It's been tough week for the city of Detroit. The city has a $327 million deficit and owes $14 billion, says the Detroit Free Press. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said in March that he would appoint a emergency manager to oversee city finances. Detroit's City Council had 10 days to file an appeal, which they did, says The Detroit News. Then Thursday, the governor announced that Kevyn Orr, a Washington, D.C., attorney who handled Chrysler's bankruptcy, would take charge. Emergency management is a touchy subject in the Motor City; the appointment caused some local residents to protest a controller who will take over the city reins from elected officials.

To express frustration and draw attention to state-appointed emergency management, the otherwise peaceful protesters planned traffic jams that were organized in the city this week, says WWJ CBS Detroit. WWJ's Chopper 950, flying over the city on Monday, noted three cars on major highways crawling along (driving under 5 miles per hour). This caused traffic to back up. Slowdowns were staged on I-75, I-94, and the Lodge Freeway. One participant dubbed it a "freedom flash mob."

Meantime, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, is continuing to offer support to an emergency financial manager, whoever that may be.

The mayor posted on Twitter Monday morning, “An emergency manager can’t come in here and run this city without the help and support of teammates, I’ll be a teammate. My executive staff will be a teammate. What we need to figure out is not fighting the person but how do we get along to make wins for the citizens in the city of Detroit.”

Other demonstrations occurred at Detroit's City Hall and at the attorney general's office downtown in connection with the governor's EM announcement. Protesters have vowed to continue their efforts, and have a federal lawsuit prepared.

Further fueling protesters concerns, a report on Saturday evening revealed that the newly appointed emergency manager Kevyn Orr has tax liens placed on his $4 million Maryland home. Full details here.

Video and transcript via BillMoyers.com.

The Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel and Jamie Raskin, constitutional law professor and Maryland state senator, join Bill to discuss how the uncontested power of the Supreme Court is changing our elections, our country, and our lives.

“We wanted to bring attention to how this court has empowered the 1% at the expense of the 99%,” says vanden Heuvel. “How it is now working for big business, for corporate power against the interests of ordinary citizens in this country.”

A full transcript of the discussion follows below the fold.

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From April 2, 2012 – In the first-ever demonstration of its kind in Annapolis, about 500 Marylanders joined hands Monday to form a "circle of support" around the Maryland State House in a hopeful call for final passage of the state's Offshore Wind Energy Act (HB 441/ SB 237). Equipped with eco-friendly glow-in-the-dark miniature wind turbines, hand-made banners and signs, and wearing electric blue t-shirts, citizens gathered at the State House to call on lawmakers to move the bill out of the Senate this week after the House voted 88-47 for the measure on March 30th. The bill s now being considered by the Senate Finance Committee, with a final vote expected by April 9th.

Governor Martin O’Malley (D), who sponsored the bill and has fought tirelessly for it, addressed the crowd and encouraged the General Assembly to pass it immediately. The bill would lead to construction of a 200 megawatt wind farm ten miles off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland. Other speakers included members of the General Assembly, a Prince George’s County small business owner, a registered nurse, a student from Johns Hopkins University, and a Prince George’s County pastor.

Advocates then formed a symbolic, glowing, uplifting circle around the State House, creating a dramatic vision for clean energy. Neither activists nor lawmakers can remember a time when the State House has been encircled in such a way.

Via:

After last year’s unsuccessful effort to get a bill through the legislature, O’Malley returned this year with a bill that would cap the average monthly cost to residents at $2. But in negotiations with lawmakers, the administration agreed to lower the monthly subsidy charged to residential customers to $1.50, while the fee on nonresidential users was lowered by 40 percent, to 1.5 percent of their electrical bill.

The smaller subsidy could support a 200-megawatt wind farm of about 40 turbines, administration officials said — less than half of what O’Malley sought when he first introduced the idea before last year’s session.

This event was organized by Marylanders for Offshore Wind. http://www.marylandoffshorewind.org/

More photos of the event online here.