Page 2—1 he Portland Observer--July 31, 1991
Senate Committee Approves Funding
For Gang-Related Task Force In Portland
The Senate Appropriations Com
mittee has approved funding for a spe
cial Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and
Firearms Task Force In Portland, Ore
gon, Senator Mark Hatfield announced.
Hatfield designated Portland as one
of four cities to share $2.4 million in
funding for the Bureau of Alcohol.
Tobacco and Firearms to establish a
“ Project Achilles” Task Force. Other
task forces will be established in Char
leston, S.C., Atlanta, GA., and Mil
waukee, WI.
Hatfield, the ranking Republican
member of the Appropriations Com
mittee, addressed Portland’s growing
problem with gangs, drug abuse and
drug-related crime at a hearing before
the Treasury, Postal Service subcom
mittee earlier this year. To help combat
the problem, Hatfield worked with
Portland Commissioner Earl Blume
nauer to designate Portland as an eli
gible location for a special ATF task
force.
Hatfield said the task force would
mean the addition of five new full-time
federal (ATF) agents dedicated to fight
ing illegal drugs and gang violence in
the City. Project Achilles was formed
by the ATF in recognition of the con
tinuing link between firearms and drug
trafficking. The agency has committed
itself to making weapons the “ achilles
heel” by which the powerful drug dealers
and armed criminals could be prose
cuted to the full extent of the law.
Under the “ Achilles” umbrella in
fiscal year 1990, the first year Congress
appropriated funds for the Task Forces,
2,042 individuals were recommended
for prosecution. A total of 690 indi
viduals were convicted, receiving 5,927
years of mandatory imprisonment, not
including 4 life sentences.
To date in fiscal year 1991, ATF
agents assigned to Project Achilles in
16 cities have seized 11 machine guns,
1,087 handguns, 45 silencers, 420 shot
guns , 664 rifles, 46 sawed-off shot
guns, and 52,453 rounds of ammuni
tion. In addition, the ATF initiated 7,270
criminal investigations involving 7,533
defendants being recommended for
prosecution in the same period.
“ The City of Portland has had an
on-going problem in dealing with ille
gal narcotics and firearms, especially
in gang related activities,” Hatfield
said. “ The Bureau has worked closely
with Oregon Gang Strike Force, but I
am concerned that adequate resources
are not available to maximize the suc
cess rale.”
Hatfield said there are at least 1,400
undocumented members of the Crips
and Bloods gangs and a substantial
number of Asian groups operating in
the Portland are. “ These gangs have a
propensity to use firearms to protect
illegal business interests, usually nar
cotics. Designating this task force to
Portland represents one more step in
the federal governments multi-agency
role in fighting this growing plague in
Portland,” Hatfield said.
“ If Portland is going to win its war
against crime, we absolutely must stop
the human tragedy of gangs and drug
addiction,” said Blumenauer, Portland
City Commissioner. “ This federal as
sistance adds a new weapon to our
arsenal and comes at a time when we
are seeing renewed determination in
Pordand neighborhoods and City gov
ernment to stop gang activity in its
tracks.”
The Portland Achilles Task Force
would target a cross-section of armed
criminals and gang related activities,
and would assist other law enforce
ment agencies in addressing the grow
ing problem.
Committee Action May Bring Major
Contracts To Port Of Portland Shipyards
The Senate Armed Services Com-
mittee has greatly improved the chances
that Portland shipyards will win a ma
jor ship overhaul contract worth at least
$30 million.
Oregon Senators Mark O. Hatfield
and Bob Packwood, supporters of a
proposal to transfer the U.S.S.
ORISKANY to a foreign non-profit or
ganization for use as an American cul
tural center in Tokyo, announced that
the Senate Armed Services has given
its approval of the transfer.
Congressional action was required
in order for the Secretary of the Navy to
consider the transfer to a foreign or
ganization. The Armed Services Com
mittee gave Congressional approval for
the Secretary of the Navy to examine
the transfer of the ship to the project’s
sponsor, the non-profit CITY OF AMER
ICA, but does not guarantee the trans
fer. If the transfer does not take place,
the Senators said the ship will be auc
tioned for scrap this fall.
In the event the ship is transferred,
THE CITY OF AMERICA organiza-
tton has signed a letter of commitment
to the Port of Portland to overhaul the
carrier in the state of Oregon.
