Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
because
People Matter Editorial
Volume 17, Number 3
Published Bi-Monthly by the Charlene Jones and JoAnn Fuller,
Co-coordinating Editors for This Issue
Sacramento Community for
Peace & Justice
P.O. Box 162998, Sacramento,
CA 95816
A
(Use addresses below for
correspondence) fter five years of war and occupation the public stan wars, with a little more than $100 per month on
Editorial Group: Jacqueline has been lulled to inaction with media atten- the Iraq occupation alone, according to Joseph Stiglitz
Diaz, JoAnn Fuller, Charlene
Jones, Jeanie Keltner, Rick
tion declining since the first months of conflict. and Linda Bilmes in The Three Trillion Dollar War. The
Nadeau According to the Project for Excellence in Journalism, National Priorities Project estimated every median
Coordinating Editors for coverage of the Iraq war supplied about a fourth of the income family paid $3,736 tax dollars in 2006 to fund a
this Issue: Charlene Jones news in January 2007, but a year later was only four war that continues to roil the world.
and JoAnn Fuller
percent of media attention. A reproachable media has Nearly 4,100 Americans have died in Iraq and
Design and Layout:
Ellen Schwartz also had no difficulty mollifying those pesky attendant Afghanistan and more than 31,000 wounded. Studies of
Calendar Editor: nightmares: a battered Constitution, unprecendented the number of lost Iraqis lives produce estimates rang-
Chris Bond privacy invasions, crumbling infrastructure and unfath- ing from 400,000 to more than a million. Combined,
Advertising and Business omable debt. Viewers and listeners were told it was OK these are the most acute problems confronting the US.
Manager: Edwina White
because torture, loss of habeus corpus, and more killing Despite frenzied White House spin and a complicit
Distribution Manager:
Paulette Cuilla only serve to protect the homeland. Besides, Americans media, distracted citizens may not be as easily led. A
Subscription Manager: could still shop and fill up their gas tanks. recent Associated Press poll indicated nearly 50 percent
Kate Kennedy Now, however, pocketbook troubles are hitting the of the public believes a pullout from Iraq will solve US
national fan and Americans may be forced to consider economic problems, followed by spending more on
How to Reach Us: the undeniable waste of war. With the US economy domestic concerns with tax cuts at the bottom of solu-
Subscriptions, letters, deteriorating and millions of tax dollars spent each day tions to the financial crisis. It is all the more apparent
punditry: to fund an increasingly bloody conflict, shopping may this war steals lives and ravages public treasuries only
403 21st Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
no longer be possible as the patriotic pastime. to erode security at home and across the globe. The
444-3203 Every American household now spends $138 per May/June BPM issue highlights the price so many are
Ads or other business: month on the operating costs of the Iraq and Afghani- paying.
446-2844
All e-mail correspondence:
bpmnews@nicetechnology.
com
HAVE A CALENDAR
ITEM?
Send an e-mail with “calendar
item” in the subject line. Make
it short, and in this order,
Budget Cuts Threaten CSU Students, Faculty and Staff
please: Day, Date. Name of
event. Description (1–2 lines).
Alliance for the CSU seeks to mitigate cuts.
By Kevin Wehr
Time. Location. INFO: phone#;
e-mail.
F
the higher earnings by CSU graduates, and the
HAVE A storY? ifty years ago the people of California return to California increases to $17 for every
We start planning the next made a promise. We promised to provide dollar invested in the CSU. That’s some return on
issue of BPM the day the low-cost post-secondary schooling to the investment—the CSU is part of the solution for a
current issue hits the streets.
Let us know by e-mail as soon
students of our state with the “Master Plan for troubled economy!
as you have an idea for a story Higher Education.” This education, provided by What will happen if the proposed cuts move
so we can consider it early in the California State University and the University forward? It will be harder for students to get into
the process. of California systems in conjunction with the and continue in the CSU system. Some 10,000
community colleges, pledged many benefits: an eligible students will be turned away. The con-
HAVE SOME time?
educated electorate, trained workers for local sequence of this is that California’s middle class
(HA HA HA!) Well, you might
have, and BPM always needs
businesses, competent professionals to work in will shrink if families can’t send kids to the CSU.
help with big and small tasks. our hospitals, schools, and to build our infra- These troubles will fall hardest on Latino, Afri-
Call 444-3203. structure and our economy. Today that promise can American, Native American and first-gen-
is threatened by the draconian budget cuts pro- eration students who, without the CSU, are less
Copy Deadlines: posed by Governor Schwarzenegger. However, an likely to get a college education. Furthermore,
For the July / Aug. 2008 Issue: historic coalition has formed to fight these cuts the governor called for increased college oppor-
Articles: Tell us about your
article by May 15; article must
and allow the CSU to keep the promise made a tunity for returning veterans; they, too, will have
be received by June 1, 2008. generation ago. to compete for fewer spaces in the CSU.
Calendar Items: June 10, 2008 The CSU structure is the largest higher edu- The governor says we need to build infrastruc-
Cultural events welcome! cation system in the world. We have 450,000 ture by $500 billion over the next 20 years. The
For details, see our new students taught by 23,000 faculty members, CSU educates Californians who can do exactly
website, www.bpmnews.org
supported by dedicated staff and administra- that. The graduates of the CSU system are neces-
Because People Matter is an all-
tors. Together the CSU campuses form a pillar sary for continued economic vitality and growth. for the CSU is made up of students, staff, faculty
volunteer endeavor to present
alternative, progressive news
of the California economy, with a $13.6 billion They are the backbone of the state’s workforce— and administration of the CSU, with allies from
and views in Sacramento. We economic statewide impact each year, accord- engineers, teachers, nurses. Of all higher educa- the business community, labor groups, com-
invite and welcome your re- ing to the CSU chancellor’s office. Students tion degrees granted in California, CSU gives 51 munity organizations and concerned individuals.
sponses. To discuss a proposed spend $7.5 billion in their communities, the percent in engineering, 52 percent in agriculture Together we can convince the governor and leg-
article, or help distribute the
campuses provide $760 million in taxes to local and 65 percent in business. islators the CSU is the solution! Join us at www.
paper, inquire about ad rates,
or help out in some other way,
and state governments, and more than 200,000 Cutting the budget to the CSU is like eating allianceforthecsu.org.
call or write using the phone jobs contribute to the welfare and livelihood of your seed corn; it negates any plan for the future.
number and address listed un- across our state. Overall the CSU generates $4.41 A coalition has formed to fight these cuts and Kevin Wehr is a professor of sociology and vice-
der ”How to Reach Us” above. in spending for every $1 invested. Add to this restore fiscal sense to the budget. The Alliance president of California Faculty Alliance, CSUS.
Please reproduce from any of
the written contents, but do
credit the author and BPM.
BPM is printed by Herburger
Publications, Inc. 685-5533.
T
he California Honduran Institute for Medical and Educational language derives from the
Support held a dinner and program in Sacramento in Februrary Arawak and Carib lan-
benefiting health care in the Garifuna communities of Hon- guages. The Garifuna have
duras. The event featured presentations by Dr. Luther Harry Castillo, kept their African musical
leader of the rural health care movement in Honduras, and Lt. Gover- and religious traditions
nor John Garamendi. over the centuries.
In a short 18 months, a new clinic in Ciriboya, Honduras has served In the program Cas-
more than 68,340 patients for free. In addition, family practice doctors tillo established, medical
care for thousands of people in 12 far-flung rural communities. students return from
Executive secretary of the Sacramento Central Labor Council and Havana to work in their
CHIMES Director Bill Camp, his brother, Tom, and a dedicated crew of communities to finish
volunteers built the hospital to provide the long-needed care. their education. There are
Mo Mohanna, a Sacramento philanthropist, donated his reception eight resident Garifuna
hall and catering for the event. All money raised, more than $10,000, doctors, while the program
goes to support health care in Honduras. Volunteers organized by is training 86 midwives,
Birthing Project, founded by Kathyrn Hall, have also been invaluable to along with nurses and
CHIMES and its efforts. volunteers.
They are developing a
health care infrastructure
in a region where the
government has installed Lt. Governor John Garamendi and Bill Durston, Congressional
none. “We have developed Candidate, at the CHIMES fundraiser.
a volunteer structure by Photo by Dan Bacher.
building alliances between
key sectors of the community, including faith groups, women’s groups,
students and workers. The participation of Garifuna women is essential to
the program,” Castillo said. “We believe in training doctors who work side
by side with the community people and who live inside the community.
We want doctors who know that patients are not just muscle and bones,” he
emphasized.
The success of the clinic has been evidenced by health statistics from
the first year of operation. “Infant mortality was 30.8 per 1,000 births in
Honduras in 2006,” said Castillo. “In one year the infant mortality rate in
our region plummeted to 10.1 per 1,000 births.” In addition, the maternal
mortality was 48.1 per 10,000, and it dropped to 22.4.
“My dream is that no child in our country will die of a preventable dis-
ease,” said Castillo. “Cuba is an alternative model for health care delivery in
the Third World.”
Lt. Governor Garamendi and his wife Patti attended the grand
opening of the clinic in December 2007 and are strong supporters of
CHIMES. “What if the US did outreach by training doctors in the com-
munity and sent them to help other countries like Cuba does?” Garamendi
asked. “In this situation, Cuba has a much better foreign policy than our
country.”
