posted at Religion & Ethics Newsweekly
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/october-14-2011/simchat-torah/9713/
RABBI RAVID SHNEVER (Spiritual Leader, Kehila Chadasha and Am Kolel Jewish Renewal Center of Greater Washington): Simchat Torah means “rejoicing with the Torah.” The Torah refers to the scroll of the Torah, which contains the five books of Moses. The day of Simchat Torah is a day that was created by our sages and also by the people over time; it’s not mentioned in the Bible.
It culminates the whole season of holidays that began with Rosh Hashanah. We’re in the month of Tishrei. That’s the seventh month on the Jewish calendar.
Part of the joy of Simchat Torah is being playful with the service. We’ve been doing some pretty heavy stuff throughout the month of Tishrei, and so this is time to kind of really let go a little bit.
One of the major features of the service is the taking the scrolls out from the Aron Hakodesh, from the Ark, and we do what are called hakafot, encirclements. We circle around the room seven times. We often have flags. What we do and other congregations around the country, and also around the world, will often take their hakafot into the streets. It is celebrated in a very joyful way, and with much singing and dancing, and we’re out there in the street dancing for, oh, twenty, thirty minutes. It’s an expression of the love for our Torah, our teachings. It’s also a great way to begin the New Year.
A special feature of the holiday is that we conclude the reading of the Bible, the end of Deuteronomy, and we begin again by reading from Genesis. There’s this wonderful ceremony where we kind of link the two like a wedding, a marriage of the two, and it’s like the end of the scroll and the beginning of the scroll are being wedded, and the teaching is that learning and Torah is a continuous process. There really is no end.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Memorial Dedication Keynote Speech (B. Obama) - Oct. 16 - Summary story
Event was moved from the Anniversary of the "March on Washington (1963)" to later in the Autumn due to Hurricane Irene storm cancellations --
NY TIMES (posted online at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time) www.nytimes.com/
Speaking at the dedication of the monument to Dr. King on the National Mall, Mr. Obama, at times adopting the cadence of Dr. King, said Americans must celebrate all that the civil rights movement accomplished even as they understand that the work is not done. Standing under the new monument, the first on the mall to honor an African-American, Mr. Obama struck tones that veered from the church pulpit to the floors of the nearby Capitol.
“I know there are better days ahead,” Mr. Obama said, his voice rising. “I know this because of the man towering above me.”
At times, Mr. Obama appeared to be drawing a comparison between himself and Dr. King. Often when he spoke of Dr. King’s struggles, it was impossible not to think that he was speaking of himself.
“For every victory, there were setbacks,” Mr. Obama said. “Even after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. King was vilified by many.”
He continued, “He was even attacked by his own people, by those who felt he was going too fast and by those who felt he was going too slow.”
Mr. Obama’s speech culminated a morning — beautifully sunny and bright on the Washington Mall — during which a lion’s gallery of civil rights and black leaders stood on the podium to hail that a preacher of no rank had joined Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Franklin D. Roosevelt to be memorialized into perpetuity in the National Mall area. Thousands of people crowded the mall for the festivities, which were rescheduled after Hurricane Irene canceled the initial plans.
The memorial — a four-acre tract along the Tidal Basin that is dotted with elm and cherry trees and anchored by an imposing granite statue of Dr. King — is the result of more than two decades of work. It was originally scheduled to be dedicated in August to coincide with the 48th anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, which was delivered at the Lincoln Memorial.
The expansive three-hour ceremony included speeches by civil rights leaders like Representative John Lewis and the Rev. Jesse Jackson and songs by performers like Aretha Franklin.
People came from all over for the event. Yvonne Binis took an early morning train with her 4-year-old grandson from Linden, N.J. Ms. Binis’s mother had been part of the March on Washington, and she said she came in honor of that.
“I’m here to see what she came down for,” Ms. Binis said, carrying a large folding chair in a backpack.
Some in the crowd remembered their childhoods in the Jim Crow South. Carolyn Bledsoe, 70, recalled the shame of being turned away from a restaurant in Goldsboro, N.C., in the 1950s, because she was black. “We got very scared,” she said, sitting in a blue dress jacket and a white baseball cap, with an insignia of the memorial on it. “We thought we might be followed.”
Mr. Obama is facing stiff challenges in his bid for re-election next year, particularly as the country is grappling with a 9.1 percent unemployment rate and a global economy that is reeling.
