Opinion
Imagine Equality
Guest Column
By Isiah Smith | Jan. 18, 2020
Economic equality is a good, if essentially elusive, goal. It has become fashionable in some political circles to blame capitalism for Americans’ economic inequality. But are we to believe equality can only be achieved if capitalism dies? Can we have capitalism andeconomic equality?Those pitching their tents on the extreme left bank of the political landscape don’t think so. Blinded by the light of an idealistic glow and dismayed by the status quo, ... Read More >>
Still Searching
Spectator
By Kristi Kates | Jan. 18, 2020
We are now surrounded by the evidence. The most significant and consistent temperature increases in the last 2,000 years have occurred in just the last century. The 10 hottest years globally have all occurred since 2005, and the five hottest were the last five. That has led to more drought and more wildfires. More than 2.5 million acres burned in Alaska last year, California was on fire for most of the summer ... Read More >>
More War
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | Jan. 11, 2020
Another military entanglement in the Middle East without an obvious plan, purpose or exit strategy. We've been watching a similar movie that never ends. Neither Iran nor their terrorist proxies are likely to be subdued by our missiles and bombs . It's has one and half times the land area and, with nearly 83 million people, twice the population of its neighbors Iraq and Afghanistan combined. It is the 19th largest and ... Read More >>
A War on Women
Guest Opinion
By Amy Kerr Hardin | Jan. 11, 2020
On occasion I drive by the local Planned Parenthood office and observe silent protestors, in prayer vigil, holding signs condemning abortion. I like to imagine that these dedicated souls also spend endless hours in service to children in need — tirelessly fostering and advocating. They surely must be fighting Trump’s family separation policy and the caging of babies. They must be passionate about helping the one in five Michigan children living in ... Read More >>
Three Cheers to Ring in the New Year
Guest Opinion
By Gary Howe | Jan. 4, 2020
Indelible in the hippocampus was the media onslaught of 2019. Everything was everywhere all the time. Federal hearings were all-consuming. Impeachment was (is) exhausting. Climate change is still dreadful. Traffic deaths, shootings, global cities and forests on fire … . Without the cute animal videos in my Twitter feed, I might have already snapped. I exaggerate, of course. It's not all bad. To supplement videos of dogs saving the world and pandas sneezing, ... Read More >>
More of the Same in 2020
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | Jan. 4, 2020
Despite what seemed like a busy year politically, not much actually changed in 2019. We're likely to get more of the same in 2020, making some predictions easy. Locally, we already know Traverse City's Downtown Development Authority (DDA) wants to extend their TIF 97 tax capture from 2027 to 2040. They have a long list of major projects needing major money, which requires a major extension. The city outside of DDA territory, ... Read More >>
The Cruelty is the Point
Guest Opinion
By Amy Kerr Hardin | Dec. 21, 2019
Several years ago, Michigan’s Republican lawmakers tried a little experiment. They launched a pilot program in three counties to get an idea of how many public assistance recipients were also drug users. They didn’t nab a single soul. Turns out, the working poor, often laboring at two or three jobs just to keep the lights on, don’t have illicit drug money on hand. Republicans literally “pissed-away” taxpayer dollars on their folly. Conservatives harbor ... Read More >>
Choosing Good Will
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | Dec. 21, 2019
Another year without peace on earth or good will toward anyone. Pretty much the same as last year, and the year before that, and before that. We still have wars percolating away in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Pakistan, Ukraine, South Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, and Mali. Not to mention the drug wars in Mexico and various skirmishes in another dozen or so countries. The consequence of all this fighting falls heavily on ... Read More >>
Is It a Fifth-Column Assault?
Guest Opinion
By David Frederick | Dec. 14, 2019
David McCullough’s 2001 biography of the second president of the United States, “John Adams,” provides a masterful description of the political processes leading up to and running throughout the Revolutionary War period. His work provides readers with an appreciation of the challenges faced by the colonial leaders as their focus transitioned from surviving the war to building a nation. John Adams, one of the political architects working to define the form that ... Read More >>
Human Error
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | Dec. 14, 2019
Despite the advances made over the millennia, we humans continue to insist on maiming and killing ourselves, or others, in ever more inventive ways and with ever more poor decision-making. Our cell phones are the latest culprit. The National Safety Council reports more than 3,000 traffic deaths last year were directly related to cell phone use. Surprisingly, texting while driving accounted for only about nine percent of the total. The rest resulted ... Read More >>
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