--- Sponsor's Message -------------------------------------- What kind of shoes do you want? At Zappos.com, the Web's Most Popular Shoe Store, you can choose from the best selection of name brand shoes anywhere. FREE shipping and no sales tax on most orders! http://click.topica.com/aaaalPbz8SnrbAjwjxa/ZapposShoeSpecial ------------------------------------------------------------ NOW THAT SCHOOL IS OUT BE SURE TO SEND IN YOUR CHANGE OF ADDRESS! __________________________________________________________________________ The Internet Anti-Fascist: Friday, 12 May 2000 Vol. 4, Number 40 (#421) __________________________________________________________________________ U.S. Southern Racism In the News Rachel Graves (Reuters), "S.Carolina Passes Confederate Flag Bill," 11 May 00 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (press release), "Cuomo Announces Settlement With Chaplain to the Ku Klux Klan Accused of Housing Discrimination," 11 May 00 Real Political Correctness: Response to GLAAD Meeting: Americans for Truth about Homosexuality Leads Pro-Family Coalition Requesting Meeting with Paramount TV on Dr. Laura Americans for Truth about Homosexuality (press release) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. SOUTHERN RACISM IN THE NEWS S.Carolina Passes Confederate Flag Bill Rachel Graves (Reuters) 11 May 00 COLUMBIA, S.C. (Reuters) - The South Carolina House of Representatives, ending two days of racially charged debate, voted Wednesday to remove Confederate flags flying from the statehouse dome and in both chambers of the state legislature. The Republican-led House voted 63-56 for a Senate-backed compromise to fly a square version of the flag, widely seen as a symbol of racism against blacks in America, from a flagpole near a Civil War memorial on the capitol grounds. The bill was passed over objections from the legislative black caucus and the NAACP, which has pledged to continue an economic boycott of the state until the legislature removes all Confederate flags from the capitol grounds. "The fact is, the flag is being moved...That is a major step for South Carolina," said Gov. Jim Hodges, who has said he will sign the bill. The Southern Cross, the most widely recognized Confederate flag with its diagonally crossing blue stripes and white stars on a red background, was raised over the statehouse dome in 1962 to mark the centennial of the Civil War. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for decades lobbied in vain to lower the flag, and pushed the issue to the top of this year's legislative agenda by launching an economic boycott of the state. Debating on the first statewide Confederate Memorial Day holiday, leaders of the state House could not muster the votes for an alternate proposal to move the flag to the soldiers' monument and surround it with new added memorials to honor soldiers who served in other American wars. Instead, the House amended the Senate bill to illuminate and raise the height of the flagpole that will be installed near a Confederate Soldiers' Monument on the capitol's north side, meaning the legislation will be sent back to the Senate. Before the vote was taken, black legislators, in impassioned pleas to their white colleagues, told of being harassed by racists waving Confederate flags, and one white legislator talked of businesses that deliberately flew the flag in defiance of integration orders in the 1960s. "When it became the law of the land that businesses had to accept all people and do business with all people, that flag went up over a lot of beer joints, a lot of rural restaurants, and those owners told me why it was up there. They said it was up there to let black citizens know they're not welcome," Lancaster Democrat Eldridge Emery said. Speaking in a deliberate tone, state Rep. Seth Whipper showed legislators a series of magazine pictures documenting white Southerners in years past rallying against integration and the civil rights movement -- each with a Confederate flag flying in the background. "That same flag would show up at lynchings, bombings, home burnings, Jewish synagogues, Catholic churches and schools, and it would always be associated with terror," the North Charleston Democrat said. Black legislators opposed the bill because it will move a square version of the flag to in some ways a more prominent position on a 30-foot illuminated flagpole near a Confederate Soldiers' Memorial at the front of the capitol grounds. The state's first official Confederate Memorial Day holiday was observed on Wednesday, marking the May 10, 1863, death of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson. The holiday was signed into law last week as part of a bill making South Carolina the last state in the nation to honor slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King with a statewide holiday. In demonstrations outside the statehouse, a handful of protesters burned a Confederate flag and a Nazi flag during a midday recess, and someone spray- painted "Take it down... Don't put it here" on a Confederate Soldiers' Monument where the flag would be moved. There were no arrests. Even though it will be lowered from the statehouse dome, the flag was expected to cast a long shadow over incumbent House members' reelection campaigns this fall. "That flag cost a lot of people their credibility that told us they were going to vote with us," said Jake Knotts, a West Columbia Republican who voted to keep the flag on the dome. - - - - - Cuomo Announces Settlement With Chaplain to the Ku Klux Klan Accused of Housing Discrimination U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (press release) 11 May 00 WASHINGTON D.C. -- Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo today announced that a self-described Chaplain to the Ku Klux Klan has settled a housing discrimination complaint by agreeing to pay part of his income and to publicly apologize to a woman and her daughter who felt terrorized by his actions, and by agreeing to perform 1,000 hours of community service. The agreement settles a housing discrimination complaint against Roy Frankhouser and his group -- United Klans of America -- accusing them of violating the Fair Housing Act by harassing and intimidating