On the SOPA/PIPA Protest Day, I emailed Senator Levin to implore him to vote no on PIPA. He was kind enough to email me a response explaining his position on the issue, which I thought I'd share with all of you. To summarize, his position is the same as President Obama's, namely that the bill needs changes, but he's not inherently opposed to its principles. Anyway, here's the full text of the email:
Thank you for contacting me about the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property (PROTECT IP) Act of 2011 (S.968). I appreciate you sharing your thoughts with me.
Introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the PROTECT IP Act aims to safeguard intellectual property on the Internet from foreign websites dedicated to illegal infringing activities. Intellectual property rights (IPRs) are legal rights granted by governments to encourage and reward innovation. These rights ensure that inventors reap the benefits of their work. Through IPRs, governments grant a temporary, legal monopoly to innovators by giving them the right to control the use of their creations by others. IPRs also allow inventors to trade or license their work to others in return for fees and/or royalty payments.
The PROTECT IP Act would authorize the Attorney General or the owner of an IPR harmed by an Internet site dedicated to infringement activities (ISDIA) to take a number of steps to act against the operator or owner of an ISDIA site. U.S. industries that rely on the protection of IPRs contribute significantly to U.S. economic growth, employment, and international trade. Counterfeiting and online piracy in other countries may result in revenue losses in the billions of dollars for American firms, as well as the loss of American jobs. Additionally, health and public safety advocates are troubled by the potential consequences of counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs and other products.
Concerns have been raised that the PROTECT IP Act would stifle innovation and openness on the Internet and would restrict Americans’ free speech. Opponents of the bill also have claimed that it would place an unfair and unworkable regulatory burden on Internet companies and would weaken Internet security.
I am concerned about the current version of the bill. I have been meeting with people on all sides of the issue and hearing from many constituents. After scheduling a vote on to the PROTECT IP Act, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced on January 20th that Senate consideration of the bill would be postponed, citing legitimate concerns that had been raised about the bill. I think this was the right course of action given the large number of issues that have been raised. Senator Reid encouraged Senator Leahy to work with the various stakeholders to resolve their concerns with the PROTECT IP Act. I will review the revised version carefully when it is available.
But the mountain of evidence collected against Goldman by Levin's small, 15-desk office of investigators — details of gross, baldfaced fraud delivered up in such quantities as to almost serve as a kind of sarcastic challenge to the curiously impassive Justice Department — stands as the most important symbol of Wall Street's aristocratic impunity and prosecutorial immunity produced since the crash of 2008.
Before I get into the topic today I’d like to explain that the quote at the top is from Matt Taibbi’s May Rolling Stone article is illustrative of a lot more than it seems on the surface. On the surface, you have Senator Levin’s competent and well-disciplined staff of a mere “15-desk office of investigators” taking on the behemoth vampire squid formally known as Goldman Sach’s.
GS, as we all know, has infinite resources of one of the premier pigs feeding at the trough of the federal government’s resources vs. the small slim-and-trim fighting machine formally known as Senator Levin’s civil service staff, with Senator Levin’s staff besting the fat-bankers at every turn. Senator Levin’s staff is deserving of a hearty round of applause from all of America.
Senator Levin's staff also offers an analogy that is s indicative of the entrepreneurial spirit, the tremendous creativity and productivity found in small business in America compared to the pigs at the trough fat-cat banking system that has its tentacles wrapped around the US Treasury.
The most important financial innovation that I have seen the past 20 years is the automatic teller machine, that really helps people and prevents visits to the bank and it is a real convenience. How many other innovations can you tell me of that have been as important to the individual as the automatic teller machine, which is more of a mechanical innovation than a financial one?
Compare that statement to the overall creativity and productivity that America’s small business has produced and what it could do in the future if it could free itself from the parasitic banking system of Wall Street.
There’s a saying that loose lips sink ships. So can dead weight.
Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, who just got himself a lawyer, may be facing the possibility of sinking, either because of his own words in April 2010 before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) or because his shipmates are distancing themselves in a legal version of every man for himself. Or both.
Recall that Blankfein emphatically told the subcommittee, “We didn’t have a massive short against the housing market, and we certainly did not bet against our clients.” The 650-page subcommittee report (PDF) presented on April 13, 2011, which cites Blankfein 79 times, begs to differ.
The report accused Goldman of trading against its clients by simultaneously shorting certain subprime mortgage securities (a.k.a. “cats and dogs”) while stuffing them into the collateralized debt obligations it sold. It also suggested that Goldman executives, including Blankfein, misled Congress in testimony surrounding the Abacus CDO, Hudson, Timberwolf, and other deals, by saying it didn’t have a big short.
...
The executives running Goldman are exceedingly wealthy, not least because when the firm faced its darkest hour and lowest stock price in years during the bank-created crisis of fall 2008, the government provided it billions of dollars in the form of cheap loans, FDIC debt guarantees, TARP, AIG make-wholes, and a late-night moniker change from investment bank to bank holding company, giving the firm access to excessive Federal Reserve aid.
