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Things do change. No matter how discouraged you may be after investing years of anxiety and toil in social justice, be assured that MLK was not out of his mind when he said the universe bends toward justice.
One area of the struggle for enlightenment that has produced more than its share of grim disappointment is abolition, the fight to end the popular practice of killing people who kill people in order to show that killing people is wrong.
Because Nancy is a founder of INDPAG (the Inland Northwest Death Penalty Action Group) and WCADP (the Washington Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty) and has been nationally recognized for her efforts to stem the tide of state killings, it’s easy to forget that PJALS was a part of the abolition movement before we came to Spokane in 1981. The young Peace and Justice Center led the Eastern Washington resistance to the state’s return to executions after the national moratorium.
In the past 25 years, we’ve had very few triumphs, and they have tended to be small or short-lived. We have had a role in getting some death sentences vacated, but prevailing attitudes about individuals convicted of murder remain vicious. It is still politically expedient for elected officials, even our most progressive governors, to protect the option of state homicide if not campaign for easier executions.
Suddenly and unexpectedly, we have a breath of fresh air from the Spokesman Review.
In the Sunday edition of May 28, there is an editorial announcing a reversal of the paper’s support for capital punishment. It appears to me that the Joseph Duncan/Shasta Groene case in Idaho pushed the editorial board into this change, and not because Duncan has any ability to generate public sympathy, no matter how able his lawyers might be. The unlikely hero of this transformation in perception is Steve Groene, the ex-husband and the father of three murder victims. Groene has grasped the difficult truth that his daughter Shasta, the survivor of the horrible crimes, cannot benefit from a sentence that is based upon retaliation. Indeed, Shasta’s ordeal will only be extended and renewed, possibly into her adulthood, should Duncan be sentenced to death.
Confronted with his own mortality as he fights a life-threatening illness, Steve Groene has dared to challenge the lynch mob mentality of friends and relatives, in favor of what is best for Shasta and, coincidentally, for the entire community. The Spokesman Review is to be congratulated for seeing the wisdom and justice in his decision.
The editorial is a good one and well-researched. It deals with many issues that should influence thousands of people in the Inland Northwest, people who have been on the fence or who have just begun to think carefully about this issue. What it does not do is point out that killing a human being is wrong. It’s wrong for criminals and wrong for prosecutors and governors and executioners and for those of us who pay the bills for this punitive extravagance that makes us all more prone to violence and its effects.
This, after all, is a slippery slope. If we agree that killing is wrong, no matter who signs the papers or flips the switch, what might be condemned next? Our precious “pre-emptive wars” in Iraq and Afghanistan? Our proxy/mercenary war against the poor in Colombia? Our multi-billion dollar support for extreme retaliation by the Israeli military? Our tolerance for a shameful rate of infant mortality through willful neglect and stingy healthcare? Corporate globalization that pushes poor Mexicans to their deaths in the desert of the promised land of El Norte?
While we allow these subversive ideas to percolate, please contact the Spokesman Review to thank and congratulate the editorial board for a courageous step away from the dark ages.
Things do change, and we never promised immediate gratification. On the other hand, PJALS will certainly support your impatience with state officials in Washington and Idaho until they have a positive response to the modest proposal that they should no longer wield the power of life and death. Letters, phone calls, and emails are always in order, in lieu of face to face dialogue. And, you should expect exciting results, but maybe not tomorrow. - RN
There has been no shortage of exciting developments in the PJALS Living Wage Campaign in the past few months, but we now have an opportunity to discuss our plan with the Spokane City Council.
Whether or not you are able to attend the City Council meeting, you will want to contact your council representatives to urge favorable action on this plan to introduce an enhanced wage requirement for retailers who preside over a space of 95,000 sq. ft. or more. It’s called An Ordinance to Require Responsible Business Practices by Large Retail Establishments by Ensuring Living Wages.
We expect this ordinance to be before the City Council on June 26. At press time, there were still details to be worked out, but we will let you know of any change in dates. We hope you will contact members of the council immediately.
