February 5 , 1992...The Portland Observer...Page 3
No Jobs and No Shame, Part III
BY PROFESSOR MCKINLEY BURT
“ Bush Speech Sends Slock Mar
ket to Worst Performance in Almost
Six Months-Bethlehem Steel to Lay
Off Thousands-Congress calls Presi
dent’s Economic Goals Short Term and
Self-Serving” ; those were the head
lines following his Tuesday night speech.
The very next day, equally appre
hensive television commentators re
ported the interview by David Frost,
“ I ’m willing to do whatever it takes to
get elected.” Are you nervous? I am.
Has he found another “ Willie Hor-
ton” ?O n January 22,1992,1 made the
distressing suggestion that, in the mode
of many embattled leaders through the
ages, this man might launch a danger
ous MILITARY ADVENTURE! And,
sure enough on last Wednesday’s
* ’Forum ’ ’ page of the Portland Orego
nian (1/29/92) we find a relevant ar
ticle by Ruth Rosen, a columnist for
The Los Angeles Times. The headline
is, “ Setting Stage for War in Iraq Cam
paign Ploy” (see insert).
Writer Rosen observes that “ such
a high-risk gamble may back fire, ’ ’ and
that * ‘Bush’s attempt to blame General
Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, for ending the war too
soon has failed; the public still holds
the President responsible.” Like I say,
“ No shame.” Are you thinking what I
am? That Mr. Powell has forgotten who
he is and where he is? It could have
been that internationally-distributed
photo of the General dancing the night
away, cheek-to-cheek with Mrs. Bush.
He may have become confused, but
certainly not the millions of jobless
m inorities-nor any others. This time,
"everybody goes when the wagon
comes,” sure enough.
But, let us return to more immedi
ate concerns, such as the nationwide
phenomenon typified by General Mo
tor’s plan to close 21 plants and lay off
74,000 workers, or the increasing im
pact on Oregon’s economy occasioned
by the “ spotted owl.” While the reader
may never have seen one, do not think
for a moment that the financial situation
of you or your children-present and
future-is not as equally threatened as
that of the loggers still being laid off by
the tens of thousands.
The economy of the state is inte
Setting Stage for
War in Iraq Campaign Ploy
BY RUTH ROSEN, FORUM, 1/29/92
You don’t have to be Oliver Stone to see through George Bush’s cynical
military preparations to oust Saddam Hussein. The polls have demonstrated
Bush’s political weakness, and the economy, he admits, has gone into free fall.
Bush’s star-crossed trip to Japan humiliated the United States as well as him.
The country is demoralized, its people edgy. Meanwhile, Bush's greatest glory,
the Persian Gulf war, has faded. Saddam Hussein shadows Bush’s re-election
campaign.
When all else fails, start a war. Absent the ‘ ‘vision thing,’ ’ and the political
will to face America’s mounting economic and social crises, Bush has
apparently decided to take a gamble and play the military card.
Bush’s “ covert” action—publicized weeks or months before it begins—is
an overt political offensive to redress criticism that he ended the 1991 war pre
maturely.
The scenario seems carefully scripted. First comes the predictable Saudi
“ request” to thwart Saddam Hussein. Loyal to its allies, the Bush administra
tion gallantly complies. The U.S. government then arms Kurds and Shiite
Muslims who, after last spring’s betrayal, are now to trust the United States and
rise up against Saddam.
Naturally, the United States provides air cover, giving Americans another
splendid view of military technology while avoiding the politically risky
business of deploying ground combat forces. A quick war, perhaps begun in
April and over by the summer, diverts public attention from domestic issues,
giving Bush the popularity he needs to sail through the November election.
The administration claims that intelligence reports of growing dissension
among Iraq’s ruling families and clans has spurred this new round of military
planning. A better justification would be Saddam’s persistent efforts to skirt
U.N. surveillance to build a nuclear bomb. But if nuclear weapons are the
eed for already overburdened services
uch as welfare.
