2007 Sept Oct

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Because People MaterProgressive News and Views September / October 2007

Inside this issue:Editorial. 2Healthcare.for.All. 2ImpeachmentNot.on.the.news. 3Media.reform:.a.priority. 49/11.investigation.needed. 5Talk.City.Radio. 6Democracy.Now!. 6

Mainstream media: too lile, too late . 7Making.a.Movie. 8TV.stations.get.report.card. 9Films:.A.Place.Called.Sacramento..9Journalism.Ethics. 9West.Coast.Diversity.Summit. 10Free.Internet.for.Sacramento.10Sacramento.Area.Peace.Action. 12Big.Media.and.the.War. 13Israel/Palestine.reporting. 13Book.Review:.Assault on Reason. 14Calendar. 15Progressive.Media. 16

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Media Spin on Iraq:Were Leaving (Sort of)By Norman SolomonPosted on AlterNet July 26, 2007

In mid-July, a media advisory rom Te NewsHourwith Jim Lehrer announced a new series o inter-views on the PBS show that will address what Iraq

might look like when the US military leaves.A ew days later, ime magazine published a cover

story titled Iraq: What will happen when we leave.But it turns out, what will happen when we leave is

that we wont leave.

Urging a course o action thats now supported bythe best strategic minds in both parties, the ime storycalls or an orderly withdrawal o about hal the 160,000troops currently in Iraq by the middle o 2008. Aorce o 50,000 to 100,000 troops would dig in or a lon-ger stay to protect Americas most vital interests.

On Iraq policy, in Washington, the dierencesbetween Republicans and Democratsand between themedias war boosters and opponentsare oen signi-cant. Yet theyre apt to mask the emergence o a generalormula that could gain wide support rom the politicaland media establishment.

Te ormulas details and timelines are up or grabs.But theres not a single major candidate or presidentwilling to call or withdrawal o all US orcesnot just

By Dan Bacher

Sacramento or Democracy, a chapter o Progres-sive Democrats o America, hosted the localmovie premiere o War Made Easy: How Presi-

dents & Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death, in Julyat the Crest Teatre in Sacramento with a large andenthusiastic crowd.

Author Norman Solomon, on whose book thelm is based, was joined by Assemblyman MarkLeno and Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, sponsoro Assembly Joint Resolution 36, the bill to bring theCaliornia National Guard home rom Iraq, or a live-ly panel discussion aer the movie. Christine Cra,Sacramentos own progressive radio talk show host oalk City, on 1240 AM moderated the discussion.

Te documentary exposes how corporate mediaand US presidents over the past 50 years have beenpartners in disinormation campaigns to promote aseries o bloody, costly and unnecessary wars, includ-ing interventions in Vietnam, Central America, Yugo-slavia, Aghanistan and Iraq.

Adapted rom Solomons 2005 book, by LorettaAlper and Jeremy Earp o the Media Education Foun-dation, the lm chronicles how presidents managedto sell war using the same Orwellian arguments withthe help o a compliant media. Narrated by actorand activist Sean Penn, the lm exhumes remarkablearchival ootage o ocial distortion and exaggerationrom Lyndon Johnson to George W. Bush, revealingin stunning detail how the American news media

have disseminated pro-war messages in one adminis-tration aer another.

Te movie documents in a darkly humorous mat-ter how presidential administrations claimed againand again they were seeking only peace, not conict,while bombing thousands o civilians. Te lm ea-tures illuminating quotes rom presidents about theUS corporate states drive or war.

We still seek no wider war, President LyndonJohnson said as he escalated a war in Vietnam thatresulted in the deaths o 3 million Vietnamese andmore than 50,000 US soldiers.

Te United States does not start ghts, saidPresident Ronald Reagan, who engineered a war ogenocide against the Mayan population o Guatemalawiping out 636 Mayan villages, along with military

interventions in Nicaragua, El Salvador and othercountries. Tese interventions resulted in thousandsdead, a massive exodus o reugees, and the destruc-tion o country inrastructures.

America does not seek conict, argued GeorgeH.W. Bush, the architect o Operation Desert Stormand the invasion o Panama. Yet another mass mur-derer supported by the corporate media.

President Bill Clinton repeatedly bombed Yugo-slavia and Iraq, killing thousands o Iraqis, mostlychildren, through his campaign o economic sanc-

tions against Iraq, and claimed, I dont like to usemilitary orce.George W. Bush, who advanced a preventa-

tive war by illegally invading Aghanistan andIraq, told the world, Our nation enters this conictreluctantly.

By demonstrating how mainstream news haspromoted endless war, the lm dispels the notion oa liberal media propagated by right wing pundits.Solomon said when the news media nally startsentertaining the view that the war was based on lies, itis too late or the millions wounded and killed by theUS military. News media, down the road, will pointout that there were lies about the Gul o onkin orabout weapons o mass destruction in Iraq, saidSolomon in the lm. But that doesnt bring back any

o the people who have died. When it comes to lieand death, the truth comes out too late.

Reaction to the movie was avorable by the audi-ence and panel members. Tis lm should be shownin every high school in America, Cra said. Hancockalso commented, Te propaganda techniques towage war have been the same throughout our history.Te question is how we inoculate our children againstthe propaganda. Solomon encouraged screeningso the lm throughout the country to revive andstrengthen the anti-war movement.

For more inormation:www.warmadeeasythemovie.org.

Dan Bacher is an outdoor writer, alternativejournalist and satirical songwriter in Sacramento.

War Made EasyHow Presidents and MediaCollude to Wage War

See Solomon, page 11

Q & A discussion with author Norman Solomon ater

screening o War Made Easy, a flm based on his

book. From let to right, AM1240s Christine Crat,

Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, Assemblyman MarkLeno and Normon Soloman.

Photo: Dick Wood

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Because People Matter September / October 007 www.bpmnews.org

People MaerVlume 16, Numbe 5Published Bi-Monthly by theSacramento Community forPeace & JusticeP.O. Box 162998, Sacramento,CA 95816(Use addresses below forcorrespondence)

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As is characteristic o BPM, this issuebrings you news and opinion not coveredby corporate media. We ocus particu-

larly on media activities by community members

doing what they must to nd expression or con-tend with the misdirection o Big Media shapingpublic discourse. Do you eel the media isnt tell-ing the story, supplying diversity in art and analy-sis or covering important local issues? You arentalone. Tere is a vibrant media reorm movementin our country that is making demands and

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health care or all, the costs o war, getting tothe bottom o Sept. 11, impeachment and more.We introduce writers new to BPMthis issue anddeliver some o our seasoned regulars. ake alook or yoursel and dont orget; the calendarpage lists upcoming events you wont want tomiss.

By Elaine Corn

Beware the news story about health

care reorm that does not mention stateSenate Bill 840, the only proposed lawthat would provide universal single-payer health care to all Caliornians as abenet o residence in the state.

For example, a story ran in TeSacramento Bee (erm limit measurelures health care donors, 7-16-07) abouthealth care providers contributing in acrisscross aair to term limits measuresthat would preserve the seats o thosemembers o the state senate who wouldhurt the or-prot health care industrythe least. As conusing as the story was, itdid attempt to provide background aboutthe health care reorm plans swirlingthrough the Capitol building halls. But

the list was incomplete.Readers saw the governors big idea, errone-

ously billed as universal and with its mandateto buy insurance rom industry Bigs. Tentheres the Nuez-Perata plan, which sets upa purchasing pool only or businesses, doesntcover the sel-employed, and keeps private insur-ers in play, making it more like US Senator edStevenss bridge in Alaskathe Health Care Billto Nowhere.

Te story ails to mention the one plan thattruly covers everyone, SB 840, Senator SheilaKuehls cradle-to-grave health care or all Calior-nians. Rarely do media mention the legs this billhas grown and the progress it continues to make.

Tis past August, in a rare showing o elected

ocials representing the will o the people, SB840 passed both houses, but was vetoed by thepeoples governor. A snide observer might con-clude this is precisely when Schwarzenegger gotthe idea he should come up with his own plan

so he could claim to have invented theconcept.

Perhaps SB 840 was omitted rom TeBees story because it takes prot out ohealth care, thereore making it pointlessto note contributions to politicians whodo not take money rom private insurers, such asKuehl. Remembering that this story linked lob-byist donations to proposed recongurations oterm limits, the writer also outlined how a Febru-ary 2008 ballot measure would tighten term lim-its, except or Nuez and Perata. Unortunately,he missed a chance to note that Kuehl termsout next year under current law. Could it be anaccident that she wont get the special treatment

singled out or Nuez and Perata so they remainin their leadership positions? Nuez would getsix years beyond 2008, Perata our. Kuehl wouldhave to walk away. And the Health Care Bill toNowhere would continue its journey to ailedpolicy, keeping prot saely entrenched in our

rue Health Care Reform: Any News?

Then theres the Nuez-

Perata plan, which sets

up a purchasing poolonly or businesses,

doesnt cover the sel-

employed, and keeps

private insurers in play,

making it more like US

Senator Ted Stevenss

bridge in Alaskathe

Health Care Bill to

Nowhere.

