High Quality
Open the downloaded document, and select print from the file menu (PDF reader required).
Because People Mater
Progressive News and Views May / June 2009
Inside this issue:
Editorial ....................................................2Take the Pledge With Code Pink ...............2Peace Needs Truth .....................................2She Works Hard for Her Housing ............3California Universal Health Care Act ......3Life Under Occupation .............................4The Drought Snow Job..............................5Hate Crime Protested ................................6Bloody History of “Race Management” ...6Constitutional Convention .......................7Location, Location, Location! ....................7Because Raza Matter .............................8-9Sacramento Area Peace Action: Apartheidand Racism: Legacy of the Nakbah .....10Educational Homestay Programs ...........11Book Review: Ayatollah Begs to Differ ...11The Green Gov? Think Again! ...............12Lemon Hill Neighborhood .......................13You Said It—BPM reader commentary ..14Calendar ..................................................15Progressive Media ...................................16
By Susan Scott
Yes, we could! Tat is the new slogan o El Salvador’sFMLN (Faribundo Marti para la Liberación Nacio-nal)—the party that led the guerrilla opposition throughthe right-wing repression o the 1980s. Te March 15th victory or the FMLN’s presidential candidate, MauricioFunes, marks the rst time since the Peace Accords o 1992, halting a 12 year civil war, that the right wingAlianza Republicana Nacionalista (ARENA) party hasbeen deeated. It is also the rst time in El Salvador’s his-tory that the le has achieved true political power. A pre-cious victory indeed, but the FMLN has yet to achieve amajority in Congress and ARENA and other right-wingparties still have control over much o the country—including the majority o its capital, San Salvador.March 15, 2009 was a gratiying time or internationalsolidarity allies to be in El Salvador. Our 20 memberdelegation rom the National Lawyers Guild joinedthousands o other international election observers andthousands more national observers or several days o training and certication by the ARENA-controlledSupreme Electoral ribunal. We were part o the largestnumber o election observers in El Salvador’s history.When we arrived at the polls at 5 am, the situation wastense due to weeks o an escalating ear campaign in themedia. Te US embassy was predicting a close electionand widespread violence in the streets or the day ollow-ing the election. FMLN’s comortable lead in the pollshad shrunk to almost nothing.But the election was uniormly peaceul and Funes’ victory was accepted by the ARENA candidate withinhours aer the polls closed Sunday. Monday looked likeany other day in San Salvador, except or the noticeableincrease in smiling aces and cars ying FMLN agsdespite the ear campaign waged beore the election.Tis was a welcome surprise, since when we arrived inSan Salvador the uesday beore the election; we wokeup to headlines on the three major daily papers ull o USthreats. Te ront page o the right-wing
Diario de Hoy
had two-inch high headlines warning: “EEUU: Para aPS con FMLN!” [US: Stop PS (temporary protectionstatus) with the FMLN!] Te articles went on to describehow Congressmen Dana Rohrbacker (R-CA) and DanBurton (R-IN) were threatening that i the FMLN won,the US would eliminate temporary protected status(PS) or Salvadoran residents in the US despite the actthat according to the US Citizenship and ImmigrationServices, PS is sae or Salvadorans through Septembero 2010 when it will likely be renewed. PS agreementsexist with countries like El Salvador to grant temporary status to those in the US that can prove it would beunsae to return home due to armed conict, naturaldisasters or other extraordinary temporary conditions.Tese articles alsoclaimed that an FMLN-headed governmentwould be declared a“errorist State”—eec-tively preventing Salva-dorans living in the USrom sending remittanc-es to their amilies in ElSalvador. Given that USremittances constitute18% o the SalvadoranGDP and that an esti-mated one quarter o theSalvadoran populationis living and workingin the US, this packeda powerul punch. Tiswas the same messagethe US ambassador in2004 had used to derailEl Salvador’s