SAN FRANCISCO — Jim Wilson/The New York Times
At the Oakland Farmers' Market, Karen Bischoff signed a petition by Tax and Regulate Cannabis seeking a ballot measure.
State lawmakers are holding a hearing on Wednesday on the effects of a bill that would legalize, tax and regulate the drug — in what would be the first such law in the United States. Tax officials estimate the legislation could bring the struggling state about $1.4 billion a year, and though the bill’s fate in the Legislature is uncertain, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has indicated he would be open to a “robust debate” on the issue.
California voters are also taking up legalization. Three separate initiatives are being circulated for signatures to appear on the ballot next year, all of which would permit adults to possess marijuana for personal use and allow local governments to tax it. Even opponents of legalization suggest that an initiative is likely to qualify for a statewide vote. “All of us in the movement have had the feeling that we’ve been running into the wind for years,” said James P. Gray, a retired judge in Orange County who has been outspoken in support of legalization. “Now we sense we are running with the wind.”
Proponents of the leading ballot initiative have collected nearly 300,000 signatures since late September, supporters say, easily on pace to qualify for the November 2010 general election. Richard Lee, a longtime marijuana activist who is behind the measure, says he has raised nearly $1 million to hire professionals to assist volunteers in gathering the signatures. “For a lot of people,” he said, “it’s just another brand of beer.”
That said, the bids to legalize marijuana are opposed by law enforcement groups across the state and, if successful, would undoubtedly set up a legal showdown with the federal government, which classifies marijuana as an illegal drug. Opponents said they are also preparing for a battle next year. Any vote would take place in a state where attitudes toward marijuana border on the schizophrenic. Last year, the state made some 78,500 arrests on felony and misdemeanors related to the drug, up from about 74,000 in 2007, according to the California attorney general.
At the same time, however, there are also pockets of California where marijuana can seem practically legal already. At least seven California cities have formally declared marijuana a low priority for law enforcement, with ballot measures or legislative actions. In Los Angeles, some 800 to 1,000 dispensaries of medical marijuana are in business, officials say, complete with consultants offering public relations services and “canna-business management.”
In Oakland, which passed a tax on medical cannabis sales in July, several people who signed a petition backing Mr. Lee’s initiative said they were motivated in part by the cost of imprisoning drug offenders and the toll of drug-related violence in Mexico. “Personally I don’t see a way of getting it under control other than legalizing it and taxing it,” said Jim Quinn, 60, a production manager. “We’ve got to get it out of the hands of criminals both domestic and international.”
Mr. Lovell, the law enforcement lobbyist, however, said those arguments paled in comparison to the potential pitfalls of legalization, including people driving under the influence. He also questioned how much net revenue a tax like Mr. Ammiano is proposing would actually raise. “We get revenue from alcohol,” he said. “But there’s way more in social costs than we retain in revenues.”
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Boy's death deepens H1N1 worry
By JOSEPHINE MARCOTTY, Star Tribune
It's a scenario that strikes terror in most any parent: A perfectly healthy first-grader dies of flu in the ambulance outside his home. How could it happen?
In the most recent H1N1 flu death in Minnesota, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office said that 6-year-old Nathanael Schilling of Corcoran died on Sept. 24 from an inflammation of the heart, a rare complication that can result from a flu infection. He was a first-grader at St. John's Lutheran School in Corcoran, according to his newspaper funeral notice. It was the seventh death from H1N1 in Minnesota, and the second time this year that an otherwise healthy child died after becoming infected with the new flu strain.
Health officials say they still expect the new virus to be no more deadly than ordinary seasonal flu, which kills 36,000 Americans in an average year. What's different this year is that children appear to be more vulnerable to the new strain than to seasonal flu. The previous child fatality in Minnesota, which occurred in July, also involved an otherwise healthy child. That 2-year-old died because of a co-occurring bacterial infection -- pneumococcus, which causes pneumonia, said Dr. Ruth Lynfield, Minnesota state epidemiologist.
Alone, it's not usually dangerous in someone who is healthy. But the flu virus opens a door, allowing the non-threatening agent to overwhelm the body and become lethal. It's the combination of the two that often kills otherwise healthy children and adults.
"That's why we tell people who get the flu that if they are getting better and then symptoms get worse with high fever and bad cough, they should seek care right away," Lynfield said.
A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that of the 36 children who died from H1N1 from April to August, six had no chronic health conditions. But all of them had a co-occurring bacterial infection.
