Mrs Pinkney Speaks Out Against Michigan Corrections

An open letter from Mrs. Dorothy Pinkney, wife of Rev. Edward Pinkney, BANCO activist and former political prisoner (Benton Harbor, MI).

"HIT MAN FROM OJIBWAY"

"On June 26, 2008, Judge Dennis Wiley ruled on whether the GOD of one man can be invoked to harm another man. Judge Dennis Wiley, a racist, sentenced my husband to 3 to 10 years in prison for quoting the Bible. He was sent to the Michigan Department of Corrections and the governor sent him over six hundred miles from his home.

When he arrived at the Ojibway Correctional Facility a hit had been placed on my husband. On Nov. 1, 2008, Correctional Officer R. Axley told my husband the control center had ordered a shakedown of his control area. On Friday Oct. 31, 2008, my husband found a homemade knife (which Correctional Officer Axley had planted) in his control area. My husband threw the knife away and on Nov. 1, 2008 Correctional Officer Axley proceeded to destroy my husband’s control area looking for the knife.

Correctional Officer Axley did the following: he threw his clean clothes all over the floor with his dirty clothes, he threw the entire contents of his locker including food on the floor, he read his legal mail, legal briefs and all legal notes. My husband was forced to put his hands up in the air. He was searched and told to pack because he was going to the hold to be locked down. Then Correctional Officer Axley started to read his legal notes, legal briefs and the legal mail he had in his personal folder right in front of him.

Correctional Officer Axley was looking for the knife he had planted. He broke my husband’s am/fm radio cassette player and threatened his life. Correctional Officer Axley stated, “We are going to get you!” The Correctional Officer’s actions were malicious, sadistic and designed to intimidate and harass my husband. This was humiliating, degrading mistreatment and oppression, including discrimination by the Department of Correction. What happened in prison is nothing like what the people on the outside think or believe.

We do not know who ordered this attack. We do not know whether U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, Governor Granholm, Warden Michael Curley, Judge Wiley, or Judge Butzbaugh were responsible. My husband had requested the warden, Michael Curley, to call the state police and the Warden refused. As I said, we do not know who put the hit on my husband but I want everybody to call the governor. We need your help! Dorothy Pinkney"

Governor Granholm 517-373-3400
Patricia Caruso 517-335-1426

Go to the BANCO blog to learn more about MWRO comrade, Rev. Pinkney's imprisonment for quoting the Bible and fight for justice in Benton Harbor.

Video from YouTube by DaymonJHartley

Foreclosed Property Renters Facing Homelessness

The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP) released two reports today about the increasing homelessness of renters in foreclosed properties. They have compiled data on all 50 states and DC and found that 40% of all families facing foreclosure due to eviction are renters.

They point out that state laws vary greatly and are complex when it comes to renters and foreclosures. Renters have little protection and may be evicted with little or no notice, if a landlord loses the renter's home.

Among major findings of Without Just Cause, a 110-page report prepared by NLCHP in collaboration with the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) are:

* Only 33% of States (17 States) require any type of notice to tenants.
* Only 29% of States (14 and DC) require a judicial process for foreclosure.
* In several states (e.g. FL, IO, WI, NY, OH) tenants may remain only if they are not named in the foreclosure proceeding.
* Only 2% of States (NJ and DC) explicitly preserve tenants' rights in the lease after foreclosure.

The second report, An Ounce of Prevention, highlights homelessness prevention programs in 25 states.

In Michigan, the Without Just Cause report states:

Eviction Process
Notice must be provided, “Notice to Quit / Termination of Tenancy”, giving tenant 30 days to vacate. Tenant is then entitled to a hearing; if tenant does not vacate at end of 30 days, tenant must be served with summons and complaint. If the landlord prevails at the hearing, then the tenant must move within 10 days. If the tenant does not move, a writ of restitution can be issued, which provides for immediate physical eviction (no notice).

Eviction Timeframe
4-6 weeks from date tenant receives Notice to Quit to day sheriff physical evicts tenants.

In addition, State Senator Hansen Clarke (D-Detroit) has introduced a bill that would stop all mortgage foreclosures and evictions for 2 years. Please contact your elected representatives to safeguard the homes of renters and homeowners!

Homeowners Say "Produce the Note"

Apparently those three little words are enough to delay the foreclosure of your home by banks. ABC News reports that homeowners on the brink of foreclosure and eviction have managed to get themselves more time by filing a paper that requires their mortgage holding bank to show them a copy of the note they signed.


Part of the banking and mortgage calamity is a result of mortgage companies and banks selling then reselling homeowner mortgages. Along the way, banks often lose track of the original paperwork. If a homeowner files a Request for Production of Documents form in court, judges will often side with the homeowner during foreclosure proceedings and require the lender to show a copy of the note before they can continue.

This delay tactic is being used by many homeowners across the country to help save their homes and allow them more time to gather the money they need or find a new job. With nearly 9,000 foreclosure filings per day, this tactical delay often forces banks to find the original paperwork--a process that can take months--to prove that the foreclosing lender owns the note, and that the homeowner owes the debt.