last presidential election and it was startingto look like déjà vu.But CISPES (Community in Solidarity with the Peopleo El Salvador) and other USgroups were hip to what washappening; the State Departmentwas ooded with complaintsand demands that Secretary o State Hillary Clinton and ChargeD’Aaires in El Salvador RobertBlau declare US neutrality and itsintention to work with whicheverparty was elected.Our delegations o electionobservers held a press coner-ence denouncing the media’sear campaign, explaining howtwo right-wing Congressionaloutliers could not aect PS orinterere with remittances, anddemanding that Blau and the USState Department speak out clearly and orceully. Te same aernoon—two days beore theelection—a strong statement o neutrality came romthe US embassy, distancing the Obama administrationrom the threats o the two Congressmen and promisingto work with whichever party won. Te Saturday papersduly reported the US pledge o neutrality, and the FMLNwent on to win the election by three percentage points.While on lunch break at the voting center, we met awoman rom Washington DC, several o whose Salva-doran amily members had been told by their employersthat they would lose their jobs on Monday i the FMLNwon the election. We wondered how many amiliesshared the same experience.We will probably never know the true scope o theFMLN victory. In addition to an orchestrated ear cam-paign, the ARENA party is believed to have arranged ormassive raudulent voting. ARENA retains sole access tothe ormation o the Electoral Registry (the Organiza-tion o American States severely criticized the ARENAgovernment or its lack o transparency in the registry)and to the technology used or the national identity cardsused or voting called
Documentos Únicos de Identidad
or DUIs. Because over one third o the population livesoutside the country and cannot vote in the elections,there was a golden opportunity to bring oreigners romneighboring countries to vote using raudulent DUIs.In the days beore the election, FMLN partisans setup barricades across the roads leading into El Salvadorrom Nicaragua and Honduras, stopping busloads o people with phony DUIs. One member o our delega-tion went to the border area to observe the barricades. Ispent much o the night beore the election with a local journalist who interviewed an ARENA ocial whose van was stopped by FMLN activists outside ARENAheadquarters in central San Salvador, allegedly ull o Nicaraguan “workers.”While waiting to be interviewed at the studios o Radio Cadena Mi Gente, I heard dozens o indepen-
¡Si, Se Pudo!
Notes from an election observer
“Saturday papers duly reported the US pledge o neutrality [over presidential candidates] and the FMLN went on towin the election by three percentage points.”
Victory night celebration.
Photo: Ted Lieverman
dent radio correspondents calling into the station romaround the country with reports o an “invasion” o presumably raudulent Nicaraguan and Honduran vot-ers. Because ARENA had reused to supply equipmentallowing poll workers to veriy DUIs, there was no way to check the real identity o any voters. We may neverknow how many ARENA votes were raudulent.
Chie Wiggum o The Simpsons says “Vote with wisdom [the ARENAslogan]—don’t vote or the ex-policeman [Avila].
Photo: Susan Scott
See Victory or FMLN, page 7
Mauricio Funes and his wie, Vanda Pignato,celebrate the election victory.
2 Because People Matter May / June 2009
www.bpmnews.org
Editorial Page
On the cover
Chuy Ortiz-Ocelotl, Director of Quetzalcoalt-Citlalli. See pages8-9 for story.Photo: Chris Duran
Jacqueline Diaz, Coordinating Editor for this issue
People Mater
Volume 18, Number 3
Published Bi-Monthly by theSacramento Community forPeace & JusticeP.O. Box 162998, Sacramento,CA 95816(Use addresses below forcorrespondence)
Editorial Group:
JacquelineDiaz, Jeanie Keltner, JoAnnFuller
Coordinating Editor forthis Issue:
Jacqueline Diaz
Design and Layout:
Ellen Schwartz
Calendar Editor:
Chris Bond
Advertising and BusinessManager:
Edwina White
Distribution Managers:
Jean Hammett, Britney Wright.Distribution Manager Emerita:Paulette Cuilla
Subscription Manager:
Gordon Kennedy
HOW TO REACH US:
Subscriptions, letters,punditry:
403 21st StreetSacramento, CA 95814916-444-3203
Ads or other business:
916-446-2844
All e-mailcorrespondence:
bpmnews@nicetechnology.com
HAVE A CALENDARITEM?
