27 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(06/15/20 3:52pm)
We’ve seen this before: massive protests across the county in opposition to police brutality against Black Americans. Unfortunately, we have also seen these protests peak and burn out before any major legislative changes were made. The protests against the murder of George Floyd cannot end in two or three weeks; they must continue until Washington takes action.
(05/30/20 1:29pm)
Ever since the 2016 Democratic Primary between former Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders, the idea of “Bernie or Bust” has only grown. The sentiment pushes those on the progressive left to only vote for the Democratic presidential candidate if Sanders is the nominee. The voting tactic hinges on the idea that any establishment, centrist nominee forces leftists to choose between the lesser of two evils; two candidates that are slightly different on some policies (mainly social issues), but at the root of it, still support America’s corrupt economic and political system.
(05/16/20 12:59am)
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the speculation over how it will end has been nonstop. The least-controversial and most talked about path towards herd immunity, a state where the majority of the population is immune and therefore cannot spread the virus, is a vaccine. The lingering question, however, remains: what if no vaccine is widely distributed for two or three years, if at all? The only other viable alternative will be achieving herd immunity via the majority of the population contracting COVID-19 and recovering.
(05/09/20 8:24pm)
This weekend, the George W. Bush Presidential Center released a video concerning the Covid-19 pandemic. The video, narrated by former President Bush, describes the dangers of the novel coronavirus, and the havoc it is wrecking on our medical system and national psyche. He then describes how the nation came together after 9/11 by forgetting partisanship, and how we are now uniting to combat this present threat. In short, Bush called for unity in the face of this pandemic, and essentially criticized Trump’s divisive rhetoric.
(04/02/20 2:30pm)
After former Vice Pres. Joe Biden’s big win in Michigan, it looks unlikely that Sen. Bernie Sanders will face Pres. Donald Trump. On Feb. 22, things looked different. Sanders had just won the Nevada caucus by more than 25 points. The centrist vote was split between Biden, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg. As long as these three candidates remained in the race until after Super Tuesday, things were looking good for Sanders.
(03/01/20 7:33pm)
The current field of Democratic candidates has a lot of ideological range. Sen. Bernie Sanders heads the progressives, former Vice President Joe Biden, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar are the leading moderates, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren is somewhere in between. Most democratic voters should be able to find a candidate that best matches their world view. Many voters, however, are concerned that no candidate would be the favorite against President Trump in November. This is the reason many are now flocking to a surging New York billionaire.
(02/07/20 7:11pm)
There are many problems within Ypsilanti: concentrated low income housing, a higher than average crime rate and below average public schools. These issues are well-known and often openly discussed by residents.
(01/24/20 1:40am)
The presidential campaign season started at the beginning of 2019. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar all announced their candidacies for president last February. Joe Biden waited a little longer and announced in April. Michael Bloomberg joined in November, way too late according to many experts. Even Bloomberg’s supposed “late start” means that his campaign, if successful, would operate for just under a year.
(01/21/20 10:14pm)
On Jan. 3, President Trump directed the U.S. military to carry out a drone strike in Iraq, killing one of Iran’s most famous and powerful generals, Qasem Soleimani. Trump justified the successful strike claiming that the Iranian was “plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel.” This claim could be true but Sen. Rand Paul was right in stating that it spelled the “death of diplomacy” between the US and Iran while raising questions about the power of the executive branch.
(01/06/20 9:04pm)
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has consistently opposed the construction of a tunnel around Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline. In March, the Democrat made good on that promise, signing an executive order nullifying former Gov. Rick Snyder’s approval of construction and signalling that a complete shutdown is imminent. This executive order has divided Michigan’s Democratic Party, pitting labor unions and environmentalists against each other.
(12/04/19 4:30am)
The Ann Arbor City Council approved two affordable housing developments in downtown Ann Arbor Nov. 18, two weeks after amending zoning laws to incentivize affordable housing downtown.
(11/20/19 8:54pm)
Last week, former President Obama publicly commented on the Democratic presidential primary. While no candidate was endorsed, he criticized the populist campaigning tactics of progressives.
(11/16/19 10:39pm)
Over the past decade, the City of Ann Arbor has made very little progress in increasing the amount of affordable housing within its city. While concrete goals have been set, Ann Arbor continues to use the cheaper rental market of Ypsilanti as its de facto affordable housing policy. Consistent inaction by elected officials has worsened inequality in an already highly segregated county.
(11/07/19 11:55pm)
Since announcing his candidacy for president in April 2019, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg has been labelled as a democrat who would unite the divided nation. While this is an attractive characteristic of any presidential frontrunner, Buttigieg’s track record with the South Bend Police Department has left his constituents divided.
(10/31/19 2:36am)
Ann Arbor is often regarded as an open, tolerant and liberal city. Throughout its neighborhoods, signs stating “All are Welcome Here” and “Hate has no Home Here” are commonplace. The city prides itself on accepting people of any cultural, racial or socioeconomic background. While these ideals might be verbally supported throughout the community, they are absent when it comes to housing policy. As Ypsilanti’s rental market becomes more expensive, the future of housing within Washtenaw County will be decided by the City of Ann Arbor and its residents.
(10/23/19 3:53am)
In the 2018 midterm elections, 57.5% of registered Michigan voters cast a ballot. This was an increase from the 42.8% that voted in the 2014 midterms. The uptick can be attributed to the dislike of President Trump but what also energized voters were two popular ballot proposals: anti-gerrymandering proposition two and proposition one, which legalized recreational marijuana. These initiatives brought many to the polls who might have stayed home, providing a blueprint on exactly what the Democrats need to do in Michigan and across the country to ensure victory in 2020.
(10/13/19 4:58pm)
Of all the things to impeach President Trump on, the Democrats have chosen the route that could also bring his potential 2020 opponent down. After a whistleblower revealed that Trump had asked Ukraine’s president to do him a favor and dig up dirt on Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden, the Democrats have opened up an impeachment inquiry. While Trump’s actions are clearly corrupt, the facts surrounding Hunter Biden’s involvement with a Ukrainian oil company while then Vice President Joe Biden was in charge of cracking down on Ukrainian corruption is just as bad.
(10/05/19 3:41am)
The Michigan House and Senate sent a budget to Gov. Whitmer’s desk last week allocating an additional $400 million to the annual $468 million the state spends on roads and bridges. Michigan’s governor strongly opposed it, stating that "These one-time dollars are enough to fix four bridges in a state that currently has over 1,000 state and local bridges rated in poor condition.” But on September 30, Whitmer signed the budget into law to avoid a government shutdown.
(09/22/19 5:27pm)
Elizabeth Warren talks a great game when it comes to stopping the ever-growing influence of corporations and big business but she suddenly loses her principles and plays politics when these values are put to the test. The Senator has great policy proposals on Wall Street, taxation and corporate regulation but has a major blind spot concerning military spending, having a track record of subservience to some of the world’s richest and most immoral corporations.
(09/15/19 7:34pm)
On August 27, the Ypsilanti City Council voted in favor of a resolution that allows for only the city, state and national flags to be flown within its council chamber. This meant that the gay pride and Black Lives Matter flags flying within the chamber were removed, causing quite a bit of controversy. However, while I and many others support what both flags stand for, voters must put pressure on elected officials to support these two movements not just by displaying their symbols but also by supporting a clear policy agenda that will benefit both communities.