wasteful and unnecessary practices. Health care Senator Levin supported a Patients' Bill of Rights to reduce the ability of managed care organizations to affect medical decisions. Levin was an advocate for embryonic stem-cell research because of its potential to cure diseases like Alzheimer's, diabetes, and Parkinson's. Procedure Senator Levin was one of only three Democratic senators to dissent from Harry Reid's leadership to vote against the nuclear option which switched the Senate away from operating on a supermajority basis, to requiring only a simple majority for certain decisions, on November 21, 2013. Levin supported changing the rules to a simple majority for confirmation votes, but did not support using the nuclear option to do so, saying in his speech on the floor on that day that this "removes an important check on majority overreach" and that he wished to "preserve the rights of the Senate minority". Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act Levin initiated the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act against alleged tax havens, for the state of the initiative against tax avoidance and tax evasion registered as S.506, and the complementary initiative H.R.1265. Miscellaneous Levin was a critic of the New Hampshire presidential primary's first-in-the-nation status, saying a more diverse state, such as his own Michigan, should hold its contest first. In June 1986, along with Paul Simon and John Melcher, Levin was one of three senators to oppose a tax reform bill. In November 1998, Levin attended a White House reception for National Adoption Month. In April 2006, Levin was selected by Time as one of "America's 10 Best Senators". The American Civil Liberties Union gave Levin an 84% lifetime rating on civil liberties issues. A strong gun control advocate, Levin was graded F by Gun Owners of America. He was one of the 16 senators who voted against the Vitter Amendment. He was almost always seen wearing his glasses at the end of his nose, which drew a bounty of humorous attention. In response, he lightheartedly joked that the late Senator Strom Thurmond (while he was in office) would have never worn his glasses because they "make him look old." Daily Show host Jon Stewart referred to him both as the "kindly old shoemaker", and "Grandpa Munster". An avid supporter of the non-profit civil rights organization Focus: HOPE, Levin was instrumental in the procurement of equipment and funding for their Machinist Training Institute (MTI). Political campaigns Levin was