Don Trump, Giuliani and McGuire

I am literally afraid. I write about people on my blog all the time. I have consciously stay away from the President's handling of this country. Dick Gregory, God rest his soul, while on Roland Martin's BET news program was sure. Black people in America had no business in what is about to go on in America. He said that it is not our business. I beg to differ at this point. Everyone should have a voice in our country and I want to exercise mine, today! When I read the complaint filed by the whistleblower that is now all over the internet. I am reminiscent of one of my favorite movies, ever, "The Godfather". Robert Duvall's character was Don Corleone's adopted son. He was not Italian, but Irish. He was a friend of Sonny's that he had brought home at 12. I might not be getting those facts right, but he was very loyal to the family. It was just like Sonny, who broke the rules and so emotional that he would have a friend. A friend who he loved so much that he would cause his father to make him his son. Tom Hagen was a lawyer that worked for his "father" in cases that involved legalities. He went out first to test the waters and gather intelligence that would help his father conduct business effectively. Once, Sonny even tried to question his position in the family. Tom reminded Sonny that his position in the family was solid and his father loved him just like him. Tom was better than Sonny and Sonny was blood.

I read over the complaint by the whistleblower and it was amazing. It played out just like one of the first scene of the Godfather. Tom goes out to Hollywood and asks a favor of a Hollywood director that is refusing to cast this guy Johnny Fontane in a movie. Johnny had stole his lead actress and girlfriend. He had "Blackballed" Johnny. Vito Corleone was Johnny's Godfather. The director cussed Tom and told him to go back and tell Don Corleone that he wasn't weak. Evoke the name of some guy he had muscled before, "I ain't no f***ing band leader!" and said he wasn't afraid. He had taken the Tom out to see his thorobred. This horse was his pride and joy. When he refuses, Tom wipes his mouth, gives friendly salutations and explains his father likes to hear bad news as soon as possible. Cut to the next scene that will go down in cinematic history. The producer wakes in the morning to something wet, he rolls down the cover and there is the horse-head in the bed with him. The first time I saw Godfather, I thought it was the woman that Johnny Fontane and took from him. I was pleasantly surprised to see the horse's head. I thought he would somehow get him wrapped up in a murder.

Rudy Giuliani
Trump's Personal Lawyer

Reading through that complaint, I was thinking, "Giuliani is the conduit for Trump's mafioso type behavior. He went to the Ukraine to do a little intelligence of his own. He wanted to see who would play-ball, who was a friend to the Democrats. It also seems to me that Putin is going to get control of the Ukraine through Trump. His actions are no different than those of his son in the 2016 election, when he had the meeting with Russian meddlers on Hillary Clinton. If there is information to be had, he will get it. It's obvious that he is now willing to exhort other country with US money to win elections. Remember, in Godfather II, Fredo went to Havana to set things up for Michael to do business with Moe Green. He ended up losing his life, because of Havana, but his job was clear. Make sure that everyone in Havana was on the same page and they had enough people in Havana to create an empire. We know that Putin has some kind of interest in the Ukraine, and what that is I do not know. There is a lot said about why, but I never believe most of what I hear. I do know that the Ukraine has people that are just as crooked. One thing I know more than anything, after that information that I read in that complaint, Trump has enemies all around him. People that are willing to tell any and everything they see and hear at the White House. They are spies in the literal sense, but not the legal sense, and the Whistleblower is an attorney or someone familiar with drafting legal documents. He is also an innocent. A person that people can tell their secrets to, and when it comes time to tell it he can.

This person has no secrets. He has done nothing wrong in his life. He has no mistresses. He didn't pay for his children to get into Yale and probably doesn't have children. Children would be a liability. He is clean. That's Trump's biggest hold he has on people. He digs out all your dirt and uses it to make you fall in line. Like I have said before, "Scandal" is just American politics set in a 60-minute timeframe. There are dirty pictures in envelopes, drugs use in the Capitol and interns being "done" in caustic closets. PT Barnum has a famous line that my friend liked to say when he wanted more money, "There is a sucker born everyday and I'm going to spend looking looking for every one of them." Trump is sure that everyone has a secret and every man can be bought. As I look at his rise to power that is evidently true. Men with promising futures just got out of the game, like Paul Ryan. Some men just don't want to play Trumps game. At any point and time, he can call you for a favor based on some negative intel that may or may not be true. He quickly got men on his side that had said they despised him. Men like Paul Ryan, Mit Romney and John McCain are too beloved or charismatic or handsome for him to ever want really close to him. He has a deep insecurity that blocks him having any sound likeness to any man he feels is better than him. That includes looks, business sense and likability. America is being ran by some of the ugliest people in America when you think about it.

Joseph McGuire
Director of National Intelligence

So, there was no "The View". Trump was persecuted in a whole new forum that didn't include Whoopi and Joy Behar. This "really nice man" they kept calling Director McGuire. He hasn't had his job very long, only six weeks. As soon as he gets the job, in comes this Whistleblower complaint. I had a friend that took a top spot for six months. The leader took a sabbatical and they gave the job to him for awhile. There were things that were looming that the Leader did not think that he should touch. Thing that were either racial, political or both. My friend and I talk as we were driving to dinner. He told me that there was this kid that was making a whole lot of money dealing drugs. His father was a big deal on the political scene and he'd taken a stress leave. Not because he was stressed, but because he needed a reason to be off work and deal drugs. He said that he knew that his case would be on his desk, and sure enough, it had been brought to him that day. The young man that is Black, got word of his impending doom and showed up at my friend door the next day. He said he had looked him in his face and he understood. He had to report to work the next day, or he no longer had a job. Just like when these men get these phony Personal Protection Orders (PPO) on me. It's always a visiting judge that has nothing to lose for railroading someone. They are temporary. America, meet your temporary Intelligence Director. The man that is going to do his best to save Trump and eventually be gone with the wind.

James Comey
Ex-Director of the FBI

We already know what happened. James Comey, ex-Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, told us that. Trump called McGuire into a meeting and expressed his need for loyalty and discretion. He was called to protect the President at all cost. In reality, if he gave his loyalty to his Office, he is a Patriot. The President is the highest office in the land. To be dedicated, to serving Trump is the least any American citizen can swear to. Only, like Comey said, not at the expense of his good name and reputation as a leader. A leader of truth, loyalty to our country and to the American Way. There is no man worthy of degrading his name. I don't blame him. "What does it profit a man that he gains the whole world, but loses his soul?" (Mark: 36)  This McGuire person, Director of Intelligence has some uber secrets, is getting paid a whole lot of money or both. One thing he is not doing is turning on Trump. He is loyal and dedicated to both Trump and the party. We have to first accept that. The Republican have tried to paint him as an innocent man that just walked into a bad situation. He will tell you that his record as a Naval Officer and Navy Seal is impeccable. I will tell you that he is no better than that little snake Rudy Giuliani and he is going to impede this investigation and impeachment process, until the end.

Let's look at what he has done in the last six-weeks. First, he went to everyone involved to ask questions. A Senator from Texas, Senator Demings, who was once an investigator for a police department made it clear. When doing an investigation, you never go to the person that is being investigated for the answers. If you have the complaint, before you, you go everywhere, but to the supposed perpetrator. If they are guilty, they will point you in the wrong direction. They'll send you on a "wild goose chase". What you do is gather the information needed to convict and ask him questions that you already know the answers to. As intelligence, he needs to watch an episode of "The First: 48". Those detectives know all about you, before you get in that little room. They have their cell phone numbers, mother's address, grandma's address and all his buddies. They've built their entire case. They are just trying to get the person to confess. That was his first deceptive practice. You don't tell a person they are under investigation, especially if they have all the power in the world to make it go away!

