The Essence of Politics

Thursday, November 26, 2009

11/26/09 Weekly Republican Address: Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN)


Rep. Pence: "The American people know we can't borrow and spend and bail our way back to a growing economy. ... Republicans have proposals to get our economy moving again, to achieve energy independence and lower the cost of health care."

Weekly Address: President Obama Delivers Thanksgiving Greeting


President Obama calls to our attention the men and women in uniform who are away from home sacrificing time with family to protect our safety and freedom. He also talks about the progress of health care reform, the Recovery Act, and job creation to ensure that next Thanksgiving will be a brighter day. November 25, 2009

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Obama Administration Report Confirms Speaker Pelosis Bill Increases Health Care Costs


Congressman John Boehner filmed the following web video last week in response an analysis by nonpartisan, independent experts at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requested by House Ways & Means Ranking Republican Dave Camp (R-MI) on Speaker Nancy Pelosis (D-CA) health care bill. The report unequivocally shows that Speaker Pelosis bill would raise national health care costs not lower them as the Speaker and House Democrats have asserted by $289 billion if it were enacted. Boehner says:

"In the lead up to a vote in Congress on her health care bill, Speaker Pelosi claimed her bill would provide affordability to the middle class, security to our seniors, and responsibility to our children by not adding a dime to the deficit.

"On Friday, the Obama Administration released a troubling analysis by independent, non-partisan experts at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) showing just how far from the truth Speaker Pelosis claims actually are.

"This report once again discredits Democrats assertions that their $1.3 trillion government takeover of health care will lower costs, and it confirms that this bill violates President Obamas promise to bend the cost curve. Its now beyond dispute that their bill will raise costs, which is exactly what the American people dont want.

"It is also clear that the $500 billion in Medicare cuts in Speaker Pelosis bill will have a drastic impact on senior citizens. In fact, after reading the CMS study the Washington Post reported that cuts will be so costly to hospitals and nursing homes that they could stop taking Medicare altogether.

"It doesnt have to be this way. Democrats should scrap their current proposal and work in a bipartisan way on a plan to lower costs and increase access at a price tag our nation can afford.

"Find out more about Republican plans for significant, bipartisan reform at Healthcare.gop.gov. Thank you."

Weekly Address: Traveling Abroad for Our Economy at Home


In an address recorded in Seoul, South Korea, the President discusses his trip to Asia. He talks about his push to stop nuclear proliferation in North Korea, Iran, and around the world. He talks about promoting Americas principles for an open society in China while making progress on joint efforts to combat climate change. And talks in-depth about the primary objective of his trip: engaging in new markets that hold tremendous potential to spur job creation here at home. November 21, 2009.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Flip Flop Kay Hagan


Flip Flop Kay Hagan

Flip Flop Mark Begich


Flip Flop Mark Begich

"I Deserve Health Care"


Television Ad: "I Deserve Health Care" [Health Reform Video Challenge winner]

Dead of Night


Dead of Night

Alabama Democrats, Whose vision for education do you trust?


Alabama Democrats, Whose vision for education do you trust?

11/21/09 Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) Delivers Weekly GOP Address on Health Care


Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) delivers the weekly Republican address about Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's 2,074 page health care bill.

Sen. Crapo says, "This 2000-page bill will drive up the cost of health care insurance and medical care, not down, increase taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars, cut Medicare for senior citizens by hundreds of billions of dollars, grow the federal government by over $2.4 trillion in new spending, push the needy uninsured into a failing Medicaid system, impose a damaging unfunded mandate on our struggling states, leave millions of Americans uninsured, and establish a massive governmental intrusion into management of our health care economy."

Sen. Crapo notes that Americans are looking for health reform that lowers costs and "ensures access to meaningful, quality health care." Sadly, Reid's bill is not the kind of health reform American families need.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Johanns: I Ask Pro-Life Senators to Stand Up and Oppose Public Funding of Abortion


In a speech on the Senate floor, Senator Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) emphasizes that every pro-life senator should cast a no vote on allowing the Senate to consider the Democrats health care reform bill, which would require at least one government-sponsored insurance plan to cover abortion and would allow taxpayer dollars to subsidize such plans. All it would take, Senator Johanns points out, to defeat public funding of abortion is for one pro-life Senate Democrat to stand up for his or her principles and vote no on considering the bill.

Flip Flop Kent Conrad


Flip Flop Kent Conrad

ABC News: 1 in 10 Jobs "Saved or Created" in the "Stimulus" Dont Exist


Last night, ABCs World News Tonight with Charles Gibson highlighted a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on misleading stimulus jobs claims. The GAO report found that More than 50,000 jobs, or one out of every 10 jobscame from projects that reported spending no money yet, according to ABC News.

Republicans: Americans Don't Want Higher Premiums and Higher Taxes


Republicans emphasize that the Democrats' health care plan which will raise premiums and taxes, cut Medicare, and drive up the deficit is not the kind of health care reform the American people are looking for.

Advocacy Alert

A friend of mine named Cyndy Viars sent me this advocacy alert so I am just passing it along to others to know and act to protect the agining community in our state:

Fellow Progressives,

The aging community has taken several budget cuts and there is another serious threat of yet another cut. The people who utilize these services are the aging poor and frail elderly. Please contact your legislators, Andy Dillon and Jim Bishop and let them know that you support Michigan's seniors and that further cuts are unfair and unacceptable! Talking points are included below.

Thank you,Cyndy

Here is the latest alert from the Area Agencies on Aging Association of Michigan
AREA AGENCIES ON AGING ASSOCIATION OF MICHIGAN
ADVOCACY ALERT
November 18, 2009

OSA PROGRAMS SLASHED 18% IN LAST FOUR MONTHS
~ Another 20% cut likely without new revenues ~


Programs funded by the Office of Services to the Aging (OSA), including meals, home care, caregiver services and volunteer programs, funded at $40 million one year ago, have been slashed by $7 million (18%) within the past four months. Governor Granholm is directing state offices to plan for another 20% cut for next year if new no new revenues are approved by the Legislature.

BACKGROUND:
To address the problem of falling revenues, Governor Granholm recommended a package of tax increases and loophole closings to protect state programs. But leaders of the Democratic House and Republican Senate forged an agreement to achieve a balanced budget with all cuts and no new revenues. The House is led by Speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford) and the Senate Leader is Senator Mike Bishop (R-Rochester). Despite their leaders’ agreement, both chambers had second thoughts and did approve some new revenues – but the new revenue sources were different from each other as were plans on how to use any new revenues.

The result was a state budget with devastating cuts to state programs, including those providing a safety net to vulnerable older Michiganians. OSA cuts are only part of the story; there are numerous other cuts in prevention, dementia, mental health, and other services. And optional Medicaid benefits for eyeglasses, hearing aids, adult dental care, etc. were eliminated. In the meantime, Legislators are trumpeting their success in protecting the Michigan taxpayer by balancing the budget with no new taxes. ‘No new tax’ groups are praising Legislators for their tough decisions to cut programs and live within our means.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Deliver a two-part message:
1) your disappointment about cuts that will hurt frail seniors, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups .
2) your willingness to support new taxes, closing loopholes, etc. to help the vulnerable.

Deliver this message to your own Representative and Senator. For contact information, go to www.mi-seniors.net and click on the Advocacy page.

Deliver this message to the two legislative leaders who decided to balance the budget with all cuts:

Rep. Andy Dillon andydillon@house.mi.gov (888) 737-3455
Senator Mike Bishop senmbishop@senate.michigan.gov (877) 924-7467

Use the two-part message outlined above.

Here are some additional talking points:

· OSA cuts are denying services to 8.000 frail older adults.

· Helping seniors with home-based services is cost-effective and saves the state from spending more money on nursing homes.

7850 East Jefferson Pension HQ Goes to Full Council Friday

I'm just passing along information in hopes that people who are interested in this decision will attend this meeting as well as email the current and new council members to voice their concerns regarding this matter.

The Villages Community Development Corp.

11/19/09
CORRECTION, The Full Council Meeting is this Friday, November 20th at 10am


STOP THE REZONING of 7850 East Jefferson

WE NEED YOUR ACTION NOW & FRIDAY at 10am


Today the Detroit City Council Planning and Economic Development Committee (Reeves & Collins) voted against the concerns of Detroit Residents and the City Planning Professionals. They overruled the Detroit City Planning Commission's recommendation to deny the rezoning of 7850 East Jefferson for the 7.4 Million dollar luxury riverfront Pension Fund Building. The committee action today, pushes the rezoning to a final decision through a full City Council vote on Friday.

The full City Council vote will take place Friday 11/20/09 starting at 10am. This is the last and most important meeting to come to, We can win on this issue, please every make every effort to attend this meeting. We need a large group and we will be heard!

Meeting Details:
Full City Council Meeting
Friday the 20th of November 13th floor of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center (City- County Building)Time: 10 am. Please be there by 10 am for public comment, public comment will come first at this meeting, this is our time to be heard!


Also Please call again and resend your emails to remind Council Members that there is significant community opposition to the proposal and the City Planning Commission has recommended against the rezoning. Ask them to Vote NO on the Rezoning


Please forward this email to supporters


For your convenience

Mayors office & City Councils physical addresses and phone numbers:

Mayor Bing
City of Detroit
Executive Office
Coleman A. Young Municipal Center
2 Woodward Ave., Ste. 1126
Detroit, MI 48226
Phone (313) 224-3400 Fax (313) 224-4433.

Detroit City Council
Coleman A. Young Municipal Center
2 Woodward Ave, Suite 1340
Detroit, MI 48226

Kenneth V. Cockrel Jr. (313) 224-4505
JoAnn Watson (313) 224-4535
Martha Reeves (313) 224-4510
Kwame Kenyatta (313) 224-1198
Barbara-Rose Collins (313) 224-1298
Brenda Jones (313) 224-1245
Alberta Tinsley-Talabi (313) 224-1645
Sheila M. Cockrel (313) 224-1337



Emails:
TO: Kenneth.Cockrel@detroitmi.gov; Collins_MB@cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us; K-Kenyatta_MB@cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us; m-reeves_MB@cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us; S-Cockrel_mb@ckrl.ci.detroit.mi.us; A_Talabi_mb@atwpo.ci.detroit.mi.us; WatsonJ@cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us; bjones_mb@cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us;

CC: cc-cpc@ci.detroit.mi.us; saunteel@saunteeljenkins.com; gary@electgarybrown.com; aspivey@spiveyfordetroit.com; charles@charlespughproductions.com;



Statement: Opposition to changing the City of Detroit Master Plan and the rezoning of 7850 East Jefferson The following document outlines in detail reasons for opposing the petition to change the City of Detroit Master Plan and allowing the rezoning of 7850 East Jefferson from High Density Residential (R-6) to Planned Development (PD) for the proposed development of a low rise office building for the Detroit Pension Funds Administrative Offices. The Case has also been clearly made that the petition directly conflicts with the City of Detroit's Master Plan and does not meet minimum conditions of approval for rezoning per the Detroit Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 61 of the City Code).

The City Planning Commission will consider this topic on 10/15/09 at 4:30pm on the 13th floor of the CAYMC

Opposition includes:
· The Villages CDC
· The Indian Village Neighborhood Association
· West Village Neighborhood Association
· Detroit Towers Building Association
River Towers Building Assocation
. Shoreline East Building Association
· Hundreds of handed signed & online petitions from individual residents and stakeholders from a large cross section of the community who have a significant stake in the future and share a vibrant progressive vision of the Villages Community and the City of Detroit.

www.thevillagesofdetroit.org

Sign Our Petition

The Villages Communities Position:
The Villages Communities object to the Detroit Retirement Systems' request for a change in the City of Detroit Master Plan, and the rezoning of 7850 East Jefferson from (R-6) high-rise residential to (PD) Planned Development, and the proposal to build a small office building and parking lot on that site.

