The Story of the Arabs p. 7

Letters to NFP... Prisoner Rights p. 8

ATM 2005 Peacemaker Honored p. 8

2006 NFP State Board Priorities p. 10

A Winter’s Tale...W. & the Oobleck p. 12

“Study War No More” p. 3

2006 Legislative Agenda p. 4

The Great American JobsScam... Nebraska Style p. 5

StratCom Simulates Warwith North Korea p. 6

inside:inside:inside:inside:inside:inside:Nonprofit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No. 310

Lincoln, NE

Nebraskans for Peace941 ‘O’ St., Ste. 1026Lincoln, NE 68508

Phone 402-475-4620/Fax 402-475-4624nfpstate@nebraskansforpeace.orgwww.nebraskansforpeace.org

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Nebraska ReportJANUARY 2006 VOLUME 34, NUMBER 1

There is no Peace without Justice

Nebraskans for PeaceNebraskans for PeaceNebraskans for PeaceNebraskans for PeaceNebraskans for Peace

The following article by NFP PresidentMark Vasina, appeared as an op-ed in theDecember 5, 2006 Lincoln Journal Star.

Vice-President and Lincoln native DickCheney recently charged those who say theadministration manipulated pre-Iraq War in-telligence with rewriting history in a “dis-honest” and “reprehensible” way. FormerSenator Bob Graham of Florida, a leaderon the Senate Intelligence Committee dur-ing the run-up to the war, responded withan op-ed piece (Journal Star, 11/22/05) dis-closing that, on the eve of the invasion, theWhite House had not even asked CIA Di-rector George Tenet for a “National Intelli-gence Estimate” to evaluate the need for apreemptive strike. At Graham’s insistencethe CIA produced a 90-page estimate thatraised serious doubts about whether Iraqindeed possessed weapons of mass destruc-tion. Yet, when the administration releasedits 25-page public summary of the estimate,the doubts in the longer document had com-pletely disappeared.

In any case, however, even theestimate’s allegations of a WMD threatcame from sources whose credibility wassuspect. Most of the alleged intelligencecame from Iraqi exiles or third countrieswith an interest in Hussein’s removal.

Among the principle sources was AhmadChalabi, accused of questionable businesspractices by our own State Department.Under congressional questioning, Tenethimself admitted that no U.S. operative hadindependently verified the claims.

Much of this “intelligence” was as-sembled by Undersecretary of Defense Dou-glas Feith’s Office of Special Plans. Nowunder congressional investigation, this adhoc group had, according to some CIA andFBI intelligence analysts, produced most ofthe “information” needed by SecretaryRumsfeld and Cheney to justify the war.Since these two men—along withUndersecretary Paul Wolfowitz and DefenseDepartment advisor Richard Perle—hadsought a war with Iraq since the late ’90s, itis not surprising that the new Office of Spe-cial Plans produced what their bosses re-quired.

As a result of this “twisted” intelli-gence, more than 2,100 U.S. soldiers and30,000 Iraqis have died. Over 80 percent ofthe Iraqi public disapproves of our presencethere. And President Bush’s sole idea of anexit strategy is to “stay the course.”

Some argue that members of Congresswho supported the war were duped. How-

Dick Cheney Birthday Bashand Retirement Party

Monday, January 30, 2006in recognition of the 65th birthdayand ignominious Vice Presidencyof Lincoln, Nebraska’s native son

Coming Soon... Watch for more details!

Who’s TWho’s TWho’s TWho’s TWho’s Telling telling telling telling telling theheheheheTTTTTrutrutrutrutruth about Iraq?h about Iraq?h about Iraq?h about Iraq?h about Iraq?

conclusion on page 2

JANUARY 2006 NEBRASKA REPORT, P.2

Moving? Send Us Your New Address

Nebraska ReportThe Nebraska Report is published nine times annually by Nebraskans for Peace.Opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of the directors or staff ofNebraskans for Peace.

Newspaper Committee: Tim Rinne, Editor

Mark Vasina, Christy Hargesheimer, Bud Narveson, Marsha Fangmeyer

Typesetting and Layout: marketing assistants plus!

Printing: Fremont Tribune Circulation: 6,500

Letters, articles, photographs and graphics are welcomed. Deadline is the firstof the month for publication in the following month’s issue. Submit to: NebraskaReport, c/o Nebraskans for Peace, 941 ‘O’ Street, Suite 1026, Lincoln, NE 68508.

Nebraskans for PeaceNebraskans for Peace is a statewide grassroots advocacy organization workingnonviolently for peace with justice through community-building, education andpolitical action.

State Board of DirectorsA’Jamal Byndon, Maureen Connolly, Joshua Cramer, Henry D’Souza, Bob Epp(Treasurer), Marsha Fangmeyer, Roger Furrer, Michael Gordon, Caryl Guisinger,Christy Hargesheimer, Leah Hunter, John Krejci (Secretary), Rich Maciejewski,Carol McShane, Jeff Mohr, Patrick Murray, Paul Olson, Byron Peterson, DelRoper, Deirdre Routt, Linda Ruchala, Jay Schmidt, Jeanette Sulzman (Vice Presi-dent), Mark Vasina (President), Sue Ellen Wall, Virginia Walsh. Tim Rinne (StateCoordinator), Dace Burdic (Office Administrator), Susan Alleman (Member-ship Coordinator), 941 ‘O’ Street, Suite 1026, Lincoln, NE 68508, Phone 402-475-4620/Fax 402-475-4624, nfpstate@nebraskans-forpeace.org. Amanda Flott(Omaha Coordinator), P.O. Box 34823, Omaha, NE 68134, Phone 402-453-0776, nfpomaha@nebraskansforpeace.org.

Crete Chapter ................................................. Pat Wikel .......................... 402-826-4818

Lincoln Chapter .............................................. State Office ...................... 402-475-4620

Omaha Chapter .............................................. Amanda Flott ................... 402-453-0776

Scottsbluff Chapter ........................................ Byron Peterson ............... 308-783-1412

Southwest Nebraska Chapter ....................... Dennis Demmel ............... 308-352-4078

Wayne/Wayne State College Chapter ........... Sayre Andersen .............. 402-375-3794

Central Nebraska Peace Workers ................. Charles Richardson ........ 402-462-4794(Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney)

Contact the NFP State Office for information on the UNL, UNO, UNK, Creightonand Nebraska Wesleyan University and Hastings & Doane College Chapters

NFP Chapter & AfNFP Chapter & AfNFP Chapter & AfNFP Chapter & AfNFP Chapter & AffiliafiliafiliafiliafiliateteteteteContact InforContact InforContact InforContact InforContact Informamamamamationtiontiontiontion

Name (print) __________________________________________________

Old Address __________________________________________________

City _____________________________ State ________ Zip ___________

Old Phone # __________________________________________________

New Address __________________________________________________

City _____________________________ State ________ Zip ___________

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ever, they could have turned to evidencewidely available before the 2003 invasion. Thecharge that Niger sold yellow cake uraniumto Iraq was known to be false when it wasaired in the 2003 State of the Union address.The other allegations were also suspect. Evenan organization as far off the beltway as Ne-braskans for Peace could spot the cracks. Inan April 1, 2003 open letter to the UnitedNations published in local papers, we askedthat U.S. WMD claims be monitored and sug-gested that the evidence had been manipu-lated:

U.S. claims are in dispute. Hans Blix andthe U.N. weapons inspectors were not able toverify them…. The majority of the membersof the U.N. Security Council did not find themsufficiently credible to vote with us.

The most credible evidence regardingIraq’s WMD threat came from Hussein Kamel,Saddam’s son-in-law and his weapons head.Kamel defected to the West, gave the U.S. hisinformation, and then went back to Iraq to hisfamily, where, on his return, his father-in-lawkilled him. According to Newsweek, he wasnot giving us disinformation. As we said in2003:

Kamel’s testimony… was used by theUnited States to drum up support for the war,[but] only part of his testimony was used. Atranscript of his full UNSCOM testimony ob-tained by Glen Rangala of Cambridge Uni-

versity includes Kamel’s indication that heheaded the weapons program but later, duringthe inspections, ordered all biological, chemi-cal, long-range missile, and nuclear weaponsdestroyed. He did the same for all anthrax andVX production. Rangala did not obtain thisdocument until February 2003, after war feverwas very high, even though UNSCOM had it ayear earlier and the U.S. CIA and the BritishMI6 since 1995 (http://www.fair.org/press-re-leases/kamel.pdf).

Cheney and Co.’s case for war was clearlythe product of a hatchet job on the evidence.The Kamel, Blix and CIA testimony given toSenator Graham had all been manipulated. Nev-ertheless, prior to the March 19, 2003 invasion,anyone watching the news would have seenBlix calling for more time for inspections, orcould have found the Kamel document on theinternet. Democrats and Republicans who votedfor a war against WMD simply failed to askthe necessary questions.

When Nebraskans for Peace called this warunnecessary and the evidence cooked, manycalled us unpatriotic.

