Ending the Civil War on the Riverfront: Keeping Michigan Trucking Business in Michigan with the new Ambassador Bridge span.

The Friends of George Cushingberry Jr.
August 20, 2009



The construction of the Detroit River International Crossing Bridge(DRIC)has a hidden cost to the State of Michigan. With the support of former Governor James Blanchard lobbying on the behalf of the Canadian Government, the revenue from the trucking industry would be transferred out of the United States to Canada.


If this is allowed to transpire, it will be at the expense to the citizens and business in the City of Detroit.

Mr. Maroun is willing to invest his own money in the bridge and Riverfront Park that is on the land adjoining the bridge if approved. Currently this city park is full of potholes in the parking lot that is big enough to swallow 17 inch tires or big enough to make a Pontiac Vibe fall in and damage the undercarriage of the vehicle.

The neighborhood surrounding the current Ambassador Bridge is in need of new revenue and opportunity. Currently US Customs and US Border patrol vehicles frequently drive the neighborhood surrounding the bridge. The old bridge has been modified to handle the additional traffic and US Customs inspection requirements for trucks. With the new span in place, 4000 to 20,000 additional jobs will be generated by pedestrians and trolley service between Windsor and Detroit. The trolley will be similar to the people mover that is currently travelling around downtown Detroit. It would be located on the new span with a connecting station on the Detroit side to a people mover line to Downtown Detroit. It would also be a long and healthy walk or bike ride across the old bridge to Windsor and back on the old span with the cars and trucks on the new span.

The DRIC Bridge located one mile away from the Ambassador Bridge is being built with public funds in a retaliatory measure toward Mr. Maroun. The biggest waste of taxpayer money is the actions of the United States Coast Guard in their opposition to the bridge. Both of the supports for the new bridge will be located on the riverbank of each side of the river. The span going across the river will be 10 to 20 feet higher than the old span of the bridge. The US Coast Guard is saying that it will interfere with boat traffic going across the river and a navigation hazard.

Did they consult true engineers or did they hire a Sara Palin clone to do the research?

This is the same Coast Guard that has to drive their boats under the Mackinaw Bridge and other existing bridges in Michigan. This is an extremely poor excuse by our Government at all levels and, the commanding officer of the Coast Guard has earned a written reprimand from his superiors for marketing this excuse.

The solution to this problem is to allow Mr. Maroun to complete the project at the current location. The residents of the neighborhood could use the additional business and the jobs that it will generate. Mr. Maroun has spent his own money to acquire land rights on both sides of the river including the narrow stretch of land between Highway 401 and the current bridge.

Road construction creates jobs on both sides of the river and this is on the wrong side of the issue. Mayor Bing and our friend George support the completion of the project at the current location. Public Dollars shall not be unwisely used to create an additional project to disadvantage private business. The Ambassador Bridge has been one of the most stable businesses in Detroit. We at The Friends want you to send an email or call Rep Cushingberry to express your concern for the job killing stance on the bridge and, support its completion keeping jobs and revenue in the City of Detroit and the State of Michigan.

Contact for Rep. George Cushingberry Jr.
Phone: 888 347 8008
Email George Cushingberry Jr. gcushingberry@house.mi.gov

Michigan Department of Transportation Gateway Project Information Webpage
MapQuest View of the Ambassador Bridge Area

*** As Corrected August 27, 2009 *********

Restoring the Revenue: Rep. Cushingberry addresses this pressing issue with an online presentation.

Our friend George has for public review a presentation on the current status of the Michigan economy. Please take the time to review it by (clicking here). Michigan will recover from our current economic condition and with the leadership of our friend George, our state will prosper once again. If you have questions or would like to schedule a visit by Rep. Cushingberry please contact our office by calling or email:

Phone: (517) 373-2276
Toll-Free (888) 347-8008
Email georgecushingberry@house.mi.gov

Thank you for allowing Mr. Cushingberry to serve the people.
The Friends of George Cushingberry Jr.

Ending The Standoff at the Gateway Project: House Concurrent Resolution #11 - "Ending the Civil War on the Riverfront"

Ending the Standoff at the Gateway Project:
Rep. Cushingberry introduces legislation to bring a truce on the river
By The Friends of Cushingberry
July 20, 2009


House Concurrent Resolution #11 was introduced by Representative Cushingberry this year to resolve the differences and encourage investment into the City of Detroit, State of Michigan and the United States of America. The completion of this bridge project would allow pedestrians, bike riders, and automotive traffic to cross the river fostering trade and revenue between the two cities of Windsor Canada and Detroit Michigan. It has been determined by independent studies from both countries that the project will create nearly 4,000 jobs during construction and support 20,000 jobs over the next 2 decades.

The friends support our friend George’s request that the Michigan Strategic Fund approve the Phase II inducement resolution of $787 million dollars to assist with the completion of the project. We also encourage MDOT and Detroit International Bridge Company to resolve their differences by allowing for the $145 million oversight to be made up in 3 to 6 years with bonds, public stock offerings, and payment from tolls from the increased traffic. And if it gets too tight, we would support the DIBC holding a fish fry on both sides of the bridge every third Friday of the month until the debt is paid off.


