VOLUME 7, ISSUE 1 • January 2002
| #Center for Nonviolence
#Community ¡Reclaims! Pacifica |
#Fresno’s War on Terror...er...Teens | #L/CA Twin outlines ongoing programs | #Tamejuai Festival |
by Vickie Fouts
Who are we? We are an independent activist group established over five years ago as the Community Alliance. Our mission is to support or align with workers and progressive groups in the Central San Joaquin Valley.
We will continue to work towards economic and social justice and believe all workers should be paid a living wage. We will continue to support current projects such as the Jobs with Justice, Worker’s Rights Center, Immigrant Rights Coalition, Worker’s Rights Board, Volunteers for Justice/Emergency Response Network.
Helping plan an economic justice theme for the 2002 Martin Luther King, Jr. events is an example of the kind of work we hope to continue and expand in the future.
We are open to working with new groups that may appear regarding economic/social justice issues, as well as those groups that are already established.
The only thing changed is that the newsletter will be headed by Mike Rhodes (See editorial) and the economic justice activist organization will be headed by myself, Vickie Fouts, and Larry Trullinger, as co-coordinators. Our meetings are the fourth Monday of every month at the Center for Non-Violence. We look forward to your continuing support. You can reach us with any questions or concerns at:
vmfout1@hotmail.com (559) 658-8260 or larryt6@mindspring.com (559) 251-5662
Mike's
MessageCommunity Alliance is now fraternal twins
Important changes are taking place with the Community Alliance (L/CA). This publication, which has been the voice of the L/CA for the last five years, is now an independent magazine, no longer a part of the organization.
Both the magazine and organization are considering a name change but at the time of publication nothing has been decided. The Community Alliance organization will continue organizing actions and programs like the MLK march, May Day events, the Workers Rights Center, supporting immigrant rights, etc. The new co-coordinators of L/CA are Vickie Fouts and Larry Trullinger. L/CA meetings will continue to take place at the Fresno Center for Nonviolence on the last Monday of the month.
The Community Alliance magazine is and will continue to be an independent voice for workers and progressive groups in the Central San Joaquin Valley. The goal of this monthly magazine is to build a powerful progressive movement that will support social, environmental, & economic justice, immigrant rights and a living wage for all working people. We seek to expose social and political injustices and to link the diverse network of activists working in our community.
The editorial board, which is composed of representatives from many community groups, will continue to guide the magazine. Mike Rhodes continues as the editor and George & Maia Ballis are the associate editors and layout/design artists. Readers are not likely to notice any difference in the content or politics of this publication. The editorial board sees this transition as a positive development for both organizations.
We are especially pleased that the progressive community is strong and diverse enough to support a greater number of organizations working for social justice. The change gives the magazine the opportunity to go through the transformations necessary to become a more influential and useful publication in this community.
Vickie Fouts has written a statement from the L/CA articulating their position on this transition. That statement can be found on this page.
It is the hope and belief of the editorial board that both the magazine and the L/CA will thrive, work together, and play a vital role in building a strong and vibrant movement for social and economic justice in this community.
Over the past few years, Mike Rhodes has shouldered the enormous task of overseeing three major projects.
He has chaired the Community Alliance (the organization which brought us May Day Celebrations, the Living Wage campaign, etc.) He has been one of the courageous mainstays of the GAP/Free Speech campaign. He has been Editor-in-chief of this publication. For some reason he now thinks this too much, and has decided to step down as chair of the L/CA to concentrate on the magazine.
In recognition of his accomplishments, in a special election held last week in our underground editorial compound, Mike was elected as Fresno’s Mr. Progressive 2001, which honor we’re told brings its own rewards. Thanks, Mike, for your amazingly calm, thoughtful, constructive, prodigious work. We’re glad you’re here.
—The Gang
by
Vickie Fouts
Martin Luther King Events
• Jan. 18th Friday Noon
Speakers &flowers Courthouse Park - at the MLK Bust
• Jan 18th Friday pm 4:30 to 6:00
City Hall MLK Awards and reception
• Jan. 19th 8:00 am
MLK Breakfast Ted Wills Center (770 N. San Pablo) Speakers and music
• Jan. 20th 5:30 pm City Hall Candle Light Service
• Jan 21st
10:30 am March (Carter Memorial A.M.E. Church, 3049 Mariposa)
Noon Memorial Auditorium Program
Martin Luther King Jr. was a major force in the Memphis sanitation workers strike in 1968. At the AFSCME Local 1199 Salute to Freedom speech March 1968, just days before his assassination, he spoke saying,
"You are demanding that this city will respect the dignity of labor. So often we overlook the work and the significance of those who are not in professional jobs, of those who are not in the so-called big jobs. But let me say to you...whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity and it has worth."
This year our annual Fresno celebration will look to the life work of King for inspiration to help us tackle the crushing poverty that still plagues so many Fresnans thirty-one years after his death. Everyone knows that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a leader in the civil rights movement. Some know that he was part of the anti-war movement during the Vietnam War. But, how many of us know that he was involved in the economic justice and labor movements? With the ever-growing gap between the rich and poor and the proliferation of corporate welfare, we need to revisit
what he had to say. One of his Principles of Nonviolence states,
"Nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice." We have the universe on our side, so let us fight for economic justice for all Americans, and all humans worldwide."
As early as 1961 he saw a day when all Americans, no matter what their race would have the American dream.