The purpose of the ordinance is to require operators of the largest big box stores in Spokane to pay anyone employed for more than three months at least 135 percent of the Washington minimum wage. If benefits (health care provisions) are not included, the company must pay 165 percent of minimum wage. The use of percentages is familiar to government officials and social workers who often identify the marginalized or underserved members of our community as living at, for example, 150 percent of the poverty level, which means, as most of us understand, they are still in poverty
Previously, Spokane Citizens for a Living Wage, a PJALS project, has been working on a pilot wage program that would require the City of Spokane to pay an enhanced wage to its employees and require the same minimum rate of companies contracting with the city. Our pilot wage was a compromise between the state minimum wage and an actual living wage that would be adequate to keep a family out of poverty. We expect to continue work on a pilot wage without regard to the success of our big box proposal.
Although the prescribed wage in our ordinance is less than our pilot wage, it is referred to as a living wage for the sake of simplicity.
Though our pilot wage project is shifted to the back burner, PJALS feels that the current proposal is very timely and could set an important precedent for communities all over the country, especially where large retailers have benefited from having their employees paid so poorly that they qualified for assistance from the state, particularly in the area of health care.
In fact, this new twist on our Economic Justice Campaign originated when PJALS members decided they needed to be involved in efforts to stop construction of a new Wal-Mart store on the South Hill and a Sam’s Club outlet in Northeast Spokane.
As another group of Wal-Mart opponents decided to focus on probable traffic problems from a new “Super Store,” we learned that the Center for Justice had designed an ordinance for Pullman opponents of a Wal-Mart, there. Breean Beggs of the C.f.J has been instrumental in transforming the draft into a document PJALS is proud to sponsor and labor organizations are eager to endorse.
Originally aimed at stopping Wal-Mart expansion, this ordinance now demands accountability from all the largest retailers in the city while recognizing those, like Costco, which already maintain a standard of just compensation and labor relations. An additional benefit of this big box ordinance is that it would reach more workers, bringing more of the kind of income that is spent locally, over and over, rather than being funneled to Bentonville, Arkansas.
We expect to discuss our plan with representatives of the business community, and are working with the city attorney’s office to insure that our proposal is in the best interest of the entire city population.
Our original plan was to get city approval for this ordinance to go on an initiative. We expected to be looking for 4000 petition signatures in order to place it on the next general election ballot. Instead, the city council has decided to get involved in more than a passing way, and we welcome the examination and discussion of our ordinance. We do need your help in urging council members to give due consideration to this proposal.
PJALS last presented a living wage plan to the Spokane City Council in 1998.
There will soon be information on our website. Meanwhile, we will be glad to share or discuss details or your concerns if you phone or email the office, pjals@pjals.net.
The
Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), an organization committed to
achieving a just and
peaceful world community with full dignity and freedom for every human being, stands
in solidarity with the millions who have rallied, boycotted, and marched during recent months in defense of basic human rights for undocumented immigrants in the United States.
Mindful of the passage of the Senate bill for immigration reform, your editor expects that this effort will not long satisfy anyone because it attempts to ignore the organic problems caused in the U.S. and Latin America by globalization, a catastrophe that bears bipartisan fingerprints in Congress. It also minimizes the privileges of European and English-speaking and wealthy immigrants
without providing justice for the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
PJALS, an FOR affiliate, can produce no better statement than the one that follows from FOR.
peaceful world community with full dignity and freedom for every human being, stands
in solidarity with the millions who have rallied, boycotted, and marched during recent months in defense of basic human rights for undocumented immigrants in the United States.
Mindful of the passage of the Senate bill for immigration reform, your editor expects that this effort will not long satisfy anyone because it attempts to ignore the organic problems caused in the U.S. and Latin America by globalization, a catastrophe that bears bipartisan fingerprints in Congress. It also minimizes the privileges of European and English-speaking and wealthy immigrants
without providing justice for the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
PJALS, an FOR affiliate, can produce no better statement than the one that follows from FOR.
