People Before Profit blog

LETTERS

Fri, 25 Mar 2005 12:35:00 +0000

Anderson and Amistad

Thank you for your very interesting article about Marian Anderson (PWW 3/05-11).

In 1995 the Connecticut General Assembly passed legislation mandating our Amistad Committee “research, mark and promote” an official state Freedom Trail. Immediately thereafter, we began to call sites, requesting permission to mark them for the trail. We realized Marian Anderson’s farm in Danbury, where she lived for 50 years, would be one of the most important.

We inquired, only to learn that the estate had been sold to a developer upon her death. We called the developer to ask permission to place a Freedom Trail marker at the farm. His answer was short and quick: “Absolutely not. I am going to demolish the house and studio.”

I then called the director of what is now the Danbury Historical Society and requested a community meeting. In the course of discussion, several who knew Anderson well indicated that she was not fond of the house.

Our next strategy was to bring the story of Marian Anderson and the Freedom Trail to the media. There was a spate of feature stories, radio, and TV interviews. After all, Marian Anderson was one of Connecticut’s leading women.

More than a year expired. Finally, a call came from the developer. Negotiations resumed. The offer was, “Take the studio. Move it somewhere else. I’ll contribute $15,000.”

Anderson had not liked the house, but the studio was hers. The political leaders approached the state government, which pledged $193,000. The Historical Society proposed the studio be moved to the land lying idle behind its building. The studio opened in late 2004, almost nine years after the first telephone call to secure permission for a marker at the farm.

Al Marder, New Haven CT

Confused about class?

Today’s news headlines show an easy way to resolve any problems that activists might have about which class is forming people’s opinions. We already know that the two main opposing classes are the working class and the capitalists, with some confused folks in between. We know that their opinions are formed from their economic circumstances.

We want to know which class dominates which people so that we can better understand what they are telling us. But it’s no big problem to tell, just ask them!

The Texas Legislature is considering a school finance bill that barely rewards teachers for their work and sacrifices. What few rewards are in the proposed bill would come as “merit pay” based on students’ scores, not on the work the teachers do. Which class is for it? Which class opposes?

The Legislature is also considering some pay raises for state workers (though not for thousands of non-academic staff in higher education). They are considering Rep. Lon Burnam’s bill to raise the state minimum wage. Which class is for pay raises? Which class is against?

The stock market just responded to rising unemployment figures with a 100-point uplift. Which class, which side?

At the national level, Sen. Ted Kennedy recently proposed a pretty good lift in the federal minimum wage. Some of the Republicans responded with another pay-raise bill, which Kennedy called “a sham.” Kennedy said that congressmen have voted themselves an extra $28,000 in the last five years, while leaving the minimum wage at $5.15 an hour, which leaves workers $5,000 below the official poverty line.

The Senate had no problem discriminating between Kennedy’s proposal and the weaker one. They shot them both down. The minimum wage remains a disgraceful $5.15/hour. Which class was on which side?

Just ask people if they support increasing wages and benefits for workers. If they say “yes,” put them in the working-class column. If they say “no,” put them in the capitalist column. If they give you a long confusing answer, assume that their thinking is muddled middle class or that they are BS-ing you.

Jim Lane, Dallas TX

Baseball and politics

Let me say first that I do not condone the use of steroids or any other illegal or performance enhancing drug, but when will we Americans wake up and smell the coffee?

How obtuse for America’s politicians (especially the Republicans) to condemn baseball players (or any one else for that matter) for not living up to the ideals of American children. How dare this group even approach the subject of not being good role models. This administration needs to take a good look in the mirror!

Elected officials (especially the president of the United States) should certainly be categorized as people who are responsible to the general public for their actions.

Let’s look at just a couple of important facts concerning the current administration. Bush personally lied to the world concerning Iraq’s WMDs and is responsible for killing 1,518-plus American soldiers and wounding over 11,000 more. This administration has killed over 100,000 innocent Iraqis and physically destroyed a country.

The Bush administration touts that they are creating a democracy in Iraq driven by a fair and equitable constitution. Interestingly enough, this administration concurrently and systematically is destroying America’s own Constitution, turning over the impoverished of America to corporate creditors and violating our very basic freedoms.

The U.S. government needs to clean up its own house before they have the right to condemn the actions of any other group, including American baseball players!

Denise Bensusan, Via e-mail

‘Taxation without representation’

In reading the March 10 article entitled “40 years after Bloody Sunday,” it’s inspiring to see so many rally together to end all forms of taxation without representation. Yet, as a resident of the Washington, D.C., area, I want all people from Selma, Ala., to understand what real taxation without representation looks and feels like.

The people of D.C. have no voting congressmen and no senators. The nearly 600,000 people who live here, the majority of whom are African American, have no one to speak for them on any issue.

Our people fight for America in times of war, pay a huge amount of taxes to the federal government, serve on federal juries, but get no vote in our American democracy.

It’s important for us to honor those who fought for voting rights in the past, but we must realize that fight continues in our nation’s capital. We in D.C. live with “taxation without representation” every day. We need help from people all over the country to end this injustice. It’s time for a change. It’s time to bring American democracy to America’s capital.

Shawn Rolland, Washington DC

NATIONAL CLIPS

Fri, 25 Mar 2005 09:20:00 +0000

Boston speak-out

Connecticut says no to warOn the weekend of March 18-20, almost 800 communities in all 50 states had some type of action to bring the troops home from Iraq and end the U.S. occupation there.

Iraq war veterans stood shoulder to shoulder with military families whose loved ones have died in Iraq. The Iraq Veterans Against the War condemned the “seemingly endless war” that distinguishes the Bush administration.