...
You could look at Blankfein hiring external counsel as a normal prudent, legal move. But that’s naive, given the attorney he selected. Hiring a major criminal-defense lawyer is about more than the fear of a $550 million SEC wrist slap for bad documentation in the Abacus CDO. It’s about the real possibility of doing time.
There you have it. The Levin report packed a wallop and now Lord Blankfein is a bit distracted from God’s work. Are there more criminal lawyers on Wall Street who are about to reap the rewards of the Levin Report? Time will tell.
Bob Chapman’s July 13, 2011 edition of the International Forecaster (paid subscription – link not yet available) reports that Tuesday Senator Carl Levin Carl introduced a bill that “would change Internal Revenue Service regulations that allow American traders of credit-default swaps to avoid paying federal taxes on many transactions that begin in the United States.”
The International Forecaster
Saying that offshore tax havens deprive the United States Treasury of tens of billions of dollars of revenue a year, two senior Democratic senators are pushing to help reduce the federal deficit by tightening rules that allow hedge funds, derivatives traders and corporations to skirt federal taxes.
A bill introduced Tuesday by Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the permanent subcommittee on investigations, would change Internal Revenue Service regulations that allow American traders of credit-default swaps to avoid paying federal taxes on many transactions that begin in the United States. It would also tighten rules that enable some hedge funds and corporations based in the United States to reduce their federal tax liabilities by declaring themselves foreign companies and moving a small part of their operations overseas.
In an effort to discourage companies from using bookkeeping maneuvers to shift their profits to tax havens, the measure would also require American corporations to provide the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the public, with a country-bycountry breakdown of their sales, employment and operations.
Senator Levin, a Michigan Democrat who has spent years investigating tax avoidance schemes, estimates that abuse of offshore havens costs the Treasury more than $100 billion a year and said his proposal could provide a breakthrough in the stalled deficit-reduction negotiations between President Obama and Congress. Mr. Obama has refused to approve a deal that does not include increased revenues, and Republicans have said they will oppose any measure that increases taxes. Mr. Levin said his plan offers a compromise by closing loopholes used by corporations and investors, many of whom have continued to reap profits during the economic downturn while minimizing tax liability.
It is unclear whether either the president or Republicans who control the House of Representatives would consider making the proposal part of their negotiations.
But the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Kent Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat, said on Monday that closing offshore loopholes had the potential to pare more than $1 trillion from the budget deficit over the next decade. Introducing his own plan to cut $4 trillion from the deficit with a combination of spending cuts and revenue increases, Mr. Conrad said that by taking aim at the tax shelters identified by Senator Levin, the federal government could reduce the deficit and lower the corporate rate to 29 percent from 35 percent without increasing taxes on the middle class or imposing severe cuts on Medicare or Social Security benefits.
“Let’s go after offshore tax havens, abusive tax shelters,” Mr. Conrad said during a speech on the Senate floor. “Let’s shut them down.”
Senator Levin released a Press Release yesterday that is posted on his website. The Press Release with links to the bill, its summary and his floor statement can found here.
(I just finished reading this. - promoted by Eric B.)
Matt Taibbi’s seems to have a desire to bring investigate journalism back from the grave where the MSM toadies put it just before the financial crisis hit in 2008 in order to relieve themselves from reporting on it.
His latest piece, “The People vs. Goldman Sachs: A Senate committee has laid out the evidence. Now the Justice Department should bring criminal charges”, takes The Levin Report and translates it into plain English for the rest of us to read. Senators Levin and Cobrn have done their jobs. The report has been referred to the Justice Department in order for them to pursue prosecutions.
Now the buck falls on President Obama’s desk. It gives the President a chance to prove what he has failed to prove to the people since he took office: that he has the competency to see through the BS to the root cause of this crisis and fix it.
The Levin report has stripped away the excuses that this financial meltdown was just an accident on the part of the banks and that there was no wrongdoing by the individuals involved. Now it is up to President Obama and his Justice Department to do their jobs.
They weren't murderers or anything; they had merely stolen more money than most people can rationally conceive of, from their own customers, in a few blinks of an eye. But then they went one step further. They came to Washington, took an oath before Congress, and lied about it.
*--Quick quiz ... who wrote these words about Wall Street's mess:
"At the heart of the financial crisis were unresolved and often undisclosed conflicts of interest. Blame for this mess lies everywhere from federal regulators who cast a blind eye, Wall Street bankers who let greed run wild and members of Congress who failed to provide oversight."
Paul Krugman? Dean Baker? Che Stalin McCommiepants? No, no, no. Tom Coburn, who co-authored the Levin report.
Add to that erroneous foreclosures, and the question is less and less why no one is in jail but why revolting peasants haven't sacked a castle somewhere.
