What’s so funny ’bout peace, love, and understandin’? I know this is nearly five years old but it’s it’s still worth watching and still worth learning from and still worth getting misty-eyed over. It’s worth the price of admission just to watch an elephant scritch a dog’s belly with his massive foot. Happy Sunday.

Or, GOP threatens shutdown/default if we don’t increase the deficit As the Tea Party faction of the House of Representatives tries to create another completely unnecessary budget crisis that could end up wounding their brand almost as much as it would sabotage the economy, here are a few things to keep in mind: 1. The deficit is shrinking rapidly, probably […]

“Compassionate conservatism” my ass As Republicans in Congress waste valuable time and money trying to gut the Affordable Care Act (ACA), even as our country is about to default on its debts, Florida has found a new way to screw poor people without health care insurance. The federal government is funding groups called “Navigators” to help guide people through the […]

See ya on the radio… Last night I spoke with my pal Tony Trupiano on the First Shift radio show about the rank hypocrisy of Congressman Tim Walberg from the 7th Congressional District. Our conversation centered around my piece “Tea partier Tim Walberg has been on the public teat for 30 years and will stay there when he retires”. We […]

Children, may I please have your attention? Today House Republicans tried for the 41st time to dismantle the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Dean of the House John Dingell, someone I am proud to call a friend, stood up and proceeded to dress down the anti-Obama tea party freaks that have come to dominate the Republican Party. He was addressing them […]

Doing well by doing good This story refutes absolutely everything corporatists and companies whose business model requires the lowest labor costs possible want you to believe. According to them, there is no way fast food joints can succeed, turn a profit, and grow if they are forced to pay their workers a living wage. “Nobody will pay for burgers that […]

The American healthcare system could be headed for a perfect storm, says one expert. And that’s a good thing. Regular readers of Eclectablog know that healthcare is something I write about often. In fact, I’ve been writing about it for more than a decade, long before I became a contributor here. Particularly with the passage of the Affordable Care Act […]

Oh, this is rich Last week a judge in Indiana ruled that the state’s so-called “right to work” law is unconstitutional. According to federal law, unions must cover everyone at a workplace but Indiana law prohibits delivery of services “without just compensation”. Since Indiana’s right to work law allows workers to benefit from union collective bargaining but does NOT require […]

An open letter to the soon-to-be-former governor of Michigan Yo Mr. Snyder: Your first campaign for governor was impressively banal. In the heat of a Tea Party year, you promised competence and nerdiness. What you’ve provided is an extremism cloaked by a nearly unprecedented lack of charisma. You’ve been a consistent rubber stamp for the far right as you raised […]

Twelve years ago I was living in St. Louis working for the St. Louis Post Dispatch. I was single with two dogs and a parrot, and spent my free time going to bars and listening to music and watching sporting events with family and friends. I hadn’t even met Chris at that point. Now, 12 years later I work for […]

While anti-Obamacare crusaders stoop increasingly lower, the law’s supporters are making sure people know the facts. I don’t think I really need to tell you just how ridiculous the failed attempts to repeal, defund or sabotage Obamacare are. After all, it’s been all over the news. And those who want to defeat the law will stop at nothing, from lying […]