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Because People Matter May / June 007 www.bpmnews.org

People MaterVlume 16, Numbe 3Published Bi-Monthly by theSacramento Community forPeace & JusticeP.O. Box 162998, Sacramento,CA 95816(Use addresses below forcorrespondence)

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is Issue: Seth Sandronsky

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Mental illness and violence

By Ralph E. Nelson Jr., MD

he National Alliance on Mental IllnessCaliornia extends its sympathy to all theamilies who have lost loved ones in the

terrible tragedy at Virginia ech. NAMI Calior-nia is a grassroots organization o amilies andindividuals whose lives have been aected by

serious mental illness. We understand the needor compassion and support in times o mourn-ing ollowing any tragedy and loss.

When senseless acts o violence occur in oursociety, it allows all o us time or reection onthe nature o mental illnesseswhat they are andwhat they are not with regard to symptoms,treatment and risks o violence. In our experi-ence, most people with a serious mental illnessare more oen the victims o violence ratherthan perpetrators. Tis is borne out by consistentresearch ndings by the US Surgeon General andNational Institute o Mental Health (NIMH).

NIMH researchers ound that the odds oviolence are oen governed by actors other thanpsychotic symptoms. For example, violence was

associated with young individuals who havebeen victimized, physically or sexually; or haveco-occurring substance abuse. News reports state

Schools and Students

that Seung-Hui Cho,the shooter at Vir-ginia ech, had beenrequently bullied byothers or his oreignheritage, his shyness,his speech and Englishlanguage difculties.

Ultimately, noone may be able to

understand the motiva-tions and actions osomeone who commitspremeditated murder. More importantly, wemust as a community continue to understandthe needs o people who have been victims inthe past and to ensure that those with seriousmental illness receive proper care in a time whenservices or them are being eliminated all aroundus. Tis includes both voluntary and involuntaryservices and supports when they are needed,whether or not the mentally ill individual realizesthe necessity. Many cases similar to this one havethe common pattern o no ollow-up care aerhospitalization.

We advocate or lives o quality and respect,

without discrimination and stigma, and weadvance education and support or amilies whobravely continue their lives in the ace o greatly

Responding to the Virginia Tech Shootingsmisunderstood mentalillnesses and braindiseases.

It is our mission toensure the acts con-cerning the connec-tion between mentalillness and violence areostered with accuracywith the American

public. Ultimately thetreatment and care ormentally ill individu-

als depends on it. Tis can be a matter o lie anddeath.

Ralph E. Nelson Jr., MD is president of

NAMI California.

Sources:US Surgeon Generals Report on Men-tal Health (1999) www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth.

National Institute o Mental Health (2006)www.nimh.nih.gov/press/schizophreniaviolence.

cfm.

Contact Annie Breault Darling, advocateor oenders with mental illness at breault55@yahoo.com or 821-4165.

Are you a regular or occa-sional reader oBecause

People Matter? And whatdo you think o this all-volunteerpaper? Your replies matter tous who produce and distributeSacramentos progressive paper. By progressive Imean the view that policies must rst and ore-most meet all peoples basic needs in health care,jobs, schools and other areas o lie.

Speaking o needs, what are BPMs? First, weneed readers. And as you read in Jeanie Keltnersront-page appeal, we ace a money problem.O course BPM is not alone there. Many youngadults, the so-called Generation Next betweenthe ages o 18 and 25, scramble to make endsmeet on their paychecks.

Te majority o this new generation also

attends publicschools, as do

the vast bulk oyouth under theage o 18. Whatchallenges do

students ace in public schools, and why? Tecenter spread o the paper ocuses on parts o thiseducation situation.

Heidi McLean looks at the closing o neigh-borhood schools in the capital city. A mother otwo and spokesperson or the Sacramento Coali-tion to Save Public Education, her inormativearticle is a must-read. Paolo Bassi analyzes schoolsegregation in Sacramento and around the US.A local attorney, he sheds light on the whys andwhereores o this trend. Je Lustig, a proessor ogovernment at CSU Sacramento, has a unny take

on a serious matter in higher education. Hint:high-tech learning is less than meets the eye. In

an April reerendum, nearly our o every veCSUS aculty who voted expressed no condencein school President Gonzalez. Proessor o sociol-ogy Kevin Wehr explains why.

As always, BPM brings you a mix o progres-sive articles by local writers on Sacramento, Cali-ornia, US and world aairs. We also have poetry,and book and lm reviews or your readingenjoyment. And dont orget BPMs calendar pageo upcoming local events in May and June.

On behal o the people who bring you thepaper every two months, please send a BPM sub-scription or three to co-workers, amily membersor riends. Tey just might like to read such newsand views. Onward.

Seth Sandronsky is a BPM co-editor.

What challenges do

students ace in publicschools, and why?

By Charlene Jones

Because People Mattermade the shel atUtne Magazine in March this year. Notedor its love o the best in independent

media, the le-leaning bimonthly publicationkeeps a watchul eye on the American social andpolitical landscape as a leading digest o alterna-tive news and reviews. On March 16, it chose to

highlight Sacramentos all volunteer communitynewspaper in From the Stacks, the magazinesweekly Web page le o notable publications thatland in Utnes library rom around the country.

Listed in the company oForeign Policymagazine, a multilingual literary journal andthe Ozarks Mountaineer, BPMs March/Aprilissue was described as a progressive newsletterrom the Sacramento community or peace andjustice, dealing largely with eminist issues. Whilenot necessarily ocused on a eminist agendathough peace and social justice struggles havelong been shouldered by womenBPM honoredMarchs Womens History Month by eaturingarticles on topics generally characterized bywomens activism. What is particularly pleasing

about Utnes recognition o this issue o BPM

is its citing o articles by Renee D. Covey andAmreet Sandhu, two young contributors, new tothe paper.

From a steady ow o 1,500 magazines,newsletters, journals, weeklies, zines and otherlively dispatches seldom ound on corporateranchise racks, Utne Magazine recaps publica-

tions that present viewpoints missing rom themainstream. Te magazines acknowledgmento BPM in an increasingly vibrant landscape oindependent media may inspire devotees o alter-native views and news to support Sacramentosown bimonthly publication.

I you read BPM on occasion, consider acontribution to sustaining its ongoing work. Iyou pick it up routinely, please send in a sub-scription. In the 16th year o publication, BPMcontinues to provide its readers and its commu-nity with progressive thinking, writing, reportingand opinion. Te importance o independentcommunity media only grows. Be a part o it.

Visit Utne at www.utne.com.Charlene Jones is a member o the Sacramento

Media Group.

BPM on Utnes E-stand

www.utne.com

When senseless acts

o violence occur in our

society, it allows all o

us time or reection

on the nature o mental

illnesseswhat they are

and what they are not.

Subscribe to BPM!

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amily member! Fill out

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www.bpmnews.orgMay / June 007 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER

SacramentoProgressiveEventsCalendar onthe Web

Labor, Peace,Environment, HumanRights, Solidarity

Send calendar itemsto Gail Ryall,gryall@cwnet.com.

www.sacleft.org

By Jeanie Keltner

State Sen. Sheila Kuehls healthcare reormbill, SB 840, passed both houses o theCaliornia Legislature last year, only to be

vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger. Movingagain through the Legislature, this desperatelyneeded bill provides comprehensive medical,dental, vision,hospitalization

and prescrip-tion drug cov-erage to everyCaliorniaresident. Tisis made pos-sible througha streamlinedclaims andreimbursement system that saves billions inadministrative costs. With SB 840, Caliorniawill use its purchasing power to negotiate bulkrates or prescription drugs and such medicalequipment as wheelchairs, thus saving additionalbillions.

Folks who ear socialized medicine should

note that SB 840 preserves the status o health-

By om King

L

ets get this meditation underway by rstthinking o reasons not to impeach Presi-dent George W. Bush and Vice President

Richard Cheney.Ill kick-start with the ones Ive observed in

circulation:It is looking backward when we should be

dealing with problems aplenty now acing us.One, with only a slender majority in Con-

gress, the Republican resistance could never beovercome.

wo, the process would take so long thateven i success were possible, the duos term inofce would have ended beore they could berendered accountable.

And three in asweeping response to allthis oot-dragging, Illtreat you to an analogy.

A man returns homerom his late shi to ndhis apartment ablaze.Knowing his wie andonly son are inside, heruns toward the inerno,despite a nearby remans attempts to stop him.

Never mind whether Joe becomes a am-ing casualty or a hero, the point has been made:When enough is at stake in a venture, the oddsagainst simply dont matter in the decision owhether to act.

Tis, we may say, is a principle o nature.Now let us see how it applies to impeachment atthis moment in history.

American reporter Sherwood Ross reels o18 justications or impeachment in his Febru-

ary 2007 piece, written or Permalink, entitled,America! I You Will Not Impeach Tis yrant,Who Will You Impeach?

I pause to choose rom his smorgasbordthe ones I eel are powerully paramount: orviolating ... the International Convention againsttorture; ... or usurping the power to imprisonpeople arbitrarily or indenite periods by mak-ing himsel judge and jury; ... or ... reinitiatinga nuclear arms race in deance o the nucleararms treaty; ... or using illegal weapons againstIraq such as white phosphorus, depleted uraniumammunition and a new type o napalm ...

But the double-barreled reason that most ous would like these men impeached is or initiat-

ing, unprecedented even in our nations heinousoreign policy, preemptive warare, and ... violat-ing the Genocide Convention by turning Iraqinto a charnel house ...