"A dream of equality of opportunity, of privilege and property widely distributed; a dream of a Land where men will not take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few...A dream of a nation where all our gifts and resources are held not for ourselves alone, but as instruments of service for the rest of humanity; the dream of a country where every man will respect the dignity and worth of the human personality."
In talking to the Teamsters and Allied Trade Councils in 1967 he stated,
"We look around every day and we see thousands and millions of people making inadequate wages. Not only do they work in our hospitals, they work in our hotels, they work in our laundries, they work in domestic service, they find themselves under employed. You see, no labor is really menial unless you’re not getting adequate wages. But if you’re getting a good wage...that isn’t menial labor. What makes it menial is the income, the wages."
King was also instrumental in the Poor People ’s Campaign where he called for a guaranteed family income and threatened national boycotts that ended in a mass march and encampment in Washington, D.C. in May 1968. He wanted Washington to see and deal with the unseen and ignored masses of desperate and downtrodden Americans.
Let us each honor the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. by calling for economic and social justice of all humanity. Let us march this month behind the banners of economic justice. Join with homecare workers, carpenters, sheepherders, immigrants, and others in their just struggles for living wages, healthcare for all, respect and dignity. JOIN US!
For more information call Gail Gaston 325-0540 or email: gdemvote@aol.com
by Glenn DeVoogd
Dr. Allan Luke, one of the most intelligent, inspirational, and revolutionary educational speakers of our time, has been invited to Fresno January 16-18 for the Fresno Area Reading Council Annual Convention. He is a scholar and a pioneer in the area of critical literacy which is a new field in literacy education he is forming that builds on the critical pedagogy work of Paulo Freire (Pedagogy of the Oppressed), the Brazilian who worked with in the favelas of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
His idea of critical pedagogy stems from the failure of the conservative and liberal educational reform agendas to address tensions in our society such as racism, discrimination, and violence. Neither the technocratic models of standards and testing, nor the liberal agenda of multicultural education, seem to inform about unequal power relations and social stratification that support the status quo. Educators often see schools as agents to simply reproduce current class structure rather than an instrument of class integration and of justice.
Though there is no generic definition of critical pedagogy, students and teachers involved in critical learning are encouraged to:
1. Examine and question values, assumptions, and ideologies in society;
2. Link that information to their own experiences; and
3. Pose questions challenging the current norms.
Though a scholar, Luke works closely with teachers to establish new practices and a context in which teachers can make decisions that allow children to be more thoughtful and freethinking.
Dr. Luke is currently scheduled to speak on Friday morning at a workshop at California State University Fresno at the School of Education building room 140 from 9-12. He will be the keynote speaker at the Fresno Area Reading Council’s Annual Convention starting at 5:30 at the south gym. For details see http://education.csufresno.edu/farc. Since there is charge for both sessions, you are asked to call or register for the conference at the web site above.
If you would like to have him speak to your group January 16-18, you are encouraged to call Glenn DeVoogd at 278-0279. The Reading Council asks that you contribute to defray the cost of paying for Dr. Luke’s flight here from Australia.
by: Ray Ensher
When the California legislature passed SB480 for a study on a universal health plan, it mandated a listing of options for providing the delivery of medical care. There are nine (9) plans being written and modeled (priced) to be reported to the senate Health and Human Services Agency after holding four symposia throughout the state. The Fresno symposia is scheduled for January 24th, 2002 at the Picadilly Inn, 2305 W Shaw Avenue in Fresno. It is a daylong event beginning at 8:30 AM. Other symposia will be held in Sacramento, Oakland, and Manhattan Beach.
After the four are held no plan may be chosen, more work may be requested or the state health agency may simply say, "thank you." It is important for public input at the Fresno Symposia for social justice. The present crazy-quilt system is failing too many people at exorbitant costs, both in money, time, and quality of services (anticipated that insurance costs are expected to rise 10 to 20% per year for the next two years. Already we are hearing that mothers of young children are working outside the home expressly to pay the cost of health insurance.
For information contact Ray Ensher at (559) 439-8140 of Fresno or Barbara Wauchope at (559) 732-3910 in Visalia.
HELP HOMELESS SLEEPERSThe Sleeping Bag Project, a non-profit, tax-deductible volunteer effort, sponsored by the Fresno Free College Foundation, to provide sleeping bags and blankets to the homeless during the winter months. All donations of sleeping bags, blankets or money to buy them will be gratefully appreciated. For information, call 265-7151. Make checks payable to: The Sleeping Bag Project, 4578 N First #183, Fresno, CA 93726. |
by Bob Fischer
Saturday, Dec. 1st, was World Action Day Against Gap Sweatshops, and some forty or so anti-sweatshop activists observed the occasion by demonstrating at the corner of Shaw and Angus on the sidewalk in front of Fashion Fair Shopping Mall.
It
was a cold and cloudy day that threatened to rain on us, but that didn’t
dampen our spirits, because more than a dozen university and high school
students fired up the demonstration and really got it rolling. They danced on
the median strip, waved at passing motorists, and cheered the hundreds of people
who honked their car horns to say that they too opposed the Gap’s use of
sweatshops. There was so much nonstop honking that you could hardly hear what
the person next to you was saying.
