Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
It's the week of April thirteenth, twenty twenty five, and
this is what's on the people's news. Three Muslim girls
attacked and beaten at a Houston middle school. The US
military rushed to the border, but find nothing to do.
We talk to someone as they go through a police checkpoint.
Grants and funding for libraries are being cut across the country,
(00:27):
enforcing libraries, museums and archives nationwide to look elsewhere. The
Shape Community Center is still looking for donations. All that
and more on the People's News. I'm Steve Gallington. This
is the People's News, and the People's News starts now.
(00:49):
Video of three Afghan middle school girls being beaten by
their classmates has gone viral and the Muslim community has
questions for the school. Happened at Paul Revere Middle School
in the Houston Independent School District. It is said that
a group of about twenty girls attacked the three Muslim
girls at lunch, and that one was stabbed with a
(01:11):
pencil and had to go to the hospital. Another suffered
neck pains after the incident. The Houston Chapter of the
Council on American Islamic Relations, a civil rights group, are
representing the family and as posted the video of the attack.
We talked to William White, care director in Houston.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Three girls who were originally from Afghanistan sat down at
a lunch table and immediately upon sitting down, they were
punched in the back of the head by a group
of girls. We believe as many as twenty jumped on
three girls at the lunch county. Now, these girls did
(01:54):
nothing to deserve that violence. There was no mutual agreement
that they would fight. This is a case of mistaken
identity wherein another group of girls decided that they wanted
to fight another and now all this other group of
(02:15):
girls was punished for that. And so they were picked
on by their national origin and religion because they were
the headscarf, because they're from Azanistan that they were beaten
by these girls.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
The school.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Immediately suspended the three girls who were the victim of
the attack, and upon suspending them, they're still in the
nurse's office. One of them is either in a state
of shock or is unconscious, but does not respond to
what is ultimately about eight hours and she is taken
(02:54):
to a hospital in the Texas Medical Center where she
receives treatment for some injury to her neck and back.
Another girl is completely conscious but was stabbed in the
head with a pencil and as a puncture wound on
her head. And the third girl, unfortunately, we don't have
any details of what injuries, if any, she sustained, but
we know that she was beaten in this and attorney
(03:19):
reached out to HiSC acting for action to be taken.
And here we are, more than a month later, and
HID has not responded to their request to be transferred,
not just for the one girl, but for all three
girls or the victim of this. So here we are.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
What's so none of the girls assaulted, did the assault
for chars or anything? In the second question, where were
the adults? Because you go to a lunch county, you
didn't have supervisions from adults Somewhere.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
There was one assistant principle in the lunch room at.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
The time that broke up the attack.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
However, we don't know where other teachers or assistant principles
were at the time.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
Where's ayes he's saying at all? Because this is something
that when people hear this, like they're gonna say, well,
I'm not gonna take my kids to HID school because
I don't feel my kids would be safe.
Speaker 5 (04:26):
Well, HiSC has said that there is only one victim
and there were only seven attackers. However, if you watch
the video that was shared online, post to the social media,
and then forwarded.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
To us, you can clearly see there's.
Speaker 5 (04:38):
More than seven attackers in that video, and there's definitely
two girls getting the life literally stomped out of them
on the ground by more than seven attackers. And so
they're they're making a lot of claims that we're not.
They're either just not sustentiating or they're saying that we're
(04:59):
blatantly wrong if even mine and I hope their thing
we're wrong and not lying, because that would be not
only an ufront to the community that we represent, but
also and especially to these families.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
And what are the are the families thinking of taking
their kids out of that out of the school district family?
Speaker 2 (05:18):
The families want out of the school. They are not
comfortable sending their girls back to school. They tried and
they were threatened, so they're not interested.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
This comes at a climate of rage and and and
assault on the Muslim community. Uh, and we hear about
it every day, and now it's especially coming from a
white house on down that it's okay, it's okayd In
my opinion, it's stating that, hey, it's okay to assault
(05:50):
Muslims because there's nothing going to be done.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
But well, I want to I want to try carefully
here because there's no evidence to suggest that this is
done by far right raps in the school, nor is
there evidence to suggest that this was an intention hate crime. However,
what we know is these girls were picked out because
of their.
Speaker 6 (06:08):
Nationality and because of their religion.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Chalk that up to petty ethnic beef or whatever it
may be. That is the circumstance that we understand now.
That said, at the end of the day, these girls
were picked on because of their religion, and that not
only has there been a welcome towards the Somophobia in
(06:34):
the past two years, there has been complete silence on
violence towards Muslim families, students and individuals and anti Muslim
hate crimes across the country. And so we are deeply
concerned about this.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
What are politicians coming out in support?
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Council Member Official Plumber came out and supported issuing a
statement condemning UH condemning that violence at Paul Revere Middle
School and we're very grateful to her. As of right now,
that's about all I know.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
Do you see do you see a flamaphobia happening all
over because we had a protest on University using campus
and people are scared to come out because they're scared
their visa or.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Their citizenship will be will be threatened. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Absolutely, I mean that is a huge issue that we're
seeing in our community is people are just afraid. And
so one of the things that we've we've definitely seen
not only in the past four months, but also in
recent years and I mean even going back as far
as twenty years, is people are afraid to report a
shamophobia when it happens. They're afraid to report it to
(07:48):
organizations that represent the Muslim community like Care, or they
are especially afraid to report it to police out of
fear of retribution.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
And so.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
You know, that's always a hurdle that we are having
to cross and jump over. Nonetheless, we're committed to fighting
astmophobia and anti Muslim bigotry wherever it may be.
Speaker 4 (08:11):
How can people find out we'll get more involved with
this case.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Right now, we just need folks to especially pray for
the family and most certainly, we're hoping that hid will
respond quickly, and so to that end, we're hoping that
his will open lines of communications here with the next
few days so that we can have these conversations and
(08:35):
certainly when we call on our allies and people will
understand with the Muslim community. Should that conversation not happen,
we hope that folks will stand with us and hold
people to account so that every community across Houston can
see justice and most importantly, just put their kids to
school in a safe place. That's the most important thing.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Houstonizeddea has put out a statement that they are aware
of the incident and have taken action against the girls involved.
They have also stated that the incident did not happen
the way the girls are saying. The school district also
reported that the girls have yet to move to another school.
There has not been any clarity on what happened from
the school district, and officials at the school so far
(09:18):
have not been held responsible. Care can be contacted at
cair Houston put Together dot com.
Speaker 6 (09:28):
HI.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
This is Steve Gallington, producer and host of the People's News.
The People's News is people Powered News. We are free
to report the unvarnished and unspun truth and challenge the
status quo of corporate propaganda and social media advertising disguised
as real news. Shiny new one hour episodes of The
(09:49):
People's News drop each Sunday on The People's News Podcast.
Thanks for listening. The criminal, cruel, corrupt, and inc component
Trump administration has continued their attacks on the immigrant community
in recent weeks. They have sent the US military to
the border to stop the flow of illegal immigration. They
(10:12):
are tasked to go down to the border and replace
Texas National Guard troops that were there, but those who
live in and around Eagle Pass have always stated that
the guards have nothing to do and they have left
Shelby Park in a mess. The facilities there have no
migrants to detain, and the park that the troops were
using was left in the shambles and the razor wire
(10:34):
is still there. Furthermore, troops that have replaced the Texas
National Guard troops have seen little to no border crossing
since the Biden administration. Republican Governor Abbott has spent billions
of Texas taxpayer dollars on the border for a problem
that does not exist. We talked to America Garcia Garwal,
(10:58):
a member of the fronta from about the damage as
she was talking to us from one of the many
border checkpoints between Eagle Pass, Texas and San Antonio.
Speaker 7 (11:09):
Okay, so I'm an a bus leaving Eagle Pass and
heading to San Antonio and we are pulling up to
the US Customers and Border Patrol checkpoint. Now it's about
fifteen miles outside of town. And they actually have these
checkpoints set up outside of Laredo, outside of Do Rio,
outside of the past A Passo, everywhere. If you want
(11:29):
to go from the border area into the center part
of Texas the rest United States, you have to go
to this checkpoint. And these checkpoints have been around golf
of one of I knows got that king men in
uniforms for coming out US citizens. And they just opened
up the vehicle and did a quick visual intections here
(11:50):
and they're checks and the idea of everybody in the
vehicle right now to see that we you know, can
travel past this point. And I think I mentioned they
did a quick visual infection of vehicle. There's actually just
me and two other passengers here, so it was pretty
easy to see that, you know, it's empty, there's nothing
on the floor that nobody you know, in the van.
And now we're pulling back onto the road and we've got,
(12:13):
you know, one hundred and fifty miles to go between
here and San Antonio points and.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
This is one of us.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
Right, how many checkpoints is it from from UH from
the border to San Antolio?
Speaker 7 (12:29):
Uh? So we have the one between Eagle Pass and
how Hee through seven and uh.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Oh.
Speaker 7 (12:34):
Look, so we also have Department of Public Safety ahead,
so we just have so much law enforce now there.
I don't know how many checkpoints exist. I also they
sometimes have pop up checkpoints. So, but that's actually a
really good question. I'll try I can find the answer to it.
I don't know how many checkpoints exist in Texas, UH specifically,
(12:57):
but I've personally been through a check point at the
Ardo UH checkpoint going into Treas of Springs in the
legal past, the checkpoint between the Eagle Paths and reprior
flash Valde, and there's a checkpoint outside of Del Rio
UH going to and there's also a checkpoint in that
(13:17):
area for Sidio del Rio UH. And then again the
raided Sorry I'll pass it. So those are ones that
I personally love, But there maybe additional ones at other parts,
and then of course other checkpoints are sometimes established. This
on an ad hoc basis.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
Hows how has your how's your town been affected by
all this? I heard the I heard the National Guards
are leaving, but the US soldiers are now coming in
and replace them.
Speaker 6 (13:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (13:48):
Yeah. One of the things that's really interesting about the
soldiers coming in is that they were sent without orders.
And I don't know if you're having a military experience,
but are our soldiers they they are supposed to have
like a mission statement and these the goals and this
is the metrics on which we show that we have
achieved vehicles, you know, things of that sort, and yet
(14:09):
there's none of that. They they were sent down to
the border. I believe we have one hundred and first
Airborne in Del Rio and Eagle pat and the Del
Rio sector apecimals of Border Patrol breaks the state up
and they showed up not knowing what they were do.
These folks were transported down here and don't have vehicles.
(14:29):
They were also told you know, quote it's dangerous, it's not,
it's actually very safe. And they couldn't go anywhere alone.
So you see two part of me, white boys with
short haircuts walking along the side of the road and
you're like, oh, they're soldiers and they're trying to get
to you know, grocery store, bars, restaurants, things like that,
because they're they're basically just dropped off in a hotel.