We were motivated, on the contrary, bypatriotic concern about the consequences of thiswar. We cared about the cost in American livesand money and reputation. We cared about thepromotion of real stability in Iraq and the Mid-east and throughout the world. And we caredabout the truth. Our patriotism was not the pa-triotism that is, as the great Dr. Samuel Johnsonput it, “the last refuge of the scoundrel.”

TTTTTrutrutrutrutruth Th Th Th Th Telling, elling, elling, elling, elling, conclusionconclusionconclusionconclusionconclusion

nebraskansforpeace.org

To get a “U.S. OUT/U.N. IN” yard sign for your home, contactthe NFP office, at 402-475-4620 in Lincoln, or 402-453-0776

in Omaha. Donations accepted to defray the cost.

JANUARY 2006 NEBRASKA REPORT, P.3

by John KrejciPresident, United Nations Association, Chapter 100

Assaulted daily by the warmongering, violence and villainywrought by the Bush/Cheney Administration, we’re likelyto downplay or miss altogether the encouraging news com-ing out of Nebraska colleges: Peace studies are on the rise.

According to Nebraskans for Peace member andHastings College Professor Jim Wiest, the Hastings Col-lege Sociology Department will soon be offering a majorin “Peace, Justice and Social Change.” Nebraska WesleyanUniversity faculty member Jeff Mohr, who also serves onthe NFP State Board, reports that Wesleyan has just ap-proved a new minor in “Peace and Justice Studies” as partof their Global Studies program. Dana College in Blair,Nebraska has proposed a new Social Work course in PeaceStudies to be taught by former NFP Omaha Coordinator JoPeterson. And Wayne State College recently incorporateda three-course focus on peace and nonviolence in their gen-eral education curriculum.

Program director Roger Bergman noted that CreightonUniversity took a slightly different approach when it estab-lished its “Justice and Peace” program way back in 1993.Students can pursue a minor in Justice and Peace Studiesor combine Justice and Peace studies with sociology andanthropology, plus selected other courses for a major inJPS. Both Creighton and Hastings require an applied com-ponent, i.e., service learning and, in the case of Creighton,participation in their program in the Dominican Republic.All programs encourage the students to focus on some ofthe following: classroom reflection, ethical analysis, groupdiscussion, historical examples of violence and nonviolence,and an applied component. In addition to peace, theCreighton program has a special focus on social and eco-nomic justice that draws from the rich Catholic social teach-ings of the late 19th and 20th century.

Here are some quotes from Peace Studies publications:Hastings College: “The Peace, Justice and Social

Change major serves students interested in careers involv-ing principled social action (such as conflict resolution, lawministry, politics, social services, and advocacy work inhuman rights, minority groups, and the environment), andthose who intend to do post graduate work in sociology.”

Nebraska Wesleyan: “Peace and Justice studies areinterdisciplinary; knowledge from social science, humani-ties and professional fields is used to explore the causesand effects of violence and/or injustice in a variety of so-cial contexts. The program should enable students to helpdevelop alternatives to inequitable social structures andconditions.”

Creighton: “The Justice and Peace Studies Programencourages students to explore these experiences (of pov-erty situations) and concerns with one another and withfaculty mentors in a structured program of study. It pre-pares them to be insightful, faithful lifelong agents for so-cial change whatever their career or profession.”

Of course the flagship university of our state has itsown version of Peace & Justice studies. Not surprisingly,NFP State Board member and University of Nebraska Foun-

dation Professor Paul Olson pioneered “Conflict and Con-flict Resolution Studies” in the early 1980s. According toOlson, the dean of Arts and Sciences at the time (this wouldhave been at the height of the Reagan Revolution) thoughtit prudent not to call the program Peace Studies. Peace Stud-ies, to his mind, was a bit too radical to gain approval fromthe powers-that-be.

Current program director and NFP member, Anthro-pology and Geography Professor Bob Hitchcock, still mar-vels that, to this day, the study of war at a first tier institu-tion like UNL is perfectly acceptable, but that studying

peace could be regarded as controversial. Instead of a ma-jor, a minor in Conflict and Conflict Resolution was pro-posed to avoid having to seek approval from the Univer-sity of Nebraska Board of Regents. The minor is describedas “concerned with violent conflict between social groupsthe biological, ecological, economic, social and politicalbasis of such conflict and its relationship to religion phi-losophy, and the arts. It examines the history of efforts toresolve and prevent violent conflicts through such meansas armaments, negotiations, diplomacy international law,and nonviolent resistance to violence.”

The minor consists of a core course, “Conflict andConflict Resolution,” which is cross-listed in several so-

cial science departments and boasts and enrollment of 100to 150 students. Other courses are drawn from a broad spec-trum of departments. The program was recently updated.Issues dealt with in Conflict and Conflict Resolution in-clude “international law, warfare, military history, inter- andintra-cultural communication, ethnic identity, psychologyof racism, gender, diversity, politics, global resource eco-nomics, and ethics.”

At the graduate level, UNL has the International Hu-man Rights and Diversity area of specialization headed byPolitical Science Professor David Forsythe. The goal ofthat program “is to examine issues related to human rightsin an international perspective, with a particular interest inexamining the relationship between cultural diversity andhuman rights. The importance of respecting cultures andcultural differences in an increasingly globalized world isa goal that many cherish, but some cultures do not protecthuman rights. How can human rights and cultural diversityboth be protected?”

A student can receive a master’s-level specializationin International Human rights and Diversity by completinga master’s degree in a participating department. This spe-cialization is also available at the doctoral level. Dr. Forsytheinformed me that in cooperation with NETV, this programhas produced curriculum materials and teaching modulesfor Nebraska teachers. They can be found on their website:www.unl.edu/humanr/teach. On the downside, the programhas been targeted for budget cuts in 2006-07.

Being an optimist (a necessary survival skill in thesetimes), I am encouraged by the growth of Peace Studies.Most of us would agree that peace studies are an enterprisewhose time is long overdue. But why now? Is it the per-petual state of war that this administration has plunged usinto? Or is it a need to try and cope with the horrible vio-lence that pervades every aspect of our daily lives? Is itreborn idealism in our youth, who are seeking a more se-cure world for themselves and their yet unborn children?Is it the need for our generation of adults to do somethingto change things? I don’t know the answer, but am encour-aged nonetheless.

Let me close with a reflection sparked by this year’sSOA demonstration at the School of the Americas (“Schoolof Assassins”) in Fort Benning, Georgia. The 19,000 dem-onstrators who showed up in November to protest theschool’s record of teaching torture and interrogation tech-niques to Latin America military soldiers represented thelargest protest ever. Many were college students, many fromJesuit universities, counting 68 from Creighton (some ofwhich were from the Justice and Peace program, includingthe director). This massive event was only minimally cov-ered by the major media, but the reflections of one youngperson say volumes, “We are at a critical point. If we don’tdo anything about U.S. militarism and the way our foreignpolicy is enforced around the world, I see little hope, be-cause we have a foreign policy of violence. The SOA is asymbol of that.” (National Catholic Reporter,12/9/05)

Now is the time to “Study War No More.”

“Study War No More”Peace Studies in Nebraska Colleges

Photo by Linda Panetta (www.soawne.org)

Demonstrator at the November 2005 School of theAmericas protest in Ft. Benning, Georgia.

JANUARY 2006 NEBRASKA REPORT, P.4

LegislativLegislativLegislativLegislativLegislativeeeeeAAAAAgggggendaendaendaendaenda

Barring some last-minute legal miracle, the 2006 Legisla-tive Session will be the last time the Unicameral convenesbefore term limits kick in. Twenty of the Legislature’s 49members are statutorially prohibited from seekingreelection, and in one fell swoop a combined 234 years oflegislative experience will be junked.

Gone after this session will be leading progressiveslike Chris Beutler, Dave Landis and Matt Connealy. Andtwo years from now, in 2008, we’ll lose the remainder ofour legislative leadership when allies like Ernie Cham-bers, DiAnna Schimek, Ron Raikes, Lowen Kruse andDon Preister are term-limited out of office.

Starting next year, we’ll be witnessing the advent of anew era in Nebraska politics, where political inexperience

inside the chamber will come smack up against a well-financed and politically savvy professional lobbyingmachine out in the Rotunda.

Term limits, according to its more well meaningadvocates, are intended to put an end to the ‘insider’politics that allegedly results when ‘career politicians’spend all their time listening to lobbyists instead ofconstituents. A constant influx of fresh faces, it’s oftenargued, will prevent that ‘old boy network’ fromdeveloping and ensure that the ‘people’s business’ getsdone.

But look for the corporate powers-that-be, via theirexperienced professional lobbyists, to ride roughshodover these ever-renewing ranks of rookie senators.Because it wasn’t just well meaning advocates whowant to ‘clean up’ government that were pushing termlimits. The more rabid elements of Big Business, whichtime and again have been single-handedly thwarted bySen. Chambers’ parliamentary wizardry, are positivelysalivating at the prospect of a more ignorant, andtherefore compliant, Legislature.

Rather than liberating the Unicameral from theimpact of ‘special interests,’ term limits are likely todeliver a weakened legislative branch right into theirlaps. And as one prominent corporate lobbyist crudelyput it, even he didn’t “need that much red meat.”

