The Undercurrent by Carlos Fierro

From the Editor:

The Undercurrent, as an independent newspaper (of, by, and for the people), brings together a lot of different folks with a lot of different ideas. That being said, The Undercurrent itself does not endorse any of the views expressed in its pages, but endorses wholeheartedly the necessity of expressing views in all their variety—openly, honestly, and with an aim for the truth, whatever it turns out to be. To that end, we encourage our readers to send us letters. We’ll or nearly four years, I have been print them without edit. When a letter addresses a particular article, we’ll let the writer respond. When it addresses writing to you from this section about the paper as a whole, we’ll respond. In this way, together, we’ll inch our collective way closer and closer to the truth.

the things you might find in the paper. At times, I have addressed other issues that were weighing on my mind. And on more than one occasion, I have weighed in, rather critically, on the state of mainstream media. Unfortunately, the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti last month further showed just how lacking mainstream media are.

Obviously a story this big and so close to home is going to garner a bit of attention. The visuals and devastation made Haiti a tailor-made news story. On the one hand, this provided a tremendous service, as it led countless people around the country to donate to numerous relief funds for Haiti. However, much too much of the reporting coming out of Haiti had little to do with providing information necessary to understand how a disaster of this magnitude could occur, but instead relied on visuals, human suffering, and self aggrandizing, patriotic platitudes. To be sure, when the story initially hits, it is most vital to get the news out there. The people of Haiti needed, and still need, help. But as a little time passed, mainstream media switched from providing on-the-ground accounts of the situation to providing more of a “perspective.” On more than one occasion, I watched news reports that showed clips of crowds chanting “USA” as volunteer firefighters pulled victims from rubble. I saw news anchors giddy, not over the life saved, but over the patriotism brought forth by chants of “USA…USA.” I write this not to lessen what those firefighters have done; in fact, stripping away any notions of patriotism only focuses attention on the truly human acts at play here. And while media continued to provide information concerning how one might donate to relief funds, we saw more reports concerning how charitable Americans are. The stories, at times, used Haiti as a backdrop to showcase what a great nation we are. Human acts of kindness were reduced to mere patriotic chants. It wasn’t just mainstream news media, either. Listening to a national sports talk radio program, the host showed justifiable indignation toward credit card companies for charging service fees to customers who donated to relief funds with their credit card, only to fall into general talk about the unique good heartedness that makes America the greatest nation on the face of the earth. Again, human acts are reduced to patriotic fervor. So with this horrible event, we were privy to much of what is wrong with news media. The “perspective” that was provided by mainstream media often wasn’t perspective so much as jingoism. And the opportunity to provide real context to the tragedy that is Haiti was completely lost. The earthquake may have been the final cause of the death and destruction, but there was a whole chain of events that led to Haiti’s susceptibility to such an event. Never on display during the coverage of the devastation in Haiti was the US’s culpability in the condition of Haiti. Our backing of the brutal and thieving dictatorship of François “Papa Doc” Duvalier because Papa Doc was seen as being staunchly anti-communist, provides a recent example of our culpability. With the passing of Papa Doc in 1971, JeanClaude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, the son, took power. He, too, had the favor of the US as he plundered the nation of Haiti of its wealth. Following a papal visit in 1983, a national movement of opposition began to reemerge. Out of this

movement came the once Catholic priest, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who would become president. Following the ouster of Baby Doc, by way of official US Air force transport, Aristide won the presidency in 1991, only to be ousted 7months later by a military coup. Following international pressure, Aristide was brought back to finish his term. Aristide was to become president again in 2001, only to be removed from office in 2004…by the US, he said. Aristide, who has his detractors and was accused of corruption as well, came across, unlike Papa & Baby Doc, as anti-global-capitalism, going so far as to pen a book denouncing the World Bank and the IMF as nothing less than racketeering fronts for global capitalism. His populism found little favor in the US (but great popularity among poverty-stricken Haitians). And though the Bush administration denied any part in the 2004 coup, press secretary Scott McClellan let slip the administration’s feeling toward the coup in his denial: “Conspiracy theories do nothing to help the Haitian people move forward to a better, more free and more prosperous future.” Haiti has a long history of being stripped of its natural & human resources, its wealth plundered at the hands of corrupt leaders, and foreign nations squeezing one last drop of blood from that small island. It was left in shambles before the earthquake—the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. It is in utter despair now. People the world over have come to its aid—not because they are Mexicans, or Venezuelans, or French, or Canadian, or US citizens, but because of human acts of compassion that exist outside of illusory national borders. But it is not sufficient to simply give; we must recognize the conditions that made this situation possible. And here, the news media has failed us mightily, once again. We must understand the context in which this tragedy has occurred. We, like France, in this case, must understand the special culpability we share in this tragedy. Mainstream media hasn’t provided the context, but it is out there. A little has been provided here; also read Greg Palast’s piece on page 9 for a more thorough understanding. I don’t write this so we can feel bad, but so that we can do our part to help make sure our foreign policy doesn’t make situations like this more likely to occur. Sadly, much of our foreign policy does just such a thing. Afghanistan is a nation in tatters largely because of the machinations of two superpowers playing at world domination. The USSR is gone, but the effects of our so-called “Cold War” are still felt. Add to this the war that is currently being perpetrated on Afghanistan, a war that Obama made clear, before he was president, that he would not only continue, but escalate. (We can’t claim ignorance now for something we should have known, but chose not to listen to before.) The time has long since passed for us to understand our place in the world…to recognize that our actions affect others. To begin to do so, we need today’s events placed in the context of history. We need to understand that events and actions don’t happen episodically, as our news media would lead us to believe. We need to demand of our media that they discontinue their slipshod reporting. And we must demand of ourselves that we search out the context that makes sense of the world. But for now, if you can, give… That’s all for now, more later… ~CF

February 2010

Volume 4

Issue 8

Editorial Board Carlos Fierro editor@fresnoundercurrent.net

Jessi Hafer jessi@fresnoundercurrent.net

Matt Espinoza Watson mattw@fresnoundercurrent.net Abid Yahya abid@fresnoundercurrent.net Contributors Joe Aguayo Christy Arndt George “Elfie” Ballis Maia Ballis Stephen Barile Mark Brenner Vince Corsaro Josh Cranston Ashley Fairburn Cheryl Chancellor-Freeland Juan C Garcia Kelly Hawthorne Gena Kirby Chuck McNally Nicholas Nocketback Greg Palast Everardo Pedraza Mike Rhodes Hugh Starkey Ed Stewart Adam Wall Copy Editing Matt Espinoza Watson Abid Yahya Layout Carlos Fierro

For advertising inquiries, please email ads@fresnoundercurrent.net. For letters to the editor, please email letters@fresnoundercurrent.net. For submission information, please email editor@fresnoundercurrent.net. For subscription information, visit FresnoUndercurrent.net or send a check for $35 to “The Undercurrent” P.O. Box 4857, Fresno, CA 93744. ©2010 Out of respect for our contributors, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the permission of the Editor-in-Chief.

ON THE MEDIA 4

Media Shorts by Carlos Fierro

Cultivating Consciousness: The Seduction of Induction by Gena Kirby

SCIENCE, HEALTH, & ENVIRONMENT

Integral Vision: The Brain Biology of Adolescent Growth and How to Shape It by Cheryl Chancellor-Freeland, Juan C Garcia, &Everardo Pedraza

L ABOR & ECONOMICS 6

NUHW Takes Kaiser Elections by Mark Brenner

STATE, NATIONAL, INTERNATIONAL 7

California Prisons, the Parasite Sucking the Life out of Public Safety by Ashley Fairburn AfterWords by Abid Yahya

The Right Testicle of Hell: History of a Haitian Holocaust by Greg Palast The Palestine Report by Abid Yahya

FEATURED TOPIC: THE HISTORY OF THE CENTRAL VALLEY 11

Derramó La Gota del Vaso: How the Grape Strike Began by Matt Espinoza Watson

This Land is Our Land: A Brief History of National Land for People and the Westlands water fight

by Chuck McNally

Fresno’s Nazi Connection

by Josh Cranston

The Lost Socratic Dialogues: “The Mani-Festos” by Steven J Ingeman & H Peter Steeves

CALENDAR 16 18

ABOUT THE COVER UnderCurrentEvents Calendar

The Undercurrent’s indie PREVIEW

MUSIC [RE]VIEWS 19

Meet the Musicmakers: Meet Chuck Dimes by Christy Arndt

PLUGS & PROFILES 20

21 22 22 23

Be the Media by Mike Rhodes

Fresno Bully Rescue by Jessi Hafer

Our State, Our Schools: California Students Take it Back! by Ashley Fairburn A Very Special Issue of the San Joaquin Review by Abid Yahya

Corazón Del Tiempo: Un Viaje al Corazón de la Resistencia Zapatista by Matt Espinoza Watson Trivia, Booze, & Cash: How 2 Guys Brought Pub Quiz to Fresno by Ed Stewart

BOOK [RE]VIEWS 23

Organizing the Chicano Movement: The Story of CSO reviewed by Matt Espinoza Watson

George “Eflie” Ballis & Maia Ballis: “La Tierra” interviewed by Matt Espinoza Watson

Vegan Soul Food Kitchen reviewed by Jessi Hafer

EATS & DRINKS 26

Bacchus Blurb: Donovan-Parke by Carlos Fierro

GAME [RE]VIEWS 27

COLUMNS

Bored? Games!: Tales of the Arabian Nights reviewed by Joe Aguayo & Kelly Hawthorne One Up!: Demon’s Souls reviewed by Hugh Starkey

Green Up Your Thumb: Found Gardens by Christy Cole

The View Looks Good From Here, Fresno by Adam & Ed

POETRY 31

Dear Nocketback by Nicholas Nocketback

“Agustín Victor Casasola’s Photograph of Maria Conesa, a Zarzuela Singer and Actress in Mexico City” by Stephen Barile

Media Shorts

by Carlos Fierro

peer communication clogs up bandwidth and slows down communication. What’s worse, Comcast’s actions were done completely in secret. The software they used leaves the user thinking that there was a breakdown of the communication, rather than interference on the part of the service provider. Comcast took the FCC to court arguing that the FCC overstepped its power, since the FCC didn’t rely on any specific communica010 is shaping up to be a pretty good year tion law. The three-judge panel, of the U.S. for Comcast, the Philadelphia based media Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia giant that holds a cable monopoly here in Circuit, seemed sympathetic to Comcast’s Fresno. The only thing that stands between arguments. Chief Judge David Sentelle sugComcast’s acquisition of NBC is a Justice gested to the FCC, “You can’t get an unbriDepartment probe of possible anti-trust condled, roving commission to go about doing cerns. Considering that Comcast has spent good.” much of its time greasing the palms of At issue is the FCC’s stance that Democrats and the Obama campaign, there they were enforcing an open-internet policy, may not be much resistance to the Comcast which they say is implicit in the law, versus NBC merger. Comcast’s claim that there are no such specifAccording to OpenSecrets.org, ic statutes on the books. And the judges seem Comcast executives gave disproportionately to to agree with Comcast. Democrats & Obama. Since 2006, Comcast Judge A. Raymond Randolph sugchief executive Brian Roberts made more than gested that the FCC was simply relying on $76,000 in contributions to Democrats, along policy statements, not statute, with regard to with $13,500 in contributions to Republicans. their actions against Comcast. Comcast vice president and top lobbyist The ruling from the court is likely to David Cohen gave roughly $180,000 to come down this spring, around the same time Democrats in the same period, and $12,000 to that the FCC is supposed to put forth new Republicans—clearly intended to help get the It is not altorules regarding net neutrality. Justice Department to conduct its probe with gether clear what effect the court’s ruling will kid gloves. Comcast, like every other major have on the new rules, but it is likely that, if corporation, curries favor with politicians and Comcast wins this case, the FCC will have a parties for just such reasons. harder go at enacting net neutrality rules, a While Comcast’s outlook seems sad scenario for all those other than the good with regard to its 51% purchase of NBC, Comcasts of the world. Comcast also received good indication that their legal trouble, concerning their violation BBC report on 20 January told of a pretty of FCC rules regarding net neutrality, will startling study. Apparently texting, with likely break their way as well. all its “text language,” actually betters young In 2008, the FCC reprimanded spelling and language skills. The people’s Comcast for restricting the flow of certain ongoing study at the University of Coventry, internet content, namely peer-to-peer commusuggests that the prevalence of texting among nications. Comcast employed similar softchildren may actually improve spelling skills ware to that used in China to limit internet because of texting’s “mutations of phonetic access. The software Comcast used essentialspelling and abbreviations.” What may be ly blocks communication by telling both sides even more startling is that texting appears to that the other does not wish to continue comdevelop skills in the more formal use of munication. Comcast claimed that peer-toEnglish as well.

The study found that “texting requires the same ‘phonological awareness’ needed to learn correct spellings.” A byproduct of developing the shorthand language of texting is a better understanding of sounds, letters or syllables. The study, which was based on year long observations of 63 children in England, found no negative association between prolonged texting and literacy skills. “If we are seeing a decline in literacy standards among young children, it is in spite of text messaging, not because of it,” said Dr Clare Wood, a developmental psychologist.

new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that kids between the ages of 8 and 18 are consuming more media than ever before. That in itself is not too surprising, what with the proliferation of new media devices that are available to increase consumption (MP3 players, computers, cell phones, and internet devices). What is surprising is the amount of media that is consumed. Kids today consume media, on average, 53hours per week. That’s 7hours and 38mins per day. In the last five years, the amount of time spent consuming media has increased 1hour and 17mins per day. This study didn’t take into account nonelectronic media either. “When you step back and look at the big picture, it’s a little overwhelming,” said study director Vicky Rideout. And the numbers are overwhelming. Considering that there are 168hours in the week, and 53 of

those are spent consuming media, say another 63 are spent sleeping, and another 49 spent at school, that comes to 165hours. That means that there is considerable overlap somewhere. I don’t think that kids are spending too much time consuming media while sleeping, which means that they are consuming a lot of their media during school hours. It’s a good thing texting is so educational...

is says ‘that induction of labor must never be done for trivial reasons, but only for proven serious medical problems, as induction is one of the most invasive and dangerous of obstetric interventions.’” I asked him why, if most women do not have severe medical problems, they being induced? His answer: “The reason is quite simple. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) keeps statistics on births in our country, and they have shown that, in the last 20 years, the number of babies born, Monday through Friday during daylight hours, has risen precipitously. Now that’s very interesting. Isn’t God wonderful? The reason for this, of course, is because of induction. Most of the induction in our country now is being used for convenience, and of course convenience is a trivial factor, and it should never be done for convenience, but it is and there is the scientific proof that that’s what’s going on. The problem is that the obstetricians are trying to manage over 4 million births every year in our country. They can’t do it. You see, in all the other highly industrialized countries, it is midwives who attend the normal births, and the obstetricians are there to take care of the abnormal births for which they are very, very needed, but they don’t have anything to do with the normal births. Because in all these other countries, a woman during pregnancy is taken care of by a midwife and, when she goes into labor, she comes into the hospital, she is admitted by the midwife, the midwife attends the birth, the midwife discharges her home, this woman has never laid eyes on a doctor. And these countries lose far fewer babies and far fewer women than we do. But [for] obstetricians in our country, the biggest source of their income is normal birth and they are not going to give it up. And so they are desperate to bring birth under control because birth is 24 hours a day 7 days a week; it ruins their life style. So if they can manage to control when the birth will hap-

THE SEDUCTION OF INDUCTION

ou are about 37-38 weeks pregnant and you are SO ready to have this baby. You want your old body back; you are dying to sleep on your tummy again; you are sick of your belly serving as a tray and bumping it into everything and everyone; you feel like a barge (even though everyone insists you look lovely pregnant). So when you’re at your next OB visit and your doctor says “let’s talk about inducing your labor,” it sounds like a fantastic idea! Wow! You can pick the day and not be caught off guard? Sounds great, right? Sure it does—that’s why so many women opt to be induced. In birth circles, we refer to this uninformed consent as the seduction of induction.

In a recent radio interview I had with Dr. Marsden Wagner (former director of the World Health Organization), we discussed why so many women fall prey to the seduction of induction and why they should think twice before agreeing to be induced. According to Dr. Wagner, “Over 40% of pregnant women in the United States are currently being induced. Now, as recently as 1990, it was only 10%, and in most highly industrialized countries in the world, it’s around 10%, and this is what is needed to take care of women who have serious medical problems. But over 40% of pregnant women in the United States do not have serious medical problems, and they should not be induced at this very high rate. The most authoritative obstetric text book there

THE HAZARDS OF LABOR INDUCTION

l All induction agents can cause uterine hyperstimulation (contractions too long, too strong, and too close together, and higher baseline muscle tension). Uterine hyperstimulation can cause fetal distress. This means that, paradoxically, inducing labor because of concern over the baby’s condition may cause the very problem the induction was intended to forestall, while the baby might have tolerated normal labor.

pen, it will be a wonderful thing (for them). Now, there are two ways they can do that—you can induce or you can do a cesarean. And we have over 40% induction, and now in our country one third of all babies are not born—they are cut out with a cesarean. Now that’s double as many cesareans as should ever be done, and it’s four times as much induction as should ever be done, and both cesarean and induction carry serious risk. So that is why in our country the maternal mortality rate (that is the number of women who die around the time of birth) is higher than in 30 other countries, and the rate of babies dying is around 15th in the world. We have far more women and babies dying because of all this unnecessary invasive dangerous obstetrical intervention.” His response should give women who are considering induction pause; it should hopefully encourage you to seek informed consent and to learn more about normal birth. If you are pregnant or know or love someone who is, contact an independent child birth educator for more information regarding induction. The day your baby is born is one you will never forget— make sure to find out all your options and rights regarding this amazing day. Be conscious of your rights and choices; if you don’t know what they are, you don’t have any. For more information regarding pregnancy, birth, and induction locally, contact www.birthrightrn.com, www.mommymattersonline.com, or call (559) 930-2032. For statistics and more regarding inductions, go to www.motherfriendly.org. To hear the full radio interview, go to www.progressiveparenting.podbean.com and enter ‘progressive parenting’ in the search box. ______ Gena Kirby is a Doula, Childbirth Educator, Breastfeeding Peer Counselor, and mother of three. She is the host of Progressive Parenting on 88.1 FM KFCF, and host of the local television show MOMMY MATTERS LIVE on 33.1 & www.centralvalleytalk.com.

need for epidural analgesia. Epidurals introduce a higher probability of a host of adverse affects on labor, the baby, and the mother.

l Women who have had prior vaginal births may increase their chances of cesarean section five fold if the cervix is not ready for labor, and they are given cervical ripening agents.

l First-time mothers have approximately twice the likelihood of cesarean section with induction compared with natural onset of labor. This risk is due to the procedure itself, not any reason that might have l Induction of labor involves the need for other interventions—IV drip, led to inducing labor. Inducing labor at 41 weeks in a hypothetical popucontinuous fetal heart monitoring, confinement to bed—that can also lation of 100,000 first-time mothers will result in somewhere between have adverse affects. 3,700 and 8,200 excess cesareans and cost an extra $29 to $39 million. l Induced labors are usually more painful, which can increase the

The Brain Biology of Adolescent Growth and How to Shape It

by Cheryl Chancellor-Freeland

or many teenagers, adolescence can be a turbulent stage of life. The teen years represent a pivotal and critical transition from childhood to adulthood. This is a period of cementing lifelong habits and notions of self (for better or worse). Habits and one’s picture of self are represented in the brain as etched neural circuitry and brain maps. They determine the kinds of friends and homies youth choose, the choices they make, the actions they may take, their performance at school and work, and the path they take toward adulthood. As was stated in the previous article, many young men grow up fatherless or without adequate role models and/or mentors, unfortunately—in many cases—with the wrong kind of influences. Leaving them with neither the maps nor the tools to move forward, or with the wrong maps and circuitry, these youth often find the transition to manhood haphazard and dangerously stressful. In this article, we will describe what happens to the brain during adolescence and suggest some tools with which to ease this transition in order to maximize teenagers’ inherent potential.