Send an e-mail with “calendaritem” in the subject line. Makeit 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 nextissue of
BPM
the day thecurrent issue hits the streets.Let us know by e-mail as soonas you have an idea for a storyso we can consider it early in the process.
HAVE SOME TIME?
(HA HA HA!) Well, you mighthave, and
BPM
always needshelp with big and small tasks.Call 444-3203.
COPY DEADLINES:
For the July / August 2009Issue:
Articles:
Please tell us aboutyour article by May 20; articlemust be received by June. 1,2009.
Calendar Items:
June 10, 2009Cultural events welcome!For details, see our website,
www.bpmnews.org
BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER
is an all-volunteer endeavor to presentalternative, progressive newsand views in Sacramento. Weinvite and welcome your re-sponses. To discuss a proposedarticle, or help distribute thepaper, inquire about ad rates,or help out in some other way,call or write using the phonenumber and address listed un-der ”How to Reach Us” above.Please reproduce from any of the written contents, but docredit the author and BPM.Printed at Herald Printing byGraphics Communication UnionDC2 pressmen.
because
When I moved to Sacramento rom the Bay Area,riends and amily both told me to prepare mysel or neighborhoods ull o right-wingers and rac-ism. Once here, I checked out signs, news stories,attitudes, bumper stickers and other “data” to seei they matched up with the stories I’d been ed.Aer a ew months, I realized these claimswere at least partly true. One neighbor describedher house to me as “the one between the Mexi-cans and the Blacks,” which I didn’t nd overtly racist, but did make me wonder i that was theonly way she could have explained where shelived. And the rst time at my new polling placea “decline to state” voter was oered the choicebetween party ballots and responded, “Repub-lican o course, I’d never vote or Democrats—they’re communists.”We’d also had our car broken into and oundthe Sheri’s oce less than helpul, and walkedinto countless places where we were the only people o color. An MA student at Sac State, I’dsent my résumé out or internships I was morethan qualied or and heard nothing back. Andthen, thumbing through more places to intern, Iound a le on
BPM
. I read the paper, spoke withan editor, Jeanie Keltner, and decided it would bea good t or me and a welcome experience.My rst editorial meeting was oddly like walk-ing into my own amily room back home—smartpeople, political debate and general arguingabout the best way to do things—a little progres-sive oasis in Republican country! So seven yearslater,
BPM
is still a good t or me. Te editorialboard and volunteer sta have become my localprogressive amily.My 6-year-old loves Jeanie Keltner’s toy col-lection and my new baby loves Jeanie’s soup.Layout person Ellen Schwartz has abandonededitorial meetings or “story time” in the nextroom on several occasions. Tese are just a ewmemories o working with people rom
BPM
.Over the years, I’ve had the honor o workingwith many editors. Some were John Rowntree,Mary Schleppegrell, Dorothy Wake, JoAnnFuller, Charlene Jones, Seth Sandronsky and Rick Nadeau.oday
BPM
is in transition. We are working tond and integrate new editors, distributors andwriters. We are working to renew the paper sothat it continues to thrive and carry on a near-20-year tradition o providing the Sacramento regionwith a local progressive news outlet or ree.In this issue o
BPM
, as always, you will ndthe voices o activists, advocacy groups andSacramento writers whose viewpoints are leo mainstream media.
BPM
isn’t a traditionalcommunity paper since we cover national andinternational topics, but it
is a paper made by thecommunity
and that’s what is most important.What do you care about progressive Sacramen-to?
BPM
is still looking or new volunteers, handsand voices. Will it be a new home or you?
