I don’t like to throw around the phrase “must see!” much but this video, in my opinion, is something everyone should watch. It will only take three minutes of your time but this poetry slam performance by Darius Simpson & Scout Bostley says more about how women and minorities experience our society than any book or movie ever could. Pay […]

As I wrote about last week, on July 11th, Team Eclectablog is holding its 2nd Annual Eclectafundraiser Party at the Arbor Brewing Microbrewery (“Corner Brewery”) in Ypsilanti from 7-9 p.m. It will be a fun event with free beer, free food, and a free Belgian Eclectagrog beer glass. We are asking for a minimum donation of $25. Donations and sponsorships […]

The law has delivered great progress, but there’s still more work to be done. With LGBT Pride Month still in full swing, it’s a great time to celebrate the progress made by and for the LGBT community, especially in healthcare access thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). At the same time, there’s a lot at stake this month, between […]

I’m cynical. When a politician is forced to do the right thing, I’m glad and don’t really care why s/he did it. But when I see Republican National Chairman Reince Priebus standing behind Governor Nikki Haley as she calls for the removal of the Confederate battle flag* from South Carolina’s state capital, I know something is up. The good news […]

The following essay is a guest post by Denny Green of Clean Water Action – Michigan. Enjoy. Stick that in your pipeline and smoke it! Anybody who’s ever visited Michigan’s Great Lakes has been taken aback by their inspiring splendor and breath-taking beauty, laid out for all to see. What you don’t see, however, are Enbridge’s two aging pipelines, known […]

NOTE: This post has been updated to include information about when Michigan abolished common law marriages. Republican Todd Courser took to the internet to defend “attacks” he’s facing over his package of legislation paving the way for “RFRA for Marriage” and making it harder for same-sex couples to get married. In a piece on his website titled “Breaking Courser Answers […]

I recently wrote about Michigan teacher Mary Davenport, a woman who had received hundreds of thousands of dollars in support from her union, the Michigan Education Association (MEA), only to turn around and claim they “weren’t there when she needed them.” She was duped into being the poster child for the campaign by the corporate front group Mackinac Center to […]

I’m adding my voice to the chorus of those who call for Governor Snyder and the legislature to protect the Great Lakes as required by law and as demanded in Liz Kirkwood’s excellent op-ed in The Detroit News this week. Kirkwood’s study group, For Love of Water (FLOW), delivered compelling arguments that Enbridge Oil’s 62 year-old oil pipeline 5 that […]

Dad. Dear old dad. I’m very blessed and fortunate to have one of the good ones, although it took five adoring children, a loving and patient wife, and many years of trials and tribulations to properly train him. And being that he did arrive into the world of parenthood with less than optimal examples to model his own behavior after, […]

Sponsors call the law “cruel and unnecessary” and are fighting to restore women’s full access to healthcare. In 2013, Michigan made national news — and not in a good way — for passing a law that forces women to buy additional health insurance for necessary medical care during a miscarriage or abortion, even in cases of rape and when the […]

Both the lawsuit and legislation seek to update gender markers on state identification. Imagine having to share the deepest of personal information about yourself — information that could subject you to discrimination, violence or worse — every time you wanted to cash a check. Imagine being challenged every time you pull out your state-issued identification because you look like a […]