2009 Jan Feb

Because People Matter Progressive News and Views

January / February 2009

Follow the Bullets, Find the Guns

How Sacramento City’s ammunition ordinance helps By Amanda Wilcox

to treatment are morally right and necessary for true violence prevention. The enforcement of laws that keep It is said that a child in the US is far more likely to firearms out of inappropriate hands is also essential. catch a bullet than to catch the measles. Every year in Laura’s killer had a houseful of illegal weapons. The our country, about 30,000 people die from gun violence Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence believes that and over 70,000 people are injured dangerous weapons should be kept Last year, Sacramento out of dangerous hands. There are by gunfire. Drive-by shootings and firearm homicides are becoming classes of people, who, based on City Councilmember common occurrences in the Sacrapast behaviors, are deemed to be at Kevin McCarty mento area. Have you had enough? high risk of committing violent acts Join the Campaign to keep illegal with firearms. We have laws that introduced a city guns off our streets and help curb prohibit these persons—such as the ordinance that tracks dangerously mentally ill, gang memgun violence in Sacramento. Ask Sheriff McGinness and the Sacrabers, violent felons, or wife batterammunition sales. mento County Board of Supervisors ers—from purchasing or possessing to adopt an ammunition ordinance firearms or ammunition. We have that will save lives. laws, such as the Brady Background Check, that regulate My family has been personally touched by gun viothe transfer of weapons and provide the means for keeplence. In 2001, my only daughter, Laura, was murdered ing guns out of dangerous hands. The City of Sacramento while home on winter break from college. Laura was and the State of California are leaders in adopting such filling in as a receptionist at a Behavioral Health clinic in laws, which need to be expanded to other jurisdictions Nevada County, when without warning, a patient sufferor states. ing from severe paranoid schizophrenia opened fire with Last year, Sacramento City Council Member Kevin a semiautomatic handgun and shot Laura four times at McCarty introduced a city ordinance that tracks ammupoint blank range. Laura was killed instantly. When the nition sales in order to deter and detect ammunition shooting rampage at the clinic and at a nearby restaurant purchases by criminals, gang members, and other unlawended, three people lay dead, three were severely injured, ful purchasers. The ordinance requires gun dealers to a community was shaken, and the world was diminished maintain a log of ammunitions sales, including identifyby the loss of an incredible young woman. ing information about the purchaser. The Sacramento The circumstances surrounding Laura’s death dramatiPolice Department cross-checks these logs with the cally highlight the tragic intersection of untreated severe existing state database of prohibited persons and can mental illness and inappropriate access to firearms. determine who is illegally buying ammo and may be Certainly, improved mental health care and better access illegally armed. Furthermore, the Police Department

The Elephant in the Room War and the economy

T

photo courtesy Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

regularly uses the ammunition log information in the investigation of gun crime. After eight months of data (Jan 2008—Sept 2008), the results are astounding. The Sacramento Police Department reports that 117 prohibited people purchased ammunition. Of these prohibited people, 80% had felony convictions and 6 were gang members. 67% of the illegal ammunition purchased was primarily ammunition used in handguns. It is important to note that handguns are the weapons of choice for criminals. As a result of the information from the ammunition logs, the Sacramento Police Department was able to execute 28 search warrants and recover 56 illegal firearms, 800+ rounds of illegal ammunition, and 3 stolen firearms. Arrests, felony charges and convictions have taken place. The Sacramento Police Department reports that “the ordinance and the enforcement program which

see Ammunition, page 6

Even before the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the US was spending as much on its military as the next ten militarized countries of the world combined.

an elephant in the room which few people seem to notice or talk about. War is he National Bureau of Economic Research the gigantic pachyderm that declared in December, 2008 that the US economy most pundits overlook in is officially in the throes of a recession, with the the middle of our country’s economic mess. And almost nation’s gross domestic product having declined for the no one in a position of power is suggesting, as a solution past two quarters. The recession has economic experts to the current economic crisis, that we stop wasting vast and political leaders, including President Obama and his human and financial resources on war and preparation newly assembled economic team, scratching their heads for war, and that we instead redirect these resources and trying to figure out how we got into this mess—and toward more constructive uses. how we can get out of it. We’ve spent over $800 billion already on the military A number of factors have been cited as contributing invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. to the economic downturn, including the sub-prime Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz estimates mortgage debacle, the burst of the housing bubble, the that long-term costs will approach $3 trillion. But even deregulation of the financial industry, increasing energy before the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the US was costs, and tight credit markets. The solution to the ecospending as much on its military as the next ten militanomic crisis, we have been told, is to spend trillions of rized countries of the world combined. dollars to bail out Wall Street, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, When President Dwight Eisenhower stepped down AIG, the auto industry, and other corporate interests after his second term as President in 1960, he warned: fortunate enough to be considered by those controlling “…we must guard against the acquisition of unwarthe government purse strings as essential to an economic ranted influence…by the military-industrial complex. recovery. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power But during press conferences and Congressional hearexists and will persist.” ings concerning the country’s economic woes, there is Few would disagree that America needs a strong defense, but conventional military force is not effective in combating terrorism. And when we spend as much on our own military as the next ten militarized countries of the world combined, we cannot construe this as “defense spending.” The vast sums of money being wasted on war and preparation for war represent war profiteering, enabled by “the disastrous rise of misplaced Your tax dollars at work: a view of the American Embassy in power” by the militaryIraq, originally estimated at $1 billion, just one of many sinkindustrial complex that holes into which our money is disappearing. President Eisenhower photo: MSNBC warned us about.

By Bill Durston

Laura Ligon Wilcox 1981-2001 Age 19 at the time of her death.

No country in the history of the world, from Ancient Greece to the former Soviet Union, has been able to consistently devote massive human and financial resources toward war and preparation for war without collapsing from within. It would be foolhardy to believe that the United States can be any exception to this rule. As the 1987 United Nations conference on Disarmament and Development concluded:

see Economy, page 14

Inside this issue: Editorial..................................................... 2 Rick Nadeau Dies....................................... 3 Soapbox Needs Your Help.......................... 3 SB840: We Will Be Back........................... 4 What Will Happen to Big Media?............. 4 Conscientious Objectors............................ 5 Dorothea Lange Exhibit............................. 5 Foreclosures................................................ 6 KKK in Sacramento................................... 7 West Coast Eco-Socialism.......................... 7 The American Worker................................ 7 Proposition 8 Resistance.........................8-9 Proposition 11.......................................... 10 Nuclear Threats....................................... 10 August Peace Event................................. 10 Declaration of Human Rights.................. 11 Who Owns Black History Month............ 11 Reporting Live from the West Bank....12-13 Book Review: Much Too Promised Land. 14 Calendar................................................... 15 Progressive Media.................................... 16

2 Because People Matter January / February 2009 www.bpmnews.org

because

People Matter

Editorial Page

Volume 18, Number 1

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

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On the cover The Depression photographs of Dorothea Lange have a message for us today. They will be on display at Sacramento State through March 7. See story on page 5.

Jacqueline Diaz Coordinating Editor for this issue

Looking Back to Move Forward Painful but necessary by Jeanie Keltner Cut him some slack, Jeanie, my professor friend says, chiding my criticism of Obama. My friend had been part of that joyful victory crowd at the Raddison election night and his heart was still high. But that was over a month ago—and it’s hard for me to feel too optimistic about a man who chooses a cabinet that is “almost perfect”— according to Joe Lieberman! Or “reassuring”—to Karl Rove! (“Empire classic or empire lite?” www.therealnews.com) All the conservative pundits yelling at Obama to “govern from the center,” to abandon his “socialistic” ideas (raising the capital gains tax?) must be overjoyed. (Why is it only when Dems win that we hear this insistent call to bipartisanship and the “center.”) “I don’t want to just end the war,” Obama had said during the campaign. “I want to end the mindset that got us into war.” But you couldn’t prove it by his cabinet choices, so many of whom helped create our tragic situation. Already Obama’s cabinet choices—because of their connections to previous administrations— have made certain needed directions far less likely. And one of those directions is BACK. Oh, how we want to believe in the change Obama promised—to believe that this country can and will change to something closer to its ideals. We long for change, and we want, many of us, to put the outrages of the Bush/Cheney regime behind us. We don’t even want to think about them any more, so tired we are of the anger/cynicism/disgust/sadness/despair such contemplation can arouse. And so I hear people saying, “We’ve got a new administration. We need to turn the page, get over it, look to present tasks and the future. Let bygones be bygones.” We want to believe that “our long national nightmare is over.” But it’s not. Somehow this country allowed the president and his people to break laws and violate the constitution, to wiretap and spy on us all without warrants, to arrest and hold without charges, to torture, to construct phony pretexts for real wars, to destroy countries, kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people and drive millions more into exile, all the while pulling millions into their own bank accounts. And now we’re going to let them just walk away? Let them go back to their ranches and lodges, suites and compounds—only just richer than when they left? Let them come back later into positions of power (as the Iran-Contra culprits did) because they were not held accountable, their crimes were not exposed, evidence was not made public, and they did not have to answer for their illegal actions. Are those people above the law? I agree with David Swanson, co-founder of www.AfterDowningStreet.org about “the necessity of ending the Culture of Impunity. The demands of the people that the Bush Administration obey the Constitution, the Laws of the

security policy basis for the range of counter- and United States, and International Law have been anti-terrorism measures taken by the Adminisignored or ridiculed. If we are to have Justice, tration in addressing the very real and present they must be called to account for their crimes. challenges faced by the United States and other If we are to have Peace, nations in addressing terrorOh, how we want to all future administrations ism.” (“Washburn Consensus must know that they too believe in the change on Post-9/11 Principles,” will be called to account http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/ Obama promised— in their turn. …[F]uture forumy/2008/11/wayactions alone can never be forward-post-911-principles. to believe that this enough to heal this nation php). country can and will and restore its place in the A public investigation into civilized world unless there the Bush/Cheney Adminischange to something is a reckoning with the past. tration’s actions would go a closer to its ideals. South Africa needed its long way toward showing the Commissions of Truth and excesses and illegalities such Reconciliation before it could move forward. We misdefinitions lead to. We’ve got to look back to too must have Accountability. Those who have move forward. committed crimes must be brought to Justice. …” Well, it’s a wild understatement to say that Swanson continues, “…A vocal social moveObama faces enormous challenges. He’s stepping ment pursuing accountability for the crimes of into a minefield of tightly structured, incredibly the Bush Administration will serve as a deterrent powerful, pre-existing special interests, and if against the newly elected (or any future) admina leader does really want to change direction, it istration following the same path.” (Press release may be sound strategy to bring in close—even to from David Swanson) the cabinet—people connected to past decisions Obama’s plans to leave residual troops in Iraq, for them to feel part of the change. to intensify the war in Afghanistan (which is as So I will give Obama the benefit of the doubt. falsely “motivated” and illegal as the war in Iraq), But of course, ultimately it’s the people that to confront Iran and Pakistan, and to rebuild the count. And Obama’s words roused so many US military to global supremacy suggest that as people. One of the best parts of working on Bill Pepe Escobar said in “Empire classic or empire Durston’s campaign for congress was calling lite?” on TheRealNews.com, Obama is still a the list of newly registered Dems. Judging from “conceptual prisoner of the war on terror frametheir answering machines (Wassup?!) many were work.” What does that mean? young—and energized and appreciative of DurAt a recent symposium on “The Rule of Law ston’s peace and justice stance. and the Global War on Terrorism,” three interThey’re the ones who must make the change we national law specialists, urged correction of this need. Can we reach them, work with them, get conceptual misdirection: them info beyond corporate media views, keep “The phrase ‘Global War on Terrorism’ should them energized? Against all the powers at the top no longer be used in the sense of an on-going arrayed against progressive change, we need to ‘war’ or ‘armed conflict’ being waged against ‘ter- keep pushing Obama in OUR direction. rorism.’ Nor should it serve as either the legal or That means we must visit www.change.gov/ page/s/ofthepeople often and share our ideas for the future. At least now we have someone who says he wants to hear. For progressives the struggle goes on. Jeanie Keltner is an editor with Because People Matter.

Thanks!

Our sincere thanks to those of you who made contributions to BPM through our holiday fundraising letter or in memory of Rick Nadeau. You know who you are; we know who you are and we thank you!

