April 7

Greetings. Hope everyone is standing tall and feeling good. It’s an interesting time no? With millions of people across the country rising up against the recent immigration legislation, one can’t help but be a little excited by all this activity. On with the news…

I recently visited Russell “Maroon” Shoatz, a political prisoner in PA. He had some medical advice that I want to share. Last year, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. With as much trouble as you can imagine, the DOC was finally forced to send for biopsy tests that cost something like $17,000. During this time, one of his comrades urged him to get medical books and diagnose himself. He did this and came across something called Prostatitis which is an infection of the prostate. (FYI – the prostate is a gland that is located somewhere in the nether regions. Prostate Cancer is extremely common in men) So, Maroon came across Prostatitis which is an infection of the prostate that mimics prostate cancer and is often caused by over exercising (hmmm, hmmm many prisoners I know are probably guilty of over exercising) This infection is cured with antibiotics. So Maroon and his supporters started clamoring for antibiotics. And they finally agreed to give him some, which cured his infection and at the same time, the misdiagnosis cost the state 17,000 dollars. Lesson being, it is important to read up on medical stuff cause a lot of times you will be the one that has to diagnose yourself. (this is true on the outside as well, but at least on the outside we can get a second opinion and in general have a lot more resources then prisoners) Also too, if you do have any family or outside support that has access to the internet, people on the outside can easily find loads of information on medical problems.

Anyone who has not received a copy of the VA Directory Action, A resource guide for prisoners in VA who has ordered one, please write a letter explaining that you have not received this and why. Everyone who has ordered a copy was sent one within two weeks or so of the order. Whether you have ordered it through, FedUp!, Book ‘Em, or RIHD. There have been some letters stating that people have not received this, and well, it’s outrageous. Please grieve this. In PA, a prison tried to deny the PA version of the guide due to some of the artwork. .(It was accused of portraying bestiality and people in bondage. The images included hands in shackles and a man represented as a link in a chain.) A determined prisoner grieved this and filed numerous complaints and the denial of a resource guide, that should actually be put out by the prison officials themselves, was overturned. (YEAH!) The ACLU contacted the publishers of the guide willing to take legal action, just as the prisoner was successful in changing the minds of the conservative officials. Point being, if the prison is not allowing you to have the resource guide we may be able to get the ACLU to help litigate. (The dialogue surrounding the PA guide was really funny as the prisoner was claiming that the handcuff pins the guards are fond of wearing represented bondage and “Geez, I thought prison was bondage.”) For your own copy of the VA Prison Resource Guide – write FedUp! 5125 Penn Ave Pgh, PA 15224 fedup@riseup.net 412-802-8575

In legal news concerning FedUp!, please understand that we are not lawyers and it is real hard for us to address your concerns from a lawyers perspective. We reached out to 15 or more lawyers and firms requesting aid and guidance regarding the proposed class action suit regarding abuse. While we have yet to find a probono lawyer with amazing amounts of free time to help with this effort, all hope is not lost. In PA, where similar issues are a being dealt with, there is legal help and what did the legal team ask concerned parties for? Only the information FedUp has been documenting for the past year. So, friends, when we do find legal help we will be more then ready and organized to assist the lawyers. On this tip, the looking for lawyers tip, if anyone on the inside or out wanted to help find legal help please do. Write them. Tell them what’s going and how to contact FedUp! Thank you in advance. Also, a note about the Defenders the organization in Richmond that puts out the newspapers. They are not lawyers even tho their name starts with Defenders. As far as I know, they are still willing to publish articles and news by people incarcerated.

As always, please pass any contact info of family and friends so that they too may receive these mailing or if they wanted to get involved. We always need help. Contact people. Transcriptions. If someone knows how to do a website.

Compiling information, etc., Stamps Stamps Stamps. Please. Please.Please. Thanks to all who donated stamps!!

And to the writers, someone suggested an essay topic be “Why aren’t more New Afrikans a part of the outside prison support movement?”

Love to the people whose minds are free no matter where their bodies may be. Love to the people that stand up for each other. Love to the people that educate each other. Love to the people who understand that they are making history right now. Love to the people that have freedom fighters sleeping in their chests waiting to rise up. Love to the people who refuse to give up. Love to the people that choose to love.