Andas we have just been reminded
>y the National Urban League’s annual
eport on the “ State of the Race,” not
>nly are blacks suffering right along
■vilh whites from the general economic
malaise, but a black worker earns $62
for every $ 100 earned by a white. So it
is that we again question the prepared
ness or commitment of Portland’s mi
nority population to deal with a crisis
situation; individuals or organizations.
Certainly, there has been presented in
these pages in recent years, by myself
and other columnists, a number of
proven, documented and successful
economic enterprises carried out by
both minority individuals and/or or
ganizations. Have we lost our drive,
threat, then a multinational effort should be made to enforce the non-prolifera
tion treaty. The United States should not act alone.
Perhaps Bush is simply trying to rattle Saddam’s nerves. A more likely
cause, however, is the New Hampshire primary. Bush is a desperate candidate.
As conservative columnist William Safire put it, Bush needs an “ April
surprise” to help his re-election because October would be just too transparent.
Bush said he would do anything to get re-elected. And he meant it. Leak
ing the preparations is a trial balloon, his first major campaign offensive. Even
if he decides to ignore the Saudi “ initiative’ ’ and forego the glory (and risks) of
war. Bush is trying to change the game to one he can win-rem inding the nation
that he is the commander in chief whose shoes cannot possibly be filled.
Democrats who opposed the Gulf War last year, as well as those who
oppose an American covert operation this spring, will find themselves tom
between anti-war opposition and their efforts to speak to America’s domestic
problems. It is always easier for an incumbent to set the terms of debate.
Recently, Bush lost that initiative. Now, the scenario goes, he can switch pub
attention to the gulf once more.
But Bush’s high risk gamble may well backfire. A military campaign to
remove Saddam will only underscore the fact that Bush failed to neutralize him
in the first place. Bush’s attempt to blame Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, for ending the war too soon has failed. The public still holds
the president responsible.
The media and the public, moreover, has had a year to scrutinize the
questionable origins and accomplishments of the Persian Gulf War. One year
later, more people know how carefully Bush plotted to wage war, how much the
government censored the war’s bad news, how many” dumb” weapons didn’t
work and how many “ smart” missiles missed their targets.
In the midst of the worsening recession Americans feel isolated by their
individual vulnerability to pink slips, mortgage foreclosures and health crises.
The Persian Gulf War gave Americans a temporary respite from these domes
tic problems, a sense of national purpose. But it won’t necessarily work again.
You can fool some of the people some of the time, but probably not again until
next year.
resourcefulness and ability to invent
and innovate? Of course not, but we
have some negative constraints within
our own group.
Let us look at a case in point, that
of McKinley Williams, a black news
paperman from Los Angeles. Arriving
in Portland in 1948, he was soon to per
ceive a golden opportunity. In Febru
ary, 1949, Portland’s second daily, The
Oregon Journal, went on strike, one
which lasted 25 days and placed scores
of white reporters and advertising sales
men in the street. Mr. Williams, a sharp
and energetic immigrant from Califor
nia, a region a hundred years ahead of
complacent Portland in its commercial
perspective, moved into the vacuum
like white on rice.
I was a public accountant at the
time, going to law school at night and
busy setting up a finance company for
my car dealer clients (“ Union Avenue
Finance Co.” ). I was not too busy to
answer Mr. Williams’ request to come
down to his ghetto office on North
Williams Avenue and set up an ac
counting system for his new enterprise.
Imagine my surprise when entering his
facilities-a sea of white faces, a full
dozen of laid off ‘ ‘Journal ’ ’ employees
busy at typewriters, teletypes and art
layups, phone banks.
Williams had conceived and
launched a small groupof REGIONAL
NEWSPAPERS of a similar format;
“ St. Johns, Beaverton, Milwaukie, etc.”
but each with a news content specific
to that neighborhood’s ongoing activi
ties and urban problems. The idea sold
like hotcakes because merchants saw a
golden opportunity to tailor their ad
vertising to the customers in their spe
cific neighborhood. So who killed the
venture? Uncle Tom? The establish
ment newspapers? The answer next
week. Is it happening again in other
fields?