US Rep. Adam Schiff , California (D)

Senator Schiff, who Trump is fighting with, now, tried to make that perfectly clear. He kept trying to  hold McGuire to what is usually done. There is a protocol and the protocol is that whenever there is a complaint of this kind, it is sent to the Senate Intelligence Committee within seven (7) days. There has never been a case where the Intelligence Committee didn't get a complaint in those seven (7) days. Not until now, and McGuire claims that he was afraid that it might be "Executive Privilege", because it concerned a Presidential phone call. The only privilege the President received is that he got notice that there was a complaint! The President is not above the law. An investigation concerning him is no different than any other investigation in America. He has no wiggle room to get out of any situation that he has placed himself in. Giuliani had been over in Ukraine since February gathering leads, securing support and "fishing" things out. Back in July was the perfect time to get a handle on the Ukraine's President. Trump had some money that President, Volodymyr Zelensky, needed. He wasn't going to give him a dime, until he agreed to investigate Biden. Had even put a hold on the funds. I am not going to type Ukraine people names, it is too hard, but when all the players that needed to be on-board were there, Giuliani gave Trump the go-ahead and he reached out, or the Ukrainian President reach out, but the time was right. We all know that.

Everyone had their roles to play, even Barr who also hasn't been in his position long, either. What they did not know is that there was a Coup D'etat, among those that hate Trump to put an end to his "reign" as President. It was almost like they were waiting in the wings. If Mueller failed, we have this. This whole idea that the Democrats are seeking to destroy his presidency is absorbed. More than just the Dems want to end his reign. He has displace a lot of Republicans. He has taken them out, just like Justin Trudeau. No man, woman or child is safe from Trump's reign and that is clear. We must understand who we are dealing with. I know that Senator Schiff knows, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, too. We don't know half of Trump's antics. They have found an innocent. Someone that if he finds all his secrets, won't amount to a pile of beans. A good honest man and they are feeding him all the information his ears can carry and his written it all down. Trump says this is a "little thing", but not to Americans. You can't take their name and money and attempt to win an election on their back, using "Godfather" type tactics. No, no, no... American hold themselves to a higher-standard and higher than any country in the world. This is not 1945 Brooklyn, and this is not your country to exploit. He is remembering that he lost the popular vote. Biden is obviously a threat. I can't imagine that he didn't have a hand in Russia's interference in the 2016 election. It's like, he did it once and he's doing it, again. But then I have to negate ex-FBI Director, Robert Mueller's testimony. I trust him, but I do not trust Trump.

Michael Atkinson
Inspector General Intelligence Community (IGIC)

McGuire, at the beginning of his testimony gave his resume. He listed all of his service and accolades. His has a stellar record, until now. The Inspector General of the Intelligence Community (IGIC), Michael Atkinson, got the complaint that the Whistleblower has written. He said that it was credible and urgent. McGuire didn't feel that he had properly defined "credible" and "urgent", because he sent it over to the White House for further scrutiny. With all of his service and accolades that he felt should cause us to believe him, he can't seem to apply the same courtesy to Atkinson. If he respected Atkinson's resume, as he wanted us to trust his that complaint should have been sent to the Intelligence Committee in seven (7) days. Schiff kept asking him about his resume and then Atkinson's resume. McGuire acted as if he had no idea what he was trying to get at. I knew, give honor where honor it is due? You should give the leader of the Intelligence Community the same honor that you want so badly. It was lost on McGuire. But when he was being questioned by the Republican Senators, you could see his entire demeanor change. They didn't put the names and political affiliation up quickly. I could always tell when the speaker was a Republican, he would relax, his shoulders became mush and he put a smile on his face. He stuttered over his words, especially when they spoke about what he talks with the President and his misinterpretation of the word "shall". Shall is a Biblical term that means, "will be done". 

Republicans said that he didn't break the law. He did do something that had never been done, before. It was "unprecedented". Schiff asked in all earnesty, "Did you ever think to call someone and ask them what to do?" He couldn't say, "Yes", because he feels that would make him unfit for the job. In all earnest thoughts of my own, I would rather you ask, than f***k things up the way you have. If someone hadn't leaked this whole thing to the press, he would still be trying to get the Whistleblower "clearance" to the Capitol for hearings. I have no idea how you can get someone clearance and not know their name, but we will believe him. Intelligence is all about secrets. Schiff also made a stellar point toward the end. This is going to ruin potential Whistleblowers from coming forward. The process being clear and concise is very important to trusting those handling the process. If people can't trust the process, then how can they possibly think that what they have to say will make a difference? The whole idea is to deter men like Trump from exploiting his Office. If people think that he will get the information first-hand, then they will never come forward with any information about him. The chance for retaliation is too great! Can you imagine the backlash that can come from the President of the United States. I'm getting it from a bunch of crackhead fags and it's too much at times. I got high-blood pressure and migraines. We all have our cross to bear, but some people can't stand the pressure.

One last point, I would have loved it if McGuire would have feigned ignorance. He did admit that he had just started, but he would not say, "I didn't know what to do". He refused it, because of meetings, after the meeting. If you say that you didn't know, then the President looks incompetent to pick members of the intelligences community. McGuire also looks incompetent, and I was in the Army. A Navy Seal is up there with an Airborne Ranger. Men that get dropped in rough terrain and have to get home with a M-16, field knife and whatever else he can carry on his back or belt and utility pockets. It is rough and these men are capable of surviving the toughest jungles of the world. You will never, ever get a Seal or a Ranger to admit they are incompetent. McGuire might look like a nerd, a Bill Gates look-a-like, but he is a well oiled machine that is capable of killing with his bare-hands. You might think that I am going to far, but that's what Navy Seal means. McGuire should scare you. He has been pushed physically and mentally beyond what any human can endure. I was just a medic and went through basic-training. I cried on our 15-mile march. We had marched all night, then I sat on my rucksack and fell asleep. I didn't awaken, until my head hit the ground. My steel pot crashing into sand. He demands that we listen to him and believe every word he says, just because, he is a Navy Seal. I would say, "You have to give respect to get it." He's not respecting the American public with his lies and half-truths.

Vito Corleone died at the end of the "Godfather". He was old, but powerful, and men never stopped coming after him. He left behind a whole lot of mess. You are as powerful as your circle is loyal and strong. An old man can run an empire strong with a loyal crew and people that look out for his best interest. When you watch the "Godfather" watch Tom Hagen. He was loyal to the Don Corleone, and later would be loyal to Michael. When things were rough, he would throw up his hands and bow out. "I can't help you..." Trump doesn't have any of that kind of loyalty. Not where is counts. Men like Rudy Giuliani are weak and not of sound mind to keep his kind of politics going. You have to also be sharp as a gangster. I've watched him in interviews and he ain't so bright, but then again neither is Trump. He's had failed businesses, illicit affairs and a horrible track record where his family is concerned. Republicans that support him, like Chris Christie, seem to just going through the motions. Then when he's in trouble has some derogatory statement to make about Trump. I hate to say this, but Michael Jackson said it best, "Cover me". Cover my weakness, cover my ignorance, cover my sins. Cover me.

Good Night Mr. President

Mouthpiece Miller2 and other Tales

Gloria Miller
District 5

It is with much regret that I have to write this. I would hope that someone would have told Councilperson Miller about my blog. Then she would not be the flunky for Kermit Williams and Randy Carter, anymore. She tells us every week who and what she is. I haven't heard her use the word "Flunky" or "Scapegoat", yet. Maybe she feels that she is actually making a difference. As usual she has done something that is completely wrong. She has asked the Council to go to court to define their position as Council. Their job as Councilmembers is mapped out in the US Constitution. I think she wants the courts to express their feelings about two specific issues that are happening in the city right now. Her proposed bike lanes on Perry. I believe that she shares Perry with Doris Taylor-Burks. The maps on the City's website isn't clear. They outline the areas in their district, but not down to the streets. You can't see where anyone's district ends and where it begins. She has taken on the situation of trying to get Perry back to two lanes. It's an issue that MDOT and not the Mayor has decided isn't happening at this point. I wonder whose money she will spend to get clarification on something she can read in a sixth-grade social studies book?

