2007 Sept Oct

Because People Matter Progressive News and Views

September / October 2007

“War Made Easy”—How Presidents and Media Collude to Wage War By Dan Bacher

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acramento for Democracy, a chapter of Progressive Democrats of America, hosted the local movie premiere of “War Made Easy: How Presidents & Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death,” in July at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento with a large and enthusiastic crowd. Author Norman Solomon, on whose book the film is based, was joined by Assemblyman Mark Leno and Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, sponsor of Assembly Joint Resolution 36, the bill to bring the California National Guard home from Iraq, for a lively panel discussion after the movie. Christine Craft, Sacramento’s own progressive radio talk show host of “Talk City,” on 1240 AM moderated the discussion. The documentary exposes how corporate media and US presidents over the past 50 years have been partners in disinformation campaigns to promote a series of bloody, costly and unnecessary wars, including interventions in Vietnam, Central America, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq. Adapted from Solomon’s 2005 book, by Loretta Alper and Jeremy Earp of the Media Education Foundation, the film chronicles how presidents managed to sell war using the same Orwellian arguments with the help of a compliant media. Narrated by actor and activist Sean Penn, the film exhumes remarkable archival footage of official distortion and exaggeration from Lyndon Johnson to George W. Bush, revealing in stunning detail how the American news media have disseminated pro-war messages in one administration after another. The movie documents in a darkly humorous matter how presidential administrations claimed again and again they were seeking only peace, not conflict, while bombing thousands of civilians. The film features illuminating quotes from presidents about the US corporate state’s drive for war. “We still seek no wider war,” President Lyndon Johnson said as he escalated a war in Vietnam that resulted in the deaths of 3 million Vietnamese and more than 50,000 US soldiers. “The United States does not start fights,” said President Ronald Reagan, who engineered a war of genocide against the Mayan population of Guatemala wiping out 636 Mayan villages, along with military

Inside this issue:

Editorial.............................................. 2 Healthcare for All................................ 2 Impeachment—Not on the news......... 3 Media reform: a priority..................... 4 9/11 investigation needed................... 5 Talk City Radio................................... 6 Democracy Now!................................ 6 Mainstream media: too little, too late 7 Making a Movie.................................. 8 TV stations get report card................. 9 Films: “A Place Called Sacramento” 9 Journalism Ethics................................ 9 West Coast Diversity Summit.......... 10 Free Internet for Sacramento............ 10 Sacramento Area Peace Action......... 12 Big Media and the War..................... 13 Israel/Palestine reporting.................. 13 Book Review: Assault on Reason... 14 Calendar............................................ 15 Progressive Media............................. 16

Q & A discussion with author Norman Solomon after screening of “War Made Easy,” a film based on his book. From left to right, AM1240’s Christine Craft, Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, Assemblyman Mark Leno and Normon Soloman. Photo: Dick Wood

interventions in Nicaragua, El Salvador and other countries. These interventions resulted in thousands dead, a massive exodus of refugees, and the destruction of country infrastructures. “America does not seek conflict,” argued George H.W. Bush, the architect of Operation Desert Storm and the invasion of Panama. Yet another mass murderer supported by the corporate media. President Bill Clinton repeatedly bombed Yugoslavia and Iraq, killing thousands of Iraqis, mostly children, through his campaign of economic sanctions against Iraq, and claimed, “I don’t like to use military force.” George W. Bush, who advanced a “preventative war” by illegally invading Afghanistan and Iraq, told the world, “Our nation enters this conflict reluctantly.” By demonstrating how mainstream news has promoted endless war, the film dispels the notion of a liberal media propagated by right wing pundits. Solomon said when the news media finally starts entertaining the view that the war was based on lies, it is too late for the millions wounded and killed by the US military. “News media, down the road, will point out that there were lies about the Gulf of Tonkin or about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq,” said Solomon in the film. “But that doesn’t bring back any of the people who have died. When it comes to life and death, the truth comes out too late.” Reaction to the movie was favorable by the audience and panel members. “This film should be shown in every high school in America,” Craft said. Hancock also commented, “The propaganda techniques to wage war have been the same throughout our history. The question is how we inoculate our children against the propaganda.” Solomon encouraged screenings of the film throughout the country to revive and strengthen the anti-war movement. For more information: www.warmadeeasythemovie.org. Dan Bacher is an outdoor writer, alternative journalist and satirical songwriter in Sacramento.

Media Spin on Iraq: We’re Leaving (Sort of) By Norman Solomon Posted on “AlterNet” July 26, 2007

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n mid-July, a media advisory from “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” announced a new series of interviews on the PBS show that will address “what Iraq might look like when the US military leaves.” A few days later, Time magazine published a cover story titled “Iraq: What will happen when we leave.” But it turns out, what will happen when we leave is that we won’t leave. Urging a course of action that’s now supported by “the best strategic minds in both parties,” the Time story calls for “an orderly withdrawal of about half the 160,000 troops currently in Iraq by the middle of 2008. … A force of 50,000 to 100,000 troops would dig in for a longer stay to protect America’s most vital interests….” On Iraq policy, in Washington, the differences between Republicans and Democrats—and between the media’s war boosters and opponents—are often significant. Yet they’re apt to mask the emergence of a general formula that could gain wide support from the political and media establishment. The formula’s details and timelines are up for grabs. But there’s not a single “major” candidate for president willing to call for withdrawal of all US forces—not just See Solomon, page 11

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 Because People Matter September / October 2007 www.bpmnews.org because

People Matter

Volume 16, Number 5 Published Bi-Monthly by the Sacramento Community for Peace & Justice P.O. Box 162998, Sacramento, CA 95816 (Use addresses below for correspondence) Editorial Group: JoAnn Fuller, Charlene Jones, Jeanie Keltner Coordinating Editors for this Issue: JoAnn Fuller and Charlene Jones. Design and Layout: Ellen Schwartz Calendar Editor: Chris Bond Advertising and Business Manager: Edwina White Distribution Manager: Paulette Cuilla Subscription Manager: Kate Kennedy

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Editorial

JoAnn Fuller and Charlene Jones, Coordinating Editors for This Issue

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s is characteristic of BPM, this issue brings you news and opinion not covered by corporate media. We focus particularly on media activities by community members doing what they must to find expression or contend with the misdirection of Big Media shaping public discourse. Do you feel the media isn’t telling the story, supplying diversity in art and analysis or covering important local issues? You aren’t alone. There is a vibrant media reform movement in our country that is making demands and

constructing their own media channels while mainstream broadcasters carry the party trustee line. Because People Matter is part of those proud independent efforts. If you like what we’re doing, please subscribe to BPM. For $20, the paper will be delivered to your door and you can be assured BPM will cover with a local slant what may interest you. Ever wanted to make a movie? We take you behind the scenes with local folks doing just that. Interested in broadening the issues presented

True Health Care Reform: Any News? By Elaine Corn

Then there’s the NuñezPerata plan, which sets up a purchasing pool only for businesses, doesn’t cover the selfemployed, and keeps private insurers in play, making it more like US Senator Ted Stevens’s bridge in Alaska—the Health Care Bill to Nowhere.

Beware the news story about health care reform that does not mention state Senate Bill 840, the only proposed law that would provide universal singlepayer health care to all Californians as a benefit of residence in the state. For example, a story ran in The Sacramento Bee (“Term limit measure lures health care donors,” 7-16-07) about health care providers contributing in a crisscross affair to term limits measures that would preserve the seats of those members of the state senate who would “hurt” the for-profit health care industry the least. As confusing as the story was, it did attempt to provide background about the health care reform plans swirling through the Capitol building halls. But the list was incomplete. Readers saw the governor’s big idea, erroneously billed as “universal” and with its mandate to buy insurance from industry Bigs. Then there’s the Nuñez-Perata plan, which sets up a purchasing pool only for businesses, doesn’t cover the self-employed, and keeps private insurers in play, making it more like US Senator Ted Stevens’s bridge in Alaska—the Health Care Bill to Nowhere. The story fails to mention the one plan that truly covers everyone, SB 840, Senator Sheila Kuehl’s cradle-to-grave health care for all Californians. Rarely do media mention the legs this bill has grown and the progress it continues to make. This past August, in a rare showing of elected officials representing the will of the people, SB 840 passed both houses, but was vetoed by the people’s governor. A snide observer might conclude this is precisely when Schwarzenegger got the idea he should come up with his own plan

so he could claim to have invented the concept. Perhaps SB 840 was omitted from The Bee’s story because it takes profit out of SB 840: health care for all California. health care, therefore making it pointless to note contributions to politicians who do not take money from private insurers, such as Kuehl. Remembering that this story linked lobmedical futures—and these two in office. byist donations to proposed reconfigurations of Who will carry the SB 840 torch after 2008? term limits, the writer also outlined how a Febru- And who among us will call out to the media ary 2008 ballot measure would tighten term limevery time health care reform is mentioned its, except for Nuñez and Perata. Unfortunately, without containing a discussion or sentence he missed a chance to note that Kuehl terms acknowledging that SB 840, the true universal out next year under current law. Could it be an single-payer proposal, is the answer. We all must accident that she won’t get the special treatment keep SB 840 alive and well. We must all be media singled out for Nuñez and Perata so they remain watchdogs. in their leadership positions? Nuñez would get More information: www.onecarenow.org/ six years beyond 2008, Perata four. Kuehl would index.html have to walk away. And the Health Care Bill to Nowhere would continue its journey to failed Elaine Corn is a freelance journalist with no policy, keeping profit safely entrenched in our health insurance.

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On the cover A small sampling of the many books and magazine articles which are calling for the impeachment of George Bush and Dick Cheney.

on local television? Check out the efforts of the Sacramento Media Group and others. Like to read about success stories? We have those, too. And there are stories reporting on efforts to bring health care for all, the costs of war, getting to the bottom of Sept. 11, impeachment and more. We introduce writers new to BPM this issue and deliver some of our seasoned regulars. Take a look for yourself and don’t forget; the calendar page lists upcoming events you won’t want to miss.

help out!  This is my opportunity to break into journalism and help get the truth out! I’ll help: Writing, Editing, Distributing, Proofreading, Anything! Name........................................................................................................................ Address.................................................................................................................... City............................... Zip........................ Phone.................................................. Email........................................................................................................................