Virginia Law Foundation700 East Main Street, Suite 1501Richmond, VA 23219 (804) 648-0112 Virginia Legal Aid Society513 Church Street PO Box 6058Lynchburg, VA 24505-6058 (804) 528-4722 Virginia Post-Conviction Assistance Project PO Box 506 Richmond, VA 23204 – 0506 (804) 643 – 6845 Virginia Poverty Law Center 201 West Broad Street, Suite 302Richmond, Virginia 23220 (804) 782 – 9430 University of Virginia Law SchoolPro Bono Criminal Project 580 Massie Road Room 158D Charlottesville, Virginia 22903-1789

National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys1627 K Street , NW, Suite 1200 Washington DC 20006 Tel: 202 - 872 - 8688 Ext: 224 Fax: 202 - 331 – 8269 Atten: Paul Petterson NAACP Legal Defense Fund Hudson Street, 16th FloorNew YorkNY 10113 Tel: 212 - 219 – 1900 Fax: 212 - 219 – 2052 Attn: George Kendall

This is Ms. "K" with Resource Information Help for the Disadvantage - R. I. H. D., Inc. Hope you are all in the Best of Health, Best of Spirits and Safe. Allow me to update you on the 2006 Virginia General Assembly Session.

1. SB 17 - Moratorium on Prisoner Execution - Death Penalty - Patron by Senator Henry Marsh.

This bill never made it beyond introduction by Senator Marsh. For years now, Senator Marsh has

2. SB 105, formerly SB 805, SB 75 - Virginia Literacy Education Rehabilitation Act - VaLERA which

offers an "Earned" second chance for prisoners. Patron by Senator Henry Marsh. This bill deals with increasing rehabilitation efforts and decreasing the amount of time sentenced and provides an alternative to parole and the current non-parole system.

On any given day, there are approximately 45,000 plus state prisoners residing in the Commonwealth Department of Corrections. Of that 45,000 people - 9,000 are eligible for parole and with 36,000 not eligible for parole. If one person for each prisoner who was not eligible for parole would support this bill - Ten percent support would be 3,600 people. Five percent 1,800 people. And one percent would be 360 people. At most, we had approximately 100 in attendance supporting SB 105. Not even a half of one percent.

SB 105 was voted by the Committee for Rehabilitation and Social Service for "Study" and Continued until the 2007 Virginia General Assembly. We all need to come out to support this bill and see it passed next year!!

3. HB 1060, Parole Bill – This bill deals with the deenial of parole due to the Serious Nature of the Crime. Patron by Delegate John S. "Jack" Reid. This Bill challenges the parole guideline, whereas, prisoner

who have been denied parole three (3) consecutive times solely due to the serious nature of the crime, will not be denied on the forth and granted parole.

There were many other prison/prisoner bills issued such as a tax-deduction to alleviate the expenses incurred by the families of prisoners. This too did not make it past the House of Delegate floor, Patroned by Delegate Bacote. The telephone Bill to re-install the word "SHALL" opposed to "MAY", which lead to the last minute change in the telephone bill from "Debit Card" to "Pre-Paid" System. This too did not go far.

The problem with almost ALL Bills not being passed is the lack of physical attendance support.

1. Educate, Inform everyone you know, see and speak with concerning BILLS. Educate Yourself concerning ALL State Legislators (Senators and Delegates)

2. Be pro-actively involved with the VOTER registration. You have the Power to influence any/all Elections through families, friends, communities. Exercise It!

3. United We Stand, Divide We Shall Fall. Cross-Support!!! Parole Eligible prisoners and family’s of prisoners Support Non-Parole Eligible Bills and vice-versa. Understand that NO Bill is Perfect. We must get our "foot" in the door! Respect those who dare to make a difference. Learn to agree to disagree, yet be Supportive!

4. Sacrifice. Many families complain about the expense of having to come to Richmond during the General Assembly hearings. Suggestion: Beginning September, 2006 sacrifice on the telephone expense and on the commissary expenses to allow for transportation expenses to Richmond, VA. Remember: The 2007 Virginia

General Assembly will begin around Mid- January, 2007. RIHD, Inc. will post any/all scheduled hearing dates once the Session begins every Monday on Holla to the Hood radio, through email and on our web site: www.RIHD.org.

5. PARTICIPATE IN THE PETITION SIGNATURE DRIVE. If 36,000 Prisoners received at least 10 Signatures, the total would be 360,000 Signatures. = BILL(S) PASSED!!!

7. Commit yourself to getting your families pro-active and in attendance in 2007. Families residing outside of the Commonwealth of Virginia are eligible to participate with any/all Legislation concerning a prisoner member. WE need 10% (3,600) supporters in attendance during the 2007 Virginia General Assembly. Sending the ultimate message to the Legislators - "STOP WAREHOUSING HUMAN BEINGS" and

Send a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) to: VaLERA - PO Box 55 - Highland Springs, VA 23075.

For updated information go to our Web Site: www.RIHD.org or e-mail: InmateResource@aol.com

Resource Information and Help for the Disadvantaged, INC. is a nonprofit, 100% volunteer organization. We are not a part/charter with any other organization. Our purpose is to assist all disadvantage people regardless of religion, color, creed and ethnic background. Our "special" inference is with at-risk youth, incarcerated people, ex-offenders, your families, and loved ones on all levels. We want to improve the existence of their lives, your lives, the victim lives, the communities lives... to reduce the stress felt by all.

