From jdav@noc.orgFri May 5 09:20:24 1995 Date: Fri, 5 May 95 02:31 GMT From: Jim Davis To: pt.dist@noc.org Subject: People's Tribune (5-8-95) Online Edition [My apologies -- I inadvertantly sent out issue #18 of the People's Tribune earlier today. Here is issue #19, 5-8-95. Jim D. for the PT] ****************************************************************** People's Tribune (Online Edition) Vol. 22 No. 19 / May 8, 1995 P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654 Email: pt@noc.org ****************************************************************** INDEX to the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE (Online Edition) Vol. 22 No. 19 / May 8, 1995 Page One 1. MASSACRE AND AFTERMATH IN OKLAHOMA: THE BEST AND THE WORST IN AMERICA Editorial 2. NEW BOOK BY TOFFLERS SHOWS THAT ... FASCISM BY ANY OTHER NAME STILL STINKS News 3. CRACK COCAINE: SUBCONSCIOUS SUICIDE 4. STATES' RIGHTS: A STRANGE DEMOCRACY 5. OREGON'S MEASURE 11: OPPOSE MANDATORY SENTENCES! Focus on LESSONS OF THE BATTLE AGAINST PROPOSITION 187 6. PROPOSITION 187: A POLITICAL LAW DESIGNED TO CONTROL 7. STUDENTS: THE FIGHT DOES NOT END WITH PROPOSITION 187 8. UNIONIST CONDEMNS ATTACK ON IMMIGRANTS 9. NEW MEXICO UPHOLDS CULTURAL DIVERSITY American Lockdown 10. THE PRICE OF BREAD GOES UP Feature 11. CHRISTIANITY AND THE VISION OF A NEW SOCIETY Letters 12. MCNAMARA'S BOOK IS A BLOODY LIE 13. ABOUT THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE ****************************************************************** 1. PAGE ONE: MASSACRE AND AFTERMATH IN OKLAHOMA: THE BEST AND THE WORST IN AMERICA Everything that is decent and freedom-loving in this country surfaced on the streets of Oklahoma City in the aftermath of the right-wing terrorist bombing that stunned the world on April 19. The selfless response of the people was itself a dramatic rejection of the twisted beliefs of the perpetrators. The images brought forth included that of a white nurse, her face streaked with tears, cradling a frightened black child and an older black man embracing a sobbing Latino girl. Swept aside with the blast, at least for the moment, were the divisions and the deliberately sown hatreds that are the rotten stock-in-trade of those responsible for this butchery. While the spectacle of white-supremacist, armed gangs linked to the bombing splashed across newspaper front pages and TV screens, the rescue efforts became a profound and uplifting portrait of unity. The people answered the very worst that history has produced with the very best that America represents. Shielded by the grief and outrage of a nation, President Clinton has moved swiftly to bring in his own program. He is calling for returning unconstitutional powers to the FBI and other governmental police agencies. Everyone is aware that, over the years, these agencies mollycoddled the violent, fascist right wing and illegally attacked and destroyed those fighting to extend democracy. The things we hold most dear, the things the best side of America fought for through its Revolution, the Civil War against slavery and the bloody battles for the rights of all who toil -- these things must not now be surrendered in the climate of fear the perpetrators of this act seek to create. Against the smoldering backdrop of America at its worst, the loftiest ideals of our country asserted themselves on the streets of Oklahoma City. Those ideals, held fast by the people, are the best guarantee of justice and freedom. With this fundamental, progressive decency, we cannot only rebuild, but build anew. We can create the kind of society that will have forever abolished the inequities, injustice, greed and oppression in which this tragedy was rooted and that history beckons us to confront, once and for all. To the dead, we commit ourselves that they shall not have died in vain. And to the living, we extend our hope -- our confidence -- that together we will build a new tomorrow. Sincerely, The Editors ****************************************************************** 2. EDITORIAL: NEW BOOK BY TOFFLERS SHOWS THAT ... FASCISM BY ANY OTHER NAME STILL STINKS By Abdul Alkalimat The conservative ramrodding of laws in the House of Representatives is being done because they allege to have signed a "contract" with the American people. Did you sign anything? I didn't, but I know what it feels like when a con is being played. They got only about 20 percent of eligible voters, so no wonder they keep yelling about the mandate; they never got it, but are trying to convince us they did. But we need to go deeper, and see what con they are putting down. The new book by Alvin and Heidi Toffler, Creating a New Civilization: The Politics of the Third Wave, is a primer for fascism originally published by the right-wing Progress and Freedom Foundation. Newt Gingrich wrote the foreword. They get to the heart of the matter with three political principles they regard as basic for the future: 1. "The first heretical principle ... is that of minority power. It holds that majority rule ... is increasingly obsolete. ... The truly poor no longer necessarily have numbers on their side." 2. "The second building block of tomorrow's political systems must be the principle of 'semi-direct democracy' -- a shift from depending on representatives to representing ourselves. The mixture of the two is semi-direct democracy." 