comments are moderated due to the foul language and innappropriate threats recieved by "anonymous" person or persons, or possibly machine(s).
please do not let this stop those of you who have opinions from posting them.
thank you.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Down and Out
“It is worth saying something about the social position of beggars, for when one has consorted with them, and found that they are ordinary human beings, one cannot help being struck by the curious attitude that society takes towards them. People seem to feel that there is some essential difference between beggars and ordinary ‘working’ men. They are a race apart—outcasts, like criminals and prostitutes. Working men ‘work’, beggars do not ‘work’; they are parasites, worthless in their very nature. It is taken for granted that a beggar does not ‘earn’ his living, as a bricklayer or a literary critic ‘earns’ his. He is a mere social excrescence, tolerated because we live in a humane age, but essentially despicable.
Yet if one looks closely one sees that there is no essential difference between a beggar’s livelihood and that of numberless respectable people. Beggars do not work, it is said; but, then, what is work? A navvy works by swinging a pick. An accountant works by adding up figures. A beggar works by standing out of doors in all weathers and getting varicose veins, chronic bronchitis, etc. It is a trade like any other; quite useless, of course—but, then, many reputable trades are quite useless. And as a social type a beggar compares well with scores of others. He is honest compared with the sellers of most patent medicines, high-minded compared with a Sunday newspaper proprietor, amiable compared with a hire-purchase tout—in short, a parasite, but a fairly harmless parasite. He seldom extracts more than a bare living from the community, and, what should justify him according to our ethical ideas, he pays for it over and over in suffering. I do not think there is anything about a beggar that sets him in a different class from other people, or gives most modern men the right to despise him.
Then the question arises, Why are beggars despised?—for they are despised, universally. I believe it is for the simple reason that they fail to earn a decent living. In practice nobody cares whether work is useful or useless, productive or parasitic; the sole thing demanded is that it shall be profitable. In all the modern talk about energy, efficiency, social service and the rest of it, what meaning is there except ‘Get money, get it legally, and get a lot of it’? Money has become the grand test of virtue. By this test beggars fail, and for this they are despised. If one could earn even ten pounds a week at begging, it would become a respectable profession immediately. A beggar, looked at realistically, is simply a businessman, getting his living, like other businessmen, in the way that comes to hand. He has not, more than most modern people, sold his honour; he has merely made the mistake of choosing a trade at which it is impossible to grow rich.”
from "Down and Out in Paris and London" by George Orwell, 1933
Yet if one looks closely one sees that there is no essential difference between a beggar’s livelihood and that of numberless respectable people. Beggars do not work, it is said; but, then, what is work? A navvy works by swinging a pick. An accountant works by adding up figures. A beggar works by standing out of doors in all weathers and getting varicose veins, chronic bronchitis, etc. It is a trade like any other; quite useless, of course—but, then, many reputable trades are quite useless. And as a social type a beggar compares well with scores of others. He is honest compared with the sellers of most patent medicines, high-minded compared with a Sunday newspaper proprietor, amiable compared with a hire-purchase tout—in short, a parasite, but a fairly harmless parasite. He seldom extracts more than a bare living from the community, and, what should justify him according to our ethical ideas, he pays for it over and over in suffering. I do not think there is anything about a beggar that sets him in a different class from other people, or gives most modern men the right to despise him.
Then the question arises, Why are beggars despised?—for they are despised, universally. I believe it is for the simple reason that they fail to earn a decent living. In practice nobody cares whether work is useful or useless, productive or parasitic; the sole thing demanded is that it shall be profitable. In all the modern talk about energy, efficiency, social service and the rest of it, what meaning is there except ‘Get money, get it legally, and get a lot of it’? Money has become the grand test of virtue. By this test beggars fail, and for this they are despised. If one could earn even ten pounds a week at begging, it would become a respectable profession immediately. A beggar, looked at realistically, is simply a businessman, getting his living, like other businessmen, in the way that comes to hand. He has not, more than most modern people, sold his honour; he has merely made the mistake of choosing a trade at which it is impossible to grow rich.”
from "Down and Out in Paris and London" by George Orwell, 1933
pharmacueticals
Eli Lilly, Zyprexa, and the Bush Family
“The most important story about Eli Lilly is that Lilly’s two current blockbuster psychiatric drugs—Zyprexa and Prozac—are, in scientific terms, of little value. It is also about how Lilly and the rest of Big Pharma have corrupted psychiatry, resulting in the increasing medicalization of unhappiness. This diseasing of our malaise has diverted us from examining the social sources for our unhappiness—and implementing societal solutions.”