RIHD, Inc. is steadily growing. Unfortunately, RIHD, Inc. must rely exclusively on fundraiser and personal contributions. We need the support of you, your families, communities, no matter how small, because when you do a little and a little at a time, eventually it makes a BIG difference.

RIHD, Inc. will work diligently to do it's part, uniting with other groups and gearing up for a sucessful 2007 Virginia General Assembly. Let us all unite for equality and justice, acquire responsible legislation. Your ideas and suggestions welcome, for it's a team effort.

Upcoming meetings, Richmond, Newport News, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, Norton (Red Onion/Wallens Ridge area). We Need Volunteers!!! To Defray RIHD, Inc. cost, have your families, loved ones to become a member. JOIN Today! Meetings in Newport News - April 21, 2006 - Lynchburg - June 24, 2006 - Richmond Every 3rd Wednesday - New York City - August 5, 2006 MORE DATES TO COME - Additional information have your loves to CALL/WRITE/EMAIL RIHD, INC.. NON MEMBERS PLEASE SEND A SELF ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE FOR INFORMATION/RESPONSE.

RIHD, INC. - PO BOX 55 - HIGHLAND SPRINGS - VA 23075 - (804) 737-9624 - Web Site: www.RIHD.org

The 1960’s and 70’s were eras heavily influenced by the civil rights movement, and out from this period emerged the Attic Rebellion, and the George Jackson Brigade movement in the California Prison System.

During this period there was also a large and growing prison movement in the U.S.

Unfortunately, this movement has drastically subsided over the last 30 years or so. If we are to witness this movement rejuvenate itself, prisoner action must be the catalyst that spurns it.

In other words, outside supporters can only effectively begin to support collectively progressive prisoners when these prisoners have begun to wage struggles against unjust and inhumane conditions inside the gulags.

Comrade inside of prison can begin by creating more programs to counter prison repression and develop activities that challenge the repressive measures being taken against prisoners.

These activities should be designed to in themselves provide security for comrades, as the prison guards we interact with are not trained in diplomacy.

Due to the varied ideologies of captive comrades, we must be flexible in formulating these programs, so that our differences will not divide us.

Our inside collectives can push more for the advocacy that taxpayers should have more say in the activities inside prison, and that there need be more taxpayers oversight inside U.S. prisons.

The role of outside supporters for the most part should be to keep the lines of communication open between prisoners, and keep prisoners informed of the conditions of other disenfranchised people and struggles, because wherever we are at, we are another front for international struggle.

As pointed out before, the prison movement can only be spearheaded by prisoners themselves, and therefore ex prisoners should be encouraged to stay in contact upon release, and become involved in the prison activities.

In closing, I leave the reader with this thought that it is incumbent if the prison movement is to bolster again, that prisoners understand that we must play the essential role of getting the ball rolling.

A sense of Desperation/Anxiety of Separation/These seemingly biblical calamities are Man’s creations/ Marx said man is the means and the end/ Malcolm said by any means necessary we will win/Conquer the child and empower the man within/Via education we can better to situation/ We must exemplify determination and dedication/ Popularize revolution and elevation/internalize higher values of human interest/ No more state worship or tribalism/ a swift change in our mental metabolism/ and we can create the objective conditions conducive for a free society -Big Al

Two things need to be understood by us if we are to produce any lasting and real changes in our conditions, one is it takes physical work and two it takes unity.

Our resistance to abuse demands work in the realm of physical brain, blood and muscle and not with mere spiritual appeals and promises. On this point we should be reminded that Amerika was built upon land taken from the Indians by violence and deceit. They were mass murdered in the name of Manifest Destiny which rationalized the annihilation of millions of Indians (womyn, children, men) as a claimed god-given right of those who aspired to build a white nation on Indian and Mexican land. Also, the brutal enslavement of Afrikan people here for 250 years was also rationalized as a god-inspired punishment on us under the so-called Curse of Canaan. And because we were brutally indoctrinated into accepting our oppression as spiritual ordained, many of us sought relief solely through spiritual appeals as we were trained to do by our oppressors.

But there were those who didn’t buy into this suicidal notion then or now. And it was those who organized to resist physical oppression by physical means. However, main factors that undermind many an effort to organize against oppression, was divisions that the oppressors created and instigated within the oppressed groups. They played Indian tribes against each other, played Blacks, Indians and poor whites against each other, etc. They used a method as old as oppression itself- divide, agitate and rule. This should teach us something about oppression and racial and ethnic divisions being fundamental to the existence of Amerika’s political institutions and indeed to the national reality of Amerika itself.

