E-Actions for Freedom

ALERT: Please Write Today to Save Steve Kubby's Life

From Michele Kubby and MAP:

STEVE'S HEALTH IS DETERIORATING -- YOUR HELP IS URGENTLY NEEDED!

*********************PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE*************************

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #282 Wed, 10 Dec 2003

Monday, upon hearing the news that Canada had denied Steve Kubby's refugee
application, we wrote:

It is with great sadness that we at MAP read of this incomprehensible
decision. Steve Kubby has been an active MAP supporter since it's early
days. The fact is, without question, that if Steve Kubby is sent back to
California he will most likely be jailed. When he was originally jailed in
California, and again when he was jailed once in Canada, he came very
close, within hours, of death. Local California officials have stated,
repeatedly, that he will be denied his life saving medicine, which he now
grows with the approval of Health Canada, when he is jailed.

Today we received the following message. As Michele Kubby asks, please
write letters to the editors of the listed papers as soon as possible.
Thank you!

Dear friends,

I'm very concerned that the continual harassment by government officials is
killing my husband. This entire Refugee process has put Steve's health
into a terrifying tailspin.

Yesterday, I was shocked to see Steve so sick that he could barely walk.
When he did walk, he had great difficulty with his balance. He is
suffering from extremely elevated high blood pressures. He is nauseous,
has diarrhea, he's weak, shaky, has difficulty urinating from kidney damage
and soaking his sheets from night sweats.

All of this is the direct result of the Refugee Protection Board
Ajudicator, Pauhla Dauns' dishonest, shameful and cowardly decision. She
denies that returning Steve to the States will cause him harm, but her very
decision has put his life at risk.

It wasn't easy for Dr. Connors to find the time or the courage to testify
on Steve's behalf, but he did it because he clearly feels, as we all do,
that Steve's life is at risk. Dr. Connors explained in very graphic
frightening details how my husband is a walking time bomb.

For the first time in my marriage with Steve I am truly frightened about
his welfare. He's still struggling from the radiation he subjected himself
to to prove that there are no other therapies but cannabis. Steve has
never hurt a fly. It's always the government that accuses him of criminal
behavior. This woman, Pauhla Dauns is a criminal for putting my husband's
life in danger.

Steve saw by the third day of our hearings, in March, that Pauhla Dauns and
the Refugee Protection Officer were dyed in the wool prohibitionists and
could never provide a fair hearing. This is in the transcripts. However,
when Steve officially objected and asked for a new hearing with the full
Refugee Board, as is his right, Pauhla Dauns assured him that she would
look solely at the facts. Now with this decision, we know that Ms. Dauns
deliberately excluded key evidence and testimony or completely
misrepresented testimony by Dr. Connors and Judge James Gray.

This is murder, happening before our eyes, and I need your help now. I
know that with cannabis and some peace, Steve can recover, but not with
this continual and criminal harassment by government officials.

I beg you, please write a letter today to any of the major newspapers that
have published articles about this decision and help us expose this murder
in progress. Please, I don't want my husband to become another Peter
McWilliams, but that is exactly what is going to happen if we don't act
together as a community to help one of our own.

Gratefully,

Michele Kubby

**********************************************************************

Below is a list of newspapers for which we have verified that the linked
article was in print (not just posted to their website as part of their
news feeds), along with the contact for sending letters to the editor:

Canada No Pot Haven, Refugee Ruling Shows

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1895/a04.html

Pubdate: Tue, 09 Dec 2003

Source: Globe and Mail (Canada) Page: A14

Contact: letters@globeandmail.ca

***

Medical Marijuana Activist Loses Bid for Refugee Status

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1895/a03.html

Pubdate: Tue, 09 Dec 2003

Source: Province, The (CN BC)

Contact: provletters@png.canwest.com

***

Pot User's Refugee Bid Is Rejected

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1894/a09.html

Pubdate: Tue, 09 Dec 2003

Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)