Perhaps those grounds make enough o acase.

But I propose to move to the clincherthelong view o history.

Te 17th and 18th centuries were a gestationperiod o great philosophers such as TomasHobbes, Jean Jacques Rousseau and John Locke.

While Hobbes viewed the state o nature asone o perpetual war, and wished to disarm men,Rousseau and Locke wished to ree men rominstitutional excesses.

But their quest was the sameexamining thetheory o social contract,by which mankind sur-renders certain reedomsin exchange or protec-

tion rom savagery, managainst himsel. Teywere weighing the poten-tial o civilization, thewager that by adjustingits controls just the right

way, mankind might raise society to a higherstandard than ound in the state o nature.

Have we evolved to a more civilized stateo what characterized us at the dawn o history?Many will deny it.

Te strongest evidence oered by thesesomber observers is war, and how throughout the20th and 21st century it continues to be used bythe strong to exploit the weak, and by the privi-leged to repress the poor.

Tis pessimism can be repudiated by a single

boon that emerged rom Western civilization: theconcept o the rule o law. By this is meant theprinciple that governmental authority is legiti-mately exercised only in accordance with written,publicly disclosed and duly sanctioned laws.

Certainly those brainy thinkers o the 17thand 18th century did not invent it.

At its peak, the ancient city o Athensboasted democracy. Even aer it was enguled bythe might-makes-right primitivism o the RomanEmpire, the Athenian ideals survived. Tey werereborn in the visionary enterprise o those wereer to as our Founding Fathers.

In the three-century span between theGeorgesGeorge Washington and George W.

Fixing Californias broken healthcare systemSB 840 comes up again

SB 840 is the only health

care reorm package nowbeore lawmakers that

includes clear inormationabout how the plan would

be paid or.

Unimpeachable Reasons for ImpeachmentWhy the wager must match the stakes

When enough is at stake

in a venture, the odds

against simply dontmatter in the decision o

whether to act.

Bushwe see the one great and nal wageragainst the savagery that lurks in the heart oman. Te US Constitution introduces the con-cept o checks and balances, embraced by Locke,whereby power might be counterbalanced i notdisarmed.

Contrarily, what we presently observe in

these United States is a coup detat representinga receding to that primitive condition o human-kind where the rights o man are abrogated.

Where we nd ourselves in April 2007 is notin a republic, but in a dictatorship. Our Consti-tution is scuttled, no more than a goddamnedpiece o paper. Te rule o law is a dead letter.

Does anyone suppose that CongresswomanNancy Pelosis band-aids will heal us?

Shambling somnambulists, we have sleep-walked into enormous damage.

In our carelessness we have mislaid thepreciously unique dream that set us apart in a llhistorythe experiment o mandating the will oa people. We shall not recover that dream by sim-ply recycling despots in 2008. I we are to restorewhat is lost, we must bring the traitors o the rule

o law to justice, no matter how long it takes.Let us seek impeachment regardless o the

time limits le in the Bush term in the WhiteHouse. For whether Bush and Cheney are heldaccountable in or out o ofce, they are warcriminals: thieves who have stolen our legacy;monsters o such magnitude that i we allowthem to die o natural causes in their beds, ourcowardly complacency must lose us all the chips,terminating or good and all the great wager oour democratic dream.

om King is the leader o the Peace Pyramid, aSacramento suburban grassroots group promotinga cabinet-level Department o Peace.

care providers, hospitals and pharmacies as pri-vate, competitive businesses.

A companion bill, SB 1014, details und-ing. SB 840 will draw in current local, county,and state medical care spending and will replace

all premiums, co-pays anddeductibles paid to insurance

companies with one aordablepremium paid to the system.Why should insurance compa-nies siphon o 25% or so o ourhealth care dollar?

Te angels are in thedetails, says Senator Kuehl. SB1014, the unding bill, demon-strates concretely how SB 840

really can provide comprehensive coverage toeach Caliornian while guaranteeing our right tochoose our doctors and control costs. Tis is theonly health care reorm proposal out there, withnumbers in black and white, which oers genuineaordability, shared responsibility and consumerempowerment along with quality coverage.

Under this plan, most individuals and busi-

nesses that now buy health coverage wouldreceive substantial savings and a higher level ocoverage. Full coverage, or everyone, or every-thing, orever, or less payment!

Its not too early to tell the governor you wantSB 840. It will take a ew minutes to get through,but dial 445 2841 extension 2.

Jeanie Keltner is BPM editor at-large.

Place an ad or your business

or nonprot group: Business

card size ads only $40 (or

$30 i run in multiple issues).

Call 446-2844 or more ino.

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Because People Matter May / June 007 www.bpmnews.org

By om King

I I had a hammer, Id hammer in the morn-ing runs the paean to reedom Peter, Paul and

Mary sang back in the 60s. Well, it seems thatormer President Jimmy Carter ound his ham-mer. Dwayne Hunn attests to the act.

Dwayne revisited haunts he had served as ayoung man in the Peace Corps. In Sri Lanka, Fijiand Georgia, he worked with Carter and otherAmericans on building projects with Habitat orHumanity.

Dwayne, the executive director o PeoplesLobby and o the American World Service Corps,has regaled groups such as Freedom From Warand the Peace Pyramid in the Sacramento vicin-ity with many upliing stories. Te tales he tellsend with a gladdening close: whole villages oolks come to view Americans not as an army ooccupation and exploitation, but instead as min-

istering angels. Unortunately, such US service tothe world is eebly staed now. Te Peace Corps,or instance, while still in operation, has a servingbase o only around 7,000, compared to 15,000-plus it had only a ew years aer President John F.Kennedy and his vision were taken rom us.

History leaves us Kennedys immortal sum-mons, Ask not what your country can do oryou, but what you can do or your country.

From the ashes o this all but orgotten ideal-ism rises the phoenix o Dwaynes dream andmissionAmerican World Service Corps pro-posals in Congress, to build a volunteer servicecorps o one million can-do Americans. Teseproposals would engage already existing coreorganizations such as the Peace Corps, Habitator Humanity, AmeriCorps, Head Start, Doctors

Without Borders, Red Cross, International Res-cue Committee, Oxam, etc., asking not simplywhat we can do or our country, but what we cando or the world.

Youre invited to dream along with Dwayne.Imagine military service being only one o manyways youth, baby boomers and some retireesmight serve their country and all humanity.

Tink o quelling terrorism through our riendlyacts instead o creating terrorists with ourviolence. Imagine legions o the peaceul and

productive going orth to assist with the nextdisaster such as Hurricane Katrina, a tsunami, oran Arican genocide. Imagine standing tall againas Americans!

One then poses the inevitable rejoinder,Whats in it or me?

Sadly, we live in times when JFKs sum-mons seems to have been ditched or consumersdreams. Perhaps only imagination and educationcan save us: the imagination that comes romeducating ourselves in the classroom o worldneeds. Our payback then comes rom the satis-action we eel in having helped those less ortu-nate than ourselves.

But you need not sign up or ar-ungassignments around the globe to help.

Go to www.worldservicecorps.us and readthe text o the citizen-initiated World ServiceCorps bills proposed in Congress. Sign the peti-tion to encourage congressional co-sponsors tointroduce and pass this legislation. Even with thatsignature youll eel the tonic o world service inyour blood.

Tom King is the leader of the Peace Pyramid,a Sacramento suburban grassroots group promot-ing a cabinet-level Department of Peace.

Our payback then comes

rom the satisaction we

eel in having helped

those less ortunate than

ourselves.

Helping All HumanityTe American World Service Corps

Unclean

There are car bombs in Baghdad almost ev-eryday now.

Fiteen people blown up here, thirty there.You lose count

o the shredded children, the maimed grand-mothers.

You go about your lie; its the other side othe whole world.

Here, its Wednesday, the trash truck comestomorrow.

You think you might be depressed aboutsomething,

but what is it? In Baghdad, in a junkyard,a man hoses blood and bits o esh rom aruined bus.

From ar down the littered street he hears awoman sobbing.

James Lee Jobe

All Good Things - James Lee Jobe~beat your swords into ploughshares~http://jamesleejobe.livejournal.com/

Place an ad or your business

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$30 i run in multiple issues).Call 446-2844 or more ino.

Bugged by high gas prices?

No problem! BPM has avolunteer job you can

do rom home. You dontneed a car, a computer or

even much time: we needsomeone to update the

local group meetings andradio programs listed in

our paper. Call Ellen at369-5510 or details.

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CAAC Goesto the Movies

ALMoSt EVEryMoNthte Cenal Ameica

Acin Cmmieesws ineesingand infmaive

vides n scialjusice, labsuggles, and smuc me! Call see was plaingis mnWE ALSO HAVE AVIDEO LIBRARY YOUCAN CHECK OUT.1640 9 Ave (easff Land Pak D)INFo: 446-3304

By Dan Bacher

From February 26 to May 2007, the Cucaparibe in El Mayor, Baja Caliornia, orga-

nized an historic bi-national Zapatistapeace camp to deend their shing rights againstharassment by the Mexican government on theColorado River Delta.

Te idea originated during a visit to ElMayor by Subcomandante Marcos, spokesmanor the Zapatista Army o National Liberation,during the Zapatista Otra Campana (OtherCampaign) in October 2006. Te Zapatistas, agroup o Mayan rebels rom the Lacandon Forestin Chiapas, rose up in arms against the Mexicangovernment on January 1, 1994, the day thatNorth American Free rade Agreement went intoeect.

