Sunday, November 30, 2008

Preacher appeals conviction for criticizing Benton Harbor officials

Rev. Edward Pinkney, the 60-year-old a Baptist preacher from Benton Harbor who has been in jail for nearly a year for criticizing Berrien County officials in an article that ran in a Chicago newspaper, is appealing his three- to 10-year sentence with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.

Pinkney is a well known political figure in Benton Harbor, one of Michigan’s poorest and most racially segregated towns. He has been a prominent critic of the county’s criminal justice system and of efforts by the locally based Whirlpool corporation to build a golf course on the town’s lakefront park.

In May 2007 Pinkney was sentenced to a term of probation by Berrien County Chief Judge Alfred Butzbaugh following his conviction of election law violations in connection with a campaign to recall one of Benton Harbor’s most prominent politicians. Continue reading:
http://michiganmessenger.com/8567/preacher-appeals-conviction-for-criticizing-benton-harbor-officials-2

Rev. Pinkney Transferred to Jackson Prison

On Thursday, 11/20/07, Rev. Pinkney was moved from Ojibway Correctional Facility (CF) across the Michigan Upper Peninsula to Kinross CF. The following Tuesday, 11/25/08, he was moved again to Cooper Street CF in Jackson.

Rev. Pinkney has received much attention in recent weeks--at the frustration of prison officials--due to: media attention on his Green Party candidacy (BTW he received 3500 votes!), the recent press ban by prison authorities against interviews, the ACLU motion filing with the Michigan Court of Appeals, and the on-going clemency letter drive and online petition.

We're hopeful that this latest move to a facility closer to Benton Harbor means that he is on track for a decision by the courts. In the meantime, please continue to send letters for clemency to Gov. Granholm. According to Attorney Buck Davis, Rev. Pinkney's clemency petition has been transferred from the corrections dept committee to the Governor's office. She can decide whether or not to hold public hearings for clemency. Please push the Gov. Granholm to hold a hearing for Rev. Pinkney!

Please send your letters of clemency to:

Honorable Jennifer Granholm
Michigan Department of Corrections
Office of the Parole Board
Pardons and Commutations Coordinator
P.O. Box 30003
Lansing, Michigan, 48909
Include your name and address.

Read more about the ACLU Michigan motion and brief. Listen to Atty Davis, Mrs Pinkney, and BANCO member Belinda Brown speak about Rev. Pinkney and Benton Harbor on KPFK Pacifica Radio in SoCal.

(For the KPFK interview, go to show "Sojourner Truth with Margaret Prescod," Tuesday, 11/25/08. After the introduction, Davis begins at 5:30 min, Mrs. Pinkney at 22:00 min, and Brown at 38:30 min)

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Letter to Editor - last paragraph

(HP 11/25/08)...Finally, it is most convenient that one day after Fred Upton is re-elected, I read on the front page of The Herald-Palladium, "Golf course lawsuit back in Michigan; D.C. judge decides lawsuit filed by Protect Jean Klock Park will be better served by state judge." As the saying goes, "Money talks."

Shirley Stinson, Benton Harbor

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Cops Raise Taser Safety Claims

Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008 by the Las Vegas Sun (Nevada)

Metro officers hurt during training sue company, say warnings didn’t suffice


by Abigail Goldman

Several cops got on their knees on a rubber gym mat. Kneeling in a line, they linked arms, interlaced hands, and looked up. All they knew of what comes next is this: It's going to smart.
This was called the "daisy chain." It was part of the Metro Police Taser training program, the alternative to hitting a single individual with thousands of volts from the weapon. It was the option officer Lisa Peterson chose, a decision she regrets.
The officers were at a training seminar in November 2003 to learn how to use the newest weapon on their belts, a device the manufacturer claimed would incapacitate a person but not do permanent harm. You can't really comprehend the Taser, students were told, until you're Tasered.
So an instructor attached alligator clips to each end of the daisy chain. Two officers became electrical bookends, strung at the shoulder by wires feeding back into a Taser gun. Pull the trigger and the daisy chain shudders, seizes and pitches forward, the pile of police officers becoming a portrait of Taser's selling point: neuromuscular incapacitation. Full article:
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/11/23-4

