lett ¢ ers DITM, Pl] Box 1078, Richmond, IIT 05477-1078 or oitm@tonetIIeI-.net Champion Deal is — Corporate Welfare Editor: The Champion Land Deal is receiving bipartisan support when it should be receiving bipartisan opposition. 1. The $4.5 million in tax sur- pluses used to buy the Champion Paper land should be returned to the Vermont taxpay- ers. I 2. Having the State buy into the land deal to place easements on the deeds to allow “tradition- al uses of the land by Vermonters” is misleading. The traditional use of the land was whatever the property owner wanted to do with it. The citi- zens in the NE Kingdom had a friendly neighbor in Champion Paper that allowed people to hunt, snowmobile, and hike on Champion’s land. It was Champion’s decision as the property owner and that is the traditional use -the State should be protecting. 3. Ifthe State doesn’t pitch in the $4.5 million, the Vermont Land Trust will find other donors or perhaps buy the land for $4.5 million dollars cheaper. This is how the free market works. If the price is too high then Champion Paper will have to lower the price ifthey want to sell the land. Ifthey can’t get the price they are asking then they will keep it until they can find a buyer. By the State stepping in, it is giving more corporate wel- fare to the- Canadian based Champion Paper company. Ifyou are a liberal opposed to corporate welfare, a conserva- tive in favor of property rights, a tax payer who wants to keep more of your hard earned money, or a libertarian who wants all of these things then contact your senator at 800-322- 5616 and voice your opposition to the land deal! Hardy Macia Vice Chair, Vermont Libertarian Party Stop Execution in Pennsylvannia Editor: We applaud the 11 national LGBT organizations that recent- ly issued a joint statement brought about by the murder of Matthew Shepard and the trial of his bashers. In this historic dec- laration, the organizations announced their opposition to the death penalty. In the spirit of that statement, we ask you, our community, for your support in stopping the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal, a political prisoner for the last 17 years on Death Row. On Saturday, April 24th, peo- ple will gather in Philadelphia and San Francisco to demand a new trial for Mumia. As lesbian, gay, bisexual, ‘trans and two- spirited people, we are calling for a Rainbow Flags for Mumia’ contingent at this Millions for Mumia March. Mumia is a lifelong fighter against racism, repression and police brutality. He is agwidely published author and radio com- mentator known as the “voice of ‘ the voiceless.” In 1981', Mumia was framed for the murder of a white police officer in Philadelphia. But evi- dence indicates Mumia is inno- cent. Lawyers and supporters for Mumia have discovered that witnesses were intimidated by the police and coerced into giv- ing false testimony. The prose- cution used his political activism to smear him to obtain a conviction. Mumia’s last appeal to the State of Pennsylvania for a new trial has been denied although witnesses intimidated by the police -have now come forward. Despite Federal appeals, he could be executed within six months. We know the death sentence in the U.S. is arbitrary and racially discriminatory. A report by the International Commission of Jurists ‘documented that African Americans were 40 per- cent of the people executed in the U.S. between 1976 and 1995. Ninety percent of people on Death Row couldn’t afford legal representation at the time of their trials. We in the LGBTTS commu- nities have first-hand experience of police brutality and repres- sion from raids on trans and gay bars to police attacks at demon- strations. We know what it means to be harassed, arrested, andjailedjust.for being who we are. The execution of Mumia would be a green light to right- wing forces that provoke attacks like those against James Byrd in Jasper, TX; Matthew Shepard in Laramie, WY; and Dr. Barnett Slepian in Buffalo, NY. The LGBTTS communities can oppose these forces by demanding a new trial for Mumia. A victory for Mumia will be a victory for us all. Many organizations and indi- viduals have announced support for Mumia. Among hundreds of endorsers are Alice Walker, Barbara Smith, Sonia Sanchez, Joan Nestle, E.L. Doctorow, Ani DiFranco, Ossie Davis, Angela Davis, Ramsey Clark, and Ed Asner. We as LGBTTS activists ask you to demand a new trial for Mumia. Join us in opposing the death penalty and police brutali- ty! Join us in Philadelphia & San Francisco on April 24th! For Rainbow Flags for Mumia, African Ancestral Lesbians United for Societal Change David Acosta, poet, activist, Founder & Executive Director, GALAEI Project Kate Bornstein, author & performance artist Leslie Feinberg, activist & author Jesse Allaghi Heiwa of Queers For‘Racial & Economic Justice ' Morris Kight, a founder of The Gay Liberation Front Bob Lederer, AIDS and queer activist - Minnie Bruce Pratt, author & anti-racist activist Dawn Reel, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition OUT IN THE MOUNTAINS 9- MARCH 1999 -3 Progeny .................................. ..22 \ J «fl. iii: "i Ielemurli Ale covered Bridge IPA Ox Pull Sluul Sup Brew World's Fair Special Winter Expedition Ale .\~‘s; axis‘ '...’ Q u A , II T Y A II. =_ E .’ .. 1:" LIZ TROTT 0 JANICE MORGAN PO BOX 837 S0. 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