Ken Coleman on Twitter: @HistoryLivesDet Ken Coleman is on Facebook HERE. Ken Coleman’s work at Michigan Advance can be found HERE. BOOKS MENTIONED DURING THE POD: The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit by Thomas Sugrue The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass, and Public Policy by William Julius Wilson Chris Savage can be […] The post The Triumph and Tragedy of Detroit – wsg historian and journalist Ken Coleman first appeared on Eclectablog ..read more

“Two North” is a story about one Christmas when my mom was spending time on the psychiatric ward of our town’s hospital after trying to commit suicide to escape a physically-abusive husband. I was thirteen. It was a cataclysmic event in our lives but it brought us together into a two-person tribe like no other event ever has in my […] The post “Two North” – A true Christmas Story first appeared on Eclectablog ..read more

Mitchell Robinson on Twitter: @mrobmused Mitchell Robinson at MSU: Mitchell Robinson – Associate Professor of Music Education Mitchell Robinson’s campaign website: MitchellRobinsonForStateSchoolBoard.org Mitchell Robinson at Eclectablog: Please stop with the “heartwarming” teacher stories: this is no way to treat professionals Craig Mauger at The Detroit News: How ex-House Speaker Lee Chatfield provided foothold in state government for lobbyists Chris Savage […] The post Thinking about education as something other than school-shaped ATMs – wsg Mitchell Robinson first appeared on Eclectablog ..read more

The following essay was written by Dianne Byrum. Dianne is a former state Representative and state Senator and is currently a Michigan State University trustee and the Michigan Director for Defend Democracy Project. Over the summer, the January 6th Committee presented overwhelming evidence proving that Donald Trump and his extremist supporters in the Republican Party planned, promoted, and paid for […] The post Election deniers, extremists are ramping up attacks on democracy. Here’s how. first appeared on Eclectablog ..read more

Forty-nine years ago, after being exposed as a criminal, then President Richard Nixon uttered the phrase “I am not a crook!” during a press conference in Orlando, Florida. This statement had literally the opposite effect from what Nixon intended. Nobody who heard it believed it because the evidence was so strong that he was, indeed a crook. In fact, all […] The post Want to #RestoreRoe in Michigan? Here’s what to do and what NOT to do to support Prop 3! first appeared on Eclectablog ..read more

The following post was written by Jessica Beasley (she/they), a Senior Manager of User Experience Design at a tech company and longtime resident of Michigan. She lives in Ypsilanti Township with her spouse and an inadvisable number of cats, and mostly uses Twitter to tweet about trans stuff at @JessicleCats. The topic of Jessica’s essay is personal for me. My […] The post Republicans introduce bill to put the parents of transgender kids in prison for life first appeared on Eclectablog ..read more

During last night’s gubernatorial debate, GOP nominee Tudor Dixon asserted that a difference between her and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was that Dixon was a small business owner, whose company had been “crushed during the pandemic by Whitmer’s Covid policies.” Curious, I decided to look into Dixon’s “small business.” Here’s what I learned… Dixon’s business, Cornerstone Foundry Supply (CFS), manufactures nothing–it’s […] The post Tudor Dixon’s “small business” is driving US refractory manufacturers out of business first appeared on Eclectablog ..read more

This is a guest post from Michigan House Democratic Leader Donna Lasinski. Michigan is entering the home stretch of an election season unlike anything we have seen before. On the one hand, Democrats offer candidates many voters will recognize: From Gov. Gretchen Whitmer down the ballot, Democratic candidates are talking about record-setting funding for our schools, growing good paying jobs, […] The post Michiganders reject attacks on our votes, threats of violence. Dixon, extremists aren’t listening. first appeared on Eclectablog ..read more

In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic that has now killed over 1 million Americans, the federal government has allocated billions of dollars in funding for schools. Known as the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER), the funds were distributed in three separate tranches: ESSER I – On March 27, 2020, Congress set aside approximately $13.2 billion of […] The post Michigan education group presents priorities for $3.7 billion in federal funds via the American Rescue Plan first appeared on Eclectablog ..read more

With three unelectable candidates at the top of the ticket this year, Michigan Republicans are struggling to raise money from their hapless donors. This is likely what is pushing them to tell their donors outright lies about the state of the race which is precisely what they did with a fundraising email sent out today. The email screams, “GOP nominee […] The post Michigan Republicans outright gaslighting donors about how badly Tudor Dixon’s campaign is tanking first appeared on Eclectablog ..read more