Page 2. Portland Observer. March 26. 1986
EDITORIAL/OPINION
State Could Use Contra Funds
Now that the U S Congress has voted down
President Reagan's request lor $100 million in
humanitarian ami nnlilars aid Io the Contras try mg
to overthrow the Nicaraguan Government, gov
eminent olticials in ( Jregon should petition tor the
$i(N) million
The money could he used towards addressing
the serious problems facing the State criminal jus
tice system Due to the lack ol funding, police
agencies are being forced to cut back on special
mission operations designed to reduce the occurr
ence ol crime Because ol the lack of jail space,
dangerous criminals are being given written cita
tions without being arrested This procedure also
applies to certain types of rape and assault cases
I he lack of adequate funding ol the criminal
justice system has resulted in another serious prob
lern; disrespect for the law Knowing there is not
enough jail space and only those who commit seri
ous crimes w ill be sen, to jail; drug pushers openly
sell their products on city streets; prostitutes openly
perform sexual acts in full view of neighborhood
residents; criminals are repeatedly committing
crimes over and over again Such a situation results
in an increase in crime
President Reagan has argued that the $I(X) mill
ion was needed to stop the threat of communism
Irom destroying the United States Despite the
President's claims, many do not share this belief
I he failure ol congress to pass the President's
to ,ilia aid package is an example
( ontinmng to underfund this nation's criminal
justice system is eroding the livability ol our com
munities When individuals show no respect for
the law . and are allowed to remain free to commit
acts ol law lessness against decent citizens in soci
ety, law abiding people become hostages within
the boundaries ol their ow u sell sty led enlightened
civilized society I aw lessness within the United
States is a much g,eater threat to Americans than
the Sandinista government
Statement of Thomas Novick Oregon State Public Interest Research Group Executive
Director,
March 19, 1986
In the Iasi year. ihe insurance industry dram atu ally raised
prem ium rales fo r a broad range nt consumers fro m 19X4 io
19X5. rales increased 70 percent for certain types o f doctors
l awyers and architect malpractice premiums jum ped M Xlio
'X X I percent w hile day care centers were forced io lake 2<N, to
500 percent rale increases I he list goes on I hese insurance
consumers could he considered " lu c k y ' as many oilier pro
fessionals and other consumers are unable Io gel coverage al
any price Many w in. were able Io gel needed coverage saw
vastly increased premiums lo r lar less coverage
I I k - insurance mduviry claim s lhai it lost $5 5 b illio n in
19X5 When one looks closer al their claim s we are reminded
o f Ihc phrase "v o o d o o econom ies" In its loss columns the
insurance industry conveniently ignored capital gams loial
ling $6 5 b illio n and federal lax rebates estimated at $ 1 5
b illio n In addition, the industry includes $2 | b illio n in
voluntary dividends paid to slock holders in (heir loss col
umn through creative bookkeeping the indusirv has man
ulaciured a crisis li is using this manufactured crisis loenacl
a series o l " io n re fo rm s" in slate after stale I hese so called
re-forms make 11 harder, if not impossible, for victim s ol
medical malpractice or dangerous products, such as the I >al
kon Shield, 10 recover damages arid hold guilly parties re
sponsible
In ihc next lew days. " I o n re fo rm ", or lor, detom i as il has
been called, legislation w ill he proposed in Oregon Ihc
legislation calls tor caps on compensation tor pain and sutler
ing. resiridions on punitive damages and resirulions on
contingency tecs paid ,0 attorneys In addition, the legisla
lion calls tor the repeal o l jo in t and several lia b ility . a legal
doctrine in c llc c l lot over MX, years, which insures lhal
injured people w ill I k com ,Kiisaled
Before the I trecon I egislalure is bl.Kkni.uled by the insur
ance in ,lu s ii\ into resiiicdng the rights o l v ictin is, 11 is im por
lam Io sludy Ihc impact ot io n rc lo rn is " Ihere is abw»
lulely no evidence lhal tort le lo rn is " make insurance more
alloidahle or available I vidcucc jxunls Io the contrary
In | 9 7X, I’euiisyIsama enacted a law im m unizing all
Pennsylvania m unu ipalilies horn mosl kinds of lia b ility suits
