Homeless plan shifts to awareness,Las Vegas Sun

54 pictures and captions,
do you have the time?

http://www.homeless.org.au/pictures/

Mom's Comments: "Educating the community" MUST also include educating Metro and City Marshals, and encouraging them to use alternatives other than enforcement action as a response to homelessness.

All harassment and verbal abuse toward homeless individuals must cease. Citations, arresting, or threatening with arrest, homeless persons for innocent conduct which NO non-homeless person would be arrested for must cease immediately if we (the community) want to END homelessness. These actions include sitting, eating, sleeping or otherwise innocently being on public property, including city sidewalks. The revolving door of incarceration only perpetuates homelessness.

For the benefit of the homeless and the community as a whole, everyone must have the opportunity to learn about the causes of homelessness. This education and awareness must start at the top with our mayor, sheriff, and judges. For the mayor, sheriff, and judges this education should be mandatory. This would benefit the community.

Although the love of all humanity should be more important than MONEY, focusing on the symptoms of homelessness costs taxpayers more than addressing the root causes of homelessness.

Homelessness is not a crime. Allowing local laws that "criminalize" homelessness IS a crime-- or should be a crime.

Whether for monetary reasons or humanity reasons, we must work to help the homeless and needy obtain SAFE, affordable permanent housing; quality medical care; job training, and jobs that pay a living wage.

EVERY human being deserves this. One person, one day at a time.



Homeless plan shifts to awareness

By Timothy Pratt, Las Vegas Sun

HOMELESS advocate Gail Sacco, left, serves meals to homeless at Huntridge Circle Park on Maryland Parkway near Charleston Boulevard Wednesday January 11, 2006. Sacco began bringing meals to the park once a week in June of 2005 but now brings meals every day, she said.

Photo Credit: Steve Marcus

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-other_cut/2006/jan/28/c00006506.html

A regional committee has approved a stripped-down proposal to use advertising for helping the homeless, 16 months after the plan was first pitched.

The idea is to work with Brown & Partners, a local ad agency volunteering its time, on a campaign that will "educate the community" about who the homeless are, why it is important to help them and what they need to get off the street, said Shannon West, regional homeless services coordinator.

The campaign does not exist yet. The next step is to form a small group that will develop it, West said.

The regional committee, composed of administrators from local governments and representatives from private groups and Metro Police, voted for the plan Jan. 19...

For the full story:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-other/2006/jan/28/520039203.html

Timothy Pratt can be reached at 259-8828 or at timothy@lasvegassun.com

Narratives of the Meanest Cities, Las Vegas

A Dream Denied:

The Criminalization of Homelessness in U.S. Cities

#5 Las Vegas, NV

Although homeless advocates in Las Vegas stated that shelters are overcrowded, city officials have done little to increase resources for individuals experiencing homelessness. Due to a lack of funding, the city’s Crisis Intervention Center was recently closed. Similarly, charitable organizations scrambled – albeit unsuccessfully – to replace the services the Crisis Intervention Center provided.

The police conduct habitual sweeps of encampments, which lead to extended jail time for repeat misdemeanor offenders. Homeless inhabitants of a campsite on Owens Avenue were forced to vacate the area just before Christmas 2004. Las Vegas’s Department of Neighborhood Services gave the order to clear the lot, because the property owner was “in violation of Las Vegas Municipal Code…dealing with nuisances.” Many social service providers were caught off guard by the notice, wishing the city had informed them before the sweep to ensure they could find places for homeless men and women to stay. Former residents of the campsite worried about finding a bed in one of the shelters because most of them are reserved for older men and women.

Despite reports that city, county, and state agencies were working together to provide homeless persons displaced by a January 2005 sweep of a downtown bridge, only 45 people out of 150 residents of the camp were placed in temporary housing. The site was declared a health hazard in August 2005 because people were urinating and defecating in the area around the camp. Bob McKenzie, spokesman for the Department of Transportation, commented, “we need to do whatever we can to help the homeless, but we need to take care of public safety first.” Transportation crews threw away inhabitants’ possessions, including tents, blankets, and family photos.

City officials’ attempt to break up another homeless camp in February 2005 was met with criticism by local homeless advocates, who argued that breaking up the camp would only create another camp elsewhere. They also noted that homeless people need treatment, supportive services, and permanent housing, all of which are not available. Several homeless people were unable to receive help from local agencies, because they were already receiving money from the federal government.