That, starting next year, is what the future holds.Consequently, the ‘short’ 2006 Session, with only

60 rather than 90 working days, represents our bestchance in the foreseeable future to pass legislation thatadvances the cause of Peace & Justice.

Economic JusticeLast year the legislature replaced LB 775 with the

‘next generation’ business tax incentives program,deceptively titled the “Nebraska Advantage Act.” BigBusiness failed to get everything it asked for, but theydrilled further into the pockets of Nebraskataxpayers by more than a smidgeon,adding an estimated $60 million tothe $140 million annual cost of LB775.

Some senators fought the goodfight to hold down the cost of thisreplacement for LB 775. However,the apparent eagerness and clarityof purpose with which the Legisla-ture approved more tax dollars forprivate enterprise stands in starkcontrast to the painful publicdeliberations over additionalspending for public education.

This year the Legislature isexpected to devote considerabletime weighing tax cuts, when

20062006200620062006education funding and tax reform should take priority.NFP supports a proposal to require approval by localschool boards of all property tax abatement deals forcedupon their districts by LB 775 and the Nebraska Advan-tage Act. This reform, which adds not a dime to the statebudget, is needed to maintain a broad and equitableproperty tax base for funding our public schools.

WhiteclayLast year a majority of the General Affairs Committee

introduced a bill (LB 530) to give the Liquor ControlCommission (LCC) greater discretion to consider licensedensity issues when approving new licenses. Although LB530 was a ‘committee bill’ (which should have given itan easy pass to the full legislature), thecommittee killed it promptly followingthe public hearing.

At that hearing, CommissionExecutive Director Hobert Rupewarned that the courts routinelyreverse LCC license denials,such as what happened withthe Commission’s 2004denial of a new license inWhiteclay. (The LCC andthe Attorney General’soffice have appealed thatruling.) Legislationaddressing issues likelicense density, whilenot focused directly onWhiteclay, is needed togive the commission

Nebraska's Campaign Finance Limitations Act will be un-der serious attack during the first two weeks of the 2006Legislative Session. Speaker Kermit Brashear will attemptto amend LB 188, the CFLA reform bill, with languagethat will ultimately destroy the act. Not a single legislativerace has exceeded the $73,000 voluntary spending limitsince the Act went into effect in 1996. It has only been inthe University of Nebraska Regents races where grossover-spending has taken place. Two of the three over-spenders for that office, Regent Randy Ferlic and RegentDave Hergert, have coincidentally been clients of SpeakerBrashear's law firm.

We encourage all Nebraskans to sign CommonCause Nebraska’s petition asking the Unicameral to re-ject Brashear’s amendment and to pass Senator ChrisBeutler’s version of LB 188 in order to improve the CFLA.You can find the petition on the Internet at: http://www.commoncause.org/NebraskaCFLAPetition.

Common Cause Nebraska, in coalition with groupssuch as the Nebraska Appleseed Center, the League ofWomen Voters and Nebraskans for Peace, has supportedthe Campaign Finance Limitations Act for the nearly tenyears the legislation has been on the books. The volun-tary spending limits authorized by the Legislature haveserved Nebraska well, which is why we are working toensure that any efforts to reform the CFLA will not createfuture loopholes effectively negatating the Act’s originalpurpose.

If you are a member of an organization that wouldlike to support the CFLA, please ask your leadership tocontact Sen. Beutler's office at 402-471-2633, so that hecan notify the other senators.

Jack Gould, Issues Chair, Common Cause Nebraska

JANUARY 2006 NEBRASKA REPORT, P.4

Campaign Reform LawTargeted for Repeal

conclusion on page 8

JANUARY 2006 NEBRASKA REPORT, P.5

by Mark VasinaPresident, Nebraskans for Peace

When Greg LeRoy delivered the keynote speech at the 2005Annual Peace Conference last October, the audience of 175people appeared to hang on his every word. Surprising,considering his subject was tax policy. They were hooked,however, because he forcefully addressed one of the greatnational deceptions of our time—how corporations haveconvinced state and local officials to give them huge sumsof tax dollars simply for doing business within the offi-cials’ political jurisdictions.

LeRoy’s credentials are strong. He is the founder anddirector of “Good Jobs First,” a national resource centerpromoting corporate and government accountability in eco-nomic development. He is also the author of The GreatAmerican Jobs Scam: Corporate Tax Dodging and the Mythof Job Creation (Berrett Koehler, 2005).

Deploying the promise of job creation and the threatof job losses, the “Great American Jobs Scam” pits stateagainst state and community against community, robbingstate and local treasuries of an estimated $50 billion annu-ally in the process. In return for handing out tax dollars andtax breaks to businesses, the public receives absolutely nogoods or services whatsoever, in the conventional mean-ing of these words. The money, as LeRoy points out, issimply divided among the businesses—with the largestshares typically going to the largest corporations—in thename of economic development.

In Nebraska, as elsewhere, the actual cost of this scamis unknown. We do know that the Employment and Invest-ment Growth Act, commonly known as LB 775, costs tax-payers $140 million each year on average. The “NebraskaAdvantage Act,” the ‘next generation’ business tax incen-tive program approved overwhelmingly by the legislaturelast year, is estimated to cost an additional $60 million an-nually.

Other tax break programs, such as the “Quality JobsAct” and its successor, the “Invest Nebraska Act,” pay outunknown millions more in subsidies shrouded in officialsecrecy. Local governments pile on even more tax dollarswith “Tax Increment Financing” (TIF) programs, subsidizedloans and utility fees, and outright gifts of land or facilities.Ask the State of Nebraska or your local governments thetotal of tax dollars spent on these programs and you aretold either “We don’t know” or “We won’t tell you.”

And what is the taxpaying public supposed to be get-ting in return? The ‘official’ answer—orchestrated by BigBusiness, espoused by hordes of economic development‘professionals’ and site selection consultants, and repeated

mantra-like by media pundits in the service of theirlargest advertisers and politicians in the service of theirlargest campaign contributors—is JOBS, JOBS,JOBS.

LeRoy offers up a different answer to the ques-tion of what taxpayers get in return for these taxsubsidy programs: often nothing. In fact, LeRoysays, “often less than nothing.”

The ‘official’ answer is in his view a brack-ish gumbo of supply-side economics and apoca-lyptic economic insecurity made palatable topolicymakers through the magic of big moneypolitics. The mumbo-jumbo covers up thetruth that Big Business is getting a free rideon taxpayer money for what is, in the finalanalysis, just business as usual.

The Great American Jobs Scam works this way.First, The Extortion: Citing public subsidies too good

to refuse from other states or communities, Big Businessthreatens to take a pass on new investment within the bound-aries of a particular city, county or state unless public offi-cials pony up tax monies to subsidize the investment. Pub-lic officials are urged—by large corporations and theiragents within and outside government—to provide busi-nesses with subsidies to influence their site location deci-sions for the sake of the public good and… JOBS, JOBS,JOBS.

Next, The Bribe: Public officials provide businesseswith tax dollars in exchange for the decision by their own-ers to locate new facilities (or to expand or refrain fromclosing existing facilities) within the borders of the city,county or state paying the subsidy. Subsidies, according tothe ‘official’ script, result in new (or retained) facilities,which in turn yield new (or retained) investment and…JOBS, JOBS, JOBS. Some Jobs Scam cheerleaders evenshamelessly suggest that subsidized economic growth gen-erates sufficient additional tax revenues to replace the taxdollars spent on subsidies.

Finally, The Cover-up: Big Business lobbies the samepublic officials to keep secret (1) the amount of tax dollarspaid in subsidies and (2) what, if anything, the public getsin exchange. Secrecy is required to deflect public scrutinywhich could jeopardize the scam.

LeRoy makes the case that most jobs attributed to busi-ness subsidies would have been created anyway. This isbecause competent business managers, even when presentedwith state and local tax subsidies, make site location deci-sions based on business basics—affordable supply of key

inputs and proximityto suppliers and customers. Hepoints to numerous studies by development economists andsurveys of business leaders that conclude that state and lo-cal tax rates take a back seat to business basics in the sitelocation decision process. Most economists studying thisissue conclude that lowering—or even eliminating—stateand local business taxes has only a very small, if any, posi-tive effect on local economies. Many studies suggest a nega-tive impact on local economic growth from such tax-cut-ting behaviors.

This means simply that subsidies are not, as a rule,creating jobs. Where subsidies may have played a decisiverole, little else will likely keep the new jobs around oncethe business has absorbed the subsidy or the tax breaks areused up. Policymakers embark on a downward-spiral ofdependence on subsidies to maintain the economic statusquo—a process not unlike drug addiction. (A former Ne-braska state senator once compared LB 775 to crack co-caine.)