Eli Lilly, Zyprexa, & the Bush Family
http://zmagsite.zmag.org/May2004/levine0504.html
Bruce E. Levine, PhD, is a psychologist and author of Commonsense Rebellion: Taking Back Your Life from Drugs, Shrinks, Corporations and a World Gone Crazy (New York-London: Continuum, 2003).
“Whistleblower charges medical oversight bureau with corruption”
British Medical Journal July 10, 2004
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/329/7457/69
Allen Jones, who worked as an investigator in the Pennsylvania Office of the Inspector General (OIG), gained widespread attention as a 'whistleblower' after voicing concerns about attempts by the pharmaceutical industry to implement a mental health screening plan, based on the controversial Texas Medication Algorithm Project (TMAP), in Pennsylvania.
Jones was escorted out of his workplace on April 28, 2004, after OIG officials accused him of talking to the press. Jones was relieved of his duties because he breached OIG guidelines that no worker may report confidential data. Jones indicates he chose to disclose his findings to the press precisely because of corrupt behavior by OIG officials themselves, alleging the OIG's policy was "unconstitutional."
Jones further alleged, in a wrongful termination suit, OIG officials had sought to "coverup, discourage, and limit any investigations or oversight into the corrupt practices of large drug companies and corrupt public officials who have acted with them." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Jones_(whistleblower)
Allen Jones’ TMAP Critique (January 20, 2004) on the net at http://psychrights.org/Drugs/AllenJonesTMAPJanuary20.pdf
Study Finds a Link of Drug Makers to Psychiatrists
New York Times
April 20, 2006
“More than half the psychiatrists who took part in developing a widely used diagnostic manual for mental disorders had financial ties to drug companies before or after the manual was published, public health researchers reported yesterday.”
“In recent years, critics have said that the manual has become too expansive, including diagnoses, like social phobia, that they say appear tailor-made to create a market for antidepressants or other drugs.”
See also “Medicating Aliah” http://www.motherjones.com/
“The most important story about Eli Lilly is that Lilly’s two current blockbuster psychiatric drugs—Zyprexa and Prozac—are, in scientific terms, of little value. It is also about how Lilly and the rest of Big Pharma have corrupted psychiatry, resulting in the increasing medicalization of unhappiness. This diseasing of our malaise has diverted us from examining the social sources for our unhappiness—and implementing societal solutions.”
Eli Lilly, Zyprexa, & the Bush Family
http://zmagsite.zmag.org/May2004/levine0504.html
Bruce E. Levine, PhD, is a psychologist and author of Commonsense Rebellion: Taking Back Your Life from Drugs, Shrinks, Corporations and a World Gone Crazy (New York-London: Continuum, 2003).
“Whistleblower charges medical oversight bureau with corruption”
British Medical Journal July 10, 2004
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/329/7457/69
Allen Jones, who worked as an investigator in the Pennsylvania Office of the Inspector General (OIG), gained widespread attention as a 'whistleblower' after voicing concerns about attempts by the pharmaceutical industry to implement a mental health screening plan, based on the controversial Texas Medication Algorithm Project (TMAP), in Pennsylvania.
Jones was escorted out of his workplace on April 28, 2004, after OIG officials accused him of talking to the press. Jones was relieved of his duties because he breached OIG guidelines that no worker may report confidential data. Jones indicates he chose to disclose his findings to the press precisely because of corrupt behavior by OIG officials themselves, alleging the OIG's policy was "unconstitutional."
Jones further alleged, in a wrongful termination suit, OIG officials had sought to "coverup, discourage, and limit any investigations or oversight into the corrupt practices of large drug companies and corrupt public officials who have acted with them." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Jones_(whistleblower)
Allen Jones’ TMAP Critique (January 20, 2004) on the net at http://psychrights.org/Drugs/AllenJonesTMAPJanuary20.pdf
Study Finds a Link of Drug Makers to Psychiatrists
New York Times
April 20, 2006
“More than half the psychiatrists who took part in developing a widely used diagnostic manual for mental disorders had financial ties to drug companies before or after the manual was published, public health researchers reported yesterday.”
“In recent years, critics have said that the manual has become too expansive, including diagnoses, like social phobia, that they say appear tailor-made to create a market for antidepressants or other drugs.”
See also “Medicating Aliah” http://www.motherjones.com/
UNCONSTITUTIONAL ANTI-HOMELESS ORDINANCE in ARCATA
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
ruled on April 14, 2006, that punishing homeless people for sleeping, sitting or lying on sidewalks and other public property when other shelter is not available was unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment.
