B A N C O

2009-07-20T12:05:00.003-04:00

St. Joe is a strange place when your skin has more melatonin

Planting drugs on citizens to improve a policeman's job performance is such a surreal act. Is it possible that a white police officer in Benton Harbor could hold a variety of drugs in his locker to use as false evidence by planting them in black mens' cars or houses or on their persons? Yes. Could this henious act be discovered through complaints from citizens and the officer get punished? Yes. Could the sentence fit the crime, as determined by Judge Robert Holmes Bell in federal court? No.

The unimagineable criminal behavior of Andrew Collins, a 26 year old white male, took place in no other than Benton Harbor, Michigan. He planted drugs. The drugs were found in his professional locker. He did this over and over and a minimum of 200 Benton Harbor residents were found guilty of drug possession. This was so easy. Everyone knows that black men of Benton Harbor are deep in drug activity. Right? Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. This stereotype must be challenged.

It must have been a real power trip for Andrew Collins. Sociopathology enjoys seeing others in pain and sociopathology loves to have power over other's lives. This is a difficult concept for most to understand. Andrew Collins will remain a dangerous man even after the 37 months in prison and the 4 years of supervised release. Sociopaths are really not curable. The sentence does not fit the extent of the crime. Particularly after looking at the now obsolved sentencing (3-10 years) given to the Reverend Pinkney for paraphrasing the Bible or the sentencing of the victims for having drugs in their cars. St. Joe, where all this takes place, is a strange place when your skin has more melatonin.

Is Benton Harbor passive to the oppression? Not any more. Demario Allen, a 25 year old African-American male was an indirect victim of Andrew Collins. He was one of the Benton Harbor residents who filed a complaint that Collins had planted drugs on his brother and himself. He was arrested for an alleged domestic issue several months ago. Once in jail, police claimed he possessed drugs, which was impossible given the thorough search a prisoner is subjected to upon entry. He received a sentence of 15 - 40 years in state prison for drug possession. The sentencing was done by Berrien County Judge Bruce. This sentence will not go unnoticed outside of Benton Harbor. The comparison of the sentences is the writing on the wall.

Quacy Roberts is another Benton Harbor African-American male vicitimized by Andrew
Collins and recently, by other cops. He is filing a lawsuit. Benton Harbor will not accept the police state as created by Rep. Upton and St. Joe as an acceptable means of boosting the community. The recent grant received by the golf course developers and Fred Upton includes $500,000.00 It will be used to continue sentencing African-American males in an attempt to make the wealthy golfers and their wives "safe" - another sign of the St. Joe mentality. Just think of the parks, playgrounds, Boys and Girls Clubs that could have been started in Benton Harbor with that money (part "Stimulus Dollars" from the federal connection of Fred Upton?) Instead, we like to lock them up, spend tax payers money on Fred Upton's personal fraternity boy agenda. He has the police behind him.

BOYCOTT EVERYTHING IN ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN

2009-07-17T08:07:00.004-04:00

BOYCOTT EVERYTHING IN ST. JOE UNTIL THE LAND IS GIVEN BACK

There is no comparison anywhere in the Midwest to the relationship of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, Michigan. History will reveal the crimes that exist there today. A desperate State of Michigan will do desperate things to please the stakeholders. Benton Harbor is again the victim of desperate acts on the part of the State. The greed of land developers coupled with a major international corporation has created a truly immoral act: the theft of public Lake Michigan shore land dedicated to the people of Benton Harbor. The people’s land is becoming a golf course for the elite. Someday history will reveal the true lack of morality of corporate greed. The perpetrators in this case are the infamous Whirlpool Corporation in conjunction with land developers. The victims are again, the Benton Harbor citizens.

Benton Harbor actually stood up and rioted a few years ago. We all remember the outrage after police brutality put the town over the edge. National attention was brought to Benton Harbor and the Governor spent time there promising jobs and grants. The nation looked on and wondered why a town in the 1990s rioted; nobody rioted. Benton Harbor was and is uniquely oppressed. The downtrodden state of Michigan has allowed corporations such as Whirlpool to take whatever they need to stay in a state losing jobs, gaining unemployment, and experience a gigantic shift. Whirlpool has been provided with tax breaks, national representation via a congressman (Fred Upton), and has been able to pull off a “Jim Crow” agenda in St. Joe. Police are on many street corners of both cities giving signs of an odd and almost third world presence, as evidenced also by posters in St. Joe warning of surveillance. Enlightened people will not set foot in St. Joe. It is a town of frightening whiteness as designed by Whirlpool.

The promises made by the original Upton family, the founders of Whirlpool have become a distant echo. Their fraternity heir, Fred Upton, continues to parade his false face while voting against the stimulus package, against the environmental bill, against policies that would benefit the poor. He disguises himself by occasionally working on a program for children. Most people in his district are fed up with him and he was seriously challenged in the last election by a last minute candidate. Only the elite like him.

The Governor of Michigan has lost credibility due to her allegiance with corporations, her promises to create jobs in Benton Harbor by buddying up with Whirlpool, and the recent acceptance of the people’s park land (Jean Klock Park) going to Whirlpool developers. NO one has been hired from Benton Harbor for this heinous project. NO Benton Harbor resident has been hired despite excessive promises made by the governor/developers. The Jack Nicklaus golf course is an insult even if it were not on public land. The lack of morality in this case will make history books. The people involved will be viewed like those who were against Brown v. Board of Education. There is no justice in Benton Harbor and it is high time everyone knew what is really going on there.

Setting foot in St. Joe or playing on this new golf course is like giving money to a corrupt and immoral system. Those educated Chicago residents who like to visit the area will be informed. Those citizens who enjoy the downtown, the restaurants, the huge public shoreline park in St. Joe, the Box Factory, the Children’s Museum, etc., will be informed. Boycott St. Joe, Boycott the Jack Nicklaus Golf Course, Boycott all Whirlpool products until the land is given back to the people of Benton Harbor. Pass the word on, e-mail the word and let justice rise. BOYCOTT EVERYTHING IN ST. JOE UNTIL THE LAND IS GIVEN BACK. --K.T. Schmidt

2009-07-15T12:42:00.001-04:00

ACLU Declares Victory for Minister Sentenced to Prison for Criticizing Judge

Court of Appeals Reverses 3-10 Year Sentence

IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 15, 2009
CONTACT: Michael Steinberg, ACLU of Michigan Legal Director at 313.578.6814 or Dan Korobkin, ACLU of Michigan Staff Attorney at 313.578.6824

DETROIT – The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan applauded a unanimous Michigan Court of Appeals decision today upholding the free speech rights of a Benton Harbor minister who was sentenced to 3-10 years in prison for writing a newspaper article that harshly criticized the judge who presided over his trial.

