From jdav@noc.orgWed Apr 12 17:48:35 1995 Date: Wed, 12 Apr 95 15:34 GMT From: Jim Davis To: pt.dist@noc.org Subject: People's Tribune (4-17-95) Online Edition ****************************************************************** People's Tribune (Online Edition) Vol. 22 No. 16 / April 17, 1995 P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654 Email: pt@noc.org ****************************************************************** INDEX to the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE (Online Edition) Vol. 22 No. 16 / April 17, 1995 Page One 1. CHAIN GANGS IN AMERICA ... NEVER AGAIN! Editorial 2. SHAME ON YOU, REPS. MICA, CUBIN! News 3. NOW HEAD, WELFARE RIGHTS LEADERS ARRESTED IN PROTEST AT U.S. CAPITOL 4. CONTRACT WITH AMERICA -- PURE INSANITY 5. EARLHAM COLLEGE, RICHMOND, INDIANA: STUDENTS HELP BREAK BLACKOUT OF POVERTY 6. UNIONISTS CONSIDER IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON JOBS AT CONFERENCE 7. INTERNATIONAL RENT STRIKE CALLED FOR MAY 1 8. AN ANGRY VOICE IS HEARD DEFENDING 'MY BELOVED MEXICO' American Lockdown 9. 'WHAT GOES ON HERE BY GUARDS ISN'T ALWAYS PRETTY, JUSTIFIED OR LEGAL': ILLINOIS INMATE BLASTS BRUTALITY 10. PRISON GUARD GIVEN 10 YEARS FOR BEATING PRISONER TO DEATH! 11. SAM BERNARD IN PRISON HOSPITAL: 'I'M IN PAIN!!' Culture Under Fire 12. MOTHER DESCRIBES LEGAL ORDEAL: 'GRAFFITI MOM' THANKS THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE Announcements, Events, etc. 13. WE NEED YOUR PLEDGE: 14. ABOUT THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE +----------------------------------------------------------------+ LUCASVILLE REBELLION FEATURE DELAYED ONE WEEK "The Lucasville Uprising: Two years later," a special feature marking the second anniversary of the prison uprising in Southern Ohio, does not appear in this issue of the People's Tribune as originally planned. It will appear in next week's edition. We regret the delay. The Editors +----------------------------------------------------------------+ ****************************************************************** 1. PAGE 1: CHAIN GANGS IN AMERICA ... NEVER AGAIN! The Alabama prison commissioner has ordered 300 sets of leg irons, at a cost of $17,000. He intends to bring back the hated chain gain, he reportedly said, for men with non-violent criminal histories. We must ask ourselves: are we going to go backward or forward? Is American society going to end the 20th century at the same level of barbarism as it began? Chain gangs in Alabama, proposed whippings in Mississippi, canings in a number of other states, more prisons and more executions. This is what the tiny but powerful ruling class of billionaires are setting up to control the rest of us. All these signs of a turn toward police-prison rule in America are what separate the two classes today. One class has the wealth and power, but cannot any longer assure us prosperity under their rule. They know that progress demands that they get out of the way of the revolutionary leaders of the other class -- the rising new class of America's poor. The billionaires' answer, instead, is to send America back to the days of the chain gang. Our answer must be that the chain gang, along with the billionaires and their brutal rule of society, should be cast into the abyss of history, never to return. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ DID YOU KNOW THAT ... Republicans in Washington and the states are proposing ending the entitlement status of Medicaid. This is BIG. Medicaid pays for 1 in 3 births, finances care for more than a fourth of America's kids and each day pays for 2 of 3 people in nursing homes. This shows that the ruling class plan is to attack the economic and social security of Americans whether they have jobs or not. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ ****************************************************************** 2. EDITORIAL: SHAME ON YOU, REPS. MICA, CUBIN! The beastly nature of this country's wealthy ruling class came out during the House debate on the welfare reform bill, which passed in that chamber on March 24. The next day's Detroit News and Free Press reported on the ignorant arguments used by two legislators to justify cutting off support of children in poverty. Said the News and Free Press: "Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., compared the welfare system to ignoring signs around natural reserves that say 'Don't Feed the Alligators.' If the alligators are not fed, he said, they fend for themselves. " 'Now, people are not alligators, but I submit that with our current handout, nonwork welfare system, we've upset the natural order,' he said. "We've failed to understand the simple warning signs; we've created a system of dependency." And then: "Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., compared recipients to wolves in Yellowstone Park. The federal government brought the wolves food for several months, she said, and when they opened the pens, the wolves would not leave. "That is the same with people, she said. 