Clergy and Laity Concerned About Iraq, alone, organized over 300 events. The group is also launching a campaign this week to generate a million letters for “peace, not poverty,” and is co-sponsoring a “Break the Silence” bus tour that rolls out of New York April 4, passes through Philadelphia and goes on to the Midwest and South.

Below is a sampling of mostly first-hand reports from just a few of the actions around the country. We’ll have more coverage next week.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. On March 17, activists started walking to San Diego from Oceanside, 40 miles away. They drove 240 crosses into the sandy beaches around Camp Pendleton, honoring the local Marines killed in the war. They joined more than 600 people protesting here March 20.

LOS ANGELES Thousands of trade unionists, peace activists and a rainbow of LA residents marched down Hollywood Blvd. to deliver the message of peace. Before stepping off, Iraq war veterans told their stories.

OXNARD, Calif. Carrying picket signs reading, “Cut the War Budget, Not Education,” hundreds of college students here and in Ventura staged walkouts March 15 to protest deep budget cuts resulting in teacher layoffs and cancelled courses.

Lara Shapiro-Snair, managing editor of the Ventura College Press, said, “It’s our right and indeed our duty to stand up and fight for what we believe in. We need to make our voices heard. Silence will get us nowhere!”

SAN FRANCISCO Union members led 10,000 marchers from Dolores Park to the civic center for a rally that grew in size as the day went on. United for Peace and Justice members held up huge panels of photos of Americans and Iraqis who have died in the war.

DENVER, Colo. A year ago, Jesse Villanueba, 23, was a Marine walking the dusty roads of Iraq. On March 19, he stood before hundreds of his neighbors, calling on them to get involved and get our troops home.

At the Capitol, protesters staged a “die-in” honoring Americans and Iraqis killed in the war. The march continued to the offices of Halliburton, a major war profiteer, where demonstrators piled the names of the dead and laid a wreath at the corporation’s front door.

LAKE WORTH, Fla. On the boardwalk of this resort city, Landres Bryant, 16, joined 200 people protesting the war. Bryant had spent many a Saturday afternoon on the boardwalk with his friends. Then he started reading about the war online. On March 19, he made his first protest speech.

“It’s just a way of expressing myself and getting visibility,” he said. “People are giving their lives for something they haven’t been given a reason for.”

LANCASTER, Pa.

Nearly 500 people here marched behind 30 flag-draped coffins to a town hall meeting to discuss the war. As the sun set, another group of residents lit candles and sang songs. They caught the attention of drivers who honked in support or gave a thumbs-up.

PITTSBURGH State Sen. Jim Ferlo led 3,000 people on a two-mile march from the Squirrel Hill neighborhood. Local elected officials and students carried a banner demanding an end to the occupation of Iraq.

Diane Davis Santoriello, whose son 1st Lt. Neil Anthony Santoriello Jr. was killed in August in Iraq, told the rally, “The only antidote to my complete despair became the desire to keep other families from going through my experience. … I fear for the future of my country.”

ASHEVILLE, N.C. “Are we safer yet?” was the hand-printed sign carried by hundreds of opponents of the Iraq war March 20.

One large group hailed from the Cathedral of All Souls in Biltmore Village, which has held a weekly peace vigil every Sunday for two years.

“This should be the concern of every good person, to stand against war,” said Martha Fullington, a church member. “I’m happy to see this outlet for people standing up for peace.”

ST. LOUIS Among the 700 people who gathered here March 20 were Carol Whitener, 49, and her son Matthew, 9. They carried two cardboard tombstones, each bearing the names of an American soldier and an Iraqi citizen killed in the war.

As Whitener put her tombstone down amid the hundreds of others, she started to cry. She could have been carrying one with the name of her other son, 20, or her brother, who served in Iraq.

In all, 1,521 tombstones — built by volunteers in church basements, school cafeterias and living rooms — filled the area near the art museum. The display will move to various locations around the city, adding tombstones as people continue to die in the war.

National Clips are compiled by Denise Winebrenner Edwards (dwinebr696 @ aol.com). Marilyn Bechtel, José A. Cruz, Paul Hill and Jim Lane contributed to this week’s clips.

LETTERS

Fri, 18 Mar 2005 13:08:00 +0000

Stop maneuver against Cuba

From March 14-April 22, the 61st session of the UN Commission on Human Rights will take place in Geneva, where once more the U.S. government will try to pass a resolution against Cuba.

It is a manipulated and selective treatment of the topic to justify the intensification of the policy of blockade and aggressions by the greatest power on the planet against a small country, in violation of International Law. The commission must represent every UN member-state and ensure respect for the rights of all men and women worldwide.

It is significant, however, that within the commission, during last year’s sessions, it was not possible to evaluate, or even debate, the atrocious violations of human rights taking place in U.S. prisons in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. The U.S. government has no moral authority to set itself up as a judge of human rights in Cuba, where there is not a single case of missing persons, torture or extra-judicial killing and where internationally recognized health, education and cultural levels have been reached despite the blockade.

We, the undersigned, request the countries represented in the commission not allow it to be used to legitimize the Bush administration’s anti-Cuban aggressiveness, when the current war-mongering policy led by Washington makes predictable an eventual escalation of very serious consequences.

We also call on journalists, writers, artists, professors, school teachers and social activists to address their governments and express by every possible means that this dangerous maneuver stop.

Rigoberta Menchú, Harry Belafonte, Danny Glover, Alice Walker, Russell Banks, et al., From countries around the world

They tried it before

Alan Greenspan, longtime chair of the Federal Reserve Board, the most powerful appointed position in the country, has suggested to Congress that the government fight deficits with a national “consumption” tax, meaning a sales tax by another name.