Goodbye, Seth BPM is sad to say farewell to Seth Sandronsky, whose mordant observations have appeared in the paper almost from the start. His vigorous “Media Clipped” segment of the publication covered topics as wide ranging as economics, racism, education and gun violence. You will continue to find Sandronsky pieces on Dissident Voice, Counterpunch, and in the pages of The News and Review. We appreciated his careful editing and penetrating analysis and we will miss him.

www.bpmnews.org September / October 2007 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 

Impeachment Movement? Not on Mainstream News In addition, one of the By Charlene Jones

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indy Sheehan, founder of Gold Star Families for Peace and Camp Casey, led marchers in July from Arlington National Cemetery to the office of Congressman John Conyers, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, to ask him to begin impeachment proceedings against Vice President Dick Cheney and President George W. Bush. Sheehan’s contingent, while filled with names familiar to readers, is but one of a mounting number of less familiar actions and organizations across the country committed to addressing Constitutional grievances against the White House. Nonetheless, corporate media continue to dismiss, as did Rep. Conyers, the upsurge in American insistence on accountability by the Bush administration. Numerous city, county and state measures have been disregarded, according to Project Censored, a media analysis center at Sonoma State University, along with hundreds of letters to editors of major newspapers, opinion writers across the country and cover articles by national publications like The Nation and Harper’s Magazine. Sheehan also presented Rep. Conyers with a petition containing more than a million signatures, according to a July broadcast of public news program “Democracy Now,” with little mention in mainstream news. In addition, one of the most popular questions submitted on “Youtube” for the July presidential candidates’ debate dealt with impeachment, according to the Los Angeles National Impeachment Center (LANIC), and CNN chose to skip it. After Vice President Al Gore called “a president who breaks the law a threat to the very structure of our government,” PBS television’s McLaughlin Group spent a few minutes early this year on the “I” word but dismissed impeachment mentions as “a growing movement on the left trying to get some attention.” On a June airing of CNN’s “Situation Room,” Tom Foreman commented on Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s (D-OH) efforts to forward articles of impeachment against Cheney. “It’s hardly a mass movement, said Forman, “but the congressman from Cleveland is picking up a few new pals.” How about those pals? Nearly two years after Zogby International and Ipsos polls in 2005 reported more Americans wanted Congress to consider impeaching President Bush if he lied about the war in Iraq, than those who did not, the American Research Group surveyed the impeachment question again. More than four in 10 Americans favored impeachment hearings for President Bush and 54 percent favored impeachment of Vice President Cheney. As of June, 11 state legislatures had considered impeachment resolutions, according to LANIC, with Vermont succeeding in passage and Maine and Wisconsin still pending. The list of state Democratic parties that have passed resolutions urging impeachment of Bush and Cheney

most popular questions submitted on Youtube for the July presidential candidates’ debate dealt with impeachment, according to the Los Angeles National Impeachment Center, and CNN chose to skip it.

has grown to 15. At least 77 cities and towns and a growing list of labor unions and other organizations have also passed such declarations. According to “Democracy Now!,” the cosponsor list for H.R. 333, Dennis Kucinich’s articles of impeachment against Cheney, is now up to 15. While not a member of Congress who may join the list, Bruce Fein also called for proceedings to begin. Fein was deputy attorney general under President Ronald Reagan and columnist for the conservative Washington News. For an hour during a July PBS broadcast of “Bill Moyers Journal” he laid out reasoning for all good women and men to demand inquiry into possible crimes by Bush and Cheney against the American people. Fein praised “the great genius of the founding fathers, their revolutionary ideas, with the chief mission of the state to make you and them free to pursue their ambitions and faculties. Not to build empires, not to aggrandize government. That’s the mission for the state, to make them free, to think, to chart their own destiny. And the burden is on our government to give really good explanations as to why they’re taking these extraordinary measures. And on that score, Bush has flunked on every single occasion. And we need to get the American people to think. Every time that there’s an incursion on freedom, they have to demand why.” Advocating for formal hearings on the impeachment, Fein said, “Because there are political crimes that have been perpetrated in combination. It hasn’t been one, the other being in isolation. And the hearings have to be not into this Republican or Democrat. This is something that needs to set a precedent, whoever occupies the White House in 2009. You do not want to have that occupant, whether it’s John McCain or Hillary Clinton or Rudy Giuliani or John Edwards, to have this authority to go outside the law and say, ‘I am the law. I do what I want. No one else’s view matters.’” Impeachment? Though you’d never know, the prospect is more popular every day. It seems more than a few new pals are lining up. Charlene Jones is an editor with Because People Matter.

For information, organizing tools and petitions:

www.ipetitions.com/petition/moveontoimpeachment www.democrats.com/join-our-impeachment-group-on-facebook www.democrats.com/impeach-cheney-congressional-record www.impeachspace.com www.afterdowningstreet.org www.impeachbush.tv www.impeachpac.org www.bcimpeach.com

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California Democratic Party Impeachment Resolution, Adopted April 2007

CALLING FOR FULL INVESTIGATION INTO ABUSES OF POWER BY PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH AND RICHARD B. CHENEY WHEREAS, George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney have acted in a manner contrary to their trust as President and Vice President, subversive of the Constitution, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of California and the United States of America, by intentionally disseminating and propagating knowingly false and fabricated “evidence” regarding the threat from Iraq in order to wage a tragic, bloody war with the loss of thousands of brave American troops and Iraqi civilians, and WHEREAS, it is clear that since September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have abused their powers of office by: 1) using information they knew to be false as justification for the US invasion of Iraq; 2) condoning and authorizing the torture of prisoners of war; 3) authorizing wiretaps on US citizens without obtaining a warrant; 4) disclosing the name of an undercover CIA operative contrary to law in order to harm her for her husband’s opposition to the Iraq War; 5) having suspended and denied the historic Writ of Habeas Corpus by ordering the indefinite detention of so-called enemy combatants without charge and without access to legal counsel; and 6) overstepping Presidential authority by signing statements used to ignore or circumvent portions of over 750 Congressional statutes he brought into law; and THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the California Democratic Party supports vigorous investigation of these charges by the Congress of the United States, including the full use of Congressional subpoena power authority to completely disclose the actions of the Administration to the American people and to take necessary action to call the Administration to account with appropriate remedies and punishment, including impeachment.

 Because People Matter September / October 2007 www.bpmnews.org

Why Media Reform Should Be a Priority Community leaders and activists sound off

By Kari Westerman Since the beginning of the Bush administration and the ongoing battle of media ownership consolidation, independent media has been a refuge for people with dissenting views. It has allowed the questioning of power when no others would dare and has been a reassuring voice to concerned citizens, who may have thought they were crazy, in light of what they saw or heard on mainstream news. “The alternative media, over a period of years now has been available as a source of comfort for people,” said Eric Vega, lifelong Sacramento resident, Chicano activist and chair of La Raza Network. However, like many in the community, Vega feels that unless action is taken to create a hard-hitting local independent media, the progressive movement in Sacramento will not advance.

Sacramento Progressive Events Calendar on the Web

www.sacleft.org Labor, Peace, Environment, Human Rights, Solidarity… Send calendar items to Gail Ryall,gryall @cwnet.com.

If communities do not band together, and concern themselves with the importance of a vibrant independent media, progressive movements will operate in a vacuum. The success of alternative new broadcasts like “Democracy Now!” demonstrates a thirst for independent information and analysis on a national level, but it leaves reporting of local news to the corporate media. According to a study conducted in January 2004 by the Consumer Federation of America, the first source people rely on for their local news is newspapers and the second is television. Stephen Pearcy, Sacramento resident and attorney, organizes many political events and has witnessed the positives and negatives of local media coverage. “Once KCRA came down and did a live broadcast about 30 minutes before the start of an event, and we ended up with several hundred people, many of whom said they had just heard about it on TV. What that told me was that there are a lot of people who would come to these things if they just knew about them,” said Pearcy, giving an example of how important the local media is to a community, if used effectively as a tool of a social movement. “Part of the problem with local media is that a lot of the local groups don’t do their homework,” said Duane Campbell, professor

at California State University, Sacramento and chair of the Democratic Socialists of America. Campbell, with other democratic pioneers, is organizing a progressive forum for Oct. 4, 2007 at CSUS. One of the focal points will be media because media is an important part of a democracy, according to Campbell. Some of the workshops will be lessons in how to contact the press, write press releases and simple reporting. What can you do to help the enrichment of Without reform of current corporate media local media? institutions and the advancement of an inclusive  Write news stories and post them to media, the ability to disburse messages of peace websites like www.sacindymedia.org or submit and justice will not exist and the progressive them to Because People Matter. They don’t have movement will perpetually preach only to the to be investigative pieces, but can be about local choir. events or something not getting attention from “Every time there is a problem someone mainstream media. tries to create a new media instead of making the  Become a member at Access Sacraexisting one work better,” Campbell said. “It just mento and take a basic filmmaking class. After gets to a proliferation of low quality alternatives certification, borrow their swanky equipment and instead of some very high quality alternatives.” produce your own show for the local cable access Faye Kennedy, a Sacramentan who puts channel. Contact: 456-8600 or visit www.accesstogether the weekly online newsletter The Talking sacramento.org. Drum, said that she feels it is important to take  If reform is more your style, get involved action rather than whining about a problem. with Sacramento Media Group. Meet people who “It won’t benefit us unless we are involved on share concerns and do something about them. a ground level of defining how things are covContact: 443-1792 ex.11 or smg@commonered,” Kennedy said. “I think that all of us are cause.org. writers, all of us may not be journalists, but we  Use the mainstream media as a tool have the capacity to share our information with by writing letters and link to blogs. Support one another.” Kennedy thinks if the community alternative publications and websites financially! agreed to contribute to media reform and worked Without subscribers and monetary support, to expand a more inclusive outlet of news, the independent media could not exist. outcome would be favorable for all. If communities do not band together, and Kari Westerman is a member of Sacramento concern themselves with the importance of a Media Group. vibrant independent media, progressive movements will operate in a vacuum. If there is no accessible forum in which to share ideas and learn from each other, there is no capacity to move forward. “The progressive media can’t be the holder of truth, Actually many stands. They cleaned but it’s the holder of questions. It them up and painted them, and put is what questions power, and quesbeautiful new plastic in the windows. tions tradition and all of the monoBig thanks to Brian Lambert and Dan liths of the conservative project Harriman for their hard work. They’ve generals,” said Vega.

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www.bpmnews.org September / October 2007 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 

Needed: A Real Investigation For the Crime Known as 9/11 By David R. Kimball

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ccording to a May 2006 Zogby poll, 42 percent of the public believe the US government and its 9/11 Commission covered-up, concealed or refused to investigate critical evidence from the tragic events of Sept.11. Laying aside the mystique surrounding Sept.11, it was nothing more than a crime—the worst mass murder in American history—but just a crime. Nevertheless, the Bush regime and controlled media called it an “act of war.” No detectives of the New York City Police Department taped off this crime scene, took photographs or samples of chemical residues for analysis. No investigators gathered evidence and followed that evidence wherever trails led to find possible perpetrators. Bill Manning, editor of Fire Engineering Magazine, called the three-day, visual walk-through of evidence sites a “half-baked farce” in the January 2002 issue. Crime scene evidence was destroyed as rapidly as possible, and the steel shipped away. Immediately following this horrendous crime, while the nation was traumatized, Bush administration officials and their media spokespersons told the public it was Muslims with box-cutters who were responsible. No proof of this story’s veracity was ever given. Well over a year later, the 9/11 Commission was reluctantly formed, and its report, under Bush crony Philip Zelikow, simply substantiated the story it began with, and ignored vast amounts of evidence that did not fit its conclusions. According to research and sources available on the websites listed below, some of the most compelling questions and facts include: 1) It is Standard Operating Procedure to scramble jetfighters whenever a jetliner goes off course or radio contact is lost. Between

September 2000 and June 2001, jetfighters were scrambled 67 times. On Sept. 11, Flight 77 was in the air for nearly an hour without radio contact before the Pentagon was hit. F-15 and F-16 jetfighters are three to four times faster than a jetliner’s 600mph. Andrews Air Force Base is only ten miles from the Pentagon and Langley Air Force Base, 130 miles away. Where was the North American Aerospace Defense Command? Why were routine interception procedures for all four airplanes not followed on Sept. 11? 2) Firefighters in New York City are professionals, trained to fight all types of fires in skyscrapers. On Sept.11, they knew a mere jet fuel fire could not bring down steel and concrete structures, since such fires cannot approach the temperatures needed to weaken or melt steel. Consequently, they went into the World Trade Center Towers to rescue people and knock down the fires. New York Fire Department Battalion Chief Orio J. Palmer reached the impact zone of the South Tower on the 78th floor at 9:48 am and, according to a recording of his radio transmission, reported, “Battalion 7, Ladder 15, we’ve got two isolated pockets of fire. We should be able to knock it down with two lines.” El even minutes later, the South Tower began to explode. 3) About an hour to an hour and a half after the airplanes hit, each Twin Tower inexplicably exploded. Starting at the top and continuing downward for all 110 floors, each Tower was pulverized at a rate of almost 10 floors per second, killing everyone in each building. In about 13 seconds 90,000 tons of solid concrete in each Tower was turned to a fine dust in mid-air. There were no concrete boulders in the rubble. This dust spread out from the scene of destruction in a pyroclastic flow, like that following a volcanic eruption, and covered Manhattan. Huge pieces of steel were hurled laterally for hundreds of feet in all directions. Molten metal could be seen streaming from the side of the South Tower as it exploded, and the pile of rubble itself contained molten steel for weeks afterward.

Because justice has never been served, a dark cloud hangs over our nation, and will until there is an actual investigation into this crime.

