State Rep. Dave Agema (R-Grandville) says reports that he called Quran-burning Pastor Terry Jones’ church to ask to participate in a rally last week at the Capitol are wrong.

“He (James Terpening) called me and asked if I wanted to talk about the bill,” Agema said.

Agema was slated to discuss his bill to prohibit Michigan courts from recognizing any foreign law that conflicts with the constitution. While Agema claims the law is not targeting Shariah law, he uses Shariah as an example when he speaks of the legislation.

Agema said that he was unaware of his scheduling conflict until Tuesday afternoon while he was at a Habitat for Humanities event. Staff from his office called him when inquiries about his appearance with Jones started coming in. Agema called Terpening and left the voice mail Terpening posted on his website.

Agema said had he not had the scheduling conflict he would have appeared on the steps with the controversial pastor.

“I’d have only talked about my bill,” the Republican lawmaker said. “I would not be there to talk about his agenda.”

Terpening and Jones contended last week that Agema had called Jones’ Florida church and asked if he could speak at Jones’ rally.

Terpening arranged the rally with Jones last week as part of the launch of a new project to get voters to reject all incumbents. The 34-year-old has a checkered history, including criminal convictions dating back to 1997, the Michigan Department of Corrections Offender Database reports. Among his convictions are charges for uttering and publishing, embezzlement and fleeing a police officer.

LANSING — Thousands of Michiganders gathered on the East lawn of the Michigan Capitol Wednesday to protest Republican legislative proposals that, in their view, undermine labor rights and budget proposals that balance the state’s budget on the backs of seniors and the poor.

“I am here because the Blue Green Alliance is an important player in mobilizing the environmental and labor communities to develop the clean energy agenda,” said former Congressman Mark Schauer, who now runs the Blue Green Alliance. “Those jobs will help us compete in the global competition for jobs — and it is global. We don’t win that competition by cutting education.”

Capitol Committee officials say the crowd was between 4,500 to 5,000 people, but organizers told the crowd the number was 10,000.

“Gov. Snyder said he wanted shared sacrifice,” said Sen. Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing). “But it is clear once again that he and the GOP leaders are falling back on picking the same old winners and losers they have always relied on.”

Snyder’s budget has been assailed by a broad coalition of groups because of plans to eliminate the Earned Income Tax Credit and to start taxing pension incomes for seniors. The budget also eliminates the Michigan Business Tax and its dreaded 22 percent surcharge and replaces it with a flat six percent business tax. That move results in furthering the budget deficit the legislature has to overcome to nearly $3 billion.

Robert Quackenbush, 68, says he dedicated 51 years of his life to working, including 35 years in a foundry in Saginaw. He did that, he said, so he could get a modest retirement pension.

“I earned what I got,” he said. “I don’t like the idea of some one trying to take it away.”

Terry Miller, 67, chimed in on the conversation at this point. “That’s what we put our time in for. So we could retire and enjoy it.”

Miller is a retired UAW worker from Flint.

“The middle class came with the union and it will go away with the union,” Miller said.

“This is the worst it’s ever been in my lifetime,” said Quackenbush, commenting on legislation unions say will undermine organized labor’s collective bargaining power.

Snyder’s former Democratic rival, Virg Bernero, deliver an impassioned populist speech to the crowd.

“It’s not the money changers on Wall Street that make America work. It’s not the big banks that make America work. It’s you,” Bernero roared at the raucous crowd.

Bernero took a swipe at the GOP, claiming they were rehashing trickle down economic theory that, he said, had proven to be a failure. Growing the economy, he argued, starts with the workers, not the rich.

“If you take care of the grass roots…good things will grow up!”

The grand marshal of the march will be county superstar Chely Wright, who came out of the closet recently as a lesbian.

The march will line up at Lou Adado Riverfront Park on Grand Avenue, and march through Downtown Lansing to the Capitol. There march attendees will hear speeches from the Capitol by LGBT leaders and politicians.

Following the march and rally, the annual Commitment Ceremony will take place on the steps of the Capitol. Last year, dozens of couples took vows at the ceremony.

Once that is over, participants will mosey over to Buchard Park in Old Town Lansing for a festival featuring live performances by Chely Wright, Byron Tha Nightmare AKA Kaoss, Drag King Rebellion, Lansing music duo Nervous but Excited, and Detroit artist Sista Otis. The festival will also feature vendors, food, an open air bar, family fun area and more. Entrance to the festival is $5.

The Lansing State Journal reports Lt. Noel Garcia, public information office for LPD, won’t discuss the number of additional officers assigned, citing security concerns.