Learn the true news and then Teach Peace Check out www.teachpeace.com the website of the same-named organization in Davis. If you’re a teacher, you’ll be especially interested in their materials for teaching peace to people of all ages. But here we want to point out the site’s other extensive resources. Along with important articles from the world press on crucial topics in the news (like Russia, Georgia and Ossetia), there is also an extensive library of all the latest political documentaries to watch with a click of your mouse.

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www.bpmnews.org January / February 2009 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 3

Richard Paul Nadeau (1944-2008)

photo: Diana Tumminia

Rick Nadeau was a dedicated member of our editorial board. During his tenure with BPM he contributed numerous articles, worked tirelessly on the issues he produced as coordinating editor, distributed papers and developed a great rapport with all of us because of his openness and enthusiasm. At meetings Rick was a charmer with a sweet tooth, who could as easily serve up an analysis of world events as a home cooked meal. We are thankful for the time he chose to share with us and to his wife, Diana Tumminia, for welcoming us into their home and hearts. —BPM Editorial Board

BPM Editorial Board Member Rick NadeauDies by Diana Tumminia Activist, Sociologist/Philosopher, Labor Advocate, Feminist, Environmentalist, Public Intellectual, Blogger, Political Essayist, Jokester. Rick Nadeau died in his wife’s arms and in the company of a close friend on November 20, 2008. A well attended public memorial service was held on December 13th at Sacramento State University. Rick’s spirit is loved by many for his generous friendships and ferocious representation of underdogs. Born in New England during WWII, Rick grew up in a Catholic working-class family with two brothers and two sisters. As a young boy, he experienced an early love for nature playing with baby ducks and growing a garden at his riverside home. He remembered standing up to local bullies who shot birds, taking away their bb guns and chasing them home. Despite disabilities, particularly severe asthma, back pain, and problems walking, he developed such a large public presence and powerful articulation for social justice that many considered him the strongest person they ever knew. Rick majored in sociology and philosophy, mastering a wide range of intellectual paradigms from Hegel to the beat poets and from Marxist writings to postmodernism. In college, he sent his papers to noted critical theorist, Herbert Marcuse, who invited him to attend graduate school at UC San Diego where he obtained a graduate degree in the 1970s. His college years offered him a first career, so to speak, as an activist, political essayist, and protest organizer. He helped organize the first protests against the Vietnam War on his college campus and the November 1969 anti-war protest, aptly named the largest anti-war protest, in Washington, DC. He worked as one of the original Earth Day organizers in 1970. During 1970s and 1980s, Rick wrote for various underground newspapers, OB Rag (now online), The Whole Damn Pie Shop, The New Indicator, Triton Times, and Daily Onion. He also worked with the American anti-apartheid movement to promote freedom for Blacks in South Africa. Known for his prodigious oratory, Rick lent his highly informed voice to the major social justice causes of the time, lecturing for free in local communities, colleges, and political rallies. In his spare time, he taught sociology at junior colleges. Throughout 1988-1990, he worked as field

Soapbox needs your help! By Jeanie Keltner Do you watch Soapbox? (Ch 17-Mondays at 8pm)? Have you appreciated our interest in the things you’re passionate about—NEVER covered by the corporate media? Have you enjoyed our conversations with local activists and analysts about—among other topics—media consolidation, war resistance, the death penalty, keeping the Internet free, peak oil, bikes, buses and light rail, the Black Panthers, vitamin D, and current politics from a truly left point of view? (Even more, have you been on Soapbox talking about your issue?) Then would you consider making a contribution to keep it on the screen? We have few expenses because everyone (almost) works only for Pieces’ heavenly pizza and undying glory. But we want to cover Access membership fees—for the show itself and for the wonderful crew—as well as other small expenses. Times are very hard to be sure but please, if you can, consider sending check, cash or money order to 403 21st St Sacramento 95814, made

out to me, Jeanie Keltner, since the show has no bank account (I promise to not fly to Rio with the money). We believe Soapbox serves the progressive community—and reaches the many people who don’t pick up BPM or tune in to Democracy Now—but who DO channel surf—and end up on Soapbox getting progressive info almost in spite of themselves! Any gift of $40 or more will receive a set of ten postcard reproductions of original Keltner Paris watercolors. PLEASE HELP US!

manager and later director of Greenpeace San Diego. At that time, he could be seen wearing a magenta t-shirt with a whale saying “Save the Humans.” Known affectionately by locals as Mr. Greenpeace and by news crews as Mr. Sound Bite, Rick made local and national news when he attended a press conference, arguing against the Exxon Valdez being towed to San Diego. He and others in small boats tried to stop the Exxon Valdez from docking. Rick resigned from Greenpeace when the national office objected to his successful local community organizing around malathion spraying. They wanted him to focus on international issues and official Greenpeace issues. Before leaving San Diego to work for a faculty union, he and others led a protest march against the first Iraqi War, an act that shocked and awed other politicos frozen by inertia. In 1990s, Rick began labor organizing and defending faculty rights as an arbitration specialist for the California Faculty Association (CFA). After many years of stellar service, he won the F. Ben Mansell Academic Rights Award for Excellence in representation in 2005. He was well-known on all the California State campuses for his intense and dauntless advocacy of faculty rights. “Numerous CSU faculty owe their careers to his representation efforts,” said his friend, Beau Grosscup of CSU, Chico. For many years, he wrote strident letters to the editor of the Sacramento Bee, which sparked vigorous discussions at local coffee shops and political circles. In the early morning, Rick offered daily political analysis to a circle of friends at the local coffee shop where he will be sadly missed. After retirement from CFA, Rick joined Because People Matter as editor and writer, adding his loving and fiery energy and insight to his articles on: immigration, Bush wars, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the prevalence of denial in American politics—despite the effects of chemotherapy for liver cancer. In addition, he blogged for OB Rag, Media Left, and was published by Z magazine. Weeks before he died, Rick donated his extensive jazz collection to CSUS music students. Wherever Rick was, he added his life-affirming contribution. His tender-heartedness fueled his passion for the underdog. He will be sorely missed by a large circle of family, friends, people, animals, plants and trees. Memorial donations in his name can be made to BPM, Trees for Life International, or Trees for Life Zatoun.

4 Because People Matter January / February 2009 www.bpmnews.org

SB840: We Will Be Back

Fighting for universal healthcare for California by Charlene Jones “Politically unfeasible is just another way of saying that folks are scared to stand up to insurance companies. I don’t accept that. It’s time to take a stand for what we really want. It’s time to have hope.”—State Senator Sheila Kuehl, 2008

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

Senate Bill 840 authored by Senator Sheila Kuehl passed a final vote in the California legislature this summer and was sent to Governor Schwarzenegger who vetoed the promise of health care for all Californians for the second time during his administration. A similar bill was approved in both the State Assembly and Senate by a 62 percent vote in 2006 but the governor refused to sign. His vetoes erased the prospect of comprehensive health care for all California residents that would preserve a patient’s right to choose a doctor and hospital, and save consumers, employers and state and local governments millions of dollars in health insurance costs using a single-payer financing structure. SB 840 would have established a universal public insurance plan built on California’s existing private health care delivery system. This comprehensive coverage would be achievable through a streamlined claims and single-payer reimbursement system, which has proved to save billions of dollars in administrative costs. A payroll tax would take the place of all premiums, co-pays and deductibles currently paid by those who are insured. The bill would also allow California to use its enormous purchasing power to negotiate bulk rates for prescription drugs and durable medical equipment, such as wheelchairs. Savings would be used toward covering the uninsured and reducing total health care spending in California. Failing implementation in 2006, healthcare costs have soared. Because the state is an employer, as well as the safety net for many residents, those costs have intensified the present state budget crisis, now extraordinary in its

scope. California buys a lot of healthcare, paid steady decline of benefits and quality of care, directly though social programs and indirectly by and fewer employers able to provide for their purchasing thousands of insuremployees, the situation “We will bring this ance policies as an employer. If only worsens. Disjointed health care costs rise about issue back again and and feeble attempts at health five times faster than wages, reform have brought again until everyone care according to a study released in California a system that is October 2008 by Families USA, in California has inconceivably costly and a national nonpartisan public ineffective. access to high quality scandalously interest group, and taxes that This governor and assorted pay for health care are a funclegislators are unwilling to healthcare.” State tion of wages, it’s no surprise confront the health insurSenator Mark Leno Californians are digging a hole ance industry to pursue deeper and deeper each year. solutions, but thousands of Despite mounting data about spiraling costs, Californians are willing. seven million Californians without coverage, With term limits forcing Kuehl from senate more bankruptcies and growing deficits, the leadership, State Senator Mark Leno will continue Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) was directed to advance the cause. “The Governor lost yet late in the 2008 legislative session to answer ques- another golden opportunity to bring relief and tions incompatible with SB840’s model to fund justice to millions of uninsured working families the bill. Undermining feasibility of a single-payer and employers struggling with rising healthcare universal plan appeared to be the purpose that costs in our state,” said Leno in September 2008. led Schwarzenegger and a few legislators to inac- “The stakes are too high for us to be deterred, curately claim SB840 would bankrupt the state. and that is why I am proud to have been asked Upon full examination, however, the LAO to continue this critical fight next year in the report agreed a single-payer health care system legislature. We will bring this issue back again saves money and lowers the rate at which health and again until everyone in California has access care costs grow each year. In addition, it identito high quality healthcare that puts people before fied substantial savings on administrative costs insurance company profits.” and bulk purchase of drugs and durable medical SB840 is supported by a growing network of equipment. According to a June 2008 essay by more than 500 organizations across the state, Kuehl, legislators directing the LAO review asked representing tens of thousands of nurses, docno questions about how the bill could lower tors, school employees and teachers; counties, healthcare spending in the year it was to have cities and school districts; hospitals and busibeen enacted. They asked only whether the fund- nesses; medical and health profession students; ing, modeled to finance the bill two years in the church groups, community organizations and past, would pay for it three years in the future— many others. Join the fight and stand up for real after five years of rampant health care inflation.  change, change that means comprehensive qualPredictably, the LAO found a funding model ity care for all Californians, all families and all for healthcare spending in 2006 would not be suf- communities. ficient in 2011. However, this estimated “deficit” Contact: 916-424-1653 www.healthcarecould be seen as costs passed on to Californians forall.org as a result of the governor’s 2006 veto of SB 840. Charlene Jones is a member of Sacramento With unchecked growth in premiums, Media Group.

What Will Happen to Big Media? Media reform activists energized

Send an Open Letter

by JoAnn Fuller

To: The President, Congress, or the Media

Media reform activists are excited about the changes the Obama Administration will bring to media policy and the Federal Communications Commission. The Bush Administration tried to further concentrate Big Media’s ownership, increasing the number of television and radio stations, newspapers and other communication services one corporate conglomerate controls in a media market. Under President Bush, telephone companies and Internet service providers were also allowed to ignore constitutional protection of privacy and spy on communications. And thousands of Americans continue to stand on the other side of the digital divide, with no means or access to the Internet and its opportunities. Now the media reform community is talking about moving forward on requirements that would increase diversity in media ownership, protect Internet neutrality as well as boost public interest obligations of broadcasters and their programming on issues important to local communities. The goal is a new policy encouraging the spread of fast, low cost Internet access. Japan and countries in Europe have access to much faster Internet connections at much lower prices because governments required providers to make better services available. The US is far behind and President Obama highlighted this failing in his technology innovation agenda, saying this needs to change. In response to Obama’s agenda, FreePress, a national nonpartisan organization working to reform the media, outlined their comprehensive recommendations for key media and telecommu-

nications policy changes. Ben Scott, Free Press policy director, noted, “The core of the Obama agenda aligns squarely with the public interest goals of creating a more democratic media system and promoting universal access to communications technologies. We look forward to… holding accountable those who will be charged with delivering on its promises.” FreePress highlights the four public interest priorities below. Protect an Open Internet: Internet companies want to charge users more for sending some messages quickly. Instead, Congress and the FCC should pass legislation and regulations that keep the Internet open and free for all.

Promote Universal Affordable Broadband: the FCC should increase access to the

Internet and other communication tools by setting new speed standards, and ensuring rural and low income communities have access to computers and the Internet while stimulating competition.

