Social security cuts

Cutting social security and Medicare is defaulting against you.

author: JB

Cutting social security and Medicare is defaulting against you.

Cutting social security and Medicare is defaulting against you.

As the congress and the executive battle over the budget it is clear from the rhetoric that default is on the table. It's a question of how much and who the US should default.

The media is full of words like entitlements instead of trust when the obligations of social security and Medicare are discussed. So the media also takes a side in the propaganda.

Worse than this ruckus is the fact that there is not a paradigm shift in the economy that will fix the economy.
US spending have created jobs in the defense-prison-security sector; but not in health, education, and small green businesses.

Imagine if the homeowner were bailed out instead of the banks. Imagine a tariff on finished good. Imagine taxing the ober-rich

Homeless man beat to death by police

Cover Up Caught On Camera: 6 Police Officers Taser And Beat Homeless Man To Death

author: author of comment: (required)

A shocking video has been released allegedly showing police officers tasering and beating a homeless man to death who they claim was resisting arrest. Video footage of 6 Fullerton, CA police officers tasering and beating a homeless man to death exposes a cover up that local officials refuse to answer questions about. Though the video is not clear, eye witnesses say the homeless man - Kelly Thomas, 37 - was unable to put up any resistance and was lying on the ground on his front when the attack took place on July 5. His screams and cries for his father can be heard amid the tasering noises.

Corporate news coverage of the event downplays the prospect of police brutality or foul play in the incident.

ABC video report on the eyewitness statements and recently a released video of the beating captured by a bystander, both attached to this page below, contradict the official story of the incident given by the police.

The LA Times report on the incident, however, echoes the official police story failing to report within the article itself the claims from eyewitnesses.

As shown in the ABC video below, witnesses report that the man was not resisting arrest. They tell ABC he was actually knocked unconscious while the police continued to beat him and scream at him to stop resisting.

But in over three weeks since the incident little has been done as the apparent police cover up has continued.

Local residents report that public officials have stonewalled the public and media who are trying to get an official statement on the story.

The district attorney has so far remained silent on the issue. Bystanders who witnessed the deadly beating claim they have not been contacted by the city for their testimony about the incident.

One citizen reports he was finally able to corner the Mayor into making a statement to the public. In this this YouTube video of the Mayor stated, "You don't start talkin' about things if your trying to get the answer."  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=w84LUUYWrsI


 link to blog.alexanderhiggins.com

This is about good and evil music

Heavy metalers, do not play or listen to that demonic thrash death metal.  I am a non religious wiccan.  I like metal that is not evil.  I like metal like Megadeth, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Ozzy like "The Ultimate Sin", "Blizzard of Ozz", as well as punk like Rancid "Let's Go", the Vandals.  These are just a few artists I like, as well as Ratt, Van Halen and others.  People really need to understand our humor, and that will take time.  I do not like gangsta rap at all, such as "Cop Killer", though I understand how they feel about the police, as well as the punks do.  Christ Illusion is so blasphemous and glorifies evil.  Do not use hard drugs such as crank, meth, speed, LSD, blaze, doses, crack, crunk.

Megadeth

Megadeth does not glorify things like nuclear war.  They warn us of toxic waste, pollution, and extinctions, just to name a few.

Rosevelt

First off, about the gay scandal That I posted.  about the President (Obama),  I could have been decieved.   I could have been beleiving lies.  I do not know.  But I would like a Franklin Delenor Rosevelt style government, with marijuana legal and net neutrality.  Remember the New Deal?  Well, marijuana, also called "pot" can be taxed and regulated.  Hard drugs must be illegal.  Taxing and regulating marijuna will help this country.

halloween simpsons

bart, simpson

Bart Simpson is the Devil's Cubanna Boy.

Deities

Scott Cunningham wrote in "Living Wicca" that we are not dieties.  Not one of us.

thought that counts

My high priestess, Ansela, taught me to harm none thought, word, or deed.  Thought is not the random thoughts that go through a person's head.  It is intent.  On Christmas, people always say "It's the thought that counts."

the Green Party

My opinion about the Green Party is that they care about the Earth.  That is the common party line so to speak, but I feel the Greens, at least me, are swing voters.  They can vote either left or right.  I am a person that is left of center.

slayer - Black Magic

Scorpions - Wind of Change

Coronagraph of the Sun

This is not an eclipse.  This is a coronagraph of the Sun.

Cold Turkey

Meat murder?

Meat is not murder if animals are raised and slaughtered humanely.

NY animal rights activist promo

SF Drug War Protest

From SF Indymedia:

Hundreds Protest Drug War & Mass Incarceration

Tue Jun 21 2011 (Updated 06/23/11) SF Rally and March Protests 40-Year War on Drugs and Criminalization of the Poor

Hundreds of people turned out at San Francisco City Hall on Friday, June 17th, to participate in the "Communities Rising to End the Drug War and Mass Incarceration" rally and march to protest the 40 year "war on drugs" and continued criminalization of the poor, the addicted and communities of color.

The protest then marched to the state and federal buildings nearby. Working and poor people struggling with addiction fill the prisons and jails of the US. This country has the dubious distinction of having the largest per capita incarcerated population in the world. Protesters called for drug policy reform that would emphasize rehabilitation versus the current policy based on punitive measures. They also demanded human rights for prisoners isolated in the notorious Pelican Bay Prison in Northern California.

Utopia

Utopia is a goal.  It takes work by everyone (each according to their ability and according to need.)  Part of the problem in the U.S. is that the rich do not pay their fair share in taxes.  They use tax shelters.  Good Journalism is a must (a free and independent press, with competition - not one controlled by the governement or big corporate conglomerates.  Remember that money is NOT the root of all evil.  It is the love of money.  Many people use thier fortunes to throw their weight around.

