Due to the most recent SHOOTING of a homeless person because he was throwing rocks at a female city marshal and a Nevada Highway Patrol person, I thought I would like to post something that I witnessed. Seems only right. I don't think that I should keep it to myself anymore.
Tues., July 3, 2006 I had a planned meeting with a wonderful woman (who shall remain nameless in this blog) for 3:45 pm. She was concerned about a homeless man that she had met. She made arrangements to meet with him at McDonald's on S. Las Vegas Blvd. to see if we could offer him any assistance.
This day, I decided to drop off some food at the two parks before my meeting. Out of convenience for myself, I dropped off some food at Circle Park first and then headed over to Baker Park. As I was driving east on E. Saint Louis, I saw a marshal's car drive into the Baker Park parking lot. Even though there are usually under 20 people at this park at one time, I didn't want any unnecessary confrontation with the marshal. I figured the marshal was just doing his/her usual check in on the park. So I drove past the park and then turned around and headed back to the park.
When I pulled into the parking lot, I saw the marshal under the canopy talking with a couple of homeless folks. I decided to go over (without the food) to legally observe.
Woman marshal's license plate number: 45997
Male marshal's license plate number: 46855
At one table there were two white homeless (or needy) men. At the next table was a Hispanic man with a young girl about 7-8 years old. Standing away from the tables was another white homeless (or needy) man.
The white, female marshal (with blond hair tied back and up) was talking with "Hessie" and "Salinas" and at the same time she was writing notes in her little notebook.
I nodded hello to the marshal and said, "Marshal" and then I asked her what time the park opens now with school not in session. (I was trying to find out why she was there.) She told me 7 am but some days it might be later because a daycare uses the school. She said I would have to call and ask the city. I thanked her.
Both Hessie and Salinas look like they are "of color". I stood about 4-5 feet away from Hessie and the same distance from the marshal. I asked Hessie, "what did you do?" Hessie said, "I didn't do anything."
The marshal screamed, "Just shut your big fucking mouth or you are going to jail! Two city employees said they saw you chasing a man with a shopping cart."
As soon as the marshal started using the F word, the two white men got up from the table and walked away about 20 feet and sat down on the ground.
The marshal then said, "See, even they do not want to be around you!"
Hessie asked her, "Does that make you feel good talking that way?" She responded, "You've got a big fucking mouth."
She then got on her radio and called for "back-up".
Then she asked him for his social security number. He got through the first five numbers and had a hard time with the rest. He said to her, "You have it right there in your hand." She yelled again, "You've given me four fucking different numbers. What's your social security number?" So Hessie pulled out his wallet and took out a piece of paper with his social security number on it and told her the number.
Then the marshal asked if he had been drinking. Hessie said he didn't drink. There were two open beer cans on the bench. The marshal said, "Well, I don't really know if there is any law against drinking in this park so I won't cite you for that. But I am going to tell you that you must leave the park now."
Then she asked, "What are you doing in this park anyway?" Hessie said, "Im just here waiting for my mama to bring me some food. I have no warrants or felonies. I am an officer and was in Afghanistan for 10 years." She told him, "Just leave the park now."
I walked with Hessie and Salinas to the parking lot. And then a second male marshal pulled in. The other homeless/needy came to my car and took the food and water from me to take to the picnic tables. Hessie and Salinas left. I stayed a few minutes longer, and then left.
Here are my questions and comments. I was very disturbed by the marshal's verbal abuse. Her language and yelling was definitely, in my opinion, a "crime against the public peace." NRS 203.010 The whole time I observed, Hessy was more respectful than the marshal. I do not know if this is the usual and accepted behavior for on duty city marshals. But, in my humble opinion, this marshal's conduct was very unprofessional.
Does she have the right to freedom of speech? Yes, I feel that she does. But, ya know, my friend (who shall remain nameless in this blog) did NOT have that same right to freedom of speech when she was arrested for disturbing the peace for cussing at a law enforcement officer.
AND she was found guilty after a trial with Judge Toy Gregory. The officer who focused in on her and arrested her for disturbing the peace was not even in the court room during trial. And his partner officer answered the majority of the questions by the defendant's lawyer with: "I don't recall" and "I don't know."
Guilty by intimidation. And unfair, in my humble opinion.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Friday, October 13, 2006
Citation for feeding the indigent- Suzie
Wed., October 11, 2006 Went to court to support Suzie in case of feeding the homeless. Went to the fifth floor because that is where it usually is. No one was there. Robert's name was on the docket but Patrick and Suzie's names were not on the docket. Called Lee and she told me that Allen had Robert's case postponed until October 25th. I called Suzie's cell to find out where she was. She was on the sixth floor, Dept. 4.
On the fifth floor a young woman asked me if I was there for the homeless advocates' case. I said yes and asked her who she was with. She told me that she was working for the judge handling the case but the judge didn't tell her what court room. So I told her the sixth floor and we headed up there. Suzie was there waiting outside the locked court room doors as were others. We talked.
Deputy City Attorney Jonathon?? told Suzie her options. Then Officer Latham handed out papers to everyone to sign. One paper had the complaint. The other paper had to be signed and state whether you are pleading not guilty, no contest, or guilty. The Deputy City Attorney also gave Suzie another option, verbally. The option is a submittal. With a submittal, there is no plea at all but agree to "stay out of trouble for six months" and not break the law "like" feeding the homeless. If you stay out of trouble for six months, the charges are dropped. We could not get Jonathon to explain thoroughly what happens if you DO get into trouble within the six months.
Judge Bert M. Brown was very nice to Suzie and explained all the options. He also took the time to explain to her that this was a matter that was going to Federal Court, and if the law is deemed unconstitutional, her charges would be dismissed.
No public defender because the city is not looking for jail time. Judge said he found no reason to dismiss the charges at this time. With a submittal, if you get into trouble "like this" within six months, the first conviction stays on the record. I asked Jonathan, what do you mean a conviction? You are automatically guilty if you take a submittal and get into trouble again? He said, well it's not really a conviction...
Judge said that if you get into trouble again within the six months, the city will still not ask for any punishment for "this" case. Jonathan half-assed agreed with the Judge.
So, Suzie took the submittal and the judge said that if she stays out of trouble that she does not have to reappear in court.
For the record, I was and am very upset that no one was at court except for me to
support Suzie. So much for solidarity. :<
On the fifth floor a young woman asked me if I was there for the homeless advocates' case. I said yes and asked her who she was with. She told me that she was working for the judge handling the case but the judge didn't tell her what court room. So I told her the sixth floor and we headed up there. Suzie was there waiting outside the locked court room doors as were others. We talked.
Deputy City Attorney Jonathon?? told Suzie her options. Then Officer Latham handed out papers to everyone to sign. One paper had the complaint. The other paper had to be signed and state whether you are pleading not guilty, no contest, or guilty. The Deputy City Attorney also gave Suzie another option, verbally. The option is a submittal. With a submittal, there is no plea at all but agree to "stay out of trouble for six months" and not break the law "like" feeding the homeless. If you stay out of trouble for six months, the charges are dropped. We could not get Jonathon to explain thoroughly what happens if you DO get into trouble within the six months.
Judge Bert M. Brown was very nice to Suzie and explained all the options. He also took the time to explain to her that this was a matter that was going to Federal Court, and if the law is deemed unconstitutional, her charges would be dismissed.
No public defender because the city is not looking for jail time. Judge said he found no reason to dismiss the charges at this time. With a submittal, if you get into trouble "like this" within six months, the first conviction stays on the record. I asked Jonathan, what do you mean a conviction? You are automatically guilty if you take a submittal and get into trouble again? He said, well it's not really a conviction...
Judge said that if you get into trouble again within the six months, the city will still not ask for any punishment for "this" case. Jonathan half-assed agreed with the Judge.
So, Suzie took the submittal and the judge said that if she stays out of trouble that she does not have to reappear in court.
For the record, I was and am very upset that no one was at court except for me to
support Suzie. So much for solidarity. :<
Women deserve better than abortion,
Feminists for Life
PRO-WOMAN ANSWERS TO PRO-CHOICE QUESTIONS
PRO-WOMAN ANSWERS TO PRO-CHOICE QUESTIONS™
From: "Serrin M. Foster"
For over a decade, I have been fielding hard questions. Even before I joined Feminists for Life, people couldn't accept that I was both pro-woman and pro-life.
It is so easy to get caught up in unproductive arguments that pit women against children. This week at the University of Delaware I was asked how we can work with people who disagree with us about abortion. How can we not?
We must see the humanity of every person who challenges us. Look at the question from the perspective of a person who embraces “choice.” See the pain of the woman who was abandoned by those she counted on the most and was driven to abortion. Understand the well-meaning friend who offers a quick fix, not realizing that pain cannot be diminished through abortion. Grasp the embarrassment of a parent who wants to protect a daughter from a grandchild who might “ruin her life.” Feel the fear of a young man who is suddenly faced with fatherhood, and realizes that he is totally unprepared. Recognize the betrayal behind questions from those under age 33 who have never known a day without legalized abortion.
Acknowledge them while offering unwavering hope that we can work together for better outcomes for women and children.
Let's begin
Pro-Woman Answers to Pro-Choice Questions.™
Question #1
“Can you really be a feminist and pro-life?”
Yes. Feminists for Life of America continues the tradition of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other early American feminists who opposed abortion. Our efforts are shaped by the core feminist values of nondiscrimination, nonviolence and justice for all. Established in 1972, Feminists for Life is a nonsectarian, nonpartisan, grassroots organization that seeks real solutions to the challenges women face.
Abortion is a reflection that we have failed women—and women have settled for less.
"When a man steals to satisfy hunger, we may safely conclude that there is something wrong in society—so when a woman destroys the life of her unborn child, it is an evidence that either by education or circumstances she has been greatly wronged."
—Mattie Brinkerhoff, The Revolution, 4(9):138-9 September 2, 1869
We insist on a world in which women have access to all nonviolent options. Think about the consequences of such a world for the workplace, schools, and society. We encourage woman-centered and parenting-friendly policies including distance learning, which allows a new mom to be with her child while continuing her education and saving on child-care costs; affordable family housing near campus; campus and workplace child care; health care plans for students and employees that include maternity coverage; telecommuting and job sharing; a living wage; and child support when one parent is absent. We have to approach this holistically.
Pro-life feminists demand that society support the unique life-giving capacity of women, so that no woman feels driven to abortion. Women deserve better.
Next week's question: What about rape?
Check out what we've done for women lately.
Help us systematically eliminate the root causes that drive women to abortion. Join our free e-list. Become a member. Support our work. Thank you!
Feminists for Life is a 501(c)3 organization.
All donations and membership contributions are tax deductible to the extent according to law.
Refuse to Choose and Women Deserve Better are registered trademarks of Feminists
for Life of America
___________________________________________________
This is the information list for Feminists for Life.
Are you a member and is your membership current?
Go to http://www.feministsforlife.org/support/index.htm and join online or donate today!
Feminists for Life - PO Box 20685 - Alexandria, VA 22320
Women deserve better than abortion,
Feminists for Life
PRO-WOMAN ANSWERS TO PRO-CHOICE QUESTIONS™
Questions #2
What about rape? What if it was your daughter who was raped?
I would love her and my grandchild unconditionally, and I would do everything in my power to prosecute the perpetrator to the fullest extent of the law.
Out of our desire to save someone from suffering, it is normal to wish we could erase a painful memory such as rape. Unfortunately, the hard truth is that as much as we want to, we can't.
Abortion doesn't erase a memory. Think about it. Could anything ever erase your memory of September 11, 2001?
At my lecture at Vanderbilt University, a medical student told other students that abortion is a second act of violence against a woman who is raped, and said her “abortion was worse than the rape.”
Both victims—the woman and her child—deserve our unconditional support.
Pregnancy can be punishing, but a child is not a punishment. When Julie Makimaa was reunited with her birthmother, Lee Ezell ("Victory Over Violence,"
http://www.feministsforlife.org/taf/1998/fall/Fall98.pdf
The American Feminist, vol. 5, no. 3), Julie asked her if it would have been better for Lee if Julie was never born at all.
Lee told Julie that she was the “only good thing to come out of the rape.”
When someone asks about exceptions for rape and incest, we must also consider how that makes those feel who were conceived through sexual assault.
Well-meaning statements can hurt. As one UC-Berkeley grad student said to her pro-choice peers, “I have a right to be here.”
They responded, “We didn't mean you!” She asked, “Who did you think you meant?”
My mother told this story to a coworker who agreed and said, "People never think they are talking to an exception—like me.”
Could you look at someone conceived in violence and tell her that she never should have been born? What if it turned out to be your best friend—or a relative? Would that change the way you felt about her? Would you think less of her mother?
Rebecca Kiessling, http://www.feministsforlife.org/taf/2001/winter/Winter00-01.pdf a
young attorney and mother who was conceived through sexual assault, asks “Did I deserve the death penalty?”
Can you imagine if we ranked the value of people based on the circumstances of their conception?
We don't discriminate based on parentage—that's not equality! You are valuable no matter who your parents are, no matter the circumstances of your conception.
People used to value a woman based on who her father or husband was. It is similarly medieval to value a child by the actions of her father. That way of thinking is patriarchal and antifeminist and it should have gone out with the Dark Ages.
Abortion after rape is misdirected anger. It doesn't punish the perpetrator of the crime, or prevent further assaults against other women.
FFL's priority is keeping women safe. Incarcerated sexual offenders should not be allowed pornography, barbells, and early release. We need harsh sentences for sexual assault without possibility of parole.
We need comprehensive support for rape victims who become pregnant. A convicted rapist should never have paternal rights or be able to demand visitation from “his” children while in prison. But if he has the means, he should contribute child support. If a woman is poor and cannot prove the paternity, she could have problems collecting welfare. Small employers could fire her. We need to listen to those who have had children conceived through sexual assault and work for short- and long term solutions that benefit both.
Feminists for Life is a proud supporter of the Violence Against Women Act. In fact, we were the only pro-life group active in the National Task Force on Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence.
After a lecture at a midwestern university where I shared the story of Lee and Julie, a student pulled me aside. She told me that she was raped by her third cousin as a mere thirteen-year-old and had became pregnant. Her parents had helped her have the privacy she wanted during her pregnancy, and then she placed her son with two loving parents.
I asked her, why did she make the decision to have the child—when she was just a girl who had lived through what was arguably the worst of circumstances? She said she would never pass on the violence that was perpetrated against her to her own unborn child. Now that is the strength of a woman!
Because women deserve better,
Serrin M. Foster
President
Feminists for Life
www.feministsforlife.org
P.S. Next week's question: What about the life of the mother?
"Abortion is a reflection that we have not met the needs of women. Women deserve better than abortion."
REFUSE TO CHOOSE® WOMEN DESERVE BETTER®
............................................
Help us systematically eliminate the root causes that drive women to abortion. Join our free e-list. http://www.feministsforlife.org/taf/register.htm
Become a member. http://www.feministsforlife.org/support/index.htm
Support our work. http://www.feministsforlife.org/support/index.htm
Thank you!
Feminists for Life is a 501(c)3 organization.
All donations and membership contributions are tax deductible to the extent according to law.
Refuse to Choose and Women Deserve Better are registered trademarks of Feminists
for Life of America
___________________________________________________
This is the information list for Feminists for Life.
Are you a member and is your membership current?
Go to http://www.feministsforlife.org/support/index.htm and join online or donate today!
Feminists for Life - PO Box 20685 - Alexandria, VA 22320
PRO-WOMAN ANSWERS TO PRO-CHOICE QUESTIONS™
What you are about to read is part of a groundbreaking e-tutorial focused on the hard questions related to abortion.
Feminists for Life is a nonsectarian, nonpartisan, grassroots organization working to systematically eliminate the root causes that drive women to abortion—primarily lack of practical resources and support—through holistic, woman-centered solutions.
FFL’s president, Serrin Foster, speaks at colleges and other institutions across the U.S.
These are some of the questions she answers again and again.
For those who are just joining the e-tutorial, you may read the questions and answers from previous weeks.
This week, Serrin answers the question:
Questions #3
What about “the life of the mother”?
