While the United States celebrates over 200 years of the obliteration of the slave trade, the city of Benton Harbor of the County of Berrien, in the state of Michigan, is trapped in a time warp of monumental proportions.
All world citizens should know how corrupt Berrien County's legal system is. It is a danger to every traveler, visitor and guest worker who takes the risky step of entering Berrien County territory. Just ask the families of Hispanic prisoners who were not even informed that their loved ones were arrested. Many are serving long prison terms in the Michigan prison system after being jailed on flimsy tainted evidence from law enforcement.
The reality is that Berrien County, which proclaims itself the land of freedom, has one of the most dishonest, dangerous and corrupt legal systems of any developed nation. The corruption is well known, but also well hidden by the media. The news media of Berrien County is corporate owned. The media companies are afraid of reprisal from powerful corporations, and of the social response that would come from exposing the truth.
The starting point for understanding Berrien County is to digest the fact that the United States of America, the land of the free, has 25 percent of all prisoners in the entire world. Many are innocent and arrested by police, prosecutors and judges who have no concern if they are an innocent person. They just do not care. When a crime is committed, they try to arrest somebody, just to say they got the "bad guy."
Police, prosecutors and judges do not like to admit they made a mistake. Once they arrest you, they try to make up and plant evidence to help convict you. A common trick is to take other criminals who are facing jail on other charges and get them to be false witnesses against you. The police also like to pile on charges. The ideal is to charge you with as many crimes as possible because it makes you look bad. There is also a huge amount of bribery in the courts in America. Nearly all bribes are given to judges by lawyers. This is considered the safe way to bribe a judge. Bribery is rarely spoken about, but understood.
The only people who can expect fairness in American courts are the rich and big corporations--nobody else matters to American judges and prosecutors. No one should ever be fooled by their propaganda. The system is broken. It is the Haves against the Have-Nots, Rich against the Poor and Corporations against you and I. They are attacking all of us for the same reason. The jobs are gone. They can no longer profit from our labor. We all suffer political oppression, economic exploitation and social degradation from the same enemy. We must say enough is enough. We either fight or die.
Because he stood up against the corporations, phony "vote fraud" charges were brought against Rev. Pinkney. His sentencing is May 14 at 1:30 at the Berrien County Courthouse. Meet at 12 noon at Colfax and Maine St. in Benton Harbor for a mass demonstration and march across the St. Joseph bridge.
Mary Carter, senior citizen of Benton Harbor, stands in the historic Jean Klock Park overlooking beautiful Lake Michigan. The Benton Harbor community has enjoyed festivities in the park. But, now, corporate developers are trying to turn it into an expensive golf course for the rich and lock out the community.
PHOTO/DAYMONJHARTLEY.COM
This is not just about saving the Jean Klock Park. If they get approval to take this park, every green space across the country that has deed and federal grant protections will be at risk. Many staff members of state agencies are not in favor of giving this park to the Harbor Shores Developers [Whirlpool]. It was the State of Michigan's regulatory agency heads who signed Gov. Granholm's memo to Whirlpool's CEO congratulating the company for their merger. In turn, all of the agency heads signed this memo pledging their support to make Harbor Shores become a reality; and that includes the park. Organizers who want to save the park and who are concerned about the dunes wetlands, nature and wildlife, call this number to discuss ways to help. Call 269-925-4880. Also go to www.savejeanklockpark.org
— Carol Drake, vice president, Friends of Jean Klock Park
Nothing for the Homeless
"We used to go out to the park and have festivals. They take all the fun away from us, take everything. It's bad enough that the kids are forced to turn to gangs, drugs and violence. I used to run a homeless shelter. I opened my door to men, women, boys and children who didn't have anywhere to go. In Benton Harbor, if a family is homeless, they may help her. But for the men, there is nothing. It is especially hard if they have no means of reading and writing. The president would rather spend millions on a war than with these homeless, loving citizens."
— Marquette Coates, Benton Harbor resident
READERS DISTRIBUTE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE!
Benton Harbor's homeless walked miles to get copies of the People's Tribune. They want to get the news out! The June paper will highlight the 100 Benton Harbor homes that have no water and how it's part of Whirlpool's plan to force families out for the "Development." You can order bundles at 15 cents per copy. Call 800-691-6888.
