“We are changing the world today.” “I feel like I can breath now,” Diane VanDorn told me on Sunday after being married to her partner Connie Greer on Saturday at the Washtenaw County Clerk’s office in Ann Arbor. Diane and Connie were one of the first of 300 same-sex couples that were married in Michigan that day. Diane and Connie, […]

The “Explainer-in-Chief” comes back to Michigan Photo by Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog It what can only be called a major coup, the Michigan Democratic Party announced today that the keynote speaker for their 2014 Jefferson-Jackson fundraising dinner will President Bill Clinton: “I’m thrilled to welcome one of the great leaders of our time to Michigan to boost Democratic […]

Same-sex marriage makes people cry [All non-Twitter photos by Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog.] Around 300 same-sex Michigan couples took advantage of a one-day window when they were allowed to marry legally yesterday. Four County Clerks — Nancy Waters in Muskegon, Barb Byrum in Ingham, Lawrence Kestenbaum in Washtenaw, and Lisa Brown in Oakland — opened their offices on […]

The one word Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren and President Obama all need to say: Volunteer Democrats didn’t randomly pick the Kochs from a lineup of anonymous right-wing billionaires. They’re not just the perfect example of a plutocrats subverting the electoral system to improve their bottom line. The brothers’ network is outspending Democrats ten-to-one as they spread their anti-community ideology with […]

Wasting taxpayer money to appeal to a homophobic Republican base Anne and I spent an incredibly emotional day in the offices in Washtenaw’s and Oakland’s County Clerks today, watching hundreds of same-sex couples getting married. It was a unique experience in both of our lives, one we’ll never forget. We’ll have a full report tomorrow with lots of great photos […]

Now can we just call it “marriage”? In a huge victory for marriage equality, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman ruled today that Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional: IT IS HEREBY DECLARED that Article I, § 25 of the Michigan Constitution and its implementing statutes are unconstitutional because they violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to […]

An extremist group’s rights don’t get to trump everyone else’s, unless we let them. I’m utterly disgusted by Right to Life of Michigan’s latest crusade, this time against U.S. Representative Gary Peters and his daughters. Now I truly understand how disgusted and outraged my parents were when an evangelical relative showed me photos of aborted fetuses when I was 10 […]

The fight continues Yesterday’s narrow passage of the legislation that will expand the failed Education Achievement Authority experiment statewide was a blow to those of us who rely on data and facts to inform our decisions. With the help of two supposed progressives from Detroit, Representatives John Olumba and Harvey Santana, the bill passed by only two votes. THEIR votes. […]

Lansing, we have a problem The amped-up Emergency Manager laws passed by Michigan Republicans in 2011 and again in 2012 were specifically designed to give far more sweeping powers to the one unelected potentate who assumes control of the school district or municipality. The sweeping away of local elected officials and the snuffing out of local democracy was needed, said […]

House Republicans along with Detroit Democrat Harvey Santana and Independent Detroit Rep. John Olumba passed legislation this afternoon that expands the EAA. The bill passed with a two vote margin. I have rarely been prouder of the House Democrats (with the exception of Santana) who spoke eloquently, passionately, and with facts in hand about how terrible this bill is and […]

What gives, Harvey? [Photo by Anne Savage, special to Eclectablog] Yesterday was another day without a vote on HB 4369, the legislation that would expand Republican Governor Rick Snyder’s failed experiment on Detroit children known as the Education Achievement Authority. I’ve spoken to multiple legislators who say that bill proponents are close to having enough votes. However, there is so […]