3. "Decision division ... we need to divide up the decisions and reallocate them -- sharing them more widely and switching the site of decision making as the problems themselves require." They are well aware of the economic and social revolution taking place, but they choose to be sensitive to a future that serves the global capitalists, and turn a cold shoulder to the needs of the great majority forced to suffer the pain of economic exploitation and the police state. They support minority rule (meaning legitimating corporate power), direct democracy (meaning let the TV opinion poll manipulators rule), and decentralized decision making (meaning no national standards of accountability). Our political principles are based on a revolutionary vision for the 21st century: 1. The condition of the poorest defines the meaning of life in a society. Everyone will be guaranteed a decent life, given everything they need to lead a comfortable life. 2. Political power must express majority views. Everyone will be given the most scientific, free, public education possible, based on a new system of life-long learning. The vision put forward by the Tofflers and Gingrich serves the rich minority. Our vision serves you, the majority of people. Time to take this message out. Don't wait till they build the ovens! ****************************************************************** 3. CRACK COCAINE: SUBCONSCIOUS SUICIDE By Fanya Baruti LONG BEACH, California--In America, better known in black communities throughout the land as "Amerikkka the ugly beautiful," it's no wonder that a government that we consider ours has let crack cocaine creep throughout this country in order to subdue a historically poor and deprived class of people. Just look around and inside of yourself! Do you see the destruction that crack cocaine has caused? After spending 10 days in Chicago at the NOC school, I returned to Long (Strong) Beach, California, only to find myself overwhelmed, depressed and frustrated with what was happening to my people as a result of crack cocaine. Although I learned much and gained a sense of worth as part of the NOC, learning the need for a common focus, I could not "shake off" the demon that Amerikkka's mad scientists have produced: crack cocaine. Addiction to anything can destroy a nation, let alone an individual. Without knowing how to eliminate the addiction, a nation or an individual will find despair and total destruction. Have you seen a crack cocaine addict today? If so, what did you think? Did you think about why anyone would become an addict? Well, I never planned on becoming one myself. I never saw myself subconsciously attempting to commit suicide. Yet, I found myself on the verge of self-destruction without a prayer. Soon, I was incarcerated and in bondage. Do you believe the war on drugs in Amerikkka is being waged in the name of the people it affects most? Is it just for the rich to get richer? The so-called "street baller" from the 'hood is just a puppet for a secret service that understands that for a profit, many will kill men and women of all ages, rob our parents, succumb to the threat of "three strikes," steal food from a baby's mouth, etc., while attempting to convince today's youth that they're role models. Homelessness, unemployment and mental slavery have plagued our communities and filled the concentration camps of Amerikkka by destroying families. It's ironic that the United States can keep out Cuban cigars, but not the contraband drugs or the ingredients for crack cocaine. The United States can't stop the growing flow of this human poison into our neighborhoods -- also made with U.S. products. This is why the poor struggle against each other to make a dollar and will turn against their significant other to achieve what they desire at all costs -- be it robbery, carjacking and murder. The true profiteers -- not the dealers or smalltime pushers -- are keeping us set against each other. This way, we can't focus on them and how they manipulate us. We just take each other out. The truth, is "divided we fall." The system manipulates us into believing in giving up and giving in, never protesting or fighting collectively for what we as people believe in or know is morally right. We must begin to change our approach to each other, protect our families and loved ones, and struggle to save ourselves and our communities. As a recovering addict who first got high at the age of 5, I must "by any and all means necessary," with all the power I have within me, help educate all those concerned about why crack cocaine has destroyed millions in Amerikkka. [Please send all comments, questions or just a word to: Fanya Baruti, Conflict/Substance Abuse Mediator, P.O. Box 1784, Paramount, California 90723.] ****************************************************************** 4. STATES' RIGHTS: A STRANGE DEMOCRACY By John Slaughter ATLANTA -- Newt Gingrich and