Like Dan Calabrese, I’ve taken my bike out of the garage several times this warm winter. Since the first snowfall, I’ve been my skis once, my snowboard twice, and my bike six times. While I find the brown landscape depressing, I’m probably in the minority. After all, the warmer weather means no “winter driving,” no shoveling, no ice dams, and being able to wear shirts and […]
Michigan View
Will fires finish Finnish Fisker?
The electric car market is expanding and diversifying. It’s not just the Chevy Volt that is catching fire these days. A model produced by a company in Finland – with U.S. “stimulus” dollars – is being recalled because of a fire hazard. OK, I shouldn’t be too hard on the luxury car. Trusty old gas-powered cars can catch on fire too, and new products are prone […]
Did Jesus really say: “Go ye and support the American welfare state and ye shall be saved?”
Most of the political left in this country is secularist, and sometimes militantly so. But there is a remnant of religious lefties, and a Detroit News reader who goes by the pseudonym “RepubTeach” has been preaching the Social Gospel of late. Recently I mentioned a Democratic Party politician who decried entitlement reform as “un-Christian.” I then repeated the comments of a reader on another site: “I’m […]
The curse of the food police
I am writing this while my child runs around inside a McDonalds Playplace. I opted to not get fries with my cheeseburger, thinking I would eat a portion of the fries that came with the kiddo’s Happy Meal. Win-win, I thought. We both get enough fries to be satisfied, but we don’t overload on the deep-fried goodness. Silly me, to make my own decisions. I […]
Frederik Meijer: Viva the 1 Percenter
The honorable 1 percent get that way by providing something that the 99 percent value. Such is the case with one West Michigan man who made a positive impact not only on his small town, but on Michigan and the nation. There should be no begrudging this billionaire. Last week, Fred Meijer died at the age of 91. He was the long-time leader of Meijer, […]
Is that PhD selling you BS?
Do you ever hear reports of some new research finding about how people behave and then say to yourself: “That’s a bunch of BS”? Well, you may be right. The Chronicle of Higher Education says that the field of social psychology has been shaken by accusations of fraud and sensationalism. One professor quoted in the story, an expert in research methods, says there’s a temptation to write […]
Electrics are great – but don’t expect heat
Consumers Reports, a cheerleader for the heavy foot of government on automotive manufacturers, is also a big fan of all things green. Electric cars? Wheeh! Except sometimes the truth gets out anyway. The publication has a new online review of the Nissan Leaf, which was built with $1.4 billion of your money. Sure, there a few nice things about the car. But it has one […]
Slavish devotion to the law corrupts the culture
If allegations from Pennsylvania’s top cops are true, there’s been some very sordid business going on at Penn State University – starting with allegations that an assistant football coach raped a 10-year-old boy. It continues with charges that key administration officials committed perjury and covered up a number of dirty deeds. Naturally, everyone wants to know what the Big Man on Campus knew, and what […]
LaPlante: Union dinosaurs vs. online learning
Digital technology has transformed the way we read, bank, shop, keep in touch with one another, and do business. Can it shake up the nation’s sluggish public schools? Perhaps – but only if we don’t expect tomorrow’s schools to be managed like yesterday’s. Consider that, according to the Michigan Department of Education, one of every of four students who enters the ninth grade does not […]
Pawlenty endorses Obamneycare
[The following was the lead article on “The Michigan View,” an opinion portal of the Detroit News.] The Republican Party battle between the establishment and the tea party took another twist today, with a would-be populist throwing his weight behind the candidate of the establishment, Mitt Romney. Tim Pawlenty, former governor of Minnesota, has endorsed Mitt Romney as the Republican’s 2012 standard-bearer. You might remember […]