by
Stephen Henderson
Several days ago, an obviously angry Free Press Editorial editor Stephen Henderson had harsh words for some members of the Republican-controlled Michigan House of Representatives who passed a set of bills designed to bail out the financially decimated Detroit Public Schools.
Henderson felt lawmakers had fallen far short of helping the schools, writing:
We really ought to round up the lawmakers who took money to protect and perpetuate the failing charter-school experiment in Detroit, sew them into burlap sacks with rabid animals, and toss them into the Straits of Mackinac.
Apparently, Michigan House Speaker Kevin Cotter didn't appreciate the harsh words and demanded an apology.
In a statement on Freep stationary posted on Twitter, Henderson wrote in response to Cotter's demand for an apology:
In a recent column, i suggested GOP members of the Michigan House be sewn in burlap sacks with rabid animals and tossed into the lake, because, with their vote on Detroit school reforms, they sold out the interests of the city's children to the charter school lobby.
It was hyperbole.
Everyone knows I don't have access to that much burlap.
.@Shendersonfreep responds to @Rep_Cotter: It was hyperbole. Everyone knows I don’t have access to that much burlap pic.twitter.com/tTFpoZycdN
— A Better Michigan (@ABetterMI) June 10, 2016
