Home for the homeless

By MYRTLE OSNER

Sojourners magazine reports that the City of New York is toying with the idea of bringing a retired cruise ship up to New York harbor to house the homeless. Talk about your hand me downs! It's just an idea. In fact, a minister in San Francisco suggested that a Navy mothballed ship be refurbished for housing the homeless there. Anchors aweigh!

Looking at the details, this idea probably isn't going anywhere, though you have to wonder if the affluent living in gated communities and getting tax shelters from the Bush administration wouldn't be very happy to have "those people" segregated somewhere else. It's no wonder many people seem not to see the growing income disparity in this country. What disparity? Haven't we seen it all before?

Modesto has a continuing homeless problem with one of the highest poverty levels in California, and many of these people are working! Minimum wage simply isn't enough, with rents out of reach. And the state is telling Modesto that state law requires us to accommodate our share of the regional housing needs; we must build more housing for low and moderate income people.

Along comes a project that can help —  the Redwood Family Center, sponsored by Interfaith Ministries. This Center, at 1030 California Ave., is for women recovering from drugs or alcohol addiction, and their children. Families with up to six children are accepted. The Center can house sixty residents. Social services, mental and physical health services, job training will be provided. Other training such as GED classes will also be a part of the program, as well as relapse prevention. It is a highly structured program, not for the general homeless population.

Experience has shown that individuals who have completed a residential program of recovery need to live in a clean and sober environment in order to maintain sobriety and recovery.

Interfaith Ministries is a caring and sharing group of faith-based congregations and individuals that helps people in the Modesto area. IFM operates a Food Pantry, Clothes Closet and warehouse at 120 Kerr Ave. and is supported by donations. For information, call 572-3117.

Compassionate conservatism and the Patriot Act

By KEN KOHLER

George W. campaigned on the oxymoron of compassionate conservatism, a joke at the time, but today, with a policy of unilateralism stronger than ever before and the Patriot Act stripping citizens of their privacy, it is a bigger joke.

Recently I visited my doctor for a routine medical appointment and was presented with the new HIPAA act form. Most of it deals with routine medical confidentiality; however, a section regarding intelligence and counterintelligence states that the government has access to our medical records for National Security purposes. I am trying to figure out how medical records could be of assistance for national security. Most of them do not contain DNA information. What in my medical background or even that of a terrorist would benefit the government in locating or prosecuting someone? I suspect that the answer is classified.

The government also has access to library and financial records and virtually all records pertaining to us that were previously considered private and confidential. All officials have to do to gain access is to say they are interested in an issue of national security. Isn't the definition pretty subjective? Richard Nixon considered winning the next election an issue of national security. I am sure that George Bush feels the same way. I am wondering if we will soon have Patriotgate.

Since peace demonstrators have their pictures taken by law enforcement, no doubt peaceful protesters are a threat to national security.

At presidential appearances, the Secret Service tries to shield the President from peaceful demonstrators by putting protesters in what are laughingly called “free speech corrals” —as far away from the President as possible, where they often cannot be seen by media cameras. This has nothing to do with protection, but it converts the Secret Service into the President's public relations agency.

What it really means, when we are prevented from delivering our message, is that we are being denied constitutionally-guaranteed free speech. Our message doesn't have to be agreed with, but it must be spoken and it must be heard.

Patriot Act II looms on the horizon. How much more will we allow ourselves to become like Nazi Germany? How much more will the Department of Homeland Security assume the roles of the KGB or the Gestapo?

If we truly feel that we must give up our rights for safety, then we should go into a prison cell and close the door behind us. Prisons are very safe if you remain in your cell. It won't make any difference whether the bars are visible or invisible.

The government also wants us to spy on each other. This gives Neighborhood Watch a new dimension. Just how much paranoia are we to put up with to feel safe? People of color are of course particularly suspect in the eyes of the government. Just when we were making some progress in abating prejudices, the Bush administration reinforces them. Is this the politics of inclusion that George W. promised? I think not.

At present our government is like a herd of cattle in a stampede. 9/11 scared all of us like never before. Reasonable safeguards are appropriate, but our greatness and the greatness that is represented by the Statue of Liberty and the Declaration of Independence does require risk. Misguided individuals will take advantage of our open society to do harm, but if we revoke the rights that have been so sacred to us then these individuals have won.

In a democracy we the people ultimately are the government. We the people! We delegate and can revoke the power that we entrust to our elected officials. When in the course of human events the officials misuse their power, then we must use ours.

