Remember this number: 94.3% Michigan Republicans love to pass laws with “immediate effect”. It avoids the whole “gotta wait until 90 days after the close of the current legislative session” thing and the laws they pass go into effect immediately. They love it so much that, when I last did my analysis in early September, they had passed 94.3% of […]

GOPocrisy, pure and simple Michigan Republicans are still working to demonize the Affordable Care Act in any way they can. The most recent example is a bill reported out of the House Subcommittee on Insurance last week, H.B. 4816, which was introduced by Rep. Mike Shirkey. The bill, which you can read HERE (pdf), requires health insurers to report to […]

“When one gains, another loses.” There is one very unfortunate aspect to the roll out of the Affordable Care Act. The tiny percentage of people who are being forced into new policies happens nearly all at once and at the very start of the roll out. The overwhelming benefits of having more Americans insured and covered by decent health care […]

Of puppets and strings and doing the right thing This morning Democratic candidate for governor Mark Schauer called for increasing the minimum wage in Michigan to $9/hour. It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s wildly popular. A Gallup poll released last week shows that a full 76% of Americans support this move, up 5 points from just last […]

Pipe down or be punished For the past three years, Republicans in control of the Michigan legislature have created a culture of retaliation and punishment in order to stomp out any opposition they may encounter. The blazing speed of their right to work (for less) drive was, for all intents and purposes, designed to punish labor groups for having the […]

Nothing to see here except a corporatist front group trying to distract you from the fact that they are a corporatist front group You can always tell with the powerful corporatist groups around the country are feeling nervous about the light that’s being shone on them: they fire up the well-known conservative echo chamber to create a story out something […]

I’ve officially enrolled in coverage through the marketplace. It was easier than I expected — and will save me about $10,000 a year. I just got covered under Obamacare. I already had insurance, but it was breaking my piggy bank. Now I have coverage with almost identical benefits, for less than half the price I’m paying right now. Even better, […]

Will the DNR keep “helping” the wolf population they so purposefully worked to expand??? The following guest post is by Ramona Grigg, a freelance writer, owner of the liberal blog Ramona’s Voices (which is on the Eclectablog blog roll), and a personal friend. She lives in a cabin on an island off the Upper Peninsula, making her a Yooper. As […]

Republicans will do anything to destroy President Obama. They’ll fall in love with Herman Cain after Donald Trump. They’ll let Darrell Issa run off every cliff and into every tunnel painted on every mountain. They’ll even develop a sudden, deep concern for the uninsured. And now they’re pretty sure they finally have the president beat. Savvy right-wing political operative Rick […]

Go, Iggy!

After Michigan wolf hunt opponents gathered enough signatures earlier this year to put the issue on the 2014 ballot, Republicans, in their typical anti-democratic fashion, passed a law that would make the vote moot. The group Keep Michigan Wolves Protected is now embarked on a second petition drive that would overturn this law, as well. If they are successful, you could actually see TWO wolf hunt ballot referendums on your ballot next year.

Rock icon Iggy Pop has now gotten involved. Earlier this week, he sent Governor Rick Snyder a letter taking him to task for signing the bill that prevents Michigan residents from having a voice in the matter.

Read his letter after the jump.

Only in Republicanland is this a good idea This is week in a somewhat surprising move, Republican Secretary of State Ruth Johnson proposed a rule to require transparency in the funding of so-called “issue ads” that don’t promote specific candidates. Millions and millions of dollars are spent every election cycle on these ads which are, more often than not, nothing […]