It was cheerful, fun and loud! The students turned what might have been a drab day into a joyous and noisy sidewalk celebration of the rights of all working people to freedom from peonage, and a right to a living wage, humane, decent working conditions and a labor union of their own choosing. George "Elfie" Ballis got it all on video. See his web site at: www.sunmt.org/dec2chron01.html
The corporate media steadfastly ignore the vigorous campaign against the Gap use of sweatshops, just as it ignores the fact that Gap sales have been steadily falling every month for two years.
In the last quarter, the Gap’s sales plummeted 25% from sales in the same quarter a year ago.
Financial analysts are saying they have never seen a drop in retail sales like that, and the Gap needs to make some changes quickly. Fashion analysts are saying the problem is the Gap’s clothing line is too edgy, and they need to add more basic clothes.
Last year they said the problem was the Gap’s clothes were too plain, and they needed to switch to fashions that were more cutting edge.
Corporate media and analysts agree on one thing though, they aren’t talking about the campaign taking place all across the U.S., Europe and Japan against the Gap’s use of peonage, and Gap’s owners plans to cut the world’s last stand of privately owned old growth Redwoods in Humbolt County.
For
two years, without missing even once, we have had a demonstration against the
Gap’s use of sweatshop labor on every first Saturday of the month. Our next
demonstration will be on January 5th. We are going to have another noisy,
friendly and fun demonstration on the corner of Shaw and Angus. We will also
be handing out flyers from a table inside the mall.
The analysts and the corporate media have not yet been forced to admit it, but citizen action does have a big impact. Let’s keep it going! Mark it on your calendar now, and come join us on the corner of Shaw and Angus from 12 to 2 on Saturday, January 5th.
"An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him
is unjust, and willingly accepts the penalty...to arouse the conscience of the
community over its injustice, is...expressing the very highest respect for
law."
— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
by
George Elfie Ballis
Forty protesters rallied in front of the Fresno State Building to celebrate Human Rights Day and demand Gov. Gray Davis sign AB 60 which would grant many immigrants the right to get drivers’ licenses.
Right now undocumented workers cannot get drivers’ licenses. This is a safety and a human rights issue. Unlicensed people are now driving around endangering themselves and all the rest of us.
Davis had until mid October to veto the bill. He didn’t. So now it must be law. Yes¿?No¿?Who knows¿?
Thousands of workers and their families are denied the basic right of transportation because the state of California denies people without legal documents their right to obtain a drivers license. Assembly members Gil Cedillo (LA) and Sara Reyes (Fresno) pushed AB 60 through the legislature to partially remedy this situation. The bill, if signed by the Governor, would allow immigrants who are applying for legal residence to get drivers’ licenses.
If
you wish to support the protesters’ reasonable demands, talk to Gray: 916
445-4633 or email governor@governor.ca.gov
See video of this demonstration at:sunmt.org/dec19chron01.html
See video of previous demonstration at:sunmt.org/aug20chron01.html
The Central Valley Partnership for Citizenship, a collaborative of fourteen organizations working with immigrant communities in the Central Valley, expresses its profound grief over the murder of Abdo Ali Ahmed. A Yemeni grocer and father of six young children in the small town of Reedley, California, Abdo Ali Ahmed was killed apparently because of his ethnicity and religious belief on Saturday, September 29th. Mr. Ahmed immigrated to the U.S. 35 years ago and became a citizen of the United States.
We are also very concerned about other violent, intolerant acts that have been reported in Fresno, Reedley, Tulare and Lindsay. Since the death of Mr. Ahmed, four storeowners and clerks have been shot: all Arab-Americans, Indian and Yemeni. Three of the four died.
The Central Valley Partnership understands the anger and grief that have followed the tragic events of September 11th. Yet we must speak out as a community and act against violence and hate directed towards Arabs, Muslims, Sikhs, and others. If as a society we respond with bigotry and racial profiling, we will hand a victory to the terrorists-by undermining the democracy, diversity and pluralism that we so cherish. We also recognize the enormous contribution made by immigrants from all nations and religions to our Central Valley communities, our state and our nation.
Immigrants have made this country what it is today, and the Central Valley Partnership stands firmly with all immigrants as they, like the rest of us, struggle with the events and aftermath of September 11th. We call on all Californians to show support for our immigrant neighbors and friends.
Organizations from Central Valley Partnership who signed on to this statement include:
California Institute for Rural Studies • The Pan Valley
Institute
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation • Proyecto Campesino
American Friends Service Committee • Colegio Popular
Rural Economics Alternative Project • Hmong Today of KNXT TV
Immigrant Legal Resource Center • Valley Catholic Charities
San Joaquin Valley Organizing Project • Frente Indigena Oaxacena
Binacional • Sacramento Valley Organizing Community
The San Joaquin Valley Coalition for Immigrant Rights
Pacific Institute of Community Organizing.
Other groups supporting this statement include:
Central California Muslim Society • Sacramento Area League
of Associated Muslims
Muslim Students Association — Sacramento
Youth in Focus • Compumentor • Community Alliance
The Aguirre Group • SunMt
TO MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FUND contact or send your check made out for deposit to: Coalition for Tolerance and Understanding Fund, Account #097290654 to: The Bank of the West, 2300 Tulare St., Fresno, CA 93721 Tel. 559-486-5750.
by Richard Stone
From establishing "Peace Corner" on Shaw & Blackstone, to challenging the hate-mongering on talk radio, to bringing high-profile speakers to Fresno, to lobbying legislators--peace activists are — well, active.
