Page 2—T b e Portland O b server August 29,199 0
In
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By Professor McKinley Burl
and labor distnbution data from various
handled an electrical load equal to that o f
After analysis I would a city o f 100.000 people. The aluminum
code the infrom auon and convert it to reduction process-from bauxite ore to
punched tape fo r transmission to the ingot--required this type o f electrical
remote mainframe computer in Los power, at 3000 amps and 600 volts. The
Angeles. The following week there would control room was exactly like that you
be a reversal o f this procedure and my
saw in the m o v e , “ The China Syn­
machine would p rint out the 500 pay- dro m e " . Part o f my jo b was to serve a
checks fo r distribution in our p la nt
shift at the control board on alternate
Immediately follow ing that edu­
weeks.
cational project fo r The Dalles Junior
The “ Electronic Instrument D i­
H igh School, management offerred me vision ” superv ised the purchase, instal­
the choice o f a prom otion w ith in the lation and maintenance o f the hundreds
accounting departm ent-or assignment o f instruments required for the operation
h u * « k we should recall ihe exper­
to the electrical engineering department o f a modem industrial plant o f this scope.
iences detailed in the tw o most re­ as an “Instrument Technician’ ’ . S ow , I
I learned to service power m eurs, v o lt­
cent colum ns, August 15 and 22; both
had no poor experience in this lauer age and amperage meters and transformer
have direct relevance to this piece. The
field, but I suppose that after winning
regulators, rectifiers, generators, pyrome­
firs t o f those columns cited the * ‘basic
national recognition fo r a small Oregon
ters, electronic scales, wind, hum idity
skills and industnal experience o f the school district, a was assumed that I and other weather instruments, tempera­
youth o f m y generation.’ ’ And last week could do anything. It was known, how ­ ture and pressure guages, water flo w
a successful small business enterprise ever, that I sponsored a “ Kids Science
meters, emission analyzers on rooftops,
was descnbed-an equipment-onented
C lu b ” m my neighborhood-and that 1 you name iL C alibrating the “ mas spec­
operation w hich quite obviously would
was forever obtaining ‘ electronic good­ trom eter” was my acid test.
heavily depend upon such skills. Today, ies’ ’ from the coin-operated amusement
Again, it is indicated that our
I wish to expand this frame o f reference device vendor across the street It look
y o u th -o r anyone else-m ust have those
in order to further demonstrated that little time fo r me to decide to become a baste skills o f math and language, and a
basic skills are essential fo r economic
“ technician“ and expand my k n o w l­ good orientation in science that is begun
and professional success.
edge base.
very early on. That is i f they are to be
N ow , back to the small town per­
An interesting consideration here able to take advantage o f opportunity
spective once again. When I wrote o f my
is that an Alum inum Company is a self-
when presented. And it is strongly im ­
aw ard-w inning “ Com puter-Com m uni­ contained city that necessarily operates plied that such skills have become in ­
cations P roject” in The Dalles, Oregon,
24 hours a day, and has its own water and creasingly important now that there is
the immediate spinoff was not described.
sewage plants, street and maintenance
growing emphasis on * ‘ unsuper.ised per­
A t the tim e, m y position in the account­ departments, u tilities, security, ambu-
formance’ ’ and maintenance o f “ auto­
ing department o f this huge aluminum
lances-and independent power source mated equipm ent’ ’ . M ere reason than
plant involved computers and com m uni­ (in the particular case, straight from
ever for having “ Schools o f Excellence”
cations. The firs t h alf o f my shift re­
Bonneville Dam). The huge power house fo r our children.
quired that I use a g o lf can to collect time
Be Prepared!
Even if You’re
Not a Boy
Scout
T
USA TODAY/COUNTERPOINT
REV. TYRONE CRIDER,
NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
OPERATION PUSH
Across the years Operauon PUSH,
in the non-violent tradition o f Dr. Martin
Luther K ing, Jr., has negotiated fair
and m utually beneficial economic re-
lauonships with corporate America. We
use our consumerism and our labor as a
basis fo r seeking equitable and fair re­
lationships. We have done so w ith the
Ford M otor Company, the B urger King
Corporation, the Seven-Up Corpora­
tion, and nearly 25 others. Each o f
these companies have come to the re­
alization that developing stronger eco­
nomic relationships w ith the m in ority
community makes good business sense.