Berrien County Watch

1 arrested, 2 sought after drug raids
Sat., Nov. 22, 2008
BENTON HARBOR - Police arrested one person and are seeking warrants for the arrest of two others after raids on an apartment and a house in the city Thursday and Friday.
The Berrien County Sheriff's Department Narcotics Unit, with help from county road patrol and Benton Harbor police, raided 922 Buss Ave., Apt. 1, around 8:15 a.m. Friday and arrested Ezia Terrance Brown, 28, for investigation on charges of possession of marijuana and maintaining a drug house, both second offenses. He also has warrants for a traffic offense and driving on a suspended license, police said.
According to a sheriff's department news release, the apartment was searched on a warrant that resulted from a monthlong investigation into alleged drug sales from the residence. Police seized suspected marijuana and $128 under civil forfeiture law and arrested Brown. A 26-year-old woman at the house was not charged, and two children were turned over to a family member.
In another case, police are seeking arrest warrants against a 36-year-old woman and 31-year-old man after a raid on 563 McAllister St. at 5:15 p.m. Thursday.
Acting on a search warrant that resulted from a weeklong investigation, police seized about $200 worth of suspected marijuana and other evidence of drug trafficking, along with $446 cash.
Three adults at the house at the time of the search were released, and two juveniles were turned over to family members, police said.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Michigan must reduce excessive prison costs

Editor, (HP, 11/20/08)

Does it concern people that, if found guilty of embezzlement, Michiana village official Mary Jo Nallenweg may be sent to prison for 10 years at a cost to taxpayers of over $300,000? Why the eagerness to confine her in our overcrowded prisons when the loss so far has been estimated at less than $10,000? Does this make sense to you? Who would benefit from that? At the current expense of over $30,000 a year per prisoner, our prison system is bankrupting our state.

If she is found to be guilty, do we really want to subject this young woman to a system which cannot prevent the abuse and neglect of its inmates? Or would we rather have her apologize to her victims and make generous restitution, followed by years of community service to atone for her mistakes? The notion that prisoners are “paying their debt to society” overlooks the basic fact that it costs the rest of us more to lock them up than we spend on the education of children in Michigan. When restorative justice has been tried, it has been more effective in preventing future offenses, as well as having been a humane and financially sound method of correction.

The European Union scoffs at how our country wastes tax money on imprisoning more citizens per capita than any other civilized nation in the world. EU nations have agreed that it is neither necessary nor productive to imprison offenders who don’t pose a threat to society. In other nations, a prison sentence is considered to be a last resort, not the first option a prosecutor would announce even before a conviction. The time has come for taxpayers to let our prosecutors and legislators know that we want restitution for the victims of crime, not a huge bill for unnecessary incarceration. It’s time to give non-violent offenders opportunities to make up for their misdeeds, rather than to charge taxpayers with the enormous expense of locking them up for years.

Send a letter to Art Cotter, Berrien County prosecutor, to ask him to find a better way to spend our money – on crime prevention, restitution for the victims and on our children’s education. Let your voice be heard!

