Stuff’s about to get real… Photo by Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog A federal judge will determine on Wednesday morning if Detroit’s bankruptcy filing is a violation of the state constitution which protects public employee pensions. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes has declared that his court has the authority to rule on a dispute between the city’s pension funds […]

Don’t stop believin’… Back in February, I penned an essay titled Why I, as a dedicated and stalwart supporter of OFA, am asking you NOT to work with OFA in Michigan. In it, I implored Michigan Democratic activists to focus their attention solely on the task at hand: defeating Michigan Republicans at every juncture. It’s not going to be easy. […]

Over the past six months, the pervasive power of corporatists in our society has really hit home for me. Corporate interests have so much money, so many resources, and have created such an effective network to put their personal, self-serving, profit-maximizing stamp on our policies and laws that the rest of us seem, at times, to have little if any […]

If you saw Chris Savage announce that Detroit would be the sight of the next Netroots Nation, you know that he’s what we used to call a “rock star.” He doesn’t just perform well under pressure but he lives the life. Since he’s a grassroots political rock star, that generally doesn’t involve all-nighters on his tour bus that don’t end […]

“Like the phoenix, Detroit WILL rise again” – Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm I had a meeting yesterday with a client looking for current photographs to reflect their growing business, with its many new employees and in its new location only 10 miles north on Woodward Avenue from downtown Detroit. This client was a good 50-minute drive away from where […]

This hurts me more than it hurts you… I’ll admit it: I HATE begging my readers for money. I live a pretty simple lifestyle with no expensive boats or vacation homes. We don’t travel much outside of work because we can’t afford it. But I do work hard. And so do the other contributors at Eclectablog. We’re trying to build […]

It was inevitable The Detroit Free Press is reporting this afternoon that Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr may file Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy paperwork as early as tomorrow morning in an effort to stave off multiple lawsuits from various pension groups. The City of Detroit is in final preparations to file for federal bankruptcy as early as Friday morning, several […]

Pure Iowa Graphic by Anne C. Savage After it was revealed last week that the state of Michigan had awarded a $1.5 million contract to produce and distribute a Michigan tourism magazine to an Iowa-based company, Crain’s Detroit Business filed a Freedom of Information Act request and learned that at least two Michigan-based companies had come in with lower bids. […]

Look out, Tim Walberg. Your days are numbered. Pam Byrnes with Congressmen John Dingell and John Lewis Several months ago, I contacted former Michigan House Speaker Pro Tempore Pam Byrnes and her husband Kent Brown. I wanted to discuss the possibility of her running for Congress in the 7th District to oust the odious tea party grandfather Tim Walberg. I […]

What do you expect? They spent 10 minutes on the job today. Senate Republicans showed up to work this morning and did absolutely nothing. Although the Detroit Free Press says the Senate Medicaid expansion work group is meeting privately twice a week to “tweak” the bill already passed by an overwhelming majority of the House, they still have nothing to […]

Michigan’s “stand your ground” law resembles Florida’s more than any other state Graphic by Chris Lozos The tragic death of unarmed Trayvon Martin in Florida was a direct result of that state’s odious “Stand Your Ground” law. The fact that George Zimmerman was acquitted of his death is a direct result, not of the six female jurors ignoring the law, […]