Wolpe served in the U.S. Congress for seven terms, and in 1994 was the Democratic nominee for governor. Wolpe selected Debbie Stabenow as his running mate, after narrowly defeating her in a contentious primary battle. The Wolpe-Stabenow ticket lost that November to the Republican ticket of John Engler and Connie Binsfield.

Wikipedia reports that for 10 of his 14 years in Congress, Wolpe was an expert and leader on African issues and affairs:

A specialist in African politics for ten of his fourteen years in the Congress, Wolpe chaired the Subcommittee on Africa of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. As Africa Subcommittee Chair, Wolpe authored and managed legislation imposing sanctions against South Africa, and over-riding President Ronald Reagan’s veto of the sanctions legislation (the Comprehensive Anti-apartheid Act of 1986). He also authored and managed the passage of the African Famine Recovery and Development Act, — a comprehensive rewrite in the 1980s of America’s approach to development assistance in Africa, that included the creation of the African Development Fund.

Former colleagues are remembering Wolpe, too.

From the Detroit News:

“Howard approached his work in Congress with intelligence, intensity, honesty and a complete devotion to improving the lives of working families and individuals around the globe,” said U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak, who served with Wolpe in Congress.

Also from the Detroit News:

“After he was done with politics, he continued to do great work in his area of passion, which was Africa,” said Brewer, who worked for Wolpe when he ran for Governor in 1994. “He’ll really be missed.”

And Rep. John Dingell also posted a statement on his website:

“Today our country lost a true patriot, a devoted teacher, and a wonderful statesman. He was a dear friend of mine who shared my love and care for the great state of Michigan. His impact on public policy in Michigan, our country, and across the world was a positive one. Howard contributed most of his life to bringing civility to government relations and making this world a better place, a passion I was able to witness during Howard’s 14 years here in the House of Representatives. He served Michigan ably and honorably and went on to serve as the Presidential Special Envoy to Africa’s Great Lakes Region, where he initiated peace talks and helped end civil wars in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Debbie and I send our deepest condolences to his wife Julie Fletcher and his son Michael. Howard will be missed tremendously.”

Bidwell is hospitalized, and Ferndale Police say that his position as a chaplain with the force has been terminated because of the incident. Ferndale Police Lt. William Wilson told the Tribune:

“Based on the information we have it is sufficient to determine he is not a person we want associated with our department,” Wilson said.

Bidwell is the pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church in Ferndale. That church is a Christian congregation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies. Bidwell has conducted mass commitment ceremonies on the steps of the Ferndale City Hall for several years at the annual pride celebrations.

Crystal meth — the street name for methamphetamine — has been a growing problem in Michigan’s LGBT community. It has been tied nationally to a growing number of new HIV infections because the drug lowers sexual inhibitions.

Ferndale Police say there are unlikely to be criminal charges in the incident.

Sen. Mark Udall

“Thousands of American men and women have fought and died to defeat the terrorists led by Osama bin Laden who attacked our nation on September 11, 2001. The death of bin Laden is a major milestone in U.S. efforts to eradicate terrorism and keep our homeland safe.

“I salute our brave service members, our intelligence community, and our commander in chief, on this important occasion. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Intelligence Committee, I will continue to ensure that our government does all it can to keep Coloradans and every American safe from enemies who wish to do us harm.”

Here’s a rundown of the report’s findings, from a summary provided by the groups:

• “The toxic metals arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium and selenium contained in coal ash contribute to several forms of cancer, as well as lung disease, kidney disease, mental retardation, breathing problems and even death.”
• “The report documents the analysis of 73 samples of coal ash waste that showed that pollutants including arsenic and selenium can leach into drinking water at levels exceeding those which the federal government defines as hazardous, sometimes by orders of magnitude.”
• “Coal ash spills, leaks and leaches into surface and ground water, are absorbed by fish and other animals, and can even be delivered by the air people breathe.”
• “Low-income communities often carry a disproportionate burden of living near coal ash facilities.”

Tanta also often taught the mainstream media a lesson, calling out reporters for doing lazy or misleading stories. And the fact that she could delve so deeply into a complicated subject and still attract a large audience probably was the biggest lesson of all, especially for newspapers laying off experienced reporters and pushing for shorter stories.

From Calculated Risk’s tribute:

Tanta liked to ferret out the details. She was inquisitive and had a passion for getting the story right. Sometimes she wouldn’t post for a few days, not because she wasn’t feeling well, but because she was reading through volumes of court rulings, or industry data, to get the facts correct. She respected her readers, and people noticed.

Here’s how the New York Times described her influence:

Thanks in large part to Tanta’s contributions, Calculated Risk became a crucial source of prescient analysis as the housing market at first faltered, then collapsed and finally spawned a full-blown credit crisis.

Tanta used her extensive knowledge of the loan industry to comment, castigate and above all instruct. Her fans ranged from the Nobel laureate Paul Krugman, an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times who cited her in his blog, to analysts at the Federal Reserve, who cited her in a paper on “Understanding the Securitization of Subprime Mortgage Credit.”

Tanta’s real name was Doris Dungey, and she most recently lived in Upper Marlboro, Md. Most regular readers never even knew any of that. In the blogosphere she was just Tanta, and everyone who cared about the mortgage meltdown knew her name.