Left Of Lansing

Here's episode 65 of Michigan's premier progressive podcast! Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed some long overdue, albeit imperfect, clean energy legislation into law this week. I've covered the path The Clean Energy and Jobs Act had to take in Lansing throughout the year on the podcast. And while I believe Democrats missed an opportunity to pass some meaningful, and stronger, progressive clean energy bills that included game-changing environmental justice for those dealing with polluted low-income areas, this act is at least a step in the right direction. There's no way Republicans would ever pass these bills! I also discuss how the clean energy bills should also coincide with a new transportation and infrastructure future which includes bold investments in mass transit throughout the state. Finally, the "Last Call" deals with a Washington Post editorial that begs Gen Z women to marry their Gen Z male counterparts, even though Gen Z males are trending more and more right wing. Why would Gen Z tra

Here's episode 64 of Michigan's premier progressive podcast! It's great to have author and Pro-Publica reporter Anna Clark back on Left of Lansing this week. Anna's written an insightful article on Michigan's Emergency Manager Law, which allows state government to erase democracy by completely taking-over financially-strapped cities. Anna highlights how despite Michiganders voting to eliminate the law a decade ago, Republicans not only reinstated the law, but ensured voters could never have a say again. Emergency managers were used in Detroit's bankruptcy, and of course, in Flint which led to that city's man-made water crisis.  Please, read Anna's Pro-Publica article, and read her book on the Flint Water Crisis, titled "The Poisoned City: Flint's Water and the American Urban Tragedy." To learn more about Anna, and to get a copy of her fantastic book, please visit her site, annaclark.net. My opening monologue celebrates Governor Gretchen Whitmer signing bills that bans convicted domestic abusers from owning

Listen to my "Monday Musing," in which I agree with a Detroit Free Press column by Michael Griffie, who serves as Detroit Metro Leader for AECOM--an American multinational consulting firm.  Mr. Griffie is pressing the need for a massive reinvestment in Michigan's lacking mass transit system, particularly in the entire Metro Detroit region.  If we're going to stop Michigan's brain and population drain, spending more on mass transit is a necessary step considering how Millennials and Gen Z Americans are searching for places to live featuring reliable and affordable mass transit.  It's the common sense approach. It's the Progressive approach. --Pat Please, subscribe to the podcast, download each episode, and give it a good review if you can! leftoflansing@gmail.com leftoflansing.com "Gov. Whitmer, it’s time to think big on public transportation in Michigan | Opinion." By Michael Griffie in The Detroit Free Press

Listen to my LoL "Friday Short" on while the Michigan Democrats' clean energy bills are indeed imperfect, they mark an important step towards much-needed changes in the state's energy and economic future.  Yes, the bills fall short in many areas, like considering natural gas "clean energy," and ignoring environmental justice provisions to help those in low-income areas affected the most by years of polluted fossil fuels.  But they do bridge the gap between unions and environmentalists, and that could pay dividends for years to come. --Pat leftoflansing@gmail.com  leftoflansing.com

Here's Episode 63 of Michigan's Premier Progressive Podcast! Michigan Democrats passed a package of clean energy and affordable energy bills last week. While these bills are for sure a step in the right direction in revamping our antiquated energy grid, these bills still fall far short of the aggressive push many progressives were hoping would happen. Joining me this week to talk more about these bills, and how corporate pressure helped water them down, is Roshan Krishnan, policy associate for The Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition.  My opening segment deals with how pathetic former Michigan Republican Congressman Peter Meijer sounds while pining for the Christian Nationalist Trump voters in his bid to become Michigan's next U.S. Senator. He's trying to sound all MAGA in his campaign rollout, but Trump voters despise Meijer for voting to impeach Trump back in 2021. Poor Peter. No one on the right, middle, or left ever asked him to run, yet here he is.  And my Last Call details how Ottawa County resid

The Left of Lansing Friday Short this week applauds a trio of state Senate Democrats (Mary Cavenagh of Redford Twp., Kevin Hertel of St. Clair Shores, and Veronica Klinefelt of Eastpoint) for introducing the Death with Dignity Act.  If passed, Michigan would become the 11th state to grant terminally ill patients the power to make their own end-of-life decisions. Since the legislative calendar is finished for the rest of this year, the bills will have to wait until next year. But it ought to pass in bipartisan fashion. It's about personal freedom, and it's about compassion. Thanks for listening. --Pat leftoflansing@gmail.com  leftoflansing.com

It's episode 62 of Michigan's Premier Progressive Podcast! MAGA Republicans suffered another beatdown at the polls this past Election Day, and once again, abortion rights proved to be the key reason. Abortion rights scored a major victory in Ohio, and played a major role in Democrats retaining the Virginia state legislature. Yet, MAGA is doubling-down on putting government in-between a woman and her doctor as Right To Life of Michigan filed a lawsuit to nullify a woman's right to choose which Michiganders enshrined into the state's constitution in 2022. What do you know? Republicans don't like democracy when they lose, so they try to erase the will of the people! I also criticize the 22 U.S. House Democrats who joined with MAGA Republicans to censure Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib over statements she made regarding the current war between Israel and Hamas. Tlaib is the only Palestinian-American in Congress, and that's why Republicans censured her thanks to the help of those House Democrats.