The Patriot Act is bad law. We must insist that either the judiciary declare it null and void or that the government rescind it. Patriot II must not be allowed to become enacted or this country will see the closest thing to totalitarianism since the American Revolution. No doubt Bush will call it compassionate totalitarianism.

The people, not the officials, know what is best. This country is not just for Wall street and the politicians. It is for all of us.

It is time for a non-violent regime change in this country. We must take back our rights and our privacy or lose them forever. The choice is ours. The time is now!

John Downing
By INDIRA CLARK

Downing Street. Does the name bring to mind Churchill, Thatcher, Blair?

Downing Street in our county is named for John Downing.

Local legend has it that the project director for Self-Help Housing Enterprises (SHE) was at the county planning commissioner's office working on a proposed subdivision in Empire where farmworker families would build their own homes some thirty years ago. Surprised to be asked to name the new streets, John rattled off the names of two SHE's Board of the Directors, office manager, and himself: Downing, Tyson, McCoy, Campos.

John Downing died on April 29 at the age of 89. His daughter Pam Downing remembers him as a peace activist, environmentalist, and feminist, giving faithfully and generously of his time and money.

"He had been a conscientious objector in W.W.II," Pam recalls. " That was not a popular action to take during that time. He said the reason for his stance was that on average, he was older and had more experience than most of the men drafted during that time. It did not make sense to him to kill other men, like himself, because politicians and rulers were unable to resolve issues or wanted to get more money and power by taking over another country."

John's father had been a socialist and thought war was most foolish, John wrote. Both he and his wife Marietta wrote about their experiences as pacifists in articles published in 1998 in Roots and Fruits, a publication of the Modesto Peace/Life Center (www.ainet.com/connections/roots&fruits.htm).

John's second year of college education ended early when his father died. Wheat farming became his occupation in Saskatchewan, Canada. He and his widowed mother would come to Modesto in the winter to escape the 60 degrees below zero weather. Here John would prune fruit trees and grapevines for farmers.

"He joined the First United Methodist Church because he thought some of the ministers were such good men," Marietta recalls.

Marietta's father's family came from Quaker pacifist heritage. She and John met in 1941 and "became most interested in each other. . . John registered for the draft and was denied conscientious objector classification by the Modesto Draft Board. The draft board denied John permission to return to Canada to farm in the Spring. John told me he would go to prison rather than be drafted. "

John appealed his classification, and later learned that Rev. Arthur Wallace, the Methodist minister, had testified to John's sincerity before the board. John's reclassification as C.O. was a big relief.

John enjoyed working as a fireman on the Southern Pacific Railroad until he was called up in 1943. By then he and Marietta were married, and she had finished her teacher credential at San Jose State. He served as a firefighter with the Civilian Public Service at $2.50 per month in Californian forests. (Regular firefighters working alongside the CPS'ers were paid $50 per month.) Marietta taught at Hilmar High School and paid $15 for John's board and room in CPS camp. John was later accepted for a milk testing in Illinois at $15 per month to cover his "keep". His college work provided the necessary science background for the job while living for a time with each farmer's family. John recalled one place he slept was a room full of mementos, pictures, etc., the room of the family's son lost in the war.

John hoped to return to his fireman's job after the war, and Southern Pacific even sent him a letter saying he would have his job and seniority back. But since he had been a C.O. he wasn’t be rehired.

Remembering Jean Enero
By DAN ONORATO

In February long time Treasurer for the Modesto Peace/Life Center Jean Enero was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. On April 25, at age 55, he took his last breath. Inspired by Robert Kennedy and his immigrant Philippino parents' struggles to make their children's lives better, Jean was a high achiever committed to making a better world. Those of us who worked with Jean and knew him as a friend will miss his generous spirit, his thoughtful approach to issues, and his wry sense of humor.

In 1957 when he was nine, Jean and younger sisters Esther and Lorna immigrated from the Philippines with their mother, Lucila, to join their father, Angel, who worked in the asparagus fields near Stockton. Jean attended Ripon High where he excelled in debate. At Modesto Junior College he continued in debate with high school friend and debate partner Ted Schutt. Ted remembers Jean as a good speaker, so good that years later Jean was hired by the City of Modesto's Finance Department because of his skill in presenting issues clearly and cogently.

Jean's education at MJC was interrupted by the Vietnam War. Though opposed to the war, Jean joined the Navy to avoid being drafted into the Army, and spent three tours in Vietnam. Jean's wife Ruth recalls Jean's reaction to his war experience after they saw "The Deer Hunter." Driving from the theater, they were quiet, the kind of quiet that needs to burst. Suddenly Jean pulled over, turned the key off, and broke uncontrollably into tears. Just last December, at The Modesto Bee's request, Jean wrote some of his memories of the war. When the article appeared, he was disappointed the writer had not included his anti-war position. 

