Story Archives

by Joe B.

“Requiem For Mortality"

What does the above title mean? I means sooner than later humanity must deal with a concept that has always been a given... Death.

Yes, we still die by various means accident, suicide, homicide, freak of nature, non and malfunction genes, lethal radiation, drowning, thirst, lack of food, heart-lung-liver-brain-bone-cellular disease.

You name it we’ve die from it, we live fragile lives in anything September 11, 2001 forever drilled that into cores of our being as all the wars, diseases, and nature has taught us over and over.

But with every set back we learn anew how we tick and though we still die we are ever closer to preventing or retrieving our lives from death’s door.

Man-Womankind has called death friend, savior, salve, implacable enemy, scourge when youth is taken before they’ve learned to taste sweetness and bitter of life’s joy and pain.

I just pray this so called war on terrorism does not derail applied science and research to the fact that as a species we are suppose to rise from these terrible scenes of carnage and steadily improve our lot.

Right now our political and economic systems seems bent on a backward bent while advancing technologies to improve and save lives are left wanting.

We need more than two political parties that are 200 plus years old and are two sides of the same coin.

Isn’t it time many more parties as alternatives to what we’ve known?

Though it feels safe and comfortable sticking with old tried and true brands each new century demands changes.

It is now time to have other views that are as politically viable,
edgy, and valid as the two Grand Old Parties.

What is needed now is N.P.P. New Political Parties.

I really shouldn’t be thinking of this since I’m not really that political; but if the personal is political then here where I’m at.

The Life Extension, L5’vers, Cryobiology (Cryonics), Neptune Society, Cloning and Elimination of Death Society, and Immortalists, everywhere must come together.

Neptune Societies “Death with dignity” is not in conflict with any of their life affirming sister’s and brother’s because freedom and dignity at the end of live is equally as precious as living prolong, extended lives.

These organizations must now form strong parties, develop their podiums, rules for membership, and regulations, and have economic clout to place their ideas on ballots for people to vote on and be able to have their party official elected to offices to further their crossing agendas.

Snickering, outright horse laughs at first but as science advances or own minds must also.

Life extension, cloning, gene manipulation or modification is no longer a party joke are any of you out there laughing now or are you thinking beyond and can imagine a time when organ transplants cloned from you or anyone else could save your life and those of loved ones?

Our S-President and others are in the throes of religious, war fever and can not or will not see that all God cares about is we be good to each other and if living longer, improving, saving lives is not what humanity is about they we can unhook all or science and return back to the middle ages where darkness and superstition reigned.

This administration will soon pass by 2004 or ‘08 either way we must move on beyond both narrow sighted parties, the future of our continued survival depends on advancing forward - not at breakneck speed but in a steady pace.

I am sure others reading this have many more ideas and dialogs can begin so the parties mentioned and others not even imagined will pop up.

It will be confusing, exasperating, and headache making but it is one way of braking out of our stale two party system.

In the 22nd 23rd or 24th century would you want your great to the 4th or 5th power grandchildren still to be deal with a two party system or a lively free for all of many different parties?

As for poor folks in this new age the stakes are even higher.

Imagine the Newsom’s great grandkids, some progressive, doing what they can to ensure everyone has safe, longer, healthier lives but their are a few new-old guard in both GOP’s with power to shorten lives without using the death penalty.

The Death Penalty is finally seen as useless and banned forever in the United States.

Now people can chose how long or short their lives are but their are a few in political power that want to choose long and short for others not economically or deemed socially acceptable.

Again besides having little or now money, seen as a drag on society, ideas of “Shortening” the POOR’s life span as a way to help them cope with life extended individuals in the city and everywhere in America and the world.

Yes the poor are healthier, more intelligent, and able to travel to where high tech jobs and better, more secure career choices may be end up able to afford longer life extensions or cryo-cases for temporary death/sleep stasis until revival.

But for a vast multitude trapped in dead-end jobs, crumbling neighborhoods, dying town and cities prolonged life is a dream and only by life-lotto, cryo-bets, or rich benefactor, corporations can longer life be possible.

The Newsom Points (sound familiar) are to help easing housing crunch by shorting working poor, and homeless by 20 to 50 years and 200 to 300 add life spans given to people who are worth the effort.

At first voluntary and later mandatory so if any child is born in a certain sections of the city (Another New York model) their spans or shortened unless they show genius in “official categories” deemed by political/scientific/education/ and or entertainment, sports minded leaders.

This in a hypothetical tale and can only happen if we continue on the same unwavering path.

We must make our choices know, gather people and money then begin the painful and eventually healthy process or multiple political party system.

Let September 11, 2001 - be the watershed and beacon pointing to change and renewal.

What do you say people? Bye.

by Isabel Estrada/PNN youth in the media intern

"Now, number one, look behind you.  Now, without pushing, running, or shoving, walk towards the door." The drill sergeant's voice is oppressively slow and mocking as he says these words to the rows of girls and boys.  They start out with fear in their eyes until they have to close them.  They seem to be choking.  They are drooling on themselves and waving their hands around frantically.  Most of them are crying.  They are being gassed in the so-called "gas chamber" as a part of basic training, otherwise known as boot camp. The drill sergeants are laughing and commenting on how people look as they repeat the phrase for every row of ten kids.  As one girl, who is obviously having a much worse time than the others, jumps up and down to relieve herself of the burning and stinging feeling caused by the gas penetrating her pores, another sergeant's voice chimes in to say, "Get that dance going."  When the girls start to leave before he is done with his little speech, he makes them go back and then starts the whole speech over again, this time talking twice as slow.  If a person does run out the door, they are made to go through the whole process again.  This video is the army's way of congratulating Mari on her completion of boot camp.  I had to stop it there.  