We have always had honorable rela­
tionships, always sought parity not
chanty, and reciprocity not generosity.
O ur process has always been above
board. We do research. We educate the
consumer. We sensitize the corporate
leadership. Then we negotiate. O nly
then, i f that process fails, do we boycott
as a last resort.
This year PUSH chose to focus on
the athletic shoe industry. N ike was the
firs t company w ith which we sought to
negotiate. N ike was chosen because
they are the leader in the industry.
We were in the m idst o f good-faith
negotiations when Nike chose to attack
us by alleging coll usion between PUSH
UNITED WAY BEGINS
FUND RAISING DRIVE
z- Letter to the Editor
Award Lifts Carl
Elliot's Spirit
The courageous spirit o f fo r­
mer Alabama Congressman Carl E llio t
Sr. has been ’ rekindled' ’ by the recog­
nition he has received since w inning the
firs t Profile m Courage award, accord­
ing to a form er aide w ho nominated him.
Congressman E llio t, whose
support o f the National Defense Educa­
tion A c t o f 1958, which opened new
educational opportunities for minorities,
cost him his seat m Congress in 1964,
had been liv in g in poverty, unable to
w alk and nearly blind, when he won the
award, which included a S25.000 cash
prize.
“ Since w inning the award,”
Juhan Butler told Parade magazine, which
announced the award com petition in
February, " M r . E llio t has heard from
fnends all around the country. Students
who did not know that they owed their
education to him have been inspired to
» nte and thank h im . There is interest in
w riting his biography and perhaps m ak­
ing a film o f his life. And people in the
community are planning to fix up his
house so he can get around more easily.
Best o f all, the aw ard has been a tonic to
his sp irit w ithin h im .”
The Profile in Courage Aw ard,
sponsored by The John F. Kennedy
Library Foundation in memory o f the
late President, recognizes individuals
who demonstrate the values o f leader­
ship and political courage President
Kennedy admired.
PORTLAND OBSERVER
The Eyes and Ears ol the Communt'C
Office: (503)283-0033
Fax#: (503)288-0015
Enjoy Discount
Days at the Fair
A com m unity celebration on Wed­
nesday, Aug. 29, w ill mark the begin­
and Reebok. N ot only is this untrue,
ning o f United W ay o f the Columbia-
but Reebok is the next company with
W illam ette’s annual campaign to raise
The 1990 Oregon State Fair
which we w ill seek to negotiate. Faced
money for area health and human serv- has five discount days people should
w ith this breakdown in negotiations
ice agencies. This year’ s goal is S19.5 take advantage of.
w ith Nike, we had little choice but to
m illio n .
August 24, Oregon State Fair
move forward in our process and to
Events w ill take place at the A m eri- D ire ctor’s Day, n d e a ll the carnival rides
Launch our direct action campaign.
can Red Cross/Oregon T ra il Chapter, free from 10 a m . to noon.
D uring this campaign we are ask­
3131 N. Vancouver Ave., from noon to
August 27, K A T U Day, ch il-
ing our supporters to boycott and ‘ ‘black­
1:30 p.m. Participating in the festivities dren(age6-12)gaw free admission with
o u t” (place black tape over the Nike
are Campaign Chairman Bruce W illi- a K A T U coupon. W ith S8 and a K A T U
name and emblem) because o f what we
son, Chairman o f the board. First Inter- coupon you can ride the rides a ll day
term the “ Z E R O ” factor. Nike has
state Bank o f Oregon; Portland M ayor until 6 p.m. and geu 11 game tickets.
ZERO A frican Americans on its board
JE . Bud Clark; Julianne Johnson, local Some games require more than one ticket
o f Directors; ZERO A frican american
actress, singer and member o f the
August 28, Young at Heart Day,
Vice-Presidents; uses the services o f
Swingline Cubs; M ount O livet Baptist all those who are 65 years and over gain
ZERO A frican Am erican advertising
C hildren’ s C hoir, plus Oh no the Clow n free admission,
agencies; schedules ZER O advertising
and Sm iling E li.
