United for No Injustice, Oppression or Neglect
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Current Call to Action - Friday, Sept 7, 2007
Emergency
Rally on Medical Crisis MRSA
Epidemic Outbreak Support
of AB1539 Support
of Sentencing Bills Crisis
of Abuse of Mentally Ill State
Capitol Building Load
up your car click here, hit print, should print off on one page www.1union1.com/rally_flyer_sept7.html ------------- Please book all travel arrangements (flights, hotels, rental cars) for this rally and at all other times from anywhere in the US with our UNION member Shella Zelenez, just go to this link and book. The Travel Lodge is a ten minute walk to the North side of the Capitol, the Motel 6 on Richards Blvd is within a few miles, or just come for the day. If you have a ride to offer or need a ride to the rally on September 7, please email uniondatabase@aol.com. Two rides are needed from San Jose Rides are needed from Palmdale ----------- http://www.senate.ca.gov/~newsen/schedules/files.htp Our bill AB 1539 to re-sentence and release permanently incapacitated
and terminally ill prisoners will be held before the Senate Appropriations
Committee on (not re-scheduled yet). A similar bill passed last year but
was vetoed by the Governor. The Governor remains the biggest block to many
important reforms including Compassionate Release of those who shouldn't
be in a prison at all and media access. Fax your support of the passage of AB 1539 to re-sentence terminally ill and permanently disabled prisoners to the Senate Appropriations Committee Sample letter to fax to numbers below Dear Senator: As a California taxpayer and voter, I wholeheartedly support AB 1539, the Medical Release and Fiscal Savings Bill. This bill will facilitate the medical release of terminally ill prisoners already required by Penal Code Section 1170, but not being carried out due to procedural deficiencies and delays. It will also allow the medical release of the permanently medically incapacitated. Neither of these groups poses any risk to public safety and constitutionally should be released in a humane and timely manner. Currently, prisoners who qualify for medical release, and their families, painfully endure an ill-defined and lengthy process that often ends only with the inmate’s death in prison. AB 1539 would specify and streamline proper legal procedures to ensure timely medical releases of those whom a prison doctor, the prison’s chief medical officer, the Board of Prison Terms, and the warden all concur deserve an opportunity for a court to recall his or her sentence and issue a medical release order to Corrections. AB 1539 can remedy the unlawful and inhumane practice of keeping the terminally ill and the permanently medically incapacitated in prison until they die, and it will save hundreds of thousands of Corrections’ dollars, which could be more effectively used toward the Governor’s renewed rehabilitation goals, which certainly will need more funding than allocated so far. Passing AB 1539 will also help to free up much-needed prison space for rehabilitation classrooms. I sincerely hope that you will carefully consider these benefits of passing AB 1539 to amend PC 1170 so that it reflects its full intent and disencumbers the currently ineffective legal process of sentence recall and medical release. Very truly yours, Your signature - reword it into your own words Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee Senator Tom Torlakson tom@tomtorlakson.com Fax (916) 445-2527 Senator Dave Cox These are all the numbers listed on his website: FAX 530-283-3439 Fax 916-783-5487 FAx 916-324-2680 FAX 209-223-9140 Senator Samuel Aanestad Fax: 916-445-7750 Senator Roy Ashburn Fax: (916) 322-3304 Fax: 661-323-0446 Senator Jim Battin Fax: (916) 327-2187 Fax: (760) 568-1501 Fax: (951) 653-9524 Senator Gilbert Cedillo Fax (916) 327-8817 Senator Ellen Corbett Fax (916) 327-2433 Senator Robert Dutton Fax (916) 327-2272 Senator Dean Florez Fax (916) 327-5989 Senator Sheila Kuehl Fax (916) 324-4823 Senator Jenny OropezaFax: (916) 323-6056 Senator Mark Ridley-ThomasFax: (916) 445-8899 Senator George RunnerFax: (916) 445-4662 Fax: 661-729-1683 Fax: 760-843-8348 Fax: 661-286-2543 Senator Joe SimitianFax: (916) 323-4529 Fax: (650) 688-6370 Fax: (831) 425-5124 Senator Darrell SteinbergFax: (916) 323-2263 Senator Mark WylandFax: (916) 446-7382 Fax: (949) 489-8354 Fax: (760) 931-2477 Senator Leland YeeFax: (916) 327-2186----------------------------------- ----------------------- Tilton's entire confirmation hearing held yesterday 07/11/07 before
the Senate Rules Committeee IS online now at www.calchannel.com Everyone with a loved one in prison or who cares about the extreme taxpayer
waste and inhumanity taking place in California's pisons needs to review
this video more than one time so that you can see the smoke and mirrors
being billowed up the tailpipe of the various legislative committees.
You can see that Tilton talks about reform but most of what he says are
empty words. What is missing of course is his real action. It was difficult for me to get in all our complaints. You can
see Senator Perata was cutting off everyone who tried to voice anything
negative. The other prisoner advocates were testifying in support of Tilton
but they all had some reservations and conditions. It takes some
courage to go sit up there in that opposition seat especially in view of
retaliation and purposeful lack of access imposed upon those who speak
out but we didn't get prison reform on the table by being too nice. As you can see, Senator Perata actually believes that the ombudsmen
can and will actually take care of the family complaints. In my experience,
maybe one of one hundred situations get taken care of by ombudsmen!
So, there is a huge breakdown of communications about their effectiveness
that needs to be bridged. In fact, there were only two people there
in opposition to Tilton's confirmation, myself and a mother who testified
after me who gave Perata a video of her son being abused she said.
I have not seen this tape and do not have a copy of it, however, I am interested
in doing so but I didn't get her phone number or email.
There is a ten minute recess during this meeting. Here are
instructions to get to the hearing go to www.calchannel.com you will need the Windows Media Player 10 which is free to download click on "webcast" in the upper left hand corner click on "search
archive" on the left put in the date with no dashes or slashes 071107 Senate Committee type in Rules click submit click watch once the program loads, drag the slider over to exactly
53 min. 45 seconds where the hearing begins. I encourage you to take
the time to watch all of it, twice if possible so you can get the innuendos
and see past some of the smoke and mirrors. My testimony followed
by one of the prisoner mothers begins at exactly 02:06:53 - Two hours,
six minutes and 53 seconds Rev. B. Cayenne Bird The joint hearing held by Judges Thelton Henderson and Lawrence Karlton held in Sacramento on June 27, 2007 was a huge success. A web page has been set up so that you can print off and mail the articles to the prisoners at www.1union1.com/prison_cap_campaign.html Congratulations
UNION members for a turn out so large that it made the news wire services.