his gang of counter-revolutionaries in Congress have been promoting states' rights as a key component of their Contract on America. They want to abolish federal welfare programs, food stamps funds, etc. and instead make block grants to the states so they could decide how to spend the money. This is supposed to be much more democratic, especially in these days, when the federal government is viewed as the root of all our problems. When representatives of the Southern ruling class begin promoting down-home, Southern-style democracy, we should all be extremely wary. The latest version of that kind of democracy is the chain gang in Alabama. Those who make the decisions in Georgia just decided to spend $242 million more on prisons, while cutting an already meager welfare budget. This is a strange democracy! The Hayes-Tilden Agreement of 1877 was a prime example of states' rights in action. Reconstruction in the South was threatening to go too far, and the nation was growing weary of the whole issue. Southern representatives were clamoring, "Let us handle our own problems," so that is just what came to pass. The rest of the country looked the other way while the Southern ruling elite was placed back in power and practiced states' rights with a vengeance. The "problem," of course was the Negro. The solution -- carried out in the name of democracy -- was Jim Crow segregation, sharecropping, the denial of the right to vote, unequal education, and, of course, the chain gang. >From the point of view of the South, the Civil War itself was fought in the name of defending the "Southern way of life" and states' rights. The Confederate States of America was founded on the concept of states' rights. The "right" which was regarded as sacred above all others, however, was the right of property, particularly the right to own human property. The democracy which was enjoyed by only an elite few was built upon the backs of the slaves. The past is not always past. The comparison of today's campaign to promote states' rights with others in our history is no idle analogy. States' rights today does not mean more democracy; it means the Confederation of America. Newt Gingrich's Contract With America is a modern Hayes-Tilden Agreement. States' rights is a guise for the propertied elite in this country, a way for them to maintain and protect their property while meting out chains to the rest of us. We reject this scam that is being run in the name of democracy. We reject the contract which the ruling elite is trying to ram down our throats. We want real democracy. We want a contract that views each human being as sacred, not property. Every human being has an equal right to food, shelter, education and a healthy, prosperous life. We will not go back. Our vision is of a new America. The unfinished agenda in the South today is the Reconstruction that Hayes-Tilden temporarily defeated. That agenda is part and parcel of our program to reconstruct America. [John Slaughter is the author of New Battles Over Dixie: The Campaign for a New South. He is available to speak through the People's Tribune Speakers Bureau.] ****************************************************************** 5. OREGON'S MEASURE 11: OPPOSE MANDATORY SENTENCES! By Loren Salmonson, Portland/Vancouver NOC PORTLAND, Oregon -- Juanita Holloway is a 43-year-old mother who has lived all her life here. For the last 10 years, she has worked with drug and alcohol addicts trying to turn their lives around. She hopes to eventually become a civil service worker. She had never been arrested or charged with a crime. But now Holloway is facing a very different future -- five years and 10 months in a prison. Holloway was the first person arrested in Multnomah County under Measure 11 which took effect April 1 and began a new era for the Oregon justice system. Measure 11, passed in November, ensures long, mandatory sentences for offenders as young as 15 who are convicted of any of 16 violent crimes. Holloway was arrested April 2 for second-degree assault and assaulting a police officer with her keys. Holloway was angry and tried to push past a police officer after her son was arrested for a parole violation. Police maced her and twisted her arms. "It's unbelievable to her," said Susan Russell, Holloway's attorney. "Here she is, well-respected and active in the community, and she got pulled into this and now is facing 70 months." What used to be considered relatively minor criminal cases will fill Oregon's prisons with people serving long sentences. The effects of Measure 11 is being felt first among minorities. "At every entry point in our criminal justice system, people of color receive harsher treatment," says Rep. Avel Gordly of Portland. Sixteen out of 22 arrested on Measure 11 charges have been people of color. "I'm just appalled," says public defender Ingrid Swenson. "It's exactly what we feared would happen." The measure's chief sponsor, Rep. Kevin Mannix, D-Salem, says "I'm not sympathetic or apologetic. Let the message go forth." The sentences are mandatory. It doesn't matter if it is a first offense. People convicted under Measure 11 do