Eric B. (Empasis Mine)
Events are moving swiftly. As Senators Levin’s report makes clear, the financial crisis is not only greed in hi-speed greed motion but it was greed that was pre-planned. Eric B. posted a YouTube of Senator Levin investigating that pre-planning in 2010 that I think is worth reposting.
The greed also had an intended purpose. These financial “shiity” deals that Goldman Sachs and other financial institutions were selling ended up in retirement accounts of police, fireman, and civil service workers. They also ended up in the financial portfolios of cities, counties and states. And then – all of a sudden, we have a series of financial crises. First at the federal level and soon to be followed with the city, county and state levels financial crises.
Today, with a little bit of history to help us make an educated guess, the intended purpose is easier to see. The banks that destroyed our economic system are going to impose austerity and have their minions come in and consolidate the gains. Cities counties and who knows, maybe even states, may fall under financial martial law where there will be mass firings of public servants, dismantling of public employee unions, never-ending cutbacks in public services and the real gem – the selloff of public assets to private companies for a dime on the dollar. Michigan governor Rick Snyder has begun the process here in Michigan. with the Emergency Manager Law passed in March.
Here is how the Michigan Citizen described the new emergency manager law:
The new legislation, signed by Gov. Rick Snyder March 16, gives broad, new powers to state-appointed emergency managers that include the ability to terminate union contracts and strip power from local elected officials.
The new law creates 18 triggers that would bring an EM to a financially strapped city or school district. Now this form of financial martial law appears headed to Wisconsin.
Now the Michigan Version of financial martial law is headed to Wisconsin.
Reports are surfacing that Scott Walker is now preparing his next assault on the democratic political process in the State of Wisconsin.
Following the lead of Michigan GOP Governor Rick Snyder, Walker is said to be preparing a plan that would allow him to force local governments to submit to a financial stress test with an eye towards permitting the governor to take over municipalities that fail to meet with Walker’s approval.
According to the reports, should a locality’s financial position come up short, the Walker legislation would empower the governor to insert a financial manager of his choosing into local government with the ability to cancel union contracts, push aside duly elected local government officials and school board members and take control of Wisconsin cities and towns whenever he sees fit to do so.
Such a law would additionally give Walker unchallenged power to end municipal services of which he disapproves, including safety net.assistance to those in need.
…
Should these reports prove accurate, Walker’s plan would resemble-if not directly mirror- the legislation signed into law by Gov. Snyder of Michigan which gives Snyder extraordinary powers to take over municipalities when he determines them to be in financial trouble, further permitting him to actually fire locally elected public officials when he deems it desirable.
Gov. Snyder’s extraordinary law became all too real this week when Emergency Financial Manager, Joseph Harris, appointed by the Governor to take charge of Benton Harbor, Michigan, issued an order which took away all powers of the city’s elected officials.
Yes, this has really happened right here in the United States of America.
Walker’s plans give further credence to the notion that the efforts of the GOP governors with Republican majorities in their state legislative bodies are part of a coordinated plan to enforce a right-wing agenda designed to not only destroy state, county and municipal employee unions, but to take control of local governments by replacing elected officials with appointees, both corporate and individual, of the state’s highest executive officer.
As Elliot spitzer interviews Senator carl Levin he dares Goldman Sachs to sue him. For his part, Senator Levin gives an extremely concise summamary of the current banking fraud crisis.
H/T maxkeiser.com
“Our investigation found a financial snake pit rife with greed, conflicts of interest, and wrongdoing,” Levin told reporters today.
Quietly and persistently, Carl Levin continues his all-important work on financial reform and accountability. Yesterday Zero Hedge headline ran a story under the headline “Carl Levin To Refer Goldman To Justice Department, SEC For Misleading Investors And Committing Perjury. The story is sourced from an article in FT.com.
Matt Taibbi latest article in rolling stone is titled with a question. It is a question that is on the mind of the populace lately and a question that the MSM is doing everything it can to bury. As protests over state austerity cut-backs gather steam in Wisconsin and Ohio one can only wonder where these protests will spread to. What does certain is that they will spread. People have a tendency to get angry when they are ripped-off and the government protects the crooks.
What is not so certain is that the protests are aimed at the right target. If you see the state budget cut-backs as merely symptom of the disease – as I do – and not the disease itself the protests are off-target.
The disease is Wall Street. Everything you see going on around you – the foreclosure crisis, the unemployment rate (the deindustrialization of America), the stealing of pensions and benefits, commodity inflation, the demise of the US dollar, etc. (this list could go on for a page or two), is rooted in Wall Street’s looting of the nation. And looting is the right word.
The importance of Matt Taibbi’s article is that it directs attention to the disease and doesn’t use the symptoms as a distraction.
Financial crooks brought down the world's economy — but the feds are doing more to protect them than to prosecute them.
Here are the first graphs of the article:
Over drinks at a bar on a dreary, snowy night in Washington this past month, a former Senate investigator laughed as he polished off his beer.