Marty Maroun is a brilliant person who likes to build bridges and spend his own money to do it with. With a short term loan from the Michigan Strategic Fund any additional work would be paid for and reimbursed back to the Fund within 5 years through duties and tariffs on products grown in America and Canada. Hemp from Canada instead of trash, exporting Detroit fertilizer from reprocessed solid waste as meloganite. The revenue generated from these and other sources would be invested into the DIBC project and others as needed. The entire region would prosper with investments from banks that are Michigan friendly and have a concern for the survival of the state.

Tearing out work that has already been done is a job killer and with Michigan’s unemployment rate at %15.0, this is an unwise request in these economic times. In summary the United States Coast Guard should come up with a better plan instead of excuses and work with DIBC. There is no excuse for stopping a job creating bridge project that will benefit everyone in the long run.

The needless standoff regarding funding is not creating any jobs but causing confusion and bad feelings among my constituents. In the interest of jobs and economic growth the differences must be resolved by all parties.




The entire text of the resolution can be read by clicking here:
House Concurrent Resolution #11 – Full Text.

Ending the Standoff at the Gateway Project in Detroit MI (Pot & MDOT)

Ending the Standoff at the Gateway Project
How Pot can fund MDOT
by The Friends of George Cushingberry




It was just a few weeks ago that MDOT Director Kirk Steudle went to the House appropriations committee to beg for additional funds. You could not tell the difference between him and Keith Sweat in the way he was asking for an increase in fuel taxes. He said that a half of pack of Gum increase in the fuel tax will allow MDOT to build and maintain new and existing bridges and roads. At the same time MDOT has $145 million dollars tied up in a legal squabble along the US / Canada border regarding the Ambassador Bridge and Federal Stimulus Funding.

Rep. Cushingberry asked his master blogger Richard Clement to take some time to investigate the situation on the river and report back to him. And on one bright and beautiful Saturday afternoon Richard went for a ride on the river. There was a duty free shop and a lot of dirt and, there was construction that stopped at the street. On the Canadian side, all of the homes in the path of the bridge are vacant and waiting to be removed. The Ambassador Bridge is a privately owned bridge and the owner wants a new span built. They have duty free shops that sell a pack of gum with no sales tax on them so that visitors can have something to take home.

So what does this have to do with a half a pack of gum? How much is a half a pack of gum? How big is the pack in question? ($0.25 up to $1.00 for a pack of some real good Wrigley’s Spearmint. The math would be half of those amounts or $0.37 and $1.50 respectively. ) I ran into my old school neighbor from around the corner by the name of Richard Bennett. Mr. Bennett a prominent citizen of Detroit designed the African Mask Logo on the Charles H. Wright museum and he heard about the half a pack of gum increase in fuel.

I mentioned to him that did you know that for the cost of a $2.00 marijuana cigarette MDOT could have enough money to fix roads, bridges, potholes, and still have money left over for employee out of state travel. The Duty Free shops on both ends of the bridge will be allowed to sell hemp products without fear from prosecution at the hands of US Customs Agents and the Drug Enforcement Agency. If you have a valid Michigan Medical Marijuana card with your passport, you can legally have 2.5 ounces of Marijuana in your possession at the border crossing.

Before I could finish another neighbor Leodis “Tony” Elam who is a magician with carpentry work in the City walked by. He said to me “man, what are you talking about”? Richard Bennett said let him finish and we will dog him out later! Tony said go ahead and finish because I have some work to do. I carried on to say that MDOT could raise substantial amounts of revenue by allowing the utilization of land in the right of way areas of the Interstate Highway system to produce income generating crops. Crops like from corn to Industrial Hemp will fuel Michigan and create jobs for residents and sustain the economy.

What is wrong with TWO bridges? Michigan and Ontario have approved land for a brand new span about a mile away that will be built with public funds. Is there a plan for a pedestrian walkway with a bike path to Canada on the bridge? If the old span is kept then will it be converted to a pedestrian walkway? These questions must be answered for the good of all the Citizens of Detroit and Michigan in order to allow the owner to build this new bridge. The owner of the Ambassador Bridge is a very sharp person with a definite plan to get the job done. Everything else is an accounting matter that can be handled by an admission of guilt by all and a plan to pay for the overage over a period of time. Basically add up the extras, finish the job and go home.

After listening to that speech, Tony and Richard pulled out their cell phones and called their elected officials saying to them that they need to get it together in Lansing. Then they said they would cut me a break this time and said say hello to your dad.

We the Friends of Cushingberry are urging that every candidate running for office in the City of Detroit write a letter of concern to MDOT and Canadian officials seeking a settlement of this issue. We call on current Mayor Bing and the Detroit City Council to file a letter of protest with the Michigan House and Senate to have this project come to a completion. This is not the way President Obama wanted the stimulus funds to be spent as a reserve fund for attorney fees. While we know that the legal community needs employment but deep down inside, both sites must come to a conclusion to resolve these differences.

