Tim Garon, R.I.P.

Another loss to the inequity and absurd workings of the medical system of the United States. Here, in the only industrialized nation that does not consider health care a right to its people, the question must be asked - who merits the right to live? Should one be denied the right to life due to what is considered to be unacceptable extracurricular activity? If participation is prescribed from a doctor to relieve the pain and nausea from a hideous disease, is it still unacceptable? And if a person is of means to simply purchase any medical treatment necessary, would they still be denied? When does the withholding of such treatment to the person without means become unacceptable?



Tim Garon will never know the answers to theses questions. He died awaiting hope, only to be treated like a criminal. The world has lost a talented musical artist. May his death, and of others like him taken unnecessarily too soon, be a reminder of what's wrong within our borders. May it also propel others to work for what's right.

http://www.komotv.com/news/health/18475224.html

Tim's website.

Tim's MySpace Page.

Tim's CDs at CD Baby. There are links to other locations, to get his music, on the lower left of his CD Baby pages.

The Sick and Tragic - A Call For Help

This is in regards to an acquaintance of mine and a friend of my dear, late friend Rose. Rose suffered terribly due to diabetes. She was followed in death by another close friend, Billie Jean, who died because she had no health insurance and wasn't able to afford her insulin and other diabetic supplies. She was in otherwise good health, but was unable to balance her blood sugar levels one fateful day.



You may be as upset as I was to find out why Tim can't get the help he needs:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080426/ap_on_re_us/medical_marijuana_transplants

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/27/03629/6602/250/504192

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=204896115

http://www.rocketnews.com/topic/world/Timothy-Garon/

No Woman, No Cry

Apparently assault is not illegal or punishable in this country if it is
done in the name of entertainment. The only person threatened with
possible arrest was the woman who complied with the perpetrators'
demands. Left out of this article was the fact that the women who didn't
comply had beer bottles hurled at them and they were spat upon. How far
will this mob mentality be allowed to go? While the U.S. falls short of
condemning the misogynistic acts of the Saudi Arabian government, and
considering our stance on torture, how long will it take before we turn
into being just like them?

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/20/sports/football/20fans.html?em&ex=1195794000&en=10054cdcf920bb08&ei=5087%0A&exprod=myyahoo

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/20/africa/ME-GEN-Saudi-Rape.php

How to Destroy an African-American City in Thirty-Three Steps - Lessons From Katrina

Please check out Bill Quigley's brilliant essay in a recent installment of Truthout.org. This sardonic analysis of how the victims of Hurricane Katrina have been treated is a must-read. It chronicles the hell that these people have endured in an unusual and thoughtful approach.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062907N.shtml

And please give to Truthout, as they are grassroots and one of the best sites to get the full story. They could use your help to stay active.

https://secure.entango.com/donate/pkXd5Fr9GE4

Torture, Terror, and The General's Report

Seymour Hersh, one of the last of the true journalists, has a disturbing article in the June 25 issue of The New Yorker. It seems that we have all but forgotten the atrocities of Abu Graib and other detention centers that the United States runs. Of course, this is no accident. Army Major General Antonio M. Taguba tells of some of his findings into his personal investigation of Abu Ghraib, which would eventually cost him his job. As we know, truth is not appreciated by this administration. This lengthy, but very much worth the read, exposure of what took place behind the scenes as some of the horrors were revealed, can be found here on Truthout.org. Please take the time to read this and also to support Truthout.org., as they are donation supported and could use your help.

Radio Air Wave Infestation

Perhaps you've heard of the controversy surrounding the shock jocks known as The Jersey Guys. Like any of the other insult hurling, low brow humored, commute time radio DJs, their objective is to gain attention. And, like any other radio station, the objective of WKXW-FM is to gain ratings. This is well understood, for without good ratings you don't attract sponsors who provide the means necessary to exist. There comes a time, however, when one might question the lengths that should be gone to in order to achieve the desired goal.

The most recent flap regarding the The Jersey Guys is their contribution to the anti-immigration frenzy that has engulfed this country. The oh, so cleverly titled "La Cuca - Gotcha" schtick involves enticing listeners to turn in to the Immigration and Naturalization Service anyone that they suspect may be in this country illegally. Of course, the inference of the title being a wordplay on the song, "La Cucaracha", would lead one to assume that this is meant for those pesky Mexican terrorists that have endangered us so. Apparently, if you're name is O'Reilly you have nothing to fear. But singling out certain ethnic groups is nothing new to the Guys.

