Editorial Quick Hits: Obama’s phony compromise

For several weeks, the Obama administration has received pushback from those who believe the government has no business forcing religious institutions to provide no-cost birth control and sterilization for their employees — especially when it goes against their beliefs.

Editorial Quick Hits: Other views

Byron York in the Washington Examiner: ... It appears (Rick Santorum is) looking closely at Michigan, for several reasons. First, while Romney won the state solidly in 2008, it wasn’t a blowout: 39 percent for Romney to John McCain’s 30 percent and Mike Huckabee’s 16 percent. (Ron Paul, Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani won a combined 13 percent.)

Chrysler Super Bowl ad wasn’t political ploy

I had a world-exclusive conversation with the head of Chrysler LLC at 7:12 a.m. on the Monday after the Sunday Super Bowl. You can still hear that conversation at www.wjr.com, where I heaped praise on Sergio Marchionne and he, in turn, heaped praise on his team for writing and producing, and Clint Eastwood for starring in, ANOTHER Super Bowl feel good hit commercial.

A little too much sharing on Facebook

My, how you’ve changed, Big Brother. What happened to the sourpuss in “1984,” George Orwell’s grim novel about a thought-controlled future? No longer a tyrant without a name, you’re now Facebook’s founder and supreme leader, Mark Zuckerberg.

Editorial: Budget maintains Michigan’s economic momentum

Having made the difficult adjustments last year, Gov. Rick Snyder is proposing a 2013 budget that provides more money for state assets that will drive economic growth. It increases the state’s commitment to higher education, buys lawmakers time to ramp up spending on infrastructure and continues a strong investment in tourism and entrepreneurship.

Commentary: Detroit faces worse fate than an EM

Legal challenges, charges of racism and grass-roots opposition have already been raised in opposition to the appointment by the governor of an emergency manager for the city of Detroit if a financial emergency exists and elected officials cannot address it. Opponents of an EM should rethink their actions.

GOP needs to reach out; attract young voters

The Republican presidential candidates, except for Ron Paul, haven’t been paying much attention to young voters in the primaries and caucuses so far. But any Republican nominee — which is to say probably Mitt Romney, or maybe Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum — had better be paying attention to them in the summer and fall.

Letter: Complex origins of violence

Nolan Finley has asked Detroit how we measure the value we place on human life, in his Feb. 5 column, “If life’s cheap, murder’s not news.”

Letters: Unions’ role questioned

When I read James P. Hoffa’s Jan. 11 column, “Action needed now to create U.S. jobs,” I was surprised that he didn’t mention the shovel-ready Keystone pipeline project that would create 20,000 direct jobs and up to 100,000 indirect jobs.

Romney should preach dad’s sermon

Mitt Romney says the greatest influence on his life, both personally and politically, is his late father, former Michigan Gov. George Romney. I hope the GOP presidential front-runner has in his files somewhere an essay his dad wrote in 1992 and placed as an advertisement in The Detroit News and other papers.

Commentary: Same-sex marriage battle lingers

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has a hard-won reputation for issuing sweeping, precedent-setting and liberal rulings that are often overturned by the more conservative U.S. Supreme Court.

Inkster elementary school aims high

Inkster’s Baylor-Woodson has gained national attention by focusing on strong teaching, proving poverty and race don’t have to be barriers to success.

Editorial: Michigan students keep falling behind

A new report from the Michigan-based Education Trust-Midwest makes some things about the state’s education system alarmingly clear. As other states have moved ahead with reforms and progressed academically, Michigan has stood still or fallen behind. The state’s schools must make the tough decisions that will give all children access to a solid education.

Commentary: Keep politics off our state’s license plates

They were swiftly dubbed Vanity Plates when, in 1931, the state of Pennsylvania offered drivers the option to order their annual auto license plates custom-made, to sport initials, names or nicknames; anyone who had better things to waste money on assumed anyone who wanted to put their personal stamp on anything but a race car had to have an outsized ego.

Commentary: U.S. Senate should adopt a budget

Letter: New insurance law isn’t needed

Letters: Obama’s policies debated

Today’s shout-out ... goes to the Salvation Army

Editorial: Tax hikes will slow growth

Commentary: California air board tightens screws on the automakers

No surprises in this White House

Michigan politicians face political risk in fighting unions

Today’s protests are vague and feeble

Letter: Electric cars provide a choice

Letters: Snyder road taxes debated

Editorial: Choose neutrality for license plates

Commentary: Mitt Romney needs a translator

Commentary: New patent office signals region’s role in innovation

Cornelius suicide shows the urgency of treatment