"Everything's fucked up, and nobody goes to jail," he said. "That's your whole story right there. Hell, you don't even have to write the rest of it. Just write that."
I put down my notebook. "Just that?"
"That's right," he said, signaling to the waitress for the check. "Everything's fucked up, and nobody goes to jail. You can end the piece right there."
What needs to be the focus as we move forward in this critical time of our nation is that the debt created on Wall Street is not the debt of the American people but the debt of banks - many of whom are off shore banks that have no interest in a prosperous and independent Amerca.
It is not the responsibility of the American people to pay off the debts that these banks have shoved onto the American government. That debt is the responsibility of the banks themselves.
To his great credit, Senator Carl Levin was successful in inserting the Volcker Rule into recent bank reform legislation (Dodd-Frank)(at least that is my information - clarifications welcome). That legislation also contains provisions to close failed banks. It is time to start using those provisions to close supposed too-big-to fail banks and purge this debt from the sytem which will allow the better run banks to fill the void.
If there is only one article you are going to read all year - Matt Taibbi's article should be the one.
The public bank concept is gaining ground on the state level, attracting proponents across the political spectrum.( Ellen Brown)
In his analysis “Improvements and efficiencies in local government”, Eric B gives the impression that a few reforms here and there can make local and state governments work. He goes on to give a supposed balanced analysis by presenting snippets from both Rip off Rick and Virg Bernero comparing their approach to efficiencies in government. It is very similar to what you see in the MSM press today. I do agree do with Eric is that efficiencies have their place in the scheme of governing. But these are not normal times and normal solutions will not solve the problem.
Rip off rick surely has some scheme to cut municipal pensions, sell assets/privatize assets, and outsource union labor but I doubt he has much more than that. Is that what Michigan needs?
I think Eric missed the big picture in his article and here is why. Virg Bernero is the only candidate who understands that the root of the problem is the Wall Street banks. He is the only candidate offering a meaningful solution by proposing to create a state bank. That is no small item. Consider what Virg Bernero said in the press release announcing his intention to set up a state bank modeled after North Dakota's bank.
"Michigann's Small business Community is still struggling to grow and create jobsand incremental changes just aren't getting the job done," Bernero said. "Hundreds of job-creating projects are still on hold because Michigan businesses and entrepreneurs cannot get bank financing. We can break the credit crunch and beat Wall Street at their own game by keeping our money right here in Michigan and investing it to retool our economy and create jobs."
The simple fact is that without an honest banking system there can be no recovery for Michigan. Talking “improvements and efficiencies in local government “is an issue that is meant to distract us from the real problem that Michigan and many of its cities will face bankruptcy if revenues don't start to increase. Of courrse bankruptcy for Michigan and its cities is just what some want in order to carry out the agenda of destroying unions and their pensions and selling off public assests to private companies for a dime on the dollar.
Last May, Carl Levin tried to pass banking reform legislation know as the Volker rule. That reform legislation would have re-imposed restrictions first implemented by FDR. That would have been good for Michigan. His reforms were completely shut down by the Wall Street banks and involve the mysterious flash crash that some have called an act of domestic terrorism by Wall Street banks. Consider what Barry Ritholtz wrote concerning that market flash crash.
I don’t buy into the many conspiracy theories that continually seem to get resurrected, but I expect that this particular thesis, from Max Keiser, may very well have legs:
“May 6th was an unequivocal act of domestic financial terrorism in America. A day that will live in infamy.
To scare the lawmakers, themselves large owners of the very banks and stocks that they are supposed to be regulating, a financial Weapon of Mass Destruction was put to their head and they acquiesced.
As the inventor of the continuous double-auction, market-making technology (VST tech. US pat. no. 5950176) that is referenced 132 times by program trading and HFT patents since 1996, I can tell you that Goldman, JP Morgan and the gang simply pulled the ‘buys’ from their computer trading programs and manufactured a crash. And when the coast was clear, and it was clear the politicians were not going to vote for anything that would break up the ‘too big to fail’ banks; all the ’sells’ were pulled from the computers and the market roared back.
This is a Manchurian Candidate market where program trading bots start the ball rolling in whatever direction Wall St. wants the market to go – and then hundreds of thousands of day-traders watching Cramer on CNBC jump on the momentum bandwagon and commit the crime for the Wall St. financial terrorists, who then say, ‘It wasn’t us, it was ‘the market!’”
Amped Content goes on to note that coincidentally the day after the crash, the “break up the too big to fail banks” amendment was soundly defeated by a 61 to 33 margin in Senate. And, a deal was struck to eliminate key provisions from the audit of the Federal Reserve bill. And, Goldman was meeting with the SEC to work out a settlement in their case against them.
I am always reluctant to put much stock into these nefarious “coincidences” — but I have to admit that Max’ theory here is quite intriguing . . .
