I leave for Austin, Texas Wednesday morning and may not have time to write tomorrow. I'll be flying with my parents to attend a nephew's wedding. The bachelor party will be to attend the new Star Trek movie. I'll be gone a week.
I'll be taking my netbook computer, so may post during the trip. However, I doubt I'll report much on gay news.
Monday, May 20, 2013
First feel of summer
I guess the Detroit area has entered summer. Temperatures above 80F and much of the week will be cloudy with afternoon thunderstorms. Such storms passed over Michigan this afternoon, though they missed Detroit.
Early summer flowers are in bloom around the yard. There is wisteria.
And spirea.
Early summer flowers are in bloom around the yard. There is wisteria.
And spirea.
A storm surge in Detroit
Detroit Eviction Defense held a meeting today. They invited representatives from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to tour Detroit and then meet with homeowners to see firsthand what their policies are doing to the city. Late last week those representatives backed out, saying meeting with homeowners would be "awkward." How's that for an understatement! The meeting proceeded with empty chairs representing the mortgage backers and cameramen were there to film the proceedings to be delivered to Fannie Mae officials.
The crowd was a respectable size, perhaps a hundred or two. I didn't count.
The speakers were homeowners, community organizers, and legal defense workers. Each was given 5 minutes to tell a piece of the story. I didn't stay for the whole two hours because I had an evening bell rehearsal. Here is some of what I heard:
Organizer: This battle cannot be won in courts -- most of the time the courts side with the banks. This battle must be waged in the streets.
Homeowner: He told the story of waking up one morning to find a Dumpster outside his house. He's still there and still battling.
Housing counselor: What happens when the eviction goes through? The owner is forbidden to buy it back. It sits empty. It is given to the city for demolition. That has happened to 10,000 homes so far. That costs the city $6-10 million in demolition. That amount could have paid for 3,000 mortgages. The city loses tax base, surrounding owners lose property value. Alternately, the house is sold to an "investor" at a rock-bottom price who works to flip it or find renters.
Homeowner representative: The bank was incompetent, the owner defiant. This was a call to fight and a call to unity.
Attorney: Banks are notorious for asking for documentation many times -- We can't find page six, gosh now page 10 is missing -- sometimes over 20 requests for documents. Why so clumsy with documents? Because every time a bank reviews a mortgage (not when they approve a modification), they collect a fee. Lose a document 20 times you have to review that mortgage 20 times and collect 20 fees. You say this fight doesn't concern you? Check your property value lately?
Homeowner: Lost job and asked for modification. Worked through a HUD counselor. Got the runaround from Bank of America -- got to know every service center across the country and each one told a different story. Was given a preliminary reduction, but because payments were not made "in full" each payment dinged her credit rating, trashing it.
Homeowner: Hit with a devastating illness (now recovered), and asked the bank for a reduction. He got to the point that when he called the bank he would almost immediately ask for the vice president. That still didn't help. He's still fighting.
Legal service counselor: Those "investors" that buy blocks of foreclosed homes -- when they sell the contract is usually fraudulent. If not, the house is rented to people who don't have a stake in its upkeep and the investor becomes an absentee landlord. Fannie Mae is pretty consistent in refusing to help homeowners -- even when they say how much help they are offering. Fannie Mae and the banks would rather spend tens of thousands to evict and demolish than to modify the loan. Fannie claims that they are afraid that people will simply walk away from their homes. This counselor says that everyone she meets is doing all they can to keep their homes.
Legal service counselor: She is puzzled why Fannie thinks their current mode of operation makes financial sense. Fannie spends huge amounts of money to evict -- sometimes using the services of five different legal firms. Then they make zero money on the sale of the house. That means the taxpayer is making up the difference.
Homeowner/organizer: There are a lot of reports that the foreclosure crisis is over. They're false.
Community organizer: There are about 1000 homes in her section of Detroit. It used to be enough well off that when homes sold, which wasn't often, a buyer was usually found before the house officially went on the market. No more. Now 80-100 houses are vacant at a time. Foreclosure shreds the neighborhood. evicted homeowners leave. That's one less customer for area businesses, and many of those soon close. Banks don't maintain the homes, so community organizations try to do that but that takes money and effort. It becomes impossible when it is 10% of the neighborhood. The whole community loses value.
