Page 2—The Portland Observer--October 24, 1990
...And Justice For All
What Is a "Good Faith Effort"?
BY PROFESSOR MCKINLEY BURT
We often hear that phrase, a
“ good faith e ffo rt” as having been made
by someone o r another--or by a particu
lar organization. But, ju st what, ex
actly, does it mean? Under some cir
cumstances we feel that we know very
w e ll the extent o f the im plied comm it-
m e n t-to deliver, to expedite, to dis
charge a debt, or whatever. For in
stance, we often have it from the United
States Government, “ backed by the full-
fa ith and credit o f [the government].”
But, today, I would lead us into
another area for assessment o f this ubiqui
tous term. W hile I ’ ve been w riting this
current series on “ M in ority Business”
(concluded this week on Business Page),
I fin d m yself returning to frequent
thoughts concerning the level o f com-
m itm ent--and, indeed, the sincerity--of
many o f the A frican Americans who
make such a noisy and highly-publi
cized case fo r an immediate and mas
sive escalation o f the m inority business
e ffo rt (seldom accompanied by action,
let alone a structured plan for im plem
entation).
In the immediate case, m y re
flections are prompted by a recent col
umn o f Tony Brown, the well-known
black television commentator and pub
lisher o f “ Tony Brown’s Journal” . Here,
he took to task some o f the most hal
lowed and respected echelons o f the
black leadership hierarchy. Specifically,
he furnished the fo llo w in g quotes o f
W illiam Reed, a columnist for the Black-
owned Washington, D.C. newspaper,
Capital Spotlight.
“ The Congressional Black
Caucus weekend is the most glaring
evidence o f a two-decade-old saga o f
ineptness, mismanagement, lack o f ac
countability and vision o f our so-called
“ A fte r 20 years o fC B C week
ends, the most obvious evidence o f Black
leadership having been on Capitol H ill
are thousands o f Scotch bottles, a slew
o f chicken bones and a host o f white
merchants rushing to the bank to deposit
the one-half b illio n dollars they receive
each year from CBC hotel rentals and
the sale o f Scotch and hot buffalo wings.”
“ This is one o f those 150 an
nual get-togethers where middle-class
Blacks are spending 3 b illio n dollars
w ith white people while discussing how
bad o ff we are and blaming racism for it.
I, o f course, have proposed that all Black
groups cancel their 1992 meetings and
CT/LL TfifT QOCfiD OW&S
use the $3 b illio n as a capital form ation
fund to rebuild our com m unity.”
“ I think this position is w ell
taken, a rather succinct assessment, right
to the “ inept” p o in t-a n d every b it as
caustic a presentation as I would have
made (smiles). Further, I think it is a
logic that could be applied to this m icro
cosm, Portland, Oregon. We know that
I have made this case a number o f limes,
not only in articles and in speeched-
but, going so far as to design and im ple
ment university calsses incorporating
both the standard business and legal
structures o f enterprise, but also the real
time experiences o f successful enterpre-
neurs.
So what is that can be d o n e -
that isn T being done-that must be done?
Never in history has the race3 had so
many college graduates, so many blacks
in experience-gaining positions in man
agement, technology and the financial
interface. But it would seem that it was
the lesser educated and exposed blacks
o f yesteryear who had the drive, am bi
tion and motivation to successfully launch
many viable business enterprises. What
do you think is the answer? W rite us
here at the paper; w e’ d lik e to hear from
you!
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NPBC To Hold
Annual Banquet
North Portland Bible College
holds its second fa ll banquet-Friday
evening, November 2, 1990. In the
“ Great H a ll” o f the Westminster Pres
á byterian C h u rc h -1624 N.E. Hancock.
The theme for this year’ s en
riching banquet is “ a backward glance,
I a forward lo o k ” . M r. David Shaw o f
J Pasco, Washington w ill be the guest
® speaker. Donations are $15.00.
The purpose o f the banquet is
to supplement N PB C ’s building fund.
