Take Back Detroit! - Stimulating Michigan from Washington

While we were watching Rick Santelli (click here to watch) on CNBC start a Chicago Tea Party style “financial riot” (click here) with investors, a thought occurred to me. These people are the same people who managed the banks that owned the mortgages and cars. They should be as upset as the homeowner who re-financed their house based on having a job and getting to work in their car. The unregulated practice of money management has allowed people in the banking industry to decimate neighborhoods by:

1. Holding the notes to the property
2. Setting the bidding and asking prices in the commodities market on precious metals and various supplies.


Precious metals like copper wires, pipes, and lumber were great investment tools because you had an unlimited supply of goods in your inventory and set the prices too. As your former neighbor’s home was stripped for their parts, the scrap yards and commodities market were buzzing while your property value was dropping. This was a great plan if you had a vibrant economy in Michigan building Department of Defense products. Now that we don’t have that going anymore, we need to manufacture the green in America.

Returning to our agricultural roots will help restore the revenue in Michigan and America. Michigan Democrats led by State Representative George Cushingberry Jr. will do just that. On the agenda of the House of appropriations committee is to develop, create, and implement programs that will treat urban farming as a health concern. This is part of his plan for Detroit and Michigan to reduce the level of Diabetes in our communities. This program will help people feed themselves and the raise property values in the neighborhood. We will support the concept of Eastern Market in Detroit and the various fresh and healthy foods that it provides to the people of the State.


On a Statewide basis restoring homes and financial stability in Michigan is a priority. By Manufacturing Green products using industrial hemp, celloustic ethanol, and other Bio-proper goods will restore the revenue to our state. For instance, by growing Hemp products like Hemp Crete (click here),a type of concrete made from Industrial Hemp, every home that is taken down in the neighborhood will be rebuilt using this product. Displaced residents of a city will have the right of first return to their homeland. By establishing this rule, a decimated neighborhood would have the ability to recover from the depression.


For empty lots, neighbors will be encouraged to grow allowable plant projects in a secured and locked manner. Security could range from a dog in the yard to paying kids in the neighborhood to grow and watch the lot. Police and Fire personnel can divert their legal and physical resources to maintain quality products and keep people safe and healthy.


Starting in the farmlands and urban areas of Michigan, this bio-revolution would be a substantial addition to the commodities market just like petroleum, food, clothing, and other products. With the change in leadership in Washington, Michigan will prosper again with help and development in various areas of agriculture and manufacturing. Rep. Cushingberry’s committee will look funding programs that will assist homeowners with the selection of an affordable home, if they cannot afford the one that they are in now.


For people who have a job and income, they will have the ability to petition the court to modify their mortgage so that their home payment does not exceed %31 percent of their income. For lifelong residents of Michigan, a graduated scale for property tax will be created so that if you own a home in Michigan for over 40 years, your property tax will be reduced by %60. If you own your home for 50 years or more your property tax is eliminated and you pay a $25.00 Proud Resident Fee to your county treasurer.


The investors that owned these properties have given the neighborhoods a low rate of return in the form of property devaluation through deflation and benign neglect. The Obama Administration must step in with a stimulus to repair these homes by creating carpentry, and other construction jobs staffed with people who live in the same community. The people will be swinging hammers instead of slinging bullets. If they want to keep their guns then they will be a part of a new Harriet Tubman Firearm Safety Corps in partnership with the NRA and Law Enforcement agencies at the State, County and Local Police Levels.


Teachers will have jobs because students will be attending schools and using City Services that are maintained by the residents who live there. Rep Cushingberry in a bi-partisan effort will be a soldier with a mission to help the community prosper and provide a Stimulus from Lansing. When this happens then and only until then, all of the people will profit from the loss.

I hope the President is listening and reading this too because we need the money…

Click the Vote! Increasing Voter Turnout in Detroit with Online Voting using the City Clerk’s Office website.