We have decided to send an urgent messageto the Mexicans and Chicanos north o the Rio

Grande to come in order to maximize the num-ber o people here, create a sae space, and protectthe Cucapa and Kiliwa community during theshing season, said Marcos.

Te 304-member Cucapa said the campaimed to help reestablishthe networks and relationsthat existed beore bordersseparated amilies andcommunities, and to helpexpose these atrocities toa world that has avoidedlooking at the price oits excess, comort andluxury.

Aer a slow start, themomentum built in March

as the Cucapa and sup-porters constructed the camp, secured buyers orthe sh (corvina), purchased a rerigerated trailerand netted sh in a marine protected area(MPA) in deance o ederal shing regulations.

Te camp is almost over, but the main goalo the Cucapa to sh without governmentharassment was achieved, explained CesarSoriano rom LAs Banda Martes, a group oyoung activists and artists who meet regularly atthe Eastside Ca there to work with the ZapatistaOtra Campana and establish working relationsacross borders. Armed ederal soldiers havepatrolled the reserve and accosted shermensince the protected area was established. In Octo-ber, the community had 30 outstanding warrants

or illegal shing in their attempt to practicethe same traditions as their ancestors.Te camp also achieved its second goal, to

organize direct support rom people rom bothsides o the border, said Soriano. At dierentpoints during the camp, activist groups romMexico City, Australia, El Salvador and AmericanIndian nations, as well as rom San Diego andLos Angeles, showed solidarity and organizedundraisers and caravans or the Cucapa.

Te Cucapa are doing the same thing they

have been doing or 9,000 years, said Marcos,quoted by Brenda Norrell. Tey called orthis camp in deense o nature so they can shwithout detentions or being put in jail www.

narconews.com/Issue45/article2623.html.For thousands o years, the Cucapa people

lived on land surrounding the Colorado Riverand the delta where it empties into the Sea oCortez, surviving o native sh and plants.

However, as agribusiness and thirsty cities inCaliornia and Arizona diverted the entire ow othe Colorado without regard or the indigenouspeople below the US-Mexico border, catches ocorvina, totuava (a giant sea bass-like sh that isnow protected) and other species declined.

Te massive water diversions and corporatecommercial shing eets caused the shery andecosystem to decline. Meanwhile, corporate-unded US conservation groups like Conserva-tion International and the World Wildlie Fund

urged the Mexican government to declare thetraditional area o the Cucapa and Kiliwa peoplethe Biosphere Reserve o the Upper Gul o Cali-ornia. Tis declaration was made in the publicinterest in June 1993.

Since 77% o thepeople who live in andaround the reserve relyon shing or their liveli-hoods, it is unclear whichpublic interest the sh-ing ban in the protectedarea serves, said KristinBricker www.narconews.com/Issue43/ article2205.

html.Te Cucapa and Killi-

wa point out that it is intheir very best interest to protect the endangeredspecies they rely upon or their livelihood andthey want very much to be custodians o the riverand its sh as they have been or generations.Tey were not responsible or the over- shing,even though they bear the brunt o its conse-quences, according to Bricker.

Hopeully, the success o this camp will senda strong message to the Mexican governmentand US conservation groups that so called bio-reserves and MPAs cannot be imposed uponindigenous people and other amily shermenwithout resistance.

Te problem aced by the Cucapa in Mexicoparallels the situation in Caliornia, where well-

unded conservation groups, in collusion witha Republican governor, are attempting to kickrecreational anglers and amily commercialshermen o the water through the institutiono marine protected areas. Tis has been doneeven though massive de acto reserves and someo the strictest shing regulations in the world arealready in place.

Te MPAs constitute a major case o greenwashing. In this way, the corporate interestsresponsible or shery declineshabitat

destruction, waterquality decline andglobal warmingavoid accountability.

Just as the Cucapaand other tribes have

been completelyexcluded by conserva-tion groups and theMexican governmentrom input into estab-lishing bio-reserves,Caliornia Indiantribes have also beenexcluded rom theprocess pushingthrough the MarineLie Protection ActInitiative, establishedby Governor ArnoldSchwarzenegger. Hispurpose was to set up

a network o MPAs

along the Caliornia coast.And just as the Colorado River Delta ecosys-

tem has been destroyed by water diversions andpollution, the Caliornia Delta, which sustainsa wide variety o Caliornia coastal species, isthreatened by a ood chain collapse caused bymassive increases in water diversions o state andederal governments.

For more ino about the Cucapa Camp:http://detodos- paratodos.blogspot.com/

Dan Bacher is a writer, alternative journalistand satirical songwriter in Sacramento.

Deending Indigenous Fishing RightsZapatistas, US and Mexican activists create camp in Colorado delta

For thousands o

years, the Cucapa

people lived on

land surrounding

the Colorado River,

surviving o native

sh and plants.

Cucupa tribe members sh or corvina on theColorado River Delta.Photo by Joel Garcia.

Members o Zapatista Peace Camp clean corvina (a delicious saltwatersh) beore selling the sh.Photo by Joel Garcia.

Members o the Cucupa Fishing Cooperative prepare boats or a day oshing on the Colorado River Delta.Photo by Joel Garcia.

Pangas like this one, located on the shore o the Zapatista Camp,are used by the Cucapa and other indigenous people to sh orcorvina and other species on the Colorado Delta and throughoutthe Sea o Cortez.

Photo by Joel Garcia.

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Because People Matter May / June 007 www.bpmnews.org

What does Martin Luther King, Jr.spractice o nonviolence and the l ateMinnesota Sen. Paul Wellstones

strategies o tying together candidates, grassroots

community organizations, and progressive poli-cies have to do with the peace movement andour eorts to end the war and occupation oIraq? Plenty. Tese two strategies together willhelp broaden and strengthen our movement todemocratize our national security and oreignpolicy, the two least democratically ormed poli-cies in our country.

Locally, community members are puttingthese two strategies, important parts o ourAmerican heritage, into action through Peace inthe Precincts.

Peace in the Precincts was ounded in Min-nesota as the next logical step to building themovement or progressive peace and securitypolicies, or as the group likes to call it, nonvio-lent security.

Te Sacramento Chapter was ounded bycommunity members two years ago and now hasover 500 members.

Peace in the Precincts continues to imple-ment three linked activities: community andnetwork building, grassroots policymaking, andelection participation.

For example, organizing neighbors in Sac-ramento neighborhoods built a network thathas successully lobbied Rep. Doris Matsui tosupport several Iraq and Iran-related bills inCongress, support US withdrawal rom Iraq, anddiscourage US invasion o Iran.

If you would like to get involved,contact Peace in the PrecinctsChairwoman Glenda Marsh at:marshmellow8562@yahoo.com or 452-4801.

Sacramentos Peace in the PrecinctsGroup backs nonviolent security at home and abroad

By Glenda MarshPeace in the Precincts has a grassroots-gen-

erated Peace Platorm with ve principles ornonviolent security: economic justice, domesticneeds, weapon nonprolieration, international

cooperation and the rule o law, and respect orhuman rights. Based on these principles, commu-nity members have proposed to Matsui policiesor the US to leave Iraq, and back sovereignty,reconstruction, and saety or Iraqis.

Peace in the Precincts members worked onthe 2006 campaign in Caliornias 3rd Congres-sional District, where Bill Durston challengedincumbent Republican Dan Lungren. Tis cre-ated a new network o people in the 3rd Districtthat continues to exist today.

Te group is working hard to expose Lun-gren as out o tune with district constituents, andto reach out to nd more concerned communitymembers to work with.

Peace in the Precincts hopes to launch a

alking Community speaker series in the 3rdDistrict to share progressive ideas and approach-es to tackling issues ranging rom nationalsecurity, health care, and global warming, to jobbenets or hotel workers.

Peace in the Precincts also wishes to workwith local organizations registering new voters inthe 3rd District to ensure that we have the votesto elect progressive candidates at any level ogovernment.

A riend in rural Calaveras County said, Imtired o losing; I want to win.

Tese are the critical elements o movementbuilding, leading us to winning.

We need your help with outreach in RanchoCordova and Elk Grove, and with nding healthcare or other local community-based organiza-

tions, like PAs, or our alking Communityspeakers to address.

Members have

proposed to Matsui

policies or the US

to leave Iraq, and

back sovereignty,

reconstruction, andsaety or Iraqis.

Because Peoples Healthcare MattersWe do what we do...

Primary Care by providers who look at the wholepersonNon-drug treatment for ADD and ADHDMDs and FNP, trained and experiencedNatural options (homeopathy, herbs, vitamins) in

treating acute and chronic illnessIscador (Mistletoe) for CancerTherapies: spirit and art for healing

Raphael HouseMultidisciplinary Complementary Medicine7953 California AvenueFair Oaks CA 95628(916) 967 8250 raphaelassociation@earthlink.net

Painting in the MailYou send a painting in the mail,the brown paper wrapping crinkling oin Mamas hands,It is 1969 and you are fghting diseasesby fnding them in the blood o the dying,fghting soldiers.Your painting is o our red stockings overa freplace, our homeone stocking has noname,

my sister yet to be born,but in this time, the mail and baby have beendelivered.

Claire, I want to scrawl on the red stock-ing.

