PLEASE! PLEASE read MERTON SUSSEX on Mercy Housing and Ichthus

Following the news coverage of the foreclosing set for the Peachtree Pine building Merton Sussex wrote an article, “The Day I Lost My Faith In Humanity.” You can read it at www.diary of fools.com/2010/02/day-i-lost-my-faith-in-humanity-html.

Only silence on the foreclosing from churches and synagogues. Only silence from the business community. Only silence from the general public. HOWEVER, occassionally a voice cries in the wilderness. I have never heard of Merton Sussex, but I can’t wait to shake his hand.

Please read him.

James Wilson Beaty, PhD
Jeremiah 22.16
February 8, 2010

WHAT THE FOOL DOES WITH WATER (ISAIAH 32.6b)

Isaiah 32.6b states that the fool withholds food from the hungry and water from the thirsty. I delight in telling you that at 3:30 pm today (February 4, 2010) the Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless gave a check for $5,063.00 to the City of Atlanta’s Department of Water Mismanagement. The water will not be turned off for yet another 25 or so days. Keep in mind that the city itself owes thousands of dollars of unpaid water bills; businesses everywhere owe that many or more dollars of unpaid water bills. But Peachtree Pine is singled out because 750 homeless men, 90% African American men live there. Has the city turned of its water? Has anyone asked how much Coca Cola owes. How ’bout the Narrow?

Because a faithful supporter of the Task Force and a lover of the people at Peachtree Pine brought a huge check today, the payment could be made. We live from miracle to miracle. Please join us and be a part of this miracle. It really is TEAM GOLIATH against David’s 5 smooth stones.

We must collect drinking and flushing water because the city is determined to turn off the water in order to empty the building. Evidently the new administration is merely a mirror of the former. Evidently Debi “Debi does Atlanta” Starnes is the new mayor’s advisor on homelessness. Any change from business as usual would shock those of us who have had City Hall’s boot on our throat for so many years. And if Starnes were sent packing, another just as slippery would follow. May as well be the Czar; we have thousands of pages of Starnes’ e-mails exposing every single move of her devious strategy. We do not claim to know her next move; we do know what energizes it. She is as subtle as a heart attack. If stabbing homeless people is in the offing, the Czarina cannot be far behind.

PLEASE SEND WATER. We now have some breathing room. Word came today from a Task Force Board member that one WATER BUFFALO is on the way. Thank God and thank you for what you will do. Call the Task Force for information (404) 230-5000 for info and directions or call me on my cell (404) 787-1086. I have a dynamite pickup truck, and I would love to carry your church’s donation of 50 sixpacks of water to the Pine. Really, if we can show our friends at Fulton County that we have sufficient water stored, they will not put us on the street. Thank you again and God bless you and yours.

James Wilson Beaty, PhD
Jeremiah 22.16
February 4, 2010

President Mugabe on WATER

Strongman President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe is not known for his compassion or his moral ethics. However, he once said that in his country nobody’s water would ever be shut off for any reason because water is necessary for life. Human beings must have water to live.

The water at the Peachtree-Pine shelter according to Fulton County Health Department officials will be turned off within the next two days. That was stated on February 3 as I was being deposed by city attorneys at Baker Donelson. City of Atlanta leadership on the question of the right to water for all people is less compassionate than the often ruthless Mugabe. In this instance this strongman is more caring than they.

The city’s strategy is clear, and it has nothing to do with water or the disputed water bill. Its purpose in all this is to empty the building of its 700 residents who live there. Let it be known that Fulton County by law has to empty a building that has no drinking water or water available to flush toilets. The county will not empty the building of the 700 plus people if water is available to drink and to flush. A few thousand gallons of water will keep 700 people in their home on Peachtree Street.

Please bring water for drinking and for flushing. Any quantity from bottled water to 5 gallon containers of water to water buffalos is appreciated. Please call the Task Force (404) 230-5000 for more information or just bring water to the Pine Street entrance located on Pine Street between Peachtree Street and Courtland Avenue. Courteous residents of Peachtree Pine will receive any water donated. And I thank you and they thank you. If by some miracle the city gets a heart or if somebody brings $7000 to pay the overdue bill, we will store the water for next month’s emergency. God bless.