Representative Cushingberry is not happy about this situation and would like to see it resolved at once before further action is taken by the appropriations committee

Rep. Cushingberry fights for Consumer Credit Dignity with House Bill 4330 of the 2009 Session.

Representative Cushingberry is co-sponsoring House Bill 4330, legislation to allow consumers to take legal action against Credit Reporting Agencies who continually report negative credit information in an unjust manner. Instead of playing mail and phone tag with arrogant and un-cooperative credit representatives, a consumer can bring action in a Michigan District Court to adjudicate the matter.

House Bill 4330 is designed to be a friend to the consumer who of no fault of their own lost their job, death in the family, divorce and other reasons that credit information becomes negative. The text of the bill is as follows:

SEC. 8309. (1) A CONSUMER MAY BRING AN ACTION IN THE DISTRICT COURT AGAINST A CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY FOR AN INCOMPLETE OR INACCURATE ITEM OF INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE CONSUMER'S FILE AT THE CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY. AN ACTION MAY NOT BE COMMENCED UNDER THIS SUBSECTION UNLESS THE PROCEDURE FOR RESOLVING DISPUTES CONCERNING THE COMPLETENESS OR ACCURACY OF SUCH ITEMS OF INFORMATION UNDER SECTION 611 OF THE FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT, 15 USC 1681I, HAS BEEN COMPLETED.

In order for a consumer to take an action, the consumer must exhaust all remedies and procedures under the United States Fair Credit Reporting Act. When the consumer goes to District Court and receives a favorable judgment, the consumer reporting agency has 10 days to remove the information or face fines and contempt of court charges. The sponsors of this bill have the consumer’s financial best interest at heart.

Representative Cushingberry and Primary Sponsor Fred Durhal are active when it is an issue of consumer protection of our constituents. If you are in support of this legislation, The Friends would like you to take the time to e-mail and call your State Representative in Lansing and the sponsors of the bill expressing your support to make it the law of the land.

A Full reading of the bill can be seen here when you (click here).


Primary Sponsor
Rep. Fred Durhal. FredDurhal@house.mi.gov

Co-Sponsors:
Bob Constan bobconstan@house.mi.gov
George Cushingberry georgecushingberry@house.mi.gov
Robert Dean robertdean@house.mi.gov
Bert Johnson bertjohnson@house.mi.gov
Fred Miller fredmiller@house.mi.gov
Joel Sheltrown joelsheltrown@house.mi.gov
Rashida Tlaib RashidaTlaib@house.mi.gov
Coleman Young colemanayoungii@house.mi.gov

The Obama Administration and Census 2010: A commitment to reverse the act of "Digital Injustice" by undercounting citizens.

Now that the Obama Administration has decided to move this department to a Cabinet Level position, extra attention will be paid to processes that determine the “final” number count.

Since the 1960's the census has undercounted cities and counties by %3 to %14 percent. A traditional method used against a city is the definition of a home or a structure. You may know that there are some boarders who are occupying a home in the neighborhood. The census has a map of your neighborhood and knows that something is there. Your neighbors all agree that someone is living there and have proof by looking at them everyday going in and out of the home.

When the Census Takers come through the neighborhood, they count that home and the people in there. As the numbers are passed up through the chain of processing, someone decides that the home is not a structure and those numbers are removed from the final count. The City loses out on the count because some Washington appointed bureaucrat decided that it should happen like that.


With the Obama Administration elevating the Census to a Cabinet level position, more attention will be paid to the processing of information. Even more intriguing, the administration will have final say over the analysis of the information. This effort will require that citizens that have technology skills are essential to the achievement of fair counting of Cities in our Country.

Just imagine people like Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi as the Chief Information Officer for the Census with a staff full of database administrators and computer programmer/analysts who think like him. This man believes that segregation in the 1960’s would have been better for America. Dr. Martin Luther King would have been in a Guantanamo Style prison and Nelson Mandela would still be in Jail. The applications that the staff would design would count citizens as darkies with other ethnic categories to dilute the true count of people. They would add other ethnic categories and, add so many variables that by the time the data was official, you would have an undercount/over count situation.

The following table shows what Detroit’s 2000 Census Population would have looked like based on the adjustment correction of 3 to 14 percent. (Note at a %6 adjustment, Detroit’s reported population of 951,270 would have been 1,008,346)

Table 1 Detroit 2000 Census Figures Adjusted %3 to %14.