Joyce Gouwens St. Joseph

ONE week in Berrien County Court

Berrien County Court Watch

Sentencings (HP, 11/16/08) Berrien county Trial court St. Joseph SenTenceS
Larceny
**********, 21, ++++++++t, Benton Harbor, 270 days in jail and $860 for larceny from a person, stealing a purse from ******* on Oct. 23, 2006, at ++++++++++, Benton Town ship.
******* was sentenced to a concurrent, 180-day jail term and assessed $120 for larceny from a vehicle, stealing a stereo from a vehi cle owned by ******** on Sept. 17 at +++++++, Benton Town ship.
***********, 18, ++++++++, Coloma, 90 days in jail, 60 days tether, 2 1/2 years pro bation and $2,320 for larceny from a person, stealing a bicycle from ************ on Sept. 21 at ++++++++, Watervliet.
Fleeing or resisting police
**********, 26, +++++++++, Benton Harbor, 16 months to 15 years in prison for resisting and obstructing Benton Harbor Officer Wesley Smigielski on July 13 at +++++++++, Benton Harbor.
*********s, 42, ++++++++, Benton Harbor, 150 days in jail and $1,620 for resisting and obstructing Berrien County Sheriff’s Deputy Carol Vaughn on Sept. 19 at +++++++++ in St. Joseph.
other sentences
********, 41, ++++++++, Three Oaks, 47 days in jail (credit for 47 days already served), 45 days tether, 18 months probation, $2,621 restitution, and $1,920 fine and costs for receiving and concealing property valued at $1,000 to $20,000 (welding equip ment) on Sept. 23 at +++++++++, Lake Township.
*********, 36, ++++++++, Benton Harbor, 30 days in jail, 90 days tether, two years probation, $2,160 and 480 hours of community service for third-offense operating a vehicle while under the influence of liquor Sept. 25 in Benton Harbor.
niles criminal sexual conduct
*********, 66, ***********, Niles, 38 months to 10 years in prison for two counts of assault with intent to commit sexual penetration with a ++++++++++ in Niles.
assault
***********, 49, ++++++++, Niles, 5 1/2-20 years in prison for assault with intent to murder state Trooper Duane Shears with a shotgun Oct. 3, 2007, at ++++++s’ residence.
Fleeing or resisting police
**********, 25, ++++++++, Niles, 56 days in jail (credit for 56 days already served) and $120 for fourth-degree fleeing and eluding Berrien County Sheriff’s Deputy Amber Sriver on April 19, 2007, on +++++++++, Niles Township.
**********, 22, +++++++++, Niles, 67 days in jail and $155 for resisting and obstructing Buchanan Officer Michael Troup, and assault and battery on ********** on May 4 at +++++++++, Buchanan.
Other sentences
********, 36, ++++++++++, Berrien Springs, 180 days in jail, 180 days tether, five years pro bation and $2,420 for attempted use of a computer in his home to solicit a girl for sex on March 20.
**********, 39, ++++++++, Niles, 18 months probation and $1,900 for attempted larceny in a building, stealing electronic equip ment April 14 at +++++++++.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Free speech? Not in Berrien County

Editor, (HP, 11/17/08)

Once again the corruption in the Berrien County “legal” system rears its ugly head, in the state that pretended to be so sanctimonious about human life that it imprisoned Dr. Jack Kevorkian for ending the suffering of the terminally ill, and where a judge in Berrien County once joked about the terminal illness of the late Maurice Carter, a man many believed was wrongfully imprisoned.

Then there’s the case of Floyd Caldwell. The judge who sentenced Caldwell to a double-life sentence had refused to recuse himself from the case even though he was friends with the accusers. Yet when one of these accusers became a defendant in this same judge’s courtroom, after being involved in a traffic fatality that killed a little girl, suddenly he developed the “integrity” to recuse himself. Now there is the case the Rev. Edward Pinkney, who was recently sent to prison for wishing eternal damnation on a Berrien County judge. The hypocrisy and danger of this action is so transparent it defies logic. Clearly there are people who attain power who do not deserve it, and who misuse or abuse the authority they have been given. If one cannot criticize them, then how can the public be informed? Also, nature has decreed that all power vested in humans is limited by their own mortality.

Religious people believe that eventually everyone will face the ultimate judge. Whether this is simply a vain hope that evildoers will not triumph, I do not know. But I know this: If the judge Pinkney criticized acted correctly, then a just God would not condemn him regardless of Pinkney’s words, and if he acted unfairly, then all the censorship in the world would not redeem him. To imprison Pinkney on the idiotic notion he can somehow influence God’s judgment should be recognized for what it is – blatant contempt for the fundamental right to freedom of speech, a right that apparently doesn’t exist in Berrien County.

David R. Hoffman Mishawaka

Friday, November 14, 2008

Michigan pastor says free speech violated

Another AP article was published in many media outlets this week:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200881112087

Try googling: Michigan pastor says free speech violated - and be amazed!