aixl limiting even catastrophic events 10 $500.(XX) per oc
1 uirence A el Pennsylvania cHies and towns are having iheir
insurance policies cancelled
Having been told lhal il Joinl and several lia b ililv were
elim inated mumc ipalilies would be able ,0 obtain insurance,
Iowa abolished jo in l and several lia b ility in 19X1 Yel in
19x5. 41 Iowa couniiev had iheir lia b ililv insurance cancel
led
fin a lly , virtually every " i o n reform ' measure the insur
ante industry is seeking, including caps on pain and sutler
mg. ihc elim ination o l punitive damages and contingency
lees, and penalties lor frivolou s suds, is currently the law in
O ntano. I an.ida S till, the m siiiancc industry is raising pre
miums by 4 ixi percent. cancelling coverage in m id term and
refusing lo provide coverage at any p ru e just as it is in the
I niled Slates
I lx' in s u ra n c e industry can not prove dial " lo r , re fo rm "
has an impact on insurance talcs 01 availability Because o l
ibis. ( )S P IR (1 strongly urges die I Jregon I egislalure lo re|c-i I
proposals lh a l w ill lim n <bi- rrehis o l vu l i n n and to look |.T
solutions which w ill make insurance affordable and availably
lo all I Iregoniails
Jacob Lists Steps to Achieve
Full Employment
On the 4Olh Anniversary ot Ihe pas
sage o l ihe l ull Em ploym ent Act ot
194ft. John f Jacob. President o f ihe
National I than league, declared in
W ashington. D .C on fhursday. March
h. 19X6. lhal ihe promises contained in
lhal act "h a ve conic lo n o th in g " and
“ the promises o l the Humphrey-
Hawkins f u ll I niploym enl A d o l I97X
have been b e tra yed ."
Speaking at a symposium on lu ll
employ incut sponsored by ihc National
Com m ittee on l ull Im p lo y m e n t. M i
Jacob poinied oul lhal Ihere are one
Ih m l more people in poverty today than
there were in 1979. ihe income gap
between the lop Iitth ot ihe population
ami Ihc bottom tilth has grown ,0 ihe
jxn n i where this country has ihe most
unequal distribution o l income 111 Ihe
industrial w orld, and black unemploy
tnent is so iik |5 % w hile black youth
unem ploym ent is ovei 411%
" S o iik people think we have fu ll
em ploym ent because over a hundred
m illio n Americans are al work Bui a
fifth o f them are part liniere, and over
tw o m illio n work lu ll lim e for levs than
poverty level wages
You can't de
fine lu ll e m p lo y iiK iii by w hile males
alone
f u ll employment is what it
says 11 is
a decent |ob al a decent
•1 MN, •
wage lor all Aim-ricans who waul 10
w o r k ." I k declared
Surveying die overall em ployinenl
picture M r Jacob said dial over die past
sis years America has lost I 6 m illio n
factory |obs. it incurred a Hade defied
in manufactured goods o l $ | 12 b illio n
in 19X5, ami w hile three oul rtl live
while workers found new jobs, only
tw o oul o l live displaced bine k workers
did likew ise
AA e have lo gel our economic liouse
in order lo achieve die goal o l lu ll
employ i i k i i i M r Jacob said as I k listed
live steps dial should he taken
1 "R a tio n a l trade policies dial
create H'hs here at home and d o n 't ex
port them lo I asi Asia and oilier parts ot
Ihe globe that doesn't mean proles
iionism Bin 11 does mean helping our
im hislnes compete, 11 means forcing
our trading partners 10 create jobs here
in America it they e sjx-d 10 sell us iheir
goods
2 " A n industrial policy lhal pre
serves our m anufacturing bass-
It
means publu policies dial reward firm s
tor job creation, that create an en vi
ronment in which they sail compele,
and lhal helps diem export goods made
in die U S A
' ' InvesinKiu in human resources
I hey aie our most precious assets and
Ihc pl.u c 10 begin is hv ensuring quality
educ.iliou lo i all Aim -ncan children
4
"A ltirm a liv e action 10 ensure
thai blacks, women and m inorities
share* in ihc benefits o l educ alion, train
mg ami job creation
W ithout a
stiong c o m m itiiK n l lo a lfin n a liv e ,u
Hon. even a lu ll employ iiK n l policy lhal
creates m illions ol new jobs w ill leave
bl.K ks iw ice as likely lo be unemployed
as w hiles
'
\ National l ull Employm ent
Policy Not another broken promise,
hul .1 real program like ihe National
I than I eague’ s plan lo r a Universal
I niployuK-ni and fra m in g System lhal
guaranlees productive work lo all o l ihe
loblesv ami training lo all who need 11
decoiiK productive "
Portland Observer
‘• ' ■ » I » , .
