Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Well-Being

  • Michigan Justice: Jail and Pretrial Task Force Findings

    Michigan sorely needs justice reform.  The Governor’s Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration is regarded as an important initial step on much-needed change. Task force findings were delivered on January 10, 2020. Jail & Pretrial Task Force ~ Final Report and Recommendations Governor Gretchen Whitmer started the task force under executive order #2019-10 on…

  • “Under Cover” by John Roy Carlson, an original Anti-Fascist

    Young Armenian immigrant John Roy Carlson went under cover in New York’s Nazi fascist community in 1939, where he participated and gathered information under an assumed identity for four years. He then immediately wrote Under Cover – it was revealing and important when written – and it’s still vital and relevant to understanding threats to…

  • The Detroit Fascism Connection in “Under Cover”

    The Detroit Fascism Connection in “Under Cover”

    Here are brief passages from Carlson’s book, “Under Cover”,  copyright 1943, which featured the birth of Detroit fascism. These passages are owned by the publisher and are part of a review shared for public awareness (go to the full review). In addition to the Detroit chapter of the book, Detroit is also covered as both…

  • “American Experience – McCarthy”, by Sharon Grimberg

    Summary: This January 2020 video makes use of recently declassified information to document how McCarthyism came to life as the “Red Scare”.  It explains this behavior as demagoguery – and it is today growing and becoming more sophisticated among a genre of politicians. McCarthy provided their basic playbook. The video puts the fragility of the…

  • Youth Carry the Day at the Metro Detroit Climate Strike Kickoff

    The Metro Detroit Climate Strike Kickoff of September 20th was enthusiastically attended by about 200 people. While this isn’t huge in comparison to the incredible number of participants around the world, it was significant and provides a small historic footnote. Fully half of the participants were students and youthful. As Margie Carter said about the…

  • Summary of a Recent Michigan Writing Workshop

    On May 4th 2019, I attended the Michigan Writing Workshop.  I think they provided valuable content. 1. This one-day event was held in the Atrium of the Ambassador hotel in Novi, Michigan; it was advertised in local writer forums and on the web, as organized by Jessica Bell. The day was split into five blocks…