'Just like any animal in the species, when you take away their dignity, they have to be provided for.' " Natural order? Dignity? Obviously, they wouldn't know either of those things if it bit them in their hindquarters. That's because Mica and Cubin, and the predatory class they serve, are capitalists. Mica, by the way, is a millionaire. Nowhere else in nature do members of the same species exploit each other or live as haves and have-nots. Animals do not own banks, nor do they need money. There are no animal monopolists slaughtering millions of their kind in world wars, none destroying the planet for profit. The natural order of the entire universe is "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." For thousands of years, humans lived more or less by this communal principle. The emerging technology can let us live that way again, but on a higher level of abundance and decency than we have ever known -- and without money and without exclusion. To make this happen, the world's revolutionary have-nots must unite and take these tools. Capitalism is the most unnatural order in nature. Our children are not animals and no one with a shred of real humanity, or a respect for nature, would ever force a child to helplessly fend for itself. Shame on you, Mica and Cubin. Shame on you all! ****************************************************************** 3. NOW HEAD, WELFARE RIGHTS LEADERS ARRESTED IN PROTEST AT U.S. CAPITOL [Sandra Reid of the People's Tribune Speakers Bureau interviewed Marian Kramer about her experiences speaking out against the budget cuts in Washington, D.C. recently. Kramer is the president of the National Welfare Rights Union and a member of the Steering Committee of the NOC.] PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE: What were the recent protests about? MARIAN KRAMER: For three days, there was a speak-out on the steps of the Capitol, organized by the National Welfare Rights Union and the National Organization for Women. A lot of women -- particularly from the Interfaith Impact Foundation -- spoke, along with Church Women United and others. Everyone spoke against the atrocities against women and children, understanding that we had to defend poor women and children in order to defend us all. Speakers from NOW pointed out how happy they were that organizations are coming together for poor women. I was so moved to see women begin to bond together because of our economic plight. Just as they are attacking women and children, they are also dismantling government programs in order to guarantee the rate of profit for corporations. There's welfare for the corporation, but not for the people. Yet we live in a society that is able to produce enough for everyone's needs. We're living in the age of technology; we should have a guaranteed annual income for all. PT: Do you see a change in today's women's movement? MK: Yes. The second day of the speak-out, there was a call for all the veteran feminists to come out. [NOW founder] Betty Friedan, Frances Fox Piven and many others spoke in defense of poor women. This is a leap; people are beginning to stand up against the immoral fight of the government against poor women and children. The key thing was women taking the lead. We even had a congressional woman -- [Rep.] Patsy Mink from Hawaii -- becoming a champion of the struggle of poor women. The third day was a call by Patricia Ireland, president of NOW, and myself for the veteran feminists and others to join us and demonstrate against the passing of the so-called "Personal Responsibility Act." PT: You and other protesters were arrested. What happened? MK: Harriet Trudell from the Feminist Majority, a veteran feminist; Cheryl Mucerino and Kate Engle, ex-homeless people and members of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union; as well as myself and Patricia Ireland, were arrested in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda [and] charged with demonstrating in the U.S. Capitol. When we were handcuffed and led out from the Capitol, people began to cry. Many people had come to Washington to try to talk sense into their government and to take a stand in defense of the programs on the chopping block. We were sentenced to three months' unsupervised probation. The judge was sympathetic, but said we had broken the law and could not demonstrate in the U.S. Capitol for three months. PT: What did the women say at their sentencing? MK: I felt proud, as a revolutionary, to stand with those women. Those women exemplified their beliefs. Harriet Trudell, who I felt to be a true abolitionist, said, "Where there's injustice against poor women and children, it becomes my duty as a citizen of the United States to take a stand." Cheryl Mucerino, the president of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, someone who had been homeless and in an abusive situation and who is the mother of four children, told the judge she not only felt good about what she was doing, but was ready to do it again. Kate Engle of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union told the judge that she would not have a home today if it had not been for the struggle of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union and the National Welfare Rights Union. I told the judge I was proud to be among these women and to take a stand for justice, not only for poor women but for the American people, and I would continue this type of fight. Patricia Ireland stated that she agreed with everything said and that she learned a lot from the few hours we all spent together in jail and that it has given her encouragement to go on. This points to the leading role women are playing in today's struggle. Could you comment? Eighty percent of the refugees throughout the world are women -- refugees from violence. We're the real majority out here but, more and more, there are attacks increasing daily against women. This