BPM is sad to sayarewell to Seth

Sandronsky, whosemordant observationshave appeared in thepaper almost rom thestart. His vigorousMedia Clipped seg-ment o the publicationcovered topics as wideranging as economics,racism, education andgun violence. You willcontinue to nd San-dronsky pieces on Dissident Voice, Counterpunch, andin the pages o Te News and Review. We appreciatedhis careul editing and penetrating analysis and we willmiss him.

Goodby, Sth

SB 840: health care or all Caliornia.

medical uturesand these two in oce.Who will carry the SB 840 torch aer 2008?

And who among us will call out to the mediaevery time health care reorm is mentionedwithout containing a discussion or sentenceacknowledging that SB 840, the true universalsingle-payer proposal, is the answer. We all mustkeep SB 840 alive and well. We must all be media

watchdogs.More inormation: www.onecarenow.org/index.html

Elaine Corn is a reelance journalist with nohealth insurance.

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By Charlene Jones

C

indy Sheehan, ounder o Gold StarFamilies or Peace and Camp Casey, ledmarchers in July rom Arlington National

Cemetery to the oce o Congressman JohnConyers, chair o the House Judiciary Commit-tee, to ask him to begin impeachment proceed-ings against Vice President Dick Cheney andPresident George W. Bush. Sheehans contingent,while lled with names amiliar to readers, isbut one o a mounting number o less amiliaractions and organizations across the countrycommitted to addressing Constitutional griev-ances against the White House. Nonetheless,corporate media continue to dismiss, as did Rep.Conyers, the upsurge in American insistence onaccountability by the Bush administration.

Numerous city, county and state measureshave been disregarded, according to ProjectCensored, a media analysis center at Sonoma

State University, along with hundreds o lettersto editors o major newspapers, opinion writersacross the country and cover articles by nationalpublications like Te Nation and Harpers Maga-zine. Sheehan also presented Rep. Conyers witha petition containing more than a million sig-natures, according to a July broadcast o publicnews program Democracy Now, with littlemention in mainstream news. In addition, one othe most popular questions submitted on You-tube or the July presidential candidates debatedealt with impeachment, according to the LosAngeles National Impeachment Center (LANIC),and CNN chose to skip it.

Aer Vice President Al Gore called apresident who breaks the law a threat to the verystructure o our government, PBS televisions

McLaughlin Group spent a ew minutes earlythis year on the I word but dismissed impeach-ment mentions as a growing movement on thele trying to get some attention. On a June air-ing o CNNs Situation Room, om Foremancommented on Rep. Dennis Kucinichs (D-OH)eorts to orward articles o impeachmentagainst Cheney. Its hardly a mass movement,said Forman, but the congressman rom Cleve-land is picking up a ew new pals. How aboutthose pals?

Nearly two years aer Zogby Internationaland Ipsos polls in 2005 reported more Americanswanted Congress to consider impeaching Presi-dent Bush i he lied about the war in Iraq, thanthose who did not, the American Research Group

surveyed the impeachment question again. Morethan our in 10 Americans avored impeach-ment hearings or President Bush and 54 percentavored impeachment o Vice President Cheney.

As o June, 11 state legislatures had con-sidered impeachment resolutions, according toLANIC, with Vermont succeeding in passage andMaine and Wisconsin still pending. Te list ostate Democratic parties that have passed resolu-tions urging impeachment o Bush and Cheney

In addition, one o the

most popular questions

submitted on Youtube

or the July presidential

candidates debate dealtwith impeachment,

according to the Los

Angeles National

Impeachment Center, and

CNN chose to skip it.

has grown to 15. At least 77 cities and towns anda growing list o labor unions and other organiza-tions have also passed such declarations. Accord-ing to Democracy Now!, the cosponsor list orH.R. 333, Dennis Kucinichs articles o impeach-

ment against Cheney, is now up to 15. While nota member o Congress who may join the list,Bruce Fein also called or proceedings to begin.

Fein was deputy attorney general underPresident Ronald Reagan and columnist or theconservative Washington News. For an hour dur-ing a July PBS broadcast o Bill Moyers Journalhe laid out reasoning or all good women andmen to demand inquiry into possible crimes byBush and Cheney against the American people.

Fein praised the great genius o the ound-ing athers, their revolutionary ideas, with thechie mission o the state to make you and themree to pursue their ambitions and aculties. Notto build empires, not to aggrandize government.Tats the mission or the state, to make themree, to think, to chart their own destiny. And

the burden is on our government to give real lygood explanations as to why theyre taking theseextraordinary measures. And on that score, Bushhas unked on every single occasion. And weneed to get the American people to think. Everytime that theres an incursion on reedom, theyhave to demand why.

Advocating or ormal hearings on theimpeachment, Fein said, Because there arepolitical crimes that have been perpetrated incombination. It hasnt been one, the other beingin isolation. And the hearings have to be not intothis Republican or Democrat. Tis is somethingthat needs to set a precedent, whoever occupiesthe White House in 2009. You do not want tohave that occupant, whether its John McCain

or Hillary Clinton or Rudy Giuliani or JohnEdwards, to have this authority to go outside thelaw and say, I am the law. I do what I want. Noone elses view matters. Impeachment? Toughyoud never know, the prospect is more popularevery day. It seems more than a ew new pals arelining up.

Charlene Jones is an editor with BecausePeople Matter.

Impeachment Movement? Not onMainstream News

Caliornia Dmocraic Pary ImpachmnRsolion, Adopd April 2007

CALLING FOR FULLINVESTIGATION INTO ABUSES OF

POWER BY PRESIDENT GEORGE W.

BUSH AND RICHARD B. CHENEY

WHEREAS, George W. Bush and Richard B.Cheney have acted in a manner contrary totheir trust as President and Vice President,subversive o the Constitution, to the greatprejudice o the cause o law and justice, andto the maniest injury o the people o Cali-ornia and the United States o America, byintentionally disseminating and propagatingknowingly alse and abricated evidenceregarding the threat rom Iraq in order to wage

a tragic, bloody war with the loss o thousandso brave American troops and Iraqi civilians,and

WHEREAS, it is clear that since September11, 2001, President George W. Bush and VicePresident Dick Cheney have abused theirpowers o oce by: 1) using inormation theyknew to be alse as justication or the USinvasion o Iraq; 2) condoning and authorizingthe torture o prisoners o war; 3) authorizingwiretaps on US citizens without obtaining awarrant; 4) disclosing the name o an under-cover CIA operative contrary to law in order toharm her or her husbands opposition to theIraq War; 5) having suspended and denied thehistoric Writ o Habeas Corpus by ordering the

indenite detention o so-called enemy com-batants without charge and without access tolegal counsel; and 6) overstepping Presidentialauthority by signing statements used to ignoreor circumvent portions o over 750 Congres-sional statutes he brought into law; and

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that theCaliornia Democratic Party supports vigorousinvestigation o these charges by the Congresso the United States, including the ull use oCongressional subpoena power authority tocompletely disclose the actions o the Admin-istration to the American people and to takenecessary action to call the Administration toaccount with appropriate remedies and pun-

ishment, including impeachment.

For inormaion, organizing ools and piions:www.ipetitions.com/petition/moveontoimpeachment

www.democrats.com/join-our-impeachment-group-on-facebook

www.democrats.com/impeach-cheney-congressional-record

www.impeachspace.com

www.aerdowningstreet.orgwww.impeachbush.tvwww.impeachpac.orgwww.bcimpeach.com

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Sacramento

ProgressiveEventsCalendar onthe Web

Labor, Peace,Environment, HumanRights, Solidarity

Send calendar itemsto Gail Ryall,[email protected].

www.sacleft.org

BeSt BuRGeRth brgrs and ris ar dscribd as lgndaryBiting into this east, therst thing you notice is thatyou can taste the bee. TeFrench Ground Steak Burgerw/cheese is the thing to order.Tat is a mouthul to say,and its denitely more thana mouthul to eat. Featuring

Harris Ranch Steak reshlyground and ormed into a1/3 lb. patty. Stop by soon.Naionwid Frzr Mas1930 H Street, Sacramento(H and 20th Streets) 444-3286.Just remember H20 stands orH and 20th Street

By Kari Westerman

Since the beginning o the Bush administra-tion and the ongoing battle o media ownershipconsolidation, independent media has been areuge or people with dissenting views. It has

allowed the questioning o power when no otherswould dare and has been a reassuring voice toconcerned citizens, who may have thought theywere crazy, in light o what they saw or heard onmainstream news.

Te alternative media, over a period o yearsnow has been available as a source o comortor people, said Eric Vega, lielong Sacramentoresident, Chicano activist and chair o La RazaNetwork. However, like many in the community,Vega eels that unless action is taken to createa hard-hitting local independent media, theprogressive movement in Sacramento will notadvance.

