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.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) introduced legislation today to bar political parties from challenging the eligibility of voters whose homes have been foreclosed.
Kucinich, who ran losing presidential bids in 2004 and 2008 and faced a stiff primary challenge earlier this year, drafted the legislation following a report in the Michigan Messenger that a Macomb County Republican Party official said he planned to gather lists of foreclosed homeowners to challenge their eligibility.
The Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee have since filed a lawsuit in federal court over the reported plans.
The tactic is a version of a practice known as “caging,” which allows political opponents to identify voters who might not meet the proper residency requirements. Democrats and voting-rights activists argue that victims of foreclosure may still live in their homes, and that the tactic disproportionately affects poor and African-American voters. Republicans argue that the practice preserves the integrity of the ballot.
Kucinich’s bill is unlikely to get a hearing or consideration on the House floor, as Congress races to pass a $700 billion rescue package for Wall Street banks before recessing until after the election.
Jonathan E. Kaplan is Washington correspondent for the Center for Independent Media’s network of online news sites.
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