Homeowner: I refuse to be faceless. Help me to stand up to bullies.
I was given a 12 page booklet titled A Hurricane Without Water. It describes the situation in a way that is easily understood. A few tidbits:
Fannie May and Freddie Mac are responsible for 16,000 foreclosures in Wayne County since 2008 with thousands more in Oakland and Macomb counties. Foreclosure rate in Detroit is triple the national average. Of the 70,000 foreclosed homes in Detroit, 45,000 are still vacant.
Fannie and Freddie offered foreclosure moratoriums to victims of Hurricane Sandy. Detroit has been hit even harder. We should also have a moratorium.
The crowd was a respectable size, perhaps a hundred or two. I didn't count.
The speakers were homeowners, community organizers, and legal defense workers. Each was given 5 minutes to tell a piece of the story. I didn't stay for the whole two hours because I had an evening bell rehearsal. Here is some of what I heard:
Organizer: This battle cannot be won in courts -- most of the time the courts side with the banks. This battle must be waged in the streets.
Homeowner: He told the story of waking up one morning to find a Dumpster outside his house. He's still there and still battling.
Housing counselor: What happens when the eviction goes through? The owner is forbidden to buy it back. It sits empty. It is given to the city for demolition. That has happened to 10,000 homes so far. That costs the city $6-10 million in demolition. That amount could have paid for 3,000 mortgages. The city loses tax base, surrounding owners lose property value. Alternately, the house is sold to an "investor" at a rock-bottom price who works to flip it or find renters.
Homeowner representative: The bank was incompetent, the owner defiant. This was a call to fight and a call to unity.
Attorney: Banks are notorious for asking for documentation many times -- We can't find page six, gosh now page 10 is missing -- sometimes over 20 requests for documents. Why so clumsy with documents? Because every time a bank reviews a mortgage (not when they approve a modification), they collect a fee. Lose a document 20 times you have to review that mortgage 20 times and collect 20 fees. You say this fight doesn't concern you? Check your property value lately?
Homeowner: Lost job and asked for modification. Worked through a HUD counselor. Got the runaround from Bank of America -- got to know every service center across the country and each one told a different story. Was given a preliminary reduction, but because payments were not made "in full" each payment dinged her credit rating, trashing it.
Homeowner: Hit with a devastating illness (now recovered), and asked the bank for a reduction. He got to the point that when he called the bank he would almost immediately ask for the vice president. That still didn't help. He's still fighting.
Legal service counselor: Those "investors" that buy blocks of foreclosed homes -- when they sell the contract is usually fraudulent. If not, the house is rented to people who don't have a stake in its upkeep and the investor becomes an absentee landlord. Fannie Mae is pretty consistent in refusing to help homeowners -- even when they say how much help they are offering. Fannie Mae and the banks would rather spend tens of thousands to evict and demolish than to modify the loan. Fannie claims that they are afraid that people will simply walk away from their homes. This counselor says that everyone she meets is doing all they can to keep their homes.
Legal service counselor: She is puzzled why Fannie thinks their current mode of operation makes financial sense. Fannie spends huge amounts of money to evict -- sometimes using the services of five different legal firms. Then they make zero money on the sale of the house. That means the taxpayer is making up the difference.
Homeowner/organizer: There are a lot of reports that the foreclosure crisis is over. They're false.
Community organizer: There are about 1000 homes in her section of Detroit. It used to be enough well off that when homes sold, which wasn't often, a buyer was usually found before the house officially went on the market. No more. Now 80-100 houses are vacant at a time. Foreclosure shreds the neighborhood. evicted homeowners leave. That's one less customer for area businesses, and many of those soon close. Banks don't maintain the homes, so community organizations try to do that but that takes money and effort. It becomes impossible when it is 10% of the neighborhood. The whole community loses value.
Homeowner: I refuse to be faceless. Help me to stand up to bullies.