(Edward Jones v. City of Los Angeles)
“Appeals Court Slaps L.A. Over Arrests of Homeless”
Official government document on the internet at:
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/8138B5E4723C6FE988257150005B327E/$file/0455324.pdf?openelement
Arcata’s anti-homeless ordinances have been successfully challenged in the cases of
People v. Porter T0310779M 2005
and
People v. Theodore Lewis Robinson T0304959M 2003
ruled on April 14, 2006, that punishing homeless people for sleeping, sitting or lying on sidewalks and other public property when other shelter is not available was unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment.
(Edward Jones v. City of Los Angeles)
“Appeals Court Slaps L.A. Over Arrests of Homeless”
Official government document on the internet at:
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/8138B5E4723C6FE988257150005B327E/$file/0455324.pdf?openelement
Arcata’s anti-homeless ordinances have been successfully challenged in the cases of
People v. Porter T0310779M 2005
and
People v. Theodore Lewis Robinson T0304959M 2003
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
ARCATA ANTI-HOMELESS ORDINANCE IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
"federal appeals court panel ruled on Friday that arresting homeless people for sleeping, sitting or lying on sidewalks and other public property when other shelter is not available was cruel and unusual punishment."
New York Times April 15
Arcata Municipal Code
TITLE X - PUBLIC PROPERTYCHAPTER 1 - PARKS AND GROUNDS
SEC. 10004. Overnight use prohibited. (Amended by Ord. No. 1205)
Sleep is a human necessity, not a luxury or privilege. This ordinance prohibits sleeping outdoors in Arcata, thereby punishing the homeless with sleep deprivation. This violates the EIGHTH AMENDMENT to the U.S. Constitution which guarantees us freedom from “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Anti-camping ordinances have been successfully challenged in Portland, Oregon (State of Oregon v. Wickes); Santa Ana, California (the “Eichorn decision”); Miami, Florida (“Potinger v. City of Miami”);
New York Times April 15
Arcata Municipal Code
TITLE X - PUBLIC PROPERTYCHAPTER 1 - PARKS AND GROUNDS
SEC. 10004. Overnight use prohibited. (Amended by Ord. No. 1205)
Sleep is a human necessity, not a luxury or privilege. This ordinance prohibits sleeping outdoors in Arcata, thereby punishing the homeless with sleep deprivation. This violates the EIGHTH AMENDMENT to the U.S. Constitution which guarantees us freedom from “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Anti-camping ordinances have been successfully challenged in Portland, Oregon (State of Oregon v. Wickes); Santa Ana, California (the “Eichorn decision”); Miami, Florida (“Potinger v. City of Miami”);
Monday, March 20, 2006
Saturday, March 04, 2006
WHAT THE HELL?
WHAT THE HELL was
President of Humboldt State University
ROLLIN RICHMOND
USING COCAINE and MICE for?
“Over the course of more than 20 years beginning in 1972, his studies - funded largely by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health - led him to explore the "genetic origins of reproductive isolation," the reproductive behavior of fruit flies, neurotoxins and cocaine in mice, and the resistance of fruit flies to malathion.”
from “About the President” Humboldt State University website
on the net at:
http://www.humboldt.edu/~hsupres/about.html
MALATHION is an organophosphate (OP) compound.
During World War II, under the NAZI regime, teams led by Dr. Gerhard Schrader
discovered four organophosphate NERVE AGENTS, including sarin.
http://www.washingtonpost.com NEW DELHI, Feb. 4 -- A parliamentary committee on Wednesday upheld findings by an environmental group that drinks made in India by PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola Co. contained unacceptable amounts of pesticide residue… soda made by the two American companies contained high levels of four extremely toxic pesticides: lindane, DDT, MALATHION and chlorpyrifos. The group said these pesticides could damage the human nervous system
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
the TYRANNY of COMPULSORY SCHOOLING
THE TYRANNY OF COMPULSORY SCHOOLING
by John Taylor Gatto
http://www.spinninglobe.net/condunces.htm
“The second premise of Prussian schooling [which the United States subsequently borrowed] is that intellectual training is not the purpose of state schooling - obedience and subordination are. In fact, intellectual training will invariably subvert obedience unless it is rigidly controlled and doled out as a reward for obedience. If the will could be broken all else would follow.”
Twenty-six years of award-winning teaching have led John Gatto to some troubling conclusions about the public schools.
