CHANGE IS POSSIBLE ONLY IF WE ALL GET INVOLVED

The City of Philadelphia, PA stole my identity

Ms. J — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 01:09:15 EDT

After being forced into homelessness and joblessness for three years now and counting, I was informed by an prospective employer that did a background check using information viewed at www.criminalsearches.com (a free national site) that I had a criminal background. Apparently, I'm told, the City of Brotherly Llove changed computer systems in 2006 and took court ordered expunged arrest records and not only keep it alive in their police computer system but also placed in online where it has been copied to potentially 32,000,000,000 background/criminal sites. This same court stuck a lien, also ordered by a judge to listed as satisfied as unsatisfied on all my credit reports. When I told the police department and the district attorney's office of their error, I was told that it was a mistake that has happened many times. In this case, I'm listed for the world to see as an arrestee for violence, drugs, terrortist threats, and other charges - even though I was found not guilty so that I could seek legal redress against the real criminals. City and State officials state that the damages to my reputation and economics mean nothing to them and it is not important that other Philadelphians be made aware of the magitude of their computer errors. I was dismissed with a letter from the Public Defenders to attach to my resumes and/or present to prospective employers.

In this horrible economy with so many out of work and everyone requesting background checks, they claim zero liability and refuse to act to make me whole. So I am labled for life since no one in authority claims to know how to remove this garbage from the many internet sites that copied or cloned this misinformation. Of course, I'm told the lien will drop off automatically in 2014 reducing my ability to acquire an fair credit evaluation and any other financial service. In the meantime, when I apply for decent housing, I am refused and other than that one prospective employer, all of the more than 5,000 applications I have signed allowing them to do a background check, have either sent me a letter stating they chose to give the position to a better candidate without notifying me of the source of their information used for background/criminal checks. I'm told that Pennyslvania a full disclosure law that would notify anyone of who does the background check and where they found their information so that these errors could be prevented or corrected.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and City Council members Vincent Hughes and Louise Williams-Bishop(a church woman) hide behind a "sunshine law" allowing them to freely publish court records, whether they areexpunged or correct. Am I living in America! I was forced to return to Philadelphia after relocating to Florida to deal with this because court personnel don't have to deal with non-residents (I was born and raised in Philly) and I have had no success. Meantime, wages are not accumulating and my social security benefits will suffer. I am forced to seek housing with slumlords who charge me hundreds extra based on background informaion. Even my car insurance was raised $1,000 after a background check. And the big heads and little brained politicans won't answer my calls or visits and I'm told that I have to find and spend thousands on an attorney to clear my name and reputation.

This stinks!!! What happened to justice in the city where the constitution was drafted. Have we really become that naive that we are to believe the government can say or do anything without recourse to the innocent while true criminals walk free. Something is very wrong with this picture, yet the public laugh and point fingers at me protesting because most don't know that something as simple as a traffic ticket will put them on this same site. I'm embrassed to be considered a resident of this city and state and feel that all the state and city politicans should do their job and protect all innocent citizens. Unfortunately, they're still getting paid from my tax dollars of an excellent work history of 40 years and like the police have a wall of silence that theirfront desk staff members are the only ones to benefit from. I can only hope for God's blessing of strength while I am tramatized over and over. City of brotherly love, pay to play, and injustice.

If you had no idea that county, city, and state governments online databases may have leaked your personal information and disregarded your privacy as an American citizen under the constitution 4th and 14th Amendments, I strongly urge you to start researching at www.criminalsearches.com which is a 50 state dump for all such public records. I hope you will not find yourself on a website but if you do, you will have to repeat whatever process your local government has and hope that they do their job right, the second time.

I have also started a petition at www.change.org/criminal justice requesting a law for full consumer disclosure so that when someone does a background/criminal check, you are notified of who they are, the purpose of the check and what and where the information they used is. This way, you would have the opportunity to review and correct misinformation before it impacts your reputation and economics. Please take a moment to add your name to send letters to these politicals to let them know of the urgency of this matter. Thank you for your support.

