p They kept telling menbsp;to go to the hospital. There was a lot of blood.nbsp; The wound looked bad. I was on my way to the library when I caught my sandal on the stairs andnbsp;somehow ripped a 2-inch hole in the bottom of my big toe. I was scared.nbsp;nbsp;It hurt./p p I didnrsquo;t have time to get hurt that day. I didnrsquo;t have health insurance and I wasnrsquo;t convinced that a trip to the hospital was the best move. But a ladynbsp;I knew came over andnbsp;pressured me to consider thishellip;she talked about her children and how if I were her kid shersquo;d take me to the hospital./p p I had to make a decision--decisions require information. I sat down withnbsp;scissors,nbsp; bandages, soap and water. nbsp;I explored the wound. It was scary but I knew I couldnrsquo;t afford to go to the hospital if this wasnrsquo;t a serious injury. I concluded that, in spite of all the mess, the wound wasnrsquo;t more than a flesh wound, and I settled in to wait anxiously./p p class="MsoNormal" I made a good choice.nbsp; After a week or so of lying low, the new skin began to fill in and I hadnrsquo;t gone to the hospital. I was lucky./p p class="MsoNormal" This is not to suggest that I buy into the ldquo;debaterdquo; around Healthcare reform that has polarized the media in this country over the past few years. Nor does it suggest that people donrsquo;t need all the help they can get in this crazy world. When people are sick, they need tonbsp;be able to benbsp;seen by a doctor and have their health taken seriously.nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" The event with my toe was 2 years agonbsp;but the dilemma I faced that day is common. As POOR Magazine Poverty Scholar span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Muteado" data-scaytid="9"Muteado/span span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Silencio" data-scaytid="11"Silencio/span told me when I spoke to him about healthcare, his insurance is emldquo;donrsquo;t get too hurt that you need to go to the span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="hospital.”" data-scaytid="1"hospital.rdquo;/spanspannbsp; /span/emThatnbsp; resonatednbsp;with me./p p class="MsoNormal" Is it right that people are put in the position of being sick and injured but having to sit there and wrestle with whether or not it is serious enough to risk going to the hospital? Instead of a situation where people are confident that their health will be cared for, the post injury conversation is ldquo;does this look like it could heal on its own? If we hang a 2000$ price tag on it, does it look like it might?rdquo;/p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;Having to sit and ask these questions makes me feel like health care is something you have to buy. It is not guaranteed, it is not a span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="“right.”" data-scaytid="3"ldquo;right.rdquo;/spanspannbsp; /spanAs Poverty Scholar Bruce Allison pointed out in previous articles, if you donrsquo;t have health insurance it may be necessary to get arrested simply to get a festering wound treated. (May 9supth/sup, 2011 Education Budget Protest, span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Sakkramento" data-scaytid="13"Sakkramento/span span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="KKKalifornia" data-scaytid="15"KKKalifornia/span) If you go to the hospital and donrsquo;t answer the first question correctly (Do you have health Insurance?) yoursquo;re in for a long wait, and then the partial attention of over worked physicians, if they agree to see you at all./p p class="MsoNormal" Poverty Scholar span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Ruyata" data-scaytid="17"Ruyata/span span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Akio" data-scaytid="21"Akio/span span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="McGlothin" data-scaytid="23"McGlothin/span (Aka Ram) has experienced this, more than once. He told me about a spider bite which paralyzed the left side of his body.nbsp;nbsp;span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Ruyata" data-scaytid="19"Ruyata/span said, ldquo;I was asked to wait 30 minutes (translated: 3 hours minimum) and by the time I was finally seen, my actual problem was span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="ignored.”" data-scaytid="5"ignored.rdquo;/span The bite was considered ldquo;indefinablerdquo; by hospital staff, who gave him a prescription for anti-anxiety drugs which he would havenbsp;to pay for, butnbsp;would not address the initial reason that he gone to the hospital. ldquo;I felt like I didnrsquo;t matter,rdquo; he said, and itrsquo;s not surprising to see why. Itrsquo;s like going in to a restaurant and asking for water, and they bring you gasoline. (span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Howlin’" data-scaytid="25"Howlinrsquo;/span Wolf)/p p class="MsoNormal" spanT/spanhe health and integrity of the bodies of span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Amerikan" data-scaytid="27"Amerikan/span citizens, residents and human beings is not considered to be a priority by the care providers. Healthcare is not a right, or a requirement. It is a luxury, a commodity, something that you donrsquo;t get from simply being here and working and paying taxes. It is something that you have to buy./p p class="MsoNormal" This doesnrsquo;t mean that I, or the we of POOR magazine believe in this lie of span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="hellthcare" data-scaytid="29"hellthcare/span, but when we are sick, we still need help, and care. The crumbs of the span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="hellthcare" data-scaytid="31"hellthcare/span industry are all most Poverty Scholars have access to in their most dire moments, and if even that is cut, or made harder to get, the sickness and the injuries will remain, with no available remedies./p p class="MsoNormal" The crisis around access to care is real, and the need is felt in the flesh and the minds of the people. Can a real conversation about this happen at this time? I would say the condition so far is span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="“critical.”" data-scaytid="7"ldquo;critical.rdquo;/span/p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" emspan class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Octavio" data-scaytid="33"Octavio/span just graduated from the mentor-ship program @ span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="PeopleSkool" data-scaytid="35"PeopleSkool/span @ The Race, Poverty Media Justice Institute @ POOR Magazine./em/p

p Prisoners in a third of California prisons have been on a hunger strike to protest solitary confinement rules and other inhumane treatment.nbsp; The protest began on July 1 when prisoners in the Pelican Bay Secured Housing Unit (span data-scayt_word="SHU" data-scaytid="4"SHU/span) began refusing meals./p p The protesting prisoners grew in number to include other institutions, apparently becoming most active in Pelican Bay, Corcoran State Prison, and the California Correctional Institute at Tehachapi./p p There are upwards of 6,000 people on strike (numbers vary according to different media reports). At least 2,000 are on medical watch. Unfortunately, the statersquo;s Department of Corrections has denied journalists access to the striking prisoners, undermining the free flow of information to really know whatrsquo;s going on./p p One official statement claimed gang leaders were behind the strikemdash;span data-scayt_word="SHUs" data-scaytid="5"SHUs/span were created to undermine and stop prison gang violence on various yards and span data-scayt_word="cellblocks" data-scaytid="7"cellblocks/span by targeting so-called ldquo;shot span data-scayt_word="callers.”" data-scaytid="1"callers.rdquo;/span But this statement doesnrsquo;t address the confinement in the various span data-scayt_word="SHUs" data-scaytid="6"SHUs/span that isolate prisoners behind tiny cells for around 23 hours a day, with only one hour a day allowed in a small area with high concrete walls./p p This doesnrsquo;t explain the growing number of prisoners in general population also taking part./p p California has increased its prison population from 15,000 in fifteen prisons during the early span data-scayt_word="1970s" data-scaytid="9"1970s/span to around 160,000 in thirty-three prisons today (there are also several thousand prisoners shipped outside the state to private institutions). While state officials largely separated prisoners by race and so-called prison gangs, in three decades street gang violence, drug sales, and crime has escalated throughout the state, but also across the country./p p The number one gang problem in the United States is the growing number of California-based gangs, particularly from Los Angeles, that have now taken hold in almost every state in the union. In three decades gang associations like span data-scayt_word="Crips" data-scaytid="10"Crips/span and Bloods, span data-scayt_word="Surenos" data-scaytid="11"Surenos/span and span data-scayt_word="Nortenos" data-scaytid="12"Nortenos/span, 18th Street and Mara span data-scayt_word="Salvatrucha" data-scaytid="13"Salvatrucha/span as well as Hellrsquo;s Angels and other Bikers, Skinheads and Aryans, among others, have spread exponentially./p p In twenty years this has become global when California gangs, largely through massive deportations, became scattered throughout Mexico, Central America, and places like Cambodia and Armenia./p p In effect, this policy of isolation, inhumanity, and more span data-scayt_word="cellblocks" data-scaytid="8"cellblocks/span hasnrsquo;t reduced crime or gang violencemdash;it has only made things worse and penetrated international borders./p p I support the main demands of the striking prisoners and ask that others do so as well. Most prisoners are incarcerated from drug-related charges in a war on drugs that has not stopped drugs yet continues to siphon billions of our tax dollars./p p There is also a 70 percent return rate for most parolees, who often lack job and life skills to pull themselves out of the crime-and-drug matrix that now covers most poor areas./p p The fact is the present overcrowded and inhumane treatment of California prisonersmdash;including with three-strikes-and-yoursquo;re-out sentencing, trying juveniles as adults, and so-called gang enhancementsmdash;has only made our lives more dangerous, not less./p p The California prison system is in need of fundamental and humane transformation. The striking prisonersrsquo; nonviolent protest demonstrates this is a serious and long-range thinking action. We need to heed the voices against any injustices, regardless of where they come from. These prisoners are often our fathers, sons, brothers, sisters, mothers, daughters, and neighbors./p p nbsp;/p p emLuis J. Rodriguez, the author of Always Running: La Vida span data-scayt_word="Loca" data-scaytid="14"Loca/span, Gang Days in span data-scayt_word="L.A" data-scaytid="2"L.A/span. and several other books in short fiction, children#39;s literature, nonfiction, and poetry. Onnbsp;his web log henbsp;posts all the latest news concerningnbsp;his work as a writer, along with news and opinions on the many political, social, spiritual and cultural activities that henbsp;finds interesting.nbsp; Check out his blog at a href="http://luisjrodriguez.com/blog/"http://span data-scayt_word="luisjrodriguez.com" data-scaytid="3"luisjrodriguez.com/span/blog//a/em/p

