Story Archives 2008

by Marlon Crump/PNN

What do we want?

JUSTICE!

Who do we want it for?

Poor mamas struggling!

With?

A bias judge!

When do we want it?

NOW!

Led by POOR Magazine co-founder and advocate for single mothers Tiny Gray-Garcia, these chants boomed into the air outside San Francisco's Superior Courthouse on the morning of Monday May 12. She was joined by single mamas and poverty scholars, June Strohlin (a.k.a. Jewnbug), Kim Swan (a.k.a Queenandi), Sandra Thomsen, Maria Brosas and others to protest the blatant bias and corruption of San Francisco Judge Marjorie A. Slabach.

As a revolutionary legal advocate for POOR Magazine, I was there to re-port and sup-port these poor mamaz in their struggle for justice in San Francisco's family court system. As I walked up to join my POOR Magazine family, Tiny's voice was already blasting through the bullhorn, my POOR comrades yelling alongside of her.

On this Monday morning, the day after Mother's Day, most mothers in the Bay Area were still glowing after family celebrations, but these single moms found it difficult to celebrate this traditional holiday when an unjust judge has stolen their children and civil rights.

Since 1997, Judge Slabach has presided over family law of child dependency cases in the Unified Family Court Division, at the San Francisco Superior Courthouse. Since that time, single moms that have appeared before her have had their rights ignored and have been mistreated and belittled in her courtroom. She has consistently and biasedly ruled against mothers, ignoring their parental and constitutional rights.

Some of the moms that were in protest had past cases involving temporary restraining orders and some were currently involved in cases that were issues of child visitation and parental custody rights.

Kim Swan, Jewnbug, Sandra Thomsen (who's son was unjustly taken from her by Slabach) and Maria Brosas shared their own struggles in Judge Slabach's courthouse. Each had experienced her cruel behavior and unjust rulings.

As I listened to each mama speak into the bullhorn, I waved my handmade sign, reading EX-PARTE MOTIONS ARE UN-JUST AND WRONG. Ex-parte motions are motions filed by one party, without advance notice to the opposing side. They are decided by a judge, without requiring all of the parties to the controversy to be present.

Ex-parte motions are sharply limited by the U.S Constitution’s 5th and 14th Amendment, because they violate a U.S Citizen's Right to Due Process of Law; however Judge Slabach has repeatedly and unwarrantedly used ex-parte motions in her rulings against single moms.

"I demand that the judicial commission hold a hearing regarding the conduct of Judge Marjorie A. Slabach for her to be held accountable, by her resignation from the bench!" exclaimed Jewnbug into the bullhorn.

"I would like to see this judge investigated by her highest superiors. I would like to see her prosecuted for her injustice and the fraudulent crimes she has committed against single mothers!" Sandra Thomsen yelled in agreement. (Despite all of the evidence that Sandra has provided to the courts, nothing has ever been done about Slabach's behavior in her son's custody case, a case that Slabach continues to preside over.)

Two San Francisco Sheriff Department Deputies stood grimly by at the entrance of the San Francisco Superior Courthouse, as they smugly eyed our protest. The presence of single moms fighting for their rights in front of the San Francisco Superior Courthouse was quickly capturing the eyes of numerous pedestrians, drivers, spectators, as well as lawyers and litigants who entered the courthouse.

POOR Magazine po' poet, Ruyata McGlothin recited a special poem in honor of mothers and I shared my poem, Callous Custody Corruption, which describes Judge Slabach’s unjust behavior:

"You took away my child like a landlord to a tenant's lease...Ohhh your honor, you heinous beast!

You addressed the many in attendance with a plastic smile...All the while you plotted with the other side to seize my child."

As I read my poem, I looked at the faces of the single mamaz in the crowd, and thought about how their children and rights were being stolen from them everyday. I thought about the words of Gaylynn Burroughs, staff attorney of the Bronx Defender in New York City, as she was quoted in a recent San Francisco Bayview article, "Too poor to be a parent."

"Until this country comes to terms with it's culpability in allowing widespread poverty-related issues to exist, poor single mothers will continue to lose their children to the state. And we will continue to label these women as "bad mothers" to usage of our own guilt."

by Leroy Moore/PNN

Ronnie Ooh a.k.a Muwanga Ronald is Ugandan, an experienced Journalist by profession and one of the most promising disabled singers in Uganda. Below is an excerpt from his book "The Struggle of becoming a SuperStar,” which he shared with Leroy Moore in his column Illin-n-Chillin

Ronnie was a lonely child born to Mr. Kaboggoza Joseph, a Muganda, and a retired carpenter now a resident of Lubaga and the late Margaret Kuwebwa, who was a Musoga and a business woman, who died on 29th November 1990 after one week of sitting my Primary Leaving Examinations(P.L.E) rather standard seven exams at Namalemba Mixed Day and Boarding Primary School

Many people may and might take it for granted that my success to come (if it happens as planned) would arrive on a silver platter, a life without struggle.

I also must point out for those who may wish to stand by me and support my efforts in all my endeavors, that I plan on using my music career to reach out to the world with educative and richly informed messages.

I was born a normal bouncing baby boy in 1977 in Jinja Hospital but at the age of three years according to the information available with my father, I got a boot of malaria which led my parents to seek advice from my aunt, the late Theresa Najjemba who was by then working as a senior midwife at Busesa Dispensary in Iganga District.

She advised my parents to take me to Busesa Dispensary where my lower right limb was treated with a Chroloquine injection on the nerve. Although we were staying at Namasoga we by-passed Iganga Referal Hospital where I could get proper treatment.

Before my mother died in November 1990, she had told me that before the physicality of my affected lower right limb got worse, I did not take much time to start walking as a baby and used to run fast and play with my peers as a child. But when I got the injection, I lost a lot of weight and the physical appearance of my lower right limb was alarming as it was growing thinner and thinner compared to my lower left limb. She said I could no longer play, support myself to stand nor walk but only could sit and cry. I become a baby once gain thus it was a hard learning moment and time for my parents.

