Opinion

New Districts, Same Players

Spectator

By Stephen Tuttle | 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 could reconfigure district lines in a way that guaranteed them a partisan advantage for at least the next decade. The complaining and lawsuits followed soon thereafter.  Now, some 21 states have ... Read More >>

What Will it Take?

By Cathye Williams | Jan. 22, 2022

  If you’ve seen the recently released Netflix comedy “Don’t Look Up,” you might be asking the above question. For those who haven’t seen it, the film is a none-too-subtle satire about a scientist’s discovery of a comet that's on a direct collision course with Earth. The sadly hilarious reactions of most characters — politicians, military types, corporate types, media, scientists, and everyday folks — run the gamut: shock, despair, denial, greed, ... Read More >>

Who's Next?

Spectator

By Stephen Tuttle | 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 fear of a second loss having discouraged the latter.  So, who's next, and from whence will they emerge? We've had senators, governors, ... Read More >>

A Letter from 2050

Spectator

By Stephen Tuttle | 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 in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) could lead to surface temperature increases. In 1938, an English engineer named Guy Callendar ... Read More >>

Michigan Farmers Deserve Fairness

Guest Opinion

By Bob Thompson | Jan. 8, 2022

When you walk into your local grocery store, the rows are filled with thousands of food items to choose from, but this choice is all an illusion. Just four companies own 75 percent of the brands that line grocery store shelves. And because the food industry has been so heavily consolidated, these multinational food corporations are able to unfairly set prices for what we eat so that they can rake in profits ... Read More >>

A Danger to Themselves and Others

Spectator

By Stephen Tuttle | 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 million cases of the bug and is approaching 820,000 deaths. It was the third leading cause of death, behind only heart disease and cancer, in 2020 ... Read More >>

All Votes, All Voices

Guest Opinion

By Nancy Flanagan | Jan. 1, 2022

I am a retired teacher. The last year I taught, the fourth graders in my school held a mock presidential election the day before the real election. I have a photograph of myself presenting my personal voter registration card, beat up from being carried in my wallet for decades, to a cluster of nine-year-olds from different classes. They looked at the card as if it were the Rosetta Stone, the key to ... Read More >>

49 Years, 2 Months, 4 Days ... and Counting

Guest Opinion

By Gary Howe | Dec. 18, 2021

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year — we're all going to die. Someday. I hope you find comfort and inspiration in this finite fact.  At least, that's the motivation behind Tom Urban's Life Calendar. The writer and illustrator introduced the tool in 2014 on his website, Wait But Why. I came across it shortly thereafter and built my own Life Calendar in a Google Sheet. So, now, when I'm in a reflective ... Read More >>

It’s the planet, stupid!

Guest Opinion

By Barbara Stamiris | Dec. 11, 2021

Under 50? “It’s the economy, Stupid!” was Clinton’s campaign mantra. In 2021, “It’s the planet, Stupid!”  Today, young climate activists carry signs lamenting “There is no planet B!” As climate disasters fill the nightly news, frustration grows. A livable planet tomorrow requires action today. At the COP26 Climate Summit, world leaders made strong statements and commitments, but actions are what count.  Prime Minister Trudeau said, “Climate action can’t wait,” but he acted for ... Read More >>

Second Thoughts

Spectator

By Stephen Tuttle | 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 weapon almost anywhere, at any time, without the bothersome necessity of a permit. It would eliminate the need to even apply for such a permit, essentially ending concealed weapon regulations ... Read More >>