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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 25, 1983)
■K&sa awrew i w « w i i.nr.Tnww w w a w ii -¿ .k ! Page 4 Section I Portland Obeervr, May 25, 1963 ____ EDITORIAL/OPINION Profit motive denies medical care The conscience o f the nation is said to be measured by its treatment o f its young and old. The fact that this country falls far short is most evident in the area o f medical care. A seven-month-old baby in Eugene was nearly denied the right to life because his foster parents could not provide $60,000. The baby requires a liver transplant to live. The State Adult and Family Services Division first denied funds for the operation because it is still considered experimental, then decided to fund it. The tragedy here is not just that AFS would quibble about funding an operation needed to sustain life, or that it would be forced to quibble out of consideration for priorities of need. The real tragedy is that such an enormous price tag could be put on essential health care. Money makes the difference between life and death. Thousands of people in the country die because they just do not have the money to pay. The exciting new discoveries o f science are not used to heal but to make money. Daily on the news we hear of parents and communities attempting to raise thousands o f dollars for operations and other health care for children while the medical industry holds out for higher prices and greater profits. The inventors of the artificial heart are already looking for enormous profits at $15,000 a hit. In a nation as rich as ours, health care should be the right o f every individual and no one should suffer or die because of lack o f resources. Return MHRC budget,programs Commissioner Margaret Strachan attempt ed to justify her handling o f the Metropolitan Hum an Relations Commission at a meeting with M H R C Commissioners last week, but failed miserably. Her pleas that she is committed to civil and human rights will fall on deaf ears as she tries to explain how stripping M H R C o f its staff and programs can strengthen it. Strachan’s public position is that she wants M H R C ’s role to be advocacy. I f she were even minimally aware o f M H R C ’s activities since she has been on the C ity Council, she whould realize that M H R C is heavily involved in advocacy— and in research, conciliation, mediation, education, etc. Strachan’s personal agenda originally appeared to be an effort to control M H R C , which is independent o f City control although funded by the City and the County. The role o f the Council liaison is to be a liason, not a director. Failing in her efforts to control, Strachan appears to have the total destruction o f M H R C in mind. She slipped a suggestion into her Tuesday speach to M H R C , the idea o f making M H R C a private non-profit agency that would receive City and County funds. Whether this is a smokescreen or a valid suggestion, it is dangerous and should be vigorously opposed. Although M H R C is a district C ity/C o u n ty commission and has the independence needed to monitor C ity and County efforts at equal justice, employment, etc., it still has the authority and integrity o f government. It carries far more weight than any private non profit group could. Also, next year the City could decide it has other priorities and the private non-profit corporation could be left without funds. M H R C must retain its official standing and must regain its total budget and programs. It plays an important role in M ultnom ah County and the C ity o f Portland and should be strengthened, not destroyed. Ronnie's role The Democrats could learn a few choice phrases from C uba’s newspaper, Granma. Responding to Ronald Reagan’s blatant lies about Cuba in a speech in M iam i last week, the Granma said the speech “ moves one to think that some o f Ronald Reagan’s speechwriters insist on giving the mediocre actor his most ridiculous role as a discredited and mentally dense President of the United States . . . CM «« “ M orally speaking, Reagan is not even comparable to the bandits he killed in his cowboy pictures.’’ The Williamsburg Summit: U.S. against the world by William Pomeroy Judging by the heavy skirmishing and exchanges o f fire that have been occurring between the leading West ern powers as their annual summit meeting on economic problems nears, the gathering o f heads of government that begins on M ay 28 at Williamsburg, Virginia, could re semble more o f a policy shoot-out than a cooperative meeting o f allies. Not for the first, the battle lines have been drawn between the U .S. and the other six countries (Federal Republic o f Oermany, Britain. France, Italy, Canada and Japan) that set up the economic summit ar rangement seven years ago as one means o f trying to cope with the capitalist system’s economic crisis. As the crisis has deepened, each suc cessive meeting has reflected the in tensifying rivalry among partici pants. especially the three main cen ters o f the U .S ., Western Europe and Japan. A ll o f the principal Western powers, faced by shrunken domestic markets made worse by very high unemployment and by cuts in gov ernment spending that undermine purchasing power, have set goals o f maximizing exports. The consequent growing trade ri valry is featured by protectionist measures, export subsidizing, and currency manipulation, designed to give each others' exports a competi tive edge while curtailing imports from "allies.” Past summit meet ings have failed to heal the widening breaches in the capitalist alliance over these issues. Into this situation, the Reagan Administration, obsessed with its desire to wreck the Soviet economy has thrown the aggravating issue o f halting East-West trade. This has fallen like disaster among the allies o f the U .S ., which see in trade with the Soviet Union and other socialist countries a major and welcome form o f relief for their depression- ridden industries. Last year's summit at Versailles was overshadowed by the row over the Reagan attempt to force Western European countries to can cel agreement to buy Soviet natural gas and to compel Western compan ies not to provide equipment on a large scale for the building o f the Soviet pipe line to convey the gas from Siberia. The other summit countries refused to submit to the Reagan demands, defied the Reagan sanction moves, and inflicted a ma jor foreign policy reverse on the U.S. The preliminary sounds of battle that have been preceding this year's Portland Observer Mt «tat « ... - I . , . M*riO»a«t T h e P o rtla n d O b to r v tt IU S P S 959 M O I I t published »vary Thursday by t«*a Publishing Company. Inc 2201 North Killing» worth, Portland Oragon 97217. P o tt O H ict Bo« 3137, Portland. Oragon 97208 Second clata pottaga paid at Portland Oragon I M l I M l Tha Portland O t u m r r waa astabhahad in 1970 Subscriptions »10 00 pat yaar in tha Tri County ataa P o tt m a tta r Sand addrasa changes to tha P ortland O b tr r v tr . P O Boa 3137. Portland. Oragon 97208 M EM B ER A lfre d L. Henderson. Editor/Publisher A l Williams. Advertising Manager Aaaociarton - founded IBM 283 2486 N a tio n a l A d vertising R ep resentative A m a lg a m a te d Publisher«. Inc. N e w York Political prisoner: The case of Summers by Dr. Manning Marable "From the Grassroots" One clear indication that the U .S. government is escalating its forces of repression is the growing number o f political-inspired trials o f black dissidents. Examine the case of Mack politi cal activist Darnell Summers. In 1968. the Michigan Stale Police Spe cial Intelligence U nit began surveil lance o f D etroit’s M alcolm X C ul tural Center, then directed by Sum mers. The day after a state patrol man. Robert Oonscr, was m ur dered. the state decided to pin the slaying on Summers. Policemen went into the Center, destroyed property, and seized membership lists and telephone bills. Illegally wiretapping Summers' associates, they were ultimately unable to se cure sufficient evidence to put the black activist away. In the early 1970», Summers be came part o f a progressive political group in West Oermany, "F ig h tback,” and initiated a small band, "A fro d es ia." U .S. agents not only were sent into Fightback to dis rupt the organization, but even threatened U .S. army personnel who attended Afrodcsia's concerts. Summers' new associates, his ex- wife, and even his landlord were vic tims o f intimidation. Finally, after fourteen years o f harassment, the U.S. government has extradited Summers from Germany to stand trial for the first degree murder of Oonser. The state’s evidence is admittedly shaky at best. One "witness,” O a k Simmons, was also first charged with Oonser'» killing, and at one time implicated herself. Summers declared that the had lied because o f police coercion. Michigan Judge Joseph B. Sullivan dismissed the murder charges against Simmons on the grounds that the evidence was weak, and that a trial fourteen years after the fact was a blatant violation o f any defendant’s Constitutional rights to due process and a prompt trial. Yet this same judge now says that Summers must be tried for murder, and even denied defense motions to