“The Court of Appeals opinion reaffirms the basic American value that citizens cannot be imprisoned for criticizing government officials or expressing their religious beliefs,” said Michael J. Steinberg, ACLU of Michigan Legal Director. “To our knowledge, this case marks the first time in modern history that a preacher has been thrown in prison for predicting what God might do.”

In 2007, Rev. Pinkney was sentenced to probation for violating Michigan election law. But his probation was revoked and he was resentenced to 3-10 years in prison solely because of an article he wrote for a small Chicago newspaper. Quoting a passage from the Bible, Rev. Pinkney predicted that God would “curse” the judge unless he "hearken[ed] unto the voice of the Lord thy God to observe [and] to do all that is right." Rev. Pinkney also expressed his opinion in the article that the judge was racist, dumb, and corrupt.

In its ruling today, the Court of Appeals said that the trial court’s probation condition that prohibited “defamatory and demeaning” communications is unconstitutional.

“To the extent that the prohibition of defamatory and demeaning behavior impinges on defendant’s first amendment rights,” wrote the judges, “the prohibition was not proper, as it was not directly related to defendant’s rehabilitation or to the protection of the public.”

The ACLU of Michigan represented Rev. Edward Pinkney’s first amendment claims; however, the organization was not involved in the underlying voter fraud conviction, which was upheld today. Due to this conviction, Rev. Pinkney’s probation will be reinstated.

Rev. Pinkney is a Baptist minister in Benton Harbor, a predominantly African American community with a troubled relationship with its predominantly white sister city, St. Joseph. Rev. Pinkney has long been an outspoken community activist and advocate, frequently denouncing injustice and racial inequality in Benton Harbor, its local government, and the Berrien County criminal justice system in particular.

In March, three friend-of-the-court briefs were submitted in support of the ACLU position – one from a diverse coalition of more than a dozen national and religious organizations including the National Association of Evangelicals, the American Jewish Congress, the Christian Legal Society and the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty; one from 18 law professors from all five Michigan law schools; and one from the Thomas Jefferson Center for Freedom of Expression.

In addition to Steinberg, Rev. Pinkney is represented by ACLU staff attorney Dan Korobkin, and ACLU Cooperating Attorneys James J. Walsh and Rebecca O’Reilly of the law firm Bodman LLP. Walsh argued the case in the Court of Appeals.

To read the Michigan Court of Appeals decision, go to: http://www.aclumich.org/sites/default/files/file/pinkneydecision.pdf

To read the religious organizations’ amicus brief, go to: http://aclumich.org/sites/default/files/file/religiousfreedomamicusbrief.pdf

To read the law professors’ amicus brief, go to: http://aclumich.org/sites/default/files/file/professorsamicus.pdf

To read the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression’s amicus brief, go to: http://aclumich.org/sites/default/files/file/thomasjeffersonamicusbrief.pdf

To read the ACLU's merits brief in Rev. Pinkney's appeal, go to: http://aclumich.org/sites/default/files/file/pinkneymeritsbrief.pdf

To read Rev. Pinkney's article, go to: http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2007.11/PT.2007.11.18.html

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

2009-07-15T10:35:00.002-04:00

The Appeals Court decision was handed down this week.
Rev. Pinkney won the Probation Violation -- Free Speech -- issue (violating his probation by writing an article). He spent over a year in 8 Michigan prisons because the powers in Berrien County wanted to remove him, albiet illegally.

All of Berrien County Judge Dennis Wiley's decisions are rescinded by the Appeals Court. This includes the decision to imprison Pinkney.

As for the voter charges, the Appeals court denied Pinkney a new trial. The decision states that Berrien County committed 13 errors which were "harmless." Rev. Pinkney says that all of the errors were, in fact, harmful.

The decision states, in part:

Judge Butzbaugh agrees that the paraphase of Deuteronomy 28 is not defensible as anything other than hyperbole and that the paraphase could not serve as a lawful basis for revoking defendant probation.[yet Wiley sent Pinkney to prison for a threat, and revoked his probation]

To the extent the prohibition of defamatory and demeaning behavior impinges on defendant's First Amendment rights, the prohibition was not proper as it was not directly related to defendant's rehabilitation nor to the protection of the public.
Because the prohibition was not proper, the trial court abused its discretion in revoking defendant probation, the order revoking defendant probation is reversed.

2009-07-14T11:52:00.002-04:00

As federal case continues, developers rush to finish elite golf course on public dunes
Plaintiffs say environmental laws, public trust have been broken; Granholm: '[I]t is exactly the sort of comprehensive approach to revitalization that we have set in motion across Michigan.' By Eartha Jane Melzer 6/16/09 [emphasis added]

BENTON HARBOR — Developers of a private Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course under construction on public parkland are trying to grow turf atop Jean Klock Park’s Lake Michigan sand dunes and open a portion of the course for business before a decision is reached in the federal case that seeks to stop the project.

Earlier this month, local opponents of the park privatization filed a brief in a Grand Rapids federal court where they argued that developers had evaded federal law by chopping the 530-acre development into smaller pieces in an effort to avoid environmental review of the project. They also argued that Benton Harbor residents and officials were swindled by the deal that involved a swap of 22 acres of dunes for a series of inland parcels that are contaminated with industrial chemicals. The plaintiffs say federal officials approved the deal without knowing the extent of the pollution on these parcels because state officials and developers did not disclose their assessments of the health risks associated with contact with the soil and water on these parcels.

“The only parts of the Paw Paw riverside lands swapped for Jean Klock park that will be safe to walk on are the paths themselves. That is what Harbor Shores own experts have told them,” Plaintiffs attorney Terry Lodge said in a statement, “But don’t take my word for it. Go to the Protect Jean Klock Park website and look for yourselves.”

A hearing on the merits of the case is scheduled for August.