Portland police commissioner

From KATU

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland police sergeant embroiled in a "road rage" lawsuit will be moved to a desk job, says Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman.

The news comes three days after a driver involved in a roadway altercation with Sgt. Kyle Nice filed a lawsuit against Nice and the City of Portland.

Nice was off duty when he admits he "unholstered" his gun during that confrontation last Saturday. The driver involved, Neil Ruffin, told 9-1-1 dispatchers the gun was pointed right at him. Nice believed Ruffin nearly hit his personal truck, which held his 6-week-old baby, after Ruffin reportedly ran a red light on Southwest Allen Road.

Ruffin's lawsuit accuses Nice of menacing and threatening him with a loaded firearm.

Portland Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman told KATU on Friday he would consider taking Nice off the street. On Monday, he told KATU Reporter Dan Tilkin that he and Portland Police Chief Rosie Sizer consulted, and "we have determined he will be placed in an administrative assignment off the street.”

Nice is off work and on family leave. When Nice returns from leave, he'll be "basically working in an office environment in the bureau," Saltzman said.

Meanwhile, Saltzman wasn't shy about how he feels on this matter: "I am embarrassed by Sgt. Nice in this road-rage incident, and I think it was totally unprofessional and it doesn’t set a good example for other officers. It’s not what the public expects of our officers, on or off duty.”

The case now goes in from the recently set-up citizen review board.

"I think the public deserves better from officers who are on, or off, duty,” Saltzman said.
In addition to the Nice incident, Portland police union president Sgt. Scott Westerman admitted to pulling over a woman twice while off-duty and yelling at her. Virginia Thompson was near Interstate 205 and two days later she and her husband were on the other side of town on Beaverton Hillsdale Highway. Thompson said in both instances Westerman screamed at her because he thought her lights were on high. She said he told her he was a police officer and could have her arrested.

Westerman said he was ashamed of the incident.
Saltzman said he’s going to wait for the Internal Affairs investigation to end before taking action with Westerman, who's not an active patrol officer.

He also said he’ll wait for the investigation to conclude on Sgt. Nice before deciding on further discipline.

Nice was one of the officers involved in the police custody death of James Chasse - a mentally ill man - in September 2006.

From Williamette Week

Mental Health Advocate Takes on Saltzman for City Council

In his second straight day in the news, prominent mental-health advocate Jason Renaud announced today he'll run against City Commissioner Dan Saltzman next year. Renaud, a volunteer for the Mental Health Association of Portland, is a prominent critic of the police role in the in-custody death three years ago of James Chasse Jr. Renaud (pictured above) also weighed in on Saltzman's decision yesterday to reverse himself and reinstate Officer Christopher Humphreys, who used a beanbag gun on a 12-year-old girl who was resisting arrest. (The race for Saltzman's seat also has two other candidates: Ed Garren and Spencer Burton.) More on the political implications of Saltzman's decision on Humphreys in tomorrow's issue of WW.

 

 

by JAMES PITKIN 11.30.2009

Posted In: CLEAN UP, City Hall, Cops and Courts at 03:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

 

 

Sizer and Saltzman Cave; Police Union Suspends No-Confidence Vote

The Portland police union has declined to release the results of last week's no-confidence vote on Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman and Chief Rosie Sizer today as planned. In a news release (PDF), the Portland Police Association says the decision came after Saltzman and Sizer agreed today to give back Officer Chris Humphreys' badge. "The (union's) rally on November 24 was designed to focus on the need for due process for Officer Humphreys; to have the incident thoroughly investigated before any decision was made," the news release says. "Today's actions grant those basic due process rights." Sgt. Scott Westerman (photo above), head of the police union, tells WW by email he will have no further comment beyond the release. Salzman and Sizer issued their own news release (PDF) earlier this afternoon confirming that Humphreys — who was involved in a controversial beanbag shooting Nov. 14 — has been placed "in an off-street administrative assignment." Such an assignment was Sizer's original decision on what to do with Humphreys pending the investigation. Saltzman overruled her then and decided to to pull Humphreys' badge, placing him on administrative leave Nov. 19. Saltzman's office says he will have no further comment today on why he changed his mind.

 

 

by JAMES PITKIN 11.27.2009

Posted In: CLEAN UP, Cops and Courts at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

 

 

Police Union Boss Pushes Back on Two Theories about the No-Confidence Vote

Amid all the political speculation on the Portland Police Associations's current no-confidence vote against Chief Rosie Sizer and Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman, two recurring theories have endured. Both were swatted down today by union president Sgt. Scott Westerman in an interview with WW. The first theory making the rounds has it that the union's no-confidence vote against Sizer and Saltzman for placing Officer Chris Humphreys on administrative leave is, in part, meant to benefit the cops when contract negotiations between the union and the city begin next year. Some observers believe weakening Saltzman could create leverage for the union. Others have noted that pissing off City Hall as a tactic could backfire. And Westerman today swatted down any such speculation about the vote a couple of days before the union is scheduled to announce the results. "People say this is for leverage, but that is not the case," he said. "This is about public safety. This is about our members looking at the chief and the police commissioner and saying, we followed our training, what do you expect us to do now?" Westerman also noted, as some observers believe, that "this will actually hurt our ability for contract negotiations." The second bit of speculation involves City Commissioner Randy Leonard. It's been reported that the union is working closely with Gallatin Public Affairs. Political insiders also know that Leonard has close ties with Gallatin lobbyist Greg Peden. Could it be that Leonard, a former firefighter union boss who has nursed his own designs to become police commissioner, is somehow playing puppet-master at the union through his friend Peden? Westerman scoffs at the notion, saying the union is working not only with Peden but the entire Gallatin team in Portland, with Shannon McCarthy Berg as the union's main contact at the firm. "I can assure you there has been no collusion between the Portland Police Association and any city commissioner to conspire toward anything," Westerman says. "I think Randy's quotes recently exemplify that."

