Common Core the wrong plan for Michigan

'Draw a deep breath,' I tell myself before explaining my opposition to the Common Core system. There's not one reason to oppose it, there are several. And they go to the core of our being as liberty-loving Americans.

Labor Voices: GOP's agenda sells Michiganians short

It is time for Michiganians to have a real conversation about both value and values.

The big chill: AP, the IRS and free speech

Chilling effect. That's the term lawyers and judges use to describe the result of government actions that deter people from exercising their right of free speech.

Letters

Re: The Detroit News' May 21 Editorial, 'Michigan becoming a smart investment': This is exactly what the state needs to retain top talent.

Letters: Are surpluses bad news?

Re: Nolan Finley's May 19 column,

Editorial: Michigan becoming a smart investment

Money attracts money, and Michigan is attracting a lot more venture capital today than it has in a decade and at a faster pace than the rest of the nation.

The zero-emission vehicle myth

Auto enthusiasts were thrilled last week as green automaker Tesla made it into the black, earning $11 million profit on revenue of $562 million in the first quarter of 2013.

Our choice: U.S. energy renaissance, or lights out?

Our nation is on the cusp of the holy grail of energy independence and a jobs and investment boon that would accompany it – that is, unless it is stunted by over-regulation or blocked by extremist elements of the environmental movement who are peddling hy

Obama latest president to play defense in 2nd term

What is it about presidents' second terms that makes them seem so scandal-ridden? Simple: The iron law of longevity. All governments make mistakes, and all governments try to hide those mistakes.

Readers: Skunk Works stinks

Re: Chad Livengood's May 18 report, 'Emails show Snyder aides aware of 'Skunk Works' group':

Letters: Drug tests for welfare users?

Let's also drug test any corporate official of a company getting any kind of tax break.

Use surplus to fix Michigan’s crumbling roads

Gov. Rick Snyder and lawmakers have to decide what to do with an unexpected $483 million windfall from higher-than-expected tax collections. There are a lot of ideas for spending the surplus, but most would commit the state to expanding government programs that would have to be cut back if revenue slows.

Obama suffering from loss of trust

Leaving aside the seriousness of lawlessness, and the corruption of our civic culture by the professionally pious, this past week has been amusing. There was the spectacle of advocates of an ever-larger regulatory government expressing shock about such government's large capacity for misbehavior. And, entertainingly, the answer to the question "Will Barack Obama's scandals derail his second-term agenda?" was a question: What agenda?

Clean up Detroit pension fund

Detroit's pension assets are a big, inviting honey pot. And a lot of folks lately have put their hands in the honey jar. It may be time to put someone else in ...

Commentary: Common Core needs more debate

Parents in Michigan, like those across the country, want their children to have the tools they need to excel in school and beyond. The Common Core national ...

Bad news: We have a surplus

Prosperity is the greatest enemy of fiscal discipline. When fortunes begin to reverse, the urgency to cut spending, find savings and use resources more ...

Editorial: New police chief inherits tough job

Native Detroiter and new Detroit Police Chief James Craig is returning to his hometown to accept his "dream job." His passion is welcome because he inherits a ...

Letters

Pennywise, pound foolish; Reform goes wrong way

Editorial Quick Hits: Bail out of booze business

Hopefully, Michigan has taken a small step toward getting out of the booze business with the Senate’s passing of three bills that expand the list of places ...

Editorial Quick Hits: Other views

David Harsanyi in Reason: The Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups (or, more precisely, groups displaying a bit too much gusto for ...

Syria, not Benghazi, is Obama soft spot

Polls during the 2012 campaign consistently showed President Barack Obama with a significant advantage on foreign policy, thanks largely to the killing of ...

The best of times are coming in Detroit

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ...” Or so it goes in Detroit.

Letters: Readers discuss Detroit

Re: Darren Nichols’ May 16 THINK story, “The outsider: Kevyn Orr vs. Everybody”: When people are unaware of something they tend to fear it. The very people who ...

Editorial: Feds’ press snooping risks 1st Amendment

Word from the U.S. Justice Department that it subpoenaed several months worth of Associated Press phone records shouldn’t just outrage the journalists involved. ...

Not such strange bedfellows

Breaking news: Conservative organizations suddenly have found common cause with one of their favorite objects of contempt — the benighted Mainstream Media.

Do your patriotic duty: Ask your boss for a pay raise

The downturn we call the Great Recession officially started in 2007.

There should be a law: Congress, read the bills

Maybe it is only because I am one of the few members of Congress without a background in politics, but the way Congress does business is sometimes hard to ...

Mayor Dave Bing’s legacy: He served Detroit well

It should not have come as a surprise when Dave Bing announced this week that he would not seek another term as Detroit’s mayor.