WireTap Magazine: Blog

Facebook Explodes with a Healthcare Meme Today

Matt Singer — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:42:01 PDT

As an amazing (and pretty clearly organic) piece of evidence to counter the "young people don't care about health reform" meme, Facebook is exploding today with viral status updates that read: "No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick. If you agree, please post this as your status for the rest of the day."

While some of my friends who have put it up are either dedicated activists or work professionally for progressive organizations, I've also seen it posted by, for example, two philosophy graduate students I know from my undergrad days, a high school friend, fundraisers for local charities, etc.

To be clear, I don't think this is an organized campaign by any organization, but just a very clear and powerful indicator that young people do care, are communicating through their own methods and paying attention to this important issue.

Isolation for Elderly Immigrants

M. Junaid Levesque-Alam — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:00:01 PDT

Yesterday, the New York Times ran a fairly long, 2,000-word story on the isolation and sadness experienced by elderly immigrants, focusing in particular on a group of Indian men who convene to commiserate and connect.

The main thread of the story is that aging immigrants remain culturally isolated from mainstream American society far more than other immigrants because of an intriguing culture clash -- not one between them and America per se, but rather between them and their children, who have often integrated into American life and adopted key aspects of what might broadly be called the American lifestyle.

In many cases, the article notes, the elderly are brought from overseas by their children once the latter have settled down, married and found a reliable source of income.

These older immigrants expect to be treated with the same respect and deference often accorded to elders in more traditional societies, but instead find themselves serving merely as ad-hoc babysitters for their grandchildren and with no real input on household decisions -- including the decision to be there at all:

"Mr. Singh, the widower, grew up in a boisterous Indian household with 14 family members. In Fremont, he moved in with his son's family and devoted himself to his grandchildren, picking them up from school and ferrying them to soccer practice. Then his son and daughter-in-law decided 'they wanted their privacy,' said Mr. Singh, an undertone of sadness in his voice. He reluctantly concluded he should move out."

Providing a general overview, the reporter notes, "Sociologists call Mr. Singh and his cohort the '.5 generation,' distinct from the '1.5 generation' -- younger transplants who became bicultural through school and work.

Immigrant elders leave a familiar home, some without electricity or running water, for a multigenerational home in communities like Fremont that demographers call "ethnoburbs."

As a 1.5er myself, I find this fascinating. My own parents don't fit into the demographic described by the article, as they moved to America when I was only two or three, but my mother's side of the family had brought my maternal grandmother over from Pakistan for a number of years when she needed medical treatment for new ailments.

I imagine that many grandmothers actively go out and perform their own routines, participating in local events, shopping or otherwise socializing. But my grandmother, whose children can all speak fluent English but who never learned to speak it herself, also never went anywhere herself.

Aside from the obvious language barrier, she had no source of income, no means of transportation and, above all, never expressed a desire to become more independent, as far as I know.

That, too, is probably cultural, since it is men who dominate social life in conservative societies, and who are also the focus of the Times piece, which notes that depression and other related problems may affect such immigrants.

For those who do wish to venture forth, options are limited because their social visibility is limited. One sociology professor quoted in the article, Judith Treas of the University of California, Irvine, pithily observed, "They never win spelling bees. They do not join criminal gangs. And nobody worries about Americans losing jobs to Korean grandmothers."

Perhaps most important in this political climate are the economic implications of this demographic:

"Michael Fix, senior vice president of the Migration Policy Institute, a nonprofit center in Washington, said that as immigrants form a larger part of the elderly population, 'all the issues that bear on health care and social services will increasingly be transformed in part into immigrant issues.'"

Some agencies, like Project SHINE at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have set up programs...

What Should Kids Read in School?

Aaron Tang — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:17:01 PDT

It's a question that stirs the blood of many reading experts and old-school educators: should our reading and language arts classrooms focus on teaching classic novels like To Kill A Mockingbird, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Scarlet Letter, or should students be allowed to read novels of their choosing since doing so may help students develop a greater interest in reading?

Despite a growing focus on standardized test scores in classrooms throughout the nation, a recent New York Times article describes an emerging movement within reading instruction that answers the question in favor of student choice, even if it means our kids will never know that Moby Dick is a whale.

The new form of reading instruction, known as "reading workshop," is raising some eyebrows among more conservative, traditional educators. Chief among the opponents of reading workshop is the Core Knowledge Foundation, which published this witty parody in response to the New York Times story (it's worth a quick skim if you have a moment).

The argument between the two camps basically boils down to a simple lesser-of-two-evils. In the modern day, where youth have so many dynamic forms of media that command their attention, the thrill of digging into the next chapter of Huck Finn just might not be, well, quite as thrilling as it used to be. The reading workshop school of thought responds by saying, what kids read is less important than that kids read at all, and so we should let them choose books that excite them (within reasonable limits of course). In other words, it's the process of learning how to read that matters more than the actual content.

The Core Knowledge folks respond by saying the debate isn't that easy. True literacy, both in the reading and the cultural sense, demands more than the ability to recognize words on a page -- it demands an ability to recognize common cultural references and social norms, many of which derive from classic novels. In this view, letting kids read Twilight and other contemporary novels is not just inadequate, it's unfair, since the approach is most commonly suggested for disadvantaged students who otherwise show less interest in reading.

Which camp is more persuasive?

It's hard to say, and I have to confess to being truly torn between the two views. On the one hand, I think reading -- more so than chemistry or U.S. government -- is a subject in which the process of developing a skill set is at least as important as the content itself (allowing students to read novels of their choosing is far more reasonable than letting children learn about the government of any country instead of the U.S., for example). Writing is the same -- we want students to get comfortable with writing, and we commonly let them decide what paper topics to write about.

On the other hand, to the extent that society is dominated by cultured references to certain books and to the extent that the classics exemplify the kinds of literary motifs we want students to learn, it does seem better for students to get familiar with John Steinbeck than John Grisham. Nothing should stop students from reading more books of their choosing in their own time, the Core Knowledge group would say, but school is for a commonly agreed upon set of important works.