This is the largest turn out for a prison reform hearing by prisoners and
their families in the history of California. A clear message that the families
of prisoners can organize and that they can respond to calls to action
to stand up against those politicians who oppress them, a new day has dawned,
but keep on organizing, mobilizing and registering the poor to vote. Honorable JudgeThelton E. Henderson Senior District Court Honorable Judge Lawrence K. Karlton (LKK) Make certain that you are writing letters to editors on the violations that the lawmakers are making of the California Constitution which forbids holding people in custody when they cannot provide adequate medical care. Caring starts with you. We will need more people to sit in the audience when the bill goes to the Senate. Sign up in the UNION so you can help with this important work. An 8th grader can do it. You are needed. Billions of education dollars are being wasted on punishing sick people. How ludicrous! You can see the hearing online of UNION members testimony before the Assembly Appropriations Committee. If you have a windows media player in your computer. It's up now.go to www.calchannel.com click on webcasts, click on archives, enter 050907 (just like that - no slashes or dashes) select Assembly, Select Committee, Select Appropriations, click submit and it will come up on May 9, click watch. Move your slider to 42 minute mark by holding down your mouse Notice the lockstep voting of the Repugs. They have always done this and continue to do it. No one is safe as long as Repug politicians sit in elected office. More information on our campaign to support AB 1539 can be found here http://www.1union1.com/ab1539_index_page.html Tell the prisoners to send their families because a crowd could be needed as the bills enter their final phases. ----------------------------- How do you make noise? Be prepared to respond to UNION Calls to Action and write to editors. Everyone is hoping and praying that our side is going to find it's own organizing legs soon. The state runs on voting groups and we outnumber everyone but that doesn't matter if we aren't writing, recruiting, filing lawsuits and initiative campaigns.. All of this oppression is happening because we haven't organized well enough or loudly enough. I made need you to back me up at the Senate level by bringing a crowd to the Sacramento courtroom where the war is located. Sign up for the daily newsletter so you can learn to become an activist for change. Get off the sidelines, writing to editors, recruiting more writers and protesters, getting out the vote is essential to reform! The war is in Sacramento and 90% of winning it is showing up when you're supposed to be there. http://www.1union1.com/Join_the_UNION.html -------------------------- ------------------------- My past articles which include many sensible prison reform recommendations which would free up tens of thousands of prison cells are located at the following links. I hope you can take them and post them everywhere to THE OTHER VOTERS and mail them into the prisoners. The legislators are in office to service the people who gave them money to get elected, not to service the poor. This is where failure to get out the vote catches up with us. Rev. Cayenne http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewByAuthor.asp?authorID=264 ---------------------------------- Please subscribe to the UNION daily newsletter so you can learn how, when, where to become an advocate for change. http://www.1union1.com/Join_the_UNION.html ---------------- the UNION media email list is located here - use it to post letters to editors of 150 words or less (use your pen name if you're afraid to speak out but don't neglect to make your voice heard!) Post comments at as many publications as possible. http://www.1union1.com/union_addresses.html Our battles are only as effective as the NUMBER OF PEOPLE who write,
recruit and bring people to the polls to vote. That means you! -------------------- UNION CURRENT CALL TO ACTION #2 in effect until April 30, 2007 This is different from our normal Calls to Action because you are objecting to an interim rule created by the now disgraced US Attorney General Gonzales. The rule if passed will affect every sex offender and the one million women and children in California connected to them. Please send it priority mail today or tomorrow in a red, white, blue envelope so we feel like a force on the receiving end. The cut off date is April 30, 2007. Please also post to national level journalists who are currently missing this important change in the law done by a criminal trying to save himself - Gonzales. A sample letter for you to post online to journalists follows the sample letter that goes to David Karp, Senior Counsel. Power of numbers is the only prayer we have of being heard. Just do YOUR share.David J. Karp, Senior Counsel, Office of Legal Policy,Room 4509, Main Justice Building, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue,NW., Washington, DC 20530. To ensure proper handling, please reference OAG Docket No. 117 on your correspondence. You may view an electronic version of this interim rule at Regulations.gov. You may also comment via the Internet to the Justice Department's Office of Legal Policy (OLP) by e-mail to: olpregs@usdoj.gov or by using the Regulations.gov comment form for this regulation. When submitting comments electronically you must include OAG Docket No. 117 in the subject box. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura L. Rogers, Director, Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking; Office of Justice Programs, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, 202 514-4689. David J. Karp,Senior CounselOffice of Legal Policy, Room 4509Main Justice Building950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20530. Re: OAG Docket No. 117 Please allow me to voice my grave concern and opposition for the Interim Rule issued as a result of the Adam Walsh Act (AWA) and SORNA by Attoney General Gonzales. This law will allow double jeopardy which is legal only because federal jurisdiction and state jurisdiction are separate. A person can now be punished by both the federal; and state government for the same violation of registration. Every state has a registry in place and this is certainly a duplicate effort and an excessively expensive and unnecessary law. A great many people who have moved on with their lives and living law abiding and productive lives will now be re-exposed with the retroactive clause of SORNA. This is tantamount to the Salem witch hunts only now it is the families of sex offenders who will brought down with this draconian and vindictive law. This is cruel and unusual punishment, not public safety as SORNA will show places of employment in the Federal Registry which will be an open invitation to the fear mongers and hatemongers to protest their places of work and/or physically attack them. Posting places of employment in a federal database will stand in the way of any sex offender in California (and the nation) from being able to earn a living, no matter how minor their crime. This is completely counterproductive to the goal of reintegrating ex-felons back into society as self supporting, productive citizens. The Attorney General has said that SORNA's applicability will be to "virtually the entire existing sex offender population". Clearly the intent is cover "virtually" everyone, but there is no mention about whether Congress specifically limits what he can do. Why was this left out?
Please consider the effect this will have on the one million women and children attached to a sex offender when they cannot earn a living. Current laws have forced a group of people to live under a bridge in Florida. This is an excellent example of how this law will further affect the offenders and their families. They are unable to work and support their families or themselves The one time sex offender is lumped together with the violent sexual predator. In California, there are already laws in effect to handle the truly high risk offender and considering all sex offenders one and the same is simply not right or just. The tiny fraction of a percentage of sex offenders who are guilty of raping and/or murdering a child are mentally ill and they belong in places of healing.
They are the people who need to be removed from society for the purpose of safety but even this should be done in a much more healing manner, as they are most often severely mentally ill. More than 90% of sex crimes involving a child occur within families. No registration, residency restriction or monitoring system will stop these crimes. This law is targeting an entire group of people and only a fraction of the group would possibly be stopped from a crime. We are so scared that those people who have been convicted of sex offense will reoffend, but look at the statistics. The Department of Justice states that the average rate of recidivism is 5%, one the lowest rates among all felonies. It is an invented lie that has been perpetrated to the public that sex offenders cannot be rehabilitated and that they have a high rate of recidivism. This is simply not true. Our conservative leaders are constantly preaching about building the family and knocking the liberals for not having stricter morals, but laws such as this are destroying families over mental illness. It's barbaric, opportunistic and political grandstanding at its worst.
SORNA can be passed as Federal Interim Rule because Congress empowered Attorney General Gonzales, whose character is now being assassinated to do so. All of his initiatives should simply be cancelled. He has proven not to be trustworthy and everything he has touched is now tainted, including SORNA. He most likely wrote this rule anticipating he would need the support of fellow Republicans over the firings of the Attorneys. How can it be a good rule when Conservatives are so hell bent to overpunish the severely mentally ill in order to build political careers and Gonzales so desperately needs their support. The fact that SORNA touches so many millions of lives in a destructive manner makes it as much, if not more important than the other probes. In addition, the Attorney General fails to point out anything relative to Sec. 117 (Duty to Notify Sex Offenders of Registration Requirements and to Register) which places a requirement on him (and his office).
