North Dakota Human Rights Coalition
Working to effect change so that all people in North Dakota enjoy full human rights
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North Dakota Human Rights Coalition Working to effect change so that all people in North Dakota enjoy full human rights |
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~North Dakota Human Rights Coalition PAUR Report~ Visit our Website at www.ndhrc.org
November 5, 2003
Programs ~ Announcements ~ Updates ~ Resources
Hello members and friends of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition!
In this week’s PAUR Report:
Announcements No new announcements this week
Newspaper Articles 1) Bismarck Tribune, T-shirts are just the beginning 2) Bismarck Tribune, ‘Insult’ or honor? 3) The Forum (Fargo), Cathy Budzielek letter: Blessed by God to live in great nation 4) The Forum (Fargo), Donald Tobkin letter: Thieves steal ‘gay’ and ‘rainbow’ 5) Bismarck Tribune, A reason to live 6) Bismarck Tribune, State lags behind in AIDS programs 7) Grand Forks Herald, Thank to those standing up for disability rights 8) Dickinson Press, Disabled not getting fair shake by employees 9) The Forum, Tina Andres letter: More civil rights attorneys needed 10) The Forum (Fargo), American Indian youth program dropped 11) The Forum (Fargo), Local refugees risk losing benefits if they aren’t naturalized 12) Jamestown Sun, Domestic legal system isn’t fair to men
Events 13) The Forum (Fargo), Workshop set for new Americans, Fargo 14) Public Forum: Changes and Challenges in Programs for Those Living in Poverty, November 17, Fargo
Reminders 15) Ford Foundation Program Recognizes Community Leaders 16) North Dakota Center for Persons with Disabilities (NDCPD), Statewide Disability Training/Workshops, October – November 17) “Stolen Dreams” Open House, Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center, Moorhead, MN 18) Sisters of the Presentation at Sacred Heart Convent Presents “Peace Studies” 2003 Series (Various Locations in ND and MN)
********************************************* Announcements *********************************************
No new announcements this week.
********************************************* Newspaper Articles *********************************************
1.) Bismarck Tribune, T-shirts are just the beginning
Cheryl Long Feather is an incoming board member for the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition.
T-shirts are just the beginning By Cheryl Long Feather, Bismarck Bismarck Tribune – 10/29/2003
In 1992, pop singer Sinead O'Connor appeared on TV's "Saturday Night Live." After her singing performance, she stunned America by ripping a picture of Pope John Paul II in half, "symbolic" of her political statement.
Immediately, the producers received thousands of angry letters from Catholics all over the United States. At a concert later that year, O'Connor was actually booed off stage. Needless to say, it was the beginning of the end of her career.
Were these protesters too sensitive? Did they just blow it out of proportion? Perhaps they "enjoyed being offended"? Or was it, perhaps, a natural reaction to the inappropriate and offensive use of a symbol that held deep meaning for Catholics?
As an alumna of St. Mary's Central High School, I was dismayed but not completely surprised to see the offensive T-shirt peddled during Homecoming week. I find it revealing that, despite all the national press regarding use of American Indian people as mascots, there was not a single student, teacher, staff member or administrator who spoke up against the offensive image while it was being considered.
I was one of only six American Indian students during my four years at St. Mary's in the mid-1980s, and I can attest to the historical -- and current, it seems -- lack of sensitivity toward American Indians.
<snip>
View full article here
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2.) Bismarck Tribune, ‘Insult’ or honor?
'Insult' or
honor? Bismarck Tribune – 10/29/2003
In her Oct.
8 letter about mascots and the St. Mary's Central T-shirt, "Affront to Indians,"
Shirley A. Bordeaux sounds as if Indians are the only living human beings
represented in mascots and sports team names.
View online article here
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3.) The Forum (Fargo), Cathy Budzielek letter: Blessed by God to live in great nation
Cathy
Budzielek letter: Blessed by God to live in great nation
As I read the article on Oct. 8 about the re-wording of a plaque at the Hjemkomst Center, I was reminded once more about what a wonderful city and country we live in.
Where else but America could a citizen go comfortably to a city official and say, hey I don’t like what an inscribed plaque says, can you please change it? Forget that it’s an historical tribute, I’m afraid that it will offend some pagans.
Wow, isn’t that a wonderful privilege? In case I haven’t told you lately, God, I feel blessed for living in such a great nation. Thanks. Lucky for me I’m allowed to say that because I live in America.
Cathy Budzielek
Fargo
View online article here
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4.) The Forum (Fargo), Donald Tobkin letter: Thieves steal ‘gay’ and ‘rainbow’
Donald
Tobkin letter: Thieves steal ‘gay’ and ‘rainbow’
The thieves are at again. Many years ago they stole the traditional definition of the word “gay.” Then they stole the rainbow and all its biblical and aesthetic symbolism and now claim it as a symbol of support for the homosexual lifestyle.
