THIS seems rather arbitrary. Which probably means there’s some underlying reason for it that will raise your hackles. Locals are no longer allowed to take early morning walks in the park under an order issued by Benton Harbor’s Emergency Manager Joe Harris. Jean Klock Park, the city’s public waterfront which has already been partially privatized as a Jack Nicklaus golf […]

A while back, I wrote a piece for A2Politico.com in which I took the Michigan Democratic Party to task for, among other things, not supporting the efforts stop Public Act 4 (or, as I call it, the “Financial Martial Law Act”). Subsequent to that article, I contacted the Michigan Republican Party and several leaders of tea party groups around the […]

The effort to repeal Public Act 4, the Financial Martial Law Act, in Michigan got a great jump start yesterday when nearly 100 local activists, concerned citizens and organizers got together for an informational townhall meeting. The event was put on by the Washtenaw Community Action Team, a group that describes itself as “a coalition of local unionists, activists, students, […]

I’m getting ready for a townhall meeting in Ann Arbor tomorrow where I will be presenting an overview of Michigan’s “Financial Martial Law Act”. The townhall meeting is from 10:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at the Ann Arbor Community Center. The Facebook page is HERE. If you are in the area, I encourage you to join us. I realized the […]

I want to draw your attention to sureujest‘s fine Daily Kos diary covering yesterday’s Pontiac press conference held by Sugar Law Center and plaintiffs in the lawsuit to declare Michigan’s Financial Martial Law Act unconstitutional. In it she has photos, video and interviews from participants. Here is an excerpt: At the late afternoon press conference in Pontiac, MI today I […]

Okay, can I just say how much I love THIS??? In Traverse City volunteers collected about 1200 signatures within a few hours Saturday afternoon. “People saw the signs at our table and on our many petitioner’s clipboards and eagerly offered their support,“ said Amy Hardin of Reject Emergency Managers. “We blasted through our first box of petitions in no time […]

I have a piece up at A2Politico.com that reveals the breaking news that 28 Michigan residents along with the Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice and the Center for Constitutional Rights have filed a lawsuit in Michigan challenging the constitutionality of Public Act 4, the so-call “Financial Martial Law Act” recently passed by Republicans. The defendents in the […]

This Saturday, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. is an informational townhall meeting on the effort to repeal the Financial Martial Law Act recently passed by the Republicans in Michigan’s legislature. I will be a featured speaker in the Michigan Forward-sponsored event, talking about the history of the law and what it does. Here are the details from their press […]

As I have written about recently, particularly in my piece The connection between Michigan’s EFM power grab, Rep. Fred Upton and Big Oil/Gas, my biggest concern about the use of Emergency Financial Managers (EFMs), particularly in areas where there are abundant natural (and other) resources to be exploited, is that they represent prime opportunities for businesses and corporations to use […]