In the meantime, the developer, Harbor Shores Community Redevelopment Inc., a non-profit strongly tied to the locally headquartered Whirlpool Corp., has cleared trees from the park, removed a wooden walkway, cut an opening in the sand dunes and built a parking lot on the beach near the water.

Harbor Shores spokeswoman Wendy Dant Chesser said that the organization has hired personnel, including a director of golf, an assistant golf professional director of youth development and aims to open half of the golf course for limited play at some point in July. Prices for play at the elite new course have not yet been established, she said.

Benton Harbor resident and plaintiff Nicole Moon said the Jean Klock Park lakefront was one of the reasons she chose to move to the Southwest Michigan city.

“It was beautiful, untouched, undeveloped. There was so much wildlife and the sounds of the winds through the trees. Now when you go there it is amazing how quiet it is,” she said. “You can’t hear the birds anymore, can’t hear the wind in the cottonwood.”

If the court allows private development in Jean Klock Park, which was deeded to residents of the Benton Harbor in 1917, all public land will be at risk, Moon said.

“This is going to set a precedent for every other park. It’s like saying about the Grand Canyon — nobody is using this let’s fill it up and build something on it.”

The Harbor Shores development has received millions in tax breaks from the state of Michigan.

“This project is going to jump-start Benton Harbor’s economy and give a boost to the entire region,” Gov. Jennifer Granholm said after visiting last May. “And it is exactly the sort of comprehensive approach to revitalization that we have set in motion across Michigan.”

The development, slated to extend for hundreds of acres around the lakefront park, is to include shops, a hotel and 810 units of luxury housing which is being marketed as vacation homes for people in Chicago.

But for all the talk of uplift and community development the project is facing economic challenges, the developers acknowledge.

“The economy is interfering more than the lawsuit,” Chesser said.

Chesser said that 128 people have expressed interest in the planned residential development but no purchase agreements exist.

Some area residents are bitter about what they see as the real goal of the development project that has made a portion of the city’s biggest park off limits to residents in Benton Harbor, one of the state’s poorest cities.

“Speaking from a poor man’s point of view, it’s all about money,” said one local hotel worker who did not want to give his name. “They want to get all the black people out of Benton Harbor.”
http://michiganmessenger.com/21011/as-federal-case-continues-developers-rush-to-finish-elite-golf-course-on-public-dunes-park

2009-07-14T10:54:00.002-04:00

U.S. House passes $475 million Great Lakes cleanup bill By Eartha Jane Melzer 6/29/09

[UPTON VOTES AGAINST CLEANING UP GREAT LAKES]

The U.S. House has approved an appropriations bill that designates $475 million for efforts to clean up pollution and stop invasive species in the Great Lakes.
The bill includes:

$147 million to clean up highly toxic rivers and harbors that feed into the lakes
$60 million to prevent and remove invasive species
$98 million to refurbish area near shores and to prevent “non point” pollution from fertilizer and run-off
$105 million to restore and protect habitat and wildlife
$65 million to monitor progress of cleanup

Rep. Fred Upton of St. Joseph voted against it.

More details about efforts proposed as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative are available from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency which will administer the program.
http://michiganmessenger.com/21863/us-house-passes-475-million-great-lakes-cleanup-bill

2009-07-14T10:15:00.004-04:00

Full park access in Benton Harbor will now cost $75 By Eartha Jane Melzer 6/24/09 (emphasis added in several places)

Benton Harbor residents will need to pay $75 to view Lake Michigan from atop the dunes in the city’s lake front Jean Klock Park.
WSJM news reports that a panel that oversees policy at the Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course now partially built in the public park has approved a fee schedule for use of the nine-hole course.
The golf course is part of Harbor Shores, a 530 acre commercial and residential real estate development that has been billed as an attempt to alleviate poverty in economically devastated Benton Harbor.
Though the course is largely built, some locals are pursuing a federal case to reverse approvals for the privatization of the city park. These plaintiffs argue that regulators were wrong to permit the development, which never completed an Environmental Impact Statement, and that the project disadvantages a poor African American community by swapping pristine lake front property for contaminated inland parcels.
On Wednesday, the Department of Environmental Quality convened an environmental justice work group meeting in Benton Harbor.
Nicole Moon, one of the plaintiffs in the suit against the golf development, turned down an invitation to participate. She said that past experience of state involvement in Benton Harbor “leads me to believe our voices will once again be ignored and only our participation will be used as a statistic.”
In a letter to Department of Environmental Quality Director Stephen Chester, Moon noted that the environmental justice meeting in Benton Harbor was to be hosted by an organization involved with the Harbor Shores golf development and criticized DEQ for issuing a permit for the project.
“The residents of our city contacted several agencies on behalf of environmental justice.” Moon wrote “… Even as the MDEQ pretends to appear concerned over environmental justice, they’re manipulating the composition of the task force for reasons that may have little to do with improving the quality of environmental justice implementation in Michigan, and a lot to do with silencing opposition to the biggest environmental injustice — the privatization of Jean Klock Park.”

comment: Jean Klock PARK is a park, not just a beach. The beach is less than half of the entire park, which consisted of forested dunes, now wiped out, and wetlands. This is a PRIVATELY owned golf course on PUBLIC land not a public golf course. The remainder of the park will be within the boundaries of their golf course, including the observation tower. What the residents got in exchange for this pristine piece of lakefront are contaminated parcels scattered on the edges of their golf course. I would encourage those who have visited Jean Klock Park to visit what the developer has given the residents in exchange, but be sure to bring your hazmat suit.
They could have easily improved the beach area without taking the fragile ecosystem that is truly the only thing that sets this area apart from other parts of this country and it was to remain open to all forever per the Klock deed- not at 75.00 a round of 9 holes.

http://michiganmessenger.com/21567/full-park-access-in-benton-harbor-will-now-cost-75

2009-07-11T12:55:00.002-04:00

Quacy Roberts Update

Petty revenge by law enforcement, similar to elementary playground shenanigans, only now lethal and life-ruining

Quacy Roberts, Benton Harbor resident who told the truth in court about drug planting by a BH police officer, is now a target. Police and sheriff deputies rushed him against a fence and he ended up in Berrien County jail after having drugs planted on him again. After a few weeks behind bars his girlfriend just provided bond of TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS by putting her house up for collateral. Quacy is free now at great cost to her.