The most common co-occurring infection that causes flu-related deaths is staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as staph, said Pat Schlievert, a microbiologist at the University of Minnesota and an expert on staph-related deaths. A third of the population carries it on their body, most in their noses or on their skin. Often it's benign or causes minor skin infections. Schlievert has studied dozens of cases of children who died unexpectedly from flu combined with staph. "The [flu] causes upper respiratory damage, which allows the staph to get where it's not supposed to be. It makes it's way into the lungs," he said.
So far in Minnesota three of the seven deaths from H1N1 have been children and only the first, who died in June, had an underlying health problem that put her at greater risk. The other deaths were adults, one elderly, and three middle-aged, all with chronic health conditions such as asthma, obesity or suppressed immune systems. That's a sharp contrast to the pattern of fatalities seen with seasonal influenza. Most years, 90 percent of the people who die from complications of flu are elderly, and most others have chronic health problems that make them vulnerable.
The vast majority of people who become infected with H1N1 recover, Lynfield said, "but some do get severe disease."
It's a scenario that strikes terror in most any parent: A perfectly healthy first-grader dies of flu in the ambulance outside his home. How could it happen?
In the most recent H1N1 flu death in Minnesota, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office said that 6-year-old Nathanael Schilling of Corcoran died on Sept. 24 from an inflammation of the heart, a rare complication that can result from a flu infection. He was a first-grader at St. John's Lutheran School in Corcoran, according to his newspaper funeral notice. It was the seventh death from H1N1 in Minnesota, and the second time this year that an otherwise healthy child died after becoming infected with the new flu strain.
Health officials say they still expect the new virus to be no more deadly than ordinary seasonal flu, which kills 36,000 Americans in an average year. What's different this year is that children appear to be more vulnerable to the new strain than to seasonal flu. The previous child fatality in Minnesota, which occurred in July, also involved an otherwise healthy child. That 2-year-old died because of a co-occurring bacterial infection -- pneumococcus, which causes pneumonia, said Dr. Ruth Lynfield, Minnesota state epidemiologist.
Alone, it's not usually dangerous in someone who is healthy. But the flu virus opens a door, allowing the non-threatening agent to overwhelm the body and become lethal. It's the combination of the two that often kills otherwise healthy children and adults.
"That's why we tell people who get the flu that if they are getting better and then symptoms get worse with high fever and bad cough, they should seek care right away," Lynfield said.
A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that of the 36 children who died from H1N1 from April to August, six had no chronic health conditions. But all of them had a co-occurring bacterial infection.
The most common co-occurring infection that causes flu-related deaths is staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as staph, said Pat Schlievert, a microbiologist at the University of Minnesota and an expert on staph-related deaths. A third of the population carries it on their body, most in their noses or on their skin. Often it's benign or causes minor skin infections. Schlievert has studied dozens of cases of children who died unexpectedly from flu combined with staph. "The [flu] causes upper respiratory damage, which allows the staph to get where it's not supposed to be. It makes it's way into the lungs," he said.
So far in Minnesota three of the seven deaths from H1N1 have been children and only the first, who died in June, had an underlying health problem that put her at greater risk. The other deaths were adults, one elderly, and three middle-aged, all with chronic health conditions such as asthma, obesity or suppressed immune systems. That's a sharp contrast to the pattern of fatalities seen with seasonal influenza. Most years, 90 percent of the people who die from complications of flu are elderly, and most others have chronic health problems that make them vulnerable.
The vast majority of people who become infected with H1N1 recover, Lynfield said, "but some do get severe disease."
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Revised formula puts number of poor people at 47.4 million — 7 million more than official rate
From the Star/Tribune
By HOPE YEN , Associated Press--
WASHINGTON - The level of poverty in America is even worse than first believed. A revised formula for calculating medical costs and geographic variations show that approximately 47.4 million Americans last year lived in poverty, 7 million more than the government's official figure.
The disparity occurs because of differing formulas the Census Bureau and the National Academy of Science use for calculating the poverty rate. The NAS formula shows the poverty rate to be at 15.8 percent, or nearly 1 in 6 Americans, according to calculations released this week. That's higher than the 13.2 percent, or 39.8 million, figure made available recently under the original government formula. That measure, created in 1955, does not factor in rising medical care, transportation, child care or geographical variations in living costs.
