october 2002 nebraska report - nebraskans for...

Nebraska Report

Nebraskans for Peace941 �O� Street, Suite 1026Lincoln, NE 68508

OCTOBER 2002 VOLUME 30, NUMBER 8

inside:inside:inside:inside:inside:

There is no Peace without Justice

Martin Marty on Nonviolence p. 6

Gambling�s Costs OverwhelmAny Benefits p. 7

The Hidden Property Tax Costof LB 775 p. 9

Two Obituaries and a Departure p.11

From the Bottom p.12

Latin America Briefs p. 2

The Cost of Invading Iraq p. 3

A Response to �A Justice ProcessToward Peace in the Middle East� p. 4

Guilty As Charged: WhiteclayProtestors Have Day in Court p. 5

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This article by NFP State Coordinator TimRinne originally appeared in the September26 edition of the Lincoln Journal Star.

The Bush Administration, in making its casefor forcibly removing Saddam Hussein, hasrepeatedly accused the Iraqi leader of blockingUN weapons inspectors from entering thecountry in order to develop �weapons of massdestruction.� Not a day goes by withoutsomebody inside the administration chargingthat the world now stands imperiled by anIraqi stockpile of chemical and biologicalweapons (and maybe even nuclear capability)because Saddam has systematically thwartedthe UN-mandated inspection process.

The former chief of the UN weaponsinspection team, however, has an alternativeexplanation for why Saddam has refused toallow UN inspectors back into Iraq the lastfour years.

They were spying.And the U.S. government was using this

intelligence to try and assassinate the Iraqipresident.

Scott Ritter, the U.S. Marine Corps andGulf War veteran who ran the UN�s weaponsinspections team in Iraq from 1991 to August1998, stated in a September 8 CNN interviewthat the reason there haven�t been inspectors

in Iraq �isn�t because Iraq kicked them out,but rather they were ordered out by the UnitedStates after the United States manipulated theinspection process to create a confrontation�and then used intelligence informationgathered by inspectors to target Iraqigovernment sites, including the security ofSaddam Hussein.�

Two days after the inspectors left, onDecember 16, 1998, the Clinton White Houselaunched Operation Desert Fox, bombing over100 targets in Iraq, including intelligencefacilities, security installations, SaddamHussein�s palaces�sites that according toRitter �had nothing whatsoever to do withweapons of mass destruction.� The attackwas nothing less than an assassination attempton the life of the Iraqi leader. And it occurred,interestingly enough, just 24 hours before theU.S. House of Representatives was scheduledto vote on the impeachment of PresidentClinton over his relationship with MonicaLewinsky.

Ever since, Ritter said, Iraq has refused toallow the inspectors back in, citing nationalsecurity and sovereignty concerns. Given theU.S.�s compromised reputation, he stated in aSeptember 12 Fox News Channel interview,the Iraqi position is not that hard to understand.

Inspectors as SpiesInspectors as SpiesInspectors as SpiesInspectors as SpiesInspectors as SpiesHow the U.S. Undermined UNWeapons Inspections in Iraq

conclusion on page 3

About 150 people turned out for the Anti-War Rally on the north steps of theState Capitol September 25 to send a message that �This War Is Unneces-

sary.� UNL Anthropology Professor Bob Hitchcock was the featured speaker.

OCTOBER 2002 NEBRASKA REPORT, P.2

The Nebraska Report is published nine times annually by Nebraskans for Peace.Opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of the directors or staff ofNebraskans for Peace.

Newspaper Committee: Tim Rinne, EditorSarah Disbrow, Bud Narveson, Byron Peterson

Typesetting and Layout: Ben KnaussPrinting: Fremont TribuneCirculation: 6,500Letters, articles, photographs and graphics are welcomed. Deadline is the

first of the month for publication in the following month�s issue. Submit toNebraska Report, c/o Nebraskans for Peace, 941 �O� Street, Suite 1026, Lincoln,NE 68508. E-mail: [email protected]

Nebraskans for Peace is a statewide grassroots advocacy organization workingnonviolently for peace with justice through community-building, education andpolitical action.

Sayre Andersen, Deb Brownyard, Henry D�Souza, Bob Epp (Treasurer), MarshaFangmeyer, Melissa Fluent, Michael Gordon, Richard Hargesheimer, John Krejci(Secretary), Rich Maciejewski, Carol McShane (President), Frances Mendenhall,Neil Mesner, Patrick Murray, Paul Olson, Byron Peterson, Jo Peterson, Del Roper,Deirdre Routt, Linda Ruchala, Jay Schmidt, Jeanette Sulzman (Vice President),Sue Ellen Wall, Virginia Walsh. Tim Rinne (State Coordinator), Ben Knauss (StateOffice Manager), Susan Alleman (Membership Coordinator), 941 �O� Street, Suite1026, Lincoln, NE 68508, Phone: 402-475 4620, Fax: 402-475-4624; (OmahaCoordinator), P.O. Box 3682, Omaha, NE 68103, Phone: 402-453-0776. Email:[email protected]; Webpage: www.nebraskansforpeace.org

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Nebraska ReporNebraska ReporNebraska ReporNebraska ReporNebraska ReportttttLLLLLatin America Briefsatin America Briefsatin America Briefsatin America Briefsatin America Briefs

compiled by Sarah Disbrowcompiled by Sarah Disbrowcompiled by Sarah Disbrowcompiled by Sarah Disbrowcompiled by Sarah Disbrow

Guatemala ReverGuatemala ReverGuatemala ReverGuatemala ReverGuatemala Reverting to Wting to Wting to Wting to Wting to War with U.S. Helpar with U.S. Helpar with U.S. Helpar with U.S. Helpar with U.S. HelpHuman rights groups are alarmed that the United States is providing �light infantry� training to theGuatemalan military despite the lack of serious military reform in that country and an escalationin human rights abuses since the peace accords of 1996. On Sept. 6 activist Manuel Garcia de laCruz was found decapitated, his ears and tongue cut out and his eyes pulled out. According toGuatemalan human rights groups, the gruesome manner of his death is reminiscent of atrocitiescommitted by the Guatemalan military during the 1960-1996 civil war. The latest murder followsmonths of violence and harassment directed at rights activists and agencies. This summer agencyoffices were ransacked. On Sept. 9, a group of armed men attacked reporters attempting to covera press conference called by human rights groups to discuss the Garcia de la Cruz murder.

U.S. training of the Guatemalan military is in direct violation of a U.S. ban on InternationalMilitary Education and Training (IMET) and Foreign Military Training (FMT). Contact yourrepresentative and senators (Congressional switchboard 202-224-3121 or www.Senate.gov.) andtell them that the Defense Department should cease training given Guatemala�s failure toimplement the 1996 peace accords calling for military reforms and respect for human rights.

Puebla-PPuebla-PPuebla-PPuebla-PPuebla-Panama Plan Threatens Central Americaanama Plan Threatens Central Americaanama Plan Threatens Central Americaanama Plan Threatens Central Americaanama Plan Threatens Central AmericaIndigenous leaders throughout Central America call it �one of the greatest threats since Conquest.�Mexican president Vincente Fox has proposed a plan, called Puebla-Panama, to funnel $10billion of foreign aid and local tax dollars to industrial projects stretching from Mexico�s southernstate of Puebla all the way to Panama. Indigenous groups argue that the plan would accelerateforeign plunder of their natural resources and wreak havoc on their cultures.

Leaders of the region�s seven countries, the construction industry, and other business interestsare behind the plan, and a U.S.-dominated lending agency is spearheading the financing. The goalis to develop oil refineries, hydroelectricity, seaports, highways, rail lines, and agribusinessspanning the length of Central America.

Mexico�s PRD party is forging coalitions to oppose the plan. They claim that U.S. interests incontrolling a zone rich in natural resources are behind it. Many of the region�s Catholic Churchleaders are also opposed. Gregorio Rosa Chavez, auxiliary bishop of San Salvador, argues thatglobalization in Latin America has widened the gap between the rich and poor.

The plan has already accelerated U.S. military buildup in the region. Some 400 U.S. troopsvisited Guatemala on tourist visas for five months last year to work with army troops in a $10million deployment called New Horizons. The stated goal was infrastructure assistance andnatural disaster training. But critics worry that the United States could cite Puebla-Panamaprojects as pretexts to station troops in every nation from Mexico to Panama. New Horizonsdeployment coincided with increased oil exploration in both the Petén and Chiapas. Some of theU.S. troops set up camp near a U.S. owned oil refinery, Texas-based Anadarko Petroleum, in LaLibertad.

Environmentalists argue that the plan would destroy the Meso-American Biological Corridor,an international network of pristine areas than activists have been fighting to protect for years. Italso threatens the U.N. backed Maya Biosphere Reserve, a 13,000 square-mile rainforest, CentralAmerica�s largest freshwater wetland, as well as 1,000 archeological sites and half the region�sanimal species, including the endangered jaguar and guacamaya parrot.