We have invited campus groups and members of Peace Fresno to write briefly about current involvements.
For up-to-date information, try the websites at:
http://fresnoalliance.com/home/
http://www.sunmt.org/peace.html
or call 237-3223.
by Peter Hudson
Speaking of Islam, nationally syndicated radio talk show host, Michael Savage said "Do you know of any of other religion that would give a boy an AK-47?"
Peace Fresno’s Committee for Media Access and Accountability has been confronting this kind of attack on minority groups in the media.
On November 15th the committee held a forum "Talk Radio and Hate Crimes: Is There a Connection?" at Fresno City College attended by 192 people. John Broeske, program director for KMJ, was quoted in the Daily Collegian saying regarding an invitation to participate in the forum "I’m just totally insulted that they would ask the question, and wouldn’t give them the time of day."
John Broeske has since spoken with Vince Lavery of the Center for Non-Violence saying he would respond to a letter outlining the committee’s concern.
by Kenley Neufeld
Can’t always make it to planning meetings? Want to do more for "the cause" in Fresno but don’t always have the time? Want your thoughts and ideas to be heard?
A new forum for planning and communicating about progressive issues in Fresno has been formed online. Join the new electronic mailing list, ORGANIZE, which provides a space for members of the progressive community to talk about issues, share ideas, and plan events. Currently our focus is the "war on terrorism" but the forum is open for any and all progressive issues to be explored. This is not just an announcement mailing list...it is a place to have dialogue.
When you participate, you will receive an e-mail message from anyone who sends a message to the group. The amount of email activity will depend on how much we talk to each other. Each message will be easily identified by the subject line "ORGANIZE " to help you sort your e--mail.
How to Join: To subscribe to the mailing list, send an e-mail message to imailsrv@jasperneufeld.com. In the body of the message, type the following: subscribe organize your name No subject line is required. Replace the words your name with your real name. For example: subscribe organize Kenley Neufeld
We gather as witnesses and informants for peace with justice at Shaw and Blackstone, Fresno. Join us. Let our voices become a multitude.
4:30 pm, Wednesdays and Fridays
Noon, Sundays which are tentative after January 1. Call 559 237-3223 for information on this day.
by Ken Hudson
At
the Peace Corner of Shaw & Blackstone our goal is to influence public
opinion and to reassure opponents of the war that they are not alone.
The amount of enthusiastic horn honking and peace signs leads us to wonder about the accuracy of the national polls. Of course, we hear our share of epithets; perhaps the strangest was when an angry motorist yelled, "Misfits!"
Occasionally, bookstore customers come outside and engage in genuine dialogue, sometimes even picking up a sign and joining us. All the local peace and justice groups have been represented including, most courageously, members of the Arab/Muslim community.
People have come from the foothills, Reedley, Sanger, Hanford, Merced, and even Hollister and Lake Tahoe. Among the oddities observed across the street, City Councilman Jerry Duncan was demonstrating near a bin Laden effigy that was impaled by the mast of a U.S. flag. The body and flag were drenched in red paint to symbolize blood. Now isn’t that a desecration of the flag?
Campus Coalition for Peace & Civil Liberties, at CSUF, is dedicated to peace and alternatives to war and violence; to supporting diversity in our community by opposing hate violence and prejudice; and to upholding civil liberties.
During the school year, we are tabling in the free speech area Wednesdays and Thursdays from noon to 2 p.m. We will resume weekly meetings in late January, time and place TBA. We can be reached at youngmorghan@hotmail.com
by Richard Stone
The Education Committee of Peace Fresno is holding a training session to prepare peace advocates to serve on our Speakers Bureau, which will send members to schools, churches, etc.
The session will be Saturday, January 19, 10 am-3 pm at the Center for Nonviolence.
The training will include an introduction to the format we have developed for presentations; introduction to factual material and basic concepts; and PRACTICE SPEAKING.
You do not need to be an expert, or an oratorical whiz, to be a successful presenter. You will always go with at least one partner; you will speak primarily about what matters most to you (and what you’re most familiar with); you can choose the venues you are most comfortable with.
Yes, we know that public speaking is a challenge. But to spread the notion that peacemaking is a real alternative to war making we HAVE TO make our thoughts and hopes--and our successful experience--known to others.
Join us in the most revolutionary activity, SPEAKING OUR TRUTH.
To sign up, or for more information, call Richard Stone at 266-2559.
by Vince Lavery
Seven
organizations supported the Fresno City Council resolution to end the bombing in
Afghanistan and feed the 1.5 million children on the Pakistani border.
32 people showed up at City Hall on Tuesday, November 27th. The purpose was to have the City of Fresno support the resolution.
Unfortunately none of the members sponsored the resolution with the result that we were allotted five minutes to make the presentation.
It is our intent to bring the resolution —or a similar one to it —before the Council again. We are seeking a sponsor. Council Members who have notified me that they would not sponsor such a resolution: Jerry Duncan, Brian Calhoun, Brad Castillo.
Council President Henry Perea said he would send an e-mail to all of the members asking for a sponsor. Peter Hudson is working on a resolution to the County Board of Supervisors with less "dramatic" language.
I do hope everyone will contact their Member and ask them to sponsor this relatively low-key resolution. Contact me: (559)439-0821.
