutowski | July 20, 2019

Despite current divisiveness on the abortion issue, most Americans are somewhere in the middle: They think abortion should be legal but would like there to be less of it, especially after the first trimester. That’s actually been the trend for a while now. Abortion rates are at their lowest level since Roe v Wade.Teenage pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates have all been dropping since the 1990s. Today, 91 percent of abortions occur ... Read More >>

Leadership Lost

Spectator

By Stephen Tuttle | July 20, 2019

This isn't your grandfather's Republican Party or Robert Griffin's or William Milliken's, or Ronald Reagan's. It is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Donald Trump.   That's a shame, because Republicans are now part and parcel of his fear-mongering, race-baiting ignorance. They fear his tweets and look the other way at his lies and outrageous assaults on people and propriety. We have to assume they agree with him.   The argument for ignoring his ... Read More >>

Reason for Hope

Guest Opinion

By Cathye Williams | July 13, 2019

Since joining Citizens Climate Lobby 6 years ago, I’ve sometimes felt like I’m on autopilot. My concern about the climate crisis and my activism have changed little. Thus I found myself taken aback recently when a new volunteer asked a sincere and troubling question — whether I thought “there’s still reason to hope for a livable future for the youngest generation?” She spoke of being held back by “near-crippling anxiety,” of “extremely ... Read More >>