Since we are both pro-woman and pro-life, we refuse to choose between women and children.
Sometimes doctors advise abortion because they are unaware of other options or because they are pressured by fear of malpractice suits. We believe that physicians and other medical personnel should treat both patients and do what they can to save both lives.
This is what was done before the Roe decision was handed down.
Thankfully, medical advancements continue to save more lives. Situations in which the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother are extremely rare. Late-term abortions are never medically necessary. Emergency C-sections are often the medically appropriate response to save both mother and child. Viability at this stage of the child’s development is generally very good, especially with advances in neonatal care. Babies who weigh just under a pound are surviving!
As for first-trimester scenarios, most are to save the mother from ectopic (“out of place”) pregnancies, which typically occur in the Fallopian tube. Surgeries for ectopic pregnancies are not medically classified as abortions. Since the child has no chance of survival, and the mother can survive if the pregnancy is ended, we must do what we can to save her. To let both die would not be pro-life. At this time uterine transplants to re-implant the baby into the womb are not possible. (But if this becomes a viable option, it would have enormous ramifications for the entire abortion debate, since becoming un-pregnant would not be the same as having an abortion!)
Finally, there are issues related to mental health. While pregnancy can be a stressful experience and sometimes bring on or exacerbate depression, psychological stress should not be “treated” by abortion. Psychiatrists and psychologists need to treat mental health issues directly.
A two-year study on abortion revealed that out of 400 women who had an abortion at a Buffalo, New York, clinic, women who suffered from clinical depression were twice as likely to regret their abortion (30% versus 15%). This surprised doctors who assumed that pregnancy and motherhood would exacerbate their depression. In addition, several large studies (in Finland, Great Britain, Canada and the U.S.) indicate a link between abortion and suicide and psychiatric admissions.
Pro-life feminists are committed to protecting the lives of both women and unborn children. We call for honesty, accuracy and compassion in considering “the life of the mother”—with a focus, always, on life-affirming solutions.
Because women deserve better,
Serrin M. Foster
President
Feminists for Life
www.feministsforlife.org
P.S. Next week's question: What if she is poor and/or abandoned?
"Abortion is a reflection that we have not met the needs of women. Women deserve better than abortion."
REFUSE TO CHOOSE® WOMEN DESERVE BETTER®
............................................
NEW! Peace greeting cards just in time for the holiday season.
Help us systematically eliminate the root causes that drive women to abortion. Join our free e-list. Become a member. Support our work. Thank you!
Feminists for Life is a 501(c)3 organization. All donations and membership contributions are tax deductible to the extent according to law.
Refuse to Choose and Women Deserve Better are registered trademarks of Feminists for Life of America.
___________________________________________________
This is the information list for Feminists for Life.
Are you a member and is your membership current?
Go to http://www.feministsforlife.org/support/index.htm and join online or donate today!
Feminists for Life - PO Box 20685 - Alexandria, VA 22320
PRO-WOMAN ANSWERS TO PRO-CHOICE QUESTIONS™
What you are about to read is part of a groundbreaking e-tutorial focused on the hard questions related to abortion.
Feminists for Life is a nonsectarian, nonpartisan, grassroots organization working to systematically eliminate the root causes that drive women to abortion—primarily lack of practical resources and support—through holistic, woman-centered solutions.
FFL’s president, Serrin Foster, speaks at colleges and other institutions across the U.S.
These are some of the questions she answers again and again.
For those who are just joining the e-tutorial, you may read the questions and answers from previous weeks.
This week, Serrin answers
Question #4
What if her partner, friends or family have abandoned her?
Or what if she is poor?
Lack of support often coerces women into abortion. As pro-life feminists, we choose to support and empower women rather than abandon women.
A woman who is pregnant needs to know that there are perfect strangers who will care for her even if the people she counts on the most have let her down. She needs information about child support laws that prohibit coercion by the father either by physical force or by threats to withhold child support.
Universities should support marital and single parenting choices as well as adoption options.
Feminists for Life’s College Outreach Program focuses on resources—housing, child care, maternity coverage in student health care, telecommuting options, financial aid, etc.—so women aren't forced to choose between sacrificing their education or career and sacrificing their children.
We do not eliminate poverty by eliminating poor women’s children. It is degrading to poor women to expect or imply that their children aren't welcome. We believe that poor women deserve the same support and life-affirming alternatives as wealthy women.
A woman who is pregnant needs to know that there are pregnancy care centers listed in the “abortion alternatives” section of the yellow pages that provide direct assistance and coordinate public and private assistance.
Abortion is not an enriching experience. An abortion won't get a woman a better job or get her out of a bad (for example, abusive) situation.
And what has Feminists for Life done?
Feminists for Life has worked to prevent the coercion of women into unwanted abortions. FFL consulted on the groundbreaking Coercive Abortion Prevention Act introduced by Michigan women legislators in 2006. The five-bill package identifies very specific forms of coercion, from financial threats to physical violence, which could result in jail time and/or fines.
FFL has done other work to prevent coerced abortions due to threats to withhold child support, instead encouraging the active support of fathers in the lives of their children.
FFL has sought to educate women and men regarding the rights and responsibilities of fathers. And FFL was the only pro-life group to successfully advocate for the Enhanced Child Support Enforcement Act of 1996, which will help streamline the collection and distribution of child support, establish uniform laws governing interstate child support cases, and expand penalties for child support delinquency.
Since 1994, Feminists for Life has led the revolution on campus to meet the needs of college-age women, who have the highest rate of abortion, and redirect the debate towards action for women.
FFL hosted the first-ever FFL Pregnancy Resource Forum in 1997 and developed creative tools to evaluate and spark discussion about the lack of services for pregnant and parenting students, including FFL's Pregnancy Resource Survey,SM resulting in concrete improvements on top campuses across the country.
FFL has also helped to introduce legislation to put into hyper-drive pro-woman solutions on campus. FFL worked to introduce the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Pregnant and Parenting Student Services Act (2005-06), which, if passed, would provide $10 million in grants to 200 colleges and universities for annual pregnancy and parenting resource forums and a central office to coordinate and promote ongoing resources and support on and off campus.
And on the anniversary of Susan B. Anthony’s birth in 2006, FFL held the first-ever Capitol Hill briefing on the needs of 4.5 million parenting students, and millions of students who become pregnant and need resources and support for marital and single parenting choices and various adoption options.
Feminists for Life also works for low-income women. FFL was the only pro-life group active in a unique coalition of women's groups to successfully fight child exclusion provisions in welfare reform. (The “family cap” was later tested on poor women and teens in New Jersey and proven to significantly increase abortions.) And FFL was the only pro-life and women's group to actively champion the New York state model program to help working poor pregnant women receive prenatal care through the State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
Because women deserve better,
Serrin M. Foster
President
Feminists for Life
www.feministsforlife.org
P.S. Next week's question: What if she just doesn’t want it?
"Abortion is a reflection that we have not met the needs of women. Women deserve better than abortion."
REFUSE TO CHOOSE® WOMEN DESERVE BETTER®
............................................
NEW! Peace greeting cards just in time for the holiday season.
Help us systematically eliminate the root causes that drive women to abortion. Join our free e-list. Become a member. Support our work. Thank you!
Feminists for Life is a 501(c)3 organization.
All donations and membership contributions are tax deductible to the extent according to law.
Refuse to Choose and Women Deserve Better are registered trademarks of Feminists for Life of America.
___________________________________________________
This is the information list for Feminists for Life.
Are you a member and is your membership current?
Go to http://www.feministsforlife.org/support/index.htm and join online or donate today!
Feminists for Life - PO Box 20685 - Alexandria, VA 22320
From: "Serrin M. Foster"
For over a decade, I have been fielding hard questions. Even before I joined Feminists for Life, people couldn't accept that I was both pro-woman and pro-life.
It is so easy to get caught up in unproductive arguments that pit women against children. This week at the University of Delaware I was asked how we can work with people who disagree with us about abortion. How can we not?
We must see the humanity of every person who challenges us. Look at the question from the perspective of a person who embraces “choice.” See the pain of the woman who was abandoned by those she counted on the most and was driven to abortion. Understand the well-meaning friend who offers a quick fix, not realizing that pain cannot be diminished through abortion. Grasp the embarrassment of a parent who wants to protect a daughter from a grandchild who might “ruin her life.” Feel the fear of a young man who is suddenly faced with fatherhood, and realizes that he is totally unprepared. Recognize the betrayal behind questions from those under age 33 who have never known a day without legalized abortion.
Acknowledge them while offering unwavering hope that we can work together for better outcomes for women and children.
Let's begin
Pro-Woman Answers to Pro-Choice Questions.™
Question #1
“Can you really be a feminist and pro-life?”
Yes. Feminists for Life of America continues the tradition of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other early American feminists who opposed abortion. Our efforts are shaped by the core feminist values of nondiscrimination, nonviolence and justice for all. Established in 1972, Feminists for Life is a nonsectarian, nonpartisan, grassroots organization that seeks real solutions to the challenges women face.
Abortion is a reflection that we have failed women—and women have settled for less.
"When a man steals to satisfy hunger, we may safely conclude that there is something wrong in society—so when a woman destroys the life of her unborn child, it is an evidence that either by education or circumstances she has been greatly wronged."
—Mattie Brinkerhoff, The Revolution, 4(9):138-9 September 2, 1869
We insist on a world in which women have access to all nonviolent options. Think about the consequences of such a world for the workplace, schools, and society. We encourage woman-centered and parenting-friendly policies including distance learning, which allows a new mom to be with her child while continuing her education and saving on child-care costs; affordable family housing near campus; campus and workplace child care; health care plans for students and employees that include maternity coverage; telecommuting and job sharing; a living wage; and child support when one parent is absent. We have to approach this holistically.
Pro-life feminists demand that society support the unique life-giving capacity of women, so that no woman feels driven to abortion. Women deserve better.
Next week's question: What about rape?
Check out what we've done for women lately.
Help us systematically eliminate the root causes that drive women to abortion. Join our free e-list. Become a member. Support our work. Thank you!
Feminists for Life is a 501(c)3 organization.
All donations and membership contributions are tax deductible to the extent according to law.
Refuse to Choose and Women Deserve Better are registered trademarks of Feminists
for Life of America
___________________________________________________
This is the information list for Feminists for Life.
Are you a member and is your membership current?
Go to http://www.feministsforlife.org/support/index.htm and join online or donate today!
Feminists for Life - PO Box 20685 - Alexandria, VA 22320
Women deserve better than abortion,
Feminists for Life
PRO-WOMAN ANSWERS TO PRO-CHOICE QUESTIONS™
Questions #2
What about rape? What if it was your daughter who was raped?
I would love her and my grandchild unconditionally, and I would do everything in my power to prosecute the perpetrator to the fullest extent of the law.
Out of our desire to save someone from suffering, it is normal to wish we could erase a painful memory such as rape. Unfortunately, the hard truth is that as much as we want to, we can't.
Abortion doesn't erase a memory. Think about it. Could anything ever erase your memory of September 11, 2001?
At my lecture at Vanderbilt University, a medical student told other students that abortion is a second act of violence against a woman who is raped, and said her “abortion was worse than the rape.”
Both victims—the woman and her child—deserve our unconditional support.
Pregnancy can be punishing, but a child is not a punishment. When Julie Makimaa was reunited with her birthmother, Lee Ezell ("Victory Over Violence,"
http://www.feministsforlife.org/taf/1998/fall/Fall98.pdf
The American Feminist, vol. 5, no. 3), Julie asked her if it would have been better for Lee if Julie was never born at all.
Lee told Julie that she was the “only good thing to come out of the rape.”
When someone asks about exceptions for rape and incest, we must also consider how that makes those feel who were conceived through sexual assault.
Well-meaning statements can hurt. As one UC-Berkeley grad student said to her pro-choice peers, “I have a right to be here.”
They responded, “We didn't mean you!” She asked, “Who did you think you meant?”
My mother told this story to a coworker who agreed and said, "People never think they are talking to an exception—like me.”
Could you look at someone conceived in violence and tell her that she never should have been born? What if it turned out to be your best friend—or a relative? Would that change the way you felt about her? Would you think less of her mother?
Rebecca Kiessling, http://www.feministsforlife.org/taf/2001/winter/Winter00-01.pdf a
young attorney and mother who was conceived through sexual assault, asks “Did I deserve the death penalty?”
Can you imagine if we ranked the value of people based on the circumstances of their conception?
We don't discriminate based on parentage—that's not equality! You are valuable no matter who your parents are, no matter the circumstances of your conception.
People used to value a woman based on who her father or husband was. It is similarly medieval to value a child by the actions of her father. That way of thinking is patriarchal and antifeminist and it should have gone out with the Dark Ages.
Abortion after rape is misdirected anger. It doesn't punish the perpetrator of the crime, or prevent further assaults against other women.
FFL's priority is keeping women safe. Incarcerated sexual offenders should not be allowed pornography, barbells, and early release. We need harsh sentences for sexual assault without possibility of parole.
We need comprehensive support for rape victims who become pregnant. A convicted rapist should never have paternal rights or be able to demand visitation from “his” children while in prison. But if he has the means, he should contribute child support. If a woman is poor and cannot prove the paternity, she could have problems collecting welfare. Small employers could fire her. We need to listen to those who have had children conceived through sexual assault and work for short- and long term solutions that benefit both.
Feminists for Life is a proud supporter of the Violence Against Women Act. In fact, we were the only pro-life group active in the National Task Force on Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence.
After a lecture at a midwestern university where I shared the story of Lee and Julie, a student pulled me aside. She told me that she was raped by her third cousin as a mere thirteen-year-old and had became pregnant. Her parents had helped her have the privacy she wanted during her pregnancy, and then she placed her son with two loving parents.
I asked her, why did she make the decision to have the child—when she was just a girl who had lived through what was arguably the worst of circumstances? She said she would never pass on the violence that was perpetrated against her to her own unborn child. Now that is the strength of a woman!
Because women deserve better,
Serrin M. Foster
President
Feminists for Life
www.feministsforlife.org
P.S. Next week's question: What about the life of the mother?
"Abortion is a reflection that we have not met the needs of women. Women deserve better than abortion."
REFUSE TO CHOOSE® WOMEN DESERVE BETTER®
............................................
Help us systematically eliminate the root causes that drive women to abortion. Join our free e-list. http://www.feministsforlife.org/taf/register.htm
Become a member. http://www.feministsforlife.org/support/index.htm
Support our work. http://www.feministsforlife.org/support/index.htm
Thank you!
Feminists for Life is a 501(c)3 organization.
All donations and membership contributions are tax deductible to the extent according to law.
Refuse to Choose and Women Deserve Better are registered trademarks of Feminists
for Life of America
___________________________________________________
This is the information list for Feminists for Life.
Are you a member and is your membership current?
Go to http://www.feministsforlife.org/support/index.htm and join online or donate today!
Feminists for Life - PO Box 20685 - Alexandria, VA 22320
PRO-WOMAN ANSWERS TO PRO-CHOICE QUESTIONS™
What you are about to read is part of a groundbreaking e-tutorial focused on the hard questions related to abortion.
Feminists for Life is a nonsectarian, nonpartisan, grassroots organization working to systematically eliminate the root causes that drive women to abortion—primarily lack of practical resources and support—through holistic, woman-centered solutions.
FFL’s president, Serrin Foster, speaks at colleges and other institutions across the U.S.
These are some of the questions she answers again and again.
For those who are just joining the e-tutorial, you may read the questions and answers from previous weeks.
This week, Serrin answers the question:
Questions #3
What about “the life of the mother”?
Since we are both pro-woman and pro-life, we refuse to choose between women and children.
Sometimes doctors advise abortion because they are unaware of other options or because they are pressured by fear of malpractice suits. We believe that physicians and other medical personnel should treat both patients and do what they can to save both lives.
This is what was done before the Roe decision was handed down.
Thankfully, medical advancements continue to save more lives. Situations in which the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother are extremely rare. Late-term abortions are never medically necessary. Emergency C-sections are often the medically appropriate response to save both mother and child. Viability at this stage of the child’s development is generally very good, especially with advances in neonatal care. Babies who weigh just under a pound are surviving!