not get parole or early release. Moreover, the police and prosecutors, not the judges, function as gatekeepers. "It's going to be very difficult for us to know when police choose not to charge and when the district attorney chooses not to charge under Measure 11," says Swenson. [For more information, contact Families Against Mandatory Minimums at 503-292-5364 or 202-457-5790.] ****************************************************************** 6. PROPOSITION 187: A POLITICAL LAW DESIGNED TO CONTROL [Editor's note: Below we reprint the text of a statement by the Editorial Board of our bilingual sister publication, the Tribuno del Pueblo.] Why would anyone deny education or health care to a child? Is there a shortage of schools and teachers or of doctors and hospitals? They have done this in California. Convinced that immigrants are hurting the economy and that they are the cause of the state's economic problems, even some Latinos voted in favor of Proposition 187 in the November 1994 election. Voters were persuaded that "the line has to be drawn somewhere." Taken by itself, Proposition 187 appears to be a racist anti- immigrant law, a racist law against Latinos. Proposition 187 is a political law, part of a wave of laws and actions attacking the very fiber that America is woven out of. Its passage comes at the same time as cuts in welfare, in education, in food programs, in job training programs and in health and safety measures and at the same time as the passage of laws curtailing constitutional rights. These laws are being passed to control all sections of the population, but especially the poor and the jobless. These laws are based on our differences, such as nationality, or on our misconceptions, such as the beliefs of some that crime and welfare are African American problems. These laws and attacks have the purpose of control. Poverty is not a question of nationality or color. The source of this growing poverty, the foundation for these economic problems is not a scarcity of goods or any lack of work that needs to be done. The source of the problem is to be found in who controls the distribution of the necessities of life. After all, the United States has the capacity and the technology to provide food, shelter and clothing for the entire world. America is a nation of immigrants whose many languages and cultural differences have enriched this country. Since this country does possess abundance, there should be no need for welfare. Since this country does possess the capacity to rid the entire world of poverty, there should be no need for economic immigration. Throughout history, the U.S. government and U.S. business have done many horrible things in the name of the people of this country. They are now on the verge of gutting the constitution and are inciting one section of the population against another. Proposition 187 is a major step in this direction, tearing at the very core of everything decent in America. It is not enough to simply be against bad laws. We must get a view of what is possible. We on the Editorial Board of the Tribuno del Pueblo newspaper look forward to the day when the people of Latin America come to this country as tourists on vacation, not to escape torture or starvation. We won't need borders! ****************************************************************** 7. STUDENTS: THE FIGHT DOES NOT END WITH PROPOSITION 187 By Timothy Sandoval and Francisco Arellano (with contributions by Trevor Campbell) LOS ANGELES -- Leading up to the vote on Proposition 187, students from Los Angeles to Chicago to New York marched in protest against the initiative. Proposition 187 sought to deny undocumented immigrants access to most public education, health care and other government services. While some students have continued to fight on campuses throughout America, many remain disillusioned by the fact that, as students, they stand to do worse than their parents. With rising tuition costs and fewer job opportunities, students see little hope in their future. The hope and energy that was created by the fight against Proposition 187 galvanized young people to take an active part in their future. Now that must be rechanneled to fight a parasitic system that allows children to go hungry, families to go homeless and able-bodied people to go jobless. While students protested in concern over Proposition 187, California citizens, affected by the demise of the war industry, and the lack of good jobs, showed their frustration by voting in favor of the proposition. With little surprise, politicians shaped the discussion by pitting Latinos against whites and blacks. With the affirmative action debate on the horizon, students must stand empowered to shape the discussions. The politicians seek to utilize race as their divisive tactic. Students must cite the loss of over 800,000 jobs under the Pete Wilson administration. With robots and computers eliminating jobs, and with cheap labor available in Third World nations, the prospects for a better California are slim. The same dangerous initiatives from California stand to make their way to other states. While students