Free Republic

Yes, you read the headline correctly. Michigan’s Medicaid expansion program includes $50 Wal-Mart gift cards for Medicaid enrollees that “follow the doctor’s orders.” It seems that although, “the state doesn’t itself purchase or give out any Wal-Mart gift cards, their cost is baked into the Medicaid managed care contracts.” In essence, the taxpayers of Michigan are paying for $50 Wal-Mart gift cards for people on Medicaid whether they know it or not. And getting one of these gift cards is pretty easy.

Satan worshipers launched a counter-protest against pro-lifers outside the Detriot and Ferndale, Michigan Planned Parenthood locations Saturday. Clad in black robes, members of the Satanic Temple of Detriot drenched bound women with milk, simulating water-boarding to "illustrate the theocratic agenda imposed upon female bodies." The milk symbolized breast milk, one of the protest organizers explained on Facebook. The group attached a symbol of their temple to the American flag and held up a sign that read, "America is not a theocracy. End forced motherhood." At one point during the protest, a man claiming to be a sheriff unsuccessfully attempted to...

A woman in a minivan is not at all happy with Bethany Campbell’s massive poster, which shows the bloody detached head of a fetus and reads “Choice is Abortion.” “Little kids do not need to see that picture,” the minivan lady shouts over traffic noise at a busy intersection in Ann Arbor. “Yes, they do,” says Campbell, a blonde 25-year-old from Saline who says she’s worked as a nurse, and that while she’s been “pro-life my entire life,” this is her first time actually coming out to a protest against abortion. “For me, this is outside my comfort zone,” Campbell...

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio has opened up a 9 per cent lead over presumptive Democratic nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (45% - 36%) while both Jeb Bush (41% - 40%) and Donald Trump (40% - 39%) have a narrow 1 per cent l ead , well within the margin of error of the latest Mitchell - FOX 2 Michigan Poll . The poll of N=1,310 likely voters in the 2016 General Election was conducted Monday night August 10, 2015, the night before Donald Trump spoke at a packed Republican Party rally in Birch Run, by Mitchell Republican...

DETROIT – A suburban Detroit official is trying to extinguish the use of personal flamethrowers, which are being sold online by two Midwest companies, in his city. The companies, located in the Detroit area and Cleveland, claim their devices can be used for recreation or to control weeds and insect hives, clear snow and ice, clear brush and start a bonfire. Warren Mayor Jim Fouts calls the proposed uses "pretty specious" and "silly," the Detroit Free Press reported. Fouts wants to ban the storage, use and possession of flamethrowers in Warren because he believes the devices are dangerous and could...

DETROIT - A prosecutor has declined to charge an Immigration and Customs agent for the fatal shooting of a 20-year-old Detroit man. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Wednesday that agent Mitchell Quinn’s actions against Terrance Kellom earlier this year were justified by self-defense. Police said Kellom lunged at Quinn with a hammer before he was shot in his father's west side home on April 27. His father, Kevin Kellom, disputed that account, saying his son was escorted down the stairs by officers and was shot as he was kneeling. “My son was assassinated in my face. I will never...

Drug-resistant head lice are very likely coming to a school near you, U.S. investigators warn. At least 25 states host lice populations that don't respond to common over-the-counter treatments, a new analysis reveals. Permethrin, part of the pyrethroid class of insecticides, has long been the go-to weapon against head lice, mosquitoes, bedbugs and other insects. But continued exposure to permethrin has caused a huge swath of the dreaded insects to develop genetic mutations that render such drugs useless. "It's a very classic resistance story. ... Head lice, which can't jump or fly, transmit by direct physical contact. They quickly infest...

The biological parents of a girl found dead in foster care in Auburn are demanding answers about what happened to their daughter. The Department of Children and Families said 2-year-old Avalena Conway-Coxon died at the hospital after she was removed from her foster home on Pheasant Court in Auburn. The Worcester County DA said another girl around 2 years old who was removed from the home remains hospitalized in "very critical" condition. "I will never see her smile again," said a tearful Jessica Conway, Avalena's mother. "I will never be able to hold my daughter again and it's because of...

Emily Shire at The Daily Beast thinks it’s a terrible idea for UFC champion Ronda Rousey to go head to head in the ring with boxing champion Floyd Mayweather. Why? Because Mayweather has a history of domestic abuse (he’s been convicted of violence against women five times, though only served one sentence) and, as Shire writes: “A future fight between Rousey and Mayweather wouldn’t strike a blow for equality—but would likely underscore how appalling violence between men and women really is.” Rousey thinks differently. She’s been going after Mayweather, notoriously slamming him fresh off her win of the ESPY award,...

