Middle-class Michigan families can watch their taxes increase $50 every second. And they have Gov. Rick Snyder and legislative Republicans to thank for it. For a party that says they want lower taxes, Republicans in Michigan sure like taxing the middle class. During the last legislative session, Governor Rick Snyder and the Republican-led legislature made severe changes to the Michigan […]

They’re trying to turn back the clock to re-fight the 2012 election. Or the Civil War. At first, many of us had trouble keeping track of what the Tea Party GOP wants in exchange for ending the government shutdown and raising the debt ceiling. But now it’s clear: What they’re really after are the same things they’ve wanted since 2010, […]

Chris Savage — the man himself — and Amy Lynn Smith join ‘Night Shift with Tony Trupiano’ on Thursday night. A quick heads’ up that Chris and I will both be guests on ‘Night Shift with Tony Trupiano’ tonight, October 10. I’ll be on at 7:30ET to discuss my blog post from earlier this week, ‘I’m sick and tired of […]

We don’t just tell you what you need to know. We help motivate action and change. We realize no one loves fundraisers. We wouldn’t keep hitting you up for money if we didn’t have to. But here at Eclectablog, everything we do is supported in large part by our readers. And we return the favor. I can tell you why […]

Think it’s wrong for a vocal minority to tell the rest of us how to live our lives? Me, too. I’ve had it. Enough is enough. Our country has been held hostage since the 2010 midterm elections by a vocal minority that somehow thinks if they scream loud enough, waving woefully misspelled signs and threatening their puppet-strung representatives with primary […]

Live or work near Washtenaw County? Drop by for a coffee chat about healthcare in Michigan. Michigan State Representative Gretchen Driskell (D-Saline) will host a coffee hour about healthcare in Michigan on Monday, Oct. 7, from 3-5 p.m. at the Manchester Community Resource Center, 410 City Road in Manchester. The discussion will include the federal Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expansion […]

The conference united more than 700 entrepreneurs, visionaries and activists who believe in Detroit’s future. If you needed a boost of optimism about where Detroit is headed, you should have been at TEDxDetroit. The one-day conference held October 2 at Cobo Hall’s new Grand Ballroom overlooking the Detroit River wasn’t just sold out. It was overflowing. Overflowing with great ideas […]

For millions of people who are uninsured or can’t afford to buy insurance on their own, the day has come: You’re somebody. If you’ve lived without insurance or, like me, pay exorbitant rates because you buy individual insurance or have a pre-existing condition, October 1, 2013, is a day to celebrate. It means you’re no longer a nobody in the […]

The opening of the Obamacare marketplaces isn’t the only news today that’s a BFD. The passage of Medicaid expansion in Michigan last month was a huge victory for the nearly 500,000 uninsured who will gain coverage as a result. But the fact that the Senate passed the bill without “immediate effect” meant delaying the start of the program until 90 […]

That’s what you’re trying to force millions of Americans to do. I’ll bet you’re not willing to do the same. I’m angry. Plenty of Americans are. Because we’re sick and tired of being held hostage by last-minute threats and brinksmanship that risks the health of millions of citizens and the strength of our economy. But Republican members of Congress who […]

Test your knowledge — and for every correct answer you give, 10 cents will be donated to Planned Parenthood. Obamacare’s opponents are counting on people not understanding the Affordable Care Act and everything it has to offer. But those who know all the good Obamacare will do are smarter than that. Here’s your chance to prove it. Planned Parenthood put […]