Monica Yatooma

09/06/2026

🚨 Yes, I’m talking about education again today. And there’s a reason.⁣
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Because what we’re seeing in Michigan is too important to post about once, shake our heads and move on.⁣
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Michigan’s newly released 2026 M-STEP results show just 38.2% of third graders scored proficient in English Language Arts — the lowest third-grade result in the 12-year history of M-STEP.⁣
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Yesterday we talked about what that means for our kids.⁣
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Today I want to talk about what it means for ALL OF US.⁣
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And yes, private-school parents — I’m talking to you too 😉⁣
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You can choose a different school for your child.⁣
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You cannot choose a different generation for them to inherit Michigan with.⁣
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Today’s third graders will eventually become our nurses, electricians, engineers, police officers, entrepreneurs, employees and employers.⁣
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They’ll buy homes. Start businesses. Pay taxes. Raise families. Vote.⁣
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Eventually, they’ll run this state.⁣
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That’s why education policy IS economic policy.⁣
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We can spend billions trying to lure companies to Michigan. We can subsidize factories, chase data centers and talk endlessly about AI and advanced manufacturing.⁣
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But here’s the inconvenient little detail:⁣
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Someone still has to be qualified to do the jobs.⁣
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A company can build the most technologically advanced facility in America, but if Michigan isn’t producing an educated, capable workforce, they’ll find that workforce somewhere else.⁣
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And literacy is foundational to all of it.⁣
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Third graders don’t stay third graders.⁣
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Which is why I refuse to look at 38.2% and shrug because my own child attends a different school — and neither should you.⁣
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Public school. Private school. Homeschool. No children. Grown children.⁣
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This affects every single one of us.⁣
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We aren’t simply educating Michigan’s children.⁣
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We’re building Michigan’s future workforce, economy and leadership.⁣
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So yes, I’m talking about education again.⁣ Because 38.2% isn’t just someone else’s problem.⁣
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It’s a problem for ALL of us.

09/05/2026

🚨 MICHIGAN PARENTS: Our kids just got their report card — except this one is really grading the adults.

Michigan’s latest test results are out, and the Department of Education says student proficiency is essentially FLAT from last year.

Translation: We’re still failing too many kids.

Last year, only 38.9% of third graders were proficient in English, 42.7% in math, and by eighth grade, just 30.4% were proficient in math.

And here’s what should really infuriate parents and taxpayers:

We’re constantly being asked for MORE.

More millages. More bonds. More spending. More taxes.

Meanwhile, academic results remain stagnant and the education bureaucracy keeps growing.

At what point do taxpayers get to ask:

WHAT ARE WE GETTING FOR OUR MONEY?

If you went to your boss every year asking for a bigger budget while delivering the same disappointing results, eventually someone would demand answers.

Our schools should be no different.

I don’t send my children to school to become political activists.

I send them to READ. WRITE. DO MATH. LEARN SCIENCE, HISTORY AND CIVICS.

Most importantly, teach them HOW to think — not WHAT to think.

And this isn’t an attack on teachers. There are incredible educators working their tails off every day inside a system that desperately needs better results and resources.

This is about PRIORITIES. ACCOUNTABILITY. RESULTS.

Every year we lose arguing about ideology, bureaucracy and politics is a year our children NEVER GET BACK.

Parents: Find your district’s scores. Look at what you’re paying. Show up to school board meetings. Ask questions. Demand answers.

And if they keep asking for more money without delivering better results?

CHANGE THE PEOPLE MAKING THE DECISIONS.

Our children — and Michigan taxpayers — deserve better than “essentially flat.”

🔥 Michigan parents: How is YOUR district doing? Drop it below.

09/04/2026

🚨 MICHIGAN — I am absolutely infuriated by this.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh has DENIED Americans for Citizen Voting–Michigan’s emergency request to get the citizens-only voting amendment onto the November ballot.

No written opinion. No explanation. Just DENIED.

Let me make sure I understand this correctly.

More than 700,000 Michigan citizens signed petitions asking for the opportunity to vote on a constitutional amendment making it clear that only U.S. citizens can vote in Michigan elections.

The State Board of Canvassers blocked it.

Americans for Citizen Voting fought back, ultimately taking the case all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

Justice Kavanaugh then ordered Michigan to respond on an expedited timeline — which certainly made it look like the Court understood the urgency of what was happening.

