Pag* 2 Portland Observer. August 2 0 .1M1
EDITORIAL/OPINION
After hours . . .
A t the m agic hour of 2:30 a.m . the bars
close and tho e w ho w ant to have another
drink gather at the neighborhood Afterhours
Clubs. There they are joined by those who get
off work late and want to stop for a drink and
relaxation, and those who just are not ready to
go home.
forefront of the efforts to improve community
conditions find themselves compromised.
The police do n o t b o the r the A fte rh o u rs
because they are attended by respected
citizens and appear to be condoned by the
community. They are -- and should be -- a low
priority. But the police are well aware of the
A fte rh o u rs - th e y kno w the clubs and the
clientele better than the average custom er.
And they therefore hold a club over the heads
o f many o f those w ho should speak the
lowdest about the inequities and the injustices
in this city.
It is perfectly legal to sell liquor before 2:30
a.m . bu t suddenly, as the clock strikes, it
becomes illegal. As prohibition did not stop
those who wanted to drink, neither does the
closing hour stop those w ho do not w ant to
follow the ordained schedule.
The antique closing law sets up a situation
where o th e r wise law abiding citizens fin d
themselves breaking the law. It also produces
a situation where the operator of the A fte r-
hours has little control over the activities of
his customers. How can he eject a minor or a
dealer when tha t person can then to go the
authorities? For this reason many Afterhours
become hangouts for minors, prostitutes and
dealers. Once the onwer breaks the law he is in
a very tenuous position in attem pting to en
force rules.
The customer who just wants a few hours
recreation and is willing to break relatively in
nocuous closing law places him self in a
situation where he must ignore other more
serious a c tivitie s. Respected co m m u n ity
residents w ho otherw ise w o u ld be in the
What is the answer? When a law no longer
has a legitimate use and no longer protects the
com munity, it should be repealed.
Repeal of th is law w ou ld allow the legal
operation of clubs to serve the needs of late
night customers, would remove the threat of
discovery, and w o u ld allow proper police
protection. It would alleviate the abuse by un
wanted custom ers. It w ould remove the a t
mosphere tha t is destructive to com m unity
self-respect.
(A word for Ron Sykes -- The hostility and
anger th a t has been directed at Sykes
because of his series on A fterhou rs should
have been directed at the paper. If anyone
w ants to present anoth er side o f the A f
terhours picture, their interest is welcomed.)
Is the US trying to start a war? Carrying out
war games within the waters claimed by Libya
was designed to do just that. Earlier there were
confirmed reports that Libya is a prime target
of the CIA. Now, w ith the clear knowledge
that entering w hat Libya considers to be its
own territory could bring confrontation, the
US did just that.
The call o f the US governm ent fo r all
Americans to leave Libya is a second step of
the plan, designed to in te rfe re w ith the
operation of the nation's oil industry and bring
about economic destabilization.
invasion of Guantanamo, but cancelled its
plans follow ing Cuban promises to interfere.
This Spring manuevers were held in the Carib
bean and o ff the coast of Central America to
in tim id a te Nicaragua and the lib e ra tio n
movements of Central America. Others were
held in the Indian Ocean and in Egypt -- to
threaten the Arabs.
Three weeks ago a similar maneuver was
carried out east of Cuba. W hen tw o Cuban
planes w ent up to look around, over in te r
national w aters, th e y w ere chased by US
planes. Because shooting dow n tw o Cuban
planes m ight w ell lead to w ar, the Cubans
retreated.
The Libyians did not -- they shot back.
It seems the US wants to start a war - with
anyone.
W ar games are carefully designed to in
timidate - there is plenty of room around the
US to carry out these manuevers .
Last May the US planned a massive practice
The war at home
This, to g e th e r w ith the attack on w ork
safety protection and wage laws, leaves Black
and minority workers in serious jeopardy. In its
effort to promote a "pro-business, regulation-
free environment" the administration plans to
either postpone or elim in ate many o f the
regulations that protect workers from health
hazzards. S afety re g u la tio n s th a t are c o n
sidered to hurt profits will be eliminated.
The administration also has launced an at
tack on the Davis-Bacon A ct w hich requires
com panies bu ild in g federal c o n s tru c tio n
projects to pay prevailing wages.
As jobs get harder to fin d and w orkers
become desperate, this lack of regulation will
place employees in unsafe w ork conditions
and minimal wages in order to maintain a job.
