Public Schools and Social Justice: An Interview with Dr. Scott Menzel

This interview was conducted on May 14, 2019, and has been edited for clarity and length. Disclosure: David Spitzley is an employee of the Washtenaw ISD IT department. Michigan’s Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD) is an educational service agency (ESA) supporting the nine public school districts in Washtenaw county (Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Dexter, Lincoln, Manchester,

New York Times Reports Open Season On Sanders

Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck staring at a poster of Bernie Sanders labeled "Bernie Season"

Jonathan Martin recently wrote an article in The New York Times about efforts by elements in the Democratic party to organize opposition to Bernie Sanders’ primary campaign. The article was remarkable mainly for what it did not address, which is what these Anybody But Bernie activists’ objections are to Sanders winning the nomination. The article

Torchlight Brings You a Fiasco

The Mexican Standoff from the diner scene in Pulp Fiction, with Trump Administration figures' heads photoshopped on

Keeping up with the realities of the Trump Administration for the last couple of years has left a lot of people punch drunk.  We’ve decided to lean into that feeling, and are proud to bring you Trumpworld – “The Best People”, a playset for the Fiasco single-session collaborative roleplaying game.  If you want the vibe

Two Year Employment Review

Trump has largely avoided breaking the employment trends established under Obama As we reach the end of President Trump’s second year in office, the release of the December 2018 Employment Situation by the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides an opportunity to examine how the labor market has developed under his administration, and compare it with

March 2018 Employment Update

Continuing our ongoing coverage of the labor market, the release of the March Employment Situation by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that unemployment remains at 4.1% for the fourth month in a row, while the U-6 “underemployment” rate crept down another 0.2%.   January February March Jan-Mar Change  U-3 Unemployment Rate 4.1% 4.1% 4.1%

February 2018 Employment Update

The unemployment rate remains stable for the moment Continuing our ongoing coverage of the labor market, the release of the February Employment Situation by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that unemployment hasn’t moved since December’s revised number of 4.1%, and neither has the U-6 “underemployment” rate.   December January February Jan-Feb Change  U-3 Unemployment

November 2017 Unemployment Update

The labor market is mostly unchanged from last month Continuing our ongoing coverage of the labor market, the November Employment Situation release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows no major changes from October.  The headline U-3 unemployment was unchanged, and the U-6 “underemployment” rate rose slightly.     January October November 9-Month Change   U-3

October 2017 Unemployment Update

The labor market continues slowly tightening Continuing our ongoing coverage of the labor market, the October Employment Situation release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics continues to show apparent tightening of the labor market. Both the headline U-3 unemployment and the U-6 “underemployment” rate dropped for the second month in a row, by 0.1% and

September 2017 Unemployment Update

The labor market has returned to further tightening Continuing our ongoing coverage of the labor market, the September Employment Situation release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows return to tightening of the labor market.  The headline U-3 unemployment dropped by 0.2%, beating May’s low, as did the U-6 “underemployment” rate which dropped by 0.3%.