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Page 4 Portland O ty erv r, December 29, 1962
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Politics as usual
Governor Victor A tiyeh has appointed Lee
Johnson to the C irc u it C o u rt in M ultnom ah
County to replace Robert E. Jones, whom he
appointed to the Oregon Supreme Court.
Yes, this is the same Lee Johnson who with a
highly financed and highly questionable cam*
paign was elected Attorney General— Oregon’s
highest law enforcement officer; who, while A t
torney General, lost his driver’s license due to re
peated violations and a drunk driving convic
tion; who, in a quiet trip to California, was ar-
AuCoin vote on pay raise distorted
rested and charged with driving while drinking
and refused a breath test saying police falsify
such tests; who was elected to the Oregon Su
preme C o u rt, then quit to become G overnor
Atiyeh’s aide; who endangered that office's inte
grity by sitting with PG E lobbyists during an
emotionally charged Senate hearing on nuclear
power; who left that office in mid-stream.
Now Lee Johnson will affect the lives of thou
sands o f Residents o f M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty
through his judgement.
T o the rich, from the poor
Earlier this year President Reagan, with Con
gress* approval, gave an enormous tax break to
the upper-income citizens o f this country. A
straight percentage cut gave those with small in
comes $25 to $100, but gave billions to the rich.
The idea was that these rich people would invest
(his windfall in the economy which, after a slow
trickle-down, would produce jobs.
O f course, it d id n ’t work. Little investment
occurred. Those people with money considered
the depression and saved it. Investment is down
and unemployment up.
The next plan— facing increasing anger over
unemployment— was the gas tax to create high
way jobs. The 5« a gallon gas tax is supposed to
raise $5.5 billion and create jobs through high
way and bridge repair. The gas tax was first o f
fered by Republican Senate m a jo rity leader
Howard Baker who called it a "highways-jobs”
bill; it was approved by Democratic Speaker of
the House T ip O ’ N eill, who called it a ’’jobs”
b ill. Reagan joined in, calling it a “ highway
bill” which incidentally offers jobs.
What the bill really is a tax on those least able
to pay— the workers who drive to work, the un
employed who drive to look for work. As usual
it is the poor who will be hurt most for the rich
spend an infinitesmal portion o f their income on
gasoline.
The $5.4 billion public works program, de
signed to provide jobs from the nation’s general
fund, was rejected by Congress because the Pre
sident had threatened to veto it.
The Reagan Administration is finally adm it
ting that there just isn’t enough money to run
the government (unless they cut the m ilitary
budget) so more taxes are needed. Now they
can’t turn around and take back that tax cut to
the rich.
The plan now being considered is to tax all in
terest paid, except that on new cars. This means
that the family paying interest on a home, furni
ture, revolving charge accounts, bank loans—
the methods lower- and middle-income people
use to provide the essentials o f life — w ill no
longer be able to deduct it on their income tax
forms. This money— though going to the finan
cial institutions— will be considered part o f the
family’s taxable income. That could raise $6 bil
lion a year.
Reagan also is expected to support an increase
in Social Security payroll taxes and a ceiling on
old-age benefits increases.
W ill Congress go along again? O r will C o n
gress look at the military budget? Reagan plans
to increase the fiscal 1984 m ilitary budget by
about 19 percent or $39 billion from this year’s
expected $208 b illio n . Just to cancel the B -l
bomber and two new nuclear aircraft carriers
would save $65 billion—enough to fund several
jobs programs.
How much hunger and deprivation are the
American people willing to accept in order to
build a more powerful war machine?
Welfare?
The Hyster Company has asked the City and
State for $5-$6 million to enable them to remain
in Portland. While laying o ff their own employ
ees the City is tempted to help Hyster in order to
keep jobs in Portland.
Isn’t it strange that those who proclaim “ free
enterprise’ ’ and condemn w elfare program s
most are first in line for public money?
Give them the m o n ey.. . but give the City $6
million worth o f Hyster’s stock and its cut of the
profits.
A m onth ago, O reg o nian s d is
played an a d m ira b le and c h a ra c
teristic trait which deserves loud ap
plause: they joined together on be
half o f Oregon's hungry.
The event was "Supermarket Sat
u rd a y ,” a statew ide fo od d rive
sponsored by the com m unity re la
tions teams o f P a c ific N o rth w est
Bell and Safeway stores. P N B em
ployee volunteers. Telephone P io
neers, representatives o f O reg o n
Food Share, and citizens who just
"w anted to help" stood in front of
some 60 stores in 28 cities accepting
contributions from shoppers.
