The number of meetings I attend in a week can be a pretty substantial number. Meetings are one of the many things I wish I would have kept a running total of since my first day at this job. I also wish I would have tracked the total number of sticky notes I have used since day one here. ...
President Donald Trump’s style is, well, different. In many ways he seems determined to redefine the presidency. In doing so he may give his successors new tools to deal with both domestic and foreign policy. Let us hope he recognizes the value of some of the old, well-worn tools, ...
It would be difficult these days to find a member of Congress not concerned about acrimony in politics spurring a few crazies to commit violent acts. Even Montana Rep.-elect Greg Gianforte, convicted last week of assaulting a reporter, is calling for more civility. But some of the very ...
No doubt Cuban leaders counted on the United States not to look back after former President Barack Obama reversed longstanding policies toward the communist island in December 2014. But there is a new president in town, and he is right to insist Cuba keep its end of the bargain. For ...
President Donald Trump is under an enormous amount of pressure over a variety of policy and legislative issues, ranging from tax reform to health care. It is not unfair or unrealistic to expect progress on at least some of those matters. But rushing into a new strategy for the war in ...
Former Gov. John Engler started this thing. Gov. Jennifer Granholm continued this thing. Gov. Rick Snyder tried to modify this thing. And now state lawmakers are arguing how to continue this thing. The "thing" is providing tax credits to business to supposedly create more ...
Change never comes easy, that is why we are impressed with the boards of education in Atlanta and Hillman. When both faced a need for a new superintendent at the same time, the boards identified their shortcomings, swallowed their pride and territorial boundaries and agreed it made more ...
When I was younger I once woke up to a bright light, and people around me saying, "Don't duck on an uppercut." I remember that when I discuss the illiterate economic policies by which Republicans and Democrats afflict society. Neoliberal economics was dubbed in the mid-30s by Milton ...
Thinking “outside the box” is a phrase that is used way too much these days, but it is a concept I wholeheartedly subscribe to. What if we were to use that type of thinking — outside the box type thinking — but then turned it around and applied it literally to a box? In fact, what if ...
Remember when Donald Trump’s campaign promise was “better insurance at a lower price?” So here is what is now happening. While we are all watching the hearings on Trump’s possible obstruction of the intelligence communities, Republicans are quietly pushing a health bill along ...
Come Heller high water… ∫ Whether they're ultimately convicted or not, the fact that five public officials are facing charges of involuntary manslaughter (including Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon and four others) in the poisoning of Flint is important. It ...
Understanding autism leapt forward this year with University of Bristol's 14,500 person study in Scientific Reports, showing a 53 percent increased risk of autism if the child's maternal grandmother smoked during pregnancy. Similarly, granddaughters experienced a 67 percent increased risk of ...
It is the valedictory season, the time for high school students to bid farewell to their lives as children. This graduation season, however, holds a special significance. For the most part, 2017 marks the final year in which students born during the 1900s will graduate from high school. ...
What would you do with millions of dollars at your disposal? It’s a question we ask ourselves when the Power Ball jackpot gets tantalizingly large. While we’ve all certainly dreamed of the material objects we’d buy — cars and yachts, a Tuscan villa and Caribbean hideaway — most ...
As the first wave of heat makes its way toward the Hubbard Lake area, I cannot help but have two things come to mind. One, I really should invest in getting an air conditioner, and two, this summer more than likely will be one of the busiest summers I have had in a while. Two weeks from ...
If you’re going to achieve all your goals, such as sending your kids to college, retiring in comfort and leaving a legacy, you will need to save and invest throughout your lifetime. But to really complete your financial picture, you’ll also need to add one more element: protection. And ...
Can we now agree to restore civility and respect to politics? In the aftermath of Wednesday’s baseball diamond shooting, the need for respect and civility never has been greater. Two legislators with Northeast Michigan roots — current U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman and our former State Sen. ...
That natural gas well you notice on the way to work every morning could be a factor in protecting you against terrorists as well as making your life more comfortable. How? Several Arab nations are pressuring one of their own, Qatar, to end its support of Islamic terrorism. Some other ...
Here in Alpena it seems like there are a number of people who forget what a blinking red light means. I always get the question, “When making a left hand turn on a blinking red light, do you need to come to a complete stop?” Followed by this type of story generally, “I was almost rear ...
As often is the case, Americans last year may have established a model to be emulated by the rest of the world. This one involves politics, not technology or culture, however, and the ramifications could be earth-shaking. Last year’s election of Donald Trump as U.S. president was not as ...