The following essay was written by Mitchell Robinson and is cross-posted on his most-excellent blog at MitchellRobinson.net. Robinson is associate professor and chair of music education, and coordinator of the music student teaching program at Michigan State University. Follow Mitchell on Twitter at @mrobmsu. His essay is reposted here with permission. Enjoy. A new report from the Justice Department recommends […]

The following guest post was penned by Nick Wallace, a freelance writer/data journalist who lives in Ypsilanti. Enjoy. Arguments that credit individual politicians with ongoing macroeconomic trends should always be treated with skepticism. It is the rare elected official who can cause a recession or reduce the unemployment rate. This is particularly true of state and local leaders; governors, mayors, […]

The following guest post was written by Barb Byrum. Barb is currently the Ingham County Clerk and is a former State Representative who served three terms in Michigan House of Representatives from 2007-2012. She is currently running for re-election to serve a second term as the Clerk of Ingham County. Byrum grew up in Onondaga, Michigan, a small rural town […]

This essay was written by Molly Tamulevich. Molly is a self-described proud Michigander from Royal Oak, Michigan who advocates for both human and non-human animals. By day she works to promote fair housing. In her free time she photographs the secret lives of insects on Instagram @tamtamsituation. Enjoy. I don’t know what to do with my master’s degree in Community […]

The following guest post was written by Rebecca Thompson. Thompson is a native Detroiter and the Executive Director of Good Jobs Now, a partner of the Center for Popular Democracy. The organization fights for economic and social justice for low wage workers and Detroiters. She lives on Detroit’s east side. Enjoy. Today marks the 78th anniversary of the Fair Labor […]

The following post was written by a close friend of mine, Mark Ferguson, a self-described “absolutely worst sort of privileged white male with degrees from Michigan State University, Indiana University, and Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.” Enjoy. Let’s talk about gun legislation Are your hackles raised yet? It’s a touchy subject fraught with knee-jerk responses. We need to get […]

The following guest post was written by Sean McBrearty, Campaigns Organizer for Clean Water Action in Michigan. Enjoy. Last week in a legislative session that went until the early hours of Thursday morning, both chambers of the Michigan Legislature passed the budget for 2017. Included in the budget omnibus bill is $114.3 million in emergency supplemental funding for solutions to […]

The following guest post was written by Jen Eyer, Vice President of Vanguard Public Affairs. Jen has spent many years in the world of journalism and most recently managed the newsroom for The Ann Arbor News, part of the MLive Media Group. You can read her full bio HERE. Enjoy. As Michiganders, we should all be concerned about the way […]

The following guest post was written by my friend Jen Eyer, Vice President of Vanguard Public Affairs. Jen has spent many years in the world of journalism and most recently managed the newsroom for The Ann Arbor News, part of the MLive Media Group. You can read her full bio HERE. This piece was first published at the Vanguard Public […]

Last year, Tali Wendrow penned two guest posts for Eclectablog. In the first, she described the outrageous treatment her family received at the hands of former Oakland County Prosecuter David Gorcyca and his staff. Here’s what Tali wrote in that piece: In late 2007, our family suffered a nightmare of enormous proportion as my husband was charged with the worst […]

The following guest post was written by Ned Staebler, founder of the Michigan Talent Agenda. I’ve hesitated to write this for several reasons, not the least of which is that I hoped it wouldn’t be necessary. I hoped that, at some point, Republican Party voters would come to their senses. I hoped that GOP leaders would step up and be […]