One day were walking to an 8 mile Old Timers planning meeting, We were discussing upcoming elections that were coming up in 2009 for Mayor and City Council. We were on the corner of Chippewa and Cherrylawn streets when we ran into two neighborhood legends by the names of Oscar Baker and Wisker Hall. They were very busy but nice enough to stop by Johnson Recreation Center to see what was going on.

Former Representative Dr. Keith B. Stallworth had just got through giving a speech talking about the 4 upcoming elections in City of Detroit and the importance of voting. After we applauded his inspirational speech, Oscar, Wisker, Roscoe and Benjamin Drummer stopped for a minute to talk about the projected low voter turnout for all of the elections. Oscar asked us all a question “How do we get more people to vote?” Dr. Keith looked puzzled and asked Richard Clement his old school football teammate at Mumford High School back in the day about what to do.

“We need to run until we get tired, then get up and walk it off I said to Dr. Keith”

The question was so thought provoking that we agreed to send a text message to our friend Representative Cushingberry who was at Joe Louis Arena watching a Hockey game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs. During the 2nd period a puck flew into the seats. While George ducked along with the fans, a child sitting behind him spilled his drink all over his hair. Instead of getting upset at the child a vision flashed across his head.

There were 16 candidates running for mayor and I was one of them. People were saying that they could not get to the polls on Election Day so, myself and City Clerk Janice Winfrey developed a solution to the problem. We allowed the citizens of the City to cast their vote using the Detroit City Clerk’s website. The online polls would be open for two weeks before Election Day in synchronization with the first day of absentee voting. You could click your vote until 8pm of Election Day and allowed to vote once as long as you were a valid registered voter.

During the candidates debate I was asked to speak by the moderator about online voting program that we developed. The moderator tried to end the debate but the candidate continued to speak. Look people, we can buy cars online, get your credit checked online, find a mate, get a rebate, plan a vacation anywhere in the nation, including making donations on the New Prospect Baptist Church website. And if I was elected to the job, I would help the City Clerk implement an online strategy to increase voter participation in Detroit and, serve as a template for the State of Michigan.

The candidate continued on with the force of James Earl Jones and the smoothness of Prince, mixed in with a little David Ruffin.

If I was elected to the job of Secretary of State, I would implement a statewide online voting system within 12 months. Look at what we have done already on our blog. Currently, I am in a close race with Dave Bing and Ken Cockrell for the job of Mayor of the City. A supporter in the crowd shouted, “It looks like he is taking Bing to the hoops”. The candidate smiled and a few Dave Bing supporters smirked.

Before things went any further Representative Cushingberry shared a fact with the audience regarding an election in Missouri in 2000. He said did you know that a John Ashcroft lost an election to a person on the ballot who had died? It was OK because he ended up getting a job as Attorney General with the Bush Administration. “No unemployment check for him” Cushingberry said and the crowd let out a big laugh.

I responded to my friends and constituents with a text message saying.

I am a candidate for Michigan Secretary of State because I will get more voters to participate!

Let it be and vote for me!

The candidate went on and on and on until the crowd let out a huge, earsplitting roar. George snapped out of the dream because Nick Lidstrom had fired a “one timer” slap-shot into the net from outside the blue line and the people went crazy!

Our friend snapped out of his trance and said to himself that he likes his job serving the people of the State of Michigan in Lansing advancing his constituent's needs. Furthermore, there was a Hockey Game to be addressed and being a big Detroit fan, the Wings needed my undivided attention. He bought the child another drink, the parents a vegetarian pizza and the Red Wings won the game.

Go Wings!

A song by Mr. John Legend inspiring the call for community service to our nation.. (If you're out there)

As President Obama signs the stimulus package, we must all work together to make this country and world a better place to live. Forget the haters and perpetrators and keep our heads up because things will get better.....

Monitor the progress of our money by accessing this site www.recovery.gov
Enjoy the music and dream for the best....

Restoring the Revenue: Schoolbook Tax Credits for Michigan Residents with children in Public Schools.