Contact: letters@latimes.com

***

Canada Rejects Medical Pot Asylum

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1895/a01.html

Pubdate: Tue, 09 Dec 2003

Source: Press Democrat, The (CA)

Contact: letters@pressdemo.com

***

Board Denies Refuge to Marijuana Smoker

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n1904.a06.html

Pubdate: Wed, 10 Dec 2003

Source: Olympian, The (WA)

Section: Briefs Across the Northwest

Contact: http://www.theolympian.com/forms/lettrfrm.shtml

***

Note: The Associated Press sent out a story today, Wednesday, so it is
possible that other newspapers may print it. MAP will add the verified
printed articles at this link:

http://www.mapinc.org/people/Steve+Kubby

**********************************************************************

Additional Background:

Michele has accurately characterized bias exhibited by the Refugee
Protection Board Adjudicator, Pauhla Dauns. Even reporters noted it, as can
be seen in the two articles at the following links:

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n521/a06.html

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n517/a05.html

The case is on line at
http://www.irb.gc.ca/en/decisions/kubby/va2_01374_e.htm and the actual
Determination at
http://www.irb.gc.ca/en/decisions/kubby/va2_01374_e.htm#determination

The bottom line is that there is an outstanding warrant for Steve Kubby to
be returned to Placer County, California to serve his 120 day sentence. No
prisoner has ever been allowed to have medical cannabis in any jail in the
United States. The county has made it very clear that when they jail Mr.
Kubby, he will not be the first exception.

Pauhla Dauns stated in her finding "I also find that the claimant is not a
person in need of protection in that his removal to the United States would
not subject him personally to a risk to his life or to a risk of cruel and
unusual treatment or punishment...."

Being denied life saving medicine and allowed to die is not cruel and
unusual treatment?

**********************************************************************

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts, Please See:

Writer's Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/

**********************************************************************

PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID (Letter, email
messages, etc.)

Please post a copy of your letter or report your action to the sent letter
list (sentlte@mapinc.org) if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy
directly to MGreer@mapinc.org if you are not subscribed. Your letter will
then be forwarded to the list so others can learn from your efforts and be
motivated to follow suit.

This is _Very_ Important as it is one very effective way of gauging our
impact and effectiveness.

Subscribing to the Sent LTE list (sentlte@mapinc.org) will help you to
review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or approaches as
well as keeping others aware of your important writing efforts.

To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see
http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm
and/or
http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form

**********************************************************************
Prepared by: Richard Lake

Stand up for Sashwat Singh's right to rap

UPDATE: Sashwat's case seems to have come to a close: his family reached a "compromise" with the school. Part of that compromise is that Sashwat must see a school counselor, and that his family won't pursue getting the suspension taken off his record. Weak. And now Sashwat says, in reference to the questions he'll be asked by schoolmates about his rap album, "I'm going to have to ignore most of it. Because if I make a disturbance in the school, they'll try to suspend me again for that."

And I'm certain that Principal Mark Cerutti (ceruttim@elmbrook.k12.wi.us) has not gotten enough e-mails of disapproval over his suspension of Sashwat, and I'm equally certain that Superintendant Matt Gibson (gibsonm@elmbrook.k12.wi.us) has not heard enough about how lame it was that he lorded the threat of expulsion over Singh's head in order to get the family to back down and take their undeserved lumps.

And/or, please write a letter to the editor of the regional papers there, and/or write to the school board and the administrators listed in the original action below. PoliticalNonviolence.org has a web tool that allows you to choose up to 10 Wisconsin papers to send your letter to simultaneously. Just go to their campaigns page and you'll see a link to the Sashwat case ("Defend Sashwat Singh's Right to Rap") in the list of national campaigns on the right. The other pieces of that campaign were prepared before Monday's settlement, so they are a little outdated, but the letter-sending tool is still useful. I'll update the rest of the campaign there (and here) later today.