Notification is a basic tenet of due process, is it not? Why was this left out of the Interim Rule? This is an ill conceived, poorly thought out Rule and I ask that it be struck down before we allow the invented hysteria that has pervaded our country continue to destroy families. A child is 40 times more likely to be killed by a drunk driver than a sex offender. Why are these people being ostracized, forced to live in exile and banishment, on the streets of our FREE country? This is all too reminiscent of the nightmare of Nazi Germany. That is a frightening state of affairs for our country. SORNA should be discarded immediately Signature ---------- ------------ Make your letter express your view and the impact on your own life or that of people whom you love, do not simply copy my letter word for word. Where's the focus on prevention and healing of the mentally ill? There are many issues not mentioned here. Please copy me on what you wrote Mail in a red, white and blue priority mail envelope by Tuesday night so we feel like an army because we all mailed within 48 hours of one another. Get your family members to write. I may be changing the above letter since this is just a draft but I wanted you to get started on at least thinking about this and exchanging arguments and ideas since we have 54 California journalists on our UNION newsletter list who are learning this issue as well. ---------------------------------Schwarzenegger and O'Reilly sued and settled for sexual harrassment. Why aren't they in the database? http://www.1union1.com/sexual_harassment.html--------------------------------Sexual assaults committed by youth are a growing concern in this country. Currently, it is estimated that adolescents (ages 13 to 17) account for up to one-fifth of all rapes and one-half of all cases of child molestation committed each year (Barbaree, Hudson, and Seto, 1993). In 1995, youth were involved in 15% of all forcible rapes cleared by arrest—approximately 18 adolescents per 100,000 were arrested for forcible rape. In the same year, approximately 16,100 adolescents were arrested for sexual offenses, excluding rape and prostitution (Sickmund, Snyder, Poe-Yamagata, 1997). --------------------------------Treatment for most sex offenders works http://www.1union1.com/Jessicaslawtreat.html --------------------------------http://www.anandaanswers.com/pages/naaFalse.html On April 17, 2007 a number of bills will be approved or disapproved by the California Public Safety Committee in the Assembly. Now that Assemblymember Mark Leno is head of the Appropriations Committee. We seem to have a very uninformed new person as Chair of Public Safety, Jose Solorio, so we can no longer assume that Democrats are killing every terrible bill as they did in the past when Leno was chair. In fact, there are now a total of nine Democrats who have been voting with the Republicans who have blocked prison reform of any type for two decades. What we need is more people who understand the legalease wording of these proposed bills, in particular those proposed by Republican legislators at the core of most of our problems. Many bills are going unchallenged which is interpreted by the legislators to mean consent. We also need more people to learn the issues by subscribing to the UNION daily newsletter so there can be attendance at some of these hearings, letters to editors in support or opposition and when necessary, massive rallies at the Capitol which we have done many times over the past decade. Please take a look at Dr. B. Cayenne Bird's column at the Chronicle for a list of the bills which need to be studied and commented upon then write her at rightor1@yahoo.com because we are surely missing points with so much happening at once and not enough qualified volunteers who actually understand the trainwrecks coming if these pass. Lives are at stake and your work is needed. Get active now, everyone can get a pen name and write 7 sentence letters to editors and show up three or four times a year on some of the campaigns or they can send someone. The people with no group are the ones who go to prison in California. Groups run the legislature, large, funded groups that have a million dollars in their treasury at least because that's what is needed to do referendums, initiatives, or recalls. No muscle means no reform is possible. Get active and do something about your problems as there are no rescuers and no way to win without lawsuits, referendums and initiative campaigns. This can be done if enough people help. Takes a little work. -------------------------- Our eight year campaign against medical neglect in California's prisons and jails has been very successful. Support for our wrongful death and medical neglect lawsuits still in progress is still very important since their outcomes will affect every California prisoner. The Mark Grangetto medical neglect lawsuit is coming to court in Hanford this summer and we will need to overflow the courtroom to show that people do care about prisoners! By attending and bringing people to the hearing, you will help make a strong point that medical neglect of any prisoner is unacceptable to we the voters of California. We won't know about the trial date until the very last minute so make certain you are subscribed to the UNION Daily Newsletter via email and have ten people lined up to come with you. -------------------------- ----------------- Are you posting
comments beneath prison reform articles and writing to editors short 7
to 10 sentence reactions to what they're writing in the news? We elaborate
on the issues in the daily UNION newsletter but you can find plenty of
places to help educate the public on prison issues that appear almost daily
in the Sacramento Bee, North
County Times, California
Progress Report Be interactive if you want to see reform as silence
is consent. When you aren't writing and attending protests, everyone assumes
that you are happy with the status quo. We have a great media
email list online for you to use (select, copy, paste) ----------------------- This is special area of our website that we have set up to rail against
Prop 83 Jessica's Law. One million women and children are in danger of
becoming homeless and banned from society and not one child will be saved
by this most unconstitutional law. Read the stories of real California
families affected and get the facts. http://www.1union1.com/Jessicaslaw...Noway.htm If you would like to be one of the 6500 workers to help me bring about criminal justice reform, better conditions in prisons and jails and help for the families of prisoners, please join our UNION. We always need help with our website updates, researchers, letter writers, protesters, people to give rides when we have a call to action to attend an important hearing on protest. We also need clerical assistance filing and answering mail in Sacramento as the pleas for help number in the thousands. We could always use supplies, paper, postage, ink cartridges, the state runs on groups, if you don't have a big one, you can't elect people to office who will represent you. Your participation in this process is necessary as the power of numbers is the only solution. there is an audio you can listen to at this link Rev. B. Cayenne Bird United for No Injustice, Oppression or Neglect Writing, protesting, recruiting more workers, getting out the vote, that's what real patriots do when their chains become too heavy. We never have enough volunteers in action which is why the problems still exist. You can do something about this needless suffering when you work in a group. There are 3 million people attached to a state prisoner but until they are properly organized, funding themselves and getting out the vote, the numbers won't count and we will be stymied in our work to file more lawsuits and do more initiative campaigns. 6500 workers can change any law, elect or recall any politician, will you be one who takes action in the UNION?
Complain about callous State and CDC Employees by Sending Letters to: Ms. Anne Sheehan Other complaint information is located on this page link
Contact: U.N.I.O.N.
Congratulations UNION members - Victory is sweet, is it not?
The Governor has signed AB 1539 for the compassionate release of permanently disabled and dying inmates.
It is less than a perfect law with many ways for harsh sentencing judges and prison physicians to weasle out of actually releasing people, but I believe this is a baby step toward reform that many UNION people should be extremely proud of accomplishing.
We will communicate with the media over this one every step of the way as so many UNION people have loved ones who should qualify. It doesn't actually take effect until January 1 but perhaps with enough pressure and noise, we can bring attention to the case of Mark Grangetto and see a new day in California. There are about 4500 prisoners who would qualify for release under this new law, but will it happen?
