Nothing to Hide – November 14, 2023

A beef between ML and a state lawmaker goes from X to the podcast, where Marc sides with state Rep. Phil Skaggs on the University of Michigan’s beef with the Big Ten before Shawn dials in from L.A. where he had a strange encounter with abandoned clothing.

STRAIGHT DOPE: ML’s called state lawmakers chickens for failing to pass stronger financial disclosure legislation that would allow us to see where they get their dough – and who might have influence over them. Read that column here.

ML followed up with a column criticizing 11 state lawmakers for writing a letter on behalf of Jim Harbaugh while there was still time to improve legislation designed to help us know where they get their dough. One of the lawmakers who pushed back dials in to the podcast to debate the matter. Here’s a link to the column in question.

State Rep. Phil Skaggs, a Democrat from East Grand Rapids, wrote the Harbaugh letter and helped lead the effort to improve the financial disclosure legislation.

He lays out the three main problems with the watered-down version that passed: Lawmakers and candidates can hide assets by transferring them to their spouses, who are not required to detail their finances; there’s nothing to stop lawmakers from taking gifts; and there’s no real punishment for people who break the rules.

ML and Phil disagree on the value of the Harbaugh letter: ML calls it political grandstanding, while Skaggs says he was just sticking up for an institution in his state that everyone in Michigan has a stake in defending. Here’s a link to the press release on Phil’s letter, which contains a link to the letter.

Marc and Phil bond over their love of the Michigan Wolverines and belief that the NCAA and Big Ten are denying Harbaugh due process. ML believes that if the Michigan Wolverines had not been stealing signs, his Michigan State Spartans would have only lost 42-7.

ML says he’s sorry if he painted the letter-writers with so broad a brush that some readers believed they were responsible for not passing more stringent financial disclosure laws and acknowledges Phil’s efforts to pass a better bill. (He still believes the Harbaugh letter was a silly waste of time.)

Phil says he will continue working to improve financial disclosure rules and ML says he will continue to write about the need for more transparency and open government.

After a serious policy discussion, Shawn dials in with a seriously long and convoluted story.

Shawn watched the Wolverines beat Penn State in Happy Valley, then flew to Los Angeles to cover the Detroit Lions win over the L.A. Chargers. He joins in from a non-descript airport hotel room to share a turgid tale of highway fires, beef sandwiches and a mysterious leather jacket.

Marc and Shawn continue to debate the severity of the sign-stealing scandal. Here’s what Shawn wrote about the stain Harbaugh is leaving on his...