On Thursday, the Michigan Nurses Association – Michigan’s largest union for registered nurses – endorsed Proposal 2, the ballot proposal that would lift Michigan’s state ban on embryonic stem cell research. This is exceptionally good news, as it continues to prove that medical professionals all over Michigan are lining up in favor of embryonic stem cell research.

“Prop 2 would allow Michigan scientists to pursue the most promising medical research today ¬– embryonic stem cell research – which could end the suffering of people with diseases such as Parkinson’s, heart disease, juvenile diabetes, Alzheimer’s, spinal cord injuries and more,” said Thomas Bissonette, representative of the MNA and a nurse on the front line, at the press conference in which the MNA endorsed Prop 2. “Few people understand better than nurses and doctors what their patients must endure … and what might help them.”

Predictably, the most vocal opponents of Prop 2, the Michigan Citizens Against Unrestricted Scientific Experimentation group (MiCAUSE), have begun to lash out in any and all ways possible. First it was the tremendous lie about Prop 2 raising our taxes (it doesn’t), and now it’s the TV ad featuring the flashing logos of phony corporations like Cloneway and HumanHarvest being used to scare voters into going their way.

As the nurses at the press conference pointed out, everybody knows somebody who could benefit from stem cell research. We all have a brother, a cousin, an aunt, a parent, or a friend who has suffered from a terrible and debilitating disease, and have all endured the anguishing of watching that loved one waste away, powerless at the hands of Michigan’s archaic ban to stop it.

The merits and benefits of Prop 2 far outweigh the negatives; if there even are any negatives. It will lift Michigan’s decades-old ban on embryonic stem cell research and allow the members of our scientific community to begin developing cures and treatments for diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer, diabetes, and Crohn’s. It will allow us in the mitten state to do what they’ve been doing in over 40 other states all over America. It will bring in new and better industries and technologies to Michigan and inspire our fledgling economy to flourish, rather than continue to languish and waste away. Most importantly, it will open up doors for so many suffering from debilitating and degenerative diseases.

Rather than taking away life, as its opponents like to erroneously claim, Proposal 2 will help save it and reclaim it. The ballot language specifically mandates that research will be conducted on stem cells that are created at fertility clinics and would otherwise be thrown away in the garbage. Instead of tossing these stem cells out like bad milk, why not use them to develop cures and treatments for patients all over Michigan? Nurses and doctors all over the state are in agreement: voting “yes” on Proposal 2 is the right thing to do.

Remember the days when the only people who could vote were white males that owned property? We thought those days were long behind us, but apparently, John McCain and his Michigan crew feel otherwise.

Recently, Michigan Messenger uncovered a John McCain and Michigan Republican Party co-plot that seems to have come straight out of the 18th century playbook. In a phone interview with Michigan Messenger writer Eartha Jane Melzer, James Carabelli, chairman of the Macomb County GOP, revealed that the party has a list of foreclosed homes in Macomb County, and will be doing everything in its power to make sure that those voters are turned away from the polls.

As if it wasn’t enough for John McCain to take up residence with Trott and Trott – one of Michigan’s premier foreclosure law firms – and spend the past eight years supporting legislation that has brought about Michigan’s highest foreclosure rate in decades, but now he feels the need to keep these people from casting ballots, too. What do you do for an encore, Sen. McCain: demand that voters have a credit score of 825 in order to cast a ballot?

People, the time to speak up is now. Go to http://progressmichigan.org/nohomenovote and let John McCain know that this is unacceptable. Every American deserves the right to vote, whether they’re Republican, Democrat, or independent – it’s one of the most basic elements of what makes this country great. Some groups – women, minorities, lower classes – have fought and even died for the right to vote: a right that is supposed to be guaranteed, regardless of sex, race, and yes, even property ownership. Don’t let John McCain and the Michigan GOP or any other group or party undermine that Constitutional fact. Sign the petition today and spread the word!

