Justice system no longer functioning in our country
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In My Humble Opinion
Jodi McDade
I am sorry to say, but, in my opinion, we no longer have a functioning justice system in our country. Courts have fallen to the pressure of politics, vendettas and personal motives.
On Monday a small semblance of sanity stepped in when an appeals court lowered the $454 million bond that New York Attorney General Letitia James was requiring from Donald Trump or she would seize all of his assets.
A judge (no jury) had found former President Trump guilty of overestimating the value of properties that he had used as collateral for bank loans – in other words, he had committed fraud. No bank or organization that Trump had done business with had complained or brought any complaints or lawsuits against him – the lawsuit was from Ms. James who had been promising to bring Donald Trump down since 2018! We all need to realize that, with this conviction, we can all become targets of anyone not liking us.
When we go to the bank to take out a loan to buy a house, refinance a house, or take out an equity line of credit on our home, there is generally a requirement for an appraisal. The bank, mortgage company, or other lender then makes the decision if the value of the property is in line with the amount of the loan requested. Then, of course, we are expected to pay it back or the bank comes after us!
But in THIS case; the bank, or other lenders who President Trump has been doing business with for years; did not file any type of complaint, even testified to the judge that their dealings had always been in order, that they made money from the loans to Trump, and there was no wrong doing.
So why was the value of Mar-A-Lago determined by the judge to be only $18 million? He based it on the valuation from the Palm Beach County tax appraiser’s valuations, which ranged UP TO $37 million. But the tax appraiser’s value was based on the fact it is a PRIVATE club and taxed based on its net operating income – not on resale value or reconstruction cost.
Real estate agents in the Palm Beach area set the selling price for Mar-A-Lago could be between $300-$600 million and possibly as much as a billion dollars or more.
Mar-A-Lago was established as a national historic landmark in Palm Beach, Florida, in 1972 by the U.S. Congress. The estate was built from 1923-1927 and was owned by Marjorie Merriweather Post – the wife of E.F. Hutton. When Ms. Post died in 1973 she willed the property to the federal government to be used as a presidential/diplomatic retreat, but the government gave the title to the Post Foundation in 1983 because of the maintenance and security concerns.
Donald Trump bought the estate from the foundation in 1985 and used it strictly as his residence until 1995. The property was then designated as The Mar-a-Lago Club and fell under a business designation. The Trump Organization has also invested millions of dollars through many upgrades and additions since then.
Back to my questions. The main question is if an attorney general and a judge can do this to a man who is a billionaire and former president of the United States, what could the justice system do to you or me with no protection from the law?
How would you feel if a court filed a claim that you had overvalued your home – even though the lender was fine with it? Could they press charges against you for fraud when you had only been doing business with a willing and approving lender?
If you doubt that this has been a vendetta against Donald Trump by Letitia James, please Google some of her speeches since 2018 where she explicitly states her objective is to take him down. You can’t always believe what the media says, but you should be able to believe what comes out of someone’s mouth.
Think about it and decide how much you trust the justice system to guard YOUR rights.
Now I want to share something GOOD going on in Rockford. With the economy in the situation it is in there are many people who are struggling to pay their bills, buy their medicine and still be able to buy food to feed their families.
The increases in benefits that were put in place during the COVID-19 outbreak were rolled back even though the prices of goods were not reduced. Also, DHR in many areas has started a review of people receiving benefits to be sure they are financially eligible with the new guidelines. This has affected many people in Coosa County.
A small group from Rockford Baptist Church started putting out or sponsoring “Blessing Boxes” around the county to try to help those in need. From that, Manna Ministries of RBC came into existence and partnered with the Montgomery Area Food Bank (now the Heart of Alabama Food Bank) to provide more services for the people in Coosa County.
Manna Ministries is now one of the most active partners with the Heart of Alabama Food Bank and does monthly food drops in addition to the Blessing Boxes and a monthly community dinner at Rockford Baptist Church on the second Tuesday of each month. There is no charge for these services, and it is open to everyone in Coosa County.
This outreach is not limited to the members of Rockford Baptist Church and is not affiliated with any government organization. Volunteers from all areas of the county come together to help serve their neighbors who need a helping hand.
Manna Ministries is operated entirely on faith with donations from individuals and companies and has been able to provide a variety of food to 35-50 families at the food drops, 30-80 people for the community dinners and as many as 225 at the annual Thanksgiving Dinner.
Emergency service is available Monday-Wednesday by calling the church between 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. for an appointment.
If you know of someone in need of food assistance, and they are not able to contact the church, please let Manna Ministries know through their Facebook page or email mannaministries.rbc@gmail.com. Also, if you are interested in volunteering to help with their events, unloading deliveries from the food bank, or any other activities, please let them know.
I hope you have or will enjoy the activities of Holy Week – today is Good Friday, the day we remember the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and Sunday will be the celebration of Easter and His resurrection.