Augsut 29, Pepsi-Cola Day,
w ith A frican Am erican owned maga­
Several local agencies also w ill dis- children gain free admission with a Pepsi-
zines such as Jet Ebony, and Black En­
play inform ation on their services. The Cola coupon, w ith S7.5O and a Pepsi-
terprise; and schedules ZERO adver­
Red Cross w ill give away flashlights to Cola coupon you get 10 rides tickets, or
tising w ith A frica n American owned
people who correctly answer a three- with S2.50and a Pepsi-Cola coupon you
television and radio stations.
question quiz on being prepared for a get 10 rides tickets, or w ith S2.50 and a
O ur goal is to expand procurement
disaster, and the Y M C A w ill erecta 16- Pepsi-Cola coupon you 11 game tickets,
opportunities fo r A frican A mencan en -
foot clim bing w all for kids. United Way Some games reuire more than one tic k e t
trepreneurs including professional serv­
funds nearly 200 agency programs Io-
September3, Franz Bread Day,
ice providers and to erase the “ Z E R O ’ ’
cated in Clackamas, M ultnom ah and buy one adult admission and get the
factor (apartheid policies) in corporate
Washington counties in Oregon and Clark second one free w ith an on-package
America beginning with Nike. Our boy­
coupon available on Franz Premium
County on Washington.
cott and “ blackout” has not ended, it
W hite Bread packages. In the case o f an
has expanded. Since Nike is the leader
adult and a ch ild , the higher price must
in the industry, we believe they should
Volunteers o f all ages and s k ill lev be paid.
also lead the industry in developing a els are invited to donate one day o f their
Also, get two-for-one carnival
reciprocal economic relationship w ith time to help North/Northeast areaseii- rides from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. w ith a Franz
the A frican Am erican com m unity.
iors w ith m inor home repairs, - p d ' work sucker at the Franz Booth at the State
and inten or/e xterior p a in u p jf Call Proj- Fair on September 3.
ect Linkage at 249-82J£fP roject L in k ­
PROJECT LINKAGE
Some Oregon State Penitentiary "em ployees” haven’t lost their
home-training instilled during childhood. They prefer to see clean cafeteria
tables and floors and orderly lines, clean cells and clothes and bodies. In
reference to the latter, can you imagine our next governor being restricted to
only 2 showers per week? For sure, in between ume, that governor would have
a few embarrassing press conferences And suppose his or her colleagues,
equally steadfast workers, were granted unlimited shower days. W ould that be
a case o f cruel double standard or discrimination?
As an OSP worker employed for three years, I am subjected to the
aforementioned treatment because I am not tagged a “p rivile g ed ’ ’ employee.
The department where I work is considered below the beast’s belly: eternally
vile and unthinkable—our Law Library. A t least six o f us are permanently
outlawed from taking an employee shower, down in the employee shower area,
on the fo llo w in g days: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday. I t ’s okay fo r us
employees to disrupt our busy schedules to take a hard-earned afternoon shower
on the yard and return io duty before the 4 o ’clock Count.
This less-than-perfect procedure is a nickel short o f being a security
nightmare. Imagine 50 naked pnsnoers standing backside to backside w hile the
firs t 50 naked prisoners grow l at each other over only 5 yard showerheads, and
another 50 naked prisoners watching them watching the others. Very little ex­
aggeration in numbers but much substance in truth. Furthermore, “ p rivileged”
employees on the Inmate Management Floor and on the Education Department
Floor can shower Monday through Friday. I have tried to imagine what else
could be wron w ith Law Library employees. Do we excrete less healthy sweat
per hour? Do we use a far superior brand o f all-seasonal deodorant that also
combats d irt and grime? Are we feared (thus psychologically tormented)
because we are more capable o f using our collective intelligence, whereas
higher-rung management w ished we would ro ll over and die and not smell?
I respect a consitently clean-smelling human body. Especially my
own. Especially m y co-employees. Others here think soap and water are
contagious diseases to lickety-split from . I have taken over 4,000 illegal
showers during the past three y ears. Unless this discrim inatory practice by man­
agement is curtailed in the near future, and to circumvent costly litig a tio n , I w ill
continue to take illegal employee showers so I can maintain reproachless
hygiene.
Raymond Cornelius
(an outraged OSP “employee”)
j
Letter to the Editor
'S
It's Like a Conviction Without a Trial
I wish to take this opportunity to express my thanks to M r. A llen B
DeSchweinitz, vice president, chief compliance officer, S A IF Corporation, for
his “ Patients as pawns” letter to the editor which appeared the first week in
A u g u s t Captain Queeg could not have stated his point more eloquently.