p nbsp;/p p strongScroll Down for English/strong/p p span data-scayt_word="Tu" data-scaytid="1"Tu/spannbsp; span data-scayt_word="sabes" data-scaytid="2"sabes/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="3"que/span span data-scayt_word="es" data-scaytid="20"es/span span data-scayt_word="divertido" data-scaytid="29"divertido/span span data-scayt_word="para" data-scaytid="30"para/span minbsp; span data-scayt_word="es" data-scaytid="21"es/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="4"que/span los span data-scayt_word="estados" data-scaytid="39"estados/span span data-scayt_word="unidos" data-scaytid="41"unidos/spannbsp; el span data-scayt_word="pais" data-scaytid="43"pais/span span data-scayt_word="mas" data-scaytid="47"mas/span span data-scayt_word="rico" data-scaytid="51"rico/span y span data-scayt_word="podereso" data-scaytid="52"podereso/span del span data-scayt_word="mundo" data-scaytid="53"mundo/spannbsp; span data-scayt_word="todavia" data-scaytid="54"todavia/span span data-scayt_word="esta" data-scaytid="55"esta/span span data-scayt_word="bajo" data-scaytid="57"bajo/span de la span data-scayt_word="sombrilla" data-scaytid="58"sombrilla/span del span data-scayt_word="racismo" data-scaytid="59"racismo/span span data-scayt_word="es" data-scaytid="22"es/span span data-scayt_word="una" data-scaytid="62"una/span span data-scayt_word="sorpresa" data-scaytid="63"sorpresa/spannbsp; span data-scayt_word="para" data-scaytid="31"para/span minbsp; span data-scayt_word="mirar" data-scaytid="64"mirar/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="5"que/span tan span data-scayt_word="facil" data-scaytid="65"facil/spannbsp; span data-scayt_word="es" data-scaytid="23"es/span span data-scayt_word="culpar" data-scaytid="67"culpar/spannbsp; a span data-scayt_word="otras" data-scaytid="70"otras/span personas span data-scayt_word="por" data-scaytid="72"por/span span data-scayt_word="todo" data-scaytid="76"todo/span lo span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="6"que/span span data-scayt_word="pasa" data-scaytid="80"pasa/span solo span data-scayt_word="por" data-scaytid="73"por/span el color de span data-scayt_word="nuestra" data-scaytid="81"nuestra/span span data-scayt_word="piel" data-scaytid="82"piel/span o span data-scayt_word="cultura" data-scaytid="83"cultura/span lo span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="7"que/span span data-scayt_word="es" data-scaytid="24"es/span span data-scayt_word="mas" data-scaytid="48"mas/span span data-scayt_word="sorprendente" data-scaytid="84"sorprendente/span span data-scayt_word="para" data-scaytid="32"para/span minbsp; span data-scayt_word="es" data-scaytid="25"es/span span data-scayt_word="como" data-scaytid="85"como/span span data-scayt_word="las" data-scaytid="88"las/span personas en span data-scayt_word="este" data-scaytid="90"este/span span data-scayt_word="pais" data-scaytid="44"pais/span span data-scayt_word="estan" data-scaytid="92"estan/span de span data-scayt_word="acuerdo" data-scaytid="93"acuerdo/spannbsp; con span data-scayt_word="esta" data-scaytid="56"esta/span span data-scayt_word="clase" data-scaytid="94"clase/span de span data-scayt_word="odio" data-scaytid="95"odio/spannbsp; contra span data-scayt_word="otras" data-scaytid="71"otras/span span data-scayt_word="culturas" data-scaytid="96"culturas/span/p p En span data-scayt_word="junio" data-scaytid="97"junio/span el span data-scayt_word="senador" data-scaytid="98"senador/spannbsp; John span data-scayt_word="mccain" data-scaytid="99"mccain/spannbsp; le echo la culpa a los span data-scayt_word="immigrantes" data-scaytid="100"immigrantes/span span data-scayt_word="como" data-scaytid="86"como/span span data-scayt_word="yo" data-scaytid="101"yo/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="8"que/span span data-scayt_word="cruzamos" data-scaytid="103"cruzamos/span la span data-scayt_word="frontera" data-scaytid="104"frontera/spannbsp; span data-scayt_word="para" data-scaytid="33"para/span span data-scayt_word="encontrar" data-scaytid="105"encontrar/span un major span data-scayt_word="futuro" data-scaytid="106"futuro/span span data-scayt_word="para" data-scaytid="34"para/span span data-scayt_word="nuestras" data-scaytid="108"nuestras/span span data-scayt_word="familias" data-scaytid="109"familias/span span data-scayt_word="como" data-scaytid="87"como/span los span data-scayt_word="pueden" data-scaytid="110"pueden/span span data-scayt_word="culpar" data-scaytid="68"culpar/span a span data-scayt_word="ellos" data-scaytid="112"ellos/span de span data-scayt_word="haver" data-scaytid="116"haver/span span data-scayt_word="empesar" data-scaytid="117"empesar/span el span data-scayt_word="fuego" data-scaytid="118"fuego/spannbsp; en span data-scayt_word="vez" data-scaytid="120"vez/span de span data-scayt_word="envestigar" data-scaytid="121"envestigar/span y span data-scayt_word="ver" data-scaytid="122"ver/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="9"que/span la span data-scayt_word="temperatura" data-scaytid="123"temperatura/span span data-scayt_word="es" data-scaytid="26"es/span span data-scayt_word="muy" data-scaytid="124"muy/span span data-scayt_word="alta" data-scaytid="127"alta/span y los span data-scayt_word="fuegos" data-scaytid="128"fuegos/span span data-scayt_word="pudieron" data-scaytid="129"pudieron/span span data-scayt_word="enpesar" data-scaytid="130"enpesar/span de span data-scayt_word="muchas" data-scaytid="131"muchas/span span data-scayt_word="maneras" data-scaytid="134"maneras/span/p p span data-scayt_word="Yo" data-scaytid="135"Yo/spannbsp; span data-scayt_word="tambien" data-scaytid="136"tambien/span span data-scayt_word="fui" data-scaytid="137"fui/span span data-scayt_word="victima" data-scaytid="138"victima/span del span data-scayt_word="racismo" data-scaytid="60"racismo/spannbsp; a span data-scayt_word="muy" data-scaytid="125"muy/span span data-scayt_word="temprana" data-scaytid="139"temprana/span span data-scayt_word="edad" data-scaytid="140"edad/spannbsp; sin saber span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="10"que/span span data-scayt_word="estaba" data-scaytid="141"estaba/span span data-scayt_word="pasando" data-scaytid="143"pasando/span span data-scayt_word="porque" data-scaytid="145"porque/span span data-scayt_word="todo" data-scaytid="77"todo/span span data-scayt_word="esto" data-scaytid="151"esto/span span data-scayt_word="estaba" data-scaytid="142"estaba/span span data-scayt_word="pasando" data-scaytid="144"pasando/span en la span data-scayt_word="escuela" data-scaytid="153"escuela/span superiornbsp; la span data-scayt_word="misma" data-scaytid="154"misma/span span data-scayt_word="raza" data-scaytid="155"raza/span los span data-scayt_word="chicanos" data-scaytid="156"chicanos/span se span data-scayt_word="vurlaban" data-scaytid="158"vurlaban/span de mi span data-scayt_word="porque" data-scaytid="146"porque/span no span data-scayt_word="podia" data-scaytid="159"podia/span span data-scayt_word="hablar" data-scaytid="160"hablar/span ingles span data-scayt_word="pero" data-scaytid="161"pero/span span data-scayt_word="eso" data-scaytid="165"eso/span me span data-scayt_word="hizo" data-scaytid="167"hizo/span span data-scayt_word="mas" data-scaytid="49"mas/span span data-scayt_word="fuerte" data-scaytid="168"fuerte/span span data-scayt_word="para" data-scaytid="35"para/span span data-scayt_word="aprender" data-scaytid="169"aprender/span el ingles en 6 span data-scayt_word="meses" data-scaytid="170"meses/span span data-scayt_word="ese" data-scaytid="171"ese/span span data-scayt_word="es" data-scaytid="27"es/span un span data-scayt_word="ejemplo" data-scaytid="172"ejemplo/span perfecto de span data-scayt_word="las" data-scaytid="89"las/span span data-scayt_word="diferentes" data-scaytid="173"diferentes/span span data-scayt_word="caras" data-scaytid="174"caras/span del span data-scayt_word="racismo" data-scaytid="61"racismo/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="11"que/span el span data-scayt_word="govierno" data-scaytid="175"govierno/span pone en span data-scayt_word="frente" data-scaytid="176"frente/spannbsp; de los span data-scayt_word="chicanos" data-scaytid="157"chicanos/span y span data-scayt_word="latinos" data-scaytid="177"latinos/span span data-scayt_word="porque" data-scaytid="147"porque/span span data-scayt_word="ellos" data-scaytid="113"ellos/spannbsp; no span data-scayt_word="quieren" data-scaytid="178"quieren/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="12"que/span span data-scayt_word="hagaremos" data-scaytid="180"hagaremos/spannbsp; el span data-scayt_word="poder" data-scaytid="181"poder/span de span data-scayt_word="tomar" data-scaytid="183"tomar/span decisions span data-scayt_word="porque" data-scaytid="148"porque/span span data-scayt_word="ellos" data-scaytid="114"ellos/span span data-scayt_word="tienen" data-scaytid="184"tienen/span span data-scayt_word="competicion" data-scaytid="185"competicion/span con span data-scayt_word="nosotros" data-scaytid="186"nosotros/span/p p span data-scayt_word="Tambien" data-scaytid="187"Tambien/span minbsp; span data-scayt_word="madre" data-scaytid="188"madre/spannbsp; span data-scayt_word="tenia" data-scaytid="191"tenia/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="13"que/span pararse encadaveres de persnasnbsp; corriendo dia y noche solo span data-scayt_word="para" data-scaytid="36"para/span span data-scayt_word="poder" data-scaytid="182"poder/span llegarnbsp; a los span data-scayt_word="estados" data-scaytid="40"estados/span span data-scayt_word="unidos" data-scaytid="42"unidos/spannbsp; span data-scayt_word="pero" data-scaytid="162"pero/span en el proceso mi span data-scayt_word="madre" data-scaytid="189"madre/span tuvo span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="14"que/span pasar span data-scayt_word="muchas" data-scaytid="132"muchas/span injusticiasnbsp; de los coyotes span data-scayt_word="porque" data-scaytid="149"porque/span siempre le pedian span data-scayt_word="mas" data-scaytid="50"mas/span dinero y span data-scayt_word="por" data-scaytid="74"por/span span data-scayt_word="eso" data-scaytid="166"eso/span mi span data-scayt_word="madre" data-scaytid="190"madre/span span data-scayt_word="muchas" data-scaytid="133"muchas/span veces no comia span data-scayt_word="por" data-scaytid="75"por/span un mes/p p Pornbsp; exemplonbsp; en el calor span data-scayt_word="todo" data-scaytid="78"todo/span el sacate seconbsp; span data-scayt_word="es" data-scaytid="28"es/span span data-scayt_word="muy" data-scaytid="126"muy/span span data-scayt_word="facil" data-scaytid="66"facil/spannbsp; span data-scayt_word="para" data-scaytid="37"para/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="15"que/span se prenda un span data-scayt_word="fuego" data-scaytid="119"fuego/spanbr / Como span data-scayt_word="pueden" data-scaytid="111"pueden/span span data-scayt_word="culpar" data-scaytid="69"culpar/span a mis hermanos span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="16"que/span cuando vienen a span data-scayt_word="este" data-scaytid="91"este/span span data-scayt_word="pais" data-scaytid="45"pais/spannbsp; span data-scayt_word="ellos" data-scaytid="115"ellos/span trabajan en los trabajos span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="17"que/span nadie quiere hacer span data-scayt_word="pero" data-scaytid="163"pero/span span data-scayt_word="yo" data-scaytid="102"yo/span se span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="18"que/span algunas personas dicen span data-scayt_word="esto" data-scaytid="152"esto/span denbsp; mi gentenbsp; span data-scayt_word="porque" data-scaytid="150"porque/span span data-scayt_word="quieren" data-scaytid="179"quieren/span quedar bien con los politicos y el span data-scayt_word="pais" data-scaytid="46"pais/spannbsp; span data-scayt_word="pero" data-scaytid="164"pero/span nadie hablanbsp; sobre span data-scayt_word="todo" data-scaytid="79"todo/span lonbsp; span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="19"que/span pasamos en el procesonbsp; solo span data-scayt_word="para" data-scaytid="38"para/span tener un span data-scayt_word="futuro" data-scaytid="107"futuro/span mejor/p p strongEngles Sigue/strong/p p br / You know what#39;s funny to me that the US ndash; the most powerful and rich country in the worldnbsp; isnbsp; still under the unbrella of so much racismnbsp; itrsquo;s a surprise to me how easy it seems to be to blame migrant people for any and every thing just because of the color of ournbsp; skin or our culture.nbsp; Whats even more surprising to me its how many people in this country are still ok with that kind of hate against other races./p p In June, Senator John McCain blamed the Arizona wild fires on migrant people like myself who crossed the border to find a better life or to support su familia. So how could migrant peoplenbsp; be blamed for starting fires in the desertnbsp; instead of people realizing that the temperature gets so highnbsp; that fires could be started in so many ways./p p I wasnbsp; also a victim ofnbsp; racismnbsp; at a early agenbsp; with out me knowing what was going onbr / it was from my own kind,nbsp; the Chicanos, who would make fun of me because I could not speak proper English. This experience made me a strong young vato who determined to learn English in six months, but thatrsquo;s a perfect example of the many faces of racism/p p In my mother#39;s journey across three borders to get here she would have to step over dead bodies running day and night just to get to the united states. She would also have to put up with a lot of injustices from the coyotesnbsp; asking her for more money and many times she wouldnt have enough money left to eat/p p I know that some people in politics would be oknbsp; with blaming my people for everythingnbsp; because they wanna look good with the rest of the country,nbsp; to advance their political careers but nobody talks about all the ups and down that all the migrant people go through just to get a better life for their families and they donrsquo;t talk about all the ones that die just trying to come here/p p Angel Garcia is a migrant, disability and poverty scholar at POOR Magazine/Prensa POBRE/p