This reality should be rather apparent to us locked down here, who’ve witnessed and experienced efforts by officials at these prisons to instigate and facilitate us to attack each other, such as encouraging us in segregation to throw foul substances on each other between cages on the rec yards with no consequences, yet anyone who’d throw any substance on a guard is put into chains and stripped of all property. Similar methods of attempting to incite internal division has occurred in their plans allowing cable in segregation on the weekends to pods whose members keep each other in check through each preceding week, also in their creating so-called gang pods in which they’ve mixed together rival gangs and eagerly awaited for group violence to erupt between Black, Latino, Mexicano and white prisoners

But many of you saw through the latter schemes at both ROSP and Wallens Ridge, and did the exact opposite of what the guards and administrators wanted. You all got together and maintained unity and cooperation which is what they fear above all else, with the result that in September and November 2005 they descended on the gang pods and attacked the prisoners, and then fabricated claims that the prisoners had organized gang violence, which is what they tried to provoke and create, so to demonize us, divert public attention away from the growing exposure of our abuses here, and avert public support for us. They realize as we should that public support is the key to challenging and exposing what’s really going on inside these remote and hidden prisons.

So on several fronts I appeal to all of us confined inside these prisons and our outside people. I encourage you all to get behind and actively support FedUp!, because little change can come and certainly wont last if we sit back and expect others to do for us what we ought to be doing for ourselves. ---Rashid

Transform the Iron Houses of Oppression into Schools of Liberation By Tom Big Warrior, 1/6/04

What I remember most from reading Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, is that to defeat your enemy you must defeat his strategy with your own. It is all well and good to talk about the abolition of prisons, but this requires that first the state itself must be abolished, for you cannot have one without the other.

But to develop a strategy that will defeat the ruling class’s strategy of mass incarceration as a means of social control and the criminalization of a generation, we need a strategy that utilizes this reality and makes it work for us. Penitentiaries have always been the universities of the oppressed. Many older prisoners complain that the new crop of prisoners haven’t a clue as to the ways of the "Old School." They are for the most part amateurs unlearned in the fine points of the criminal underworld and its ways and customs. The massive increase in the number of incarcerated has forever changed the situation. What is called for is a "New School," not based upon the criminal life style but upon becoming warriors who live lives of service to the people.

Most "ethnic" people are not so far removed from the warrior traditions of their ancestors. These traditions held that a warrior’s life was not his own, it belonged to his people, his tribe or his nation. In these societies, the State did not exist. There were no special bodies of armed men, soldiers or police, no prisons and no class ruling over society. Every man, (and some women), was a warrior. When the need arose, he dropped what he was doing to rise to the defense of the people or perform whatever service was needed. Otherwise, he went about his business of providing for his family or neighbors in need.

This is how society worked for many thousands of years, and the virtues of the warrior were the virtues of humanity; courage, loyalty, humility, honesty and reliability. Warriors strove to be their people’s pride and to set a good example for the youth and children who looked up to them and learned from them. They did not fear death, only dishonor. To die for the people was an honor.

The strategy of the ruling class is to degrade, demoralize and dishonor the members of the underclass; to turn the young women into "ho’s" and the young men into "gangsta’s," addicting both to "crack" or "smack" and thereby neutralize them and render them impotent in the class struggle, setting them up for early graves or long prison sentences. They give the Indian nations casinos and call this "sovereignty rights." They turn the urban barrios and "hoods" into war zones, giving the people a choice of colors in fratricidal gang warfare.

Every bit of this is about oppression, even if it puts a wad of dough in your pocket, or it puts you in a flash car or flash clothes for a while. This is all chump change to the ruling class, and you are never going to be one of them. All they will let you be is a Judas Goat with a bell around your neck leading the people to slaughter. What you sell to wear the bell is worth a lot more than what you receive.

Creator made us to be warriors. This is biologically determined. The very gifts that enable us to be strong warriors, strength of body, quickness of mind, and courage are exploited to turn us into "gangsta’s" and "hoodlums." We are made into caricatures of what we were intended to be…not the real thing at all!

To be real, we must return to the ways of our warrior ancestors and their traditional spiritual orientation. We must let Creator stand us tall and help us to walk in balance on the Red Path of true warriors. When necessary, we must walk alone, when possible, we must unite as brothers and form warrior circles. Virtually any prison group can become a warrior’s circle and help to transform the joint into a "School of Liberation." Every yard and cell block can become a classroom of higher learning.

Education is the key. Those with knowledge and understanding must share it with others. Lifers, who cannot get out, can school those who will. Those who come out can carry the "New School" into the neighborhoods and back onto the reservations. No matter how bad one has been, when turned to service to the people we can all be useful. We can be Giants!