The ORISKANY is the centerpiece
of the CITY OF AMERICA’S pro
posed trade complex in the heart of the
Tokyo metropolitan area. The complex
is expected to provide millions of visi
tors with a cultural, commercial, and
educational window on the United States.
The project is supported by several
groups, including the Korean War
Veterans Association, Vietnam Veter
ans Institute, and the Marine Cops
League.
“ Oregon stands to benefit from
this idea in both the short and long
term ,” Hatfield said. If the project is
approved Oregon ship repair yards will
be the major renovation contractors,
which could bring millions of dollars to
the Portland area. And once the CITY
OF AMERICA is located in Japan, the
trade and cultural exhibits will benefit
our state’s commerce,” Hatfield said.
Senator Packwood commented,
“ the inclusion of the U.S.S. ORISKANY
project within the Armed Services bill
is wonderful news. I know of no better
way to build a cultural and educational
bridge between Japan and the U.S. than
with projects like this. This will en
courage the two countries to learn more
about and from one another, which will
mean more trade and jobs for Oregon.”
Mike Thorne, executive director
of the Port of Portland, praised the
Oregon senators for their success in
promoting the initiative in the Com
mittee.
“ This project provides this com
munity with a tremendous opportunity
to strengthen both cultural and business
ties with Japan” Thorne said. “ It also
has the possibility to advance future
business by attracting considerable at
tention to the Portland shipyard and its
ability to meet this unique ship repair
challenge.”
The proposal, will require no fed
eral funds and, according to the Senate
amendment, all design and restoration
work will be done by American firms.
In the Beginning Was The Word: Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this series on
early African literature as much as 1
have. It always seems to restore my
strength and to renew my determina
tion when I “ return to the well” as it
were.
Though you readers, students and
teachers have universally resounded that
it will be useful and motivating to employ
African (and African American) litera
ture to spark interest in gaining reading
skills, other benefits should be kept in
mind. For one thing, these written-in
stone recitations prove and attest the
cultural heights reached by our ances
tors. At the same time this literature
accurately chronicles the political and
technological scope of African nation
building and administrative organiza
tions.
What amuses (and pleases) me is
the fact that so many ludricous Euro
pean claims to have been first on the
ladder of civilization can so easily be
put to rest. How often have we encoun
tered statements like the following about
the Greek poet “ Homer” - The Iliad
and the Odyssey, Achilles and Agam
emnon. “ A poet of supreme genius
arose and the FIRST AND GREAT
EST EPIC POEM OF THE WORLD
WAS CREATED!” Now, we know
better, reading African epics and ser
mons carved in stone as much as 2000
years earlier. And it is only lately that
‘the man’ acknowledges that HOMER
WAS ILLITERATE.
Most of us are familiar with the
more common figures of speech, meta
phor, simile, hyperbole, etc., but there
is another form, demonstratably Afri
can in origin-- and equally demon-
stratably African American in styL
and manner; the “ Epithet” (definitely
not a ‘cuss word’) as used 3000 years
ago.
“ Big C url” ; a priest with a huge
side-lock of hair.
“ The hungry one” ; a tax collec
tor
“ The red boys” ; a night shift at
the Aswan quarries who became coated
with red dust.
“ Indestuctibles” ; the curcumpo
lar stars.
“ Tireless ones"; all stars except
the curcumpolar ones.
“ Opening of the waters” ; con
stant sound ing off water depth by boat
men.
There is much, much more but we
are limited in space; “ Thy rod and thy
staff, they comfort m e,” a phrase fre
quently found in African devotional
literature 1500 B.C. (23rd Psalm). These
were symbols of royalty over much of
the continent. Also interesting is the
fact that most of the ‘m odem ’ literature
of the “ Existentialism Philosophy” is
seen to be lifted almost verbatim from
the African genre. This philosophy
(Sarte) is the one that reflects modem
m an’s despair and rejection of today’s
culture, and led to that disturbing state
ment, “ God is dead.” Africans wrote
this way twice, when the Old Kingdom
failed, and again when the Middle King
dom fell to invading Asiatics.
In conclusion, let me cite a three
volume set of books, any of which will
open your eyes as you realize that these
beautiful poems, prayers and stories
contain the basic format and style of all
the EUROPEAN literature you’ve read.
Written thousands of years ago, they
synthesize the best of Ethiopian, Suda
nese and Egyptian thought at the time.