Michigan responded. ACVM replied.

And then?

Denied. Without explanation.

So forgive me for asking the obvious question:

Why demand an expedited response from the State if you're going to deny emergency relief without even explaining the legal reasoning?

Maybe there is a legal rationale. But Kavanaugh didn't provide one in the order, so none of us should pretend we know what it is.

And THAT is precisely what is so infuriating.

This isn't some theoretical law-school exercise. There is a ballot deadline staring Michigan voters in the face.

We're talking about 700,000+ petition signatures and citizens attempting to exercise a right Michigan's own Constitution gives them: the initiative process.

If citizens follow the law, collect hundreds of thousands of signatures, challenge the government's decision through the courts and STILL cannot even get the question before voters, at some point we have to ask:

What exactly are these laws and constitutional rights worth if nobody will enforce them when it matters?

And here's the kicker:

Kavanaugh's denial does NOT say those sworn voter affidavits were fraudulent.

It does NOT say those citizens didn't sign the petitions.

It does NOT contain a ruling that the Board was correct on the merits.

It simply denies the emergency injunction.

Apparently 700,000+ Michiganders can sign a petition asking to VOTE on whether only citizens should vote…

…and somehow Michigan voters may never get to vote on it.

You honestly couldn't write the irony better if you tried.

I believe in the rule of law. I believe in our Constitution. And I believe courts exist in part to protect citizens when government institutions overstep their authority.

But the rule of law only means something if citizens can actually rely on it when the clock is running out.

The let us down big time today.

Michigan voters deserved an answer. At the VERY least, they deserved an explanation.

700,000+ signatures. LET THE PEOPLE VOTE.

The justices were asked to intervene in a Michigan ballot fight after the invalidation of signatures tanked a proof-of-citizenship amendment.

09/03/2026

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela

This has always been one of my favorite quotes, and today it may be more relevant than ever.

Because Mandela was right: education IS powerful. The question is what we choose to do with that power.

Education should teach children HOW to think, not WHAT to think. It should give them the fundamentals — reading, writing, math, science, history and civics — and then teach them how to question, reason, debate, solve problems and arrive at conclusions for themselves.

Instead, too much of our education system has become consumed by ideology and activism. Children are increasingly encouraged to see themselves through political and social causes while too many are struggling to master the basic academic skills they will need to succeed in adulthood.

That isn’t education. That’s indoctrination.

And meanwhile, powerful teachers unions have become political machines with enormous influence over the very system they are supposed to serve. They spend heavily in politics, protect the status quo and too often put institutional power ahead of accountability to parents and students.

Teachers and teachers unions are not the same thing. There are incredible educators in our schools who work every day to help children succeed, and they deserve our respect. But no special-interest organization should have more influence over public education than the families and communities those schools exist to serve.

We can complain about it endlessly, or we can actually do something about it.

If we want to take education back, good people need to run for school board. Everywhere.

School boards may not get the attention of Congress or the White House, but the decisions made in those meeting rooms directly affect what our children are taught, who is held accountable, how taxpayer dollars are spent and what values guide their education.

I’ve seen firsthand what can happen when ordinary parents and community members decide to stop sitting on the sidelines and get involved.

Our children do not belong to a political party, a union, or an ideology.

They deserve an education that teaches them to think critically, equips them to succeed and prepares them to become capable, productive members of society.

Education really can change the world.

That’s exactly why we need to fight so hard to get it right.

🇺🇸 Run for school board. Support good candidates. SHOW UP.

The next generation is absolutely worth fighting for 🙌🏻

09/02/2026

READ. PAST. THE. HEADLINE 👀

Michigan officials are celebrating a new Auditor General review showing that 99.99% of the state’s 8.3 MILLION voter records contain the information required by law.

Great.

But did you actually read what else the audit found? Because I did…

403 registrations were canceled or rejected for citizenship-related reasons.

653 registered voters had birthdates indicating they were more than 122 YEARS OLD.

73 had birthdates indicating they weren’t even 17½ yet.

And nearly ONE MILLION voter registrations were canceled between January 2022 and March 2026 for legitimate reasons including voters dying or moving.

Now, does this report prove widespread voter fraud?

Hopefully your common sense kicks in here to answer this question…

If anything, this demonstrates exactly why voter-roll maintenance, citizenship verification & independent scrutiny absolutely matter.