According to the revised NAS formula:
_About 18.7 percent of Americans 65 and older, or nearly 7.1 million, are in poverty compared to 9.7 percent, or 3.7 million, under the traditional measure. That's due to out-of-pocket expenses from rising Medicare premiums, deductibles and a coverage gap in the prescription drug benefit.
_About 14.3 percent of people 18 to 64, or 27 million, are in poverty, compared to 11.7 percent under the traditional measure. Many of the additional poor are low-income, working people with transportation and child-care costs.
_Child poverty is lower, at about 17.9 percent, or roughly 13.3 million, compared to 19 percent under the traditional measure. That's because single mothers and their children disproportionately receive non-cash aid such as food stamps.
Poverty rates were higher for non-Hispanic whites (11 percent), Asians (17 percent) and Hispanics (29 percent) when compared to the traditional measure. For blacks, poverty remained flat at 24.7 percent, due to the cushioning effect of non-cash aid.
By HOPE YEN , Associated Press--
WASHINGTON - The level of poverty in America is even worse than first believed. A revised formula for calculating medical costs and geographic variations show that approximately 47.4 million Americans last year lived in poverty, 7 million more than the government's official figure.
The disparity occurs because of differing formulas the Census Bureau and the National Academy of Science use for calculating the poverty rate. The NAS formula shows the poverty rate to be at 15.8 percent, or nearly 1 in 6 Americans, according to calculations released this week. That's higher than the 13.2 percent, or 39.8 million, figure made available recently under the original government formula. That measure, created in 1955, does not factor in rising medical care, transportation, child care or geographical variations in living costs.
According to the revised NAS formula:
_About 18.7 percent of Americans 65 and older, or nearly 7.1 million, are in poverty compared to 9.7 percent, or 3.7 million, under the traditional measure. That's due to out-of-pocket expenses from rising Medicare premiums, deductibles and a coverage gap in the prescription drug benefit.
_About 14.3 percent of people 18 to 64, or 27 million, are in poverty, compared to 11.7 percent under the traditional measure. Many of the additional poor are low-income, working people with transportation and child-care costs.
_Child poverty is lower, at about 17.9 percent, or roughly 13.3 million, compared to 19 percent under the traditional measure. That's because single mothers and their children disproportionately receive non-cash aid such as food stamps.
Poverty rates were higher for non-Hispanic whites (11 percent), Asians (17 percent) and Hispanics (29 percent) when compared to the traditional measure. For blacks, poverty remained flat at 24.7 percent, due to the cushioning effect of non-cash aid.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Justice of the Peace refused to marry interracial couple
From CNN
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- A justice of the peace in Louisiana who has drawn widespread criticism for refusing to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple says he has no regrets about his decision.
Keith Bardwell says he has no regrets for denying a marriage license to an interracial couple. "It's kind of hard to apologize for something that you really and truly feel down in your heart you haven't done wrong," Keith Bardwell told CNN affiliate WAFB on Saturday.
Bardwell, a justice of the peace for Tangipahoa Parish's 8th Ward, refused to issue a marriage license to Beth Humphrey, 30, and her boyfriend, Terence McKay, 32, both of Hammond. Bardwell's actions have elicited reactions from some top officials, including Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who called for Bardwell's dismissal. "This is a clear violation of constitutional rights and federal and state law. ... disciplinary action should be taken immediately -- including the revoking of his license," the Republican governor said Friday.
Bardwell told Hammond's Daily Star in a story Thursday that he did not marry the couple because he was concerned for the children who might be born of the relationship and that, in his experience, most interracial marriages don't last. "I'm not a racist," Bardwell told the newspaper. "I do ceremonies for black couples right here in my house. My main concern is for the children." Bardwell, stressing that he couldn't personally endorse the marriage, said his wife referred the couple to another justice of the peace.
Humphrey and McKay received their marriage license October 9 from another justice of the peace in the same parish. They have reached out to an attorney to determine their next step, Humphrey said. "We would like him to resign," Beth McKay said. "He doesn't believe he's being racist, but it is racist."
The National Urban League called for an investigation into the incident by the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, saying in a statement that Bardwell's actions were "a huge step backward in social justice."
The U.S. Supreme Court tossed out any racially-based limitations on marriage in the landmark 1967 Loving v. Virginia case. In the unanimous decision, the court said that "Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State."
