Gary Abud, Jr., and I joined Tony for new episodes of his podcast series, to educate the public on issues of importance to each of us. Earlier this week, Tony Trupiano was kind enough to invite two members of Team Eclectablog to speak with him on his new podcast series. In our podcast, Tony and I discussed the new abortion […]

Educators provide insight on teacher evaluation to members of the Michigan House Education Committee Gary Abud, Jr. is the 2013-14 Michigan Teacher of the Year Teacher evaluation is a topic that has received a lot of attention in 2013. Earlier this year, the Michigan Council for Educator Effectiveness (MCEE) offered their recommendations and findings in a commissioned project on teacher […]

Visions of good government danced in their heads… Congressman John Dingell with some bald blogger. Photo by Anne C. Savage Every year, Congressman John Dingell, the Dean of the House of Representatives and someone I’m proud to call a personal friend, pens a holiday jingle. This year’s is a perfect summary of the year past and the Republican-fueled gridlock that […]

“So it appears that, by the end of the month,” New York‘s Jonathan Chait wrote about Healthcare.gov on November 11, “the administration will be facing a new political fiasco or will have delivered a Hanukkah-time miracle.” On December 25th we can say that a miracle has more or less occurred. Healthcare.gov’s performance wasn’t flawless by any metric. But it did […]

When the numbers don’t support you, myth-making is your only other option Last week House Speaker Jase Bolger told the Detroit Free Press that Governor Snyder’s biggest challenge as a campaigner is his biggest asset as he governs. “The governor insists on no credit and no blame,” said Bolger. This was only one day after the Michigan Republican Party sent […]

Obamacare provides more than affordable coverage. It protects patients and their rights, too. December 23 is the last day you can buy health insurance at HealthCare.gov that kicks in on January 1, 2014. You can continue to buy coverage for 2014 through March 15. As people enroll for coverage, there’s been an emphasis on the “affordable” aspects of the Patient […]

You know that Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson has been suspended by A&E from his reality show for saying that homosexuality leads to bestiality. In the same interview he also said black people were happier during segregation. (And what evidence do we have that they weren’t? Except the civil rights movement.) Right wingers are ignoring the comments about Jim Crow […]

Let’s find out if it is, indeed, a legal law Federal bankruptcy judge Steven Rhodes determined today that a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Michigan’s anti-democratic Emergency Manager law – Public Act 436 – can move forward. The case is being handled in another federal court. In his ruling (pdf) denying a request to stay the case, Judge Rhodes said: […]

Please, sir, may I have some more? [Photo by Chris Savage | Eclectablog] Steven Rhodes, the federal judge overseeing Detroit’s Chapter 9 bankruptcy, halted discussions on Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr’s plan to borrow $350 from Barclay’s bank to retire some terribly negotiated debt swaps, effectively moving banks to the head of the line in the bankruptcy proceedings. In what can […]

Every Friday I posting the latest enrollment figures for the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) here at Eclectablog. Full details can be viewed daily at ACASignups.net. This has been the craziest week yet for ACASignups.net, and the past day or so, things went into overdrive. First, we had this: If November had an Obamacare surge, consider this the December deluge. California […]

Under fire and on the run You can always tell when you have the tea party backed into a corner. That’s when they bring out the Big Crazy guns with both barrels blazing. That happened this week when the tea party’s Madison Project Michigan PAC sent out an email from Jack Hoogendyk, a tea partier who primaried U.S. Representative Fred […]