The people who run the prisons talk about "corrections" and "rehabilitation," but it is all a scam. The only ones who care about rehabilitation are the prisoners themselves and their loved ones. The system is rigged to fail. People are expected to come out more demoralized and dehumanized then they went in. They are expected to re-offend and go right back in, or trip over some technical violation of parole placed in their path.

The reality is there are not enough decent jobs to go around. Globalization calls for exportation of the good jobs elsewhere and importation of cheap immigrant labor to depress wages in the service sector. That’s why so many Americans are being incarcerated for longer prison terms. It has nothing to do with crime rates and everything to do with keeping the underclass down.

The only way to win is to stop playing their game and to turn the tables on our oppressors. Nobody can change a thing about the past. What’s done is done! All we can do is determine what we are going to do today and what we aspire to become in the future. Why should we accept the label of our past misdeeds as an identity or put such on others? Pretty near everyone in prison did some pretty awful thing or things to get where they are, but why dwell upon it? Need it determine the rest of one’s life?

We can be the sort of men whom others will respect and trust regardless of the start we made in life, if we decide to change our ways and walk a righteous path. We were all given the capability of living up to Creator’s expectations.

Sometime you have to leave the path to find it, to fail in order to succeed. We were born in a sewer of exploitation where everything sacred is profaned and selfishness, insensitivity, ruthlessness and greed are promoted as virtues. We live in a world turned wrong-side up. No one on death row killed more people than Lee Iacoca, when with the stroke of a pen he eliminated the option of putting a safer gas tank on the Ford Pinto, and they proclaimed him "Man of the Year."

Compared to the crimes of the ruling class, all the offences of all the prisoners in America taken together pale by comparison, but they go scott free, or at worst get a slap on the wrist, no matter what their crimes, while the poor are executed or grow old in prison cells. But before there can be an accounting of true justice, the people must be united. Such unity does not fall from the sky, or occur as an instantaneous mystical happening, it must be built up gradually from below. A nation stands upon its warriors, and without them, a people have nothing.

America is not just a nation of prisons, where one in four of the incarcerated people in the world reside, it is a prison house of nations. First and foremost are the indigenous nations whose homelands are occupied. Then there is the nation of Africans in America, of Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in America, and so on. All the nations in America, including the white colonial settler nation, must learn to stand together and to stand tall in opposition to all oppression. Warriors must lead the way!

We are all in the same boat. Our fates are intertwined. To have a future, we must wrest the wheel from Blind Greed and Selfish Ambition and put Reason in command. Who can understand this better than those whose personal lives have been wrecked upon the rocks? It is from within the bowels of the system of injustice, from those stripped of everything tangible, and struggling to retain their humanity and spirit, that hope for the future will be found. In the hard knocks school of prison and on the mean streets of poverty and desperation, the people will find their champions.

Let all who yearn for a day of liberation for mankind take a hand in consciously creating this school. Yes, one day we shall see the abolition of prisons, and of every form of oppression, but not without first raising up a tide of red-hearted warriors who, even under the gravest adversity, have learned how to be free.

---------------------Red Heart Warriors Society (RHWS) P.O. Box 4362 Allentown, PA 18105 newsletter free to prisoners

The Bureaucracy of America and many citizens as well, portray the penal system to be a philanthropic necessity that maintains public safety and, along with the legislation of draconian laws, that increases the penalty for crimes, serves as law enforcement tools and as an answer for the crime pollution that plagues the social milieu of America’s “second class” citizens. But is this really the case? Are prisons really effective?

These questions along with the topic of this essay, can only extract in my opinion, ambiguous answers depending on whether they’re answered with either empathy or apathy. But I, as a prisoner, must answer with critical empathy.

Most crimes, with the exception of sexual offenses, have two common denominators; one is the offender’s desire or even a do or die necessity, to enrich himself. The other is that the offender is 80% likely to be a product of a Black/Latino social sector that’s familiar with poverty. And it’s this familiarity that fuels his desires to get rich. The American standards of success demands that if anyone wishes to enjoy such a status one must pull themselves up by their bootstraps in order to reach the apex of success.

But what if an individual would strive for the chance to be parallel with an American Popular culture that’s so tantalizing – Even if it means rendering his neighbor bootless and usurping those boots for himself. Already in a desperate environment that always call for desperate measures; he would protect his ill gotten boots from being usurped by another bootless individual. By any means even if those boots march him directly to prison because those boots protect his heels form poverty’s pokes and prods. And because empty weightless pockets can never anchor idleness amongst the poverty stricken, these circumstances would force crime; hence the American ruling strata’s planned $57 billion dollar a year reaction – the penal system. A typical reaction from a fascist authoritarian regime who’s prestige is based on domestic terrorism and who cares nothing for the welfare of society’s minorities; a minority that happens to be the prison population’s majority.