I'm curious, though. What do you think? Do you see one approach as clearly better than the other? I'd love to hear which one and why.

Labor and Our 'Lost Decade'

Adam Waxman — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:56:01 PDT

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending a speech and Q&A with Richard Trumka, who is currently the secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO -- the largest of America's labor federations, representing over fifty unions across the economy.

Trumka, who led the United Mine Workers before he became an officer in the AFL-CIO, is a dynamic speaker and an important leader of organized labor and the left in general. Trumka is likely to become president of the AFL-CIO later this month, and his speech was a preview of the priorities he will bring to the post. You can see a video of the whole event here.

I was amazed by how much emphasis Trumka put on issues facing young people in this economy. I expected there to be more focus on issues like the Employee Free Choice Act and the raging debate over health care.

Yet, Trumka emphasized Millennials.

He gave a brief preview of a survey that the AFL-CIO released (PDF) today on the state of young workers. The bottom line is that young people are losing ground in almost every area compared to where people our age were ten years ago. Two shocking facts, just as a taste:

One in three young workers are currently living at home with their parents.
Only 31 percent say they make enough money to cover their bills and put some money aside -- 22 percentage points fewer than in 1999 -- while 24 percent cannot even pay their monthly bills.

Trumka cited concerns that young people have about debt, housing, health care, job stability and wages to argue that the labor movement was poised to become relevant to our generation in a big way.

He was also frank about the need for labor to come to grips with the fact that many workers who are under thirty do not see the labor movement as relevant to their lives. I, off the top of my head, cannot think of a friend of mine who is in a labor organization that represents a private sector employer.

Of course, many of my friends are unemployed or underemployed, struggling under debt and without health care, so the AFL-CIO should be right up their alley!

I think Trumka is making a smart move here -- he's made several comments that point to a big investment by the union movement towards engaging young people and ensuring that our generation feels connected to organized labor.

It represents a huge challenge -- most Americans are not in unions, and much of the media looks on labor almost as a relic.

Trumka should take command of the AFL-CIO in mid-September. I will be following his efforts in this area, and I am interested to see where it goes.

Can a Hip-Hop Morality Clause Work?

Tolu Olorunda — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:22:01 PDT

A middle-aged female attorney calls for hip-hop artists to be held to a contractual obligation against violence. Must be elderly elitism wagging its ugly finger at a young, misunderstood generation.

But what if a respected, legendary black MC, who's dedicated two decades in the fight against rap-related violence, like, say, KRS-One, proposed the same concept? Would the response be any different?

Most likely.

When news broke last week that New York attorney Lauren P. Raysor was seeking avenues through which record labels would be forced to include, in the contracts of all artists signed to their company, a "morality clause," the hip-hop community was riled up with rage over the mere suggestion that it couldn't police itself.

Attorney Raysor, who is former president of the Metropolitan Black Bar and, according to her bio, has worked on civil rights causes, was compelled to go public with her proposal after representing a client in a criminal lawsuit against popular female Bronx rapper Remy Ma.

The aim, she explained in a press release, was to demand that "all record companies" insert a "morality clause" in the contracts of their artists, which would promote better self-restraint, and hopefully make the urge and impulse to act in self-destructive ways less sexy.

Of course, the labels have since been mum about it. They know the importance of images. They're aware of the power of suggestion. They understand how critical it is that the white suburban kids for whom rap represents "rebel" music continue to see it as the dangerous, crime-centered, volatile piece of art mainstream media insists it is.

The giant, but crippled, labels also probably wouldn't like to make such concessions in light of recent reports that rap pioneer Dr. Roxanne Shanté's education was attained all-expenses paid -- courtesy of a clause in her contract, which Warner Music never expected would be utilized.

But think about it for a second: Jay-Z, Nas, Lil' Wayne, Busta Rhymes, Diddy and just about every other megastar the hip-hop world has produced have been involved in criminal cases. They subsequently spent many months trying to clean up their reputations. Not until recently, when T.I. was sentenced to one year behind bars for federal gun charges, did it occur that hip-hop artists aren't impenetrable when it comes to the law.

There's another angle to this, however, which deserves just as much light. It's intriguing that the criticism is centrally lobbed at young, black hip-hop stars. In many ways, I share some of the fear expressed by fans who contend it validates stereotypes about inner-city youth as criminal-minded. I would hate for this innocent suggestion to become fodder for racists or right-wing groups.

But, if this is what's needed to curb the excessive violence taking place at random hip-hop concerts and events -- too many to document -- I could care less what plan prejudiced political opportunists have in mind.

Thom Shaw's Beautiful Ugly Truths

Geoffrey Dobbins — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:00:01 PDT

When describing Thom Shaw's "Life Stories," which he's currently exhibiting at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, the word that immediately comes to mind is "sharp." It applies to both the angular lines and edgy contrast of Shaw's visual style as well as the painfully piercing social messages he expresses through his art. Through his large acrylic paintings, ink drawings and woodcut prints, Shaw captures both his personal struggles and the social problems that plague the urban neighborhoods he cares about.

As Kathy Wilson recounted in her Cincinnati Magazine profile of Shaw, the artist first gained fame in the '70s and '80s. As a young man, he was one of the first among black artists to land exhibitions at mainstream museums and galleries throughout the country. Shaw developed a strong black visual style that spoke on behalf of urban communities. His work still packs a visceral punch. Despite Shaw's death-defying struggles with diabetes and heart disease, which have led to several hospitalizations in the past few years, Shaw is still as prolific as he has ever been.

His inspirations are clear -- the poverty, violence and addiction that plague urban communities in Cincinnati and all over the world have provided a lot of significant material for Shaw. His raw, unfiltered content is powerful in part because of the way his stylized depictions focus the meaning and emotional potency of very realistic situations. The content is very real, but the images convey a deeper, more unyielding truth than a more literal reproduction might.

