Volume 6 Issue 52…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…January 2, 2003

To Alisha: A Budding Word Artist

By Yohannes Sharriff

With the intensity of karma sutra

You captivate the minds of millions

A warm smile melts the coldest villain.

Cook a gourmet meal

And still wield a quill

Craft Pulitzer caliber composition

Cooler than a fan and fine as peach fuzz

I love you.

Cosmically linked

supernatural dreams

breathe life into flesh.

We manifest the unseen

pictures and words

only attempt to describe

that which we cannot define.

Creator of space and time

graceful as a butterfly

holding the sword of a Samuri.

My muse the colors of children at play

Audacious and infectious

Beauty becomes whatever you touch

Love close as kin...thick as blood

Memphis is where it began

But centuries from where it begun

Ancient...the way you champion black men

Somewhere between Isis,

Ida B. Wells and Nina Simone

Ancestors inhabit these sacred bones

Waiting to be sung

Their song we drum,

Hum and scribe in poems

So, my queen summon your court

And, let the will of love be done.

Homelessness and Hunger

On December 18, the U.S. Conference of Mayors released it annual survey of hunger and homelessness. The survey of 25 major cities cited unemployment, low paying jobs, housing costs, substance abuse and mental health problems, high energy costs and reduced public assistance among the factors contributing to the growing number of hungry and homeless Americans.

Among those requesting emergency assistance, the survey found that 59% were members of families. Of the adults requesting emergency assistance, 39% were employed. Fact is, the income earned by workers at companies that pay minimum wage or slighter better, such as McDonald's and Wal-Mart, does not cover the cost of basic necessities in most urban areas. Though they work full-time, these workers are homeless simply because they cannot afford the high cost of housing.

Since the request for shelter by homeless families increased 15%, people remained homeless an average five months longer than last year in most cities. In some municipalities, the Temporary Assistance Program for Families (TANF), which includes food stamps, requires a permanent address. The homeless cannot quality for this type of assistance, creating a greater burden on soup kitchens. The Conference of Mayors' survey found the demand for food so great that some homeless and hungry had to be turned away due to a lack of resources.

Not surprisingly, single men comprise 41% of the homeless. Many of these men are veterans that suffer from substance abuse and mental health problems. Of the remaining homeless, families with children make up 40%, single women 14% and unaccompanied youth 5%.

According to U.S. Census Bureau, 34.6 million Americans were living below the poverty line in 2002. The number living in poverty is expected to increase for 2003, despite the much-touted economic recovery.

Adlai Ewing Stevenson (1900-1965)

United States (US) diplomat and politician, Adlai Stevenson was born in Los Angeles, California on February 5, 1900. Grandson of Adlai E. Stevenson, US vice president (1893-1896), he received his B. A. from Princeton (1922). After two years at Harvard Law School, he worked for the family-owned Bloomington Daily Pantagraph and received his law degree from Northwestern (1926). Except for a brief stint with two federal agencies, he practiced law in Chicago until 1941.

Stevenson entered government service full-time as an assistant to Navy Secretary Frank Knox (1941). After his 1943 assignment as chief of a Foreign Economic mission in Italy, he joined the State Department (1945) as assistant to Secretary Edward R. Stettinius. Urbane and eloquent, he served as press spokesman for the US delegation to the UN Conference on International Organization in San Francisco.

In 1948, he won his first race for public office. As governor of Illinois, he improved public service and education and reformed the state's welfare system. A moderate liberal, Stevenson's record as governor made him a favorite among delegates to the 1952 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. On the third ballot and over his protestations, Stevenson received the party's presidential nomination. With Alabama Senator John J. Sparkman as his running mate, Stevenson endorsed Truman foreign policies, civil liberties, repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act, and high price support for farmers, which were all Northern Democrats' dictates

Stevenson's candor, integrity, and high principle made him a rare politician. His speeches were eloquent attempts to "talk sense" to the American people; "talking sense" essentially meant he avoided suggestions that there were cheap and easy solutions to the nation's problems. Mostly intellectuals, those labeled "eggheads, supported Stevenson. His Republican opponent, General Dwight D. Eishenhower appealed to businessmen and the masses. Republicans campaigned on the triple theme of "Communism, corruption and Korea."

Stevenson's position on civil liberties and federal control of tidelands oil hurt him in the South. The protracted war in Korea, the hero status of Eisenhower and other factors resulted in a 442 to 89 electoral vote loss for Stevenson. As Democratic Party leader, Stevenson traveled extensively and spoke frequently against the Eisenhower administration.