THANK YOU
& Happy Holidays from
|
by Vicky Fouts
The December 4th meeting of the Fresno Free College Foundation, FFCF, seemed to be nothing but good news. The on-air marathon raised $26,000. Someone donated studio equipment for the new studio on Wishon. The North Fork fundraiser held December 3rd raised $960. It would give one confidence that if things fall apart at KPFA and Pacifica, KFCF will be able to survive. The FFCF Speakers Series will host Dr. Maskaleris, who will discuss Greek culture. It will be held the evening of January 18th at the Downtown Club. David Gans from KPFA’s "Dead to the World" will be at Club Fred on a Sunday afternoon in January. For the future they are looking towards a spring festival and possible Christmas crafts faire.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please return your by-laws change ballots by December 31,2001.
An agreement was reached between plaintiffs in four lawsuits against Pacifica and the foundation’s board of directors, whereby official control of the network will return to community radio advocates.
The agreement calls for an interim board, controlled by the current minority, to serve for fifteen months while new, democratic structures are implemented for an elected national Pacifica board.
The agreement brings to an end two and a half years of legal, political, and community struggle following illegal changes made under former board chair Dr. Mary Frances Berry.
The agreement may be read at: http://www.savepacifica.net/settlement.html
by Bob Fischer
President Bush has discarded the Constitution and given himself dictatorial powers. He has replaced the Bill of Rights with what he calls "perpetual war against terrorists and their supporters." In less than six weeks, and without the usual committee procedures, the U.S. Congress, with Sen. Dianne Feinstein and other big-name Democrats leading the charge, passed into law the president’s entire anti-terrorism package, and more. The Congress actually gave the president even more power than he had previously given to himself by arbitrary decree.
The President bypassed Congress and the Judiciary and single-handedly created a new executive agency to be located in the White House under his own authority. The Homeland Security Agency, is a cabinet-level agency whose head will be Tom Ridge, the Governor of Pennsylvania. Its purpose is to centralize the command and control of the 45 federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies currently fighting terrorism and to coordinate all 1,800 state and local law enforcement agencies in the new domestic war.
The new anti-terrorism czar will coordinate the development of a comprehensive annual budget to fight terrorism, and to certify to the President whether individual agency budgets are sufficient. The czar will prepare a "National Terrorism Prevention and Response Strategy." The new czar can even deploy the U.S. military in operations on American soil, something that was forbidden by the former Constitution.
The president, himself, will decide which groups are "terrorist," and he will order their destruction. The president has given the FBI and other agencies the power to:
• eavesdrop on conversations between attorneys and clients,
• demand employees’ documents from employers,
• enter homes to plant microphones and cameras,
• employ roving wiretaps on suspects’ conversations anywhere in the country,
• plant spy software in suspects’ computers, and
• search, seize and detain suspects,
all without the subpoenas, search warrants or summons that were required by the Constitution before the president’s anti-terrorist package became the law of the land.
Attorney General Ashcroft said, "Law enforcement is now empowered with new tools and resources necessary to disrupt, weaken and eliminate the infrastructure of terrorism [sic] organizations."
The President has empowered the military to try suspected terrorists in secret tribunals. Suspected terrorists will be extradited to other "more brutal" countries to be tortured for any information they might have and then tried by a secret U.S. military commission, without benefit of evidence, witnesses, defense or appeal. Then they will be executed.
The new law empowers the CIA to abduct, torture and assassinate individual suspected terrorists personally selected by the president, himself.
Already, in the domestic war on terrorists, there have been over 1,200 Muslim and Arab young men rounded up, and there are still over 500 prisoners being held without charges in secret locations. These hapless visitors to America are being "pressured" with isolation, denial of food and sleep, sensory deprivation, non-stop all-day interrogations while hooked to polygraphs. In over four months, most have not been allowed any contact with anyone on the outside, including their attorneys and their families. The government refuses to provide any information about them.
The Bush administration has given federal prosecutors and the FBI a list of more than 5,000 additional Muslim and Arabic men between the ages of 18 and 33 years old. These men entered the U.S. after Jan. 1, 2000 from nations known to have al-Qaida activity. They are to be found and questioned about their knowledge of terrorist groups and their involvement in terrorist activity. The Justice Department says these 5,000 are not suspects, and the interviews are voluntary. (Apparently, people don’t become suspects until they refuse a voluntary interview.)
Suspects discovered will be taken to secret locations, perhaps U.S. Navy ships at sea, and subjected to "escalated pressure." The President has declared that the new war on terrorism is total war and a crusade against evil. He said there can be no discussion, no negotiation and no compromise with the evil ones, and he has put the entire world on notice: "If you are not with us, you are against us." Every one of us must immediately face the truth, the awful actuality of what has occurred: The President now has absolute despotic power.
Now there are no Constitutional protections, and no one is safe from the government. America has become a dictatorship of the extreme right. Every one of us who loves democracy, freedom and justice must quickly recognize that the situation has already turned critical, the changes in the laws have already been made, and the transfer of absolute power into the hands of the President is complete. We must realize that we are no longer in a struggle to preserve our rights and freedoms--now we are in a fight to take them back.
"Not
only did Dooley cast the deciding vote for this anti-worker legislation, he
lobbied his colleagues for its passage," said Community Alliance editor Mike Rhodes.
"It is time for Dooley to go!"
Central California progressives were particularly outraged at the role Representative Cal Dooley played in the vote.