Before she finished telling me the whole story, my eyes had become wet with tears. I tried to hold them back, but could not help crying as I thought about the physical life experience I went through at such an early age and about the chances and opportunities I was denied due to my disability.

This was a time of temptation and forgiveness for me, something I had never taken time to think about even though I am a strong catholic believer. It took both of my parents’ strength to make me believe that what went wrong with my lower right limb was only because of malaria and irresponsible medical personnel.

It was such a moment of tension, I cursed myself immediately when I started thinking of children I used to play with in the neighborhoods and schoolmates that used to give me hard time. They used to imitate me by limping around and calling me "akalema", meaning a small lame person, "Katonda kyava yakukuba omugo n' olemala", meaning that is why God made you lame.

Up to now I have failed to understand this world and I will never understand the level of discrimination that exists in it. I do not experience this alone but know that other disabled people experience it too.

In 1997, I lived in Bugembe in the Jinja District with one of my long time schoolmates; a friend by the name of Joseph. We had attended Nakanyonyi Primary School as classmates in Primary one (Standard one). He knew I had a problem with my eyes as they are squinted (not straight), and openly told me "Wenna omubiri gw' oli mulema", meaning all my body parts are disabled. It took me a long time to realize that the only reason he had said that was because of a dispute we had earlier.

One time in 2001, my brother-in-law and I escorted my fiancé to the Park Yard of St. Balikuddembe Market (the former Owino market to get shoes) one vendor around where we had opted to buy the shoes shouted to my fiancé that "omulema taba namukazi", meaning a disabled person is not worthy to have a fiancé or wife. I felt uncomfortable, so embarrassed and felt too small in front of my brother-in-law and fiancé and regretted going to the market.

I have also been denied opprotunities to work with different non-governmental organizations and companies due to the physical nature of my disability. Although some of these jobs require a physically fit candidate and I believe that I posses the necessary qualifications, I have been denied jobs because of my disability.

With such life experiences, I realized that I was born to have a hard life in a harsh and rude society. In 1985 and 1988 I was a pupil at Namalembe Boarding Primary School. One day in 1989, I had to convince my mother to get me a doctor's letter of health concern to be addressed to the school administration to protect me from hard work.

She got me the letter and it indeed helped me alot since it was my security that guarded me from rude teachers who used to punish me with harsh activities. In January 1989 when we were going to take a taxi at Bugembe, my father showed me the Doctor who injected me on the nerve. (I still don’t know if this was necessary or an accident.)

He was old enough and had retired. I did not ask any question but just looked at the doctor as he boarded another taxi. It took me sometime to talk to my father about the doctor. While at home in December 1990 after the death of my lovely mother, I approached my father with two questions. One was why they decided to take the advice of my late Aunt Theresa to take me to Busesa Dispensary and by-passed Iganga Referral Hospital? The second was if he knew where the doctor was residing.

Before he could answer any question he looked at me while asking why I had asked him such questions. I told him am that I was not angry any more but just wanted to know. He took time thinking about it but later said the doctor died in August 1989. I did not wait for the answer to the second question but immediately told my father to let his soul rest in eternal peace. I told my father that if he had told me the doctor was still alive, I was going to request him to take me to his home, and talk to him about the difficulties I had so far faced with the society due to being disabled. I was ready to forgive him but I forgave him and asked the Almighty God to judge him with mercy.

He said they tried so much to do whatever was possible with the little resources they had to rescue my worrying situation by visiting different professional doctors in Jinja and Iganga Hospitals but nothing was positive but only left to pray to the ALMIGHTY for his mercy. He said my mother entrusted her prayers to Mary the virgin mother, and she got answered. I slowly started leaning on tables, chairs and could support myself but with a lot of difficulties until my lower right limb become strong enough to lift and support body.

Part II My career in Journalism

Before completing my Journalism course in 2000 as a requirement for a diploma, I was required to do an internship with any media organization, which many refer to as "Industrial training." I did my internship, with Radio Sanyu where I was promised by the News Editor that if any of my articles were used, I would be paid 3,000 Uganda shillings (about 1 and 1/2 dollar).

To my surprise after a month, Richard asked me to go to the company accountant to pick my money. I was paid only 3,000 Shillings implying only one article was used, but in reality all of articles about 30 of them were used.

After my internship, I stopped reporting to the station and kept on wondering how I could continue working with such exploitation and left thinking about the difficulties I had been going through including climbing up to the sixth floor.

With a lot of struggle through January 2002, I decided to switch to the television section. I was assigned to report for WBS television station as a correspondent based in Iganga, then in April 2002 assigned to cover the 1st Africa Military Games in Nairobi without any facilitation but also paid per story used. Unfortunately, with my sweat in Nairobi, I did not get any money for the stories although the Sport Editor acknowledged using the articles and footages.

Although my career had grown steadily with the Television station management accepting my application to report from the East African Community Seretariate in Arusha, Tanzania, my attempts to get my name on the staff list and be paid per month as a staff did not bear any fruit.

In 2003, I decided to discover my gifted natural talent and shared about my idea of starting to sing to my fiancé. At first she could not believe until I started writing and shown her one song entitled " Omukyala w' Africa." She encouraged me then and there.

So far I have written more than 70 songs in Luganda, Swahili, English and French with genres of Reggae, dancehall, Worship, Hip Hop and Contemporary. But have only recorded four songs due to lack of resources.

Currently, I am working as a broadcaster with TV WA, a northern region based television station and have acquired some resources that have enabled me work on my two music videos and set up a video studio.

by Bruce Allison/PNN

"Single payer now! Insurance companies no!"

"Hey, hey¦ ho, ho¦ healthcare greed has got to go!"

The voices of over 3,000 community members boomed into the sticky, humid air over San Francisco's Moscone Center last Thursday. The large crowd gathered to urge government support on House Resolution 676, the United States National Health Insurance Act, which would give universal healthcare free of charge to all Californians. The plan, if passed, would cover all community members with only a 1% tax on the working population.