On Monday, July 21st, a protest was held outside the Michigan campaign headquarters of Senator John McCain. This protest – with a heavy presence by members of ACORN – was launched in response to the financial connection between McCain and the law offices of Trott and Trott – a law firm that owns the building in which McCain’s HQ has taken up residence and has also carved out a reputation as one of the most brutal, cutthroat foreclosure practices in the state, as pointed out by Eric Baerren and Todd Heywood of the blogs Michigan Liberal and Michigan Messenger, respectively.

Given the fact that McCain’s camp has chosen to either pay rent to or receive generous “in-kind” contributions from a law firm that profits off of the suffering of so many Michiganders who have lost their homes, it’s perhaps not surprising that the McCain camp responded to the protest by pleading ignorance. A spokeswoman for the campaign stated that she was “unaware” of the protest outside: a statement which only served to further reiterate the image of the ostrich with its head firmly planted in the sand attitude that seems to be a defining mainstay of McCain’s approach to the issues.

Displaying this kind of obtuse “bunker” mentality demonstrates just how truly out of step McCain’s perception of the real world seems to be. From 2006 to the end of 2007, Southeast Michigan had seen its foreclosure rates jump a staggering 90%, and Michigan’s overall rate of home foreclosures pushed us into the third place slot in 2007, only trailing Nevada and Florida in terms of the highest number of state-wide foreclosure rates in the nation. By aligning with those who profit off the backs of others who have lost or are losing their homes, McCain is affecting an attitude much like the administration of George Bush before him – see what you want to see and ignore everything else.

The groups called on McCain to move his HQ and stand with the people of Michigan, not firms that profit from predatory lending. To date, McCain has failed to respond…surprised?

You, too, can tell McCain to move by going to: http://www.progressmichigan.org/mccain.

Minnesota had Jesse “The Body” Ventura, California has its “Governator” Schwarzenegger, and now Michigan can boast the dubious distinction of its own cleverly coined politician: Sen. “Smokestack” Patty Birkholz.

So what do we really know about Senator Birkholz? We know that she’s a Republican from Michigan’s 24th district; she’s a woman who seems to keep her nails trim and her hair neat. She has a simple, unremarkable sense of style. And from the looks of her recent role in the Senate’s energy bill, she’s a person whose insatiable appetite for fossil fuels should cast her out to live among wild mastodons, dressing in saber-tooth tiger skin fashions every day before saddling up Smoky, her pet triceratops, to ride to work on the Capitol. Yes, my friends, Patty Birkholz is hell-bent on keeping Michigan stuck in the Jurassic age, and her tendencies towards coal-ophilia seem to verify this monstrous truth.

Two weeks ago, when Sen. “Smokestack” Birkholz and her Big Coal Stooges in the Michigan Senate voted to keep Michigan locked in the dark ages of coal dependency, they simultaneously sent a signal to the rest of the world that we here in the mitten are not serious about moving forward with an investment in renewable energy and cutting-edge energy efficiency, or even about satisfying our state’s desperation for a diverse economy based on 21st century, good-paying jobs. In a completely boneheaded move, they even defined coal as “renewable,” putting it in the same category as real renewables like wind and solar power.

Michigan has reached an important crossroads, and we are all facing a real choice: we can either move our energy production and consumption into the future, or we can continue to cling to the past, relying on resources straight out of the Industrial Revolution to power our state. Come to think of it, coal has a lot of problems; way more than simply being old and unfashionable:

·         Investing in coal will create far fewer jobs than renewable energy will: in fact, Michigan stands to gain 46,000 new jobs if we choose to invest in renewable energy and efficiency

·         It will hurt jobs and the economy. States like Pennsylvania and Texas – even gun-toting, oil worshipping Texas – have done more to embrace renewable energy and seen thousands of jobs added to their state-wide employment rates. That’s thousands more than coal will create

·         Major banks like Chase, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley have backed out of financing coal projects, due to concerns over the inherent costs and risks involved