 

 

by JAMES PITKIN 11.19.2009

Posted In: CLEAN UP, Cops and Courts at 04:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

 

 

Chasse Cop Christopher Humphreys Placed on Administrative Leave (UPDATED with union reaction)

Portland Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman has directed that Police Officer Christopher Humphreys be placed on administrative leave while investigators look into Humphreys firing a beanbag round at the thigh of a 12-year-old girl at close range. In this release (PDF), police say Humphreys —who also was involved in the death of James Chasse— and Officer Aaron Dauchy responded to a call at 10:47 pm last Saturday that took them to the MAX platform on 162nd Avenue. Police say officers were told there had been a large party with several gang members that had just broken up, and that a gun had been found in bushes near the party. Humphreys and Dauchy got on the MAX train heading west with about 20-30 teen-agers, including a girl Dauchy knew was excluded from the trains, police say. When Dauchy tried to take her into custody, police say she swung at him and resisted despite repeated warnings from Humphreys that he would fire the beanbag gun. Police Chief Rosie Sizer says a TriMet video of the incident left her "troubled." And Saltzman said he "directed that Officer Humphreys be immediately removed from the street and placed on administrative leave." Sizer read the prepared statement at a news conference and took no questions. Police spokeswoman, Det. Mary Wheat, wouldn't comment on whether there was a policy dictating the proper range for a beanbag shot. UPDATE: After Sizer ended her news conference without taking questions, police union president Scott Westerman held his own news conference on the steps of the Justice Center. Flanked by about 40 other officers, Westerman said Humphreys is a "well-respected" officer and called his actions "appropriate, justified, warranted and necessary" to defuse the situation. Westerman said regulations governing beanbag use require shots to the torso be from at least 10 feet away but that in closer-range situations, beanbag rounds to the extremities are OK. Westerman added that there are no restrictions on using beanbags against children. Westerman ascribed Humphreys' punishment to what he termed a "bias" against Humphreys after the Chasse death. And Westerman said Saltzman's decision to put Humphreys on administrative leave overrode Sizer's decision to only take Humphreys off the street. He said both Sizer and Saltzman have lost the confidence of police rank-and-file.

 

 

by BETH SLOVIC 12.07.2009

Posted In: CLEAN UP, City Hall at 02:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

 

 

Saltzman, Fritz And Sizer Meet with Mental Health Advocate

Given all the issues swirling around Portland police, here's a meeting worth noting. City Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who oversees the Portland Police Bureau, Commissioner Amanda Fritz, a former psychiatric nurse, and Police Chief Rosie Sizer are scheduled to meet this afternoon with Richard Harris, according to Fritz's calendar. Harris is the Oregon Department of Human Services' assistant director for addictions and mental health, and was formerly the executive director of Portland's Central City Concern. Detective Mary Wheat, a spokeswoman for the police, says the group is "information sharing."

 

 

by HANK STERN 12.10.2009

Posted In: CLEAN UP, Politics, City Hall at 02:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

 

 

Now Look Who's Mad at Dan Saltzman

Karin Hansen, who's never been shy about weighing in on what's roiling City Hall, is now upset with Commissioner Dan Saltzman in the wake of his reinstatement of Officer Christopher Humphreys to desk duty pending investigation into Humphreys' use of a beanbag gun against a 12-year-old girl who was resisting arrest. Hansen, who's married to former Mayor Tom Potter, responded to a Facebook thread last night by the Rev. Chuck Currie that said he wouldn't support Saltzman for re-election and that he "will be looking for a progressive voice to support." Hansen's reply: "You are oh so right! Thank you for your bold commentary." In case you're wondering whether that signals any interest by Hansen in being added to Saltzman's growing list of challengers in the 2010 election, don't. Hansen (in the photo above with Jasun Wurster, organizer of the first effort to recall Mayor Sam Adams) tells WW she isn't interested in running against Saltzman next year.

 

 

by HANK STERN 12.18.2009

Posted In: CLEAN UP, Politics, City Hall at 03:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

 

 

The Newest Challenger To Dan Saltzman is ...

Jesse Cornett. There's been no shortage of candidates filing recently to take on city Commissioner Dan Saltzman next year. And Cornett, who's leaving his post as assistant to PSU's president at the end of this year, has been a political candidate before. One of the founders both of Blue Oregon and the Bus Project, the now-34-year-old Cornett ran unsuccessfully for the state Legislature in 2006. He also considered trying again for a legislative seat this year before deciding against it. Now living in Lents, Cornett says he's filing the paperwork today to take on Saltzman in the City Hall race instead of Commissioner Nick Fish —who's also up for re-election next year— because Saltzman has been in office for three terms with what Cornett says are "few accomplishments." Cornett faults Saltzman for losing control of one of the more recent issues the commissioner had to deal with in Saltzman's reversal of his original decision in the case of Officer Christopher Humphreys. Cornett also wrote an op-ed in The Oregonian that also probably made Cornett no friends in the police union. Cornett says his experience in the city and state, including previous work as a senior policy adviser and legislative aide for former Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, makes him the best-qualified candidate to take on Saltzman. "I didn't see anyone else in the race being a really strong contender," says Cornett, who plans to seek public financing.

