Politics

THE MAN IN THE BOX; REMEMBERING RONALD REAGAN
By Lila Garrett

I watched last week, spellbound as the nation sat through the interminable ritual of saying goodbye to Ronald Reagan.  I thought we had said goodbye to him 20 years ago.

I watched while two sleepy little children, about 6 and 4 trying to keep their eyes open sat dutifully waiting to go in and look at the old man's flag covered coffin and I wondered if those children had a clue who was in there. 

Did they know the man in the box had cut federal spending for schools to almost nothing when he was President.  One of his first cuts was school lunches, which some kids used as their only meal of the day. Children were suddenly allowed only two vegetables, and it was the man in the box who declared that ketchup counted as one of them.  All that lunch money he saved went into the war budget which he tripled.

Did they know the man in the box encouraged the cutting down of our forests including our redwood trees.  He smiled, saying, "when you've seen one tree you've seen them all". He liked to make jokes and he was good at it. I wondered if those children would have waited so patiently if they knew the man in the box closed our mental institutions, forcing thousands of mentally ill patients onto the street.  Then he cut back on housing for poor people so that millions of them were forced to live on the street too.  He smiled and said, they liked the fresh air.  He had a pretty smile and he used it a lot.

Homelessness became an epidemic under Ronald Reagan.  An AIDs epidemic started in his administration too, but the man in the box refused to do anything about it.  Although he did make jokes about it..but not jokes children could hear.

He liked cartoons. The old space traveler Buck Rogers was one of his favorites.  Maybe that's where he got his idea for Star wars, a science fiction defense system that Buck Rogers would be proud of.  Most of the money our people needed went to that fantasy.  It's  still  going there.  The man in the box started movements that go on and on.

Did those two sleepy children know about Iran Contra where the man in the box sanctioned the trading of arms for drugs? And he had strange taste in friends.  He supported the religious fanatics in Afghaistan who developed into the Taliban and Al Quaeda.  Then he ordered the attack on Grenada, a sleepy little island, destroying a hospital and killing hundreds of farmers as they worked in the fields.  To this day no one can figure out why.

Did they know he supported the re-establishment of child labor.  "Hard work is good for kids under 12".  Then he flashed his big friendly smile and people liked him for it.

He broke the union movement by giving tax breaks to companies like IBM and General Electric who moved their businesses out of the country where they could get cheap non-union labor, which was beginning of the end for America as a manufacturing nation.  He didn't smile with that one.  He did it quietly, on the sly.   Outsourcing it's now called. We never recovered from that.  Possibly we never will.

Did they know that as governor the man in the box destroyed the California University system which used to be affordable for every good student? And before that,  as President of the Screen Actors Guild he secretly worked with the House Unamerican Activities committee to blacklist his best friends?

When Ronald Reagan became president it felt like America has just been in a train wreck.  It started us down the slippery slope we're now trying to stop before we fall off.  So little children, don't bother to stay up for this man.  Get a good night's sleep and wake up to take America back from his
legacy and his followers.

Lila Garrett is TV/screen writer director, Winner of 2 Emmies and the Writers'Guild Award She currently is host of CONNECT THE DOTS, On KPFK radio (90.7FM), Pacifica's Los Angeles and Santa Barbara affiliate.

As I drank coffee on the morning of May 28th at the Daily Grind in Fells Point, a friend approached me and asked me: have you seen this referring to the Baltimore Sun’s article about three Hispanic children slain in Park Heights? As I read the article, I realized that this was something different. I had never experienced anything like this in my 15 years as a Latino community advocate and public health professional.

Based on my experience working with the City for many years, I realized that due to language and cultural barriers and the lack of bilingual City staff, my expertise would be needed to address this situation. I arrived at the Samester Parkway Apartment complex at 9:00 am. There were other city employees representing several city agencies, but I realized that I was the only individual that spoke Spanish.

As the day and events occurred I started to realize the complexity and difficulty of the situation. A lot of things went on that I was not prepared or trained for, but at the time I just went with my gut feeling, hoping for the best result.

Members of the Quezada and Espinosa family totaling 12 individuals started arriving at the apartment complex around 5:00 pm. Some of them had arrived from New York. A Baltimore HealthCare Access official advised me early in the day that I was the “point person” for BHCA’s Hispanic Team, requested by the City Health Department, to assist with communication/translation in the community and Cross Country School. I provided translation, as well as transportation, services and tried to assist the family in any way I could, given this extraordinary tragedy.

Some time after that, I drove Ms. Noemi Quesada and Mr. Ricardo Espinoza, parents of two of the slain children to City Hall so they could meet the Mayor and other city officials. The rest of the family members followed in their cars.