An analysis of Las Vegas police records revealed that arrests for charges such as trespassing, jaywalking, and pedestrians failing to obey traffic signals increased after a recent cleanup of a homeless camp. When homeless people are ejected from the camps, they move to other public places where they interact more with members of the community. The ACLU of Nevada suggested that Las Vegas police went out of their way to cite and arrest homeless people as a part of the sweep. According to Gary Peck, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, “It will take political will to dedicate the resources needed to move this situation in a positive direction. I haven’t seen anything from any jurisdiction to indicate that exists.”

In April 2005, plans to clean up a homeless encampment that had previously been swept at Owens Avenue were postponed due to lack of organization. Officials attempted to avoid criticism by posting signs at the site in both English and Spanish, warning people that the authorities were going to clean the area. The Southern Nevada Homeless Coalition was not informed of the sweep. Linda Lera-Randle El, director of Straight from the Streets, believes the sweep was “like penalizing the homeless for the shortcomings of the city, county, and state.”

Frank Wright Plaza, a small park across from City Hall, was a favorite daytime spot for homeless people seeking a place to nap. Regular visitors to the park said that it is a safe and comfortable place to recover from a tough night on the streets. However, city officials saw the park as a public nuisance, and have assigned marshals to patrol the area several times daily. In order to keep homeless individuals out of future parks, the city considered privatizing the parks, enabling owners to kick out unwanted people. Mayor Oscar Goodman fervently supported the idea, saying, “I don’t want them there. They’re not going to be there. I’m not going to let it happen. They think I’m mean now; wait until the homeless try to go over there.”

In a more positive step, Metro Police are expected to begin seeking a liaison for homeless people, raising its level of commitment after being criticized for its handling of the homeless situation. The Metro Police have been at the center of the homelessness controversy on many occasions in recent years. In addition to their role in homeless camp sweeps, the Metro Police have faced allegations that officers were targeting homeless people for misdemeanor crimes, such as urinating in public. The new liaison would work with both public and private agencies to help homeless people, and will hopefully prevent future arrests and sweeps.

Sources for City Narratives

http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/crimreport/sources.html

A Report by
The National Coalition for the Homeless
and
The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty

January 2006
http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/crimreport/index.html

Re: Metro's homeless liaison still not hired, Las Vegas Sun

January 22, 2006

Open letter to Timothy Pratt, writer Las Vegas Sun

Re: Seven months after announcing its intentions to hire a first-in-the-nation homeless liaison, Metro Police still has not filled the position, an official said.

I'm wondering, who is testing and interviewing these candidates? Who would this liaison be working for? The City of Las Vegas or for Metro Police? I believe there is a difference.

This new position should be held by an unbiased individual working equally for the best interest of the homeless and non-homeless people of Las Vegas.

Re: Stoops said having such a person linked to a police department is vital because "the police are out there on the streets 24 hours a day and ... (this could) break down the barriers between the homeless and police."

If successful, he said, the program "could be emulated around the nation."

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-other/2006/jan/21/520000973.html

From what I have read on the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty


http://nlchp.org/ there are already programs out there that Las Vegas could learn from.


1. Local laws that "criminalize" homelessness should be challenged and removed.

2. "Constructive Alternatives to Criminalization"

http://nlchp.org/FA%5FCivilRights/CR_conalt_booklet.pdf

a. Build a Day Center open 8 am to 4 pm funded by business owners.

b. Written Police Protocol: before arrests or issuing any citations for misdemeanors: give a verbal warning to relocate; if that fails, issue a written warning to the homeless person; if that fails, the police officer must call an Outreach Team that can offer social service alternatives to the homeless person including a [free and safe] shelter bed [with free transportation to the shelter.]

However, if no shelter bed is available, any type of enforcement must cease immediately. If a shelter bed is available and the homeless person refuses to locate there, he/she can be cited, or left alone, depending on the discretion of the officer. Officers must document such encounters as part of their police records...

c. All homeless individuals should be treated with dignity and respect just as any non-homeless individual.

d. After any arrest of a homeless individual, all means should be taken to return all of their personal property, including their clothing, blankets, and identification. All persons should be released with a state issued laminated photo ID. If the individual did not/does not have a stated issued ID, the city or county should provide one immediately before release.

This should be witnessed and signed by a member of an Outreach Team who is not employed by the city, county, or state.

e. Mandatory training for police officers to increase awareness about the causes of homelessness, to learn alternatives other than enforcement action as a response to homelessness, and to teach the above (b) Written Police Protocol.