�Excerpted from Linda Jones, Last Harvest, Americas. Org, May 2002.

Oil Pipeline Double StandardOil Pipeline Double StandardOil Pipeline Double StandardOil Pipeline Double StandardOil Pipeline Double StandardAccording to the Witness for Peace booklet In Our Name, a double standard is emerging in theWhite House on oil pipeline protection. The White House is treating oil company threats in LatinAmerica as a national security issue, rewarding White House friends by financing contractors tocarry out security for the oil companies. At the same time, the White House is dodgingcongressional oversight of what it claims is a national security threat. Pipeline protection shouldbe subject to national civilian oversight if it is of national rather than private concern, the bookletargues. �Our tax dollars are slated for oil pipeline protection to be carried out by mercenariesunaccountable for their tactics.�


�Why would the Iraqis immediately roll over and say �Comeon back in,� unless they�re given guarantees that the inspectorswon�t again deviate from the task?�

Ritter though is no apologist for the Iraqi leader. In thatsame September 12 Fox interview, he stated, �Saddam Husseinis the most brutal dictator I can think of today and from my lipsto God�s ear, I wish he was dead.� For the first six years as theleader of the inspection team, however, he said the UNinspectors were nevertheless able to perform their dutieswithout obstruction from the Iraqi government. Utilizing theservices of a Swedish diplomatic, Ritter told CNN�s PaulaZahn September 13, the UN inspection team �disarmed Iraqfrom 1991 to 1996.�

It was only when Australian diplomat Richard Butler wasnamed the executive chair of the UNSCOM (United NationsSpecial Commission) in 1997, Ritter said, that the U.S. wasable to manipulate the inspection process to spy on the Iraqileader. �Richard Butler allowed the United States to use theUnited Nations weapons-inspection process as a Trojan Horseto insert intelligence capabilities into Iraq, which were notapproved by the United Nations and which did not facilitatethe disarmament process, [but] were instead focused on thesecurity of Saddam Hussein and military targets.�

On four occasions between March 1998 up until hisresignation in August of that year, Ritter, according to the Foxinterview, �wrote Butler a memorandum saying, �Boss, if youcontinue down this path you are facilitating espionage. This isnot what we�re about and you can�t let this happen.�� TheUNSCOM chair, Ritter said, ignored every one of hismemoranda, prompting him to resign as chief inspector thatAugust.

The following December, Ritter says, on instructions fromthe Clinton Administration and without the approval of theSecurity Council, Butler unilaterally ordered the withdrawalof the inspection team just 48 hours before Operation DesertFox was launched. �He was at the helm of the ship when it ranaground. People need to keep� in mind that the weaponsprocess inspection process died under Richard Butler�sleadership,� Ritter told CNN September 13. �Inspectorsaren�t in Iraq today, but not because Saddam kicked them out,but because the United States ordered them out.�

With the Bush Administration now dead set on a �regimechange� and threatening to unilaterally intervene in Iraq,Ritter traveled to Baghdad early last month to urge the Iraqigovernment to re-admit the inspectors in hopes of avertingwar. Hussein has since announced that the UN can resume�unconditional� inspections starting in October. The WhiteHouse however has openly ridiculed the Iraqi overture, callingit little more than a ploy and just more evidence of the Iraqidictator�s duplicity.

But duplicity can be a two-way street. The fact thatSaddam Hussein is a murderer and a war criminal does notexcuse us from examining our own government�s conduct inthis matter, particularly when our leaders are activelyadvocating going to a war. And particularly when the man wenow find so abhorrent and intolerable is a former military ally,who previously used these very same chemical and biologicalweapons of mass destruction with the full knowledge of ourgovernment. But because at the time he was an important ally,we looked the other way and never said a word.

A war on Iraq is likely to cost $100 billion.Experts, including Senator Joseph Biden, Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, indicate that thewar may cost as much as $80-$100 billion. The 1990-91 Gulf War cost $61 billion, according to the Departmentof Defense. That�s almost $80 billion in today�s dollars. In this case, the administration policy is for a change ofregime, suggesting the possibility of a longer, more involved and more costly war.

Rebuilding Iraq is likely to cost at least $50 billion.Different experts weighed in on reconstruction efforts during therecent Senate hearings on Iraq. According to Samuel Berger,Senior Foreign Policy Advisor during the Clinton Administration,estimates for re-building the Iraqi economy range from $50-$150billion. Scott R. Feil, retired colonel and expert on post-conflictreconstruction, argued that significant material and personnelresources would be required for reconstruction. Just the securityforces alone would entail 75,000 personnel in the first year,amounting to $16.5 billion. At least 5,000 troops would have toremain in place for 5-10 years, costing over $1 billion a year.Beyond security, the U.S. would be expected to make asignificant contribution for humanitarian and emergency aid, atransitional administration, civil service and other components ofreconstruction. Feil estimated that these nonsecurity costs wouldamount to $15-$25 billion over the next decade.

United States citizens would have to pay for thevast majority of the war.The U.S. had much international support during the Gulf War.Allies picked up almost 90% of its cost. However, this war does not have international support. Many allies havemade it clear that they are not in favor of a preemptive strike. Germany and Saudi Arabia, among the largest cashand in-kind contributors to the Gulf War, have indicated their complete opposition to an invasion. The U.S.people should expect to pay for most of the war as well as reconstruction.

THE COST OF INVADING IRAQ

The Bush Administration currently proposes to wage war on Iraq. Beloware a few considerations about the cost of that action to the American people.

National Priorities Project estimates thecost to the state of Nebraska for a waragainst Iraq to be $412,000,000, based oneach state�s portion of individual incometaxes and assumes that the U.S. will bearthe entire cost of a $100 billion war.

The National Priorities Project offerscitizens and community groups tools andresources to shape federal budget andpolicy priorities which promote social andeconomic justice.

For more information, contact us at:17 New South Street, Suite 302Northampton, MA 01060413-584-9556www.nationalpriorities.org

Contributions to the Nebraska Peace FoundationContributions to the Nebraska Peace FoundationContributions to the Nebraska Peace FoundationContributions to the Nebraska Peace FoundationContributions to the Nebraska Peace Foundationare tax-deductible & won’t finance theare tax-deductible & won’t finance theare tax-deductible & won’t finance theare tax-deductible & won’t finance theare tax-deductible & won’t finance the

Bush administration’Bush administration’Bush administration’Bush administration’Bush administration’s upcoming s upcoming s upcoming s upcoming s upcoming War on IraqWar on IraqWar on IraqWar on IraqWar on Iraq

InspectorsInspectorsInspectorsInspectorsInspectorsas Spiesas Spiesas Spiesas Spiesas Spies

How Much is $100 billion?

Three times what thefederal government spendson K-12 education.

Enough to provide healthcare to all uninsuredchildren in the U.S. for 5years.

More than four times thetotal international affairsbudget.


A Response to “A Justice ProcessToward Peace in the Middle East”


by Yale Gotsdiner, Eva Sartori and Haim& Yaffa Gunner

The physical and emotional suffering ofthe Palestinian inhabitants of the WestBank described by the writer of �TheJustice Process Toward Peace in theMiddle East� (Nebraska Report, July/August 2002) have a legitimate claim onour sympathy. But from reading theanonymous writer�s account one wouldnever know that the Israeli population isalso suffering as terrorist attacks byPalestinians against Israeli civilians havemultiplied during the most recent intifada.Nor does the writer acknowledge aPalestinian role in the successive wars thathave punctuated Israel�s history. ThePalestinians have not been the entirelypassive victims of historical events or themere objects of an immense power beyondtheir capacity to confront. Such acharacterization does not render them aservice and ultimately will not advancetheir cause. The truth is painfullydifferent: the Palestinians are in factvictims of the history which they and theirfellow Arabs largely inflicted uponthemselves. This is not to diminish thepain and humiliation which are sowrenchingly described by the writers butrather to emphasize that this pain andhumiliation emerge as a directconsequence of actions both taken andavoided.

As early as 1937 the Arabs of Palestinehad been offered a partition plan by theBritish-mandatory government of the timethat left them in command of virtually theentire interior of the country, the Galileeand the south, leaving the Jews only theareas of concentrated settlement along thecoastal plain and a number of interiorvalleys. The response was the riots of1936-39 that were initially suppressed bya massive concentration of British troops.In 1947, in the wake of the Holocaust, theUnited Nations offered the Palestinians apartition plan that, as the writer�s mapsshow, added to Israel only the southernpart of the Negev. This plan was met bythe simultaneous assault of Iraq, Syria,Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt on thefledgling Jewish state which had in factaccepted it. The flight of Arab refugeesfrom Palestine was an event driven as

much by the logic of the invading Arabarmies to clear the battlefields as a designby the Israeli army. We must also not losesight of the fact that the An-Nakbe of thePalestinians was not the only populationdislocation in the Middle East. In the wakeof Israel�s establishment, 750,000 Jewswere driven out of all the Arab countriesstretching from Morocco in the west toIraq in the east.

