Helping Out Those Who Are Helping Us
BY LOISE NEVILLE
It's hard times and some organizations which are devoted to
helping the rest of us with our problems are feeling the pinch. When they
weaken it is we who will feel the pinch. If they should fail it is we who
will be hit hard. But among the worthy who are most worthy; who over there
does the most for all of us over here?
I offer this assessment of groups which among the hundreds that will for
a small fee do a big job for you and me. The ACLU: It's heavily burdened.
Just now trying to hold back the tide of an incredible number of unconstitutional
laws going on the books; especially those executive orders that Bush wrote
and bludgeoned a reluctant Congress to pass. One gem that got through the
safety net: a life sentence without parole for first time offenders for
possession of a small amount of an illegal drug, even though someone else
may have planted it or left it on the premises.
The habeus corpus law has been removed. As for the rule against "cruel
and unusual punishment" the Supreme Court passed one such law with
the statement that "it may be cruel but it's not unusual." Unfair
laws passed through the Supreme Court can be rescinded only by an appeal
to Congress.
ACLU has its work cut out for it and more than ever before, a heavy burden
of both time and money. Trying to keep Constitutional our civil rights laws
intact. If you want to help out $20 gives a years subscription plus a newsletter
and updates. Address: 1 32 West 43rd St., New York, New York10036-6599.
Turn, Toward Utility Rate Normalization: Do yourself a good turn and help
TURN. This volunteer group has saved each of us many dollars a year on those
gas, electric and telephone bills which the "public utility" companies
keep trying to force sky high, because like all profit making corporations
they want to entice stockholders with good and better yet dividends. TURN,
with its own volunteer lawyers and accountants refutes the public utilities
sob stories about "need" and prevents even worse rises in your
energy and phone bills. Like ACLU it's a volunteer organization with a couple
of paid people at the top.
It's only $15 a year to join TURN and a bargain because they save each of
us at least that amount yearly. Address: 625 Polk Street, Suite 403, S.F.
CA 94102. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals PETA: This, one of
the first and most successful animal rights organizations faces a federal
suit. The charges? That it lies about violation of animal rights in medical
research laboratories, lies about animal suffering. Two of its leaders face
a federal grand jury under legal rules which make it almost impossible for
teem to defend themselves. It's "new wave" law, and PETA faces
heavy court expenses of course. And if you want to know the reason for such
cases against citizen activist groups read "Corporate Power and Social
responsibility; A Blueprint for the Future" by Neil Jacoby, published
in 1973, publisher Free Press. Today is that Future it Speaks of!
You can join PETA for as little as $20 a year or get their information for
as little as $5. They are grateful for any amount one can afford to send.
Subscribers get an excellent magazine monthly plus lists of companies that
don't use animal testing and lists of those that do. PETA has had tremendous
affect in the past which is why it's in trouble today. Address: Box 42516
Washington DC 20015.
Last Chance for Animals, LCA: Here's another animal rights group fighting
unnecessary cruelty in medical laboratories, two members now in jail, for
90 days. Why? LCA is an activist animal rights group. While others inform
the public they take direct action. Their latest? Two members smuggled themselves
into the UCLA Brain Research Institute "Vivarium" and filmed the
action, the experiments after which they sent their films to local and national
media! Result: 90 days in jail for exposing "taxpayer supported research."
They want letters of support while they are in jail. If L.A. jails are anything
like L.A. police, they are not funzies." Jailed October 2 they'll be
there until January. If you want to write to them their current addresses
are: Chris DeRose, Booking # 3254-077, P.O. Box 86164, Terminal Annex, Los
Angeles CA 90086-0164 and Aaron Leider Booking #3254-073, same address.
To join LCA? They'd like a monthly pledge of $10 or more but a small single
donation will bring you inf. Address: 18653 #356 Tarzana CA 91356.
But perhaps you believe that animal experimentation is really necessary
to the development of needed medicines for humans. In that case you should
contact the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, President Dr.
Neil Barnard. They will tell you about the modern and more efficient alternatives
and the dangers in animal related drugs. They claim that more and more physicians
are joining their society or joining in the protest against animal research,
vivisection.
So if vivisection is not the best way why is it done? Big business, big
profits. But what does that have to do with you or your pets? Suppliers
do pick up wandering animals, pets on the loose and some animal shelters
sell animals to them.
For a pittance of $20 a year or whatever more you can afford you can help
finance PCRM and get their regular newsletter. Address: 5100 Wisconsin Ave.
N.W. Suite 404, Washington DC 20016.
