Page 2, Portland Observer, October 2, 1906
EDITORIAL/OPINION
_
Letter^ to tjw Editor^
To ihr Editor,
Schultz is in no position to criticize
President Reagan and Secretary o f State
George P. Schultz recently criticized Moscow
for their human rights record. Everyone is aware
of the violation o f human rights by the Soviets,
both abroad and in the Soviet Union. However,
many do no, realize the human rights violations
being committed here in the United States by the
Reagan Administration.
Since Reagan look o ffice in 1980, the A d
ministration’s policies have violated the rights of
m illions o f poor and low-income people. The
Reagan Adm inistration has attacked past civil
rights laws that have helped to assure basic
human rights fo r m inorities, the elderly and
women.
I he Reagan Justice Department, headed by
Attorney General Edwin Meese III, urged all 50
states and local agencies to seek removal o f
racial preferences fro m court-approved
programs designed to remedy past job discrimi
nation against m inorities and women. Most
agencies refused to go along. In fact, the
N A AC P filed a suit in the federal court to stop
the Justice Department from trying to “ disman
tle and wreck” a ffirm a tive action programs
throughout the United Slates.
To illustrate the A d m inistra tion’s efforts to
deny basic human rights to some o f its citizens,
one must look a, the actions o f the Justice
Departm ent in Indianapolis. Over the o p
position o f Indianapolis city officials, the A d
m in istra tio n went to court in an attem pt to
remove num erical em ployment goals from
police and fire departments’ affirm ative action
plans. This was the first time the federal gover
nment attemi d to overturn existing goals lor
hiring minorities and women in the absence of a
local dispute.
Although many citizens arc being denied basic
human rights as a result of Reaganism, Blacks
are suffe ring the most. The A d m in is tra tio n
claims there is an economic recovery, a decline of
the poverty rate, and a falling unemployment
rate. However, the state o f Black America is
disastrous. W hile many Blacks are livin g in
depression-like conditions and increasing Black
unemployment, the Reagan Adm inistration is
cutting back federal employment and social ser
vice programs. In fact, the income gap between
the wealthiest American families and the
poorest American families has widened during
President Reagan's first four years in office.
Not only does the A d m in is tra tio n violate
basic human rights by attacking the civil rights
programs that help to insure minorities oppor
tunities to compete in society, it supports other
countries that deny basic human rights to their
citizens. President Reagan has supported the
racist government of South Af rica since his first
term in office. Reagan’s policy of ‘ ‘constructive
engagement” has strengthened South A frica ’s
government control o f the Black m a jo rity in
that country. Over 24 million Black citizens are
denied such basic human rights as where they
can live or work and the right to vote.
I his A d m in istra tio n ’ s support for the bar
baric government o f South Africa and its poor
human rights record at home, makes the
criticism of the Soviet Union pure hypocrisy. It
is hypocritical for a child molester to criticize a
murderer, since both are wrong. The same prin
ciple applies to the Soviet Union and the United
Sta.es, when each accuses the other o f human
rights violations, for both countries are guilty. It
is just as wrong fo r the Soviet U nion to ja il
people who exercise their human rights as it is
for the United Stales to create new poor citizens.
I hope those w ho have “ jum ped
ship” on Oregon’ s historical dedica
tion to building a fair taxation system
are preparing to rededicate themselves
to our tra d itio n a l values and w ill re
new e ffo rts to achieve an equitable
balance in our taxation system.
Many o f the latest deserters tear for
adequate support fo r schools i f the
sales tax measure is defeated. It w ill
be.
Hut support fo r schools w ill be not
be increased by adding the consider
able cost o f a new bureaucracy to col
lect and adm inister increased taxes.
And support fo r schools w ill noi be
enhanced by a sales lax which shifts
still more taxes fro m large property
owners and those with high incomes to
those with lower income levels.