If anyone wishes to appraise reality and study the economic demographics of society they will see a relation between the crime rate and the unemployment rate. Not surprisingly, the crime rate increases as the unemployment rate rises, for every man, woman and child must eat whether the provider is employed or not. And most candidates for unemployment are members of the Black/Latino community, which makes them major contributors to the crime rate and major occupiers of prison bed space. This epitomizes the fact that no matter how many prisons are built or how draconian the laws may be it will never mitigate the crime rate that encroaches the Black/Latino community so long as poverty exists because the crime rate is not a law enforcement problem – it’s a socio-economic one that reeks of racism and discrimination based on social class status. The ruling strata’s refusal to address this socioeconomic problem brings the question of their heart’s intent: are they really concerned about public safety and offender rehabilitation as they claim are the purposes for a penal system? The answer is obvious, based on results, we can all see the futility of a $57 billion a year response that’s being defeated by poverty’s brokenness. This must be a calculated waste.

$57 billion being spent on a counterproductive reaction to crime instead of being spent on preventive measures. Just imagine such funds being appropriated for the financing of holistic methods that can contribute to social improvement and economic development; methods that can serve the claimed purposes of the penal system – The reduction of crime and recidivism. Imagine: A disenfranchised child with an opportunity to attain a higher education today can be salvaged from becoming one extra head in the prison population count. Imagine: An ex-con released into a society where employment is no hassle. This can marginalize crime in the future, thus stagnating the growth of the prison population. This seems very logical but apathy robs logic from the minds of the profiteers.

The idea of financing programs of social interaction that can lead to prison abolition crawls the blood of the modern slave traders and the capitalist how wear the cloak of ultra-conservatism. These coercive powers justify their refusal to finance socio-economic programs by stating that the funding thereof would be to great a burden on the national treasury. But the funding of the destructions of the Islamic Nation abroad and of the domestic prison boom is not burdensome enough. This must be calculated waste paid for, at large by a society of non-beneficiaries but an absolute profit in terms of Cronyism; Their logic being that Capitalism and charity are incompatible and the inability to siphon $57 billion a year into the account of industrialism is an abomination. Therefore, the bigger the prison population, the more tax dollars available to siphon into the pockets of the profiteers. Hence, the ruling strata’s neglect of the socio-economic problem. Apathy robs logic.

The politicking between fascist politicians and special interest groups regarding the incarceration of the future prison population to justify the rapid growth of the penal system makes every prisoner a casualty of politics. And society’s apathetic indifference and consent to this problem is material for the justification utilization of prisons as terror tactics of control; which is the regime’s motive.

In conclusion, my answer to the question “well if not prison, then what?” that gave birth to this essay is simple: Revolution. War on Poverty; war on illiteracy; war on dictatorship disguised as democracy. Revolution, not reform because with reform you have the same ball of clay in a different form. As the hijacked 2000 presidential election illustrated, the ballot doesn’t count! When a successor of a fascist government has been indoctrinated the same way as his predecessor you end up with the same rule. Thus, a takeover by educated competence from within the ranks of an oppressed society is the only way the socioeconomic problems of said society can be confronted with empathy. Imagine society then…

For as long as there is Capitalism, Industrialism, Cronyism and racial nepotism within a totalitarian/authoritarian government that neglects society, the dream of having a prison-less society is farfetched.

Immigrants Rising! – A Collection of News Stories about the Mass resistance against the criminalization of Immigrants – Taken from Independent Media sites across the country

Between 500,000 and 1 million people filled the streets of downtown Los Angeles on March 25th, 2006 to protest the anti-immigrant bill HR4437, which would make all 12 million undocumented people in the United States into felons as well as anyone who aids undocumented people in anyway. Families, labor, civic, religious and political groups came out strong in a mostly Latino demonstration, overwhelming all the organizers' expectations. City officials are saying it is the largest demonstration they have ever seen. Both the Mayor and the Chief of police attended the demonstration and voiced opposition to the proposed anti-lmmigrant law which is to be debated in the Senate being debated right now. This march came in the wave of many other large demonstrations against this bill taking place in Chicago, Washington DC, Arizona, and and Missouri.

Here is a snapshot of the past month’s immigrant justice movement building. Over 60 events (around 3 million people) here barely begin to represent the power of what’s going on, although you can almost see it
when looking at the past couple days of thousands of highschool students walking out in protest repeatedly!

It’s unbelievable how little coverage there is (it took me hours to compile this). The fully grassroots nature of most of these actions (many fueled/organized by radio, tv, myspace and cellphones) is promising…

For all of us who had the chance to be part of this past week’s explosive demonstrations, and for us non-immigrants who have the gift of being part of this incredible movement, this is the time. Allies need to step it up! More to follow….

