Michigan State Supreme Court Justice Stephen J. Markham's probity is in serious question and he doesn't even get it. In his "Statement Denying Motion to Recuse in Emergency Manager Case."
Steve Markman makes his own case against his recusal. In a biblical sense, if not in a strict-what will Michigan law allow sense - Markman should "avoid the very appearance" of conflict and the evil/corruption that may be associated with going forward on Snyder's requested EMF ruling.
In campaigning in the past with former Chief Justices Mary Coleman and Elizabeth Weaver questions would arise from citizens about the justice's stances on various questions, usually some "moral issue" and both ladies would always decline comment or conjecture. They had no wish to telegraph or indicate before-the-fact how they might rule on an issue however hypothetical. They were ethically intent upon preserving the highest standards for probity.
Justice Markman, however, prior to being elected to the Michigan Supreme Court reveled in stating his opinion on rulings that would involve business interests. His most often quoted, pet topic-at the time, the case of the McDonalds' too hot coffee. Markman ridiculed the substance of this case and belittled its importance. As it turned out, McDonalds was serving extremely hot coffee, particularly unsuited to drive up/drive thru service, in a container and under a condition that caused scalding burns. The corporation was loath to change its method of brewing because , it was said, the replacement of the brewing equipment would be of a too high cost. Thus, they persisted in selling and packaging coffee with a serious burn capacity willfully ignoring the harm such over hot coffee could inflict on customers.
Steve Markman thought this case was a hoot, a frivolous legal action of the type he personally would not condone or approve if elected to the Michigan Supreme Court he clearly projected.
At a Republican event, Markman was asked about his association with the Federalist Society. What is the Federalist Society? Is it sort of like the AAA, a service that renders help to its membership if they go into a ditch? "No," replied Markman, "it is like the ACLU." There you have it. Markman, early on, understood and knew that he was constructing a persona as a potential Michigan Justice that would fit the Federalist philosophy, which in Markman's estimation was the equivalent/equal to that of the aggressive ACLU-a group known for its activistism and pursuit of issues from a strong perspective and tight philosophy.
Likewise, Markman knew that he would be in pursuit of a set of "values" which he demonstrated through his ridicule of the "Too Hot" McDonald's legal case. The partisan audiences he addressed in his campaign (to be elected for the first time to the Michigan Supreme Court) fully understood that he had a set opinion framework and was telegraphing his future decisions based on his modeling of the McDonalds' legal case.
Markman lost his probity then, and now his test of probity-as a "too political" justice-comes to the forefront again via a conflict of interest involving Markman's wife and her state/political position.
This time in by remaining ready to rule on this attempt by Rick Snyder to preemptively/via judicial activism-have Markman and the other justices decide in advance the outcome of any lower court rulings " the survival and validity of the TeaPublican's assault on voter franchise and local government authenticity and survival under his dictatorial Emergency Finance Manager legislation/regime.
Original.
Showing posts with label Benton Harbor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Benton Harbor. Show all posts
Friday, October 14, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Corporate Supremacy: Michissippi’s Reinvention of Involuntary Servitude and EFM Legislated Privatization of Nearly Every Community Asset - “Profitization”
Corporate profitazation: Under the guise of help for the troubled finances of civic institutions Rick Snyder and cronies have devised a quasi-legal device, the office of Emergency Finance Manager to facilitate the "public profitazation" of everything of value in Michissippian community assets.
This "public-to-private profitization" of assets across Michissippi includes currently real property: Public school facilities and real estate, waste treatment plants e.g. Pontiac, brownfield real estate with high value waterfront development potential, public works facilities and equipment, city buildings and auxiliary operations...the list goes on. It's the replacement of "we the people government with corporatism.
This is just the beginning, the number of high value targets for the privatizing zealots in the Snyder/McLellan/Dillon combine is yet to be unveiled. With clever scheming and with grand opportunism known as "disaster capitalism" these greedy men are taking down the state for money and for profit. They represent a very troubling trend toward "corporate supremacy."
Note carefully how this "illegal community asset grab" is unfolding. The attacks are in predominately minority centers and urban pockets of extreme poverty. Who cares? Snyder believes indifference gives his administration license.
The biggest of the predicable goals is the profitization seizure of Detroit's high value public waterworks, a gem of a coup, if it can be pulled off for surrounding suburban jurisdictions especially Brooks Patterson's Oakland County. Strip majority minority Detroit of its one high value asset, and move on to huge tactical advantage and profit for the Corporate Supremacists.