"A better way of life." According to the many recruitment officers that visited her various high schools in Texas, this was what joining the Armed Forces would provide for Mari.  The high school that she attended for the longest period of time was LaMarque, where most of the kids were poor and African-American. "Our school looked like a cemetery," she said.  At first I was surprised to find out that Mari did not even hear about the option of going to college the entire time she was there. At my arts high school it seemed as though most of us were basically ushered by teachers and the college counselor right into college, as if there were no other choice.  But then again, my school is in San Francisco and attended mostly by middle class kids, I think the majority of whom were white.  Mari's counselors, on the other hand, acted as though the army was the only option.  Mari couldn't even choose to get a job. In order to get a job in Texas, she would need a car as everything is very spread out.  But in order to get a car, she would have needed a job.  Where Mari lived, they did not even have public transportation.

So at 17, seeing no other viable option, Mari joined the army.  She also figured that along with having housing and food, she would be able to get money for college.  As it turned out, the requirements for acquiring college money through the Montgomery GI Bill are so stringent that she wasn't even able to get any. Because she was unaccustomed to regular exercise before joining the army, where she was forced to participate in strenuous workouts every day, Mari immediately began to have health problems. Luckily for her, she was discharged after about 6 months.   

As far as I know, Indy Media (sf.indymedia.org) has been the only organization to print an article about the bill H.R. 3598 that proposes to reinstate the draft.  H.R 3598, the Universal Military Training and Service Act of 2001, was introduced on December 20th, 2001 by Republicans Nick Smith of Michigan and Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania.  The bill would require all men between the ages of 18 and 22, whether citizens or residents of the United States, including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam, to be inducted into the armed services and to receive military training and education for a period of six months to a year.  The basic training is to be "established by the Secretary [of defense]" and "specialty training [is provided] as the Secretary concerned considers appropriate."

The census predicts that this would include about 9 million men.  Exemptions would be granted for those with "extreme hardship" (undefined, but sons of the rich and powerful probably fit in here somewhere) and mental or physical disabilities at the discretion of local draft boards.  Conscientious objectors would still be inducted, only their training would not include instruction in combat. High school dropouts would get an additional 6 months and help to receive their diploma.  Women would be authorized to volunteer.

This would be a bunch of sexually frustrated boys trying to discover their manhood, thrown together to learn how to maintain the United States' oppressive world order.  It sounds like Lord of the Flies, right wing reactionary style.  I don't envy the sweet boys from my San Francisco art school.  However, maybe they would be the lucky ones, at least they would know that this is just another annoying semi-imprisonment to deal with, not "a better way of life."

When my friend Aaron Perlstein, a student at Humboldt University, heard about this new proposal, he said that if he knew he wouldn't have to fight in a war, he could probably deal with six months to a year of military training.  However, as far as the prospect of having to fight, this was his response: "No one consulted me in the decision to kill thousands and thousands of Afghani people. Why should they expect me to fight their war? The politicians started the war; they can go over there and fight it.  Damn it, I'm just trying to get an education, and I really don't need to be programmed into a fighting machine."

by Lani Kent/PoorNewsNetwork

We were in front of City Hall and the early February sunshine took off our jackets and scarves. News anchors squinted into the sun that seemed to come from the East and West and North and South. It was a beautiful day to be on the street celebrating the merging of ideas, and the merging of voices. On Monday, February 4, San Francisco's Coalition on Homelessness joined forces with New York City's Picture the Homeless to announce "Housing Winter." This national action is designed to spotlight the national affordable housing crisis and provide positive solutions for it. Tired debates about quality of life will not take center stage in this movement. Organizers urge the swift passage of the federal National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Legislation, which will create 1.5 million new housing units over the next ten years. Grassroot organizations across the country support "Housing Winter" and will hold several events to demonstrate their determination to get this legislation passed.

"You can't just put a Band-Aid on homelessness," said Emily Gibbons of Picture the Homeless NYC, "so instead they have just thrown salt in the wound of our homeless existence." Her words were large and shiny, each syllable a statement in itself. Her salty wounds are fresh from New York City's successful campaign to drive homeless people off the streets and into shelters. Her East Coast organization, led by a passionately vocal Anthony Williams, was founded through the voices of homeless people. The principle of the organization is to recognize that resources to end homelessness do exist, and that those resources can only be found by listening to those that are homeless. Bright, shining homeless voices are necessary to educate the public and mobilize the political will.

These voices found an ally in the political will of progressive San Franciscan, Harry Britt. Two hours before the announcement of "Housing Winter", this District 13 Assembly Member candidate held a press conference that addressed housing rights in California. Britt recognizes and firmly supports the idea of creating permanent affordable housing. Like the Coalition on Homelessness, Britt advocates for California land trust acts and supports limited equity co-ops. A land trust is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that acquires and holds land, or interests in the land, which the community wants to protect. This land cannot be sold for profit, and therefore stays affordable to the community the land trust is created to serve. Britt supports this because it is an effective way to make housing affordable to everyone, not just investors and realtors. He also wants to repeal the Ellis Act to prevent eviction for profit, giving authority to local communities to stop uncontrolled commercial development. In addition, Britt wants to repeal Costa-Hawkins to give the ability to pass effective rent control back to local communities . Britt's agenda has much in common with the wishes of many homeless, poor, and low-income folks trying to live in San Francisco.