The addict’s attempt to maintain equilibrium, whetherthrough substance abuse or subsidy abuse, leads down thesame self-destructive path. LeRoy points to strong evidencethat the Jobs Scam is harming our national and local econo-mies, hindering real economic growth. Indeed, LeRoy em-phasizes that business tax incentives do precisely the op-posite of what the corporate-generated rhetoric claims theywill do. They create few jobs that would not have beencreated in the first place. At the same time they rob statesand local communities of funds for the infrastructure spend-

The Great American Jobs Scam

conclusion on page 9

— Nebraska StyleNational ExperNational ExperNational ExperNational ExperNational Expert Greg Lt Greg Lt Greg Lt Greg Lt Greg LeReReReReRoy onoy onoy onoy onoy on

Corporate TCorporate TCorporate TCorporate TCorporate Tax Incentivesax Incentivesax Incentivesax Incentivesax Incentives

JANUARY 2006 NEBRASKA REPORT, P.6

StratCom Simulates War with North Korea

The following “Nuclear Brief” was postedon the December 2, 2005 Nuclear Informa-tion Project web site, a public educationproject affiliated with the Washington, D.C.-based Federation of American Scientists.The project is directed by Hans M.Kristensen, who also co-authors the WorldNuclear Forces for the SIPRI Yearbook(published annually by the Stockholm In-ternational Peace Research Institute in Swe-den) and the “Nuclear Notebook” in theBulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Kristensenhas more than 15 years experience in usingthe Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) asa tool to obtain declassified informationabout nuclear policy and operations. Al-though the language of the “Nuclear Brief”can at times be a bit forbidding, it never-theless communicates how aggressively the“Global Strike” war-planning at StratComis progressing. The next nuclear/conven-tional war will start right here in Nebraskain our own backyard.

On November 18, 2005, U.S. StrategicCommand’s new Joint Functional Compo-nent Command for Space and Global Strike(JFCC S&GS) achieved Initial OperationalCapability (IOC) at Offutt Air Force Base,Nebraska.

The new Space and Global Strike com-mand is tasked with implementing the newGlobal Strike mission assigned toSTRATCOM in January 2003. As such,Space and Global Strike command is re-sponsible for implementing and executingthe administration’s preemption policy. Thisincludes nuclear preemptive strikes underCONPLAN 8022 (Global Strike), if orderedto do so by the President.

According to a press release receivedfrom STRATCOM, IOC was achieved “fol-lowing a rigorous test of integrated plan-ning and operational execution capabilitiesduring Exercise Global Lightning.” Notmentioned in STRATCOM’s press releaseis that Global Lightning was a nuclear strikeexercise that according to documents ob-tained by William M. Arkin practicednuclear war with North Korea.

During this exercise, according to theSTRATCOM press release, Space and Glo-bal Strike command “demonstrated its mis-sion of providing integrated space and glo-bal strike capabilities to deter and dissuadeaggressors and when directed, defeat adver-

saries through decisive joint global effectsin support of USSTRATCOM missions.”

North Korea is described in the exer-cise scenario as the “Northeast Asian Coun-try of Purple [that] continues to developnuclear and missile capabilities.” The Glo-bal Lightning exercise concept included thefollowing:

• Provides Nuclear Combat Readiness,Proficiency and Training Focus

• Facilitates USSTRATCOM / JFCC /TF Mission Integration

• Provides a Bridging Exercise BetweenNuclear and Non-Nuclear Forces

Global Lightning exercised bothOPLAN 8044 (previously SIOP) andCONPLAN 8022 (Global Strike).

Space and Global Strike is scheduledto take part in U.S. Pacific Command’s Ter-minal Fury exercise on December 2-10,2005.

The MissionAccording to STRATCOM documents,

Space and Global Strike command is taskedto provide “integrated space and globalstrike capabilities to deter and dissuade ag-gressors and when directed, defeat adver-saries through decisive joint global effectsin support of USSTRATCOM global mis-sions.” The new command’s primary effortis to “integrate all USSTRATCOM globalcapabilities supporting the combatant com-manders around the world with the full spec-trum of military effects.” The term “fullspectrum” includes nuclear forces.

Space and Global Strike command isthe first of four operational-level Joint Func-tional Component Commands (JFCC) thatare being set up to execute the new missionsassigned to STRATCOM by the UnifiedCommand Plan Change 2 from January2003. The mission tasks are:

• Global Strike Planning and Operations

• Provide deliberate and adaptiveplanning for kinetic (nuclear andconventional) and non-kinetic (e.g.information warfare and space)capabilities

• Provide rapid Course Of Action (COA)development capabilities

• Execution capability only whendirected

• Joint Space Operations

• Plan and execute day—to-day militaryspace operations

• Exercise OPCON of DoD mannedspaceflight support functions

• Provide missile warning and NORADsupport

• Mission Integration and Synchroniza-tion

• Create a framework to share informa-tion, integrate effects, and synchronizeongoing operations among missionpartners

Space and Global Strike command “op-timizes operational-level planning, execu-tion, and force management for the

USSTRATCOM mission of deterring at-tacks against the United States,” accordingto STRATCOM.

Space and Global Strike command isbecoming operational through participationin a series of exercises. Click on image todownload full briefing.

At the activation ceremony on August9, 2005, STRATCOM commander GeneralJames Cartwright said that Space and Glo-bal Strike command will help shape “thenew kind of deterrence” that has emergedafter the end of the Cold War. This new de-terrence requires new capabilities, includ-ing kinetic (nuclear and conventional) andnon-kinetic (e.g. information warfare andspace) capabilities, Cartwright said.“[T]rying to bring all of those pieces to-gether to what will become deterrence, thosethings that will keep our adversaries at baywhether they are nation states, like theformer Soviet Union was, or whether theyare as simple as a terrorist, and trying to deter

a terrorist from coming to our soil, that iswhat Global Strike and Space is at the heartof,” General Cartwright said, “trying tobring that new kind of deterrence to the fore,trying to find the ways to keep this countrysafe.”

The initial Space and Global Strikecommander, Air Force Lt. Gen. BruceCarlsen, explained: “We’re involved in on-going operations, building OPORD’ers, andbuilding capabilities to attack and defendagainst our enemies.”

His successor, Air Force Lt. Gen. KevinP. Chilton, the first commander of the op-erational Space and Global Strike command,explained that integration of capabilities waskey to making the new deterrent credible.Through integration of capabilities, by mak-

ing “them an invincible whole…we will beable to design a more integrated and pow-erful effect across the spectrum of warfare.”

According to STRATCOM, the formalactivation of Space and Global Strike com-mand “marks an important step in the con-tinued strengthening of the nation’s effortsto defeat global terrorism, prevent the pro-liferation of weapons of mass destructionand provide a continued nuclear deterrent.”

OrganizationUnlike the other Joint Functional Com-

ponent Commands, Space and Global Strikecommand headquarters is co-located at theUSSTRATCOM headquarters at Offutt AirForce Base in Nebraska. According toSTRATCOM, Space and Global Strike com-mand “integrates all elements of militarypower in collaboration with allUSSTRATCOM components, NationalAgencies, and other combatant commands

Global Strike Command Now Operational

StratCom Simulates WStratCom Simulates WStratCom Simulates War with North Koreaar with North Koreaar with North Korea

PLANNING vs. INTENTIONThe role of Space and Global Strike in nuclear scenarios

directed against North Korea appear to contradict at leastthe spirit of the pledge made by the Bush Administrationon September 19, 2005 in a Joint Statement of the Fourth

Round of the Six-Party Talks: The United States “has no intention to attack...

[North Korea] with nuclear... weapons.”

conclusion on page 10

JANUARY 2006 NEBRASKA REPORT, P.7

The Story of the ArabsThe Story of the ArabsThe Story of the ArabsThe Story of the ArabsThe Story of the Arabsby Mohammed H. Siddiq

I am an Arab American and I wishto tell you about the Arab peopletoday. The Arab people are alltangled up. They have been in thissituation for 50 years. They needsomeone to release them from theirtroubles. It is, of course, a largeorder, but someone has to performthis function for them. The worldas a whole will be a better place ifthe Arabs are released from thetrap they’re in. To do this, how-ever, a whole new outlook is re-quired.

It must be borne in mind at theoutset that the Arabs are not a men-tally disturbed people or prone topathological behavior. They arepeople of good health, culture andcivilization.

But what the Arabs have gonethrough for the past 50 years hasmade them anxious, fearful andguilt-ridden. Some Arabs haveceased to realize that it is aperson’s own attitude whichlargely determines one’s happinessand efficiency. They have forgot-ten that the condition of their emo-tional health effectively deter-mines whether or not they can findpeace, serenity and strength.

Arab people have becomedeficient, not because of lazinessor lack of ability, but because ofcomplete deprivation of basic hu-man rights. The phrase “humanrights” does not exist in the politi-cal dictionary of Arab govern-ments. In most instances, Westerndemocracies did not understand(or, more likely, did not even con-sider) the fundamental impact oftheir policies on the people of theArab world, and the reactions thatmight result.

Consequently, Arab peopleare victims of nerves. Their mindsare in such a panic that they canno longer perform normal func-tions. They occupy one of the moststrategic regions of the world, buthave lost their grip. They turnedto these same Western democra-cies for help, but were told theWest had no remedies to offer ex-cept for sedatives.