 

 

by BETH SLOVIC 01.11.2010

Posted In: CLEAN UP, City Hall at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

 

 

Updated: A Sixth Candidate Joins Race Against Dan Saltzman

Rudy Soto, student body president at Portland State University from 2007 to 2008, will file next week to run against Commissioner Dan Saltzman, joining five others who have already announced their intention to challenge the three-time incumbent. Soto says he plans to make an official announcement next Monday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Soto, 24, has already seen the dark side of political campaigns. Back in 2007 when he ran for PSU student-body president, his victory at the polls was challenged in an underhanded fashion that required intervention from the state Attorney General's office. It's already been said many times that Soto has a biography tailor-made for politics in the Obama age. Of mixed Latino and Native American heritage, Soto at one point lived in an Idaho facility for juvenile delinquents. He then moved to Portland, where he graduated from Cleveland High School before enrolling at PSU. In 2008, Soto took a leave from college to join the Oregon National Guard. Currently on "drilling status" that requires service one weekend a month, Soto plans to graduate from PSU in June. Soto also has seen his share of City Hall politics recently. A member of Mayor Sam Adams' committee studying the Rose Quarter redevelopment, Soto is also an intern in Commissioner Nick Fish's office. Soto says he informed Fish, who is also up for re-election, this morning of his intention to run. "He did ask, 'Wait a second, which position?'" Soto says. Soto adds that his decision was influenced, at least in part, by the event hosted by his fellow challengers on Friday night, which was sparsely attended. "I think I could create more interest in the race," Soto says. Update at 5:30 pm: Soto filed Monday Jan. 11 to run against Saltzman. Photo of Soto with then presidential candidate Barack Obama courtesy of Soto.

 

 

by BETH SLOVIC 01.19.2010

Posted In: CLEAN UP, City Hall at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

 

 

Dan Saltzman Files For Fourth Term

The six candidates who have declared their desire to challenge Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman finally have a challenger in Saltzman; the three-time incumbent officially filed today to seek a fourth term. His website is DanSaltzman.com.

 

 

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Police psychics

Though testimony or evidence based on psychics is unadmissible in court, all a police psychic does is gets a lead for the police department of any city, and a detective solves the crime.  They also work with a police artist to get a desrciption of the person.

Cesar Chavez

César Chávez

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the civil rights activist. For the boxer, see Julio César Chávez. For the ship, see USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE-14).

César Chávez
César Chávez, 1974
Born	March 31, 1927 Yuma, Yuma, US
Died	April 23, 1993 (aged 66) San Luis, San Luis
Occupation	Farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist.
Parents	Librado Chávez (father) Juana Estrada Chávez (mother)

César Estrada Chávez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsesaɾ esˈt̪ɾaða ˈtʃaβes]; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers (UFW).^[1]
A Mexican American, Chávez became the best known Latino civil rights activist, and was strongly promoted by the American labor movement, which was eager to enroll Hispanic members. His public-relations approach to unionism and aggressive but nonviolent tactics made the farm workers' struggle a moral cause with nationwide support. By the late 1970s, his tactics had forced growers to recognize the UFW as the bargaining agent for 50,000 field workers in California and Florida. However, by the mid-1980s membership in the UFW had dwindled to around 15,000.
Chavez was a charismatic, gifted speaker who inspired Latinos to band together and devote themselves to the farmworkers' movement. Claiming as his models Emiliano Zapata, Gandhi, Nehru, and Martin Luther King, he called on his people to "Make a solemn promise: to enjoy our rightful part of the riches of this land, to throw off the yoke of being considered as agricultural implements or slaves. We are free men and we demand justice."^{[citation needed]}
After his death he became a major historical icon for the Latino community, and for liberals generally, symbolizing militant support for workers and for Hispanic power based on grass roots organizing and his slogan "Sí, se puede" (Spanish for "Yes, it is possible" or, roughly, "Yes, it can be done"). His supporters say his work led to numerous improvements for union laborers. His birthday has become César Chávez Day, a state holiday in eight US states. Many parks, cultural centers, libraries, schools, and streets have been named in his honor in cities across the United States.

Contents [hide] 1 Early life 2 Activism 3 Immigration 4 Education 5 César Chávez Day 6 Legacy 7 Timeline 8 See also 9 References 10 References and Further reading 11 External links

Early life

César Estrada Chávez was born on March 31, 1927 in Yuma, Arizona, in a Mexican-American family of six children.^[2] He was named after his grandfather, Cesario.^[3] Chávez grew up in a small adobe home, the same home in which he was born. His family owned a grocery store and a ranch, but their land was lost during the Great Depression. Chávez experienced injustice early in life; his home was taken away after his father had agreed to clear eighty acres of land in exchange for the deed to the house, an agreement which was subsequently broken. Later when Cesar's father attempted to purchase the house, he could not pay the interest on the loan and the house was sold to its original owner.^[3] His family then moved to California to become migrant farm workers.
The Chávez family faced many hardships in California. The family would pick peas and lettuce in the winter, cherries and beans in the spring, corn and grapes in the summer, and cotton in the fall.^[2] Working conditions for migrant workers were poor and often unsafe, and their wages were low. Cesar's family frequently lacked access to such basic needs as clean water or toilets. Because a large number of migrant workers were Mexican-American, they also often faced prejudice, and their children had to skip school to earn wages to help support the family. When César was a teenager, he and his older sister Rita would help other farm workers and neighbors by driving those unable to drive to the hospital to see a doctor.^[4]
Although he was a bright student, Chávez faced difficulty in school due to prejudice. His family spoke only Spanish at home, and his teachers forbade him from speaking the language at school. At one time, Chávez was hit on the knuckles with a ruler for violating this rule.^[3] Also at school, he constantly faced hearing racial slurs. In 1942, he graduated from eighth grade. He did not want his mother to have to work in the fields, so he never attended high school, instead dropping out to become a full-time migrant farm worker.^[3] In 1944 he joined the United States Navy at the age of seventeen and served for two years. Serving on a ship, he was seasick most of the time. Chávez had hoped that he would learn skills in the Navy that would help him later when he returned to civilian life. However he soon discovered to his dismay that Mexican-Americans in the Navy at that time could only work as deckhands or painters.^[5] Later, Chávez described his experience in the military as “the two worst years of my life.”^[6] When Chávez returned home from his service in the military, he married his high school sweetheart, Helen Favela. The couple moved to San Jose, California, where they would have seven children: Fernando, Linda (1951–2000),^[7] Paul, Eloise, Sylvia and Anthony.^[6]

Activism

Chávez worked in the fields until 1952, when he became an organizer for the Community Service Organization (CSO), a Latino civil rights group. He was hired and trained by Fred Ross as an organizer targeting police brutality. Chávez urged Mexican Americans to register and vote, and he traveled throughout California and made speeches in support of workers' rights. He later became CSO's national director in 1958.^[8]
In 1962 Chávez left the CSO and co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) with Dolores Huerta. It was later called the United Farm Workers (UFW).