dismiss for violation o f Summers’ right to a quick trial! This leaves M ilfo rd Scott, an un- stable inform ant whose medical rec ords classify him as a "sociopath." Scott at first claimed that Summers was involved in the murder. Yet as early as 1969, Scott also admitted to the prosecutor that his testimony was "nothing but lies" written by police agents. Even on the witness stand, police have stated that Scott "has told so many different versions that you couldn’t trust him to say the same thing twice in the same d a y ." The criminal justice system has pulled out all stops to convict and imprison Summers. Judge Sullivan has stated that “ it would not be within the province o f this Court to disqualify (Scott) and to strike his testimony because he, at one time, stated it was untrue." Judge Sulli van even denied the motion for trial transcripts to be paid by the state, even though the coat o f thousands o f dollars will m a te it difficult and even perhaps impossible for Sum mers to appeal his decision. W hy are the U .S . government and the State o f Michigan goint to such lengths to place Summers behind bars? H e it a member o f the Revolu tionary Communist Party, a m ili tant left organization. But one does not have to be a communist, or a revolutionary, to take a stand for justice and civil rights. The tactics used against Summers are being re peated against many hundreds of black and white community leaders, trade unionists, and independent politicians every year. In this con text, the trial o f a Darnell Summers for a crime he did not commit illus trates the cynical manipulation of the law to subvert and to destroy the very basis o f civil liberties and civil rights. For if a black revolutionary can be imprisoned on such ridicu lous evidence, can the harassment and arrest o f progressive religious, political and community figures be very far behind? Quorum of One by Greg Wasson S A L E M — Land use planning is the kind o f issue that supports the advice never to discuss politics or re lig io n w ith strangers. O o v e rn - m en t-m an d a ted land p lann ing requires a redefin itio n o f the term independence and a reth in kin g o f the sanctity o f property lines. In the fin a l an alysis, i f the state adopts m eaningful guidelines, someone is going to be to ld to do som ething they don’t like. Three times in recent years. O re gon voters have said th a t’ s o kay w ith th em , re je ctin g e ffo rts to repeal the Land Conservation and Development Commission. O reg o n is poised to enter the second phase o f w hat Sen. L .B . Day (R-Salem) calls " a monumental effo rt to bring sensible planning to the entire state, not just the cities.” D ay, who headed the L C D C in its early days, says that as soon as the local governments adopt plans that accomm odate state guidelines, the focus w ill return to the cities and counties. But, there’ s the rub. Some local governments have shown themselves unable, or u n w illin g , to construct plans that pass slate muster. Rep. Bill Bradbury (D-Langlois), a repre sentative from the South Coast, says the state needs to cut local govern m ent some slack and loosen the process up. He favors the approach contained in H B 2295 passed by the House last week. Williamsburg summit come chiefly from Western European and Japan ese reactions to a crazily stubborn effort by the Reagan Administra tion to intensify rather than tone down its drive against East-West trade. Those reactions have a more determined sound than they had last year. One o f the decisions o f the Ver sailles summit (more face-saving for Reagan than anything else) was to prepare special studies on East-West trade as a guide to policy-making. In a typical move, however, the U .S ., without waiting for the studies to be finished, has rushed ahead with its own unilateral steps to wreck such trade. Early in A pril, President Reagan sent to Congress a bill for renewing the U .S . Export Administration Act o f 1979, which expires in Septem ber. Included in the new bill are pro visions that would enable the U .S. to impose unilateral sanctions on foreign companies that sell goods to the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries, sales considered in imical to U.S. "national security." The definition o f "national secur ity” would be drawn up by the U .S ., not by the western summit, and (T h e Observer welcomes Letters to the E d ito r. They must be signed and include the writer's address. We reserve the right to edit for length.) T hat bill creates breathing room in the land planning process by in tro d u c tio n o f the concept o f sub