response to our “act dingell” campaign

By Mark | October 24, 2007

Does anyone out there have access to today’s “Ann Arbor News”? I just received the following note from Cousin’s Vinyl and I’m curious to find out more:

Did you happen to see the Ann Arbor News letters sections today? Some guy kinda rips on you and says your positioning on Dingell is a little off. It was kind of funny. Just wanted to give you the heads up…

If you have a copy, can you send me a scan, or at least just give me the highlights? I’m not surprised that someone from the Dingell camp responded to our campaign, but I am surprised that it took this long, and I’m curious to hear their spin.

Speaking of our petition drive, someone left another good comment for the Congressman today. Here it is:

It’s real, humans are polluting the air and those who are mostly responsible should be encouraged to be in front fighting pollution and diminishing the damage it has done and is doing to the environment. Our congress people should lead the fight and John Dingell should set an example. I am about his age and I voted for Adlai Stevenson in 1956; I remember he was already aware of the potential harm pollution can do to our health. Now in 2007 let’s insist that clean air is a must for our progeny. Let’s get to work seriously on this matter. Thanks for everything, I know you are a good man, but be a little more independent of the Big 3. -Otto Sellinger

As for Dingell, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that he just introduced legislation to bring all American troops back from Iraq by the time our next President is sworn in. If you get a chance, thank him. It was a bold, courageous move that he took alone, and he deserves our praise… And congratulations to the folks as Michigan PeaceWorks who, for the past several years, have been waging a coordinated campaign to have Dingell do just this. It gives me hope that maybe, just maybe, our effort to get him to rethink his global warming strategy might actually lead to something. (Of course all of this is based on the presumption that this isn’t just another case of the disingenuous John Dingell floating legislation, without investing any political capital to see it pushed though Congress, just to appease a vocal voting block. I’m trying to stay optimistic though and give him the benefit of the doubt.)

Posted in Media | 4 Comments

ypsivotes asks their questions on the city income tax

By Mark | October 24, 2007

No word back from either of the camps yet, but the final YpsiVotes questions went out to both sides today at noon. There are difficult questions, but I think that folks on both sides would agree that they’re fair. Here’s the list. You can decide for yourself… Thanks to everyone who contributed questions. As you’ll notice, we didn’t hit on everything, but I believe we were able to get most of the big issues in, and do it in such a way that questions were applicable to both sides. Assuming both groups reply with their answers by Friday, the results will be in the November 1 issue of the “Courier.”

Q1: Michigan’s older, developed cities are struggling due to decreasing State revenue sharing and the affects of the Headlee Amendment, yet Ypsilanti is the only city currently proposing an income tax. Why?

Q2: It’s been reported that, since 2000, income collected by the city of Ypsilanti has been increasing at a rate of 1.6% annually, while expenses have been growing at a rate of 2.6%. The gap between the two is widening, and, according to current law, we have to pass a balanced budget. Even with an increase in revenue, it’s still inevitable that deep cuts will need to be made if the tax does not pass. What programs and services would you recommend be cut? Please be specific.

Q3: How will the tax passing or failing impact the Water Street development, on which so much of our future is riding? Are there studies that show how similar taxes, like those passed previously in 22 Michigan cities, have impacted home sales, property values, new development, etc?

Q4: Do tax-exempt institutions like Eastern Michigan University, the City’s largest employer of non-Ypsi residents, have an obligation to help contribute to the cost of providing City services from which they benefit? If so, is there any way other than an income tax for the City to be equitably compensated?

Q5: If the tax passes, projections suggest that by 2013 expenses will again outstrip income. What can be done between now and then to better prepare Ypsilanti for the fiscal challenges that may be waiting?

Q6: Does this tax, given the fact that it’s being coupled with a 2mil rollback on property taxes, disproportionally impact renters and the poor?

Q7: Win or lose, what will you do to bring our community back together after this election?

Once we get back the responses from both sides, the plan is to share them with the opposing group, and allow them a chance to respond. They won’t be able to go back and change their already submitted answers based upon the responses given by the other side, but they will have an opportunity to address issues raised by the opposing side in this concluding statement.

Posted in Ypsilanti | 5 Comments

how to use a sunlight foundation grant in michigan’s 15th

By Mark | October 23, 2007

I don’t have the time to take it on right now, but I’ve just been informed that the Sunlight Foundation is offering mini-grants to individuals and organizations looking to increase government transparency, etc. Here’s how they describe the program:

The Sunlight Foundation is offering “mini-grants” of $1,000 to $5,000 to fund original ideas, tools, Web sites and bloggers. The work of any recipient should be focused on creating a better, more democratic and dynamic relationship between members of Congress and the citizens they represent. We encourage applications from existing small local nonprofits and Web sites, from offshoots of national groups, from individuals and from informal groups of citizens.

Applications for mini-grants will be judged on how closely they fit with Sunlight’s mission of using technology to enable citizens to learn more about Congress and its activities in order to reduce corruption and ensure greater transparency in government. Projects will also be judged on their creativity, their likelihood of success and their ability to grow or be replicated. As a rule, we do not award grants for salaries or general overhead expenses, but do for technology upgrades. Grants are available to augment existing projects or to jumpstart new ones…

I’m thinking that the local blogosphere could use something like a DingellWatch site where several community reporters, like myself, could post information about our Congressman, his positions, etc. I just checked and DingellWatch.org is available if someone out there wants to put the effort in. I’d be happy to cover him on global warming… And I’m not kidding. I think something like this would be an incredibly useful and powerful tool. I’d love to have one RSS-enabled resource where I could track my member of Congress and exchange thoughts with other constituents. Michigan’s 15th district, from what I can tell, is incredibly dysfunctional. People here in Ypsi don’t know what people in Monroe are up to, and people in Dearborn don’t have any idea what’s going on in Ann Arbor. A site like the one I’m envisioning would draw all of those people together into one online community where they could share ideas, build coalitions, etc… Think about it… You know you want that $5k.

Posted in Special Projects | 4 Comments

oil, past its peak

By Mark | October 23, 2007

According to a new study by the Energy Watch Group, we may have already passed the point of peak oil. Here’s a clip from an article in the “Guardian”:

…World oil production has already peaked and will fall by half as soon as 2030, according to a report which also warns that extreme shortages of fossil fuels will lead to wars and social breakdown.

The German-based Energy Watch Group will release its study in London today saying that global oil production peaked in 2006 – much earlier than most experts had expected. The report, which predicts that production will now fall by 7% a year, comes after oil prices set new records almost every day last week, on Friday hitting more than $90 (

Posted in Global Warming | Leave a comment

the smartest girl ever on “america’s next top model”

By Mark | October 23, 2007

I’m supposed to be paying attention to someone speaking in a meeting right now, but, instead, I’m surfing around the net, catching up on America’s Next Top Model gossip. This season isn’t shaping up too good, but I need a distraction, and this is the best mindless nonsense that broadcast TV has to offer. So, here I am in this community meeting, reading Victoria’s take on being voted off, trying to look all serious, like I’m researching tax code… According to Victoria, at one point during the judging, she took off her shoes and Tyra, thinking that she was about to be attacked with them, summoned her bodyguards out to protect her from the 110-pound Yale history student. Oh, yeah, and Victoria also claims to have found a packet of information one day during filming that contained the producers’ notes about all of the girls this season. She claims that, according to the notes, they felt she would be difficult to manipulate because she was the smartest girl to ever appear on the show… OK, I’m going to start paying attention again.

Posted in Pop Culture | 8 Comments