MICHIGAN POLICY SUMMIT (LIVE BLOGGING)

Hello, from beautiful downtown Lansing (go Wings!).  

This morning I will be live blogging from the Michigan Policy Summit.

Most kossacks know me as a New Yorker, but I am originally from Mitten State (Oakland County).  So, I am thrilled to be here, today--mixing it up with local bloggers.

Among other things, I will have a chance to talk to Sen. Carl Levin, who is very interested in blogging.  So if you have any questions, post them to the comment thread.

Live blogging starts after the break (follow me...).

9:36am:
Carl Levin takes the podium.  "The progressive community in this state is growing...."

Levin is spending some time talking about McCain's view on Bush's tax cuts.  McCain favors making the Bush tax cuts permanent, has 'flip-flopped' on this issue.  The Democratic candidate "whoever that is" (his words, not mine) will oppose those tax cuts.

Levin now says that the "only thing we can do to end the war is to elect a Democrat" to the White House.   Some in the room appear to think there's a smidge more we can do (as a voice from the back 'reminded' the Senator with a firm, but polite shout out), but the room gave him a big round of applause for that.  

Levin thanks the room and leaves the stage. (More on Levin in a bit--an incredibly personable and approachable Senator who is thinking about blogging very actively these days).

Amy Goodman is being introduced--the keynote speaker.  Hurray!!

9:49am:
Amy Goodman gives a shout out to bloggers and independent media, as she begins her talk.

Amy got her start at Pacifica Radio (I did not know that).  When Pacifica went on the air in Houston, the KKK blew up the transmitter--political violence on the right.

"When you hear people describing their own experience....when people speak for themselves, it breaks down the stereotypes and hate-groups that fuel the KKK.  We need a media that fuels the building of bridges between communities, not advocates the bombing of bridges."

Amen.

9:53am:
Moves to talking about the mainstream media push for war leading up to the Iraq invasion.

393 interviews done around war on the major networks--3 with anti-war leaders.

"That is no longer a mainstream media.  That is an extremist media beating the drums for war."

"Those who are opposed to war, opposed to torture, are not a fringe minority...they are a silenced majority."

"Don't forget, these networks are not leasing private property, but a national treasure."

"If they are not bringing out the full diversity of opinion, they should have their licenses revoked."

"We have to challenge the corporate media."

(Amy Goodman rocks--'nuf said.)

10:00am:
"What is the cost of this war?"

"The $3 Trillion War."

Goodman is explaining that the cost estimate for the war is an understatement--a massive understatement--because it fails to take into account the cost to the economy, to families of veterans, the future of communities that served.

"We have to think about this very seriously when we talk about the cost of war."

She is recounting her experience at the recent Winter Soldier event.  

An aside, here:  Goodman's incredible strength as a speaker comes from the way she weaves in the voices of ordinary Americans, in this case the family of a veteran who committed  suicide.

Suicides amongst vets just returned from Iraq are not included in the casualty numbers--they are not even acknowledged. A silenced epidemic.

Devastating.

Goodman is reading testimonies from soldiers talking about their experience of killing and arresting Iraqis.  

(What a world this would be if this kind of testimony ever made it on the nightly news...)

10:10am:
Back in a bit...

11:15am:
Wow!  Great session with Carl Levin.  First the one question I got to his staffer:  New energy jobs.

Levin will be giving a major speech this week on gas prices.   Up to this point, they are looking at ways to talk up the green economy and get it to Michigan in a big way.  So far...that is not yet on the top of their agenda.  Hopefully, the first step will be to mention it in this week's speech--a  natural fit.  Stay tuned. (hope that helps...)

Expect to see Levin on Michigan blogs and some national blogs  in the period leading up to November.  He's interested in wading into our world and--most importantly--learning from us how it works.

11:22am:
Sitting next to Emptywheel (for all who want to give a shout out!).

We are currently waiting for Amy Goodman and Jim Hightower to mix it up with the netroots.

11:42am:
Here's Jim!

11:45am:
Some Q & A with Hightower.  Calls himself the 'fist blogger' (works for me...).

11:50am:
Amy Goodman!

Amy is emphasizing the importance of covering soldiers against the war--enlisted men and commissioned officers who have refused orders or who have petitioned Congress.

The media has not covered these voices.  A crucial issue, here.  What Goodman does consistently is take the discussion of a 'failed media' beyond the level of critique to a more productive idea of rebuilding independent media.

The topic Goodman steers us into, in other words, is the corrupted nature of the free press, and the importance of restoring the Jeffersonian vision--a democracy that only functions when the free press is actually working.

Goodman makes clear that the opposite of the free press is a 'corporate media' that speaks in a monolithic voice, rather than an independent media that covers the full diversity of voices--a clear definition that is often missing in these discussions.  

12:02pm:
"We must look at how a select few makes so much off so many..."

Talking about the number of Americans on food stamps.  

"Trickle up journalism.' (use that phrase!)