EDITORIAL
Legislative stalling
childish, defeating
Some House Republicans should bo sent to bod with
out dinner.
bike only a child would do. our state leaders voted
against something they actually believe in just to prove
they have power. These Republican rebels helped vote
down a workers' compensation reform bill Monday,
although the hill is highly supported by the GOP. Their
reasoning for dissenting was so that they could show
the House that they could cause chaos if they wanted to
Their actions also proved to l>e a cheap shot at Speaker
of the House Bov Clarno. who is caught in a power
struggle with Hep. John Minnis. R-Troutdalo.
Any Oregon resident. Republican or Democrat,
should be disturbed by the immaturity displayed by our
state representatives American citizens are taught to
trust their elected officials, but when government rep
resentatives act so foolishly, the entire <Astem of
democracy Is threatened.
When state representatives disrupt legislation by
playing with their votes, they create unnecessary con
fusion The six dissenting Republicans, who Democrats
nave cauou mo nan
Boys,” will probably
vole in favor of tho bill,
which was exported to
come up again
Wednesday. How can
we trust people who
say something one day
There's no excuse far
delaying slate gov
ernment with childish
power plays
tunnii an uupuit.uu issue hiiu inun quit My mango ineir
minds the next?
Although workers' compensation isn't as controver
siiil as abortion or gay rights issues, it is a serious issue
for our state and deserves the Legislature's undivided
attention. The bill being discussed would increase ben
efits for certain on-the-job injuries and add restrictions
to those who t an apply for benefits. It would also place
more restrictions preventing workers from suing
employees. Any worker or employee who has been
c aught in the tangled web of workers* comp would bo
disappointed to see that this issue is taking treated so
lightly.
The dor ision of the six Republicans also is a waste of
already scarce government funds. If the group did not
rebel, the bill would have been passed Tuesday, saving
the Legislature from spending another day on this issue.
Long legislative sessions am costly and every effort
should be made to limit this year's session There's no
excuse for delaying state government with childish
power plays.
Some critics say the Republican rebellion is in
response to Clarno's refusal to take a strong stand on
state financial matters, including school budgot and
income taxes. But playing games only creates more bit
ter feelings on both sides and is an indicator of an
unproductive Legislature.
The Republicans were successful in embarrassing the
entire Legislature in front of the people they should
care about most — Oregon residents
Should wo make them stand in the comer?
Oregon Daily
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■ OPINION
Cruelty new aspect of immigration laws
Gayle Formas
During my spring vault ion,
while so many of my poor* w ere
lounging around beaches or
•wishing down the slopes. 1
wen! to Now York City 1 was
there ostensibly to partake in
that journalistic tradition of try
ing to find an internship While
I was there I found a few hour*
to play tourist and took the ferry
along with thousands of cam
era-toting folks to the Statue of
Liberty and to Kllis Island
The island served as a pro
cessing center for some 12-17
million immigrants between
tH92 and 1954, mostly people
from Eastern and Southern
Europe My father's family
memlMirs were among the first
to come across the island when
they immigrated from the
Ukraine, while my mother's
family traversed the island in
the 1930s fletdng Hitler So I
am among the 100 million or so
Americans 42 percent of the
U.S. population — who
descended from those original
millions.
Most people, even if their
ancestors didn't pass through
Ellis Island, have some immi
grant blood coursing through
their veins The millions of
folks who flooded this country
during the early part of the cen
tury were but one wave of
immigrants. Before them, mil
lions of Irish and Western
Europeans crossed the Atlantic
to try to carve their piece of the
American dream as did millions
of East Asians via the Pacific.
So. unless you're a Native
American, the only one* who
have the right to complain
about foreigners invading their
land, one of the Mayflower
descendants, who were really
nothing more than the first
known U.S. immigrants, or a
descendant of the African
slaves taken here against their
will, you are, or your am estors
were. aiming llm ranks of
American immigrants
Included in those ranks are
many of the hundreds of thou
sands of Californians who
passed the anti-immigrant
Proposition 187 last November.
And dig back a few generations
and you might find that your
congressman or senator, who is
debating whether or not to take
away aid from all immigrants,
both legal and illegal, is the
spawn of an immigrant line
This country was built by
immigrants, be it Europeans
(arming the Nebraska Plains or
Asians building the railroads.
Earlier in the century we need
ed those people to populate our
vast country, and. consequent
ly, their presence was welcome.
It's not very often that I get a
tinge of national pride, but see
ing how well we once treated
immigrants both shocked me
and made me proud of my
country's heritage
I'm a little too cynical to
believe that the kindness 1 saw
displayed in pictures and arii
cles in the Ellis Island Museum
was the rule Americans were
har k-watching ra< ists even back
then and anti-immigrant senti
ments ehlxui and flowed as the
national economy rose and fell.
But back then, harsh immigrant
policy translated into federally
imposed quotas and angry,
albeit short sighted "real
Americans." discriminating
against their new compatriots
Once these innocent foreign
souls were let loose, employers
exploited them for every ounce
of cheap labor that could be
wrung from them.
But in light of the anti-immi
grant legislations being bandied
about in both the federal and
state governments, such infrac
tions seem slight Of course we
have always had a tradition of
treating those who seem differ
ent like dirt, but the overt and
pure malice that drives today's
anti-immigrant sentiments
seems like a new step down for
us.
And while I know that eco
nomics is behind immigrant
legislation, there is a degree of
cruelty entering our mind
frame. Instead of seeking to con
trol the flood of immigrants,
which I begrudgingly admit we
need to do to some extent, gov
ernment is wanting to balance
the budget by denying children
an education and everyone
health cant simply because they
come from a foreign land.
Perhaps even more insulting is
Newt Gingrich's proposal to
take away aid from legal aliens,
many of whom have been tax
paving contributors for as long
as he has been alive.
1 understand that then* are
complicated economic forces at
play here This country is des
perately trying to tighten the
purse strings. But it is indica
tive of our underlying prejudice
that instead of attempting to
save money by trimming down
or scrapping obsolete govern
ment programs, we are denying
immigrants — those who are
already here and doubtfully
going anywhere on their own
volition — the basic necessities
needed to exist
By continuing with such
racist legislation, wo are turning
our Ihu ks on our own hsritago.
What if our ancestor*, upon
arriving poor and hopeful, had
been turned away? How could
mi have ever prospered without
an education, without proper
care? But now we seek to deny
what has been bestowed upon
us.
Hut l must say that the glee
with which Americans slam the
door In the fa< e of immigrants
— after all. who cares if those
foreigners are let in as long as
we made it in — dims not syr
prtse me, for we are a very for
getful people. This too. I
learned at Kllis Island. As 1 was
waiting for the ferry to take me
hack to Manhattan, l overheard
two women talking "Those
immigrants back then." said one
of the women who was proba
bly the ancestor of of an immi
grant. “they knew what
America was all about They
cared about this country. Not
like today's no-good immi
grants. they don't give a toss
about this country."
Gayle Forman is a columnist for
the Emerald