by Tom Shields November 16, 2008 It was about eleven o’clock on election night. Scanning the Internet for election results, it became increasing clear: Cliff Taylor was going to lose his post on the Michigan Supreme Court, and lose big. He was losing Oakland County, getting beat 2-1 in Wayne County, and barely winning in [...]

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by Tom Shields October 16, 2008 It is just three weeks to go before ACORN — err America — goes to the polls to select a new president, Congress and a host of state officials. With so much to talk about, what follows are some quick observations about Campaign 2008. Where’s Carl? You may be [...]

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by Tom Shields September 16, 2008 Can you stand one more article about Sarah Palin? Hard as I’ve tried not to be the billionth pontificator on her rise to fame — or defame — I cannot avoid it. As I searched for the right topic today, I read a column on Palin by my favorite [...]

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by Tom Shields August 16, 2008 One joint and you’re hooked for life and you go insane. That was the message of a film called Reefer Madness that was mandatory for many high school students to sit through. Originally produced to educate parents on the evils of smoking Cubanos, the film showed how smoking pot [...]

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by Tom Shields July 16, 2008 Just when you could be sure that Mark Brewer’s handling of the Democratic Presidential Primary debacle was the hands-down winner of the dumbest political move of the year, here comes Brewer again with the so-called “Reform Michigan Government Now” proposal. Under the guise of “reform,” it appears the Dem [...]

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by Tom Shields June 16, 2008 I’m not an attorney, and I don’t play one on TV. So I’m always a little leery about writing about legal issues. Every time I give my legal opinion, six attorneys tell me how wrong I am. Of course, they usually have different opinions themselves, but that’s beside the [...]

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by Tom Shields May 16, 2008 Dear Dome: We are at our wits end. We have tried every trick in the book, and even a few new ones for turning this state around, but nothing seems to work. We’ve tried high tech, but didn’t get much response. We were sure biotech was the answer, but [...]

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by Tom Shields April 16, 2008 Though the General Election is more than six months away, early money is on the Democrats to have a banner year at the ballot box in Michigan. MRG’s most recent public opinion survey suggests that all the undercurrents are flowing in the Dems’ direction. Disclaimer: polling numbers don’t win [...]

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by Tom Shields March 16, 2008 Imagine it’s November 1990. You’re sitting in a Renaissance Hotel suite, huddled with the Blanchard Campaign. It’s 4:00 a.m. and the results are in. Your candidate has just lost by 17,000 votes. Everyone is kicking himself or herself for what should have been done. The legal team is mulling [...]

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by Tom Shields February 16, 2008 If Detroit’s casinos could take bets, they would probably give Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick about 3 to 2 odds he’ll survive the text message scandal. Given his past record — Navigatorgate, Wild Party at the Mansiongate, Roaming the City Late at Nightgate, Credit Cardgate — we could expect the [...]

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