White House to address bullying in America

The White House has announced that President Barack Obama and representatives from the departments of Health and Human Services and Education will participate in a conference to address bullying in the U.S.

Chris Geidner of the Washington D.C. based Metro Weekly reports on the planned conference and the president’s More…

Abortion bill in Michigan Senate draws critics from all sides

Planned action Tuesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee to take up a bill to ban partial birth abortions has drawn sharp criticisms not only of abortion rights advocates, but from the Republican leadership.

Sen. Rick Jones (R-Grand Ledge) agreed to have a hearing on SB 160, More…

Michigan may be the next site of fight for labor rights

With battles between the GOP and organized labor reaching a fever pitch in Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio, Michigan may be the next battleground in what labor advocates are calling a nationwide war on collective bargaining rights.

“I think there is definitely a systematic approach to weaken labor because More…

Labor protests continue in Lansing

Organized labor is continuing the push back against moves by the GOP-dominated state legislature to erode union rights in the state.

Tuesday, union supporters protested and lobbied over prevailing wage laws. Wednesday, police and fire unions are converging on the state Capitol to protest legislation

Increase in HIV-specific criminalization in Africa associated with USAID

The sudden up-tick in HIV-specific laws in African countries has been tied directly to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Housing Works, an organization that advocates for the rights of HIV-positive people in the U.S. and abroad, reports on their blog Wednesday that USAID funded a 2004 Action More…

Michigan GOP pushes anti-union ‘right to work’ legislation

LANSING — Across the Midwest, from Madison to Columbus, organized labor is rallying against legislative and executive moves they say will undermine the ability of workers to organize and bargain collectively. And Michigan is staring down the barrel of very similar questions, debates and legislation.

Republican budget plan would end community health center funding

A budget proposal introduced by Congressional Republicans last week would end federal funding for Community Health Centers, and that, experts say, would devastate a key program that provides access to health care for thousands of Michigan residents.

McCotter, Liddy invent the death of the incandescent light bulb

U.S. Congressman Thaddeus McCotter (R-Livonia) says Republican Rep. Fred Upton and the Democrats are denying Americans an opportunity to innovate — and he seems to have invented a law that does not exist.

In an interview on the radio show of conservative radio host and convicted Watergate figure More…

HIV-specific criminal law legislation has materialized in three states

In opposition to President Barack Obama’s Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS), HIV-specific criminal law legislation has popped up in three states in the last two months.

Michigan Messenger reported on the NHAS in July.

AIDS service orgs seek additional funding from Congress

A coalition of over 80 HIV/AIDS service organizations have sent a letter to Congress seeking increased funding for HIV prevention and care programming in the country.

The letter, delivered to top Obama White House officials as well as members of the House and Senate Appropriations committees, calls for More…