This evidence points to the use of high explosives. Numerous eyewitnesses, including many emergency personnel, have testified to explosions in the Towers. These facts are all documented in photographs, videotaped evidence and video-

taped eyewitness statements. 4) A third skyscraper, WTC Building 7, a steel-framed 47 story concrete structure as big as a city block, 300 feet from the closest Tower, was not hit by an airplane or significant debris, and only a few small fires of unknown origin could be seen in its hundreds and hundreds of windows. At 5:20 pm on Sept.11, Building 7 suddenly imploded into its own footprint. It cascaded to earth in less than seven seconds in the manner of a controlled demolition. The implosion of WTC Building 7 was not even mentioned in the 9/11 Commission Report. Why should the mass murder known as “9/11” be treated as an exception for which the rule of law does not apply? Congress has never addressed its many anomalies. The American public wants and deserves an unbiased, independent investigation with the power to subpoena witnesses. This is not an unreasonable request. Moreover, the real perpetrators may still run free. Because justice has never been served, a dark cloud hangs over our nation, and will until there is an actual investigation into this crime. Contact your congressional representatives to let them know you expect to have this grievance redressed. Demand an investigation and work for an independent 9/11 truth commission. www.911truth.org www.patriotsquestion911.com www.tvnewslies.org/html/9_11_facts.html See calendar page 15 for meetings of Sacramento 9/11 Truth. David R. Kimball is active in the 9/11 truth movement. Stop at his information table at the Sunday Farmers Market at W and 8th Streets. The posters shown with this article are available on www.911truth.org.

Bugged by high gas prices? No problem! BPM has a volunteer job you can do from home. You don’t need a car, a computer or even much time: we need someone to update the local group meetings and radio programs listed in our paper. Call Ellen at 369-5510 for details.

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CAAC Goes to the Movies

Almost Every Month The Central America Action Committee shows interesting and informative videos on social justice, labor struggles, and so much more! Call to see what’s playing this month… WE ALSO HAVE A VIDEO LIBRARY YOU CAN CHECK OUT. 1640 9th Ave (east off Land Park Dr) INFO: 446-3304

 Because People Matter September / October 2007 www.bpmnews.org

Beyond Limbaugh

Talk City widens the dialogue By Jeanie Keltner

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ince we all know that what passes for left in corporate media is anything not extreme right, and because media helps create reality, it’s heartening to know these days radio discussion has widened beyond Limbaugh lines. Progressive talk radio is up against formidable opposition. Its ratings are great for the stage of growth it’s in; it has an audience. Although listeners may support progressive talk, advertisers are a different story. A leaked 2006 ABC radio network memo named 90 companies asking to be excluded from advertising on Air America, including Walmart, General Electric, ExxonMobil, Bank of America, VISA, Allstate and McDonalds, according to Extra!, January/February 2007, the magazine of Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting. Hardly surprising since the progressive critique most often comes back to the negative practices of corporations and global capitalism. For a brief time, our area had two AM stations competing for our lefty ears. The Air America station ended when the parent organization underwent financial crisis and, though Air America was reconstituted, our local Air America station was not resurrected. The FM dial has

for years had KVMR, KDVS and Access Sacramento’s “The Voice” as independent resources. And happily, on AM our area still has Sacramento’s first progressive station, the increasingly lively “Talk City,” KSAC 1240AM. I am farther left than many KSAC hosts, but still I enjoy their commentary and the useful info they put out. Talk radio is like the letters to the editor section of the paper. Even when I feel least congruent with the host, say Ed Schultz (9–12 am), I enjoy hearing what callers have to say. It’s always interesting and most often affirming to hear the voices of the “people”—all of us who capture the microphone only rarely, but who have informed opinions and many good ideas. Though she’s obstreperous and sometimes rude, I love Brooklyn-tough Randi Rhodes (noon–3 pm). She’s so well informed, so passionate, and so aware of the comic paradoxes of our tragic political situation that I tune in for a while almost every day. And dynamic Christine Craft (3–6 pm) has been an immeasurable practical asset to progressive activism in our area, always willing to discuss and announce upcoming

Talk radio is like the letters to the editor section of the paper.”

events, open to on-air discussion with visiting speakers, and ready to courageously stand up for people and causes, however popular they may or may not be. On Saturdays, I try to catch upbeat Peter Brixie’s “Ask-a-Lawyer” (9–11 am), a brilliant idea Brixie started on Access Sacramento. In these days of the $500/hour lawyer, his program helpfully navigates the important terrain where law affects ordinary individuals—landlord-tenant disputes, malpractice, custody—performing a true social service to us all. I also love hearing Robert Kennedy, Jr. and Mike Papantonio aggressively take on corporate crooks, polluters, hypocritical preachers and ugly politicians (Sat. noon–3 pm, Sun. 5–7 pm). There’s also travel and gardening, religion from a progressive point of view, Sam Seder and Arianna Huffington, the Young Turks, Steve Earle, Chuck D and “Radio Parallax.” Thank you for being there, TALK CITY! For a complete schedule: www.1240talkcity. com and www.fair.org for documentation of corporate media’s right-wing bias.

Democracy Now!

Saving our democracy one show at a time By W. Randy Haynes

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ournalist Bill Moyers, in his 2007 speech at the National Conference for Media Reform, called on people to “organize a campaign to persuade your local public television station to start airing ‘Democracy Now.’ ” Well, that was after he stopped gushing over Amy Goodman, award-winning journalist and host of the news program. Heeding Moyers’ call to action, Sacramento Progressive Alliance, the local affiliate of United for Peace & Justice, voted to actively encourage Sacramento’s PBS television station, KVIE, to add “Democracy Now! The War & Peace Report” to its broadcast schedule. Powerless at times when facing the world’s problems, this effort can further progressive change in Sacramento by working together to give “Democracy Now!” a wider audience. Goodman speaks for a large segment of the population who believes progressive views have

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been muffled and/or censored from the democratic dialogue. By putting progressive shows on cable public access stations, the sub-stations of satellite TV and late night time slots, liberal perspectives are seen unfairly, and as “alternative,” meaning that most of America automatically tunes out. As a consequence, America and its democracy are poorer in numerous ways. Information is the bedrock of any democracy. A full spectrum of thought is required for it to function properly, but that isn’t what most Americans get. Twenty percent of all Americans identify as liberal, according to the New York Times (6-26-07). When it comes to most issues, a large plurality agrees with progressive solutions. Yet, when one watches mainstream news, only centrist and conservative viewpoints are given, with very few exceptions. Liberals are cut out of the mainstream national debate. From war, health care and civil liberties, to election fraud and eroding democracy, it’s easy to see how the nation has been damaged by this omission in the public discourse. Viewers must be thankful to the dedicated people on public access stations, LINK TV, and FSTV; in no way does this local effort to bring “Democracy Now!” to KVIE intend to diminish their vital work. Information and news programming like Goodman’s would never have been heard without them. But they aren’t enough. The left can no longer accept marginalization. Full inclusion at the table of ideas is not something that will be offered; it will have to be demanded. It’s impossible to imagine conservatives allowing their views to be shunted to inferior venues and timeslots. Ron Cooper, executive director of Access Sacramento, used the phrase, “friends of Amy,” when speaking about the Moyers’ request and there is not a more fitting icon for progressive America than Goodman. Contact KVIE and let them know they are not meeting their stated purpose of reflecting “the community back to itself ” when it comes to news. Goodman’s “Democracy Now!” is too vital to Sacramento’s progressive community be marginalized.

In this 2005 photo, Amy Goodman and Ron Cooper, Executive Director of Access Sacramento, remind us that Access Sacramento airs “Democracy Now!” every weekday at 5am, 6pm and midnight. Photo: William Bronston

Email KVIE: [email protected] Contact Sacramento Friends of Amy: [email protected] or 956-0680. W. Randy Haynes is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Sacramento and Veterans for Peace, and a Board Member of Sacramento Progressive Alliance. He is the author of Cajun Snuff, the first book of the Adam Stephen mystery series. Murder by the Sacred Tree, his second novel, takes place in Sacramento and will soon be released.

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www.bpmnews.org September / October 2007 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 

Mainstream Media Too little, too late

By William A. Dorman

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ne thing that often confuses ordinary Americans about mainstream journalism is that they do, in fact, know about so many foreign policy misadventures of their government. Knowing about the Administration’s use of phony intelligence before the Iraq war or its outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame, they believe we have a “free” press. However, we learn of bad behavior only as history, long after the moment for political outrage and possible action has passed. Whether it’s learning about the CIA’s responsibility for overthrowing popular governments in Iran and Guatemala, or Chile, when it comes to foreign affairs, citizens who depend, say, on CBS or The New York Times have to make do with a

Good journalism has to be timely. It has to make connections, point out patterns, provide context and, beyond anything else, identify and clearly label villainy—and call for accountability. repeatedly delayed learning curve. The war with Iraq has been no exception. By the time the press informed us we’d been lied to about the reasons for invading Iraq, we were already focused on a new phase, occupation, which led to its own revelations that in turn came to be overshadowed by a ferocious civil war. To paraphrase Marshall McLuhan, we’re always looking at present and future American foreign policy behavior through the media’s rear view mirror. And even then, objects in the journalistic mirror aren’t presented nearly clearly enough to spark challenges to entrenched power. Yes, more than a year after the invasion, The New York Times (5- 26-04) came to apologize for its deferential reporting leading up to the 2003 Iraq war, and, yes, The Times, some four years after the invasion (7-8-07), finally called for an orderly withdrawal of the US from Iraq, and, yes, The Washington Post recently (7-14-07) reported in irrefutable detail how Cheney has used and abused power in unprecedented ways, breathtaking in their wrong-headedness. But look at how long these positions and revelations were in coming, and consider how short they still stop of saying what needs to be said. Good journalism has to be timely. It has to make connections, point out patterns, provide context and, beyond anything else, identify and clearly label villainy—and call for accountability. It’s hardly reassuring to reflect that here we are some thirty months into Bush’s second term, long after the extent of the Iraq disaster has become apparent, not to mention warrantless wiretapping, firing US attorneys and muzzling the Surgeon General, and not one major newspaper has called for his resignation or impeachment. By comparison, 17 months into Clinton’s second term, 25 US newspapers including the Wall Street Journal, had called for his impeachment/resignation, and by the following October, it was more than 115. It would appear that lying

about fellatio harms the interests of the nation William A. Dorman recently retired from a 40-year career at CSUS more than one might casually assume. More teaching government and media studies. He has published and lectured likely it’s the case that the press has no problem widely in this country and abroad, and is co-author with Mansour Farhang taking after a politico’s sex life. Questioning a of US Press and Iran: Foreign Policy and the Journalism of Deference president’s claims on WMDs is a different matter (U.C. Press, 1987). entirely. After the fact press coverage that refuses to label disastrous policymaking clearly for what it is affects popular opinion, which then, importantly, affects members of Congress. Given the lack of political courage in Congress to challenge the use of military force, the performance of the mainstream press takes on huge importance. Had the press done a better job in the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Democrats might have thought more than twice about voting for the October 2002 Joint Resolution authorizing use of force, particularly given that the public at the time widely favored diplomacy over force. Once that particular train left the station, it was virtually impossible to block Bush’s invasion. Why the press behaves as it does in the foreign policy arena is not a simple matter, but the crux of the problem lies not in a vast right wing conspiracy, but in the mix of nationalism, militarism and corporate capitalism. When it comes to foreign policy, the defining dimension in popular opinion (and therefore Congressional action) is nationalism. If an administration can convince people and elected elites that a policy is consistent with the national mythology, the corporate news and entertainment media is not going to risk the ire of its customers, witness ABC dropping Bill Maher’s “Politically Incorrect” for his controversial comment after 9/11. If the base audience favors a militaristic “my country right or wrong” mythology, mainstream journalism isn’t going to get in the way of the parade. Put another way, journalism simply is no match for mindless nationalism, journalistic careerism, and bottom-line corporatism. A friend of long experience as forFeb. 15 2003: “Elected Presidents’ Day” demonstration in San Francisco. Real eign editor at major news organizations journalists also criticize bad government! has said, “The average editor in the averPhoto: www.thomasalbert.com age newsroom, worried about appearing political, bends not toward the right, but away from the left, overcompensating for their natural proclivities [to speak the uncomfortable truth about government lies]. It’s a false system, as if they feel always under attack by the same claptrap voices that charge fair judges with being “activist” judges.” He goes on to say, “They have abrogated power to the O’Reilly’s of the world, which may be the reason that Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert speak to power so effectively. They fill the obvious void.” Some observers would have us believe that the Iraq disaster has been so obviously a policy wreck of historic dimension that mainstream journalism has finally learned lessons about official duplicity and imperial policymaking that it should have mastered much earlier. Given recent Bush Administration declarations about the US reserving the right to strike within Pakistan and Iran, we may get to test the proposition sooner rather than later.