Education researchers, college administrators and professors at the American Enterprise Institute expressed concern that more poor kids aren’t going to college. Yet and still, they might be luring people to college who might be better off doing something else. Chemistry Teacher with Students in Class For example, the University of Chicago’s Jenny Nagaoka, a deputy director with their Chicago Consortium of School Research complained that researchers are “mostly focused” on high achievers but not low- or middle-achievers. Jessica Howell, an executive director of policy research at the College Board, agreed and said that college matching is “about more than just...

'Teflon Don' is at it again. Is this for real? I mean, I know it is- but...Donald Trump? The true frontrunner for our dear GOP? I have to admit, I am still skeptical of him- but he is saying all the right things...this speech tonight even made me believe. Anyone else coming around? I've seen the polls...but how many of you really are considering voting for Trump? We should have some kind of Freeper Poll by state. This is gettin' kinda real. He can't be dismissed anymore. Thx

EAST LANSING, Michigan --- Donald Trump is leading his Republican hallengers among those who would vote in the Michigan GOP Presidential Primary next year according to a Mitchell Poll of Michigan conducted last night. Trump with 20% leads Carly Fiorina at 15% with Jeb Bush and Ben Carson tied for third place at 12% . Marco Rubio is fourth at 10 % with Ted Cruz and John Kasich both at 8 % tied fo r f ifth.

With barely a month to go in its contract talks, Ford Motor Co. has thrown a meaty bone to the United Autoworkers Union. And it may also take Ford out of the presidential debate, where it recently became a target of Republican front-runner Donald Trump. Negotiations got off to a slightly testy start last month following news that the second-largest domestic automaker would likely move production of several key small car lines from Michigan to Mexico. Now, however, Ford says it plans to shift a heavy-duty version of its F-Series pickups from Mexico to a plant in Ohio, a move...

Addressing about 2,000 very enthusiastic people at the Birch Run Expo Center, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump touched on everything from immigration, China, the military, Obamacare and his Republican opponents. The crowd, some coming from outside of Michigan, ate it up, giving him frequent standing ovations and breaking into chants of "Trump, Trump, Trump!" and "U.S.A, U.S.A." "I love people, I love this country. We are going to make it so strong and so powerful," he said. "You are going to love a President Trump."

Call it “Little House of Representatives.” Actress Melissa Gilbert, who rose to fame as a child playing Laura Ingalls Wilder on “Little House on the Prairie,” has announced she will challenge Michigan freshman Republican Rep. Mike Bishop. Gilbert moved to Michigan in 2014 with actor husband Timothy Busfield (“Revenge of the Nerds”). In June of 2015, it was revealed that IRS had filed a tax lien against Gilbert for $360,000 in unpaid taxes. Asked about the tax lien, Gilbert, former president of the Screen Actors Guild, told the Detroit Free Press, “The truth is I got caught in a perfect...

Tuesday at the Birch Run Expo Center in Michigan, when pushed for the details of how he will get things done, Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump touted his ability to get what he wants.

Call it “Little House of Representatives.” Actress Melissa Gilbert, who rose to fame as a child playing Laura Ingalls Wilder on “Little House on the Prairie,” has announced she will challenge Michigan freshman Republican Rep. Mike Bishop. Gilbert moved to Michigan in 2014 with actor husband Timothy Busfield (“Revenge of the Nerds”). In June of 2015, it was revealed that IRS had filed a tax lien against Gilbert for $360,000 in unpaid taxes.

From the “Little House” to the Congress? It could happen for Livingston County resident Melissa Gilbert. Gilbert, star of the hit 1970s television series, “Little House on the Prairie” on Monday announced she would run as a Democrat for the 8th District Congressional seat in next year’s election. The news thrilled area Democrats. “I think it’s very, very exciting news,” said county party chairwoman Judy Daubenmier, “We worked with her on the Schauer campaign (for governor) and, I can tell you, she’s a real trooper. She’ll be a very effective campaigner.”

LANSING, MI — Actress Melissa Gilbert, best known for her childhood role as Laura Ingalls Wilder on "Little House in the Prairie," is running for the U.S. House out of Michigan. Gilbert, a Democrat who has lived in Livingston County since 2013, announced Monday that she is running for the 8th Congressional District seat currently held by Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop of Rochester. "Here in Michigan, I know people are doing their best to make a good life for themselves and their families. When it comes down to it, I think that's what we all really want," Gilbert said...

LANSING, MI — Michigan House Speaker Kevin Cotter is ordering an investigation into allegations that freshman state Reps. Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat used their offices and staff in an apparent attempt to cover up a personal relationship. The Detroit News on Friday published raw and transcribed audio recorded by former House aide Ben Graham, who had worked for Courser until he was fired in July, when Gamrat also parted ways with a top aide. Courser, R-Lapeer, reportedly told Graham to send a fake and salacious email about himself to Republican operatives, alleging that the lawmaker had been caught having...