A seventh-grade teacher, Gatto has been named New York City Teacher of the Year and New York State Teacher of the Year. Praised by leaders as diverse as Ronald Reagan and Mario Cuomo, he's a political maverick whose views defy easy categorization.
http://www.spinninglobe.net/condunces.htm
“The second premise of Prussian schooling [which the United States subsequently borrowed] is that intellectual training is not the purpose of state schooling - obedience and subordination are. In fact, intellectual training will invariably subvert obedience unless it is rigidly controlled and doled out as a reward for obedience. If the will could be broken all else would follow.”
Twenty-six years of award-winning teaching have led John Gatto to some troubling conclusions about the public schools.
A seventh-grade teacher, Gatto has been named New York City Teacher of the Year and New York State Teacher of the Year. Praised by leaders as diverse as Ronald Reagan and Mario Cuomo, he's a political maverick whose views defy easy categorization.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
what is "Critical Mass"?
What is Critical Mass?
Critical Mass is a worldwide movement to promote the use of bicycles as a viable means of transportation. It has arisen in response to what many call the “car-culture:” an overdependence on the private automobile. It is, more than anything else, a reclaimation of space, a demonstration to show that the city belongs to people and not machines.
How did it get started? It started in August 1992 in San Francisco when a group of bicycle commuters decided to ride home together.
Why is it called “Critical Mass?”
http://www.critical-mass.org/
A rally was held on Nov.2 in Eureka California in solidarity with other rallies nationwide in opposition to the Bush regime. Critical Mass bicycle riders left Arcata to ride to Eureka on the highway (7miles) and found the California Highway Patrol waiting for them.
The CHP stopped all traffic on the highway (critical mass left one lane open on the 2 lane in each direction divided highway) and attacked bicyclists, injuring and arresting several.
A police helicopter circled overhead for the duration of the ride.
Indybay.org http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/11/1780250.php
DON"T GIVE THEM YOUR INFO!
DON’T GIVE THEM YOUR INFO!!!
IBM and the Holocaust is the stunning story of IBM's strategic alliance with Nazi Germany -- beginning in 1933 in the first weeks that Hitler came to power and continuing well into World War II. As the Third Reich embarked upon its plan of conquest and genocide, IBM and its subsidiaries helped create enabling technologies, step-by-step, from the identification and cataloging programs of the 1930s to the selections of the 1940s.
Only after Jews were identified -- a massive and complex task that Hitler wanted done immediately -- could they be targeted for efficient asset confiscation, ghettoization, deportation, enslaved labor, and, ultimately, annihilation. It was a cross-tabulation and organizational challenge so monumental, it called for a computer. Of course, in the 1930s no computer existed.
But IBM's Hollerith punch card technology did exist. Aided by the company's custom-designed and constantly updated Hollerith systems, Hitler was able to automate his persecution of the Jews. Historians have always been amazed at the speed and accuracy with which the Nazis were able to identify and locate European Jewry. Until now, the pieces of this puzzle have never been fully assembled. The fact is, IBM technology was used to organize nearly everything in Germany and then Nazi Europe, from the identification of the Jews in censuses, registrations, and ancestral tracing programs to the running of railroads and organizing of concentration camp slave labor.
IBM and its German subsidiary custom-designed complex solutions, one by one, anticipating the Reich's needs. They did not merely sell the machines and walk away. Instead, IBM leased these machines for high fees and became the sole source of the billions of punch cards Hitler needed.
IBM and the Holocaust takes you through the carefully crafted corporate collusion with the Third Reich, as well as the structured deniability of oral agreements, undated letters, and the Geneva intermediaries -- all undertaken as the newspapers blazed with accounts of persecution and destruction.
IBM founder Thomas Watson cooperated with the Nazis for the sake of profit. Only with IBM's technologic assistance was Hitler able to achieve the staggering numbers of the Holocaust.
http://www.ibmandtheholocaust.com/
Thursday, February 02, 2006
comments from post deleted because of sick-o
The original post about the North Coast Journal article was removed by an editor of this blog because somebody posted a link to a yucky website in the "comments" section and I don't know how to get rid of it. So I reposted the post and also reposted the comments here.
"comment moderation" has also been "enabled."
Sorry for any inconvenience.
7 Comments:
Anonymous said...
YUO=FAGOTYour blog sucks.
Saturday, January 28, 2006 2:43:24 PM
noel adamson said...
YOU not "YUO", FAGGOT not "FAGOT" and this blog does not suck regardless of it's author's sexual orientation. Or yours.On topic, I only found this site because of the NCJ's article and checked it out because of their negative slant, a good reccomendation.