time, we're talking about a different objective situation than what gave rise to the women's suffrage movement. At one time, men were placed above us. Now women, because of the technological revolution and the permanent elimination of jobs, are beginning to take their rightful place. When women begin to grasp their role in this struggle, this movement will leap ahead. I was in Africa last year. Who were the people emerging as the political leaders? It was the women. Historically, the women's movement has been led by rich, financially influential white women. Now, I'm seeing poor women coming forward, forced by economics. And they are from different nationalities. I've seen a lot of poor Anglo-American women step forward. PT: Why is violence against women increasing? MK: This government is trying to use this attack against women to split the emerging class of impoverished people. Some of the reactionary judges in this capitalist system have granted males the custody of children even after they have been accused of spousal abuse. The capitalists and their politicians are trying to disarm the victims -- cutting public assistance, welfare, eliminating programs. They use the tactic of accusing the victims of poverty of fraud to try to disarm them. On the other hand, women are stepping forward and taking their rightful place in organizations. People have to understand, men in particular, that women, men, seniors, youth -- we all have to stand arm-to-arm in the leadership of this struggle. But the vast majority, statistically, among this emerging class are the women. At the same time, we are all under attack. So, by the attack on women, they are attacking the whole class that is coming forward. PT: What's the next step? MK: To release the energy of women -- with an understanding of their position in society, their history, and the role they must play now. Women have to step up to the leadership because no one has felt the oppression and exploitation that we have. We can live in a society that can produce for all our needs. Homelessness, hunger, lack of education and medical care are based in the crisis of capitalism. Women from all different walks of life are uniting with poor women. We never thought we would live in a society where AFDC would be eliminated. Yet we're also living in a society where electronic production is ending work. The capitalists will not feed people they can't make a profit from in the workplace. This results in the attacks on affirmative action, SSI, AFDC, child nutrition programs, etc. We have an example of electronics at work through the electronic benefit transfer system. It's being implemented through the food stamp program. People can use one card (like an ATM) to get all their necessary services. But under this system, the card is being used to eliminate jobs and services and can be used to track people down. This movement that is beginning is not like the women's movement of the '60s or the women's movement of the women's suffrage era. Some of the forms are the same, but the content, based on electronic production and the new means of production, is new. [Marian Kramer is available to speak through the People's Tribune Speakers Bureau. Call 312-486-3551 for more information.] ****************************************************************** 4. CONTRACT WITH AMERICA -- PURE INSANITY By Maurice O'Neal CHICAGO -- "We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." (Preamble to the U.S. Constitution.) Where did we go wrong? During these trying times, when all of us need to band together, to help each other out, the very government that we should be able to count on to help us through the crisis are the very ones who are seemingly trying to destroy us. Instead of being a government that serves the people with justice, fairness and, above all, equality, our governmental system has become corrupt and ruthless. Now it seems that only the rich and powerful have any say over what goes on in America today. Now I'm not saying that all of our government officials are corrupt and/or ruthless. In fact, some of them are really trying to (believe it or not), help the people they serve. But then there are people like Newt Gingrich who think that they can place a Band-Aid on a wound that requires intricate surgery. Or in this case, try to cure a hangnail by amputation. Such a wound (or hangnail as the case may be) is the poverty and homelessness that we as Americans are now faced with. And the means that they are proposing to use to solve the problem is pure insanity. This insanity is called the Contract With America. The CWA was drafted by the Republican Conference and signed prior to the election by the vast majority of Republican House members. What these idiots are proposing to do is cut the federal budget down to almost, if not quite, nothing. How are we going to survive on nothing? We hardly have anything as it is, thanks to increases in taxes and decreases in wages. One of the insane, asinine ways in which the Republican Parties are proposing to do this is called the "Personal Responsiblity Act." This is also referred to as H.R. (House Resolution) 3500, and it implies the following: 1. There will be a lifetime limit of five years for anyone receiving AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children). 2. Teen-age mothers will be forced to move back in with their parents. This disregards the reason why the women left in the first place. 