The proposed use is not good for our Community
It is not the highest and best use of the parcel for our Neighborhoods or the City of Detroit. The proposed structure would be another sterile gated office building in a vibrant riverfront residential neighborhood using the property during business hours only. Further, this project would generate little or no revenue (relative to residential development) for the City, which is unacceptable considering the relatively high value of Detroit's limited, developable riverfront property.

The Villages neighborhood is one of the few areas in Detroit that has stable and genuine population density, income growth, and the current ability to attract residents and new retail business. Once the Riverwalk connects to Downtown through The Villages, our neighborhoods residential and retail desirability will only increase.

The Proposal is not good for Detroit
The proposed development takes jobs and commercial tenants out of the Central Business District where office space occupancy is needed the most. We need to keep our city center strong - weakening our city center by allowing employees from the Central Business District to be moved to a residential neighborhood fails to make sense. The current vacancy rate in the Downtown area is about 30%. We, as a City, cannot advocate, encourage, legislate or enable in any way re-zoning that encourages the depopulation of Downtown Detroit. Development of the proposed locale will not contribute to creation of new full time jobs with the pension board.

The plan directly conflicts with the City of Detroit's Master Plan and does not meet minimum criteria for approval for rezoning per the Detroit Zoning Ordinance. A full (long/legal) explanation of why the plan directly conflicts with the Master Plan and does not meet the Minimum Criteria of the Zoning Ordinance is listed as an addendum to this document.

If this change to the Master Plan and rezoning is approved, it is a Vote against a dense Downtown; it is vote against Downtown businesses and building owners; it is a vote against the City of Detroit; it is a vote against every small Downtown business that depends on a high density of Downtown Detroit to stay in business, pay its bills and its employees; it is a vote against all owners of emptying buildings struggling to maintain their occupancy to keep from exiting the City. Voting "yes" on this plan for this site is a vote against the work of the DEGC, DDA, the DDP, the Riverfront Conservancy and every other organization working for a greater Downtown Detroit (which ultimately leads to a stronger tax base, and the ability to render services city wide).

It is the Villages CDC's belief, supported by Detroit City Council Resolution and City of Detroit Master Plan, that any use for 7850 East Jefferson site must include easement from Jefferson to the River and easement along the River. These acts of our City's legislative body, that incorporate future planning design to guide development-based improvements to Detroit, must not be watered-down at the whim of the first developer with money to come along and find the requirement inconvenient.

The City of Detroit has less than 13 miles of developable riverfront. Every possible inch of that riverfront should be utilized for the maximum benefit of the Public and the city, and in this case maximum benefit is high density residential, access to the water, and public riverfront use along the entire length of the Detroit River within the city.

The Villages Community is Thriving
The Villages is a thriving, growing area that is proven in its ability to attract private investment dollars. The Villages are not a part of Detroit that people talk about when they speak of a shrinking city. Although the city, state, and nation are in a recession, the Villages have recently been able to attract an investment of over $2 million from Shelburne Development, who are moving their headquarters from the City of Wayne into a properly zoned historic building. Tim Horton's just opened up. The senior section of the Historic Whittier Hotel is now leasing successfully. A Pizza Bistro is opening in the Hibbard Building, and according to recent Social Compact data, City of Detroit Master Plan Cluster 3, Indian Village area (including 7850 East Jefferson) has the higest concentration of income in Southeast Michigan.

Perhaps most exciting is that Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan has asked the Villages CDC to lead the master planning for the extension of the Detroit River walk east of Gabriel Richard Park. Not only is this a testament to the commitment of the Villages CDC to the City of Detroit, but a commentary to the thorough, professional, and measured manner in which the organization approaches comprehensive community development.

The success of the Villages does not give us voting privilege, but it does require a significant level of attention when looking at the future of Detroit as one of the city's areas of greatest tax revenue generation. Given the current tax revenue generated in the Villages and the area's current ability to attract new investment, it is crucial that the planning of this area be reflected upon when assessing the financial future of the City of Detroit. Within the Villages, basic planning principals dictate that the most valuable land will be along the waterfront, with the highest and best land use being as indicated in the master plan, high density residential.

Our community vision includes an extended Riverwalk; a connected greenways plan;, neighborhood oriented retail development in commercial sections, Green-oriented, light industrial in the Island View warehouse; district and high density residential development on the Riverfront with lower density residential development across Jefferson in the neighborhoods, allowing direct public access to the riverfront. These are not just dreams; these are plans that are being actively developed within this community today, and are all in accordance with the City of Detroit's Master Plan.

The Master Plan and when it should be changed
The City of Detroit's Master Plan was developed in partnership with City of Detroit, Elected Officials, paid City of Detroit staff, and many years of extensive meetings and input from the community.

The Master Plan should only be changed in unique situations when a project is presented that provides an opportunity for significant area improvement that would benefit the City of Detroit and the community adjacent to the project. The project must be unique in a way that could not be duplicated in another part of the city that is zoned for that specific use, or a neighborhood where it would have an even greater impact on the city (City of Zoning Ord.Sec 61-3-96, 3).

It should not be necessary for the residents of the City of Detroit to defend the City of Detroit's Master Plan; it should be up to the petitioner to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the project is in the best interest of the City of Detroit and its surrounding community, in the case, the Villages Community.

The petition to change the City of Detroit Master Plan to allow the rezoning of 7850 East Jefferson does not meet that minimum standard.

The Petitioners from the Pension Funds of Detroit are not able to present an acceptable argument as to why this project is good for the community or why it should be approved. The Petitioners' arguments in support of the project revolve around what is good for the need of the retirement systems, which have nothing to do with the community and are not exclusive to the land at 7850 East Jefferson.

The Petitioners case is not based on the criteria for approval stated in the Detroit Zoning Ordinance, nor the policies stated in the City of Detroit's Master Plan. The arguments presented by the Petitioner are based on benefits to the Petitioner, not on benefits to the City of Detroit, or the Community surrounding the proposed project. The following summarizes how these arguments are flawed:

The Detroit Retirement Systems' representatives who are from Milestone Real Estate, Royal Oak, have continued to try to make their case why the site is good for the Retirement Systems. However their arguments have failed to make any basic, plausible case for why is it good for the community (unless you include the idea that this development will replace the currently blighted, nuisance property that this group has owned since January 2008). The only thing that is clear is that per the Police and Fire Fighters pension fund's minutes, Milestone Real Estate stands to make $210,000 if this project is approved. Their motivation is not for the community, nor the pension funds; it is for its paycheck.

The 7.4 million dollar parking lot
The Retirement Systems first argument, centers on the necessity for a $7.4 million riverfront parking lot for retirees. The Detroit Retirement Systems representatives made much of the necessity to provide easy access for retirees who visit the offices. However, there seems to be no concern for city employees who may not find the location convenient to their workplace. There is no acceptable reason why a retiree must visit the pension offices, but a visit is essential in order for an employee to retire. A lot of discussion centered on retirees who come monthly to pick up their pension checks. No explanation was offered as to why this high-value riverfront land is necessary to provide convenience to a small fraction of all the retirees.

We have been told that the retirement systems receive up to 100 visitors a day, but we have also been told by other sources that most of the visitors are current employees setting up their retirements. Most of these current employees work downtown. The number of retirees picking up checks is never given at any meetings; but we can create a fair estimate. There are approximately 11,500 retirees and beneficiaries receiving pension benefits. We can estimate that about 100 physically pick up their checks every month, less than one tenth of one percent of those receiving pensions. However, to the pension fund trustees the $7.4 million cost of providing a convenient location for those who want to pick up checks is essential. That cost gets spread across all 11,500 whose pension money is in trust. Pension money is in the trust not only for the roughly 100 retirees and beneficiaries that possibly pick up their check on a monthly basis, but also for full-time city employees who have made contributions to the funds for their eventual benefit.

At the City Planning Commission public meeting hosted at The Iroquois Avenue Christ Lutheran Church on September 18, 2009, the Chairperson of the General Retirement Pension Funds Systems stated that the pension boards couldn't refuse to have retirees come to the office for checks. Why not? Social Security offers a mailed check or direct deposit and no other option. On the presumption that many or most city retirees are also receiving Social Security (or will in the future), it would appear that retirees are capable of dealing with mailed checks or direct deposit or will have to learn. Most pensioners who have retired from the City never find cause to go to the pension board offices again, if a pensioner has a problem, it can all be rectified by phone and mail.

Therefore, even if it was a good idea to spend $7.4 million on a few employees to pick up their checks, it does not establish a need to build on $1.8 million riverfront land- the City's most valuable land asset

If we don't build nobody will
The Chairperson went on to make the Detroit classic threat: "if this isn't approved the land will remain vacant and nothing will happen." That is, of course, an empty threat. Even in this recession the Villages area is a desirable area to buy and develop as demonstrated by how aggressively the Pension funds are trying to develop 7850 East Jefferson, in addition to the previously mentioned developments and improvements being made during this recession.

The Chairperson also made the telling admission that the Police and Fire Pension Board bought this land not for the present project, but as an investment. Only later did the two boards turn to this parcel as the site of the new offices. The Pension Boards cannot have it both ways. If the land was bought for investment and it was a good investment, then it won't lay vacant if this rezoning is denied. Otherwise, the Pension Boards are telling us that they both made a bad investment or, perhaps, that if they do not get their way, they will refuse to develop just to SHOW those people. Which, of course, would be a violation of their fiduciary responsibility to the employees and retirees whose money they are spending.

Note: the Police and Fire Fighter Pension Funds board of directors meetings, seem to contradict the Chairperson's Statement. The Meeting Minutes seem to indicate the intent all along was to purchase the property to build the Detroit Retirement Systems offices. It is not clear what the Petitioners' intention was. (Source: Pension Boards Minutes January-April 2008)

It has been vacant for years and nobody has developed it.
Previous to the pension fund purchasing the property the land was owned by a private investment trust. This is the type of trust with more money than sense that can and will hold land for decades looking to hit the jackpot with a wealthy buyer. Now that the Pension funds purchased the property, it is in the hands of an owner with a clear responsibility to make a profit; the land will either be sold again or be developed into an appropriate use.

Also, a residential property owner who attended the September 18, 2009 meeting posed the question, "How did the pension funds come to acquire the property?" He stated that he had been trying to purchase the property for years, but the owner was unwilling to sell.

Bus access
For retirees who must take the bus, the East Jefferson location works well only for those who live on the East Jefferson line. As one resident commented, most retirees taking the bus to East Jefferson will end up transferring downtown. Would a downtown location perhaps be more convenient for them? Convenient parking is not an issue for them, even if it is for staff.

Precedent
The retirement systems have claimed that this building's use should be acceptable based upon the existence and position of the UAW Solidarity House (a non-conforming R-6) and St John Riverview Hospital (commercial). What they fail to disclose is that St John's, after recently purchasing many city blocks and homes in addition to convincing developers to build additional office buildings on the site, is now largely vacant. The action virtually land-locked the surrounding community. Now, the massive site houses only an urgent care facility, a few doctors' offices, and a small nursing school subsidized in order to use that location.

In very recent years the CPC and other agencies saw fit to retain the UAW solidarity house's non-conforming use by keeping the building zoned high-rise residential. The existence of this building has not spurned any economic growth within the community (especially given its gated, set back position on its site), now there seems to be even less activity at the site, with less cars parking in the UAW's riverfront parking lot. Neither property sets a good precedent for office use on the riverfront.

