Do Take It Personal » 2008

Macomb County Ticket Fines Plummet, Threatening Construction of New Courthouse.

May 31st, 2008 | 2 Comments | Posted in General

We receive a lot of angry e-mails telling us that traffic tickets do not in any way benefit the local enforcement agencies or local district court systems. This notion has been fully addressed in our previous post regarding the distribution of traffic citation revenue. In short, the answer is a resounding Yes! Absolutely - the local enforcement agencies and local district court systems depend on this funds to pad their own pockets and to build new plush offices.

Link to the Macomb Daily’s article plummeting ticket fines causing financial concerns over new courthouse.

Link to the same article in PDF format.

Macomb County residents and businesses should be outraged. Those who work and commute into Macomb County should be outraged. Don’t forget that rouge cops like David Kanapsky and Stephen Starr are in Macomb County. Everyone in Metro Detroit should be outraged at the simple fact that more often than not, innocent motorists are being preyed on as ‘cash cows’. Unfortunately, fighting the ticket is not in your favor at all, because judges and magistrates have none of your best interest at heart.

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Why is Air Travel to be Avoided, When Options are Available?

May 30th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in General

We do quite our fair share of air travels here at ‘Do Take It Personal’, because we spend substantial amount of time exploring big and small corners of the United States to gauge the type of injustice faced by Americans from all walks of life. It is also important to make objective comparisons between other parts of the country and the Southeast Michigan region. Unfortunately, we are increasingly frustrated with all the annoyances that come with air travels.

Let’s be perfectly frank here - If you have flown recently, you would probably have had a bad experience because the amount of hassle is downright ridiculous. The so-called ’security’ measures are very invasive and even rude at times. It is surprising that anyone would even consider visiting the United States. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is over-powering, exerting tremendous authority to inspect and to confiscate your digital devices such as cameras, laptops, MP3 players, cellphones, PDAs and so on.

It comes as no surprise when we saw on CNN that Americans take 41 Million fewer flights, according to a travel industry survey. It is very hard to deny the fact that more and more Americans are sick and tired of the Federal government ruining the fabric of freedom and liberty so embedded in the very core of our nation’s existence. Taxpayers money used to establish and operate the Department of Homeland Security could have been better utilized in many more productive ways. Did you know that as DHS become more involved, more cases of corruption are being exposed? Well, isn’t that an oxymoron - Homeland Security itself being so ‘Insecure’.

As much as possible, we are making attempts to avoid air travel if viable options are available. Rail travel here in the United States is a joke compared to rail travel in Europe. The only practical option is obviously to drive. But with gas prices as high as they are, that can be prohibitive too. Needless to say, we are definitely looking to find alternatives to air travel whenever possible.

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Home Values Declining at Record Pace, What can Civic Leaders and Representatives Do?

May 29th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in General

For the majority of us, our home is the biggest asset in our lives. We spend the most money each and every month maintaining the roofs and walls above and around our heads and bodies. What if we can’t afford to do that anymore? What if economic conditions outside of our control dictate that our home is now worth less in value than the amount we owe on our mortgage? We have no equity, we can’t sell our house at the price we bought it for, and sometimes ….. people are simply walking away instead of carrying the debt any longer.

This scenario is occurring more and more often, particularly here in Southeast Michigan, where layoffs after layoffs continue to hurt our abilities to keep our homes, to sustain healthy communities, and to remain optimistic. ‘Do Take It Personal’ cares about the little people, the hardworking people of the middle-class, because we strongly believe that our neighborhoods need these people. We cannot allow more homes to be foreclosed, we cannot allow more people to move out of Michigan, we cannot allow bad politicians to remain in power and bad cops to hurt the people. We must take matters personally.

Let’s start by contacting our civic leaders and our representatives.

Tell them to remove the bad cops.
Tell them to remove the bad politicians.
Tell them to get rid of bad public policies.
Tell them to get rid of bad taxes that discourage businesses.
Tell them to help entrepreneurs to thrive.
Tell them to improve people’s lives in Michigan.

If our civic leaders and representatives would only accomplish the few short objectives above, Michigan residents and Metro Detroiters will be able to better help themselves prosper. As we prosper among ourselves, we will be able to afford paying a bigger amount every month on our mortgages. This will most certainly prevent us from losing our homes.

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Just Exactly how Bad is Inflation for you?

May 28th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in General

Our money isn’t buying much these days. Our paychecks run out before the next payday is even near. So, just exactly how bad is inflation for you and your family?

Our relatives, friends and colleagues have all told us that they are living on credit card, from paycheck to paycheck, with virtually zero savings ….. because they just can’t make ends meet. Our readers have written to us with identical stories about their own struggles in their own communities, as well as witnessing more of the same hardships in their respective neighborhoods. Our posting yesterday regarding poor Consumer Confidence echoed such universal sentiments.

Journalists and the news media have voiced our pain across the land; over the Web, in newspapers and magazines, on TV and radio, plus various other media outlets. Here are a few that ‘Do Take It Personal’ wish to share with our faithful audience:

Link to CNBC about Credit Crunch in America and beyond

Link to Bill Gross’ outlook on Inflation

Think about how bad this could be for the long term in your own household. Can you still afford bread and rice? Can you still afford milk and juice? Can you still afford fruits and vegetables? Can you still afford to heat your home this Winter? At some point, you will find that the numbers aren’t adding up for you, and things will start to spiral downhill very, very rapidly. We have heard from folks who have declared bankruptcy, lost their homes and living in their cars within a matter of a few weeks. Things happen very quickly and if you do not take your financial well-being personally, one bad luck can completely wipe your family and you down to nothing in a blink of an eye. Please look after yourselves and the welfare of your family - Be Proactive - Fight Hard for what is right even before bad news hit you directly, and Never let others ’steal’ from you and your children’s future.

