In late April, I wrote about Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s fake concession on the Earned Income Tax credit (EITC). The EITC is a tax credit that benefits the working poor, especially those with kids, in Michigan. I wrote: In a dramatic concession, he’s agreed to give qualifying families $25 per child . This represents 5.8% of the EITC the average […]

You know Whirlpool, the large corporation that is an integral part of the city of Benton Harbor and who received $3.87 million in tax breaks from the city last year as a bribe so they would build their new headquarters there instead of leaving Benton Harbor altogether? According to Business Week, they haven’t paid a dime in corporate taxes in […]

A press release from Heartland Revolution, who have faced rather ridiculous and farcical accusations that they are somehow allied with Whirlpool or other corporate entities in Benton Harbor: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Joe Palmer Heartland Revolution859-474-0489heartlandrevolution@gmail.comwww.heartlandrevolution.com Heartland Revolution would like to commend all the groups which took part in the “Take Back Democracy” protest at Southwest Michigan’s Grand Floral Parade […]

This blog entry was written by my wife, Anne. Anne is a fantastic photographer (as I frequently mention) and runs two blogs. Her first is The Savage Feast, a blog about food, gardening, eating & drinking, and enjoying the “foodie” lifestyle. Her most recent project is the Anne Savage Photography Politics in Pictures blog. This is where her political photography […]

NOTE: Click each image for a larger version which will open in a separate window. 12:35 – Parade begins in 25 minutes. A HUGE police presence along the parade route: Also a huge union presence: Two sheriff boats and the Coast Guard in the river between St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. My wife’s comment: “For crying out loud, it’s just […]

As I have been talking about, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and State Representative Al Pscholka are scheduled to be in tomorrow’s Blossomtime Grand Floral Parade that starts in St. Joseph and ends in Benton Harbor. It turns out, Rep. Pscholka may chicken out. “We always have a big law enforcement presence at the Blossom parade, up and down the route, […]

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 […]

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 […]

On the heels of the start of the recall effort against Rep. Al Pscholka, I have learned that eight additional state Representatives in Michigan are now being targeted for recall. These Republicans are being targeted because they won narrow victories in November 2010 and most are in traditionally blue (Democratic) districts (like Mark Ouimet in the 52nd District, i.e. MY […]

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, […]