Aunt Gretchen collected your check

at the army depot and we watcheda uneral on TV.Aunt Gretchen said, he was a good man -he was the Presidents brother.I was too young to know my aunt was a Re-publican

and that everybody loved Bobby Kennedy.There would be other amily occasionswithout you, they kept you moving in thearmy

and in business, but your painting is a holi-day

and you will be coming home.Frank D. Grahamhttp://people.tribe.net/graham

Let your representatives knowwhat you think!

oll-free line to the CapitolSwitchboard for House & Sen-ate:1-800-828-0498

Representative Matsui

Web site: www.house.gov/matsuiE-mail: Contact via orm on web site

Washington Ofce:222 Cannon House Ofce BuildingWashington, D.C. 20515-0505Phone: (202) 225-7163Fax: (202) 225-0566

Main District Ofce:501 I St., Ste. 12-600Sacramento, CA 95814Phone: (916) 498-5600Fax: (916) 444-6117

Representative DoolittleWeb site: www.house.gov/doolittleE-mail: Contact via orm on web site

Washington Ofce:2410 Rayburn House Ofce BuildingWashington, D.C. 20515-0504Phone: (202) 225-2511Fax: (202) 225-5444

Main District Ofce:4230 Douglas Blvd., Ste. 200Granite Bay, CA 95746Phone: (916) 786-5560Fax: (916) 786-6364

Representative LungrenWeb site: www.house.gov/lungrenE-mail: Contact via orm on web site

Washington Ofce:2448 Rayburn House Ofce BuildingWashington, D.C. 20515-0503

Phone: (202) 225-5716Fax: (202) 226-1298

Main District Ofce:11246 Gold Express Dr., Ste. 101Gold River, CA 95670Phone: (916) 859-9906Fax: (916) 859-9976

Representative ThompsonWeb site: mikethompson.house.govE-mail: Contact via orm on web site

Washington Ofce:231 Cannon House Ofce BuildingWashington, D.C. 20515-0501Phone: (202) 225-3311Fax: (202) 225-4335

District ofce:712 Main St., Ste. 1Woodland, CA 95695Phone: (530) 662-5272Fax: (530) 662-5163

Senator BoxerWeb site: boxer.senate.govE-mail: Contact via orm on web site

Washington Ofce:112 Hart Senate Ofce BuildingWashington, D.C. 20510-0505Phone: (202) 224-3553Fax: (415) 956-6701

District Ofce:501 I St., Ste. 7-600Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone: (916) 448-2787Fax: (916) 448-2563

Senator FeinsteinWeb site: einstein.senate.govE-mail: Contact via orm on web site

Washington Ofce:331 Hart Senate Ofce BuildingWashington, D.C. 20510-0504Phone: (202) 224-3841Fax: (202) 228-3954

Main District Ofce:One Post St., #2450San Francisco, CA 94104Phone: (415) 393-0707Fax: (415) 393-0710

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Keep us alive!

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8/14/2019 2007 May June

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www.bpmnews.orgMay / June 007 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 7

Film Review

Cubas Health Care

Salud!Reviewed by MichaelMonasky

Connie Field is the director o Salud! Herlm ocuses on Cubas export o medical internsto Gambia, South Arica, Honduras, and Ven-ezuela. Tey travel to the nations barrios, thepoorest, most remote, and least medically servedcommunities.

Over 10,000 medical students attend classesin Havana at the Escuela Latino AmericanaMedicina (ELAM). It is the worlds largest medi-cal school. By contrast, the UC Davis MedicalSchool has a total o 400 students, 4% o theELAM student body.

Cuba has a progressively complex, modern

health care delivery system. In Fields lm, Cuban

News with a space for you

By Ron Cooper

Wake up, please! Media issues really domatter. Nothing is more importantthan media in shaping the public

mind. Yet many are still not aware o its enor-

mous inuence.

Sacramento Media Group

Te Sacramento MediaGroup is ocusing on justthat. A local sub-set o Cal-iornia Common Cause,SMG meets monthly atAccess Sacramento, 4623 St. Common Cause advo-cates or ethical and airelections and active participation o all eligiblecitizens. Since media coverage is so important inelections, air treatment o all candidates is un-damental to our democracy.

SMG is currently writing a report on how

local V stations covered the 2006 elections. Itincludes station visits with general managers andnews directors, eedback on whats inside thepublic records each station must maintain, andan estimate o how much money stations madeon the election process (lots!).

Te big commercial media need to know thatwe the people are watching and listening criti-cally, and SMG invites you to help with this veryimportant project. Please join our Media MattersPresentation eam that visits local schools andcolleges to develop awareness o the many waysmedia matters.

Media Edge

Media Edge is a local, ast-moving progres-sive video magazine. It produces great two-hour

shows on local and global matters. Congratula-tions, Media Edge, on your 100th show!

Free wireless Internet Service

Te Sacramento City Council will soon

award a contract establishing ree wireless Inter-net Wi-Fi service to all homes within the citylimits. Many thousands o homes are either notconnected to the Internet or dont have a com-puter. Te Wi-Fi eort will help bridge what iscalled the digital divide.

Te Nonprot Resource Center and AccessSacramento are circulating a computer survey.Seven public meetings have been held over the

past 12 months with 40non-prot organizationsto gather inormation ora Digital Inclusion VisionStatement. Te eedbackcombined with an analysiso resources granted bywinning vendors in other

Wi-Fi cities such as Minneapolis and San Fran-cisco, has been presented to the City Council adhoc Wi-Fi committee. Contact Common Causei you would like to be involved. Te City Coun-cil will announce a decision on Wi-Fi contract

details in the next two months.

Telecom deregulation

Te Caliornia Public Utilities Commissionwill receive new cable television ranchise appli-cations but will not be the enorcement agencyor recently passed AB 2987 (Nez & Levine)thanks to $26 million in lobbying dollars spent bycable and telephone companies, especially A&.Te bill opens cable delivery o media to tele-phone companies A& and Verizon, and wassold to the state Legislature as a means to lowerthe cost o cable television via greater competi-tion and less local government regulation.

Dont be surprised i the uture o cableresembles the commercial chaos o the cell phoneindustry. Caliornia city and county governments

are watching the implementation o the lawclosely. Expect a series o court cases to ollowattempting to clariy what AB 2987 intended toaccomplish.

Questions being asked include: Will local or

Get o the couch

and get behind the

cameraand make

your own media.

Because Media Matters

state government enorce the guidelines prevent-ing discrimination o services to low-incomeneighborhoods or red-lining? Will state or localgovernment protect promised unding or publiceducation and government access television?How will cable consumer complaints be handled?

Public advocacy groups are watching the impactso the new rules closely.

Access Sacramento

Get o the couch and get behind the cam-eraand make your own media. Access Sacra-mento oers television and radio productionclasses and ree use o production equipment.wo new classes are looking or attendees: Digi-tal Storytelling and Video Blogging. Call 456-8600 or visit www.accesssacramento.org.

At the same Web site, see volunteer oppor-tunities or the A Place Called Sacramento lmproduction project in its eighth year. Watch the10-minute lms and join a production team.Lights, camera, and you are in action!

IndyMedia

SacIndyMedia.org is another way to becomethe media. Publish your stories about the people,places, and issues that bug or inspire you. Go tothe Web site, click on the publish button in theupper right hand corner, and ollow the simpleinstructions. I your article is deemed well doneand vital, it will move to the center column asa searchable database with the powerul Googlesearch engine. SacIndyMedia.org group is alsoposting stories rom Because People Matter.Speak up and others will listen.

Ron Cooper is executive director of Access

Sacramento, rcooper444@aol.com.

medical interns treat patients in their homes andvillages. Te interns consult each other to deter-mine accurate diagnoses and reer patients todistrict clinics and hospitals. Tey place patientsin regional medical centers or specialized treat-ment, and advanced, state-o-the-art surgical and

medical interventions.In early March, Sacramentos ower Teatre

screened Salud! Te audience was a mix o Hol-lywood celebrities, the state medical association,a legislative leader, policy wonks, and universalhealth care advocates. Karen Bass, a Democratwho represents LA as the state Assembly majorityleader, hosted the lm.

Actor Danny Glover introduced Salud! Iasked to be here, he said.

Glover recalled his childhood as a son o apostal worker. Kaiser, the HMO giant, met theirhealth care needs. It was, he said, aordable, andtaken or granted.

Glover compared the Cuban health care sys-tem in the lm to that in the US. Cuba spends

$400 per person per year on health care versus

$6,000 annually in the US. All Cubans havehealth care, unlike all Americans.

Aer the lm, I asked Glover about theeects upon ELAM o the US embargo againstCuba. Te embargo has cut imported suppliesand drugs, he said.

Despite the US embargo, Cuba has advancedits pharmaceutical research. Cuba has developeda meningitis B vaccine that the US reuses toimport, Glover said.

Bass closed the gathering by promotinguniversal, single payer healthcare to viewers oSalud! Te audience, aer all, had just seen a lmabout prevention, not pathology, about patientsas people, not customers.

I hope people walk away with a sense ohope, Bass said.

For more inormation go to www.saludthe-film.net.

Michael Monasky has worked in health carefor nearly 13 years, and can be reached atthe-

generalwelfare@surewest.net.

o join the Sacramento Media Group, con-tact JoAnn Fuller, 443-1792 extension 11 orjfuller@commoncause.org..

8/14/2019 2007 May June

8/16

Because People Matter May / June 007 www.bpmnews.org

By Heidi McLean

he Sacramento City UniedSchool District (SCUSD) hasyet to ofcially announce

a plan to close small elementaryschools. But there are signs that sucha plan is aoot. On March 20, theSCUSD Board o Education voted 4-2 in avor o stas proposal to closeone Pocket area school (Bear FlagElementary) and assign its studentsto nearby Caroline Wenzel. MoreSacramento neighborhood schoolsmay close as SCUSD enrollmentcontinues to decline.