As for first-trimester scenarios, most are to save the mother from ectopic (“out of place”) pregnancies, which typically occur in the Fallopian tube. Surgeries for ectopic pregnancies are not medically classified as abortions. Since the child has no chance of survival, and the mother can survive if the pregnancy is ended, we must do what we can to save her. To let both die would not be pro-life. At this time uterine transplants to re-implant the baby into the womb are not possible. (But if this becomes a viable option, it would have enormous ramifications for the entire abortion debate, since becoming un-pregnant would not be the same as having an abortion!)
Finally, there are issues related to mental health. While pregnancy can be a stressful experience and sometimes bring on or exacerbate depression, psychological stress should not be “treated” by abortion. Psychiatrists and psychologists need to treat mental health issues directly.
A two-year study on abortion revealed that out of 400 women who had an abortion at a Buffalo, New York, clinic, women who suffered from clinical depression were twice as likely to regret their abortion (30% versus 15%). This surprised doctors who assumed that pregnancy and motherhood would exacerbate their depression. In addition, several large studies (in Finland, Great Britain, Canada and the U.S.) indicate a link between abortion and suicide and psychiatric admissions.
Pro-life feminists are committed to protecting the lives of both women and unborn children. We call for honesty, accuracy and compassion in considering “the life of the mother”—with a focus, always, on life-affirming solutions.
Because women deserve better,
Serrin M. Foster
President
Feminists for Life
www.feministsforlife.org
P.S. Next week's question: What if she is poor and/or abandoned?
"Abortion is a reflection that we have not met the needs of women. Women deserve better than abortion."
REFUSE TO CHOOSE® WOMEN DESERVE BETTER®
............................................
NEW! Peace greeting cards just in time for the holiday season.
Help us systematically eliminate the root causes that drive women to abortion. Join our free e-list. Become a member. Support our work. Thank you!
Feminists for Life is a 501(c)3 organization. All donations and membership contributions are tax deductible to the extent according to law.
Refuse to Choose and Women Deserve Better are registered trademarks of Feminists for Life of America.
___________________________________________________
This is the information list for Feminists for Life.
Are you a member and is your membership current?
Go to http://www.feministsforlife.org/support/index.htm and join online or donate today!
Feminists for Life - PO Box 20685 - Alexandria, VA 22320
PRO-WOMAN ANSWERS TO PRO-CHOICE QUESTIONS™
What you are about to read is part of a groundbreaking e-tutorial focused on the hard questions related to abortion.
Feminists for Life is a nonsectarian, nonpartisan, grassroots organization working to systematically eliminate the root causes that drive women to abortion—primarily lack of practical resources and support—through holistic, woman-centered solutions.
FFL’s president, Serrin Foster, speaks at colleges and other institutions across the U.S.
These are some of the questions she answers again and again.
For those who are just joining the e-tutorial, you may read the questions and answers from previous weeks.
This week, Serrin answers
Question #4
What if her partner, friends or family have abandoned her?
Or what if she is poor?
Lack of support often coerces women into abortion. As pro-life feminists, we choose to support and empower women rather than abandon women.
A woman who is pregnant needs to know that there are perfect strangers who will care for her even if the people she counts on the most have let her down. She needs information about child support laws that prohibit coercion by the father either by physical force or by threats to withhold child support.
Universities should support marital and single parenting choices as well as adoption options.
Feminists for Life’s College Outreach Program focuses on resources—housing, child care, maternity coverage in student health care, telecommuting options, financial aid, etc.—so women aren't forced to choose between sacrificing their education or career and sacrificing their children.
We do not eliminate poverty by eliminating poor women’s children. It is degrading to poor women to expect or imply that their children aren't welcome. We believe that poor women deserve the same support and life-affirming alternatives as wealthy women.
A woman who is pregnant needs to know that there are pregnancy care centers listed in the “abortion alternatives” section of the yellow pages that provide direct assistance and coordinate public and private assistance.
Abortion is not an enriching experience. An abortion won't get a woman a better job or get her out of a bad (for example, abusive) situation.
And what has Feminists for Life done?
Feminists for Life has worked to prevent the coercion of women into unwanted abortions. FFL consulted on the groundbreaking Coercive Abortion Prevention Act introduced by Michigan women legislators in 2006. The five-bill package identifies very specific forms of coercion, from financial threats to physical violence, which could result in jail time and/or fines.
FFL has done other work to prevent coerced abortions due to threats to withhold child support, instead encouraging the active support of fathers in the lives of their children.
FFL has sought to educate women and men regarding the rights and responsibilities of fathers. And FFL was the only pro-life group to successfully advocate for the Enhanced Child Support Enforcement Act of 1996, which will help streamline the collection and distribution of child support, establish uniform laws governing interstate child support cases, and expand penalties for child support delinquency.
Since 1994, Feminists for Life has led the revolution on campus to meet the needs of college-age women, who have the highest rate of abortion, and redirect the debate towards action for women.
FFL hosted the first-ever FFL Pregnancy Resource Forum in 1997 and developed creative tools to evaluate and spark discussion about the lack of services for pregnant and parenting students, including FFL's Pregnancy Resource Survey,SM resulting in concrete improvements on top campuses across the country.
FFL has also helped to introduce legislation to put into hyper-drive pro-woman solutions on campus. FFL worked to introduce the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Pregnant and Parenting Student Services Act (2005-06), which, if passed, would provide $10 million in grants to 200 colleges and universities for annual pregnancy and parenting resource forums and a central office to coordinate and promote ongoing resources and support on and off campus.
And on the anniversary of Susan B. Anthony’s birth in 2006, FFL held the first-ever Capitol Hill briefing on the needs of 4.5 million parenting students, and millions of students who become pregnant and need resources and support for marital and single parenting choices and various adoption options.
Feminists for Life also works for low-income women. FFL was the only pro-life group active in a unique coalition of women's groups to successfully fight child exclusion provisions in welfare reform. (The “family cap” was later tested on poor women and teens in New Jersey and proven to significantly increase abortions.) And FFL was the only pro-life and women's group to actively champion the New York state model program to help working poor pregnant women receive prenatal care through the State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
Because women deserve better,
Serrin M. Foster
President
Feminists for Life
www.feministsforlife.org
P.S. Next week's question: What if she just doesn’t want it?
"Abortion is a reflection that we have not met the needs of women. Women deserve better than abortion."
REFUSE TO CHOOSE® WOMEN DESERVE BETTER®
............................................
NEW! Peace greeting cards just in time for the holiday season.
Help us systematically eliminate the root causes that drive women to abortion. Join our free e-list. Become a member. Support our work. Thank you!
Feminists for Life is a 501(c)3 organization.
All donations and membership contributions are tax deductible to the extent according to law.
Refuse to Choose and Women Deserve Better are registered trademarks of Feminists for Life of America.
___________________________________________________
This is the information list for Feminists for Life.
Are you a member and is your membership current?
Go to http://www.feministsforlife.org/support/index.htm and join online or donate today!
Feminists for Life - PO Box 20685 - Alexandria, VA 22320
Valley homeless speak about life on the streets,
The Rebel Yell
From their own words
Valley homeless speak about life on the streets
By: J. Kaff
Issue 10/12/2006
The best way to discover how humane a society acts is through viewing its treatment of the helpless: the mentally ill, the elderly and the homeless.
After the amendment and passage of city ordinance 13.36.055 that prohibits "the providing of food or meals to the indigent for free or for a nominal fee …" those that have been forgotten, the homeless, have begun to speak out about their conditions.
http://www.unlvrebelyell.com/article.php?ID=9654
Valley homeless speak about life on the streets
By: J. Kaff
Issue 10/12/2006
The best way to discover how humane a society acts is through viewing its treatment of the helpless: the mentally ill, the elderly and the homeless.
After the amendment and passage of city ordinance 13.36.055 that prohibits "the providing of food or meals to the indigent for free or for a nominal fee …" those that have been forgotten, the homeless, have begun to speak out about their conditions.
http://www.unlvrebelyell.com/article.php?ID=9654
Helping Las Vegas Food Not Bombs
To all of who are inquiring about helping with Las Vegas Food Not Bombs: I don't think anyone regularly takes care of the Las Vegas Food Not Bombs website. The FNB website is not "my" website but I still apologize that I haven't seen your messages until now.
We are still sharing food at Circle Park on Maryland Parkway five days a week. (No food on Wedsnesdays and Saturdays as there are 2 local churches that share food on those days.) Time used to be at 2 pm but now it's anytime between 1 pm and 4 pm. When we have left over food, we go to Jaycee Park on Eastern at the southwest corner of the park.
Sometimes we share in Circle Park. Sometimes we park on a side street across from the park. Depends on who doesn't care about getting cited or going to jail on that particular day.
Anyone who wants to help out can just show up or e-mail me at mom_in_las_vegas@yahoo.com
or visit my blog at activistsinlasvegas.blogspot.com and post a comment.
All donations appreciated: beans, rice, pasta, vegetable oil, paper plates, spoons, forks, paper cups, blankets, coats, socks, bottled water, etc.
We are still sharing food at Circle Park on Maryland Parkway five days a week. (No food on Wedsnesdays and Saturdays as there are 2 local churches that share food on those days.) Time used to be at 2 pm but now it's anytime between 1 pm and 4 pm. When we have left over food, we go to Jaycee Park on Eastern at the southwest corner of the park.
Sometimes we share in Circle Park. Sometimes we park on a side street across from the park. Depends on who doesn't care about getting cited or going to jail on that particular day.
Anyone who wants to help out can just show up or e-mail me at mom_in_las_vegas@yahoo.com
or visit my blog at activistsinlasvegas.blogspot.com and post a comment.
All donations appreciated: beans, rice, pasta, vegetable oil, paper plates, spoons, forks, paper cups, blankets, coats, socks, bottled water, etc.
Monday, September 25, 2006
March for Social Justice
Join Southern Nevada Advocates for Homeless People (SNAHP) for a
March to Promote Social Justice for Homeless People in Southern Nevada!
We will gather in front of the Fashion Show Mall's main entrance
on the Strip at 6:00 PM, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2006.
Signs are already made so please join us.
__________________
Build community. Get locally involved.
There are so many issues "within" the issue of homelessness that no one can educate or explain in one note or a few notes.
It is true that there are some homeless people who cannot be helped off the streets, or have decided that that is where they would prefer to be. BUT that number is FAR less than what the majority of non-homeless people think.
The main problem we have is that we have very little or NO affordable housing. This is not just a Las Vegas problem. This is a national problem. Most advocates are in agreement that "housing first" is the best solution to ending homelessness. However, as I just stated, we have no affordable housing. That's where the government and community have to help out.
MY concern is to help folks with their basic survival needs to keep them alive until state, city, county governments can help these people off the streets. After their basic survival needs are met: food, water, medicine, coats and blankets for the COLD winter, then we help out with identification, jobs, and housing.
Individual people cannot do this alone. We need help from the private and business sectors.
Financially, many people don't realize that if the city, county, state and federal government focused more on the solutions to ending homelessness, taxpayers would be paying LESS. Right now, taxpayers are paying for the symptoms of homelessness.
Please join us. The focus of this non-violent march is to bring about awareness to our huge homeless and poverty problem in the Las Vegas valley. More and more senior citizens and victims of eminent domain and evictions to make room for more condos are very susceptible to homelessness right now.
We are reaching out to the private and business sectors to help us END homelessness in Southern Nevada.
Any donations (food, bottled water, etc.) will be greatly appreciated. Reach out to the business people you know. Please join us.
Signs will be available.
March to Promote Social Justice for Homeless People in Southern Nevada!
We will gather in front of the Fashion Show Mall's main entrance
on the Strip at 6:00 PM, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2006.
Signs are already made so please join us.
__________________
Build community. Get locally involved.
There are so many issues "within" the issue of homelessness that no one can educate or explain in one note or a few notes.
It is true that there are some homeless people who cannot be helped off the streets, or have decided that that is where they would prefer to be. BUT that number is FAR less than what the majority of non-homeless people think.
The main problem we have is that we have very little or NO affordable housing. This is not just a Las Vegas problem. This is a national problem. Most advocates are in agreement that "housing first" is the best solution to ending homelessness. However, as I just stated, we have no affordable housing. That's where the government and community have to help out.
MY concern is to help folks with their basic survival needs to keep them alive until state, city, county governments can help these people off the streets. After their basic survival needs are met: food, water, medicine, coats and blankets for the COLD winter, then we help out with identification, jobs, and housing.
Individual people cannot do this alone. We need help from the private and business sectors.
Financially, many people don't realize that if the city, county, state and federal government focused more on the solutions to ending homelessness, taxpayers would be paying LESS. Right now, taxpayers are paying for the symptoms of homelessness.
Please join us. The focus of this non-violent march is to bring about awareness to our huge homeless and poverty problem in the Las Vegas valley. More and more senior citizens and victims of eminent domain and evictions to make room for more condos are very susceptible to homelessness right now.
We are reaching out to the private and business sectors to help us END homelessness in Southern Nevada.
Any donations (food, bottled water, etc.) will be greatly appreciated. Reach out to the business people you know. Please join us.
Signs will be available.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
March to Promote Social Justice
for Homeless People in Southern Nevada!
Join Southern Nevada Advocates for Homeless People (SNAHP) for a
March to Promote Social Justice for Homeless People in Southern Nevada!
We will gather in front of the Fashion Show Mall's main entrance on the Strip at 6:00 PM, Tuesday, Sept. 26.
In preparation for the march, please try to attend a sign-making session on Saturday, Sept. 23, at 5:00 PM. We will meet in front of St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Community Center at UNLV, 4765 Brussels Street (off of Tropicana and Maryland).
Link to Map:
http://tinyurl.com/gc5as
March to Promote Social Justice for Homeless People in Southern Nevada!
We will gather in front of the Fashion Show Mall's main entrance on the Strip at 6:00 PM, Tuesday, Sept. 26.
In preparation for the march, please try to attend a sign-making session on Saturday, Sept. 23, at 5:00 PM. We will meet in front of St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Community Center at UNLV, 4765 Brussels Street (off of Tropicana and Maryland).
Link to Map:
http://tinyurl.com/gc5as
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Boot the Incumbents, especially the mayor!
Mayoral election coming 2007.
I did some research on our city council. I hope I'm not posting this prematurely but... what the hey... hay?
I am not a politician. And I do not have the time, knowledge, or experience to tell you all that I know what I am talking about. And I don't.
But... the other day, Mayor Goodman commented that the mob made him rich. This made me think. He has no clue about the homeless and poverty problems that we have. So, I did a search on all the council members plus+
They all live in half million or million or multi-million dollar homes or neighborhoods.
I know that we have many wealthy philanthropists but our city council by their record always votes pro business and pro wealthy. And, always proposes and passes- unanimously against the homeless and the poor.
And not only the POOR. But against those who are poorer, ie. Pappas and others.
I say, we take a chance and boot the wealthy politicians out of office and vote for the poorest of the poor. And see if we can't do better.
I did some research on our city council. I hope I'm not posting this prematurely but... what the hey... hay?
I am not a politician. And I do not have the time, knowledge, or experience to tell you all that I know what I am talking about. And I don't.
But... the other day, Mayor Goodman commented that the mob made him rich. This made me think. He has no clue about the homeless and poverty problems that we have. So, I did a search on all the council members plus+
They all live in half million or million or multi-million dollar homes or neighborhoods.
I know that we have many wealthy philanthropists but our city council by their record always votes pro business and pro wealthy. And, always proposes and passes- unanimously against the homeless and the poor.
And not only the POOR. But against those who are poorer, ie. Pappas and others.
I say, we take a chance and boot the wealthy politicians out of office and vote for the poorest of the poor. And see if we can't do better.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Nevada Death Penalty
RENO -- A wealthy Reno businessman won't face the death penalty if convicted of killing his estranged wife and shooting the judge who was handling their divorce, prosecutors said.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Sep-13-Wed-2006/news/9617323.html
Prosecutors' decision was based on "prosecutorial discretion."
http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=5397995&nav=15MV
Death penalty hearing begins
Pascual Lozano was absent Tuesday as jurors began to weigh whether they should give him the death penalty for the 2002 murder of 9-year-old Genesis Gonzalez.