As "Housing Winter" builds steam, activists will try to convince local politicians to adopt the values and principles already held by Britt. "I want people to know that housing is an emergency, as in a crisis," explained Britt after the press conference, "We need to address the housing needs of the people who need housing." Concerned citizen Tommi Avicolli Mecca expanded on this idea further when he added, "We need to stop giving money to suburban sprawl. Let's give money to create housing, not to create parking." Besides the large group of San Francisco residents there to show support, Britt held stage with an impressive political crowd including Supervisors Tom Ammiano, Chris Daly and Jake McGoldrick. "I want someone with his kind of vision and grit in Sacramento," said Supervisor Ammiano. His vision and grit will find an ally in many San Franciscans, as the energy from the press conference held momentum well into the afternoon and the announcement of "Housing Winter". Locals stood around and discussed Britt's campaign promises as the Coalition on Homelessness and Picture the Homeless NYC spoke golden words into curious cameras. Although Britt was not present, his words came out of each and every advocate holding stage. "Everybody has a right to a roof." "Homelessness is not a crime, it's just a situation, a situation we can change." James Tracy of Coalition on Homelessness summed up the voices when he said, "It is time to improve everyone's quality of life through ambitious housing construction programs that create living wage jobs." The voices started to melt into one and it seemed that there was a single movement of voice made up of various tones and various politics. Last Monday brought out this bright and shining voice, and it stood strong under the sun's large spotlight and squinted back at the cameras.

For more information on events pertaining to "Housing Winter", go to www.nationalhomeless.org.

by Joe B.

Today, Thursday, February 14, 2002 – Saint Valentine’s Day, when friends have a chance to either deepen or ruin near perfect platonic relationships.

I learned a little about a St.Valentine, like Lupercalia:"Feverish" Festival Roman celebration of Lupercalia, a festival of eroticism that honors Juno Februata, the goddess of "feverish" (febris) love. Annually.

Early Christians got into it and as usual saw mainly the lust and
Lascivious goings-on. encouraged celebrants to substitute the names of saints.

Then, for the next twelve months, participants were to emulate the ideals represented by the particular saint they'd chosen.

You know after a few years of this it went stale and was forgotten.

Keep Erotic content we’re only human and our libidos must be fed in both flesh and faith. But that’s plain old me.

The Church selected a single saint to do battle the pagan goddess
Juno -- St. Valentine (Valentinus).

And since Valentinus had been martyred on February 14, the Church could also preempt the annual February 15.

The fly in the ointment was Valentinus himself: was a chaste man, unschooled in the art of love.

The "Spin", making a chaste Saint appeal to lovers the Church may have "embellished" a bit to make the chaste Saint more appealing to lovers, the Church may have "embellished" his life story a little bit. Since it happened so long ago, records no longer exist.

But if it didn't happen this way, it certainly makes for a better.

According to one legend, Valentinus ignored a decree from Emperor Claudius II that forbade all marriages and betrothals.

Caught in the act, Valentinus was imprisoned and sentenced to death for secretly conducting several wedding ceremonies.

While imprisoned, the future Saint cured a girl (the jailer's daughter) of her blindness.

The poor girl fell madly in love with Valentinus, but could not save him.

On the eve of his execution, Valentinus managed to slip a parting message to the girl.

The note, of course, was signed "From your Valentine."

Yes, there is more to (post St. Valentin’s story but that’s up to you readers.

I want to thank [me2u.com/LoveLore/Valentine] website
I saw giving lots of information.

I remember a book of Science Fiction entitled "Immortals" and male and female characters cope with their gift, curse, genetic accident, affliction, or blessing.

One of a Cro-Magnon living now because of some unique genetic quirk that made him immortal and last of his species among modern humanity.

The other is about love and what happens when a mortal and an immortal mix romantically.

The woman is a fetching 32, the man 367 definitely a May/December romance if one I haven’t heard of.

Its not the young woman who’ll have to leave the 3 century plus that has to leave but the young-old geezer along with other people able to take drugs or through gene tinkering to extend their life’s.

But in this case the woman’s genes cannot except life extension, it works but not as well as for her lover, she ages slow but not as efficiently as the old guy lover with centuries more experience than her, because he’s learned how the process worked, and was genetically able to take improvements. As improvements are made he also improved with slower, healthier aging.

There’s a point when the guy or girl separate but in this tale the old guy who still taking his extension shots stays with his aging lady because he really loves her "til death does us part." She is the one leaving because the widening gap in their ages mainly hers now that she looks to be older.

What has all this to do with St. Valentine’s Day? All I ‘gotta say is there will be a reckoning for couples when Life Extension really kicks in for both men.

Imagine 60, 70 year old men and woman looking half their age and young people with their natural youth not able to compete because its not about frail, fleeting, youths in lust, love, and quickie sex but mature love ‘n lust where experience wins out because youth is transient but the young-senior population aren’t buying the ads magazine’s, TV’s, the net, or radio killing the money making day.

When people have been around a few centuries one might grow other interests than obvious fleshly delights and if still lively and healthy being an old graybeard woman or man won’t mean a shortage of partners they’ll just be young and inexperienced or older and vastly more knowledgeable.