3/7 D.C. 20,000 3/8 Atlanta 100 in city hall 3/10 Chicago 300,000 3/11 Tampa “several hundred” 3/14 Topeka KS “several hundred” 3/17 Santa Cruz 500 3/20 Trenton 1,200 3/22 Providence 200 3/23 Milwaukee 30,000 3/23 Racine WI

3/24 FRIDAY *Phoenix 30,000 *Tucson 1,500 *Kansas City 2,000 *Dallas 1,500 *L.A. 2,700 students walked off at least 8 campuses, others rallied on campuses and at least one high school, students climbed the gate after administrators declared a lockdown
*Atlanta estimated 80,000 workers boycotted, 200 rallied at capitol *Gainesville GA boycott, hundreds of students honor boycott (over 40% of students)

3/25 Saturday *L.A. 1- 2 million *Denver 50,000 *Charlotte, NC 7,000 *Sacramento 4,000 + *Watsonville and Salinas

2,500 (with the march from Tijuana) *Houston 5-6,000 rally for DREAM act *Cleveland rally organized by latino pastors coalition
*and tons of smaller cities I can't find turnout estimates for, including Boise, Knoxville, and Reno

3/27 MONDAY San Francisco: 5,000? (hunger strike ends; march joins up with the March for Peace/Peregrinacion por la Paz from Tijuana) Santa Ana:700 rally while 200+ riot cops invade their neighborhood Watsonville march Detroit & Grand Rapids: over 50,000 Boston 2,000 Columbus ? D.C. 1,500 + 100 clergy Denver: strategy meeting, 200, mostly latin@ & some union organizers
ending with work groups Louisville KY 3,000

WALKOUTS: L.A. 25-40, 000 (LA daily news) highschool walk out, blocking freeways, encircle city hall, from 52 high and middle schools Orange county highschoolers take over the Riverside Freeway Sacramento: 70 Fresno: over 500 San diego: 1,000+
San Jose: several hundred Santa ana: morning, high school students shut down treasuer/tax collection office Phoenix: 400 walk out, march to capitol Farmersville (central Valley CA) 200 Also thousands of walkouts in Aptos, Hollister, Salinas, San Luis Obispo, and Pasco, Washington. 3/28 Tuesday, ALL WALKOUTS L.A. 6,000 walkout from 25 schools Long beach: 400 San diego 3,000 walk out, rallies at chicano park, campuses Watsonville 1,000 Houston TX 1,000 Dallas 3,300 walk out & rally at city hall
Springdale, Arkansas: 36 highschoolers Phoenix hundreds walk out, march to capitol again Farmersville walkouts day 2
Northern Virginia: 250 highschoolers, 8 middle schoolers

Wed 3/29/06 WALKOUTS Las vegas: 500 Phoenix: hundreds Houston: hundreds Nashville l.a. schools on lockdown, hundreds of students still protesting

April 4th :Some students are calling for a national student sit-in April 8th: The organizers in LA announced a national meeting for

April 8 in Dallas, Texas of all the Latino immigrant rights leaders in the country to strategize for a national work stoppage in late May under the banner "A Day Without An Immigrant." This would be following on the action in Philadelphia Feb 14th and building off last Friday’s boycott in Georgia. April 10th: National day of action April 23rd: day of action in san Francisco May 1st: General Strike?

Immigrants contribute 7 billion in social security per year. they earn 240 billion, report 90 billion, and only are reimbursed 5 billion, "where are the 85 billion?" They also contribute to the U.S. economy 25 billion more than they receive in healthcare, etc., etc., etc. According to the anti-immigrant politicians and hatemongers, "immigrants are a drain on society." If this is true, then during the day on May 1st the stock market will surge, and the economy will boom. If not, we prove them wrong once and for all. We know what will happen!

The points of unity are: No Work, No School, No Sales, and No Buying, and also to have rallies around symbols of economic trade in your areas (stock exchanges, anti-immigrant corporations, etc.).

We will settle for nothing less than full amnesty and dignity for the millions of undocumented workers presently in the U.S. We believe that increased enforcement is a step in the wrong direction and will only serve to facilitate more tragedies along the Mexican-U.S. border in terms of deaths and family separation.