p span class="style128"span class="style56"span class="style111"a name="28"/astrongfont color="#990000" size="4"July 28 (Thursday) /font/strong/span/span/spanspan class="style128"font size="3"5:00 PM (Donation)/font/span strongspan class="style249"emfont size="3"span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Manilatown" data-scaytid="1"Manilatown/span Center/font/em/span/strong - span class="style21"font size="3"868 span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Kearny" data-scaytid="3"Kearny/span St., SF nbsp; /font/spanbr / strongfont size="4"span class="style65"Unsung Heroes of U. S. History /span/font/strongbr / span class="style56"font size="3"font color="#333333"strong6:00-7:00 PM/strong - /font/fontfont size="3"font color="#333333"strongemBuffalo Soldiers in the Philippine War - A Conflict of Conscience for African Americans/em/strongbr / Descendants of Buffalo Soldiers who married Filipino women and moved back to the Bay Area will be invited to share their family stories.br / strong7:00-8:00 PM/strong ndash; Film Preview of /font/fontfont size="3"font color="#333333"strongemldquo;The Delano span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Manongs" data-scaytid="7"Manongs/span: Forgotten Heroes of the span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="UFW”" data-scaytid="13"UFWrdquo;/span/em/strongbr / The Delano span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Manongs" data-scaytid="9"Manongs/span tells the unknown history of a group of Filipino span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="farmworkers" data-scaytid="15"farmworkers/span in Delano, California who toiled under the yoke of racism for decades, then rose up in their twilight years to fight for fair wages and ethical work conditions.br / The span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Manongs" data-scaytid="11"Manongs/span (a span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Manong" data-scaytid="17"Manong/span is a Filipino term of respect for an older brother) instigated one of the American labor movementrsquo;s finest hours ndash; the Great Grape Strike of 1965 that brought about a successful joining of the Filipino and Chicano (Mexican-American) labor groups and the creation of the United Farm Workers Union (span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="UFW" data-scaytid="19"UFW/span). This program will show the 10 min. trailer. There will also be a discussion with the filmrsquo;s director Marissa Aroy./font/font/spanbr / nbsp;/p p span class="style56"font size="3"font color="#333333"strong8:00-9:00 PM/strong ndash; /font/fontfont size="3"font color="#333333"strongemTribute to Al Robles ldquo;Uncle Alrdquo;/em/strongbr / Alfred A. Robles (February 16, 1930 - May 2, 2009) dedicated his life to working for social justice.nbsp; A community character, he was instrumental in the political fight against the city to stop the demolition of the International Hotel on span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Kearny" data-scaytid="5"Kearny/span Street./font/font/span/p