Would you like to have the government set you up in business, all expenses
paid? You could open up a food irradiation facility which irradiates fruit,
vegetables, meat, fish, and poultry with the leftovers from atomic energy
plants. But don't. This irradiation removes all essential vitamins and adds
carcinogens. Other nations don't permit food irradiation but the FDA says
it's OK; kills bugs and adds shelf life. It's "cost effective"
and it gets rid of the nasty problem of what to do with all that leftover
radioactive material! No, it won't make you radioactive it will just make
you malnourished or sick. The government is pushing hard to open these plants;
Food and Water Incorporated is pushing hard to prevent it. It targets irradiated
food to warn you, targets it in supermarkets, targets food irradiation plants.
They tell you which food companies do not irradiate. $25 a year to join.
You can write them at 225 Lafayette St. Suite 613 New York City 10012 or
call toll free 1-800-EAT-SAFE. This is another volunteer group which is
working for you.
A telephone company that cares: it's called Working Assets. Long distance
only, it promises 15% lower than any of the others for volume, gives 1%
of your bill to nonprofit activist groups, you get a discount for calling
your Congressional representative or the White House, free calls to them
the first Monday of every month. Working Assets prints its bills on recycled
paper with soy ink, and informs you about pending issues each month when
you get your bill! Yes, it will send you a list of activist groups it funds.
Who could ask for more? Actually Working Assets intended to sweeten the
deal further with a free pint of Ben & Jerry's real ice cream. However,
the government said Working Assets can't furnish that bonus, so it sent
the money instead. The price of a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream.
Working Assets has been quietly working since 1986. If you'd rather switch
and fight you can call 1-800-788-8585 and just say so, they do the rest.
In 3 months they will refund whatever small fee your current long distance
carrier charged you for the switch. Sounds too good to be true? Isn't. I
tried it; I liked it. Working Assets is in San Francisco, 701 Montgomery
St. Suite 400, San Francisco 94111.
Environmentalist? There's a group which has the inside dope. The U.S. Forest
Service has been deliberately selling off our trees on public land to timber
logging companies. but there's a group that's "burrowing from within,"
forest service employees called the Association of Forest Service Employees
for Environmental Ethics or AFSEEE. They lay their jobs on the line to monitor
and report to you. They try to keep the Forest Service to its legal standards
and plan if necessary to take their case to congress to force it to. They
try to save our public park trees from excessive cutting, grazing and mining
interests which have been permitted to buy into them.
They can give you the inside dope and by revealing the truth to the public
shame the forest service into living up to its legal commitments. They like
to get $25 or more but will accept whatever you can send. It's tax deductible
and you'll get the newsletter. Address P.O. Box 11615, Eugene or 97440.
Phone (503) 484-2692.
Afraid of cancer, AIDS, or injury which will leave you helpless in some
hospital, perhaps miserably tubed on some machine? The Hemlock Society can
calm you fears. It is lobbying hard to make it legal for doctors to put
to death terminally ill persons with incurable diseases. In fact they'll
even tell you how to do it yourself. Not on a whim of course but in emergency.
It's called "right to die." For a small fee to join and the price
of an inexpensive book you can live in peace, without worry about the future.
Fee to join is $15. Low income $5. Books and added info $3 to $12. Local
address: 1804 Union Street, San Francisco CA 94123
Want to know what laws the governor or California State Legislature plans
to hit you with next? Want to try to do something about it? I suggest Jericho.
Started by a determined nun who hung around the State Legislature trying
to do something about things, Jericho is now a full blown nonsectarian organization.
It will send you clear concise outlines of bills which will affect you.
Yes, Jericho is liberal and yes, some good bills come out of the legislature.
They are not all bad guys over there. The governor can be a problem. An
occasional post card can make you part of the action not just a recipient
of it. Jericho is at 916 J St. Suite 410 Sacramento, CA 95814. Jericho would
like $25 a year but accepts whatever you can send; gives lots of information
in return. Makes you an active citizen.
For environmentalists there's Coop America. For $15 or $10, your choice
it promises to lead you down the path of real environmentalism. Unlike the
others it appears to be a business, but valuable. Its catalog sells environmentally
safe and efficient products. It advises on socially responsible businesses
to invest in, tells you who to boycott and how to demand change. And yet,
it even has a travel bureau. Coop America may not need your help but it
sounds helpful. It issues a quarterly magazine too and lists investments
and investment clubs. It's non-profit. Address: 1200 M St. NW Suite 310,
Washington DC 20063. Phone: 1-800-424-2667.
$20 to join for which you get an information packet on socially responsible
purchasing. $15. if you can't do $20, but you don't get the info. packet.
There are other good groups, many. I selected these as the ones which affect
our lives most directly as "most needed" by the general public.
The ones we would miss most if they were not there. We need them; they need
us in order to continue their good work.
Special interest groups such as women's groups, refugee aid, special subject
information sources that were not listed here, would need to be covered
in a separate article.