When the lustful eye of pro-EFM backers took a look at Jackson and saw an opportunity to move in last week, Dillon put a quick kibosh on that recommendation. For the Dillon/Snyder stratagem to work, the stripping of assets and the dictatorial take-overs must be in areas of long-term distress, cities and urban centers long under debit problems and "dysfunction."
As long as the EFM process can be portrayed as an aberrant form of "help" - legislative benevolence - and the public continues its cynical opinion of minority "lack of responsibility" for "their" abandoned and troubled areas such as Benton Harbor, there will be little effective protest elsewhere. So just bide the time.
This does not mean that Jackson city and other predominately "white" areas are not on the short list or at risk it; only means those godfathers who set the pace; such as Richard D. Mclellan, will choose the time to swoop in to pluck the low hanging fruit anywhere he chooses, across Michissippi. After all, if there isn't a massive "corporate supremacist" plan, why has Andy Dillon pre-trained over 300 Emergency Finance Managers?
Snyder led "Corporate Supremacy" has virulent and dangerous elements: bigotry and racial bias. What is being legislated from TeaPublican Lansing, with its irresponsible super-majority drunk and high on power, is the equivalent of pushing minorities back over the infamous Edmund Pettus Bridge into Jim Crow Land.
This lingering bias was expressed in the written opine in the Detroit/Mackinac Center News which blamed the recent brown down/blackouts in Detroit on Black political leadership over the past decades. And true to form, the Det/News suggested the solution: Sell off Detroit's Power and Light, municipal power works to the Corporate Supremacists eagerly awaiting another takeover. Never mind that brown outs occurred concurrently in Ann Arbor and in other diversified areas across Michissippi.
All of this fits the Koch Brothers A.L.E.C. plug and play legislation such as has been introduced in Wisconsin. The Kochs want Wisconsin to sell off, privatize, all municipal utilities, let Corporate Supremacists have a profitization monopoly. These same elements are at play here in Michissippi.
In the Holland area, to operate a machine shop inside the service area of the Holland Board of Public Works means getting three phase industrial electric service at a much lower price than that offered by Consumers Energy. Maybe that is because Holland Board of Public Works isn't headed up with a CEO like Consumers Energy's David Joos-who in his last year with Consumers received a salary in excess of $3 million and over his entire tenure, tens of millions in salary and benefits. Consumers customers chipped in for the Joos booty: Every time the lights came on, Joos got his cut!
Oh yes, check out Richard D. McLellan, Mackinac Center's godfather, he has had a turn with ITC Holdings as a board member. ITC is in the power game. ITC is the largest independent electricity transmission company in the nation its holdings includes the Michigan Electric Transmission Company (METC).
On way or the other McLellan is a major player in Michissippi power and how it is supplied. Everywhere you turn in Snyder's Michissippi there's a Nerd business crony, a Corporate Supremacist, getting or planning his accumulating cut.
All this on top of a near $2 billion tax-funded bailout!
Original Post.
This "public-to-private profitization" of assets across Michissippi includes currently real property: Public school facilities and real estate, waste treatment plants e.g. Pontiac, brownfield real estate with high value waterfront development potential, public works facilities and equipment, city buildings and auxiliary operations...the list goes on. It's the replacement of "we the people government with corporatism.
This is just the beginning, the number of high value targets for the privatizing zealots in the Snyder/McLellan/Dillon combine is yet to be unveiled. With clever scheming and with grand opportunism known as "disaster capitalism" these greedy men are taking down the state for money and for profit. They represent a very troubling trend toward "corporate supremacy."
Note carefully how this "illegal community asset grab" is unfolding. The attacks are in predominately minority centers and urban pockets of extreme poverty. Who cares? Snyder believes indifference gives his administration license.
The biggest of the predicable goals is the profitization seizure of Detroit's high value public waterworks, a gem of a coup, if it can be pulled off for surrounding suburban jurisdictions especially Brooks Patterson's Oakland County. Strip majority minority Detroit of its one high value asset, and move on to huge tactical advantage and profit for the Corporate Supremacists.
When the lustful eye of pro-EFM backers took a look at Jackson and saw an opportunity to move in last week, Dillon put a quick kibosh on that recommendation. For the Dillon/Snyder stratagem to work, the stripping of assets and the dictatorial take-overs must be in areas of long-term distress, cities and urban centers long under debit problems and "dysfunction."
