2009 Mar Apr

Because People Matter Progressive News and Views March / April 2009

Inside this issue:Editorial .................................................... 2Endangered Species Act in Danger! ......... 3Budget Cuts and Me ................................. 4Furlough Fridays ...................................... 4Language Academy of Sacramento ........... 5Letter to Obama (Media Policy) ............... 5Sanctuary City .......................................... 6High School Poetry Contest ...................... 7Poem: The 44 ............................................. 7Roe v Wade................................................ 7Reproductive Freedom Day ....................... 7Photo Essay: Faces of Women ................8-9Sacramento Area Peace Action: Tax Day Actions .................................................... 10Gaza: A Very Public Lynching ............... 11How Women Got the Vote ....................... 12 Blacks Scapegoated for Prop 8 ................ 12Preparing for a Progressive Era .............. 13International Human Rights Laws ......... 14Calendar .................................................. 15Progressive Media ................................... 16

By Rick Bettis“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned

to repeat it.”—George Santayana, Life of Reason

This is not always true; however a serious reading of history provides many examples of this cogent insight. Sacramento Mayor Johnson pushed an

initiative that would amend the city charter to change Sacramento from a Council-Manager to a Mayor-Coun-cil or “strong mayor” system of governance. This “strong” mayor would have extraordinary powers, including the authority to veto actions of the city council, control the city budget, and hire and fire city employees.

Sacramento did have a “strong mayor” system between 1894 and 1912. Based on a reading of newspaper archives

and other historical papers it appears that this period of time was plagued by alleged cronyism, abuses of power and controversy. In both news articles and editorials, the Sacramento Bee referred to one prominent mayor of the period as “Boss Beard’ in the same vein as “Boss Tweed,” the famously corrupt leader of Tammany Hall in New York. The Bee and its crusading publisher and editor, C. K. McClatchy strongly supported the progressive reform

movement and decried Sacramento’s own version of a political machine.

This time frame was the beginning of the Pro-gressive Reform Movement led in California by Governor Hiram Johnson. Much of the impetus for this movement in California came from the inordinate control over California politics and government by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), as has been described in such noteworthy books as The Octopus, The Big Four, and recently The Associates. This influence and control also applied to Sacramento City government where the SP was the largest employee in the city, which some considered to be nearly a “company town.” The SP provided employee housing, a company store and operated their own hospital.

Alleged practices included pledges of political support in exchange for jobs, behind-the-scenes land and other business deals, and the wholesale use of railroad workers as campaign “volunteers,” including many brought in from out of town. They rounded up voters from downtown saloons, which numbered approximately four in each city block.

In addition to the SP, the mayor was closely allied with other business interests. Being a board member or employee of the Chamber of Commerce was essentially a prerequisite to holding public office. There also existed a revolving door between leadership in the Chamber and the city.

In 1912, following 18 turbulent years, the city adopted a new charter consisting of five elected commissioners, each responsible for different city services and opera-tions. This system proved to be ineffective, probably due to infighting or turf wars among the commissioners. In 1921 the system consisting of nine elected council members, one of which would be the mayor along with a professional city manager was adopted. This system has been altered, first in the 1970’s with the councilmembers being elected by geographic districts instead of at large

By Cres Velucci

In what may well be Sacramento’s biggest challenge to true representative democracy in a century, social justice, labor and other community groups banded

together to stop Mayor Kevin Johnson’s drive to change the city charter and create a so-called strong “Boss” mayor.

The proposed ballot measure is dangerous and a “blatant power grab that could lead to city cor-ruption,” said representatives of Stop the Power Grab. The Sac-ramento City Council also has concerns, deciding in February to form a city charter commis-sion to create its own charter initiative, and possibly counter Johnson’s ballot measure.

Professors, political watchdog groups and community activists, including former Sacramento mayor Anne Rudin, spoke to the city council and stressed the need for public input before a charter change goes to voters. The city attorney released a report suggesting Johnson’s “strong mayor” initiative includes more power for the mayor than virtually any other city with a similar system. It also creates an “imbalance of powers, lacks important checks and balances, and blurs the lines of authority and accountability.”

“Every day people in this city are discovering more and more things that are wrong with this proposal. In addition to taking away power from the people, this pro-posal is going to cost a lot of money,” said Joan Bryant, co-chair of the Stop the Power Grab coalition.

“If passed, Sacramento will be a city with one mayor who will have two votes. Instead of appointing five political positions, the mayor will have over 500 political appointments. Instead of our voice being heard by the mayor, the mayor will never be required to hear from or be accessible to the public,” said Bryant.

According to former mayor Rudin, corruption and cronyism are why Sacramento reformed its charter dur-ing the last century. “Boss Mayor” systems don’t have a good history in California. “There is a reason the charter was changed to our current system…it was to get rid of cronyism. Mayor Johnson has not given the [current] system a chance to work. I accomplished everything I

wanted to do in my terms as mayor using the [current] system,” said Rudin.

This comment was echoed by Professor Chet Newland of the University of Southern California School of Public

Administration, who said, “While we still need leaders, a Boss Mayor system does not encourage local stars [indi-vidual members of the City Council] as much as a shared mayor system would.”

Still others have said they have, at the very least, concerns about how the mayor’s initia-tive was written, without input from the community and the

city council.“We strongly agree that a community-driven process

is desirable [and] all ideas are examined. We believe that checks and balances are necessary,” said JoAnn Fuller, associate director of California Common Cause.

Although Johnson in early February announced a hold on the initiative—paid for by big corporate special inter-ests, according to campaign finance reports—to establish a “strong mayor” system, the Coalition is not relaxing and asks citizens to work together to stop the initiative.

While not widely publicized, Johnson’s effort failed to gather enough valid signatures to make the ballot. A claim of collecting 37,000 signatures, if true, is about 10,000 short of what is typically necessary to garner the 32,000 valid signatures to qualify. Usually proponents of ballot measures shoot for 50 percent more than actually required because many signatures are disqualified.

“The mayor’s decision to put this initiative on hold validates what this grassroots coalition has been saying all along, that there are more important issues the city needs to address at this time…we continue to express our strong opposition to this power grab. We encourage the mayor to abandon his current proposal and instead work with us and the community to approach this issue in a more transparent and open manner,” said Bryant.

Groups are encouraged to sign a petition opposing the initiative, and to help mobilize against it, at www.stopthepowergrab.com.

Cres Veluci is active in the Green Party of Sacramento.

Strong Mayor or Political Boss: Can Sacramento learn from history?

Stop the Power GrabGroups fight mayor’s plan to take power from people

The city attorney released a report suggesting Johnson’s “strong mayor” initiative includes more power for the mayor than virtually any other city with a similar system.

A January 16 press conference featured former mayor Anne Rudin, left, with Joan Bryant, spokesperson for the coalition “Stop the Power Grab.”Photo: Bill Lackemacher

See Boss Mayor, page 3

2 Because People Matter March / April 2009 www.bpmnews.org

Editorial Page

On the coverThe January 16 press confer-ence to oppose Mayor Kevin Johnson’s “strong mayor” initia-tive. Former mayor Anne Rudin, left, shares the podium with Joan Bryant, spokesperson for the coalition “Stop the Power Grab.”

Photo: Bill Lackemacher

JoAnn Fuller, Coordinating Editor for this issue

By Jeanie KeltnerNothing is truer than the old saw, Freedom of the press belongs to the

person who owns one. And while many progressive views are supported by a majority of people in this country, you‘d never know it from the corporate for-profit press. So it’s really quite wonderful for a community to have its own paper. Especially when people in that community have news and views they’d like to share. Independent papers widen and deepen the information stream. That’s crucial in a democracy—especially in crisis times like these.

So it’s been a matter of deep satisfaction and also pride–as well as lots of FUN!—to have been associated with BPM. For some of us in the old guard it’s been fifteen years!

It’s time now for a shift—not a change in aim or orientation—but time for new hands and minds and hearts to add new energies to the process of producing BPM—a process which of course has already changed more than once in this decade and a half.

BPM has had wonderful support from all quarters. It has been the sort of project that has seemed to call to itself what it needed at any given time. As one talent would leave, another would almost magically show up. It’s been

People MatterVolume 18, Number 2 Published Bi-Monthly by theSacramento Community for Peace & JusticeP.O. Box 162998, Sacramento, CA 95816(Use addresses below for correspondence)Editorial Group: Jacqueline Diaz, JoAnn Fuller, Jeanie Keltner, Roger WhiteCoordinating Editor for this Issue: JoAnn FullerDesign and Layout: Ellen SchwartzCalendar Editor:

Chris BondAdvertising and Business Manager: Edwina WhiteDistribution Manager: Paulette CuillaSubscription Manager: Gordon Kennedy

HOW TO REACH US:Subscriptions, letters, punditry:

403 21st Street

Sacramento, CA 95814

444-3203

Ads or other business:

446-2844

All e-mail correspondence:

[email protected]

HAVE A CALENDAR ITEM?Send an e-mail with “calendar item” in the subject line. Make it short, and in this order, please: Day, Date. Name of event. Description (1–2 lines). Time. Location. INFO: phone#; e-mail.

HAVE A STORY?We start planning the next issue of BPM the day the current issue hits the streets. Let us know by e-mail as soon as you have an idea for a story so we can consider it early in the process.

HAVE SOME TIME?(HA HA HA!) Well, you might have, and BPM always needs help with big and small tasks. Call 444-3203.

COPY DEADLINES:For the May/June 2009 Issue:Articles: Please tell us about your article by March 20; article must be received by April. 1, 2009.Calendar Items: April 10, 2009Cultural events welcome!For details, see our website, www.bpmnews.org

BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER is an all-volunteer endeavor to present alternative, progressive news and views in Sacramento. We invite and welcome your re-sponses. To discuss a proposed article, or help distribute the paper, inquire about ad rates, or help out in some other way, call or write using the phone number and address listed un-der ”How to Reach Us” above.Please reproduce from any of the written contents, but do credit the author and BPM.Printed at Herald Printing by Graphics Communication Union DC2 pressmen.

because

quite astonishing and a sign, I think, that the paper fills a real need. That’s why, as a few of us move outside the active circle that makes BPM happen, I feel confident that new and substantial volunteer energies will present themselves so that BPM can continue and grow.

Indeed, even as I write, there are already some new arrivals on the edito-rial scene, joining with BPM veterans to make a meaningful paper. But they need help. Substantial volunteer energies are needed—five or so people need to come forward—to join the editorial board, to track finances, to coordinate volunteers, to help with stands.

The tasks are not huge or onerous. A clear working framework exists to plug into. We just need a few people who want to see a strong and healthy community paper and who can and want to commit to being part of the core group.

Are you one of them? Do you want to give it a try?Contact [email protected] come to the meeting on Wednesday, April 8 (see

editorial, above)

In this issue of BPM you will find our usual unusual assortment of local, state and interna-tional news and views. What BPM publishes is different from what you’ll find in other media. Where else would you hear about the Language Academy’s after-school programs or efforts to establish Sacramento as a sanctuary city? Where else do you read the passionate writings by advo-cates for the ignored, unseen and disregarded? What other media outlet reminds us of our radi-cal history or points the way to a more inclusive and democratic future? The stories in this issue

also remind us that rights are and can be with-held from large segments of the population. One of the joys of a free press, like BPM, is that it has the power to educate, alert and help us orga-nize. As editor for this issue, I hope the content makes you think, reach out for more information, and enables you to take action!

Our volunteer staff has been publishing BPM for more than 15 years. As has happened before, a few of the most dedicated supporters need to step back from leadership. This leaves openings for new distributors, writers, editors and party

planners. JoAnn Fuller, Coordinating Editor

Will you consider stepping up? If you would like to know more about BPM, who puts it together and how you might help, join us on Wednesday, April 8 at 7pm at 909 12th St. in the conference room.

BPM is calling for new hands, hearts, and minds

Sunshine Week is a national initiative to raise awareness about the importance of open govern-ment and freedom of information. Journalists, civic groups, libraries, schools and others inter-ested in the public’s right to know are promoting this nonpartisan effort to enlighten and empower individuals to play an active role in their govern-ment at all levels, and to give them access to information that makes their lives better and their communities stronger.