The often tumultuous period of adolescent development is largely due to major brain and physical changes that occur during this time. The period between puberty and early adulthood is marked by dramatic brain growth, and, of course, the obvious major hormonal changes. A critical area of brain development is the circuit from the impulsive limbic system, deep in the brain, to the frontal, social cognition portion, the prefrontal cortex. Activation of the prefrontal cortex is essential to inhibit primitive and impulsive behaviors as well as to promote the ability to plan, strategize and make decisions. It’s the brain region that’s reportedly last to mature, typically not until the early 20s. Moreover, the pathway or circuitry between the limbic and prefrontal cortex does not fully develop until the late 20s. In other words, adolescent brains, or even young adult brains, are not like mature adult brains. Adolescents really do not have full capacity to control impulsive behavior or make good decisions. That’s why young people may make weird decisions or act out nonsensically to the outside observer. At times, typical teenage risk-taking behavior

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defies logic, but it makes absolute sense in the context of developmental neurobiology. Both the risky behavior and rash emotional outbursts can be explained (at least in part) as a function of the underdeveloped prefrontal cortex and its connections to and from the primitive limbic system. In other words, the average teen is walking around with not only a rapid number of circulating hormones (which may urge aggressive, sexual and other risky behaviors), but without the ability to discern, control and guide (prefrontal cortex activities) these urges in healthy and wise ways. The development of the prefrontal cortex and its connection to and from the limbic system are not based on fixed genetic programming alone; they are influenced by experience. It’s like learning a second language or an athletic skill; the more you practice it, the stronger the related neural circuit becomes, and the better you get at it. For the adolescent brain, the more the pathway from impulsive limbic system to the prefrontal cortex is exercised, the stronger and thicker it will become, and the more this circuit will become etched into the wiring of the brain. So how does the circuit become exercised? The circuit becomes stronger through the repeated activation of the prefrontal cortex and through practice of impulse control; through deliberate, thoughtful decision-making, and through planning, strategizing and the execution of thoughtout plans. Some of this practice is internally driven, but much of it comes by way of parental or other adult guidance. In the absence of a conscientious adult, as has been discussed in previous articles, adolescents may not exercise the practice and frequency needed to promote the growth and development of the relevant brain region and pathway. The consequence is what I refer to as “spiraling distress,” a term borrowed from addiction literature. This describes a feed forward, downward spiral of primitive urges, risky behavior, and negative outcomes, such as violent outbursts, addiction, pregnancy. And corresponding, maladaptive circuits become etched, the outcome of which is an adult who lacks foresight, who is reactive and who has difficulty making good decisions for him- or herself. The person that abuses others impulsively uses violence to control and damage his or her environment, the addicted individual, or the person who impulsively takes what belongs to others, etc. This seems to be the situation of many young men in today’s society. But it doesn’t have to stay that way, as implied here and in a recent article in Counseling Today (December 2009), where it is noted that the brain can change at any age. It just needs the proper input. Neuroscientists now recognize that the adolescent brain is a par-

ticularly malleable one. This past summer, we designed a Jovenes Integral Youth (JIY) program for male youth with the above neural principles in mind. The primary aim of our program was to provide the tools and the map to manhood. This article discusses a tool, the ability to make thoughtful, deliberate decisions. The overall Jovenes Integral Youth program has three components, each essential to the success of the program. In this article, we discuss the component designed to strengthen the critical prefrontal pathway. This involves mindful intention. Mindfulness is the act of deliberately paying attention, in a particular way. This particular way involves bringing the attention back to seeing through the eyes of the “third person,” that capacity of our awareness that observes— also called the “observer mind.” This can occur during meditation and during daily living. Because there is no judgment, neither of content nor process, there is no identification with the thought. The outcome is a slowing of time so that deliberate choices can be made without the intuitive emotional filter that is usually seen through adolescent eyes. In other words, this process promotes a deliberate response, rather than a reactive one. By slowing down to become more aware of the Present Moment, and observing rather than reacting to thoughts, the circuit between the impulsive limbic system and the controlling prefrontal cortex is strengthened. The mindful process is a two-part process: first, it involves training via a meditative experience, and then a gradual training toward mindful daily living—living with more awareness of the Present Moment, in everyday activities. The mindful meditation was inserted in a group process, which was presented in ceremonial format. The ceremony created sacred space by demarcating it from secular space. The space was created through the use of a special time when we would meet regularly for six consecutive weeks. The sacred space and time became special in that we were able to state affirmations to imbed core values, ideas to help make the connection between the wild limbic system and the socialized prefrontal cortex. The boys who made it through the whole process were observed to make certain strong and mature decisions about their place in the world around them. The two boys who completed the six-week program seemed to create a strong, positive bond with each other and with the group facilitators. It was amazing to witness how these adolescent boys began to make decisions that reflect maturity and responsibility. _____ Anyone who is interested in getting involved may call Juan Garcia at (559) 229-3085 or email juang@cvip.net. and Everardo Pedraza at (559) 230-9736, evpedraza@yahoo.com.

NUHW Takes Kaiser Elections by Mark Brenner

After the votes were counted, professionals at Kaiser Permanente in southern California, the newest members of NUHW, gathered to celebrate their resounding victory over SEIU

JANUARY 27, 2010

NUHW’s strongest support came from nurses at Kaiser’s Los Angeles Medical Center complex, winning that unit aiser workers overwhelmingly 746 to 36. In the smaller bargaining unit of voted to leave SEIU and join the dieticians, speech pathologists, and other upstart NUHW. The National Union of Healthcare professionals the vote was 189 to 29. A Workers (NUHW) chalked up an important third vote among psychologists, therapists, win Tuesday in Southern California as hun- social workers and others produced a 717 dreds of professional and technical workers to 192 tally for NUHW. The victory among Kaiser workers at the giant health care chain Kaiser comes a month after workers at non-union Permanente voted to leave the Service Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital overcame an Employees (SEIU) and join the upstart SEIU spoiling attempt [2] and voted to join NUHW. NUHW in December—one of three elec“We were confident we would win,” said Tessie Costales, a 27-year nurse tion wins for the breakaway union among non-union workers in as many months. at Kaiser Sunset medical complex in Los The remaining 43,000 workers at Angeles. “Today it’s official.” Kaiser will have a chance to pick their A last-minute push by the Service union when their contracts expire this sumEmployees (SEIU) to impound the ballots Costales hopes they join her and her mer. and prevent the vote count was denied by coworkers in NUHW. the National Labor Relations Board. “SEIU underestimated what we The vote comes nearly one year to could do,” she said. “We had no money, no the day after SEIU placed its third-largest manpower, it was all volunteer. But we local, the dissident United Healthcare Workers West, into trusteeship [1], prompt- have each other’s support. That’s why we won.” ing members and leaders to establish the breakaway NUHW. Within a month of the trusteeship more than 100,000 workers had KAISER TAKES ADVANTAGE filed petitions to leave SEIU and join Support for NUHW grew as Kaiser took NUHW. But 2,300 Kaiser professionals last advantage of last year’s trusteeship to increase workloads and target union supweek were among the first to secure a porters for discipline and harassment. head-to-head vote. SEIU has effectively According to Jim Clifford, a bilingual therstalled elections for months with blocking charges and other legal hurdles at the labor apist at a clinic in Otay, SEIU made matters board.

NUHW continued next page...

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worse, removing elected stewards and worksite leaders. “At the start of the trusteeship we couldn’t figure out what phone number to dial to get an SEIU staff representative who could work with us,” he said. “We’ve got grievances from January going nowhere.” Costales saw the same problems at Kaiser Sunset. “They eliminated our officers and fired all the elected stewards,” she said. “If we had issues regarding patient care or safety we had to call a 1800 number. It weakened us as a union.” After months of minimal contact, SEIU dispatched 10 reps to her facility in the last three weeks, Costales said, adding “they should have put all this manpower out there at the beginning” if they wanted workers’ trust. Dissatisfaction boiled over after SEIU, along with other Kaiser unions, agreed to cut lump-sum pensions by as much as 15 percent last December. The cuts were a response to the sagging stock market, but there are no plans yet to restore pensions in light of the stock market rebound or Kaiser’s $1.6 billion profit in the first nine months of 2009. More than three-quarters of Kaiser retirees take the lump-sum pension. Members were apparently unswayed by SEIU’s threat to block the professional staff from participating in the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions if they voted to join NUHW. The coalition was created to coordinate bargaining with Kaiser as well as oversee union participation in Kaiser’s labor-management partnership. SEIU also circulated a controversial legal opinion from consultant Fred Feinstein [3] that workers could lose their contract standards and protections if they voted to join the new union. NUHW leaders called it deeply misleading; legally, employers cannot alter wages and employment conditions when workers vote to change unions. CHERRY-PICKING

In the closing days of the campaign at Kaiser, SEIU tried to trip up NUHW by agreeing to unblock elections at 29 other facilities, mainly smaller independent hospitals and nursing homes. Those locations comprise almost 4,000 of the 20,000 nonKaiser UHW members across the state who petitioned to join NUHW during the “open window” period before their contracts expire—and thus could switch unions. SEIU’s sudden embrace of head-to-head elections, according to NUHW leaders, is an effort to stem the tide of bad news and hand-pick locations where SEIU believes it has a better shot at winning. NUHW is calling on the labor board to schedule elections for all 20,000 workers at once. ______ Mark Brenner is Director of Labor Notes, a 30-year old project dedicated to putting the movement back in the labor movement. He can be reached at mark@labornotes.org. ______ This article originally appeared on www.labornotes.com. See www.labornotes.org/2010/01/nuhw-takes-kaiser-elections. ______ Notes: [1] www.labornotes.org/node/2043? [2] www.labornotes.org/blogs/2009/12/nuhw-winning-santa-rosaseiu-stonewalling? [3] www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/balmd.professor23jan23,0,4969538.story

California Prisons, the Parasite Sucking the Life out of Public Safety

by Ashley Fairburn

hoever convinced Californians that prisons are the route to public safety was a criminal mastermind. As budgets for our education system and other desperately needed social services are routinely cut through the years, funds are continuously allocated to the prison industrial complex. Likewise, evermore laws are passed creating new reasons to stuff people in those prisons. With California already home to the largest prison system in the world, Assembly Bill AB900, passed in 2007 without a single public hearing, allocated billions to build more prisons. Meanwhile, with the worst health care for prisoners in the nation, California has been found to be in violation of the 8th Amendment for its cruel and unusual punishment. In a state that abandoned its crown as numero uno in healthcare, technology and education, the federal judge’s intervention in California prisons is a definite blow for fear-mongering politicians but also for taxpayers and students. ‘Tough on crime’ politicians and police have us so wrapped up in their fear tactics, too few notice that people are being locked away in a violently negligent system and the key thrown away, a far more expensive and inhumane practice than providing community resources (prevention) or treatment services (rehabilitation). Prison expansion and harsher laws have not made California safer. Considering the revolving door of inmates from traumatic cages to an outside world that denies access to public assistance, California’s prisons are arguably making matters far worse.

The Problem

Whatever way you look at it, ‘tough on crime’ tactics of incarceration as a solution to California’s problems (poverty, drug use, etc) created a grossly bloated, financially parasitic industry. California once boasted the world’s model prison system, recognized for its emphasis on rehabilitation, mental health treatment, and education, but in 1980 state lawmakers made a drastic change to the legislation. They designated prisons as a place solely for punishment, writing rehabilitation and treatment out of the penal code [1]. In the following decade, over 1,000 new laws were passed increasing mandatory prison sentences and denying judges sentencing discretion, the number of arrests for illegal drugs under the overtly racist War on Drugs rose 126%, and by 1994 California enacted the toughest Three Strikes law in the country. As lawmakers created more excuses to incarcerate for low-level crimes, the prison population rose 550% between 1980 and 2004 and lawmakers began diverting incredible amounts of funding into the largest prison expansion project in history. Accordingly, the prison budget has grown 205% since 1985, requiring massive cuts to desperately needed social services [2]. From 1852 until the 1980s, California built only twelve prisons, but, beginning in 1985, a new prison was built every year for 23 years. To put that in perspective, during the same period, only one state college (UC Merced) was built. Our prisons have become a parasite, sucking the funds out of the state budget without rehabilitating people or reducing crime.

Massive increases in the number of incarcerated persons have created such a severe overcrowding issue that human rights abuses are an everyday reality, warranting intervention from the federal government. In a system designed to accommodate 83,000 people, California packs in more than 170,000 inmates, many of who are ‘guilty’ of possession of small amounts of drugs or merely violating their parole. Despite a yearly budget of $8.2 billion, the prisons are incapable of meeting the health care needs of its wards, leaving medical problems untreated for months and, on average, an inmate dead every week [3]. Inmates brought the draconian medical neglect under federal review in the lawsuits Plata v. Schwarzenegger and Coleman v. Schwarzenegger, regarding state prison medical care and mental health treatment, respectively. Firms such as the Prison Law Office have proven that California’s negligence is so brutal it violates the federal constitution’s 8th Amendment, which protects against cruel and unusual punishment. The federal courts do not intervene lightly in state affairs, but given that “California’s prisons are busting at the seams and are impossible to manage,” state prison medical care was placed under federal receivership in 2005 and a panel of three federal judges were called upon in 2006 to address prison overcrowding [4]. The panel consists of U.S. District Judges Thelton Henderson and Lawrence Karlton and 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Reinhardt. The Order

On August 4, 2009, the federal panel issued an Order to the state of California to devise a plan to reduce the prison population from 200% of design capacity to 137.5%, essentially reduce the population by 40,000 inmates, within two years [5]. Rather than create a plan to release nonviolent offenders, parole violators, elderly or disabled inmates from prison, the state is fighting the Order, costing taxpayers additional millions to hold this Order in court. Upon submitting notice to appeal a preliminary Order to the U.S. Supreme Court, Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate insisted that the violent neglect of prison health care is no excuse for the federal government to step in [6]. Apparently the $40,000-$70,000 a year per overincarcerated person the state could save and the few hundred wards of state who die each year are not reason enough to willingly change our prison policies or slow prison and jail expansion. An initial plan submitted in September and rejected in October, indicated the state’s disregard for the human rights abuses against prisoners and a refusal to examine our prison priorities. Schwarzenegger’s plan failed to meet the guidelines set forth in the Order, offering no indication of what progress it intended to make through each six month period, while meeting the court’s demands in five years rather than two years as required. The courts declined to hold the defiant governor in contempt of court, much to the chagrin of prisoner’s rights

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increase of good conduct and work credits, and the sentences of non-citizens who have been deported will be commuted. All of this, however, is on hold. The panel that issued the Order has granted a stay until the Supreme Court considers the state’s appeal [7]. Although the appeal to the preliminary Order was rejected on January 18, the high court stated in a one page-decision that it awaited the state’s January 26 appeal to the final Order [8]. The Cost

advocates throughout the state, instead giving Schwarzenegger one last chance. On

As a whole, Californians are recognizing how much the prison system hurts us financially without increasing public safety. Governor Schwarzenegger recognized this in his 2010-2011 budget proposal, as he pushed for private prison expansion under the guise of saving money. Since a state of emergency was declared in 2006, allowing out-of-state transfers of inmates, California has contracted with one private prison in particular, the Tennessee-based Corrections Corporations of America (CCA). Sacramento Bee journalist Dan Morain reports that the contract with CCA has been amended several times in the last three years. From 900 inmates at $63 per inmate per day, the CCA now houses 10,000 inmates at $72 per head per day, at an overall cost of $632 million. In his budget proposal, Schwarzenegger leads the public to believe that paying CCA to warehouse prisoners will save the state money, but a hearing initiated by Assemblymember Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate) will soon review the contract with CCA, particularly the complete lack of competitive bidding, the fact that cheaper prisons are available, and the $100,000 donation CCA made to a committee controlled by the Governor which pushed for his ballot measures last year. It appears that the Governor’s proposal of inviting CCA to build in our state is not quite as cost effective as he says [9]. Prisons notoriously cost far more than the public is led to believe. Staffing, maintenance, and preparing the infrastructure of the communities in which prisons are placed, are hidden costs to construction bills that are sucking California dry. AB900 authorized $7 billion in lease revenue bonds for prison construction. Economist Adam Werner estimated that repaying the lease revenue bonds will actually cost taxpayers at least $12 billion without addressing the costs of staffing the prisons [10]. Actually maintaining more prisons requires an increased amount of funding for the CDCR, with operating costs estimated at $1.5 billion every year. The ever-hungry parasite will suck even more funds from our social safety nets.