Mom's Comment: Darren Mack, white and wealthy is alleged to have murdered his wife (in front of the children?) and purposely goes and shoots a judge. No death penalty case.
Hispanic, alleged gang member, probably poor, kills a child by mistake. DEATH Penalty.
Pascual Lozano breathes a sigh of relief after a District Court jury sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole Friday. Lozano was convicted on Monday of first- degree murder for the death of 9-year-old Genesis Gonzalez.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Sep-16-Sat-2006/news/9687171.html
Mom's Comment: I wonder what the outcome of Mack's trial will be.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Sep-13-Wed-2006/news/9617323.html
Prosecutors' decision was based on "prosecutorial discretion."
http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=5397995&nav=15MV
Death penalty hearing begins
Pascual Lozano was absent Tuesday as jurors began to weigh whether they should give him the death penalty for the 2002 murder of 9-year-old Genesis Gonzalez.
Mom's Comment: Darren Mack, white and wealthy is alleged to have murdered his wife (in front of the children?) and purposely goes and shoots a judge. No death penalty case.
Hispanic, alleged gang member, probably poor, kills a child by mistake. DEATH Penalty.
Pascual Lozano breathes a sigh of relief after a District Court jury sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole Friday. Lozano was convicted on Monday of first- degree murder for the death of 9-year-old Genesis Gonzalez.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Sep-16-Sat-2006/news/9687171.html
Mom's Comment: I wonder what the outcome of Mack's trial will be.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Join Us to Organize Against Inhumane
Treatment of Homeless People in Southern Nevada
Please join us, Southern Nevada Advocates for Homeless People (SNAHP), for a meeting to plan and organize actions against inhumane treatment of homeless people.
If you are tired of the shameless, inhumane, and embarrassing punitive treatment of homeless people for being homeless, and the neglect of their survival needs by the community, its government representatives, and business sector ----
If you are somewhere between “Enough is Enough,” “It’s Time to Do Something,” and OUTRAGE ----
Then:
Southern Nevada Advocates for Homeless People (SNAHP)
call you to a homeless advocacy organizational meeting to plan our actions
To support Gail and Joe Sacco, Lyla Bartholomae, and others who feed homeless people where they are
To support the ACLU and other organizations and individuals in their lawsuits against the City of Las Vegas for its inhumane laws and police actions targeting homeless people
To support Family Promise, Poverello House, Straight from the Streets, and other organizations that house and provide care for homeless families and individuals
To protest the punitive treatment and neglect of homeless children and veterans in the Las Vegas Valley
To protest the lack of housing for homeless families and individuals in the Las Vegas Valley
To protest the outrageous attempts of government leaders to exclude and chase homeless people from our community
To demand that the Las Vegas Valley community, including its city and county governments, and its gambling and other business sectors - with the participation of state government - fulfill its moral and humane obligations to address the housing and other needs of homeless people in a fair, caring, positive, and just manner
To demand that the governments invest our taxes in housing and aiding homeless people rather than in the senseless, inhumane, futile, and unjust criminalization of homelessness
Join us for a meeting to plan our actions
at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Newman Community Center at UNLV
4765 Brussels Street, Las Vegas (see map below)
on Thursday, September 21, 2006 at 4:00 PM (Park in the lot adjoining the building)
Link to Mapquest:
Map of 4765 Brussels St
Las Vegas, NV 89119-6602, US
If you are tired of the shameless, inhumane, and embarrassing punitive treatment of homeless people for being homeless, and the neglect of their survival needs by the community, its government representatives, and business sector ----
If you are somewhere between “Enough is Enough,” “It’s Time to Do Something,” and OUTRAGE ----
Then:
call you to a homeless advocacy organizational meeting to plan our actions
To support Gail and Joe Sacco, Lyla Bartholomae, and others who feed homeless people where they are
To support the ACLU and other organizations and individuals in their lawsuits against the City of Las Vegas for its inhumane laws and police actions targeting homeless people
To support Family Promise, Poverello House, Straight from the Streets, and other organizations that house and provide care for homeless families and individuals
To protest the punitive treatment and neglect of homeless children and veterans in the Las Vegas Valley
To protest the lack of housing for homeless families and individuals in the Las Vegas Valley
To protest the outrageous attempts of government leaders to exclude and chase homeless people from our community
To demand that the Las Vegas Valley community, including its city and county governments, and its gambling and other business sectors - with the participation of state government - fulfill its moral and humane obligations to address the housing and other needs of homeless people in a fair, caring, positive, and just manner
To demand that the governments invest our taxes in housing and aiding homeless people rather than in the senseless, inhumane, futile, and unjust criminalization of homelessness
at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Newman Community Center at UNLV
4765 Brussels Street, Las Vegas (see map below)
on Thursday, September 21, 2006 at 4:00 PM (Park in the lot adjoining the building)
Link to Mapquest:
Map of 4765 Brussels St
Las Vegas, NV 89119-6602, US
Thursday, August 17, 2006
New Law a Mistake?
Yet Another New Law Passed
proposed by Bradford R. Jerbic, City Attorney
Edited: August 18, 2006
Another law HAS been passed. And another law was passed "by mistake."
According to the today's Las Vegas Review Journal: Asked about the sleeping-near-feces provision on Thursday, Las Vegas City Attorney Brad Jerbic said it got into the ordinance by mistake and will not be enforced.
"We were reviewing all park rules, including sleeping, camping and a number of other things people associate with parks," he said. "The decision, by me, was to take this (provision) out of the defecation/urination bill and look at it with respect to park rules in general. It was my mistake that it didn't come out."
The law has already been signed by Mayor Oscar Goodman. But Jerbic said city officials will contact law enforcement personnel and tell them not to enforce it.
"They don't enforce it until we train them to, anyway," Jerbic said.
The ordinance will be revised to eliminate that provision and appear on the Sept. 6 council agenda, he said.
Jerbic said that provision probably will reappear later, however, as part of new park-related ordinances governing where it is appropriate to sleep or camp.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Aug-18-Fri-2006/news/9130007.html
Mom's Comment: The following article was printed in today's (August 17, 2006) Las Vegas Review Journal. However, if you go to the City of Las Vegas Official Website, you will notice that there is also ANOTHER law.
For purposes of this section:
(1) "Appropriate sanitary facility" means a urinal, toilet, commode or other facility that accomodates or is designed for the sanitary disposal of human bodily fluids or waste and that is enclosed from public view.
(2) "Public place" means any walkway, street, highway, sidewalk, bridge, overpass, alley or alleyway, plaza, park, driveway, transportation facility, park, recreational area, parking lot, vacant or underdeveloped lot or the stairwells, alcoves, doorways and entrance ways to such places.
Bill No. 2006-40 also states: It is unlawful for any person to knowingly establish, maintain or fail to relocate a temporary, portable or open sleeping quarters within five hundred feet of any deposit of vomit, urine or feces, other than a deposit in an appropriate sanitary facility, in any of the following places: (1) Any public place; or (2) Any private property into or upon which the public is admitted by easement or license.
...misdemeanor...punished by a fine of not more than $1000.000 or by imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or by any combination of such fine and imprisonment.
http://www5.lasvegasnevada.gov/sirepub/cache/1/1ipmie55i5wuqgrc1dagcmiz/6486108172006080426218.PDF
CITY COUNCIL
Ordinance bans public defecation, urination
The Las Vegas City Council unanimously passed a new ordinance Wednesday that outlaws public urination and defecation.
The ordinance was drawn up after judges ruled a previous ordinance was unconstitutional.
The new law makes it a misdemeanor to go to the bathroom in a public place, unless it's in an "appropriate sanitary facility."
The maximum penalty is six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
City marshals used to rely on a law banning "immodest, improper or indecent behavior" to crack down on public urination and defecation, but Las Vegas Municipal Judge Abbi Silver ruled the law was too broad and unconstitutional. District Judge Lee Gates agreed, and the ordinance was thrown out.
The new law originally included a ban on public vomiting, but the council removed that provision at Wednesday's meeting.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Aug-17-Thu-2006/news/9117768.html
Another law HAS been passed. And another law was passed "by mistake."
According to the today's Las Vegas Review Journal: Asked about the sleeping-near-feces provision on Thursday, Las Vegas City Attorney Brad Jerbic said it got into the ordinance by mistake and will not be enforced.
"We were reviewing all park rules, including sleeping, camping and a number of other things people associate with parks," he said. "The decision, by me, was to take this (provision) out of the defecation/urination bill and look at it with respect to park rules in general. It was my mistake that it didn't come out."
The law has already been signed by Mayor Oscar Goodman. But Jerbic said city officials will contact law enforcement personnel and tell them not to enforce it.
"They don't enforce it until we train them to, anyway," Jerbic said.
The ordinance will be revised to eliminate that provision and appear on the Sept. 6 council agenda, he said.
Jerbic said that provision probably will reappear later, however, as part of new park-related ordinances governing where it is appropriate to sleep or camp.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Aug-18-Fri-2006/news/9130007.html
Mom's Comment: The following article was printed in today's (August 17, 2006) Las Vegas Review Journal. However, if you go to the City of Las Vegas Official Website, you will notice that there is also ANOTHER law.
For purposes of this section:
(1) "Appropriate sanitary facility" means a urinal, toilet, commode or other facility that accomodates or is designed for the sanitary disposal of human bodily fluids or waste and that is enclosed from public view.
(2) "Public place" means any walkway, street, highway, sidewalk, bridge, overpass, alley or alleyway, plaza, park, driveway, transportation facility, park, recreational area, parking lot, vacant or underdeveloped lot or the stairwells, alcoves, doorways and entrance ways to such places.
Bill No. 2006-40 also states: It is unlawful for any person to knowingly establish, maintain or fail to relocate a temporary, portable or open sleeping quarters within five hundred feet of any deposit of vomit, urine or feces, other than a deposit in an appropriate sanitary facility, in any of the following places: (1) Any public place; or (2) Any private property into or upon which the public is admitted by easement or license.
...misdemeanor...punished by a fine of not more than $1000.000 or by imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or by any combination of such fine and imprisonment.
http://www5.lasvegasnevada.gov/sirepub/cache/1/1ipmie55i5wuqgrc1dagcmiz/6486108172006080426218.PDF
CITY COUNCIL
Ordinance bans public defecation, urination
The Las Vegas City Council unanimously passed a new ordinance Wednesday that outlaws public urination and defecation.
The ordinance was drawn up after judges ruled a previous ordinance was unconstitutional.
The new law makes it a misdemeanor to go to the bathroom in a public place, unless it's in an "appropriate sanitary facility."
The maximum penalty is six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
City marshals used to rely on a law banning "immodest, improper or indecent behavior" to crack down on public urination and defecation, but Las Vegas Municipal Judge Abbi Silver ruled the law was too broad and unconstitutional. District Judge Lee Gates agreed, and the ordinance was thrown out.
The new law originally included a ban on public vomiting, but the council removed that provision at Wednesday's meeting.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Aug-17-Thu-2006/news/9117768.html
Did Willfully and Unlawfully Provide Food
Did Willfully and Unlawfully Provide Food
by Robert Edmonds
Thursday Aug 17th, 2006 8:10 AM
Sonoma County Food Not Bombs Cited For “Providing Food to Indigent” in Las Vegas during protest to end new City of Las Vegas law.
LAS VEGAS, NV— “The Friendly City”, Sin City, whichever you prefer, Las Vegas on July 19th, 2006, passed the first U.S. ordinance to explicitly make sharing food with the poor a crime. In this city where millions of dollars a year are spent on demolishing perfectly intact lodging, people are now criminalized for sharing food. Although many cities have enacted laws that surreptitiously prevent the “indigent” from congregating in the public eye, this is the first time that a city has blatantly codified and enforced open class discrimination against the poor. Never before has the sharing of basic survival necessities, such as food and water, with human beings of a perceived socioeconomic class been so specifically, legally enshrined as a criminal act.
The new ordinance LVMC 13.36.055 prohibits: providing food or meals to the indigent for free or a nominal fee in city parks. The ordinance defines an indigent as a "person whom a reasonable ordinary person would believe to be entitled to apply for or receive assistance" from the government under state law.
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, a vocal advocate of cracking down on the homeless in city parks, dismisses questions about how the homeless will be identified in order to enforce the ordinance, which is punishable by six months in jail and $1000 fine. "Certain truths are self-evident," Goodman said. "You know who's homeless." Goodman’s own humanity is self- evident with statements like, “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 Nov 2005 he suggested in a televised panel discussion that those guilty of graffiti have their thumbs chopped off on television, as well as caning or whipping teen offenders.
The new anti homeless ordinance was prompted by complaints from neighbors of Huntridge Circle Park in Downtown Las Vegas about undesirables gathering and sharing food in the park. They complain that the “soup kitchens” attract the homeless and render the facilities unusable by families. The City’s argument is that feeding people in parks draws them away from social service providers who can meet their other needs, such as treatment for mental health and substance abuse problems.
Advocates argue that services and facilities are often inadequate to meet the needs of Las Vegas 13,000+ homeless and working poor and that outreach is insufficient to connect people with services which are often undignified. Las Vegas Food Not Bombs has been at the park sharing free food, water, clothing and help in locating services every day for the past 14 months.
Food Not Bombs is a national movement started in 1980 with hundreds of autonomous groups whose objective is "sharing free vegetarian food with hungry people and protesting war and poverty." Much of the food that Food Not Bombs shares is food that has been discarded or would otherwise be thrown away.
See http://www.foodnotbombs.net
Several homeless people have recently been arrested in Huntridge Circle Park for violation of park curfew hours. Gail Sacco, of Las Vegas Food Not Bombs, has now been cited twice under a previous ordinance. That ordinance attempts to keep “indigents” from congregating by requiring a permit and insurance for groups larger than 25 individuals to gather in City Parks. Joe Sacco, also of Food Not Bombs, was recently arrested in the park for graffiti while writing “free food” on the sidewalk with big children’s chalk. When Food Not Bombs continued their daily feedings despite this continual harassment, the City quickly enacted the new ordinance to further intimidate the group into leaving the park.
ACLU of Nevada has now filed a Federal lawsuit against Las Vegas City and Police officials charging that the laws violate free speech, free assembly and other rights. The suit was originally filed on behalf of five activists and Las Vegas Food Not Bombs. Local Sonoma County Food Not Bombs members are now joining the lawsuit as plaintiffs. Several members of Northern California’s Sonoma County Food Not Bombs traveled to Las Vegas on August 10th to join in a scheduled protest at Las Vegas City Hall.
During that protest forty to fifty people representing a diverse spectrum of the community gathered at City Hall to openly voice their opposition to the ordinance and share food. The crowd subsequently moved to nearby Frank Wright Park, a city park, to share food in direct defiance of the ordinance. Las Vegas Deputy City Marshals, many of whom refused to identify themselves to observers, ordered participants to cease and desist but did not actively enforce the ordinance at this time.
When it appeared that people in this park had eaten their fill, the food was taken to Huntridge Circle Park. Soon after arriving at the park and food was made available for sharing, City Marshals began enforcement. People gathering to share food were ordered by Marshals to stop eating or face enforcement. Sonoma County Food Not Bombs members Patrick Band and Robert Edmonds were cited under the new ordinance, along with Las Vegas resident Suzie Oliveira. Suzie Oliveira is a Brazilian national who now faces potential Homeland Security visa issues as a result of sharing food.
Those cited have been ordered to appear on October 11th in Las Vegas Municipal Court to answer charges. The summonses read “did willfully or unlawfully provide food or meals to one or more indigent people while within the confines of Huntridge Circle Park as prohibited by LVMC 13.36.055”
Food Not Bombs has been sharing locally in Sonoma County for six years. Hot, free, vegetarian food is offered to all comers every Sunday at 5PM in Santa Rosa’s Courthouse Square. Meals are prepared by volunteers with food that would otherwise go to waste and with donations from individuals. Food Not Bombs calls attention to the inherent contradictions in society's failure to provide food and housing for each of its members. Las Vegas type ordinances can only be stopped from spreading by actively fighting them off now. If you would like more information or to help Sonoma County Food Not Bombs please visit
http://www.scfoodnotbombs.org ,
e-mail fnbsantarosa [at] gmail.com or call 707-292-7642
http://www.scfoodnotbombs.org
Click on Ticket to Enlarge
by Robert Edmonds
Thursday Aug 17th, 2006 8:10 AM
Sonoma County Food Not Bombs Cited For “Providing Food to Indigent” in Las Vegas during protest to end new City of Las Vegas law.