OpenLetters.freeforums.org Discuss Hot Topics, or voice an opinion Big Business and Lobbyists have no problem letting the President know what they want. Now it is our turn to let him know what we need. Send an Open Letter or comment: OpenLetters.freeforums.org [email protected]

Increase Diversity in Media Ownership: the FCC should reverse pro-consolidation

policies and increase competition, diversity and content. Renew Public Media: Congress should increase funding for all levels of public media, protect public media from political interference and promote local cable access channels. Read the whole document at www.freepress. net/files/2009techpolicy.pdf. JoAnn Fuller is active with the Sacramento Media Group. To take effective action on media issues, join us. For more information, contact SMG at [email protected] or 4431792 extension 11.

Video Resources Citizen’s media is on the rise. Want some non-corporate news but Hate to Read? Check out… On your computer: www.ringoffireradio.com/blogengine/ www.youtube.com/user/golefttv— www.therealnews.com On your TV set: Media Edge and Soapbox

www.bpmnews.org January / February 2009 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 5

Conscientious Objection on the Rise

The tale of Tony Anderson, from Courage to Resist By Sarah Lazare

ment. Anderson was ordered to deploy to Iraq 19 year-old Army private Tony Anderson was immediately. This time, he simply refused. court martialed in November of 2008, sentenced Objection to war to 14 months of confinement, and given a disAnderson is not alone: a growing number of honorable discharge from the military for “deser- US troops are refusing to fight in the so-called tion with intent to avoid hazardous duty” and “war on terror.” Accordin to the Associated “disobeying a lawful order.” The Press, Army soldiers are resistyoung soldier refused to deploy “The 14 month ing service at the highest rate to Iraq in July of last year on the 1980, with an 80 percent sentence is one of since grounds of conscientious objecincrease in desertions, defined the longest given as absence for more than 30 tion to war. Members of Iraq Veterans days, since the invasion of Iraq to a US military Against the War and Colorado in 2003. Over 150 resisters have serviceperson for come out publicly against the Springs peace organizations attended the Ft. Carson, Coloand some cases, such as Lt. refusing to fight in war, rado court martial to show their Ehren Watada, the first army Iraq.” support for the young soldier. officer to refuse to deploy to Immediately after sentencing, Iraq, have garnered widespread Anderson was placed in handcuffs and taken to support and attention. the Colorado Springs Criminal Justice Center, Meanwhile, an increasing number of active where he was held for a few weeks until he was duty GIs have been joining Iraq Veterans Against moved to an army stockade. the War (IVAW), an organization comprised of The 14 month sentence is one of the longest over 1,200 US veterans who have served since given to a US military serviceperson for refusing September 11, 2001. With 12 active duty memto fight in Iraq. bers at Anderson’s base alone, IVAW has taken a Who is Tony Anderson? position of open support for GI resisters. Hailing from the small city of Wilkes-Barre, The rising numbers of troops who do not want Pennsylvania, Anderson says he was never very to join the war face a challenge because conscienattracted to military life, but joined the service tious objector status is difficult to obtain. COs at the behest of his father, who had regretted not must prove that they are opposed to war in all joining the military himself. Once in the ranks, forms, that their objection is based on “religious Anderson realized that he had made an unfortraining and belief,” which can include moral or tunate decision. During basic training, he found ethical training, and that their beliefs are “sincere himself ethically opposed to taking a human life and deeply held.” The application process is arduin a military conflict. He was disturbed by seeous and includes written applications, a series of ing soldiers on his base return from Iraq deeply examinations, and a hearing with an investigative traumatized from their experience in combat. “I officer—processes that can take up to a year and didn’t want to mess myself up for the rest of my cannot forestall deployment. Applicants must life doing something I didn’t want to do to begin face commanding officers who “accidentally” lose with,” he says. applications, impose informal punishments on Anderson had vague thoughts about filing for applicants, or give false information about the conscientious objector (CO) status but was disprocess, as in Anderson’s case. couraged from doing so by his commanding offiThere has been no reliable study of the difcers. They told him that it would not be possible ficulty of obtaining CO status. The Government for him to obtain, and even falsely informed him Accountability Office (GAO) released a report that he was “not the right religion.” Anderson was finding that between 2002 and 2006, the Marine led to believe that filing a CO application would Corps and Coast Guard approved a third of CO be futile. applications, Army officials approved 55 percent, Anderson says that when he was ordered to the Air Force approved 62 percent, and the Navy deploy to Iraq on July first, he “freaked out.” approved 84 percent. Critics claim, however, that “What upset me most was the thought of having these figures are grossly misrepresentative, since to hurt or kill someone else,” he said at his trial. they do not factor in the number of potential “I know this may be hard to believe, but I never applicants who are deterred from completing really thought about the idea of hurting or killing their applications at all stages of the process. another human being before I joined the military. Elizabeth Stinson, Director of the Sonoma And then in training, it just didn’t seem real.” County Peace and Justice Center, urges potential Just hours before boarding his flight, he went CO applicants not to be deterred. “Applying for AWOL. After 22 days he turned himself in, in conscientious objector status is hard,” she says. hopes of diminishing the severity of his punishStill, I would love to see the amount of conscien-

Tony Anderson

photo: Courage to Resist

tious objector applicants go up. For some, it can be the most liberating thing ever.” “There is a huge problem with people being discouraged by the chain of command from going through the process of applying for CO status,” said Andrew Gorby, who was discharged from the Army in May 2007 as a conscientious objector and now works for the Center on Conscience and War, a counseling organization that works to defend the rights of conscientious objectors. “But being granted CO status is possible. It is a matter of getting in touch with a qualified CO counseling organization.” Court Martial Anderson, who remained in tears during much of his trial, did not have family present at his court martial. His mother sent a statement saying she does not agree with what her son did, but believes that he was sincerely trying to follow his conscience. Anderson’s civilian lawyer, James Branum, expressed frustration with the lack of fair process for cases of conscience, and said, “I am disappointed by how long Tony’s sentence was. 14 months is on the high end, but it could have been worse. At least Tony was able to have his day in court.” At the trial, Tony read a statement explaining that he was deterred from for conscientious objector status at every step, leaving him with the impression that his only option was outright refusal. He expressed regret that he did not persist in obtaining his conscientious objector application. Anderson closed by saying, “I only ask that you remember that I was trying to do the right thing.” Sarah Lazare is a project coordinator with Courage to Resist. For more information, the original version of this article, or to donate to Tony’s legal defense, please visit: www.couragetoresist.org.

What does a depression look like? See for yourself at Sacramento State’s University Library Gallery where photographs of influential photojournalist Dorothea Lange will be on view as part of the California Central Valley Museum of Working Class Art and Culture Project. Known as the mother of documentary photography, Lange photographed migrant farm workers and sharecroppers of the 1930s Depression—many of them in the Sacramento valley—and the spare immediacy of her work forced viewers to connect with those suffering the worst in a time of hard times. Project director Moore says, “In her photographs there’s a great deal of hope in the future, and I think that there’s a real connection to today.” The exhibition runs through March 7, 2009—from 10am to 5 pm, Tuesday through Saturday.

6 Because People Matter January / February 2009 www.bpmnews.org

Foreclosure’s Hidden Victims Some of the Places You Can Find BPM Sacramento Area

Coffee Works Crest Theater Dimple Records, Arden Wy 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) Starbucks (B'wy & 35th) The Beat The Bread Store Time Tested Books Tower Theater (inside) Tupelo (Elvas & 57th) Underground Books (35th St. near B'way) Weatherstone Coffee

Chico Area Davis

Espresso Cafe Roma Davis Natural Food Coop Newsbeat University Mall

Grass Valley Briar Patch Sacred Bee

Greenhaven area

Buckthorn’s Coffee, 7465 Rush River Dr 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.

Renters face eviction “…These are economic earthquakes of crisis proportions, and invisible in the foreclosure crisis are the people–homeowners and renters–who are becoming homeless.” Bob Erlenbusch, President, National Coalition for the Homeless

By Rachel Iskow Elena Costas, her sister and parents rented a home in Elk Grove for several years. This year, they were shocked to receive a notice that they had two months to leave their home because a bank had taken it back in a foreclosure action. Her parents were devastated, wanting to provide stability for their children in their last years of school. Elena contacted the lender and begged for an extended stay until the bank could sell the home, hoping the new owner would maintain it as a rental. The loan servicer said he had no ability to negotiate. After a desperate search, Elena’s family found a smaller, more costly rental in Sacramento farther from the girls’ schools. Elena’s family managed to stay together, although their new rental is causing them more economic stress. Many renters facing eviction due to foreclosure are not so fortunate and end up the streets. Most likely, this situation will not let up for years, and all renters will suffer in a tighter rental market. It is difficult to advocate for families whose stories are hidden. Behind the headlines of the mortgage crisis is the dire situation faced by renters living in foreclosed homes and the complete lack of support for both these renters and homeowners forced out into an increasingly tight rental market. Across the nation, foreclosures wipe out tenant leases and their rights under these leases. When a property being used as a rental goes into foreclosure, the lender taking over the home most often evicts the tenant. The newly vacant property is taken out of the rental housing inventory. Vacancy rates decrease and rents are forced upward

Press conference and rally at the State Capitol highlights legislation to help victims of foreclosures. photo:Andrea Porras

as it becomes a landlord’s market. Families find themselves in a desperate, often failed search for housing. Foreclosure victims further exacerbate the pressures on the rental market and homeless shelters. Other outcomes for renters in foreclosed housing include damaged credit scores due to their eviction from foreclosed homes; landlords in default refusing to pay utility bills for which the landlords are responsible under lease agreements; and landlords and banks that take over properties failing to make needed repairs. Unscrupulous landlords have found ways to take advantage of renters in crisis. Owners of foreclosed properties don’t inform renters that they no longer own the properties and continue collecting rent. This puts renters in default when banks, the new owners of the properties, come collecting. In many other cases, former owners and banks refuse to return security deposits. California has one of few state laws protecting renters living in foreclosed housing. In July 2008, the Perata Mortgage Relief Bill, SB 1137, was signed into law. Tenants must now be given 60 days notice when a bank takes back a home. This is the only California state legislation protecting renters in this situation. There has been no federal law or local Sacramento ordinance passed to protect renters in foreclosed housing.

How concerned citizens and activists can help: Press for laws that require leases to survive foreclosure. Advocate for laws that require owners to maintain their properties. Demand that tenants receive more notice prior to termination of leases. In California, demand a moratorium on fore-

Ammunition

closures for 180 days during which time loan servicers should be required to work out loan modifications and convert to affordable, fixed­rate mortgages.

Tips for renters: If served with notice that the bank is buying the property you rent, start searching immediately for housing. Keep paying your rent! If you believe you have the right to stop paying rent, see an attorney first. In most cases, you must keep current on your rent or you will lose the noticing period allowed by state law. Don’t fall prey to banks pressuring you into taking a “cash for keys” deal in which you are offered cash to leave your rental home sooner than state law allows. If you want to take the cash, make sure you know where you will stay and that the cash you are offered will cover the costs of moving and security deposits. Have an attorney review the agreement proposed by the landlord. You can sue the former owner in small claims court for defaulting on his mortgage which caused him to break your lease. You may sue to recover moving costs and the difference in the rent you were paying and the rent you will need to pay now for a comparable unit.