There are about 20 other residents who courageously told the truth about Officer Andrew Collins - you can imagine the fear they live with 24/7 in the scariest county in the state.

Each time cops in this county go after Benton Harbor residents, there is a ripple effect. Children are sent to live with aunts. Spouses and family members are bereft. This is all part of the plan. Whirpool Corp., Rep. Fred Upton, Wendy Dant-Chesser, and the Gang need an ethnic cleansing for their golf course, and by any means necessary, they will get it. Gov. Granholm is their benevolent godmother. And most of Michigan knows nothing about this.

2009-07-09T08:36:00.003-04:00

Quotes from the Community

The liberties of our city, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending against all hazards of our community. It is our duty to defend against all attacks. Our community is in dire need of help. The people are starving in the city of Benton Harbor and Whirlpool wants to build a golf course. --Rev. D. Smith

It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate tireless minority keen to set brush fires in the people's mind; looks like we are still on a plantation in Benton Harbor. When are the people going to take a stand for the future of our children? --Gloria Martin

People's Tribune, July 2009

2009-07-03T10:22:00.003-04:00

Commentary

Concerned citizens with some sense of morality and tax payers in Michigan should be aware of the waste of tax dollars and the inhumane treatment going on in Benton Harbor, Michigan. A gentleman by the name of Quacy Roberts is the latest victim of the Benton Harbor Police, the county sheriff, the corrupt court system in Berrien County, and the all-white powers of St. Joe, Michigan. Excessive waste and incessant need to jail people for drug charges is occuring in Michigan. Benton Harbor police and the Berrien county judicial system are angered by anyone who speaks up about their ability to control and oppress the poor black citizens in Benton Harbor. The police have gotten away with such heinous acts as drug planting, physical abuse similar to Rodney King, and charges that are only juried via white citizens.

Quacy Roberts is the most recent victim. A man of 32, Quacy was walking down the street in Benton Harbor and was literally attacked by a group of police officers one afternoon. He was physically assaulted. Quacy had been a recent victim of the officer who was found guilty of drug plantings and had been a part of citizens who were victimized by the officer (Andrew Collins). As revenge, the police have singled him out to make a tough statement; if you don't succumb to our oppressive power, you will be jailed and we will swallow the key.

Is it HIGH TIME the citizens of Michigan REFUSE to let our tax dollars be wasted on personal vendetta's of corrupt officials. It is high time we take a MORAL stance in Benton Harbor - a city positioned in Jim Crow laws when juxtaposed with St. Joe. How can we turn our backs on the oppression and poverty in Benton Harbor and live with ourselves?

Quacy Roberts needs citizen action. Call the Michigan Dept. of Corrections (517-335-1426), Gov. Granholm (517-335-7858), and call your state representative about this case and the waste in Berrien county - they need a reasonable drug court or case management system for those in need of help. We must not pay over $35,000 (per person) to lock him up when his crime is hard to even identify, and when the officials locking him up are driven by bizarre power and greed. All white juries for black men being charged with drug related crimes is NOT ETHICAL.

New innovative programs must develop to help drug offenders (or those accused of being drug offenders when no real proof is available) and to help the crazy people who are locking them up. In addition, we must be mindful of the politicians who are setting the stage for stealing land (Jean Klock Park) and for denying citizens of such basic services as parks, libraries, and their own rich history. (ST. JOE, MICHIGAN SHOULD BE ASHAMED.)

2009-07-01T17:30:00.011-04:00

Benton Harbor & St. Joseph, Michigan: Interminable Dark Ages

The Innocent Jailing of Quacy Roberts

This is just another story of out-of-control cops using age-old methods of harassment, physical abuse, racism, fear mongering, and evidence planting -- all sanctioned by the white power structure of St. Joseph/Berrien County (Rep. Fred Upton, Whirlpool Corp., etc.) It confounds one who attempts to comprehend how county and local institutions are mired in attitudes and activities that in the year 2009 are considered by most to be immoral and so obviously unjust. Berrien county truly is the land that time forgot.

It’s a story of ANOTHER young, innocent African-American Benton Harbor man being railroaded. This man is a part of a group of people who are suing the city of Benton Harbor and Berrien County - for Cruel and Unusual Punishment for sending them to prison as innocents. It doesn’t take much to understand that the cops are using this man to send a message to anyone who fights back.

The basic story:

Quacy Roberts, age 32, was walking down a Benton Harbor street one day recently when police in two squad cars saw him. They hopped out of their cars, ran up and rushed
him, pushing him against a fence.

They knew who he was. Before BH Officer Andrew Collins was imprisoned this year, Mr. Roberts was one of his many victims. Collins planted more drugs than almost any Benton Harbor officer - on over 200 people it is believed. At his hearing in 2007, Quacy Roberts testified that he was never in possession, and that Collins had planted drugs on him. (This explains the apparent need the police in the squad cars had for stopping Quacy Roberts, plus the fact that he's part of the group suing the city and county.) It should be mentioned, to understand the level of support the federal gov. (and the state) gives to the ultra-corrupt Berrien County, that Officer Andrew Collins was convicted in the federal court NOT for the huge number of lives he ruined through drug planting, but for possession -- he was given 37 months.

Back to the latest story of corruption in St. Joe/Benton Harbor.

After shoving Mr. Roberts into a fence, police searched him and found no drugs.

Two days later they issued a warrant for his arrest. Roberts went to the Berrien County jail, turned himself in, and handed over a bond of $200.

On Friday, June 26 he was found guilty of possession of cocaine by an all-white jury. He had not been in possession of cocaine, and there was no evidence or proof to show that he was. Berrien County all-white juries always go with what the police say.

Quacy Roberts was allowed to go home (?) after being found guilty last Friday.

The big "law enforcers" show: On Monday, the judge issued a warrant for his arrest. WANTED POSTERS WERE ALSO PUT UP ALL OVER BENTON HARBOR. (Wanted posters are a technique used by police to descredit an individual.)

On Tuesday, his house was surrounded by 15 to 20 BH police officers and Berrien county sheriffs, like he was a big time criminal.

Quacy Roberts surrendered and is now in the county jail.