One day a few friends of George called the office at 3:00am and left a message. This is the text of the message that was sent to his office and left this message:

“Hey Cush how come we can’t let the parents purchase the school books on Amazon or the Detroit Public School website and have it delivered to their home? This would guarantee that every child has a book. After the term is over, the parents can sell or donate the book to the school for a tax credit. “

The music was kind of loud behind the message too because the message was sent while we were in a different time zone having fun at the moment. However I thought that it deserved an answer because the question was so intriguing.

Parents should be given the option of purchasing books for their children. This would keep books in better condition longer because the parent would want to get the top dollar for the book when they want to sell it. The student would be responsible if they knew they were paying for the book themselves.

There will be a discount for dependents that are sending more than one child to a school district. This would be morally right to educate the children for the future. For each additional child enrolled in a school district, a taxpayer would get a %40 credit on the price on purchased books.

The concept of paperless e-Government would provide accountability and a record of books bought by a person in the school year. The accumulated list could be sent to your accountant and it would make it so simple to track expenses. Common software such as QuickBooks and Excel will allow the parents to download and keep a record for their files. If the book is donated to the school, the parent gets the credit for the entire amount of each book returned as a deduction on their tax return.



Education is so important to me that I may have an Appropriations Sub-Committee look at this concept at one of our meetings in the near future. The days of keeping books in warehouses are over and the children will not be denied. I would assist the Granholm Administration in creating and maintaining a viable accounting system that is user friendly to the residents of Detroit and the Citizens of Michigan. A key part of my committee is to ensure that the Department of Education has the full resources available to implement this plan. State residents will get accountability and measurable results in the area of education.

We were on our way to a meeting at General Motors at the “Ren-Cen”, I was sitting in the passenger seat of my ride. While Malik was driving, I sent a text message to them while we were on Lodge Freeway at 7 mile road. The message said “I will help whoever is elected to Mayor of the City of the Detroit to implement this Stimulus Program from Lansing in partnership with the State of Michigan, Department of Education”. Education is a bi-partisan issue with me and I will not shirk from that responsibility. At the Lodge Freeway and I-94, we sent them a voicemail message telling them to go to bed and get some sleep making all that noise on the other end.

Squat Michigan! - US Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-08 Ohio) is leading a growing revolution in our Cities

US House Rep Marcy Kaptur inspires foreclosed homeowners to tell the banks hell no, do not go. (Click here to see the Keep your Home Video Link)

Myself and my main man Roscoe “Skoe” Thomas were driving down the street when we drove past a family getting evicted from a home on Northlawn Street in my Detroit district. It was so sad to see the court officer directing the bank employees to place all items that were in the home on the street. The former residents of the home watched in tears and pain as the incident unfolded by the second. We were so taken aback by this that we had to stop and give them encouragement and assist them in getting help with a roof over their head.

After getting the information from the family we discovered that these people were active voters in the City of Detroit and were proud citizens of a city they grew up in. They also had 3 children that attended school in Detroit and their educational progress was in extreme jeopardy. I was so moved by this indent that I said this to “Skoe”. The winds of change have swept into Washington DC! And I am tired of seeing my fellow citizens being thrown out of good homes. There are so many homes empty that had children attending schools and purchasing goods from neighborhood establishments that when they leave, the business that depended on the fail also.


I like the ideas of US House Representative Marcy Kaptur (D) (Ohio 8th District) regarding squatting in a home. I believe that the elected leaders see the damage that these banks have done to us. We also see the damage of high fuel prices that did not help the Auto Industry. It was not the Big Three’s fault when the price of fuel went up to $4 and $5 dollars a gallon. We can build fuel efficient cars and SUVs' that run on alternative fuel sources here in Detroit and have jobs for everyone. Ms. Kaptur has a good start in the revolution to tell the banks “Hell No, We won’t go!” It is time that we spank these banks for ruining the lives and the livelihood of our neighbors and friends. Just look at this video link (Click Here to watch the video link) from CNN.COM regarding our neighbors in Toledo!