I would like to live a few centuries as a bodybuilding, Tai Chi,
Yogi, Karma Sutra student, instructor, with lots of experience to offer 50, 60 or slightly younger fem folks.

Also, at so great an age one’s ego cannot be shattered by any words of distain because I’ve lived through rough times and role with the flow. Its younger folks who will have to deal with head’s flutter and whims of love’s fickle arrow in the groin/ and hearts of women and men in passions fire.

Because if true love is a soulmate able to leave return and be themselves. Give a few centuries of healthy life I think solid, true, marriage-to-death love will last because by then all the petty, selfish
Yearnings, burnings is worn away leaving healthy eternal Eros for both people who’ve chosen each other and now can afford showing it for centuries afterwards.

As for others switching partners, coming back is another options.

For a special few if their soulmate is too old, too young, or dead- waiting, experimenting, experiencing, life before their reincarnation will be a daunting new way lost love returned. Whatever happens we must rethink Valentine’s Day Forever.

What do you think life extension will do Valentine’s Day and other holidays?

Who knows, a few of us might live to experience both question and answer first hand.

Bye, have good love lives people.

by Joe B.

Have you heard about KRON 4's Aptra Award-Winning
Homeless Under Fire series investigation about “The Homeless Problem” in San Francisco?

Greg Lyon and other reporters show the worst side of the problems but if you notice not to many formally homeless folks and if they its a bootstrap bent.

‘Da Mayor, Newsom, and all the assorted blather of following New York’s solution of displacing people all away from sight far away making the problem “look solved” remember invisibility doesn’t solve this just as placing Band-Aids on a tiny scratch of Ebola infested flesh.

It covered, looks like skin is healing but under the band-Aid its getting larger and soon the band-aid is covered by the bloody open sore.

Graphic example but that’s what’s happening and showing this award winning film now at primary time is suspicious, stinks, and is crass.

Making homeless, working poor, and mentally ill seem deviant
and wrong.

Its strange how the out-of-work homeless people looking for jobs with alternative ideas along with homeless advocates are not listened to when their are multiple solutions to so call unlovable problems.

The reason Mr. Newsom was shouted down at a new conference is because they’ve seen this rerun before.

Centralized Systems are fine as long as there are links as with spokes in a wheel but having more than one wheel in one area.

San Francisco in not New York certain systems will apply but not all.

Newsom and the rest of the pol’s must get it through their heads that substance abuse is a smokescreen, most people on the streets now are not on drugs but need higher educational and technical skills not just work for works sake.

If it were only work the people in yellow- green, orange street cleaning for the city would be full employee’s working regular days and hours.

This “Jail ‘em, get ‘em out of sight, warehousing crap has been done already.

As for mental cases on the street blame "Shining City On A Hill" Ronald Reagon for that problem.

Office buildings, homes are closed while new expensive ugly colored achitectual prefab cement housing springs up everywhere, have they been to Oakland lately?

It looks like a 'God Damn ‘Freakin ghost town!

I don’t see many of the $10.000 a month of renters, renting office space, being rented out just lots of new, refurbished, or pristine empty buildings.

Oakland looks like locusts have ravaged the place.

Anyone looking at the Award Winning Anti-Homeless report who are, were, became homeless, jobless but now have jobs and a roof get groups together, mail by snail or email the news stations, ‘Pols and tell what solutions are possible.

Do you think they will listen to solutions homeless, formally homeless, and their advocates have?

Top down solutions are not working, bottom-up has limits as well.

Obviously both groups must stop-drop preconceived, prejudicial, judgments, place their negative mindsets aside, come together and work on sets of multiple ongoing plans of preventing and making homelessness an obsolete construct and or concept.

If I make any sense at all both groups should try this as an option. Bye.

by The Purple Berets

In the most important women's rights case in the country María Teresa Macias v. Sheriff Mark Ihde, on Friday, February 15th federal district court Judge Susan Illston heard oral arguments on the County of Sonoma's petition requesting dismissal of the $15 million civil rights lawsuit. Although Judge Illston's written ruling on the request won't be out for a couple of weeks, she opened the hearing with the statement that her preliminary view is that she will deny the motion to dismiss the case on summary judgment. Assuming that ruling stands, the case will go to trial in federal court in San Francisco on April 22nd.

This is a great victory for women and domestic violence victims everywhere, as this landmark case breaks new ground with every court appearance. A July 20, 2000 ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has already established in the clearest language ever that women have the right to hold law enforcement legally accountable for their response to violence against women. That ruling, which sent the case back to the district court for trial, is already being used by other domestic violence lawsuits all over the West. A trial victory will have even more far-reaching effects on women everywhere, and will likely become the law of the land.

The number one reason for domestic violence homicide is law enforcement's refusal to enforce the laws protecting women from abuse by their partners and ex-partners. Until now, women have had virtually no legal recourse. A victory in the Macias case would put law enforcement all over the country on notice that failing to provide law enforcement to women will cost them millions a fact that likely will save thousands of women's lives.

María Teresa Macias was shot to death by her estranged husband, Avelino, in April 1996, after the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department ignored Teresa's more than 25 calls for help. Avelino also shot Teresa's mother, Sara Hernandez, before turning the gun on himself.