(14:51):
Is kind of on their own. Now in Maverick County,
I'm saying specifically to del Rio. In Marlwock County, we
have Camp Eagle that was a now in Sebruary of
twenty twenty four, and it began housing soldiers in May
of twenty twenty four. And while has over two thousand
soldiers that are housed there, don't quote me on that number,
(15:13):
I mean not being recorded. But for the official number
of people housed by Camp Eagle, you should check with
the with the federal government. I'm sorry with the Texas
government because I don't know the official numbers. There's no
information that's given to the city of the who passed
about what's happening out at Camp Eagle exectually is one
of my pipes.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
You know, I heard that they you know, they pretty
much left the park and gets the ray. You know,
they didn't try to.
Speaker 7 (15:42):
Oh yeah, it's a mess. Yes, yes. So if you've
got any ground lands of experience, do you know that
you don't drive onto the field? You know that would
you know pack it down? You know that there's irrigation
pipes in the in the field that crack and get
beat up and everything. And this is a whole bunch
(16:02):
of don't they don't do with turf and the Texas
National Guard pretty much did all of it and then some.
The other thing is is that they're still in the park.
I really want to emphasize this. All they did was
leave the gates. They're still in the park. They moved
(16:24):
their their material, they moved all their equipment, their vehicles
onto the grounds of the park and built a fence
enclosure that everything is in. And so the atmosphere and
access to the park, the full park ground is pretty
much unchanged. They created a fencing compound inside the park
(16:46):
and you don't have office in that area. The containers
are still fronting the river. The contactina wire is still
there on the river. The boat wrap itself actually has
Who's that's the cage, one at the parking lot levels
and one at the river level. It's got a concerts
(17:07):
in a wire across the top and bottom, and you
can't you can't get to the river. So we don't
have fishing access. We don't have this stringy view, you know,
sit on the edge and look out at the water,
and we definitely don't have any fishing access, the snowing access,
anything of that. So all we have access to are
(17:28):
the gates to the park and we have access to
the parking for downtown, which you know, yes it is
a park, but I want to do more than parks
in my park.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
It's supposed to be that they are down there to
stop the uh car hills and stop uh illegal illegal
migrants from coming into the country. How is that is
that going gone?
Speaker 8 (17:54):
Or you know, how is that going?
Speaker 7 (17:57):
That's been done for over a year, and that's been
done thanks to the efforts of the former Secretary of
State Lincoln and the former GHS Secretary of Majorcas who
went down to Mexico City in late December of twenty
twenty three and beginning in January of twenty twenty four,
we saw the numbers just disappear, just absolutely disappear. And
(18:21):
then that coupled with the CBT one app expansion of
the GEO fens, people were able to stay further south
and get their appointments. People were not traveling up to
the border that they simply weren't coming here. They were
down in Mexico City, and they were waiting the six
or seven months that it took together in the silent appointment.
You know, we're talking about folks that don't want to
(18:43):
be in cartels. We're talking about folks that don't want
to be involved with, you know, cultivation of marijuana or
anything that is illegal. They want to live legal life,
and so they flee their homes because of drug violence.
They flee their homes because they're being pressured. Do you think,
very legal. So you're looking at a group that very
very much wants to stay on the green side of
(19:05):
the law, the good side of the law, and they
just don't have any other choices. Their lives are in danger,
and they're fleeing certain death at home for a chance
at life in the United States. They're very, very aware
of the risks of the United States. And right now
(19:26):
Mexico is monitoring bus routes, monitoring the roads. They have
Mexican National Guard patrolling the banks of the Rio Grande
in Mexico, and so that's what's stopping people. If you
go into border communities, there are very few people there
who are trying to cross into the United States, and
not the way it was before. But that's because of
the actions of Mexico throughout the entire country, not the
(19:49):
action of the United States.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
So how long is it?
Speaker 4 (19:54):
You don't know how long this is going to go on,
as far as I have no idea. How Maybe they
pointed out that they were going to bring in big
tanks and.
Speaker 7 (20:05):
They already have them in al Paso. Yeah, they have
strikes the tanks out in our striker vehicles out in
ol Paso. So yeah, I mean it's already happening that
they're using all those things. And you know, from a
national security background, we are just blinding ourselves and hobbling ourselves.
(20:27):
So we're acting in such an irresponsible manner that our
former allies are not giving us any kind of intelligence
about what kind of threats what's going on in the
world around us. We have dismantled the groups that we're
monitoring things like Russian communications and Chinese communications with US,
and we're sending these folks to look at the non
(20:48):
existent quote immigrant invasions, and we're taking our soldiers and
we're putting into work bringing up concertina wire for a
non existent invasion instead of keeping them I'm not ready
deployed around the country. So we are blinding ourselves and
we are hobbling ourselves, and this can come back and
really really hurt us.
Speaker 4 (21:12):
What do you think? So what are you saying that
they we talk about things that it needs to be done.
What are organizations like yourself? Are they being threatened because
I've heard that organizations now being threat with funding, being
threatened with a risk if they don't stop helping the migrants.
Speaker 7 (21:36):
Well, again, I really want to emphasize that we do
not have people coming into the country right now, and
so groups like Mission Border Hope here a nego path,
there are no migrants for them to serve. So it's
a non issue because there's nobody here.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
So this.
Speaker 7 (21:58):
Yeah, yeah, so I think I read to me about
the average im the United States has been there for
more than ten years, and they've paid taxes for every
one of those years, taxes for which they are not
eligible to receive any benefit.
Speaker 6 (22:13):
And yeah, this.
Speaker 7 (22:14):
Is absolutely totally a hoax. And you know, it's amazing
how many spaces you'll go where they have signs that
say help needed, help needed, help needed. And you know,
here I'm on the border where people are quite literally
dying to work, and yet we're not making that a possibility.
Not just that we're we're nagging on our promises because
(22:37):
we offered temporary protective status to so many people, and
people who thought they were in the country legally are
being told that the status they had was revoked. And
so it's really panicking folks because they exhausted all of
their resources to get to the United States and now
they've lost everything.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
Yeah, they waring on what the Biden administration had held
visas for people that want to stay in the United
States if they fill out of PaperWorks, they don't know
the background. But the Trump administration has recently revoked all
those visas. So what are those people to do.
Speaker 7 (23:23):
I don't think they know what they're going to do.
I know there's a lot of fear. I know there's
a lot of anxiety, and there's a lot of confusions
because you know, the phrase I hear a bunch is like, oh,
we came the right way. Well, that carpet got rolled
up and run through a shredder. It doesn't exist anymore.
So there's quite literally no right way to come to
(23:46):
the United States right now. We've taken away all of
the options and I don't know what we're going to do,
but I can tell you this. Our birth rate here
in the United States is declining. And if we want
to have people to work in our restaurants and you know,
work at our hospitals, work at our hotels, take the
(24:07):
food that we eat, build the houses that we live in,
we need to have people in this country. And by
making it so inhospitable, we're going to have a situation
where we don't have food, we don't have houses, and
we don't have anybody to work in our hospital to
take care of our elders. We're going to be in
a really bad position and we're heading there really fast.
Speaker 4 (24:29):
How can people find out about your organization and how
they get involved?
Speaker 7 (24:34):
Yeah, well, we're online www dot Fondetta Federation dot org
and we're also on Facebook, Facebook, dot com, slash, Fontetta Federations, TikTok, Instagram,
front Deeta like Border Federation, and you can also see
the groups that we're partnered with as well as the
organizations that we're a part of. And everyone has like
(24:56):
a slightly different way of dealing with the situation, working
on the situation, helping with the situation. And take a
look at our partner organizations.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
You'll see that that was America Garcia Grenwall a member
of the Fonteta Federation. Their organization can be contacted at
Fonteta Federation at gmail dot com. Fontera is Fronteera Federation
all put together at gmail dot com. Stories of suffering
(25:28):
continue out of the criminal and corrupt administration of the
convicted felon. The Institute of Museum and Library Services under
the Trump administration have resulted in the termination of grants
to state library agencies and other recipients effective April first,
twenty twenty five. This decision affects authorized and approved grants
(25:51):
to state projects, National Leadership grants, and the Laura Bush
twenty first Century Librarian Grants. This cuts funding for local
and state libraries in Texas. We talked to John Tarasca,
executive director with the group Every Library.
Speaker 4 (26:08):
About how your organization and libraries in general are being.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
Affected by grant cuts.
Speaker 6 (26:14):
Certainly so the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which
is the federal agency that does library funding, mainly the
state libraries as well as the individual library grant recipients
and some nonprofits and academic institutions.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
And they also do.
Speaker 6 (26:29):
Library archives natives and tribal as well as Hawaiian libraries.
The cuts there are very significant. The state libraries which
function as the main state organization, kind of like the
state Department of Education, State Department of Health, state Department Transportation.
(26:50):
This is state library. They all do some extraordinary things
in their states. It might be interlibrary loan where they
move materials around the state so that people who are
in towns with less resources can get them from towns
with more resources. Might be a shared catalog for ebooks
or for research databases for K twelve. It certainly is
the consulting that goes on and the support services from
(27:12):
the state library to each and every individual library. That's
where there's going to be some really big systems problems.
If this funding is in fact shut off mid fiscal
twenty twenty five, which is where we are right now
in the federal budget cycle, individual grant recipients won't be
able to do the good ideas that they had approved
by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and funded
(27:34):
by Congress. Across museums and libraries and nonprofits as well.
Our organization directly is not impacted. We are not a
grant recipient. We're very concerned about the ecosystem though, and
the way that the cuts are going to be negatively
impacting across every single state.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
One thing in Houston we have a problem with is
the kids having an access to the libraries, and even
in the schools now they're cutting libraries.
Speaker 6 (28:02):
Uh, that's right.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
One school is being cut to use it as a
resource center for kids with discipline problems and other schools
is just naintec period and us another staff that taking
the liberians out and using another staff. Have you seen
as a growing across the country.
Speaker 6 (28:23):
No, Texas, Texas has a particular flavor of anti library,
anti school library, anti access and the state imposing censorship
as a as a tool of the state. Texas has
a particular flavor of it. And there's the situation in Houston,
which is of course Houston nine season in a state receivership.
(28:45):
Right now, that's the future of school libraries. If Greg
Abbotts allowed to do what he wants to do across
the state.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
Wow, is you see this in any other states?
Speaker 6 (28:56):
There are different versions of it. Oklahoma is is is
very troubling when it comes to access to libraries, so
it's Florida, But then again, Montana and Idaho and several
of the states have their charms, so it is a
particular but in Houston, Houston iety is.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
Up.
Speaker 6 (29:21):
Until recently, Houston Iedy was the most troubling approach that
any major metropolitan area had to their school libraries from
a state takeover until the Trump administration started to impose
their viewpoint on Department of Defense Education Agency schools, which
are schools of military bases all around the world, and
(29:42):
those kids are unfortunately they don't have any more clubs
about identity or culture. Their books are being taken off
the shelves by the Department of Defense because there's too
much DEI in them.
