RevCyn

My usual blogging time was spent writing an opinion editorial this week, so unless I get jazzed about something tomorrow, it's looking like there's no real blog post this week. So meanwhile, Let's Save Michigan . (This site also has an open letter to sign onto about the need Michigan has for more federal money for light rail - see here .  And there's an awesome pledge , which includes things you can do such as shopping at small local businesses, attending cultural events, and being an informed voter.  Very doable.  So let's do it.)

I've been thinking a lot about Detroit and Michigan lately.  None of my thoughts have been particularly cheerful.  I was in a discussion last night about my disappointments with the Obama administration's handling of the situation in Michigan.  We named three times in this first year when he has let us down, seeming to not care about the situation here.  First, not rescuing the automobile industry the way the bank bailout was done, but being contented with a "rescue" that left us, as a state, hugely negatively impacted, even though the corporations have survived (barely).  Second, backing Illinois against Michigan and all the other Great Lake states about the situation with the Asian carp.  Third, and most recently, giving Michigan only a pittance of the money for light rail: Illinois 1.23 B illion, Michigan 40 M illion.*   Now you can disagree with any of this, explaining why Michigan doesn't deserve more aid.  But what I can tell you is the sit...

Michigan is having a hard time right now. No news there. My city, Jackson, Michigan, topped Forbes' list of the 10 Worst Small Cities for Jobs . Five other small Michigan cities made that top ten list as well. And of course we're well represented on the mid-sized and large-sized cities lists, as well, with Detroit coming in number one on the latter. Find any other gloomy list of worst places to be in this economy, Michigan cities are sure to be on it. Michigan churches are having a hard time, too, of course. When times get hard, discretionary income goes down. And churches are, well, discretionary, particularly in the guilt-free UU version where tithing isn't a religious obligation in the same way that it is in some other faiths. One measure of rough things are in Michigan might be to look at the level of ministerial transition. Sometimes these transitions are a result of ministerial tenures happening naturally, but sometimes they're because of a need to decrease the ...