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posted by Bob at Thursday, September 18, 2008
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Conscience is the light of the Soul that burns within the chambers of our psychological heart. It is as real as life is. It raises the voice in protest whenever anything is thought of or done contrary to the righteousness. Conscience is a form of truth that has been transferred through our genetic stock in the form of the knowledge of our own acts and feelings as right or wrong. A virtuous and courageous person can alone use the instrument of conscience. He or she can alone hear the inner voice of the soul clearly. In a wicked person this faculty is absent. The sensitive nature of his / her conscience has been destroyed by sin or corruption. Hence he or she is unable to discriminate right from wrong. Those who are leading organizations, business enterprises, institutions and governments should develop this virtue of the ability to use their own conscience. This wisdom of using the clean conscience will enable them to enjoy the freedom.
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8 Comments:
There maybe copy errors
The City has long recognized that there exists a bias of City residents against rental housing and renters in the neighborhoods of the City and significant racial bias against “persons of color” in the City. There March 2002 Chronic Problem Case Studies (40007)
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noted significant bias and discrimination by City residents against members of the minority community and the City’s use in its report of derogatory labels (not just what the neighbors were calling the “protected class” occupants of City properties, but the actual names City employees working with the City Council were using – “Down ‘n Out” for example. 40007, pp. 12, 34, 37, 41-42, 44, 54, 58, 64, 102.
Kelly and Dawkins, as representatives to the State Legislature in the 1980s and 1990s, admitted their frustration with low-income inner city residents, who at all times were disproportionately “protected class” tenants in low-income rental housing.
In 1995, the City and PHA discovered that the City’s “minimum housing maintenance code” was actually “more stringent” 82% of the time when compared to the federal mandated Housing Quality Standards (HQS) applicable to federally subsidized, Section 8 “low income” housing in the City. Ex. 171 to 3rd Shoemaker Aff. The City and PHA privately admitted that HUD would not approve a City and PHA plan to substitute the City’s higher code for HQS in Section 8 inspections of privately owned low-income rental housing because HUD, the City and PHA recognized that application of a higher code standard to City housing stock would adversely affect availability of affordable housing stock.
The City and PHA failed to disclose to HUD and the public that the City’s Code was more stringent that HQS 82% of the time and that application of the City’s more stringent code to the City’s older housing stock would adversely affect and unduly restrict the availability of affordable housing and housing choice in the City.
In 2000, the City and PHA confirmed there early discovery and conclusions concerning
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the more stringent City code when compared to HQS. Once again, the City and PHA failed to fully disclose to HUD or the public the fact of the City’s more stringent code.
From at least 1995, the City and PHA have worked together in making certain that the City’s more stringent code standards are applied to Section 8 and privately owned rental properties occupied disproportionately by “protected class” members.
From the mid-1990s, City has been on notice that increased government regulations on the privately owned low-income rental market would have a disproportionately adverse affect on “protected class” renters in the neighborhoods of the inner city. In 2002, Dawkins confirmed that over-zealous code enforcement of a higher code standard would lead to “wholesale abandonment of properties in the inner-city.”
Dawkins own statement to Bill Cullen and Sara Anderson are sufficient evidence at this stage of the litigation to constitute a prima facia case of disparate treatment.
Steve Mark, a low-income landlord discovered the open racism in the City inspections departments when he was issued a over crowding order requiring a Hispanic tenant to leave to other roommates in a unit equal in size that the inspector allow three whites to live in. Steve Mark Affidavit.
Perry DeStefano, a former legal aid attorney in Saint Paul, testified in this case at length concerning 321 Bates and many other properties in Saint Paul where African-American occupied rental buildings were shut down by City inspectors without cause just because certain neighbors complained. DeStefano wrote to the City Council in 2004 notifying the City that neighbors were using the city inspections department to adversely impact protected
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classes in the city – that the 321 Bates neighbor complaints were false but the inspector shut the property down and offline - the Black owner was forced to sell the property. Ex. 101 to 1st Shoemaker Aff. DeStefano, pp. 17-32 and exhibits.
Assistant City Attorney Maureen Dolan, who as a member of Dawkins Problem Property Unit (PPU), showed Bee Vue what motivation was really driving the City’s code enforcement: “Personally, I don’t think you people deserve to be in this country”. Ex. 150 to 2nd ShoemakerAff., Vue Affidavit, para. 8.
Catie Royce had this to say about another member of the small but powerful PPU under Dawkins: Magner is racist. p.123-24.
Proof of the racist motivation behind the City’s actions is the credible evidence that Defendants did have less restrictive means available to meet legitimate policy interests. The highly successful PP2000 program that the City Council was recommending be continued shortly before Mayor and Dawkins took control and dramatically shifted policy and practices, and the City’s successful partnership with PHA on behavior issues related to PHA’s tenants, were alternatives that would not have adversely impacted and injured “protected class” members and their housing providers. The City’s partnership with PHA had existed for decades. The City worked with the largest provider of low-income housing – a “secretly” recognized “problem property” landlord with considerable criminal elements within its tenant base that the City had to provide with an “army,” like Dawkins says, to control the rental grounds of PHA in order to quell public discontent who surrounding those “problem properties”. The City and PHA even installed a separate police call-in number for PHA
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tenants so PHA rentals could stay below the public’s radar. Yes, PHA was considered by itself and by the City as a “problem property” owner but the City still provided all types of support to PHA and not once did anything to undermine PHA’s significant mission, like Plaintiffs, to provide “safe and decent” affordable housing to those less fortunate.
The evidence presented shows that PHA and the Plaintiffs were similarly situated as were the tenants of both – both groups of tenants receiving federal housing subsidies but yet only the Section 8 tenants living in fear of Lisa Martin and Dean Koehnen banging on their door early in the morning to roust them from bed and force them from their home for claimed violations of the City’s heightened code.
Looks to me like it's all over for the city. How can anyone who isn't biased look at all this stuff by all these people and think it didn't happen? Especially when the evudence is the city's own documents and testimony? Lots of luck beating this.
This is what is so insane.
The efforts of the City to insure that people are not targeting minority members is proof that the City is targeting minority members.
The accusations of the plaintiffs are viewed as independent witnesses of racist behavior.
The plaintiffs SAY that the City works with PHA but not with private landlords to assist in their issues of maintaining properties but give no EVIDENCE. The fact that they are given extensions disputes this, the fact that thousands of landlords are able to offer affordable housing without ending up in court disputes this.
Sorry in this section again accusation = plenty
evidence = zero
We should see summary judgement in favor of the City and dismissal of the case before long.
JMONTOMEPPOF
Chuck Repke
NEWS FLASH LATEST WATCH DOG NEWSPAPER, CIRCULATED, USE FOR EVIDENCE
http://www.watchdog-news.com/
Latest Watchdog? LOL!!!!! This one ois months old.
Chuck, the city works with PHA alright, making sure PHA doesn't get the kind of harsh code compliance required of landlords as well as differential police protection and other favorable political favoritism.
Have you forgotten everything you read here or hav you only been reading the stuff that suits your ability to reason.
Jeff Matiatos
At least Chuck tries to put some BS expnantion to it. The city on the other hand just starts destroying all the evidence of it.
In your quest to be successful, remember this:
The Story of the Lion and the Gazelle
Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.
The moral:
It doesn't matter if you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better be running!.
- Author Unknown
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