                  Pct. Population
                   0%     951,270 
                   3%     979,808 
                   4%     989,321 
                   5%     998,834 
                   6%   1,008,346 
                   7%   1,017,859 
                   8%   1,027,372 
                   9%   1,036,884 
                   10%  1,046,397 
                   11%  1,055,910 
                   12%  1,065,422 
                   13%  1,074,935 
                   14%  1,084,448

(Source 2000 Census – click here to go to US Census Bureau data for Detroit)

Resources would be re-directed to populations that would be inflated for the purpose of weakening the voting voice and the financial resources of a group of people. Gerrymandering is the establishment of state and federal congressional boundaries to give one party a voting advantage over another. For example the Michigan’s US 8th congressional district includes the area of Lansing, Clinton County, Livingston County and, parts of Shiawassee and northern Oakland County. (Click here to view map of Michigan's 8th congressional district). You end up with congress people who consistently vote against President Obama and do not have to worry about losing an election. The resulting damage appears in the area of race, finance and economics. The continuation of this process will contribute to a 21st century style depression that will cause massive damage to the national security of America.

We at the Friends of Cushingberry are calling for total transparency of the Census process. This will include the fair processing of data using accountable and certified methods and procedures. The advance of technology and the improved processes from the 1900s makes the actual process of counting citizens obsolete. However, the process has a purpose because it can be used as a benchmark to determine the accuracy of collected data from 3rd party sources like moving companies, utility companies, and private businesses.

Herman Hollerith was a former Census Bureau employee who quit government work and founded IBM. Every punch card and mainframe was the result of a birth of an idea to improve a process. With President Obama elevating the Census to a Cabinet level Agency, technology and accountability will take on an increased importance to citizens of Michigan. Our final word for today is that the Census is hiring! (Click here to apply) The President and Rep. Cushingberry are urging all city and county residents to apply for jobs with the US Census Bureau today. Your community’s future depends on it.

 

Reprocessed Waste Saves Money and Clears the Air Space.

Meloganite is a by-product of processed solid human waste. The largest producers of material are municipal water sewage systems. The City of Detroit has been collecting solid waste from citizens and burning it in a large incinerator for years. By converting this process to a Meloganite re-processing operation, a municipality can generate revenue for development and maintenance of their community.


The final product can be packaged and sold as fertilizer for people to use on their lawns and gardens. For example the city of Milwaukee Wisconsin currently sells their Meloganite at retail outlets like Home Depot and Menards. With all of the available and abundant land in the State of Michigan due to foreclosures and abuse of financial bearing products by hedge fund managers, Meloganite will help restore the land for producing food, medicine, and better looking lawns for property owners.


House Appropriations Chairman Rep. George Cushingberry Jr(D-08) and Agriculture Chairman Rep. Mike Simpson(D-65) urge Mayor Bing to stop burning solid waste and spare the citizens health from polluting the air with cancer causing carcinogens. Therefore we are urging Mayor Bing to complete the contract to send solid waste to Michigan agricultural applications instead of burning it in the Detroit incenary. Air quality is a priority and the completion of this action would help end the pollution of our environment.

Meloganite equals a new word($) for an old turd.

What it takes to Have a Good City: A new commitment to Transportation and a New Cobo Hall

Since the days of Dave Bing, Bob Lanier, and Dave DeBusschere, the Cobo Hall arena is now a non functional use of space. We the friends feel that in the design of the new Cobo Hall Convention Center, the area that is now the arena should be removed and replaced. The new facility would encompass Joe Louis Arena, be 3 times larger and, %50 taller than the current facility. The area will be large enough to have Joe Louis Arena accessible from inside of the new facility without patrons having to go outside.

Additional routes and the expansion of the Detroit People Mover will allow more people to park farther away and have rapid transportation to the North American International Auto Show and Detroit Red Wings games and other events. Expansion of rail service from Downtown Detroit to Lansing, Grand Rapids, Flint, Chicago, Cleveland, and places beyond is an attainable goal. With a commitment from Amtrak and the Detroit People Mover, this new project will give Detroit and Michigan the Stimulus it needs by creating jobs for its residents.

We remember all of those people walking around the neighborhood who used to work in concrete for a living. Fathers like Mr. Hall and Mr. Clement Sr. would have a few friends over and put in sidewalks and driveways for customers, neighbors, and friends. Young people were always willing to learn and do something for compensation if you taught them how to do it. Some of them liked it so well that they went out on their own. With all of this empty housing that need to be repaired or re-built, opportunities for City Residents will increase.


The way to have a good City is to fix the roads in a timely and fair manner. And Rep. Cushingberry is in Lansing making sure that this is a priority. New revenues in fuel will fund the repair of the roads. Cellulosic Ethanol and Industrial Hemp all grown in Michigan, by Michigan farmers in every county will create jobs and new revenue for the exclusive maintenance of State and Local highways. Contract opportunities for disadvantaged and small businesses will increase by %50 over 2 years. In laypersons terms if you are building a road in my city, then you better be committed to hire city residents or don’t bother signing up for the job.

Empty lots in Detroit will be prime candidates for conversion into growing fields producing food, fuel, and medicine for City residents. Lots can be leased by owners by the yard with a tax stamp from the State of Michigan, similar to the labeling currently on tobacco and liquor. This would include the revenue from Duty Free approved business selling Michigan grown food and medicine. International visitors would be allowed to purchase these home grown products on their way home.


