Category Archives: Bad government

Guns again

Last time I ran this column, the lethal gunfire was in Arizona. Now the carnage is in Connecticut. Seems timely to re-run my October 2, 2010 column about Canada’s firearms law: By Joel Thurtell Watch out, NRA. My PAL’s gonna … Continue reading

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Screwing themselves

By Joel Thurtell Workers of Michigan! Did you vote Republican? The Republican-run Michigan Legislature just passed right-to-work legislation that will ban closed shops. Without discussion, without committee meetings or public hearings, the Legislature stole from citizens the right to bargain … Continue reading

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Mitt the historian

By Joel Thurtell Mitt Romney sure knows how to light a fire. He mobilized my base. Thank you, Mitt, for naming Tea Party Know-Nothing Paul Ryan as your running mate. It was like a Thermos full of coffee to me. … Continue reading

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Galvanizing WHICH base?

By Joel Thurtell According to The New York Times, Mitt Romney’s choice of Paul Ryan as running mate means the Romney campaign doesn’t want to appeal to independents and centrists. They have a “better’ idea: aim for the Republican party’s … Continue reading

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UM evades Michigan’s anti-racism law

By Joel Thurtell What do the felon Kwame Kilpatrick and the University of Michigan Alumni Association have in common? Both the disgraced Detroit mayor and the UM alum group have behaved tried to act as if the 2006 Michigan constitutional … Continue reading

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Chicago’s police riot and Reuters’ memory hole

By Joel Thurtell George Orwell explained how history could be obliterated — state-appointed historians in his novel, 1984, would simply clip offending facts out of news reports and drop them down the “memory hole.” Reuters, a self-styled news service, had … Continue reading

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Muni bomb ticks in California

By Joel Thurtell I was sipping coffee and reflecting on the ignorance displayed for all the world to read in a New York Times article. It was January 9, 2009. The Times story claimed to offer “a rare glimpse into … Continue reading

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Spiking the Super Bowl pizza

Here, slightly edited, is my annual Super Bowl story: By Joel Thurtell I’m no sports writer, so it was neat to think my byline would appear over a Super Bowl story. What a drag that my first-ever Super Bowl piece … Continue reading

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Whistleblowin’ Nan

By Joel Thurtell Why is House minority Leader Nancy Pelosi choosing this time to blow the ethics whistle on Newt Gingrich? That’s a no-brainer. It’s election year, and Newt looks like a potent candidate to challenge President Obama. So the … Continue reading

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‘What Nancy Pelosi knows’

By Joel Thurtell Mitt Romney wants to know ‘what Nancy Pelosi knows’ about ethics violations by Newt Gingrich when he was Speaker of the House. I’d settle for knowing what Nancy knows about her fellow Democrat, John “The Con” Conyers. … Continue reading

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