The Palestinian bitterness can be tracedto the fact that no Arab country wasinterested in anything but its ownterritorial aggrandizement and certainlynot in the establishment of an independentPalestinian state. Trans-Jordan becameJordan with the annexation of the WestBank and old Jerusalem and Egyptoccupied the Gaza strip. Some 50,000refugees fled north to Lebanon. Thecontrast between the fate meted out tothose refugees and the Jewish refugeesfrom Arab countries is striking. After 50years, the Palestinian Arabs are still in themain wards of UNWRA, refusedcitizenship except by Jordan and forced tolive in the squalor and misery of the campsso highly publicized to capture publicsympathy. In Israel refugees werewelcomed�and, diverse as their culturebackgrounds were, integrated into a vitaldemocracy.

The historical perspective therefore isone in which the abject fate of thePalestinians of today rests on thefoundation of a refusal of any compromiseand in the main an unremitting refusal toaccept the existence of the Jewish state. In1967 threats were again made to annihilatethe Jewish state, only to result in thetransformation of the geopolitics of thearea in Israel�s favor. Indeed theoccupation of the West Bank and Gaza isa direct consequence of the onslaught byIsrael�s neighbors. Another full-scaleattack by the Arab armies of theneighboring states took place in 1973 (the�Yom Kippur War�) and the Palestinianscontinued to harass the civilian Israelipopulation with raids against border townsand settlements. The Palestinian Authorityand its Arab backers continue to stokehatred of the Israelis with savage andunrelenting attacks, lies, and distortions.The disastrous policy of the Arab nationstoward Israel was most clearly articulated

at the Arab League nations� meeting atKhartoum, following Israel�s smashingvictory in 1967: no negotiation, norecognition, and no peace. Alas, they havehad their wish.

Nonetheless, the outline of what is nowwidely recognized as the inevitable patternfor a settlement has emerged at the CampDavid and Taba discussions of the summerand fall of 2000 proposed by PrimeMinister Barak and President Bill Clinton:the major population areas andsurrounding territories of the West Bankwill have to be returned to Palestinian ruleand the outlying settlements removed;settlements bordering Jerusalem will beincorporated into Israel and a similarportion of land will be transferred fromIsrael to Palestine. The Israelis will have torecognize a Palestinian presence inJerusalem and the Temple Mount will beunder Palestinian supervision. TheWestern Wall will remain under Israelisupervision and excavations under theTemple Mount will be forbidden. Arabrefugees will receive reparations from theworld community and will be able tochoose to go to Palestine or remain wherethey are. Israel will not acceptresponsibility for the tragedy of the Arabrefugees nor will it be prepared to acceptan influx of refugees that will drasticallyalter its demographic balance. Thisproposal was rejected by Yassir Arafatwith no counter proposal.

Why then the current crisis and chaos inthe area? Perhaps Palestinian psychologyand belief systems remain one of the mostpatent barriers to any true settlement.Certainly from the Israeli standpoint thismindset is reflected in the inability orrefusal of the Palestine Authority to rein inthose extreme elements of Hamas,Hezbollah, the Popular Front for theLiberation of Palestine, and the Tanszimfaction of Arafat�s Fatah group, to whomthe existence of Israel under anycircumstance is unacceptable. To theIsraelis it seems that when it is politicallyexpedient, the Palestinian leadershippermits or even encourages their activityas a goad to compel concessions by Israel.Nor has the unleashing of terror been arandom event simply performed bydesperate martyrs.

Israelis bitterly point out whereas onlythree percent of Palestinian casualties havebeen women and children, over 30 percent

of Israeli casualties have been women andchildren: clearly it is a policy of thePalestinian murderers to seek out thesepopulations. But the pattern of terror hasbeen such as not only to imprison thePalestinians in gradually shrinking radiusof autonomy, but to destroy the very peaceparty in Israel that was the main enginedriving the movement towardreconciliation and compromise. Thetragedy, as profound as it is for theIsraelis, has even deeper and darkerconsequences for the Palestinians. Notonly will their immediate suffering be evermore acute as Israel defends itself, butthey will have to live with the existence intheir midst of separate groups�eachcommitted to terrorism as political tool.

What is the way out? In our estimation,a Palestinian peace party that alreadyexists in the shadows must now emerge inthe risky light of full public view. The SariNusseibehs and the Hanan Ashrawis havealready dared, as have others. The publicemergence of such a party will not onlyserve to generate voices for peace but alsovoices against the corruption which is nowso widely acknowledged to have taintedand undermined the PA. This group willhave the Herculean task of transforming atraumatized and isolated population into aone that accepts the realistic limits onwhich viable compromise will have to bebased. This population will have to beconvinced to abandon the dream of the�one state� predominantly Muslim withminorities of Jews and Christians (with itsmythology of an equality between Jews,Muslims, and Christians that never existedin historic fact), to compromise on thereturn of the bulk of the refugees, and toaccept a limited role in Jerusalem. Such aleadership can inspire the revitalization ofthe demoralized and constrained (by thesuccession of relentless suicide and otherattacks) Israeli peace front and makepossible the return of a moderate peace�driven government willing to accept thehard compromises that Israel must make:the removal of setttements from the WestBank, a Palestinian presence in Jerusalem,and a meaningful gesture toward therefugees of 1948.

Palestinians at last have a chance tobecome the effective actors in their ownhistory. They will abandon thisopportunity at great and lasting peril.


Whiteclay Protesters Have Their Day in Courtby Carol McShanePresident, Nebraskans for Peace

On June 10, seven usually law-abiding citizensknowingly and purposefully disobeyed statelaw by opening and drinking from beer canswith heels firmly planted in the governor�srose garden. The seven� Jonathan Ferguson,Ron Marquart, the Rev. Jack McCaslin, ByronPeterson, Linda Ruchala, Sarah Wiese andI�were promptly cited for �drinking on publicproperty,� a Class IV misdemeanor. We havebeen tried in Lancaster County Court, foundguilty and fined $100, plus $23 court costs.

The rose garden event was fully staged,featuring Hurricane �Tall Boys� (a malt liquornot sold in Lincoln, but everywhere you lookin Whiteclay) Lincoln Police, State Troopers,media and a sizable, supportive crowd. Oncue, we opened and sipped, were issued

contrition. The scene reminded me of thephrase, �firm purpose of amendment,� knownto Catholics as a condition of forgiveness.We, on the other hand, were entertaining nosuch purpose, firm or otherwise. Luckily thelaw does not require such a promise, nor doesit provide forgiveness. And, it was notforgiveness we sought. We sought justice.

Neither, it turns out, is easily obtained.Between the arraignment and the trial, in

consultation with our attorney Pat Knapp, were-thought our plea. Originally persuing adefence based on free political speech, weopted to pled "not guilty" to ensure that we�deven go to trial and get �our day in court.� Butnow, with our trial date pending, wereconsidered. Believing that just laws oughtto be enforced, should we not plead �guilty�?Even in the case of a demonstration of freespeech, were we not guilty of drinking beer inpublic? Did we think our cause should excuseus from punishment? Was a free speechargument a valid reason to plead not guilty?The answer swung this way and that. In theend, we felt strongest in changing our plea to�guilty� to be consistent with our belief thatthe enforcement of just laws should not beimpeded�even by causes.

Five us of were tried on September 24.(Jon Ferguson and Fr. Jack McCaslin wereout of state and had their court date waived.)So, five of us, one by one, pled guilty. It�sstrange to stand before a judge and say,�Guilty, your Honor��even if you are guiltyand even if it�s only a Class IV misdemeanor.You hear your own voice settle in thecourtroom and you feel vulnerable. A part ofyou wants to protest: �But, but I�m really agood person.� Then the sentence is spoken,muttered really, and�after a brief statementto the court�off you go, slightly dirtied intothe arms of that portion of the community thatsupports your deed as honorable. It is thatcommunity, caring about another communityin Pine Ridge that matters.

Why does a person commit civildisobedience? Here is what we told JudgeGale Pokorny. Linda Ruchala�s statement, wedecided, most concisely states our position.The rest of our statements add differentdimensions:

Linda Ruchala: I acknowledge that onJune 10, I purposefully violated law bydrinking alcohol on the public property infront of the Governor�s Mansion. I think of

GGGGGuilty uilty uilty uilty uilty AAAAAs s s s s CCCCChargedhargedhargedhargedharged

July 24, 2002

Governor Mike JohannsPO Box 94848Lincoln, NE 68509

Dear Governor Johanns,

As presidents of the two largest public health associations in Nebraska, we write toyou today to support the efforts of Nebraskans for Peace to expose the serious publichealth conditions that exist in Whiteclay, Nebraska and the Pine Ridge Indianreservation. The Public Health Association of Nebraska (PHAN) is committed toprotect and promote personal, community and environmental health throughout avariety of public health networks. The organization exercises leadership in publichealth policy development and advocacy, provides a forum for the discussion ofemerging public health issues, and enhances the professional growth of members andother health professionals across the state. PHAN has several sections including theNebraska Prevention Providers Association. The public health crisis that exists inWhiteclay has no easy answers, but we feel that there are several actions that can betaken as both short term and long term solutions.