While the First Amendment of The Constitution still gives us the right to free speech, as it should, one needs to bear in mind the consequences it can bring. "Cucaracha" is the Spanish word for cockroach. During the build up of the Rwanda genocide that took place between the Hutus and the Tutsis in 1994, newspapers and radio stations began a campaign of hatred and fear. Most notably, Radio Milles Collines was engaged in non-stop broadcasts that incited violence and called for the Hutus to rise up and kill all of the Tutsis, whom they referred to as "cockroaches". In fact, the word became a synonym for all of the Tutsi people. The result was anywhere from 500,000 to 1,000,000 men, women, and children murdered. Most were hacked to death with machetes.

I co-host a radio talk show. Most of the topics are politically oriented and the conversation can become a bit heated. One must have the right to speak out, particularly regarding injustice and the government that represents us. One must also be allowed to poke fun at situations in good humor. But I also must ponder if The Jersey Guys know the events and lessons of Rwanda. Perhaps the Guys aren't calling for the killing of anyone, but indeed they are inciting hatred. As we know, it isn't a far reach from hatred to violence.
Jersey Guys, are your incomes so high that you can sink so low? And what about WKXW-FM and their sponsors? Ignorance, if it can be plead, is no excuse.

http://newjersey.indymedia.org/de/2007/03/14134.shtml

http://wfmz.com/view/?id=76069

This Land is My Land

Well, it was bound to happen. With the devastating blow that was dealt to the citizens of New Orleans from the wrath of Katrina, half of the city fled to seek refuge in other towns as their homes became uninhabitable. Many lay in complete rubble, others might possibly be saved with a lot of hard work and monetary assistance. But the insurance monies, much like the FEMA rescue workers over a year and a half ago, would never arrive. Not before all hope would be lost.

But the spirit and reputation for a love of music and pleasure will always inhabit New Orleans, even if so many of the people who would create and live that vibe had been forced out. There have been immense efforts on the parts of many kind hearted and hard working individuals who have tirelessly toiled to restore the Crescent City and give it back to those it belongs to. Groups like Habitat for Humanity, The Katrina Foundation For Recovery, Inc., and others, along with students choosing to spend their spring breaks rebuilding the city (please see BicycleMark - BicycleMark.org and The Wayward Episcopalian - waywardepiscopalian.blogspot.com).

However, with so much "abandoned" real estate left in unintended disrepair, and the owners having no funds with which to work, vultures have swooped down along the muddy Mississippi salivating at the opportunity to turn others' misfortune into their fortune. These are individuals who could truly make a difference with the riches they've already reaped. They have the ability to help people rebuild and thus help themselves. To restore the city to it's former glory. But that wouldn't guarantee the millions, if not billions, of dollars they stand to profit. Of course, they'll have to clean up those unsightly FEMA trailors, the few that actually made their way from Arkansas and that were only given to homeowners - renters need not apply.

Let the gentrification begin!

The two most prominent individuals playing this game of monopoly are Donald Trump and F. Patrick Quinn. Of course,
The Donald requires no introduction. If one owns a television set it is virtually impossible to avoid the comb-over coiffed magnate pursing his lips and firing some groveling young Trump wanna-be. His latest plans for yet another clever, originally titled Trump Tower to be located in New Orleans, will be the tallest building in the city at the height of 842 feet. The proposed cost of each condominium will be a mere $400,000 apiece for the 299 units There will be another 435 hotel rooms to fetch a steady income.
In a city where a pre-Katrina two bedroom dwelling ran for roughly $600 a month, that same unit is now over $900. Now, take into consideration that should that tenant's job actually still exist, they are having to repurchase all of their necessities and creature comforts.

One of the many sad things that have come to fruition since Katrina is the onslaught of unethical private contractors. In the immediate aftermath of Katrina, George Bush had attempted to repeal the Davis-Bacon Act, which guarantees a fair wage for workers. After a huge outcry from Democrats and union leaders, that option was taken off of the table. Not to be deterred from getting as big a piece of the pie as possible, many contractors simply hired illegal immigrants to perform the necessary duties. However, when it came payday, many refused to pay the workers, knowing that they would have no recourse.