In this week's "Monday Musing," I discuss an amendment introduced by Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Green would block the removal of monuments.  MTG and her MAGA allies are outraged Charlottesville, Virginia decided to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. That statue was the focus of what led to the killing of a protester by a right wing terrorist in Charlottesville back in 2017.  Even more, the amendment says it'll protect monuments of our founding fathers, even though Lee was not a founding father, illustrating the point that rather than banning books, MAGA should pick up a book and learn about this country's history.  --Pat leftoflansing@gmail.com  leftoflansing.com

My Left of Lansing "Friday Short" covers a sad ending to the Flint Water Crisis, in which not one public official will face prosecution for their role in one of the greatest man-made disasters the state of Michigan, and the country, has ever experienced.  Former Michigan Republican Gov. Rick Snyder won't have to face any kind of punishment for the crisis he and his administration caused. Meanwhile, as Allen Overton, pastor of Flint’s Christ Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church told Bridge Magazine: “Injustice, in this community, has been the norm,” “This just continues to show us that this legal system that we call justice is not really justice at all." Nothing could be more true.  People like Rick Snyder can walk between the raindrops, untouched by the same justice we must follow.  It's a tragic ending to a tragic story he and his people caused.  leftoflansing@gmail.com  leftoflansing.com

Welcome to Episode 61 of Michigan's Premier Progressive Politics! This week, I breakdown how the right wing Republican Party has always worked on behalf of the elite class to eliminate government assistance for working Americans. They've done it by whittling-down the New Deal and Great Society programs through the years, and they've done it using racist tropes, like the mythic "welfare queen."  But now, working Americans are fighting back thanks to the UAW's victory against the Big Three Detroit Automakers. We're also noticing positive results as other non-union carmakers are beginning to raise wages for their workers as they try to stave-off unionization attempts. Meanwhile, right wing Republicans were nowhere to be found during the UAW's strike, but they are trying to gut IRS funding to help their tax cheating, rich donor base! I also cover how Democrats are trying to strengthen abortion rights in Michigan, and how right wing Christian Fundamentalists continue using the non-medical term known as "partial

The Left of Lansing Friday Short this week celebrates a judge's ruling in which he dismissed a lawsuit over so-called "pornographic" books in Kent County's Rockford Public Schools District. A right-wing Christian Nationalist group wanted to ban 14 books, most of which dealt with LGBTQ+ stories. The judge ruled the books as a whole have literary value. It was a harsh defeat for those seeking to silence and erase marginalized voices in our nation's history and society.  It was a victory for freedom, and it's that very freedom that MAGA Christian Nationalists are hoping to destroy. --Pat leftoflansing@gmail.com  leftoflansing.com

It's episode #60 of Michigan's premier progressive podcast! Michigan Democrats continue working on clean and affordable energy bills in the state legislature. They must get some of these bills passed before the November adjournment date, or else everything will get pushed back until next year. The main goals of these bills are to make Michigan caborn-free by 2035 or 2040, pushing for strong energy efficient standards to help low income areas, and to hold DTE and Consumers Energy more accountable. Derrell Slaughter, Michigan Advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council returns to give an update on whether or not these bills will pass soon.  I share a few observations on the new Republican Speaker of the U.S. House, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, and how he's not Vulgar MAGA, but he's Refined MAGA, as The Washington Post's Greg Sargent called it. I describe how corporate media have been working against the UAW during its strike against the Big Three Detroit Automakers. And I discuss how Michigan Republicans

Listen to my inaugural Left of Lansing "Monday Musings!" I talk about how local Maga governments throughout Michigan are fighting against solar and wind farms in their areas. Democrats have proposed one solution to remedy this problem: put the state in control of large scale clean energy projects, which overrides a local government's powers.  Democrats want to put the power of allowing farmers and developers the right to take part in large-scale solar and wind projects into the hands of the Michigan Public Service Commission. Local governments would still have power over small-scale clean energy projects.  The right wing argues these decisions should remain in the hands of local communities. However, Michigan Republicans don't have the best record when it comes to supporting local communities. And, we're trying to move Michigan into the clean and affordable clean energy future. We don't have time to wait any longer. Get this done, Democrats! --Pat leftoflansing@gmail.com  leftoflansing.com

