Stephen Tuttle | Author
A Flood Of Debt
Sept. 29, 2018
Parts of Texas are once again under water. The Carolinas are in the midst of a slow-motion flood catastrophe. Major flood events, once a spring tradition along some rivers but rare elsewhere, are now commonplace. Sept. 22, 2018 You might have noticed Republicans running for federal and statewide office are no longer touting their connections to and love for President Donald Trump. It's not that their infatuation has necessarily ended, but primary season is now over. Sept. 8, 2018 Some folks out West are about to face troubling times; they're running a bit low on water. Sept. 1, 2018 Labor Day, which became an official federal holiday in 1894, was created to honor working Americans. There once were parades and celebrations. Now there are mattress sales. Aug. 25, 2018 Schools will soon be in session again. The criticism should start shortly thereafter. Aug. 18, 2018 We are now being told that some of us are suffering from something called “cultural anxiety” as a result of our losing our traditional American culture. Good grief. This is nonsense perpetrated by some politicians and pundits eager to find yet another wedge issue t…
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Aug. 11, 2018 Whatever became of conservatives and liberals? Those calling themselves conservatives today bear little resemblance to the philosophy first espoused by William F. Buckley, or Barry Goldwater, their first flag-bearer when he campaigned for president in 1964. Liberals ha…
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Aug. 4, 2018 An oddly quiet primary season ends Tuesday when 30 percent or so of Michigan voters will head to the polls. Maybe we should take a last look at the candidates, or at least some of them. (Michigan is an “open primary” state meaning unaffiliated voters can cast ballo…
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July 28, 2018 We've known for a long time that Traverse City's downtown surface parking lots would serve a better purpose if they were developed. Our Downtown Development Authority (DDA) reminds us of this with some frequency. New tax revenues, additional downtown housing and commercial businesses, and a…
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July 14, 2018 The truth is, we've never much liked immigrants. This “nation of immigrants” was skeptical almost from the beginning. And, so far, we've never had a president or Congress able to craft an immigration system that works. George Washington wasn't sure we needed any more imm…
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July 7, 2018 Why does he keep doing it? Why does a president who seems to be winning keep exaggerating and lying? It is bizarre and completely unnecessary. One theory suggests it's all part of some diabolical strategy to benumb the public to the horrors yet to come. Another claims he actua…
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June 30, 2018 The Traverse City Film Festival recently announced they would be presenting a lifetime achievement award to Jane Fonda, who will appear at this year's event. The reaction was predictable from all sides; she's been both a movie star and divisive political activist for more than four …
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June 16, 2018 Now that we've decided to cozy up to North Korea while alienating our allies, maybe we should be mindful we're still fighting real wars. You might recall the War that Never Ends in Afghanistan. It started as an effort to remove the Taliban from control of the country bec…
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June 9, 2018 With all the chatter about self-pardoning, justice being obstructed, and witches being hunted, maybe we should see if President Trump is doing anything else. His three big issues during the campaign were immigration, tax reform, and trade. Let's see w…
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May 26, 2018 Thank goodness our politicians have found the villain in the opioid crisis and overdose epidemic: It's the drug companies or the drug distributors. Honestly, we didn't much care about this when the fatality was some homeless person under the Cass Street bridge. Now that it's visiting every …
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May 19, 2018 The Department of Defense got a big raise for 2018 and 2019. Their budget, now beyond $700 billion annually, means our defense budget is larger than that of the next seven countries ... combined. Maybe that will make us stronger. Maybe taxpayers will be on the h…
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May 12, 2018 Both Congress and the Michigan Legislature hope to enact laws they claim will place new work requirements on Medicaid and food stamp recipients. The rhetoric surrounding these efforts certainly implies we've got ourselves plenty of deadbeats out there receiving benefits to which they might …
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April 28, 2018 There are those among us who believe nearly everything is the result of a conspiracy. All of it. They don't believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone when John F. Kennedy was assassinated, don't believe we ever landed on the moon, believe our own government orchestr…
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April 21, 2018 Some Republicans running for the U.S. House of Representatives have adopted an interesting campaign strategy: Elect me, or they will impeach him. The Democrat corollary — elect me, and I will impeach him — hasn't yet appeared but likely will. April 14, 2018 There's so much happening in Traverse City that it's impossible to focus on a single issue. So let’s tackle a few. • Anyone who has ever traveled by train understands it's a more comfortable and civilized mode of transportation, given you have the time to spare.&nbs…
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What happens to those people who get flooded?
The Wrong Target
The much-touted Trump ba…
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A Thirsty West
The Colorado River Research Group, an unofficial collection of 10 scientists, recently released their conclusions on the future of the upper and lower basins of the Colorado River. Th…
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Laboring for Little
Our appreciation for working men and women seems to have waned at about the same pace as our d…
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Back to Basics
At some point in our not too distant past, public schools and their teachers became villains. We don't know exactly when that happened but we do know how: Politicians and thei…
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The Good Ol' Days Delusion
Dumb and Dumber
A Primary Primer
Unity Park
A Little Humanity
Bizarre and Unnecessary
Red and Blue Restaurants
Declare Victory
Now We'll See
The Problem in the Mirror
A Billion Here, A Billion There ...
Fixing Non-existent Problems
Conspiracy of Ignorance
To Accuse
Meanwhile, Here at Home ...