As a historian, I remember that leaders of Congress suggested a “national sales tax” to balance the budget at the height of the Great Depression. Public outcry and a revolt by progressives in Congress stopped them from implementing that crazy idea. Then, the deficit was in the vicinity of $20 billion. Today it is well over $6 trillion, thanks to military spending and tax cuts for the wealthy (it was $1 trillion when Ronald Reagan became president, $4 trillion when Bush I left office, actually dropped under Clinton and has entered the stratosphere under Bush II).

In 1932, the only way to solve the depression crisis was to get rid of Herbert Hoover and elect a progressive government, not to hurt people with a regressive sales tax. Today the only way to deal with the deficit crisis is to resist and eventually defeat Bush and replace him and his henchmen with a progressive Congress and president, not to hurt people with a regressive “consumption tax.”

Norman Markowitz, New Brunswick NJ

What was DAR policy?

I read your article about Marian Anderson [by Carolyn Rummel, 3/12-19]. You included the story about her performance at the Lincoln Memorial. Mark Twain once said that “falsehood goes twice around the world before truth gets its shoes on.”

Years ago someone connected with the DAR wrote to Ann Landers/Abby Van Buren about the story. According to this person the DAR did not have a “whites only policy” in 1939 and had booked many Blacks on other occasions. That is why Marian Anderson had asked to book Constitution Hall. It wasn’t available because someone else had booked it for that date earlier.

Which story is true? I don’t know, though someone could go to the newspapers and see what performances were presented at Constitution Hall in 1937-1939, and check the “had booked other Blacks on other occasions” statement.

David Olson, Via e-mail

Carolyn Rummel responds: According to a Feb. 26, 1997, PBS program on Marian Anderson, in 1939 “Anderson’s agent tried to book her into Washington’s Constitution Hall, owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Anderson was told that no dates were available, but DAR policy also stipulated that all contracts contain a clause saying, ‘concert by white artists only.’”

In the May 18, 1993, edition of The New York Times, writer William H. Honan reported that sources familiar with the incident attributed Constitution Hall’s “white artists only” policy to then-manager Fred E. Hand. Hand instituted the policy after a racially motivated incident occurred during a Roland Hayes recital at the hall in 1931. The policy remained in place, with the tacit approval of DAR’s executive committee, until Hand’s retirement.

A bold step

The national movement for reparations recognition and compensation for descendents of the victims of the slave trade and its racist aftermath has come full circle. On March 4 Philadelphia City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown boldly stepped forward and introduced legislation that would strongly urge Philadelphia businesses that existed during the period of slavery to publicly disclose whether they profited from Black misery, as many Northern corporations still existing most certainly did.

Blondell’s law, if passed, says corporations wanting city contracts must come clean about their investments in Black enslavement. The legislation is modeled on successful legislation in Chicago, municipalities in California and other jurisdictions. Disclosure could be a possible first step towards an apology and eventual settlement or lawsuit to deny the corporate entity its ill-gotten gains.

In another progressive move in the battle for reparations, on March 10, attorneys, led by Charles J. Olgetree of Harvard, filed a historic petition with the Supreme Court. The plaintiffs are petitioning the high court to allow plaintiffs to proceed in the lower Oklahoma court in their case for reparations and recognition of a crime against humanity committed by the city of Tulsa in 1921. Today we may call what happened in Tulsa an act of state-sponsored domestic terrorism or we might call it “ethnic cleansing.” However we describe it, Black people and their property were just violently wiped out under the approving glare of a municipal and state government.

A.S. Mahdi Ibn-Ziyad, Philadelphia PA

NATIONAL CLIPS

Fri, 18 Mar 2005 11:20:00 +0000

VENTURA, Calif.: Stop the ‘Kindergarten Cop’

Handmade signs held up by over 500 parents, students and teachers said it all on March 10: “Liar, Liar, Promise on Fire” and “No Arnold, You Won’t Be Back.” Organized by the Ventura Education Partnership and Save Our Schools, parents spearheaded the rally to restore full state funding to their children’s public schools, threatened by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s projected state budget.

“We need a governor who will listen to the will of the voters and not try to run them over with a Hummer,” said state schools chief Jack O’Connell, keynote speaker at the rally.

Ventura County School Superintendent Charles Weis said, “We’ve seen 30 years of erosion in funding for public schools. We now have the largest class sizes, the fewest librarians and the fewest administrators. It’s time we changed course.”

In just the last four years, $9.8 billion has been slashed from the state’s education budget, and Schwarzenegger plans to cut another $2.3 billion. The results would be devastating, parents said.

Marie Lakin, parent and spokeswoman for the Ventura Education Partnership, said in frustration, “There are only so many buckets of cookie dough you can sell” to bridge the funding gap in the schools.

WASHINGTON: U.S. torture in Afghanistan

Human Rights Watch got their hands on official U.S. Army documents that detail torture and prisoner deaths at the hands of U.S. troops in Afghanistan a full year before prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq were broadcast on television. The reports became public March 12.

Two Afghan prisoners, Mullah Habibullah and another identified as Dilawar, 37, died in December 2002 after soldiers chained them to a ceiling and beat them to death.

In 2002, Army officials said the two men died from natural causes. Lt. General Daniel McNeill, the U.S. commander of allied forces in Afghanistan at the time, denied all allegations of torture or murder.

After a New York Times investigation, the Army acknowledged the two deaths were homicides. In the fall of 2004, the Army implicated 28 soldiers and reservists in the murders, including Capt. Carolyn Wood. However, the Army then assigned Wood to Abu Ghraib to establish the “interrogation and debriefing” center.

Earlier this month, the ACLU filed suit against Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, charging him with war crimes and violations of the Constitution.