I M /Xvffenrf rM nrrvrr IU SPS MN. hflhi a potiMZwrt «vary
Thurrdry by Law P u 6 M 6 « iq Company. Inc . ,463 N [ r * , D i
worth Portland Oraçoo »72,1 Poat OTfca Bo» 31J7 Portland
Orayon 97706 Sacond (.laa» p o t,aya pari a, Portland O a q o n
fh a 7XirUaa>iri6»rr>yy «an M iatawhad <1 ,970
kMFl
MEMBER
Sohar npoonv IIS O O par y«a> « lha Tn County n »
maata» Sand n t m chanyaa to tha P onlaad ( * • , , . «
Po»I
P 0
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_ _ .r i
ZoB 0033
Bo» J ,37. Portland. Orayon 977GB
Atroeiarion - FovmMtf IM S
Alfred I.. Henderson, Editor/Publisher
AI Williams, General Manager
■w
A »
National Advertising R apraaanialiva
A m algam ated Publlahera. Inc
N aw York
I a-a Sunday I attended , me o l the most stim ulating lev lures
on health dial I'v e ever experienced The lecturer wav Dr
Alexander Schaiiss. author, in leriia lio n.il expert on nutrition
and tx-havioi is w ell as I »li,or in ( duel o f Ihe In lr r n a lio n a l
J o u rn a l o f Bmsocial Research. He covered many areas ol
c liu ii al uulr tlio n. espectally the* role o l diet and hy peravlivils
in children I 'l l write stain on reported studies o f die rclaiion
ships ol epilepsy and allergies, depre-ssion. and anmtrexia as
w ell as many other in lcrn.iiio n.il work on nutrition Today I ’ ll
diss uss o ik o l ihe mosl exciting studies done in recent years
Just completed, reported al professional symposiums and
soon lo teas h major Am cncan journals is a New York School
System siudv ihai proves conclusively that nu trition is highly
related lo academic ability Ihe New York simlv involved
over XIXl.ixxi siutleiils over a 5 year (veriod The C a liforn ia
Aputuile lest (( XI i. was uved av a measurement ol
academic ability , amt ihc increased performance in ihe C A T
scores ol New York students was w> significant lhal ihe
statistic il probabililv was less ihan .0 0 0 . Never before have I
seen a study dial had a zero chance o l error The size ot the
group and II k dramatic uiileave o l levl stoics accounletl lo r
ihe zeio chance jwnhuhdity
W’hal did New York do lhal so improved iheir siudenl'v
scores’ In the I97X 79 year ihe New York C ity hoaid ol
education ilx-m g Ihe second largest purchaser o l food in the
I X . the Army being number oriel inform ed iheir suppliers
lhal Ihc-V would no longer Iced their I.IX X I.IX X I students
breaklasi ami lunches that contained any synthetic color»,
synthetic additives, BH A. B H I or added sugar Ihe com
panics all respomled lhal this was impossible, b ill when they
realized that N J was serious they i banged ih e ir production
I ach year Ihe iit y insiuuied one change (in 1979 all lunches
and breaklasts elim inated synthetic color, sugar in X I. eted
and each year the i ity C AT average increased by .1-5%
S o iik d is itK ls rvrmrved all addilivcs in one year and then
scores rellecled an even greater increase By |9X I ihe aver
age C A I seine had increased Irom 19% m ' 7X to 54% in 'X.l,
whereas it hail mu i hanged bv more Ihan l% m a n v v c a rlro n i
I ‘* 9 through I97X
Il is clear lhal the ch cm ii als and sugars added lo our fooils
interfere w iih our childre n's a b ilii, io become capably edu-
s aied members o l our s < k k I v I I k evidem c o, late strongly
points lo h v p c i.u liv iiv ami much vu>lenl activity j|s o re
sponds lo an additive tree diet I be New York school d isinct
reports no .killed cosis lo ihc c heum al tree products ih ji ihev