The civil rights case came out of the Purple Berets‚ month-long investigation of Teresa's murder, focusing in particular on her many contacts with law enforcement. That investigation showed a 2-year pattern of deputies‚ failure to investigate, make arrests, write reports or in any way protect Teresa from Avelino's escalating violence, sexual assaults, stalking, and threats to kill Teresa and her family. 

The lawsuit alleges that the Sheriff's Dept's behavior emboldened Avelino, increasing the risk to Teresa and her three children and leaving Avelino free to hunt her down and kill her, all this in violation of California state law and Sheriff's Department policy.

We ask you to support what is by far the most important women's rights case in the country and be a witness to women‚s history in the making.  Here's how:

* Make plans now to attend the April 22nd trial in San Francisco,
slated to last two weeks. The final pre-trial hearing will take place on April 9th.  That too will be open to the public.  It's very important that the judge see this case is being widely watched.  Your presence can help to change the world.

* Invite Purple Berets to speak at meetings and events between now
and April.  The higher the profile of the case, the more law enforcement will be forced to pay attention to women's right to non-discriminatory law enforcement.

*  Support the Purple Berets.  Between now and April we'll
be putting hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars into this case.  We need you to volunteer your time and to donate money to make it all possible.

PURPLE BERETS


Women Defending Women

PO Box 3064

Santa Rosa, CA 95402

707.887.0262; fax 707.887.0865

http://www.purpleberets.org>http://www.purpleberets.org

by Laurie McElroy/PoorNewsNetwork

My son Evander is a regular boy, he loves riding any kind of train; so Saturday night, the 9th of February , I chose to take us home from his Glen Park babysitter’s via Glen Park BART. Very public transportation. We exited at 16th Street cautiously because it was around 10:30pm and that intersection tends to be busy, especially after dark; but I wasn’t particularly worried since all we were doing was passing quickly through on the way home: my son and I live right near 18th and Folsom. We came out of the entranceway to the station and turned onto Mission Street from the lightless, pee – smelling corridor. We were both relieved at the mixture of neon and streetlights illuminating the main drag, and we paused. I recalled a story I’d glimpsed on one of the big networks about the San Francisco Police Department intensifying their presence in and around our neighborhood, and particularly this area, in what the reporter called a "sweep". I wasn’t sure what the news report meant, but I hoped that it translated to Evander and I being a little more secure that night on the walk home.

We stepped into the din and motion of the sidewalk going south down Mission toward home, holding hands. After a very few paces I heard someone yell, "HEY!" It didn’t sound like a cry for assistance to me, and in my experience, in a high crime area like that, if the person calling you doesn’t know your name, it’s best not to acknowledge them or turn around. So I didn’t. At that moment Evander broke from me and headed into Taco Bell. I went in after him and recaptured his hand, turning him around and walking him back toward the door, gently reminding him that we’d eat when we got home if he was hungry, like always. As we approached the door, I saw three big uniformed police officers standing in a semicircle, a latino man, a white woman, and a black man, all arms folded. I walked forward with raised eyebrows, wondering. Why were they waiting there? Maybe they were looking for someone… "Hi, is there anything wrong?" I asked.

"What are you doing out here?" the middle cop asked in a clipped, hostile voice.

Her tone hit me like a puzzling brick, and she and the other two standing there began to look more and more like an inexplicable wall. "I was just walking my son home from his babysitters’… " I shrugged a little and began to frown myself. What was going on here?

"At 11o’clock at night?! What kind of mother has her kid out in this area this late?" Now the woman was glaring, and her tone was more like a snarl.

I was increasingly mystified. I motioned my son behind me as I further explained, "I’m sorry, but his babysitter lives in Glen Park and he likes to ride the trains, so we got off here because this is the closest…"

She cut me off. "Turn around, face the car and put your hands behind your back."

Finally alarmed, I searched the faces of the other officers, hoping for some semblance of sense or sympathy. "But I don’t understand, what did I do? Are you arresting me or questioning me? "

Her pale face was now a mask of unmistakable contempt, and although (or perhaps because) I had no idea who any of them were as people, or if they were people at all, I began to feel a terrible sense of shame along with my confusion, and a lonely, helpless fear for my sweet little boy, who understood so much less than I at this moment, and whose fear I could not even begin to imagine.

"Turn around, face the car, and put your hands behind your back!" the female officer barked.

My stomach churned. I half- turned and, pleading, eyes on my boy, repeated, "But what are the charges? "

That was when she hit me with her club. " Turn around!"

"OW, that hurt, why did you hit ---"

Then the next one hit me, this time in the leg.

"But what are the charge—" I moaned, and the last policeman thrust his club into my stomach with a vindictive force that doubled me over. When I went down they ground my face into the pavement and hogtied me. I kept asking the charges until they put duct tape over my mouth.

My glasses had flown off and I was facing the wrong way anyway, so I couldn’t see my baby standing alone on the sidewalk ,but in the squad car, after the doors were shut, the female officer muttered "What kind of mother are you, making your kid watch us beat you with clubs?"

That was when I started to cry..

***************

LAurie's child is currently in custody and this is the beginning of a three part series from laurie and Courtwatch- Laurie, who is a disabled journalist, poet and artist with PNN is working with Dee from Courtwatch to get justice for her and her child, who following her arrest was taken from Laurie by Child PRotective Services(CPS) and charged Laurie with "Child Endangerment". CPS is using Lauries' Disability to keep her child in custody. Please stay tuned for further organizing efforts around this atrocity.