He urged patience. “Change depends on persistence,” Mr. Obama said. “When met with hardship, when confronting disappointment, Dr. King refused to accept what he called the ‘is-ness’ of today,” Mr. Obama said. “He kept pushing towards the ‘oughtness’ of tomorrow.”
Mr. Obama said that “when we think of all the work that we must do,” including rebuilding the economy and fixing ailing schools, “we can’t be discouraged by what is; we’ve got to be pushing for what ought to be.”
The monument is not only the first to a black man on the mall and its adjoining parks but also the first to honor someone who was not a president, according to the foundation in charge of putting it up, something that has been an inspiration to many.
“I drive past the mall every day, and to see that Martin Luther King is now there with Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson and Roosevelt — that is powerful,” said Lonnie Bunch, a founding director of the National Museum of African-American History and Culture.
Dr. King’s stone figure faces the Jefferson Memorial across the water. Lincoln is at his back, and Roosevelt to his right.
The design gave form to a line from Dr. King’s “Dream” speech — “With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.” In the statue, he is emerging from a large piece of stone. Two towering granite mounds set behind him are the mountains of despair.
Mr. Bunch said that the dedication offered an opportunity to assess race relations in America.
“We are not in a post-racial America, but in an America that allows us to talk about race candidly in different ways,” he said. “Having a statue of Martin Luther King, without even saying it, lets people know that this is a different mall, this is a different America.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/17/us/memorial-of-martin-luther-king-jr-dedicated-in-washington.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all
NY TIMES (posted online at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time) www.nytimes.com/
Speaking at the dedication of the monument to Dr. King on the National Mall, Mr. Obama, at times adopting the cadence of Dr. King, said Americans must celebrate all that the civil rights movement accomplished even as they understand that the work is not done. Standing under the new monument, the first on the mall to honor an African-American, Mr. Obama struck tones that veered from the church pulpit to the floors of the nearby Capitol.
“I know there are better days ahead,” Mr. Obama said, his voice rising. “I know this because of the man towering above me.”
At times, Mr. Obama appeared to be drawing a comparison between himself and Dr. King. Often when he spoke of Dr. King’s struggles, it was impossible not to think that he was speaking of himself.
“For every victory, there were setbacks,” Mr. Obama said. “Even after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. King was vilified by many.”
He continued, “He was even attacked by his own people, by those who felt he was going too fast and by those who felt he was going too slow.”
Mr. Obama’s speech culminated a morning — beautifully sunny and bright on the Washington Mall — during which a lion’s gallery of civil rights and black leaders stood on the podium to hail that a preacher of no rank had joined Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Franklin D. Roosevelt to be memorialized into perpetuity in the National Mall area. Thousands of people crowded the mall for the festivities, which were rescheduled after Hurricane Irene canceled the initial plans.
The memorial — a four-acre tract along the Tidal Basin that is dotted with elm and cherry trees and anchored by an imposing granite statue of Dr. King — is the result of more than two decades of work. It was originally scheduled to be dedicated in August to coincide with the 48th anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, which was delivered at the Lincoln Memorial.
The expansive three-hour ceremony included speeches by civil rights leaders like Representative John Lewis and the Rev. Jesse Jackson and songs by performers like Aretha Franklin.
People came from all over for the event. Yvonne Binis took an early morning train with her 4-year-old grandson from Linden, N.J. Ms. Binis’s mother had been part of the March on Washington, and she said she came in honor of that.
“I’m here to see what she came down for,” Ms. Binis said, carrying a large folding chair in a backpack.
Some in the crowd remembered their childhoods in the Jim Crow South. Carolyn Bledsoe, 70, recalled the shame of being turned away from a restaurant in Goldsboro, N.C., in the 1950s, because she was black. “We got very scared,” she said, sitting in a blue dress jacket and a white baseball cap, with an insignia of the memorial on it. “We thought we might be followed.”
Mr. Obama is facing stiff challenges in his bid for re-election next year, particularly as the country is grappling with a 9.1 percent unemployment rate and a global economy that is reeling.
He urged patience. “Change depends on persistence,” Mr. Obama said. “When met with hardship, when confronting disappointment, Dr. King refused to accept what he called the ‘is-ness’ of today,” Mr. Obama said. “He kept pushing towards the ‘oughtness’ of tomorrow.”