Everyone involved in this project
Saturday" was the result. The total
d o lla r value o f co n trib u ted fo o d ,
household p ro d u cts, and cash
equals m ore th an $ 3 0 ,0 0 0 — some
$ 3 ,0 0 0 m ore than o u r ea rlier
estimate— for Oregon Food Share.
The contributions are being used in
the local com m unities where they
were collected.
"S u p erm arket S a tu rd a y " was a
m a g n ific en t show o f O reg o nian s
helping (heir neighbors, and Pacific
Northwest Bell is pleased to be giv
ing O regon Food Share the fu ll
$ 2 0 ,0 0 0 m atch in g pledge we o f
fered.
L .L . W olfard
Vice President— Oregon
Pacific Northwest Bell
Send criminals into exile
To the editor:
Concerning the editorial. "T erro r
S a n itiz e d ,” Dec. 22. 1982: It was
like taking a trip in a time machine
to the days o f the C rusades. The
same people today have always fa
vored toe death p en alty— how else
can the atrocities committed during
the Crusades and the Inquisition be
Oreqon
■ ■
r.ipe'
'Publishers
^ » A s s o c ia tio n
18
1
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member
N M A L PER
AtSOCieHon - ZowndM f rats
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justified? They are the same people
who kept the C h ristian Bible from
being read by the poor Caucasoids o f
Europe. The aristocracy also once
believed in book b urnin g and in
their right to decide what other peo
ple o f color could read or know— an
idea th at's still in existence. They
are the mentally twisted, disturbed
individuals.
How can the establishment legiti
mize killing when performed by in-
dividuals on behalf o f the state but
condemn it when performed by indi
viduals on behalf o f themselves? How
can one prefer so-called socialistic
killing (state execution) to free-en
terprise killing (on behalf o f oneself
or other private individuals)? How
can one regard as subhum an the
"c o ld b lo o d e d " free-enterprise hit
man who rationally and dispassion
ately kills for hire, while one accepts
as neighbors the b u reau c ratic hit
Portland Observer
The Portland Observer IUSPS 959 6801 it published every
Thursday by Ei»e Publishing Company. Inc 2201 North Killings
worth. Portland. Oregon 97217. Post Office Bow 3137 Portland.
Oregon 97208 Second class postage pftd at Portland. Oregon
Subscriptions HO 00 per year in the Tn County area Post
m aster Send address changes to the Portland O b w v tr p o
Bow 3137. Portland Oregon 97208
.4/ McGdberry, Editor/Publisher
A I H 'Illiams, Advertising Manager
By law, all Members o f Congress
w ou ld have been given a $ 1 7 ,3 0 0
pay increase if the House had taken
no a c tio n . As a M e m b e r o f C o n
gress opposed to any pay increase, I
had opportunities on two consecu
tive votes to strike a blow at the size
o f the increase, and then try to kill
the whole kit and kaboodle.
O n the first vote, the choice was
between $ 1 7 ,JOO or $9,000. I voted
to lo w er the raise to the lo w er f i
gure. lim itin g the dam age i f , God
fo rb id , the attem pt to kill the raise
failed entirely.
The second vote was on the ques
tion o f killing the pay raise or leav
ing it at the $9,000 level. I voted to
k ill it, just as I ’ ve voted against
every pay raise since I'v e been in
Congress. U n fo rtu n a te ly , that a t
tem pt fa ile d , on a tie vote o f 208-
208.
T h a i ’ s the c h ro n o lo g y , and my
strategy, on the votes. I f the w ire
services can’ t understand that, then
they belong in a strait-jacket. M ore
im p o rtan t, the issue isn't over yet,
and I ’ll continue to w ork against a
pay raise for Members o f Congress
a t this tim e , when so m any o f my
constituents are out o f w o rk , ru n
ning out o f unemployment benefits,
and w ith so m any others liv in g in
fear o f losing their jobs.
Les AuCoin
Mem ber o f Congress
Criticizes Hays record on Parole Board
G reeting s! I hope this letter a r
rives, is p rin te d , and read b e fo re
you vote fo r yo u r new P resid en t.
(U n fortun ately, the letter d id n 't a r
rive in tim e— Ed.] In the last couple
o f issues o f this paper I read state
ments by those w ho were running
fo r the o ffic e . T h e statem ents by
Mrs. Hays especially caught my a t
tention, in particular (hose regard
ing her position as Chairm an o f the
Board o f Parole and racism in the
crim inal justice system. T o my sur
prise M rs. Hays purported herself to
be a "C h a m p io n ** o f the cause o f
black prisoners and a staunch o p
ponent o f a ra c ia lly u n ju st and
biased m a trix /c n m in a l justice sys
tem . U n fo rtu n a te ly dear brothers
and sisters this is not to ta lly the
tru th — m aybe in her heart M rs.
Hays wishes to be all o f this, but in
the boardroom it's a different story.
