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Levin 
Tue Oct 21, 2008 at 18:49:23 PM EDT
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(This is one of the many reasons I blog - to share and read personal stories about how the (in)actions of those in DC and Lansing affect ordinary people. - promoted by ScottyUrb)
For the record, I was against the bailout. I wrote a handful of emails to my Representative, John Dingell and both Senator Stabenow and Senator Levin. I made phone calls begging for them to vote against the bailout. I was convinced that sending almost a trillion dollars to some of the very people that got us into this mess was a very bad idea. I firmly believe then, and still do now that the only real way to help Wall Street is to conduct criminal investigations and do something to kick them of the bad habits they got adicted to (like trading and inflating the price of the complex economic devices that got us in this jam). I wrote to the Obama campaign asking that he not vote for the bailout. In the end, as we all know, my efforts were futile and the bailout passed.
I'd like to think that I know a little about hard economic times. I was born in Louisiana in the early 1980s where my father worked as a helicopter mechanic for PHI. In 1985 we moved to Michigan when the oil company ran into hard times and my father was forced to look elsewhere for work. He came to work for General Motors as a mechanic for their corporate helicopter and airplanes at Metro Airport.
For the first few years, we rented as we had difficulty selling our house down in Louisiana. With the economy is turmoil, it was nearly impossible to find a buyer for the decently-sized house of which we were the original owners. In the end, we sold the house back to the bank and lost about $30,000 on the deal.
In my childhood here in Michigan I grew up in a typical middle-class household. In addition to my father's work at GM, we had some income from my mother who worked as a preschool administrator and a Head Start director in a poor school district, before finally finding the job she's held for over a decade as a second grade teacher. We weren't rich, but there was always food on the table. I would later come to realize how hard my parents worked, and how much they sacrificed so that my little sister and I always had what we needed. We might have had hand-me-down clothes from cousins and I might have had a job since I was 14 to help offset bills and expenses, but I never knew the fear of losing our home.
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Fri Sep 26, 2008 at 21:30:51 PM EDT
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To: The Hon. Carl Levin The Hon. Debbie Stabenow The Hon. Bart Stupak The Hon. Peter Hoekstra The Hon. Vern Ehlers The Hon. Dave Camp The Hon. Dale Kildee The Hon. Fred Upton The Hon. Tim Walberg The Hon. Mike Rogers The Hon. Joe Knollenberg The Hon. Candace Miller The Hon. Thaddeus McCotter The Hon. Sander Levin The Hon. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick The Hon. John Conyers The Hon. John Dingell CC: Their Constituents Re: The Paulson Bailout Plan
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Thu Jul 17, 2008 at 09:30:37 AM EDT
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(The hearings are going on right now. - promoted by rich)
This morning the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which I chair, is holding a hearing to look at two banks that have relied on secrecy and deception to hide, not just the tax avoidance schemes of their clients, but the actions they themselves took to facilitate U.S. tax evasion.
Click here to watch the hearing live.
Each year, the United States Treasury loses an estimated $100 billion in tax revenues from offshore tax abuses. Tax havens are engaged in economic warfare against the United States and honest, hardworking American taxpayers.
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Mon May 12, 2008 at 15:59:32 PM EDT
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(Welcome, Senator! - promoted by PerfectStormer)
This afternoon, I’m speaking on the Senate floor about high energy prices. Unless something is done to make energy more affordable, the record-high prices will continue to reverberate throughout our economy, increasing the prices of transportation, food, manufacturing and everything in between. Skyrocketing energy prices are a threat to our economic and national security, and the time for action is long past.
One of the major causes of our energy crisis is the failed policies of the current Administration. In January 2001, when President Bush took office, the price of oil was about $30 per barrel. The average price for a gallon of gasoline was about $1.50. Since President Bush took office, crude oil prices have nearly quadrupled, natural gas prices to heat our homes have almost doubled, gasoline prices have more than doubled, and diesel fuel prices have nearly tripled.
One key factor in price spikes of energy is rampant speculation in the energy markets.
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Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 10:07:58 AM EDT
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Thank You Chris Dodd! It appears the cacophony of voices is moving for a heavily modified version of Mark Grebner's plan for a do over primary through mail-in ballots. Levin, Granholm, and even Bill Nelson of Florida are expected to push this plan to the state Democratic Party pretty soon. However, another voice has joined in with a different view.
In reference to my previous post, http://www.michiganliberal.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=11614, I spoke about a Professor at Wayne State who had a great idea: send the delegates, but split them 50/50 for Clinton and Obama. This is possible because delegates are in no way compelled to actually vote as they are originally apportioned, meaning that if we send 100 delegates for “Clinton” and 56 for “Obama”, they may get to Denver, and 100 will vote for Obama while only 56 vote for Clinton.
Today, Chris Dodd endorsed this plan at the International Association of Fire Fighters. He brought up all the key points: it is wrong to put this all on taxpayers’ bill again, it still would ‘punish’ us without totally disenfranchising us, and he is opposed to having any election be funded solely through, “a bunch of fat cats”.