Original E-Action:

Here's the backstory, from my main blog:
(or, skip right to the action)

Sashwat Singh is an honor student at Brookfield Central High School in Brookfield, WI. He's a big music lover -- he's in the school band and choir, and he's a big fan of local live music as well. And, like most kids these days, he's good on the computer.

...

That entry goes on to make an impassioned case against the school's actions, and to explain that administrators are currently considering whether to make things even worse, by holding an expulsion hearing, for Sashwat's "offense" of making a rap CD. If you need to be convinced that this is an injustice (or you want to read my exceptional persuasive writing), click here to finish reading that entry. Actually, why don't you go do that either way? I'll wait.

(Update: A conversation with Sashwat's father revealed that the song where he "threatens" his principal is primarily a protest song against the new principal's tendency to call the police into the school for "every little thing".)

Alright then, on to the action. The figures in this case are the following:

Everyone: Call Superintendent Matt Gibson NOW and impress upon him the importance of not moving forward with an expulsion hearing for Sashwat Singh. I just spoke with him a moment ago, and he listened nicely to my comments. He is apparently working on settling things with the family's attorney today. Call him right now (262-781-3030 ext. 1124*) and make sure he does the right thing.

And of course, spread the word. Pass this action item around to anyone who you think might care.

If you live near Brookfield, Wisconsin:

If you live outside of Wisconsin, then I recommend the following action--

--Send an e-mail to the above-mentioned people -- you can click here and it should pop-up an e-mail with all their addresses already in place. Principal Cerutti and Superintendent Gibson will be in the "To:" box, and the Associate Principals and the Board of Education members will be in the "Cc:" box. Put your own e-mail address in there somewhere, to facilitate the next step after this one.

I recommend addressing Superintendent Matt Gibson. Tell him that to apply a "zero tolerance" policy to a music album is a very bad idea, and that to apply such a policy to something produced outside of school is also a bad idea. And that punishing creative expression is a bad idea as well. You get the idea -- just tell him what you think of the way Principal Cerutti has handled this situation, and the way that Sashwat Singh has been treated. Tell him he should choose not to hold an expulsion hearing. If you want to go further, tell him he should work to get the suspension removed from Sashwat's record. And if you want to go even further, tell him that he should apologize to sashwat and his family on behalf of the school district, and that he should fire or otherwise discipline Principal Cerutti. Tell him, if you like, that you are part of a gathering group of activists who will be watching this story closely. And finally, tell him that you will be forwarding your letter to the local news outlets. If you like, you can link to my blog entry where I defend Sashwat and bemoan the school's action. This is the link: http://www.freedom2008.com/blog/archives/001859.html

Be courteous and calm in your letter -- you're trying to persuade, not to scare or offend. After you've sent it, forward it to these folks:

Reid J. Epstein - author of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article about Singh
repstein@journalsentinel.com

Gazette Extra Newsroom (They published this story about the incident.)
newsroom@gazetteextra.com

If you are feeling spunky, or if you don't feel like writing, you can make some phone calls. The phone contact info for all the above-mentioned school folks is below.

If you live in Wisconsin:

You can do the above action, plus you can send in a letter to the editor about the incident to the local papers, saying most of the stuff mentioned above, except directing it to the editor and the public, instead of Superintendent Gibson.

Here's the letter to the editor form at the GazetteExtra. You can also fax them at 608.755.8349, and call their Sound Off line at 608.755.8335.

The editor of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Martin Kaiser, can be e-mail at mkaiser@journalsentinel.com. Or, you can use their online form for submitting your letter. They published this very misguided editorial this weekend, approving of the suspension, apparently mostly on the grounds that his lyrics were "offensive and violent". They could use some schooling on freedom of expression.