This is what drives me crazy about this conversation.

We seem incapable of acknowledging two things at once:

Michigan can have an “accurate voter file”…

AND there can still be records that need to be identified, investigated & removed.

Those aren’t contradictory statements.

That’s literally why we audit things.

So instead of screaming “DEBUNKED!” every time someone asks questions about voter rolls, how about we actually read the audits, acknowledge what they find & keep improving the system?

Because election integrity isn’t about proving your political side right.

It’s about making sure every eligible citizen can vote—and ONLY eligible citizens can vote.

This should NEVER be controversial.

https://www.votebeat.org/michigan/2026/09/02/auditor-general-report-voter-roll-noncitizens-2026-election/

The report has the potential to become a political football in the fall campaign.

09/01/2026

WELL… THIS JUST GOT INTERESTING 👀

Remember the Citizens Only Voting amendment that submitted 709,841 signatures, only to be kept off Michigan’s November ballot after the process came down to THREE signatures in a 1,000-signature sample?

The fight has officially reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

After the Michigan Board of State Canvassers deadlocked 2–2, Americans for Citizen Voting–Michigan asked the Michigan Supreme Court to intervene.

But with the clock ticking toward Michigan’s ballot deadline, the campaign says it can’t afford to sit around while the Michigan supreme court intentionally drags its feet.

So they went higher.

On Monday, they filed an emergency application with the US SUPREME COURT, asking the Court to order Michigan to put the amendment on the November ballot while the legal fight continues.

And apparently somebody in Washington understands what the word “emergency” means.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh has now ordered the Michigan Board of State Canvassers and other state respondents to answer the application by NOON tomorrow, September 2.

Why the rush?

Michigan’s ballot has to be finalized by September 4.

And here’s another important detail from the case:

The campaign says the Board finished with 626 valid signatures in its sample. It needed 629.

The lawsuit centers on nine voter affidavits the Board declined to accept. According to the campaign’s filing, those voters swore before a notary that the disputed signatures were genuinely theirs.

They only needed THREE.

709,841 signatures submitted.
Three-signature sample gap.
2–2 partisan deadlock.
Nine disputed affidavits.
Now SCOTUS.

The question now is whether the U.S. Supreme Court is about to reopen it.

Tomorrow at noon ⏰👀

The justices are being asked to force election officials to put an amendment on state ballots despite ongoing litigation over the validity of signatures for the initiative.

08/31/2026

Cringe level watching this was a definite 15/10 🥴🥴🥴

Besides this looking like a hostage situation… what on earth is going on here???

08/30/2026

WHO IS ACTUALLY BUYING THIS?

Serious question for Roop Raj: Have you actually done your due diligence on Michigan’s voter rolls & documented cases of noncitizens voting before accepting the premise that everything is fine?

Because Michigan’s OWN Department of State confirmed 15 credible cases of apparent noncitizens voting in the 2024 election. Thirteen were referred for potential prosecution.

Remember the Chinese national studying at U-M who allegedly registered, falsely claimed U.S. citizenship & CAST A BALLOT?

That happened too.

Does that prove widespread voter fraud? No.

Does it prove the system is incapable of allowing an ineligible person to vote?

Also no.

And Michigan continues removing outdated registrations. Benson’s own administration says more than 1.1 MILLION have been removed since she took office.

So when we’re told the voter rolls are “clean”, what exactly does that mean?

Then there’s the DOJ.

The Justice Department requested Michigan’s unredacted voter-registration database.

Jocelyn Benson refused & provided a redacted version instead, arguing DOJ lacked the legal authority to demand the complete file and raising privacy concerns.

But let’s be clear: we’re talking about the U.S. Department of Justice—not some random private organization asking Michigan to publish voters’ personal information online.

The federal government already maintains enormous amounts of sensitive identifying information through agencies responsible for Social Security, immigration, passports, taxation & citizenship records.

So the obvious question remains:

If Michigan’s voter rolls are as clean & accurate as Benson says, why fight federal efforts to independently verify them?

Nobody is asking for voters’ Social Security numbers or driver’s-license information to be posted publicly.

We’re asking why the agencies responsible for enforcing federal election laws shouldn’t be able to lawfully cross-check the information necessary to determine whether everyone on Michigan’s voter rolls is actually eligible to be there.

“Trust us” is not enough. That’s not transparency.