Comment posted at the end of the article on ABC website WZZM 13:
"This situation is a total travesty. The land should never have been sold for a golf course, the Klock Family Park donated for the enjoyment of the residents of Benton Harbor residents in perpetuity has been stolen from the people and sold for the greed of the developers.
The article fails to mention that this conviction was only after the 1st trial with a mixed race jury failed to convict and the prosecutor retried it with an all white jury and the court doors were locked to the public during the 2nd trial so outside news coverage to monitor the trial was prevented.
It's corruption here plain and simple and it keeps getting ignored. We need a federal justice department investigation in this whole land grab and the attempts to silence anyone opposing.
I don't live in Benton Harbor I live very close and am a lifetime resident of this county I'm not African American either. Right is right and wrong is wrong.
The 2nd trial was a sham; he shouldn't have been convicted."

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Letter to Ojibway Warden Michael Curley

November 10, 2008
Mr. Michael Curley, Warden
Ojibway Correctional Facility
N5705 Ojibway Road
Marenisco, MI 49947-9771
Re: Reverend Edward Pinkney, # 294671

Dear Warden Curley:
We have received communications that Correctional Officer R. Axley was purportedly directed to shakedown Reverend Pinkney’s cell and control area on November 1, 2008. According to reports, he did so in a destructive and illegal manner, soiling clean clothes, destroying food and reading legal mail. This is the second report that I have received of violation of the prohibition against the reading of legal mail. Axley apparently spent approximately 30 minutes doing so.
I have advised my client to grieve this action. In addition, this is a separate complaint, requesting an investigation. Do you have written records of the order for shakedown and the results? Videotapes? Witnesses? This is to request that you gather and preserve them.
You know by now that Pinkney is the clearest example of a political prisoner within the MDOC. He was attacked by the Berrien County establishment after he successfully recalled the most powerful and corrupt politician in Benton Harbor and convicted by an all white jury, based on the testimony of bribed and intimidated prostitutes, drug dealers and people with pending criminal charges. The case is on appeal.
Then, his probation was violated for quoting the Old Testament Book of Deuteronomy regarding the curses that will be visited upon the unjust by God if they do not change their ways. The Court decided that it was a “true threat” outside the parameters of the First Amendment and therefore a violation of probation. He thus became the first preacher in the history of America to be imprisoned for quoting the Bible.
We assume that he was transferred to your institution because of the state and national publicity surrounding his case and the requests for interviews and visits by the press and supporters. Obviously, as the Green Party nominee to oppose Congressman Fred Upton, he has powerful and influential enemies in the state and local governments. The question is whether you will allow your institution to aid and abet this ignoble enterprise.
We have a clemency petition pending before Governor Granholm. We are FOIA’ing all of Pinkney’s MDOC records. We intend to protest and publicize every illegal, retaliatory or vindictive action taken against him.
I suggest that the MDOC does not have a dog in this fight. Pinkney is clearly no threat to anyone, including institutional security. The authorities in Benton Harbor and Berrien County have tried in vain for years to catch him doing anything wrong and they could not even come up with a parking ticket. However easier it might be to run your institution without a sympathetic political prisoner in it, mere inconvenience is no basis for any mistreatment of Pinkney.
By separate letter I am advising Pinkney to grieve and press through the third step every wrongful action taking against him, including opening or reading legal mail. We won on that point while he was in the Berrien County Jail. For your information, Pinkney has the following attorneys:
His trial and appellate counsel:
Hugh M. Davis
Constitutional Litigation Associates, P.C.
450 W. Fort Street Suite 200
Detroit, Michigan 48226
313-961-2255/Fax: 313-961-5999

Elliott S. Hall
Dykema Gossett, P.L.L.C.
400 Renaissance Center
Detroit, MI 48243
313-568-6516/Fax: 313-568-6832

Timothy M. Holloway
P.O. Box 296
Taylor, MI 48180
(313) 383-3880

His counsel on the probation violation appeal and for bond.
Michael J. Steinberg, Legal Director
Daniel S. Korobkin, Staff Attorney
ACLU of Michigan
2966 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, MI 48201
(313) 578-6814/Fax: (313) 578-6811

James J. Walsh and Rebecca D’Arcy O’Reilly
Bodman LLP
201 S. Division Street, Suite 400
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-930-0237/Fax: 734-930-2494

His clemency counsel:
Kelly A. Flint
530 S. State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
(734) 763-9920/Fax: (734) 936-0844

In short, Reverend Pinkney will be receiving numerous communications from various counsel on a regular basis. We understand that it is an unusual situation, but we do not expect his Sixth Amendment right to counsel to be interfered with in any way, particularly including opening and reading of mail to and from Pinkney.
Thank you for your attention to this.