Sunday, January 29, 2006 2:41:47 PM
Anonymous said...
anything so hated by hank sims and kevin hoover has to be doing some good!
Sunday, January 29, 2006 5:42:45 PM
Anonymous said...
Hank's heads above Hoover. Hoover would never do an expose on local blogs because he'd be too worried they'd expose him for the shitbag he trully is.
Sunday, January 29, 2006 10:36:42 PM
Anonymous said...
I saw an advertisement for The Plazoid in the Arcata Eye -- donated by the newspaper! Hated, huh? The Eye has a funny way of demonstrating its hatred.
Monday, January 30, 2006 7:18:08 AM
the PLAZOID said...
hey, we here at the Plazoid would love to see the "advertisement," which was not ok'd by anyone I know. I haven't seen it, no one I know has seen it, and I am suspicious. Yes, Kevin Hoover makes money (maybe) selling newspapers and police-log books (?), but I have not seen an "advertisement."Which issue and pgae number - I'll find it - thanks.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006 4:26:10 PM
"comment moderation" has also been "enabled."
Sorry for any inconvenience.
7 Comments:
Anonymous said...
YUO=FAGOTYour blog sucks.
Saturday, January 28, 2006 2:43:24 PM
noel adamson said...
YOU not "YUO", FAGGOT not "FAGOT" and this blog does not suck regardless of it's author's sexual orientation. Or yours.On topic, I only found this site because of the NCJ's article and checked it out because of their negative slant, a good reccomendation.
Sunday, January 29, 2006 2:41:47 PM
Anonymous said...
anything so hated by hank sims and kevin hoover has to be doing some good!
Sunday, January 29, 2006 5:42:45 PM
Anonymous said...
Hank's heads above Hoover. Hoover would never do an expose on local blogs because he'd be too worried they'd expose him for the shitbag he trully is.
Sunday, January 29, 2006 10:36:42 PM
Anonymous said...
I saw an advertisement for The Plazoid in the Arcata Eye -- donated by the newspaper! Hated, huh? The Eye has a funny way of demonstrating its hatred.
Monday, January 30, 2006 7:18:08 AM
the PLAZOID said...
hey, we here at the Plazoid would love to see the "advertisement," which was not ok'd by anyone I know. I haven't seen it, no one I know has seen it, and I am suspicious. Yes, Kevin Hoover makes money (maybe) selling newspapers and police-log books (?), but I have not seen an "advertisement."Which issue and pgae number - I'll find it - thanks.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006 4:26:10 PM
"all things schwag"? North coast Journal coverage
"all things schwag"?
The North Coast Urinal's scimpy coverage of theplazoid.blogspot.com has me wondering if Hank actually took anytime to look at the blog that he was writing about.Tad has very few postings on the blog, but is mentioned right away, after the "schwag" comment. It seems that some people would like to believe (and lead others to believe) that Tad is the only one who holds these opinions. What a spin-job.
Then there's the thing about the chamber of commerce - is the chamber of commerce ever even mentioned on this blog?
Totally absent from Hank's article is any mention of the documentation of police misconduct on the blog. Remember the "taser incident"? The Plazoid covered it before the Arcata LEye, the North Coast Urinal, or any other media that I am aware of.
Other documented incidents of abuse by the police that are recorded on the blog aren't even covered at all anywhere else.
Also missing was the coverage of the Homeless Task Force meetings. Without The Plazoid, the Arcata public had only Kevin Hoover's extremely biased coverage to rely on.
And TOTALLY absent was any mention of the PRINT version of the Plazoid! The zine started in print and only went online as an afterthought - to make the documentation more widely available.
Also, the Plazoid is not only about homelessness issues. Jeez. Thanks for the pigeon-holing, dude. What about the tasers? Or the HSU issues? Or the pharmacueticals information? Anyhow, it was nice to see the blogspot mentioned in print.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
PREGNANT WOMEN TAKEN TO JAIL IN ARCATA
On Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day a pregnant woman who is past her due date was arrested by the Arcata Police Department and held in Jail.
The Arcata Police Department arrested a pregnant woman who is past her due date to give birth. She was arrested for allegedly missing a court date. She would have been forced to give birth while being held at the jail if she had gone into labor in the jail cell.
Earlier in her pregnancy, the same woman had been thrown to the ground by an Arcata police officer as part of this city's overzealous efforts against those percieved as "homeless."