stantial compliance, where, to quote the b ill — “ on the w h o le, the purposes o f the goals have been met and any failure to meet the individu al goal requirements is technical or minor in nature.” Is "technical or m in o r" specific enough language? Some think not. The legislation is now property of the Senate, and Sen. John Kitzhaber (D-R oseburg) heads the committee slated to deal with the issue. W hile he agrees w ith B ra d b u ry th a t the law m akers need to m o d ify the planning process, he approaches the task with a bit more caution. " T h e tric k is to construct that language tight enough so that, while you provide some d iscretion, you provide it within very carefully con structed parameters. I'm satisfied w ith the fle x ib ility provided in the House b ill but not the parameters that surround the concept and fence concept o f substantial compliance. " T h a t ’ s a bunch o f hooey. You ca n ’ t be h a lf-w a y there; y o u ’ re either in compliance or you're not. The way to handle the situation is to a llo w an e ffe c tiv e exceptions process that says, o k a y , there are some times when you can’ t fo llo w the rules and i f local g overnm ent can show how the good outweighs the b ad , d evia tio n s should be allowed on a case by case basis." A ctually, there seems to be little substantial d ifferen ce between the concept o f substantial compliance or an expanded exceptions process. Either approach amounts to a grant o f significant latitude. “ I ’ d have to say th a t’ s tr u e ,” agrees K itzh ab er, w ho allows that discretion is the qintessential double- edged sword. “ The question is, who are you giving the discretion to?” lan d ." D a y, who serves on K itzhaber's c o m m itte e isn ’ t impressed by the T h e answer? T h e L C D C . I t ’ s almost a given that this legislature w ill grant the commission broader fle x ib ility in saying how close is close enough when it sits in judgment o f local plans. The added discretion w ill create the possibility fo r backsliding and place more im p ortan ce on w ho is g o v ern o r and who he or she appoints to the com mission. G iven the co m p lex io n of Oregon's present executive branch, that’s a disquieting prospect to O re gonians committed to preserving the things that make Oregon special. would fit the Reagan reasons for denying technology to the Soviet Union. The sanctions would be in a form o f cutting imports for such companies. Also, the U.S. would as sume the right to dictate to subsidi aries o f U .S multinational com panies in foreign countries its anti- Soviet trade bans. Francis Pym, the British foreign secretary, issued a rebuking state ment hitting at the U .S. for endeav oring to apply extra-territorial con trol over trade with socialist coun tries. "There is a strong commercial interest shared on both sides o f the Atlantic in ensuring that our trading system is kept open." said Pym. Also, " W e feel our political inter ests are very much involved and we hope that they will be taken into ac count.” The former British foreign secre tary, Lord Carrington, made a strong speech to the International Institute o f Strategic Studies in Lon don. He said: "Indiscrim inate sanc tions against the Soviet Union are neither feasible nor desirable." Say ing that Western countires should be "ready to do business with the Rus sians when it benefited both sides," Carrington asserted, " T h e notion that we should face the Russians down in a silent war of nerves, broken by bursts o f megaphone di plomacy, is based on a misconcep tion of our own values, o f Soviet be havior, and o f the anxious aspira tions o f our own peoples." Reporting from E EC headquart ers in Brussels on A pril 29, the Guardian correspondent wrote that, "Diplom ats fear that further fric tion could trigger a serious, political crisis within the ranks o f the leading industrial countries." The Guardian correspondent saw disaster threat ening the summit. A t Williamsburg, it will be the U .S. versus the world. it in. " I w ant to have som ething in there that says just because yo u ’ re ta lk in g ab o ut a sm all area geo graphically, that doesn’ t by d efin i tion make it minor. A 10-acre shop ping center in the middle o f an ex clusive farm zone would obviously be a m a jo r develop m ent even though i t ’ s only a sm all parcel o f Receive your Observer by m ail— Subscribe today I Only $10* per year. Mail to: Portland O b server Box 3137 Portland. Oregon 97208 Name ___ _________________ ______ A d d ress___________ __ _______________________________ City____________________ State____________ Zip________