LAS VEGAS, NV— “The Friendly City”, Sin City, whichever you prefer, Las Vegas on July 19th, 2006, passed the first U.S. ordinance to explicitly make sharing food with the poor a crime. In this city where millions of dollars a year are spent on demolishing perfectly intact lodging, people are now criminalized for sharing food. Although many cities have enacted laws that surreptitiously prevent the “indigent” from congregating in the public eye, this is the first time that a city has blatantly codified and enforced open class discrimination against the poor. Never before has the sharing of basic survival necessities, such as food and water, with human beings of a perceived socioeconomic class been so specifically, legally enshrined as a criminal act.
The new ordinance LVMC 13.36.055 prohibits: providing food or meals to the indigent for free or a nominal fee in city parks. The ordinance defines an indigent as a "person whom a reasonable ordinary person would believe to be entitled to apply for or receive assistance" from the government under state law.
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, a vocal advocate of cracking down on the homeless in city parks, dismisses questions about how the homeless will be identified in order to enforce the ordinance, which is punishable by six months in jail and $1000 fine. "Certain truths are self-evident," Goodman said. "You know who's homeless." Goodman’s own humanity is self- evident with statements like, “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 Nov 2005 he suggested in a televised panel discussion that those guilty of graffiti have their thumbs chopped off on television, as well as caning or whipping teen offenders.
The new anti homeless ordinance was prompted by complaints from neighbors of Huntridge Circle Park in Downtown Las Vegas about undesirables gathering and sharing food in the park. They complain that the “soup kitchens” attract the homeless and render the facilities unusable by families. The City’s argument is that feeding people in parks draws them away from social service providers who can meet their other needs, such as treatment for mental health and substance abuse problems.
Advocates argue that services and facilities are often inadequate to meet the needs of Las Vegas 13,000+ homeless and working poor and that outreach is insufficient to connect people with services which are often undignified. Las Vegas Food Not Bombs has been at the park sharing free food, water, clothing and help in locating services every day for the past 14 months.
Food Not Bombs is a national movement started in 1980 with hundreds of autonomous groups whose objective is "sharing free vegetarian food with hungry people and protesting war and poverty." Much of the food that Food Not Bombs shares is food that has been discarded or would otherwise be thrown away.
See http://www.foodnotbombs.net
Several homeless people have recently been arrested in Huntridge Circle Park for violation of park curfew hours. Gail Sacco, of Las Vegas Food Not Bombs, has now been cited twice under a previous ordinance. That ordinance attempts to keep “indigents” from congregating by requiring a permit and insurance for groups larger than 25 individuals to gather in City Parks. Joe Sacco, also of Food Not Bombs, was recently arrested in the park for graffiti while writing “free food” on the sidewalk with big children’s chalk. When Food Not Bombs continued their daily feedings despite this continual harassment, the City quickly enacted the new ordinance to further intimidate the group into leaving the park.
ACLU of Nevada has now filed a Federal lawsuit against Las Vegas City and Police officials charging that the laws violate free speech, free assembly and other rights. The suit was originally filed on behalf of five activists and Las Vegas Food Not Bombs. Local Sonoma County Food Not Bombs members are now joining the lawsuit as plaintiffs. Several members of Northern California’s Sonoma County Food Not Bombs traveled to Las Vegas on August 10th to join in a scheduled protest at Las Vegas City Hall.
During that protest forty to fifty people representing a diverse spectrum of the community gathered at City Hall to openly voice their opposition to the ordinance and share food. The crowd subsequently moved to nearby Frank Wright Park, a city park, to share food in direct defiance of the ordinance. Las Vegas Deputy City Marshals, many of whom refused to identify themselves to observers, ordered participants to cease and desist but did not actively enforce the ordinance at this time.
When it appeared that people in this park had eaten their fill, the food was taken to Huntridge Circle Park. Soon after arriving at the park and food was made available for sharing, City Marshals began enforcement. People gathering to share food were ordered by Marshals to stop eating or face enforcement. Sonoma County Food Not Bombs members Patrick Band and Robert Edmonds were cited under the new ordinance, along with Las Vegas resident Suzie Oliveira. Suzie Oliveira is a Brazilian national who now faces potential Homeland Security visa issues as a result of sharing food.
Those cited have been ordered to appear on October 11th in Las Vegas Municipal Court to answer charges. The summonses read “did willfully or unlawfully provide food or meals to one or more indigent people while within the confines of Huntridge Circle Park as prohibited by LVMC 13.36.055”
Food Not Bombs has been sharing locally in Sonoma County for six years. Hot, free, vegetarian food is offered to all comers every Sunday at 5PM in Santa Rosa’s Courthouse Square. Meals are prepared by volunteers with food that would otherwise go to waste and with donations from individuals. Food Not Bombs calls attention to the inherent contradictions in society's failure to provide food and housing for each of its members. Las Vegas type ordinances can only be stopped from spreading by actively fighting them off now. If you would like more information or to help Sonoma County Food Not Bombs please visit
http://www.scfoodnotbombs.org ,
e-mail fnbsantarosa [at] gmail.com or call 707-292-7642
http://www.scfoodnotbombs.org
Click on Ticket to Enlarge
Friday, August 11, 2006
Protest August 10, 2006
Photos and Media Coverage
Donald, thanks so much for posting the photos. Great job! And thanks for your help and support yesterday. And thanks to EVERYONE for supporting us all one way or another.
It was also great the Sonoma County Food Not Bombs came out for the protest and willingly and proudly took citations!
Food is a Right, not a privilege. City Parks are PUBLIC parks.
Las Vegas, Nevada is NOT Warsaw, Poland.
"Do everything that such a tragedy will never be repeated!" Gela Seksztajn (1907-1942)
More Photos: http://lasvegas.staughton.indypgh.org/news/2006/08/5445.php
Photo Credit: Donald Rilea
Photo Credit: Donald Rilea
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FEEDING THE HOMELESS: Fed up with protests
Marshals cite three, ignore others giving away food at city park
By LYNNETTE CURTIS, REVIEW-JOURNAL
...Las Vegas city marshals on Thursday cited three people for handing out food at Huntridge Circle Park, providing further evidence that the city is serious about enforcing a new ordinance that bars the public from feeding homeless people in city parks.
The citations came after homeless advocates, who had protested the ordinance earlier in the day at Las Vegas City Hall, made their way to the park on Maryland Parkway near Charleston Boulevard and handed out fruit and bread to a handful of about a dozen indigent people there...
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Aug-11-Fri-2006/news/9006813.html
Photo Credit: John Gurzinski, Las Vegas Review Journal
Photo Credit: John Gurzinski, Las Vegas Review Journal
It was also great the Sonoma County Food Not Bombs came out for the protest and willingly and proudly took citations!
Food is a Right, not a privilege. City Parks are PUBLIC parks.
Las Vegas, Nevada is NOT Warsaw, Poland.
"Do everything that such a tragedy will never be repeated!" Gela Seksztajn (1907-1942)
More Photos: http://lasvegas.staughton.indypgh.org/news/2006/08/5445.php
Photo Credit: Donald Rilea
Photo Credit: Donald Rilea
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FEEDING THE HOMELESS: Fed up with protests
Marshals cite three, ignore others giving away food at city park
By LYNNETTE CURTIS, REVIEW-JOURNAL
...Las Vegas city marshals on Thursday cited three people for handing out food at Huntridge Circle Park, providing further evidence that the city is serious about enforcing a new ordinance that bars the public from feeding homeless people in city parks.
The citations came after homeless advocates, who had protested the ordinance earlier in the day at Las Vegas City Hall, made their way to the park on Maryland Parkway near Charleston Boulevard and handed out fruit and bread to a handful of about a dozen indigent people there...
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Aug-11-Fri-2006/news/9006813.html
Photo Credit: John Gurzinski, Las Vegas Review Journal
Photo Credit: John Gurzinski, Las Vegas Review Journal
Monday, August 07, 2006
LINKS to Media Coverage
August 7, 2006
KNPR Today's Edition
We revisit the City of Las Vegas' ban on feeding the Homeless in Public Parks with representatives from the City, neighborhood association, Civil Liberties Union, and homeless advocates.
http://www.knpr.org/son/archive/detail.cfm?programid=827
KOPT, Oregon's Progressive Talk online (Free Registration)
http://www.kopt.com/
click "Listen Online"
click on calendar "August 1"
2006-08-01 - Breakfast with Nancy
click on (Listen to this show!)
Thursday, August 03, 2006
http://www.myspace.com/fnblasvegas
LINKS to Media Coverage of FOOD NOT BOMBS, LV
Category: News and Politics
NY TIMES article- July 28, 2006 -"Ms. Sacco, an advocate for the homeless, scoffed at a city ordinance that goes into effect Friday making it illegal to offer so much as a biscuit to a poor person in a city park."
(Free Registration)
http://tinyurl.com/glsvt
KNPR's State of Nevada -Monday, July 24, 2006: We speak with a City Councilman about the controversial ordinance, unanimously supported by the City Council, to ban the sharing of food with homeless people.
http://www.knpr.org/son/archive/detail.cfm?ProgramID=822
BBC NEWS - "Soup kitchens serving the homeless have been banned in the US city of Las Vegas with fines coming into force for anyone caught giving hand-outs in its parks."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5226490.stm
Salem-News.com -"So I guess the Las Vegas, Nevada city council is anti-veteran too? Thats what it amounts to. They ought to have fun, because there are going to be so many scarred and psychologically damaged veterans from the current war for them to pick on in the future."
http://salem-news.com/articles/july212006/vegas_homeless_72106.php
CBS NEWS -"The suit was filed on behalf of five activists and the local chapter of Food Not Bombs, a national organization that describes its objective as "sharing free vegetarian food with hungry people and protesting war and poverty."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/03/ap/national/mainD8J8M99G0.shtml
USA Religious News - " An official with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) says he's willing to go to jail, if necessary, to oppose a new city ordinance meant to reduce the number of homeless people congregating on the streets of Las Vegas, Nevada."
http://www.usareligiousnews.com/newsArticle.php?ID=664
KVBC News 3 - "A local radio station pushes the limit and breaks the City of Las Vegas' homeless ordinance. On Monday morning, deejays from the classic rock station KKLZ fed the homeless at Frank Wright Park."
http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=5219932&nav=15MV
KLASTV Eyewitness News - "City marshals rounded up homeless people at a downtown Las Vegas park and issued summonses to a TV news crew during a crackdown minutes before a protest against a ban on "mobile soup kitchens."
http://www.klastv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5219534&nav=168Y
KNPR Today's Edition
We revisit the City of Las Vegas' ban on feeding the Homeless in Public Parks with representatives from the City, neighborhood association, Civil Liberties Union, and homeless advocates.
http://www.knpr.org/son/archive/detail.cfm?programid=827
KOPT, Oregon's Progressive Talk online (Free Registration)
http://www.kopt.com/
click "Listen Online"
click on calendar "August 1"
2006-08-01 - Breakfast with Nancy
click on (Listen to this show!)
Thursday, August 03, 2006
http://www.myspace.com/fnblasvegas
LINKS to Media Coverage of FOOD NOT BOMBS, LV
Category: News and Politics
NY TIMES article- July 28, 2006 -"Ms. Sacco, an advocate for the homeless, scoffed at a city ordinance that goes into effect Friday making it illegal to offer so much as a biscuit to a poor person in a city park."
(Free Registration)
http://tinyurl.com/glsvt
KNPR's State of Nevada -Monday, July 24, 2006: We speak with a City Councilman about the controversial ordinance, unanimously supported by the City Council, to ban the sharing of food with homeless people.
http://www.knpr.org/son/archive/detail.cfm?ProgramID=822
BBC NEWS - "Soup kitchens serving the homeless have been banned in the US city of Las Vegas with fines coming into force for anyone caught giving hand-outs in its parks."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5226490.stm
Salem-News.com -"So I guess the Las Vegas, Nevada city council is anti-veteran too? Thats what it amounts to. They ought to have fun, because there are going to be so many scarred and psychologically damaged veterans from the current war for them to pick on in the future."
http://salem-news.com/articles/july212006/vegas_homeless_72106.php
CBS NEWS -"The suit was filed on behalf of five activists and the local chapter of Food Not Bombs, a national organization that describes its objective as "sharing free vegetarian food with hungry people and protesting war and poverty."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/03/ap/national/mainD8J8M99G0.shtml
USA Religious News - " An official with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) says he's willing to go to jail, if necessary, to oppose a new city ordinance meant to reduce the number of homeless people congregating on the streets of Las Vegas, Nevada."
http://www.usareligiousnews.com/newsArticle.php?ID=664
KVBC News 3 - "A local radio station pushes the limit and breaks the City of Las Vegas' homeless ordinance. On Monday morning, deejays from the classic rock station KKLZ fed the homeless at Frank Wright Park."
http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=5219932&nav=15MV
KLASTV Eyewitness News - "City marshals rounded up homeless people at a downtown Las Vegas park and issued summonses to a TV news crew during a crackdown minutes before a protest against a ban on "mobile soup kitchens."
http://www.klastv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5219534&nav=168Y
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Friend of the Homeless and Needy
I am posting this in full without permission because of the time sensitive subject. But I think Tim King will aprove. Thanks so much to Tim and the Salem-News.com
Aug-05-2006 12:07
Food Not Bombs Protests Las Vegas Law Banning Feeding Homeless in City Parks
LAS VEGAS, Nv.
Homeless advocates are a light in this desert town run by a mob lawyer who has a beef with the poor.
(LAS VEGAS, Nv.) - Been to Sin City lately? Do you care about homeless people?
Homeless advocates are inviting the nation to join them for a special demonstration against the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, August 10th, it happens in the wake of a city decision that makes feeding a homeless person in a park against the law.
Advocates for humanity say they have had enough.
Las Vegas homeless advocates Gail Sacco, Lyla Barholomae, and members of the international organization Food Not Bombs will peacefully assemble at Las Vegas City Hall located at 400 Stewart Ave. to assert their Constitutionally-protected rights to help the poor, giving life-sustaining food and water. The demonstration happens August 10th at noon.
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and the Las Vegas City Council unanimously passed an ordinance July 19th, which makes it illegal to share food with poverty-stricken people in any city park.
Despite the new law, many have continued to give food to the poor. Gail Sacco has continued her daily vegetarian picnics with the hungry at Huntridge Circle Park in downtown Las Vegas despite harassment from both police and park marshals.
On July 31st, Beth Monk- a local radio personality of 96.3 KKLZ- became the first person to be cited under the newest anti-homeless ordinance. Six other people were issued citations and three arrests were made when the radio station and other individuals attempted to serve free donuts and water at Frank Wright Plaza, a city park which is located next to Las Vegas City Hall.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada has now filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Las Vegas. According to Lee Rowland of the ACLU, the ordinance violates an individual's constitutional rights to free speech, assembly, exercise of religion, due process of law and equal protection under the law.
Food Not Bombs is one of the fastest growing revolutionary movements and is gaining momentum throughout the world. There are hundreds of autonomous chapters sharing free vegetarian food with hungry people and protesting war and poverty.
This energetic grassroots movement is active throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.
Food Not Bombs is organizing for peace and an end to the occupations of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. For over 25 years the movement has worked to end hunger and has supported actions to stop the globalization of the economy, restrictions to the movements of people, end exploitation and the destruction of the earth.
For years, homeless people in Las Vegas have had to watch their backs. Many of the homeless men served in a war called Vietnam, and in recent years the vets have become favored targets of "bum rolling" which is often a very slow. pre-meditated murder, committed through the use of pipes, clubs and shopping carts heaved onto people, generally by Las Vegas teens.
