P ag e 2, P o rtla n d O b server M a rc h 4. 1987
I
Letters to the Editor
Hea1th^atch
by Steven Bailey. N D
I'm So Disappointed
I am w ritin g to express m y sincere disappointm ent
and my strong anger w ith the recent issue o f the
Portland Observer, February 18, 1987
My sincere disappointm ent is w ith the entire tone of
tw o 12) articles one a front page article using a three
(3) week old press statem ent from James Hall and
w ritten by Ray Hanson The other is a lengthy series
of inflam m atory quotes by this same apparently remar
kable Sabin C om m unity Vice President, Mr Hanson
In the Northeast com m unity we have sufficient pro
blems needing a positive response from citizens and
other members o f the entire com m unity that I am
ashamed to think that legislators in Salem and public
servants at City hall m ight think that M i Hanson re
fleets a broad cross section o f this com m unity
N ow to m y real anger and frustration w ith the Feb
ruary 18th issue tw enty four 1241 colum n inches de
voter) to Mr Hanson's ill inform ed, gossippy and sane
tim onious remarks on "Northeast P olitics" Hanson, a
Northeast Portland resident for little more than tw o 12)
years, elected in a farcical election to serve as first vice
chair o f a neighborhood association, does not in m y
mind deserve the type of press w hich one might expect
if he had recently been elected to the Portland City
Council, or as Chair of the Northeast Coalition of Neigh
borhoods
His com m ents are bitter, divisive and among the most
self serving I have read in any local colum n
W hile I
have had my differences over the years w ith some of
the local leaders Hanson attacks. I believe that the
viciousness of the personal attacks against Ron Hern
don, Mayor Clark and even fellow church member.
Commissioner Bogle, are guttersnipm g remarks, unde
serving of one colum n inch of a legitimate publication
I abhor those com m ents and urge your readers to lot
you know that they d o n 't appreciate wasting their
money to read such diatribes
Further, as President o f a neighborhood w hich shares
some o f the same com m unity members as Sabin, the
Irvington C om m unity Association, I deeply resent and
com pletely reject Mr Hanson's stupidity regarding
"F ifteenth S tre e t" Point one Fifteenth is a numbered
avenue, not a street. Mr Hanson Maybe after five (5)
more years in Portland yo u 'll learn a little more about
the city Point tw o Fifteenth does not serve as a "ra il­
road track separating rich from poor. Black from
w hite
It serves in our com m unity as a uniting avenue
(yes w ith too m uch traffic), but not as a symbol o f divi
sion Point three Commissioner Koch does live in an
HCD neighborhood. Sabin, but alas. Mr Hanson, he
lives, according to you, on the "rich side of F ifteenth"
and not in the HCD designated area
The last paragraph, headed right wing, etc , to me is
truly frightening
From a neighborhood perspective,
we have people of all faiths, races and ethnic back
grounds Dragging one church into the middle of local
neighborhood politics as Mr Hanson is attem pting to
do, will destroy the entire concept o f neighborhood
associations and coalitions I am delighted to see some
Maranatha Church members involved in neighborhood
associations, Irvington's former chair was a member of
that congregation, and our Board last year contributed
to that church's Social Justice M inistry for it's efforts to
provide emergency services
However, the church's
influence must not extend to taking over neighborhood
associations M i Hanson's self aggrandizing commen
tary on the Bible w ould be best left to the Sunday
School since he has a place for the other three 13)
ma|or leaders. Hall, Bogle and Koch, perhaps in his ow n
megalomania he is the martyr bringing them all to
gether
everything
Sound far fetched^
It s happening everyday, tight
here in the U S and Canada
A network of federal,
state, and local agencies are snatching children right
from under their parents noses
This is the CHILD
ABUSE INDUSTRY, and every year it threatens more
and more families Here's how it works
• It defines abuse so vaguely that all families are
" g u ilty "
•
It O f M f M M
h o tlin e s
t t i. it
a re o p e n
ir >v11.• tu> ris to
malicious slander
• it denies doe process ami a fair trial to those at
cused of child abuse
• It grants immunity to hotline allers and welfare
bureaucrats
• it allow, those parents who rea a an- abusing the«
children to stay in their home if they cooperate
and undergo "th e ra p y "
These are |ust a few of ttie shot king facts Mary P rid e
has uncovered in this eye opening study If you are a
parent, you owe it to yourself and your children to read
this book and find out how you can protect your family
from THE CHILD ABUSE INDUSTRY Before it is too
late "
I share Mary Prides corn ern for the family and urge
everyone w fio cares about the survival of the family to
rear) tins txiok
For order forms, write Lyyn Oster
P O Box 1446 Albany Oregon 97321
Sincerely.
