This should frighten EVERY Michigander [Caricature by DonkeyHotey from photos by Anne C. Savage for Eclectablog] As we watch the drama related to the bankruptcy of Detroit play out on the national stage, it’s worth recalling something I have mentioned in the past: Governor Rick Snyder is guided by the “101 Recommendations to Revitalize Michigan” (pdf) of the corporatist front […]

Michigan’s “stand your ground” law resembles Florida’s more than any other state Graphic by Chris Lozos The tragic death of unarmed Trayvon Martin in Florida was a direct result of that state’s odious “Stand Your Ground” law. The fact that George Zimmerman was acquitted of his death is a direct result, not of the six female jurors ignoring the law, […]

Scrub-a-dub-dub… Graphic by Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog Last January, I wrote first about the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) crowing about screwing workers with Right to Work. In fact, they corrupted our beloved “Pure Michigan” brand to do so. Shortly after that, I broke the story of how they scrubbed their Right to Work bragging from the state […]

Hardy har har har Judge Daphne Means Curtis of the Wayne County Circuit Court today dismissed a frivolous lawsuit filed by the corporatist front group Mackinac Center today. The lawsuit attempted to make new Right to Work rules retroactive to before the time when the contract was signed. The contract was negotiated and signed BEFORE the odious anti-union law went […]

Michigan’s ‘Teacher of the Year’ deserves better than this

In May of this year, Gary Abud, a science teacher at Grosse Pointe North High School, was chosen as Michigan’s 2013-2014 Teacher of the Year by State Superintendent Mike Flanagan. It’s an amazing accomplishment for a teacher who has only been at it for six years. Well-respected by both his students and his coworkers, Mr. Abud was a worthy choice.

To reward him for his outstanding achievement, the anti-union corporatist Mackinac Center — an ALEC and State Policy Network affiliate that is funded, in part, by the Koch brothers — did a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to find out how much money Mr. Abud makes. Once they found out, they proceeded to use him to promote passage of House Bill 4625, a bill I call the “‘Teach to the Test’ Teacher Pay Act”.

Click through for my interview with this amazing educator.

ForProfitSchoolsFirst Last month, I wrote about yet another Republican attack on teachers in the form of House Bill 4625. This bill, as I said then, would make teachers’ pay primarily based on student progress. Current law says that teacher pay should be using job performance and job accomplishments as a significant factor. House Bill 4625, introduced by Republican Pete Lund, […]

Hoo boy… The Detroit News conservative pundit and cartoonist Henry Payne has an op-ed with such comically convoluted (il)logic that it deserves public derision. His piece, “‘Pasha’ Dingell and the rise of Washington power” basically implies that Dean of the House John Dingell has secured his power through massive contributions from corporations and their lobbyists. He then goes on to […]

This MUST stop

The story of 22-year Cody Bailey being installed as president of a for-profit charter school in Michigan (posts are HERE and HERE) has rekindled my outrage about the demonization of teachers and the systematic kneecapping and dismantling of our public school system here in Michigan. Operating under the guise of “education reform”, corporatists like Cody Bailey, the Mackinac Center, and the DeVos family are engaging in an unsubtle effort to convert our nation’s schools into profit centers for corporate “education” businesses. Their approach has three primary components.

Click through for much, much more.

That had to have left a mark

Last night on the Night Shift with Tony Trupiano radio show, Tony and political consultant Joe Disano from Main Street Strategies discussed my piece on Cody Bailey, the newly-minted 22-year old for-profit charter school president. Joe and Tony have a history with Cody and they rode him suitably hard during the Democratic primary last year.

It’s worth a listen if only to hear them call Bailey “the human herpes virus”, compare him to a case of “shingles” and call him “reptilian”.

Enjoy this and more after the jump.

The war is over, if you want it Republicans don’t mention this as they’re busy pretending to repeal ObamaCare 37 times, but they’re voting to take health insurance away from millions of working Americans. Medicaid expansion will insure those who earn up to 133% of the poverty level and previously earned too much to qualify for Medicaid — at least […]

When educating your kids is all about making a profit, being a shyster is as good a qualification as anything

Last year, I wrote about fake Democrat Cody Bailey who had his ass handed to him by now-State Representative David Knezek. Bailey barely beat a candidate in the Democratic primary who didn’t even run a campaign and got his clock cleaned by Knezek. As I outlined in my expose, Bailey was anything but a Democrat and ran one of the sleaziest, most fact-challenged campaigns in my experience.

Imagine my (non) surprise to discover this week that Bailey, at the tender age of 22, is now the president of the Taylor Preparatory High School in Taylor, Michigan. What qualifies Bailey to be the president of an educational institution with a lofty mission of being “a bridge to a life well lived” for high schoolers? In a word (well, two words): not much.

Much more on this sordid story after the jump.