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November Z, 2012_____________________________ ^ ortlattö (DbserUer________________________ Page '3 ________________O pinion Isolation on Both Ends of the Line The steep cost of staying in touch o n s to so lic it b id s fro m m u ltip le c o m p a n ie s. Y ou m ig h t p re su m e th a t p ris o n s w o u ld c h o o se th e lo w e st b id to c o n ta in c o sts. B ut th e o p p o s ite is tru e. In a c o m p le te d isto rtio n o f free- m arket eco n o m ics, the p h one c o m p a n ie s th a t sec u re c o n tra c ts w ith p riso n s are o fte n the o n es th at c h a rg e m o re th an th e ir c o m p e ti to rs. T h e ir h ig h b id s are a r tif i cially in flate d b ey o n d w hat it co sts to p ro v id e se rv ic e b e c a u se th ey in c lu d e a "co m m issio n " th at g o es d ire c tly b a ck to th e p riso n . A s a re su lt, c o n su m e rs p ay up to 6 0 p e rc e n t m o re th an the actu al c o st o f se rv ic e , a c c o rd in g to re sea rc h by th e in d e p e n d e n t m a g a z in e P riso n L eg al N ew s. T h e re 's no state o r fed eral o v e r sig h t o f th e se co m m issio n s, w hich is w hy W rig h t led a c la ss a c tio n su it filed in 2000. In 2 0 0 1 , a ju d g e re fe rre d th e case to the F e d e ra l C om m u n icatio n s C om m issio n , c it C hancellar W illiams W rig h t is p a rtia lly blind, W hen M artha W right's so tra v e lin g to see h er g ra n d so n w ent to p riso n g ra n d s o n o r w ritin g a m ore than 20 years ago, she le tte r w e re n 't re a listic learned a stark lesson about o p tio n s . S h e h a d to rely the cost o f m aintaining ties on p h o n e c a lls. w ith a fam ily m em ber w ho is S h e s o o n n o tic e d incarcerated. t h a t h e r p h o n e b ill B eyond the isolation and deep ju m p e d fro m $ 5 0 to $ 7 5 , an d then w ound o f being separated from a to n e arly $ 2 0 0 . A s so m eo n e liv in g loved one, there's also a very steep on a fix e d in c o m e , W rig h t e v e n tu price to staying in touch. T he c h il a lly h ad to re je c t so m e o f th e calls dren, parents, siblings, and g ran d fro m h e r g ra n d s o n ju s t to av o id parents o f the incarcerated spend h ig h b ills. Im a g in e th e p ain o f re as m uch as$17 fo ra 15-minute phone je c tin g a p h o n e call w ith o u t the call w ith their loved ones behind o p p o rtu n ity to e x p la in the c irc u m bars. A nd the people w ho benefit stan c e s. Im a g in e the iso la tio n that the m ost from m aintaining co n n ec c re a te s on b o th e n d s o f the line. tions are often those w ho can least So w hy are the M arth a W rig h ts afford the excessive price tag. o f th e w o rld p a y in g so m u ch fo r W rig h t liv e s in W ash in g to n , b a sic p h o n e s e rv ic e ? T h e a n sw e r D .C ., an d th a t's w h e re she re sid e d is a m o n o p o ly sy ste m th a t has w h en h e r g ra n d so n U la n d is F o rte g o n e u n c h e c k e d fo r fa r to o long. w as sen t to p riso n in L o rto n , Va. T h e c u rre n t s tru c tu re a llo w s p ris by in g th e a g e n c y 's ju ris d ic tio n o v e r the re g u la tio n o f in te rsta te te le p h o n e serv ice. T h is re fe rra l b e c am e k n o w n as the W rig h t P e ti tio n , w h ich seek s a re stru c tu rin g o f lo n g -d ista n c e c a llin g se rv ic e fo r in c a rc e ra te d p eo p le. R ep. B o b b y R u sh , D -Ill., e v en in tro d u c e d th e F am ily T e le p h o n e C o n n ectio n P ro tectio n A ct in 2007 to c re a te ru le s to re g u la te ra te s, bu t it d id n 't p ass. He has re m a in e d c o m m itte d to the cau se an d jo in e d fo rce s w ith R ep . H en ry W ax m an , D -C a lif., to su b m it a le tte r to the FC C in S e p te m b e r u rg in g th em to act. L aw m akers, organizations that span the political spectrum , and con cerned m em bers o f the public have all criticized the FC C ’s inaction to no avail. It is a true m iscarriage o f ju s tice that the governm ent has left the incarcerated and their fam ilies on hold for m ore than a decade. M artha W right's grandson is now a free man. B ut even though she no longer has to struggle w ith the u n fair cost o f prison phone calls, her com m itm ent to the cause rem ains. She's inspiring a m ovem ent to bring ju stice to fam ilies w ho desire sim ple fairness. M ignon C ly b u m , an FC C c o m m issioner, recently said she w as proud to stand w ith W right in her fight for those "w ho rem ain d esper ate to hear the voices o f their in car cerated loved ones on a regular basis." N ow it's tim e for the rest o f the FC C com m issioners to hear this call and pass the W right Petition. Justice has been delayed for far too long. Chancellar Williams is the gov ernment and external affairs man ager for Free Press, a non-profit organization advocating for uni versal and affordable Internet ac cess, diverse media ownership, vi