Nordstrom Awards Major Contract to
Minority-Owned Firm
The Black United Fund of
Oregon Receives Grants
The Black United Fund of Oregon,
Inc., under the auspices of the Family
Services Committee, one of the seven
committees of the North/Northeast
Economic Development Alliance, has
been awarded three grants totalling
$186,894 to develop and implement a
comprehensive Infant Mortality Reduc
tion Program in N/NE Portland.
The Infant Mortality Reduction
Program is designed to improve birth
outcomes by increasing public aware
ness about the damaging affects of
inadequate care during pregnancy, iden
tifying women at risk, linking them to
appropriate services, and providing case
management to move families towards
self sufficiency.
The Infant Mortality Reduction
Program grew out of a report by the
Family Services Committee entitled,
“ Infant Mortality Among Low-Income
Northeast Portland Residents: Recom
mendations For Reduction” released
in April of 1990. The report outlines
recommendations for reducing infant
mortality in N/NE Portland, where the
rate of inadequate prenatal care is nearly
double that o f the state.
To address the recommendations
in the report, The Family Services
Committee established the Committee
on Health, a coalition representing public
and private health care providers,
community based organizations and
concerned residents. The Committee
on Health is comprised of Multnomah
County, the State of Oregon, Red Cross,
March of Dimes, Emanuel Hospital,
Kaiser Permanente, Tri-Met, United
Way of the Columbia-Willamette, NE
Neighborhood Health Clinic, Boys and
Girls Aid Society, the Albina Ministe
rial Alliance, Project For Community
Recovery, Imani Women’s Support
Project, YWCA, Give Us This Day,
Insights Teen Parent Program, and many
others. They are currently analyzing
key issues and developing programs to
address the factors that contribute to
the high rates of infant mortality in
North/Northeast Portland.
grated, global. Just as surely as the
small towns in the rural areas are closed
down, and their populations driven first
to unemployment compensation-and
then to welfare-we find that the conse
quences of economic disturbances
anywhere in the system are quickly
reflected in the financial health of Port
land, the precarious hub. Here, too, the
result is increasing unemployment and
The March of Dimes awarded
$4,000 to support the Infant Mortality
Reduction Program of the Family Serv
ices Committee. The March of Dimes
was established in 1938 with a goal to
prevent low birth weight and reduce
the incidence of birth defects and infant
mortality. The Lewis and Clark Chap
ter, March of Dimes’ Campaign for
Healthier Babies provides funds in the
areas of medical services, public health
education and professional education
with a mission to ensure the birth of
healthy children.
The Health Care Financing Ad
ministration (HCFA) of the Federal
Office of Acquisition and Grants con
tracted with the Black United Fund for
$49,960 to develop model outreach
materials which will educate medicaid
eligible families about available health
care resources for pregnant women and
children. The Health Care Financing
Administrator was created by the Sec
retary of Health, Education and Wel
fare in 1977 to administer the Medicare
program and related quality assurance
activities.
The WK Kellogg Foundation
awarded a $132,934 grant allowing the
Family Services Committee to imple
ment a prenatal care demonstration
project, to reduce inadequate prenatal
care and empower women to become
self-reliant and better prepared to care
for themselves and their families. The
Kellogg Foundation was established in
1983 to “ help people help themselves.”
As a private grantmaking foundation, it
provides seed money to organizations
and institutions that have identified
problems and have designed construc
tive action programs aimed at solu
tions. A majority of the Foundation’s
grantmaking is focused on the areas of
youth; volunteerism in philanthropy;
community-based; problem-focused
health services; and higher education.
Programming priorities concentrate
grants in the United States, Latin
America, the Caribbean, and Southern
Africa.
286-2557
K
D.C.’s Smoot Corporation to Complete $5.5 Million
Addition to Nordstrom’s Maryland Distribution Center
Nordstrom has announced that it
has awarded a $5.5 million contract to
the Sherman R. Smoot Corporation of
Washington, D.C., a subsidiary of the
Smoot Corporation, for construction of
a 170,000 square foot addition at Nord
strom’s Maryland Distribution Center
in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
The contract with the Smoot Cor
poration, a 100 percent minority-owned
firm, is the largest Nordstrom has signed
through its minority vendor program.