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 Because People Matter September / October 2007 www.bpmnews.org

Making a Movie By Travis Silcox

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oesn’t everyone secretly, or not so secretly, want to make a movie? I’m just like the rest of the world, except as a teacher of film studies at Sacramento City College, I work with students every year to analyze films and learn about the movie-making process. Wasn’t it about time to try my hand at it? Access Sacramento, the local community media station, gave me my opportunity to write and produce a ten-minute film by means of its annual screenwriting contest, “A Place Called Sacramento.” In its eighth year, all the short films feature Sacramento in some way and

winners of this year’s contest will show their work on Oct. 7 at the Crest Theatre. My desire is to make films that speak to our social condition and give people a glimpse of how our world could be more just, thoughtful and fulfilling. I sure don’t want to make Hollywood films for a target audience of 11 to 17year-old boys and give them the same old recycled crap—violence, homophobia, racism, misogyny and the status quo. Producer Travis Silcox prepares actors Joe Concannon and David Philipp as I finished crew member Ellen Dillinger readies the clapper. principal phoPhoto: Dick Wood tography on my little film, I had to come up with a “story” that would incorporate “Entering the Booth,” and the these oral histories. whole process was empowerThe result was “Entering the Booth,” a trip into a ing, challenging and fun! But, fictional radio program that highlights people’s personal to quote George Bush, and you stories. Listeners to National Public Radio may find a need to read this with his fake resemblance to a radio program they hear broadcast. Texas whine, “It’s hard work.” Think of “Antiques Roadshow” coming to Sacramento, My screenplay was based but instead of featuring antiques we have real people on oral histories I conducted recounting their real lives for a national audience. with 35 people living in midThe backbone of my crew was a group of former City town Sacramento. I chose three College students who told me, if I wrote a screenplay and couples I thought would be was chosen, they would help me film it. Our cinematogmost compelling to audiences rapher and director was Rachel Bryant, currently studywho are unfamiliar with our ing film at the University of California, Davis. Other wonderful midtown vibe, peoformer students worked as assistant producer, make-up ple who could communicate Another take with Lyvonne and Robert Sewell (seated on the right). Director artist, still photographer and production assistant. The the essence of our diverse, proRachel Bryant (with camera) is assisted by Angela Ortner rest of the crew was experienced but developing skills gressive neighborhood. Next, Photo: Dick Wood by working on projects such as this one, and they were invaluable. Some things I learned to do that I’d never done before included: obtain a film permit from the Sacramento Film Commission, secure a liability bond to shoot on location, conduct auditions with experienced local actors, get extra gigabytes of RAM for my computer—and figure out what the heck that means—teach myself an editing program, plus cajole friends, students and family to give up weekends and evenings to work on, what must have looked like, a harebrained project. When everyone showed up on time, technology worked with you, not against you, and the cast David Philipp and Joe Conannon relax before filming as “Entering the Booth” director, producer and crew set up.

Rachel Bryant, film director, readies her shot. Photo: Dick Wood

See Movie Magic, page 9

Photo: Dick Wood

TV Stations Get Report Card Local stations rated on election coverage By JoAnn Fuller

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efore the general election in 2006, the Sacramento Media Group met with local television station managers to discuss their plans for election coverage—a critical part of a broadcaster’s mandated obligation to serve the public interest—and encouraged them to meet the national TV election coverage broadcasting guidelines developed by the bipartisan Presidential Advisory Committee on Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters. SMG then monitored the stations’ news programs and evaluated their performance in providing informative coverage of the candidates, their positions and ballot measure issues. The monitoring study showed only one Sacramento station, Channel 3, met the recommended minimum standard of five minutes per night of election-related coverage during the month before Election Day. During the fall, the five local stations received an estimated total of $32 million in revenues from election-related political advertising. Advertising rates ranged as high as $10,000 for a single spot. Yet it appeared most stations spent a small fraction of their earnings to inform voters about

their choices. The content of the news was also a disappointment. Based on the monitoring, the race for governor received the most coverage, even though the race was not competitive during the final month, according to the “California Election Survey” of the Rasmussen Reports, October 2006. Only 13.8 percent of the coverage focused on congressional races and a mere 1.6 percent on state legislative races. Viewers were six times more likely to see a campaign ad than an election news story. Unfortunately, two of five local stations, Channels 10 and 19, refused to meet with SMG representatives or provide summaries of their plans for election coverage. This was particularly noteworthy given that in 2006 all California stations were to apply for re-license by the Federal Communications Commission, which requires stations to invite public comment on their activities. Yet these two stations denied community members from SMG an opportunity to exchange views. Nor did SMG receive any written response regarding the stations’ plans for election programming. Neither station gave any rea-

Viewers were six times more likely to see a campaign ad than an election news story. son for denying the requests. The 2006 election report, as well as the first SMG election report from 2004, summarizing advocacy and monitoring activities with all five local television stations that broadcast to the greater Sacramento region are available at www.commoncause.org/CA. SMG will continue to encourage local broadcasters to broaden efforts to meet public interest obligations and monitor programming. SMG also asks community members, media professionals and reform activists to join their work to make available more substantive, locally produced public affairs programming. An informed electorate and a vibrant democracy depend on it. Contact SMG: [email protected] or call 443-1792 ex. 11. JoAnn Fuller is a member of Sacramento Media Group and an editor with Because People Matter.

www.bpmnews.org September / October 2007 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 

Movie Magic

from page 7

and crew enjoyed themselves, it was pure pleasure. My hope is that more Sacramentans, with alternative visions of what film can provide and provoke, will take up the pen and the camera. Cinema has the power to be transformative. While Hollywood uses it to stupefy the population, film can be a tool to liberate, question and broaden. I know I’m not alone in seeing the potential of local cinema. Many of the other films in “A Place Called

Sacramento” this year take on topics both surprising and intriguing. Come see the fruits of our efforts and be inspired to make a movie of your own. For more information about “A Place Called Sacramento” premiere, go to www.accesssacramento.org

My desire is to make films that speak to our social condition and give people a glimpse of how our world could be more just, thoughtful and fulfilling.

Travis Silcox teaches English and film studies at Sacramento City College.

Actors and crew making movie magic happen. Photo: Dick Wood

Emmy and Joe Gunterman listen to direction from Travis Silcox as director Rachel Bryant and sound engineer Chris Terry prepare. Photo: Dick Wood

A Place Called Sacramento By Ron Cooper

For the eighth year, Access Sacramento celebrates its one-of-a-kind scriptwriting and short film production project for local writers and producers. PCS challenged local scriptwriters to create ten-minute scripts about the people, places and events that make the Sacramento community such a distinctive place to live. A panel of local professionals reviewed all entries and 10 were selected for volunteer production.

Access Sacramento announced the chosen filmmakers at its May “Cast & Crew Call.” From a community pool of talent, production teams were formed and ten films were produced during the summer months. To assist in the writing and production of the scripts, a series of workshops are held at the Coloma Center throughout the spring, providing professional training in PCS scriptwriting, production planning, acting for the camera, low budget production and post-production techniques. After months of hard work and great fun, the filmmakers and Access Sacramento invite the public to see the completed films, one day only, Sunday, October 7

“Quentin Sacramento” is the mascot for PCS. He has done films such as “The Good, The Bad, and the Sushi,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sunfish Kid,” and “Gone with the Swim,” and “The Maltese Scallop.”

at the Crest Theater, 1013 K St., starting at 1pm. Tickets to the festival are $10 a person, open seating. In the seven years of PCS, 69 short films have been created. To view films completed for the 2004, 2005 and 2006 PCS film festivals, go to the website, www.accesssacramento.org. Access Sacramento is a nonprofit organization dedicated to using community media to build better communications between individuals and groups in Sacramento County. With television studio, radio and television production equipment, media lab, mobile production truck, and other gear, Access Sacramento trains and manages volunteers and shares their work on cable radio and television channels 17 & 18. Ron Cooper is Executive Director of Access Sacramento.

Journalism Ethics in the Digital Age

By Ian Kesseler

I know people’s perceptions of the media just by reactions I get when I tell them I’m studying journalism. I’m about to move away to study journalism at San Francisco State University, so I’ve had this conversation a lot lately. Some offer a hopeful smile and an encouraging word about this new generation of media meddlers dabbling in online journalism; how bloggers remind us what a free press really is. Others give me a sideways glance, sometimes a little sneer, and remind me how corrupt and slanted journalism has become. I understand both perspectives, but either way the conversation always comes back to ethics. I guess that shouldn’t surprise me after all the hits journalism has taken in recent years with fabulists, plagiarists and guys like Armstrong Williams. Remember him? He took a large sum of cash from the government to promote a presidential policy in a format designed to look like mainstream news coverage. Of course they sneer. Unfortunately for Williams and other journalists, all that money can’t buy back trust. As an editor for the Sacramento City College newspaper The Express, I spent a lot of time adapting

to change. I learned a new writing style, worked with photographers switching from film to digital formats, found a way to take print copy to the Web. One thing that hasn’t change, despite evidence to the contrary, is journalistic ethics. Sure, it seems fewer writers are sticking to them, but it’s not because these principles are changing with everything else in the industry. In fact, it’s the one thing that never needs to change. We know the payola puff pieces written by Williams are still the exception but the basic American journalistic principle of fair and comprehensive coverage may have eroded with the freedom the Internet offers. Newsrooms today are forced to compete with anyone who has a keyboard and Internet access, writers who don’t answer to editors, writing about whatever suits them, often without sources or consequences. Blogs on both sides of the political spectrum are havens for strongly slanted journalism. Although the passion bloggers have for their subjects is vital to exercising First Amendment rights, it’s easy to see the damage they may cause the credibility of journalists playing by the

I look forward to making changes technology has yet to bring to the newsroom, but I’m keeping the best part of my community college education, ethics.

rules. Don’t believe me? What’s the first phrase that pops into your head when I mention “The Drudge Report?” Exactly. As I look forward, I’ve also been looking back. The classroom didn’t teach me only how to write like a journalist, it taught me to work like one, too—to report the facts as fairly and objectively as possible. It taught me to do my homework before making accusations and that a story that doesn’t represent all sides of the argument isn’t one worth telling. That’s as basic to journalism as clear sentence construction. When an inexperienced writer or blogger forgets the importance of responsible reporting, it adds to the frustration of the public, and to the sneers I get. As newspapers continue to merge into one giant media conglomerate and the people’s faith in the mainstream media continues to crumble, finding a job that keeps me ethically grounded and happy will become more difficult. I look forward to making changes technology has yet to bring to the newsroom, but I’m keeping the best part of my community college education, ethics. If I can do anything in my career to promote those ideals, I’ll be able to hold my head high when I tell someone I’m a journalist. If I can do that, maybe I’ll get a different response when someone finds out what I do. Ian Kessler is former editor in chief of The Express, Sacramento City College.