Te success o alternative new broadcastslike Democracy Now!demonstrates a thirstor independent inormation and analysis ona national level, but it leaves reporting o local

news to the corporate media.According to a study conducted in January

2004 by the Consumer Federation o America,the rst source people rely on or their local newsis newspapers and the second is television. Ste-phen Pearcy, Sacramento resident and attorney,organizes many political events and has wit-nessed the positives and negatives o local mediacoverage.

Once KCRA came down and did a livebroadcast about 30 minutes beore the start oan event, and we ended up with several hundredpeople, many o whom said they had just heardabout it on V. What that told me was that thereare a lot o people who would come to thesethings i they just knew about them, said Pearcy,

giving an example o how important the localmedia is to a community, i used eectively as atool o a social movement.

Part o the problem with local media isthat a lot o the local groups dont do theirhomework, said Duane Campbell, proessor

at Caliornia StateUniversity, Sacra-mento and chair o the

Democratic Socialistso America. Campbell,with other democraticpioneers, is organizinga progressive orum orOct. 4, 2007 at CSUS.One o the ocal pointswill be media becausemedia is an importantpart o a democracy,according to Campbell.Some o the workshopswill be lessons in howto contact the press,write press releases andsimple reporting.

Without reorm o current corporate mediainstitutions and the advancement o an inclusivemedia, the ability to disburse messages o peaceand justice will not exist and the progressivemovement will perpetually preach only to thechoir.

Every time there is a problem someonetries to create a new media instead o making theexisting one work better, Campbell said. It justgets to a prolieration o low quality alternativesinstead o some very high quality alternatives.

Faye Kennedy, a Sacramentan who putstogether the weekly online newsletter Te alkingDrum,said that she eels it is important to takeaction rather than whining about a problem.It wont benet us unless we are involved ona ground level o dening how things are cov-

ered, Kennedy said. I think that all o us arewriters, all o us may not be journalists, but wehave the capacity to share our inormation withone another. Kennedy thinks i the communityagreed to contribute to media reorm and workedto expand a more inclusive outlet o news, theoutcome would be avorable or all.

I communities do not band together, andconcern themselves with the importance o avibrant independent media, progressive move-ments will operate in a vacuum.I there is no accessible orum inwhich to share ideas and learn romeach other, there is no capacity tomove orward. Te progressivemedia cant be the holder o truth,

but its the holder o questions. Itis what questions power, and ques-tions tradition and all o the mono-liths o the conservative projectgenerals, said Vega.

What can you do to help the enrichment o

local media? Write news stories and post them towebsites like www.sacindymedia.org or submitthem to Because People Matter. Tey dont haveto be investigative pieces, but can be about localevents or something not getting attention rommainstream media.

Become a member at Access Sacra-mento and take a basic lmmaking class. Aercertication, borrow their swanky equipment andproduce your own show or the local cable accesschannel. Contact: 456-8600 or visit www.access-sacramento.org.

I reorm is more your style, get involvedwith Sacramento Media Group. Meet people whoshare concerns and do something about them.Contact: 443-1792 ex.11 or smg@common-

cause.org. Use the mainstream media as a tool

by writing letters and link to blogs. Supportalternative publications and websites nancially!Without subscribers and monetary support,independent media could not exist.

Kari Westerman is a member o SacramentoMedia Group.

I communities do not

band together, andconcern themselves

with the importance o

a vibrant independent

media, progressive

movements will operate

in a vacuum.

Why Media Reform Should Be a PriorityCommniy ladrs and aciviss sond of

Tey took a stand! Actually many stands. They cleaned

them up and painted them, and putbeautiful new plastic in the windows.Big thanks to Brian Lambert and DanHarriman for their hard work. Theyveimproved BPMs imageand circulationat those standsby at least 100%.

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www.bpmnews.org September / October 007 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER

CAAC Goesto the Movies

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sws ineesingand infmaivevides n scialjusice, labsuggles, and smuc me! Call see was plaingis mnWE ALSO HAVE AVIDEO LIBRARY YOUCAN CHECK OUT.1640 9 Ave (easff Land Pak D)INFo: 446-3304

Bugged by high gas prices?

No problem! BPM has a volunteer jobyou can do rom home. You dont need a

car, a computer or even much time: weneed someone to update the local group

meetings and radio programs listed in our

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Place an ad or your business

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According to a May 2006 Zogby poll, 42percent o the public believe the US

government andits 9/11 Commissioncovered-up, concealedor reused to investigatecritical evidence rom thetragic events o Sept.11.Laying aside the mystiquesurrounding Sept.11, itwas nothing more thana crimethe worst massmurder in American his-torybut just a crime.Nevertheless, the Bushregime and controlledmedia called it an act o war.

No detectives o the New York City Police

Department taped o this crime scene, tookphotographs or samples o chemical residues oranalysis. No investigators gathered evidence andollowed that evidence wherever trails led to ndpossible perpetrators.

Bill Manning, editor oFire Engineering Magazine,called the three-day, visualwalk-through o evidencesites a hal-baked arcein the January 2002 issue.Crime scene evidence wasdestroyed as rapidly as pos-sible, and the steel shippedaway.

Immediately ollow-ing this horrendous crime,

while the nation wastraumatized, Bush admin-istration ocials and theirmedia spokespersons toldthe public it was Muslimswith box-cutters who wereresponsible. No proo othis storys veracity was evergiven. Well over a year later,the 9/11 Commission was reluctantly ormed,and its report, under Bush crony Philip Zelikow,simply substantiated the story it began with, andignored vast amounts o evidence that did not tits conclusions.

According to research and sources availableon the websites listed below, some o the most

compelling questions and acts include:1) It is Standard Operating Procedure toscramble jetghters whenever a jetliner goeso course or radio contact is lost. Between

September 2000 and June 2001, jetghters werescrambled 67 times. On Sept. 11, Flight 77 wasin the air or nearly an hour without radio con-tact beore the Pentagon was hit. F-15 and F-16jetghters are three to our times aster than ajetliners 600mph. Andrews Air Force Base isonly ten miles rom the Pentagon and Langley

Air Force Base, 130 milesaway. Where was the NorthAmerican AerospaceDeense Command? Whywere routine interceptionprocedures or all ourairplanes not ollowed onSept. 11?

2) Fireghters in NewYork City are proessionals,trained to ght all typeso res in skyscrapers. OnSept.11, they knew a merejet uel re could not bring

down steel and concrete structures, since suchres cannot approach the temperatures needed

to weaken or melt steel. Consequently, they wentinto the World rade Center owers to rescuepeople and knock down the res. New YorkFire Department Battalion Chie Orio J. Palmerreached the impact zone o the South ower on

the 78th oor at 9:48 amand, according to a record-ing o his radio transmis-sion, reported, Battalion7, Ladder 15, weve got twoisolated pockets o re. Weshould be able to knockit down with two lines.El even minutes later,the South ower began toexplode.

3) About an hour to

an hour and a hal aerthe airplanes hit, eachwin ower inexplicablyexploded. Starting at the topand continuing downwardor all 110 oors, eachower was pulverized at arate o almost 10 oors per

second, killing everyone ineach building. In about 13 seconds 90,000 tons osolid concrete in each ower was turned to a nedust in mid-air. Tere were no concrete bouldersin the rubble. Tis dust spread out rom the sceneo destruction in a pyroclastic ow, like that ol-lowing a volcanic eruption, and covered Manhat-tan. Huge pieces o steel were hurled l aterally or

hundreds o eet in all directions. Molten metalcould be seen streaming rom the side o theSouth ower as it exploded, and the pile o rubbleitsel contained molten steel or weeks aerward.

Tis evidence points to the use o high explo-sives. Numerous eyewitnesses, including manyemergency personnel, have testied to explosionsin the owers. Tese acts are all documented inphotographs, videotaped evidence and video-

taped eyewitness statements.4) A third skyscraper, WC Building 7, a

steel-ramed 47 story concrete structure as big asa city block, 300 eet rom the closest ower, was

not hit by an airplane or signicant debris, andonly a ew small res o unknown origin could beseen in its hundreds and hundreds o windows.At 5:20 pm on Sept.11, Building 7 suddenlyimploded into its own ootprint. It cascaded toearth in less than seven seconds in the manner oa controlled demolition. Te implosion o WCBuilding 7 was not even mentioned in the 9/11Commission Report.

Why should the mass murder known as9/11 be treated as an exception or which therule o law does not apply? Congress has neveraddressed its many anomalies. Te Americanpublic wants and deserves an unbiased, indepen-dent investigation with the power to subpoenawitnesses. Tis is not an unreasonable request.Moreover, the real perpetrators may still run

ree. Because justice has never been served, adark cloud hangs over our nation, and wil l untilthere is an actual investigation into this crime.Contact your congressional representatives tolet them know you expect to have this grievanceredressed. Demand an investigation and work oran independent 9/11 truth commission.

www.911truth.org

www.patriotsquestion911.com

www.tvnewslies.org/html/9_11_facts.html

See calendar page 15 or meetings o Sacra-mento 9/11 ruth.