Most of the exhibit consists of large, black and white woodcut prints that leave no room for shades of gray. The pictures strip away the social justifications and excuses for gang violence. "Poverty's Paradise," an ink drawing featuring a collapsed heroin addict, makes you wonder whether the woman with the syringe still hanging from a vein in her arm is dead or alive. If she isn't dead, could her circumstances really be called "life?" Another print called "Zombies3" satirically depicts illiterate urban teens as undead monsters featured on a movie poster advertising the all-too-realistic horror of a broke education system: "Starring a cast of a thousand kids who can't read."

Some of the acrylic paintings incorporate color as in the all-red gang banger/suicide bomber in a painting "Icon of Terror." Shaw also addresses global issues. One of the most metaphorically engaging prints, called "Clash of the Religions." features three iconic figures representing a leader in Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Each points pistols at the other two. In a powerful commentary on how truth is perverted and religious ideals are twisted for violent means, Shaw's religious icons all have long forked tongues that are bound together in a knot of lies.

The self portraits in the exhibit convey a startling honesty about the artist's physical trials. Shaw presents himself in a variety of ways, from being stalked by mortality in a ink drawing called "Diabetes Death Grip" to posing as a samurai combating his medical enemies in "The Diabetes Assassin." One intriguing print depicts him dealing with tiny, Sambo-like racial stereotypes on either shoulder like the proverbial angel and demon. In all of them, his chest is open with the heart exposed, conveying his physical and emotional vulnerability.

Despite the dark subject matter of "Life Stories," Shaw says he has hope that by diagnosing society's ills -- both physical and political -- we can do a better job of curing them.

Ted Kennedy and Immigration: A Legacy

M. Junaid Levesque-Alam — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:59:01 PDT

Sen. Edward "Ted" Kennedy, who entered life's last long slumber earlier this week, has received many eulogies and tributes hailing his formidable record of concrete reform and advocacy on behalf of the working, the disabled and the poor.

Given the prominence of the healthcare debate today and his own particularly vigorous efforts to push Obama toward national healthcare near the waning days of his life, media have rightly focused on the effect his death might have on the fate of healthcare reform.

But there is another major matter in the national spotlight to which Kennedy also contributed significantly, starting much earlier in his career: immigration. Youth activists and young aspiring policy makers can derive lessons from Kennedy's earlier experiences and the changes set into motion during his tenure.

Kennedy's first and perhaps most noted immigration achievement was to help abolish the decades-old quota system that favored white immigrants (those from northern Europe) over Asians and Latin Americans in 1965.

"This bill goes to the very central ideals of our country," he said at the time in Congress. "Our streets may not be paved with gold, but they are paved with the promise that men and women who live here -- even strangers and new newcomers -- can rise as fast, as far as their skills will allow, no matter what their color is, no matter what the place of their birth."

Mark Krikorian, head of the anti-immigration Center for Immigration Studies, calls the 1965 law "the first big thing that [Kennedy] really drove himself. Since then, he's been making immigration policy for the country.”

Famously, he also asserted at the time that the bill would not dramatically alter America's ethnic composition, whereas in reality the demographic balance sheet has shifted significantly due to immigration from the global south's top talent and most desperate denizens.

Ted Kennedy also helped secure Congressional approval for the Refugee Act in 1980 and six years later backed a separate measure that brought three million American residents out of the shadows while also punishing employers who hired the undocumented.

More recently, the 2007 immigration reform proposal that materialized because of Kennedy's collaboration with Sen. John McCain ultimately failed, but that did not stop him from pursuing more open immigration policies for fleeing Iraqis, or supporting the DREAM Act, which would open education and citizenship pathways for American-raised children of immigrants.

While it's impossible to survey the full extent of his immigration advocacy efforts and their end results in the space of a blog post, what's clear is that even in the face of some defeats, change can be achieved through key pieces of legislation pushed through on the bedrock principle that this country's ideals transcend the ultra-nationalistic garb in which these ideals are often cloaked.

From Sunnydale to Solar-Powered Hip-Hop

Kristia Castrillo — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:42:01 PDT

A few weeks ago I was on the bus riding through San Francisco's Sunnydale, one of many neighborhoods in the Fusionlandia that is San Francisco.

Though in an international city, Sunnydale can almost seem worlds away. When I first returned to San Francisco and visited some of the Sunnydale housing projects my mind immediately recalled the rural projects of upstate New York where I had worked with intelligent and immensely talented young brothers and sisters in a town called Hudson -- where incredible mountain views and disturbing poverty intermingle.

From the window of the bus I saw a community elder planting vegetables in front of a small housing project unit where a lawn might have previously been.

The majority of the units have completely dried-up lawns, but in contrast his was a beautiful mineral-rich dark brown, his small row of lettuce was lush. He seemed to be enjoying his work.

In front of the unit right next to his were two young brothers sitting on the steps, looking at the street silently.

I immediately wondered why it was they weren't helping their neighbor out. There was no way in hell that man could eat all of those vegetables, and their own small lawn could have grown so much more.

How ill that they'd be able to save money by growing their own food -- that's the main reason I've begun to grow things in my own house. I just happened to fall in love with gardening in the process. If I'd had the time I would have gotten off the bus and begun a conversation with them all, but I had a meeting to attend.

This scene speaks to the gap between the visionary and the disillusioned. It speaks to the gap between our young people and our grandparents. We are at a point in post-industrial capitalist societies (as academics and environmental activists preach) where we can use up the fresh water we have left and leave our great-grandchildren to oppress, enslave and declare war for access to clean rivers... or, instead, we can begin the long process of rejuvenating the soil we have stripped of meaning and nutrition.

It is the responsibility of those of us in between to stretch our definition of the word "revolution." We must do the work night and day of learning that which we do not know and that which we fear. As native elders of this very land often said and still say, we must "follow the path to the point of knowing."

