Elaine's Passing

Elaine Marie Hinchey, of Tampa, joined her mother, Mary A. Hinchey and beloved Daniel A. Maier on January 23, 2008. Elaine was born in Washington, D.C. and was a graduate of Parkdale Senior High School in College Park, MD and was an advocate for the disabled for over twenty-five years. Her life was dedicated to providing a voice for the oppressed whether it be in the pursuit of a united Ireland or advocating for the rights of the disabled and homebound. Elaine is survived by her father, Charles E. Hinchey, her sisters, Elise A. Wilson, Margo T. Valenti, Jennifer L. Hinchey and their families. Elaine’s well-loved extended family included many but her life was made complete with the love and support of Sandy and Martin Maier and her very dear friend, Avery Ceo.
A Memorial Mass will be held at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church, Land O’ Lakes on Thursday, February 7, 2008 at 10 a.m.


Some of you may want to leave memorial messages. Since Tribe may eventually remove this blog, a permanent guestbook has been set up at www.loylessfuneralhome.com/services.asp

SLAVERY IS NOT A JOKE!

Achairde All:

Well, every time I get frightened that I won't be able to write for much longer someone does something to convince me I still have a bit of the fight left in me no matter how bad I feel physically. This time the honors go to Facebook. By and large I like the place until something happened to me- WITH OUT MY KNOWLEDGE OR CONSENT- and I'm back in the saddle again!

I think we all know how I feel about slavery. Mother knows I've written enough about it for almost 5 years. Also, can anyone forget the picture I posted of the 8 year old Sudanese House Slave who was expected to clean her Master's house and watch his children for a bowl of rice a day! Or the sex slaves lured to so-called "Civilized Countries" on the promise of good jobs as Nannies only to be sold into prostitution. Those who resist are beaten, tortured and chained to a bed where they are expected to service 20 to 40 clients a day.

If you want a real picture of how bad the situation is I suggest you go to the Anti-Slavery Homepage at:


Anti-Slavery Homepage
www.antislavery.org/

But the reality is slavery continues TODAY.

Millions of men, women and children around the world are forced to lead lives as slaves. Although this exploitation is often not called slavery, the conditions are the same. People are sold like objects, forced to work for little or no pay and are at the mercy of their 'employers'.

Slavery exists today despite the fact that it is banned in most of the countries where it is practiced. It is also prohibited by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1956 UN Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery. Women from eastern Europe are bonded into prostitution, children are trafficked between West African countries and men are forced to work as slaves on Brazilian agricultural estates. Contemporary slavery takes various forms and affects people of all ages, sex and race...

Why am I so irate? Here's a clue I came across at Facebook last night:

***** spanked you.
7:44pm
***** bought you for $571, earning you $30 in profit.
7:43pm

That's right folks- I WAS SOLD, MADE A PROFIT FROM, LISTED AS ONE OF THIS BODACH'S SEX PETS AND TOLD TO REPORT FOR MY SPANKING again ALL WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE OR CONSENT!!!!!!!!!!!

I like a good joke as much as the next woman. But if you've read me a couple of times you would agree that I am, arguably, the WORST person they could have picked to do this to. At least that was the general consensus of several organizations I contacted about it. In fact one Anti-Slavery Advocate actually said, "Sweet Jesus! I'm going to go hide under my bed until the explosions are over! Are they crazy or they just don't know who you are?" (A bit of both I think- even though my profile makes it quite clear what I do and this is my Web Address.)

General attitude- IT'S JUST GOOD, CLEAN FUN!!! I couldn't care less what consenting Adults do in the privacy of their own rooms. We all know that if this jerk had written me asking to buy me, etc. the answer would have been an emphatic, "No!" (Followed by language that would have Miss Pat and Miss Wil making me lick a bar of lye soap like a lollipop!!!)

Since Facebook is Multi-Racial and you can be enslaved without your knowledge the NAACP was even less amused than I was!

So do me a favor and take a stand against slavery in any form. If you are a member of Facebook go to the Protest Section at the following link and let them know that this is not good, clean fun. It is humiliating, degrading and since most of the slaves are women, sexist.