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- A justice of the peace in Louisiana who has drawn widespread criticism for refusing to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple says he has no regrets about his decision.
Keith Bardwell says he has no regrets for denying a marriage license to an interracial couple. "It's kind of hard to apologize for something that you really and truly feel down in your heart you haven't done wrong," Keith Bardwell told CNN affiliate WAFB on Saturday.
Bardwell, a justice of the peace for Tangipahoa Parish's 8th Ward, refused to issue a marriage license to Beth Humphrey, 30, and her boyfriend, Terence McKay, 32, both of Hammond. Bardwell's actions have elicited reactions from some top officials, including Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who called for Bardwell's dismissal. "This is a clear violation of constitutional rights and federal and state law. ... disciplinary action should be taken immediately -- including the revoking of his license," the Republican governor said Friday.
Bardwell told Hammond's Daily Star in a story Thursday that he did not marry the couple because he was concerned for the children who might be born of the relationship and that, in his experience, most interracial marriages don't last. "I'm not a racist," Bardwell told the newspaper. "I do ceremonies for black couples right here in my house. My main concern is for the children." Bardwell, stressing that he couldn't personally endorse the marriage, said his wife referred the couple to another justice of the peace.
Humphrey and McKay received their marriage license October 9 from another justice of the peace in the same parish. They have reached out to an attorney to determine their next step, Humphrey said. "We would like him to resign," Beth McKay said. "He doesn't believe he's being racist, but it is racist."
The National Urban League called for an investigation into the incident by the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, saying in a statement that Bardwell's actions were "a huge step backward in social justice."
The U.S. Supreme Court tossed out any racially-based limitations on marriage in the landmark 1967 Loving v. Virginia case. In the unanimous decision, the court said that "Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State."
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
U.S. Wants A.I.G. to Hold Back on Bonuses
From the New York Times
By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
The special federal paymaster is trying to persuade the American International Group, the insurance giant, to reduce a coming bonus payment of $198 million, but is running into legal hurdles despite rules curtailing bonuses at companies receiving assistance from the Treasury.
The Treasury’s special master for compensation, Kenneth Feinberg, has “informally advised A.I.G. not to pay the full $198 million,” according to a new audit of A.I.G.’s compensation and the government’s role in overseeing the program.
The audit did not reveal how firmly Mr. Feinberg had told A.I.G. to scale back the bonuses. It said, however, that he could not simply impose a decision because the bonuses were “outside the scope” of the executive compensation rules that were issued for troubled companies in February and June. Instead, Mr. Feinberg was said to be negotiating reductions with A.I.G., with the help of the Federal Reserve.
The new audit of A.I.G.’s compensation program was issued by the office of the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. It is scheduled to be the subject of a hearing Wednesday by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The audit also found that $26 million had yet to be recovered from a previous clawback of $45 million. A spokeswoman for A.I.G., Christina Pretto, said in a statement that the people still holding that money had “until the end of the year to fulfill their commitments to return a portion.”
A.I.G. has received a series of bailouts from the federal government that have totaled $182 billion. A report by the Government Accountability Office in late September said the bailout packages had succeeded in breaking A.I.G.’s calamitous fall and had produced signs of improvement in its insurance businesses. But the company’s ability to restructure and survive over the long term depends on “market conditions and continued government support.”
By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
The special federal paymaster is trying to persuade the American International Group, the insurance giant, to reduce a coming bonus payment of $198 million, but is running into legal hurdles despite rules curtailing bonuses at companies receiving assistance from the Treasury.
The Treasury’s special master for compensation, Kenneth Feinberg, has “informally advised A.I.G. not to pay the full $198 million,” according to a new audit of A.I.G.’s compensation and the government’s role in overseeing the program.
The audit did not reveal how firmly Mr. Feinberg had told A.I.G. to scale back the bonuses. It said, however, that he could not simply impose a decision because the bonuses were “outside the scope” of the executive compensation rules that were issued for troubled companies in February and June. Instead, Mr. Feinberg was said to be negotiating reductions with A.I.G., with the help of the Federal Reserve.
The new audit of A.I.G.’s compensation program was issued by the office of the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. It is scheduled to be the subject of a hearing Wednesday by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The audit also found that $26 million had yet to be recovered from a previous clawback of $45 million. A spokeswoman for A.I.G., Christina Pretto, said in a statement that the people still holding that money had “until the end of the year to fulfill their commitments to return a portion.”
