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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 1976)
Page 2 Portland Observer Thursday. March 18, 1976 We see the world through Black eyes No rate increase Join campaign now Portland G eneral Electric is asking for another rate increase. If the pattern is to continue, a fte r a series o f hearings in w hich public o p in io n is sought, the com pany w ill receive its increase. Electric rates are already at the point w here they are u n fa ir to most consumers. W e must not lose sight o f the fact that in our society electricity is an essential fo r life . There is already evidence o f e ld e rly citizens becom ing ill or d ying from hypotherm ia caused by prolonged exposure to im proper w arm heating. It is getting to the point that persons on w e lfa re , social security or w ith lo w incomes just cannot pay housing and u tility costs and still have enough m oney left for food. U tilities is a regulated industry. This state, through setting o f rates, guarantees a p ro fit to the com panies. The utilities are faced w ith higher wages and nationa l costs and w ith b u ild in g for the future. But a com prom ise must be m ade. Perhaps a reasonable solution w ould be to decrease the profits and not pay stockholders dividends in this period o f depression. If the stockholders have fa ith in the capitalist system, they w ill hang tig h t and look fo r future gains. Perhaps the nuclear plants should be b u ilt by the fe d e ra l governm ent as the dams w ere, and a llo w the u tilitie s to purchase and distribute pow er. This seems to be a less costly arrangem ent. If the utilities cannot fin d a w ay to provide their services at a reasonable cost the u ltim ate answer w ill be federal ow nership. The fate o f the private u tilitie s lies in th e ir ow n hands. The d e a d lin e for candidates filin g fo r o ffice has passed w ith no great suprise. The hotest races w ill be fo r M ayor o f Portland, Secretary of State, State Treasurer and State Attorney G eneral. N ow is the tim e for those persons w ho are interested in p o litica l participation but d o n 't know Every how to get " i n " to becom e involved. candidate needs help -- from w ritin g speeches and talking to perspective voters to stuffing envelopes and d e liv e rin g law n signs. Not only is cam paign w ork necessary but it can be exciting as w e ll. And it is the best w ay to m eet people and get on the inside o f the po litica l systems. O regon is an open state p o litica lly. N either party is a closed society. Both are alw ays looking for workers and it is surprising how easy it is to m eet and know the candidates and the o ffice holders. O rego nians have no excuse fo r th inking they can't participate or that they " d o n 't know the right p e o p le " to gain influence. This w eek the M ultnom ah County Dem ocratic Central C om m ittee is considering its new A ffirm a tiv e Action program . The object o f this program , w hich is a n a tio n -w id e endeavor, is to bring m inorities and w om en into the party and to insure that they participate at a ll levels o f decision m aking. The party needs and w ants m inority participation. Let us no longer say that Blacks are " le ft o u t", but let's take this opportun ity to m ake our voices heard. Another Point of V iew PMSC looks forw ard Tw elve years ago a young president saw that m any o f his people w ere not sharing the benefits o f the richest nation on earth and declared a W ar on Poverty. One o f the first to join that w ar was the Portland M etropolitan Steering Com m ittee. PMSC was con ceived to reach the poor o f Portland, to assist them to receive the tra in in g and social services they needed to bring them selves out o f poverty, and to attack the self-perpetuating culture o f poverty. Victorious in a ll its m ilita ry pursuits, the w ar on poverty was a new concept to Am ericans. It was a w ar that was m ore d iffic u lt to w age -- one w hich required new d rive and fle x ib le approaches -- one that expected to change the w ay o f life , the goals and even the ideals of its citizens. The battle was w aged not only against the target o f poverty, but it was continuously w aged in the halls o f governm ent as a variety of politicians, from Richard N ixon to O regon's ow n Edith Green, attem pted to destroy its pow er. Tw elve hectic years have passed, years of mistakes, o f petty arguing and fig h tin g , o f neighbor hood clashes, but PMSC has survived. Through these years, although torn by strife w ith in and harassment w ith o u t, PMSC has kept its eye on the goal and has provided the means fo r m any thousand persons to fin d a new life. PMSC has been the means through w hich services w ere provided that help citizens m a in ta in their ow n homes, rem ain independent and ga in skills to becom e self-sustaining. These