Speaker 4 (29:57):
Can you explain that for me, please, because you're saying
that the military is taking over schools or how that happening.
I know, I've heard. I heard they are having programs
in the schools that are military club type of programs.
Speaker 6 (30:15):
So the Department of Defense runs schools all around the
world for kids of families who are stationed on their bases.
So this might be Fort Bragg in Carolina, it might
be Ramstein Air Force Base or in Okinawa. These are
these are K twelve grade schools in high schools, but
(30:36):
they're on the military base, the US base, and so
there's some they don't have their own isd they're subject
to the Department of Defense Education Agency, and so the
policies that are in place in those Department of Defense schools,
the schools on those military bases are directly from the
US Department of Defense Secretary of Defense. So the way
(31:00):
that they're doing censorship of the school libraries and the
way that they're eliminating programs in the in the under
the guise of saying that they're going to stop de
I and stop woke, that's that's a real problem as well.
Speaker 4 (31:16):
So they're actually going in and changing like history.
Speaker 6 (31:19):
For the most part, it does appear to be that way.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
Yes, what do we see? What what do you see?
Speaker 4 (31:26):
This is going?
Speaker 3 (31:26):
I mean, because.
Speaker 4 (31:29):
What I'm getting is that libraries are drawing up around
the country, especially in Texas, and how can people stop.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
Some of this that's happening. So some of the some
of the biggest fights.
Speaker 6 (31:41):
Right now for access to libraries where it's public library,
school library are happening in Texas. You have schools like
Kitie I s D that has been in in the
center of a big, kind of a big fight over
the right to read in K twelve and whether or
not books that are about black and brown populations, whether
(32:05):
the books are about LGBTQ populations have a place in
those schools.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
We of course believe that they do. So does the
First Amendment.
Speaker 6 (32:11):
So does Title nine of the Civil Rights Act as well.
Speaker 3 (32:16):
And then you've got places.
Speaker 6 (32:17):
Like Lano, Texas, where they're in the courts right now
community members who are suing the County Atlanto to make
sure that they can continue to access reading material without fear,
you know.
Speaker 3 (32:31):
So the Texas is really in the crossairs.
Speaker 6 (32:33):
There was a lawsuit there a year and a half
ago about a law called HB nine hundred. HB nine
hundred wanted to impose by Greg Abbott wanted to impose
the book reading systems to make it possible for make
it necessary for schools to let me rephrase it's HB
(32:58):
nine hundred was brought into because the law was set
up Greg Abbott wanted to see rating systems on books that.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
Were going into schools.
Speaker 6 (33:08):
They were going to force the library vendors to do that.
They went to the library vendors and the free speech
folks went to court and said this is a violation
of the First Amendment. The court agreed, and yet this
session they're trying to do some version of that again
and again and again. There's a bill right now in
Austin that was introduced day before yesterday. I believe that
(33:31):
was about using AI, you know, just just some I
don't know who's AI. They never said, but using AI
to determine whether or not a book is obscene or not.
And that's a really troubling use of an unproven technology
and experimental technology to do something as important as establishing
whether or not a book has criminal content in it.
(33:53):
Texas wants to be a laboratory for this kind of censorship.
Speaker 4 (33:59):
Raising the Apartment of Education. The Apartment of Education was
important and enforcing Title nine and money that goes to
the states. They're also important in civil rights as far
as making sure making sure that minorities have access to schools.
That's right where they play a part in the future.
(34:23):
Because if you.
Speaker 3 (34:24):
Get away with the Department of.
Speaker 4 (34:26):
Education and you hand it over to the state and
you have read states that don't like what's in the books.
That's would be scary for libraries in general. Like red
on that.
Speaker 6 (34:41):
To say libraries as long as you say school libraries
when we're talking about Department of Education. Absolutely, public libraries
are not under the Department of Education. But that thing said,
the whole culture of reading, the whole idea of access,
the whole idea of representation in the collection. I mean
a book that is interesting to the majority population. Yeah,
(35:02):
that's a great reason they have a book. People want
to read it.
Speaker 3 (35:04):
That's nice.
Speaker 6 (35:05):
But books that are relevant to minorities. You know, we
live at a post gay marriage society. We live in
a post interracial marriage society, whether everybody likes it or not.
And so books that are about those kinds of people
who are not necessarily white, straight, sisgendered, heteronormative, those folks
deserve to have their books on the shelves and available
(35:26):
to them as well.
Speaker 4 (35:28):
All right, I'll get people find out about your organization.
Speaker 6 (35:30):
I give you the U r L in my text message.
It's every library dot org. If they're concerned about going
on federally, we have a campaign right now called save
I am LS, Save I m LS dot org. It's
the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and we'd help.
We want to help connect people to solutions these problems.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
That was John Tarasca with the group Every Library. Every
Library is a group that supports and promotes libraries and libryanship,
helping public school and college library secure stable funding and support.
They have a petition that you can sign right now.
It's located at Every Library put together dot org, Forward
(36:12):
slash trump Termination IMLS grants. A fire destroyed half of
the Shape Community Center a few months ago, and through
donations they're about halfway to putting together the money to
rebuild completely. We replay the interview with the founder of
the Shape Community Center in the heart of the third ward.
Speaker 9 (36:35):
My name is Dela Parker. For fifty five years and
eight months, I've served as executive director of Shape Community Center,
Self Help, Prafit and People' through Education. It passed ten
days ago. We experience what would be interpreted as a tragedy,
a disaster, but we going to turn it around. A
(36:59):
building on fire thirty nine thirty fifteen level the heartbeat
of Shape Center, the center that encompasses so many memories,
so many memories, over five thousand pictures on the wall.
Every picture tells a story. When Winni Mindela came to Shape,
When Dick Gregory came When Ruben Hurricane Carter came in Shape,
(37:20):
When Most Death came by, I mean Martin King, the
third Martin the King's son came by. You name them.
Those pictures all was on the wall. It was a
place where everybody could come. It was the United Nations
of a neighborhood. Everybody could come to Shape. If they
(37:41):
wanted to do something, to do something progressive or revolutionary,
you can do it. We served as a conduit for
what you couldn't do anywhere else. You could do it
through Shape, if it was of significance for the growth
and development of our community. And well, let me just
tell you this past I said it before this past
ten days, we had a major fire at Shapes. I
(38:05):
mean it was it was heart breaking, but not breaking.
Just cracked my heart a little bit, but didn't break
it because we go stay strong. Actually it was electrical fire.
And many of the pictures that you would see on
the wall of Shape, much of the artwork at Shape,
a lot of the computer lab, the front desk beyond,
(38:29):
a lot of it was destroyed, the restrooms were messed up,
the computer lab where we had sixteen brand new computers
that we had just gotten not too long ago. So
we actually experienced a big loss at shape, a big loss.
But guess what, we didn't stop because when COVID came
(38:53):
a while back, we didn't stop functioning, operating. We just
shifted gears. We recalibrated, We organized what we were to
do so we can continue to do what we needed
to do. Same thing as applicable to this fire. We
didn't stop operating. We just changed how we did what
we were going to do. We recalibrated, We moved to
(39:14):
the Almeter building, our Rombe building. We started organizing this building,
conducing to what we were doing at the Live Oak building,
the building that caught on fire, and we've been doing that.
We didn't stop. The elders met today, Elders Institute of Wisdom,
they met today. The attorneys come for legal assistance on
(39:35):
a regular basis. We did much it would we have
been doing. We just could not have the children over
here because the building on Live Oak, the building that
was caught on fire, was licensed as a childcare center also,
so we couldn't do much of what we were doing
as operating as a childcare center at the building on
(39:58):
our meter, the Rombe building. So we have to put
a s a s halt on the childcare program until
we get this building prepared for the licensing of childcare.
So that's what we're working on now. I'm working on
getting the Ammeter building around me building conduced it to
childcare operations. So we just you know, we we haven't
(40:18):
inside and meet people I've got I've gotten calls from everywhere,
off from Gambie, West Africa, from Senegalgue, got a call
from Ghanna, got a call from Australia where my son
lives on what they could do. So I told most people.
I got a call from your Congressman, Al Green. I
got a call from your other congressman Invester Turnt. I
got a call from the city council person. I got
(40:39):
a call from James Dixon, from you f Frey Church.
I got a call from from people who wanna do something.
We wanna make a difference. I wanna contribute the one
way or the other. But Fortingtly, all I told him
was just hold your horses, hold owns, hold up a
little bit. We want your help, but we have to
(41:00):
create a structure s where we can receive it with
integrity and receive it with ethical and and UH bookkeeping
UH procedures intact. So we opened up an account at Chase,
a bank down the street from the Shape Shape Centers
(41:20):
rebuilding rec restoration program. And people wanna give, they can
give through that tax adaptible tax exempt all of that.
We also the Eldest Institute Wisdom still met on today.
They met and they had a wonderful time. But they
met at the Arambing building because they could not meet
where we normally would meet it. I said that earlier.
(41:42):
So they met here and I couldn't cook. I usually
cook a meal for the elders when they come. I
couldn't cook. Was a restaurant at the Family Center, the
one on a live Oh, we couldn't go in it.
We can't go in it. We can't do anything any
oulds old buildings is impacted. If something is all if
the computer lab or the electricity of all that is out,
(42:05):
how you operate in the kitchen independently from that, you
can't so, but that's okay. Somebody agreed to prepare food
for the elders today. So they delivered food for thirty elders,
so I didn't have to worry about cooking. Usually I
cook every Thursday for the elves. I didn't have to
do it this time because somebody donated the food for
the elders. And they met and they ate and they
(42:25):
had a wonderful time. But the building is in bad shape.
We do have insurance, but the insurance, if you know
anything about insurance, it takes a long time for them
to kick in and to do the you know what
has to be done legally and professionally, and or to
(42:46):
be able to get the value of the damage, how
much damage, how much money, and all that kind of stuff.
It takes a while. But that's even though the value
of the damage that was done exceeded three hundred thousand,
if you're going to need more than that to make
it work. So what we're doing, we're setting up an account.
(43:07):
As I stated before, we set up an account and
when people decide they want to you know, one person
called and they wanted to give right then, I say,
if you really want to give, you can wait for
us to do it and receive it the right way.
And they that's what they're doing. They're waiting because I
want to make sure that our accounting is intact, that
(43:28):
the money goes is earmarked for the building restoration, and
it goes to a specific account in the bank, and
that's what we're doing. It's tough. I'll be very honest
with you. I started Shape along with others because you
never do anything of value by yourself. It is worth having.
I started Shape with the help of fifteen to twenty
(43:51):
different people. It's just that I was one. They went
to Austin and walked the charter through it. It's fifty
five years nine months ago and got Shaped incorporated and
we've been operating for that length of time and we're
gonna continue to operate. But just so you'll know, Shape
(44:13):
Center is gonna continue. We're gonna keep on keeping on,
but we're gonna regroup and Uh, any questions you want to.