10 Because People Matter September / October 2007 www.bpmnews.org

Some of the Places You Can Find BPM Sacramento Area Coffee Works Crest Theater Dimple Records, Arden Wy Dose Coffee Shop Flowers Restaurant Galleria (29th & K) Grinders Hart Senior Center Lido Cafe Light Rail: 65/Folsom 2nd Ave/Freeport Los Jarritos Luna’s Cafe & Juice Bar Mercy Hospital, 40th/J Pancake Circus, 21st/ Broadway Planned Parenthood: Franklin Blvd, Watt Ave., 29th St. Queen of Tarts Quick Market Sacramento Bagel, 47th/H Sacramento Natural Foods Coop Sacramento Public Library (Main & many branches) Sargent Coffee House (Alhambra & M) Starbucks (B'wy & 35th) The Beat Time Tested Books Tower Theater (inside) Tupelo (Elvas & 57th) Underground Books (35th St. near B'way) Weatherstone Coffee Chico Area Davis Bogey’s Books Espresso Cafe Roma Davis Natural Food Coop Newsbeat University Mall Greenhaven area Buckthorn’s Coffee, 7465 Rush River Dr Nevada City US Post Office Where would you like to see BPM? Let Paulette Cuilla know, 422-1787.

First West Coast Diversity Summit By Michael R. Gorman

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crime, thought a thing of the past in Sacramento, shocked this capital city of California on July 1, 2007. Satender Singh was assaulted in a hate motivated crime while picnicking with friends at Lake Natoma. It was reported the attackers spoke Russian and English and shouted “sodomite” and other antigay invectives prior to killing Singh. They spewed racist threats at Satender’s Fijian and East Indian friends, while calling themselves God’s people. But it was the man they observed to be gay whom they targeted for violence.

On the day that would have been Singh’s 26th birthday, the summit faced hatred turned deadly. Now people were listening. Sacramento community leaders decried the death as a consequence of escalating anti-gay hatred by militant members of Slavic Christian Churches in the area, encouraged by American fundamentalists who sponsor many Slavic immigrants to the country and are on hand to blame

the gay community. How do good people respond to hatred? That was the question posed at the First West Coast Diversity Summit in late July at midtown Sacramento’s Trinity Cathedral. The event, planned to address rising homophobia, originated with gay activist Nate Feldman, who has documented the rise of anti-gay protests with his video camera and a “YouTube” account. Certain Feldman was an alarmist and protests would whither under the heat of recent gay rights victories, few had listened. On the day that would have been Singh’s 26th birthday, the summit faced hatred turned deadly. People were listening. Attendance at the meeting was a picture of diversity with the Druid who gave the opening address to the translated speech by a Slavic Christian pastor doing his best to edge out of a homophobic paradigm. Representatives from the gay-supportive Asian Pacific League, Slavic Community Services, La Raza, NAACP, Sacramento Grove of the Oak, Spiritual Life Center, Pagans, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, atheists, politicians, street activists and others of all backgrounds

came together to speak of peaceful co-existence in, what Time magazine called, the nation’s most diverse city. As Sacramento goes, summit participants were aware, so goes the nation. With this death and the consequential summit, Sacramento became ground zero. Singh was the canary in the mine, the Druid summarized. Our model of response must be the natural forest where diversity is the very foundation of health and growth, and homogeneity means death. For more information: www.satendar.com Michael Gorman is a Sacramento poet and writer.

Success! Free Internet for Sacramentans! By JoAnn Fuller Thanks to a group of dedicated citizens, Sacramento will soon be able to log on to free Internet service, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at a speed fast enough to be useful. The Sacramento City Council negotiated a contract with a WiFi Internet Service Provider providing just that. Within two years, people should be able to use the Internet wherever they are within the city limits. Those using computers inside a building may need a special device to boost the signal, but those are inexpensive and easily installed. This means individuals who couldn’t access the general information, employment opportunities or cheaper shopping offered online because of service costs, now will be able to log on free of charge. Families with children can ask about

 



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Within two years, people should be able to use the Internet wherever they are within the city limits. their child’s homework, researchers can travel the world for the latest information, and small businesses can expand their customer base with virtually no expense. How did all this happen? The Sacramento Media Group, along with Ruth Blank of the Sacramento Community Regional Foundation, Ron Cooper of Access Sacramento, Ann Lucas of the Nonprofit Resource Center and we at California Common Cause, spearheaded a coalition of 60 nonprofits to lobby the City Council to help bridge the digital divide that prevents some community members and families from accessing Internet services. Plans are also going forward to obtain refurbished computers and other equipment, and training to those who need them. This success in Sacramento comes as Free Press, a media reform advocacy group, issued a report titled “Shooting the Messenger,” that documents how the US has fallen behind in Internet use. Once in the lead, the country is now ranked 15th in deployment and adoption of affordable broadband services. In addition, the service most pay for is painfully slow and expensive. For example, Japanese connections are a dozen times faster than those offered in the US and access is much cheaper. What happened to the US Internet lead? Paul Krugman in The New York Times (7-3-07)

explains it simply as bad policy. The US is falling behind because other countries used judicious regulation to promote competition. At the most, customers in the US have a choice between a cable monopoly and phone monopoly for Internet service. The price is high, the service is poor, but there’s nowhere else to go. If you are interested in community media issues and media reform, contact Sacramento Media Group: [email protected] or 443-1792 ex. 11; www.freepress.net> JoAnn Fuller is Associate Director of California Common Cause and an editor with Because People Matter.

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www.bpmnews.org September / October 2007 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 11

Solomon

from page 1

“combat” troops—from Iraq, or willing to call for a complete halt to US bombing of that country. Those candidates know that powerful elites in this country just don’t want to give up the leverage of an ongoing US military presence in Iraq, with its enormous reserves of oil and geopolitical value. It’s a good bet that American media and political powerhouses would fix the wagon of any presidential campaign that truly advocated an end to the US war in—and on—Iraq. The disconnect between public opinion and elite opinion has led to reverse perceptions of a crisis of democracy. As war continues, some are appalled at the absence of democracy while others are frightened by the potential of it. From the grassroots, the scarcity of democracy is transparent and outrageous. For elites, unleashed democracy could jeopardize the priorities of the military-industrial-media complex. Converging powerful forces in Washington—eager to at least superficially bridge the gap between grassroots and elite priorities—are likely to come up with a game plan for withdrawing from Iraq without withdrawing from Iraq. Scratch the surface of current media scenarios for a US pullout from Iraq, and you’re left with little more than speculation—fueled by giant dollops of political manipulation. In fact, strategic leaks and un-attributed claims about US plans for withdrawal have emerged periodically to release some steam from domestic antiwar pressures. Nearly three years ago—with discontent over the war threatening to undermine President Bush’s prospects for a second term—the White House ally Robert Novak floated a rosy scenario in his nationally syndicated column that appeared on Sept. 20, 2004. “Inside the Bush administration policy-making apparatus, there is strong feeling that US troops must leave Iraq next year,” he wrote. “This determination is not predicated on success in implanting Iraqi democracy and internal stability. Rather, the officials are saying: Ready or not, here we go.” Novak’s column went on to tell readers: “Well-placed sources in the administration are confident Bush’s decision will be to get out.” Those well-placed sources were, of course, unnamed. And for good measure, Novak followed up a month before the November 2004 election with a piece that recycled the gist of his Sept. 20 column and chortled: “Nobody from the administration has officially rejected my column.” This is all relevant history today as news media are spinning out umpteen scenarios for US withdrawal from Iraq. The game involves dangling illusionary references to “withdrawal” in front of the public. But realities on the ground—and in the air—are quite different. A recent news dispatch from an air base in Iraq, by Charles J. Hanley of the Associated Press, provided a rare look at the high-tech escalation underway. “Away from the headlines and debate over the ‘surge’ in US ground troops,” AP reported on July 14, “the Air Force has quietly built up its hardware inside Iraq, sharply stepped up bombing and laid a foundation for a sustained air campaign in support of American and Iraqi forces. In contrast to the spun speculation so popular with US media outlets like Time and the PBS “NewsHour,” the AP article cited key information: “Squadrons of attack planes have been added to the in-country fleet. The air reconnaissance arm has almost doubled since last year. The powerful B1-B bomber has been recalled to action over Iraq.” This kind of development fits a historic pattern—one that had horrific consequences during the war in Vietnam and, unless stopped, will persist for many years to come in Iraq. Assessing the distant mirror of the Vietnam War, the narration of the new documentary “War Made Easy” (based on my book of the same name) spells out a classic White House maneuver: “Even when calls for withdrawal have eventually become too loud to ignore, officials have put forward strategies for ending war that have had the effect of prolonging it—in some cases, as with the Nixon administration’s strategy of Vietnamization, actually escalating war in the

name of ending it.” antiwar movement has an enormous amount of Between mid-1969 and mid-1972, American grassroots work to do—changing the political troop levels dropped sharply in Vietnam—while terrain of the United States from the bottom the deadly ferocity of American bombing spiked up—before the calculus of political opportunism upward. in Washington determines that it would be more The presence of large numbers of US troops expedient to end the US occupation of Iraq than in Iraq during the next years is a likelihood to keep it going under one guise or another. fogged up by fanciful media stories asserting— without tangible evidence—that American troops Norman Solomon is author of War Made will “pull out” and the US military will “leave” Easy, How Presidents and Pundits Keep SpinIraq. The spin routinely glides past such matters ning Us to Death. as the hugely militarized US embassy in Baghdad, the numerous permanent-mode US bases in Iraq, and the vast array of private—and often paramilitary—contractors at work there courtesy of US taxpayers. And there’s the rarely mentioned prize of massive oil reserves that top officials in Washington keep their eyes on. The matter of US bases in Iraq is a prime BPM needs help dropping stacks example of how events on Capitol Hill have scant of BPMs at locations around town. effects on war machinery in the context of outCall Paulette at (916)422-1787. of-control presidential power. “The House voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to bar permanent United States military bases in Iraq,” the New York Times reported on July 26. But the war makers in the nation’s capital still hold the whip that keeps lashing the dogs of war. As the insightful analyst Phyllis Bennis points out: “The bill states an important principle opposing the ‘establishment’ of new bases in Iraq and ‘not to exercise United States control of the oil resources of Iraq.’ But it is limited in several   ways. It prohibits only those    bases which are acknowledged to be for the purpose of per  manently stationing US troops in Iraq; therefore any base constructed for temporarily stationing troops, or rotating troops, or anything less than an officially permanent deployment, would still be accepted. Further, the bill says nothing about the need to decommis    sion the existing US bases        already built in Iraq; it only prohibits ‘establishing’ military       installations, implying only new ones would be prohibited.”   Despite all the talk about        how members of Congress            have been turning against the    war, few are clearly advocating                  a genuine end to US military                       intervention in Iraq. Media      outlets will keep telling us that          the US government is develop              ing serious plans to “leave”                 Iraq. But we would be foolish                to believe those tall tales. The

HELP BPM GET THE WORDS OUT!

  



         

12 Because People Matter September / October 2007 www.bpmnews.org

Sacramento Area Peace Action

We Can Make Congress Really End the Wars on Iraq and Afghanistan in September—if they get the message. This September, Congress will have yet another opportunity to stop funding the disastrous war against Iraq. As of Aug. 1, this war has killed over 3650 US soldiers and an estimated 700,000 Iraqi men, women and children, wounded tens of thousands, driven hundreds of US soldiers to kill themselves and thousands to desert, forced nearly 5 million Iraqis from their homes, and wasted over $448 billion.

Sacramento Soapbox Progressive Talk Show Access Sacramento, Channel 17 with Jeanie Keltner. Monday, 8pm, Tuesday noon, Wednesday, 4am. Now in Davis, Channel 15, Tuesday, 7pm.