Our main goal should be to END homelessness with safe, permanent, affordable housing; quality, affordable medical care; and, jobs that pay a living wage. Shelters and Day Centers should only be used as an intermediary stage between homelessness and safe, permanent, affordable housing.

cc: Emmily Bristol, Las Vegas City Life;

Activists in Las Vegas Blog

Going in Circles, Las Vegas City Life, and other Media Coverage

Going in Circles, Las Vegas City Life

Thursday, January 19, 2006

One woman's effort to feed the homeless is being thwarted by city marshals and gentrification

Gail Sacco has made it her mission to feed the homeless at Circle Park.

BY EMMILY BRISTOL



Photo Credit: Bill Hughes, Photo Editor

If you ask any of the homeless men and women who congregate at the Huntridge Circle Park who Gail Sacco is, you'll hear a common refrain: She's an angel.

http://www.lasvegascitylife.com/articles/2006/01/19/local_news/news03.txt

Relevant story, Las Vegas City Life, Page 13

written by Matt O'Brien

Fine whine

Las Vegas makes another appearance on 'meanest cities' list; Mayor Goodman resorts to name-calling

The list reads like tour stops for ZZ Top. Or the locations of multiple Hooters franchises. Or campaign stops for a presidential candidate desperate for votes:

Sarasota, Fla.; Lawrence, Kan.; Little Rock, Ark.; Atlanta; and Las Vegas.

But the list is actually none of the above. It is the five cities that are meanest to homeless people, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty. The Washington, D.C.-based groups released the list on Jan. 11, along with a 161-page report on the criminalization of homelessness in the country.

http://www.lasvegascitylife.com/articles/2006/01/19/local_news/news02.txt

Other Media Coverage:

TV Coverage:

Vegas dubbed 'mean' with regards to homeless

KVBC, Channel 3, Jan 16, 2006

Vegas dubbed 'mean' with regards to homeless

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10837493/from/RL.2/

Newspaper Coverage:

http://www.lvcitylife.com/articles/2005/12/23/cover_story/cover.txt

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2006/jan/12/011210209.html

Independent Media Coverage:

http://lasvegas.staughton.indypgh.org/news/2006/01/4176.php

http://lasvegas.staughton.indypgh.org/news/2005/11/3698.php

Breaking Bread with the Homeless

Breaking Bread with the Homeless

written by zem zyzi

I've never been directly involved with Poor Folks and had no idea what I was getting into. Once in a while I would give small change to a Bag Lady or a Drunk salvaging garbage for aluminum cans then thank them for helping clean up our neighborhood and always gave generously to the Salvation Army and others I thought might make a difference.

Then a Street Body told me of a place near by that fed m every Saturday morning. But I forgot what time he said. So I set out about 9:30 to look. After driving around a while, I spotted a Can Collector I had seen before in our neighborhood and asked direction.

The Soup Line didn't open 'tell eleven, so I sat in my car a while and watched as they came from nowhere; some with all their earthly belongings. I guess when you first become homeless, there is a lot
of "down-sizing" to be done.

I played Santa for Christmas, so my full beard and skull-cap blended me in with the group. When the food DID arrive, those lazy, drunken bums became "Santa's Helpers" bending over backwards to get every thing set up!

What a happy group we were! Many knew each other and it was like a weekly family reunion. When the Head Deacon asked me how I was, I said I was OK and asked him how he was and where he lived. He was fine and lived up on Nob Hill. So then I asked him when were they going to open up THAT area for the Homeless. He smiled and moved on.

The sermon was something about sin, forgiveness and blessings from above. The music was L O U D and enthusiastic. We all AMENed and clapped on cue. One drunken derelict in the back, chimed in, "She'll be coming round the mountain, when she comes." I said AMEN to that.

The cold chocolate milk, hot cup a soup, and two hot dogs were good. I didn't know they were barbecuing hamburgers too, so when they put one on my paper plate, I thank them and came home to eat it.

Who knows? Maybe I'll go back next Saturday! - - zem zyzi


Zem is now a Homeless Advocate in Las Vegas. Every afternoon at 2 PM, he takes two gallons of milk or orange juice (whichever is on sale at Smith's Food and Drug nearby) to Huntridge Circle Park for anyone there who wants a glass or two. Others bring hot beans and rice, soup, bread or whatever they have. Eat all you want and take all you want. For T H A N K S the homeless keep the park clean. I wish housing were as free as food.