I was given a 12 page booklet titled A Hurricane Without Water. It describes the situation in a way that is easily understood. A few tidbits:
Fannie May and Freddie Mac are responsible for 16,000 foreclosures in Wayne County since 2008 with thousands more in Oakland and Macomb counties. Foreclosure rate in Detroit is triple the national average. Of the 70,000 foreclosed homes in Detroit, 45,000 are still vacant.
Fannie and Freddie offered foreclosure moratoriums to victims of Hurricane Sandy. Detroit has been hit even harder. We should also have a moratorium.
Marriage equality is a health issue
Morning Edition on NPR this morning had a segment on mental health of gay and lesbians in states that passed marriage protection amendments. Just before a slew of states passed gay marriage bans in 2004 the NIH conducted a huge mental health survey. After more bans were enacted in 2005 the NIH revisited most of the same people. Gays in states with newly enacted marriage bans had a huge increase -- more than double -- in psychiatric disorders, most of them associated with stress. That didn't happen with straight couples or with gays in states that didn't enact the ban. Social policies are health policies.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Extending the rainbow
Revolution Church in Minneapolis is so excited about the approval of gay marriage that they served rainbow colored communion bread.
Recipe here.
Recipe here.
The ditch of partisan politics
In another column for the Free Press, Brian Dickerson discusses recent comments from former Michigan Supreme Court justices. Both say the court is unacceptably partisan.
Before the justices spoke, retiring justice Marilyn Kelly and US Court of Appeals judge Jim Ryan issued a report about the court's partisanship, how alarming that is, and urged a slate of reforms, including a new way to nominate justices. The current method is nomination by the political parties (along with campaign funding), for a "non-partisan" race.
The first justice to speak is Elizabeth Weaver, GOP appointee, who left the court in 2010. She wrote a 750 page book (well, the manuscript is that long) documenting just how partisan the court is, and what should be done about it.
The other voice is Chief Justice Thomas Brennan, also GOP. He left the court in 1973 to become the first dean of the Thomas E. Cooley Law School. His attack came a few weeks ago at the 25th anniversary of the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society. He called for the passage of the Ryan-Kelly recommendations, saying "It is time for the Supreme Court to dig itself out of the ditch of partisan politics."
Alas, neither Gov. Snyder, whose campaign theme was "Reinvent Michigan" nor the GOP controlled legislature show a whole lot of interest in taking up the reforms.
Before the justices spoke, retiring justice Marilyn Kelly and US Court of Appeals judge Jim Ryan issued a report about the court's partisanship, how alarming that is, and urged a slate of reforms, including a new way to nominate justices. The current method is nomination by the political parties (along with campaign funding), for a "non-partisan" race.
The first justice to speak is Elizabeth Weaver, GOP appointee, who left the court in 2010. She wrote a 750 page book (well, the manuscript is that long) documenting just how partisan the court is, and what should be done about it.
The other voice is Chief Justice Thomas Brennan, also GOP. He left the court in 1973 to become the first dean of the Thomas E. Cooley Law School. His attack came a few weeks ago at the 25th anniversary of the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society. He called for the passage of the Ryan-Kelly recommendations, saying "It is time for the Supreme Court to dig itself out of the ditch of partisan politics."
Alas, neither Gov. Snyder, whose campaign theme was "Reinvent Michigan" nor the GOP controlled legislature show a whole lot of interest in taking up the reforms.
It's time, Michigan
Yes! In a big article centered on the front of the News+Views section (as in only page 1A is more prominent), Brian Dickerson, editorial columnist for the Free Press, wrote that same-sex marriage should be a no-brainer for Michigan. His reasons:
* In the nine years since the marriage protection amendment was passed, the approve-disapprove percentages have flipped. He quoted the recent Glengariff Group poll that says voters back gay marriage by a 57%-38% margin. This poll is consistent with other recent polls.
* The state's "constitutional ban is repelling the professionals and college-educated residents [Gov.] Snyder seeks to attract."
* A "54% majority of GOP voters younger than 40 support it."