Mr. Obama said that “when we think of all the work that we must do,” including rebuilding the economy and fixing ailing schools, “we can’t be discouraged by what is; we’ve got to be pushing for what ought to be.”
The monument is not only the first to a black man on the mall and its adjoining parks but also the first to honor someone who was not a president, according to the foundation in charge of putting it up, something that has been an inspiration to many.
“I drive past the mall every day, and to see that Martin Luther King is now there with Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson and Roosevelt — that is powerful,” said Lonnie Bunch, a founding director of the National Museum of African-American History and Culture.
Dr. King’s stone figure faces the Jefferson Memorial across the water. Lincoln is at his back, and Roosevelt to his right.
The design gave form to a line from Dr. King’s “Dream” speech — “With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.” In the statue, he is emerging from a large piece of stone. Two towering granite mounds set behind him are the mountains of despair.
Mr. Bunch said that the dedication offered an opportunity to assess race relations in America.
“We are not in a post-racial America, but in an America that allows us to talk about race candidly in different ways,” he said. “Having a statue of Martin Luther King, without even saying it, lets people know that this is a different mall, this is a different America.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/17/us/memorial-of-martin-luther-king-jr-dedicated-in-washington.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all
Author of 9-9-9 plan? -- Rich Lowrie, stockbroker NOT an economist (Plain Dealer coverage) - Cleveland, OH area
from PLAIN DEALER dot-com (Cleveland Daily Newspaper):
Overnight, Cleveland-area moneyman Richard Lowrie became America's most famous financial planner.
Tuesday evening, in a nationally televised debate, Republican presidential contender Herman Cain cited Lowrie as an architect of his "9-9-9" tax reform plan. The idea, with its straightforward name and concept, has helped propel Cain, a Georgia businessman and former chief executive of the Godfather's Pizza chain, to the top tier of a crowded primary field.
"One of my experts that helped me to develop this is a gentleman by the name of Rich Lowrie out of Cleveland, Ohio," Cain said in response to a question about his economic advisers. "He is an economist, and he has worked in the business of wealth creation most of his career."
So who is Rich Lowrie? The Gates Mills resident has a bachelor's degree in accountancy from Cleveland's Case Western Reserve University. He is a wealth-management consultant and a managing director at a Wells Fargo branch in Pepper Pike. He is a licensed stockbroker.
What he's not is an economist, at least according to his public profiles on LinkedIn and Twitter. For most of the national media hungry for more information about this mysterious member of Cain's inner circle, those two social networks have been the only sources of information.
Even in Cleveland, Lowrie's name rang few bells among industry insiders, one of whom thought Cain was name-checking Rich Lowry, editor of the conservative National Review.
Tuesday's debate was not Lowrie's first mention; Cain gave him a shout-out last month on "Fox News Sunday." But because Cain, buoyed by the buzz of 9-9-9, is the latest conservative to be hyped as an alternative to GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney, scrutiny of his plan has intensified.
The 9-9-9 plan would replace the existing tax system with a 9 percent national sales tax and 9 percent flat taxes on businesses and personal income. Some experts believe the approach would amount to a tax increase on low-income citizens, and Cain has been sparse with specifics.
Though Cain has said he has more familiar advisers, he has declined to identify them. And despite tapping out several Tweets during his prime-time introduction Tuesday, Lowrie, who was traveling with the campaign, was mostly quiet Wednesday. He offered some 9-9-9 figures to Bloomberg News, which hosted the debate, but did not return The Plain Dealer's calls or emails.
The relative silence leaves no shortage of curiosity surrounding Lowrie.
"When you're running for president," said Pepper Pike economist Ken Mayland of ClearView Economics, "you're going to have to have a serious talk about the economy and someone who is a heavyweight with good resources behind them to tell you what the plan is."
Does a financial planner fit that bill? "Probably not," Mayland said.
Lowrie's Wells Fargo branch sits on the second floor of a brick, three-story office building on Chagrin Boulevard, just inside suburban Pepper Pike and far from downtown Cleveland's financial institutions. On Wednesday, an inviting bowl of Halloween candy greeted visitors in the lobby, but Lowrie, who had been in New Hampshire for the debate, was nowhere to be found.
Nearly 50 financial advisers work out of the office, said Robert Marquardt, a senior vice president. One in particular was responsible for the deluge of requests office employees fielded from national media. But Wells Fargo, Marquardt stressed, is not involved with Cain's campaign. Reporters were referred to a Cain spokesman, who did not return The Plain Dealer's call.