services include senior adult program s, nutrition program s, child care, counselling, hom e repair, legal help, job tra in in g and placem ent, and perhaps most im portant o f a ll, a means to determ ine w hat services are needed and how they should be provided. As it celebrates its tw e lfth anniversary PMSC looks to the future. It now has the opportun ity to create a unity that has not alw ays existed -- a unity o f a ll of Portland's com m unities w o rkin g tow ard one goal -- that o f a fu ll and fru itfu l life fo r every in d ividua l. The Kremlin looks at Africa taken from the C hicago D efender In his speech to the 25th Soviet C om m unity Party Congress, C om m unist Party leader Leonid Brezhnev, hailed the successes o f Krem lin foreign policy. He said the Soviet U nion w o u ld pursue detente w ith "re d o u b le d e n e rg y " w h ile also continuing to support nationalist m ovem ents, as it has in Angola. There is much to be read, especially in the Krem lin's com m itm ent to nationalist m ovem ents. It is a w a rn in g to the W estern powers w ho d id not go to A ngola's a id w hen it needed it, and to the United States in p articular w hose fo re ig n policy has pushed A frica aside as a non-entity in the po litica l w orld, that M oscow intends to continue to he lp A frican lib e ra tio n forces attain their leg itim a te objectives. The U nited States has fa ile d to conceive of A frica as a nascent w orld pow er. It has looked upon the Black continen t as a collection o f poverty-stricken states w ith leaders lacking in capacity and vision to guide th e ir destiny into a future m ore akin to the impulses o f Western civiliza tio n than a continuity of internal w a rfa re at the tribal level. This m isconception has v irtu a lly cancelled out the Am erican influence in the land south o f Sahara. Russia ap p a re n tly entertains a d iffe re n t perspective of Africans. It sees them as having v ita lity and a great potentia l for econom ic grow th and cultural orientation. In Brezhnev's speech one can see a determ inatio n to help A fricans becom e masters in their ow n house. Africans w ill accept that help w ith o u t com prom ising their autonom y and th e ir ow n p o litica l ideology. This can be done w ith o u t endan gering the peace o f the w orld. Portland Observer Published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company, 2201 North Killingsworth, Portland. Oregon 97217. Mailing address: P.O. Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208. Telephone: 283-2486. Subscriptions: $7.50 per year in the T ri County area, $8.00 per year outside Portland. Second Class Postage Paid at Portland, Oregon ftLFRED L. HENDERSON !* Editor/Publisher The Portland Observer’s official position is expressed only in its Publisher's column (W e See The World Through Black Eyes). Any other material throughout the paper is the opinion of the individual w riter or submitter and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Portland Observer. MEMBER il Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association MEMBER na ewal PER Aaaontabon - Founded »865 Ist Place Community Service O NPA 1973 * THIS IS r u e YEAR feMRV W CANDIDATES ARE DIVINE SLACKS A NEU'HlHtMAJJSH'UNPER THE SUPPOSITION THAT THE PMGRAHSOE THE ¡9bDg DIDN'T UDRK. SD LESS ISTOSE DONE FOR SLACKS THANM O RE' VtHNON F. dOttMU extcvr/vs dm tcron, NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE VxOxx*- Abortion: A false issue by Kenyon C. Burke W hile watching the customary jockey ing for position and attempts at manipu lating public opinion that accompanies Presidential and Congressional races, one wonders why we continue to fall prey to false issues. Law and Order, crime in the streets, bussing, and now abortion is being offered up by some special interest groups as a major campaign issue. Most people in our country today are looking for executive and legislative leadership capable of dealing effectively with such gut survival issues as high unemployment, poor schools and health care, inadequate housing, fear of personal safety in our own neighborhoods and the affect of racism and discrimination. We are searching for leaders who can understand and act upon complex prob lems of the energy crisis, a sagging economy, along w ith working toward a world that has more peace than w ar and more humanity than inhumanity. One thing we don't need in our survival game plan is another false issue to distract us from keeping our “eyes on the ball.” W hile abortion and its physical and psychological ramifications are not to be taken lightly, access to medically super vised abortion does bring about signifi cant health advantages to individuals and their families. Since the 1973 Supreme Court decision gave legal sanction to abortion, the maternal death rate and infant mortality rates have m aterially declined. Any