P«Q« 2 Portland Observer. March 21. 1984
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Elections offer hard choices
The 1984 elections will be one o f the most im
portant fo r Oregon residents for many years.
The face of the legislature will change significant
ly— a legislature that just barely passed some
significant legislation and just barely failed to
pass other legislation that was just as important
to low-income and working people. Where will
the balance o f power lie in the next legislature?
In N o rth /N o rth e a s t P o rtlan d alone, new
legislators will be elected for Districts 17, 18, 19
and 20— all o f which have been represented by
what is usually termed “ liberal** Democrats.
Tw o Senate seats are up for grabs— those now
held by Bill M cCoy and James Gardner. These
six races alone could bring great changes in the
direction of state government— for the better or
for the worse.
Three state-wide offices are on the ballot. The
Secretary o f State is an important position that
audits state agencies and runs the election
processes. Even more important, this position is
often a stepping-stone to higher office. The con
tenders on the Democartic side are Sen. James
Gardner and Rep. Barbara Roberts, both with
outstanding reputations and leadership records,
both with “ lib eral” credentials, but both avid
supporters o f the now-fizzled effort to place the
sales tax on the ballot.
The State Treasure is largely responsible for
the investm ent o f state funds. C lay Meyers
fought hard against any e ffo rt to divest state
money fro m co rp o ratio n s doing business in
South Africa and travelled to South Africa while
in office. The Democrat candidate is Rep. Grat
tan Kerans, who fought hard for D .C . statehood
and usually comes down on the right side o f
issues. A man with strong “ liberal” credentials,
Kerans also pushed to get the sales tax on the
ballot.
The R epublican candidates include D avid
Cargo, former Governor of New Mexico; David
Chen, a C .P .A .; and former Rep. Bill Ruther-
Meyers resigned his position in tim e fo r the
G overnor to app o in t one o f these can
didates, Bill Rutherford, to the position. Should
this end-pass n u llify R u th e rfo rd ’s otherwise
reasonably good record in the minds o f the
discerning voter?
The Attorney General is the State’s highest
law enforcement officer, represents the State in
lawsuits, interprets laws for state agencies and
public o ffic ia ls , enforces freedom o f in fo r
mation laws, tries civil rights cases, etc. An im
portant position!
Locally, City Commissioner M ike Lindberg is
being challenged by a middle school principal,
Carl Piacentini, whose campaign methods have
disappointed even his friends. Example: After
declining to appear in a C ity Club debate with
Lindberg, M r. Piacentini sneaked in at the last
minute (during (he introduction of Lindberg) to
participate after all.
Frank Shields, a Southeast Portland minister,
has gained notice through his chairmanship of
the M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty C h arter Review
Commission and his campaign to achieve district
ing o f the P o rtlan d School Board is
challenging C o u n ty Commissioner C aroline
M iller. M iller, who was once head of the Port
land Federation o f Teachers, has raised the
eyebrows o f some observers by stitching
“ freedom of speech” to “ freedom of billboards” .
Another category o f offices being sought is
that o f judge— a position o f special significance
to minorities and the poor. The most outstand
ing and scholarly a tto rn e y /ju d g e can have a
blind spot when it comes to minorities and the
poor.
T o help the voter come to an inform ed
decision there w ill be numerous forum s, can
didate fairs, debates, news articles and television
interviews featuring the many candidates. Get
out and meet the candidates in the races most
important to you, check their voting records and
ask questions. There is still tim e to fin d the
answers.
Letters to the Editor
Shop at home
To the editor:
The Black entrepreneurs o f P o rt
land m ay e v e n tu a lly fiz z le i f
the Black consum ers and b usi
ness people are not educated on
the importance o f buying from the
v a r io u s
N o r th /N o r th e a s t
businesses. P eople should spend
th eir m oney in the co m m u n ity in
which they live. Com parative shop
ping is fin e , but d o n 't drive miles
away to get the better buy when you
actually spend more when including
the cost o f gas. W e should support
our Black en trepren eu rs in our
community for no other reason than
our ch ild re n . T h e jo b s created in
the com m unity m ake an excellent
training ground for children on their
first jobs. And the role models give
them a sense o f pride.