Now they are ripping off the traditional definition of marriage and have an aggressive agenda to convert it from the sacred union of one man with one woman in a permanent commitment to each other and their children ... to include any arrangement of any number of people in whatever gender(s) they please and it need not be considered a permanent commitment. It just needs to have some cheapened appearance of a “marriage.”
The thieves are at it again!
Donald Tobkin
View online article here
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5.) Bismarck Tribune, A reason to live
A reason to live By Sheena Dooley Bismarck Tribune – 10/26/2003
He travels, telling his
story to young people. They think they're invincible and that scares him. He
thought that way once. But just one time, that's all it took.
View full article here
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6.) Bismarck Tribune, State lags behind in AIDS programs
State lags behind in AIDS programs By Sheena Dooley Bismarck Tribune – 10/27/2003
<snip>
The man lost a pound a day from night sweats and diarrhea. He had a high fever and was disoriented. He knew the signs, but his doctor told him it was all in his head.
He had read about the disease and how it attacked people's immune systems. The doctor said the man read too much and was taking on the symptoms because of it. But he suspected the doctor was wrong.
So during a 1986 business conference in California, the man was tested. The results confirmed his suspicions -- he had HIV.
Jack, a Bismarck native who didn't want his real name used because of his medical condition, stayed in North Dakota for three years after finding out he had the virus that causes AIDS. He researched the disease and gave his doctor updates on developments. He worked with state officials, setting up support programs and educating people across the state about HIV/AIDS.
"The health department wasn't doing anything," Jack said. "The social services and public health -- no one was taking a stance on it."
<snip>
View full article here
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7.) Grand Forks Herald, Thank to those standing up for disability rights
Thanks to those standing up for disability rights Grand Forks Herald – 11/2/2003
EAST GRAND FORKS I wish to extend thank yous to a couple of individuals and to the Herald for increasing awareness regarding the issues of persons with disabilities.
First, I wish to thank David Espinoza and Mike Douglas for making public statements via the Herald Mailbag regarding the treatment of persons with disabilities by the Ralph Engelstad Arena at the recent Wild exhibition hockey game.
For far too long, people with disabilities have remained silent about the lack of access and opportunity in their lives.
Second, I would like to thank the Herald editorial-page staff for even printing their letters.
I make the statement hearing that in some North Dakota communities, the print or electronic media in those cities will not go public with issues even remotely critical, although true, about large powerful public entities there.
It has been over 13 years since the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act or ADA, which was civil rights legislation for persons with disabilities; and persons with disabilities are still experiencing discrimination and being denied equal access to venues, shops and services, in communities large and small across North Dakota.
<snip>
View full article here
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8.) Dickinson Press, Disabled not getting fair shake by employees
Disabled not getting fair shake by employees
This letter is a wake-up call to the businesses in Dickinson.
Day after day, I see the same helped wanted ads in the newspaper. I hear business owners commenting they can’t get reliable help, and that workers don’t stay on their jobs like they used to.
Our fair city has a virtually untapped workforce, people who really want and need to work. I am writing of the disabled men and women of Dickinson.
Sure, there are a few businesses that make it a point to hire a disabled worker. But more often, the disabled aren’t even considered for a position.
I know of what I write. My son is very mildly learning impaired, worked very hard to graduate from high school and has begun looking for a job. He has even done follow-up calls to make sure his application is being considered.
In one instance, he was told there were no openings, even though the ad had just started that very day. When I called the same business five minutes later, I was informed there were a number of immediate openings!
My son is not the only disabled person being treated this way in Dickinson. I have talked to numerous parents/disabled who see the same attitude.
As consumers, we have the power to insist our local businesses employ those disabled people who want to work. Support those businesses who take the extra time and effort to hire and train a disabled person.
Let them know you notice and that you will reward them by shopping at their store. Our disabled citizens deserve to be judged on what they can do, not on what they can’t
Laurie Ott
Dickinson
<snip>
View online article here
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9.) The Forum, Tina Andres letter: More civil rights attorneys needed
Tina Andres
letter: More civil rights attorneys needed
In her Oct. 2 article, Forum reporter Mary Jo Almquist reports that Fargo’s Human Relations Commission is recruiting lawyers to hear human rights-related cases. Due to a lack of attorneys in North Dakota who specialize in civil rights, the commission has found that many civil rights violations are not properly addressed and resolved.
There is an additional problem that occurs with civil rights abuses in the North Dakota University System: In Grand Forks, for example, there are few, if any, civil rights attorneys who don’t have a conflict of interest with the University of North Dakota. Women, who have legitimate civil rights/discrimination claims against the university and are not adequately helped by the UND affirmative action office and their grievance process, seek the assistance of Fargo-based attorneys.