Draconian congressional legislation – introduced in December by Rep. George Sensenbrenner (R-WI) through HR-4437 – has ignited this nationwide mobilization of immigrants and their allies. We are appalled by HR-4437, which proposes turning the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States into felons.
This “solution” fails to take into account the common humanity and dignity of all who aspire to a better life. Enforcement-only policies are not the answer, in a nation founded and sustained by immigrants. Comprehensive and humane immigration reform demands much more.
As an international community with chapters in more than 40 countries, FOR is also acutely aware of the deleterious effects of free trade, an economic policy championed by the U.S. government.
Free trade agreements have forced people from the global South to migrate to this country, and unless we reform our economic agenda, attempts to “seal our borders” will be meaningless. In fact, since the mid-1990s, attempts to close the Mexican border have not dissuaded migrants; they merely make crossing the border more dangerous. What once were seasonal migration patterns – with a 50% return rate to country of origin – have become permanent, with workers opting to stay in the United States and avoid deadly border crossings.
FOR opposes the militarization of the border and advocates deeper, more thoughtful attention to this matter. Any reform legislation that addresses border security should also emphasize increasing the quotas for legal immigration, reducing the long backlogs for family visas, and erasing workplace exploitation of undocumented workers.
Immigration reform should recognize that the 11 million undocumented immigrants are vital to our economy. Policymakers should also thoroughly examine the foreign policy that has helped to create such disparate neighboring economies, such as the Free Trade of the Americas Agreement, an accord that promises to repeat the failures of NAFTA and CAFTA.
As an organization committed to active nonviolence as a transforming way of life and as a means of radical change, FOR applauds this inspiring mass movement, and we urge legislators to pay heed to its urgent call for comprehensive immigration reform.
We are encouraged by efforts on the part of some U.S. senators to find a compromise that would create a safe and orderly immigration process. However, President Bush’s plan to deploy 6,000 National Guard troops to the border, coupled with the Senate’s provisional vote approving additional barricades along the Mexican border, is disconcerting.
We hope that as the immigration debate continues, the voices that have arisen in recent months will be heard, and that the debate will lead to true, comprehensive reform.
Contact: Amanda Jack 415-495-6334, amanda@igc.org, Ethan Vesely-Flad 845-358-4601 ext. 42, editor@forusa.org
Referendum 65
On June 7th, signatures are due for Referendum 65, a measure asking for a popular vote on House Bill 2661. HB 2661 passed the state House and Senate in January, adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the statewide anti-discrimination bill. This bill, a result of 29 years of organizing and lobbying, was supported by a majority of Washington residents, who believe that nobody should experience discrimination in housing, employment, and insurance. Should the signature-gathering phase be successful, you will be seeing Referendum 65 on your ballot in November.
The wording is confusing, the title misleading, but the referendum? We’re not worried about it. Washington voters support freedom from discrimination. For those who believe that we should be free from discrimination, we urge you to vote to APPROVE Referendum 65 in November. There will be gatherings and events sponsored by Washington Won’t Discriminate all over the state – keep an eye out for WWD representatives at local events (especially Pride Week) and ask questions. Want to donate or volunteer to protect justice? Contact Krista at 838-7870 or inwe@pjals.net to get hooked up with Spokane Won’t Discriminate.
Statewide Prayer Gathering for Justice and Equality
On May 11th, community members joined together to support justice and equality for all people in Washington State. Many thanks to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane, Emmanuel Metropolitan Community Church, the Unitarian’s Pride Committee, and community members who gathered for a moving and effective service.
Marriage Equality
INWE is still awaiting the Washington State Supreme Court’s decision on the Anderson and Castle cases, challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. Although we don’t know when, it could be any upcoming Thursday. On the day of the decision, INWE and other partners will be having a rally at the Federal Courthouse in Spokane to celebrate equality and fairness and demand equal rights and protections for all of Washington’s couples. Please keep an eye on your e-mails on Thursday – the notice will be short, but the rally will be momentous!