p bProtect the Peaks! Week of Action Update 1/b/p p On Friday, August 5th, more than 50 people marched through the streets of downtown Flagstaff to raise awareness of Arizona span data-scayt_word="Snowbowl’s" data-scaytid="14"Snowbowlrsquo;s/span span data-scayt_word="eco-cide" data-scaytid="24"eco-cide/span and desecration of the Holy San Francisco Peaks. The march was part of a week of action to bring community members together to protect the Peaks./p p a href="http://www.indigenousaction.org/wp-content/uploads/marching.jpg" style="color: rgb(223, 16, 0); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;" target="_blank"img alt="" height="200" src="http://www.indigenousaction.org/wp-content/uploads/marching-300x200.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); float: left; padding: 4px; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="marching" width="300" //a/p p On May 25th 2011, authorized by the the Obama Administrationrsquo;s Department of Agriculture and US Forest Service, owners of Arizona span data-scayt_word="Snowbowl" data-scaytid="26"Snowbowl/span began further destruction and desecration of the Holy San Francisco Peaks. Since then span data-scayt_word="Snowbowl’s" data-scaytid="15"Snowbowlrsquo;s/span crew of a handful of workers has laid over 5 miles of the planned 14.8 mile wastewater pipeline. They have cut a six foot wide and eight foot deep gash into the Holy Mountain.nbsp; span data-scayt_word="Snowbowl" data-scaytid="27"Snowbowl/span is currently in the process of clear-cutting more than 30,000 trees and burning slash-piles./p p nbsp;/p p a href="http://www.indigenousaction.org/wp-content/uploads/boycott-snowbowl.jpg" style="color: rgb(223, 16, 0); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;" target="_blank"img alt="" height="200" src="http://www.indigenousaction.org/wp-content/uploads/boycott-snowbowl-300x200.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); float: left; padding: 4px; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="boycott-snowbowl" width="300" //aBefore the march began Flagstaff Cops kicked protestors out of Hopi Square, demonstrators continued nearby span data-scayt_word="flyering" data-scaytid="42"flyering/span and engaging in a spontaneous community forum about the issue./p p nbsp;/p p style="text-align: left;" img alt="" height="200" src="http://www.indigenousaction.org/wp-content/uploads/march2-300x200.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); float: left; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; padding: 4px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="march2" width="300" //p p Carrying banners that read, ldquo;Stop span data-scayt_word="Snowbowl" data-scaytid="28"Snowbowl/span Cultural Genociderdquo; and chanting, ldquo;Community Health Over Corporate Wealth!rdquo; marchers walked and took the streets for more than two hours distributing flyers./p p nbsp;/p p a href="http://www.indigenousaction.org/wp-content/uploads/caught-texting.jpg" style="color: rgb(223, 16, 0); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;" target="_blank"img alt="" height="200" src="http://www.indigenousaction.org/wp-content/uploads/caught-texting-300x200.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); float: left; padding: 4px; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="caught-texting" width="300" //aA member of Youth of the Peaks, an Indigenous youth organization, witnessed Flagstaff Police Department Officer Simpson badge #41 texting ldquo;dealing with mother span data-scayt_word="f–kers.”" data-scaytid="1"fndash;kers.rdquo;/span A crowd erupted in protest as he was reprimanded by a superior officer. An ldquo;officialrdquo; report of misconduct was later filed against him./p p img alt="" height="200" src="http://www.indigenousaction.org/wp-content/uploads/banner-drop2-300x200.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); float: left; padding: 4px; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="banner-drop" width="300" //p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p A 2-story banner reading, ldquo;Environmental Degradation, Cultural Genocide, Racism, Public Health Threat. Donrsquo;t Regret Today. Destroy span data-scayt_word="Snowbowl" data-scaytid="29"Snowbowl/span,rdquo; was hung over the square where hundreds of people were gathered during Flagstaffrsquo;s monthly Art Walk./p p nbsp;/p p a href="http://www.indigenousaction.org/wp-content/uploads/arrest1.jpg" style="color: rgb(223, 16, 0); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;" target="_blank"img alt="" height="200" src="http://www.indigenousaction.org/wp-content/uploads/arrest1-300x200.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); float: left; padding: 4px; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="arrest1" width="300" //aAt approximately 7:span data-scayt_word="30PM" data-scaytid="44"30PM/span, as the crowd of 50 marchers crossed Aspen St., a Flagstaff cop grabbed one person from behind and arrested him for ldquo;obstructing a public span data-scayt_word="thoroughfare.”" data-scaytid="2"thoroughfare.rdquo;/span/p p nbsp;/p p img alt="" height="200" src="http://www.indigenousaction.org/wp-content/uploads/arrest-300x200.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); float: left; padding: 4px; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="arrest" width="300" //p p ldquo;Native Rights, Human Rights, Public Health, and respect descend on the span data-scayt_word="heiarchy" data-scaytid="52"heiarchy/span of social perception; while big brother and businessmen exchange hand shakes, lady liberty smiles oil, uncle span data-scayt_word="sam" data-scaytid="54"sam/span perpetuates environmental disorder, and effluent water delivers the slope of span data-scayt_word="tears.”" data-scaytid="4"tears.rdquo;/span stated Ron Thompson, who was arrested and released less than 3 hours later. ldquo;I had no span data-scayt_word="descrepancies" data-scaytid="56"descrepancies/span being selected in the school of fish by the shark to represent the voice of the unheard. That voice is the civic duty of the free society and the fines of tyranny will always cost more than obstruction of public span data-scayt_word="thoroughfare.”" data-scaytid="3"thoroughfare.rdquo;/span/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p a href="http://www.indigenousaction.org/wp-content/uploads/art.jpg" style="color: rgb(223, 16, 0); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;" target="_blank"img alt="" height="200" src="http://www.indigenousaction.org/wp-content/uploads/art-300x200.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); float: left; padding: 4px; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="art" width="300" //a/p p nbsp;/p p Some protestors creatively contributed political/p p art to ldquo;Art Walkrdquo; by hanging signs that read, ldquo;I love eating poop span data-scayt_word="snow.”" data-scaytid="5"snow.rdquo;/span/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p a href="http://www.indigenousaction.org/wp-content/uploads/silence.jpg" style="color: rgb(223, 16, 0); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;" target="_blank"img alt="" height="200" src="http://www.indigenousaction.org/wp-content/uploads/silence-300x200.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); float: left; padding: 4px; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="silence" width="300" //a/p p a href="http://www.indigenousaction.org/wp-content/uploads/stop-snowbowl.jpg" style="color: rgb(223, 16, 0); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;" target="_blank"img alt="" height="200" src="http://www.indigenousaction.org/wp-content/uploads/stop-snowbowl-300x200.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); float: left; padding: 4px; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="stop-snowbowl" width="300" //a/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p Messages such as, ldquo;Your Silence Doesnrsquo;t Stop the Truthrdquo; were also projected onto buildings along with images of span data-scayt_word="Snowbowl’s" data-scaytid="16"Snowbowlrsquo;s/span recent clear-cutting of the Holy Mountain./p p Indigenous youth also held a ldquo;Zombie Marchrdquo; with over two dozen young people dressed as Zombies symbolizing the public health threat sewage effluent snowmaking poses./p p nbsp;/p p From August 4-9, 2011 events are planned in Flagstaff, Arizona to protest span data-scayt_word="Snowbowl" data-scaytid="30"Snowbowl/span ski area and the Obama administrationrsquo;s US Forest Service sanctioned desecration of the holy San Francisco Peaks./p p nbsp;/p p a href="http://www.indigenousaction.org/wp-content/uploads/snowboarder.jpg" style="color: rgb(223, 16, 0); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;" target="_blank"img alt="" height="200" src="http://www.indigenousaction.org/wp-content/uploads/snowboarder-300x200.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); float: left; padding: 4px; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="snowboarder" width="300" //a/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p Upcoming Events:br / strongSun. 7th ndash; MARCH FOR THE PEAKS! ndash; 12:span data-scayt_word="30PM" data-scaytid="45"30PM/span/strongbr / Meet and start in Wheeler Park downtown Flagstaff, AZ. Bring banners and signs./p p strongMon. 8th ndash; RALLY AT span data-scayt_word="USFS" data-scaytid="58"USFS/span OFFICE! ndash; 12:span data-scayt_word="30PM" data-scaytid="46"30PM/span/strongbr / At Coconino Forest Service Office ndash; 1824 S. Thompson St. Flagstaff, AZ (Near AZ Daily Sun off of Old span data-scayt_word="Rt" data-scaytid="62"Rt/span. 66) nbsp;Come on your lunch hour. nbsp;Bring banners and signs./p p strongTues. 9th -PROTEST HIGH DESERT INVESTMENT CITY HALL!/strongbr / PROTEST HIGH DESERT INVESTMENT ndash; 12:span data-scayt_word="30PM" data-scaytid="47"30PM/spanbr / 504 E Butler Avenue (across from New Frontiers)/p p PROTEST CITY HALL ndash; 4:span data-scayt_word="00PM" data-scaytid="66"00PM/spanbr / Meet at Flagstaff City Hall on span data-scayt_word="Rt" data-scaytid="63"Rt/span 66 side. nbsp;Bring banners and signs, drums and song./p p BACKGROUND:/p p nbsp;/p p Although a current legal battle is under appeal, span data-scayt_word="Snowbowl" data-scaytid="31"Snowbowl/span owners have chosen to undermine judicial process by rushing to construct the pipeline./p p Encampments have been established on the holy Mountain in protest of the destruction and desecration./p p All are welcome to camp and bear witness to span data-scayt_word="Snowbowl’s" data-scaytid="17"Snowbowlrsquo;s/span desecration./p p For more than a dozen years Indigenous Nations, environmental activists, and concerned community members have worked together to protect the holy site and surrounding area from further ecological destruction, public health threats, and spiritual desecration./p p nbsp;/p p Arizona span data-scayt_word="Snowbowl’s" data-scaytid="18"Snowbowlrsquo;s/span development plans include clear-cutting 74 acres of rare alpine habitat that is home to threatened species, making new runs and lifts, adding more parking lots and building a 14.8 mile buried pipeline to transport up to 180 million gallons (per season) of wastewater to make artificial snow on 205 acres. The Peaks are central to the ways of life of more than 13 Indigenous Nations.nbsp; The use of wastewater undermines internationally recognized rights of Indigenous people; rights that the Forest Service and administration is obliged to protect./p p nbsp;/p p strongTAKE ACTION NOW!/strong/p p Converge on the Mountain!br / Join an established base camp or start your own.br / More info: a href="http://www.truesnow.org/" target="_blank"span data-scayt_word="www.truesnow.org" data-scaytid="6"www.truesnow.org/span/a/p p nbsp;/p p Contact Flagstaff City Officials and urge them to RESPECT the environment, Indigenous culture, and protect public health by finding a way out of their contract to sell span data-scayt_word="Snowbowl" data-scaytid="32"Snowbowl/span wastewater!br / PHONE: a href="tel:%28928%29%20779-7600" target="_blank" value="+19287797600"(928) 779-7600/abr / EMAIL: a href="mailto:council@flagstaffaz.gov" target="_blank"span data-scayt_word="council@flagstaffaz.gov" data-scaytid="7"council@flagstaffaz.gov/span/a/p p nbsp;/p p Contact Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and express concern that there was no meaningful public process when the agency approved wastewater for snowmaking. File a complaint and demand full public review!/p p Arizona Department of Environmental Qualitybr / 1110 West Washington Streetbr / Phoenix, Arizona 85007br / a href="tel:%28800%29%20234-5677" target="_blank" value="+18002345677"(800) 234-5677/a ndash; Toll Free/p p nbsp;/p p Northern Regional Officebr / 1801 West Route 66, Suite 117br / Flagstaff, Arizona 86001br / a href="tel:%28877%29%20602-3675" target="_blank" value="+18776023675"(877) 602-3675/a ndash; Toll Free/p p nbsp;/p p a href="http://www.azdeq.gov/function/compliance/complaint.html" target="_blank"span data-scayt_word="www.azdeq.gov" data-scaytid="8"www.azdeq.gov/span/function/wbrcompliance/span data-scayt_word="complaint.html" data-scaytid="9"complaint.html/span/wbr/a/p p wbr/wbr/p p nbsp;/p p Contact the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which heads the Forest Service, and urge them to revoke the Special Use Permit for Arizona span data-scayt_word="Snowbowl" data-scaytid="33"Snowbowl/span for greater public interest.br / The USDA has been holding hearings on protection of sacred places due to the Peaks controversy. Urge the USDA to immediately place an administrative hold on all development on the San Francisco Peaks!/p p nbsp;/p p CALL CRAIG JOHNSON span data-scayt_word="USFS" data-scaytid="59"USFS/span TRIBAL span data-scayt_word="LIASON" data-scaytid="68"LIASON/span IN FLAGSTAFF, AZ AT: a href="tel:928%20525%206578" target="_blank" value="+19285256578"928 525 6578/a./p p nbsp;/p p Tom span data-scayt_word="Vilsack" data-scaytid="70"Vilsack/spanbr / span data-scayt_word="U.S" data-scaytid="10"U.S/span. Department of Agriculturebr / 1400 Independence Ave., span data-scayt_word="S.W" data-scaytid="11"S.W/span.br / Washington, DC 20250/p p Phone: a href="tel:202-720-3631" target="_blank" value="+12027203631"202-720-3631/a/p p nbsp;/p p Email: a href="mailto:TribalSacredSites@fs.fed.us" target="_blank"span data-scayt_word="TribalSacredSites@fs.fed.us" data-scaytid="12"TribalSacredSites@fs.fed.us/span/a/p p nbsp;/p p Send Letters to the Editor of your local papers.br / Arizona Daily Sun: a href="mailto:rwilson@azdailysun.com" target="_blank"span data-scayt_word="rwilson@azdailysun.com" data-scaytid="13"rwilson@azdailysun.com/span/a/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p /p

p bPt. 1- The Blessing Ceremony/biframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LrPztDzJcqc" width="480"/iframe/p p strongPt 2; The Poets read for Uncle Al Robles/strong/p pobject height="349" width="425"param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gXWMnQG5iTk?version=3hl=en_USrel=0" /param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gXWMnQG5iTk?version=3hl=en_USrel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425"/embed/object/p

p nbsp;/p p Itrsquo;s all about overcoming or a cure/p p Seeing it as a tax ride off as they throw/p p Thousands to a cause that they r not sure/p p Raising money for only one side of the story/p p nbsp;/p p Musicians putting on charities/p p For big time foundations/p p Got spent on salaries/p p Feel good documentaries/p p All about I not the community/p p nbsp;/p p Black celebrities cashing in on opportunities/p p Bigger microphones, span data-scayt_word="bling" data-scaytid="4"bling/span span data-scayt_word="bling" data-scaytid="5"bling/span got the camera/p p Pulling strings to make important phones ring/p p Because Autism hit their families/p p nbsp;/p p They are still shelter from every day reality/p p But want Beverly Hills to care/p p Some become a spokesperson with nothing to say/p p Causing more bad than good/p p Taking up space for more face time/p p nbsp;/p p Brothers Sisters can we talk for real/p p Whatrsquo;s on peoplersquo;s minds/p p Let us educate you/p p Whatrsquo;s really going on/p p nbsp;/p p Wersquo;ve bigger fish to fry/p p Our Black disabled young men are doing unfair time/p p Wrongfully incarcerated segregated/p p Disability is not the problem/p p Attitudes hinders her/him/p p nbsp;/p p In the lost-n-found is his IEP/p p Dig up after he was profiled/p p Police the span data-scayt_word="D.A" data-scaytid="1"D.A/span. trying to bury his identity/p p So where are the Black celebrities for span data-scayt_word="Neli" data-scaytid="6"Neli/span/p p nbsp;/p p There is no law/p p That says you canrsquo;t sit on a libraryrsquo;s lawn/p p span data-scayt_word="Neli’s" data-scaytid="8"Nelirsquo;s/span mother writing letters to Black leaders/p p They are too far up/p p Climbing that ladder/p p nbsp;/p p No answers/p p From big names/p p Small donations funding this campaign/p p While the span data-scayt_word="D.O.J" data-scaytid="2"D.O.J/span flip-flopping/p p span data-scayt_word="Neli" data-scaytid="7"Neli/span is lock down in sever pain/p p nbsp;/p p This is only one case/p p Why do we have to get in your face/p p To show u raw discrimination base on disability race/p p Your involvement might be too late/p p If we have to wait until it happens to your family/p p nbsp;/p p One last call/p p To Black celebrities the Black community/p p To step up to injustice from police brutality/p p To profilingnbsp; to hate crimes to rape, understand/p p If you donrsquo;t answer, blood will be on your hands/p p nbsp;/p p Itrsquo;s not all about you/p p The love of a mother/p p People power has great numbers/p p And longer lasting than anything in Hollywood/p p But just wonder what we can do together/p p nbsp;/p p By Leroy Moore/p p 8/4/11/p p strongPARDON WRONGFULLY CONVICTED AUTISTIC YOUTH, span data-scayt_word="NELI" data-scaytid="9"NELI/span span data-scayt_word="LATSON" data-scaytid="10"LATSON/span!/strong/p p http://span data-scayt_word="www.change.org" data-scaytid="3"www.change.org/span/petitions/span data-scayt_word="pardon-wrongfully-convicted-autistic-youth-neli-latson" data-scaytid="11"pardon-wrongfully-convicted-autistic-youth-neli-latson/span/p