David R. Kimball is active in the 9/11 truth

movement. Stop at his inormation table at theSunday Farmers Market at W and 8th Streets.Te posters shown with this article are availableon www.911truth.org.

Needed: A Real Investigation For the CrimeKnown as 9/11By David R. Kimball

Because justice has

never been served,

a dark cloud hangs

over our nation, and

will until there is an

actual investigation

into this crime.

8/14/2019 2007 Sept Oct

6/16


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By Jeanie Keltner

S

ince we all know that what passes or leincorporate media is anything not extremeright, and because media helps create real-

ity, its heartening to know these days radio dis-cussion has widened beyond Limbaugh lines.

Progressive talk radio is up against ormi-dable opposition. Its ratings are great or thestage o growth its in; it hasan audience. Although listen-ers may support progressivetalk, advertisers are a dierentstory. A leaked 2006 ABCradio network memo named90 companies asking to beexcluded rom advertisingon Air America, includingWalmart, General Electric, ExxonMobil, Banko America, VISA, Allstate and McDonalds,according to Extra!, January/February 2007, the

magazine o Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting.Hardly surprising since the progressive critiquemost oen comes back to the negative practiceso corporations and global capitalism.

For a brie time, our area had two AMstations competing or our ley ears. Te AirAmerica station ended when the parent organiza-tion underwent nancial crisis and, though AirAmerica was reconstituted, our local Air Americastation was not resurrected. Te FM dial has

or years had KVMR,KDVS and AccessSacramentos TeVoice as independentresources. And hap-

pily, on AM our areastill has Sacramentosrstprogressive station, theincreasingly lively alk City, KSAC 1240AM.

I am arther le than many KSAC hosts, butstill I enjoy their commentaryand the useul ino they putout. alk radio is like theletters to the editor sectiono the paper. Even when Ieel least congruent with thehost, say Ed Schultz (912am), I enjoy hearing whatcallers have to say. Its always

interesting and most oen arming to hear thevoices o the peopleall o us who capture themicrophone only rarely, but who have inormed

opinions and many good ideas.Tough shes obstreperous and sometimesrude, I love Brooklyn-tough Randi Rhodes(noon3 pm). Shes so well inormed, so passion-ate, and so aware o the comic paradoxes o ourtragic political situation that I tune in or a whilealmost every day. And dynamic Christine Cra(36 pm) has been an immeasurable practicalasset to progressive activism in our area, alwayswilling to discuss and announce upcoming

events, open to on-air discussion with visitingspeakers, and ready to courageously stand up orpeople and causes, however popular they may ormay not be.

On Saturdays, I try to catch upbeat PeterBrixies Ask-a-Lawyer (911 am), a brilliantidea Brixie started on Access Sacramento. Inthese days o the $500/hour lawyer, his programhelpully navigates the important terrain wherelaw aects ordinary individualslandlord-ten-ant disputes, malpractice, custodyperorminga true social service to us all. I also love hear-ing Robert Kennedy, Jr. and Mike Papantonioaggressively take on corporate crooks, polluters,hypocritical preachers and ugly politicians (Sat.

noon3 pm, Sun. 57 pm). Teres also traveland gardening, religion rom a progressive pointo view, Sam Seder and Arianna Hungton, theYoung urks, Steve Earle, Chuck D and RadioParallax. Tank you or being there, ALKCIY!

For a complete schedule: www.10talkcity.com and www.fair.org or documentation ocorporate medias r ight-wing bias.

By W. Randy Haynes

Journalist Bill Moyers, in his 2007 speech atthe National Conerence or Media Reorm,called on people to organize a campaign to

persuade your local public television station tostart airing Democracy Now. Well, that wasaer he stopped gushing over Amy Goodman,award-winning journalist and host o the newsprogram.

Heeding Moyers call to action, SacramentoProgressive Alliance, the local aliate o Unitedor Peace & Justice, voted to actively encourageSacramentos PBS television station, KVIE, to add

Democracy Now! Te War & Peace Report toits broadcast schedule. Powerless at times whenacing the worlds problems, this eort can ur-ther progressive change in Sacramento by work-ing together to give Democracy Now! a wideraudience.

Goodman speaks or a large segment o thepopulation who believes progressive views have

been mufed and/or censored rom the demo-cratic dialogue. By putting progressive shows oncable public access stations, the sub-stations osatellite V and late night time slots, liberal per-spectives are seen unairly, and as alternative,meaning that most o America automaticallytunes out. As a consequence, America and itsdemocracy are poorer in numerous ways.

Inormation is the bedrock o any democ-racy. A ull spectrum o thought is required orit to unction properly, but that isnt what mostAmericans get. wenty percent o all Americans

identiy as liberal, according to the New Yorkimes (6-26-07).When it comes to most issues, alarge plurality agrees with progressive solutions.Yet, when one watches mainstream news, onlycentrist and conservative viewpoints are given,with very ew exceptions. Liberals are cut outo the mainstream national debate. From war,health care and civil liberties, to election raudand eroding democracy, its easy to see how thenation has been damaged by this omission in thepublic discourse.

Viewers must be thankul to the dedicatedpeople on public access stations, LINK V, andFSV; in no way does this local eort to bringDemocracy Now! to KVIE intend to diminishtheir vital work. Inormation and news program-ming like Goodmans would never have been

heard without them. But they arent enough. Tele can no longer accept marginalization. Fullinclusion at the table o ideas is not somethingthat will be oered; it will have to be demanded.Its impossible to imagine conservatives allowingtheir views to be shunted to inerior venues andtimeslots.

Ron Cooper, executive director o AccessSacramento, used the phrase, riends o Amy,when speaking about the Moyers request andthere is not a more tting icon or progressiveAmerica than Goodman. Contact KVIE and letthem know they are not meeting their stated pur-pose o reecting the community back to itselwhen it comes to news. Goodmans DemocracyNow! is too vital to Sacramentos progressive

community be marginalized.

Email KVIE: [email protected] Sacramento Friends o Amy:

[email protected] 956-0680.

W. Randy Haynes is a member o the Uni-tarian Universalist Society o Sacramento andVeterans or Peace, and a Board Member o Sac-ramento Progressive Alliance. He is the author oCajun Snuf, the frst book o the Adam Stephenmystery series. Murder by the Sacred ree, hissecond novel, takes place in Sacramento and will

soon be released.

Beyond LimbaughTalk City widens the dialogue

Talk radio is like

the letters to the

editor section o

the paper.

Democracy Now!Saving or dmocracy on show a a im

In this 2005 photo, Amy Goodman andRon Cooper, Executive Director o AccessSacramento, remind us that Access

Sacramento airs Democracy Now! everyweekday at 5am, 6pm and midnight.Photo: William Bronston

8/14/2019 2007 Sept Oct

7/16

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Mainstram MdiaToo little, too late

By William A. Dorman

One thing that oen conuses ordinaryAmericans about mainstream journal-ism is that they do, in act, know about

so many oreign policy misadventures o their

government. Knowing about the Administrationsuse o phony intelligence beore the Iraq waror its outing o CIA agent Valerie Plame, theybelieve we have a ree press. However, we learno bad behavior only as history, long aer themoment or political outrage and possible actionhas passed.

Whether its learning about the CIAs respon-sibility or overthrowing popular governments inIran and Guatemala, or Chile, when it comes tooreign aairs, citizens who depend, say, on CBSor Te New York imes have to make do with a

repeatedly delayed learning curve. Te war withIraq has been no exception. By the time the pressinormed us wed been lied to about the reasonsor invading Iraq, we were already ocused on anew phase, occupation, which led to its own rev-

elations that in turn came to be overshadowed bya erocious civil war.

o paraphrase Marshall McLuhan, werealways looking at present and uture Americanoreign policy behavior through the mediasrear view mirror. And even then, objects in thejournalistic mirror arent presented nearly clearlyenough to spark challenges to entrenched power.

Yes, more than a year aer the invasion, TeNew York imes (5- 26-04)came to apologize orits deerential reporting leading up to the 2003Iraq war, and, yes, Te imes, some our yearsaer the invasion (7-8-07), nally called or anorderly withdrawal o the US rom Iraq, and, yes,Te Washington Postrecently (7-14-07)reportedin irreutable detail how Cheney has used and

abused power in unprecedented ways, breathtak-ing in their wrong-headedness. But look at howlong these positions and revelations were in com-ing, and consider how short they still stop o say-ing what needs to be said. Good journalism hasto be timely. It has to make connections, pointout patterns, provide context and, beyond any-thing else, identiy and clearly label villainyandcall or accountability.

Its hardly reassuring to reect that here weare some thirty months into Bushs second term,long aer the extent o the Iraq disaster hasbecome apparent, not to mention warrantlesswiretapping, ring US attorneys and muzzlingthe Surgeon General, and not one major news-paper has called or his resignation or impeach-ment. By comparison, 17 months into Clintons

second term, 25 US newspapers including theWall Street Journal, had called or his impeach-ment/resignation, and by the ollowing October,it was more than 115. It would appear that lying

about ellatio harms the interests o the nationmore than one might casually assume. Morelikely its the case that the press has no problemtaking aer a politicos sex lie. Questioning a

presidents claims on WMDs is a dierent matterentirely.

