Monday, December 22, 2025

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Commentary

COMMENTARY

A short farewell to welfare

It might seem impossible, but it just got tougher to be unemployed in Michigan. A bill passed through the state Senate last Wednesday that would reduce welfare from 60 months (five years) to 48 months (four years).

COMMENTARY

Medical marijuana laws require clarity

The medical marijuana laws in Michigan are about to get a lot less hazy. In June, a package of eight bills was introduced into the state House to address unclear issues within the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act. The act, as written, is vague and confusing to law enforcement officials as well as medical marijuana patients, so state legislators have been looking at a way to clarify the act through further legislation.

COMMENTARY

Changing Detroit’s mentality

If there is anything I have learned as a student of public policy, it is that most large problems have complicated solutions. There are many independent variables that not only interact with a dependent variable but also play off themselves. We sometimes forget that when we hear the one-liners used in political campaigns.

COMMENTARY

Compromise could have helped city, business

Last session, the East Lansing City Council did a great job protecting children from the dangers of alcohol. Unfortunately, no one told them that the children are already well protected in that respect. By a 3-2 vote, the council decided to deny an application that would have allowed the East Lansing BP gas station, 504 Michigan Ave., to sell packaged beer, wine and spirits.

COMMENTARY

Fourth of July time to celebrate a history of overcoming adversity

I am writing in response to opinion writer Lazarus Jackson’s column “America’s unhappy birthday” (SN 7/7). In my opinion, history is not a prologue, but a precedent for our country’s current state. Despite the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln ordered that the construction of the nation’s capital dome continue as a symbol of unity, sending the message that although the country was in a state of open war, the Union still would survive. Our country has seen greater challenges and worked through them, and our current state is no exception.

COMMENTARY

The pitfalls of principles

A recently passed law in Georgia designed to deter illegal immigrants is having the desired effect — much to the displeasure of Georgia farmers.

COMMENTARY

Time for Strathmore era to come to an end

Should the city try to find a way out of or around any agreement with Strathmore Development Co. when it comes to City Center II? It’s starting to look more like the answer to that question is, “Yes.”

COMMENTARY

Tenure reform lacks effective metrics

Lawmakers and the governor are attempting to send ineffective teachers to the principal’s office, but it’s the legislators who need the time-out. Four separate bills, all approved by the state Legislature June 30, would change the tenure process for teachers in an attempt to retain more quality teachers.

COMMENTARY

America’s unhappy birthday

On Monday, America turned 235. Normally, this would be a cause for celebration, but I had trouble setting off my fireworks and eating my normal double-digit amount of hot dogs this year. Why? Because this year doesn’t feel very celebratory.

COMMENTARY

US exceptionalism lives on

My parents came to the U.S. in 1991. They left their friends and family for a country known to them as the “land of opportunity.” It was hard when they first came. They started from scratch and had to work long hours in order to pay for their education.

COMMENTARY

Calorie information benefits consumers

In the future, consumers soon will be more aware of the health effects of late-night hamburgers and fries. As part of federal health care reform, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to create federal regulations requiring any chain restaurant with 20 or more locations to post a calorie count for their menu items.

COMMENTARY

New art museum looks to MSU’s future

When living in Snyder Hall for the summer semester, one can’t help but notice the gargantuan piece of modern art called Funambulist rising out of the grass on the quadrangle. It’s visible from the windows in the Gallery at Snyder and Phillips halls and from both Bogue Street and Physics Road and invokes — in this writer’s humble opinion — influences both avian and Asian.

COMMENTARY

Freedom from foreign oil

The partisan brawl over cutting the deficit soon will come to a temporary end. By Aug. 2, Congress must strike a deal to cut government spending to ensure our government does not default on its debt. Although it will be a rare and important policy achievement, there is much more work to be done to get people back to work.

COMMENTARY

Weakening ban makes little sense

The Michigan Dr. Ron Davis Smoke-Free Air Law is in danger of choking to death. The Smoke-Free Air Law, which went into effect over a year ago, prohibited smoking in most public areas in Michigan, including local businesses.