I have found that about three quarters of the elected officials in the state of Michigan would rather use excuses as to why they can't help someone with a problem than to search for reasons or loop holes to do their civic duty.

     For the past twenty-three years I grew up learning about the government and its purpose. I was taught that the government is both by the people and for the people. I was brought up to know that we live in the greatest country in the world. I said my pledge of allegance every day. I always got this warm tingling feeling when I heard the Star Spangled Banner, right down to the center of my bones. I learned to respect the law and those who serve it.

     Somehow the politicians have lost the ability to serve the people who elect them to office. Public polls are only counted towards us thinking we have a voice. If you are not a member of the richest men's club or have a special interest backing you, your voice only counts towards public opinion. I know that there are many problems with our government and it's policies.

     I am not a large fan of G.W. but I believe that as the greatest country in the worl he is doing the right thing protecting the people of a soverign nation so they can get on their feet. That specific reason is not why he is doing it but it is being done just the same.

     When you are a soldier you don't get to pick the battles or even the wars in which you fight, you do as your told.  You don't have to like it, you just have to do it. To many people who have not served, this statement sounds harsh, crule to personal feelings, and maybe even a little condescending, but that is what makes a soldier great. They always follow orders whether they like them or not. They took an oath to defend this country ( and it's interests ) against all enemy's, foreign and domestic. This oath affirms a soldiers dedication to serving their country even if they don't agree with it's policy. I just wish that all politicians had this loyalty and dedication to the people's opinion or interest than that of special interest groups.

     In closing I would just like to say thank you to all the soldiers who defend our freedom. My prayers go out to your families who await your safe arrival. I also want to say to all the friends and family members who have lost a loved one in this war, they will not be forgotten  by the men and women who served with them. Their sacrifice will not be forgotten by me and many more who share my thoughts. I am proud of anyone who stands up in front of enemy fire and protect our way of life thousands of miles away. They are all there to make sure we don't have to fight here. My thoughts and prayers go out to you all, stay safe, and may god bless you and bring you back safely. God has Blessed America, it is up to us to make sure he continues to support a nation who helps others.

     My life has always been about trying to get ahead and trying to stay there. It seems that when a dark cloud called adversity covers your sky there is no light to guide you to the path which you must take to overcome darkness. How can one triumph over adversity if one has too many outside influences pulling it backwards? I have tried to ask the lord for an  answer and am trying to be patient awaiting his reply.

     I have had many dealings with the court system where I live. It started when I was 11 and has proceeded to my 21st year of age. I was always on the wrong side of the law. My life has been a constant challenge trying to overcome adversity. Just when the clods opened to let the sun shine through for what seemed like a minute but was actually a couple of years, the shroud of darkness has returned.

     My girlfriend and I are trying to build a life for our family and all we can seem to see is the shroud of darkness that her disfunctional family casts to any who cross the path they walk. They are vindictive people and care nothing of anyone's feelings but for their own at that present time.

     I have struggled to come out on top and am finally coming out of the darkness. I wanted to write this to let those of you out there who may or may not believe in God know that, even though he has a plan and we don't know what it is he is always ther watching and listening. People who are wrong and will not admit it to anyone but themselves, he knows. Talk to him and you will find within yourself that the answers exist in your perverbial heart. The answers you seek are often given by looking deeply into your self and your life.

     When you stumble, trip, and fall it is easier to lay there then to pull yourself up and keep on moving. I know, I once laid there waiting for it to end. I had to get up and turn myself around to face the path I had already walked because I went the wrong way. So for a minute you must go backwards to get to the crossroad and then take the path that looks as though you must clear a way to be able to move forward.

     I know a lot of this is metaphoric or may come off as a parable. These are the best ways to explain things descriptive enough so I don't have to write thirty pages explaining every little detail or event that has happened to me. I know my life and it's mild problems are just one of billions of people. I also know the feeling of thinking that I am insignificant, I am not. I may not mean to the people who read this but each one of us means everything to someone.

     Hope is not lost, keep on fighting through the darkness. The clouds will open up eventually and the light of the lord will guide you to the right path.

     I was thinking the other day about a job that I have been trying to get for the past five years. It is a good paying job with excellent benefits and room for advancement. In applying to this company I have been rejected from employment eight times. No specific reason stated, just a lingering thought of there being many more people qualified than me to do the job.

     I was finally accepted and start my job tomorrow. It is funny if you think of all the failures in your life that seem to add up to just one moment, a moment leaving you to view acceptance vs. rejection, failed relationships that result in finding the person who you know is the one you have been waiting to find, or even a bad or devistating moment which leads you to life you have always been longing to have.

     My thoughts go out to all people for the sufferings of lifes trials and tribulations. But ask yourself, " What good is going to come from this", don't answer just give it some time and look back and the answers will bring you down some paths of humility and self-enlightenment.

     I have been working endlessly on trying to make the lives of my girlfriend, her children, and myself as stress- free and painless as humanly possible. My girlfriends children have just lost touch with the only extended family that they have ever known. Due to family feuding and a lasting court battle the kids will not be able to understand all the details but will have to live with the decision made from necessity and hindsight.