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Best Editorial
ONPA 1973
The Portland Observer was founded in October of 1970 by
Alfred Lee Henderson.
Honorable Mention
Herrick Editorial Award
NNA 1973
1 >e Portland Observer is a champion of justice, equality and
liberation, an alert guard agamst social evils; a thorough analyst
and critic of discriminatory practices and policies, a sentinel to
warn of impending and existing racist trends and practices and a
defender against persecution and oppression
Bruce Broussard
Editor/Publisher
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Helping the rich, hurting the poor
by Cleo Franklin
Our next war
The next great push by the Reagan A d
ministration is expected to be an all out qttack
on Civil Rights. Already the administration has
attempted to halt renewal of the Voting Rights
Act.
There has been a slowdown in civil rights
enforcem ent. During the firs t six m onths of
the Reagan A dm inistration there have been
only five cases filed by the Civil Rights Division
o f the Justice Departm ent com pared to 17
filed in the first six months of the Carter A d
ministration.
The administration has com m itted itself to
reduce the Federal C ontract C om pliance
provisions, w hich protect m inority business
and w orkers, and has announced its o p
position to affirmative action.
(From: In Thaaa T im « )
2nd Place
Best Editorial
3rd Piece
Community Leadership
ONPA 1975
The real problems of the minority population will be viewed and
presented from the perspective of their causality: unrestrained ana
chronoically entrenched racism National and international
arrangements that prolong and increase the oppression of Third
World peoples shall be considered in the context of their ex
ploitation and manipulation by the colonial nations, including the
United States, and their relationship to this nation's historical
treatment of its Black population.
3rd Piece
Community Leadership
ONPA 197«
3rd Place
In depth coverage
ONPA 1979
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MfNMAl
The Reagan budget package was
passed
by
the
Democratic-
controlled House on June 16, 1981.
The 1 W inch-thick bill was full o f
penciled-in additions and crossed-
out deletions, and even included the
name and office telephone number
o f a woman staffer at the
Congressional budget office. After
the package was passed, it was then
sent back to the House Budget
Committee to be cleaned up. The
package consists o f $33 billion in
budget cuts (in the fiscal year star
ting Oct., 1981), and $130.6 billion
in cuts over the next three fiscal
years. The cuts include reductions in
unemployment insurance, Social
Security benefits, food stamps,
health care, school lunches, etc.
On August 13, 1981, President
Reagan signed into law two o f the
most far reaching domestic
economic measures since the New
Deal. The president signed one bill
authorizing the sharpest cutback in
domestic spending in 30 years.
Reagan's plan w ill k ill or reduce
more than 200 domestic programs,
and the other bill provides the
largest tax cut in this century.
Tax cuts for individuals and
businesses amount to $37.7 billion
in 1982, and $280.3 billion over the
next three years. In terms o f in
dividual tax cuts, a 3 percent cut ef
fective Oct. I . 1981, a 10 percent
reduction on July 1, 1982, and
Open letter to the Mayor
Dear Mayor Ivancie:
It was with surprise and a great
deal of sadness that our staff mem
bers read of the reinstatement of the
police officers whose conduct was
also a surprising and saddening ex
perience for this community. Since
their original dismissal there has
been much discussion o f relation
ships among individuals and social
institutions as these effect Black
citizens o f Portland. Those o f us
white persons and groups who seek
to work with them here in Albina, in
efforts to make the city a more
humane environment and a true
com m unity, have also been w at
ching for signs o f responsiveness
from city leadership.
Frankly, we thought that at least
Governor signs
The Oregon Legislature passed
H .B . 2479, the racial/religious in
timidation bill, requested by Gover
nor Victor Atiyeh.
Oregon is to be proud in that
again this State has taken a leader
ship role in addressing a problem
that has the potential of weakening
the social fabric o f this State and
society in general.
This bill is a step forward in terms
o f improved intergroup relations
and the protection o f the rights of
minorities.
There will be a bill signing
ceremony on Friday, August 21,
1981 at 3:13 p.m. in the Governor’s
Ceremonial o ffice in the State
Capitol.
Kay Dean Toran
Director, Affirmative Action Office
4
Individual taxes w ill be cut 23
percent across-the-board over 33
months. Companies would be able
to write o ff investment costs much
faster, generally taking depreciation
deductions o f three, five, 10 or 13
years, depending on the type of
equipment. Starting in 1983, the tax
system would be indexed to prevent
taxpayers from being pushed in
to higher tax brackets because of in
flation.