A.I.G. has received a series of bailouts from the federal government that have totaled $182 billion. A report by the Government Accountability Office in late September said the bailout packages had succeeded in breaking A.I.G.’s calamitous fall and had produced signs of improvement in its insurance businesses. But the company’s ability to restructure and survive over the long term depends on “market conditions and continued government support.”
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Pawlenty looking at presidential run
From STAR/TRIBUNE
WASHINGTON-Gov. Tim Pawlenty, mulling a White House run in 2012, will head next month to the historical proving ground for most start-up presidential campaigns -- Iowa. Pawlenty will be the featured guest for the Iowa GOP's signature fall event, titled, "Leadership for Iowa," on Nov. 7 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines.
Although he has traveled extensively across the country to introduce himself to Republican voters, this will be Pawlenty's first foray to the early caucus state since announcing that he would not seek a third term. The Iowa caucuses will formally kick off the 2012 presidential election as it does every four years.
"This is just one in many visits to Iowa by Republicans this time around who are testing the waters, seeing how they play in this pre-campaign stage" said Cary Covington, political science professor at the University of Iowa.
Political observers have been waiting for Pawlenty to make a move in either Iowa or New Hampshire, both critical battlegrounds in presidential politics.
A potential 2012 rival, Massachusetts Republican Mitt Romney, finished second in the Iowa caucuses last year behind former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who could also be a contender in 2012. That was the same order of finish in a straw poll of conservative voters at the recent Values Voters Summit in Washington. Pawlenty, facing the first test of his nationwide appeal, tied for second with several other candidates and landed one vote behind Romney.
WASHINGTON-Gov. Tim Pawlenty, mulling a White House run in 2012, will head next month to the historical proving ground for most start-up presidential campaigns -- Iowa. Pawlenty will be the featured guest for the Iowa GOP's signature fall event, titled, "Leadership for Iowa," on Nov. 7 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines.
Although he has traveled extensively across the country to introduce himself to Republican voters, this will be Pawlenty's first foray to the early caucus state since announcing that he would not seek a third term. The Iowa caucuses will formally kick off the 2012 presidential election as it does every four years.
"This is just one in many visits to Iowa by Republicans this time around who are testing the waters, seeing how they play in this pre-campaign stage" said Cary Covington, political science professor at the University of Iowa.
Political observers have been waiting for Pawlenty to make a move in either Iowa or New Hampshire, both critical battlegrounds in presidential politics.
A potential 2012 rival, Massachusetts Republican Mitt Romney, finished second in the Iowa caucuses last year behind former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who could also be a contender in 2012. That was the same order of finish in a straw poll of conservative voters at the recent Values Voters Summit in Washington. Pawlenty, facing the first test of his nationwide appeal, tied for second with several other candidates and landed one vote behind Romney.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Coaches brawl over girl playing football
CNN
EATON, Colo. -- A youth football scrimmage in Eaton Monday was scuttled when coaches brawled because the Eaton team said moral beliefs didn't allow their boys to "hit" a girl playing for the Boys and Girls Club.
During the dust up, Eaton coach Shawn Mills suffered a small bump and scratches over his left eye. But Mills told officers he didn't want charges filed against Nate Hernandez, the assistant-coach who punched him, according to a police report.
Police said they will take no action.
Hernandez who, along with other parents, confronted the Eaton coaches at mid-field before the scrimmage, demanding they tell the 11-year-old girl why she couldn't play. Hernandez apologized Tuesday in a call to Mills. However, Hernandez defended standing up for the girl's right to play. "I feel strongly about what I did," Hernandez said.
The girl, Mikayla Crespin, who plays guard and proudly described how she can block two players, said she's good enough to play with anybody. "I think that's kinda, like, harsh. That really hurt my feelings," she said of the other team's refusal to play against a girl. "Because girls can do the same as boys. There's nothing different."
Mills called Hernandez before the Monday scrimmage to explain some Eaton parents' opposition to boys playing football against girls. "Their coach expressed to our team that they had several parents who wouldn't allow their sons to participate in the scrimmage if the girl was going to play, because of their belief structure," Kimbrough said. "They've taken it and made it sort of a team edict that they won't hit girls, therefore, they won't play teams that have girl players. ... I may disagree with their strictness on this, but I have to respect that we live in a society that allows them to have that freedom of choice." Eaton coaches were left with the impression that the girl wouldn't play, because Mills had explained that his team would be forced to cancel because Eaton couldn't field enough players if the boys whose parents disapproved were pulled from the game.