Then we may engage in the shared task of introducing, translating and making relevant these truths so that our youth can take it over... and of course from there, do their own translating and re-understanding amongst each other.

If the Bay Area can be renowned for its contributions to hip-hop language and expression, than let us create our own names, too, for "urban agriculture," "sustainability," "soil," "pollution," "climate crisis." The Vietnamese anti-imperialist leader, Ho Chi Minh, wrote that, "The poet must learn to lead an attack." In other words, the poet must understand their responsibility to something bigger than the sole expression of their ego, the poet must harness their media in new and increasingly complex ways to dialogue with the public.

At a time when Dead Prez and Mistah F.A.B. can share a solar-powered stage, we cannot meekly nod our heads to the folks who are already doing this work. The bridge is not complete. It is going to take more than a few hundred compost bins and some garden programs to show our communities that this is not some hippie nonsense from...

Katrina Anniversary Events

Jamilah King — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:45:01 PDT

It's been four years since Katrina decimated the Gulf Coast. On the heels of the anniversary, there's news everywhere: moving photo essays, gulf coast updates, book reviews, investigative critiques. And even more critiques.

The question on everyone's mind is: what's changed?

And judging from everything I've seen and heard so far, the answer is: nothing.

Mega-developers have moved in, the city's hardest hit residents -- mostly black and poor -- have been pushed out, and still others have tried to start new lives elsewhere.

The anniversary brings up a lot of interesting issues, especially when it comes to what role people who aren't in New Orleans, or the White House, can play.

Still, people are coming together. Here are just a few events happening around the country:

New Orleans:

The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement caps off Black August on Sunday, August 30 with a hip-hop showcase at New Orleans' Blue Nile. See more info here.

The Katrina Information Network has a ton of memorials, film screenings and re-building events listed.

Bay Area:

Bay Area poets and activists will host a Katrina report-back and poetry reading. Proceeds will go to Common Ground Health Clinic, a New Orleans non-profit that provides free medical care to residents.
Info:
Maafa 2009
Hurricane Katrina Poetry Reading and Reportback: Sunday, Aug. 30, 5-9 p.m.
Shashamane International Bar & Grill
2507 Broadway St., Oakland.
Email: wanda@wandaspicks.com for more info.

Got events closer to where you live? Leave 'em in the comments.

Oakland Residents Fight Foreclosures

Nina Jacinto — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:20:01 PDT

I'm pleased to offer up this great interview with Matt Nelson, who is the Minister of Communications at Just Cause Oakland (JCO), a civil rights organization whose members are Oakland residents fighting for housing justice. I had a chance to ask Matt some questions about the work Just Cause is doing, and to follow up on Karen Mims' struggle to keep her home.

WireTap: Karen Mims has been struggling to renegotiate her loan with Aurora Bank. Can you talk a little bit about the campaign to help Mims and the role that Just Cause has been playing in helping her out?

Matt Nelson: Just Cause Oakland member Karen Mims bought her East Oakland home in 1997 and because of foreclosure by Aurora Loan Services LLC, she was scheduled to be evicted on August 4.

That day, Just Cause Oakland organized nearly 100 people to come out to defend Karen Mims' right to stay and stop her foreclosure. The Oakland Mayor's office, Council member Larry Reid's office, and Rebecca Kaplan stood with residents, family, friends and supporters. Our combined efforts secured Karen for another four weeks in her home as well as a direct line with decision-makers at Aurora Bank. Aurora is a subsidiary of Lehman Brothers -- even a post-bankruptcy Lehman. Now, Just Cause Oakland [and] City of Oakland officials are in negotiations with Aurora Bank to keep Ms. Mims in her home.

We have drawn a line in the sand and declared four neighborhoods in East and West Oakland as 'Right to Stay Zones.' These are areas hard-hit by foreclosures where residents continue to face significant displacement, foreclosure, and eviction -- if not from the initial wave of foreclosures, [than] from the 'second wave' now being experienced as layoffs and home devaluation contribute to the housing crisis.

Today (August 27), Just Cause Oakland had a meeting with Aurora's decision-makers, and have put forth a proposal to Aurora Bank for how Ms. Mims can stay in her home long-term.

Either we will celebrate a great right-to-stay victory or we will escalate the public pressure on Aurora. The next move is theirs, but the final word will be ours.

WT: A lot of banks have been accused of racist lending practices. How do you see this play out in your work and how has Aurora Bank been predatory in its banking practices?

MN: Aurora Bank and their counterparts have been responsible for economic degradation and massive relocation and displacement of communities of color across the country. Many of the current loan servicing companies made billions off of subprime (predatory) lending and they continue to profit off of default fees and manipulating their revenues through foreclosures while collecting public bailout money.

Indeed, as long as mortgage rates are set by profiteers on the top floors of San Francisco's skyscrapers; so long as politicians are not challenged by organized public pressure; and so long as we do not protest for change and press ourselves to prevent the damage caused by the recklessness and disregard for the public's wellbeing, the banking industry will continue to beat down Oakland residents and deprive millions of people across the country of their livelihoods.

WT: What other issues is Just Cause focused on right now?

MN: Just Cause Oakland fights for tenant rights, public housing residents and low-income homeowners. We are currently gearing up for our 10th anniversary celebration on Thursday, September 17 in downtown Oakland. Our vision is one of real change and dramatic reinvestment in people and public infrastructure. Real change amounts to public ownership over key financial decisions that affect our lives...

Cops Crack Down on Student Food Activists

Elyssa Pachico — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 06:54:01 PDT

Clashes with police and health officials are nothing new for peace group Food Not Bombs (FNB), which has been doling out homemade vegan dishes for the homeless since the 1980s. From San Francisco to Las Vegas, bureaucrats have tried to limit the group's activities through arrests, cease-and-desist orders or outlawing sharing food in public parks.