And with documented cases of noncitizens getting through Michigan’s system & casting ballots, asking for independent verification isn’t unreasonable.

It’s exactly what voters should demand.

08/29/2026

What happens to a society when God disappears from it?⁣
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I watched a fascinating discussion from Dennis Prager on the consequences of secularism, & whether you agree with him or not, the question he raises is worth thinking about.⁣
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For decades, Western society has increasingly separated itself from religion.⁣
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We’re told that’s progress—that removing God from public life makes society more rational, tolerant & enlightened.⁣
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But Prager asks a much more uncomfortable question:⁣
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What replaces God?⁣
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Because people don’t suddenly stop believing in things.⁣
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We still need some basis for determining:⁣
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What is good?⁣
What is evil?⁣
Where do our rights come from?⁣
Why does every human life have value?⁣
Who gets to decide?⁣
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Prager’s argument is that secularism doesn’t create a neutral society. Traditional religious morality gets replaced by other belief systems, ideologies & institutions that begin answering those questions for us.⁣
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And THAT deserves a much bigger conversation.⁣
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Our Declaration of Independence says our rights are endowed by our Creator.⁣
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Think about why that matters.⁣
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If our fundamental rights come from government, government can theoretically redefine them.⁣
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If they come from God, government doesn’t give us those rights. Its job is to protect rights we already possess.⁣
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Now look around America.⁣
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We have more technology, information, convenience & material wealth than previous generations could have imagined.⁣
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Yet we’re confronting loneliness, broken families, declining trust, political hatred, loss of community & people desperately searching for meaning.⁣
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I’m not suggesting secularism alone caused all of this. That would be far too simplistic.⁣
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But I AM asking whether removing faith, objective morality & belief in something greater than ourselves from the center of our culture has consequences we don’t want to acknowledge.⁣
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Maybe the question isn’t simply:⁣
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“Do you believe in God?”⁣
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Maybe society needs to answer something bigger:⁣
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If we remove God as the ultimate moral authority…what takes His place?⁣
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Government?⁣
Politics?⁣
Ideology?⁣
Ourselves?⁣
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And are we comfortable with the answer?⁣
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This is a conversation worth having. Especially right now.

08/27/2026

This is a big deal, and it just got bigger.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Postal Service published its new mail-in ballot rules — implementing Trump's executive order on mail voting. Any state that wants USPS to handle its mail-in or absentee ballots now has to:

🔹 Turn over a list of every voter getting a ballot (name and address)
🔹 Use unique serialized barcodes on both the outgoing and return envelopes

Refuse either one, and USPS won't deliver those ballots.
Here's the part that just changed: the Obama-appointed judge who had blocked these rules just LIFTED her own block this week. She admitted she was "compelled to" by this week's Supreme Court ruling, and even called the executive order "likely unconstitutional" on her way out the door. But she lifted it anyway.

That means as of right now, there is nothing stopping these rules from going into effect for the midterms. Ballots are set to start going out as soon as next week.

And right on cue, Dana Nessel is already suing to block it again. Of course she is. Michigan joined a coalition of 25 other Democrat-led states filing a brand new lawsuit the SAME DAY the block came down, scrambling for another injunction before ballots hit the mail. This is round two for Nessel on this exact fight — she was already part of the lawsuit that got the FIRST block back in June.

Here's my question: why is Dana Nessel fighting SO hard to block transparency and a clear tracking trail on mail-in ballots? Serialized barcodes and a verified voter list aren't radical concepts. They're basic chain-of-custody. If Michigan's mail-ballot process is as secure as she claims, a tracking trail should be something she welcomes, not something she sues to kill.

This fight is far from over. But for now, transparency and accountability in how mail ballots are tracked just cleared its biggest legal hurdle yet.

Dana Nessel and Jocelyn Benson are clutching their pearls, insisting this whole thing is some grave violation of privacy. Give me a break.

Voter lists aren't some newly invented state secret. Political parties, campaigns, and researchers have been requesting and receiving them for YEARS — name, address, voting history, all of it. That's not a conspiracy, that's how elections have always worked in this country.

So suddenly, when it's the Postal Service asking for a name and address to make sure a ballot gets tracked and delivered correctly, THAT'S the privacy violation? Come on, Dana. Nobody's buying it.

The U.S. Postal Service has unveiled new requirements for mail ballots less than two weeks before some states begin sending them.