Enter F. Patrick Quinn. Those of you who are not from New Orleans may not be familiar with Mr.Quinn. He first caught my attention last August while in my hotel room in the French Quarter (one of the areas barely affected by the flood). I had the local news on and was quite taken by what I thought should have been a much bigger story, meaning it should have reached the national media. Quinn is the owner of a hotel chain by the name of Decatur Hotels. In the wake of Katrina, Quinn acquired visas for 290 South American workers to provide services in his hotels. He promised them good wages with plenty of hours and possible overtime. The visas stipulated that they were not allowed to work for another employer during their stays. But when the guest workers arrived, they discovered that they would be paid only $6 per hour with no guarantee of full time work. They were made to sleep 5 per room and were charged $50 each per week to rent their rooms. Even more problematic was that they were indentured $3,000 to $5,000 in recruitment and other fees.

Now what Mr.Quinn had apparently not taken into consideration was the fact that, having acquired visas, these workers were not in the country illegally. For these individuals, there was recourse and they had decided to pursue it. They banded together and filed a lawsuit which is currently pending.

Perhaps the most interesting part regarding Mr. Quinn is that, not only is he a most prominent businessman, but he is well connected in a number of ways. His wife, is Senator Julie Quinn (R-LA) and his son, James, is the Executive Director of the Republican Party in Louisiana. And yet I've still not heard a word about this outside of Louisiana.

In a frantic effort to own New Orleans, Quinn has been buying up property as hastily as possible. Perhaps he heard the news that he may get Trumped.


For more information please see:

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1599032,00.html

http://tinyurl.com/2hgpmz

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/16/1222257

Remember New Orleans?

Someone had posted the following article on DailyKos.com but I guess New Orleans is out of vogue, so it went nowhere. This person then cross posted the same article to MyDD.com thinking it would be easier to make it on the rec'd list. Well.. it still has not.

Want to help? Does anybody care about New Orleans and the Katrina area? Have we all become so short sighted that we forget about the people still suffering in the Gulf Coast area, especially in New Orleans?

Check the diary at MyDD.com here:

Back in New Orleans: Recovery Spring Break, Day 1
http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/3/17/19514/9606

They also have a blog of their own that they are using to document the recovery and lack of recovery in the Katrina area.

Check the personal blog here:

The Wayward Episcopalian: Nathan in New Orleans
http://waywardepiscopalian.blogspot.com

I spent fall 2006 working with the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana's Office of Disaster Response. Though no longer in New Orleans, I have many memories and observations left to blog, and recovery news continues to pour in, particularly about volunteer work, government incompetence, and local spirit.

"The LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intervene." Isaiah 59:15-16

No.. this is not a blog of mine and I do not know this person.

This Is Sick and Wrong!

This is taken from a comment at SecuringAmerica.com

What is wrong with this country? Why do the rich and powerful hate the American people? Do you think that any of them would use or are using illegal drugs to cope with their pain and illness? No... what was I thinking... how stupid could this common person be.

Even tho I do not smoke pot, I find this to be ridiculous and WRONG!

Court: Dying can be charged for using marijuana
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/03/14/med.marijuana.ap/index.html

If I was dying I would use whatever drug made my life bearable... no matter what! If using some supposed "bad drug" made my life as a sick person bearable and possibly better so that I may heal, then I should be allowed to use it... No Matter What!

So pot is worse then gdub's buddies corporate made drugs?

Whatever!

Just move along now. Nothing to see here. Don't look at that person, they mean nothing to you.

hm.

Ms. Magazine - "Paradise Lost", Making a Difference for Women in Marianas

I received this in an email from Ms. Magazine and wanted to share it with all of you. I am attempting to post this as they sent it. Please take the time to read and respond.

This is a very important subject and needs to be kept alive. This is not the only place stuff like this is happening, so let us not stop here.

Dear ...,

"Paradise Lost" - the explosive Ms. magazine investigative report on the appalling conditions of guest workers in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory - is making news again as Congress finally acts to stop the worst abuses. Congress has already delivered a victory for the guest workers in the Marianas by including them in the recently passed minimum wage increase.

Ms.'s hard-hitting cover story brought to the nation's attention the labor and immigration abuses that were the focus of a Senate committee hearing last Thursday. When we published our investigative report last spring, we spurred weeks of additional news coverage and generated widespread public outrage. Two of the women we interviewed for our report - including a young woman trafficked into the sex industry against her will - testified at the Senate hearing.

Make a special contribution to the Ms. Investigative fund today to ensure that Ms. continues to break stories of vital importance to women here in the U.S. and around the world.

Here's the background on the situation:

Although the name-brand clothing companies that contract with garment factories in the Marianas can attach "Made in Saipan (USA)" or simply "Made in the USA" labels to their clothes, until now they have been exempt from U.S. minimum-wage and immigration laws.

