Time For An Uprising In Benton Harbor?

I don't often agree with the Reverend Jesse Jackson, but in regard to his op-ed in today's Chicago Sun-Times, I am in full agreement.

Make no mistake, multi-national corporations and their economic hitmen - who have assassinated budgets, governments and entire populations around the globe with debt, default and austerity - have now turned their sights on the American Republic.

This appointed dictator claims breathtaking powers. He can sell public assets, dismiss pension boards and take control of public pension funds and revoke labor contracts. What triggers this takeover? The law is remarkably vague. The governor may act if a payroll is missed, if there are complaints of late bill payment, if pensions are underfunded, if there is a significant budget deficit, a term that goes undefined.

This takeover is a recipe for the worst abuses of oppression, cronyism and corruption. And here, too, Benton Harbor is the example. One of the few citizen treasures in Benton Harbor is the Jean Klock Park, a half-mile of sandy dunes on the edge of Lake Michigan. It was bequeathed to the children of Benton Harbor by the Klock family in 1917 in memory of their daughter.

But developers backed by Whirlpool now want to appropriate a large portion of the park to turn it into a Harbor Shores golf resort with a 350-room hotel, two marinas, a 60,000-foot indoor water park (for members only), and a fancy golf course open to all who can afford a $5,000 entry fee and be approved by the club. The town’s citizens have resisted this development, which is under litigation.

But the new czar’s first act was to take over the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, most likely as a way to proceed with the development and sidestep the lawsuits. Why be suspicious? Because the law that the new czar is operating under was introduced by Republican state Rep. Al Pscholka, former staff aide to U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, an heir to the Whirlpool fortune.

They’ve shut down the jobs, and taken over the schools. Now they want to shut down the democracy and turn the public parks into a rich man’s playground. But in Benton Harbor, as in Selma and Montgomery, they forget even the poorest people have a sense of dignity. Dr. King wrote, “the ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” In Benton Harbor, it is time for the good people to make themselves heard.

Benton Harbor is Michigan's 'canary in the coal mine' for what historian Webster Tarpley calls the "austerity psychosis" that has gripped politicians in both Washington D.C. and state capitols around the country.

Make no mistake, multi-national corporations and their economic hitmen - who have assassinated budgets, governments and entire populations around the globe with debt, default and austerity - have now turned their sights on the American Republic.

What is now happening in Benton Harbor, is already happening in Detroit and could soon be happening in Flint, Muskegon, and Saginaw. And soon after that, could even come to Grand Rapids, Lansing and beyond if the dollar and property values continue to sink.

And any of you Jackasses out there who are thinking to yourself that "Benton Harlem" is getting what they deserve - the economic hitmen will come after your pensions, healthcare, property and even our military veteran's death benefits after they steal everything from your negro neighbors.

It's time to wake up and get off the couch.

Turn off your television. Tune in your Brain. And Unite against your real enemy.