3. There will be a $1,000 bonus for unwed mothers who marry the fathers of their children. Congress is thus forcing their form of morality on us if we want to survive. 4. Food stamps and other nutrition programs will no longer be considered entitlements. This is important. The word "entitlement" means that if you are eligible for one of these programs, you must receive benefits. If it is not considered an entitlement (such as the WIC program), not everyone who is eligible may receive benefits. Disgusting, isn't it? But wait, there's more. The bill, if passed, will: * Virtually end all food stamp assistance programs as separate programs and substitute them with a discretionary block grant; * Revoke the entitlement concept of food stamps, school breakfasts, summer food services, seniors' meals, etc.; * Cap the block grants and impose substantial spending cuts on the total amount available to Illinois. Also included in the block grant will be AFDC, SSI and many additional low-income assistance programs. Had enough, you say? Too bad, because it's not over with yet. There are a lot more of these acts in this Contract on America (10 in all) such as: 1. The Fiscal Responsibility Act; 2. The Taking Back Our Streets Act; 3. The Family Reinforcement Act, etc., etc. I strongly advise that you read about this new threat to our nation's security before it is too late. We only have 100 days before we are destined to live in poverty while our beloved government lives off of what's left of our lives. (If there is, in fact, anything left for them to live off of.) Live long, be strong, get organized, come H.O.M.E. [H.O.M.E. is Homeless On the Move for Equality, 1325 S. Wabash, Suite 306, Chicago, Illinois. Phone 312-435-0225.] ****************************************************************** 5. EARLHAM COLLEGE, RICHMOND, INDIANA: STUDENTS HELP BREAK BLACKOUT OF POVERTY By Jacob Weinberg [Editor's note: The writer of this article was one of the organizers of Earlham College's Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.] RICHMOND, Indiana -- Earlham College here had its first Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week February 17-24. This is noteworthy because we were able to break the media blackout of poor people's struggles for justice. We had a week where we tried to raise students' awareness of the atrocious situation of poverty in this country through speakers and attention-grabbing events. Our highlights of the week were two speakers from the People's Tribune Speakers Bureau. We started the week with an illuminating speech by Laura Garcia, editor of the People's Tribune. She talked about how poverty is not the fault of the individual, as portrayed by some government legislators and by the media, but rather the outcome of a dysfunctional economic system. The speech was made for Earlham students and for a Bonner Scholars retreat that was taking place at the same time. Bonner Scholars are students who are paid to do volunteer work in the community where their college is located. We had scholars come from Antioch and Oberlin colleges and DePauw University and felt that it was very appropriate for them to hear Laura speak. Hopefully they will pass the message along. Reactions to Laura's talk were positive for the most part. Many students here would agree that an economic and cultural system that cares more about profits than people and that has millions of people who cannot afford food or shelter is fundamentally flawed and must be drastically changed. Some students, however, felt that Laura's blame of technological advances for the lack of jobs was off line. For the most part, students were interested and asked good questions. Many wanted clear answers about what they could do to help end poverty. Empty The Shelters, a national organization of young people who struggle together with poor people against poverty, was mentioned as a group doing important work. Also suggested was an Earlham group that does work with poor people here in Richmond, and an Earlham group that is protesting the Congress' Contract With America, which is very anti-poor people. In the middle of our week, we showed the documentary "Takeover," a video everyone should see. It is about the 1990 coordinated takeovers of abandoned federal housing by homeless people in seven cities across the country. Although attendance was small for this event, it was important for everyone to understand the power that poor people possess when acting in concert. It also makes one think about the policies of this country which say you must sleep on the street in front of an empty house just because you do not have enough paper money to buy it or rent it: profits over people. The week ended with Dino Lewis reciting his poetry. Dino is a co- founder of the Homeless Writers Coalition that started in Los Angeles. He was formerly living on Skid Row without a home and has become an organizer of the homeless and poor. His poetry mesmerized a crowd of students with its natural flow and powerful messages. Dino spoke in a class called Institutions and Inequality and gave the students an inside look at several types of social institutions they were studying in the class. He also spoke to a general college audience and told about his past, his co-founding of the writers coalition and his take on the situation of poverty today. We sold 20 copies of his poetry and 14 Homeless Writers Coalition compact discs. We felt it was important to bring the voices of poor people to our