November 12, a second plan was submitted. This new plan, accepted Jan 12, 2010, did not include any major shift from current parasitic prison policies. Rather, the new plan declines to reduce the prison population, and instead aims to increase system capacity. The primary means to reduce overcrowding is, surprise, build more prisons. Utilizing AB900 funds to build 53,000 new prison and jail beds, California plans on building new prisons on land currently owned by the CDCR and funding jail expansion projects, in both cases primarily in the Central Valley. Likewise, far more prisoners will be sold off to the highest bidder as inmates lose the right to give consent for out-of-state transfers and California welcomes the building of more private prisons. Whether for public or private prison expansion, in order to meet the two-year deadline, California has been granted the right to waive environmental laws such as the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Public Contract Code, and Constitutional Civil Services practices. Pending legislation, a few reforms are in the works, including redefining some property crimes as misdemeanors rather than felonies and housing some low-level felons in jails for their entire terms. Some prisoners may be placed on monitored home Thirty years of ‘tough on crime’ scare tacdetention and parole reforms may reduce the number of people returned to prison for tics have telescoped our vision to the extent minor parole violations. There could be an that many do not question decades of state funds being diverted from schools, libraries,

parks, public assistance, and infrastructure, and poured into prisons, jails, and police departments. When you think about it, the majority of those incarcerated have grown up with fewer and fewer community services available to meet basic human needs. And for anyone failed by systematic neglect, well-documented racial profiling, and disproportionate policing and application of drug laws in inner cities, there are instead an ever-growing number of prisons and jails. As long as ‘tough on crime’ politicians keep us scared enough of repeat offenders, we do not have to think about the causes of crime and we don’t need to come up with solutions or ways to reduce crime. If California legislators really want to reduce crime (or save billions for that matter), they could drop the appeal of the prison population reduction order, repeal AB 900, and invest that money in schools, jobs, mental health treatment, drug treatment, or public assistance. Reducing crime means investing in people, not prisons. ______ Ashley Fairburn is an organizer for the California Prison Moratorium Project. She can be reached at ashfairb@gmail.com. ______ Notes: [1] Pomfret, John. 2006. California’s crisis in prison systems a threat to public. The Washington Post. June 11. [2] CURB. 2009. State cuts education while approving huge incresase in prison spending. Factsheet, November. [3] Morain, Dan. 2010. Private Prisons? A sweet deal for some. Sacramento Bee, January 7. [4] Prison Law Office. 2010. Information about prison overcrowding: Senate bill xxx 18 and the federal court orders in Plata v. Schwarzenegger and Coleman v. Schwarzenegger. Fact sheet, January 13. [5] Reinhardt, Stephen. 2010. In the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of California and the Northern District of California, United States District Court composed of three judges pursuant to section 2284, title 28 United States code. January 10. [6] Edelko, Bob. 2009. State submits plan to reduce prison population. San Francisco Chronicle, November 13. [7] Prison Law Office. 2010. Information about prison overcrowding: Senate bill xxx 18 and the federal court orders in Plata v. Schwarzenegger and Coleman v. Schwarzenegger. Fact sheet, January 13. [8] Thompson, Don. 2010. High court rejects challenge to California prison plan. The Washington Post, January 19. [9] Morain, Dan. 2010. Private Prisons? A sweet deal for some. Sacramento Bee, January 7. [10] CURB. 2008. Taxpayers file landmark lawsuit to prevent $12 billion prison construction debt. Press release, May 6.

byAbidYahya

Neely

ere’s a story that captures the strange and twisted smallness of our planet these days. Brandon Neely, an American Army vet who served six months as a guard at Gitmo in 2002 and who is now president of the Houston chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War, began searching Facebook in 2008 for prisoners he had guarded during his tenure at Gitmo. His memories of Gitmo haunted him, he said, and he wanted to apologize. He sent a message to Shafiq Rasul, a Briton who had since been released, and Rasul amazingly responded. They exchanged messages and Rasul then contacted a reporter at the BBC, Gavin Lee, who got the BBC to pay for a flight for Neely to England in December, where he met Rasul on a Saturday afternoon and apologized face-to-face, while the BBC’s cameras whirred in the background. Incidentally, after being released as arbitrarily as they were detained, Rasul and three other detainees took legal action against Donald Rumsfeld (Rasul v. Rumsfeld) over the imprisonment and torture they suffered at the hands of the US military. Their case was humored and then tossed out all along the chain of American justice, and the Supreme Court declined to hear his final appeal. Some justice. At any rate, since Rumsfeld hid behind his Rasul lawyers, Neely served as our true ambassador that December afternoon. Speaking for us all, he said sorry, and he and Rasul fought through what must have been some pretty tough memories to share a hug and some laughs. Oh say, can you see... ~AY

o our intelligence community is really just blowing it. From the shoddy intel that led to the killing of

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women who think they’re pretty. Note also the amount of money, energy, and time spent on an elaborate psyseven CIA agents in Afghanistan last month cho-social experiment that concluded someto the monumental screw-up that allowed thing that everyone north of eight years of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to get very, very age already knows. ~AY close to killing hundreds aboard Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas day, our intelligence n many scary books about the future, as experts are looking increasingly incompetent. well as in Malaysia apparently, there are Add this latest tidbit, and they look like a morality police. bunch of half-wits. On the morning of New Year’s day Apparently, the FBI wanted to prethis year, whole teams of morality police offipare an age-progressed image of Osama Bin cers raided budget hotels all across the westLaden in order to show what he might look ern Malaysian state of Selangor, where a like today. The famous photo we’re all familgreat many unmarried (and hung over) couples were discovered— gasp—in close proximity to one another. Strict Islamic Sharia law, under which extra- or pre-marital, confined-space “close proximity” is a crime punishable by up to two years in prison, is applicable to all Muslims living in Malaysia, and over half of Malaysia is iar with, after all, was taken in 1998. The Muslim. FBI, so they said, used “cutting edge technolNo joke here. That just plain sucks. ogy” to produce the altered image of OBL. Here’s to free love… ~AY What they did was hired a guy, who then searched the internet for an image of a n June, the 2010 World Cup will kick off in brown man roughly OBL’s age and simply South Africa. Should be some very excitcreated a cut-and-paste hybrid of his picture ing stuff. Hundreds of thousands of tourists with the 1998 OBL image. Pretty “cutting will be visiting South Africa for the event edge,” huh? They get millions of our tax doland, expectedly, a great many companies are lars, and they come up with, “Uhh, let’s use positioning themselves to profit from this Photoshop.” short-lived but massive market. What the great minds at the FBI But one company, Protektorvest, amazingly failed to notice, or failed to care based in London, is perhaps going too far. about, was that the image they used to create They’re attempting to sell visiting fans stabthe hybrid image is a picture of an actual perproof vests because, apparently, tourists planson, who is decidedly not a terrorist, who is, ning to attend the World Cup are anxious in fact, a member of Spain’s Parliament. His about the facts that (a) the live viewing of name is Gaspar Llamazares, and he’s rightfulsoccer is perhaps the world’s most dangerous ly pissed. “Bin Laden’s safety is not threatsport, far more dangerous than soccer itself, ened by this but mine certainly is,” he said. (b) South Africa has the highest rate of vioHe’s threatening legal action, and the picture lent crime of any country in the world, and was removed from the US government’s (c) given (a) and (b), watching a soccer match Rewards for Justice website after only a few in South Africa might be really friggin dandays. ~AY gerous, so much so that stab-proof vests sound like a good idea. o I saw a headline while browsing the Reaction among South African offinews websites the other day that read cials has been, well, loud and angry. South Pretty women ‘anger more easily’ and I Africa’s football boss, Kirsten Nematandani, thought to myself, “Well, that’s obvious.” told South Africa’s Times, “These people are At UC Santa Barbara, Dr. Aaron out of order… we’ve never heard of such Sell (of UCSB’s Center for Evolutionary measures being taken before and there surely Psychology), using a group of 156 female is no need for it.” Furthermore, other South students who answered questions about what African officials have said that selling such they think of their own looks and how they items will only cause “unnecessary fear,” but handle conflict, concluded that women who the owner of Protektorvest, Sascha Cutura, think of themselves as pretty are far more told the BBC, “We fulfill a need from securistubborn and determined about getting their ty-conscious people.” way, which of course translates to greater Either way, I’m staying home. Call general success in business and life, than me old-fashioned, but I’d prefer to simply women who don’t think of themselves as catch the action on TV, rather than risk taking pretty. a shiv in the ribcage when I stand up to cheer Note that the study draws a conclufor a goal. ~AY sion not about pretty women, but about

THE RIGHT TESTICLE OF HELL: HISTORY OF A HAITIAN HOLOCAUST

by Greg Palast

Bless the President for having rescue teams in the air almost immediately. That was President Olafur Grimsson of Iceland. On Wednesday [13 January], the AP reported that the President of the United States promised, “The initial contingent of 2,000 Marines could be deployed to the quake-ravaged country within the next few days.” “In a few days,” Mr. Obama?

craft carrier USS Carl Vinson finally showed up after three days. With what? It was dramatically deployed—without any emergency relief supplies. It has sidewinder missiles and 19 helicopters.

3. A friend of mine called. Do I know a journalist who could get medicine to her father? And she added, trying to hold her voice together, “My sister, she’s under the rubble. Is anyone going who can help, anyone?” Should I tell her, “Obama will have Marines there in ‘a few days’”?

9. Gates wouldn’t send in food and water because, he said, there was no “structure ... to provide security.” For Gates, appointed by Bush and allowed to hang around by Obama, it’s security first. That was his lesson from Hurricane Katrina. Blackwater before drinking water.

2. There’s no such thing as a ‘natural’ disaster. 200,000 Haitians have been slaughtered by slum housing and IMF “austerity” plans.

8. But don’t worry, the International Search and Rescue Team, fully equipped and self-sufficient for up to seven days in the field, deployed immediately with ten metric tons of tools and equipment, three tons of water, tents, advanced communication equipment and water purifying capability. They’re from Iceland.

10. Previous US presidents have acted far more swiftly in getting troops on the ground on that island. Haiti is the right half of the island of Hispaniola. It’s treated like the right testicle of Hell. The Dominican Republic the left. In 5. Obama’s Defense Secretary Robert Gates 1965, when Dominicans demanded the return said, “I don’t know how this government could of Juan Bosch, their elected President, deposed have responded faster or more comprehensively by a junta, Lyndon Johnson reacted to this crithan it has.” We know Gates doesn’t know. sis rapidly, landing 45,000 US Marines on the 6. From my own work in the field, I know that beaches to prevent the return of the elected FEMA has access to ready-to-go potable water, president. generators, mobile medical equipment and 11. How did Haiti end up so economically more for hurricane relief on the Gulf Coast. It’s weakened, with infrastructure, from hospitals to all still there. Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, water systems, busted or non-existent—there who served as the task force commander for are two fire stations in the entire nation—and emergency response after Hurricane Katrina, infrastructure so frail that the nation was simtold the Christian Science Monitor, “I thought ply waiting for “nature” to finish it off? we had learned that from Katrina, take food Don’t blame Mother Nature for all and water and start evacuating people.” Maybe this death and destruction. That dishonor goes we learned but, apparently, Gates and the to Papa Doc and Baby Doc, the Duvalier dictaDefense Department missed school that day. torship, which looted the nation for 28 years. Papa and his Baby put an estimated 80% of 7. Send in the Marines. That’s America’s 4. China deployed rescuers with sniffer dogs within 48 hours. China, Mr. President. China: 8,000 miles distant. Miami: 700 miles close. US bases in Puerto Rico: right there.

response. That’s what we’re good at. The air-

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Casualty Counter total US soldiers killed

US soldiers killed in Dec 09

total US soldiers killed

US soldiers killed in Dec 09

AFGHANISTAN

IRAQ

973

4,374

We have not included numbers for civilian casualties because, though there are many studies and sources positing estimates, there is no single, reliable, regularly-updated source of data regarding civilian casualties. Just assume that the number of civilians killed in Iraq and Afghanistan dwarfs even the number of American soldiers injured, let alone killed, each and every month.

Haiti continued...

world aid into their own pockets—with the complicity of the US government happy to have the Duvaliers and their voodoo militia, Tonton Macoutes, as allies in the Cold War. (The war was easily won: the Duvaliers’ death squads murdered as many as 60,000 opponents of the regime.)

12. What Papa and Baby didn’t run off with, the IMF finished off through its “austerity” plans. An austerity plan is a form of voodoo orchestrated by economists zomby-fied by an irrational belief that cutting government services will somehow help a nation prosper.

13. In 1991, five years after the murderous Baby fled, Haitians elected a priest, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who resisted the IMF’s austerity diktats. Within months, the military, to the applause of Papa George HW Bush, deposed him. History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. The farce was George W. Bush. In 2004, after the priest Aristide was re-elected President, he was kidnapped and removed again, to the applause of Baby Bush.

14. Haiti was once a wealthy nation, the wealthiest in the hemisphere, worth more, wrote Voltaire in the 18th century, than that rocky, cold colony known as New England. Haiti’s wealth was in black gold: slaves. But then the slaves rebelled—and have been paying for it ever since. From 1825 to 1947, France forced Haiti to pay an annual fee to reimburse the profits lost by French slaveholders caused by their slaves’ successful uprising. Rather than enslave individual Haitians, France thought it more efficient to simply enslave the entire nation. 15. Secretary Gates tells us, “There are just some certain facts of life that affect how quickly you can do some of these things.” The Navy’s hospital boat will be there in, oh, a week or so. Heckuva job, Brownie!

16. Note just received from my friend. Her sister was found, dead; and her other sister had to bury her. Her father needs his anti-seizure medicines. That’s a fact of life too, Mr. President.

Through our journalism network, we are trying to get my friend’s medicines to her father. If any reader does have someone getting into or near Port-au-Prince, please contact Haiti@GregPalast.com immediately. Urgently recommended reading—The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L’Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution, the history of the successful slave uprising in Hispaniola by the brilliant CLR James. ______ This article originally appeared on huffingtonpost.com. ______ Greg Palast is an independent investigative journalist, filmmaker, author, blogger, and allaround troublemaking superhero. His excellent blog, and much more, can be found at www.gregpalast.com.

16 January 2010 NO PEACE

n Christmas night last year in Bethlehem, the highest-ranking Roman Catholic official in “the Holy Land,” Foud Twal, delivering the midnight mass, said, “The wish that we most want, we most hope for, is not coming—we want peace.” I commend his honesty. I’m getting sick and tired of everyone talking about peace while making war. THE POWER VACUUM

In November, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said that he has “no desire” to remain in office. Abbas (a member of the Fatah party) was elected in January 2005. In January 2006, the Hamas party won a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections, and began a four-year term, set to end in January 2010. Abbas’s four-year term ended in January 2009. At that point, Abbas argued that he could remain in power for an additional year because, legally, both the presidential and legislative elections must be held simultaneously. Since legislative elections were due in January 2010, Abbas argued that a new president ought to be elected then. Then, as 2009 wound down, Abbas kept his word, calling for a presidential election to be held on 24 January 2010. He also announced that he would not be seeking re-election. Now, 24 January is rapidly approaching, and will have passed by the time you are reading this. Since January of 2009, though, Hamas has been arguing that Abbas is no longer a legitimate president, as his term has expired, and Hamas has refused to participate in any new elections called by Abbas. For this reason, the Palestinian Electoral Commission has indefinitely postponed the 24 January elections and left us with the current dilemma—a phony and powerless president, a bitterly divided legislative council, and no elections in sight.

who is famous for being the first Palestinian politican to ever publicly suggest that the Palestinians ought to officially recognize Israel as a legitimate political state, and who was assassinated by Palestinian hard-liners years later. Decades later, Abbas told journalists in Ramallah that he had pushed Sartawi to make his famous statement. One wonders—but not very hard—why Abbas didn’t simply say it himself if he felt it needed saying. One also wonders why, after millions of Palestinians were, beginning in 1947, ethnically cleansed off of their land and pushed out of today’s Israel and into the concentration camps of the West Bank and Gaza, Abbas wants it to be known that it was he who first said that Palestinians should recognize Israel’s right to statehood. After Arafat’s death, Abbas was legitimately elected by the Palestinian people and there was a lot of excitement about the beginning of a new era in Palestine, but, sadly, nothing much has come of it. Since Abbas took over as president, we’ve seen several brutal assaults by the IDF, a civil war between Hamas and Fatah that led to the a still-unresolved schism in the Palestinian government, the veritable collapse of the “peace” negotiations, and a nasty and crippling siege, still going on, imposed on the entire population of the Gaza Strip.

close to building some kind of capitulationheavy agreement with the Israelis—whether it be the Oslo accords or the Road Map to Peace or whatever—the fundamentalists have gone and blown something up, killing a bunch of people, causing tempers to flare and the always-fragile “peace” negotiations to derail. Let’s be clear: this stupid pattern has achieved for the Palestinians absolutely nothing. In fact, things have gotten progressively worse for the average Palestinian as the years and decades have gone by, and world opinion seems to have hardened into a persistent apathy toward the Palestinian plight. Admittedly, I’m an outside observer, but it seems pretty clear that the Palestinian leadership has monumentally failed at leading its people anywhere but further away from freedom. However, let’s not forget that the Palestinian plight and their difficulty in getting out of it is no fault of their own. This tough choice exists for the Palestinians only because the cruelty of the unrelenting Israeli occupation is forcing it upon them, like a mafioso making someone an offer they can’t refuse. FREE BARGHOUTI

That’s why we need to look ahead, to a new day with new Palestinian leadership, not risen from among the lucky elites like Mahmoud Abbas, pampered and groomed for his mediaintensive but basically useless role as official handshaker for the Palestinian people, but leadership earned by honest suffering for the cause that is Palestine’s long struggle for freeWHY PALESTINIAN LEADERSHIP dom. GENERALLY SUCKS Throughout his life, Marwan And this brings us to the very crux of the long Barghouti has led in this fight, and for the last difficulty the Palestinians have had in resisting six years, he’s done so from within an Israeli prison cell, locked up for a crime he has the ongoing Israeli occupation of their land always denied committing. In August of 2009, and lives. Everyone among the Palestinians wants freedom, long-term peace, a country of their own, but there is disagreement over how this is to be achieved. In admittedly unrealistic black-and-white terms, there are those who think that the Palestinian leadership, by capitulating to the Israelis (by letting Israel keep its settlements, by putting on fancy suits and shaking hands with Israeli politicians even while Israeli soldiers humiliate and Barghouti kill Palestinians left and right, WHAT ABBAS HAS DONE by agreeing to and signing whatever insulting despite being in prison, he was elected to If we look back at Abbas’s career, there is Fatah’s central committee. Barghouti is a hero and unfair treaty Israel and USA ask them to, much to marvel at indeed, but looked at as a among regular Palestinians and, though he is a et cetera), peace can be achieved. There are whole, one must wonder—and I sure as hell member of Fatah, he is respected on both sides also those who think that this is the cowardly do—just what it is that Abbas’s lifelong strate- path, that peace achieved in this way will be a of the Fatah-Hamas divide. He has famously gy of capitulation to the Israelis has done for and often spoken of the need for Palestinian peace devoid of freedom and no way for the the Palestinians. unity. Palestinians to be forced to live. There are Throughout most of his career, he He may soon be released by his those who will not get on their knees. worked behind the scenes and rose through the Now, of course, this dichotomy rep- Israeli captors, and he may be the answer to ranks of the PLO and the Fatah party. One of resents two extremes of a spectrum, neither of Palestine’s power vacuum. I’ll have more on Abbas’s predecessors in the official Palestinian which is very desirable or helpful. For Barghouti and his possible release political process was the late Issam Sartawi, decades, every time Arafat or Abbas has gotten next month.

Derramó La Gota del Vaso: How the Grape Strike Began History of the Central Valley

n the summer of 1965, the National Farm Workers Association (later the United Farm Workers, or UFW) began La Huelga, or the grape strike; an event that was to last far longer than anyone expected, and that reverberated far beyond California’s Central Valley. It was La Huelga that made Cesar Chavez into a national labor and civil rights leader, but more importantly, it was this strike that became the inspiration for the broader Chicano Civil Rights Movement, which awakened the ‘Sleeping Giant’ that was the Mexican-American community in the U.S.; indeed it was the very heart and soul of El Movimiento.