FARMINGTON, N.H.: Town protests Patriot Act

The Farmington, N.H., council voted, March 9, to declare the town a “Civil Liberties Zone,” becoming number 375 on the list of local governments and four states to condemn the anti-democratic actions of the Bush administration and its Patriot Act. Joining Farmington this year are Exeter, N.H.; Paonia and Oak Creek, Colo.; Butte and Silver Bow, Mont.; Elmira, N.Y.; and Erie, Penn. To date, state and local governments representing more than 56 million people have stood up for civil liberties. In April, the Columbia, S.C., City Council will vote on a similar measure.

The USA Patriot Act passed overwhelmingly in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Patriot Act severely curtails the Bill of Rights and other hard-won civil and democratic rights.

The Bill of Rights Defense Committee, based here, provides updates and tools for residents to place a resolution and/or ordinance before their local government. For more information, visit www.bordc.org.

CHICAGO: Students organize American Girl protest

Students from Rudy Lozano Leadership Academy are organizing a March 29 protest at American Girl Place here to voice their concern about the company’s new doll, Marisol Luna, and her “official” storybook. The book, which comes with the doll, says Marisol and her family moved to the suburbs because the predominantly Mexican American neighborhood of Pilsen was “dangerous.” Community reaction to the slanderous stereotype has been strong.

At a recent community meeting, 200 residents offered their own stories for Marisol. “Her family had to leave because the landlord raised the rent,” said one resident, noting that politicians are raising taxes to gentrify the area.

Students are demanding that Mattel-owned American Girl offer 30 jobs for Pilsen youth and 15 full college scholarships, including for undocumented students, that the company stop publication of the book, and that it issue an apology.

National Clips are compiled by Denise Winebrenner Edwards (dwinebr696 @ aol.com). Marilyn Bechtel and Terrie Albano contributed to this week’s clips.

Capital campaign approaches $150,000

Fri, 18 Mar 2005 10:40:00 +0000

The capital campaign to raise $400,000 for three worker-community educational and activist centers is approaching the $150,000 mark this week. A coordinated campaign of the New York-based Chelsea Fund for Education and the Workers Education Society in Chicago reported the progress made in a March letter to potential donors.

These buildings in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago will provide facilities for a range of activities and services offered by progressive and community organizations, in addition to housing the Communist Party, Young Communist League, and the People’s Weekly World. Upcoming activities include:

• Conferences, performances and meetings.

• Classes in Marxism; labor and women’s history; African American, Latino, Asian and Native American peoples’ history and culture; organizing skills; English as a second language; immigrants’ issues.

• Youth programs

Each building will also house a bookstore, resource center and library. The campaign is aiming to reach the $300,000 mark by May Day.

Donors have pledged from $500 to $5,000, with most giving $1,000. Contributions can be made to either the Workers Education Society or the Chelsea Fund for Education. Payments can be spread out over a calendar year.

To contribute or for information contact the Chelsea Fund at 235 West 23 St., NY NY 10011 or the Workers Education Society at 3339 S. Halsted St., Chicago IL 60608.

talbano @ pww.org

LETTERS

Fri, 11 Mar 2005 08:05:00 +0000

Murder of nun highlights Brazil at crossroads

An American nun, Dorothy Stang, who had lived in Brazil for 30 years and was a naturalized Brazilian citizen, was gunned down in the Amazon jungle region where she lived and worked for 23 years.

Four have been charged in her assassination, including Vitalmiro Moura, a rancher, who is charged with ordering Stang’s killing.

Brazil’s state of Para is a rugged region where loggers and ranchers are in an ongoing battle with the poor and environmentalists who seek a livelihood and to sustain the rain forests. The Amazon, the world’s largest rain forest, has been reduced by 20 percent and the trend continues.

The assassination of Stang may have backfired on its perpetrators as Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has proclaimed the 22,239-acre area that Stang was trying to protect as a preserve. Ironically, the attempt to silence Stang has made her a national hero.

Lula, many fear, is moving to the right, making concessions to moneyed interests. If he continues, many feel it will be a betrayal to those who put him in power and to the memory of Dorothy Stang.

Brian McAfeeMuskegon Heights MI

Question

I was wondering if you could tell me who wrote the small piece you have up about the Minuteman Project (“Vigilantes threaten undocumented workers,” PWW 2/26-3/4). It is just chock full of pure fiction. I don’t see any author cited.

Don SilvaVia e-mail

Editor’s note: That was part of our National Clips column, which is compiled each week from numerous news sources by an editorial board member clearly identified at the end of each week’s column. We received a lot of anti-immigrant, hate-laced e-mail after that piece ran. Yours was the least offensive. Shall we say just say, “Thou doth protest too much.”

Silence is not golden

Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote, “Free people, remember this maxim: we may acquire liberty, but it is never recovered if it is once lost.”

George Bush and the Senate are preparing to strip away more of our liberties and, as Rousseau suggested, the losses could be permanent. Where is the public outcry? The Senate previously rejected 12 unfit judicial nominees, and Bush has thrown them back “into America’s face” by re-nominating them. Adding insult to injury, Bush and Bill Frist, the Republican leader in the Senate, want to eliminate a 200-year-old Senate rule, the filibuster. When a filibuster is employed, a judicial nominee needs 60 out of 100 Senate votes to win approval — not an unreasonable threshold for a lifetime appointment. Bush and Frist want to lower the requirement to 51 votes, a simple majority.

The Senate can conduct other business while a filibuster is taking place, so it’s not a “waste of time” and does not halt activity in the Senate.

The Constitution charges the Senate with the responsibility of advice and consent on presidential appointees. They are not there to act as a “rubber stamp.”

Bush has already had 204 out of 214 of his choices confirmed.

