Teacher Justine Galbraith writes, “Who are we to you? If we’re indeed essential, tasked with propping up our entire society: Pay us. Care about our health. Value our LIVES over a few months of your kid’s education. If we’re what we suspect – expendable, disposable – be ready for more of us to walk out the door. Many of us already have one foot out.”
Category Archive: Opinion
Naomi Ludman, Chair of the Cass County Democratic Party, writes why Michigan State Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey should resign.
WSV’s Steph Hightree writes, “This past summer I finally started letting my daughter stay home by herself. I would be lying if I said I don’t think of every possible thing that could go wrong before I leave the house though. When does protecting them too much start to hinder their growth process? Has worry and fear taken over my life? Am I putting my child’s happiness in a bottle and locking it up until they are old enough to move out of the house? Am I taking away their ability to become risk takers or confidant adventurers all because I let my fear and worry take over my life? I think the answer is yes, at least a little bit.”
WSV’s Deborah Haak-Frost writes, “I’d like to make the case, on behalf of the planet, that less might be more. I am not a parent, and I don’t know if I can or will be, but I want to be conscious of the impact of my choices on the earth in terms of family size.”
WSV’s Torrey Brown writes about an offensive Valentine’s Day themed image that circulated through the Los Angeles Police Department last week. The image makes light of George Floyd — who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020 — with a caption that read, “You take my breath away.”
General Motors Company, which has been at the forefront of advanced powertrain research, offers just one fully electric vehicle — the Chevy Bolt. No hydrogen-powered vehicles are on the near horizon. Nevertheless, GM pushed the bar higher last month, surprising the auto industry by saying it plans to sell only “zero-emission” light-duty vehicles by 2035. That’s just 14 years, or little more than two new product cycles away.
WSV’s Steph Hightree writes, “I am a big supporter of taking medication to help with one’s mental health and other health related issues. I wouldn’t be able to function without mine. But my daughter is feeling some shame with hers. She feels like something is wrong with her because she has to take medicine. So how do we end this stigma? Unfortunately society has not helped with this. Mental health is still not considered a health problem even though it has the word health right in its name. It is considered taboo to be depressed. People don’t like discussing or dealing with it. I’d like to end that now.”
Crank the speakers in your Uber and get ready as Lisha & Jules cover Lisha’s favorite movie (yes, again, it’s a whole thing), Carlos López Estrada’s 2018 feature length directorial debut, Blindspotting!
WSV Columnist Steph Hightree writes, “I am by no means an expert on picking your battles. But I do have 13 years of parenting experience to fall back on and I’ll tell you what, I have lost more than I have won. But my children are alive and happy and healthy, and I haven’t lost all of my hair yet.”
WSV Columnist Amy East writes, “The reality of higher education in our country is far from ideal and far from available for everyone. […] The cost of education keeps going up while the quality of education suffers.”
WSV Columnist Deborah Haak-Frost writes, “I have a veritable gaggle of winter squashes amassing in my kitchen, all waiting patiently to fill roasting pans and crockpots for the long cold season. Their soft-skinned, warm-weather cousins have disappeared, but these hard-shelled, firm-fleshed troopers stick around.”
“From the toddler stage we moved into the little boy stage. The stage where Nathan was learning to become independent. Learning about things he liked and disliked, and teaching us to accommodate his needs as they came along. We were working diligently to help him navigate life with Autism, and he started to be able to do more things for himself. But he still needed some help. He still needed me. He still needed that Happy Meal.”
WSV Columnist Torrey Brown writes about the Wilmington insurrection of 1898 that led to the overthrow of a newly elected interracial government, and resulted in the deaths of at least 60 Black people.
WSV Columnist Charles Thomas writes, “While it’s great to aim high, such lofty goals have a major downside. When our resolution is to lose 50 pounds, it’s hard to get very excited when we’ve lost five pounds. That’s just a drop in the bucket, a mere 10 percent of the goal! But when we start smaller and make our initial goal to lose five pounds, we can celebrate an actual victory as we plan how to take the next step.”
Doug and Alek return for Season 2 of Keep Your Voice Down after a lengthy hiatus to talk about last week’s riot at the U.S. Capitol building, and to gush about the wide variety of talent present on the Watershed Voice Podcast Network. The duo also discusses the media that impacted them the most in 2020.
WSV Columnist Aundrea Sayrie writes, “Love him or hate him, Donald Trump is an effective leader. Here are four things about his leadership style that make him effective.”
In this episode, Shan & Hogey explore the branding of Captain America–U.S. patriotism and what that means for him and the authors of his comics. This episode is fourth in a five part series that started with the passing of Chadwick Boseman, and continued to feature other heads of state in MARVEL comics to go along with the U.S. election cycle.
This week, the fellas break down the return of High School football and what it means for a couple local teams still left in the playoffs. Jordan breaks down the past two weeks of Michigan and Michigan State basketball, while Layne outlines who he’d like to see as the next General Manager and Head Coach for the Detroit Lions.