2009-06-29T09:08:00.001-04:00

Upton Votes NO on Stimulus Bill, HR 1

http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=26906

2009-06-29T08:45:00.001-04:00

Upton Votes NO on Pay Act, S 181

Highlights:

-Changes the current unlawful employment discrimination laws to include the adoption of discriminatory compensation decisions or practices, including each time wages, benefits, or other compensation is paid, and when an individual is subjected to or affected by such practices (Sec. 3, 4, 5).

-Allows the recovery of back pay for up to two years prior to the complaint in addition to existing penalties (Sec. 3).

-Prohibits employer retaliation against employees who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their own wage or that of another employee (Sec. 203).

-Increases penalties against a discriminatory employer including compensation of legal fees and liability for punitive damages against an employee (Sec. 203).

-Issues grant money for salary negotiation skills training for girls and women (Sec. 205).

2009-06-29T08:28:00.002-04:00

Upton Votes NO on Clean Energy

House Vote on H.R.2454: American Clean Energy and Security Act

To create clean energy jobs, achieve energy independence, reduce global warming pollution and transition to a clean energy economy.

http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/111/house/1/477

2009-06-25T10:52:00.003-04:00

Benton Harbor news from a couple of weeks ago. A travesty.

"At this very moment, over 2000 Benton Harbor residents are lined up at the housing office, and have been for 3 days and 2 nights, to apply for section 8.
If they leave the line, they lose their place, so people have been staying overnight somehow - in order to keep their homes/apts.
BANCO volunteers set up a barbeque yesterday and fed hundreds. Housing authority employees attempted to make them leave, but BANCO stayed until they ran out of food.
Will this be reported? Will Rep. Fred Upton or any other officials pay attention?"

2009-06-25T08:54:00.004-04:00

Draw Your Own Conlusions About the Justice, Integrity, and Legitimacy of the State of Michigan's Legal System

Michigan pastor will stay on house arrest

6/18/09
(AP) — LANSING, Mich. - A Benton Harbor minister will remain on house arrest while he appeals a prison sentence for writing that God could punish a judge who presided over his election fraud conviction.

The Michigan Supreme Court declined to hear Edward Pinkney's appeal of his house arrest in an unanimous order dated Wednesday.

Pinkney was sentenced to five years of probation in 2007 after being convicted of paying people to vote in a Benton Harbor election. He later wrote an article saying the judge who handled his case could be punished by God with curses unless he changed his ways.

Another judge ruled that Pinkney's column violated his probation and sentenced him to prison. The state appeals court has released Pinkney on bond while considering an appeal of his sentence.

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/national-26/1245346981257590.xml&storylist=newsmichigan

2009-06-24T08:34:00.001-04:00

Supporters pack court as Rev. Pinkney barred from his own hearing By Abayomi Azikiwe, Editor, Pan-African News Wire
Grand Rapids, Mich.
Published Jun 21, 2009 11:16 PM

A new episode has opened in the defense campaign for Rev. Edward Pinkney, a Benton Harbor, Mich., clergyman and leader of the Black Autonomy Network Community Organization (BANCO). Pinkney had been sentenced to three-to-10 years in prison for quoting Bible scriptures.

Pinkney served one year, during which he was moved to at least six Michigan prisons. Now at home but restricted by an electronic “tether,” he was not allowed to be present at his June 9 hearing before the Third District Court of Appeals in Grand Rapids, Mich. There, a team of defense lawyers sought to have the court overturn four felony counts and a revocation of probation sentence, which had been handed down by Judge Dennis Wiley of Berrien County.

An initial trial in which Pinkney was charged with voter fraud ended in a hung jury in 2006. However, the charges were re-filed in 2007 and he was convicted on four felony counts and one misdemeanor in what many claim was a sham trial.

BANCO had carried out a successful recall campaign against a city commissioner in Benton Harbor in 2005. Later, a judge threw out the recall election results and placed the commissioner back in office. The felony and misdemeanor charges were then filed against Pinkney.

Supporters from various cities throughout Michigan and Illinois packed the courtroom on June 9. Minister Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, came from Chicago. A group of clergymen traveled from Detroit, including Rev. Ed Rowe of Central United Methodist Church and Pastor Bill Wylie-Kellerman of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. They were not able to enter the courtroom because it was packed to capacity.

The court’s security personnel informed the approximately 100 people who stood outside the courtroom that only 48 people were allowed inside at one time.

Numerous organizations were represented in the courtroom and outside including Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice; Michigan Welfare Rights Organization; Green Party of Michigan; Michigan Coalition for Human Rights; ‘Call Em Out’ of Detroit; and People’s Tribune newspaper.

In the hearing’s aftermath, attorney Michael Steinberg, the Legal Director of the Michigan American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), spoke on legal developments surrounding the case. He said, “In America, a person cannot be thrown in prison for speech.”

However, this is exactly what happened when Pinkney published an article in the People’s Tribune in December 2007. Under house arrest at the time and on a tether, Pinkney was then arrested and sentenced to prison for allegedly threatening the life of Judge Alfred Butzbaugh, the original trial jurist, and his family in Berrien County, Mich.

Steinberg said Pinkney “expressed frustration and used harsh language to criticize the judge. However, individuals can criticize government officials.”

The ACLU filed an appeal after Pinkney’s sentencing by Judge Wiley. The underlying conviction and the sentence are both being appealed, along with the three-to-10 year imprisonment for the newspaper article that quoted the Bible.

Pinkney is currently out on a $10,000 bond; however, he is still confined to his home in Benton Harbor. He remains on a 24-hour tether and has been prohibited by Judge Wiley from leaving his house, preaching and engaging in politics.

Benton Harbor: The struggle continues

The majority African-American city of Benton Harbor has been severely affected by the current economic crisis. A plan to create a development project is slated to take large portions of lakefront property for the construction of luxury homes and a golf course.

BANCO and other organizations are opposed to the project because they perceive it as a mechanism for forcing African Americans from Benton Harbor.

Steinberg said the ACLU has been involved in Benton Harbor since 2003, when a rebellion erupted after the death of an African-American motorcyclist chased by police. The civil disturbances in Benton Harbor lasted for three days and attracted national attention to this southwest Michigan city.

Pinkney had become a staunch critic of Berrien County’s political and legal system. His organization, BANCO, carried out regular demonstrations against racism and injustice there. BANCO members also monitored county courts and openly criticized judges for the disparate sentencing of African Americans.