use. ami ihev w ill provide a list o l the foods lo any sehtxil
district I’resenlly over I ix i schtMil districts in America use
this program, but ihc Portland Publu School d ivine ! is mu
om- o f them I have recenily spoken w ith ih e ir n u in iio n
department loem ourage ihem loconiaet Ihe New York hoard
ot education I >ur children arc much loo valuable a resource
lo waste w iih unnecessary clK im c.il interference from the
loods we provide
Letters to the Editor
W v M usi In in n a lio n .ili/t-
O u r S truggle
I believe, the whole commumtv
should he conccrm-d about the recent
Oregon National Guard mission lo
Honduras Ih e I d ilo ria l O pinion le b
19. 19X6 was right on ntm- le lu s m a k e
no inisiake aboui ihe receni t Jregon Na
lional (m a id mission lo Honduras II
we allow the buds ot lascism lhal arc-
visible on i I k I S l.im lsiape lo ionic*
into lu ll bloom in ibis nation, ihc har
vesi w ill not I k simply m illio ns dead on
b.iiiletields in Ceniral Xim-nka. ihc
M iddle I ,is| oi souilh'rn M uka Ihe
harvest w ill Is- the final Holocaust, a
mis tear hohicausl lhal w ill collsuilK us
all and deslioy all hie on the plancl
I arlh
K i’ .ig .in is iu is . hi implacable fix- ol
Ireedon, AXi musi iaive the issue ol
si'll ilcicrm in .itiou iu slin - and human
lights lo i ihc |K ople o l Central
X iiK iik., I It , - I s, has i loakcil lis t'll m
ihc m vlhology oi M .m ili'si IX-simv
llx |u im ip lcd ouis|s>kcimcss dis
placed hv Di M mm | u M k i King li
and Xl.iliolm \ aiul c.iihct by AX I I,
I hi Bois .uni Paul R o I ks o ii sg| (he tone
lo i i I k - BI.uk lo m m iim is lo become
more ami more- deeply involved III ill
lcin a lio n .il all.m s I In v pointed oul
lhal sin h iin o lic iik 'iii is nol onlv
iia lu i.il and p iojK , bul im pcralivc I k
cause t I k m iernalional is more* and
more' lied in w iih the d o iiK s tu . all ol
humanity s condition more' ami more
arc lied in w ilh e a th individual vcondi
lion I I k le.kleiship given by King and
Stalcolm has been earned lorlh in ihc
cu n cn i jk 'iio il bv others, im h id in g a
(very» lew ol out piom m cnl chinch
[K o jilc amt elected o I I k i j I s who have
publu ly challenged Reagan poheu's hi
( c n lia l Amcnk.i B ill along w ith mu
n i v o lv i iik i il. Alio Amciikaiis should
hcow iic k miw li'ilgc.iblc about m leni.i
tional a lta its. educating «mrsclvcs
I k v o iu I Ihe in lo im .ilio n im>ic o llcn .
mis in to im a lio n provided bv Ih r csiab
llshm cnl iik 'd ia o r bv Ihe mis cdiu alion
sysicm As we conlm uc out ic n lm it's
long struggle lo i e q u a liiv . lei us not at
Ihc saiiK Him- embrace ihc standard
version o l llu A iiK iikau Dream which
has ic .illi m l.uge part been a nightmare*
o l genocide, i . h is iii and c xp lo ii.iiio n
Piiisning lhal dream w hile huidenvd
w iih re-alily. ihe I S has becoiiK a
trihalized ami psychologically unha
lanced nalion
I n i inclined lo believe. Ihc- d
trih a li/a iio n ami spiritual healing o l il
• S require' Ihe pursuit o l an allern
live A nx-nkan dream, one lhal gives it
K isic human rights o l all human heuii
Ihioughoui ihe w o rld the highest pnoi
HV A lio Am eriian aspii.iim iis and ii
leresis arc part and pa ne l o l such a
iihcin ativc vision sirxc o u r ow n slniv
g li against racism and economic op
pression has always heen. whether al
o l us have iim lersiikHl ihis or not.
struggle lo r an alternative, lundamen
(ally d ille re n i s ik u - i i |,1 jn (,H. I1| k .