Lynn Oster
He Does Not Speak For Us
In response to the February 18, 1987 issue of your
publication, in w hich you printed an article entitled
"Q uotes From Ray Hanson On Northeast Politics, I
offer the follow ing
Mr Hanson is n o t the spokesperson for Maranatha
Church Maranatha is privileged to have both a Board
of Elders and a Board of Directors, as well as a number
o f outstanding auxiliaries, none of w hich I am aware of
Mr Hanson being an offic tai or representative member
As a member of Maranatha Church, and only as an
in d iv id u a l member, nothing more, nothing less, I feel
it im portant that the com m unity n o t be led to believe
that Mr Hanson's opinions are the general consensus
o f the body of Maranatha believers
The w ord. "M aranatha," is m entioned once in the
Bible You w ill find it located at the very end of I Conn
thians 16 23
M aranatha" means He is coming
The " H e " of w hom we speak meaning the Lord Jesus
Christ
Tins serves to mean that we must all live our
lives on that promise the promise that Jesus w ill re
turn If we conduct the acts of our lives in accordance
w ith the faith and knowledge that Jesus Christ, indeed,
will return to claim those tielonging to Him. then we
take care both our m otivational and manifest acts are
truly Christian
We are a Bible believing Church of Charismatic per
suasion
The Lord has blessed us w ith a beautiful
Sanctuary W e make many a toyful noise The whole
experience is extrem ely u p liftin g and revitalizing to my
ow n stunt I'd like to take this opportunity to extend to
you my ow n personal invitation to come, taste, and see
that the Lord is goodl Our main service of the week is
held on Sunday m ornings at ,0 30 a m
Maranatha1 For He, Indeed, is coming again* God
Bless You
Sincerely,
Cora E W illiams
Individual Member
Maranatha Church
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4s«oc>ehod - founded IMS
W hile it is clear that we need some measure o f
change in our current health care, the problem is not a
lack of PPOs The very basic problems include high
risk therapies, liability costs, high levels of side effects
in drug therapy, an over emphasis in high tech, late
stage and experimental care, unnecessary surgeries, as
well as an almost com plete ommision of preventative
and individualized care directed at improving quality as
well as decreasing risks of serious illness
It is sad that a country that has such advanced know
ledge in medicine cannot find a way to provide care to
all its citizens W hile this is an acknowledged problem,
I do not feel that we can depend on profit making in sti­
tutions such as insurance companies to devise a way to
remedy the problems of the poor or the elderly Cer
tamly the PPO is far from the solution
EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY
Harsh Reality
It should come as no surprise
Like a cesspool, it
has been seething over the years, surfacing periodically
to remind us of its ever existing presence
But, then
■•gam, i, was never really in the past Some of us may
have labored under this illusion w inch perhaps ex
plains why we allowed ourselves to become lethargic
in our quest for equality
And understandably so For we were placated w ith
tid bits of hope from some of our former leadership
I
referring to the King
the Kennedy's, the John
son s, and the C arter’s, etc Because they believed in
HIGHT they were able, through persuasion, to negate
most rekindling efforts They were true heroes But,
almost all of yesterday s heroes are either deceased or
ineffective It seems there is no one left to stem the
rising tide of
RACISM)
True, we have Jessie Jackson and others, but the
question comes to m ind. W hat can they do?" The
damage has been done
Every time a D em ocratic President leaves office after
doing a good job along comes a Republican President
and, not only undoes the good that has been done,
but somehow seems to fan the fires of racism w ith an
idealism contrary to human dignity I hasten to add that
no Republican President, past or present, is being label
ed a racist
But when the power of this nation's highest elective
o ffice is used to thum b its nose at respected spokes
persons for Blacks and other minorities, when the
power of this nation's highest elective office is used to
relegate civil rights to a state of regression, when the
power of this nation's highest elective office is used to
stalemate the C o nstitutional rights o f Blacks, people
take notice And, as fate w ould have it, those w ho do,
usually manage to sway public opinion in their favor
This perhaps explains how a place like Forsyth Coun
ty. Georgia, can serve as a breeding ground for racists
and bigots, or a foreign leader branding Blacks and
other m inontes as inferior to W hites, or the epidemic
resurgance nationwide of anti semiticism tow ards
Jews
Races are pitted against each other in violent con
frontations in the schools, on the job, and in the streets
It has all the appearances of a well orchestrated orga
nized conspiracy And it's gaining mom entum
Sim ply stated, this nation is on a collision course,
and its afterm ath promises to be nothing less than tra
gic
But it s not restricted to America along. It's in
England, it's in France, i t ’s in Russia, it s in China, it's
everywhere
Racism, w hich sprung its roots in the
land of the free" and "th e home of the brave", has
effectively mastered the art of widespread fear Racism,
w hich many thought was lying dorm ant, has been in
jected w ith new life by a society corrupt w ith greed and
power
We need new leadership We need someone w ho
w ould remind Forsyth County. Georgia, that this nation
is still governed by the C onstitution of the United
States, not by laws adopted by a racist com m unity
We need someone to remind foreign leaders that be
fore they espouse racial superiority, they should mven
tory grave sites in this country to be reminded that
Blacks and other m inorities gave their lives and shed
blood to preserve peace in their homeland Most of all.
we need someone to bring into focus the dreams,
hopes, and aspirations of some of our past and present
heroes, lest this country crumbles to its knees in dispair
DRUG ALERT!