School support w ill come only as
schixils sell themselves as deserving of
support There should be greater slate
participation along lines long recog
nized as desirable by the stale legisla
ture but not yet fully implemented
The total lax lake in Oregon is not
unequal lo dial o f other stales: without
a sales lax. properly taxes and income
taxes must bring in more revenue I his
doesn't mean overtaxing is a serious
drawback lo continued growth W hat
it does mean is that close a tte n tio n
must be given lo how our property and
income taxes arc levied Herein lies the
agenda fo r the fu tu re — a fte r the
sales tax goes down A dm inistration
costs can be held lower by sticking with
our h isto rica l taxing system Hut
changes do need to be made and Ore
gonians who care about the future o f
the state need to get with it! Oregon's
agenda should include:
• A reversal o f a long-standing
trend to remove large classes o f real
property from the tax roll, this policy
has shifted too much o f the burden to
those left lo pay fo r local budgets
• A re-exam ination o f h isto rica l
exemptions and an application o f at
least a minimum property tax to cover
services provided for all real property
— such as police and Tire protection.
• Serious consideration o f taxing
intangible property, particularly that
which ls income producing
Revenue fro m the above sources
would reduce the load fo r those who
now carry an unlair burden because o f
so much property being tax exempt
The $64 question is whether each citi
zen and each business is willing to con
tribute an equitable share to provide
for the common good.
• Adjustments are needed in the in
come tax laws: exclusions from taxable
income result in overloading those who
now carry the load.
• , hose who care must soon con
cern themselves with the national tax
program which is also peppered with
exclusions and loopholes. I hough
we've heard much from national lead
ers in both the executive and legislative
branches about reduced federal budg
ets and increased stale and local re
sponsibility, these leaders continue to
present and adopt record breaking
budgets A t the same tune they have
refused to balance these budgets by
slashing revenues and insisting on no
new taxes. It is the responsibility o f
every concerned citizen to do his part
in reigning in this interlude of national
irresponsibility by letting our repre
sentatives know we’ ve had enough,
that we expect more dicipline and more
fairness in federal programs o f taxa
tion and spending. Never before in the
history o f this nation has there been a
greater need for both the executive and
legislative branches to return to reality.
HAROl.DE. I BARTON
To the Editor:
H aving
attended
R adical
W om ens' fo ru m on p ro s titu tio n , I
read w ith interest N athaniel Scotts*
a rtic le . P ro s titu tio n : legalize or
decriminalize. U nfortunately, the ar
ticle did not adequately address key
points made
The most im p o rta n t p o in t made,
and made very c le a rly , is that
economic necessity drives women into
p ro s titu tio n . W o u ld a w om an (o r
man) who could adequately support
herself and her fa m ily choose to live
the life o f a streetw alker, under the
constant threat o f police harrassment
and assaults fro m custom ers and
pimps? When economic factors allow
em ploym ent fo r a ll, free child-care
and education, and when women are
viewed on equal status w ith men in
society, then there w ill no longer be a
prostitution problem. U ntil that time,
legalization o f prostitution is the only
lair alternative for those who are fo r
ced into the life thru no fault o f their
own.
harm J Huisman
A
UNITED
WAY
AGENCY
Healthwatch
EDITORI AL/COMMENT ARY
by Steven Badey N. D.
Fasting—safe and healthful
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Bo« 3137 Portland Oregon 97208
Alfred I Henderson, Iditor/Publisher
Al Williams, (tenera! Manager
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 York
l asting, or the abstaining fro m all
or certain foods, has been practiced
throughout w ritten history Anim als
n a tu ra lly abstain fro m fo o d in
response to in ju ry o r disease, and
most ol us have experienced a loss o f
appetite while in the grips ol a flu or
other acute illness W h ile many
people could benefit from a restricted
dietary program, improperly conduc
led fasts may actuallv do more harm
than good
There arc some basic techniques in
volved in tasting w hich can help to
avoid many o f the problems encoun
tered by poorly structured programs
Understanding some ol the principles
and reasoning behind tasting should
be helpful in understanding why these
techniques should be included
When a person dram atically sun
plifies their diet or follows a liquid or
water diet, many changes lake place
throughout the body I he changes are
quite d iffe re n t in some aspects bet
ween a water fast and a juice or sun
pie restricted diet. As I leel a water
last o f greater than 24 hours should
be monitored by an experienced prac
titio n e r in most cases, I w ill w rite
about the m ore gentle fasting
programs that involve sim plification
yet adequate n u tr itio n to p e rfo rm
normal daily routines.
A fasting program in which I am
particularly experienced is a five day
vegetable fruit juice fast that my Nor
thwesl associate and I have guided
over 400 people through A live juice
fast provides abundant n u tritio n for
norm al a ctivitie s and also provides
dram atic re lie f lo the digestive tract
and associated organs.