Working families flooded Capitol Hill offices with phone calls, e-mails and faxes urging defeat of Fast Track, but well-heeled business lobbyists and Republican leaders managed to capture the one extra vote needed to pass the trade scheme Dec. 6. The 215-214 vote means the flawed trade legislation, which President George W. Bush has desperately sought since taking office, moves to the Senate, where a vote is likely to take place early in 2002.
Fast Track grants the president the authority to negotiate trade deals and forbids Congress any opportunity to correct flaws or problems, including lack of worker or environmental rights.
Opponents say Fast Track would aid powerful corporations searching the globe for cheap labor--lowering standards globally for workers’ rights, public health, consumers and the environment.
For more information go to: http://www.aflcio.org/home.htm
by Kelly Hayes-Raitt
What’s your thumb worth to you?
That simple digit that enables you to hold a toothbrush, tie your daughter’s shoe, or snap your fingers to a favorite song. $50,000? $100,000? $1 million?
If you lose the use of your thumb through an injury on your job, your employer will reimburse you only $9,000. And not all at once. They will dole that payment out over 13 months. In fact, California’s benefits to injured workers rank a dismal 49th in the country. If you were hurt on your job in Louisiana, you’d be better compensated for your loss than if you were hurt in California.
Most permanently disabled workers in California are compensated a mere $140/week for a limited time. Benefits for most permanently disabled workers have not risen in 20 years. There is no automatic cost-of-living adjustment. Earlier this year, Sen. John Burton authored legislation to raise benefits for injured workers. The bill was opposed by the Chamber of Commerce and vetoed.
We’re trying again, this time with an initiative by the people. The FAIRNESS for Injured Workers Act is a simple, straightforward law to raise the benefits for California ’s injured workers to the national average. It is supported by workers, consumers and seniors.
The FAIRNESS for Injured Workers Act
It ’s simple It’s fair
Please join us in supporting the FAIRNESS for Injured Workers Act by calling (310)581-4421 or e-mailing CAInjuredWorkers@aol.com.
PLEDGING YOUR LOVE: The Center’s annual appeal has brought in a heart-warming (and unusually speedy) response. As of mid-December close to $3000 has come in, with many pledges still due. Thanks to all who continue to keep our doors open and do our work.
ANNUAL RETREAT: The afternoon of Jan 12th is reserved for our annual planning meeting--a time for reflection, fellowship and strategizing. For January, our monthly business meeting is held at Angela Price’s home in the morning. After a noon potluck, we regroup for the retreat till about 4:00. We welcome the participation of interested community members--call Angela at 435-6383 for directions.
DAY OF RENEWAL: At the suggestion of Diane Marks, a good friend of the Center, we have established a "new tradition", an annual Day of Renewal. This will be a time to re-consider the meaning of our commitment to nonviolence. We have tentatively set the date for the afternoon of Sunday, Feb. 3. Look for details in next month’s newsletter.
PEACE CHALLENGE: Our 3rd Peace Challenge for Youth, funded by Charles Walton of San Jose, has awarded $1070 in grants for the following projects:
1) "Project Safe ". 6th grade classes at the John Muir School in Corcoran have undertaken activities to reduce hostility toward local Arab-Americans in the wake of 9/11.
2) The Gay/Straight Alliance will be working on a video to document the experience of Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender (GLBT) high school students.
3) Barrios Unidos is instituting a program to educate young women about gynecological health concerns.
4) Boys & Girls Club is producing a video aimed at reducing theft by educating about the impact on victims.
5) Planned Parenthood’s "Destination Out" is creating a mural to promote visibility and pride for homeless GLBT youth.
6) Prosperity Church of God is sponsoring a series of classes for "Learning the Skills of Nonviolence."
We are delighted with the variety and quality of these proposals. Reports on the projects are due by the end of April. Bonus awards for successful execution of projects will be announced at the recognition ceremony hosted by the Fresno Human Relations Council and held at City Hall in early May.
LITERARY NOTE: Center Program Director Richard Stone will be reading excerpts from his novel JOIN AND SUNDER on KVPR’s Valley Writers Read series, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. The story concerns a gay man approaching middle age and evaluating the interplay of wholeness and alienation in his life.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
New Year ’s Day Peace Party at the center
Tues. January 1st, 2002 • 5 PM
Potluck dinner 5 to 7 pm • Program / Drumming 7 PM
For this first issue of the new year, we’d like to re-state the 4 basic principles of the Center’s Peace Agenda. These interrelated ideals direct the Center’s priorities and actions. We ask you to think about how we (individually and collectively) can better live them out.
SIMPLICITY IN OUR LIVING
JUSTICE AND EQUITY IN OUR SOCIAL ARRANGEMENTS
NON-INJURY IN OUR METHODS
INCLUSIVENESS IN OUR CONCERNS
Dec. 10, 2001
Jack H. Welch, M.D.
A STATEMENT BY OFFICERS OF A U.S. PROTESTANT CHURCH
The military action by the US against Afghanistan opened a painful and dangerous new chapter in the tragic story that began Sept. 11 in New York and Washington. "As we wept over the images of fallen towers in New York" with their human occupants," we now weep over scenes of death and destruction in distant Kabul...We confess that violence has been met by further violence, that we have turned to the way of the sword, that the vision of just peace remains elusive...
"Every human being has a right to be free from the threat of terror...People of faith will not all agree on how best to provide that security in a dangerous world. Many support military action, believing it is the only way to achieve security for ourselves and others. While we recognize that the rule of law must be enforced, we have grave reservations about a large-scale military response to terrorism by our government and its allies.
