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Page 4 Section I Portland Observer, June 29, 1983
The "D ud at H U D "
EDITORIAL/OPINION
by Dr. M anning M arable
Fadeley seeks sales tax ban
Senate President Ed Fadeley, a proclaimed
foe of the sales tax. has proposed a constitution
al amendment prohibiting a sales tax. Fadeley’s
proposal — which would replace the House's 4
percent sales tax measure — says: " N o general
retail sales tax shall ever be levied for purposes
of defraying the expenses of the state."
Fadeley expects the Senate to vote on the pro
posal this week, possibly Saturday. Fadeley’s
intention is to end discussion of a sales tax, an
issue that dominated the House for five months
before it was finally adopted and sent Io the
Senate. Debate on the sales tax effectively cut off
deliberation over tax relief alternatives, includ
ing a homestead exemption or increasing the
upper brackets of the personal and corporate
income tax. W ith the sales tax out o f the way,
the Senate could move on to balance the state
budget and provide property tax relief.
O f course Fadeley’s proposal could not gain
the support of the House — now committed to
the sales tax — or overcome a potential veto by
the governor. However, a dtizens initiative cam
paign could pul it on the ballot and gain public
support.
A ban against a sales tax in the State Constitu
tion — although not written indelibly in stone —
would be a strong deterrent to any serious
thought of reviving the sales tax issue. It would
also force future legislatures into seeking realistic
and just methods of financing slate government.
Theft symptom of deeper sins
The newly revealed information that Ronald
Reagan used briefing papers stolen from the
president to prepare for his crucial debate with
Jimmy Carter is not an isolated incident. Nor is
it just another chapter to the growing ever ex
panding story o f corruption in the Reagan
administration.
The theft o f Carter’s papers — like the spying
on the Democratic Party headquarters at Water
gate — was an attempt to steal the presidency. It
was a direct assault on the people of the United
States.
Additional examples of Reagan’s flagrant vio
lations o f constitutional rights are not hard to
find.
• The U.S. government has restricted and
censored the publication and dissemination of
scientific research.
• The Justice Department has designated
three Canadian films (one on nuclear war and
two on acid rain) as foreign propaganda and
kept records of those showing the films.
• The president imposed censorship on all
present and future federal employees, limiting
their right to speak on "sensitive" subjects.
• The government prevented citizens from re
ceiving publications from or (ravelling to Cuba
(recently overturned by federal court).
• The State Department has refused entry to
the U.S. to many foreign nationals, including
the widow o f Salvador Allendc, who was invited
by California churches; Cuban film makers in
vited to discuss their work; Japanese pacifists
desiring to participate in a U .N . disarmament
debate, etc.
• Reagan limited Congress’ ability to review
C IA operations and allows the C IA to investi
gate U.S. citizens in this country for the first
time.
• Reagan has allowed the FBI to infiltrate
U.S. political groups.
The theft of Carter’s papers — the act of
cheating on a presidential election — is not an
isolated incident. It is further evidence of a com
plete lack of integrity and a lack of respect for
the nation he heads and its citizens. And this
man has the power to destroy the world.
Almost three year, ago, a number
of prominent blacks — including
media star Tony Brown, the Rev.
Ralph David Abernathy and Hosea
Williams — made fools o f them
selves by defending blacks who sup
ported Reagan's candidacy. Now
it’s clear that even those blacks
within the Reagan administration
rival their incompetent, aged boss in
their contempt for the unemployed,
the poor, and the dispossessed.
Even the W all Street Journal, that
staunch defender o f Reaganism, re
cently concluded (hat the chief black
administrator inside the cabinet.
Housing and Urban Development
head Samuel Pierce, was "reclusive,"
lacked "interest" in urban prob
lems, and often "doesn't always
know what he’s talking ab o u t." The
Journal article noted, "Increasingly,
from Capitol H ill to city halls and
even in the W hite House, officials
wonder why M r. Pierce remains at
H U D . The stories about the reclusive
cabinet member, whom M r. Reagan
once called 'M r. M ayor' by mistake,
are becoming legion." Pierce's
latest nickname is "the dud at
H U D ."
Pierce, who earns S80.I00 per
year, was unqualified for (he post
from the outset. A labor attorney
and a protege o f the Nelson Rocke-
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Bui "Silent Sam " is undisturbed.