fight for a chance at a reasonably priced education, California spends over $5 billion on new prison building. In inner city Los Angeles, there has not been a single new school built in more than 25 years. What message is California sending to its young people? It can fund enough to build state-of- the-art prisons while students and teachers remain in overcrowded classrooms. It is a message that places little value on the human beings who are being marginalized by labor-replacing technology. Are resources so scarce that young people need to fight old people, blacks fight each other and documented people fight the undocumented? In a world where technology has the potential to feed, clothe, house and educate every human being, the old way of competing and greed must be replaced by cooperation and harmony. Now, more than ever, the voice and energy of students must carry on the fight initiated by Proposition 187. Fight the system constructively -- join the National Organizing Committee. ****************************************************************** 8. UNIONIST CONDEMNS ATTACK ON IMMIGRANTS By Jo Ellen Dicello I am an organizer for the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union. In June of this year, we will be merging with the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union. Both unions were founded and built by immigrants. To the members of our unions, laws like Proposition 187 are appalling. Never mind the fact that they're racist (which they are), they are not the solution to the problems facing American workers. We have lost thousands of good jobs in this country in the last 20 years. U.S. companies move our plants offshore to exploit workers in other countries for bigger profits. Our U.S. employers move our jobs to Latin America, Mexico, the Caribbean, etc. and don't pay the workers there enough to survive. These workers are then forced to come to the United States. The culprits here are not the foreign-born workers. That claim is a distraction created by big business and our government to take our focus off them. They want to appeal to the worst sentiments of the U.S. worker. But our members do not want to deprive a child of medical care, education or food. Our unions organize immigrant workers all the time. Immigrants are fighting for better lives for their families and are equal members of the union. We are not stupid. We know that even if every undocumented worker was forced to leave the United States, that would not make Chrysler, Ford, Kleenex, Jockey or any other company move plants back into the country. On the contrary, they would probably build more plants in other countries. There is enough work to do here -- roads to build and hospitals to reopen. There is enough food grown here for everyone. The answer is not kicking workers out of the United States. We need to organize together to change the priority from greed to people's needs. ****************************************************************** 9. NEW MEXICO UPHOLDS CULTURAL DIVERSITY ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico -- On March 17, the New Mexico House and Senate passed by overwhelming majorities the following resolution, "A Joint Memorial Recognizing the Contributions of America's Immigrants and Restating New Mexico's Commitment to Cultural Diversity." New Mexicans can be proud of this resolution, which bucks the tide of anti-immigrant feeling in the land. The Stop Proposition 187 Coalition in New Mexico is to be saluted for its perseverance in fighting for this memorial. The memorial declares, in part: "WHEREAS, the adoption of Proposition 187 in California, which denies public education, social service, and public health services to undocumented workers and residents, has raised domestic ethnic tensions and caused divisiveness ... and "WHEREAS, with the public debate over similar 'Prop. 187' measures now being discussed in other Southwest border states, including New Mexico, policymakers and other elected officials must be vigilant to lead the public debate about undocumented workers and immigrants so as to encourage cultural pluralism and protect fundamental human rights and constitutional rights to education, health care and social services; and "WHEREAS, with the United States being a nation of immigrants ... it is vitally important that all Americans remember their immigrant heritage and the principles of freedom and opportunity symbolized by the Statue of Liberty; and ... "NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that it restate its commitment to supporting laws and policies that promote cultural diversity and human and constitutional rights for all New Mexicans, including the right to public education, public health services and essential social services; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that it recognize that newcomers to New Mexico are assets, that our cultural diversity is to be celebrated and that state and local governments have a responsibility to design and implement policies that foster that diversity. ****************************************************************** 10. AMERICAN LOCKDOWN: THE