For in reality amongst the black pri
soners here at O SP she and the other
(b lack?) board member M r . Jones
are known for their harsh, in d iffer
ent and even hostile treatment o f the
black prisoners th at com e before
them.
In a recent case a black inm ate
with category one crimes (the lowest
possible crime category), and a his
tory risk score o f two points, which
means he would be set at the highest
end o f his m a trix range; in this
man's case 18 to 24 months because
the Judge gave him consecutive sen
tences on the tw o charges. M rs .
H ays voted to extend his m a trix
range six months beyond thus m ak
ing him serve th irty months in p ri
son, for crimes in which no property
was lost, no violence was committed
or dam age done. Yet she w ou ld
have th e vo tin g m em bers o f the
N A A C P believe that she should be
voted in as their President, because
o f her championing justice for black
people in prison? Let us not c o n
tinue to be deceived by those who
promise us the moon and then give
us the dung p ile. I'm still in these
people’ s grasp, but the tru th must
be told.
H a n if Abdullah »44666
Prisoners welcome Hays NAACP presidency
To the editor:
W e, the prodigal sons and daugh
ters o f the black comm unity, would
like to congratulate Ms. Hazel Hays
on her newly won position as Presi
dent o f the P o rtla n d Branch
N A A C P . She has pledged to put
new life back into the organization
and was given a strong vote o f con-
tidence by her fellow N A A C P mem
bers and past presidents. W e espe
cially not M s. H ays' claim o f con
cern for our youth and the extreme
ly high percentage o f blacks incar
cerated in O re g o n 's c o rre c tio n a l
in s titu tio n s. W e 're concerned too
and would like to see the community
become more aware o f just what is
happening Genocide would not be
To the editor:
Oregonians provide food for hungry
deserves a great big "th a n k y o u !”
F irst, a resounding " T h a n k Y o u ”
to every one o f the c iv ic -m in d ed
Oregonians who donated cither that
" e x t r a ” item fro m th eir grocery
carts or cash to help O regon Food
Share and your local food bank put
a n u tritio u s meal on the tab le o f
someone who needs help.
Thanks to those w ho pro vided
space in newspapers and on the air
waves so that people w ould know
about "S u p e rm a rk e t S a tu rd a y .”
Thanks to the hundreds o f v o lu n
teers who donated their time to staff
the collection points. A n d , thanks
to Safeway for their complete coop
eration.
The best part o f "S u p e rm a rk e t
To the editor:
I'm dam ned mad at the way my
vole in opposition to the Congres
sional pay raise has been distorted
and misrepresented by the news wire
services and others. I am w riting so
your readers can clearly understand
w hat h ap pened, and w h y , in the
House o f Representatives.
too strong a word.
com m unity become more aware o f
just w hat is happening. G enocide
would not be loo strong a word.
Oregon and Washington lead the
country in percentage o f blacks in
carcerated. W ith the m ajority o f the
black youth unable to get em plo y
ment, where do you think this state
machinery plans to put them when
they catch them try in g to survive
outside the confines o f the law? And
what kind o f role model is a young
black fa th e r or m o th er w ho is in
ja il (those who can stay out o f ja il
long enough to reproduce)? W e're
talking about genocide. Hazel Hays
can’ t say it, but we can say it. But
with the ad d itio nal leverage o f her
new position as N A A C P president.
we hope that she lives up to her plat
fo rm com m itm ents. W ith the help
o f a concerned and stra te g ic a lly
united co m m un ity. I f the co m m u
nity continues to side with the status
quo in only asking fo r more police
patrols, more jails, and longer sen
tences, w e’ ll see m ore black on
black crime, more sons and daugh
ters into drugs, p ro stitutio n, th eft,
and in e vitab ly , no co m m un ity, no
fu tu re . H a z e l H ays has o u r best
wishes. Though she is only one, yet
she is one. She can not do ev e ry
th in g but she can do so m ethin g —
with a little help.
The Black Communities o f
O .S .P ..O .W .C .C .,O .S .C .I.
Legislative work still available
Letters to the Editor.
To the editor:
Letters to the Editor
283 2486
N otio nal A d v ertis in g R ap raoantativs
A m a lg a m a te d Publisher«. Inc
N aw Vor«
It was nice to discuss taxes at the
Portland Observer Forum on Satur
day, December 4th.
I am very interested in the politics
o f taxes. H o w and w ho pays taxes
determ ines w ho becomes rich and
w ho rem ains p oo r as w ell as the
kind and amount o f public services.
W e need to work out a com m unity
tax plan and work for its passage at
the com ing legislative session. Let
me know what I can do to help.