I can only pray that it does. Thank you for all your help in bringing this step forward into reality
I hope that you will be posting out there about it everywhere because those who did absolutely nothing to help us with these horrible, nightmare real cases of human suffering will be the first to take credit for getting the bill passed. I am just certain that none of you will allow that to happen, correct? Funding goes to the groups that claim victory, whether or not they deserve it.
Thank you Governor Schwarzenegger, Judges Henderson and Karlton and Donald Specter and his staff, Nora Weber, Cindy Cannon, and all the writing, fighting, lawsuit filing members of the UNION whose noise was too loud to ignore.
Thank you one and all from the bottom of my heart. The past decade of working on getting this problem on a daily basis which resulted in getting this watered down bill passed was not in vain.
Now you see why we take three bills each session at the most and hammer them to a done, based on our available funds and volunteers. This is why we are focused on recruiting right now if you want to see more progress. We simply cannot go forward from here in the current political scene without the ability to force serious changes in the law through the initiative process and at the ballot box.
It's small, but to those who should be released, it means the world. When people are too nice, nobody listens. When people write to editors, file lawsuits, do protests, and register the poor to vote, when they are visibly organizing a funded, voting lobby, everybody listens.
Great work in theory, let's see if we can pry some of these suffering and dying people from the clutches of these monsters who have taken over our state. You can thank the Governor and pray that we can make this happen. Never be silent, yell and scream every step of the way until your dying loved one is home. All for one, one for all in the UNION.
Rev. B. Cayenne Bird
------------------------------
UNION members:
There is much posting to be done on AB 1539 when it hits the media today. I hope that you posted at the links I sent you over the week - end, if not get that done now. I was out at Salinas Valley Prison this week end and have some reports from there.
If you haven't mailed the September news update to at least one prisoner, please include this email with it, I am very sure they want to get the news that there is a chance that should they become ill they might not be forced to die alone on a cold, concrete floor in a dungeon.
Sept summary of newsletters for you to print off and mail to one prisoner is located here
don't forget to send the rally photos
http://www.1union1.com/Sept7_rally_photos.html make sure that you subscribe to the UNION daily newsletter so you can learn how, when, where to fight back and win other victories. Subscriptions finance our rallies, public education work, and help us to be able to answer thousands of letters from prisoners needing help. http://www.1union1.com/Join_the_UNION.html
Rev. Cayenne ----------------------------------------- Dying inmates may be given leniency
Hearing Before the Three Judge Court this Monday, September Sept 24, 2007 01:30 PM (r)C01-1351 PLATA, et al. v. SCHWARZENEGGER, et al. S90-0520 LKK RALPH COLEMAN, et al. v. SCHWARZENEGGER, et al. Don Specter (p) Paul Mello (d)
Hearing before Three-Judge Court
Federal courthouse is located at
450 Golden Gate Avenue
San Francisco, California 94102 It's in the ceremonial courtroom at the Federal Building in SF--the same building where Henderson has his courtroom--at 1:30 p.m., Ask security if you get lost.
The Amtrak arrives just three blocks away, walking distance, I have taken this method many times and it is the best way to get there. --------------------------------
I urge everyone with a crisis in progress to mail letters and documents to both Judges Henderson and Karlton so they can see the brick walls and lack of responsiveness to your cases. If you copy off a set for me, I will share your struggle with several reporters who are probing our issues (UNION members only please copy me) Their addresses are below.
----------------------------- Honorable JudgeThelton E. Henderson United States District Court 450 Golden Gate Avenue San Francisco, California 94102 --------------------------------
Senior District Court Honorable Judge Lawrence K. Karlton (LKK)
501 I Street, Suite. 4-200 Sacramento, CA 95814 The Sept 7 Rally was a big success. A special thank you to everyone who attended. The sentencing commission bills were put on hold until next year (didn't pass) Our bill AB 1539 for sick and dying inmates is on the Governor's desk, he must sign or veto it by October 12, 2007. Keep on writing to editors about the expense and futility of punishing the sick September
7 Main Rally Index http://www.senate.ca.gov/~newsen/schedules/files.htp Our bill AB 1539 to re-sentence and release permanently incapacitated
and terminally ill prisoners will be held before the Senate Appropriations
Committee on (not re-scheduled yet). A similar bill passed last year but
was vetoed by the Governor. The Governor remains the biggest block to many
important reforms including Compassionate Release of those who shouldn't
be in a prison at all and media access. Fax your support of the passage of AB 1539 to re-sentence terminally ill and permanently disabled prisoners to the Senate Appropriations Committee Sample letter to fax to numbers below Dear Senator: As a California taxpayer and voter, I wholeheartedly support AB 1539, the Medical Release and Fiscal Savings Bill. This bill will facilitate the medical release of terminally ill prisoners already required by Penal Code Section 1170, but not being carried out due to procedural deficiencies and delays. It will also allow the medical release of the permanently medically incapacitated. Neither of these groups poses any risk to public safety and constitutionally should be released in a humane and timely manner. Currently, prisoners who qualify for medical release, and their families, painfully endure an ill-defined and lengthy process that often ends only with the inmate’s death in prison. AB 1539 would specify and streamline proper legal procedures to ensure timely medical releases of those whom a prison doctor, the prison’s chief medical officer, the Board of Prison Terms, and the warden all concur deserve an opportunity for a court to recall his or her sentence and issue a medical release order to Corrections. AB 1539 can remedy the unlawful and inhumane practice of keeping the terminally ill and the permanently medically incapacitated in prison until they die, and it will save hundreds of thousands of Corrections’ dollars, which could be more effectively used toward the Governor’s renewed rehabilitation goals, which certainly will need more funding than allocated so far. Passing AB 1539 will also help to free up much-needed prison space for rehabilitation classrooms. I sincerely hope that you will carefully consider these benefits of passing AB 1539 to amend PC 1170 so that it reflects its full intent and disencumbers the currently ineffective legal process of sentence recall and medical release. Very truly yours, Your signature - reword it into your own words Senator Tom Torlakson tom@tomtorlakson.com Fax (916) 445-2527 Senator Dave Cox These are all the numbers listed on his website: FAX 530-283-3439 Fax 916-783-5487 FAx 916-324-2680 FAX 209-223-9140 Senator Samuel Aanestad Fax: 916-445-7750 Senator Roy Ashburn Fax: (916) 322-3304 Fax: 661-323-0446 Senator Jim Battin Fax: (916) 327-2187 Fax: (760) 568-1501 Fax: (951) 653-9524 Senator Gilbert Cedillo Fax (916) 327-8817 Senator Ellen Corbett Fax (916) 327-2433 Senator Robert Dutton Fax (916) 327-2272 Senator Dean Florez Fax (916) 327-5989 Senator Sheila Kuehl Fax (916) 324-4823 Senator Jenny OropezaFax: (916) 323-6056 Senator Mark Ridley-ThomasFax: (916) 445-8899 Senator George RunnerFax: (916) 445-4662 Fax: 661-729-1683 Fax: 760-843-8348 Fax: 661-286-2543 Senator Joe SimitianFax: (916) 323-4529 Fax: (650) 688-6370 Fax: (831) 425-5124 Senator Darrell SteinbergFax: (916) 323-2263 Senator Mark WylandFax: (916) 446-7382 Fax: (949) 489-8354 Fax: (760) 931-2477 Senator Leland YeeFax: (916) 327-2186----------------------------------- ----------------------- Tilton's entire confirmation hearing held yesterday 07/11/07 before
the Senate Rules Committeee IS online now at www.calchannel.com Everyone
with a loved one in prison or who cares about the extreme taxpayer waste
and inhumanity taking place in California's pisons needs to review this
video more than one time so that you can see the smoke and mirrors being
billowed up the tailpipe of the various legislative committees. You
can see that Tilton talks about reform but most of what he says are empty
words. What is missing of course is his real action. It
was difficult for me to get in all our complaints. You can see Senator
Perata was cutting off everyone who tried to voice anything negative. The
other prisoner advocates were testifying in support of Tilton but they
all had some reservations and conditions. It takes some courage to
go sit up there in that opposition seat especially in view of retaliation
and purposeful lack of access imposed upon those who speak out but we didn't
get prison reform on the table by being too nice. As you can
see, Senator Perata actually believes that the ombudsmen can and will actually
take care of the family complaints. In my experience, maybe one of
one hundred situations get taken care of by ombudsmen! So, there
is a huge breakdown of communications about their effectiveness that needs
to be bridged. In fact, there were only two people there in
opposition to Tilton's confirmation, myself and a mother who testified
after me who gave Perata a video of her son being abused she said.