·         Not only is coal bad for jobs and bad for the economy, but it harms public health and contributes to global warming. Cardiovascular disease, asthma, chronic respiratory problems and premature deaths caused by air pollution from these plants cost Americans an estimated $160 billion every year in health-care expenses

·         Coal is a leading contributor to global warming. A typical coal-fired plant emits 3.7 million tons of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere annually

What’s more, a consistent reliance on coal-fire will send much of our hard-earned money out of state and – as mentioned above – send a powerful signal to the rest of the contemporary world that Michigan isn’t serious about investing in 21st century jobs and becoming a part of the world’s energy future. And the recent actions of Smokestack Patty and her sooty, fossil-fueled ilk are firmly placing Michigan in the “clinging to the past” column.

It’s unfortunate that Senator Birkholz has chosen to wield her power in such a way that will seriously disable Michigan’s energy future when she could be acting in the interest of pushing our state forward. As we’ve seen, investing in 21st century clean energy has already moved other states forward. Take Texas and Pennsylvania: two of the 23 states that have already planned a Renewable Energy Standard, and are consequentially presented with the same opportunities for growth that we here in Michigan should be embracing, too. Shame on Smokestack Patty and her coal-loving cronies for pandering to dinosaur, coal-burning energy giants instead of moving our state forward. In order to embrace the future and recast Michigan as a leader in emerging industries, we need to accept more clean energy alternatives that will propel our state forward.

Risen from the ashes of the Health Care for Michigan Ballot Campaign is Health Care for America Now phoenix, who, in two short weeks, not only didn’t quit the fight against America’s health care crisis, but took the strategy to a whole new level, too, by launching a $40 million campaign, committed to eliminating America’s health care crisis once and for all. Praise to Michigan health care advocates and their quick turn from ballot drive to full-fledged pressure campaign.

This coalition includes the groups Health Care for Michigan, MichUHCAN, MOSES, Michigan Citizen Action, Progress Michigan, ACORN, AFSCME, Americans United for Change, Campaign for America's Future, Center for American Progress Action Fund, Center for Community Change, MoveOn, NEA, National Women's Law Center, Planned Parenthood, SEIU, UFCW, and USAction.

Many important factors in America’s health care crisis include the inability for many to afford good, quality health care, as well as the millions of American’s who loose coverage because of a preexisting condition. What’s more, the health care crisis in America saps job creation - $1,500 from each car produced in the US alone goes to pay health care costs, putting American manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage, and hampering companies’ ability to create jobs. These costs have gotten so out of control that people now pay more for health care out of pocket than ever before – an average of $2,126, a doubled rate since 1998 – according to the New York Times. All this goes without mentioning that almost 1 million Michiganders alone are currently living without health care coverage, and millions more live in everyday fear of having their coverage stripped without adequate notice.

In the formation of this new coalition, leaders and members alike are expected to take on an untouchable giant that has benefited from the health care crisis for far too long: the insurance industry. For longer than should have been allowed, insurance companies have been continuously driving up health care costs for average Americans and make it harder for people to afford health care coverage on an out-of-pocket basis. They have profited, but people have not.

Bob Dylan once said that the times were a-changing, and this sentiment is certainly as true of America’s ongoing health care crisis as it was of the social scene in the 1960s. We need an American solution to an American problem, and the scrappy warriors from Health Care for America Now are just the ones to bring it for us.

There’s a lot of talk about water this week. And it’s not all coming from Slip ‘N Slide enthusiasts, either.

The good news is that on Monday, June 23, a deal was brokered between the Michigan House and Senate to protect the Great Lakes and our inland rivers and streams from withdrawal by dry states in the southwest. This deal makes Michigan the seventh state to ratify the Great Lakes Basin Compact – a package deal that would provide protection for the Great Lakes and its eight surrounding states. We’re looking at you, Pennsylvania.

The bad news, however, is that this fight is far from finished.

