Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 3, 1981)
»rt V .\ . September!. IM I EDITORIAL/OPINION by Manning M araM r __ ___________ United States in isolation The statements o f U .S . Assistant Secretary for African Affairs demonstrates clearly the po sition o f the U .S . in world affairs. Discussing South Africa’s invasion o f Angola, he indicated that the United States will not choose between Blacks and whites. No mention o f right and wrong— that South Africa had sent its troops into Angola and had killed Angolan citizens. What is the inference? ...t h a t Am erican citizens should associate Black with wrong and white with right no matter what the circumstances? The United States vetoed the United Nations Security Council’s resolution that would have condemned South Africa and required immedi ate withdrawal o f its troops from Angola. The U.S. showed its true colors and voted to allow South African aggression. The United States’ insistence on the support o f racism and aggression is isolating the nation from all its allies. On the U N resolution our traditional allies— France and Britain— aban doned the U.S. position with France voting for the resolution and Britain abstaining. In another clearly related issue, our neighbors Mexico and Canada, along with most o f the world, recog nize the legitimacy o f the liberation struggle in El Salvador. Mexico and France this week rec ognized the Farabundi M arti National Libera tion Front (F M L N ) as a political entity that must be involved in any negotiation with that country. To defend its position on any world issue the U .S . resorts to its usual defense— “ com m u nism.” As the South Africans reported, it was left to the U .S . to bring up the issue o f East- West struggle. A lthough for many years the U.S. was able to cloud the real issues o f racism and colonialism behind the charge “ commu nism” the nations o f the world are beginning to recognize the subterfuge. The U.S. is being left out there all by itself— with South A frica— as the defender o f racism and oppression. The South African vote was an opportunity for the United States to put itself clearly on the side o f integrity and human rights but it chose economic self-interest instead. Free speech Worth the money In the land o f free speech, the Oregon State Fair Board has succumbed to temptation and denied the Communist Party its rights. The Com m unist P arty-U S A has rented a booth at the State Fair for several years— along with numerous political and special interest groups that take advantage o f this opportunity to reach thousands o f citizens with their litera ture and information. When the group was threatened by picketers in “ black face” and army fatigues who prom ised larger demonstrations, what did the Fair of ficials do? Protect the booth and its occupants from the invaders? No, they moved the booth. The clear statement that the police powers of the state are meant to protect all o f the citizens needs to be made right now. To do less is to en courage those who would harass and abuse citi zens because o f their race, color, language, re ligion or political belief. A little known but important local project is seeking temporary funding from the City Coun cil. The Senior Job Center, currently receiving a small C E T A grant for its staff and overhead, w ill request $40,000 operating capital for six months. The project finds em ploym ent— fu ll-tim e , permanent employment— for workers 50 years and older. These people, with many productive years left, are often precluded from employment by discrimination and preference for younger workers. A second role o f the project is to refer part- time “ handyman” or professional jobs to older workers. The advantage is two-fold: providing needed income to older workers and providing services to persons who need temporary assist ance such as minor home repairs. This is a “ self-help” project that deserves spe cial funding from the City to help it through the transition period to self-sufficiency. For service, not money The Portland C ity Council is contemplating nice raises for itself— an issue that has caused much community concern. A period when the City faces cutbacks in all areas is hardly the appropriate time to consider raises for our public servants. We are concerned about the continuing pro fessionalization o f our elected officials. Elective government has become a profession— with many