For half a century, the West-ern democracies seemed totally

The Story of the ArabsThe Story of the ArabsThe Story of the ArabsThe Story of the ArabsThe Story of the Arabsunconcerned about the fact that theArab people had never freelyelected their political leaders.Today’s Arab leaders are eitherself-elected or inheritors of someold regime. The elections we hearabout in the Arab countries are asophisticated charade. They aremerely showpieces to reelect theincumbent rulers. The numerous‘elections’ of Saddam Hussein andthe fifth consecutive ‘reelection’ ofHosni Mubarak of Egypt are justtwo cases in point.

Arab leaders behave like sur-geons. They operate on their citi-zens. They know them inside out.Arab leaders have no personal in-terest in their citizens, except forhow much they obey. In politicalterms, Arab leaders are dictators.They use power and violence i.e.,they oppress, torture and killpeople in order to enforce theirwill. They have come to rule, notto serve, and every one of themthinks that he is setting up the king-dom of God.

For a long time, Arab peoplekept their problem to themselves,thinking that such an attitudewould be commended, and thatbeing close-mouthed about theirtroubles would be heroic. Psy-chologists tell us today that such apractice is dangerous. A personcannot forever bottle up a problemwithout it eventually affectingone— inner release is a necessity.Many clinicians report that under-lying much of the despair and dis-order with which they deal is animpoverished self-concept, a sensethat “I am worthless.”

If investigated, an Arab innerself will reveal a state of confu-sion. Speaking particularly of themale, he has been named an Arab,a Muslim, a Sunni/Shiite, a fun-damentalist, a jihadist, a fanatic, aninsurgent—not to mention a terror-ist. This has filled him with fears,anxieties, and left a little hate andresentment in his mind. His iden-tity disorder may amount to anactual ‘identity crisis,’ though noone uses this term. Some Arabsspeak of a profound need to ‘find’themselves. Others want to ‘get intouch with themselves.’ All theseconfused thoughts indicate a lack

of direction in life, a deep-seatedfeeling ranging from emptiness tosevere depression.

If you start an Arab talking,you will hear that his leaders arebehind his difficulties and the ma-jor source of his antagonism. Hehas a strong desire to get even, buthis sense of family and culturecause him to sublimate much of hisanger.

Arab people need someone tolisten to them—to listen patientlyuntil they tell everything. Theyhave not been allowed to thinkfreely for themselves. They havebeen forced to accept conventionalways and conventional reasons fordoing things.

How should the world advise

Arab people?To calm down?Yes.To read the Kor’an/Bible?Of course.But daily they have made it a

practice to read the Book. Perfunc-tory religious words do not suffice.Plainly, it is necessary to approachthe situation in the Arab world orMiddle East in a different and

original way.I know such a thing is impos-

sible, but it’s too bad the worldleaders of democracy can’t reachdown into these Arab dictators’minds and remove all of thethoughts that are creating such tur-moil and tumult for their people.

Like surgeons themselves, theseleaders would take a knife and cuta hole in the top of every Arab dic-tator, then take an instrument andgo in and scrape all the rotten ideasout. The democratic leaders wouldthen take one of those instruments,such as a dentist uses to blow airinto a cavity, and blow it aroundinside their heads to be sure novestige of those diseased ideas stilllurked there.

When the Arab dictators’heads were all cleaned out, beforeclosing it up, perhaps a priest orImmam could also be present, andhe would open the Book and pickout of it some of those great versesabout justice, equality and kindli-ness, and drop them in, prayingthat those new ideas from theKor’an/Bible would soak into thedictator’s mind and permeate it,creating a healing influence, sothat finally he would be changedcompletely.

A prudent Westerner who haslived all of his or her life underdemocratic systems might say thatwe do not need to cut a hole in thetop of these Arab leaders’ heads,because there are already two en-trances into every human brain—his eye and his ear. Therefore, Arableaders themselves need only openthe Book and underline in red ev-ery verse that they need, and thencommit them, one by one, tomemory and practice. They shouldsimply fill their minds with thesehealing verses, so as to kill the de-structive thoughts they have solong harbored.

I would reply that absoluteauthority, which these Arab lead-ers have enjoyed for so long, hasa peculiarly damaging effect on thepersonality. Absolute authority fes-ters and becomes a locus of infec-tion in the mind and spirit, just asa harmful bacterium does in thephysical body. This particular gen-eration of Arab leaders does notseem to like to admit the fact ofsin or even the possibility of mis-take. Some have gone so far as tosay that they are above such mor-tal failings. Some even demand

The Prince treats me so poorly because I have neither a voice nor avote that he feels compelled to heed. This is utterly foreign to the

teaching of the Prophet Muhammed.

conclusion on page 11

JANUARY 2006 NEBRASKA REPORT, P.8

I am a prisoner at the state pen in Lincoln. I have been herefor nearly 35 years. On the afternoon of Friday, August 12of this year, I was notified that I had a visitor. When I ar-rived in the visiting room, a friend of mine, Jesse, was there.He told me that I had another visitor, but that she had beendenied entrance because the material of her blouse had beendeemed by the pass clerk to be “too sheer,” and that shewould not be able to wear the sweater she had on into thevisiting room because it was against regulations for sweat-ers to be worn. This other visitor, whom Jesse had drivenhere, was my mother, Vera Rice, who is 88 years old andhas been coming down to visit during the whole time ofmy confinement. To the best of my recollection, she hadnever before been denied a visit with me due to any allegedviolation of the prison dress code for visitors, or for anyother reason, as I recall.

After my friend informed me of this situation, I spokewith three prison guards individually over the course ofabout half an hour, in an effort to get my mother let in tovisit me. The last one I spoke with told me he would talk tothe pass clerk, who had apparently made the decision todeny my mother, as well as to a sergeant. He returned someminutes later to inform me that my mother would not beallowed into the visiting room because she wasn’t dressedappropriately and that, since other visitors had been denieddue to violations of the dress code, it wouldn’t be fair foran exception to be made for my mother. But I could see mywords were not being heard.

Before Jesse left, I asked him to get in contact with the

office of State Senator Ernie Chambers as soon as possibleafter the conclusion of our visit. Later that afternoon, afterI’d gotten back to the cell house, I was informed that some-one from the State Ombudsman’s Office had called andleft a message for me to return his call. I wasn’t able to getthrough to the office until the following Monday, at whichtime I learned that the Ombudsman’s Office had been intouch with a member(s) of the prison administration, aswell as a person in the administration of the Department ofCorrections. I was informed that a letter from the prison orthe Department of Corrections would be sent to my mother,giving her assurances that the August 12 incident wouldnot be repeated.

Within about a week, such a letter was sent to mymother. It was very complimentary and did give the assur-ances. However, the letter offered no explanation as to how,specifically, her blouse had been in violation of the dresscode, when a rule had been conjured up that made sweatersinappropriate clothing, and it admitted no wrongdoing orunreasonableness on the part of the pass clerk and/or hersupervisor. And the letter offered no apology. Moreover,the letter stated that the dress rule had been equally appliedto my mother and that no change in policy would be made.Since then, I have been able to visit with my mother and,fortunately, she had no difficulty getting in.

But while I’m happy that I’ve been able to see mymother since this incident, I cannot let the matter drop. Mymother told me that, not only did she look carefully at herblouse and could not see through it, she was wearing a T-

Letters to NFP . . . Prisoner RightsLetters to NFP . . . Prisoner RightsLetters to NFP . . . Prisoner RightsLetters to NFP . . . Prisoner RightsLetters to NFP . . . Prisoner Rightsshirt and bra under the blouse. She also said to me thatshe’d worn the same blouse here on prior occasions. I mustalso mention that, because the visiting room is sometimesuncomfortably cool and my mother gets cold somewhateasily, she has often worn a sweater here.

So I have questions. What kind of person uses her po-sition of authority to determine that an 88-year-old woman,who has been coming into the prison, without difficulty,for nearly 35 years, is all of a sudden wearing objection-able clothes? What type and volume of rules make it pos-sible for a prison employee to have the supposed ‘justifica-tion’ to make such a decision? And, lastly, what could pos-sibly be going in the minds of prison administrators whowould review an incident such as this and so no need for achange in policy?

Yes, I am glad to have visited with my mother. Buthow do I know that there won’t be a next time? Just asimportantly, if not more so, is the fact that, if the prisonrules and the amount of authority given to employees to bearbitrary and capricious are such that my mother can bedenied a visit, any other prisoners’ loved ones can treatedthe same way.

Wopashitwe Mondo Eyen we LangaLincoln, Nebraska

Amnesty International political prisoner, Mondo we Langa(David Rice) is serving a life sentence for the alleged 1970murder of Omaha Police officer Larry Minard. For 35years, he has maintained his innocence.

more authority to control licensing inproblem communities. The chair of theGeneral Affairs Committee has beenworking with the Liquor Commission todevelop a new “density bill” for the 2006Session.