Courtwatch is a media advocacy project of POOR Magazine/PoorNewsNetwork(PNN) dedicated to helping parents who have been abused by an adversarial court system and/or Child PRotective Services, for more information, to help out, or to tell your story of CPS abuse go on-line to the front page of PNN and click on COURTWATCH - or call (415) 863-6306

by PoorNewsNetwork staff

When I was little, my single mom and I lived on disability she received for bipolar disease. Though she's a talented writer interpreter and translator, my mom can't work full time and make enough money for us to live on and be able to save in case of an emergency because she has been intermittently plagued with highly debilitating illnesses like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. I just came to understand the meaning of savings and how terrified my mom must be that we don't have any such life savings in case of an emergency. 

That Eemergency, that always seemed so distant came right before I was to start my last year of high school. Despite a verbal agreement that we would continue paying the same rent at least until I finished high school-- around August of 2000-- the landlady of our San Francisco apartment gave us a notice saying she would be increasing our rent from $1500, a price that we couldn't afford without a roommate in the first place, to $3000 for our two bedroom apartment. 

She claimed that it was legal under the Costa-Hawkins precedent because we were supposedly subtenants.  This was at the height of the dot com boom when there was a 1% vacancy in SF. After a crazy legal circus and way more anxiety than my mom could handle, we settled.  We had until the next August to leave and she gave us 5,000. The money went to the lawyer and we essentially got left with nothing. 

With all the anxiety that this precarious situation caused in my mother she again became ill and could not work as much as she needed.  Now we had to look for a house with a past bankruptcy on my mom's credit report and no reference from our last landlady, besides the fact that rents were way too high and we didn't have the money to put down first and last months rent on any place.  If it hadn't been for my grandfather 's and my godmother 's help we would have been on the street.  It really is a thin line between homefullness and homelessness.   

So for the people faced with such emergencies, through no fault of their own, who don't have families and friends to back them there is the street or the centralized intake system &  For single adults who can't even get into shelters 90% of services are only offered Monday through Friday from nine to five o'clock.  Adult shelters can often consist of one hundred or more people all in one room with one monitor.  And, despite legislation that is supposed to provide service to all those needing in-home support, it seems that no results have surfaced.  This means that if a person is not capable of self-care they are thrown out. 

As Allison Lum from Coalition on Homelessness pointed out a major problem with the shelter system is the disparity in power between staff and homeless people &the power of writing people up is all in the hands of staff. And there isn't total unaccountability, where the treatment of the people in the shelters is concerned. 

According to Rebecca Vilkomersen from Homeless Prenatal there are three basic ways to get into a shelter. 1) Case management, which means you follow what the case manager tells you and can get into a shelter from 30-60 days 2) lottery, this is random and can get you a room for one to seven nights 3) coordinator referral, which just isn't working right now. For people with children the only option is a family shelter, of which there are four in San Francisco. 

Right now there are 150 families on a 3-6 month waiting list in order to get into a shelter.  Once they are there, depending on the situation they can stay for up to 6 months and then they have to sign up all over again. The instability of the current shelter system is especially destructive to families.  Those that don't get into shelters often ride buses all night, go to SRO hotels or stay in abusive relationships in order to keep a roof over their heads.  Under case management there are certain times when a person must be in or out of the shelter. 

The times are set without regard to a person's work schedule.  A major problem occurring right now is the waste of money on bureaucratic systems that don't really serve any useful purpose.  Right now $500,000 a year is going to an office whose only job is to manage the shelter wait-list. 

Rebecca notes that there is more emphasis on database collection then on services.   Homeless Prenatal is currently working on a "Know Your Rights Book" to hand out to people in shelters.  If you would like to participate they are asking people to go 995 Market St. on the 9th floor from 3 to 5pm every third Thursday of the month. 

The press conference to release The Community Homeless Proposal was held on the steps of city hall Wednesday, February 20, 2002.  In response to Supervisor Gavin Newsom's homeless plan which includes extended hours for shelters and drop-ins, the creation of a new homeless department and homeless services advisory board, and interagency coordinating council, a five-year plan and the centralized information system, the community of homeless people and homeless service-providers has introduced The Community Proposal, endorsed by over 40 organizations. 

While the real experts, homeless people and homeless service-providers, agree that extended hours for shelters and drop-ins are needed we feel that the rest of the legislation would waste money, violate people's rights and in the end would only help to perpetuate the cycle of poverty and homelessness.  According to the experts, 'This proposal is an expensive and desperate attempt to make it look as if change is happening. In reality, it simply creates more bureaucracy at high cost.  None of the components of the proposal would create the permanent solutions that are really needed: such as additional subsidized housing, treatment, child care, education, job training or living wage jobs.

Finally, as Joyce Miller put it, If homeless people had housing they would not be homeless. It is for that reason that The Community Proposal seeks to build low-income housing while reforming the shelter system until sufficient housing is built. It is time for people to stop seeing homeless people as a separate population that came out of nowhere and that can be thrown in and out of shelters and can be used by this and that politician to win votes.  Homelessness needs to be solved and the only way to do so is to provide homes through a process that involves the real experts every step of the way.

*******************************************************

The following is the Executive Summary of The Community Proposal:


Making A More Effective and Accountable Homeless Program

The Community Proposal

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The following is an alternative proposal, birthed from years of bi-weekly or monthly workgroup, council and community meetings, as well as a critical examination of practices in other communities.  It is in response to Supervisor Newsom's recently released plan to create a new Homeless Services Department.  We have serious concerns with that proposal and put forth this proposal in its place.