Frequently, local chapters are harassed by officials for lacking permits that would require meals to be served with gloves and sneeze guards and prepared in inspected, licensed kitchens. Other ordinances, like one passed in Orlando, Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada, have tried to limit sharing food to parties of 25 people or less. A 2006 landmark legal decision in Orlando gave activists a boost when a judge ruled that FNB sharing food in public spaces was an expressive, political act protected by the First Amendment.

Now, a legal battle currently playing out in Middletown, Connecticut could prove to be another landmark decision in determining whether health officials are wrong to ask FNB to follow public health codes, when other communal events like lemonade stands, picnics and church potlucks do not.

The Middletown chapter was first slapped with a cease-and-desist order in March, for serving meals on the town's main street every Sunday, when the soup kitchen at a local church is closed.

Several police citations, fines and arrests later, the group filed a court injunction against the city on June 22 and held their first appeals hearing on August 11, with another court date upcoming in September.

"Our main belief is that people have the ability to cooperate and engage in activities to help each other without the oversight of a government agent," said Abe Bobman, a junior at Wesleyan University and an unofficial spokesperson for the Middletown chapter. Applying for a permit goes against what FNB fundamentally stands for, the group has argued.

"[With a permit] our right to share food with the community is subject to oversight of the city," Bobman explained.

"And the fact that they could stop us from doing that if they decide to take our permit away seemed unnecessary in accomplishing what we're trying to do, which is make food available to people which otherwise might go to waste."

Sal Nesci from the Middletown Health Department and the city's attorney office both refused to comment when contacted. During an appeals hearing on August 11, Nesci said he supported the group's efforts in combating hunger, but officials had to be sure to protect public health, especially in light of reports that FNB uses food from dumpster diving to prepare meals (the Middletown chapter has denied this).

"We see what we do as similar to a church potluck," says Bobman. "We find there's a lot of community events that don't get inquiries from the health department. We feel like we're an easy target, and it's just so tenuous as to what gets regulated and what doesn't."

As Immigrants Move in, Americans Move Up

M. Junaid Levesque-Alam — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:46:01 PDT

A perceived weakness of the liberal argument on immigration is over-reliance on the concept of compassion. This perception is reinforced in part by reality, as liberals commonly call upon people to remember the importance of basic human solidarity and concern for others in the debate over immigration.

That's all well and good, but it implicitly cedes too much ground to the conservative shibboleth that "bleeding-heart" liberals are incapable of grasping the cold, hard truth that immigrants suck up American resources -- and nothing resonates with people more clearly than pragmatism in a poor economy.

The problem is that this supposed truth is likely a pleasant fiction.

The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) recently released a study based on data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and found that even amid a recession, immigrants do not take jobs away from citizens because they are not necessarily competing in the same market or region.

"Unemployed natives and employed recent immigrants tend to have different levels of education, to live in different parts of the country, to have experience in different occupations, and to have different amount of work experience," the study concluded. "As a result, they could not simply be 'swapped' for one another."

Moreover, the center found that when natives took low-paying jobs during downturns, they moved on when the economy recovered. Therefore, the notion that an army of native-born Americans are lined up waiting for jobs "stolen" by immigrants, like Russians waiting in a food line during the Communist era, is not supported by facts.

Buttressing the IPC's findings is an article written a month ago by a major figure at the Cato Institute (a conservative think tank), Daniel T. Griswold, titled, "As Immigrants Move In, Americans Move Up." The data is too comprehensive to delineate here, but the bottom line is that, according to three separate metrics, the influx of immigrants into America has not precipitated an increase in poor people. In fact, low-skilled immigrant labor may be forcing native-born Americans to move up in the world.

Of course, sober and reasoned arguments don't lend themselves to effective demagoguery, but they need to play a bigger part in defeating this demagoguery.

If nothing else, it's not advisable to take seriously the rants of people who blame immigrants for America's economic woes when they spend their own time ripping off other Americans. Case in point: the Arizona head of the Minutemen paramilitary group was indicted last week for trying to bilk people in a mail fraud conspiracy.

Obama & Teachers' Unions: Enemies at Last?

Aaron Tang — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:23:01 PDT

I've written before in this space about the inevitable showdown between the Obama Administration and the nation's leading teachers' unions over crucial matters of public policy concerning teacher quality in public schools. For the first seven months of President Obama's term, however, the unions and the White House appeared to be on good terms.

Until now. In a strongly worded letter (PDF) delivered last week in response to the administration's bold announcement of its $4.35 billion "Race to the Top" (RTTT) fund for innovation in school reform, the National Education Association (NEA) finally distanced itself from what it called the President's "top-down approach" to education reform that "misses the mark."

Comparing the Race to the Top criteria with the No Child Left Behind Act, the NEA letter underscores a fundamental disagreement between the union and a reform-minded President over teacher quality issues that cannot be smoothed over with vague talking points.

There are three elements of the Race to the Top fund that concern the union the most. The first, unsurprisingly, is the fund's requirement that states allow student achievement data to be used for the purposes of evaluating school and teacher effectiveness -- a common-sense idea, but one that goes against the basic union value of protecting every member (even if it comes at the cost of rewarding good teachers and identifying bad ones).

The second conflict is over the fund's requirement that states not have caps on charter schools, a position that the NEA has long opposed. Finally, the NEA takes offense to the fund's encouragement of alternative teacher certification -- the idea that we should be lowering barriers to teaching for individuals who show a clear capability and passion for teaching and who demonstrate success in the classroom.

The question now is simple: How will the administration react?

If Secretary of Education Arne Duncan proceeds as planned with dispensing the RTTT fund dollars to only those states who have met their reform demands, will that signal the end of the NEA's grip over Democratic officials?

Will the NEA cave in before that happens, or will there be some kind of compromise deal that softens the fund criteria in a way that gives the union a public relations victory?

One thing is for sure: the NEA is in the trickier position here than the president. Typically, elected officials have to respond to interest group demands when the interest group has political liquidity; that is, the ability to move their support and campaign finances to candidates of another party.

