The national discussion of “bathroom bills” like North Carolina’s H.B. 2 is everywhere. Every time you turn on a news program or open the newspaper, it’s there. The discussion mainly focuses on how it aimed at transgender Americans, which it is, in part. But what’s often missing in the discussion is how this isn’t based on any facts related to […]

Tomorrow is our 3rd Annual Eclectablog Fundraiser Party. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, we’re asking for a $35 donation at the door ($30 in advance + Eventbrite fee, click HERE to purchase your ticket.) However, we understand that not everyone can afford that and we don’t want anyone to miss the event. Fortunately, through the generosity of some anonymous […]

The 2016 Eclectagrog souvenir beer glass! The new 2016 Eclectagrog beer glasses have arrived. If you come to our party on this Tuesday, May 17th, you’ll get to take one home as a souvenir! Tickets to the party are $30 in advance and $35 at the door. You can buy them now by clicking HERE. (If you aren’t able to […]

Today, The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice released a joint guidance to help provide educators the information they need to provide all students, including transgender students, a school environment that is safe and welcoming. The guidance is not legally binding but it makes clear that the Obama administration sees anti-transgender rules, regulations, and laws in violation of federal law […]

In 1990, Gov. Jim Blanchard signed Public Act 319 of 1990 in to law. The law prohibits “local units of government” from passing laws that restrict “the ownership, registration, purchase, sale, transfer, transportation, or possession of pistols, other firearms, or pneumatic guns, ammunition for pistols or other firearms, or components of pistols or other firearms.” It’s a pretty unambiguous law […]

Anyone making predictions about the outcome of the 2016 presidential race is on a fool’s errand. The existence of a Donald Trump candidacy is a disruptor. It creates such chaos and uncertainty that nothing about the race is predictable. Lately I’ve been thinking about the parallels between Donald Trump as a political candidate and the character of The Mule in […]

Photo by Anne C. Savage for Eclectablog In 2008, former Republican Congressman Joe Schwarz jumped party lines and endorsed Democrat Mark Schauer in the 7th Congressional District race (which Schauer eventually won.) It was a strong statement about Walberg’s far-right tea party obstructionist positions to have a well-known Michigan Republican endorse his Democratic opponent. Schwartz later went on to say, […]

I’m very happy to announce that the amazing folk duo Mustard’s Retreat will play some music for us at our 3rd annual Eclectablog fundraiser party in Ypsilanti next Tuesday, May 17th. As part of their set, they’ll be playing their song “Take the Children and Run”, a remake of Don Lange’s song written after the Three Mile Island nuclear power […]

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is clearly not a man who ever concedes he has made a mistake. After his privatizing of state prison food services went horribly awry with Aramark employees having sex with prisoners, bringing in drugs, and the many and repeated cases of vermin in food, he finally fired them. You would think he’d admit it was a […]

It’s time that we all stop pretending that Michigan Republicans care about students, the idea of smaller government, or that they believe that local control trumps state or federal government control. They SAY that these are bedrock beliefs of the Republican Party. These concepts are clearly spelled out in their platform. But we have all the evidence that we need […]

State Board of Education President John Austin, photo by Anne C. Savage for Eclectablog In December of last year, Rick Joseph, the 2015 Michigan Teacher of the Year and self-described “former homophobe”, approached State Board of Education president John Austin asking if he’d be interested in developing guidelines for Michigan school administrators when it comes to making the school environment […]