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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 29, 1995)
29, 1995 • Tur M arch P age P ori la n d O bserver A4 The State Of the Nation III: Meals On Wheels -For Corporations m P rof . Mt K im fa B i hi As stated b\ Davis Sarasohn, associate editor o f The Oregonian, ‘the Republicans have gone deeply into the catering business, but chil dren aren’t who they are catering to....N ew t Gingrich was the attrac tion o f a S50,000-a-plate dinner (sm oked salm on, rack ot lamb, cappuccino tortes) to raise money for a conservative TV network. Sarasohn continues: “The din ner was reported to bring in S3 50,000, o f which S 100,000 was tax deduct ible — costing the government about $40,000, or enough macaroni and cheese to fill several elem entary schools or the Capitol...later that month Sen Phi Gramm, R. lexas, held a dinner in Dallas that raised $4.1 million, the most any American politician ever raised at a single meal - not counting tips," Certainly , that should gain a lot o f high level tax cuts as well as ex pand a number o f industry subsidies as the Republicans pay back these contributions to their 1996campaign coffers. Has anyone noticed that a large part o f the spending in the W 1C Program (W omen, Infants AndC hil- dren) is on baby formula. Three drug companies had 90° o o f the formula market, but in 1989 Congress re quired open bidding. As a result, the savings amount to $ 1 billion a year or enough to feed another million babies. But now , Sarasohn reports in the House wel fare bill W1C becomes a block grant with No Competitive Bidding! In other words, they just took the wheels o ff the kiddies meals. And does this caper strike another familiar chord? Remember a decade ago w hen a big Belgian manufacturer o f infant for- mula(w ho also markets in the United States) drew world-wide attention and boycotts when they began satu rating the African and Asian markets w ith infant formula? The W orld Health Organization (W HO) had to intervene because without their mothers milk and the immunizing hormones and nutrients, the babies became sickly and mal nourished. It was a horrible scandal but was only highly publicized in Europe. W onder why? We note that the plump, well-fed messrs Gingrich, Gramm and Dole seem not to have missed a meal, nutrient or hormone - - nor a single campaign contribution from these big international drug companies with their interlocking directorships. And we have another black sit com competing for our attent ion; A Ian Keyes, the African American talk show host from Washington D.C. has announced candidacy for the GOP nomination for president. The far out Right-winger is author o f the contro versial book, "M aste rs O f The Dream: The strength and Betray al of Black America” . This Harvard Uni versity graduate has pushed all the right conservative buttons ever since - except one. His 1992 Republican Senate Campaign fizzled when it was discovered he was siphoning o ff8000 a month for himself. However, the wheels may be running off some ot the Republican campaign vehicles. The LA Times - Washington Post Service reports that a coalition o f Moderate Republicans and conservative Democrats say they will block the House G O P ’s S I 88 billion tax package unless the tax cuts are linked to progress on reduc ing the deficit. Also some fiscally responsible (sane) Republicans are trying to scale back the limit of S200.000 for a proposed S500-per- child tax credit. First we found that "Johnny can't read" — now, we find that "he can’t count." As o f W ednesday, a week ago, that ridiculous attempt to amend the constitution to require a balanced budget was defeated in the Senate. It seems unbelievable that we elect grow n men and women to administer our affairs, and then they decide that they are irresponsible children and must be forbidden by law to spend money which they do not have. Per haps such a rule should be part of all marriage contracts. May be have the court take away the offenders credit card. For 200 years the nation has avoided class warfare, now? Kitzhaber: A Shining Democrat Continued from front __ \ip p r O & r t h i t y to our loving Freida Murray from your family. w hile his frien d s w allo w ed in c o n fu sio n , w o n d e rin g w hat had gone w rong. "M y m edical c o lle a g u e s w ere p re tty a sto u n d e d ,” he recalled . But he has su rp rise d his