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Page 2 Portland Observer, March 7, 1984 ___________ EDITORIAL/OPINION Christ in the White House? Ronald Reagan told the nation, Tuesday, that “ Americans are turning back to G o d ," and called on Americans to “ rise above bitterness and reproach.’’ The good news that Christianity has come to the W h ite House would be proclaim ed throughout the world if it were only true. This would mean that R eagan’ s murderous cam paigns against the people o f N icaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala would come to an end and these people could make their own destiny. It w ould mean that the President would no longer provide the bombs and bullets to kill children; would not prom ote the shelling o f Lebanon; would not support the apartheid government of South Africa. Instead, the President would support health and education programs in nations where one- fourth o f the babies die before the age of 5. He would aid developing nations to aquire safe drinking water, airports and roads to take their goods to market and houses to provide shelter. A Christian in the W hite House would not tolerate the waste of the nation’s resources on a massive build-up of weapons of destruction— or their concentration in the hands of a few. He would not eliminate the social programs that provide the minimal food and shelter for those who are locked out o f the economy. He would ask why the infant mortality rate in some U.S. cities is 5 times higher for Black babies than for white babies; he would provide pre-natal medical care so mothers would not have to watch their babies die in the first year o f their lives. H e would see the elderly, crouched in their small, dark rooms, slowly freezing to death or making their homes under the bridges. He would not force millions of American’s in to unemployment— some of them forever— and would not smash their unions and attem pt to remove their h ard -fo u g h t benefits— unem ployment compensation, safety regulations, social security, etc. Reagan was wrong when he claimed that a moral decline in the U.S. ended with his election in 1984. The truth is that a tragic moral decline began with Reagan’s election— a decline far more serious than the street crime and “ sexual license’’ he refers to so piously. The m oral decline in this governm ent has brought an increasingly uncaring attitu d e toward the poor, a racist attack on minorities and relentless military intervention throughout the world. It is clear that there is no room for Christ in the White House with its current occupants still there. Legislative races raise questions The people o f N o rth /N o rth e a s t Portland have some serious thinking to do as they prepare to vote, M ay 15th. N o t only is the office o f President of the United States at stake, but there are some important decisions that could alter the course of state and local governments. Perhaps the race o f most interest is House District 18. W ill Margaret C arter and Harold W illiam s split the Black vote and hand the district to incumbent Ed Leek? Margaret Carter was endorsed by a community forum designed to select one Black candidate. Should she then receive the endorsement and the vote? Harold W illiams, who participated in the forum, now says he never agreed to withdraw if he did not win. I f financial and organization support do not materialize, should he step aside for Carter? W ill Carter lose votes because she is a woman, and what will be the role of Gayle Troutwine, a white woman who has entered the race? Another interesting race is Senate District 8. Bill M c C o y , the S tate’ s first Black state representative and its only black Senator, is being challenged by W ally Priestley and Bill Stevenson. Although McCoy has raised the ire o f much of the Black leadership because he has not provided strong leadership and has provided weak support for some issues o f concern to the Black community, his voting record is good. W o u ld the voting record o f Stevenson or Priestley vary greatly from M c C o y ’s? W ould they be stronger advocates for the Black com munity? It is understandable that Bill Stevenson, a resident o f North Portland and a former state senator and representative, would want to return to Salem. The Senate seat is his only alternative. W ith Priestley, it is a different matter. He is abandoning his House seat to run for M cC oy’s Senate seat. W ill even those Black voters who are disappointed in McCoy favor this challenge from Priestly. Priestly received support of Black voters in previous elections. W ill those who sup ported him in past elections support his o p position to McCoy? This brings up the larger