The protectors of the Great Lakes still have 20,000 leagues to go before victory is totally and finally accomplished. As water-protection advocates like Cyndi Roper and the rest of Clean Water Action’s Michigan team have warned, the struggle for public control over our state’s water supply still lies ahead. So does the effort to thwart bottled water industries who wish to swoop in and drain the falsely-deceptive “endless” water supply of the Great Lakes. (There’s a reason why “naïve” is “Evian” spelled backwards).

If ensuring public control over our water supply is ever to be a reality, legislators need to stop treating water as industrial commodity, and give it the respect it deserves: as a publicly-owned, highly valuable natural resource. Protection from the bottled water and corporations that would like to sell our water for profit to other H20-hungry states and nations must be established, and firmly at that. If Michigan legislators ever hope to push our state forward and cast us as a major protector of water, emphasis on the public’s right to control our own water is absolutely essential. The Great Lakes belong to the people, not to gigantic corporations or sprawling subdivisions in Arizona.

Get ready for the fight ahead over public trust or corporate control. It’s up to Michigan’s residents to stand up for the Great Lakes and our precious inland water sources. Together, we can prevent greedy corporations and other states and nations from pulling the plug and sending Michigan’s water down the drain.

With the Board of Water and Light’s recent proposal to build another outdated coal-fired power plant, you’d think we’d been transported to the year 1885. It’s a year that has been vanquished for nearly 150 years, but its influence continues to prattle deafeningly on, especially when it comes to the proposals of one particular Lansing-based corporation. During the course of this year, a vaccine for rabies was patented, Huckleberry Finn was published, and, this particular corporation in question, Lansing’s Board of Water and Light was established. And, much like its initial business strategy originally executed upon the Board’s year of birth, the BWL is pledging to remain shadowed in the Victorian era by succumbing to the proposal of another coal-fired plant – it’s a technology so new and innovative you’d think that we were all wearing rigid, rib-crunching corsets. Chester A. Arthur would be proud.

While the debate between the US’s dependency on fossil fuels and its converse quest for alternative energy sources rages on, it’s always surprising to find out when a public mainstay like Lansing’s Board of Water and Light plays a part as one of the chief offenders in coal abuse. The organization’s Erickson plant, located in Delta Township, has been fired on coal power for decades, and now, to make matters worse, the BWL has proposed a new, mostly coal-fired plant to join its Erickson facility in an irresponsible campaign.

The BWL’s refusal to see the light is a prime example of the ways in which the heads of some major energy corporations just don’t seem to get it. By running a plant that provides power for a vast majority of the state capital and surrounding area, the BWL leaders should be willing to look beyond older, outdated modes of generating electricity and embrace the future. The cost of coal is skyrocketing; its use keeps us dependent on imported energy; and it is a chief contributor to global warming. Perhaps the most important factor to this argument is that alternative sources of energy like wind and solar power would be much cheaper to harness, not to mention a lot healthier, especially considering public health and environmental impacts of burning coal. It’s a better investment, creating more good-paying jobs than coal and is unlimited in supply. After all, they don’t call it “renewable” energy for nothing.

The BWL has been a staple of the Lansing community since 1885; how ironic, given that the corp’s latest energy proposal seems as though it had come straight out of the 19th century. If corporate execs at BWL keep insisting on sticking with the same technology found in the novels of Charles Dickens, it’s probable that they will end up hurting the very people who they are supposed to be helping – the people of Lansing. Stubbornly clinging to Victorian-era business methods and obsolete technology just doesn’t work: there’s a reason why the Big Horseshoe and Conglomerated Opium industries have long since faded away.

The insistence of BWL execs on the reliance of coal stands out as an eye-catching example of the comprehensive problems in Michigan. Without the ability to adapt to new thoughts and innovations in industry, our state’s economy is doomed to fail; left behind in the dark ages of coal and its blackening, fossilized kindred.

Oh, by the way, in addition to the coal fiasco proposed by BWL, Michigan is being threatened by seven – count ‘em, SEVEN – other coal plants. They call it the “coal rush” and it will take our state backwards. The good news is, you can fight the scurvy knaves by going to http://www.nocoalrush.com/.