Instead of notifying the Boys and Girls Club, Hernandez called the girl's mother, Nichole Esquibel, and outraged parents decided to call the Greeley Tribune. So, when Eaton arrived for the 5:30 p.m. scrimmage near Eaton Middle School, they were blindsided by a newspaper reporter and irate parents at mid-field.
The parents walked Mikayla out on the field and requested that the coaches of the Eaton team explain to her why she could not play," said Kimbrough, who was not at the scrimmage. "And that is when the arguments ensued and ultimately led to the fight."
The young players watched as the coaches of the two teams fought.
EATON, Colo. -- A youth football scrimmage in Eaton Monday was scuttled when coaches brawled because the Eaton team said moral beliefs didn't allow their boys to "hit" a girl playing for the Boys and Girls Club.
During the dust up, Eaton coach Shawn Mills suffered a small bump and scratches over his left eye. But Mills told officers he didn't want charges filed against Nate Hernandez, the assistant-coach who punched him, according to a police report.
Police said they will take no action.
Hernandez who, along with other parents, confronted the Eaton coaches at mid-field before the scrimmage, demanding they tell the 11-year-old girl why she couldn't play. Hernandez apologized Tuesday in a call to Mills. However, Hernandez defended standing up for the girl's right to play. "I feel strongly about what I did," Hernandez said.
The girl, Mikayla Crespin, who plays guard and proudly described how she can block two players, said she's good enough to play with anybody. "I think that's kinda, like, harsh. That really hurt my feelings," she said of the other team's refusal to play against a girl. "Because girls can do the same as boys. There's nothing different."
Mills called Hernandez before the Monday scrimmage to explain some Eaton parents' opposition to boys playing football against girls. "Their coach expressed to our team that they had several parents who wouldn't allow their sons to participate in the scrimmage if the girl was going to play, because of their belief structure," Kimbrough said. "They've taken it and made it sort of a team edict that they won't hit girls, therefore, they won't play teams that have girl players. ... I may disagree with their strictness on this, but I have to respect that we live in a society that allows them to have that freedom of choice." Eaton coaches were left with the impression that the girl wouldn't play, because Mills had explained that his team would be forced to cancel because Eaton couldn't field enough players if the boys whose parents disapproved were pulled from the game.
Instead of notifying the Boys and Girls Club, Hernandez called the girl's mother, Nichole Esquibel, and outraged parents decided to call the Greeley Tribune. So, when Eaton arrived for the 5:30 p.m. scrimmage near Eaton Middle School, they were blindsided by a newspaper reporter and irate parents at mid-field.
The parents walked Mikayla out on the field and requested that the coaches of the Eaton team explain to her why she could not play," said Kimbrough, who was not at the scrimmage. "And that is when the arguments ensued and ultimately led to the fight."
The young players watched as the coaches of the two teams fought.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Opponents of "Fighting Sioux" nickname rally
GRAND FORKS HERALD
Opponents of UND’s Fighting Sioux nickname brought to campus Wednesday morning one of the big guns in the battle against American Indian nicknames to help rally the base.
Clyde Bellecourt, a founder of the American Indian Movement and a leader in protests nationwide against such nicknames, inspired the crowd with stories of protests past. “We are winning,” he said. Schools and universities around the country have dropped their nicknames, he said, including ones he thought would never relent, such as the erstwhile Salmon, Idaho, “Fighting Savages.” Still on his list are the Atlanta Braves, the Washington Redskins and, naturally, the Fighting Sioux.
Bellecourt also showed some of the fire he’s known for when he sprinkled tobacco on the ground and offered prayers for “those that are scholastically retarded about us and our culture.” The Herald counted about 75 rally participants, including organizers and speakers. At a panel discussion that followed, there were seven Indian students in attendance. UND has a student population that includes more than 400 Indians, the largest among the state’s non-tribal colleges and universities.
Bellecourt came at the request of UND’s Indian students that oppose the nickname.
One of the state’s two Sioux tribes, Spirit Lake, already has issued a resolution offering UND “perpetual” use of the nickname after a referendum in which 67 percent of tribal members supported the nickname. Nickname supporters at the other tribe, Standing Rock, are agitating for a referendum of their own and predict that the results would be similar.