End Congressional Ambiguity. End the funding

Symptomatic of its uncertainty about ending the war on Iraq, in July the House passed both HR 2929 (no permanent bases and no US control of Iraqi oil) and HR 2956, which calls for a unspecified troop reduction, while it leaves an indeterminate number of troops in Iraq indefinitely. One has to wonder why we need what could be thousands of troops in Iraq if we aren’t having permanent bases and we don’t want their oil. HR 2956 says nothing about getting the USfinanced military contractors out of Iraq and it keeps the ‘redeployed’ US troops in the region, where they could be readily used to attack or reoccupy Iraq, intensify the war on Afghanistan, or invade Iran. Should these two bills be passed by the Senate, they would most certainly be vetoed by Bush. However, ending the war does not require a 2/3 majority to override Bush’s veto—it requires a simple majority in the House to vote NO on Bush’s request for more funding. Doing so will not imperil the troops, but not doing so will condemn many more to die or be severely wounded.

Send a Clear & Complete Message

Coffee from Nicaragua Support Sacramento’s sister city, San Juan de Oriente, Nicaragua, by purchasing organic whole-bean coffee grown in the rich volcanic soil on the island of Omotepe, Nicaragua. Thanks to the efforts of the Bainbridge-Omotepe Sister Island Association in Washington, we are able to bring you this wonderful medium roast coffee. Your purchase helps the farmers on the island and helps support Sacramento’s long relationship with San Juan de Oriente. All profits go directly back to the Nicaraguan communities. $9.00 a pound. Available in Sacramento at: The Book Collector, 1008 24th St.

Our demand to end the Iraq war and occupation must also be a call to end the war on and occupation of Afghanistan. Ending these wars means bringing all the troops and military contractors home and closing all the bases. A US military presence in either Iraq or Afghanistan will never fix anything; what we must do is pay to repair the damage our government has done to the infrastructure, people, culture, and environment of these two nations. And our cry to end the war must also be one to scrap our brutal policy towards the Middle East that has been a complete disaster for the people of this region and is bad for the people in our country. The wars on and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan are symptoms of a miserable foreign policy that cannot bring military victory but only an environment filled with depleted uranium, an unpayable national debt, and inconsolable shame for the war crimes committed in our names.

Keep the Pressure up on Congress

Any progress Congress makes towards ending this war is only because of public pressure. At least once a week, fax or call Reps. Doris Matsui, Mike Thompson, Dan Lungren, or John Doolittle, and Senators Boxer and Feinstein. And get your friends, family, neighbors, friends and coworkers to call. Add a message to your answering machine that reminds people to call Congress. Tell these electeds, who are supposed to be

working for you, to: VOTE NO on any more funding that continues the war, and VOTE YES to bring all the troops home and military contractors home from Iraq and Afghanistan now, close all the bases, and change our foreign policy to one based on respecting, not destroying, human life and the environment. Call (202)2243121. If you can, fax: Matsui: (202)225-0566; Thompson: (202) 225-4335; Lungren: (202) 226-1298; Doolittle: (202)225-5444; Boxer: (916) 448-2563; Feinstein: (202) 228-3954.

Thursday, Oct. 4, 7–9pm, Richard Beck-

Pack your bags and go to DC

Wednesday, Oct. 17, 7–9pm, Dissent:

People from all over the country are mobilizing to get Congress to respond to the American people and end the war on Iraq. Actions are planned for nearly the whole month in Washington, DC (see BOX) as well as local efforts. If you can go to Washington, do it. Housing info is available at: www.codepinkalert.org/housing. If you can’t go to DC, participate in local events and help send others. For more information, contact Sac Area Peace Action: 916-448-7157.

Participate in local actions: Vigils every Tuesday, Wednesday & 1st & 3rd

Coming Events

er with the ANSWER Coalition, recently returned from the major anti-war efforts in Washington, DC during September, will address the next steps to ending US war policy. 909 12th St, Sacramento, 916-448-7157. Voices of Conscience. Colonel Ann Wright resigned from the US Foreign Service in March 2003 over several disagreements with the Bush Administration including their decision to attack Iraq, the lack of effort in resolving the Israel-Palestine situation, and unnecessary curtailment of civil liberties. Wright’s newly published book will be available at the talk. Time Tested Books, 1114 21st St, Sacramento. 916-448-7157; [email protected]

Saturdays: check sacpeace.org

The People’s Rally to End the War, Sept.

7, 3-6pm, Capitol West Steps. All groups that are against the war are invited to form contingents and march to the rally. FMI: 916-455-6312; [email protected]

California’s Calling Congress to End the War: Sept 10-13: Join people in every California district in calling Congress this week. See sacpeace.org for other local actions this week.

End the War Now demonstration in San Fran-

Resources on Palestine: Institute for Middle East Understanding: www.imeu.net. Washington Report on Middle East Affairs: www.wrmea.com. Rafah Today: www.rafahtoday.org. National Council of Arab Americans: www.arab-american.net.

cisco, Oct 27; for info on buses & carpools from Davis & Sacramento: 916-448-7157

Go to Washington, DC & Stop the war Actions organized by a broad spectrum of national peace & justice groups. Ongoing lobbying with Code Pink: stay at their DC house: www.codepinkalert.org Sept. 14-21, 2007: Days of Decision, in DC & across the country: www.declarationofpeace.org Sat. Sept. 15, 2007: DC March & Rally: www.Sept15.org Sun. Sept. 16: National Training Session for the other Days of Action, www. Sept15.org Mon. Sept.17: Peoples March Inside Congress, www.codepinkalert.org Tues. Sept. 18: Congressional Challenge Day, www.grassrootsamerica4us.org Wed. Sept. 19: Direct Action, www,answer.pephost.org Thurs. Sept. 20: Veterans lobbying day, www.ivaw.org Fri. Sept. 21: National Moratorium Day, www.iraqmoratorium.org. Sept 22-29, 2007: Encampment in DC, www.troopsoutnow.org

Sacramento Area Peace Action is an all-volunteer organization that works to educate and mobilize the public to promote a non-interventionist and non-nuclear US foreign policy and to promote peace through international and domestic economic, social, and political justice. Join us!

JOIN SACRAMENTO AREA PEACE ACTION Annual dues are $30/individual; $52/family; $15/low income. Name:________________________________________________________

Discharges • DEP • Discrimination Gay • AWOL/UA • Harassment Hazing• Conscientious Objection

Address:_______________________________________________________ City________________________________________ Zip________________

Call for information from a network of nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations.

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The service is free. The call is confidential.

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800 394 9544

The GI Rights Hotline www.girights.org

E-mail:___________________________ ____Please send me the newsletter only, $10/yr.

Send your check to: Sacramento Area Peace Action (SAPA) 909 12th Street, #118, Sacramento, CA 95814. Or call us! 448-7157, e-mail: [email protected], web: www.sacpeace.org

www.bpmnews.org September / October 2007 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 13

Causes and Costs of the War Big media’s not interested By Paolo Bassi

The notion that our rulers stumble into war because they are stupid, misguided or relying on faulty intelligence may make war more palatable, but it is utter naiveté. War, despite its costs and risks, is highly profitable for the corporate and financial elites who don’t bear the costs or risks anyway. The cost of war is not problematic when people are indoctrinated enough to keep giving their money and blood. And yet, war abroad is always war on the poor at home. The main victims of the war in Iraq are, of course, the Iraqi people. Their country has been violently occupied and almost completely destroyed, and according to Lancet, the British medical journal, more than 655,000 Iraqis have died—and thousands more since that 2006 study. But these are not figures you’ll hear on the networks. Iraq’s publicly owned assets are being privatized, its economy forced into the global corporate system. Yet there is general silence in the US media over this privatization and who now controls Iraq’s oil revenues. Back home the ultimate price is paid by our mostly working class soldiers. Besides the thousands killed, many more are wounded, and some will never work again—let alone fight. These soldiers and their families will be paying each day for Bush’s war. Other than independent documentaries, try finding mainstream reports on soldiers’ lives after war. The brutal effects of war, both material and psychological are ignored. While ordinary Americans suffer, the warmongers get richer—their children sitting out the war at schools which charge more per year than a soldier’s death benefits. Soldiers pay with their lives and limbs, but we all pay with our collective

tax wealth. In addition to the $400+ billion given to the military each year, the Iraq war has cost almost $500 billion to date. Heartbreakingly, this same amount spent on schools, universal health care, scholarships, infrastructure, alternative energy development or environmental protection would have had a massive positive economic and social effect for generations. As the military industrial complex prospers, ordinary people are being driven into poverty, poverty masked by debt financing. With each war the social fabric becomes weaker. Since there is no limit to the neo-con’s dream of complete domination of global capitalism, more wars are coming along with further poverty and debt. Rich man’s war; poor man’s blood. Corporate media is structurally and ideologically incapable of truthfully discussing the causes or costs of the Iraq war. The interests of the media, corporations and the financial and political elites have merged as never before in American history. In effect the media has become the fourth branch of government and the conduit for the war industry. It is a simple, efficient relationship. The war industry makes war while the media sells war through sophisticated manipulation and suppression. To allow alternative views on which class starts wars, who fights them, who pays and who profits would be contradictory to corporate interests. To attack or even question the official views on war would be to discredit the national myths and the fear by which people are controlled. Dissident reporters are shunted aside. Since the corporate media cannot and will not allow meaningful alternative views on the war, we must turn to alternative sources. To understand the connection between war and corporate profits, all it takes is the strength to break

Influencing Israel/Palestine Reporting By Brigitte Jaensch

Why don’t US media report Israel/Palestine news candidly? Is it too much hassle from entities that want to dictate what is reported? For 25 years the notoriously hardball Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) has been nitpicking content, even word-choice, in reports about the region. For example, in March the New York Review of Books published an article about the Israeli occupation’s destruction of the Palestinian healthcare system. Although written by a US physician who had worked in the occupied Palestinian territories, CAMERA reportedly got an Israeli official to write a letter to the paper challenging the American’s firsthand knowledge.  Talking heads appear on news programs to give their interpretation of what’s happening. Often from neo-con think tanks like the American Enterprise Institute, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the Saban Center, when the Middle East is the topic, neo-con means pro-Israel. The day after the San Francisco Chronicle published an article marking Israel’s 40th year as occupier, two Bay Area Jewish community relations councils sent out an action alert requesting recipients “condemn, reproach and denounce” the article. Their e-mailed alert listed points to make and language to use in letters or e-mails to the paper and noted that 120 such councils monitor local media nationwide. Public Broadcasting in Boston was a fairly reliable source for news about the region until it got hit with phone calls, letters, pickets, threats to cancel pledges and more, calling the station’s reporting anti-Israel. Now WGBH’s reporting is noticeably pro-Israel, receiving CAMERA’s commendation on Nov. 26, 2002 about reporter Aaron Schachter’s reporting on Israel. If CAMERA finds something to commend, it cannot be a fair report. The local public television station Channel 6 had misgivings about a program, a slick cobbling

together of Arab and Muslim bashing, distorted history, plus fear and hate mongering. The station assembled a group to preview the program, whose unanimous recommendation was, don’t show it. Then a small local contingent applied pressure. It enlisted The Sacramento Bee, which fueled the controversy with the headline, “Local Muslim opposed broadcast.” The Bee’s article didn’t mention others had opposed broadcast, such as KVIE directors and management, a rabbi and college professor. The result, Channel 6 aired the program three times during prime time. Years after he had sold CNN, Ted Turner called former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon’s military acts “terrorism.” According to British newspaper The Guardian (6-18-02), the Israeli government ordered CNN to leave their country. Instead, CNN brass scurried to Israel to apologize. It complied with all Israeli demands including that CNN fire its Palestinian reporters.     Cheryl Feldman Halpern, pro-Israel activist and a hefty Republican donor, according to the Washington Post (7-15-05), was appointed by the Bush Administration to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the oversight board for the Public Broadcasting Service. WGBH, KVIE and other stations certainly hear her now.    Although usually not reported, whenever US media do cover Israeli military aggression on Palestinian civilians in the occupied Palestinian territories, it is termed “retaliation.” Dishonest? Absolutely. But there is less hassle that way.    For more information: “Those aren’t Stones, they’re Rocks” by Seth Ackerman, posted by Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting www.fair.org/index.php?page=1060. Israel-Palestine On Record: How The New York Times Misreports Conflict in the Middle East, by Howard Friel and Richard Falk. This is a sequel to their 2004 book about The New York Times, titled The Record of the Paper. Brigitte Jaensch is a civil and human rights advocate.