Careful What You Wish For -- By Tobin Smith - The True Facts on Illegal Immigrants

        Well, WaveWatchers, I have a foolproof way to slow our economy immediately that most Americans appear to approve of: Just herd up and ship home all undocumented workers and fill those job openings with 11 million to 12 million legal citizens who are NOT currently working because these illegals have "taken their jobs."
        I'm told that our Fox News audience is about 10-to-1 against illegals (America overall is only 8-to-1 against illegals). Apparently a FoxNews.com poll last week that asked if America's economy would be hurt if we cracked down on illegals reported 93% said NO (the economy would be fine).
        Now, I do not want to confuse anyone with the facts, but here goes.
        If you define "cracking down" as sending any and all illegal immigrants currently working in the U.S. back to where they came from, AND you define "cracking down" as an assumption that there are the same number of LEGAL citizens ready and willing to replace them, your grasp of the economics of employment in this country is shaky at best.

FACING THE FACTS

       Let's go to the irrefutable (that's unarguable, for you and me) facts of the current U.S. economy. The government estimates we have more than 142 million people employed in the U.S. who are 16 years of age and older. Presently the GDP of U.S. economy is about 75% services. Let's imagine what would happen if 10% of the people employed in the services and construction industries -- 11 million to 12 million people -- contracted the plague and died. If you define "crash" as a 2%-3% GDP annual growth rate turned into a 1%-2% GDP contraction, we would most definitely crash the economy with such a calamity.
        Now, those who tell us that if we crackdown on illegal workers it won't crash the economy MUST assume that there are 11 million to 12 million LEGAL American citizens ready and willing to take jobs currently performed by the illegal immigrant labor force, AND that employers are willing to hire them (more on that in a second). This pool of labor also must include the hidden pool of 3 million-plus unemployed legal Americans in skilled tile, roof, carpet, carpentry, brick, wallboard and other construction trades.
       Now let us not dither on about the economic facts -- like, for instance, that there is skilled/unskilled citizen labor out there, but just not being hired.

        Again, according to the latest labor statistics, there are 7.2 million unemployed in the U.S. For people with some college education, the unemployment rate is about 3%. For college graduates over 30, unemployment is less than 2% of the available workforce.
(Please, check the statistics for yourself at http://www.bls.gov
        We only have 7.2 million unemployed people in the entire country. A majority of these unemployed are unskilled. Now we have to replace 11 million to 12 million illegal workers if we "crackdown" on illegal undocumented workers. Where are we hiding the 5 million phantom workers? But the really wrong assumption in this scenario is that there are 150,000 to 250,000 small businesses -- and thousands of large businesses -- that would rather hire this hidden pool of legal citizen talent who comprise this vast army of unskilled labor sitting idle and unused in America.

MY SURVEY SAYS ...

       I recently polled more than 100 small-business owners in the construction trades on the following question:
"Assume you had a project or job where you made the same amount of profit hiring illegal Hispanic workers or unskilled legal workers for your projects -- who would you prefer to hire?"   More than 76% replied "Hispanic workers" -- legal or illegal -- and the reasons were because Hispanic laborers: 1) Show up on time 2) Work harder 3) Work longer -- more days and more hours 4) Deliver higher-quality outcomes than other workers

This is not my opinion -- this is the opinion of real, small-business people who do not have the luxury of living in the parallel universe that exists in Congress or the halls of the American labor movement.

The biggest weakness in the argument of the "let's crack down on illegals in this country and it won't harm our economy" crowd is this:
They assume that employers would rather hire from the 7.2 million native unemployed pool rather than the Hispanic labor pool REGARDLESS of pay rates. One of the main reasons the 7.2 million unemployed ARE unemployed is that they simply are often outworked and outperformed by the illegal labor -- and often at lower wages. That's a hard pill to swallow, but my research supports this premise.

So, even if it were possible to remove almost 15% of our service workers and replace them with lazier, less-skilled labor, our economy would suffer from the hit of losing 10 million consumers -- at LEAST a 3%-4% hit to the GDP. That would take our economy from 3% growth to 0% or -1% growth. In economic terms, that's a crash. What the economically illiterate do not understand is that in an economy that is 75% service based -- i.e., more than 100 million of the 143 million jobs in the U.S. -- and you remove 11 million -12 million of the 100 million most-productive workers: * Labor prices go up, creating real systemic inflation * Service prices go up, which creates real cost-push inflation * Interest rates go up because of inflation, and that kills the housing market

Which, in turn, kills the economy. This would bring a great recession that:

* Destroys good jobs and takes us to 7%-8% unemployment * Kills home valuations, a la the 1989-1991 recession
* Does nothing to improve homeland defense

So be very, very careful what you wish for, America -- your prosperity lies in the balance.

It is an inescapable economic fact that, at the margin, there is a pool of 12 million or so hard-working laborers who fill the gap in our labor base for unskilled labor or skilled construction labor. We owe much of our growth to this incredibly valuable labor pool that 8-out-of-10 Americans wants to eliminate.

Remove that pool and watch prices explode when the reserve supply gets extremely low -- just like oil prices did.
Remove that labor pool and our economy loses one of its keys to our incredible prosperity.