CITY-WIDE HOMELESS COORDINATION AND STRATEGIC PLANNING

Eliminate the Mayor's Office of Homelessness

In its place, create an Independent Office with at least one full time staff person.  This Office's responsibility would be to provide staffing for the Local Board.

Change the make up of the Local Board

To include federal and state representatives, as well as the current local department representatives.

Two-thirds of the remaining community seats would be held mainly by homeless or formerly homeless individuals (90%).

10% of the community seats would be for homeless service providers.

40% ofthe community seats would be for families and 60% for single adults.

In addition, community seats would be representative of poor neighborhoods throughout the city and reflect the City's homeless population young and old, immigrants and veterans, gay and transgender, disabled, victims of domestic violence, members of the diverse racial and ethnic groups.

Televise the Local Board meetings on a public access station

MANAGEMENT AUDIT OBJECTIVES

To discover and understand the weak links or breakdowns in this large and complex system, a true Management Audit needs to do the following:

determine who is making what decisions and on what authority

review enabling legislation (Local Board) for all funding streams and policy making bodies

sort out who does what among the various coordinating / advisory / intra- and inter-departmental groups

list community and provider strategy planning sessions

review contract goals and objectives

monitor oversight and advisory bodies

review contract awarding processes

review program policy, procedure or eligibility changes

determine who makes changes in objectives and priorities, and on what authority

determine who oversees and monitors the coordination and integration of homeless programs with treatment, housing, employment and education

determine who decides what is or is not cost effective, and on what basis.

MONITORING COMMITTEES

System-wide Shelter Monitoring Committee

Develop a system-wide monitoring committee to make unannounced visits to shelters and drop-in centers. The responsibilities of the Committee will include the monitoring of city-funded shelters and drop-in centers for single adults, families and youth.

Civil Rights and Diversity Monitoring Committees

Begin implementation of the civil rights and diversity committees as described in the Continuum of Care plan, recently passed as the City's five year homeless plan

HOMELESS DEATH ACCOUNTABILITY
           

Restart the homeless death count immediately, with staff allocated for this effort.

Reform the Advisory Board to advise the department of Public Health's outreach team, to oversee the data collection, and with input from DPH epidemiologists, to release an annual report in time for the Winter Equinox annual memorial.

CENTRALIZED LIST OF VACANT CITY OWNED PROPERTIES

Create a central database of all vacant city owned property. Each landowning city department will report quarterly on property whose original use is no longer needed, e.g. when a school or fire house closes down or moves.

Create a Community Advisory Board to be appointed by the Board of Supervisors that is made up of non-profit housing developers, architects, Homes Not Jails, homeless or formerly homeless people, and the Mayor's Office of Housing. The Board will determine if the newly vacant property is suitable for providing affordable housing to people who are homeless, or if it should be sold to create a dedicated Fund for the development of affordable housing.  The Local Board will maintain this fund and award contracts for the development of this housing.

Ensure long-term affordability of all housing developed through this process by developing through a Community Land Trust. Rehabilitation of the buildings will utilize a model that includes wages for homeless and formerly homeless people.

INTAKE FOR FAMILY SHELTERS

Reduce services at Connecting Point to a 1-800 number for homeless families, the telephone to be staffed by two individuals, staggered hours, at a community organization.

COORDINATED STREET OUTREACH WITH INTAKE WORKERS

We propose an outreach effort, coordinated through the Mobile Assistance Patrol, that will have intake workers from different non-profit agencies and representing different area of service accompany MAP drivers. In addition, we propose that the police stop their practice of ordering homeless people to move on when no law has been violated.

by Connie Lu/media intern PoorNewsNetwork

The memory of Idriss Stelley continues to fuel the
sheer and ever powerful driving force behind the
pursuit of justice that united the many passionate
supporters who gathered at the Justice for Idriss'
Community Forum, which served as both an update to the
shooting of Stelley and as a meeting for a violent act
of police brutality around Hunter's Point.

Mesha Monge-Irizarry, Stelley's mother, has been
fighting this long battle since June 13, 2001 when her
son was shot over 20 times at the Sony Metreon by
eight San Francisco police officers, who were fully
aware of his personality disorder, but obviously not
trained to handle situations such as this. Irizarry
has been ignored and lied to by the SFPD, but has
recently broken through to the SF Board of
Supervisors, who voted in favor that all SFPD Officers
undergo a crisis intervention training program.
However, this is only the beginning for Stelley's
mother, who continues to seek justice and at the same
time, support those who have suffered through the
similar pain of police brutality.

As Irizarry finishes with updating the current
situation regarding her son, she introduces the
mothers from a closely knit neighborhood around
Hunter's Point, where police brutality has also become
a threat to the lives of the many children who no
longer feel safe to play outside. The innocence of
their childhood will never be the same as it is taken
away by the very ones who are supposed to protect and
preserve their safety.

Susan McAllister, who lives
in Hunter's Point with her 13-year-old daughter began
sharing about this traumatic incident as tears formed
in her eyes and in her broken heart. Her voice was
shaky and apparently very upset as she spoke to the
audience that sat surrounding her in a crowded, elbow
to elbow semi-circle. The walls were made of red
bricks with layers of mortar oozing out from between
the bricks. There were also a few windows in the
front of the room, which brought on sudden relief to
the extreme sauna of body heat and sweat, as people
fanned themselves in a desperate, yet futile attempt
to somehow coax the cool air outside to come in.