PROTEST@ FACEBOOK
apps.facebook.com/protest/

I was really depressed when we had our outage. I am SO glad to be back among my Efx2 Family where no matter the gender, age or race we know the difference between right and wrong!

Keep the Faith!

Slan leat,
Elaine
AKA Cabin Fever
CABINFEVERONLINE

MOOD: IRATE
MUSIC: ANONYMOUS 4 - GOING OVER JORDAN

EP: HAUNTED CHILD EMAIL CAMPAIGN III- THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

Achairde All:

It has been, if you will pardon the vulgarity, "One Hell of a week and one Bitch of a day!!!" I had hoped to be farther along by now but I am running into a roadblock with the Right Honorable Governor of South Dakota. He doesn't have an email address. He is what we call in the Human Rights field refer to as "A Legislator in a Box". In other words, you go to a Government page belonging to the person you want to contact and fill in your information. The catch is that many severely limit what you want to write by limiting you to so many characters - NOT WORDS - letters!!! Personally, I won't vote for anyone in my state's government who won't give me an email address so that they can 'hear' exactly what's on my mind, but then again that's just my viewpoint on the situation.

To give Governor Rounds’ his ‘props’ he doesn’t limit his- I wrote him a two page letter containing seven-hundred and seventy six words WITH an attachment and it took all of it. The catch at his site is that you have to put your name, address and email address in for it to go through. This is not something I have a problem with because if I write something I put my name on it. Especially if involves the life of another human being. Also, I would feel like a coward if I didn’t- again, that’s just my viewpoint on the situation.

The other is to use a Petition at Care2 and everyone can sign it there. I need to be blunt and tell you that this will not have the impact of an email and will probably do very little to help Timothy for the immediate future. It won’t go to the Governor until we reach our goal for signatures. Care2 will also ask for some personal information but they keep all such data in a secure server. All that will appear is your name and the number you are on the submission list. I also need to worn you that Pols grade contact by so many constituents per phone call, letter or email. For example, a phone call shows that ten constituents are concerned about this issue while an email counts for twenty. A Petition needs at least twenty thousand signatures to get a reaction.

As to how we gain momentum- we use the ‘5 by 5 Rule’ that has worked successfully for us ModBlog refugees. We ran several very campaigns there and they were all very effective. That involves mentioning the campaign and referring back to CFO. You then ask five of your friends to do the same, etc. Geometric Progression is a wonderful thing. Then three days before I post the email text and we ALL MAIL ON THE SAME DAY. BTW this SCARES the mortal Hell out of your basic elected official. They feel as though the sky is falling on them and I must admit that fear makes me feel tingly right down to the soles of my feet!

So, it’s up to you. Let me know if we tough it out and do the emails at his site or if we go for the less involved petition. Let me hear from you so I can get to writing the email or the petition. Please remember that Timothy Caffrey has spent twenty-seven years in prison for a crime committed while he was an abused 17 year-old. (If your Father hits you and says that they made a mistake ‘adopting a stupid Indian’ in front of HIS MINISTER’S WIFE imagine what he did to the boy when his wife was away until midnight!)

I will wait until the 4th out of consideration for those who celebrate Labor Day here in the U.S. Then I will post your decision. I confess that I hope you choose the email because after working for a United Ireland and for the freedom of Leonard Peltier (I still say it’s hard to kill a Federal Agent when you are five states away!) the very thought of unjust punishments such as this gives me nightmares. I can’t even watch “The Green Mile” or “Prison Break” because of it.

Keep the Faith!

