Musings by Alf

Alf Gordon

Atheists Find "So Help Me God" in Inaugural Oath Offensive, File Lawsuit

Foreclosed Homes Have New Tenants--Activists Illegally Move Homeless Into Vacant Homes

Picture yourself in this scenario:  You are homeless.  The nicer shelters are full; the others are places you would not want to house your dog, much less yourself or your family.  Someone offers you an opportunity to stay rent-free in a house; all you have to do is put the utilities in your name and provide upkeep on the property.  You gladly accept the offer, grateful for a chance to rebuild.  It sounds like a wonderful idea.  It's too bad the house in which you now reside does not belong to the person who is encouraging you to stay there.  In fact, if police decide to get involved, you could be charged and arrested.

Meet Max Rameau--unshaven, driving a beat-up car, wearing grungy cut-off sweat pants.  The Miami resident and computer analyst formed "Take Back the Land", an activist organization that places homeless people in foreclosed homes without permission of the homeowner.  He breaks into homes, shows them to prospective "clients", and assists the new "owners" with obtaining second-hand furniture, yard upkeep, and cleaning supplies.  He charges them nothing for this service.

"I think everyone deserves a home," says Rameau.  "Homeless people across the country are squatting in empty homes.  The question is: Is this going to be done out of desperation or with direction?"

Squatters moving into vacant homes is nothing new.  Go to bed one night and the home next to you is empty; wake up the next morning and you have new neighbors, many who turn to illegal activities such as prostitution and drug-dealing to survive.  It can make living in even upscale neighborhoods a dangerous proposition.

With the housing market collapsing, many communities are trying to come up with solutions to prevent this scenario.  In Cleveland, advocates are working with the city to allow homeless people to legally move into and repair empty, dilapidated houses.  Some property owners in Atlanta are paying homeless people to live in abandoned homes as a security measure.  Each of these solutions is legal.  In Miami, Rameau and his organization don't try working with either city officials or homeowners.  They illegally move people into unoccupied homes--scouting out prospective vacancies, breaking into them, moving a homeless family in, changing locks.

Example:  Marie Nadine Pierre, 39, had been sleeping at a shelter with her toddler.  She said she had been homeless off and on for a year, after losing various jobs and getting evicted from several apartments.  In November, Rameau drove her to a foreclosed home in a primariy Haitian neighborhood.  The house had been purchased in 2006 for $430,000 and the owner rented it to friends of Rameau.  When the homeowner allowed the home to go into foreclosure in October, Rameau's friends were evicted.  Rameau swooped in, helping Pierre move in with her daughter.  His justification is that having someone live in the house prevents thieves from ransacking it and squatters from moving in.

Pierre is thrilled.  "My heart is heavy.  I've lived in a lot of different shelters, a lot of bad situations.  In my own home, I'm free.  I'm a human being now."

Both Rameau and Pierre could be arrested on various charges ranging from breaking and entering, to trespassing, to vandalism.  But Miami spokeswoman Kelly Penton says that the city is not taking steps to stop Rameau or his organization from continuing their illegal activity.  "There are no actions on the city's part to stop this," she says in an e-mail.  "It is important to note that if people trespass into private property, it is up to the property owner to take action to remove those individuals."  For his part, Rameau is not worried.  "There's a real need here, and there's a disconnect between the need and the law," he says.  "Being arrested is just one of the potential factors in doing this."

Planned Parenthood's Christmas Gift: Gift Certificates for Abortions

Are you having a difficult time trying to find the right Christmas gift for the pregnant female in your life?  Planned Parenthood wants to make the process easier.  How about a gift certificate for an abortion?

The organization's Indiana branch is offering this unique gift opportunity on its Web site.  Certificates can be purchased online in $25 increments, or for any amount if the purchaser visits any of the organization's 35 health centers, and can be redeemed at any of those health centers regardless of where the certificate was purchased.

Planned Parenthood of Indiana president and CEO Betty Cockrum explains that the gift certificate can be used by both women and men to cover services like screenings, birth control, breast exams, and Pap tests.  "Nearly 800,000 Hoosiers don't have health insurance and can't afford basic health services," she says.  "Why not buy a loved one a gift this holiday season that they really need and one that will contribute to their health throughout the year?  The gift certificates are also a wonderful idea for that person in your life who puts everyone else first and has been putting off taking care of her or his own health. Now, there's no excuse for those people in your life not to get the basic health care that they need."

I was surprised to learn that Planned Parenthood offers other health care services, particularly because of their famous (or would that be infamous?) stand on the so-called pro-choice issue.  Of course, as a male I cannot take advantage of most of them (obviously I am not a part of their target demographic).  Still, I know many people on my gift list who would appreciate the opportunity to get a discount on terminating an unwanted life.  In fact, this weekend I may jump into my car and drive straight to Indiana to purchase gift certificates for my loved ones.  But I have to stop in Nebraska first to drop off that annoying teenage child that I can no longer control and do not want to have to take care of any longer.  I have no need to feel any guilt or shame about either option; I am simply taking advantage of our culture's renewed concerns over today's youth.

• Previous Posts:

• Atheists Find "So Help Me God" in Inaugural Oath Offensive, File Lawsuit
• Foreclosed Homes Have New Tenants--Activists Illegally Move Homeless Into Vacant Homes
• Planned Parenthood's Christmas Gift: Gift Certificates for Abortions
• Definition of Change: Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State
• Charity Begins at Home? Or Does It Begin with the Govern- ment?
• Shock Jock Howard Stern Claims Voters Involved In Political Race War
• Texas Defies International Community, Carries Out Two More Executions
• Why Can't We Change the World? Is It Because Nobody Wants To?

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