Why do you do this?

Question: Why do you do this?

Answer: Because it is the right thing to do.

Although "I personally" do not consider myself Food Not Bombs, there are still folks from Food Not Bombs who share food at Huntridge Circle Park and elsewhere in the city of Las Vegas. And most (as well as myself) follow the Food Not Bombs' philosophy.

1. We are dedicated to nonviolence
2. We are against all war, oppression, and aggression
3. We recover food that would otherwise be thrown out and make fresh hot vegetarian meals that are served to anyone without restriction.
4. We only prepare food which is strictly from vegetable sources so people will always know and trust our food.

At times, we do serve already prepared dairy and meat products which are donated to us because we believe eating is more important than being politically correct; however, we do not cook with animal products.

http://home.earthlink.net/~foodnotbombs/seven.html

Everyone works on a "do it yourself" DIY basis. There are no leaders. No one is told what to do or how to do it.

Although, it is important for everyone to educate themselves in the aspects of food, health, and safety.

"...the potential for problems with food spoilage are greatly reduced when dealing strictly with vegetables.

...[And] teaching people about the economic and health benefits of a vegetarian diet is directly connected to a healthy attitude about ourselves, each other, and the planet as a whole."

http://home.earthlink.net/~foodnotbombs/

"Almost 100 billion pounds of safe, edible food - meat and poultry, fruit and vegetables, milk and eggs - are thrown away every year by retailers, restaurants, and farmers while twenty-five million Americans are hungry, including 12 million children"

http://www.stopthehunger.com/hunger/

"Nationally, [there is] 46 billion pounds [of perfectly edible food discarded] each year...

Estimates indicate that only 4 billion pounds of food per year would be required to completely end hunger in America."

http://www.foodnotbombs.net/bookwhy.html

Do YOU want to help?

We need safe places for people to go to take a shower, shave, change their clothes, and get some sleep. This is a necessity for the many homeless that want to get off the streets.

The ordinary person can donate appropriate seasonal clothing, money, socks, coats, bus tokens or Bus Passes, blankets, sleeping bags, shaving gear, bulk rice, bulk beans, bottled water, and food to help these people get healthy and stay healthy -- mentally and physically. With proper nutrition, they can work on getting themselves a roof over their head and a job.

Do YOU want to donate?

You can call me at 355-2764 to arrange a pick-up or e-mail me at mom_in_las_vegas@yahoo.com .

You don't have to wait for me to be at the park. I am NOT in charge. Every person is in charge of themself. We have many good-hearted people who come down in the morning or afternoon with donuts, blankets, coats, bottled water, etc. You can just leave it on the table and leave if you want. Most of the homeless and needy will only take what they need. And they will let those in the most need take first.

The main priority for the homeless is to find a SAFE, warm place to sleep without getting arrested for trespassing. With affordable housing and a living wage, we can stop the evolving door of being arrested for trespassing and lodging in a city park.

OUR main priority should be to END the majority of the homeless problem. To do this, we need safe and permanent affordable housing, job training, and a decent living wage.

MY responsibility, as well as others, is to help with the needy's daily needs without restriction until the government agencies and non-profit organizations get them off the streets and into a SAFE environment, and/or into government programs-- without restriction.

I also think that we need to address the Identification issue. Many services are not available to people without identification. You cannot get a Nevada State ID without two forms of identification such as a Social Security Card and Birth Certificate. And you cannot get a Social Security Card or a Birth Certificate without another form of ID.

"...State laws and administrative policies since September 11 make it difficult and, in some cases, impossible for homeless persons to obtain photo identification.

After September 11, at least 43 states considered some form of law or regulation making it more difficult to procure a driver's license. In 2002 and 2003, at least ten states passed restrictive driver's license statutes and several states enacted proposals by adminstrative rule.

At least 26 states currently require applicants for a state-issued ID to prove residency through proof of a physical address. Many homeless people, who by definition lack a stable address, are unable to do this.

There has been a movement since September 11 to federalize and standardize driver's licenses...

Many homeless people are denied access to benefits and services when they lack photo identification...

People without identification face increased problems with law enforcement...

Many homeless persons cannot afford the cost of a photo ID..."

http://www.nlchp.org/contents/pubs/ID%20Barrier%20Report.pdf

Most people are caught up with the commercialism in this country. They don't realize that "The top 5 percent own more than half of all wealth" and "The top 20 percent owns over 80 percent of all wealth" and "The bottom 20 percent basically have zero wealth."