campus. We hope their voices were heard. Even at small colleges like Earlham, steps can be taken to raise awareness and set people in the right direction to take the type of action that will be most effective. Partnerships of students and poor people can be powerful and effective in struggling against the root causes of poverty. ****************************************************************** 6. UNIONISTS CONSIDER IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON JOBS AT CONFERENCE By Marilyn Hunter CHICAGO -- Trade union participants in the recent Midwest Conference on Technology, Jobs and Community had already seen jobs in their industries eliminated. Facing a future of more job loss, all agreed that the trade union movement is at a crossroads. The future planned by the owners of industry will look like Gary, Indiana, said former Gary Mayor Richard Hatcher. Now a professor at Valparaiso University, he told the conference about a once- thriving city devastated by massive unemployment. Gary was abandoned by the steel industry, which had grown rich off its labor. Hatcher said that, as mayor, he asked the steel company owners what was to happen to the hundreds of thousands of people in Gary who were dependent on steel for a living. The owners' response was, "That's your problem, not ours." People elected him to make decisions about Gary's future, Hatcher said. But the life and death decisions were made in corporate boardrooms. Even elected officials didn't know the executives who made them. "We were never even at the table," said Hatcher. The same kinds of decisions are devastating Michigan. General Baker, an autoworker and revolutionary from Detroit, told the conference that the auto industry made more cars in 1994 than in 1978, but in 1994 the industry employed only half the labor that it did in 1978. On the one hand, workers are happy to see the robots, said Baker, because they do back-breaking work. But families and the whole state are suffering because robotic production has devalued labor. Dan Lane, representing the striking Staley workers from Decatur, Illinois, called it "a class fight, class warfare." Lane told the conference that 35,000 workers had been on strike or locked out over the last two years in southern Illinois. "This means over 120,000 family members," he said. While members of his union, the Allied Industrial Workers/UPIU, are on strike, the plant is being run by a few workers who crossed picket lines and by robots. Chicago steelworker Rich Monje told a workshop, "In steel, no solutions are being put forward by industry or the union. In some locations, the union has given up the grievance procedure and accepted a six-year contract. In others, they are resisting the team concept." The union movement must grapple with the questions posed by the future of electronic technology. The strategy and tactics of the union movement -- and our concept of how society must be reorganized -- must be consistent with an economy based on electronics. The job we face today is to "educate, to analyze, to organize" for that future, said Illinois State Sen. Alice Palmer, moderator of the panel on which Hatcher, Baker and Lane spoke. She called for more conferences like this one, on larger and smaller scales, to provide another arena for this process. ****************************************************************** 7. INTERNATIONAL RENT STRIKE CALLED FOR MAY 1 By Eugene Nelson CHICAGO -- The right to a home is as basic as the right to live. Even the birds of the air have homes -- except for a few cuckoos. Humans should fare as well. Homes For All has called for a massive international rent strike and squat on May 1, to continue for as long as it takes until everyone owns a home -- or, at the very least, enough of his or her share of the Earth on which to build one. People all over the world are uniting and demanding this basic right to a home. Housing activists and others in India, Japan, Canada and several European countries are presently organizing for the May 1 action. The landlord system is an unnatural, unequal and unfair master- slave relationship, good for neither tenants nor owners. It simply is not natural or right that some people should inherit beautiful homes or land while others are forced to live in buildings owned by someone else. Speculating for profit in this basic people's need is immoral and should be illegal. A home should be a place of one's own to spend one's life in security and happiness, not a bargaining chip in a system irrevocably bound to deprive many people of homes. A rent strike, like a labor strike, is more apt to be successful the more people are involved. If large numbers of tenants participate, the landlords and police do not have the resources to evict everyone. Even a few dozen eviction cases can cause an impossible logjam in the courts. Even a widespread strike of a few days -- as has been the case in many rent strikes -- is apt to win concessions from landlords. The end result hoped for, if enough tenants participate, is total ownership of the premises by the tenants, but it is to be expected that some people, for whatever reason, will settle for more minor concessions, such as lower rent, better maintenance or renting with an option to buy. It is also possible that a widespread rent strike will induce governments to make available to people land on which they can build dwellings themselves. It's not hard to refuse to pay rent to a parasitic landlord -- just say "No." Sure, providing homes or land for all is a complex and difficult task, but it's not nearly as difficult as dying out in the street. So join in building the international rent strike and squat on May 1. Help end the evil and primitive landlord system and create a truly humane and civilized world. Let's make history! Spread the word! [Homes For All can be reached by writing P.O. Box 3615, Oakland, California 94609. For more information in Chicago, call 312-935- 6188.] ****************************************************************** 8. AN ANGRY VOICE IS HEARD DEFENDING 'MY BELOVED MEXICO' By Pat Rodriguez HAMMOND, Indiana -- Driving home from work, I turned on the radio and found a heated discussion in progress. The discussion involved the commentator's claim that aid and bailout money going from the United States to Mexico was being spent by the Mexican government on itself and on fighting the Zapatistas. My Mexican brother answered that ordinary people also were sending their own money back to help our families who are struggling for their lives. The commentator argued that the caller misunderstood what he had said. The discussion got garbled ... . I can remember back as a child going on the long drive to Mexico. Reaching the border and having the Mexican border police check our car. It took a long time and it seemed that if you paid the right price you wouldn't have to wait so long to cross. Once into my beloved Mexico, traveling through the small towns, I remember small, barely dressed children running up to our car, wanting to wash our windows for a small price so that they could get something to eat. Or asking us to buy small pieces of gum so they can get food for their smaller brothers and sisters. An old, blind indigenous woman asked for bread by the door of a restaurant. She was too old and sick to move. My uncle had a stroke on a Saturday but was unable to get treatment until Monday because that's when the public hospitals are open. Of course, if he had been a government worker, he would have been allowed to go to one of their hospitals which are open daily. Money is sent to Mexico, as well as the rest of Latin America, to help better the lives of our brothers and sisters. To help with food, shelter, clothing and medical expenses so that children and old women don't have to beg in order to survive. We, the Mexican people living in the United States, are sending money to help sustain the lives of our people and if that means they will be able to gain strength in order to fight against the injustice they face, then more power to them! Viva La Raza! ****************************************************************** 9. 'WHAT GOES ON HERE BY GUARDS ISN'T ALWAYS PRETTY, JUSTIFIED OR LEGAL': ILLINOIS INMATE BLASTS BRUTALITY By Dave Profitt, Menard Correctional Facility (Excerpted from a letter to the People's Tribune) MENARD, Illinois -- Senators, congressmen, wardens, etc. all cry and whine about how the prison system is packed. And there are those who say it's nobody's fault but the people who do wrong. As for myself, and many more like me, I'm sure, we don't have a chance to prove we are in prison on false charges. I'm lucky because the great justice system in Union County made so many wrongs, in a rush to get me in prison, that my habeas corpus appeal will surely unfold the truth sooner or later. My heart goes out to those who cannot right a wrong with their cases if they are imprisoned unjustly. I could have been home August 19, 1993 and then March 19, 1995, but some guards had to justify a beating on me. To cover their butt, they threw trumped-up tickets, also known as CDRs. I'm not the only man who has gone through this game with the coppers. Had the grievance system or adjustment team been fair, if not honest, a lot, and I mean a lot of men and women would be out daily, thus reducing the population so much that they would not need a new prison each year. But on the flip side, the DOC (Department of Corrections) wants more prisons!! More prisons brings more jobs and money to the cities and towns. There is a line when it comes to being sent to prison for a crime you did. But there is no line if a copper wants to give you a "trumped-up" CDR that takes your freedom away through loss of good time. Society doesn't want to know or care about any of this, only to "punish" those who break laws by sending them to prison. Okay, fine, there are those in prison who did wrong. But what goes on in here by guards is not always pretty, justified or legal. And, by no means, did a judge sentence a person to be punished in prison, with certain guidelines to his case/charge, that the convict be subject to extra, illegal punishment carried out by DOC staff in many ways and forms. Yet it goes on. Countless lawsuits, filed or won, back this claim by convicts. And when laws are manipulated by the courts or prisons, the consciousness of a people is altered. When you alter the consciousness of a people, you manipulate their possibilities, and you manipulate their power, hence leaving them to surrender to their enemy without even knowing that they have surrendered. Need I say more? ****************************************************************** 10. PRISON GUARD GIVEN 10 YEARS FOR BEATING PRISONER TO DEATH! By Marta Glass HOUSTON, Texas -- In a prime example of "too little, too late," former Texas prison guard Joel Lambright Jr. was found guilty of the brutal murder of prison inmate Michael