2008 May June

Because People Matter Progressive News and Views

May / June 2008

60 Years of Dispossession: al Nakba The catastrophe remembered Compiled by Maggie Coulter and Patricia Daugherty May 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of al Nakba, Arabic for “the catastrophe,” when the overwhelming majority of Palestinians were forcibly evicted from their ancestral homeland to create the state of Israel. More than 5 million Palestinian refugees remain in refugee camps, while many of their homes, farms, and properties are inhabited by Jewish immigrants from around the globe. Palestinians are the largest ongoing refugee population in the world. Not only has Israel refused to allow them their right to return home, it has continued its policy of ethnic cleansing that has squeezed Palestinians of the West Bank into ghettos surrounded by 27-foot walls, sniper towers and military guards. It has created the open-air prison of Gaza with an impoverished and overcrowded population of 1.4 million. —Adapted from Free Gaza www.freegaza.org “There is no such thing as a Palestinian people. It is not as if we came and threw them out and took their country. They don’t exist.” —Golda Meir, former Israeli Prime Minister and al Nakba denier

Lifta’s houses to insure that the indigenous inhabitants would not return… I have no words to describe my feelings when I see my house and land in front of me inhabited by strangers who prevent me by their laws from returning to it.” —Anan Odeh, human rights lawyer, currently studying in Davis. Adapted from “Electronic Intifada” electronicintifad.net/v2article9237.shtml. “Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages…There is not a single place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population.” —Moshe Dayan, Israeli military leader, Ha’aretz, April 4, 1969

The catastrophe continues Palestinians fleeing in 1948. UN Photo

“Every day in Gaza is difficult. There are shortages of food, electricity, clean water, medicine. There are bombs going off, shooting; people are being killed all the time. It is documented on my website, www.rafahtoday.org. Here, what I wrote on March 7, 2008: ‘An ambulance races through Jabalyia refugee camp to pick up the critically injured, and the body parts strewn across the street…Families crouch in makeshift shelters around handheld radios, listening for some word that their agony will end…. no sign yet for an end to the ‘hot winter’ that Israel has determined for Gaza... I have trouble sleeping. I am a journalist and they always shoot at journalists.’” —Mohammed Omer, 23 year-old journalist from Rafah, [Gaza]. Omer spoke in Sacramento in December, 2006.

“I remember my home in Akka. I was nine in 1948. There were friends, neighbors, toys, like any other home, and then in one night it all ended. Our parents told us we were going away for the summer. But the summer went by and we were still waiting to return home. That is when the hardship for me began. It was really an emotional roller coaster; flashes of optimism followed by a pessimism and depression. We forget the cost paid by the individuals and on [Palestinian] society. And really, the society as we knew it had collapsed. As refugees we always talked about Palestinian families forced to leave the village of Faluja in 1948. The Palestine, our homes and going back. There was village was ethnically cleansed by Jewish forces. On its looted lands, never a time when we would get together that we Israeli settlers founded Qiryat Gat in 1954. UN Photo “Being a Palestinian, I envy other teenagers didn’t talk about Palestine.” all over the world for living normally, enjoying —Osama Doumani, Palestinian refugee, US citi“The Nakba of 1948 destroyed a whole generatheir country’s services, enjoying school, enterzen living in Davis tion, dividing Palestinians from our land, from our tainment facilities, listening to music. Being scared resources, and from each other. As a Palestinian and shattered, have become the daily features of our born and raised in Dheisheh refugee camp, I know lives. Will my brother be able to go through a zillion the Nakba’s impact is still felt by each new generaIsraeli check points to reach his work, or not? Will tion born as refugees. In 1948, my family was forcmy grandpa be able to get a military permission to ibly separated from the land and community that pray in Jerusalem or go to the hospital, or not? Will sustained us. In 1967 we suffered separation again, my dad be able to come back home from work in the this time from each other, when the Israeli army evening, or not?” Editorial.............................................. 2 occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip and my —Ranim, 15 year-old girl Budget Cuts Threaten CSUS.............. 2 sister and brother were exiled to Syria and Lebanon. from Bethlehem [West Bank] Health Care in Honduras.................... 3 Israel forbids me from meeting, or even contacting, Immigration Detention Centers......... 4 them. “[Armed Jewish] settlers had taken over the topYolo County’s CAlifas Newspaper..... 5 Today, Palestinians are more isolated than ever. floor home [in Jerusalem].... to make these [PalestinFamilies in Gaza cannot see their relatives in the Book Review: Jim Hightower.............. 5 ian] families’ lives so unbearable that they would West Bank or in Israel. Walls, checkpoints and jails choose to leave.....These Jewish extremists were ... Eminent Domain Ballot Measures..... 6 continue to separate us and from basic resources. using the passageway as a toilet, so that the PalestinSacramento’s Master Plan.................. 6 Encroaching Israeli settlements surround us with ian families would find their homes pervaded by the Winter Soldier Hearings..................... 7 their large swimming pools, leaving us without revolting smell and would be frightened that their Iraq War and Healthcare..................... 7 enough water to survive.  children might pick up a disease.... I turned away War Profiteers..................................... 8 The division we experience now is a continuation of from this demonstration of naked Jewish power feelthe same deadly policy that drove us from our vilCosts of War..................................... 8-9 ing a mix of anger and revulsion. For me, it encaplages in 1948. Each moment, we refugees think and sulated everything that the modern state of Israel Book Review: $3 Trillion War............. 9 breathe the Right of Return because this is the only has come to represent: a compulsive, racist and Marcha Migrante III......................... 10 way to feel free.” colonial hunger for land and the control of resources Big Pharmaceuticals Want You........ 11 —Ziad Abbas, co-director of Dheisheh Cultural in the face of opposition from a largely powerless Book Review: Ethnic Cleansing........ 12 Center, Bethlehem, but implacable Palestinian population. Although the Palestine. Abbas spoke in Sacramento in April 2008. Mother’s Day Proclamation............. 13 methods vary in Tamra, Jerusalem and Hebron, the “My parents were born in Lifta where they spent Beekeeping in Our Own Backyards.. 13 goal is always the same: the accumulation of land their childhood in its hills and valleys… On 28 by whatever means possible for the exclusive use of Obama’s Blood and Hidden Truths.. 14 December 1947, Zionist terrorist groups [Menachem Jews.” Abraham Lincoln Brigade Honored.. 14 Begin’s Irgun and Yitzhak Shamir’s Stern Gang] —Excerpt from Susan Nathan’s The Other Side of Calendar............................................ 15 attacked the village coffee shop, killed five civilians Israel: My Journey Across the Jewish/Arab Divide. Progressive Media............................. 16 and threatened the rest, forcing them to leave the Nathan spoke in Davis in 2006. village. The people left with the hope that they would see Al Nakba, page 12 return after a few days. The Zionist forces bombed

Inside this issue:

 Because People Matter May / June 2008 www.bpmnews.org because

People Matter

Volume 17, Number 3

Editorial

Published Bi-Monthly by the Sacramento Community for Peace & Justice P.O. Box 162998, Sacramento, CA 95816 (Use addresses below for correspondence)

A

Charlene Jones and JoAnn Fuller, Co-coordinating Editors for This Issue

fter five years of war and occupation the public has been lulled to inaction with media attention declining since the first months of conflict. According to the Project for Excellence in Journalism, coverage of the Iraq war supplied about a fourth of the news in January 2007, but a year later was only four percent of media attention. A reproachable media has also had no difficulty mollifying those pesky attendant nightmares: a battered Constitution, unprecendented privacy invasions, crumbling infrastructure and unfathomable debt. Viewers and listeners were told it was OK because torture, loss of habeus corpus, and more killing only serve to protect the homeland. Besides, Americans could still shop and fill up their gas tanks. Now, however, pocketbook troubles are hitting the national fan and Americans may be forced to consider the undeniable waste of war. With the US economy deteriorating and millions of tax dollars spent each day to fund an increasingly bloody conflict, shopping may no longer be possible as the patriotic pastime. Every American household now spends $138 per month on the operating costs of the Iraq and Afghani-

Editorial Group: Jacqueline Diaz, JoAnn Fuller, Charlene Jones, Jeanie Keltner, Rick Nadeau Coordinating Editors for this Issue: Charlene Jones and JoAnn Fuller 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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stan wars, with a little more than $100 per month on the Iraq occupation alone, according to Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes in The Three Trillion Dollar War. The National Priorities Project estimated every median income family paid $3,736 tax dollars in 2006 to fund a war that continues to roil the world. Nearly 4,100 Americans have died in Iraq and Afghanistan and more than 31,000 wounded. Studies of the number of lost Iraqis lives produce estimates ranging from 400,000 to more than a million. Combined, these are the most acute problems confronting the US. Despite frenzied White House spin and a complicit media, distracted citizens may not be as easily led. A recent Associated Press poll indicated nearly 50 percent of the public believes a pullout from Iraq will solve US economic problems, followed by spending more on domestic concerns with tax cuts at the bottom of solutions to the financial crisis. It is all the more apparent this war steals lives and ravages public treasuries only to erode security at home and across the globe. The May/June BPM issue highlights the price so many are paying.

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On the cover Palestinian refugee woman who found shelter in Baqa’a emergency camp, east Jordan. Photo by Munir Nasr, UNRWA. Story begins on page 1.

Budget Cuts Threaten CSU Students, Faculty and Staff Alliance for the CSU seeks to mitigate cuts. By Kevin Wehr

F

ifty years ago the people of California made a promise. We promised to provide low-cost post-secondary schooling to the students of our state with the “Master Plan for Higher Education.” This education, provided by the California State University and the University of California systems in conjunction with the community colleges, pledged many benefits: an educated electorate, trained workers for local businesses, competent professionals to work in our hospitals, schools, and to build our infrastructure and our economy. Today that promise is threatened by the draconian budget cuts proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger. However, an historic coalition has formed to fight these cuts and allow the CSU to keep the promise made a generation ago. The CSU structure is the largest higher education system in the world. We have 450,000 students taught by 23,000 faculty members, supported by dedicated staff and administrators. Together the CSU campuses form a pillar of the California economy, with a $13.6 billion economic statewide impact each year, according to the CSU chancellor’s office. Students spend $7.5 billion in their communities, the campuses provide $760 million in taxes to local and state governments, and more than 200,000 jobs contribute to the welfare and livelihood of across our state. Overall the CSU generates $4.41 in spending for every $1 invested. Add to this

the higher earnings by CSU graduates, and the return to California increases to $17 for every dollar invested in the CSU. That’s some return on investment—the CSU is part of the solution for a troubled economy! What will happen if the proposed cuts move forward? It will be harder for students to get into and continue in the CSU system. Some 10,000 eligible students will be turned away. The consequence of this is that California’s middle class will shrink if families can’t send kids to the CSU. These troubles will fall hardest on Latino, African American, Native American and first-generation students who, without the CSU, are less likely to get a college education. Furthermore, the governor called for increased college opportunity for returning veterans; they, too, will have to compete for fewer spaces in the CSU. The governor says we need to build infrastructure by $500 billion over the next 20 years. The CSU educates Californians who can do exactly that. The graduates of the CSU system are necessary for continued economic vitality and growth. They are the backbone of the state’s workforce— engineers, teachers, nurses. Of all higher education degrees granted in California, CSU gives 51 percent in engineering, 52 percent in agriculture and 65 percent in business. Cutting the budget to the CSU is like eating your seed corn; it negates any plan for the future. A coalition has formed to fight these cuts and restore fiscal sense to the budget. The Alliance

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for the CSU is made up of students, staff, faculty and administration of the CSU, with allies from the business community, labor groups, community organizations and concerned individuals. Together we can convince the governor and legislators the CSU is the solution! Join us at www. allianceforthecsu.org. Kevin Wehr is a professor of sociology and vicepresident of California Faculty Alliance, CSUS.