As I drove with the parents, I could feel their pain. It was a long ride, quiet at times, and at instances intense, especially when I heard the weeping of the grieving parents. For me, it was a difficult time, because I did not know what to do or what to say to comfort them. I am a father myself, and I felt if this had happened to me, I would die.

After several hours at City Hall I drove back with the family to the apartment complex for a vigil with some family members and afterwards I
took Mr. Espinoza to the Relax Inn Motel in Reisterstown Rd. I went home at 11:00 pm after spending most of the day assisting the family.

During the Memorial Day weekend as most were enjoying cookouts and picnics, I visited the families and spent most of my personal time with them, not as a BHCA or City official, but as a concerned citizen. I was simply trying to help in a very complex and difficult situation. At this time, I realized that the family needed someone to speak to the media on their behalf, since I observed that the press was focusing on the immigration status of the parents and the children. I felt it was important to shift the attention to the bottom line of the story: Three innocent children were dead.

After a lengthy conversation, the family members agreed that I could assist them with the overwhelming onslaught of media, again on my own personal time. A short time after that, I assisted the family in releasing the pictures of the children to the press. During this time, I received a phone call from a City Hall official telling me that the Mayor’s office was handling the situation, and they did not need my assistance. I explained to them that the family had asked me to speak on their behalf. I was told, again, that I was to step off this case, even though I was acting on my own personal time.

The next day, June 1st, a Mr. Tony White, Communications Director of the Office of Neighborhoods, released an e-mail and press release to the media, the Latino Direct Services Providers Network, and to the City network. It stated that the families denied that I was their spokes-person, and that they had not given me permission to speak on their behalf also to be aware that some of the information I had provided was inaccurate – no specifics were given. It was clear to me, and others I spoke with including certain other City officials, that this was an attempt to defame me and get me out of the picture so that the City could control the media story and garner all of the credit for assisting in this tragedy.

I soon contacted the Quezada and Espinoza families to inform them that I had to remove myself from assisting, that the City did not want me to be involved, certainly not as a BHCA/City representative and not even as a private citizen. A family member told me that a City official told them that I was “selling” information to the media! I reassured them that I did not, and never would do such a thing. I was simply trying to help.

On June 3rd, I arrived at the Wylie funeral home to pay my respects to the family of the victims and to see the three children for the first and last time.
A TV reporter who asked me if I could say a few words approached me, I told him that I was not the family’s spokes-person. The reporter asked me if I could speak as a Latino advocate, which I did. At this time, Mr. Tony White ran to the reporters and told them that I could not talk to the press about this case - a clear violation of my Civil Rights?

Some time later, Mr. Izzy Patoka, Director of Mayor’s office of neighborhoods approached me. He told me that the families told him that if I promised not to speak to the press, I would be allowed to enter the church to view the children and pay my respects. My initial response to Mr. Izzy was that, as a US citizen, I have the right to free assembly and speech. I also explained that my comments to the press was my own opinion in response to their query as to the impact of this tragedy on the Hispanic Community, and that I was not speaking on behalf of the families, nor any agency.

Because I really wanted to enter the church, I told Mr. Izzy that I would not speak to the press again. He told me that my answer was not good enough for him. I would not be allowed to enter the church. Out of respect for the families and the children, I went home, grieving that I could not express my own feelings and last respects to the children and their families.

This is my story . . . about trying to help with my heart and soul, and only to be treated as something just less than criminal. As you relax and drink your coffee, as I was doing when first hearing of this case, you may think that my story has nothing to do with you. Well think again, when government ego is involved, your good intentions toward your fellow human can be turned into something less. Let your feelings be known.

Angelo Solera
Baltimore City

Hispanics say candidates Ignore their issues

PHOENIX -- A majority of U.S. Hispanics believe that political candidates are not talking about issues important to the Latino community, according to a poll released Sunday, June 27.

The survey was conducted for the National Council of La Raza, a civil rights group dedicated to promoting Hispanic issues.

According to the poll, 58 percent of Hispanics feel candidates are not addressing their concerns. A third disagreed, while 8 percent were undecided.

''Showing up every four years may work for the Olympics, but not for governing,'' La Raza president Raul Yzaguirre said, noting both major political parties need to take Hispanic issues seriously.

Thirty-four percent of those polled said education ranks as the top issue for Latinos, followed by jobs, immigration, civil rights and health care.

The Zogby International poll also found that four out of five Hispanics support giving illegal immigrants who have worked and paid taxes in the United States a chance at becoming citizens.

The poll surveyed 1,000 Hispanics from across the nation May 25-27.

AP