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Consumer Confidence is an Important Indicator.

May 27th, 2008 | 1 Comment | Posted in General

‘Do Take It Personal’ is not about slamming law enforcement officers. We often write and expose more than simply law enforcement issues in our communities.

Today’s topic on Consumer Confidence is yet another example that we are taking matters personally - including economic matters.

Link to Reuters article

In order for Consumer Confidence to hit a 16-year low in the month of May 2008, it would take a newborn baby to become a High School Junior in 11th Grade. That means our country’s economic health has reached a point where it is quickly deteriorating right before our eyes, without much being done urgently.

Yes, there were the tax rebate checks supposedly helping stimulate the economy. However, the timing was somehow in tune with the drastic rise in gas and food prices. Needless to say - the small token from Uncle Sam didn’t go far at all and went straight to necessities.

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More Discussions about Oil Prices and Personal Responsibility.

May 26th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in General

It is very difficult for us here at ‘Do Take It Personal’ not to elaborate further on gas prices and following up on our post yesterday concerning big oil companies with big profits.

The truth of the matter is that if we do not fight back aggressively, we are destined to suffer financially in the near future. The truth of the matter is that nobody in public office representing us seem to care one bit. Obviously we can’t expect the billionaires to walk our walk.

In essence, this is our battle, as the lay people in the middle and for the lay people in the middle who truly struggles each and every day. It is our own responsibility to educate ourselves about the energy industry. For example, we have spent just a short amount of time to read the following CNBC reports and had already become more knowledgeable now compared to an hour earlier.

Link to Tom Kloza’s blog entry

Link to Arjun Murti’s analysis

We strongly believe that conservation of energy is key. Do not drive large vehicles, do not work far from home, do not make multiple trips to accomplish one errand at a time. Take matters into your own hands, take control of your energy consumption. Clearly, nobody else cares about you - so why aren’t you taking it personally?

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Why are Big Oil Companies allowed to continue running up Huge Profits?

May 25th, 2008 | 1 Comment | Posted in General

Perhaps we are just naive here at ‘Do Take It Personal’, but it sure seems to be a major problem for more than just the everyday consumers feeling the pain of high gas prices. We are seeing airline companies crumbling, we are seeing automotive companies crumbling, we are seeing logistics/transportation companies crumbling - and yet big oil companies are still basking in the sunny days of large amounts of profits. How come nobody, no government agencies, no business leadership figures or anybody with clout for that matter, start fighting these energy Goliaths?

Reading today’s Washington Post, brought us further frustration that big oil companies are not only kicking consumers, manufacturing, logistics and transportation companies around - they are also kicking their own franchisee dealers around too!

Link to Washington Post article

It is absolutely ridiculous to witness such behavior being tolerated day in and day out. We are so ‘conditioned’ to accept high gas prices these days, even a small temporary price decline warrants a smile and widespread celebrations. They have ‘gotten’ us, ladies and gentlemen, they have ‘gotten’ us.

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Official State of Michigan Publication: The Distribution of Traffic Citation Revenue.

May 24th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in General

There are many question relating to the actual distribution of funds from traffic citations here in the State of Michigan. Obviously, as more and more citations are being written to cover the deficits experienced by various municipals across the state, the people wonders how this process of allocation works.

“Do Take It Personal” investigated this issue to great length and is proud to attach an official document dated back in November 1999. Bear in mind that this matter is of serious relevance to each and every Michigan resident, as well as those who travels to Michigan, because if negative PR spreads, Michigan tourism suffers. The amount in question is no small token. We are looking at approximately $120 Million circa 1998/1999 - which is about 10 years ago. In today’s dollars, we are definitely looking at a greater amount of money.

Link to Traffic Citation Revenue In Michigan, published by the House Fiscal Agency

There should be absolutely no doubt whatsoever, after reading this entire report, that various enforcement entities and various judicial entities benefit from even a small fraction of this ‘golden goose’. The people of Michigan are paying into the nest-egg for the Department of State Police, Judges Retirement System, Legislative Retirement System and so on.

Think about it for a moment ….. while our automobile companies and our industrial plants are bleeding red ink and laying off workers, the local and state government agencies are still fleecing what we have left, no matter how little it may be.

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Recognizing a Good Cop - Officer Jason Sakowski.

May 23rd, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in General

Perhaps we haven’t lauded enough about the great people who truly serve and protect our communities. If you have been faithfully following this blog, there tend to be a misconception that a large number of cops are bad. Not true at all, because there are certainly more good police officers out there in our neighborhoods. The unfortunate reality is that the bad cops usually outshadow the good cops, simply because the spirit of ‘brotherhood’ prevents good police officers from speaking out against their bad peers.

We definitely hope that there is a wave of change taking over, and more bad cops will be removed from the force and from our communities.

‘Do Take It Personal’ wish to officially recognize Officer Jason Sakowski of Harper Woods, Michigan, as an exemplary police officer and exemplary person.

http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/state&id=6153389

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/24757014/

Our Harper Woods, Michigan, neighborhood is grateful and blessed to have you in our community, Officer Sakowski.