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p/p p iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YDaMANt6_Ks" width="480"/iframe/p

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pbbr / Join the East Oakland residents who have suffered illegal removal from their homes on August 19th @ 12:00pm @ Oakland City Hall- Frank Ogawa Plaza for a press conference and rally for Housing justice/b/p p/p piframe width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3MQs_et-J3A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen/iframe/p

p style="margin-top: 15px;" After 98 days and nights of a continuous prayer vigil, thebr / Committee to Protect Glen Cove is pleased to announce a victory in the struggle to protect the sacred grounds of span data-scayt_word="Sogorea" data-scaytid="5"Sogorea/span span data-scayt_word="Te" data-scaytid="12"Te/span/Glen Cove./p p Yesterday, the span data-scayt_word="Yocha" data-scaytid="19"Yocha/span span data-scayt_word="Dehe" data-scaytid="27"Dehe/span and Cortina tribes established a a href="http://protectglencove.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/cultural_easement-and-settlement-agreement.pdf"cultural easement and settlement agreement/a with the City of Vallejo and the Greater Vallejo Recreation District (span data-scayt_word="GVRD" data-scaytid="35"GVRD/span). The agreement sets a legal precedent for granting Native peoples jurisdiction over their sacred sites and ancestral lands. The cultural easement forever guarantees that the span data-scayt_word="Yocha" data-scaytid="20"Yocha/span span data-scayt_word="Dehe" data-scaytid="28"Dehe/span and Cortina tribes will have legal oversight in all activities taking place on the sacred burial grounds of span data-scayt_word="Sogorea" data-scaytid="6"Sogorea/span span data-scayt_word="Te" data-scaytid="13"Te/span/Glen Cove. It also represents a significant step forward in enacting tribal sovereignty, as the first such easement under CA Senate Bill 18 to be negotiated at the city and recreational district levels./p p The agreementrsquo;s terms include elimination of the formerly planned restroom facility and relocation of a downsized 2-space parking lot to an area thoroughly tested to confirm that it contains no human remains or cultural remnants./p p While the specifics of the deal leave some ambiguity about how span data-scayt_word="GVRD’s" data-scaytid="37"GVRDrsquo;s/span park development project can and cannot proceed, the Committee is hopeful that span data-scayt_word="Yocha" data-scaytid="21"Yocha/span span data-scayt_word="Dehe" data-scaytid="29"Dehe/span and Cortina will use their newfound influence to make sure that the resting place of the ancestors is not further disturbed or desecrated./p p ldquo;The cultural easement is an important victory, however we are concerned about the lack of specific language that would prevent grading on the western portion of the site,rdquo; states span data-scayt_word="Corrina" data-scaytid="38"Corrina/span Gould (span data-scayt_word="Chochenyo" data-scaytid="39"Chochenyo/span/span data-scayt_word="Karkin" data-scaytid="40"Karkin/span span data-scayt_word="Ohlone" data-scaytid="41"Ohlone/span.) ldquo;We will be communicating this to the tribes and we have faith that they will take all necessary measures to ensure that ancestral remains and cremations are left span data-scayt_word="undisturbed.”" data-scaytid="1"undisturbed.rdquo;/span/p p Gould continued, ldquo;We appreciate and are humbled by the vast support that we have received in protecting our ancestors. It is our responsibility to continue to do the work to make certain that all of our sacred places are span data-scayt_word="protected.”" data-scaytid="2"protected.rdquo;/span/p p The historical and cultural value of the 3,500-year old site has never been disputed and it continues to be spiritually important to California tribes.nbsp;On April 14th, local Native Americans and supporters began a 24-hour prayer vigil at span data-scayt_word="Sogorea" data-scaytid="7"Sogorea/span span data-scayt_word="Te" data-scaytid="14"Te/span to prevent the Greater Vallejo Recreation District from bulldozing/grading a large portion of the sacred site and constructing bathrooms and a parking lot./p p nbsp;/p h1 class="entry-title" Day 104: Closing ceremony set for Saturday, span data-scayt_word="Yocha" data-scaytid="22"Yocha/span span data-scayt_word="Dehe" data-scaytid="30"Dehe/span representative visits/h1 div class="entry-meta" nbsp;/div p a href="http://protectglencove.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/P1060497-sm1.jpg"img alt="" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-3912" height="150" src="http://protectglencove.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/P1060497-sm1-150x150.jpg" title="P1060497-sm" width="150" //a/p p a href="http://protectglencove.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/IMG_4785-sm-crop.jpg"img alt="" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-3908" height="150" src="http://protectglencove.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/IMG_4785-sm-crop-150x150.jpg" title="IMG_4785-sm-crop" width="150" //a/p p bAnnouncement:/b A final closing ceremony for the prayer vigil encampment at span data-scayt_word="Sogorea" data-scaytid="8"Sogorea/span span data-scayt_word="Te" data-scaytid="15"Te/span will be held on Saturday, July 30th, starting at noon. During the ceremony, long-term participants and warriors will be honored and the sacred fire that has been continuously tended for over 100 days and nights will be allowed to burn out./p p Bring chairs to sit in and food to share. Wersquo;ll be asking volunteers to take trash out with them as they leave. Also, on Sunday the 31st, we will work together to pack everything up and to thoroughly clean and restore the grounds. Extra hands will be very much appreciated./p p bOn Monday the 25th,/b a representative of span data-scayt_word="Yocha" data-scaytid="23"Yocha/span span data-scayt_word="Dehe" data-scaytid="31"Dehe/span visited span data-scayt_word="Sogorea" data-scaytid="9"Sogorea/span span data-scayt_word="Te" data-scaytid="16"Te/span and walked the grounds with Protect Glen Cove Committee members, who pointed out all the specific areas of cultural concern. He brought with him a a href="http://protectglencove.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/yochadehe-letters-7_25.pdf"letter/a from Marshall McKay, the Chairman of span data-scayt_word="Yocha" data-scaytid="24"Yocha/span span data-scayt_word="Dehe" data-scaytid="32"Dehe/span. A personal note from McKay accompanying the letter stated that ldquo;It is with heartfelt appreciation for your dedication to the preservation of the sacred burials and sites at Glen Cove that I send this messagehellip;Please know that while I cannot attend the closing ceremony, I will be with you in span data-scayt_word="spirit.”" data-scaytid="3"spirit.rdquo;/span/p p The a href="http://protectglencove.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/yochadehe-letters-7_25.pdf"open letter/a ldquo;to our friends at Glen Coverdquo; states, ldquo;On behalf of the span data-scayt_word="Yocha" data-scaytid="25"Yocha/span span data-scayt_word="Dehe" data-scaytid="33"Dehe/span span data-scayt_word="Wintun" data-scaytid="42"Wintun/span Nation, I thank you for your efforts to protect the sacred sites here at Glen Cove in the City of Vallejo. With your help, we succeeded in securing a cultural easement that will forever ensure that Native Americans govern the protection of this area so cherished by those who gave us lifehellip; you have persevered through many difficulties and your willingness to support our efforts is so greatly span data-scayt_word="appreciated.”" data-scaytid="4"appreciated.rdquo;/span/p p The span data-scayt_word="Yocha" data-scaytid="26"Yocha/span span data-scayt_word="Dehe" data-scaytid="34"Dehe/span representatives also brought with them the news that the ldquo;reducedrdquo; parking lot still planned by span data-scayt_word="GVRD" data-scaytid="36"GVRD/span is a b2 space/b parking lot for the handicapped. Careful testing will be done to make certain that the area where they want to place this lot contains no cultural materials or human remains./p p a href="http://protectglencove.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/P1060515.jpg"img alt="" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-3923" height="150" src="http://protectglencove.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/P1060515-150x150.jpg" title="P1060515" width="150" //a/p p This past weekend was packed with special occasions and visitors, including a contingent of island indigenous people from the iOceania Coalition of Northern California/i (span data-scayt_word="OCNC" data-scaytid="43"OCNC/span) that brought gifts and blessings, a delegation from ldquo;a href="http://sites.google.com/site/freepeltierhiphopcampaign/"Free span data-scayt_word="Peltier" data-scaytid="44"Peltier/span, Free Em All/ardquo; with a href="http://socialjustice.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/index.php/Fred_Hampton,_Jr."Fred Hampton span data-scayt_word="Jr" data-scaytid="45"Jr/span/a, and a a href="http://protectglencove.org/2011/hawaii-solidarity-statement/"group of Native Hawaiians/a who stayed late in to the evening, sharing songs and stories of Hawaiian struggles. The Vallejo Intertribal Councilrsquo;s annual Pow-Wow was held in downtown Vallejo over the weekend, and on Sunday, warriors and supporters from span data-scayt_word="Sogorea" data-scaytid="10"Sogorea/span span data-scayt_word="Te" data-scaytid="17"Te/span came out in strong numbers to sing the AIM honoring song and span data-scayt_word="Sogorea" data-scaytid="11"Sogorea/span span data-scayt_word="Te" data-scaytid="18"Te/span song./p