Camp added, “Praise should go to the people of Sacramento who cross
borders,” concluded Camp. “This clinic is helping a community of 86,000
people, people living on just a few dollars a day, and that has happened
because people in this community have stepped outside their comfort zone
and made donations.”
Camp noted that CHIMES is negotiating with University of Califor-
nia, Davis Medical School in Sacramento, Kaiser Hospital and Pittsburg
Medical School to develop programs that will send medical students to
Honduras for three months to provide exposure to medical practice in
a rural setting in Latin America. For more information, call CHIMES at
916-612-9999.
Dr. Luther Harry Castillo sings a Garifuna song before making his
Dan Bacher is a journalist, activist and satirical songwriter living in
presentation.
Photo by Dan Bacher. Sacramento.
ICE Detention
One of our Immigration System’s best kept secrets
By Felicia Martinez
On any given day 30,000
people are held in deten-
tion by the Immigration
“ICE detainees,
and Customs Enforcement even those with
Agency throughout the
country in a system that
green cards, are not
incarcerates over 230,000 entitled to public
people per year. In a March
5, 2008 United Nations
defenders, a policy
report, the UN Special that came under
Rapporteur on the human
rights of migrants expressed
specific criticism in
“serious concerns about the UN report.”
the situation of migrants in
[the US], especially in the
context of specific aspects of deportation and afforded to
detention policies…” Considering circumstances prisoners. ICE
under which ICE, a division of the Department detainees, even
Sacramento of Homeland Security, arrests and detains people, those with green
Progressive it is not difficult to understand why. cards, are not
Events There are numerous reasons why ICE might entitled to public
Calendar on detain a person. Some are detained because they defenders, a policy
the Web are undocumented. Some are held while they that came under
await the outcome of an asylum petition. Some specific criticism
are Legal Permanent Residents—green card hold- in the UN report.
www.sacleft.org ers—detained because they were convicted in ICE detainees
Of course, we can’t get a photo of the inside of a Homeland Security detention
center. Above is a poster from the 1954 film, Salt of the Earth, based on a strike
Labor, Peace, state or federal court of a crime that may be con- must pay for a against the Empire Zinc Mine in New Mexico.
Environment, Human sidered grounds for deportation. These people lawyer, find a pro
Rights, Solidarity…
have already served their sentences and been bono attorney
Send calendar items
to Gail Ryall,gryall transferred to ICE custody where they wait, in or represent themselves in immigration court. is merely a breadwinner, she will no doubt be
@cwnet.com. new cells, while the court determines if they are But immigration law is incredibly complex and deported. Having financial and emotional depen-
deportable under law. contains dozens of classifications and visa types. dents is not enough.
Of ICE’s 30,000 inmates, only half are housed In immigration court it is not a mere question of The absence of time limits on how long ICE
in DHS operated facilities. The other 15,000 live whether a detained person has papers, but what can detain a person is another area of eroded
outside the system in privately operated facilities, kind of papers, when and under what laws these legal rights. It is not unusual for a person to wait
sometimes with state prisoners, or in county jails. papers were issued, if the person has criminal months before even having the opportunity to
In Sacramento the main jail reports having 20–30 convictions and specific legalities of those charg- bring her case before a judge. There is precedent
ICE detainees at any time. These inmates have es, along with a plethora of other factors that to suggest that when detention exceeds four to
no pending charges other than those relating to determine which laws might apply. In addition, six months, which it frequently does, or when
immigration law, charges defined as civil, not the court is not allowed to consider mitigating it’s clear the detainee will not be deported in
criminal. County jails, however, are not designed factors such as a person’s contributions to com- the near future, the person should be released
for long-tem housing. Due to differences in facil- munity, good moral character, stable work his- from detention. However, there is no standard
ity regulations, an ICE detainee in a county jail tory or family ties. Under these conditions, ICE legal mechanism to guarantee this happens. This
often lives in starkly worse conditions than some- detainees are expected to represent themselves in interminable waiting induces some detainees to
one detained at a nearby DHS facility. court. choose not to fight their case and accept a remov-
Some ICE detainees, however, are not housed The situation of undocumented people in this al order just so they can secure a quicker release.
in government facilities at all but handed over system is of course the most precarious. Once “Removal,” however, doesn’t always mean
to private corporations, such as the Corrections an undocumented person is in ICE custody, returning to a familiar land. ICE regularly
Corporation of America, which operates dozens she has very little chance of fighting an order of deports people—both documented and not—to
of prisons nationwide. As with state and federal removal. Depending on circumstances under countries of which they have no recollection, and
prisons, corporations like CCA often require which a detainee left her native country, she in some cases have never been. Even US citizens
inmates to work for menial pay, sometimes $1 a may petition for political asylum, but ICE judges get caught up. It is possible for a person to have
day, in jobs like serving cafeteria meals or mop- regularly turn down more petitions than they been born outside the US and possess “derived”
ping floors—saving the corporation from hiring approve. The detained person could try to prove or “acquired” citizenship via the citizenship status
out for such jobs. Since the corporation receives her removal would cause her dependants, what of her parents. The problem is, these people may
a flat payment from the federal government for the court defines as, “exceptional and extremely not realize they are citizens, and even if they do,
each inmate housed, using unpaid inmate labor unusual hardship.” For example, if the detainee they bear the burden of proving their citizenship
increases the corporate profit margin. has a child needing a kidney transplant and the to the court. This poses a significant problem
One of the most alarming aspects of the child can only receive a kidney from the detainee, for detainees who are not in possession of the
ICE detention system is the lack of legal rights maybe she could win her case. But if the detainee documents necessary to prove their citizenship,
documents that may include the
Best Burger
citizenship and birth records of
people other than themselves.
The US government incarcer-
ates a higher percentage of its
population than any other coun-
try on the planet, which suggests
immigrants are more likely to be
Biting into this feast, the Harris Ranch Steak freshly immigrants commit fewer crimes
in this country than do their
first thing you notice is that ground and formed into a native-born counterparts. In this
context, it is apparent ICE deten-
you can taste the beef. The 1/3 lb. patty. Stop by soon. tion and deportation policies
French Ground Steak Burger Nationwide Freezer Meats and practices are one part of an
intentional and ongoing process
w/cheese is the thing to order. 1930 H Street, Sacramento to use the law to keep people,
immigrant and not, living quietly
That is a mouthful to say, (H and 20th Streets) 444-3286. and in fear.
and it’s definitely more than Just remember H20 stands for Felicia Martinez is a poet and
a mouthful to eat. Featuring H and 20th Street «««« attends Mills College. She has
worked with immigrants and
immigrant rights organizations.
www.bpmnews.org May / June 2008 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER
¡Que Padrisimo!
A Review of Yolo County’s CAlifas newspaper
By Jacqueline Diaz
Andy Porras has been realizing his vision of “Yaya” Porras, who serves as photographer
a bilingual publication for over half a decade. and is co-founder of Movimiento Moncajete,
The vision started when he worked for a Yolo asks who is on the phone. Maybe she knew
county newspaper producing special Spanish me, but not yet. I’m a poet originally from
editions on a regular basis. While these were well the Bay Area, not from LA. Little did I know
CAAC Goes
to the Movies
received and served that a month later Almost Every
the Spanish-speaking “The pages of CAlifas I’d be asking myself, Month
community through- who is this Latina The Central America
out the county, the are impressive because judging the “Poetry Action Committee
editions were short they take on a big task— Out Loud” state shows interesting
and informative
lived because the competition, and
paper decided against meeting the news needs why haven’t I met
videos on social
justice, labor
maintaining Spanish of a bilingual, bicultural her? It was Yaya, Joe Porras, art director, and his father Andy . struggles, and so
productions of the and I was there photo courtesy AP Communications much more! Call to
paper. Undeterred, Latino community.” supporting Sac- see what’s playing
and spurred on by ramento County’s community while offering non-Latino readers this month…
loyal readers, Porras decided to create his own student winner participating in the competition. the opportunity to hear about our values and WE ALSO HAVE A
VIDEO LIBRARY YOU
paper and continue to serve the news needs of his Sacramento is not always as sprawling as it seems. voices. It is also uniquely northern Californian
CAN CHECK OUT.
Latino community. The pages of CAlifas are impressive because so that when I read through the pages I can find 1640 9th Ave (east
The Porras approach to starting CAlifas has they take on a big task—meeting the news needs news about events I’d heard about and people off Land Park Dr)
been to get things done family-style. CAlifas’s of a bilingual, bicultural Latino community. I’d met. There was a picture of my Danza Azteca INFO: 446-3304
staff is sprinkled with members of his family and, What matters to this diverse demographic? teacher, a story about Joe Serna and news on the
rather than a paper narrowed in vision, the result What issues are important to know more about war in Iraq. It felt like my kind of paper. Porras
is a paper that really gets the message of commu- and understand? It seems CAlifas answers these calls CAlifas “proudly family-owned and fiercely
nity across. Readers are welcomed as extended questions through a careful commitment to independent.” As a Latina reader in northern
members of the Porras family. I felt a total sense progressive local and national news, a celebration California, I agree.
of community while first reading CAlifas and and study of historical and contemporary issues
then speaking to Porras. relevant to Latinos, and stories central to the Jacqueline Diaz is a co-editor of Because
When I called to ask about Califas, Porras was local community. People Matter.
open and friendly. In the background, Andrea CAlifas is succeeding in serving the Latino
Book Review
Swim Against the Current: Even a Dead Fish Can Go With the Flow
by Jim Hightower, with Susan DeMarco. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., March 2008,
224 pages.