Sunshine Week originated from the work of several newspapers and is led by the American Society of Newspaper Editors to coincide with National Freedom of Information Day on March 16. www.sunshineweek.org, www.asne.org , www.nfoic.org, www.lwv.org On March 20, 10-11:30am, Access Sacramento, 4623 T St., will host a viewing of a webcast live panel discussion from the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC. on open govern-ment and secrecy, the impact on communities and what the public can do. Viewers will have an opportunity to call and email questions to the panelists. INFO: 916-443-1792 x11, or 456-8600, x112. (Local viewing is sponsored by Access Ssacramento, League of Women Voters, and Cali-fornia Common Cause.)

California’s Freedom of Information Laws include:Open meetings law: Brown Act: Gov’t Code §54950-54960.5www.thefirstamendment.org/Brown-Act-Brochure-DEC-03.pdfOpen Records law: California Public Records Act: Gov’t Code §6250-6268 www.thefirstamendment.org/ca-pra.html Legal protections to journalists: California Shield Lawwww.thefirstamendment.org/californi-ashieldlaw.pdf

Sunday, March 22, 2009 2 pm Film Tickets: $10; Students $5

Crest Theater at 1013 K Street, in downtown Sacramento

INFO: 456-8600 or 443-1792 x 11

Clear Channel neglects its emergency system, disaster strikes, and people die. Pentagon pundits profit from the same war they promote. Fox News gets a court rul-ing that news does not have to be true. And radio talkers rule.

Media Policy is killing people in this country. Literally. And it is harming our democracy, too. Corporate financed policymakers have stacked the media policy deck against We the People.

Until now. We the People are taking the media back.

Written, directed & produced by Emmy Award winner Sue Wilson Executive Producers, Earl Katz & Marcos Barron

www.facebook.com/pages/Broadcast-Blues/54133861902www.myspace.com/broadcastblueswww.broadcastblues.tv

Proceeds to benefit Access Sacramento, California Common Cause and Sacramento Media Group

Prescreening party with Filmmaker Sue Wilson

Noon–1:30 pm, $20Crest Café, next to theaterRSVP & Info: 456-8600

West Coast Premier: Broadcast BluesCrest Theater, 1013 K Street, Sacramento

Sunshine Week

March 15-21, 2009

www.bpmnews.org March / April 2009 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 3

Soapbox needs your helpYour business could be an underwriter

By Jeanie KeltnerDo you watch Soapbox?(Cable Ch 17, Mon-

days at 8pm)?Have you appreciated our interest in the things

you’re passionate about—NEVER covered by the corporate media?

Have you enjoyed our conversations with local activists and analysts about—among many other topics—media consolidation, war resistance, the death penalty, keeping the Internet free, peak oil, bikes, buses and light rail, the Black Panthers, vitamin D, and current politics from a truly left point of view?

(Even more, have you been on Soapbox talking about your issue?)

Then would you consider making a contri-bution to keep it on the screen? We have few expenses because everyone, almost, works only for Pieces’ heavenly pizza and undying glory.

But we want to cover Access membership fees—for the show itself and for the wonderful crew—as well as other small expenses.

Times are very hard to be sure but please, if you can, won’t you consider sending check, cash or money order to 403 21st St. Sacramento 95814, made out to me, Jeanie Keltner, since the show has no bank account.

If you’d like to discuss underwriting and some publicity for your business or group, please call me (916) 444 -3203.

We believe Soapbox serves the progressive community—and reaches the many people who don’t pick up BPM or tune in to Democracy Now—but who DO channel surf—and end up on Soapbox getting progressive info almost in spite of themselves!

Any gift of $30 or more will receive a set of ten postcard reproductions of original Keltner Paris

by Dan Bacher

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, campaign direc-tor of Restore the Delta, has issued an urgent action alert in response to the

introduction of legislation to temporarily sus-pend the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as it applies to the California Delta pumping facilities during times of drought.

Congressman George Radanovich (R-Mar-iposa) on February 4 introduced HR 856, the California Drought Alleviation Act, to bypass the ESA so exports of Delta water to corporate agri-business in the Central Valley can be increased during this period of drought, a drought that has been largely engineered by the draining of north-ern California reservoirs over the past two years by the state and federal governments.

The bill will also establish a Delta Smelt con-servation hatchery, a bad idea that was defeated in the State Legislature last year, due to opposi-tion by a coalition of environmental organiza-tions, fishing groups and Delta residents.

“By allowing the Delta Pumps to operate at increased capacity, the CDAA allows available water to flow to Valley farmers and provides a stimulus to the California economy without costing the taxpayer a dime,” Radanovich said in a statement announcing the introduction of the bi-partisan legislation. “We cannot allow California agriculture to wither and die because our precious resources are being hijacked by what amounts to economic eco-terrorism in the form of the ESA and the entities that support this damaging law.”

Radanovich cited a recent study by UC Davis Department of Agricultural & Resource Econom-ics and UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences claiming that under an expected 85% cut in Cen-tral Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP) deliveries from the Delta and a maximum of 50 percent increase in the 2005 regional

groundwater pumping, the Central Valley will lose 40,000 jobs. “To put that in perspective, that is more jobs than General Motors plans to elimi-nate by 2012,” according to Radanovich.

The CDAA would direct the Bureau of Recla-mation to operate the C.W. “Bill” Jones pumps at “increased capacity” during times of drought emergency, giving the state “much needed water reserves.”

In addition, Radanovich claimed the bill rec-ognizes the “need to protect” the diminishing population of the Delta smelt by directing the Secretary of the Interior to “work cooperatively” with the California Department of Fish and Game in developing a smelt conservation hatch-ery. “The goal of the conservation hatchery is to sustain the smelt population and determine the primary cause of its decline,” according to Radanovich.

However, Radanovich neglected to mention that the state and federal fishery biologists have pinpointed increased water exports, toxics and invasive species as the primary causes of the decline of delta smelt, longfin smelt, threadfin shad, striped bass and other species on the Delta.

Delta residents and environmental justice advocates noted that Radanovich also failed to mention the thousands of commercial and rec-reational fishing businesses devastated by fishing closures and draconian restrictions spurred by the collapse of Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations. This collapse is largely due to massive exports of water and declining water quality.

“Of course, Congressman Radanovich has for-gotten the economic eco-terrorism that has been inflicted on commercial fisheries, the Delta sport-fishing economy, and Delta agriculture as a result of years of excessive water exports to support Central Valley agribusiness,” countered Parrilla.

In a parallel development, the California

Department of Water Resources and US Bureau of Reclamation are trying to accomplish admin-istratively on the state level the same thing Radanovich is doing legislatively on the federal level—weaken Endangered Species Act restric-tions protecting Delta and longfin smelt under the guise of a “drought” emergency.

The State Water Resources Control Board recently issued notice of a public hearing to consider taking an emergency drought-related water rights action on “temporary relaxation of the February Delta Outflow and the San Joaquin River Flow Objectives in response to current dry conditions.”

How you can help? First, call the eight spon-sors of HR 856 to express your outrage at their disregard for the economic eco-interests of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Tell them that the business as usual regarding California water policy must end.

“Let them know that increased Delta exports in a time of drought will deal the final deathblow to Delta fisheries,” urged Parrilla. “Let them know that the Delta’s $2.5 billion economy is dependent on water flowing into the Delta for fisheries and Delta agriculture. Let them know that Delta farms are mainly family farmers also deserving of economic protection.”

Direct them to the Restore the Delta website (www.restorethedelta.org) and tell them that Regional Water Self-sufficiency, rather than mov-ing water from northern California to southern California, is the best way to meet California’s water needs. Tell them that they need to focus on breaking dependence on the Delta to meet the state’s water needs. Self-sufficiency is the cost effective way, in these difficult economic times, to address our water problems.

In addition, contact members of the House Natural Resources Committee to express your opposition to H.R. 856. For more information, contact Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, website: www.restorethedelta.org, email: [email protected].

Dan Bacher is a Sacramento writer and activist.

Congressman Radanovich Calls Endangered Species Act “Economic Terrorism!”

watercolors.PLEASE HELP US!

and the mayor being elected at large. Later in 2002, the position of mayor became full time; however the city manager remains the chief operating officer. This system has fostered diversity and resulted in substantial citizen access and involvement in city government.

Returning to the “strong mayor” system raises the specter of potentially returning to the abuses of power of the 1892 to 1914 period as alleged and documented in news accounts of the time.

Rick Bettis is a member of the Sacramento Historical Society.

Boss Mayor from page 1

Pizza by the slice

PIECES“The most delicious andsocially responsiblepizza in town” —Jeanie Keltner

1309 21st St Between M and N


CAAC Goesto the MoviesALMOST EVERY MONTHThe Central America Action Committee shows interesting and informative videos on social justice, labor struggles, and so much more! Call to see what’s playing this month…WE ALSO HAVE A VIDEO LIBRARY YOU CAN CHECK OUT.1640 9th Ave (east off Land Park Dr)INFO: 446-3304

By Jennifer Allen

My name is Jennifer. I want to share with you how this budget crisis is affecting me and will affect all of us. I will talk about these three items: Medi-Cal, In-Home Supportive Services and Supplemental Security Income.

I get dental, optic and audio help from Medi-Cal, and this is what will happen if those services are cut. Dental health is important to every human being; it is about teeth. If we have bad teeth, our general health will be harmed. Teeth are essential to human living. Teeth help us to eat. How it affects me? I have teeth that are missing and it is hard at times to eat. Right now no dentist wants to see me for dental work that needs to be done. I would have to be knocked out due my disability. Having no access to dental care, would put my life in jeopardy and many others will be in the same position.

Optometrists and Optician/Optical Lab go together in my case. I wear eyeglasses. My eyes cannot hold contact lens due to my eye ball which moves very fast in my socket. I am a person who, without eyeglasses, would not be able to see much of anything. Losing these two benefits would have a dramatic effect on my day-to-day life. Not being able to see clearly would put me in danger and others, we know, have the same worries.

Audiology, audio means sound. Audiology deals with hearing aids. Sounds are an everyday thing, but if you are unable to hear clearly then that is a danger. Without my hearing aids—I cannot hear the sound of a fire truck’s siren! I am considered almost deaf without the hearing aids. Technically, my hearing loss is in the range of where voices are found, in the low frequency range. I lived for years without hearing aids and

it was a scary time for me. When I got the hear-ing aids I heard the world around me for the first time. It was beautiful sounds to my ears. If I lose this benefit I would not be able to maintain my

hearing aids at all, and that scares me the most.

In the In-Home-Sup-portive-Services program, clients are given a level between one and five. I do not know what level I am in IHSS. I am not a “level.” I am a person who needs this service to maintain day-to-day living safely. The cut that is proposed is for level

four and below. On paper, IHSS clients may look like level three, but nothing is taken into account about the reality of the person’s ability to do the domestic stuff of living. Let’s say I am a level three on paper. What that means is my IHSS will no longer help me maintain my home. I have problems doing the dishes because I can-not stand for a long period of time or making my bed. I do help doing my laundry. I need help vacuuming my house. If IHSS is cut everyone will be in jeopardy in some form or another. My fear is that people will be forced into group homes because they can not maintain their places. IHSS says they have family to help them. Well, I don’t. What about people like me? That is a very scary thought indeed.

From Supplemental Social Security, I get $907 as of January 2009. What I am hearing is this: The state wants to lower SSI to $830. That is a $77 difference. I was on $830 about four years ago. I could not live on $830 then, when the economy was better. What about now? Today’s economy is bad on two different levels: state and national. On top of all this we have not had a steady COLA given to us. I wonder why I can not make it on $907, let alone $830. All that I am saying is that being on a fixed income is hard, and having it cut

is even harder.If these cuts are approved, then we must find a

way to ease the consequences. I know cuts have to be made, but there must be a better way than this.

Jennifer Allen is an advocate for people with disabilities and member of Capitol People First.