Also, the City Clerk's fight with the Mayor is also on her agenda. He needs employees to help with the upcoming election and the Mayor won't allow him that one employee; allegedly.  Miller found it her business to go into a meeting that he had with the City Attorneys, Clark and Chubbs. She claims they did not allow her to tape the meeting. I advice her to come into every meeting with a tape recorder. If they ask if you have a recorder lie and say, "No!" If you feel that you are being abused so badly that you can't express what was said, let a recorder tell the tale. She called for both men to be disbarred last night, while the Clerk, Garland Doyle sat quiet. He didn't support her or deny what she said was true. He said nothing, and when the papers were passed out to go to court to decide what would be done on these matters, he didn't get one. He is supervised by the Council, but he is not a Council Member, even if he acts like one at times. Snatching his microphone and making comments at will. Unlike the Mayor who can not be recognized. She is seated on the dyas for a reason and not to be ignored every Tuesday.

Randy Carter
District 4

Now, here is the real mover and shaker right here. Randy "Stank-Ho" Carter. He's the one that wrote the ordinance that passed for the marijuana dispensaries in Pontiac. It's obvious that he has a dog in this fight. He has set his affections on Councilperson Miller. Every week they huddle together to get their minds on the same page. She touches him constantly to show their camaraderie and friendship. I don't believe it is sexual, they both have mates. I just think that it's a bit much for television. I get the impression that she feels that he is someone that she admires and can relate to, at least that's what she wants us to think. If she is who she says she is then Randy Carter is not your friend. He is "Knee Deep" in marijuana. He approached me a year ago claiming that he would be surprised if the State of Michigan would give six licenses to those wanting to have a dispensary in Michigan. At the time, his wife was not seated as the Representative of District #29, yet. He had a arm full of papers about the issue and other things. I didn't want to talk about, because my brother is doing 17 and a half years on a drug related case. I don't use drugs or deal them legally or illegally. That was a conversation that I was not interested in.

Now, his wife is the Representative for Pontiac. As her husband, he has an influence over the moves she makes in Lansing. He doesn't want to be the one pushing the Mayor to allow this whole thing to happen the way he wants it to go down. He has likely told people interested in a dispensary in Pontiac that his wife will be the conduit to get them their license, since the State is not handing them out so easily. If my first thought is correct, and I'm not saying this is true, but she has already targeted the person or persons that she will get to help her get these licenses. This way, she and her "Hubby", Randy Carter, will get a piece of the action in Pontiac. If she does it real well, she and her friends in Lansing can start helping others outside of Pontiac. That will help increase their cash flow at the Carter residence. His relationship with Miller, her and this silly lawsuit to get clarification and newly elected Rep. Brenda Carter puts it all into perspective for me. I have no idea what everyone else is thinking, but that's what I'm thinking. He or Kermit Williams can't act on this marijuana thing, they would start looking suspicious. Everyone already knows the situation is shady. The money has stop flowing and they need a cash flow ASAP, and the Mayor is holding out too long. 

Kermit Williams
District 7

So, this time last year, a server came knocking at my door. He had a Personal Protection Order in his hand. A man that I barely know, but conversed with from time-to-time was saying I was harassing him on Facebook. Everyone knows that you can't harass anyone on Facebook. Sending things, posting and tagging people is all protected by the First Amendment. There are also protections that are put in place to stop anyone from posting about you, tagging you and sending messages on Messenger. You can simply "unfriend" someone or block them on Facebook or just on Messenger. When you block on Messenger, it will stop them from being able to send those awful chain-messages. You know "Send this to 10 friends in 10 minutes or you'll have 10 years bad-luck" kind of message. Well, this person, whom I will leave nameless, came into court and brought one that read, "I love you" to show the judge that I was in love with him. At first the judge told him, "You have blocked her?" I interrupted and stated, "I blocked him! I don't need to be friends with anyone that feels that I am being disrespectful". The judge, creating a case, gave him this protection order. I was really angry, because this would be the fourth time that I was wrongfully accused of harassing a man. But when the marijuana thing took off, he was at every meeting, with Kermit Williams calling on him to be at closed sessions meeting, because he had some "good points".

At the time, I had no idea how lucrative this thing would be for the Councilmembers, more specifically Williams and Carter. When I wrote Rep. Carter about the situation, I thought that she would help me. She had helped me in other situations and this was ideal to really help me. She replied back to me, when I followed-up on the situation, "If there is anything that I can do." A Representative has a clear and open line to all things dealing with the State, even litigation. Even if it's just to inquire about a situation. She didn't do anything, and when she found out that I had went to Senator Rosemary Bayer, she began to shadow her to see what we talked about. Suddenly Senator Bayer was her best friend. I told Sen. Bayor that I know that they are working the same districts, but she has other Reps in her district. Brenda Carter is the only one that shadows her so closely. It's that money that she and Williams are trying to get their hands on in my opinion. Well, the man that they had falsely accuse me of "harassing" him has caught a sexual harassment case of his own. Not only that, it's in the School District where Brenda Carter was on the Board. I wonder if she helped him get that job, in exchange for railroading me and getting me out of the Mayor's ear and away from Council Meetings and everything that the City was involved in.

Brenda and Randy Carter

I'm on Facebook yesterday and I get a notification that someone has commented on my post. I get to the page and it is Sarah Spicer. She has tagged Randy Carter in my blog about him walking through the park cussing and calling "Skanks and Ho's" She is irate, I know, because she has written in all caps and is seemingly protecting his honor. I have known Sarah Spicer for years. She has children by a man that I grew up with in the "Projects" and whose grandmother, God rest her soul, lives down the street. This woman that, I use that word loosely, is on the board at CNS with James Patton and former Board President Eric Hawkins. Hawkins left his job as Chief of Police in Southfield after I wrote a blog about prostitution and the Southfield Police Department. A woman like Sarah, who is more than likely mentally ill is nowhere near the kind of woman that should be seated on a board of any kind. Like I said I know Sarah, and her involvement with any man in politics would be suspect. When I saw who had come to his defense, I thought, "Now what's that about?" I don't know where she lives in his district, but I would be willing to bet it was on or near Baldwin. Yesterday, during the Council Meeting, I watched him pick up his phone and shut it off. I had just got finished with an exchange with Sarah and thought, "I wonder if that was her texting him to tell him about or exchange? They get text all through the meeting, Councilperson Pietlia will tell you one of her people have just texted her. Williams and Carter try to keep it secret. Spicer evokes the Oakland County Sheriff's Department and says that she's going to turn me in for threatening her. I said I know her, because she's an Oakland County Ho. That must be who Carter was talking about when he called "Skanks and Ho's", because

Sarah Spicer is a HO! She knows her friends at the Oakland County Sheriff's Department would do her a favor if she makes them some money!

Here is the exchange:

Count backwards, I screenshot this at about 10 am. Count back and it will put you right in the middle of the Council Meeting. 

