Free Republic

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People wants to honor Kid Rock at its annual Freedom Fund dinner at Cobo Conference and Exhibition Center in Detroit. The NAACP said it wants to recognize Rock for his commitment to Detroit. However, not everyone agrees Kid Rock should be recognized by the NAACP. "Kid Rock has made the Confederate flag a symbol at all his concerts," said Adolph Mongo of Detroiters for Progress. "It's been a problem since 2005." Mongo said he and the rest of his group plan to protest the dinner if Kid Rock is honored because the...

That brings the grand total so far up to … 928 cars. Which, believe it or not, is considerably more than its rival, the Nissan Leaf. I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t someone want to own a $41,000 electric car that under some circumstances gets worse mileage than a Prius? Why, it’s downright un-American not to. Peruse Chevrolet’s February sales release, and you’ll notice one number that’s blatantly missing: the number of Chevy Volts sold. The number – a very modest 281 – is available in the company’s detailed data (PDF), but it certainly isn’t something that GM wants to...

Link only: Consumer Reports: GM's Volt 'doesn't really make a lot of sense'

Barbara Hansen made $114,815 in 2010 as general manager of Detroit Transportation Corporation. DTC exists to operate the Detroit People Mover, the municipal rail system that serves downtown Detroit. Hansen also received a $14,696 pension contribution made by her employer last year. It is a benefit DTC employees get that far exceeds the private sector. The DTC contributes 12.8 percent of W-2 wages for employees’ pensions, more than double the payment made to a typical private sector employee with a retirement benefit. “That’s not where you want to be,” said Rick Dreyfuss, a pension expert and adjunct scholar at the...

President Obama and the First family danced to Motown songs during a celebration at the White House on Thursday night.

If you are uncertain of what is at stake in Madison as both the rhetoric and power plays ratchet up, cast your eyes eastward across Lake Michigan to the state of the same name. Consider…Detroit.

DETROIT — The United Auto Workers' mission used to be simple — fight Detroit's automakers for better pay and job security. Things got more complex when the government bailed out General Motors and Chrysler two years ago, in a deal that left the union with big chunks of stock in both companies. Now the UAW has to be both owner and worker advocate, essentially sitting on both sides of the bargaining table. The tricky dual role is causing problems for union leaders, and in particular UAW president Bob King, as they prepare for contract talks later this year. "That conflict...

Mark Steyn sat in for Rush Limbaugh on Monday, and among other things, he mused about the Eminem/Chrysler Super Bowl ad (Steyn's audio is below). The TV spot purports to celebrate everything that once made Detroit great -- and will make it great again, presumably if American taxpayers continue to throw money at (or is that down?) that urban hellhole. (You paid $9 million for that commercial, by the way -- Chrysler was one of the bailout beneficiaries, remember? Oh, and I helped: they got some Canadian assistance as well. Being Canadian born and a U.S. resident, that makes Mark...

As a native Detroiter, you gotta love this [regarding Chrysler's ad for Detroit, starring Eminem]...unabashed devotion to a city that is sometimes very hard to love...

Three factory workers are suspended without pay after police catch them with drugs coming back from their lunch break. They work at the Jefferson North plant. A few months ago, Fox 2 cameras caught workers from that same plant chugging beer on their lunch breaks. Chrysler says our investigation prompted them to take a hard look at other employees at the plant, and that's what led to these latest workers getting busted. Fox 2's Simon Shaykhet has the story. (see video at source URL)

Imprisoned ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was indicted Wednesday on new corruption charges, and his father, Bernard Kilpatrick, also was implicated in what a federal prosecutor called a "pattern of extortion, bribery and fraud" among some of the city's most prominent officials.

HARPER WOODS, Mich. – A dispute between two rival groups of teenagers escalated into gunfire Saturday when members of one of the groups opened fire inside a shopping mall, critically injuring one teenager and a clothing store worker as holiday shoppers dashed for cover, police said. The shooting happened around 6 p.m. at Eastland Mall, east of Detroit, on the heels of Black Friday, traditionally the kickoff for what retailers hope is the busiest weekend of the holiday season. The mall was closed for the night as police searched for suspects, said Harper Woods deputy police chief Jim Burke. The...

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WJBK) - Police are searching for a man who stole a Southfield police cruiser and then ditched it in a neighborhood on the city's west side Tuesday.

(Detroit, MI) -- A senior al-Qaida leader is calling for Muslims living in metro Detroit to commit terrorist attacks in the U.S. In a 48-minute recording released on Saturday, Adam Gadahn called upon Muslims living in "the miserable suburbs of Paris, London, Detroit" to attack Americans.

Wife of Rep. Conyers begins federal prison sentence By Michael O'Brien - 09/10/10 04:28 PM ET The wife of Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) reported to a federal prison in West Virginia on Friday to begin a 37-month sentence on corruption charges. Monica Conyers, a former Detroit city councilwoman, reported to the Alderson Federal Prison Camp this afternoon 20 minutes before deadline, the Detroit Free Press reported. Conyers pleaded guilty last year for taking bribes to influence a vote on a sludge disposal contract in Detroit. She has since attempted to withdraw her plea. Her husband, the chairman of the House...

First Lady Michelle Obama told the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Legislative Conference on Wednesday that her “Let’s Move!” campaign to end childhood obesity requires grassroots efforts in communities across the nation, such as planting community gardens and making fresh produce more readily available, including in liquor stores. Obama cited a group in Detroit as a “wonderful example” of how local communities can make the campaign succeed. - snip - / “They drive a truck through the city, selling fresh, affordable produce,” Obama said. “And they’ve set up a small market. They’ve planted a community garden. They’ve even convinced some of...

Bedbugs can be found in mattresses, furniture and clothing, and they feed off animal and human blood. Insect scientists say bedbugs are appearing on a scale not seen since before World War II. High-traffic areas such as hotels, airplanes and cruise ships are especially prone to infestations. Ohio has three cities in the top 10 — Cincinnati is fourth, Columbus is seventh and Dayton is eighth.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Think Greece and Spain are drowning in debt? Look a little closer to home. Seven U.S. cities recently had their municipal bonds downgraded below investment grade. Their debt is now, junk, considered more worthless than that of the so-called PIIGS. "America's short-term budget crises, long-term growth perspectives and needs for austerity are similar [to Greece]," said Matt Fabian, managing director at Concord, Mass.-based consulting firm Municipal Market Advisors. Last quarter, Moody's Investor Services declared the debt issued by Harrisburg, Penn., and Woonsocket, R.I., to be junk, or below-investment grade. Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings currently has four other...

How aggressive SWAT tactics contributed to the death of a 7-year-old Detroit girl.On the morning of May 16, a Detroit police officer fatally shot 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones in the throat during a police raid on her home. The police were looking for a homicide suspect. They found him in the apartment above the one where Stanley-Jones was shot, where he surrendered without violence. In response, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing cautioned last week not to put the blame squarely on police.Bing is right. We should also put a good deal of the blame on him. Or, to be fair, on his...

Sharpton: Detroit Girl's Death Is 'Breaking Point' May 22, 2010 DETROIT -- Civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton gave a rousing eulogy Saturday for a 7-year-old girl killed in a police raid, challenging the hundreds of mourners to take responsibility and help stop a spiral of violence that has swept the city. Sharpton lobbed some criticism at Detroit police, whose explanation of how Aiyana Stanley-Jones died from a gunshot has been contradicted by the girl's family. But he mostly offered a broad cultural message to a city where at least three children and an officer have been killed in...