Another sign o a plan isthe current emphasis on the needor elementary schools to break even. According toSCUSD budget department sta, small elementaryschools cost the district too much money to operate

without a minimum enrollment o 500 to 525 students.Te blending o Caroline Wenzel and Bear Flag was pre-sented to the Board and at community meetings as a wayto save SCUSD money.

However, district sta claimed that the amount tobe saved was based on the districts average cost or ateacher, cost or a principal, cost or classied sta, etc.,rather than the actual payroll and aci lity maintenance

cost o Bear Flag. Tere was also no discussion o thecost o making the Bear Flag acility the interim site orthe planned Science and Engineering (small) high school

next year.Another indicator that more

closures are in the works is district

stas dismissive treatment o theollowing: suggestions to redrawattendance boundaries to level outenrollment or all schools; convert-ing low enrollment K-6 elementaryschools to K-8; public questionsregarding plans or more small highschools that lack sites; alternativesto closure such as co-locatinganother program on the campus toeither share in the acility costs, orpay rent to help deray Bear Flagsoperating costs.

Te convoluted logic that the district presented tothe public revealed several critical aws. Tere is a lacko a consistent evaluation process or determining school

viability. Consider this. Te district closes elementaryschools with 500 students but keeps open our chartersmall high schools with ewer than 400 students each.

Also, there is a lack o a comprehensive long-termplan to address the problem o declining enrollment inthe lower grades. And there is a lack o a meaningulprocess to inorm and engage the public.

For people interested in preserving their own neigh-

borhood elementary school with less than 500 students,start preparing now or arbitrary action by the districtsadministrators. Otherwise your school and communitywill be aced with a process that looks and eels like adone deal, because district sta will oer no alterna-tives to closure, will show no interest in parent and

community suggestions, and will not care that they havele a trail o rustrated, angry parents and communitymembers. Survey your neighborhood to see how manyelementary age children l ive there and pay attention tohome sales. Be prepared!

Below is a list o all SCUSD schools with less than500 students. Some o these schools are l led to capacity.

A.M. Winn, Abraham Lincoln, Americas Choice,Camellia, Cesar Chavez, Collis P. Huntington, Crocker/Riverside, Earl Warren, Ethel Phillips, Father Keith B.Kenny, Freeport, Fruitridge, Genesis High, H.W. Hark-ness, Health Proessions, Hollywood Park, Isador Cohen,James Marshall, Jedediah Smith, John Bidwell, JohnCabrillo, John D. Sloat, John F. Morse, Joseph Bonnheim,Kit Carson, Lisbon, Maple, Mark Hopkins, Mark wain,Met Sacramento Charter High, New echnology High,

O.W. Erlewine, Oak Ridge, Phoebe A. Hearst, PonyExpress, Sequoia, Susan B. Anthony, ahoe, TeodoreJudah, Tomas Jeerson, Washington, William Land,and Woodbine.

Heidi McLean is the spokesperson for the

Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education, www.savepublicschools.org

By Paolo Bassi

In 1954 Arican-American lawyers and activ-ists (Brown v. Board o Education) orced the USSupreme Court to sit up and concede that separate

but equal schooling was nothing but legal racial apart-heid and anything but equal.

Te Brown case was only the start. It took decadeso litigation and insults or black children to enter whitemajority schools. Nevertheless, the next 30 years saw agreat deal o desegregation. Te ederal government andthe courts supported this. However, that support did notcontinue. I it had, US public schools would be harmoni-ous and mostly integrated today. Fiy years aer theBrown case, studies such as the Harvard University CivilRights Project, and works by authors such as Jonathan

Kozol, an education activist, show segregation increasingrapidly.Precisely because class and racial inequality underlie

school segregation, the US political class and its corpo-rate media ignore or conuse it. Issues o race, but espe-cially class, are simply too dangerous and uncomortableor US politics, which preers to portray a merit-basedvision o society. Even the word segregated is replacedwith evasive euphemisms such as mixed, urbanor gritty to describe black- and Latino-dominatedschools. Likewise, ederal courts have largely turned theirback on school desegregation, also the approach underthe Clinton and both Bush White Houses.

President George Bushs approach has been thecontroversial No Child Le Behind (NCLB) o January8, 2002. Te NCLB has burdened overworked teacherswith time-sapping standardized testing requirements,

while ignoring underlying inequality and segregation.Bushs rationale is that ew racial minorities will attendcollege and that addressing pre-college inequality is notan appropriate policy. Such an approach means that poorand minority children are punished twicerst with alower standard o education and then greater exclusionrom colleges. I this is not class war, then what is it?

Te attack on public education is really part o alarger ideological shi towards privatization. Private eco-nomic choices are valued above collective public choices.I parents with resources deem a school unt, they payor a private one. Poor parents simply do not have suchchoices even within public school districts such as theSacramento City Unied School District. In the SCUSD,poor students lack the amily resources to attend theirschool o choice, regardless o other administrative

hurdles.

According to the 2001 Harvard Civil Rights Project,70% o black students attend schools where minoritiespredominate. Latino students are even more segregated.Naturally, whites are also increasingly segregated. Onaverage, whites attend schools where they representabout 80% o the student body. Additionally, as a per-centage o enrolled students, whites are decreasing in thepublic school system, choos-ing to opt out o it or reli-gious or otherwise private,ee-based schools in white-majority areas. In eect,public school populationsare beginning to resembletheir late 1960s racial make-

up. Yet social and geographicsegregation ail to complete-ly explain why white and non-white children have partedcompany in such signicant numbers.

In the SCUSD, blacks and whites each representabout 20% o the total student body. Tere are schools inpoorer areas where there are virtually no white students.ake or example Parkway Elementary School, whereblacks and Latinos dominate. Tey also suer economicdeprivation and have terriyingly low prociency rates inEnglish language/arts (around 20%) and science (about10%). Tere is little doubt that learning suers wherethere is segregation, which usually correlates with greaterpoverty.

At Luther Burbank High School in the SCUSD,blacks and Latinos dominate. However, their prociencyrates are a raction o that the same racial groups achieve

at West Campus High School, which has a more inte-grated and diverse population. Even i poor studentshave the grades to make it to a better school, they usuallylack the resources to make the transer.

Instead o being a place o reuge and creativity, andsimply somewhere to be young, segregated schools cometo mirror the society outside. Poor childrens culturalenrichment and childhood disappear. All available datashow that poor and minority students do better in racial-ly integrated schools due in part to the greater resources.

Our political and economic system osters inequal-ity in every sphere o lie. Tus the lack o educationalequality is deliberate and political. I an equally undededucation system existed, how could the elites ensurethat their children got the start needed to remain elites?Tis is very rational rom a capitalist viewpoint, which

cheers competition as a virtue but in reality seeks and

needs to crush it. Likewise, public education is riggedrom the start with inequality that harms mainly blackand Latino children.

Te attack on public education is consistent withthe attacks on the living standards o working people inAmerica and all over the world. As US workers becomemore poor and insecure, why should the government

make a real investment ineducating their children?Perhaps expectations ocertain children have to bereduced in order to producethe next generation o docileand hungry entry-levelworkers and soldiers or

uture corporate wars.Te re-segregation oAmerican public schools is an assault on the destinies opoor and minority children. Fully integrated and equallyunded public schools in this country can oster a senseo justice and citizenship among the young. We need acollective political solution now to halt segregation andto dismantle the myth that pre-college inequality canbe overcome i just le alone. In a decent society peoplecannot want one thing or their own children and some-thing inerior or the children o those less advantaged.

Paolo Bassi is an attorney and writer based inSacramento.

Closing neighborhood elementary schoolsWill yours be the next?

The district closes

elementary schoolswith 500 students

but keeps open our

charter small high

schools with ewer

than 400 students

each.

School Segregation ReturnsTe class lines of racial inequality

The re-segregation o

American public schools is

an assault on the destinies

o poor and minority

children.

Were working or peace

and justice but the printer

and the US post ofce

want money!

Subscribe today! Your

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8/14/2019 2007 May June

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www.bpmnews.orgMay / June 007 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER

By Jef Lustig

Weapons o Mass Instruction (WMIs) have

been ound on the banks o the AmericanRiver in Northern Caliornia. Te devices

have been stockpiled apparently awaiting installationin the classrooms o CSU Sacramento. Once activated,specialists report, the weapons would be capable o wip-ing out thousands o independent minds and triggeringthe Sudden Instant Death ocountless new ideas.

Te devices permit themass processing o students,the conscription o mal-leable minds by platoon andregiment and bushel and peck,instead o the old one-on-onegive-and-take o the class-room. Weapons-grade materi-

al was ound: distance learning devices, online teaching,commodied courseware, webcasting and iPod lecturesready to be piped across campus, i not the country.

Aristotle may have walked with his students. Presi-dent Gareld may have thought the ideal education wasWilliams College President Mark Hopkins on one endo a log and a student at the other. But thats old newsor current campus chies. Tey seek instruction on theregimental and regimented scale. Yes, thats it, admittedthe president o the shocked campus. Why else wouldwe be letting classrooms go to seed, canceling classes,reusing to replace tenured retirees and goosing-up stu-dent/aculty ratios to as much as 27:1 in Social Sciencesand Interdisciplinary Studies?