U n til the revelations contained w ithin his letter, I have been somewhat
at a loss as to why the SAIF Corporation has targeted alternative avenues for
treatment o f injuries, namely chiropractic, w ith a zeal reminiscent o f the holy
crusades o f the dark ages.
M r. DeSchweinitz has accused, tried and convicted 824 licensed chiro­
practors in the State o f Oregon on charges ranging from chicanery, quackery, and
collusion to malice and theft; and, to save the taxpayer money, he has done this
w ithout the burdensome mess o f trial by one’s peers. M r. DeSchweinitz has fu r­
ther accused, tried and convicted thousands o f Oregon w orking men and women
o f intent to steal from the State through fraudulent or overstated injury claims,
dullness o f w it and malice toward their employers. This conviction was
especially easy since the thousands o f workers plead g uilty by virtue o f seeking
help for their injuries from physicians other than medical doctors. Throw into
this assemblage o f dishonest, socially disoriented group o f malingerers an undis­
closed but significant number o f ambulance-chasing attorneys who have also
been accused, tried and convicted by M r. DeSchweinitz o f excessive greed and
o f advocating fo r all o f the above mentioned crimes and misdemeanors.
We now begin to get a much clearer picture o f why the S A IF Corpora­
tion has fallen into such dire straits thanks to this peek into the thought processes
o f our public servanu M r. DeSchweinitz.
There was little-to-no public debate relative to the issues in Mr.
DeSchw e in itz’ article. The only noise that was given any attention at all was that
o f the accusations made by some o f the S A IF corporate officers. I think a truly
open debate w ith all parties having access to the raw data relative to the costs and
effectiveness o f chiropractic care as opposed to other forms o f care fo r soft tis­
sue and skeletal injuries other than broken bones would be most interesting.
Since chiropractic is a totally drugless form o f treatment, I w ould be
most interested to leant more about any close relationships that may exist be­
tween insurance companies and pharmaceutical interests: this and the A M A
lobby could possibly shed some ligh t on why insurance companies do not flo ck
to the side o f chiropractors as questioned by M r. DeSchweinitz.
Personally I think that we, as taxpayers and w orking men and women
o f Oregon, need to take a large tongue depressor and look right down the throat
o f this mismanaged nightmare called SAIF. Perhaps a large dose o f castor o il
m ight be in order. One never knows what m ight be flushed o u t
David A. Larson
age is part o f the Senior Opportunities
D ivision o f M etfopolitan Fam ily Serv­
ice, a non-profit agency.
ERYER
(USPS 959-680)
OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION
Established in 1970
Joyce Washington
Operations Manager
Gary Ann Garnett
Business Manager
Leon Harris
Editorial Manager
The PORTLAND OBSERVER is
published weekly by
Exle Publishing Company, Inc.
4747 N.E. M.L.K., Jr. Blvd.
Portland, Oregon 97211
P.O. Box 3137
Portland, Oregon 97208
(503) 288-0033 (Office)
FAX#: (503) 288-0015
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Ebony Rose Ski Club
Annual Tennis
Tournament
The Ebony Rose Ski C lub w ill hold
its annual tennis tournament SepL 5th-
9th. This is the 5th year ERSC, Inc. has
served as the sponsor for this fund-rais­
ing event.
During this time the tournament has
grown from com m unity event to one o f
the premier tournaments in Oregon. This
year’s tournament includes an Unranked
Juniors Tournament and Open Division.
The juniors portion w ill start play at
5:00 p.m. on SepL 5th and Sept. 6th with
Semi-Finals scheduled for Sunday, SepL
9th. A ll ju n io r matches w ill be played at
the Portland Tennis Center, the Open
matches begin Friday, Sept. 7th at three
sites, Irving Park, Grant Park (Grant High
School) and the Portland Tennis Center.
Play continues at all sites thru Saturday
w ith Semi-Finals and Finals on Sunday
SepL 9th. Cash Prizes fo r all Open events
and Men 40 and over. Prizes, trophies,
and g ift certificates fo r all other catego­
ries. Entry deadline Saturday, Sept. 1st.