I stood in the crowd, feeling dizzy from the heat, and listened as community members shared their own experiences of living without healthcare in the United States. Currently, 6.5 million residents in California don't have insurance. Supervisor Tom Ammiano spoke in support of the resolution and a jazz band performed while the crowd danced. The Ragin' Grannies sang and performed while the crowd clapped and cheered.

In 21 cities across the country, similar rallies took place, as community members came together to fight for universal healthcare. Hundreds of community-based organizations support the resolution in California, including the California Alliance for Retired Americans, the United Educators of San Francisco, the California Nurses Association and more.

The day's rally ended with a memorial procession exemplifying how the insurance companies are killing us. The large crowd continued chanted and clapping in hopes of healthcare for all.

Call your state assembly member and senator and demand that they vote yes on SB 840.

by Byron Gafford/POOR Magazine Poverty Scholar

As well as honoring Shirley as a Poverty Hero POOR Magazine is launching an investigation into the wrongful death by corporate negligence of Shirley Weston.The following series of poetry journalism by poverty scholar and family member Byron Gafford is the beginning of that effort.

How Can PG&Evil Say That They're Open 24 Hours a Day?

How can PG&Evil

say that they're

open 24 hours

a day?

When PG&Evil

didn't give a

shit about my

sick girlfriend's

health where she

live.

So when PG&Evil

refuse to send

someone out to

turn her power

back on.

like they sent

someone out to

cut it off

at 180 Westpoint

Rd. on 6/19/2008.

My girlfriend would

have still been

alive today helping

me with our

son.

But since PG&Evil

didn't want to

send someone out

on 6/9/2008 to

cut my girlfriend's

power back on

that they cut off.

Her brother went

out and got

a gas generator

and brought it

into her house

in order to

watch TV.

And when I got

the call from

my girlfriend about

what PG&Evil did

to her I ran

over to her apartment and the

brother and shirley

and his wife

were all together

in the living room

with the generator

on.

And when the next

day came my girl

friend was found

dead on the

floor bleeding out

of her head.

In the living room

where she sleep

everyday.

When shirley's brother

came to town

the devil also

came in town

too.

To rob, steal,

an kill the

good like shirley

weston in order

to claim the

neighborhood of

death for his

own.

With the help

from PG&Evil.

#2

How can the medical examiner lie on Shirley Weston?

How can the medical examiner

lie on shirley weston

on how she died

when they wasn't

there that night

when she was

alive but I was there�

How is shirley

weston's death an

accident especially

if PG&Evil and

shirley's brother both

are at fault.

If PG&E would

not have sent

out one of

their workers to

cut off the

wrong power and

put a different lock

on her box.

Shirley Weston would

still be here with

us today.

But she's not

here with us

and now

the medical examinder

want to rule

it as an accident

but it wasn't

an accident to me.

Because PG&Evil

didn't do their

job right, shirley

weston is dead

because of their

neglect to help

cut her power

back on.

Shirley Weston is

dead and PG&Evil

and her brother

both are the

very ones that

took her away

from us.

PG&Evil cut shirley

weston's power on

6/9/2008 and her

brother went to

get a gas generator

So he can

watch TV and

that was the

last time that

he saw shirley weston

alive after he went

to bed first.

by Angela Pena, Gloria Esteva, Teresa Molina, Patricia/ Voces de Immigrantes en Resistencia

For English, scroll down

Uno de los ejemplos mas brutales de los recientes I.C.E. ataques contra migrantes son las redadas de inmigracion que han ocurrido en la cadena de tacquerias populares, El Balazo.

En el dia viernes, segundo de Mayo 2008, ICE conducto una redada inmensa en once restaurantes de El Balazo en la ciudad de San Francisco y algunas ciudades en la bahia del este. Los agentes de ICE entraron a los restaurantes, y actuaron como que iban a tener almuerzo cuando de repente llamaron a otros agentes para que entreran al restaurante, bloquiaron las salidas, y empezaron a interrogar a los patrones y empliados del restaurante, violentamente buscando por sus documentos en sus bolsas. 63 empleados fueron detenidos ese dia sin los agentes explicandoles sus derechos, la razon porque los estaban deteniendo, o por cuanto tiempo iban a estar encarcelados.

Una mujer joven que fue detenida por los agentes de ICE, se nego a dar su nombre, pero dio este testimonio. "Ellos aparecieron derepente, apuntaron sus armas a nosotros, y nos amenazaron. Entonces, ellos nos ordenaron a entrar sus carros, violentamente busquaron documentos de identificacion en nuestros cuerpos y nuestras bolsas. Yo estaba aterrorizado. Luego nos hecharon en diferentes coches y no nos dijieron para donde ibamos. La barrera del idioma que se presenta entre los agentes de ICE y los trabajadores detenidos, crea un tipo especifico de abuso en cual los agentes de ICE se aprovechan. Los agentes gritan a sus victimas en ingles abusivamente, sabiendo bien que los detenidas no entienden el idioma. Todo el raite hasta las celdas, los agentes se estaban riendo y burlando de mi, diciendo que la unica cosa que los latinos son buenos es para hacer burritos. Finalmente llegamos a 630 Samson donde me arrojaron en una celda. Tomaron demaciadas photografias de mi. Mandaron a un interprete que grito para presionarme a hablar, me decian que tenia que responder sin informarme que tenia el derecho a permanecer en silencio o mi derecho a hablar con un abogado. Gritandome abusidamente, querian asustarme para firmar algunos documentos que yo no sabia lo que significaban. Creo que los documentos eran algo acerca de mi ser ilegal. Decidi solo firmar documentos que yo entendi que decian que un juez podria supervisar mi caso. Ellos me deteniern por ocho horas en las que solo me dieron un sandwich y una pequena botella de agua. Antes de que me liberaron, me pusieron un grillete electronico en mi tobio. "

Agentes de ICE tormentan nuestros lugares de negocios y propiedades privadas como si tubieran ordenes de corte para asaltar edificios llenos de delincuentes. Este es un completo abuso de poder. Los trabajadores inocentes son intimidados por los agentes y sus armas y corren, igual que cualquier persona haria. En los casos de el balazo, los clientes y los empleados corrieron a las salidas, pero ya era demasiado tarde, agentes de ICE habian rodeado el local y estaban esperando a todas las posibles salidas con aarmas apuntadas preparados para arrestar estas personas inocentes.