Slan leat,
Elaine
AKA Cabin Fever
CABIN FEVER ONLINE

Listening To: GYPSY SOUL ~ ONE MORE DAY
I'm Feeling: A NEED FOR JUSTICE

EMERGENCY POST: HAUNTED

THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN POSTED AT HUMAN RIGHTS IN ACTION (GOOGLE GROUPS), VARIOUS TRIBE SITES, EFx2, FACE BOOK, MY SPACE, YAHOO, MS LIVE & BLOGGAR, ETC. I WRITE UNDER A COMMON CONTENTS LICENSE SO AS LONG AS YOU DON'T EDIT IT OR FORGET TO CREDIT THE AUTHOR PLEASE FEEL FREE TO POST THIS ANYWHERE YOU FEEL IT WILL HELP TIM CAFFREY. OH BOTHER IT! JUST DON'T EDIT IT FORGET MY NAME IF YOU WANT! emch

King George, VA


Achairde All:

Well, I survived the first half of the trip and it was just about as pleasant as one could imagine it to be. However, I have hoisted the EMERGENCY Flag because there is a man in South Dakota who is in dire need of our help. By that I mean a concentrated effort and not merely reading this and saying how horrible it is and moving on. I have placed this is its entirety so you can read it for yourselves. I have been in touch with Arnie Berkeland and Arnold Miller who is Governor Rounds Aide when it comes to Clemency & Pardons. I have obtained two experts willing to donate their time- one in Bi-racial Adoptions and the other is a Guardian Ad Litem Attorney who has worked on similar cases. Right now I am attempting to find a Psychiatrist or Psychologist who has the expertise in PTSD and Child Abuse we need to complete our efforts. The Oglala Sioux Nation passed a Resolution in Tim's favor on Friday, August 10th and when I spoke with Mr. Berkeland this past Monday, August 13th, he advised that a very respected retired Politician has also agreed to speak to the Governor on Tim's behalf.

Modblog refugees will remember the flaming I took when I reported an abused child to the Norman, OK Police Department after I read her postings at her Blog. I and some of my friends in Human Rights & Children's Rights work offered her our help and her answer was to take her pages down and pretend that she was just mad at her Mom. Folks, I appreciate a good vent as much as the next woman but I DO know the difference and so did the Norman Police because I took the precaution of printing out those pages BEFORE she could delete them. The result was that she and her mother received the help they needed. The saddest thing about Tim Caffrey is that a whole cadre of Adults KNEW about his abuse and NO ONE- NOT EVEN THEIR MINISTER AND HIS WIFE DID ANYTHING CONCRETE TO HELP HIM. When the Norman Detective asked why I had "bothered' to report the case my response was simply, 'IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO."

Tim Caffrey was originally charged with Murder One and it was changed to Manslaughter One when the Judge refused the charge. In every other state he would have received a maximum of 40 to 45 years. Done, on average, a third of that sentence or 14 years and been Paroled. He received Life WITHOUT Parole and has been incarcerated for twenty-seven years. Of course he didn't exactly get the most objective of trials. Everyday we read about some sexual predator who got twenty-five to Life and is out in five. Don't believe me? Check out your state's Sexual Offender List. The one that is supposed to let you know where they are so you can protect your kids. Since a large majority of them seem to want to move Florida I check the FDLE List once a month. There is a man who just moved in directly across from me who is not only listed as a Registered Sex Offender in big bold red letters it says:

THIS MAN IS ALSO REGISTERED AS A VIOLENT SEXUAL PREDATOR


NOW there is a comforting thought now isn't it? In his entire 'career' he has done less than a third of time that Tim Caffrey has done. We need to change that and we need your help to do it. I KNOW that I can count on you to do the right thing because we have made a difference on other issues. Jeb Bush may not be governor anymore but you can be he remembers the 11 days we shut his email down. 0;-) We can do it again- so please spread the word.

Keep the Faith mo Charan!

Slan leat,
Elaine
AKA Cabin Fever
CABIN FEVER ONLINE



PICTURE OF ABUSED CHILD CONTINUES TO HAUNT WOMAN

By Betty Adams Aitchison

Caldwell, Idaho

Published: August 7, 2007 - ARGUS

I am a voice from the faraway past of Timothy Sean Caffrey. I am Betty Adams Aitchison, whose husband pastored the little Faith Missionary Church in Martin, S.D., for 10 years. This was in the mid-1960s and 70s. The Bill and Olive Caffrey family attended our church. I knew them well.

Tim Caffrey is an Oglala Sioux, adopted by the Caffreys when he was less than a year old. I was a part of Tim's formative years. I taught him in Sunday School and vacation Bible school.