Tickets may be purchased by
contacting the follow ing persons/places:
NPBC (Bercan Bible Church) - 288-
2919, Alberta P h illip (C W A C ) - 282-
1316, L illia n Jenkins (Eve) - 285-0089
and Rev. Don Fraizer (M t. Sinai Com
m unity Church) -282-6773.
President - Rev. Don Fraizer
Chairperson - Ms. Alberta Phil-
s
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2 - For -1 BBQ Rib Dinners $7.90 ¡
8 1 23 N.E. Klllingsworth
J phone 288-5951
’
The War in Iraq: Russian Roulette for Soldiers
Scenario: Y o u ’ re at home, and some
one breaks in. Before you can react, the
intruder grabs your son and puts a gun to
his head. Y our son has no choice in the
matter, nor do you. The man declares
his intention o f playing Russian Rou
lette with your son, and he pulls the
trigger...
How different is this scenario
from all the young men who are being
drafted to spill their blood for what our
political leaders like to hype as “ fig h t
ing for your country” ? Thank you,
Uncle Sam, but I ’d only fig h t for moral
causes; I would not accept taxpayers’
money only to go and fig h t fo r o il. A s
suredly, I ’d rather spend my money on
inflated gasoline prices than on enlist
ing Am erica’s youth on a potential death
mission (by the way, w e’re spending
one and a h a lf B IL L IO N dollars per
M O N TH on the war in Iraq).
Bush, would Am erica’s fists
s till be in Iraq i f you and your fa m ily
were in the army? It must be fa irly
simple to send people you’ ve never even
met, to face their death for...um ...oil.
The biggest price you m ight have to pay
for this war is hiring another secretary to
send o ff letters o f condolence to griev-
add .25 Cents
for orders to go
Offer Expires on October 25, 1990
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SAY YOU SAW IT IN
THE PORTLAND OBSERVER
ing fam ilies and friends o ff soldiers.
Even i f the troops aren’ t k ille d
in Iraq, what must the experience o f war
do to their psyche? I saw a car accident
once, and the memory o f the v ic tim ’ s
body has never left me. One can only
imagine what permanent emotional
damage w ill result from experiencing
massive legalized murder; Vietnam ’s
scars have not yet healed.
I think ‘ 'Am erica F irst, P o liti
cians L a s t" , an absolutist organization
w orking toward the preservation o f the
B ill o f Rights, said it best; “ Support
laws that w ill force the politicians to
behave like law-abiding citizens.” It
seems ironic to me that we continually
elect e litist that wave at starving people
from their limousines, and consider it
“ getting in touch with the people” (then,
o f course, they return to their expansive
California dude ranches, or White House
residence that has more bathrooms than
I have total rooms). And then we’re a ll
shocked when they cut Social Security
and Medicare, and give the rich fo lk tax
breaks.
M ost political systems in this
w orld attempt to shorten the gap be
tween rich and poor; meanwhile,the
IlNTERNATIONA^OCIETYFOR
,
INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY
I For information on ISIL, its publications
and ideas, contact ISIL National Office at
11800 Market Street
¡San Francisco. CA 94102
'
■BI
i S
by A ngelique Sanders
By Professor McKinley Burt |-
U.S.is losing its middle class populus
(some end up in the throes o f starvation;
some find a ridiculous niche in capitalist
America and in vent a cheesier macaroni
or an easy-lift chair and are “ set” fo r
life).
M ost other governments fund
college-level education (in fact, the Soviet
Union PAYS qualified students to at
tend college); most DO N O T pay their
farmers to N O T grow crops (our govern
ment was caught doing this a couple
years ago, because they d id n ’t want a
surplus-w hy couldn’ t surplus food be
sold or given to other countries, or to the
food bank?); most wouldn’t pay $10,000
for a disposable m ilita ry seat (yes, again,
credit our government w ith that scan
dal); and most p olitical systems do not
sport such a terrifying deficiL
I also suspect few countries,
besides the U.S. o f A ., would perm it
someone like former K.K.K. leader David
Duke to run fo r office.
