P age
A pril
B6
It is absolutely intrinsic that you
should read the U.S. C onstitution.
This should be done w ith the intent to
understand the contents o f this unique
document. What you w ill find is that
we have a form o f government that is
three dimensional by C onstitutional
design: The Executive, Judaical, and
legislative. This form is the best that
a country can have, and once you
understand how this government op
erates, it w ill m ystify and delight you.
The fo llo w in g is a paragon as to
why you should read the U.S. C onsti
tution. The U.S. went to the gold
standardin 1933,and, in 1968,money
backed by silvercertificates, was w ith
drawn from the market. W hat hap
pened in this case is that Congress
violated the U.S. Constitution by turn
ing over money coinage to the Federal
Reserve banks and not having it
backed by silver an gold. (See the
coinage A ct o f 1792 which declares
that gold and sliver are to be the
money o f accountof the United States.)
Take the case o f Lew is vs. United
States, 680 F. 2D 1239 (1982), The
United States C ourt o f Appeals, the
N inth C ircu it. This court made the
fo llo w in g ruling: “ We conclude after
exam ining the facts that the Federal
Reserve Banks are not a part o f the
United States government. They are
privately owned, locally controlled
corporations. The General Account
ing O ffice o f the United Sate does not
have ju risd ictio n over the Federal
Reserve Banks. Therefore, this w rite r
is o f the opinion that your federal
government should be in charge o f
the coinage o f money and to some
private corporation which the A m e ri
can lax payers have no control over.”
It should be understood by the
readers o f this journal that private
corporations are in business to make
money. However, i f p ro fit is the mo
tive, you can be assured that their
interests come first, and they have to
keep their stockholders happy.
I am not against p ro fit-m a kin g ,
because that’ s the “ Am erican way,
and I believe in the free enterprise
system; i t ’ s the best, bar none; but do
not run over the tax payers’ constitu
tional rights to private corporations.
Areyouaware that inflation could
be brought to an abrupt halt in America
overnight i f this country went back to
the gold standard, take a look at what
has happened since 1968. When the
money that was backed by sliver cer
tificates was w ithdraw n from the
market, inflation has continued to
aggrandize year by year.
I f we d o n ’ t go back to the
s ilv e r and g o ld c e rtific a te s s ta n
dard in th is c o u n try , by the year
2001, a c c o rd in g to p ro je c tio n s o f
the U .S. G o v e rn m e n t fig u re s , a o f
p ou nd h a m b u rg e r w i ll s e ll fo r
$ 1 0 .5 0 p e r p ound, a s im p le dress
th a t sells fo r $ 6 0 .0 0 in 1980 w i ll
se ll fo r $ 27 5.0 0 by the year 2001,
and a house th a t costs $ 75 ,0 0 0 in
1980 w i ll have p ric e tag on i t th a t
w i ll be lit e r a lly a s to u n d in g at
$ 60 0,0 0 0.
In general, we should be able to
cope quite w ell in such an economic
climate. Salaries are expected to keep
pace w ith the cost o f liv in g , easing the
Crime Stoppers
Case For The Week Of April 11, 1994: RAPE
The Beaverton Police Depart
ment, incoopcration w ith Crim e Stop
pers, is asking fo r your help in solving
a rape case.
On Tuesday, March 22,1994, at
approximately noon, a 20-year-old
w hite female was jogging southbound
on SW 170th, from SW M erio,o n the
east side o f the roadway, when a
subject approached from behind and
put his left hand over her face. The
suspect then held a blued steel semi
automatic handgun to the v ic tim ’ s
side and forced her into a nearby
wooded area where he raped her.
The suspect is described as a
w hite male, m id -2 0 ’ s, 5 ’ 8" ta ll, w ith
a medium b uild, short dark brown
hair, and tw o to three day’ s growth o f
beard. A composite drawing is a vail
able. A t the tim e, the suspect was
wearing a black baseball cap, black
letterm an type jacket, bl ue jeans, black
tennis shoes, and had on a “ C ool
A cell phone company run by
high school students and a model o f
future schools already at w o rk .....
Portland has the ju m p on C lin to n ’s
education plans. A congressional hear
ing held on Thursday (A p ril 7) showed
what Portland is already doing to
connect schools w ith careers o f the
future. How school-to-work programs
move students from school to the
adult w orkforce is the subject o f the
hearing at the Portland C ity H all
C o u n cil Chambers. Congressman
Ron W yden and representatives from
Oregon’ s Department o f Education,
J ames L. P osey
press o f inflation. For example, the
secretarial job that paid $11,000 per
year in 1980 is expected to command
a whopping salary o f $45,000 by the
year 2001. A factory w orker who
made about $25,000 in 1980 m ight
expect to hold a sim ilar jo b paying
about $98,000. A high School teacher,
whose salary is around $15,000 now,
w ill be paid $58,000. O f course there
w ill be others who w ill do better or
worse, depending on how much fore
sight they show in the choice o f their
careers.
