Columns
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Filling in the blanks of 2012
The year 2012 is officially over "“ and not in a catastrophic Mayan calendar way. I'd categorize 2012 as a Charles Dickens year: the best and worst of times. However, a literary reference seems too cerebral to sum up the last 365 odd days. I'd call 2012 pure Mad Libs.
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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.
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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:
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Holiday spirit on the side of the road
It’s Christmas Day and we’re due at the Grayling home of my sisters-in-law at half past noon. I accidentally sleep in late, having forgotten to set the alarm. My husband is on the phone with a friend in Pakistan, but I can’t stop to say Merry Christmas because I have 15 minutes to get ready. I take a quick shower, brush my teeth and throw on some clothes, then cut several strings off the spiral scarf a friend in France made me for Christmas, and which just got caught in my brush.
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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.
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Lifelines: Life after the world's end
Now that the Mayan calendar has ended, I'll confess I'm weary of all these endings and beginnings. I've lived through too many of them, including growing up during The Cold War when the end was at some stranger's fingertips.
Continued ... - Thursday, December 27, 2012
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The Amish Cook: Flu strikes the Eicher household
Wednesday evening and supper is over. Everyone went their own way, some reading, some writing, and some still down with the flu.
Continued ... - Monday, December 24, 2012
- Northern Notes: Good memories provided by the grandchildren
- Sunday, December 23, 2012
- Dennis Chase: This is not like the old days for the Tigers
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Kathy Gibbons: Kittens get 'forever family'
So I was back home after working out of town for three years, only coming home weekends.
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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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Ed Hungness: To Grandma's house we go
The Christmas tree is decorated, the presents bought and wrapped and the smells of home-baked cookies and fruitcake drift from the kitchen.
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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.
Continued ... - Saturday, December 22, 2012
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Senior Focus: Take Wellness Challenge
Throughout society, many people assume that getting weaker, stiffer and heavier is inevitable with aging.
Continued ... - Thursday, December 20, 2012
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Phil Power: When change is not good
Like many other dogs, my black Lab, HomeTown, has a bed in the back hallway.
Continued ... - Monday, December 17, 2012
- Northern Notes: 12/17/2012
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James Cook: Lions won't overreact with changes
You'd think there will be a lot of turnover with the Detroit Lions next season. Think again.
Continued ... - Sunday, December 16, 2012
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Jack Lessenberry: Control of Detroit just a blip
If you want a measure of how crazy things are in Michigan these days, consider this: On Monday, the state signaled its intention to take control of Detroit, probably next month. Yet thanks to the right-to-work wars, that dramatic development involving Michigan's largest city got barely any attention.
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George Weeks: Contrasting roles of Murphy, Snyder in labor
There is little in common between Republican Gov. Rick Snyder and 1937-38 Democratic Gov. Frank Murphy — enshrined in history as Michigan's "labor governor" — other than their passion for the University of Michigan.
Continued ... - Monday, December 10, 2012
- Northern Notes: 12/10/2012
- Sunday, December 9, 2012
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Cons, ex-cons: New underclass
You might think last month's presidential election proved one thing: That there are no longer any racial barriers to success in America.
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Fatherhood brings language adjustment
I swear that I am not a profane person. However, good football games and bad drivers foul up my language.
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Snyder reversal sparks big controversy
Before Gov. Rick Snyder's abrupt flip-flop last week on legislation to make Michigan the 24th right-to-work state in the nation, he said it was too divisive an issue for it to be "on my agenda." Now that it is high-profile on his agenda, just how divisive it is has became quickly apparent in a state that is a cradle of the union movement.
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Filling in the blanks of 2012