Reviewed by Judith Poxon
W
and, ultimately, a different kind of world. Food Profiteering in America (Crown,
riter, public speaker, radio commen- Swim Against the Current, which is dedicated 1975). Hightower also publishes a
tator and general curmudgeon Jim to the late political humorist Molly Ivins, takes monthly newsletter, “The Hightower
Hightower is already a familiar voice its tone from the words of rock poet Patti Smith, Lowdown,” which has received both
among American progressives, and his newest words that serve as the epigraph for the work as the Alternative Press Award and the
book is likely to add to his popularity. In it High- a whole: “The people have the power/ The power Independent Press Association Award
tower continues his battle against “the Powers to dream/ To rule/ To wrestle the world from for best national newsletter. His web-
That Be” on behalf of what he calls “the Powers fools.” Divided into three major sections, titled site is www.jimhightower.com.
That Ought To Be”: workers, environmentalists, “Business,” “Politics,” and “Life,” the book works
as an inspirational instruction manual for anyone Judith Poxon is an adjunct humani-
who’s fed up with the system and wants to change ties instructor at Sacramento City
the way things are done. With Mark Twain-like College and member of Sacramento
wit and folksy style, Hightower offers numerous Media Group.
examples of those who’ve said, in one way or
another, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to
take it any more!”—and have gone about creat-
ing alternative ways of doing business, engaging
in political action, and fighting to preserve the
earth.
He writes of agricultural co-operatives that
take on Wal-Mart, community-based banks that
help finance the rebuilding of blighted urban
neighborhoods, worker-owned taxi companies
and strip clubs that offer decent working condi-
tions. There are inventive crusaders on behalf
of public financing of elections and against the
occupation of Iraq, and an unlikely alliance
between scientists and evangelical Christians
Populist author and activist Jim Hightower was dedicated to reversing global warming and end-
welcomed to Sacramento by Jeanie Keltner, BPM ing the ecocide represented by mountaintop
co-editor, during an April fundraising event for removal mining in the Appalachians. At the
California Common Cause. end of each section, Hightower provides a list of
photo: Dick Wood.
“connections”: names and addresses of groups
working on the issues he’s reported. He shows, by
small business owners and ordinary people who means of this diversity of examples, that people
make up the vast majority of the population do have the power, if they—if we—will only own
of the US. They are people who, by and large, it.
find themselves alienated from partisan politics Once you’ve finished Swim Against the Current,
and corporate consumerism, but are often too you’ll no doubt want to read other Hightower
overcome by cynicism and hopelessness to do books, including: Thieves In High Places: They’ve
anything about it. While this new book resumes Stolen Our Country And It’s Time To Take It Back
Hightower’s biting critique of Bush’s America, (Plume, 2004) ; Let’s Stop Beating Around the
what’s different is its focus on ways all of us can Bush: More Political Subversion from Jim Hight-
work together to build a different kind of country ower (Penguin, 2004); and Eat Your Heart Out:
Because People Matter May / June 2008 www.bpmnews.org
C
Some of the alifornians will vote in June on two party. In the Kelo case, a family was forced out of the environmental law firm of Shute, Mihaly &
Places You Can ballot measures that would restrict the their home to make way for a privately sponsored Weinberger. Supporters of Proposition 98 include
Find BPM government’s use of eminent domain, development plan. In response to these events, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.
the power state and local governments have to voters will be asked to consider Proposition 98 Proposition 99, according to the voter guide on
Sacramento Area take possession of private property for the public and Proposition 99 on the statewide ballot in the California Secretary of State website, would
Coffee Works good. Every year hundreds of millions of dollars June. bar state and local governments from using
Crest Theater of property are bought by state and local govern- According to the No on Proposition 98 eminent domain to acquire an owner-occupied
Dimple Records, ments in California. Usually this means private website, this proposition has a hidden agenda. residence and convey it to a private person or
Arden Wy
Dose Coffee Shop
landowners are given market value for their Proposition 98 would abolish rent control, business. It creates exceptions for public works or
Flowers Restaurant property then used to expand a highway or build stop water infrastructure projects, and destroy improvements, public health and safety protec-
Galleria (29th & K) a public building. Most of the time, governments land-use planning as well as provide protection tion and crime prevention. Supporters of Propo-
Grinders buy property from willing sellers. Sometimes, from eminent domain abuses. The opponents to sition 99 include the League of California Cities
Hart Senior Center property owners oppose seling their property or Proposition 98 say its true purpose is to eliminate and California League of Conservation Voters.
Lido Cafe do not agree on a sales price. rent control and other renter protection laws. For more information: www.EminentDomainRe-
Light Rail:
In 2005 the Supreme Court ruled in Kelo v. Environmental protections would also be threat- form.com
65/Folsom
4th Ave/Freeport City of New London that governments could also ened including regulations to reduce greenhouse
Los Jarritos use eminent domain to buy private property from gases, water quality, growth control, and wetland, JoAnn Fuller is a member of the Because
Luna’s Cafe & Juice Bar an owner and sell the land to another private coastal and farmland protections, according to People Matter editorial group.
Mercy Hospital, 40th/J
Pancake Circus, 21st/
Broadway
Raphael House
Multidisciplinary Complementary Medicine
7953 California Avenue
Fair Oaks, CA 95628
(916) 967 8250 raphaelassociation@earthlink.net
www.bpmnews.org May / June 2008 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER
www.ivaw.org
W
are the truth. Among the revelations were those rate media are not going to cover it.
hen I was a military information by former Marine Jon Turner, who did two tours Unlike a generation ago, this event was, in
specialist—read: government pro- in Iraq. He ripped the medals from his chest and fact, covered by the new independent technol-
pagandist—after being drafted and confessed, “I’m sorry for the hate and destruc- ogy media. There were video news feeds from
sent to Vietnam in 1969, I wrote story after story tion I and others have inflicted upon innocent www.therealnews.com and Free Speech TV, and
about all the good things the US was doing there, people…; until people hear what is going on, this 20 public access channels from coast-to-coast
and how we needed to stay “just a little longer” to is going to continue. I am no longer the monster broadcast the hearings. Pacifica Radio stations
help the people. I once was.” nationwide also carried extensive reports. In
But, it wasn’t the whole truth. Not even close. Gut-wrenching testimony like this continued Sacramento, numerous peace and social justice
Despite my top secret “crypto” clearance, I didn’t for four days—much of it difficult to watch or groups sponsored showings of the hearings.
know the whole truth until the “Winter Sol- hear and some of it impossible to watch or hear As a Vietnam veteran who was part of a mis-
dier” hearings in Detroit in 1971, organized by because it was so intense. The first-hand accounts information campaign in another war long ago,
Vietnam Veterans Against the War, where vets of the abuse and racist attacks on everyday citi- and who spent decades as a mainstream news
revealed the real truth about atrocities and inhu- zens of Iraq, women, the young and the elderly, reporter trying not to duplicate those mistakes,
manities that rained down on the people we were was evidence that US fighting men and women it’s gratifying to see “Winter Soldier II” receive
told we were sent to help. had been transformed into dehumanized kill- the coverage it did, even if not from my former
Now it’s another generation’s turn. ers—as they were in Vietnam. mainstream news comrades.
During March 13–16 of this year, “Winter Vets called for the rapid withdrawal of all I’m proud these veterans of Iraq and Afghani-
Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan” was held in Wash- troops from Iraq and criticized Republican, stan have stood up as “Winter Soldiers.” The term
ington, DC. It was the largest gathering of US and especially Democratic Party lawmakers for derives from the opening line of The Crisis, by
veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, politicizing the wars for their own purposes, and founding father Thomas Paine, who said, “These
and also included Iraqi and Afghan survivors. prolonging the wars by continually voting to are the times that try men’s souls: the summer
All bore witness to what was described by those “protect” the troops by funding wars. soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this
observing as “bone-chilling” and “nightmarish,” However, like the “Winter Soldier” hearings crisis, shrink from the service of their country;
images of atrocity after atrocity in these wars of of 1971, this very real news event was largely but he that stands it now, deserves the love and
occupation. ignored by the corporate media. Much of the tes- thanks of man and woman.” A good lesson for us
These stories were free of the spin of my timony took place on a weekend. Unless it’s the all.
reports from Vietnam as ordered by military president giving a speech, or some Hollywood Cres Vellucci is a member of Veterans for
commanders and political leaders. These stories starlet being arrested for drunk driving, corpo- Peace.
War Profiteers
Our own players in the war
profiteer game
By Cres Vellucci
“Iraq for Sale” director Robert Greenwald has told
Congress that the billions and billions of dollars pock-
eted by defense contractors and other war profiteers
during the wars of occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan is
a “madhouse run amok.”
Well, welcome to the madhouse, Sacramentans. We
have our own players in the war profiteer game.
However, war profiteers are hidden in Sacramento,
as hidden as the true cost of these wars and occupa-
tion—cost not seen on the nightly news or talked about
all that much—even by those protesting the war which One of the protests last year at the Halliburton facility, along the I-5 on-ramp in Woodland.