What I Was Asked–Deposition, Deposition, Deposition–Jim Beaty was DEPOSED by City of Atlanta Attorneys

City Of Atlanta attorneys deposed me, James Wilson Beaty, at the offices Of Baker Donelson Law Firm today, February 3, 2010. Task Force attorney Steve Hall told me that I can report the full text of my deposition anywhere, especially to the readers of my blog. I would hope to post my deposition within a week. The city brought copies of every blog that I had written–all since April of 2009. Only one attorney posed questions for more than 5 hours. Ninety percent of her questions focused on my blogs. I was flattered. She asked me if I had ever referred to Debi Starnes as a HAG. She asked me if I was familiar with the porn movie, DEBBY DOES DALLAS. She asked me if I compared Debi Starnes with the biblical character, The Witch of Endor. She asked me if I believed the Task Force not stable enough. She asked me what were the millions the Task Force had in store. She asked me the name of the deep throat in City Hall. She asked me if I believe the city attorneys to be a part of TEAM GOLIATH. She asked me to explain the meaning of “principalities and powers.” She asked me the source of my blog that described Debi Starnes dancing before Mayor Franklin. She asked me how the beheading of John the Baptizer related to the City of Atlanta. She asked me about the court reporter who took notes for an hour at the City Hall (Trinity Avenue) press release when the list of academics was published. She asked me who implemented that petition of signatures. She asked me my relationship to Dr. Chuck Steffen of Georgia State. She asked me if I had given the AJC a nickname. She asked me if Dave “Great News” Wardell was a member of the “principalities and powers.” She asked me the source of the name of the non-profit OUR FINE ARTS,THESE. She asked me if I recalled calling Debi Starnes a fly. She asked me the source of my comparing a fly to a thoroughbred. She asked me if I thought there was a pattern over the years on the part of the city to destroy the Task Force. She asked me if I had ever been a board member of the Task Force. She asked me did I know Rob Hunter’s position. She asked me if I had ever had a conversation with Horace Sibley. She asked me if the Baker Donelson attorneys represented me personally. She asked me if I had ever sought any legal assistance from any attorneys at Baker Donelson. She asked me for my models for my satirical pieces. Off the record she asked me if I liked Gamecock football coach Steve Spurrier. Incidentally, the full deposition of Horace Sibley, arrived today at Baker, Donelson. Let me promise you that you do not want to miss Sinon in all his glory.

That’s all for now. When I receive my deposition I’ll post every word. If you are one of the few praying and pulling for the Task Force against TEAM GOLIATH, you want to read my deposition in its entirety. If you are pleased to know that the death of the home of 750 homeless men is imminent, you might not relish that document.

This day, Fulton County Health Department officials visited the Peachtree Pine Shelter. Our very few staff members left reported that these officials have been alerted that the water for the 750 homeless people living there will be shut off by the City of Atlanta “IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS.” The department has alerted the Task Force staff and board that the 750 homeless people living there will not have to vacate the building if “POTABLE” water is available. That means as long as water to drink is available and water is available to flush the residents can remain. If that water is not available 750 homeless men will be at the mercy of Mercy Housing, Inc., Pete Walker, Atlanta United Way, City Hall, Horace Sibley, Shirley Franklin, Jack Hardin, Paul Kelman, Deepsix Biswas, Bonnie Ware, Milton Little, and the places of worship along the sanitized corridor.

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. WE MUST HAVE WATER, DRINKING WATER AND FLUSHING WATER. PLEASE CALL THE TASK FORCE. CALL ME (404) 787-1086. Four WATER BUFFALOS would keep us inside, but bottled water is just as important. Thank you and God bless!!!

James Wilson Beaty, PhD
Jeremiah 22.16
February 3, 2010

What I Saw

I attended today (February 2, 2010) the 7am staff meeting at Peachtree Pine. This weely gathering meets in a small conference room. Today 35 residents at Peachtree Pine were present. Four categories of residents attend these Tuesday 7am meetings: Transitional Program, RV Residential Volunteer Program, Work Bed Program and the General Population Program. These men present today represent the 600 to 700 men who sleep at Peachtree Pine every night.

Men in transition are in a two-year program that graduates them out into employment and permanent housing. Men in the RV, Resident Volunteer Program will move eventually into Transition, but they work “in” and “out.” Their “in” work is on sight at the shelter. Since all funds have been cut by the city and since a conspiracy to stop all funding has succeeded, very few donations come in at all. The men in this meeting carry the work burden without pay that was once funded. Their “out” program consists of employment in the community. The “work bed” folks contribute weekly for a bed that is a bit more attractive than the general population cots. Transitional living is attractive dorm-type rooms with a community kitchen, bathrooms and showers. The men remind me often that the showers are COLD as the gas bill for their part of the building has not been paid for over a year.