Aer the act press coverage that reuses tolabel disastrous policymaking clearly orwhat it is aects popular opinion, whichthen, importantly, aects members oCongress. Given the lack o politicalcourage in Congress to challenge the useo military orce, the perormance o themainstream press takes on huge impor-tance. Had the press done a better job inthe run-up to the 2003 invasion o Iraq,Democrats might have thought morethan twice about voting or the October2002 Joint Resolution authorizing use oorce, particularly given that the public

at the time widely avored diplomacyover orce. Once that particular train lethe station, it was virtually impossible toblock Bushs invasion.

Why the press behaves as it does inthe oreign policy arena is not a simplematter, but the crux o the problem liesnot in a vast right wing conspiracy, butin the mix o nationalism, militarismand corporate capitalism. When it comesto oreign policy, the dening dimensionin popular opinion (and thereore Con-gressional action) is nationalism. I anadministration can convince people andelected elites that a policy is consistentwith the national mythology, the corpo-rate news and entertainment media is

not going to risk the ire o its custom-ers, witness ABC dropping Bill MahersPolitically Incorrect or his controver-sial comment aer 9/11.

I the base audience avors amilitaristic my country right or wrongmythology, mainstream journalism isntgoing to get in the way o the parade.Put another way, journalism simplyis no match or mindless nationalism,journalistic careerism, and bottom-linecorporatism.

A riend o long experience as or-eign editor at major news organizationshas said, Te average editor in the aver-age newsroom, worried about appearing

political, bends not towardthe right, butaway rom the le, overcompensatingor their natural proclivities [to speakthe uncomortable truth about government lies].Its a alse system, as i they eel always underattack by the same claptrap voices that charge airjudges with being activist judges. He goes on tosay, Tey have abrogated power to the OReillyso the world, which may be the reason that JonStewart and Steven Colbert speak to power soeectively. Tey ll the obvious void.

Some observers would have us believe thatthe Iraq disaster has been so obviously a policywreck o historic dimension that mainstreamjournalism has nally learned lessons about o-cial duplicity and imperial policymaking that itshould have mastered much earlier. Given recent

Bush Administration declarations about the USreserving the right to strike within Pakistan andIran, we may get to test the proposition soonerrather than later.

capitol city radioon The Voice 88.7 & 89.9

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Good journalism has to

be timely. It has to make

connections, point outpatterns, provide context

and, beyond anything

else, identiy and clearly

label villainyand call

or accountability.

Feb. 15 2003: Elected Presidents Day demonstration in San Francisco. Realjournalists also criticize bad government!Photo: www.thomasalbert.com

William A. Dorman recently retired rom a 40-year career at CSUSteaching government and media studies. He has published and lecturedwidely in this country and abroad, and is co-author with Mansour FarhangoUS Press and Iran: Foreign Policy and the Journalism o Deerence

(U.C. Press, 1987).

8/14/2019 2007 Sept Oct

8/16


By Travis Silcox

Doesnt everyone secretly, or not so secretly, wantto make a movie? Im just like the rest o theworld, except as a teacher o lm studies at Sac-

ramento City College, I work with students every year to

analyze lms and learn about the movie-making process.Wasnt it about time to try my hand at it?

Access Sacramento, the local community mediastation, gave me my opportunity to write and producea ten-minute lm by means o its annual screenwritingcontest, A Place Called Sacramento. In its eighth year,all the short lms eature Sacramento in some way and

winners o this years contest will showtheir work on Oct. 7 at the Crest Teatre.

My desire is to make lms thatspeak to our social condition and give

people a glimpse o how our world couldbe more just, thoughtul and ullling.I sure dont want to make Hollywoodlms or a target audience o 11 to 17-year-old boys and give them the sameold recycled crapviolence, homopho-bia, racism, misogyny and the status

quo.I nished

principal pho-tography onmy little lm,Entering the Booth, and thewhole process was empower-ing, challenging and un! But,to quote George Bush, and you

need to read this with his akeexas whine, Its hard work.My screenplay was based

on oral histories I conductedwith 35 people living in mid-town Sacramento. I chose threecouples I thought would bemost compelling to audienceswho are unamiliar with ourwonderul midtown vibe, peo-ple who could communicatethe essence o our diverse, pro-gressive neighborhood. Next,

By JoAnn Fuller

Beore the general election in 2006, the SacramentoMedia Group met with local television stationmanagers to discuss their plans or election cover-

agea critical part o a broadcasters mandated obliga-

tion to serve the public interestand encouraged themto meet the national V election coverage broadcastingguidelines developed by the bipartisan Presidential Advi-sory Committee on Public Interest Obligations o Digitalelevision Broadcasters. SMG then monitored the sta-tions news programs and evaluated their perormance inproviding inormative coverage o the candidates, theirpositions and ballot measure issues.

Te monitoring study showed only one Sacramentostation, Channel 3, met the recommended minimumstandard o ve minutes per night o election-relatedcoverage during the month beore Election Day. Duringthe all, the ve local stations received an estimated totalo $32 million in revenues rom election-related politicaladvertising. Advertising rates ranged as high as $10,000or a single spot. Yet it appeared most stations spent a

small raction o their earnings to inorm voters about

their choices.Te content o the news was also a disappoint-

ment. Based on the monitoring, the race or governorreceived the most coverage, even though the race was

not competitive during the nal month, according to theCaliornia Election Survey o the Rasmussen Reports,October 2006. Only 13.8 percent o the coverage ocusedon congressional races and a mere 1.6 percent on statelegislative races. Viewers were six times more likely tosee a campaign ad than an election news story.

Unortunately, two o ve local stations, Channels10 and 19, reused to meet with SMG representatives orprovide summaries o their plans or election coverage.Tis was particularly noteworthy given that in 2006 allCaliornia stations were to apply or re-license by theFederal Communications Commission, which requiresstations to invite public comment on their activities. Yetthese two stations denied community members romSMG an opportunity to exchange views. Nor did SMGreceive any written response regarding the stations plans

or election programming. Neither station gave any rea-

son or denying the requests.

Te 2006 election report, as well as the rst SMGelection report rom 2004, summarizing advocacy andmonitoring activities with all ve local television stationsthat broadcast to the greater Sacramento region are avail-able at www.commoncause.org/CA. SMG will continueto encourage local broadcasters to broaden eorts tomeet public interest obligations and monitor program-ming. SMG also asks community members, mediaproessionals and reorm activists to join their work tomake available more substantive, locally produced pub-lic aairs programming. An inormed electorate and avibrant democracy depend on it.

Contact SMG:[email protected] call443-1792 ex. 11.

JoAnn Fuller is a member o Sacramento Media

Group and an editor with Because People Matter.

TV Stations Get Report CardLocal saions rad on lcion covrag

I had to come up with a story that would incorporatethese oral histories.

Te result was Entering the Booth, a trip into actional radio program that highlights peoples personal

stories. Listeners to National Public Radio may nd aresemblance to a radio program they hear broadcast.Tink o Antiques Roadshow coming to Sacramento,but instead o eaturing antiques we have real peoplerecounting their real lives or a national audience.

Te backbone o my crew was a group o ormer CityCollege students who told me, i I wrote a screenplay andwas chosen, they would help me lm it. Our cinematog-rapher and director was Rachel Bryant, currently study-ing lm at the University o Caliornia, Davis. Otherormer students worked as assistant producer, make-upartist, still photographer and production assistant. Terest o the crew was experienced but developing skillsby working on projects such as this one, and they wereinvaluable.

Some things I learned to do that Id never donebeore included: obtain a lm

permit rom the Sacramento FilmCommission, secure a liability bondto shoot on location, conduct audi-tions with experienced local actors,get extra gigabytes o RAM or mycomputerand gure out whatthe heck that meansteach myselan editing program, plus cajoleriends, students and amily to giveup weekends and evenings to workon, what must have looked like, aharebrained project.

When everyone showed upon time, technology worked withyou, not against you, and the cast

See Movie Magic, page 9Rachel Bryant, flm director, readies her shot.Photo: Dick Wood

Making a Movie

Viewers were six times more

likely to see a campaign ad

than an election news story.

Producer Travis Silcox prepares actors Joe Concannon and David Philipp ascrew member Ellen Dillinger readies the clapper.Photo: Dick Wood

David Philipp and Joe Conannon relax beore flming as Entering the Boothdirector, producer and crew set up.Photo: Dick Wood

Another take with Lyvonne and Robert Sewell (seated on the right). DirectorRachel Bryant (with camera) is assisted by Angela Or tnerPhoto: Dick Wood

8/14/2019 2007 Sept Oct

9/16


By Ian Kesseler

I know peoples perceptions o the media just byreactions I get when I tell them Im studying journal-ism. Im about to move away to study journalism at SanFrancisco State University, so Ive hadthis conversation a lot l ately. Someoer a hopeul smile and an encourag-ing word about this new generationo media meddlers dabbling in onlinejournalism; how bloggers remindus what a ree press really is. Others

give me a sideways glance, sometimesa little sneer, and remind me howcorrupt and slanted journalism hasbecome. I understand both perspec-tives, but either way the conversationalways comes back to ethics.