Virg Bernero is trying to accomplish the same thing as Carl Levin tried to do in a different way by creating a state bank. Nothing will ensure the safety of Michigan pensions and revitalize the economy like a state bank. A state bank can take deposits and lend to small businesses to create jobs and tax revenue. Wall Street banks are refusing to lend in Michigan even while they are the beneficiary of trillions of dollars of taxpayer bailouts.
So what is so special about North Dakota? It doesn’t have to rely on a recalcitrant Wall Street for credit. It makes its own. (The Christian Science Monitor)
Have you noticed that the one state that has a state bank, North Dakota, has a budget surplus and is adding jobs? Consider Ellen Brown’s excellent article on the move nationwide towards state banks.
Amanda Paulson, writing in The Christian Science Monitor, quotes Arturo Pérez, fiscal analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures, which released its survey of state budget situations in December: "Unless you’re North Dakota, you’re probably a state that has had some degree of difficulty or crisis involving finances. It’s the worst situation states have faced in decades, perhaps going as far back as the Great Depression in some states."
“Unless you’re North Dakota,” that is—a state with a sizeable budget surplus, and the only state that is adding jobs when other states are losing them. A February 13 poll ranked that weather-challenged state first in the country for citizen satisfaction with their standard of living. North Dakota’s affluence has been attributed to oil, but other states with oil are in deep financial trouble. The big drop in oil and natural gas prices propelled Oklahoma into a budget gap that is 18.5 percent of its general-fund budget. California is also resource-rich, with a $2 trillion economy; yet it has a worse credit rating than Greece. So what is so special about North Dakota? The answer seems to be that it is the only state in the union that owns its own bank. It doesn’t have to rely on a recalcitrant Wall Street for credit. It makes its own.
Even some republicans are pressing the idea of state banks?
In Idaho, James Stivers, a Republican candidate for the State Senate, has also proposed a state bank to fill state coffers and protect the local economy. In the first indication of a political shift among grassroots Republicans, Stivers swept a closed-ballot preference poll at the GOP District 2 Central Committee meeting in Coeur d’Alene on February 13, winning the non-binding poll 10 to zero. Stivers declares:
An important part of sovereignty is the monetary authority. Currently, banks are allowed to multiply many times over the tax receipts deposited in their institutions. This special privilege is partly responsible for the ‘sucking sound’ in our local economies, as regional banks send their assets to central banks that are playing the derivatives markets of the world.
A state bank would restore this privilege to the people in a public trust and would give us the opportunity to back our deposits with the wealth from our public lands.
Virg Bernero understands this. Carl Levin understands this. The UAW understands this. There may be more, much more, to this story than is apparent on the surface.
UAW President Bob King on Friday urged JPMorgan Chase to "wake up" and "do the right thing" and halt foreclosures in Michigan and aid farm workers in North Carolina.
King's comments came as the United Auto Workers, church leaders and farmer laborers are withdrawing hundreds of millions of dollars from the New York-based bank in protest of Chase's decision not to implement a two-year moratorium on foreclosures in Michigan.
Don’t be fooled. The battle ground for economic reform is now at the state and local level. The contrast between the two candidates for Governor of Michigan is huge. Talking about fringe issues like efficiencies in government is a republican diversion in this election. You have to have revenues to be efficient with them. Rip off Rick understands this. That is why he does not want to debate. Public exposure is bad for him.
Virg Bernero sees the big picture. Has the right ideas at the right time and is the only acceptable choice for Governor.
Ed Schultz interviews Sen. Carl Levin on the recently released Senate Armed Services Report and totally debunks Republicans who have been saying that the report is partisan.
Anyone from Michigan knows that the Levin name is pretty much gold in the Michigan Democratic Party. Carl Levin has been kicking ass as one of our U.S. Senators for 30 years, and his older brother, Sander "Sandy" Levin has been a U.S. Representative for as long as I can remember. In addition, various other related Levins have been members of the state Supreme Court, federal judges, and so forth. Sandy's son, Andy Levin, ran for State Senate in 2006 and lost by a hair.
Why am I mentioning this? Because a headline broke today that is sure to cause a whole lot of raised eyebrows throughout the MDP:
I've spent the last 18 hours trying to figure out how to verbalize the rage, the frustration, and the deep sadness I feel after the asinine vote by the Senate Republicans in Congress that killed the auto industry bailout. And then I saw this quote by Lt. Gov. Cherry that seemed pretty spot on -
"We are witnessing Congressional unraveling of the American Dream and the demolition of the very foundation of our national security. A few beltway insiders who are completely out of touch with the struggles of American families decided to settle old political scores at the expense of millions of jobs and our national economic security. While bankers get the keys to the Treasury our manufacturers get a one-way ticket to bankruptcy and American families are left unprotected."
Last time I checked, the United States included Michigan, although with the way we've been slapped and kicked around in DC, you wouldn't know it.