This meeting consists of general agenda items, announcements, challenges, difficulties, successes and complaints. The last part of the meeting becomes a kind of “court” where individuals go before the group for assessment. Today’s meeting gave a 22 year-old man an opportunity to speak his peace. This man had been banned from the building for unruly, unacceptable and boisterous conduct. He was there to apologize, to ask forgiveness and to request permission to reenter the general population. He had slept the last two nights outside on the ground.

What I saw astounded me. All 35 men were older than the 22 year old. They listened respectfully. They asked good questions. They made supportive, firm and loving comments. They voted unanimously to take him back into the general population program IF and ONLY IF he promised to enter an in-house counseling program operated by Westcare, Inc. Cutting all funding for such programs is the city’s program to shut down the shelter. The nationwide, very respectable, Westcare Inc. is now on board with state of the art counseling: anger management, drug and alcohol abuse, etc., etc.

What I saw was a group to a man who became big brothers. They became fathers to this young man. They became guardians. They became counselors. They became fellow men. For Christians they became Jesus. They said we’ve been there, and you need to grow up. They said we are family. They said this is our home. They are training as case workers help those about them. They were saying we will not throw you to the wolves; we will shepherd you through this.

What I saw before me there was a group of men who many would call failures as they themselves are homeless. But I did not see homeless men; I saw men ministering to one of their own who needed them. I learned that many of the 35 go regularly into the general population to challenge and to encourage and to prod so many who have given up on life. The 35 ask the general population folks to come over into the Task Force to get help. It is available. I know.

What I saw broke my heart and thrilled my soul.

Should you want to send financial help, please look at www.homelesstaskforce.org to make giving easy. And thank you.

James Wilson Beaty, PhD
Jeremiah 22.16
February 2, 2010

Foster Brooke’s BAD and GOOD News

The late Foster Brooks relates a visit to the doctor’s office. He was there for a complete physical examination. Upon the completion of the exam the doctor came into the little room to tell Mr. Brooks what he had found. The doctor said, “I have bad news and good news.” Brooks said, “Really?” The doctor said, “The bad news is that you have serious homosexual tendencies.” Brooks said, “I do? What’s the good news?” The doctor said, “I think you are real cute.”

James Wilson Beaty
Jeremiah 22.16
February 1, 2010

An Afternoon At Piedmont Hospital

I checked into Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta for a “procedure” on Thursday afternoon, January 14, 2010. I was there for a biopsy. Biopsies, I believe, detect cancer and other possible difficulties. I entered the General Radiology area as directed at 1 pm for my scheduled “needling” at 2:45 pm. Before I share my experience I want to say that as hospitals go, Piedmont is my favorite among these dangerous places. Piedmont has been very good to me, and I have no complaints.

I have two reasons for reporting my experience: one, I find it humorous in a scary way and two, I beg everyone to pay attention to all so called “procedures,” all possible screwups. We all have heard horror stories occurring in these places of care.

By 1:30 pm I was in a little operating room. I was asked by a very kind nurse from West Africa to remove my clothes above the waist. I donned the hospital gown that ties in the back. This particular gown tied at my neck, but it really was a boy’s size never to come together around my girth.

The nurse who had asked me to remove my clothes came back into the room. I was seated on the “table” gowned as best as I could negotiate the boy’s garment. The nurse looked me straight in the eye and asked me, “Please tell me why you are here.” I said, “I beg your pardon. I want you to tell me why I’m here.” She held my chart and pointed to a line which read “bx breast.” She then said cautiously, “This order is for a biopsy of your breast.” I said, “Both of them?”

She didn’t smile but said, “Please bear with me; I must make a call.” She returned in 10 minutes to tell me what I knew already, “You are here for a thyroid biopsy.” “Thank you, very much,” I replied. The surgeon, a lovely female, came in and explained that the surface would be “numbed” and that I would experience very little discomfort, if any. I could not resist asking which breast. She smiled and said those little coding mistakes happen sometimes. The hospital had just called my “primary care physician” who wants me to have a thyroid biopsy. I said, “Help yourself.”

The “procedure” (don’t you love that word) went smoothly. The nurse prior to the three needles in my throat had stated that my “primary care physician’s” office would call telling me the results of the biopsy. She gave me the comforting word that if I didn’t hear anything the first two days that in all likelyhood I have no difficulties. The surgeon after the “procedure” said I would be called within 7 days. That was January 14; today is February 1. No call yet. Perhaps someone misplaced my chart. What do you think?