Incredibly, at her arraignment in front of the judge the overzealous District Attorney/ Prosecuter demanded that she should be kept in jail, demanding that she give birth while in the custody of the Humbolt County Jail, as a punishment for missing an infraction court date by a few minutes.
Reportedly, this deputy District Attorney prosecutes child abuse cases.
This raises the question of: Whether someone who seeks to force a baby to be born into a jail cell is qualified to prosecute child abuse cases? Does the city council take any responsibility for endangering the imminent life of this child?
A community effort was put into effect when her family and friends attempted to give the urgent message to the police and the court system to free her from jail. The police said nothing could be done until her arraignment. More than 24 hours past before the arraignment and then another six hours of waiting to be released to her family and friends.
P.S. The original alleged offense, stemming from an incident in which the cops shot a taser stun-gun at the puppy that the woman was caring for at the time, was that she allegedly assaulted an officer. The cops put her in wrist constraints that were so tight that they left a mark on her wrists that was there for days and was documented by Arcata copwatch volunteers.Sunday, January 15, 2006
FOOD NOT BOMBS!
FOOD NOT BOMBS! http://foodnotbombs.net/
If distributed equally, the world produces enough food to feed everyone. There is an abundance of food. In fact, in this country, every day, in every city, far more edible food is discarded than is needed to feed those who do not have enough to eat.
The reason this is not already happening is no accident. We do not have a democratic say in how food is produced or distributed. People would certainly elect to eat. In hierarchical economies, the threat of the loss of a job allows owners to keep wages low. An underclass is the result of policies which encourage domination and violence. In our society, it is acceptable to profit from other people's suffering and misery.
Poverty is violence. One expression of the violence of poverty is hunger. Millions of Americans, almost half children, go hungry every day and childhood malnutrition contributes heavily to infant mortality rates, which are higher in parts of the U.S. than in most other nations of the world. By spending money on bombs instead of food, our government perpetuates and exacerbates the violence of poverty by failing to provide food for everyone in need. Food Not Bombs has chosen to take a stand against violence. We are committed to nonviolent social change by giving out free vegetarian food thus celebrating and nurturing life.
Food Not Bombs was recently approached and asked to cook at the Arcata Endeavor on Saturdays where there is plenty of food that would otherwise go unprepared and unserved on weekends. This is in addition to FNB’s meals served throughout the week that are cooked in the homes of volunteers. It was discussed and decided that it would be tried.
For several months now, there has been healthy vegetarian food served at 1:00 pm on Saturdays at the Endeavor (at no extra cost to taxpayers), and there are still enough volunteers to prepare and serve dinner at 5:30 pm on the plaza. Many of the volunteers now cooking lunch at the Endeavor on Saturdays were not previously affiliated with Food Not Bombs.
These events make clear that the facilities exist for those in need to be given the opportunity to help themselves. Instead of acquiring large sums of money to study the obvious lack of basic necessities, and spending lots of money hiring people who reinforce the separations between service providers and service recipients, Arcata could allow the already existing facilities to be used by those who are willing to volunteer to provide services to themselves and others. The costs of operation (utilities, supplies) could be covered by the money saved.
Not only would this less-hierarchical approach save money, and time spent to acquire that money, but it would also set an example of this historically tested and trusted method of social planning that involves less professional authoritarianism, and the actual meeting of more needs. The D Street Neighborhood Center is a perfect place to open up. Currently is sits locked and empty most of the time.
The direct action of preparing and sharing meals helps to relieve some of the pressures that create tensions in our community. Healthy and nutritious meals provide relief from the immediate discomfort and anxiety of being hungry, and prevent the long-term negative effects of malnutrition. For those overwhelmed by the cost of living in today’s society, FNB’s free meals provide relief from the competition for ever more scarce dollars.
Preparing meals together is a good way to engage our innate ability to get along and work cooperatively to meet our common needs. By addressing the issue of hunger directly, FNB also demonstrates our ability to solve community problems from within the community.
another look at the Mental Health Services Act
In the Mental Health Services Act Community Support and Services Plan put out by the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services Mental Health Branch, the claim is made that:
“among the estimated 2000 homeless adults, 80% of homeless adults suffer mental health issues; 90% suffer substance abuse.” (page 35)
The overlap (“co-occurrence”) of “mental health issues” and “substance abuse” is estimated at 4% in the MHSAA CSS Plan.
This would mean that 76.8% of homeless adults have “mental health issues” exclusively, 86.8% of homeless adults have “substance abuse” exclusively, and 3.2% of homeless adults have “co-occurring” “mental health issues” and “substance abuse.”