Las redadas de inmigracion estan aterrorizando a toda nuestra comunidad migrante raza. No solo afectan los individuales que detienen, afectan las familias de esta gente que es depedasada atra vez de las deportaciones. Las vicitmas inocentes que fueron injustamente detenidos, estan sujetos a grandes cantidades de estres a causa de estos actos de brutalidad. Agentes estan tratando a la gente de nuestra comunidad como animales.

Cuando la joven termino contando su historia, queria enviar un mensaje a su comunidad Raza. "No olviden las recomendaciones y advertencias que organizaciones como POOR nos dan en sus folletos de derechos civiles para nuestra comunidad migratoria raza. Usted podria quedar atrapada en una situacion en la que necesitaria saber sus derechos."

Como parte de la campaña de educación pública de derechos de inmigrantes No Corra / Don 't Run, el programa Voces de Inmigrantes en Resistencia patricionado por POOR magazine está publicando una serie de artículos para dar a luz a las atrocidades que se estan cometiendo contra los Comunidad Raza Migratoria en el Área de la Bahía. Estas redadas de I.C.E (Inmigración y Aduanas) son un ejemplo de los constantes intentos de destruir nuestra comunidad. Es muy importante que nos involucremos para apoyar y empoderar a esta comunidad. Si usted está interesado en apoyar a las víctimas de estos ataques injustos de Inmigración, aquí esta un enlace a información sobre la parillada para recaudar fondos para los trabajadores de El Balazo . Todas las donaciones iran directamente a las víctimas de las redadas de El Balazo y sus familias.

Volante(pdf)

In English

One of the most brutal examples of the recent I.C.E. attacks on migrant folks are the immigration raids that have happened at the popular chain of El Balazo tacquerias across the Bay Area.

On Friday, May 2 2008, ICE conducted a mass raid in several El Balazo taquerias in San Francisco and other Bay Area cities. ICE agents entered the restaurants and acted as if they were just ordinary customers there for lunch when suddenly they signaled to other agents to enter the restaurant, surround all possible exits, and aggressively interrogated not only the employees, but customers as well. Sixty-three employees were detained that day without the ICE agents ever explaining to them their rights, the reason they were being detained, or for how long they would be detained.

A young woman who was arrested by ICE, refused to give her name but gave this testimony. "They appeared out of nowhere, pointed their guns at us, and threatened us. Then, they ordered us to get inside the car, violently searched our bodies and snatched our bags away from us to get our identifications. By this time I was terrified. They then threw us into different cars and didn't tell us where we were going. The entire ride to the holding cells they were laughing and making fun of me saying that all we were good for was making burritos. We finally arrived at 630 Samson where they threw me in a cell. They took a lot of pictures of me. The interpreter pressured me into talking by yelling at me, telling me that I had to respond without telling me that I have the right to remain silent or my right to talk to an attorney. By yelling at me angrily, they wanted to scare me into signing some papers that I did not understand. I think the papers mentioned something about me being illegal. I decided only to sign papers that said that a judge could oversee my case. They detained me for eight hours in which they only gave me a sandwich and a small bottle of water. Before I was released, they attached an electronic tracking device to my ankle."

Immigration agents storm places of business and private property as if they are raiding a building full of criminals. Innocent, unsuspecting migrant workers get paranoid and run, just like anyone would. In the cases of the Balazo taquerias, restaurant customers and employees sprinted to the rear exits but it was too late, ICE agents had surrounded the premises and were waiting at all possible exits with guns drawn to arrest these innocent people

ICE agents are terrorizing the entire migrant Raza community. The innocent workers that they arrest are being subjected to massive amounts of stress because of these acts of brutality. Agents are treating arrestees like animals. The language barrier creates a specific kind of abuse that ICE agents take advantage of.

ICE agents have reportedly aimed their guns at the faces of their victims while yelling at them in English knowing that their victims don't understand what they are saying thus creating a heightened state of panic. Agents then violently grab the belongings of their victims, be it purse, bags, or wallets, as if they were mugging them. Once agents have some kind of identification of the detained workers, they slap cuffs on their wrists, throw them in different cars, and make fun of these poor, innocent people all the way to 630 Sansom street where arrestees are detained in cells without being read their Miranda rights, and without being told what they did wrong.

The scare tactics of ICE also unlawfully force detainees to sign papers that they don't understand. Agents yelled at the workers and threatened them with jail time in an attempt to get them to sign voluntary deportation papers. The detainees pleaded that they needed a lawyer present to explain what was going on, the agents laughed and told them that they would have access to a lawyer after they signed the paper.

These innocent people were detained for up to eight hours, in which they were only given a sandwich and a small bottle of water to supplement their bodies. It is for certain that when these people are finally released they will be emotionally scarred forever. Never would they forget that day that they were accosted and trapped like animals and stripped of their dignity. For each one of these victims there lies a tangible reminder of this horrific event strapped to their ankle in the form of an electronic tracking device.

When the young woman finished recapping her story, she wanted to send a message to her Raza community. "Don't take for granted the recommendations and warnings that organizations give us about informing ourselves on our rights. You could get caught in a situation where you need to know them."

As part of the No Correr/Don't Run Immigrant Rights Public Education Campaign, the Voces de Inmigrantes en Resistencia program at POOR magazine is publishing a series of articles giving light to the atrocities being committed against the Migrant Raza Community in the Bay Area. These I.C.E raids are an example of the constant attempts to destroy our community. It is imperative that we come together to support and empower Migrant Raza Folk. If you are interested in supporting the victims of these unjust Immigration attacks, here is a link to info on the El Balazo Fundraising BBQ. All donations will go directly to the victims of the El Balazo raids and their families.