Each volume is $11.95 and postage is
$2.50 each or for set.
Ancient Egyptian Literature, I, II,
III; Mariam Lichthcim, University of
California Press, 2120 Berkeley Way,
Berkeley, CA. 94720.
Department of Human Resources
Charges Vary For Medical Procedures
Consumers buying a house or car
can scour the market, looking for top
quality merchandise at a competitive
price. However, health care purchasers
rarely talk money until after the fact. A
seriously ill or injured patient may wind
up wherever the ambulance stops. A pa
tient needing surgery is likely to go to
the hospital her doctor recommends, re
gardless of price.
In sum, price competition among
hospitals does not exist for most cash
paying customers. Meanwhile, prices
for most hospital procedures continue
to spiral. In the absence of true compe
tition, charges for the same procedure
may vary wildly from one hospital to
another, a fact that is documented in a
report scheduled for July publication.
The report, called Top DRG 1989,
shows the range in average charges for
the 20 most frequent inpatient medical
and surgical procedures in 1989. For
each common medical and surgical
procedure, the report shows the 20 hos
pitals with the highest average charges
and the five hospitals with the lowest
average charges.
For instance, the most common
hospital procedure in 1989 for patients
under 65 was having a baby. Average
hospital charges for the 28,900 women
discharged with normal newborns in
1989 ranged from a high of $889 at
Mid-Columbia Medical Center in The
Dalles to a low of $129 at Providence
Seaside Hospital. The average charge
for Oregon was $495.
Hospital charges can vary depend
ing upon the length of stay, the intensity
of care, the level o f services and tech
nology and the amount of discounted or
indigent care at the hospital.
Charges do not necessarily reflect
how much a patient actually paid be
cause Medicare, Medicaid, and a grow
ing number of private health insurers
pay hospitals according to pre-negoti
ated rate schedules.
Top DRG 1989 provides a state
wide average charge for each of the
common medical and surgical proce
dures, and, where applicable, the na
tional average charge for Medicare
patients.
Charges for Medicare patients are
recorded on separate tables from those
who are under 65, accounting for differ
ent medical care needs and the gener
ally higher costs for treating the elderly.
Pay And Park Lots Receive Complaints
City Commissioner Dick Bogle has come
to the aid of the hundreds of shoppers,
visitors and commuters who have com
plained of enforcement abuses at down
town Portland’s pay-and-park lots.
Bogle’s amendments to the city’s pay-
and-park code, adopted unanimously
by the City Council, will:
-Reduce the basic charge for a violation
from $15 to $12, and maximum charge
form $75 to $24. This brings pay-and-
park surcharge fees in line with fines
for overtime parking at downtown meters.
-Increase to three the number of unpaid
surcharges required before a vehicle
can be impounded. The old code al
lowed lot operators to tow a vehicle
with only one unpaid surcharge.
-Require lot operators to send certified
letters to registered owners before im
pounding vehicles. Previously, vehicles
could be towed without prior notifica
tion.
-Reduce the penalty for occupying two
parking spaces from impoundment to
the issuance of a surcharge citation.
United Airlines
pounded from 10 hours to 24 hours.
-Require that surcharge citations and
subsequent notices include a statement
that written complaints may be submit
ted to the city’s license Bureau if at
tempts to resolve a complaint with the
pay-and-park operator prove unsuccess
ful.
O veraperiodof several months, Bogle,
License Bureau personnel and repre
sentatives of the industry worked to
achieve consensus on the amendments.
-Increase the lime after which a vehicle At the same time, City Center Parking,
left without prepayment can be im- which operates a majority of downtown
Portland’s pay-and-park lots, worked to
put a new enforcement system into place.
“ Our object was to relieve pay-and-
park customers of any undue burden,
while assuring that lot operators are
able to collect ligitimate fees,” Bogle
said. “ What we arrived at is eminently
fair to all concerned, especially people
(USPS 959-680)
who
come downtown to work, shop or
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POCTLflWOBSERVER
Are • The • Proud • Sponsors • Of
Reinvestments
Is it to be Cultural
Literacy or
European Literacy?
BY PROFESSOR MCKINLEY BURT____
Open Letter to
the Community
M
y recent, somewhat cursory com
to the culture and technology o f the w o rld .
It is not just a matter o f the "om issions and
th e fts " cited in B ill Cosby’ s video that ob
tains here - it is the fundamental truth o f
"m M
id arshall
d le
M cLuhan’ s observation. "T h e
M edium is the Message.”