Each of Bush’s 12 “re-nominations” holds viewpoints that are hostile to minorities, to women, to the environment, to worker’s rights, and/or the disabled. Are Americans prepared to allow Bush and his allies to fill the judiciary with people who will trample our rights and virtually crush the system of checks and balances? It is my sincere belief that most Americans favor keeping both intact. However, I am deeply concerned that this majority has remained mute. Silence is not always golden.

Jason MillerOverland Park KS

Flashback!

As much as Black people and the whole hip-hop community have been “hated on,” you would think the people at that radio station knew better. (“Hot 97 struggle sparks social justice campaign,” PWW 3/5-11.)

It seems like a lot of people in hip-hop have forgotten what it’s all about. It’s about spreading love and telling our story. Hip-hop is not just “Black” anymore, it’s worldwide. Now how does that make us look? Like we forgot where we came from.

April DavisVia e-mail

Imperialism’s ugly vision

A profound transformation of the U.S. military-industrial-corporate-information-intelligence complex is underway that will radically redesign it into an ultra-imperialist force for global domination.

Billions of dollars are being milked from U.S. taxpayers and funneled into projects to build weapons in space.

Labeled, “full spectrum dominance” in the U.S. Space Command’s ‘Vision for 2020’ mission statement, their plan is to create a space-based war fighting force for the Earth’s global corporate and military elite. It is to be employed to defend themselves from the rising destitute masses of the world who are demanding access to dwindling and finite natural resources on Earth.

In the year 2000, almost 140 nations voted for a resolution entitled the “Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space.” It recognized “the common interest of all mankind in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes,” and “shall be for peaceful purposes and shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interest of all countries.”

Only two nations declined to support this bill — the United States and Israel. Both abstained.

Steve Jones Boulder CO

Time to talk back

What does it mean to be ‘responsible’ when it comes to the media? I think the word has been dropped from main stream media’s vocabulary. Case in point. On Feb. 17, Brian Lehrer of National Public Radio (NPR) had a guest taking part in a series on Social Security.

In reply to a question as to the role of socialists in the movement to pass SS legislation his guest said, “Communists were against Social Security, they wanted a complete state welfare system”. His guest then replied to a follow-up question, “It wasn’t the socialists that were the threat, it was the extreme left wing, the Communists.” I expected Lehrer to challenge his guest but to my great disappointment and disbelief he said nothing.

Those of us who do know better must not let these incidents pass without protest. When we are witness to these misrepresentations call or write the respective media and set the record straight.

I called the station but was told the segment had ended, so I emailed my protest…haven’t heard from NPR yet.

Gabe FalsettaGlendale NY

NATIONAL CLIPS

Fri, 11 Mar 2005 05:59:00 +0000

WASHINGTON: Senate rejects minimum wage hike

With several states already enacting a raise in the minimum wage, dozens of others are now debating such a measure. With the 2006 congressional elections looming, Senate Democrats brought a proposal for a federal minimum wage increase to a vote March 7. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) authored the bill, which proposed an increase from the current $5.15 to $7.25 over 26 months. All 49 Republican senators voted against while the 46 Democrats voted for it.

Republicans brought a “Trojan Horse” bill to raise the minimum wage while stripping overtime pay after 40 hours and granting companies $4.5 billion in regulatory relief and tax cuts. That measure failed, with 41 Democrats, 17 Republicans and one independent voting against this sleight of hand. Just 38 Republicans voted for the scheme.

ST. LOUIS, Mo.: ‘Show us the money’ for health care

Show Me State residents, over 1,000 strong, rallied here March 5 to demand that the Bellefontaine Habilitation Center serving patients with long-term disabilities remain in business. Families of clients at BHC testified eloquently to the compassion and quality of care provided by the facility.

The protesters also were angry about proposed cuts in state-provided Medicaid, health care, and other benefits. The action was part of a March 4-9 series of events attempting to stop Republican Gov. Matt Blunt from slashing Medicaid.

A coalition of clergy, the Metropolitan Congregations United representing 75 religious institutions, and unions, led by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2730, are organizing the fight to save health care and jobs.

CHICAGO: Racists considered suspects in killings

Primary suspects in the brutal murder of U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow’s husband of 30 years, Michael, and her 89-year-old mother, Donna Humphrey, include members of a violent domestic racist group, Creativity.

Within hours of the murders’ discovery, white supremacist groups celebrated the murders on the Internet.

At the center of the investigation is Matt Hale, leader of Creativity. Hale awaits sentencing and faces 40 years in prison after being convicted of conspiring to kill Judge Lefkow in the aftermath of a court decision against him.

Lefkow and Hale crossed paths in 2002 when she ruled in favor of Hale in a trademark dispute over his racist group’s name at the time, the World Church of the Creator. Her decision was reversed on appeal and she subsequently ordered Hale to either change the name of the group or start paying a $1,000-a-day fine. She immediately became a target for right-wing terrorists.

Hal Turner, who broadcasts a hate show via short wave radio, said on his show that Judge Lefkow was “worthy of being killed.” He concluded, “It wouldn’t be legal, but in my opinion, it wouldn’t be wrong.”

The investigation is continuing.

HELENA, Mont.: Bring troops home to fight fires, says gov.

Montana, a state that has been suffering from persistent drought, wants President Bush to bring 1,500 of the state’s National Guard troops home from Iraq to help fight forest fires.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer sent a formal request to the president March 4, comparing the crisis in the state with 1988 when 4,122 fires charred 2.2 million acres in the northern Rockies, including 793,000 acres in Yellowstone National Park.

The governor also requested return of 10 of the state’s 12 Blackhawk helicopters capable of dumping 600 gallons of water onto raging forest fires. The state has three larger Chinook helicopters able to haul 2,000 gallons of water, but lacks flight engineers to fly them, according to Montana National Guard spokesman Major Scott Smith.

