A few weeks ago, I wrote a column entreating Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to stand up to Donald Trump, given his status as a businessman-turned-Rust Belt governor who preaches the virtues of civility. While Democrats and liberal activists can be expected to do the heavy lifting when it comes to opposing the authoritarian elements of Trump’s presidency, it’s vital to […]

It’s bad enough that Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is fighting a federal ruling that the state of Michigan supply bottled water to Flint residents still contending with drinking water that is poisoned with the powerful neurotoxin lead. It’s actually REALLY bad. But he’s found another way to make his contempt for poor people known. In response to a lawsuit filed […]

As we talked about on this week’s podcast, a federal judge has ordered the State of Michigan and the City of Flint to return to providing bottled water to the resident of Flint who are being impacted by the ongoing tragedy of the poisoning of their drinking water with the powerful neurotoxin lead: A federal judge has ordered state officials […]

“Michigan Governor Rick Snyder Political Suicide” image by DonkeyHotey | Flickr On Tuesday this week, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder tweeted about “Lead Poisoning Prevention Week” with no apparent sense of irony whatsoever: It’s Lead Poisoning Prevention Week and Lt. Gov. @BrianCalley is sharing prevention tips to keep our kids safe https://t.co/cjFK91ms0e — Governor Rick Snyder (@onetoughnerd) October 25, 2016 The […]

Before we get into the weeds, I believe most of the readers of Eclectablog are keenly aware of the disgrace Governor Rick Snyder and his administration have caused, not just to the state but very specifically to the residents of Flint, people who continue to suffer while the governor uses taxpayer funds to defend himself from what may prove to […]

At the Michigan Nurses Association conference taking place in Lansing this week, residents of Flint got up to talk about the ongoing catastrophe happening in their city – the so-called “Flint Water Crisis”. Calling this situation a “crisis” is, in fact, understating the problem. The women who spoke and later talked in-depth to my wife Anne described how very little […]

There are three things that should never be privatized and profitized. You don’t have to be an expert in public policy to know that when profits are on the line, the needs of those being served will be trumped by the desire to increase profits. The first of these things is healthcare. We’ve seen the tragic outcome of that in […]

The following guest post was penned by Nick Wallace, a freelance writer/data journalist who lives in Ypsilanti. Enjoy. Arguments that credit individual politicians with ongoing macroeconomic trends should always be treated with skepticism. It is the rare elected official who can cause a recession or reduce the unemployment rate. This is particularly true of state and local leaders; governors, mayors, […]

It has now been 328 days since Gov. Rick Snyder publicly admitted that the drinking water in the city of Flint, Michigan had been contaminated with the powerful neurotoxin lead. This admission came months and months after the problem had been brought to light and, in the 328 days since then, no lead water service lines have been replaced through […]

When, in the wake of the Flint water crisis, Dan Wyant resigned from his post as director of the Department of Environmental Quality, Gov. Rick Snyder’s outgoing chief of staff lamented the move. “I’m not sure why this decision was made but if it’s only optics, keep in mind that finding a replacement who has the trust of the business […]

Three weeks ago, I wrote about a major legal victory for teachers in Michigan. For the second time, an Appeals Court judge ruled that a law requiring teachers to give up 3% of their paycheck to fund their retirement account was unconstitutional. Despite this, of course, there was always the possibility that the Snyder administration would appeal to the Michigan […]