(9/11 truth that is)
By Jeanie Keltner, Editor-at-Large
It hurts to hear Obama playing the 9/11 card just like George Bush, as he intensies the war hewas elected to end: “Our nation is at war against aar-reaching network o violence and hatred.” “Al-Qaida and its allies—the terrorists who plannedand supported the 9/11 attacks….” We must ghtthe aliban and al-Qaida or Aghanistan “willagain be a base or terrorists who want to kill asmany o our people as they possibly can”—allObama quotes.Tese wildly oversimplied words aim torekindle the horror o that ateul September11th—that nineteen minimally armed terroristscould bring down the center o New York and hitthe Pentagon.I desperately want Obama (and you, dear read-er) to go to
www.patriotsquestion911.org
whereover 2000
extremely
qualied experts—archi-tects, engineers, reghters, lawyers, medicalproessionals, military and intelligence ocers,religious leaders, scientists, and pilots—speak outabout radical discrepancies between the ocial9/11 account and what they, as independentresearchers, have learned—establishing beyondreasonable doubt that the ocial account is alseand ocial “investigations” were cover-ups.On that site William Christison, a 29-year highlevel Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) veteran,writes, “Tere is now a strong body o evidenceshowing the ocial US government story o September 11 to be almost certainly a monstrousseries o lies,“ which, Cristison continues, hastragically determined the entire course o USoreign and domestic policies since that date. Aquickly growing list at
patriotsquestion911.org
o top oreign military,intelligence, business andgovernment gures showswidespread urgent inter-national concern at thisexpanding, endless US war that is now returningocus to Aghanistan.Tis is not to say that terrorism is not a threat.But turning the Middle East and Central Asiainto battleelds is not the way to deal with it.Quite the opposite! Te nation’s most seasonedhigh level intelligence analysts in a
2006 National Intelligence Estimate on Global errorism
saidinvasions and occupations, as in Iraq, not only did not make us saer but led instead to anupsurge in terrorism (McGovern,
www.inorma-tionclearinghouse.ino/article22307.htm
).Our increased military attacks in Aghanistanand Pakistan are creating ever more terrorists. Asthe bumpersticker said, “We’re making enemiesaster than we can kill them.”But then Aghanistan was never about 9/11—war was planned or Aghanistan and threatenedmonths beore 9/11. Like Iraq, it was about con-trol o energy resources and pipeline routes andthe violent worldwide projection o US military orce that keeps military contractors happy andrich.And victory in Aghan-istan is impossible. Or atleast no other great powero the many who’ve triedhas achieved it, no mat-ter how enormous theirmilitary investment—which is why Aghanistanis called “the graveyard o empires.”Osama Bin Laden was helped by the CIA andZbigniew Brzezynski under President Carter tocreate al-Qaida to ght the Soviets in Aghani-stan. But the deeper strategy was to bleed theUSSR o money and manpower in an unwinnablewar—which, Brzezynski later bragged, ended by bringing the Soviet Union down (
www.globalre-search.ca/articles/BRZ110A.html
).Osama Bin Laden predicted a similar ate orthe US.Tere’s still time to stop this horrendousmistake—but we must act. We can’t continueto wage wars rooted in the 9/11 olklore. SeeRobert Greenwald’s brilliant short video at
www.RethnkingAghanistan.com
or the history, rami-cations, and necessary actions.Call the White House: 202-456-1414.
Why
BPM?
How I found my way to the editorial table
“I desperately want Obama (and you, dear reader) to go to www. patriotsquestion911.org”
Peace Needs Truth
Take the Pledge with Code Pink
Be a mother or peace
Tis Mother’s Day, we are standing up or peace by creating a “Virtual Mother’s Day Quilt”—an online photomosaic—that weaves our strength as mothers and womentogether to declare peace!
Join us by submitting a photoMother’s Day pledge!