"The average African-American family has only 18 percent of the wealth of the average white family."

http://multinationalmonitor.org/mm2003/03may/may03interviewswolff.html

According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, there is at least 200,000 homeless veterans on any given night. And more than half a million veterans experience homelessness over the course of a year.

http://www.nchv.org/background.cfm

Also according to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans in a 2003 Report, Nevada has an estimated 5,500 homeless veterans and only 219 VA funded beds.

http://www.nchv.org/page.cfm?id=81

But what many people don't realize is that "[One] missed paycheck, a health crisis, or an unpaid bill" can virtually make any one of us homeless.

Root(s) of Homelessness

There are many reasons for homelessness. From the different studies that I've seen, the reasons for homelessness can include:

an eviction whether it is a legal or illegal eviction
loss of a job or benefits
mental health issues
physical or medical health problems
lack of education
lack of job skills
low wages
divorce or a break up with a partner
domestic violence
being released from jail, prison, or a hospital or moving to a new area without the benefit of friends, money, or family
alcohol and or drug use

According to a U.S. Conference of Mayors:

Most people become homeless specifically because they are having a housing crisis, even though they may have other needs for services and increased incomes. Its important to realize that their needs are best met once the family is in permanent housing - not while they are in transitional housing or shelters. Housing must be first if they are expected to develop a sustainable, healthy lifestyle...

...Up to 90% of the nations resources devoted to the homeless problem goes toward shelters, hospitals, the streets, and prisons.

http://www.homeless.org/do/Home

There IS a need for each of the shelters, the homeless agencies, and the non-profit organizations. There is also a great need for individuals to help on the streets, day to day with the individuals' daily needs-- without government interference.

There is a place for each of us.

We need SAFE, affordable housing, quality medical care, and jobs that pay a living wage.

Rather than shun the homeless and the needy, we need to help one another. Every human being deserves safe, affordable housing, quality medical care, and jobs that pay a living wage.

Coming Soon: Principles of Nonviolence

Kicked Out of Circle Park

"Pack Up and Leave"

Title 13 STREETS, SIDEWALKS AND PUBLIC PLACES

Chapter 13.36 PARKS

http://ordlink.com/codes/lasvegas/index.htm

January 10, 2006

I have been going down to Huntridge Circle Park for some time now sharing food with the homeless and the needy.

We have had no "problems" with city officials until today. Contrary to what the officials are saying, there are no fights, no problems and we always clean up after ourselves.

Today, Marshal Timothy Shattler, Field Services Lieutenant came down to the park at approximately 2:30 pm and told us to "pack up" and leave. He said he received a citizen complaint and also stated that we were breaking the law. He told us that we cannot share food with more than 25 people without a permit. A fellow homeless advocate asked him about multiple people sharing at different tables. And the marshal said, "No that won't work because you are using the same plates."

I asked the marshal if he would site the law that we were breaking, and he told me that I could possibly find it on the internet under City of Las Vegas Municiple Code.

Shattler also said, paraphrased, that "these people shouldn't be using this park anyway because they don't live in this neighborhood."

(In actuality, most of them DO live in this neighborhood.)

He advised us to find some church who would let us share food in their parking lot. He also advised us to go to the city council meetings and/or apply for a permit.

About a half hour later another marshal showed up but didn't say anything that I know of.

As you well know, not lending a helping hand to our needy friends with food and clothing only makes matters worse for them. Allowing us to help with their food and clothing needs helps reduce local crime. Allowing us to share food and clothing with them also gives them an incentive to go to work and keep their dignity.

With not enough money or bus passes, it is impossible for many of them to travel around town in a timely manner to eat and work. The homeless are scattered all around the city. And they don't get to pick where they work with their day jobs.

The only public meal site that I know of is Catholic Charities at Main and Owens who feed lunch daily at 10:30 am. For any of the homeless or needy who are working, it would be impossible for them to get to this location at this time.

Sharing food daily at 2 pm at Huntridge Circle Park has proven to be a convenient time and place to assure that these people get one hot meal per day.

Under the circumstances, we cannot and will not 'stop cold" in our mission. That mission is to share and lend a helping hand to our brothers and sisters in need. The long-term goal is to help get the homeless into permanent, affordable housing. And also to help those who want to work get Identification which the government has made nearly impossible for the homeless.