Photo: Cres Vellucci.
has led to more than 4,000 US troops dead and hundreds
of thousands of Iraqis killed.
Names of the top 10 profiteers, according to www. held in late 2007 by veterans of Iraq and other wars, and In effect, the Radisson serves as a trap to keep the
iraqforsale.org and www.corpwatch.org, include: Hal- other anti-war activists. All were met by locked gates, potential recruits in an overnight cage, of sorts, before
liburton/KBR, CACI and Titan, involved in the torture high fences and menacing security teams. News report- the actual swearing in the next day at MEPS. They’re
and abuse of detainees; Bechtel, construction; Aegis ers who covered the story were given “no comment,” and alone, away from family and friends who might influ-
Defense Services, security and military contractors; later told by the local Halliburton representatives that ence them not to join the military. After their stay at the
Custer Battles, convicted of fraud when 34 of 36 trucks Halliburton had nothing to do with the war. Radisson, the recruits are shipped early the next morn-
sent to Iraq didn’t work; General Dynamics, bullets to “Corporate war profiteers line their ing to the MEPS facility off Northgate
tank shells; Nour USA, pipeline security; and Chevron pockets from the manufacture, sale “With a president, Blvd. The military uses this kind of
and Exxon/Mobil.
In Sacramento, we have war profiteers doing business
and support of killing machines. Our
troops and Iraqi citizens die and Hal-
Congress and both psychological operation, PsyOps,
to disorient recruits so they are less
daily among us. The most obvious is a Halliburton facil- liburton continues to rake in huge ruling political resistant to the contract-signing sales
ity just north of Sacramento, a mile or so before Wood-
land on busy Interstate 5. Several demonstrations were
profits. We don’t need corrupt war
profiteers in our cities or our state,” said
parties unwilling pitches.
A partner in this conspiracy to
Debra Reiger, a spokesperson for the to end the recruit fodder for the wars of occupa-
Sacramento Coalition to End the War.
But Halliburton isn’t the only guilty
carnage, it’s time tion is Amador Stage Lines at 13th
& C Streets. These buses make early
party in the area. Even more despicable to pressure the morning runs at 5am from the Radis-
than the Dick Cheney corporation may
be two local businesses that play very
war profiteers— son to the MEPS, playing a key role
in the scheme and pocketing untold
key roles in recruiting and sending right here in own profits on a military contract—thereby
troops to Iraq from California.
The Radisson Hotel, off Highway 160
backyard.” as guilty as Halliburton and any other
war profiteer.
in Sacramento near Arden Way, rents rooms nightly to Not until real economic pressure is put on local
dozens of new volunteers for the war on a contract with war profiteers like the Radisson and Amador Stage
the US military. The hotel—the target of several protests Lines—calls for boycotts and pickets, for instance—will
by Veterans for Peace and others—even has a 24-hour they stop turning the bloody Iraq War into their own
conference room/game room complete with video games corporate windfall.
and big screen TVs to suck in recruits. With a president, Congress and both ruling political
The military is so entrenched at the Radisson that the parties unwilling to end the carnage, it’s time to pressure
Military Entrance Processing Station, which is one of the war profiteers—right here in own backyard.
four stations in the state that tests and ships off recruits For more information about local anti-war activities,
to the war, has its own sign in the parking lots. Although contact Sacramento Coalition to End the War at www.
it’s been researched, the information is hidden so deeply sacendwar.org.
in the congressional budget that no one really knows Cres Vellucci is a Vietnam veteran, member of Veter-
exactly how much the Radisson makes in “blood money” ans for Peace and former daily newspaper reporter and
from the contract. But it’s close to seven figures, at least. editor.
Book Review
The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq
Conflict By Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes, WW Norton &
Co., Inc., March 2008, 192 pages.
Reviewed by Richard Nadeau War II. They maintain the costs of the war outlined in
the federal budget are not inclusive because there are
Those who say “it is the economy” and “not the other costs hidden in the defense budget.
war” forget the war has had a negative impact on the The White House has responded negatively to the
economy. When the US went to war in Iraq in March book. White House spokesperson Tony Fratto stated,
2003, the American people were told it was going to cost “People like Joe Stiglitz lack the courage to consider the
$50 billion. Recently, the Bush administration asked for cost of doing nothing and the cost of failure. One can’t
a defense budget of $515.4 billion, a 7.5 percent increase, even begin to put a price tag on the cost to this nation of
while calling for $200 billion in cuts from Medicare and the attacks of 9/11.” This is a strange comment knowing
Medicaid. This is in addition to a request for a supple- Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.
mental $70 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. According to the authors, the most important budget-
The next American president will inherit a deficit of $400 ary sums are the long-term costs of taking care of vet-
billion. erans—their disability and veterans’ healthcare benefits.
While President Bush says the war has not hurt the US This will total hundreds of billions of dollars over the
economy, and he has never lied to us before, a new book next few decades.
puts a “conservative estimate” of the war’s cost at $3 tril- Of the 1.6 million who have fought, an estimated 39
lion. It could easily be as high as $5 trillion. percent will wind up with some form of disability. The
Nobel laureate and former chief World Bank econo- longer the war lasts, the greater the number of injuries
mist Joseph Stiglitz and co-author Linda Bilmes of and the greater costs in the future. The Department of
Harvard University, argue in The Three Trillion Dollar Defense website gives a number wounded at around
War that the Bush administration misled the American 30,000, but that includes only those wounded in com-
people by repeatedly underestimating the long term costs bat. There are also non-combat injuries that double the
of the war. Currently, it’s costing $25 billion a month. DOD figure. The number of American fatalities reached
Two more years of staying in Iraq will cost another $600 4,000 by Easter Sunday 2008. Their families must also
billion. Three more years and it’s close to a trillion dollars be compensated. It is impossible to imagine what John
more. McCain’s “hundred year war” would cost!
Stiglitz and Bilmes argue the Iraq War has become the The war has also been associated with an increasing
second-most expensive war in US history, after World price of oil. The US is spending money on oil exports ty contractors cost as much as $400,000 a year, compared
from Saudi Arabia and other countries. Since the war to soldiers at $40,000. The privatization of so much of the
began, the price of oil has skyrocketed from about $25 war and occupation also contributes to explosive costs.
a barrel to $100. This has had a ramifying effect on the The authors claim that this is the first time the US went
economy. into war by cutting rather than raising taxes. The war has
Costs of War The authors note that the Iraq war has been the most been financed by deficit spending. The Bush administra-
US Spends $720 Million Per Day on the IRAQ expensive war since World War II. The US has spent tion has fooled people into thinking they could wage war
War three times more per Iraqi than that spent per European for free. Since 40 percent of the financing has come from
under the Marshall Plan. The very high casualty rate in abroad, it means Americans will be paying interest on the
For what we spend in ONE DAY, we could fund: Iraq has boosted the costs exponentially. In World War borrowed money for years and years to come.
95,364 Head Start places for children, or II, Vietnam and Korea, the number of wounded troops The Bush administration transferred hundreds of
per fatality was about 2:1 or 3:1. Today the number of billions of dollars from American consumers and busi-
12,478 Elementary School teachers, or
wounded troops per fatality is 7:1 in combat. When nesses to the oil exporters. The money spent on the war
163,525 people with health care, or including those wounded outside of combat and those is money that’s not being spent at home on American
34,904 Four Year College Scholarships, or sick who were medivaced home, it’s 15:1. Higher casual- infrastructure and for the benefit of the American
ties mean the US has a long-term cost of taking care of people. The two big winners in this war are oil companies
6,482 families with affordable housing units, or
thousands of disabled veterans for the rest of their lives. and defense contractors. The losers are the American and
84 brand new elementary schools, or The authors also note the cost of the private contrac- Iraqi people.
1,153,846 kids would have free school lunches tors, such as Blackwater, are more expensive compared to Richard Nadeau has been a peace and environmental
for a year, or what the government pays for American soldiers. Securi- activist since the 1960s. He lives in Sacramento.
423,529 kids would have health insurance.
(www.afsc.org/iraq)
Every American household is spending
$138 per month on the operating costs of 79% of Iraqis oppose the presence
the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, with a little of Coalition Forces. Costs of War
more than $100 per month on the Iraq U.S. military killed in Iraq: more than 4,000
occupation alone.** 64% of Americans oppose the war Number of U.S. troops wounded in combat since
**Based on work of Nobel Prize winning econo- in Iraq. the war began: more than 29,200
mist Joseph Stiglitz and colleague Linda Bilmes. Iraqi Security Force deaths: nearly 8,000
Per unit costs are based upon research done by
the National Priorities Project, www.npp.org. US Soldiers in Iraq: 155,000
Private Military Contractors in Iraq: 180,000
Contract workers killed: 917
Costs of War Private Contractors criminally prosecuted by US
More than a million Iraqis have died due to the for violence or abuse in Iraq: 1
Costs of War violence. More than a quarter of Iraqi adults Iraqi unemployment level: 25–40%
Nearly 300,000 soldiers returning form Afghani- have had a family member murdered in the last 70% without access to clean water.
stan and Iraq have post-traumatic stress disorder three years (Opinion Research Business, Sept.
2007 www.opinion.co.uk). 80% without sanitation.
or major depression. Only slightly more than
half have sought treatment. Estimated 655,000 war related deaths (about 90% Iraq 180 hospitals lack basic medical and
2.5% of Iraq’s population) since March 2003. surgical supplies.