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www.bpmnews.org May / June 2008 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 

Cuba and Sacramento bring better health care to Honduras CHIMES supports rural clinics

By Dan Bacher

T

he California Honduran Institute for Medical and Educational Support held a dinner and program in Sacramento in Februrary benefiting health care in the Garifuna communities of Honduras. The event featured presentations by Dr. Luther Harry Castillo, leader of the rural health care movement in Honduras, and Lt. Governor John Garamendi.  In a short 18 months, a new clinic in Ciriboya, Honduras has served more than 68,340 patients for free. In addition, family practice doctors care for thousands of people in 12 far-flung rural communities.  Executive secretary of the Sacramento Central Labor Council and CHIMES Director Bill Camp, his brother, Tom, and a dedicated crew of volunteers built the hospital to provide the long-needed care. Mo Mohanna, a Sacramento philanthropist, donated his reception hall and catering for the event. All money raised, more than $10,000, goes to support health care in Honduras. Volunteers organized by Birthing Project, founded by Kathyrn Hall, have also been invaluable to CHIMES and its efforts. 

Dr. Luther Harry Castillo sings a Garifuna song before making his presentation. Photo by Dan Bacher.

“We are planning to build three more wings,” said Castillo as he showed plans for the hospital after his presentation. They will include a surgery room, pharmacy, library, laboratory, pediatric care, dental care, natural medicine, physical therapy and an obstetrics section, including pre-delivery and post-delivery rooms. A dormitory for the doctors is also planned.  Castillo, trained at the Latin American School of Medicine in Havana, Cuba, embarked on this venture after he was unable to attend medical school in Honduras due to lack of funds. Cuba accepted him and he graduated in 2005 as the first Garifuna graduate.  Before he went to Cuba, he was apprehensive. “I had the idea that there was a tank on every corner,” he quipped. “However, what I actually saw after I arrived there were a lot of friendly people who loved to dance and enjoy themselves. The Cubans are a people with a spirit of solidarity.”  Castillo’s Project Luagu Hatuadi Waduhenu (“For the health of our communities”) arose in 1999 as an initiative of Garifuna students in Cuba seeking a way to contribute to the betterment of their communities. “We decided to donate 15 days of our month of vacation working in the Honduran Garifuna communities, shoulder-to-shoulder with the Cuban doctors,” explained Castillo.  The Garifuna are a unique cultural and ethnic group found along the Carribean coast of Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua and in the Carribean islands. They first appeared in this region over 300 years ago, when escaped and shipwrecked West African slaves mixed with the native Caribs who provided them refuge. According to Ruben Reyes of Los Angeles, who gave a brief history of the Garifuna people, their

language derives from the Arawak and Carib languages. The Garifuna have kept their African musical and religious traditions over the centuries.  In the program Castillo established, medical students return from Havana to work in their communities to finish their education. There are eight resident Garifuna doctors, while the program is training 86 midwives, along with nurses and volunteers.  They are developing a health care infrastructure in a region where the government has installed Lt. Governor John Garamendi and Bill Durston, Congressional none. “We have developed Candidate, at the CHIMES fundraiser. Photo by Dan Bacher. a volunteer structure by building alliances between key sectors of the community, including faith groups, women’s groups, students and workers. The participation of Garifuna women is essential to the program,” Castillo said. “We believe in training doctors who work side by side with the community people and who live inside the community. We want doctors who know that patients are not just muscle and bones,” he emphasized.  The success of the clinic has been evidenced by health statistics from the first year of operation. “Infant mortality was 30.8 per 1,000 births in Honduras in 2006,” said Castillo. “In one year the infant mortality rate in our region plummeted to 10.1 per 1,000 births.”  In addition, the maternal mortality was 48.1 per 10,000, and it dropped to 22.4. “My dream is that no child in our country will die of a preventable disease,” said Castillo. “Cuba is an alternative model for health care delivery in the Third World.”  Lt. Governor Garamendi and his wife Patti attended the grand opening of the clinic in December 2007 and are strong supporters of CHIMES. “What if the US did outreach by training doctors in the community and sent them to help other countries like Cuba does?” Garamendi asked. “In this situation, Cuba has a much better foreign policy than our country.”  Camp added, “Praise should go to the people of Sacramento who cross borders,” concluded Camp. “This clinic is helping a community of 86,000 people, people living on just a few dollars a day, and that has happened because people in this community have stepped outside their comfort zone and made donations.”  Camp noted that CHIMES is negotiating with University of California, Davis Medical School in Sacramento, Kaiser Hospital and Pittsburg Medical School to develop programs that will send medical students to Honduras for three months to provide exposure to medical practice in a rural setting in Latin America. For more information, call CHIMES at 916-612-9999. Dan Bacher is a journalist, activist and satirical songwriter living in Sacramento.

 Because People Matter May / June 2008 www.bpmnews.org

ICE Detention

One of our Immigration System’s best kept secrets By Felicia Martinez

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.

On any given day 30,000 people are held in deten“ICE detainees, tion by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement even those with Agency throughout the green cards, are not country in a system that incarcerates over 230,000 entitled to public people per year. In a March defenders, a policy 5, 2008 United Nations report, the UN Special that came under Rapporteur on the human specific criticism in rights of migrants expressed “serious concerns about the UN report.” the situation of migrants in [the US], especially in the context of specific aspects of deportation and afforded to detention policies…” Considering circumstances prisoners. ICE under which ICE, a division of the Department detainees, even of Homeland Security, arrests and detains people, those with green it is not difficult to understand why. cards, are not There are numerous reasons why ICE might entitled to public detain a person. Some are detained because they defenders, a policy are undocumented. Some are held while they that came under await the outcome of an asylum petition. Some specific criticism are Legal Permanent Residents—green card hold- in the UN report. Of course, we can’t get a photo of the inside of a Homeland Security detention ers—detained because they were convicted in ICE detainees center. Above is a poster from the 1954 film, Salt of the Earth, based on a strike against the Empire Zinc Mine in New Mexico. state or federal court of a crime that may be con- must pay for a sidered grounds for deportation. These people lawyer, find a pro have already served their sentences and been bono attorney transferred to ICE custody where they wait, in or represent themselves in immigration court. is merely a breadwinner, she will no doubt be new cells, while the court determines if they are But immigration law is incredibly complex and deported. Having financial and emotional dependeportable under law. contains dozens of classifications and visa types. dents is not enough. Of ICE’s 30,000 inmates, only half are housed In immigration court it is not a mere question of The absence of time limits on how long ICE in DHS operated facilities. The other 15,000 live whether a detained person has papers, but what can detain a person is another area of eroded outside the system in privately operated facilities, kind of papers, when and under what laws these legal rights. It is not unusual for a person to wait sometimes with state prisoners, or in county jails. papers were issued, if the person has criminal months before even having the opportunity to In Sacramento the main jail reports having 20–30 convictions and specific legalities of those charg- bring her case before a judge. There is precedent ICE detainees at any time. These inmates have es, along with a plethora of other factors that to suggest that when detention exceeds four to no pending charges other than those relating to determine which laws might apply. In addition, six months, which it frequently does, or when immigration law, charges defined as civil, not the court is not allowed to consider mitigating it’s clear the detainee will not be deported in criminal. County jails, however, are not designed factors such as a person’s contributions to comthe near future, the person should be released for long-tem housing. Due to differences in facil- munity, good moral character, stable work hisfrom detention. However, there is no standard ity regulations, an ICE detainee in a county jail tory or family ties. Under these conditions, ICE legal mechanism to guarantee this happens. This often lives in starkly worse conditions than some- detainees are expected to represent themselves in interminable waiting induces some detainees to one detained at a nearby DHS facility. court. choose not to fight their case and accept a removSome ICE detainees, however, are not housed The situation of undocumented people in this al order just so they can secure a quicker release. in government facilities at all but handed over system is of course the most precarious. Once “Removal,” however, doesn’t always mean to private corporations, such as the Corrections an undocumented person is in ICE custody, returning to a familiar land. ICE regularly Corporation of America, which operates dozens she has very little chance of fighting an order of deports people—both documented and not—to of prisons nationwide. As with state and federal removal. Depending on circumstances under countries of which they have no recollection, and prisons, corporations like CCA often require which a detainee left her native country, she in some cases have never been. Even US citizens inmates to work for menial pay, sometimes $1 a may petition for political asylum, but ICE judges get caught up. It is possible for a person to have day, in jobs like serving cafeteria meals or mopregularly turn down more petitions than they been born outside the US and possess “derived” ping floors—saving the corporation from hiring approve. The detained person could try to prove or “acquired” citizenship via the citizenship status out for such jobs. Since the corporation receives her removal would cause her dependants, what of her parents. The problem is, these people may a flat payment from the federal government for the court defines as, “exceptional and extremely not realize they are citizens, and even if they do, each inmate housed, using unpaid inmate labor unusual hardship.” For example, if the detainee they bear the burden of proving their citizenship increases the corporate profit margin. has a child needing a kidney transplant and the to the court. This poses a significant problem One of the most alarming aspects of the child can only receive a kidney from the detainee, for detainees who are not in possession of the ICE detention system is the lack of legal rights maybe she could win her case. But if the detainee documents necessary to prove their citizenship, documents that may include the citizenship and birth records of people other than themselves. The US government incarcerates a higher percentage of its population than any other country on the planet, which suggests immigrants are more likely to be incarcerated here than in their home countries, even though numerous studies have shown immigrants commit fewer crimes in this country than do their native-born counterparts. In this context, it is apparent ICE detention and deportation policies and practices are one part of an intentional and ongoing process to use the law to keep people, immigrant and not, living quietly and in fear.

Best   Burger The burgers and fries are  described  as   legendary

Biting into this feast, the first thing you notice is that you can taste the beef. The French Ground Steak Burger w/cheese is the thing to order. That is a mouthful to say, and it’s definitely more than a mouthful to eat. Featuring

Harris Ranch Steak freshly ground and formed into a 1/3 lb. patty. Stop by soon. Nationwide Freezer Meats 1930 H Street, Sacramento (H and 20th Streets) 444-3286. Just remember H20 stands for H and 20th Street ««««

Felicia Martinez is a poet and attends Mills College. She has worked with immigrants and immigrant rights organizations.

www.bpmnews.org May / June 2008 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 

¡Que Padrisimo!