RACE - AMERICA'S GREATEST ILLNESS

Ms. J — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:07:34 EDT

I must admit that I am a little angry and disappointed that Senator Barack Obama appears to appese the majority by not dealing with this race issue head-on. By the hand of the mighty Creator he is who he is regardless of skin color. Here today in 2008, I still cannot wear my hair natural or prefer to cover in clothes of color without being judged negatively because I'm Black. I have worked for more than forty years. Hell, when I started at 17 years of age, white women were going to college to find husbands, so they would not have to work. Yet when they and other minorities joined the workforce, their pay was elevated above my years of experience because of color. Every day I work in a county government office where the hieraracy is white is right, hispanic is in as long as they pretend that Blacks are invisible or they serve as overseer and racial discrimination is not allowed to be talked about, yet is practiced in everything from work assignments to pay and benefits. Having become homeless this year as a result of cancer and the cost of recovery, I'm told in Orlando Florida that I don't deserve work or a job with benefits because I'm black, I'm over experienced, too old (50) and must submit to drug tests and credit checks, all stumbling blocks for Blacks more so than others, and that I don't want to work for my living. I am a wage slave and haven't received more than a twenty five cent a hour raise over each of the last ten years and I'm told that my misfortune of housing costs over half of my income and food and healthcare are inaccessible because I am black. I am sick of everyone who deny the impact that racism in America has had on the Black male and female, how systems were and are still in place to corrupt the Black family, prevent the accumulation of wealth by lack of access to loans and other tools including inherited wealth and education and I would challenge any American of immigrant origin to start with nothing over and over again while fighting the unjust and unequal systems Blacks live with every day. I hope the day and leadership comes when people like Barack Obama don't have to whitewash their presence to gain acceptance. After all, regardless, there will be a reality check and like it or not Black is a nondescription of who he has become and is. Let's forget color and strive to equal the playing field so all may reach their potential and are free to speak from their full pool of experiences.

FREEDOM AND CHANGE

Ms. J — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:20:03 EDT

By Ms. J - Jul 2nd, 2008 at 8:36 pm EDTAlso listed in: Philly For Obama | Women for Obama I'm not hating, I'm just stating...In my opinion....Black Men are leaders, providers, supporters and lovers. My six siblings and I are all over 50 years old and I spent my childhood in the Civil Rights Movement and at 11 years old was sent to integrate the all white school district without the fanfare of police or soldiers. I spent three years in a junior high school where each day I was spat upon, threaten with bottles, chains, bricks, beaten and not allowed to receive any grade above a "c". For this I was given the priviledge of attending a vocational school that most Blacks children would not qualify for. Blacks in my community disowned me and I never belonged to the white world.

I have spent most of my life fighting against human right injustices and frivilous wars including the War on drugs and poverty. I support Senator Obama not because he is Black but because he believes, as I do, that certain adversive situations created by men behaving badly between themselves, women and children and their quest for greed, can and must be changed. Yet, I spent an full two hours speaking last night with my brother. He is a Jehovah Witness whose religion denies his participation in politics. Because of this principle, he has not involved himself to even do his own research to find out what he needs to know about Obama. He states that he is waiting for God to correct all of the our wrongs by returning to a hand selected few. Like a large number of Black men, he disowns any personal responsibility towards any action to make the world of his wife, child and himself better. Yet, he quotes to me the many media misinformation minutes, rumors and negative judgements that he says colors his need for inaction. Obama is a fully responsible son, father and leader. As I told my brother, I can't fool myself into believing that Obama, upon election, will fix all the ills of this nation. That will require many people. But we will need a leader of character, integrity, and responsibility to plot the course. Black men must start to reform, without reliance on excuses, their behaviors, and their beliefs. Black men must stop living as victims and become warriors. Obama presents a good example of how to do this and with the help of others of like mind, we can make the necessary changes. So I challenge Black men especially to stand up, rise up and take responsibility for the ills that your actions and inactions have caused in this country. Once again, I want to see, before I die, men as the true leaders of reconstruction.....and as I told my brother, that opportunity starts with a vote for Obama....Amen... Reader Comments · Write a Comment on this Post · Comments RSS Here! Here! | Report to Admin Reply By Late To The Party: Toni Jul 2nd 2008 at 10:20 pm EDT I second that emotion. A third.. | Report to Admin Reply By GLO G Jul 7th 2008 at 10:53 pm EDT I give a third Amen to that. Ms. J. it saddens me that you had to endure the things you did. I hope that life became better for you. As one of Caucasian background, I am embarrassed because of my race for the oppression they lay on minorities of all kinds - including women. But - we are looking forward, and with Barack as our leader - he is the inspiration for many, blacks and whites, to be strong and push on for the right. - I was moved to post here for you and wish you well... as we work together for our country's future.. Yes we can! Content on blogs in My.BarackObama represents the opinions of community members and in no way should be interpreted as endorsed or approved by the campaign.