James Wilson Beaty
Jeremiah 22.12
February 1, 2010

“Great job, Shirley Franklin…” But the melody lingers on”

I quoted Shirley Franklin when she was mayor in response to a question asked by Bob Cramer, Chair of the Board of the Task Force. Cramer’s e-mail now in discovery asks the mayor if she intends at any time past, present or future to close the Task Force’s facility called Peachtree-Pine. On September 23, 2008, Mayor Shirley Franklin wrote an e-mail 19:10:00 as follows: “I have no such plan. Shirley”

HOWEVER, an e-mail, in discovery, signed Sharon Williams sent on Wednesday, August 15, 2007, to Kwanza Hall and copied to (14) others: Clarence Martin, Cleta Winslow, H. Willis, Howard Shook, Ivory Young, Jim Maddox, Lisa Borders, Natalyn Archibong, Shirley Franklin, Clair Muller, Felicia Moore, Mary Norwood, Joyce Shepherd and Carla Smith reads, Subject: Peachtree-Pine Shelter: “Shirley Franklin has done a great job in trying to stop funding of the Peachtree-Pine Shelter. Please give her your support and vote against any funds going into this misguided facility. Thank you. Sharon Williams”

From: [mailto:swilliams@purdigital.net]

Mayor Franklin sent Sharon Williams’ e-mail to Policy Advisor Debi Starnes on August 24, 2007 7:15 PM

Note: The TORTIOUS INTERFERENCE of contracted funds is a civil wrong. It is not a crime; that’s jail time. It’s a civil wrong: that’s payback $$$ time.

Alan Harris Gets THE PLATINUM AWARD

Dear Alan M. Harris on August 9, Thursday morning at 6:42 am sent the following e-mail to Debi Mae Starnes, Horace Sibley, Bonnie Ware at the city and Protip Biswas at United Way. Mr. Harris a long-time champion of women and children and inveterate basher of the Task Force wrote:

Hi, The enclosed information about my Task Force visit on the night of August 3 (2007) is confidential. The sole reason it is confidential is that if Anita Beaty knew Hylda Jackson allowed me in the lobby at night to see all those women and children she would be fired. She is leaving any way but not for a few more weeks.

Attached are my comments about my visit to the Task Force lobby, prompted by the huge discrepancy between the report Bonni (Ware) gave me and the record Hylda (Jackson) gave me concerning how many women and children were present at the Task Force lobby on the night of August 3 and how many Ellis St. accepted from the Task Force the same night.

I will wait and see. I will say I am greatly encouraged by Debi’s presence at Gateway. Alan

Note: The only other time the men at PP have given THE PLATINUM AWARD was to Debi Starnes and Chief Carlos Banda for secretly placing (CI’s) Confidential Informants inside PP to count the number of men staying. You will recall that Starnes under oath in her deposition refuted her own informant’s numbers of over 700. Harris’ Award is not as shiny as Starnes’ because he had poor Hylda Jackson slipping him in the lobby where women and children stay whenever Starnes and Sibley and Ware and Sixpack fail to give them shelter. That’s correct. Alan Harris made his visit to check on the Task Force’s breaking a Starnes/Sibley rule.

Incidentally, Hylda Jackson had by August 3, 2007, long been in conversation with TEAM GOLIATH. Jackson this day, January 28, 2010 is employed by The Gateway. Hylda Jackson is one of seven (7) former Task Force employees now employed at The Gateway. Remember they left the Peachtree-Pine Shelter that is “so poorly run” and is a “misguided facility.”

James Wilson Beaty, PhD
Jeremiah 22.16
January 28, 2010

Prophet Jeremiah, the Hebrew Diogenes

Diogenes, the Greek philosopher, a little sceptical at times, supposedly carried a lantern to scrutinize every face hoping to find an honest person. Legend has it that Alexander the Great once came upon the sceptic and asked the philosopher what he wanted the Great One to give him. Diogenes asked Alexander to move out of the way as he was blocking the sunlight. It was then that the King told the philosopher that if he could not be himself, he would wish to be Diogenes.

The first few verses of the fifth chapter of the prophecy of JEREMIAH record the following command that the Lord gives to the prophet Jeremiah: “Run up and down every street in Jerusalem,” says the Lord. “Look high and low; search throughout the city! If you can find even one person who is just and honest, I will not destroy the city. Even when they are under oath, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ they all tell lies.!” In Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, they lied under oath. Jeremiah may not have had Diogenes’ lantern, but he did search for “even one” honest person.

James Wilson Beaty, PhD
Jeremiah 22.16
January 25, 2010