If only Congress were as sharp and cared as much about working families as we do, they'd realize what letting the Big Three fail really means: not being able to retire, not being able to have health care, not being able to put food on the table - not being able to enjoy even a hope of achieving the American Dream.
These aren't just "workers". Every time I hear this topic discussed on the airwaves, I wonder how many people truly understand that these "workers" are actually people like my dad, my aunt, my neighbor, your friend, even you. Do they get that there are actual people behind this very in-personal collective group term, also used to describe honeybees and ants??
We owe American workers, who had nothing to do with the onset of the economic crisis or the strategy of auto management, the benefits and pay they agreed to, and we owe it to them to fight for their jobs and well-being.
Do Senate Republicans know what it's like to lose a job for no reason other than credit markets seizing up? We bailed out the financial institutions that got us into this crisis with much less rancor than providing much less money in a LOAN, not a bailout, to one of our most important manufacturing industries.
And has Congress been to Michigan lately? Have they seen the job losses we've already suffered, and the pain workers have already faced as the Big Three restructure?
According to a "what are you doing" note on a GMail chat, the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy needs just $3000 to meet the city's benchmark. Does anyone have $3000 to give? I don't and I'm not alone given the current economy but I can give an additional $30 today, within the hour, in fact. http://www.savetigerstadium.org
If 99 of you can join me with a $30 gift before 1:00 then the OTSC can hit this benchmark. Will you join me in this de facto $30 gang? Can you email five friends and ask them to make a $30 contribution? http://www.savetigerstadium.org
I firmly believe that if the OTSC clears this hurdle then Tiger Stadium will be saved for more baseball and more memories. The tax credit plan is real. The federal funds being secured by Senator Carl Levin are real. The city is asking for a few hundred thousand dollars right now and WE need to come up with less than $3000 to meet their goal. Can you spare $30...for Tiger Stadium? http://www.savetigerstadium.org
Senator Carl Levin with Bruce Hawley and his wife Jean in Sparta
The full story is over at West Michigan Rising, this is just the part that I saw.
Last weekend (yeah, 12 days ago ... hey, lay-off, I've been busy) the incredibly energetic Carl Levin made a swing out to West Michigan to support some great Democratic candidates for the Michigan State House of Representatives. Now, a few things were amazing about this trip.
First, how impressive is it that in the midst of his own reelection campaign, Senator Levin spent an entire Saturday supporting state-wide candidates. He didn't take a dime of the fundraising proceeds, just came out to support these Democrats working to improve our state from Lansing. Now that's just selfless and impressive -- Carl is thinking about all the ways he can work to improve Michigan and build a Democratic farm team. No one can ever say that Levin has forgotten Michigan or the Michigan Democratic Party.
Second, geez, Senator Levin must have gotten up around 6:30 am and probably made it home at about 10:00 pm and for most of that time he's got to be in full public mode which is exhausting.
Third, he pulled it off (kudos to the staff) and was on-time to everything.
(Mark's report on the fundraiser for Julie Rogers (District 61) in Oshtemo (Kalamazoo County) is at WMR....
Levin, then drove up highway-131 to downtown Grand Rapids for a fundraiser for Robert Dean (District 75). I was able to attend that reception, though I had a bunch of things to do that morning and was late. I got to hear the tail end of Levin's remarks -- on the Iraq War.
The fundraiser was well attended and the campaign was reportedly able to raise some good funds for the upcoming battle with the winner of the Republican primary (my prediction: Tietema). Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell introduced the Senator. Also in attendance were City Commissioners Rosalyn Bliss (and yes she was "chipper" (and I think David LaGrand was there, but my memory is fading), Kent County Commissioners Carol Hennessy and Paul Mayhue, and Kent County Democratic Party Chair Sue Levy (there were others, I'm sure I'm leaving out, but there's no way I can find my notes on this mess of a desk). I spent most of the time chatting with Rosalyn about the Jail Millage issue and the Green Grand Rapids initiative. We're blessed with a lot of great progressives in Grand Rapids and Rosalyn is one who can have a very bright future. I saw that Levin was leaving and shaking Rev. Dean's hand so I tried to get in to take a picture. By the time I whipped out my camera Dean was gone and Levin assumed I wanted a picture with him and me in it. So, sure, I thought and his staffer took the photo (below). I mentioned we had met a month ago at the bloggers meeting at the Michigan Policy Summit, praised Carl for taking time out of his busy schedule to support these candidates, and mentioned that I couldn't hold a candle to his work that day since I was only doing two events. He asked what the other one was and I replied, "I'm marching in the Sparta parade with Bruce Hawley who is a friend running for the State House in the 73rd district in northern Kent County." Well, the Senator says, "Sparta! We were thinking about hitting that parade on the way to Muskegon." I urged him to march with Bruce and told him that Hawley was a candidate worthy of strong Party support. I gave him Bruce's phone number and then, after Levin left (about 1:00 pm), quickly called Bruce and his campaign manager to let them know that Levin might soon be calling. I talked with Jeff Winston, who is fast becoming a well-respected campaign staffer, and then drove up to Sparta (passing lots of Raymond and Stelma for Sheriff signs on the country roads).