At present, many books have been written on Cesar Chavez, though not nearly as many on the broader farmworkers movement. For many students of Chicano-Latino Studies and Mexican-American History, the ‘official’ history of the UFW has been imparted through the films Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers’ Struggle, or the PBS series Chicano! A History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement. Both are excellent films that give insight into not just the leadership of Chavez, but the massive undertaking that was the grape strike, the multi-racial (and even international) coalition of leaders and supporters involved, and how it affected local & national politics. However, up until now, that history has been missing an important piece of information: how the grape strike in the Valley actually began. The story presented in the films mentioned above tells of Chavez and the MexicanAmerican farmworkers being forced into a corner when Filipino farmworkers in Delano decided to go on strike in August of 1965. As the story goes, Chavez and the NFWA were not ready to go out on strike; they had no strike fund, and Chavez thought they were a couple of years away from being able to conduct a successful strike. The conditions in the fields were sufficiently awful, it was just that the recently formed NFWA wasn’t ready yet. For students of this history, then, it is common knowledge that the Filipino workers (led by Larry Itliong and Phillip Veracruz, among other courageous leaders) began the grape strike in Delano. And, while there is no doubt whatsoever that the Filipino farmworkers played a major role in La Huelga, and deserve credit for helping to begin this movement for farmworkers rights—particularly those who successfully went out on strike in Coachella earlier that year—they weren’t the first workers

by Matt Espinoza Watson

to go out on strike in the Central Valley. La Huelga started some weeks before Filipino workers in the Valley walked out of the fields, with workers who were already associated with the NFWA, and who were being organized by NFWA co-founder Gilbert Padilla. The story of the strike thus does not begin in Delano, but in Woodville, a small community just outside Porterville in Tulare County. Early in 1965, farmworkers in Woodville went out on rent strike to protest the horrible (un-livable) living conditions in the migrant labor camp they called home, the Woodville Farm Labor Center. The conditions in what could best be described as ‘tin shacks’ were always bad, but when Tulare County decided to raise the rent in May of ’65, it was the last straw. At the time, Gilbert Padilla was working as a caseworker for California Migrant Ministry, an organization that played a major role in supporting the farmworker struggle. According to Padilla, it was Jim Drake of Migrant Ministry who helped them to formulate a plan for the rent strike: “Jim got a lawyer from San Francisco to come down and check out the labor camp. He advised us of a state law which made it illegal for a county to raise the rent on an uninhabitable dwelling.” Upon the lawyer’s advice (Gary Bellow of CRLA), Gilbert set up a trust fund, so that workers and their families could continue paying rent, just not to the county. “As long as we were collecting rent and putting it into a fund, the county couldn’t evict them,” Gilbert stated. Pablo “El Primo” Espinoza, former radio personality with Radio Campesina and Radio Bilingue, and resident of the labor camp at the time, recalled “it would get so hot in those tin shacks in the summer that we’d have to go to the dump and get carpet, put it on the roof and get it wet” to cool off. After 32 months of withholding rent, holding marches and demonstrating in front of the Housing Authority, the rent strike was resolved with some help from California Rural Legal Assistance. No one was evicted, and major improvements were made to the labor camps, which, according to Pablo, were transformed into “the nicest camps in the whole state.” Pablo, along with his brothers Domingo and Candido, were leaders in both the rent strike and the grape strike that followed. Another leader who should be mentioned is Jesus Marín Barrera, who led the Farm Workers Organization (FWO) and verified the story

presented here. It was this rent strike that had already served to organize this group of farmworkers, and that gave them the encouragement to begin the grape strike. Before the rent strike had been successfully resolved, however, an incident transpired that pushed workers in Woodville to the edge. In August of 1965, Mexican-American farmworkers, most of them Tejanos, walked out of the grape fields on the J.D. Martin Ranch. The reason they did so, however, wasn’t to demand higher wages… The UFW’s main demands, which were at the core of the mobilization of thousands of workers in the following years, were simple: to be treated with the sort of respect a human being deserves, and for farmworkers to be able to have a union so Sr. Juvencio and Sra. Mercedes Serna as to collectively bargain for sor decided that, for some reason, the men and better wages and working conditions (at the women needed to work separately from one time, there were laws prohibiting farmworkers another. That same day, he hung around watchfrom forming unions). As for conditions, there ing the women (with binoculars), and “…derwere two essential demands: clean drinking ramó la gota del vaso” (that was the tipping water and toilets. It was the absence of toilets point), recalled Meche. “Fui a platicar a la that created the conditions that led workers in cuadrilla de los hombres para decirles lo que Woodville to walk out of the fields. pasó. Esta día en la noche empezabamos a Thanks to Pablo Espinoza, I was able organizarnos. Era una ofensa muy grande—el to sit down with Sr. Juvencio and Sra. huarachudo…” (I went over to the group of Mercedes Serna and hear firsthand about what guys to let them know what had happened. happened. Sra. Serna, or “Meche,” began to That night we began to get organized. It was a share the story of ‘el mayordomo maniaco’ very huge offense—the uncivilized bastard...) (the maniac supervisor). Because of the lack of As local author Humberto Garza toilets, everyone working in the fields just had loves to say, quoting Saul Alinsky, “people will to find a spot away from the rest of the crew to eventually do the right thing, but for the wrong relieve themselves. According to Meche, the reason.” In this case, the reason the grape women working on the crew began to accomstrike started in Woodville was not because pany each other, or take their husbands with farmworkers were finally willing to stand up them to surround them for privacy as they for the wages and respect they deserved, but peed. The reason? Because the mayordomo because they didn’t want some pervert watchgot a kick out of watching them, and was caling them (or their wives) urinating out in the loused and/or crazy enough to share this fact open fields. They went out without having an with some of the male farmworkers. The actual union, without having Cesar’s support workers (the women in particular) were not (yet), and without having any sort of money put pleased with the arrangement, but dealt with it aside in a strike fund. As in countless other along with the other routine abuses of being a farmworker. That is, until the day the supervi-

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instances, it was the women who took the lead in standing up and demanding to be treated with dignity. Gilbert Padilla added, “the women were the chingones (bad-asses) in all the strikes I’ve been in.” A few weeks later, Filipino workers in Delano walked out of the grape fields, and, as they say, the rest is history (if you’ve seen the films or read any of the many books out there—if you haven’t, go do so…). In the end, the strike had its roots not just with the Mexican & Mexican-American workers in Woodville, or with the Filipinos in Coachella or Delano, but with a very long struggle for workers to be treated like human beings. One can point to the cotton strike of 1933, centered in Corcoran, when between 12,000 and 19,000 (mostly Mexican) workers paralyzed the state’s cotton industry for a month, or to the efforts of Chicano scholar/activist Ernesto Galarza, Ph.D., who led several thousand tomato pickers out on strike in 1950. Both of these efforts were thwarted by growers, but planted seeds that eventually bore fruit in the 1960s with the UFW and their successful efforts to unionize farmworkers and amend labor laws to include farmworkers for the first time. It was a struggle that anyone could participate in, that invited everyone who was concerned to get involved and do their part, however large or small. And many thousands of people gave time, energy, money, food, or other forms of support to La Causa, which is crucial to understanding its success. But the struggle is far from over, as the workers out in Caruthers who just last year were being paid 30 cents an hour (or their lawyers at California Rural Legal Assistance) can tell you. The fight for respect, and for decent jobs at a decent wage, goes on… ¡Que viva la huelga y Que vivan los campesinos! ______ My thanks to Humberto Garza, Gilbert Padilla, and Pablo Espinoza for their help in tracking down the participants & facilitating the interviews that made this article possible.

This Land is Our Land: A brief history of National History of the Central Valley

Land for People and the Westlands water fight by Chuck McNally

“The growers want everything for free, they want us to work the land for low wages and they want to get their water for nada.” —George “Elfie” Ballis, speaking at a National Land for People meeting

Morse filibustered to death an early attempt to abolish the law on the California Water Project. President Kennedy then signed a new year’s edict in 1961, which reversed this early victory. At about the same time, the San Luis Reservoir was created, along with a massive canal to irrigate the Westlands Water district and allow for expansion of farming on the westside. These projects were funded by both state and federal money, with the promise of job creation and expansion of farms on the westside of the Valley. Water deliveries from the San Luis Unit and canal were begun in 1968, and it wasn’t long after this that it became obvious that something was rotten in the Westlands. In the early 1970s, it became increasingly clear that Westlands farmers were not complying with the laws which limited the

United Farm Workers (UFW). During those years, it was clear that big agribusiness treated workers in the same way that they related to the government subsidized water deliveries. Corporate agribusiness would take what it could for free, regardless of the laws, breaking labor laws in the same way that it broke the land regulations asso“No right to the use of water for land in private ownerciated with the government subsidized water projship shall be sold for a tract exceeding 160 acres to ects. any one landowner, and no such sale shall be made to People with the farmworker movement any landowner unless he be an actual bona fide resihad thought about setting up farm cooperatives dent on such land, or occupant...” for years, and many farmworkers dreamed of —Water Reclamation Act of 1902 working on their own land. Jessie de la Cruz was one of those farmworkers who decided along with he story of the Westlands water fight finds her husband, Arnold, and others, to farm their its roots a long time ago in the Water own land. In 1973, they formed Ranch El Bracero Reclamation Act of 1902. The act was Co-op on six acres of land rented to them by a passed during a different time in our country’s supportive small farmer, and began their search history which was called the for more land. They understood the issues they Progressive Era, a time marked would face clearly, having been involved with by strong investigative journalNLP and the UFW for years. In their search for ism (known as muckracking), land of their own, they aproached a multi-milstrong organization among lionaire cotton grower that they used to work small farmers, and a widefor, because they were told that he had “excess spread democratic revolt to land” that he had to sell. The grower, Russell address the growing strangleGiffin, said he could sell them 160 acres if they hold that corporations had on had a million dollars to buy it, to which Jessie our government. A good book quickly reminded him of the impossibility of written at the time that exemthat based on the starvation wages he used to plifies this corporate stranglepay them. hold in California is Frank Eventually Jessie and others were able Norris’ The Octopus. The book to find 40 acres near Raisin City that they got at describes how the railroad companies controlled many different aspects of life at acreage of those receiving water through the gov- a low price because the small farmer was no ernment subsidized irrigation project. Nine years longer farming the land and he needed money to that time in California, from the politicians and after the law was passed, there was still not one pay his property taxes. It took a lot of back breakgovernment, all the way down to owning land in farm within the 160 acre limit, and the average ing work to make the land suitable for farming the San Joaquin Valley. It was with this sort of farm size in the district was 2,200 acres. The law again and, not long after getting things in full corruption in mind that the Reclamation Act wrote that created the San Luis Unit allowed the large swing, the pump that they used to get all the water into law limits on water use so that publicly subsicorporate growers 10 years to comply with the broke and they were forced to spend $16,000 to dized water would benefit small farmers whose acreage limit, but instead of actually complying save their crops. These experiences only fed the land did not exceed 160 acres and who actually with the law, they scrambled to cover up the fact flames of the water and land struggle that lived on the land they farmed. that the farmland was not broken up. The large National Land for People was engaged in, as The story of the group, National Land corporate farms found any way possible to contin- Jessie and George Ballis related to others in meetfor People (NLP), has its beginnings in George ue receiving the subsidized water. Sham land sales ings across the Valley. It became clearer that more Ballis deciding that he could no longer work for and transferring land into other names were com- had to be done to break up the large corporate the corporate machine, as he quit his last official mon tactics, though the government was not actu- farms into small farms, and stop the agribusiness job working with the Wall Street Journal San ally enforcing the acreage limits on those receiv- giants from stealing the government subsidized Francisco bureau in 1952. A year later, Ballis took ing the subsidized water. It took the tireless water from the family farms that it was supposed an invitation to be the editor of the Valley Labor research efforts of George Ballis and other people to benefit. Citizen, an AFL-CIO newspaper based in Fresno. working with National Land for People to begin National Land for People went on a Around this time, he also took a class from to expose these sham land transfers and sales. cross country caravan that summer to lobby conDorothea Lange on the philosophy of photograThey raised hell with graphs and maps document- gress to enforce the subsidized water regulations phy, and was given an in-depth understanding of ing the realities of land ownership on the as they were written. Jessie de la Cruz, George irrigation issues by her husband, Paul Taylor, a Westside, and began to get extensive media cover- Ballis, Berge Bulbulian, David Weiman and University of California economics profressor. In age for the issue. Reverend James Vizzard delivered testimony in 1956, George began organizing with Paul Taylor Over the years, George had also organ- support of small farmers to the Select Committee and others for democratic control of western ized with and documented the farmworker movewater projects, which led to an early victory in ment and the development of a farm workers 1958 when Senators Paul Douglas and Wayne union, which eventually became known as the

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Fresno’s Nazi Connection

History of the Central Valley

water reclamation was not a hot topic. The next year, George became president of Rural America, a national federation of local rural community action groups. Rural America put out a book called Perspectives on the structure of American Agriculture in 1980, which included a chapter from Jessie de la Cruz titled “We can’t buy any land: Farmworkers plant cooperative seeds.” In 1981, the group scored big in House hearings, with over an hour of friendly questions being asked of George by Rep. Miller. The big farmers from the Westlands were not too happy with this and spent lots of money on high powered lobbyists and, on Small Business of the United States Senate. by 1982, Rep. Miller didn’t even show up Their words and the struggle of NLP, along when NLP was in D.C. He had made some sort with the truth about the water theft by agribusi- of deal for a subcommittee chairmanship, and ness in the Westlands, went into the congresCongress as a whole decided to pass the sional record. Senators clapped after hearing Reclamation Reform Act, essentially legalizing Jessie’s testimony, but once they stopped, the the theft of water from smaller farmers by loosissue of poor people gaining access to farm ening regulations and providing so many loopland and water faded away. George, undeterred holes in the law that the agribusiness giants by Congress’ inaction on the issue, decided to were able to continue to monopolize the land make a short film highlighting the issue. The and government subsidized water in the Richest Land was made in an effort to spread Westlands. the story of the plight of the small farmers and So it came to pass that National Land the misuse of government water subsidies, and for People ceased to be a formal organization, was intended to be distributed through schools, since the Westlands threw money at the politibut because of its political nature, not many cians and bought Congress in order to legalize copies were ever sold. the water they had stolen since the San Luis In 1976, NLP, with the help of their Unit began, which some sources say is already lawyer, Mary Louise Frampton, decided they easily over $1 billion dollars of taxpayer would file a lawsuit in the federal district court money. in Washington D.C. to try to get the land limits ______ enforced in the Westlands. This route led to an l Sun Mountain was created when the initial victory with an order requiring the gov- Magical Pear Tree (or NLP hq) was sold in ernment to draw up plans to force the large 1983. Check out “Raising Hell—A Citizen’s landowners to sell off their excess land holdGuide to the Fine Art of Investigation” (look ings, further exposing the sham sales that the under “Deep Research Tools for People government had approved. That next year Power”). The Richest Land is also available on found George, Maia, their son John, and Marc DVD thru SunMt (www.sunmt.org). Lasher starting their own farm, which doubled as the NLP headquarters. It was a six acre plot l “Reaping Riches in a Wretched Region: of land just west of Fresno, that they named the Subsidized Industrial Farming and its link to Magical Pear Tree. At about this same time, Perpetual Poverty,” a 2 part series by Lloyd G. Jimmy Carter was elected President and Carter, published in the December 2009 and ordered a special task force to look into the January 2010 issues of the Community Alliance controversy in the Westlands. The Special Task (www.fresnoalliance.com) Force report on the San Luis Unit concluded in 1978 that there was still not one small (160 l Jessie De La Cruz: Profile of a Farmworker acres) farm in the Westlands District. Armed by Gary Soto, and an interview with her on the with an early victory with the lawsuit and fresh Farmworker Movement documentation site ammo from the Carter administration report, done by her granddaughter, Anamaria de la NLP members decided to pack their bags in Cruz (www.farmworkermovement.org) 1979 and make another cross country trip to try ______ to get Congress to enforce the acreage limits Chuck McNally kept singing a Utah Phillips written into the Reclamation Act. When they version of Woody Guthrie’s classic as he wrote got there, they split up into teams, so that they this: “So take your slogan, and kindly stow it, could talk to senators and representatives in the if this was our land, you’d never know it. Let’s House. Some members seemed supportive, get together and overthrow it, oh this land was including House Rep. George Miller, but most made for you and me.” just threw their hands up in the air and said that

by Josh Cranston

Funk, the Nazi Minister of Economics and president of the Reichsbank. Funk was later condemned of war crimes in the Nuremberg trials, but Falk managed to slip away from his Nazi past when he came to teach economics at Fresno State in 1938. Falk was easily accepted and well liked at Fresno State, although evidence shows that he was still working for Hitler as a Nazi agent. In 1948, the Nazi Falk was made Dean of Social Sciences. Falk used his power and influence to become head of the Fresno City & Falk was born to two German immi- County planning board in the early 50s. With grants who had settled in Berkeley. He gradu- the power of eminent domain, Falk began to reconstruct downtown Fresno into a symbolic ated from Stanford in 1932 with a degree in German foreign language studies. From there center of political power. He destroyed all he went on to the University of Berlin, where residential areas and many small businesses to create his dream of a strong center of courts he pursued his doctorate in Nazi economics. and police headquarters with City Hall at the He was soon noticed by the Führer and the apex. This is surrounded by prisons and other Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels. government buildings, creating a governmenThey saw the value of a German-speaking American and Goebbels personally paid for his entire education and the publishing of his doctoral dissertation. The dissertation was an attack on the U.S. press, which he perceived as being controlled by Jews, and the dangers of free speech. He stressed the necessity of strong government censorship in order to silence any rabblerousers. Falk went on to write Nazi propaganda and host a radio show for the Reich while helping to distribute the propaganda in Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and the United tal world completely removed from the peoStates. One piece he wrote had misleading ple. Falk removed large portions of Fulton stories meant to cover up that the chemical firm I.G. Farben was manufacturing Zyklon B and Mariposa streets in order to make way for his dream of a half-mile park with statues and cyanide poison gas, which was outlawed by martial music played over the public address international law. Between 1936 and 1944, one of the main gasses used by the gas cham- system. This was all to be financed by Falk’s bers in the concentration camps was Zyklon B. First Federal Savings and Loan, which was to be at the front of this park at Fulton & Falk also wrote a piece for the Foreign Press Tuolumne streets. Falk’s dream never came to Affairs on the necessity of German intervenbe, but Fresno’s commerce nerve-center since tion in Czechoslovakia due to grievances by 1880 was murdered as merchants fled north. Germans there against the invading Bolshevik Falk was offered the position of influence. One month later, Hitler invaded president of Fresno State by Arnold Joyal and brutally crushed Czechoslovakia. By 1938, Falk’s focus had shifted to (whom the current administration building is named after), but Falk declined. The unrest of anti-Semitic housing policies. He fancied himself an urban planner, but never really got ‘68 made Falk change his mind. Professor his chance until the 1950s in Fresno. Besides Robert Mezey was fired for publicly saying the government was lying about the effects of Falk’s propaganda writing, he was also responsible for assisting and escorting the for- marijuana and professor Marvin X was fired when the school found out he was a draft eign press in Berlin. Falk’s work helped to efore Hitler began exterminating Jews, it was perfectly acceptable to be a Nazi in the US, and Fresno was no exception. This is what gave Karl Leonard Falk, Hitler’s prized English propaganda writer, the confidence and feeling of security to settle in this town and teach economics at Fresno State from 1938 to 1948. He went on to become dean of social sciences for 30 years, head of the Fresno Housing Authority, and became president of Fresno State in 1969 when campus unrest called for his iron fist.

successfully conceal the Nazi activities. Falk worked directly under Walter

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dodger. Combined with the Vietnam protests, the campus was out of control and, when president Ness resigned, Falk brought in his iron fist. Falk immediately began firing the faculty he considered “radical.” He fired 8 of the 10 faculty members of the new ethnic studies program. He began changing the school’s policies and organizational structure to get away from a democratic system and make a dictatorship possible. The Collegian printed a critical article about Falk and he chained the doors of the newspaper’s office shut. All of this was met with great dissatisfaction as students began rioting and smashing windows. Shaw Ave. was shut down and a computer lab was bombed. Falk declared martial law and went to the Fresno County Bar Association where he revealed his secret past: “A week ago I had a so-called confrontation with a group of minority students from our college and as well as from surrounding high schools...they were not interested in my answers to their questions...they told me to ‘shut up’...[T]his is one of the reasons that public discussion becomes...staged demonstrations with propaganda and political motives...to seize control and to destroy present academic structure and use it as a base to overthrow ‘bourgeoise’ America ...[T]hey know that I am aware of their motivations and tactics...They also reject forces of government...falling under the control of Marxist-Leninist and Maoist influences which have created problems of internal dissension ...In 1932...I witnessed first-hand the power struggle between Communists and Nazis...on the campus of the University of Berlin...” [Fresno County Bar Association Speech by Karl Falk on 2/20/1970] He thought that his audience would support re-interpreting the first amendment and giving him the legal power to censor and silence the activists. Instead he simply publicly had given away his secret. This is a very small part of the story. The fact that a Nazi who was a personal disciple of Hitler and Goebbels went on to have major influence in the shaping of Fresno is disturbing. How much of this influence is still affecting Fresno today? How much of Fresno State’s current organizational structure and policy comes directly from Falk and indirectly from Hitler? Falk was responsible for giving the police greater power to enforce City Hall’s wishes. To what extent does Falk’s legacy live on today in our City Hall, in our city planning, and in our law enforcement? These are questions that we need to be asking. We must question authority, especially when it has roots tainted by Hitler’s prized English propagandist.