Flyer(pdf)

by Jennifer Fogg/POOR Magazine Race, Poverty and Media Justice Intern

I fumble to take a seat, in the congested overflow room of San Francisco's City Hall. I focus on the commanding figure that fills the screen of the over sized television to my right. It is broadcasting the Board of Supervisor's hearing on Mayor Gavin Newsom's proposed Community Justice Center (CJC) from the packed room across the hall.

The figure dominating the screen, I learn is Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, from district 5. He is relaying his fears that the limited jurisdiction of the court, which ends near the border of his district, will cause what he called "crime creep" and that "serial inebriates" will slither over into the neighborhoods of his district if the court is put in place.

The CJC will handle non-violent, misdemeanor and felony cases, so called quality of life crimes, such as loitering and graffiti among many others. Instead of being issued a citation, people will be taken directly into the CJC and given a community service sentence, always with the threat of incarceration behind it. The court will have jurisdiction over parts of SOMA, Civic Center, Union Square, and the Tenderloin. According to the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, a primary goal of the court is to, "serve as a gateway to social services through the power of the court." Newsom's CJC project is based on former Mayor Giuliani's Midtown Community Court in Manhattan, which by all corporate media accounts has been a shining example of how to eliminate the visible signs of poverty and create a Disneyesque Times Square.

The Mayor has proposed to cut $20 million from existing social programs in his new budget, leaving the most vulnerable of San Francisco's citizens to bear the brunt of the burden. Simultaneously proposing the CJC, which is supposed to be a "gateway" to these very services, will cost an estimated 2.9 million dollars just to implement. The two seem incompatible. It appears that Mayor Newsom would like to follow Giuliani's lead, and cut the poor out of the fabric of San Francisco. Supervisor Chris Daly likened the CJC to a "social experiment".

From the glowing screen in the overflow room, a line of people stretching the length of the Board of Supervisors chambers, waited to have their voices heard on this issue. One of the most powerful speakers came from the voice of one of the co-founders and executive director of POOR magazine, Tiny aka Lisa Gray-Garcia, who articulated that, "the proposed court is another manifestation of the criminalization of poverty and poor people of color that was tried out in New York under Giuliani as a way to penalize people for the sole act of being poor. No matter how many times you put people in jail for being poor it won't change their poverty. As well, this is the way that the criminal industrial complex can begin to systematically feed poverty criminals, like myself into its hungry jaws".

By the close of the hearing the Supervisors voted No on releasing the funds to initiate the CJC, but this didn't sit well with the Mayor. On June 17th he filed a measure with the Board of Elections to put his Community Justice Center initiative on the ballot in November.

As I collect my notes and pen I can only hope that the voters of San Francisco will think long and hard about the implications a court like Newsom's Community Justice Center will have on our city. While phrases like "social experiment" and "crime creep" clamor in my head these questions form on my lips: what does it say about our compassion, our tolerance, our very humanness if we choose to deem people criminals because they may occasionally annoy us, or make us uncomfortable, or may not have any where else to go? Will this kind of court do anything to address the systemic causes of these so called crimes, such as the lack of affordable housing, unattainable healthcare, racism, or our dwindling civil liberties, or is it another progression of these very problems?

by Joseph Bolden

The Size Matters Stuff

My apologies readers,errors in my writing made go back and try to fix this.

No doubt there are more in columns also but one does what can with time alloted.

I’m going to nip this crap now.
Does size really matter to women and men yes and no.

However though most women fantasize,dream and like looking at huge penises.

After having a few they begin to see and feel the problems of a two fore filling truisms.

That is,it hurts bad and can cause ruptures in or around their vaginal site.

Some will say the pain is worth the experience most women say after the experience as with having too large natural or enhanced mammary glands.

Shoulder and extreme upper and lower back pain is the price paid for enormously amply endowed women.

Yes they are and look spectacular but carrying those boulders in industrial strength bra’s specially made reinforced bra’s whose straps may dig into the shoulders,
stress back and shoulders make standing straight difficult.

Having massive bust is a unique challenge for big boned, heavy bosom women.

As for guys with penis envy of other guys with longer, larger, thicker, more massive, veins, circumcised or uncircumcised equipment.

There's only one thing we can do about the competition…

Let it go. Though women can have their bust surgically reduced or get breast implants, we men must face facts.

That until applied science is able to clone from our cells, reconnect nerve endings of a cloned penis thereby having a natural not surgically
(it will be once all the nerves regenerate properly it will be a seamless perfectly and natural lengthened fit

Until then we deal with the unnatural fattened, lengthened one we seen porn flicks.

We’ll have to deal with what we’ve got.

That means besides diet, exercise, and regular sex with either sex.

It also means listening carefully to women when her needs, wants, we can

Provide sometimes aside from money, strength, attentiveness, assertiveness, self-confidence, and also emotional support.

Women play the size game as a tease and to some size will matter but the vast majority just want a guy to be a guy and give her great loving’ on a regular basis.

If you have a woman, or women (always good to have more than one) because we’re both a fickle sex.

If women have more than one guy it does not mean they think any less of you all it means is other men have qualities you may not have and not necessarily about size, different men have different qualities just as men find in women.

If she’s with you and talking about your size joking, belittling, suck it up she’s in your bed with you so it's not all bad if she still keeps sleeping with you.

Huge Clue Guys [She’s With You Not Anyone Else], which says something about you – like, you’re worth her time.

The needling is to psychologically keep you guessing plus she may worry that you can be with someone else too.

Most women no matter gorgeous have little if not huge self esteem problems.

But won’t say that to you.

So guys small, large, or mega member all you can do is improve, vary, sex/love making styles, read up on Karma Sutra, do yoga, tai chi, swim, bike ride, or job (though not 10 kilometers daily it’ll cut down on loving and up your fem or fem friends a bit).

It’s a balance we men sometimes forget to listen, keep learning, and if your not thinking of E.D. or Erectile Dysfunction it won’t.