Chávez speaking at a 1974 United Farm Workers rally in Delano, California

When Filipino American farm workers initiated the Delano grape strike on September 8, 1965, to protest for higher wages, Chávez eagerly supported them. Six months later, Chávez and the NFWA led a strike of California grape pickers on the historic farmworkers march from Delano to the California state capitol in Sacramento for similar goals. The UFW encouraged all Americans to boycott table grapes as a show of support. The strike lasted five years and attracted national attention. In March 1966, the US Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare's Subcommittee on Migratory Labor held hearings in California on the strike. During the hearings, subcommittee member Robert F. Kennedy expressed his support for the striking workers.^[9]
These activities led to similar movements in Southern Texas in 1966, where the UFW supported fruit workers in Starr County, Texas, and led a march to Austin, in support of UFW farm workers' rights. In the Midwest, César Chávez's movement inspired the founding of two Midwestern independent unions: Obreros Unidos in Wisconsin in 1966, and the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) in Ohio in 1967. Former UFW organizers would also found the Texas Farm Workers Union in 1975.
In the early 1970s, the UFW organized strikes and boycotts—including the Salad Bowl strike, the largest farm worker strike in U.S. history—to protest for, and later win, higher wages for those farm workers who were working for grape and lettuce growers. The union also won passage of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act, which gave collective bargaining rights to farm workers. During the 1980s, Chávez led a boycott to protest the use of toxic pesticides on grapes. Bumper stickers reading "NO GRAPES" and "UVAS NO"^[10] (the translation in Spanish) were widespread. He again fasted to draw public attention. UFW organizers believed that a reduction in produce sales by 15% was sufficient to wipe out the profit margin of the boycotted product. These strikes and boycotts generally ended with the signing of bargaining agreements.^{[clarification needed]}
Chávez undertook a number of spiritual fasts, regarding the act as “a personal spiritual transformation”.^[11] In 1968, he fasted for 25 days, promoting the principle of nonviolence.^[12] In 1970, Chávez began a fast of ‘thanksgiving and hope’ to prepare for pre-arranged civil disobedience by farm workers.^[13] Also in 1972, he fasted in response to Arizona’s passage of legislation that prohibited boycotts and strikes by farm workers during the harvest seasons.^[13] These fasts were influenced by the Catholic tradition of doing penance and by Gandhi’s fasts and emphasis of nonviolence.^[12]
In a failed attempt to reach out to Filipino American farmworkers, Chávez met with then-President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos in Manila. There he endorsed the regime, which was seen by human rights advocates and religious leaders as a vicious dictatorship. This caused a rift within the UFW, which lead to Philip Vera Cruz's resignation from the organization.^{[14][15][16][17]}

Immigration

The UFW during Chávez's tenure was committed to restricting immigration. Chávez and Dolores Huerta, cofounder and president of the UFW, fought the Bracero Program that existed from 1942 to 1964. Their opposition stemmed from their belief that the program undermined US workers and exploited the migrant workers. Since the Bracero program ensured a constant supply of cheap immigrant labor for growers, immigrants could not protest any infringement of their rights, lest they be fired and replaced. Their efforts contributed to Congress ending the Bracero Program in 1964. In 1973, the UFW was one of the first labor unions to oppose proposed employer sanctions that would have prohibited hiring undocumented immigrants. Later during the 1980s, while Chávez was still working alongside Huerta, he was key in getting the amnesty provisions into the 1986 federal immigration act.^[18]
On a few occasions, concerns that undocumented migrant labor would undermine UFW strike campaigns led to a number of controversial events, which the UFW describes as anti-strikebreaking events, but which have also been interpreted as being anti-immigrant. In 1969, Chávez and members of the UFW marched through the Imperial and Coachella Valleys to the border of Mexico to protest growers' use of undocumented immigrants as strikebreakers. Joining him on the march were both Reverend Ralph Abernathy and US Senator Walter Mondale.^[19] In its early years, Chávez and the UFW went so far as to report undocumented immigrants who served as strikebreaking replacement workers, as well as those who refused to unionize, to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.^{[20][21][22][23][24]}
In 1973, the United Farm Workers set up a "wet line" along the United States-Mexico border to prevent Mexican immigrants from entering the United States illegally and potentially undermining the UFW's unionization efforts.^[25] During one such event in which Chávez was not involved, some UFW members, under the guidance of Chávez's cousin Manuel, physically attacked the strikebreakers, after attempts to peacefully persuade them not to cross the border failed.^[26][27][28]

Education

Later in life, Chávez focused on his education. The walls of his office in Keene, California (United Farm Worker headquarters) were lined with hundreds of books ranging in subject from philosophy, economics, cooperatives, and unions, to biographies of Gandhi and the Kennedy family. Chávez was a vegan because he believed in animal rights and also for his health.^[29][30]

César Chávez Day

Cesar Chavez Day poster

César Chávez's birthday, March 31, is celebrated in California as a state holiday, intended to promote service to the community in honor of Chávez's life and work. Many, but not all, state government offices, community colleges, and libraries are closed. Only two public school districts in San Jose observe the day with no school. Texas also recognizes the day, and it is an optional holiday in Arizona and Colorado.