For help, renters can call: Legal Services of Northern California. 916/551-2150 To become an advocate contact: California Reinvestment Coalition 916/340-6080 For more information visit: http://www.nlihc.org Rachel Iskow is the Executive Director of Sacramento Mutual Housing Association. To obtain information about affordable housing opportunities, go to www.mutualhousing.com.

from page 1

has resulted from it have proven to be effective tools for locating firearms violators.” The level of gun crime and gun violence in the Sacramento area has become disturbingly high. Disarming criminals and other prohibited persons is a critical step for improving public safety. The Sacramento City Ammunition Ordinance provides a means of identifying and disarming criminals and other prohibited persons. However, illegal guns and illegal ammo do not stop at city lines. To the extent that Sacramento County and other neighboring jurisdictions adopt similar ordinances, the surrounding communities will become safer. To that end, Councilmember McCarty and the Sacramento Valley Brady Cam-

paign Chapter are seeking a countywide ammunition ordinance. Sheriff McGinness and the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors would be foolish not to avail themselves of this effective tool for reducing gun violence. For more information or to sign a petition in support of the Ammunition Ordinance, visit www.gopetition.com/petitions/preventgun-violence.html For more information about the Sacramento Valley Brady Campaign Chapter, visit www.bradycampaign.org/CA Amanda Wilcox is Interim President of the Sacramento Chapter of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

www.bpmnews.org January / February 2009 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 7

An Invisible Empire The Ku Klux Klan in Sacramento By Rick Bettis This year we will be observing Black History Month, marching to honor the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, and celebrating the inauguration of the first African American President of the United States. Our nine member Sacramento City Council now includes three African Americans, one Asian American and one Jewish member. However, as Santayana observed, “Those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it.” We should not forget the rise and activities of the self-styled “Invisible Empire,” the Ku Klux Klan. Confederate Army officers founded the Klan in 1865. Started as a prankish fraternal group it soon became an underground terrorist organization committed to destroying the Reconstruction era rights given the freed slaves. During the 1870s, the Klan faded when many members were arrested, but the social and political subordination of African Americans was tacitly reestablished. The Klan was reincorporated in Georgia and in 1915 spread throughout much of the nation in response to the migration of African Americans to the north. It reached an estimated peak membership of approximately 3 million in the late 1920s, and was infamous for terrorist activities including kidnapping and lynching. The “Empire” reached Sacramento in late 1921 when a County Sheriff ’s Deputy became the Kleagle, the local recruiter and organizer. Dues were a substantial ten dollars, which, when compared to average incomes, would equal approximately $300 today. Six dollars was sent to the

national organization while four remained with unpublished essay “Hooded Americans,” CSUS, the local Kleagle. 1961. According to Joseph McGowan in his 1981 Sacramentans had read nationally syndicated work for the Sacramento Historical Society, Ku articles describing Klan Klux Klan in Sacramento, atrocities, especially against The “Empire” reached Hooded Klan members Blacks. Undaunted by would enter Protestant Sacramento in late public outcry, the Klan held churches during services, 1921 when a County an initiation ceremony in give the pastor a substanApril, 1922 at a privatelydonation and offer Sheriff’s Deputy became tial owned hall at 35th Street their services to fight the the Kleagle, the local and 5th Avenue in Oak “forces of evil.” Park, then a white upper the Black popularecruiter and organizer tionSince middle class suburb and in Sacramento in the now a predominantly early 1920s was small and African American inner city community. An subordinated the “Empire” focused on the large estimated 250 to 300 attended the two-hour and prosperous Catholic community, saying that, ceremony while hooded guards were stationed “Romanism is absolutely unchristian and nearly on the street and the roof of the hall. Later meetall the bawdy houses, bootleg joints and other ings were held in secluded rural areas near Elk dives are owned or controlled by Romanists” Grove and near Folsom Boulevard in what is now (Sacramento Bee, 06/12/1922). Rancho Cordova. Although it attempted to keep Following Klan violence in southern Califorits membership secret, the Klan claimed a total of nia, the Sacramento Klan was subject to close 400 members including doctors, bankers, teachscrutiny and was charged with fraud. The Kleagle ers, ministers and government officials. When fled Sacramento in 1923 with all the collected compared to the county’s population this would funds. And the “Empire” faded into obscurity. be equal to approximately 5,500 today. Sacramento and the nation have progressed Since its origin the Klan’s avowed concerns far from the heyday of the Klan but racism and had expanded to include all people of color and hate crimes still exist. We must not forget the past Roman Catholics and Jews. “They associated while continuing to work toward true equality these groups with nearly all social ‘sins’ such as regardless of race, gender, religion, ethnicity and bootlegging, night clubs, road houses, violation sexual orientation. of the Sabbath, unfair business dealings, infidelity and other scandalous behavior” according to Rick Bettis is a community activist and a memDonald J. Merlino. Merlino is the author of the ber of the Sacramento Historical Society.

Conference Premieres Eco-Socialist Movement on West Coast Can socialism save the planet?

By Karl Kramer

Every region of the earth is facing the coming dislocations of ecologies, economies, and public health brought by global climate change. Many socialists believe that a socialist perspective can provide a necessary analysis of the roots of the problem in capitalism’s imperatives of growth and profit. To that end, the Northern California’s Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism’s West Coast Regional Conference will feature “Climate Catastrophe and Social Change, an Eco-Socialist Perspective,” on January 10 and 11, 2009. The conference will have a couple of plenary sessions, multiple workshops, and a Saturday evening event.

The keynote speaker will be Joel Kovel, Editor-in-Chief of the journal Capitalism Nature Socialism

The keynote speaker will be Joel Kovel, Editor-in-Chief of the journal Capitalism Nature Socialism, a founding member of the Ecosocialist International Network and author of The Enemy of Nature. Kovel also promulgated the “Ecosocialist Manifesto” with Michael Lowey in 2001. In the manifesto, Kovel and Lowey write, “The deep-

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est shadow that hangs over us is neither terror, environmental collapse, nor global recession. It is the internalized fatalism that holds there is no possible alternative to capital’s world order.” Since then, there have been several meetings held in Europe to address this vital question. Socialists, environmental activists, and working class and community organizations are coming to the conference to study hard science, share experiences on physical mitigation and the social fight back, and to discuss the likelihood that only a socialist transformation can prevent capitalism from killing the planet and that accomplishing this will take an extreme concentration of social or people power. The conference will take place at Laney College at 900 Fallon Street, Oakland (near Lake Merritt BART station). The plenary session will start in the Forum lecture hall between Buildings A and B. Registration is $10 to $30, sliding scale. Sponsors and participating organizations include the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism, Capitalism Nature Socialism, the Global Citizen Center, Green Party of Alameda County, KPFA radio, Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library, Socialist Action and Solidarity, among others. Other speakers and presenters include Henry Clark, executive director, West County Toxics Coalition; Kevin Danaher, co-founder of Global

Exchange, Green Festivals and Global Citizen Center; Adam Scow, Food and Water Watch; Dan Bacher; Christine Frank; Carl Bloice; Larry Shoup; Gene Coyle; Jeff Mackler; David Makofsky; Jack Rasmus; Salvatore EngelDiMauro, SUNY New Paltz; and George T. Martin, Senior Editor, Capitalism Nature Socialism. For more information, contact the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism, 415-863-6637, staff@ncalcofc. org. Karl Kramer is West Coast Organizer for the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism. .

The American Worker By Rick Kepler for Truthout.org

I am an American worker, and you are damn right I want the wealth to be shared and spread. I am talking about the wealth my hard work helped to create, but was taken from me by George Bush’s base, the very rich, or as I know them, my corporate bosses. For the past eight years I have watched W’s and McCain’s (Country Club First) base grab the largest share of our country’s wealth. Where did they take it from? They took it from my family’s pocketbook, and my co-workers’ families’ pocketbooks. They stole the wealth that I was trying to build for me and my family when they stripped my pension plan from me and told me to invest in a 401k. The American worker doesn’t want a handout. Never did. We do want a hand up from our government. We still believe and have hope that this is a government of, by and for the people. We do want to know that our government will finally stand with us against this onslaught, this Robin Hood in reverse, being conducted by the bosses against the workers. www.truthout.org/112108L

8 Because People Matter January / February 2009 www.bpmnews.org

Talk about Galvanizing a Movement!

Proposition 8 broke hearts but brought a community together By Sarah Sol

I

t’s been an interesting time since Proposition 8 passed in California. Whether its passage was primarily a result of money, lies, fear and politicking or the intention of more than half of California’s voters to express an opinion about who is deserving of basic civil rights, it hit me hard. I called in sick on Nov 5, a mixture of bad allergies, a sore back from being out in the cold the night before at a polling place, staying up to watch election returns, and the sick realization that my state had just passed a law restricting my rights and pursuit of happiness. I had some of the same emotions on Nov 5 as I had Sept 12, 2001. Not the same shock—it’s not a big surprise that a minority would have a hard time making a case for itself in the face of a massive effort to scare, threaten and manipulate voters—but definitely the anger, disappointment and concern about what might be coming next. Prop 8 was one big hate crime. It was perpetrated not just by a few errant and mean-spirited religious organizations, but also by our neighbors, colleagues and family members. In my first blog posting for the website Equality Action Now, I recapped things that motivated me and gave me some comfort in the two weeks following Election Day. To my surprise, it was a long list and just the beginning.

“We’re not going to go anywhere. … We’re your neighbors, we’re your sisters, we work for you, and we’re here and we want our rights back.”—Activist Jade Baranski to News10

1. Positive Election Day experiences: I was one of about 7,500 Election Day volunteers for the “No on Prop 8” effort, and conversations I had made a lasting impression. I went with two volunteers to a polling place in Land Park. The idea was to encourage those who opposed Prop 8 to make it past the presidential candidates to vote all the way through to the end of the ballot. After a frustrating early experience with one angry neighborhood resident (who stormed out of his house shouting at us, took our signs, threatened to blind my eyes, and called the police on us), we had great encounters with people we’d never met before. The police returned our signs. Then a poll worker sent out yummy chocolate chip cookies, which greatly improved standing around in the cold and dark. We had supportive conversations with the vast majority of voters who stopped to talk. Most importantly, a voter who’d passed by earlier with his wife and son went home, changed his clothes, and rode back on his bike to stand with us. He held a No on Prop 8 sign for the next hour and a half. I came home

on election night crushed but sensing a real movement might be starting. It was! 2. Signs of a cooler White House: Though it felt like too little too late when he said it, President-elect Barack Obama included the word “gay” in his election night acceptance speech. Obama plans to end discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; expand hate crime statutes; supports passing the Matthew Shepard Act; and end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” according to his website. www.change.gov.agenda/civil_rights_agenda 3. Challenges to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints: As has been widely reported, the church was one of the largest proponents of the amendment that took my rights away. Its members made phone calls, walked precincts, produced ads, and donated millions of dollars toward the campaign. It’s unclear whether anyone can prove the church violated the law in promoting Prop 8, but if it did, it must be held accountable. The state has agreed to look into the church’s role in the campaign.

See Galvanizing, next page

Prop 8 Revises California’s Constitution What ever happened to equal protection? By Jack D. Forbes Is it possible for a bare majority of voters to change the California Constitution to enforce a religious view of marriage, thereby overturning the May 15, 2008 decision by the State Supreme Court allowing same-gender couples to legally be joined together in a state-approved civil (not religious) ceremony?

Proposition 8 fails the constitutional test because it revises the constitution rather than simply amending it.

