The Public Square
Fridays at 4:45 and 6:45 pm on WILL-AM
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Public Square archives
Juan Alvarez on how the two major parties hide the rest of the presidential candidates
Friday, October 10, 2008
I want to point out the complete disregard that the U.S. news media and the two major parties have for democracy, for the third party and independent candidates for president, and for their supporters.
Over 45% of the voting age population in the U.S does not vote. Could this be due to the fact that they don't identify themselves with either one of the two major parties but they are unaware of the existence of the other candidates? If more than half of these people voted for one of the other candidates, he/she could win because currently the two major parties win with less than 25% of the possible votes.
I am not here to convince people to vote for third-party and independent candidates. I am here to ask you to demand that all voices be heard so that everyone can make an informed decision, whichever that may be. Demand that the media cover all six candidates. Demand that the debates include all six candidates.
Consider the recent bailout. Were there Congressional hearings with economic experts from all sides? The hearings involved only the current administration's members. Don't you think a better solution could have come from a broader discussion? Don't you think there needs to be a broader
discussion of the issues in the electoral arena as well?
Naomi Klein talks about the 'shock doctrine' as a means by which capitalism uses a crisis to coerce people into supporting policies that will be in their detriment because they are in shock. The initial support for war in Iraq, the Patriot Act, and the FISA law are clear examples. I think this can be extended to the Democratic party tactics which use the shock of a Republican administration to coerce the supporters of third-party and independent candidates into voting for the lesser of two evils instead of supporting candidates that would truly benefit their well-being.
Some rationalize this decision with arguments like 'things would be worse under the Republican candidate', or 'this election is too important to have the Democratic candidate loose it because votes were taken away from him by the other candidates'.
The notion of 'taking away' votes assumes that the candidate owns or is automatically entitled to these votes and hence others take them away from him. This entitlement is further supported by the fact that the two major party candidates do not campaign on all 50 states, only on the so called 'swing' states and those states where they can raise a lot of money. The votes in the remaining states are taken for granted because they feel entitled to them and will go their way no matter what.
There is a big difference between the liberal and conservative groups. Conservative
groups get what they want from the Republicans, while Democrats get what they want from the liberal groups. Conservatives threatened not to vote for McCain and forced him to shift further right and even choose Palin. What did the liberals get for supporting Obama, who has even voted against their interests? They hope to get some crumbs from Obama I guess.
What do you want your vote to do for you? Support you or betray you?
Be informed and don't fall for the Democratic party's shock tactics.
You've got Ralph Nader as an independent candidate, Cynthia McKinney for the Green Party, Bob Barr for the Libertarian Party, and Chuck Baldwin for the Constitution Party.
Visit the candidates' websites and compare their positions on the issues.
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Barbara Kessel on the privatization of war, emergencies and everyday life
Friday, October 03, 2008
My name is Barbara Kessel. I am a member of A.W.A.R.E. (The Anti-War Anti-Racism Effort), the Socialist Forum and Jobs with Justice.
My concern today is privatization, the selling of government functions to private, profit-making, interests.
There are three huge problems with such privatizations: 1) Costs increase ? since the private company needs to make a profit 2) the service previously provided to the public goes only to those who can afford them - e.g. residents of the County Nursing Home 3) the accountability disappears.
We can see this in the wars we are waging in the Middle East, where military contractors are paid at least five times that of a U.S. soldier for doing the same work. Still, the money for their services comes from federal government contracts which is our taxes. If our military pays $36 for a six-pack of Coca Cola because it is provided by Halliburton under federal government contracts, how and to whom does one complain? Protective gear, such as helmets, goggles and vests, are provided at great expense by military contractors, but they did not make enough so that many soldiers had to purchase their own "from home," sent over by relatives. When Blackwater, the largest private military contractor, massacres civilians, as they did a year ago in Nisour Square, Baghdad, they are not accountable since they cannot be prosecuted under Iraqi law, under U.S. Military law, or in American courts. Costs go up, service goes down and accountability disappears.
As our health care system has become ever more private, with public hospitals disappearing, the mounting health costs are stunning. Less people can afford health care, even in emergencies, and the only way to challenge these costs is now through legal threats and lawsuits. People here in Champaign County know that if the county Nursing Home is privatized, it will cost more and serve less people.
To learn more about how all this works and what we might do about it, come to hear historian Dan Kenney. He will give two talks, next Friday, October 10 entitled "Privatization: Outsourcing our Sovereignty and your Rights". The first talk will be noon to 2P.M. in 123 English Building on the UI Campus, sponsored by the History Discussion Group. Dan Kenney will also be speaking Friday, October 10, at 7:00 PM at the Urbana City Hall Auditorium, 400 S. Vine Street. That talk is co-sponsored by A.W.A.R.E., the Socialist Forum, Jobs with Justice, and the I.W.W.
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Teri McKean of ABC Counseling on fundraising to support child sexual abuse counseling
Friday, September 19, 2008
From January of 2000 to the present, there have been over 75,000 reports of child sexual abuse in the state of Illinois, not taking into account the large percentage of unreported cases. Studies show that 1 in 3 girls, and 1 in 5 boys, will be sexually abused by the age of 18; more than 80% of these youth will have been abused by someone they know. The problem of child sexual abuse is pervasive and it does not affect just one race, religion or socioeconomic status. Sexual abuse does not discriminate in these ways and instead can, unfortunately, affect any child.
ABC Counseling & Family Services has made it their mission to help the youth affected by sexual abuse. Since first forming in 1992 in Normal, ABC has served more than 2,500 families and has grown from one office to four, including one here in Champaign. The staff of ABC strives every day to bring justice, healing and wholeness to the people they serve and aim to enhance the quality of people’s lives. It is the hope of ABC that one day their services will no longer be needed.