Work with the Nebraska State Patrol and Liquor Control Commission toaggressively enforce and prosecute liquor law violations that occur in Whiteclay.

Support the efforts of the local Border Tiyospaye workgroup that are workingcooperatively across state, tribal and agency lines to find solutions to the problem.The groups� efforts include accessing federal dollars to increase alcohol and drugtreatment availability for Native Americans.

Continue to support the LB 692 funding to build the public health infrastructure inNebraska. Also, continue to support the funding that is available through theNative American Public Health Act.

Assure substance abuse prevention and treatment dollars (Substance AbusePrevention and Treatment Block Grant, Governor�s Safe and Drug Free Schoolsand Communities Act, and the Governor�s State Incentive Cooperative Agreementwith the federal Center for Substance Abuse Prevention) are available and utilizedby the four Nebraska tribes and other agencies to meet Native American substanceabuse needs.

Work with South Dakota Governor Janklow to address Native American publichealth issues such as alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, unemployment,diabetes and suicide on the Pine Ridge reservation.

The Nebraska Public Health Association and the Nebraska Minority PublicAssociation are committed to improving the health of all Nebraskans and appreciateyour attention and response to this matter.

Sincerely,

Pat Lopez, President Kevin Flores, PresidentPublic Health Association Nebraska Minority Publicof Nebraska Health Association


Defendant Sarah Wiese leads the fiveWhiteclay defendants out of the Lancaster

County Courthouse September 24.

citations by courteous troopers, and went ourway with a ticket and a court date.

When preparing for my Augustarraignment, I hurriedly reviewed what wouldhappen. �Then, I say �innocent� and we�redone, right?� � No, no, you don�t say�innocent;� you say �not guilty�� Significantdifference. We pled �not guilty.�

At the arraignment, we mingled with thosetidied-up souls who were never never goingto drink and drive again. Once could sense


Martin Marty on Nonviolence

Dr. Martin Marty

by John Krejci

Native Nebraskan and prominentauthority on religion in America,Dr. Martin Marty addressed the topicof religion and violence in severalpresentations in Lincoln September18, 19 and 20. Since he does notcome with a �canned� speech thathe delivers again and again, each ofhis presentations was fresh and hadthe distinct feel of a work in progress.He is genuinely struggling with hisown perspective on violence andnonviolence as it impacts childrenboth in the United States and in theworld today.

He candidly admitted that hespeaks on topics which are notcentral to his expertise so that hewill be challenged to continue tobroaden his understanding and thuscontinue to grow. It�s quite

impressive and encouraging that a74-year-old emeritus professor,author of more than 50 books, andrecipient of 67 honorary doctorates,still looks for new challenges andshares them with over 100 audiencesper year.

At this point Dr. Marty does notconsider himself a pacifist. Butadmits that he has never walkedaway from a discussion with apacifist feeling he has carried theday. As a matter of fact, he pointedout that the teachings of Jesus onpeace and nonviolence are clear andstraightforward and quite supportiveof a pacifist interpretation. He citedJesus� words:

�You have heard thecommandment, �An eye for an eye,

a tooth for a tooth.� But what I say toyou is: offer no resistance to injury.When a person strikes you on theright cheek, turn and offer him theother. If anyone wishes to go to lawover your shirt, hand him your coatas well...� (Matt. 6:38-40)

Pacifism has further support fromthe Sermon on the Mount.

�How blest are the poor in spirit,the reign of God is theirs... Blest toothe peacemakers; they shall be calledsons of God. Blessed are thosepersecuted for holiness� sake, thereign of God is theirs. Blest are youwhen they insult you and persecuteyou and utter every kind of slanderagainst you, because of me. Be gladand rejoice, for your reward is greatin heaven; they persecuted theprophets before you in the very sameway. (Matt. 5: 3, 9-12)

Despite these and other clearendorsements of nonviolence (andarguably pacifism), Dr. Martyadmits that most Christians minimizethese passages and try to find waysto get around them. He noted thatMartin Luther didn�t seem tounderstand the Sermon on the Mountand pretty much �skipped over it.�But he cautioned peacemakers notto be disappointed in the modestsuccess (or failure) of their efforts,because history is not on the side ofnonviolence. For emphasis, hequoted the 20th century Frenchtheologian Paul Ricoeur,�Nonviolence forgets that history isagainst it.�

Although not a pacifist�evengiven Jesus� teaching�Marty is astaunch proponent of nonviolenceand the value of �less violence.� Heproposed an �unsentimental, self-critical approach� to nonviolence,one that combines a cautiouspatriotism with nonviolent witnessagainst the forces of Holy War (bothIslamic and U.S.-style crusades), andhe warned of the danger of religiouszealotry. He added that we shouldnot forget how violent the UnitedStates has been in its policies onslavery, Native Americans, and theSpanish-American War, just tomention a few. He quoted AbrahamLincoln saying that we should alsoappeal to the �better angels of ournature,� and not forget some of theself-interested altruism, such as theMarshal Plan, that the U.S. hasengaged in.

Professor Marty is primarily aneducator and it is not surprising thathe recommends education as apowerful tool to counteract violence,especially in regard to children. Henoted that his next major project is astudy of children, dealingparticularly with the question: wheredo good kids come from?; thepotential for good and evil inchildren; and how to promote good.

Effective education, he believes,does not come primarily fromdogmatic education or dogmatism,but from �exemplarity��a concepthe equates to a clearing in the woods.A clearing defines the woods; it iswhere light falls and wherecultivation can occur. In the sameway, in a nurturing socialenvironment (a clearing), parents,teachers and other nurturers candefine (shed light on) nonviolence,and through stories and socialinfluence cultivate a commitment toact non-violently.

Despite the nonviolent teachingof Jesus and other religiousluminaries, religion, he noted, hasfor the most part been ambiguoustoward violence. The statement iscommonly made that all wars have

been caused by religion. Althoughhe would deny this, Dr. Marty�srecent study of fundamentalismaround the globe (Christian, Jewish,Islamic, and Hindu), gave perhapssome credence to this myth. It istrue that religion has often allied itself with power and lost sight of itsloftier goals. However, religion isalso the most significant healer andsource of compassion and goodworks. Ghandi saw religion as bothhealer and killer. The temptation touse one�s beliefs to dehumanize,convict and destroy others who donot hold to similar beliefs has beenpresent through the ages. TheCrusades, Holy Wars, theInquisition, and colonialevangelization are but severalexamples. One can find examplesof warrior God in both the Koranand the books of Joshua and Judges,e.g., �kill the infidel� or �cut downthe Canaanites and posses theirland,� as well as visions ofnonviolence and admonitions tomake it �safe for the children to playin the streets.�

Dr Marty admonished hisaudience to not only move beyondviolence but to speak and preach

nonviolence, although that willalways entail a risk. Speaking andpreaching nonviolence always goesagainst the grain, as the examples ofJesus, Gandhi, Martin Luther King,Dorothy Day and others attest.

He was very critical of the presentadministration in a muted way, buthe did have some good things to sayabout politics generally. Althoughevery nation-state was born inviolence and rests on power, andpolitics does not save souls, politics,he said�the political process of giveand take, compromise, anddialogue�does minimize violence.He criticized the Bushadministration for neglecting the artof politics for the promotion of war.He stated that for all its limitations,the alternative to politics is chaos.

He lamented the events of 9/11but noted that on that day the UnitedStates descended from a �gadget-filled paradise suspended indomestic isolation to join a world ofinsecurity.� On that fateful day, wejoined the human race. If only, hesaid, we can learn the right lessonfrom those events. We are not onlythe new victims, but are a majorcause of the root problem.


Gambl ing � s Cos tsO v e r w h e l m A n y B e n e f i t s

Think gam bling w on't expand if w e allow a casino

in Om aha? Think again.

$358

$593

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Current: 3 CB casinos Proposed: Add 1 Om aha casino

A recent Om aha Cham ber of Com m erce study show s that one

average-size casino in Om aha w ill cause a 66% jum p in gam bler

losses to Om aha and Council Bluffs casinos.

Net Gambler Losses/ye

(in millions)


by Jonathan KrutzChair, Gambling with the Good Life

�Hello. I am a compulsive and problemgambler trying to recover. I was once asuccessful bank operations manager and ahappily married wife and mother. Because ofmy gambling I have lost my job, severelystrained my marriage, and neglected mychildren. I am also facing the chance that Iwill be going to prison and paying back moneythat I embezzled from my employer,� beginsa letter which came last January to Gamblingwith the Good Life, Nebraska�s grassrootsanti-gambling non-profit since 1995.