A Review of Yolo County’s CAlifas newspaper By Jacqueline Diaz Andy Porras has been realizing his vision of “Yaya” Porras, who serves as photographer a bilingual publication for over half a decade. and is co-founder of Movimiento Moncajete, The vision started when he worked for a Yolo asks who is on the phone. Maybe she knew county newspaper producing special Spanish me, but not yet. I’m a poet originally from editions on a regular basis. While these were well the Bay Area, not from LA. Little did I know received and served that a month later the Spanish-speaking I’d be asking myself, “The pages of CAlifas community throughwho is this Latina are impressive because out the county, the judging the “Poetry editions were short Out Loud” state they take on a big task— lived because the competition, and meeting the news needs paper decided against why haven’t I met maintaining Spanish her? It was Yaya, of a bilingual, bicultural Joe Porras, art director, and his father Andy . productions of the and I was there photo courtesy AP Communications Latino community.” paper. Undeterred, supporting Sacand spurred on by ramento County’s community while offering non-Latino readers loyal readers, Porras decided to create his own student winner participating in the competition. the opportunity to hear about our values and paper and continue to serve the news needs of his Sacramento is not always as sprawling as it seems. voices. It is also uniquely northern Californian Latino community. The pages of CAlifas are impressive because so that when I read through the pages I can find The Porras approach to starting CAlifas has they take on a big task—meeting the news needs news about events I’d heard about and people been to get things done family-style. CAlifas’s of a bilingual, bicultural Latino community. I’d met. There was a picture of my Danza Azteca staff is sprinkled with members of his family and, What matters to this diverse demographic? teacher, a story about Joe Serna and news on the rather than a paper narrowed in vision, the result What issues are important to know more about war in Iraq. It felt like my kind of paper. Porras is a paper that really gets the message of commu- and understand? It seems CAlifas answers these calls CAlifas “proudly family-owned and fiercely nity across. Readers are welcomed as extended questions through a careful commitment to independent.” As a Latina reader in northern members of the Porras family. I felt a total sense progressive local and national news, a celebration California, I agree. of community while first reading CAlifas and and study of historical and contemporary issues then speaking to Porras. relevant to Latinos, and stories central to the Jacqueline Diaz is a co-editor of Because When I called to ask about Califas, Porras was local community. People Matter. open and friendly. In the background, Andrea CAlifas is succeeding in serving the Latino

Book Review Swim Against the Current: Even a Dead Fish Can Go With the Flow by Jim Hightower, with Susan DeMarco. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., March 2008, 224 pages.

Reviewed by Judith Poxon

W

riter, public speaker, radio commentator and general curmudgeon Jim Hightower is already a familiar voice among American progressives, and his newest book is likely to add to his popularity. In it Hightower continues his battle against “the Powers That Be” on behalf of what he calls “the Powers That Ought To Be”: workers, environmentalists,

Populist author and activist Jim Hightower was welcomed to Sacramento by Jeanie Keltner, BPM co-editor, during an April fundraising event for California Common Cause. photo: Dick Wood.

small business owners and ordinary people who make up the vast majority of the population of the US. They are people who, by and large, find themselves alienated from partisan politics and corporate consumerism, but are often too overcome by cynicism and hopelessness to do anything about it. While this new book resumes Hightower’s biting critique of Bush’s America, what’s different is its focus on ways all of us can work together to build a different kind of country

and, ultimately, a different kind of world. Swim Against the Current, which is dedicated to the late political humorist Molly Ivins, takes its tone from the words of rock poet Patti Smith, words that serve as the epigraph for the work as a whole: “The people have the power/ The power to dream/ To rule/ To wrestle the world from fools.” Divided into three major sections, titled “Business,” “Politics,” and “Life,” the book works as an inspirational instruction manual for anyone who’s fed up with the system and wants to change the way things are done. With Mark Twain-like wit and folksy style, Hightower offers numerous examples of those who’ve said, in one way or another, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more!”—and have gone about creating alternative ways of doing business, engaging in political action, and fighting to preserve the earth. He writes of agricultural co-operatives that take on Wal-Mart, community-based banks that help finance the rebuilding of blighted urban neighborhoods, worker-owned taxi companies and strip clubs that offer decent working conditions. There are inventive crusaders on behalf of public financing of elections and against the occupation of Iraq, and an unlikely alliance between scientists and evangelical Christians dedicated to reversing global warming and ending the ecocide represented by mountaintop removal mining in the Appalachians. At the end of each section, Hightower provides a list of “connections”: names and addresses of groups working on the issues he’s reported. He shows, by means of this diversity of examples, that people do have the power, if they—if we—will only own it. Once you’ve finished Swim Against the Current, you’ll no doubt want to read other Hightower books, including: Thieves In High Places: They’ve Stolen Our Country And It’s Time To Take It Back (Plume, 2004) ; Let’s Stop Beating Around the Bush: More Political Subversion from Jim Hightower (Penguin, 2004); and Eat Your Heart Out:

Food Profiteering in America (Crown, 1975). Hightower also publishes a monthly newsletter, “The Hightower Lowdown,” which has received both the Alternative Press Award and the Independent Press Association Award for best national newsletter. His website is www.jimhightower.com. Judith Poxon is an adjunct humanities instructor at Sacramento City College and member of Sacramento Media Group.

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 May / June 2008 www.bpmnews.org

Eminent Domain Measures on Ballot By JoAnn Fuller 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 4th 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

C

alifornians will vote in June on two ballot measures that would restrict the government’s use of eminent domain, the power state and local governments have to take possession of private property for the public good. Every year hundreds of millions of dollars of property are bought by state and local governments in California. Usually this means private landowners are given market value for their property then used to expand a highway or build a public building. Most of the time, governments buy property from willing sellers. Sometimes, property owners oppose seling their property or do not agree on a sales price. In 2005 the Supreme Court ruled in Kelo v. City of New London that governments could also use eminent domain to buy private property from an owner and sell the land to another private

party. In the Kelo case, a family was forced out of their home to make way for a privately sponsored development plan. In response to these events, voters will be asked to consider Proposition 98 and Proposition 99 on the statewide ballot in June. According to the No on Proposition 98 website, this proposition has a hidden agenda. Proposition 98 would abolish rent control, stop water infrastructure projects, and destroy land-use planning as well as provide protection from eminent domain abuses. The opponents to Proposition 98 say its true purpose is to eliminate rent control and other renter protection laws. Environmental protections would also be threatened including regulations to reduce greenhouse gases, water quality, growth control, and wetland, coastal and farmland protections, according to

the environmental law firm of Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger. Supporters of Proposition 98 include the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. Proposition 99, according to the voter guide on the California Secretary of State website, would bar state and local governments from using eminent domain to acquire an owner-occupied residence and convey it to a private person or business. It creates exceptions for public works or improvements, public health and safety protection and crime prevention. Supporters of Proposition 99 include the League of California Cities and California League of Conservation Voters. For more information: www.EminentDomainReform.com JoAnn Fuller is a member of the Because People Matter editorial group.

Creating a Sustainable City Sacramento’s Master Plan

By Rick Bettis

Can Sacramento become a truly sustainable city? In December 2007 the city of Sacramento adopted its first Sustainability Master Plan, and in February the city adopted a 2008 Implementation Plan. These plans provide a roadmap to creating a sustainable city. The Master Plan set forth long-term targets that will guide the city towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and a greener path of doing business and living.

“Sustainability is a state or a process that can be maintained indefinitely.”

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 For a complete list, visit our web site: www.bpmnews.org. Where would you like to see BPM? Let Paulette Cuilla know, 916-422-1787.

The concept of reducing our use is not new or unique. Most of the world has a substantially smaller “global footprint” than does our materialistic culture. In developing nations the use of resources is a fraction of what is in the US. For example, in Sacramento the per capita average use is approximately 290 gallons of water per day as compared to a more typical average of 20 gallons, and sometimes as little as five gallons per day in Africa. On average, only one percent of our trips use public transit compared to 50 percent in New York and many European cities. Motivated by shortages during World War II the US substantially reduced our resource use with actions like “scrap and paper drives” and rationing. During the 1970s there was an international movement, led in California by Governor Jerry Brown, towards an “era of limits” where “small is beautiful” and “appropriate technology” was the solution. Since the 80s “sustainable agriculture,” emphasizing low energy and minimal chemical uses, has gained growing market and cultural niches. Now the “inconvenient truth” of global warming is providing the motivation to be sustainable. The non-profit think tank Sustain Line has ranked

the sustainability of the 50 largest cities in the US based on 15 factors including transportation, air quality, water quality, solid waste diversion, housing affordability, land use, disaster risk, local food and agriculture, energy, green building and economy. Sacramento was ranked 13th while the top three were Portland, San Francisco and Seattle. The Sacramento Sustainability Master Plan includes ambitious targets in the areas of energy independence, climate protection, air quality, material resource use, public health and nutrition, land use, urban design, green building and transportation, parks, open space and habitat conservation, water resources conservation, flood control and public involvement and personnel responsibility.

The city should take the lead by making wise land use decisions that will result in more compact development with commercial and residential use mixed such that travel is minimized and use of transit is enabled and encouraged. We should support and motivate Sacramento and other agencies, such as the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and Sacramento Regional Transit to implement the plan. Details about Sacramento’s plan are available at: www.cityofsacramento.org/generalservices/sustain. Your personnel “world or carbon footprint’ can be calculated using www.SMUD. org/community-environment/carbon. Rick Bettis is a community activist and expert on land use and other local issues. 

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www.bpmnews.org May / June 2008 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 

Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan

www.ivaw.org

To these vets, “Support our troops” means rapid withdrawal By Cres Vellucci

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hen I was a military information specialist—read: government propagandist—after being drafted and sent to Vietnam in 1969, I wrote story after story about all the good things the US was doing there, and how we needed to stay “just a little longer” to help the people. But, it wasn’t the whole truth. Not even close. Despite my top secret “crypto” clearance, I didn’t know the whole truth until the “Winter Soldier” hearings in Detroit in 1971, organized by Vietnam Veterans Against the War, where vets revealed the real truth about atrocities and inhumanities that rained down on the people we were told we were sent to help. Now it’s another generation’s turn. During March 13–16 of this year, “Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan” was held in Washington, DC. It was the largest gathering of US veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and also included Iraqi and Afghan survivors. All bore witness to what was described by those observing as “bone-chilling” and “nightmarish,” images of atrocity after atrocity in these wars of occupation. These stories were free of the spin of my reports from Vietnam as ordered by military commanders and political leaders. These stories

are the truth. Among the revelations were those by former Marine Jon Turner, who did two tours in Iraq. He ripped the medals from his chest and confessed, “I’m sorry for the hate and destruction I and others have inflicted upon innocent people…; until people hear what is going on, this is going to continue. I am no longer the monster I once was.” Gut-wrenching testimony like this continued for four days—much of it difficult to watch or hear and some of it impossible to watch or hear because it was so intense. The first-hand accounts of the abuse and racist attacks on everyday citizens of Iraq, women, the young and the elderly, was evidence that US fighting men and women had been transformed into dehumanized killers—as they were in Vietnam. Vets called for the rapid withdrawal of all troops from Iraq and criticized Republican, and especially Democratic Party lawmakers for politicizing the wars for their own purposes, and prolonging the wars by continually voting to “protect” the troops by funding wars. However, like the “Winter Soldier” hearings of 1971, this very real news event was largely ignored by the corporate media. Much of the testimony took place on a weekend. Unless it’s the president giving a speech, or some Hollywood starlet being arrested for drunk driving, corpo-

rate media are not going to cover it. Unlike a generation ago, this event was, in fact, covered by the new independent technology media. There were video news feeds from www.therealnews.com and Free Speech TV, and 20 public access channels from coast-to-coast broadcast the hearings. Pacifica Radio stations nationwide also carried extensive reports. In Sacramento, numerous peace and social justice groups sponsored showings of the hearings. As a Vietnam veteran who was part of a misinformation campaign in another war long ago, and who spent decades as a mainstream news reporter trying not to duplicate those mistakes, it’s gratifying to see “Winter Soldier II” receive the coverage it did, even if not from my former mainstream news comrades. I’m proud these veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have stood up as “Winter Soldiers.” The term derives from the opening line of The Crisis, by founding father Thomas Paine, who said, “These are the times that try men’s souls: the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” A good lesson for us all. Cres Vellucci is a member of Veterans for Peace.