It seems that Carter had more important things to deal with this week. Not only is their money drying up, but the hold they have on their citizens. It seems that they can't get anything done. There is obviously a trick in the game and the Mayor isn't playing. Whatever is done in this city will be done above-board. Carter, Williams and the rest of them was so upset at her mentioning of Sheireka Hawkins. I don't know if she is related to ex-Chief Eric Hawkins, but she was indicted on Monday. She mishandled some papers in the last election. Funny, she used to work for the City of Pontiac. I'm sure they are all wondering how far this will go, because she is a vital piece in the corruption in Oakland County. I hope she doesn't do a "Tekashi 69" on the Council. She holds a lot of secrets that might be something the Attorney General might be interested in hearing. You should have heard the moans and groans from the Council when the Mayor mentioned her folly. They called it a "low-blow". Why low, because she is having a problem with the City Clerk in Pontiac, now. Kermit Williams who was a huge supporter of John Balint a year ago, shut him down last night. Kermit Williams only wants to hear from people that will make him some money. He was quick to allow, once Mayor and squanderer of city funds, Walter Moore speak. When he found out he was on the Mayor side, he hasn't been to the podium since. He should take notice, because the same people who will get him, have gotten to Moore. That's why the City Clerk can snatch up the mic and speak whenever her wants. Williams tries to stop him and he says, "NO, I need to say this." With a wave of a hand, permission is granted. As I said, the Council is over him, but those meetings are no more his than they are the Mayor's. The Mayor is shut down every time.

Finally, I have been cleared, once again of any wrong-doing. Since this sexual harassment case is going on in the schools, the information will be able to be acquired through a FOIA Request. I told the judge things that this man did to me that were inappropriate. I wonder if those are the same things he did to this woman. I might not have to, because that fool just might sing like a bird, too.  What would be an ideal end for me in this marijuana business is indictments all around. All of these "elected officials" who planned my demise, will get their just deserves and begin to "reap what they sow." To quote NeNe Leakes, "You never win when you play dirty." When a person pretends to be my friend and is plotting against me, in order to deal in corruption and mess in the city, they need to lose. I have a feeling in the days to come I will see more vindication and people getting what they deserve in Pontiac. Stop following me to the grocery store, too. I am not joining a campaign against the Mayor. I don't jump on bandwagons.

Garlan Doyle
Pontiac City Clerk

GM...UAW Woes

I've always wanted to be a lawyer. My old teachers see me now and ask,"Are you a lawyer yet?" I always answer,"No, not yet." When I was able to go back to school I was 29-years old. I had left Wilberforce University in a hail of shame and disappointment 11-years before. I swore that I would never attend another Historically Black College and University (HBCU). They are not my kind of upper- educational institution. All this stuff about being with your own is a crock of bull. People like me do not attend HBCU's. At the time that I was ready to go back to school, I was 28-years old and working at Sears Roebuck and Company. It was the Winter of 1999, and I was ready to get my life on the right track. The only problem that I had was I was in default of my loan from Wilberforce. I had never paid on it. I began to pay for school, because I had discovered that Sears had a tuition reimbursement program that would help you pay for college. I would pay for school up-front, and I was reimbursed after receiving a C or better in the class. I got all A's and got my first degree with the help of Sears. After each semester I'd send a copy of my receipt, to show I had paid and a copy of my grades. My next check was accompanied by a check for 70% of what I had spent. That included all my books and other expenses.

In order to get this benefit, however, I had to pick a major they could use. Pre-Law that is Criminal Justice these days is not one of the choices that I had. Instead, I picked Management. Obviously, it was a degree they could use, and it was my dream to be a manager at Sears, in my department, Sporting Goods. As a manager, you enroll in a little bit of everything. That includes Economics, Accounting, Finance and Statistics. Three classes that were difficult and has everything to do with managing money. I've had Personnel courses, but most importantly I've had Labor and Relations classes. Those are classes all about unions. How they were formed, why they were formed and how they helped to shape the middle-class. Most of my classes in community college were easy. They never really got deep into union issues. I recently took a course at Walsh. The class was online and that meant I had to read, a lot. There was no teacher in front of me that told me what to read to do well. I read the chapters to be able to beat the clock and get a passing grade on my test that I took online. I discovered so much more about unions that I don't even think the people out on those picket lines even know. I have had other incidents in real life about General Motor's (GM) that I find disturbing that I will share.

First, unions were created out of a need for better working environments, better treatment and of course wages. This isn't just poor lighting, which there were studies about that at the height of the Industrial Revolution. Men like Henry Ford, were always looking to get the best from their workers. Children were used, women were used during the war and men died for the eight hour work day. No one is exempt from a rich man's need for more money. People had to unite for the single purpose of survival. Men were working 12 hours or more 7 days a week on the railroads. That caused an enormous up-rising that left men, mostly White, shot dead by security and the police. Men would own their employees. They lived in his housing, shopped in his stores, had their clothes cleaned in his laundry and went to work for him in his factory. These men never got enough for themselves, because while the owner was their master, he also owned the bank. Men were dying in vates of sausage and just not coming home. People were eating their bodies that had been ground up in a batch batch of raw meat. No one cared, and no one even went looking for them, but their families. There was nothing to show, and they got little answers. Women were traded for rent and jobs by their families. To learn more, read Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. It was part of our reading assignment in high school. There had to be something done about the really bad conditions of the American workforce. Thus the unions...

I wrote a paper on Hoffa. I learned about his start in Indiana and his trip as an adolescent to Detroit, when the auto industry was booming. He quit school to help his mother and was picking strawberries when he organized his first rally against his company. He got tough and stayed tough until his disappearance in 1975. Letting us know that unions are huge. If the trucks stopped running in America, today, commerce in America would come to a complete stop. For that reason at one point in time, Hoffa was the most powerful man in America. He ran the Teamsters with a hard fist. With ties to the mafia and the Kennedy brothers on his back, he had a really bad reputation and a hand in this country that was slightly dirty and powerful beyond what anyone could imagine, today. For the men involved in stealing money from the UAW, today, they are merely satisfying some need to act rich with other people's money. Have you ever seen the UAW contract? It reads like the Bible and is as thick as one. People today, don't have a need for child labor laws, better work conditions, sexual harassment laws or wages. They are doing their best to get rich, while doing very little work and getting a lot of money. While people that truly work get nothing! I have a friend that worked GM for over 30 years, and won't buy a GM car. He says, "I seen too much..."

I know that GM took a bailout. I also know that the workers took concessions. Now, the country is going towards a recession. This is a bad time for union negotiations. GM may have the money for it now, but we have no idea what is going to happen in the next three years. We know that a recession changes the way that people buys cars. Mostly they don't buy cars. They stop buying larger vehicles to cut on gas, and the money that GM is making now is coming from large sports utility automobiles. Nancy Pelosi just announced that she is asking for an impeachment inquiry, which will most likely lead to an impeachment. That will no doubt make the American economy shaky. Remember, Allen Greenspan and his stabilizing of the economy with lower interest rates, but the banks weren't extending any credit. Homes were being lost, due to shady mortgage practices. Then came the "stimulus checks", meant to have Americans spend more money and help build the economy. Economics is the flow of money in our business flow. A flow that means recessions that can't be avoided. Buying cars is a luxury item, and should be seen as a basic necessity, American usually don't shop for cars that way. At least they don't shop like it's a basic necessity, until a recession. That's when they see it as a drain on their monthly budget. During a recession, no one buys anything that is able to be fixed. Washers, dryers, lawn mowers, stove and cars, will not bought, but fixed! Large trucks and sports utility vehicles are often replaced by smaller, more gas efficient autos.

There is no need for strikes. The past has enlightened us to the fate of the auto industry in Michigan and all over the country. The idea that anyone should make $30 an hour, and get the benefits GM workers get, today. They get more than any blue collar group in this country that works in plants. In fact, there is no need for a UAW of yesterday. The conditions of the plants is excellent. People say that the plants wear on their body. Yet, these same people don't want to quit, because the money is too good. What is the truth is they have over-extended their lives and credit and can't stop working, because they have too many bills. They are trying to make GM pay for the mismanagement of their household spending. Since I was a young, children would say, "My Daddy works in the plant!" "My Mama works in the plant!" Sometimes both parents work in the plant. Now, no parent works in the plant and all the plants, besides one, in Pontiac are closed. Why? I worked for a company called Manaman and Rexroth. The sold sliders, pneumatics and robotics. One part of the company was sales and the other part was technical, the people that fixed the machines that were sold. What I believe that GM is up to is technology. Technology to shrink the amount of human workers needed in their plants. I think the workers understand that. They want too much. Robots don't strike!

