I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
U.S. Sen. Carl Levin’s long-shot Republican challenger failed to meet deadline, FEC says
Jack Hoogendyk, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senator, has been cited by the Federal Election Commission for failing to file his finance report by the July 24 deadline. The FEC published Hoogendyk’s name Friday after it said it had not received the candidate’s finance report, even after having warned him earlier in the week to file it by Thursday. Hoogendyk’s campaign has told the Associated Press it sent the report on Tuesday. The report covered finances into the second week of July and is intended to give voters a chance to know who is funding a candidate before a primary vote.
Hoogendyk is a far right wing, limited government candidate. His term in the state House has been peppered with such uncommon antics as testifying on behalf of the American Family Association of Michigan. During the hearing he read a letter in opposition to Matt’s Safe Schools Law which would mandate that every school in the state pass a bullying policy with clear ways to address bullying. The bill would also force teachers and administrators to intervene in bullying, or they could be held liable for failing to act.
A month later, on March 28, 2007, when the House passed the bill, Hoogendyk spoke against it again, calling it a “Trojan horse.”
Here’s what I wrote about Hoogendyk’s actions in Between the Lines back then:
State Rep. Jacob Jack Hoogendyk (R-Kalamazoo), who turned heads a month ago by testifying for Gary Glenn of the American Family Association of Michigan before the House Education Committee, opposed the bill, calling the inclusion of the model policy as a “trojan horse.”
“Let’s not hide a Trojan horse,” he told the House, “by passing a bill with certain kinds of protected classes never before mentioned in Michigan law.”
He went on to call the bill a special interest bill, brought forth by gay rights advocates.
Hoogendyk’s candidacy against five-term U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Detroit) is considered a long shot bid by most poll watchers. And the money trail seems to show it as well. Levin had about $4 million in his war chest as of mid-July, and Hoogendyk had $41,000 going into July.
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