An Open Letter to Detroit Mayoral Candidate Benny Napoleon: From 8 Mile to the River

I support Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon for becoming Detroit’s next mayor because he is the sheriff and has been Detroit’s police chief.  A law enforcement background will become important in the days ahead.  Let’s review my earlier posts:

1. I live in Detroit, Michigan, USA, Planet Earth.  I share this planet with approximately 7 billion other human beings.  My planet is part of a galaxy in which the nearest star, the sun, is in solar maximum.  During solar maximum, the spots on the sun shoot off flares that could cause solar storms on Earth. Right now, the sun is quiet, but it may be the quiet before storm.
2. Earth is overdue for a solar super-storm.  Such a solar super-storm could knock out satellites, gas pipelines, and electrical transformers.  When electrical transformers are knocked out, they take months and years to build and replace, so the power grid goes into an extended blackout.
3. The first danger of an extended blackout is that many municipal water systems, including Detroit’s, depend on electricity to pump and clean water.  Without electrical power to clean the water, cities are at risk of outbreaks of potentially deadly diseases.
4. The second danger of an extended blackout is that water and the power grid is needed to cool down nuclear reactors.  Without the water and electrical power, the nuclear reactors could meltdown.  Populations within 50 miles of a nuclear reactor should be evacuated to prevent exposing residents to nuclear fallout.
5. More than 120 million Americans live within 50 miles of a nuclear reactor.  Detroit is less than 50 miles from the Fermi nuclear plant in Monroe County, Michigan.

Currently, the nuclear safety protocols only call for evacuation of residents within a 10 mile radius of a major nuclear reactor emergency.  However, what I want from Detroit’s mayor, and Detroit’s first responders, is that when a major nuclear emergency happens, declare a mandatory evacuation for Detroit.  All of Detroit.  Not just Downtown.  Not just Midtown.  Not just Palmer Woods or Indian Village of the other exclusive neighborhoods, but evacuate from the river to 8 Mile.  (I am one of those residents who live near the city’s border at 8 Mile.) Don’t wait for the President, the Governor, or even the Emergency Manager to save us, because the solar storm will affect the satellites responsible for communications and navigation. You save us! And as you protect and serve all of us, not just some of us, may God protect you. Of course, part of protection is wisdom and emergency preparedness, so money should be allocated to for first responders to have the proper nuclear radiation protection gear.

Now, to quickly address Detroit’s financial problems:

Detroit need not be bankrupt.  Wayne County need not go bankrupt.  This solution takes courage, but it is simple.  Sue the banks.

Why?

Property values in Detroit are approximately 10-20% of what they were 10 years ago.  Many properties went into foreclosure, either because residents lost their jobs or their mortgages were drastically underwater that it made more financial sense to move elsewhere rather than stay. In Michigan, who does the nonjudicial foreclosure sales?  The sheriff.

What happened to all the thousands of properties that were foreclosed, the banks now own the properties, but the banks couldn’t sell them?  Many bank-owned properties are now abandoned, stripped of metal, and burned out.  Did the banks pay the taxes?  Did they demolish the eye sores?  Or did they just walk away? But they got a $700 billion bailout from the federal government because they were “too big to fail”.  Did they fail us?

It wasn’t just mismanagement that put Detroit or Wayne County in its financial mess.  The root word of bankruptcy is bank.

Would such a lawsuit succeed?  I don’t know.  But we owe it to the city workers, especially the first responders we expect to protect and serve us in a disaster, to try and protect their pensions.

Detroit is also too big to fail.

Lawsuits are potentially slow money, but with bigger payoffs. Faster money may be realized by Detroit keeping its water and sewage departments, but saving costs by eliminating fluoride from the water supply. Everyone’s teeth won’t fall out. In fact, fluoride is a neurotoxin, and it damages health beyond the brain. It is absorbed by the brain more than the teeth.

Eliminating fluoride from the water supply may have the added benefit of decreasing crime, decreasing drug dependency, and increasing academic achievement. Eliminating the fluoride chemical from the water department’s budget would result in an immediate savings of millions of dollars. The millions saved could then be allocated to fund the pensions. Be warned: With fluoride out of the water, people will be smarter, healthier, and less violent. That means they may live longer.

If these ideas are implemented, then Detroit’s bankruptcy case could be dismissed. Detroit would still have an emergency manager for a year afterwards. We would still have to keep him from looting the city. Detroit’s jewels go beyond the world-class treasures in the Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit’s jewels go beyond its parks and water department. Detroit’s jewels go from 8 Mile to the river. All of our jewels mean the world to us, and all of our jewels deserve our protection.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013 is not just another election. Don’t let the bankruptcy and emergency manager situation discourage you from voting. Your voice. Your choice. Counts!