I have not seen this tape and do not have a copy of it, however, I am interested
in doing so but I didn't get her phone number or email.
There is a ten minute recess during this meeting. Here
are instructions to get to the hearing go to www.calchannel.com you will need the Windows Media Player 10 which is free to download click
on "webcast" in the upper left hand corner click on "search
archive" on the left put in the date with no dashes or slashes
071107 Senate Committee type in Rules click
submit click watch once the program loads, drag
the slider over to exactly 53 min. 45 seconds where the hearing begins.
I encourage you to take the time to watch all of it, twice if possible
so you can get the innuendos and see past some of the smoke and mirrors.
My testimony followed by one of the prisoner mothers begins at exactly
02:06:53 - Two hours, six minutes and 53 seconds Rev.
B. Cayenne Bird ----------------------------------------------- The joint hearing held by Judges Thelton Henderson and Lawrence Karlton held in Sacramento on June 27, 2007 was a huge success. A web page has been set up so that you can print off and mail the articles to the prisoners at www.1union1.com/prison_cap_campaign.html Congratulations
UNION members for a turn out so large that it made the news wire services.
This is the largest turn out for a prison reform hearing by prisoners and
their families in the history of California. A clear message that the families
of prisoners can organize and that they can respond to calls to action
to stand up against those politicians who oppress them, a new day has dawned,
but keep on organizing, mobilizing and registering the poor to vote. Make certain that you are writing letters to editors on the violations
that the lawmakers are making of the California Constitution which forbids
holding people in custody when they cannot provide adequate medical care.
Caring starts with you. We will need more people to sit in the audience
when the bill goes to the Senate. Sign up in the UNION so you can help
with this important work. An 8th grader can do it. You are needed. Billions
of education dollars are being wasted on punishing sick people. How ludicrous! Notice the lockstep voting of the Repugs. They have always done this and continue to do it. No one is safe as long as Repug politicians sit in elected office. More information on our campaign to support AB 1539 can be found here http://www.1union1.com/ab1539_index_page.html Tell the prisoners to send their families because a crowd could be needed
as the bills enter their final phases. How do you make noise? Be prepared to respond to UNION Calls to Action and write to editors. Everyone is hoping and praying that our side is going to find it's own organizing legs soon. The state runs on voting groups and we outnumber everyone but that doesn't matter if we aren't writing, recruiting, filing lawsuits and initiative campaigns.. All of this oppression is happening because we haven't organized well enough or loudly enough. I made need you to back me up at the Senate level by bringing a crowd to the Sacramento courtroom where the war is located. Sign up for the daily newsletter so you can learn to become an activist for change. Get off the sidelines, writing to editors, recruiting more writers and protesters, getting out the vote is essential to reform! The war is in Sacramento and 90% of winning it is showing up when you're supposed to be there. http://www.1union1.com/Join_the_UNION.html -------------------------- ------------------------- My past articles which include many sensible prison reform recommendations which would free up tens of thousands of prison cells are located at the following links. I hope you can take them and post them everywhere to THE OTHER VOTERS and mail them into the prisoners. The legislators are in office to service the people who gave them money to get elected, not to service the poor. This is where failure to get out the vote catches up with us. Rev. Cayenne http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewByAuthor.asp?authorID=264 ---------------------------------- Please subscribe to the UNION daily newsletter so you can learn how, when, where to become an advocate for change. http://www.1union1.com/Join_the_UNION.html ---------------- the UNION media email list is located here - use it to post letters to editors of 150 words or less (use your pen name if you're afraid to speak out but don't neglect to make your voice heard!) Post comments at as many publications as possible. http://www.1union1.com/union_addresses.html Our battles are only as effective as the NUMBER OF PEOPLE who write,
recruit and bring people to the polls to vote. That means you! -------------------- UNION CURRENT CALL TO ACTION #2 in effect until April 30, 2007 This is different from our normal Calls to Action because you are objecting to an interim rule created by the now disgraced US Attorney General Gonzales. The rule if passed will affect every sex offender and the one million women and children in California connected to them. Please send it priority mail today or tomorrow in a red, white, blue envelope so we feel like a force on the receiving end. The cut off date is April 30, 2007. Please also post to national level journalists who are currently missing this important change in the law done by a criminal trying to save himself - Gonzales. A sample letter for you to post online to journalists follows the sample letter that goes to David Karp, Senior Counsel. Power of numbers is the only prayer we have of being heard. Just do YOUR share.David J. Karp, Senior Counsel, Office of Legal Policy,Room 4509, Main Justice Building, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue,NW., Washington, DC 20530. To ensure proper handling, please reference OAG Docket No. 117 on your correspondence. You may view an electronic version of this interim rule at Regulations.gov. You may also comment via the Internet to the Justice Department's Office of Legal Policy (OLP) by e-mail to: olpregs@usdoj.gov or by using the Regulations.gov comment form for this regulation. When submitting comments electronically you must include OAG Docket No. 117 in the subject box. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura L. Rogers, Director, Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking; Office of Justice Programs, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, 202 514-4689. David J. Karp,Senior CounselOffice of Legal Policy, Room 4509Main Justice Building950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20530. Re: OAG Docket No. 117 Please allow me to voice my grave concern and opposition for the Interim Rule issued as a result of the Adam Walsh Act (AWA) and SORNA by Attoney General Gonzales. This law will allow double jeopardy which is legal only because federal jurisdiction and state jurisdiction are separate. A person can now be punished by both the federal; and state government for the same violation of registration. Every state has a registry in place and this is certainly a duplicate effort and an excessively expensive and unnecessary law. A great many people who have moved on with their lives and living law abiding and productive lives will now be re-exposed with the retroactive clause of SORNA. This is tantamount to the Salem witch hunts only now it is the families of sex offenders who will brought down with this draconian and vindictive law. This is cruel and unusual punishment, not public safety as SORNA will show places of employment in the Federal Registry which will be an open invitation to the fear mongers and hatemongers to protest their places of work and/or physically attack them. Posting places of employment in a federal database will stand in the way of any sex offender in California (and the nation) from being able to earn a living, no matter how minor their crime. This is completely counterproductive to the goal of reintegrating ex-felons back into society as self supporting, productive citizens. The Attorney General has said that SORNA's applicability will be to "virtually the entire existing sex offender population". Clearly the intent is cover "virtually" everyone, but there is no mention about whether Congress specifically limits what he can do. Why was this left out? Please consider the effect this will have on the one million women and children attached to a sex offender when they cannot earn a living. Current laws have forced a group of people to live under a bridge in Florida. This is an excellent example of how this law will further affect the offenders and their families. They are unable to work and support their families or themselves The one time sex offender is lumped together with the violent sexual predator. In California, there are already laws in effect to handle the truly high risk offender and considering all sex offenders one and the same is simply not right or just. The tiny fraction of a percentage of sex offenders who are guilty of raping and/or murdering a child are mentally ill and they belong in places of healing. They are the people who need to be removed from society for the purpose of safety but even this should be done in a much more healing manner, as they are most often severely mentally ill. More than 90% of sex crimes involving a child occur within families. No registration, residency restriction or monitoring system will stop these crimes. This law is targeting an entire group of people and only a fraction of the group would possibly be stopped from a crime. We are so scared that those people who have