Mayor Bing and Rep. Cushingberry are very interested in the future of the City and will pledge to get local residents hired for this massive project. It is time to come into the 21 Century and have a facility that will be superior to McCormack Place in Chicago and any other comparable facility worldwide.


The opportunity to design the facility will be given to students in Detroit Public Schools and the Tri-County area using the latest technology from leading edge technology based companies. The winning design will be chosen by a team of designers and civic leaders. The result of this effort would be a true gift of the people to themselves and others to come afterwards.


Can anybody say legacy to the people?

Congratulations to Mayor Bing. You have 3 months to “Do Your Thing”.

We offer our congratulations to Dave Bing and the successful race for Mayor of Detroit. Now that the people have made their voices heard (%15 of you), Mr. Bing has 3 months to make effective change. If he is successful in becoming one of the two final candidates for the November election, Detroit will truly have a new vision and a direction for the next four years.

Will Chief Barren stay or go? Will others survive or assimilate to accept the new leadership changes from the Bing Administration? Can the Department of Recreation become a driving force in the City again? Besides Police and Fire, the Recreation department has been one of the most influential departments in the city. The way to support the youth is for the youth to have something to do. There are opportunities where young people can participate in rebuilding the city in the form of rebuilding homes, cutting grass, and summertime swimming in City pools.

The City swimming pools are a hiring ground for lifeguards and play an important part in helping Detroit residents learn how to swim. Drowning is a sin that can and should be avoided at all costs. Training youth how to swim is essential to having a great city. Mr. Bing can make a strong impact in this area if he can pull off a “two minute drill” knocking down ‘three pointers from the arc’ in organizing departments.

Mr. Bing would be guaranteed re-election in November if he could restore the functionality of Coleman Young International Airport for commercial flights again. This area of the city has suffered from total benign financial neglect. Hiring security for the parking lots and working with Delta/Northwest, a small hub in the city will employ numerous City residents and, restore the neighborhoods that surround them. Airport management needs the support of the Mayors office and council to make effective change.

Mr. Bing would also re-vitalize the City by supporting same day voter registration for Detroit Residents. The Current City clerk is very open to the use of streamlined technology. With the current technology this process would be very easy to implement.

State Representative Cushingberry will be very supportive of the people’s choice for Mayor. He will do everything he can for Detroit from the Capitol providing stimulus for the City with support from Senate Democrats and Governor Granholm. Accounting transparency is a must for the school system and Rep. Cushingberry supports allowing parents to purchase books for their children from publishers and receive a tax credit for %110 of the value of the books purchased when they are donated to the school system.

Mayor Bing will have 3 months to do his thing if he wants the job for the next 4 years.


We wish him and our city well.

What it takes to have a good City: Good Citizens who make having a good neighborhood an obligation.

Who are these people? They are your next door neighbors and residents who live on your block. They are the neighbors who keep their property up by cutting the grass, planting gardens, and watching out for each other’s property. Your neighbor may be of a different political party, religion, age group, and gender. Each of them have their own world they live in but as a collective group they were concerned about each others general health and welfare. These neighbors formed a block of concerned citizens who brought up issues of city services, property taxes, fire and police protection to proper government officials.

Another service these groups perform is making sure that the children are in school if they were of school age. One of the obligations to a good city is to make sure the residents get quality education. These community groups were also members of the school PTA who helped with student issues and the management of the educational system. When you are a part of a neighborhood adopting an attitude of “I can be an Island by themselves” is counterproductive.

And in honor of good citizenship, I am starting my Cush's Hats Off Award program for groups or individuals who conspire to perform acts of mass kindness and goodwill towards their fellow neighbors.


The first Hats off Award goes to: Blackstone Community Organization

This group is responsible for the Schafer & 7 mile area in Northwest Detroit. They have a 30 year history of goodwill toward neighbors. They work to make sure that the residents get information on Government Services at the Federal, State, County, and Local level. This group serves as a model prototype for Associations of Block Clubs.


If you have a block club or organization that you feel deserves the Cush's Hats Off award, please contact us via our website or by email at georgecushingberry@house.mi.gov

Take back Detroit: Rep. Cushingberry favors expanding Law Enforcement resources from Washington and Lansing for Citizens of Detroit.

Our Friend George will sponsor legislation to expand law enforcement services support to Detroit residents. The support will benefit agencies such as the Detroit Public Schools Public Safety and the Wayne County Sherriff Department. To help support the Detroit Police Department, Mr Cushingberry will push for the establishment of a State Police Post within the City Limits. Detroit Police Chief Barren will get additional stimulus for the department for funding the Mini Stations that are spread out between the precincts of the city. With Law Enforcement spread out into the neighborhoods, police resources are located closer to the community. For high crime and special circumstances that require the approval of the residents on that street, security cameras will be mounted on that street with a history tape to record movements and to secure homes.


The Detroit Public Schools will benefit from the increase funding because it will allow the schools to open opportunities for interaction between the youth and Police and Fire Departments. Apprentice cadet programs for Police and Fire careers would be sponsored by community officers in both departments. Programs like EMT, Underwater Rescue and recovery, Detective work, and Arson Investigation will allow Detroit youth to explore careers in public service.