In education, however, it's exceedingly unlikely that the unions would ever find the Republicans to be more compatible with their views than even a right-leaning president -- which gives the administration a great deal of bargaining power to do what it believes is best for children.

The only risk for the White House is that it must handle the next week's period of discussion with the unions in a respectful way so as to avoid the kind of protest like the one below, which took place in Los Angeles last year.

Drank: Sizzurp in a Can?

Latricia Wilson — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:24:01 PDT

In June of 2008, Houston-based Innovative Beverage Group released a beverage called "Drank". Dubbed the "anti-energy drink," the new beverage is sold in a purple 16 oz can that tells buyers to "slow your roll" and is marketed as the first "extreme relaxation" drink to hit the market.

Currently, it's distributed to 21 states in the U.S. and more than 45 cities, mostly in the South.

But are sedatives in a can too dangerous for consumers? And is this just a drug that tastes like grape soda?

The beverage's official web site lists the ingredients: melatonin, a brain hormone that naturally controls the human sleep cycle, and valerian root, a widely known sedative generally used by people who suffer from anxiety or mental strain.

The new drink also imitates a recreational drug popular in hip-hop communities throughout the South. The color and name are similar to the drug "purple drank," also called sizzurp, a party drink made of prescription strength cough syrup with codeine and promethazine mixed with soda or candy.

Rappers like Lil' Wayne are rumored to be addicted to sizzurp, and it's suspected of playing roles in the high-profile deaths of rappers Pimp C, Big Moe and DJ Screw.

It's clear that these marketers are trying to trick consumers into believing that downers and depressants in drinks are actually healthy.

What do you think?

Check out this video below:

Neoliberalism and Reggaeton

Marisol LeBron — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:49:01 PDT

(This post originally appeared on post pomo nuyorican homo and was reposted on Racialicious)

Reuters recently published a pieced entitled “Reggaeton fever shakes up Cuba’s culture” the article cites an now infamous (in reggaeton circles anyway) quote by Juventud Rebelde that calls reggaeton a “reflection of ‘neoliberal thinking’."

I think the development and growth of reggaeton in Cuba has been fascinating (if you are interested check out Geoff Baker’s work) and illuminates much about the ways in which different musical forms/genres circulate as cultural and ideological commodities.

The idea of reggaeton being a product of neoliberalism is intriguing. Clearly the flows of neoliberal capital and its circuits facilitated the spread of technologies and people that enabled the different permutations of reggaeton within the Caribbean, the Americas, and globally.

More than anything else, I wonder what seeing reggaeton as a neoliberal commidity says about how Cuban authorities think about the neocolonial relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico and the forces of diaspora (not only between Puerto Rico and the U.S., but broadly speaking) in forging reggaeton, essentially outside of the Cuban nation (and well any nation really). Reggaeton is largely positioned as outside of the Cuban nation, seen as an import from the yanquis via Puerto Rico, which is why Cuban Culture Minister Abel Prieto is quoted in the Reuters piece as saying that reggaeton needs to be “pushed away.” Reggaeton is agringado, a corrupting influence on Cuba’s revolutionary ideals.

While reggaeton is (often mis)understood as a Puerto Rican, or even an American phenomenon, the more authorities and cultural brokers attempt to place reggaeton within some kind of national frame the more obvious it becomes that reggaeton exist in between and outside of national boundaries.

Maybe that is what makes reggaeton so threatening, what incites all these national panics? Well, besides sex and race, but of course those things are tied up within the nation too…

Now I’m just ranting though….thoughts?

Healthcare: A Moral Obligation

Adam Waxman — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:26:01 PDT

There was a fascinating op-ed in The New York Times, taking a broad look at the question of the universe of the uninsured. The Times breaks down each group of uninsured and takes a look at them. The whole article is well worth a read, but I was especially struck by this passage discussing young people:

Some 13 million young adults between the ages of 19 and 29 lack coverage. These are not, for the most part, healthy young professionals making a sensible decision to pay their own minimal medical bills rather than buy insurance that they are unlikely to need. The Kaiser foundation estimates that only 10 percent are college graduates, and only 5 percent have incomes above $60,000 a year, while half have family incomes below $16,000 a year. Many of these younger people would be helped by reform bills that would provide subsidized coverage for the poor and an exchange where individuals can buy cheaper insurance than is now available.

Now, when I think of a Millennial, I will be honest and say I think of my friends from college. Reading the newspaper at least every couple of days and keeping up with John Stewart to get a handle on the news. They vote. I can't help but suspect that most people, when they think of "young people," tend to think of college students. Yet, as the Times noted in the above op-ed, the young people who are seriously hurting and need health care reform are not in school -- they work part time (or full time when they can get it) jobs in low wage America. The question that begs for me is, what should be the responsibility of those of us who do have the privileges associated with going to school and white collar jobs?

Now, people may remember my interview with Ezra Klein where he made an important point: health care is an issue that impacts everyone, so it's a little self-defeating to try to box out certain groups and ask "what's in it for me?" I do think, however, that the young people who can have a responsibility to take up this fight. There was a pretty depressing article in the AP recently about young people and health care, which basically recycled an old meme that youth are uninterested in health care because they don't see it impacting them personally. For me, however, this is the money graph (emphasis mine):

Younger people are generally healthier and rely on less medical care, particularly young working men who make up the largest group that goes voluntarily without health insurance. They also are less likely to be as vocal at contentious town halls; many are either working or in school during the daytime forums.

When things are scheduled makes a difference, doesn't it? The reality is that other voices are simply being heard over ours. Obviously, that's true for many of the people who are directly impacted by lack of access to health care in this country -- gosh, you'd love to go talk to your Senator, but don't you know, you just got put down for another double shift at the diner, and well, it's the only job you've got.