I f you have a problem with shop
ping at a particular business, w rite
the ow ner a letter e x p la in in g the
p ro blem instead o f av o id in g the
situ atio n . H e or she would be a p
preciative o f your concern because
(his first step could only im prove
their business.
Gina Woods
Fair Share wrong
To the editor:
R ecently a consum er group
based in P o rtla n d , O regon F a ir
S h are, voiced its o p p o sitio n to
P a c ific N o rth w est B e ll's alleged
VM MW I ►
plan to force its resid en tial
customers to m andatory measured
rates fo r m o n th ly service. T he
g ro up 's leaders held a press co n
ference in the state c a p ito l and
staged a d em o n stra tio n at P N B 's
Portland offices.
Most o f those who participated in
the d e m o n s tra tio n were senior
citizen s. T h e y 'v e been to ld they
need to p ro tect th eir peers and
others fro m this " p l a n ” . T h e ir
energy could have been better spent
in questioning their leadership.
Does P N B have a plan to put all
residential customers on measured
rates, as Fair Share alleges? The an
swer is emphatically no. The (ruth is
that P N B o ffers three choices fo r
monthly home telephone service. At
to d a y 's rates, prices range fro m
$6.90 to $15.88. W e o ffer both flat
rate a n d measured rate plans, and
w e've made a com m itm ent to our
customers to maintain those choices
in the future.
Can customers save money w ith
measured service rate plans? T h e
answer is em phatically yes. Today,
ab o ut 5 0 ,0 0 0 O regon households
have eith er budget measured or
basic measured service. T h e y 'v e
chosen it. W hy? Because th e y ’ re
saving m oney. W h o 's saving
money? Seniors, and low and
moderate income citizens
In p u b lic fo ru m s b efo re F air
Share m em bers, senior citizen
groups, and church and civic groups
all across (he state, P N B represen
tatives such as m yself have stated
P N B ’ s com m itm ent to options for
residential customers. W e 'v e also
stated o u r p o sitio n in pub lic
hearings before the P u blic U tility
Commissioner, and discussed it with
the representatives fro m groups
such as the O reg o n Consum er
League, O regon State C o u ncil for
Senior C itizen s, Consumer C redit
C o u n s elin g , League o f W om en
Voters, and Urban League o f Port
land w ho m ake up P N B 's C o n
sumer Advisory Panel.
But F a ir Share's leadership
ignores the facts. T o support their
claim o f measured residential rates
fo r everyone, they show a Bell
docum en t. T h e tru th is that
document is about business service.
Q u ite fra n k ly , why a consumer
advocacy g ro up w ould oppose a
payment plan that provides choices
fo r residence consumers and helps
some telephone users reduce their
phone bills baffles me.
W ith choices, custom ers can
select the service plan that best fits
their needs and their budget. Low to
moderate users o f local service can
save m oney w ith measured rates.
F o r households w ith heavy local
calling, the flat rate service plan is
the best buy.
We invite our customers and con
sumer groups to call fo r the facts:
toll-free I 800-555-5000.
Ron Allen
State Manager
Com m unity A fjairs
The Observer welcomes Letters to
the Editor. Letters should be short,
and must contain the writer's name
and address (addresses are not print
ed). The Observer reserves the right
to edit / o r length.