WASHINGTON: Coalition protests right-winger from India

A coalition of human rights activists is protesting the invitation of Indian leader Narendra Modi to the United States. The Asian American Hotel Owner Association (AAHOA) issued an invitation to Modi, the chief minister of the Indian state of Gujarat, to address its convention in Florida, March 24-26.

In February 2002, Gujarat erupted in horrendous violence when thousands of Muslims were killed in what many called “state-sponsored terror.” Modi, a political leader of the far-right Hindu “nationalist” movement, was charged as the chief architect of the terror.

The Coalition Against Genocide, a wide spectrum of U.S.-based organizations, urged AAHOA to rescind its invitation.

The Washington-based Institute on Religion and Public Policy called on the U.S. State Department to deny Modi a visa, “in accordance with the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for his repeated engagement in particularly severe violations of religious freedom.”

More detailed information is available on the web site: www.coalitionagainstgenocide.org.

National Clips are compiled by Denise Winebrenner Edwards (dwinebr696@aol.com). John Pappademos and Jesse Knutson contributed to this week’s clips.

LETTERS

Fri, 04 Mar 2005 09:40:00 +0000

Asbestos victims and ‘tort reform’

I have just read your article concerning frivolous lawsuits (“Tort reform means victims can’t sue,” PWW 2/26-3/4). My husband passed away from lung cancer, related to asbestos exposure, and I don’t consider trying to make companies pay for his pain and suffering, a frivolous lawsuit.

While there is no amount of money, that can replace my husband and the father of my children, I don’t think asking for the companies involved to pay something is wrong.

My husband’s death certificate reads: cause of death, lung cancer. It doesn’t mention that his liver was engulfed with it and that it had invaded his bone.

He was a very proud man and took pride in his job and was a very loyal worker. He trusted the people he worked for and never dreamed that he would meet such a fate, because they failed to tell him and his co-workers the danger of removing asbestos.

By the time he went into the hospital and was diagnosed, it was too late for treatment. On the day he was told what his options were, he took a chemo treatment and three days later he was dead.

The sad thing, how many more families are out there like myself? My heart goes out to them and the companies don’t care. In Texas there already is a cap on gross negligence cases and, believe me, they jump on that fact. People like myself can’t fight them.

I guess Mr. Bush and the lobbyist think that we are all dumb and don’t know that most of the companies that have filed for bankruptcy have re-organized under new names and are back in business and the victims of asbestos can’t touch them. So they win no matter what.

I feel sorry for the workers that lost their jobs over lawsuits, but it is the fault of the companies themselves, not the asbestos victims and their families.

The bottom line — greed caused the problem, because making money and a profit was more important than caring about the welfare of the workers.

Patsey Haynes Via e-mail

Clarification on blues article

I am disappointed in the drastic editing of my submittal on the blues (PWW 2/26-3/4). I know you have space restrictions, but by deleting “reparations” and the concept of a national foundation to organize and go after the money instead of just whining about it, the focus of the article is changed.

Also, Singing the Blues couldn’t be more inappropriate for a title. “Singing the Blues” is a white country song first recorded by Marty Robbins, who also did racist bootleg recordings for the Klan. The term has been used as a title placed by white record executives on blues compilations and commonly in the white community to mean, “Oh, I feel blue today.”

[On the positive side], That’s a very, very nice layout with cool photos.

Don SantinaVia e-mail

Editor’s note: Due to space limitations, Santina’s original submission, “Reparations for the Blues,” had to be severely shortened. We should have indicated that what appeared was abridged. Technical difficulties added to the problem. We apologize to the author for too sharp a knife and appreciate his clarification on the title.

Truth commission

A judge in Spain [Baltazar Garzon] is trying to create a “ truth commission “ that would investigate crimes against humanity committed during the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. He also attempted to try former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. Mr. Garzon should be commended, and judges in other former dictatorships should follow his lead.

I would like to see the creation of an American Truth Commission that would investigate and publicize the U.S. government’s support of dictators (Batista, the Shah of Iran, Saddam Hussein, the House of Saud, etc.) over the years. But it won’t happen since both the Democratic and Republican parties would be implicated. Isn’t that a shame?

Chuck MannGreensboro NC

WMD

As a longtime communist and veteran (infantryman in WWII in the South Pacific), I would like to protest against the biased reporting that goes on daily in the media which makes everything that the U.S. is doing okay and anybody who disagrees with the Bush Administration disloyal.

An example is the fight about WMD with Iran and North Korea. It is ludicrous for the Bush Administration to call for the elimination of WMD by anyone. We have the most WMD of any nation. And the media never discusses the horrible fact that this country is the only nation in the world ever to use nuclear weapons on people as in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. I always saw the use of the nuclear weapons as the start of the Cold War rather than the end of World War II.

Larry McGurty Hometown IL

The cowardly media

I am waiting for the day when the mainstream media will tell the final, bitter truth about President Bush and his illegal, immoral war in Iraq: that in the name of bringing freedom and democracy to the world, but actually under a covert policy of radical Christian fundamentalism conducted in a regime of constant domestic fear and world domination, he has sent nearly 1,500 of our brave troops to their deaths, slaughtered countless Iraqis and caused the wounding, physical and psychological, of countless more on all sides.

I am waiting for the day when the mainstream media acknowledge that this disgrace to the office of the presidency, with the help of his evil genius adviser, Karl Rove, has convinced many of our troops that they are actually fighting for something worthwhile such as peace, freedom and democracy in Iraq when in truth they have been victims of the technique known as The Big Lie raised to the nth power and are being sacrificed daily on the oily altar of global hegemony by this nefarious administration — that, so sadly, they are dying in vain.

