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Opinion

We made July Fourth better

Editorials and columns

In 1912, our Fourth of July parade was a masculine affair. Only men were allowed to “strut and stare” as they processed along the parade route. The ladies watched, some waved, some even smiled, but most, I suspect, snickered, for they knew something was terribly amiss and they knew what it ...

Worsening trends in child well-being demand state action

Editorials and columns

The 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book released just a few weeks ago revealed uneven progress on child well-being. Despite improvements in family and community factors – including a decline in the share of children living in high-poverty neighborhoods, a decrease in the share of single-parent families ...

Selling America’s soul for $2 per acre

Editorials and columns

President Abraham Lincoln famously stated in the Gettysburg Address on November, 1863, that the nation would experience a new birth of freedom "and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”. Forty-five years later, President Theodore ...

America: You know it when you see it

Editorials and columns

Recently this question was posed to me. As the nation celebrates its 250th birthday, what does it mean to be an American? Reflecting on this, it’s hard to distill an answer down to a single aphorism. In a nation of 342 million people, there may be as many answers as there are Americans. For ...

Without internal beliefs, we are adrift

Editorials and columns

Northern Michigan is so beautiful at this time of year. This past weekend my husband and I enjoyed a wind-tossed hike along Lake Huron’s shoreline. We took time to simply wade in the warm shallows and watch the geese couples call their goslings to safety while a gaggle of native swans bobbed ...