been convicted of sex offense will reoffend, but look at the statistics. The Department of Justice states that the average rate of recidivism is 5%, one the lowest rates among all felonies. It is an invented lie that has been perpetrated to the public that sex offenders cannot be rehabilitated and that they have a high rate of recidivism. This is simply not true. Our conservative leaders are constantly preaching about building the family and knocking the liberals for not having stricter morals, but laws such as this are destroying families over mental illness. It's barbaric, opportunistic and political grandstanding at its worst. SORNA can be passed as Federal Interim Rule because Congress empowered Attorney General Gonzales, whose character is now being assassinated to do so. All of his initiatives should simply be cancelled. He has proven not to be trustworthy and everything he has touched is now tainted, including SORNA. He most likely wrote this rule anticipating he would need the support of fellow Republicans over the firings of the Attorneys. How can it be a good rule when Conservatives are so hell bent to overpunish the severely mentally ill in order to build political careers and Gonzales so desperately needs their support. The fact that SORNA touches so many millions of lives in a destructive manner makes it as much, if not more important than the other probes. In addition, the Attorney General fails to point out anything relative to Sec. 117 (Duty to Notify Sex Offenders of Registration Requirements and to Register) which places a requirement on him (and his office). Notification is a basic tenet of due process, is it not? Why was this left out of the Interim Rule? This is an ill conceived, poorly thought out Rule and I ask that it be struck down before we allow the invented hysteria that has pervaded our country continue to destroy families. A child is 40 times more likely to be killed by a drunk driver than a sex offender. Why are these people being ostracized, forced to live in exile and banishment, on the streets of our FREE country? This is all too reminiscent of the nightmare of Nazi Germany. That is a frightening state of affairs for our country. SORNA should be discarded immediately Signature ---------------------- Make your letter express your view and the impact on your own life or that of people whom you love, do not simply copy my letter word for word. Where's the focus on prevention and healing of the mentally ill? There are many issues not mentioned here. Please copy me on what you wrote Mail in a red, white and blue priority mail envelope by Tuesday night so we feel like an army because we all mailed within 48 hours of one another. Get your family members to write. I may be changing the above letter since this is just a draft but I wanted you to get started on at least thinking about this and exchanging arguments and ideas since we have 54 California journalists on our UNION newsletter list who are learning this issue as well. ---------------------------------Schwarzenegger and O'Reilly sued and settled for sexual harrassment. Why aren't they in the database? http://www.1union1.com/sexual_harassment.html--------------------------------Sexual assaults committed by youth are a growing concern in this country. Currently, it is estimated that adolescents (ages 13 to 17) account for up to one-fifth of all rapes and one-half of all cases of child molestation committed each year (Barbaree, Hudson, and Seto, 1993). In 1995, youth were involved in 15% of all forcible rapes cleared by arrest—approximately 18 adolescents per 100,000 were arrested for forcible rape. In the same year, approximately 16,100 adolescents were arrested for sexual offenses, excluding rape and prostitution (Sickmund, Snyder, Poe-Yamagata, 1997). --------------------------------Treatment for most sex offenders works http://www.1union1.com/Jessicaslawtreat.html --------------------------------http://www.anandaanswers.com/pages/naaFalse.html On April 17, 2007 a number of bills will be approved or disapproved by the California Public Safety Committee in the Assembly. Now that Assemblymember Mark Leno is head of the Appropriations Committee. We seem to have a very uninformed new person as Chair of Public Safety, Jose Solorio, so we can no longer assume that Democrats are killing every terrible bill as they did in the past when Leno was chair. In fact, there are now a total of nine Democrats who have been voting with the Republicans who have blocked prison reform of any type for two decades. What we need is more people who understand the legalease wording of these proposed bills, in particular those proposed by Republican legislators at the core of most of our problems. Many bills are going unchallenged which is interpreted by the legislators to mean consent. We also need more people to learn the issues by subscribing to the UNION daily newsletter so there can be attendance at some of these hearings, letters to editors in support or opposition and when necessary, massive rallies at the Capitol which we have done many times over the past decade. Please take a look at Dr. B. Cayenne Bird's column at the Chronicle for a list of the bills which need to be studied and commented upon then write her at rightor1@yahoo.com because we are surely missing points with so much happening at once and not enough qualified volunteers who actually understand the trainwrecks coming if these pass. Lives are at stake and your work is needed. Get active now, everyone can get a pen name and write 7 sentence letters to editors and show up three or four times a year on some of the campaigns or they can send someone. The people with no group are the ones who go to prison in California. Groups run the legislature, large, funded groups that have a million dollars in their treasury at least because that's what is needed to do referendums, initiatives, or recalls. No muscle means no reform is possible. Get active and do something about your problems as there are no rescuers and no way to win without lawsuits, referendums and initiative campaigns. This can be done if enough people help. Takes a little work. -------------------------- Our eight year campaign against medical neglect in California's prisons and jails has been very successful. Support for our wrongful death and medical neglect lawsuits still in progress is still very important since their outcomes will affect every California prisoner. The Mark Grangetto medical neglect lawsuit is coming to court in Hanford this summer and we will need to overflow the courtroom to show that people do care about prisoners! By attending and bringing people to the hearing, you will help make a strong point that medical neglect of any prisoner is unacceptable to we the voters of California. We won't know about the trial date until the very last minute so make certain you are subscribed to the UNION Daily Newsletter via email and have ten people lined up to come with you. -------------------------- ----------------- Are you posting
comments beneath prison reform articles and writing to editors short 7
to 10 sentence reactions to what they're writing in the news? We elaborate
on the issues in the daily UNION newsletter but you can find plenty of
places to help educate the public on prison issues that appear almost daily
in the Sacramento Bee, North
County Times, California
Progress Report Be interactive if you want to see reform as silence
is consent. When you aren't writing and attending protests, everyone assumes
that you are happy with the status quo. We have a great media
email list online for you to use (select, copy, paste) ----------------------- This is special area of our website that we have set up to rail against
Prop 83 Jessica's Law. One million women and children are in danger of
becoming homeless and banned from society and not one child will be saved
by this most unconstitutional law. Read the stories of real California
families affected and get the facts. http://www.1union1.com/Jessicaslaw...Noway.htm If you would like to be one of the 6500 workers to help me bring about criminal justice reform, better conditions in prisons and jails and help for the families of prisoners, please join our UNION. We always need help with our website updates, researchers, letter writers, protesters, people to give rides when we have a call to action to attend an important hearing on protest. We also need clerical assistance filing and answering mail in Sacramento as the pleas for help number in the thousands. We could always use supplies, paper, postage, ink cartridges, the state runs on groups, if you don't have a big one, you can't elect people to office who will represent you. Your participation in this process is necessary as the power of numbers is the only solution. there is an audio you can listen to at this link Rev. B. Cayenne Bird United for No Injustice, Oppression or Neglect Writing, protesting, recruiting more workers, getting out the vote, that's what real patriots do when their chains become too heavy. We never have enough volunteers in action which is why the problems still exist. You can do something about this needless suffering when you work in a group. There are 3 million people attached to a state prisoner but until they are properly organized, funding themselves and getting out the vote, the numbers won't count and we will be stymied in our work to file more lawsuits and do more initiative campaigns. 6500 workers can change any law, elect or recall any politician, will you be one who takes action in the UNION?