Among many other issues, California’s Proposition 8 fails the constitutional test because it revises the constitution rather than simply amending it. This is because Prop 8 revises the text of Prop 209, which is now part of the California constitution. Prop 209 specifically and unambiguously prohibits giving preferential treatment on the basis of sex in any governmental actions. To deny marriage on the basis of sex is quite clearly an open revision of Prop 209 and cannot stand since marriage by a public official is obviously a governmental action. But Prop 8 also revises the California guarantee of

equal protection of the law since it clearly denies the right of secular marriage to persons simply because of who they choose to marry. It also denies marriage to persons who are not man or woman, that is, to young couples or to persons who possess attributes of both genders. The promoters of Proposition 8 seem to believe that they can change the equal protection guaranteed by the California Constitution with simply a declarative statement. And very importantly, they are ignoring Proposition 209, also part of the Constitution, which outlaws discrimination on the basis of sex. Can they impose gender discrimination without amending 209 specifically? Can they violate equal protection without specifically changing the language of the California Constitution? We can be certain that to discriminate on the basis of gender could only be adopted by a formal amending process, which commences in the legislature. Prop 8 limits marriage to only “man” and “woman.” This would make marriage impossible for girls and boys. Many states allow persons who are not adults to marry, especially with parental consent. Girls and boys do not become men and women until at least 18 and probably not until 21 (in terms of complete emancipation from restrictions). To deprive young people of the right to marry would seem to revise the constitution as well. There are no absolute differences between men and

women. Many individuals exhibit personal characteristics usually belonging to the opposite gender. Hermaphrodites do possess physical characteristics of both genders. Since they are both man and woman can they be denied the right to marry? Certainly not, since such a prohibition would be a denial of equal protection. And surely the Fourteenth Amendment to the federal Constitution would seem to trump any discriminatory revision, as well as the separation of church and state doctrine. The proposed amendment establishes a JewishChristian tradition as the law, excluding California Native American and other traditions and perspectives. The proposed amendment would also require California to deny the validity of all boy-girl marriages performed in other states. Such couples could not move to California and retain married status, since they are neither man nor woman. Male and female, the age-inclusive terms, are not used by the proposed amendment. Proposition 8 is a poorly conceived attempt at revising the California Constitution without following the process prescribed by that very constitution. It is null and void. Jack D. Forbes has written several articles about marriage and Proposition 209. His latest book is the newly revised edition of Columbus and Other Cannibals, exploring Native American spirituality and ethics.

www.bpmnews.org January / February 2009 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 9

This page and page 8: photos of the rally at the state Capitol, November 9, after the passage of Proposition 8. photo: Sarah Sol

Galvanizing, from page 8 4. Political commentator Keith Olbermann on MSNBC: Olbermann’s six minutes against the passage of Prop 8 were reasoned and passionate. He reached millions of TV viewers nationwide plus thousands on YouTube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVUecPhQPqY 5. Elected officials’ support: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed sympathy for the gay and lesbian community after the election and urged us to fight back. A few dozen California legislators signed a friend-of-thecourt brief urging the California Supreme Court to invalidate Prop 8. The Legislature introduced a resolution opposing Prop 8, and legislators and mayors across the state have participated in countless rallies and vigils since the election. The California Supreme Court also accepted three lawsuits attempting to invalidate the proposition. Oral arguments could come as early as March. 6. Tireless local activists: Turnout at Sacramento’s major rallies has been amazing. Additional events are keeping up the momentum, including the National Day Without Gay, boycotts of individuals who funded the proposition, blue lights in windows and on porches for support, and Sacramento’s silent all-night march. As event organizer Jade Baranski told News10, “We’re not going to go anywhere. … We’re your neighbors, we’re your sisters, we work for you, and we’re here and we want our rights back.” 7. Local media coverage: Fox40, KOVR, The Sacra-

mento Bee, the Sacramento News & Review, Capital Public Radio and other media are covering it all, including events, the legislative battle ahead and related issues. They’ve got video from rallies, photo albums and archives of news coverage. 8. The whole world is watching—and participating: In mid-November, rallies were scheduled in nearly 300 American cities, with Prop 8 generating news coverage and debate in international media. We are not alone. 9. Petitions: OK, we don’t typically overturn election results through petitions, except maybe to get another initiative on the ballot. But the number of signatures gathered by the Courage Campaign and similar organizations is encouraging. 10. Blogs and bloggers: Angry Black Bitch, The Huffington Post, Kel Munger for SN&R’s Snog, Broadsheet and many others have been all over this, offering humorous headlines and insights. 11. Creative fund-raising: For example, the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center’s “Invalidate Prop 8,” where you can make a tax-deductible donation, in the name of the president of the Mormon church, to support organizations working to invalidate Prop 8 and to fund grassroots activities in support of full marriage equality. 12. Reality checks and perspectives on communicating with all voters: Not that the basic rights of a minority group should be up for popular vote in the first place, but if our next step is another ballot initiative—hell, even if it isn’t—we need to improve how we reach out to those outside our pride parades and social circles. Authors, radio hosts and linguists have been discussing phrases like “civil rights” and “family values” and how they play in various religious and cultural communities. We should be paying attention. Lesbians and gays exist in all cultures, religions

and economic groups, and we need to do more to reach out. 13. More people coming out: Comedian Wanda Sykes had been vocal in the past about Prop 8, but the election moved her to talk about her own relationship and work harder for equality nationwide. 14. Support from straight folks: Like my ex-husband, who’s been blogging, running sound at rallies, holding candles at vigils, working on the Equality Action Now website and just generally being a great person. Sarah Sol is a former Navy journalist, former copy editor for SN&R and current technical editor at ICF Jones & Stokes in Sacramento.

California Constitution

Article 1. Declaration of Rights

Section 1. All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy.

Take Action Against Prop 8 www.couragecampaign.org/page/s/repealprop8 www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed. cgi?seg5130 www.equalityactionnow.org

10 Because People Matter January / February 2009 www.bpmnews.org

Proposition 11 Passed!

Who will benefit in redrawing voting districts? By JoAnn Fuller The redistricting reform initiative passed in November, taking away the power to draw voting districts from the legislature and giving it to a citizen commission. During the election, the opposition (made up largely of desperate incumbents) resorted to political scare tactics—they told Democrats this was a Republican power grab and then turned around and told Republicans that this was Democratic power grab. Supporters, including California Common Cause, the League of Women Voters of CA and AARP, just told voters the truth. Prop 11 will end gerrymandering abuses where incumbents put their interests ahead of cities and communities (often splitting them into several legislative districts). We advocated for an independent redistricting commission that would give people a more effective voice in government. In 2000, California legislators with Democrats in the majority designed a gerrymander that protected incumbents of both parties by drawing districts that were super-Republican or superDemocratic. As a result, just one legislative or congressional incumbent has been voted out of office in the eight years since.

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.

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

www.sacpeace.org.

As the LA Times found in this Nov 6 article, “Reporting from Sacramento—Democratic hopes of ending budget gridlock in Sacramento by winning a super majority in the California State Legislature fell short Wednesday even though their presidential candidate, Barack Obama, took more than 60% of California’s vote.” Why? “The great irony,” noted Dan Schnur, who directs the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California in the San Diego Union Tribune, “is that if there were more competitive districts this year, the Democrats almost certainly would have increased their ranks in the Assembly, the Senate and the House of Representatives…The only thing that protected Republican legislators in such a big Democratic year was the fact that the party agreed to gerrymandered districts.” Every 10 years, legislative political boundaries or districts are redrawn to reflect population changes. Until the passage of Prop 11, state legislators controlled that process. After Prop 11, an independent commission will design new districts for the state Assembly, Senate and Board

of Equalization. The Commission selection process starts with the State Auditor inviting applicants for the commission which will be vetted to weed out those with conflicts of interest or those too closely tied to a politician. The initiative details how members of the commission will be chosen. It also requires the commission to abide by open meeting laws, open hearings, and to post their deliberations on the Internet. Criteria for drawing the new districts have also been set. While the redistricting commission won’t begin work until after the results of the next census in 2010 are known, Common Cause has already begun work to ensure the commission is made up of citizens who represent the state’s ethnic, racial, and geographic diversity and is gender balanced. If you think you have the experience and ability to serve or for more information, contact California Common Cause. JoAnn Fuller is associate director of California Common Cause. She can be reached at [email protected] or 443-1792 extension 11.

Nuclear Threats Are Real It happened at the opera By Mary Bisharat I’m one of the thousands of opera lovers across America who attends live opera in local theaters via satellite, shown on a huge screen in HD with multi-channeled surround sound. But one I attended on November 8 was not the usual story of lovelorn, star-crossed lovers. It was a contemporary opera, “Dr. Atomic,” commissioned by the San Francisco Opera a few years ago and composed by John Adams. The story was based on the events leading up to testing of the first atomic bomb in New Mexico, an exploration of real people and the issues involved: Edward Teller, Army Commander General Leslie Groves, and starring J. Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant physicist who directed “The Manhattan Project,” America’s secret plan to create an atomic bomb. The libretto by Peter Sellars was fashioned from a wide variety of sources, including US government documents and communications from the scientists and military personnel involved in the project. Thus, it was based on historical reality, which gave it a convincing authenticity. It was a gorgeous melodic opera, a hair-raising, fascinating exploration of knowledge and man’s ultimate use of it. The composer noted how “opera has a curious ability to handle life’s biggest themes in a way no other art form can.” He is right: I was under its spell for several days, haunted by its terrifying beauty and its daunting message: Who has the requisite moral authority to put global nuclear threats on the front burner? No one! But we all have the moral authority to fight to save our planet from nuclear annihilation and to defend those who are persecuted for their actions in the struggle. A case in point is nuclear whistle blower Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli nuclear technician who revealed to the Times of London in 1986 the facts of Israel’s nuclear weapons. He provided 60 photos with the exact location of Israel’s approximately 200 bombs. From London, he was spirited off to Israel, tried in a secret court and given an 18-year sentence, eleven of which he spent in solitary confinement. Released in 2004, he was re-arrested in his walled sanctuary at St George’s Anglican Church by 29 machine gun wielding police commandos in bullet-proof vests. The bishop wrote the Israeli Prime Minister “In 100 years of the cathedral’s history, such an event had

never taken place.” Israel is attempting to gag Vanunu to keep him from creating a linkage between Israel’s nuclear status and the US/Israel drive to pressure Iran from continuing its nuclear research. Vanunu has repeatedly defied orders not to give interviews, talk to foreigners, or talk about his work. He has been re-arrested and is under continuing house arrest. Successive American administrations have a turned a blind eye to Israel’s nuclear arsenal and the American press has been strangely incurious except for Seymour Hersh’s “The Samson Option” (1991). Few voices have been raised until Vanunu’s call to awareness. There is a straight line from Dr. Oppenheimer to Vanunu: in 1946, one year after the US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Oppenheimer proposed banning nuclear weapons; he characterized them as unparalled instruments of coercion, antithetical to world safety. He was punished for his stance by having his high-level security withdrawn. Vanunu is being punished for having gone public about Israel’s status as a nuclear power. His is the same goal as the late Dr. Oppenheimer—to banish nuclear weapons. We are at a critical point for nuclear disarmament as President Obama enters the White House. We must demand he take the following actions: work for complete nuclear disarmament, adopt a policy of no first use, renegotiate START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) with Russia, due to expire at the end of 2009, ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), and rescue the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The original nuclear five (US, France, Great Britain, Russia, and China) have been joined by India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel. Vanunu’s long poem, “I am Your Spy” written from Ashkelon Prison, ends as follows: “I’ve heard the voice of my conscience/and there is no place to hide./…I’m on your mission. I am doing my duty.Take/ it from me/. Come and see for yourselves. Lighten my/ burden. Stop the train./ Get off the train. The next step—nuclear/disaster. The next book,/the next machine. No. There is no such thing.” We must listen, lighten his burden and save ourselves. Mary Bisharat is a retired therapist and peace activist.

Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki Annual August peace event seeks volunteers Will the US Congress push to develop new nuclear weapons this session or will they respond to initiatives to reduce the US arsenal and take nuclear bombs off hair trigger alert? One important way our community opposes the development and use of nuclear weapons is by remembering the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States. Every August we gather on the anniversary of the bombings to renew our opposition to any further use of nuclear weapons. The importance of this work is emphasized today, as the US and other nations continue to commit vast amounts of resources to weapons development, while failing to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. A group of volunteers will meet in February to plan the next August Peace Event, at the Crepe Escape restaurant at the corner of Freeport Blvd. and 10th Ave. just north of Sacramento City College. For exact date, contact JoAnn Fuller at 4412085. Every year we hear that this free, family oriented event is the “best yet.” Please join us and help make this year’s program another “best yet.” Another way to be active is to tell the story of Sadako, the Japanese girl who inspires us to never again allow the use of nuclear weapons. As she sickened due to radiation poisoning, Sadako labored to fold 1,000 origami cranes so she could write peace on their wings and send this message around the world. If you would like to help present the story of Sadako and help children fold cranes, contact Kazuyo Morishita at 487-1414.

www.bpmnews.org January / February 2009 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 11

Happy Birthday, Universal Declaration of Human Rights! Time to ratify the International Covenant By Susan Scott When Tom Brokaw asked during the second stitution. So, in 1966, the UN adopted two presidential debate whether healthcare was treaties to bind members to the UDHR coma “right,” McCain said he thought it was a mitments. The International Covenant of “responsibility,” Obama said “it should be a right Political and Civil Rights (ICPC)—covering for every American.” the rights to vote, Actually, it not only to an impartial [T]he US…is one of SHOULD be a right; court, to speak out the only industrialized it IS a right—in most and associate, and countries, that is. to not be discriminations that has refused The Universal Declanated against—was Eleanor Roosevelt holding the Univerration of Human Rights, to make a commitment to ratified in 1977, the first internationally signed by President sal Declaration of Human Rights the economic, social and photo: udhr.org recognized definition Carter in 1977, cultural rights of its people. of the basic rights of all and ratified by the Now why would that be? Could it have to do human beings, drafted US Congress in 1992. with our (now bankrupt) capitalist system that with the support of Eleanor Roosevelt, was Much like the practice of George W. Bush’s defines health care, housing and—increasingly— signed by the US and 47 of 55 members of the signing statements, however, the US ratified the education, water and even security as a comnewly created United Nations on December 10, ICPCR with several “reservations,” including modity? Could the preeminent role of private 1948. Only the Soviet Bloc, Saudi Arabia and requiring additional legislation by Congress for property in our constitutional system be impedSouth Africa abstained. On December 10, 2008 enforcement. Nevertheless, its provisions are ing the ability the American people to savor their Coffee from hundreds of thousands throughout the world universally recognized. internationally recognized human rights? celebrated its 60th anniversary. Economic, social and cultural rights, however, Of course signing on to a Covenant doesn’t Nicaragua Americans might be surprised to know that were too controversial for the US to sign even mean actual compliance, but at least signatories Support Sacramento’s the US government has defined human rights to with reservations—and were therefore split off are obligated to make regular progress reports sister city, San Juan include not only free and fair voting, fair trials, into a separate treaty. The International Covand move toward compliance. And since last de Oriente, Nicaragua, by purchasing organic free speech and prohibition against slavery and enant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights summer, people who claim violation of their discrimination, but also health care, housing, was signed by Jimmy Carter in 1977 but has yet rights under the ICESCR have a forum at the UN whole-bean coffee grown in the rich social security and employment. even to be submitted to Congress for ratification. to make their complaint. volcanic soil on the As Article 25 of the UDHR states: “Everyone The ICESCR has now been ratified by 162 of Many of us walked out of Michael Moore’s island of Omotepe, has the right to a standard of living adequate for the 192 UN members, including virtually all of Sicko wondering why our country is so out of Nicaragua. the health and well-being of himself and his fam- Europe and Latin America. step with the rest of the industrialized world Thanks to the efforts of the Bainbridge-Omotepe ily, including food, clothing, housing and medical So the US—supposed leading light for human when it comes to healthcare. We blamed it on Sister Island Association care and necessary social services and the right to rights and whose first lady helped draft the Bush and the Republicans. But the history of US in Washington, we are security in the event of unemployment, sickness, document 60 years ago—is one of the only resistance to the ICESCR indicates that someable to bring you this disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of industrialized nations that has refused to make thing else is going on. Republicans and Demowonderful medium roast livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.” a commitment to the economic, social and culcrats alike consider government responsibility for coffee. Article 23 provides for the right to work and pro- tural rights of its people—rights long enjoyed Americans’ economic, social and cultural rights Your purchase helps the tection from unemployment as well. in Europe and most industrialized countries to be “socialist” and inconsistent with our “way farmers on the island and helps support But the UDHR was only a “declaration,” not a and now finally being fulfilled in much of Latin of life.” Sacramento’s long treaty enforceable in US courts under our ConAmerica. To avoid hypocrisy, perhaps we should unrelationship with San sign the UDHR, like Bush did with the Kyoto Juan de Oriente. Protocol. All profits go directly Or better, perhaps we should pressure our new back to the Nicaraguan administration and Congress to help us celebrate communities. UDHR’s 60th Anniversary by finally ratifying the $9.00 a pound. Available in Sacramento International Convenant on Economic, Social at: The Book Collector, organizer David Walker? Are not these people and Cultural Rights—without “reservations.” 1008 24th St. and struggles part of our history as well? Former Sacramentan Susan Scott is a lawyer By Roger White Today Black History Month is an artifact of who Chairs the National Lawyers Guild’s Task Every February the debate continues. Do we the same mid-twentieth century black bourgeois Force on the Americas and has organized of sevreally need Black History month anymore? Isn’t culture that brought us “First Negro” books eral delegations to Venezuela. Black History fully integrated into the standard and back page Jet and Ebony “announcements” American History curriculum? Isn’t it, at best, detailing the grand achievements of our up and a slightly patronizing gesture that promotes coming. The banal and the pretentious walk Bob Dreizler Chartered the marginalization of black achievement and, hand as they seduce blacks eager to believe that Financial 2012 H St. #200 at worse, a divisive relic of the past that black they too, somehow, have arrived. In this land of Consultant Midtown Sacramento Americans should have outgrown by now. And make-believe there is little room for the overtly Author of besides don’t we have a black president anyways? political or even mildly upsetting. Tending Your [email protected] Money Garden Well, whatever one may think of Black History But the fact that Black History Month has www.bobdreizler.com Month it certainly isn’t going anywhere. There’s been de-politicalized over its lifespan is true and Registered Representative with Protected Investors of America, Member NASD, SIPC. Investment Advisory Representative of First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC. First Affirmative is an independent Registered Investment Advisor registered with the Securities and just too much money in it—sponsorships, “projsad and almost beside the point. The lament isn’t Exchange Commission (sec file #801-56587). First Affirmative is not a subsidiary or affiliate of Protected Investors of America. ects,” tax write-offs, ticket so much that Black HisBlack history has sales—you get the picture. tory has been defanged and PepsiCo, Ford, General Elec- been defanged and Disneyfied by those who tric have not only gotten into have an interest in managing the act, they happen to own Disneyfied by those our history. If we controlled the act. Each Black History who have an interest in our own history we could Month these corporations remedy that, but we don’t, combine feel-good diversity managing our history. and that’s the problem. In images with product placement, spending more a chapter entitled “Education Under Outside time explaining the merits of their products than Control,” Carter G Woodson, the founder of the achievements of black people. How much any Black History Week, stated that Black education of this commerce actually benefits black people should “not be determined from without by is a question worth asking, but the answer is forces set to direct the proscribed element in a Bob Dreizler probably fairly difficult to know for sure. What is way to redound solely to the good of others but Chartered Financial clear is that what started out as a response to the should be determined by the make-up of the Consultant Author of systematic suppression and distortion of black Negro himself.” The lament is that the decisions Tending Your Money Garden achievement that was part and parcel of Ameriabout what our Black Historical figures mean to available in book department ca’s Jim Crow culture is today an industry largely our community and the world should be in the external to the black community that traffics in hands of the people who knew them best and the familiar, the trite, and the safe. Aren’t there from which they came. That cannot be said today 2012 H St. #200 important black cultural and political figures and and this is the great tragedy of Black History Midtown Sacramento movements that still remain largely ignored by Month. Registered Representative for securities and Registered Representative with Protected Investors of America, Member NASD, SIPC. Investment Investment Advisory Representative, Protected our Black History Month boosters? What about Roger White is a criminal justice researcher Advisory Representative of First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC. First Affirmative is an independent [email protected] Investors of America. Registered Investment Advisor registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (sec file the Black Populists of the 1880’s and 90’s? What with the Service Employees International Union. www.bobdreizler.com #801-56587). First Affirmative is not a subsidiary or affiliate of Protected Investors of America. about labor organizer Lucy Parsons and rebel He lives in Sacramento.

Who Owns Black History Month? Reclaiming the past

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Align your investments with your values

916/444.2233

SOCIALLY-CONSCIOUS

INVESTING

Align your investments with your values

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12 Because People Matter January / February 2009 www.bpmnews.org

Sacramento Area Peace Action (SacPeace)

916-448-7157 • [email protected] • www.sacpeace.org

Reporting Live from the West Bank, Palestine The following are excerpts from the weekly reports of Sacramentans’ Maggie Coulter and Patricia Daugherty, who have been living in the West Bank, Palestine, since mid-October, 2008. The complete set of their reports and photos are at http://bethlehemupdates.blogspot.com).

In the Military & Need Help or Want to Get Out? GI Rights Hotline: 800394-9544; girights@ objector.org, www.objector.org Courage to Resist: 510488-3559, www.couragetoresist.org

Distances aren’t far here, but for Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem might as well be in California. They’re not allowed to travel to Jerusalem without first getting a difficult-to-get Israeli-issued permit. Our Bethlehem taxi, because of its Palestinian license plates, can only go a few miles on the Being Here, It’s Clear well-maintained settlement bypass roads. Then We have heard people say that Israel made it has to divert to a poorly maintained road to Swiss cheese of the West Bank, Palestine. Being the village. Both the Jewish-only bypass road to here makes that clear on a visceral level. One the illegal Israeli settlement, Beitar Illit, and the hill after another is topped with a settlement settlement itself, were built on land stolen from or military tower. The long blade of the Ari’el Bethlehem district towns and villages like Wadi Fukeen and Nahhalin. On the potholed, single lane road, we pass along the ancient terraced hills of olive trees into a small beautiful fertile valley; stone farm houses formed the central village. Further on, on the valley floor, are fields with lush vegetables. Since this is a dry place, seeing these beautiful green vegetables is quite a sight! But the sight one can’t escape is the massive, looming settlement snaking along The Palestinian community of Abu Dis is nearly surthe ridge and spilling rounded by the Apartheid Wall. People are cut off from their lands and they are cut off from Jerusalem. down towards village homes. Everyone in the The effect is killing the community. village has already lost photo: Bethlehem Updates land to this illegal setsettlement (started in 1978 and now covering tlement and still the land theft continues. As your 3400 acres stolen from Palestinian villages) cuts eye follows along the ridge, you see more housing through nearly half the West Bank. The apartheid being constructed. And beyond that, the hill’s wall surrounds, divides, and cuts off Palestinian been leveled for more construction. Rocks and villages and towns from one another. Hundreds dirt scraped from the hill were simply pushed of Israeli military checkpoints within the West into the next valley, burying village of Nahhalin’s Bank make travel difficult, delayed, and very olive groves. While building in the illegal Israeli unpleasant. But one does not have to come here settlements continues, Israel completely restricts to understand; read our stories, see the boxed construction in the Palestinian villages. text: “What has Happened,” or look at a current Our tour guide to the village is a Jewish-Israeli map at the UN website www.ochaopt.org. man from a nearby town on the other side of the green line. He has been involved with efforts to support the Wadi Fukeen farmers; he is warmly greeted by villagers as we go through town. He tells us that when villagers recently asked Israeli authorities where they might build in the future, they were told all remaining available land would be taken for the settlement. We wonder how Palestinians cope with this ever-present threat to their future and their children’s future. Looking at the scar left by bulldozing the ridge, we are remindIsraeli “Security Road” carves through Palestinian ed of the huge illegal land. settlement we see photo: Bethlehem updates everyday from Bethlehem, Har Homa. It Wadi Fukeen: A Village Surrounded had been forest but has been designated a “nature Our visit to the Village of Wadi Fukeen preserve” by Israel, a euphemism for land they encapsulates the bittersweet experience of Paleswould eventually steal. Ten years ago, despite tine: persistent hope, tenacity and dignity despite international protest, the Israelis cut down trees, a virulent Israeli occupation. Wadi (Arabic for flattened the hilltop and put up what looks like a valley) Fukeen is in the Bethlehem district. It’s concrete jungle. How sickening it must’ve been almost as close to the Old City of Jerusalem as for Bethlehem families to watch, knowing they it is to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. could do nothing to change the outcome.