Now, homeless people have to watch their backs just to accept a gift of food and it is pathetic. Can Las Vegas cops with such a jaded departmental history, really feel good about this?
Mob lawyer-turned-Sin City Mayor Oscar Goodman, advocated for the coldest blooded killers who ever walked the face of the earth during his career, mrderers like Tony "the Ant" Spilotro, who doubled as mob burglars, real proud suff, eh?
Metro cops should remember that there were plenty of German SS troops who said no to killing Jewish people in the 30's and 40's. Many if not most were taken out, literally, and their choice to accept death rather than handing it out, was correct.
It seems that our greedy society, typified by the gambling of Vegas, needless war against other nations, and a continuing spiral into poverty, may be nearing the point where people take the power back. Good luck Gail, Beth and everyone else who is fighting this un-American, non-Christian law. I think you are going to have a big turnout August 10th.
Tim King contributed to this report.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/august052006/vegas_protest_8506.php
"Just being emotional and not thinking rationally"
[QUOTE=jmichael] Those who condemn the Mayor for the "homeless" ordinance are just being emotional. They are not thinking rationally. The Mayor is arguing that there are better places, with more extensive services, where the (homeless) can be served more than just a meal.
Mom: This is more than an "emotional" issue. The homeless have been at the park for many years now, with or without food. The mayor's argument "that there are better places" has nothing to do with the new unconstitutional, unfair, discriminatory ordinance. The new ordinance is saying that one can share food with someone who has money but not with anyone who is poor based on how one looks.
The homeless who do not go to the social service center in the Corridor will still not go to the social service center because of this new ordinance. Chronic homeless need daily outreach which the city, county, and state either cannot or will not provide.
[quote] Probably 90 to 99 percent of the subjects are not homeless. 90 to 99 percent are vagrants. They contribute nothing to the community and are not entitled, constitutionally or otherwise, to any services other than that which the city is generously willing to provide.
Mom: These are absolutely false statements. There are plenty of websites available for you to educate yourself on the statistics of homelessness. One-third of our homeless are veterans. And one-third of our homeless are made up of families with children.
[quote] If these kind souls who wish to feed the vagrants of this city really wanted to help they should open their homes to these individuals and allow them to bathe before receiving a free meal. Going to a city park and throwing crumbs to these people is no different than just feeding the pigeons. It just makes you feel good. But it masks the problem that these souls need more than just food.
Mom: We DO open up our homes to these individuals and "allow" them to bathe. We do not just go and "throw crumbs" to these people. We share food, water, clothing, and hope along with many other things. We provide transportation to social services, DMV, social security, medical clinics, detox, etc. We get them into housing as best we can with the housing crisis that we have. We help them to obtain identification and jobs for those who are not already working.
Forty percent of the homeless DO have jobs. We help the best we can with soap, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. We do this without taxpayers' money or government grants.
Many of the folks we help at the park are NOT homeless but desperately needy. We help as many as possible into government services, those who qualify for assistance.
Some are alcohol or drug dependent. Most are not. Some have mental health problems. Many have cancer, arthritis, and seizures. Most who do get a check of some sort, get under $500 a month and do not qualify for any rent assistance.
Panhandlers make up about two percent.
This new ordinance proposed by the city attorney and endorsed by the mayor and the city council (minus Lois T. who was not present for the vote) is meant as a distraction from the fact that the City of Las Vegas does NOT have adequate social services. And, they are trying to put the blame for the huge Las Vegas homeless problem on good samaritans.
What's the Difference, BY CHIP MOSHER
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..."
-- Declaration of Independence, 1776
"Certain truths are self-evident. You know who's homeless."
-- Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman, 2006
http://www.lasvegascitylife.com/articles/2006/08/03/opinion/socrates_in_sodom/socrates.txt
JOHN L. SMITH: Failure to keep mouth in check on homelessness turns mayor into clown
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Aug-01-Tue-2006/news/8812275.html
Above conversation posted at: http://eforum.reviewjournal.com/lv/showthread.php?p=154725#post154725
Mom: This is more than an "emotional" issue. The homeless have been at the park for many years now, with or without food. The mayor's argument "that there are better places" has nothing to do with the new unconstitutional, unfair, discriminatory ordinance. The new ordinance is saying that one can share food with someone who has money but not with anyone who is poor based on how one looks.
The homeless who do not go to the social service center in the Corridor will still not go to the social service center because of this new ordinance. Chronic homeless need daily outreach which the city, county, and state either cannot or will not provide.
[quote] Probably 90 to 99 percent of the subjects are not homeless. 90 to 99 percent are vagrants. They contribute nothing to the community and are not entitled, constitutionally or otherwise, to any services other than that which the city is generously willing to provide.
Mom: These are absolutely false statements. There are plenty of websites available for you to educate yourself on the statistics of homelessness. One-third of our homeless are veterans. And one-third of our homeless are made up of families with children.
[quote] If these kind souls who wish to feed the vagrants of this city really wanted to help they should open their homes to these individuals and allow them to bathe before receiving a free meal. Going to a city park and throwing crumbs to these people is no different than just feeding the pigeons. It just makes you feel good. But it masks the problem that these souls need more than just food.
Mom: We DO open up our homes to these individuals and "allow" them to bathe. We do not just go and "throw crumbs" to these people. We share food, water, clothing, and hope along with many other things. We provide transportation to social services, DMV, social security, medical clinics, detox, etc. We get them into housing as best we can with the housing crisis that we have. We help them to obtain identification and jobs for those who are not already working.
Forty percent of the homeless DO have jobs. We help the best we can with soap, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. We do this without taxpayers' money or government grants.
Many of the folks we help at the park are NOT homeless but desperately needy. We help as many as possible into government services, those who qualify for assistance.
Some are alcohol or drug dependent. Most are not. Some have mental health problems. Many have cancer, arthritis, and seizures. Most who do get a check of some sort, get under $500 a month and do not qualify for any rent assistance.
Panhandlers make up about two percent.
This new ordinance proposed by the city attorney and endorsed by the mayor and the city council (minus Lois T. who was not present for the vote) is meant as a distraction from the fact that the City of Las Vegas does NOT have adequate social services. And, they are trying to put the blame for the huge Las Vegas homeless problem on good samaritans.
What's the Difference, BY CHIP MOSHER
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..."
-- Declaration of Independence, 1776
"Certain truths are self-evident. You know who's homeless."
-- Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman, 2006
http://www.lasvegascitylife.com/articles/2006/08/03/opinion/socrates_in_sodom/socrates.txt
JOHN L. SMITH: Failure to keep mouth in check on homelessness turns mayor into clown
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Aug-01-Tue-2006/news/8812275.html
Above conversation posted at: http://eforum.reviewjournal.com/lv/showthread.php?p=154725#post154725
Friday, August 04, 2006
2006 African Conference on Formal Consensus
and Nonviolent Social Change
2006 African Conference on Formal Consensus and Nonviolent Social
Change
November 24 - December 1, 2006 - Lagos, Nigeria
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/2006_conference.html
The G-8 and international business interests have made very little headway towards ending hunger and poverty in Africa. We believe a grassroots effort is the most effective way to improve conditions for the people of Africa. Volunteers with Food Not Bombs and Indymedia will host the 2006 African Conference on Formal Consensus and Nonviolent Social Change.
Community activists from all across Africa are invited to Lagos, Nigeria to study the democratic decision making process of Formal Consensus and share strategies and techniques for nonviolent solutions to Africa's social problems. Africa is on the verge of an exciting new era of social transformation. Nonviolent horizontal structures of grassroots community development have caught the attention of Africans of every social class. The conference will have workshops on many subjects like Formal Consensus, women's empowerment, vegetarian cooking, bicycle powered water pumping and electric generation, community healthcare, FM radio broadcasting and web-based community organizing.
The week long conference has the support of many African organizations and prominent people including the National Association of Nigerian Students, The Nigerian Network of NGOs, the Association For Women's Rights in Development, Alesa Eleme's Elder Igwe Ejireyi, the musician Charly Boy, Nigerian Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe and The Special Assistant to the President On Food Security Mrs. M. Oluwatoyin Adtunji. Food Not Bombs cofounders C.T. Lawrence Butler and Keith McHenry will be among the facilitators at the conference. Mr. Butler will teach a comprehensive workshop on Formal Consensus based on his book On Conflict and Consensus. Bikes Not Bombs, Hesperian Books and many other communy groups will also provide information at this conference. Food Not Bombs chapters from Ibadan, Owerri, Jos, Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Calabar are eager to help coordinate the logistics for food, housing and West African outreach.
On Nigerian Independence Day there will be a large concert celebrating the power of Africans to build a better future. West African musician Charly Boy and many other local artists will perform live at one of the large stadiums in Lagos to close the conference. After that Keith McHenry will join local activist on a tour of West Africa visiting local Food Not Bombs chapters and assisting those starting Indymedia collectives. This conference was proposed in March 2006 by Food Not
Bombs organizers in Nigeria and some Indymedia activists from Africa and the US. West Africans are on the threshold of an exciting new era and your support of this groundbreaking event can make a difference. The 2006 African Conference on Formal Consensus and Nonviolent Social Change will set a solid foundation for this bright future for Africa.
To help us organize the 2006 African Conference on Formal Consensus and Nonviolent Social Change please make a donation. It is very expensive to organize this important conference so please make as large a donation as possible.
PARTICIPATE Get updates and offer your ideas by joining list serv for this conference.
http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/africanconsensus
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/2006_conference.html
The West African Organizing Collective and Lagos office:
No. 10 Ayodele Ojo Street
Off Coker Road
Ilupeju Estate in Ilupeju, Lagos, Nigeria
Yinka Dada +234-803-487-0077
Idowu Israel +234-802-833-0270
yinkadada77@yahoo.co.uk
israelfnbo6@yahoo.co.uk
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/2006_conference.html
Food Not Bombs
P.O. Box 744
Tucson, AZ 85702
2006_africa@foodnotbombs.net
www.foodnotbombs.net
Change
November 24 - December 1, 2006 - Lagos, Nigeria
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/2006_conference.html
The G-8 and international business interests have made very little headway towards ending hunger and poverty in Africa. We believe a grassroots effort is the most effective way to improve conditions for the people of Africa. Volunteers with Food Not Bombs and Indymedia will host the 2006 African Conference on Formal Consensus and Nonviolent Social Change.
Community activists from all across Africa are invited to Lagos, Nigeria to study the democratic decision making process of Formal Consensus and share strategies and techniques for nonviolent solutions to Africa's social problems. Africa is on the verge of an exciting new era of social transformation. Nonviolent horizontal structures of grassroots community development have caught the attention of Africans of every social class. The conference will have workshops on many subjects like Formal Consensus, women's empowerment, vegetarian cooking, bicycle powered water pumping and electric generation, community healthcare, FM radio broadcasting and web-based community organizing.
The week long conference has the support of many African organizations and prominent people including the National Association of Nigerian Students, The Nigerian Network of NGOs, the Association For Women's Rights in Development, Alesa Eleme's Elder Igwe Ejireyi, the musician Charly Boy, Nigerian Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe and The Special Assistant to the President On Food Security Mrs. M. Oluwatoyin Adtunji. Food Not Bombs cofounders C.T. Lawrence Butler and Keith McHenry will be among the facilitators at the conference. Mr. Butler will teach a comprehensive workshop on Formal Consensus based on his book On Conflict and Consensus. Bikes Not Bombs, Hesperian Books and many other communy groups will also provide information at this conference. Food Not Bombs chapters from Ibadan, Owerri, Jos, Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Calabar are eager to help coordinate the logistics for food, housing and West African outreach.
On Nigerian Independence Day there will be a large concert celebrating the power of Africans to build a better future. West African musician Charly Boy and many other local artists will perform live at one of the large stadiums in Lagos to close the conference. After that Keith McHenry will join local activist on a tour of West Africa visiting local Food Not Bombs chapters and assisting those starting Indymedia collectives. This conference was proposed in March 2006 by Food Not
Bombs organizers in Nigeria and some Indymedia activists from Africa and the US. West Africans are on the threshold of an exciting new era and your support of this groundbreaking event can make a difference. The 2006 African Conference on Formal Consensus and Nonviolent Social Change will set a solid foundation for this bright future for Africa.
To help us organize the 2006 African Conference on Formal Consensus and Nonviolent Social Change please make a donation. It is very expensive to organize this important conference so please make as large a donation as possible.
PARTICIPATE Get updates and offer your ideas by joining list serv for this conference.
http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/africanconsensus
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/2006_conference.html
The West African Organizing Collective and Lagos office:
No. 10 Ayodele Ojo Street
Off Coker Road
Ilupeju Estate in Ilupeju, Lagos, Nigeria
Yinka Dada +234-803-487-0077
Idowu Israel +234-802-833-0270
yinkadada77@yahoo.co.uk
israelfnbo6@yahoo.co.uk
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/2006_conference.html
Food Not Bombs
P.O. Box 744
Tucson, AZ 85702
2006_africa@foodnotbombs.net
www.foodnotbombs.net
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Chip was pulling my leg-
Fantastic Writing!
Las Vegas City Life, What's the difference?
by Chip Mosher
Here is one of the BEST writings I have ever read. Not because it is about me. But this had me so interested right from the beginning.
I was being pulled to keep reading, sentence by sentence. The facts were great!
Chip, you were pulling my leg, right? (Private conversation, this will be a private joke from now on.)
Steve would be proud of you! :)
http://www.lasvegascitylife.com/articles/2006/08/03/opinion/socrates_in_sodom/socrates.txt
I was being pulled to keep reading, sentence by sentence. The facts were great!
Chip, you were pulling my leg, right? (Private conversation, this will be a private joke from now on.)
Steve would be proud of you! :)
http://www.lasvegascitylife.com/articles/2006/08/03/opinion/socrates_in_sodom/socrates.txt
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Protest August 10, 2006
Food is a Right, Not a Privilege
Thursday, August 10, 2006 at NOON at Las Vegas
City Hall, 400 Stewart Ave., Las Vegas, Nevada.
The people of Las Vegas demand Food Not Bombs for our 13,000 + homeless and poverty stricken folks.
A newly passed city ordinance, Bill No. 2006-37 prohibits sharing food with the homeless in OUR public parks.
Not only does this ordinance prohibit sharing food with the homeless, it prohibits sharing with ANY person "whom a reasonable ordinary person would believe to be entitled to apply for or receive assistance" from the government under state law.
Stand in solidarity! This is not only a homeless issue. This is a human rights issue which affects us ALL.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Great Article #3 ABC News.com
Not to exclude all the great artices that have been written in the past, but I would like to share a few of the latest great articles here- in no particular order.
First, thank you to the writers/reporters/editors of the Las Vegas City Life, Las Vegas Sun, and the Las Vegas Review Journal who have kept the homeless/poverty issue out in the media.
I know I have written personally to some of you in the past, and please forgive me if I haven't. You, the media, will be the true heroes when we bring about positive, social changes. Thank you.
Feed the Hungry, Go to Jail?
Vegas Mayor Bans Volunteer Food Programs in Public Parks
By ANGIE GANGI
July 28, 2006 — Homeless advocates in Las Vegas have been told to stop giving food to the hungry in public parks or risk going to jail.
The Las Vegas City Council unanimously passed an ordinance last week that makes it illegal to feed the homeless in any city park.
Las Vegas officials and homeless advocates say they want to help the homeless, but their conflicting views on how to help have become a legal and political battle.
To read the full article:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2248418&page=1
First, thank you to the writers/reporters/editors of the Las Vegas City Life, Las Vegas Sun, and the Las Vegas Review Journal who have kept the homeless/poverty issue out in the media.
I know I have written personally to some of you in the past, and please forgive me if I haven't. You, the media, will be the true heroes when we bring about positive, social changes. Thank you.
Feed the Hungry, Go to Jail?
Vegas Mayor Bans Volunteer Food Programs in Public Parks
By ANGIE GANGI
July 28, 2006 — Homeless advocates in Las Vegas have been told to stop giving food to the hungry in public parks or risk going to jail.
The Las Vegas City Council unanimously passed an ordinance last week that makes it illegal to feed the homeless in any city park.