Over 130 years ago, ollowing the American Civil War,Julia Ward Howe wrote the Original Mother’s Day Procla-mation calling upon the women o the world to unite orpeace. oday, with war and violence igniting across theglobe—rom Iraq to Darur, rom Gaza to Somalia, romAghanistan to the US-Mexico border—the call or peacehas never been more pertinent. Join us in declaring:
“We will not raise our children to kill another mother’schild.”
www.codepinkalert.org/article.php?id=4813
www.bpmnews.org
May / June 2009 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 3
Pizza by the slice
PIECES
“Te most delicious and socially responsible pizza in town”
—
Jeanie Keltner
By Charlene Jones
Legislation to provide Caliornians with universalhealth care using a single-payer nancing struc-ture was reintroduced in March by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco). Senate Bill 810 (SB810),the Caliornia Universal Health Care Act o 2009,would guarantee comprehensive health care toevery Caliornia resident and provide savingsor businesses, government and consumers, saidLeno. “As a nation, we spend twice as much perperson on health care as other wealthy countries,with the hope that our amilies will be protectedrom illnesses. Yet most insured Americans stillworry about how they will aord critical carei they become sick,” Leno said. “In Caliornia,7 million people do not have health insurance.With the money we spend today on health care,Caliornia can have a modern, universal healthcare system that provides high quality care oreveryone.”Modeled aer ormer Senator Sheila Kuehl’sseminal work SB840, newly purposed SB810would save billions by emphasizing preven-tion and primary care, reducing administrativewaste and using the state’s purchasing power ormedicines and medical equipment. With a ocuson improved technologies, the plan covers every Caliornian with medical, dental, vision, hospi-talization and prescription drug benets. Te billalso preserves the right to choose doctors andhospitals.Combining what government spends on healthcare into a single und with a simple “payroll” taxless than what most people and businesses nowpay or all health insurance and out-o-pocketexpenses would nance the plan, accordingto the Lewin Group, a human service systemsresearch organization. Physicians or a NationalHealth Program, a nationwide advocacy group,agree. Conversion to a single-payer system alsopromotes national economic recovery by creat-ing 2.6 million new jobs, reported the CaliorniaNurses Association rom their recent study by theInstitute or Health and Socio-Economic Policy.It would add $317 billion in new business andpublic revenues and $100 billion more in wagesinto the US economy.One Care Now, a single-payer advocacy coalition, insists a system that removes controlrom the private health insurance industry overeligibility and rates— increasing ve times as astas wages in Caliornia, according to the nonpar-tisan group Families USA—is key to solving thehealth care crisis. Teir broad alliance o patients,nurses, doctors, teachers and school employees,retired workers, local governments and schooldistricts support SB810 as it did earlier proposals.With their grassroots backing, Kuehl was suc-cessul in moving her single-payer SB840 to Gov-ernor Schwarzenegger’s desk twice, only tobe vetoed each time.But because President Obama has madehealth reorm a national priority andresearch points to single-payer easibility,Caliornia advocates see passage o SB810as the clear solution, said retired nurse Car-olyn Negrete o the Caliornia Alliance o RetiredAmericans, and Health Care or All o Sacra-mento Valley, which advocates or a single-payerplan. “For decades we have watched an industry o lobbyists and incrementalist reormers growwhile the number o uninsured and underinsuredclimbs and denial o care is now the norm. Teanswer is a single-payer, universal health caresystem. When enough people know what it isand how it works they will demand that it be ourhealth care system.”Caliornia isn’t the only state where grassrootsorganizing and economic practicality is advanc-ing the health care reorm dialogue. Single-payerlegislation has been introduced in 18 states. Onthe ederal level Representative John Conyers(D-MI) reintroduced his single-payer HR 676with 73 co-sponsors and Senator Bernie Sanders(I-V) has initiated S.703 in the Senate.Mainstream news and the Obama adminis-tration however, appear to have steered clear.According to the watchdog group Fairness andAccuracy in Reporting, o the hundreds o storiesin major newspapers and on television, a week beore the president’s health care summit “only ve included the views o advocates o single-payer health care—none o which appeared ontelevision.” Most opinion columns opposed thesingle-payer solution. Journalist Amy Goodmano the news program “Democracy Now” wrote inMarch that only two single-payer advocates wereamong the 120 people at the summit and they were invited only aer public outcry demandedit.Despite this, Americans in a