Portland Observer
Tha P orllend Observer rUSPS 959 5801 it published every
Thursday by Ena Publishing Company. Inc . 2201 North Killingt
worth Portland. Oregon 97217. Poet Ottica Boa 3137. Portland
Oregon 97708 Second class pottage paid at Portland. Oregon
«es»»"*
0 >
The P n rllo n d O bserver w ea aatabltahad in 1970
member
Associano« - Founded t I M
Subscriptions SIS 00 per year in the Tri Counly area P o tt
m e tte r Send addiate changes to the Por I lend Observer. P 0
Boa 3137. Portland. Oregon 9 77OB
A lfre d L. Henderson. Editor/Publisher
A l Williams. Advertising Manager
283 2486
National Advertising Representative
Am algam ated Publishers. Inc
N ew York
West Europe target of NATO missiles
by Bryan Johns
“ T h e 'gentlem en o f daw n*
arrived, but at nine-thirty; then the
B K A invasion o f our offices and of
the ap artm ents o f tw o K o n k re t
editors went on just as in a scene of
a crim e m ovie: observers w ith
w a lk ie -ta lk ie s in the street, big
limousines with telephones parked
here and there, names on apartments
and letter boxes being w ritte n
dow n and even d irty linen sn iffed
through."
T h e scene is not fro m South
A fric a or the West Bank, but from
Hamburg in January, 1963. It was a
moment in the struggle o f the peace
movement, o f m an's e ffo rt to sur
vive the nuclear arms race. The raid
by the G erm an federal authorities
was, at firs t ap p earan ce, an act
o f re ta lia tio n fo r K o n k r e t ’s p u
b lic a tio n o f stories ab o u t the
seamy side o f th e ir ac tiv itie s at
home and ab ro ad . But it had also
become kn o w n th at K o n k re t had
acquired copies o f N A T O nuclear
w ar p lann ing docum en ts— firs t
strike p lans— b earing the highest
secrecy
c la s s ific a tio n .
These
docum ents were seized by the
Federal police, and W est G erm an
A tto rn e y G en eral K u rt Rebm ann
p ro m p tly warned K o n kret: " I a d
vise you th a t the announced
publication by your magazine o f (he
N A T O documents could make you
guilty o f a grave crim e against the
ex tern a l security o f the G erm an
Federal Republic."
Nevertheless, copies o f eleven
secret N A T O documents turned up
at the Vien na o ffic e s o f a n o th e r
p ublication. Das M a g a zin , fo r, as
Austrians, the G erm an authorities
and their interpretation o f Germ an
law do not concern us— a state o f
affairs that we value greatly."
First strike early option
In the rapid expansion o f the
peace m ovem ent d u rin g (he past
three years, “ firs t s trik e ” is the
phrase which has aroused the most
intense public alarm . The freedom
to strike first with nuclear weapons
is to be achieved th ro ug h the
" p o s itio n
of
stre n g th ” ,
or
s u p e rio ity , to w hich the present
masters o f the W hite House aspire.
It w ould co n fer upon (he U n ite d
States the power to d ictate to the
Soviet U n io n , and therefore to all
others. The practical difficulties, to
put it gently, in the achievement of
this goal we can leave aside for the
moment To appreciate the problem
facing the peace forces, it is im p or
tant to understand that neither first
strike nor the position o f strength
are new ideas. On the contrary, they
e x p lic itly re a ffirm the in te n t o f
those who first possessed the atomic-
bomb.
The American public has learned
th a t the scheme fo r the nuclear
d estructio n o f a score o f Soviet
cities and thirteen million lives took
shape in the minds and in the plan
ning papers o f (o p Pen tag o n o f
ficers immediately upon the destruc
tion o f H iro sh im a and Nagasaki in
August 1945.
A few weeks later, on September
IB th , the Jo in t C h ie fs o f S t a f f
issued the secret D irective 1 4 9 6 /2 ,
“ Basis fo r the F o rm u la tio n o f a
M ilita ry P o lic y ," which named the
Soviet U nion as the enemy and em
phasized the “ first-strike" concept
as a new A m e ric a n p o licy fo r the
prosecution o f war. The importance
o f secrecy can be better appreciated
i f one rem em bers the tenor o f the
times. T h e Soviet people and their
western allies, Am ericans, British
and French lived in the glow o f their
jo in t v ic to ry over fascism . T hey
co o perated
in the care and
rehabilitation o f the displaced and
destitute m illio n s in E u ro pe. New
frien d sh ip s fo rm e d , the most
notable that o f General Eisenhower
and M arshal Zhu ko v. N o ordinary
A m erican citizen or soldier could
possibly have imagined the existence
of Directive 1496/2.