W hen we are eating a ''n o r m a l"
diet we exert energy in the processes
of
chew ing,
digesting
and
m e ta b o lizin g the n u trie n ts in to
storable and elim inatable products
From the time we begin the relatively
small work o f liltin g the food to our
mouths until we eliminate or store the
p ro d u cts, there is an inestim able
number o f chemical and mechanical
activities that take place The young
sciences o f " m o le c u la r " n u tritio n ,
physiology, cn d ixn n o lo g y, etc. have
already id e n tifie d thousands o f
changes that take place in response to
eating, and the amount o f energy that
this equates to is considerable.
A long w ith the m uscular a ctivity
involved as the food passes through
the digestive tra c t, there are also
secretory and absorptive processes oc
curring at a cellular level throughout
digestion. In the m o u th there is
ce llu la r secretion o f saliva, some
mucous is secreted by cells in the
esophagus and when the h x x l reaches
the stomach it encounters secretions
o f secretin, h y d ro c h lo ric acid and
pepsinogin (lo r protein breakdown),
mucous and intrensic factor (involved
in H 12 a s s im ila tio n ) to name the
major stomach Huids.
As to ix l reaches the small intestine
the p rim a ry flu id s secreted fo r
digestion o rig in a te fro m the pan
creas and involve enzymes lo break
down fat, protein and carbohydrates
I he liver adds bile to these enzymes
which ads as a soap to help make the
dietary fats " s o lu b le " in the body ’ s
Hinds. Most o l the bile used in each
meal is actually recycled bile that is
stored in the g all bladder u n til
stimulated and released by fat in the
diet. Mucous is secreted throughout
the digestive tra ct and a b s o rp tio n
prixessi . ix c u r throughout the small
intenstine and much o f the large in-
testine.
In addition to the w oik involved in
the direct pnxess o f digesting food
there is considerable work done by the
cells o f the liver which metabolizes the
fo o d p roducts fo r storage a n d /o r
elim ination. The kidney has to work
with elim ination o f fix x l by-products
and the pancreas, adrenals, th yro id
and other glands are also involved in
the delivery and u tiliza tio n o f n u tri
ents. One o f the m a jo r organs o f
digestion is the brain which regulates
appetite, stimulates neuro-chenncal
activity throughout the digestive tract,
and the more subtle activities o f taste
and smell
r
' t >■.
.
, ’ l-
In other words, " it lakes energy to
make energy. ” We expci lence this
energy demand when we feel a little
tired after a heavy meal. And through
the three meals a day, seven-days-a
week habits that most A m ericans
practice, we are constantly placing
part o f our entire energy pool in to
digestion. This non stop digestion
that is only b ro ke n fo r sleep may
derive energy, oxvgen and bloixl How
that m ight o th e r*is e assist the im
mune system,
to xic
chem ical
metabolism, and other health m ain
tenance functions. O ur bodies know
enough to shut dow n o u r appetite
when we have an acute illness, or ex
cessive stress, yet we d o n 't appreciate
this logic as a w hole in regards to
health maintenance and o p tim izin g
the ability o f our immune system and
elumnatory prixesscs to ixcur.
W hat we eat is inseparably tied
w ith how we eat A n d as science
reproves the validity ot "w e are what
we e a t, " ju st what we eat is
frightening I he .4mencan Journal o f
Epidem iology recently reported that
by c a lo ric percentage, the average
A m e rica n 's num ber one source o f
calories is white bread and rolls. This
is fo llo w e d by doughnuts, cookies,
and cake as num ber tw o ; a lc o h o l,
number three; 4 percent m ilk, number
fo u r;
and
ham burgers
and
cheeseburgers, number five. French
fries at num ber ten were the o n ly
vegetables in the to p 15 and w hole
wheat bread, at 15 was the only whole
gram As you consider the low fiber,
high la l, high sugar content o f these
foods, it is not hard to understand
why we sec so m uch degenerative
disease in our country.
Next week I w ill w rite on what we
accomplish through fasting and give
some basic guidelines to help with any
program s you may attem pt I f you
are interested in one o f our organized
group fasts, the final one o f the year
begins October 10 (. all 224-80(0 fo r
inform ation.