Detroit Mayoral Race Called Two-Man Contest: Is Race an Issue?

 Detroit has an 82-percent black population and hasn't had a white mayor in 44 years. Bloomberg says Detroit's mayoral race has been plagued with "rivalries and racial rifts." Two contenders are tied for first place: one black and one white. Is race the biggest issue in Motown's upcoming election? Or is this just a tactic to divert our attention to the multitude of larger issues? I think minorities have been forced into a race contest in cities where they are not the minority. Decades of being kept out, hemmed in and downtrodden, have made Detroit African Americans tenacious of power where they could wrest it. And who can fault them for that? Self-preservation is human nature. Political control is the American ideal. The fact that Detroit is so impoverished has less than zero to do with corruption, race or any others scapegoats you care to name. It has all to do with barons (mostly auto) exploiting Detroit then abandoning it when they'd used up all the resources. So is the Detroit race racial? Detroit Mayoral Race Called Two-Man Contest: Is Race an Issue?

Ways parents turn kids off and on to politics

During an election or campaign season, many parents get involved in political activities. They put up yard signs, join online discussions, attend meetings and rallies, and talk up their favorite candidates and issues. All this politicking can be irritating and disruptive to family life. The phone rings with automated messages from candidates and their supporters. Candidates debate on television. Everywhere you go, it seems to be politics. Here are some mistakes parents make with campaign activism, plus tips to educate kids about politics without turning them off. Ways parents turn kids off and on to politics 

NCLB or Every Child Left Behind?

National Endowment for the Arts Study Finds Plummeting US Reading Scores
review of National Center for the Endowment of the Arts report on reading scores; Improvement= Choice and Voice.
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How to Get Involved in Politics!

Super Tuesday: How to Prepare for the Biggest Election Event in History
Here are tips from a political activist on ways to get involved in the political process. Don't miss the fun on Nov. 6!
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Political Junkies, welcome.

Hi. I'm Marilisa. I live in Michigan and am an unemployed teacher looking for a job. I am happily married, 25 years. 4 kids. Taxpayer. Citizen of the world.

I started this blog in response to the Kerry-Bush election in '04. Well actually all the elections since '82 when I first voted in Michigan, for Jim Blanchard. Then '84, the first and last time I voted Republican. And in  '88, working on the Dukakis campaign and with RTL to support Proposal A--yes, simultaneously, yes an arguable conflict-of-interest, but that's politics in the U.S.

Anyway, after voting my husband and I felt the need to decompress. We headed to Fricano's, our neighborhood tavern-pizza joint (best pizza on the planet). It was packed (usual for a Tuesday). Dozens of other patrons sported their 'I voted' sticker. It was as if we were at a town meeting. I think we all needed to connect. To know that we weren't alone in this angst we felt (feel) for our fellow citizens. Maybe we just needed a drink.

I'm opinionated. I call myself a rebel but not in the country music sense. I rebel against social injustice, not just because I like the term. I'm a non-conformist, but not just for the sake of being different Actually, there's a lot of conformity in what generally passes as non-conformity. Look at tattoos. I'm breaking with mass consumerism, greed, capitalism, bigotry, hatred, institutionalized corporate mindsets, bigotry, hatred, intolerance, violence, war, ignorance. Starting with myself.

So some of my ideas polarize. Some are just bipolar--I'm a pro-life Catholic Thoreau Transcendentalist, IWW member, social justice activist and (generally) a progressive social Democrat. I preach gospel poverty. I don't like Ayn Rand books. I think Libertarian philosophy is limited, hypocritical and self-serving. I think the birther argument is delusional, schizophrenic and straw man-ing. I think Mitt Romney is not good for the 99% because of his 1% mentality and sheltered, privileged, narrow background. I think the Tea Party agenda is dangerous. Sarah Palin's odd juxtaposition of quasi-maternal conservatism with militant feminist, she-male behavior is confusing (and weird). Michele Bachmann, too.

I try never to be hurtful or hateful, though. It's possible to espouse and eschew theories without assassinating character. Anyway, that's what this blog is for. Sort of a virtual tavern-town hall-12 step meeting for political junkies. If you need a place to discuss (rant) and share (vent), this is a safe place. Let's just play nice.

-mar