“We Are Your Neighbors” Peaceful Valley Block Party
The first “We Are Your Neighbors” Block Party happened on May 21st in Peaceful Valley. Community members, neighbors, and new friends gathered together for barbeque, prizes, discussion, education, music, and fun. DJ Irey (with KYRS’ Queer Sounds) donated her time and talent and really livened up the party!
INWE is hoping to have more community-connecting block parties over the summer. Keep an eye out for announcements and feel free to join in, whether they’re in your neighborhood or not! We want to meet, greet, and talk with new people, to connect Spokane communities together with food and fun. Interested in throwing a block party or being put on the contact list to hear about announcements? Contact Krista at the PJALS offices.
INWE is planning a Voter’s Guide for November elections. After the filing dates in June, we will start the research campaign. We need volunteers, both to research and help supplement physical printing. The guidelines will be those of the SEMAC committee, who have put out successful Seattle-area voters guides for years. Keep an eye out for this guide!
To help more, contact INWE at inwe@pjals.net or 509-838-7870. You can also join us at our next INWE meeting on June 13th at the Rainbow Regional Community Center at 508 W 2nd at 5:30 pm. - KB
Public Relations/Media Volunteer– PJALS could desperately use a volunteer to come into the offices for 1-1.5 hours a week or every 2 weeks to draft PR releases and make media contacts. No media experience is necessary, but basic computer skills and familiarity with PJALS issues will be expected. Contact Rusty or Krista, pjals@pjals.net or inwe@pjals.net.
Research Assistance– Inland Northwest Equality is setting up a Voter’s Guide for the November elections. Anyone interested in helping research candidates (primarily in June and July), either in the PJALS office or independently, contact Krista at 838-7870 for more information and research guidelines.
- David Cobb, Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt Co., adapted from Progressive Populist
Something profoundly important is happening in the shadows of the redwoods. June 6th, voters in Humboldt County have the opportunity to vote on an historic initiative—the Ordinance to Protect Our Right to Fair Elections and Local Democracy. If passed, this ordinance (known locally as Measure T) will prohibit non-local corporations from making political contributions in Humboldt County elections. This alone would make the ordinance worthy of support amongst progressives. But this ordinance goes so much deeper.
There is the additional assertion that “courts have illegitimately defined corporations as ‘persons’ and this doctrine illegitimately denies the people….ability to exercise our fundamental political rights.” And to add teeth, the initiative provides that “no corporation shall be entitled to claim corporate constitutional rights or protections in an effort to overturn this law.”
Talk about a community standing up for itself!
How did such a direct and unambiguous challenge to the wealthy elite and their control of elections make it to the ballot? A great successes of the first populist uprising—citizen’s initiative.
Proponents contend that corporations exert undue influence on local political campaigns. Like virtually every community in the US, they have solid evidence. In 1999, the Wal-Mart Corporation paid for a ballot initiative to overturn area zoning laws and spent $250,000 on the campaign. In 2003, Maxxam Corporation invested $300,000 to fund recall of newly elected D.A. Paul Gallegos after he filed fraud charges against the company. These two examples of corporate election bullying used paid petitioners to try to hijack the citizen’s initiative process.
In stark contrast, Measure T is an all-volunteer effort of people coming together to address election-buying, while building a citizen’s movement to challenge corporations’ special rights. The local Democratic and Green Parties endorsed the effort and are working arm-in-arm during the campaign. Every major organized labor union in the county has joined the Sierra Club, the Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom and others in supporting the campaign.
Stated simply, the entire spectrum of the peace, social justice, and environmental movements is working together in Humboldt County. They are modeling the kind of respectful unity that progressives often talk about, but rarely accomplish. And they are engaged in a concrete campaign that is strategically designed to change rules so that future progressive victories will be easier.
It is important to understand that this proactive effort did not spring up out of thin air. It is a direct result of years of old-fashioned community organizing and educating by Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County (DUHC). DUHC educates citizens regarding the role that corporations have played in an illegitimate seizure of our authority to govern ourselves, and they design and implement grassroots strategies that exercise democratic power over corporations and governments. They seek to create a truly democratic society by provoking a non-violent popular uprising against corporate rule in Humboldt Co. that can serve as a model for other communities across the U.S.
