Occupy Movement Stretches, Breaks Envelope

Vietnam veteran Byron Barton is seen with family members in a July 2014 file photo

This is a story from my own neighborhood of West Seattle. Several years ago a local unemployed veteran named Byron Barton borrowed some $650K on his house (more than it was worth) and then had himself a stroke. Between him and his wife, they spent up all the money and then stopped making payments on the debt. So . . . guess what? The mortgage owner sold the property for payment of the debt and the home’s new owner moved to evict the Bartons.

But wait! Then a group called “SAFE” (Standing Against Foreclosure & Eviction) made THEIR move to blockade the house to prevent it from being repossessed, and Seattle’s high-profile Socialist City Councilmember, Kshama Sawant, fresh from her $15 minimum wage victory, endorsed the campaign to keep the Bartons in their home. After much stalling by the King County Sheriff’s Office and the City of Seattle, the house’s new owner took the case to King County Superior Court several weeks ago and forced the Sheriff to arrest the Bartons and remove them from the property.

Naturally, there was much sympathy for the Bartons around these parts, and much disgust for the mortgage banker, too, as well as banks in general, but in the end the Court decided, wisely I think, that just because you’re a disabled vet, and just because you’re friends with Kshama Sawant, it doesn’t entitle you to a bagful of free money and a nice house to live in, rent-free, for the rest of your life.

It was close there for a while, though.

See the Komo Story on the Barton Eviction

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3 Responses to Occupy Movement Stretches, Breaks Envelope

  1. DBP says:

    Here’s an out-of-date (!) update from the SAFE Web site. Seems like their train has run out of steam, too.

    http://safeinseattle.org/

    And here’s what the redoubtable Ms. Sawant had to say, in a videorecording:

    http://safeinseattle.org/?tb_video=kshama-sawant#prettyPhoto

  2. Rats In A Cage says:

    Great report. I like this part the most:

    “Naturally, there was much sympathy for the Bartons around these parts, and much disgust for the mortgage banker, too, as well as banks in general, but in the end the Court decided, wisely I think, that just because you’re a disabled vet, and just because you’re friends with Kshama Sawant, it doesn’t entitle you to a bagful of free money and a nice house to live in, rent-free, for the rest of your life.

    It was close there for a while, though.”

    🙂 🙂 🙂

  3. Jiggers says:

    These mother fuckers filed a new lawsuit against everybody two weeks ago. Bunch of fucking losers.

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