While the Journal did not report why increased security was necessary for the event, it could have something to do with past events. Last April 15 a Tea Party event drew an estimated 4,000 people to the capitol. And in February, Tea Party activists protesting Gov. Jennifer Graholm’s state of the state speech clashed with students who were demanding restoration of the Michigan Promise Scholarship and protection of the state’s higher education budget.

The move comes as Lansing Police face a proposed $1.9 million cut by Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, and the city has suffered a barrage of violence. Bernero, who is running for the Democratic nomination for governor, has announced plans for a community summit on Sunday to address the increased violence.

The Tea Party Express swings into Lansing at 7:15 Saturday night as part of its sweep across Michigan which began Thursday in the upper peninsula. The convoy includes three buses, and features rallies across the upper peninsula, northern Michigan, west Michigan, and Lansing. It moves into Detroit Sunday, before launching into Ohio.

Riding with the Tea Party is Mike Cox, Michigan’s attorney general and a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor. He has become a Tea Party favorite by joining a federal lawsuit against federal health care reform.

Jackson said the government’s efforts to curb the foreclosure crisis are poorly enforced and limited. The federal Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan geared at loan modification for those facing foreclosure is “not broad enough” according to Jackson. “You cannot resolve this crisis house by house,” he said Thursday evening.

Jackson’s appearance attracted about 50 people to the rally, which took place outside of the home of Andre and Lenore Hudson, a couple who are facing foreclosure in the middle-class community of Sherwood Forest, near the city’s border with Oakland County. Many of the attendees were people from the neighborhood, reporters and members of the Moratorium Now Coalition, a grassroots group pushing for a two-year moratorium on home foreclosures in Michigan.

Jesse Jackson speaks about foreclosure crisis. (Photo by Minehaha Forman/Michigan Messenger)

Although Jackson called for mass action at the rally, turnout wasn’t the focus of the gathering according to Rev. David Bullock, who leads the Detroit Branch of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

“He wasn’t trying to get a whole lot of people,” Bullock told Michigan Messenger. “He wanted to get a human interest story out there.”

Bullock said Jackson used the rally as a way of letting the community know that he will be a “voice at the table” of negotiations between lenders and those affected by foreclosure.

“I don’t think corporate America should be painted as the enemy but to have a guy like Rev. Jackson at the table is big,” Bullock said. The Detroit branch of Rainbow PUSH has been meeting with Wells Fargo for six weeks to discuss community need according to Bullock. “Wells Fargo gets to hear what really is going on the ground and learn what the company needs to do and change.”

After nearly two months of meetings with Wells Fargo Bullock said it’s too early to say what influence the the Rainbow PUSH Coalition has had. “I don’t know what the progress is. I’m sure there is some.”

Rev. Jesse Jackson, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow and U.S. Reps. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick and Mike Rogers at the Capitol on Monday. (Photo by Todd A. Heywood/Michigan Messenger)

LANSING — With the foreclosure crisis continuing unabated, auto industry giants dealing with bankruptcies and too many uninsured Americans, around 1,000 people rallied at the state Capitol on Monday to call for decisive action on these issues from the nation’s leaders. The rally, organized by Lansing Mayor Virgil Bernero and civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, featured a crowd of mostly union members from United Auto Workers, United Steel Workers, Michigan Education Association and child care workers.

“We demand better!” said Rev. Jesse Jackson. “We demand an even playing field.”

“Enough is enough!” said U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat from Lansing. “We’ve had it. This is about our way of life.”

“Today is a day to recommit to a strategy that matters,” the senator continued. “The job won’t be done until we have fair trade in this global economy.”

Organizers of the rally said the country is teetering on the edge because the American middle class is falling behind. They said health care, job outsourcing, mounting education loans and the mortgage crisis are all working together to destroy the middle class.

“It’s a crime it takes a special intervention to help people stay in their homes,” said Lansing Mayor Virgil Bernero.

U.S. Rep. John Conyers, a Detroit Democrat, called on Congress to pass health care reform.

“Enact single-payer health care, House Bill 676, this year!” he said. He also called on those at the rally to join him in a meeting with President Obama. Conyers wanted the crowd to meet with the president in the White House’s Rose Garden.

Jackson called on the crowd to build a movement in the cities most impacted by the bankruptcies of the Chrysler and General Motors, asking people to hold voter registration drives and protests.

“We’re startin’ something new here in Lansing,” Bernero told the crowd.

U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, a Detroit Democrat; U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, a Brighton Republican; State Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, an East Lansing Democrat; State Rep. Mike Huckleberry, a Greenville Democrat; Michigan State University Board of Trustees Chairman Joel Ferguson were present at the event as well. These elected officials were joined by the mayors of Lansing, Battle Creek, Saginaw, Hamtramck, East Lansing, among other local officials.