Shared Parking & Residential on the far end of the site
At the September 18, 2009 meeting several residents made the very pertinent point that we need residential mass in order to support better retail and services in the neighborhood. A small apartment building at the back end of that lot does not equal high-density residential development, which the community and the Master Plan show to be the best use for the land.

The pension funds heavily promoted possibility of a residential building at the river end of 7850 East Jefferson. A community member put it best. "It is a straw man proposal designed to quiet those who advocate residential use and gain support for the project. The proposed residential building area within the parcel is too small for any significant development even if the parking problem could be resolved. The pension board conveniently left out the riverfront easement in their conceptual drawing that showed an idea of what a residential building might look like". Adding the easement would highlight the limited amount of developable space.

What is more disturbing is that the pension Board Representatives admitted for the first time that they would like to sell the land that is being set aside for future development. If they want to sell the land, why are they pushing so hard for to change the zoning on the whole site, what will be built if they sell it?

The idea for residential development inclusion, made little if any attempt to realistically address the most basic of plan requirements: location, size, parking... A petitioner's representative had the wherewithal to suggest the idea of alternative use - the pension staff using the spaces during the day while the apartment residents are at work. This is patently ridiculous. Would that mean retirees would have to move their cars during the day? What about residents on evenings or afternoons, what about alternative work schedules and vacation, and sick-days? To the extent that this should even warrant discussion, to our knowledge this type of parking has never been approved in the City of Detroit, and there is no precedent for it working elsewhere.

Is there support for the project?
Thus far, the only community residential support for the project at the City Planning Commission Public meeting came from select residents from River Towers. This is not unreasonable at all. The River Tower residents are legitimately concerned with the overgrown condition of the lot next to their home. They are fearful for their safety, relaying stories of drug deals, predators lurking on the lot, lack of light, etc. Any community concerns with the condition of that lot since January 2008, are the direct responsibility of the property owner - the Petitioner.

For almost two years the Pension Boards have owned the property and have not removed the dangerous situation created by the overgrown condition of the property. It is shocking that the City of Detroit's General Pension Fund and Detroit fire Fighters and Police Pension boards are acting like slumlords, perpetuating a nuisance site that attracts criminals and crime. What is equally disturbing is that the petitioner seems to be using the over gown lot as a negotiating tool to push this project through. The petitioner has been telling the seniors surrounding the building that this project will bring them safety and security because the will lot will be cleared, completely omitting the fact that of who is responsible for the condition of the parcel. Just east of the parcel is another vacant parcel that was once the site of a large house, no one is complaining about the vacant land being a source of crime because it is property maintained by its owners, development or no development.

The Plan Does Not Make Financial Sense
The retirement systems have made a decision that the most cost effective thing to do is to build their own single use building, yet they have not presented facts to back that up, and there is plenty of evidence to refute that claim. Including the availability of long term low cost leases, 30% vacancy in the Central Business District, and additional holding costs that have not been discussed. Plus how can we believe their financial arguments when the Petitioner purports that the most cost effective solution begins with the acquisition of land that is among the city's most expensive.

A new building is better than an existing building
Retired Wayne County Judge Mary Waterstone told the attendees of the September 18, 2009 meeting that the county retirement system recently informed its members that their offices at 28 W. Adams had been renegotiated at a lower rate. The owner of 28 W. Adams is the City of Detroit Police and Fire Pension System. Boards' Chairperson told Judge Waterstone that 28 W. Adams was not a possibility for the Detroit retirement systems because it is full. This contradicts the Pension Fund representative's arguments at the community meeting where they tried to convince the neighborhood that investment in older downtown buildings is not financially feasible. So this raises another question, is 28 W. Adams a bad investment even though it's full? If it's full why did the Police and Fire pension system reduce the county pension system's rent?

One question that lingers is, will the property be worth $9.6 million dollars when completed? The answer we have gotten seems to be no, but if you look at longer term projection, the answer is maybe. If the Project is worth the money long term because of the value of the land, it undermines their case from two perspectives. First, they claim they are not planning to sell their building so appreciation does not matter which makes it a foolish move to build on the 1.8 million dollar property. Secondly, if they expect the property to appreciate it directly contradicts their argument that there will not be not any demand for the property and nothing will be built at 7850 East Jefferson.

The Pension Board Representatives elected to reference the County's project at the Guardian Building as an example of high costs for the purchase and renovation of an older building. The Guardian Building is perhaps 10 times the size of the Retirement systems building and is widely considered one of the most significant historic buildings in the city. It makes about as much sense to compare the proposed Detroit Retirement Systems headquarters to an Indian Village home than the Guardian Building, It might make even more sense because Indian Village Homes are closer in size scale.

Taxable or not Taxable: Desirable and valuable property in city on a project that will not generate acceptable tax revenue for the city?

Property in the city with the most taxable potential in terms of property, business and income taxes cannot be used for projects that are not expected to generate significant tax revenue for this city.

The Chair Person of the Pension Board on 9/18/09 stated without further explanation, that no property taxes are being paid presently on 7850 East Jefferson.

The petitioner for this zoning change is PFRS/GRS Jefferson Avenue Corporation. Documents on file at the Michigan Bureau of Commercial Services, Corporation Division, indicate that this is a Michigan for-profit corporation established in January, 2008. The most recent annual report gives the officers and directors as Jeffrey M. Pegg, Susan R. Glaser, Marty Bandemer, and Sheila W. Kneeshaw. Two of these are Fire and Police Retirement System trustees, and two are trustees for the General Retirement System. It is important to note that Susan R. Glaser is Vice Char/Secretary of the City Planning Commission. The articles of incorporation and later filings make it clear that the sole function of the corporation is to develop and operate 7850 East Jefferson, and to remit the net income to the pensions system. If it is true, as stated, that no property taxes are currently being paid, then something strange is going on that needs to be identified and addressed.

The city assessor's office claims that 7850 East Jefferson is a taxable property, however the property is only assessed at about $300,000 with about a $27,000 tax liability. If this property was assessed based on purchase price the state equalized value would be $900,000 and the tax liability would be $72,000 per year. Whether or not they are still paying taxes, it seems like something was overlooked when their property was reassessed.

The representatives of the pension board also said that the completed development would pay property taxes. Perhaps they're planning to use their PFRS/GRS Jefferson Avenue Corporation for-profit corporation to develop the project and rent it to the pension system; that entity would be subject to property tax. That would also make this project truly an investment by the pension system, since their financial role would be as investors and/or lenders.

But if that's the plan, it runs directly counter to the Chairpersons statement that this project would eliminate the pension system's need to pay rent. Indeed, given the high cost of the land and the substantial cost of a new semi-green building, the rent might be higher than at present if there's to be a proper return on the employees' and retirees' money.

Also we have been notified that the Brownfield authority at the DEGC has received notification that the Petitioner is going to apply for Brownfield tax credits or rebates that will significantly reduce the amount of taxes the will be responsible for on this project, significantly minimizing the financial impact to the city.

The cost of $390,000/year to the City of Detroit
Pension Funds representatives stated that they pay $390,000 in rent at the CAYMC, We later learned that the Retirement Systems subleases space directly from the City of Detroit. The City of Detroit leases space from the CAYMC Joint Building Authority. If the Detroit Retirement Systems moves out, the $390,000 in rent for empty space will still need to be paid by the City of Detroit. This is money the City will not be able to use for Fire, Police, garbage and other city services. The taxpayers of the City of Detroit are going to be left to cover the rent.Because this project could cause the City to lose income, in our present financial situation it would be devastating. By not following its Master Plan, the City would aid in an act that provides a luxury location for fifty pension staffers while sacrificing police protection or trash pickup. For those still employed by the city, it means risking a layoff so the pension employees can have their brown bag lunches at the rivers edge. It's this simple: if the planners were right when they developed the master plan, if the panel of zoning experts were right when they completely rewrote the zoning ordinance only a few years ago, and if City Council was right when they voted to adopt the updated master plan, then this project is wrong.

Renting or Owning: Fiduciary responsibility to make a profit for the Pension Funds
The Pension Board representatives claim that this project will be a low cost alterative to renting. This claim is full of inaccuracies as well.

If this development is going to be structured as a real investment, then the pension boards will pay rent just as they do now. The value or income of the investment will be part of the funding of the pensions. By the same token, the pension board's costs won't decline; they should increase. If the pension system directly invests in this project and owns its own office without paying rent, the value of land and building will not be counted as part of the funding for retirees pensions. That takes eight or nine million out of the pension fund and puts it into a capital asset that has value but no investment income to return to fund the pensions.

The Chairperson made a statement that this project would relieve the pension systems from paying rent. If this is a for-profit project intended to create net income for the pension systems, where does the net income come, if the pension systems are not paying rent? If this is an investment of money in trust to create income for the pension funds there must be income in the form of rent.

The question becomes; how high would the rent be? The pension funds have never shared any detail the answer to this question. We can only base the answer on the national average, and the information we know about the project. We know the pension board has a very high per-square-foot cost for the land based on the $1.8 million purchase price. We know they have very substantial costs for a 7.4 million dollar new semi-green building (though not as green as the LEED certified silver CAYMC they are moving out of). We know their new space will be almost twice the size of their current 17,000 SF of space in the CAYMC, though they are not adding any employees (PLEASE NOTE: There is space available in the CAYMC for the additional space). Coupled with the additional costs such as overhead, security guards, heat, light, and property taxes, the costs increase.

If this is to be a true investment that creates a decent return on the employees and retirees money, the pension system will not only pay rent, but a very substantial rent on some of the most valuable land in the city or they'll be violating their fiduciary responsibility as trustees of other people's money.

Will this new building save money or al least break even
As was previously stated, the pension board currently pays about $390,000/year in rent at the CAYMC. The representatives of the pension funds have stated that the project will save pensioners money over time. They have never been able to offer any proof that the pension fund will save money or at least break even over the long run with this new building. One fairly simple way to evaluate this project is to look at it with price-to-rent ratios. For example, if a house costs $120,000 and it can be rented for $12,000 a year ($1000/month), that's a price-to-rent ratio of 10.

The following link provides some information related to commercial real estate:
http://real.wharton.upenn.edu/~gyourko/Working%20Papers/Understanding%20Commercial%20Real%20Estate.pdf

Basically, it states that nationwide, commercial real estate price-to-rent ratios averaged around 11 in 2003, and averaged around 14 in 2008 (most likely higher due to the real estate bubble). According to the recent Crain's article, the estimated construction costs for 7850 E Jefferson are $7.2 million, and the land would cost $1.8 million, for a total price of $9 million. Compared against their current rent payments of $390,000 a year, that would be a price-to-rent ratio of 23 (9,000,000/390, 000), which is much higher than the national average of 14. This suggests that the building will ultimately cost the pension fund considerably more than if they continued renting. To cover the costs, the for-profit corporation would have to charge quite a bit more than $390,000/year to pay items such as taxes, insurance, maintenance, repairs.

Conclusion
After reviewing the information available, the City's own Master Plan, and the appropriate City Zoning ordinances, there is nothing in the petitioner's proposal that warrants a change to the Master Plan or rezoning of this site. It is incumbent upon the City Council to uphold the city planning commission's recommendation to deny the rezoning of 7850 East Jefferson

Message Headline
By breaking up the body of the letter into logical topics, your readers can focus in on the topic that they deem most relevant.

Select your wording carefully. Most people scan their emails very quickly. Keep your paragraphs to seven lines or less. If you have more information, include a link to your website where your readers can get further details.


The Villages of Detroit
The Villages Community Development Corp.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Announcing the Winner of the Health Reform Video Challenge


After nearly 1,000 submissions, 20 amazing finalists, and more than 3 million views, Organizing for America supporters and a panel of experts have picked the winner of the OFA Health Reform Video Challenge.