Las Vegas officials and homeless advocates say they want to help the homeless, but their conflicting views on how to help have become a legal and political battle.
To read the full article:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2248418&page=1
Great Article #2 Salem-News.com
Not to exclude all the great artices that have been written in the past, but I would like to share a few of the latest great articles here- in no particular order.
First, thank you to the writers/reporters/editors of the Las Vegas City Life, Las Vegas Sun, and the Las Vegas Review Journal who have kept the homeless/poverty issue out in the media.
I know I have written personally to some of you in the past, and please forgive me if I haven't. You, the media, will be the true heroes when we bring about positive, social changes. Thank you.
Op-Ed: New Las Vegas Law Against Feeding Homeless Underscores City's Real Motivations
Op-Ed by: Tim King Salem-News.com
The city most efficient at creating homeless people now says they will arrest you if you feed them.
(SALEM) - The city council of Las Vegas, Nevada took down the town's typical facade this week, when they voted to make it illegal to feed homeless people in a park. No glitz, no neon, just the real heart of America's cruelest city laid open like a book.
Now I readily admit that I am no fan of Las Vegas, having survived five years in TV news there between '96 and '01 working for both the NBC affiliate and the FOX station. I think I could say that for the most part, I saw it all.
There just isn't a place that measures up to Vegas when it comes to certain things, like homeless people. The place is designed to create homeless people, and now the city is legislating the starvation of those who lose it all.
To read the full article:
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/july212006/vegas_homeless_72106.php
First, thank you to the writers/reporters/editors of the Las Vegas City Life, Las Vegas Sun, and the Las Vegas Review Journal who have kept the homeless/poverty issue out in the media.
I know I have written personally to some of you in the past, and please forgive me if I haven't. You, the media, will be the true heroes when we bring about positive, social changes. Thank you.
Op-Ed: New Las Vegas Law Against Feeding Homeless Underscores City's Real Motivations
Op-Ed by: Tim King Salem-News.com
The city most efficient at creating homeless people now says they will arrest you if you feed them.
(SALEM) - The city council of Las Vegas, Nevada took down the town's typical facade this week, when they voted to make it illegal to feed homeless people in a park. No glitz, no neon, just the real heart of America's cruelest city laid open like a book.
Now I readily admit that I am no fan of Las Vegas, having survived five years in TV news there between '96 and '01 working for both the NBC affiliate and the FOX station. I think I could say that for the most part, I saw it all.
There just isn't a place that measures up to Vegas when it comes to certain things, like homeless people. The place is designed to create homeless people, and now the city is legislating the starvation of those who lose it all.
To read the full article:
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/july212006/vegas_homeless_72106.php
Great Article #1 Las Vegas City Life
Not to exclude all the great artices that have been written in the past, but I would like to share a few of the latest great articles here- in no particular order.
First, thank you to the writers/reporters/editors of the Las Vegas City Life, Las Vegas Sun, and the Las Vegas Review Journal who have kept the homeless/poverty issue out in the media.
I know I have written personally to some of you in the past, and please forgive me if I haven't. You, the media, will be the true heroes when we bring about positive, social changes. Thank you.
Mean old town, Las Vegas City Life
by Meredith McGhan
For a nation based on Judeo-Christian values, or so say its staunchest patriots, we're not an awfully compassionate lot. Just look at the homeless-hating in the letters sections of local media or issuing like bile from the mouth of our mayor. Far be it from me, a person with little inclination toward organized religion, to try to tell others to act more Christian. But for God's sake, people, if you're going to push the whole Yahweh-destroyed-Sodom schtick, then give equal time to this quote from Matthew, where Jesus says: "If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give it to the poor, and then you will have treasure in Heaven." (Matthew 19:21).
To read the full article:
http://lasvegascitylife.com/articles/2006/07/27/opinion/all_tomorrows_parties/atp.txt
First, thank you to the writers/reporters/editors of the Las Vegas City Life, Las Vegas Sun, and the Las Vegas Review Journal who have kept the homeless/poverty issue out in the media.
I know I have written personally to some of you in the past, and please forgive me if I haven't. You, the media, will be the true heroes when we bring about positive, social changes. Thank you.
Mean old town, Las Vegas City Life
by Meredith McGhan
For a nation based on Judeo-Christian values, or so say its staunchest patriots, we're not an awfully compassionate lot. Just look at the homeless-hating in the letters sections of local media or issuing like bile from the mouth of our mayor. Far be it from me, a person with little inclination toward organized religion, to try to tell others to act more Christian. But for God's sake, people, if you're going to push the whole Yahweh-destroyed-Sodom schtick, then give equal time to this quote from Matthew, where Jesus says: "If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give it to the poor, and then you will have treasure in Heaven." (Matthew 19:21).
To read the full article:
http://lasvegascitylife.com/articles/2006/07/27/opinion/all_tomorrows_parties/atp.txt
Question for City Attorney Brad Jerbic
Dear Mr. Jerbic,
When did the City try to "negotiate" with me. And which mission offered me the use of their facility?
Well, this is something else. I am fifty years old and the politicians and lawyers still surprise me.
This is the second time that City Attorney Brad Jerbic has outright lied (or spread bad information around?) about anyone offering to "help" me.
BBC, THe World Tonight, Friday edition:
(this broadcast will be available for 7 days)
Beginning of segment: Playing time 16:20:46
Jerbic: (Playing time 16:26:30)
...the missions that have kitchens that provide food have offered Ms. Sacco an opportunity to work with them and use their abundant facilities to provide more meals.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/worldtonight/
City Attorney Brad Jerbic said the city tried to negotiate with the ACLU and Sacco, including attempting to find a place where Sacco could provide food to the homeless.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jul-20-Thu-2006/news/8589438.html
When did the City try to "negotiate" with me. And which mission offered me the use of their facility?
Well, this is something else. I am fifty years old and the politicians and lawyers still surprise me.
This is the second time that City Attorney Brad Jerbic has outright lied (or spread bad information around?) about anyone offering to "help" me.
BBC, THe World Tonight, Friday edition:
(this broadcast will be available for 7 days)
Beginning of segment: Playing time 16:20:46
Jerbic: (Playing time 16:26:30)
...the missions that have kitchens that provide food have offered Ms. Sacco an opportunity to work with them and use their abundant facilities to provide more meals.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/worldtonight/
City Attorney Brad Jerbic said the city tried to negotiate with the ACLU and Sacco, including attempting to find a place where Sacco could provide food to the homeless.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jul-20-Thu-2006/news/8589438.html
Friday, July 28, 2006
First Day for New Ordinance,
Can't share food with the Needy
Yesterday, we went to the park as usual. "I" had not decided what "I" was going to do, whether to share in the park or on the sidewalk across the street from the park.
Sometimes we have a plan. Sometimes we don't. This was a minute by minute plan.
I thought we should share on the sidewalk to show how foolish the new ordinance is. And that it would "look worse" for the city that so many people in cars could actually SEE homeless people. (Oh my!) But I didn't want anyone to get hit by a car crossing this busy street, or get arrested for jaywalking or impeding pedestrian traffic-- even though there are very few pedestrians in this area.
I get uneasy with the media when they portray us as "openly defying" the city ordinance.
I think Ryan said it best.
From the Las Vegas Review Journal:
"...But for the activists who brought the meal and those eating, it was simply sustenance.
"I wouldn't call this civil disobedience," said Ryan Staples, an activist with Food Not Bombs. "It's not civil disobedience when you've been doing something for years, and someone suddenly passes an ordinance that says it's illegal."
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jul-28-Fri-2006/news/8752502.html
Mom: Food is a Right, not a privilege. Food and water are necessary to simply survive. No one has a right to target one specific group and tell them where they can eat and where they cannot eat. If it's good for one then it's good for all.
Sometimes we have a plan. Sometimes we don't. This was a minute by minute plan.
I thought we should share on the sidewalk to show how foolish the new ordinance is. And that it would "look worse" for the city that so many people in cars could actually SEE homeless people. (Oh my!) But I didn't want anyone to get hit by a car crossing this busy street, or get arrested for jaywalking or impeding pedestrian traffic-- even though there are very few pedestrians in this area.
I get uneasy with the media when they portray us as "openly defying" the city ordinance.
I think Ryan said it best.
From the Las Vegas Review Journal:
"...But for the activists who brought the meal and those eating, it was simply sustenance.
"I wouldn't call this civil disobedience," said Ryan Staples, an activist with Food Not Bombs. "It's not civil disobedience when you've been doing something for years, and someone suddenly passes an ordinance that says it's illegal."
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jul-28-Fri-2006/news/8752502.html
Mom: Food is a Right, not a privilege. Food and water are necessary to simply survive. No one has a right to target one specific group and tell them where they can eat and where they cannot eat. If it's good for one then it's good for all.
NY Times, We do not share meat
Click on the title to view the article.
NY Times:
Well, except for the part that says: Gail Sacco pulled green grapes, bread,
"lunch meat" they almost got it right.
We do not share MEAT with hungry folks. We serve mostly vegan and sometimes
vegetarian food.
You know the reasons so I won't go into it here.
We never serve meat or fish or dairy unless our pantry is bare which is not
very often. And we will only serve it if it is "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
NY Times:
Well, except for the part that says: Gail Sacco pulled green grapes, bread,
"lunch meat" they almost got it right.
We do not share MEAT with hungry folks. We serve mostly vegan and sometimes
vegetarian food.
You know the reasons so I won't go into it here.
We never serve meat or fish or dairy unless our pantry is bare which is not
very often. And we will only serve it if it is "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
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
What it's like in jail - for those wondering
What it's like in jail - for those wondering:
Written by Josh, Thu, 13 Jul 2006
The security guard and I had a long talk as we waited for the police to arrive at Meadows Mall. He told me of being in war, and that he believed in the LORD. As people walked by us I would hand out gospel tracts. The security officer said he would not physically try and stop me, but would only verbally tell me to stop. It was a humorous moment, but I could also see frustration on his face as I continued to share the good news in his presence.
I remember the police feeling they had much better things to do than fool with me when they arrived on the scene. I told them I felt I was doing nothing wrong, and that they did not have to arrest me. It was their choice. After they explained to me the mall policies, I remained firm, and told them to arrest me if they must, but that I didn't believe I was doing anything wrong. In anger and frustration, one officer began to cuff me and go through my belongings as if I was a drug dealer. The Christian man who worked in the mall, Gabriel, waved and watched me being led away in handcuffs, and I wondered what must have been going through his mind, knowing I was only passing out gospel tracts in Meadows Mall.
One officer tried to blame me once outside the mall in the parking lot, saying, "GOD would not be proud of you right now". I asked him if he thought GOD would be proud of him for arresting me, GOD's servant. After treating me a little more abusively, the angry police officer put me in the [police] car. The angry officer said, "Now you have to get in the hot police car." I told him it would be much hotter in hell. After some time, I began to pray for the police, and for satan to be bound. I began to praise GOD in the back of the police car, and felt GOD working a great deal on my heart. I began to weep, and prayed GOD would save the souls of the police, and prayed many other prayers as well. I was eventually moved out of the angry officers car, and into the kinder officers car, who played jazz music and opened the rear windows for me to get some cool air. This helped me relax, and before leaving the Mall I let both officers and a security guard know I wished no evil on them, and that I would pray for them. I told them it was a blessing to meet them, and truly it was. I could see in thier hearts a desire to do what was right, but frustration at me, who seemed to be causing conflict within their spirit. They could see I was harming no one, yet were compelled to arrest me ( most likely in order to keep their job.)
By the time we separated, I felt a great peace among us, each of us doing what we believed our job was without any more arguing. Much respect was given me eventually by the officers (they even put me in the shade while doing their paper work), and the officers let me know they hoped the best for me. The security guard said he would put in a word that I was pleasant and not difficult also. Other than this conflict of my preaching, I believe we would have gotten along quite well. (Personally I believe the LORD would probably go into one of these Babylonian malls and start turning over tables of money changers, but I don't have that level of faith. I do pray GOD would help me gain more of HIS mind.)
I saw many in jail who I knew, some in for repeat offenses, others still waiting to be released from the last time I'd been with them in jail (for sleeping outside). As I was led into the first holding cell with my "JESUS saves from Hell" shirt on, I praised GOD that the police did not force me to take this shirt off so I could witness with it to police and prisoners also. One officer who remembered me from before asked why I was back. I told him I had been witnessing for JESUS at meadows mall. He said with a smile, "Las Vegas doesn't want to get saved". I sure hope this is not always the case. Another Asian officer kindly smiled when he saw me, and then read my shirt. I praised GOD for this chance to witness to him! In the holding cell I counted about 30 people all in a room that was the size of about two bathrooms put together. Before going to the holding cell I was seated on a bench right inside the door with some others who were arrested.
One man came in with a breathing tube in his neck, and seemed to be fighting the officer who was trying to control him. Others came in who seemed like they were just driving home from work, and were caught for having a suspended license or some other small offense. Some came in high on some drug, without shirts, stumbling and confused. There were two toilets in the holding cell I was brought into, and some were sleeping under benches on the dirty floor in the room. After hours of being in this room (probably the worst place of all in the jail), we were finger printed, given a TB test and brief medical exam (the doctor said I had the heart of a 20 year old- praise GOD!) given our orange jail jump suits and sandals, and taken to our cells.
One man in jail suggested a boycott of Meadows Mall when I told him what happened. Others could not believe I would be in jail for something like passing out gospel tracts encouraging people to stay away from alcohol, and follow JESUS. In the cell I went to where there were 4 other me (Unit 5,cell 422), I met a man named Eduardo who struggled with alcohol (he nearly died in a drunk driving accident), and was a Christian. We prayed together, and if you can, please pray GOD gives him great help to overcome alcohol. Please pray his sister/family is freed from drugs also, and given new life in CHRIST. The hours seemed to drag on as I waited to be released after seeing Judge Brown on June 12th (TV court), who released me once he saw I never missed a court date, and I had no real criminal background. Judge Brown seemed much better than Judge Assad, and normally deals with those who are deemed mentally weak (some call it "crazy court"). The court Physchologist moved me from this court to department one, so I will be seeing Judge Toy Gregory on August 18th. (It's interesting to me that the same court Physchologist had first said I was capable to stand trial in one case, then incompetent in another, and now believes I am capable to stand trial again in this case! What is this Physchologist using to determine sanity?)
Please pray Toy dismisses this case, and pray I am a good witness to him also. I know many of you wonder what it's like in jail, never having been there, so I decided to go into more detail regarding this place. It is very trying for those who enjoy peace and quiet (like me), since some inmates (especially the young ones) can be very loud and rude sometimes - especially when you get a large group of them together! It takes a great deal of patience with others in order to not lash out at them (Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do), and I praise GOD so far I have been strong enough to keep from getting into any type of physical altercation. I must admit I have often gotten very angry when other inmates curse and do/say rude things, and I will often go into a sermon right then and there. Usually the inmates listen, but I have had those who seem to act even more wickedly after I try and correct them (unfortunately). More often then not, I would say most inmates are open to discussion about GOD since they have little hope anywhere else, and know what it's like to be broken. Many have families, and are hurting deeply inside. The jail is not just filled with tough guys, but with people who are weak, and have addictions. The same people you will see outside of jail, you will find inside jail, including business owners, students, Mothers, Fathers, etc. Many are just like you and me. I want you to know there are many Christians in jail also, which is why we should remember Hebrews 13:3, and pray GOD sets the captives free.
There are few books worth reading in Las Vegas city jail, and few officers that truly seem concerned about the treatment of people in jail (please pray this changes). Please pray the inmates become peaceful also. Please pray those running these jails will educate people on how to stay free from addiction, and give them many more resources and help while in jail to gain strength and peace in CHRIST. If these officers/judges were put in jail themselves for a day or two, I'm sure their attitudes would change, and they would be much more merciful. If you have other questions regarding jail, this experience or others I've had, please feel free to ask, and I hope to hear from you soon!