According to Steinberg, “The criminal justice system in Berrien County is broken and must be changed. The public defenders system is contracted out to the lowest bidder and there is inadequate counsel for defendants brought before the courts.

“The state provides no money for indigent defense. We [the ACLU] have filed a class action lawsuit to address the issue of the justice system in Berrien County.”

Dorothy Pinkney, Rev. Pinkney’s spouse, attended the hearing on June 9 and spoke to the crowd outside the courtroom. She brought a message in which Pinkney thanked his supporters and said, “Victory is ours—we have shown the people in Berrien County that we have support.”

Later at the St. Mark’s Church in downtown Grand Rapids, Pinkney said via a cell phone: “We not only showed up but we showed out.” His tone was optimistic and he said that he felt the convictions would eventually be overturned.

Several members of the clergy and law professors from many universities in Michigan have filed amicus briefs on Pinkney’s behalf.

Steinberg said that the State Appeals Court would issue a written decision in Pinkney’s case.

Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam also spoke in Berrien County on June 5 at Lake Michigan College. He expressed support for Pinkney, saying, “Jesus was an activist and a revolutionary.”

Abayomi Azikiwe is editor of the Pan-African News Wire and has followed developments in Benton Harbor since the rebellion occurred there in 2003. He has traveled several times to Berrien County to cover meetings, demonstrations and court hearings surrounding the Pinkney case.

2009-06-23T09:24:00.004-04:00

"Economic Struggles Need Community Change"
By Lenette Evans

We don't have to look far to realize there is desperate need and injustice in the world. Nearly half the world lives on two dollars a day. Over 850 billion people go hungry and starve everyday, millions of children are dying of malnutrition, and over 20 million children have lost one or both parents to AIDS.

People have desensitized themselves to our economic meltdown and towards the poor and homeless. People today are living way beyond their means and spending money as if they won the lottery. Our congress, president, and media have torn our nation to shreds and packed our minds with false promises, doing nothing to help the people. But we can help ourselves too.

Our economy is having neighbors starting to talk to one another who have never talked before and asking each other for food... At local grocery stores people go in to shop and are having hard decisions to make when buying food, toilet paper, bread, shampoo, and laundry detergent and end up putting items back because they don't have the money - choosing what their priorities are like having food before needing laundry detergent.

Stores across the USA and here in Berrien County, Michigan are arresting people for shoplifting at least one every half hour. People are poor, homeless, hungry, and have lost their jobs. Michigan has the highest unemployment and many cannot even find a job at all. So when people have no job and no money they are shoplifting even if its just for a sandwich or a loaf of bread.

In Berrien County we have several hundred homeless people. The soup kitchen, local food banks, and church food pantries are doing what they can, but community donations from the public are low and shelves are empty.

Here in Berrien County we have young children and infant babies who are going days and weeks without food, clothing and proper nutrition and some of our homeless have died on the streets. There is NO EXCUSE for people in our own community to starve and die from lack of food when we have people and businesses which could and should open up their hearts and feed and clothe the poor and desperate.

There are people in this community who live extremely wealthy lives. It would not be a financial burden for them to write a check and donate food, clothing, sleeping bags and school supplies to help the poor in our community. Jesus took two loaves of bread and five fish and fed 5,000 poor people. If you want blessings upon your lives, your finances, your homes, and health, give abundantly the way Jesus wants us all to do. We are to be extravagant givers to help the poor.....WE ARE "ALL" ONE PAYCHECK AWAY FROM BEING HOMELESS.... but none of us ever knows when or who will be next.

My neighbor is days away from having her electricity, water, and gas shut off because she is late paying her bills and cannot afford to pay right now. She has had threatening letters about having her home taken away if she does not pay her mortgage payment. She tries to keep her lawn mowed but cannot afford gas in her lawn mower and often her yard does not get mowed. She needs home repairs but again NO MONEY TO HAVE IT DONE.

Many times I have gone over to my neighbor to give her bags of food because she has no money and lives on welfare. She has an old car that does not run, she has severe MS and I have often seen her crying because she has no food and no money to pay bills. I have tried to help her and I have prayed with my neighbor many times and I have gone to her house to plant flowers in her garden and to rake her leaves many times. These are small acts of kindness to show my neighbor I care, and I do.

I only wish there were many good samaritans out there to help as well, and to get involved with other neighbors' lives to see THE DIFFERENCE WE ALL CAN MAKE. Recognize the needs of neighbors right here in our community. Our world, our communities, and neighbors need JESUS - so what are you doing to make a difference in someone's life today and thereafter?

Don't just be a pew sitter on Sunday and live like the devil through the week. Our community needs to Stand Up...Rise up...and Get involved - and pray for global and community change.

Lenette Evans, Saving Souls Ministries, 269-876-1848, Savingsouls1@yahoo.com

Please contact if you would like to donate money, food, clothing to help the poor, homeless & children in our community.

2009-06-19T08:00:00.004-04:00

Harbor Shore's Wendy Dant-Chesser: We with White-Privilege, We with Money-Privilege, Do What We Want, Take What We Want, Say Anything We Want

Harbor Shores: A Government-Private Sector Partnership (Rep. Fred Upton-Whirlpool)

**************

Controversial Golf Course Moves Ahead In Benton Harbor
Dustin Dwyer, Michigan Public Radio, 6/18/09
Listen: http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/michigan/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1519743

(photo)Mark Hesemann, managing director of Evergreen Development, shows off one of the holes at Harbor Shore that will open in July. Dustin Dwyer