question of whether white politicians should oppose Blacks and other minority office holders. Those who say no, face the issue o f m ediocrity through absence o f challenge. On the other hand, whites who do oppose m inorities run the risk o f helping eliminate badly needed m inority influence in government. These are some o f the questions Black voters will answer on May 15th. Letters to the Editor Attacks divide To I h r editor: The Portland Observer should be commended for its very perceptive editorial, ‘‘Jackson Attack Contrived" (Feb. 29). Seeing the strength that is growing in a Rainbow C o alitio n , the m ain stream m edia have sought to un derm ine it. T he attacks on Jesse Jackson by establishm ent m o u th pieces fit into that pattern. Like many other progressive Jews in the Portland area, I believe that Jesse Jackson is the best of the 1984 Democratic presidential candidates. His opposition to U .S . m ilitarism and his advocacy for the rights of the oppressed are in harmony with the beliefs of m illio n s of A m eric an s— o f all races and religions— who desire basic changes in our society. And, as the Observer ill No Blacks? To the editor: By some accounts the February 25th voter registration drive wasn't a smashing success. T h e re 's a question arising out of this situation which I hope someone in the Black community can answer. I f the Black leadership can't mobilize significant numbers of its own people for voter registration, how can they hope to actually get out the vote? H ow can they ever expect to deliver the goods to their constituents? The great majority of people can vassing last Saturday were whites, w ith scarcely a Black face among them. Apparently, the plan is to use the w hite lib erals to do all the political legwork in the Black com munity. This is marginally effective at best. W hy not send those white liberals back to canvass their own community? M ike M etcalf Society f o r the Preservation o f Democracy The Observer welcomes Letters to the Editor. Letters should be short, and must contain the writer's name and address (addresses are not p rint ed). The Observer reserves the right to edit f o r length. Portland Observer •At M A I • [ Oregon Newspaper [Publishers Asso, i.ttion has pointed out editorially, both the U .S . and Israeli governments have continued their ruthless policies in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world. The struggles against U.S. nuclear weapons escalation, m ilitary inter ve n tio n , racism , sexism, and dom estic b ureau cratic w a rfa re against the poor are all part o f an overall struggle. We must not allow the establishment to divide us. Norm an Solomon I 1 . .. it sta* «sa Th» P o rtla n d Observer 7USPS 989 8801 I t pu blished »very Thurtdey by E«w* Publishing Company. Inc . 2201 North Killings worth. Portland, Oregon 97217. Post OMics Bos 3137, Portland. Oregon 97208 Second class postage paid at Portland Oregon The Portland Observer was established in 1970 MEMBER Associabon - founded IM S Subscriptions SIS 00 per year in the Tri C ounty ares P oet m a t t e r Send address changes to the P ortland Observer. P 0 Bos 3137. Portland. Oregon 97208 A lfred L. Henderson. Editor/Publisher A t W illiams, Advertising Manager _______________________ ___ _________ Houndi ng Jesse operatives in the Reagan campaign and some o f those carrying rope are pow er b ro kers in the D e m o cratic Party who don 't like people making waves in what is, in fact, their party. But the co o rd in atio n o f this latest hounding o f the Black candidate is clearly coming from certain Zionist forces w ho support the policies o f the rightwing Shamir government in Israel and who are determined that M id d le East policy not be part o f the 1984 election year discussion. I f there is any question that the attack on Jackson is m o tivated by questions m uch larg e r and much d iffe re n t than the use o f an o ffe n sive term , consider the current a t tem pt by some Z io n is t figures to keep the conflict alive. O n M onday, H o w a rd I F rie d m a n , president o f the A m e ric a n Jewish Congress, called upon Jackson “ to re-examine other statements he has made in the p a s t..." Other im proper language? N o , w hat Friedm an has in m ind is something quite d iffe ren t: the con flict in the M iddle East. T his is not the firs t tim e th at a political lynch mob has been called out to d eal w ith a Black p o litic a l fig u re w ho has d ared to question W ashington’ s unflinching support and c o lla b o ra tio n w ith Isra eli ex pansionism and the suppression o f the Palestinian people. It probably won't be the last. The tactic is sim ple. First, spread the story about an