Just a few short months ago – January of this year, in fact – a grand total of seven companies began a scheme to build a slew of dirty, outmoded coal-burning power plants all around the state of Michigan. Thankfully, a group called Clean Energy Now stepped in to combat this backward drive, courtesy of the coal companies. You might say that CEN is acting as the Indiana Jones to Big Coal’s devious pit of snakes.

By merit alone, CEN and other proponents of modern energy efficiency have many points. Tons of points. So many points, in fact, that if points were a source of renewable energy, we wouldn’t need to be having this debate in the first place. As for Big Coal, clearing out all the choking, burning coal-smoke reveals those pesky facts that fossil fuel-pushing execs would rather keep safely buried in the tar-pit. You know, the ones that are always getting in the way of lies and propaganda? Yeah, those facts.

Coal as Energy:

• ·         Coal is an old, antiquated, and completely out of date source of energy. Have I mentioned that it’s old? Why, I remember when coal was a new and innovative technology… back in 1769. In fact, the use of coal came to prominence during the same time period in which every physical ailment known to man was caused by demons and cured by leeches. Since the use of bloodsuckers by any hospital today would likely result in a something involving the words “class-action” and “lawsuit,” it’s time that Michigan’s energy companies update, too, and learn to embrace modern forms of energy production

• ·         Coal is dirty. Just ask Cinderella. $20 says she would have far preferred to reside under a solar panel than buried in five pounds of ash and soot

• ·         Coal keeps us dependent on imported sources of energy. The vast majority of fossil fuels are imported into Michigan, which in turn spends over $20 billion a year to feed this destructive habit. Cutting our addiction to coal and other fossil fuels would slash costs exponentially, as well as keep more cash in the state of Michigan – creating jobs and investing in our communities

Renewable Energy Sources and Efficiency:

• ·         Renewable energy sources are not just good for the environment, but good for the economy and job growth, as well. According to the Renewable Energy Policy Project, Michigan could stand to gain over 35,000 new jobs if alternative energy sources comprised at least 20% of the total power output by the year 2020. This strategy has already shown success in places like Pennsylvania and Texas, where both states have seen an increase of almost 5,000 jobs as a direct result of implementing renewable energy plans

• ·         Renewable energy sources would help stimulate Michigan’s struggling economy. If we cling to the use of coal as a primary power source, our state will fail in attracting the 21st century jobs it so desperately needs; however, if we acknowledge the benefits of renewable energy, our state will attract more outside business and trade, and thus establish itself as a leader in the alternative energy revolution

• ·         Energy efficiency provides more bang for the buck. Coal does not. Statistically speaking, for every dollar that is spent on efficiency, $3 more would be saved. This means that this spared profit margin could be invested back into the economy, and help to create more jobs

And so, there you have it: the barebones facts about both coal and renewable energy. If it wasn’t for the massive expenditures on high-priced lobbyists by coal companies, it seems as though the advocates for renewable energy would have to do little more than clear their throats to prove their point. Given the macabre condition of both the economy and the lack of substantial job growth, there is no time to waste on counterproductive ideas for the state. Renewable energy represents the future, then it’s about time we stopped clinging to the past. Go to http://progressmichigan.org/page/speakout/coalrush and fight back!

Let’s pretend, for a moment, that you’ve driven from Alpena to Monroe to purchase that “dream car” you saw posted on Craigslist. Sure, the pictures looked inviting, the description was flawless, and the price was lower than the net number of current George W. Bush enthusiasts, so comparing this vehicle to a dream is nothing short of an apt analogy. Unfortunately for you, once you finally stagger into town after hours of grueling travel, you arrive at the car dealership and find that this dream car, according to your polyester suit-wearing salesman, is missing only a transmission, radiator, battery, three-to-four wheels, and engine, and is covered with non-removable “REO Speedwagon” and “Reelect Nixon ‘72” bumper-stickers.

