Not really a blog entry and I'm not clear on how appropriate posting political actions is here is, but here is the official poster, good through tomorrow morning - - -

Change or defeat Countrywide and the rest will follow

Countrywide Must Change its Predatory Practices or Be Shut Down
Countrywide is the primary example of predatory practices that destroy the dream of homeownership for massive numbers of working people. Countrywide mortgage holders, Countrywide employees, homeowners with an unaffordable mortgage, and everyone concerned about economic justice and equality need to join NACA, City Life/Vida Urbana, and the Green-Rainbow Party in this campaign.

TAKE ACTION:
DATE: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11
TIME: 11:0O A.M.
WHERE: GATHER AT NACA – 3593 Washington St. , JAMAICA PLAIN
WHO:  COUNTRYWIDE HOMEOWNERS, OTHERS AT RISK OF FORECLOSURE & SUPPORTERS
ACTION: KICKOFF OF NATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO BOYCOTT COUNTRYWIDE
MORE INFORMATION: CONTACT “MASS. ALLIANCE TO STOP PREDATORY LENDERS” AT
1-888-297-5568 (NACA office) or  HYPERLINK "http://www.naca.com/" www.naca.com

Countrywide’s Lending is Predatory:
Countrywide’s mortgage lending includes outrageous fees and unaffordable terms.

Countrywide’s Servicing is Predatory:
Countrywide demands thousands of dollars to stop foreclosures on unaffordable mortgages. They are terminating over 12,000 employees, while hiring people abroad to foreclose on American Homeowners.

Here is what some Countrywide Customers have said
"My mortgage went from $906.57 a month to $1213.75. I cannot afford to pay that amount.” Darrell - Acworth, Georgia
 
“Although we knew the interest rate was not fixed, we were told we could refinance to a fixed within 6-12 months.  When we contacted them to do so, they were unable to help us.”  Martin - Raynham, Massachusetts
 
“As a first-time buyer I trusted them and they totally misrepresented me putting me into a situation that I cannot afford any longer.  I also have prepayment penalty fees causing it to be impossible to afford to refinance through Countrywide since they are not willing to waive closing costs of $25,000 plus the pre-payment penalty fees.”  Danielle - Boca Raton, Florida
 
“Countrywide Home Loans increased my rate which made no sense if rates were only to increase as the market rate increased. And all commercials refer to the fact that rates have never been this low, and yet they have sent me notification that my rate will increase to 12.45%.”  Litamykel - Memphis, Tennessee

“We were able to make payments on time and save money to pay our property taxes when we were paying $1200 month with an interest rate of 7%. But when our Adjustable rate went up to 10.875% and our payments increased by $400 a month we struggled to make the payment every month. Now that the rate has risen drastically we wish that we would have been more informed and someone would have been watching out for us.”  Jeremy - Anna, Texas

“We got a phone call one night that I wish we had never answered. We didn't even need to re-fi, but he made it sound so good, we took the bait. We got involved with Countrywide, an underhanded institution that told us we might as well sell our home and take our lumps.”
Pamela - Rohnert Park, California

“I tried making arrangements but they want to increase my mortgage at a very high monthly payment. I tried to go without my medicines and other things in order to meet that need, but each month the payment increased.”  Anita - Birmingham, Alabama

The check has been written, signed and delivered.
When it clears, the rest of the business of becoming the sole deeded owner will proccede.
So many ideas and visions about what is possible here.
How to increase the performance of this "home" - - - how to reduce it's fossil carbon consumption. How to minimize my consumptive migrations to and from my new center to my center of the past 30 + years - - -
I could have chosen differently - - - and - - - now - - - it  - - - will - - - become - - - my - - -
RESPONSIBILITY

I breathe deeply - working at displacing the putrid green air that has built up within me the past few days. When siblings occupy different pages, agreements made and ignored or unkept and the last wild goose chase has left me exhausted and dispelled any semblance or aspiration of trusting or respecting that person.

This all revolves arount the care of my Dad -Frankie Baby, age 89, condition - deteriorating - who is in a nursing facility that costs about twice what his assisted living apartment and services does.

the agreement he must sign to return to his apartment allows only one fall - - - period.

He hasn't fallen ( he says " I'm so careful, I'm dangerous " ) in around 3 weeks,  and wants to go back to his apartment, where he will not have the 24 / 7 staff caring for him. His door will be closed and locked. Yesterday I was with him when he "forgot" to be careful. He wet his pants and his vanity took over. He let go of his walker and tried to undress himself in the bathroom. I had to call for help to get him to his bed and change his clothes.

He may not be able to call for help when he falls and needs it. My fear is that he will last one, two days, maybe a week before his next loss of control and  if he's not injured, returned to the nursing home. He would be so dissapointed.

If he is injured - hospitalization - - - if he dies as a result - - - final rest and peace.

I was told by a friend of Franks that Dad told him about me  " He doesn't care about the money "

I'm rageing inside, as my thoughts and feelings are that his remaining money is the only thing my sister  really cares about.