McCoy and sentenced to 10 years in prison. The prosecutor expressed surprise at the "severity" of the sentence. Eyewitnesses, both inmates and prison guards, stated that Lambright continued to kick and beat the frail McCoy even after McCoy grabbed Lambright's legs and begged him to stop. Prisoner McCoy suffered from cancer and had undergone several surgeries in the previous year. Jurors from Livingston, Texas, where the prison is a major employer, said it was a hard verdict to return because they felt the Lambrights were a good family in the community. Joel Lambright Sr. is a former chief of police. Joel Jr.'s mother was seen reading Bible verses to her son during trial breaks. This writer feels the sentence was not nearly severe enough for such a senseless, brutal crime. Had the situation been reversed, and a prison inmate beaten a guard to death, the inmate would have been shot down on the spot or, at least, on his way to Death Row. This is yet another shameful example of Texas' system of one justice for the white middle/upper classes, and a much harsher set of laws for the minorities and those born into poverty. [Marta Glass is a human rights and anti-death penalty activist in Houston.] ****************************************************************** 11. SAM BERNARD IN PRISON HOSPITAL: 'I'M IN PAIN!!' Dear Allen, If this letter reaches you, be informed that I'm still confined to the institution infirmary. I'm back to Norman (Griffin Hospital) where I underwent a series of tests for two days. I returned from OMU (University Hospital) last Thursday night. They performed exploratory surgery (kidney biopsy) last Tuesday and kept me overnight for observation. At this writing, no one on the medical staff has explained to me what's causing the recurring (daily) swelling in my ankles and hands. Allen, believe me, I'm experiencing excruciating pain on a daily basis and the doctor here refuses to give me medication to relieve my pain. Note: Just recently, they admitted a Caucasian who complained of having lower back pains. They immediately prescribed morphine shots. I repeat! I'm in pain!! I'm scheduled for another visit to Okla. City (OMU) for additional tests sometime this week. My condition is deteriorating rapidly! Whatever is causing the swelling in my ankles is also affecting my mental faculty -- I'm experiencing long periods of disorientation. I honestly believe that I'm been given some sort of biochemical substance which is activated by certain foods. I feel nausea all- the-time! Believe me, I can't hold anything in my stomach -- every time I eat, my ankles become swollen and my stomach bloated. I must stop here and get back in bed. I wish you and family would call the regional director (James Saffle) or the warden here (Ron Ward) and demand some info concerning my condition. In addition, tell Marian to call (deleted) ask (deleted) to give you the name of the inmates who served food on the unit I was assigned to before they moved me to the infirmary. I believe the racist bastard tainted my food just before he was reassigned to another job. (Signed) Sam Jr. March 21, 1995 [Set Sam free! Write to the prison warden demanding that Sam Bernard (prisoner no. 1287083) be set free. Write to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, P.O. Box 97, McAllister, Oklahoma, 74502-0097. Call 918-423-4700.] ****************************************************************** 12. MOTHER DESCRIBES LEGAL ORDEAL: 'GRAFFITI MOM' THANKS THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE Dear people of all races in America (the country with the Statue of Liberty): I was sitting in the courtroom in Houston, Texas, (Honorable Judge Lupe Salinas -- in the Harris County 351st District Court presiding), nervously anticipating whether or not I was going to spend the next years of my life in prison or spend them free to serve our youth of America, when Maria Elena Castellanos, attorney at law, introduced herself to me. She politely began shaking my hand and telling me how honored she was to meet me. You can't imagine how thrilled, encouraged and comforted I was when she handed me the People's Tribune, (which, unfortunately, I never knew existed and have found to be a wonderful newspaper)! She also told me of letters, and all the different responses in the nation my court case was receiving. I was just beginning to think of myself as the horrible person the Katy Independent School District police and the people of the Katy community were portraying me to be in my hometown newspaper, (because I was helping my unusual church youth group), when I heard Maria Elena's soft, comforting words. I held my head high, remembered the good times I had with my youth group, and the real reason I was there. Them! Maria Elena called me a "hero," but I say anyone who can feel the same as I do about these youths, and get in step with me for the cause of all "throwaway kids" in America, are my heroes. I have promised these youths that something will be done for them and I intend to keep my promise. My youth group will have their facility to call their own. They will help design it; they will oversee it, side by side with caring, adult supervision; and they will learn that they are worthy individuals. And when this is accomplished, it will be a message to all the bureaucrats of America, that message being: We don't need your filthy lucre, your power trips, your ego trips, or your Caribbean trips! We, the middle class and poor and