Nebraska�s bars, horsetracks, Keno parlors,and wanna-be slot machine distributorsrecently spent nearly a half a million dollarsto get 126,753 Nebraska voters (who

apparently didn�t notice that Council Bluffsraised property and sales taxes this year) tosign a constitutional amendment for �lowertaxes.� While their proposal could lead to100,000 or more video slot machines acrossNebraska (Council Bluffs has less than 5,000slots), petition promoters said little aboutgambling and even less about the costsassociated with the spread of gambling.

And the costs of gambling are high.There are solid economic and social reasons

to oppose gambling expansion of any kind inNebraska. There are compelling reasons to beparticularly concerned about the kind ofgambling expansion proposed in the �slots

across Nebraska� petition effort�which,thankfully, is currently tied up in court withsignificant legal problems. This articledocuments those reasons and encourages youto actively protect Nebraska�s constitutionalprohibition against continued attempts to bringin hard-core gambling.

EconomicsTwo significant economic problems will

accompany gambling expansion in Nebraska.First, gambling itself does not add value to aneconomy. Unlike Las Vegas, which pullsdollars from California, or the MashantucketPequot Indian casino which pulls dollars fromNew York City, money gambled in Nebraskawill be pulled almost exclusively from ourown economy. The more gambling expands

in Nebraska, the less will be spent inNebraska�s businesses.

Omaha experiences this already. �Thenumber of people who can get financed havereally dropped sharply since gambling cameto Council Bluffs,� said Omaha car dealerStan Olsen. Omaha grocer Ron Meredith saidhis business suffered an immediate 15 percentdrop in business. It hasn�t returned.

Putting a casino directly in Omaha wouldhurt as much as it helps. An Omaha casinowith 1,300 slot machines and 53 table games(which is an average size for a casino in theU.S.) would annually cost the non-Omahaeconomy in Nebraska $30 million in sales,

$7.6 million in wages and salaries, and 740jobs, while contributing only $33 million intaxes in the state, concluded CreightonUniversity Economics Professor Ernest Gossin an August, 2002 study released by theGreater Omaha Chamber of Commerce.Within Omaha, such a casino would shiftadditional jobs and revenues away from manyexisting businesses while greatly expandingthe amount gambled: add an Omaha casino tothose in Council Bluffs and another $235million in net gambling losses will be suckedup each year�a 66 percent jump�accordingto figures in the Goss study. That�s moneypulled mostly from current spending inOmaha-area businesses.

In the same way, rows of slot machines inevery Nebraska bar and restaurant�theproposal still alive in court but recentlyknocked of the November ballot�wouldundermine retail receipts across the state. Astudy in 1999 examined the taxable receiptsof comparable Iowa cities with and withoutcasinos. Cities with casinos saw taxablereceipts fall 4 percent. Cities without casinossaw taxable receipts grow by 17 percent.

Yes, some gambling losses get back intothe local economy in the form of such thingsas wages and supplies. The rest disappearsout of the economy to out-of-state gamblingmanagement firms and gambling equipmentmanufacturers, who are, naturally, anxious toget on with gambling expansion in Nebraskaas soon as possible.

In short, dollars lost to gambling inNebraska will be a drain on the Nebraskaeconomy. Gambling is anti-economicdevelopment.

The second�and bigger�economicproblem is that gambling expansionnecessarily means an increase in gamblingaddicts. And the cost of gambling addicts ishuge. With 14,143 slot machines confined to17 locations, �the government of Wisconsinand its local communities must spend$63,382,145 a year in additional social andcriminal justice costs because of behaviors ofits citizens that are associated with the presenceof casinos,� according to a February, 2002Wisconsin Policy Research Institute Report.That�s $63 million in additional costs�completely separate from the dollars flowingin and out of the slot machines�for thingslike increased criminal, law enforcement,legal, and incarceration costs; illness and lost

work productivity; money lost to theft andbad debt; etc. The Goss report concludes thatthe Omaha casino suggested above wouldcause Omaha crime rates to jump by 7.9percent. That�s not cheap.

Do the mathStudies commissioned by the State of Iowa

showed 3.7 percent more Iowans wereproblem gamblers in 1995 (after Indian casinosbut before the Council Bluffs riverboats) thanin 1989. In 1994, University of IllinoisProfessor John Kindt testified to Congressthat, of several studies that had measured theaverage annual societal cost of a problemgambler, the range fell between $13,200 and$52,000.

Three point seven percent of Nebraska�s1.2 million adults is over 40,000 people. Takethe lowest cost estimate, $13,200 per problemgambler, times 40,000 Nebraskans. The resultgives an idea of the staggering butunpublicized cost of gambling expansion inNebraska: $528 million. Cut it in half if youthink Council Bluffs� 5,000 slots have alreadydone half the damage that bringing gamblingdirectly into Nebraska might do. The resultstill overwhelms any benefits that gamblingexpansion can claim.

While the overall economic analysis hereis simple and brief, it underscores thestatement made in 1996 by 40 Nebraskaeconomists: �We, the undersigned Nebraskaeconomists, are opposed to the expansion ofgambling in Nebraska because the additionaldirect and indirect costs are likely to faroutweigh the additional direct and indirectbenefits for the state as a whole.�

Social ProblemsAs if the economic problems are not enough

to raise serious concerns about gambling, thesocial problems of gambling are devastating.Gambling is addictive. �Twenty percent ofthe customers account for 80 percent of thegambling industry�s earnings,� Time Magazinequoted Henry Lesieur, president of the Institutefor Problem Gambling in Pawtucket, RhodeIsland (11/17/97). �We know that 5 percent to6 percent of the total population are problemgamblers, and those 5 percent are spending30 percent to 40 percent of the money.� (Onceagain, do that math: if an Omaha casino causes


G am bling operations attract a sm all, addiction-prone sub-population— and drain them dry.(F igures from H enry L esieur, form er U niversity of Illinoisprofessor, president of the Institute for P roblem G am bling inP aw tucket,R I, T im e M agazine, 11/17/97.)

W here G am blin g D ollars C om e F rom

P ercent of netgam bling losses

P ercent ofP opulation

80%

30%

20%

5%

Gambling�s Costs, conclusiongambling losses to jump by $235 million,roughly one third of that will come fromproblem gamblers.) Addicts can�t stop;addiction destroys their lives�and the livesof those around them. The stories are endless: constant baby-left-in-car stories like Angela Lauber, jailed inJuly for leaving her three-week-old baby in acar in the sun on an 80-degree day while shegambled in Montana; numberless white-collarembezzlement stories like Martha Wittkowski,charged in February with stealing $231,000from Iowa Easter Seals where she was CEO;continual innocent-victim stories like WilliamHovan, 59, who, on three-and-a-half hours ofsleep in two days of gambling, drove a tourbus off the road in New York in July, killingfive people; and on and on and on.

The studies are clear. In the two yearsfollowing the introduction of slot machines inDeadwood, South Dakota, child abuse reportsrose 42 percent and domestic violence andassaults increased by 80 percent. A 1998survey of 12,000 Louisiana adolescents foundthat one quarter had illegally played videopoker. Twenty percent of compulsive gamblers

attempt suicide. A survey of Gambler�sAnonymous participants revealed that 34percent were fired or quit their jobs, 44 percenthad stolen from their employers, and 26percent were divorced or separated as a resultof gambling. �The negative financial andsociological impacts on family members,friends, and others, between seven andseventeen people per compulsive gambler,are enormous and must be borne by charities,social-welfare organizations, and federal, stateand local governments,� according to a 1994Drake Law Review article.

Nor do gambler assistance funds begin toaddress the problems. Participants at the 16thAnnual National Conference on ProblemGambling in Dallas last June heard that mostblacks do not seek treatment for gamblingproblems and that women with gamblingproblems find Gamblers Anonymous tooconfrontational and feel more suicidal afterattending. The head of Iowa�s gamblertreatment program recognizes that many whoneed help do not seek it, and estimates that atbest only a quarter of those who seek help

actually manage to kick their gambling habit,though relapses in that group are common.

Gambling�s social problems do notcharacterize the kind of positive growth weall would like to see for Nebraska. Expandinggambling will eat away at the fundamentalGood Life in Nebraska, which we havereceived from our parents and want to pass onto our children.

The Petition ProposalWhile any gambling expansion would come

at a large cost to Nebraska, it�s hard to imaginea worse expansion idea than putting a virtuallyunlimited number of video slots�the fastest,and therefore most addictive, form ofgambling�conveniently into the 3,000 barsand restaurants of Nebraska�s towns andneighborhoods.