BENTON HARBOR, MI (Michigan Radio) - The developers of a controversial golf course project in Benton Harbor say they're less than a month away from a preview opening.
They invited reporters on a tour of the more than 500-acre development as it gets ready for a full opening next year.
The development is called Harbor Shores. And parts of it are nearly finished. Ten holes on the golf course will open in July.
But much of the area is still a construction site. So for the main part of the tour, reporters were put on a bus, rather than golf carts. The bus took off down the highway, past where new homes and condos would be built, and into an area that's become a battleground: Jean Klock Park.
Wendy Dant Chesser is on the board of the Harbor Shores development. As the bus pulled into the park, she laid out the history.
"This park was dedicated to the city of Benton Harbor by John and Carrie Klock in 1917," she said. "When Mr. Klock made his dedication at that time, he said something to the effect of he wanted this land forever used in benefitting the children of Benton Harbor."
Now, much of the park will be used as holes seven, eight and nine on the golf course. But Dant Chesser says the beach and a picnic area will continue to be available to the public, and even more accessible than before. "And we contend that, in the past, because of the configuration of the park, it was not benefitting too many folks," she said. Dant Chesser added that Harbor Shores has spent $1.5 million cleaning up the park, building new access roads and restoring shelters and restrooms.
Throughout the bus tour, Dant Chesser and others with Harbor Shores press the point that this was never envisioned as just a golf course and some houses. They say it's meant to be a development tool to raise the profile of the city and improve life for everyone in it.
"They're lying," says Rev. Edward Pinkney, one of the main opponents of the development. "They're not being truthful. They've never been truthful from day one."
Pinkney says when it was proposed five years ago, people in the city were promised 2,000 jobs. Now Harbor Shores says it expects a peak of around 900 jobs during construction. And those will be temporary.
Pinkney says most of those jobs won't go to people from Benton Harbor.
"We should have had people help building the golf course," he says. "Should have had people help build these condominiums, but you won't see that."
But Harbor Shores did sign an agreement with the city that at least 40 percent of the people working at the golf course will be from Benton Harbor. That's out of approximately 100 permanent positions.
Reverend Pinkney says it's a raw deal.
But much of the work on the project has already been done. Land has been cleared, grass has been laid down, and even some of the houses are already built.
So even if Harbor Shores loses the lawsuits, it's unclear how the project can be stopped.
Dustin Dwyer, dtdwyer@umich.edu

2009-06-18T14:15:00.001-04:00

Movie: Gospel Hill 2008

In the town of Julia, the residents of the black neighborhood of Gospel Hill, are being forced out of their homes to make way for a multimillion-dollar golf course development.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0810880/

2009-06-13T10:23:00.003-04:00

Excerpts from 3 articles

Michigan Pastor Denied Right to Attend his Own Hearing

A Michigan judge ruled this week that the Rev. Edward Pinkney, a Benton Harbor minister and longtime vocal community activist who recently served 13 months in jail couldn’t attend his own hearing in Grand Rapids before the Michigan Court of Appeals. Rev. Pinkney who is now under 24-hour house arrest and probation for quoting the Bible was requesting to be released from his home monitoring system so he could be present for his day in court yesterday. [6/9/09]

Pinkney’s case has gained the attention of the ACLU, religious and social justice groups throughout the country who feel his treatment and sentencing of 3 to 10 years, is not only excessive, but it is also a gross violation of the minister’s religious and civil rights. Before a full courtroom of supporters and Rev. Pinkney’s wife, his attorneys presented their arguments and now await an Appellate Court ruling that could take months. Meanwhile, a Michigan Supreme Court ruling on whether Rev. Pinkney should be denied the right to leave his house without court approval is expected any day. Full story - http://www.sdpconference.info/

Mich. Court of Appeals hears case of preacher sentenced for criticizing judge
Benton Harbor preacher is under house arrest and unable to attend appeal in his case By Eartha Jane Melzer 6/11/09

A politically active Baptist preacher from Benton Harbor, Rev. Edward Pinkney, remained under near constant house arrest on Tuesday as a crowd gathered at the Michigan Court of Appeals in Grand Rapids for oral arguments in appeals of his politically charged conviction on election fraud charges for which he was given probation and the 3-to-10-year prison sentence he received when a judge said he violated probation by writing an article for a Chicago newspaper.

“This is truly a miscarriage of justice,” said Michael Steinberg of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, which is representing Pinkney in the matter of the probation violation. “In a constitutional democracy a person cannot be imprisoned for criticizing a judge in a newspaper article or expressing his religious beliefs.”

Pinkney is a well-known figure in economically devastated and segregated Benton Harbor, where he has organized community forums, participated in local government meetings and attended court as an observer regularly for years...
In 2005, he organized a successful recall effort against a Benton Harbor city commissioner. But the recall was set aside after then-prosecutor James Cherry argued that Pinkney had violated campaign laws as part of the campaign.
He claimed that Pinkney offered people $5 to vote and that he handled absentee ballots of others, which is unlawful.
The first jury trial on these charges ended in a mistrial in March 2006, and Pinkney was convicted of the charges at a second trial in March 2007.
Pinkney’s attorneys have identified numerous problems with his trial. They argue that people were not allowed to observe jury selection, that a key witness that alleged that Pinkney had paid voters fabricated the story under pressure from the prosecution. They also argued that the law that makes holding someone else’s absentee ballot a felony is unfair. Full story -
http://michiganmessenger.com/20748/mich-court-of-appeals-hears-case-of-preacher-sentenced-for-criticizing-judge

Benton Harbor Believes in Fighting Back by Dr. Lenore J. Daniels

...Rev. Pinkney’s speaking and his activism draws from a rich tradition of revolutionary activist and human rights advocates, one perhaps foreign to many white Americans educated within the confines of a Western perspective. The shock white Americans experienced at the “discovery” of a Rev. Jeremiah Wright exposed the assumption that hidden in the depths of the Black community are individuals, activists and truth tellers like that of a man who in 1966-67-68 warned America that its lawless agenda was anti-human.

“God has a way of standing before nations with judgment, and it seems that I can hear God saying to America, ‘You’re too arrogant! And if you don’t change your ways, I will rise up and break the backbone of your power, and I’ll place it in the hands of a nation that doesn’t even know my name.”

The nation’s response to Rev. Martin Luther King was death!

Judge Dennis Wiley ignored “the April 22 Supreme Court order to “articulate the reasons” for keeping Pinkney under 24/7 house arrest with electronic tether” (BANCO).

And what tradition informs Judge Dennis Wiley’s silencing of truth?