"I've known Rich a while," Marquardt said. "He's a good guy."
Public reports collected on licensed stockbrokers show Lowrie has been with Wells Fargo since March 2008. He also has worked locally at UBS Financial Services and McDonald Investments. His record is clear of sanctions, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce.
According to his LinkedIn page, Lowrie is on the board at Ginn Academy, an all-boys public high school in Cleveland. The principal there did not return a telephone call Wednesday. Lowrie also has served on the advisory board for Americans for Prosperity, a conservative advocacy group.
It was the latter role that helped pave his entry to the Cain campaign.
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/10/debate_shout-out_brings_nation.html
Overnight, Cleveland-area moneyman Richard Lowrie became America's most famous financial planner.
Tuesday evening, in a nationally televised debate, Republican presidential contender Herman Cain cited Lowrie as an architect of his "9-9-9" tax reform plan. The idea, with its straightforward name and concept, has helped propel Cain, a Georgia businessman and former chief executive of the Godfather's Pizza chain, to the top tier of a crowded primary field.
"One of my experts that helped me to develop this is a gentleman by the name of Rich Lowrie out of Cleveland, Ohio," Cain said in response to a question about his economic advisers. "He is an economist, and he has worked in the business of wealth creation most of his career."
So who is Rich Lowrie? The Gates Mills resident has a bachelor's degree in accountancy from Cleveland's Case Western Reserve University. He is a wealth-management consultant and a managing director at a Wells Fargo branch in Pepper Pike. He is a licensed stockbroker.
What he's not is an economist, at least according to his public profiles on LinkedIn and Twitter. For most of the national media hungry for more information about this mysterious member of Cain's inner circle, those two social networks have been the only sources of information.
Even in Cleveland, Lowrie's name rang few bells among industry insiders, one of whom thought Cain was name-checking Rich Lowry, editor of the conservative National Review.
Tuesday's debate was not Lowrie's first mention; Cain gave him a shout-out last month on "Fox News Sunday." But because Cain, buoyed by the buzz of 9-9-9, is the latest conservative to be hyped as an alternative to GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney, scrutiny of his plan has intensified.
The 9-9-9 plan would replace the existing tax system with a 9 percent national sales tax and 9 percent flat taxes on businesses and personal income. Some experts believe the approach would amount to a tax increase on low-income citizens, and Cain has been sparse with specifics.
Though Cain has said he has more familiar advisers, he has declined to identify them. And despite tapping out several Tweets during his prime-time introduction Tuesday, Lowrie, who was traveling with the campaign, was mostly quiet Wednesday. He offered some 9-9-9 figures to Bloomberg News, which hosted the debate, but did not return The Plain Dealer's calls or emails.
The relative silence leaves no shortage of curiosity surrounding Lowrie.
"When you're running for president," said Pepper Pike economist Ken Mayland of ClearView Economics, "you're going to have to have a serious talk about the economy and someone who is a heavyweight with good resources behind them to tell you what the plan is."
Does a financial planner fit that bill? "Probably not," Mayland said.
Lowrie's Wells Fargo branch sits on the second floor of a brick, three-story office building on Chagrin Boulevard, just inside suburban Pepper Pike and far from downtown Cleveland's financial institutions. On Wednesday, an inviting bowl of Halloween candy greeted visitors in the lobby, but Lowrie, who had been in New Hampshire for the debate, was nowhere to be found.
Nearly 50 financial advisers work out of the office, said Robert Marquardt, a senior vice president. One in particular was responsible for the deluge of requests office employees fielded from national media. But Wells Fargo, Marquardt stressed, is not involved with Cain's campaign. Reporters were referred to a Cain spokesman, who did not return The Plain Dealer's call.
"I've known Rich a while," Marquardt said. "He's a good guy."
Public reports collected on licensed stockbrokers show Lowrie has been with Wells Fargo since March 2008. He also has worked locally at UBS Financial Services and McDonald Investments. His record is clear of sanctions, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce.
According to his LinkedIn page, Lowrie is on the board at Ginn Academy, an all-boys public high school in Cleveland. The principal there did not return a telephone call Wednesday. Lowrie also has served on the advisory board for Americans for Prosperity, a conservative advocacy group.
It was the latter role that helped pave his entry to the Cain campaign.
