In 1990, Gov. Jim Blanchard signed Public Act 319 of 1990 in to law. The law prohibits “local units of government” from passing laws that restrict “the ownership, registration, purchase, sale, transfer, transportation, or possession of pistols, other firearms, or pneumatic guns, ammunition for pistols or other firearms, or components of pistols or other firearms.” It’s a pretty unambiguous law […]

Photo by Anne C. Savage for Eclectablog In 2008, former Republican Congressman Joe Schwarz jumped party lines and endorsed Democrat Mark Schauer in the 7th Congressional District race (which Schauer eventually won.) It was a strong statement about Walberg’s far-right tea party obstructionist positions to have a well-known Michigan Republican endorse his Democratic opponent. Schwartz later went on to say, […]

It’s time that we all stop pretending that Michigan Republicans care about students, the idea of smaller government, or that they believe that local control trumps state or federal government control. They SAY that these are bedrock beliefs of the Republican Party. These concepts are clearly spelled out in their platform. But we have all the evidence that we need […]

Yesterday, Tony wrote about the racist impacts of Michigan House Republicans’ so-called plan to resolve the devastation caused by years of disinvestment in the Detroit Public Schools (DPS). I thought it would be worth a deeper look to reveal just how odious the plan is. There are several elements that show that House Republicans have no intention of making DPS […]

I read with great interest Eclectablog founder and editor Chris Savage’s interview with American Federation of Teachers national president Randy Weingarten yesterday and it set in motion the vast array of anger am feeling about how the Michigan State House of Representatives have devolved into hate-filled racists who no longer attempt to hide their disdain for the Detroit Public Schools, […]

The lack of blog posts over the past couple of weeks is due to the fact that I was in Canada for a week-long business trip two weeks ago that involved me working 8-10 hour shifts, grabbing a quick bite to eat on the fly, and then catching a few hours of sleep before heading back to the plant. I […]

“Constitutional conservatives”, yes, even at the state level, believe that their main, driving purpose is to protect the constitution, both at the federal level and the state level. Agree or disagree, it is what they claim to want, fight for, and live for. That is, except when they disagree with said constitutions. Case in point on the state level is […]

I’ve been writing lately about the attempt by the Snyder administration to continue the undemocratic takeover of local schools facing financial difficulties without having to use an Emergency Manager. Thanks to the Flint water catastrophe where the residents’ drinking water was contaminated with lead thanks to decisions made by Emergency Managers, that phrase has become (pardon the pun) toxic. As […]

I have known for quite awhile that you can’t bring a sign into the State Capitol Building. You can’t miss the signs telling you to leave your signs behind when you enter the august edifice. What I did NOT know until recently is that bringing a gun into that same building is A-OK. Thankfully, sanity is prevailing, at least on […]

It’s well-known that MI-08 Republican Congressman Mike Bishop is a bought-and-paid-for lapdog of the Moroun family. The patriarch of that family, Manuel “Matty” Moroun, is the billionaire owner of the Ambassador Bridge that spans the Detroit River between Detroit and Windsor. Although there is a desperate need for an additional bridge to facilitate truck traffic that now backs up for […]

Last summer, I asked a very simple question: “Why is Virgil Smith still in the state Senate? Is it because he’s the Republicans’ useful Democratic idiot?” Democratic state Senator Virgil Smith was convicted of shooting up his wife’s car in a domestic dispute and is now behind bars. Until he resigned this past week, he continued to receive his state […]