Entry forms available at Players Racquet
Shop, Courtside Tennis & Apparel, Port­
land Tennis Center and all Portland Area
Tennis & Racquet Clubs.
Money raised from this tournament
is donated to the ERSC, youth activity
program. For further inform ation con­
tact Con Johnson, Tournament D irector
at 281-4102.
the controversial trial o f Washington,
D.C. mayor M arion Barry w ith a per­
verse m ixture o f fascination and dis­
gust. Sex, drugs and public ille g a lity al­
ways sell. The Barry trial had ita ll. A c t­
ing as a legal pim p, the federal govern­
ment obtained the services o f B arry’s
e x-g irlfrie n d, Rasheeda Moore, to snag
its victim . Am ple evidence was pre­
sented in the trial proving to most ob­
servers that Barry had been a casual user
o f drugs for many years. Evidence o f
government malfeasance was abundant
as w ell. Scoresof Barry lieutenants and
confidants had been indicted and con­
victed o f various crimes during the past
decade.
The political circus came to a
disappointing end, however, when the
ju ry found the mayor g uilty o f o nly one
misdemeanor--possessing cocaine. It
acquitted him o f one count, and co uldn ’t
agree on twelve additional charges. Barry
now claims that he was vindicated, and
has announced plans to run as an inde­
pendent for a D.C. Council Seat
M arion Barry is surely g u ilty
o f many things-dcpendcnce on cocaine,
in fid e lity to his long-suffering and silent
w ife, and most o f all, p olitical stupidity.
But hte Barry case makes no sense out­
side o f its broader political and racial
context. The federal government's en­
tire case rested on entrapment o f the
worst kina, N o one seriously believes
that Barry ’ s decision to enter a hotel
room w ith his form er lover was dictated
by a desire for crack. Sex, not drugs,
motivated the mayor. Barry's certainly
g uilty o f adultery, and his lib id o ’s out o f
control. His problems w ith alcohol and
cocaine certainly made him u nfit to hold
public office. But the authorities would
have been wiser to pressure Barry to
resign, in lieu o f facing crim inal charges
and a protracted and disruptive court
trial. Instead, they were dtermined to
place the black Democrat on a federal
prison.
Barry’s central argument which
attempted to ju s tify his behavior was the
thesis that a pattern o f F B I and jud icia l
harassment exists against African-
American civ il rights leaders and elected
o fficials. The argument is certainly true,
based on the evidence over nearly h a lf a
century. In my own research on a p o liti­
cal biography o f black American leader
M alcolm X, I have uncovered an exten­
sive pattern o f illegal electronic surveil­
lance, the opening o f private mail w ith ­
out warrants, and political harassmetn.
C O IN TELPR O , the F B I's Counterin­
telligence Program in the sixties, p lot­
ted the destruction o f c iv il rights organi­
zations, and led to the imprisonment o f
hundreds o f black activists. In the 1980s,
hundreds of black elected officials, judges
and other com m unity leaders were sub­
jected disproportionately to surveillance
and harassment. Congressman John
Conyers and other members o f the Con­
gressional Black Caucus have investi­
gated many instances o f p o litica l har­
assment aimed at blacks. The goal is to
reduce African-Am erican political clout
w ithin the system, and to intim idate
leaders to back away from the establish­
ment.
But the real tragedy o f M arion
Barry lies not in his cocaine depend­
ency, which he shares w ith literally
m illions ot white, Hispanic, and black
Americans. His tragedy is his ina bility
to place his com m unity’ s objective in­
terests ahead o f his own. by his series o f
errors and crim inal acts, B a rry’s has
undermined the drive for D.C. statehood
o fr years. His behavior provides ju s tifi­
cation for racists and political reaction­
aries to undermine other African-Am eri­
can leaders. But his greatest tragedy
was B arry’ s failure o f vision. The great
strength o f the black freedom struggle’ s
political tradition, from Frederick
Douglass to M artin Luther K ing, Jr.,
was the linkage between politics and
ethics. What was m orally correct was
also politically correct. B a rry’s con­
tempt lo r the ethics o f the black struggle,
his contempt lo r his w ife, children and
constituents, could never be justified.
Marion Barry s only real service which
he could perforin would be to w ithdraw
permanently from public life.