Yesterday I predicted that a three-bill package introduced in the state House by Republicans Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat was paving the way for “RFRA for Marriage” legislation in Michigan. Just hours later, Todd Courser confirmed that this is the case. The confirmation came in a piece titled “It’s Time to End the States Involvement in Marriage” on Courser’s website […]

NOTE: This post has been updated HERE. Also, the section covering HB 4731 has been edited to clarify its intent. Republicans Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat introduced a package of bills in the state House yesterday that are a continuation of their crusade to turn Michigan into a theocracy. There three bills in the package. House Bill 4731 changes the […]

My last post here at Eclectablog created a bit of a stir, and certainly got many of you thinking, which is a good thing. I wasn’t necessarily looking for approval, but I was looking for reaction, and I got plenty of that, most of it supportive and some if it negative and, in my mind anyway, regressive in its tone […]

The GOP propaganda campaign to divide and conquer the electorate and control Michigan education moves ever onward in the state Senate with the passage of SB 209, a bill to amend the existing school code to include specific teaching emphasis on what the GOP designates as the “core principles” of the U. S. Constitution, the First, Second and Tenth Amendments. […]

For the many of us who watch and participate in democracy on a daily basis, this past week was perhaps the most damaging and disheartening week for Michigan in many, many years. Yes, I said years. It is clear that the Republican agenda – their “in your face” agenda – is clearly working for them, even though their agenda is […]

This week the Michigan Legislature passed House Bill 4041, what they call the Parental Responsibility Act. Gov. Snyder is probably eager to sign it because it has the word “responsibility” in it and impacts only the politically powerless. The Michigan Department of Human Services will be required to eliminate cash assistance to poor families if any child in the household […]

Chris Christie wants to gut the most popular thing our government does — Social Security. Marco Rubio is proposing a tax cut so big that even the Wall St. Journal doesn’t buy it. Ted Cruz wants to abolish the IRS and somehow keep the military. In 2013, the party reaffirmed its opposition to same-sex marriage, a stand only currently held […]

NOTE FROM CHRIS: Today is the soft-launch of our newest Eclectablogger Judy Matlock. As “judyms9”, Judy has been the most prolific commenter on Eclectablog for two years running according to our WordPress stats. And she’s not just prolific; her comments are insightful, often getting to the heart of the matter and bringing in angles that the author of the post […]

Michigan’s Bigot-in-Chief, Attorney General Bill Schuette, has put forth some pretty remarkable excuses for his crusade to ensure that same-sex couples cannot marry or adopt children together. For example, he suggested that marriage in our state is for regulating sexual relationships to make babies, news that came as a HUGE surprise to Michigan couples who cannot or choose not to […]

Montanans are a special breed of Americans. They are fiercely independent and, in general, quite conservative. However, one thing that most folks from Montana have no patience for is when outsiders come into their state, run down their elected officials, and try to tell them how to vote. That’s exactly what the Koch brothers corporatist front group Americans for Prosperity […]

Ultra far right wing conservatives Todd Courser and Gary Glenn took steps this week that show beyond a shadow of a doubt that their views on education have more to do with people in the 18th Century than they do with any modern views on education today. In a Facebook post this week that he has since deleted, Courser describes […]