Campus managers acknowledge a little may be lost

in transition. Like classroom dialogue. Student interac-tion. Writing assignments. Faculty attention to individ-

ual students. enured aculty themselves. Tats tough,they add, but look what you get in return: huge gradua-tion rates at minimal costs. Te university can become adiploma mill. Like the neutron bomb, WMIs will destroyminds but leave property intact.

Tis highlights the real novelty o the new devices.Mass reers to not only theirmeans but to their end. For acentury American higher educa-tion thinkers grappled with theproblem o how an institutiondesigned or elites could bereshaped to serve the citizenryat large. How could the ruits oa liberal educationthe grasp ohistory and context, critical cast

o mind, broadened horizons and preparation or publicliebe imparted to the general population?Now CSU administrators have resolved the prob-

lem, by dismissing it. Te point o the devices o massinstruction is no longer to prepare people to be memberso an inormed public but to ease them into lie in masssociety. Tats why new campus leaders preer one-wayinstruction to interactive education, and transmission tocommunication.

Te point is not to help students see the big picture,but to know their niche, not to question conventionalwisdom, but to accept it, not to judge the authoritiesbut be manipulated by them. Tese days, the authors oWhat Business Wants rom Higher Education (1998) cau-tion, the development o intellectual autonomy may

work against developing the skills (o exibility andteamwork) employers are seeking. Te point, in short, isnot to develop citizens but to prepare subjects.

Were at the cutting edge, boasted a CSUS ofcialwho asked not to be identied. A lot o olks in the Edu-cation Industry have antasized about WMIs, but only atSac State, the Baghdaddy o all campuses, are we actuallyready to detonate them.

Je Lustig is a proessor o government at CSU Sacra-mento.. Tis article frst appeared in Te Stinger: www.csusresistance.org/stinger/stinger_march_2007.pdf.

By Kevin Wehr

F

aculty have overwhelmingly voted no condencein CSU Sacramento President Alexander Gonza-

lez. Aprils reerendum on him expressed outrageand dismay over his misplaced priorities, gaining thesupport o 78% o aculty who voted.

CSUS aculty and studentshave been outraged by manyo the presidents actions overthe last three years. But hiscolossal mismanagement othe school budget tops the list.Te core problem is increasedhealth and benet costs asso-ciated with salaries, whichhave gone up or every CSUcampus. But Sacramento is theonly campus that managed toproduce a towering $6.5 mil-lion decit. In the ace o this

budgetary mess, the president transerred $1.4 millionrom instructionthe core mission o the universitytoother, non-academic divisions.

But the budget issue is only the tip o the iceberg.Te president has damaged instruction, ignored sharedgovernance, and undermined the mission o publiceducation:

He supported raising student ees which reducesaccessibility to the university.

He reduced class oerings and increased classsizes, thus delaying student progress toward graduationand increasing the workload o instructors.

He built administrative and athletic buildings, butno new classroom buildings.

He removed the chickens, our beloved unofcialmascot rom campus.

He changed the universitys name against the

expressed will o students and aculty.

He gutted the Multicultural Center and programsor less-prepared students. Under Gonzalez graduation rates have gone

downnow only 44% o stu-dents graduate in eight years,with even lower rates or stu-dents o color.

Trough all this he took anastronomical raise. And his sonwas hired at a salary higher thanmost aculty earn.

Tis is a partial list thatshows the sources o theacultys lack o condence. Tepresidents actions amount toan overall program o privatiza-tion and corporatization that

degrades the quality o instruction and dismantles publiceducation.

But where do we go rom here? Past universitypresidents who lost the condence o aculty have usu-ally resigned, but the reerendum cannot require this andGonzalez has indicated that he will not leave. As well asexpressing no condence, the reerendum oers a road-map or reconciliation by directing the Faculty Senate toidentiy specic actions that the president must take torestore the quality o the instructional program and theacultys condence in his leadership. Perhaps the acul-ty and administration can work towards restoring brokenbonds o trust, but the April vote makes it clear that it isGonzalez who must make the major accommodations.

Kevin Wehr is an assistant professor of sociology at

CSUS.

Under Gonzalez

graduation rates have

gone downnow

only 44% o students

graduate in eight years,

with even lower rates or

students o color.

CSUS President Gonzalez LosesConfdence Vote

Like the neutron bomb,

WMIs will destroy minds

but leave property

intact.

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Fill out and return the orm

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WMIs Found!CSUS faculty and students at-risk

8/14/2019 2007 May June

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8/14/2019 2007 May June

11/16

www.bpmnews.orgMay / June 007 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 11

Media ClippedSeth Sandronsky

Time Tested Booksis now buying

Political posters, handbills & pamphlets

Books on history, labor, & politcs

Records of blues, jazz, rock, punk, world, R&B, & spoken word.

And, of course, we are selling books & records, too!

We are located at 1114 21st Street, Sacramento.

Our hours are 11 5:30 M-Sat. (but please call for appt. if selling).

916-447-5696.

www.timetestedbooks.com

Whitening in the US

wo amous examples o immigrants targetedby such racial bigotry were the executed Italianradicals, Bartolomeo Vanzetti and Nicola Sacco.Some racists o the time slurred them as beingnot-quite-white. Tis racial language had simi-larities to popular descriptions o longtime blackresidents o the US, generations removed romtheir ancestors orced migration rom Arica.

Te books strength is its close attention tonational and racial identities within the class-structured society o the US. Roediger writes:Te ways in which capital structured workplaces

and labor markets contributed to the ideas thatcompetition would be cutthroat and should beracialized. Capitalism, racism and sexism areintertwined, and are reinorced with state back-ing. Tis nexus empowered central and easternEuropean immigrants white-skin privilege. Statepolicy helped them to see and use this as a ticketto private property, a point that Roediger takespains to explain.

Te Immigration Act o 1924 and Deporta-tion Act o 1929 were milestones that divided theUS working class. Tese bills ortied whites-only housing segregation patterns, but only withthe consent o second-generation immigrants.Here are the roots o FDRs New Deal o racial-ized white nationalism in the 1930s and 1940s,according to Roediger. His narrative o the New

Deal runs counter to those who depict it as a

high water mark o US democracy. Tat stanceignores or minimizes the gendered and racializedroots o FDRs legislation. A case in point is thebarring o domestic and arm workers, mainlybrown and black people, rom coverage by theSocial Security Act o 1935. Later, the GI Billthat made a college education available to vemillion veterans o the Second World War largelyexcluded returning Arican American soldiers.

Working oward Whiteness builds onRoedigers groundbreaking scholarship in HistoryAgainst Misery(2005), Colored White: ranscend-

ing the Racial Past(2002), owards the Abolitiono Whiteness (1994) and his classic workTeWages o Whiteness (1991). People o all agesand backgrounds inside and outside US bordersshould read Working oward Whiteness or thelight it casts on the conicted and conictingpaths (not) taken at critical junctures in thedevelopment o the American nation.

Te material in this compelling book canhelp to inorm a new generation o political activ-ism, part o an emerging US mass movement orsocial justice. Now, as a century ago, immigrantsplay a pivotal part. Te May Day 2007 rallies orimmigrant rights across the country are a currentexample o that.

Seth Sandronsky is a co-editor ofBecause

People Matter.

I

being white in America is normal thenwhat about everybody else?Beore the mass murders at

Virginia ech in April, there wasa Salt Lake City shopping mallshooting spree. A woman employ-ee at the shopping mallwherea young gunman maimed andmurdered people this February12said he appeared to be anaverage Joe, the Associated Pressreported the next day. Once again we saw thewhite-as-normative syndrome as pervasive inAmerican lie. Inevitably, it seems, whites areshocked to witness insane, homicidal behaviorby people who look like them, while appearing toanticipate in advance, anti-social conduct romnon-whites.

Yes, daily journalism is the rst dra o his-

tory. Yet the employees description o the gun-man raises a question.Tat is, what are the meanings o average

in the USA? One unstated meaning, I maintain,is that average is a person with white skin. Tisdescription t the Utah killer, an immigrant teenrom Bosnia, who was shot dead.

His status as a white person upon arrivalin the US rom his war-torn country was likelynever in doubt. Tis is hardly a new trend nation-wide. For perceptive analysis on the roots o thisEuropean racial ormation upon arrival in theUS between 1890 and 1945, see historian David

R. Roedigers Working owardWhiteness: How Americas

Immigrants Became White:Te Strange Journey rom EllisIsland to the Suburbs (BasicBooks, 2005).

In the book, he helps read-ers to understand how the ideao whiteness developed in thecontext o white supremacy or

those newly arrived rom eastern and southernEurope and, later, their children. Contrast theexperiences o those European immigrants andtheir kids to the current era o non-white immi-grants eeing armed conicts ueled by capitalistimperialism in their homelands (Arica, theCaribbean and Latin America). Te latter peopledo not whiten when they come to the US, as best

I can determine. Tus, in the sense o the quoteattributed to the witness during the Utah mallshootings, average probably does not meanan Asian, black or brown person. Tis is racialinsanity and a taboo topic nationwide and inSacramento.

Tereore, I suggest that a misperceptiono white skin as being average is embedded in adescription o the homicidal male teen. Now letus back up a bit and look at the social contexto the Utah bloodletting. Tis tragic event tookplace as the US work orce is becoming increas-ingly emale and non-white.

Working oward Whiteness continued from p. 10

The US has a

culture whichnormalizes

whiteness as

a standard.