alleged " B la c k -J e w is h c o n flic t.” Then, make it clear that the precon ditio n fo r dam pening the m ythical conflict is for Black leaders to line up behind Tel A viv. Let’ s be clear. Jackson is not un der a tta c k fro m " J e w s ,” as the major media would have us believe. He is being hounded by represen tatives o f a p o litic a l m ovem ent p ro m o tin g th e ir ow n n a rro w in terests in this country and the M id dle East in allegiance w ith some o f the most reactionary forces at home and a b ro a d , in c lu d in g the Reaganites. Those interests are not the interests o f the mass o f Jewish working people whose security and advance is served by democracy and self-d eterm in atio n abroad and the ideas em b o d ied in the " R a in b o w C o alitio n " at home. E th n ic hum or isn ’ t fu n n y. O f f hand remarks characterizing whole peoples in ways other than as they wish to be identified are offensive and shouldn't be made Polish jokes a re n ’ t fu n n y , n eith er are notions about "G yp sy" cabs and getting o ff " S c o t fr e e .” T erm s th a t are p a r tic u la rly o ffe n s iv e to m in o rities th a t have su ffered h is to ric a l d is c rim in a tio n and oppression have absolutely no place in civil discourse, no m a tte r how p riv a te , and th at includes the disgusting rem arks made ab o ut N a tiv e A m eric an peoples that many people somehow think are all right to make. Jesse Jackson is quite right. Using the word " H y m ie ” was insensitive. O ne should never ch arac terize people behind their backs in ways we w ouldn't were they present. That includes term s lik e “ m ic k ” , " c h in k ” , and " a - r a b " . Jackson’ s apology was in order. O n the o th e r h an d , one w ould have to have rocks in his or her head to believe that the media controver sy th a t has b u ffe te d Jackson this past week resulted fro m his use o f one offensive word. Jackson has charged th at he is being hounded. He is. In the ed itio n o f F eb ru a ry 4 th , long before the present controversy developed in the pages o f the W ashington Post, the P eo p le's W orld said editorially: "T h e re is a lynch mob out to get Jesse Jackson for the simple reason that the dynam ic Black candidate for President has suddenly stopped looking so quixotic. A combination o f bold and imaginative initiative in the M id d le East coupled w ith a grow ing num ber o f people being exposed to Jacksons fo re ig n and domestic programs, has moved him in to second place am ong the D em o cratic hopefuls. T h e re are a lot o f people who don't like that, or what the ‘ Rainbow Coalition’ stands fo r , and they are the kin d o f people who would rather engage in smear and in n u en d o than debate p olicy." The policy that some people don’t want debated is easy to figure out. I t ’s the M iddle East, o r— to be more precise— the question o f nation al rig h ts, a hom eland and self- d eterm in a tio n fo r the P alestinian people. T h e re are a lot o f people out to get Jackson. W e can be sure the fro n t-ru n n e rs in the pack are The journalists’ side o f the gang- up on R ev. Jackson has been en th u s ia s tic a lly upheld by the N e w York Times, throwing one reporter r.fter another in to the fray. One o f them, Fay S. Joyce, complained last Primary brings controversy (C ontinuedfrom page I, column 6) Cease and W a lte r M a r tin , Dem ocrats, and Republican Brent H a m ilto n . House D istrict 19, now held by Jane Cease drew her husband, Ron Cease, R obert C a sta g n a, Anne G re e n fie ld , Thomas Kelly and M ark Rothert on the D e m o crat side and G reg o ry N elson and M a r ily n S ch u ltz as Republicans. Ron M cC arty, who has been run ning as an Ind ep en d en t and a D em ocrat for years, might fin a lly succeed in District 16, where he is opposed by D o n n e lla S la y to n , a Roberts protegee. T h e shake-up in Senate and House seats in Northeast Portland is the result o f Jim G ardner (S6) and Rep. Barbara Roberts ( H I 6 ) filin g for Secretary o f State. O th e r state-w ide offices in con tention include: State T rea su re r— Rep. G ra tta n K erans, speaker o f the H ouse, Democrat; former Rep. Bill Ruther ford, Republican, recently appoint ed to the p ositio n o f State T re a surer by G o v . A tiy e h ; and D a vid Cargo, David Chen and John Smets, Republicans. Attorney G eneral— Former State Senator V ern C o o k , D e m o c ra t, seeks the D em ocrat nom in atio n to challenge incum bent Dave Frohn- mayer, Republican. N.E. Boosters (Continued fro m page I, column 6) in fo rm a l in fo rm a tio n sharing and ed u catio n th a t to o k place when PD C officials were physically in the c o m m u n ity , he said. " N o w th at everything is d ow n to w n , you have to make an a p p o in tm e n t." Brooks praised P D C ’ s cu rren t N o rth ea st s ta ffp e rs o n , W a rn e r W ong, how ever, fo r being very helpfu l to the Boosters. Brooks said he shares the concern o f m any co m m un ity activists that most o f the jobs in N o rth e a s t created with P D C and other govern ment assistance are not going to n e ig h b o rh o o d residents. H e said some o f the businesses are frustrated about not knowing how to get screened applicants and the Boosters and the P D C are talkin g about how to implement a system to acco m m od ate the needs o f both business and u nem ployed area residents. P " " ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™™ ™ ! PORTLAND OBSERVER ™te wspaper. ! News fo r and about ï you. N a tio n a l A d v e rtis in g R ep resentative A m a lg a m a te d Publishers. Inc N e w Vorlt I ! ■ ~ I Mai* to Portland Observe! Bo« 3'3? Portland Oregon 97208 PLEASE PRINT N .ir n e Long before the proverbial 1984 began, the operatives from a num ber o f Zionist groups had compiled and circulated throughout the coun try a voluminous dossier on Jackson and the people a ro u n d h im . T h e document is complete with the most onerous kinds o f M cC arthyism and numerous out-of-context quotations from the candidate to be employed as the need arises. W e can be sure that we haven't heard the last from these people. One thing is certain . The people out after Jackson aren't the least bit interested in unity in the movement against Reaganism . These d is ru p tive, splitting, foul operations only serve the m an in the O v a l O f fic e -s o m e people charge that that is the intent. O ne o f those very ac tiv e in the A IP A C is M ark Siegal, a member of the D em ocratic N a tio n a l C o m m it tee. H e commented to Joyce, “ Just because there have been unfortunate comments by one man doesn't mean Black leadersh ip h asn ’ t been ex tremely supportive.” Supportive of w hat? Z io n is t p o lic y , o f course. There is an offensive paternalism in this kind o f political blackmail. The tim e has come fo r people o f good w ill o f all colors and eth n ic p e r suasions to tell these people where to stick it, stand up on our own two feet and say w ith o u t apologies: Jewish people, Jewish culture and Jewish tra d itio n are a d m ira b le , hon o rab le and deserve our fullest respect and that has nothing to do w ith sanction in g the rape o f L eb an o n or the c o n tin u ed oc cupation o f the G olan Heights, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. reprinted fro m People's W orld B rooks is h o p e fu l th a t the Boosters’ resurgence w ill be an im I ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 283 2486 Sunday th at in p ro testin g the a t tacks against h im , Jackson had “ drawn no distinction" between ex trem ist groups lik e the Jewish D efense League and " E s ta b lis h ment Jewish o rg a n iza tio n s and leaders.” T h a t's just an attem pt to sow confusion. The fact is that the main pro-Zionist force operating in this election is q u ite w ell es tablished. It is The Am erican Israel P u b lic A ffa ir s C o m m itte e and it isn ’ t just p ic kin g on Jesse. It has already waved its rope at N ew York Tim es co lu m n ist A n th o n y Lew is and had a hand in events that led to Alexander C ockburn losing his job on the P illag e Poice. B oth were charged with being loo p ro-A rab. ------------- A d d res s _________________________ C it y ______________________ State p ortan t part o f re vitalizin g N o rth east Portland. KBOO training K B O O C o m m u n ity R a d io is h o ld in g a re g u lar series o f workshops to train volunteers in the P o rtla n d area in ra d io news. T h e tra in in g p ro g ram consists o f a K B O O volunteer o rie n ta tio n , tw o a ir o p e ra to r w orksho ps, voice tra in in g , w ritin g for radio and in terviewing. After completing the six week p ro g ram , volunteers are in tegrated in to the K B O O News Departm ent to work as producers, engineers, reporters, editors and an chors on a daily h alf hour newscast aired at 4 :3 0 p .m . C u rre n tly the focus o f the newscast is national and international news. Sources include the Pacifica N a tio n al News Service and the B B C . The next round o f training begins w ith a V o lu n te e r O rie n ta tio n at K B O O . W ednesday M arch 21st, 7 p.m . K B O O is at 20 S .E . 8th. C all KBOO Volunteer Coordinator Dave Lifton. Subscribe today! I Yea. I w ould like a aubacription to the Portland Observer. I have enclosed my check or money order for 815, for a one year subacriptron. I I I I I I ■ I I I I I I
