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> > > Dot's Information Service Hotline > "Unbossed and unbought news and information you can use" > Visit The DISH online at www.thedish.org > Vol. 9 No 42...Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race > ******************************************************** > > > > Table of Contents > > > > 1. Intuit's Vibe...The Quadroon Girl ...Henry Wadsworth Longfellow > (1807-1882) > 2. Disgruntled > 3. Bit of History...James Marion Sims (1813-1883) > 4. Venue for an Artist...Pharmaceutical Tests... By Tonyaa Weathersbee > 5. News You Use...Poets 4 Political Prisoners > 6. Hood Notes...Economic Reality > 7. Mailbox > > > > ****************************************** > > > > Intuit's Vibe > The Quadroon Girl > Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) > > > > The Slaver in the broad lagoon > Lay moored with idle sail; > He waited for the rising moon, > And for the evening gale. > > > > Under the shore his boat was tied, > And all her listless crew > Watched the gray alligator slide > Into the still bayou. > > > > Odors of orange-flowers, and spice, > Reached them from time to time, > Like airs that breathe from Paradise > Upon a world of crime. > > > > The Planter, under his roof of thatch, > Smoked thoughtfully and slow; > The Slaver's thumb was on the latch, > He seemed in haste to go. > > > > He said, "My ship at anchor rides > In yonder broad lagoon; > I only wait the evening tides, > And the rising of the moon. > > > > Before them, with her face upraised, > In timid attitude, > Like one half curious, half amazed, > A Quadroon maiden stood. > > > > Her eyes were large, and full of light, > Her arms and neck were bare; > No garment she wore save a kirtle bright, > And her own long, raven hair. > > > > And on her lips there played a smile > As holy, meek, and faint, > As lights in some cathedral aisle > The features of a saint. > > > > "The soil is barren,--the farm is old"; > The thoughtful planter said; > Then looked upon the Slaver's gold, > And then upon the maid. > > > > His heart within him was at strife > With such accursed gains: > For he knew whose passions gave her life, > Whose blood ran in her veins. > > > > But the voice of nature was too weak; > He took the glittering gold! > Then pale as death grew the maiden's cheek, > Her hands as icy cold. > > > > The Slaver led her from the door, > He led her by the hand, > To be his slave and paramour > In a strange and distant land! > > > > > > > > Disgruntled feels: At long last, the truth emerges. There is no > compassionate conservative and that faith-based propaganda is a devious > ploy to get evangelicals to the polls to vote for Republicans. Classic > Karl Rove psychological manipulation, it is the kind of fraud lobbyist > Jack Abramoff and Ralph Reed used on Native Americans that wanted to get > and keep casinos. The neo-conservative junta, which runs the Bush > administration, sees religion as a sedative for the masses, liberally used > to lull sheep asleep while it acquires and maintains power. Of course, > clever neo-cons call those so easily manipulated unflattering names, such > as goofy and nuts, as David Kuo claims in his new book, "Tempting Faith: > An Inside Story of Political Seduction." It is a case of the faithless > fooling the faithful. > > > > Disgruntled says: Contrary to urban legend, the 13th Amendment to the US > Constitution did not abolish slavery. The word ‘slavery' appears for the > first time in this amendment. The 13th and subsequent amendments neither > specifically repealed the 3/5 Compromise (Article 1, Section 2) nor > abolished its racist institutions, which include the Electoral College. > The legal foundation of US slavery remains intact. The 13th Amendment > merely identifies the circumstance under which US citizens may be held in > bondage (imprisoned) for committing a crime. It says nothing about the > political and economic slavery codified in Article 1 Section 2. > > > > Disgruntled wants to know: Inside the Beltway, the air is blue with much > ado about former US Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) and his inappropriate contact > with underage male pages. The fallout has GOP gays acrimonious. Will > there be another bombshell like a prominent member of government leaving > the closet and pointing fingers at those still hiding? > > > > > > > > Bit of History > James Marion Sims (1813-1883) > > > > "I knew nothing about medicine, but I had sense enough to see that doctors > were killing their patients; that medicine was not an exact science; that > it was wholly empirical, and that it would be better to trust entirely to > Nature than to the hazardous skills of the doctors." -- James Marion Sims > > > > Born on January 25, 1813 in Lancaster County South Carolina, James Marion > Sims attended Columbia College, present-day University of South Carolina, > where he received a BA (1832). In November 1933, Sims left Charleston > Medical College and attended Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia; he > graduated in 1835 and began his medical practice as a physician, although > he soon changed to the study of surgery. > > > > In May of 1835, equipped with some surgical instruments and an > eight-volume medical text, Sims returned to Lancaster eager to practice > medicine. He had no clinical experience, logged no actual hospital time > and no experience diagnosing illnesses. In October of 1835, immediately > after the deaths of two infants in his care, Sims moved to Mt. Meigs, > Alabama, where he apprenticed under two doctors that were especially adept > at killing patients. > > > > Willing to break down cultural barriers in his pursuit of treatments for > female disorders, Dr. Sims became the first physician to actually view the > genitalia of his female patients. Between 1845 and 1849, he conducted a > series