In fact, a counter-protester was seen with a sign that said “Democracy above all.” To that, Spirit Lake nickname opponent Erich Longie, replied, using the Dakota word for whites: “We Native Americans experienced the wasichu democracy and it killed a lot of us. … We Native Americans experienced the wasichu democracy, and we have no civil rights at all.”
Amber Annis, one of the rally organizers, said this is not an issue for voters on just two reservations, but an issue that affects all Indian students, no matter their tribe. Why, she asked, do the voices of people living on the reservation matter more than that of students forced to deal with the controversy everyday? “It is the Indian people on campus, near campus and in this community who receive the brunt of the insults,” she said.
But that really depends on who you ask. Some who voted for the Spirit Lake referendum in April said at the time that they are UND alumni or had friends or relatives who are. They didn’t feel disrespected by the nickname, they said. Many expressed pride, sporting Fighting Sioux sweatshirts or jerseys.
Celeste Melander, a UND student from Standing Rock, called the Herald after hearing about the protest and said she didn’t feel disrespected, either. Growing up on the reservation, she said, she knows what racism is. Some incidents that nickname opponents claim are racially motivated, she said, are just kids misbehaving and not race hate.
There’s little agreement whether Sioux is even a derogatory word for the peoples who call themselves Dakota, Lakota and Nakota. Dave Gipp, president of the United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck and a UND alumnus, said “Sioux” was a name imposed on his people by white Europeans. Yet, at Standing Rock, when given a chance to change the tribe’s official name from Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to Standing Rock Oyate, voters chose to keep the name.
Opponents of UND’s Fighting Sioux nickname brought to campus Wednesday morning one of the big guns in the battle against American Indian nicknames to help rally the base.
Clyde Bellecourt, a founder of the American Indian Movement and a leader in protests nationwide against such nicknames, inspired the crowd with stories of protests past. “We are winning,” he said. Schools and universities around the country have dropped their nicknames, he said, including ones he thought would never relent, such as the erstwhile Salmon, Idaho, “Fighting Savages.” Still on his list are the Atlanta Braves, the Washington Redskins and, naturally, the Fighting Sioux.
Bellecourt also showed some of the fire he’s known for when he sprinkled tobacco on the ground and offered prayers for “those that are scholastically retarded about us and our culture.” The Herald counted about 75 rally participants, including organizers and speakers. At a panel discussion that followed, there were seven Indian students in attendance. UND has a student population that includes more than 400 Indians, the largest among the state’s non-tribal colleges and universities.
Bellecourt came at the request of UND’s Indian students that oppose the nickname.
One of the state’s two Sioux tribes, Spirit Lake, already has issued a resolution offering UND “perpetual” use of the nickname after a referendum in which 67 percent of tribal members supported the nickname. Nickname supporters at the other tribe, Standing Rock, are agitating for a referendum of their own and predict that the results would be similar.
In fact, a counter-protester was seen with a sign that said “Democracy above all.” To that, Spirit Lake nickname opponent Erich Longie, replied, using the Dakota word for whites: “We Native Americans experienced the wasichu democracy and it killed a lot of us. … We Native Americans experienced the wasichu democracy, and we have no civil rights at all.”
Amber Annis, one of the rally organizers, said this is not an issue for voters on just two reservations, but an issue that affects all Indian students, no matter their tribe. Why, she asked, do the voices of people living on the reservation matter more than that of students forced to deal with the controversy everyday? “It is the Indian people on campus, near campus and in this community who receive the brunt of the insults,” she said.
But that really depends on who you ask. Some who voted for the Spirit Lake referendum in April said at the time that they are UND alumni or had friends or relatives who are. They didn’t feel disrespected by the nickname, they said. Many expressed pride, sporting Fighting Sioux sweatshirts or jerseys.
Celeste Melander, a UND student from Standing Rock, called the Herald after hearing about the protest and said she didn’t feel disrespected, either. Growing up on the reservation, she said, she knows what racism is. Some incidents that nickname opponents claim are racially motivated, she said, are just kids misbehaving and not race hate.
There’s little agreement whether Sioux is even a derogatory word for the peoples who call themselves Dakota, Lakota and Nakota. Dave Gipp, president of the United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck and a UND alumnus, said “Sioux” was a name imposed on his people by white Europeans. Yet, at Standing Rock, when given a chance to change the tribe’s official name from Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to Standing Rock Oyate, voters chose to keep the name.
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