An Open Letter to Mid-Michigan's Federal Legislators

To: The Hon. Carl Levin
The Hon. Debbie Stabenow
The Hon. Mike Rogers
The Hon. Tim Walberg

CC: Their Constituents

Re: The Paulson Bailout Plan

My name is Ted Kilvington and I am the Chairman of the Mid-Michigan chapter of Democracy for America. DFA was founded in 2004 by former Vermont Governor Howard Dean to advocate for socially progressive, fiscally responsible causes and candidates. Our members – hard-working, taxpaying Americans of all faiths, races, genders, incomes, and sexual orientations – represent Main Street American values here in Mid-Michigan. And it is because of our commitment to fiscal responsibility that I am especially concerned about the “Wall Street Crisis” in Washington.

In 2008 there has been a tremendous amount of volatility in the U.S. economy, primarily in the finance sectors. With numerous commercial banks and investment firms going under, there has been pressure on the U.S. government to relieve their financial burdens. To that end one week ago today U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson proposed a $700,000,000,000 plan for the federal government to purchase bad debts held by some of the struggling financial institutions – both domestic and foreign – with no oversight whatsoever. Since the federal government does not have the cash on hand to pay for this, the money would have to borrowed, largely from foreign governments and repaid to them with interest. Estimates have placed the average American family’s tax burden for this would be at least $10,000. This plan is unacceptable to Main Street Americans and should be unacceptable to both our Republican and Democratic legislators in Washington as well.

There is no doubt that banks and financial industry companies are failing. This year BearSterns, AIG and now Washington Mutual – to name just three – have collapsed with hundreds of billions at stake. Wall Street has every reason to be scared. But so does Main Street. We are being asked to bail out the failed leadership of the same executives who mismanaged our economy into this mess. And we are being asked to do so even though our friends and families will continue to live through the foreclosure shocks to our communities.

I strongly urge Mid-Michigan’s legislators of both parties to reject any plan which puts Wall Street ahead of Main Street. If Main Street Americans cannot rely on our legislators to support us in Washington, they should not expect our support on election day.

(Note: This letter does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the members of either DFA or MMDFA.)

cross-posted at MichiganLiberal.com and BloggingForMichigan.com

I'm a Little Confused...

Got this message from a friend via email. Don't know the source or author, but I thought it was worth sharing.


I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....

* If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're"exotic, different."


* Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, a quintessential American story.
__________

* If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

* Name your kids Willow,Trig and Track, and you're a maverick.
__________

* Graduate from Harvard law School and be President of the Law Review, and you are unstable.

* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.
__________

* If you spend 3 years as a community organizer, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs,Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

* If your 20 total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people,then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.
__________

* If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

* If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.
__________

* If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

* If , while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant , you're very responsible.
__________

* If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community,then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.

* If your husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DUI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.
___________

OK, much clearer now.

Conservatives: If the Lipstick Fits, Wear It

[This is cross posted from www.ricothomasrico.blogspot.com.]

Everyday it is becoming more apparent. The Republican Party is full of self-hating Americans. Can't-Do Conservatives is what I call them. If the lipstick fits, you conservatives gotta wear it. Then look in the mirror to see what you've become.

The Issues

National health care: Can't-Do Conservatives say it can't be done successfully in the U.S., while every democracy in Europe provides care for its citizens without becoming a Socialist outpost. Why do the Can't-Dos think so little of our American ability and ingenuity?

Government Spending: Can't-Do Conservatives complain loudly about government spending but, at the same time, have no problem spending $720 million American dollars A DAY illegally occupying Iraq, which had no role in the 9/11 attack, had no weapons of mass destruction, and had no other sin other than having the third largest oil reserves stewing under its land.

Budget Deficits: Can't-Do Conservatives complain about government spending but have no qualms about giving massive tax cuts to their Can't-Do Cronies, the rich, the super rich, and the power elite. Everyone else gets the occasional rebate check, but this, too, it put on the National Credit Card for future generations to pay. Can't meet our national priorities? We can if we eliminate the tax cuts for the Cronies of Can't-Dos.

Education: Can't-Do Conservatives don't seem to think Americans should fully fund schools. They diss teachers; they disdain university professors. They preach support for education, but expound against smart people. Basically, Can't-Do Conservatives support educated people, but only if they are taught their rigid ideology. Truth and an educated populace are like Kryptonite to Can't-Do Conservatives and their hold on power.

