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Until we restore Glass-Steagall, more big bank bailouts are inevitable

By on May 18, 2013 in GOPocrisy

Either we break up the big banks or the big banks break us

Attorney General Eric Holder made actual some news this week amid the GOP’s scandal frenzy: he told the House Judiciary committee that big banks are not too big too jail. He was willing to criminally prosecute the nation’s largest banks, though he hasn’t done so since the financial crisis.

“Let me be very, very, very clear… banks are not too big to jail,” Holder added.

This is a small relief because the fact remains that the big banks are bigger than ever, much bigger than they were when they were able to prevent the decent reforms that followed the financial crisis to take the the crucial step of breaking up the big banks.…


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The State of Michigan steps in to save Buena Vista schools. Oh, wait. No they didn’t.

By on May 14, 2013 in Education, GOPocrisy, Pontiac, Republican-Fail, Rick Snyder

We regret the error

While the State of Michigan has stepped in to save the failing Pontiac schools from closing its doors due to lack of funding, they have NOT done this for Buena Vista schools. Rather, the federal government has, albeit in an absurdly lame fashion. The school is closed for the remainder of the school year but the feds are providing money for a voluntary “enhanced skills camp”.

Much more including video of Congressman Dan Kildee speaking about this issue on last night’s All In With Chris Hayes on MSNBC.


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After stripping billions in school funding, Michigan GOP seeks to tie teacher pay primarily to student educational growth

By on May 9, 2013 in Education, GOPocrisy, Michigan Republicans, Teachers

Oh, I see how this works

Over the past two years, Michigan Republicans have stripped over a billion dollars from schools and are working to defund them another $825.1 million this year, as well. They’ve also reduced teachers’ benefits and made their ability to collectively bargain for better wages, benefits and working conditions more difficult.

Now that they’ve done so much to make a teacher’s job so much more difficult, one Republican is ready to make their pay primarily based on student progress. Current law says that teacher pay should be using job performance and job accomplishments as a significant factor. House Bill 4625, introduced by Republican Pete Lund, would make teacher pay based primarily on these factors.

More after the jump.


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Michigan Republicans celebrate National Teacher Appreciation Week by voting to strip more school funding

By on May 8, 2013 in Education, GOPocrisy, Michigan Republicans, Taxes

Make yourself heard

As I reported yesterday, the Michigan House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure voted to eliminate the sales tax on aviation fuel. This bill is in addition to House Bill 4539 which if passed, will eliminate the sales tax on gasoline sales in our state. My piece said that this would take $770.1 million out of the School Aid Fund (SAF). However, that amount is only for the repeal of the gasoline tax. According to a statement by State Rep. Brandon Dillon, yesterday’s repeal of the aviation fuel tax will remove another $55 million . That means if both bills are passed, $825.1 million more will be taken from our kids’ schools. This represents over two-thirds of the $1.2 billion Governor Snyder has asked for for road repair.

Click through for more including details on how you can make your voice heard on this issue.


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UPDATED: Michigan Republicans aiming to carve another $770 million from schools to pay for road/bridge repairs

By on May 7, 2013 in Education, GOPocrisy, Michigan Republicans, Taxes

This is getting ridiculous

Michigan Republicans are getting ready to inflict further catastrophic damage on our state’s schools with the passage of a package of bills designed to pay for road and bridge repair, a major priority of Governor Rick Snyder. The bills say nothing about education or the School Aid Fund but the impact is there to the tune of more than $770.1 million.

Click through for all the gory details and information on how you can take action TODAY!


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America is in an abusive relationship with the House Republicans — and we can get out

By on May 4, 2013 in GOPocrisy, LOLGOP

You’ve probably heard the House Republicans are planning another useless vote to repeal ObamaCare.

This 30-somethingth display of their impotence is the kind of sabre-rattling that appeals to GOP primary voters — the only voters they care about — while wasting our precious time and money as millions of Americans struggle to find work.

Imagine if House Republicans had voted to repeal the PATRIOT ACT 33 times. Liberals would be cheering along the same way they cheered Rand Paul’s drone filibuster — before they found out that Paul was okay with American citizens being droned as long as they committed some atrocity like robbing a liquor store.…


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Mich House Speaker retaliates against Dems holding Republicans accountable for leaving No Fault ins. hearing

By on May 1, 2013 in GOPocrisy, Michigan Democrats, Michigan Republicans

Intentionally furthering the divide

Last week, Republican members of the House Insurance Committee walked out of a hearing on No Fault insurance reform to avoid having to hear testimony from victims of catastrophic accidents and their families. The disrespect shown to these citizens who had traveled to Lansing to participate in our democratic process prompted Democratic House Leader Tim Greimel to call for their replacement.

In response, House Speaker Jase Bolger, in what can only be described as a petulant and childish act, removed eight Democrats from their committee assignments for missing meetings in the past. He took no action whatsoever against Republicans, of course.

Click through for more.


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The real ‘train wreck’ is our health care system is broken and the GOP has no plan to fix it

By on May 1, 2013 in Barack Obama, GOPocrisy

ObamaCare is the best thing to happen to the middle class since Medicare — of course, the GOP wants to destroy it

Republicans have fallen in love with repeating the warning from Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) that ObamaCare could be a “train wreck.” This has given them confidence to resume to their favorite pastime: pretending to repeal ObamaCare.

It also gives them the ability to distract from the reality, the real-life, life-mangling, slow-motion disaster that occurs every day in America.

The real “train wreck” is that America has the most expensive health care system in the world yet more than 45 million are uninsured and 26,000 to 45,000 Americans die every year for lack of insurance.…


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Nothing has cost us more in debt or jobs than ‘too big to fail’ banks — and they’re bigger than ever

By on April 27, 2013 in GOPocrisy

A government of, by and for the big banks

The second hardest thing to explain to future generations — after trying to explain how George W. Bush was “elected” twice — is why we didn’t restore Glass-Steagall after the financial crisis of 2008.

For more than 50-years, this Great Depression-era reform kept our economy from inflating a massive bubble by separating commercial and investment banks. Less than eight years after its repeal, we were facing an even greater depression, until we stepped into save the big banks while asking for nothing but a little interest in return.

The biggest banks have collectively more than regained their value and any attempt to put into place actual reform was stunted by the election of Scott Brown, who helped the banks then write new legislation.…


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What’s the use of having a Constitution? Lindsey Graham won’t follow it anyway

By on April 24, 2013 in GOPocrisy

By ‘Bill of Rights’ they mean the 2nd and 10th amendments

One of the most ridiculous arguments made during the debate about background checks was, “Why pass new laws? Criminals won’t follow them anyway. Stick to legislating against those who actually listen — like gays and women.”

This isn’t an argument against a particular law — it’s an argument against the rule of law.

You might remember the “rule of law” from the Clinton impeachment era when Lindsey Graham joined Republicans in trying to remove the president over an affair. That didn’t work. And apparently the lesson Graham — who is so desperate to avoid a primary challenge that he’s considering surgery to make him resemble Joseph McCarthy — learned after 9/11 is that the Constitution just wasn’t applicable anymore.…


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