I am waiting for the day when the media calls this president what he is: a mass murderer, a war criminal and one of the most Machiavellian men the world has ever seen.

I am waiting for the day when the media call Mr. Bush what Fidel Castro called him recently: deranged.

I am waiting for the day when the media urge the Congress to finally show some courage and in the name of preserving our democracy, bring articles of impeachment against this president who failed to protect us against 9/11 despite ample warnings from many sources; who has ruined in the economy for the sake of the well-being of his principal financial/political backers; who has torn asunder our precious Constitution, abolished our civil liberties and challenges the patriotism of anyone who dares challenge him.

I am waiting for the day when the pusillanimous press — far more concerned with maintaining “access” to the White House and afraid of being called “disloyal” by the far right wing — has the guts to print letters such as this.

I am waiting for the day...

Willard B. ShapiraMinneapolis MN

NATIONAL CLIPS

Fri, 04 Mar 2005 06:23:00 +0000

WASHINGTON: Supreme Court halts death penalty for youth

In the second major defeat for the death penalty in three years, the Supreme Court, in a 5–4 decision, ruled that persons under 18 when they committed a crime cannot receive the death penalty.

The decision removes the U.S. from a list of only a handful of countries, including Saudi Arabia, that allow juveniles to be executed. It immediately bars 18 states, where 70 youth sit on death row, from carrying out planned executions.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wrote the majority decision, noted, “Our society views juveniles as categorically less culpable than the average criminal.” He said that most states already prohibit judges or juries from imposing the death sentence on youth.

CARSON CITY, Nev.: State Assembly rejects Social Security privatization

With 314,120 Nevadans depending upon monthly Social Security checks to pay their bills, the State Assembly approved a resolution 27–13, Feb. 24, demanding that Congress reject Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security. Bush and many Republicans are fighting to replace the country’s most successful social insurance program with “private accounts” to wheel and deal in the stock market.

In an address to the Assembly, Nevada’s U.S. Senator Harry Reid said the Bush administration should win an Academy Award for creating the illusion that a crisis exists in Social Security.

All 26 Democrats and one Republican approved the resolution. The 13 who opposed it were all Republicans. The resolution goes to the state Senate, where Republicans dominate with a 12–9 edge.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.: Hands off Social Security, say lawmakers

A union-led delegation held a press conference, then filed into the state House chambers, Feb. 25, for a debate on a resolution calling on Congress to reject all forms of privatization for Social Security. Following a nasty two-hour debate, the House voted 40–27 to approve the resolution.

Speaking at the press conference preceding the debate were New Mexico’s U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman and Rep. Tom Udall, both Democrats, and state House Speaker Ben Lujan, sponsor of the resolution.

Josie Marujo, leader of the New Mexico Federation of Government Employees, the union representing Social Security workers, said the Bush administration instructed workers to lie to the public about a crisis in the system. The union is convinced that if the Bush private accounts replace the current system, Social Security would be destroyed.

CYBERSPACE: MoveOn joins Social Security fight

During the 2004 elections, the online organization MoveOn.org mobilized millions to vote against Bush. Now it has launched an online campaign to garner 500,000 signatures on a petition to Congress to stop the privatization of Social Security.

Originally, MoveOn sought 200,000 signatures, but in just three weeks over 360,000 members of the online community signed the petition, so MoveOn upped the ante.

MoveOn invites visitors to its web site to add their own stories on the impact of Social Security.

WASHINGTON: ACLU sues Rumsfeld on torture

Retired Navy Judge Advocate General John D. Hutson joined Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, and a host of human rights attorneys and activists to announce that they are suing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on behalf of eight men who charge they were tortured by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The eight men, who were never charged with a crime, were imprisoned and beaten, subjected to sexual humiliation and mock execution, and restrained in excruciating, contorted positions.

SPARTANBURG, S.C.: Judge rules Bush must charge or free Padilla

For more than two years, the Bush administration has held U.S. citizen Jose Padilla in a Navy brig here with no charges filed against him. That changed Feb. 28 when U.S. District Judge Henry Floyd rejected the administration’s designation of “enemy combatant” as the grounds to imprison him and ordered that Padilla be charged or freed. Floyd was appointed by Bush in 2003.

In a 23-page decision, Floyd wrote, “The court finds that the president has no power, neither express nor implied, neither constitutional nor statutory, to hold petitioner as an enemy combatant.” The government has 45 days to act.

The Bush administration alleges that Brooklyn-born Padilla, arrested in 2002, planned to blow up residential buildings and set off a “dirty bomb.”

Bush administration spokesman John Nowacki said the government would appeal.

National Clips are compiled by Denise Winebrenner Edwards (dwinebr696@aol.com). Emil Shaw contributed to this week’s clips.

Hot 97 struggle sparks social justice campaign

Fri, 04 Mar 2005 06:17:00 +0000

NEW YORK — Out of a struggle against racist hate speech emanating from New York City’s nationally known hip-hop and R&B station Hot 97, a new coalition, tentatively called Hip-Hop for Social Justice (HHSJ), has emerged.

HHSJ’s membership and supporters include individual activists, community and hip-hop organizations, and well-known artists like turntablist Kuttin Kandi, Afrika Baambaata, and Public Enemy’s Chuck D.

HHSJ’s first order of business is clear — pressing a list of demands on Hot 97’s management, which sparked an outrage when its “Miss Jones in the Morning” show aired the “Tsunami Song,” which made fun of tsunami victims and used racial epithets. The show’s deejays also used racist speech on the air and advocated “shooting Asians.” In a display of unity, representatives of all races have shown their outrage.