I parked at Bruce's church, and then walked to the staging area where I found 75 other folks waiting to march for Bruce Hawley, but no Carl Levin. Oh well, I thought, I tried. But just as I turned around from a conversation with his wife Jean, up walks the Senator. Now, Levin and Hawley don't agree on a few things, but Bruce is just a real nice guy, and it never popped into his head not play the gracious host and march right next to Carl Levin. Bruce introduced Senator Levin to his friends and lots of photos were taken (like the one above). It looked like it would rain on our parade, but that wasn't going to stop anyone from getting Bruce's message out to the people of Sparta. I'll talk about the parade in a post I hope to write tomorrow, but here's a another photo:
I did get a chance to talk with and listen in on conversations with Carl Levin. Again and again (with Elizabeth Edwards, Jennifer Granholm, Bart Stupak, Fred Miller, etc), it's always nice to see that these famous and powerful people are just regular folks when you get down to it. Carl, I, and an old friend of Bruce spent the time walking out of the staging area toward the start discussing the chances the Tigers have to make the playoffs.
About half-way through the parade, Carl had to leave to make the next reception in Muskegon. He told me he was leaving, we shook hands again, I thanked him, and I knew that this was another indication that Bruce was getting the recognition he deserves. Thanks again Senator Levin!
(Another report from the Lt. Governor on the last leg of his tour. Thanks, LG! - promoted by LiberalLucy)
We started out Saturday at the Grand Traverse County Democratic Governor's Breakfast in Traverse City. This is an annual event to kick off Saturday's National Cherry Festival activities. Paul Bare chaired the event this year and Diana Ketola, the County Party Chair, MC'd the breakfast. There was a great turnout this year, which may say something about Democratic energy in 2008. Local Democrats are focused, ready to go, and have fielded some great candidates. Andy Concannon is the Congressional candidate and local Democrats have a great State Rep candidate-Roman Grucz. Like Dan Scripps and the Rep seat to the west, Roman ran a close race last year and this year he is contesting for an open seat.
Senator Carl Levin was the morning's keynote speaker. He pumped the crowd up, and talked about the dramatic moment in the United States Senate last week when Senator Ted Kennedy returned to the Senate floor to cast the deciding vote to bring an end to the filibuster on the Medicaid appropriation. Democrats have struggled the past two years to muster the 60 votes to break filibusters on critical issues that advance the Democratic Agenda. For the most part, they have regularly fallen short, but not this time. With Ted Kennedy present, they broke the filibuster and went on to pass the Medicaid appropriation with a comfortable majority. This all shows you how legislators often hide behind procedural votes; but when you can't hide any longer and the light of day shines strong, justice can prevail.
After casting a 'yea' vote on Cloture on the Motion to Proceed (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to H.R. 6304 -- Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978) I received an email from Senator Debbie Stabenow today. The subject:
"Filibuster-Proof Senate in 2008!"
After effectively killing the efforts of Senators Dodd and Feingold to filibuster the attempt to pass the bill giving President Bush the authority to continue his illegal wiretap program, and grant telecos retroactive immunity...Debbie Stabenow is happy to boast a 'filibuster-proof senate'?
It gets better. From the email:
"There are only four days left . . .
. . . before the end of this fundraising cycle. Democratic candidates around the country are pushing to raise as much as they can by June 30 because when they report their fundraising figures for the quarter, it will be used as a gauge of the strength of their candidacies.
Media outlets watch these numbers closely. The Republicans watch them even closer.
Click here to donate today!
Contribute using ActBlue
That's why your help today is so crucial. Never before have we had so many amazing Democratic candidates running for U.S. Senate all over the country. Because of these great candidates, we have a real chance in November to significantly increase our Democratic majority in the Senate.
It takes 60 votes in the Senate to overcome Republican filibusters of important legislation, like health care for children, ending the war in Iraq, fixing the housing market, and creating good-paying American jobs here at home. Republicans are blocking our every effort to get this country back on track. But all of that can change in November!!
But only with your help.
That's why I have set up a page on Act Blue, a federally-registered PAC that helps candidates raise money online. Since 2004, they have raised over $53 million for Democratic candidates across the country.
Do you think your auto insurance rates are too high? Shop around! It seems that every day we hear ads on the radio and TV where insurance companies are offering lower rates on insurance. It is called the free market.
He's got a point ... a couple of years back, I used to see Tee Vee commercials telling me that despite having poor credit, no collatoral to speak of, and even during a period when I was unemployed, that I could own my own home. And, as far as I can tell, that's worked out well for us. Yet, somehow, I just don't see State Farm picking up the ball and going home because they were told consumers can challenge their auto insurance rates.
Below the fold, we meet Bart Baron, another Republican who's thrown his tin foil hat into the ring.