Most of this is based off of the research of Howard Hobbs. His full article, “Secret Life of An American Nazi,” can be found at: www.bulldognews.net/issues.html. ______ Josh Cranston recently graduated from Fresno State after majoring in Sociology. He organizes and agitates, trying to make Fresno a better place, free of the corruption and control which plague it and the rest of the world.

History of the Central Valley And what if I told you my grandfather was stabbed in the back by a cowardly, treacherous Persian who pretended to be dead until my grandfather let his guard down? And what if I told you that the cowardly treacherous Persian then ocrates: Festos, my friend! Why so cooked and ate my grandfather’s spleen? red in the face? You look as though M: This is all hearsay! I challenge you have just run here all the way you to prove any of it, but even if it turns out from Marathon with some exciting and/or to be true, you person who is called dreadful news! “Socrates,” you have to understand it in conFestos: Oh, hello, Socrates. No, I text. have not been physically exerting myself. S: I suppose so, but you have to Rather, I have been arguing with this moron admit, Mani, that it looks bad for you. about— M: Not at all, Socrates. First of all, Mani: Moron? Who are you calling spleen-eating is a form of honoring dead a moron? You’re the moron. heroes in my culture. But more importantly, F: I am? How do you figure? it was the Greeks whose aggression first Define your terms! forced the Persians to come to Attica. For S: Friends! This is no way for when the Persian emissaries first arrived after grown men to behave until after they have a long, dusty journey at the palace of your been drinking. So what do you say? I’ve king, all they wanted to do was discuss the got a bit of wine left here, but it’s only one proposed free trade agreement. But first, bottle. Shall we get some more—your since they were so hot and tired, they asked treat—after which I will be delighted to adjufor “earth and water.” That’s all—just a little dicate whatever matter it is that is exorcising earth and a little water. And you Greeks you so. wouldn’t even give them any. So, naturally M: The stout gentleman with the your cities needed to be destroyed. upturned nose has a point. I am willing to S: He has a point, Festos. choke down some of your Athenian swill F: What are you talking about, before I avenge my ancestors. Socrates? “Earth and water?” That’s obviF: Avenge your ancestors? I’ll be ously a veiled reference to everything under avenging my ancestors! the sun! They were demanding total Greek M: The Hades you will! fealty to the Persians—they were trying to S: Gentlemen, please! You’re maktake away our freedom! ing a scene. S: I heard that the Persians usually F: He started it. just wanted taxes from their satrapies. That M: Did not. they pretty much let their vassal states run S: I don’t care who started it—well, themselves. actually, I kind of do. What are we talking F: Which doesn’t matter anyway, about here? Socrates, since those emissaries weren’t just F: I’m sorry that you have to see turned away for no reason. Don’t you know this, Socrates. I know it reflects poorly on that the Persians are descended from the me to be squabbling like this. But it turns Trojans? And I think we all remember how out that my father killed Mani’s father at poorly the Trojans treated the Greeks when Thermopylae, and now he’s got some crazy they arrived in Asia Minor, hungry and tired grudge against me. after a long and difficult sea voyage. All S: I can see that. they wanted was a little baklava. Or maybe F: Oh really? Well, what if I told Persian delight. But the Trojans wouldn’t you that my father only killed his father give it to them. because my father’s father, my grandfather, S: Wait—didn’t they want to retrieve had been killed at the battle of Marathon?

Helen, the wife of Menelaos? F: Yes, but you have to understand it in context, Socrates. M: It doesn’t matter, Socrates, because the Trojans were quite reasonably angry at the Greeks on account of the numerous instances of mythical offenses against the Persian gods by the Greek gods. F: But those mythical offenses were simply vengeance for the Persian gods’ mythical offenses—Socrates, don’t you see what he’s doing? He’s got an excuse for everything! S: I’m afraid, gentlemen, that I have to declare this matter intractable. I can do nothing for you. But have a nice day, okay? Bye now. F: But Socrates, you can’t leave us hanging—we were each hoping for reparations from the other. Herodotus: Perhaps I can be of assistance, Socrates? S: Sure, why not? Gentlemen, this is my old friend Herodotus, the little-known but extremely talented writer of herstories. M: What is this thing you call “herstories”? H: Well, I like to write about the hidden role that females played in great political, military, and social events. But there isn’t much of a market for that sort of thing, unfortunately, since, by law, women aren’t allowed to read. So lately I’ve been thinking about changing my focus, trying to get a bigger audience. S: You’re taking my advice? You’ll be writing more goatstories? H: Not exactly. S: But goats are awesome! And they have played such a role in the past…. F: Ha ha! I get it now. He does herstories rather than his-tories! M: See what a moron he is, Socrates? Always a few beats behind the rest of us. F: Lay off, Mani. Those jokes didn’t even make sense in Greek! H: Let’s get to the point here. We’re having some sort of disagreement over ancient injustices? M: Ancient? You and I are already ancient Greeks, right, Socrates? These problems came a long time before us. What came a long time before ancient? S: Super-ancient? M: Yes! The pain and disgrace piled on me is super-ancient. It’s as though every dagger and spearhead ever thrust into the viscera of any of my people is being thrust into my breast at this very moment, so that it is as if my black bile spills all over the dusty

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Dialogues continued...

History of the Central Valley

hero of the city-state, worthy of admiration, savior of the Greeks? Or is he a despicable cad ground right here before you! with a fondness for men in goatees, a citizen H: That’s…vivid. trying to enrich himself who happened to get F: I have to agree. Super-ancient! lucky? What are we, if we are not defined by our pasts S: … and our ability to remember our pasts? We are H: But don’t answer yet, because doesjust animals, then, living for the moment and n’t either account undervalue all the other the satisfaction of our immediate desires. aspects of the successful Greek effort? The S: I’m hungry. bravery of the individual archers who withH: He has a point, Socrates. I’ve been stood withering fire to loose bolts of their own thinking a lot about this sort of thing. into the enemy ranks, or the effort of the oarsS: I’m thirsty, too. men whose backs drove the triremes into the H: We are ancient Greeks, right? We flanks of the Persian ships, or the leadership of understand the “ancient” part because we are, individual captains who rallied their crew after all, living a long time ago, but what about despite heavy losses? Isn’t the victory at the rest of our identity? Without controversy Salamis actually an incredibly complex and we use the term “Greeks,” right? densely interwoven set of stories? S: I suppose so. S: But… H: And along with the word, we also H: And one more thing. Where are all consider ourselves heirs to certain stories of the Dorians? past Greek triumphs and failures, a sort of narS: The who? rative of our origins, which gives us a sense of H: Socrates, what are we taught about place and a sense of self. Or would you say the founding of Athens? otherwise? S: Well, as everyone knows, Theseus S: It is as you say, Herodotus. gored a bull sacred to Demeter on this spot and H: So the shared origins narrative is, burned it in offering to Athena. This angered indeed, more important than just some tales Demeter, who caused Theseus’ genitalia to about some stuff that happened in the past. shrivel, but it pleased Athena, so that she Would that be a reasonable conclusion? caused every drop of the bull’s blood to spring S: Reasonable as the day is long, my from the ground as a fully formed Athenian friend. So I guess we need to get our two land-owning male, and these men then founded friends here to agree on a single narrative, the city and instituted its democracy and laws right? So all we have to do is figure out which and had sex with each other. of their stories is true and we’ll be finished. F: I heard it was the bull’s teeth that H: Not so fast, Socrates. sprang up as Athenians. S: Oh, what now? I thought we were M: I heard it was a dragon that getting somewhere. Theseus slew. H: There is a complication. Suppose I H: Whatever the story, are we not also told you a narrative—say, the story of told that Dorians settled this countryside cenThemistocles. Themistocles was instrumental turies earlier, and that, in fact, they themselves in persuading the Athenian navy to set aside displaced an even more ancient population? funds and resources to build a fleet of triremes What happened to them? Did the autochthonic before the second Persian invasion, as you Athenians cannibalize them? recall. He then saved all of Greece by leading S: Maybe the bull and/or dragon ate this armada in the destruction of the Persian them all first. fleet at Salamis. F: Who are these Dorians? I’ve never S: Mmmm…salami. heard of them? Are they the ones that never H: I understand you’re hungry, old age because they have pictures of themselves in friend, but pay attention. Is the story that I closets? have just told not the truth of the matter of M: Moron. Socrates, doesn’t Homer what happened many years ago? mention the Dorians as historically living in S: Surely it is so. We memorized it Crete? thus as school children. S: I guess. I don’t know. Anyway, H: But suppose I told you that Homer isn’t doing history—or herstory or goatThemistocles had a personal stake in the lumstory. He’s just a storyteller. It’s art. ber market and he made an ox-cart-load of H: Aha! This is my question exactly! drachma by persuading the Boule to build all How can you tell the difference if it’s all a these ships. Also, he had a predilection for perquestion of interpretation and narrative-buildforming despicable acts with barnyard animals. ing? S: Now we’re getting the rest of the S: Oh, I see. Well, maybe it’s like I goatstory! always say: Everything’s relative! H: He was eventually banished from H: Really? Are you drinking? How is Athens for his personal failings. So is he a

your wine bottle half empty all of a sudden? At any rate, let us return to the Dorians. Maybe they were not eaten by anyone. Maybe they are still here, all around us. Maybe Athenians are, in fact, a population descended from the original Dorian inhabitants of the area. F: That’s disgusting! It’s well known that the Dorians were a hideously ugly people, short and thick, with upturned noses! S: … H: All I’m saying is that histories always seem to be excluding something. One explanation for why something happened excludes other nuances or aspects. Focusing on one group of people ignores another. F: I think I see what he’s getting at, Socrates. It’s as though any narrative is going to have to oversimplify the picture, so that, in effect, no narrative explanation of events is ever completely true. M: So it would seem to an Athenian. But the question then becomes, is one narrative just as good as any another? Would we not live in a world of chaos if there were no such thing as Truth? S: It’s like I always say: Nothing’s relative! H: I don’t think you are getting the subtlety of my argument, old friend. Here, let me show you. Is that your student Agathon over there? Could you call him over? S: Actually, he’s Gorgias’ boy. But he’s a great kisser and can recite a speech about love that will billow your toga. Maybe he can bring some more wine over since this bottle is almost gone. Agathon! Dear boy! H: Excellent. Now watch as he approaches. Wait…wait…wait for it…. S: By the gods! You’ve stabbed him through the heart! H: Or so it would seem. S: Ah, I see. You are making a point about the manner in which we interpret this action and the way in which any account of it will necessarily have a subjective point of view that will change its meaning once the moment has passed. H: Indeed. S: I can’t help but think that you could have used some other method apart from murder to establish your position, but it was effective pedagogy, I must admit. Or maybe that’s just the rest of the wine talking. H: And the question now is: how shall Agathon’s death be remembered? Was it, as you say so crassly, “murder”? Or did Agathon die in service of logos itself, falling on the site at which a theory of history was first formulated, consecrating this ground such that the winered stain on the soil beneath us will soon cause the greatest historians of Greece to rise up, each fully-formed from a drop of this sacred blood?

guy.

M: It seems to me you just stabbed a

H: But that explanation excludes the subtle nuances of the event and ignores… F: Here come the cops! H: I must run. Keep in mind what I said about the subtle nuances of events and whatnot. And remember: I was never here! M: Your friends are weird, Socrates. And…wait a minute? You guys don’t have police in Ancient Greece, do you? F: I just wanted him to leave. M: Nice move. He really was a bore. Maybe you’re not so bad after all. Athenians are a strange bunch, but I’d still eat your spleen in a pinch. S: Which reminds me, guys, I am hungry. Plus, I seem to be the only one who is drunk here. What’s wrong with this picture? I have some goatstories you wouldn’t believe; but trust me, they are even better after a lot of wine. And oil wrestling. So now that I have solved your dispute, how about you invite me out? F: I’m not sure you have solved anything. S: Of course I have. I’m Socrates! And now that we know the true nature of history, everything’s hunky-Dorian! F: Ha! S: Speaking of which, you’re sort of a hunky Dorian yourself, Festos. M: Somebody should write down what this old man says. He’s hilarious. F: Yeah, well…. But who would believe it years from now? Sure, there will likely be a mainstream history that gets told and written down. A set of official “Socratic Dialogues,” if you will, that sketches the story of his life and teachings, and also pushes some particular subjective agenda. But I fear the events of today have made me cynical about the effort to create any record of what takes place. Indeed, what if exciting and enlightening episodes such as ours here and now are not included in the story of this brilliant man? What if we get written out of the narrative history of the birth of philosophy? What an incredible tragedy. All of this important stuff today never recounted, relegated to that which is lost! M: Socrates just peed his toga. ______ H. Peter Steeves, Ph.D., is Professor of Philosophy at DePaul University and can be reached at psteeves@depaul.edu. Steven J. Ingeman, MLIS, is an independent scholar and Circulation Supervisor at Mary Riley Styles Library in Falls Church, VA and can be reached at ingeman@falls-church.lib.va.us.

Sunday

Monday

Got An Event? 1 email: Calendar@FresnoUndercurrent.net

7 l l l

14 l l l l l l

Cold Cutz Casserole w/DJS Auzzie & Gariette, Audie's Olympic, 10p l Eighty Five, DJ Johnny Q, VVV l Valley Café Scientifique: Past Climate Change, Lucy's Lair, talk @7, dinner @5:30 l

l Tower Mardi Gras Parade After

Party w/Glen Delpit & the Subterraneans, Audie's Olympic, 3p Viper City Brass Band Revisited w/DB & the Struggle, Audie's Olympic, 9p The Freeshow, VVV Fres Phil: Romeo & Juliet, $32+, WST, 8p Fres Folklore Soc: Red Molly, $20, SEV, 3p Mariachi Festival, Warnor Center, $51+, 7p Mardi Gras Parade, Tower District, 1p

21 l

Love, the Captive w/DJ Johnny Q,

The Freeshow, VVV

Audie's Olympic, 9p

FreQuency w/DJ Prof Stone, Audie's Olympic, 9p Eighty Five, DJ Johnny Q, VVV

15 l

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l l l l

Indie w/DJ Dinobyte "Artifacts", Audie's Olympic, 9p Dirty Reggae, DJ Ras I Chant, VVV Crossroads of Comedy, CRS Rock4Haiti - over 12 bands, $5, SL, 8p - 12a Woodward Shakespeare Reading: King John, free, WWPLibrary, 6:30p l

Metal Mondaze w/DJ Evil G., Audie's Olympic, 10p Eighty Five, DJ Johnny Q, VVV

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22 Chaplain, the Haymarket Squares, Cosmic Hayride, Audie's Olympic, 9p l Eighty Five, DJ Johnny Q, VVV

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l Mardi Gras Indie Night

Live w/Yesterday's Chonies & DJ Dinobyte, Audie's Olympic, 9p Dirty Reggae, DJ Ras I Chant, VVV The Crossroads of Comedy, CRS Mardi Gras: the Outfit & Blacq Shampoo, $5, SL, 9p BombPops, the Sparring, $2, CYC, 6:15p

Indie w/DJ Dinobyte "Artifacts", Audie's Olympic, 9p Dirty Reggae, DJ Ras I Chant, VVV Crossroads of Comedy, CRS Tera Melos, All Leather, $8, SL, 9p Broadway in Fresno: Avenue Q, $27.50+, WST, 7:30p

l The Whiskey & the Devil

Wednesday

l l l

Indie w/DJ Dinobyte "Artifacts", Audie's Olympic, 10p Dirty Reggae, DJ Ras I Chant, VVV The Crossroads of Comedy, CRS By Sunlight, Ghostly Nature, $5, SL, 9p

8 Olympic Superbowl BBQ Party, Audie's Olympic, 3p The Freeshow, VVV Fresno Dixieland Society Festival: Sounds of Mardi Gras, various times/venues/ticket prices Touche Amore, Deafeaer, All Teeth, CYC, 6p

Tuesday

Songwriter's Night, Audie's Olympic, 8p Soul Freedom Lounge, Mr Leonard, VVV Cloud 99, Palominos, 7p

l l l l l

10 l

The Hub w/Statik Selectah, Termanology,

Olympic,8p Soul Freedom Lounge, Mr Leonard, VVV Cloud 99, Palominos, 7p

Reks and Braco vs. Cali, Audie's

17 l

l l l l

The Hub Live w/Eligh & Scarub (Living Legends), Populus, DJ KP, Timothy vs. Cali, Audie's Olympic, 8p Soul Freedom Lounge, Mr Leonard, VVV Cloud 99, Palominos, 7p Karen Marguth, Revue, 7p SJV Townhall: Robert Fitzpatrick, $20 (stu free), WST, 10:30a

24 l The Hub w/Chuck Dimes, Shon J, J Dilla Tribute

w/SJ House Shoes, Johnny Q, Audie's Olympic, 9p l Soul Freedom Lounge, Mr Leonard, VVV Cloud 99, Palominos, 7p l Broadway in Fresno: Avenue Q, $27.50+, WST, 7:30p l David Sanborn Band w/Joey DeFrancesco, $36, TT, 8p

Art Ho

L'80z N Olymp Reggae Nigh VVV Bike Hop, m CAFÉ Infos (art) @ 6p Malcolm Sos $5, TKG, Fresno Dixie Mardi Gras prices l

11 l l l

MomoGoNo Out, Audi Reggae Nig VVV Nate at the

18 l l l

Art

L'80z Nite/G Olympic Reggae Nig Internatio Inner Ear O Stinks, F

25 l l

L'80z Nite/ Olympic, Reggae Ni Internatio

ONGOING

Art Exhibition: Joan Performing Arts, thru

l $1 Punk Night, Audie's Olympic, 9p l The Freeshow, VVV

l Final Fight, Xibalba, Caufield, Seraphim,

Cadence, Reach, Blackwater, $6, CYC, 6p

Calendar current as of printing

Thursday

Friday

op(Tower/Downtown)

ite/Girls Night Out, Audie's pic, 10p ht, Reality Sound International,

meet @Tower Velo, 5:30p shop Arthop: Corrine Arrenhofer p, music by Marlson Breugen 8p sa, Jonah and his Whale, Light FM, 9:30p eland Society Festival: Sounds of s, various times/venues/ticket

l l l l l l l

Glen Delpit & the Subterraneans, Audie's Olympic, 5p Blackbird, Back Up Johnny, Style Like Revelators, Audie's Olympic, 10p Meatball Magic, free, RL, 10p Fresno Dixieland Society Festival: Sounds of Mardi Gras, various times/venues/ticket prices Outbreak, Forfeit, Rodney Strong, $8, CYC, 6p Constellation Branch, Grand Armada, Antinovella, Rise Before the Fall, $6, KPJ, 7:30p Cineculture: Corazon del Tiempo, free, CSUF McLane 121, 5:30p SJV Jazz Fest, Buchanan HS & Paul Shaghoian Concert Hall Y&T, Shiver Fox, $30, TT, 7:30p Terry Alexander Group, FCB, 8p l

ow.com Launch Party & Girls Night ie's Olympic, 9p ght, Reality Sound International,

e Silent Movies, FCB, 8p

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Hop (Metro/Outlying)

Girls Night Out, Audie's c, 9p ght, Reality Sound onal, VVV Open Mic Poetry Jam - Love CB, 8p

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Glen Delpit Blues/Americana Happy Hour, Audie's Olympic, 5p l Curtains for You, Rademacher, Audie's Olympic, 9p Frisky DJ P-Rez, VVV Meatball Magic, free, RL, 10p Super Lucky Catz, SBT, 8p Ballad: The Memory, Club Retro, 7p Icatchfire (CD release), A Current Affair, Deminsia, Paint Me Something Beautiful, $8, KPJ, 7p Cineculture: The Messenger, free, CSUF McLane 121, 5:30p Happy Hour w/Pieter Moerdyk, FCB, 5p Food Not Bombs Fundraiser, FCB, 7p