Speaker 8 (44:22):
Ask me to chase to donate, they need to go
to the bank chase.
Speaker 9 (44:27):
Actually we have a zal count, Okay, So go to
Shape website Shape dot org, Shape dot org and it'll
tell you what our zeal procedures are. Uh, well, you
can cash out, but zail is a they don't they
don't charge You know Zail is free, right, so that's
(44:49):
why we're gonna use ZIL. We won't take any money
out of your out of the money. You don't need
one hundred cash out and they'll take money out and
you end up they don't dominating ninety five. You know
you don't want so. But if you have any issues
about giving and helping us to get through this restoration process,
just you can go to Shape's email Shape dot org
(45:13):
or callers at the Shape Community Center seven one three
five two one zero six two nine, and we'll give
you that information. But just to make sure, and of
course all your donations are tax deductible. You are a
private one seed three organization. But we don't don't don't
give up on us.
Speaker 3 (45:32):
We not.
Speaker 9 (45:33):
We not finish yet. We got a long ways to go,
fifty five years, nine months and we go keep on,
keep it on.
Speaker 4 (45:40):
What I heard about the fire, I thought about Quantza
and what we talked about we talked about with m
buff An Embuff caught on fire and how the community
came together exactly bring it back after their fire.
Speaker 9 (45:56):
That's right, just like the community came together together to
bring get us building and facilities functional. The community is
already taking a headstart and helping shape Center to become
more functional through the restoration of our building. And of
course I will have to be very honest with you.
I have been, but I've even I revealed something to
(46:18):
you that I have not really told too many people.
But this has taken a toll on me personally. I
if you when you've invested over fifty five years of
your life in something and that fire takes away a lot.
I mean the pictures on the wall, I mean hundreds
(46:39):
and hundreds of pictures on the wall, and it set
us back. But you don't call it a setback, to
call it a set up. Be set up to do
greater things. So we'll get through this, and but U
I have to personally get through it because cause you know,
I've had I had problems sleeping. You know, when I've
been in the bed and close my my mind just
(47:01):
race thinking about all the stuff that we lost, and
think about all the work we have to do to
get back on the track. But I don't stay away
too long, and I don't finally I get to sleep
and I'll get back in the south because we're not finished.
Speaker 3 (47:18):
This is not finished.
Speaker 9 (47:19):
It we don't get through this, so we ask the
community to join us in this effort to restore Shape
to his traditional status. In fact, beyond its traditional status,
we want to have a more better Shape. So well,
that's where we are right.
Speaker 1 (47:35):
That was Deloyde T. Parker Jnior, who has been the
executive director of Shape since nineteen sixty nine. You can
donate to Shape by going to their website Shape dot
org forward Slash Restoration dash campaign. Also from there you
can volunteer time or give money or donate supplies, or
(47:56):
you can stop by the Shape HORR and B Admin Building,
thirty nine nine O three Almeta Road seven to seven
zero zero four Monday through Friday, eleven am to five pm.
Saturday from nine am to three pm. Hi, this is
Steve Gallington, producer and host of the People's News. If
(48:16):
you have a story that needs to be told, come
to us. We accept fully produced audio, written material, or
just give us the idea and we will run with it.
Shiny new one hour episodes of The People's News drop
each Sunday on The People's News podcast hosted by spreaker
dot com and linked to my website Gallington dot com.
(48:39):
In sports, News women's soccer, The Mexican women's national team
defeated Jamaica four to oh in Houston on Tuesday in
an exhibition match. The Houston dash lost at home three
to one in the National Women's Soccer League. On Saturday,
the Houston Dynamo, in a big match last weekend, defeated
(49:00):
l A FC in Major League Soccer at home one
to oher In Major League Rugby in the US, the
Houston SaberCats lost to Rugby FC Los Angeles twenty four
to twenty two at home. SaberCats captain Johann Momson, who
scored the first score for the SaberCats, commented after the match, you.
Speaker 8 (49:20):
Guys seemed to come apart into the second half. Doctor
talk about that a little bit.
Speaker 3 (49:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (49:26):
I think we just went in at halftime and just
at our attitude. I think attitude was a problem in
the first half, and I think the Kites reiterated that
message in the second and in the sheds, and I
think I feel like we sixed that in the second half.
But I feel like we just came up short. So
you know, now, he just find yourself to Miami next.
Speaker 11 (49:46):
Week's Yeah, different, It's a different coming into this season
than last week, because the last time I saw you,
guys were more a rock and mall type of type
of team, and now it seems to me it seems
like more you're more open.
Speaker 10 (49:58):
Yeah, uh yeah, I think coming into this year, I
feel like, you know, we we've got the the players
to attack in all all facets to the field, and
I think we're we're confident enough to to back ourselves
and you know, we we say to express ourselves and
and I think that's what we try and do going
into every game.
Speaker 11 (50:19):
Just a couple of miss tackles, but he still does
He's still played pretty pretty pretty good rugby.
Speaker 8 (50:24):
Yeah, you know, it's.
Speaker 10 (50:26):
One of our pillars is physicality. And I felt like
we were below part today and uh, you know, we'll
fix that on Monday and hopefully, you know, we did
that against Miami next week.
Speaker 1 (50:38):
Talta Tassi scored the second try for Houston.
Speaker 3 (50:42):
Good, how are you great?
Speaker 8 (50:43):
Trying to great try in the first half, came up short.
We're still a good match.
Speaker 12 (50:49):
Yeah, It's hard to say that when you lose, but yeah,
I guess it was a good way good match to watch. Uh,
frustrating for us. We got into the into the twenty two,
into the teching zone a lot, we just didn't convert it.
So yeah, a lot of work on for us on
that and defense.
Speaker 8 (51:07):
The difference between last year, I mean, your last coaching
was more.
Speaker 11 (51:10):
Of a rocking mall type of type of team, and
going into this season, like I was saying before, it
seems like more of an open, open game.
Speaker 7 (51:17):
For you guys.
Speaker 12 (51:18):
I think we still have both. Like to night be
trying to go more towards the mall. I think we
can play both. We have it in our arsenal. We
can go back to either depending on the conditions. I
think just for us finding the balance, finding the right
balance and when to do when to do what I
think that's going to be the key, and it told
us about to try for you, Yeah, I just saw
(51:43):
that they were a little widely spread right on the
on the go line, and I saw a little gap.
I just ran flat onto it and space was there.
Speaker 8 (51:52):
So there's a couple of differences. Difference relaxes you think
in the second.
Speaker 12 (51:56):
Half, Yeah, I think they they played the ball white
to why very fast, struggled to handle it, we struggled
to slowly down it sometimes and yeah, just make too
many areas, mistakeles and costs.
Speaker 1 (52:12):
Houston lost this week also as they played the Miami
Sharks with the final score of thirty one to twenty two.
They are now five and three on the season. Their
next tone match is April nineteenth at seven pm. We
end the People's News with a reading from Timothy Snyder's
on Tyranny, Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, which was
(52:33):
published in twenty seventeen and something I used as a
guidebook to get me through the first Donald Trump presidency.
We're reading number fourteen of the twenty Lessons, which is
entitled establish a private life. Nastier rulers will use what
they know about you to push you around, scrub your
computer of malware on a regular basis. Remember that email
(52:57):
is skywriting. Consider using all alternative forms of the Internet
or simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person
for the same reason. Resolve any legal trouble. Tyrants seek
the hook on which to hang you. Try not to
have hooks. What the great political thinker Hannah Arent meant
(53:19):
by totalitarianism was not an all powerful state, but the
erasure of the difference between private and public life. We
are free only in so far as we exercise control
over what people know about us and in what circumstances
they come to know it. During the campaign of twenty sixteen,
we took a step toward totalitarianism without even noticing it,
(53:43):
by accepting as normal the violation of electronic privacy, Whether
it is done by American or Russian intelligence agencies, or
for that matter, by any institution. The theft, discussion, or
publication of personal communications destroys a basic foundation of our rights.
If we have no control over who reads what and when,
(54:04):
we have no ability to act in the present or
plan for the future. Whoever can pierce your privacy can
humiliate you and disrupt your relationships at will. No one,
except perhaps a tyrant, has a private life that can
survive public exposure by hostile directive. The timed email bombs
of the twenty sixteen presidential campaign were also a powerful
(54:27):
form of disinformation. Words written in one situation makes sense
only in that context. The very act of removing them
from their historical moment and dropping them in another is
an act of falsification. What is worse, when media followed
the email bombs as if they were news, they betrayed
(54:48):
their own mission. Few journalists made an effort to explain
why people said or wrote the things they did at
the time. Meanwhile, in transmitting privacy violations as news, the
media allowed themselves to be distracted from the actual events
of the day. Rather than reporting the violation of basic rights,
our media generally preferred to mindlessly indulge in the inherently
(55:11):
salacious interest we have in other people's affairs. Our appetite
for the secret thought arrant is dangerously political. Totalitarianism removes
the difference between private and public, not just to make
individuals unfree, but also to draw the whole society away
from normal politics and toward conspiracy theories. Rather than defending
(55:35):
facts or generating interpretations, we are seduced by the notion
of hidden realities and dark conspiracies that explain everything. As
we learn from these email bombs, this mechanism works even
when it is revealed it is of no interest. The
revelation of what was once confidential becomes the story itself.
(55:55):
It is striking that the news media are much worse
at this than say, fashion or sports reporters. Fashion reporters
know that models are taking off their clothes in the
changing rooms, and sports reporters know that their athletes shower
in the locker room, but neither allow private matters to
supplant the public story that they are supposed to be covering.
(56:16):
When we take an active interest in the matters of
doubtful relevance at moments that are chosen by tyrants and spooks,
we participate in the demolition of our own political order.
To be sure, we might feel that we are doing
nothing more than going along with everyone else. This is true,
and it is what aren't described as the devolution of
(56:37):
society into a mob. We can try to solve this
problem individually by securing our own computers. We can also
try to solve it collectively by supporting, for example, organizations
that are concerned with human rights. That was an excerpt
of the book on Tyranny, Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth
(56:58):
Century by Timothy's The People's News is a production of
Steve Gallington and Richard Hannah, and is protected by copyright laws.
All the information broadcast on air and online, as well
as published in both print and or online, including articles,
audio clips, illustrations, graphics, photographs, and videos, are protected by
(57:20):
these copyright and other state and federal intellectual property laws. Therefore,
you may not use our content in any prohibited way,
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Prohibited use also includes publication of our material in printed
(57:41):
or electronic brochures, newsletters, or flyers, as well as all
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email Steve Gallington at Steve atgallington dot com. Thank you,
It's the week of April thirteenth, twenty twenty five, and
this is what's on the people's news. Three Muslim girls
attacked and beaten at a Houston middle school. The US
military rushed to the border, but find nothing to do.