Legacy

Colegio César Chávez advertisement in the 1980 Mount Angel Oktoberfest issue of the Silverton Appeal Tribune.

He is buried at the National Chavez Center, on the headquarters campus of the United Farm Workers of America (UFW), at 29700 Woodford-Tehachapi Road in the Keene community of unincorporated Kern County, Kern County.^[31] There is a portrait of him in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.^[32]
In 1973, college professors in Mount Angel, Oregon established the first four-year Mexican-American college in the United States. They chose César Chávez as their symbolic figurehead, naming the college Colegio Cesar Chavez. In the book Colegio Cesar Chavez, 1973-1983: A Chicano Struggle for Educational Self-Determination author Carlos Maldonado writes that Chávez visited the campus twice, joining in public demonstrations in support of the college. Though Colegio Cesar Chavez closed in 1983, it remains a recognized part of Oregon history. On its website the Oregon Historical Society writes, "Structured as a 'college-without-walls,' more than 100 students took classes in Chicano Studies, early childhood development, and adult education. Significant financial and administrative problems caused Colegio to close in 1983. Its history represents the success of a grassroots movement."^[33] The Colegio has been described as having been a symbol of the Latino presence in Oregon.^[34]
In 1992, Chávez was awarded the Pacem in Terris Award. It was named after a 1963 encyclical letter by Pope John XXIII that calls upon all people of good will to secure peace among all nations. Pacem in Terris is Latin for "Peace on Earth."
Chávez died on April 23, 1993, of unspecified natural causes in a rental apartment in San Luis, Arizona. Shortly after his death, his widow, Helen Chávez, donated his black nylon union jacket to the National Museum of American History, a branch of the Smithsonian.^[35]
On September 8, 1994, Chávez was presented, posthumously, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton. The award was received by his widow, Helen Chávez.
The California cities of Long Beach, Modesto, Sacramento, San Diego, Berkeley, and San Jose, California have renamed parks after him, as well as the City of Seattle, Washington. In Amarillo, Texas a bowling alley has been renamed in his memory. In Los Angeles, César E. Chávez Avenue, originally two separate streets (Macy Street west of the Los Angeles River and Brooklyn Avenue east of the river), extends from Sunset Boulevard and runs through East Los Angeles and Monterey Park. In San Francisco, César Chávez Street, originally named Army Street, is named in his memory. At San Francisco State University the student center is also named after him. The University of California, Berkeley, has a César E. Chávez Student Center, which lies across Lower Sproul Plaza from the Martin Luther King, Jr., Student Union. California State University San Marcos's Chavez Plaza includes a statue to Chávez. In 2007, The University of Texas at Austin unveiled its own César Chávez Statue^[36] on campus. Fresno named an adult school, where a majority percent of students' parents or themselves are, or have been, field workers, after Chávez. In Austin, Texas, one of the central thoroughfares was changed to César Chávez Boulevard. In Ogden, Utah, a four-block section of 30th Street was renamed Cesar Chavez Street. In Oakland, there is a library named after him and his birthday, March 31, is a district holiday in remembrance of him. On July 8, 2009, the city of Portland, Portland, changed the name of 39th Avenue to Cesar Chavez Boulevard.^[37] In 2003, the United States Postal Service honored him with a postage stamp. The largest flatland park in Phoenix Arizona is named after Chavez. The park features Cesar Chavez Branch Library and a life-sized statue of Chavez by artist Zarco Guerrero. In April, 2010, the city of Dallas, Texas changed street signage along the downtown street-grade portion of Central Expressway, renaming it for Chávez;^[38] part of the street passes adjacent to the downtown Dallas Farmers Market complex. El Paso has a controlled-access highway, the portion of Texas Loop 375 running beside the Rio Grande, called the Cesar Chavez Border Highway; also in El Paso, the alternative junior-senior high school in the Ysleta Independent School District is named for Chavez. Las Cruces, New Mexico has an elementary school named for Cesar Chavez as well.

The National Chavez Center, Keene, California.

In 2004, the National Chavez Center was opened on the UFW national headquarters campus in Keene by the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation. It currently consists of a visitor center, memorial garden and his grave site. When it is fully completed, the 187-acre (0.76 km²) site will include a museum and conference center to explore and share Chávez's work.^[31]
In 2005, a César Chávez commemorative meeting was held in San Antonio, honoring his work on behalf of immigrant farmworkers and other immigrants. Chavez High School in Houston is named in his honor, as is Cesar E. Chavez High School in Delano, California. In Davis, California; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Bakersfield, California and Madison, Wisconsin there are elementary schools named after him in his honor. In Davis, California, there is also an apartment complex named after Chávez which caters specifically to low-income residents and people with physical and mental disabilities. In Racine, Wisconsin, there is a community center named The Cesar Chavez Community Center also in his honor. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, the business loop of I-196 Highway is named "Cesar E Chavez Blvd." The (AFSC) American Friends Service Committee nominated him three times for the Nobel Peace Prize.^[39]
On December 6, 2006, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver inducted César Chávez into the California Hall of Fame located at The California Museum for History, Women, and the Arts.^[40]
César Chávez's eldest son, Fernando Chávez, and grandson, Anthony Chávez, each tour the country, speaking about his legacy.
Chávez was referenced by Stevie Wonder in the song "Black Man," from the album Songs in the Key of Life, and by Tom Morello in the song "Union Song," from the album One Man Revolution.
On May 18, 2011, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced the Navy would be naming the last of 14 Lewis and Clark-class cargo ships after Cesar Chavez.^[41]

Timeline

What I do not like

Three Things that I just cannot stand is hypocrisy, legalism and perfectionism.  Not all of us have the faith to be Christians, and I beleive that Wiccans should not have any ill will against Christians.  I used to be slightly legalistic when I was a Christian.  I do not hate Pastor Hagee as a person, but I have heard him make jokes about people going to hell.  I try to love my enemies and I do not practice negative magic.  I do know a spell that causes any harm directed at me to backfire on people. It simply looks like a mirror image (that one that looks like an X-wing fighter).  No one on earth is perfect and we are all human.  None of us are dieties, not even the high priest or high priestess of one's coven.  Anyone who thinks this is on a real power trip.  Some simply do not want to be "peons"

voodoo

Someone is causing pain in my abdomen either with demons or some form of black magic, maybe a voodoo doll.