individuals spending their entire lives in one position or another. W e are rapidly losing the idea o f "citizen representatives” who sacri fice a few years to serve the community but not to make a living at it. W e do not think our elected representatives should attempt to compare their salaries to those o f private business. The opportunity to serve should be the major portion o f the salary. INOUBas.ll MÄIDNW 0UIOU WMUTWOUP U & T K B 1P W S £ ° 7 if P * * by 8801 • PubMhmg Company inc 372t» Second ctoM po»u<>e 1 ^ X 2 ” ° 00 P * «""V Thu«- ¿201 North T" County X ' 'and 1 « * 1 .4*1 IIS ““ <* juteee. equehty .nd Herrick EdHonal Award NNA 1973 * > r n o t »nperxfcng and tin tin g recm trends end precticet end a « ^ • o d w ^ r i , t p ^ cubw, ^ d opprwwon P ~ k . w . .n o . 2nd Piece Beat Editorial 3rd Place Community Leadership ONPA 197S a r-7rL^n,V N ,,,o n »' • " « '" « •'" •» •o n .l '"P'— * ,h* °« x — I 1 | MFAAAM) nncrnOCK * th* cpton- < ,o ,h- — 3rd Place Community Leadership ONPA 1979 ot Thud — 3rd Place In depth coverage ONPA 1979 jö e k L -S fg ,/. 283-2486 N ational Advertising A m a lg a m ated Publishers. Inc ER N e w Vocfc spent ten -year e n e rg y -e ffl- »pent on a tei cicncy e ffo rt to save 29 to 90 per cent o f U.S. oil imports. M e lm a n states th a t the b lo ated military budget has drained Am eri can capital from critical socioeco nomic needs into the war machine, a process that erodes U .S . c a p ita l form ation for domestic needs while escalating international tension with the Soviet Union. " T h e concentra tion o f capital on the m ilitary por tends sharply diminished opportun ity for a productive livelihood for most A m ericans," M elm an writes. "C le a rly , a choice must be made as to where these resources w ill be used." Even Tim e m agazine's editors had to admit that Reagan's demand for one trillion, five hundred billion d ollars w ould take its to ll on the A m e ric an people. T h a t am ount "w ould be enough to pay o ff the en tire national debt, with $300 billion le ft over. It w ould finance a fu ll year's output o f goods and services fo r Japan. It comes to more than $ 1 0 ,8 0 0 fo r every A m e ric an who paid taxes on 1979 income." Sizing up the growing mania for defense spending at the expense o f Great Society/New Deal programs, one o f my Cornell students offers a simple yet precise dictum to the cur rent situation: " Y o u cannot eat a ta n k ." W e cannot and should not elect politicians who would allow the great industrial centers o f New Y o rk , D e tro it, P ittsbu rg h , C leve land and other cities to become em ploym ent w astelands, and who w ould deny food stamps to m a l nourished children, simply to stock up on out-of-date, overly expensive weapons. A new common sense on defense spending and the fraud o f a wartim e economy must inform the direction o f Black and progressive politics in the 1980s. 'Rap Sheet' talks back ¿V J e ff Barker (From The Rap Sheet) W ell, last month's A urora Bore alis caused some reaction. As you might recall, I discussed the Oregonian's continuing assault on the Police Bureau. I even took some o f th e ir reporters to task. M o st o f the reaction I heard was favorable. The P ortland Observer, a black Portland newspaper, not only took exception to my column but with the entire issue The O bserver’s ed ito ria l w riter apparently sees boogie men every where as he twists my concern over the O regonian’ s slanted, biased re p orting in to "ra c is t re m a rk s ." It appears that if the Observer has no real issue, they w ill call people names. I ’ll stand by last month's article. The article was not anti-black nor was it racist. W e are ready to pro vide police service to any human in need. The lin e , " A n d L in d a , d e a r, i f you d on ’ t like cops, next tim e you need help why don't your try calling A la n O t a ,” was not a threat th at L in d a (o r A la n o r Julie T rip p ) would be refused police service, it wasn’t even o rig inal. It was just a rehash o f the old bumper stick, " I f you d on ’t like cops, next tim e you need help call a hippie." To suggest that it w u a threat, as the Observer did, is absurd. To sug gest that the Portland Police would refuse service to any person because they criticized us is stupidity. The Observer also stated, “ There rem ains a lo t o f questions about who runs the P olice B u reau — the C h ie f o r the u nion p re s id e n t." A