There was a man on TV who said that this may be their last chance to fight. I believe that if GM has there way it will be. People are greedy and I know that GM is greedy. Most businesses are, but the their personnel budget is usually 80-percent of their income. Then they have to do everything else. Everytime they get a surplus, the workers want a raise and benefits. A recession is coming. It will be here soon. If everyone involved were smart they would begin to save money. As I stated before, no one saves for a rainy day. Rainy days will always be around, and we have to be prepared. The money that the workers get today, may be conceded tomorrow. They are wasting money with these nine days, and just might have to do over-time to make it up. What about those temporary workers and entry-level workers that want to make that "GM money" in the future. These antics could make those jobs vanish. Due to the greed of the higher-paid workers that encouraged the strike. The days of "Two Fisted" fights are over. The middle-class has been creating and is slowly disappearing. The middle-class as it is, no longer is made-up of blue collar workers, but technical workers. People that build computer systems, create new programs and use cyber technology to advance different sectors of the working class. Those are the people that will make-up a new kind of union in the future. At some point in the future that will be who you are talking about when you say, "working-class".

While working at Sears, I had a wonderful experience and we did not have a union. I worked at Meijer and had a union on site and I did not have a good experience. Being a "Right-to-Work" state I didn't have to join the union to be represented, and that's was my problem. While working at Sears, I met a man. I forget his name, but he was a GM worker. This man was also a drug addict. He came to work with me at Sears, after he had retired from GM. He had been given a job where he had a company car. Being a drug addict, he gave his GM vehicle to the dopeman for crack. He got so much rock that he didn't go to work for three days, but when he was ready to go back, he couldn't, because the the dopeman hadn't returned the car. He never returned the car and this man never went back to work. Not until the police found the car battered and torn-up in the streets of Pontiac. He spoke to his union steward, who told him to go to a drug rehab. With the excellent medical insurance he was afforded by GM, he was quickly ushered into a program. GM had to honor his rehab stay and not fire him, because drug addiction is a disease. It is no different than cancer or diabetes. The fact that he had given the company car to a drugs wasn't really addressed. They had insurance for those kinds of things.

After he had worked for about two-months, GM retired him with full benefits. He lost everything. He was working for Sears and drawing his pension, but he wasn't old enough to get his social security. I bet he's a part of this fight now, if he is still alive. This was 20 years ago and I saw him in the store one night. I used to take him home some nights, because he had lost his car, too. I walk into the store and he had his drink in hand. I asked, "Oh so you back to that again." He wrapped the paper bag tighter on the bottle of liquor and said, "Yeah, and I got my rock back!" He walked away with a smile on his face. My boss was recovering and had gotten him the job working with him at Sears. He gave him every chance and he didn't do him right. He didn't do anyone right. To me that's what unions have turn in to to me. Just a bunch of people trying to get more. That man was shocked about his own situation. He thought he was going to be fired and lose his pension. He lost everything, but the UAW made sure that he didn't lose what matter. Even if he did get all his benefits, only to be back to the streets.

Americans must do better. They can't get rich working a blue collar job, because it is all based on the health of our economy that can threaten our way of life. Outsourcing is another issue that they have to take into consideration. Countries like Mexico, India and some in Middle Eastern countries may take jobs from American workers. Outsourcing is changing the face of the world. People that can not otherwise get jobs that take care of themselves and their family are looking forward to outsourcing. They'll work for pennies, much less than the amounts that US workers work for, today. They need to secure something, but nothing's carved in stone. If a company can't pay, they can't pay and all this negotiating will be for nothing. I say go back to work. Manage your money better, and you can retire at a good age and not try to work through retirement. What GM should bargain for is Finance classes, and try to teach their employees to budget for a rainy day and not buy boats and motorcycles, because they can. Negotiations are about reality and the reality is the times of huge paydays are over. There is so much that makes the GM worker obsolete and they should start acting like they are an endangered species and not irreplaceable, because they soon will be.

Friday's: Tu La Furcia

My birthday was Tuesday. I had invited a friend out to the movies. Afterwards, we had an early dinner at Chilli's and talked for quite a while. My cousin had called me and asked me out to this spot called "Smashburger". My burger was salty, just like my popcorn had been the day before. The police had called and got everything just the way they wanted it. I ate it and hoped not to get one of the major migraines I have. I do have high-blood pressure, but it's also the stress of living in a place where your food is poisoned at will. I have no recourse, but to live in this house, with a person that feeds me food that makes me sick. I can't leave an open pop, juice or leftovers, because they will be tainted. When I go out, I have a very hard time eating, because the people at fast-food restaurants also taint my food. Let me tell you, these people follow me, wherever I go, and in my family fear causes there to be no loyalty at all. I cook at home and now throw all leftovers away. 

We enter FRIDAY's and my cousin always wants to sit at the bar. I don't like to sit at the bar. It is noisy and uncomfortables. I do not like to sit on stools. Furthermore, Steve Harvey had did a segment on his show about women that sat at the bar. It's a little know conception that women that sit at bars are prostitutes. There was a few women that came to defend their choice to sit at a bar, and there was Steve telling them it's a bad idea. A lot of people in the audience did not know this and neither did I. I had been hanging with my cousin for about six months when I made this discovery. A reason why Kelly Clarkston has nothing for me and I will not be tuning in. Just because you can talk, doesn't mean you should have your own show. Steve's wisdom outshines her talkative, tacky dresses and shallow star power. This was a topic that taught me something that I didn't know. A woman alone at a bar, is perceived to be a "Lady of the Evening". Establishments had banned the practice in order to cut down on prostitution in the nicer places. I never asked my cousin about her liking the bar and why she does. When we argue about it, which we argue a lot, she says she likes to watch the games. I do not like sports, but I just give in. Just to keep the peace.

The man behind the counter was happy to see us. My cousin that is a regular sat down and he immediately fixed her a drink and sat it in front of her. I told him that I would like a Pina Colada. He acted as if he didn't hear me. He had started walking to the other side of the bar. I changed my order to this Lava Flow drink. I read the drink menu and it looked delicious and when I read the ingredients, it was like a strawberry Pina Colada. I stopped him, before he went to the other side of the bar and change my drink order to the Lava Flow. He had seemed perturbed. His happiness had turned to him being irritated with me and I didn't even know this man! He went to the other side of the bar and stayed. While my cousin is sitting and enjoying her drink that was placed in front of her. I was sitting there waiting, about five minutes. When I looked over and he was talking to another patron and not looking like he was thinking about me, I got a little perturbed myself. Then it hit me all at once. I was wearing my engagement ring. I put it on when I go out, because I don't want to be bothered. Men still try to "holla", but I can always revert, back to the ring. It had irritated my cousin, too, but I was thinking for another reason. But, I'm sitting at the bar.

The Lava Flow

So, I call for him and he ignores me. He don't know what's coming, because he looks at me like I'm bothering him. All at once it happened. To talk over the four or five televisions that were playing, I had to get loud, because he was acting like he couldn't hear. In my jail voice, I called out, "That's okay, I don't want anything to drink!" He looked surprised and I continued, "How are you going to make her drink and sit it in front of her as soon as she sits down and I'm still waiting?" He lifted the strawberry puree he had in his hand and said, politely, "I went to get the strawberry." I looked at him with my best Black Girl snarl and said, "You been over there talking to that man way to long for me! I'm think you don't care that I'm waiting. So, you can keep your drink. I guess my voice raised a few octaves and he looked at me with an attitude, like I had wrong him and said, "Don't get loud, now!" Then I think I blacked-out, but I do remember calling out and telling him to have intercourse with himself and telling him that I could leave. I had driven that night and didn't have to wait for my cousin.I know I said that, because when I went to pull around I thought, "If she don't come out her in a few seconds she will be taking an Uber!" She came out and I pulled away, but she struck a nerve and a whole new tirade. 