PRICE OF BREAD GOES UP By Saferian [Reprinted from The Spectator, the newspaper of the State Prison of Southern Michigan.] JACKSON, Michigan -- I have officially seen everything. Last night I made the mistake of watching television, which always gets me mad as hell, and Ted Koppel ("Nightline") was interviewing California's Gov. Pete Wilson. The subject was the "three strikes and you're out" law. What prompted the coverage was perhaps the sentencing under the three- strikes law of a man to 25 years-to-life for stealing a slice of pizza from some kids. One slice. Now, as absurd as that sounds, what really astounded me was the governor's response to Ted's question concerning the harshness of the sentence. The governor said in effect that he was not bothered by the sentence, and furthermore, the sentence was not for stealing a piece of pizza! Hello!? I must have missed something. No, Gov. Wilson went on to say, he was not being sentenced for stealing a piece of pizza; he was being sentenced for being a third-time repeat offender. OK, Governor, but what was that third felony again? All of this had me hopping mad, but the discussion that followed really got me thinking. You see, the only objections that seemed to matter to the people opposing the law was the projected cost of incarcerating the prisoners sentenced under the new laws. Actually, there were those civil libertarian types who argue the unfairness of the law, and, oddly enough, the father of Polly Klaas, whose abduction and murder was a major catalyst in getting the law on the ballot in the first place. He pointed out that the law was not doing what it was intended; namely, getting repeat violent offenders off the streets. It was instead casting too broad a net, jailing for life those convicted of relatively minor crimes, like stealing a slice of pizza. But this didn't faze the governor, whom you can just bet reads the polls and witnesses that this year's campaign slogan is still "get tough on crime." Forget the arguments about double jeopardy or equal protection under the law. The public doesn't care if the crime rate has been going down since before the law was passed, or if convicted felons commit a relatively small portion of violent crimes. People believe their television sets and their politicians when they tell them they need more cops, longer sentences, more laws, less constitutional protection for the accused, more money for prisons and a death penalty. In fact, the public is fed a steady diet of crime reports, each story more sensational than the next, until they become almost hysterical. In this age of tabloid journalism, it's all too easy to get the public whipped up into a veritable frenzy, desperate for a solution. Enter into the picture the political sloganeers with the quick fix, the perfect sound bite for the television brain-deadened masses, and there you have it: three strikes and you're out. The simple solution, the perfect triumph of symbolism over substance. In this reactionary, so-called conservative political climate, the public is willing to try anything that sounds like it is tough on crime. The novelist Victor Hugo wrote about the moral outrage over his character Jean Valjean receiving a sentence of five years at hard labor for stealing a loaf of bread in his classic, Les Miserables. The last I checked, a slice of pizza, except for the cheese and pepperoni, has less bread than a loaf. It looks like the price of bread has just gone up! ****************************************************************** 11. CHRISTIANITY AND THE VISION OF A NEW SOCIETY By George Bru CHUNCHULA, Alabama -- The desire to share, to be truly compassionate and caring, with a communal attitude, was the essence of philosophy by the early day Christians. It was about the kind of society that the Europeans found among the Native Americans upon arriving in the "new world." >From the birth of Christ until the 14th century, Christianity in most of Europe, and the other parts of the "so-called" civilized world had degenerated into a pagan type of religion, comprised (for the most part) of a bunch of overzealous and pompous aristocrats that had led the naive masses into a euphoric state of ritual worship and manmade doctrines that brought nothing but false hopes. Many descendants of those pompous aristocrats, so-called Christians, were already floating in riches and were becoming even wealthier as the result of the exploitation of the Native Americans and the building of America on the backs of the slaves from Africa. The credit for prosperity was falsely applied to Jehovah, when, in reality, it was Satan and his evil descendants who were providing the ingenuity for their lust and attainment of wealth. When I was a child, I was taught to share and have respect for others, regardless of class, sex, religion, political belief, race, etc. Today however, many children are being taught the opposite, in sometimes-subtle ways. They are being robbed of the spiritual need for a conscience. Competition for selfish interests has become the current that drives America and many of the world's other degenerating