Progress Michigan blog posts.
Today, the Michigan Prayer Breakfast Committee held their annual prayer breakfast in Lansing. The prayer breakfast is a time each year when corporate-backed organizations, conservative elected officials, and out-of-control capitalists come together to pontificate about “following the ways of the Lord” while simultaneously attempting to disenfranchise struggling families, women, and LGBTQ people; undertones of homophobia…
UPDATE: According to the Detroit News, the proposed ordinance has been changed. The four-day curfew will now be from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and will be limited to specific areas surrounding the Detroit River. Those areas were not specifically identified in media reports. However, the 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew would still apply…
By Brad O’Neil Legislation passed in the House of Representatives this week would essentially eliminate the ability of local government to hold businesses accountable for how they treat their employees and interact with communities. HB 4052, also known as the “Death Star Bill” due to its unprecedented reach and broad effect on local communities, has…
Leave it to conservatives like the Michigan GOP to completely fumble a “Let’s thank the teachers” message during National Teacher Appreciation Week. In a feigned attempt to seem like they actually care about teachers, the @MIGOP Twitter account put out this image: If you are a teacher here in Michigan, we want to thank you!…
By Matthew Kovac Few Americans would admit to looking back on 1851 with nostalgia. Slavery was the law of the land, not only in the south but in the north, as a result of the Fugitive Slave Act. Indigenous peoples were being systematically driven off their land and killed. Women enjoyed few rights, including the…
I first met Donyetta Hill last year while working on the campaign to raise Michigan’s minimum wage. I had only been working at Progress Michigan for about two months and was still getting the hang of working for one of the largest progressive communications hubs in the state when suddenly we were thrust into an…
By Brad O’Neil Our elected leaders are back in session and yet another piece of legislation is being rammed through the Republican-controlled legislature with little review and even less debate. Senate Bill 248 puts corporate profits above the health and well-being of accident victims by enacting major changes to Michigan’s no-fault auto insurance system. The…
Last week, Rick Snyder made it clear where he stands on compassion for others. In a five-page brief filed in the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Michigan, Snyder refused to recognize a marriage that legally occurred in New York State between two Michigan citizens. Bruce Morgan of East Grand Rapids, who is…
Last night, the litany of cuts that our elected leaders have made to public education funding finally hit home. My wife and I attended an open house for schools in our area in order to start making a decision about where our five-year-old son will attend school this fall. We have struggled recently, as many…
By Sam Inglot and Denzel McCampbell From straight edge to stoner, we can all agree that marijuana prohibition has failed and we need serious reforms. Many media reports focus on the economic impact that legalizing marijuana would have on the state. According to the Detroit Free Press, there are three groups pushing for marijuana legalization…