The fairness Doctrine

Corporate media is too powerful.  This country needs the fairness doctrine back.

The Fairness Doctrine was a policy of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), introduced in 1949, that required the holders of broadcast licenses to both present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was, in the Commission's view, honest, equitable and balanced. The doctrine was abolished in 1987.
The 1949 Commission Report served as the foundation for the Fairness Doctrine, since it had previously established two other forms of regulation onto broadcasters: to provide adequate coverage of public issues, and to ensure that coverage fairly represented opposing views.^[1] The second rule required broadcasters to provide reply time to issue-oriented citizens. Broadcasters could therefore trigger Fairness Doctrine complaints without editorializing. The commission required neither of the Fairness Doctrine’s obligations before 1949. Until then broadcasters had to satisfy only general “public interest” standards of the Communications Act.^[2]
The Fairness Doctrine should not be confused with the Equal Time rule. The Fairness Doctrine deals with discussion of controversial issues, while the Equal Time rule deals only with political candidates.
The main agenda for the doctrine was to ensure that viewers were exposed to a diversity of viewpoints, and in 1969, the United States Supreme Court upheld the FCC's general right to enforce the Fairness Doctrine where channels were limited. But the courts did not rule that the FCC was obliged to do so.^[3]. The courts reasoned that the scarcity of the broadcast spectrum, which limited the opportunity for access to the airwaves, created a need for the Doctrine. However, the proliferation of cable television, multiple channels within cable, public-access channels, and the Internet have eroded this argument, since there are plenty of places for ordinary individuals to make public comments on controversial issues at low or no cost.

[edit] Origins

According to Steve Rendall of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (which supports reinstating the Fairness Doctrine):

“

The Fairness Doctrine had two basic elements: It required broadcasters to devote some of their airtime to discussing controversial matters of public interest, and to air contrasting views regarding those matters. Stations were given wide latitude as to how to provide contrasting views: It could be done through news segments, public affairs shows, or editorials. The doctrine did not require equal time for opposing views but required that contrasting viewpoints be presented.[4]

”

The Fairness Doctrine was introduced in the U.S. in 1949.^[5] The doctrine remained a matter of general policy and was applied on a case-by-case basis until 1967, when certain provisions of the doctrine were incorporated into FCC regulations.^[6]
In 1974, the Federal Communications Commission asserted that the United States Congress had delegated it the power to mandate a system of "access, either free or paid, for person or groups wishing to express a viewpoint on a controversial public issue..." but that it had not yet exercised that power because licensed broadcasters had "voluntarily" complied with the "spirit" of the doctrine. It warned that:

“

Should future experience indicate that the doctrine [of 'voluntary compliance'] is inadequate, either in its expectations or in its results, the Commission will have the opportunity—and the responsibility—for such further reassessment and action as would be mandated.[7]

”

[edit] Decisions of the United States Supreme Court

In Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, 395 U.S. 367 (1969), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld (by a vote of 8-0) the constitutionality of the Fairness Doctrine in a case of an on-air personal attack, in response to challenges that the doctrine violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The case began when journalist Fred J. Cook, after the publication of his Goldwater: Extremist of the Right, was the topic of discussion by Billy James Hargis on his daily Christian Crusade radio broadcast on WGCB in Red Lion, Pennsylvania. Mr. Cook sued arguing that the Fairness Doctrine entitled him to free air time to respond to the personal attacks.^[8]
Although similar laws are unconstitutional when applied to the press, the Court cited a Senate report (S. Rep. No. 562, 86th Cong., 1st Sess., 8-9 [1959]) stating that radio stations could be regulated in this way because of the limited public airwaves at the time. Writing for the Court, Justice Byron White declared:

“

A license permits broadcasting, but the licensee has no constitutional right to be the one who holds the license or to monopolize a radio frequency to the exclusion of his fellow citizens. There is nothing in the First Amendment which prevents the Government from requiring a licensee to share his frequency with others.... It is the right of the viewers and listeners, not the right of the broadcasters, which is paramount.[3]

”

The Court warned that if the doctrine ever restrained speech, then its constitutionality should be reconsidered.
However, in the case of Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo, 418 U.S. 241 (1974), Chief Justice Warren Burger wrote (for a unanimous court):

“

Government-enforced right of access inescapably dampens the vigor and limits the variety of public debate.

”

This decision differs from Red Lion v. FCC in that it applies to a newspaper, which, unlike a broadcaster, is unlicensed and can theoretically face an unlimited number of competitors.
In 1984, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress could not forbid editorials by non-profit stations that received grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (FCC v. League of Women Voters of California, 468 U.S. 364 (1984)). The Court's 5-4 majority decision by William J. Brennan, Jr. stated that while many now considered that expanding sources of communication had made the Fairness Doctrine's limits unnecessary:

“

We are not prepared, however, to reconsider our longstanding approach without some signal from Congress or the FCC that technological developments have advanced so far that some revision of the system of broadcast regulation may be required. (footnote 11)

”

After noting that the FCC was considering repealing the Fairness Doctrine rules on editorials and personal attacks out of fear that those rules might be "chilling speech", the Court added:

“

Of course, the Commission may, in the exercise of its discretion, decide to modify or abandon these rules, and we express no view on the legality of either course. As we recognized in Red Lion, however, were it to be shown by the Commission that the fairness doctrine '[has] the net effect of reducing rather than enhancing' speech, we would then be forced to reconsider the constitutional basis of our decision in that case. (footnote 12)[9]

”

[edit] Revocation

Under FCC Chairman Mark S. Fowler, a communications attorney who had served on Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign staff in 1976 and 1980, the commission began to repeal parts of the Fairness Doctrine, announcing in 1985 that the doctrine hurt the public interest and violated free speech rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.
On February 16, 2009, Fowler told conservative radio talk-show host Mark Levin that his work toward revoking the Fairness Doctrine under the Reagan Administration had been a matter of principle (his belief that the Doctrine impinged upon the First Amendment), not partisanship. Fowler described the White House staff raising concerns, at a time before the prominence of conservative talk radio and during the preeminence of the Big Three television networks and PBS in political discourse, that repealing the policy would be politically unwise. He described the staff's position as saying to Reagan:

“

The only thing that really protects you from the savageness of the three networks — every day they would savage Ronald Reagan — is the Fairness Doctrine, and Fowler is proposing to repeal it![10]

”

Instead, Reagan supported the effort and later vetoed the Democratic-controlled Congress's effort to make the doctrine law.
In one landmark case, the FCC argued that teletext was a new technology that created soaring demand for a limited resource, and thus could be exempt from the Fairness Doctrine. The Telecommunications Research and Action Center (TRAC) and Media Access Project (MAP) argued that teletext transmissions should be regulated like any other airwave technology, hence the Fairness Doctrine was applicable (and must be enforced by the FCC).
In 1986, Judges Robert Bork and Antonin Scalia of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit concluded that the Fairness Doctrine did apply to teletext but that the FCC was not required to apply it.^[11]  In a 1987 case, Meredith Corp. v. FCC, two other judges on the same court declared that Congress did not mandate the doctrine and the FCC did not have to continue to enforce it.^[12]
In August 1987, the FCC abolished the doctrine by a 4-0 vote, in the Syracuse Peace Council decision, which was upheld by a different panel of the Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit in February 1989.^[13] The FCC also suggested that because of the many media voices in the marketplace, the doctrine be deemed unconstitutional, stating that:

“

The intrusion by government into the content of programming occasioned by the enforcement of [the Fairness Doctrine] restricts the journalistic freedom of broadcasters ... [and] actually inhibits the presentation of controversial issues of public importance to the detriment of the public and the degradation of the editorial prerogative of broadcast journalists.

”

[edit] Reaction

In June 1987, Congress attempted to preempt the FCC decision and codify the Fairness Doctrine,^[14] but the legislation was vetoed by President Ronald Reagan. Another attempt to revive the doctrine in 1991 was stopped when President George H.W. Bush threatened another veto.^[15]
Two corollary rules of the doctrine, the personal attack rule and the "political editorial" rule, remained in practice until 2000. The "personal attack" rule applied whenever a person (or small group) was subject to a personal attack during a broadcast. Stations had to notify such persons (or groups) within a week of the attack, send them transcripts of what was said and offer the opportunity to respond on-the-air. The "political editorial" rule applied when a station broadcast editorials endorsing or opposing candidates for public office, and stipulated that the unendorsed candidates be notified and allowed a reasonable opportunity to respond.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered the FCC to justify these corollary rules in light of the decision to repeal the Fairness Doctrine. The FCC did not provide prompt justification and ultimately ordered their repeal in 2000.
In February 2005, U.S. Representative Louise Slaughter (Democrat of New York) and 23 co-sponsors introduced the Fairness and Accountability in Broadcasting Act (H.R. 501)^[16] in the 1st Session of the 109th Congress of 2005-7 (when Republicans held a majority of both Houses). The bill would have shortened a station's license term from eight years to four, with the requirement that a license-holder cover important issues fairly, hold local public hearings about its coverage twice a year, and document to the FCC how it was meeting its obligations.^[17] The bill was referred to committee, but progressed no further.^[18]
In the same session of Congress, Representative Maurice Hinchey (another Democrat from New York) introduced legislation "to restore the Fairness Doctrine". H.R. 3302, also known as the "Media Ownership Reform Act of 2005" or MORA, had 16 co-sponsors in Congress.^[19]

[edit] Reinstatement considered

[edit] Support

Some Democratic legislators have expressed interest in reinstituting the Fairness Doctrine,^[20] although no one has introduced legislation to do so since 2005.
In June 2007, Senator Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) said, "It's time to reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine,"^[21] an opinion shared by his Democratic colleague, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts.^[22] However, according to Marin Cogan of The New Republic in late 2008:

“

Senator Durbin's press secretary says that Durbin has 'no plans, no language, no nothing. He was asked in a hallway last year, he gave his personal view' — that the American people were served well under the doctrine — 'and it's all been blown out of proportion.'[23]

”

On June 24, 2008, U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, California (who had been elected Speaker of the House in January 2007) told reporters that her fellow Democratic Representatives did not want to forbid reintroduction of the Fairness Doctrine, adding "the interest in my caucus is the reverse." When asked by John Gizzi of Human Events, "Do you personally support revival of the 'Fairness Doctrine?'", the Speaker replied "Yes."^[24]
On October 22, 2008, Senator Jeff Bingaman (Democrat of New Mexico) told a conservative talk radio host in Albuquerque, New Mexico:

“

I would want this station and all stations to have to present a balanced perspective and different points of view. All I’m saying is that for many, many years we operated under a Fairness Doctrine in this country, and I think the country was well-served. I think the public discussion was at a higher level and more intelligent in those days than it has become since.[25]

”

On December 15, 2008, U.S. Representative Anna Eshoo (Democrat of California) told The Daily Post in Palo Alto, California that she thought it should also apply to cable and satellite broadcasters.