"Watch out, the police be hanging out around here." She said it like she was doing me a favor. It was her that brought me to the "Thank God I'm a Freak" restaurant. Then there was a lava flow of a different kind. Since my days in the jail, I noticed that prostitution is big with this new generation, and all the whores from my day and aren't even ready to retire. They even got ho's at Grubhub and Doordash. You can get a burger and a blow job, pizza and some p***y and it's no joke. When I hear this mess from these girls and how the police are already looking to arrest them and send the to jail. I can't believe how the crime has become a normal part of society. A little boy asked his Mama, "You doing Doordash, today, Mama?" He knows when Mama pick up a few orders that she comes back with some extra money. When I worked Meijer, those Shipt girls were pretty. I used to wonder, "Why is a pretty girl like that grocery shopping for people?" Now I know, and they have cute little boys, too. They sell men in OCJ, too. I bet it something they order that let them know it won't be a "regular" order, but a "special delivery". 

I used to ask how much they made and it's not that much, unless the people have a lot of food. Sometimes, they come in and just grab apples. They barely have any food, why would you order such small orders? It don't make sense. It does now, talking to people in the 'hood is remarkable. I'm just so amazed at the things that are going on these days. When that bartender told me "Don't get loud!" He sounded as if he had some back. I think he has to be cool with the police. I ain't going to tell you what I feel about that. My cousin got in the car and said, "Why were you talking about prostitution?" I explained that the women in jail said that Troy was the best spot to work. I pointed out the windshield at all the buildings and said, "Look at all these buildings! They are filled with men with money that want to have sex, and Big Beaver is in the heart of Troy's business district." I saw a woman I knew from prison at school. My eyes got big and we embraced. "What are you doing here?" She stepped back and said, "I go here!" She went to prison for doing some "Hustler" type mess. She did seven years for robbing men that she invited to her house for a "private dance". When he got there, there would be three of her male friends waiting to drive him to the ATM for his money.

My school is in Troy, Michigan, and is supposed to be one of the best in Michigan. I guess professors need love, too. She was in her element at Walsh, because she always made sure the men were married. That way they didn't want to tell nobody. First, there was the shame of it. Second, then there was his wife. She ran into one that didn't care, and muscle that couldn't keep their mouth shut. Of course, they put it all on her, and she took it. She was the mastermind and the ringleader. Couple that with another case and she got them seven. Prostitution is taking over, sex-trafficking, child porn and stealing children for sex. America is going to "Hell in a handbasket"! With the internet, it's getting out of control. Everything is being touched by corruption, and all I can say is "Let us pray"...

You can read more by following the links below!

Links:

PAULA

THE POLICE

Let's Face It: The William Davis Story

William Davis
Detroit Police Commissioner District #7

I’m up at two in the morning. It’s the morning of the vote to pass facial recognition in Detroit. I’m excited, because Amazon has laid out their plan to come to Pontiac. I’m just flipping through the channels, because I want to catch “Basketball Wives”, on account of I missed it, because of a birthday dinner. I turn to Local 4 News and see a familiar face. There is a man named William Davis on the screen. He is the police commissioner of District 7 in Detroit. I had a run in with him back earlier this year, when I went to the National Action Network (NAN) for help with the situations that I’m having with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department. Mr. Davis made a sexually suggestive comment to me, about NAN’s MLK Celebration that is held every year. The President Charles Williams II, had asked him to give me a ticket to the celebration. He looked at me with sincere prowess and asked, “Will you come?” At the time, I didn’t really know what he was saying. I answered, “I asked for the ticket, didn’t I?” He looked at me long enough for me to get a clear understanding. When I got it, I gave my salutations and walked away.  

I remember this summer a guy was hauled out of a meeting, because he vehemently did not agree with Detroit’s facial recognition software being used. The Detroit Police literally had to carry him away. Willie Burton, along with William Davis feel that the software is bias to Black people and should not be used. I really don’t like African-American crooks that use our blackness to stir-up resistance to getting their crooked way. If used properly, this could be a useful tool in helping the police solve crimes. What Burton and Davis are worried about is people being in places they aren’t supposed to be. Pimps, prostitutes, drug dealers and their customers. Sonjia Simpson-Gardener, who introduced me to Davis is a prostitute, who wanted to start a NAN Chapter in Oakland County and be the President of both the Southfield and Pontiac Offices. In order to get control, she planned to have sex with key members of NAN. She was looking for me to join her and run the organization like a whorehouse. She already had two men in Southfield and was working her way through the NAN Board of Directors and thought I was interested. I was not, broke all ties to NAN and wrote a blog about her and my brief experience with NAN and it’s members.

When I looked through the internet, I Googled his name, there was barely any information about him on the internet. Hardly anything about his relationship with NAN and Sam Riddle or Charles Williams II. We all know the disgraced Sam Riddle and his ties to police and Detroit’s corruption. He was involved with the Kwame Kilpatrick and Monica Conyers fiasco. He had gotten out of prison, after being found guilty and refusing to work with the FBI and tried to rekindle his relationship with the Detroit Community. Back in January, when I was introduced to NAN, he was the Community Liaison or something. He did not seem to want to be involved with me, but he was very involved with Davis. Now, it seems that they have disbanded as far as the internet is concerned. You can barely catch a search that contain all three men. It’s like they never existed. Tommy, the man they tried to link to me, because he favors a man, I dated 23 years ago. He called and we talked for several hours. He link me to other men that could possibly help me. He was just trying to use his NAN connections to have sex with me. Those are games these men play. They broke my link to my blog on Facebook. People would click on and get an error message. Every time I turn around there are men coming around that look like me that I have liked, or I have had a relationship with.

I’m a Heinz 57 kind of girl, and I like all kinds of me, because for me it’s the way I am treated and the conversation. I have been known to stay up all night, talking to people in general. When I am interested in you that especially hold true. These men have studied me, and they will use any trick, person or organization to spark an interest from me. I am not interested, however, and I am deeply in love. Besides, none of the men held any attraction in NAN. They were all old and desperate, balding with an inner-tube belly. When I was really young, I liked them tall. I had a 6’5” Club. None of the men in NAN fit that category either. I rode by to see if my old landlord was “still kicking”, He’s about 85 years old, now. Now, old White men follow me around everywhere I go. An old man was in Walmart with the same shirt her wears almost every day. I think he owns a bunch of them. Tuesday, a friend and I went to a movie for my birthday. An old White man came and sat near us. He was so old that he fell asleep. My friend said that she heard him snoring.

Facial Recognition is the future

These two men Burton and Davis are locked in the same corrupt organization that is operating in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb County. It is obvious that dealing with corrupt people is what Davis is all about. Facial recognition would stop a lot of crime and give the Detroit Police valuable and important intel. Sometimes, the police just know stuff. That’s a fact, but there are laws that protect the unlawful. You can know a lot, but like Tom Cruise said in “A Few Good Men” it is not what you know, but what you can prove! Private investigator who are usually retired cops, could get the information and catch a cheating spouse. The FBI could link to the computer and get information. There are so many possibilities of ways of getting caught. That’s why these people that I have no idea who they are operate. Facial recognition can place people that don’t know you to know your there, let them know that you were there and that’s a problem! You can’t walk into a “Gentleman’s Club” with a ski mask on. Especially, if you don’t know what is going down is going down. Who knows when stuff is going to “pop off”. Just think if they had facial recognition the night Tamara Green was supposed to be at the Manoogian Mansion. WE would know if she was there, but moreover, who was there with her. If this spreads to Oakland County. The police on Baldwin would be in big trouble.