The idea is so bad that the NationalGambling Impact Study Commission,appointed in 1997 by Congress and thepresident for a two-year investigation ofgambling in America, issued few more forcefulrecommendations than that states should�cease and roll back� such gambling. In 1999,as South Carolina was poised to voteoverwhelmingly (polls showed 60 percent infavor, 16 percent opposed) to throw out 34,000video slots, the state�s Supreme Court declaredthem all illegal. In Montana, a state with16,500 slot machines, most in bar andrestaurant �mini-casinos� such as have beenproposed for Nebraska, a December pollshowed 52 percent of registered voters favoredbanning all gambling, while only 33 percentwanted to keep it. Even the Public SectorGaming Study Commission, which �supportsefforts to replace illegal gambling withgambling that is publicly controlled,�conceded in a March, 2000, report that thereare �some forms of gambling, such as videopoker games, that may indeed pose significantproblems for the communities that allowthem.�

Why are video slots in neighborhoods sobad?

First, neighborhood slot machines drainthe neighborhood economies. No new moneyenters the local economy; instead,discretionary spending shifts away from localretailers to gambling. A 1998 Deloitte &Touche study commissioned by the State ofSouth Dakota�which has 8,000 conveniencegambling video slots�estimated that thestate�s economy would experience �a $105.4million spending injection into the economy�and add 640 jobs if the state had no videoslots. A similar result in Nebraska�s relativelylarger economy indicates that slots acrossNebraska would actually cost our economy$254.8 million and 1,547 jobs.

Second, as discussed earlier, gamblingaddicts are expensive. Neighborhood slotswill appeal to a different market segment thanthose willing to travel out of state to gamble.Slot machines in Nebraska�s bars andrestaurants won�t compete with the buffetsand entertainment provided by the CouncilBluffs casinos; instead, they will create awhole new group of neighborhood gamblingaddicts who will feed into Council Bluffs forbigger thrills once their local slots get themhooked, just as the spread of casinos acrossthe country has fed rather than hurt the casinosof Nevada. The idea that slot machines inNebraska�s neighborhoods would keepNebraskans out of Council Bluffs casinos isas unlikely as the idea that city parks keepNebraskans out of Adventureland or Worldsof Fun.

Not in our ConstitutionNot only is the concept of slots across

Nebraska a poor one, but the implementationof it in the language of the petition borders onaudacious. The proposed amendment wouldbe the Constitution�s sixth-longest article,adding nearly 10 percent to its length andenshrining video slots along with the basicfreedoms and civil rights of Nebraskans.Designed to be �local option,� the proposalwould pit community against community in arace to get slots in first and promote themhardest. Written by gambling promoters, itgives operators 50 percent of the proceeds(vs., for instance, 35 percent in Oregon), itdraws the initial oversight body exclusivelyfrom those promoting the slots, itconstitutionally prohibits legislativeadjustment over time, and it takes so manydeductions from the�50 percent communityshare� of the proceeds that if you put a quarterinto a slot, less than a penny will likely go fortax relief.

There are solid economic and social reasonsto be deeply concerned about any kind ofgambling expansion in Nebraska. Thosereasons and more apply in particular to theproposal to put video slots into the bars andrestaurants of Nebraska�s towns andneighborhoods.

Please join the coalition of hundreds ofprominent Nebraskans who have alreadysigned the GWGL �Statement of Solidarityagainst Gambling Expansion.� You�ll findthe statement, the coalition names, and moreinformation atwww.gamblingwiththegoodlife.com. Pleaseraise these issues in your civic groups, yourchurches, and your neighborhoods. Pleaseprovide your voice of reason when argumentsare made that tout the income side of thegambling financial sheet while pretending thatthe overwhelming expense side doesn�t exist..


by Mark Vasina

The Legislature�s failure to examine the state�sexpensive corporate tax break programs whilemaking deep cuts to education and socialservices is attracting notice. LB 775�the mostexpensive of these programs providing stateincome tax credits and state and local salestax refunds�cost the state treasury $129million in 2001 alone, a sum higher than the$127 million state revenue shortfall forFY2001. Lost local revenues are alsosubstantial. In 2001, LB 775 refunds of citysales taxes reduced city sales tax receipts by$18 million, or 9 percent of city sales taxreceipts statewide.

Lost tax revenues are �recovered� byincreasing taxes on others or by cuttingspending programs. Additional taxes paid by

other taxpayers are a subsidy paid tobusinesses participating in LB 775.

Largely hidden from public scrutiny areproperty tax exemptions provided for certainforms of personal property acquired for someof the larger LB 775 projects. Property taxesavoided are not counted against LB 775credits earned by businesses, and are thereforenot reported by the Department of Revenue.Under this provision of the law, businessesavoided $13 million in property taxes in 2001and $120 million since 1987. These amountsrepresent 8 percent of the total program cost

of LB 775�$160.5 million in 2001 and $1.42billion since program inception.

Local governments take a large hit for thislost property tax revenue, while propertytaxpayers absorb substantial shifts of the taxburden in districts where qualifying projectsare located. If LB 775 businesses paid taxeson their exemptpersonal property,value bases would behigher and tax rateslower. And otherproperty taxpayerswould pay fewertaxes.

Property taxsubsidies aredisproportionatelyimposed ong e o g r a p h i c a l l yselect groups oftaxpayers. In 2001,only 10 countiesaccounted for 92percent of propertytaxes avoided.Douglas County�sportion is 35 percent,but most of the restis in counties withethanol and grain processing facilities ormeatpacking and meat-processing plants.

Tax burden shifts for most localgovernment services falls on local taxpayers.However, the portion of the subsidy associatedwith property taxes for school systemoperating budgets (roughly 60percent of thetotal property tax subsidy) is shifted awayfrom local property taxpayers to taxpayers atthe state level, through state aid payments foreducation. Since the state aid formula providesaid on a sliding basis relative to a schoolsystem�s value base, state aid replaces mostschool system property taxes avoided by LB775 businesses. It is important to note that thisportion of state aid is subsidizing LB 775businesses, not local taxpayers in general.

Property taxpayer subsidies of LB 775businesses are highest in WashingtonCounty�where personal property valuationexempted under LB 775 (in other words, theLB 775 personal property subsidy rate) was15.2percent percent of the county value baselast year�followed by Platte (5.3percent),Dakota (4.0percent), Adams (3.8percent),

Saline (3.5percent) and Colfax (2.4percent).The subsidy rate in Douglas County last yearwas almost 1percent.

The greatest impact is on taxpayers residingnear qualifying projects in non-metropolitancounties. Colfax County taxpayers subsidizea meatpacking plant owned by Cargill

subsidiary Excel. The owner of a $50,000home in Schuyler (Colfax County�s largestcity) paid a total property tax subsidy to Excelof over $100 since 1992, the year the projectfirst qualified for property tax exemption. Theowner of a 160-acre tract of farmland with anassessable value of $1,600 per acre andlocated within Excel�s school system (19-0123) paid a total subsidy of over $500. Totalproperty taxes shifted from Excel to othertaxpayers in Colfax County since 1992 are$800,000, while the additional amount shiftedto taxpayers statewide (through state aid toeducation) is $1 million.

The tax burden of higher localinfrastructure costs associated with LB 775projects is shifted to other local taxpayers.Communities with meat-processing plants faceespecially daunting challenges, mostimportantly the explosion in schoolenrollments. In spite of state aid, LB 775 taxsubsidies result in more severe spendingconstraints for school districts at a time whenbudget needs are greater. The impact on the

LB 775 Property TaxSubsidy Rates (2001)

LB 775 SubsidyCOUNTY (Additional

Taxes Paid)

Washington 15.21%Platte 5.31%Dakota 3.96%Adams 3.81%Saline 3.51%Colfax 2.37%Douglas 0.93%Hall 0.51%Lancaster 0.08%

LB 775 Program Cost - Breakout by State & Local Costs 2001 1988-2001

State Income Tax Credits $43,246,720 27% $449,968,317 32%State Sales Tax Refunds 86,095,486 54% 714,981,100 50%

Program Cost - State $129,342,206 81% $1,164,949,417 82%

City Sales Tax Refunds 18,187,979 11% 137,401,320 10%Property Tax Avoided 12,966,488 8% 120,028,970 8%

Program Cost - Local $31,154,467 19% $257,430,290 18%

Total Program Cost $160,496,673 100% $1,422,379,707 100%

fate of school bond initiatives can bedisastrous, since school bond debt does notreceive state aid.

The Legislature can eliminate or reduce LB775 property tax subsidies or shift more ofthe local burden to taxpayers at the state level.Legislative options include (1) removing the

provision for property tax exemptions; (2)disallowing exemptions in particularlyegregious situations, such as for school bonds;or (3) requiring State General Fundreimbursement of local taxing authorities forall lost revenues, in the manner of state aidfor education. The state aid formula must alsobe preserved, since any adjustment to theformula which reduces state aid will shift theschool system portion of the property taxsubsidy back to local taxpayers.