I guess that shouldnt surprise meaer all the hits journalism has takenin recent years with abulists, plagia-rists and guys like Armstrong Wil-liams. Remember him? He took a large sum o cash romthe government to promote a presidential policy in a or-mat designed to look like mainstream news coverage. Ocourse they sneer. Unortunately or Williams and otherjournalists, all that money cant buy back trust.

As an editor or the Sacramento City Col lege

newspaper Te Express, I spent a lot o time adapting

to change. I learned a new writing style, worked withphotographers switching rom lm to digital ormats,ound a way to take print copy to the Web. One thing

that hasnt change, despite evidenceto the contrary, is journalistic eth-ics. Sure, it seems ewer writersare sticking to them, but its notbecause these principles are chang-ing with everything else in theindustry. In act, its the one thing

that never needs to change.We know the payola pu pieces

written by Williams are still theexception but the basic Americanjournalistic principle o air andcomprehensive coverage may haveeroded with the reedom the Inter-net oers. Newsrooms today areorced to compete with anyone whohas a keyboard and Internet access,

writers who dont answer to editors, writing about what-ever suits them, oen without sources or consequences.Blogs on both sides o the political spectrum are havensor strongly slanted journalism. Although the passionbloggers have or their subjects is vital to exercisingFirst Amendment rights, its easy to see the damage they

may cause the credibility o journalists playing by the

My desire is to make flms

that speak to our social

condition and give people

a glimpse o how our

world could be more just,

thoughtul and ulflling.

I look orward to

making changes

technology has

yet to bring to the

newsroom, but

Im keeping the

best part o my

community college

education, ethics.

Journalism Ethics in the Digital Age

Quentin Sacramento is the mascot for PCS. He has done films such

as The Good, The Bad, and the Sushi, Butch Cassidy and the Sunfish

Kid, and Gone with the Swim, and The Maltese Scallop.

A Plac Calld SacramnoBy Ron Cooper

For the eighth year, Access Sacramento celebrates itsone-o-a-kind scriptwriting and short lm production

project or local writers and producers. PCS challengedlocal scriptwritersto create ten-minutescripts about thepeople, places andevents that makethe Sacramentocommunity such adistinctive place tolive. A panel o localproessionals reviewedall entries and 10 wereselected or volunteerproduction.

Access Sacramento announced the chosen lmmak-ers at its May Cast & Crew Call. From a communitypool o talent, production teams were ormed and ten

lms were produced during the summer months. oassist in the writing and production o the scripts, aseries o workshops are held at the Coloma Centerthroughout the spring, providing proessional trainingin PCS scriptwriting, production planning, acting orthe camera, low budget production and post-productiontechniques. Aer months o hard work and great un, thelmmakers and Access Sacramento invite the public tosee the completed lms, one day only, Sunday, October 7

at the Crest Teater, 1013 K St., starting at 1pm. icketsto the estival are $10 a person, open seating.

In the seven years o PCS, 69 short lms have been

created. o view lms completed or the 2004, 2005 and2006 PCS lm estivals, go to the website, www.access-sacramento.org .

Access Sacramento is a nonprot organization dedi-cated to using community media to build better commu-nications between individuals and groups in SacramentoCounty. With television studio, radio and television pro-duction equipment, media lab, mobile production truck,and other gear, Access Sacramento trains and managesvolunteers and shares their work on cable radio and tele-vision channels 17 & 18.

Ron Cooper is Executive Director o AccessSacramento.

rules. Dont believe me? Whats the rst phrase that popsinto your head when I mention Te Drudge Report?Exactly.

As I look orward, Ive also been looking back. Teclassroom didnt teach me only how to write like a jour-nalist, it taught me to work like one, tooto report theacts as airly and objectively as possible. It taught me todo my homework beore making accusations and that astory that doesnt represent all sides o the argument isntone worth telling. Tats as basic to journalism as clear

sentence construction. When an inexperienced writer orblogger orgets the importance o responsible reporting,it adds to the rustration o the public, and to the sneersI get.

As newspapers continue to merge into one giantmedia conglomerate and the peoples aith in the main-stream media continues to crumble, nding a job thatkeeps me ethically grounded and happy will becomemore dicult. I look orward to making changes tech-nology has yet to bring to the newsroom, but Im keepingthe best part o my community college education, ethics.I I can do anything in my career to promote those ide-als, Ill be able to hold my head high when I tell someoneIm a journalist. I I can do that, maybe Ill get a dierentresponse when someone nds out what I do.

Ian Kessler is ormer editor in chie oTe Express,

Sacramento City College.

Actors and crew making movie magic happen.Photo: Dick Wood

MovieMagicfrom page 7and crew enjoyed themselves, it was pure pleasure.My hope is that more Sacramentans, with alternativevisions o what lm can provide and provoke, will takeup the pen and the camera. Cinema has the power to betransormative. While Hollywood uses it to stupey thepopulation, lm can be a tool to liberate, question and

broaden. I know Im not alone in seeing the potential olocal cinema. Many o the other lms in A Place Called

Sacramento this year take on topics both surprisingand intriguing. Come see the ruits o our eorts and beinspired to make a movie o your own. For more inor-mation about A Place Called Sacramento premiere, goto www.accesssacramento.org

ravis Silcox teaches English and flm studies atSacramento City College.

Emmy and Joe Gunterman listen to direction rom Travis Silcox as director RachelBryant and sound engineer Chris Terry prepare.Photo: Dick Wood

8/14/2019 2007 Sept Oct

10/16

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First West CoastDiversity SummitBy Michael R. Gorman

A

crime, thought a thing o the past inSacramento, shocked this capital cityo Caliornia on July 1, 2007. Satender

Singh was assaulted in a hate motivated crimewhile picnicking with riends at Lake Natoma.It was reported the attackers spoke Russian andEnglish and shouted sodomite and other anti-gay invectives prior to killing Singh. Tey spewedracist threats at Satenders Fijian and East Indianriends, while calling themselves Gods people.But it was the man they observed to be gay whomthey targeted or violence.

Sacramento community leaders decried thedeath as a consequence o escalating anti-gayhatred by militant members o Slavic ChristianChurches in the area, encouraged by Americanundamentalists who sponsor many Slavic immi-grants to the country and are on hand to blame

the gay community.How do good

people respond to

hatred? Tat wasthe question posedat the First WestCoast DiversitySummit in lateJuly at midtownSacramentosrinity Cathedral. Teevent, planned to address rising homophobia,originated with gay activist Nate Feldman, whohas documented the rise o anti-gay protests withhis video camera and a Youube account. Cer-tain Feldman was an a larmist and protests wouldwhither under the heat o recent gay r ights victo-ries, ew had listened. On the day that would havebeen Singhs 26th birthday, the summit aced

hatred turned deadly. People were listening.Attendance at the meeting was a picture odiversity with the Druid who gave the open-ing address to the translated speech by a SlavicChristian pastor doing his best to edge out o ahomophobic paradigm. Representatives rom thegay-supportive Asian Pacic League, Slavic Com-munity Services, La Raza, NAACP, SacramentoGrove o the Oak, Spiritual Lie Center, Pagans,Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, atheists, politicians,street activists and others o all backgrounds

came together to speak o peaceul co-existencein, what ime magazine called, the nations mostdiverse city.

As Sacramento goes, summit participants

were aware, so goes the nation. With this deathand the consequential summit, Sacramentobecame ground zero. Singh was the canary inthe mine, the Druid summarized. Our model oresponse must be the natural orest where diver-sity is the very oundation o health and growth,and homogeneity means death.

For more inormation: www.satendar.com

Michael Gorman is a Sacramento poet andwriter.

By JoAnn FullerTanks to a group o dedicated citizens, Sac-

ramento will soon be able to log on to ree Inter-net service, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ata speed ast enough to be useul. Te SacramentoCity Council negotiated a contract with a WiFiInternet Service Provider providing just that.Within two years, people should be able to usethe Internet wherever they are within the citylimits. Tose using computers inside a buildingmay need a special device to boost the signal, butthose are inexpensive and easily installed.

Tis means individuals who couldnt accessthe general inormation, employment opportuni-ties or cheaper shopping oered online because

o service costs, now will be able to log on reeo charge. Families with children can ask about

their childs homework, researchers can travelthe world or the latest inormation, and smallbusinesses can expand their customer base withvirtually no expense.

How did all this happen? Te SacramentoMedia Group, alongwith Ruth Blank o theSacramento Commu-nity Regional Founda-tion, Ron Cooper oAccess Sacramento,Ann Lucas o the Non-prot Resource Centerand we at CaliorniaCommon Cause,spearheaded a coali-tion o 60 nonprotsto lobby the CityCouncil to help bridgethe digital divide thatprevents some community members and amilies

rom accessing Internet services. Plans are alsogoing orward to obtain reurbished computersand other equipment, and training to those whoneed them.