We stopped at a new friend’s home for sage tea and delicious baked flat bread of zataar (like oregano) and cheese, then went off to see the vegetable fields, talking with people we met along the way. Wadi Fukeen has 11 natural springs, which flow into collection pools which are then used for irrigation. This spring water used to be potable—but it’s no longer safe to drink. Even though the villagers posted signs in Hebrew asking them not to do this, settlers swam in the pools, contaminating the water. We’ve heard settlers deliberately contaminated water in other areas of the West Bank too. Now Wadi Fukeen must buy drinking water from Mekorot, Israel’s water company; water that Israel stole from the deep Palestinian aquifer. Palestinians aren’t allowed to drill wells without Israel’s permission.  Our guide points out a large open pipe below the settlements. Although the settlement’s sewage is supposed to be piped to Jerusalem for treatment, when the system overflows, raw sewage flows out of the pipe, down the hillside, into the village’s vegetable fields. The village farmers have tried to work around the contamination by building raised beds and diverting the dirty water. School Field Trip Under Occupation We’d waited for a bus with school kids from the Aida Refugee Camp, who were on a field trip—a wonderful outing for these kids who live in very cramped conditions. The Apartheid Wall has now cut the camp off from the olive grove that was the last remaining nearby open space. The bus had gotten a flat tire so it was almost dark when we were all finally in the bus. We watched a harvest moon rise as we bumped along the road.   Suddenly the bus came to a halt. A repeated whisper: Jaysh (Arabic for army). The Israeli soldiers ordered the men off the bus, both Palestinians and internationals. As an Israeli soldier walked down the aisle, his gear got caught in a little girl’s hair. The children were quiet. When the men were let back on, we proceeded.  Then there was crying and screaming. The bus lurched to a stop again. Patricia heard several kids yell “grenade!” The children were helped off the bus and several of them had to be held tightly. They were screaming in pure terror. Thankfully, it had just been steam gushing out of a hole that had blown in the bus’s heating system. But these children have witnessed Israeli military incursions into their camp and into their homes. That there would be a grenade on the bus after the soldier had walked down the aisle was a real possibility to them! That evening, at an event in the Bethlehem Peace Center, we heard the Representative of the Republic of Poland to the Palestinian National Authority talk about Poland’s connection to Palestine; two peoples who have been occupied, had their people killed and their land stolen. He offered his hope that, like Poland, Palestine, would one day be free from occupation and would have its lands restored. Villagers Resist the Taking of their Lands Jayyus, a village of 3500, is near the 1948-armistice line in the West Bank. When Israel constructed its illegal apartheid wall, it uprooted several hundred of Jayyus’s olive trees. And since 2003, the residential part of Jayyus has been on the east side of the wall and most of its agricultural lands are on the west side. Israel has cut off their water supply, allowing villagers very limited access to their wells through a locked gate controlled by the Israeli military. To get to their trees, local farmers have to obtain Israeli permits. Only a limited number are issued—usually to old men, and rarely to young, more able-bodied men in the family. Some farmers haven’t been able to obtain permits for three years and if a farmer doesn’t work his land for three years, it’s confiscated by Israel. In November, instead of waiting for a pend-

www.bpmnews.org January / February 2009 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 13

in, so we got out of the taxi. We spent half an hour or so talking with three teen soldiers. One said God had given Israel the land. Another said that no power that takes land gives it back. The third one said if they weren’t there, the Palestinians would push the Israelis out. Two said that they didn’t like what they were doing, but had to join the The Apartheid Wall in Bethlehem’s Aida Refugee army and were just Camp doing what they were photo: Bethlehem Updates told. They said they’d tried to be nice to the ing court decision, the Israeli military began Palestinians. We talked about the Nuremberg re-routing part of the existing apartheid wall, a principles, that one can’t just follow orders. They maneuver that will confiscate approximately 150 said they hadn’t heard about those. We talked more acres than the former route, plus four vilabout what happened in 1948 and 1967, and what lage wells. (We’ve heard it’s not unusual for the is going on today. We suggested they read Ilan military to preempt or ignore court orders). Pappe’s book, the Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. In response, Jayyus villagers, like those in We left the soldiers and walked away on a Burqa, Ni’lin, and Bi’lin, protested with the dirt road into the olive grove. We met two Palsupport of Palestinians from other towns, interestinian boys going to the village by a different nationals, and Israeli peace and justice activists route and followed them. Once in the village we (like Anarchists Against the Wall). Their first heard explosions. According to a Ecumenical demonstration on November 14 was completely Accompaniment Project Palestine-Israel (EAPPI) non-violent, reported a friend of ours with the report, the demonstration was mostly peaceful. Michigan Peace Team (MPT). A group of vilThe village elders kept young boys from throwlage women stood arm-in-arm facing the young ing stones as the demonstration moved from the Israeli soldiers chanting in Arabic, “No, no to the center towards the wells. When the demonstraWall.” (A full account and pictures are at www. tion began to break up and people moved back mptinpalestine.blogspot.com) to the center of the village, some of the boys did At the demonstration the following week, throw stones. The Israeli soldiers began shooting November 21, there was initially no army presrubber-coated steel bullets and throwing tear gas ence. The MTPer said that for years the villagcanisters and sound bombs. ers had been stopped at the gate, but this day There are EAPPI volunteers throughout the someone climbed the fence. Someone broke West Bank as well as in Israel. They observe at the lock. The razor wire got damaged. The vilcheckpoints and during curfews. Through nonlagers stepped out onto the military road. Their violent advocacy actions they’re trying to end resistance to years of occupation and humiliation the occupation. EAPPI has had a volunteer team targeted the gate, the closest part of the apartheid in Jayyus since 2004. (See team reports at www. wall. Then electric sensors went off, alerting the eappi.org.) soldiers, who then forced the demonstrators back Later, we were heartened to hear some young toward the village using gunfire and tear gas. The Israelis are refusing to go into the military. (See village was put under curfew. Some internationwww.december18th.org) als accompanying villagers home got arrested. (See www.mptinpalestine.blogspot.com) The Road from Jericho On Friday, November 28, we headed for Jayyus After spending a day hiking through the beaufrom Tulkarem in a collective taxi we shared tiful Wadi Qelt (see our blog for more details), we with local Stop the Wall activists (see www.stoparrive in Jericho too late to get a shared taxi back thewall.org) to attend the third demonstration. to Bethlehem. A nice young similarly-stranded But there was a new military checkpoint at the man helped us find a place to stay. base of the road going up to the village, which sits The next morning, an elderly gentleman, Yason a hill. The soldiers told us it was a closed mili- sar, offered to drive us to the ruins of Hisham’s tary zone and that no internationals were allowed palace, built in the 700s. After the palace, he took us through two large refugee camps, but unlike those in Bethlehem which have permanent structures, the Jericho refugee camps are a mix of buildings and makeshift shacks. One had a mattress for part of the roof. Because Yassar seemed happy to drive us and charged much less than a private cab, we asked him to take us to the Jordan River. “No, the area is sealed off by the Israeli military.” How about the few kiloIsraeli Military deteining Palestinian families on meters to the Dead Palestinian roads in the West Bank Sea? “No, because of photo: Bethlehem Updates. the Israelis. It’s best to

take an Israeli bus from Jerusalem.” Waving our blue USA passports, we who have been here a few weeks can travel relatively freely. But not so for Yassar who has lived in Palestine his entire life. It should be his birthright, but he cannot go to the Jordan River or the Dead Sea or …. At the first checkpoint on the way back to Bethlehem, everyone’s ID was inspected. At the second there were long lines because the Israeli soldiers were only now and again waving the cars through while they chatted with each other. While in our time here, we have crossed a number of checkpoints where the Israeli soldiers are not deliberately holding up the cars, the fact that their government trains and allows them to be callous and even cruel to a whole group of fellow human beings does not bode well for them or the Palestinians.

Sacramento Area Peace Action

Palestine Speaker Series   Weds., January 21, 2009  - History February 17, 2009 - Zionism March 17, 2009   Environmental Issues April 21, 2009   Divestment May 19, 2009   Current Realities/One State June 16, 2009   Two Sacramentan’s Impressions   All events except as noted above will be held on the 3rd Tuesday at 7pm at 909 12th St. Sacramento

The film Palestine Blues will be screened January 27, 2009, at 7pm, 909 12th St. Palestine Blues follows the repercussions of the Israeli Security Wall and Settlement expansion in the engulfed/annexed Palestinian farming communities of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Instead of focusing on the Wall as an object, Palestine Blues examines the grassroots resistance movement that has sprung up against it.

What has happened: In 1948, the Zionists took 78% of the land of historic Palestine—the 1947 UN partition would have given them 51%. In that first land grab, the Zionist militias drove about three-quarters of the indigenous population, an estimated 800,000 people, out of their homes in towns and 475 villages. The fleeing people sought refuge in neighboring countries, the West Bank and Gaza, and in other villages inside what is called the “green-line,” i.e. the 1948 armistice line. The Zionist militias then destroyed most of the villages. The next major wave of land theft was in 1967. Israel attacked Egypt, then Jordan and Syria and took lands from each of them; the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. More than 400,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes and lands, some, who had already been made refugees in 1948, yet again. The Sinai was returned to Egypt in 1980-82, but the rest lands are still illegally occupied by Israel. In violation of the Geneva Convention, Israel began almost immediately to build illegal settlements for Jewish-Israelis, in Gaza and the West Bank; illegal settlement building started in the Golan in the 1970’s. Although Israel pulled its settlements out of Gaza in 2005, it continues a devastating de facto occupation.

14 Because People Matter January / February 2009 www.bpmnews.org

Book Review The Much Too Promised Land: America’s Elusive Search for ArabIsraeli Peace by Aaron David Miller, Bantam Books, 2008, hardback, 395 pages. By Brigitte Jaensch Author Aaron David Miller’s grandfather was an ardent Zionist, and he describes his father as a “masterful fund-raiser” for Israel who once warned presidential candidate Jimmy Carter: “I’ll support you, but if you ever let Israel down, I’ll never forget it.” Miller himself concedes an “inherent tendency” to see things from “Israel’s vantage point.” But after more than twenty years in the United States State Department’s Bureau of Near East Affairs, he realizes the US calls itself a broker in Israel-Palestine negotiations, but by “catering and coordinating with the Israelis” the US behaves as “Israel’s Lawyer.” In The Much Too Promised Land: America’s Elusive Search for ArabIsraeli Peace, Miller explores US Middle East policy and those who influence it. Per Miller, the Clinton administration convened the 2000 Camp David Talks at Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s insistence. Then, according to administration staffers, the whole thing was pretty much run out of Ambassador Dennis Ross’s hip pocket. People sat around wondering what to do next. And Secretary of State Madeline Albright said Barak was nothing but “blah, blah, blah.” As for reaching agreement on one of the three thorniest issues, the final status of Jerusalem, according to Miller, Clinton advisor John Podesta remarked incredulously that Clinton seemed to think “you could just pull it out of your ass….” Miller says “anyone who believes that Israelis and Palestinians came ‘this close’ to an agreement has spent too much time with the peace-process tooth fairy.” But “this close to an agreement” is precisely Clinton’s, Dennis Ross’s, and Madeline Albright’s version. They put all the blame on Palestinian President Yasser Arafat because, they claim, he wouldn’t close the deal. Miller writes that just days after becoming Secretary of State, Colin Powell remembers Clinton “…‘ranting on the phone’ about how Arafat had ruined everything.”

Economy

that your landlord has allowed the rental property to go into foreclosure, see this site for information that might help you! www.tenantsforeclosure. blogspot.com/ Alison Brennan is a long-ago tenant activist. She lives in Sacramento.

And while Baker got the Israelis to let Palestinians sit at the negotiation table, Israel got to choose with whom they’d negotiate. After getting Israel-acceptable Palestinians seated at the table, Baker went no further. He never insisted Israel actually negotiate. Baker let the Israelis maintain what Miller terms their “don’t fuck with us” intransigence. Miller includes other topics, like: Clinton’s hero-worship for Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin; Israeli officials collaborating with US Christian extremist groups; and he reproaches the current Bush administration for not engaging in peace negotiations. After reading his book through one has to wonder: Why even call it negotiation if all the US does is play “Israel’s Lawyer”? Brigitte Jaensch is a Sacramento-based human rights advocate.