Bill Caffrey was a politically powerful man as South Dakota regional director of health and welfare. He also was an abusive alcoholic. I witnessed some of the abuse of Tim and tried to intervene but to no avail.

One particular incident has continued to haunt me through the years. It is a picture of a little 14-year-old Sioux Indian boy, sitting in the living room of Bill and Olive Caffrey's home, being disciplined for sharing marijuana with a friend.

I was living in Idaho at the time but visiting Martin. Olive asked me to basically act as a mediator when they addressed this issue.

Olive began the questioning. I still remember exactly how we were all seated. I was on the couch. Olive was across the room to my left, Tim, to my right, and Bill, pacing the floor. Olive asked Tim where he had gotten the marijuana, and Tim reluctantly told her. She asked, "Why didn't you just say 'no' and tell us what had happened?"

Tim replied, "I made a mistake, and I'm sorry."

At this point, Bill stomped toward Tim. "You made a mistake. We are the ones who made the mistake. The biggest mistake we ever made was when we adopted you, you stupid Indian," Bill said, cuffing Tim on the head.

Tim burst into convulsive sobs, and Bill walked away.

I got up from my seat and went to Tim. I said, "Timmie, you are a good boy who did a bad thing. You are not a stupid Indian. You are a brilliant boy with a right and powerful heritage."

Bill Caffrey was an overbearing, abusive alcoholic who often inflicted physical and emotional abuse on Tim. Olive worked at the Gordon hospital, 50 miles away, and left home at 2 p.m., not returning until after midnight, leaving Tim at the mercy of Bill's drunken outbursts and hostilities.

I have never, nor do I now, condone Tim's handling of this situation. However, almost 27 years have passed since I sat through the trial of a 17-year-old Indian boy, tried as an adult, by a white judge, 12 white jurors and a white attorney, and I heard the sentence of life without parole.

There is no question that the boy acted wrongfully when he shot and killed his adoptive father. However, many years of agonizing remorse have made Tim the man he is today. He is a well-rounded, gentle man who has worked hard to prepare himself for life outside the prison walls. He has mastered the art of welding and continues his education as much as is available to him.

Tim has a very strong support group. It is headed by Arnie Berkeland, a Sioux Falls businessman, who has visited Tim more than 1,200 times in the past 27 years. Tim will be provided with good employment and housing as well as spiritual and emotional support.

I urge you to please write Gov. Mike Rounds, asking him to sign the unanimous recommendation of the South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute Tim's sentence from life to time served. This is the third time the board has voted to reduce Tim's sentence.

Tim was never a 'murderer.' He was an abused child, pressed beyond measure and made a terrible mistake in dealing with his abuser. For this, I feel he has paid sufficiently.

White men charged with the same crime are walking free today. Please work for 'equal justice' in this case. -30-



Timothy S. Caffrey # 20483
S.D.S.P. Box 5911
Sioux Falls, SD 57117-5911 USA

Date of birth: May 28-1963
Nation/tribal affiliation: Oglala Sioux
Release date: none

I would like a pen pal that would increase my intelligence based upon what
I've written. No gossip, no complaining, just learning and expanding.
Thank you!

Listening To: WALELA - TELL THEM THAT THEY LIE
I'm Feeling: RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
Tags: abuse, bigotry, child, injustice, native, american and petition

GENERIC WHITE II

Achairde All:

Almost twenty years ago, I wrote an article with the title "Generic White". I was curious as to what ‘white people’ were, where they live and what makes them white because no one I knew matched the pop culture definition. The inspiration came from the sheer number of ‘white folk’ jokes I heard or watched on various Comedy Specials. My premise was that ‘white people’ like Velveeta cheese is a contradiction in terms. In truth, we live in a country where the distinction between cultures or religions can be as sharp a divide as those between colors or genders. I was surprised by the number of people who wrote in to tell me they were happy that someone was willing to defy the PC Police who minimized their heritage be it Italian, Greek or Irish along with trying to make them feel guilty for something they did not quite understand.