Many young people, I am willing to guess, could make their voices heard within the confines of town hall meetings and so on and so forth. I tend to believe that we (because I count myself in those ranks) have a moral obligation to speak up for everyone who can't. When we stood together last November, we made history. We need to...

From Oakland to India, Youth Speak A Global Lingo

Zoneil Maharaj — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:00:01 PDT

Slumdog Millionaire won America’s heart with its triumphant tale of India’s street kids. Oh, how we laughed when little Jamal fell in to a feces-filled river, and how we cried tears of joy when Jamal and Latika finally got together. But despite being a sappy Hollywood production, the movie did hint at the gritty, real-life situations faced by India’s youth (see Born Into Brothels and Salaam Bombay for less happy endings).

Project Ahimsa, a global organization that aims to empower youth through music, recently released Global Lingo, a compilation that showcases the youth talent from its efforts worldwide, many of whom face the same trials as our Slumdog hero. Project Ahimsa ("ahimsa" is a Sanskrit term for “nonviolence” and one of Gandhi’s tenets) raises funds to create microgrants for musical instruments and salaries for music teachers at various nonprofits across around the world, currently serving 10,000 kids in 14 countries.

In 2006, Global Lingo co-producer and Project Ahimsa grants coordinator Robin Sukhadia traveled with producer Bay Area music producer J-Boogie and an audio recorder to visit Project Ahimsa supported programs in Kolkata and Ahmedabad, India.

“Everywhere we went, children were eager to share their immense talent,” Sukhadia says. Upon their return, the samples of the children’s singing were sent to professional musicians to incorporate in their compositions. Sukhadia returned to India this January with a finished product. “The look on the children’s faces when they heard and saw themselves was priceless,” Sukhadia says.

While the youth are definitely the stars, Global Lingo also features a host of professional recording artists, including Afrobeat singer Rocky Dawuni, hip-hop activist Michael Franti and deep house producer Miguel Migs.

“For these artists to give their time and talent to elevating these children further validates that music truly is about empowerment, and not just about profit or self-promotion,” says Sukhadia, who is also a musician performing under Tablapusher.

Not only does Global Lingo validate music’s purpose but, for the youth involved, validates their talent while simultaneously educating them on the process of music production, Sukhadia says. “It teaches them discipline, and it teaches them their commitment to music can result in something greater than themselves.”

Global Lingo covers almost every genre and style imaginable, uniting the world through empowering song. Fourteen-year-old former rag picker Ganesh Barriya’s voice is chopped and set to Nilla Green’s thumping 808 bass on “Liberation 3000,” like a Bollywood “Born to Roll” with sitars and other traditional Indian instruments, while Florida producer Cubanix gives the Ahmedabad, India adolescent’s vocals an electronic touch.

The children of Los Ritmos en Los Barrios -- a project of Building New Hope, an NGO based in Pittsburg, GA and Granada, Nicaragua that hosts educational and development projects in Central America -- contribute their traditional “El Tiburon del Lago Cocibolca.”

Oakland songstress Coco Peila, of Youth Movement Records, mellows the mood with her sensual and uplifting “Any Day Now.” And Chicago-based Funkadesi turn things into a frenzy with their whirlwind blend of bhangra, reggae and funk.

Global Lingo is very much a “world music” album, which hasn’t been the most popular genre amongst youth. Up until recently, world music was a privileged interest for an older demographic. But the recent success of globally-influenced artists such as M.I.A., Shakira, K’Naan and, to a lesser extent, production teams N.A.S.A. and Major Lazer, has made the rest of the world culturally relevant to a younger American audience.

While some of the aforementioned artists’ purposes may have been...

Off Track: Judging Gender and Caster Semenya

Tomas Palermo — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:32:01 PDT

An international row erupted after an 18-year old South African woman's gender was scrutinized at a track competition.

Jamaica's Usain Bolt may have stolen all the lightning at last week's World Track and Field Championships in Berlin, but it was the harsh treatment, innuendo, whispers and testing leveled against South African 800 meter gold medalist Caster Semenya that had people talking.

And much of that conversation was hardly polite.

To recap: This past week was the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Track and Field Championships in Berlin, Germany. The event is held every two years, and is seen as a run-up to Olympic competition. The eight-day event features Olympic medalists such as the aforementioned Mr. Bolt, as well as several new qualifiers.

One such new name was 18 year-old Caster Semenya, competing in the women's 800 meter event. She had recently set the world-leading time in the Africa qualifying races prior to the Berlin Championships. Track heads were curious: "Who is she?" "Why haven't we seen her compete before?" "Is she for real?"

Those weren't the only questions being asked.

Due to the long history of doping, or use of performance enhancing drugs in track and field competition, every athlete must agree to several random drug test, including urine samples, leading up to and during competition. An athlete can literally be pulled aside 10 minutes before a race and asked to pee.

2008 Beijng Olympic men's 1500 meter gold medalist Rashid Ramzi was recently stripped of his award following his positive test for performance enhancers. These drugs can make a huge difference in who qualifies and competes.

Like the other athletes Semenya was likely tested multiple times, so there should have been no initial allegations about steroid use based on her muscular appearance.

In the track events, which include 100 meters, 200, 400, 800, 1500 meters and so on, a pool of qualifying athletes run in preliminary heats, a semi-final and a final heat. Semenya easily qualified, running at the front of her two races. But competition on the track wasn't the only place this young women would be tested.

As Semenya made her way through her initial heats, IAAF track officials began to question Semenya's gender identity. Other athletes openly stated in the press that they thought she was a male. Then Semenya won gold in the 800 final.

As the Guardian reported:

"Caster Semenya's victory in the women's world championship 800 metres has been overshadowed by a "gender verification test" ordered by athletics officials amid claims that she is actually a man."

The test, which involved physical, psychological and other medical examinations is humiliating, of course, and a moment that should have been a gold medal triumph for Semenya and South Africa was ruined by ill-placed suspicions.