/Girls Night Out, Audie's 9p ight, Reality Sound onal, VVV

l l l l l l

n K. Sharma's "Fields," Warnors Center for u Feb

Mike Smith - Blues/Country/Americana Happy Hour, Audie's Olympic, 5p l Benny & the Vetts, Dead Hooker Society w/the debut of Goat, Audie's Olympic, 9p Rhythm Do-Gooders, VVV Critical Mass, meet @ Fres HS, 5:30p Troubled Coast, Tragic Ends, Fed Up, $4, CYC, 6p Adam Pasion, Garage Voice, Sing the Body, Joey V (of From Indian Lakes, Jeffrey Conway), $7, KPJ, 7p Cineculture: Black Rock, free, CSUF McLane 121, 5:30p Glen Delpit & the Subterraneans CD Release, FCB, 8p

6 l l l l l l

Normandie, Pretty Mess, Giant State, Fay Wrays, Audie's Olympic, 9p Licorice Pimps, VVV Patrick Contreras,free, Revue Café, 8p Fresno Dixieland Society Festival: Sounds of Mardi Gras, various times/venues/ticket prices Ricardo Duran Lecture Series about Ancient American Cultures, free, AAM, 11a Haiti Benefit: Boxcar Figaro & Acoustic Highway, FCB, 8p

UnHappy Hour w/Roger Perry, Audie's Olympic, 5p Stone Foxes, Strange Vine, Still Time, Audie's Olympic, 9p DJ Prof Stone, VVV Ballad: The Memory, Echo St Café, 7p From Indian Lakes, K Sera, Via Coma, Antidote for Anxiety, $7, KPJ, 7:30p Fres Filmworks: The Messenger, $10, TT 5:30 and 8:15p Mardi Gras hosted by Krewe Partius, FCB, 6p

Saturday

where: 2ST: 2ND Space Theatre, 928 E Olive AAM: Arte Americas, 1630 Van Ness AQS: Aqui Shi, 1144 E. Champlain Dr. #108 CPB: Cracked Pepper Bistro,389 E Shaw CRF: Fresno Retro Club, 4450 N. Brawley

CT: Crest Theater, 1170 Broadway Plz CYC: Chinatown Youth Center, 901 F Street FAM: Fres Art Mus, 2233 N 1st St FCB: Full Circle Brewing Co. 620 F Street ITZ: Studio Itz, 370 N Fresno St KPJ: Kuppajoe, 3673 N First St LMK: The Landmark, 644 East Olive PAL: Palaminos, 805 East Olive

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Motel Drive, the Councilmen, 800 lb. Gorilla, Audie's Naughty Angels, Audie's Olympic, 9p Beastmaker, VVV Carvaval at Arte Americas: Poker Run, Zebop Concert, more Fres Phil: Romeo & Juliet, $32+, WST, 8p Fresno Wine Journey, free (bring your own wine glass) Wine & Chocolate Lovers Weekend, noon - 5p LOL Comedy Fest, $29.50+, TT, 7p Sweetheart Soiree, FCB, 8p l

20 l

l l l l

Blues Jam & Pot Luck, Audie's Olympic, 3p

Rockability w/The Henchmen, Infamous Swanks, Audie's

Olympic, 9p Body Rock, DJ Don D, VVV Moonshine Bandits, CRS Notown Roller Derby B Team vs. Vtown Derby in Visalia Tempest, FCB, 8p

27 l l l l l

Shuvelhead, Motogruv, Stage Frite, Audie's Olympic, 9p Word of Mouth, DJ Rusty, VVV Idol Hands Art Show, Sugarhill (1459 N Van Ness), 6p Woodward Shakespeare Workshop: Audition Techniques, 1-4p (location TBA) The Loungemen w/Coleman Head, FCB, 8p

PDP: Piazza del Pane, Cedar & Nees RL: The Red Lantern RR: Roger Rocka’s, 1226 N Wishon SBN: Squoia Brewing, North, 1188 E. Champlain SBT: Squoia Brewing, Tower, 777 E. Olive SL: The Starline, 831 E Fern TT: Tower Theatre, 815 Olive TM: the Manhattan, 1731 W. Bullard

TP: Thai Palms, 7785 N. Palm WST: William Saroyan Theatre, 700 M St WWP: Woodward Park VVV: Veni Vedi Vici, 1116 N Fulton

NEEDY EEVY

far left

POPULUS left

BY SUNLIGHT• GHOSTLY NATURE

ELIGH

right

NORMANDIE • FAY WRAYS

Nearly six years in, Indie Tuesday is hangin’ in there at The Starline. Help keep it happening by supporting this Love, The Captive show featuring Seattle’s BY SUNLIGHT. Slightly math-y, but very accessible, these guys will make you feel all Sunny Day Real Estate meets The Shins produced by Brian Wilson. Now that’s good stuff. This is typical for these Tuesday shows: some of the best touring indie bands out there pop into town on what should be an off-night in Fresno, and somehow it’s always really fun. On that note: interlocal electro project, GHOSTLY T U E F E B 0 2 esting NATURE, will be sure to entertain and 9 0 0 P M • A L L A G E S • $ 5 may even get you dancing.

LA will be in the house at Audie’s with 3 of the 4 bands on the bill calling that city home. Headlining will be NORMANDIE, a group self-described as experimental/ambient, but who are more consistent with groups like The Raveonettes, Jesus & Mary Chain, & Blonde Redhead. Blending gorgeous female vocals, thick reverb-y guitars, and big drum beats with good song structure & occasional electronic percussion, this trio creates a noise worthy of a band boasting twice the membership. All-female punk outfit A PRETTY MESS & danceable rock group S A T F E B 0 6 GIANT STATE will also play, & FAY 9 0 0 P M • 2 1 + • $ 6 WRAYS are a perfect local anchor.

The Fresno music scene comes together for this Love, The Captive promotion; a benefit for the people of Haiti. Local heavy hitters SIX OUNCE GLOVES, STRANGE VINE, and STYLE LIKE REVELATORS will be joined by the tremendous DIA DEL ASTRONAUTA, plus TOKYO DEATH MARCH, NEEDY EEVY, BUFFALO GUNS, DOWN WORD, ANTINOVELLA, OTIS, SAY SWEAR, THE NOTONES, and THE ESCORTS to provide the most bang for your Fresno February entertainment buck. Further description in this space is impossible, but also unnecessary. T U E F E B 0 9 Great music for a great cause…what 7 3 0 P M • A L L A G E S • $5 else do you need to know?

This is getting to be a habit. San Francisco band THE STONE FOXES and locals STRANGE VINE play Fresno together once again, proving that it ain’t broke, so it don’t need fixin’. That is to say that one would be hard-pressed to find two more well-matched bands on any local bill. We’re talking soulful blues-y rock that’ll make you harken back to the 1960s and ‘70s; just good, down-to-earth organic music. One of SF’s long-time gems, The Stone Foxes may have to start calling Fresno their home-away-from-home, and we should be glad to have them do so. S.L.O. funky rock/soul group STILL TIME the bill nicely as they F R I F E B 1 2 complement stop in Fresno during a two-month 9 0 0 P M • 2 1 + • $ 6 nationwide tour.

Sound’N’Vision presents this Visalia show featuring Thrill Jockey artists CHICAGO UNDERGROUND. For those familiar with Thrill Jockey, this signing is their usual fare: some of the best underground jazz players around playing in a more experimental style. The duo incorporate African and Asian influences with traditional jazz instrumentation (coronet, vibraphone, drums/hand percussion) to create polyrhythmic pieces that are at times ambient and at others very dynamic. See them live and you may ask, “How do they do that?” Playing support for S A T F E B 1 3 the show will be Visalia experimental band LUNCHBOX, a great 9 3 0 P M • 2 1 + • $ 5 funk/jam group of musicians in their own right.

One half of the phenomenal hip hop duo GROUCH & ELIGH, and one eighth of the stellar hip hop group THE LIVING LEGENDS, ELIGH is a seasoned veteran on the mic, known for his unparalleled rapid-fire staccato lyricism. SCARUB , also a founding member of the LEGENDS, is also a superstar of the underground in his own right, so don’t miss this show, presented by THE HUB. Local microphone-ripper POPULUS will also take the stage. His performance, all full of wild energy and some serious lyrical wizardry, will certainly please. Local turntable/proF E B 1 7 duction phenomenon DJ KP will also W E D perform. Tickets are $10 in advance. 8 0 0 P M • 2 1 + • $ 1 2

THE STARLINE

ROCK 4 HAITI

THE STARLINE

CHICAGO UNDERGROUND • LUNCHBOX

CELLAR DOOR

CURTAINS FOR YOU • RADEMACHER

One could say that Seattle’s CURTAINS FOR YOU have kept a fairly low profile since debuting in 2005. They have a small-ish MySpace following, & a search of the Web nets relatively little information. Give them a listen, however, & the only conclusion to make is that they’ve spent their time wisely, becoming a tight-knit unit & crafting a smart retro-pop sound reminiscent of the best of the British Invasion bands. Dense vocal harmonies atop jangly guitars & upbeat piano/organ melodies punctuate their songs’ tight pop arrangements. Host band F R I F E B 1 9 RADEMACHER will support, & you 9 0 0 P M • 2 1 + • $ 5 can surely expect a local opener.

AUDIE’S OLYMPIC

STONE FOXES • STRANGE VINE

AUDIE’S OLYMPIC

ELIGH • SCARUB • POPULUS • DJ KP • TIMOTHY VS. CALI

AUDIE’S OLYMPIC

NICE NICE • THE ARGYLE PIMPS

If you haven’t seen THE ARGYLE PIMPS recently, you haven’t seen them at all. Fresno’s favorite local hip hop duo are going big, having added a full band comprised of some of our local music scene’s best and brightest. Don’t worry your pretty little head, though. You’ll still get emcees BONEY BEEZLY and COCKAMAMIE JAMIE at their comical, sarcastic rhymin’-est; they’ve just upped the ante by putting together a more dynamic show. That’s enough show already, but wait, there’s more! Portland electro group NICE NICE headline the night with a live performS A T F E B 2 7 ance of their sometimes glitchy, oft9 0 0 P M • A L L A G E S • $ 5 ambient head trip.

HOWIE & SONS

page THE VENUES / Cellar Door = 101 W Main St, Visalia • The Exit = 1533 E Belmont, Fresno • Audie’s Olympic Club Fred= 1426 N Van Ness, Fresno • Howie &

18 Veni Vidi Vici = 1116 N Fulton, Fresno • Babylon = 1064 N Fulton, Fresno • The Venue = 1148 7th St, Sanger • Aqua Shi = 1144 E Champlain, Fresno

Sons Pizza = 2430 S Mooney, Visalia • The Starline = 831 E Fern, Fresno • The Partisan = 432 W Main St, Merced • Tokyo Garden = 1711 Fulton, Fresno •

tracks on Social Studies, and collaborated with various talented artists including Hecktik, Sole Profit, 3am and Rob the Voice. “3am was probably the most significant because their beats are just real emotional to me. They did two of the beats on the album. One of them was “Social Studies” with Rob the Voice from Super Lucky Catz. That was probably my favorite song on there,” said Dimes. It originated as a hidden track, but Dimes didn’t want to take the chance that people might miss it. Local artists often submit their beats to Chuck Dimes, and he knows whether or not it will mesh with his unique voice and character. “My friends call me Picky Ricky, because I’m particular about my choice of beats,” he said. “Give me a beat and I’ll try to match the quality and emotions behind the beat, as opposed to just writing a song over a beat.” Thinking about this, he added, “They kind of call me a snob, but you have to have a certain degree of ego.” He doesn’t normally go into the studio to record a track unless he senses a potential for something good to come out of it; and he is willing to scrap anything that doesn’t seem to work. “Not everything you make is going to be good. You’ve got to be willing to be your own worst critic and be honest with yourself, and not surround yourself with yes men,” he said. During the recording of Social Studies, Chuck huck Dimes is living proof that if you trol and paranoid, and just feels out of place. love what you’re doing, you can A lot of that’s an exaggeration, but at the same Dimes was grateful to accomplish great things. After recuper- time, that’s kind of like what goes through my work with his engineer, Justin Avery, who went the ating from a heart-wrenching breakup in 2008, head,” said Dimes. extra mile to suggest crethe local rap phenomenon worked hard over While many rap artists rave about ative ideas on songs like the course of 2009, and he emerged more how much they love smoking weed, Dimes takes a humorous look at the not-so-cool side “Cougar Hunt,” which resilient. The resulting third album, Social makes fun of young men Studies, reveals a new confidence and a smart of it. His ability to see things from another perspective is a strength that he has learned to who chase older women. sense of humor. Although the “This is the most fun I’ve had mak- rely on. album begins with “Sob “My greatest strengths are my honing an album,” Dimes said. “On this album, Story,” a song about his esty and the humor that I put into it; and I this is me stripped down; this is the most honpainful breakup in 2008, have a way of making honest music sound est that you’ve heard me before.” the rest of the album progood. If they can relate to it, then that’s good, Although he jumped into rapping as gresses to show how his but if they can’t, then I’ll still make a way for a kid for rebellious reasons, he was always sense of humor got him them to be entertained by it,” Dimes said. A intrigued by this style of music; and he feels strong work ethic sets him apart from numer- through it. that rap is a unique genre that allows him to “It was a difficult ous local rap artists. He aims to consistently express his thoughts without holding back. process for me, and that’s make good rap music, and he works hard to “A lot of it may be stereotypical, but why I call it Social fulfill that need. we can get away with saying a lot of things Studies; because it was “I think a lot of people just like to that a country artist or a pop artist couldn’t about me becoming a man call themselves rappers instead of actually say,” said Dimes. and adapting back into On Social Studies, Dimes gets away being rappers. They don’t really want to work at it,” he said. Over the last few years, Chuck society, after a breakup with joking about many topics; from disasand after questioning Dimes has released three full-length albums trous first dates to hangovers and weed hell, everything about myself, and a mix tape; and although he just released he shows us that it’s alright to laugh about after becoming the weakhis third album, he is already focused on writaspects of life that we don’t want to face. est I’ve ever been, and ing new songs. “I wrote “Puff Puff Pass” from the now, where I’m at—the His writing ability has evolved, and perspective of a person who doesn’t smoke strongest I’ve ever been,” weed that often and gets delirious, out of con- he’s confident that his personal style has finalDimes said. “It made me ly taken shape. He wrote and arranged all 18

MEET CHUCK DIMES

question everything about myself. Over time I built strength and happiness without that person being there, and that was the meaning behind the album.” Some of the great between-song skits on the album feature a hypothetical, deranged woman who butts heads with him, while dating and in the bedroom. As it turns out, this ongoing character is Chuck Dimes himself, who used a vocal effect in the studio to play that role. “It’s my impression of a girl that I work with that evolved into whatever skits were necessary. It was a blast. You couldn’t get me out of the booth,” Dimes said. At this point in his career, which he takes seriously, he writes all day and works all night; and every show is booked personally through him. With Social Studies currently on the shelves of Rasputin Records, FTK and Red Wave Tattoo, he’s looking for a businessminded manager to assist him. Social Studies can also be purchased online through iTunes, Rhapsody and CD Baby. _____ Christy Arndt is a Fresno native and CSUF graduate. If you are a local musician, and would like to be interviewed for “Meet the Musicmakers,” please contact her at christyarndt@gmail.com.

The Fresno Bully Rescue

o you watch the TV news or read the daily paper and think, “Something’s missing here. Where are the stories about the people I know? Where are stories about the issues that affect me and my family from our perspective?” If you do, come to the Free Speech Media Conference on Saturday, February 20, where you will find out how to be a part of important changes that are taking place in the local media scene. The conference will show you how to be part of the Valley’s growing independent media movement. There will be panels that give you information about how to become involved with local print and broadcast media, and there will be workshops where you will learn the skills you need to start producing the stories people in this community need to know about. The workshops will consist of training in video, radio and print. The video training will be given by professionals who are involved in the Community Media Access Collaborative (CMAC). CMAC is in the process of establishing a Community Media Center for the Public, Education, and Government (PEG) channels in the Fresno/Clovis area. Soon, the Public Access channel will be on the air and they will need content providers to produce locally originated programming. The training will explain how you can become involved and have your own show on the Public Access channel. Radio producers from Radio Bilingue and KFCF 88.1 FM, two listener-sponsored noncommercial sta-

tions, will conduct workshops that will show how you can become involved in radio broadcasting. There will be a writing workshop conducted by Conn Hallinan, an excellent writer and teacher from the Bay Area, as well as a workshop on how to conduct an interview and one on investigative reporting. The goal of the conference is to motivate more people to become active participants in producing media in this area. You will find out how to become involved with local media, learn some of the skills you need to become a journalist and meet professionals in the industry who are looking for new people, like you, to become involved in this exciting work. The Free Speech Media Conference will be held on Saturday, February 20, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Dickey Community Center (1515 Divisadero St., at Glenn Street). The cost is $5 per person and that includes lunch. The conference is sponsored by the Community Alliance newspaper, KFCF 88.1 FM, Radio Bilingue 91.5 FM, Indymedia (www.indybay.org), El Concillio de Fresno, The Undercurrent newspaper, CineCulture at Fresno State and FresYes! For more information about the conference, call 559-978-4502, e-mail editor@fresnoalliance.com or visit www.fresnoalliance.com. ______ Mike Rhodes is a veteran independent journalist here in Fresno. He is editor-in-chief of The Community Alliance.

he Fresno Bully Rescue is a non-profit (501(c)(3)), no-kill shelter dedicated to finding good homes for good dogs and dispelling misconceptions about the so-called “Bully Breeds,” such as pit bulls, American bulldogs, and the like. The Bully Rescue, with

by Jessi Hafer

its careful adoption process, can lead to a great addition to your family. And even if you’re not ready for a dog (or this type of dog) yourself, you can consider making the Bully Rescue one of your good deeds for the year by financially sponsoring a dog as its “Guardian Angel” or making a one time donation on the Fresno Bully Rescue website (see below).

The Bully Rescue also needs volunteers to help out at their Herndon site and with adoption events. To facilitate this, over the coming year, the rescue will be regularly hold-

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ing classes for new volunteers, for interested adopting families, and for “Foster Families.” The Bully Rescue’s Foster Program helps to get dogs into a more adoptable state by bringing dogs out of the kennel environment and placing them into a home to provide more opportunities for exercise and socialization—a great way to prepare the dog for his or her “Forever Home.” Founded in May 2008, the Fresno Bully Rescue has rescued over 250 dogs, with over 140 finding permanent homes so far. They participate in weekend adoption events at Petco (Blackstone and Ashlan) and, in the near future, at River Park with the Animal Compassion Team. Dogs can also be adopted at the Fresno Bully Rescue’s site at 8547 W. Herndon Avenue on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 10am – 5pm (or Monday through Thursday by appointment). On their website, Fresno Bully Rescue notes that the increase in housing foreclosures has resulted in an increase of dogs that can no longer stay with their families. “Bully Breeds” are often the first to be euthanized when they are not rescued or adopted from shelters. Furthermore, California’s state budget cuts have affected the state’s SPCAs, when California (and the Central Valley, in particular) already had shameful dog euthanasia rates. The Fresno Bully Rescue makes a difference in some of these serious problems one dog at a time, and it adds up! For more information on adopting a dog, donating, and/or getting involved, visit www.fresnobullyrescue.org or call (559) 803-5214.