p nbsp;/p p/p p class="MsoNormal" Who out there likes to ski or snow board in snow made out of wastewater?spannbsp;nbsp;T/spanhat is exactly what span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Snowbowl" data-scaytid="3"Snowbowl/span, a major snow making company, wants you to do. They are cutting through the San Francisco Peaks, a sacred religious indigenous site located in Flagstaff AZ, to lay wastewater pipeline directly through the Peaks. That means digging, excavation, proper grading for the pipeline. I wonder if they even have a purification system in order for there to be clean snow. Not only has the San Francisco Peaks been a sacred place forspannbsp; /spanmany nations for many years, but it also attracts those who have money and want to make more./p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" For years people have used this land for climbing, hiking, skiing, and a many of other activities. But the San Francisco Peaks are not the only lands that are being desecrated and disturbed because of the power of paper. When someone wants to have something built somewhere all he/she has to do is flash some paper or ldquo;moneyrdquo;. All this situation is about is a money flow issue./p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" Just like the issue of Devilrsquo;s Tower, another sacred indigenous site located in Crook County Wyoming, my Lakota ancestors have migrated there for many years during the summer solstice. We regard Devilrsquo;s Tower as a sacred relic of extreme importance. Now the National Park Service wants to say that there can be no ldquo;voluntaryrdquo; ban on climbing during the month of July. Because it is a constitutional right to climb Devilrsquo;s Tower, (whenever that was made into law) we no longer have the right to privacy over our ceremonies. All we have been asking for was privacy over our traditions during one month in the year.spannbsp; /spanI am not against climbing on Devilrsquo;s Tower, I only oppose the issue of Traditional privacy. Letrsquo;s take the Sun Dance, for example, if a non- traditional person were to see a young brave putting hooks into his chest, they would think he was crazy! But for the traditional eye, self- mutilation is a rite of passage for young men./p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" Now they want to lay waste to yet another traditional site. . ./p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" Using waste water to make snow. . .spannbsp; /spanWaste water is just another term for water that is probably contaminated with anything from minor bacterial infections, to life-threatening diseases.spannbsp; I/spansnrsquo;t there another word for that:nbsp; Biological warfare. You willingly, arrogantly press the issue of an important pipeline that absolutely has to run through the San Francisco Peaks, just to make snownbsp;nbsp;infected with diseases? That is almost like passing out blankets among the native peoples of Turtle Island, knowing that blankets were popular and that they were infected with smallpox./p p class="MsoNormal" spannbsp;/span/p p class="MsoNormal" I want to say thank you span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Klee" data-scaytid="5"Klee/span span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Benally" data-scaytid="7"Benally/span, and those fighting with Indigenous Action span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Media.org" data-scaytid="1"Media.org/span and all of those who are fighting for our ancestors. I now know why you fight.nbsp; Just because we have had everything taken from us doesnrsquo;t mean that we have to stand for it. That doesnrsquo;t give us an excuse to give up and say that we donrsquo;t know who we are. We do know who we are and you canrsquo;t take that from us, we will never let you have it./p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" This land is ours and I will see it returned to us, until my final breath I will not give up hope on fighting for what is rightfully ours,/p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" With Respect,/p p class="MsoNormal" Philip Standing/p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" spannbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; /span/p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" spannbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; /span/p

p a href="http://animoto.com/play/nHRxpWaYSix0E632vr5BSg"http://animoto.com/play/nHRxpWaYSix0E632vr5BSg/a#/p

p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"ldquo;Take out what you can carry,rdquo; said one of the officers who responded to my wife#39;s 911 call.nbsp; ldquo;We#39;re not going to stay here all span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="day.”" data-scaytid="37"day.rdquo;/span/span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"ldquo;I#39;m not going to leave without my span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="cat.”" data-scaytid="39"cat.rdquo;/spannbsp; My wife was adamant.nbsp; Her glasses hung crookedly on her face.nbsp; The person we thought was our friend tore them off and tossed them into the yard after Holly refused to be shaken down for five bucks./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"nbsp;/span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"I missed the whole thing.nbsp; I left the day before.nbsp; The person we considered our closest friend became a mad tyrant after we moved into a room in her house.nbsp; I am physically disabled and she constantly demanded that I do work I am incapable of doing.nbsp; I hurt myself repeatedly because I didn#39;t want my autistic son tossed out in the street with us.nbsp; Now my hands are so wrecked from psoriatic arthritis that I cannot hold a hammer or use a paintbrush.nbsp; My ability to contribute financially is severely curtailed.nbsp;/span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"Worse, I had a mini-stroke when she forced me to haul gravel.nbsp; Inbsp; became so weak I could not stand or breath.nbsp; My legs trembled.nbsp; I gasped ldquo;Asher, I can#39;t breath.nbsp; Help me!rdquo;/span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"ldquo;Stop snapping at me, Bill!rdquo; she screamed.nbsp; She walked away as I fell to the tarmac.nbsp; After a few minutes I managed to crawl inside the truck.nbsp; Too weak to dial 911, I hit two on my cell and got my wife.nbsp; She called Asher who refused to do any first aid until her truck was filled with gravel.nbsp; My wife got the ambulance when we got home.nbsp; By then the worse was over.nbsp; Tests show I had a mini-stroke./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"nbsp;/span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"ldquo;Get out of my house, you piece of shit!rdquo;nbsp; the madwoman screamed.nbsp; Her girlfriend, a hospice nurse added, ldquo;You#39;ve been free loading on her too long!rdquo;nbsp; It#39;s a good thing she was a hospice nurse because her patients aren#39;t expected to recover.nbsp; She is one of the stupidest people I ever met./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"ldquo;Shut up, or I#39;ll arrest you,rdquo;nbsp; The second cop added./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"They made the nut stay outside while Holly grabbed what she could.nbsp; We scratch out a meager living through her clowning and by selling her handcrafts on Telegraph Ave.nbsp; She left $1,500 worth of merchandise behind as well as well as $2,200 worth of materials.nbsp; We also had to leave our vending license.nbsp; Between the two of us we had $55.00.nbsp; Holly can buy more balloons and span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="busk" data-scaytid="41"busk/span.nbsp; That will bring in about thirty to forty dollars.nbsp; There are going to be some disappointed kids.nbsp; The puppets are still with the nut./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"nbsp;/span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"This was actually the second time I walked out of that mad house.nbsp; The first time was a few days after I came home from the hospital.nbsp; It was less than five days since I was released from the hospital.nbsp; She decided to have one of her temper tantrums over the flies./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"Her back yard is entirely gravel, and she has a huge dog who is not allowed outside his run and severely underfed.nbsp;nbsp; Of course he craps in the run, and the lunatic has fits if anybody tosses out the soiled gravel with the feces.nbsp; Along with the dog, she has two cats and a neurotic span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="french" data-scaytid="45"french/span poodle that pees on everything including our bed and my shoes.nbsp; So of course there are flies.nbsp; My wife is allergic to insecticides.nbsp; The Landlady went, if you will pardon the expression, fly shit at me, because she couldn#39;t spray Raid and pretend she was doing something about the fly infestation.nbsp; Even though Holly was coming back with $40 worth of fly traps, she yelled and screamed in my face and kept at it until I yelled back.nbsp; She left crying and I collapsed on the porch with chest pains and yelling, ldquo;The flies, the span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="flies.”" data-scaytid="47"flies.rdquo;/spannbsp; That was my second trip by ambulance in five days./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"nbsp;/span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"Holly was supposed to show up at eight to get the stuff we needed immediately.nbsp; She met Holly at the door and demanded a percentage of our General Assistance checks and five dollars out of pocket.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; When span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="tHolly" data-scaytid="49"tHolly/span told her that we were not giving her one more cent, she freaked out and attacked her.nbsp; She ripped the glasses off my wife#39;s face and threw them into the yard and struck her repeatedly on the shoulders.nbsp; The nut grabbed Holly#39;s hand when she took out her cell to call 911.nbsp; Holly#39;s Tai Chi training came to her aid.nbsp;nbsp; Holly kept the cell phone and called the cops without having to hit her back. She took several punches to her shoulder instead. A victory for pacifism./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"With nowhere else to go, we went back to Berkeley and did what we could to get our property back.nbsp; Next week, we will have a storage locker and a place where we can store our stock and clothes.nbsp; Our son is in a program for autistic people.nbsp; All we have to worry about is ourselves and the dog.nbsp; My brother put me up for two days, and that is all he dares do.nbsp; He has a rent controlled apartment in San Francisco, and his landlords would love to get rid of him so they can jack up the rent.nbsp; Holly and the pets stayed with a friend who cannot stand having too many people around her.nbsp; After two days, we were screwed./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"nbsp;/span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"I came back two days after the fly incident, and renegotiated our deal.nbsp; Originally it was work for room, helping her out with her bills, and letting her join us for dinner.nbsp; I had been working 35-45 hours a week, mostly doing stupid things like hauling flower pots from one side of the yard to another.nbsp; My favorite was when she had me use a scoop to empty her compost bin into another container and then scrub out the bin.nbsp; Two days later, she decided she liked it better in the original bin and I had to put it all back./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"Little real work got done because the madwoman compulsively collected stuff from the Craig#39;s List free section.nbsp; She came back with the damnedest garbage from giant balloons to span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="hydroponic" data-scaytid="51"hydroponic/span gear.nbsp; It didn#39;t matter to her.nbsp; If it was free, she would grab it.nbsp; I spent weeks clearing the bedroom and porch so my family could use them.nbsp; In a matter of weeks they were a worse mess than before.nbsp; Plus she had the front entrance blocked with the most incredible garbage.nbsp; More of my time was spent trying to stack the shit so people could move than in any actual work.nbsp; Then I got hissy-fits when the actual work wasn#39;t done as well./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"Since I couldn#39;t haul anymore, my new job was selling hernbsp; garbage on Craig#39;s list, which I did.nbsp; In three days I sold about $175 which was brilliant.nbsp; (Better than I ever saw her do in the 7 years we knew her.)nbsp; All it got me was more bullying.nbsp; I also let her know that I wasn#39;t working more than 25 hours a week.nbsp; I clocked 70 hours in the next two weeks.nbsp; Holly and Colin also contributed quite a few hours of work.nbsp; Not only did she ignore our new agreement, but she continued to verbally abuse me./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"nbsp;/span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"There wasn#39;t much we could do once we were in Berkeley.nbsp; It was July 4supth/sup and the police and legal aid were all doing Independence Day stuff.nbsp; So we hung out and I went to my brother#39;s.nbsp; I don#39;t know what I would do without my brother.nbsp; He provided the money so I could keep my phone on.nbsp; The phone was a bone of contention between the madwoman and me.nbsp; My brother-in-law helped me get a smart phone so I could take credit card payments while vending.nbsp; She felt the money should have been given to her.nbsp; In her mind, everything is hers, including our general assistance and food stamps.nbsp;nbsp; She was constantly haranguing us for money.nbsp; She claimed she had no income.nbsp; She freaked out about the unpaid electric bill.nbsp; Her house in the East Bay was mortgaged for more than it was worth and she claimed they would foreclose.nbsp; We were there for two months, and I saw no sign of foreclosure, but being a former mortgage salesman, I recognized the refinancing paperwork that came in the mail./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"It was the electric bill that first warned me what anbsp; dangerous nut bag she was.nbsp; After bullying us about it for two weeks, she realized that if we had it, we would have paid it just to make her span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="STFU" data-scaytid="53"STFU/span!nbsp; In the middle of Junenbsp; she claimednbsp; that she paid the bill out of the mortgage money and now she would be foreclosed on.nbsp; Two weeks later, I had the money and paid the new electric bill with my ATM card.nbsp; I ended up paying the electric bill for April, May, and June, and we had only been there since the beginning of May.nbsp; The mortgage was another matter.nbsp; I found a program that could renegotiate the loan.nbsp; She said she was too overwhelmed to call the number.nbsp; By the paperwork I saw in the mail, that was a lie.nbsp;/span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"Just before I left the first time, we scraped up $1,000 to put towards the mortgage.nbsp; The next day she came back from one of her Craig#39;s List expeditions with two chickens, a coop, fencing wire, and two day laborers from Home Depot to assemble the coop.nbsp; She told us the stuff was free.nbsp; I guess since she thought we fell for everything else, we would be stupid enough to believe her./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"nbsp;/span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"Yesterday, things got really tough.nbsp; Our son was finished with one residential program and there was going to be a few days gap until the next one.nbsp; Our friend, the surrealist poet Lee span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Gerstmann" data-scaytid="55"Gerstmann/span, was kind enough to take him for a few days.nbsp; Thank you, Lee.nbsp; You repaid every favor we did for you and left us in your debt.nbsp; Holly and I love you. Our welcome home dinner for Colin was in the park.nbsp; I got some charcoal and some span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="vegibergers" data-scaytid="57"vegibergers/span, chicken sausage, and salads.nbsp; It was the happiest family meal we had since losing the apartment in Mountain View./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"My son is of the opinion that the madwoman was deliberately trying to kill me.nbsp; That#39;s why she extorted me into do things that hurt me, and why she walked away from me while I was having my stroke.nbsp; That#39;s why she screamed in my face over the flies, and why she sent me to the emergency room the third time./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"nbsp;/span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"The madwoman tried to horn in on Holly#39;s clown span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="busking" data-scaytid="59"busking/span.nbsp; She called herself span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Meshugah" data-scaytid="63"Meshugah/span the Clown, but it should have been Downer.nbsp; She was always bitching about everything.nbsp; Either there span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="weren'tenough" data-scaytid="65"weren#39;tenough/span kids in the crowd or her legs hurt.nbsp; It was always too far to drive, and we owed hernbsp; gas money.nbsp; Once she almost got them kicked out of a farmer#39;s market by demanding a set price for Holly#39;s balloon sculptures.nbsp; She never learned that span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="busking" data-scaytid="61"busking/span isn#39;t about the tips, it#39;s about giving.nbsp; The more you give the more the crowd puts money in the tip box.nbsp; The more you love to give to others, the more others love to give to you.nbsp; Human beings are generally good and kind.nbsp; She is an exception that tests that rule.nbsp; Now that Holly ditched her, we have permission to span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="busk" data-scaytid="43"busk/span at even more farmer#39;s market.nbsp; The manager is a really nice person./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"nbsp;/span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"I think that our sudden eviction and lockout was planned.nbsp; We insisted that Aug. 31supst/sup was our last day at her house.nbsp; She knewnbsp; she was not going to get all the cash she hoped she could extort out of us.nbsp; In the past two months we gave her $1,284 in cash or consumer goods.nbsp; ($50 in flytraps alone.)nbsp; She also extorted $384 in food stamps.nbsp; Mostly in expensive coffee and whipping cream to add to it.nbsp; Between the three of us we did 317 hours of unpaid labor.nbsp; I sold an extra $175 for garbage she got off Craig#39;s List and she took $30 from the clown disaster at the farmer#39;s market.nbsp; Rather than pay bills with the clown and Craig#39;s List money, she decided to take a five day trip with her girlfriend.nbsp; We were all over that.nbsp; We planned to be out of that hellhole before she came back./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"The day before, she threw tantrums and threats until I bought her two bags of coffee, (making it three bags in under three days.) cream, two jars of tomato sauce and a yam. I told her that was it for the month./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"The next morning she started her usual morning temper tantrum with a twist.nbsp; First she did it in front of Holly.nbsp; She never pulled that crap in front of my wife before. This time it was over a list of the stuff I was selling for her on the web.nbsp; I told her I would do it as soon as I did span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="poo" data-scaytid="67"poo/span patrol, fed her big dog, and had my breakfast so I could take my pills.nbsp; She wanted it now.nbsp; I told her to fuck off.nbsp; I was leaving and nuking her Craig#39;s List ads.nbsp; She went nuts and screamed in my face and physically blocked me from getting my computer.nbsp; She kept at it until I found myself screaming back.nbsp; Then she ran into the bathroom and broke her own mirror.nbsp; She ran out and yelled, ldquo;see, asshole, now I have you on domestic violence!rdquo;/span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"The joke#39;s on her.nbsp; My rheumatoid arthritis is out of control, I am debilitated from a mini-stroke and the doctor#39;s report will prove that I am not physically capable of doing what she claimed.nbsp; I abandoned trying to get my computer and tried to leave, and she wouldn#39;t let me out the door.nbsp; She kept screaming in my face and blocking me.nbsp; I had to threaten to break her china cabinet in order to get her to lay off.nbsp; Not cool, I know, but I was a little crazy myself by then. nbsp;She got out of the way and I was out the door.nbsp; I got about three feet away from the house when the chest pains hit and I fell to the ground.nbsp; That made it three times I was taken out by ambulance./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"nbsp;/span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"I have a lot to do today.nbsp; First I have to wait until my phone charges.nbsp; Next I have to call legal aid to get our stuff out.nbsp; Then I have to call the humane society about that poor dog.nbsp; I love that big goofy mutt.nbsp; He#39;s been a prisoner since the chickens came in.nbsp; He doesn#39;tnbsp; get the hour of run around time I used to give him, and he#39;s too dog aggressive to take to the park.nbsp; Now that we are no longer there, he#39;ll go back to starvation rations.nbsp;/span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"I have learned that there are worse things than not having a roof over your head.nbsp; I just escaped from it.nbsp; After I took Colin to Lee#39;s, I went back to the park. Holly and I found a secluded spot.nbsp; We talked and held hands until she fell asleep.nbsp; It was a little too cold for me, so I lay down and looked at the sky.nbsp; Zack the span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Wonderdog" data-scaytid="69"Wonderdog/span was with us.nbsp; We figured we would have her between us to keep her warm.nbsp; She#39;s 13 years old and used to a warm house and a span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="snuggy-bed" data-scaytid="71"snuggy-bed/span, but Zack is a by-the-book type of doggie.nbsp; She understood her ancestral duty.nbsp; She took point and kept watch for us all night.nbsp; That#39;s how we rested until the sprinklers went on./span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"nbsp;/span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"nbsp;/span/p p span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"nbsp;/span/p p class="MsoBodyText" span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial"nbsp;/span/p