The program, which was established in
1989 to promote and support business
with minority firms, has awarded more
than $13 million in contracts to minor
ity businesses since its inception.
“ It is a tremendous honor for our
firm to be associated with an industry
leader like Nordstrom,” said Smoot
Corporation President Lewis R. Smoot,
Sr. “ We applaud the determination and
commitment Nordstrom exhibits through
its minority vendor program, and we
look forward to completing the project
to their well-known high standards for
quality and customer satisfaction.”
“ The Smoot Corporation exem
plifies the type of company we enjoy
working with,” said Dave Lindsey,
Nordstrom’s vice president of store
planning. “ They stress integrity, qual
ity, and good service, and we’re look
ing forward to the project.”
Under the contract, Smoot’s work
will double the size of Nordstrom’s
existing distribution center in Upper
Marlboro’s Collington Center. Ground
breaking for the project is anticipated
this month. The distribution center
addition is a critical element in Nord
strom’s expansion efforts in Maryland,
where the retailer will be building stores
in Towson Town Center in 1992 and
Annapolis Mall in 1993.
The nation’s largest fashion spe
cialty retailer, Seattle-based Nordstrom
currently maintains 68 stores in nine
states. The Smoot Corporation is one
of the largest 100 percent minority-
owned construction companies in the
country.
Host Sells Its First Two Homes in
Northeast Portland
The new year looks promising for
the non-profit group HOST! Home
Ownership a Street at a Time (HOST)
has sold its first two homes on their
project street in Northeast Portland-
4006 N.E. 9th and 910 N.E. Shaver. As
a private, non-profit organization, HOST
has been working to create affordable
home ownership opportunities for low
to moderate income families. The sell
ing of these two homes marks the suc
cess HOST hopes will continue through
out the year.
The first home, located at 4006
N.E. 9th, was sold to Ann J. (Jude)
Cornwell. Her new 1,458 sq.ft, home
has three bedrooms, one bath with fea
tures such as leaded glass detail, refin-
ished hardwood floors, a newly remod
eled kitchen, and a full basement.
Raised in Northeast Portland,
Cornwell is excited about being able to
own a home. “ It’s been a great oppor
tunity to be able to buy a house,” she
said. “ It’s wonderful to sec the neigh
borhood being restored. Neighbors have
told me they like hearing the sounds of
rebuilding (from the work on other
HOST projects),” she said. “ It has
brought a sense of rejuvenation to the
area.”
The second HOST home sold is
located on 910 N.E. Shaver, just across
the street from 4006 N.E. 9th. Sold to
Barbara Dumas, the 1,120 sq.ft, home
has two bedrooms, one bath, with fca-
tures that include stained glass cabinet
fronts, top-of-the-line bath and kitchen
fixtures, built-in range/oven and dish
washer, and a washer/dryer in a sepa
rate laundry room. This was HOST’S
very first remodeled house and was
donated by the Oregon Remodelers
Association.
Dumas has been a longtime resi
dent of the area and it’s her first time
owning a home. “ My kids were bom
around the corner from here more than
twenty years ago,” said Dumas. “ I like
the house, but I’m still adjusting to the
move.”
According to Jerry Mason, owner
of Westland Property and HOST board
member, “ Host’s strategy is to reha
bilitate houses on both sides of a street,
one block long and establish a suppor
tive environment for homeowners.
Homes arc priced affordably (most at
$49,000 or less) and come with attrac
tive financing plans for low monthly
payments.”
HOST’s plan has been generated
by professionals from the housing in
dustry-realtors, builders, and lendcrs-
who believe that home ownership is the
foundation upon which strong neigh
borhoods arc built and sustained. The
goal is to set an example for private
industry and begin a momentum to
revitalize depressed neighborhoods
through responsible private investment
and redevelopment.
Attorney at Law
Civil & Family Law
Chapter 7 & 13
Bankruptcy
Licensed To:
Assist you with your legal concerns
Protect your legal rights
Convenient Lloyd Center Location
2161 N.E. Broadway
Portland, Oregon 97232
282-7285
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