ShortFormBlogdick durbin Archives

44¢ the average cost of debit card interchange fees to merchants; this should make you feel guilty every time you go to 7-Eleven, because that cuts into profit margins heavily
12¢ the limit that the Feds plan to impose upon banking companies about this matter; this is a $16 billion/year business, and banking companies are fighting to protect it source

» A fight that directly affects small businesses: We’ve been to many small businesses in our day that have gone out of their way to avoid using debit cards, specifically for this reason. We’re with them in this case; really high charges for every purchase, even tiny ones, is straight up greedy. Fortunately, a key senator, Dick Durbin, agrees with us: “Honestly, are we going to stand here and say we can’t protect small businesses across America struggling to survive?” The fight for keeping the fees has bipartisan support; the main guys backing banks in the Senate are Bob Corker (R-TN) and Jon Tester (D-MT). They claim that banks will have to replace the interchange charges with higher fees on consumers. Maybe they should; the benefit to small business as an economic driver makes it worth it.

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

…it is incumbent upon all Americans who love this nation and the values our Constitution protects to make it clear to defend the civil rights of our Muslim neighbors are as important as the rights of Christians, Jews and non-believers.
Senator Dick Durbin • On his Senate hearings on anti-Muslim discrimination, broadly viewed as a counter-weight to Rep. Peter King’s hearings on radicalized Islam in the House. For what it’s worth, King’s anti-terrorism zeal wasn’t beyond the scope of his responsibility, nor could it not have been handled tastefully as a hearing on terrorism writ large. The standard of tacitly condemning an entire community for the actions of the very few, however, was and is unpleasant, and its given Durbin a chance to shine some light in the other direction. Also, isn’t it cool that non-believers get a shout out, too? The first time we can recall that was during Obama’s inauguration, and it’s a welcome and overdue addition to the public discourse on faith. source

Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

action A couple weeks ago, Rep. Peter King attracted controversy by launching a Congressional hearing titled “The Radicalization of American Muslims.”
reaction At the behest of Illinois Demcorat Dick Durbin, the Senate will be holding a hearing titled “Protecting the Civil Rights of American Muslims.” source

Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

Don’t ask Facebook to take sides in the Middle East. The massive social network may have played a key role in the recent protests in Egypt and in other countries, but they’re downright ambivalent about the trend – a major difference from Twitter, which has associated itself with being a communication tool for political movements, and Tumblr, which has a news tag devoted to Egypt. Facebook, meanwhile, has been banning pseudonym-based accounts created specifically to hide people’s names from the government, based on fraud concerns – including Wael Ghonim’s account. This has led to criticism, including a letter to Mark Zuckerberg from Sen. Richard J. Durbin. Look, Facebook, making it easier to facilitate protest isn’t the same thing as supporting protests. What, is the free spread of communication outside of your game plan? source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

We can only hope the former governor will not view this indictment as a green light for another publicity tour. Rod Blagojevich deserves his day in court, but the people of Illinois deserve a break.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois • On the indictment of ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. What, Dick, do you have something against Larry King? • source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

The rules of the United States Senate are clear. … At this point, we’ve clearly reached an impasse.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin • senior U.S. Senator from Illinois, on the appointment of Roland Burris without a signature from Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White. Burris’ appointment by Rod Blagojevich was valid, according to the Illinois Supreme Court. • source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

08 Jun 2011 11:21