One thing I appreciate the most about Michigan is the fact that it really is the Great Lakes State. It touches on four of the five Great Lakes, though I have to say that my favorites are Superior and Michigan. When it comes to its beaches, Michigan treats adults like adults. The various parks may offer lifeguards at various times, but the rule (as far […]
The business of regulators is to regulate, even when it makes little sense. After all, there are jobs to protect. As a result, regulations often neglect the principle of diminishing marginal utility. (Here’s a quick illustration: The first doughnut you eat may be very enjoyable. The second, less so, and by the fourth, you may be sick.) Air and water quality in the United States […]
I’ve flown into or through about 50 airports over the years, including the one in ultra-chic Aspen, Colorado. But I don’t think I have seen a terminal as beautiful as that possessed by the Cherry Capital Airport, in Traverse City. It helps that I’m a sucker for the design schools used in the building, but still, I’m impressed. Stained glass windows abound. Need to talk […]
One thing that I have noticed during my recent trip back to Michigan is the bottle-deposit law. When the idea of requiring customers to pay extra money for their beer or pop was put before the voters in 1976, I thought it was a good idea. (Then again, I also would have voted for Jimmy Carter, had I been old enough.) In my defense, I […]
More in a continuing series of observations made during my recent trip to western Michigan. There’s a presidential election coming up this fall, one that will be the most important in our lifetime. At least that’s what I hear from my activist friends. But I’d never know it by driving around. There are no yard signs for Barack Obama or (as would be more likely […]
So the NCAA has brought the hammer down on the Penn State football program, and more generally, the university. Good for them. The scandal reminds us that there (and should be) various institutions in our lives, each with a different role to play. Prosecutors within government brought criminal penalties against Jerry Sandusky, who now awaits sentencing for his crimes. There may also be criminal penalties […]
During my recent Michigan trip, I made several visits to Meijer. Going to the outfit that pioneered the superstore concept always takes me back to my childhood, and I was pleased to see that they still offer the kids penny rides on the mechanical horse. But I noticed something else in my shopping there: Michigan residents are fat. While pacing the aisles looking for coffee […]
Recently I spent several weeks in western Michigan, the part of the world where I lived the first 30 or so years of my life. Today starts the first of a series of commentaries based on that visit. If a geographic region is going to thrive, it needs to “export” something to the outside world. For metro Detroit, it’s been cars. One thing that western […]
Was it an act of civil disobedience, or simply a bad decision? I’m going with the latter, but a man, upset at the treatment he receives from TSA screeners, stripped naked at the Portland International Airport earlier this year. While I’m all for calling attention to the numerous problems of the TSA, I’m not sure that getting naked in front of your fellow travelers is the right […]
This is a dark day for the American ideal of representative democracy within a republican form of government. The Court has said that neither the judiciary nor the Constitution is a barrier to government expanding as fast and as far as politicians think they can get away with. The only barrier now is the political culture–a powerful though not entirely trustworthy force. We will likely […]