Complain about callous State and CDC Employees by Sending Letters to: Ms. Anne Sheehan Other complaint information is located on this page link
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It is now too late to mail or fax your letter to Tilton's confirmation hearing. Below are the issues the UNION brought to the Committee's attention on behalf of everyone
Senate Rules Committee
Senator Don Perata State Capitol
Room 420 Sacramento , CA 95814
Dear Honorable Senator Perata and Rules Committee:
Subject: Oppose Confirmation of Secretary James Tilton
The following Senators are on the Rules Committee and will be voting on Tilton's confirmation. If you describe an incident, be sure to name a date, a place, a time, people involved, any letters you sent to Tilton and his replies. (evidence) Or you can just voice your opposition but evidence is much better.
Senator Don Perata State Capitol
Room 420 Sacramento , CA 95814
Senator Don Perata (Chair)916-445-0596
Senate Rules Committee Phone:
(916)651-4120
400
---------------------
Senator Don Perata
State Capitol Room 420
Sacramento , CA 95814
Dear Honorable Senator Perata and Rules Committee:
Subject: Oppose Confirmation of Secretary James Tilton
As a concerned California citizen and taxpayer, I hereby go on record in opposition of the confirmation of James Tilton as Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. I am fully aware that Acting Secretary Tilton inherited many of the problems that plague the prison system today, but in over a year, he has in my opinion allowed these problems to become much worse, primarily by lack of courage to act according to reason over politics.
· Why has he not worked toward eliminating the lengthy bureaucratic delays in the compassionate release process?
· Why has he not been responsive to, or set up a response team to handle, pleas from prisoners’ families whose loved ones suffer, and in some cases die, due to lack of proper and timely medical care?
· Why has he not taken steps to keep the mentally ill out of Security Housing Units, which in most cases clearly exacerbate their illnesses? Or out of prison altogether, for that matter?
· Why has he not taken a stronger position on his professed agreement with the need for community programs, alternative sentencing, more effective parole supervision, and increased jail space to stem the flow of thousands, who should rightfully remain local, wrongfully going to prison?
· Why has he resorted to the temporary fix of transferring prisoners out of state even if it means involuntarily?
· Why is he apparently supporting an upcoming rules change that would increase strip searches of visitors when it is common knowledge that most of the drugs and contraband are brought in by corrections officers? Why does he not crack down on them?
· Does his position as head of the Prison Industry Authority board raise conflict of interest issues?
It appears that Secretary Tilton lacks strong problem-solving and leadership qualities. Rather he is a political puppet catering to a powerful lobby whose members cling to the draconian belief that punishment and dehumanization deter crime and who have a vested interest in building the prison industry. He comes from a finance administration background, and although he utters words of reason and compassion to the press, he seems more concerned with managing his budget and keeping his bosses happy than with real solutions and courageous change in the prison system he is supposed to manage.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, with reference to the new 198-page report, "A Roadmap for Effective Offender Programming in California," just released by a panel of corrections experts who say that the report shows how California can cut its inmate population by 27 percent and save nearly $1 billion a year with a few recommended parole and prison rehabilitation fixes.
Secretary Tilton’s response to the media was that the roadmap was a “good starting point” and that the report would not be “put on a shelf” as many previous reports had. But on specifics, he discounted a key part of the roadmap: reducing inmates' sentences and releasing them early as an incentive for completing various programs. Rather, he favored lesser incentives, such as increasing visitation rights, long-distance telephone calls, or vouchers to purchase goods. Good grief! The topic of the report is offender programming, not offender rights or privileges. Where is this man coming from?
The immensely challenging and complex job of California prison management and operations needs to go to someone with much more intelligence, courage, and compassion to ACT than Mr. Tilton has demonstrated. We, the people, do not want a puppet; we want a man (or woman) of action!
Mark your calendars to attend the trial of Mark Grangetto coming up in Hanford - the outcome will affect every California prisoner August 23 and or August 24 are the best days to show up with a carload to show the judge, jury and the media that people do care about what is happening in the prisons. This is every mother's lawsuit to stand up against torture and murder by medical neglect, abuse of the mentally ill, SHU issues. click here to see the story of Mark Grangetto
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Senate Bill 40 - Hearing March
13, 2007
-------------------
Prop 83 Lawsuit Hearing in San Francisco on February 22, 2007, has been canceled.
Order of Dismissal - PDF
File
| CDC has proposed two important rules changes. One concerns the filing
of citizen's complaints and a new complication that they are trying to
impose and the other concerns dental care. The one on dental care has a
cut off of Dec 7, 2006, and the citizen's complaint restrictions Jan 9,
2007.