Excessive and Unfair Overdraft Fees


Kendrick Meek fights to end this practice and chats with Floridians about the issue.

Fox News: "Stimulus" Money Goes to Congressional Districts That Don't Exist


Ten months after the President signed a $1 trillion stimulus spending bill that his aides claimed would keep unemployment below 8 percent, Americans are still asking: where are the jobs? It turns out that some of jobs the Administration claimed were saved or created by the so-called stimulus were from Congressional districts that dont even exist.

ABC News has also uncovered even more stimulus spending in non-existent Congressional districts:
•In Oklahoma, recovery.gov lists more than $19 million in spending -- and 15 jobs created -- in yet more congressional districts that don't exist.
•In Iowa, it shows $10.6 million spent and 39 jobs created -- in nonexistent districts.
•In Connecticut's 42nd district (which also does not exist), the Web site claims 25 jobs created with zero stimulus dollars.
•The list of spending and job creation in fictional congressional districts extends to U.S. territories as well.
•$68.3 million spent and 72.2 million spent in the 1st congressional district of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
•$8.4 million spent and 40.3 jobs created in the 99th congressional district of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
•$1.5 million spent and .3 jobs created in the 69th district and $35 million for 142 jobs in the 99th district of the Northern Mariana Islands.
•$47.7 million spent and 291 jobs created in Puerto Rico's 99th congressional district.

Rep. David Obey (D-WI), Chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee, blasted the Administrations claims of jobs created or saved in a statement yesterday:

The inaccuracies on recovery.gov that have come to light are outrageous and the Administration owes itself, the Congress, and every American a commitment to work night and day to correct the ludicrous mistakes. Credibility counts in government and stupid mistakes like this undermine it. Weve got too many serious problems in this country to let that happen.

But the exaggerated jobs numbers arent the end of the stimulus troubles. As USA Today reported this morning, Stimulus aid has sparked an economic boom for some unwanted entrepreneurs — con men. The story goes on:

State and federal officials say they are fielding thousands of reports of scam artists, many operating from overseas, using the promise of money from the Obama administration's $787 billion economic recovery plan to entice people to hand over bank account numbers. The scams are so numerous, and the criminals hard to identify, that authorities say it's all but impossible to catch them.

It seems that stimulus money has gone everywhere except to helping create jobs for the 10.2 percent of Americans who are unemployed.

The stimulus hasnt created the jobs the President promised because it relies on big-government spending instead of helping small businesses, which create between 60-80 percent of jobs in our economy. House Republicans offered a plan to let small businesses and families keep more of what they earn, but Democrats ignored it, took a go-it-alone approach, and passed their trillion-dollar big government plan anyway. And yet after a trillion dollars of deficit financed spending, Democrats still cant answer the question: where are the jobs?

Boehner Introduces the House GOP Congressional Transparency Initiative


The American people have had it with business as usual in Congress. They are fed up with practices such as tucking special-interest provisions into bills behind closed doors, secretly changing bills without a vote, and passing bills no one has read. This has happened for far too long, but never before has the need for reform been more apparent than in the past year under Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her Democratic majority.

Americans are demanding change in the way Congress works. Recognizing this, I and other reform-minded congressional Republicans this week will put forth a new transparency initiative a series of common-sense congressional reforms aimed at bringing some much-needed openness and accountability to the House.

In just 10 months, with help from the Obama White House, Speaker Pelosis Congress has taken business-as-usual to a devastating new extreme. The American people have watched Congress rush through a massive stimulus spending bill no one read; a massive $410 billion omnibus spending bill loaded with thousands of un-scrutinized earmarks; and a new cap and trade national energy tax loaded with special-interest giveaways unveiled at
3:00 am on the morning before a vote.

Now the White House is pushing for a final year-end bill which will be written in secret by the majority behind closed doors to replace the current health care system with government-run care, and transform about one-sixth of our nations economy. The bill will be hammered out in a private, partisan House-Senate conference committee with no public access or scrutiny, in direct contradiction of President Obamas pledge that such talks would be televised on C-SPAN.

These are the actions of a Democratic majority that has forgotten its the American people who are really in charge. These are actions designed to shut the American people out while politicians go about the business of limiting their freedom. And in an era of 10.2 percent unemployment, mounting debt, seemingly endless bailouts, and rapidly expanding government, these abuses are the last straw for the American people, whove clearly had enough.

Republicans have had enough, too. The House GOP congressional transparency initiative includes common-sense changes such as read the bill reform that would require all bills to be posted online for a minimum of 72 hours before they are brought to a vote. We also believe:
•Members committee votes should be posted online within 48 hours so the American people can see how their representatives voted.
•Committees should be required to post the text of adopted bills online within 24 hours of adoption to end the practice of phantom amendments being added to bills secretly after they pass at the committee level.
•Major negotiations on sweeping bills that would dramatically expand the reach of the federal government such as the current government takeover of health care should be open to the public and subject to a full and honest debate when bills reach the floor.
•Cameras should be allowed in the secretive House Rules Committee, the panel that decides which bills and amendments come to a vote.
Our transparency initiative calls for immediate implementation of all of these reforms. Were calling on Speaker Pelosi to bring all of them to an immediate vote. If she wont do it, a Republican majority will. You can read more about the House GOP congressional transparency initiative online, at
http://gopleader.gov/readthebill.

Did Republicans miss an opportunity to enact common-sense changes like these when we were in the majority? Yes — and we wont make the mistake again. With this initiative, were taking some common-sense steps to renew the drive for an open and accountable Congress. We recognize restoring the bonds of trust between the American people and their elected leaders starts with changing Congress itself. We hope Speaker Pelosi will join us, and allow these common-sense reforms to go forward.

ABC News Reports on More Stimulus Waste, Fraud, and Abuse


Last night, ABC News World News TONIGHT with Charles Gibson reported on false claims of jobs saved or created by the stimulus in real congressional districts (as opposed to the phantom congressional districts that we found out about yesterday).

Attorney General Holder speaks to 9/11 Families


Following a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing in which Attorney General Holder defended his decision to try 5 suspected 9/11 terrorists in federal court in New York, he spoke briefly with a family member of a victim who had attended the hearing.

Flip Flop Evan Bayh


Flip Flop Evan Bayh

President Obama's Trip to Asia Highlights

President Obama Speaks on the Future of U.S. Leadership in Asia Pacific Region

The President delivers speech on the United State's role in the Asia Pacific region from Tokyo, Japan on November 14, 2009.

President Obama Holds Town Hall with Chinese Youth 提供中文字幕

President Obama takes questions from Chinese youth in Shanghai, China on November 16, 2009.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Monday, November 16, 2009

Sunday, November 15, 2009

First Lady on Health Insurance Reform and Older Women


First Lady Michelle Obama speaks about the difficulties senior women face in today's health insurance market and the importance of reform. November 13, 2009.

Weekly Address: Veterans Day and Fort Hood


The President looks back at a week where we honored those who serve on Veterans Day, and mourned those we lost at Fort Hood. He discusses the review he has ordered into the Fort Hood incident, and pledges to stand by our servicemen and women, as well as our veterans, as his most profound responsibility. November 14, 2009.

11/14/09 Weekly Republican Address: Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL)


Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) delivers the Weekly Republican Address.

Flip Flop Mary Landrieu


Flip Flop Mary Landrieu

Friday, November 13, 2009

The Truth About the U.S. Economy

It is time for the truth to come out about the U.S. economy and Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner seemed to recognize that the economy is rebounding but job growth lags. In fact, Geithner acknowledges the federal budget deficit is too high, but that the priorities now are economic growth and job creation. Asked repeatedly on NBC's "Meet the Press" on November 1st whether this means taxes will rise, Geithner avoided giving specifics. He did say President Barack Obama is committed to dealing with deficit in a way that will not add to the tax burden of people making less than $250,000 a year.

The White House has not decided how to reduce the red ink, Geithner said in an interview broadcast Sunday. "Right now we're focused on getting growth back on track," he said. "And we're not at the point yet where we have to decide exactly what it's going to take." He acknowledged that the economic recovery, while showing positive movement, has been shaky and uneven. "A lot of damage was caused by this crisis. It's going to take some time for us to grow out of this. It could be a little choppy," he said. "It could be uneven. And it's going to take awhile."

A bright spot in the recovery identified by Geithner is the banking system, which he said is "dramatically more stable" because of the government bailout. Geithner said that just one year ago economic activity came to a standstill as major financial institutions shut down due to lack of liquidity. Even though 115 banks have failed so far this year, Geithner said there has been a "dramatic improvement in confidence," with private capital back in the system. He said large businesses are now able to borrow again. "The banking system is dramatically more stable than it was three months ago, six months ago, nine months ago, a year ago," he said.

But Geithner said more needs to be done to assist small businesses, adding that the administration is working to help open up credit to them. These businesses, he said, "face a really tough environment on the financing side." After financial institutions were widely blamed for assuming too much risk and bringing the economy to the brink of collapse, Geithner said a concern now is that they might end up being too timid. "The big risk we face now is that banks are going to overcorrect and not take enough risk," he said. "We need them to take a chance again on the American economy. That's going to be important to recovery."

House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio, citing the growing unemployment rate, said the president's economic stimulus program has done nothing but increase the size of government. He said businesses are "sitting on their hands" because of government spending and proposals for health care and other initiatives he contended would increase taxes. "Business people are afraid to invest in their business, afraid to grow their business, because they don't know what's going to happen next," Boehner said on CNN's "State of the Union" on November 1st.

Geithner acknowledged the economy remains tough for many workers who have lost jobs and it's going to be some time before the employment outlook starts to brighten for many of them. "Unemployment is worse than almost everybody expected. But growth is back a little more quickly, a little stronger than people thought," he said.

Unemployment hit a 26-year high of 9.8 percent in September, and the October report due in the coming week could show it topping 10 percent. "It's likely still rising. And it's probably going to rise further before it starts to come down again." Geithner said it's too early to decide if a second government stimulus package should be offered, though he acknowledged unemployment probably will rise even more before it starts to turn around. Economists expect to see job growth after the first of the year, probably in the first quarter, he said. "You're not going to see real recovery until it's led by the private sector, by businesses," he said.

The treasury chief added that with about half of the stimulus money left, along with tax cuts and investments ahead, "there's a lot of force still moving its way through the system now" and that will keep providing economic support. "It's working. It's delivering what it should result." Plus two weeks ago, Christina Romer, who heads the president's Council of Economic Advisers, said the government's economic stimulus spending already had its biggest impact and probably wouldn't contribute to significant growth next year.

Geithner also said the administration supports steps being considered by Congress like extending unemployment insurance and the homebuyer tax credit. In addition, he complimented Obama's pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg, for his work in reining in pay for senior executives at the top seven recipients of government bailout money. Geithner played down concerns about government interference in executive compensation and the potential for the most talented and productive executives to leave their companies. "We were very concerned about that from the beginning. And he had to balance some very difficult kind of choices. I think he's found a very good balance among them," Geithner said.

Asked if he saw an exodus at those companies, he said he didn't, but added, "I worry about this a lot." Boehner disputed Vice President Joe Biden's recent assertion that the economic downturn has bottomed out. "I don't think anybody knows whether we've hit bottom," Boehner said.

However what is clear from Geithner’s interview on Meet the Press is that while Geithner recognized the national budget deficit is too high and it really is not his or the administration main priority right now is what one can take from Geithner’s statements. In fact Geithner said, “The federal budget deficit is too high, but that the priorities now are economic growth and job creation.” So one could interpret that Geithner was speaking for himself or for the administration and I for one think he is speaking for the administration because he didn’t say in his opinion.