know Asa visionary o l a dille re n i am
b ille t soeiciy and w o rld. I understand
the lo n iK c iio n iKiw een skyrocketing
m ilitary expenditures, wheihei on the
P em .ig on \ weapons or on m ilitary aid
<>l ihc kind ih,.i goes io Ceniral
Amenk.i. and ihe cutbacks hi social
services that adversely alleci m in ority,
w orking class. ,sm i ,,nd elderlv com
m unilies m U k l x I n d c stand,ire-U k
connection u s,u se lo lk d ix e m no set
’ red lo out miere-sis o l ihc mlercsls ol
mosl Amerikans m I X m iliia iy .ml
lhal enables wealthy scllish and racist
elemenls m other cou iilrK s lo keep ihe
m a jo rity o l ihc ,K (,p k t |l,wn ||(
Nuaragua. I I Salv.uk.. or llo n d iii .s
«hen fam ilies have heen dispe-rsed.
dispossessed, and disuniied I here- are
many ainjiuiees m Ceniral Amenk.i
'h ia p n e l victim s, dehydrated baNcs
and paraplegics Ihc am m unilion that
led thousands de.nl oi maimed is
lalx'led 'made in t S A "
AAlx n voii conn- up know ing oppu-s
'io n face to lace, you can have more
s’ mpalhy ami undcisiandmg lo i U k
suite-ring o l oihers
I hose who ..re
moved by a sense ol urgency aboui ihc
danger to wot Id |Kace hi Ceniral
Am enk.i. should s,Knd llu ii nexl vaia
non ihere- A on w ould no longei have |<>
« .•m il', whal ha,.,xneil lo some o l ihe
money lhal was taken fio m l.s s l stamps
Im out hungry, whal puipose U k
money is being pm ilia i was taken Horn
loans enabling om sons am i daughters
io iHeml College i.iih e i ihan end up in
piison Where- is some o l ihe money
"'••t ' hi'ing laken Hom out elderly m i
zens w ho have worked all o l Uu ir lives
ms, a l.llle S.M .,| Security in ihc
eml ’ A on w HI Hml souk o l il in Ceniral
Amcnka
I l Blacks m Amenka would heconx-
more concerned w uh Anx-nkan lorcign
p o la y . then perhaps, we could help
humanize lhal ,x>licy II Dr King was
w ith us l.slav. I k w ould tell us. Our
nalion is wrong, abroad and al home
Ihere can bi' no peace w ithout justice
Amenk.i needs to learn the Christian
lesson lhal right is stronger ihan m ight
P,x>r people around ihe w o rld, and in
this nation are rising up and saying right
shall w in oul I hey are saying lhal the
words o l l) r M artin Luther King.
Ik-ep in our hearts we do believe lhal
we shall o ve rco m e ," mean let Ihere he
peace w ith iiisiice
D i Jamil Chenrege
/<» the kditor:
I he ( om piom isc o l 19X6. Indian sjy
w hile man must I k stupid he build big
lire , and sil way back, Indian build
small lire sil real close, w ho could think
a simple ijuolc could mean so much in
19X6 A tael Zachary l ay lor 17X4
1X5(1. 12th prcsidcni o f ihe LInilc-il
Stales, and lew presidents have entered
o i lin ' w uh less know ledge o f whal w as
expected o l them
I would like lo persuade voters lha, I
am then fx'si choice lo r G overnor ol
Oregon, and there are three specific
reasons
Reason o ik a ltirm a live aclion: anv
action lhal is inii-ndcd lo correct effects
o l past discrm unaiion. to elim inate pre
seni discrim ination, o r to prevent d is
crim ination in the future
Reason tw o cnvuonm enl the com
mg together o l all external and internal
conditions affecting ihe existence,
grow th, and welfare o f organisms
Reason three environm ental a lfin n a
live aclion aclion which deprives an
individual o l em ployment o r eduea
liona l opportunities
I would like to create adverse impact
on environm ent by using 4/5 rule. 4/5
mle is 211% AA hue. 20% Black, 20%
Hispanic 21 %
Asian 20% Indian
A i i k i i c an lo house specific people for
specific reasons in a place as large as
ihe King D o n e lu ll o l apartments, and
healed by w md (lower, and lo buy land
Hom Bonneville Power A dm inistra
tio n . lor 4 B illio n dollars
Nine I would gel Oregon out o f the
tim her business, and into ihe (arm busi
ness. il m u want i i k as your (io ve m o r
please w rite Iriem ls. relatives, and any
o ik who wants change, ask them lo
move io ( Jregon
Robert Torthan