Perhaps it is because of my own mixed heritage and religion as well as having siblings of a single sex that my parents raised us to consider people by their character alone. It was not until I entered school that I learned the basics of bigotry and where I encountered people who felt that my lack of bias was actually offensive. It was not because I did not know about such conflicts it is just that I am not ‘wired’ to care about them on an emotional level just as I am oblivious to age or gender in making friends. Nevertheless, you cannot be Native American, Irish, Roman Catholic and female and not be on the receiving of rude comments, misconceptions and the fact there are some places where I am simply not welcome.

There have been occasions when I have bucked ‘the system’ such as when I was in College and I told my Uber-feminist Sociology Professor that I did not believe that my male classmates spent our class break plotting to oppress me. My boyfriend all through Junior and Senior High had a mother who loathed me because I was Catholic and he was a Seventh Day Adventist. The woman always referred to me as, “That Girl” as in that girl called or are you going out with that girl this weekend. In five years, the woman never once mentioned me by my name. I have been referred to as a mick, a mackerel snapper and a prairie nigger. I have also been accused of ‘passing’ because I belong to groups such as the UNA but I look ‘white’. Being a member of Sinn Fein means that I am either a terrorist or a supporter of terrorism and that, along with my support of Leonard Peltier, has earned me an FBI file which notes that I am a ‘risk’ to the government.

Due to the nature of my disability, I often have to remind people that brain damage does not equal stupid. If someone is pushing, my wheelchair people will talk to them and not me even when they are asking about my health. Besides making me crazy, it makes me want to yell, “Hey moron I am right here. I may be sitting but it does not affect my power of speech! “

I have been running the gauntlet of medical tests and visits to various physicians for the past three months. These afforded me a chance to catch up on my magazine reading between all the poking and prodding. Therefore, it was with some surprise when I came across a piece in the September 11th issue of Time magazine’s Verbatim section entitled “The Meaning of Being White”.

Apparently the University of Minnesota has been conducting a ‘groundbreaking’ study on “…whiteness and race relations” and that “… a stunning proportion of whites- 77% - say their race has a distinct culture that should be preserved”. It does not state what whiteness traditions people wish to preserve which leads me to believe that the esteemed sociologists conducting the study desperately need a few anthropologists on their team to explain the concept of cultures to them. They seem to fixate on the outdated notion that Race applies to any of the traditional divisions of humankind, the commonest being the Caucasian, Mongoloid, and Negro, characterized by supposedly distinctive and universal physical characteristics: no longer in technical use. In reference to classifying the human species, race is now under dispute among modern biologists and anthropologists. Some feel that the term has no biological validity; others use it to specify only a partially isolated reproductive population whose members share a considerable degree of genetic similarity.

In other words, the only ones adhering to a scientifically discredited idea are the Federal Government, the scientists who receive federal funding and bigots of all stripes. This does not mean we do not have class and ‘racial’ problems. It does mean that we continue to feed the beast that separates us from one another rather than healing the rift and accepting that the only race is the human race.

There is a growing movement dedicated to ending these artificial divisions and are focusing on the 2010 Census as a way to make their ideals public. You can check them out at Interracial Voice (www.webcom.com/~intvoice/) and The Unhyphenated American (home.cinci.rr.com/justameri...olor.htm).
The later defines Racial Freedom as:

“To the Unhyphenated American, Racial Freedom in the United States will be achieved when our governments (both Federal and State) recognize that its citizens are part of just one race: the human race. In so doing, policies dedicated to address our social problems (poverty, disease, education, etc.) will be based solely on the actual needs of the citizens rather than any misinformed notion of race and/or ethnic origin.

One strategy like-minded citizens can use to achieve this goal is to deny the U.S. Census Bureau any information that would allow it to (mis)categorize the citizens of the United States. To do so, fill in "human" in the other race answer block of the Racial and Ethnic Classification section of the 2010 Census form.”

Preservation of the human race and all the richness of its many cultures – there’s a goal I think we can all agree on.

Keep the Faith!

Slan leat,
Elaine
AKA Cabin Fever
CABIN FEVER ONLINE

1. "race." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1). Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. 26 Sep. 2006. <Dictionary.com dictionary.reference.com/browse/race>