There would be no more, “Nope, I wasn’t there.” Oh, you was there, we got you on tape. “We used your mugshot and compared it to the facial recognition software. It was you!” Black men everywhere would start wearing mask. It would start making people be honest, if they want to be or not. That guy who was carried out the meeting, Burton, is serious and I know he is being offered lots of money to sway this vote. He looked like a fool in that fireman carry, the Detroit used to take his rather hefty frame out on the street. Davis the Police Commissioner of District 7 claims to have a bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University. That’s convenient, because he retired from Detroit Water and Sewage Department. Suddenly, when they want him on the Police Commission, he is a Wayne State graduate. The idea that he is a Criminal Justice is uncandid. This man probably took a few classes at Wayne County Community College 40 years ago. He has little or no education and I have met and talked to him. Whenever a man is so blunt and obvious with his sexual advances, he doesn’t have much of an education. Saying what he said to me, could easily misconstrued as sexual harassment. Detroit’s corruption is deep, but this is too easy. I saw on the broadcast that they have all the votes they need to pass the initiative, because if he wins…

Links:

Getting Help: My experience with National Action Network (NAN)

https://detroitmi.gov/government/boards/board-police-commissioners/district-7

I do not Support Bonds: Here's Why

Bonds are a way to raise capital. Money is capital, and when you are dealing with a municipality, you only have two ways to raise money. One is taxes that are always estimated, because things can happen in a year that can change the amount of money you receive in taxes in that year. I have told you that a budget is an estimation of what you will spend. The Clerk's Office in $500K over budget. That means that he is spending more money than he thought he would in a year. This would be a good reason for the Mayor to fire him. There are two line items that appear at the end of the year. One line for how much you thought you would spend and another line for how much each department actually spent. This is the reason a department must keep good records on what they are spending, in order to see if they have a deficit or a surplus. To be over budget is really not a good thing. Operating in the hole is never a good thing. Evey department head wants to keep all spending to a minimum. I think that the Clerk has been stealing money and giving it to Kermit Williams. I hate the way they close the meeting when they don't like what people are saying. It reminiscent of high school. Adults stay and talk things out. They don't get up and leave. Seems to me they have something to hide.

The Clerk, along with Doris Taylor-Burks and Kermit Williams are "Thick as Thieves" pun intended. Unlike taxes that can be used for various functions of a city, bonds are usually explained to the citizens, for a specific purpose. A milage, too and we haven't had a great run with either. But it can be used to fatten the general fund, or anything else the administration wishes to use them for. It all depends. So, an administration put forth a legitimate purpose for the bonds, City Council passes the issuance of bonds and use the money for something else. I think that's what the City Council is worried about, on top of the idea that a city can go bankrupt on bonds and quickly become a township or be sold off piece-by-piece. I went "away" shortly after Detroit got their Emergency Manager, but their biggest threat was bonds that would be called in less than six months. The thing about bonds, is they are a debt that must be paid. These people have given you a loan. A loan that must be paid back. Convertible bonds are different, companies can convert bonds into stock. Cities don't have that luxury, because unlike businesses, they don't have stocks.

I think the city wants to get permission to issue an amount of bonds and issue them in waves. When they need to issue the bonds for repairs, they would issue them. Stock is usually issued all at once and to keep a hold of their company, they would buy an amount of stock and keep in "Balance Sheet" under "Stock Holders Equity", which is a liability. A liability increases debt on your balance sheet and a debit on your on the "Income Statement"..."Interest Payable". For every debit, you have to have a credit. That is the money to pay it.  When they need money they sale them, or to strengthen their viability in the market. They buy them back for viability, but when a company starts buying up their own stock that's a sign of trust, because they are paying their shareholders back. Paying dividends is a real good way for shareholders to have continued faith in a company's viability and longevity. Any way a company or a city wants to raise capital has to be backed by their ability to be around for a long period of time. Pepsi, Coke, McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken have proven they can change and grow with the times. People who invested in them a long time ago are rich. AT&T is another one that has stood the test of time. Apple, Amazon and Facebook are young companies that may or may not last. They are companies based on technology, and technology changes everyday. They will have to keep their fingers on the pulse of America to keep their momentum. Facebook has had a very rocky road with their stock, and once a company reaches a certain maturity, they can get to be so expensive that they aren't even worth buying anymore. The best time to get in is early, when you can purchase at a lower price, with the hope of steady growth.

Mayor Waterman at the Phoenix Center

Again, cities don't have all these issues. Either they raise taxes, through a milage or tax hike or sell bonds. Still, the idea that a city be viable is key, and have a steady growth. Pontiac, has not been growing steadily long enough to know if we will continue growing.  It was like they were waiting to get a good bond rating to get involved with selling them. Why? Let's not be so quick to get into debt. We aren't stable yet, and there is a recession that is looming. That might change so many things in this seeking of funds. Depending on the interest rate on the bond, you have to pay interest, either every year or every six months depending on the issuing terms. If you buy at a discount, you get less interest. Bad for the city, because they don't get face value. Face value in out case is $1000. You issue 1000 bonds at $990 and you only get $990K. So you get less and pay less in interest. If you sell at a premium you get more money and pay higher interest. If you issue 1000 bonds at $1010, you collect $1,101,000. You get more money, but you have to pay more in interest, because you have gotten more money. Then they bonds are called, all bonds have a call date (Maturity), Face Value and Interest Rate. At Maturity, the bond must be paid! If the city is bankrupt, in a recession or something else, bond holders must be paid. Then they have to begin to sell their assets to pay bondholders. For this reason, people don't like to buy muni-bonds from cities like Pontiac. We don't have a good track record, especially since GM pulled out of our city. We have to work to rebuild the city first. If there is a surplus in our "General Fund", let's see how much we can get done with that, and see if we can find a company to partner with the city to get things done. 

If we can't find a partner, it makes me think that The Phoenix Center is not a viable venue. Companies pay people good money to seek out investments that could help them grow, and in this case have marketing value. Their name on the marquee. I have really never put my degree to work. I'm saying all of this from book work. Those bonds being called at the wrong time, could put an end to Pontiac. If we could convince someone or someones to invest in us. Like I said, we don't have a good track record. Who knows if we will have a Mayor effective and efficient enough to get the job done. There has been numerous bad Mayors that include Walter Moore that the Mayor has all of a sudden taken up with. He is the most destructive Mayor, who blew a lot of money. Giving extreme concessions to fire and police. We had an enormous surplus and inflows of money from GM. We didn't save any money and when the recession hit we were doomed. We have to be able to manage our money wisely and these bonds are very premature. I'm not impressed with Eric Benet, he stupid! He cheated on Halle Berry! 

If we get a good interest rate, we would be lucky. Like I said, Pontiac isn't truly passed their great fall. We are doing better, but not at our very best. We can't say they we are looking forward to a bright future. We don't really know how the Mayor will be in good health to run the city, and can honestly see this through. Who will be the next Mayor? How will they govern? Will they take this project and damn it all to hell? The biggest question is where will the city be when those bonds are called? There is no guarantees, and that's why I cannot support a bond issuance for such a large amount. I think we should begin by using the general funds, and then finding a viable partnership. Pay down as much as we can. Then think about raising funds through bonds, but I believe that a partnership and the "General Fund" could take the Phoenix Center where it needs to go. The administration should be working hard to find a partner, just as Duggan did in Detroit with. Bonds are like a bomb over your head, everyday. How many days until interest must be paid, or "When is the call date?" I support the Mayor in many things, but I can't support her on this. Not with a clear conscience, because bonds can wipe a city out. 