I see him enjoying his life where he is now - - - good - positive caring attention around the clock - - - good meals - - - ( I was invited for lunch yesterday, and three friends / residents shared their sandwiches with me at the dinner meal ) - - -

Sleep has not come to me till sunrise for the past few days. Four to Five hours is not enough - I'm exhausted - and now I'm going to my bed and continue breathing deeply - - - pushing the putrid green air out and breathing in light.

see any detail, but you get the picture - - - this is a zoom in from the zoom out that follows this entry.
This is a major change in my life as I've been living here at #21 since 1977, and I got way too much stuff.
Anyone want to acquire a COMPACT REFERENCE CONTROL ROOM?
It's a sweet, accurate tracking and mixing room I designed and built as a kit, so it may be disassembled, transported and reassembled. The bidding starts at the equivalent value of $27,000.

dead center - - - draw an "X" from corner to corner and the lines will intersect on the concrete, plywood, vinyl and asphalt containing box I'm about to begin occupying this weekend.

I'm not sure what the circumstances will be, as there are agreements that must be made - - - but the move is on.
In the basement is the MACHINE SHOP my abba created over the years. It is mine now, and my affinity to the work / play of designing and fabricating functional ( and some "artistic" ) objects in metals and plastics in exchange for VALUE ( wampum - dollars and other considerations ) and just for the fun and pleasure of creating.
A vision of mine is transforming the property by disassembeling the existing "modular" house, possibly selling or trading the shell to a neighbour who may plop it on top of his ( exact duplicate ) modular house, and then - - - - - - - - -
SUPER SUSTAINABLE - in the full spirit and technology of PASSIV HAUS - - - build on the existing foundation.
It will take careful planning and scheduling, as the machine shop needs to be protected, so once the old box is lifted, an appropriate ( PASSIVHAUS ! ! !) platform needs to be produced EL RAPIDO.
The image is a google earth long shot of good old #9

Exhaustion has come and gone - - - I slept through the alarm which had been set for 7:15 earlier that morning. I missed the first Green Technologies Committee meeting at 8: AM.

I awoke, looked at the clock and cursed it for not shaking me awake!

It was 9:15

A rushed dressing - hop on the bike - half asleep peddeling to town hall where I was informed the meeting had let out around 9.

SHIT - - - my first involvement in OFFICIAL town issues and I’m recovering from two sleepless days and nights - totally oblivious to intentional waking noises.

Back home - - - a quick email to the Selectman apologizing for missing the meeting.

The almost or partial breakdown is subsiding - - - way too much on my mind - - - mostly family stuff - - - dad going through near end of life transitions - - - sibling bullshit hitting the fan, along with the care and advocacy of Frankie Baby, who is lucid, and is challanged with standing and walking - - - he’s working real hard at graduating from “rehab” and getting back to his assisted living apartment, and I’m intending to buy my sister out of the house my father gave us - - - while he's still here - - - in hope it will help us all find peace.

are we looking back going somewhere?

our tracks converge - pinpoint and disappear

turning - there is no before travled path to choose

no sign of ways beaten in the sore earth

no bright city lights to beacon in the night

just a fragile promise and a vision of

tomorrow 

 

excerpt from the  Brookline Tab, Brookline, MA.

"Months after Town Meeting approval, selectmen appointed

five members to the Green Technology Committee.

The warrant article called for four residents to be appointed

as committee members" 

The Board of Selectmen appointed FIVE resident members including moi  ! ! !

The committee will study ( and recommend ?)  ways to implement environmentally

friendly technology in Brookline. 

On Thursday April 6, 2006 the Conference Committee for the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act filed a final version of the compromise language THAT INCLUDED THE STEVENS / ANTI-RENEWABLE ENERGY LANGUAGE.
On April 24th Congress returns to session and the full House of Representatives and the Senate will vote on the multi-billion dollar Coast Guard Reauthorization Act.  In order to have the amendment removed Senators and Congressmen will have to insist that they will reject this language.

What you can do:
Contact your Federal representatives.

Here’s how:
You have one Congressman and two Senators.
Click here to use our take action page to automatically generate an email.

To look up their phone number and call them use these links:
Congressman: www.house.gov/writerep/
Senators: www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

What to tell them:

1) Unless you stop this backdoor last minute amendment, this will become the poster-child for the lack of reform in Congress. This is a backdoor – last minute legislative attack that singles out and targets America’s first offshore wind farm at the behest well funded NIMBY special interests.

2) It is contrary to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 passed last fall

3) It is contrary to calls in Congress and from the President of the United States for greater production of domestic renewable energy resources including wind.

4) This gives veto power to the Governor over wind farms while he doesn’t have that power over nuclear, coal, oil or other power generation projects. This would also be unprecedented in giving a Governor the ability to veto the decisions of federal agencies over energy production in federal waters on the outer continental shelf.

In order to stop this egregious abuse of power and assault on America’s first offshore wind farm we recommend you call and email.  Please feel free to call both their district and their Washington D.C. offices.

Background information on Amendment: 
www.capewind.org/background.pdf
Statements from Senator Pete Domenici and Senator Jeff Bingaman:  www.capewind.org/statements.pdf
Press Release from the Natural Resources Defense Council:  www.nrdc.org/media/#0407
Press Release from Conservation Law Foundation:  www.clf.org/general/internal.asp?id=844

just go there - i'ts been around for a while - nothin' new here - but - still as meaningful and significant as ever. It's another living - breathing system design to consider - - -