As a non-profit, ABC relies heavily on community support. ABC is pleased to announce their second annual fundraising event to specifically benefit the Champaign-Urbana community! Putt Fore Kids is a family friendly event to be held this Saturday, September 20, from 9am to 1pm at Old Orchard Links in Savoy. Any ticket purchased includes miniature golf, pizza, drinks and entry into a raffle. This event also features a silent auction with a variety of packages. You can help combat child sexual abuse by attending this event. For more information, please contact our office at (217) 403-0790. You may also visit our website, http://www.abccounseling.org, for more information about ABC or to donate via Paypal.
If you have concerns about a child you know, you may contact ABC at (217) 403-0790 or you may contact the DCFS hotline at 1-800-25-ABUSE to report incidents of child abuse.
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Walter Matherly on Health Care Reform
Friday, September 12, 2008
My name is Walter Matherly, and I am a volunteer with the Champaign County Health Care Consumers.
As the elections approach, we once again begin to hear about the rapidly escalating cost of medical care in the United States. Perhaps the most daunting concern I see for me and my own family in the upcoming years is making sure our health care is affordable.
Health care reform is sorely needed, and any proposed health plan needs to be comprehensive and fiscally responsible. We need to treat health care as a basic human right, and deliver a plan that benefits everyday people.
Specifically, health coverage must be guaranteed to the entire population, thus correcting the errors inherent in the present private insurance patchwork.
Similarly, a just system must eliminate co-payments and deductibles, which often act as hurdles to accessing health care services.
Finally, a comprehensive health care system must be able to pay for itself from the beginning. The present method employed to do this by the private insurance industry includes many excessive, unnecessary, and redundant marketing and actuarial costs that a new program should eliminate.
It is the good fortune of Illinois residents to have a piece of legislation in the General Assembly that would provide for just such as system. House Bill 311 – the Health Care for All Illinois Act – would create a single-payer health insurance program for all Illinois residents. The program would provide coverage for doctor, hospital, long term, and mental health care, as well as dental, vision, and prescription drugs. The program created would have no premiums, co-payments, or deductibles. And finally, this program would pay for itself by eliminating wasteful private insurance administration and profit, which currently accounts for over 24% of every health care dollar spent.
You can learn more about this legislation at a Community Legislative Hearing scheduled for Thursday, September the 18, 2008 at 6 p.m. at the Illinois Terminal Building, 45 East University Avenue in downtown Champaign. Please come, listen, and talk. Understand what promises to be the most critical issue to emerge from the elections.
For more information, contact Champaign County Health Care Consumers at 217-352-6533 or visit http://www.healthcareconsumers.org.
Audio archives:
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Conrad Wetzel on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Friday, September 05, 2008
My name is Conrad Wetzel. I am a resident of Champaign and a member of AWARE, the local Anti-War Anti-Racism Effort. My concern is about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and its effects on our troops and our community.
War greatly disrupts the lives of our U.S. military personnel, their loved ones, and their communities. This has never been made more evident than by the large number of men and women who currently suffer from PTSD as a result of their military experience in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
PTSD is an anxiety disorder that develops after exposure to a terrifying ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened, such as those to which our troops are exposed in warfare. People with PTSD repeatedly re-experience that ordeal in the form of flashback episodes, memories, nightmares, or frightening thoughts, reminiscent of the trauma. Various severe physical symptoms are also common in people with PTSD. These effects of PTSD make our veterans' re-entry into civilian life very difficult. Many have been unable to obtain adequate medical and counseling services through the Veterans Administration, taking a heavy toll on the veterans themselves and their families and communities. Some are even reluctant to seek help, following instead a progression of self-medicating with alcohol, then job loss and homelessness.
Learn about this little understood trauma of war and its effect on the lives of people living in our community at a panel presentation at 2:00 P.M. on Sunday, September 7, at the Urbana Free Library Auditorium. The panel will include returned veterans, who suffer the effects of PTSD, along with professionals who provide counseling for such veterans and their families. This panel presentation, entitled “PTSD: Our Troops, Our Community,” is cosponsored by AWARE and the local chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War.
Please join us for this important panel at 2:00 P.M. on Sunday, September 7, at the Urbana Free Library Auditorium.
Audio archives:
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Patricia Syoen on "The Devil's Highway"
Friday, August 29, 2008
On September 12 Luis Alberto Urrea, author of The Devil’s Highway will be speaking at the University YMCA Friday Forum from 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm. At 5:00 pm to 8:pm there will be a book signing event at Pages for All Ages. Come and enjoy a reading, signing, music and refreshments.
In The Devil’s Highway Urrea’s brilliant investigative reporting tells us what went wrong. In 2001, 26 men entered the desert. This desert of southern Arizona is the deadly region known as the Devil’s Highway, a desert so harsh and desolate that even the Border Patrol is afraid to travel through it, a place that for hundreds of years has stolen men’s souls and swallowed their blood. Only 12 of the men made it out. This book tells the story from many different perspectives and with compassion for all involved: the survivors, the coyotes (those who get paid to lead people across the border) and the Border Patrol. This account gives names and faces to the men trying to come to the United States to secure a better life for their families back home.
Luis Alberto Urrea is the recipient of a Lannan Literary Award, an American Book Award, a Western States Book Award, and a Colorado Book Award and he has been inducted into the Latino Literary Hall of Fame. The Devil’s Highway was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction. Urrea’s most recent book is The Hummingbirds Daughter He currently teaches at the University of Illinois, the Chicago Campus.
These events are sponsored by the New Sanctuary Movement in Champaign-Urbana.
