Politics & Government

A Michigan lawmaker is challenging Gov. Snyder to experience firsthand how poor people live.

Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat from Detroit, says the governor should try living on food stamps for one week.

Former Gov. Jennifer Granholm did it in 2008, and lived on $5.87 worth of food per day, per person.

Tlaib  hasn't heard from Gov. Snyder, but she thinks he'll respond.

"I actually think Gov. Snyder might take on the challenge," Tlaib says.

Tlaib’s challenge comes after the state put a 48-month lifetime limit on cash assistance benefits.

Hundreds of people showed up at the Capitol this week to speak for or against a proposal that would dramatically alter Michigan’s no-fault auto insurance law.

The overwhelming majority of the people were in favor of keeping the state’s lifetime medical coverage for injured people.

If the law is passed, and people don’t like it, the Michigan Constitution allows voters to challenge it with a referendum, but the Republican sponsors have found a way around that.

At the end of the 42-page bill that would require drivers to choose the level of auto insurance coverage they want, and end guaranteed lifetime medical coverage, there is an appropriation of $50,000.

The stated purpose of the $50,000 appropriation is to help implement the change in law.

Republican state Representative Pete Lund said the money is needed for a report and study on the effects of the law.

The framers of the Michigan Constitution wrote that any law that appropriates money is referendum proof, and they did that to ensure that the full faith and credit of the state is not jeopardized.

Snyder Planning on a Second Term

Governor Rick Snyder has laid to rest speculation that he might not seek a second term, Rick Pluta reports. From Pluta:

The governor told a collection of local government officials his plan is to serve eight years, if voters let him."I'm not announcing my candidacy yet, but as a practical matter I do intend to be around for eight years, assuming the voters go along with that and the family is supportive, which they have been consistently," said Snyder. There was speculation the governor would choose to serve only one term based on remarks he made last month on Mackinac Island.

Michigan Gets ‘Occupied’

The “Occupy Wall Street” campaign is starting to pop up in towns and cities across Michigan. Steve Carmody was in Ann Arbor last night and reports:

A crowd of about a hundred gathered on the University of Michigan campus to talk and listen. Many in the crowd have been inspired by the anti-corporate protest that’s been taking place on Wall Street for the past several weeks. Others were just curious.The‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement is planning on large scale protests in Lansing, Detroit and Grand Rapids later this month, meanwhile social media websites are popping up calling for grassroots groups to sprout up around Michigan.  

ArtPrize Winner

The winner of the 3rd annual ArtPrize was announced last night. Mia Tavonatti, an artist originally from Iron Mountain in the U.P., took home the $250,000 top prize. Her piece, titled, “Crucifixion,” is a large-scale mosaic depicting Jesus Christ dying on the cross. “More than 1,500 artists from across the United States and 39 other countries competed in ArtPrize this year. More than 382,000 votes were cast by those who visited the event in Grand Rapids. Organizers estimate around 500,000 people came to the event, which runs through Sunday,” Lindsey Smith reports.

The state House passed legislation yesterday that would eliminate retiree health care benefits for future and some current state lawmakers. The state Senate passed the measure earlier this week. The Associated Press reports:

The retiree benefit will be eliminated for lawmakers who have not served at least six years in the Legislature before Jan. 1, 2013.

Most current state senators would remain eligible for the benefit once they retire and reach age 55. Most current members of the Michigan House would be ineligible for coverage because they don't have enough years of service.

Lawmakers have debated the issue for years but didn't agree on a final version of the plan until this week.

The legislation now goes to Governor Snyder for his signature.

The “Arab Spring” uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa have captured the attention of the whole world. And perhaps nowhere in the U.S. are the events being followed as closely as they are in metropolitan Detroit. The region is home to almost 500,000 Arab-Americans.

Many of those immigrants and their children say so far, the U.S. response to the wave of rebellions has left them hopeful that American foreign policy in the region is headed in the right direction.

“The game is changing”

The free speech case of a controversial Florida Pastor best known for burning the Quran has started in Wayne County. 

A jury found Terry Jones guilty of breaching the peace in April. Dearborn police arrested him before he could proceed with an anti-Islamic protest outside the country’s largest mosque on Good Friday.

Jones wants that decision reversed. He also wants the court to lift an ongoing injunction that bars him from protesting in that spot.

The “Occupy Wall Street” campaign is starting to pop up in towns and cities across Michigan.  

Last night the campaign came to Ann Arbor.  

A crowd of about a hundred gathered on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor to talk and listen. Many in the crowd have been inspired by the anti-corporate protest that’s been taking place on Wall Street for the past several weeks.  Others were just curious.