suppressed, have asked for your help time and again. Now we're through asking, because, time and again, you've either refused or promised you would do something to help us, only to let us down. Now we, the suppressed in America, are going to show those of you on top how this country should be run. When you come crashing down and the teeter-totter puts us on top, we vow not to be like you. We will listen to your heartsick cries for help when you want us to share, care and be fair to you. Suppressed and middle-class Americans: Do you think a Spanish person can run for president of the United States and win the next election? I do! How about a Puerto Rican, a Salvadoran, a black, or even a publicly acclaimed American such as a Graffiti Mom? I do! How? By the suppressed all over America not waiting until the next election in November 1996 to begin change in this country, but by we, the people, creating a new, caring, sharing and fair leadership within a corrupt leadership in this one nation under God. And by recognizing the real church leaders and distinguishing them from the play church leaders. Why? So that we can begin backing the real. How do you distinguish the real? It's easy. They are the ones doing what they are preaching and teaching others to do. Move over, pride. Move over, high and mighty attitudes. Move over, selfish and greedy, uncaring, complacent, self-satisfied, apathetic, conceited, shallow, fake people. A new breed is moving into key leadership roles in America. The tide is turning and the meek shall inherit the earth, REAL SOON! Much love, Peace to all readers following my case, Graffiti Mom A.P. -- 'Aunt Pamela' Lockridge, R.N., Minister P.S. Everyone that would be a hero, buy the 1985 movie, "Turk 182," all over the nation. (This will send a message to our corrupt leaders in the nation.) Watch this movie with your kids over and over again and get pumped up. Call or write me as soon as possible to let me know of your decisions and encouragement. Now, roll up your sleeves. We've got work to do! [Letters and donations can be sent to: Body of Christ Church, c/o Pamela Lockridge, Secretary-Treasurer, P.O. Box 5424, Katy, Texas 77491-5424. Phone: 713-647-9358 or 1-800-859-7209.] ****************************************************************** 13. WE NEED YOUR PLEDGE: To read, to distribute, to use the People's Tribune! The People's Tribune cuts through the lies that weaken and divide the millions in poverty. It gets out the message of class and unity -- the message that can destroy the poverty of the capitalist system. It gets out the new ideas that give a vision and hope to fight for a better way. Reach out to every part of America with the People's Tribune! ****************************************************************** 14. ABOUT THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE The PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE, published weekly in Chicago, is devoted to the proposition that an economic system which can't or won't feed, clothe and house its people ought to be and will be changed. To that end, this paper is a tribune of the people. It is the voice of the millions struggling for survival. It strives to educate politically those millions on the basis of their own experience. It is a tribune to bring them together, to create a vision of a better world, and a strategy to achieve it. Join us! Editor: Laura Garcia Publisher: National Organizing Committee, P.O. Box 477113, Chicago, IL 60647 (312) 486-0028 For free electronic subscription, email: pt.dist-request@noc.org To help support the production and distribution of the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE, please send donations, letters, articles, photos, graphics and requests for information, subscriptions and requests for bundles of papers to: PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE P.O. Box 3524 Chicago, IL 60654 pt@noc.org Reach us by phone: Chicago: (312) 486-3551 Atlanta: (404) 242-2380 Baltimore: (410) 467-4769 Detroit: (313) 839-7600 Los Angeles: (310) 428-2618 Washington, D.C.: (202) 529-6250 Oakland, CA: (510) 464-4554 GETTING THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE IN PRINT The PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE is available at many locations nationwide. One year subscriptions $25 ($35 institutions), bulk orders of 5 or more 15 cents each, single copies 25 cents. Contact PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE, P. O. Box 3524, Chicago, Illinois 60654, tel. (312) 486- 3551. WRITING FOR THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE We want your story in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE. Send it in! Articles should be shorter than 300 words, written to be easily understood, and signed. (Use a pen name if you prefer.) Include a phone number for questions. Contact PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE, P. O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654, tel. (312) 486-3551. ****************************************************************** We encourage reproduction and use of all articles except those copyrighted. Please credit the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE. The PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE depends on donations from its readers -- your generosity is appreciated. For free electronic subscription, email: pt.dist- request@noc.org ******************************************************************