Here is the contact info for the relevant school officials:

Principal Mark Cerutti
Brookfield Central High School
16900 West Gebhardt Road
Brookfield, WI 53005
Phone: (262) 785-3910
Fax: (262) 785-3993
ceruttim@elmbrook.k12.wi.us

Superintendent Matt Gibson
Elmbrook School District
13780 Hope Street
P.O. Box 1830
Brookfield, WI 53008-1830
Phone: 262-781-3030 ext. 1124*
Fax: 262-783-0983
(*Secretary Carol Chetney)
gibsonm@elmbrook.k12.wi.us

Elmbrook Board of Education:
(info is from this public web page)

Mr. Patrick J. Murphy
12554 Knoll Road
Elm Grove, WI 53122
Home Phone: 262-782-5270
District Voice Mail: 262-781-3030 ext. 1265
murphyp@elmbrook.k12.wi.us

Mr. Stephen C. Schwei
1427 South Parkview Avenue
New Berlin, WI 53151
Home Phone: 262-780-0581
District Voice Mail: 262-781-3030 ext. 1263
schweis@elmbrook.k12.wi.us

Mr. Bruce E. Nattinger, President
21165 Stratford Court
Brookfield, WI 53045
Home Phone: 262-784-0790
District Voice Mail: 262-781-3030 ext. 1508
nattingb@elmbrook.k12.wi.us

Mrs. Cheri A. Sylla, Vice President
3410 Lilly Road
Brookfield, WI 53005
Home Phone: 262-781-3592
District Voice Mail: 262-781-3030 ext. 1507
syllac@elmbrook.k12.wi.us

Mr. Thomas A. Ricca, Clerk
21435 Ann Rita Drive
Brookfield, WI 53045
Home Phone: 262-784-6769
District Voice Mail: 262-781-3030 ext. 1261
riccat@elmbrook.k12.wi.us

Mrs. Meg T. Wartman, Treasurer
2425 Whippletree Lane
Brookfield,WI 53045
Home Phone: 262-827-8850
District Voice Mail: 262-781-3030 ext. 1266
wartmanm@elmbrook.k12.wi.us

Mr. Robert J. Ziegler
14360 Corona Court
Brookfield, WI 53005
Home Phone: 262-784-2422
District Voice Mail: 262-781-3030 ext. 1239
zieglerr@elmbrook.k12.wi.us

Help the Homeschooling Bryant family

The Bryant family of Waltham, Mass. have been involved in conflict with the state and the school borad for 6 years, and things have recently gotten more worrisome for them. The Bryants homeschool their two children, and refused to submit to the state's demands in terms of testing and evaluation of their children's educational progress. No allegations of harm or negligence have been made; the issue is simply that the Bryants are asserting their right to control their children's education, and the state asserts that it has the final say, and that they must pass the official tests and requirements.

The state Department of Social Services won official custody over their children almost two years ago. 11 days ago, police and DSS workers showed up at the Bryants' home to collect the two children (George, age 15, and Nyssa, 13) so that they could be made to take a standardized test to determine their educational level. The parents refused to comply, and were temporarily left alone.

You can read more about the Bryants here, and read an editorial here. I wrote about my recent phone conversation with George Bryant, Sr. here.

George Bryant feels that the best action for others to take if they want to help is to contact the Mayor of Waltham, and put pressure on him to put pressure on the School Board, to leave the Bryants alone.

Here is contact information for Waltham's Mayor:

Mayor David Gately
610 Main St.
Waltham, MA 02453

Phone: 781-893-4040

That number is to city hall's main office. I will try to get a better number, as well as a fax number, tomorrow.

I also feel it would be helpful to write letters to the editor of the local paper, which has written sympathetically about the Bryants in the past.

There is a web form where you can submit an opinion to the paper in just a matter of minutes, right here. That's a page for Herald Interactive, the parent company of the Daily News Tribune.

Here is the Daily News Tribune's direct contact information:

If you write in, I suggest sending your comments in through both the web form and through e-mail, fax or letter to the places above (because the form offers a chance that your letters could be picked up by one of the larger papers in that company's network, while the other options seem to be the best chance of getting it published or counted at the local paper.)

Points to make:

I've asked George Bryant to let me know if anything new comes up that deserves action. Check back for updates.