T his d ire c tiv e was fo llo w e d on
O cto b e r 9th by D ire c tiv e 1518,
“ Strategic Concept and Plan for the
E m ploym ent o f U n ited States A r
med F o rc e s ,” ag ain n am in g the
Soviet U n io n as the enemy and the
intended victim o f a preventive war.
In Novem ber the Joint Intelligence
Com m ittee produced, in M em oran
dum 329, its target evaluation— the
specific list o f 20 cities to be in
cinerated. Secretly, a rapid increase
in the production o f atom ic bombs
was ordered.
"D-Day" scheduled
A num ber o f unforeseen o b
stacles— dem o b ilization , logistics,
Soviet
fig h te r
defense
and
others— rendered u nfavo rab le the
balance o f m ilitary forces needed to
carry o u t this p la n . I t is said,
however, that eating improves the
appetite. Succeeding years produced
ever m o re a m b itio u s plans fo r
nuclear d estru c tio n o f the Soviet
U n io n .
They
had
in trig u in g
n am es— C h a r io te e r , C o g w h e e l,
Gunpowder, Fleetwood, and others.
The D ro p s h o t p la n , d raw n up in
1949, envisioned U .S . leadership o f
a coalition o f states which would in
vade the Soviet U n io n w ith 20
m illio n men a fte r massive nuclear
b o m b in g . D -D a y was set fo r
Janu ary 1, 1957. T h e same “ bad
lu c k ”
dogged
a ll
of
these
plans— fa ilu r e to achieve a s u f
ficiently favorable balance o f forces.
T he Soviet U n io n co n tin u ed to
make cred ible its defense strategy
o f retaliation.
W a r P lan 2 A T A F , says D as
Magazin. was adopted by N A T O on
Janu ary 31, 1973, and classified
“ Cosmic T op Secret” , presumably
to punish any e x tra -te rre s tria l, as
well as earthly, breach o f secrecy. It
names as “ first o p tio n ” a nuclear
firs t strik e by N A T O forces co
o rd in a te d w ith a firs t strik e by
IC B M ’s from the United States. "The
firs t goal o f O p tio n O n e ,” says
2 A T A F . "is to destroy or to inflict
the greatest possible damage to the
nuclear c a p a b ility o f the W arsaw
Pact Powers and to th e ir c o n tro l
and defense installations necessary
for survival.”
Friendly nations target
W ar Plan 2 A T A F also includes a
“ T actical S trike P ro g ra m ” which
illuminates the m ilitary thinking in
W ash in g to n
and
at
NATO
Headquarters. The tactical program
seeks “ to lim it the exten t o f
h o s tilitie s ” to E u ro p e . W a s h
in g to n 's in flu e n c e is obvious
here, and the shortsighted among us
might feel relieved that the U n ited
States has the position o f strength
within its own military alliance. But
w hat ab o ut the A u strians? T h e ir
country is neutral. The N A T O plans
mention “ additional targets inside
n eu tral or occupied frie n d ly
territories." Nuclear strikes against
such targets re q u ire “ special
a u th o r iz a tio n " by N A T O H ig h
Comm and. But under (he U .S. Plan
o f Operations 100-6, forty such ad
d itio n a l targets are located in
Austria.
A n d w hat ab o u t the G erm ans?
W est G erm an D efense M in is te r
M a n fre d W o rn e r to o k p art in
crea tin g the c u rre n t N A T O p lan.
Under it. West Germany is about to
become the lau n c h in g pad fo r a ll
108 Pershing 2 missiles to be in
stalled io the coming months. Now
we see the function o f these missiles
more clearly: They take the place o f
the American IC B M ’ s which, under
plan 2 A T A F , w ere to be c o o r
d in ated
w ith
NATO
nuclear
weapons in a first strike against the
socialist countries. As Das M agazin
puts it, “ a straight line leads from
the N A T O strategy o f 'W a r P lan
2A TA F*
to the E u ro -m iss ile
decision a rriv e d at in Brussels.”