California Budget Project Finds:

The governor’s proposed cuts to the SSI/SSP Program—which helps low-income seniors and people with disabilities meet basic liv-ing expenses—would reduce grants to the minimum level required by federal law and suspend the June 2010 COLA. It would eliminate $1.324 billion in grant payments to more than 1.3 million vulnerable Cali-fornians. The governor’s proposed budget also eliminates IHSS domestic services for 81,000 low-income seniors and people with disabilities. The program provides service to low-income seniors and people with dis-abilities who live in their own homes to help prevent more costly out-of-home care.www.cbp.org

By Roger White

The current California budget crisis has fea-tured a familiar set of political villains on what passes for “the left” in California. We’re told by the governor’s office and corporate-owned edito-rial pages that interest group intransigence is the problem. The unions and state employees they represent are, predictably, major bogymen. This class of workers and voters are singularly self-interested and driven by materialism and ideol-ogy. It’s time they get put in check and realize we all have to sacrifice and in the governor’s words, “share in the pain,” in order to pull through this crisis.

OK, they’re in check. A recent California Supreme Court ruling affirmed Governor Schwarzenegger’s authority to force department heads to furlough state workers. I walked through downtown Sacramento during lunch on the first Friday of what is supposed to be a year-and-a-half-long plan to force California employees to eat two days off without pay each month. The streets were empty and so were all the little shops and restaurants that rely on state worker spend-ing for their survival. These small businesses are also “sharing in the pain.”

Governor Schwarzenegger’s demand that state workers take a two-day monthly furlough is primarily about political symbolism. The State expects to save about $1.3 billion over the next 16 months from the furloughs. The deficit is $42 billion—less than three percent of the shortfall. During contract negotiations unions have offered a number of alternative cost savings ideas that

would raise as much revenue as the furlough plan. But for the governor, the symbolism is the important thing. Why? Because the extent to which Schwarzenegger can portray state workers as unwilling to “take a haircut,” he can gin up voter support for the kinds of roll backs in labor rights that he failed to win with his disastrous 2005 initiative rout at the polls.

The truth is that US workers, both in the pri-vate and public sector, have been in pain for some time. While worker productivity has continued its steady increase over the last 30 years, health and retirement benefits have been slashed and real wages remained stagnant. In many cases this decline in wages and over all economic security was felt first and most severely by manufacturing workers in the private sector. But today’s govern-ment workers are being told that their retirement health care and pension benefits are “liabilities” that their state employers can no longer afford. Meanwhile, corporate profits over the last 30 years have never been better. Who’s going to make sure that these corporations share in the pain? Multi-billion dollar bailouts don’t sound too painful to me.

What’s more important than symbolism is structural budgetary change. Prop. 13, the 1978 property tax cap, left school districts all around the state starving for money. The state general fund has been picking up the tab ever since. As education has taken a larger bite out of the state budget, other priorities that traditionally have relied much less on property taxes—health care and social services—have had to fight over a shrinking pie. Rather than cut vital and popular

In the In-Home-Supportive-Services program, clients are given a level between one and five…I am not a ‘level.’ I am a person who needs this service to maintain day-to-day living safely.

Furlough Fridays Spread Pain to Workers Already Hurting

programs, legislators have simply engaged in def-icit spending in bad times and program increases in good times. Maybe the right thing to do in the short term, but not a sustainable solution to the state’s budget woes.

Until the state finds a new tax formula for education funding and finds a way to end the super-majority requirement for passing budgets, we can expect more of the same each year around budget time.

Roger White is a criminal justice researcher and writer. He lives in Sacramento.

The Budget and Me

Jennifer Allenphoto courtesy Jennifer Allen

As we go to press, “The Governator” has announced the end of Furlough Fridays; instead, state offices will be open as usual, and workers will “choose” when to take their unpaid days. Thus, the cut in pay and work will be hidden from voters.


By Fátima L. Castañeda

Established in 2004, the Language Academy of Sacramento Charter School (LAS) came into existence through the dedicated efforts of a dynamic team of community members, parents, and staff persons. A partnership with California State University, Sacramento, helped strengthen its curriculum design and professional development.

Now an independent charter school, LAS remains loyal to its mission to educate culturally and economically diverse students, grades K-8, through the use of a dual-language immersion model. This model is designed to achieve bi-literacy, multicultural competence and academic excellence while promoting self-motivated, socially responsible lifelong learners.

Students at LAS come from diverse social economic backgrounds with over two thirds of the student population from households that fall below the federal poverty line. The enrichment program at LAS provides 77 percent of students the opportunity to attend classes not typically accessible.

Community involvement is fostered by helping students develop intergenerational relationships through an after-school enrichment program. Community mentors teach students to utilize var-ious art forms to convey messages of multicul-turalism and social justice. For example, students work with a knitting expert to make scarves and hats for homeless children and mothers. The graphic design class creates art that promotes messages of peace, equality and cultural identity.

The music production class works in groups to create music with mes-sages of identity and cultural unity.

On Saturday March 14th, 10 am–3pm, students will share their art with the community at LAS’ first Spring Art and Food Faire. The Faire is a fundraiser for the after-school enrich-ment program with the goal of expanding the two day program that currently offers 13 classes including, ceramics, art, capoeira, folklorico, Aztec dance, guitar, music produc-

National Communications Policy Must Advance Public InterestA Letter to President ObamaBy Charlene Jones

In January 2009 the Sacramento Media Group jumped into action by joining countless public interest advocates across the country to call upon the new president to loosen Big Media’s stranglehold on American public discourse. In a letter to President Obama and members of the Sacramento region’s congressional delegation, SMG sought policies that will protect an open, affordable Internet, support public media, and increase diversity in viewpoint and voice.

President Barack Obama:Thank you for bringing media and technology issues to the fore-

front of your policy agenda. Your plans call for a crucial shift in national communications policy toward the advancement of public interest. We offer our support and service in pursuit of these common goals.

We urge you to select strong proponents of public interest to join your administrative team and embrace proposals made during and after your campaign to shape the future of the media, the Internet, the economy and our democracy as whole. Together we have an opportunity to break with the past and put American consumers and taxpayers first by lifting the grip media industry lobbyists have had on communication policy and media practices. Please continue to emphasize and enact priorities you pledged:

Protect an Open Internet—To “take a backseat to no one in my commitment to Net Neutrality and “protect the Internet’s traditional openness to innovation and creativity and ensure that it remains a platform for free speech and innovation that will benefit consumers and our democracy.” November 2007

Promoting Social Justice and Multiculturalism through the Arts

tion, graphic design and knitting.Diana, a sixth grader, says community mem-

bers should support the Spring Art & Food Faire because, “This is not just a craft fair; this is a place where you share your culture. Adults should support our program because like us, they were once children with dreams. Our dream is to reach our goals through language and art.”

For vendor and booth info or to find out how you can support LAS’s after-school enrichment program, contact Fátima Castañeda at [email protected] or 916 277 7137.

The craft fair will be held atLanguage Academy of Sacramento4500 Roosevelt AvenueSacramento, CA 95820

Fátima L. Castañeda is Parent and Enrich-ment Coordinator at the LAS.

Community Discussion on Local MediaApril 2, 2009 (Thursday)

6:00 PM – 8:30 PMColoma Center Auditorium 4623 T St., Sacramento

Let’s hear from you about how local media can serve our communities. Sacramento area residents, media professionals and media consumers are invited to attend a community discussion on local media to consider these topic areas: • Public Affairs • Diversity• Political Coverage• Community Input• Broadband Internet

Access

Sacramento Media Group and California Common Cause with Access Sacramento invite interested individuals, community organizations, local media outlets and elected officials to participate in a community discussion designed to hear opinions, stories and suggestions about our local media. The new presidential administration wants to cre-ate a more democratic media system and promote universal access to communications technologies. The evening offers an opportunity to share ideas that can contribute to these goals. It will also help us bet-ter understand how well our local print, television, radio and Internet media serve their audiences. The discussion will be recorded and a report submitted to local media and the Federal Communications Commission. Feedback may help establish federal policies impacting local media ownership, increased localism, the establishment of community advisory boards, radio and television licensing procedures, and more.

JoAnn Fuller, Associate DirectorCalifornia Common Cause1005 12th Street Suite CSacramento, CA 95814(916) 443-1792 ext. [email protected]/CA

Ron Cooper, Executive DirectorAccess Sacramento4623 T StreetSacramento, CA. 95819(916) 456-8600 ext. [email protected]

A young student in an LAS knitting class.photo courtesy Fátima L. Castañeda

Students in the LAS music production program.photo courtesy Fátima L. Castañeda

See Media, page 6

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


By Cres Velucci

Maybe newly-elected President Barack Obama will help fix the previous administration’s mis-guided efforts to emphasize enforcement of immigration laws with little regard for human rights.

Then again, maybe not.Just in case the new administration does noth-

ing, or little, to change policy, scores of cities, counties and other municipalities across the

US—including the city of Sacramento—are pass-ing or about to pass laws to prevent their local law enforcement agencies from enforcing the Federal Immigration Law. In effect, this would prohibit the police from arresting and holding people solely for suspected immigration law violations.

The immigration-safe communities are called “California Sanctuaries,” and if that sounds radi-cal, it’s not. More than a dozen cities and counties have already approved these regulations in Cali-fornia—among them, San Francisco, Los Ange-les, Oakland, San Diego, Watsonville, and Fresno. Dozens of other town in the US, and, at least five states, including Oregon, New Mexico, Montana and Alaska have prohibitions as well.

The Sacramento Security and Safety Ordinance Coalition (www.SacSSO.org) is organizing the effort in the city of Sacramento. It’s a working group of immigrant rights activists bolstered by a growing list of support groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Sacramento Chapter, Sacramento Central Labor

Council, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), La Raza Network, Chicano Consortium, MEChA, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LACLAA), CAUIL, Green Party and Peace & Freedom Party of Sac-ramento, Sacramento Coalition to the End the War and Veterans for Peace/Chapter 87, among many others.

The SacSS has framed a final draft ordinance to be considered by the Sacramento City Council

soon, which would prohibit the use of “city funds for immigration enforcement.”

According to Eric Vega, one of the orga-nizers, the ordinance would “prevent the city of Sacramento from funding any office, agency or department of the city, or using any resources to assist the enforcement of federal immigration laws.” It also would stop the city from gathering or disseminating infor-mation regarding the immigration status of residents in most cases, he said.

“Two years ago the slogan was ‘Today we march, tomorrow we vote.’ Today is here and there are raids, inhumane detention

practices, split families and real pain in immi-grant communities,” said Vega, a California State University, Sacramento professor.

The ordinance’s prohibition of cooperation with federal immigration policies is nearly abso-lute—it stops any city employee from assisting any immigration office, investigation, surveil-lance, detention or arrest based on immigration laws.

The ordinance, as proposed, also prevents city staff, including police, from “disseminat-ing any information regarding immigration status of individuals,” and prohibits Sacramento employees from “stopping, questioning, arresting or detaining” any individual “because of [that individual’s] national origin, immigration status or on the basis of their ability to speak English or perceived or actual national origin.”

The ordinance also requires the city of Sacra-mento to call upon the US Dept. of Homeland Security and Bureau of Customs and Immigra-tion Enforcement to end all enforcement opera-tions, including worksite and neighborhood

immigration raids, and suspend all detentions and deportations.

It would also ask Congress to hold hearings about the impacts of immigration enforcement, and for the immigration debate to be carried out without a “backdrop of fear, repression and intimidation.”

The measure calls on the city to ask Congress and the Obama Administration to “redirect funds from immigration enforcement” to services, including the backlog in applications for visas.

Finally, the ordinance also mandates the city of Sacramento reject the use of the terms “illegal” or “alien,” and instead refer to those with have yet to receive federally-recognized resident status as “undocumented” and those who have migrated to the US from another country as “immigrant.”

“This kind of ordinance has been passed in San Francisco and other parts of the country. We believe the ordinance stands on its own as a com-munity response to the Bush Administration’s misguided efforts to emphasize enforcement with little regard for the human rights of immigrants across the country.