The terms of Rev. Pinkney’s 24-hour house arrest, as Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of Pan-African News Wire writes, are draconian. “Under his appeal bond he is denied the right to preach, grant interviews, write articles, address crowds or engage in politics.”
Full story - blackcommentator.com

2009-06-10T08:06:00.004-04:00

Minister Louis Farrakhan speaking in Benton Harbor, Friday, June 5, 2009; see all 4 parts of speech - http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=farrakhan+in+benton+harbor&aq=f

2009-06-10T08:02:00.001-04:00

A Connection is made between the Pinkney and Bukowski cases:

Freedom of the Press My Sweet A**

An Open Letter from Ann Grimmett, Mich. Welfare Rights Org. member:

On June 1, 2009, I was in the Detroit courtroom of Judge Michael Hathaway in the "Frank Murphy Hall of INJUSTICE" as our beloved freedom fighter Diane Bukowski was being sentenced, insulted, lied on and generally disrespected!

I would like to think that the presence of nearly 50 people, (there ONLY to support Diane in her fight) were instrumental in convincing the "unjust judge" (much like the one referred to in Luke 18 "Parable of the Persistent Widow") to be more "just" (if you will) in his sentencing of our good sister Diane. As it turned out, Diane was given probation and slapped with several (again) "unjust" fines most likely in an attempt to "starve her out!

So much of Diane's case is very similar to the "persecution of our beloved BANCO brother Reverend Edward Pinkney, in that ALL who "concern themselves and fight for" the poor and disenfranchised are becoming TARGETS for those that are in a position of "Perceived Power."

Truth be told, if those whom these "Freedom Fighters" have defended and are defending don't stand up IN A BIG WAY for our "Freedom Fighters" we will ALL go down the tubes!! Diane is going to appeal and WE will be there to support her, to the very END!

For more information on this case, go to Free Diane Bukowski and read the open letter from Professor Charles Simmons.
http://michiganwro.blogspot.com/2009/06/freedom-of-press-my-sweet.html

2009-06-09T16:39:00.003-04:00

Farrakhan: Human rights lacking in Benton Harbor

Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan speaks during the Rally for Justice and Unity on Friday at the Lake Michigan College Mendel Center in Benton Township. Farrakhan said Benton Harbor has a crying need for better education.
6/6/09 HP by Julie Swidwa [notice her quotation marks around "distort his message" and "land grab"...]
BENTON TOWNSHIP - Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan told hundreds of people Friday night that they live in a world that deprives most human beings of their human rights, and nowhere is that more evident than in Benton Harbor and cities like it.
Speaking at the Lake Michigan College Mendel Center to about 400 people, Farrakhan said the mostly black city has a crying need for better education, which he said is a human right.
"A man who gives you inferior knowledge can dominate you. The only way to keep us as a tool is to keep us ignorant. Some of us don't even know that we are tools," Farrakhan said. He is the Supreme Minister and National Representative of the Nation of Islam and Elijah Muhammad. He is an advocate for African-American interests and often a critic of American society.
The 76-year-old minister lives part time in Kenwood, a neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, and part time at a Nation of Islam farm in New Buffalo. Farrakhan is recognized by some as a speaker with a powerful allure, and by others as a controversial figure.
A man who spoke before Farrakhan predicted that the media would "distort his message."
Farrakhan brought the crowd to its feet when he told the people to be tools in the tool chest of God. He said that is what Edward Pinkney of Benton Harbor was trying to do.
"I am honored to be here at the call of justice," Farrakhan said. "Mrs. Pinkney, my dear suffering sister, I am honored to be here on behalf of your husband."
Farrakhan said he was touched by Pinkney's case and came to Benton Harbor to meet and support him. Pinkney also has the support of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is appealing his conviction on a probation violation.
Pinkney was on probation last year for a 2007 election fraud conviction involving a Benton Harbor recall election. While on probation, he wrote an article in the People's Tribune, a Chicago newspaper, stating that Berrien County Trial Court Judge Alfred Butzbaugh, who handled the election fraud case, could be punished by God "with consumption and with a fever and with an inflammation and with extreme burning."
Another Berrien County Trial Court Judge, Dennis Wiley, ruled that Pinkney's words constituted a threat, which was a violation of his probation terms. Wiley handed Pinkney a 3-10-year prison sentence.
Pinkney was released after the Michigan Court of Appeals ordered the Berrien County court to set bond. Pinkney has been out of prison since posting a $10,000 bond late last year but is not allowed to leave his home without permission from the court. For that reason, he could not attend Friday's "Rally for Unity and Justice" organized by Marcus Muhammad, a Benton Harbor resident who is running for election to the City Commission.
Also speaking at the rally, besides Farrakhan, were several other ministers and Pinkney's wife, Dorothy.
"This is not about Reverend Pinkney. It's bigger than us," she told the crowd. "He used to say 'I'm just trying to matter.' "
Before his arrest, Pinkney spent nearly every day at the Berrien County courthouse, listening to cases and offering free advice to defendants from Benton Harbor.
Dorothy Pinkney asked people to support her husband at a hearing Tuesday in Grand Rapids, where the state Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in his case.
Pinkney was arrested on election fraud charges following the 2007 recall of former City Commissioner Glenn Yarbrough, who soon regained his seat when a judge nullified the recall election. Yarbrough was subsequently re-elected, but later resigned.
Pinkney and his supporters now say he was targeted for arrest because he was against what they call "a land grab" by Whirlpool Corp. in Benton Harbor. But at the time of the recall election, Pinkney's stated reason on a petition seeking to recall Yarbrough was "for supporting (then) police chief Sam Harris."
The alleged "land grab" by Whirlpool is related to the Harbor Shores golf course development, which came about later. jswidwa@TheH-P.com.

2009-06-08T07:54:00.003-04:00

The following is a comment posted on:

It's All About Federal Drug Money & African-American Incarceration, 3/11/09 http://bhbanco.blogspot.com/2009/03/its-all-about-federal-drug-money.html

"I can relate to this and can take it back to 1976 when Nick Jewell was sheriff.I saw the dirt first hand and with my own eyes.Dig into history and find out why officers Tom Diepert and Tom Exxum who worked for metro narcotics were arrested which was kept under covers.How about St Joe officer now retired Don Ives allowing county officer Steve Marshke to have drug parties at Dons house with there homosexual buddies.Tim Obrien was another story along with Eau Claire native Paul Bailey who is a racist along with his buddy officer John Hopkins whos brother was a coke dealer and allways overlooked ( I know I was there).I do not live in the area anymore (thank god) but have known or have been personaly involved on a social level with these people for almost 40 years.Benton Harbor used to be one of the most industrial flourishing towns in the nation and now it seems that all it produces is trumped up charges."