Therefore the truth about the U.S. economy right now is while the Obama administration acknowledge the federal budget deficit being high and the national debt overall being enormous, their main priority right now is to deal with economic growth and job creation in hopes that those solutions will help decrease the federal budget deficit and stabilize the overall national debt to a degree. Still even when there is job creation and economic growth, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the federal budget deficit will decrease unless Congress and the White House really curve our nation’s spending habits in ways that fit into the mold that President Obama promised during the campaign and even earlier this year that he will only look to spend on programs and projects that work not those that don’t.

Still some people argue that many of the programs that have been spent on thus far this year by the Obama administration have done some good for the economy but not the way it should have. For example, the cash for clunkers program was suppose to help the American auto industry car sales as well the environment by customers turning in their gas guzzlers for fuel efficient vehicles. But early data of the program show that many customers bought trucks and SUVs instead of fuel efficient vehicles, thus the American people didn’t care to think about the economy. Also another problem from the early data shows that most customers bought non-American cars rather than American vehicles. So this is yet one of many examples of how government spending although it helped the economy to a degree but millions of U.S. dollars went to foreign companies rather than American companies.

Thus, right now the U.S. economy has some positive signs but just as many negative signs within it with the major concerns being job creation and pending inflation that this nation has never seen before. So finally here’s some truth to the U.S. economy that some economists don’t want to discuss but it is time that the truth comes out so we the American people can know what exactly is going on with government spending in regards to the federal budget deficit and the national deficit.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Michigan Auto Insurance Reform Is Delayed Another Year

It seems as if the Republican controlled Michigan Senate has killed insurance reform for another year in Michigan. You may have heard already that in a surprise vote, the Senate on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 defeated State Senator Martha G. Scott bill to ban territorial rate setting for auto and home insurance. The Republican defeat of Senator Scott’s bill to prohibit the use of territories when setting auto and homeowner insurance rates is a slap in the face to all the hard-working citizens of Michigan who pay unfair, exorbitant insurance rates.

For years now State Senator Scott and other Detroit lawmakers have been asking for action and hearings on Senator Scott’s bills to reform auto and homeowner insurance rates in Michigan. Two weeks ago the Senate Republicans decided to discharge State Senator Scott’s bill to ban rate setting by territories to the Senate floor only to then vote against this bill that would have made insurance rates fair for citizens across Michigan. This kind of game-playing has no place in the debate on this very important ‘pocketbook’ issue for Michigan citizens.

Senate Republicans discharged SB 166 (http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?2009-SB-0166) after State Senator Scott rose to give her daily statement on insurance issues in which State Senator Scott referenced an October 14 Grand Rapids Press editorial (http://www.mlive.com/opinion/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2009/10/editorial_the_right_factors_dr.html) that spoke out against the insurance industry’s use of credit scores to determine a person’s auto insurance rates. SB 166 would ban the practice of using where a person lives to determine how much their insurance would cost. Senate Republicans defeated an amendment that would have given everyone an immediate 20 percent cut in their rates, a provision that addressed Republican concerns that lower rates for citizens living in metro/urban areas would drive up rates for citizens living in other areas of the state.

State Senator Martha Scott wrote that, “If we are going to require that every driver carry auto insurance then we need to make sure that the rates they are charged are fair, and right now these rates are anything but fair. Insurance rates should be based on the car a person drives, that person’s driving record, and the distance that person regularly drives. If we adopted these common sense changes to our auto insurance laws then we would no longer pay the 12th highest rates in the country, and our citizens living in our metro/urban areas would no longer pay the highest rates in the country.”

The insurance industry argues that one reason for setting rates by territory is because of the high rate of accidents or auto thefts in some areas of the state. However, the Michigan Auto Theft Prevention Authority reported in February that auto thefts in Detroit fell 14.2 percent from 2006 to 2007. Statewide, vehicle thefts have plummeted 42 percent since 1986. Yet insurance rates have not gone down. Traffic accidents in Detroit have gone down nearly 40 percent since 1997, and this year Detroit was named the 10th safest city to drive in relating to traffic accidents.

Senate Republicans did a great injustice two weeks ago to all the hard-working Michigan families who are trying to survive in a very tough economy. State Senator Martha Scott’s bill deserved thoughtful consideration: a committee hearing so that people could come in and testify followed by debate on the Senate floor. Instead the Republicans voted State Senator Scott’s bill to the Senate floor so that they could defeat it and deny Michigan citizens fair and affordable auto insurance rates. State Senator Martha G. Scott’s bill may have gone down to defeat but State Senator Scott will continue calling for auto insurance reform and fair rates for everyone.

This is why in 2010, we as Michiganders need to vote for people who are willing to help all Michigan residents get equal and fair treatment. That is why the since Senate Republicans don’t want to help lower car and housing insurance rates in Michigan than we as voters need to vote out all those who don’t and need to elect members to the State Senate who are willing to see insurance rates for car and housing go down across the state of Governor Jennifer Granholm asked for in her State of the Union address earlier this year. This is why in 2010 we must stop the delay of Michigan Auto Insurance Reform once and for all so one of the first pieces of legislation the new Governor of Michigan signs in 2011 is a new Michigan Insurance Reform law that lowers auto and housing insurance rates.

Additional Information:
You can read the full debate on the bill online at http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(1mzviqrh3ujb5jz0hf0taf32))/documents/2009-2010/Journal/Senate/htm/2009-SJ-10-28-091.htm. You can also view video highlights of the debate at State Senator Martha G. Scott’s website, www.senate.michigan.gov/scott, under Media Room.

Congressional Ethics Called into Question

House ethics investigators have been scrutinizing the activities of more than 30 lawmakers and several aides in inquiries about issues including defense lobbying and corporate influence peddling, according to a confidential House ethics committee report prepared in July. The report appeared to have been inadvertently placed on a publicly accessible computer network, and it was provided to The Washington Post by a source not connected to the congressional investigations. The committee said that the document was released by a low-level staffer.

The ethics committee is one of the most secretive panels in Congress, and its members and staff members sign oaths not to disclose any activities related to its past or present investigations. Watchdog groups have accused the committee of not actively pursuing inquiries; the newly disclosed document indicates the panel is conducting far more investigations than it had revealed. Shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday, October 29, 2009, the committee chairman, Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), interrupted a series of House votes to alert lawmakers about the breach. She cautioned that some of the panel's activities are preliminary and not a conclusive sign of inappropriate behavior. "No inference should be made as to any member," she said.

Rep. Jo Bonner (Ala.), the committee's ranking Republican, said the breach was an isolated incident. The 22-page "Committee on Standards Weekly Summary Report" gives brief summaries of ethics panel investigations of the conduct of 19 lawmakers and a few staff members. It also outlines the work of the new Office of Congressional Ethics, a quasi-independent body that initiates investigations and provides recommendations to the ethics committee. The document indicated that the office was reviewing the activities of 14 other lawmakers. Some were under review by both ethics bodies.

Ethics committee investigations are not uncommon. Most result in private letters that either exonerate or reprimand a member. In some rare instances, the censure is more severe. Many of the broad outlines of the cases cited in the July document are known -- the committee announced over the summer that it was reviewing lawmakers with connections to the now-closed PMA Group, a lobbying firm. But the document indicates that the inquiry was broader than initially believed. It included a review of seven lawmakers on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee who have steered federal money to the firm's clients and have also received large campaign contributions.

The document also disclosed that:
-- Ethics committee staff members have interviewed House Ways and Means Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) about one element of the complex investigation of his personal finances, as well as the lawmaker's top aide and his son. Rangel said he spoke with ethics committee staff members regarding a conference that he and four other members of the Congressional Black Caucus attended last November in St. Martin. The trip initially was said to be sponsored by a nonprofit foundation run by a newspaper. But the three-day event, at a luxury resort, was underwritten by major corporations such as Citigroup, Pfizer and AT&T. Rules passed in 2007, shortly after Democrats reclaimed the majority following a wave of corruption cases against Republicans, bar private companies from paying for congressional travel. Rangel said he has not discussed other parts of the investigation of his finances with the committee. "I'm waiting for that, anxiously," he said.

-- The Justice Department has told the ethics panel to suspend a probe of Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-W.Va.), whose personal finances federal investigators began reviewing in early 2006 after complaints from a conservative group that he was not fully revealing his real estate holdings. There has been no public action on that inquiry for several years. But the department's request in early July to the committee suggests that the case continues to draw the attention of federal investigators, who often ask that the House and Senate ethics panels refrain from taking action against members whom the department is already investigating. Mollohan said that he was not aware of any ongoing interest by the Justice Department in his case and that he and his attorneys have not heard from federal investigators. "The answer is no," he said.

-- The committee on June 9 authorized issuance of subpoenas to the Justice Department, the National Security Agency and the FBI for "certain intercepted communications" regarding Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.). As was reported earlier this year, Harman was heard in a 2005 conversation agreeing to an Israeli operative's request to try to obtain leniency for two pro-Israel lobbyists in exchange for the agent's help in lobbying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to name her chairman of the intelligence committee. The department, a former U.S. official said, declined to respond to the subpoena. Harman said that the ethics committee has not contacted her and that she has no knowledge that the subpoena was ever issued. "I don't believe that's true," she said. "As far as I'm concerned, this smear has been over for three years."

In June 2009, a Justice Department official wrote in a letter to an attorney for Harman that she was "neither a subject nor a target" of a criminal investigation. Because of the secretive nature of the ethics committee, it was difficult to assess the current status of the investigations cited in the July document. However the panel said that it is ending a probe of Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) after finding no ethical violations, and that it is investigating the financial connections of two California Democrats.

The committee did not detail the two newly disclosed investigations. However, according to the July document, Rep. Maxine Waters, a high-ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, came under scrutiny because of activities involving OneUnited Bank of Massachusetts, in which her husband owns at least $250,000 in stock. Waters arranged a September 2008 meeting at the Treasury Department where OneUnited executives asked for government money. In December, Treasury selected OneUnited as an early participant in the bank bailout program, injecting $12.1 million. The other, Rep. Laura Richardson, may have failed to mention property, income and liabilities on financial disclosure forms.

The committee's review of investigations became available on file-sharing networks because of a junior staff member's use of the software while working from home, Lofgren and Bonner said in a statement issued on the night of Thursday, October 29. The staffer was fired, a congressional aide said. The committee "is taking all appropriate steps to deal with this issue," they said, noting that neither the committee nor the House's information systems were breached in any way. "Peer-to-peer" technology has previously caused inadvertent breaches of sensitive financial, defense-related and personal data from government and commercial networks, and it is prohibited on House networks.

House administration rules require that if a lawmaker or staff member takes work home, "all users of House sensitive information must protect the confidentiality of sensitive information" from unauthorized disclosure. Leo Wise, chief counsel for the Office of Congressional Ethics, declined to comment, citing office policy against confirming or denying the existence of investigations. A Justice Department spokeswoman also declined to comment, citing a similar policy. Staff writers Carol D. Leonnig and Joby Warrick and staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.

Still after receiving a referral from the Office of Congressional Ethics, the House ethics committee announced in June that it would create an investigative subcommittee to look into "officially connected travel in 2007 and 2008 that was sponsored, funded or organized by an organization known as Carib News or Carib News Foundation." The panel publicly named five Democratic lawmakers who were under scrutiny -- Reps. Charles B. Rangel (N.Y.), Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (Mich.), Donald M. Payne (N.J.) and Bennie Thompson (Miss.), and Del. Donna M. Christian-Christensen (U.S. Virgin Islands). The inquiry stemmed from reports in the Hill and the New York Post newspapers raising questions about an annual conference at a St. Maarten resort that the lawmakers attended.