For example, the civilian labor orce par-ticipation o black women age 20 and older rose

rom 51.5% in 1954 to 64.7% percent in 2006,according to data rom the Labor Dept. It isimportant to note that the labor orce participa-tion o white women age 20 and up was 32.8%in 1954 and nearly doubled to 60.1% in 2006.Te trend o larger numbers o women workersemployed or wages ows rom capitalisms con-stant drive to increase labor productivity. Tatis, workers using machinery and technology toproduce more and cheaper goods and servicesor sale in the marketplace. Tere has been and isno other social system like capitalist production.Tis system, which constantly changes the waypeople live and work, can be a bit hard to see inthe US, the most market-based society in history.

Tus in the worlds third most populous

nation, non-white emales are average in thesense o their class roles as producers and con-sumers that mirror millions o white males. othis end, a grass-roots discussion o what con-stitutes an average American could help to raisepeoples political consciousness about their actualplaces in society. In other words, the Utah trag-edy could provide an opportunity or people wholive in the US to better see who they really are.

Sight unseen is sight not thought.

Seth Sandronsky is a co-editor ofBecausePeople Matter.

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1 Because People Matter May / June 007 www.bpmnews.org

Cofee rom

Nicaragua

Support Sacramentossister city, San Juan deOriente, Nicaragua,by purchasing organicwhole bean coeegrown in the richvolcanic soil on theisland o Omotepe,Nicaragua.Thanks to the eorts othe Bainbridge-OmotepeSister Island Associationin Washington, we areable to bring you this

wonderul medium roastcoee.Your purchase helps thearmers on the islandand helps supportSacramentos longrelationship with SanJuan de Oriente.All profts go directlyback to the Nicaraguancommunities.$9.00 a pound.Available in Sacramentoat: The Book Collector,1008 24th St.

SacramentoSoapboxProgressive Talk ShowAccess Sacramento,Channel 17with Jeanie Keltner &Ken Adams.Monday, 8pm, Tuesdaynoon, Wednesday, 4am.Now in Davis, Channel15, Tuesday, 7pm.

By Dan Bacher

A

er lunching with amily and support-ers, Cathy Webster o Chico entered theRio Cosumnes Correctional Center on

March 21. She had been sentenced to 60 days ora simple trespassing charge at last Novembersprotest at the USArmys School o theAmericas in Fort Ben-ning, Georgia.

Webster huggedher daughter, Stephaniearrago, and grand-children, Alicia andAlejandro, beore twoSacramento Countysheri s deputiesescorted the Chicoresident into jail.Meanwhile, supporters such as Grandmothers or

Peace and other peace advocates, sang Tis Lit-tle Light o Mine, and Down by the Riverside.Webster had trespassed on the US Army

school to protest the military teaching o LatinAmerican soldiers. In the same spirit as the UScivil rights movement, she used non-violent civildisobedience to spotlight the schools teachings,

Chico Grandmother JailedProtested US training of Latin American soldiers

As a prisoner o

conscience, I am

in good company,

stretching back

centuries. Cathy

Webster, age 62.

Cathy Webster hugs and kisses her granddaughter, Alicia Tarrago,minutes beore reporting to the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Facilityor her 60 day sentence or trespassing at the School o theAmericas in Fort Benning, Georgia.Photo Dan Bacher.

Cathy Webster and her daughter, Stephanie Tarrago, at the RioCosumnes Correctional Center beore being taken behind bars bySacramento County Sherifs Deputies.Photo by Dan Bacher

renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute orSecurity Cooperation (WHINSEC) in 2000.Webster had participated in the annual protestand vigil along with 22,000 others.

Te Latin American soldiers trained atthe SOA are not deending their countries, she

said. Tey return home to killand torture their own people.Te graduates o this school areamong the worst human rightsviolators in Latin America.

Te short-term goal o heraction and o organizationsaround the country is to educatethe American people about theArmy school. It is known asthe School o the Assassinsthroughout Latin America. Teprotesters long-term goal is to

pressure Congress to pass legislation to de-und

the school and close it permanently. A vote orthat in Congress is expected in May.I stepped onto military property with other

protestors and was arrested or trespassing, Web-ster said. I was ully aware o that when I walkedonto military property.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) introduced HR

1707 on March 27 with 72 original co-sponsors.Tis new legislation would suspend operations atthe SOA/ WHINSEC and investigate torture andhuman rights abuses associated with the school.

Webster went to jail on the eve o the con-gressional vote or a supplemental unding bill tocontinue the Iraq war and occupation. We needto cut the unds so we can stop a war that hasbeen waged without any just cause, she added.

Te 62-year-old grandmother was one o sixactivists incarcerated throughout the country onMarch 21. Tis was the rst time she had everbeen jailed.

I eel no anxiety, other than leaving myamily behind, nor shame, she said. I do eelresolute in calling peoples attention to what ourtaxes are paying or, and thus what we as a nationare participating in. As a prisoner o conscience,I am in good company, stretching back centuries.

For more inormation about eorts to

close SOA/WHINSEC, go to the School othe Americas Watch Web site at www.soaw.org or the 1000 Grandmothers Web site atwww.1000grandmothers.net.

Dan Bacher is a writer, alternative journalist

and satirical songwriter in Sacramento.

Air America Gone!By Michael Stavros

At a time when our democracy is in seriousjeopardy partly because our media has ailedus, KCC radio (1320 AM) tried to justiy theirdecision to remove Air America, Sacramentosle channel, by saying how much the city needsa second all-sports channel.

But the reality is that the tremendouslypopular Air America was lling a much neededservice o providing political discussion and

expressing viewpoints that have been kept out o

the rest o the mainstream media.I wanted to know what and who was behind

this change, so I called Te Bee to ask one o theirinvestigative reporters to, you know, investigate.Tey pointed me to an article by Joe Davidson,Bee sta writer.

According to Joe, KCC ditched Air Ameri-ca to go with continuous ESPN sports program-ming because: In short, there are more ans ole-handed pitchers and passers than there are ole-leaning politics.

Where did Joe get his inormation, and on

what does he base his opinion? Based on theresults o the November election, I dont think Joeis corrector at least I hope hes not.

I Joe is, what a sad state o aairs we are in,sharing our ate with an apathetic populace dur-ing this time o war, death, loss o our rights andeconomic squeeze.

Hows your health insurance? Filled yourtank lately? Been to the Middle East lately? Howbout them Jayhawks?

Michael Stavros is a Sacramento writer.

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www.bpmnews.orgMay / June 007 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 1

By Brigitte Jaensch

On June 5, 2007, Palestinians will begintheir 41st year under what United Statesambassador emeritus Ed Peck called

a savage occupation by Israel. He spoke atMcGeorge Law School this February.

Every day Palestinianmothers in the Israeli-occu-pied territories wonder:Can I eed my childrentoday? I I bathe the kids,will we have enough waterto drink? What will happento the children at the Israeli

checkpoint between hereand school? Will the sol-diers invade and ravage ourhome? Will Israeli bombs orrockets or bullets kill some-one in our amily today?

Israel controls every aspect o lie or 4 mil-lion Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the WestBank, and the Gaza Strip. In addition to theoccupation, Israel has also imposed an embargoor over a year. Almost 2 million innocent Pales-tinians (80% o the total population), includingchildren, are hungry, the United Nations reports.

Te West Bank is a closed Israeli militaryzone. Israels apartheid walls enclose Palestin-ian towns and villages. For the Bethlehem areas170,000 residents, there are three gates. Smaller

towns like Qalquilya have one gate. Gate meanscheckpoint, which the Israeli soldiers lock shut.Te West Bank, cut up by ences and walls intodetached towns and villages, is sealed tight!

A new restriction makes it illegal or a WestBank Palestinian to ride in a vehicle that hasIsraeli license plates unless each passenger anddriver has a special permit or that particularjourney (issued by the Israeli authorities). Tepenalty or violation? Te Palestinian rider getsve years in prison; the drivers vehicle getsconscated. Emergency ride to the hospital? TeIsraelis ouled up the paperwork? No exceptions.Rider and driver are guilty. Complaints can onlybe led in person at Israeli police stations insideillegal Israeli settlements throughout the West

Banko-limits to Palestinians.Fences and walls around the Gaza Stripimprison 1.5 million innocent Palestinians. Itsve checkpoints are locked down up to 80% othe time. Gaza is sealed tight!

On the ground there are Israeli soldiers intanks, Humvees and watchtowers. Overhead,there are Israeli war planes, ghter jets and attackhelicopters. Israeli gunboats are poised to strikealong Gazas coast.

Tree Families:Mohammed, 22, lives in Raah reugee

camp (Gaza Strip). For 12 years his ather wasimprisoned by the Israelis. No charge. Hisbrother, Hassan, 17, chatting with a riend out-side a neighbors house, was shot by an Israeli

sharpshooter. Te next day an Israeli bulldozerdestroyed the amilys home. o avoid beingcrushed inside the collapsing house, Moham-meds mother and sister had to jump romupstairs windows. Teir injuries required hospitaltreatment.

Ranim and her amily live in Bethlehem.Her ather, whose amily ed West Jerusalemduring the 1948 war in Palestine which createdthe state o Israel, has a Palestinian identicationcard (ID.) Her mother, whose East Jerusalemamily came under Israeli control when the 1967war brought East Jerusalem, the West Bank andthe Gaza Strip under Israeli occupation, hasan Israeli permit residence ID. Ranim and herbrothers, born in Bethlehem, have Palestinian

IDs. Ranims mother (Israeli ID) used to be able

to visit her parents and her sister in Jerusalem.Ranim, her ather, and brothers (Palestinian IDs)could not.

