Opinion

Almanac for Sept. 22, 2026

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 22, the 265th day of 2026. There are 100 days left in the year. On Sept. 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all enslaved people in Confederate states should be freed as of Jan. 1, 1863, if the states did not end the fighting and rejoin the Union. Also on this date: In 1776, during the Revolutionary War, Capt. Nathan Hale, 21, was hanged as a spy by the British in New York. In 1957, Haitian women were allowed to vote for the first time, 153 years after Haiti became an independent country; ...

Two Ballot Proposals, Two Very Different Choices

In November, Michigan voters will decide on two state ballot proposals. They may sound hard to understand, but both would affect everyday people. Proposal 2026-1 asks voters if Michigan should hold a meeting in 2027 to rewrite the state constitution. Proposal 2026-2 would change campaign finance rules. It would stop some utilities and large government contractors from giving campaign money to officials who make decisions that affect them. It would also make more political ads show who paid for them. Proposal 1 may sound like a fresh start, but it could cost taxpayers a lot of money. ...

Editorial cartoon for Sept. 21, 2026

State to install firewood quarantine starting Jan. 1

The problem with invasive species in Michigan has reached a point where the state is taking what it calls "the next step" to stem the spread: A quarantine on untreated firewood. Starting Jan. 1, such firewood cannot be brought in from outside Michigan under Act 189 of 1931 -- The Insect Pest and Plant Disease Act, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Michigan Invasive Species Program announced Thursday. The quarantine will not apply to firewood that has been properly heat-treated and certified by MDARD, another state agriculture department or the U.S. ...

Almanac for Sept. 21, 2026

Today is Monday, Sept. 21, the 264th day of 2026. There are 101 days left in the year. On Sept. 21, 2013, an attack by armed militants in the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, left 67 people dead and hundreds injured. Also on this date: In 1792, the National Convention of France issued a proclamation announcing the abolition of the French monarchy. In 1898, in response to a letter from 8-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon, the New York Sun newspaper wrote an editorial containing the famous line "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." In 1915, Cecil Chubb purchased Stonehenge ...

More Threats to the Freedom of Speech

The freedom of speech and of the press is not a gift bestowed by a president, Congress or a federal agency. It is a natural right of all persons. The First Amendment does not create that right; it prohibits the government from infringing upon it. The ability to think, speak, write, criticize, ...