These numbers exceed 100% greatly, and thus are impossible!
Even if we use the estimate of 50% “co-occurring” “mental health issues” and “substance abuse” that is asserted in the “Blueprint for Change: Ending Chronic Homelessness for Persons with Serious Mental Illnesses and/or Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorder” (US Dept. of Health and Human Services), we STILL get numbers greater than 100%!!! (40% exclusively “mental health issues,” 50% exclusively “substance abuse,” and 40% having both.)
Mental Health Services Act Community Support and Services (MHSA CSS) Plan available on the net at: http://co.humboldt.ca.us/hhs/mh/mhsa.asp
“Blueprint for Change: Ending Chronic Homelessness for Persons with Serious Mental Illnesses and/or Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorder” (US Dept. of Health and Human Services) available at:
http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/SMA04-3870/default.asp
“among the estimated 2000 homeless adults, 80% of homeless adults suffer mental health issues; 90% suffer substance abuse.” (page 35)
The overlap (“co-occurrence”) of “mental health issues” and “substance abuse” is estimated at 4% in the MHSAA CSS Plan.
This would mean that 76.8% of homeless adults have “mental health issues” exclusively, 86.8% of homeless adults have “substance abuse” exclusively, and 3.2% of homeless adults have “co-occurring” “mental health issues” and “substance abuse.”
These numbers exceed 100% greatly, and thus are impossible!
Even if we use the estimate of 50% “co-occurring” “mental health issues” and “substance abuse” that is asserted in the “Blueprint for Change: Ending Chronic Homelessness for Persons with Serious Mental Illnesses and/or Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorder” (US Dept. of Health and Human Services), we STILL get numbers greater than 100%!!! (40% exclusively “mental health issues,” 50% exclusively “substance abuse,” and 40% having both.)
Mental Health Services Act Community Support and Services (MHSA CSS) Plan available on the net at: http://co.humboldt.ca.us/hhs/mh/mhsa.asp
“Blueprint for Change: Ending Chronic Homelessness for Persons with Serious Mental Illnesses and/or Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorder” (US Dept. of Health and Human Services) available at:
http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/SMA04-3870/default.asp
from San Diego to Humboldt
The Slippery Slope:
from San Diego to Humboldt
from San Diego to Humboldt
The homeless “Round–Up” programs instituted in San Diego may be emulated here in Humboldt County.
FROM:
Strategies for Reducing Chronic Street Homelessness (January 2004, 384 P.)
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
http://www.huduser.org/Publications/PDF/ChronicStrtHomeless.pdf
San Diego’s Police-Based Outreach Teams
San Diego city has two innovative outreach programs developed by and located in the San Diego Police Department—the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) and the Serial Inebriate Program (SIP).
HOT combines a police officer, a mental health worker, and a benefits eligibility technician in outreach teams operating during the day and evening hours to engage mentally ill street people and connect them to services.
Because they combine police and mental health expertise and authority, they are the only outreach teams on the streets that have the ability to remove people either voluntarily or involuntarily, in addition to building rapport and making referrals.
SIP comes into play for chronic inebriates who do not voluntarily accept treatment. SIP is a collaboration of four city and five county agencies, including law enforcement, the city attorney’s office, the public defender, the Superior Court, health care, and homeless agencies working as a team in a court context. Mental Health System, Inc. is contracted to coordinate the program. SIP follows the Drug Court model in offering addicts a choice of jail or treatment, after assuring that the community was willing to pay for treatment if requested. SIP’s focus is on chronic alcoholics who populate the downtown streets of San Diego. Police officers arrest chronic street alcoholics for public drunkenness, and bring them to jail and subsequently to court. Once arraigned, caseworkers approach each person, conduct assessments, and offer treatment plus transitional housing as an alternative to six months in jail (the maximum allowed under California state law) to those who pass the assessment. Many people eventually accept the offer, although they may first serve a full jail sentence or even two before they are convinced to try.
FROM:
The North Coast Journal Weekly (Arcata)
http://www.northcoastjournal.com/111005/cover1110.html
Judge Feeney, who presides in Humboldt County Superior Court, Courtoom 8, was born and raised in San Diego and says he has "been admiring their homeless court from afar for years."
In September, he went down to San Diego to observe a homeless court. "I was impressed," he says.
"Many homeless people have substance abuse issues and mental illness, and for those people it's more complicated," he says.
“…some infractions and misdemeanors might stem from the condition of being homeless, says Steve Binder, a deputy public defender in San Diego who co-founded the nation's first homeless court, in San Diego County in 1989.