“[This] ordinance will act as a catalyst to bring together activists and organizations in a posi-tive political project. It won’t be easy. From Lou Dobbs to Rush Limbaugh, reactionary forces are dumbing down the debate around the complex issue of immigration. We need to be discussing in our communities the various ways we can con-test their simple law enforcement strategies and reframe the debate,” said the coalition.

For more information, go to www.sacsso.org.

Cres Veluci is active in the Green Party of Sacramento.

Immigration activists fight to make Sacramento a “Sanctuary City” Designation would prevent city police from helping federal immigration efforts

Promote Universal, Affordable Broadband—To see that “in the country that invented the Internet, every child should have a chance to get online” by bringing “true broadband to every community in America.” December 2008

Diverse Media Ownership—To create “the diverse media environment that federal law requires and country deserves.” December 2008

Renew Public Media—To foster “the next generation of public media” and “support the transition of existing public broadcasting entities and help renew their founding vision in the digi-tal world.” December 2008

Spur Economic Growth—To “strengthen America’s competitiveness in the world” and leverage technology “to grow the economy, create jobs, and solve our country’s most pressing prob-

lems.” December 2008Ensure Open Government—To reverse “poli-

cies that favor the few against public interest, close the revolving door between government and industry,” and achieve “a new level of trans-parency, accountability and participation for American citizens.” December 2008

We represent an active community concern for a more vibrant and diverse media system that will deliver the benefits our fellow Americans deserve and our democracy needs.

Sincerely, Sacramento Media GroupFor more information about SMG, call 443

1792 extension 11; [email protected]

Charlene Jones is a member of the Sacramento Media Group

Media from page 5

Oct. 31, 2008, protesters in San Francisco raids, de-mand an end to Immigration and Customs Enforce-ment (ICE) raids and enforcement of San Francisco and Oakland sanctuary city laws.Photo: Puck Lo, indybay.org

Ben and Jerry’s New Presidential Flavors Ben and Jerry apparently really did create “Yes peCAN!” ice cream flavor for President Obama (with “amber waves of ice cream”). An Internet rumor says they then asked people what the best flavors would be for George W.

Here are some favorites:

Grape Depression

Abu Grape

Nut’n Accomplished

Iraqi Road

Chock ‘n Awe

WireTapioca

Impeach Cobbler

Guantanmallow

imPeachmint

Heck of a Job, Brownie!

Neocon Politan

RockyRoad to Fascism

The Housing Crunch

Nougular Proliferation

Death by Chocolate...and Torture

Credit Crunch

Caramel Preemptive Stripe

I broke the law and am responsible for the deaths of thousands...with nuts

Some of the Places You Can Find BPMSacramento AreaCoffee WorksCrest TheaterDimple Records,Arden WyFlowers RestaurantGalleria (29th & K)GrindersHart Senior CenterLido CafeLight Rail: 65/Folsom 4th Ave/Freeport

Los JarritosLuna’s Cafe & Juice BarMercy Hospital, 40th/JPancake Circus, 21st/

BroadwayPlanned Parenthood:Franklin Blvd, Watt Ave., 29th St.

Queen of TartsQuick MarketSacramento Bagel, 47th/H

Sacramento Natural Foods Coop

Sacramento Public Library (Main & many branches)

Starbucks (B'wy & 35th)The BeatThe Bread StoreTime Tested BooksTower Theater (inside)Tupelo (Elvas & 57th)Underground Books (35th St. near B'way)

Weatherstone Coffee

Chico AreaDavisEspresso Cafe RomaDavis Natural Food CoopNewsbeatUniversity Mall

Grass ValleyBriar PatchSacred Bee

Greenhaven areaBuckthorn’s Coffee, 7465 Rush River Dr

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


By Raquel Simental

January 22, 2009 marked the 36th anniversary of the US Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that estab-

lished women’s constitutional right to a safe and legal abortion. There have been many challenges to abortion rights in the past several decades, as religious conservatives who oppose the Roe v. Wade decision launched campaign after cam-paign to chip away at the foundation of the law. In the past 15 years, an increasing number of states have passed legislation that makes it much more difficult, especially for teens and poor women, to obtain an abortion. In a few states it is all but impossible to find a clinic that will perform the procedure even though access to a safe, legal abortion is the law of the land. In addition to the back-sliding of recent decades, the last eight years of the Bush administra-tion have posed perhaps the most severe threat to repro-ductive freedom since the Roe decision. Under President George W. Bush, anti-abortion zealots were able to affect the first ban on late-term pregnan-cy terminations, which they falsely labeled “partial-birth abortions.” The attack on reproductive rights became so reckless that even contraception came under fire in Bush administration health policy decisions.

Women had a lot at stake during this presiden-tial election. Thanks to Bush’s ultra-conservative appointments to the bench, the Supreme Court is only one vote away from overturning Roe v. Wade. It was clear that a John McCain/Sarah Palin administration would very likely sink the Roe decision and deal a devastating blow to women’s health.

With so much on the line, Planned Parent-hood Advocates Mar Monte (PPAMM) worked to help elect President Barack Obama in the swing state of Nevada, and advocate volunteers canvassed and phone-banked every week, for months. Staff members organized rallies and fundraising campaigns to inform Nevada voters about McCain’s dismal record on women’s health and reproductive rights. In addition, PPAMM conducted several phone banks in California to

reach out to voters in their neighboring state. As we all know, our work contributed to an Obama victory in Nevada and helped catapult him to the presidency.

Meanwhile in California, a woman’s right to choice was again under attack in the guise of state ballot measure Proposition 4. For a third time, voters rejected—by 52 to 48 percent— a dangerous initiative that would have put our most vulnerable teens at risk by requiring paren-tal notification of a minor seeking to terminate a pregnancy. Planned Parenthood advocates made it clear this was an attempt to erode the right to choice and limit access to safe and legal

abortions. Nevertheless, after three failed attempts, pro-ponents of the initiative said they will try to put a fourth parental-notification measure on the ballot as early as 2010.

The election of Barack Obama to the White House and the defeat of Proposition 4 was not only a triumph but a huge relief to voters who believe women must have the right to safe and legal abortions. President Obama is a national leader commit-ted to women’s health issues who will make preserving

women’s rights under Roe v. Wade a priority in his administration.

After commemorating the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we can take time to celebrate our chance to regain the ground lost in recent years. However, difficult work ahead remains in order to ensure all women continue to have access to legal and effective reproductive health services. The right to a safe, accessible abortion for women who have been deprived of it in states where they live must be protected. We must fight to assure the next appointed justices to the Supreme Court believe in upholding the principles of Roe v. Wade. Most important of all, no one should forget that this right, which many young women now take for granted, is threatened and can still be taken away. It’s time to stop turning back the clock.

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte is the largest Planned Parenthood affiliate in California and the nation, covering 40 counties in California and northern Nevada. Each year Planned Parenthood

High School Poetry Writing Contest

Announcing the Sacramento Poetry Center’s Third Annual High School Poetry Writing ContestNo cost to enter! Deadline April 15!

The Sacramento Poetry Center welcomes submissions from high school poets. Poems should not have your name on them. Instead, please include a separate cover letter with your name, address, phone and email address, and the title/s of your poems. Also indicate the name of your school. Be sure to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you want notification of winners. Limit of three poems per student. The postmark deadline is April 15, 2009. Good writing and good luck!

Prizes include: • $100.00 for our Grand Prize winner• Free books and swag for finalists• Publication in Poetry Now, the monthly

journal of the Sacramento Poetry Center• Grand Prize winner will receive an invita-

tion to read their work at the Sacramento Poetry Center in the summer.

Send your original poems to: High School Poetry Contest Sacramento Poetry Center P.O. Box 160406Sacramento, CA 95816

Email submissions will be accepted: send to [email protected] “SPC HS CONTEST” in the subject line.Include above information sheet as the body of the email, and send each individual poem as an attachment—MS Word documents only.Questions? email [email protected]

Nevertheless, after three failed attempts, proponents of the initiative said they will try to put a fourth parental-notification measure on the ballot as early as 2010.

Roe v. Wade—36 Years LaterPlenty to celebrate in 2009, but battle continues.

Mar Monte provides health care and education to more than 230,000 women, men and teens. Planned Parenthood Advocates Mar Monte is an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit orga-nization formed as the political advocacy arm of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte. Advocates protect women’s health and privacy through lobbying and public policy, electing pro-choice candidates at all levels of government and identi-fying, educating and mobilizing pro-choice vot-ers. For more information, 916-446-5037 www.plannedparenthood.org/mar-monte.

Raquel Simental is Director of Public Affairs—

Sacramento Region, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte.

Take action, create change!Reproductive Freedom DayTuesday, March 24, 2009 8am-4:30pmSacramento Convention CenterCalifornia Coalition for Reproductive Freedomwww.reproductivefreedomca.org

Come learn about current reproductive health and justice issues, meet other activists from around the state, and tell legislators why reproductive rights are important to you and your community. In addition to informative workshops and inspiring speakers, the day’s agenda will include training on how to make legislative visits and education about the issue you will be lobbying. Highlights from this year’s agenda:

Generation Awards for two outstanding

advocates and a lively panel discussion of the history and future of reproductive rights!

Workshops on Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice, Advocacy in Tough Economic Times, Reproductive Justice and Latinas (en Español), Prop 8 and LGBTQ issues, Youth Creating Reproductive Justice, and Defeating Prop 4: Innovative Organizing in Communi-ties of Color!

For more information contact Kelly Daw-son, [email protected].

If you want to help keep BPM going, will you consider stepping up? If you would like to know more about BPM, who puts it together and how you might help, join us. Wednesday, April 8, 7pm at 909 12th St. in the con-ference room.


OjitosRed bowBashful blossomButterfly Mariposa Takes flight in her Day dream

(San Francisco, Yerba Buena Kid Zeum)

Fresh, alive and organic produceAlchemists Urban Farm Stand

Offerings para las comunidades de SacrazlandiaWendy, la mexica danzante

Handles and sells at her neighborhood Commu-nity Carpa

As intern in training standing como la role model pa’ sus carnalitas

(Sacramento, River Garden Estates/SMHA )

Regalia, hand made and worn con orgullioInner beauty that graces the aged rhythms and movementsDe homeland gatherings and rites of passageSonrisas that shine such radiant passionTheir presence brings the there here and we see that we are ONE

(Sacramento, Southside Park)

Madre, hija y companera de la luchaStanding before relations Thanks Taking ceremony lead by AIMReflections of la Diosa in triple effectTobacco offerings made by the thousand in attendanceSisters carry light forth in unity and struggle

(San Francisco, Isla de Alcatraz)

Sacred Fire burning messagesSun Rise celebration

Rejoicing Renewal of all RelationsSisters Adelita y Jennie preparando el altar

Of the West and y sus energies,sybolos y alegria

(Winters, DQU Sunrise ceremonia; QuetzalCoatl Citlalli)


Watching alongside la maestraNena Mika cautiously observes angels and santoIn a teatro ritual Eyes glowing como el Peace within

(Sacramento, Camellia Waldorf School)

Pakistani’Sacramentan Free stylin’traditionUrban henna cuerpo arteStroked por ancestor echoes Visions of adorned mujeres con Flor y paisley yerbas Sagradas rising thru skinStory cuentos de Amor and their potencia

(Sacramento, Washington Neighborhood Centro)

Sister Riza paints her visionsCorazon beating Truthsof a liberated Alma in motionOsun y Yemaja bendiciones bestowed unto todoscelebrando los colores del mundo sagradoEntre arte y espiritu

(Sacramento, CC Plaza)

Con sus companerasShe forged changeDes de las calles to City Hallsteps adelante y la lucha sigue

(Sacramento, Southside Park/SMHA/function)

Sister friends y sus sonrisasCarry forth trabajo of communidad

a Joy and happiness of beingBelleza

Talented Gifted

September memories de Breaking bread with friends y familia

Cultivating Paz

(Sacramento, Southside Park/ SMHA function)

Photos and text by YaYa Porras, Community Organizer for Sacramento Mutual Housing, and more importantly, her son’s mom.