The Guns Have Won The toll of Bush’s Iraq war on healthcare By Deborah Burger, RN

San Francisco Bay Guardian, Feb. 21, 2007

With President George W. Bush proposing to push the price tag for the Iraq War up to nearly $600 billion—more than was spent on the Vietnam War—while seeking new cuts in our health care safety net, it would appear the debate over guns and butter is over. The guns have won. Polls before the last election found that the two issues foremost in voters’ minds were the war and our ever-worsening health care crisis. More than ever, the two issues seem linked. With record budget deficits, substantially inflated by spending on the war, resources for health care and other critical domestic needs are increasingly starved. On the same day the president was proposing another $245 billion to prosecute the war this year and next, which would bring the five-year total since the war began to a staggering sum of $589 billion, he also called for slashing $78.6 billion from Medicare and Medicaid over the next five years. In addition, Bush wants Medicare recipients to

No more money for health care Arlington Catholic Herald

pay higher premiums for prescription drugs and doctors’ services and is proposing to eliminate annual indexing of income thresholds, effectively another $10 billion in cuts. Expanding children’s and preventive health programs and addressing “personal responsibility” by tackling childhood and adult obesity are supposedly atop everyone’s short list of health care priorities. But these now appear to be collateral damage. Bush is seeking a $223 million reduction in spending for the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the elimination of a preventive health services block-grant program, $99 million a year to the states, used for obesity prevention and programs for chronic health conditions. He’s also seeking millions in reductions for the National Cancer Institute at the very moment some progress has been made in fighting cancer, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for disease surveillance monitoring of bird flu and other approaching epidemics. That’s just the cuts. There’s no mention of additional funding to address the national blight of 47 million uninsured Americans, another 17 million underinsured, the increased closure of public hospitals and clinics, including in half of the nation’s poor counties that no longer have a health center, and all the other dismal statistics that have dropped our country to 37th in the world in health care indicators. Imagine for a moment how else we could have spent $589 billion. With those same dollars you could buy health insurance for all the nation’s uninsured

people for the next three years. Or you could fund the current federal program of spending on HIV/AIDS antiret“With those roviral drugs for the next 60 years. Or you same dollars you could cover the cost of could buy health educating an additional 39.2 million registered insurance for all the nurses. nation’s uninsured And while there’s plenty of money to send people for the next more troops into harm’s three years.” way, veterans are feeling the pain of cuts in our nation’s health spending. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 263,257 veterans were denied enrollment for Veterans Benefits Administration health coverage in 2005. To cut costs, enrollment has been suspended for those deemed not to have service-related injuries or illnesses. “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom,” Dr. Martin Luther King said. And, he might well have added, endangering the health security of its citizens at home. Deborah Burger is president of the California Nurses Association.

 Because People Matter May / June 2008 www.bpmnews.org

War Profiteers

Our own players in the war profiteer game By Cres Vellucci “Iraq for Sale” director Robert Greenwald has told Congress that the billions and billions of dollars pocketed by defense contractors and other war profiteers during the wars of occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan is a “madhouse run amok.” Well, welcome to the madhouse, Sacramentans. We have our own players in the war profiteer game. However, war profiteers are hidden in Sacramento, as hidden as the true cost of these wars and occupation—cost not seen on the nightly news or talked about all that much—even by those protesting the war which has led to more than 4,000 US troops dead and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed. Names of the top 10 profiteers, according to www. iraqforsale.org and www.corpwatch.org, include: Halliburton/KBR, CACI and Titan, involved in the torture and abuse of detainees; Bechtel, construction; Aegis Defense Services, security and military contractors; Custer Battles, convicted of fraud when 34 of 36 trucks sent to Iraq didn’t work; General Dynamics, bullets to tank shells; Nour USA, pipeline security; and Chevron and Exxon/Mobil. In Sacramento, we have war profiteers doing business daily among us. The most obvious is a Halliburton facility just north of Sacramento, a mile or so before Woodland on busy Interstate 5. Several demonstrations were

One of the protests last year at the Halliburton facility, along the I-5 on-ramp in Woodland. Photo: Cres Vellucci.

held in late 2007 by veterans of Iraq and other wars, and In effect, the Radisson serves as a trap to keep the other anti-war activists. All were met by locked gates, potential recruits in an overnight cage, of sorts, before high fences and menacing security teams. News reportthe actual swearing in the next day at MEPS. They’re ers who covered the story were given “no comment,” and alone, away from family and friends who might influlater told by the local Halliburton representatives that ence them not to join the military. After their stay at the Halliburton had nothing to do with the war. Radisson, the recruits are shipped early the next morn“Corporate war profiteers line their ing to the MEPS facility off Northgate “With a president, Blvd. The military uses this kind of pockets from the manufacture, sale and support of killing machines. Our operation, PsyOps, Congress and both psychological troops and Iraqi citizens die and Halto disorient recruits so they are less ruling political liburton continues to rake in huge resistant to the contract-signing sales profits. We don’t need corrupt war pitches. parties unwilling profiteers in our cities or our state,” said A partner in this conspiracy to to end the Debra Reiger, a spokesperson for the recruit fodder for the wars of occupaSacramento Coalition to End the War. tion is Amador Stage Lines at 13th carnage, it’s time But Halliburton isn’t the only guilty & C Streets. These buses make early to pressure the party in the area. Even more despicable morning runs at 5am from the Radisthan the Dick Cheney corporation may son to the MEPS, playing a key role war profiteers— be two local businesses that play very in the scheme and pocketing untold right here in own key roles in recruiting and sending profits on a military contract—thereby troops to Iraq from California. as guilty as Halliburton and any other backyard.” The Radisson Hotel, off Highway 160 war profiteer. in Sacramento near Arden Way, rents rooms nightly to Not until real economic pressure is put on local dozens of new volunteers for the war on a contract with war profiteers like the Radisson and Amador Stage the US military. The hotel—the target of several protests Lines—calls for boycotts and pickets, for instance—will by Veterans for Peace and others—even has a 24-hour they stop turning the bloody Iraq War into their own conference room/game room complete with video games corporate windfall. and big screen TVs to suck in recruits. With a president, Congress and both ruling political The military is so entrenched at the Radisson that the parties unwilling to end the carnage, it’s time to pressure Military Entrance Processing Station, which is one of the war profiteers—right here in own backyard. four stations in the state that tests and ships off recruits For more information about local anti-war activities, to the war, has its own sign in the parking lots. Although contact Sacramento Coalition to End the War at www. it’s been researched, the information is hidden so deeply sacendwar.org. in the congressional budget that no one really knows Cres Vellucci is a Vietnam veteran, member of Veterexactly how much the Radisson makes in “blood money” ans for Peace and former daily newspaper reporter and from the contract. But it’s close to seven figures, at least. editor.

Cost of Iraq War to California Taxpayers in Sacramento have paid $620.5 million for the Iraq War thus far. Taxpayers in Sacramento will pay $99.5 million for additional proposed Iraq War spending FY 2008. Taxpayers in Sacramento will pay $165.5 million for projected Iraq War spending for FY 2009. Bush’s proposed 2009 budget would cut over 100 federal programs that address community needs. Here’s the impact of just four in California: $118.6 million cut from Community Development Block Grants, benefiting 368 communities; $14.5 million cut from Low-income Home Energy Assistance; $64.9 million in cuts for Social Services Block Grants; and $71.5 million cut from Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers. Total of these cuts, $269.5 million, equals what California taxpayers will spend on the Iraq war in 17 hours. (2008 National Priorities Project, www.nationalpriorities.org.)

www.bpmnews.org May / June 2008 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 

Book Review The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict By Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes, WW Norton & Co., Inc., March 2008, 192 pages.

Reviewed by Richard Nadeau

Those who say “it is the economy” and “not the war” forget the war has had a negative impact on the economy. When the US went to war in Iraq in March 2003, the American people were told it was going to cost $50 billion. Recently, the Bush administration asked for a defense budget of $515.4 billion, a 7.5 percent increase, while calling for $200 billion in cuts from Medicare and Medicaid. This is in addition to a request for a supplemental $70 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The next American president will inherit a deficit of $400 billion. While President Bush says the war has not hurt the US economy, and he has never lied to us before, a new book puts a “conservative estimate” of the war’s cost at $3 trillion. It could easily be as high as $5 trillion. Nobel laureate and former chief World Bank economist Joseph Stiglitz and co-author Linda Bilmes of Harvard University, argue in The Three Trillion Dollar War that the Bush administration misled the American people by repeatedly underestimating the long term costs of the war. Currently, it’s costing $25 billion a month. Two more years of staying in Iraq will cost another $600 billion. Three more years and it’s close to a trillion dollars more. Stiglitz and Bilmes argue the Iraq War has become the second-most expensive war in US history, after World

Costs of War US Spends $720 Million Per Day on the IRAQ War For what we spend in ONE DAY, we could fund: 95,364 Head Start places for children, or 12,478 Elementary School teachers, or 163,525 people with health care, or 34,904 Four Year College Scholarships, or 6,482 families with affordable housing units, or 84 brand new elementary schools, or 1,153,846 kids would have free school lunches for a year, or 423,529 kids would have health insurance. (www.afsc.org/iraq) Every American household is spending $138 per month on the operating costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, with a little more than $100 per month on the Iraq occupation alone.** **Based on work of Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and colleague Linda Bilmes. Per unit costs are based upon research done by the National Priorities Project, www.npp.org.

War II. They maintain the costs of the war outlined in the federal budget are not inclusive because there are other costs hidden in the defense budget. The White House has responded negatively to the book. White House spokesperson Tony Fratto stated, “People like Joe Stiglitz lack the courage to consider the cost of doing nothing and the cost of failure. One can’t even begin to put a price tag on the cost to this nation of the attacks of 9/11.” This is a strange comment knowing Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. According to the authors, the most important budgetary sums are the long-term costs of taking care of veterans—their disability and veterans’ healthcare benefits. This will total hundreds of billions of dollars over the next few decades. Of the 1.6 million who have fought, an estimated 39 percent will wind up with some form of disability. The longer the war lasts, the greater the number of injuries and the greater costs in the future. The Department of Defense website gives a number wounded at around 30,000, but that includes only those wounded in combat. There are also non-combat injuries that double the DOD figure. The number of American fatalities reached 4,000 by Easter Sunday 2008. Their families must also be compensated. It is impossible to imagine what John McCain’s “hundred year war” would cost! The war has also been associated with an increasing price of oil. The US is spending money on oil exports from Saudi Arabia and other countries. Since the war began, the price of oil has skyrocketed from about $25 a barrel to $100. This has had a ramifying effect on the economy. The authors note that the Iraq war has been the most expensive war since World War II. The US has spent three times more per Iraqi than that spent per European under the Marshall Plan. The very high casualty rate in Iraq has boosted the costs exponentially. In World War II, Vietnam and Korea, the number of wounded troops per fatality was about 2:1 or 3:1. Today the number of wounded troops per fatality is 7:1 in combat. When including those wounded outside of combat and those sick who were medivaced home, it’s 15:1. Higher casualties mean the US has a long-term cost of taking care of thousands of disabled veterans for the rest of their lives. The authors also note the cost of the private contractors, such as Blackwater, are more expensive compared to what the government pays for American soldiers. Securi-

79% of Iraqis oppose the presence of Coalition Forces. 64% of Americans oppose the war in Iraq.