Just like the populists of the agrarian movement of the late 19th century, these folks understand that genuine mass movements cannot be top-down. A mass movement with political viability must proceed from the ground up. And the battles must be waged in our local communities.
If you want to learn more about the effort, or want some help in replicating this in your area, give them a call at 707-444-0407 or check www.votelocalcontrol.org or www.duhc.org
At about the time
your editor would have liked to
have this periodical at the printer, it was announced that the United
States is willing to talk directly with Iran. Whether this talk
might delay or preclude aggressive U.S. military action remains to be
seen, but it certainly points out the absurdity of our refusal to have
any diplomatic contact for reasons that are decades old.PJALS remains very concerned about the official hostility that our government maintains for Iran, as well as the self-destructive posturing of Iran’s president. The predictable violent conflict could only worsen the plight of the Iranian people, further destabilize the Middle East, and dig a deeper hole for Americans caught in a spiral of military aggression and misguided foreign policy.
We plan to address these and other problems at a public dialogue on Iran, three installments over three weeks this summer at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Browne’s Addition. We expect this will be June 22 and 29, and July 6, and featuring Professor Jonathon Isacoff of Gonzaga University. Please bear with us on details and expect a mailing soon as we assemble speakers who will stimulate our discussion.
Tragically, the public, in the U.S. and in Iran, remains almost completely unaware of any alternatives or consequences regarding the possible expansion of our policy of widespread and perpetual warfare. Americans also tend to overlook the fact that Iran is much larger and even more complicated than Iraq.
It is the intention of PJALS to shed some light upon the U.S. relationship to Iran and upon the reality that the people of Iran are not our enemies. We are willing to put together an ambitious program on short notice because of the urgency for rational dialogue and the danger of imminent military catastrophe.
Another
Memorial Day has come and gone
while the need for still more memorials
is created every day.
Why is it that civilized people refuse to be creative
in our memorials for loved ones
thrown so easily upon the dung heap of war?
A speech, a stone, a flower, a martial tune,
a wreath…just as it was in 1918 or 1865.
The same high ideals and low ideas.
If my brother’s death was such a noble gift,
Let us build a peace, a stone or flower to lift us from this hell-bent rut of destruction.
A memorial to the few lives lived for peace.
while the need for still more memorials
is created every day.
Why is it that civilized people refuse to be creative
in our memorials for loved ones
thrown so easily upon the dung heap of war?
A speech, a stone, a flower, a martial tune,
a wreath…just as it was in 1918 or 1865.
The same high ideals and low ideas.
If my brother’s death was such a noble gift,
Let us build a peace, a stone or flower to lift us from this hell-bent rut of destruction.
A memorial to the few lives lived for peace.
Veterans of PJALS auctions may best remember our 2006 version for being over well ahead of 9 pm. Although it had many good features including the venue at the Unitarian Church, Terry Trueman’s entertaining antics, wonderful potluck treats, and over $5000 raised from selling donated items from the sublime to the ridiculous, it takes the early finish to really distinguish it from our past events.
The staff and steering committee are grateful to all donors and participants.
The U.S. House of Representatives will finally act on HR 1217 in June. Whether it happens in the first or second week of this month depends upon complications created by other legislative deliberations, but we need some PJALS action, right now.
Please call or email your representative immediately to urge support for this resolution that would suspend operations of the School of the Americas, also known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (SOA/WHINSEC).
In Washington’s 5th District, you should not hesitate to contact Cathy McMorris although she has shown no inclination to act favorably on this human right issue. With enough constituent contact, she may yet decide to learn something about the School of Assassins. To call her or other members of Congress toll free, dial 1-888-355-3588. To email Rep. McMorris, it is now necessary to go to her website—www.mcmorris.house.gov
While it remains to be seen if the House will vote to suspend and investigate the SOA, the verdict is already in from other countries. Uraguay and Argentina have joined Venezuela in cutting off any participation of their troops at SOA/WHINSEC.