We talk to someone as they go through a police checkpoint.
Grants and funding for libraries are being cut across the country,
(00:27):
enforcing libraries, museums and archives nationwide to look elsewhere. The
Shape Community Center is still looking for donations. All that
and more on the People's News. I'm Steve Gallington. This
is the People's News, and the People's News starts now.
(00:49):
Video of three Afghan middle school girls being beaten by
their classmates has gone viral and the Muslim community has
questions for the school. Happened at Paul Revere Middle School
in the Houston Independent School District. It is said that
a group of about twenty girls attacked the three Muslim
girls at lunch, and that one was stabbed with a
(01:11):
pencil and had to go to the hospital. Another suffered
neck pains after the incident. The Houston Chapter of the
Council on American Islamic Relations, a civil rights group, are
representing the family and as posted the video of the attack.
We talked to William White, care director in Houston.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Three girls who were originally from Afghanistan sat down at
a lunch table and immediately upon sitting down, they were
punched in the back of the head by a group
of girls. We believe as many as twenty jumped on
three girls at the lunch county. Now, these girls did
(01:54):
nothing to deserve that violence. There was no mutual agreement
that they would fight. This is a case of mistaken
identity wherein another group of girls decided that they wanted
to fight another and now all this other group of
(02:15):
girls was punished for that. And so they were picked
on by their national origin and religion because they were
the headscarf, because they're from Azanistan that they were beaten
by these girls.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
The school.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Immediately suspended the three girls who were the victim of
the attack, and upon suspending them, they're still in the
nurse's office. One of them is either in a state
of shock or is unconscious, but does not respond to
what is ultimately about eight hours and she is taken
(02:54):
to a hospital in the Texas Medical Center where she
receives treatment for some injury to her neck and back.
Another girl is completely conscious but was stabbed in the
head with a pencil and as a puncture wound on
her head. And the third girl, unfortunately, we don't have
any details of what injuries, if any, she sustained, but
we know that she was beaten in this and attorney
(03:19):
reached out to HiSC acting for action to be taken.
And here we are, more than a month later, and
HID has not responded to their request to be transferred,
not just for the one girl, but for all three
girls or the victim of this. So here we are.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
What's so none of the girls assaulted, did the assault
for chars or anything? In the second question, where were
the adults? Because you go to a lunch county, you
didn't have supervisions from adults Somewhere.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
There was one assistant principle in the lunch room at.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
The time that broke up the attack.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
However, we don't know where other teachers or assistant principles
were at the time.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
Where's ayes he's saying at all? Because this is something
that when people hear this, like they're gonna say, well,
I'm not gonna take my kids to HID school because
I don't feel my kids would be safe.
Speaker 5 (04:26):
Well, HiSC has said that there is only one victim
and there were only seven attackers. However, if you watch
the video that was shared online, post to the social media,
and then forwarded.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
To us, you can clearly see there's.
Speaker 5 (04:38):
More than seven attackers in that video, and there's definitely
two girls getting the life literally stomped out of them
on the ground by more than seven attackers. And so
they're they're making a lot of claims that we're not.
They're either just not sustentiating or they're saying that we're
(04:59):
blatantly wrong if even mine and I hope their thing
we're wrong and not lying, because that would be not
only an ufront to the community that we represent, but
also and especially to these families.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
And what are the are the families thinking of taking
their kids out of that out of the school district family?
Speaker 2 (05:18):
The families want out of the school. They are not
comfortable sending their girls back to school. They tried and
they were threatened, so they're not interested.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
This comes at a climate of rage and and and
assault on the Muslim community. Uh, and we hear about
it every day, and now it's especially coming from a
white house on down that it's okay, it's okayd In
my opinion, it's stating that, hey, it's okay to assault
(05:50):
Muslims because there's nothing going to be done.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
But well, I want to I want to try carefully
here because there's no evidence to suggest that this is
done by far right raps in the school, nor is
there evidence to suggest that this was an intention hate crime. However,
what we know is these girls were picked out because
of their.
Speaker 6 (06:08):
Nationality and because of their religion.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Chalk that up to petty ethnic beef or whatever it
may be. That is the circumstance that we understand now.
That said, at the end of the day, these girls
were picked on because of their religion, and that not
only has there been a welcome towards the Somophobia in
(06:34):
the past two years, there has been complete silence on
violence towards Muslim families, students and individuals and anti Muslim
hate crimes across the country. And so we are deeply
concerned about this.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
What are politicians coming out in support?
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Council Member Official Plumber came out and supported issuing a
statement condemning UH condemning that violence at Paul Revere Middle
School and we're very grateful to her. As of right now,
that's about all I know.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
Do you see do you see a flamaphobia happening all
over because we had a protest on University using campus
and people are scared to come out because they're scared
their visa or.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Their citizenship will be will be threatened. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Absolutely, I mean that is a huge issue that we're
seeing in our community is people are just afraid. And
so one of the things that we've we've definitely seen
not only in the past four months, but also in
recent years and I mean even going back as far
as twenty years, is people are afraid to report a
shamophobia when it happens. They're afraid to report it to
(07:48):
organizations that represent the Muslim community like Care, or they
are especially afraid to report it to police out of
fear of retribution.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
And so.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
You know, that's always a hurdle that we are having
to cross and jump over. Nonetheless, we're committed to fighting
astmophobia and anti Muslim bigotry wherever it may be.
Speaker 4 (08:11):
How can people find out we'll get more involved with
this case.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Right now, we just need folks to especially pray for
the family and most certainly, we're hoping that hid will
respond quickly, and so to that end, we're hoping that
his will open lines of communications here with the next
few days so that we can have these conversations and
(08:35):
certainly when we call on our allies and people will
understand with the Muslim community. Should that conversation not happen,
we hope that folks will stand with us and hold
people to account so that every community across Houston can
see justice and most importantly, just put their kids to
school in a safe place. That's the most important thing.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Houstonizeddea has put out a statement that they are aware
of the incident and have taken action against the girls involved.
They have also stated that the incident did not happen
the way the girls are saying. The school district also
reported that the girls have yet to move to another school.
There has not been any clarity on what happened from
the school district, and officials at the school so far
(09:18):
have not been held responsible. Care can be contacted at
cair Houston put Together dot com.
Speaker 6 (09:28):
HI.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
This is Steve Gallington, producer and host of the People's News.
The People's News is people Powered News. We are free
to report the unvarnished and unspun truth and challenge the
status quo of corporate propaganda and social media advertising disguised
as real news. Shiny new one hour episodes of The
(09:49):
People's News drop each Sunday on The People's News Podcast.
Thanks for listening. The criminal, cruel, corrupt, and inc component
Trump administration has continued their attacks on the immigrant community
in recent weeks. They have sent the US military to
the border to stop the flow of illegal immigration. They
(10:12):
are tasked to go down to the border and replace
Texas National Guard troops that were there, but those who
live in and around Eagle Pass have always stated that
the guards have nothing to do and they have left
Shelby Park in a mess. The facilities there have no
migrants to detain, and the park that the troops were
using was left in the shambles and the razor wire
(10:34):
is still there. Furthermore, troops that have replaced the Texas
National Guard troops have seen little to no border crossing
since the Biden administration. Republican Governor Abbott has spent billions
of Texas taxpayer dollars on the border for a problem
that does not exist. We talked to America Garcia Garwal,
(10:58):
a member of the fronta from about the damage as
she was talking to us from one of the many
border checkpoints between Eagle Pass, Texas and San Antonio.
Speaker 7 (11:09):
Okay, so I'm an a bus leaving Eagle Pass and
heading to San Antonio and we are pulling up to
the US Customers and Border Patrol checkpoint. Now it's about
fifteen miles outside of town. And they actually have these
checkpoints set up outside of Laredo, outside of Do Rio,
outside of the past A Passo, everywhere. If you want
(11:29):
to go from the border area into the center part
of Texas the rest United States, you have to go
to this checkpoint. And these checkpoints have been around golf
of one of I knows got that king men in
uniforms for coming out US citizens. And they just opened
up the vehicle and did a quick visual intections here
(11:50):
and they're checks and the idea of everybody in the
vehicle right now to see that we you know, can
travel past this point. And I think I mentioned they
did a quick visual infection of vehicle. There's actually just
me and two other passengers here, so it was pretty
easy to see that, you know, it's empty, there's nothing
on the floor that nobody you know, in the van.
And now we're pulling back onto the road and we've got,
(12:13):
you know, one hundred and fifty miles to go between
here and San Antonio points and.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
This is one of us.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
Right, how many checkpoints is it from from UH from
the border to San Antolio?
Speaker 7 (12:29):
Uh? So we have the one between Eagle Pass and
how Hee through seven and uh.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Oh.
Speaker 7 (12:34):
Look, so we also have Department of Public Safety ahead,
so we just have so much law enforce now there.
I don't know how many checkpoints exist. I also they
sometimes have pop up checkpoints. So, but that's actually a
really good question. I'll try I can find the answer to it.
I don't know how many checkpoints exist in Texas, UH specifically,
(12:57):
but I've personally been through a check point at the
Ardo UH checkpoint going into Treas of Springs in the
legal past, the checkpoint between the Eagle Paths and reprior
flash Valde, and there's a checkpoint outside of Del Rio
UH going to and there's also a checkpoint in that
(13:17):
area for Sidio del Rio UH. And then again the
raided Sorry I'll pass it. So those are ones that
I personally love, But there maybe additional ones at other parts,
and then of course other checkpoints are sometimes established. This
on an ad hoc basis.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
Hows how has your how's your town been affected by
all this? I heard the I heard the National Guards
are leaving, but the US soldiers are now coming in
and replace them.
Speaker 6 (13:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (13:48):
Yeah. One of the things that's really interesting about the
soldiers coming in is that they were sent without orders.
And I don't know if you're having a military experience,
but are our soldiers they they are supposed to have
like a mission statement and these the goals and this
is the metrics on which we show that we have
achieved vehicles, you know, things of that sort, and yet
(14:09):
there's none of that. They they were sent down to
the border. I believe we have one hundred and first
Airborne in Del Rio and Eagle pat and the Del
Rio sector apecimals of Border Patrol breaks the state up
and they showed up not knowing what they were do.
These folks were transported down here and don't have vehicles.
(14:29):
They were also told you know, quote it's dangerous, it's not,
it's actually very safe. And they couldn't go anywhere alone.
So you see two part of me, white boys with
short haircuts walking along the side of the road and
you're like, oh, they're soldiers and they're trying to get
to you know, grocery store, bars, restaurants, things like that,
because they're they're basically just dropped off in a hotel.