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“The world can either continue to pursue the arms race with characteristic vigour or move consciously and with deliberate speed towards a more stable and balanced social and economic development within a more sustainable international economic and political order; it cannot do both.” The current economic crisis is both a wakeup call and an opportunity for our country. We can go the way of the other nations that throughout history have tried and ultimately all failed, to dominate the world through military might or we can lead the world in working toward peace and prosperity by turning swords into ploughshares. The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States brings hope for a new direction for our country and the world. But the election of Barack Obama is the beginning, not the end, of the changes that need to occur in order to move toward a more peaceful and prosperous future. In today’s troubled economic times, it is more

If you are a tenant and you are worried

Miller, though, shows us it was Clinton and Barak who had no idea “what it would take to close the deal.” Miller’s “Domestic Politics” observations generally validate what John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt presented in their book The Israel Lobby. By whatever name it’s called, dealing with that pro-Israel community, Miller says, is “every bit as taxing as dealing with the Arabs and the Israelis.” President Clinton so conscientiously courted pro-Israel interests that the AmericanIsrael Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) Steve Grossman named him “America’s first Jewish president.” Miller describes AIPAC as “a pro-Israel political machine,” which works the country “district by district, state by state….” Miller concedes his “concern for Israel’s well-being … [is] like some sort of ethnic DNA,” and maybe that is why Miller inexplicably fails to disclose Dennis Ross’s and then Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Martin Indyk’s tight ties to AIPAC via its think tank Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Because Miller and Mearsheimer/Walt agree US Middle East policy does not serve America’s best interest, it’s important to ask: How influential are “Domestic Politics” in shaping that policy? Mearsheimer/Walt maintain the Israel Lobby is a strong influence. But Miller’s explanation is closer to something the Anti-Defamation League’s executive director Abe Foxman might devise: Pro-Israel pressure doesn’t influence US Middle East policy, but rather, US policymakers “self-censor” US policy into what they think the pro-Israel community will want. To find any US peacemaker successes, besides President Jimmy Carter, Miller has to fudge. He focuses more on the personalities of Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and James Baker because neither was really productive. Kissinger froze out the Palestinians by making it illegal for US negotiators to talk directly to Palestinians.

important than ever that we, the people, demand that our nation’s valuable human and financial resources not be wasted on war and preparation for war, but that they be invested instead in more balanced, stable, and sustainable social and economic development.

again—and I, for one, am committed to working even harder to make third time the charm. If we had a Congress filled with Durstons we’d have a very different country.

BPM Editorial Group member Jeanie Keltner says: Durston, emergency room physician and decorated Marine combat vet, came within 5 percentage points of winning California’s 3rd district Congressional seat in November. Responding to urging of supporters, Bill has agreed to run

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www.bpmnews.org January / February 2009 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 15

January / February Calendar ONGOING EVENTS 11th OF EVERY MONTH: Sacramento 9/11 Truth Demonstration. 11th and L Sts, (Nov 11 at 16 & J Sts). INFO: www.truthaction. org, 916-372-8433. MONDAYS: Sacramento Poetry Center hosts poetry readings. 7:30pm. 1719 25th Street. www.sacramentopoetrycenter.org. 1st MONDAYS: Organic Sacr amento: Counter ongoing threats to our food. 6:30pm. INFO: www. organicsacramento.org. 1st MONDAYS: Sac Media Group. 6–8pm. Coloma Community Center, 4623 T Street. INFO: 443-1792, [email protected]. 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. 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: Urban Farm Stand, 4–7pm, River Garden Estates, 2201 Northview Dr. 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.sacramentodancesofuniversalpeace. org, 916-832-4630. 4th FRIDAYS: Dances at Christ Unity Church, 9249 Folsom Blvd. All Welcome $5–$10 donation requested. INFO: Christine 457-

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Send calendar items for the Mar. / Apr. 2009 issue to [email protected] by Feb. 10, with “calendar item” in the subject line. Make it short, and PLEASE use this format: Day, Date. Name of event. Description (1–2 lines). Time. Location. Price. INFO: phone#; e-mail. For the most current listing of Sacramento peace & justice events, go to www.sacpeace.org. For weekly updates, email [email protected] and put SacPeaceUpdates in the subject.

5855, 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.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR Monday, January 5, 7–9pm

Paddy Quick. “Household Production and Commodity Production.” See Marxist School below.

Saturday, January 10, 6:30 - 8pm

Demand Peace Now! Demonstration and vigil at the 2nd Saturday Art Walk, organized by Veterans for Peace (VFP). We will display signs and banners (bring yours!) during this busy event, with candles and glow sticks so we will all be visible in the dark. 20th and J in downtown Sacramento. INFO: 916-698-8131. Weather permitting.

2nd & 4th SATURDAYS: Community Contra Dance. 8–11pm; 7:30 lessons. Coloma Center 4623 T Street. INFO: 395-3483.

Sunday, January 11

3rd SATURDAYS: Sacramento Area Peace Action Vigil. 11:30am–1:30pm. Marconi & Fulton. INFO: 448-7157.

Eugene Coyle. “The economic and environmental crises and a radical but practical response to them.” See Marxist School below.

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. 4th SATURDAYS: Sierra Permaculture Guild general mtg. 6:30–9pm. The Sacred Bee, 1451 E. Main St., Grass Valley.INFO: SierraPermaculture.org 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. 2nd SUNDAYS: Atheists & Other Freethinkers. 2:30pm. Sierra 2 Center, Room 10, 2791 24th St. INFO: 447-3589.

Sacto 9/11 Truth demonstration. 11th & L Sts, facing Capitol north entrance. Time and INFO: www.truthaction.org, 916-372-8433.

Thursday, Jan. 15, 7-9pm

Saturday, January 17, 9:30am to 3pm

Quarterly meeting of California Gray Panther Networks. St Paul’s African Methodist Episcopal Church, 2024 Ashby Avenue, Berkeley, CA . Wheelchair Accessible . INFO: Margot Smith, 510-548-9696.

Saturday January 17, 6–10pm

Spaghetti Western Fundraiser, sponsored by Stages-Northern California Performing Arts. Join us for an evening of pasta, live music, country line dancing (and instruction), silent auction. Blue Goose Shed, Loomis CA. Tickets $25, available at www.Stages-PerformingArts.org

Sunday, January 25, 12–2pm

Demand Peace Now! Demonstration and vigil, organized by Veterans for Peace (VFP); bring your signs and banners with peace messages. 16th & Broadway (2500 16th St., in front of R5 Records), Sacramento. INFO: Veterans for Peace, 916-456-4595. Weather permitting.

Saturday, February 7, 8pm

Opening Night of LYREBIRD. U.S. Premiere of internationally acclaimed hilarious Australian solo show about one man’s passion for theatre and fantasy. 24th Street Theatre, 2791 24th St., Sac. Plays Feb 5–22. $20/24. INFO/Tickets: (530) 656-2116 , www.SacramentoLyreBird.com.

it gives us hope and it’s darn funny too!

Current issue available at Newsbeat and fine comic book stores. w w w. H u m o r T i m e s . c o m

President’s Day: Sacramento Area Coalition Against the Death Penalty Potluck Lunch. 651 55th St. RSVP Georgia Lyga 455-1796 or [email protected].

Thursday, Feb. 19, 7-9pm

Ann Tompkins and Lincoln Cushing. “Chinese Posters: Art from the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.” See Marxist School below.

Sunday, February 22, 12–2pm

Demand Peace Now! Demonstration and vigil, organized by Veterans for Peace (VFP); bring your signs and banners with peace messages. 16th & Broadway (2500 16th St., in front of R5 Records), Sacramento. Information: Veterans for Peace, 916-456-4595. Weather permitting.

Senior Legal Workshop Series,

Ethel Hart Center 915 27th Street Sacramento CA 95816 Sessions cover planning for long-term care; foreclosures, Advance Health care Directives, Landlord-Denant issues. Thursday, January 22nd, 2009,1 pm Thursday, February 26th, 2009,1 pm Thursday, March 26th, 2009, 1pm Thursday, April 23rd, 2009, 1pm Thursday, May 28th, 2009, 1pm FREE (916) 808-5462

DARWIN DAY!

Save the date: Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009 The 12th Annual Celebration of Charles Darwin’s Birthday Featuring speaker Michael Shermer

Darwin Day Celebration. See display this page.

Wednesday, February 11

Sacto 9/11 Truth Demonstration. 11th and L Streets, facing Capitol north entrance. INFO: www.truthaction.org, 916-372-8433.

Saturday, February 14, 6:30–8pm

Be a Sweetheart & Demand Peace Now! Demonstration and vigil at the 2nd Saturday Art Walk, organized by Veterans for Peace (VFP). Honor

The Marxist School of Sacramento

January / February 2009 Activities Sierra 2 Center, Garden Room, 2791–24th Street, Sacramento, 7-9pm

Quick’s work focuses on understanding the concept of production to include production that takes place within capitalism but outside of the capitalist sector of production, namely household (and community) production.

No longer distributed free: It was either switch to subscriptions or go out of business. The good news: we’ve added a lot more great content, and it’s CHEAP! Just $17.95/year (12 issues) when you sign up online!

Monday, Feb. 16, 1pm

Sunday, Feb. 8

Monday, January 5, Paddy Quick. “Household Production and Commodity Production”

Formerly the

your loved ones by demanding peace. We will display signs and banners (bring yours!) during this busy event, with candles and glow sticks so we will all be visible in the dark. 20th and J in downtown Sacramento. Information: Veterans for Peace, 916-698-8131. Weather permitting.

Thursday, January 15, Eugene Coyle. “The economic and environmental crises and a radical but practical response to them.” Fiscal and monetary policy alone cannot fix the economic crisis, nor can technology alone fix runaway climate change. There is something we can do that will address both crises at once, and ultimately is essential for each.

Thursday, February 19, Ann Tompkins and Lincoln Cushing. “Chinese Posters: Art from the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.” Brilliantly colorful images of cultural celebration, industrial development, and agricultural production were displayed in homes and public spaces across the country. Tompkins provides an account of living in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution, and Cushing presents a slideshow on the context in which these posters flourished.

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

Mr. Michael Shermer is a regular columnist for Scientific American, the publisher of Skeptic Magazine, and author of Why People Believe Weird Things; The Borderlands of Science: Where Sense Meets Nonsense, and How We Believe: the Search for God in an Age of Science. The free-thought community again brings us this festive gathering with refreshments, including birthday cake, displays and literature from many groups, interesting science-related merchandise, a friendly crowd and a great guest speaker. Last year, the audience was captivated by Seth Shostak, astronomer of the SETI Institute, an exciting and charming speaker, even for those not into astronomy. Likewise, we expect Michael Shermer to be a great speaker. Tickets on sale now! For time, place, and ticket purchase info see www.HAGSA.org, click on “Darwin Day” button.

Resources for Enlisted Personnel & Veterans

Discharges • DEP • Discrimination • Gay • AWOL/UA • Harassment • Hazing• Conscientious Objection Free, confidential information from The GI Rights Hotline, www.girights.org, 800-394-9544

Counseling: free & confidential: 916-447-5706; www.therapistsforsocialresponsibility.org;

January / February 2009 Progressive News and Views

INSIDE: Reporting Live From Gaza, Black History Month, The Economy and of course, much more…

Because People Matter

Progressive Media Editors’ Picks!

ä 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 5pm.

ä 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. ä 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

Progressive Radio Stations

äKVMR 89.5 FM ä The Voice, 88.7 Cable FM; and streaming audio on www.Accesssacramento.org; SAP Comcast Channels 17 & 18 ä KYDS 91.5 FM äKDVS 90.3 FM ä KPFA 94.1 FM Berkeley äKZFR 90.1 FM Chico People Powered Radio! managed and operated by volunteers, provides mostly locally produced and community oriented programs.

(Other) Progressive Newspapers

ä 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 ä 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. Look for the Rock Creek Free Press in the back of some BPM stands and other places you find BPM (always at the downtown main library). It’s a great progressive paper with emphasis on the undernews. And just like BPM it needs support from the people who are sick of the disinformation news. Check it out and subscribe (after subscribing to BPM).

Here’s a hot tip! If you don’t have cable TV, and you do have a PC (doesn’t work on Mac), 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.

Great Speeches and Interviews-Local and national speeches and interviews to challenge your thinking. An in-depth radio program on the current issues. Where to listen and/or download: Listen Sundays 6-8pm on Comcast Ch. 17, 18, set your TV menu to SAP or listen on The Voice www.AccessSacramento.org L i s te n o r d ow n l o a d f ro m w w w. archive.org/bookmarks/sgl Blogged on www.SacramentoForDemocracy.org

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

Have you taken the TV production training at Access Sacramento? Would you like to learn or 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. Call 444 3203 if you’re interested in taking the training or joining us at Soapbox! for fun—and the best pizza in town, from Pieces.

Online News Sources:

www.Truthout.org: 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. www.whatreallyhappened.com: 9/11 and other coverups.

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

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