As you enjoy this beautiful Michigan summer, consider the words of a few local members of The Great Lakes Business Network. The GLBN collectively believes that the risks of the Canadian owned Enbridge Line 5 pipeline, crossing the Straits of Mackinac, far outweigh the few benefits R.D. Musser III, President Grand Hotel: " We simply cannot sit by to wait for something to go terribly wrong before we act to protect one of our state’s most valuable assets at its most vulnerable

We are currently living with the risk of rupture of 64 year-old twin oil and gas pipelines under the straits of Mackinac, a place with prolonged icy conditions and strong shifting currents, a place a University of Michigan study has called the “worst possible place for an oil spill in the Great Lakes.” Should we risk spoiling more than 700 miles of coastline in the middle of Michigan’s top tourist attraction? The question is not whether there will be a rupture or leak, but

Legislative Actions Monday June 26, 2017 by Linda Pepper I have been in California for the last 6 weeks because a family member needed help. I will here now and will try to keep with the Michigan Legislature. Our Local Ticker had an interesting article this Sunday that highlighted the bills that Senator Schmidt and Representative Inman have introduced this year. Two that stand out are Senate Bill 80 which expands vehicle accident chemical analysis and Senate Bill 366 which au

Up North Pride Parade, Traverse City Sunday, June 25, 2017 A diverse and colorful crowd gathered Sunday, June 25, at The Little Fleet to kick off the fourth annual Up North Pride Parade with opening remarks by Jenn Cameron, Up North Pride Co-Founder. People of all ages and backgrounds, their children and dogs mingled and celebrated diversity and solidarity, with chants of “Love Wins”, poetry and music. In attendance were many members of Indivisible TC and GT Dems, including

Kim Phillips-Fein’s book tells the story of the American conservative movement from the 1930’s to 1980. It is well written, an easy but in-depth read that covers a lot of ground involving people, politics, ideology and social background of the time. The author keeps the story moving. During the 1930’s Great Depression there began a contest between the American business, corporate world, and the social welfare and economic policies of the New Deal launched by the Roosevelt

Dwight Brady Meets GT Dems Wednesday, July 14, 2016 “This is a democratic call to arms. We are in ideological warfare. It is time to repeal and replace Jack Bergman.” This was the impassioned plea of Dwight Brady, US representative candidate for Michigan’s 1st Congressional District. Brady met with members of Indivisible Grand Traverse on June 13th and the Grand Traverse Dems on June 14 to talk about his run for office. As a lifelong “Youper” he and his wife are raising

Last week, representatives from northern Michigan Indivisible Groups sat down with Senator Debbie Stabenow. Here is a summary of our conversation with her: The Senator feels Indivisible activism is making a difference. She pointed to what’s happened to Healthcare. Republicans could not get the ACA repealed by January 27. Citizenry got involved, hospitals, doctors, women’s marches. Sen. Stabenow thinks this made a difference. The hope is the AHCA will not be passed in the Sen

Photos by Robert Degabriele and the author On Saturday June 3 we were treated to an engaging and insightful presentation by Mark Brewer on Gerrymandering in Michigan. Mark Brewer is the former Michigan Democratic Party chair. He is engaged in combating gerrymandering in Michigan and engaged in a gerrymandering lawsuit to pursue that objective. Gerrymandering is a practice of constructing districts in convoluted ways that favor one party over another. Application of this p