p span style="font-family: Times;"Trying to get Government Assistance ( welfare) wasnrsquo;t what I had in mind waiting to be released from prison. Sitting in that cell I pictured myself setting tile, building homes, or maybe even washing dishes, to get my life on track, make some money, and start being a part of my daughtersrsquo; life . Yes, I thought that I would do most any job, so long as it wasnrsquo;t illegal, to be there like a father should./span/p p class="MsoNormal" style="" span style="font-family: Times;"nbsp; When the reality of my situation finally took hold after innumerable phone calls, resumes and lsquo;yeah right lsquo; looks, when the part about prior felonies emerged in the conversation, I decided to try to temporarily try to get span data-scayt_word="G.A" data-scaytid="1"G.A/span.. .. just until I could find work.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; I still hadnrsquo;t given up on hope that something would come my way, but the pressure was on. /span/p p class="MsoNormal" style="" span style="font-family: Times;"nbsp;nbsp; I applied for food stamps and received them. Needed them, too!nbsp; Every month left me a zero balance way before the end of the month, and I was unable to purchase the basic hygiene items like toilet paper, deodorant,nbsp; toothpaste and toothbrush, razors, soap, and necessary items like clothing, and detergent to wash the clothing in./span/p p class="MsoNormal" style="" span style="font-family: Times;"nbsp;nbsp; I decided to apply for span data-scayt_word="G.A" data-scaytid="2"G.A/span. then and there when I needed to buy some shoes.nbsp;nbsp; Discouraged by my prospects already, and expecting this too to be another dead end , I found myself well prepared for the experience./span/p p class="MsoNormal" style="" span style="font-family: Times;"nbsp;The tricks and turns of public assistance proved to be enough to thwart my best efforts to obtain financial aid in Solano County in 2008, and 3 years later in San Francisco the powers that be havenrsquo;t made things any simpler. /span/p p class="MsoNormal" style="" span style="font-family: Times;"Last week the San Francisco board of Supervisors met to hear a proposal for the upcoming November election called the Fair Shelter Initiative, which if passed would return General Assistance dollars to 500nbsp; san Franciscans without homes who are lucky enough to have been granted their claims for span data-scayt_word="G.A" data-scaytid="3"G.A/span. Now known as span data-scayt_word="C.A.A.P" data-scaytid="5"C.A.A.P/span. /span/p p class="MsoNormal" style="" span style="font-family: Times;"This measure, if passed in November, would return the funds, redirected by the lsquo;care not cash rsquo; initiative, to the homeless receiving benefits from span data-scayt_word="C.A.A.P" data-scaytid="6"C.A.A.P/span. Homeless men and Women in San Francisco./span/p p class="MsoNormal" style="" span style="font-family: Times;"nbsp;nbsp; In 2002 , Measure ldquo;Nrdquo; or the lsquo;care not cashrsquo; measure took Cash aid going to people without homes and gave it to shelters in San Francisco like the Tenderloin Housing Clinic (span data-scayt_word="T.H.C" data-scaytid="7"T.H.C/span.)nbsp; run by Randy Shaw. span data-scayt_word="T.H.C" data-scaytid="8"T.H.C/span. gets the lions share of thenbsp; lsquo;care funds for reserving beds in itsrsquo; shelters. Actually those beds represent 40% of the available beds in the shelters receiving lsquo;care not cashrsquo; funds when the percent of span data-scayt_word="houseless" data-scaytid="10"houseless/span persons receiving funds is something like 8% according to the Fog City Journal.. Nearly one third of the total beds available for the homeless in our city are being reserved for 8% of the homeless.nbsp; /span/p p class="MsoNormal" style="" span style="font-family: Times;"nbsp;nbsp; During last weeksrsquo; meeting one might expect that Local Poverty Pimps and so-called ldquo;affordable housing developersrdquo; will have some very smooth talking to present his case for the over $ span data-scayt_word="150K" data-scaytid="11"150K/span every month in withheld lsquo;care not cashrsquo; funds ../span/p p class="MsoNormal" style="" span style="font-family: Times;"nbsp; The money that should be being spent by homeless people receiving aid./span/p p class="MsoNormal" style="" span style="font-family: Times;"nbsp; The money that people need for ldquo;items like toilet paper, deodorant,nbsp; toothpaste and toothbrush, razors, soap, and necessary items like clothing, and detergent to wash the clothing span data-scayt_word="in.”" data-scaytid="9"in.rdquo;/span /span/p p class="MsoNormal" style="" span style="font-family: Times;"nbsp;nbsp; The money that for almost a decade local poverty pimps have been collecting instead of it going to people who need it, and are entitled to it./span/p p class="MsoNormal" style="" span style="font-family: Times;"nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; I finally gave up trying to get span data-scayt_word="G.A" data-scaytid="4"G.A/span. but I might try again, because my need has only grown , 3 years and two stays in prison later. I just hope that if my claim is honored, that my money get to bme/b/spanspan style="font-family: Times;", and not a poverty pimp. /span/p p class="MsoNormal" style="" span style="font-family: Times;"nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; I doubt they need it as badly as I do./span/p p class="MsoNormal" span style="font-family: Times;"nbsp;/span/p

