It’s good to be the king banker

There’s a story emerging out of Detroit about the role too-big-to-fail banks have played in the creation of Detroit’s fiscal emergency. Last week, Dave Dayen reported at the National Memo that some banks have begun foreclosure proceedings on homeowners and then simply walked away before taking possession of the property. This leaves evicted homeowners on the hook financially for the home they are no longer permitted to live in. What’s worse is that the banks don’t even have to inform the homeowner or the city of Detroit which no longer receives any tax revenue from the property.

Not only that, banks have been reaping huge profits in debt restructuring fees and, as added salt in the wound of a city in crisis, Republicans have ensured that these same banks will be paid in full as Detroit works to get out from under its crushing debt.

Much more after the jump.

Double digit leads must be very helpful when you’re deciding if you’ll run

Congressman Gary Peters from Michigan’s 14th Congressional District leads his nearest opponent in the race to replace Senator Carl Levin when he retires in 2014 by a factor of two in a recent poll conducted by Main Street Strategies. Of the four leading candidates, Peters has a very clear early lead with 24.8% of the vote. Former MI-01 Congressman Bart Stupak was favored by 11.7% of the 1,032 respondents, Debbie Dingell — wife of U.S. Congressman John Dingell — got 9.2% and former Congressman Mark Schauer came in at 9.0%.

Click through for more.

Holy father of Goddess, two facepalms in one day???

Honestly, I’m speechless. It’s rare, I know. But this has stolen my voice.

Probably because I swore off profanity on this blog two years ago.

I don’t even know what category or tags to put on this post.

Watch it and cringe (video after the jump.)

It’s hard to swallow you shoving your religion down my throat

The Michigan Republicans are trotting out a “new” bill to further their War on Women and those who don’t share their narrow worldview. I say it’s “new” because it was a bill that died in the last legislative session. They call their bill the “Religious Liberty and Conscience Protection Act” but it’s nothing more than a backdoor way to limit Michigan women’s access to safe and legal abortion services across the state. What makes this legislation so insidious is that it may also restrict all Michigander’s access to things like birth control, vaccines, counseling and even HIV/AIDS treatment.

Details and actions you can take after the jump.

Prepare for a messy 2013 I have to admit that I was wrong in two very serious ways. I thought Paul Ryan’s disgrace as a VP candidate — booed by seniors and hidden for the last weeks for the campaign — would  temper the House Republicans a bit. That almost seemed to happen at the beginning for 2013 with the […]

The misinformation is rampant. Get informed.

The two biggest lies perpetuated by the fossil oil industry (“Big Oil”) and their corporatist minions in decision-making roles in our government are that TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline will bring thousands and thousands of jobs to the U.S. and, perhaps more importantly, will increase our national security by making us less reliant on oil imported from the Middle East and other foreign countries that aren’t allies like Canada.

Both are complete and utter lies and there is solid proof to dispel both.

Much, much more after the jump.

You know who REALLY likes Rick Snyder? Nobody.

Rick Snyder has given numerous signals that he intends to run for a second term as the Nerd in Chief of Michigan. The problem is that not only do Democrats despise him, he’s wildly unpopular among Republicans, too. He’s especially hated by the far-right tea party element of the GOP.

A Lambert, Edwards & Associates poll out last week conducted by Denno Research tells the tale. Details on that and more after the jump.

Democracy is not disposable

Today at 4 p.m., there will be a townhall meeting in Detroit, Michigan to protest the imposition of an anti-democratic Emergency Financial Manager on Michigan’s largest city. Details are below. You can RSVP and get more information at their Facebook event page HERE.

Click through for details on this event and a prayer vigil to be held this Thursday.

Republicans are rebranding! 2013 is a whole new ballgame for the GOP. Instead of Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock making disgusting comments about rape, a Republican woman has decided to invent biology to justify making all abortion illegal even in cases of rape, a belief that only 9 percent of Americans share. Celeste Creig, president of the volunteer organization California […]

Earlier this week, I wrote an “open letter” to newly-elected Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lon Johnson. My primary goal with the piece was to start a conversation with Chair Johnson and among Michigan Democrats across the state about the future of our party. There’s no question that we must evolve as a party in order to retake control of our state from the overreach of our drunk-with-power, ideologically-corrupt Republican opponents. From new ways of engaging activists to improved communications with the citizens of our state, if we’re not moving forward, we’re losing ground.

It is my opinion that Lon Johnson gets that. However, there are many across the state who are reluctant to adopt new ways of doing things. Perhaps they are fearful of change. Maybe they enjoy the voice they have and the power they have now and don’t want to challenge the status quo. Whatever the reason, change is hard and will not always come easily. The first step is to have the conversation.

I was thrilled, therefore, when Chair Johnson took time from his crazy first-week-on-the-job schedule to respond to my letter.

His response is after the jump.

“Alright, let’s cue the Michigan tape…”

The Rachel Maddow Show takes on Michigan’s Emergency Financial Manager situation again: “THE most radical Republican experiment in the 21st Century. Why this is not a bigger national story still blows my mind.”

Video after the jump.