nother absurdity. The C h ie f runs the B ureau; Stan Peters runs the union; it's as simple as that. A fte r the R ap Sheet came o u t, O ta and W illiam s called the C h ie fs O ffice to ask about the article. See, i t ’s their own ignorance as to who runs what. I f you have a union ques tion, you don’t call the Chief. T he O bserver decries w hat it terms the union's "attack position" towards the Bureau's critics. It is the A ssociation th at sticks up fo r the w orking o fficers w hile politicians hide. We don't condemn all critics. We have had some problems; we have (and you notice it was " w e " not the Oregonian or the Observer that fer reted out the wrong-doers) corrected them. W e w ill continue to identify and correct problems in the future but we, the A s s o c ia tio n , w ill not lay down and take unw arranted abuse when we are unfairly attacked. I f we d o n ’ t stand up fo r the w o rkin g women and men o f the B ureau, nobody will. Besides some other drivel, the edi torial concluded with: " W e also be lieve the dem eaning and racist re marks about Ms. Williams require a formal apology from the Police As sociation." There were no racist remarks d i rected tow ard L in d a W illiam s. As fa r as "d em ean in g ” goes, it is her p o o rly -w ritte n , biased attacks on the Police Bureau that are demean ing. In closing. I ' l l note that the edi to ria l said, " W e also b e lie v e .. because it is obvious no real thought was given by the editorial writer. * * * M oving right along, I think it is tim e we had a C iv ilia n Review B oard! D o n 't th ro w up yet; keep reading H ow many times have you been doing a good jo b and some je rk says, " I ' m going to report you to Internal A ffa irs ." And what do you do about it? Nothing, what can you do? See. now here’s where my Civilian Review Board comes into play. You report errant citizens to the C R B . Y ou w ill then be able to file the same silly and frivolous complaints the citizens file on you. I can see it now . " W h e n I gave M r. Johnson his traffic citations, he didn’t smile. In fact, he had a surly look on his facet ” Johnson would then be advised o f his rights, his statement taken and then he would have to wait a month or two while the C R B would make up its m in d . The c itize n , his w ife and family could all worry about the decision that would come down. Just how the C R B w o u ld go about punishing the civilian is a part o f my plan I h aven 't w o rked out yet. Maybe guilty civilians could be forced to read the police m anual cover to cover. (The Rap Sheet is the o ffic ia l o r gan o f the P ortland Police Associa tion and the Oregon Council o f Po lice Associations J Open Letter to Chief Still Dear C h ie f Still: 8th Place Best Editorial ONPA 1973 The reel probterm of the manonty population wifl be viewed and pretentwt from th , p ^ p e c t w . ot the» causality unreavamed ano M tM M R Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association tat Piece Beet Ad Result ONPA 1973 P o *tm ««t» r ' 0 Bruce Broussard Editor/Publisher Community Service ONPA 1973 , , p o rt.n d , Oregon * yond anything that would be needed to protect themselves from outside a tta c k .” N ow here in 77me maga zine's "analysis” was the fact that Soviet leader Brezhnev has offered to negotiate a re d u c tio n in arm s, and th a t R eagan, H a ig , and Company have refused to talk! A graphic way o f looking at the insanity o f the U .S. m ilitary budget has been done by Seymour Melman, professor o f industrial engineering at Colum bia University and author o f The Permanent War Economy. In a recent article, M elm an charts the costs o f the arms race vs. the costs o f revitalizing and repairing the na tio n ’ s social and economic in stitu tions. The cost o f two B-l bombers, $400 m illion, equals the cost o f re building C leveland's water supply system. The program , $34 b illion , could m o d ern ize A m e ric a 's m a chine-tool stock. The cost overrun o f the N a v y ’ s A egis-cruiser p ro gram. $8.4 billion, could pay for all the research and developm ent needed to m ake autom obiles that could run 80-to -100 miles per gallon o f gasoline. The cruise missile pro gram , at $11 b illio n , would equal the cost o f bringing the annual rate o f investment in public works back up to the 1963 level. Cost overruns to 1981 on the Navy's Trident and the A ir Force’s F-16 programs, $33 billion, could