Tis success in Sacramento comes as FreePress, a media reorm advocacy group, issued areport titled Shooting the Messenger, that docu-ments how the US has allen behind in Internetuse. Once in the lead, the country is now ranked15th in deployment and adoption o aordablebroadband services. In addition, the servicemost pay or is painully slow and expensive. Forexample, Japanese connections are a dozen timesaster than those oered in the US and access ismuch cheaper.

What happened to the US Internet lead?

Paul Krugman in Te New York imes (7-3-07)

explains it simply as bad policy. Te US is allingbehind because other countries used judiciousregulation to promote competition. At the most,customers in the US have a choice between a

cable monopoly and phone monopoly or Inter-net service. Te price is high, the service is poor,but theres nowhere else to go.

I you are interested in community mediaissues and media reorm, contact SacramentoMedia Group:[email protected] ex. 11; www.freepress.net >

JoAnn Fuller is Associate Director o Calior-nia Common Cause and an editor with BecausePeople Matter.

On the day that would

have been Singhs 26th

birthday, the summit

aced hatred turned

deadly. Now people werelistening.

Success! Free Internet for Sacramentans!

A community paper

needs community

support: Subscribe!

Within two years,

people should be

able to use the

Internet wherever

they are within the

city limits.

8/14/2019 2007 Sept Oct

11/16


HeLP BPM Get tHeWORDS Out!BPM needs help dropping stackso BPMs at locations around town.Call Paulette at (916)422-1787.

combat troopsrom Iraq, or willing to call ora complete halt to US bombing o that country.

Tose candidates know that powerul elitesin this country just dont want to give up theleverage o an ongoing US military presence inIraq, with its enormous reserves o oil and geopo-litical value. Its a good bet that American media

and political powerhouses would x the wagono any presidential campaign that truly advocatedan end to the US war inand onIraq.

Te disconnect between public opinion andelite opinion has led to reverse perceptions oa crisis o democracy. As war continues, someare appalled at the absence o democracy whileothers are rightened by the potential o it. Fromthe grassroots, the scarcity o democracy istransparent and outrageous. For elites, unleasheddemocracy could jeopardize the priorities o themilitary-industrial-media complex.

Converging powerul orces in Washing-toneager to at least supercially bridge the gapbetween grassroots and elite prioritiesare likelyto come up with a game plan or withdrawing

rom Iraq without withdrawing rom Iraq.Scratch the surace o current media scenari-os or a US pullout rom Iraq, and youre le withlittle more than speculationueled by giant dol-lops o political manipulation. In act, strategicleaks and un-attributed claims about US plans orwithdrawal have emerged periodically to releasesome steam rom domestic antiwar pressures.

Nearly three years agowith discontentover the war threatening to undermine Presi-dent Bushs prospects or a second termtheWhite House ally Robert Novak oated a rosyscenario in his nationally syndicated columnthat appeared on Sept. 20, 2004. Inside the Bushadministration policy-making apparatus, thereis strong eeling that US troops must leave Iraqnext year, he wrote. Tis determination is not

predicated on success in implanting Iraqi democ-racy and internal stability. Rather, the ocials aresaying: Ready or not, here we go.

Novaks column went on to tell readers:Well-placed sources in the administration arecondent Bushs decision will be to get out.Tose well-placed sources were, o course,unnamed. And or good measure, Novak ol-lowed up a month beore the November 2004election with a piece that recycled the gist o hisSept. 20 column and chortled: Nobody rom theadministration has ocially rejected my column.

Tis is all relevant history today as newsmedia are spinning out umpteen scenarios orUS withdrawal rom Iraq. Te game involvesdangling illusionary reerences to withdrawal

in ront o the public.But realities on the groundand in theairare quite dierent. A recent news dispatchrom an air base in Iraq, by Charles J. Hanleyo the Associated Press, provided a rare look atthe high-tech escalation underway. Away romthe headlines and debate over the surge in USground troops, AP reported on July 14, the AirForce has quietly built up its hardware insideIraq, sharply stepped up bombing and laid aoundation or a sustained air campaign in sup-port o American and Iraqi orces.

In contrast to the spun speculation sopopular with US media outlets like ime andthe PBS NewsHour, the AP article cited keyinormation: Squadrons o attack planes havebeen added to the in-country eet. Te air recon-

naissance arm has almost doubled since last year.Te powerul B1-B bomber has been recalled toaction over Iraq.

Tis kind o development ts a historic pat-ternone that had horric consequences duringthe war in Vietnam and, unless stopped, willpersist or many years to come in Iraq.

Assessing the distant mirror o the VietnamWar, the narration o the new documentaryWar Made Easy (based on my book o thesame name) spells out a cl assic White Housemaneuver: Even when calls or withdrawal haveeventually become too loud to ignore, ocialshave put orward strategies or ending war thathave had the eect o prolonging itin somecases, as with the Nixon administrations strategy

o Vietnamization, actually escalating war in the

name o ending it.Between mid-1969 and mid-1972, American

troop levels dropped sharply in Vietnamwhilethe deadly erocity o American bombing spikedupward.

Te presence o large numbers o US troopsin Iraq during the next years is a likelihoodogged up by anciul media stories assertingwithout tangible evidencethat American troopswill pull out and the US military will leaveIraq. Te spin routinely glides past such mattersas the hugely militarized US embassy in Bagh-dad, the numerous permanent-mode US basesin Iraq, and the vast array o privateand oenparamilitarycontractors at work there courtesy

o US taxpayers. And theres the rarely mentionedprize o massive oil reserves that top ocials inWashington keep their eyes on.

Te matter o US bases in Iraq is a primeexample o how events on Capitol Hill have scanteects on war machinery in the context o out-o-control presidential power. Te House votedoverwhelmingly on Wednesday to bar permanentUnited States military bases in Iraq, the NewYork imes reported on July26. But the war makers in thenations capital still hold thewhip that keeps lashing thedogs o war.

As the insightul analystPhyllis Bennis points out: Te

bill states an important prin-ciple opposing the establish-ment o new bases in Iraq andnot to exercise United Statescontrol o the oil resources oIraq. But it is limited in severalways. It prohibits only thosebases which are acknowledgedto be or the purpose o per-manently stationing US troopsin Iraq; thereore any baseconstructed or temporarilystationing troops, or rotatingtroops, or anything less thanan ocially permanent deploy-ment, would still be accepted.Further, the bill says nothing

about the need to decommis-sion the existing US basesalready built in Iraq; it onlyprohibits establishing mil itaryinstallations, implying onlynew ones would be prohibited.

Despite all the talk abouthow members o Congresshave been turning against thewar, ew are clearly advocatinga genuine end to US militaryintervention in Iraq. Mediaoutlets will keep telling us thatthe US government is develop-ing serious plans to leaveIraq. But we would be oolish

to believe those tall tales. Te

Solomon from page 1

antiwar movement has an enormous amount ograssroots work to dochanging the politicalterrain o the United States rom the bottomupbeore the calculus o political opportunismin Washington determines that it would be moreexpedient to end the US occupation o Iraq thanto keep it going under one guise or another.

Norman Solomon is author oWar MadeEasy, How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spin-

ning Us to Death.

8/14/2019 2007 Sept Oct

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1 Because People Matter September / October 007 www.bpmnews.org

Cofee rom

Nicaragua

Support Sacramentossister city, San Juan deOriente, Nicaragua,by purchasing organicwhole-bean coeegrown in the richvolcanic soil on theisland o Omotepe,Nicaragua.Thanks to the eorts othe Bainbridge-OmotepeSister Island Associationin Washington, we areable to bring you thiswonderul medium roastcoee.Your purchase helps thearmers on the islandand helps supportSacramentos longrelationship with SanJuan de Oriente.All prots go directlyback to the Nicaraguan

communities.$9.00 a pound.Available in Sacramentoat: The Book Collector,1008 24th St.

SacramentoSoapboxProgressive Talk ShowAccess Sacramento,Channel 17 with JeanieKeltner.Monday, 8pm, Tuesdaynoon, Wednesday, 4am.Now in Davis, Channel15, Tuesday, 7pm.

Sacramento Area Peace Action

Sacamen Aea Peace Acin is an all-vlunee ganizain a

wks educae and mbilize e public pme a nn-ineven-

inis and nn-nuclea US feign plic and pme peace ug

inenainal and dmesic ecnmic, scial, and pliical jusice. Jin us!

Send your check to: srmn ar p ain (sapa) 909 12h sr, #118, srmn,ca 95814. or ll u! 448-7157, -mil: [email protected], b: ..rg

JOIN SACRAMENTO AREA PEACE ACTIONAnnual dues are $30/individual; $52/amily; $15/low income.

Name:________________________________________________________

Address: ______________________________________________________

City _______________________________________ Zip _______________

Phone: __________________________

E-mail: __________________________

____Here is my additional contribution o $_______.

____Please send me the newsletter only, $10/yr.

Rsorcs on Palsin:Institute or Middle East Understanding:

www.imeu.net.

