Another day, another scandal for Aramark, the food vendor for prisons in Michigan. With each new scandal, Gov. Rick Snyder’s dogged persistence in continuing to outsource this state government service to a private, for-profit company is called deeper and deeper into question. This time, maggots were found in potatoes in a kitchen at the G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility near […]

Last month, I wrote about how Republican Dan Benishek, the Congressman from Michigan’s 1st Congressional District, had broken his promise not to run for a fourth term by pandering to military veterans. The true reasons for his decision to renege on his promise weren’t clear but his hypocritical pandering was blatant and nauseating. Evidence has now come to light that […]

While gathering for Michigan’s biggest celebration of LBGT pride, give three cheers (or even five) for improved care access thanks to the ACA. This weekend, people from across Michigan will head to Detroit’s Hart Plaza for Motor City Pride to celebrate the many contributions and achievements of the LGBT community. One key advancement to recognize is improved access to healthcare […]

Over the past several years, I have written about how corporate front groups, largely funded by corporatists like the Koch brothers and their network of fake grassroots (“astroturf”) groups, manipulate the media to serve their corporate bottom lines. They use this network to amplify their corporate messages, disguised as “reporting” or “news”, jacking up their search engine hits, and ensuring […]

Back in March, I penned an essay critical of Michigan tea party legislator Todd Courser’s complete freak out over a bipartisan move to create a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) endorsement for graduating high school students. If students complete six credits each of math and science, a half credit each of technology and engineering, and meet certain other criteria, […]

WRCB-TV Channel 3, an NBC-affiliate in Chattanooga, Tennessee refused to air a 30-second commercial produced by Freedom to Marry that featured a Republican man and Navy combat veteran, Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, decrying the fact that he served overseas in the military but is unable to marry the person he loves in the country he served. It’s a powerful ad: Despite […]

As I have written about (HERE and HERE), Friends of the Blog Progress Michigan are holding a fundraising event this evening in Ann Arbor featuring stand-up comedy by The Daily Show’s Al Madrigal. There will also be a comedy set by Kathie Dunbar, a former touring comedian who is now a Lansing City Councilwoman. Eclectablog is a proud member of […]

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 […]

EMILY’s List, America’s premier group for helping get pro-Choice Democratic women elected into office – referred to as a “radical pro-abortion group” by anti-Choicers – has compiled a list of Republicans they are putting “On Notice”. Being “On Notice” means EMILY’s List is actively recruiting and supporting women candidates to take out the anti-Choice incumbent currently holding that spot. On […]

As part of my mission to remind as many people as possible why 2016 is the most important election of our lifetime, I put together a list of five things you need to know now about an election that won’t take place for 16 more months. Of course, I start with the Supreme Court because it’s always about the Supreme […]

Last March, I posted a guest post from Tali Wendrow, the mother of an autistic child who used to live in West Bloomfield. Through the use of a widely-debunked technique called “facilitated communication”, their then-14 year old daughter “typed”, with the help of an aide, that her father had raped her and her mother did nothing to stop him. Former […]