Sacramento Area Peace Action (SacPeace)916-448-7157 • [email protected] • www.sacpeace.org

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” - Dwight Eisenhower

The Costs of War: A Grand TheftIt’s tax season. This time of year, we pitch in

a portion of our hard-earned dollars to help fund public transportation, Head Start, state universities, medical research, public works, and a myriad of other programs widely benefiting Americans.

About half of our tax payments, though, only benefits defense corporations and the largest mil-itary in the world, and funds widespread death, destruction, and pollution world-wide.

This year, April 15 also serves as another reminder of the economic crisis we face. President Obama has proposed an $800 billion economic stimulus plan to re-start the failing American economy, including grants for “shovel-ready” infrastructure projects. With California facing an estimated $40 billion deficit and a painfully overdue budget, the City of Sacramento looking at more than $10.5 million in shortfalls, and the County facing a $55 million debt, these measures are much-welcomed. However, Obama faces skepticism and opposition from fiscal con-servatives, as deficit hawks oppose fighting debt with more debt.

But those who demand a peace economy—not a war economy—propose funding stimulus pack-ages through drastic cuts to the Pentagon budget, including savings from withdrawing from the morass of Iraq and Afghanistan. The egregiously disproportionate amount of money spent on the military and its related costs continues to feed the massive debt faced by the world’s “richest” nation.

Redistributing the PieCongress acquiesced to former President

Bush’s requests for funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan without raising taxes. No taxpayer has yet been asked to sacrifice for these military adventures, but now the burden is falling on our heavily indebted nation, and will continue to drag on our economy and future taxpayers.

According to statistics compiled by the War Resisters’ League, using the Department of Defense’s (DOD) figures, 54 percent of our tax dollars will go toward military spending this year. Missile defense alone is budgeted at $8.8 billion. Military costs range from the more obvious, nuclear weapons, research and development, and personnel, down to hidden costs that may take decades to manifest, such as the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder. Other societal costs stemming from the impact of military service, such as elevated levels of domestic violence and mental health issues, can wreak havoc on family and public budgets alike. Future costs of war and occupation, such as rebuilding occupied Iraq and Afghanistan, are not even included in the DOD’s figures.

(Statistics compiled by the War Resisters’ League: www.warresisters.org.)

Nobel laureate-economist Dr. Joseph Stiglitz has estimated the cost of the war in Iraq, pro-

jected into the future to cover care and pay for wounded veterans, replenishing the military, and debt service, etc., to be three trillion dollars! (The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict, with Linda J. Bilmes.)

What would the state of our nation be if that money had not been squandered on a war based on lies? What would a peace economy look like? According to the National Priorities Project Database, taxpayers in Sacramento, California will pay $779.1 million for total Iraq war spend-ing approved to date. The same amount of money could have provided 320,668 people with health care; or 11,006 music and arts teachers; or 2,332 affordable housing units; or 13,919 public safety officers. (From www.nationalpriorities.org)

But What Can I Do?You can work to educate your friends, col-

leagues, and community about the economic impact of war and militarism.

You can advocate for changes to the budget structure. Pay a visit to Rep. Matsui’s office, with your fiscal message.

You can refuse to pay the percentage of your owed taxes that would be put toward military use.

War tax resistance has long been a form of civil disobedience, employed by the likes of the Quak-ers, Gandhi, and Henry David Thoreau. Some war tax resistance organizations offer taxpayers the opportunity to divert their money away from war taxes, and into alternative funds. Direct Aid Iraq, recommended by the 2009 War Tax Boycott campaign, sends money to Jordan and Syria to provide medical care to Iraqi refugees. Money collected by the Northern California War Tax Resistance is deposited into their People’s Life Fund, and given away via grants or direct dona-tions. The People’s Life Fund supports essential human needs such as health care, food, and hous-ing; organizations working for social justice and sustainability; and efforts to educate taxpayers about war tax resistance. Some alternative tax funds offer taxpayers a safe deposit option for use in case they are investigated by the IRS and ordered to pay back taxes.

For more information, see:www.dontbuybushswar.org/www.warresisters.orgwww.wartaxboycott.orgwww.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Tax_resistancewww.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

History_of_tax_resistancewww.nationalpriorities.org/www.nowartax.orgwww.hopedance.org/new/issues/43/

article5.html

“Let them march all they want, so long as they continue to pay their taxes.” Alexander Haig, Sec-retary of State, 1982

Palestine Speaker SeriesThird Tuesdays, 7PM909 12th Street, Sacramento, Info: 916-448-7157, www.sacpeace.org

March 17 – Environmental Issues of Occupation, Dr. Henry Clark, Exec. Director, West Coast Toxics Coalition

April 21 – Divestment,Afif Wensky, member of the National Coun-cil of Arab Americans (NCA)

May 19 - Current Realities/One State, Dr. Jess Ghanam, Clinical Professor of Psy-chiatry, UC San Francisco, and board mem-ber of the Gaza Community Mental Health Program.

June 16 - Two Sacramentans’ Impressions of Palestine, Maggie Coulter, Sacramento Area Peace Action president, and Patricia Daugherty, Peace Action member and community activist.

Organized by Sacramento Area Peace Action, Al-Awda Sacramento, and National Council of Arab Americans.

Get your STOP WAR Lawn Sign!

Order from SacPeace, 916-448-7157

Sliding scale $5-10.

Resources for Enlisted Personnel & VeteransDischarges • DEP • Discrimination • Gay • AWOL/UA • Harassment • Hazing• Conscientious Objection

Call for information from a network of nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations.The service is free. The call is confidential.

The GI Rights Hotline, www.girights.org, 800-394-9544

Free & confidential counseling: 916-447-5706; www.therapistsforsocialresponsibility.org;

If you want to help keep BPM going, will you consider stepping up? If you would like to know more about BPM, who puts it together and how you might help, join us. April 8, 7pm at 909 12th St. in the conference room.

Tax Day ActionsSacramento Area Peace Action

will sponsor Tax Day actions on April 15, including information tables at US post offices, in con-junction with Sacramento Wom-en’s International League for Peace and Freedom, where “peanuts for taxpayers” are handed out with flyers depicting the billions of tax dollars for the Pentagon.

Check www.sacpeace.org for this year’s actions.


Hundreds of thousands of angry, shocked people all over the world protested Israel’s three week assault on Gaza, but

western governments, in particular Britain and the US, stayed silent—it was business as usual.

The Israeli Defense Force (IDF), in 22 days starting December 27, 2008, leveled parts of Gaza and killed about 1,300 Palestinians, of whom 900 were civilians and about 400 children. It was the worst violence since 1967. (Factual statements from Inter Press Service except as noted.)

Throughout the attack, Washington, London, the American corporate media and even the famously “objective” BBC, stayed on mes-sage maintaining Isra-el’s right to defend itself from Hamas’s rockets. In truth, these rockets, while capable of killing, are primitive compared to Israel’s F-16s, tanks and helicopter gun-ships, all supplied cour-tesy of the American taxpayer.

Completely missing was the voice of President-in-waiting, Barack Obama. As the bodies piled up in Gaza, Obama maintained his silence by claiming that the US only had “one president at a time.” However, given his very public expression of allegiance to Israel and to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), it is unlikely that he would have stayed silent were Israelis being killed.

Even after his triumphal inauguration on February 20, Obama stuck to the depressingly familiar line about Israel’s need for security, while

adding some banal platitudes about the humani-tarian crisis in Gaza. Israel’s war is never called by its true name while the Palestinians are reduced to a humanitarian problem rather than being victims of Israel’s violence.

Whenever Israel commits military aggression in the region, whether bombing Gaza or invading Lebanon, criticism in London and Washington is non-existent. Israel is given free reign to achieve its military objectives. Only after there are too many dead Palestinians to be ignored, are there murmurings about a need for restraint.

Obama has appointed a special envoy to the Middle East, former Senator George Mitchell, whose stated aim is to secure a sustainable cease-fire. However, this may be impossible if Wash-ington and Israel insist on excluding Hamas from the negotiations.

Mitchell will also have to deal with Israel’s three year economic blockade of Gaza which started when Hamas won the election there in

2006. The blockade has effectively destroyed Gaza’s economy. Only international humanitarian aid is keeping Gaza afloat—when Israel allows it in. The European Union and the US have done next to nothing to pressure Israel to lift the block-ade, a blockade which is nothing if not economic terror.

Other than the rocket attacks, the media pro-vided little to explain the latest conflict. Hamas is an armed Islamist political organization for whom Israel is the enemy but that in itself did not lead to the conflict. What Israel and its western backers could never tolerate was that Hamas got

elected—Hamas, the very entity Israel and Washing-ton helped establish in the 1980s to weaken Yasser Arafat’s Fatah and divide the Palestinians.

To justify the Decem-ber 2008 invasion, Israel alleged that Hamas had violated the six month truce that expired on

December 19. In truth, Israel had been planning to attack Gaza since Israel’s August 2006 war on Lebanon. Funded with US tax dollars, the US Army Corps of Engineers had even built Israel a model of a Gaza town at Israel’s National Urban Training Center at Baladia in the Negev Desert. The actual invasion was never a question of if, just when.

A clue that an attack was imminent came around November 2008 when Israel began bar-ring foreign journalists from Gaza. During the invasion, it was Arab reporters and humanitarian workers inside Gaza who got the news out. They also reported that Israel was using new kinds of weapons.

Gaza’s doctors have lots of experience treating wounds, but now they encountered new kinds of injuries. Dr. Sobhi Skaik, consultant surgeon gen-eral at Al-Shifa hospital described “loss of life …. for reasons that are unexplainable medically.… It is possible the Israeli army was using Gaza to experiment militarily.” Then added, “What is being intentionally created is a population of handicapped people.”

One weapon severed limbs so quickly that the victims did not immediately realize what had happened. Dense Inert Metal Explosives (DIMEs) can do this. If DIMEs don’t kill outright, its metals once in the body cause an aggressive form of cancer. Dr. Karim Hosni, an Egyptian doctor volunteering his services at Al-Naser hos-pital in Khan Younis confided, “Sometimes I wish my patients would just die. Their injuries are so horrifying, that I know they will now have to lead terrible and painful lives.”

TV news also showed bombs exploding like fireworks above Gaza. There were reports about bodies charred, melted and fused together. This is what white phosphorous does to human flesh. If inhaled it destroys the lungs and once in the system, it shuts down internal organs, starting with the liver.

It’s not as if the IDF is short of traditional weapons. Israeli bombs, tactical missiles and munitions pulverized a university dormitory, a science building, UN schools, food warehouses, mosques, hospitals, medical centers, apartment buildings, government offices and even a food processing plant. Israel claimed “militants” were in all these places including a sewer treatment facility, which the Gazans had barely managed to repair after an IDF attack in July 2006. Now Gaza must deal with billions of dollars in new damage.

According to Amnesty International, Israeli soldiers looted, vandalized and ransacked houses. They smashed furniture and left personal items strewn, sometimes soiled with urine. In one house the IDF left cardboard boxes full of excre-ment even though the house had a functioning toilet. In a few cases, families were used as human shields. Houses had holes punched through the outer walls, which soldiers used for lookout and sniper positions. They drew on walls and wrote

things like “Arabs must die,” “One down, 999,999 to go,” “Make war not peace.” (Ynet News).

In Hay al-Salam, Israeli soldiers confined Abu Abdallah, his wife and nine children, in their basement for two days. “… the soldiers did not allow us to go get water. I had to take water from the toilet cistern … for the small children to drink.” (Ynet News).

More than 2,000 bombs were dropped on Gaza in 22 days. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the United Nations condemned Israel’s use of unconventional weapons in civilian areas. The words “war crimes” have even been uttered. Although the US would never allow any war crimes tribunals, some headlines indicate Israel is concerned, “Israel acts to block war crimes charges.” (The National) and “Israel forms war crime defense team.” (Al Jazeera).

After Israel’s ceasefire on January 18, 2009, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon visited Gaza and called what he had seen “shocking” and “appall-ing.” However, by then, the media were chasing a new story: Barack Obama’s inauguration.