Organizers had expected 5,000 to 10,000 people to show up. Detroit Mayor Dave Bing had been scheduled to attend the rally but did not show.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in East Lansing, Mich. (photo: Todd A. Heywood)

EAST LANSING, Mich. — With dark gray storm clouds threatening overhead, more than 18,000 gathered on the campus of Michigan State University for a campaign rally for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee.

U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow introduced Obama to the crowd before Obama prefaced his own address with, “We’re going to see if we can get through this speech without it pouring down rain on us.”

Obama’s address was near identical to one he gave earlier in the day to a crowd in Grand Rapids that police officials there estimated to be 15,900 people.

The speech struck a populist theme, attacking the policies of Republican President George W. Bush and his Republican rival Sen. John McCain. Obama hammered at the financial crisis, acknowledging many may not support the $700 billion bailout that passed the U.S. Senate last night in part due to his “yes” vote. In fact, Stabenow, who introduced Obama, voted “no” on the measure.

“We are in a financial crisis as serious as any we have faced since the Great Depression,” Obama said. “We have seen the credit crunch put new pressure on banks, businesses and families … everywhere you look the economic news is bad.”

Sounding like a president using the bully pulpit of the office, Obama went on to urge passage of the bailout.

“We are going to have to act to pass the rescue plan that is before the Congress,” he said. “You don’t like it and I don’t like that we are in this situation in the first place. Democrats and Republicans in the House need to do, though, what the Senate did last night and what’s right for this country. If the financial markets collapse, loans aren’t available for businesses large and small. Already, you’re seeing car dealers that are having to shut down because nobody can get an auto loan. Pretty soon, students are going to have a tough time getting the loans you need to go this great institution. It’s your jobs, your savings, your ability to pursue your dreams for your children and your grandchildren that are at risk.

“That is why we have to act. That is why we have to set aside the politics of the moment and exercise something we haven’t seen in Washington lately — responsibility,” he said.

“Now, Let me be clear, Spartans,” he said. “Let me be clear, the fact that we are in this mess is an outrage. It’s an outrage because we didn’t get here by accident. This was not a normal part of the business cycle. This did not happen because of a few bad apples. This financial crisis is a direct result of the greed and irresponsibility that has dominated Washington and Wall Street for years.”

In her introduction, Stabenow said, “I am so excited that we have someone who gets it. Someone with the right values and the right priorities. Someone who put out an energy plan that has Michigan stamped on every page.”

Even as Obama was preparing to take the stage in East Lansing, Politico was reporting that McCain was pulling his election apparatus from Michigan and redistributing it to swing states Ohio, Wisconsin and Florida.

The attendance numbers at the rally were provided by Sgt. Jill Geile of the MSU Police, and confirmed with Lt. Scott Beckner of MSU police as well. Geile said about 15,000 people were in the enclosed speaking area, with an additional 3,000 outside the area. Beckner told the Obama campaign the number in attendance was “18,000 and counting” at the start of the event, according to an e-mail from Obama spokesperson Brent Colburn.

Overhead a small airplane circled with a banner encouraging voters to select Judge Diane Hathaway for the Michigan Supreme Court.

Michigan Messenger will be on hand at the Saginaw and East Lansing rallies. Here is video footage of Obama’s appearance in Grand Rapids:

The day will start with a Grand Rapids rally featuring Sen. Obama at 9:30 a.m. in Calder Plaza, 300 Ottawa Avenue NW, Grand Rapids. Entrance to the event will be of Lyon Ave. and gates open at 7:30 a.m. Barack follows that appearance with a 2:30 p.m. rally in East Lansing on the campus of Michigan State University. The MSU rally will be held at Adams Field, West Circle Drive, East Lansing with gates opening at 11:30 a.m.

Meanwhile, Michelle Obama will be hosting two rallies on the east side of the state.

Her first rally is at Heritage High School, 3465 N. Center Rd, Saginaw. Doors for that event open at 11:30 a.m. and the public is to use Entrance C into the high school. Tickets for the Saginaw event are required and are available from SEIU Local 517m, 1420 S Michigan Ave or UAW Local 699 Hall, 1911 Bagley St. Both ticket locations are in Saginaw.

Following the Saginaw event, Michelle travels to Macomb County, where she will host a 4:30 p.m.rally at Chippewa Valley High School, Henrichsen Auditorium, 18300 19 Mile Road, Clinton Township. Tickets are required for this event as well, and are available at Campaign for Change Clinton, MI Office, 36487 Gratiot Southbound (at 15 1/2 mile).

Michigan Messenger will be reporting from East Lansing and Saginaw.