Women trafficked to the Marianas, mostly from China and the Philippines, work up to 20 hours a day in factories at a sub-minimum wage of $3.05/hour in often dangerous conditions. In its report, Ms. detailed how these women find themselves in a situation akin to indentured servitude as they struggle to earn enough money to pay for room and board and to repay human traffickers who charge as much as $7,000 for a one-year contract to work in the Marianas.

Moreover, with expiring trade agreements, some companies have closed down their Saipan operations to move to mainland China, leaving their workers stranded and owed months of back-pay. Ms.'s investigative report documented how, unable to make ends meet, many women have been forced to work in the islands' sex tourism industry in order to survive.

Now, with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff (who lobbied on behalf of Marianas factory owners) in prison, Tom DeLay (a leading supporter of garment-company interests) out of Congress, and other opponents of reform defeated in the November elections, Congress may finally be able to pass long-blocked reforms.

Ms.'s in-depth reporting on the suffering of women in the
Northern Marianas is the kind of ground-breaking investigative journalism that truly changes lives. We are determined to continue to follow this story, and dispatched a reporter to cover the hearings. Look for updates on MsMagazine.com and in upcoming issues of the magazine.

Help Ms. stay strong by making a tax-deductible contribution to the Ms. Investigative Fund now.

For a Strong Feminist Media,

Katherine
Spillar
Executive Editor

Eleanor Smeal
Publisher

http://www.msmagazine.com

Copyright © Ms. Magazine 2006

Worn in the USA pt.2

Here are a few interesting follow-ups in regards to what's being done about the corruption and abuses in the Mariana Islands:

http://www.msmagazine.com/news/uswirestory.asp?ID=10147
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/2/9/24525/93892
http://www.catholicexplorer.com/explore4325/nationworld/rape-victim-catholic-work.shtml

Hopefully, we'll see some some changes made and an attentive eye kept towards maintaining the clean-up.

Worn in the USA

While this isn't particularly recent news, it does seem to be vastly underreported. Most of us are aware of the wretched conditions that many clothing factories operate under. Some of us have even made deliberate attempts to refrain from supporting companies that make their profits on the backs of slave labor and have chosen to instead spend our own hard earned wages buying American made products, believing that we are not perpetuating the problem. But, unbeknownst to most, many of those same garments are being manufactured in the Mariana Islands, a territory of the United States, and can legally tout the label "Made in the USA".

The overwhelming majority of the workers in the Marianas are immigrants who were promised a better life only to be placed in sweatshops, working long hours under grueling conditions for little pay and with none of the benefits that we have come to enjoy here in the States, albeit seemingly in decline. Many young women, lured with the vow of employment in the restaurant business, have instead been forced into prostitution and some have even been made to undergo abortions.

The Marianas frequent visitors have included Jack Abramoff and Tom DeLay. It is often used as a playground for important politicos and DeLay, who squandered countless tax dollars there, after what was to be an oversight tour of conditions there, once announced at a New Year's Eve party attended by many of the factory owners, "You represent everything that is good about what we are trying to do in America."

I doubt that the American public would proudly exclaim that we stand for inhumane working conditions, sex slavery, and forced abortions. Do the people who represent you?

For more information, please see:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/05/09/real.delay/

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=647725&page=1

The Silent Screams of Women and Girls

Please take the time to read the entire script of this stunning piece by Lily Mazahery. She is a Persian-American Attorney who is also an activist for women's rights.

The Silent Screams of Women and Girls

Iran's new Islamic-guided government has established a system of legalized prostitution, through the practice of "sigheh" or "temporary marriages," by which a mullah arranges a "legal union" between a man and a girl (some as young as nine years old) for a fee. The so-called marriage can last anywhere from one hour to 99 years. Under this system, men are free to enter into as many temporary marriages as they so desire, without having any legal obligation or responsibility toward the women and children that they "marry" only to use as sexual objects and slaves.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=1&cid=1167467739732&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Please also take the time to sign the following petitions. There will be English links:

http://www.we-change.org/spip.php?article19

http://www.meydaan.com/Stoning/petition.aspx?cid=46&pid=9

This is an issue completely separate of the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and the possible imminent attack on Iran. This is a human rights issue and should not be ignored.

In Honor Of Martin Luther King Jr.

A great man for a troubled time. Where are our "great men" now?

Why it takes the death of great people for all of us " normal" people to wake up... I will never know.

Watch the entire "I Have A Dream" speech here.

Be at peace but also keep up the fight.

Comments are welcome.