The thought is father/mother to the deed.

And ladies if you already have a good enough to great bed mate talk to him when quiet time permits and inform, praise, and make sure he’s not taking you for granted and that you aren’t either.

That way those intimate times will build from good to great memories, which can share as reconnection times.

Even when ex BF’s/GF’s, /BB’s/WW.’s [Same sex couples] meet up it won’t be in past anger but remembered joy.

I know it’s rare that ex's remain friends but there are exceptions to every rule.

You prove it by being the exceptions.

A last thing on the subject if she has desire for you and you for her get the size issue off the table first.

In my experience the desire to please, be pleased and learn how to better improve your range of love making that counts.

I have it on good authority its how one cares and uses what they've got.

Don't think about size just concentrate pleasing the one your with.

If she still has a size issue let her go and find it elsewhere other women will gladly take her place.

Any comments go to ask or telljoe@Poormagazine.org or
Jsph_bldn@yahoo.com

by Catherine Limcaco/POOR Magazine Race, Poverty and Media Justice Intern

"Today they incarcerate us for being poor; tomorrow they incarcerate us for being human!" POOR Magazine's own Lisa "Tiny" Gray-Garcia was one of the many activists that were rallying outside City Hall on Tuesday, June 22nd in opposition to the proposed Community Justice Center (CJC) (aka; A Poverty Court) that if implemented will institutionalize and finance the criminalization of people in poverty in San Francisco while leeching funding from service providers such as Tenderloin Health Center among many.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that the plan for the CJC was first submitted to the Board of Supervisors. In the proposal, Gavin Newsom would cut $20 million from existing programs to allow more funds to be used to build the CJC which was in cost be $2.9 million. The Board would ultimately vote NO against the CJC proposal but the Mayor would leave with the last word. On June 17th Newsom filed a measure with the Board of Elections to put his Community Justice Center initiative on the ballot in November.

The significance of the hearing that took place this morning in front of the Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee was virtually unseen by media and community And if the board were to vote to allocate funds for "homeless court" (CJC) that would destroy community programs and the only 24- hour drop in center in the city, offenses that were previously considered to be minor infractions would escalate to misdemeanors. One of activists that showed up, Eli, the Tenant's advocate, explained with concern, "compassion is rarely instituted when it comes to an officer writing citations and implementing other acts of offense. " With that being said, in the words of down-District 6 supervisor Chris Daly, "How are we going to have homeless court that cite and give them services that don't exist?"

Supervisors Jake McGoldrick and Chris Daly opened the hearing with their respected arguments with Daly obviously solo in his appeal: "I don't think this current budget situation is better than it was last year, and I don't understand why we're here. This is a pet project of the Mayor, but I don't think it's good public policy."

Though alone amongst his fellow supervisors, Daly received a mountain of support from members of community including big name non-profit organizations Coalition of Homelessness and the reporting and supp-porting staff from POOR Magazine. The Board allowed each member of the community a measly 3 minutes to voice their disgust for this misleading ploy that isn't adequate enough to solve the houseless problem. Out of the many activists who stepped up to the Board, here are the four that uttered the fundamentals candidly to the inattentive bunch of supervisors. Starting with the basics with Reverend Cecil Williams of Glide Memorial Church: "It's not a legal problem, it's a social problem. A 24 hour drop-in center is necessary because right now, One Fifty Otis Shelter is not allowing women enter which I think is discrimination; except at Ocean but they're only allowing residents to stay 4 hours at a time." As the Rev preaches his case to the Board Committee, it is obvious which way the verdict will go.

Up next was Molly Glasgow, Civil Rights Organizer at Coalition on Homelessness, expresses her discontent with plan for the CJC with her assertive address: "I hope you guys slept well last night and thank you for this short notice to the community. City is making sleeping a crime with Quality of Life Offenses. The list of theses offense are: 23 (a) MPC-Obstruction of Streets and Sidewalk (24 hours); 97 (a)-MPC Camping in House Car; ; 97 (b) MPC-Camping in Car; 647 (c)-PC Obstruction of Streets and Sidewalks;647 (j) PC Lodging/Encampment. This is not a sob story, it's the reality of life: We don't have to have people sleeping in streets."

Next up was a man who has had first-hand experience with the shelters in The City, "This policy is a kin to beating someone in the head to give them a headache. This issue will increase, as the economy worsen," proclaims houseless citizen, Frank Cowell.

And once again to connect the dots, because these policies didn't come from nowhere the former mayor of New York and previous hopeful for the Republican spot for this year's 2008 Presidential Election, Rudolph Giuliani, targeted citizens like Frank Cowell by proclaiming that it's citizens like Frank that need to be "cleaned out." Gavin Newsom seems to want to follow in Giuliani's footsteps.

So as the Board becomes recklessly disinterested, Dr. Norma Tecson closes the comments from the community section by professing her take on the CJC proposal: "You don't know what it's like to work out there when you all are stuck in your offices. I did not get paid a salary for 3 years because I am passionate about helping this cause. "

As the Board does the traditional gratitudial praise, Jake McGoldrick takes his farewell address to the heart. McGoldrick starts talking about his past in France which included a brieft stint in homelessness. Supervisor states, "Being homeless in France is not the same as it is here" with a small "ai-yi-yi" at the end. All that can be said to that statement is just a puzzled expression with the caption "UMM YOU THINK, Supervisor?" in bold. In the end, as of this press date, the CJC proposal was passed 4to1 by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee.

by Joseph Bolden

Wymyn,Men,& The Universe Next Door

Don’t think of the above title for now just contemplate on it.

Yes,I’m dipping my 50 or 100 cents worth yammering about two of the most stubborn yet massively intelligent creatures on Gaia.

We Human’s and our individual personhood…

After straightening my messy one room apartment, turned on the radio to hear the Coast-to-Coast show.

Whether starting or ending I get to hear a rebroadcast of the show.

A late Saturday early Sunday morning show about the human brain as our understanding of it keeps expanding.