320,000 service members may have experienced (10/11/06 www.lancet.com). (Institute for Policy Studies, www.sips.dc.org,
a traumatic brain injury during deployment, March 2008.)
2.5 million Iraqi men, women and children
from mild concussions to severe penetrating
displaced by war and US occupation— by end
head wounds. Only 43 percent reported being
of 2007. Most moved to neighboring states ill-
evaluated by a physician for that injury. In two
equipped for the influx. US offered only 800
years after deployment, these injuries will cost
amnesty visas through end of 2006. And 2.5 mil-
as much as $6.2 billion. Unless they receive care,
lion Iraqis internally displaced—by end of 2007
those who have served face health crises and
(UN High Commissioner for Refugees).
long term consequences for the nation. The estimated long-term bill:
(Rand Corporation, April 2008)
(www.afsc.org/iraq.) $3 trillion.
10 Because People Matter May / June 2008 www.bpmnews.org
T
he Border Angels finished their historic
4,500 mile “Marcha Migrante III” from
San Diego to Canada in February. The
group was founded by Enrique Morones as a
human rights organization in 1986 to stop the
unnecessary death of people traveling across the
US/Mexico border areas of San Diego County
and the Imperial Valley. The “Marcha Migrante
III” caravan traveled through 40 cities with the
message, “Su Voto Es Su Voz,” (your vote is your
voice) to remember the 4,500 immigrants who
died in the border region.
A community paper
needs community
support: Subscribe!
The Border Angels finished their 4500 mile “Marcha Migrante III” in San Diego on Sunday, February
17. The human rights group held a press conference and rally at the State Capitol in Sacramento on
See coupon on page 2.
February 6.
photo: Dan Bacher
www.bpmnews.org May / June 2008 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 11
T
wars or drugs, it works. A 2005 study in the
he US currently has about 2.2 million of Columbia Journalism Review found that, on aver-
its people in prison, mostly poor work- age, network viewers saw 16 ads for prescription
ing class whites, African Americans and drugs and 18 for over-the-counter drugs every
Latinos. A significant number are serving time night.
for minor drug offenses, while a group of very While traditional medicine has offered drugs
powerful, respectable people sell hundreds of dif- to patients, the pharmaceuticals industry offers
ferent drugs legally on TV and in print media to drugs to the public as consumers, encouraging
make billions. They are the US pharmaceuticals hasty choices with potentially lethal effects. Take
industry, the biggest drug sellers on the globe. the anti-fungal drug Lamisil. No one has died
The industry is able to exercise its phenomenal from yellowing toenails, yet the FDA reported
power through legally protected First Amend- 11 deaths from liver failure caused by Lamisil.
ment rights—rights which were greatly expanded Far worse was Merck’s Vioxx, withdrawn in 2004
a decade ago. In 1997 the Food and Drug Admin- after it was shown to be linked to heart disease.
istration allowed drug The pharmaceuticals
companies to advertise “The pharmaceuticals industry is encouraging
The Crows of Sacramento Noon Hour
directly to consumers,
DTC advertising. No
industry is encouraging Americans to run to
their doctors to demand a living history
Witness against the
Death Penalty.
other industrialized Americans to run to their the latest drug on TV Third Mondays
Between 16th street and the river
country allows drug
makers to advertise
doctors and demand the for the latest disorder.
This is not surprising, a thousand bindlestiffs and a junkie in a suit.
12noon to 1pm.
11th and L Streets
directly on TV. latest drug on TV for the considering it preys on There goes a woman without clothes. State Capitol
The sky is alive at sunset with a thousand
The money spent by
pharmaceuticals com-
latest disorder. an increasingly alien-
ated population already
crows.
INFO: 455-1796
panies on promoting indoctrinated to believe There goes a woman without food
their drugs is almost twice that spent on research that happiness can be achieved with the right watching the train rattle down
and development. According to a 2008 study possessions and appearance, so why not with the through rain under the wild clank
done by York University and issued by the Public right drugs? of geese in mist and tarnished crows.
Library of Science, the industry spent almost $60 With five percent of the world’s population,
billion on pharmaceutical advertising in 2004, the US accounts for about 42 percent of all The work of the state moves downhill
mostly in the US. It is not just the public who are spending on pharmaceuticals, according to a like water that pours through piles
targeted. The same study found that in 2004 the 2006 CBS report. However, the American people naked and striated, covered with duck-down.
industry spent $61,000 per doctor to push new are no healthier than those of other industrial-
drugs on patients. Studies such as this challenge ized countries. In fact, by some measures they There goes a woman with more money
concentrating on the road
the industry’s view of itself as public-minded are less so. Compared to these countries, the US
in twilight with her low-beams
and research driven. The frightening thing is has the highest infant mortality rate and the low- capturing and passing.
that drug advertising works. In 2003 a Harvard est life expectancy for those over 60, according
Public Health study found that for every $1 spent to a 2006 report by The Commonwealth Fund A thousand crows alternate light / dark
on direct advertising, sales increased by over $4. Commission. over a power-line rigged for liberation
Little wonder that the US is the world’s largest There is a fundamental contradiction between that strangles in the overstory,
mingled and amused on the way through. Coffee from
spender on pharmaceutical drugs. a corporation’s legal duty to maximize profits
Nicaragua
Having the power and money to advertise and its purported aim to sell drugs that are safe
directly does not guarantee sales. Just like any and necessary. Who then protects the public Between 16th street and the river Support Sacramento’s
successful street dealer, the pharmaceuticals against misleading pharmaceutical advertising? A thousand wandering footsteps sister city, San Juan
industry needs to create demand. Given the The FDA seems toothless, too prone to political and hissing cars, the rain stalls de Oriente, Nicaragua,
at an intersection with a black bird. by purchasing organic
inherent risks with prescription drugs and the change and definitely too deferential to drug whole-bean coffee
risk of bad press, sophisticated techniques are manufacturers. It was the FDA that allowed By Crawdad Nelson grown in the rich
required. direct advertising in the first place. volcanic soil on the
Traditional advertising usually relies on creat- As healthcare costs and Vioxx-style incidents island of Omotepe,
Nicaragua.
ing dissatisfaction and offering new lifestyles or increase, state legislatures may be forced to
creating products to satisfy subconscious desires. regulate the content of DTC drug ads. However,
One at a Time Thanks to the efforts of
the Bainbridge-Omotepe
Some drug ads lend themselves to such blatant state lawmakers are just as susceptible to taking For Risa Roberta Goldberg Sister Island Association
manipulation of desire. Male enhancement money from drug companies as are those in (Revised from original, 2001 version) in Washington, we are
drugs, for example, have resulted in a media- Washington. able to bring you this
driven national celebration of the male right to Since DTC advertising is proving very profit- After I sigh, “The world is on the verge of col- wonderful medium roast
perpetual sex. able, the only protection for the American public lapse,” coffee.
However, drug advertising really aims to is self-education through alternative sources my friend says we all need to breathe. Your purchase helps the
farmers on the island
manipulate emotions by sowing fear and doubt in of drug information. Better still would be to
As the earth stretches taut as high wire and helps support
the minds of both the healthy and the unhealthy consider the causes of illness and take preventive Sacramento’s long
she brings me a fresh carrot—long
while offering hope that the latest drug offering measures whenever possible. The way to defeat relationship with San
and slim, like a plane or missile,
will help regain control over their lives. The key the corporate drug pushers is to treat them as a but much better. Juan de Oriente.
is to nudge the user towards the drug by clever last resort only. All profits go directly
disease-mongering while overstating benefits and back to the Nicaraguan
I like to watch people wandering communities.
minimizing or ignoring risks. Paolo Bassi is an attorney and free-lance through black and white films. I like all $9.00 a pound.
Along with disease-mongering, the other main writer based in Sacramento. kinds of people. Sometimes Available in Sacramento
they drive me crazy. Like at: The Book Collector,
the little kids in Alpine, California: 1008 24th St.
holding lighted candles
and screaming for revenge while waving a flag
seen so often
no one is likely to forget it.
It took me a few
breaths to see
that my friend Peace Action
speaks for something called
#" %-&*'"%+()$%)(
Book Review
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappé, One World Press, 2007, 300 pages.