Bonnie Jouhari and her now 18-year-old daughter, Pilar Danielle Horton. Jouhari -- who helped people file housing discrimination complaints with a HUD-funded group in Reading, PA -- quit her job and fled to Seattle with her daughter because she feared Frankhouser was a threat to her family. Other portions of the settlement require Frankhouser to display a HUD Fair Housing poster on the outside of his house; broadcast HUD fair housing public service announcements as part of his "White Forum" public access television show; and attend sensitivity training approved by HUD. In her complaint, Jouhari said that in 1998 a flyer was placed on her car that said "Race Traitor Beware" and pictured a Klansman with a noose. Jouhari said that at about the same time, Frankhouser began sitting on a bench outside her office on a regular basis and taking photographs of her, making her feel intimidated and harassed. Jouhari also said she began receiving threatening phone calls at home and at work. The alleged intimidation continued even after she and her daughter fled the state, Jouhari said. Cuomo was joined in announcing settlement of the case by Jouhari and her daughter; Rev. Jesse Jackson; Martin Luther King III, President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; and Kweisi Mfume, President of the NAACP. "This settlement sends an important message," Cuomo said. "HUD has zero tolerance for interference with courageous people who work selflessly to abolish housing discrimination. These people are heroes, and we will protect them from efforts to halt their courageous efforts." Jackson said: "Secretary Cuomo is to be congratulated for enforcing the law and affording an environment of domestic tranquility. In time, we must overcome attitudes of hatred, but we must immediately enforce the law to stop of acts of violence and threats." In addition, Mfume said: "I commend Ms. Jouhari and Secretary Cuomo for taking up the fight for fair housing and against discrimination. We must stand together against intimidation, threats and other hostile acts, to ensure that brave men and women like Ms. Jouhari know that they have support for their efforts. This settlement is a real step toward justice." King said: "Justice delayed is justice denied, and in Ms. Jouhari's case, justice is finally being done. On behalf of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, I commend Secretary Cuomo and the Department for remaining vigilant in support of Ms. Jouhari and for fighting so hard for the cause of fair housing. This case reminds us once again that we all must keep fighting for my father's dream of an America free of prejudice, and the resolution of this case is an important step forward." Jouhari said: "My case serves notice to those people who espouse hatred and seek to deprive the rights of all people to live where they choose. You will not prevail, and there are consequences for your actions. For those who have joined me in the fight for fair housing, let this be an inspiration to you. Your fight is just and you will succeed. You will succeed because you have an advocate in Andrew Cuomo and HUD, who I thank for their fierce commitment to my case and the cause of eliminating housing discrimination." Frankhouser presently operates the Mountain Church of Jesus Christ in Reading and has called himself a "Chaplain to the Klan." He also hosts a program on a local cable television access channel called "White Forum." Jouhari, who is white, filed housing discrimination complaints with HUD against Frankhouser, the United Klans of America, and another man, Ryan Wilson of Philadelphia and his hate group known as ALPHA HQ. Frankhouser lives in Reading PA, and Wilson lives in Philadelphia. Jouhari said actions and alleged threats by the two men and their groups forced her and her daughter to flee Pennsylvania for Washington State, preventing her from working to help enforce the Fair Housing Act. Jouhari's job as a Fair Housing Specialist at the Reading-Berks Human Relations Council in Reading, PA, was to help housing discrimination victims file complaints under the Act. She was also the founder and chairperson of the Hate Crimes Task Force for Berks County, PA, and served on the Pennsylvania Governor's Interagency Task Force on civil tension. As part of the settlement agreement announced today, Frankhouser agreed to: -- Pay five percent of his annual income to Jouhari and five percent to her daughter for the next 10 years for any year in which his annual income as reported to the IRS is more than $25,000. -- Perform 1,000 hours of community service work over the next five years. -- Read a public apology to Jouhari and her daughter on his public access cable television show, "White Forum"; and submit the text of the apology in a Letter to the Editor of The Reading Eagle and Philadelphia Inquirer. -- Display a HUD fair housing poster on the outside of his house at South Fourth Street in Reading in a place that is clearly visible to passers-by for the next six years. -- For the next three years, broadcast fair housing public service announcements to be supplied by HUD at the end of every episode of his public access cable television show "White Forum," or on any other television show hosted, sponsored, directed or produced by him, and refrain from making comments or adding disclaimers that would tend to disparage fair housing rights or detract from the efficacy of the PSAs. -- Within the next year, attend 80 hours of Sensitivity Training at an agency or facility approved by HUD. -- Refrain from referring to Jouhari or her daughter on his public access cable television show or in any other forum, in any context whatsoever, for the remainder of his life, with the sole exception of the apology. -- Refrain from encouraging, enabling, or assisting any other person or group from discussing, telephoning, intimidating, threatening, or harassing Jouhari or her daughter for the remainder of his life. -- Stay at least 100 feet from Jouhari and her family for the remainder of his life. If Franchiser does not comply with the terms of the settlement, the case can be turned over to the Department of Justice for enforcement in U.S. District Court. The Fair Housing Act bars housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, family status and national origin. It covers the sale, rental, financing and advertising of almost all housing in the nation. It also prohibits intimidation or interference with people who are helping others exercise their rights to fair housing. In January, Cuomo announced that Ryan Wilson of Philadelphia and the neo- Nazi hate group he runs had been charged by HUD with violating the Fair Housing Act. The charge stemmed from threats posted on Wilson's Internet web site and made by him in a TV interview against Jouhari. The case is the first brought by HUD for an Internet-related hate incident. Wilson's web site carried Jouhari's picture, labeled her a "race traitor" and said: "Traitors like this should beware, for in our day, they will be hung from the neck from the nearest tree or lamp post." The site also carried an animated picture of Jouhari's office being blown up by explosives. In addition, HUD has a videotape of a television interview in which Wilson responds to the question "Would you ever hang her (Jouhari) from a tree?" with the reply: "In our time, yes." In February, Chief Administrative Law Judge Alan W. Heifetz issued a default decision against Wilson and his group ALPHA HQ. The ruling said that because Wilson failed to respond to the housing discrimination charge within 30 days, as required under law, Wilson by default admitted to HUD's charges that he violated the Fair Housing Act. The judge is expected to rule by August on how much money -- if any -- Wilson and his group must pay Jouhari in damages. Cuomo has pledged HUD's efforts in fighting hate crimes via the Internet. At a meeting in March in New York City with representatives of national civil rights, religious, and Internet organizations and businesses, Cuomo announced that HUD will provide $200,000 to create a national task force of civil rights groups, religious groups, Internet companies, fair housing groups, fair housing advocates, and others to develop strategies to reduce hate and discrimination on the Internet while preserving free speech rights. Private groups have recently reported significant increases in the number of hate pages on the World Wide Web. The task force will hold a series of regional meetings around the country to develop an action plan. People who believe they've been harmed by housing discrimination can file complaints with HUD by calling 1-800-669-9777, TDD 1-800-927-9275 or on the Internet at www.hud.gov/hdiscrim.html. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- REAL POLITICAL CORRECTNESS: It's from the rightwing authoritarians and always has been Response to GLAAD Meeting: Americans for Truth about Homosexuality Leads Pro-Family Coalition Requesting Meeting with Paramount TV on Dr. Laura Americans for Truth about Homosexuality (press release) 10 May 00 WASHINGTON D.C. -- On behalf of 10 pro-family leaders, Americans for Truth president Peter LaBarbera made a formal request to Paramount Domestic Television yesterday for a meeting to discuss the upcoming Dr. Laura Schlessinger TV program and to voice concern over a campaign by homosexual activists to control the program's content. LaBarbera urged Paramount Domestic Television co-president Frank Kelly to grant a meeting to Dr. Laura supporters since it has already held a meeting with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), which is leading the campaign against Schlessinger. GLAAD is now requesting a second meeting with Paramount to try to win assurances from the corporation that Dr. Laura will not "defame" homosexuals. Paramount is syndicating the program, which is scheduled to be launched in the fall. LaBarbera said that in the interest of fairness, Paramount should meet with the pro-family coalition before it sits down again with GLAAD: "If they're going to allow outside groups to influence the show, they should listen equally to both sides of the debate," he said. In his letter to Kelly, LaBarbera said that GLAAD's demands are unreasonable because the group has a record of interpreting sincerely held moral objections to homosexual behavior as "hate" and "prejudice." Moreover, he said GLAAD routinely "defames" foes of homosexual activism by putting them in the same league as racist fringe groups. GLAAD spokesman Cathy Renna once compared an American Family Association video rebutting the lesbian-produced film It's Elementary to films denying the Nazi Holocaust. Among those who have agreed to join LaBarbera in the proposed meeting with Paramount to support Schlessinger are: Rabbi Daniel Lapin, President of Toward Tradition, a pro-family organization with a growing following in the Jewish and Christian communities; Chuck Donovan and Robert Knight, CEO and Senior Director of Cultural Studies, respectively, at the Family Research Council; and three former homosexuals including Michael Johnston, who contracted HIV while living as a "gay" man for 11 years. LaBarbera said that it is curious that Paramount would consult with GLAAD at all about the Dr. Laura program, since the homosexual group has stepped up its efforts to keep it off TV (see www.glaad.org). "GLAAD cannot stand that Dr. Laura will not bow down to them as have so many in Hollywood and the media," LaBarbera said. "So now they're out to destroy her. Most cultural elites celebrate homosexuality. There's room in this great nation for Dr. Laura and others who speak for the silent majority of Americans who still think it's wrong for men to have sex with men, and women with women." * * * * * In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. __________________________________________________________________________ FASCISM: We have no ethical right to forgive, no historical right to forget. (No permission required for noncommercial reproduction) - - - - - back issues archived via: <ftp://ftp.nyct.net/pub/users/tallpaul/publish/tinaf/> --- Sponsor's Message -------------------------------------- FREE tech advice and reviews from PCWorld.com newsletters, available at Topica!!! http://click.topica.com/aaaanQbz8SnrbAjwjxc/PCWorld ------------------------------------------------------------ ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
