Category Archives: Bad government

ACLU looks into Wayne court file snafu

Posted on August 25, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell The Detroit branch of the American Civil Liberties Union has asked Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett to explain how the public can have access to files of the Wayne County Circuit Court. The court has been operating … Continue reading →

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J school tricks: Making jaundice look ‘balanced’ 1.1

Posted on August 22, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell In my lecture today, I’ll show you budding young journalists how to do what might seem impossible to many writers with less skill than you will have once you complete your training here in Joel’s J School. … Continue reading →

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Message to guv: butt out

Posted on August 20, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell It took a Wayne County Circuit judge to do what Detroit’s Sludgegate-tainted City Council members should have had brains enough to do. Butt out. Now it’s time for Michigan’s governor to realize there is only one proper … Continue reading →

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Kwamegate and Detroit’s presumption of guilt

Posted on August 16, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell For three hours, sanity replaced the spite that governs the ever-more-depressing courtroom saga of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Despite the histrionics of an assistant Wayne County prosecuting attorney, Wayne Circuit Judge Leonard Townsend flatly stated in court … Continue reading →

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Playing dumb

Posted on August 15, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell Like everyone else in Michigan, I’ve been following Kwamegate pretty religiously. How can you not? The stories are everywhere, even when there’s not a story. Occasionally, when my reactions to media coverage become too powerful to control, … Continue reading →

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‘Freedom of information,’ except…

Posted on August 14, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell After all the hoopla about the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News’ battle to open more of the Kwamegate text messages to public view, I wanted to learn what the legal issues were. So I headed for … Continue reading →

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No files? It’s circus court

Posted on August 13, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell Who ever heard of a court that works without files? Sounds like something Franz Kafka would make up. You know, that insane novel of his, “The Trial,” where a guy spends his life trying to make contact … Continue reading →

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Step aside, JC

Posted on August 9, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell Remember back in 2002 when the FBI raided Ed McNamara’s offices in Detroit? How could that highly publicized piece of law enforcement be connected to Sludgegate? Well, there is a thread — In 2002, Detroit’s longtime U.S. … Continue reading →

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Ethics ‘paralysis’ charade: II

Posted on August 6, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell [donation] Okay, here’s the essay I wrote about in yesterday’s column — the one the Free Press refused to publish and forbade me to publish anywhere else: The Ethics “Paralysis’ Charade By Joel Thurtell The new Democratic … Continue reading →

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Ethics “Paralysis” Charade: I

Posted on August 5, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell All of a sudden, journalists are dissing John Conyers. Time was when no reporter in his or her right mind would criticize the congressman from Detroit, the second-most-senior member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Time was … Continue reading →

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