The members' official disclosure forms listed the New York Carib Foundation or Carib News Foundation, a nonprofit group affiliated with a New York-based newspaper, as the sponsor of the event. Because of that information, the ethics committee approved the trip before it occurred. But an official with the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative watchdog group, attended the 2008 event and came back with photos and other evidence suggesting that AT&T, Citigroup, IBM, Pfizer and Verizon may have played a role in sponsoring the conference.

The ethics panel also reportedly is scrutinizing a 2007 trip to Antigua and Barbuda that some of the same members took. Under more stringent rules imposed in 2006, House members are not allowed to accept travel paid for by corporations, but they can take trips sponsored by nonprofit groups. The rules have sparked some confusion over the past three years, as it remains unclear what exactly it means for a particular group or company to "sponsor" an event. All of the lawmakers being investigated regarding the Carib News trip belong to the Congressional Black Caucus, and the group has met to discuss whether its members are being unfairly targeted for ethics inquiries. The ethics investigative subcommittee looking into the Caribbean trips is chaired by Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), who also is a member of the CBC and took a Carib News-sponsored trip before the 2006 rules were imposed.

The ethics investigation appears to be ongoing, and the committee document gives no details about how far the investigation has progressed. An aide to Christian-Christensen said her boss had been contacted by the ethics committee but declined to comment further. Kilpatrick said in a statement released by her office that she had provided testimony and a written statement to the ethics subcommittee. Rangel, who also is under investigation on several unrelated fronts, said this week that he has discussed the Caribbean trip inquiry with the ethics panel.

House ethics committee investigators have interviewed Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee whose personal finances have been under investigation for more than a year, a committee document from July reveals. Committee staff met with Rangel in late July. In an interview with The Washington Post, the lawmaker said the meeting concerned only a recent trip to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten that he and four members of the Congressional Black Caucus took last November. Rangel said he has not been interviewed by the committee to discuss other elements of the investigation, which involve his personal finances and whether House resources were improperly used to raise funds for a college center named for him.

However, committee staff members have taken a trip to the New York City housing offices, according to the ethics committee document. One of the allegations against Rangel is that he was breaking the city's rent control rules by occupying multiple units in a rent-controlled building in Harlem. One unit may have inappropriately served as a political office for the congressman, according to the allegations. Rangel has denied any wrongdoing and requested the investigation himself after a series of media reports in 2008 also revealed the lawmaker had not paid taxes on a villa in the Caribbean and used his congressional office to raise millions of dollars for the research center at City College of New York. The center was named in his honor and was funded partly through donations from corporations with potential business before his committee.

The investigation has expanded into several other areas of his finances, including his decision to amend financial disclosure forms earlier this year revealing accounts that held more than $500,000 in them that had not been previously disclosed. The committee also has interviewed Rangel's top aide, James Capel, who in July belatedly filed several years' worth of financial disclosure. The most senior aides must file the same disclosure reports just as lawmakers do every spring.

The committee also has interviewed Steven Rangel, the lawmaker's son. The document does not make clear what the interview covered. News reports last year said that his father's campaign committee paid nearly $60,000 to an Internet consulting firm owned by Steven Rangel. He now works as an aide to the House oversight committee. Republicans have asked for the congressman to step down as chairman of the powerful committee while the investigation is ongoing and forced votes on resolutions to strip him of the gavel. Those efforts have failed largely on party-line votes. Rangel declined to detail what he told the committee in his interview. "I have gathered that the best way to deal with this is to talk as little as possible -- except with the lawyer," he said.

Nonetheless Rangel isn’t the only Congressional Black Caucus member who the House ethics committee announced on Thursday, October 29 afternoon that it had voted to establish a subcommittee to investigate Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who is under scrutiny for her ties to a bank that received federal bailout money. Waters's husband, Sidney Waters, previously served on the board of OneUnited Bank and owned between $100,000 and $250,000 worth of stock in the bank as of 2008, according to Waters's latest financial disclosure form. The subcommittee will look into whether Waters violated any laws or House rules when she arranged a September 2008 meeting at the Treasury Department for OneUnited, which was seeking federal help, and other minority-owned banks.

Treasury officials said they were not aware of Waters's ties to the bank when the meeting occurred, according to multiple press reports. OneUnited eventually got $12 million in federal funds through the Troubled Asset Relief Program. In a statement released by her office on Thursday, October 29, 2009 Waters said: "My longtime advocacy on behalf of women- and minority-owned institutions is well known and appreciated by these institutions, which have been historically denied access to government regulators to address their concerns. I am confident that as the investigation moves forward the panel will discover that there are no facts to support allegations that I have acted improperly or violated the Code of Official Conduct or any law, rule, regulation or other standard of conduct in performing my duties and discharging my responsibilities as a United States Representative."

The fact that the panel was probing Waters was made public in September, but Thursday's October 29 announcement signifies that the committee believes there is sufficient cause to escalate the investigation. The investigative subcommittee will be chaired by Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), and Rep. K. Michael Conaway (Tex.) will serve as the ranking Republican.

Also nearly half the members of a powerful House subcommittee in control of Pentagon spending are under scrutiny by ethics investigators in Congress, who have trained their lens on the relationships between seven panel members and an influential lobbying firm founded by a former Capitol Hill aide. The investigations by two separate ethics offices include an examination of the chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee on defense, John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), as well as others who helped steer federal funds to clients of the PMA Group. The lawmakers received campaign contributions from the firm and its clients. A document obtained by The Washington Post shows that the subcommittee members under scrutiny also include Peter J. Visclosky (D-Ind.), James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.), Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) , C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.) and Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.).

The document also indicates that the House ethics committee's staff recently interviewed the staff of Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) about his allegation that a PMA lobbyist threatened him in 2007 when he resisted steering federal funds to a PMA client. The lobbyist told a Nunes staffer that if the lawmaker didn't help, the defense contractor would move out of Nunes's district and take dozens of jobs with him. The document obtained by The Post offers the most detailed picture yet of a widening inquiry into the relationships between lawmakers and PMA, a lobbying firm founded by Paul Magliocchetti that has been under criminal investigation by the Justice Department. A year ago, the FBI raided PMA's offices and carted away boxes of records dealing with its political donations and the firm's efforts to win congressionally directed funds, known as "earmarks," for clients.

The document shows that both the ethics committee and the Office of Congressional Ethics are looking into the matter. The OCE investigates and makes recommendations to the House ethics committee, which has the power to subpoena and sanction lawmakers. Internal ethics investigations of members of Congress are normally confidential, but The Post learned details of their work through the document, which became available on a file-sharing network. Under the description of the OCE inquiry, the document says investigators are looking at House members who may have been "accepting contributions or other items of value from PMA's PAC in exchange for an official act." A Hill source cautioned that the ethics committee has not gathered a significant amount of material and has not zeroed in on specific lawmakers.

Together, the seven legislators have personally steered more than $200 million in earmarks to clients of the PMA Group in the past two years, and received more than $6.2 million in campaign contributions from PMA and its clients in the past decade, according to an analysis by Congressional Quarterly and Taxpayers for Common Sense. The Post reviewed earmark and campaign records and found that the seven had each supported funding for PMA clients and also received donations. Young has recently received very little from PMA. Under some political pressure, the House ethics committee disclosed in June that it had an ongoing investigation into this matter. The move came days after the FBI subpoenaed Visclosky's office for records relating to PMA and as other House members called for the ethics committee to act. The committee did not disclose the members it was scrutinizing then, and the specific details of the OCE's work have not been publicly known.

While lawmakers received generous contributions, PMA used its growing influence with the panel over the past decade to become one of the top 10 lobby shops in Washington and took in $114 million in lobbying fees, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group. The chairman of the House ethics committee, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), initially declined to verify that the document The Post obtained was generated by the ethics committee. Late Thursday, October 29, 2009 she issued a statement explaining how it had been accidentally released by a low-level staffer through a file-sharing network. She declined to discuss the PMA probe and said many lawmakers may be under review by the committee at any point in time. "No inference to any misconduct can be made from the fact that a matter is simply before the Committee," she said in her statement.

The OCE has interviewed some of the lawmakers, including Kaptur last week and Moran a few weeks ago. It has invited others in for interviews, such as Visclosky, and posed numerous questions to the members' staff. Moran, a senior member of the defense panel whose former top aide went to work for the PMA Group, said he recently sat for a lengthy interview with two aides from the OCE. He said he asked the new ethics office to interview all of his current and former staff members, including his former chief of staff who became a PMA lobbyist, Melissa Koloszar. "I said they should be interviewed separately, privately and completely," he said. "We wanted them to investigate."

Several Hill staffers said they are confused by what appears to be a dual track, with the OCE and the ethics committee simultaneously pursuing similar questions. Kaptur's spokesman said her office does not understand the duplication but is happy to answer all questions. "The congresswoman has always emphasized openness and transparency, and it almost goes without saying she will continue to cooperate with the OCE and, if it goes to the [ethics committee], with that committee as well," said Kaptur spokesman Steve Fought. "She has nothing to hide."

Murtha's office declined to comment. The offices and representatives of Dicks, Visclosky, Young and Tiahart did not respond to questions about the scrutiny. As the ethics committee began gathering evidence this summer about PMA's operating methods on Capitol Hill, it contacted the office of Nunes, who had earlier complained to the committee about a lobbyist's aggressiveness in seeking an earmark. Nunes agreed to comment on the incident when The Post asked him about detailed information it had obtained about his complaint. "I didn't appreciate being threatened," Nunes said. "To me, it was a symptom of the disease we have in Congress, where a lot of members have simply gotten addicted to contributions from companies that are getting their earmarks."

Don Fleming, the PMA lobbyist who allegedly threatened Nunes, is now at Flagship Government Relations, a firm started by several departed PMA lobbyists. Fleming did not confirm the encounter, but he said in a statement that "an important responsibility of any government relations professional is to communicate to policymakers the impact that their decisions have on our clients." He added that he has "always adhered to the strictest code of professional ethics." Moran said he continued to believe that Magliocchetti was a good lobbyist who knew that he had to get Defense Department backing for the earmarks he was seeking from Capitol Hill. Describing him as "the only Democratic defense [lobbyist] for the most part," Moran said Magliocchetti also was someone Democrats naturally turned to for fundraising help from the military contractor community.

"When you needed to raise money for the Democratic campaign committee, he was always the first one you went to," Moran said, adding, "I don't know how he raised his money." Moran hosted an event for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in his Alexandria home last year, the lawmaker said, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as the guest of honor. Magliocchetti and some of his clients were in attendance, writing checks for $28,500 each, Moran said.

Still congressional ethics are called into further question because currently while there have been 36 or more inquiries into House members conduct but there are only 7 actual open investigations underway. Some are calling that it is racial disparity because all active ethics probes focus on black lawmakers. In fact the House ethics committee is currently investigating seven African-American lawmakers — more than 15 percent of the total in the House. And an eighth black member, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), would be under investigation if the Justice Department hadn’t asked the committee to stand down. Not a single white lawmaker is currently the subject of a full-scale ethics committee probe.

The ethics committee declined to respond to questions about the racial disparity, and members of the Congressional Black Caucus are wary of talking about it on the record. But privately, some black members are outraged — and see in the numbers a worrisome trend in the actions of ethics watchdogs on and off Capitol Hill. “Is there concern whether someone is trying to set up [Congressional Black Caucus] members? Yeah, there is,” a black House Democrat said. “It looks as if there is somebody out there who understands what the rules [are] and sends names to the ethics committee with the goal of going after the [CBC].”