Turn Off the ViolenceAs part of our continuing campaign

to “Turn Off the Violence” in our commu-nities, NFP will again be working forpassage of a school anti-bullying bill. Lastsession, Sen. Gwen Howard of Omahaintroduced LB 627, which would mandatethat every school district in the state adoptan anti-bullying policy. The legislationincludes a list of protected categories(sexual orientation is one of the affectedgroups) that mirrors the language inNebraska’s existing hate crimes law. Togive the bill some teeth so that it doesn’tend up simply being lip service, thelegislation establishes reporting require-ments that must approved by the state.The Legislature’s Education Committeeheld a public hearing on LB 627 last year,but never took action on the bill. Citizens

for Equal Protection (CFEP) will beholding a ‘Lobby Day’ early in the sessionto build momentum for the bill’s passage.

It’s never over until it’s over, butfrom all appearances, any action on thedeath penalty—for good or ill—isfinished for this biennium. Both Sen.Chambers’ “abolition bill,” LB 760, andLB 506 (which would replace the electricchair with lethal injection) are bottled upin the Legislature’s Judiciary Committeeand will most likely die there. But with anincumbent Republican governor desper-ately trying to curry favor with the farright before the May 2006 Republicangubernatorial primary election, anythingis possible. We’ll be keeping an eye out.

This of course is only a preliminarylist. Once the 2006 Session beginsWednesday, January 4 and the new cropof legislation starts coming in, NFP willinevitably be adding more bills to ourworkload. We’ll provide an up-to-date billlist of our priority legislation in theFebruary Nebraska Report to keep youinformed of what’s going on in yourUnicameral.

2006,2006,2006,2006,2006, Conclusion Conclusion Conclusion Conclusion ConclusionAlternatives to the Military HonorsMJ Berry as 2005 Peacemaker

Lincolnite MJ Berry was honored bymembers and families of Altern-atives to the Military at its annualPot Luck Supper earlier this year.

She was named “Peacemakerof the Year” for her dedicated workon behalf of Nebraska Greens andfor maintaining an up-to-datecomprehensive email listing of mostPeace & Justice activities inLincoln.

In accepting the ATM award, MJsaid she “never received any kind ofaward for anything in her life.” ATMhopes with its ‘Peacemaker of theYear’ to honor just such people asMJ, who labor in the vineyards ofPeace & Justice with littlerecognition nor reward other thanintrinsic to our commitments.

MJ joins a host of otherLincolnites who have been honoredby ATM, including: long-time

partners and Gay Rights activists,UNL Professor George Wolf andlawyer John Taylor; the lateNebraskans for Peace StateCoordinator Betty Olson; WWIIconscientious objector DwightGanzel; United Nations Associationleader and peace worker, MargManglitz; John McCall, founder ofthe Southeast High School Studentsfor Peace Club; former NFPPresident and health-care advocateCarol McShane; UNL anthropologistand human rights worker, BobHitchcock; legendary Lincoln civilrights activist, Leola Bullock; DonTilley, founder of the Prairie PeacePark; Elizabeth Goodbrake, formerUNL Peace & Justice leader; retiredMennonite farmer and Peaceactivist, Robert Epp; and ChristyHargesheimer, educator andAmnesty International leader.

JANUARY 2006 NEBRASKA REPORT, P.8

JANUARY 2006 NEBRASKA REPORT, P.9

PoliticianContactsThe White HouseWashington, DC 20500Comment Line: 202-456-1111202-456-1414202-456-2993 (FAX)president@whitehouse.gov

Sen. Chuck Hagel346 Russell Senate Office Bldg.Washington, DC 20510202-224-4224202-224-5213 (FAX)402-476-1400 (Lincoln)402-758-8981 (Omaha)308-632-6032 (Scottsbluff)hagel.senate.gov

Sen. Ben Nelson720 Hart Senate Office Bldg.Washington, D.C. 20510202-224-6551202-228-0012 (FAX)402-391-3411 (Omaha)402-441-4600 (Lincoln)bennnelson.senate.gov

Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, District 11517 Longworth House Office Bldg.Washington, D.C. 20515202-225-4806402-438-1598 (Lincoln)http://www.house.gov/fortenberry

Rep. Lee Terry, District 21524 Longworth HOBWashington, DC 20515202-225-4155202-226-5452 (FAX)402-397-9944 (Omaha)leeterry.house.gov/contact.asp

Rep. Tom Osborne, District 3507 Cannon HOBWashington, DC 20515202-225-6435202-226-1385 (FAX)308-381-5555 (Grand Island)www.house.gov/writerep/

Capitol Hill Switchboard202-224-3121

State Capitol Switchboard402-471-2311

State Senator, District #State CapitolPO Box 94604Lincoln, NE 68509-4604

Governor Dave HeinemanPO Box 94848Lincoln, NE 68509-4848402-471-2244402-471-6031 (FAX)http://gov.nol.org/mail/govmail.html

ing necessary for sustained economic de-velopment.

Who’s Paying for All This?America’s infrastructure deficit, LeRoy

reports, is $1.6 trillion and increasing, ac-cording to the American Society of Civil En-gineers. This deficit refers to the level ofdeferred spending on our nation’s schools,transportation and water-ways, drinking water andwastewater treatment,power generation andtransmission, and otherinfrastructure factors es-sential for strong eco-nomic growth. It has in-creased over the last 20years—at the same timethat the business tax sub-sidies boom has contrib-uted to an overall declinein corporate tax paymentsand a shifting of thenation’s tax burden ontothe middle class.

K-12 public educa-tion, the cornerstone of long-term economicdevelopment, is hard hit by the Jobs Scam.Property tax abatements and TIF programsweaken the tax bases of school districtsthroughout the U.S. Meanwhile the loss ofincome and sales tax revenues constrainsstate aid to the struggling school districts.Erosion of the property tax base is oftenfoisted upon school districts by other gov-ernment bodies, such as city councils (whomay have final approval over TIF deals) orstate legislatures (which may authorizestatewide property tax abatement schemessuch as those incorporated into LB 775 andthe Nebraska Advantage Act).

The Jobs Scam weakens school districttax bases across Nebraska, including OmahaPublic Schools, where LB 775 property taxabatements and other property tax diver-sions abound. And it wreaks havoc on themany school districts in Nebraska’s non-metropolitan communities which hostmeatpacking plants, all of which pay lowerproperty taxes due to LB 775 abatements.Deprived of the abated revenues, theseschool districts struggle to fund the educa-tion of an expanded student population withhigher-than-average percentages of at-riskand non-English-speaking children, manyof whom are the offspring of those whowork at the plants receiving the tax abate-ments. Some districts continue to rely onaging and overcrowded facilities as theyawait approval of school bond issues by citi-zens reeling from high property tax rates.

The harm to local economies should be ob-vious.

In these communities, property taxabatements have shifted the burden of fund-ing public education from one class of tax-payer to another. Many LB 775 businesses(which include some of the world’s largestcorporations) are effectively taxed at muchlower property tax rates than other taxpay-

ers, shifting the tax bur-den onto smaller busi-nesses, farmers andworking families.

Shifting tax burdensare felt at every level oftaxation in Nebraska.The tax burden-shiftingdue to LB 775—affect-ing state and local salestaxes and state incometaxes in addition to prop-erty taxes—is colossal.LB 775’s cumulative costof over $1.5 billion, halfof which has gone tofewer than 25 compa-nies, was paid for withhigher taxes on other Ne-

braska taxpayers. And this burden-shiftingwill continue apace, as tax breaks from LB775 and the new Nebraska Advantage Acttogether will soon represent 5 percent of ourstate budget. Many business watchdogshave observed that some of the largest andmost profitable corporations in Nebraska al-ready routinely pay little or no state incometax due to LB 775 and assorted other taxloopholes. Nebraskans with the least wealth(and political influence) increasingly pay themost taxes.

LeRoy consoled Nebraskans with thefact that they are not alone. A tax burdenshift to working families is a major nation-wide consequence of the Jobs Scam. Hereported that the nonpartisan CongressionalResearch Service has tracked a sharp de-cline over the past two decades of the ef-fective corporate rate for all state and localtaxes, due to tax competition among statesto attract business. LeRoy reported, too, thatthe share of revenues companies provide hasfallen from 9.7 percent of all state tax rev-enue in 1980 to 6 percent in 2000, and hasdeclined further since then.

It is this burden-shifting, says LeRoy,that reveals the true purpose of the GreatAmerican Jobs Scam: corporate tax dodg-ing. Big Business has no interest in tax re-form that assures equity and adequacy oftaxation, but instead pressures local govern-ments and state legislators for tax cuts for

Big Business at any cost. LeRoy worries thatall signs point to Big Business’s growingunwillingness to reinvest in our publicgoods. “Instead, they appear to bedisinvesting by aggressively cutting theshare of the costs they bear for public ser-vices that we all rely upon to maintain ourstandard of living. Their actions suggest thatthey feel little loyalty, that they see littlefuture here within our borders.”

What to Do, What to Do?So what can concerned citizens do

about the Great American Jobs Scam? Thepolitical influence of its promoters in Ne-braska, as elsewhere, appears secure. Nev-ertheless, the recent petition campaign torepeal LB 775 (which received LeRoy’spraise in both his speech and his book) pro-vided much needed public discourse on thesubject and revealed some chinks in the ar-mor. LeRoy outlines 12 common-sense re-forms to maintain forward momentum. HereI will mention only three.