Facilities like empty school buildings and other abandoned structures could be re-furbished with Stimulus funding to have public services closer to the residents. These facilities in the communities can house Federal agencies such as the US Marshals Office, FBI, DEA, and ATF could share these facilities. Rep Cushingberry will also support a study that will analyze response times by call types over a two-year period. From this study a guideline will be developed for Police to respond to calls based on emergency type. A base required response time of 15 minutes on all calls will be a goal of the department and Rep Cushing berry will assist from Lansing with funding, organizing meetings, and other duties that the Fire and Police Departments together can solve.


Having an advocate for the people in Lansing is a gift of gold, especially to Detroit residents who faithfully live in the City despite this economy. George is really concerned about his people and will do whatever he can to help the City residents. As President Obama has stated, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it is shining bright with opportunity for all. Rep Cushingberry has the same compassion for his fellow citizens and is a zealot when it comes to their needs. Being down is a temporary condition that can be fixed over time through determination and monetary support from Banks and other Venture Capitalists.

Hang on because our time is coming….

Take back Detroit: Improving Response Time for the Police and Fire Departments. Incentives for City employees living inside the City of Detroit

A conversation between Retired Detroit Police Officer Sgt. Roscoe L. Thomas and State Representative George Cushingberry Jr.

Mr. Roscoe L. Thomas served as a Sergeant, Chief investigator for the Homicide Division and Steward to fellow officers. He is a lobbyist for the Michigan Association of Retired Police Officers. He has over 25 years of experience with the department and retired with full honors.

State Representative George Cushingberry Jr. is serving as the chairman of the House Appropriations committee and has served in the legislature for over 20 years. We sat down and had a conversation regarding maximizing police response time to incidents and keeping Detroit safe with Detroit’s finest. On this one Thursday evening, we talked about the New Detroit we see that will revitalize the community. We begin the question and answer conversation below:

Rep. Cushingberry:
How can we decrease the response time from Detroit Police and Fire Departments to its citizens? I get constituent complaints regarding this issue. Do you have any ideas that can improve this situation?

Sgt. Thomas:
I am always the optimist and believe that things can get better when we work on innovation and ideas brought forth by concerned citizens and Law Enforcement personnel.

When I started we had 5000 officers under Coleman Young and at one time we were considered the murder capital of the world. The department has evolved over the years and has flexed well given the current economic times.

Restoring the Police precincts in the neighborhood is a good idea from Chief Barren because it puts the Department closer to the community. As an incentive to live in Detroit I would propose to the Chief and the City Council to allow city employees a property tax break of %15 when you live within the City Limits. Police and Fire department members will get an additional %5 property tax break for living in the City. When we have a lot of empty homes and thinking about re-vitalizing the City, welcoming Polices and Fire Department members with a financial incentive will re-vitalize the neighborhoods.

I would even consider the placement of Cameras in high crime areas and, encourage a program to have residents purchase and install security video equipment on their property. Residents will be able to monitor your property from anywhere they have access to the Internet. This program will help residents keep track of the activity on their property when they are not there.


Rep. Cushingberry:
That sounds very technical to the average person Sgt. Thomas. And what about the legality of having a camera on your property pointing out the window?

Sgt. Thomas:
Actually, some of the children with high tech phones don’t think so and can’t wait to operate the equipment. For us “Senior Citizens” it is a slightly different story. The ideas that I am proposing will allow the heat temperature to be monitored with sensors and, if it gets too hot (flame conditions, smoke density, etc...), the Fire Department is notified of a potential hazard and will take steps to avert a potential problem. The steps will include the installation of video equipment mounted on existing Radio Towers and tall buildings in the City to allow them to zoom in on a home to see what the Fire Emergency is before sending additional equipment.


Rep. Cushingberry:
You know how our parents and neighbors used to do it in the backyard. Now I see First Lady Michelle Obama with a garden in the White House lawn. I am considering running for State Senate in District 4, Police and Fire department response is one of my top priorities, along with Urban Farming. What can I do to help my fellow Detroit Citizens from Lansing?


Sgt Thomas:
Currently, the Homicide Division is currently handling 800 murders a year and does a good job given the number of personnel remaining in the Department. We have discussed your position on the Senior Citizens in Detroit regarding response time and community involvement. When I meet Chief Barren, I ask him about restoring the Community Block Club police and citizen participation program. If one exists I will express your concern to him regarding our golden citizens. We have worked together to get the standards and statistics for police response time placed on the Department’s website and updated each month.

When the residency requirement was in effect, the servants of the city lived in the city. The city became an investment to a property owner and the neighborhood was a little safer. Police officers drove City Cars home and when that happened, NOBODY did anything stupid on that street, that day. By their presence in the city, the response time would be decreased because your neighbor was always looking out for you.