Sincerely,
Hugh M. Davis

ACLU Represents Minister Thrown in Prison for Criticizing Judge

Motion for Bond Filed Today in Court of Appeals

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 12, 2008
CONTACT: Michael J. Steinberg, ACLU of Michigan Legal Director at 313.578.6814

DETROIT– The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan has agreed to represent a Benton Harbor minister who was sentenced to 3-10 years in prison for writing a newspaper article that criticized the judge who presided over his trial. Today the ACLU filed a motion asking the Michigan Court of Appeals to release him on bond pending a decision in the appeal of the sentence.
“In a democracy the government cannot simply throw citizens in prison for criticizing public officials – even if the criticism is offensive and even if the public official is a judge,” said Michigan ACLU Legal Director Michael J. Steinberg. “To our knowledge, this case marks the first time in modern history that a preacher has been imprisoned for predicting what God might do.”
Rev. Edward Pinkney is a Baptist minister in Benton Harbor, a predominantly African American community with a troubled relationship with its predominantly white sister city, St. Joseph. Rev. Pinkney has long been an outspoken community activist and advocate, frequently denouncing injustice and racial inequality in Benton Harbor, its local government, and the Berrien County criminal justice system in particular.
In 2007, Rev. Pinkney was sentenced to probation for violating Michigan election law. But his probation was revoked and he was resentenced to 3-10 years in prison solely because of an article he wrote for a small Chicago newspaper. Quoting a passage from the Bible, Rev. Pinkney predicted that God would “curse” the judge unless he "hearken[ed] unto the voice of the Lord thy God to observe [and] to do all that is right." Rev. Pinkney also expressed his opinion in the article that the judge was racist, dumb, and corrupt.
In the brief filed today, the ACLU argues that the statements Rev. Pinkney made in his newspaper editorial, while offensive to many, are clearly protected speech under the First Amendment. The ACLU further urged the Court of Appeals to release Rev. Pinkney on bond while it considers the appeal of his sentence. The minister is currently incarcerated at the Ojibway Correctional Facility in the Upper Pennisula, nearly 500 miles from Benton Harbor.
In addition to Steinberg, Rev. Pinkney is represented by ACLU Cooperating Attorneys James J. Walsh and Rebecca O’Reilly of the respected corporate law firm Bodman LLP.
To read the ACLU Motion for Bail Pending Appeal, go to http://www.aclumich.org/pdf/pinkneybondmotion.pdf
To read the ACLU Brief in Support of the Motion, go to http://www.aclumich.org/pdf/pinkneybondbrief.pdf
To read Rev. Pinkney’s article, go to http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2007.11/PT.2007.11.18.html.

Rana Elmir, Communications Director
ACLU of Michigan
2966 Woodward Ave
Detroit, MI 48201
313.578.6816
(f)313.578.6811

www.aclumich.org

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Turning the Tide of Ethnic Cleansing in America's Cities

Now is the Chance October 30, 2008

By GLEN FORD

The demise or ill health of U.S. investment banks has deprived finance capital of its headquarters sector, the evil geniuses who hatch long range schemes for ethnic cleansing of the nation's cities. Now, more than ever, progressives must become city planners, and in the process of devising these plans forge unity among the various contesting communities that comprise the city. Community empowerment begins with community planning. The void left by finance capital's catastrophe demands that the Left - most particularly, the Black, urban left - make sense of the chaos and stench left by wounded and dying corporate elephants.