Disclosure, Disclosure, Disclosure.When elected officials must reveal the de-tails of the deals they make, they are heldmore accountable and behave more respon-sibly. Big Business knows this, and knowsthat disclosure forces corporations to bemore accountable as well. This is why BigBusiness fights disclosure tooth and nail.Good disclosure must include annual deal-specific disclosure for all subsidy programs.The requirement for bi-annual deal-specificdisclosure in the Nebraska Advantage Actwas a landmark accomplishment, but thestruggle for better disclosure must continue.

Unified Development Budgets. Ne-braska should join the dozen states that pub-lish annual documents that provide state leg-islators with a comprehensive inventory ofall spending line items for economic devel-opment—all the tax breaks and all the ap-propriations. Tax breaks (which are not in-cluded in Nebraska’s budget) dwarf actualappropriations for economic development.A Unified Development Budget helps as-sure that tax breaks receive as much scru-tiny as appropriations.

Give school boards full say on abate-ments and TIF. School funding must beprotected from revenue losses caused byproperty tax abatements and TIF. As LeRoysays, “This intergovernmental free lunch isjust plain wrong.” School boards should begiven control over their share of propertytax revenue, including the right to reject anydeal that abates or diverts revenue to whichthey are entitled.

Great Jobs Scam,Great Jobs Scam,Great Jobs Scam,Great Jobs Scam,Great Jobs Scam, conclusion conclusion conclusion conclusion conclusion

Greg LGreg LGreg LGreg LGreg LeReReReReRoyoyoyoyoy

JANUARY 2006 NEBRASKA REPORT, P.10

to support or execute space and global strikeoperations.” Space and Global Strike com-mander oversees the following military or-ganizations around the nation:

• The Joint Space Operations Center atVandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., todirect day-to-day planning andexecution of assigned military spaceforces.

• The Air Operations Center at BarksdaleAir Force Base, La., which supportsSpace and Global Strike commandwith critical planning expertise todevelop fully integrated global strikecourse-of-actions across the spectrumof joint operations for both deliberateand time sensitive planning tasks andassist in executing missions as di-rected.

• The Cruise Missile Support Activities,in Norfolk, Va., and Camp Smith,Hawaii, for Navy Tomahawk cruisemissile planning capabilities.

• The Department of Defense MannedSpace Flight Support Office, at PatrickAir Force Base, Fla., for coordination

of military support for manned UnitedStates space flight operations.

• In addition, the Joint InformationOperations Center in San Antonio,Texas, is available to deliver informa-tion operations expertise for planningand execution.

Space and Global Strike was formallyestablished on January 10, 2005. At thestand-up ceremony, the command included270 personnel but is projected to grow tomore than 400 by the end of 2006.

OperationsDespite its young age, Space and Glo-

bal Strike has already been involved in sev-eral exercises, spanning from regional op-erations to strategic nuclear warfare:

* August 22-September 3, 2005: Ulchi Fo-cus Lens (UFL) 2005, a U.S. Pacific Com-mand exercise conducted with US ForcesKorea (USFK) and the armed forces of theRepublic of Korea (ROK). The exercisewas a US-ROK, simulation-driven,OPLAN oriented Command Post Exercise(CPX) comprising of two events: Ulchi - aROK national mobilization exercise involv-

ing several hundred thousand ROK citizenspracticing wartime activation and travelingto mobilization sites; and Focus Lens - aCFC warfighting CPX. Although there area significant number of personnel involvedwith the mobilization portion, this exerciseis separate and distinct from the CPX. UFLis the Combined Forces Command (CFC)CDR’s premier annual war fighting exer-cise. During the exercise 3,000 U.S. person-nel were moved to the Korean Peninsula toaugment the CFC/USFK staff. The execu-tive agent for UFL is USFK.

* August 4 (changed from September 19-25), 2005: Operation Able Warrior involvedTask Force Baghdad Soldiers attempting todefeat terror cells operating west of theBaghdad International Airport in the early-morning hours of Aug. 4. The objective ofAble Warrior was to disrupt car bombingcells and roadside bomb emplacers, and pre-vent them from planning, preparing andcarrying out terrorist attacks in the area. Inless than three hours, Soldiers from 2ndBattalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, 48thBrigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Divi-sion conducted a series of simultaneous at-tacks and captured 41 suspected terrorists,

including three foreign fighters.

* November 1-10, 2005: STRATCOM’sGlobal Lightning nuclear weapons exercise.According to William M. Arkin, the exer-cise was scheduled to rehearse military op-erations during a trans-/post-attack nuclearenvironment, including reconstitution, re-direction and targeting of STRATCOMforces.

During this exercise, according toSTRATCOM, Space and Global Strike un-derwent “a rigorous test of integrated plan-ning and operational execution capabilities”and “demonstrated its mission of provid-ing integrated space and global strike ca-pabilities to deter and dissuade aggressorsand when directed, defeat adversariesthrough decisive joint global effects in sup-port of USSTRATCOM missions.”

* December 2-10, 2005: Pacific Com-mand’s Terminal Fury high-level exerciseto be held at at US Pacific Command(PACOM) Headquarters located at CampSmith, Hawaii.

IOC was initially planned for Novem-ber 15, 2005. Full Operational Capability(FOC) is tentatively scheduled for Septem-ber 30, 2006.

StratCom Simulates War with North Korea, conclusion

encouraging initial steps are to lead to lasting progress.

Economic JusticeThe Legislature’s ‘reforms’ of the LB 775 Big Busi-

ness tax incentive program last session—while providingmore public disclosure—effectively ‘upped’ the program’sannual cost by another 60 million dollars to $200 million ayear. Much remains to be done if we’re ever to make theseeconomic development programs accountable and cost-ef-fective, and if we hope to keep them from bankrupting thestate treasury and busting the budget. This same kind ofcorporate domination of the political process, however, isalso occurring at the national and international level underthe guise of “globalization.” The unhealthy nexus betweenBig Business and America’s foreign and military policyaccounts for much of the hostility the U.S. is facing in theMuslim world and Latin America.

Anti-War/Anti-Nuclear ActivitiesThe War in Iraq, of course, takes center stage. NFP

will continue to spotlight the flaws in the Bush/CheneyAdministration’s foreign policy and decision-making pro-cess that got us into this costly and unnecessary mess tobegin with. And it’s absolutely critical we do so. Nearlythree years after this illegal war on Iraq was launched, theadministration is actually broadening, rather than scalingback, its doctrine of preemption and “first-strike.” Just thispast November, StratCom successfully simulated a preemp-tive nuclear attack on North Korea in preparation for as-suming its new mission of “Global Strike.” It falls to us

here in Nebraska to alert the rest of world of the now con-ventional—as well as nuclear—threat that StratCom posesto the globe.

EnvironmentThis is the one authentically new issue given priority

designation by the NFP State Board. With the scientificcommunity having now overwhelmingly concluded thathuman behavior is contributing to global warming, it is cru-cial that the U.S. government quit dragging its feet on ef-forts to address the problem. As the world’s foremost con-sumer of fossil fuels, the United States more than any othernation has a responsibility to take the lead in transitioningto alternative energies. But as the relief debacle in NewOrleans so sadly demonstrated, our government isn’t evenequipped to respond to natural calamities, let alone adoptthe modest measures called for in the Kyoto Protocol to tryand prevent them. From this point forward in our lives (andparticularly in our children’s and grandchildren’s), therewill be no bigger ‘peace issue’ than the environment.

We know as well as anyone that there are dozens ofother Peace & Justice issues worthy of NFP’s attention.Given the organization’s limited resources, however, theseare the issues the State Board has unanimously prioritizedfor 2006. Next September, at the annual board retreat, theboard members will once again go back to the drawingboard to create a priority plan from the ground up. But withthe same occupants still in the White House, we don’t ex-pect our priorities will change much.

It’s a new year, but since the problems we’re facing haven’treally changed, neither are Nebraskans for Peace’s priori-ties. The NFP State Board formally designated its priorityissues for 2006 at its November meeting, and they prettymuch look like last year’s.

Turn Off the ViolenceWe will continue to press on with our TOTV project,

keying our efforts primarily to anti-violence work in ourschools. Passage of an anti-bullying bill in the Legislaturewould go a long way toward addressing school violence,as bullying behavior in the schoolyard—if not dealt witheffectively in childhood—invariably finds its way into thehome life and workplace of the grown adult. Since a pre-ponderance of adolescent bullying (among boys at least)has been found to be related to homophobia and gay-bash-ing, protecting the rights of these victimized children shouldclearly be a legislative, as well as NFP, priority.