Rep Cushingberry:
Sgt. Thomas, I have asked the Department of Community health to produce numbers regarding the addiction comparisons between, Marijuana, Heroin, Cocaine, and Meth. When we take these numbers and compare them to arrest records of the Detroit Police Department, what kind of results do you think that we will get?

Sgt. Thomas:
I believe that those numbers will show some interesting results in the area of addiction and law enforcement. With the passing of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Law of 2009, the usually high numbers of marijuana arrests will be reduced by up to %50. A large number of arrests are for people who belong in mental hospitals and are in need of continued medical treatment. Closing mental facilities and pushing the burden onto Local Law Enforcement resources at the City and County level may bankrupt an entire city or county if not checked and managed properly.

I am extremely concerned at the gun violence because no one is considering the path of the stray bullets that unfortunately hit innocent citizens that had nothing to do with the altercation. I would encourage Firearm education to children so that they are taught the consequences of using and firing a weapon. They have the N.R.A.; we have the memory of Harriet Tubman who was a responsible gun owner.

Finally I would encourage all citizens to report crime and testify against it. The only way to put crime to an end is to show compassion and the passion to persecute the few people who drag down the quality of life.


Rep. Cushingberry:
Well Sgt. Thomas, thank you for this moment to have this conversation. I will consider your thoughts and strive to implement some of your ideas. Blending the wisdom of the Older Detroiters with the freshness and youth of the Young generation will be the beginning of a new day. I feel that Detroit will be the first City to come back from this depression that we are in. Thank you again.

Sgt. Thomas:
Thank you for the opportunity to share this vision for the City of Detroit with you.

Stimulating Michigan from Washington: Contact the Congress and President to Reclassfy Marijuana to it's proper place in the land.

A change in this law will allow Michigan to recover from this depression of 8 years by allowing citizens to grow their own food and medicine. To properly change the law the US Congress will have to introduce legislation for the President to sign into law.




E-mail your federal elected officials (click here) in congress to support legislation to allow Marijuana to be removed from the Controlled Substances Act Scheduled Drug List. The financial impact upon the State of Michigan would be serious stimulus. This would allow our State Legislators the ability to issue tax stamps for Marijuana that will be reinvested back into the community. Currently states like California collects revenue from Marijuana sales of 1.5 billion dollars a year. This amount is %75 of the entire Michigan Department of Corrections budget. When Michigan issues Marijuana Tax Stamps for $50.00 per ounce an amazing amount of revenue will be generated. According to published estimates, 600,000 people in Michigan use Marijuana. If 1 person purchased an ounce a month at $50.00 a month, the state would generate $360,000,000 dollars in revenue.


By starting with your US House Represenative and Senators Levin and Stabenow(click here), this bill would quickly go through the official process of becoming a law. There will be some legislators who will debate it but they only get 5 minutes to speak like everyone else. Or we can help expedite the process by asking President Obama to put his campaign pledge into an action plan.



Send a message to President Obama ( click here ) asking him to issue an Executive Order to remove Marijuana from Controlled Substances Act Schedule Drug List. This procedure will be immediate and takes effect as soon as The President signs his name on the dotted line. By pursuing this option the president would be effectively end the senseless drug war on Marijuana. Americans would save on the wasted resources and dollars it has cost the nation. It will allow the representative of the House and Senate to work on more pressing issues such as Health Care, Iraq, and the current financial crisis. The war on marijuana will be effectively delcared over and done with.


As our President has stated, he will not spend a lot of political capital regarding Marijuana while people are living in Tent Cities and their cars. The country can focus on green energy initiatives like Cellulosic Ethanol and Industrial Hemp Fuel programs for all Government owned vehicles. This policy would apply for Federal, State and local Government vehicles operated in the State of Michigan. That policy change would generate numerous jobs in the agriculture industry.

State Departments were issued a 14 day mandate by the Chairman of the House Intergovernmental and Oversight Committee on March 12, 2009 to produce results showing the impact of the Implementation of Michigan Medical Marijuana Act of 2008 on April 6th, 2009 at 12:01am EDT. What will the Attorney General bring back to the committee regarding the differences in federal and state law? Should the Attorney General support the President of United States issuing an executive order removing Marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act Schedule Drug List? Send your questions to miag@michigan.gov to register your legal interpretations and opinions with fellow lawyers and help reshape America’s direction to pull us out of this depression we are in.

We are looking for expert witness testimony from health care professionals to document the benefits of Medical Marijuana for the record. Please e-mail state officials with your testimonials on the benefits of Marijuana and listen to the output from the Department of Community Health. Should the State Drug Czar be compelled to follow the law of the land? If so then how can this person be an advocate and a true health professional regarding issues like diabetes, cancer, and vision coverage? E-mail the bureau of public health info bhpinfo@michigan.gov

We are also asking to hear from the information technology community regarding the Department of Community Heath processing applications for patient and caregiver claims with their website. We want to see a webpage documenting the costs, use of contract personnel, and maintenance issues. We the people shall not tolerate data being shipped out of state to be processed in Michigan. This does not create jobs locally and we have the facilities here to do the job. E-mail your concerns to the Department Director at MDIT@michigan.gov

It would be nice to see this executive order and/or legislation be signed into law
with an effective date of April 20th 2009 in a tribute to Chef Ra the first African American of the Ann Arbor Hash Bash and an activist for Marijuana Reform. University of Michigan Grad Jennifer Gratz would have never shared a Marijuana cigarette with this brother but for what he did for Marijuana reform was a total Civil Rights initiative. Now everyone will have an Equal Opportunity to stand up for the civil right of using cannabis responsibly. Sadly he is no longer with us but his spirit and dedication remains in all of us who helped make a positive change.