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/10/debate_shout-out_brings_nation.html
Grand Rapids Press Sports Columnist on ALCS Game 6 shellacking of Detroit Tigers
from Michigan Live -- www.mlive.com/ -- David Mayo, sportswriter
What a cataclysmic disappointment. A season of such high promise, 95 regular-season victories, a runaway division championship, a playoff series victory against the mighty New York Yankees, and almost nothing to portend the disastrous ending here Saturday night, when the Texas Rangers shellacked the Tigers in a humiliating 15-5 blowout that ended the American League Championship Series in six games.
The Rangers outpitched and outhit -- make that outclobbered -- the Tigers. They had stretches during the series when key parts of their lineup didn’t deliver, and the Tigers took advantage during those periods.
Only Nelson Cruz, whose name forever will be vilified in Detroit, was immune to the offensive doldrums. He collected six home runs and 13 RBIs in this ALCS -- both all-time records for any postseason series -- and the homer he hit long after Game 6 was out of reach was the only anticlimactic one for the series MVP.
But when the rest of the Rangers put their offense together, as proved Saturday night, they were lethal.
For them, the reward is a second consecutive berth in the World Series, beginning Wednesday at the National League city, whether St. Louis or Milwaukee.
http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2011/10/detroit_tigers_stellar_season.html
What a cataclysmic disappointment. A season of such high promise, 95 regular-season victories, a runaway division championship, a playoff series victory against the mighty New York Yankees, and almost nothing to portend the disastrous ending here Saturday night, when the Texas Rangers shellacked the Tigers in a humiliating 15-5 blowout that ended the American League Championship Series in six games.
The Rangers outpitched and outhit -- make that outclobbered -- the Tigers. They had stretches during the series when key parts of their lineup didn’t deliver, and the Tigers took advantage during those periods.
Only Nelson Cruz, whose name forever will be vilified in Detroit, was immune to the offensive doldrums. He collected six home runs and 13 RBIs in this ALCS -- both all-time records for any postseason series -- and the homer he hit long after Game 6 was out of reach was the only anticlimactic one for the series MVP.
But when the rest of the Rangers put their offense together, as proved Saturday night, they were lethal.
For them, the reward is a second consecutive berth in the World Series, beginning Wednesday at the National League city, whether St. Louis or Milwaukee.
http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2011/10/detroit_tigers_stellar_season.html
Memorial Dedication (reboot from August 28) -- Mall at Washington, D.C.
Sunday October 16 -- AP coverage
Thousands of people have gathered at dawn to give the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial a proper dedication after its opening in August.
Some started lining up at 5 a.m. Eastern Time and even earlier Sunday morning.
Aretha Franklin, poet Nikki Giovanni and President Barack Obama will be among those honoring the legacy of the nation's foremost civil rights leader.
King's sister and two of his children are scheduled to speak. The choir from King's historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta will sing.
Giovanni will read her poem "In the Spirit of Martin," and Franklin will sing.
Thousands of people have gathered at dawn to give the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial a proper dedication after its opening in August.
Some started lining up at 5 a.m. Eastern Time and even earlier Sunday morning.
Aretha Franklin, poet Nikki Giovanni and President Barack Obama will be among those honoring the legacy of the nation's foremost civil rights leader.
Organizers anticipate as many as 50,000 people will attend. An earlier ceremony planned for August had to be postponed because of Hurricane Irene. More than 250,000 were expected for that event.
King's sister and two of his children are scheduled to speak. The choir from King's historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta will sing.
Giovanni will read her poem "In the Spirit of Martin," and Franklin will sing.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Sukkot (Jewish festival Oct. 13 - 19) 2011
from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly -- PBS program website
Sukkot (Judaism)
The Festival of Sukkot, also known as Feast of the Tabernacles, begins on Tishri, the 5th day after Yom Kippur (October 8 this year). The word Sukkot refers to temporary dwelling places or huts, and the holiday commemorates the forty-year period in which the children of Israel wandered the wilderness, living in temporary huts for protection. In some practices, temporary huts are constructed which must have ceilings made of organic material, and all eating, praying, and sleeping must take place here for the duration of the holiday. As a Jewish biblical pilgrimage festival, Sukkot is one of three holidays during which Jews historically traveled to the Temple in Jerusalem.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/multifaith-calendar/
Sukkot (Judaism)
The Festival of Sukkot, also known as Feast of the Tabernacles, begins on Tishri, the 5th day after Yom Kippur (October 8 this year). The word Sukkot refers to temporary dwelling places or huts, and the holiday commemorates the forty-year period in which the children of Israel wandered the wilderness, living in temporary huts for protection. In some practices, temporary huts are constructed which must have ceilings made of organic material, and all eating, praying, and sleeping must take place here for the duration of the holiday. As a Jewish biblical pilgrimage festival, Sukkot is one of three holidays during which Jews historically traveled to the Temple in Jerusalem.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/multifaith-calendar/
Gov. Snyder's new "Detroit - Canada" Bridge -- will it proceed?