reconstruct or rebuild one f if t h o f a ll the bridges in the U .S . The cost overrun, to 1981, on the A rm y 's h eavy-tan k p ro g ra m , $13 b illio n , equals the shortfall o f c a p ita l needed fo r m a in ta in in g water supplies o f 150 U.S. cities un til the year 2001. The cost overrun, to 1981, o f the A rm y’s U H -6 0 A hel icopter program, $4.7 billion, could restore all the roads, bridges, sub ways, buses and aquaducts in New York C ity. The M X missile system, projected at $34 b illio n , could be lati Portland Observer £ The federal budget’s budaet's aross groe» alloc«- alloca tions for defense stands a» a monu mental insult to the intelligence o f any c le a r-th in k in g person in the world The Reagan Administration, in tandem w ith the cultural p rim i tives. conservatives and hawks in Congress, have tipped the political scales tow ard irration alism , in te r ventionism and dom estic chaos. M illions o f poor Americans w ill be denied food stamps, decent medical care, or a chance to be trained for a jo b because o f the d estruction o f federal social programs. Reagan's tigh t m onetary policies, which have been im plem ented in the U n ite d K in gd o m , w ill even tu ally turn our city streets into the bloody battlegrounds o f L on d o n and Liverpool. In its July 27. 1981 issue, Tim e m agazine blared the doom sday trumpets in the cause o f prepared ness. " I f it came to a Tight, the m ili ta ry pessimists contend, the U .S . c o u ld n 't lick a stam p. T h a t is not s o ,'' Tim e adm itted. " B u t A m e ri ca’ s armed forces have planes that cannot fly fo r lack o f spare parts and warships that are being kept in pon by a shortage o f sailors to crew them . U .S . A rm y units in Europe would run out o f ammunition after o nly tw o weeks o f conven tio nal w ar.” Tim e editors were tro u b le d by two specters— the fiasco o f the C ar ter Administration's response to the hostage crisis, and the ever-present th reat o f an a ll-p o w e rfu l Soviet menace. “ The humiliating failure o f the Blue L ig h t rescue mission burned an impression o f military in competence deep into the American m in d ," Time charged. But the real in te rn a tio n a l boogy man was not the A y a to lla h , but the masters o f the K re m lin . " T h e Soviets have built up their m ilitary forces far be- i w w v ,, I x 1 was th a n k fu l a fte r having the pleasure o f speaking with you per sonally, but those thoughts are sink ing after the continuously bad con duct o f o ffic e rs from N o rth P re cinct. W hen A rch ie F ra n k lin 's li cense was taken by Officer Waddell on Aug. 22nd, and not returned at the exact same tim e the check proved M r . F ra n k lin had no w a r rants, something else was intended like a lost driving identification. It does not create any better forms o f c o m m u n icatio n w ith the p u b lic , when you have open letters printed in the papers, that eliminate explain ing im proper conduct o f your o ffi cers. Y o u spoke about discipline and inspections to prevent any type o f wrong-doing under your leader - ship. Apparently Captain McCabe, who is in charge o f N orth Precinct, is not listening o r does not care about what you are supposedly try ing to do. M a y o r Ivan cie has also gone into silence when it does not relate with his personal salary. Do we as citizens, just hear prom ises th at are meaningless, when it comes down to action in rectifying misconduct? We are told to give you a chance, and the situation regard ing police officers* im proper deeds w ill change. H o w long do citizens have to wait7 Thus fa r, in relation ship to any questins o f significance asked, no concrete answers have been given by you or M ayor Ivancie. Does th a t mean no im provem ent shall take place? The public heard nothing but promises a fte r the re m oval o f C om m issioner C harles Jordan, as the head o f the Portland Police Bureau, from you and Mayor Ivancie. T he citizens in the N orth Precinct know what those promises m ean— n o th in g . T he Black C o m m unity realizes we are now going into a form o f political, and institu tional. cover-up. W h a t’s your opin ion? Charles Elake Portland, Oregon Correction O erry A bram s is spokesperson, not chairman, o f the Jefferson High ^ “ rent A d v ,»o ry C o u n c il, m ie I. Ms. Abrams was improperly identified in our August 27th issue regarding her statem ents to the Portland School Board.
