This should be fun. Al Pscholka is begging to be interviewed by Rachel Maddow. The west Michigan lawmaker who sponsored emergency financial manager legislation that has been repeatedly pilloried by MSNBC host Rachel Maddow — especially for the way it has been applied in Benton Harbor — is asking Maddow to allow him to make a live appearance on her […]

As I reported yesterday, the Benton Harbor City Commission passed a resolution, declaring the takeover of their city by Emergency Financial Manager Joseph L. Harris to be unconstitutional. Joe Harris doesn’t give a damn. He’s going to rescind their resolution. Benton Harbor Emergency Manager Joseph Harris tells [WSJM] that he plans to issue an order rescinding this week’s city commission […]

A recall petition against Michigan state Congressman Al Pscholka has been filed. You can view the official letter HERE (pdf). Here’s the text: April 28,2011 Representative Al PscholkaMichigan State House of RepresentativesP.O. Box 30014Lansing, Ml 48909-7514 Re: Receipt of Recall Wording Dear Representative Pscholka: You are hereby notified that pursuant to provisions of Section-168.952 of Public Act 456 of 1982, […]

I’ve been happy to see hear coverage of the takeover of Benton Harbor on Michigan Public Radio over the past three days. They’ve done a three-part story which is pretty balanced, on the whole. Wednesday, April 27 – Benton Harbor called “ground zero” in fight over emergency manager powersThursday, April 28 – People in Benton Harbor disagree about what’s best […]

Check out this Eclectagoodness from The Rachel Maddow Show last night: Watch the full piece with Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero HERE. I’m still stunned that most of the Michigan coverage is being done by me (and Rachel Maddow, of course) and that none of the major newspapers in Michigan is following this story. I’m just sayin’…

Jesse Jackson at the Counterpunch website: Benton Harbor may become to economic justice what the small town of Selma was to civil rights. For in Benton Harbor, the powers that be now are wreaking the final indignities on the town’s beleaguered residents — stripping them not only of their schools, but of their democracy, taking away not only their jobs, […]

Jesse Jackson was back in Benton Harbor yesterday, this time alongside Congressman John Conyers, Chair of the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus Congressman Fred Durhal, Jr., Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, Benton Harbor Mayor Wilce Cook, and others. They announced that a lawsuit will soon be filed on behalf of Benton Harbor. Jackson says they will now file a lawsuit, challenging the […]

I don’t have complete details at this time but it appears that there is an organized effort afoot to start a recall effort against Michigan State Congressman Al Pscholka. Who is Al Pscholka? In addition to being the state Representative from the area that includes Benton Harbor, Pscholka is a former aide to Congressman Fred Upton, a man who has […]

A few things to report today about Benton Harbor. First, Jesse Jackson made an appearance in Benton Harbor yesterday to highlight their situation. “Clearly we must prepare to file a major lawsuit to restore democratic rights in Benton Harbor,” said Jackson. He encouraged church and city leaders to form a coalition. ~SNIP~ “You don’t solve an economic crisis by decapitating […]

Based on some tips from folks who have contacted me about my blogging the Big Government TakeoverTM of Benton Harbor by Rick Snyder’s Emergency Financial Manager, Joseph Harris, I’ve been doing some digging into the development known as Harbor Shores. I have found an amazingly tangled web that involves a number of very powerful, very wealthy men. In the process […]

Last night on her show, Rachel Maddow connected some very important dots in the situation that led up to the Big Government TakeoverTM of Benton Harbor, Michigan by Joseph Harris, aka “The Czar of Benton Harbor”. But she didn’t connect ALL of them. In her piece we learn these facts about Benton Harbor and its twin city next door, St. […]