Washington Report on Middle East Aairs:www.wrmea.com.

Raah oday: www.rafahtoday.org .National Council o Arab Americans: www.arab-american.net.

Tis September, Congress will have yetanother opportunity to stop unding the disas-trous war against Iraq. As o Aug. 1, this warhas killed over 3650 US soldiers and an esti-mated 700,000 Iraqi men, women and children,wounded tens o thousands, driven hundreds oUS soldiers to kill themselves and thousands todesert, orced nearly 5 million Iraqis rom theirhomes, and wasted over $448 billion.

End Congressional Ambiguity. End thefunding

Symptomatic o its uncertainty about end-ing the war on Iraq, in July the House passedboth HR 2929 (no permanent bases and no UScontrol o Iraqi oil) and HR 2956, which calls or

a unspecied troop reduction, while it leaves anindeterminate number o troops in Iraq inde-nitely. One has to wonder why we need whatcould be thousands o troops in Iraq i we arenthaving permanent bases and we dont want theiroil. HR 2956 says nothing about getting the US-nanced military contractors out o Iraq and itkeeps the redeployed US troops in the region,where they could be readily used to attack or re-occupy Iraq, intensiy the war on Aghanistan, orinvade Iran. Should these two bills be passed bythe Senate, they would most certainly be vetoedby Bush.

However, ending the war does not require a2/3 majority to override Bushs vetoit requiresa simple majority in the House to vote NO onBushs request or more unding. Doing so will

not imperil the troops, but not doing so will con-demn many more to die or be severely wounded.

Send a Clear & Complete MessageOur demand to end the Iraq war and occu-

pation must also be a call to end the war onand occupation o Aghanistan. Ending thesewars means bringing all the troops and militarycontractors home and closing all the bases. A USmilitary presence in either Iraq or Aghanistanwill never x anything; what we must do is pay torepair the damage our government has done tothe inrastructure, people, culture, and environ-ment o these two nations.

And our cry to end the war must also be oneto scrap our brutal policy towards the Middle

East that has been a complete disaster or thepeople o this region andis bad or the people inour country. Te wars on and occupations o Iraqand Aghanistan are symptoms o a miserableoreign policy that cannot bring military victorybut only an environment lled with depleteduranium, an unpayable national debt, and incon-solable shame or the war crimes committed inour names.

Keep the Pressure up on CongressAny progress Congress makes towards end-

ing this war is only because o public pressure. Atleast once a week, ax or call Reps. Doris Matsui,Mike Tompson, Dan Lungren, or John Doo-little, andSenators Boxer and Feinstein. And getyour riends, amily, neighbors, riends and co-

workers to call. Add a message to your answeringmachine that reminds people to call Congress.

ell these electeds, who are supposed to be

working oryou, to: VOE NO on any moreunding that continues the war, and VOEYES to bring allthe troops home and militarycontractors home rom Iraq and Aghanistannow, close all the bases, and change our oreignpolicy to one based on respecting, not destroying,human lie and the environment. Call (202)224-3121. I you can, ax: Matsui: (202)225-0566;Tompson: (202) 225-4335; Lungren: (202)226-1298; Doolittle: (202)225-5444; Boxer: (916)448-2563; Feinstein: (202) 228-3954.

Pack your bags and go to DCPeople rom all over the country are mobiliz-

ing to get Congress to respond to the Americanpeople and end the war on Iraq. Actions are

planned or nearly the whole month in Wash-ington, DC (see BOX) as well as local eorts. Iyou can go to Washington, do it. Housing ino isavailable at: www.codepinkalert.org/housing. Iyou cant go to DC, participate in local events andhelp send others. For more inormation, contactSac Area Peace Action: 916-448-7157.

Participate in local actions:

Vigils every uesday, Wednesday & 1st & 3rdSaturdays: check sacpeace.org

The Peoples Rally to End the War , Sept.7, 3-6pm, Capitol West Steps. All groups that areagainst the war are invited to orm contingentsand march to the rally. FMI: 916-455-6312;[email protected]

Caliornias Calling Congress to End theWar: Sept 10-13: Join people in every Caliorniadistrict in calling Congress this week. See sac-peace.org or other local actions this week.

End the War Now demonstration in San Fran-cisco, Oct 27; or ino on buses & carpools romDavis & Sacramento: 916-448-7157

W Can Mak Congrss Rally end th Wars on Iraq andAghanistan in Sptmbri thy gt th mssag.

Go o Washingon, DC & Sop h war

Actions organized by a broad spectrum o national peace & justice groups.

Ongoing lobbying with Code Pink: stay at their DC house: www.codepinkalert.orgSept. 14-21, 2007: Days o Decision, in DC & across the country: www.declarationofpeace.org

Sat. Sept. 15, 2007: DC March & Rally: www.Sept1.orgSun. Sept. 16: National raining Session or the other Days o Action, www. Sept1.orgMon. Sept.17: Peoples March Inside Congress, www.codepinkalert.orgues. Sept. 18: Congressional Challenge Day, www.grassrootsamericaus.orgWed. Sept. 19: Direct Action, www,answer.pephost.orgTurs. Sept. 20: Veterans lobbying day, www.ivaw.orgFri. Sept. 21: National Moratorium Day, www.iraqmoratorium.org.Sept 22-29, 2007: Encampment in DC, www.troopsoutnow.org

Coming EventsThursday, Oct. 4, 79pm, Richard Beck-er with the ANSWER Coalition, recentlyreturned rom the major anti-war eortsin Washington, DC during September, willaddress the next steps to ending US war pol-icy. 909 12th St, Sacramento, 916-448-7157.

Wednesday, Oct. 17, 79pm, Dissent:Voices o Conscience. Colonel Ann Wrightresigned rom the US Foreign Service inMarch 2003 over several disagreements with

the Bush Administration including theirdecision to attack Iraq, the lack o eort inresolving the Israel-Palestine situation, andunnecessary curtailment o civil liberties.Wrights newly published book will be avail-able at the talk. ime ested Books, 111421st St, Sacramento. 916-448-7157; [email protected]

Discharges DEP DiscriminationGay AWOL/UA HarassmentHazing Conscientious Objection

Call or inormation rom a network ononprot, nongovernmental organizations.

The service is ree. The call is condential.

The GI Rights Hotlinewww.girights.org

800 394 9544

8/14/2019 2007 Sept Oct

13/16


Peace Actionon the WebKeep up to dateon peace activismin Sacramento.Check outwww.sacpeace.org.

CapitolOutreach for a

Moratoriumon the

Death Penalty.

Third Mondays,11:30am to 1:30pm.

L Street at 11th.

We bring petitions,literature and banners.You bring yourselves.

Cae nearby or coeeater the vigil.

INFO: 447-7754

By Paolo Bassi

Te notion that our rulers stumble into warbecause they are stupid, misguided or relying onaulty intelligence may make war more palatable,but it is utter naivet. War, despite its costs and

risks, is highly protable or the corporate andnancial elites who dont bear the costs or risksanyway. Te cost o war is not problematic whenpeople are indoctrinated enough to keep givingtheir money and blood. And yet, war abroad isalways war on the poor at home.

Te main victims o the war in Iraq are,o course, the Iraqi people. Teir country hasbeen violently occupied and almost completelydestroyed, and according to Lancet, the Brit-ish medical journal, more than 655,000 Iraqishave diedand thousands more since that 2006study. But these are not gures youll hear on thenetworks.

Iraqs publicly owned assets are being priva-tized, its economy orced into the global corpo-

rate system. Yet there is general silence in theUS media over this privatization and who nowcontrols Iraqs oil revenues.

Back home the ultimate price is paid by ourmostly working class soldiers. Besides the thou-sands killed, many more are wounded, and somewill never work againlet alone ght. Tesesoldiers and their amilies will be paying each dayor Bushs war. Other than independent docu-mentaries, try nding mainstream reports onsoldiers lives aer war. Te brutal eects o war,both material and psychological are ignored.

While ordinary Americans suer, the war-mongers get richertheir children sitting out thewar at schools which charge more per year thana soldiers death benets. Soldiers pay with theirlives and limbs, but we all pay with our collective

tax wealth. In addition to the $400+ billion givento the military each year, the Iraq war has costalmost $500 billion to date. Heartbreakingly, thissame amount spent on schools, universal healthcare, scholarships, inrastructure, alternativeenergy development or environmental protection

would have had a massive positive economic andsocial eect or generations.

As the military industrial complex prospers,ordinary people are being driven into poverty,poverty masked by debt nancing. With eachwar the social abric becomes weaker. Since thereis no l imit to the neo-cons dream o completedomination o global capitalism, more wars arecoming along with urther poverty and debt.Rich mans war; poor mans blood.

Corporate media is structurally and ideo-logically incapable o truthully discussing thecauses or costs o the Iraq war. Te interests othe media, corporations and the n

Documents

2007 Sept Oct