Using a old fashioned tape-recorder magnetic tape not tape-less digital kind

I hear Mr.Punnet and guest DR. Michael Gazzaniga,[the director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Dartmouth, Neuroscientist and a fledgling as a member of President Bush's Council on Bioethics. [from Coast-to-Coast AM web site.


Hypothetically discuss brother/sister incest, which goes completely right with no snags,no one knows but them.

go to www.Coast to Coast AM www.psych.ucsb. edu/people/faculty/ gazzaniga/index.php - 17k

Both ware protection against the sister having child from the secret, illicit union,and afterwards made them grow closer family unit.

I missed a half-hour, an interesting conversation.

It goes on saying,most of the human species have built in nodules in our brains,moral breaks preventing most of us from contemplating such behaviors.

Even aberrant, psychopaths among us wouldn’t do that.

Though molesting, raping,and killing
relatives,siblings or strangers,they are not above doing.

Most of us are hardwired not taught that incest is inherently wrong also when husbands,wives,cheat we as a species don’t like that either.

I know “Most men cheat” mantra women drone on about is a comfortable stand by for decades.

Times has changed as more women graduate from colleges,universities, and business schools earning M.B.A.’s.

Become C.E.O’s of companies,corporations, or head up their own.

Many a busy business women married or
not can and do mix public business with private pleasure.
Many women now use the perks of working vacations with special emphases on fun.

Because it is now well known that women are more subtle in their dealings they may well have surpassed men in the stealth sex-on-bizz/ vacation trips encounters but for now the jury is out on that score.

Our holy religious books are also guides on morality.

Some of us don’t follow the rules closely.
We stretch;bend it a little before making a total break of moral imperatives.

Dr. Michael, Gazzaniga explains that of the 6 billion people on earth most of us are good, want, peace.

Its only 1% causing most of the misery we experience.

1% of 6 billion is still a lot of folks!

Now,for a universe not so different from ours lying just out of reach near us.

A female fan said “Men being in control developing ultimate weapons always think it won’t be use then does.”

Dr. Gazzniga said “Help is on the way, the majority of the students are women.” Mr. Punnet talked “about a recent study on the correlation between the intelligence of the brain also addressed the issue of whether or
not men’s brains or women’s brains demonstrate any greater ability to communicate.

”Are women really more communicative than men or do they just talk more?”
{Ladies,I’m paraphasing Mr. Punnet from the radio show,don’t get bent out of shape at me.}

”What the study showed, it was on the live science web site a couple of weeks ago;It was a joint study between several weeks ago for all I know U.C. Santa Barbara was involved.

”What they studied was the presumption… kind of been floating around for a while that the portion of the female brain that seems larger than male brains focus’s on the ability to communicate.”

” Does that sound about right,multi-task and communicate?”

And the study indicated that in fact: There was no difference between male and female brains regardless of the difference… “

”there’s no difference in the function of male or female brains regardless of the vagaries of the size of one part or another. “

”And that study was conducted entirely by women.”

Mr. Punnet continues now its up to readers to grapple with these findings.

In a universe next door an exact perfect Gaia (Mama Earth).

Earth evolves painfully as did our own, evolution takes eons.

Women and men, plants, animals, insects, germs, and bacteria come into being.

In this alternate universe a slight difference occurred.

Women are the hunters/Men-stayed home preparing meals, planting seeds, fruits, learning the early ways of gardening.

Though women birthed children it’s men who nurture, pamper their young. Women prepared them for tool making, combat, are inventors of both defensive/offensive weaponry.
Time swift wind whispers through centuries from Feudal Rough – Tough women, Warrior soldiers, Queens, Princess’s,Knights.

Men do what they’ve always done bared up, and die sacrificing for their children.

“Hit ‘em regularly like a bell”

As the battlefield spreads to their homes men untrained ”The boy’s showed spunk” Gave their lives dear showing up the myth made by women that…

“All men are good for is sex and raisin’ kids’,Your Dad Ware’s Combat Boots was a favorite epithet.

While wives,loves,or soldier Women fought the wars.

The war to end slavery, World Wars 1 drained countries of the best feminine minds,gassed, machine gunned,blown up from air,land,and sea.

The second World war though more efficient enabled many shattered bodies and minds to survive.

Madam Presidents, Criminal classes,Corporate Elites raided their own countries as one party schemed to steal, invalidate, and throw away votes of the uncommon feminine wisdom.

A new day seemed to dawn after so many false ones as one man had risen higher than any other to maybe be the first
Presidential Male in America unless an assassins bullet stops his heart.

Many women aren’t ready for the change ever if the first Black Woman running concedes defeat most think a meer male is too emotional to hack such demanding responsibilities.

The evil that women do from creating destructive weapons,wars, molesting school age boys, cheating on good stay-at-home husbands.

To renting men on the street or keeping secret men-on-the-side.

Everyone on the planet asks “What’s up with raw,bad tempered,smoking, lying,brawling,drinking, dope taking/selling,meth, Internet porn addicted women?

Will they ever learn from their better half to communicate and multi task?

Or are they just hard wired to be the filthy, horny,reckless,bare chested,smelly,grasping ass holes,nit wits who are still running the world into ruin?

”I wonder what it would be like if men instead of women ruled the earth a few women and many men wonder aloud, can it get any worse?

That’s a random peek in an all that glitters world if women ran it.

Truth is either sex won’t be perfect running the world it has to be a joint effort.

If women are destined to rule then so be it…

Whether I reincarnate as a man or woman doesn’t matter I just want to witness the misteps, mistakes, and best of women as leaders, movers and shakers.

Comment on www.askjoe@poormagazine.org or

Poormagazine.org

by Libby Reiser and K. Anderson Franco, Race, Poverty, Media Justice Interns at POOR Magazine

"We're getting evicted, and we're fighting back." The icy words reverberated through the still morning air of the POOR Magazine office. This firsthand experience with eviction was like a slap to the face. After my initial shock I inquired further.