I like Grebner’s plan for its simplicity of funding and the inclusion of a few physical polling stations. The talk I’ve heard about special fundraisers for the do-over and whatnot makes me concerned, let alone the fact that we would have to get the state House and Senate to pass a new law to make any do-over a possibility. This plan is simple, cost effective, and would force people to take a closer look at who they send to the convention, rather than take it for granted.
The article on Chris Dodd’s remarks can be found here: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080311/POLITICS01/803110417/1361/rss41
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Sat Mar 08, 2008 at 12:59:33 PM EST
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This Michigan Primary situation has gone from bad to worse. It was bad enough that the Legislature, fully aware of the candidates' decisions to boycott our state and the censorship from both the Republican and Democratic parties, decided to spend over $10 million of our dollars on this January 15th mistake, and then withhold the information from the very people who put up the money: the public! Now, just as there was beginning to be hope that Michigan delegates would be re-enfranchised with the close race, this issue of another, 'do-over' caucus/primary/who-knows comes up. Should we do one? Will it count? Who will pay? What form will it take? If we do one, how will it be administered: by the state or by the party?
Governor Granholm's got her plan for a 'firehouse' primary: a semi-open primary that would be done at community gathering places with a relatively low cost that would have to be shouldered by the state parties. Some throw out the idea of a party-run caucus. James Carville has publicly stated that he will raise $15 million (if the Obama campaign agrees to do the same thing) to contribute to the primary and cover campaign costs. Obama's people have been non-committal, and Senator Levin (a Clinton supporter) agrees with Senator Clinton that the vote from January 15th should be honored and that's that.
Everyone and their brother seems to have an opinion one way or another, most of them formed not out of reason, but from a feeling of being slighted. So far there are only two progressive ideas I have heard: one, from Marjorie Sarbaugh-Thompson, an associate professor of political science at Wayne State University, is to re-enfranchise our delegates and commit them 50/50 for Obama and Clinton. The other is from Mark Grebner, whereby we would do a mail-in primary, with low costs for everyone involved. This would also eliminate many of the barriers that exist with traditional polling places: harassment, wrongful disenfranchisement, and the inability of low-income citizens and seniors to turn out in as great number as their younger and wealthier counterparts.
I have another idea: IT DOESN'T MATTER. A lesson in DNC politics: all delegates are only bound to their stated preference for the first round of balloting. After that, it's anyone's game. Therefore, if Michigan splits 50/50 for the first round of balloting, or if another proportion is found through a new primary, or if the results of Jan. 15th are upheld, it doesn't matter. There are bound to be multiple rounds of balloting, with an intense floor battle that will render any apportionment we can think of moot. Some may complain that this is un-democratic; if so, it is the system's fault rather than Michigan's. We should not unfairly burden our people for another election that will not hold much water. Grebner's plan is solid and provides the best compromise between the unfortunate reality of the DNC system and the preciousness of our tax dollars, while Mrs. Sarbaugh-Thompson's plan would also be sufficient. Personally, I think the original primary should be honored, as the Uncommitted delegates in Michigan's delegation hold a great deal of power, being able to make up their own minds and give the Superdelegates a small challenge.
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Mon Feb 18, 2008 at 09:26:38 AM EST
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Saul, on his "blog," is reporting that Andrew "Rocky" Raczkowski dropped his bid to get fanny-whacked by Carl Levin come November, because he got called to active duty. Announcing the official kick-off for his bid is creationist Jack Hoogendyk.
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Sun Jul 22, 2007 at 21:19:25 PM EDT
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If you haven't seen this video, I would encourage it, especially if you like science fiction about totalitarian societies. But mind you, this isn't science fiction.
http://www.liveleak....
I'd heard some of Blackwater before seeing this video, but the video really made it hit home.
The following is what I wrote to Stabenow, Levin, and Walberg (with a couple of tiny cosmetic/grammatical edits):
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Sat Jan 20, 2007 at 17:27:28 PM EST
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(It was a great event. I'm working on getting my transcript up shortly. Many thanks to the Livingston Co. Dems for having me there. - promoted by LiberalLucy)
HAMBURG TOWNSHIP - Sen. Carl Levin said next week will an historic week in the Senate when the senior body takes up the bipartisan Iraq resolution to try and stop the further escalation of the Iraq fiasco that has seen more then 3,000 U.S. Service members killed in action and cost the taxpayers more than $350 billon.
Levin, the Chair of the powerful Armed Services Committee, spoke at a fundraiser Saturday at Whispering Pines Golf Course to benefit the Livingston County Democratic Party, and more than 150 people were in attendance, as well as media from TV, radio, print and bloggers.
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Sat Jan 20, 2007 at 10:39:22 AM EST
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Today I'll be back in my old haunts as I attend a very special event.
The Livingston Co. Democratic Party is hosting
U.S. Senator Carl Levin
12:30 p.m.
Whispering Pines Golf Course
2500 Whispering Pines Dr., Pinckney
734.878.0009
Cost: $55 each
I'm honored to have been asked by the Livingston Co. Dems to come out and attend. If the facilities permit, I'll be live-blogging from the event.
Sen. Levin will speak on the Iraq war and the Democratic Party's successful First 100 Hours Agenda. It will be very interesting to hear what he has to say.
See you there!
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