the spell of the official noise machine and look elsewhere. Paolo Bassi is a member of Sacramento Media Group

Dick Cheney Says Fuck Off I roll a cigarette of gunpowder to kill the killer and I find it ineffectual so I make a bomb out of my flesh and plant it in the war machine which rumbles forward in its deaf rumor,

Peace Action on the Web Keep up to date on peace activism in Sacramento. Check out

www.sacpeace.org.

stumbles on down rail tracks with a hundred cars full of war materiel. I roll hair in my fingers while thinking of the boy soldiers the pleasant girls fingering their orders in calm desert sun. (jumping from camel spiders wisping on furred stems through the tent-flap) Birthing empires in the cradle of civilization, the crops are all torn into blood by the men in suits as they look back at the people in their shaving mirror, mouthing unnatural acts telling us all to fuck off as the war slides deadly through the middle of my town. I roll a cigarette of pure vegetables for the bum: what does he know that I don’t? That those who stand for war will always make war and bring civilization to the whore-house thinking to fuck is to love and to kill is to institute democratic principles while I blow up and I kill and I die a little differently today, but keep dying when I see the news: today a boy and a girl from down the road a piece were shredded by a roadside bomb and no-one understands how the whole thing got to be so fucked up while the killer wears a silk shirt, eats filet in a fine oak room and issues orders giving a speech in which he says fuck off to the mother of the boy killed by the roadside bomb and to you and I -- the rotten bastard. I roll a sacred smoke from leaves of wisdom and puff on it in order to die with something resembling grace. By Crawdad Nelson, Sacramento poet and writer

Capitol Outreach for a Moratorium on the Death Penalty. Third Mondays, 11:30am to 1:30pm. L Street at 11th. We bring petitions, literature and banners. You bring yourselves. Cafe nearby for coffee after the vigil. INFO: 447-7754

14 Because People Matter September / October 2007 www.bpmnews.org

Book Review

Why We’re Facing an “Assault on Reason” The Assault on Reason, by Al Gore. Hardcover: 308 pages, Penguin Press HC (2007) By Sharon Frederick In one of his first major speeches, the 28-year old lawyer Abraham Lincoln warned his fellow citizens that their government could be broken and destroyed if it became so disconnected and unresponsive that it lost “the attachment of the people.”

“When the people are not informed, they cannot hold government accountable when it is incompetent, corrupt or both.” Today we might call it alienation, as Al Gore does in his new book, “The Assault on Reason.” He steps back from the present to gain the perspective of history and analyze the causes of today’s alienation: the fact that “reason, logic and truth seem to play a sharply diminished role in the way America now makes important decisions.” He begins by reminding us that our

The Marxist School of Sacramento P.O.Box 160564 Sacramento, CA 95816 September / October 2007 Activities

Point of View Speaker Series

Lectures are held in Sierra 2 Ctr, Garden Room, 2791 24th St., 7–9pm

Thursday, September 20: Historian and novelist Alexander Saxton discussing his book Religion and the Human Prospect -- and the current debate about religion in the high science hierarchy. Thursday, October 18: Kevin Wehr. “Bicycle Messengers and Fast Capitalism – why old technologies persist within advanced IT-based economies.” See http://www.fastcapitalism.com/ issue 2.1.

Discussions/Classes Discussions are held in Sierra 2 Ctr, Rm. 11, 2791 24th St., 7–9pm. Tuesday, Sept. 11: Book discussion, The Communist Manifesto, by Karl Marx. Discussion led by Ellen Schwartz. See www.marxists.org/ archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/index.htm. Tuesday, Sept. 25: Book discussion: A Peoples’ History of the United States, by Howard Zinn. Chapter 1. Discussion led by Roy Dahlberg. Ask at Time Tested Books (447-5696) for a copy (any edition). Tuesday, Oct. 9: Book discussion: A Peoples’ History …, by Howard Zinn. Chapter 2. Discussion led by Roy Dahlberg. Tuesday, Oct. 23: Book discussion: A Peoples’ History …, by Howard Zinn. Chapter 3. Discussion led by Seth Sandronsky.

Capital Reading Group Extended discussion of Vol. 1 of Capital, by Karl Marx. will resume Sept. 5, starting with Chapter 10, “The Working Day.” We meet 7-9pm, 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month, at SMUD Customer Service Center, 6301 “S” St. Check with the Security Guard for meeting location (they have it under “Marxist School”). Preferred edition is the translation by Ben Fowkes, Vintage Books, Aug. 1977. We will read together and discuss at each class.

INFO: www.marxistschool.org; [email protected]; 799-1354. All activities are free and open to the public.

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original republican democracy was born in a world dominated by print media. The print revolution led to an explosion of knowledge throughout the world and, ultimately, to the so-called Age of Reason. If individuals were well informed and could participate in free and open discussion, then perhaps ordinary citizens had the power to govern themselves using reason—rather than being governed by Al Gore the few who were wealthy and privileged. “To an extent seldom appreciated,” concludes Gore, America’s representative democracy depends “on the particular characteristics of the marketplace of ideas as it operated during the age of print.” Today’s crisis in democracy, argues Gore, stems from problems based in the “dramatic and fundamental change in the way we communicate among ourselves,” particularly since the early 1960s when television became the dominant source of information. TV did not simply substitute one medium for a comparable one because information media are so very different from each other. In fact, recent research shows television is a medium that can tap into primitive areas of the brain that control basic emotions, most notably fear, sometimes overwhelming the reasoning parts of our brain. Gore contends, “The simulation of reality accomplished in the television medium is so astonishingly vivid and compelling compared with the representations of reality conveyed by printed words that it signifies much more than an incremental change in the way people consume information...[it] has the capacity to trigger instinctual responses similar to those triggered by reality itself, and without being modulated by logic, reason, and reflective thought.” Television allows no interactivity, no opinion page or other public forum. Instead of the marketplace of ideas, we sit passively and listen to a one-way conversation. Add to that the high capital investment required to operate television, and the number of individuals who own stations and develop programming is severely limited. Fewer companies, thanks to the Reagan era and its abandonment of media regulation, own more and more TV stations. As corporate owners demand news divisions become profit centers, whose purpose is to get high ratings and sell advertising, the distinction between news and entertainment disappears. “The subjugation of news by entertainment seriously harms our democracy,” warns Gore. “It leads to dysfunctional journalism that fails to inform the people. And when the people are not

informed, they cannot hold government accountable when it is incompetent, corrupt or both.” Instead, the modern science of mass persuasion takes over to sell us breakfast cereals, automobiles and political ideas simultaneously. In Gore’s words, “Reason was displaced not only by the substitution of broadcast for print, but also by the science of PR as the principal language by which communication occurs in the public forum—for both commercial and political purposes.” How else to explain that almost half of the American people still think Saddam Hussein was connected to the Sept. 11 attacks on the US? Gore examines how the public sphere, during the Bush-Cheney years, has deteriorated into the politics of wealth and fear, distortion of truth, diminished rights of individuals, and consolidation of power in the name of national security. He outlines a few immediate steps that could be taken to shore up “this period of vulnerability for American democracy.” However, Gore ultimately pins his hopes on the power of the Internet, which he calls “the most interactive medium of history and the one with the greatest potential for connecting individuals to one another and to a universe of knowledge.” He urges efforts to make certain the Internet stays open and accessible to all citizens by fighting any proposal to introduce a “tiered Internet” advocated by corporate operators such as AT&T and Verizon, who want to impose new fees on companies and content providers. Such a step would seriously limit the potential of the Internet by giving the “big guys” a dominant role in yet another medium. If we can keep the Internet free and open, concludes Gore, the Web has the capacity to be “the greatest source of hope for reestablishing an open communications environment in which the conversation of democracy can flourish.” Sharon Frederick is a member of Sacramento Media Group and a freelance writer.

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www.bpmnews.org September / October 2007 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 15

September / October Calendar COMMUNITY CALENDAR

ONGOING EVENTS MONDAYS: Sacramento Poetry Center hosts poetry readings. 7:30pm. 1719 25th Street. www. sacramentopoetrycenter.org 1st MONDAYS: Organic Sacramento: Counter ongoing threats to our food. 6:30pm. INFO: www.organicsacramento.org 1st. MondayS: Sacramento Media Group. 6–8pm. Coloma Community Center, 4623 T Street. INFO: 443-1792, [email protected]. 3rd MONDAYS: Capitol Outreach for a Moratorium on the Death Penalty. 12 noon–1pm, 11th & L Street. INFO: 455-1796. 3rd MONDAYS: SAPA Peace and Sustainability Committee. 6–8pm. INFO: Peace Action, 4487157. 3rd MONDAYS: Sacto 9/11 Truth:Questioning the “War on Terror.” 6–8pm. Denny’s 3rd & J St. Info: [email protected] 372-8433.

Thursday, September 6 “Climate Change, Despair, and Empowerment Roadshow” with Kelly Tudhope, from Australia. Multimedia presentations to help understand our role in a climate changed world. 7 pm. Trinity Cathedral, Great Hall, 2620 Capitol Ave. Sac. $5 donation. Drinks/snacks. INFO: Therapists for Social Responsibility 916-447-5706. Friday, September 7 The People’s Rally to End the War. 3–6pm. West Steps, State Capitol, Capitol & 10th St, Sacramento. See ad this page. Saturday, September 8 Art Book Fair. Publishers from around the country will bring in their newest art books, plus classics on art. Children’s readings, lectures for the whole family. 10:30am–4pm. Crocker Art Museum, 216 O Street. Free. INFO: 916-264-5423

Third MONDAYS: Lesbian Cancer Support Group. 6:30 Bring partners or support people with you. Open discussions with everyone. INFO: Roxanne Hardenberg; [email protected]. TUESDAYS: Call for Peace Vigil. 4–6pm. 16th and J St. INFO 448-7157. 2nd TUESDAYS: Gray Panthers. 1–3pm. Hart Senior Ctr., 27th & J St. INFO: Joan, 332-5980. 2nd TUESDAYS: Peace Network (speakers and discussion), 6:30pm. Luna’s Cafe, 1414 16th Street. INFO: Sac Area Peace Action 448-7157. 4th TUESDAYS: Peace and Justice Films. 7pm. Peace Action, 909 12th Street. INFO:448-7157. 4th TUESDAYS: (Odd numbered months) Amnesty Int’l. 7pm. Sacramento Friends Meeting House, 890-57th St. INFO: 489-2419. 1st WEDNESDAYS: Peace & Freedom Party. 7pm. INFO: 456-4595. 3rd WEDNESDAYS: CAAC Goes to the Movies. 7:15pm. INFO: 446-3304. THURSDAYS: Daddy’s Here (Father Enhancement Program). Men’s support group; info on custody, divorce, raising children. 7–8:30pm. Free! Ctr for Families, 2251 Florin Rd, Ste 102. INFO: terry @ fathersandfamilies.com. 568-3237x 205. 1st FRIDAYS: Community Contra Dance. 8–11pm; 7:30pm beginners lessons. Clunie Auditorium, McKinley Pk, Alhambra & F. INFO: 530-2749551 2nd FRIDAYS: Dances of Universal Peace. 7:30–9:30pm. Sacramento Friends Meeting House 890 57th St. $5–$10 donation requested. INFO: Joyce, www.sacramentodancesofuniversalpeace. org, 916-832-4630. 4th FRIDAYS: Dances at Christ Unity Church, 9249 Folsom Blvd. All Welcome $5–$10 donation requested. INFO: Christine 457-5855, www. sacramentodancesofuniversalpeace.org 1st SATURDAYS: Health Care for All. 10am. Hart Senior Ctr, 27th & J. For universal access to health care. INFO: 424-5316. 1st SATURDAYS: Sacramento Area Peace Action Vigil. 11:30am–1:30pm. Arden and Heritage (entrance to Arden Mall). INFO: 448-7157 2nd & 4th SATURDAYS: Community Contra Dance. 8–11pm; 7:30 lessons. Coloma Center 4623 T Street. INFO: 395-3483. 3rd SATURDAYS: Sacramento Area Peace Action Vigil. 11:30am–1:30pm. Marconi & Fulton. INFO: 448-7157 3rd Saturdays: Underground Poetry Series, open mic plus featured poets. 7–9pm Underground Books, 2814 35th Street (at Broadway), Sacramento. $3. INFO: 737-3333 1st SUNDAYS: Zapatista Solidarity Coalition. 10am–noon. 909 12th St. Info: 443-3424. 1st SUNDAYS: PoemSpirits. 6pm. Refreshments and open mic. Free. UUSS, 2425 Sierra Blvd. INFO: 481-3312; 451-1372. Will resume in Oct. 2007. 2nd SUNDAYS: Atheists & Other Freethinkers. 2:30pm. Sierra 2 Center, Room 10, 2791 24th St. INFO: 447-3589. SUNDAYS: Sacto Food Not Bombs. 1:30pm. Come help distribute food at 9th and J Streets.

