Thanks

The day after Rachel Maddow and her producer Laura Conaway made a video of themselves making and enjoying our new drink, the “Emergency Manager”, our blog got a mention on The Rachel Maddow Show itself. Last night, Rachel ran through a rather impressive of lists of things that she is thankful for, things we should ALL be thankful for. Eclectablog was one of them.

Video and more after the jump.

Fundamentalist doctors vs. science-based medicine

This guest post is the third in a three-part series by Lynn Miller (aka VeloVixen from Daily Kos.) The first part is HERE and the second is HERE. She’ll be posting an epilogue here at Eclectablog tomorrow.

In this final part of Lynn’s series, she talks about the role of fundamentalist doctors, what should be but is not an oxymoron, and their role in the death of Savita as well as who knows how many other women around the world.

Part III after the jump.

This isn’t your Braveheart moment. A defining feature of the most oblivious critics of President Obama is that they say that America’s is losing its “freedom.” Ask them what freedoms we have lost since he became president and your answer will probably start with, “Now I have to buy health insurance!” True, the insurance mandate—which begins in 2014—will pay charge […]

Respect, empower, and include. Repeat.

With another successful Obama election behind us, those who were involved with Obama for America (OFA) at the grassroots level are likely wondering, “What’s next?” After his first election, it wasn’t until the summer of 2009 that OFA 2.0, aka “Organizing for America” came into being. I was privileged to be chosen to attend a 300-person debriefing conference about a month after election, dubbed “The Legacy Confernce” where those of us who were deeply involved in the campaign got together to discuss OFA’s future.

The same type of thing is happening now and YOU can be part of it. Details after the jump.

Aw, shucks

You may recall that last week, Anne and I and a bunch of other folks did a little video toast and thank you to Laura Conaway and Rachel Maddow for their help in amplifying our message about Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law. In addition to the card signed by a bunch of Ann Arbor folks, we sent them the makings of an Emergency Manager, a new drink Anne and I invented.

Thankfully they got the package in one piece and, well, see for yourself (video after the jump.)

They love you until you’re born

It’s getting pretty tough for Michigan Republicans to surprise me anymore but, dammit, they went ahead and did it anyway. This week, they introduced legislation that establishes a tax credit for unborn fetuses.

I’m not kidding.

The Veep abides

A very happy birthday to one of my absolute favorite politicians and Democrats, Vice President Joe Biden. He turns 70 today.

More pictures by Anne C. Savage after the jump.

Government policy set by anti-Choice ideologues — it could happen HERE

< i>This guest post is the second in a three-part series by Lynn Miller (aka VeloVixen from Daily Kos.) The first part is HERE. She’ll be posting the final part here at Eclectablog tomorrow.

The heartbreaking story of Savita Halappanavar has serious connections to the U.S. government, our federal policies on women’s reproductive freedom and health care and who gets to determine those policies. As Lynn shows in her piece, the same type of 18th Century thinking that resulted in the death of Savita is in public display here in our own country by U.S. lawmakers and doctors today.

Part 2 of this important series after the jump.

A clown car with a new paint job and faster internet is still a clown car

I’m hoping that LOLGOP will forgive me for stealing his User Picture but it just seems so apropos to this piece. I say that because, considering how much money political consultants make giving bad advice to Republican candidates and their leadership, the GOP elephant pleasuring itself sums up their party to a tee right now.

My take on the current state of the Grand Old Party after the jump.

Lethal ideology

This guest post is the first in a three-part series by Lynn Miller (aka VeloVixen from Daily Kos.) She’ll be posting all three parts here at Eclectablog over the next few days.

The story of Savita Halappanavar is both heartbreaking and, sadly, preventable. It was literally the triumph of small-minded Catholic ideology, misapplied in this particular instance, over the life of a healthy woman.

Part 1 of this story after the jump.

NFTT- Who Will You Buy4 This Christmas?

As many of you know, I have been involved with Netroots for Troops for several years. Each year at the national Netroots Nation conference, a bunch of us liberal hippies assemble hundreds of CARE packages to send to our troops stationed overseas. (Previous posts HERE and HERE, for example.) I have recently joined the Board of Directors for NFTT and am thrilled to continue my work with them.

With Black Friday only days away, and Cyber Monday right after, if your thoughts aren’t already on Christmas shopping, chances are they soon will be. After the turkey (or in my case, Vegetable Wellington) and trimmings are cleared, and before the decorations are up, while you’re browsing online for gift ideas, take five minutes to learn how you can shop your favorite online stores AND make a small donation to Netroots For The Troops, Inc.!

Details after the jump.