An Israeli wall surrounds Bethlehem now.Another Israeli wall cuts o Jerusalem rom theWest Bank. Ranims mothers ID isnt valid in

places where Ranims andher athers and brothersIDs are valid. And theirsarent valid in places wherethe mothers ID is valid. WillRanims mother be able to getan ID which lets her stay inBethlehem with her husband

and children? Would thatID mean no more visits withparents and sister? Israeldecides.

Anita and Ghassanmarried 28 years ago while he

was a student in her country o Switzerland. Teyhave lived in Ramallah in the West Bank or thelast 12 years. Ghassan has a Palestinian ID. Anita,who is Swiss, has a visitors permit ID. Every 3months or the last 12 years shes gone to Jordanor Lebanon to get her permit renewed, but nowthe Israelis stamped it last permit. I Anita andGhassan want to continue to l ive together, willthey need to leave Ramallah? Tousands o Pales-tinians have amily members whose last permithas expired. Tis is just another way Israel is orc-

ing Palestinians out o the West Bank.For Palestinians every moment o lie is

dictated by the state o Israel. Te US governmentsupports Israels every i llegality.

O course, the 41-year occupation is only themost visible Israeli aggression. In 1948, the Israelimilitary expelled more than 750,000 Palestiniansrom their homes and land. Although the Pales-tinians have the legal right to return, or 59 yearsthe state o Israel has orcibly prevented themrom going home.

Brigitte Jaensch is a civil and human rightsadvocate.

Sacramento Area Peace Action

Peace Actionon the WebKeep up to dateon peace activismin Sacramento.Check outwww.sacpeace.org.

CapitolOutreach for a

Moratoriumon theDeath Penalty.

Third Mondays,11:30am to 1:30pm.

L Street at 11th.

We bring petitions,literature and banners.You bring yourselves.

Cae nearby or coeeater the vigil.

INFO: 447-7754

Sacamen Aea Peace Acin is an all-vlunee ganizain a

wks educae and mbilize e public pme a nn-ineven-

inis and nn-nuclea US feign plic and pme peace ug

inenainal and dmesic ecnmic, scial, and pliical jusice. Jin us!

Send your check to: srmn ar p ain (sapa) 909 12h sr, #118, srmn,ca 95814. or ll u! 448-7157, -mil: y@j.n, b: ..rg

JOIN SACRAMENTO AREA PEACE ACTIONAnnual dues are $30/individual; $52/amily; $15/low income.

Name:________________________________________________________

Address: ______________________________________________________

City _______________________________________ Zip _______________

Phone: __________________________

E-mail: __________________________

____Here is my additional contribution o $_______.

____Please send me the newsletter only, $10/yr.

Resources on Palestine:

Institute or Middle East Understanding:www.imeu.net.

Washington Report on Middle East Aairs:www.wrmea.com.

Raah oday: www.rafahtoday.org.National Council o Arab Americans: www.arab-american.net.

Israel controls

every aspect o

lie or 4 million

Palestinians in

East Jerusalem,

the West Bank and

the Gaza Strip.

Book ReviewsReviewed by Maggie Coulter

The Other Side o Israel by Susan

Nathan (Doubleday, 2005, 336

pages).

Nathans moving and superbly written narra-tive richly describes lie or the approximately 1.2

million indigenous Palestinians who live insideIsrael. Tough they are legally Israeli citizens,Palestinians are subjected to apartheid-type lawswhich restrict their ability to own land or hous-ing, move, hold employment, get good educationand health care, and manage their daily lives.

Born in Britain to Jewish parents, Nathansather was an immigrant rom South Arica,where his amily had gone to escape pogroms(attacks) in Lithuania. She immigrated to Israelin 1999 under Israeli law which allows anyonewho was born into or converted to Judaism tolive in Israel. Nathan, who experienced prejudiceagainst Jews in Britain and witnessed discrimina-tion against non-whites while living in SouthArica, writes poignantly o the mistreatment oPalestinians by the state o Israel.

Nathan, who spoke at UC Davis last all, nowlives as part o an Arab amily, the only Jew in theArab town o amra. Her book is a must-read toully understand lie under Israeli theocracy.

One Country: A Bold Proposal to End

the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse by

Ali Abunimah (Metropolitan Books,

2006, 227 pages).In his book, Palestinian-American Abun-

imah, co-creator and editor o the ElectricIntiada (www.electronicintifada.net), startswith a historical overview to the current situa-tion in Israel-Palestine. He then oers a SouthArica-like solution: that all o historic Palestine

becomes a democratic secular state that does notdiscriminate against any o its inhabitants. Real-istic but hopeul, Abunimah discusses possiblevisions or the new one country, a way to osterhealing through equality and multi-culturalvibrancy. One country is an idea whose time hascome.

Maggie Coulter is board president of Sacra-mento Area Peace Action.

Palestinians: 41 Years

Under Israeli Occupation

Handele, at let,was createdby Palestinian artist Najial-Ali about 20 years ago.This eternally-10-year-oldPalestinian reugee child

symbolizes Palestinianreugees o every age.

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1 Because People Matter May / June 007 www.bpmnews.org

By Mary Bisharat

Middle East milestones are worth not-ing. Last April, the London Review oBooks published Te Israel Lobby

by two respected academics, John Mearsheimer

and Steven Wald. In 80 pages (hal are notes andsources), they point out the painully obviousthat there is a pro-Israel lobby in US politics.Te American Israel PublicAairs Committee (AIPAC)leads this Lobby.

Mearsheimer and Waldbegan a national discussion.It is well worth having ormany reasons. Recall theLobby was overwhelminglyin avor o starting the USwar against Iraq. Further,the Lobby is now urging a US attack on Iran.

And then there is a milestone concerning theLobby and the conict between Israel and Pales-

tine. Consider ormer President Jimmy Cartersbook, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid(Simon &Schuster, November 2006). A Nobel Prize winner,he came under swi attack or using the wordapartheid to describe Israels military occupa-tion o Palestines West Bank. On his book tourCarter was berated and rudely handled by PBSJudy Woodru, and NPRs erry Gross. Te NYimes ran a ull-page attack ad against him. ButCarter kept his cool and stood his ground. Hehad broken the taboo on using the a word inrelation to Israels illegal settlements on Palestin-ian land.

Reading Carters book, I rst wonderedwhat the uss was about. It read like a personaltravelogue with maps. Such may not be the caseor other readers. In speaking to the Jewish

community, Carter said he chose the books titleknowing it would be provocative, but would inthe long run generate positive discussion. Andhis book has.

Carter conronts the act that Israeli lead-ers have carried on a series o unilateral actionswhich put conscating land ahead o makingpeace. Te nal chapter, Te Wall as a Prison,lays out the grim truth that Palestinians are sur-rounded by Israels apartheid wall which snakesthrough Palestinian territory, stealing privately-owned armland and controlling the chie aquier.It is important to note a landmark 14-1 vote othe International Court o Justice in Te Haguethat the wall violated international law. Te votegave hope to Palestinians. Carter writes: Peace

will come to Israel and the Middle East onlywhen the Israeli government is willing to complywith international law.

However, he also maintains that Jewish andnon-Jewish citizens get equal treatment underIsraeli law. Tis is untrue.

Israel has two sets o laws. One law is orJewish citizens. Te other law is or non-Jew-ish citizens. Tey are Palestinian Christian andMoslem, about 20% o the population. Israelalso has a Law o Return that allows a Jew romanywhere in the world to become a citizen. Bycontrast, Israel prevents Palestinians living out-side Israel rom returning to their stolen homesand properties.

Carters orthright statements have helpedto break the taboo o talking about the inuence

o the Lobby, a loose collection o several dozenAmerican Jewish organizations. Te Lobbysmost prominent groups are the American JewishCommittee and the Anti-Deamation League,organized as AIPAC.

AIPACs policy conerence this March drew6,000 activists to Washington, DC. Tey heardHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D), John Boehner,minority whip (R), Senator Harry Reid, majorityleader (D), plus Sen. Mitch McConnell, minoritywhip (R). GOP Vice President Richard Cheneygave a talk titled Te United States and Israel:United We Stand. Several top presidential candi-dates held receptions.

Closer to home, AIPAC also has roots.AIPAC paid or the late Democratic Congress-

man Robert Matsui and Doris, his wie who

succeeded him in ofce in March 2005, to visitIsrael in 1981. Rabbi Mona Al at BNai Israel onRiverside Blvd. was a oreign policy analyst orAIPAC. Mort Friedman is a Sacramento lawyerand national board member o AIPAC. State

assemblymember Dave Jones (D) and state sena-tor Darrell Steinberg (D), who represent Sacra-mento constituents, attended AIPACs luncheon

at the Radisson Hotel thispast winter.

Despite the power andreach o AIPAC, the Lobbyseorts to shape US publicopinion in avor o Israelspolicies have not succeeded.In December 2006, a UnitedPress/Zogby poll o 6,296Americans ound that 59%

believed it was very important to resolve theIsraeli-Palestinian dispute. A clear majority orespondents, 56%, believed that President Bush

should choose the middle ground, or be even-handed toward both sides. A big majority, 79%,told the pollsters that Palestinians should enjoyequal rights with Israelis. And 64% avored a ullyindependent state or Palestinians.

Surprising results? Perhaps we should not besurprised. Te US public by wide margins is outin ront o its politicians and government. Tis isso in spite o the Lobbys attempts to mute politi-cal discussion about Palesti