Civil Rights Locally and InternationallyWhiteclay is still the focal point of this priority. Al-

though we saw some major movement in the past year onthis issue—the Legislature designated some funding for tar-geted law enforcement efforts and a “deputization” agree-ment was signed between the state and the Oglala SiouxTribe—the problems at Whiteclay are far from resolved.More money needs to be directed for alcohol abuse treat-ment, and the Liquor Control Commission continues to lackthe discretionary power to prevent situations like Whiteclayfrom developing. The Legislature still needs to act if these

2006 NFP State Board Priorities2006 NFP State Board Priorities2006 NFP State Board Priorities2006 NFP State Board Priorities2006 NFP State Board Priorities

JANUARY 2006 NEBRASKA REPORT, P.11

National, Daily, Independent Award-WinningNews Program — democracynow.org

On KZUM 89.3 FMNow airing onNow airing onNow airing onNow airing onNow airing onNebraskaNebraskaNebraskaNebraskaNebraska’s’s’s’s’sfirstfirstfirstfirstfirst-and--and--and--and--and-onlyonlyonlyonlyonlynon-profit,non-profit,non-profit,non-profit,non-profit,communitycommunitycommunitycommunitycommunityradio station,radio station,radio station,radio station,radio station,KZUM 89.3 FMKZUM 89.3 FMKZUM 89.3 FMKZUM 89.3 FMKZUM 89.3 FMMondayMondayMondayMondayMonday-F-F-F-F-Fridayridayridayridayriday,,,,,Noon-1pm.Noon-1pm.Noon-1pm.Noon-1pm.Noon-1pm. Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now

addressed a Lincoln audience at the Mary RiepmaRoss Media Arts Center in April 2005.

KZUM is a memberKZUM is a memberKZUM is a memberKZUM is a memberKZUM is a member-----supported,supported,supported,supported,supported,sociallysociallysociallysociallysocially-----conscious radio.conscious radio.conscious radio.conscious radio.conscious radio.Listen at:Listen at:Listen at:Listen at:Listen at: • 89.3 FM• 89.3 FM• 89.3 FM• 89.3 FM• 89.3 FM

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that their subjects recognize them not onlyas rulers, but as representatives of God.

Let us look, for example, at the case ofPresident Mubarak of Egypt, one of theU.S.’s chief allies in the Middle East. Hehas led Egypt since Anwar Sadat was as-sassinated on October 6, 1981. OriginallySadat’s vice president, he has just been‘elected’ to his fifth consecutive six-yearterm and, bolstered by the military, holdsnear autocratic power. Although requiredunder Egypt’s 1971 constitution to appointa vice president, he has never done so,claiming there are no qualified candidates.

Mubarak, however, at least must workto maintain the façade of democratic pro-cess and participation. The Arab citizens ofBahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman(Sultan of Oman), Saudi Arabia and theUnited Arab Emirates have never even hadthe opportunity to cast a vote for their kingsand emirs.

The point is simply this: The Arabpeople are haunted by their leaders. But theentire world is haunted by the tragic inci-dents of the Arab world. Arab leaders haveconverted their citizens into robots, turnedtheir countries into a zone of chronic insta-bility, and developed a bad habit of engulf-ing the rest of the world into their troubles.

Arabs are not against Europeans or

conclusionconclusionconclusionconclusionconclusion

Americans; they are merely for themselves.They have been socially assaulted by theirleaders, and their liberty has been denied.

The democratic world is to be remindedthat the Arab people have suffered over 50years of repression (some at the hand ofWest itself), and the Arabs are thoroughlydisgusted at being told to shut up. Theiroppression is an indisputable fact. But theydare not talk about it, since an Arab citizenwill not have a chance of getting justice inRiyadh, Cairo, Damascus, Amman… Norare the world democracies free of culpabil-ity in Arab eyes. Through their policies inthe Arab world—doing business with thisdictatorship, selling arms to that one—theystand accused of collaborating with the op-pressors and aiding in the cover-up.

It is high time for the Western democ-racies to exert the effort to turn the Arabworld into the newest member on the demo-cratic block. Not through cynically wagedpreemptive attacks on nations like Iraq, butthrough principled political and economicpolicies that honor the Arab people’s authen-tic desire for liberty.

There is no reason whatsoever to heedthe wishes of the 21 Arab leaders who can’tstomach the idea of the Arab world becom-ing a democracy. For over half a century,the Western democracies have permittedshort-sighted, narrow interests to guide theirpolicies toward Arab countries, and we arenow—in the wake of 9/11 and the Iraq in-vasion—seeing the results of this flawed ap-proach.

It is well to close with the words of theeminent Political Science professor, DonRobinson, who has long studied the fitfulefforts at democratization in the develop-ing world, “One of the weaknesses of ourage is our apparent inability to distinguishour needs from our greeds.”

NFP member and U.S. citizen MohammedH. Siddiq is a native of Medina, SaudiArabia. A resident of Lincoln for more thantwo decades, he cannot even return to hishomeland to visit his family, for fear of ar-rest and imprisonment by the Saudi govern-ment.

Mohammed Siddiq

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to the Nebraska Peace Foundation Democracy Now!

Story of the Arabs,Story of the Arabs,Story of the Arabs,Story of the Arabs,Story of the Arabs,

A Winter’s Tale — W. & the OoA Winter’s Tale — W. & the OoA Winter’s Tale — W. & the OoA Winter’s Tale — W. & the OoA Winter’s Tale — W. & the Oobleckbleckbleckbleckbleckby Tom Winter, UNL Associate Professor of Classics andReligious Studies (with apologies to Dr. Seuss)

“If it hadn’t been for Bartholomew Cubbins, that King andthat Sky would have wrecked that little Kingdom.”

— Bartholomew and the Oobleck

We’ve got our own King Derwin of Didd, but where isour Bartholomew Cubbins?

Oobleck was the agent of the destruction in the King-dom of Didd. The king had wanted something new to comedown, and summoned his magicians. So sunshine, rain, fog,and snow were not enough? Then the magicians would dooobleck. And what was oobleck? They didn’t know, theyhadn’t made it before. The king’s magicians chanted aSeussian song:

Go magic smoke, Go high! Go high!Rise into the kingdom’s sky!Go make the oobleck tumble downOn every street, in every town!Go make the wondrous oobleck fall!

Oh bring down oobleck on us all!

We didn’t know it was prophecy; we didn’t know theoobleck was metaphor, or that the magicians were namedCheney and Halliburton, Abramoff, Rumsfeld, and Rice,and Disney, Murdoch and Moon. But in the Kingdom ofDidd, the oobleck fell, and gummed up everything. [Listyour oobleck here: perhaps a school for terrorists, civil war,deficits to scare small children, forbidding Medicare bar-gaining with pharmaceuticals, “Support Our Troops” withcuts in veterans’ benefits, the threatened veto of an anti-torture law, and teen-age boys coming home in boxes. . . .]

In the children’s story, King Derwin of Didd realizeshis wish has brought disaster. He tries to remember themagic words (the magicians are inaccessible, having beenburied under oobleck) : “Oh what are those words my ma-gicians say. . . ? ‘Shuffle. . . duffle. . . muzzle. . . muff. . .’That’s all I remember and they don’t do any good!”

The page boy Bartholomew straightens him out: theking oughtn’t waste his time “saying foolish magic words;”he ought to be saying some plain simple words, like “I’m

sorry.” And here Bartholomew has the heart of the story:“You may be a mighty king,” he said. “But you’re sit-

ting in oobleck up to your chin. And so is everyone else inyour land. And if you don’t say you’re sorry, you’re no sortof king at all!”

Of course our Cubbins should be the media. But they’reowned by the king’s Magicians: Disney, Murdoch, andMoon.

In the children’s story, the King Derwin of Didd doesrepent. He does say it’s all his fault. “And I’m sorry.” Theystill had to deal with oobleck, but at least it stopped comingdown.

There, though, the prophetic text breaks down. Ofcourse, Bartholomew and the Oobleck is just a children’sstory. Unfortunately. Because unlike King Derwin of Didd,King ‘W’ of Didd just keeps on saying the foolish magicwords. Shuffle. . . duffle. . . muzzle. . . muff. Shuffle. . .duffle. . . muzzle. . . muff.

And the oobleck keeps falling.

Jan 4 2006 Legislative Session Convenes

Jan 16 Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday

Jan 30 Dick Cheney Birthday Bash & Retirement Party

Jan 30 Islamic New Year

Feb 2 Groundhog Day

Feb 14 Valentine’s Day

Mar 1 Last Day to File as a Candidate for Public Office

Apr 21 Last Day to Register to Vote or Change Party Registration by Mail

May 1 Last Day to Register to Vote or Change Party Registration in Person

May 9 Primary Election

To list an event, submit in writing by the tenth of the month preceding the event.Send to: NFP, 941 “O” Street, #1026, Lincoln, NE 68508 NeReport@neb.rr.com

BULLETIN BOARDBULLETIN BOARDBULLETIN BOARDNFP State Office Hours in Lincoln, 941 ‘O’ Street, Ste. 1026: are 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon weekdays.

After the 189th TC National Guard group left Wayne, Nebraska for Iraq on August 22, Michelle Meyer put up the first of what would grow to be six bedsheet banners on anapartment house owned by her parents on Wayne’s Main Street. Pictured above are the last three banners she created—and, she informs us, she’s busily working on a seventh.In her email to the Nebraska Report, Michelle explained her actions with the simple statement,“People in Wayne and everywhere should be thinking about this issue daily.”