A n d therein lies the danger. An ex
amination o f M r. Hirsch's projections makes
it quite clear that the schema he projects is
as much at "c u ltu ra l S U P R E M A C Y ” as it
is about "c u ltu ra l lite ra c y ." The overall
structure fits very w e ll w ith an embodiment
o f that racist polem ic o f an upstate New
Y o rk newspaper editor, “ M anifest Des
t in y " ( o f the w hite races) - much in the
ment on the bestseller, ‘ 'C u ltu ra l
L ite ra c y " by Prof. E.D. Hirsch -
class polemics, intellectual masturbation”
- was meant to " c u t 'em o f f at the pass.’ ’ O f
course we agree w ith his warning, " C h il
dren in the United States are being deprived
o f the basic knowledge that w ould enable
them to function in contemporary society.”
But I said that on June 27, d id n 't I?
"T h e teacher tests are biased a lrig ht - b i
ased against an ignorance o f the basic skills
and techniques (math and language) neces
sary to decode die data base o f knowledge
sense o f the last part o f the title o f Charles
w hich supports our contemporary c u ltu re ."
D a rw in ’ s epic, “ ...and The Preservation O f
W hat could be clearer? What is not very The Favored Races o f M a n k in d ." The cita
clear at all, o r very lik e ly , is that the school tions, demonstrations and bibliographies
district's curriculum people - given the racist furnished by the good professor would not
m indset they have demonstrated over the d iffe r that much in im pact from the exclu
past two decades - w ill pursue a "c u ltu ra l
sionary preferences and guidelines o f the
enrichm ent” thatem ploysand integrates the IM M IG R A T IO N L A W S which structured
documented m otivational and role model this republic.
materials furnished by the authors o f the
W hat we need is a school district and
B A S E L IN E ESSAYS (or by the Local Con a school board that is in step w ith the en
sultants).
lightened and perceptive educators o f this
We would like to thank you... the
community... our customers... for your
continuing support. It is your support
that paves the way for economic devel
opment, future employment opportu
nities and community pride.
We, your local Black Beauty sup
pliers, have banded together to share
our expertise and strengthen our pur
chasing power to pass on savings and
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Through your continuous support,
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This message has been brought to
you by:
Mrs. C ’s Wigs
Skin Deep Beauty Supplies
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The only American author to win
the Pulitzer Prize four times was
poet Robert Frost
___________________
Hence, the intent to " c u t 'em o f f a l
the pass” — before the traditionalists pretend
that therecan be no "c u ltu ra l lite ra c y " other
than (or exclusively) w ithin the context o f
Professor H irxch’ s definitions and reading
lists. N othing could be farther from the
truth, and certainly in this scries o f front
page articles I have identified scores o f basic
A frican and A frica n American contributions
/X
^“ I
nation w ho realize that as we approach year
2000, a sig nificantly large and steadily
grow ing proportion o f our population is o f
so-called "m in o ritie s " — groups who are
w ell aware o f what they have contributed to
the w o rld c iv iliz a tio n (in toto, the greater
role). It is incomprehensible that a reasona
b ly enlightened educational establishment
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could not perceive that m in o rity achieve
ments in science, mathematics, literature
and music w ork just as w e ll as lesson ele
ments and paradigms as the Greek modes.
The author o f "C u ltu ra l L ite ra c y "
asks the fo llo w in g :
Test your cultural literacy. Can
you put the following In
context?
absolute zero
Alamo
Billy the Wd
carpetbagger
El Greco
Faust (title)
gamma rays
penis envy
sea legs
Valhalla
Zeitgeist
Homestead Act
k j
Icarus
Jazz
lame duck
manna from heaven
nom de plume
rococo
tabula rasa
Waterioo, Battle of
But we ask w h y - in addition to the
innumerable scientists and mathematicians
o f color cited e a r lie r - cannot the contribu
tions o f the great Black classicists o f litera
ture and poetry be u tilize d , from Pindar
whose works were required curriculum in
the school Shakespeare attended, to Pushkin
and to the magnificent writings o f the Dumas
fa m ily that encompassed novels and plays
which also became operas by the great
composers o f the world? W hy? Why?
Continued next week.
"Reinvestments in the Community" is a weekly column appearing
in API publications through out the USA
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Community
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