Saturday, September 8

San Francisco Mime Troupe. Music starts at 3:30pm, show 4pm. Southside Park, 6th &T Streets Bandshell. Saturday, September 8 Lecture. “9/11: Who Did It, Why, and How We Can Prevent the Next Such Mass Murder,” by Don Paul, author of several 9/11 related books. 7pm. 909 12th St., Conf. Room. $3 to $10 sliding scale, no one turned away. INFO: Dave 372-8433. Tuesday, September 11 Protest the so-called “War on Terror,” remembrance of 9/11 victims (including emergency workers who were told that the air at “ground zero” was “safe”) and call for a real investigation that follows the evidence. 4–6pm. 16th & J, Sac INFO: 916-448-7157 or 916-372-8433, www. truthaction.org or www.sacpeace.org. Thursday, September 13 Film. “9/11 Ripple Effect”. Backed by expert examination of video evidence, combined with eyewitness accounts. 7pm. Yolo County Library’s Blanchard Room, 315 E. 14th St, Davis. Free. INFO: 530-757-1633. Saturday September 15th End It in September! Rally in Rancho Cordova. Join the 300 residents who signed the end the war petition and call for Rep. Lungren to end his support for the Iraq War! Noon–1pm, Rancho Cordova City Hall, 2729 Prospect Dr., Rancho Cordova. INFO: 916-452 4801, www.peaceintheprecincts.blogspot.com. Sponsored by Peace in the Precincts, Grandmothers for Peace, Sacramento Progressive Alliance. Monday, September 17 Sacramento 911 Truth: Questioning the War on Terror, monthly meeting. 6–8pm. Denny’s meeting room, 3rd/J Sts, INFO: sac911truth@gmail. com; 916-372-8433 Thursday, September 20 Film. “War Made Easy, How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death”. An insightful analysis of how governments bent on war-making have relied on a vast arsenal of propaganda techniques to overcome resistance at home and disapproval abroad. 7pm. Yolo County Library’s Blanchard Room, 315 E. 14th St, Davis. Free. INFO: 530-757-1633. Saturday, September 29 Poetry event. “The Show” poetry series, last Saturday of every month. Comedian Jay Lamont (BET’s Comicview, Showtime At The Apollo). Plus, poets Noah ‘Supanova’ Hayes from the Sacramento Slam Team and Prof. Andy Jones from U.C. Davis . 7–9 p.m. Wo’se Community Center, 2863 35th St. $5. INFO: Info: Terry Moore at 208-POET, [email protected]. Sunday, September 30 Benefit concert. Family Promise of Sacramento, a project to help homeless families presents a special evening of contemporary folk, jazz, spiritual and interfaith world music by beloved singers and songwriters Jim and Jean Strathdee. $10 requested ticket donation. 6pm, Fremont Presbyterian Church, 5770 Carlson Drive. INFO: www.sacfamilypromise.org or Chris Allan at 916-457-4525, [email protected].

Send calendar items for the November / December 2007 issue to [email protected] by October 10, with “calendar item” in the subject line. Make it short, and in this order, please: Day, Date. Name of event. Description (1-2 lines). Time. Location. Price. INFO: phone#; e-mail. For online calendars of progressive events, go to www. sacleft.org and www.sacpeace.org.

Thursday, October 4 First Sacramento Progressive Forum, dialogue on current issues facing progressive movements and their allies in our region. The Progressive Forum seeks to bring together scholars, students, social justice and union activists, and policy makers. We seek to move beyond fragmented movements each competing with each other to find ways to cooperate and support each other’s work. 9am–4pm. CSUS University Union. Free. INFO: [email protected]; 916-361-9072. Thursday, October 4 Richard Becker with the ANSWER Coalition, recently returned from the major anti-war efforts in Wash. D.C. during September, will address the next steps to ending U.S. war policy. 7–9pm. 909 12th St, Sacramento, 916-448-7157 Saturday, Oct 6 Women Take Back the Night: Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow. Capitol west steps. Info: 916-4482321 x520. Sunday, October 7 Sacramento’s Sixth Annual Freethought Day Gala. A celebration of reason, freethought and church-state separation, featuring speakers, entertainment, education expo, and children’s activities. Sponsored by Sacramento’s Atheists and Other Freethinkers and the Humanist Association of the Greater Sacramento Area, the event is free and open to the public. 12–5 pm, Waterfront Park, Front & L Streets, Old Sacramento. INFO: www.freethoughtday.org, chair@ freethoughtday.org, 916-446-3589. Wednesday, October 10 Film. “9/11 Dust and Deceit at the World Trade Center”. This is the disturbing story of the environmental disaster of September 11, 2001. The effects of the cover up as told through the voices of victims, experts and officials. 7pm. Yolo County Library’s Blanchard Room, 315 E. 14th St, Davis. Free. INFO: 530-757-1633.

Saturday, October 27 Poetry event. “The Show” poetry series, last Saturday of every month. International Slam Champion Talaam Acey comes to town from Baltimore. (www.talaamacey.com). 7–9 p.m. Wo’se Community Center, 2863 35th St. $5. INFO: Info: Terry Moore at 208-POET, fromtheheart1@ hotmail.com

Art Exhibit New Works by Janice Nakashima at Axis Gallery, 1517 - 19th St., September 1–30. Gallery open Saturday and Sunday, Noon –5pm.

Beyond the Proscenium Productions (BPP) presents Hecuba & Dido: Love Gone Wrong by Ann Tracy, a mash-up of both modern and ancient history and popular culture exploring the devastation of war, sex, class, and gender.  This world premiere plays Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm from October 27 to November 24, at the Space, 2509 R St, Sacramento.  There will be one Sunday matinee at 2 pm on November 25th.  Tickets are $15 general and $12 for seniors, students and SARTA members.  To reserve tickets please call 916-456-1600 or email [email protected].  More information can be found at the BPP website: Beyond-Pro.org.

Thursday, October 11 Sacramento 9/11 Truth Demonstration. Call or check web for exact time. 11th and L Streets, facing State Capitol North entrance. INFO: www. truthaction.org, 916-372-8433.

Elk Grove Peace & Justice Forum Presents: Veterans for Peace, on “Questions not often asked about the Iraq War” Monday, Sept. 10, 2007; 7:00pm Elk Grove United Methodist Church 8986 Elk Grove Blvd., Elk Grove.

Sunday October 14 GLOBAL WARMING: Messages from the Ice Speaker: Author, teacher Robert Christopherson 1pm. Unitarian Universalist Society of Sacramento, 2425 Sierra Boulevard, Sacramento. Free INFO: C. Bailey, [email protected]. 916635-8194.

And before the forum: Just before the forum starts, from 5–6pm on Sept. 10, join us at a vigil with signs about the war, on the Elk Grove Blvd. side of the Church. Signs will relate to ending the war and stopping the funding.

Wednesday, October 17 Film. “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib”. An inside look at Abu Ghraib includes interviews with some of the American soldiers charged with committing the notorious abuses which sparked the insurgency in Fallujah. 7pm. Yolo County Library’s Blanchard Room, 315 E. 14th St, Davis. Free. INFO: 530757-1633. Wednesday, October 17 Book Talk. “Dissent: Voices of Conscience.” Colonel Ann Wright resigned from the U.S. Foreign Service in March 2003 over several disagreements with the Bush Admin. 7–9pm. Time Tested Books, 1114 21st St, Sacramento. 916-448-7157; [email protected]

When the war in Iraq is discussed there are often questions which are not asked or the answers given by official spokespersons are often not complete or may be unsatisfactory. Some of these questions are: 1. What are problems of returning vets including healthcare and mental health support? 2. What are problems of interaction between Iraqi civilians and U. S. Forces? 3. What are problems with coalition mercenaries in Iraq and Afghanistan? 4. What are problems being encountered with recruiting? Bring your own questions! INFO: 916-6896943 or 916-685-3612.

The People’s Rally to End The War Friday, Sept. 7th, 3pm to 6pm West Steps of the Capitol March with Sac Area Peace Action to the rally; meet 2:30pm at 909 12th St. All groups that are against the war are invited to form contingents and march to the rally. Endorsed by: A.N.S.W.E.R (Act Now to End the War and Stop Racism), California Faculty Association, Chico Peace and Justice Center, Code Pink Women for Peace, Grandmothers for Peace, Peace and Freedom Party, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Sacramento Area Peace Action, Sacramento Coalition to End the War, Sacramento for Democracy, Scientists for Indigenous People, Teach Peace, Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom and more… For info call: 455-6312 or 799-9786.

September / October2007

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Places to watch Sacramento Soapbox: Access Sacramento TV, Cable Channels 17 and 18 Mon 8pm, Tues noon, Wed 4am. In Davis: Channel 15, Tues 7pm.

Help Sen. Durbin Write a New Internet Bill US Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has opened up the legislative process to citizen participation for a new “national broadband strategy” bill that would cover network neutrality policy, broadband Internet availability and spectrum policy. He has been blogging and asking for suggestions at the new www.OpenLeft.com website and his office has encouraged the Center for Media Democracy to set up a parallel project on Congresspedia where CMD is collecting all the arguments, data and research needed to draft and evaluate the legislation when Sen. Durbin posts it online. You don’t need to be an expert to join this effort—simply go to the project homepage and check it out. If you’d like to pitch in, leave a note on the project’s discussion page or email the Congresspedia managing editor at [email protected]. See also www.prwatch.org and www.prwatch.org/node/6309.

Places to watch or hear Democracy Now! Access Sacramento TV, Cable Channels 17 and 18, Weekdays 6pm, 12midnight, 5am. Dish Network Satellite TV, Channel 9415, Free Speech TV, M-F: 9am, 4pm, 9pm, 5am, Pacific time. Link TV, Channel 9410, Monday–Friday, 8am, 3pm. KVMR 89.5 FM Mon-Thu 7pm KDVS 90.3 FM Mon-Fri noon KPFA 94.1 FM Berkeley, M-F 9am Places to watch Media Edge: Access Sacramento TV, Cable Channels 17 and 18 Sundays 8–10pm Davis, Channel 15, Sundays, 8–10pm. Nevada County, Channel 11, Mondays, 10:30pm –12:30am. West Sacramento, Channel 21, Mondays, 9–11pm. Other Progressive Radio Stations ▼ KVMR 89.5 FM ▼ The Voice, 88.7 Cable FM; and streaming audio on www.Accesssacramento. org; SAP Comcast Channels 17 & 18 ▼ KYDS 91.5 FM ▼ KDVS 90.3 FM ▼ KPFA 94.1 FM Berkeley ▼ KSAC 1240 AM (TalkCity Radio Sacramento). Progressive talk radio all day long with Christine Craft, Randi Rhodes and others. ▼ KZFR 90.1 FM Chico People Powered Radio! managed and operated by volunteers, provides mostly locally produced and community oriented programs.

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