He has greater faith in the senility of
his Great W hite Father than in the
urban and socioeconomic alterna
tives being put forward by the C on
gressional Black Caucus. This black
Reaganite is not suffering — he has
a spacious office, a good position,
and a direct access to the very
centers of power. Let urban America
continue to d e c a y ...th e "dud at
H U D " is doing his job.
by Greg Wasson
W hile last week's decision declar
ing the Congressional veto unconsti
tutional got the headlines, the U.S.
Supreme Court made another ruling
worthy o f examination. In an ap
peal originating in Tillam ook Coun
ty, the high court struck a blow for
the police in the continuing battle
between society and the individual.
In State v. Bradshaw, the Court
upheld as legitimate a confession
obtained after the suspect had re
quested a lawyer, but before the
counsel had arrived. It would seem
that once suspects told the police
that they didn’ t want to talk, the
police would have to leave them
alone. The Court evidently agreed
with Attorney General Dave Frohn-
mayer, though, who argued that a
suspect should be free to change his
or her mind and confess after initial
ly refusing to cooperate with the
police.
Silence
Portland Observer
were on lay-off in October in 1982.
and in fact the number o f steel pro
duction workers has dropped 40
percent in the past decade. In the
twelve months between December,
1981 and December, 1982 while
collar unemployment has jumped by
1.1 percent; blue collar workers, up
3.? percent; farm workers, up 1.3
percent; and service workers, up 2.7
percent 14.8 percent o f all manu
facturing workers are unemployed,
and a staggering 22 percent of all
construction workers are jobless.
Federal reductions in needed social
service* means deteriorating urban
conditions — poorer schools, low
quality health care, inadequate and
dilapidated housing. Reaganomics
and a vicious attitude toward m i
norities and ihe poor has set the
stage for social unrest and urban
chaos.
Quorum o f One
A press release from Frohn-
mayer’s office quotes the attorney
general as saying that the ruling
strikes " (a ) proper balance. . . be
tween the right o f the suspect to
counsel and the need o f law enforce
ment authorities to resolve criminal
investigations."
The right to counsel is not intend
ed to be a balance; it is part o f the
constitutional shield designed to
protect the individual from the in
evitable excesses o f the government.
Bradshaw provides further proof
that the present Supreme Court is
committed to reversing the judicial
advancements made under that
liberal o f liberals. Chief Justice Earl
Warren.
resent these unfounded eccusntiens!
feller/Jacob Javits wing o f the
Republican party. Pierce had little
knowledge o f urban affairs. Pierce
has yet to schedule meetings with
key members o f the Congressional
Black Caucus. He failed to push for
strong
fair-housing
legislation
which he had promised over a year
ago. H e has lost several important
budget fights with O M B director
David Stockman, according to the
Journal, and now "some housing-
industry officials maintain that M r
Stockman has more power than the
H U D chief over urban p olicy."
When housing, real estate, and
urban group, do get a chance to
speak with the dud at H U D , "they
come away surprised at his lack o f
interest in their concerns."
What has Pierce accomplished in
two and one half years? H U D 's full
time work force has been cut by 11
percent, down to 13,412 workers.
Rent-subsidies
to
poor
black.
Latino and white families have been
drastically reduced.
Pierce has
ordered that all low-rent apartments
constructed with federal govern
ment subsidies be halted. In short,
this black Reaganite is a "loyal
soldier" for the president.
Meanwhile, the economic condi
tions for working class families and
neighborhoods
continue
to
deteriorate. 130,000 steel workers
(Continued fro m Page I Column 6/
Common, the women would link
arms and encircle the nine mile peri
meter o f the base. They were told to
bring scarves to extend the circle in
case there weren't enough women.
A military police car with its
lights flashing circled (he inside peri
meter o f the base. The officers
inside peered at the women.
“ As (hat car approached us, the
most incredible sound erupted from
us," said Simone. " I t came from
our bellies. I couldn't imitate it for
you now if I tried. It was a howl, a
scream, a moan. I made a sound like
it while I was giving b irth.”
That evening Greenham Common
air base was surrounded by nine
miles o f flickering candlelight.
The next day five thousand
women blockaded the gates. Since
the previous arrests had caused a
sensation, the strategy o f the police
was not to arrest but to drag the
women away. The strategy o f the
women was to come back and sit
down again.
" I t was raining, as usual, and
very m uddy." said Simone. " I went
back 17 times. It got very rough. W e
were dragged by our hair, our arms,
our legs, our breasts. There were
five arms and three legs broken at
my gate alone."
The Bradshaw decision erodes
probably the most famous case of
W arren's (enure, one involving a
Phoenix defendant named M iranda.