Consumer Warning Network is a grassroots group that offers advice and information for homeowners at risk of foreclosure and "Produce the Note" tactics. [MWRO found their site to be down as of this posting, perhaps their server was overloaded.] Additional information can be found at Associated Content.

Don't allow lenders to carry out an improper foreclosure on your home! They count on people to not understand the process and to give up. Know your rights and fight on!

Moving Towards a People's Recovery Plan

There seems to be a lot of doubt these days from state and local politicians about whether or not to accept federal stimulus funds. Curiously, they didn't seem to have this same doubt when it came to sending more than $1 trillion dollars to Iraq and Afghanistan, or billions more to Wall Street banks. But more to the point, it's not the the job of these "elected officials" to decide whether or not to accept our money, the people's money!

After the loss of 2.6 million jobs in 2008 and an anticipated 2 million more during the first half of this year, the American people are finally in line to receive a small portion of these relief funds. Not only are these federal monies needed to help create jobs in our communities, provide food assistance, rebuild our infrastructure, reduce home foreclosures, and more--they are important because they offer the first direct relief to ordinary people.

President Obama has created a website that helps explain how these funds will be used, recovery.gov

Your Money at Work: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be carried out with full transparency and accountability -- and Recovery.gov is the centerpiece of that effort. In a short video, President Obama describes the site and talks about how you'll be able to track the Recovery Act's progress every step of the way.

These efforts are a good start and offer hope for millions of people. However, it's not enough to help the people on the lowest rung of the ladder. Victims of poverty will never rise "up and out of poverty" without a massive concerted effort by the government and the people.

Share your story about the economic crisis or your thoughts about how Recovery Funds should be used. As welfare rights says, "You get what you are organized to take!"

America, Women, and Babies!

By Maureen D. Taylor
MWRO State Chairperson

A surprising segue has developed over recent weeks, after the birth of octuplets to a mother who already has six children. The good news I thought was that all the children are still alive after these few weeks, even though it is suspected that several will have developmental issues.

The "flap" one would guess, would be over the wisdom of implanting so many embryos that bring with this procedure potential for birth defects. In Vitro Fertilization has risks that multiply with multiple births--we all get that--but this is not what is being spoken of.

Hate mail and hatred is being directed toward this mother because she is not married and the government may have to take financial responsibility for these eight, along with the other six. This mother seems obsessed with having babies, all fathered by the same partner--a fact known by the clinic who performed this procedure every time.

Bitter statements have suggested that Ms. Suleman has created this scenario to gain income for herself and her children. Her planned pregnancy has unleashed the wrath of many orthodox thinkers who are ultra critical without offering the sympathy this challenged mother needs.

Somehow, she feels herself to be little more than a "baby-machine" who because she lacks affection in her own life, needs babies to cherish who will categorically love her back. We say nothing about the $1,000 hammers purchased by the Defense Dept., or the $10b per month price tag for our involvement in Iraq.

The gov't benefits she receives is not enough to care for this family. The mother needs counseling and care, as do these babies who have been born into a world that loves them not. Women of America, don't join in this assault against this troubled soul that we should, instead, demand services for, along with all children and depressed moms.

(Image from Washington Post/AP/KTLA)

Dear Pachyderm Friends!

By Maureen D. Taylor, MWRO State Chair

President Obama is correct. We voted you out of office in groves, trying to make it clear that your political point of view was contrary to the direction most of us wanted. I have seen and heard bad things said and done by mean-spirited elected officials, but the fight against helping Native Americans with upgrades on houses standing on reservations astounds even me.

How low-down is a person or group of persons that thought such a move was not critical and primary toward proving jobs and improving the lot of those who had so much stolen from them? The $3 billion recommended could never make-up for the resources taken from them, so I think we should pass that section first and make those dollars available immediately.

Still, President Obama should apply the "trickle up" theory, meaning that he should test in the ten poorest states this concept. Make dollars available to those already receiving unemployment benefits, about $30,000 this year, and $20,000 the following year and watch how quickly we are able to turn this economy around!

We lift all ships if resources are applied first to those at the bottom. Trickle down NEVER works, Mr. President!

(Image courtesy Flickr Creative Commons)

Join the Detroit Water Takeover Resistance Movement

Responding to the City of Detroit's efforts to sell off parts of its water and sewerage department, local residents, employees, and community activists are organizing a series of events to call attention to these deals and the on-going water shut-off crisis.

If you are in the Detroit area on February 5, please join this effort to preserve and resist these privatization efforts.

"Where U @, We Need U" All Detroiters--Call To Action
Help Stop The Sale of the Detroit Water & Sewage Department

What: Join the Detroit Water Takeover Resistance Movement--Save Jobs, Save City Treasures, Stop Water Shut Offs & Demand Responsible Government

When: Demonstrate Thursday, February 5, 2009—4:30 PM

Where: Coleman A Young Municipal Center, downtown Detroit

Sponsored by: Call’em-Out, Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, and AFSCME 207

More Info: 313-874-2792 (Call'em-Out) or mwroinfo@gmail.com

Also, watch Call'em Out's "Week In Review" TV Show
Saturdays, WHPR TV33, Comcast 20, www.tv33whpr.com & 88.1FM

(Image from MWRO)