The breathtaking statistics on paper wealth suddenly extinguished and once mighty bastions of capital laid low, do not begin to describe the economic meltdown's effect on finance capital's ability to rule the rest of us. It is not merely that giants such as Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and others have been swept into the historical dustbin, as if by a righteous, wrathful storm. The demise of investment banking as a central tool of capitalist planning means the rich have at least temporarily lost the ability to remake the cities as they see fit. While some gentrification projects are on hold, due to the death or ill health of the investment bankers at the heart of most "Black removal" schemes, tenant and community forces must seize the time to devise their own plans for rational ways of living in post-meltdown urban America.
--full article: counterpunch.org, 10/30/08

Relevant to Land Development (including Harbor Shores)

The Tao Te Ching is a 2500 year old text by author Lao Tzu.
Scholars consider it to be the most ancient writing we know
of which was the starting point of the world's major religions.

From Chapter 29, translated by Ursula K. Le Guin:

"Those who think to win the world
by doing something to it,
I see them come to grief.
For the world is a sacred object.
Nothing is to be done to it.
To do anything to it is to damage it.
To seize it is to lose it."

Sunday, November 09, 2008

ONE week in Berrien County Courthouse

"The thrust [of Berrien County Court] is to physically remove and destroy families through the use of the criminal justice system. Every person they can put in jail; every person whose voting rights they can revoke with a felony conviction; every person they can cause to lose their job by putting them on probation; every person that they can cause to lose the ability to pay for basic necessities through imposing ruinous court costs and probation is all part of the process." Atty. Hugh Davis

