WobblyReport

A lure came in the mail, not unlike the sweepstakes of yesteryear, to the addressee “or current resident” (somewhat insultingly). But here were three pull-tab tickets, tantalizingly hot-glued to a glossy flyer with images of cash and prizes and happy winners with big grins and even bigger novelty checks, the flyer gleaming on top of a daily pile of post. Obviously this was no one’s first rodeo. But times are tough and everybody’s feeling the squeeze, so the slimmest of chances can inspire a swing for the fences. After pulling the tabs and reading print that gets finer every year, the odds that the three matching truck images and all-caps, red text that said “WINNER” would pay seemed to be about one in one and a half million. But as a very unwise Lloyd Christmas once exclaimed to an incredulous Mary Swanson: “you’re telling me there’s a chance?” So on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, I kissed my wife for luck and drove to a nearby Chevrolet dealership, 99.9998% sure that I would never, ever re

Section 315 of the Federal Communications Act of 1934 is intended to give equal time to candidates on media broadcast channels. If a media broadcaster gives air time to a candidate, they must also give an equal amount of time to an opponent of that candidate, upon request. Except. Bona fide news coverage is exempt. On one hand, this would seem to protect freedom of the press. After all, if one candidate shows up in a public place and a media outlet captures the event, this should not oblige the media outlet to give time to an opponent with a campaign advertisement. But a real consequence of this policy has been a distinct narrowing of our political discourse throughout the nation. To understand how, we can look at a few case studies in one particular realm of media broadcast programming: televised political debates. Without attempting any exhaustive analysis of how the rules have evolved, let’s just look at fairly recent history. In 2008, for example, then-presidential candidate Denni

Let’s dispense with history lessons and focus on the here and now. Are you scheduled and expected to work on Monday, Sept. 2? If so, will you receive bonus pay for it? Too many of us will answer ‘yes’ and then ‘no.’ In part this is because the United States is the only one of 38 member-countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development not to require paid leave of any kind. In a 2007 policy report, researchers Rebecca Ray and John Schmitt conclude that “the United States is in a class of its own with respect to statutory guarantees of paid time off: it is the no-vacation nation.” Most employers offer some amount of paid holiday, sick and personal leave. Indeed, media coverage on the subject tends relentlessly to emphasize this fact. Ray and Schmitt observed, however, that “one in four U.S. workers has no paid leave or public holidays at all.” What’s more, the lower the wage, the higher the ratio. That means the less money we make, the less chance we have any paid t

County fairs have wrapped up for the most part around the region. They are a great opportunity for the community to come together, to highlight achievements and provide windows into one another’s lives. The fair has an element of torture for some. I don’t mean the anticipation of its approach or the anxiety that some fungus will spoil a prize pumpkin. I mean an annually renewed realization that one has been irreversibly ear-wormed. A 2008 article in the Northern Express explains how an advertisement for the Northwest Michigan Fair spread like wildfire (‘went viral,’ in newspeak) in the late 1980s. The very creative television advertisement included a jingle that was also frequently, for years, rebroadcast over FM radio. The fair, once held right in the heart of Traverse City, was relocated 5 miles south of town in the early 1970s. The relocation and growth of other summer events in the area led to flagging fair attendance and troubled finances. Rick Coates, then a newly hired fair ma

Many states in our country ask about political party affiliation when a person registers to vote. Michigan does not because primary elections are open, meaning voters who have not declared a party affiliation are allowed to participate. In the U.S., primary elections are contests that determine who will appear on the ballot in a general election; general elections determine who takes office. But leave aside voting and elections for a moment. What is party affiliation? We might define it the way that polling organizations measure and report it. The Pew Research Center, for example, asks respondents a single question at the end of its surveys. The question is, “In politics today, do you consider yourself a Republican, Democrat or Independent?” Pew’s article, “ Party Affiliation: What it is and What it Isn’t ,” goes on to explain the reasoning behind measuring party affiliation this way. “This question is not intended to measure how respondents are registered, how they have voted in the p