Here's the LoL Friday Short on this October 20th, of 2023 Democrats in the Michigan Legislature have introduced bills to abolish former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's "Polluter Panels." Snyder and the MAGA majority back in 2018 created a panel filled with industry and commercial insiders with the main goal of slowing down or stopping any real, meaningful protections for the environment and every Michigander. But thanks to the new Democratic majority, steps are finally happening to eliminate these panels, and to leave the decision making to qualified people within the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy--or EGLE. Now, we understand why Rick Snyder is working with the rich donor class to reinstall MAGA into the majority in Lansing next fall. It's all about profits--and saving his sad and sorry legacy.  --Pat leftoflansing@gmail.com  leftoflansing.com

It's the 59th episode of Michigan's Premier Progressive Podcast! My returning guest this week is Michigan Democratic State Rep. Dylan Wegela from the 26th House District. We talk about his plans to thwart the state's two main utility companies--DTE & Consumers Energy--from using dark money to influence Lansing, especially at a time when Michiganders want our lawmakers to hold them accountable. We also discuss corporate welfare, the continuing UAW strike, and his push for what he calls "compassion economics." My opening segment deals with how the U.S. House is still without a Speaker thanks to Republican incompetence, and how the GOP's battle to have Congressman Jim Jordan as the next Speaker is completely on-brand for today's Republican Party. And I remind you that when it comes to the GOP, it's always projection with them. In the meantime, Michigan Democrats continue to pass legislation designed to help people, and to help this state! My "Last Call" details what steps I believe Democrats in the U.S. H

The Left of Lansing "Friday Short" this week puts a spotlight on UAW President Shawn Fain's effective messaging campaign during the union's strike against the Big Three Detroit automakers.  Fain isn't allowing right wing forces, including the Republican Party or Donald Trump, to pit worker against worker, or the union against environmentalists.  He's clearly defining who the real opponent is in the UAW's strike: The Big Three and their CEO's.  And Fain's disciplined messaging campaign is why a majority of Americans back the UAW's strike.  And please, don't forget to listen to this week's podcast featuring Sarah Lazare from Workday Magazine as we delve deeper into the UAW Strike, and why unions, in general, are enjoying a resurgence ever since the pandemic. --Pat leftoflansing.com leftoflansing@gmail.com 

Episode 58 of Michigan's Premier Podcast is posted! In my opening segment, I discuss the lunacy of Livingston County Republicans, and why some GOP state representatives voted against a bill delivering clean water to schools and day care centers. Seems like an odd strategy, but let's see how it'll work out for them! Plus, I talk about the need for Michigan Democrats to keep pressing for passage of the Reproductive Health Act, despite complete Republican opposition, and even opposition from one Democrat. Then, the second segment covers the importance of the UAW strike, and how it'll move the needle towards more rights for workers. Sarah Lazare is the editor for Workday Magazine, and she joins me to discuss why the UAW strike is receiving strong support. She also shares her thoughts on how the Big Three Detroit Automakers are trying to divide the union and environmentalists, and she talks about her research into how assembly line workers suffer debilitating injuries through the years.  And in my Last Call, I

My Friday Left of Lansing Short is on Democratic State Representative Dylan Wegela's efforts on stopping the dark money influence DTE and Consumers Energy utilizes in Lansing. Rep. Wegela outlined how he intends to do that by introducing a bill preventing DTE and Consumers Energy from using dark money PAC's, which will help ensure that our politicians put their constituents' concerns over the concerns of these utilities that struggle to provide reliable and affordable energy. Let's hope every progressive in Lansing joins Rep. Wegela's fight! --Pat leftoflansing@gmail.com leftoflansing.com

Here's episode 57 of Michigan's Premier Progressive Podcast! I tackle The Fall of Kevin McCarthy, and why House Democrats made the right move by refusing to give him a life line. McCarthy voted against certifying the 2020 election, he called for impeachment hearings into President Biden despite a lack of evidence, and he did the bidding of Donald Trump. So, so long, Kev! As 2024 nears, I have to admit that I'm getting a touch nervous over President Biden's struggling poll numbers. Is it time Democrats begin thinking about a Plan B, and just in case, ask others to consider running next year if Biden decides to bow-out? Or, am I overreacting, and the threat of an autocracy run by the fascist MAGA Christian Nationalist Republican Party is enough to get voters to the polls next year? I also discuss how Michigan Democrats are moving on legislation designed to lower prescription drug costs in the state. It's another example of Michigan Democrats proving how government can help people through good governance. Sam

My Friday LOL Short this week deals with the uncomfortable subject of what will Democrats do if President Biden's poll numbers keep struggling in early 2024? As someone who believes the Biden Administration has exceeded my expectations, the facts are that Biden remains neck-and-neck with Trump in several polls.  Which is why I don't think it's wrong for Democrats to strategize a Plan B in case Biden's numbers remain low. We're talking about fighting against the MAGA Christian Nationalist fascist movement, and saving our democratic institutions.  Even more, Democrats have a deep bench of strong future leaders who are already fighting against MAGA in their home states, and scoring major victories, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. --Pat leftoflansing.com leftoflansing@gmail.com