Reagan says he will have to spend
more time than planned in late 1981
on economic issues. Concern grows
that interest rates won’t fall much
anytime soon. Budget D irector
David Stockman w ill meet with
Reagan this week to discuss further
spending cuts.
It seems unrealistic that the
Reagan A dm inistration is con
sidering additional budget cuts, par
ticularly after $33 b illion in cuts
already. But it’s true, more cuts are
being discussed. In a recent report
prepared for Secretary o f State
Alexander Haig, the U .S. “ must
maintain adequate support for
current programs'* to aid those
streaming out of Vietnam. Laos and
Cambodia. Vietnam ’s support for
“ orderly departure programs'* was
urged. What about the millions o f
unemployed and needy Americans
at home? What is the Reagan A d
ministration doing to take care o f
the needy at home first?
Certainly $33 billion in domestic
program cuts and a massive tax cut
for the rich leave much room for
questions of priorityl
The time has come that surely the
have-nots will have less unless more
people are aware of the process. The
time has come that more citizens
become registered voters and
educate themselves on the issues. It
is clear to me that there is no system
representative of your needs unless
you are inputing to that system and
the time for input must start today.
It is also important that citizen input
be long term and that consistency
and follow-up are urgent.
Letters to the Editor
Mf WtASPfR / ,
Assoc/sf/on - Founded IM S
another 10 percent on July I, 1983.
There w ill also be a two-step
lowering o f the “ marriage tax
penalty” for the household with two
earners. The marriage tax penalty
requires a couple to pay more taxes
.on a joint return than they would
pay if they both filed single returns.
The Reagan Administration con
tends that these tax cuts, which in
clude a three-year 23 percent across-
the-board reduction for individuals
and significantly more generous
depreciation writeoffs for business,
will generate a massive infusion of
investment capital, creating millions
o f new jobs. A F L -C IO President
Lane Kirkland termed the tax cuts
as “ naked favoritism toward the
ric h .” Other critics maintain that
the cuts are too big and are likely to
produce bigger budget deficits and
fuel inflation.
the officers involved would be coun
seled to seek work in a less sensitive
occupation.
W ith
this
new
development we expect a variety of
negative effects to which we’d like
to call your attention:
1) Increased anger and hopelessness
among Black citizens resulting in
lessening enthusiasm for community
participation.
2) Decreased trust, respect and
cooperation toward all police o f
ficers, including those whose per
sonal and professional stance deser
ve respect. This could make the of
ficers' tasks more d iffic u lt and
dangerous than would normally be
true.
3) A secondary potential reduction
in trust toward groups and agencies
with a number o f white staff (such
as our clinic) where over the years
effort has been made to build open
communication and mutually help
ful relationships among a wide
range of individuals and groups.
In summary, we are disappointed
and angry that the officers have
been reinstated and feel that
whatever good result is gained for
these two men is more than offset by
the disillusionment already ex
pressed by several Black citizens and
the long range negative impact o f
this whole unnecessary and em
barrassing affair.
Mary Lou Miller, Director
Mary K. Anderson. K N
Billie Hunt work, M S W
Health Help Center, Inc.
"W rist slap" decried
Any progressive organization that
opposes racial discrimination and
supports equal rights must be ap
palled by the wrist slap received last
week by the two policemen who
admittedly tossed dead oppossums
in front o f a N E Portland Black-
owned restaurant. The Portland
chapter o f the Citizens Party is no
exception.
We are ashamed that such a
blatantly racist act could occur in
Portland and doubly so that the
c ity ’s power structure, aided by
Mayor Ivancie and his hand-picked
appointee, Police C hief Ron Still,
would turn a blind eye.
The Black community once again
is left to smolder with resentment.
Business goes on as usual and the
two policemen, their conduct
i
decried as “ offensive and stupl
by the arbitrator’s report, are fre<
go back to work. Anyone w
believes their act was not racis
either naive or ignorant of histo
Just imagine the outcry if a Bit
person did something similar t<
white-owned establishment. A
imagine the demoralizing effeci
last week’s decision on w<
meaning police officers who
trying to improve relations with
public.
Racial discrimination must noi
condoned in Portland, and
Citizens Party is dedicated to
demise. We stand in solidarity »
the Black community.
Catherine Slegner
Co-chair, Portland Citizens Party