Reviewed by Brigitte Jaensch
I
night. Families were crushed. “Men were often shot on
n The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, Israeli historian the spot.” Girls and women were raped then their jewelry
Ilan Pappé uses British, Israeli and Arab sources to was stripped from their fingers and arms. Wells were
tell how Zionist immigrants, who carved Israel out contaminated with typhoid. Looting and pillaging were
of 78 percent of Palestine in 1948, planned an d brutally rampant.
implemented the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian In May 1948, small contingents of soldiers from five
population whose ancestral roots went down thousands Arab countries came into Palestine. Jordan’s King Abdul-
of years. Today, “The world looks on as [Israel] the lah had made a land-sharing deal with the Zionists and
strongest military power in the [Middle East] region, his brother, Iraq’s King Faisel respected that deal. The
with its Apache helicopters, tanks and bulldozers, attacks Zionists, calling themselves Israelis, ousted another
an unarmed and defenseless population of [Palestinian] 500,000 Palestinians. About 75 percent of the Palestinian
civilians and impoverished refugees, among whom small population, more than 750,000 persons were either killed
groups of poorly equipped militias try to make a brave or forced to flee for their lives.
but ineffective stand.” Israel confiscated Palestinian homes, businesses, bank
Pappé uses the modern term “ethnic cleansing,” but accounts, orchards and other possessions. It was one of
the Zionists used Hebrew terms such as bi’ur, root the biggest organized thefts in history. Although Israel
out/eliminate; tihur, purify/cleanse; and hasiyur ha-alim, has received massive foreign aid from the US, other
commit violent reconnaissance. Today there is talk of countries and international organizations, it has not paid
“transfer,” or ethnically cleansing Palestinians not ousted one dime in reparations to Palestinians and prevents Pal-
in 1948 as illegal Israeli settlements ooze into East Jeru- estinians from returning to reclaim their property.
salem and the West Bank. “Sheer fabrication” is Pappé’s term for the Zionist/
Zionism, the movement to create a Jewish-only home- Israeli version of events “that demonizes the [Palestin-
land in Palestine, was intensive immigration to Palestine ian] people who have been colonized, expelled and four million live under Israeli military occupation in
coupled with de-Arabizing Palestine. Its slogan “a land occupied, and glorifies [the Israelis,] the very people who East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. About
without a people for a people without a land” denied the colonized, expelled and occupied them.” 1.3 million are Palestinian citizens of Israel. In 1948,
existence of Christian and Muslim Palestinians, 90–95 Since 1948, Israel has destroyed, built over, renamed they numbered about 1.2 million and more than 750,000
percent of the population who owned, farmed and had and denied the history of everything Palestinian. Of 531 were forced from their homes and lands. Over the last
urbanized most of the useable land in Palestine. Palestinian villages, only 123 are recognized. Pappé calls 60 years, Palestinian refugees and their families have
By 1920, the Zionist immigrants had organized a what Israel is doing “memoricide,” erasing Palestinian increased to now number 5.5 million people. Palestin-
militia, the Haganah. “By the late 1930s [they had names, geography and history. About 150,000 Palestin- ians are the largest refugee group in the world and they
files]…about each [Palestinian] village, its access roads, ians managed to stay in what became Israel in 1948. have been denied the right of return longer than any
quality of land, water springs, socio-political composi- They, their children and grandchildren now number other refugee population.
tion, religious affiliation, its muhktars [leaders], ages of 1.3 million. They call themselves “Palestinian citizens of Because Pappé wrote about crimes against humanity
its men (16–50) and … more.” Israel.” Israel calls them Israeli Arabs and would like to committed by his country Israel, he and his family have
Between November 1947 and May 1948, the Haganah “transfer” this “demographic problem” out of Israel. received death threats.
and Zionist terrorists expelled 250,000 Palestinians. They Of today’s 11 million Palestinians, half are diaspora
burned, exploded or bulldozed whole villages, often at Palestinian living outside historic Palestine. More than Brigitte Jaensch is a human rights advocate.
www.bpmnews.org May / June 2008 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 13
W
garden bloomed and boomed until the spring of
ith all the recent news about dwin- 1995 when they noticed a sudden dearth of fruits
dling bee populations, it’s encourag- and honeybees.
ing to hear how we can successfully They’d never before lacked bees and their free
sustain bees right in our own backyards, and pollination. That year, Janet learned, many of
helpful to see how others have done just that. the bees across the continent were dying due to
Hobbyist beekeeper Janet Brisson of Grass Val- Varroa mites, an inadvertently introduced pest
ley described her unanticipated but successful that damages bee brood. The Brissons’ garden
venture into bees in a “How I Do It” seminar at revived thanks to a neighbor placing some of his
the National Beekeeping Conference this past hives on their property. When he moved the bees
January in Sacramento. again the following year, Janet decided a perma-
For Janet the path to beekeeping began in the nent solution was needed and signed up for a
1970s, when she and her husband, Mike, moved class offered by the local beekeeping association.
into a suburban Los Angeles home and proceed- Within weeks she was tentatively holding bees
ed to plant the requisite lawn. But when the grass on her hand while the instructor explained the
died after a triple dousing of “Weed and Feed,” biology of swarms. As soon as the class ended Bees on comb.
and chemical gopher “bombs” affected Janet and she’d rounded up some equipment, Janet set Photo: Mike Brisson
more than the rodents, Janet and Mike decided to up hives of her own. Her pollination problem
try gardening without chemicals and found quick was solved, but she had serious misgivings about
success with a plot of melons. When the Brissons using chemicals, then considered necessary to further mite-control techniques such as drone
moved to the San Bernardino Mountains, they keep her bees, in her otherwise organic garden. comb management, and working with Mike to
changed to cool-weather crops and began raising For a couple of years, Janet applied the com- refine and build the screened boards for other
chickens for eggs and earthworms for compost. monly used Apistan strips, which can be placed beekeepers striving to return to natural chemical-
After they moved north to Grass Valley in 1989— in the hive during the non-honey-flow times, free beekeeping.
to find a small community with larger schools to control mites. However, she noticed, as did In ten short years Janet Brisson has gone from
for their sons—they added warm-weather crops, others, that mites were becoming resistant to beginner to mentor on how to keep bees without
fruit trees, berries and grapes. Their organic the treatment. Not willing to adopt stronger pesticides, and provides a good model of what
chemicals, Janet actively sought each of us can do to help address the bee—and
out other options by surfing the other environmental—crises. Her willingness to
Internet, talking with other bee- seek and test new ideas to find more sustainable
Time Tested Books keepers, and testing new ideas in solutions, and share her learning, is helping both
now buying her own few hives. She found that bees and the planet, one hive at a time.
Political posters, handbills & pamphlets replacing the hives’ solid bottom
Books on history, labor, & politics boards with screened boards, For more information:
Records of blues, jazz, rock, punk, world, R&B, & spoken word. combined with periodic dusting www.countryrubes.com
And, of course, we are selling books & records, too! of the brood combs with pow- www.sacbeekeepers.org
We are located at 1114 21st Street, Sacramento. dered sugar to knock the mites www.californiastatebeekeepers.com
Our new hours are M–Sat: 11am–7pm, Sunday: 11am–3pm down and out of the hive, kept
(Please call for appt. if selling.) these pests to a tolerable level. Georgianna Pfost is a backyard beekeeper
916-447-5696. Her hives survived. Soon Janet in Sacramento and editor of “The Bee Line,” a
www.timetestedbooks.net was excitedly sharing her find- newsletter of the Sacramento Area Beekeepers’
ings, searching for and applying Association.
14 Because People Matter May / June 2008 www.bpmnews.org
A
were not his words. But he refused to renounce What is going on here? Why are arguably true
fter Rush Limbaugh said he wanted to his relationship with his pastor who performed statements about history treated as anti-Ameri-
see Barack Obama “bloodied up politi- his wedding ceremony and was the inspiration can by media commentators and politicians? Are
cally,” a tidal wave of anti-Obama news for his book The Audacity of Hope. After the these forbidden truths? Is it wrong to go back and
stories flooded the mainstream media. It was controversy broke, he removed the retiring pastor say the US massacred Native Americans when it
bad enough that he was from his African Ameri- colonized the American continent, that it exploit-
being hit by Clinton “The bloodhounds were can Religious Leader- ed slave labor to run the plantation economy of
claims that he was barking and snipping at ship Committee. the South? Are these controversial statements?
inexperienced, or that Obama noted his pas- Is it politically incorrect to tell the truth about
he was not ready to be Obama’s heels demanding tor had been politicized the violence in Iraq and Afghanistan as the
Commander-in-Chief. I a renunciation of the in the 1960s during the “Winter Soldiers” did this March? This charge of
scoffed at the scare ads civil rights movement anti-Americanism is a trick, a false patriotism,
about who you want pastor.” and Vietnam War. The the kind you hear daily on “FOX News.” It is
answering the phones pastor’s confrontational based on denial and a denial of the denial. The
in the middle of the night. In 2002 it was Obama style ran counter to his own approach of avoiding assumption that you hate America if you want to
who courageously stood up against the war fever polarization and trying to create bridges between change government policies is false. What if these
and spoke out against the invasion of Iraq when people. Most importantly, the pastor brought him policies: the occupation, the practice of torture,
everyone else was screaming for innocent Iraqi to Jesus and talked about ”faith and values, and the CIA “rendition” program, and use of military
blood. Now Iraq lies in chaos and ruins. serving the poor.” violence, are harmful to America’s future? Are we
Geraldine Ferraro engaged in what social psy- Wright’s fiery speech implying the US brought to keep quiet?
chologists call the “ultimate attribution error.” She the horrifying 9/11 attacks on itself is a thesis There are certain gains created by our
argued that Obama was where he was because he defended by scholars like Chalmers Johnson democratic capitalist culture that have benefited
was black, implying that he had no real presiden- in his book Blowback. Prior to 9/11, the book humanity, but do we have to park our brain
tial qualities that could explain his success as a predicted US policies and use of force around forever, wrap it in the flag, and stop thinking
candidate. This made me wonder. Maybe Obama the world were generating anger that could lead critically? Was Admiral William Fallon lacking in
is under attack because he really does represent to violence against the US. He got the concept of patriotism for disagreeing with Bush’s proposed
change, even if only incremental. Some fear his cry “blowback” from the CIA. An example? The US US military attack on Iran? Could it be that say-
for change is not just empty rhetoric. supported Islamic militants in Afghanistan dur- ing “no” to the unjust war in Iraq is patriotic?