Our State, Our Schools: California Students Take it Back!

by Ashley Fairburn

cy, the state of our education system, and of our state, is only going to get worse. Last fall saw massive protests against the fee hikes at UC and CSU campuses throughout the state. Fresno State had the largest student mobilization in decades, with a walkout and march of hundreds of students, faculty and staff. Now campuses throughout the state are gearing up for a March 4th day of action. While the actions will be different depending on the community, we are all in solidarity against the destruction of OUR public education system. We welcome students, parents, teachers, workers, and anyone effected by cuts to education to join us for a march and rally. For details or to get The problem is not only state nce upon a time, California involved in the planning, visit held the model public education spending. Fiscal mismanagement and unite4ed.org or email the student coalilack of transparency by the chancellor, system in the country, seeing tion at unite4ed@gmail.com. board of trustees, and administrators the education of youth and workers, ______ also burden our CSU system. At CSU regardless of income, as a crucial Ashley Fairburn is a CSUF graduate investment. In the 1980s, a drastic pri- Fresno, many wonder why we have a and works for Fresno Unified, where concert stadium, a new multimillion ority shift occurred, redirecting funds she sees firsthand how budget cuts hurt from education to other, less beneficial dollar library with terrible hours and students. She likes to imagine a President Welty’s fancy, new suite on industries such as the prison industrial California where schools have so much complex. Since 1980, California State the fourth floor, where he is finalizing funding that students of different skill University has lost $650 million in state plans to build a movie theater on camlevels, learning styles, and primary lanpus. general funding support and student guages can be accommodated. They say an educated popufees have increased 1,188%, from $231 ______ lace is the hallmark of democracy. On a year to today’s $2,976 [1][2]. This Notes: the other side of the spectrum is an past year alone, fees have been raised [1] Cabaruvias, Sergio. 2009. State cuts 32% and students are looking at anoth- authoritarian government systematically CSU budget by $1.3 billion. Daily controlling a population it strives to er fee hike in the coming year [3]. Titan, August 24. keep ignorant. The fact that California Teachers are getting laid off, classes [2] CURB. 2009. State cuts education have been cut, mandatory furloughs for spends $49,000 a year per inmate while while approving huge increases in only investing $4,600 per CSU student nearly 47,000 employees reduce class prison spending. Factsheet, November and $1,000 less than the national avertime, and enrollment caps are keeping 2009. age on K-12 students is a sickening out 35,000 incoming freshman for the [3] Cabaruvias, Sergio. 2009. State cuts sign of where California is headed on 2010 spring semester, and the winter CSU budget by $1.3 billion. Daily semester is looking about the same [4]. that spectrum [6][7]. Failing to invest Titan, August 24. in our youth (yet building plenty of The University of California system [4] Ibid. prisons to dump the uneducated masses and community colleges have all had [5] Reed, Charles B. 2009. California into) has had devastating effects on our similar funding problems. Governor values prisoners over students. communities. Literacy rates are plumSchwarzenegger’s most recent budget SFGate.com, July 27. meting while our prison population has plan includes another $2.4 billion in [6] Ibid. skyrocketed out of control. If we don’t cuts from education while the state is [7] CURB. 2009. Reduce the number step up and demand California legislaeagerly moving forward on a $12 bilof people in prison: No new prison contors live up to the promise of democralion prison expansion project [5]. struction. Factsheet, November 2009.

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A VERY SPECIAL ISSUE OF THE SAN JOAQUIN REVIEW

by Abid Yahya

his winter, thanks to the good folks over at The San Joaquin Review, we are blessed with a veritable treasure chest of local poetry.

mirror the valley in terms of its diversity: division, reconciliation, and its political and sexual tension.” Many of the poets featured here, such as Larry Levis, Gary Soto, and Luis Omar Salinas, were once students at Fresno State who have gone on to For the last become some of the most forty six years, the successful poets in the Fresno State English country. Additionally, many Department has pubof Fresno’s well-known lished an annual lityounger poets, like the late erary journal, featurAndres Montoya, Erik Fritz, ing poems, stories, Stephen Barile, and Kirk and essays from varStone, are represented here. ious local writers. All in all, this The journal has had issue of the SJR is a truly many permutations amazing collection of truth, over the years—it has been called wisdom, and vivid imagery from some of Backwash, Sage, Common Wages, the the valley’s sharpest pens and minds over Joaquin Review, and the San Joaquin the last half century. To get yourself a Review, but the latest issue of the SJR, hot copy, email an address to Tim Skeen, SJR’s off the presses, is an anthology featuring a faculty advisor, at tskeen@csufresno.edu wonderful cross-section of poems published and he’ll mail it to you, or you can simply by the journal over its entire history. As drop by Fresno State’s English Department editor Marcus Chinn explains in the issue, on the 3rd floor of the Peters Business “We’ve assembled a range of poems that Building.

Corazón Del Tiempo: Un Viaje al Corazón de la Resistencia Zapatista

by Matt Espinoza Watson

orazón Del Tiempo was a featured film at last year’s Sundance film festival that will be showing Sunday February 28 at 6 pm at the CAFE Infoshop on 935 F Street. The event is free and open to the public, though donations are encouraged. Donations are for a March 21 Human Rights Delegation to Chiapas, sponsored by the Chiapas Support Committee. The Committee does work to provide information about the human rights situation in Mexico in the Bay Area and beyond and to provide material aid to victims of human rights abuse. More than a simple love story, the film is about what autonomy looks like in practice, the day-to-day life in a Zapatista community where decisions are made as a

collective. The film is accompanied by a beautiful soundtrack, and showcases amazing cinematography as well. Filmmaker Alberto Cortés “crafts a unique approach to storytelling—a confident mix of romantic drama, Greek chorus, and political intrigue—to relate a multifaceted tale of an epic liberation struggle that spans centuries, from the age of slavery to today’s era of digital media. As Cortés depicts, with striking authenticity, a community that is constantly reinventing the rules of tradition and revolution, he also reveals that the roots of struggle for political freedom are ultimately born out of the tangle of desires to live with a free heart” (from the Sundance Festival Website). Come out and support Zapatista communities while checking out a really great film.

TRIVIA, BOOZE, & CASH: HOW 2 GUYS BROUGHT PUB QUIZ TO FRESNO by Ed Stewart

sports, pop culture, movies, music and some basic trivia. We move through the questions at a good clip, but you have five minutes after the round to go over your answers, rethink what you wrote, or figure out that last one that was stumping you. Then we score each round and begin the next. When it’s all said and done, the team with the best overall score has a chance to win big. They draw a token from a bag, and if it’s the jackpot token, they win a nice cash prize. If they draw one of the other chips, they win back at least their entry fees. That’s cool, right? Wednesday, January 13 was our first pub quiz ave you ever wondered how night. We were nervous and didn’t realsmart you were? I do all the ly know how many people would show time. Is your brain filled with useless facts? I know that mine is, and up. We figured that, if we had twenty people, we’d be a success, and hoped watching Jeopardy just doesn’t cut it. So, I joined with my podcast partner in for thirty. Fresno blew our minds and we had 62 people play. We actually crime, Adam, to start a pub quiz. Of course, it was a natural choice for us to turned away people because there just have it at the Landmark, our home away weren’t any more seats in the bar. Due to our success, we’ll be in the back dinfrom home. ing room at the Landmark in the future. What is a pub quiz? Are the It can hold a lot more people, so we questions about bars? They could be, shouldn’t have to turn anyone away. but really it’s just a team trivia night. The scores on the night were very close, Adam and I slave away all week for and the winning team won only by 3/4 you, the quiz takers, creating questions of a point! They didn’t pull the jackpot that will challenge your brain. And on Wednesday we give you the opportunity chip, so that rolls over to the next week. to show how smart you are, enjoy some That winning team from the first night looks poised to be a juggernaut, so come time with other people, answer questions, and have a cocktail. Each player out to the Landmark and see if you snatch victory away. contributes $5, and can either play the The details: Pub Quiz at the quiz alone or on a team of up to six peoLandmark, 644 E. Olive. $5 per person, ple. teams of 1-6. Registration @ 7:30, quiz How does the pub quiz work? starts @ 8pm sharp. More info availThere are four rounds of questions. The able @ fresnopubquiz.blogspot.com. first question of each round is a snippet of a song. You need to correctly identi- ______ Ed Stewart thinks he is smart enough to fy the artist, title and tell us how long the song is. The length part is just used break Ken Jennings’ win streak on for tiebreakers, so don’t freak out if you Jeopardy, but has not been able to pass the qualifying tests. don’t know that. The other nine questions of the round are all over the trivia spectrum. We had questions about

Organizing the Chicano Movement: The Story of CSO Sun House Publishing (2009) Humberto Garza

“

In 1947, within the greater Los Angeles area, the first Community Service Organization (CSO) was formed to address local social justice issues.” So begins Humberto Garza’s newest book. At its heart, Organizing the Chicano Movement is a missing piece of American Civil Rights history. More specifically, it is about the little-known story of the Community Service Organization, and how the CSO provided the training and know-how for Mexican American communities in California to begin organizing and demanding equal treatment. The fact that Mexican Americans had their own civil rights movement is mysteriously absent from what most of us learn about civil rights in school, and even more obscured are the leaders of this struggle and the mechanics of how it happened. With this book, Humberto Garza adds to the list of his other groundbreaking historical investigations, including Demystifying the Murrieta Legend and The Mexican American War: A Deceitful Smoke Screen. I must add here at the outset that I have been working with Garza for the last year, since consulting him for a piece I wrote on Joaquín Murrieta for last year’s “Local History” issue of The Undercurrent, and further, that I’m pleased to say I was the copy editor for The Story of CSO.

reviewed by Matt Espinoza Watson

throughout the book. As we read about Fred Ross teaching Cesar Chavez about community organizing, we learn alongside Chavez “how to take a problem, analyze it, and then reduce the problem into issues

that are fightable and winnable, always remembering to address one issue at a time.” In the end, the reader comes away with a great deal of insight into how to successfully go about creating meaningful social change by mobilizing communities into action. Another aspect of the book that stands out is the fact that the CSO was, from the beginning, an endeavor not just of the Mexican-American community, but of people working across racial boundaries to help create social change. Despite the fact that many of the grievances of the One of the features of Mexican American community the book that I liked best is the were directed toward AngloAmerican society, it was an fact that the reader is treated Anglo-American who founded not just to some fascinating historical information, but also the CSO and trained many outstanding leaders in the given many practical lessons Chicano struggle for civil on community organizing rights. That person was Fred

Ross, who was hand-picked by Industrial Areas Foundation Director (and community organizing icon) Saul Alinsky to be the West Coast Director of IAF and to start the first CSO. Garza begins his book by demonstrating living conditions in the barrios where most urban Mexican Americans lived at the time: segregation in schools and housing, a complete lack of basic public services, and disrespect from the dominant society. In chapter 2, he describes how the CSO got the funding necessary to accomplish its goals; in short, it was The Emil Schwarzhaupt Foundation that played this crucial role. In addition to providing money to CSO, The Foundation also “funded organizing efforts for poor Whites, American Indians, [and] Blacks…” Garza then shares the story of this German immigrant who made millions in the liquor business, who died without any family, and who left his fortune to this foundation for the purpose of “promoting the well-being of mankind,” and the betterment of American citizenship, particularly among the foreignborn. Next, Garza focuses on Fred Ross, the lead organizer of CSO. From there, the book goes on to chart major incidents that galvanized communities into action, focusing on the LA and San Jose chapters of CSO, and then gives the reader a rundown of the many leaders trained by CSO and the organizations they went on to start. The list is quite impressive. The last two chapters are, to me, the most pow-

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George “Elfie” Ballis & Maia Ballis “La Tierra...”

eorge “Elfie” Ballis is a legendary figure of sorts here in the Central Valley. Perhaps best known for his photographs of the Civil Rights struggle in the South, and of Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers, Elfie has been documenting—through photos and video—ordinary people struggling for a better world for quite some time.

We recently had a chance to sit down with Elfie and Maia Ballis up at their beautiful solar-powered house/workspace known as Sun Mountain. “The important thing about me is us,” Elfie starts, referencing his partner of 40 years, Maia. “40 years of being together in everything, working together, living together, and living in the cracks for 40 years.” He’s proud to point out that his last “real job” was in 1952, working as a wire editor for the San Francisco bureau of the Wall Street Journal. “If you’re not having fun, screw it,” he explains.“Do what you love. Follow your mission. And you have to know that the struggle’s never gonna end. I don’t believe in revolution anymore, because the struggle just goes on and on. Your job is to find a crack and work the crack.” From his first film project in 1969—along with Maia and Teatro Campesino cofounder Luis Valdez, setting images to Corky Gonzalez’ epic poem ‘I am Joaquín’—to their latest, a compilation of docupoems from demonstrations in the Central Valley and beyond, entitled ‘Our Family Stories-of peace & justice with a cast of 1000’s,’ it is apparent that Elfie and Maia found their niche and have been working it for the benefit of us all. Both Maia and Elfie have an ageless quality to them, and hearing their wisdom and stories helped to account for why this is: “I finally figured out that there’s no reason to get angry; it only ends up hurting you. And that ridicule is a very powerful tool. In my 20s, I thought that I would have to keep up my anger to keep doing this sort of work, to be a warrior. But that’s bullshit. It’s exactly the opposite. So I decided

to become a dancer instead of a warrior, and to live within the sacredness of all that is.”

Tell us about this particular cover image. The image is a picture I took that Maia did the graphic design work on, and that we then silkscreened together as a poster. The poster won an award of excellence from the Chicago Communications Industry in 1976.

What got you started in your artistic endeavors? In 1951, I was working as an assistant editor for a string of Chicago weeklies. I got so sick of the pictures they would send me, that after a while, I decided to buy a 35mm camera and a book on how to use it. I started out shooting pictures at a local ethnic market, and it was love at first click. Please provide a short bio. I was born in Wisconsin & raised in Minnesota, about 50 miles outside of Minneapolis. At age 18, I’d only been into Minneapolis two or three times, and knew very little about the world around me. The secondbest decision of my whole life was joining the Marine Corps when I was 18. (The first-best decision, for the record, was marrying Maia.) It was in the Marines that I got an education I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else: blood and guts and death. I’m only standing here today because I scored well on the math test, and got to train to become a radar tech. Half of my buddies were dead within 6 months, sacrificed in what I later learned were invasions staged for PR purposes (in the Pacific Islands during WWII). That was my political education.

(1964) Fannie Lou Hamer, when credential committee decided not to fully recognize Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party delegates

How has the Valley influenced you/your work? I’ve chosen to live here in the Central Valley because I’ve always felt that there’s more reality in Fresno than there is in, say, Berkeley. I was offered a manager job with KPFA in the mid 1950s, but declined it to stay here. It’s a guttural place, but I love it. When you meet a storm, you have to engage it. That goes for everything. Rather than pretending Haiti doesn’t exist, for example… Much of what we’re taught is (1968) Robert Kennedy with migrant child evasion, to ignore problems, that someone else will do the work. And that’s not the way it works. I think heroes are a real drag, because they invite us to avoid responsibility. We’re the only ones who can lead ourselves out of the darkness. If people want to purchase your work, how can they go about doing that? Through Sun Mountain, our nonprofit organization. Books, posters, & videos are all available for purchase through the website, www.sunmt.org , or you can email us at mail@sunmt.org, or give us a call at (559) 855-3710 or toll free at (888) 303-0103.

(1966) Behind César Chávez are Sra. Mata of Earlimart, and Maria Rodriguez (holding a waving flag) as they march with thousands of farmworkers from Delano to Sacramento.

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erful. Chapter 7, entitled “A Chicano leader in the struggle for civil rights,” tells the story of Gilbert Padilla, who organized with the Hanford chapter of CSO, and went on to be a co-founder and the first Vice-President of the National Farm Workers Association (which later became the United Farm Workers union). His is an inspiring story of dedication and hard work that is largely unknown. Garza ends the book by giving others the chance to tell their own stories of how the CSO inspired them into action: Enrique Rodriguez, superintendent of schools for Parlier Unified, and Benjamín Tamez Jr., President of the School Board in Parlier, both share heartwrenching stories related to the neglect and outright contempt that some Valley educators had toward the Mexican American community. Rodriguez and Tamez relate how they were motivated by these incidents to go into education themselves and ensure that more students were not subjected to the type of treatment they describe. There isn’t space here to share even summaries of all the inspiring stories contained in this book, so if your interest is piqued, you’ll have to get a hold of a copy for yourself. You can do so by contacting the author directly at humbertogarza_2010@yahoo.com, or by visiting his website, joaquinmurrieta.net As Arnold Bojórquez states in the foreword, “Through sharing stories of public humiliation and countless rebuffs by members of the dominant society and its institutions, Garza persuasively argues that the self-determinism of the barrio and El Movimiento Chicano grew from community leadership training provided through the CSO and its founding organizations.” Ultimately, The Story of CSO is that many capable leaders were trained by this organization; leaders who then used those skills to found and direct a broad range of civil rights and social justice organizations, and who played major roles in knocking down long-standing barriers to the full participation of Mexican Americans in American civic life.

Vegan Soul Kitchen Da Capo Press (2009) Bryant Terry

egan Soul Kitchen might not be “The Standard” cookbook I reach to first for my most basic questions and routine meals, nor the very first cookbook I’d recommend to new vegans. However, it is the cookbook that has everything “The Standard” cookbook doesn’t, from truly fresh insights on cooking, eating, and vegan foods to recipes that place familiar staples in harmony with surprising counterparts. Bryant Terry infuses a strong sense of identity into the thoughts and food in this book with a straightforward, unpretentious, and personal style. I’ve been thrilled with each recipe I’ve tried so far, and I can’t wait to keep trying out this book as the many recipes I’ve bookmarked find their ingredients in season.

review by Jessi Hafer

was indeed sweet, but in a way that felt genuine and humble. I very much enjoyed this, and I know I’ll make this iced tea all the time as the weather warms. I made one other recipe from the “Top Six” intro, and it is probably one of the three most tasty, impressive entrees I’ve ever made; and while it did take a while, it wasn’t difficult. It’s “Cajun-Creole-Spiced Tempeh Pieces with Creamy Grits.” I can’t wait to make this for a dinner party. Sure, I might initially present it to California natives as their more familiar “polenta,” but I’ll know it’s really “grits.” The important thing, though, is that this is—

Uniquely, I think, Terry placed six of his favorite recipes as the first chapter in the book—recipes whose only commonality is that he felt they were some of the recipes that he turns to most often. The first is “Citrus Collards with Raisins Redux,” and it was fantastic. I’m already a big fan of the dark leafy greens, but I would have never thought to pair them with a little orange juice and raisins. Terry’s method of cooking greens (brief boiling followed by sautéing) achieves greens that are thoroughly cooked without being overly cooked, which can be a tough balance to achieve, but a critical balance to have, especially for greens skeptics. The next in the chapter is “Agave-sweetened orange-orange pekoe tea.” The tea

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hands down—the best polenta/grits I’ve had since becoming vegan (yep—polenta is one of those things that makes me almost kinda miss heavy cream a little…but not any more!). This rich, flavorful corn meal is topped with tempeh inspired by Cajun shrimp. The method of cooking tempeh in this recipe was one I had never tried before, but the result had great texture and phenomenal flavor. Other recipes I tried include “Power Porridge” (a warm breakfast cereal of quinoa and amaranth grains—high protein, great texture, and nice flavor), “Baked BBQ Black Eyed Peas” (baked beans reinvented with BBQ flavor and tempeh pieces—I will be making this for every cookout I go to this summer), and “Johnny Blaze Cakes” (cornmeal pancakes—very warm and comforting with just the right amount of greasy). And there are many more recipes from this book I can’t wait to make. Another unique aspect of this cook-

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book is that all the recipes are presented with cultural pairings: song, film, art, and book suggestions. Sure, these may not literally be required ingredients, but it illustrates the links between food and culture…particularly African American culture…and particularly in a way that shows that African American and Southern culture is not incompatible with vegan food. Very cool—and I’m sure I’m not the first person who, previously, never dreamed that there was much in the soul food world that would work for a vegan. Terry touches upon this eloquently:

I do realize that veganism…is antithetical to the way that African American and Southern cooking has been constructed in the popular imagination over the past four decades. …But when we step back and remember that—before the widespread industrialization of food in this country—African Americans living in the South included lots of fresh, nutrient dense leafy greens, tubers, and fruits in their everyday diets, what I am introducing here is not that much of a stretch. (p xxi) Terry goes on to explain that no single way of eating will be perfect for everyone. He talks a bit about why veganism worked and was important for him. But in the end, the discussion and recipes are centered on culture—and excellent food that happens to be vegan.

he first thing you notice about the 2008 Donovan-Parke Pinot Noir is that it is not as deep as some other California Pinot Noirs. In the glass, it has a lighter appearance, like you would expect from a Pinot Noir from Burgundy. This 2008 Pinot Noir has a very nice berry aroma, cherry maybe, a little bit of raspberry, and maybe just the tiniest hint of…well, the spices you might put in pumpkin pie, not cinnamon…

The wine itself fills your palate; it’s not a thin wine like the color might lead you to believe. It is definitely a big & fruit forward wine. There is an earthiness to the wine on the back end, as fruit gives way to a leathery, slightly tobacco finish. Oak can be tasted throughout the wine and it especially lingers in the aftertaste. There is enough to this Pinot Noir to stand up to heavier meals, but the fact that the wine is well rounded, no part of it overpowering, allows for this wine to be enjoyed with lighter meals as well as on its own. This is a nice everyday wine, maybe not the one you save for a special occasion, but, at about $12 a pop, it’s not a bad deal.