The above analogy, though seemingly nonsensical, accurately represents the relationship that the coal industry maintains with the people of Michigan and, indeed, the rest of the United States. There are virtually no taboo methods that the advocates of coal energy will employ to trick, deceive, and, in some cases, outright lie to the public about the virtues of its product.

Just look at Web sites like this one: http://www.michiganjobsandenergy.org/. Sure, it looks very enticing. The color scheme is bright and appealing, as is the smooth, sweet-talking narrative; that which cascades up and down the pages, like rainwater baptizing a windowpane. Notice how the word “coal” never once appears anywhere in the rhetoric, which ostensibly oozes with altruism. Neither is a clear-cut mission statement ever outlined. This Web site must belong to one of the good guys, right?

Wrong. The Michigan Jobs and Energy Coalition is, in fact, a cunningly disguised agent of the Big Coal Industry – a collective that seeks to disenfranchise the merits of alternative energy and continue empowering passé outlets like coal and other fossil fuels. Upon further investigation, it seems improbable that they could be anything else, given that they can count Consumers Energy and DTE Energy as prominent members, among others.

The careful expose of MJEC and its foul kindred is a crucial component in the fight to break Big Coal’s stranglehold on the realm of energy production in Michigan. This is an industry which is fully aware that, in terms of efficiency, cost, public health, pollution, and overall merit, the benefits of alternative energy will always trump those of coal and other synonymous fossil fuels, yet continues to consciously mislead the public into believing the exact opposite. Here’s the truth: promoting alternative energy sources will help stimulate Michigan’s economy by creating thousands of new jobs, reducing our reliance on imported energy, and decreasing public health risks caused by coal-burning. To learn more about efficient and renewable energy, visit: http://www.michigancleanenergy.com.

To put it plain and simple, efficient and renewable energy is offering a trustworthy a reliable solution for Michigan’s energy future. Big Coal is offering a pig wearing lipstick. Enough’s enough: this COALition has got to go.

Last week, Michigan legislators gave in to anti-choice forces by voting to pass Senate Bill 776. This bill prohibits a rarely used yet medically necessary abortion method and does not provide an exception to protect a woman’s health. Furthermore, no matter what Michigan law says, this medical method is already outlawed here and across the country: Perhaps legislators have forgotten that the terms set by SB 776 are already banned federally by the U.S. Supreme Court! This makes SB 776 completely redundant and unnecessary.

Now, it’s up to Governor Granholm to take action and veto this piece of legislative waste. Show the Governor you support her veto of the bill by going to http://www.progressmichigan.org/choice and letting your voice be heard. Let her know that, rather than focusing on the real issues that are facing us, supporters of SB 776 are wasting both taxpayers’ time and money by failing to work on the important issues facing Michigan, like the economy, job growth, and skyrocketing foreclosure rates. Michigan is in the midst of an economic crisis, and it’s time we stood up for women and stopped pandering to anti-choice groups. Attention must be brought back to what really matters in our state, and how we can work to make our home a better place.

When push comes to shove, immediate action must be taken. The “push,” in this instance, would be a proposed ballot initiative to ensure that state legislators will pass laws to assist those living in Michigan without health care. Consequentially, a “shove” is required to get Michiganders health care now.

Once in a great while, it becomes crucial to nudge Michigan legislators in the right direction, and require initiatives that put the fine art of altruism where it always should have been: as a part of their jobs. Although there are several representatives in the Legislature who have fought to make greater healthcare coverage a reality, the vast majority still need to be pressed. The Health Care for Michigan campaign, which has spearheaded this measure, is proposing that many of Michigan’s healthcare crises could be solved by simply getting legislators to face that we have a crisis and then do something about it.

While there are nearly as many pros to this argument as there are coffee-stained copies of “Powersanding Today!” in a hospital waiting room, some of the best virtues of this ballot initiative revolve around its ability to improve the outlook of Michigan workers, our state’s fledgling economy, and the leaders who represent us in Lansing.