Corportate tax incentive programs must beintrinsically fair to the taxpayers of the stateand the local communities affected. Costsassociated with perceived statewide benefitsshould not be borne by local taxpayers.Clearly, local benefits of such programs shouldexceed local costs. LB 775�s property taxexemptions substantially deny communities amajor local benefit (property tax baseenrichment), while imposing a new harm (taxburden shift to other local taxpayers). Is thistruly a result that informed taxpayers want?

THE HIDDEN PROPERTY TAX COST

OF LB 775


Two ObituariesWe often speak of the need for the influence of �grassroots� thinking as we search for new directions in oursocial, political and economic life. Such an influence was Weston H.B. Webb who died at his home in GrandIsland on June 5, 2002. Wes was born August 18, 1917 during the throes of World War I. He was born andraised and educated in the Oakland, California area, finishing his education at the University of California,Berkeley. His early career, including a short period in the Navy, was spent in California. In 1949, however, hemarried June Mott, a Quaker and relocated to Nebraska to farm, where he maintained a close connection withagriculture and the land until his retirement in 1979.

An avid reader and a keen student of history, Wes was naturally attuned to the social and political events ofthe day. He was one of the early movers in the founding and development of Nebraskans for Peace and, underthe auspices of a �Press Pass� issued by the local small town newspaper, The Polk Progress, attended theParis Peace Talks in 1971 to provide articulate and knowledgeable �on the ground� reports to Nebraskans onthe negotiations to end the Vietnam War.

That life-long desire to learn�and then to share that knowledge in the hope of creating change�also tookhim to the Soviet Union (twice) and to Nicaragua with the Witness for Peace Program during the Contra Warsof the �80s. Throughout his years in Nebraska, he and June sustained a close affinity with the Quakers in theirhome church at Central City Friends Meeting. Artist and farmer, family man and man of peace, Weston Webbwas an uncommon person in many ways, sharing the everyday events of life with all of us in his community.And, in many ways, his community reached around our world. � Neil Mesner

Gerald Henderson, who served on the NFP State Board of Directors continuously for the better part of the lastdecade, died this past September 15 from complications of a stroke suffered just days before. Born to one ofthe few black families in Stromsburg, Nebraska in 1928, Jerry went on to become Lincoln�s first director of theHuman Rights Commission and a leading figure in the civil rights movement in the state.

As the only African-American student in his graduating class at Grand Island High School and a �lump ofcoal in a sea of snow� during his college days at Nebraska Wesleyan University in the �50s, he often said he�dexperienced the effects of discrimination firsthand. He was an early advocate of the Civil Rights movement,but it was his participation in the 1963 March on Washington, he later said, that served as the �highlight andrevelation that justice in America could be a reality.�

That commitment to justice led him to Selma, Alabama, where he worked on organizing voter registration.From there he went on to study law at both the University of Nebraska and the Antioch School of Civil RightsLaw. Ultimately, though, his desire to work hands-on for social change led him to join the staffs of Lincoln�sMalone Community Center and the Lincoln Action Program. Then, in 1968, he was selected as the director ofthe Human Rights Commission, a post he held until his retirement in 1994. As the commission�s first director,he will perhaps be best remembered for his efforts to stop housing segregation in Nebraska�s Capital.

Retirement, however, did not slow his community involvement. In addition to Nebraskans for Peace, heremained active with the NAACP, ACLU-Nebraska, Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination, the UnitedNations Association, Newman United Methodist Church and of course the Malone Center. His talents and hisgood will shall be sorely missed by those of us who survive him.

myself as a law-abiding person, and also one who takesresponsibility for her actions. Therefore, I would like toexplain to the court that I took this illegal action with a greatdeal of forethought. My act of drinking beer on the governor�sfront lawn was an act of political speech designed to underscorethe lack of enforcement of liquor law violations that occurdaily in Whiteclay, Nebraska, a town of 14 people in whichfour off-sale dealers sell over 11,000 cans of beer a day, whenthere is no legal place for the beer to be consumed.

For years, Nebraskans for Peace and the leaders of the PineRidge Indian Reservation have appealed to the NebraskaLiquor Control Commission, the Nebraska State Patrol, theSheridan County Sheriff�s Department, the governor andeven the Nebraska Unicameral to enforce the liquor laws inWhiteclay. There has been no effective action or improvementof the situation there.

In the course of my research on this issue, I have visitedWhiteclay and have seen firsthand scores of empty beer cansin the public streets and displays of public drunkenness. Still,there are few citations issued and no consequences for theestablishments that knowingly and repeatedly violate liquorlaws.

It is right that I should be held responsible for my violationof state liquor law. However, convicting me and fining metoday for this violation also constitutes a double standardwithin our system of justice, an unequal application of thelaw. I ask, through my action, that the liquor laws be enforcedwhether they are violated in Lincoln or Whiteclay. I am stillwaiting for the State of Nebraska to uphold the law uniformlyand without prejudice in Whiteclay.

Ron Marquart: I regret I had to resort to civil disobedienceto get the attention of our State officials to point out theinequitable inforcement of the law resulting in a tragic situationat Whiteclay.�

Byron Peterson: I drank on the Governor�s lawn to callattention to the fact that the State continues to fail in itsresponsibility to provide equal protection under the law to thepatrons of Whiteclay.

Sarah Wiese: Hopefully, our acts of civil disobediencewill be a catalyst for people to start learning about the problemof Whiteclay, and for those who know about the problem tobecome active.

Carol McShane: Civil disobedience has an honorablehistory in the evolution of law in this country. One commitscivil disobedience as a last resort when other avenues havefailed to bring about the enforcement of just laws. As the Rev.Desmond Tutu has said: the first action necessary to establisha healthy and prosperous community is the enforcement ofjust laws. Some say that the situation in Whiteclay, Nebraskais hopeless. I say that when people from another segment ofthe human community sacrifice in order to highlight injustice,there is hope. Our action in civil disobedience is an act ofhope for people who live where just laws are not enforced.

After the trial a reporter asked, �What�s next in theWhiteclay struggle?� The Legislature�s Interim Study Hearingon October 8 Rushville is intended to gather facts concerningthe situation there. November 5 tribal elections will be heldon the Pine Ridge Reservation. And next January, we haveevery intention of introducing more legislation. We willpersist. We will not give up on this population. There are overa thousand members of Nebraskans for Peace in the state. Ifnecessary, more will commit civil disobedience. Equalprotection under the law is a principle worth fighting for,again and again.

Guilty, conclusion

Kevin Tuininga, a Canadian import from rural Alberta, was fresh out of college when he found ouradvertisement for an NFP Omaha Coordinator in the Omaha World-Herald want-ads two years ago. Heinterviewed for the job and collectively swept us off our feet. Nebraskans for Peace had never had a Canadianbefore. But based on this experience, we�ll want more. Combining a marvelous knack for the social graceswith a good head for organizing, Kevin spent the next two years working on a whole host of social andeconomic justice issues in Omaha� On death penalty abolition with Omaha Chapter President MarylynFelion� On Gay and Lesbian human rights legislation with Virginia Walsh� On Fair Trade issues andsupport for meatpacking workers with our friends in Organized Labor� And, of course, on opposing the �Waron Terrorism� and the War in Afghanistan. Besides organizing anti-war public protests and educationalefforts, he coordinated the 2002 Annual Peace Conference with peace educator Colman McCarthy, whichdrew over 300 people and our largest crowd in 20 years. Oh, we were happy. We�d had Omaha Coordinatorsthis good, but never one better.

Alas, it was not to last. This past June, Kevin announced that he was tendering his resignation to return toschool. He missed the academic environment, he told us, and yearned to pursue a post-graduate degree. Sonearly two years to the day after he�d started for NFP, he ended his tenure with us. Teaching someday at thecollege level, he says, has its appeal, and smart and good as he is, he�d be grand at it. So with a moist eye,we wish him the best, and shall content ourselves with having been able to know him as long as we did. It�sa big country, Canada, and maybe somewhere in the wilds of Saskatchewan or the suburbs of Toronto, we�llbe lucky enough to meet another just like him.

