Where Physics, Poetry, and Politics Collide
A. Van Jordan is the author of Rise and M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A, the last of which imagined the life of MacNolia Cox, the first black finalist in the National Spelling Bee. In that highly praised volume,...
View ArticleRead Local
"When I get a little money, I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes." So said Desiderius Erasmus, a Dutch priest born less than 20 years after the printing press was invented. This...
View ArticleThe Golden Girl Image
Rarely are older women centered as protagonists in American fiction, a fact that mirrors their marginalized role in society. In If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This, her new collection of stories,...
View ArticleA Muted Effort to Reduce Prison Rape
Our country's shoulder-shrugging acceptance of rape in prisons has made it to the U.S. Department of Justice. Last week, the public comment period on new federal standards to eliminate sexual assault...
View ArticleThe Kickoff
The game isn't over. The fierce match between Japan and the U.S. for the Women's World Cup ended Sunday with a win for Japan, but the women are still throwing up impressive numbers. A sold-out crowd in...
View ArticlePull Over for the Emergency Manager
A challenge to a Michigan law that runs roughshod over democracy may now leap-frog the courts. Michigan's emergency-manager law, enacted this spring, gives state appointees unprecedented power over...
View ArticlePenn State Rallies for Victims
Why does the Penn State community cheer for Joe Paterno? We’ve seen nearly a week’s worth of rallying in support of the legendary football coach after a grand jury indictment made plain that Paterno...
View ArticleDeath, Interrupted
Governor John Kitzhaber of Oregon put a moratorium on executions in his state last week, and he didn't mince words about why. At a November 22 press conference, he called the death penalty broken,...
View ArticleKomen Foundation Races for the Cuts
Since its founding in 1982, the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure has developed a massive network of breast cancer survivors and advocates, made its Race for the Cure ubiquitous, and has grown...
View ArticleThere's Something Rotten at the Komen Foundation
Nancy Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, had a placid expression on her face when she assured MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell last week that Karen Handel had nothing much to do with the...
View ArticleA Touchdown for Labor
One of the most significant national labor battles is playing out in an unusually public arena: under the bright lights of America’s professional football stadiums. The National Football League lockout...
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Holding the Stick
(Flickr/Tim Shahan)The San Jose Sharks face the Washington Capitals, October 2009.It seems like lockouts are as ubiquitous in professional sports as the thumping chords of “Seven Nation Army.” Labor...
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Far from the Final Defeat in Michigan
(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)Protester Paula Merwin, of Leslie, Michigan, stands with an American flag outside the George W. Romney State Building, where Governor Snyder has an office, Tuesday, December 11,...
View ArticleIt’s a Mad, Mad Michigan
Sure, lame-duck legislatures are bound to be a bit mad. But the session that just closed in Michigan was one for the ages. Aflush with the flurry of bills sent to the desk of Governor Rick Snyder—not...
View ArticleIs Suze Orman's Advice Dangerous?
In Pound Foolish: Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry, Helaine Olen traces the roots of media advising us about money—a subject many find distasteful to discuss in polite company,...
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All the World’s Eyes on the Globe’s Stage
AP Photo/Charles KrupaThe Boston Globe has been through a tough year, or ten. The New York Times Company announced in February that it is putting the Globe up for sale. By shedding the New England...
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Red Wings Give You Bull
*/ AP PhotoWhile the state of Michigan appears to have no interest in “bailing out” Detroit, it is giving a substantial boost to the Red Wings, the city’s professional hockey team. Less than a week...
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Dave Bing’s Detroit
Cal Sport Media via AP ImagesThis piece is the first in a two-part series about the Detroit mayoral race. Check in tomorrow for part two, about the Democratic candidates currently campaigning.You could...
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Racing to Run a City without a Motor
This piece is the second in a two-part series about the Detroit mayoral race. Read part one on Mayor Dave Bing's legacy here.Perhaps the most amazing story of the Detroit mayoral race is that the...
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Will Economic Populism Win Back the Midwest for Democrats?
It was just one more embarrassment for Healthcare.gov. When the White House unveiled a map of the country last November that detailed Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, something was...
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