“War on Whistleblowers” exposes the government assault on free speech
By Dave Palmer BraveNew Foundation, creators of such documentaries as Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price and Iraq for Sale has released “War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State.” The film is focused on exposing how our government deals with employees and contractors who discover and report potentially catastrophic information regarding government [...]
Need a vacation? Just work overtime!
By Dave Palmer According to an article in the Huffington Post , the GOP-led House of Representatives is working on a bill that would allow employees to choose to take compensatory time in lieu of overtime. The idea is to allow workers to work overtime (each hour counting as an hour and a half of comp time) [...]
USDA: Faster lines and less inspectors equals cleaner food.
By Dave Palmer The Obama administration is at it again, letting down progressives that believed in his message of change and moving forward while putting smiles on the faces of the corporate profiteers. According to a Mother Jones article, a new budget for the USDA released on April 10 proposes allowing chicken and turkey slaughterhouses [...]
U.S. Senators show public opinion means nothing to them
By Dave Palmer Another day, another filibuster. Increasingly, this seems to be the mantra that is chanted silently in the heads of Senate Republicans. Once again, a filibuster-proof vote was required in a bipartisan agreement regarding the latest gun control bill to hit the Senate floor. Once again, votes fell largely on partisan lines, with [...]
For the Voyeur: Shopping Addiction 3/31/13
By Alexis Simpson What are you? Some kind of flippin’ weirdo that likes to spy on other’s weird habits? OK, fine. If you’re that bored, feel free to check out what I bought this week. 1. Free People Good Morning Sunshine Dress 2. Free People With a Light Heart Dress 3. Daisy Lace Dress
A case to overturn DOMA and California’s Prop 8
By Dave Palmer The Supreme Court seems to be recanting on their decision to hear oral arguments in what portends to be a landmark decision in the field of marriage equality, taking on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman for federal purposes, and [...]
Slightly Stoopid @ St. Andrew’s Hall 3/10/13 (Photos and Review)
By Jacob Giampa I first saw Slightly Stoopid last year when they played with 311, and I was hooked on them right away. They are now headlining their own tour. During their Detroit show, kids kept getting busted for smoking weed and the fans were throwing joints on stage for the band as well. Many positive vibes were [...]
Congress gets vacation while we get sequestration
By Dave Palmer Normally, when someone returns from a two week vacation, they set about getting immediately back to work. Projects are resumed, presentations turned in, and meetings attended. Of course, our Congress is far from normal when it comes to returning to work. After a rousing four days back on the job, both the [...]
Sara’s Dating Profile of the Week
By Sara Online dating sites are a trip. If you are interested in this guy’s genitalia, please inquire within and we will hook it up. Excerpt from his profile: Sex is the reason we were created. You might as well start practicing. I have a functional pair of genitals. I seek a female with a [...]
Schools as social service hubs: Worst idea ever (Society’s Slideshow)
By Dave Palmer According to an article in the January 24 edition of the Detroit Free Press, schools may soon be required to function as hubs for other social services through the Department of Human Services’ Pathway to Potential program. Duane Berger, chief deputy director of the Michigan Department of Human Services stated in the [...]
WTF? Would you Go to a Toilet Restaurant?
There is a toilet-themed restaurant based in Taiwan with several other locations throughout Asia. Owner Wang Zi-Wei says that his inspiration for “Modern Toilet” came from a Japanese cartoon Dr. Stump who loved to “play with poop and swirl it on a stick.” Customers dine on acrylic toilets prettily decorated with designs like roses and [...]
Dear Idiots…An open letter to Congress: Stop the Education Cuts! (Society’s Slideshow)
Dear Idiots, As a constituent and an educator, I want to express my deep concern about the “sequestration” cuts delayed for two months under the American Taxpayer Relief Act. The sequestration cuts propose to cut $3 billion from education in 2013 alone. Education and other programs serving, children, working families, seniors, and other vulnerable populations already [...]
DAY 2: Detroit International North American Auto Show 2013 (Photos & Review By Alexis)
By Alexis Simpson Today was an exciting day because two of my auto show photos were featured in a Wall Street Journal Gallery! Hopefully a few more will get published. Jacob Giampa also shot Wednesday night with me. We noticed that there was less free booze, but more models and cars. Guys, if you’re looking [...]
Detroit North American International Auto Show 2013 NAIAS (Review & Photos by Alexis)
By Alexis Simpson This year we decided to cover the North American International Auto Show in order to scope out the shiny new cars. It was exciting to see all the international press scurrying about and speaking in their native tongues. Volkswagen had the most dynamic setup with drinks aplenty, pulsing electronic music, and lovely [...]
AIG Shareholders: Thank You, America, We’ll See You in Court (Society’s Slideshow)
By Dave Palmer The 2008 mortgage bubble burst resulted in many banks failing. However, some of the banks, including AIG, were deemed “too big to fail”, and were therefore given part of a massive $800 billion bailout from the government. AIG received a $182 billion share of the bailout. Promptly thereafter, AIG paid six and [...]
A New Year’s Resolution for Congress: Pay America’s Bills! (Society’s Slideshow)
By Dave Palmer The 113th Congress is duly sworn in, and once again House and Senate Republicans are up to their old tricks. So far, they’ve managed to find time to vote on whether or not they deserve a pay raise, schedule a vote on repealing the Affordable Care Act for the 33rd time, and turn [...]
Guns in school, an atrocious policy (Society’s Slideshow)
By Dave Palmer Michigan Legislature is once again demonstrating incredible lack of judgement and perhaps intelligence as they passed legislation that according to MLive would allow concealed weapons carriers to bring guns into places formerly forbidden. These terribly dangerous places where apparently no one is safe include stadiums, schools, and places of worship. The law [...]
Right to Work successful at dividing labor (Society’s Slideshow)
By Dave Palmer Yesterday was a dark day for the labor movement as Governor Rick Snyder recanted on yet another promise to not pass legislation he claimed was not on his agenda as governor by signing the Right to Work bill. Union members from all corners of the state swarmed Lansing to support and protest [...]
Senator Mitch McConnell filibusters his own bill (Society’s Slideshow)
By Dave Palmer According to an article on Huffington Post yesterday, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will go down in Senate history as being the first member of that body to have ever filibustered his own proposal. Senator McConnell made a motion to vote on legislation that would let the president extend the country’s borrowing limit on [...]
Stop the “Parent Trigger” Law (Society’s Slideshow)
By Dave Palmer It is with great dismay that I am writing again regarding proposed reforms to the Michigan Public Education System so soon after my latest diatribe regarding HB 6004 and SB 1358. Now, the Senate is taking up Senate Bill 620, also referred to as the “Parent Trigger Law.” Specifically, the bill gives certain [...]
Forty Art Wonders at The Chicago Institute of Art
By Alexis Simpson Last weekend we breezed through The Chicago Institute of Art and were in awe of the artwork. It is quite powerful to see a particular piece of art in person after seeing it a zillion times in photos. We compiled a list of some of our pieces. ACROBATS AT THE CIRQUE FERNANDO [...]
Lansing seeks to expand EAA authority beyond failing schools (Society’s Slideshow)
By Dave Palmer Michigan Legislature is accelerating the process by which it dismantles public schools and hands them over to private entities, and it’s doing it through the Educational Achievement Authority. The EAA was originally designed by Michigan Legislature to take over the bottom 5% of schools and school districts (labeled Persistently Low Achieving, or [...]
