But Benghazi One of the biggest faux memes being perpetrated by Obamacare opponents is that people who signed up for it wouldn’t actually PAY for it. Charles Gaba over at ACAsignups.net got earsful of it. We even see it here at Eclectablog. Turns out it it’s a complete lie. Three large health insurers including WellPoint Inc. (WLP) and Aetna Inc. […]

Although we held our 10-year Blogaversary party last Thursday on May Day, today is the actual anniversary of my very first blog post. Yup, that’s me. With hair. My first blog was on a site called Modblog and you can view my very first, utterly lame post HERE. If this doesn’t get your attention, I could … … just… … […]

Anne and I are pleased to be part of the host committee for an upcoming fundraiser for the gubernatorial campaign of Mark Schauer and his running mate Oakland County Clerk Lisa Brown. The fundraiser is being sponsored by our amazing friends at Citizens Against Government Overreach (CAGO) and the Michigan Education Association PAC. The reception is from 4:30 – 6:30 […]

Don’t miss it! The Netroots Nation conference is, as you likely already know, in Detroit this summer (July 17-20 at Cobo Hall). This morning, they announced the panel line-up and it’s astonishing. I was privileged to be part of the panel selection process which was nothing short of excruciating. We had to take a list of nearly 400 excellent submissions […]

Hung out to dry with no alternatives and no union to help protect her A teacher at the Education Achievement Authority’s Pershing High School found herself with no way to communicate with security and no tools to disarm an exceedingly violent fight in her classroom. School rules prevented her from leaving the room and the walkie talkie she carried to […]

Last year, Governor Snyder was asked about revising Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to extend coverage to members of the LGBT community. The fact that it currently doesn’t means that people like me can be fired from our jobs simply because we are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Governor Snyder’s response was, in effect, “it’s not on my agenda” and […]

This is getting ridiculous More revelations are emerging about apparent cronyism by the administration of Republican Governor Rick Snyder. This time it’s benefitting one of Detroit’s most egregious polluters, the Severstal Dearborn steel plant. The Michigan Economic Development Corp., Gov. Rick Snyder’s business-promoting agency, worked for months behind the scenes with one of the state’s most flagrantly polluting businesses as […]

Better transportation choices will be better for all of us.

If you live in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti or Ypsi Township, please join me, and a lot of other people, in voting YES on the transit millage tomorrow….

In Washtenaw County, even the opposition to the millage acknowledges the desire for better public transportation and is calling the “no” campaign “Better Transit Now.” Not that they are very clear on how a “no” vote will lead to better transit, but never mind that – they agree, at least in theory, with the goal, even if they don’t want to pay for it. And it’s hard to argue with the benefits of improving public transit, even for those (like me) who rarely use the bus. Even if you don’t take the bus, making it convenient for other people to leave their cars at home means traffic is better and we have less need to build more parking. Using less gas means less pollution, which is better for our health. And it’s better for our economy, creating jobs and economic development downtown and letting low wage workers get to work. (More details about the specifics of tomorrow’s millage are here.)

Republicans can’t decide: Is inequality actually a problem — or is it all Obama’s fault? Late last year, the Census Bureau reported that Americans who live below the poverty level own stuff! Cool stuff! With USB jacks and stuff! “In fact, 80.9 percent of households below the poverty level have cell phones, and a healthy majority—58.2 percent—have computers,” reported right-wing […]

Terri Lynn Land’s latest effort to remind she doesn’t support pay equity for women – a video titled “Really?” – is getting torn to shreds across the country. First it was David Nir at Daily Kos: My only response: Man. This kind of guffawing rejoinder to substantive policy criticisms is truly pathetic. Anyone swayed by this kind of “argument” is […]

Tens of thousands have been cut off from the benefits they earned.

A study released this week found that the Michigan legislature’s cuts to unemployment insurance have meant a loss of benefits for 14,000 to 32,000 Michiganders a week. (full disclosure here, one of the study’s authors is a personal friend, and has been a client on other issues).

For those who may have missed it at the time, Governor Snyder and the legislature shorted the period the short-term jobless can collect unemployment from 26 weeks to 20 weeks, along with reducing eligibility and making it easier for employers to contest claims. And this was during a period where the national unemployment rate has remained high, and Michigan’s jobless rate one of the highest in the nation.