Tom Fiebiger, the lawyer quoted in Almquist’s article, is well known in Grand Forks. He has been contacted by and represents women faculty and staff involved in, or considering lawsuits against the university. He is currently representing Shawn Egeland, a former UND employee, with her lawsuit against UND.
Some women, frustrated by the lack of available civil rights attorneys, have resorted to filing formal complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Judy Haney, another former UND employee, has done so just last month. Clearly, we have a significant problem with civil rights in North Dakota, and in the NDUS with unresolved abuses that are not being addressed.
<snip>
View full article here
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10.) The Forum (Fargo), American Indian youth program dropped
American Indian youth program dropped
The first question Mary Thomas’ clients used to ask her was: Are you American Indian?
When she said yes, they immediately seemed more comfortable, she said.
Thomas is a family therapist who formerly worked with Mending the Circle, a Fargo program run through Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota.
The program ended July 31 following cuts to the federal juvenile justice budget.
It was one of a handful of programs for American Indian youths that have closed or will close by Dec. 31.
A pilot project begun in 1998, Mending the Circle sought to help provide American Indian families with a culturally sensitive resource to prevent children from entering the juvenile justice system or be taken from their parents.
<snip>
View online article here
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11.) The Forum (Fargo), Local refugees risk losing benefits if they aren’t naturalized
Local refugees risk losing benefits
if they aren’t naturalized
Six wide-eyed adults copied words such as “Constitution,” “Bill of Rights” and “Thomas Jefferson” onto their notepads from a sun-dappled marker board on a recent Saturday in Fargo.
Lisa Rinehart of West Fargo stood in front of them, talking about July Fourth celebrations, taxes and government representation -- things they will have to know when they take the test to become a U.S. citizen.
Rinehart teaches a six-week citizenship class that Fargo’s Adult Learning Center offers twice a year.
During the program’s five-year existence, classes have been small, with an average of five or six students attending each session.
That’s too small, considering the roughly 1,800 refugees who’ve come to the Fargo-Moorhead area during the past five years, said Randy Eider, director of the Adult Learning Center.
Gaining citizenship isn’t always a priority for newcomers who must house, clothe and feed themselves and their families, he said.
But without it, some immigrants could lose their Medicaid benefits or community-supported homes.
View online article here
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12.) Jamestown Sun, Domestic legal system isn’t fair to men
Domestic legal system
isn’t fair to men Jamestown Sun – 10/29/2003
A recent USA Today reported the traditional American family is taking a nosedive in numbers (unmarried parents climbed from 21 percent to 40 percent in just the past 25 years), and that this is having a very negative effect on our children and our culture. I would like to offer a partial explanation for this, mainly the increasingly politically correct -- male bashing -- legal system that makes getting married not a vow of love, but a signing away of a man’s legal and constitutional rights to the state in the name of “public policy.”
In our news media we repeatedly hear men referred to as “dead beats” or “drug addicted boyfriend” or “abusive husbands.” While such negative stereotyping by race, or especially against women, would never be considered in our news media, male bashing is accepted normal practice.
In our legal system we have such things as the “Violence Against Women Act” which lowers the “normal battery” standard, while raising the punishment. For example, just a feeling of fear is enough to cast the male perpetrator into the legal trash bin. A more fair approach would be to treat violence as violence no matter what the sex of the perpetrator or victim. Such politically correct laws have also made it relatively easy for small numbers of female sociopaths and predators to use the courts as their bully club to take any man’s children, property, dignity, and then make him their life-time economic slave with supersized child support and alimony. The stories of men utterly trashed by our biased North Dakota courts have become all too common. At most, men are left with only unenforceable visitation orders. Is it a wonder that men are dropping out of the marriage scam in increasing numbers!
It is time we go back to allowing couples to keep their premarriage property. To allow the right to a jury trial to end judicial bias and abuse in divorce and protection orders. To making joint physical custody the standard instead of the exception. Until you make the current domestic legal system fair, honest, and equitable, any man who says “I do” in North Dakota should have his head examined.
Roland Riemers
Grand Forks
<snip>
View online article here
********************************************* Events *********************************************
13.) The Forum (Fargo), Workshop set for new Americans, Fargo
Workshop set for new Americans
Some new Americans living in Fargo-Moorhead have concerns about housing and public transportation.
Others don’t understand why their children have been taken away from them or feel they’re pre-judged, said Hatidza Asovic, who works at Cultural Diversity Resources in Moorhead.
Asovic hopes they will be able to voice their concerns and learn about city government at a Nov. 10 workshop from 1 to 3 p.m. at Fargo City Hall, 200 3rd St. N.
