Recent Posts

Day Two: Second Quarter Fundraiser and an Inauguration treat for our readers

Day Two: Second Quarter Fundraiser and an Inauguration treat for our readers

Support your local blogger!

Hello, again. Welcome to Day Two of our First Quarter Fundraiser where we come to you, asking you to show a bit of financial support for the work that I, Anne and LOLGOP do here at Eclectablog. For your time, we have a little inauguration goodness for you after the jump.

Read more ›
Conservatives and Republicans have completely lost their minds about the debt ceiling

Conservatives and Republicans have completely lost their minds about the debt ceiling

Go outside and play, children. Grown-ups are trying to govern.

There was a time when a handful of legislators could cast a political protest vote against raising the debt ceiling in this country and it didn’t make a bit of difference because, at the end of the day, everybody knew that the majority of lawmakers, including Republicans, would vote to raise it. They have to. They are paying for things they have already spent money on. Barack Obama did this as a Senator in 2006 and admits now that it “was just an example of a new senator making what is a political vote as opposed to doing what was important for the country”.

But what’s happening now is completely different. Republicans and conservatives are actually contemplating defaulting on the bills we owe. And that changes everything.

Much more analysis after the jump.

Read more ›
Only 6% of scientists call themselves Republicans. Watch “Chasing Ice” and you’ll know why.

Only 6% of scientists call themselves Republicans. Watch “Chasing Ice” and you’ll know why.

Why would you support a political party that calls you a liar?

A study by the Pew Research Center revealed that only 6% of the country’s scientists now consider themselves to be Republican vs. 55% that call themselves Democrats. In a piece at Salon, Amanda Marcotte makes the case that this is for a very good reason.

After seeing the film Chasing Ice last night, I am certain Marcotte is 100% correct.

Much, much more after the jump.

Read more ›
Michigan continues to be the butt of national jokes – latest about a new rich people-only US territory on Belle Isle

Michigan continues to be the butt of national jokes – latest about a new rich people-only US territory on Belle Isle

Aw, geez…

Thanks largely to the absurdity of conservatives and Republicans in Michigan, our fair state continues to be the butt of jokes nationally. From the Daily Show to The Colbert Report and beyond, we have become the laughing stock of the country.

Details including the most recent foray into Absurdistan after the jump.

Read more ›
Day One: First Quarter Fundraiser

Day One: First Quarter Fundraiser

Paying for what you believe in

Hi, folks. It’s that time of year again where we come to you, hat in hand, asking for you to support the work we do here at Eclectablog. We work hard throughout the year to bring you news and analysis that you can’t get anywhere else. In return, four times a year for a week, we ask you to support us financially.

Your contributions allow us to pay our server bills, purchase new equipment to make our content more rich and interesting, and to help pay for the travel that we do to cover events both in Michigan and elsewhere.

Whatever your reason for reading Eclectablog, we hope you find it of enough value that you’re willing to help support us financially. Please consider making a donation of $25, $50, or even $100 to help us continue to improve your experience. Details on how to do that after the jump.

Read more ›
Obama administration shoots down the idea of a planet-destroying Death Star — in the most epic way imaginable

Obama administration shoots down the idea of a planet-destroying Death Star — in the most epic way imaginable

This right here? THIS IS THE COOLEST THING THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION HAS EVER DONE YESIMSHOUTING

On November 14th, a petition was submitted to the White House on their We the People website that said this:

“Those who sign here petition the United States government to secure funding and resources, and begin construction on a Death Star by 2016.

By focusing our defense resources into a space-superiority platform and weapon system such as a Death Star, the government can spur job creation in the fields of construction, engineering, space exploration, and more, and strengthen our national defense.”

The White House policy is to respond to petitions that 25,000 signatures within 30 days. This one has over 34,000 signatures so the White House responded. Their response can be read HERE but, it’s so epic and awesome, I’m reproducing it here on the blog (after the jump.)

Read more ›
Michigan Gov Snyder to pick new Supreme Court justice – will he show moderation or ideological Republican extremism?

Michigan Gov Snyder to pick new Supreme Court justice – will he show moderation or ideological Republican extremism?

Snyder’s Supreme Court appointment will set the tone for the 2013 legislative session

As I anticipated (rather testily) last month, Democrats are losing a voice on the Michigan state Supreme Court. Thanks to the unethical behavior of Diane Hathaway, whose name will now forever be associated with the betrayal of Democrats and Michigan citizens in general, we went from a 4-3 Republican-to-Democrat ratio to what will be a 5-2 balance once Governor Rick Snyder makes his appointment.

This has many people across the state wondering what Snyder will do with this opportunity.

On the one hand, he could continue his recent trend of appeasing the far right conservatives in his party, cementing the partisan divide that has so intensely polarized our state and that has created warring factions who despise each other.

On the other hand, he could choose a more moderate candidate who is more palatable to Democrats in Michigan. By doing this, the Governor could begin to repair some of the damage that was done when he chose to force Right to Work legislation through during the inflamed duck session and the animosity he created by passing laws that hinder women’s access to legal abortion services in our state.

My analysis after the jump.

Read more ›
The one thing I admire about Republicans

The one thing I admire about Republicans

Spoiler: It’s their shamelessness On Wednesday, Vice President Joe Biden said that the president was willing to consider executive orders to help fight gun violence. Biden was purposely vague to remind Congress that if they didn’t act they would end up with some of the president’s solutions — like comprehensive background checks, some restrictions on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines […]

Read more ›
UPDATED: Benton Harbor Emergency Manager Joe Harris is out, marketing consultant Tony Saunders II in

UPDATED: Benton Harbor Emergency Manager Joe Harris is out, marketing consultant Tony Saunders II in

This will be interesting

As he himself predicted last summer, Benton Harbor Emergency Manager Joe Harris has been booted. In his place will be Tony Saunders II, a marketing guy from WYLD Marketing Group.

Details after the jump.

Read more ›
Michigan leaders weigh in on what our state should do to attract jobs (hint: it ain’t “lower taxes & bust unions”)

Michigan leaders weigh in on what our state should do to attract jobs (hint: it ain’t “lower taxes & bust unions”)

Wait, I thought Gov. Snyder was a businessman…

A recent study by the Michigan Economic Center asked over 3000 representatives from businesses, nonprofits, and governmental organizations what things Michigan needs to do to attract more business investment in our state. If you listen to Michigan Republicans, including our governor, their answer is “lower taxes and bust unions”.

They might wish to ask the people who actually DO business in this state what they think. “Lower taxes” isn’t even close to the top.

Follow me over the jump for details.

Read more ›
Mich Economic Development Corporation scrubs “Right to Work” links from its site after Wall St. Journal ad backlash

Mich Economic Development Corporation scrubs “Right to Work” links from its site after Wall St. Journal ad backlash

Seriously, you didn’t think we’d notice?

As I noted in my piece earlier, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), the public-private group that runs the Pure Michigan campaign, has a page on their website called “Right to Work” that isn’t linked by any other pages on the site. (There’s a screenshot of it HERE in case it “goes away”.)

It got me wondering why, wasn’t it linked from anywhere else? Was it linked at one point but the links quietly disappeared in the hue and cry about their bragging about crushing unions in Michigan in their full-page Wall Street Journal ad???

Turns out, that’s exactly what happened. Details after the jump.

Read more ›
Quantcast
Quantcast