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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 1992)
February 1 2 ,1992...The Portland Observer...Page 3 Free Health Screening Offered This Way for Black Empowerment: Matters of Life and Death its (and death). It is no secret that, w ith very few exceptions, the politicians who run our country do so on behalf o f Big Busi ness. The politicians o f the m ajor par ties-Dem ocrats as w ell as Republi cans—are mostly puppets whose strings are pulled by the richest o f the rich. Senator Tom Harkin o f Iowa, fo r ex ample, who poses as the most liberal o f the Democratic rivals for George Bush’s place in the White House, receives more money from political action com m it tees representing the medical industry than anyone else in the Senate except for the right w ing senator from Utah, O rrin Hatch. He and his kind are paid to w orry about the health o f the insurance conglomerates, the pharmaceutical companies, and the American Medical A sso ciatio n-no t the tens o f m illions o f Americans who don’t have health in the costs o f providing health insurance for many o f his employees in his chain o f fast food restaurants back home in Nebraska. (Kerrey is the racisl-in-popu- list-clothing who makes fun o f Vice President Quayle—an easy target for pseudo-liberals-for having said that a “ help wanted” sign in a Burger King proved that the economy is on the mend. What the American people need, says M r. Kerrey, are go-somewhere careers in high tech industries. What he means is that it may be okay fo r Black folks to be serving hamburgers for the m in i mum wage into the 21st century, but w hite people need real jobs.) Although a national health care b ill has been sitting in the Democratic Party-controlled Congress for 27 years, i t ’ s never even made it to the flo o r o f the House. Despite the fact that 80% o f the American people want a national health plan, we don’ t have one. Why? Because the politicians who run Am er ica aren’t interested. They do have a big interest in the m ilita ry industry, however; more than h alf the members o f the Senate have major investments in the armaments business. For 40-years they and their buddies got away w ith spending tr il lions o f dollars to ‘ ‘defend’ ’ us against the “ great menace” o f the Soviet Union. But that “ menace” was really just an excuse fo r a handful o f fat cats to get even fatter at our expense. The truth is that people (unlike corporate profiteers) don ’ t get any thing out o f the m ilita ry industry. Tanks, guns, missiles, bomber planes and bombs aren’t socially productive; they don’ t create more jobs, they don’t make anyone healthier; better fed or clothed or housed. They don’ t enable people to express their love for other human beings, their ideas, or their talent. They destroy, they cripple and k ill, and then they rot surance. Senator Bob Kerrey says the words “ national health insurance” every time he opens his m o u th -b u t refuses to pay into dust. Every now and then the U.S. gov ernment makes wars for the purpose o f heating up the economy, b ut’s like BY DR. LENORA FULANI This past Sunday night the five white men who call themselves “ real” Democrats and say they are the ones we can count on to turn this country around appeared on a televised debate to tell the people o f New Hampshire--who w ill vote in the country’ s first prim ary on February 18~w hy they are qualified to lead this country. But they only succeeded in proving that they are hypocrites and cowards who couldn’t lead the way out o f a potato sack. They don’ t understand anything at all about the Am erican economy and why it is dying, so they have no idea how to revive it. The only thing that can bring America back to life econom ically is democracy. The reason is that when ordinary people—not profit-m inded corporate bigshots and the professional politicians who are beholden to them— determine what the social priorities are, they choose people (and life) over p ro f applying electricity to the heart o f some one w ho’ s already dead-you may get a few pulse beats, but no life. For more than a generation the tw o major parties tried to terrorize us w ith “ The Russians are com ing” threats. But that was just an excuse fo r shelving the production o f health care, educa tion, housing, clean air and water, and everything else that people need to live decent and productive lives; instead we got m ilitary destruction, and the m ur der o f the Am erican economy, and a ll along the killers have been sitting right up there in the state houses, on C apitol H ill, and in the W hite H ouse-and now some o f them have the nerve to te ll us to our faces that they’ re the ones who can lead us to the promised land. But they aren’t qualified. T hey’ re the ones who took us into the desert W hile these men were sitting up in a television studio lying to the people o f New Hampshire, I was outside (in zero-degree weather) leading a m u lti racial democracy picket o f 400 people who were protesting m y exclusion from the debate. On the eve o f the celebra tion o f the birthday o f Dr. M artin L u ther K ing, Jr., these white men who claim to be leaders (and who had, on or o ff the record, said that they thought I should be included) had crossed our picket line-because not one o f them had the guts to take my hand and escort me inside-the only A frican American and the only woman running fo r presi dent o f the United States in the Dem o cratic Party prim ary. There’s more to being a leader than saying you are one. That’ s a fact o f p olitical life that the Am erican people need to learn. D r. Lenora F ula ni is the chairper son o f the New Alliance P arty and a practicing social therapist in Harlem. She can be contacted at the New A lli ance Party, 2032 F ifth Avenue, New York, NY 10035 and at (212) 996-4700. The hospitals and health care or ganizations o f Legacy Health System invites area seniors (age 55+) to attend a FREE H E A LT H SCREENING. The screening provides numerous im por tant health tests and services, includ ing: blood test (cholesterol, blood sugar and others), general physical assess ment by nurses, blood pressure, dental and oral cancer check, vision and glau coma check, hearing test, lung health check, nutrition counseling, breast cancer self-examination instructions, colorec tal cancer screening, and others. For those desiring the fu ll blood test, it is suggested you arrive in a fasting state-no food or drink (except water and medications) fo r the previ ous 12 hours. Known diabetics should follow their regular eating schedule. Screenings are conducted weekly at different locations throughout the Portland Metropolitan area. Please call W inetla Soderlind, R.N., at 241-3478 to obtain a schedule o f screening dates and locations. In Oregon and across the country, groups o f men are gathering to chant, drum and talk about issues close to their hearts. They’re part o f the new “ men’s movement.” Is this merely a fad? O r a serious inward exploration by men similar to the women’s movement o f the 1960’s? The men’ s movement has many facets: it includes elements o f spiritual ity , healing, male bonding and even feminism. Men in this movement ex pect resistance. They expect skepticism and even anxiety. They believe some women w ill be threatened by this new empowerment o f men. They suspect that many men are not yet ready to confront their feelings o f isolation, and may mock those who do. The men’s movement has lofty goals: to make men more “ human ” ; to enable men to be more creative and less de structive; to merge their personal and Quick Relief at Filing Time Attorney at Law filing ! Contact one o f the many tax pro fessionals in your community who are accepted by the 1RS as electronic filers. They w ill help you process your tax return fast and accurately. 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