The event -- which will include meeting elected officials and city staff and tours of City Hall -- is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Red River Valley, the city of Fargo, Cultural Diversity Resources and The People’s Diversity Forum.
“We want to intensify our networking,” said David Ideele, director of the People’s Diversity Forum and one of the event’s primary organizers.
Immigrants sometimes complain that they call their representatives and nothing gets done, he said.
City officials and representatives can’t do everything, Ideele said.
“You need to get involved and do it yourself,” he said.
Attendees of the Nov. 10 event will learn the basics of volunteering and how they can get involved in local government, said Dan Mahli, assistant Fargo city planner.
<snip>
View full article here
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14.) Public Forum: Changes and Challenges in Programs for Those Living in Poverty, November 17, Fargo
Speakers:Kathy Hogan, Director of Cass County Social Services, Fargo, NDDennis Lien, Director of Clay County Social Services, Moorhead, MN Duke Schempp, Director of People Escaping Poverty Project, Moorhead, MN
Sponsor: Fargo Moorhead Branch of the American Association of University Women
Location: Fargo Public Library Meeting Room 102 3rd St. North Fargo, ND
Time and Date: 7:30 PM, Monday, November 17, 2003
Target Audience: All those in the community who would like to know what is happening to the “welfare programs” in light of the legislative changes at the national level and cuts in programs in both Minnesota and North Dakota, and all those in the community who are being impacted by these changes
********************************************* Reminders *********************************************
15.) Ford Foundation Program Recognizes Community Leaders
Deadline:
January 6, 2004
16.) North Dakota Center for Persons with Disabilities (NDCPD), Statewide Disability Training/Workshops, October - November
The North Dakota Center for Persons with Disabilities (NDCPD) at Minot State University are sponsoring FREE of charge Disability training/workshops this month and into November. Support for the training/workshops is made possible through the North Dakota Medicaid Infrastructure Grant.
The following workshops are designed for people with disabilities, their attendants, and service providers:
All training sessions begin at 9:00 AM and end at 3:00 PM. Break refreshments will be provided; lunch is on your own.
The training sessions schedule is as follows:
October 15, 2003 Williston El Rancho Motor Hotel 1623 2nd Ave W
October 16, 2003 Minot International Inn 1505 N Broadway
October 21, 2003 Dickinson Hospitality Inn 532 15th St W
October 22, 2003 Bismarck Best Western Doublewood Inn 1400 E Interchange Ave
October 28, 2003 Jamestown Gladstone Hotel & Suites 111 2nd St SW
October 29, 2003 Devils Lake American Inn & Suites 1116 Hwy 2 E
November 4, 2003 Fargo Best Western Doublewood Inn 3333 13th Ave S
November 6, 2003 Grand Forks Best Western Town House 710 1st Ave
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17.) “Stolen Dreams” Open House, Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center, Moorhead, MN
"Stolen Dreams" (October 11, 2003? – December 22, 2003) is an exhibition of 70 contemporary photographs by occupational health physician Dr. David L. Parker. Dr. Parkers shows in very real, moving photographs that the issues of child labor is not one of the past, but one that is affecting the entire world community - including the United States.
"My project can never be completed" says Parker, "what exists is too vast to be seen or documented fully, but it is too important to ignore."
For more information about Stolen Dreams visit http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/gallery/intro.html.
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18.) Sisters of the Presentation at Sacred Heart Convent Presents “Peace Studies” 2003 Series (Various Locations in ND and MN)
Presentation Peace Studies has an excellent series of forum speakers for the coming year. Please mark your calendars and more information will be forthcoming this fall!
Nov. 14, 2003 - "Security: An Affair of the Heart" Fr. Johns Sandell, Fargo Jan. 23, 2004 - "What Is a Peace Church?" Dr. Gerald Schlabach, St. Thomas U., St. Paul Feb. 27, 2004 - "What Does My Faith Call Me to in Violent Times?" Panel of three: B'hai, Quaker, Muslim Mar. 26, 2004 - "Jesus against Christianity" Dr. Jack Nelsonp-:Pallmeyer, St. Thomas U., St. Paul April 30 & May 1, 2003 - "Receding Violence, Reseeding the Earth - Harmony in the Web of Life" Helen Prejean and Marya Grathwohl
View additional information here
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***Member Reminder*** Please keep us in mind for your group or church social action/social justice meetings! We’d be happy to provide a presentation at a meeting or provide newsletter articles for your organizations.
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North Dakota Human Rights Coalition P.O. Box 1961 Fargo, North Dakota 58107-1961 Phone: (701) 239-9323 Fax: (701) 478-4452 Email: humanrights@ndhrc.org
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