Maybe we should take our cue from this woman and lead a revolution to revitalize our cities. By letting people stay and creating a group of jobs allowing the residents to beautify parks, fix their roads, and teaching the children, our cities will become a Mecca of re-vitalized hope and prosperity. By letting the people “occupy” the homes on the condition that they; join trade programs and/or take jobs in area such as Recreation department, Police, Fire, public works, this will create a lot of revenue and restore the property values in our cities.

It is high time that we make these banks “lend” us our money back George said to Roscoe. I hope that we can inspire the remaining homeowners to fight foreclosure by legal means to have the bank re-negotiate the loan terms for everyone. Michigan residents can be rest assured that I will introduce bills to have the banks produce online monthly statements for the taxpayers to see with their own eyes. This is necessary and I will run this by a few financial experts and work with my blog-master and other technology consultants to make this thing happen for the good of the State.


We got into our car and drove off knowing that we gave some encouragement to another struggling family in America. I will miss my constituents votes and support and keep them in my prayers George said to Roscoe. As we were driving, we turned the radio on to Mix 92.3 and listened to a song by the Winans Gospel Group. They were signing “It’s time to make a change” and, paraphrasing Pastor Marvin, “We are people who WILL do it”.

Restoring the Revenue – Funding Universal Health Care for Michigan Citizens by re-directing and modifying expenses in Corrections and Law Enforcement

My old friend Bruce Lewis and I were talking one day about how we can help the new president and, the local neighbors receive quality of life health care from their Government. Bruce asked me about what can we do about it here in Michigan? I pondered the question and the first thing that came into my mind was the huge imbalance in priorities regarding Corrections and Community Health issues. I remember when Pasteur School had a full time nurse working in the building and cooked their own food on site. At least the neighbors had jobs and they sure could cook too.


It is with that spirit and tribute to the people we looked up to in our neighborhood and, the citizens of the State, that I put down a list of things that I will promote in the 2009-2011 legislative session.

1. The addition of 1 million Michigan residents to the existing Medicaid program to facilitate Universal Health Care by redirecting Federal Funding of Corrections Budget to the Department of Community Health


2. Removing all 3858 Marijuana Related prisoners from the Dept of Corrections system with a savings of up to $36 million dollars.(Click Here for 2007 House Fiscal Agency Report).


3. Redirect federal funds from County jails to health care costs by removing Marijuana related prosecutions and paperwork from the prosecutor’s office to the county health departments.


4. Funding Programs to increase the use of Community Colleges for the purpose of training and furthering educational opportunities for Michigan residents. This will require the addition of 100,000 slots in State Community Colleges.


5. Funding for 25,000 young people working in recreation centers, forestry, alternative fuel development, and other jobs during the summer, including apprentice programs year round.

To accomplish this task, the first thing we will do is modify legislative salary benefits to achieve maximum savings. In some instances the reductions will reduce wages by increasing deductibles on medicines and primary health care. These are tough times and I know my colleagues and I can sacrifice just like our constituents. The pain will be there for a moment but I will add one caveat, there will be a process for the replacement of the additional cost.

To replace this cost, I will petition the Obama Administration to expand the Family Independence Agency rules to include full coverage health care. These funds will be drawn from the existing TARP program or a new program that his Department of Food and Drug Administration develops. I will propose that Persons with insurance will pay a monthly $60 fee to a State of Michigan Universal Health Care fund at a cost of $720 per year. This will grant you rights to receive preventive health care coverage including, mental, vision, and dental care. For every dollar paid into the fund the Federal Government will pay 3 dollars into the fund. If a medical professional is doing a fine job they should get paid accordingly.

