Oh, that’s rich Michigan House Republicans are in a tight spot. With concessions made by every party swept up in Detroit’s municipal bankruptcy and a deal in place that mostly preserves retiree pensions and the Detroit Institute of Arts’ priceless art collection, the only hurdle remaining is the state ponying up $350 million. Given how much money they’ve essentially stolen […]

One of the recurring themes in the conversations that I have had with various teachers and administrators who work or have worked for the Education Achievement Authority is that when financial benefactors or members of our state government came to visit, the entire school transformed. Schedules were altered, often on the fly, to accommodate the visitors’ schedules. Kids ate lunch […]

People continue being helped by Obamacare — and it’s a winning issue. Politicians and pundits, take note. When City of Detroit retiree Cora Dolley learned that she’d no longer be receiving health insurance coverage from the City, she was worried. For 10 years, $150 had been deducted from her pension check to cover hospitalization expenses and provide other healthcare services […]

The EAA isn’t the only experiment being conducted on Detroit children In all of the sturm und drang over Republican Governor Rick Snyder’s Educational Achievement Authority experiment with Detroit children, it’s easy to forget about the other experiment they are part of: state control of the Detroit Public Schools by an Emergency Manager. I’ve written reams on this topic but […]

From my view inside the White House, I saw what every other American watching the President’s speech did: true leadership. I believe in the dream of America. I always have. So has President Obama, which is why he’s always had my support. In his 2014 State of the Union address, he made it clear that his optimism is unwavering. Despite […]

Pity the poor, misunderstood blowhard Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson has a long history of being a jerk that bashes the city of Detroit, its leadership, and its residents whenever the opportunity arises. He was recently given that opportunity by journalist Paige Williams who wrote a piece about him for the New Yorker magazine titled “Drop dead, Detroit!”. It’s […]

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 […]

I am going to start posting all of Tony Trupiano’s podcasts since they really are terrific and, due to his potential run for office, he may no longer be on the air with his radio show any longer. Today’s podcast happens to be with moi. Tony and I talked about Rand Paul’s insulting visit to Detroit, the Education Achievement Authority, […]

Rand Paul is a disservice to the GOP’s African American outreach Photo credit: Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog The day after he presided over the opening of the Michigan Republican Party’s office for African American outreach, Rand Paul told Fox News that extending unemployment benefits for workers unable to find work for as long as 99 weeks was doing […]

The GOP believes they simply need to talk about issues that African Americans care about, not actually do anything about them Kentucky Senator Rand Paul came to Michigan today to be part of the opening of the Republican’s Detroit “African American Engagement Office”. No, seriously. Before the Republicans got their day started, Democrats had a press conference nearby where they […]