“Citizens United v. FEC is one of the most destructive Supreme Court decisions in the history of this country”

In August of last year Dean of the House Congressman John Dingell introduced the Restoring Confidence in our Democracy Act. This legislation sought to undo the democracy-crushing impact of the now-infamous Citizens United Supreme Court decision that has allowed huge sums of money to be spent by wealthy individuals and corporations to pervert our elections and subvert our democracy.

Congressman Dingell will be reintroducing this bill during the current legislative session and tomorrow at 6 p.m. in Ann Arbor he will hold a public forum and panel discussion to discuss it.

Click through for details.

Every little bit helps

In our Obama campaign office in downtown Ann Arbor, we have the fairly typical crew of folks. There’s me, the Canvass Captain, and my Deputy Canvass Captain Jennifer who does as much or more than I do.

We have Kate who somehow manages to keep all of our canvass packets and canvassers organized so that she can report the numbers and so we can make sure everyone gets back safely.

There’s Randy, our Phonebank Captain, who is assisted by Kathy and keeps our steady flow of phonebankers trained and busy, and who manages to stay sane and calm when the predictive dialers are fussy. Thankfully, he’s also an expert in laser printer surgery.

We have Jeanette who is our gatekeeper at the front desk, making sure nobody gets by without being welcomed and then asked if they are volunteering for canvassing or phonebanking.

There’s Etta, our intrepid Comfort Captain, who keeps the coffee fresh and all of our volunteer staff fed along with our volunteers.

And then, of course, we have Alaina, our Staging Location Director. Alaina is doing the work of a staff person and gets paid only in smiles, headaches and the deep satisfaction that she has made a huge contribution to something she believes in strongly. She keeps us all focused and calm and determined and she does it with a big smile. All the time.

This is the normal contingent of volunteers that you’ll see at pretty much any Obama Get Out The Vote (GOTV) Staging Location across the country today. But our office has one more person that not every location is blessed to have.

We have Bette.

See some amazing gardens, benefit Growing Hope – it’s a twofer! This Saturday, June 9, 2012 from 10 a.m to 4 p.m., the Ann Arbor Branch of the Woman’s National Farm & Garden Association is sponsoring the 22nd Annual Garden Walk. Tickets are only $15 and proceeds go to Growing Hope. Meet homeowner gardeners and be inspired by their labors […]

Emergency Manager law under the microscope Tonight, a community forum will be held in Ann Arbor on the subject of Public Act 4, the Emergency Manager law. On Monday, February 6, from 6 to 8pm in the Eldersveld Room in the Department of Political Science (Haven Hall 5th Floor), the Undergraduate Political Science Association will host: “A Debate on the […]

Don’t fight, it’s inevitable Last night I had the chance to have several beers with one of my local blogging heroes, Mark Maynard. His website, markmaynard.com (“For all your Mark Maynard needs”), is essential reading, particularly for anyone in the southeastern Michigan area. His support of the arts and local businesses and his charitable activities are unparalleled. Mark has been […]

Picture this My wife has put up an amazing multi-media post from yesterday’s visit to Ann Arbor, Michigan at her blog Politics in Pictures. If you were there, you can look for yourself in a fully interactive panoramic image (you can even make it go fullscreen and zoom in and out!) If you don’t see yourself, you can also look […]

Being a battleground state has its privileges If the internet gods shine their benevolent faces on us today, I’ll be posting live updates from President Obama’s speech in Ann Arbor, Michigan this morning. During his last Michigan stop at the University of Michigan spring commencement, there were so many people uploading to their Facebook pages that I was unable to […]

Barackstar Obama It’s January in Michigan which means brrrrrr! That didn’t stop thousands of people from being in line by 8 a.m. this morning, hoping to score one of the 3,000 tickets that were being given out starting at 9 a.m. What rock concert was it? Not a rock concert but truly a rock star: tomorrow morning President Obama will […]

Great coverage by The Rachel Maddow Show last night of the march and rally in front of the gated community where Michigan Governor Rick Snyder lives. Rev. David Bullock was spot-on perfect with his message and it’s one that will resonate with a wide variety of people. My favorite part of Rev. Bullock’s comments came at the end. There is […]

Just a reminder that this afternoon, starting at 4:00 p.m., there will be a protest march on the Ann Arbor-area home of Governor Rick Snyder. Word has it that, in addition to scheduled speakers, the Reverends Al Sharpton & Jesse Jackson are also in town for the event. Here are the details from my original post that also had an […]

Last night I spoke on the phone with Pastor David Bullock, the president of the Michigan Chapter of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and the Highland Park NAACP. He and his group are organizing a Martin Luther King Day march on the Ann Arbor home of Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. Details on the “Occupy for Democracy Rally” to protest Michigan’s anti-democratic […]