The will of the people has spoken.

Take Back Detroit! Same Day Voter Registration for increased people participation.

"Voter Participation is vital to our Nation” Mr. Cushingberry said one day last week in Lansing to a group of constituents visiting from the 8 Mile Old Timers Association. And to increase participation, people should be allowed the courtesy to register to vote at the polls and cast their ballot. The recent Detroit special election only brought out %12 of the voters to the polls. Some of the candidates that finished behind Bing and Cockrell got enough votes from the members of their church and immediate family to say that they were in an election. All of the candidates should be commended for participating in the process to improve the general health and welfare of the people. After all, if they did not care, they would have never started the process.

I will encourage Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey to allow same day voter registration for Detroit residents to increase participation in the process. If you will turn 18 on or before Election Day and, a Citizen of Detroit on day of the election, you will be allowed to vote that day. This program will extend to schools to give the youth a chance to participate in the process of voting. Any student in the Detroit Public School system who will turn 18 on or before May 5th will be allowed to register and vote absentee at their school. This is a very important fact for young males to vote because when they turn 18, they have to register for the draft or get charged with a felony. For the young person that cannot make the connect between the two, they need to be educated on the consequences of not voting if a national emergency requires a decision to place young men in active military service.

Rep. Cushingberry will be spearheading a program with other State and Local legislators whose districts include the Detroit area to start this program for the Detroit Mayors race on May 5th, 2009. Along with representatives from the City Clerks office, a policy to allow people to register to vote and cast their ballot on May 5th would be put in place. In all truth the process is already in place because with the new technology, polling places can allow provisional ballots to be cast and, by adding the ability to register and vote at the polling place, participation will increase. In Lansing, I will push to adopt this program Statewide with policy and information technology professionals at the Secretary of State’s Office.

With regards to online balloting, the process is lacking accountability and verification at the moment. Information Technology professionals must convince the people that the process is protected from fraud through tight controls and other security measures. It is not a matter of how, it is a matter of when will it happen and the date certain. As the current situation stands now, Mr. Cushingberry does not support online voting at this time. By increasing the opportunity to vote, more people will have the opportunity to determine the direction of their city, the quality of city services, and the gift of giving back to the land so that others may prosper.

Same Day Voter Registration is the way to go!

Stimulating Michigan from Washington – Re-defining Health Polices for our Citizens by re-directing Law Enforcement resources.

Recently U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (click here) announced that he will “cease and desist” all Justice Department actions against marijuana dispensaries in California. This is a strong signal to redefine the Drug Enforcement Agency's (D.E.A.) policy towards Marijuana and, the ramifications that it has for Michigan. With the recent enactment of the Michigan Medical Marijuana law, money and resources that were allocated for prosecuting these crimes can be re-allocated to other priorities like violent crime and sex offenders upon our youth.


Instead of arresting people for possession, Law enforcement’s role will be to insure quality to the people. For instance, how would you like to purchase a rotten jar of peanut butter? If you did purchase the peanut butter, who would you call? What would happen if it was the start of a salmonella outbreak? What does Salmonella have to do with Medical Marijuana?

Do you have an answer?

You would call the county health department who would investigate and take some type of legal action to remedy the situation. The legal action would include steps on correcting the problem. With the Peanut Butter, the F.D.A. (Food and Drug Administration) would take action to insure the quality of product. In the case of Marijuana, a standard would be set so that all of the citizens would be assured of a quality product that would not be a health hazard. The D.E.A. would be responsible for making sure that only legitimate marijuana would be produced in the United States of America. This would result in the redirection of funds from the massive Michigan Department of Corrections budget. The amount would be minimal however, at $2Billion dollars a year, minimal would be a lot of money.

To further stimulate the economy in Michigan, American grown Marijuana would be sold at the Duty free shops in Windsor and vice-versa to help stimulate trade and generate revenue between the USA and Canada, with a major impact on the City of Detroit and the State of Michigan.

Michigan’s economy could be revised in 5 years with the revenue and redirection of State of Michigan resources. The Department of Agriculture and County Extension offices would take an advisory role in growing Marijuana and other crops that can help end diseases like Diabetes and other environmentally borne aliments that keep our citizens in poor health.

Keep hope alive by keeping people alive. Health Care is a priority and I agree with President Obama on that. And if any of those State Governors who do not want the stimulus money from Washington, please send it to Michigan because we could use it.

We can only look to the future and work for the best.

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.