Roundup of Granholm/DeVos stories from the past few days...

You want issues? We got issues. We got issues coming out of our ears here in Michigan all of a sudden.

Here is a list of some of the stories of interest published recently-

Education. The AP, courtesy of WOOD, has the differing views on education funding, charter schools and curriculum. As usual, DeVos favors blowing the whole system out of the water and figuring it all out later. The other day he made the comment that he would cut $1 billion out of "education bureaucracy" and didn't say how he would pay for it. This must have come to a shock to all those in education who are struggling to provide as it is.

Granholm has managed to increase funding for education and is still working towards increasing the Merit scholarship. She points out that "3 percent of school costs go to administration and that school administrative costs in Michigan are 25 percent below the national average". She is more inclined to working with the education system rather than dictating to them what to do. Once again she has the solid fiscal plan, whereas DeVos thinks he can just cut his way out.

Good luck, people. Glad I don't have kids.

Religion. This comes from the K-zoo Gazette, but it did run in the GR Press also. Because the issue of money, money, money has dominated this election, not much has been said about the candidate's religious views. As the article states, the difference in interpretation of their faith likely would "hold quite different manifestations" when it comes to the course that policy will take.

I believe that DeVos will push his views as a "conservative" on the people of Michigan, as already evidenced by his stance on abortion, intelligent design in the science classroom, and stem cell research. He has done his best to try to hide his views and play moderate, but his record on financial support of extremist groups such as the Family Research Council, etc., paints the picture of policy DeVos would implement, and our wacky legislature will be happy to oblige him. Dick, with the help of Betsy, will have his own little theocracy right here.

Granholm says "her faith compels her to work in many ways for the most vulnerable in society", and doesn't seem inclined to push her religious views to try restrict people's behavior, which I believe is the way it should be. A side note- I didn't know she was raised Presbyterian; thought she was a life-long Catholic. That's cool. Someone with experience in both churches can offer a wider perspective.

I'll just say this- I am not a Christian. I am never going to be a Christian. Please keep your restrictions and your judgments to yourself, and let me live my life. This statement will make me very unpopular with some Christians, but I don't care anymore. After growing up in the repressive town of Grand Rapids, I'm tired of feeling that they will take me out and stone me to death with their bibles if I get out of line. I've had enough.

Voters in this article from Grand Rapids complain, "What about our issues?" To those people I would say, get out there and read. Both campaigns have extensive web sites, and the papers are finally starting to publish interviews with editorial boards and articles such as the ones I cited above. Stop waiting for the TV to force feed you pre-chewed information. The Press has another short article in this vein here.

The truth is out there, you just have to look for it.

Speaking of interviews with editorial boards, here is Granholm's interview with the GR Press. Pretty short write-up compared to the Free Press. Must have taken all of ten minutes.

The GR Press has "candidate profiles" today- DeVos, written by Press writer Ed Golder, seems to be pretty "puffy" but also includes a few unflattering facts about Dick's life and career. Peter Luke writes on Granholm- this piece focuses more on her time in office rather than an overall view of her life.

Nice profile on John Cherry here. Seems like a pretty good guy- you never hear much about him, but apparently has done quite a bit of work in tandem with Granholm these past four years.

And just a reminder- the Stabenow/Bouchard debate will be shown tonight at 8pm on PBS stations. Tune in and see if he tries to peg her with Stevens "bridge to nowhere" in a debate, too. I always get a laugh out of that.

There. Now you have plenty of reading for the day.