You m ight ask what is the point
the author is trying to make? I t ’ s as
simple as this: There w ill be more
poverty and jobs lost in the future i f
we don’ t go back to a monetary sys
tem that is backed up by sliver and
gold where by we can compete in the
w orld markets. This should be kept in
mind. I f the U.S. currency went back
on gold standards, your standard o f
liv in g could not decrease; it would
increase.
The m oral o f this story is that the
next time you think o f voting fo r a
politician, try to fin d out where he or
she understands the U.S. C onstitu
tion and particularly the Coinage A c t
o f 1792, which declared gold and
silver to be the money o f account o f
the United States. A lso fin d out i f this
person understands how A rtic le 1,
Section 10 o f the U.S. affects the
citizens o f the state he or she repre
sents.
I f the elected o ffic ia ls do not
properly understand this document,
how are they going to properly repre
sent your interests?
St. Johns Parade
Committee
The St. Johns Parade Com m ittee
is pleased to present the 32nd Annual
St. Johns Parade Saturday, M ay 7th,
from 12 noon to 2:00pm . Starting at
N. B urr traveling weston N. Lom bard
thru downtown St. Johns turning right
at N. New Y o rk and disbanding at N.
St. Johns street next to St.Johns Park.
Please come and be a part o f “ Our
Children O ur Future” .
In the Cities T hird Largest Pa
rade w ith lots o f floats, bands, clowns,
and the firs t appearance o f 1994 Jun
ior and Senior Rose Festival Court.
VVliat: 32nd Annual St. Johns
Composite of rape suspect
Parade
W hen: Saturday M ay 7th, Noon
Water type cologne.
Crim e S toppers is offering a cash
reward o f up to $1,000 fo r inform a
tion, reported to Crim e Stoppers, that
leads to an arrest in this case, or any
unsolved felony crime, and you need
not give your name. C all Crim e Stop
pers at (503)823-HELP.
to 2:00pm
W here: Starting at N. B urr trav
eling west on N. Lombard
Them e: “ Our C hildren Our Fu
Feds Come To Portland
Schools For A Look At The Future
W orkforce Q uality C ouncil and local
businesses discussed state efforts to
create school-to-work programs.
Portland Public Schools presents
tw o innovative programs: the Busi
ness P a rtn e rs h ip s tra te g y and
Roosevelt Renaissance 2000.
Representatives from the U.S.
departments o f Education and Labor
discussed new federal school-to-work
legislation and how Portland (and
other Oregon programs) fits into the
adm inistration’ s goals.
P ortland O bserver
Killing Us By The Numbers
The Key To Liberty Can Be
Found In The U.S. Constitution
m O mari K enyatta , J.D.
13, 1994 • T he
ture”
G ra n d M a rs h a ll: Ray Lamb
im 1 HPIB I■11111(11
■.-■VS ,4 i
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FEW WEEKS AGO MY
DAUGHTER, A COL-
LEGE STUDENT IN
ALABAMA, INFORMED ME
THAT SHE GOT A “D” IN HER
CALCULUSCLASS.SHETRIED
TO CHEER ME UP BY TALKING
ABOUT HOW WELL SHE HAD
DONE IN THE REST OF HER
CLASSES. BUT SHE KNEW I
WOULD NOT EASILY GET
OVER THIS DISAPPOINTMENT.
I ’ m disappointed because I have
this great sense that Black peoples’
ina bility to deal w ith mathematics is
k illin g us as surely as the rampaging
use o f crack cocaine. O ur lack o f
understanding and appreciation fo r
how it affects our daily lives is devas
tating. There is no question that A f r i
can-Americans continue to receive
second class education in a ll areas.
But to continue to allow ourselves to
be deficient in this critical, life-sustain
ing subject is nothing short o f suicide.
Now you don ’ t have to be a m ath
ematical genius to see the hand w rit
ing on the w idls. Math is the underlin
ing foundation fo r nearly every a ctiv
ity in business life. So i t ’s not so
surprising, as it is tragic, that the
numbers don’ t look good for Blacks
in virtua lly every category. Justcheck
out one o f the few good works which
lay out the numbers on B lack life : the
National Urban League’ s annual sta
tus rep ort, “ The State o f B la c k
Am erica.” This report illustrates, in
most cases in simple arithm etic, the
fact that A frica n-A m erican s a in ’ t
doing so good.