brant public media, and quality journalism. America: One Nation under Surveillance Tracking your every move W illiam A . C ollins D oes it m atter that the federal g o v ern m en t can track y o u r cell phone at any m om ent o f the day? T hat protesting at an event w here the Secret Service is present is now a felony? T hat any A m erican can be ja ile d indefinitely w ithout charge o r trial? T hat you can suddenly be kept o ff all a ir planes w ithout being given a rea son, forever? W ell, yes, those things m atter a great deal. T hey are the stu ff o f a police state. T hey usually pose a by d an g er to oth er nations and im pose a great burden on their ow n citizens. People subjected to such oppression elsew here have often com e to A m erica to escape it. In term s o f surveillance, the cell phone is the instru m ent o f choice in tracking your every m ove, but even leaving it hom e is no sure fix. City governm ents from Hartford, C o n n ., to O a k lan d , C alif, have p ushed (w ith varying degrees o f success) to install cam eras at inter sections to p h o to g rap h y o u r v e hicle. T hey say it's in case you run a red light. But groups like the A m eri can C ivil L iberties U nion w arn they co u ld em p o w er the authorities to (O bscruer Established 1970 USPS 959-680 ________________________________ 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211 Charles H. Washington EniTOR-Michael L eighton A ssistant to P ubusher , P ublk R f . lations : M ark W ashington C reative D irector : P aul N e u feld t A ssistant to P ubusher , O ffice M anagfr /C lassifieds : Lucinda Baldwin A ssistant P ubusher : Leonard Latin A dvertising M anager , P ublic R eiations : Tony Washington S taff W r ^ er /P hotographer : Cari Hachmann * E ditor - in -C hief , P ublisher : ch eck on w here you've been. say, it's best not to w ear a headscarf. A nd if you h appen to m arch M ost om inous o f all these trends against prom inent politicians, p ar is the latest version o f the N ational ticularly on m atters like w ar and D e fe n s e A u th o r iz a tio n A ct peace or bank im punity, heaven help (N D A A ), w hich outlines each year you. N o longer are there firm law s to how the Pentagon's budget will be protect such com plainers. divvied up and sets out operational Police can chase you aw ay, steal policies. y o u r belongings, read your m ail, T he latest version, w ith b ip arti listen to your phone, and lock you san support, basically em pow ers up. T h eir m ission is to preserve o r the m ilitary to detain anybody it der, deter terrorists, stifle protest, w ants, at any tim e, w ith no form al and protect elected leaders from charge, for as long as it desires. N or em barrassm ent. is this pow er lim ited to foreign battle O f course if you're M uslim , p ri fields — it also covers A m erican vacy rem ains sim ply a dream . Y our soil. m osque is under surveillance, your W h ile th e c o r p o r a te - o w n e d p e rso n is ra c ially p ro file d , and m e d ia rem ain d o c ile an d ra re ly boarding an airplane can be a te n re p o rt on th ese issu e s, the C o n sion-filled adventure. N eedless to stitu tio n is sh iv e rin g in its fram e. The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be re turned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads be come the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or per sonal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 2008 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PER MISSION IS PROHIBITED The Portland O bserver-O regon’s Oldest Multicultural Publication-is a member of the National Newspaper Association-Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Representa tive Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association P ostmaster : Send address changes to Portland Observer, PO Box3137, Portland, 0R97208 CALL 503-288-0033 FAX 503-288-0015 neHs@ponlandobserver.com ads@ponlandobserver.com subscription @ponlandobserver.com A lert c itiz e n s have filed a law suit, A fe d e ral ju d g e in itia lly g ra n te d an in ju n c tio n a g a in st in d e fin ite d e te n tio n p ra c tic e s w h ile the suit w as in the co u rts. B ut on O ct. 2 the g o v e rn m e n t's stay on th a t in ju n c tio n , g ra n te d e a rlie r th is y ear, w as e x te n d e d , c le a rin g th e w ay fo r in d e fin ite d e te n tio n s. Spying, eavesdropping, seizure, and detention are the new m odes o f A m erican security. O ld-fashioned dissent is apparently far too d an gerous. As a new bum per sticker reads: "A m erica, O ne N ation, U n d er Surveillance." OtherWords columnist William A. Collins is a former state repre sentative and a former mayor o f Norwalk, Conn. THE LAW OFFICES OF Patrick John Sweeney, PC. Patrick John Sweeney Attorney at Law 1549 SE Ladd Portland, Oregon Portland: Hillsoboro: Facsimile: Email: (503) 244-2080 (503) 244-2081 (503) 244-2084 Sweeney@PDXLawyer.com