Costs of War

320,000 service members may have experienced a traumatic brain injury during deployment, from mild concussions to severe penetrating head wounds. Only 43 percent reported being evaluated by a physician for that injury. In two years after deployment, these injuries will cost as much as $6.2 billion. Unless they receive care, those who have served face health crises and long term consequences for the nation. (Rand Corporation, April 2008)

Costs of War U.S. military killed in Iraq: more than 4,000 Number of U.S. troops wounded in combat since the war began: more than 29,200 Iraqi Security Force deaths: nearly 8,000 US Soldiers in Iraq: 155,000

Costs of War Nearly 300,000 soldiers returning form Afghanistan and Iraq have post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression. Only slightly more than half have sought treatment.

ty contractors cost as much as $400,000 a year, compared to soldiers at $40,000. The privatization of so much of the war and occupation also contributes to explosive costs. The authors claim that this is the first time the US went into war by cutting rather than raising taxes. The war has been financed by deficit spending. The Bush administration has fooled people into thinking they could wage war for free. Since 40 percent of the financing has come from abroad, it means Americans will be paying interest on the borrowed money for years and years to come. The Bush administration transferred hundreds of billions of dollars from American consumers and businesses to the oil exporters. The money spent on the war is money that’s not being spent at home on American infrastructure and for the benefit of the American people. The two big winners in this war are oil companies and defense contractors. The losers are the American and Iraqi people. Richard Nadeau has been a peace and environmental activist since the 1960s. He lives in Sacramento.

More than a million Iraqis have died due to the violence. More than a quarter of Iraqi adults have had a family member murdered in the last three years (Opinion Research Business, Sept. 2007 www.opinion.co.uk). Estimated 655,000 war related deaths (about 2.5% of Iraq’s population) since March 2003. (10/11/06 www.lancet.com). 2.5 million Iraqi men, women and children displaced by war and US occupation— by end of 2007. Most moved to neighboring states illequipped for the influx. US offered only 800 amnesty visas through end of 2006. And 2.5 million Iraqis internally displaced—by end of 2007 (UN High Commissioner for Refugees). (www.afsc.org/iraq.)

Private Military Contractors in Iraq: 180,000 Contract workers killed: 917 Private Contractors criminally prosecuted by US for violence or abuse in Iraq: 1 Iraqi unemployment level: 25–40% 70% without access to clean water. 80% without sanitation. 90% Iraq 180 hospitals lack basic medical and surgical supplies. (Institute for Policy Studies, www.sips.dc.org, March 2008.)

The estimated long-term bill: $3 trillion.

10 Because People Matter May / June 2008 www.bpmnews.org

Marcha Migrante III

On the trail with the Border Angels By Dan Bacher

T

he Border Angels finished their historic 4,500 mile “Marcha Migrante III” from San Diego to Canada in February. The group was founded by Enrique Morones as a human rights organization in 1986 to stop the unnecessary death of people traveling across the US/Mexico border areas of San Diego County and the Imperial Valley. The “Marcha Migrante III” caravan traveled through 40 cities with the message, “Su Voto Es Su Voz,” (your vote is your voice) to remember the 4,500 immigrants who died in the border region.

Cynthia Munoz, Sacramento City College activist, urges people to support immigrant rights. Photo: Dan Bacher

Enrique Morones said the Marcha Migrante III will travel 4500 miles to remember the 4500 migrants that have died in the border region.

Sign with 4500 Mile Route Photo: Dan Bacher

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.

Immigration of economic and political refugees from Mexico and Central America has increased dramatically in recent years, resulting from decades of US-engineered civil war and genocide in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua, combined with economic devastation to indigenous communities in Mexico and Central by the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Central American Free Trade Agreement. “The people of this country will elect a new president this November,” said Morones at a press conference with supporters at the state capitol in Sacramento in February. “We are not supporting any particular presidential candidate. We want to get the candidates to support immigration reform as a pathway for legalization. There are 12 million undocumented workers in this country.” The first “Marcha Migrante” in 2006 traveled from San Diego to Washington, D.C. The theme of the march was “No to HR 4437,” an odious piece of anti-immigrant legislation. “After 3.5 million people took to the streets in April and

the border, but the Canadian government refused to issue her a visa. Photo: Dan Bacher The group went on to Yakima, Washington, Boise, Idaho and Salt Lake City, Utah urging citimore protested in May, the bill was defeated in zens in Latino communities to get out and vote. Congress,” said Morones. They finished their journey with an evening vigil The second “Marcha Migrante” traveled from in North Las Vegas, followed by their return to San Diego to Brownsville, Texas to collect the San Diego and a one-mile walk to the border. stories of migrants to bring to Washington, D.C. During the spring and summer months, in 2007. Border Angels install and maintain 340 water Eric Guerra, staff person for state Senator Gil stations in the Imperial Valley Desert and surCedillo, emphasized immigrants are essential to rounding areas. With temperatures reaching as the economy and culture of California, with 30 high as 127 degrees, water is critical for survival. percent of the state’s people from other countries. During the fall and winter, the group establishOther speakers at the news conference includ- es critical life-saving stations throughout the San ed Cinthya Munoz from Sacramento City College Diego Mountain areas. Winter clothing, food and Brown Issues and MECHA, Jose Sandoval of Vol- water are placed in winter storage bins to help untarios de La Communidad, Armando Gutierthose exposed to freezing temperature changes rez from California State University, Sacramento that occur that time of year. MECHA, and Daniel Morales, treasurer of the GI The organization also informs citizens and Forum. government officials about weather related deaths Munoz, who helped organized pro-immigrant and racial crime deaths. It has opposed the racist rallies in Sacramento in 2006, said it was good scapegoating of immigrants by the Minutemen that “Marcha Migrante” was again bringing to the and other anti-immigrant organizations. When public eye issues of immigrant rights. “People are the Minutemen descended on San Diego in 2005, dying on the border,” she said. “The issue hasn’t Morones and other activists responded by formgone away, even though millions aren’t turning ing the Gente Unida (united people) coalition out in the streets like they were in 2006.” and employed creative ways to disrupt the MinAfter departing Sacramento, Morones and his utemen activities. supporters drove to Medford, Eugene, WoodMore recently, the Border Angels were successburn and Portland, Oregon. They traveled on to ful in pressuring CalTrans to remove “Adopt-ASeattle, Washington and the US/Canada border. Highway” signs emblazoned with the Minutemen An action with immigrant rights activist Elvira name on a two-mile northbound stretch of Arellano was planned on the Canadian side of Interstate 5, north of San Diego, near where Border Patrol agents stop motorists and search for undocumented workers. Enrique Morones and the Border Angels are true modern day heroes whose goal is to save the lives of people, forced by US economic and foreign policy in Latin America and oppression by the reactionary regime of Mexican President Felipe Calderon, to migrate across the US border in dangerous conditions seeking work. For more information, call Enrique Morones at (619) 977-9467. Dan Bacher is journalist, activist and satirical songwriter living in Sacramento.

A community paper needs community support: Subscribe! The Border Angels finished their 4500 mile “Marcha Migrante III” in San Diego on Sunday, February 17. The human rights group held a press conference and rally at the State Capitol in Sacramento on February 6. photo: Dan Bacher

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www.bpmnews.org May / June 2008 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 11

In Sickness or in Health, the Big Pharmaceuticals Want You By Paolo Bassi

tactic is repetition. Whether selling chocolate, wars or drugs, it works. A 2005 study in the he US currently has about 2.2 million of Columbia Journalism Review found that, on averits people in prison, mostly poor workage, network viewers saw 16 ads for prescription ing class whites, African Americans and drugs and 18 for over-the-counter drugs every Latinos. A significant number are serving time night. for minor drug offenses, while a group of very While traditional medicine has offered drugs powerful, respectable people sell hundreds of dif- to patients, the pharmaceuticals industry offers ferent drugs legally on TV and in print media to drugs to the public as consumers, encouraging make billions. They are the US pharmaceuticals hasty choices with potentially lethal effects. Take industry, the biggest drug sellers on the globe. the anti-fungal drug Lamisil. No one has died The industry is able to exercise its phenomenal from yellowing toenails, yet the FDA reported power through legally protected First Amend11 deaths from liver failure caused by Lamisil. ment rights—rights which were greatly expanded Far worse was Merck’s Vioxx, withdrawn in 2004 a decade ago. In 1997 the Food and Drug Admin- after it was shown to be linked to heart disease. istration allowed drug The pharmaceuticals “The pharmaceuticals companies to advertise industry is encouraging directly to consumers, Americans to run to industry is encouraging DTC advertising. No their doctors to demand Americans to run to their other industrialized the latest drug on TV country allows drug for the latest disorder. doctors and demand the makers to advertise This is not surprising, latest drug on TV for the directly on TV. considering it preys on The money spent by an increasingly alienlatest disorder. pharmaceuticals comated population already panies on promoting indoctrinated to believe their drugs is almost twice that spent on research that happiness can be achieved with the right and development. According to a 2008 study possessions and appearance, so why not with the done by York University and issued by the Public right drugs? Library of Science, the industry spent almost $60 With five percent of the world’s population, billion on pharmaceutical advertising in 2004, the US accounts for about 42 percent of all mostly in the US. It is not just the public who are spending on pharmaceuticals, according to a targeted. The same study found that in 2004 the 2006 CBS report. However, the American people industry spent $61,000 per doctor to push new are no healthier than those of other industrialdrugs on patients. Studies such as this challenge ized countries. In fact, by some measures they the industry’s view of itself as public-minded are less so. Compared to these countries, the US and research driven. The frightening thing is has the highest infant mortality rate and the lowthat drug advertising works. In 2003 a Harvard est life expectancy for those over 60, according Public Health study found that for every $1 spent to a 2006 report by The Commonwealth Fund on direct advertising, sales increased by over $4. Commission. Little wonder that the US is the world’s largest There is a fundamental contradiction between spender on pharmaceutical drugs. a corporation’s legal duty to maximize profits Having the power and money to advertise and its purported aim to sell drugs that are safe directly does not guarantee sales. Just like any and necessary. Who then protects the public successful street dealer, the pharmaceuticals against misleading pharmaceutical advertising? industry needs to create demand. Given the The FDA seems toothless, too prone to political inherent risks with prescription drugs and the change and definitely too deferential to drug risk of bad press, sophisticated techniques are manufacturers. It was the FDA that allowed required. direct advertising in the first place. Traditional advertising usually relies on creatAs healthcare costs and Vioxx-style incidents ing dissatisfaction and offering new lifestyles or increase, state legislatures may be forced to creating products to satisfy subconscious desires. regulate the content of DTC drug ads. However, Some drug ads lend themselves to such blatant state lawmakers are just as susceptible to taking manipulation of desire. Male enhancement money from drug companies as are those in drugs, for example, have resulted in a mediaWashington. driven national celebration of the male right to Since DTC advertising is proving very profitperpetual sex. able, the only protection for the American public However, drug advertising really aims to is self-education through alternative sources manipulate emotions by sowing fear and doubt in of drug information. Better still would be to the minds of both the healthy and the unhealthy consider the causes of illness and take preventive while offering hope that the latest drug offering measures whenever possible. The way to defeat will help regain control over their lives. The key the corporate drug pushers is to treat them as a is to nudge the user towards the drug by clever last resort only. disease-mongering while overstating benefits and minimizing or ignoring risks. Paolo Bassi is an attorney and free-lance Along with disease-mongering, the other main writer based in Sacramento.

