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Guest editorial

Editorial

EDITOR'S NOTE: This opinion was originally published by Bridge Michigan, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. Visit the newsroom online: bridgemi.com. On Saturday, Oct. 24, I had my first opportunity to serve my community as an election inspector, one of the people who staff your local polling place. I spent the day at my Ingham County community's early voting site, and the experience moved me to write this essay. What struck me most is that if voters were familiar with the people, procedures and processes behind our elections, the skepticism we see in surveys would shrink ...

Toys For Tots season is here

Letters To The Editor

To the Journal editor: Many families in our community are currently facing financial challenges. For children, receiving a new toy during the holiday season can offer enjoyment and serve as a positive experience. In 2025, our Toys For Tots Campaign provided over 6,000 toys, 500 books and 2,000 stocking stuffers to more than 1,600 children in Marquette County. Nationally, the program distributed more than 24 million toys and books to over 11 million children. This success is thanks to your support. Given ongoing economic challenges, we expect even more requests this year and greatly ...

In politics, the witty disarm the nitwits

Columns

An especially repellant political race is about to fade from the headlines. It would have been less ugly had more politicians traded invective for wit. Humor can take the edge off while retaining the bite. "Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand," Mark Twain said. Clever retorts ...

Obama’s joke explains the state that MAGA is in

Columns

MAGA influencers got a bit worked up last week after former President Barack Obama mocked President Donald Trump’s gold-gold-gold-heavy Oval Office. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he seems very focused on home renovation,” Obama jibed about the questionable redecoration Trump ...

America is more than the results of one election

Columns

Every election arrives wrapped in a story about its importance. In the weeks before a midterm, we hear that this is the most consequential election in our lifetime, perhaps the most important election ever. The language is understandable. Campaigns want attention, parties want energy, and ...

Trump’s circuses hardly seem to impress American voters

Editorial

It is no great revelation that Donald Trump is enriching himself as president. He raked in $2.2 billion in 2025, with his position and his personal interests frequently overlapping. Yet a poll from two weeks ago found that 34% of Republicans (and 66% of all American voters) think that he is using his position to make himself rich merits attention. Separately, voters in a Fox News poll around that same time put government corruption at the top of their list of concerns — just ahead of inflation and high prices. Mr. Trump pledged that people would be better off if they voted for ...