The latest media furor was over remarks from ing the 1980s, giving them training, weapons and When aggressive war is made sacrosanct, patrio-
Obama’s former minister, the Reverend Jeremiah money to fight the Soviet Union. Many of these tism is indeed “the last refuge of a scoundrel.”
Wright Jr. The bloodhounds were barking and same militants, like Osama Bin Laden, are now On 9/11 a friend called and told me to turn
snipping at Obama’s heels demanding a renun- declared enemies of the US blowback. on my television set. I was angry when I saw the
ciation of the pastor. The preacher stated that It is a fact the US killed more than 100,000 twin towers crumble. I speculated this would
US policies and violence around the world were civilians in two atomic flashes in densely popu- push the country to the right. I knew the Bush/
“damned” by God, and had brought on 9/11. He lated Japanese cities. American General Dwight Cheney crime family would manipulate fear in a
stated that the US was the “number one killer” in D. Eisenhower said, “dropping the bomb was regressive way. I feared that the “war on terror”
the world, that in a day it had wasted more than completely unnecessary.” Japan was already in would endanger our constitutional civil liberties.
70,000 civilian lives by dropping an atom bomb ruins and wanted to surrender. Gar Alperovitz, in My worst fears came true. Wanting an end to this
on Hiroshima. Days later another bomb took The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb, questioned immoral war is not anti-American
70,000 lives in Nagasaki. the use of atomic bombs as a military necessity to
In interviews on CNN and MSNBC, Obama save American lives and end the war. The notion Richard Nadeau has been a peace and envi-
condemned the reverend’s statements. He was that the bomb was necessary is itself an American ronmental activist since the 1960s. He lives in
not present when the comments were made. They myth. Sacramento.
May / June Calendar Send calendar items for the July / August 2008 issue to bpmnews@nicetechnology.com by
June 10, with “calendar item” in the subject line. Make it short, and in this order, please: Day,
Date. Name of event. Description (1–2 lines). Time. Location. Price. INFO: phone#; e-mail.
For the most current listing of Sacramento peace & justice events, go to www.sacpeace.org.
ONGOING EVENTS To receive weekly updates of area events, email
sacpeace@dcn.org and put SacPeaceUpdates in the subject.
11th OF EVERY MONTH: 2nd TUESDAYS: Gray Pan- dancesofuniversalpeace.
Sacramento 9/11 Truth thers. 1–3pm. Hart Senior org, 916-832-4630.
Demonstration. 11th and Ctr., 27th & J St. INFO: 4th FRIDAYS: Dances at COMMUNITY CALENDAR
L Streets, facing Capitol Joan, 332-5980. Christ Unity Church, 9249
nor th entrance. INFO: 2nd TUESDAYS: Peace Folsom Blvd. All Welcome Thursday, May 1 ending “ten years of spring” with the creation
www.truthaction.org, 916- Wake Up, LET Go!—Free Screening of“Zeitgeist”. of a military dictatorship. 7:15pm 1640 9th Ave,
Network (speakers and $5–$10 donation request- 7–10 pm. “Movies on a Big Screen”, 600 4th St., Sac. INFO: 916-446-3304.
372-8433. discussion), 6:30pm. ed. INFO: Christine 457- West Sacramento. INFO: www.wakeupLETgo.
MONDAYS: Sacramento Luna’s Cafe, 1414 16th 5855, www.sacramento- com.
Poetry Center hosts poetry Street. INFO: Sac Area dancesofuniversalpeace. Thursday, May 29
readings. 7:30pm. 1719 Peace Action 448-7157. org. Friday, May 2 Happy Tails Pet Sanctuary Bake Sale. Happy Tails
25th Street. www.sacra- A War on Error? The hysterical presidential rescues abused and abandoned animals and
4th TUESDAYS: Peace and 1st SATURDAYS: Health campaign of nationally syndicated political adopts them out to loving homes. 7:30am to
mentopoetrycenter.org. Justice Films. 7pm. Peace Care for All. 10am–noon. 3pm. State Capitol Building grounds, North side
cartoonist and comic, Khalil Bendib, aka Prez
1st MONDAYS: Organ- Action, 909 12th Street. Hart Senior Ctr, 27th & J. in the Fez. 7:30pm. 909 12th St, Sac. INFO: 916- of Capitol Building, near 11th and L Streets. Do-
ic Sacramento: Coun- INFO:448-7157. For single-payer universal 448-7157; sacpeace@dcn.org. nations for baked cookies. INFO: 916-375-4718
ter ongoing threats to health care. INFO: 916- or 916-422-0101, barbara.price@dgs.ca.gov.
4th TUESDAYS: (Odd num- Saturday, May 3
our food. 6:30pm. INFO: bered months) Amnesty 424-5316; cnegrete@ 1st Saturday Vigil to End the War and Occupa- Saturday, May 31
www.organicsacramento. Int’l. 7pm. Sacramento comcast.net. tion. 11:30am–1:30pm. Arden & Heritage, Sac. Saturday Vigil to End the Occupation. 11:30am–
org. Friends Meeting, 890- 1st SATURDAYS: Sacra- INFO:sacpeace@dcn.org. 1:30pm. Arden & Heritage, Sac. INFO: sacpeace@
dcn.org.
1st. M onday S : 57th St. INFO: 489-2419. mento Area Peace Action Tuesday, May 13
Sacramento Media 1st WEDNESDAYS: Peace Vigil. 11:30am–1:30pm. Gray Panthers Sacramento General Meeting: Saturday, June 7
Group. 6–8pm. Coloma & Freedom Party. 7pm. Arden and Heritage (en- Rick Nadeau, former director, Greenpeace San 1st Saturday Vigil to End the War and Occupa-
Community Center, 4623 trance to Arden Mall). Diego (and BPM editor) and Linda Banta, ret. tion. 11:30am–1:30pm. Arden & Heritage, Sac.
INFO: 456-4595. Profressor, Sierra College, will present opposing INFO:sacpeace@dcn.org.
T Street. INFO: 443-1792, INFO: 448-7157.
smg@commoncause.org. 3r d WEDNESDAYS: views on“Environmental Concerns Cause a New
2nd & 4th SATURDAYS: Look at Nuclear Energy.” 1–3pm. Hart Senior Sat./Sun. June 14–15
CAAC Goes to the Mov- 4th annual Celtic Midsummer Faerie Festival.
3rd MONDAYS: Capitol ies. 7:15pm. INFO: 446- Community Contra Dance. Center, 27th and J Sts. light refreshments. INFO:
Outreach for a Moratorium 8–11pm; 7:30 lessons. 916-332-5980. 10am–9pm Saturday; 10am–6pm Sunday. See
3304. box announcement this page.
on the Death Penalty. Coloma Center 4623 T
12 noon–1pm, 11th & L THURSDAYS:Daddy’sHere. Street. INFO: 395-3483. Sunday, May 11
The Arab Theatre Project Sacramento Presents: Tuesday, June 10
Street. INFO: 455-1796. Men’s support group; info Peace Connection: Activist Gathering and Dis-
on custody, divorce, raising 3rd SATURDAYS: Sacra- Hikayat Al Nakba. A play illustrating the life and
legacy of Naji Al-Ali, reflecting the exile, dispos- cussion. 6:30pm. Luna’s Cafe, 1414 16th Street,
3r d MONDAYS: SAPA children. 7–8:30pm. Free! mento Area Peace Action Sac. INFO: 916-448-7157.
Peace and Sustainability Vigil. 11:30am–1:30pm. session and resilience of the Palestinian Arab
Ctr for Families, 2251 Flo- people. 3–5pm. Theater A-6, Sac City College,
Committee. 6–8pm. INFO: rin Rd, Ste 102. INFO: terry Marconi & Fulton. INFO: Wednesday, June 18
3855 Freeport Blvd, Sac. INFO: Hikayatalnakba@ The Baghdad DVDs: 5 films made between 2007
Peace Action, 448-7157. @fathersandfamilies.com. 448-7157. gmail.com; 916-459-7867. and 2007 by students at the Independent Film
3rd MONDAYS: Sacto 568-3237x 205. 3rd Saturdays: Under- and TV College in Baghdad about Iraqi lives
9/11 Truth:Questioning ground Poetr y Series, Tuesday, May 13
1st and 2nd Thursdays: Peace Connection: Activist Gathering and Dis- under the U.S. occupation. 7:15pm. 1640 9th
the “War on Terror.” 6– Storytelling at the Hart open mic plus featured po- cussion. 6:30pm. Luna’s Cafe, 1414 16th Street, Ave, Sac INFO: 916-446-3304.
8pm. Denny’s 3rd & J St. Senior Center, 27th & J ets. 7–9pm Underground Sac. INFO: 916-448-7157.