As long as the EFM process can be portrayed as an aberrant form of "help" - legislative benevolence - and the public continues its cynical opinion of minority "lack of responsibility" for "their" abandoned and troubled areas such as Benton Harbor, there will be little effective protest elsewhere. So just bide the time.
This does not mean that Jackson city and other predominately "white" areas are not on the short list or at risk it; only means those godfathers who set the pace; such as Richard D. Mclellan, will choose the time to swoop in to pluck the low hanging fruit anywhere he chooses, across Michissippi. After all, if there isn't a massive "corporate supremacist" plan, why has Andy Dillon pre-trained over 300 Emergency Finance Managers?
Snyder led "Corporate Supremacy" has virulent and dangerous elements: bigotry and racial bias. What is being legislated from TeaPublican Lansing, with its irresponsible super-majority drunk and high on power, is the equivalent of pushing minorities back over the infamous Edmund Pettus Bridge into Jim Crow Land.
This lingering bias was expressed in the written opine in the Detroit/Mackinac Center News which blamed the recent brown down/blackouts in Detroit on Black political leadership over the past decades. And true to form, the Det/News suggested the solution: Sell off Detroit's Power and Light, municipal power works to the Corporate Supremacists eagerly awaiting another takeover. Never mind that brown outs occurred concurrently in Ann Arbor and in other diversified areas across Michissippi.
All of this fits the Koch Brothers A.L.E.C. plug and play legislation such as has been introduced in Wisconsin. The Kochs want Wisconsin to sell off, privatize, all municipal utilities, let Corporate Supremacists have a profitization monopoly. These same elements are at play here in Michissippi.
In the Holland area, to operate a machine shop inside the service area of the Holland Board of Public Works means getting three phase industrial electric service at a much lower price than that offered by Consumers Energy. Maybe that is because Holland Board of Public Works isn't headed up with a CEO like Consumers Energy's David Joos-who in his last year with Consumers received a salary in excess of $3 million and over his entire tenure, tens of millions in salary and benefits. Consumers customers chipped in for the Joos booty: Every time the lights came on, Joos got his cut!
Oh yes, check out Richard D. McLellan, Mackinac Center's godfather, he has had a turn with ITC Holdings as a board member. ITC is in the power game. ITC is the largest independent electricity transmission company in the nation its holdings includes the Michigan Electric Transmission Company (METC).
On way or the other McLellan is a major player in Michissippi power and how it is supplied. Everywhere you turn in Snyder's Michissippi there's a Nerd business crony, a Corporate Supremacist, getting or planning his accumulating cut.
All this on top of a near $2 billion tax-funded bailout!
Original Post.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Ante-Dictatorial EFM: Setting the Benton Harbor Record Straight
The Other Side of the Benton Harbor EFM Story, One You'll Not Find in Michigan's Corporate Media
Wilce Cooke grew up in Benton Harbor, Michigan. He was elected as the city's Mayor twice. Here's his account via "Mayor of Benton Harbor Sets The Record Straight About Takeover By Emergency Financial Manager", in the Rochester Citizen on April 28, 2011:
Original Post.
Wilce Cooke grew up in Benton Harbor, Michigan. He was elected as the city's Mayor twice. Here's his account via "Mayor of Benton Harbor Sets The Record Straight About Takeover By Emergency Financial Manager", in the Rochester Citizen on April 28, 2011:
"The Mayor said that over the years the city of Benton Harbor has lost its tax base of retail and agricultural businesses. 'At one time we were called the Shenandoah of southwest Michigan. We had seven or eight different foundries. We had the largest outdoor fruit market in the world and we had all the retail stores downtown here in Benton Harbor. Urban renewal came in and displaced a lot of individuals and white flight, we lost our tax base. So with no tax base, you can't run a city on property taxes alone when your residents are unemployed.' Cooke said.Read the Rochester Citizen article by Bruce Fealk.
"During Cooke's first term as Mayor from 1982-1989, Cooke said the city was in a similar position financially, but he said there was one difference; he had control of city council. When Cooke left office, there was a million dollar surplus. The city had a very aggressive marketing program and brought in a new financial manager and the city was on the rebound.
