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The Michigan Messenger going forward

By Staff Report | 11.16.11

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 [...]

Colorado-based abstinence program provided false and misleading information to Michigan students

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By Todd A. Heywood | 11.16.11

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.

Class action lawsuit filed against MERS over unpaid taxes

foreclosure
By Todd A. Heywood | 11.15.11

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.

Schuette fights important mercury regulations

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By Eartha Jane Melzer | 11.14.11

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.

Michigan does not advance in Race to the Top funding

By Todd A. Heywood | 03.04.10 | 3:18 pm

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan released a video announcing the 16 finalists in the Race to the Top funding battle Thursday morning, and despite a flurry of legislative action to change state law in order to revamp Michigan’s education system, Michigan did not make the cut.

The finalists were Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Duncan said a final determination would be made by the first week in April as to which states would get the cash.

Michigan had been vying for an estimated $400 million in additional federal funding under the program. It could still apply in the second round for funds.

But here’s the deal on the RTTT questions. Duncan said the Department of Education would have a hard time funding states that cut education funding.

“Did those cuts help students in the classroom, or did they benefit adults?” Duncan said would be a major evaluation tool in this process.

Many would argue that Michigan’s K-12 foundation allowance grant cuts were done for political expediency, not to help students in the classroom. The question then becomes, if the Democratic-led House passed legislation which restores $184 million in funding to the K-12 budget is approved by the GOP-dominated Senate and signed into law, will that be enough to alleviate concerns from the feds about how Michigan funds its schools. The answer is unclear.

But there is another issue involved here. Duncan is a staunch supporter of anti-bullying laws to protect students. Of the 16 finalists, BullyPolice USA reports, all have comprehensive anti-bullying laws on the books.

Michigan does not have such a law, and in fact lawmakers and advocates tried in vein to bring the issue up during the debates on the RTTT reforms.

There is a second round of funding applications due in June. Will Michigan’s continuing budget woes and the Republican-led Senate’s reluctance to move on anti-bullying legislation cost the state federal cash in that round? Time will tell.

Comments

  • Queneau

    Dear Representative Bart Stupak,

    I heard your interview with NPR this evening and read about your stance in the New York Times. I cannot believe how selfish you are. You have every right, in fact an obligation, to hold an opinion on abortion. But you cannot impose it on others! We all understand that this issue is very principled, even ethical. You are against abortion, OK. But you have to admit that the country is split on the issue! No one wants any one to have an abortion; I am married and have a 22 year old daughter. I understand the difficulty of making such a CHOICE; there is no deeper conflict or pain.

    But to not act like a good Democrat and get on this Health care band wagon as you should is the meaning of selfishness. In life, as the Greek tragedies and classical French theater show, there must be priorities and sometimes you have to die to protect nation or family. Your job now is put your Nation first, to help us on the level of our HEALTH and our economy. How you can believe that your position on abortion, your private ethical stance, comes before your Nation, is the meaning of an Achilles Heal, a tragic error, an inability to prioritize.

    When you make your list of what is really important tell me, sir, that your moral stance is more important than the HEALTH and economy of our great Nation. You will make such a tragic error either because you are incapable of making a principled judgment, or because your are a politician, in the worst sense of the word. You can lead here, get beyond yourself, and make this happen, change this Nation for the better and break gridlock. Or you can be blinded by your own self-importance.

  • Queneau

    Dear Representative Bart Stupak,

    I heard your interview with NPR this evening and read about your stance in the New York Times. I cannot believe how selfish you are. You have every right, in fact an obligation, to hold an opinion on abortion. But you cannot impose it on others! We all understand that this issue is very principled, even ethical. You are against abortion, OK. But you have to admit that the country is split on the issue! No one wants any one to have an abortion; I am married and have a 22 year old daughter. I understand the difficulty of making such a CHOICE; there is no deeper conflict or pain.

    But to not act like a good Democrat and get on this Health care band wagon as you should is the meaning of selfishness. In life, as the Greek tragedies and classical French theater show, there must be priorities and sometimes you have to die to protect nation or family. Your job now is put your Nation first, to help us on the level of our HEALTH and our economy. How you can believe that your position on abortion, your private ethical stance, comes before your Nation, is the meaning of an Achilles Heal, a tragic error, an inability to prioritize.

    When you make your list of what is really important tell me, sir, that your moral stance is more important than the HEALTH and economy of our great Nation. You will make such a tragic error either because you are incapable of making a principled judgment, or because your are a politician, in the worst sense of the word. You can lead here, get beyond yourself, and make this happen, change this Nation for the better and break gridlock. Or you can be blinded by your own self-importance.

  • Queneau

    Dear Representative Bart Stupak,

    I heard your interview with NPR this evening and read about your stance in the New York Times. I cannot believe how selfish you are. You have every right, in fact an obligation, to hold an opinion on abortion. But you cannot impose it on others! We all understand that this issue is very principled, even ethical. You are against abortion, OK. But you have to admit that the country is split on the issue! No one wants any one to have an abortion; I am married and have a 22 year old daughter. I understand the difficulty of making such a CHOICE; there is no deeper conflict or pain.

    But to not act like a good Democrat and get on this Health care band wagon as you should is the meaning of selfishness. In life, as the Greek tragedies and classical French theater show, there must be priorities and sometimes you have to die to protect nation or family. Your job now is put your Nation first, to help us on the level of our HEALTH and our economy. How you can believe that your position on abortion, your private ethical stance, comes before your Nation, is the meaning of an Achilles Heal, a tragic error, an inability to prioritize.

    When you make your list of what is really important tell me, sir, that your moral stance is more important than the HEALTH and economy of our great Nation. You will make such a tragic error either because you are incapable of making a principled judgment, or because your are a politician, in the worst sense of the word. You can lead here, get beyond yourself, and make this happen, change this Nation for the better and break gridlock. Or you can be blinded by your own self-importance.

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