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The Crows of Sacramento a living history Between 16th street and the river a thousand bindlestiffs and a junkie in a suit. There goes a woman without clothes. The sky is alive at sunset with a thousand crows.

Noon Hour Witness against the Death Penalty. Third Mondays 12noon to 1pm. 11th and L Streets State Capitol INFO: 455-1796

There goes a woman without food watching the train rattle down through rain under the wild clank of geese in mist and tarnished crows. The work of the state moves downhill like water that pours through piles naked and striated, covered with duck-down. There goes a woman with more money concentrating on the road in twilight with her low-beams capturing and passing. A thousand crows alternate light / dark over a power-line rigged for liberation that strangles in the overstory, mingled and amused on the way through. Between 16th street and the river A thousand wandering footsteps and hissing cars, the rain stalls at an intersection with a black bird. By Crawdad Nelson

One at a Time For Risa Roberta Goldberg (Revised from original, 2001 version) After I sigh, “The world is on the verge of collapse,” my friend says we all need to breathe. As the earth stretches taut as high wire she brings me a fresh carrot—long and slim, like a plane or missile, but much better. I like to watch people wandering through black and white films. I like all kinds of people. Sometimes they drive me crazy. Like the little kids in Alpine, California: holding lighted candles and screaming for revenge while waving a flag seen so often no one is likely to forget it. The carrot was sweet and good in soup. I would like to pour sweet, steaming liquid into everyone’s bowl but they might not understand. It took me a few breaths to see that my friend speaks for something called peace, spreading enlightenment one carrot at a time. Mary Leary is a poet, musician and occasional special education assistant currently residing in San Diego.

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.

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

www.sacpeace.org.

12 Because People Matter May / June 2008 www.bpmnews.org

Al Nakba from page 1

Right of Return

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“We must do everything to ensure they [the Palestinian refugees] never do return.” —David Ben-Gurion, First Israeli Prime Minister, diary entry July 18, 1948. Israel’s Law of Return permits any Jew the legal right to assisted immigration and settlement in Israel and automatic Israeli citizenship. Passed on July 5,1950, the law was amended in 1970 to grant the same rights to non-Jews whose parents, grandparents or spouse, are Jewish. The Right of Return refers to Resolution 194, passed by the UN General Assembly in 1948. It “resolves that [Palestinian] refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return.” The Zionist objective is the creation and maintenance of a Jewish-only state. It does not recognize the right of the indigenous Palestinian population, expelled during the creation of Israel, to return to their homes. It does not grant equal status and rights to the Palestinian population not expelled. It is a colonial enterprise that refuses to define its borders.  It is a project of ethnic cleansing through which Israel continues to illegally acquire land; take or destroy Palestinian homes; destroy the means of Palestinian livelihoods, imprison, threaten and harass so that they will die or leave.

“There is no Zionism, colonialization, or Jewish State without the eviction of the Arabs and the expropriation of their lands.” Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister of Israel (2001–2006), Nov. 15, 1998.

Ending the Catastrophe:

Palestinians Return to a Secular Democratic State for all of Historic Palestine “The lesson of 1948 is that of the whole history of Zionism from 1895 Palestinian teachers hold classes in the road outside an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank city of Hebron, protesting intrusive to the present: that the Israeli state is searches of the school children. both the instrument and product of a AP photo relentless program of ethnic cleansing of the indigenous people from the land Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace if they of Palestine. This will not stop unless Israel itself is live together reconciled in democracy in which the transformed, from an ethnocentric Jewish State to dignity, culture and rights of each person is protectthe democratic state of all its citizens. The people of ed.... Palestinians will not agree to live in the cages the world need to come together to bring about this Israel is building for them. As a Palestinian, I say to goal nonviolently. Nothing less will bring peace and Israelis, you must give up your power and yield to justice to the Middle East.” democracy. And walk with us to a future where you —Joel Kovel, author of Overcoming Zionism: Creatwill be safe and where you will have place no greater ing a Single Democratic State in Israel/Palestine. than ours, but no less.” Kovel spoke in Sacramento in February 2008. —Ali Abunimah, from a 2005 Nakba Day speech. “Palestinians are oppressed not just by the occupation, but by an entire system in Israel and all the territories it controls built on the belief that the privileges of one group can be maintained at the expense of the fundamental rights and dignity of another…

Sunday, May 11 Protest the “Salute to Israel,” 12:30pm. 10th & Capitol, Sac. INFO: [email protected]. Note: The emcee is state Senator Darryl Steinberg. Contact him and tell him to not attend the event and withdraw his support of the apartheid state and human rights violator. 916651-4006; Fax: 916-323-2263.

Abunimah spoke at University of California, Davis in October 2006.

Maggie Coulter and Patricia Daugherty are members of Sacramento Area Peace Action.

Join Sacramento Area Peace Action! Send your: Name, Address, Email and Phone, With your check to SAPA for: $30/individual; $52/family; $15 low-income to: Sacramento Area Peace Action 909 12th St, Suite 118 Sacramento, CA 95814

Book Review The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappé, One World Press, 2007, 300 pages. Reviewed by Brigitte Jaensch

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n The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, Israeli historian Ilan Pappé uses British, Israeli and Arab sources to tell how Zionist immigrants, who carved Israel out of 78 percent of Palestine in 1948, planned an d brutally implemented the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population whose ancestral roots went down thousands of years. Today, “The world looks on as [Israel] the strongest military power in the [Middle East] region, with its Apache helicopters, tanks and bulldozers, attacks an unarmed and defenseless population of [Palestinian] civilians and impoverished refugees, among whom small groups of poorly equipped militias try to make a brave but ineffective stand.” Pappé uses the modern term “ethnic cleansing,” but the Zionists used Hebrew terms such as bi’ur, root out/eliminate; tihur, purify/cleanse; and hasiyur ha-alim, commit violent reconnaissance. Today there is talk of “transfer,” or ethnically cleansing Palestinians not ousted in 1948 as illegal Israeli settlements ooze into East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Zionism, the movement to create a Jewish-only homeland in Palestine, was intensive immigration to Palestine coupled with de-Arabizing Palestine. Its slogan “a land without a people for a people without a land” denied the existence of Christian and Muslim Palestinians, 90–95 percent of the population who owned, farmed and had urbanized most of the useable land in Palestine. By 1920, the Zionist immigrants had organized a militia, the Haganah. “By the late 1930s [they had files]…about each [Palestinian] village, its access roads, quality of land, water springs, socio-political composition, religious affiliation, its muhktars [leaders], ages of its men (16–50) and … more.” Between November 1947 and May 1948, the Haganah and Zionist terrorists expelled 250,000 Palestinians. They burned, exploded or bulldozed whole villages, often at

night. Families were crushed. “Men were often shot on the spot.” Girls and women were raped then their jewelry was stripped from their fingers and arms. Wells were contaminated with typhoid. Looting and pillaging were rampant. In May 1948, small contingents of soldiers from five Arab countries came into Palestine. Jordan’s King Abdullah had made a land-sharing deal with the Zionists and his brother, Iraq’s King Faisel respected that deal. The Zionists, calling themselves Israelis, ousted another 500,000 Palestinians. About 75 percent of the Palestinian population, more than 750,000 persons were either killed or forced to flee for their lives. Israel confiscated Palestinian homes, businesses, bank accounts, orchards and other possessions. It was one of the biggest organized thefts in history. Although Israel has received massive foreign aid from the US, other countries and international organizations, it has not paid one dime in reparations to Palestinians and prevents Palestinians from returning to reclaim their property. “Sheer fabrication” is Pappé’s term for the Zionist/ Israeli version of events “that demonizes the [Palestinian] people who have been colonized, expelled and occupied, and glorifies [the Israelis,] the very people who colonized, expelled and occupied them.” Since 1948, Israel has destroyed, built over, renamed and denied the history of everything Palestinian. Of 531 Palestinian villages, only 123 are recognized. Pappé calls what Israel is doing “memoricide,” erasing Palestinian names, geography and history. About 150,000 Palestinians managed to stay in what became Israel in 1948. They, their children and grandchildren now number 1.3 million. They call themselves “Palestinian citizens of Israel.” Israel calls them Israeli Arabs and would like to “transfer” this “demographic problem” out of Israel. Of today’s 11 million Palestinians, half are diaspora Palestinian living outside historic Palestine. More than

four million live under Israeli military occupation in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. About 1.3 million are Palestinian citizens of Israel. In 1948, they numbered about 1.2 million and more than 750,000 were forced from their homes and lands. Over the last 60 years, Palestinian refugees and their families have increased to now number 5.5 million people. Palestinians are the largest refugee group in the world and they have been denied the right of return longer than any other refugee population. Because Pappé wrote about crimes against humanity committed by his country Israel, he and his family have received death threats. Brigitte Jaensch is a human rights advocate.

www.bpmnews.org May / June 2008 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 13

Put down that credit card and pick up an anti-war sign

Honor your mother in original Mother’s Day spirit (you can still take her out to brunch)

by Jeanie Keltner

Julia Ward Howe’s Mother’s Day declaration: “Arise then, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be of water or of tears! Say firmly: We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience. We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs. From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own. It says: Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood does not wipe our dishonor, nor violence indicate possession. As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead. Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesars but of God. In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality, may be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities,the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace.”

I

only learned about ten years ago that Mothers’ Day had been founded as a call for peace, but recently I was introduced to the person behind the original declaration, Julia Ward Howe, the well-educated daughter of a New York banker. Most of us know her as the writer of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” but there’s much more to this remarkable woman. Though she loved parties, art, poetry and music, she also knew in her own life the deep sadness of marriage to a man who depreciated and resented her creative and political efforts, preferring a private help-meet to a public crusader. She knew likewise the searing tragedy of the death of a child, her sixth and last. Perhaps because of these experiences, peace and equality became her life’s high commitments. Many early feminists worked for the abolition of slavery, feeling sympathy for other beings also considered innately inferior by the powers that be. Howe worked with dedication to end slavery and was an early mover in both the women’s and in the international peace movement—all at a time, she noted, “when to do so was a thankless office, involving public ridicule and private avoidance.” Horrified by the bloody Civil War and later the Franco-Prussian conflict, she wrote, “The question forced itself on me, ‘Why do not the mothers of mankind interfere in these matters to prevent the waste of human life, which they alone bear and know the cost? I had never thought of this before. The august dignity of motherhood and its terrible responsibility now appeared to me in a new aspect.” We live in a time of violence exacerbated by patriarchal fundamentalists of the major religions—Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Along with the emphasis on force, there’s also great emphasis on the control and subordination of women. But Howe wrote in her capacity as

Julia Ward Howe, (May 27, 1819-October 17, 1910)

a Unitarian preacher: “I think nothing is religion which puts one individual absolutely above others, and surely nothing is religion which puts one sex above another…. And any religion which will sacrifice a certain set of human beings for the enjoyment or aggrandizement or advantage of another [or] sacrifices women to the brutality of men is no religion.” If we are lucky enough to make The Great Turning (described by Edward Korten in his book of that name) from the dominator model to a more cooperative relation to others, we must certainly have a brunch in honor of Julia Ward Howe. Sources: www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/index.html; www.womenshistory.about.com. Jeanie Keltner is an editor of Because People Matter.