The Police D epartm ent has inform ed us that there is another danger in
our com m unity It's called BLUE STAR and it is sold all over the United
States It a w hite piece of paper w ith a little blue star soaked w ith LSD
w hich is a very dangerous drug It’s the size of a pencil eraser You can
pull it o ff the piece o f paper and put it in your m outh This drug can also
penetrate the skin just by touching the papei Some of these pieces of LSD
come in colored papers w hich are like stamps and appear w ith a Mickey
Mouse picture. Superman and other com ic characters
These stamps are packaged in a red box w ith a Mickey Mouse print and
are w rapped w ith alum inum foil in a sealed box This package contains five
stamps and is a new m ethod to sell LSD in order to get m ore customers
If an innocent child were to use this drug they w ould be in trouble
Please advise your children about this drug
Some adolescents give this drug to children in order to get them to test it
and then keep them as custom ers If you see someone sick because of this
drug and know w h o is selling it, please call the police and in fo rm them
about it
The sym ptom s o f this drug are vom iting, halucmations and change of
body tem perature Please take care of your children and d o n 't let them go
alone to the street and to the stores
Portland Observer
New
3) PPOs often exclude entire professions w ithin the
healing arts Many policies offer choice of doctor but
define the term "d o c to r" differently from policy to poll
cy
The charge that PPOs circum vent state non dis
crim ination laws w ill probably be decided in the Su
preme Court Currently it is up to the consumer to find
Out if their policy includes such providers as clinical
psychologists, podiatrists, chiropractors, nurse practi
tioners. naturopathic doctors, optom itnsts, etc
4) Narrowing the selection process and lim iting pro
fessional participation in PPOs is contrary to all princi
pies of open market com petition
These are some o f the major concerns that have been
brought against the PPOs Groups such as Fair Share
and others have made the redress o f current PPO trends
as a major legislative goal of their present agendas In
addition to the numerous consumer groups and indivi
duals challenging the grow th of PPOs in this country,
there are many professional organizations w hich see
their members as being discrim inated against by the
PPOs. and w ho have joined the fight against this nar
row ing of American health care
W hile it is clear that we need some measure ofd
(The fo llo w in g are e x c e rp ts re p rin te d fro m a fly e r b e in g d is trib u te d
by th e N e w Y o rk C ity P o lice D e p a rtm e n t to sch o o ls and fa m ilie s in
th a t c ity
P o rtla n d re s id e n ts s h o u ld a d vise th e ir c h ild re n o f th is
danger ,
TM»
P y|> h sl»f*f S
A s s t i »n on
II W ith an emphasis o f cost per disease condition,
we find that PPOs have little incentive not to use the
entire reim bursem ent even w hen the individual case
may warrant less care The converse is even less attrac
tive this being the case of holding o ff needed care be
cause the allotted dollars have already been spent on
the individual patient
2) Often PPOs will only cover services rendered at
particular hospitals You may have a condition that is
rarely treated in the covered hospitals, yet you cannot
go to one w ith a specialist in your area because his her
hospital is not included
Sincerely yours,
Richard Levy
Let's Stop Child Abuse
This letter is intended to m ake the people aware of
the actions of a State Agency that is destroying homes,
and the lives o, those it was designed to protect The
Children s Services Division was established and dire<
ted to protect children from abuse, physical, and sex
ual, certainly no one can find fault w ith the intent of
the agencies proposer) purpose
I do w ant it clearly
understood that neither I, nor the group that I work w ith
condone true child abuse We believe that anyone that
has truly com m itter) child abuse should receive punish
ment to fit the crime
We now know that the agency has been and is abu
sing society, w ith the latitude they have been given,
and w ith they themselves establishing their own board
administrative rules
Pertiaps w hat is really happening to our families can
best be explainer) by a brief synopsis from the book
"The Child Abuse Industry ' by Mary Pride
Last year over one m illion North American families
were falsely accused o, child abuse As a result, their
homes were invaded by bureaucrats, dossiers were
opener) on them, their names were put in central com
puters. perm anently on file their chldren were asked
leading question and encouraged to inform on them
These were the lucky ones The less fortunate ended
up losing their life savings, their home, their children
Unlike "T h e Trouble W ith H a rry", the trouble w ith
PPOMs not that they are dead but that they are m ulti
lying.
Perferred provider organizations (PPOs) are
springing up across the country under the promises of
better care at lower costs W hat m any people feel they
are bringing is more lim ited care w ith less personal
choice.
PPOs are still being presented to the consumer as a
way to let insurance companies choose the "b e s t" pro
viders, so that consumers can choose w ithin a "cost
contained" population for their health care
Like an
other dinosaur rising from the fossils, this is simply not
the solution to our modern crisis in health care
W hile an ever increasing percentage of our gross na
tional product goes to the nation's "health" care (now
around 13% o f the GNP11. we seem less and less able
to provide and guarantee care for our seniors, the indi
gent, the medically needy, pre natal care, rural care, as
well as general preventative care for the m ajority o f the
population The PPO direction o f insurance companies
is at best a bandaid on a cancer, and I feel, as do many
others, that it is an alarming step backwards in Am en
can medicine
The problem s associated w ith the PPO design have
been numerous and have received must publicity in
eluding a recent one hour docum entary on PBS Some
of the major problems include
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