Op-Ed Columns
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- George Weeks: Agema out of step
- Will: Take a swing at this trivia
- Lessenberry: A question state voters should ask
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George Weeks: Media chatter as Snyder tackles Detroit woes
During World War II, Detroit was widely known as America's Arsenal of Democracy. Now it's increasingly known as a national arena of agony. Moan-town. As the Wall Street Journal aptly said of Gov. Rick Snyder's decision to appoint an emergency manager
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Jack Lessenberry: Court pick process panned
Gov. Rick Snyder made two major decisions last week, one of which got a vast amount of attention and another which drew little notice -- but should have gotten more. The one that got all the headlines, of course, was his announcement March 1 that Det
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George Weeks: Republicans praise Democrat Levin
In the wake of his announcement not to seek a seventh term in 2014, prominent Republicans joined Democrats in praising Carl Levin for his service as Michigan's longest-serving U.S. senator in history. Not to rain on that parade of praise, but it also
Continued ... - Sunday, February 17, 2013
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Fee, tax increases vital to fix state roads
Do Michigan's lawmakers have the will to vote for some painful spending that is absolutely necessary if the state has any prayer of being economically competitive in years to come?
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Northern dynamics in Dem chief race
Of the 32 men and women who have chaired Michigan's two major parties since World War II, not one has been from northern Michigan. No Republican chair has been from north of the Grand Rapids area; no Democrat from north of the Flint area.
Continued ... - Thursday, February 14, 2013
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Phil Power: Distinction between teaching, giving
Gov. Rick Snyder unveiled his proposed state budget for the next two years Feb. 7. If there is a core idea in his $50.9 billion budget message, it's the distinction between investments (teaching people how to fish) and expenditures (giving people a fish.)
Continued ... - Sunday, February 10, 2013
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Lessenberry: Detroit continues its self-destructive path
To anyone not steeped in the long, dreary and self-destructive history of racial identity politics in Detroit, it is hard to see their city council's move last week to reject the state's offer to fix up Belle Isle and run it as a state park as other than sheer insanity.
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Weeks: Some applaud Gov. Snyder, but not Brewer
Those who cherish Outdoor Michigan — including the impact of the Great Lakes on the state's economy and recreation — found much to applaud in Gov. Rick Snyder's budget message last week.
Continued ... - Sunday, February 3, 2013
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Lessenberry: The future of the fairgrounds
Back in 1849, when Zachary Taylor was president and Michigan had been a state for barely a dozen years, the state's farmers and merchants held the first state fair in Detroit. The fair moved around for a while, till 1905, when Joseph L. Hudson, founder of the state's iconic department store chain, bought some land on Woodward Avenue, near the city's northern border.
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George Weeks: Michigan's high-profile players on Capitol Hill
As Chairman Carl Levin presided last week over the contentious Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on confirmation of ex-Sen. Chuck Hagel to be the next U.S. Defense Secretary, I was struck by how much Michigan's congressional delegation is now on the front lines of major foreign and domestic issues facing the nation.
Continued ... - Sunday, January 27, 2013
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Jack Lessenberry: GOP trying to alter the electoral landscape
Twelve years ago, the nation was bitterly divided over a presidential election that in the end was decided by what many called an outrageously partisan U.S. Supreme Court.
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George Weeks: Political rivals have common cause on vets
In 2010, Upper Peninsula surgeon Dan Benishek and longtime state lawmaker Jason Allen of Traverse City had a fierce battle for the Republican nomination for the 1st Congressional District seat being vacated by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee. Benishek won by just 15 votes out of nearly 99,000 cast.
Continued ... - Thursday, January 24, 2013
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Phil Power: Taxpayers value good education
News flash: Michigan residents want better schools, expanded early childhood programs, more support and more accountability for teachers. And they're willing to pay more to get them.
Continued ... - Thursday, January 17, 2013
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Phil Power: 'Culture of dark money'
It's rare for a governor to have the power in his own hands to remedy a problem that's been embarrassing his state since the present state constitution was adopted half a century ago.
Continued ... - Sunday, January 13, 2013
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Good sense needed in picking a new supreme court justice
The Hathaway mess has brought new disgrace to a court which a 2008 University of Chicago study found to be the most politicized and least respected state supreme court in the nation.
Continued ... - Sunday, January 6, 2013
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Lessenberry: An 'outstate' view of Detroit
Over the holidays, a retired couple who had a home next to where we were staying had us over for a little holiday cheer in this small northern Michigan town.
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George Weeks: Granholm to end TV 'very fun adventure'
Ex-Gov. Jennifer Granholm has been one of the most visible personalities on Current TV, the low-visibility cable network co-founded by former vice president Al Gore that has been bought for a reported $500 million by the Pan-Arab news channel Al-Jazeera backed by the government of Qatar.
Continued ... - Thursday, January 3, 2013
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Phil Power: Boundaries feed partisanship
Most people agree that our politics and government today are too often severely dysfunctional. And there's one big reason why:
Continued ... - Sunday, December 30, 2012
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George Weeks: A notable book for a notable governor
Stevens T. Mason, who led Michigan to statehood as our first governor, achieved young and died young in the 19th century but in the 21st remains a compelling story for those who follow and pursue politics, with all of its highs and lows.
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Jack Lessenberry: Crystal ball couldn't have predicted weirdness
Imagine if my crystal ball had predicted a year ago that native son Mitt Romney would win the GOP nomination easily — but lose to President Obama in an electoral college landslide. In Michigan, the result would be even more one-sided than nationally, with the president even beating Romney in the affluent county where the former governor's son grew up.
Continued ... - Sunday, December 23, 2012
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George Weeks: Latest snapshots not flattering to Gov. Snyder
At the outset of this commentary on a negative poll about Gov. Rick Snyder, I emphasize that political polls are but snapshots in time and, as ex-Gov. Jim Blanchard was fond of saying, "like yo-yos."
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Jack Lessenberry: The colonel lays it all out
Col. Colin Chauret was a fighter pilot who served his country in three wars — World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He grew up in Bay City, where he spent his high school years daydreaming about being a Spitfire pilot in the Battle of Britain.
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