of experimental gynecological operations on countless enslaved > African women. Many died from infection and suffered addiction to the > drugs Sims used to silence their moans and groans and minimize movement > following surgical procedures performed without the benefit of anesthesia. > > > > Sims' techniques and instruments changed women's reproductive healthcare. > Sims is credited with developing the first prototype for the speculum, > which is used to expand the walls of the vagina. He discovered the > knee-chest position and a surgical remedy for vesico-vaginal fistulas or > vaginal tears, a prevalent condition among enslaved women. > > > > In 1853, Dr. Sims moved to New York City, where he founded the first > hospital in the USA dedicated to gynecology. Committed to the morality of > owning slaves and a strong ally to the South, Sims evaded the issue of > slavery and race and never admitted publicly that he experimented on > slaves. Beginning in 1861, Dr. Sims traveled extensively in Europe. His > patients included Empress Eugenie of France, wife of Napoleon III, > Scotland's Duchess of Hamilton, and the Empress of Austria. > > > > While he faithfully sent money to support the Confederacy, Sims never > returned to the south. He returned to the US in 1868 and took the position > of Chief Consulting Surgeon to the Women's Hospital in New York. He > resigned (1874) when the Board of Lady Managers refused to admit women > suffering from uterine cancer. > > > > From 1875 to 1876, Sims served as president of the American Medical > Association, then as president of the American Gynecological Society > (1880). In 1881, Dr. Sims was called on to administer surgical treatment > to President James A. Garfield after he was shot. > > > > Sims died in New York City on November 13, 1883. Widely honored in his > native state, a monument dedicated to James Marion Sims-- "The Father of > Gynecology"-- occupies the northwest corner of the statehouse grounds in > Columbia, South Carolina. Renowned in New York City, Dr. Sims is honored > with a statue in Bryant Park. His autobiography, The Story of My Life, was > published posthumously (1884). (Sources: http://jeffline.tju.edu/, > www.healthcarehof.org/honorees98/sims.html, > www.coax.net/people/lwf/jm_sims.htm and www.seedshow.com/jmsims.htm) > > > > > > > > Venue for an Artist > Pharmaceutical Tests on Prison Population Another Form of Modern-Day > Slavery? > By Tonyaa Weathersbee > > > > Around Alabama, South Carolina, and even in New York City, you'll find > statues of J. Marion Sims. What you won't find are statues or, for that > matter, many mentions of Anarcha. > > > > Back in the mid-to-late 1800s, Sims performed at least 30 experiments on > Anarcha, a slave woman, in a quest for a way to treat a 19th century > childbirth complication that caused many women to leak urine from their > vaginas after developing connections between it and their bladder. > > > > Sims developed a treatment for the painful and embarrassing ailment that > still afflicts many Third World women; he built his legacy off of the pain > of slaves like Anarcha. Women like her endured the experiments with no > anesthesia. People like Sims believed that black people's pain and > anonymity were merely part of the landscape of privilege to which whites > believed they were entitled. > > > > A disproportionately-black population could be reduced to guinea pigs. > Recently, a federal panel recommended that the government lighten up on > regulations that restrict prison inmates from being used as subjects in > pharmaceutical tests. > > > > According to The New York Times, such testing all but ended more than > three decades ago, after some prisoners were exposed to dangerous > substances such as dioxin. Leodus Jones, a former inmate at Philadelphia's > Holmesburg prison in the 1960s, told the Times that lotion tests caused > him to develop rashes, and his skin to change color. > > > > We don't need to go down that road again. Now, I understand that it's > tough to make medical progress without some human experimentation. There's > also a possibility that some of the inmates who participate in the > pharmaceutical tests might wind up helping companies find cures for > ailments that disproportionately dog black people. > > > > Though black inmates are not slaves as Anarcha, when it comes to such > experimentation, being in prison makes them vulnerable to becoming slaves > to coercion and their own desperation. > > > > One of the reasons that drug companies are looking to test more on > prisoners now is because many of them haven't been able to get large > enough populations of non-inmates to test on. That's one of the reasons > why Vioxx was pulled from the market. Proponents argue that with greater > oversight, the possibility for abuse will be minimal. > > > > Oversight in prisons never works as well as people intend it to. On top of > that, pharmaceutical companies tend to be driven more by profits than by > principle -- and we all know that when the drive to make money kicks in, > those who fuel the engines for that drive are ridden to the core. > > > > There's also another reason why I hate this. The United States now is the > world's biggest jailer, thanks to lopsided numbers of black men being > imprisoned for crimes that could be prevented if this country had the will > to revitalize their communities economically. Many of the black men in > prison are there because of crimes related to the crack cocaine trade -- a > trade that has moved into black communities as jobs and amenities have > moved out. > > > > Once again, this country can't seem to find any use for black men until > they are confined. When they are on the outside, they are pushed out of > jobs and education, and out of all the things that could help them avoid a > life of crime, but once incarcerated, their worth increases. > > > > They