“We came to this coalition to keep them in check,” Kandi told the World. “We have a list of demands, and a hip-hop community letter to be sent to Hot 97 as well as other stations.”

The demands include removing everyone involved in the song and hate speech; institutional reforms at the station and its parent, Emmis Communications, to prevent such an incident from ever recurring; a more accurate representation of the hip-hop community in its full multiracial form; more balance in the type of hip-hop played, so that the station does not feed the image of hip-hop being entirely dominated by the “thug” style; and more coverage of social and political debate and positive issues.

Though new, HHSJ already has several projects in the works, including a demonstration scheduled for March 4 in Union Square.

Helen Park, a member of HHSJ’s rally organizing committee, told the World, “We want to have a community event, where we’re incorporating not only members of the hip-hop community, but also politicians, youth and other grassroots organizations that are working with countries affected by the tsunami.” She added, “Also, it should be fun.”

The rally was to include speakers, but also other features designed to reflect the socially conscious fun that spawned hip-hop. “We want to have break[dancing] crews up there, deejays, people on the microphone emceeing,” Park added.

Though the battle against racism on Hot 97 is how HHSJ formed, Kandi said, “Now we know that this is a bigger thing that we’re fighting for. We’re definitely going to extend the coalition. … I would say we’re fighting to be able to keep a hip-hop watch, to make sure we keep people who put mixed messages out there about what hip-hop culture is, and who promote misogyny, racism and sexism in check.”

Coalition members said that a fundamental problem is the corporate entertainment industry, which has tried to use hip-hop to market its products, and distorted hip-hop’s original message of peace and unity of all races.

“We’ll keep in check those who target hip-hop and confuse people as far as what hip-hop is,” Kandi adds. “We’re using hip-hop as an educational tool, as a social movement for upliftment and empowerment.”

dmargolis@pww.org

Social Security, organizing head labor agenda

Fri, 04 Mar 2005 06:01:00 +0000

LAS VEGAS — A campaign to defend Social Security, patterned after labor’s massive 2004 election mobilization, was formulated at the annual winter AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting here Feb. 28–March 3. The campaign plan includes strong media and grass roots components.

This was the council’s last meeting before the federation’s July national convention in Chicago. The council’s meetings are traditionally closed to the press, but a series of press briefings laid out a program of fightback not only for Americans’ retirement security, but also on an array of urgent issues from labor law reform, to the defeat of the CAFTA “free trade” agreement, to state-based initiatives aimed at raising the minimum wage.

However, an uncharacteristic tension marked the gathering, an indication of the sharp and continuing debate about course corrections needed to ensure the future of the labor movement.

John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, said more than 5,000 rank-and-filers, academics and even members of the press have contributed to the ongoing discussion on what to do to reverse the decline in union membership. The drop in membership is not a result of workers voluntarily quitting unions. Rather, runaway shops and productivity related job losses have decimated the nation’s manufacturing work force. Stymied by aggressive union-busting campaigns and pro-employer labor law, unions have not achieved the massive organizing gains needed to make up for these losses.

The council narrowly voted down a proposal advanced by James Hoffa of the Teamsters union, with the support of leaders of SEIU, UNITE-HERE, UFCW and the Laborers, that would have rebated up to 50 percent of an affiliate’s per capita contribution in order to encourage organizing.

At a press conference, leaders of the five unions denied they were de-emphasizing political action in favor of organizing. “We have resources to do both if we structure it right,” said Joe Hansen, president of the UFCW. While the rebate proposal would have forced huge cuts in the federation’s budget, the individual unions would have only seen a minor increase in new funds because their per capita payments only amount to about 1 percent of their overall spending. “The rebate is symbolic,” said Bruce Raynor, president of UNITE-HERE. Raynor insisted most organizing functions are better performed by individual unions than by the AFL-CIO.

Despite the defeat of the Teamster proposal, other rebate plans are still on the table. Stuart Acuff, AFL-CIO organizing director, speaking at a separate press conference, said his department is in the process of developing an extensive system of such incentives to encourage and assist affiliated unions in organizing. The Organizing Department has also taken steps to strengthen the diversity of the pool of organizers trained every year by the Organizing Institute. The OI is now recruiting organizers on the campuses of historically Black colleges. It recently conducted a Spanish language school for organizers.

Larry Cohen, executive vice-president of the Communication Workers Union and a founder of Jobs with Justice, told reporters both political action and organizing were important, but he emphasized activating the AFL-CIO’s 500,000 stewards as the key to progress.

The urgency of preserving labor unity in the face of the Bush anti-labor offensive was highlighted by a presentation by AFL-CIO General Counsel Jon Hiatt, who sounded the alarm about recent actions of the National Labor Relations Board. Dominated by Bush appointees, the NLRB has issued more than 40 decisions overturning longstanding precedents, turning the agency set up to protect workers’ rights into a tool of union-busting employers.

“Social Security is a signature issue for George Bush and a signature issue for American workers and the labor movement,” said State, County and Municipal Employees union President Gerald McEntee. “The day after it is voted down or withdrawn is the day Bush becomes a lame duck,” he said. Over 25,000 AFSCME members have already signed up to distribute workplace fliers and talk to their neighbors, McEntee told reporters, appealing to them to publicize the union’s sign-up web site, www.afscmeactnow.org. The volunteers have made 2 million phone calls in 30 key congressional districts and are setting up field organizations in 14 states. The union has committed $1 million to the campaign, he said.

Steelworkers President Leo Gerard said 18,000 members of that union’s Rapid Response network are engaged in the fight to preserve Social Security. Bush’s attack on the program, he said, is based on “a fabricated crisis. It’s the domestic equivalent of ‘weapons of mass destruction.’”

rwood@pww.org