... and a departure


Contact CongressSen. Chuck Hagel346 Senate Russell Office Bldg.Washington, DC 20510202-224-4224202-224-5213 (FAX)402-476-1400 (Lincoln)402-758-8981 (Omaha)308-632-6032 (Scottsbluff)

Sen. Ben NelsonDirksen Senate Office Bldg.Room B40-5Washington, D.C. 20510202-224-6551202-228-0012 (FAX)402-391-3411 (Omaha)402-441-4600 (Lincoln)[email protected]

Rep. Doug Bereuter1st Congressional District2184 Rayburn BuildingWashington, DC 20510202-225-4806202-225-5686 (FAX)402-438-1598 (Lincoln)402-727-0888 (Fremont)

Rep. Lee Terry1728 Longworth HOBWashington, DC 20515202-225-4155202-226-5452 (FAX)402-397-9944 (Omaha)

Rep. Tom Osborne507 Cannon HOBWashington, DC 20515202-225-6435202-226-1385 (FAX)308-381-5555 (Grand Island)308-632-3333 (Scottsbluff)

Capitol Hill Switchboard202-224-3121

President George W. BushThe White HouseWashington, DC 20500202-456-1111

Capitol ContactsState Senator, District #State CapitolPO Box 94604Lincoln, NE 68509-4604

State Capitol Switchboard402-471-2311

Governor Mike JohannsPO Box 94848Lincoln, NE 68509-4848402-471-2244402-471-6031 (FAX)

SUITE 110US BANK BUILDING

100 NORTH 56TH STREET

LINCOLN, NEBRASKA 68504

CARLTON B. PAINE, Ph.D.CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST

TELEPHONE:402-466-4668

Nebraska Report Advertising RatesFull page: ............$2001/4 page: ...............$50

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10% discount to NFP Members. Copy must be camera-ready. We reserve theright to refuse advertising not in keeping with the goals and purposes of NFP.

Dr. HelenDr. HelenDr. HelenDr. HelenDr. HelenCaldicottCaldicottCaldicottCaldicottCaldicott

The 2003 Cat LoversAgainst the Bomb Calendar

Significant Dates for Cats and Peace PeoplePhotographs � Quotes � Moon Phases

Until Nov. 1, only $6.95 plus $1.30 shipping & handling. In Nebraska, add local sales tax.($7.95 after Nov. 1) � Special bulk deal: 10 calendars for $50 (we pay shipping!)

CAT LOVERS AGAINST THE BOMB C/O Nebraskans for Peace941 �O� Street, Suite 1026 � Lincoln, NE 68508

phone 402-475-4620 � email [email protected] our website at www.catloversagainstthebomb.org

will be the keynotewill be the keynotewill be the keynotewill be the keynotewill be the keynotespeaker at the 2003speaker at the 2003speaker at the 2003speaker at the 2003speaker at the 2003

Annual Peace ConferenceAnnual Peace ConferenceAnnual Peace ConferenceAnnual Peace ConferenceAnnual Peace ConferenceFebruary 15 in LincolnFebruary 15 in LincolnFebruary 15 in LincolnFebruary 15 in LincolnFebruary 15 in Lincoln

Mark Your Calendars!Mark Your Calendars!Mark Your Calendars!Mark Your Calendars!Mark Your Calendars!

JULY/AUGUST 2002 NEBRASKA REPORT, P.12 JULY/AUGUST 2002 NEBRASKA REPORT, P.12

From the Bottom From the Bottom From the Bottom From the Bottom From the Bottom by Sally Herby Sally Herby Sally Herby Sally Herby Sally HerrinrinrinrinrinThe real political spectrThe real political spectrThe real political spectrThe real political spectrThe real political spectrum isnum isnum isnum isnum isn�t right to lef�t right to lef�t right to lef�t right to lef�t right to left�it�s top to bottom.t�it�s top to bottom.t�it�s top to bottom.t�it�s top to bottom.t�it�s top to bottom.

Dick Cheney�s Drumbeat for War

BULLETIN BOARDOffice Hours for the Nebraskans for Peace State Office inLincoln, at 941 �O� Street, Suite 1026, are 10:00 a.m. to2:00 p.m., weekdays, except holidays.

To list an event in the CALENDAR, submit in writing by thetenth of the month preceding the event. Mail to Nebraskansfor Peace � Calendar, 941 �O� Street, Suite 1026, Lincoln,NE 68508. E-mail: [email protected]. Announcementspublished on a space available basis.

October 24 United Nations Day

October 26 National March on Washington, D.C. to �Stop the War on Iraq BEFORE IT STARTS.� NFPis working to organize a busload from Nebraska. Toparticipate or to provide financial support, call theNFP State Office at 402-475-4620 for details.

November 5 Election Day

Why is Dick Cheney pushing George Bushto go to war in Iraq? Granted, Cheney is notalone. Condoleeza Rice and DonaldRumsfeld are singing back up.

But it was Cheney�s speech in late Augustat a V.F.W. in Nashville, Tennessee, whichopened the administration�s war on Iraq.According to the New York Times, Cheney�spoke so disparagingly of past UnitedNations weapons inspections that he left theimpression the administration would not goanywhere near that route, or the UnitedNations, ever again.�

There is mixed support in Congress forthis war. There is virtually no support fromU.S. allies around the world. There is noU.S. federal budget surplus to pay for such awar, nor to rebuild post-war Iraq.Nevertheless, Iraq has been sufficientlyimpressed by such fierce saber rattling, thatit has agreed to all existing conditions forweapons inspection by the United Nations,�without condition.� Russia, China andFrance, all with veto power on the UNSecurity Council, were quick to recognizeIraq�s policy shift.

Still the Bush administration pursues itsdemands for �regimechange,� withCheney as chiefcheerleader forunilateral actionon the part ofP r e s i d e n tBush. Do

these guys really think they can, and moreimportant should, carry this off? Has theabsolute power of being the last big dogstanding gone completely to their heads andcorrupted these stone Cold Warriorsabsolutely?

Maybe. Or maybe a good deal of thiswhole dust-up is just that�dust in the eyesand ears of the voters, with an eye to thecoming election. Maybe the administrationhas issues they�d rather not debate. Maybethey are counting on the sound and fury ofnational and international debate over warto drown those other issues out.

Cheney energy industry cronies amongBush administration appointees appear tobe in trouble in the corporate accountingscandals. (Cheney has refused to complywith a court order to release records of thetask force that advised him on theadministration�s energy policy; a recent WallStreet Journal article confirms that marketmanipulation by energy companies�thesame that likely wrote Cheney�s plan�waskey in causing California�s energy crisis.)Recently, Secretary of the Army ThomasWhite has attracted attention for his role inhiding Enron�s financial condition before itsbust. White is reported (NYT, 9/17/2002) tohave written in an e-mail, �Close a biggerdeal. Hide the loss before the 1Q [firstquarter].� Bush Budget Director MitchDaniels has just been named in ashareholders� lawsuit against utility holdingcompany IPALCO. The suit names Daniels

as part of a group of executives that misledinvestors, who lost millions of dollars whenIPALCO was sold.

Cheney�s own problems with Halliburtonare growing. Since midsummer, federalregulators have been investigatingHalliburton�s accounting for cost overrunswhen Cheney was CEO. Recent NYT storiesreport that while Halliburton �sold a division,then declared its employees had �resigned,�allowing it to confiscate their pensions,�Cheney was given a special sweetheartpackage at his �retirement� at a cost toHalliburton of $8.5 million. And recent class-action suits over asbestos contaminationhave exposed Halliburton to enormousfinancial liabilities through purchase of acompany during Cheney�s tenure�liabilitiesCheney may have known were likely tooccur, according to National Public Radio.

More pressing than the administration�spersonal embarrassments is the economy.The Dow is at a four-year low. Poverty is upin America, for the first time in eight years,middle income households lost income forthe first time in a decade, and the gap betweenrich and poor continues to grow. Accordingto the Census Bureau, the number of poorAmericans rose last year to 32.9 million, anincrease of 1.3 million, while the proportionliving in poverty rose to 11.7 percent, from11.3 percent in 2000. Meanwhile, the richest20 percent of the U.S. population receivedhalf of all household income last year, upfrom 45 percent in 1985. The poorest 20

percent received 3.5 percent of totalhousehold income, down from 4 percent in1985.

Perhaps most chilling for Bush andCheney, increases in poverty last year werein the suburbs, in the South and among non-Hispanic whites. Newly impoverished swingvoters facing repo men and eight-for-a-dollarmacaroni dinners could spell Republican lossof the House of Representatives

As Cheney himself pointed out in a CNNinterview, Iraq has 10 percent of known worldoil reserves. The Bush administrationbelieves, with good reason, that a �regimechange� in Iraq would bring down the priceof crude oil. Any government that replacesthe current regime in Baghdad will reasonablywant to release oil reserves and use the moneyto rebuild Iraq. That is exactly why OPECnations, however nervously, prefer to tolerateSaddam Hussein�because his standoff withthe U.S. means most Iraqi oil stays off themarket and prices stay up. Still, with the U.S.economy in recession and no clear light atthe end of the tunnel, lower oil prices couldprovide smoke and mirrors for anadministration with no other economic goodnews to offer.

War is where the cynical and theshortsighted go for a quick fix to deepeconomic problems. Look what a lot of goodwar did for the German economies. Thenthere was Vietnam. Of course, it all gets paidfor by working people in the end, and foreignwars always, but always, come home to roost.

october 2002 nebraska report - nebraskans for...

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