To begin with, a measure like this would help the many Michigan residents who have found themselves in the deplorable position of living without healthcare. Nearly one million Michigan citizens are currently living without healthcare, and many more are at high risk for losing their coverage. It goes without saying that hard-working and rule-abiding workers should not have to endure crushing debt or losing a home if illness happens to befall them. That would be like asking George Washington to lead the foundation of America through the Revolutionary War, and then rewarding him with a one-way, nonrefundable ticket to Britain.

Michigan’s businesses and economy are in great need of the benefits from this measure, too. With healthcare costs skyrocketing out of control, many small businesses are forced to cut healthcare plans for employees, and therefore cannot afford to expand, hire, promote, or develop in any significant way. Even GM and Ford, two of our state’s highest epicenters for employment, must add over $1,000 to the cost of each vehicle they produce, just to keep healthcare plans for their employees covered.

Finally, those politicians in Lansing – elected to represent a people in a dire state of anguish – would, with the passage of this ballot initiative, be forced to recognize the plight of their people and take action. The representatives in our state capital already receive the kind of benefits package that a plant worker in Detroit could only dream of; it’s time to pass this plethora of healthcare onto those who made it possible for legislators to serve in the first place. Writing this measure into law would make political leaders do what they should have been doing in the first place: their jobs. It would no longer be possible for elected officials to overlook the healthcare crisis, and the long sought after relief would, at last, find itself bestowed upon those in such desperate need of it. The period of inattention has passed, and the time for action is now.

With state-wide unemployment rates soaring, the threat of Canadian garbage spilling – quite literally – into our hands, and gas prices higher than the administrative cabinet of the Cheech and Chong fanclub, it seems that the last thing Michigan citizens deserve right now is a massive distraction from the issues that really matter. Nevertheless, leaders in both the House and Senate have chosen to overlook these critical facts and instead pay focus to an issue of complete irrelevance: late-term abortion.

Bill 776 was introduced by Republican Senator Cameron Brown and driven by anti-choice organizations. SB776 has already been passed by the Senate in a margin of 24-13, and has been prolonged and deadlocked for several weeks in the Democrat-controlled House. Just yesterday, the bill passed in a House vote of 74-32. The Senate, unlike the House, is dominated by the Republicans.

Perhaps those Michigan Senators who cast their voices in support of this measure have forgotten that late-term abortions are already banned on a federal level; meaning, of course, that any legislative decision made on the state level is really nothing more than obnoxious reinforcement. You might say that the legislators who voted for and sponsored Bill 776 are, in this instance, accomplishing nothing more productive than sticking their tongues out at the state of Michigan. Since such abortions are already illegal throughout the US, the action taken by Michigan leaders in Lansing has mounted to little more than political pandering towards ultra-conservative and religious groups.

House Speaker Andy Dillon, himself a pro-lifer, made a promise to his caucus that the issue of abortion would never be brought before Michigan legislators during his term in office. At the time of this promise, it seems that Dillon felt – and rightly so – the state of Michigan was facing more pressing matters than partisan wedge issues like abortion. But now that Bill 776 is resonating loudly in front of the entire legislative body, Dillon has effectively broken his word to Michiganders all over the mitten and proven to be an untrustworthy representative of our great state. By diverting focus from more relevant concerns, such as health care and job growth, Dillon and other leaders in both the House and Senate have regrettably led the citizens of Michigan through a drastic tumble down the rabbit hole, and lowered the level of civil, political discourse from a plain of competent governing to Pee Wee's Playhouse.

It is indisputable that Michigan's social and economic climates are in a condition of dual dire straits. Currently, Michigan holds the highest unemployment rate of all 50 states, and has found itself in the midst of an economic slump unlike any that has been witnessed in decades. Shouldn't our elected officials be working in support of the people of Michigan, rather than wasting time on pointless pieces of legislation? It's time for Michigan to pull itself back to its feet, and bail out of the rabbit hole; those who are diverting attention from this unarguable fact are simply working against the betterment of Michigan and its people.