--sentencings, Berrien county, st. Joseph, druG courT sentences (HP, 11/8/08)
**********, 29, +++++++++ Avenue, Benton Township, 1-10 years in prison for possession of the controlled drug MDMA, known as ecstasy, June 25 at ++++++++ Ave., Benton Harbor.
**********, 24, ++++++ Avenue, Benton Harbor, 1-20 years in prison for possession with intent to deliver less than 50 grams of cocaine Sept. 23 at ++++ and ++++++ streets, Benton Harbor. ************, 31, Plymouth, Ind., 1-10 years in prison for possession of methamphetamine Sept. 23 at the Berrien County jail in St. Joseph.
**********, 22, South Bend, Ind., 180 days in jail and $120 for possession with intent to deliver less than 50 grams of cocaine Sept. 18 at +++++++ St., Niles Township.
*********, 16, +++++++ Road, Benton Township, 64 days in jail (credit for 64 days already served), two years probation and $1,960 for possession with intent to deliver an imitation controlled drug June 7 on +++++++ Court, Benton Harbor.
***********, 31, +++++++ Street, Benton Harbor, 45 days in jail for marijuana possession July 11 on ++++++++.
--Berrien county Trial court, st. Joseph
assault, **********, 26, ++++++++, Benton Township, 2-4 years in prison for assault with a dangerous weapon (knife) on Demetrious Simpson on Sept. 20 on +++++++++, Benton Township.
********, 23, ++++++++, Benton Township, 60 days in jail, 18 months probation and $300 for assault with a dangerous weapon (knife) on ********* on Sept. 1 at +++++++++ Ave., Benton Township.
*********, 27, +++++++Road, Benton Township, three days in jail (credit for three days already served), 18 months probation, $1,620 and 30 hours of community service for attempted assault with a dangerous weapon (broom handle) on ********** on July 26 at ++++++++, Benton Township.
criminal sexual conduct
***********, 28, ++++++++, Berrien Springs, 15-30 years in prison for first-degree criminal sexual conduct, second offense (penetration), with a 10-year-old boy over a period of time in 2003 and 2004 in +++++++++++++.
***********, 36, +++++++++, +++++++++, 1-10 years in prison for assault with intent to commit sexual penetration, reduced from first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a 7-year-old girl from Jan. 1, 2006, through Jan. 1, 2008, in +++++++++++++.
Burglary
**********, 27, +++++++++, Benton Township, 1 1/2-10 years in prison and $23,003 restitution for breaking and entering Feb. 25 at ++++++++++++++, Benton Township.
*********, 28, ++++++++++, Benton Township, 1-2 1/2 years in prison for attempted third-degree home invasion, breaking and entering Sept. +++++++++, Benton Harbor.
***********, 25, ++++++++, Niles, 150 days in jail, two years probation, $3,600 restitution, and $2,010 fine and costs for third-degree home invasion, breaking and entering May 19 at ++++++++ Ave., Benton Township.
Fleeing or resisting police
************, 27, ++++++ Street, Benton Harbor, 1-2 years in prison for resisting and obstructing state Trooper O.J. Hamilton on Sept. 20 at +++++++++++++, Benton Harbor.
***********, 36, +++++++ Street, Benton Harbor, 180 days in jail and $120 for resisting and obstructing state Trooper O.J. Hamilton on Sept. 18 at ++++++++++, Benton Harbor.
Weapons offenses
***********, 18, ++++++++++, Benton Harbor, 330 days in jail, two years probation, $2,180 and 320 hours of community service for carrying a concealed weapon (pistol) on his person and in a car May 22 on the ++++++++++++++, Benton Harbor.
************, 25, ++++++++++, St. Joseph Township, 180 days in jail and $120 for carrying a concealed weapon (pistol) on his person Aug. 20 at +++++++++++ Street, St. Joseph Township.
**********, 20, +++++++++++, St. Joseph Township, 150 days in jail (part of sentence may be served in the Kalamazoo Probation Enhancement Program), two years probation and $2,060 for carrying a concealed weapon (pistol) in a car Aug. ++++++++++++++++, Benton Harbor.
************, 31, +++++++++++, Benton Harbor, 45 days in jail, one year probation and $2,240 for carrying a concealed weapon (pistol) on his person Sept. 11 at ++++++++++
***********, 18, +++++++++++, Benton Harbor, 19 days in jail (credit for 19 days already served), 45 days tether, 18 months probation and $2,000 for possession of a loaded rifle in a vehicle Aug. 10 near ++++++++++, Benton Harbor.
receiving stolen property
*********, 46, +++++++++ Street, Benton Harbor, 1-5 years in prison for receiving and concealing stolen property valued at $1,000 to $20,000, ++++++++++++++, Sodus Township.
*********, 24, ++++++++++++, Coloma, 180 days in jail and $1,520 for receiving and concealing stolen property valued at $1,000 to $20,000, brass bars valued at $!2,000 taken June 10 from +++++++++++++++++, Weesaw Township.
**********, 41, ++++++++++++++, Bangor, 16 days in jail (credit for 16 days already served), two years probation, $4,413 restitution, and $1,320 fine and for attempted receiving stolen property $1,000 to $20,000 brass plaques, flower holders and other items taken July 18 from +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Hagar Township.
embezzlement
**********, 37, +++++++++++, Benton Harbor, five days in jail, two years probation, $6,532 restitution, and $2,160 fine and costs for embezzlement by agent or trustee of $1,000 to $20,000, stealing cash and merchandise from July 8 through Aug. 10 from her employer, ++++++++++++++, Benton Township.
***********, 46, +++++++++++, St. Joseph, one year probation, $2,697 restitution, $1,760 fine and costs, and 25 hours of community service for embezzlement by agent or trustee of property valued at $1,000 to $20,000, ++++++++++++++++++, ++++++++, ++++++++ Highway, Benton Township.
Welfare fraud
**********, 31, Stewart Avenue, Benton Harbor, 30 days in jail, 60 days tether, five years probation, $17,765 restitution, and $2,120 fine and costs for welfare fraud over $500, +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++.
**********, 29, ++++++++, Niles, one day in jail, one year probation, $5,825 restitution, and $1,940 fine and costs for welfare fraud over $500, failing to report information to the state Department of Human Services office in Benton Harbor that would affect the amount of public assistance she received from May 1, 2006, through July 31, 2008.
sex offender registration
***********, 43, ++++++++++, Benton Harbor, 90 days in jail and $120 for violating the state sex offender registration law by failing to report an address change on Sept. 11 in Benton Harbor.
***********, 33, +++++++++++, St. Joseph Township, 120 days in jail and $120 for violating the state sex offender registration law by failing to report an address change June 20 in Benton Harbor.
other sentences
**********, 17, Chicago, 240 days in jail and $120 for escape from the Berrien County Juvenile Center, Deans Hill Road, Berrien Township, on Sept. 14.
************, 30, +++++++++++, Benton Harbor, 150 days in jail and $1,420 for aggravated stalking, repeatedly harassing and threatening ********** on Aug. 1 in St. Joseph.
**********, 22, +++++++++++++, Benton Township, 120 days in jail and $120 for attempted possession of a Molotov cocktail (explosive device) May 26 at an apartment at++++++++++++, Benton Township.
*********, 25, ++++++++++, St. Joseph, 61 days in jail (credit for 61 days already served), 45 days tether, two years probation, $600 restitution, and $2,060 fine and costs for larceny of a firearm, stealing a pistol owned by *********** on Aug. 5 from an apartment +++++++++++++, St. Joseph.
************, 22, +++++++++++, Bridgman, 50 days in jail, 18 months probation, $247 restitution, and $2,100 fine and costs for identity theft, obtaining personal information about ************* to use in obtaining money with a financial transaction card.
***********, 28, +++++++++++, Coloma, 90 days in jail and $652 for two counts of writing noaccount checks, a check for $64.13 on June 9 and a check for $95.13 on June 10, both at +++++++++++, Benton Township.
Niles
assault
**********, 55, +++++++++++++, Niles, 90 days in jail, one year probation and $120 for attempted assault with a dangerous weapon (knife) on ******* on Aug. 13 ++++++++++++ Niles.
***********, 18, Marshall, 51 days in jail (credit for 51 days already served), 90 days tether, two years probation, $2,060 and 100 hours of community service for attempted assault with intent to rob while unarmed, ********** on Aug. 17 at ++++++++++++St., Buchanan.
receiving stolen property
**********, 33, ++++++++++, Berrien Springs, 90 days tether, two years probation and $840 for receiving and concealing stolen property valued at $1,000 to $20,000, possessing various personal property on July 11 that was stolen from five vehicles at +++++++++++++++ Niles Township. She was sentenced to pay to $4,670 in restitution, and $840 fine and costs, for a related offense of inducing a minor to commit a felony
Fleeing or resisting police
**********, 41, ++++++++++++++, Niles, 90 days tether, 18 months probation and $1,900 for third-degree fleeing and eluding Niles Officer Scott Swanson on May 17 on +++++++++++++, Niles.
other sentences
**********, 34, Greenwood Village, Colo., $1,100 restitution, and $870 fine and costs for attempted larceny in a building, stealing racing paraphernalia from a trailer July 27 at +++++++++++++, Buchanan Township.
***********, 23, ++++++++++++, Berrien Springs, 60 days tether, 18 months probation and $2,450 for uttering and publishing a stolen check for $50 June 20-30 at ++++++++++++++++, Buchanan Township.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Morning After Election Satire