from M - Live dot-com
Senate Democrats have decided to band together and will vote for Gov. Rick Snyder's new Detroit-Canada bridge -- but there's a big if.
MIRS reports that the 12 Democrats -- whose votes are critical on the project that's been called a lot of things (some not suitable for print), including the New International Trade Crossing (NITC) -- will vote "yes" if they make sure folks living in the Detroit neighborhood affected by the new bridge are compensated. That's known as community benefits.
If there's a deal, there are probably enough votes to get the NITC bills out of the Senate Economic Development Committee and probably through the full Senate.
If Democrats don't win community benefits, Snyder can probably kiss the bridge goodbye. Scrounging up six GOP votes on the bridge is definitely doable, but they will not have come easy.
Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) spent months showing senators how many jobs would be created in their district thanks to a deal with the Canadians and the feds. The Canadians give us $550 million and the feds say that's good to meeting our match for federal highway funds. That means lots of infrastructure projects across the state.
But getting 19 GOP votes will be just about impossible. Not with Matty Moroun, owner of the private Ambassador Bridge opposing the NITC, being so generous with both money and erroneous information.
The bridge is far from a done deal even if it clears the Senate, as it still has to get through the House. On Friday, House Speaker Jase Bolger ripped Snyder's plan to WJR:
"We hear the concerns from our constituents and we share those concerns that Michigan taxpayers are not on the hook -- not on the hook to subsidize the operation and not on the hook for any long-term debt. The Governor's proposal does not include that. The obligation then of the Legislature -- if it's going to approve that -- is to make sure that does not happen."
But Bolger's spokesman quickly asserted Friday night that the speaker "misspoke" and he believes the "governor's bridge proposal does shield taxpayers and the Legislature needs to make sure those protections stay in there."
(Article by Susan J. Demas, Contributor to Michigan LIVE) - October 15, 2011; posted 1:20 p.m. Eastern Time Zone
Senate Democrats have decided to band together and will vote for Gov. Rick Snyder's new Detroit-Canada bridge -- but there's a big if.
MIRS reports that the 12 Democrats -- whose votes are critical on the project that's been called a lot of things (some not suitable for print), including the New International Trade Crossing (NITC) -- will vote "yes" if they make sure folks living in the Detroit neighborhood affected by the new bridge are compensated. That's known as community benefits.
If there's a deal, there are probably enough votes to get the NITC bills out of the Senate Economic Development Committee and probably through the full Senate.
If Democrats don't win community benefits, Snyder can probably kiss the bridge goodbye. Scrounging up six GOP votes on the bridge is definitely doable, but they will not have come easy.
Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) spent months showing senators how many jobs would be created in their district thanks to a deal with the Canadians and the feds. The Canadians give us $550 million and the feds say that's good to meeting our match for federal highway funds. That means lots of infrastructure projects across the state.
But getting 19 GOP votes will be just about impossible. Not with Matty Moroun, owner of the private Ambassador Bridge opposing the NITC, being so generous with both money and erroneous information.
The bridge is far from a done deal even if it clears the Senate, as it still has to get through the House. On Friday, House Speaker Jase Bolger ripped Snyder's plan to WJR:
"We hear the concerns from our constituents and we share those concerns that Michigan taxpayers are not on the hook -- not on the hook to subsidize the operation and not on the hook for any long-term debt. The Governor's proposal does not include that. The obligation then of the Legislature -- if it's going to approve that -- is to make sure that does not happen."
But Bolger's spokesman quickly asserted Friday night that the speaker "misspoke" and he believes the "governor's bridge proposal does shield taxpayers and the Legislature needs to make sure those protections stay in there."
(Article by Susan J. Demas, Contributor to Michigan LIVE) - October 15, 2011; posted 1:20 p.m. Eastern Time Zone
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