Your coworker in CHRIST JESUS,
Roussan Joshua Collins (when I am weak, then I am strong)
Written by Josh, Thu, 13 Jul 2006
The security guard and I had a long talk as we waited for the police to arrive at Meadows Mall. He told me of being in war, and that he believed in the LORD. As people walked by us I would hand out gospel tracts. The security officer said he would not physically try and stop me, but would only verbally tell me to stop. It was a humorous moment, but I could also see frustration on his face as I continued to share the good news in his presence.
I remember the police feeling they had much better things to do than fool with me when they arrived on the scene. I told them I felt I was doing nothing wrong, and that they did not have to arrest me. It was their choice. After they explained to me the mall policies, I remained firm, and told them to arrest me if they must, but that I didn't believe I was doing anything wrong. In anger and frustration, one officer began to cuff me and go through my belongings as if I was a drug dealer. The Christian man who worked in the mall, Gabriel, waved and watched me being led away in handcuffs, and I wondered what must have been going through his mind, knowing I was only passing out gospel tracts in Meadows Mall.
One officer tried to blame me once outside the mall in the parking lot, saying, "GOD would not be proud of you right now". I asked him if he thought GOD would be proud of him for arresting me, GOD's servant. After treating me a little more abusively, the angry police officer put me in the [police] car. The angry officer said, "Now you have to get in the hot police car." I told him it would be much hotter in hell. After some time, I began to pray for the police, and for satan to be bound. I began to praise GOD in the back of the police car, and felt GOD working a great deal on my heart. I began to weep, and prayed GOD would save the souls of the police, and prayed many other prayers as well. I was eventually moved out of the angry officers car, and into the kinder officers car, who played jazz music and opened the rear windows for me to get some cool air. This helped me relax, and before leaving the Mall I let both officers and a security guard know I wished no evil on them, and that I would pray for them. I told them it was a blessing to meet them, and truly it was. I could see in thier hearts a desire to do what was right, but frustration at me, who seemed to be causing conflict within their spirit. They could see I was harming no one, yet were compelled to arrest me ( most likely in order to keep their job.)
By the time we separated, I felt a great peace among us, each of us doing what we believed our job was without any more arguing. Much respect was given me eventually by the officers (they even put me in the shade while doing their paper work), and the officers let me know they hoped the best for me. The security guard said he would put in a word that I was pleasant and not difficult also. Other than this conflict of my preaching, I believe we would have gotten along quite well. (Personally I believe the LORD would probably go into one of these Babylonian malls and start turning over tables of money changers, but I don't have that level of faith. I do pray GOD would help me gain more of HIS mind.)
I saw many in jail who I knew, some in for repeat offenses, others still waiting to be released from the last time I'd been with them in jail (for sleeping outside). As I was led into the first holding cell with my "JESUS saves from Hell" shirt on, I praised GOD that the police did not force me to take this shirt off so I could witness with it to police and prisoners also. One officer who remembered me from before asked why I was back. I told him I had been witnessing for JESUS at meadows mall. He said with a smile, "Las Vegas doesn't want to get saved". I sure hope this is not always the case. Another Asian officer kindly smiled when he saw me, and then read my shirt. I praised GOD for this chance to witness to him! In the holding cell I counted about 30 people all in a room that was the size of about two bathrooms put together. Before going to the holding cell I was seated on a bench right inside the door with some others who were arrested.
One man came in with a breathing tube in his neck, and seemed to be fighting the officer who was trying to control him. Others came in who seemed like they were just driving home from work, and were caught for having a suspended license or some other small offense. Some came in high on some drug, without shirts, stumbling and confused. There were two toilets in the holding cell I was brought into, and some were sleeping under benches on the dirty floor in the room. After hours of being in this room (probably the worst place of all in the jail), we were finger printed, given a TB test and brief medical exam (the doctor said I had the heart of a 20 year old- praise GOD!) given our orange jail jump suits and sandals, and taken to our cells.
One man in jail suggested a boycott of Meadows Mall when I told him what happened. Others could not believe I would be in jail for something like passing out gospel tracts encouraging people to stay away from alcohol, and follow JESUS. In the cell I went to where there were 4 other me (Unit 5,cell 422), I met a man named Eduardo who struggled with alcohol (he nearly died in a drunk driving accident), and was a Christian. We prayed together, and if you can, please pray GOD gives him great help to overcome alcohol. Please pray his sister/family is freed from drugs also, and given new life in CHRIST. The hours seemed to drag on as I waited to be released after seeing Judge Brown on June 12th (TV court), who released me once he saw I never missed a court date, and I had no real criminal background. Judge Brown seemed much better than Judge Assad, and normally deals with those who are deemed mentally weak (some call it "crazy court"). The court Physchologist moved me from this court to department one, so I will be seeing Judge Toy Gregory on August 18th. (It's interesting to me that the same court Physchologist had first said I was capable to stand trial in one case, then incompetent in another, and now believes I am capable to stand trial again in this case! What is this Physchologist using to determine sanity?)
Please pray Toy dismisses this case, and pray I am a good witness to him also. I know many of you wonder what it's like in jail, never having been there, so I decided to go into more detail regarding this place. It is very trying for those who enjoy peace and quiet (like me), since some inmates (especially the young ones) can be very loud and rude sometimes - especially when you get a large group of them together! It takes a great deal of patience with others in order to not lash out at them (Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do), and I praise GOD so far I have been strong enough to keep from getting into any type of physical altercation. I must admit I have often gotten very angry when other inmates curse and do/say rude things, and I will often go into a sermon right then and there. Usually the inmates listen, but I have had those who seem to act even more wickedly after I try and correct them (unfortunately). More often then not, I would say most inmates are open to discussion about GOD since they have little hope anywhere else, and know what it's like to be broken. Many have families, and are hurting deeply inside. The jail is not just filled with tough guys, but with people who are weak, and have addictions. The same people you will see outside of jail, you will find inside jail, including business owners, students, Mothers, Fathers, etc. Many are just like you and me. I want you to know there are many Christians in jail also, which is why we should remember Hebrews 13:3, and pray GOD sets the captives free.
There are few books worth reading in Las Vegas city jail, and few officers that truly seem concerned about the treatment of people in jail (please pray this changes). Please pray the inmates become peaceful also. Please pray those running these jails will educate people on how to stay free from addiction, and give them many more resources and help while in jail to gain strength and peace in CHRIST. If these officers/judges were put in jail themselves for a day or two, I'm sure their attitudes would change, and they would be much more merciful. If you have other questions regarding jail, this experience or others I've had, please feel free to ask, and I hope to hear from you soon!
Your coworker in CHRIST JESUS,
Roussan Joshua Collins (when I am weak, then I am strong)
Evangelism- Mayor Oscar Goodman
Mom: I have a friend who thinks a lot like me and also thinks a lot different than me. You decide which. But I think it's important to post some of the things that Josh e-mails me.
Josh has been arrested by Las Vegas Metro for sleeping under the overpass of 15 and Bonanza. And also for trespassing. He spent two months in jail for the lodging on federal property with the charges dropped. Is this Las Vegas juristiction? And he was found incompetent to stand trial. LOL He is more competent than most people I know.
From Josh, Fri, 30 Jun 2006: I asked the Mayor if he believed in JESUS. I asked him if he believed in heaven and hell. He said no. I let them know that GOD's wrath will come on those that hurt the poor, and the Mayor said they were trying to help them so they could get sober, and better thier lives. I asked the Mayor why they promoted sin and alcohol so much since this kills people, and is destroying lives. If they really wanted to help people, they would stop this. He laughed, and said they were there to "help people", and I could see that obviously he was not going to do anything about stopping the promotion of sin in the city of Las Vegas. I told him (the Mayor)this was hypocrisy, and that they were destroying lives by thier promotion of sin. Eventually the debate became uncomfortable for them, and I could tell it was the end of our conversation. I then went and talked to reporters in the park, and let them know about how I was arrested for sleeping outside (I let Trina and Oscar know also), and about what Oscar Goodman said about not doing anything to stop the sin in Las Vegas, while at the same time saying he wanted to "help people." The reporters agreed with me that this was hypocritical, and took many notes. We exchanged info, and said our goodbyes.
From Josh, Fri, 30 Jun 2006: Praise Report,Wed, 26 Jul 2006:
To my awesome friends in CHRIST JESUS,
Today, by the grace of GOD, I stumbled upon a council meeting that was in progress around 4:30 pm today. After security checked my bag and read my evangelism sign, I walked in and saw Oscar Goodman and three council people on each side of him. They were discussing zoning issues, and it appeared there was a power struggle between council members from what I observed. After many arose to speak from the public once the council had finished talking, I waited for my opportunity/open door to witness. Finally a door opened from a statement I heard, and I went before the council. I let them know my name and that I was a street preacher. I then unfurled my sign with thes kull and crossbones that reads, "sin leads to Hell, Obey Jesus, be sober, etc . .... " (The same sign I sent to you) .
Oscar had made a statement that he and the council care for those in the city. I told them that if they were to pass a law that would not allow the poor to be fed, they did not care for the people of the city. I stated that they likely care for those in power. I encouraged them to make the right decisions since there are serious consequences to their actions. Since I knew little of the issue, I kept my comments short, but do hope and pray that GOD's Word will not come back void! Please pray the Mayor,all citizens and all council people get saved in Las Vegas. Please pray the evangelism sign I showed them is shown to many millions on TV since I was recorded in their council chambers today showing it. Please pray many more are saved soon. I thankyou so much for your prayers that I know cause many more to hear GOD's Word and get saved, and I hope to hear from you soon!GOD bless you!
Josh has been arrested by Las Vegas Metro for sleeping under the overpass of 15 and Bonanza. And also for trespassing. He spent two months in jail for the lodging on federal property with the charges dropped. Is this Las Vegas juristiction? And he was found incompetent to stand trial. LOL He is more competent than most people I know.
From Josh, Fri, 30 Jun 2006: I asked the Mayor if he believed in JESUS. I asked him if he believed in heaven and hell. He said no. I let them know that GOD's wrath will come on those that hurt the poor, and the Mayor said they were trying to help them so they could get sober, and better thier lives. I asked the Mayor why they promoted sin and alcohol so much since this kills people, and is destroying lives. If they really wanted to help people, they would stop this. He laughed, and said they were there to "help people", and I could see that obviously he was not going to do anything about stopping the promotion of sin in the city of Las Vegas. I told him (the Mayor)this was hypocrisy, and that they were destroying lives by thier promotion of sin. Eventually the debate became uncomfortable for them, and I could tell it was the end of our conversation. I then went and talked to reporters in the park, and let them know about how I was arrested for sleeping outside (I let Trina and Oscar know also), and about what Oscar Goodman said about not doing anything to stop the sin in Las Vegas, while at the same time saying he wanted to "help people." The reporters agreed with me that this was hypocritical, and took many notes. We exchanged info, and said our goodbyes.
From Josh, Fri, 30 Jun 2006: Praise Report,Wed, 26 Jul 2006:
To my awesome friends in CHRIST JESUS,
Today, by the grace of GOD, I stumbled upon a council meeting that was in progress around 4:30 pm today. After security checked my bag and read my evangelism sign, I walked in and saw Oscar Goodman and three council people on each side of him. They were discussing zoning issues, and it appeared there was a power struggle between council members from what I observed. After many arose to speak from the public once the council had finished talking, I waited for my opportunity/open door to witness. Finally a door opened from a statement I heard, and I went before the council. I let them know my name and that I was a street preacher. I then unfurled my sign with thes kull and crossbones that reads, "sin leads to Hell, Obey Jesus, be sober, etc . .... " (The same sign I sent to you) .
Oscar had made a statement that he and the council care for those in the city. I told them that if they were to pass a law that would not allow the poor to be fed, they did not care for the people of the city. I stated that they likely care for those in power. I encouraged them to make the right decisions since there are serious consequences to their actions. Since I knew little of the issue, I kept my comments short, but do hope and pray that GOD's Word will not come back void! Please pray the Mayor,all citizens and all council people get saved in Las Vegas. Please pray the evangelism sign I showed them is shown to many millions on TV since I was recorded in their council chambers today showing it. Please pray many more are saved soon. I thankyou so much for your prayers that I know cause many more to hear GOD's Word and get saved, and I hope to hear from you soon!GOD bless you!
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Targeting specific groups of people
Greg: Great definition of homeless, isn't it?? Don't most, or all senior citizens qualify for help from the government? Define: a reasonable ordinary person. But most importantly; to initiate a law that pertains only to one specific group of people is the most un-American act I can imagine.
Mom: Absolutely agree with you. What will stop the government from targeting another group of people? Seniors? Mentally ill? Physically handicapped?
Mom: Absolutely agree with you. What will stop the government from targeting another group of people? Seniors? Mentally ill? Physically handicapped?
Ordinance definition of Indigent
The ordinance defines an indigent as a "person whom a reasonable ordinary person would believe to be entitled to apply for or receive assistance" from the government under state law.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jul-23-Sun-2006/news/8638719.html
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jul-23-Sun-2006/news/8638719.html
Friday, July 21, 2006
Las Vegas, Nevada Homeless,
New Laws Updates
Sorry if this is not all in the order of events. It has been quite hectic here with all the political BS.
I also apologize that in the beginning of my new "venture" that I didn't realize that poverty and homelessness WAS political.
Oh, if I only knew. Would I have still wanted to "just help" those in need?
This new law was proposed on Wed., July 19, 2006 and the (city of las vegas, nevada) council unanimously passed the ordinance.
57. Bill No. 2006-37 - ABEYANCE ITEM - Prohibits within City parks the providing of food or meals as would typically be provided in a rescue mission or shelter for the homeless. Proposed by: Bradford R. Jerbic, City Attorney
http://www5.lasvegasnevada.gov/sirepub/cache/1/pxihkmbjqlqimoinhonwoi55/452350720200608332178.PDF
Definitions: (See: Rescue Mission or Shelter For The Homeless)
Rescue Mission or Shelter For The Homeless. A building that is used or intended to beused to provide to homeless individuals temporary accommodations, shelter, meals or any combination thereof. For purposes of this Title, a “homeless individual” includes an individual who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence.
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:tLfyk6YpZv0J:www.lasvegasnevada.gov/files/Chapter_19.20.pdf+LVMC+19.20.020+%22las+vegas%22&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1
Feeding homeless outlawed
ACLU calls measure unenforceable
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jul-20-Thu-2006/news/8589438.html
I also apologize that in the beginning of my new "venture" that I didn't realize that poverty and homelessness WAS political.
Oh, if I only knew. Would I have still wanted to "just help" those in need?
This new law was proposed on Wed., July 19, 2006 and the (city of las vegas, nevada) council unanimously passed the ordinance.
57. Bill No. 2006-37 - ABEYANCE ITEM - Prohibits within City parks the providing of food or meals as would typically be provided in a rescue mission or shelter for the homeless. Proposed by: Bradford R. Jerbic, City Attorney
http://www5.lasvegasnevada.gov/sirepub/cache/1/pxihkmbjqlqimoinhonwoi55/452350720200608332178.PDF
Definitions: (See: Rescue Mission or Shelter For The Homeless)
Rescue Mission or Shelter For The Homeless. A building that is used or intended to beused to provide to homeless individuals temporary accommodations, shelter, meals or any combination thereof. For purposes of this Title, a “homeless individual” includes an individual who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence.
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:tLfyk6YpZv0J:www.lasvegasnevada.gov/files/Chapter_19.20.pdf+LVMC+19.20.020+%22las+vegas%22&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1
Feeding homeless outlawed
ACLU calls measure unenforceable
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jul-20-Thu-2006/news/8589438.html
Monday, July 10, 2006
Message to the Mayor
Message to the Mayor
Received these photos from Chip Mosher who writes for the Las Vegas City Life. Unfortunately, the editors did not want to publish them. However, I've been given permission to post them here. And, "I" don't have an editor that I have to report to.
< GRIN >
Photo Credit: Lisa Grenier
Idea Credit: Chip Mosher
Message #1
Message #2
Received these photos from Chip Mosher who writes for the Las Vegas City Life. Unfortunately, the editors did not want to publish them. However, I've been given permission to post them here. And, "I" don't have an editor that I have to report to.
< GRIN >
Idea Credit: Chip Mosher
Message #1
Message #2
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