But soon, the heat was forgotten as my attention
was drawn to listening intently to McAllister's
emotional account of an unforgettable Martin Luther
King Day. The police were yelling and holding a
threatening gun to the head of McAlllister's daughter,
who was absolutely terrified along with the other
three children involved, ages 12 to 14 years old. The
oldest boy, Jerome Brown suffered the most severe
injuries of a concussion, dislocated jaw, and bruises.

The police finally answered the parents after
ignoring their several attempts to find out why their
children were being treated like criminals when they
had done nothing wrong. The police say that they
received a call regarding suspicious men in a red car.
But, there was nothing found on the innocent children
or in the car they were in.

After this traumatizing experience, the children's
perception of the police will be completely skewed and
corrupted. They continue to struggle with even being
able to sleep with ease at night. I did not
personally experience the terror these children had to
endure, but at the same time I have realized that a
uniform does not necessarily symbolize trust and the
absence of feeling vulnerable.

At the end of the forum, I truly felt a sense of
unity after listening to the many personal experiences
that were shared. By holding hands in concentric
circles within the room, I realized the power of unity
to achieve a common goal, as each person around the
circle said just one word of encouragement such as:
love, peace, unity, Jesus, courage, hope, justice,
power, prayer, determination

by Joe B.

Wednesday, 27, 2002. A brimming summer day in the city.

Yesterday I hear stuff about S-President Bush Jr’s proposed "Marry Unwed women to father of child or children plan." [I’m thinking of the Moony multiple marrige guy in the late 1970 or ‘80’s ].Has Bush had some ‘kinda mind-meld or is this a sick Moral Majority joke?

Some of the newsprint is from ABCNEWS webside so I can understand this Washingfluke ‘um ‘ton type of reasoning.

Many conservatives have made this their top priority, arguing that two-parent families are better for children and key to escaping poverty.
[There’s that Transubstan
tiation
]. bug infecting people who think: one size fits all or how they were raised works for everyone
It don't, just look at both republican, Democrat, or any other politial or quasi political parties broken, reformed, and blended families.

Let’s continue. But many are uncomfortable putting government that deeply into people's personal lives and no one knows what sort of programs would succeed in increasing marriage rates.

Governors, who want as much freedom as possible in spending welfare money, detest this sort of mandate, and aides note that Bush and Thompson are both former governors.

So the Bush plan will offer a pot of money — at least $100 million each year, according to one official — for experiments aimed at getting poor people to marry.

The administration will also suggest that states be required to explain what they are doing to promote marriage, forcing them to at least consider the issue.
[What does Bureaucracy mean?]

The administration also wants to scrap $100 million in annual bonuses to states with the largest reductions in births to unwed parents. Some argue that these bonuses have failed to reward the states that are really doing the best job. (To be continued)

Looking at Overall Funding
Another hot issue before Congress will be overall funding for the welfare program.

The president plans to ask that state grants be maintained at $16.5 billion per year.

Others argue there is much work to be done, and Thompson, who has always said the nation can't do welfare reform "on the cheap," agrees.

Thompson is now looking at how to move welfare reform to the next step: Helping people who have left welfare move into higher-paying jobs.

Studies have found that while most former welfare recipients found jobs in the strong economy of the last few years, most didn't make enough to leave poverty.

[He’s finally putting the cart and horse in the barn even though its way late in the day, maybe Mr. finally gets better education/skills component - to bad S-President Bush is stuck on marry-the-women-now-jobs-later deal.]

I looked up the Sun Moon stuff on the mass marriage thing.

Anyone remember Sun-Myung Moon (Translated: Shining truth)

I seem to remember a Reverend message, one of rebuilding families and restoring and uniting communities.

"We are one family and we want to stand together to end all the problems of our society.

We believe division does not serve our purpose."

"The Christian family we believe is coming together, them standing together to break down wall that divide us, racism, denominationalism, husband and wife." [Our current ‘Pres would eat this up.]

Mass Marriages: WHAT IS IT?

The term "Mass Marriage" is actually a misnomer.

I titled this section
'Mass Marriages" simply because that is what they are known as.

In reality, no one is being married in these mass wedding spectacles.

Instead, the "Blessing" as Moonies refer to this event, is a religious
ceremony and not actual weddings.

Though they are dressed as brides the ones that intend to be husband and wife will have to obtain marriage licenses from whatever jurisdiction they reside in.

In former years, only those couples that Sun Myung Moon had matched (Moon chose usually complete strangers that would then become husband and wife based on Moon's selection) or those that had passed very stringent qualifications (including from 3 to 7 years of celibacy before marriage) would be allowed to be 'blessed' by Moon.

In recent years, these events are often billed as a 'recommitment of marriage' to unsuspecting participants. That’s enough of that.

At least Moon’s marriages were only symbolic practice unlike what

Bush unlike Moon’s symbolic marriage really wants women married to men who fathered their children.

The nuclear family has imploded and simply marrying single men or women with children in no solution.

Is free or less expensive child care, along with expanded higher education, updated job/career skills, both traditional and non traditional vocational work. I know,

I’m confused too but that’s how this stuff plays out or looks to me. Bye.