International track and field regulations dictate that participants must be "fully male" or "fully female" to participate in their gender's events. In this case, though, the race officials had little evidence to judge Semenya on other than physical appearance and her quick rise in the ranks of elite 800 meters. Officials wondered: Could she be on steroids, intersex, or a male masquerading as a female?

The officials simply came to their initial conclusion based on Semenya's appearance. This was the worst case of gender, and perhaps racial profiling at a track meet in decades.

To put it another way, Semenya was guilty of being male until proven female.

The head of South Africa's track federation expressed outrage:

"It would not be like that if it were some young girl from Europe," Athletics South Africa president Leonard Chuene told The Associated...

Federal Court Defangs Terror Financing Law

M. Junaid Levesque-Alam — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:42:01 PDT

One of the many examples of government overreach and abuse of authority in the wake of the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks was the way in which authorities indiscriminately began shutting down numerous Muslim charities under the pretext of terrorism. Most conveniently, the terror charges did not have to meet the burden of proof or be made available to the accused because they were deemed classified.

That may have just changed.

A federal court has ruled that the government cannot freeze organizational assets under terror financing laws without first presenting a warrant based on probable cause or informing the targeted organization of the reasons behind the move.

District Judge James G. Carr’s ruling came on Tuesday in a suit first filed in November 2008 by the ACLU and a Columbus, Ohio, based Muslim charity, KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc.

Its assets were frozen three and a half years ago without a warrant, hearing, or even a notice, based on nothing but an assertion that the organization was being investigated.

Judge Carr ruled that the terror financing laws crafted by the Bush era Justice Department failed to accord with the Fourth Amendment and flouted the Fifth Amendment because it “violated KindHearts’ fundamental right to be told on what basis and for what reasons the government deprived it of all access to all its assets and shut down its operations.”

The charity has never been found guilty of any wrongdoing, but the government’s draconian actions have essentially paralyzed it.

Case co-counsel David Cole, a law professor at Georgetown University, said, “The government has an undoubtedly legitimate interest in stopping the funding of terrorist activity, but the authority used against KindHearts and so many other charities is a blunt sledgehammer that permits the government to shut down charities indefinitely without any finding of wrongdoing, without any notice of the basis for its actions, without any prior judicial approval, and without any meaningful opportunity for the charity to defend itself.”

Several million American Muslims reside in America, most of them immigrants. The act of giving to charity, or zakaat, is one of the five central components of Islam.

President Obama admitted in his Cairo speech that “rules on charitable giving have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation,” adding, that he is “committed to working with American Muslims to ensure that they can fulfill zakaat.”

If the ruling stands, it will be a concrete sign that ruling circles are truly rethinking the strategy of reflexive vilification against Muslims that emerged as part of the war campaign; few actions seem more mean-spirited than shutting down a host of charities with nothing but hyperbolic accusations.

Hellraisers: Back to School Activism Victories

Jamilah King — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:00:01 PDT

As high school, college and grad students around the country gear up for another busy year of classes and calls to action, it helps to look back at the year's previous accomplishments. And from clean energy victories to massive mobilizations against state budget cuts, there's plenty to celebrate. And even more to fight for.

WireTap recently teamed up with Campus Progress and Mother Jones to highlight some of the most inspiring feats in youth activism around the country.

Here's a taste of what we came up with, written by Kiera Butler at Mother Jones:

Education Cuts

In May, 400 Los Angeles high school students used text messages to organize a walkout to protest Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to slash millions from their already underfunded school district, where the dropout rate is nearly 35 percent. The University of Nevada-Las Vegas' Tombstones on Campus campaign erected eight-foot-tall cardboard grave markers with messages about how a proposed 36 percent budget cut could kill higher education in Nevada. As a result, the state legislature approved a smaller cut of 12.5 percent.

Gay Marriage

When California banned gay marriage last November, snarky Princeton students launched the No Freshmen on the Sidewalks campaign. A video of upperclassmen rallying for "traditional sidewalk values" got tens of thousands of hits on YouTube and was picked up on blogs including Andrew Sullivan's and Daily Kos.

Labor

Last October, Russell Athletic announced it would shut down a plant in Honduras whose workers had asked for higher wages. United Students Against Sweatshops went after the company, which supplies logo gear to thousands of campuses, with rallies, sweat-free fashion shows, and talks by the fired workers. The plant stayed closed, but 83 schools have severed ties with Russell.

Clean Energy

In February, 12,000 young people met on Capitol Hill as part of the Power Shift '09 campaign to urge lawmakers to create 5 million new green jobs through investment in clean energy. The stimulus bill included $50 million toward training.

Water

Members of Muhlenberg College's Environmental Action Team convinced their school to ditch bottled water in favor of tap water, hosting taste tests where students and staff attempted to discriminate between tap and bottled water (the verdict: almost impossible). They also installed filtered waterspouts on fountains and provided next year's incoming freshman class with reusable water bottles.

Women's Health

Arbor Vitae, a local "pregnancy help center," known for its strong anti-choice stance, posted ads around the University of Michigan campus claiming its counselors provide "reliable information" about birth control and abortion—so the members of Students for Choice launched a protest. "Anti-choice attack dogs were on us within hours," recalls one student protester. "But we held our ground, keeping the discussion centered around the reason for our protest: the issue of giving students deceptive health information, not about abortion itself."

Immigration

Under the Dream Act, more than a million undocumented high school grads would become US citizens. The United We Dream Coalition's mock graduation in Washington, DC, drew hundreds of supporters, and in a PR coup, Harvard students, including several undocumented undergrads, convinced university president Drew Gilpin Faust to officially endorse the bill.

College Access for Immigrant Students, Oakland, California
A March 2009 Oakland school district audit found that only 5 percent of English language learners in the class of 2008 were on track to complete the series of courses required to apply to a University of California school. Part of what's holding these students back: Since college prep information is only available in English, students don't realize their English Language Development classes do not fulfill UC entry requirements....