This last invasion was in reality a more dramat-ic version of life in Gaza, which has been occu-pied or controlled by Israel since 1967. Violence and repression have become part of life.

Israel may have withdrawn its settlements in 2005, but it reminds Palestinians each day that they are a colonized people. Since 2005, in addition to the 1,300 Palestinians killed in the latest attack, over 800 others have been killed by Israel. In the West Bank, Palestinian property is routinely destroyed or confiscated. No one leaves without Israel’s permission and those who do, have no guarantee of being allowed to return.

Between March 2006 and December 2008 more than 250 Gazans died because Israel denied them access to medical attention outside Gaza. In the same period, Hamas’s rockets killed 12 Israelis. This too is a human tragedy. However, if Israel can kill 1,300 by claiming the right to defend itself, why is the same right not afforded to the Palestinians?

Israel’s war is never called by its true name while the Palestinians are reduced to a mere humanitarian problem rather than being victims of Israel’s violence

Gaza: A Very Public LynchingBy Brigitte Jaensch and Paolo Bassi

Mahoud Abed Rabbu lived in a 3 floor, six apartment building. On January 6 it came under shell attack from 10.30. At 2pm during the 1-4pm “ceasefire”, the army dynamited a wall open and told Mahoud and his family “leave here, go into the town, we’ll kill you if you return.” Photo: www.talestotell.wordpress.com/

January 25--Temporary shelters in Jabalia: This family has no clothes other than those they are wearing.www.talestotell.wordpress.com/

See Gaza, page 13


By Rick BettisThe commemoration of Women’s History

Month would be incomplete without recognition of two leaders in the historic struggle for equal rights for women. Alice Paul and Carrie Chap-man Catt worked together and in parallel to con-vince people across the nation to allow women to vote in US elections. Their efforts suggest a lesson in how to work to solve the same monumental problem, using quite different approaches to cre-ate social change.

Alice Paul was brought up with her parents’ belief in the equality of the sexes, one of the Quaker religion’s basic principles. In 1907 she went to England to study social work where she met Christobel Pankhurst and her mother Emmeline, leaders of the radical suffrage move-ment. Paul joined the movement, and partici-pated in many acts of civil disobedience, being

arrested and imprisoned on several occasions. The suffragettes protested their confinement with hunger strikes and were forcibly fed in a brutal

fashion. Paul took strength from the notation often etched on their prison cell walls, “Resis-tance to tyranny is obedience to God!” This quote from Thomas Jefferson was later adopted by Susan B. Anthony, another American suffragette as she noted the Pankhurst’s militant efforts had roused England out of its lethargy.

Paul returned to the US and, as a student at the University of Pennsylvania, joined the National American Women’s Suffrage Association founded in 1869 by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. There she met Carrie Chapman Catt who was president of NAWSA in 1900 and remained a leader in the organization until suf-frage was achieved.

Catt trained as a teacher and worked as a school principal and superintendent of schools in Iowa, and as a newspaper reporter. Her speak-ing and organizing skills, however, soon led her to leadership in the NAWSA. Following the

passage in 1920 of the 19th Amendment that allowed women to vote, Catt founded the League of Women Voters and served as its honorary president until her passing in 1947. She was also a founder of the Women’s Peace Party during World War I and helped establish the League of Nations after the war. After World War II, she worked for the United Nations. Between the wars she worked on refugee relief efforts and for child labor protection laws. Catt was widely respected, met with national leaders including Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt, and was a long-time friend of Eleanor Roosevelt.

Paul, on the other hand, went to Washington, DC to organize in true Pankhurst style. In 1913 she and friend Lucy Burns organized a massive parade by women down Pennsylvania Avenue, scheduled to coincide with the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson. They focused their

By Roger White

The black electorate in California’s last election showed both its tendency to support progressive politicians and the internal contradictions of its cultural politics.

Because of our battles and victories over enslavement and race domination in the US, African Americans have occupied a unique space in the worldwide struggle for justice and peace. That space has always been defined by the South-ern Christian Church—an institution with deep conservative roots as well as a tradition of lead-ing movements for radical social change. This is why so many blacks had no conflict with voting for Barack Obama for president and voting in favor of Prop. 8, the November 2008 measure that constitutionally banned same sex marriage in California. Obama and the Democratic Party came out against the ban; blacks in California voted 69% in favor.

I was not a supporter of Prop. 8. Marriage is not fundamentally religious in the US. One can get married at a ceremony involving religious rituals and rites or at city hall. Most significantly for the government, marriage is a civil contract between two people and the state for certain rights, benefits and responsibilities. The notion of denying adults of the same sex the right to enter into these contracts because homosexuality is considered a sin to Bible-believing Christians or devout Muslims or orthodox Jews runs counter to every reasonable interpretation of the separa-tion of church and state.

And what about regular old equal protection? In theory the state just can’t willy nilly decide to deny constitutional rights to whichever group is out of favor with the majority at any given moment. Before the state can strip away rights to freedom of association they have to offer some evidence that the law—in this case ban—is rea-

sonably related to some legitimate state interest. What legitimate state interest is California pro-tecting by denying the right to marry to same sex couples? Not one. It’s protecting religious-based bigotry. The State of California Constitution does not trump the US Constitution.

The most obvious question—how could so many blacks, who better than any group in the US understands the pain of bigotry and discrimi-nation, support an amendment that wrote into the California Constitution the denial of a basic right enjoyed by heterosexuals—is also the most stupid to many blacks.

The two are different because you can’t choose to be black and you can’t hide it either—both things gays and lesbians can do when it suits them. This position assumes that people who have the audacity to take responsibly for their sexual choices and be open about them deserve what they get.

No. The experiences of slavery, mob violence, Jim Crow and race discrimination are not “the same as” religious based condemnation, cultural marginalization and anti-LGBT violence and discrimination. But yes you can compare the two. Both struggles have had to battle against demo-cratic majorities that were against recognizing that their communities were entitled to live in dignity. Both struggles have been people’s move-ments lead by organizers and street agitators not professional politicians and elites. And both struggles have the same right-wing enemies—the Republican Party, and the racist and funda-mentalist elements of the Christian Right. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force released a study in January 2009 that actually showed black support for Prop. 8 to be 11 points lower than the 69% claimed by the exit polls. But the high percentage of black voters in support of banning

same sex marriage shouldn’t have come as a shock to anyone who’d been paying attention. It is true that for years black civil rights groups like the NAACP have been supporting same sex mar-riage. In 2005 Julian Bond, the national chair of the NAACP stated, “Gay rights are civil rights,” and declared that the Supreme Court’s ruling in Loving v. Virginia legalizing interracial marriage established matrimony as one of the “basic rights of man.” In California the organization came out against Prop. 8. The Sacramento Urban League, and the Black American Political Association of California also came out against Prop. 8. Nation-ally groups like the Radical Black Congress also have come out in favor of same sex marriage. But these moves sometimes have run counter to rank and file attitudes in these organizations. It’s not a secret that many in black communities are homo-phobic and have a hard time talking about the subject of same sex attraction, sex and relation-ships. This fear-based silence, along with a lack of public health and medical research dollars, is perhaps the real reason that AIDS went from being a “gay disease” to being a black one.

But when we look at why so many blacks supported Prop. 8 we miss a more important point if we limit ourselves to that question. More importantly only because of their larger portion in the electorate, why did so many whites vote for it? Over 3.1 million did. Compare that to the approximately 500,000 black voters who sup-ported the marriage ban and it becomes clear that there’s an awful lot of sensible, middle class, white Christians in California who think it’s okay to strip rights from people because they’re queer. Who’s teaching them toleration?

Roger White is a criminal justice researcher and writer. He lives in Sacramento.

How Women Got the VoteParallel activism to win equality

In 1913 [Alice Paul] and friend Lucy Burns organized a massive parade by women down Pennsylvania Avenue, scheduled to coincide with the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson.

Blacks Scapegoated for Prop. 8

See Vote, page 13

Elizabeth Freeman of the New York State Suffrage Association, with horse and carriage, on her way to join the March 3, 1913 suf-frage march in Washington, D.C.Photo: Library of Congress Archives

Inez Milholland Boissevain, wearing white cape, seated on white horse at the National American Woman Suffrage Association parade, March 3, 1913, Washington, D.C.Photo: Library of Congress Archives.

Noon HourWitness Against the

Death Penalty.Third Mondays12noon to 1pm.

11th and L StreetsState Capitol

INFO: 455-1796

Sacramento SoapboxProgressive Talk ShowAccess Sacramento, Channel 17 withJeanie Keltner.

Monday, 8pm, Tuesday noon, Wednesday, 4am.Now in Davis, Channel 15, Tuesday, 7pm.


Contrary to popular belief, the Con-gress, not the president, runs the coun-try. President Bush said his second term would be devoted to privatizing Social Security. House Republicans soon sent him word that no such legis-lation would ever pass. He dropped the idea. Barack Obama excited millions looking for a new and fair deal, and won the presidency by a large margin. However, congressional seats are far more important to the conduct of democracy. It was the winning of large progressive legislative majorities that will pass the bills instituting congres-sional and presidential recovery and progressive programs.

The powers of government, to protect and empower the citizenry, are held by the Congress. Only it has the power to tax, regulate, make war, and provide health care, justice and equality.

The theme of our Declaration of Independence is that governments derive “…their just powers from the consent of the governed….” Legislative decisions, even during Democratic majorities, have often contradicted the needs and desires of constituents.

Why? A few of the major problems: Nationally, about 40 percent of voters in our single seat voting system receive no House (or Assembly) representa-tion when their candidates lose. Polls continually show that Americans want more parties in their legislatures, but

our present voting system disallows that. Constituents have poor ability to interact with legislators due to having voted for the loser. There is no connec-tion with the winner. Unconscionable campaign costs stop new parties and good candidates. One of the undemo-cratic results of all this is that moneyed special interests have great and undem-ocratic control over legislation. What can be done?

Seventeen of the 21 developed democracies use the multimember district and proportional representa-tion (PR) voting system. None has ever looked back, and their experiences are the evidence for the following asser-tions. Voting blocs receive seats in proportion to the PR votes they receive. Multi-party legislatures result.

An example of using this: let us combine say, six Congressional districts into one and elect six members from it. Gerrymandering is virtually impos-sible. Using PR voting, only 14 percent of the vote would elect a seat. All vot-ers including the former 40 percent with no representation would choose candidates who can win. Many more eligible voters would register and turn out, and thus many more voters receive representation, a major hallmark of democracy. Some minority views held by Greens, Libertarians and others would finally elect seats nationwide, while Democrats and Republicans would still win a majority of the six

seats. Stable, coalition, consensus governments arise, like the Western European model. Back in our district campaigns, the multi parties will attack other party programs, not other party candidates. Campaign costs are far less, in large part because of this.

Even more importantly, PR builds accountability; if legislators do not fol-low their party’s program, it is much easier to oust them. Parties would also be easier to vote out, so voters could easily cause the end of party practices like secretly adding “earmark” spending to bills, spending neither discussed nor voted and thus both unjust and illegal. Because it would be virtually impos-sible to draw districts to favor certain parties, competition for seats soars, also improving turnout, voting, representa-tion and accountability.

Most developed nations use PR; it is not radical, does not alter our system of government, and is constitutional. When California and US stories of legislative irrelevance and corrup-tion become unconscionable, at some point they combine with opportunity, leadership and citizen voice to produce change, the voice that proportional vot-ing can provide.

Pete Martineau is founding board member, Californians for Elec-toral Reform and board member of the national electoral reform organization, Fairvote.

Preparing for a Progressive EraBy Pete Martineau

attention on a national suffrage constitutional amendment while NAWSA worked at the state and national levels with a more incremental and less confrontational approach than that of Paul.