I'm Over $15 an Hour

My first job was at Burger King. I was 15-years old. Six months shy of my 16 birthday. I would walk to work each day and pray for a way back home at nine o'clock when I got off in the winter. When summer hit, and the days got longer, I would walk. On Sunday, the regular full-time workers were off, and I worked a seven a.m. shift. I would walk the three miles down Franklin road at six-thirty in the morning. When you are poor and don't have a car, you make due, because any money was "good" money. A job took me from Fayva to Reebok. I had money for food during school and free food at night. My co-workers weren't really my friends. They were people I knew that I worked with. My best friend back then was a young woman named Stephanie. We did almost everything together.She had discovered "stuff". She was officially 16. She and the other young women I worked with were already stealing from the drive-thru. Not only did they steal money, they stole food and most of the managers were in on it. One young man that was already a manager at 19-years old, Tom, would give his friends food and money right from our tills. We just would look at one another and knew we would be able to put back on our Whoppers that evening.

At that time, both Burger King and McDonald's were generous and gave you a free meal with a five hour shift. You could have any sandwich on the menu. On the menu, and not a creation of your own. We liked bacon on our Whopper with cheese and cheese on our chicken sandwiches. It was $.30 for cheese in 1986, and Bacon was $.69. They didn't come standard in those sandwiches, so we had to pay for extras, like cheese and bacon. I always tease my friend that she was an expert at scooting the bacon over far enough that the manage couldn't see it, when they opened the sandwich to inspect it. All of our sandwiches had to be cut in half for that reason. They would randomly pick up your sandwich and open it up and the cut and check for bacon. Her scooting never failed, either. They couldn't unwrap it and open it up. I guess that was some health regulation. If they were busy, there was tons of bacon slapped on a Whopper with cheese, and cheese on chicken sandwich. What happened at the drive-thru was much more than that. Employees can take hundreds of dollars a day. I went over that in another blog. They turn up the volume of the speaker inside, and the person on the board made the sandwiches not rung up in the system. When it's rung up, every sandwich and the way you want it came up on the screen. Since the police has made it impossible for me to enjoy a fast-food meal, I'm going to write about it. 

I wasn't allowed to work drive-thru. I didn't steal. Stealing wasn't my thing. In fact, I had my checks down to a science. If I worked 25 or 30 hours and the difference in taxes and wages. You know, gross versus net taxes. I would go in on my days off and on the Sunday I worked, which was every Sunday, I did the salad bar to an immaculate finish. Back then, they used kale as decorations between fruits, vegetables and condiments. I was clumsy with the dressings and spilled them all. Blue cheese on the salad bar, Italian in the fridge under the contraption and ranch all over the place. I was great at my job, however, and as I walked to work each morning, I would wonder what veggies and fruit I had to prepare for the day. First, I had to clean the nose guard to a perfect shine and it was the glimmer of my day. I learned a lot about food and preparing it and I was tired after my shift. I had to make that three mile trek back up Franklin Road, home. I would sometimes sleep the entire day. I was really curious why my friends were never tired or interested and doing anything different and constructive at work. They were all taking their share from the drive-thru. They didn't have to work hard like I did. They had cars and clothes and barely worked 20 hours a week. 

One guy in my neighborhood went to prison. He wanted to buy a car and went to a dealership to get approved. He said, the woman called him at work. She told him that if he bought $750 to the dealership, he could take the car home that day. He told me that he didn't put one penny in the draw that day. He said usually, he would take a few hundred dollars a day. He smoke crack and that would allow him to get high, everyday.  That day, however, his register had about $100 dollars in the till when he turned it in. His manager looked at him funny, but she was stealing, too. Years later, before the statute of limitations ran out, a woman got in trouble and told on him. She testified that he admitted to stealing they went back and got the tapes and they sent him to prison for a period of time. Back in the day, the police got free food from Burger King. They would come after a shift and order food for their entire family. Today, they run the drive-thru restaurants. They run anything that has to do with illegal activity in Pontiac. The fast-food drive thru is a money grab for sure. There are ways for fast-food owners to get around it, like two window pick-up and monitors that show your total at the first window where you pay. We had one at our drive-thru at the Mickey D's in Pontiac, and they shot it up. bullet holes all in it. And if the person at the pay window, don't mind sharing with the person at the pick-up window that really doesn't work either.

So, now there is a group of people in the fast-food industry that wants a raise. I know they are stealing and am a bit perturbed with their insistence on $15 an hour, when they take everything that's not bolted to the floor. Our McDonald's used to run out of chicken and fish! They never had chicken or fish-fillets. Who steals chicken and fish, and it won't taste the same with than grease that hasn't been changed in years! I don't go to any fast-food joints, because they know I feel this way. How can you ask for more money, when you are taking from your employer, anyway? If I were the fast-food owners, I would make drive-thru a credit only pay method. So, you cannot pay for your food in the drive-thru with cash and credit, debit and gift cards ONLY! If you forget and come through the drive-thru, the cashier could still take your order, but they would have to suspend the transaction, go to a front-end register and pay. First, however, they have to suspend the transaction from the drive-thru register. That way, they transaction would be accounted for. Another full-proof way to tell if a employee is stealing through the drive-thru, is to count the customers that stop at the speaker. When you pull up to the drive-thru, a sensor is in that cement that alerts the cashier they are there. If a manager counts the number of cars that set off that sensor, to the number of orders place at the register. If those numbers don't match, give or take four or five drive-offs, somebody stealing. Because the number of cars at that speaker, doesn't match the number of transactions on your report. Very few owners pay attention to the information at their disposal, because it is all right there. Managers, I've learned are the biggest culprits and blame it all on the employees they "catch", because they knew they were stealing all along. They just waited, until they needed a scapegoat for missing funds.

I've had managers bush stealing off with, "All they do is write it off on their taxes". But when your employees are stealing from both your inventory and payroll, a company can suffer. Ask the people at Sears. They were getting huge hits from theft. When your employees steal from you and your store isn't making enough money to cover the cost of the goods you sell, you have a problem. You send a store a hundred treadmills and you only have available 50 and they cost you about that much. You have delivery that my manager too often told me that they lose money on, and if a customer picked up a treadmill and it didn't work? Well, Sears would send them a new one, free! We would ring it as cash in, cash out, but generate a cash receipt. Then turn it in to the cash office. Someone in the cash office would use that cash receipt to generate a refund, in cash! I had one treadmill returned four time for a total of $3,200. I don't know if it was a multiple cash office employees or just one, but whoever did it, it was a shame. That's why I can't stand unions. Ultimately, they are fighting for people that don't even deserve a job. Then they don't even fight for you at all. Not where it counts, and I think a fast-food union would be a travesty to fast-food owner all across this country. To put a union in place, without some kind of measure to stop them from stealing their money would not be fair! If they write it off or not. I want to know how you can double-dip and still have rights? 

In my community, the Black Community, we lack a sense of moral and ethical behavior. Our parents teach their children that White people owe them something and give them no self-actualization. White people don't owe you nothing, but you owe yourself everything. You owe yourself an education, hard work and a life filled with happiness. When you believe in God, he can carry you beyond what any man can give you. Respect is the key. Not respecting a person just for their skin color, but respecting a man for just being a man. That can cause doors to open that you never knew would open for you. But whatever you give, expect to get that back. Never give up on doing good. Also, never let any man invade your space. Who you are. What you are capable of. Most importantly, the way you see the best in who you are. As a Black woman, I shouldn't go buy a car, get a car repaired or buy a big ticket item of any kind. We get duped the most. I know that and knowing is half the battle. I would be all for $15 an hour. Housing is going up in the urban communities at an epic proportion and that portion of money we make is not enough. So, they get a union, a raise and money from the coffers, too? I'd agree as soon as the owners make an attempt to secure their bag. If they don't they are free to give money away "hand over fist". We wonder why we pay $5 for a Big Mac!