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.
The first legal challenge to the historic health care reform bill passed earlier this year to be heard in court is not the one filed by Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox and more than a dozen other state AGs, it’s one filed by the Ann Arbor-based Thomas More Law Center on behalf of several Michigan residents who object to the law.
The U.S. District Court in Detroit heard oral argument Wednesday on a motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent that bill from taking effect while the lawsuit is pending. The plaintiffs made their argument:
“There is no precedent for this power grab,” Robert Muise, an attorney with the Thomas More Law Center, said in arguing for an injunction blocking the $940 billion program.
Muise told U.S. District Judge George C. Steeh that Congress can regulate economic activity, but a decision to not purchase health insurance is non-activity and beyond the scope of government regulation.
“Congress has authority to do any number of things to improve health care,” Muise said. “But the Constitution limits Congress to what it can impose on individuals. We are here because the Congress violated the U.S. Constitution by forcing individuals to engage in a commercial activity.”
But as the DOJ attorney representing the government told the court, such a requirement is not unusual at all. States, including Michigan, routinely require the purchase of auto insurance in order to own a car. Those who live in flood plains are also required to purchase flood insurance.
I would be shocked — very shocked — if the judge grants such an injunction in this case.
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