Opinion
Civilization or Barbarism? A Christian Perspective
Guest Opinion
By Walt Wood | April 12, 2025
"Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Our faith begins with confession. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. I have a beef with fellow Christians who ignore the threat of authoritarianism by hiding behind the words: “I am in this world, but not of this world.” It is a simple excuse to avoid responsibility in our … Read More >>
Some Truths about Autism and Vaccines
Guest Opinion
By Isiah Smith, Jr. | April 12, 2025
In 1998, the highly respected scientific journal, The Lancet, published a study that sparked the theory that vaccines cause autism. In 2010, the article was retracted after the editors discovered that the conclusions had been based on fraudulent data from a study involving only 12 children. The Lancet wrote that the 1998 paper published by Dr. Andrew Wakefield and his colleagues “are incorrect, contrary to the findings of an earlier investigation.” Wakefield … Read More >>
Big Protests, Bad Bets
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | April 12, 2025
The Hands Off! protests of a couple weeks ago were impressive in their size and scope. According to various media reports, gatherings took place in some 1,400 American communities with nearly 600,000 people signing up in advance (per CNN), and even more participating. Locally in Traverse City, 4,000 people reportedly showed up to express their displeasure with a variety of issues. Protests even occurred in several European cities including Paris and London. … Read More >>
Irrational Decisions
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | April 5, 2025
The irrational decisions now happen with such dizzying frequency that it’s almost impossible to keep track. If it was something we valued, there is a pretty good chance Donald Trump and Elon Musk will destroy it. Let’s start with the arts, in which the current administration never had much interest until now. Since it was founded in 1971 as a bipartisan, semi-independent part of the Smithsonian Institution, the John F. Kennedy Center … Read More >>
Don’t DOGE Michigan
Guest Opinion
By Sam Inglot | April 5, 2025
As the tsunami of executive orders and funding cuts from the Trump administration makes its way to Michigan, people across the state need to be prepared to stand up and fight back against this assault on our day-to-day lives and more attacks that will inevitably follow. And if you think DOGE is just something coming down on us from Washington, D.C., know that Republicans in Michigan are looking to replicate the disaster … Read More >>
Who Decides?
Guest Opinion
By Shanny Brooke | March 22, 2025
One of the many purposes of art is to reflect the times and hold a mirror to society, but not everyone wants to see that reflection. Throughout history, we’ve encountered authoritarian dictators or ruling classes who understood the power of art and enacted parameters on which types of subject matter were deemed acceptable as a means to mold society. For instance, Hitler allowed only paintings of blonde-haired and blue-eyed people set in … Read More >>
Environmental Destruction Agency
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | March 22, 2025
In an essay in The Wall Street Journal, he said he wants to “... drive a dagger through the heart of climate change religion and usher in America’s Golden Age...” Of course, that was a CEO of a fossil fuel or petrochemical conglomerate, right? No, that was Lee Zeldin, the new Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and he made those comments after he accepted the position. A former member of Congress … Read More >>
The End of the Page?
Student Guest Opinion
By Lainie Rintala | March 15, 2025
According to a survey by Common Sense Media, only one in five teens spend time reading for pleasure each day. However, teens spend an average of seven to 10 hours a day on social media. As a teen who indulges in both of those activities, I find these statistics troubling but not surprising. Phone addiction is a real pandemic, especially in young generations, and I believe that one of the best ways … Read More >>
Fostering New Female Spaces on the Net
Student Guest Opinion
By Tess Tarchak-Hiss | March 15, 2025
My mother’s worst nightmare had come true: I had lice. I got lice at the ripe old age of 12, posing two questions: First, can middle schoolers even get lice? And second, how did this even happen? At the time, we’d been stuck in COVID quarantine for a month. I was placed in double isolation, walking around my house with a hairnet—looking like Chris Farley in SNL’s “Lunch Lady” skit—to prevent any … Read More >>
A Bridge Too Far
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | March 15, 2025
Michigan has always been a bit of a mecca for campers; put up a tent, build a fire, head out on a hike or to the beach, and enjoy all that Michigan nature has to offer. We’ve provided plenty of opportunities for our adventuresome residents and visitors. Michigan has 103 state parks and recreation areas and, according to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), those locations saw 35 million visitors in 2024, … Read More >>
Loading More Stories...