Following disagreements over policy and strat-egy, Paul left NAWSA and formed the National Women’s Party. It focused on President Wilson, protesting at the White House gates where they were attacked by mobs angered by what was considered unpatriotic behavior during the world war. They were arrested on charges of “obstruct-ing traffic,” and, as in England, the protestors went on hunger strikes and were brutally force-fed, beaten and thrown into unsanitary rat-infest-ed cells. Paul was removed to a sanitarium in an effort to declare her criminally insane. However, the husband of a jailed wealthy socialite leaked news of their inhumane treatment to the press. The news brought about major public outrage and political support for the protestors and suf-

Vote from page 12

frage movement.Paul continued to work tirelessly for women’s

equality until her death in 1977. She authored and had introduced in Congress the first Equal Rights Amendment in 1923. The ERA was passed by Congress in 1972 but the amendment fell three states short of ratification. Should Congress extend the time limit on ratification, it may yet be achieved as a tribute to those pioneer leaders of the movement.

The League of Women Voters, which Catt founded, has continued to educate and advocate for woman’s rights and democracy. It is one of the most respected advocacy organizations in the nation with more than 100,000 members nationwide. The LWV of California works for civic involvement, good government and equal-ity at the state level. The organization recently supported the passage of Proposition 11, a redistricting reform measure, and opposed

To get an idea of life in Gaza, imagine a strip of land that is a small fraction of Sacramento County, crammed with about 1.5 million people. The north, east and south sides, the borders with Egypt and Israel, are surrounded by wire-topped fences or 50 feet metal walls, with huge guard towers for Israeli snipers. The entire area has only four entrance/exit points, all controlled by Israeli soldiers. The coast is patrolled by Israeli gunboats. The Gaza Strip is aptly referred to as the world’s largest open air prison.

Despite the decades of repression, the Palestin-ians in Gaza have survived and still resist. They became more resourceful and continued to grow produce like grapes and olives. Gazan crafts-men made fine furniture while textile workers made clothes for export. The Israeli blockade has largely destroyed that economic activity and

unemployment is now a staggering 80%. How is a society like Gaza, under such immense pres-sure, supposed to survive? Docility emboldens Israel and military resistance enrages it.

What should be clear by now is that Israel, if left alone, will not allow an independent sovereign Palestinian state to exist. Israel and Washington have conveniently played off Hamas against the Palestinian National Authority under Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank. A divided Palestinian population plays directly into Israeli hands. The claim that Israel cannot negotiate with terrorists like Hamas rings hollow since Israel failed to reach any meaningful settlement with Hamas’s predecessors.

The status quo with its conflict and economic blockades, suits Israel since they provide the cover for land grabs in the West Bank and leave

the Palestinians weak and divided. The pressure for a lasting settlement must come from outside, primarily the US. Only the US can pressure Israel to reach a lasting settlement that recognizes the sovereign rights of the Palestinians. The US could start by withholding the billions of dollars and military aid given annually to Israel (and Egypt) since the 1977 Camp David Agreement. For the US to be an honest broker would require the Obama administration to divorce itself from political pressure groups like the Israel lobby. By doing that, the US would be able to pursue a Middle East foreign policy based on US interests, not Israeli interests. They are not the same.

Brigitte Jaensch is a Sacramento-based human rights advocate.

Paolo Bassi is an attorney and free-lance writer based in Sacramento.

Proposition 8, which banned same sex marriages. They also filed an amicus brief in support of San Francisco’s lawsuit against Prop. 8. The Sacra-mento chapter of the League was established in 1939. Many outstanding leaders have come from the organization, including former Sacramento mayor Anne Rudin and Illa Collin, the longest serving member of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors.

As two of the most outstanding civil rights leaders, Alice Paul and Carrie Catt may have differed in persona and methodology, but they shared the same vision of equality. As Alice Paul stated in a 1972 interview, “I never doubted that equal rights was the right direction. Most reforms are complicated. But to me there is nothing com-plicated about ordinary equality.”

Rick Bettis is a member of the League of Women Voters of Sacramento.

Gaza from page 11

The 44By Bill Gainer

I didn’t vote,I gambledand I gambled on you.You won,you got the job,you’re big gun, the 44.

Your hundred days are ticking.The time for talk, hope and promise is gone—pull the trigger.Bring the kids home—the soldiers,feed the little ones –the children,and make sure the old oneshave a warm bed, a bowl of soup and something to hang on to.Let the historians sayhe was more than a guy with a good looking wife.Let them sayHE WAS THE FIRST ONEto get the jobdone.

Bill Gainer is a poet from Grass Valley.www.billgainer.com/

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NicaraguaSupport Sacramento’s sister city, San Juan de Oriente, Nicaragua, by purchasing organic whole-bean coffee grown in the rich volcanic soil on the island of Omotepe, Nicaragua.Thanks to the efforts of the Bainbridge-Omotepe Sister Island Association in Washington, we are able to bring you this wonderful medium roast coffee.Your purchase helps the farmers on the island and helps support Sacramento’s long relationship with San Juan de Oriente.All profits go directly back to the Nicaraguan communities.$9.00 a pound.Available in Sacramento at: The Book Collector, 1008 24th St.


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By Darien De LuIn the US we pride ourselves on our history of

supporting civil rights. As early as 1776, Thomas Paine declared the cause of America being bound with the fate of liberty throughout the world. He proclaimed that an independent US would be an “asylum for mankind”—a special embodiment of liberty in a world rampant with oppression. In more recent times, in the height of the Depres-sion, Franklin D. Roosevelt inspired our global Allies with his call for “the Four Freedoms”—freedom of speech and religion plus freedom from fear and want. US presidents continue to appeal to the ideal of “freedom.”

So it seems surprising—even disturbing—how little most of us know about the fundamental legal documents of international civil and human rights protections. How about you? Have you heard of CEDAW? Or the Rights of the Child?

If not, I urge you to read on and learn about just a few of the keystones of international rights law, starting with one of the first major achieve-ments of the UN, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The importance of the Declaration is reflected in the fact that it is the most translated document in the world, translated into over 231 languages and dialects. The Declaration was approved by the UN General Assembly, which includes all the member states of the UN, without dissenting votes in 1948.

However, in the east-west split of those days, some countries objected to the very individual-istic rights enumerated among the political and civil rights, such as the right to privacy, freedom of assembly, and freedom of movement within one’s country. On the other hand, other countries took issue with the idea of economic and social rights, including the right to education, to a job,

and to social security.So the implementing document for the Dec-

laration, the “convention”, was divided into two parts. The first is the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights. It entered into force in 1976, and in 1992 the US joined the other 132 states that have ratified it. The International Con-vention on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights has also been in force since 1976 and ratified by 132 states, but not by the US.

Many of the provisions of the Declaration are effectively binding for the countries that have ratified the two Conventions. That’s right; these are the binding building blocks of international law! Over 60 human rights treaties elaborate the fundamental rights and freedoms contained in the Declaration.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is widely considered to be the most important and far reaching of all UN decisions. Additionally, the UN has subsequently created two other key rights documents to protect the rights of women and of children.

The CEDAW protects women’s rights. Its full name is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Among the fundamental rights it protects against discrimination are the right to education, employment, health care and family planning, economic and social benefits, equality before the law, and marriage.

The CEDAW has been in force for the ratify-ing countries since 1990, and it’s been ratified by 90% of the UN members, including all of the Latin American countries and all but two of the African ones. However, the US has not ratified the CEDAW.

Also in force since 1990 is the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is the most widely and rapidly ratified human rights treaty in history—ratified by every country in the world, except two! Can you guess who one of those two is? That’s right—the US!

The Convention protects a wide array of rights, such as children’s right to their own name and identity, to be raised by their parents and have relations with both of them—even if separated, and the right to express their opinion freely and to have that opinion appropriately taken into account in any matter or procedure affecting them.

The UN has built upon these four Conven-tions—on political and civil rights; on social, cultural, and economic rights; on women’s rights; and on children’s rights—with additional protec-tions against torture, against racial and ethnic discrimination, and more.

A rather different set of conventions, predating the UN, are the Geneva Conventions. The Gene-va Conventions consist of four treaties formulat-ed in Geneva, Switzerland, that set the standards for international humanitarian law. They chiefly concern the treatment of non-combatants—that is, civilians—and prisoners of war. All four con-ventions were last revised and ratified in 1949.

These international humanitarian laws pro-hibit direct attacks against civilians and civilian objects—as well as indiscriminate attacks and attacks that cause disproportionate damage to civilians. Prohibited indiscriminate attacks include using weapons that are incapable of distinguishing between civilians and combat-ants, or between civilian and military objects. It is this provision which makes the use of nuclear

weapons, cluster bombs, land mines, and white phosphorous generally illegal in civilian areas.

So we see that civilians in war zones have spe-cial rights. Many of us don’t realize that interna-tional law invokes the duty of all countries to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian casual-ties. Failing to distinguish between combatants and civilians violates one of the most fundamen-tal tenets of the laws of war: the duty to carry out attacks only on military targets. Extensive and serious violations indicate the commission of war crimes.

Modern warfare frequently involves civilians, but US news reports very rarely mention possible war crimes. Nor do most of us understand that “unlawful attacks” on civilians, even if commit-ted in response to another unlawful attack, are a form of reprisal and a violation of the Geneva Conventions.

To conclude and summarize, along with 191 other countries, the US has ratified all four of the Geneva Conventions. The US also ratified The International Convention on Civil and Political Rights. However, we have not ratified the other Universal Declaration of Human Rights Conven-tion: the International Convention on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Nor had the US sup-ported women’s rights by ratifying the CEDAW. And we join Somalia as the only two countries that have not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

If you care about human rights, I urge you to contact our new Senate, under our new President, to call for ratification of these key international rights documents, as well as US compliance with the Geneva Conventions!

Darien De Lu has been an activist for over fifty years. Currently she focuses on peace and justice work through the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, solidarity work with Latin America, and her handy email.

Doing the “Rights” Thing!


If you want to help keep BPM going, will you consid-er stepping up? If you would like to know more about BPM, who puts it together and how you might help, join us. Wednesday, April 8, 7pm at 909 12th St. in the confer-ence room.

March / April CalendarONGOING EVENTS

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

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

11th OF EVERY MONTH: Sacramento 9/11 Truth Demonstration. 11th and L Sts. INFO: www.truthaction.org, 916-372-8433.MONDAYS: Sacramento Poetry Center hosts poetry readings. 7:30pm. 1719 25th Street. www.sacra-mentopoetrycenter.org.1st MONDAYS: Organ-ic Sacramento: Counter ongoing threats to our food. 6:30pm. INFO: www. organicsacramento.org.3rd MONDAYS: Capitol Outreach for a Moratorium on the Death Penalty. 12 noon–1pm, 11th & L Street. INFO: 455-1796.3rd MONDAYS: SAPA Peace and Sustainability Commit-tee. 6–8pm. INFO: Peace Action, 448-7157.3rd MONDAYS: Sacto 9/11 Truth:Questioning the “War on Terror.” 6–8pm. Denny’s 3rd & J St. INFO: [email protected] 372-8433.3rd MONDAYS: Lesbian Cancer Support Group. 6:30 Bring partners or sup-port people with you. INFO: Roxanne Hardenberg; [email protected]: Tuesdays, on-going. Pastel Landscape drawing class for ages 50+. 2:30m-5:00pm. Ethel Hart Center, 915 27th Street. $25/lesson. INFO: (916) 808-5462.TUESDAYS: Call for Peace Vigil. 4–6pm. 16th and J St. INFO 448-7157.TUESDAYS: Improv work-shop. Solve the world’s problems through improv games! 7–9:30pm. Geery Theatre, 2130 L street, Sac. $5.00, first time free. INFO: 916-821-4533, [email protected] TUESDAYS: Gray Pan-thers. 1–3pm. Hart Senior Ctr., 27th & J St.2nd TUESDAYS: Peace Network (speakers and dis-cussion), 6:30pm. Luna’s Cafe, 1414 16th Street. INFO: Sac Area Peace Ac-tion 448-7157.4th TUESDAYS: Peace and Justice Films. 7pm. Peace Action, 909 12th Street. INFO:448-7157.4th TUESDAYS: (Odd num-bered months) Amnesty