Beekeeping in Our Own Backyards Area beekeeper shows how By Georgianna Pfost

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garden bloomed and boomed until the spring of 1995 when they noticed a sudden dearth of fruits and honeybees. They’d never before lacked bees and their free pollination. That year, Janet learned, many of the bees across the continent were dying due to Varroa mites, an inadvertently introduced pest that damages bee brood. The Brissons’ garden revived thanks to a neighbor placing some of his hives on their property. When he moved the bees again the following year, Janet decided a permanent solution was needed and signed up for a class offered by the local beekeeping association. Within weeks she was tentatively holding bees on her hand while the instructor explained the biology of swarms. As soon as the class ended and she’d rounded up some equipment, Janet set up hives of her own. Her pollination problem was solved, but she had serious misgivings about using chemicals, then considered necessary to keep her bees, in her otherwise organic garden. For a couple of years, Janet applied the commonly used Apistan strips, which can be placed in the hive during the non-honey-flow times, to control mites. However, she noticed, as did others, that mites were becoming resistant to the treatment. Not willing to adopt stronger chemicals, Janet actively sought out other options by surfing the Internet, talking with other beekeepers, and testing new ideas in her own few hives. She found that now buying replacing the hives’ solid bottom Political posters, handbills & pamphlets boards with screened boards, Books on history, labor, & politics combined with periodic dusting Records of blues, jazz, rock, punk, world, R&B, & spoken word. of the brood combs with powAnd, of course, we are selling books & records, too! dered sugar to knock the mites We are located at 1114 21st Street, Sacramento. Our new hours are M–Sat: 11am–7pm, Sunday: 11am–3pm down and out of the hive, kept (Please call for appt. if selling.) these pests to a tolerable level. 916-447-5696. Her hives survived. Soon Janet was excitedly sharing her findwww.timetestedbooks.net ings, searching for and applying

ith all the recent news about dwindling bee populations, it’s encouraging to hear how we can successfully sustain bees right in our own backyards, and helpful to see how others have done just that. Hobbyist beekeeper Janet Brisson of Grass Valley described her unanticipated but successful venture into bees in a “How I Do It” seminar at the National Beekeeping Conference this past January in Sacramento. For Janet the path to beekeeping began in the 1970s, when she and her husband, Mike, moved into a suburban Los Angeles home and proceeded to plant the requisite lawn. But when the grass died after a triple dousing of “Weed and Feed,” and chemical gopher “bombs” affected Janet more than the rodents, Janet and Mike decided to try gardening without chemicals and found quick success with a plot of melons. When the Brissons moved to the San Bernardino Mountains, they changed to cool-weather crops and began raising chickens for eggs and earthworms for compost. After they moved north to Grass Valley in 1989— to find a small community with larger schools for their sons—they added warm-weather crops, fruit trees, berries and grapes. Their organic

Time Tested Books

Bees on comb.

Photo: Mike Brisson

further mite-control techniques such as drone comb management, and working with Mike to refine and build the screened boards for other beekeepers striving to return to natural chemicalfree beekeeping. In ten short years Janet Brisson has gone from beginner to mentor on how to keep bees without pesticides, and provides a good model of what each of us can do to help address the bee—and other environmental—crises. Her willingness to seek and test new ideas to find more sustainable solutions, and share her learning, is helping both bees and the planet, one hive at a time. For more information: www.countryrubes.com www.sacbeekeepers.org www.californiastatebeekeepers.com Georgianna Pfost is a backyard beekeeper in Sacramento and editor of “The Bee Line,” a newsletter of the Sacramento Area Beekeepers’ Association.

14 Because People Matter May / June 2008 www.bpmnews.org

Obama’s Blood and The Hidden Truths

True statements about history treated anti-American by media By Richard Nadeau

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were not his words. But he refused to renounce fter Rush Limbaugh said he wanted to his relationship with his pastor who performed see Barack Obama “bloodied up politihis wedding ceremony and was the inspiration cally,” a tidal wave of anti-Obama news for his book The Audacity of Hope. After the stories flooded the mainstream media. It was controversy broke, he removed the retiring pastor bad enough that he was from his African Ameri“The bloodhounds were being hit by Clinton can Religious Leaderclaims that he was ship Committee. barking and snipping at inexperienced, or that Obama noted his pasObama’s heels demanding tor had been politicized he was not ready to be Commander-in-Chief. I in the 1960s during the a renunciation of the scoffed at the scare ads civil rights movement pastor.” about who you want and Vietnam War. The answering the phones pastor’s confrontational in the middle of the night. In 2002 it was Obama style ran counter to his own approach of avoiding who courageously stood up against the war fever polarization and trying to create bridges between and spoke out against the invasion of Iraq when people. Most importantly, the pastor brought him everyone else was screaming for innocent Iraqi to Jesus and talked about ”faith and values, and blood. Now Iraq lies in chaos and ruins. serving the poor.” Geraldine Ferraro engaged in what social psyWright’s fiery speech implying the US brought chologists call the “ultimate attribution error.” She the horrifying 9/11 attacks on itself is a thesis argued that Obama was where he was because he defended by scholars like Chalmers Johnson was black, implying that he had no real presidenin his book Blowback. Prior to 9/11, the book tial qualities that could explain his success as a predicted US policies and use of force around candidate. This made me wonder. Maybe Obama the world were generating anger that could lead is under attack because he really does represent to violence against the US. He got the concept of change, even if only incremental. Some fear his cry “blowback” from the CIA. An example? The US for change is not just empty rhetoric. supported Islamic militants in Afghanistan durThe latest media furor was over remarks from ing the 1980s, giving them training, weapons and Obama’s former minister, the Reverend Jeremiah money to fight the Soviet Union. Many of these Wright Jr. The bloodhounds were barking and same militants, like Osama Bin Laden, are now snipping at Obama’s heels demanding a renundeclared enemies of the US blowback. ciation of the pastor. The preacher stated that It is a fact the US killed more than 100,000 US policies and violence around the world were civilians in two atomic flashes in densely popu“damned” by God, and had brought on 9/11. He lated Japanese cities. American General Dwight stated that the US was the “number one killer” in D. Eisenhower said, “dropping the bomb was the world, that in a day it had wasted more than completely unnecessary.” Japan was already in 70,000 civilian lives by dropping an atom bomb ruins and wanted to surrender. Gar Alperovitz, in on Hiroshima. Days later another bomb took The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb, questioned 70,000 lives in Nagasaki. the use of atomic bombs as a military necessity to In interviews on CNN and MSNBC, Obama save American lives and end the war. The notion condemned the reverend’s statements. He was that the bomb was necessary is itself an American not present when the comments were made. They myth.

What is going on here? Why are arguably true statements about history treated as anti-American by media commentators and politicians? Are these forbidden truths? Is it wrong to go back and say the US massacred Native Americans when it colonized the American continent, that it exploited slave labor to run the plantation economy of the South? Are these controversial statements? Is it politically incorrect to tell the truth about the violence in Iraq and Afghanistan as the “Winter Soldiers” did this March? This charge of anti-Americanism is a trick, a false patriotism, the kind you hear daily on “FOX News.” It is based on denial and a denial of the denial. The assumption that you hate America if you want to change government policies is false. What if these policies: the occupation, the practice of torture, the CIA “rendition” program, and use of military violence, are harmful to America’s future? Are we to keep quiet? There are certain gains created by our democratic capitalist culture that have benefited humanity, but do we have to park our brain forever, wrap it in the flag, and stop thinking critically? Was Admiral William Fallon lacking in patriotism for disagreeing with Bush’s proposed US military attack on Iran? Could it be that saying “no” to the unjust war in Iraq is patriotic? When aggressive war is made sacrosanct, patriotism is indeed “the last refuge of a scoundrel.” On 9/11 a friend called and told me to turn on my television set. I was angry when I saw the twin towers crumble. I speculated this would push the country to the right. I knew the Bush/ Cheney crime family would manipulate fear in a regressive way. I feared that the “war on terror” would endanger our constitutional civil liberties. My worst fears came true. Wanting an end to this immoral war is not anti-American Richard Nadeau has been a peace and environmental activist since the 1960s. He lives in Sacramento.

Abraham Lincoln Brigade Honored Finally, a national monument

By William J. Hughes After 70 years in the making, on March 30, 2008, a national monument to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade was established in San Francisco to honor the American volunteers, approximately 3,000, who served the Spanish Republic. The Brigade fought against Generalisimo Francisco Franco and his fascists, aided by Mussolini and Hitler during the Spanish Civil War, 1936–39. A beautiful sunny Sunday in San Francisco saw representatives from the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, the Spanish Ambassador, the monument’s designers and hundreds of supporters honor veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. The director of ALBA reminded us, “the monument is an antidote to amnesia.” The

Abraham Lincoln Brigade, and for that matter, the Spanish Civil War, is one of the greatest stories never told. The Brigade was a contingent of Americans who gave their blood for “La Causa,” as part of the International Brigades that fought to defend the Spanish Republic. About 800 were left behind in the Spanish earth. March 30 was a significant day of remembrance for all of us who stand for justice and equality. As one of the honored vets said, “the bastards are always doing evil and we have to continue to stand in their way. ¡No pasaran! The design of the memorial is left for you to experience first-hand. It is located across from the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. Donations to ALBA may be sent to 700 Broadway #341 New York, NY 10003. William J. Hughes lives in Sacramento.

Detail of the memorial. Photo: William Hughes

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www.bpmnews.org May / June 2008 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 15

May / June Calendar

Send calendar items for the July / August 2008 issue to [email protected] by June 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.

ONGOING EVENTS 11th OF EVERY MONTH: Sacramento 9/11 Truth Demonstration. 11th and L Streets, facing Capitol nor th entrance. INFO: www.truthaction.org, 916372-8433. 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. M onday S : 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. 3r d MONDAYS: SAPA Peace and Sustainability Committee. 6–8pm. INFO: Peace Action, 448-7157. 3rd MONDAYS: Sacto 9/11 Truth:Questioning the “War on Terror.” 6– 8pm. Denny’s 3rd & J St. Info: sac911truth@gmail. com 372-8433. 3rd MONDAYS: Lesbian Cancer Support Group. 6:30 Bring partners or support people with you. Open discussions with everyone. INFO: Roxanne Hardenberg; ROXANNE1040@ aol.com. TUESDAYS: Call for Peace Vigil. 4–6pm. 16th and J St. INFO 448-7157. TUESDAYS: Improv workshop. Solve the world’s problems through improv games! 7–9:30pm. Geery Theatre, 2130 L street, Sac. $5.00, first time free. INFO: Damion, 916-8214533, [email protected].