"We have distanced ourselves until recently from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, have done little to address the poverty and hunger that is the primary terror for most of the world, and have supplied countless regimes with abundant weaponry." The brutal attacks of Sept. 11, however, cannot be blamed on the failures of our own nation’s policies; the attacks remain the responsibility of those who planned and carried them out. Yet, we have contributed to the poverty, the militarism, and the regional instability that have provided hospitable environments and havens for those who resort to violence.
May our nation’s going to war "be matched by a desire to use the even more massive nonviolent power available to us to address those chronic conflicts that destabilize the world; to fight the hunger and poverty that kill thousands every day; to find homes for the refugees on every continent; and to defend the human rights of all who are oppressed because of their race, political convictions, gender, or religion." (Source: a statement by national officers of the writer’s church Oct. ‘01)
JUSTICE AND SECURITY: NOT REVENGE
"We believe the US should work persistently and patient with a broad international coalition under international law to trace and capture those responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks." As physicians we are committed to the prevention of violence. We will work to promote and implement the following goals:
"Renew America’s commitment to international cooperation, institutions and law toward the elimination of terrorism and the building of a more secure and equitable world. "American foreign and economic policy must be restructured to prioritize international cooperation and economic aid...and to increase education and human rights at home and abroad. "Restrict the use of force to actions sufficient to apprehend and bring to justice those responsible for terrorist attacks on the US. "Weapons of mass destruction (WM.) are the ultimate vehicles of indiscriminate violence, and their proliferation is the single greatest threat to American security and to human survival worldwide. "The US must stop the development and deployment of national missile defense (NMD) systems, and preserve the ABM Treaty." NMD would not have been protective against the 11 Sept. attacks. The resources so involved can be used instead to combat the real threats to US security: the proliferation of WMD, environmental degradation, hunger, disease and gross economic inequity in the world. Source: San Francisco Physicians for Social Responsibility News Fall 2001)
• Saturday, January 19 7:30 p.m. Bruce Gagnon, Coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, speaks at the Unitarian/Universalist Church, 4144 N. Milbrook
• Monday, January 21 10:00 a.m. WILPF participation in Martin Luther King March. See details elsewhere in the L/C Alliance. Call Carol at 229-9661 for more info.
• Wednesday, January 23 3:30 p.m. "Stir It Up" WILPF-style on KFCF 88.1 FM. Join hosts Lauralee Crain Carbone and Desi Cortez.
Once again the peace community (more urgently this year) gathered to enjoy great food, wonderful music, fantastic crafts items and the company of other peace loving people.
Special thanks for helping make this event a success go to the following:
Lauralee Crain Carbone, Ellie Bluestein, Joan Poss,Laura Fultz, Julie Young Andrews, Betty Boos, Rose Rowe, Zay Guffy-Bill, Gerry Bill, Nancy Marsh, Pasquale Carbone, Marge McKnight, Catherine Campbell, Denise Carmen, Gus and Sophie Carbone, Elizabeth West, Phil Erro, Cindy Calvert, Susan Heidebrecht, Larry Cusick, Carol Bequette, Polly Victor, Kathy Fuller, Kitt Baxter, Pat Wolk, Carol Fischer, Ingrid Carmean, people who contributed food, and all the wonderful vendors who drew the outstanding turn out!!
See you next year!
The WILPF legislative committee set up a meeting with Congressman Dooley recently to discuss the bombing in Afghanistan. Seven of us attended and raised many objections to our military response to the terrorist attacks and to our use of military force as a form of foreign policy.
Congressman Dooley admitted that some of our past foreign policy decisions have been wrong and staunchly defended his support of Fast Track and the use of "free trade," as he defines it, as a means of opening up the rest of the world, especially the "third world countries," to democracy and prosperity. We felt it was important for him to know our feelings on this issue.
The Legislative Committee has sent the following letters on behalf of our Branch: Calling for an end to the bombing of Iraq, against funding of National Missile Defense, to stop the bombing of Afghanistan, to include women in the peace process in Afghanistan.
Submitted by Ellie Bluestein, Legislative Chair
Some of our products from the Crafts Faire are still available for sale--peace T-shirts, peace buttons, holiday and peace cards and peace stickers. Contact Carol Bequette at 229-9661
• Jennifer Renzi and Peter Hudson:
(559) 225-5842, 4247 N. Thorne, Fresno 93728 jenrenzi29@yahoo.com
Beginning with the month of February, WILPF’s regular meetings (Board and open to all) will be held on the second Tuesday of the month unless we have a special event as we do this month. Watch the newsletter for time and place.
A big appreciation to Bette Peterson who has made a generous donation to the Jane Addams Fund which contributes to WILPF activities nationwide.
January 19, WILPF, in coalition with the Social Concerns Committee of the Unitarian/Universalist Church, and the Fresno Center for Non Violence, is sponsoring the appearance of Bruce Gagnon, Coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space.
Mr. Gagnon was the organizer of the Cancel Cassini Campaign (a response to the launching of 72 pounds of plutonium into space) that drew enormous support and media coverage around the world, earning him an appearance on the TV program "60 Minutes ".He will be speaking at the Unitarian/Universalist Church, 4144 N. Millbrook at 7:30 p.m.