African-American politicians have long complained that they’re treated unfairly when ethical issues arise. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are still fuming over Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to oust then-Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) from the House Ways and Means Committee in 2006, and some have argued that race plays a role in the ongoing efforts to remove Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) from his chairmanship of that committee. Actions taken by the House ethics committee two weeks ago are sure to add fuel to the fire. The committee — which has one African-American lawmaker, Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), among its 10 members — on Thursday, October 29, 2009 considered three referrals from the recently formed Office of Congressional Ethics. It dismissed a case against Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), who is white, but agreed to open full-blown investigations of California Democratic Reps. Maxine Waters and Laura Richardson, both of whom are black.

The committee was already investigating five other African-Americans. Rangel is the subject of two different probes, one involving a host of issues he has put before the committee and another involving allegations that corporate funds may have been used improperly to pay for members’ trips to the Caribbean in 2007-08. Reps. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-Mich.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Donald Payne (D-N.J.) and Del. Donna Christensen (D-U.S. Virgin Islands) are also included in the second of those investigations. A document leaked to The Washington Post two weeks ago showed that nearly three dozen lawmakers have come under scrutiny this year by either the House ethics committee or the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent watchdog created in 2008 at the insistence of Pelosi. While the list contained a substantial number of white lawmakers, the ethics committee has not yet launched formal investigative subcommittees with respect to any of them — as it has with the seven African-American members.

The OCE has also been a particular target of ire for the Congressional Black Caucus. Black lawmakers, including CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), met with OCE officials earlier this year to raise their concerns. Spokesmen for Lee and the OCE both declined to comment. A number of CBC members opposed the resolution establishing the OCE, arguing that it was the wrong response to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, which helped Democrats seize control of the House in 2006. Setting up the OCE “was a mistake,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) told The Hill newspaper recently. “Congress has a long and rich history of overreacting to a crisis.”

Cleaver, though, now finds himself part of the four-member subcommittee that will investigate Waters, who voted against the OCE. Waters is being probed over her intervention with the Treasury Department on behalf of a minority-owned bank in which her husband served on the board and owned at least $250,000 in stock. While she has flatly denied engaging in any unethical or improper behavior in her dealings with OneUnited, Waters was described by colleagues and Democratic aides as “livid” over the ethics committee’s decision to investigate her. “She was hopping mad,” a Democratic lawmaker said of Waters. “She feels this is a complete miscarriage of justice.”

Another CBC member said black lawmakers are “easy targets” for ethics watchdog groups because they have less money — both personally and in their campaign accounts — to defend themselves than do their white colleagues. Campaign funds can be used to pay members’ legal bills. “A lot of that has to do with outside watchdog groups like [Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington] that have to have a level of success to justify OCE,” the CBC member said. The good-government groups were strong backers of the OCE’s creation. But these same groups won’t go after Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), this lawmaker claimed, “because she has plenty of money to defend herself,” and the outside groups don’t want to take a risk. The Democrat said the ethics committee would be going up against Harman’s lawyers and “going up against” the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee if they push the OCE to pressure the ethics committee to act.

Harman was allegedly recorded on a 2005 federal wiretap discussing with an Israeli operative her bid to become Intelligence Committee chairwoman. Harman has denied any wrongdoing, but an attempt by the ethics committee to get a transcript of the taped call was rebuffed by the Justice Department. What especially galled black lawmakers was that the ethics committee voted to move forward with the Waters and Richardson probes following the OCE referrals, while Graves — who OCE also thought should be investigated by the ethics committee — saw his case dismissed.

Even worse, the ethics committee issued a 541-page document explaining why it wouldn’t look into allegations that Graves invited a witness to testify before the Small Business Committee — on which he sits — without revealing his financial ties to that witness. “It is kind of crazy,” said an aide to one senior black Democrat. “How can it be that the ethics committee only investigates African-Americans? It doesn’t make sense.” White lawmakers have certainly been the subject of ethics committee investigations before. Former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) was admonished by the committee for his dealings with corporate lobbyists, while ex-Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) was the target of an investigation over his dealings with teenage male House pages in late 2006. Foley resigned after the sex scandal was revealed.

And the document leaked to the Post two weeks ago showed that a number of white lawmakers — including senior House Appropriations Committee members John Murtha (D-Pa.), Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.), Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.) and Jim Moran (D-Va.) — have drawn the attention of the committee and the OCE. The two congressional ethics watchdogs are looking into these members’ ties to the PMA Group, a now-defunct lobbying firm that won tens of millions of dollars in earmarks from members of the Appropriations Committee. The lawmakers who arranged for the earmarks received hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from PMA’s lobbying clients.

But it seems unlikely that the PMA case will become the subject of a full-blown ethics committee investigation. The Justice Department is also looking into the PMA allegations; the FBI raided PMA’s office last year, and Visclosky and his former chief of staff have been served with document subpoenas. And under ethics committee rules, the panel cannot conduct an investigation of any member or staffer already being probed by a law enforcement agency. Plus the nation’s only black senator, Roland Burris of Illinois, is currently under investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee. It’s not clear whether that committee is currently investigating any white members, although Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) is likely to be in its sights if the Justice Department doesn’t pre-empt a committee investigation.

So it seems as if congressional ethics might have some racial disparity as well as a whole lot of explaining to do in regards to why inquiries have been taken into 36 or congressional leaders but only 8 full blown open investigations are taking place and all 8 being Congressional Black Caucus members. Now this includes both the House and Senate investigations currently taking place and something about all of this just doesn’t sound right. Thus many watchdog groups are now calling ethics probes in Congress into question since little of the probes have lead to the removal of barely any Congressional leaders over the years. The calls for Congressional members to remove their own colleagues who violate the law are growing and let’s hope the latest leaks of ethical misconducts makes more citizens outrage and make Congress act more strongly in trying to remove some of their own colleagues regardless of race or ethnic background.

Jay-Z - History



(Jay-Z - History)Jay-Z - History with Lyrics

LYRICS : [Chorus: Cee-lo]
Now that all the smoke is gone
(Lighter)
And the battle's finally won
(Gimme a lighter)
Victory (Lighters up) is finally ours
(Lighters up)
History, so long, so long
So long, so long

[Verse 1: Jay-Z]
In search of victory, she keeps eluding me
If only we could be together momentarily
We can make love and make history
Why won't you visit me? until she visit me
I'll be stuck with her sister, her name is defeat
She gives me agony, so much agony
She brings me so much pain, so much misery
Like missing your last shot and falling to your knees
As the crowd screams for the other team
I practice so hard for this moment, victory don't leave
I know what this means, I'm stuck in this routine
Whole new different day, same old thing
All I got is dreams, nobody else can see
Nobody else believes, nobody else but me
Where are you victory? I need you desperately
Not just for the moment, to make history

[Chorus: Cee-lo]
Now that all the smoke is gone
(Lighters)
And the battle's finally won
(Lighters)
Victory is finally ours
(Yeah)
History (yeah), so long, so long
So long, so long

[Verse 2: Jay-Z]
So now I'm flirting with death, hustling like a G
While victory wasn't watching took chances repeatedly
As a teenage boy before acne, before I got proactiv I couldn't face she
I just threw on my hoodie and headed to the street
That's where I met success, we'd live together shortly
Now success is like lust, she's good to the touch
She's good for the moment but she's never enough
Everybody's had her, she's nothing like V
But success is all I got unfortunately
But I'm burning down the block hoppin' in and out of V
But something tells me that there's much more to see
Before I get killed because I can't get robbed
So before me success and death ménage
I gotta get lost, I gotta find V
We gotta be together to make history

[Chorus: Cee-lo]
Now that all the smoke is gone
(Lighters. Up.)
And the battle's finally won
(Lighter. Up.)
Victory is finally ours
(Lighters. Up.)
History, so long, so long
So long, so long

[Verse 3: Jay-Z]
Now victory is mine, it tastes so sweet
She's my trophy wife, you're coming with me
We'll have a baby who stutters repeatedly
We'll name him history, he'll repeat after me
He's my legacy, son of my hard work
Future of my past, he'll explain who I be
Rank me amongst the greats, either 1, 2, or 3
If I ain't number one then I failed you victory
Ain't in it for the fame that dies within weeks
Ain't in it for the money, can't take it when you leave
I wanna be remembered long after you grieve
Long after I'm gone, long after I breathe
I leave all I am in the hands of history
That's my last will and testimony
This is much more than a song, it's a baby shower
I've been waiting for this hour, history you ours


[Chorus: Cee-lo (2x)]
Now that all the smoke is gone
And the battle's finally won
Victory is finally ours
History, so long, so long
So long, so long



Man in the Mirror--By Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson - Man in the mirror

I'm gonna make a change,
for once im my life
It's gonna feel real good,
gonna make a diference
Gonna make it right...

As I, turn up the collar on
my favorite winter coat
This wind is blowing my mind
I see the kids in the streets,
with not enought to eat
Who am I to be blind?
Pretending not to see their needs

A summer disregard,a broken bottle top
And a one man soul
They follow each other on the wind ya' know
'Cause they got nowhere to go
That's why I want you to know

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
(If you wanna make the world a better place)
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change
(Take a look at yourself, and then make a change)
(Na na na, na na na, na na, na nah)

I've been a victim of a selfish kind of love
It's time that I realize
That there are some with no home, not a nickel to loan
Could it be really me, pretending that they're not alone?

A willow deeply scarred, somebody's broken heart
And a washed-out dream
(Washed-out dream)
They follow the pattern of the wind ya' see
'Cause they got no place to be
That's why I'm starting with me
(Starting with me!)

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
(Ooh!)
I'm asking him to change his ways
(Ooh!)
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
(If you wanna make the world a better place)
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change
(Take a look at yourself, and then make a change)

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
(Ooh!)
I'm asking him to change his ways
(Change his ways - ooh!)
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make that..
(Take a look at yourself and then make that..)
CHANGE!

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
(Man in the mirror - Oh yeah!)
I'm asking him to change his ways
(Better change!)
No message could have been any clearer
(If you wanna make the world a better place)


Michael Jackson - Man in the mirror

A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cook






It's been a long time coming but a change is surely going to come in America and the World! I am the Future of America and the World and that is the message that each of us must carry with us each and every day that we wake up on Earth! I am the Future! You are the Future! We are the Future of America and the World! That is way every election is important--primaries, special elections and general! So vote every year and hold our politicians accountable. Hold our political officials accountable by writing them, calling them and making sure they attend meetings that we the people have. "The Time for Change is not Now but Right Now!"

"EmPOWERment By Any Means Necessary" should be our anthem and should be our creed as we make the positive differences in America and the world that so many people beg for and hungry for year after year! A Change is Gonna Come, A Change is Gonna Come, that's what we must say as we say "God grants us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, Courge to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference" each morning before we go about the task of making a positive change in America and the world a reality.



Born In The U.S.A. - Bruce Springsteen


“When will people realize that we are Americans first and foremost, not Democrats or Liberals, not Republicans or Conservatives, not Independents or moderates. We are Americans. Stop putting a political party above America and stop putting any politican above America. America succeeds because of us the people holding our government responsible no matter the political party because the main two political parties are to blame for the condition America is in."—Hodari P.T. Brown

America with its flaws and all is a country I am proud to have been born in. America is not perfect but my love for it is perfect. That’s why all Americans must realize that we are all Americans. In fact we are Americans first and foremost. We are not Democrats or Republicans. We are Americans.

We are not Muslims, Christians or Jews. We are Americans. Too many times we recognize our differences with others rather than appreciating our similarities which are, we are Americans. We are Americans first and foremost, no matter if we were born here or moved here legally. We are all Americans, here in this country to make not only our lives better but the lives of other Americans better so future Americans can enjoy the rights and freedoms that make us all Americans.