systems. Compassion, understanding and commitment to justice, (regardless of the circumstance) has taken a back seat to the American dreams of yesteryear. The dream today is not just to be content with modest surroundings, but rather to seek to become rich and powerful, whether by "lottery" or by exploitation of the system through shaky ethical methods. The false prophets and misleaders of the "Christian Right" -- people like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Oliver North, Newt Gingrich, etc. -- have led the nation down a road of self- righteousness that is overflowing with aberrations and hypocrisy opposed to the true Christian faith. You can lock yourselves away in your stained-glass structures and denounce the obvious evils of the world, but if you aren't lifting up the poor and the less fortunate, if you aren't advocating a social contract that includes all people, regardless of dress, race, sex, status, etc., then you are living a lie. Five hundred thousand more cops won't solve the problem either. What we need in today's society is jobs. Jobs with adequate compensation to lift us up into a modern, dignified status, in an environment more comparable to the needs of all and not just a few. The desire of those involved with the National Organizing Committee is to educate the growing masses of the poor and underprivileged and to stimulate the conscience of the many good, moral people of this country into realizing the possibilities that could be ours -- all of us -- if we would only band together as the early Christians and Native Americans did many years ago. They were organized around the vision of fairness, equality and justice for all. We must likewise reorganize our society around the tools of the modern world. Automation and the robotics created by 20th century technology has eliminated or severely crippled the opportunity for millions of people within the present society. The National Organizing Committee is helping turn the tide. It has become one of the leading social platforms for justice and integrity. Within its ranks are people from all walks of life committed to a change from today's injustices. It represents a vision of hope that has found its place in the hearts and minds of the majority. ****************************************************************** 12. MCNAMARA'S BOOK IS A BLOODY LIE Dear People's Tribune: Robert McNamara supposedly wrote his recent book -- blaming himself for the Vietnam War -- in order to combat "the cynicism and even contempt with which so many people view our political institutions and leaders." In reality, he has only increased it. Twenty-five years ago, the war proved to me -- irrevocably and beyond a shadow of a doubt -- that the people controlling our country were unfit to rule. Vietnam was not a mistake. A mistake is when you run a stop sign or fail to signal for a turn. Vietnam was a genocidal abomination. It destroyed 58,000 Americans and millions of Vietnamese. It was a 15-year holocaust, from Ia Drang to Ben Suc, from Khe Sanh to Ben Tre -- and My Lai. "What Calley and others who participated in the massacre did that was different," wrote Neil Sheehan, "was to kill hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese in two hamlets in a single morning and to kill point-blank with rifles, pistols and machine guns. Had they killed just as many over a larger area in a longer period of time and killed impersonally with bombs, shells, rockets, white phosphorous and napalm, they would have been following the normal pattern of American military conduct." (A Bright Shining Lie, p. 689.) Genocide is not a mistake, but a horrible crime. It's not the fault of the GIs, many of whom also died -- "the unwilling, led by the unqualified, doing the unnecessary for the ungrateful." It's the fault of McNamara and the rest of the war's architects and profiteers. Sorry doesn't get it. These people belong in prison, not on book tours and talk shows. As long as they continue to go free, there is no justice in America. Low-income people -- many of whom are Vietnam veterans -- get homelessness, persecution, police abuse and three strikes. They get 25 years for stealing a pizza. But the criminals in high places, those responsible for Vietnam, Watergate, Irancontra and the savings and loan scandal, just get pardons and book contracts. "'Good morning; good morning!" the General said When we met him last week on the way to the Line. Now the soldiers he smiled at are most of 'em dead. And we're cursing his staff for incompetent swine. "He's a cheery old card," grunted Harry to Jack As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack. But he did for them both with his plan of attack. To this very day, the generals in Sassoon's poem, like the McNamaras of our generation, retain their influence, respectability and power. Until we remove them from that power, another horrifying military debacle is only a matter of time. Sandy Perry San Jose, California ****************************************************************** 13. 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! 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