New York imes
/CBS poll early this year expressed preerence ora national plan by two-to-one over a privatizedsystem. And or Caliornia, SB810 is the only thing to do, according to Negrete. “Althoughwe have known what to do and research sup-ports it, the answer is buried under a hail o disinormation because it would eliminate a very protable—or some—nancial system calledinsurance. And politicians too requently dependon these companies to help und their campaigns.So they need to hear rom us now because single-payer must be on the table. We are the politicalwill.”SB810 is co-authored by 43 legislators inboth houses, including Senate Pro em DarrellSteinberg, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, SenatorElaine Alquist who chairs the Senate Committeeon Health, and Assemblymember Dave Jones,chair o the Assembly Committee on Health.For more inormation: Health Care or All,Sacramento Valley (916) 0424-5316,
www.dist03.casen.govoice.com
,
www.healthcareorall.org
,
www.calnurses.org
,
www.conyers.house.gov
,
www.pnhp.org
.
Charlene Jones is a member o the Sacramento Media Group.
By Rachel Iskow
One third o US households are renters, yet wecontinue to hear about the crisis or homeown-ers. What about renters? How are they aring?At least one nonprot orga-nization looks at data to helpanswer these questions. Eachyear the National Low IncomeHousing Coalition (NLIHC)publishes a report called
Out o Reach
. Te report compareswages and rents in localitiesthroughout the country. Testark reality or amilies seek-ing rental housing in our region was revealed by these numbers.According to NLIHC, in Sacramento County last year, Fair Market Rent (FMR) or a two-bed-room apartment was $982. In order to aord thislevel o rent and utilities without paying morethan 30% o income on housing, a householdneeded to earn $3,273 monthly or make $39,280annually. Assuming a 40 hour work week, 52weeks per year, this level o income translatesinto a housing wage o $18.88. Te housing wageis the hourly wage a workermust earn to aord a two bed-room apartment.In Sacramento County, aminimum wage worker earnsan hourly wage o $8.00. Inorder to aord the FMR ora two bedroom apartment, aminimum wage earner wouldhave to work 94 hours perweek, 52 weeks per year. Or a household mustinclude 2.4 minimum wage earners working 40hours per week year-round to aord a FMR twobedroom home. Tis is an unrealistic expecta-tion, particularly since some amilies in needo two bedroom homes are single mothers withmodest incomes.Te estimated mean (average) wage or rentersliving in Sacramento County is $14.40 an hour.Tis is still not enough to aord the FMR or atwo bedroom apartment. At this wage, a renterwould have to work 52 hours per week to makerent.Te situation is more alarming or the disabled.Monthly Supplemental Security Income (SSI)payments or an individual last year were $870 inSacramento County. I SSI represents an individ-ual’s sole source o income, $261 in monthly rentis aordable, but the FMR or a one bedroomhome is $805.For the ull report and to research the situationin other counties throughout the US, go to
Out o Reach
on the NLIHC’s web site
www.nlihc.org
.
Rachel Iskow is the Executive Director o Sacramento Mutual Housing Association which provides housing or 2,600 low income individu-als. Other programs include oreclosure interven-tion, fnancial education, urban arm stands and youth development.
www.mutulhousing.com
.
She Works Hard for Her Housing
Sacramento County’s rent too high for hard workers
“According to NLIHC,in SacramentoCounty last year Fair Market Rent or a twobedroom apartment was $982.”
It’s Back! Meet the California Universal Health Care Act of 2009
Senator Leno introduces SB810
“For decades we have watched an industry o lobbyists and incrementalist reormers grow while the number o uninsured and underinsured climbs…”
1309 21st St between M and N
Add a Comment