Thursday, October 15, 2009

A NEW UNITARY THEORY, BRINGING TOGETHER THE LAWS OF EVOLUTION AND PHYSICS

Mme. Magpie's Theory of Evolution has been finally proven conclusively today. She is so excited that she wants to share her important advance in the Laws of Physics with you. She has long held that evolution occurs through the process of transmogrification. The changes generally occur in dark and murky locales, with the washer/drier and her clothes closet providing the principal sites for change. What occurs at these stations? Come, come, it is quite obvious! – socks and hangers interchange in a magnificent transformation. She knew this to be true, but she was seeking more proof. Today she found both the proof she needed, and she learned of a new transmogrification site– one of her many hat boxes. She carefully stores the out-of-season chapeaux in hatboxes in her closet, and, as she was performing her biannual chore of bringing out the winter hats, she came across a box in which transmogrification was in actual progress! Both hangers and socks were present, along with a missing belt of my husband's (obviously a transitional byproduct). There they were, caught in the very act! I thought I caught the sound of fading trumpets as well as a whispered word -- possibly "Eureka". It was truly an awesome experience – Do any of you have access to a Stockholm phone directory? I believe there's a few folk to whom I should be talking. . .

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

SQUAWKING ABOUT DC'S LACK OF FORECLOSURE AND EVICTION INFORMATION

Mme. Magpie has noticed that something important seems to have been overlooked by the DC Government –information on where to get help if you live in the District and are facing foreclosure or eviction.

Mme. Magpie is shocked, shocked to discover that two of the biggest problems facing DC residents are being ignored by the DC Government. She wonders if the District Government has much of a notion about what’s important these days. Does the District Government understand the words “foreclosure” and “eviction?”

Mme. Magpie spent a lot of time looking to see what kind of advice the city had to offer online to residents facing these critical problems. She has checked the DC Government website, including the main site, the site of the Department of Housing and Community Development and the websites of each of the DC Council Members. She is more than a bit incensed to have to report that she found nothing. NADA. This is inexcusable.

If the city doesn’t think this is important, perhaps it should be answering the telephone at Mme. Magpie’s nest. Yesterday alone, two phone calls came in from or about people needing advice, people who are in grave danger of losing their homes. And that’s just one day and one residential phone at a time when hundreds, probably thousands of District residents are being foreclosed upon or evicted for being behind in the rent after having been laid off. Ironically, probably the largest pool of employee lay-offs are from the District Government itself. (Way to go, DCG – forget the needs of people you have put in that position).

It’s long past the time for the city to provide clear, simple, easy-to understand instructions about what to do if you are a homeowner about to be foreclosed upon, or if you are a DC renter about to lose your apartment because you’ve lost your job.

If the city isn’t up to providing you with that information, Mme. Magpie thought she’d better see what she could find online that offers residents accurate information on what they ought to do in such a situation. Here are a couple of websites that seem to provide just that – useful places to call for help, or useful information about sequencing what you need to be done to stave off being put out, either as a result of foreclosure or eviction.

1. HUD’s List of Local, Approved Housing Counseling Agencies

http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm?webListAction=search&searchstate=DC

This seems to be the best list of places to go for help for homeowners and/or renters. Mme. Magpie knows almost all of these agencies, and they have been helpful over the years. The list seems pretty comprehensive, and the kinds of information available at a given agency is clearly laid out.

2. Fannie Mae’s web site

http://www.fanniemae.com/

This site has information to help both homeowners and renters in trouble. It also has useful information on forclosure/eviction avoidance scams.

3. A Foreclosure Survivor timeline – what to do when

http://foreclosuresurvivorkit.com/index.htm

This gives clear, thoughtful advice on what works best when foreclosure looms, occurs or has already taken place. It even takes into account emotional needs.

4. DC Foreclosure law summary

http://www.foreclosurelaw.org/DC_Foreclosure_Law.htm

This seems to be a pretty good review of what the law is in the District. It’s written in legal-type language – never a small word when a larger one can be used – but it does the job.

5. Tenants’ Advocacy Coalition (TENAC)

http://www.tenac.org/

(202) 628-3688 (hotline)

This all-volunteer, activist group works hard to help retain rent control and to support tenant interests and rights, and does an excellent job at it. It is the only citywide tenants’ organization, and has been active in DC for the past 15 years.


Mme. Magpie is thinking especially about the little fledglings who are being pushed out of their cosy nests and who face an uncertain future as a result. They are often the greatest sufferers in such situations. We owe it to help each other in these difficult times, especially as the colder weather is upon us. Any of the groups listed under item one or TENAC listed in item five could make good use of donations.



















Friday, October 9, 2009

HOW CAN THE LAID-OFF AND THEIR FAMILIES BE HELPED?

Mme. Magpie has been worrying. She is thinking, first of all, of the large numbers of persons who have been laid off. How have they been handling this very real blow to their lives? And second, she has been worrying about how their families and loved ones have been coping. As she sees it, both groups are in equal peril.

Back when she was the District’s (only) Patient Advocate for everyone in substance abuse treatment, she put together a huge list of every Twelve Step meeting in DC, by day of the week, hour and location. The idea was to ensure that when someone was ready to reach out for help, we would be able to find somewhere to go right away. The list included all the “anon” fellowship programs for family members, because their needs were as great as the fellowship programs for the addicts themselves. All were affected, all were hurting.

And, as a current volunteer with a group that provide grief assistance to families of homicide victims in DC, Mme. Magpie is aware of the depth of assistance needed for families that have suddenly had shocking news that will affect the rest of their lives.

Not only do persons who have suddenly lost their jobs need grief and psychological counseling, especially when the chances of picking up another job are so slim in this deep recession, but their families are suffering psychologically and need help as well. It is obvious to Mme. Magpie that both groups of people will need real counseling over a period of time.

Why hasn’t that need been picked up by our employers? They owe it to their employees wherever possible, especially to employees who have given long and loyal service to their employer. All employers who can afford to offer even a little counseling, should do so, and those who can but don’t should be singled out for public disdain.

Lord knows that’s true of the District Government, which shows its contradictory planning process by continuing to hire while it is firing. If it’s got enough money to keep on hiring people, it should pay for counseling and guidance programs for those whom it has just dropped from its payrolls – and their families. It can afford to do so, so why hasn’t it done it already? This lack of caring is sad, and needs to be remedied ASAP. Other large employers who are shedding jobs in the area should do the same.

Surah 5:32 of the Koran contains the oft-cited lines that “if anyone saves a life, it shall be as though he had saved the lives of all mankind”. The same Surah also goes on to exhort people of different religious traditions to “Vie, then, with one another in doing good works!” Mme. Magpie thinks that employers who have let persons go, for whatever reasons, ought to contemplate the potential catastrophic results and find some way to aid its ex-employees and their families with useful and needed counseling. Employers vying for ways to be helpful can and will be remembered as doing their best in a difficult situation. And that, if applied widely, can help save an economic universe.