become valuable to prison corporations that capitalize on their > pathology to create prison jobs for rural whites. They become valuable to > prison industries, where they work for meager wages in jobs that either > don't exist on the outside, or no one will hire them to do. > > > > And now, they're becoming valuable to medical research and to > pharmaceutical companies -- companies whose drugs they or their relatives > probably wouldn't be able to afford without planning to eat oatmeal for a > week. > > > > Yet, it's not surprising that someone would get around to finding another > reason to exploit this modern-day slavery -- the slavery of mass > incarceration. And while some prisoners might wind up helping a company or > scientist make history by hiring their bodies out to test a treatment for > a certain sickness, chances are no one will ever care about the societal > and economic ills that led to their imprisonment. > > > > Nor, like Anarcha, will people even see their names. > > > > > About Me: An award-winning columnist for the Florida Times-Union who has > appeared on Nightline and BET Tonight, Weathersbee's insightful > commentaries have been published in the Houston Chronicle, Baltimore Sun > and Kansas City Star. Read this and other essays at > www.blackamericaweb.com. > > > > > News You Use > Poets 4 Political Prisoners > > > > Poets 4 Political Prisoners was launched to educate the masses about the > plight of US political prisoners. Through poetry and hip-hop, the group > highlights these freedom fighters and activists and serves as a support > mechanism for them through the creation and dissemination of materials, > such as CD's and newspapers. Funds from the sale of these products help > defray legal expenses and commissary. > > > > The 16-city Poets 4 Political Prisoner Tour kicks off October 28, 2006 in > Atlanta, GA. Past participants included Dusks Daughters, Amir Sulaiman, > Fred Hampton Jr., Mukasa Dada, Bilal Sunni-Ali, Queen Sheba, Kazi Ture, > Askia Toure, Black Out Arts Collective and a number of Def Poets. Contact > [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit www.Ftpmovement.tk for more > information. > > > > > > > > Hood Notes > Economic Reality > > > > In recent speeches, George Bush talked about the "healthy" economy with > its low unemployment rate, decline in projected deficit, gross domestic > product growth and the role of his tax cuts in keeping the economic engine > humming. According to most mainstream media, the economy is not a > negative for Republicans running on the Bush economic record. In fact, > they treat it like a non-issue. There is one voice, however, in > mainstream media that has consistently reported on a counter economic > reality. That voice belongs to Lou Dobbs. > > > > In War On the Middle Class, the anchor and managing editor of CNN's Lou > Dobbs Tonight writes about the stuff of his nightly reports on the > economic war-front in middle America. Dobbs deals with illegal > immigration and broken borders, outsourcing of jobs, the failed healthcare > and education systems and the undue influence of lobbyists on Congress. > Dobbs believes both parties have failed to represent and serve the > nation's middle class. Given the government's abyssal performance, > imagine how the poor fared with it glass half empty perspective. > > > > At the bottom of the economic ladder, the US economy is far from > "healthy." According to the US Census Bureau, the number of children > living in poverty increased in 2005. The low 4.7% national unemployment > rate means double digit joblessness for the young and black. Most > households rely on income from wages and salaries. Income from work as a > share of national income is shrinking. Median family incomes of whites > and blacks were $56,700 and $35,158, respectively, for a ratio of .62 in > 2004. Historically, the black to white income ratio has fluctuated > between .5 and .65. This is empirical evidence of the 3/5 Compromise, > the invisible hand that insures unequal outcomes for blacks and whites in > the US. > > > > Given this stable relationship, when conditions for the middle class are > spoken of in war terms, then rest assured conditions are proportionately > worse for those at the lower end of the economic class structure, > especially black Americans. That is an economic reality Lou Dobbs might > want to address in his next Emmy award-winning series. > > > > > > > > Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes and Telephone Calls > > > > > > Email www.salon.com The real menace to American kids...By Bill Maher...If > you think the worst thing Congress doesn't protect young people from is > Mark Foley, wake up and smell the burning planet. The ice caps are > cracking, and we're losing two species an hour. The birds have bird flu, > the cows have mad cow, and our poisoned groundwater has turned spinach > into a side dish of mass destruction. Our schools are shooting > galleries....There are a lot of creepy middle-aged men lusting for your > kids. They work for MTV, the pharmaceutical industry, McDonald's, Marlboro > and K Street. Recently, there's been a rash of strangers making their way > onto school campuses and targeting our children for death. They're called > military recruiters. > > > > Email [EMAIL PROTECTED] The Defense Department will resume mandatory > anthrax inoculations for service members and civilians deploying to U.S. > Central Command and Korea, DoD officials said today. A small number of > service members assigned to homeland defense units will also receive the > [deadly] shots. > > > > > ********************************************* > For comments or to unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ********************************************* > > Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! 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