We are all Americans. We are one party united under God. We are Americans and this is the only political party that matters. We are Americans and this is our country so let’s make sure that we make America better than how we found it so future Americans can live prosperous and joyous lives. We are Americans and must not ever forget that.

America will prosper as long we make sure we are doing our part to make it prosper and that means we can’t put any political party or politician above America. Long live America forever and long live America’s service to the world. Together, America and the world will prosper for future generations to enjoy America and the world we live in.


Lift Every Voice and Sing


This video of the ' Negro National Anthem' was originally screened at the historic African-American Church Inaugural Ball in Washington, DC on January 18th, 2009. Many of the esteemed individuals featured in this video in attendance and we presented with the ' Keepers of the Flame' award for the monumental contributions to social justice.

This version of the song was performed by the Grace Baptist Church Cathedral Choir, conducted by Derrick James. The video was produced and donated by Ascender Communications, LLC (www.ascender-c.com) at the request of The Balm In Gilead, Inc.

If I Was President--Wyclef Jean




If I was President that is the people's anthem. We all have ideas of what we can do as President and through this website, we will fulfill our deam as a people!

Somethings Gotta Give--Big Boi ft Mary J Blige



Somethings Gotta Give people and it begins today for all us to make sure that something is us. We the people are sick and tired of suffering. Where is our piece of the Dream that so many people dead for so that we all could see today. This is our time people to change America and the world so that the Next Generation has a better future than the past we inherited.

This is our call to service. This isn't about one political candidate or one political figure. This is about us as people coming together to finally leave up to our potential and achieving the great feats that those before us have achieved. This is our moment to lead our nation and our world to greater heights.

Somethings gotta give people and it starts with us the people making it happen. We have to improve our education system in America. We have to rid the world of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. We have to go to the streets and lift a hand to another in order to decrease poverty in this world. We have to take a stand today and make sure that the future of America and the world is brighter than it has ever been.

Somethings Gotta Give and that is why we must "Remember Each One, Reach One and Teach One so America's future and the World's future continues to prosper."

John Legend - "If You're Out There"


If you're out there than you need to get started in helping to change America and the world. The world and America won't change until you get involved in making the changes you want to see in this world. If you're out there, than you must know that tomorrow started now and today started yesterday so you are behind in helping to the change. If you are tired of hatred, racism, poverty, war, and violence than the time to change it is now. If you want universal health care, world peace, democracy for every nation, equal rights, and happiness for all than you must get involved now to help the save world.

You must believe in the change that you want to see and you must act on making that change a reality. If you're out there than say it aloud and show the rest of America and the world that you're out here to make a real positive change in the communities we stay in. If you're out there than get involved now. I'm calling every women and men to join me as we take back our country right here, right now. If you're out there than the future started yersterday and we are already late so we have lots of work to do but I know we can do it together as one.

YES WE CAN



Yes We Can accomplish anything that we set out to do! We don't need charismatic or inspirational leaders to believe in ourselves and to take responsiblity for our own faith, we just need each other. Yes We Can build a new America and a new world if each of us would take action now to make the changes that we want to see in the world. Yes We Can control government by holding our political officials accountable for their actions by calling them out when they don't pass legislation that supports the common good of all man and by voting in every election to ensure that we have people representing the people locally, state wide, nationally and in the world.

Yes We Can be great! Yes We Can be what we want to be! Yes We Can be glorious in not only America but the world! Yes We can put action behind our worlds and change the world starting right here, right now! Yes We Can as Republicans, Democrats and Independents become one as we freely think about our fellow men and women and make decisions that will be in the best interest of all people and not one single group.

Yes We Can be the change that we want to see in the world! Yes We Can show the world that the youth are ready to lead! Yes We Can put our egos, our social economic statuses, our religions, our educational statuses and our skin color to the side for the better good of the world! Yes We Can be Greater than we have ever been and help others be Greater than they have ever be!

YES WE CAN and YES WE WILL BE VICTORIOUS IN ALL THAT WE DO! YES WE CAN, no matter what others may say, we will be glorious! YES WE WILL and YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN!

YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN is what will be sung from every mountaintop, every riverbank, every household, every school yard, every factory, every sporting event, every college campus and even every place you can imagine in the world is where YES WE CAN, will be said and heard!

YES WE CAN!

Keep On Pushing - Curtis Mayfield & the Impressions


Wake Up People! No matter who is elected to any public office, we have to “Keep On Pushing” as a people to make sure they don’t leave us in a worst state than what they inherited. We as a people have to “Keep On Pushing” to make a difference in the lives of others. We have to have an “EmPOWERment By Any Means Necessary” attitude as we continue to push our agenda that we the people deserve and want better. We have to “Keep On Pushing” to bring about change in a positive way that will benefit all Americans no matter their age, their religion or skin color. We have to “Keep On Pushing” to bring about change that will improve our education system, improve our military, improve our national security, improve our healthcare system and improve our economy. We have to “Keep On Pushing” to bring about change that will leave America’s future in a better than how we found it and that will leave the world’s future in a better state than we imagined we could live it. We have to “Keep On Pushing” to make life better for our neighborhoods, our families and even our quote on quote enemies. We have to “Keep On Pushing” to inspire, to uplift and to guide those who need help spiritually, physically and mentally. We have to “Keep On Pushing ” so that our lives, our future generation’s lives and the lives of those who came before us does not die in vein.

“Keep on Pushing”

A War For Your Soul

A War For Your Soul-regular version from Erisai Films on Vimeo.


The moment has come for us as a nation of people to finally wake up and realize that our destiny and fate in society has rests on our shoulders. We cannot allow the forces of evil and darkness to drain us out. We have to continue to overcome all odds in order to make the future of our nation better and the future of future generations of Americans better. We have to continue to pray to our Lord and we have to continue to uplift each other in prayer as well as take action against those things that are trying to destroy us. We have to stand up once and for all and be the future that we want to be. Now is our time and we shall do together by any means necessary.

This video was created to inspire young African-Americans not to fall prey to some of the problems they face in society. The use of the voice "Master of Darkness" represents evil, which is where the blame of all problems should be placed, and not on any one group of people. This video should not to be used to divide people (Black & White), there are images of heroes that are white in this video, and there are images of Black & White coming together with the words of Dr. King in the background. Some of the images from the past can be unsettling, but they are used to show all Americans how far we have come, and how far we still have to go. This film is being strategically placed in school systems, churches and youth orgs around the country, in hope of helping a lost generation of kids that we as Americans have forgotten. As fellow Americans we must continue to love each other, and take that love and spread it to the rest of the world. **THIS VIDEO IS NOT FOR SALE & I AM NOT ACCEPTING DONATIONS FOR THE FILM, I ONLY WANT THE MESSAGE TO REACH AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE WITHOUT ANY HIDDEN POLITICAL OR FINANCIAL AGENDA.

Sitting On the Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding



"The time for sitting is over! The time for action is now! The time for hope without action is hopeless! The time for change without a positive attitude is a change that we can't believe in! We need change that is positive of helping all people! Our time for action is now, our time for hope is now, our time for change is now and our time to believe that we can do whatever we set our minds to is not now but right now!"

STAR SPANGLED BANNER


The Star-Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key

O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming;
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?


On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream;
'Tis the star-spangled banner; O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave,
From the terror of flight and the gloom of the grave;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!


O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land,
Praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just.
And this be our motto— "In God is our trust; "
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

Black President



Our Time is not now but Right Now! Our Time has finally come to change the world not now but Right Now! If you don't believe that we can change the world than watch as we do it by changing your mind into believing in us and what we can do! This is OUR TIME RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!

FIGHT THE POWER



We got to FIGHT THE POWER! We can no longer sit on the sidelines and watch injustices take place. We can no longer sit by and allow our right to vote to become unexercised. We must FIGHT THE POWER for our past, present and future! We can no longer allow our rights to be oppressed and our voice to become drained by the powers at be. We must FIGHT THE POWER and show that we have a lot to say that needs to be heard by the mainstream media. We must FIGHT THE POWER and live up to our potential as dynamic, unbelievable and phenomenal people.


We must not believe the hype but we must become the hype. We are not Harriett Tubman, Marcus Garvey, MLK, Malcolm X, Booker T. Washington, Carter G. Woodson, W.E.B. DuBois, the Black Panther Party, SNCC, or any other activists but we are the fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, uncles, aunties, and relatives of those who came before us to pave the way for us to FIGHT THE POWER! We are not next Generation of leaders who will not be honored and praised until they die but that’s the fight we accept. We are not fighting the power for glory or fame but we are fighting the power for just causes that most men and women will not understand until years or decades later.


We are fighting for our sisters and brothers in Darfur, Georgia, Iraq, Iran, China and Mexico. We are speaking for those who are poor and have no food or water. We are fighting for those who are sick and dying. We are fighting for universal healthcare across the world and human rights for all people. We are fighting for rich and poor! We must FIGHT THE POWER no matter how hard and tough the road may be. We must FIGHT THE POWER for a better today and an even greater tomorrow!


FIGHT THE POWER!

PEOPLE GET READY


“People Get Ready” our time is coming! We have come too far to turn back now. Our train is coming and it is coming in waves. “People Get Ready”, we don’t need a ticket but we need faith and the Lord will help guide us as we take back America and the world. “People Get Ready” our moment is now and we are ready to see the change we want in America and the world. All we got to do is have faith, hope and prosperity. “People Get Ready” to face your fears. “People Get Ready” to face your demons and the challenges of yesterday because today and tomorrow we will conquer & be victorious. “People Get Ready” a change is coming and our actions will make sure that change is a real positive change that lasts forever.


“People Get Ready” because we have had enough of just talking but now is our time to show action. “People Get Ready” to take back America and the world. “People Get Ready” to take back our communities and to make our streets safer and schools better. “People Get Ready” to make all our dreams come true. “People Get Ready” to see a better present for everyone and a better future for future generations. “People Get Ready” to live up to your potential and to help others live up to their own potential. “People Get Ready” to move past hatred, bigotry, racism and sexism. “People Get Ready” to fulfill the dreams of those who came before us and those who will come after us.


“People Get Ready” as we make our actions speak louder than our words. “People Get Ready” to make words mean something again as we put action to back up our rhetoric. “People Get Ready” as we embark on a new journey that will re-write America’s history as well as the world’s history. “People Get Ready” as we make the lives of others better and the lives of future generations better. “People Get Ready” because all we need is faith, hope and action to make this world a better place. “People Get Ready” to make a difference. “People Get Ready” to fulfill the American dream. “People Get Ready" to live out the American Dream as our founding fathers wanted us to live it. “People Get Ready” because our time is now, our moment is now and our moment in time to change America & the world is not now but right now. “People Get Ready” because a change is coming!


Alicia]
(Let me tell you now)
People get ready, there's a train comin'
You don't need no baggage, you just get on board
All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin'
You don't need no ticket, you just thank the lord

[Lyfe]
People get ready, for a train to Jordan
Picking up passengers coast to coast
Faith is the key, open the doors and board them
There's hope for all among those loved the most

[Alicia]
There ain't no room for the hopeless sinner
Who would hurt all man kind just to save his own (believe me now)
Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner
For there's no hiding place against the kingdoms throne

[Alicia & Lyfe]
So people get ready there's a train coming
You don't need no baggage, you just get on board
All you need is faith to hear the diesels humming,
You don't need no ticket, you just thank the lord


“PEOPLE GET READY!”

God Bless the U.S.A. by Lee Greenwood


Lee Greenwood-god bless the U.S.A