Enotes

Reports say that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder may not seek a second term if he "completes his agenda" in his first term. What the hell is that supposed to mean? Two things about this odd statement, which was partially refuted by the governor's communications director, Geralyn Lasher: a) what agenda could possibly cure what's ailing Michigan in just four years; and b) why is Snyder already talking about walking away from the job. According to Paul Egan's article in today's Detroit News , Snyder said Saturday on Mackinac Island he would be "happy to go fishing, go teach or do something else" if he could complete his agenda in his first term. This is troubling to me. Michigan is one of the most economically-depressed states in the country, additionally saddled by a city---Detroit---that is as messed up as it's ever been, whether you're talking schools or jobs or infrastructure or services. Yes, Detroit has its own leadership that should take car...

Well, the kid from Livonia won't be president, after all. It would have been nice to have my hometown known for something other than being the leading speed trap in the country. U.S. Rep. Thad McCotter (R-Livonia) is dropping out of the presidential race, not that he was really in it to begin with. McCotter's out because of the big, bad media---to hear him tell it. McCotter failed to win access to the early GOP debates, which was his death knell. "If they keep you out of the debates, you are out of the conversation and you can't run," McCotter told the Detroit News . "It was sort of death by media." I wrote of McCotter's rather surprising entry into the White House race , when he deemed himself the voice of a new generation of conservatives. I thought at the time that a fellow Livonian becoming president would be pretty cool, though I am far from McCotter's political brethren. Apparently that new conservative voice of which McCotter fancied him...

Maybe there's another state in our great nation where you can get a better cider mill experience, but I'll put my good money on Michigan, just the same. Our family is on the long list of those who count a trip to the mill as an annual tradition. Doubtless there are those who make repeated trips. I know of few places I'd rather be on a crisp fall Saturday morning than at the mill, eating fresh, warm doughnuts and sipping tart cider, just mashed. I'm not a big fan of summer being in the rearview mirror, but fall makes me smile---though our falls lately haven't been as pleasurable thanks to excess rain and cold temps. I like the same things you probably do---the colors, the crisp air, the nighttime bonfires, the FOOTBALL. Even the knowledge that winter is lurking behind autumn doesn't kill it for me. Ah, but a trip to the cider mill is right up there as to why I enjoy fall. We usually head up to Yates Cider Mill in Rochester. I've written before in this space ...

September 11 wasn't a great day for Amy Yasbeck, either. Nor for any of us who loved John Ritter---and that's a whole lot of folks. The September 11 I refer to wasn't the 2001 version, which was horrific. It's the September 11 that occurred two years later. It was 9/11/03 when we lost Ritter, the actor. And when Yasbeck, also an actor, lost her husband. Ritter was starring in the successful ABC comedy "8 Simple Rules" when he collapsed on the set and died several hours later, thanks to a leaky aorta. He was 54 years old. Bio had a special about "Three's Company" the other day---maybe purposely on the 11th because that was the date of Ritter's death eight years ago. The special was a very cool look back on the history of the show, filled with clips and behind-the-scenes info. It was "Three's Company," of course, that introduced us to Ritter as Jack Tripper, the pretend-gay roommate of blonde bombshell Chrissy Snow and sensible, a...

Now, why didn't someone think of this years ago? Earlier this year I crabbed about the woeful mismatch of Anne Hathaway and James Franco as co-hosts of the Oscars. They had no chemistry with each other, and the two of them combined still couldn't make enough of a host to keep from being overwhelmed by Oscar's duties. There won't be such a dilemma next year, for Eddie Murphy is riding to the rescue. Yes, Oscar has wised up and tabbed actor/comedian Murphy to escort us through Oscar's interminable broadcast in 2012. This should be a great pick. It's Steve Martin-esque, and I wonder why they haven't invited Steverino back, come to think of it. Oscar's telecast needs someone to wink at the industry, not blatantly mock it. Hathaway and Franco tried too hard. Rather, they were given ridiculous material with which to work. But then again, neither of them had the chops to make it palatable. Murphy, like Martin and Billy Crystal and Johnny Carson and Bob Hope---...