I just got some news that is very good for our friends at Blogging for Michigan. Occasionally, lawmakers drop by and provide some insights into the things they're doing and what's on their minds. It's one of the great things, I think, about blogs like this and BFM, since it offers a way for elected officials to interact with constituents.
This morning, I'm told that Carl Levin his-own-self will post at BFM about his work ending credit abuses. When it goes up, we'll be sure to be linking to it here. I'm also told that Levin will do this again in the future, spreading the love around Michigan's progressive blogosphere and posting on this site.
Observer & Eccentric: High school freshman's blog makes a case against McCotter. The Congressional watch blog "Mad at Thad" got a nice profile in yesterday's paper.
WMR: Report from the Kent County Democratic Party March Meeting. Check out Phil's ridiculously detailed report. Wouldn't it be cool if more county parties started doing posts like this?
Media Mouse: Levin Tells Iraqis to Pay for Reconstruction. The Mouse has some criticisms about Sen. Levin's latest remarks about Iraq.
Freep: Mayor would attack text messages' authenticity. "There will be a lot of conversations about texts and the authenticity of all of it," he said Tuesday in a brief exchange with reporters. "So I'm looking forward to having that conversation at a later date."
Susan J. Demas: A recall worthy of ridicule. "I asked Drolet if he really believes Dillon spends every waking moment plotting to raise taxes again. 'It doesn't matter if I think he'll rape someone again,' he told me breezily. 'He has to be held accountable for the rape he did commit.'"
State Government/Legislation
Michigan Messenger: Anti-bullying forces to descend on Capitol to get Senate to pass bill. "Hundreds of educators, students and community members are expected to descend upon the State Capitol next week to demand the Senate pass a comprehensive bill aimed at stopping bullying in schools. The bill passed the state House a year ago, but has since languished in the Senate awaiting a hearing."
House Dems: House OKs $40 Million Expansion of No Worker Left Behind Program. "Under the leadership of State Representative Richard E. Hammel (D-Mt. Morris Township), the House today passed the governor's plan to expand Michigan's program to retrain thousands of displaced workers so they can land good-paying jobs available now in high-demand fields."
Jackson Cit-Pat: SmartZone bill clears big hurdle. Jackson could be eligible for a new SmartZone under a bill being pushed by Rep. Simpson and Sen. Schauer.
WOOD: Granholm Town Hall Meeting Video. Here's your chance to watch the Governor's town hall, in case you missed it (link via BFM).
Freep Editorial: Great Lakes states must protect every drop they can. "How long can Michigan and the other Great Lakes states afford to let such problems spiral out of control? Somewhere, a potential water disaster is lurking, much as a transportation disaster struck when a Minneapolis freeway bridge collapsed last August."
LSJ Editorial: Crumbling: Michigan needs investment in roads, not more gravel. "Businesses look at public infrastructure when deciding where to invest. If they see Michigan going backward, will it increase or decrease the chances new firms will land here?"
Environment, Energy & the Economy
Tri-Cities Biz Review: Alt-energy grows like a breeze, thanks to corporate purchasers. "Sustainability is finally becoming more than a buzzword, and morphing into a real business imperative. We salute the SC Johnsons and Steelcases, those corporations doing the right thing and proving the financial worth of alternative energy sources." You can read more stories on renewable energy in the Business Review publications here and here.
Flint Journal: UAW's Gettelfinger blasts American Axle in local speech. Give 'em hell, Ron! "We don't have a national health care program when every other country takes care of their citizens," Gettelfinger said. "We pay more and get less... But that's why we have 47 million uninsured Americans in this country."
WLNS: City Named as One of the Best to Live and Work. "Forbes magazine has named Jackson one of the best metropolitan areas to live and work." Yes, you read that correctly.
[con]serving Michigan: CDC Report Adds to Growing Evidence of State's Toxic Burden. "Under pressure from the public and from Congress, including U.S. Reps. John Dingell and Bart Stupak, both Michigan Democrats, the CDC finally released the report this last week. The recently leaked report finds that thirteen Michigan communities have elevated rates of infant mortality, cancer and other health problems."
Great Lakes Guy: X Doesn't Mark the Spot in MI. Sixty-four teams to date have entered the $10 million competition to see who can produce a market-ready automobile capable of 100 mpg. None are from Detroit, and only one is from Michigan (Ann Arbor).
Michigan Messenger: Metro Airport expansion plan doesn't fly with neighbors. "A planned expansion of Detroit Metropolitan Airport is threatening to uproot thousands of people and dozens of businesses, but local officials and residents are fighting back."
Odds & Ends
Phil Power: We must change bad attitudes. "What Michigan needs to realize is that the auto industry has transformed its manufacturing basis from a brawn-based to a brain-based model. It's no longer enough for a new hire to get to work more or less on time and not get into fights with his or her foreman."
Let me know if I forgot anything. Drop your links in the comments section...