Int’l. 7pm. Sacramento Friends Meeting, 890-57th St. INFO: 489-2419.1st WEDNESDAYS: Peace & Freedom Party. 7pm. INFO: 456-4595.3rd WEDNESDAYS: CAAC Goes to the Movies. 7:15pm. INFO: 446-3304.THURSDAYS: Urban Farm Stand, 4–7pm, River Gar-den Estates, 2201 North-view Dr.THURSDAYS: Daddy’s Here. Men’s support group: cus-tody, divorce, parenting. 7–8:30pm. Free! Ctr for Families, 2251 Florin Rd, Ste 102. INFO: [email protected]. 568-3237x 205.1st and 2nd THURSDAYS: Storytelling at the Hart Senior Center, 27th & J sts. 7pm. Free. INFO: 916-362-9013, or [email protected] THURSDAYS: Sac Media Group. 6–8pm. Coloma Community Center, 4623 T Street. INFO: 443-1792, [email protected]: Oil, acrylic and watercolor painting class for experienced and be-ginner painters ages 50+. 9:30am-11:30am. Ethel Hart Center, 915 27th Street. $20 for 4 lessons. INFO: (916) 808-5462.FRIDAYS: Movies on a Big Screen. Independent, quirky movies and videos. 7pm. 600 4th St, West Sac. INFO: www.shiny-object.com/screenings/.1st FRIDAYS: Community Contra Dance. 8–11pm; 7:30pm beginners lessons. Clunie Auditorium, McKin-ley Pk, Alhambra & F. INFO: 530-274-9551.2nd FRIDAYS: Dances of Universal Peace. 7:30–9:30pm. Sacr amento Friends Meeting House 890 57th St. $5–$10 do-nation requested. INFO: Joyce, www.sacramento-dancesofuniversalpeace.org, 916-832-4630.4th FRIDAYS: Dances at Christ Unity Church, 9249 Folsom Blvd. All Welcome $ 5 – $ 1 0 d o n a t i o n reques t ed. INFO: Chris-t i n e 4 57 -5855, www.

sacramentodancesofuni-versalpeace.org.1st SATURDAYS: Health Care for All. 10am–noon. Hart Senior Ctr, 27th & J. For single-payer uni-versal health care. INFO: 916-424-5316; [email protected] SATURDAYS: Sacra-mento Area Peace Action Vigil. 11:30am–1:30pm. Arden and Heritage (en-trance to Arden Mall). INFO: 448-7157.2nd & 4th SATURDAYS: SPC Poetry Workshop, All levels, all poets. 10-11:30 am. South Natomas Com-munity Center, 2921 Truxel Rd, Sacramento FREE. 2nd & 4th SATURDAYS: Community Contra Dance. 8–11pm; 7:30 lessons. Co-loma Center 4623 T Street. INFO: 395-3483.3rd SATURDAYS: Writers of the new Sun/Escritores del Nuevo Sol. Writing group. 10am potluck. La Raza Galeria Posada, 1024 22nd St. INFO: 916-456-5323.3rd SATURDAYS: Sacra-mento Area Peace Action Vigil. 11:30am–1:30pm. Marconi & Fulton. INFO: 448-7157.3rd SATURDAYS: Under-ground Poetry Series, open mic plus featured poets. 7–9pm. Undergr ound Books, 2814 35th Street (at Broadway), Sacramento. $3. INFO: 737-3333.4th SATURDAYS: Sierra Permaculture Guild gen-eral mtg. 6:30–9pm. The Sacred Bee, 1451 E. Main St., Grass Valley.INFO: Sier-raPermaculture.orgSUNDAYS: Sacto Food Not Bombs. 1:30pm. Come help distribute food at 9th and J Streets.1st SUNDAYS: Zapatista Solidarity Coalition. 10am–noon. 909 12th St. INFO: 443-3424.2nd SUNDAYS: Atheists & Other Freethinkers. 1:30pm. Sierra 2 Center, Room 10, 2791 24th St. INFO: 447-3589.

Resources for Enlisted Personnel & VeteransDischarges • DEP • Discrimination • Gay • AWOL/UA • Harassment • Hazing• Conscientious ObjectionFree, confidential information from The GI Rights Hotline, www.girights.org, 800-394-9544

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

Point of View Speaker Series

Thursday, March 19 Charles Andrews. “Before Capitalism and After: New results on stages of history and the key to the next stage”

Charles Andrews will discuss the problem of dividing history into stages, showing that it is a way of gaining insight on the next social order that humanity is poised to enter. By taking a broad overview of primitive society, the ancient world, the medieval era, dynastic China, and capitalism, we find the limits of capitalism and the basic features of the society that will replace it.

Andrews is author of From Capitalism to Equality: An Inquiry into the Laws of Economic Change and has been an activist since the movement against the U.S. war in Vietnam.

Thursday, April 16, Jeff Mackler. “The Crisis” A Marxist analysis of the present economic crisis facing world capitalism.

Mackler is founder of the Mobilization for Peace, Jobs and Justice; co-ordinator of National Assembly to End the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and Occupations; director of the Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal; national secretary of Socialist Action

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

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

The Marxist School of Sacramento

Sacramento Area Peace Action

Palestine Speaker Series March 17, 2009 Environmental IssuesApril 21, 2009 DivestmentMay 19, 2009 Current Realities/One StateJune 16, 2009 Two Sacramentan’s Impressions Third Tuesdays. 7pm, 909 12th St. Sacramento. Details, see page 12.

Saturday, March 14Language Academy of Sacramento Spring Art and Food Faire. 4500 Roosevelt Ave., Sacra-mento. INFO: 916-277-7137, [email protected]. See story p. 5

Thursday, March 19Candle Light Peace Vigil. 4:30–6:30pm. Rally, Howe and Fair Oaks, Sacramento. 7–9pm. Vigil. Unitarian Universalist Society of Sacramento, 2425 Sierra Blvd. See ad page 14.

Thursday, March 19 Charles Andrews. “Before Capitalism and After: New results on stages of history and the key to the next stage.” 7–9pm. Sierra 2 Center, Garden Room, 2791–24th Street, Sacramento. Free. INFO: 799-1394. See box this page.

Friday, March 20, Access Sacramento will host a viewing of a webcast live panel discussion from the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC. on open government and secrecy, the impact on communities and what the public can do. View-ers will have an opportunity to call and email questions to the panelists. 10-11:30am. 4623 T St. INFO: 916-443-1792 x11, or 456-8600, x112. See Sunshine Week story page 2.

Sunday, March 22Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra Offers Baroque Stimulus Package to celebrate J.S. Bach’s Birthday. 7pm. UC Davis Mondavi Center. TICKETS: Mondavi Box Office: (866) 754-2787 $30/$40 General. Students: 50% Discount,

sunday april 26 – 11am–6pmsouthside park

SacramentoEarthDay.netFree Admission

Featuring Wildflower WondersCelebrate a sustainable Sacramento with great food, interactive activities and your

favorite bands

Group (10+) $5 Discount.

Tuesday, March 24Reproductive Freedom Day. 8am-4:30pm. Sac-ramento Convention Center. See p. 7.

Saturday, March 28THE SHOW at the Wo’se Community Center. 7-9 pm. 2863 35th St., Sacramento (at Broadway). $5. INFO: www.mybmsf.com/terrymoore.

Friday, April 3Benefit for Equality California, support civil rights for LGBT in Calif; concert featuring Blame Sally, an all-female band with a unique brand of folk pop. Placerville Shakespeare Club, 2940 Bedford Ave. at Hwy 50, Placerville. $25. TICKETS: 530-622-6900; [email protected].

Thursday, April 16Jeff Mackler. “The Crisis” A Marxist analysis of the present economic crisis facing world capi-talism. 7–9pm. Sierra 2 Center, Garden Room, 2791–24th Street, Sacramento. Free. INFO: 799-1394. See box this page.

Sunday, April 26Sacramento Earth Day. 11am–6pm. Southside Park. See box this page.

NON-PROFITORGANIZATION

US POSTAGE PAIDPERMIT NO. 2668SACRAMENTO, CA

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

Progressive MediaOnline News Sources:www.Truthout.org: essays on current events,

some videos, like Keith Olbermann’s MSNBC Countdown shows.

www.CommonDreams.org News Center: Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community.

www.Brasscheck.org: Progressive videos on many subjects, from Steven Colbert’s speech at the White House Correspondent’s dinner and speeches by leftwing MP George Galloway, to extensive information on 9/11 and the attacks on our civil liberties.

www.TheRealNews.com: a nonprofit progres-sive website offering daily news videos including interviews and debates. They plan soon to expand to television.

www.GoLeft.tv: Progressive Online Television. In the world of media monopoly, news has been replaced with a new invention called “infotainment.” GoLeft.tv is a progressive political T.V. news source that fills that gap between the media’s dumbed down info-tainment and real news reporting.

www.innworldreport.net: Daily professional viewer/listener supported journalism available in over 20 million homes across America.

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

Editors’ Picks!ä Soapbox!—Jeanie Keltner talks with activists and analysts from Sacramento and beyond about the issues of the day.

Where to watch:Access Sacramento cable channel 17. Every Monday at 8pm. Call in comments on 2nd and 4th Mondays. Repeats Tues-day at noon, Wednesday at 4am.In Davis, on channel 15, Tuesdays at 5pm.

ä Media Edge—Sacramento’s own magazine format show, covering local progressive events and speakers, as well as internationally known commentators, with clips from some of the best independent political video being made now.Where to watch:

Access Sacramento channels 17 and 18 and Davis Channel 15. Sundays 8–10pm Nevada County channel 11 Mondays 10:30pm–12:30am,West Sacramento channel 21 Mondays 9-11pm.See scheduled segments atwww.wethemedia.org.

ä Democracy Now—Amy Goodman’s award-winning magazine format show.

Where to watch:Access Sacramento TV, Cable Channels 17 and 18, Weekdays 6pm, 12midnight, 5am.Dish Network Satellite TV, Channel 9415, Free Speech TV, M–F: 9am, 4pm, 9pm, 5am, Pacific time. Link TV, Channel 9410, Monday–Friday, 8am, 3pm. KVMR 89.5 FM Mon–Thu 7pm. KDVS 90.3 FM Mon–Fri noon. KPFA 94.1 FM Berkeley, M–F 9am

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

Have you taken the TV production training at Access Sacramento? Would you like to learn or put your technical talents to use? Soapbox! urgently needs crewmembers to help set up, run cam-eras, and take viewers’ phone calls on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month.

Call 444 3203 if you’re interested in taking the training or joining us at Soapbox! for fun—and the best pizza in town, from Pieces.

Progressive Radio StationsäKVMR 89.5 FMä The Voice, 88.7 Cable FM; and streaming

audio on www.Accesssacramento.org; SAP Comcast Channels 17 & 18

ä KYDS 91.5 FMäKDVS 90.3 FMä KPFA 94.1 FM BerkeleyäKZFR 90.1 FM Chico People Powered Radio! managed and

operated by volunteers, provides mostly locally produced and community oriented programs.

(Other) Progressive Newspapersä The Flatlander: a free community newspa-

per of fun, opinion and politics in the Davis Area. [email protected]. Publication every 2 months, next issue is April/May

The Flatlander P.O. Box 72793 Davis, CA 95617ä Likewise, we are greatly impressed with

the lively goodlooking Midtown Monthly. It’s not political, but it has the kind of use-ful and delightful info about life, art, food and music in Sacramento and beyond that creates the sense of community needed for an uncertain future.

Here’s a hot tip! If you don’t have cable TV, and you do have a PC (doesn’t work on Mac), you can watch Access Sacramento programs as they are being aired by going to www.accesssacramento.org and clicking on the “Watch Channel 17” button at the top of the first page.

Great Speeches and Interviews-Local and national speeches and interviews to challenge your thinking. An in-depth radio program on the current issues. Where to listen and/or download:Listen Sundays 6-8pm on Comcast Ch. 17, 18, set your TV menu to SAP or listen on The Voice www.AccessSacramento.org L is ten or download f rom w w w.a r c h i v e . o r g / b o o k m a r k s / s g l Blogged on www.SacramentoForDemoc-racy.org

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

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2009 Mar Apr