(14:51):
Is kind of on their own. Now in Maverick County,
I'm saying specifically to del Rio. In Marlwock County, we
have Camp Eagle that was a now in Sebruary of
twenty twenty four, and it began housing soldiers in May
of twenty twenty four. And while has over two thousand
soldiers that are housed there, don't quote me on that number,
(15:13):
I mean not being recorded. But for the official number
of people housed by Camp Eagle, you should check with
the with the federal government. I'm sorry with the Texas
government because I don't know the official numbers. There's no
information that's given to the city of the who passed
about what's happening out at Camp Eagle exectually is one
of my pipes.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
You know, I heard that they you know, they pretty
much left the park and gets the ray. You know,
they didn't try to.
Speaker 7 (15:42):
Oh yeah, it's a mess. Yes, yes. So if you've
got any ground lands of experience, do you know that
you don't drive onto the field? You know that would
you know pack it down? You know that there's irrigation
pipes in the in the field that crack and get
beat up and everything. And this is a whole bunch
(16:02):
of don't they don't do with turf and the Texas
National Guard pretty much did all of it and then some.
The other thing is is that they're still in the park.
I really want to emphasize this. All they did was
leave the gates. They're still in the park. They moved
(16:24):
their their material, they moved all their equipment, their vehicles
onto the grounds of the park and built a fence
enclosure that everything is in. And so the atmosphere and
access to the park, the full park ground is pretty
much unchanged. They created a fencing compound inside the park
(16:46):
and you don't have office in that area. The containers
are still fronting the river. The contactina wire is still
there on the river. The boat wrap itself actually has
Who's that's the cage, one at the parking lot levels
and one at the river level. It's got a concerts
(17:07):
in a wire across the top and bottom, and you
can't you can't get to the river. So we don't
have fishing access. We don't have this stringy view, you know,
sit on the edge and look out at the water,
and we definitely don't have any fishing access, the snowing access,
anything of that. So all we have access to are
(17:28):
the gates to the park and we have access to
the parking for downtown, which you know, yes it is
a park, but I want to do more than parks
in my park.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
It's supposed to be that they are down there to
stop the uh car hills and stop uh illegal illegal
migrants from coming into the country. How is that is
that going gone?
Speaker 8 (17:54):
Or you know, how is that going?
Speaker 7 (17:57):
That's been done for over a year, and that's been
done thanks to the efforts of the former Secretary of
State Lincoln and the former GHS Secretary of Majorcas who
went down to Mexico City in late December of twenty
twenty three and beginning in January of twenty twenty four,
we saw the numbers just disappear, just absolutely disappear. And
(18:21):
then that coupled with the CBT one app expansion of
the GEO fens, people were able to stay further south
and get their appointments. People were not traveling up to
the border that they simply weren't coming here. They were
down in Mexico City, and they were waiting the six
or seven months that it took together in the silent appointment.
You know, we're talking about folks that don't want to
(18:43):
be in cartels. We're talking about folks that don't want
to be involved with, you know, cultivation of marijuana or
anything that is illegal. They want to live legal life,
and so they flee their homes because of drug violence.
They flee their homes because they're being pressured. Do you think,
very legal. So you're looking at a group that very
very much wants to stay on the green side of
(19:05):
the law, the good side of the law, and they
just don't have any other choices. Their lives are in danger,
and they're fleeing certain death at home for a chance
at life in the United States. They're very, very aware
of the risks of the United States. And right now
(19:26):
Mexico is monitoring bus routes, monitoring the roads. They have
Mexican National Guard patrolling the banks of the Rio Grande
in Mexico, and so that's what's stopping people. If you
go into border communities, there are very few people there
who are trying to cross into the United States, and
not the way it was before. But that's because of
the actions of Mexico throughout the entire country, not the
(19:49):
action of the United States.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
So how long is it?
Speaker 4 (19:54):
You don't know how long this is going to go on,
as far as I have no idea. How Maybe they
pointed out that they were going to bring in big
tanks and.
Speaker 7 (20:05):
They already have them in al Paso. Yeah, they have
strikes the tanks out in our striker vehicles out in
ol Paso. So yeah, I mean it's already happening that
they're using all those things. And you know, from a
national security background, we are just blinding ourselves and hobbling ourselves.
(20:27):
So we're acting in such an irresponsible manner that our
former allies are not giving us any kind of intelligence
about what kind of threats what's going on in the
world around us. We have dismantled the groups that we're
monitoring things like Russian communications and Chinese communications with US,
and we're sending these folks to look at the non
(20:48):
existent quote immigrant invasions, and we're taking our soldiers and
we're putting into work bringing up concertina wire for a
non existent invasion instead of keeping them I'm not ready
deployed around the country. So we are blinding ourselves and
we are hobbling ourselves, and this can come back and
really really hurt us.
Speaker 4 (21:12):
What do you think? So what are you saying that
they we talk about things that it needs to be done.
What are organizations like yourself? Are they being threatened because
I've heard that organizations now being threat with funding, being
threatened with a risk if they don't stop helping the migrants.
Speaker 7 (21:36):
Well, again, I really want to emphasize that we do
not have people coming into the country right now, and
so groups like Mission Border Hope here a nego path,
there are no migrants for them to serve. So it's
a non issue because there's nobody here.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
So this.
Speaker 7 (21:58):
Yeah, yeah, so I think I read to me about
the average im the United States has been there for
more than ten years, and they've paid taxes for every
one of those years, taxes for which they are not
eligible to receive any benefit.
Speaker 6 (22:13):
And yeah, this.
Speaker 7 (22:14):
Is absolutely totally a hoax. And you know, it's amazing
how many spaces you'll go where they have signs that
say help needed, help needed, help needed. And you know,
here I'm on the border where people are quite literally
dying to work, and yet we're not making that a possibility.
Not just that we're we're nagging on our promises because
(22:37):
we offered temporary protective status to so many people, and
people who thought they were in the country legally are
being told that the status they had was revoked. And
so it's really panicking folks because they exhausted all of
their resources to get to the United States and now
they've lost everything.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
Yeah, they waring on what the Biden administration had held
visas for people that want to stay in the United
States if they fill out of PaperWorks, they don't know
the background. But the Trump administration has recently revoked all
those visas. So what are those people to do.
Speaker 7 (23:23):
I don't think they know what they're going to do.
I know there's a lot of fear. I know there's
a lot of anxiety, and there's a lot of confusions
because you know, the phrase I hear a bunch is like, oh,
we came the right way. Well, that carpet got rolled
up and run through a shredder. It doesn't exist anymore.
So there's quite literally no right way to come to
(23:46):
the United States right now. We've taken away all of
the options and I don't know what we're going to do,
but I can tell you this. Our birth rate here
in the United States is declining. And if we want
to have people to work in our restaurants and you know,
work at our hospitals, work at our hotels, take the
(24:07):
food that we eat, build the houses that we live in,
we need to have people in this country. And by
making it so inhospitable, we're going to have a situation
where we don't have food, we don't have houses, and
we don't have anybody to work in our hospital to
take care of our elders. We're going to be in
a really bad position and we're heading there really fast.
Speaker 4 (24:29):
How can people find out about your organization and how
they get involved?
Speaker 7 (24:34):
Yeah, well, we're online www dot Fondetta Federation dot org
and we're also on Facebook, Facebook, dot com, slash, Fontetta Federations, TikTok, Instagram,
front Deeta like Border Federation, and you can also see
the groups that we're partnered with as well as the
organizations that we're a part of. And everyone has like
(24:56):
a slightly different way of dealing with the situation, working
on the situation, helping with the situation. And take a
look at our partner organizations.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
You'll see that that was America Garcia Grenwall a member
of the Fonteta Federation. Their organization can be contacted at
Fonteta Federation at gmail dot com. Fontera is Fronteera Federation
all put together at gmail dot com. Stories of suffering
(25:28):
continue out of the criminal and corrupt administration of the
convicted felon. The Institute of Museum and Library Services under
the Trump administration have resulted in the termination of grants
to state library agencies and other recipients effective April first,
twenty twenty five. This decision affects authorized and approved grants
(25:51):
to state projects, National Leadership grants, and the Laura Bush
twenty first Century Librarian Grants. This cuts funding for local
and state libraries in Texas. We talked to John Tarasca,
executive director with the group Every Library.
Speaker 4 (26:08):
About how your organization and libraries in general are being.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
Affected by grant cuts.
Speaker 6 (26:14):
Certainly so the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which
is the federal agency that does library funding, mainly the
state libraries as well as the individual library grant recipients
and some nonprofits and academic institutions.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
And they also do.
Speaker 6 (26:29):
Library archives natives and tribal as well as Hawaiian libraries.
The cuts there are very significant. The state libraries which
function as the main state organization, kind of like the
state Department of Education, State Department of Health, state Department Transportation.
(26:50):
This is state library. They all do some extraordinary things
in their states. It might be interlibrary loan where they
move materials around the state so that people who are
in towns with less resources can get them from towns
with more resources. Might be a shared catalog for ebooks
or for research databases for K twelve. It certainly is
the consulting that goes on and the support services from
(27:12):
the state library to each and every individual library. That's
where there's going to be some really big systems problems.
If this funding is in fact shut off mid fiscal
twenty twenty five, which is where we are right now
in the federal budget cycle, individual grant recipients won't be
able to do the good ideas that they had approved
by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and funded
(27:34):
by Congress. Across museums and libraries and nonprofits as well.
Our organization directly is not impacted. We are not a
grant recipient. We're very concerned about the ecosystem though, and
the way that the cuts are going to be negatively
impacting across every single state.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
One thing in Houston we have a problem with is
the kids having an access to the libraries, and even
in the schools now they're cutting libraries.
Speaker 6 (28:02):
Uh, that's right.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
One school is being cut to use it as a
resource center for kids with discipline problems and other schools
is just naintec period and us another staff that taking
the liberians out and using another staff. Have you seen
as a growing across the country.
Speaker 6 (28:23):
No, Texas, Texas has a particular flavor of anti library,
anti school library, anti access and the state imposing censorship
as a as a tool of the state. Texas has
a particular flavor of it. And there's the situation in Houston,
which is of course Houston nine season in a state receivership.
(28:45):
Right now, that's the future of school libraries. If Greg
Abbotts allowed to do what he wants to do across
the state.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
Wow, is you see this in any other states?
Speaker 6 (28:56):
There are different versions of it. Oklahoma is is is
very troubling when it comes to access to libraries, so
it's Florida, But then again, Montana and Idaho and several
of the states have their charms, so it is a
particular but in Houston, Houston iety is.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
Up.
Speaker 6 (29:21):
Until recently, Houston Iedy was the most troubling approach that
any major metropolitan area had to their school libraries from
a state takeover until the Trump administration started to impose
their viewpoint on Department of Defense Education Agency schools, which
are schools of military bases all around the world, and
(29:42):
those kids are unfortunately they don't have any more clubs
about identity or culture. Their books are being taken off
the shelves by the Department of Defense because there's too
much DEI in them.