Info: sac911truth@gmail. Books, 2814 35th Street Saturday, June 21
sts. 7pm. Free. INFO: 916- Wednesday, May 14 The Fête de la Musique, also known as World
com 372-8433. 362-9013, or PaulIdaho@ (at Broadway), Sacramen- Music Day, a world wide music festival. On this
to. $3. INFO: 737-3333. Frank Dixon Graham hosts reading by local
3rd MONDAYS: Lesbian comcast.net. anti-war poets. Free, open to the public. 7pm. day in Sacramento, sidewalks, parks, community
Cancer Support Group. SUNDAYS: Sacto Food Not 909 12th St., Sac. INFO: 916-606-4303; www. gardens, stores and more become impromptu
Fridays: Movies on a musical stages for both amateur and profes-
6:30 Bring partners or sup- Big Screen. Independent, Bombs. 1:30pm. Come sacramentopoetrycenter.org.
port people with you. Open help distribute food at 9th sional musicians to showcase their talents. All
quirky movies and videos. Saturday, May 17 concerts and performances are free and open to
discussions with everyone. 7pm. 600 4th St, West Sac. and J Streets. the public. INFO: http://sacwiki.org/fete.
3rd Saturday Vigil to End the War and Occupa-
INFO: Roxanne Harden- INFO: www.shiny-object. 1st SUNDAYS: Zapatis- tion. 11:30am–1:30pm. Fulton & Marconi, Sac.
berg; ROXANNE1040@ INFO:sacpeace@dcn.org. Saturday, June 21
com/screenings/. ta Solidarity Coalition. Sacramento PRIDE Fesitval
aol.com. 10am–noon. 909 12th St.
1st FRIDAYS: Community Monday, May 19 Proceeds benefit programs and services of the
TUESDAYS: Call for Peace Contra Dance. 8–11pm; Info: 443-3424. Jim Whitaker, an American who has spent most Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center. 10am–7pm.
Vigil. 4–6pm. 16th and J 7:30pm beginners les- 1st SUNDAYS: PoemSpir- of his life in the Mideast, discusses Iranian think- Southside Park, 8 and V Streets. INFO: 916-442-
St. INFO 448-7157. sons. Clunie Auditorium, its. 6pm. Refreshments ing and motivations. 7pm. Sac UN Assoc, SMUD, 0185 ext. 139.
TUESDAYS: Improv work- McKinley Pk, Alhambra & and open mic. Free. UUSS, 6201 S St., Sac. INFO 916-482-1354.
Saturday, June 21
shop. Solve the world’s F. INFO: 530-274-9551. 2425 Sierra Blvd. INFO: Wednesday, May 21 3rd Saturday Vigil to End the War and Occupa-
problems through improv 2nd FRIDAYS: Dances of 481-3312; 451-1372. Will Film: “Devils Don’t Dream,” Jacobo Arbenz and tion. 11:30am–1:30pm. Fulton & Marconi, Sac.
games! 7–9:30pm. Geery resume in Oct. 2007. his overthrow by the CIA in Guatemala in l954 INFO:sacpeace@dcn.org.
Universal Peace. 7:30–
Theatre, 2130 L street, 9:30pm. Sacr amento 2nd SUNDAYS: Atheists
Sac. $5.00, first time free. Friends Meeting House & Other Freethinkers.
INFO: Damion, 916-821- 890 57th St. $5–$10 2:30pm. Sierra 2 Center,
4533, dsharpeproduc- donation requested. INFO: Room 10, 2791 24th St.
tions@hotmail.com. Joyce, www.sacramento- INFO: 447-3589. Volunteers
Needed for
Iraq Body
Sunday, May 4, 2008 @ 5 pm Count Exhibit!
Scholarship Essay Contest The Sacramento Coalition to End the War has arranged to
Dinner and Finals host an exhibit of 120,000 flags (each representing five
Americans or Iraqis killed in the war) to be placed on Capital
Mall the last week of May.
Presented by
Saturday and Sunday, June 14–15, 2008
The Sacramento Chapter of The 4th Annual Celtic Midsummer Faerie
Physicians for Social Responsibility Festival
Fun, Family-oriented, Celtic culture and history; Celtic, Folk
Location:
and Rock music and dance, and a diverse marketplace.
California State University, Sacramento Alumni Center
$25 for Adults $10 for Students 10am–9pm Saturday (marketplace closes at 7pm),
Please email info@sacpsr.org or 10am–6pm Sunday, Fair Oaks VFW Hall, 8990 Kruithof
Call 916 955-6333 for Reservations Way, Fair Oaks, California 95628 (near Phoenix Park off
Hazel Avenue).
Students submitted an original essay of 500 words or less
describing their thoughts on the following statement
Free Admission and Parking
by Marine Corps Medal of Honor Winner, Major General Smedley Butler: INFO: www.groveoftheoak.org; 916-339-7157; festival@
“War is a racket…in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.” groveoftheoak.org
May / June 2008
Because People Matter
Al-Nakba, the Catastrophe Remembered
INSIDE: 3 Trillion $$$$ War—We’re All Paying
Progressive Media
Editors’ Picks! Progressive Radio Stations
▼ KVMR 89.5 FM
Online News Sources:
www.Truthout.org: written essays on current
▼ Soapbox!—Jeanie Keltner talks with ▼ The Voice, 88.7 Cable FM; and streaming Don’t bitch at the media— events, some videos, like Keith Olbermann’s
activists and analysts from Sacramento and audio on www.Accesssacramento.org; SAP become the media! MSNBC Countdown shows.
beyond about the issues of the day. Comcast Channels 17 & 18 Have you taken the TV production www.CommonDreams.org News Center:
Where to watch: ▼ KYDS 91.5 FM Breaking News & Views for the Progressive
▼ KDVS 90.3 FM
training at Access Sacramento? Would Community.
Access Sacramento cable channel 17. you like to put your technical talents
Every Monday at 8pm. Call in comments ▼ KPFA 94.1 FM Berkeley www.Brasscheck.org: Progressive videos
▼ KSAC 1240 AM (TalkCity Radio Sacramento). to use? Soapbox! urgently needs crew- on many subjects, from Steven Colbert’s
on 2nd and 4th Mondays. Repeats Tues- —has been silenced. 1240 AM has switched members to help set up, run cameras, speech at the White House Correspondent’s
day at noon, Wednesday at 4am. to a gospel format. No more Randi Rhodes, and take viewers’ phone calls on the 2nd dinner and speeches by leftwing MP George
In Davis, on channel 15, Tuesdays at 7pm. Rachel Maddow, Thom Hartmann or the and 4th Monday of each month. Galloway, to extensive information on 9/11
▼ Media Edge—Sacramento’s own others who brought us an alternative
Or consider taking the training. Man-
and the attacks on our civil liberties.
magazine format show, covering local viewpoint. www.TheRealNews.com: a nonprofit progres-
▼ KZFR 90.1 FM Chico datory orientations are given at Access sive website offering daily news videos
progressive events and speakers, as well as Sacramento at 46th and T streets on
People Powered Radio! managed and including interviews and debates. They plan
internationally known commentators, with operated by volunteers, provides mostly the 2nd Wednesday and 4th Tuesday of soon to expand to television.
clips from some of the best independent locally produced and community oriented each month from 6–7pm. To register www.GoLeft.tv: Progressive Online Television.
political video being made now. programs. call 456 8600 x O. Leave your name In the world of media monopoly, news has
Where to watch: been replaced with a new invention called
(Other) Progressive Newspapers and number if no one’s in at the time. “infotainment.” GoLeft.tv is a progressive
Access Sacramento channels 17 and 18 The basic workshops run from 3 to 24
▼ The Flatlander: a free community newspa- political T.V. news source that fills that gap
and Davis Channel 15. Sundays 8–10pm hours and cost from $10 to $50. Some $
per of fun, opinion and politics in the Davis between the media’s dumbed down info-
Nevada County channel 11 Mondays Area. yolocats@yahoo.com. Publication help is available. Call 444 3203 if you’re tainment and real news reporting.
10:30pm–12:30am, every 2 months, next issue is April/May interested in joining us at Soapbox! for www.innworldreport.net: Daily professional
West Sacramento channel 21 Mondays The Flatlander fun—and the best pizza in town. viewer/listener supported journalism
9-11pm. P.O. Box 72793 available in over 20 million homes across
See scheduled segments at Davis, CA 95617 America.
▼ You may see the Rock Creek Free Press
www.wethemedia.org.
in the back of some BPM stands and in
▼ Democracy Now—Amy Goodman’s other places you find BPM. It’s a great
award-winning magazine format show. new paper from Washington DC with em-
Where to watch: phasis on the undernews. Check it out.
Access Sacramento TV, Cable Channels 17 ▼ Likewise, we are greatly impressed with
and 18, Weekdays 6pm, 12midnight, 5am. the lively goodlooking Midtown Monthly.
Dish Network Satellite TV, Channel 9415, It’s not political, but it has the kind of use- Sacramento and Central Valley Indymedia: www.sacindymedia.org.
Free Speech TV, M–F: 9am, 4pm, 9pm, ful and delightful info about life, art, food
5am, Pacific time. Link TV, Channel 9410, and music in Sacramento and beyond
Monday–Friday, 8am, 3pm. KVMR 89.5 FM that creates the sense of community
Mon–Thu 7pm. KDVS 90.3 FM Mon–Fri noon. needed for an uncertain future. NON-PROFIT
KPFA 94.1 FM Berkeley, M–F 9am ORGANIZATION
If you don’t have cable TV, you can watch Access US POSTAGE PAID
Sacramento programs as they are being aired PERMIT NO. 2668
by going to www.accesssacramento.org and SACRAMENTO, CA
clicking on the “Watch Channel 17” button at
the top of the first page.