Tales of the Arabian Nights designer: Eric Goldberg / Z-man Games (2009) 2-4 players, 2hour playing time

reviewed by Joe Aguayo & Kelly Hawthorne

oe: Remember those “Choose your own adventure” books that were really popular back in the 80s? Kelly: Yeah, as a kid I had one about a haunted amusement park. The main character walked around the park and you had to decide whether or not you would get on certain rides. Of course the rides would always break down and scariness ensued. Joe: I seem to remember having at least a few of those. One that sticks out was about a cave that was like a time machine...well, I can’t remember the story so much, but I do remember getting all wrapped up in them and feeling genuine disappointment when the main character fell on hardship because of my poor decision making. Kelly: Jeez, Joe. Relax. You shouldn’t have put so much pressure on yourself, after all you were only in second grade. Joe: So in the spirit of drudging up old childhood psychological trauma... Tales of the Arabian Nights (The version we played is the Zman reprint of the 1985 release by West End Games) is basically a huge “choose your own adventure” book in board game form. Kelly: As the title alludes, the theme and setting of the game is the world of One Thousand and One Nights. Throughout the game, you will lead your character on adventures in which s/he will collect priceless treasure, court beautiful

princesses, and fight hideous creatures! Joe: This game isn’t quite as simple as the old books, but it’s not rocket science either. There’s a little bit of referring to charts to determine which encounter will be faced, but after about 2 or 3 turns, it’s pretty much second nature. Kelly: On a turn, players move their characters around a map of the Old World and, upon reaching their destination, draw a card to determine the type of encounter their character will face. Players decide on how to react and their decisions determine what will be read from the huge [read:HUGE!] Book of Tales. Joe: The book really is the heart of the game and contains over 2600 possible encounters, which nearly ensures that you’ll never play the same game twice. Kelly: There are some funny, um, life changing events that happen in the game, that we don’t really want to give away so you can enjoy the surprise yourself. I’ll always remember the time I spent half the game scoured, grief stricken and crippled, and every time I managed to heal myself— voila!—it would happen again! Joe: Maybe it says more about the people we play with, but yeah, we did spend a lot of time laughing at you. Based on that alone, this game was a definite hit. ______ Joe Aguayo is a returning student at Fresno City College who also works to keep our air clean at the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. Kelly Hawthorne is a Bakersfield native now attending Fresno City College.

Demon’s Souls

(for Playstation 3) Atlas (2009)

emon’s Souls is somewhat of an anomaly in today’s videogame market. It harkens back to the days of 8-bit RPG games in the overall difficulty of the game, but it’s not really a bad thing. Risk vs. reward is the theme here. The only way to build up your character (one of several classes you can choose from) is to defeat enemies to get souls to increase your levels. But you also need those same souls to upgrade/repair your weapons and armor and to buy new items. Also, like many other RPGs of current time, you have a weight limit of items you can carry. Each item in

the game has a weight property and they all add up. So you’ll need to go through the levels more than once so you can fully build up your character.

But then there’s more: if you die—and you will, many times—you lose it all, unless you can reach the spot at which you previously died without dying a second time. Sounds frustrating, right? But where the game shines is with the sense of accomplishment the player has when things go well and you’re riding high on the game’s fluid and highly responsive combat controls. There are a variety of weapons to utilize, as well as armor and shields. You can opt to forgo a shield and use your weapon with two hands, altering your com-

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bat moves and timing, but increasing your overall ability to inflict damage. When guarding with a shield, you can also do a jab attack or defensively roll to safety. You do have a stamina meter that decreases with each move but restores when your character is idle. I really liked the backward roll and found it very effective when dodging enemies. Your character may also use magic against enemies, as there are a variety of spells to hurt foes, or ones to heal yourself. Of course you need to earn a wand to do spells first, which is not available right away in the game. You have to play to the point where you can get it, just as you cannot actually begin to level up or use souls until your go through the first level and a boss at the end. It’s kind of like the game not wanting to hold your hand—you get thrown to the wolves right off the bat. Again, the game harkens to the past here, as you must go through levels time and time again until you really memorize them and can efficiently go thorough a level and come out alive and with enough souls to use. It’s possible to learn the attack patterns of the different enemies too and that definitely helps, and is also very old school. The one area in which Demon’s Souls is not old school is the presentation department. The game sounds fantastic with a wonderful score to it. The graphics are not phenomenal—the game is a port, released in Japan a few years ago—but are crisp and convey just the right atmosphere, dark and medieval. The controls are very responsive and user friendly; it’s about the only friend you’re going to have in this game. I’d be remiss not to mention the multiplayer aspects. You can play your personal game file on line in a version of the game that everyone shares at the same time. You can find or leave messages to other players, warning them of upcoming doom or a hidden item somewhere. Now there is a catch (yep, they even found a way to make multiplayer hard): higher level player can kill other players in the game…just because they can. To summarize, I’ll say this: if you like a good challenge and testing your resiliency, then you’ll love Demon’s Souls. If it sounds too hard, you should try it anyway, as you’d be missing out on one of PS3’s best games. You may get hooked on the whole risk/reward concept. But the game is brutal—there is no pause, ever, so there’s no escape. And it saves constantly, so every move or mistake you make shapes your experience. That was what I found the most rewarding, how different everyone’s experience with it can be. But despite all the hurdles, it ultimately pays off by giving the gamer a great feeling of accomplishment…if you can make it through. I give it a rating of 9/10. ______ Hugh Starkey has lived in the valley his whole life, which is how long he’s been playing video games. That makes him wonder if he himself is living in a game…

short walk; at the most, take a drive…and enjoy gardens that you didn’t have to work even a minute on…just go find them! Orchards— Growing up, I had a neighbor who was a pilot. Every spring, she would spend hours just flying over orchards in full bloom, taking in the colors that, from above, probably looked like some kind of wonderful pastel patchwork quilt. For those of us without small orange airplanes, or who have a totally irrational fear of realize that, in many ways, garden- flying (I’m working on it!), driving ing (and a column that promotes anywhere in the rural areas in any it) probably feels like a diet to direction around Fresno will suffice. most readers (yep, all three of you). For those of you who aren’t up for just It sounds great…you know it’s good meandering around, you can follow for you…you really should…and ‘The Blossom Trail’ that runs on the could…but…it ain’t ever gonna hapeast side of town, marked by pinkypen. Maybe…well, hopefully, when purple signs, which you can also map you read this every month, you feel a bit uplifted—even a little tinge of inspiration. Perhaps you get to your feet and look outside and see some possibilities…you see visions of yourself raking and planting and harvesting. The tomatoes! The cucumbers! Oh my! But then suddenly the bubble bursts and you are snapped back into reality, where it’s too hot, or you are too tired, or there are Entourage reruns on. And then, like with all diets, you say, ”The hell with on the internet. it! Pass me the cheetos!” Shinzen Garden—Located in

Found Gardens

So maybe that is where most of us are at …sometimes even me…your gardening cheerleader. In this spirit, and because spring is on the way, this month I say do nothing…ok, almost nothing. At the least, take a

Woodward Park, the Shinzen Friendship Garden (AKA “The Japanese Garden”) is full of little treasures. The Ume trees actually start blooming in Late December/January (totally blissful

news for people like me with no patience to wait another month or two for spring color) until February, making a riot of red, pink, magenta and white blossoms to enjoy. Aside from the relaxing walks and colorful vignettes you can discover in the garden, you can also join events like the Spring Blossom Festival and the Spring Bonsai Exhibit on March 20th and 21st. The Shinzen Garden is only open on weekends, so please check their website. Garden of the Sun—This is a great location for not only enjoying a garden, but also for becoming more educated on all aspects of gardening. The Garden of the Sun is located in south-east Fresno and is the training and testing ground for Fresno’s Master Gardener Program and includes ornamental, vegetable, and fruit plants. They offer tours, workshops (some great ones for kids) and even a help line you can call for advice. The Fresno master gardeners also have a home garden tour circuit in the springtime, where you can go to different people’s homes and see all of their gardening handiwork. See Garden of the Sun’s website for more details. Forestiere Underground Gardens—Built by one man over the span of 40 years and originally 10 acres, the Underground Gardens are definitely an original Fresno landmark not to be missed. I visited in the summer of 2008, and was shocked to find the subterranean rooms not only significantly cooler than the blazing heat above me, but also some serving as bedrooms, kitchens and parlors….not to mention the fascinating way that fruit trees and other plants were grown through ingenious skylights. This historical site is only open seasonally, so check out their website for more details. Out-of-Town Gardens— I recently visited the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco at Golden Gate Park. What an experience! Lilly pads with a 2 ft radius that are strong enough for you to stand on, orchids happily growing everywhere, and tons of plants that I had never seen, much less could even

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Gardening continued... try to imagine. There are also many other conservatories, parks, and gardens to visit all over California, such as Huntington Gardens in L.A. Right-Under-Your-Nose— Driving around town today, I was reminded of all the mini gardens all over…consisting of newly blooming yellow mustard and tender shoots of fiddleneck. They may be unglamorous and located in less-than-desirable locations like abandoned lots or fields, but they are gardens nonetheless, and can be enjoyed even when you are whizzing by to an appointment. Maybe the point of all this is to realize that there are spectacles of nature all around us, available all of the time if we would just stop and notice. So you may have given up on gardening (and dieting!), but there many ways to enjoy gardens large and small without doing too much…so grab the cheetos and get outside…spring is knocking at your door! _____ At this time of year, Christy Cole can be found sitting in any number of random fields puzzling over a fiddleneck blossom. She is a teacher and can be reached at callansmama@hotmail.com.

else in case she reads this, but just know this: I really, really want to be with her and not my girl. Any hope? —Double Trouble

Dear Nocketback, I am in real trouble and have nowhere else to turn. I recently discovered a mole of questionable size on my neck. It is raised, the size of a quarter, and is both purple and brown. I am scared it may be cancerous. I don’t have any medical benefits so I can’t go to the doctor. I make very little money and thought that maybe you could help me out. —The Mole Man

Dear DT, My dear lost soul, allow me to school you on the ways of the woman. Women are like tires: when they get worn out, it’s time for new ones. And, if you wait for a blow out, it’s already too late. Now, you don’t have to worry about hurting your girlfriend so much as you have to win her friend over. Basically, you want them to get in a fight of some sort to where they no longer talk to each other (ever again). This’ll leave you in the clear and perhaps she may sleep with you to get back at her. Genius, I know. So, try this: Tell your girlfriend that you heard some troubling news about her friend. Then, directly afterwards, turn your head and say “no, no, I can’t say; it’s too difficult for me.” After she pleads for the news, tell her that her friend admitted to running over a kitten, using the lord’s name in vain, having a crush on Sean Hannity, and sleeping with her father. Any of these things alone are repulsive, but imagine the scale of her hatred for her when she hears them all at once. Bon Appetit, My Friend. —Nocketback

Dear MM, Now, to begin, I am no dermatologist, but I have had experience with this—and with several other skin related issues (don’t ask). Anyhow, it sounds to me—from the color and size—that you may have a cancerous mole. Don’t get hysterical yet; there are options, but you must act fast. You can do what’s called the Burny Mac: have a trustworthy hipster friend of yours put out a cigarette on the mole in question. If it heals in the shape of a heart, you’ll be fine. If the scar is in the shape of Jesus, you’ll be meeting him soon. Or…you could look on WebMD.com. (I’m an effing free paper columnist, how in the shit would I know about your mole, Moron?) —Cheers, Nocketback Dear Nocketback, Look, I know you’ve probably had this before, but I am in love with my girlfriend’s friend. That’s it. I won’t write anything

N Palm Ave

W Bullard Ave

entirely to document an element of Fresno love every day (31daysoffresno.blogspot.com). With all this celebrating, it might seem like people are just ignoring the problems of the city. We have crime, we have low levels of education, we have job loss. That is all true. And in some ways, those things will always be a part of our city. But we want to do what we can to lessen d—Fresno. Some people love it. their impact. It may take time, and a lot of Some people hate it. And there are a work, but it can happen. What do I really whole lot of feelings in-between. like about Fresno? I like that there is opporMyself, I love Fresno enough to contribute to tunity. There are spaces available for those a podcast that celebrates culture and events that are willing to risk big and start their own in Fresno. I would say there is a growing businesses. There are chances to be involved group of people in Fresno who are trying to in a growing, vibrant arts community. The actively change the culture here. Some of performing arts scene is growing in all sorts that has happened on the internet. A of directions with venues opening or being Facebook group was started to celebrate better utilized, the Rogue festival continuing, Fresno. Some bloggers ran more posts about and other elements. And then there are Fresno people, places, and things that they things that happen worldwide that are comliked. And, a whole new blog popped up ing to Fresno. Creative Fresno brought Pecha Kucha to Fresno (http://www.pechakucha.org/night/fresno) and has held five standing room only events over the last year. Adam, you and I have helped to bring in the idea of Pub Quiz to Fresno. Why did we do that? Well, we love trivia and we love Fresno and want fun things to do on a weeknight. We saw the opening and stepped up. Fresno offers that opportunity. And, Fresno is where “popping” evolved! Who else can claim that? What are you loving about Fresno right now? Wait, I’m assuming you love Fresno. Do you?

in our neighborhood. But what helped us realize that idea were our connections and associations. We had made friends with the owners, managers, and service staff at the restaurant/bar long before we broached the idea of pub quiz. And we had close friends that were also tied into that network who offered their help and expertise. Becoming a participating member of the community will take you a long way (not all the way, but a good portion of the way) to success. And that’s what I see happening with those other things you mentioned. These aren’t outsiders coming in and starting up successful ventures. These are members of Fresno who love Fresno and want Fresno to be awesome whether it be through Pecha Kucha or Rogue or Art Hop or whatever. My theory for why Granite Park failed is that the community wasn’t connected with it enough. Those who started up that project thought that they could just plunk down and it would work. What do you think, Ed? Ed—Ooh, Granite Park is an interesting failure. I mean, it’s an extremely complicated failure, but as far as I can tell, it was a local developer that thought he could make things happen. Maybe his heart and wallet were in the right place, but maybe the vision, the groundswell behind the project, wasn’t there. Or, maybe there weren’t the “right” connections. Some developments seem to work very easily while others get bogged down. Cynical me sees the “good old boy” network of developers that helped sink the Fulton Mall, or were involved in Operation Rezone, making it, while others can’t get off the ground. Or maybe I’m naïve to who the power players are. And, as much as we had connections to people doing it elsewhere and willing to help or our connections to people at the venue, we also had a lot of great online connections that helped to blog, text, tweet and facebook about what we’re doing. This is another thing I do love about Fresno right now: if you can get your interesting idea into the right hands, they’ll help you make it work. And I see that hapAdam—Well, of course I love Fresno! pening with design studios, web design businesses, and even food networks. And the people who Let me sum up what I think truly love and own their we’re both saying. We enjoy Fresno. city are the ones who enjoy many of the connections We will be able to effect the We know it’s not Fresno has to offer. most change. To take perfect, and it hasn’t had a perfect histopub quiz for example, ry, but, in Fresno, we see a city poised you and I both caught onto the idea from other to really take off. We are creating a better Fresno, a history we will be proud places and thought it would be fun, that there of. might be a market for it

AGUSTÍN VICTOR CASASOLA’S PHOTOGRAPH OF MARIA CONESA, A ZARZUELA SINGER AND ACTRESS IN MEXICO CITY by Stephen Barile

This is a picture about dogs as much as anything, But you have to look hard to see them:

The chauffeur’s dog, sitting on the open-air leather seat Chained to the steering wheel, next to his master. A dog with the color and markings of a timber wolf, Eyeing invisible sheep grazing on the sidewalk across the street, Almost baring its teeth. And Maria Conesa’s little lap dog she holds Under her left arm, that we could confuse For a fur collar that has fallen off, that is lifeless.

As you’d expect, it too stares At the man in a pork pie hat, a crumpled suit, an untied bow tie, A hardenend drinker who has known better days Shuffling off, in this instance, to the opera house in Vera Cruz, Holding her hand in his grip, As she stands beside the limousine Wearing her tasteful pearls, a paisley dress. And the crowd behind her, visited by clowns and actors,

All men, from the remote countryside Thick with zarzas, brambles, yearning for the wealth and fame, Are involved in some kind of a hoax or minor misdemeanors. City dogs, each one of them. You have to look harder to see They all look suspicious, looking away As if guilty of another revolution in the works, Running the theatrical gamut From classical opera to low slapstick and popular song.

The chauffeur too, with his insolent ways, His leather gloves on the steering wheel. Give him any trouble, you’ll answer to the wolf dog. But the man on the curb greeting Maria Has a scheme, a pithy libretti mismatched by music, Playing Pulchinello, just like all the rest. But he, a lowlife comedy character, Holds the poor celebrity singer of operettas; Maria Conesa—the revue actress

Famous for her impresions of charros, A zarzuela entitled La India Bonita—in his right hand, Her right arm. His large nose is filling with her perfume, And the smell of trash in the gutter.

We’ll never know if he’s saying good-bye, or Merely taking control of her soul-less existence Like a master overlord to an overfed working dog. Like Lina in Las golondrinas, she is heartbroken, And will collapse into his arms as the curtain falls. ______ A Fresno native, Stephen Barile attended local schools and received a bachelor’s degree from Fresno Pacific University and a MFA from CSU Fresno. He is the former chairman of the William Saroyan Society and the Fresno Arts Council, and currently the executive director of the Fresno Poetry Center and a long-time member of the Fresno Poet’s Association. He teaches at CSU Fresno, and his most recent book of poems, Here We Are, was published by IsItAs Press in 2006.