     I don't think that it is fair for people to use alcohol as an excuse for bad behavior. I also feel that it is both morally and socially unacceptable for a grandparent to come in and disrupt the lives of both their children and grandchildren. I also feel it unnacceptable to infringe on the rights that we all have as parents to teach and sometimes punish our children in our own home by undermining our authority.

     This is just a small portion of the issues that I have had to deal with on a regular basis. I am tired of life going around in a circle kickin me in the ass just as I am getting on my feet. I am trying to change in a world that is vastly different to the world I knew just a few short months ago. I want to do something that matters and something that has a lasting affect in the decision making process in our government. I propose and would like help on obtainiing information regarding funding for starting an organization to inform the people of new laws and possibly help to change some of the laws in my state.

     The founding fathers made our constitution over 200 years ago. Since then the laws have been twisted to benefit the rights and priveleges of large corporations, government officials, judicial employees, criminals, and repeat offenders. Victims with their limited amount of rights ( many of which in a moral standpoint should be considered victims but are not in a legal standpoint ) can't get the proper assistance from a branch of the government who only does what they feel is neccessary not even according to law in some cases. Things need to change. This is supposed to be a government " by the people, and for the people". I want a to be heard, a voice; not cast aside and disreguarded, because my family and I are important to someone, mabey not everyone, but someone just the same.

     I am going to do something that will change the community that I live in so that life can continue to go around in an upward spiral. With each rotation it goes up to the next level, not around on a flat plain knocking youu down never to fully stand on your own. I am open to suggestions for community and county developement projects if your willing to offer any ideas. Thank you.

     Who is responsible when the prosecutor does not file charges where their is evidence pointing to an act beyond any reasonable doubt? Newaygo County, MI.

To put it in a brief description would add only to the context of Injustice. There are so many cases or incidents in our judicial system of government at both the State and county levels, of misrepresentation and selective prosecution. If you research " selective prosecution " you will find cases of prosecutors that choose not to prosecute based on a civil rights statute. You will not find cases like mine where a prosecutor pursues a case of one suspect for a crime but not another person who has admitted to committing the exact same crime against another person regarding the same incident.
Let me give you a little background information on what I am talking about.
My girlfriend and I were at a birthday party for her sisters' daughter who had just turned one year old. Their family showed up late for the party, and brought alcohol with them. We had all had a previous discussion on them not drinking any alcohol at the party because of how they get when they are drinking. Not to mention the fact that it was a birthday party for an infant.
Around 7:30 p.m. that evening my girlfriends brother was leaving. He rang the doorbell and went to his girlfriends car and started ripping off the spark plug wires. My girlfriend and her soon to be brother-in-law went to see what was going on. Her brother-in-law got into a scuffle with her brother. Her brother had left after the attack had subsided.
At around 8:00 p.m. Her brother came back trying to attack their sister. My girlfriend grabbed him to stop him from attacking. They went down on the sidwalk with him on top of her punching her in the head. Meanwhile my girlfriends sister and their mother were in the same position. My girlfriends' mother repeatedly punched and slammed her sisters head into the sidewalk.
I came downstairs and pulled my girlfriends' brother off from her. I held him down on the sidewalk so she could get up. The next thing I knew was that his mother was attempting to drive her truck up on to the sidewalk to run me over. I pulled him out of the path of the truck which had now been sitting on the sidewalk. His mother then tried to use the rearview mirror of the vehicle ( which she had removed ) as a weapon to get me away from him. My girlfriend grabbed the mirror and while handing it to her sister, I was attacked by her mother. Soon after the fight broke up and my girlfriends' sister was on the phone with 911.
The police took statements listing myself, my girlfriend, her sister, and her sister's fiancee as victims. My girlfriends' brother and mother were listed as supects. We had all filled out written statements regarding the events of that evening.
That night the police officer took my girlfriends brother to jail for assaulting their soon to be brother-in-law, but he did not go to jail for assaulting her. The case was submitted to the prosecutors office for review. The prosecutor reviewed the incident for three weeks not launching another investigation but just sitting on it till they had to make a decision. Their decision was that they were not pressing any charges on my girlfriends behalf and they were not going to file charges on her mother for her actions.
ICING ON THE CAKE
After my girlfriends brother had been through the court process and pled not guilty, the four victims listed in the report (myself included)were subpoenaed to appear for his bench trial. The prosecutor then gave him one last chance to plead guilty before they were going to send it to a jury trial with an amended charge for him assaulting his sister. He decided to proceed with the amended charges.
That day the prosecutor said that they were not going to file charges on my girlfriends mother even though she admitted to commiting a felony.
The next day my girlfriend recieved an instant message from her other brother (one who was not involved in the incident) requesting that she do everybody a favor and commit suicide. He also made threats stating that he wanted to fight me and my girlfriends soon to be brother-in-law.
The prosecutor has not and refuses to do their job. If anyone out there knows of a way to get them to do their job you can e-mail me at matt_baker82@yahoo.com. Thank you.