In 1956, Stevenson sought his party's nomination. Rejecting advice to stress domestic issues, he talked increasingly of foreign affairs. His criticisms of Eisenhower made little impact on a nation enjoying peace and prosperity. At one campaign stop, a woman called out, "You have the vote of every thinking person!" Stevenson replied, "That's not enough, madam, we need a majority!" Stevenson captured only 73 electoral votes.

Although a grassroots campaign was waged on his behalf at the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, the party professionals withheld their support, and the draft movement proved abortive. President-elect John F. Kennedy named Stevenson ambassador to the UN, where he employed his great prestige and skill in debate to defend US policies. He urged Presidents Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson to heed world opinion and use UN machinery.

Stevenson's publications include Major Campaign Speeches of Adlai E. Stevenson, 1952 (1953), Call to Greatness (1954), What I Think (1956), The New America (1957), Friends and Enemies: What I Learned in Russia (1959), Putting First Things First: A Democratic View (1960), and Looking Outward: Years of Crisis at the United Nations (1963). His 1928 marriage to Ellen Borden, which produced three sons, ended in divorce (1949). Stevenson died of a heart attack in London on July 14, 1965. (Sources: Encyclopedia Americana, and www.historywired.com)

Final Call: Open Auditions

"The Dance of Fatherhood" is a stage performance, starring Yohannes Sharriff. The play will be produced by Dilated Souls Entertainment, which is committed to bringing the world an eclectic explosion of pure urban talent. Dilated Souls' principals, Lady-J (Janean Hightower) and Lady- Mi (Mimi Williams), will fill the play's remaining roles, supporting cast and stage management positions beginning January 8, 2004. Motivated actors, poets, and others are urged to try out and become part of this unique endeavor. Auditions will be held from 5 PM- 9 PM at Kyle Theatre at Avondale High School, which is located at 1192 Clarendon Road, Decatur, Georgia. For more information, log on to www.dilatedsouls.8m.com or call 770-808-3159.

Supermarket Boycott

Striking supermarket workers in Southern California began their 10th week out on strike in mid-December. They are asking that we "Stop Shopping at Safeway." The strike is over health care benefits. The average Safeway, Albertson and Ralphs worker earns approximately $12.50 an hour and works an average 30 hours a week for an annual salary of about $19,000.

The supermarkets in Southern California have proposed health care changes that would increase costs for workers up to 50%. What they have failed to tell the public or media is that they propose to give new hires substantially less pay and fewer benefits. New hires would only get individual health coverage after 13 months working and family coverage after 37 months. With the turnover in the grocery industry, it is possible in 3-5 years that most of those working would have no family or individual healthcare coverage.

Safeway CEO Steve Burd is in the elite high donor group to George Bush and was recently appointed as a member of the Board of Homeland Security. He has a multimillion-dollar wage package. Profits of the "Big Three Markets" have gone up 91% since '98.

Aside from the facts and figure, there are stories for each of the 70,000 strikers. They are living on the edge and their health insurance benefits run out on December 31. If we allow these markets to succeed in reducing health care, more and more companies will take that route. We need solutions, universal care and other ways to cut costs. Destroying jobs that have provided stability for working families is not the way.

Do not shop at Safeway until this strike is settled. Let the supermarket management know that millionaire CEO's cannot build their empires by destroying decent paying jobs and creating more Wal-Mart working poor. For more, contact wingsong@earthlink.net

US Employment Outlook

According to a Washington Post report by Mike Allen (12-24-03), George Bush plans to kick off his reelection bid by proposing an immigration program that allows workers to cross the border legally, if jobs await them. The administration also wants to provide a way for some undocumented workers in the US to gain their legal status. Approximately eight million undocumented people live in the US; the majority of these are Mexicans. Bush's program will match workers and employers through a job registry to be run by the Labor Department. Employers would post job openings that would be available first to US workers. If no US workers accept these jobs, then immigrants willing to do so would be allowed to come to the US under a new visa for temporary workers. Once in the US, they would be assisted in gaining legal citizenship status. Supposedly orchestrated by White House adviser Karl Rove, clearly, Bush's immigration agenda is aimed at Hispanic voters.

Presumably, jobs offered to immigrants under the Bush proposal will be low wage positions, such as non-unionized construction work or minimum wage opportunities, unlike the offshore outsourcing of customer service and manufacturing positions that once paid attractive salaries to American workers. Increasingly, US corporations are establishing call centers and manufacturing operations in Third World countries. While doing so improves the companies' bottom line since these workers are paid significantly less than US workers, it also reduces the number of white and blue collar positions available to US workers. Unfortunately, according to estimates by Morgan Stanley, in the short run more companies, such as Microsoft, IBM, Delta Airlines, Citibank and AT&T Wireless, will turn to offshore outsourcing to exploit the pool of low wage Third World workers.