"They (“crimes” of the homeless) are the result of their being homeless. They might be 'sleeping in public' or 'drinking in public' or 'peeing in public' -- things we do in the privacy of our homes, they do outside because they have no other options. Additionally, you'll find petty thefts [of food], because people might be looking to survive. Or you'll find people doing drugs, whether it is a way of self-medicating or just a way of surviving on the street. We're not trying to condone that."
the CHRONIC HOMELESS INITIATIVE
original article on the web at: http://www.nationalhomeless.org/chronic/chronicqanda.html
What is the "Chronic Homelessness" Initiative?
The "chronic homelessness" initiative is a campaign to target federal, state, and local homeless assistance and other resources to people who meet the definition of "chronic homelessness."
What is the Federal Definition of "Chronic Homelessness?"
What is the "Chronic Homelessness" Initiative?
The "chronic homelessness" initiative is a campaign to target federal, state, and local homeless assistance and other resources to people who meet the definition of "chronic homelessness."
What is the Federal Definition of "Chronic Homelessness?"
from “Ending Chronic Homelessness: Strategies for Action”
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Report from the Secretary’s Work Group on Ending Chronic Homelessness, March 2003.
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/homelessness/strategies03/ch.htm#ch2
The definition of “chronic homeless”:
HHS, HUD, and VA have agreed on the characteristics of persons experiencing chronic homelessness and use the following definition in their collaborations:
An unaccompanied homeless individual with a disabling condition who has either been continuously homeless for a year or has had at least four (4) episodes of homelessness in the past three (3) years.
By definition, the "chronic homelessness" initiative excludes the following groups of people:
CHILDREN (with disabilities and without disabilities) who are homeless with their parents;
PARENTS (with disabilities and without disabilities) who are homeless and who have children with them;
YOUTH on their own with disabilities who have not been homeless long enough to fit the federal definition;
YOUTH on their own without disabilities;
unaccompanied individuals with disabilities who have not been homeless long enough to fit the federal definition;
unaccompanied individuals without disabilities; and
unaccompanied individuals who are unwilling to be declared disabled.
Press releases, plans to end homelessness, and news articles are using the terms "chronic homelessness" and "homelessness" interchangeably, as though they were one and the same. In this collapsing of categories, all people experiencing homelessness are either pathologized or made invisible.
The "chronic homelessness" initiative fails to address the ROOT of the problem, POVERTY, and the affordable housing crisis that underlie homelessness for all populations. To separate homelessness from poverty and housing is fundamentally to distort its causes.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Report from the Secretary’s Work Group on Ending Chronic Homelessness, March 2003.
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/homelessness/strategies03/ch.htm#ch2
The definition of “chronic homeless”:
HHS, HUD, and VA have agreed on the characteristics of persons experiencing chronic homelessness and use the following definition in their collaborations:
An unaccompanied homeless individual with a disabling condition who has either been continuously homeless for a year or has had at least four (4) episodes of homelessness in the past three (3) years.
By definition, the "chronic homelessness" initiative excludes the following groups of people:
CHILDREN (with disabilities and without disabilities) who are homeless with their parents;
PARENTS (with disabilities and without disabilities) who are homeless and who have children with them;
YOUTH on their own with disabilities who have not been homeless long enough to fit the federal definition;
YOUTH on their own without disabilities;
unaccompanied individuals with disabilities who have not been homeless long enough to fit the federal definition;
unaccompanied individuals without disabilities; and
unaccompanied individuals who are unwilling to be declared disabled.
Press releases, plans to end homelessness, and news articles are using the terms "chronic homelessness" and "homelessness" interchangeably, as though they were one and the same. In this collapsing of categories, all people experiencing homelessness are either pathologized or made invisible.
The "chronic homelessness" initiative fails to address the ROOT of the problem, POVERTY, and the affordable housing crisis that underlie homelessness for all populations. To separate homelessness from poverty and housing is fundamentally to distort its causes.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
sorry kids, "comment moderation" is in effect
Due to the excess of off-topic irrelevant personal and insulting comments on this blog, new comments will now have to be approved before they appear.
Have no fear - almost any thing will still be published! (even the mysterious mean little diatribes of "anonymous")
This blog coesn't get checked all that often, so please be patient and continue to comment!
Have no fear - almost any thing will still be published! (even the mysterious mean little diatribes of "anonymous")
This blog coesn't get checked all that often, so please be patient and continue to comment!
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Healthy Plaza Initiative?
Just thought I'd open this up for discussion - let you folks do all the work.
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