n w ith a string o f e le c to ria l su ccesses. Any d isa p p o in tm e n t so far? "I g u e ss,” he said, flip ping his hand th ro u g h his g r e y - f lic k e r e d m o u s ta c h e . “ My b ig g e st d isa p p o in tm e n t are the peo p le w ho 1 have e n c o u n te re d from tim e to tim e, th a t are so co n cern ed about g e ttin g re -e le cte d that they fo rg et w hat they w ere elected for in the first place, he s a i d , w ith o u t g iv in g nam es. K itzh ab er has been able to fu lfill his dream o f being g o v ern o r w hile fully being aw are how an e le c tio n defeat could knock him out o f p o li Tiernan Denies Racism Continued from front a b le d . L a st w e e k , T ie rn a n u p se t lib e ra l P o rtla n d D e m o c ra t R ep. A vel G ordly by th ro w in g her te s tim o n y on a b ill re g a rd in g the re tire m e n t age o f ju d g e s in to the g a rb a g e . It ig n ite d a h e a te d re sp onse from th e D e m o c ra ts' ow n f ir e - b r a n d , M a r g a r e t C a r te r . C a rte r re p re se n ts in n er no rth and n o rth e a s t P o rtla n d . She a c c u se d T ie rn a n o f ra c ism and o f a ru d e a ttitu d e and d e m a n d e d th a t he be c e n su re d by the L e g isla tiv e b o d y . G o rd ly ask ed fo r a p u b lic a p o lo g y . T ie rn a n L e g is la tiv e A s s is ta n t S c o tt T ie rn a n , c a lle d the d e m a n d s p o litic a lly - m o tiv a te d o v e r th e a f f i r m a t i v e a c tio n , sta n c e . B ut C a rte r to ld th e P o rtla n d O b se rv e r she w as o n ly re sp o n d -, in g to T i e r n a n 's a c tio n s she. c a lle d " o u tr a g e o u s , u n p r o f e s sio n a l and irre s p o n s ib le ." G o rd ly to ld th e O b s e rv e r th a t T ie r n a n 's le g is la tiv e sty le w as a rro g a n t and a b ra s iv e , sa y ing he n e e d s to be h eld a c c o u n t ab le fo r h is irre s p o n s ib le c o n d u c t. "T h e issu e here is T ie r n a n 's b e h a v io r, a p a tte rn o f b e h a v io r th a t n e e d s to be c h a n g e d ,” G o rd ly said. In a n o th e r d e v e lo p m e n t, T ie rn a n has a sk e d for a p u b lic a p o lo g y fro m C a rte r, c la im in g her c o m p la in t w as c o m p le te ly u n fo u n d e d an d q u e s tio n e d w h e th e r she w as a ra c ist. He v e h e m e n tly d e n ie d b e ing a ra c ist. T ie rn a n to ld th e P o rtla n d O b se rv e r h is to u g h sta n d s on th e issu es has m ake p e o p le th in k o th e rw ise . “ I am su re w hen th e y find o u t w h at I h av e d o n e , p e o p le w ill have a c h a n g e o f m in d ," T ie rn a n said . W atch ers o f the O reg o n L eg is la tu re have d e s c rib e d T ie r n a n 's sty le as to o te n a c io u s and o fte n very o ffe n siv e . B ut H o u se A ssista n t M a jo r ity L e a d e r E ile e n Q u tu b o f W a sh in g to n C o u n ty , d isa g re e s. H e ’s been “c o u rte o u s, a tte n tive and re sp e c tfu l, said E ileen Q utub, a R ep u b lican from B ea Les Allan (left) and Willie Huntington find time to relax with agame of doo I at the North/Northeast Loaves and Fishes Center at 5325 (Photo by Donn Thomas) N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Statement By Grant McElroy "Senator Mark Hatfield and his colleagues who voted today against the Balanced Budget Amendment should be commended for their cou rageous action Though the Amend ment was nothing more than a gim mick designed to lead the American people into thinking that Congress was doing something about the defi cit, it was still a difficult amendment to oppose "By casting his votes against this measure. Senator Mark Hatfield today has guaranteed that O rego nians' Social Security contributions will not be used for any other purpos es than the one for which they were intended. To help senior citizens in their retirement year "Proponents ot the Balanced Budget Amendment will probably try to use this vote for political pur poses and they may also attempt to resurrect the measure time and again But the truth is the American people have a right to know which programs will becut. Advertise In ^(.lortkinò (Observer Call 503-288-0033 his state home. (Editor's note: The Port land Observer recently had an exclusive interview with Gov. John Kitzhaber. This is the fir s t part o f a special se ries.) Oregon Experiment in Welfare Reform Studied 8 9 o it t o 1. V IS A CARD You can now get your own VISA CARD i f t / o u V u u f / la d .