* * * ♦ ♦
Thumbs up to the woman at
Saturday’s “ No Blood fo r O il” ra lly
w ith the sign that read; “ D eficit? Sell
the W hite House!” N ext week: an
overview o f all Portland’ s recent rallies
THE BI-PARTISAN PARTY
IS
ONE BIG PARTY
PRETENDING TO BE TWO PARTIES
VOTE LIBERTARIAN
P aid f o r by H erb Booth
There Is No Choice! Vote No on Ballot Measure 11
by Professor M c K in le y B u rt
The ballot title is “ School
Choice System, Tax C redit fo r Educa
tion Outside Public Schools.”
This
measure, which would A M E N D TH E
OREGON C O N S T IT U T IO N , submits a
somewhat harmless-sounding question
in the voters’ pamphlet:
“ Should
Constitution provide choice o f public
schools, tax credit for education outside
public schools, voter approval o f certain
education laws?”
Il is the position o f the O b
server newspaper, this w riter, and a host
o f concerned citizens and organizations
that the passage o f this ill-conceived
measure would constituue an u n m iti
gated disaster for Oregon’ s educational
system. It is almost inconceivalbe that
at a time when both the education hier
archy, parents, and other interests are
making yeoman efforts to solve the
existing problems o f the system, a mas
sive assault would be launched by a coa
litio n o f narrowly-focused special inter
est groups.
The “ Oregonians for Educa
tion Choice” group presents a number
o f “ carrots” in their campaign to slip
this measure through, but deliberately
fa il to examine the devastating disrup
tions and chaos these proposals would
fa il to bring about:
"W h a t is the E ducational
Choice In itia tiv e ? I t is an amendment
to Oregon's Constitution to be voted on
in 1990. The initiative allows fa m ilies to
choose what schools their children a t
tend. Open enrollment w ill a llow fa m i
lies to choose between government
schools, even i f the schools are in other
school districts. A basic education tax
credit w ill provide a state income tax
credit f o r K-12 education expenses in
alternative schools. The tax credit w ill
pay up to $2,500 per student by 1992.
Why do we need choice? Our
government school system is fa ilin g ,
producing unqualified graduates despite
increases in spending. Choice provide
these benefits:
■If a school isn’ t rig h t f o r your fa m ily,
you’ l l be able to choose and afford a l
ternative schools.
■Schools that must compete w ill improve
o r lose students.
■Different schools can cater to different
needs o r values.
•Families w ill be more involved, becom
ing active choosers and consumers o f
education."
O f a ll that has been w ritten in
opposition to this measure-Oregonian
Newspaper, Oregon Education Associa
tion, Oregon School Board’s Associa-
tio n -w e think the position o f the “ R ain
bow C oa litio n ” sums it up rather w ell:
"B u t statewide B a llo t Meas
ure U l l , up f o r vote on November 6, is
not really choicefor parents. I t is choice
f o r schools to cream the crop o f aca
dem ically and athletically successful,
cheaper-to-educate kids. I t ’s a choice
only fo r a fe w parents who can afford the
money up-front, the transportation costs,
and who can sell their children to the
chosen school.
. .the most selective, academi
cally elite private schools would remain
selective and elite, the only difference
being that parents o f their students would
suddently get a nice tax break.' (Eugene
Register-Guard, August 16,1990
The vast m ajority o f poor,
working class, ra c ia l m inority, im m i
grant, disabled, special needs, costly
kids would be left behind in fin a n c ia lly
drained schools. $80 m illio n would ’
immediately leave the Oregon pub lic
school fu n d to go to church schools,
even without any transfer o f kids. In n e r ‘
city and ru ra l safety net districts would
be hardest hit, as money, teachers, and
program s fo llo w the outflow o f c h il
d re n ."
Vote No on 11!
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Protect yourself
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REPAIRS.
Call Levi Russell
289-3648
M y name is Levi Russell. I am an ex
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I advise homeowners in making im
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I also perform house inspections for
home buyers. For more Information,
call 289-3648.