Speaker 4 (29:57):
Can you explain that for me, please, because you're saying
that the military is taking over schools or how that happening.
I know, I've heard. I heard they are having programs
in the schools that are military club type of programs.
Speaker 6 (30:15):
So the Department of Defense runs schools all around the
world for kids of families who are stationed on their bases.
So this might be Fort Bragg in Carolina, it might
be Ramstein Air Force Base or in Okinawa. These are
these are K twelve grade schools in high schools, but
(30:36):
they're on the military base, the US base, and so
there's some they don't have their own isd they're subject
to the Department of Defense Education Agency, and so the
policies that are in place in those Department of Defense schools,
the schools on those military bases are directly from the
US Department of Defense Secretary of Defense. So the way
(31:00):
that they're doing censorship of the school libraries and the
way that they're eliminating programs in the in the under
the guise of saying that they're going to stop de
I and stop woke, that's that's a real problem as well.
Speaker 4 (31:16):
So they're actually going in and changing like history.
Speaker 6 (31:19):
For the most part, it does appear to be that way.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
Yes, what do we see? What what do you see?
Speaker 4 (31:26):
This is going?
Speaker 3 (31:26):
I mean, because.
Speaker 4 (31:29):
What I'm getting is that libraries are drawing up around
the country, especially in Texas, and how can people stop.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
Some of this that's happening. So some of the some
of the biggest fights.
Speaker 6 (31:41):
Right now for access to libraries where it's public library,
school library are happening in Texas. You have schools like
Kitie I s D that has been in in the
center of a big, kind of a big fight over
the right to read in K twelve and whether or
not books that are about black and brown populations, whether
(32:05):
the books are about LGBTQ populations have a place in
those schools.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
We of course believe that they do. So does the
First Amendment.
Speaker 6 (32:11):
So does Title nine of the Civil Rights Act as well.
Speaker 3 (32:16):
And then you've got places.
Speaker 6 (32:17):
Like Lano, Texas, where they're in the courts right now
community members who are suing the County Atlanto to make
sure that they can continue to access reading material without fear,
you know.
Speaker 3 (32:31):
So the Texas is really in the crossairs.
Speaker 6 (32:33):
There was a lawsuit there a year and a half
ago about a law called HB nine hundred. HB nine
hundred wanted to impose by Greg Abbott wanted to impose
the book reading systems to make it possible for make
it necessary for schools to let me rephrase it's HB
(32:58):
nine hundred was brought into because the law was set
up Greg Abbott wanted to see rating systems on books that.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
Were going into schools.
Speaker 6 (33:08):
They were going to force the library vendors to do that.
They went to the library vendors and the free speech
folks went to court and said this is a violation
of the First Amendment. The court agreed, and yet this
session they're trying to do some version of that again
and again and again. There's a bill right now in
Austin that was introduced day before yesterday. I believe that
(33:31):
was about using AI, you know, just just some I
don't know who's AI. They never said, but using AI
to determine whether or not a book is obscene or not.
And that's a really troubling use of an unproven technology
and experimental technology to do something as important as establishing
whether or not a book has criminal content in it.
(33:53):
Texas wants to be a laboratory for this kind of censorship.
Speaker 4 (33:59):
Raising the Apartment of Education. The Apartment of Education was
important and enforcing Title nine and money that goes to
the states. They're also important in civil rights as far
as making sure making sure that minorities have access to schools.
That's right where they play a part in the future.
(34:23):
Because if you.
Speaker 3 (34:24):
Get away with the Department of.
Speaker 4 (34:26):
Education and you hand it over to the state and
you have read states that don't like what's in the books.
That's would be scary for libraries in general. Like red
on that.
Speaker 6 (34:41):
To say libraries as long as you say school libraries
when we're talking about Department of Education. Absolutely, public libraries
are not under the Department of Education. But that thing said,
the whole culture of reading, the whole idea of access,
the whole idea of representation in the collection. I mean
a book that is interesting to the majority population. Yeah,
(35:02):
that's a great reason they have a book. People want
to read it.
Speaker 3 (35:04):
That's nice.
Speaker 6 (35:05):
But books that are relevant to minorities. You know, we
live at a post gay marriage society. We live in
a post interracial marriage society, whether everybody likes it or not.
And so books that are about those kinds of people
who are not necessarily white, straight, sisgendered, heteronormative, those folks
deserve to have their books on the shelves and available
(35:26):
to them as well.
Speaker 4 (35:28):
All right, I'll get people find out about your organization.
Speaker 6 (35:30):
I give you the U r L in my text message.
It's every library dot org. If they're concerned about going
on federally, we have a campaign right now called save
I am LS, Save I m LS dot org. It's
the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and we'd help.
We want to help connect people to solutions these problems.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
That was John Tarasca with the group Every Library. Every
Library is a group that supports and promotes libraries and libryanship,
helping public school and college library secure stable funding and support.
They have a petition that you can sign right now.
It's located at Every Library put together dot org, Forward
(36:12):
slash trump Termination IMLS grants. A fire destroyed half of
the Shape Community Center a few months ago, and through
donations they're about halfway to putting together the money to
rebuild completely. We replay the interview with the founder of
the Shape Community Center in the heart of the third ward.
Speaker 9 (36:35):
My name is Dela Parker. For fifty five years and
eight months, I've served as executive director of Shape Community Center,
Self Help, Prafit and People' through Education. It passed ten
days ago. We experience what would be interpreted as a tragedy,
a disaster, but we going to turn it around. A
(36:59):
building on fire thirty nine thirty fifteen level the heartbeat
of Shape Center, the center that encompasses so many memories,
so many memories, over five thousand pictures on the wall.
Every picture tells a story. When Winni Mindela came to Shape,
When Dick Gregory came When Ruben Hurricane Carter came in Shape,
(37:20):
When Most Death came by, I mean Martin King, the
third Martin the King's son came by. You name them.
Those pictures all was on the wall. It was a
place where everybody could come. It was the United Nations
of a neighborhood. Everybody could come to Shape. If they
(37:41):
wanted to do something, to do something progressive or revolutionary,
you can do it. We served as a conduit for
what you couldn't do anywhere else. You could do it
through Shape, if it was of significance for the growth
and development of our community. And well, let me just
tell you this past I said it before this past
ten days, we had a major fire at Shapes. I
(38:05):
mean it was it was heart breaking, but not breaking.
Just cracked my heart a little bit, but didn't break
it because we go stay strong. Actually it was electrical fire.
And many of the pictures that you would see on
the wall of Shape, much of the artwork at Shape,
a lot of the computer lab, the front desk beyond,
(38:29):
a lot of it was destroyed, the restrooms were messed up,
the computer lab where we had sixteen brand new computers
that we had just gotten not too long ago. So
we actually experienced a big loss at shape, a big loss.
But guess what, we didn't stop because when COVID came
(38:53):
a while back, we didn't stop functioning, operating. We just
shifted gears. We recalibrated, We organized what we were to
do so we can continue to do what we needed
to do. Same thing as applicable to this fire. We
didn't stop operating. We just changed how we did what
we were going to do. We recalibrated, We moved to
(39:14):
the Almeter building, our Rombe building. We started organizing this building,
conducing to what we were doing at the Live Oak building,
the building that caught on fire, and we've been doing that.
We didn't stop. The elders met today, Elders Institute of Wisdom,
they met today. The attorneys come for legal assistance on
(39:35):
a regular basis. We did much it would we have
been doing. We just could not have the children over
here because the building on Live Oak, the building that
was caught on fire, was licensed as a childcare center also,
so we couldn't do much of what we were doing
as operating as a childcare center at the building on
(39:58):
our meter, the Rombe building. So we have to put
a s a s halt on the childcare program until
we get this building prepared for the licensing of childcare.
So that's what we're working on now. I'm working on
getting the Ammeter building around me building conduced it to
childcare operations. So we just you know, we we haven't
(40:18):
inside and meet people I've got I've gotten calls from everywhere,
off from Gambie, West Africa, from Senegalgue, got a call
from Ghanna, got a call from Australia where my son
lives on what they could do. So I told most people.
I got a call from your Congressman, Al Green. I
got a call from your other congressman Invester Turnt. I
got a call from the city council person. I got
(40:39):
a call from James Dixon, from you f Frey Church.
I got a call from from people who wanna do something.
We wanna make a difference. I wanna contribute the one
way or the other. But Fortingtly, all I told him
was just hold your horses, hold owns, hold up a
little bit. We want your help, but we have to
(41:00):
create a structure s where we can receive it with
integrity and receive it with ethical and and UH bookkeeping
UH procedures intact. So we opened up an account at Chase,
a bank down the street from the Shape Shape Centers
(41:20):
rebuilding rec restoration program. And people wanna give, they can
give through that tax adaptible tax exempt all of that.
We also the Eldest Institute Wisdom still met on today.
They met and they had a wonderful time. But they
met at the Arambing building because they could not meet
where we normally would meet it. I said that earlier.
(41:42):
So they met here and I couldn't cook. I usually
cook a meal for the elders when they come. I
couldn't cook. Was a restaurant at the Family Center, the
one on a live Oh, we couldn't go in it.
We can't go in it. We can't do anything any
oulds old buildings is impacted. If something is all if
the computer lab or the electricity of all that is out,
(42:05):
how you operate in the kitchen independently from that, you
can't so, but that's okay. Somebody agreed to prepare food
for the elders today. So they delivered food for thirty elders,
so I didn't have to worry about cooking. Usually I
cook every Thursday for the elves. I didn't have to
do it this time because somebody donated the food for
the elders. And they met and they ate and they
(42:25):
had a wonderful time. But the building is in bad shape.
We do have insurance, but the insurance, if you know
anything about insurance, it takes a long time for them
to kick in and to do the you know what
has to be done legally and professionally, and or to
(42:46):
be able to get the value of the damage, how
much damage, how much money, and all that kind of stuff.
It takes a while. But that's even though the value
of the damage that was done exceeded three hundred thousand,
if you're going to need more than that to make
it work. So what we're doing, we're setting up an account.
(43:07):
As I stated before, we set up an account and
when people decide they want to you know, one person
called and they wanted to give right then, I say,
if you really want to give, you can wait for
us to do it and receive it the right way.
And they that's what they're doing. They're waiting because I
want to make sure that our accounting is intact, that
(43:28):
the money goes is earmarked for the building restoration, and
it goes to a specific account in the bank, and
that's what we're doing. It's tough. I'll be very honest
with you. I started Shape along with others because you
never do anything of value by yourself. It is worth having.
I started Shape with the help of fifteen to twenty
(43:51):
different people. It's just that I was one. They went
to Austin and walked the charter through it. It's fifty
five years nine months ago and got Shaped incorporated and
we've been operating for that length of time and we're
gonna continue to operate. But just so you'll know, Shape
(44:13):
Center is gonna continue. We're gonna keep on keeping on,
but we're gonna regroup and Uh, any questions you want to.
