SILENCED! Back in 2012 when Republican Jase Bolger was still the Michigan House Speaker, his colleagues began passing bill after bill with “immediate effect”. Immediate effect allows a bill to became law as soon as the governor signs it rather than having to wait the statuatory 90 days. However, in order to pass a bill with immediate effect, there must […]

The following guest post was written by my friend Jen Eyer, Vice President of Vanguard Public Affairs. Jen has spent many years in the world of journalism and most recently managed the newsroom for The Ann Arbor News, part of the MLive Media Group. You can read her full bio HERE. This piece was first published at the Vanguard Public […]

He’s much more afraid of being known as a fraud than a racist You know the 2016 election is getting to you when Donald Trump’s bigotry starts to make sense. Continuously confronted with most outwardly bigoted major candidate since George Wallace, you could easily to forget that Trump’s use of racism is strategic, as it seems as haphazard and spewed […]

“Sit, dog. Sit. Good legislator! Have a check.” NOTE: This post has been updated to clarify the changes that have been made with regard to collective bargaining contracts. In the dog training world, dogs are often trained using delicious treats. When a dog does what it’s told to do, it gets a treat as a reward. Then, over time, the […]

“You have to take the threat of Trump becoming president seriously, but you shouldn’t treat him as a serious person,” Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior adviser to President Obama, recently told The New York Times. Get it? You don’t have to squint to see a bit of Ronald Reagan in his rise and it would be easy to do what […]

House Bills 4787 and 4830 are poor public policy that do nothing to protect women from the real problem of reproductive coercion. Let’s just say right from the start here that coercing a woman into having an abortion is a terrible thing no one should ever be able to do. That’s why there are laws already on the books in […]

In January of this year, eight teachers at the Universal Academy – a for-profit charter school in Detroit – were fired without being given a reason. However, as is well-documented in a Metro Times article titled, “Begging for answers: Eight teachers were just fired from a Detroit charter school without cause or notice”, six of the teachers had spoken at […]

NOTE: This post has been updated to reflect the fact that Rep. Lee Chatfield DOES have a Republican primary challenger. Stephanie Chatfield, the wife of conservative tea party Republican state House Representative Lee Chatfield, revealed this week that she had an abortion when she was in high school. In a post on Facebook, Ms. Chatfield revealed that she became pregnant […]

Cluck, cluck… When Michigan Republicans took control of our legislature in 2010, they, along with our new Republican CEO Governor Rick Snyder, proceeded to enact a sweeping tax cut for corporations. It was all to bring new employers into the state which, in time, would lead to a more robust economy and a rising tide that would lift all boats. […]

Tomorrow is our 3rd Annual Eclectablog Fundraiser Party. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, we’re asking for a $35 donation at the door ($30 in advance + Eventbrite fee, click HERE to purchase your ticket.) However, we understand that not everyone can afford that and we don’t want anyone to miss the event. Fortunately, through the generosity of some anonymous […]

The 2016 Eclectagrog souvenir beer glass! The new 2016 Eclectagrog beer glasses have arrived. If you come to our party on this Tuesday, May 17th, you’ll get to take one home as a souvenir! Tickets to the party are $30 in advance and $35 at the door. You can buy them now by clicking HERE. (If you aren’t able to […]