attem pt to interfere with a woman's right to personally make a choice on this crucial m atter would reverse that trend. The price oi illegal abortion in the days preceding the Supreme Court's abortion decision was paid in the currency of women's dignity, women's health and even women's lives. Though many paid the price, none paid it more often or more cruelly than minority groups and the poor. M ore than nine out of ten of those who died at the hands of incompetent practitioners in the days before abortion was legal were Notice Prison reform and community centered corrections programs will be discussed at a 7:30 p.m. March 19th, Friday Night Special at St. Andrews Community Cen ter, 4940 N .E. 8th. Je rry LaBarre, an attorney and in structor in criminal justice, and Rita Clinton, director of the Portland YW CA's Women’s Prison Project, will be the featured speakers. This is the third in a series of six “Friday Night Specials” at St. Andrews to inform parishioners and community mem bers of issues and to lead to community organization and action. Black and Spanish-speaking. As serious and important as this subject is, we find it difficult to under stand how and why a Presidential or legislative candidate's stand on abortion has anything to do with almost over whelming problems of survival that we face today. Indeed, in a pluraliste society such as ours, w ith many cultures, sub-cultures lifestyles, special interests and values we ran expert differences of opinions. However, we must be alert to those who are single issue folks and would impose their value on all and keep us from focusing on the real issues. Beware of false prophets among us for they are riding the abortion horse in our rurrent Presidential and Congressional campaigns. Questions for candidates sought The loague of Women Voters of Portland and Oregon Common Cause are organizing a series of forums or press conferences for Presidential Candidates, at which they will be asked to respond to questions on issues of concern to the widest range of Oregon citizens possible. This is part of the Common Cause Campaign 7 6 activities, and the League's Issues not Images program. Because in recent years, doubting that their con cerns w ill be answered by any candidate, many citizens have turned away from politics and voting. The organizations are undertaking this program in an effort to change the conduct and content of politi cal campaigning and to introduce new standards of integrity, responsiveness and accountability into campaigns. A coalition of interested groups in the community have been asked to join with us to form the “Oregon Asks" Committee. M em b e rs include: C h am ber of Com merce, World Affairs Council of Oregon. American Association of University W o men of Portland, Agri Business Council of Oregon. Ecumenical Ministries of Ore gon, Junior league of Portland. Schools for the City, A FL-C IO , Oregon Consumer Iyeague, Oregon Environmental Council. O regon Education Association and Asao ciated Oregon Students Lobby. Participating groups are being asked to submit the priority questions of their members. Newspapers, television, and radio stations will ask their readers, viewers and listeners. “I f you could ask just one question of the Presidential candidates, what would you ask?“ The question* will be compiled into a repre senUtive list best reflecting the mood of Oregon citizens. These will be used to question Presidential Candidates who come to Portland in A pril nd before the May 25th Primary election. ßalloi If you could ask the Presidential Candidates just one question, what would it be? “W e ask what you ask", says a non partisan group of Oregonians who wants to know your questions. W e'll ask the Presidential Candidates to answer the questions Oregonians want answered. W e'll compile them into a representative list reflecting the mood of Oregonians by A p ril 1st and release them to the media. W rite: "Oregon Asks", Box 02458, Portland 97202. "Oregon Asks" participating organizations are: Common Cause of Oregon. Ijeague of Women Voters of Portland. American Association of University Women, Junior Iieague of Portland, A gri Business Council of Oregon. Chamber of Commerce of Portland, Schools For The City. World Affairs Council of Oregon. A F L -C IO of Oregon, Oregon Consumer League. Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. Oregon Environm ental Council. Associated Oregon Student Iiobby. and Oregon Education Association. The question that I would like to ask the Presidential Candidate ia: Is t Place Best Ad Results O N PA 1973 SUBSCRIBE NOW 5th Place Best Editori«* N N P A 1973 Honorable Mention Herrick Editorial Award N N A 1973 2nd Place Best Editorial 3rd Place Community leadership O NPA 1975 Tri-County area Name Address City $7.50 other areas $8.00 M a il to: Portland Observer P.O. Box 3137 Portland, Oregon 97208
