LizLetters

Burned By The System

Josh Wolf #98005-111 Unit J2
FDC Dublin
Camp Parks
5675 8th Street
Dublin, CA 94568

Dear Mr. Wolf,

    Congratulations on your record-breaking jail stay! According to the San Francisco Chronicle, you have now spent 169 days in jail, longer than and U.S. journalist charged with contempt of court.
    Okay, maybe it’s not the distinction you would have chosen. I feel that I should apologize to you because I was not aware that you were still incarcerated. I wrote a letter to Judge Alsup back in August asking that he dismiss the charges against you (looks like I don’t have much pull with him). Somehow I could not imagine that they would keep you incarcerated for this. If they tried, surely the outcry from the public, from the press would shame them into releasing you.
    I am not sure why I was so optimistic. It has become increasingly obvious that our civil liberties have been buttered to the point where we have no grip on them. And most Americans seem to be just sitting around saying “Mmmmm... butter...”.  Civil disobedience is certainly not tolerated. A couple in New Hampshire is being descended upon by the Feds for refusing to pay taxes.
    The letter I wrote to Judge Alsup was part of a letter-writing project I started last year. I wrote a letter each day, many of which were inspired by stories from the news, and posted my letters and the replies I received  on a blog. I was inspired to write a few letters about the state of prisons in the U.S. It is simply amazing to me that, on top of a hugely flawed criminal justice system, our prison systems themselves are in such dire need of reform. We can begin to change things by bridging the disconnect between prisoners and those “on the outside.” I applaud the project that was started as a result of your case, prisonblogs.net. If you reply to this letter I’ll post it on my blog. Good luck!

Truly,

Liz Mann

Debra Bowen 2

Debra Bowen
California Secretary of State
1500 11th Street
Sacramento, California 95814

Dear Ms. Bowen:

    I recently became aware of how difficult it currently is for a man to take on his wife’s last name upon marrying. According to a news story about one couple, a man currently has to pay more than three times what a woman has to pay to change her last name to her husband’s, plus he has to “advertise his intention in a newspaper for four weeks and get a judge’s approval.”
    I understand that some of these procedures go way back, and the advertisement of a name change makes sense in case that individual is doing so simply to avoid debt. But why shouldn’t a woman have to do so as well? I do not understand the extra fees and requirement to see a judge.
    I did not adopt my husband’s last name when I married, though I do use it occasionally. We discussed the various options, such as hyphenating our names, or coming up with a new name, but we probably would not have even entertained these options if we had known about the extra fees and trouble.
    It saddens me that so few men seem to want to take their wives’ names in the first place. In many ways sexism is so rooted in our culture that we do not recognize it when we see it. It’s just easier not to change things. I hope that you will work to make the procedures equal for men , women, and same-sex couples in taking their spouse’s name.

Truly,

Liz Mann

Civil Disobedience

Ed and Elaine Brown
401 Center of Town Road
Plainfield, NH 03781

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Brown,

    I hope this letter finds you well. My thoughts are with you this morning, as I have just read that you are in a battle with the federal government that is coming to a head. You have reportedly refused to pay taxes for about a decade, citing the lack of any statute requiring you to do so, and it looks as though the feds have decided to come for you. It completely blows my mind that you, Ed, have even reached a point where you feel that your life is at risk if you refuse to go to court.
    Your actions embody the spirit of the great American Henry David Thoreau, and your situation illustrates that the government will not tolerate disobedience in any form. Whatever the outcome, I am inspired by your courage. Be safe!

Truly,

Liz Mann

Pelosi 2

Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi
450 Golden Gate Ave., 14th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102

Dear Speaker of the House Pelosi:

    Congratulations on becoming the first woman Speaker of the House! Your “100 hours” have begun, and I am hopeful that this is the beginning of an era of much-needed repairs after years of damage that the Bush administration has wreaked. I find it personally encouraging that you have attained this impressive position after raising five children and being a stay-at-home-mom.
    I wanted to drop you a note and let you know that although you have stated that you will not seek impeachment of Bush, I believe that the best thing for this country would be to impeach him and Cheney, and make them accountable for their wrongdoing. I do not understand how they have managed to get away with dismantling our civil liberties, squandering billions on a senseless war and forever altering the world, jeopardizing the health and safety of future generations.
    This is not a time for slow change. You have already showed that you mean business, banning cigarettes from the Speaker’s Lobby near the House floor. I recommend that you make it a little easier for the Old Boys and hand out tubes of the new nicotine-laced hand cream Nicogel, so as they’re waiting in the wings wringing their hands, they can at least still be getting their nic fix.

Truly,

Liz Mann

Digging Your Own Fence

United States Attorney Carol Lam
U.S. Attorney's Office Southern District of California
Federal Office Building
880 Front Street, Room 6293
San Diego, California 92101-8893

Dear Ms. Lam:

    In a recent criminal case that has some elements of irony, it seems that a company in charge of building a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border is being charged with hiring undocumented workers. You are quoted as saying that jail time is being sought in this case because of the “size of the company” and “the amount of fraud.” I am glad to hear that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency would not be so small as to seek harsher punishments for these defendants simply because of something so petty as public humiliation of their agency and blatant exposure of a failure in the basic fundamentals of the United States’ immigration enforcement strategies.
    I hope that you at first gave these employers the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they had a plan all along to hold these undocumented workers up as an example and teach them a lesson. The company would string the workers along with promise of full pay upon completion of the project. Once the fence was almost done, they may have strategized to make sure the workers in question were on the “other” side of the fence. Then, like Montresor sealing up Fortunado in the vault in Poe’s “Cask of Amontillado,” they would wave to the workers over the fence as they welded it tight, admiring the impenetrable fence-ness of their fence.
    Alas, I may be naive as to their intentions. But since this is unusually harsh punishment, maybe they will get decent treatment while behind bars. No strangers to hard work, they will undoubtedly seek employment and strive to move up in the ranks. They could quickly earn  spots on the kitchen crew. Maybe even as guards.