In economic terms, we seem to
have a particular problem w ith addi
tions and m ultiplications; by default,
we are inclined to accept subtractions
and divisions. For example, over the
last 10 years, Blacks, in comparison
to whites and other m inorities, have
not gained in overall capital invest
ments in areas such as real estate. N or
have we significantly m u ltip lie d our
earning capacity. Indeed, during this
same period, we have lost ground in
the numbers o f Black corporate ex
ecutives and in Blacks liv in g above
the poverty line.
Check out the state o f Black edu
cation in Portland. C ertainly I ’ m no
expert, but it should be obvjous that
there is a direct connection between
how extensively one uses math skills
in their chosen career and personal
life and how much money one earns.
T ry this. V isualize the area high
schools and th ink about their special
ize areas. For example, Benson is
recognized in the technical areas, in
electronics, medical careers, etc. From
what I understand, Cleveland is a
magnet school fo r business careers.
Now unless I ’ m mistaken, most
Black youth attend the schools w ith a
general curriculum o r w ith emphasis
on dance, entertainment or the arts. I
know the schools must strive to m ain
tain strong academic programs in all
disciplines. However, in comparison
to schools w ith strong math-based
programs, the message is real clear
that Blacks are not encouraged to
focus on those areas. This situation
has not changed since slavery. Even
in schools where there is a strong
emphasis on math-based disciplines,
I ’d be surprised i f Black students
represent significant numbers.
N ot o nly are the higher paying
jobs based on the use o f math skills,
they also have the best prospects for
future long term employment. In other
words, people who have good math
ski 11s can almost al ways get a jo b or be
trained fo r a better one.
A nd its not just about jobs. The
conditioning o f Blacks to avoid com
petencies in mathematics is used to
econom ically oppress and deny us
opportunities a ll over the place. As
M alcolm said, w e’ve been had, hood
winked and bamboozled. Blacks arc
subjected to all manner o f fraud and
m anipulation by the numbers and in
disproportion to the rest o f the popu
One Stop Shopping
For Energy
The Department o f Energy now
provides one-stop shopping fo r people
who need inform ation on energy e ffi
ciency and renewable energy tech
nologies.
The newly-named Energy E ffi
ciency and Renewable Energy Clear
inghouse (ERC) now handles inq uir-
ics ranging from simple requests fo r
fact sheets, videos, and brochures, to
com plex technical inquiries at one
toll-free number, 1-800-523-2929.
The clearinghouse resulted from
the consolidation o f the Conservation
and Renewable Energy In q u iry and
Referral service (C A R EIR S) and the
N ational Appropriate T echnology
Assistance Service (N A T A S ).
Wigland
One of the Northwest Largest Wig Displays
Wigs and Hairpieces For all Nationalities
E va G abor
N aomi S ims
R enee of P aris
SyntheLc & Human Hair
For Braiding & Weeving
In addition to general inform a
tion inquires, the clearinghouse pro
vides tailored responses to technical
inquiries and business assistance on
financing fo r energy-related busi
nesses.
Plans are in the w orks to add
service for the hearing impaired and
com m unication through internet, a
world-widecom putercomm unication
network.
lation.
That is w hy the Oregonian news-
paper can w rite a g lo w in g editorial
about how w ell the Blazer Arena
Project has done in using m in ority
contractors and employees w ithout
actually checking out w hat’s really
behind the numbers. W ho is like ly to
challenge the only daily paper in town,
not to mention questioning the pow
erful B lazer organization? Surely, not
those Blacks who are most adversely
affected, in part because they are less
like ly to understand the convoluted
statistics.
And speaking o f newspapers, a
few weeks ago, Angela W ilson at the
Skannerchastised me forplaying what
she called the “ numbers’ game” in
one o f m y articles about Black fronts.
She inferred that it did not make any
difference whether a business is 51 %-
or 100%-owned by Blacks i f neither
is contributing back to the com m u
nity. W e ll o f course no one could
argue against that assertion. I hope
Angela w ill come to realize that this
not a game, but it is about numbers. I
hope she w ill take tim e to figure the
lin k between the percentage o f m i
nority-ow ned businesses and their
practices o f contributing back. Here
again, the numbers w ill speak fo r
themselves.
Some Blacks don’ t have the nec
essary math background to form ulate
their own bids or to make the critica l
calculations to run their businesses.
They become overly dependent on
other groups who have the higher
math abilities and other educational
proficiency. This dependency makes
it easy to ju s tify fronting and a ll man
ner o f compromising postures. Apply
this interdependency to nearly every
facet o f Black life and realize the
scope o f the problem. Yes, it is about
the numbers, both quantity and qual
ity. W ith o ut them, w e’ re dead.
James Posey is a small business
owner w ith a background in social
w ork and com m unity activism.
Advertize
In
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(©Hseruer
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in the African-American Studies Section
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Saturday 10 - 5:30 pm
Near Lloyd Center
282-1664
1105
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