Jean’s friends remember him as keenly intelligent, articulate, and inquisitive. Long time friend Jim Pack underscores Jean's passionate interest in "learning all he could about everything." After MJC, Jean earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in psychology, with a minor in philosophy, at California State University, Stanislaus. He then went on to get a Masters Degree in English and American Literature.

Good friends like Pack and Schutt still wonder how a person so interested in the humanities ended up professionally in finance. One view is that deep down Jean was a practical, pragmatic person. Finance offered a good way to support his wife and four boys. A whimsical view is that the allure of finance originated during the ship journey to the United States when he observed how entertaining were his little sister Lorna's song and dance routines. Jean saw a financial opportunity and capitalized on it. He persuaded Lorna to perform in public while he passed the hat. As the hat filled, the seed for his career future began its subtle germination.

For Lorna, Jean was both dear friend and mentor. Jean nurtured her interest in books, philosophy, and psychology. When they argued issues, Jean always took the devil's advocate position to train Lorna's sparring skills in high school and college debate. "People used to think we were fighting," she laughs, "but he was just training me. He used to quote Socrates to me: 'The unexamined life is not worth living.'" Jean's training included practical advice as well. "Miniskirts might catch a man's eye," Lorna remembers him advising her, " but develop your mind and your sense of humor and you'll be successful. What's important is to be the kind of person people enjoy talking to."

Jean embodied that advice. He liked conversation, especially about things that mattered, and he could talk with all kinds of people in diverse social situations, from parties to official city meetings. He especially liked getting together with close friends, to update and nurture their friendship.

I met Jean and Ruth in 1974 in the Modesto Irrigation Auditorium. Sam Tyson, Dan Pollock, and I from Stanislaus Safe Energy had just given a presentation discussing the dangers of nuclear power plants and urging conservation and renewable energy alternatives. Jean opened the conversation directly: "We like what you had to say. We want to get involved." Three years later they were among the first in our area to build solar heating panels on their roof. The Modesto Bee article highlighting their progressive commitment remains on their home bulletin board to this day.

When he worked for Modesto's Finance Department, besides being the department's point man at City Council meetings, Jean, who loved to read, also took pride in advocating for the one eighth of a cent sales tax increase that has kept our county library system healthy and growing.

One of Jean's contributions to peace was his years of service to the Peace/Life Center as Treasurer. Jean stood out for his diligent attention to detail and his patience with the Center's sometimes loose organization. Board President John Lucas recalls another endearing contribution. Jean was a dedicated, some might say fanatic, volleyball player. Even more exciting than debate competition was the battle of strategy and dexterity on the volleyball court. But at Peace Camp in the Sierra, Lucas recounts, Jean let go his competitive spirit and concentrated on the kids and their delight in getting the ball over the net. Never a critical comment, only encouragement and approving smiles.

As Jean's boys—Nicholaus, David, Alexander, and Richard—grew, Jean spent an increasing amount of his time with them. Ever a dedicated, proud father, Jean collaborated with Ruth in home schooling their boys. Jean's specialty was reading Shakespeare to them and discussing philosophy. When the boys got involved with their St. Jude's parish youth group, Jean helped organize and staff a July 4th fireworks booth to raise money, and he traveled with the youth group to Rome in 2000 for a worldwide Jubilee gathering of young people with the Pope.

Jean was also the constant support behind Ruth's peace and justice activism. When Ruth was on the street advocating for the rights of the unborn or at San Quentin holding vigil for an inmate on death row, Jean was tutoring, taxiing, cooking, listening, talking and playing with his boys. In the first Persian Gulf war in 1991 he also worked with Ruth to organize a peace march in Modesto to protest the military action.

During his illness at home Ruth and the boys took loving care of Jean, and their respect and love helped Jean face death honestly and courageously. At times he felt overwhelmed. Had he made a difference? Had his generation? When the issue of war in Iraq arose, Jean cried. "It (the suffering, the tragedy) is too big," he would say in tears. "It's too sad." But while Jean's grieving emotions surfaced readily in those last few weeks, Jean did not lose his sense of humor. He had a way, Jim Pack recalls, of finding something positive amid bleakness.

In one of his last visits with Jean in which they were talking frankly about Jean's fatal illness, Ted Schutt asked Jean how he really felt. "Well," Jean said slowly, the hint of a wry smile momentarily lighting his face, "I'd just as soon be well and playing volleyball."