"The city's government has been portrayed in the media as being incompetent. Cooke responded to that charge saying, 'It's stupid to even say that. You can't say that this council is incompetent. The theory that Benton Harbor's city council members have absconded with money is that. You have never read yet where they said that we have stolen anything. The council doesn't have any money. That's handled by the finance department, the finance people, not by the city council. We do approve bills, but we don't handle money.'
"'When I was Mayor in 1980, we did bring in a new finance director, a new city manager, an economic development person. We brought in all new people to handle what we had to do and we did a great job. In 50 years this city hasn't run so smooth. I was out of office for 17 or 18 years, the city got right back in the same position.'"
"Cooke was re-elected in 2004. When Cooke was re-elected, he says he set up a meeting with Governor Granholm showing her his plan to solve the problems in Benton Harbor, 'What did they give us, a faith-based director and a financial manager.'
"When asked what is the biggest misconception about what has happened in Benton Harbor, Cooke replied, 'The corporate media has gotten it all backwards. They don't want to tell the truth. THEY SAY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS HAVE COME TO THE CITY OF BENTON HARBOR. MILLIONS OF DOLLARS HAVE BEEN SENT, BUT IT DIDN'T COME TO THE CITY OF BENTON HARBOR. IT WENT TO NON-PROFITS WHO RECEIVED THE MONEY. KELLOGG'S SENT IN $25 MILLION. IT DIDN'T COME TO BENTON HARBOR. IT WENT TO AN AFFILIATE OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. (emphasis added)
They had the money. They received the money and they disbursed the money. Millions of dollars came through, but not through the city government itself, never seen any of it. And that's a matter of record and I dare them and challenge them to go and prove otherwise.'"
Original Post.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Power-grabbing House Bill 4214: Who wrote this unbelievably revisionist & voter disenfranchising bill?
This bill is set to be rammed through the legislature at break neck speed. The new "Local Government and School District Accountability Act" in essence is radical, if not a fanatical bill. If it should become law, in its present form, the bill would "disenfranchise" certain communities, the majority being struggling minority-majority locations.
Under the unbelievably rugged provisions, many black/ethic voters would see their votes cast summarily voided, and local elected officials would be ejected from local control (disregarding the ballot box results) and excluded from public office for a long period of years.
This kind of legislation is set to be fast-tracked through to a floor vote, posthaste.
The impact on public employees, local elected government leaders, police and firefighters, teachers and other public servants would be harsh and overly severe.
Many people of color will be directly and adversely affected by such a legislative act. To remove the right to vote and void the power of the ballot box; destroying one's right to elect public officers it disenfranchises communities and reverses the intent of the voter rights struggle of the recent past.
The Law, if enacted, would:
1.) List 18 explicit events that would trigger a financial review by the state
2.) Include the director of the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget on the four-member review team (replacing the auditor general), and allow the governor to appoint more members to the team.
3.) Make explicit the differences between the municipal government and the school district review and intervention processes
4.) Set in place 12 review criteria
5.) Allow the governmental unit or school to be run by a "firm" rather than an "individual"
6.) Allow the Governor, after declaring a financial state of emergency, to "allow for appointment of emergency financial managers by the state treasurer or state school superintendent"
7.) Allow the state treasurer and state school superintendent to declare that a local government is in receivership, as they appoint an emergency financial manager
8.) Specifies that an emergency manager would be chosen on the basis of competence; need not be a resident of the local government; may be an individual or firm; and would serve at the pleasure of the state treasurer, with the concurrence of the state school superintendent
9.) Explicitly identify an emergency financial manager's extensive power and authority by listing 32 actions a manager may take, 16 of which are new
10.) Bust the unions - " Grant an appointed emergency financial manager the authority to abrogate existing labor contracts..."
11.) Remove local elected officials from office in financially distressed governments in receivership, and prohibit them from seeking office for 10 years
12.) Provide an explicit exit strategy to enable formerly struggling local governments to emerge from financial emergency status during which time local officials are prohibited from revising the emergency manager's two-year budget, labor contracts, or ordinances
13.) Suspend collective bargaining for up to five years in local governments placed in Receivership
Background:
Seven Michigan communities have had emergency financial managers appointed under Public Act 72 of 1990: Hamtramck (in 2000); Highland Park (in 2001); Flint (in 2002); Village of Three Oaks (in 2008); Ecorse (in 2009); Pontiac (in 2009); and Benton Harbor (in 2010). Additionally, a financial manager was appointed for the Detroit Public School District in 2009.
