Welfare Warriors

Winter 2006

MW Voice FEATURE

Letters to the  Editor

War

Editor's Tidbits

Mothers news from around the world

Victories

  Winter 2006

Editor's Tidbits

A True People’s Press

I recently discovered a great weekly newspaper published in Detroit, The Michigan Citizen. It calls itself  “America’s most progressive community newspaper.” And that is not an exaggeration. The Michigan Citizen reports on local news, US and world news from the people’s perspective, not the rich man’s. They even (gasp) report on political protests…and from the protestors’ point of view! Just as amazing, they report positively about poor people’s struggles. (Other than our own MWV, I can’t think of any other publication that does that.) As an African American owned publication, they prominently report on African news from across the world.

            My favorite feature is a two column “Peace History.” It summarizes peace news from past years that occurred during the seven days of that week’s publication. What a delight! It often includes as many as 15 different events. The stories are fascinating and inspirational. Many cover little-known but important historical events.

Here are samples of stories from one recent issue of The Michigan Citizen: “Zoo Mess: Media Hype Distorts Council Stand”— “Lawsuit Says City Violates Anti-Privatization Law”-- “Africa’s Oil War”-- “America’s Fascination: The Black Pimp”-- Kenya: Thousands March Against Government Corruption” --“Halliburton Detention Centers”—“Cheney Shoots Lawyer: Sheriff Immediately Issues ‘Get out of Jail Free Card’”-- Women of Color Writing Retreat Connects and Unites”-- Nigeria Mourns Death of Human Rights Activist Ransome-Kuti”—Haiti Declares Preval Winner.”  (A bit weak on women’s news.  We’ll have to help change that.)

            Please subscribe to The Michigan Citizen.  We have so few people’s presses in the US.  We need to support them financially. And this is an affordable weekly. A subscription for 6 months is $15. One-year sub is $26. Send to The Michigan Citizen, 2669 Bagley; Detroit, MI 48216.

Another Half a Million in Privatized Welfare Corruption – Lutheran Social Services

            Last issue I mentioned Lutheran Social Services’ clever new scam. They give “professional” foster parents living wages, a home, and staff. And the foster mom is not required to work outside the home. She and her hubby care for 4-5 siblings. Lutheran Social Services is also a privatized Child Welfare agency that removes children from their homes. (After accusing their impoverished, single moms of abuse or neglect. Can you say “conflict of interest”?)

            Now a state audit caught Lutheran Social Services frauding $570,000 from their state Child Welfare contract. They filed $540,000 in duplicate claims with the state. They bought gifts for staff members and rented a suite at the Brewers baseball stadium for their bishops. This half a million theft has barely caused a ripple in mass media.  And so far not a word about prosecution or termination of their grant. Its good to know absolutely everyone from staff to bishops are living it up while the foster kids mostly miss their moms and live in misery.

            Over half a million dollars seems to be the lucky fraud figure for privatized Wisconsin welfare. In 2001 a state audit found that both Goodwill’s’ W2 agency (Employment Solutions) and Maximus W2 agency “mis-spent" half a million each of W2 contracted money. They took it to other states to secure more welfare contracts.  And they used it to party hardy. None of these admitted crooks were ever prosecuted criminally. Nor did the state terminate their multi-million dollar grants or sanction them. They merely repaid the stolen amount. Then in 2005 OIC W2 was caught frauding half a million. Their director and lawyer were prosecuted but the state did not terminate their grant.  Like Goodwill, they finally chose to quit.

Patriarchal Cornerstone: Marriage

The PPP’s (professional poverty pimps) recently won a huge victory. On Feb 1 the Congress cut $50 billion from food, medicine and cash for elders, disabled, single moms, babies, students and foster children. Then they voted $750 MILLION for the PPP’s to provide marriage propaganda and institutes to certify marriage trainers… in place of that food and medicine and cash. (See story on page       )

            So now some PPP’s have become PPPP’s – Patriarchal Professional Poverty Pimps. Marriage is the cornerstone of patriarchy.  Father-rule (patriarchy) only began when men figured a way to force women to give up their names, children, property and freedom by marrying a man. It took married women thousands of years to regain some control over their children, property, freedom, and names. Now with so many poor women remaining unmarried worldwide, we are apparently a big threat to the patriarchy. Thus our ruling fathers are pouring millions into PPPP’s to sell marriage manners to the poor.  It keeps the PPPP’s secure in their suburban life-style, while saving the patriarchy (they hope).

Torture, A Euro-centric Tactic Historically

            The torture at Abu Ghraib is hard to stomach and believe. Yet Euro male colonizers have used torture to terrorize, control and colonize their victims for at least one thousand years. It has been an essential tactic to take land, labor and natural resources in all colonizations. The torture always includes physical, genital, emotional, economic, spiritual.

            Europeans colonized African countries, Latin America, North American, Ireland, and Asian countries. Whether British, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, or Italian, they all used torture to take away the peoples land, labor and resistance. Physical mutilation, beatings, whippings, torture with tools, slavery, rape, lynching, family separation, cultural/religious/ language destruction, deadly marches, reservations, scalping, hunger, humiliation—the list is endless.

            By the time the Europeans arrived in the Americas they were experts on torture.  It took them less then one generation to eliminate every native person from the islands of Puerto Rico and Haiti. They tortured them so severely before murdering them that many commit suicide. Then they brought in Africans who they tortured to make them do their work. The torture and murder was routine by the time they began to ravage and colonize the Americas.

            Perhaps other cultures have also systematically used torture to colonize.  But I believe that only the Europeans carried out mass torture and murder of their own people as well. From 1400 to the 1700’s European males actually tortured and murdered millions of their own women! Some estimates are 9 million.  Some say it was only 3 million. Towns were left with no women.  Women commit suicide en masse to avoid torture and false “confessions” that could condemn other women. The males tortured and killed their own women to take away the land, wealth, and professions that women had acquired while the guys were off on the killing crusades for generations. They were also eliminating any remaining women who still practiced the ancient earth based women’s religion instead of patriarchal religion.

            Yes, all patriarchal cultures torture and colonize their own women in many ways.  But only the European males engaged in wholesale massacres of their own women.

            A question arises…could this torture trait have become a genetic flaw in Euro-centric males after so many thousands of years?

Pat Gowens, Editor