H err W orner says that the presence
o f the Pershing 2 ’s w ill help protect
W est G e rm a n y against nuclear
strikes. He w ill be remembered, not
pleasantly, as a form er member o f
H i t l e r ’ s G e n e ra l S t a f f , the stern
m ilita ry scientists w ho assured the
G erm an people that bombs would
never fall on their cities.
F in a lly ,
w hat
about
the
Am ericans? M a rs h a l U s tin o v , the
Soviet Defense M inister, has warned
that the Pershing 2’s and (he cruise
missiles w ill be regarded as the
same as Am erican intercontinental
missiles. It is a comm on-sense a t
titu d e . But the c o lla b o ra tio n be
tween W o rn e r and W e in b e rg e r,
between Brussels and W ashington,
should tell us something more than
sim ply th at in m ilita ry science as
well as morality, mediocrity seeks its
own level. The root o f the cancer is
here, in A m erica. T o rid ourselves
o f it is our duty to the whole human
family.
Role of press questioned
(continued fro m page I. column 6/
director o f the State U niversity o f
New York's Institute for Studies in
International Terrorism , is quoted,
stating the U.S. will be threatened at
home in orchestrated civil disorders
or even terrorist incidents involving
nuclear or b io lo g ical weapons.
“ A n d ,” he states, “ we are not
p rep ared . T h e re is alm ost a co m
plete ignorance on the subject."
T h e a d m in is tra tio n tested the
w aters last week th ro ug h a sanc
tioned leak to the Washington Post
that “ hit squads” are under co n
s id e ra tio n . S h o rtly b efo re th at
" le a k " was printed. Jack Anderson
discussed in his column the fact (hat
a network of death squads operating
th ro ug h C e n tra l A m e ric a were
established and are financed by the
C IA .
Since the “ hit sq u ad " proposal
received no o u tc ry fro m press or
public, the ad m in is tra tio n goes on
with its planning.
" T h e p ro po sal generated little
controversy, perhaps an indication
that fear o f p ro liferating terrorism
outw eighs the p u b lic aversion to
such extrem e m e a s u re s ," the
Newhouse article says.
The Reagan A d m in is tra tio n has
moved q u ic k ly to gear up fo r the
"n e w w a r f a r e " . T h e A rm y is im
proving its special o peratio ns and
counterinsurgency capab ilities; a
new office has been created to over
see special operations forces, money
has
been
a p p ro p ria te d
fo r
develop in g b io lo g ic a l w a rfa re
capability; the C IA has been given
new power for internal surveillance;
the F B I has been authorized to do
domestic infiltration; there is a con
certed attack on Freedom o f In fo r-
r
P ortland’s largest black-ow ned newspaper.
■
i
■ PORTLAND OBSERVER
i
! News fo r and about
you.
I
I
I
I
I
mation rights; the reinstatement o f
the death penalty for treason is un
der consideration by Congress; etc.
On (he news front, the people are
being prepared. Intensive publicity
is given to the A r m y ’ s new a n ti-
terrorism squad to be tested at the
Olym pic Games; rumors o f foreign
terrorists (i.e. Libya) are given undo
publicity; ind ivid u al acts o f terro r
are major news items; the discussion
o f terro rism and the need fo r
deterance are given much more im
p ortan ce than the ex tre m ely few
cases o f organized p olitical te rro r
ism that have occurred in this
country should warrant.
Is
this
“ re p o rtin g ”
and
“ an alysis” o f the news and the
trends, or is this, as Aronson says,
creating public opinion to insure the
“ national interest” as the corporate
press sees it.
Subscribe today! ■
Tee, I would like a subscription!
to the Portland Observer.
□ I have enclosed my check or
money order for $15. for a
one-year subscription
PLEASE PRINT
Mail to Portland Observer
60s 3137
Pc ■ id Oregon 97208
Nam e
Address
C ity___
.S ta te .
Zip