Yesterday I predicted that a three-bill package introduced in the state House by Republicans Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat was paving the way for “RFRA for Marriage” legislation in Michigan. Just hours later, Todd Courser confirmed that this is the case. The confirmation came in a piece titled “It’s Time to End the States Involvement in Marriage” on Courser’s website […]

This week, as the Supreme Court weighs whether or not to yank subsidies that help at least 6 million Americans gain health insurance, we got some extraordinary news. For the first time, the Urban Institute finds that our uninsured rate may be below 10 percent, Forbes‘ Dan Diamond notes. In states that have accepted Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion it’s 7.5 percent. […]

My last post here at Eclectablog created a bit of a stir, and certainly got many of you thinking, which is a good thing. I wasn’t necessarily looking for approval, but I was looking for reaction, and I got plenty of that, most of it supportive and some if it negative and, in my mind anyway, regressive in its tone […]

Each summer, the corporatist front group Mackinac Center for Public Policy funds a massive effort to convince teachers that they are better off without their union and that they should leave it. While complaining that unions are somehow getting rich off taxpayer dollars, the Mackinac Center uses the public schools email system to disseminate their anti-union propaganda at taxpayer expense. […]

June 24 event in Auburn Hills is open to the public — RSVP today to learn how to protect your rights. The ACLU of Michigan is hosting an educational event to help the community understand their rights at religiously sponsored hospitals. The June 24th event in Auburn Hills focuses on patients’ rights in hospitals operated by Catholic healthcare providers. As […]

There are an inordinate number of rumors swirling around the state at the moment, all of them unconfirmed. I don’t typically dabble in reporting about rumors but it seems silly to ignore things like this that are being widely talked about in various circles. The first rumor is probably the biggest potential bombshell if it turns out to be true. […]

After watching Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign launch speech, Wall Street Journal columnist and former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan came to the startling conclusion that, when it comes to applauding, Clinton supporters are doin’ it wrong. It seemed to me to highlight some of her weaknesses as a campaigner; there was a rote quality to her speeches, a certain leaden quality, […]

On Saturday, Hillary Clinton gave her official presidential campaign announcement speech on Roosevelt Island in New York City. It was a refreshingly progressive speech which hit on the environment, civil rights, women’s rights, LGBT rights, voting rights, and a whole host of other progressive issues. It’s clear to me that the presence of Bernie Sanders and even non-candidate Elizabeth Warren […]

For the many of us who watch and participate in democracy on a daily basis, this past week was perhaps the most damaging and disheartening week for Michigan in many, many years. Yes, I said years. It is clear that the Republican agenda – their “in your face” agenda – is clearly working for them, even though their agenda is […]

The day after Governor Snyder signed a package of bills I call the “RFRA for Adoption” into law, his administration sent out an email to all state employees imploring them to consider becoming foster parents to unadopted Michigan kids. Here’s a screenshot: They probably realized just how disgustingly ironic it was to ask people to foster kids the day after […]

Since I live in Michigan’s 7th District which is “represented” by the odious tea partier Tim Walberg, I have adopted neighboring 12th District Congresswoman Debbie Dingell as my true Representative in Congress. Congresswoman Dingell has been an outspoken critic of Fast Track and the Trans Pacific Partnership. You can read about her positions on that in an interview I did […]