The combination of immigrant workers competing for low wage jobs and the offshore outsourcing of better paid positions does not bode well for the US employment outlook. Even though the current official unemployment rate hovers around a relatively low 6%, with no efforts to stem the loss, the economy has hemorrhaged nearly three million jobs. Many of those that lost jobs since 2001 have exhausted unemployment benefits, have not found employment and have stopped looking. These individuals are not counted in the unemployment rate, which makes it an extremely conservative statistic. If these "discouraged workers" were included, the jobless rate would climb above nine percent, according to some economic estimates.

As the presidential election year gears up, the economy with its loss of jobs looms large. During the 1992 presidential campaign, Bill Clinton adeptly used the slogan, "It's the economy, stupid!" It can be dusted off and deployed by an aspiring presidential contender.

A Jobless Recovery

by John Burl Smith

Recovery means to regain or return to normal conditions or a previous position. In everyday terms, a recession is a substantial loss of jobs or earning power such that an economic downturn results. Never in recorded history has there been a "jobless recovery" from a recession or depression. The US is not experiencing anomalous economic conditions; the invisible hand is being twisted behind the public's back.

Striped of rhetoric, real parallels exist between the mid-1950s and today. An acrimonious campaign in 1952 and Democratic Party infighting reflected the state of the nation. Recovering from recession and deeply divided over civil rights during the 1956 campaign, everyone agreed President Dwight D. (Ike) Eisenhower was vulnerable to a Democrat that proposed a jobs program and stood strongly for civil rights.

Pressure from Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond cowed Democrat Adlai Stevenson. Ignoring the "Negro question" entirely, he spoke dispassionately about the needs of millions of unemployed struggling to survive the economic hard times that began in 1953. Unwilling to act boldly, his deference allowed Ike to hide in the White House rather than face real people campaigning.

Committed to the status quo, Stevenson treated Ike's economic policies as if they had real credibility, "nit-picking" rather than exposing their fallacies. Ignobly defeated, the Stevenson debacle portents what many rank and file Democrats fear most today. As their predecessors during the 1950s, rank and file Democrats are dumbfounded watching their leaders grovel and squabble over crumbs from George Bush's leftovers.

Dragging the party to the right, while suggesting Democrats should not campaign in the South, Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) candidates have tucked tails like Stevenson. After abandoning civil rights following Bush v Gore, Democrats helped Bush take the US into war based on lies, damn lies and a scheme to control Middle East oil and aid Israel. A rich boys' club, congressional Democrats, helped Bush pass tax cuts that redistributed wealth from poor to rich Americans.

Falling into the Stevenson trap, no Democrat is proposing a viable jobs program to create a recovery that touches the lives of average Americans. A strong jobs program will make Democrats competitive in every state. Accusing Al Gore of using "fuzzy math" in 2000, Bush's unemployment numbers obscure the shaggy monster of joblessness eating away at the standard of living of millions across the country. Since Bush entered office in 2001, more than 2.5 million jobs have been lost, many in southern textile mills. Republicans point to the stock market, productivity and factory orders to indicate an economic recovery, even though joblessness grows.

The reality is that an overwhelming majority of Americans depend on wages as their sole source of income. A jobless recovery is an oxymoron. Fallacious as charges of WMDs, economists worth their salt know realistic economic numbers to substantiate Bush's recovery claims cannot be found. Democrats are campaigning as if they are trying to be the most popular date at a high school prom, rather than fighting like they are trying to save the family farm. Jobs are all that matter to people out of work or those afraid of losing the job they have. No jobs means no economic recovery!

Disgruntled feels: Downed! Since 1998, we have endeavored to educate Americans about mad cow, chronic wasting disease (CWD) and their human variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). The US beef industry and government consistently maintained US meat is safe and urged carnivores to keep eating. The industry continued cannibalizing cows after the 1997 prohibitions against the practice and "downed cows," those too sick to walk, went into human food and rendered products.

Disgruntled says: Retail discount giant Wal-Mart, the largest private sector employer in the US, pays its non-unionized employees slave wages, exploits labor abroad to keep prices low and uses illegal immigrant workers. It is one of the reasons some US companies use offshore outsourcing to keep prices in line with Wal-Mart's discount philosophy. Accused of bankrupting thousands of stores and destroying the tax base of communities across the nation, Wal-Mart, symbol of the new empire, is the new millennium British East India Company.

Disgruntled wants to know: According to the Bush administration, the US is in the midst of a sizzling hot economic recovery. Normally, more than 100,000 jobs must be created monthly to hold employment constant, yet, it continues to decline, along with consumer confidence and the value of the dollar. How can the Bush administration justify its claim?

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