In 2004, Hugo Chavez responded positively to a direct request from Fr. Roy Bourgeois to send no more Venezuelan troops or police to Ft. Benning. In another South American tour this spring, Roy found that the defense ministers in Argentina and Uruguay (Is it a surprise to people in the U.S. that both of these officials are women?) were ready to make the same move. In Bolivia, Evo Morales has taken Roy’s request under advisement and is consulting with his defense minister in the country once ruled by Hugo Banzar, the former dictator who is enshrined in the SOA’s Hall of Fame.
Only the datelines change, and the names, and a few odd numbers. Perhaps the weather or the climate. But it’s still a familiar and miserable refrain.
Might makes right. At least for a moment, whether it’s measured in minutes or days.
The U.S. Marines were right to round up and murder 24 civilians, including women and infants, in Haditha. They certainly had the might. But now it looks like a public relations nightmare, and someone is going to have to get a wrist slapped or lose some stripes.
The army driver who got too aggressive in leading a convoy in Afghanistan was showing the might of the U.S. military, ramming into vehicles driven by people who showed a lack of respect. Too bad the passengers died, too, in one vehicle. Wonder why people got so touchy. Imagine riots and, now, a federal case. There could even be punishment.
That poor guy Zehmi, in Spokane. What are the cops to do when he won’t calm down or respond to their tasers? They hogtied him just like they would anyone else out of control. It was homicide, but that doesn’t mean the police did anything wrong. Hey, he might have hurt somebody.
What’s a general to do, never mind the president? What about the chief of police or the mayor? They’ve had the same training as the grunts and the cops on the street. There’s so much to learn about hurting and breaking, there’s never anytime for healing or restoring.
Remember My Lai? I’m sorry, but I can’t forget. I was in the same country when it happened. Another lieutenant called Rusty had to pay. Couple months of house arrest, too, before he had suffered enough.
Let me tell you what I’ve learned since 1968 about being right, about being tough, about being a human person. - RN
PJALS tries hard to keep in touch with its membership, but sometimes it takes a while to catch up with technology, events, and folks who are constantly on the move. Here are some ways you can help us keep up with this crazy century.
Your giving is the most important element of the process that keeps PJALS operating. You have been promised an updated system for making your financial contributions, and we believe we’re ready to implement a system for automatic withdrawal. Please contact the office to share the sensitive information that will work to your advantage and to benefit PJALS. We’re hoping that about 100 members will want to try automatic withdrawal within the next few months, and we have invested accordingly.
Meanwhile, we are enjoying the speed and convenience of email alerts and other correspondence with many of our most active members. Unfortunately, we have dozens of messages bounced each time we send a mass email. That means we have some wrong or expired eddresses, and we ask that you email us with your current email if you have not been getting reminders and alerts from PJALS, or if you would like to be added to the list for the first time.
Sometimes we still have problems with our database and might leave you out on a newsletter mailing. If this happens, please contact the office. Remember, however, it is possible that you could have been removed from the mailing list if you haven’t made a contribution in two or three years. It’s also possible that you have been inadvertently deleted by error. Either way, we need to hear from you to make a correction. If you wish to be dropped or if you wish to retain your membership although you are far behind in dues or gifts, we need to know that, too.
We are not ready to email the Handful each month, but it is possible for you to read it when you visit our website. This is also a good way for you to introduce others to PJALS, but don’t forget that we need supporting members, even if they are not getting the Handful in the mail each month.
That brings us back to the automatic withdrawal plan. The steering committee is betting you will want to participate in the program, and perhaps even increase your commitment by having a nice round figure like $10 or $20 withdrawn from your bank each month.
It’s important to PJALS to know what you think, not just about our programs and projects, but about our administration, as well. Thanks for being here, and keep in touch.
- RN
PJALS | ISSUES | HISTORY | CONTACT | HANDFUL | CALENDAR | SUPPORT | MEMBERSHIP