- • BAD CREDIT • NO CREDIT Sabrían Grant James Wilson Owner Manager BRINA’S SWAP MARKET 503/285-3511 • Clothing • Batteries • Foot Wear • Womens Apparel Mens Apparel • Hair Products 1 Beauty Products » Miscellaneous Items 1206 N. Killingsworth • Portland, Oregon 97211 domly selected for placement into subsidized, private-sector jobs in lieu o f being given food stamps and other welfare compensation. The jobs are to last six months. If a participant hasn't been give a full time, unsubsidized jo b by the end o f the six months, that person has an other three months to continue his or her existing job and can get time off to look for unsubsidized jobs. As conditions o f the program, participants earn at least minimum wage and take home as least as much money as they would if they were on public assistance. In addi tion, each partic ipant has a co-work er who serves as a mentor to help provide career and other long-term guidance. Researchers want to find out what happens to participants once they being working a jo b and no longer receive public assistance. They also want to see if Jobs Plus members remain employed after taking part in the program. "The whole notion o f welfare reform and its impact upon citizens and taxpayers is important to all of us," said James Ward, dean o f the PSU G raduate School o f Social Work. A team o f researchers ai Port land State University is embarking on a five-year, $2.1 million evalua tion o f a new state w elfare program that requires persons to give up food stamps and other welfare ben efits for jobs. The Oregon Jobs Plus program, started last year, could serve as a national model for social welfare reform across the country. "This kind o f program is a mod el for the direction of social welfare reform in this country ." said W ill iam Feyerherm, director o f the Re gional Research Institute at PSU. The team will survey the pro gram ’s effectiveness in four o f the six Oregon counties participating in the p ro g ra m , W a sh in g to n , Clackamas, M alheur and Lincoln counties. They will follow about 1,000 Jobs Plus program participants, comparing the program 's effective ness with 1,000 persons who enter a totally separate, federal-and-state welfare-to-work program that em phasizes job training while allow ing for continued public assistance and access to food stamps. Under the Jobs Plus program, public assistance recipients are ran verton. tics. But a d ju stin g to the se c u rity and c o n fin e m e n t o f being a g o v e rn o r is not easy for him . Though he agreed to the pro tection o f state troopers, he anx iously tries to bring some sem blance o f a more simple accom modation. not the mansion that is Senate President Gordon Smith, P-Pendleton (far left), and other lawmakers are confronted by reporters in the halls of the Capitol in Salem. The Legislature in Oregon convenes every two years. (Photo by Donn Thomas) • BANKRUPTCY • LOW INCOME C om plete, sign and mail the A pplication/ A greement below to; A m erican State Bank 2737 NE Martin Luther King Blvd. Portland, Oregon 97212 2. Be sure to in c lu d e yo u r m oney order or personal check in U.S. dollars tor $625.00 or more (in increm ents of $600) made payable to A m erican State Bank. R eceipt ot funds opens a savings account in your name. Each in c re m e n t o f $ 6 0 0 .0 0 d e p o site d in your savings account establishes a $500 line ot credit for you. 3. Your new VISA card will arrive within three weeks. If your request is denied for any rea son, you will receive all your money back, including the $25.00 application fee. v O n y Q p e o tio tu .' Call our Bankcard Department (503) 282-2216. _____________ »cau« 1 P a r m e Pee »15; Aeaiad MeoWarWup Fat »43. CaaP A d r a te Fat 15 or 3 » aturham a p o u r O w Ttu U m : Fet »15 Orata Period 25 dart. * « w » me »»«n»» <Milv bdaaca malhod io comptât iba I •■ C U R E D VISA APPLICA TIO N / SAVING S ACCOUNT AGREEM ENT Name: Address State City: — Zip Work Phone (. Home Phone (- Birthdate Social Security Number Name of Employer:----- M v check of (not I« « than S62S 0 0 ) — ----------------------------------- “ t „ Y m I want to open a V IS A account I understand Uut dw intaraal savin( < account at American Stale Bank w ill collateral (or my Secured V IS A account and i i fully tnaurad by F D IC Signature Date American State Bank. Portland, Oregon • Member FDIC ÔS