M iranda argued successfully that his
arresting officers had failed to ex
plain his constitutional right to re
main silent and demand a lawyer be
fore questioning.
Ruling that defendants can't w ill
fully waive constitutional rights they
don't know they have, the Court re
fused to allow M iranda's statements
to be used against him. I f constitu
tional guarantees are to mean any
thing. argued the Court, the author
ities must follow the rules established
to check the power o f the police.
One o f those rules says people
should get help from a lawyer be
fore the authorities initiate proceed
ings which might put the suspect in
jail.
And, the Warren Court didn't
limit the idea o f restricting the po
lice to protect the individual to the
guarantee o f counsel. In I960, the
panel considered Jones v. U .S ., a
case where the police had burst into
an apartment without a warrant —
an act prohibited by the 4th Amend
ment — and arrested a friend o f the
owner. The suspect contended that
even (hough he didn’t own the
dwelling, he had been subjected to
an unconstitutional search and the
evidence should be suppressed.
The Warren Court agreed. Ruling
that the Constitution protects peo
ple. not property, the Court held
that the police had no right to be in
the apartment and refused to allow
the state to admit any evidence
T h a t’s when Simone cut her hair
"W h e n I was pregnant I was told
to eat healthy food, to take vita
mins, and to avoid tobacco and
alcohol. After my children were
born I was told to give them the best
possible nutrition, medical care and
education. We mothers are encour
aged to take responsibility for our
children's safe passage through this
life.
" A n d that is exactly what we are
doing at Greenham Common. Soci
ety has placed on us (he responsibili
seized in the search.
Granted, if evidence obtained in
violation o f the constitution is ruled
inadmissible, the slate's case some
times collapses and the defendant
goes free. However, the Warren
Court considered that an acceptable
price for keeping the government
honest.
The present Court? I f you liked
Richard Nixon, you’ ll love Chief
Justice Warren Burger. In 1981, the
Burger Court showed its official dis
taste for the Jones decision, writing:
" (W e have) overruled Jones
and instead limited such Fourth
Amendment claims to those per
sons who h)d a reasonable expec
tation of privacy in the area or ob
ject o f the search.”
My favorite reactionary. Colum
nist James J. Kilpatrick, applauds
this restriction o f the Warren doc
trine He contends that the discom
fort o f watching a guilty defendant
go free justifies overlooking police
improprieties.
I would respond that Kilpatrick's
obsession with the individual crime
is misplaced. The more important
consideration is the effect on society
o f granting the police additional dis
cretion. I f America is truly different
than other societies, if we are sin
cerely concerned about protecting
individual freedoms, we have to do
something different than simply
turning the shock-troops loose
In their drive to wage a successful
war on crime, authorities, both fed
eral and state, seem to have forgot
ten that too much power goes to the
head and discretion inevitably leads
to abuse.
ty for the future o f our children We
are fulfilling that by opposing these
missiles.
"W e women at Greenham C om
mon are not asking someone else to
please stop the deployment o f cruise
missiles for us. W e have taken it
upon ourselves to stop them. I know
cruise missiles are not going to be
deployed in Britain because we
women have made a personal
commitment that we will not allow
it.
"T h e greatest crime is silence."
Letters to the Editor
To th e Editor:
I would like to voice my objection
to the headline o f the article on
Ethiopian Jews in the June 22nd
issue. The article provided inform a
tion on the background and current
status o f the Falashas, black Jews in
Ethiopia, as well as comments about
the inactivity o f the Israeli govern
ment in providing assistance to this
group. However, the headline read.
"Israel Rejects Ethiopian Jews." I
feel that this is misleading and may
be perceived as reflecting an anti-
Israeli bias. The article was more
about Ethiopia’s rejection and mis
treatment o f the Falashas than
about their rejection by Israel.
Based on the inform ation contained
in the article, Israel can more accu
rately be described as “ neglecting"
rather than “ rejecting" the Falashas.
It is mentioned that the Israeli gov
ernment is keeping a low profile and
is relatively inactive in response to
helping the Ethiopian Jews, espe
cially in comparison to Russian
Jews, who are Caucasian. I do not
doubt that this is related to the fact
that the Ethiopian Jews are black,
and that this racist attitude o f the
Israeli government justly deserves
criticism; however, I feel that the
headline did not accurately reflect
the content o f the article.
D o ro th y Parker
(Editor's Note: John Blank, authoi
o f the article, was not responsibh
f o r the headline. J