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Now that's progressive!

Politically progressive college town just won't face the facts about race and crime (Blaska's Blog)

Minorities make up less than 10 percent of Madison, WI's population yet they account for around half of all arrests. What does that tell us? Either there is a lot of racism up there or the minority populations are going feral.

Detroit to "ration" city services according to neighborhood's condition (CNBC)

"Detroit neighborhoods with more people and a better chance of survival will receive different levels of city services than more blighted areas under a plan unveiled Wednesday that some residents fear may pit them against each other for scarce resources." Sounds like that is exactly what they are doing.

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An obvious political hack and a doctor-suing ambulance chaser likely to get nominations to federal court (Robert Snell, Detroit News)"[Likely judicial nominee Marietta Robinson] has given big donations to state and national Democratic candidates, particularly the three who will determine whether she becomes a federal judge. She has given $4,600 to Obama, $6,000 to Stabenow and $2,000 to Levin, according to the Center for Responsive Politics."

Jackson county district court judge James Justin recommended for dismissal for misconduct by the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission  (Danielle Salisbury, MLive/Jackson Citizen-Patriot)
" '(Justin’s) deliberate and repeated decisions to circumvent the judicial process — many times to his own benefit — render him unfit to sit as a judge.' ” Justin dismissed traffic tickets issued to himself and his wife nine separate times. So much for "equal justice under law", eh? But I'd still like to keep elected judges instead of appointed ones. At least we can vote 'em out if need be.

 Profile of a Tom Henderson a respected Detroit-area business writer who moonlights as an author of true crime books (Sandra Svoboda, Detroit Metro-Times)
An interesting read.

Ann Arbor set to establish myriad laws, rules, and regulations for medical marijuana clinics (Dave Askins, Ann Arbor Chronicle)
This lengthy and cumbersome effort on the part of the city of Ann Arbor seems stupid, expensive, and pointless to me. Do they do all this micromanaging for wine shops, party and liquor stores?

Ann Althouse gains some insight on the topic of what constitutes "fairness" in union-dominated college towns like Madison, WI (Ann Althouse, Althouse blog)
"I don't see how the city can accept free-form sleeping on the street, with no group taking responsibility. Homeless and transient people are not allowed to sleep on the street, so I don't see how special immunity from the laws can be given to other sleepers based on their political opinions." Bottom line: Politically connected professional agitators have one standard. But the homeless, drunks, drifters, druggies, beggars, and kooks and such have another standard altogether.

sign of the times...

Some locals now fear Ann Arbor is about to become a small blue speck in a sea of red here in the Great Lakes upper midwest. And by all accounts, as things stand now, they are probably right. But in a larger sense these towns already were.
Out side of Ann Arbor, East Lansing, and metro-Detroit most Michigan so-called "progressives" ain't all that progressive. Unless by "progressive" you mean "belongs to the Democratic Party".