I learned that Seligman Western Enterprises recently sold the Grant Building where POOR has been located since 2004 to PRJ Holdings, Inc. The new owner is Peter R. Johnson, CEO at PRJ Holdings, Inc.

"Knock. . .knock, knock". Libby and myself, two interns in POOR's Race, Poverty and Media Justice Institute, were sent on an investigative mission to discover who else in the building were facing this situation. We banged on every door of the Grant Building, asking each tenant and business in the building the same question, "We got an eviction notice, did you?" Responses varied but the result was invariably that if one was not contracted on a multiple year lease, he or she was asked to leave.

Randy Shaw, a housing rights lawyer and founder of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, is assisting POOR Magazine with legal advice and representation. He believes that the purchase "makes no sense, the market is really bad for commercial property."

This was my first experience with what Tiny, co-editor of POOR/PNN called "capital creep"; however I remembered back to my first POOR Magazine community newsroom, a revolutionary news production project that creates media directly from the community. This was when I realized that this foreign term, "capital creep" is an unavoidable reality for many.

"The first lesson you will learn today is eldership." Tiny proclaimed before we walked through the door. As two of the youngest present at POOR News Network's newsroom meeting, we both took a seat on the floor. The watchful eyes that surrounded us were that of the poverty scholars who were distressed with next months rent, welfare, disabilities, police brutality and profiling. This diverse group was united by a shared hope to end the criminalization of poor people and social injustices; these people followed Mama dee and Tiny's structure of an indigenous organization.

As introductions flowed so did my new list of vocabulary words: poverty scholar, gentrification, superbaby mama, poverty pimpology, media justice. I was eager to learn each origin and meaning, however I kept going back to the top of my list, to a word that had been uttered several times in speeches. It was a word that I understood but never experienced. EVICTION. I ran my pen over the letters several times, bolding it above the rest. Not only was this word repeated in numerous introductions, but it was said with a breath of defeat like a nomination resignation.

To our right sat Vivien, a poverty scholar in residence at POOR who has faced numerous evictions throughout her life. Behind us was RAM, a youth and poverty scholar and native San Franciscan who had been recently evicted. And the voice in front of us belonged to Tiny, who had faced 22 evictions.

"The displacement of migrant people did not just start happening today", Tiny speaks the truth of the cliche, "history repeats itself." Colonizers began with the conquering of Native Americans and continued with the stealing of land from Mexico, Hawaii and many other indigenous groups. These civilizations were exploited, poisoned, enslaved, brutalized and ultimately removed from their land.

As Tiny clenched Peter R. Johnson's letter, my mind flipped through pages of my history book and the stories from that first POOR newsroom. In that meeting, the speeches were filled with passion and progressive words to fight social injustices, but the utterance of eviction was a black sheep,a white notice that inevitably signaled destruction.

"The spirit of Bill Sorro keeps telling me to fight and to never quit", I spoke with Tony Robles, long-time tenant organizer, poet, poverty scholar and Co-editor of POOR Magazine about his experience with powerful resistance movements over land use in the Filipino community. "I'll never forget the way he walked into the Shorenstein building and said, "I'm here to speak to Mr. Shorenstein" when our elders were fighting for the I-Hotel. "In his spirit and in the spirit of the elders of the I-Hotel and Manilatown, we are here to fight this eviction and to continue doing the work that POOR Magazine does, which is the work of our spiritual father".

The story of the Grant building though, on 7th and Market, refused defeat. Back in 2000, the previous owner Seligman attempted to redevelop this building, sending eviction notices to many of his tenants. However, unlike indigenous leaders of the past, the tenants won the fight. Manny Alarcon, an office tenant of the Grant Building since 1998 told us his experience, "When the ownership changed to Seligman, they tried to evict us. Tenants organized with Chris Daly and Randy Shaw." He continued, "they staged a rally in City Hall and put posters in the windows." The tenants would not be moved.

Unfortunately, Manny Alarcon and many other small businesses and non-profits including POOR Magazine are currently facing this exact same story. History has repeated. Alarcon states, "Seligman did the same thing that Johnson is doing today."

Tiny proclaims, developers and speculators are "colonizers dressed as developers in 21st century armor." Like the massacre of Native Americans and colonizing of indigenous people, these capitalist creepers are directly re-zoning and displacing migrants from their homes.

Angelica Cabande, a leading organizer for South of Market Community Action Network (SOMCAN), acknowledges the recent gentrification of San Francisco, "we are seeing a lot of changes in the downtown area. We're seeing a lot of condominiums and office space being prioritized by the city to build and not a lot of affordable housing." She demonstrated concern for not only the lack of affordable housing in San Francisco, but also the common displacement of people.

Knock,knock, knock. Every beat of our knuckles against the cold wooden doors represented more than interns seeking more information about the eviction. Every knock was an exclamation against gentrification. The hollow thumps that resonated throughout the hallways were noises of frustration from displaced communities. These knocks will not go unheard.

POOR Magazine refuses to go. They are launching an offensive strategy that they hope will travel around the globe in the tradition of the movement to take back Alcatraz Island in San Francisco which was launched in the 1960's with indigenous elders and is celebrated every year at Thanks-taking. The fight of the people to take back the I-Hotel in Manilatown, The fight for DQ University, the only off-reservation tribal college in the US and the Longest Walk which was also launched in the 1968 and again in 2008 (and completed by one of POOR Magazine's own indigenous scholars , Mari Villauna). The strategy includes seizing the land at 7th and Market streets on August 7th at 8 a.m. and giving it back to its rightful owners the native people, the indigenous peoples of Califas, turtle island, and the Americas. Following the sovereignty ceremony, POOR will hold a press conference at 9 a.m.

If your organization is interested in being a testifier, co-leader, or co-sponser please call or email POOR Magazine at (415) 865-1932
deeandtiny@poormagazine.org

Other Organizations joining us are,
La Raza Central Legal, Delores Street Community Services, Western Regional Advocacy Project(WRAP), C.H.A.M., and P.O.C.C. Block Report, Axis of Love