D o n 't fo rg et my o ffe r o f State
paym ent o f expenses fo r someone
organizing the com m unity to pass
some needed change in (he law or
fu n d in g o f some im p o rta n t p ro
gram. The way to do it is to get your
men who rationally kill for hire?
Yet nothing could be m ore p re
m editated than announcing in a d
vance the tim e, place, method and
target o f a killin g , as done in stale
executions, which only demonstrates
by public example (hat the taking o f
human life really is the appropriate
response to certain types o f beha
vior.
The problems we face will not be
solved by setting a few grisly ex-
apmles. W hat we need to do is pre
vent m u ltip le offenders fro m con
tinuing to walk the streets. I suggest
th at p ub lic o ffic ia ls — judges, p a
ro le-b oard members, the governor
— be held liable fo r m alpractice in
the release of convicts who continue
to prey on the community.
There is one sensible alternative
to the death penalty or long prison
sentences. I t ’s exile. Exile to remote
corners o f the earth, where convict
ed rapists and murderers would be
to o busy devoting th eir hostilities
tow ard survival w ith little enough
time for mayhem. A u stralia began
as a penal colony, as was the plan
for our state o f Georgia.
W h a t's wrong w ith the A m azo n
jungle, the outback o f Australia, de
idea(s) and at least 6-10 people from
the co m m u n ity to g e h te r, people
who will work together through July
on a regular basis. Then we w ill re
quest that your idea be d rafted for
introduction. A lread y time is pass
ing us by in that requesting the bill
be d ra fte d now means it w o u ld
p ro b a b ly be ready a ro u n d the
fourth week o f the legislative session
in F e b ru a ry . M em b e rs o f your
group w ould start m akin g regular
trips to the legislature after January
10th, 1983, so as to become fam iliar
with legislators and to have them get
to know you. (Once or twice a week,
possibly, we can sneak I -2 people on
the S tate's shuttle bus fro m P o rt
land to the C a p ito l in Salem 1-2
days each week, if we don't use the
sered South Sea Islands, A n tar
and the far northern tundra o f A
ka and Canada?
This method seems far more
mane to me than being penned i
cell or fried in a chair W ill this ii
ever be im p lem ented? I doubt
This society has a tendency to ign
s tra ig h tfo rw a rd approaches
problem s in fa v o r o f com plica
abstract concepts.
I'm inclined to believe, the p c
b ility o f a m iscarriag e o f justii
compounded by the irrevocable i
ture o f the death penalty, contini
to be a sound reason for opposi
capital punishment.
The death penalty is nothing bu
state-sponsored vengeance k illi
that does more to discredit the rac
system o f justice than to deter vi
lent crim es. W h a t drpresses me
the righteousness and solemnity tl
surround the occasion o f legally ki
ing a man. The expressions capii
punishm ent and execution are,
fact, merely polite terms for killing
In clo akin g this fo rm o f k illii
with legalese and ceremony, I find
certain am ou n t o f ab su rd ity. Oi
can almost laugh at the lengths
which this racist establishment w
rush times in the early m orning or
late a fte rn o o n .) A ll the w hile you
would be talking up your proposal.
M y office space is open to you and
co u ld serve as yo u r ’ hom e b a s e ,’
p ro v id in g telep h on e and some
zeroxing needs. Also use o f our o f
fice typ ew riter. W e have the most
co n venien t o ffic e space in the
House, just o ff the House floor.
I also hope to see you at fu tu re
Portland Observer Forums. Keep in
to uch. W rite or call to te ll me o f
yo u r concerns as b ills and topics
com e up d u rin g the leg is la tive
session.
W ally Priestley.
Slate Representative
go to legitim ize the very act, when
p e rfo rm e d by the state, th at they
condem n the in d iv id u a l fo r p e r
fo rm in g out o f madness, panic or
for other reasons neither he nor any
one else can ever fully understand.
Let me carry this absurdity to its
extreme, since most people in racist
Prophetic Symbolical Babylon (A m -
e rik a ) scheduled fo r execution are
poor and black, replace the electric
ch air w ith the hypoderm ic need.e.
The racist could m ake executio n
even more humane by injecting poi
son not in to the person but in to a
w aterm elo n , which w ould then be
served as the traditional last supper.
A ll the social sciences— crim ino l
o g y , so cio lo g y, p sychology, eco
n o m ic s -p o in t out that i f you sub
ject people to deprivation and inhu
man living conditions, you can pre
dict that they will rebel against those
c o n d itio n s . W h a t we have in this
c o u n try is a system o rg an ized
against poor folks in such a way that
many are forced to rebel and turn to
fo rm s o f b eh av io r th a t are called
crim in a l, in order to gel the things
they need to survive.
D r. Jamil Cherovee
Field Director. C O R E