Truly,

Liz Mann

Woodshop For The Real World

Margaret M. Moree
Director of Workforce Development and Training
New York State Department of Labor
State Campus, Building 12
Albany, New York 12240

Dear Ms. Moree:

    I am writing to express my concern about the conflict between the state of New York and the Amish whose young community members are being kept out of the work force. I understand that child labor laws are in place to protect the interests of children and keep them from being exploited, but I also believe that there are instances where exceptions should be made, or legislation should be changed.
    In an established community like that the Amish people have, it seems fit that they should be allowed to carry on in whatever manner has worked for them over the years regarding schooling and work, providing there is not overwhelming evidence that their way of life is causing its citizens great harm.
    It was not that long ago in our nation’s history that young people grew up learning and practicing the skills they would need in real life. In the book Johnny Tremain we read about a fourteen year old silversmith’s apprentice. This book is required reading for many young kids who are forced to sit in a classroom until they are good and ready for all the safe and appropriate jobs out there. Cookie cutter legislation does not make much sense to me. If there are people willing and eager to teach children skilled trades and how to be active in their communities, I don’t think the state should stand in their way.

Truly,

Liz Mann

No Room For The Manger

Alfredo Mantovano
Alleanza Nazionale
National Direction - Internet Office
39, Via della Scrofa - 00186 Rome

Dear Mr. Mantovano:

    I recently read that you are calling on the public to boycott IKEA because they do not carry nativity scenes. While I do not think it is fair to expect any one peddler of fine furnishings to supply a specific item, particularly if it is something that is widely available, the attention you have drawn to the nativity itself got me to thinking about the subject. For not only in your fair country of Italy, but here in America we, too, are experiencing controversy around nativity scenes.
    We have an animal rights group here called People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and they are keeping an eye out for folks who set up “live nativities,” for the animals used in these scenes are apparently often mistreated. Do you have a similar situation there?
    A baby Jesus was recently stolen from a crèche in someone’s yard, as if it was merely a garden gnome, but fortunately found its way home.
    I wonder, though, what the proper means of disposal is for these items. Certainly people’s nativity sets do not last forever, and must be discarded. Here in the U.S. there are specific procedures for disposing of a retired American flag, and I wonder why there do not seem to be any rules about display and handling of representations of Jesus. In the case of the stolen baby, a man found the plastic child on his doorstep and did not want to throw it away (who wants to throw Jesus in the rubbish bin?) so he put him in the garage.
    I hope that instead of focusing on the absence of nativities at a certain store, you will focus energy on raising awareness around the world about how to keep and protect the nativities they have.

Truly,

Liz Mann

A Reply To Iran

H.E. Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
c/o United States Embassy “Iranian Interests Section”
2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW
Washington DC 20007

Dear President Ahmadinejad:

    Thank you for the letter of November 29th to The American People. I was not aware that you had been awaiting a reply to a letter to President Bush from many months ago. It is simply rude of him not to at least send you a little note stating that he is too busy to send an adequate reply. I hope he at least reads your blog!
    I am no expert in international relations, but I believe that transparency and open communication are essential to making progress in diplomacy. Your open letter, while dismissed by the White House as a publicity stunt, was laudable as an attempt to encourage dialogue. Our leaders in Washington do not tend to enjoy criticism of their policies, particularly from other countries. But it is healthy and necessary for the United States, as well as all nations, to be held up to scrutiny and to be challenged.
    It would not be productive, however, to simply hold up a mirror to a nation and tell it to have a good gander at all of its flaws. Rather than simply point out what is lacking in America, I hope you will endeavor to provide a positive example. Continued cooperation, transparency and communication on your part will foster improved relations in the future.

Truly,

Liz Mann

Cradling The Weight Of War

Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad
c/o Embassy of the United States
APO AE 09316
Baghdad, Iraq

Dear Ambassador Khalilzad:

    I know that I cannot begin to imagine the heartbreak that is felt daily in Iraq as families grieve over pointless and tragic deaths, one after another. I would like to extend my sympathies to the people of Iraq.
    The White House has, in the recent past, begun to pay attention to a voting sector they like to call “security moms,” who apparently are in support of Bush and his policies because they feel he can offer security for our nation and families. He does not seem to understand that the last thing a mother wants to see is an image on the news of a parent holding the lifeless body of a child in his or her arms. Yes, I want security for my family, but I also want security for familes everywhere.
    The U.S. military should not have jumped into an occupation in Iraq as it did. I hope you will communicate to whomever you can that there are citizens over here who are wishing for a peaceful resolution to the conflicts in Iraq.

Truly,

Liz Mann

Vermont Victory

Rep. Bernie Sanders
1 Church Street, 2nd Floor
Burlington, VT 05401

Dear Rep. Sanders:

    Just thought I’d drop a note to say congratulations on becoming the first Socialist Senator in the United States! With Republicans losing much of the power they have held for more than a decade, things are starting to look up. It is heartening to see people gain influential positions who recognize that more and more Americans are struggling financially and go without health care. I am certain that you already have a good pair of rubber boots in your Washington office. Dust them off, because the GOP mess is going to take a while to clean up.

Truly,

Liz Mann