Definitions. Under the bill, the term "municipal government" is defined to mean a city, village, township, charter township, county, an authority established by law, or a public utility owned by a city, village, township or county.
The term "school district" is defined to mean a school district, an intermediate school district, or a public school academy (customarily called a charter school.) The term "state financial authority" is defined to mean (1) for a municipal government, the state treasurer, (2) for a school district, the superintendent of public instruction.
A long technical list of conditions is spelled out. Among them the item that requires the unit that is designated as in "financial emergency" to foot the bill: Employ at the expense of the local government and with approval of the state treasurer or state school superintendent, auditors and other technical personnel. Further these state appointed firms, auditors, or technical personnel are to have the power to liquidate the assets of the school or municipal unit: Power to sell, lease, or otherwise use the unit(s) public assets.
This bill goes far down the path of state dictatorial power over local government. Who wrote this terrible legislation and what was their authentic intent or must we guess?
Original Post.
Under the unbelievably rugged provisions, many black/ethic voters would see their votes cast summarily voided, and local elected officials would be ejected from local control (disregarding the ballot box results) and excluded from public office for a long period of years.
This kind of legislation is set to be fast-tracked through to a floor vote, posthaste.
The impact on public employees, local elected government leaders, police and firefighters, teachers and other public servants would be harsh and overly severe.
Many people of color will be directly and adversely affected by such a legislative act. To remove the right to vote and void the power of the ballot box; destroying one's right to elect public officers it disenfranchises communities and reverses the intent of the voter rights struggle of the recent past.
The Law, if enacted, would:
1.) List 18 explicit events that would trigger a financial review by the state
2.) Include the director of the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget on the four-member review team (replacing the auditor general), and allow the governor to appoint more members to the team.
3.) Make explicit the differences between the municipal government and the school district review and intervention processes
4.) Set in place 12 review criteria
5.) Allow the governmental unit or school to be run by a "firm" rather than an "individual"
6.) Allow the Governor, after declaring a financial state of emergency, to "allow for appointment of emergency financial managers by the state treasurer or state school superintendent"
7.) Allow the state treasurer and state school superintendent to declare that a local government is in receivership, as they appoint an emergency financial manager
8.) Specifies that an emergency manager would be chosen on the basis of competence; need not be a resident of the local government; may be an individual or firm; and would serve at the pleasure of the state treasurer, with the concurrence of the state school superintendent
9.) Explicitly identify an emergency financial manager's extensive power and authority by listing 32 actions a manager may take, 16 of which are new
10.) Bust the unions - " Grant an appointed emergency financial manager the authority to abrogate existing labor contracts..."
11.) Remove local elected officials from office in financially distressed governments in receivership, and prohibit them from seeking office for 10 years
12.) Provide an explicit exit strategy to enable formerly struggling local governments to emerge from financial emergency status during which time local officials are prohibited from revising the emergency manager's two-year budget, labor contracts, or ordinances
13.) Suspend collective bargaining for up to five years in local governments placed in Receivership
Background:
Seven Michigan communities have had emergency financial managers appointed under Public Act 72 of 1990: Hamtramck (in 2000); Highland Park (in 2001); Flint (in 2002); Village of Three Oaks (in 2008); Ecorse (in 2009); Pontiac (in 2009); and Benton Harbor (in 2010). Additionally, a financial manager was appointed for the Detroit Public School District in 2009.
Definitions. Under the bill, the term "municipal government" is defined to mean a city, village, township, charter township, county, an authority established by law, or a public utility owned by a city, village, township or county.
The term "school district" is defined to mean a school district, an intermediate school district, or a public school academy (customarily called a charter school.) The term "state financial authority" is defined to mean (1) for a municipal government, the state treasurer, (2) for a school district, the superintendent of public instruction.
A long technical list of conditions is spelled out. Among them the item that requires the unit that is designated as in "financial emergency" to foot the bill: Employ at the expense of the local government and with approval of the state treasurer or state school superintendent, auditors and other technical personnel. Further these state appointed firms, auditors, or technical personnel are to have the power to liquidate the assets of the school or municipal unit: Power to sell, lease, or otherwise use the unit(s) public assets.
This bill goes far down the path of state dictatorial power over local government. Who wrote this terrible legislation and what was their authentic intent or must we guess?
Original Post.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)