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p Born to rough Texas parents with a disciplinary attitude, span data-scayt_word="Mikey" data-scaytid="3"Mikey/span left Texas under mutual agreement between himself and the state. He worked as a roustabout, and on one occasion he taped his own broken ribs with duct tape after falling off a ride he was setting up.br / nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; span data-scayt_word="Mikey" data-scaytid="4"Mikey/span also had a stint with the military industrial complex as a private in boot camp. He received a honorable medical discharge. After that he went up to northern California where he re-collected himself. Then, he came to San Francisco, where he met a great friend, Paul span data-scayt_word="Boden" data-scaytid="13"Boden/span. As they were setting up the Coalition for the Homeless he became Paul span data-scayt_word="Boden’s" data-scaytid="15"Bodenrsquo;s/span chief assistant, volunteering his time to help out the poor community that he became a part of.br / nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; span data-scayt_word="Mikey" data-scaytid="5"Mikey/span lived for a time in an SRO called the Senator, where most of the other residents considered him a lsquo;nice span data-scayt_word="guy.’" data-scaytid="1"guy.rsquo;/span Then he went to Hawaii to live with his brother. By then, he was great with children, and children always loved him, including Tinyrsquo;s son span data-scayt_word="Tibucio" data-scaytid="18"Tibucio/span.br / nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; When he returned from Hawaii, he volunteered again with San Franciscorsquo;snbsp; Coalition for the Homeless where he began to live. In one sense he was the face of the coalition as he served at the front desk, which is where I met him. When I first saw him I was frightened of his span data-scayt_word="façade" data-scaytid="20"faccedil;ade/span. His rough mannerisms made me think he hated me, but he did that to everyone he didnrsquo;t know. I later learned this came from his childhood and other unpleasant experiences growing up.br / nbsp;br / As a Volunteer, I was invited to work with the coalition. We went into the shelters, told the people who we are and tried to find out if the residents are being treated well. We took complaints from the residents and helped them get a response.br / nbsp;Two weeks later I was invited into the span data-scayt_word="iner" data-scaytid="22"iner/span sanctum of the coalition where span data-scayt_word="Mikey" data-scaytid="6"Mikey/span greeted me with a beer and a toke. His span data-scayt_word="façade" data-scaytid="21"faccedil;ade/span quickly came down and I saw a different person for the first time. He was more of a teddy bear with a gorilla face.br / nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; His love for children allowed him to relate to kids and could work with all children, maybe because he was himself a kid. He loved video games, adventure and science fiction movies. But he was no wimp. It took a lot to get under his skin. I only saw him throw out one guy who finally pushed him too far.br / nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Once, someone stole from the coalition, where we had a similar attitude to that of POOR magazine of never call the span data-scayt_word="po-lice" data-scaytid="23"po-lice/span. So span data-scayt_word="Mikey" data-scaytid="7"Mikey/span chased the guy two blocks and brought him back bodily and had him apologize to everyone at the coalition. Later on he became an integral part of Paul span data-scayt_word="Boden’s" data-scaytid="16"Bodenrsquo;s/span Western Regional Advocacy Project, and returned to the Senator hotel where he was warmly greeted.br / nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; span data-scayt_word="Mikey" data-scaytid="8"Mikey/span was a Sports span data-scayt_word="afficianado" data-scaytid="24"afficianado/span with a special passion for the Green Bay packers, the San Francisco Giants and professional wrestling.br / nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; The night he passed, I got a call from a friend who was crying. She told me span data-scayt_word="Mikey" data-scaytid="9"Mikey/span was in the hospital with a stroke. I didnrsquo;t believe her because to get span data-scayt_word="Mikey" data-scaytid="10"Mikey/span to go to the hospital, would require his head falling off, which he would have reattached himself with duct tape. I left Poor magazine and went over to Paul span data-scayt_word="Boden’s" data-scaytid="17"Bodenrsquo;s/span office, where I overheard him relating the news on the phone.. I asked Paul, Is it true? About span data-scayt_word="Mikey" data-scaytid="11"Mikey/span?br / Paul said, ldquo;you can say yoursquo;re good byes at the span data-scayt_word="hospital.”" data-scaytid="2"hospital.rdquo;/spanbr / When I got to the hospital with Tiny, Tony and span data-scayt_word="Tibucio" data-scaytid="19"Tibucio/span, I foundnbsp; span data-scayt_word="Garf" data-scaytid="25"Garf/span, Paul span data-scayt_word="Boden" data-scaytid="14"Boden/span and his wifenbsp; sitting around with a person I didnrsquo;t recognize as span data-scayt_word="Mikey" data-scaytid="12"Mikey/span. They had shaved his beard to insert tubes, and 90% of his mind was gone. He was a shell. He courageously had a living will, and I knew he did not want to live that way, slowly being tortured to death.br / nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; He will be missed in the city. You may not have seen any footage of himhellip; he was more a behind the scenes kind of guy. He loathed politicians and he was a good friend of mine. As I write this report his friends are also planning a memorial. In my mind he was a poverty hero who went out with honor and dignity and was a blessing to the community he served till he passed that midnight./p

p img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/u26/MEAT.jpg" style="width: 236px; height: 214px;" //p p nbsp;/p p During July 4th celebrations this poverty span data-scayt_word="skolah" data-scaytid="3"skolah/span watched The San Francisco Mime Troupe perform in Dolores Park.nbsp; The fun began at span data-scayt_word="4p.m" data-scaytid="1"4p.m/span.nbsp; We went to the squat site, led by the Brass Liberation Orchestra (span data-scayt_word="BLO" data-scaytid="4"BLO/span), me, and Tiny aka Lisa Gray-Robles (with span data-scayt_word="Tibu...not" data-scaytid="2"Tibu...not/span dancing...) performing a great Samba dance./p p This poverty span data-scayt_word="skola" data-scaytid="5"skola/span quickly found a place to relax in the squat, an abandoned 40-unit SRO (Single Room Occupancy) hotel at 21st and Mission.nbsp; Three span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="7"Po#39;Lice/span arrived, as I was touring the site (hanging out on the roof), ostensibly concerned about a bottle of flavored water spilled on the ground.nbsp; The span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="45"Po#39;Lice/span officer with authority over the other officers, aka The Sergeant, thought I was in charge, being the oldest fart in sight./p p I said I wasn#39;t the leader.nbsp; He asked someone else.nbsp; Someone else said, This is a collective, we have no leaders.nbsp; Unknown to me at that moment a young span data-scayt_word="Raza" data-scaytid="14"Raza/span man was getting introduced to the sidewalk the hard way, betting shoved face-first into it.nbsp; One of the span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="8"Po#39;Lice/span announced over the radio:nbsp; The meat is on the ground./p p I looked down to see what was happening.nbsp; There was a span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="9"Po#39;Lice/span knee in his back.nbsp; I later found out he got a broken tooth and a split lip--for trying to get himself into shelter.nbsp; Only cannibals think humans are a piece of meat.nbsp; The Sergeant replied, We#39;ve got a powder keg in here and you#39;re throwing gasoline on it?nbsp; Cool it down there!/p p They rushed the young man down the street to a span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="10"Po#39;Lice/span cruiser to get him out of sight out of mind.nbsp; Three Plain-Clothes span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="11"Po#39;Lice/span in an unmarked black sedan (resembling linebackers for the San Francisco span data-scayt_word="49ers" data-scaytid="16"49ers/span...), and Twelve span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="12"Po#39;Lice/span cars suddenly appeared, as if a new episode of The Streets of San Francisco was being filmed.nbsp; One of my POOR Magazine family, span data-scayt_word="Muteado" data-scaytid="17"Muteado/span span data-scayt_word="Silencio" data-scaytid="18"Silencio/span, tried to ask some questions about what they were going to do and got shoved away like a skunk at a Prom dance--thankfully, no damage was done to anything but his pride./p p The Sergeant, apparently, didn#39;t mind the gasoline that much.nbsp; Almost everyone, including members of the media present for the event, was nervous.nbsp; I and the Homes Not Jails folks weren#39;t, but I didn#39;t blame anyone for feeling that way.nbsp; Activists and the Poor are used to seeing span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="13"Po#39;Lice/span act like the San Francisco Giants#39; closer about to beat up a Gatorade cooler, but most civilians aren#39;t.nbsp;/p p This poverty span data-scayt_word="skola" data-scaytid="6"skola/span reporter will be interviewing the young span data-scayt_word="Raza" data-scaytid="15"Raza/span man who was beaten and hustled away from the squat site for a later article.nbsp; More stories from this event are also coming.nbsp; Stay tuned to this Bruce Channel./p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p

p img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/u26/DIGITAL.jpg" style="width: 259px; height: 194px;" //p p nbsp;/p p On the surface, the article in the July 8th, 2011 San Francisco Examiner makes the debit span data-scayt_word="card-ing" data-scaytid="1"card-ing/span of Unemployment benefits seem both cool and a money-saving winner.nbsp; Government at every level is looking for ways to save money, and going to an electronic benefits transfer (span data-scayt_word="EBT" data-scaytid="2"EBT/span) card, like the Food Stamps card I use, will save California#39;s government $4 million in postage.nbsp;/p p I#39;m guessing the Post Office won#39;t like that very much, and they won#39;t like what comes next Spring when the Unemployment system goes totally paperless and forces unemployed folks to submit their every-two-weeks status reports electronically, saving more dough.nbsp; Nowhere in the article does the Associated Press, the source of the story, remind readers of the struggles so many are going through to find work or stay on unemployment benefits if they can#39;t find work./p p Nowhere in the article does the Associated Press mention the Digital Divide.nbsp; The gap between rich and poor which grows ever larger also makes stuff like iPods, span data-scayt_word="iPads" data-scaytid="3"iPads/span, Blackberry span data-scayt_word="superdupersmartphones" data-scaytid="4"superdupersmartphones/span and whatever else the electronic elite want to buy or sell either too expensive or more complicated and less user-friendly the deeper into the Digital Age we go.nbsp; We at POOR Magazine were happy to get the website promoted from Web 1.0 to 2.0.nbsp; It looks great, but some of us are still uncomfortable with this Brave New Digital World./p p There is no mention in the article of things like Smart Meters, which are sold as a way to help the electric power industry provide efficient, also money-saving service to customers despite the fact that many customers don#39;t want them and are even more unhappy about the negative biological environmental effects that all of these electronic intrusions into our lives have on bodies and minds.nbsp;nbsp; There are more things like them to worry about, though I know at least one reader of POOR Magazine will probably be commenting that I am, once again, wasting my time writing about something like this in the way that I have./p p Am I really wasting my time?nbsp; Is efficiency and saving money the thing that I and others want?nbsp; Oh yes, we#39;d like to not have to stand in long lines for everything from drivers licenses to identity cards to Welfare benefits to you-name-it, we#39;d like a lot of things to change, but taking the Unemployment system digital looks nice on the surface while it continues the process of making the people who need the benefit a voice on the end of a phone line, invisible fingers reporting their owners status via a cell phone, a pad, or a computer, while the Unemployment workers (if they hold onto THEIR jobs through these and whatever changes come next...) also remain faceless voices./p