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, 89057th St. INFO: 489-2419. 1st WEDNESDAYS: Peace & Freedom Party. 7pm. INFO: 456-4595. 3r d WEDNESDAYS: CAAC Goes to the Movies. 7:15pm. INFO: 4463304. THURSDAYS:Daddy’sHere. 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 and 2nd Thursdays: Storytelling at the Hart Senior Center, 27th & J sts. 7pm. Free. INFO: 916362-9013, or PaulIdaho@ comcast.net. Fridays: Movies on a Big Screen. Independent, quirky movies and videos. 7pm. 600 4th St, West Sac. INFO: www.shiny-object. com/screenings/. 1st FRIDAYS: Community Contra Dance. 8–11pm; 7:30pm beginners lessons. Clunie Auditorium, McKinley Pk, Alhambra & F. INFO: 530-274-9551. 2nd FRIDAYS: Dances of Universal Peace. 7:30– 9:30pm. Sacr amento Friends Meeting House 890 57th St. $5–$10 donation requested. INFO: Joyce, www.sacramento-

dancesofuniversalpeace. org, 916-832-4630. 4th FRIDAYS: Dances at Christ Unity Church, 9249 Folsom Blvd. All Welcome $5–$10 donation requested. INFO: Christine 4575855, www.sacramentodancesofuniversalpeace. org. 1st SATURDAYS: Health Care for All. 10am–noon. Hart Senior Ctr, 27th & J. For single-payer universal health care. INFO: 916424-5316; cnegrete@ comcast.net. 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 Poetr y Series, open mic plus featured poets. 7–9pm Underground Books, 2814 35th Street (at Broadway), Sacramento. $3. INFO: 737-3333. SUNDAYS: Sacto Food Not Bombs. 1:30pm. Come help distribute food at 9th and J Streets. 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.

For the most current listing of Sacramento peace & justice events, go to www.sacpeace.org. To receive weekly updates of area events, email [email protected] and put SacPeaceUpdates in the subject.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR Thursday, May 1

Wake Up, LET Go!—Free Screening of“Zeitgeist”. 7–10 pm. “Movies on a Big Screen”, 600 4th St., West Sacramento. INFO: www.wakeupLETgo. com.

Friday, May 2

A War on Error? The hysterical presidential campaign of nationally syndicated political cartoonist and comic, Khalil Bendib, aka Prez in the Fez. 7:30pm. 909 12th St, Sac. INFO: 916448-7157; [email protected].

Saturday, May 3

1st Saturday Vigil to End the War and Occupation. 11:30am–1:30pm. Arden & Heritage, Sac. INFO:[email protected].

Tuesday, May 13

Gray Panthers Sacramento General Meeting: Rick Nadeau, former director, Greenpeace San Diego (and BPM editor) and Linda Banta, ret. Profressor, Sierra College, will present opposing views on“Environmental Concerns Cause a New Look at Nuclear Energy.” 1–3pm. Hart Senior Center, 27th and J Sts. light refreshments. INFO: 916-332-5980.

Sunday, May 11

The Arab Theatre Project Sacramento Presents: Hikayat Al Nakba. A play illustrating the life and legacy of Naji Al-Ali, reflecting the exile, dispossession and resilience of the Palestinian Arab people. 3–5pm. Theater A-6, Sac City College, 3855 Freeport Blvd, Sac. INFO: Hikayatalnakba@ gmail.com; 916-459-7867.

Tuesday, May 13

Peace Connection: Activist Gathering and Discussion. 6:30pm. Luna’s Cafe, 1414 16th Street, Sac. INFO: 916-448-7157.

Wednesday, May 14

Frank Dixon Graham hosts reading by local anti-war poets. Free, open to the public. 7pm. 909 12th St., Sac. INFO: 916-606-4303; www. sacramentopoetrycenter.org.

Saturday, May 17

3rd Saturday Vigil to End the War and Occupation. 11:30am–1:30pm. Fulton & Marconi, Sac. INFO:[email protected].

Monday, May 19

Jim Whitaker, an American who has spent most of his life in the Mideast, discusses Iranian thinking and motivations. 7pm. Sac UN Assoc, SMUD, 6201 S St., Sac. INFO 916-482-1354.

Wednesday, May 21

Film: “Devils Don’t Dream,” Jacobo Arbenz and his overthrow by the CIA in Guatemala in l954

2nd SUNDAYS: Atheists & Other Freethinkers. 2:30pm. Sierra 2 Center, Room 10, 2791 24th St. INFO: 447-3589.

Sunday, May 4, 2008 @ 5 pm Scholarship Essay Contest Dinner and Finals

ending “ten years of spring” with the creation of a military dictatorship. 7:15pm 1640 9th Ave, Sac. INFO: 916-446-3304.

Thursday, May 29

Happy Tails Pet Sanctuary Bake Sale. Happy Tails rescues abused and abandoned animals and adopts them out to loving homes. 7:30am to 3pm. State Capitol Building grounds, North side of Capitol Building, near 11th and L Streets. Donations for baked cookies. INFO: 916-375-4718 or 916-422-0101, [email protected].

Saturday, May 31

Saturday Vigil to End the Occupation. 11:30am– 1:30pm. Arden & Heritage, Sac. INFO: sacpeace@ dcn.org.

Saturday, June 7

1st Saturday Vigil to End the War and Occupation. 11:30am–1:30pm. Arden & Heritage, Sac. INFO:[email protected].

Sat./Sun. June 14–15

4th annual Celtic Midsummer Faerie Festival. 10am–9pm Saturday; 10am–6pm Sunday. See box announcement this page.

Tuesday, June 10

Peace Connection: Activist Gathering and Discussion. 6:30pm. Luna’s Cafe, 1414 16th Street, Sac. INFO: 916-448-7157.

Wednesday, June 18

The Baghdad DVDs: 5 films made between 2007 and 2007 by students at the Independent Film and TV College in Baghdad about Iraqi lives under the U.S. occupation. 7:15pm. 1640 9th Ave, Sac INFO: 916-446-3304.

Saturday, June 21

The Fête de la Musique, also known as World Music Day, a world wide music festival. On this day in Sacramento, sidewalks, parks, community gardens, stores and more become impromptu musical stages for both amateur and professional musicians to showcase their talents. All concerts and performances are free and open to the public. INFO: http://sacwiki.org/fete.

Saturday, June 21

Sacramento PRIDE Fesitval Proceeds benefit programs and services of the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center. 10am–7pm. Southside Park, 8 and V Streets. INFO: 916-4420185 ext. 139.

Saturday, June 21

3rd Saturday Vigil to End the War and Occupation. 11:30am–1:30pm. Fulton & Marconi, Sac. INFO:[email protected].

Volunteers Needed for Iraq Body Count Exhibit! The Sacramento Coalition to End the War has arranged to host an exhibit of 120,000 flags (each representing five Americans or Iraqis killed in the war) to be placed on Capital Mall the last week of May. We will probably set up 5/23 or 24, and probably take down 5/30 or 31. We need LOTS of volunteers to help with the setup and removal! See www.Iraqbodycountexhibit.org for images of the display and methodology used for calculating casualties.

TO VOLUNTEER: [email protected], 916698-8131. Presented by

Saturday and Sunday, June 14–15, 2008

The Sacramento Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility

The 4th Annual Celtic Midsummer Faerie Festival

Location:

Fun, Family-oriented, Celtic culture and history; Celtic, Folk and Rock music and dance, and a diverse marketplace.

California State University, Sacramento Alumni Center $25 for Adults $10 for Students Please email [email protected] or Call 916 955-6333 for Reservations Students submitted an original essay of 500 words or less describing their thoughts on the following statement by Marine Corps Medal of Honor Winner, Major General Smedley Butler: “War is a racket…in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.”

10am–9pm Saturday (marketplace closes at 7pm), 10am–6pm Sunday, Fair Oaks VFW Hall, 8990 Kruithof Way, Fair Oaks, California 95628 (near Phoenix Park off Hazel Avenue). Free Admission and Parking INFO: www.groveoftheoak.org; 916-339-7157; festival@ groveoftheoak.org

INSIDE: 3 Trillion $$$$ War—We’re All Paying Al-Nakba, the Catastrophe Remembered Obama’s Blood and the Hidden Truths Mother’s Day Surprise

May / June 2008 Progressive News and Views

Because People Matter

Progressive Media Editors’ Picks!

▼ Soapbox!—Jeanie Keltner talks with

activists and analysts from Sacramento and beyond about the issues of the day. Where to watch: Access Sacramento cable channel 17. Every Monday at 8pm. Call in comments on 2nd and 4th Mondays. Repeats Tuesday at noon, Wednesday at 4am. In Davis, on channel 15, Tuesdays at 7pm.

▼ Media Edge—Sacramento’s own

magazine format show, covering local progressive events and speakers, as well as internationally known commentators, with clips from some of the best independent political video being made now. Where to watch: Access Sacramento channels 17 and 18 and Davis Channel 15. Sundays 8–10pm Nevada County channel 11 Mondays 10:30pm–12:30am, West Sacramento channel 21 Mondays 9-11pm. See scheduled segments at www.wethemedia.org.

▼ Democracy Now—Amy Goodman’s

award-winning magazine format show.

Where to watch: 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

If you don’t have cable TV, you can watch Access Sacramento programs as they are being aired by going to www.accesssacramento.org and clicking on the “Watch Channel 17” button at the top of the first page.

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). —has been silenced. 1240 AM has switched to a gospel format. No more Randi Rhodes, Rachel Maddow, Thom Hartmann or the others who brought us an alternative viewpoint. ▼ KZFR 90.1 FM Chico People Powered Radio! managed and operated by volunteers, provides mostly locally produced and community oriented programs.

(Other) Progressive Newspapers

▼ The Flatlander: a free community newspaper of fun, opinion and politics in the Davis Area. [email protected]. Publication every 2 months, next issue is April/May The Flatlander P.O. Box 72793 Davis, CA 95617 ▼ You may see the Rock Creek Free Press in the back of some BPM stands and in other places you find BPM. It’s a great new paper from Washington DC with emphasis on the undernews. Check it out. ▼ Likewise, we are greatly impressed with the lively goodlooking Midtown Monthly. It’s not political, but it has the kind of useful and delightful info about life, art, food and music in Sacramento and beyond that creates the sense of community needed for an uncertain future.

Online News Sources:

Don’t bitch at the media— become the media!

Have you taken the TV production training at Access Sacramento? Would you like to put your technical talents to use? Soapbox! urgently needs crewmembers to help set up, run cameras, and take viewers’ phone calls on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month. Or consider taking the training. Mandatory orientations are given at Access Sacramento at 46th and T streets on the 2nd Wednesday and 4th Tuesday of each month from 6–7pm. To register call 456 8600 x O. Leave your name and number if no one’s in at the time. The basic workshops run from 3 to 24 hours and cost from $10 to $50. Some $ help is available. Call 444 3203 if you’re interested in joining us at Soapbox! for fun—and the best pizza in town.

www.Truthout.org: written essays on current events, some videos, like Keith Olbermann’s MSNBC Countdown shows. www.CommonDreams.org News Center: Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community. www.Brasscheck.org: Progressive videos on many subjects, from Steven Colbert’s speech at the White House Correspondent’s dinner and speeches by leftwing MP George Galloway, to extensive information on 9/11 and the attacks on our civil liberties. www.TheRealNews.com: a nonprofit progressive website offering daily news videos including interviews and debates. They plan soon to expand to television. www.GoLeft.tv: Progressive Online Television. In the world of media monopoly, news has been replaced with a new invention called “infotainment.” GoLeft.tv is a progressive political T.V. news source that fills that gap between the media’s dumbed down infotainment and real news reporting. www.innworldreport.net: Daily professional viewer/listener supported journalism available in over 20 million homes across America.

Sacramento and Central Valley Indymedia: www.sacindymedia.org.

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