Speaker 8 (44:22):
Ask me to chase to donate, they need to go
to the bank chase.
Speaker 9 (44:27):
Actually we have a zal count, Okay, So go to
Shape website Shape dot org, Shape dot org and it'll
tell you what our zeal procedures are. Uh, well, you
can cash out, but zail is a they don't they
don't charge You know Zail is free, right, so that's
(44:49):
why we're gonna use ZIL. We won't take any money
out of your out of the money. You don't need
one hundred cash out and they'll take money out and
you end up they don't dominating ninety five. You know
you don't want so. But if you have any issues
about giving and helping us to get through this restoration process,
just you can go to Shape's email Shape dot org
(45:13):
or callers at the Shape Community Center seven one three
five two one zero six two nine, and we'll give
you that information. But just to make sure, and of
course all your donations are tax deductible. You are a
private one seed three organization. But we don't don't don't
give up on us.
Speaker 3 (45:32):
We not.
Speaker 9 (45:33):
We not finish yet. We got a long ways to go,
fifty five years, nine months and we go keep on,
keep it on.
Speaker 4 (45:40):
What I heard about the fire, I thought about Quantza
and what we talked about we talked about with m
buff An Embuff caught on fire and how the community
came together exactly bring it back after their fire.
Speaker 9 (45:56):
That's right, just like the community came together together to
bring get us building and facilities functional. The community is
already taking a headstart and helping shape Center to become
more functional through the restoration of our building. And of
course I will have to be very honest with you.
I have been, but I've even I revealed something to
(46:18):
you that I have not really told too many people.
But this has taken a toll on me personally. I
if you when you've invested over fifty five years of
your life in something and that fire takes away a lot.
I mean the pictures on the wall, I mean hundreds
(46:39):
and hundreds of pictures on the wall, and it set
us back. But you don't call it a setback, to
call it a set up. Be set up to do
greater things. So we'll get through this, and but U
I have to personally get through it because cause you know,
I've had I had problems sleeping. You know, when I've
been in the bed and close my my mind just
(47:01):
race thinking about all the stuff that we lost, and
think about all the work we have to do to
get back on the track. But I don't stay away
too long, and I don't finally I get to sleep
and I'll get back in the south because we're not finished.
Speaker 3 (47:18):
This is not finished.
Speaker 9 (47:19):
It we don't get through this, so we ask the
community to join us in this effort to restore Shape
to his traditional status. In fact, beyond its traditional status,
we want to have a more better Shape. So well,
that's where we are right.
Speaker 1 (47:35):
That was Deloyde T. Parker Jnior, who has been the
executive director of Shape since nineteen sixty nine. You can
donate to Shape by going to their website Shape dot
org forward Slash Restoration dash campaign. Also from there you
can volunteer time or give money or donate supplies, or
(47:56):
you can stop by the Shape HORR and B Admin Building,
thirty nine nine O three Almeta Road seven to seven
zero zero four Monday through Friday, eleven am to five pm.
Saturday from nine am to three pm. Hi, this is
Steve Gallington, producer and host of the People's News. If
(48:16):
you have a story that needs to be told, come
to us. We accept fully produced audio, written material, or
just give us the idea and we will run with it.
Shiny new one hour episodes of The People's News drop
each Sunday on The People's News podcast hosted by spreaker
dot com and linked to my website Gallington dot com.
(48:39):
In sports, News women's soccer, The Mexican women's national team
defeated Jamaica four to oh in Houston on Tuesday in
an exhibition match. The Houston dash lost at home three
to one in the National Women's Soccer League. On Saturday,
the Houston Dynamo, in a big match last weekend, defeated
(49:00):
l A FC in Major League Soccer at home one
to oher In Major League Rugby in the US, the
Houston SaberCats lost to Rugby FC Los Angeles twenty four
to twenty two at home. SaberCats captain Johann Momson, who
scored the first score for the SaberCats, commented after the match, you.
Speaker 8 (49:20):
Guys seemed to come apart into the second half. Doctor
talk about that a little bit.
Speaker 3 (49:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (49:26):
I think we just went in at halftime and just
at our attitude. I think attitude was a problem in
the first half, and I think the Kites reiterated that
message in the second and in the sheds, and I
think I feel like we sixed that in the second half.
But I feel like we just came up short. So
you know, now, he just find yourself to Miami next.
Speaker 11 (49:46):
Week's Yeah, different, It's a different coming into this season
than last week, because the last time I saw you,
guys were more a rock and mall type of type
of team, and now it seems to me it seems
like more you're more open.
Speaker 10 (49:58):
Yeah, uh yeah, I think coming into this year, I
feel like, you know, we we've got the the players
to attack in all all facets to the field, and
I think we're we're confident enough to to back ourselves
and you know, we we say to express ourselves and
and I think that's what we try and do going
into every game.
Speaker 11 (50:19):
Just a couple of miss tackles, but he still does
He's still played pretty pretty pretty good rugby.
Speaker 8 (50:24):
Yeah, you know, it's.
Speaker 10 (50:26):
One of our pillars is physicality. And I felt like
we were below part today and uh, you know, we'll
fix that on Monday and hopefully, you know, we did
that against Miami next week.
Speaker 1 (50:38):
Talta Tassi scored the second try for Houston.
Speaker 3 (50:42):
Good, how are you great?
Speaker 8 (50:43):
Trying to great try in the first half, came up short.
We're still a good match.
Speaker 12 (50:49):
Yeah, It's hard to say that when you lose, but yeah,
I guess it was a good way good match to watch. Uh,
frustrating for us. We got into the into the twenty two,
into the teching zone a lot, we just didn't convert it.
So yeah, a lot of work on for us on
that and defense.
Speaker 8 (51:07):
The difference between last year, I mean, your last coaching
was more.
Speaker 11 (51:10):
Of a rocking mall type of type of team, and
going into this season, like I was saying before, it
seems like more of an open, open game.
Speaker 7 (51:17):
For you guys.
Speaker 12 (51:18):
I think we still have both. Like to night be
trying to go more towards the mall. I think we
can play both. We have it in our arsenal. We
can go back to either depending on the conditions. I
think just for us finding the balance, finding the right
balance and when to do when to do what I
think that's going to be the key, and it told
us about to try for you, Yeah, I just saw
(51:43):
that they were a little widely spread right on the
on the go line, and I saw a little gap.
I just ran flat onto it and space was there.
Speaker 8 (51:52):
So there's a couple of differences. Difference relaxes you think
in the second.
Speaker 12 (51:56):
Half, Yeah, I think they they played the ball white
to why very fast, struggled to handle it, we struggled
to slowly down it sometimes and yeah, just make too
many areas, mistakeles and costs.
Speaker 1 (52:12):
Houston lost this week also as they played the Miami
Sharks with the final score of thirty one to twenty two.
They are now five and three on the season. Their
next tone match is April nineteenth at seven pm. We
end the People's News with a reading from Timothy Snyder's
on Tyranny, Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, which was
(52:33):
published in twenty seventeen and something I used as a
guidebook to get me through the first Donald Trump presidency.
We're reading number fourteen of the twenty Lessons, which is
entitled establish a private life. Nastier rulers will use what
they know about you to push you around, scrub your
computer of malware on a regular basis. Remember that email
(52:57):
is skywriting. Consider using all alternative forms of the Internet
or simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person
for the same reason. Resolve any legal trouble. Tyrants seek
the hook on which to hang you. Try not to
have hooks. What the great political thinker Hannah Arent meant
(53:19):
by totalitarianism was not an all powerful state, but the
erasure of the difference between private and public life. We
are free only in so far as we exercise control
over what people know about us and in what circumstances
they come to know it. During the campaign of twenty sixteen,
we took a step toward totalitarianism without even noticing it,
(53:43):
by accepting as normal the violation of electronic privacy, Whether
it is done by American or Russian intelligence agencies, or
for that matter, by any institution. The theft, discussion, or
publication of personal communications destroys a basic foundation of our rights.
If we have no control over who reads what and when,
(54:04):
we have no ability to act in the present or
plan for the future. Whoever can pierce your privacy can
humiliate you and disrupt your relationships at will. No one,
except perhaps a tyrant, has a private life that can
survive public exposure by hostile directive. The timed email bombs
of the twenty sixteen presidential campaign were also a powerful
(54:27):
form of disinformation. Words written in one situation makes sense
only in that context. The very act of removing them
from their historical moment and dropping them in another is
an act of falsification. What is worse, when media followed
the email bombs as if they were news, they betrayed
(54:48):
their own mission. Few journalists made an effort to explain
why people said or wrote the things they did at
the time. Meanwhile, in transmitting privacy violations as news, the
media allowed themselves to be distracted from the actual events
of the day. Rather than reporting the violation of basic rights,
our media generally preferred to mindlessly indulge in the inherently
(55:11):
salacious interest we have in other people's affairs. Our appetite
for the secret thought arrant is dangerously political. Totalitarianism removes
the difference between private and public, not just to make
individuals unfree, but also to draw the whole society away
from normal politics and toward conspiracy theories. Rather than defending
(55:35):
facts or generating interpretations, we are seduced by the notion
of hidden realities and dark conspiracies that explain everything. As
we learn from these email bombs, this mechanism works even
when it is revealed it is of no interest. The
revelation of what was once confidential becomes the story itself.
(55:55):
It is striking that the news media are much worse
at this than say, fashion or sports reporters. Fashion reporters
know that models are taking off their clothes in the
changing rooms, and sports reporters know that their athletes shower
in the locker room, but neither allow private matters to
supplant the public story that they are supposed to be covering.
(56:16):
When we take an active interest in the matters of
doubtful relevance at moments that are chosen by tyrants and spooks,
we participate in the demolition of our own political order.
To be sure, we might feel that we are doing
nothing more than going along with everyone else. This is true,
and it is what aren't described as the devolution of
(56:37):
society into a mob. We can try to solve this
problem individually by securing our own computers. We can also
try to solve it collectively by supporting, for example, organizations
that are concerned with human rights. That was an excerpt
of the book on Tyranny, Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth
(56:58):
Century by Timothy's The People's News is a production of
Steve Gallington and Richard Hannah, and is protected by copyright laws.
All the information broadcast on air and online, as well
as published in both print and or online, including articles,
audio clips, illustrations, graphics, photographs, and videos, are protected by
(57:20):
these copyright and other state and federal intellectual property laws. Therefore,
you may not use our content in any prohibited way,
including reproducing, publishing, transmitting, selling, rewriting, broadcasting, or posting on
the Internet without the expressed written permission of the People's News.
Prohibited use also includes publication of our material in printed
(57:41):
or electronic brochures, newsletters, or flyers, as well as all
website or email distribution. To obtain permission to use copyrighted material,
email Steve Gallington at Steve atgallington dot com. Thank you,
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