Most other homeless advocates who are better funded drop off the food and immediately leave. I, on the other hand, bring hot food that cannot be just dropped off. I also stay at the park for awhile each day to observe and talk with people to see if they need medical attention, the use of my phone for job connections, bus tokens, coats, socks, blankets, soap, shaving gear, underwear, etc.

I am not with any city or county agency. And I am not with any non-profit organization. But it is still my/our responsibility to take care of each other until government officials fulfill their responsibilities.

As a side note, according to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, we have 5500 homeless veterans in Nevada and only 219 funded beds.

Local heroes

"Gail Sacco...She estimates she feeds about 500 people a week at a cost of 50 cents a person."

EMMILY BRISTOL

http://www.lvcitylife.com/articles/2005/12/22/cover_story/cover.txt

Borrowing the words from one of my fellow homeless advocates,

"Let the government house them and let us feed them."

Any and all support you can offer will be greatly appreciated.

See you tomorrow at 2 pm.

Gail Sacco

Peace Activist
Homeless Advocate

P.S. For the God believing:

"And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'" Matthew 25:40

For Jews and Christians:

The Bible on the Poor

http://www.zompist.com/meetthepoor.html

For atheists and agnostics and humanists:

The Affirmations of Humanism:

A Statement of Principles

For complete Statement of Principles:

http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=main&page=affirmations

Partial Statement:

We are concerned with securing justice and fairness in society and with eliminating discrimination and intolerance.

We believe in supporting the disadvantaged and the handicapped so that they will be able to help themselves.

We attempt to transcend divisive parochial loyalties based on race, religion, gender, nationality, creed, class, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, and strive to work together for the common good of humanity.

We believe in the cultivation of moral excellence.

We believe in the common moral decencies: altruism, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, responsibility. Humanist ethics is amenable to critical, rational guidance. There are normative standards that we discover together. Moral principles are tested by their consequences.

We affirm humanism as a realistic alternative to theologies of despair and ideologies of violence and as a source of rich personal significance and genuine satisfaction in the service to others.

We believe in optimism rather than pessimism, hope rather than despair, learning in the place of dogma, truth instead of ignorance, joy rather than guilt or sin, tolerance in the place of fear, love instead of hatred, compassion over selfishness, beauty instead of ugliness, and reason rather than blind faith or irrationality.

We believe in the fullest realization of the best and noblest that we are capable of as human beings.

Saab Lofton's Take

The REAL local hero of 2005

by Saab Lofton Monday January 02, 2006 at 07:17 PM

saablofton@hotmail.com


This is very hard for me because no one hates 2005 more than I, but I've got some unfinished business from last year ...

When I interviewed Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, I was so star struck; so awed by his pro-wrestling-esque charisma, I didn't get to finish a thought I should've at the time.

On my website saablofton.com under the professional section, Goodman's plan (something I wish wasn't just lip service on his part) to get title to boarded-up houses, fix them up and turn them over "to families who are on the verge of becoming homeless," as the mayor put it, is described.

Mom: Saab, has anything come of this? If not, do you think we should revisit this conversation with the mayor?

Like an idiot, all I said in response was we need to make it a priority to contact the owners of these abandonned buildings before the 30-day deadline Goodman spoke of to claim said buildings could expire-- without ALSO saying WHY*: My reasoning was I didn't want so much as a single, anal retentive libertarian (the kind who always wrote me hate mail) claiming that Goodman had Stalinistically appropriated the buildings. Therefore, I wanted to give these owners ample warning that the state was about to take them so they couldn't cry "Stalin", something Goodman was going to do anyway ...

Mom: Saab, we don't always have enough time to say everything we think and want to say. Unfortunately, some folks mis- understand when we don't have the time to explain everything in our hearts.

Don't worry too much about it. I give you credit for posting this article because you spoke what needed to be spoken. As long as we are breathing, we can add our thoughts to past conversations.

Problem was, I only had so many words per column (850) and couldn't explain in detail what I was trying to convey*. As a result, it erroneously came across as if I actually gave a three-legged-rat's-ass whether or not anyone spoiled enough to own and abandon (a) boarded-up home(s) would feel as though it was the French Revolution all over again. I've always regretted not making myself clear back then, and I'm glad Indymedia can provide a means by which this skeleton in my closet can finally be purged--OK, it's a Stalin joke, "purged", bad pun ... bad pun ...