Bruce said “hey Mr. Chairman, how do we get more medical professionals on the case”? The young people are very good at video games and graffiti. They sit in school and have video games on their cell phones playing space invaders with people all over the world. To fund this program, I will draft a proposal from my committee to use TARP funding to create one hundred thousand additional spaces in Community Colleges and Universities. Governor Granholm and I are totally committed to education like our parents in the neighborhood were. I was so proud of my constituents that I had my staff to create a PowerPoint presentation on the Restoration of Revenue in Michigan. This is available for public viewing for all to see. In my duties as the chair of the Appropriations committee, this information is a guideline for financial management and stability of State Revenues. (Click here to view MS PowerPoint presentation)

I want to encourage retired professionals to work in the local school districts for 20 hours a week or an agreed time commitment to the schools. Compensation will be in the form of retirement credits, heath care fee credits, or educational credits that can be transferred to individuals such as next of kin and living children under 30 years old. The valuable experience that these professionals have should not be lost forever but passed on to future generations. A person who has the time to write graffiti is a person without a meaningful job. I feel that with the new changes in Washington DC, we all will have a champion to fight for the people who are truly in need like homeowners and out of work youth.

Hey Bruce do you remember the Recreation Centers that the City used to have? We learned how to swim, play basketball, and do arts and crafts. We had lifeguards that lived in the community like Janice Ripton and the Clement boys. The Gym staff had all the local heroes of the High School Basketball team and their friends. The friends’ that were home from College worked out there during the summer and helped the kids. The NCAA let them have summer jobs without penalty and they always gave back to the community. The senior citizens of the neighborhood used the center for various activities and the rental cost was enough to pay staff to clean up and provide the room. Crime was down and people had a common respect for each other because we all loved and cared about the upkeep of the city. Can we fund these types of programs again? It seems that the banks have become the biggest slumlords in the country. What can we do about it? Bruce asked.

Well Brother Lewis, to fund this program I will use the funds that were redirected from the Department of Corrections and federal funds to sponsor a 21st century like C.E.T.A. program. I will propose to cut 2 additional prisons sites in Jackson and Ionia and purge all people in the State of Michigan Corrections system for Marijuana crimes. According to the House Fiscal Agency, in 2008 we have 3858 participants at a cost of up to $32,000 per person for people in Jail, Prison, or Probation in the Corrections system for Marijuana related crimes. By removing these people from the Corrections system combined with all of the adjustments will save the taxpayers at least $5 billion dollars within 5 years. To support this please read the fiscal impact study performed by the Michigan House of Representatives Fiscal Agency in 2008 on the financial impact of the Michigan Medical Marijuana law approved by the voters. (Click here to read PDF document from the House Fiscal Agency).

The Department of Community Health will also allow registration through their website for patients and caregivers to save taxpayer dollars. The era of e-government and the paperless society will be stressed. The cards will produced by Michigan based firms and the system will be maintained by Michigan Residents. I am very pleased at the perspective of law enforcement regarding Medical Marijuana because they do not want to be bothered with “the management and warehousing of weed” as one State Trooper stated during the public hearing and comment session held in January by the Department of Community Health.

Finally, we also have a large number of people who are in the Corrections system that are mental patients in disguise. These people are public health clients instead of Corrections lawbreakers. Given the state of people’s minds during this economic downturn, a lot of compassion needs to be given to people without a living wage. With just $5 billion in TARP funding we can turn Michigan around and save $5 billion in cuts and redistribution of funds to health programs.

With federal matching funds, Michigan and the world will pull out of this national depression of the last 5 years. Bruce to let fellow citizens die when we could have helped them is totally immoral. And to all of my friends, colleagues, and citizens in the State, we the people will be back. We the people will get up and walk it off after the financial hits that we have taken. We will overcome the pain and turn it into a gain! And with that being said, Bruce and I sat down and ate the bar-b-queue Chicken that we cooked outside in the cold winter snow.

Are you in need of Money? Apply for a piece of the $700 billion dollar bailout today.!

Click Here to download an application for a share of the Federal Government's $700 billion dollar Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funding. This is the official document that is being used by the Auto Industry and the Banking Industry to get a share of the money.

By filling out this simple two page application, your name will be placed in the running for use of this money.

Get your fair share of your tax dollars now!

Let your money make money work for you.!

Don't hesitate, apply today!

Because it is YOUR money!

This e-posting is from the Friends of Cushingberry and we approve this message.