Sigh. He doesn't list love as one of his reasons. Even so…
Yeah, the legislature is trying to do as much anti-gay mischief as possible and Dickerson notes a "ballot initiative [in 2014] could pose a political challenge for Snyder and other Republican candidates walking the tightrope between growing majority of Michiganders who support same-sex marriage and the dwindling-but-still-significant number of GOP voters who continue to oppose it." And if it is on the ballot sidestepping the issue will be difficult for GOP candidates.
There are three possible routes to gay marriage in Michigan. The first is a ruling by the US Supremes in June, possible but not likely. The second is a case, currently on hold, that may declare the marriage protection amendment to be unconstitutional. And the third is getting it on the ballot in 2014.
"The question is whether Snyder and his fellow Republicans will elect to participate in that historic sea change -- or stand agape as it washes over them."
* In the nine years since the marriage protection amendment was passed, the approve-disapprove percentages have flipped. He quoted the recent Glengariff Group poll that says voters back gay marriage by a 57%-38% margin. This poll is consistent with other recent polls.
* The state's "constitutional ban is repelling the professionals and college-educated residents [Gov.] Snyder seeks to attract."
* A "54% majority of GOP voters younger than 40 support it."
Sigh. He doesn't list love as one of his reasons. Even so…
Yeah, the legislature is trying to do as much anti-gay mischief as possible and Dickerson notes a "ballot initiative [in 2014] could pose a political challenge for Snyder and other Republican candidates walking the tightrope between growing majority of Michiganders who support same-sex marriage and the dwindling-but-still-significant number of GOP voters who continue to oppose it." And if it is on the ballot sidestepping the issue will be difficult for GOP candidates.
There are three possible routes to gay marriage in Michigan. The first is a ruling by the US Supremes in June, possible but not likely. The second is a case, currently on hold, that may declare the marriage protection amendment to be unconstitutional. And the third is getting it on the ballot in 2014.
"The question is whether Snyder and his fellow Republicans will elect to participate in that historic sea change -- or stand agape as it washes over them."
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Every so often procrastination pays off
Back at the end of January Newsweek discontinued its print edition. I could still access the subscriber's version online, but I fell behind in my reading. That's because I used to read it at my dining room table and my computer wasn't visible from there and because I do all kinds of other reading on my computer (like gay news).
I checked into the nook, but the one I liked needed Wi-Fi and if I was to get that I might as well use the netbook computer I already have. I did get as far as pricing Wi-Fi routers, but decided not to purchase until after the school year ended. So in the last few weeks I began to think it was about time I completed the deal.
A couple weeks ago Comcast, my network provider, said I needed a new modem, which I rent from them. No big deal, my current one is already the second one they've provided, and the rental fee for the new one would stay the same. They promised faster internet speeds (though with a stodgy computer I wasn't sure I would be able to tell), so I ordered it to be delivered.
Much to my surprise and delight, the modem box includes a Wi-Fi router! It also includes connections to all the other services Comcast supplies, such as phone. So I spent the morning connecting it up (and calling them to initialize it). Then I spent time updating the netbook with new versions of various tools. That meant I could spend part of this afternoon sitting on my porch, netbook in hand, reading a back issue of Newsweek
. I'm glad I didn't buy that separate router.
I checked into the nook, but the one I liked needed Wi-Fi and if I was to get that I might as well use the netbook computer I already have. I did get as far as pricing Wi-Fi routers, but decided not to purchase until after the school year ended. So in the last few weeks I began to think it was about time I completed the deal.
A couple weeks ago Comcast, my network provider, said I needed a new modem, which I rent from them. No big deal, my current one is already the second one they've provided, and the rental fee for the new one would stay the same. They promised faster internet speeds (though with a stodgy computer I wasn't sure I would be able to tell), so I ordered it to be delivered.
Much to my surprise and delight, the modem box includes a Wi-Fi router! It also includes connections to all the other services Comcast supplies, such as phone. So I spent the morning connecting it up (and calling them to initialize it). Then I spent time updating the netbook with new versions of various tools. That meant I could spend part of this afternoon sitting on my porch, netbook in hand, reading a back issue of Newsweek
. I'm glad I didn't buy that separate router.
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