I bring this up not only to ease my soul but to state for the record that it should've been Gail Sacco on the front cover of the Las Vegas CityLife's recent Local Heroes issue-- hence the unfinished business from last year.

Mom: Thank you, Saab. You are a great contributor to the cause.

While the punk rockers who comprised previous incarnations of Food Not Bombs were worrying about yet another concert, this frail, middle aged woman was damn near singlehandedly feeding the homeless like Jesus Himself. Instead, poet Keith Brantley was on the front cover, even though I know the man is both a homophobe and a black supremacist from years of talking to him.

Ask local organizers Joe Sacco and Jason Halprin about the night we tried to recruit the black folks in Brantley's Poet's Corner into the Peace Movement. First, I took the mike and said how tired I was of black folks caring more about parties at "da Club" and making their front teeth look like Cadillac grills than about corporate greed, Human rights violations and ecological damage. This old black woman then took the mike right after me and went on and ON about the all-too-vaunted civil liberty to bury your head in the sand and not care about world affairs--at which point, she got a standing ovation, because her spiel let all them party-goin' niggers off the hook ...

But that wasn't the worst part (close, though). The worst part was later on that night, when Keith Brantley--the "local hero" on the front cover the CityLife--ranted about how TV shows like Will & Grace and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy were signs that the gay community was taking over the planet like giant insects from some 1950s horror movie! I couldn't believe what I was hearing! I always knew Brantley had little use for whites (ask him about how some obscure scientific study of red ants and black ants supposedly proves that ANYthing lighter than jet black is somehow more inherently imperialistic), but this was too much!

Mom: Will & Grace is one of my favorite programs! Okay, I'll duck now for the insults. ;)

Humor is humor and we all need a little humor in our lives. I think this is a great program to help people learn to accept all people as human beings. I am not gay so I cannot know how gays "take" this program philosophically, polically, etc. But I do know that when Archie Bunker came about, I could relate with my family and community. And it taught us a lot about how wrong we were thinking.

I think Will & Grace must be showing us all the same type of thing --that we are all human beings no matter what race, nationality, or sexual orientation.

So I took the mike right after him and said what I usually say about gays: That I believe God meant for there to be homosexuality since Humans ain't bound by natural mating cycles like animals are (fuck the Vegans, Humans AIN'T animals--to quote the Civil Rights Movement, I AM A MAN!), and therefore, God WANTS there to be gay people in order to prevent overpopulation a la Charlton Heston's Soylent Green.

Well, while I was on the mike, I noticed Brantley had grabbed the folding chair I had been sitting on, folded it, held it in mid air for a moment, and then unfolded it--as if he was contemplating hitting me with it or denying me the ability to sit back down. And just as I was finishing up, this cross between Mike Tyson and Shaq O'Neil named "La Blaque" jumped up and cried out at the top of his lungs, "You ain't gonna turn me into a fag, Saab!" At which point, he stormed across the West Side Arts Center with the intent of doing me some bodily harm. Never having backed down from a fight in my life, I then stormed towards him--taking my shirt off en route (again, ask Joe Sacco and Jason Halprin, they were both there) when this elderly security guard stepped between us--NOT Brantley, who evidently wouldn't have minded such a fight. He did cancel the Poet's Corner a half hour early that night, but it was clear which side he was on: LaBlaque's violent, homophobic ignorance.

Not much happened after that. Some of the blacks (who weren't much better off, intellectually speaking) then asked me afterwards was I gay--as if I had to be in order to defend gays, guess they never heard of SOLIDARITY.

Ironically, a couple of months later (I TOLD you 2005 sucked), I was gay bashed even though I'm straight by two black gangstah-gangstah types in South Central L.A. while I was on book tour. I was dressed in that superhero outfit of mine, and because B.E.T. only plays the same five gangstah videoes over and over and over and over and over and over and over--and NONE of them are the LEAST bit socially conscious--they simply couldn't grasp the concept of a black man in a cape and Spandex, so they split my lip open like a cabbage and left me in need of stitches. My costume still has spots of blood on it ...

The bottom line is homophobia is a HUGE problem in the black community, Keith "local hero" Brantley ain't no fucking help in that regard, and Gail "the heart and soul of Food Not Bombs" Sacco should've been on the front page of the CityLife--NOT Brantley. Then again, what do you expect with the Review-Journal/Stephens Media

Whatever owning the paper ...

saablofton.com

Mom: Keep on trucking. We all have to keep up the good fight. Learn, learn, and learn. And educate, NON-violently.