Bush appoints 'homeland' czar
Pennsylvania's pro-death-penalty Governor Ridge
By Monica Moorehead
During his Sept. 20 remarks before Congress, President
George W. Bush announced the creation of a new cabinet-level
department named the Office of Homeland Security. This post was
established to monitor and fight "domestic terrorism" within
the U.S. borders in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the
World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The Homeland Security office may sound like a logical
response in light of the tragic loss of thousands of lives. But
nothing could be further from the truth.
In reality, the Bush administration wants to seize the
opportunity to exploit the genuine grief and fear that masses
of people feel right now in order to shore up its repressive
state apparatus here and worldwide. This is being done under
the guise of super-patriotism--that is, xenophobia and racist
chauvinism aimed against non-citizens, especially people of
color.
This office will receive $11 billion in federal operating
funds. One of its main goals is to consolidate overt and covert
repressive organizations like the FBI, CIA, Immigration and
Naturalization Service and 40 others into one agency.
Another goal is to severely restrict the civil liberties of
the progressive movement--especially the right to free speech
and freedom of assembly.
Another 'Gov. Death'
Bush named the current governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Ridge,
to head up this new office. Bush stated that Ridge would be
perfect for the job because he won the Bronze Star for military
service during the Vietnam War.
Bush had at one time considered making Ridge his running
mate. He withdrew Ridge's name because the more ultra-right
Republicans disagreed with Ridge's limited support for abortion
rights.
The progressive movement has a totally different view of
Ridge. He is the governor who has signed two execution warrants
against the world's most famous death-row political prisoner:
Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Less than a year after being elected governor, Ridge signed
the first death warrant for Abu-Jamal on June 2, 1995. Ridge
knew full well that Abu-Jamal's lawyers were filing an appeal
before the State Court of Common Pleas at that time.
That warrant set the date for Abu-Jamal's execution as Aug.
17, 1995. An historic demonstration in Philadelphia of 10,000
activists on Aug. 12 forced Ridge to rescind the warrant.
Ridge again scheduled Abu-Jamal to be executed on Dec. 2,
1999. The governor was well aware when signing this death
warrant that Abu-Jamal's lawyers were planning to file a writ
of habeas corpus before the federal district court.
To say that Ridge is pro-death-penalty is putting it mildly.
During his six years as governor, he has put his name to more
than 200 death warrants.
He has a reputation for being a "law and order" governor. He
has lobbied for longer prison sentences for juvenile
defendants, and for the "three strikes you're out" laws. These
laws automatically sentence people to life in prison with no
chance of parole if they are convicted of three felonies.
Stooge for big business
The mainstream press likes to brag about Ridge coming from a
working-class background. But the fact is that Ridge has become
a champion of big business.
The Philadelphia Inquirer published a major article on April
27, 1997, that focused on Ridge's business connections. The
Inquirer reported that in 1995 Ridge created a Governor's Club
board of directors that allowed corporate sponsors within
Pennsylvania to donate a minimum amount of $25,000 toward his
re-election campaign.
The guaranteed amount pledged was $8.1 million. These
businesses received state contracts amounting to a half-billion
dollars. And those who gave the largest donations were rewarded
with appointments to seats on state boards.
For example, most of the Pennsylvania State Turnpike
Commission is composed of business executives who contributed
to Ridge's "club." It has been well documented that this
commission has a sordid history of promoting racism, sexism and
homophobia.
The Inquirer article read in part: "At least 120 of the 228
club members or their businesses receive something from the
state: a contract, a loan, a lease, legal work or a seat on a
state board. And some are in the business of influencing
government: Club members include 20 paid Harrisburg lobbyists.
...
"The club membership reads like a Who's Who in Pennsylvania
Business, as befits a governor who ran as pro-business and has
called for corporate tax cuts in three straight years. Many
members have CEO after their name. The club is mostly male and
white. It includes just a half-dozen minorities and eight
women."
In 1999, Ridge established the Keystone Opportunity Zone,
which handed over 37,000 acres of arable land to establish
businesses that are not required to pay local or state taxes.
Ridge has come under fire from environmentalist groups for
putting profits before preserving the environment.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
Subscribe wwnews-subscribe@workersworld.net
Support independent news http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php)
HOME
:: U.S. NEWS ::
WORLD NEWS ::
EDITORIALS ::
SUBSCRIBE ::
DONATE
Email
this article
Printable
page