"The day we stop thinking of young men killed in war as heroes may be
the day we begin wondering why we keep fighting wars."
—Al Martinez, L.A. Times December 6,2001
by Vickie Fouts
Today, more than ever, we need to learn how to deal with conflict and how to bring about peace. California State University, Fresno has the tools to help us do that with their Peace &Conflict Studies Program. You can receive a Special Certificate in Peace building and Mediation.
The Certificate involves taking only four classes: Peace & Conflict, Peacebuilding, Mediation, and either Internship or Independent Study. These classes are usually offered in the evening, so as a member of the community, you can take them under the Open University program.
This next semester, starting January 23rd, they will offer Mediation. It will be held Mondays, 7-9:50 PM. The instructor is Dr. Jackie Ryle. Dr. Ryle has her own mediation and consulting business, Empowerment Strategies.
If you want to bring peace into your own life, your family, your community or the world, think about taking these classes.
If you’re a WILPF member, we encourage you to submit any information you have and want to share with other members. Call or e-mail Carol at 229-9661/cbequette@aol.com. And thanks to this month’s contributors for the wonderful info they provided.
Daytime curfew OKed, almost lockstep
by Kevin Hall
Oscar
Wilde once described democracy as the "bludgeoning of the people by the
people for the people." Contemplating the current national pummeling by
pugilists such as George II, Colin Powell and John Ashcroft, one is inevitably
struck by the thought, "What ideological rocks do these people crawl out
from under?"
Well, Fresno’s latest round in the daytime curfew battle can help to answer that question. We are one such rock. Our humble burg ’s political dynamic is a microcosm of the national delirium. We have Alan Autry play-acting as commander in chief, Jerry Dyer as secretary of war, Pete Mehas as attorney general and our city council as the Congressional rubber stamp.
Like
the national model, Fresno’s war on terror also relies on a bludgeoning of
civil liberties in the pursuit of shadowy suspects--teenagers. The hunt began
just before New Year’s, thirty-one days after Autry signed the daytime curfew
into law. What a cast of characters we have elected to serve us, not to mention
the people they employ to implement their will: the mayor who never voted until
his own name appeared on the ballot, the police chief never tried for statutory
rape, the superintendent of public schools who can’t read the state education
code. Perhaps the most chilling aspect of this scenario is that any local
politico is potentially two or three elections away from national prominence.
The rock becomes a stepping stone to higher office, and all too often they bring
along their "own people."
Congress-like, the city council fell over themselves in the near-unanimous rush to support the assault (6-1), with Boyajian the lone dissenter in U.S. Representative Barbara Lee-like fashion. The loudest hawk was Jerry Duncan from northeast Fresno. This fellow runs on empty ideology. His audible snickers during public testimony were his most substantive contribution.
After that it’s a mixture of good ol’ American political demagoguery and blind political ambition. Duncan’s most eager cohorts in the mindless goose-stepping were the northwest’s Brian Calhoun, southeast’s Sal Quintero and southwest’s Dan Ronquillo. Henry Perea and Brad Castillo from central Fresno followed along, apparently unwilling to break from the pack.
Late in the campaign the political rhetoric from Autry ’s camp took on an eerily familiar ring. Supporters of the curfew were proclaimed to be pro-education and pro-kid. Therefore, they concluded loudly, opponents were anti-education and anti-kid. Not unlike the false dichotomy being offered up nationally and globally by the Bushies.
The Fresno Bee and most local TV stations played their part in the local emulation of national fourth branch politics. The Bee editorial writers, in particular, completely caved on the issue, writing no less than four opinion pieces in support of the law tying it into, of all things, downtown revitalization.
More accurate reporting would have led The Bee and other media to recognize that the prison-industrial complex is sprouting a new leg--schools. Under the new law’s purported "diversion programs" are a growing number of charter schools which are becoming increasingly dependent upon the police department to supply product, i.e. students. This phenomenon means the police are actively directing students’ education, all with the blessing of ol’ Doc Mehas. The most dominant of these schools, House of Hope, actually sports a Christian religious symbol in its logo.
One final parallel and where the national and local mania directly connect in Fresno: the testing of a local company’s experimental digital imaging equipment for comparing airline passengers with suspected terrorists at our airport for possible introduction nationwide, and our police and sheriff departments’ current practice of taking digital photographs of people they’ve stopped but not cited. Smile for Big Brother.
Regardless of this nonsense, opponents to the curfew remain steadfast in their opposition and reflect the sentiment expressed repeatedly by Ralph Nader during the 2000 presidential campaign/coup, "The only place where democracy comes before work is in the dictionary."
Plans are underway for another community forum on one’s rights in dealing with the police, with emphasis on minors’ rights, the state education code and more. This will lay the foundation for effective monitoring and documenting of police misconduct and eventual legal action against the City of Fresno. Stay tuned.
 "We
are not going to create a police state to make students stay in school.
We are going to have to make students realize how it contributes not
only to the safety of society, but to their well-being and future."
— Bill Riddlesprigger
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Community Alliance The Community Alliance is an independent voice for workers and progressive groups in the Central San Joaquin Valley. The goal of this monthly magazine is to build a powerful progressive movement that will support social, environmental, & economic justice, immigrant rights and a living wage for all working people. We seek to expose social and political injustices, and to link the diverse network of activists working in our community. Editor: Mike Rhodes Editorial Board Members: Proofing by: Community Alliance
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