November 5, 2008
Change, Change, Change?
Morning in Obamerica

By ISHMAEL REED counterpunch.org

[excerpts]"What does this promise land look like? This Obamerica? Shortly after Obama is sworn in, the police, instead of subjecting blacks and Hispanics to capricious traffic stops, will only stop them to offer free tickets to the policeman’s ball. Throughout the country, they will address blacks and Hispanics as sir and ma'm. The overcrowding prison problem will end, because all of the blacks and Hispanics who’ve been sent there as a result of prosecutorial and police misconduct,-probably half- will be set free. And all of those police who have murdered unarmed blacks only to be acquitted by all-white juries will be retried. Blacks will have the freedom to shop in department stores without being watched."

"Rush Limbaugh will inaugurate a series called “Great African American Inventors.” Spike Lee will be invited to run Columbia Pictures... The Newspaper Society of America will apologize for the lynchings and civil disturbances caused by an inflammatory media over the last one hundred or so years. A choked up Rupert Murdoch will read the statement on behalf of his colleagues."

"All of the blacks and Hispanics who have been driven out of New York, Oakland,and San Francisco, [& Benton Harbor] as a result of the policies of ethnic cleansing, ...will be invited to return. The banks that aimed toxic mortgage loans to blacks and Hispanics, who would have qualified for conventional loans had they been white, will halt the foreclosure process and renegotiate these loans."