Some of the most evil tricks that CDC has imposed upon prisoners and their families come through these rules changes. There are two in progress right now. Send me your comments at rightor1@yahoo.com, here are the links:
Judge Jeffrey White Dear Honorable Judge White: Dear Honorable Judge Karlton |
WEBCommentary Contributor
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Print
article - 
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The citizens need to be outraged and write short letters to editors over two threats to liberty The links I have given you here must be copy/pasted to your browser as they will not work by simply clicking on them due to the set up at Web Commentary I have promised a fourth column on prison reform dealing with the dysfunction and corruption of the state courts and criminal justice system at every level. This is not it. Governor Schwarzenegger's excuse for the veto is weak and unsubstantiated, especially in view of the murders, medical neglect and sucides taking place in the mismanaged prisons. What is he hiding by continuing to unconstitutionally ban the media from interviewing the prisoners in a time of crisis? Most of the journalists have been repeatedly lied to by the California Department of Corrections and they're not accepting that access will be allowed on a limited basis, the latest promise of the new CDC Director James Tilton. You as a citizen can write 100 word letters to editors and flood your local politicians with phone calls to urge an over-ride of the Governor's veto of the media access bill. There is an excellent editorial in today's Vacaville Reporter about it.. http://www.thereporter.com/editorials/ci_4435502The Governor's Third Strike When the son-of-a-Nazi slaps the journalists AND the legislators in the face with a veto in the midst of a human crisis, it reminds me that the first thing Hitler did was to kill the journalists, then the attorneys. No State institution, no public official should enjoy such immunity from scrutiny and the laws of our land. Please chime in to "Over-Ride the Veto of SB1541 of the Media Access Bill" in letters to editors and phone calls to politicians Noisy citizens cannot be ignored especially at election time ----------------------------------------------------- While you're at it, please take action on another disturbing block of public information that the voters have the right to know. The Green Party Candidate, Peter Camejo has been excluded from the debate between Schwarzenegger and Angelides at the California State University campus, this Saturday, October 7. Camejo is not a corporate candidate and he made the debates in the last election very informative by putting the issues out to the people. Now he is excluded from debating by the California Broadcasters Association!And is CSU cooperating with Camejo's exclusion at a University, also financed with our tax dollars, an institution of higher learning which encourages education and wide participation in the voting process? My understanding of the First Amendment is that school buildings are subject to the laws of our land that forbid discrimination. Perhaps a lawyer needs to get involved on defining selective public use of a University campus facility. Please email the California Broadcaster's Association at info@cabroadcasters.org and ask them to "Let Peter Camejo debate" on October 7. A press conference is being organized on the CSU campus at 5 pm on Saturday if Peter continues to be excluded in front of Capistrano HallThis is an article about the debate at the Ca. State University Sacramento website. http://www.csus.edu/news/091306governor.stm Decline to State voters are at an all time high of 19% as of September 6 and growing as people realize the two corporate candidates do not represent them. There are 12 million potential voters who are not even registered so I hope everyone is out registering at least 20 people to vote by October 23, the last day to register. It is necessary to register as "Decline to State" to get all the ballots. Here is my source for the statistics. http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/ror/60day_06gen/county.pdf Decline to State - Voter Information Total Registered as Decline to
State as of September 6 (Calif) 18.57% --------------------------------------- Decline to State information can now be heard through the Secretary
of State's toll-free number of 1-800-345-VOTE (8683). You may refer all
voters to call this line and press option 7 to hear specific information
regarding DTS voters. ------------------------------------- You can have ten "Register to Vote" forms mailed to you at a time and do this online at the link on http://www.votecamejo.com Have ten voter registration cards sent to eveyone on your Christmas card list. It appears to me that the majority of the people showing up to vote are friends and family members of law enforcement labor unions. That's why the politicians kiss their feet and not ours, even though we outnumber all the jackboots. The power goes to those who cast a vote at the polls, so we can either do that and bring all our friends and family members or live with unbearable repression. If the poor would actually support their candidates and send them $5 once in awhile, we would not have to settle what law enforcement's candidates dish out to us in the name of justice -------------------- Here are a couple of interesting websites that I put up to illustrate the hard work of the parents of prisoners who are doctors, teachers, nurses, social workers, four journalists, people from every walk of life, the grocery clerk, receptionist at the doctor's office, all these people are connected to a state prisoner now, so great is our police state. Many people want to know how the August 27 protest of the mamma bears taking on the Green Wall Jackboots at Salinas Valley Prison went. The answer is that it was a big success and received excellent press coverage considering it was a Sunday and we were out in the middle of no where. Here are some photos and heartbreaking perspective of why people came to it (read the captions and links to the side) http://www.1union1.com/Aug27protestphotos.htm --------------------- This is another special website that the families set up so you can know the facts about Prop 83, Jessica's Law, a coming war on the people if it gets passed that will do nothing to help children. In fact it will harm the one million women and children connected to a "sex offender" which is very damaging to our society and does not serve public safety at all. There are stories here from real people who never dreamed that their loved one would be accused, prosecuted and convicted as a sex offender in many cases. We never think when agreeing to these harsh laws that we could be the next to be taken into slavery in our state's biggest industry - that of human bondage. See the stories, learn the facts and take a look at who's recommending a "no" vote. http://www.1union1.com/Jessicaslaw...Noway.htm If you would like to be one of the 6500 workers to help me bring about criminal justice reform, better conditions in prisons and jails and help for the families of prisoners, please join our UNION. there is an audio you can listen to at this link Join the UNION Rev. B. Cayenne Bird United for No Injustice, Oppression or Neglect Writing, protesting, recruiting more workers, getting out the
vote, that's what real patriots do when their chains become too heavy.
We never have enough volunteers in action which is why the problems still
exist. You can do something about this needless suffering when you work
in a group "Ignorance and apathy of the people rule governments.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge comes from reading newspapers,not from
getting your news from television alone"Rev. B. Cayenne
Birdrightor1@yahoo.comDr. B. Cayenne Bird
Biography - Dr. B. Cayenne Bird Dr. B. Cayenne Bird is an ordained minister and a
37-year veteran op-ed publisher and journalist who volunteers her time
as founder and director of United for No Injustice, Oppression or Neglect
UNION. The UNION is active in prison reform and criminal justice issues.
She is a mother and grandmother and focuses on human rights and restorative
justice. She is also the host of television series "Cayenne Common Sense"
and publishes a daily online newsletter. Read other commentaries by Dr. B. Cayenne Bird. Visit Dr. B. Cayenne Bird's website at http://www.1union1.com/advice.htm
Copyright © 2006 by Dr. B. Cayenne Bird |
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Sunday,
August 27, Protest Against Visiting Abuses Happening Statewide - Out front
of Salinas Valley Prison and Ca. Treatment Facility at dawn - Be there(click
here for flyer)
----------------------------------------------------
UNION Families Object
to CDCR being given $600 million with which to build bogus mental hospitals
on the prison grounds. All these will turn out to be are more ad seg and
SHU units. We encourage everyone to write letters to editors of 7 to 10
sentences (only)objecting to this allocation and waste of tax dollars.
Sample letters to editors can be read at this link. Please continue to
demand release of the frail elderly and terminally ill as well in your
posted comments at the news sites and letters to editors
http://www.1union1.com/mentalhospitals.html
Sunday, August 27, Protest Against Visiting Abuses Happening Statewide - Out front of Salinas Valley Prison and Ca. Treatment Facility at dawn - Be there(click here for flyer)
UNION families are planning a protest at Salinas Valley Prison/California Treatment Facility. The primary reason is verbal