Community Organizing: The Can't-Do Conservatives disrespect and chide community organizers. If you organize, volunteer, and support community organizations, this means you! These Can't-Do Conservatives think you're a sucker or a chump if you work within your community for the following:

The United Way
The Red Cross
Planned Parenthood
American Foundation for the Blind
The League of Women Voters
Michigan Arts Council
United Negro College Fund
The Sierra Club
Citizens for Better Care
March of Dimes
American Civil Liberties Union
Make A Wish Foundation
Peace Education Center
Capital Area Literacy Coalition
UNICEF
Amnesty International
NAACP
American Cancer Society
Humane Society
Old Newsboys' Goodfellow Fund
Reading is Fundamental
PTA
Little League Baseball
Rotary
OXFAM
Michigan Environmental Council

...and the list goes on and on.

Half of the time with community organizing, we are trying to fix problems that Can't-Do Conservatives have created and perpetuated. If the lipstick fits...you gotta wear it.

Can't-Do Conservative Standard Bearers

The current standard bearers for Can't-Do Conservatives are John McCain and Sarah Palin. They clearly and proudly have carried this mantle since accepting their political party nomination. It's obvious, too, that they have a chorus of support from the arch-conservative pundits on radio and television, as well as from stalwarts throughout the Republican Party.

If you're part of this conservative, Republican crowd, get your lipstick because, undeniably, you gotta wear it.

-- Rico Thomas Rico

George W. Bush's Mission Accomplished

You can easily find the first hint of George W. Bush's legacy at the gas pump. It's not hard to predict that the prices will continue to dip slightly leading up to the election as the tail wags the dog. But you can be assured that the prices will make a healthy climb again after the election and will continue to rise until Bush leaves office. At that point, George W. Bush accurately can say, "Mission Accomplished."

-- Rico Thomas Rico


Note: This has been cross posted from www.ricothomasrico.blogspot.com.

A Bumper Sticker Message for Sarah Palin

I love a good bumper sticker. I saw the one shown below driving through East Lansing, Michigan last week. It's sorta appropriate now, considering John McCain's selection of an extreme, right wing, religous zealot in Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. I should point out, further, that Palin's qualifications for the office are about as thick as a bumper sticker.

-- Rico Thomas Rico

Welcome to St. Paul, You're Under Arrest

[Cross-Posted from www.ricothomasrico.blogspot.com]

St. Paul, Minnesota tags itself as the "most livable city in America." The city, at this moment, doesn't seem too inviting, especially if you are an American activist exercising -- or planning to exercise -- your free speech rights or if you are an independent American journalist exercising your free press rights.

As co-chair of the Peace Education Center of Greater Lansing, I started getting reports on Saturday, August 30, 2008, via email from people (independently of each other) reporting from St. Paul that police were conducting raids on activists and activists' homes as a lead up to the Republican National Convention. Read about it here. Now word comes today that Amy Goodman and two of her producers from the award-winning Democracy Now! news program were arrested today. See her arrest here:

Amy Goodman Arrested in St. Paul



All of this is on the heals of a Code Pink activist being viciously attacked by the Denver Police last week during the Democratic National Convention. See the attack here:

Code Pink Activist Attacked by Denver Police



This police brutality against activists and journalists will be a hot action item on the Peace Education Center's agenda at its monthly board meeting on Thursday, September 4th. In the meantime, we'll be encouraging those of us not at the convention site to call St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman's office beginning Tuesday morning at 651-266-8510.

And, apparently, the City of St. Paul has a Human Rights office and its phone number is 651-266-8966. W.H. Tyrone Terrill is the Director of the Human Rights office.

Democracy Now! has called on all journalists and concerned citizens to phone Christine Rider from Mayor Coleman's office at 651-266-8535 and the Ramsey County Jail at 651-266-9350 (press extension 0). The last word at this point is that Goodman has been released but two DN! producers, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, were being held for "suspicion of rioting."

As the work week starts Tuesday morning, I hope Mayor Coleman's marketing staff revamps the city's web site to read: "Welcome to St. Paul, where Free speech and Free Press are not."

Call List for Tuesday

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman
651-266-8510

W.H. Tyrone Terrill
Director, St. Paul Human Rights Dept.
651-266-8966

Christine Rider
Mayor Coleman's Staff
651-266-8535

Ramsey County Jail
651-266-9350 (press extension 0)