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J une 12, 1996 • Tin P ortland O bserver
Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily
Reflect Or Represent The Views O f
The JJortlaitb © bscruer
s the institutional lead-
ership of th is nation
creeps closer and closer
to finally passing a minimum wage
increase for hard-working, low-
paid Americans, JaxFax would
like to take a look at the develop
ment of the minimum w a g e /”liv-
Ing wage" movement, which illu
minates some important truths
about our political system.
First o f all, the drive for a minimum
wage increase was "bottom-up, not to-
do wn." Newt Gingrich had his Armey;
but in this case, the people had their
own arm y-over 80% o f all voters
support a minimum wage increase
But because our political elites
take most o f their cues from the
monied special interests-and here
JaxFax is not talking about just the
right-w ingers-the institutional lead
ership o f the country ignored the
strong public support for a living
wage for years.
After all, to the 1% o f Americans
who own 42% o f the nation’s wealth-
-and who make most o f the big cam
paign contributions—li ving wages are
not a major concern. And to the
500,000 families (1/2 o f 1% o f all
II.S. families), who own 29% of
America's wealth, living wages are a
minor issue.
Not so for the maids who change
their bedsheets; the gardeners who
plant the flowers at their mansions;
the cooks who prepare their daily
meals—to these working people, and
tom illionsjust like them, living wag
es can make the difference between
holding a family together or plung
ing deeper into poverty and despair.
And that’s the second key point-this
issue connects with real people.
C O A L IT IO N
A Living Wage
I he truth is. most poor people are
not on w elfare-they work every day.
Most poor people are white, young,
female, children At $4.25 per hour,
these working poor cannot even main
tain and income above the poverty
line. The hard-working Americans
are playing by the rules, but the game
is stacked against them Raising the
minimum wage to provide a living
income for families is the least we
can do to level the playing field o f
opportunity in this nation.
There are a variety o f local activ
ists forcing this living wage issue
onto the public policy agenda, in
cluding New Party, ACORN. IAF,
SEIU, Teamsters, CWA, and other
key unions. In many cities and coun
ties, these activists are successfully
organizing to win the approval o f
their city and county councils, and in
Baltimore and Milwaukee have al
ready succeeded. In other key cities
and states, these activist groups are
taking the case for a living wage
directly to the voters using local bal
lot initiative laws to place a series of
living wage initiatives on this No
vember’s ballot.
The idea behind the living wage is
simple, and just—any corporation that
receives a public subsidy from a city
or state should be required to pay its
w orkers a living w a g e -a t least
enough money per hour to bring a
fam i ly o f four up to the poverty level.
I he NRC stands in support o f the
living wage. JaxFax encourages Rain
bow supporters to assist the passage
of these living wage legislative and
ballot initiatives in the following cit
ies and states: Chicago; Houston;
Minneapolis/St. Paul; Denver; Al
buquerque; Washington, D.C.; New
Orleans: Boston; Los Angeles; New
York City; Jersey City; Nassau Coun
ty; California: Missouri; Montana;
and Oregon.
A third point concerning the liv
ing wage idea, a point which goes to
the heart o f the public policy agenda
in this nation-our ideas are often
popular! An increase in the mini
mum wage is supported by the vast
majority o f Americans, despite op
position from the GOP leadership,
elite economists, and powerful busi
ness interests.
We can push our own progressive
agenda on many issues, and the vot
ers will pass it! Our side has done this
successfully in recent years with cam
paign finance reform, bypassing a
Congress gridlocked by special in
terest money and going directly to
the voters. This year we can do the
same with the living wage issue.
The pundits in recent weeks have
given m uch cred it to Senators
Kennedy and Daschle, and to Labor
Secretary Reich, for their leadership
on the minimum wage increase. They
deserve credit. To a large extent,
however, the living wage is the brain
child o f Jackson '88 Labor Desk
Coordinator, and current New Party
head organizer, Dan Cantor For lit
erally years now, Cantor has been
making a consistent argument over
and over, which is being put into
action in these ballot initiatives, and
has thus crept up the ladder from the
grassroots to the Democrats in Con
gress!
Cantor's argument had several
parts:
• the minimum living wage issue is
a popular and populist one fo r our
side;
• by using ¡he initiative, we can win
success by bypassing legislative bod
ies, which then increases overall po
litical pressure on key issues,
• ballot initiatives on progressive
economic issues can reconnect with
working class voters, increase voter
turnout on our side, change cam
paign agendas, and redefine the p o
litical landscape
Dan Cantor is correct. And we must
not forget that. Our public policy ideas
are often more popular with real peo
ple than are those of the right-wingers.
Unfortunately, they usually enter the
struggle with confidence; we often
enter it with uncertainty. This must
change. The rightward cycle is ending.
Our ideas can win.
Vantage Point
The Ballot As A Weapon In The Black Freedom Struggle (Part II)
Ron Daniels
Up from the dark days o f the Post
Reconstruction and Southern apart
heid, Black America can now boast
o f nearly 10,000 Black elected offi
cials (BEO ’s) in this country. This is
a remarkable testimony to the power
o f the ballot in the hands o f Black
folks. D esp ite this rem ark ab le
achievement, however, there is con
siderable disillusionment in Black
America, particularly among Black
poor and working people and young
people about the value o f the bal lot in
the Black Freedom Struggle. Some
eight million African Americans are
not even registered to vote. And,
among those who are registered, dis
enchantment and apathy have result
ed in a pattern o f low voter turn-out
especially in local and state elec
tions.
To the proponents o f Black voter
participation this is an alarming de
velopment. A typical reaction to the
phenomenon o f low voter participa
tion is to take those who do not vote
to task for betraying the long and
bloody struggle to secure the right to
vote. It is often assumed that those
who do not vote are simply unin
formed and ignorant o f the impor
tance o f voting within the American
body politic. For many within the
ranks o f Black poor and working
people, however, the quality o f life
has not significantly changed as re
sult o f the thousands o f BEO’s w ho
now occupy various public offices
within the system. Indeed, the quali
ty o f life for those at the bottom
w ithin the Black Nation has actually
deteriorated over the last two de
cades. There is a prevalent feeling
among the B lack poor that there is no
direct relationship between voting
and a change in the quality o f their
lives. Many young African Ameri
cans see a racist and exploitative
system and question whether it is
possible to change that system by
participating in and becoming a part
o f the system.
This disillusionment with voting/
electoral politics is compounded by
the perception that large numbers of
BEO 's have simply become tradi
tional “politicians,” who are discon
nected from grassroots communities;
politicians who have succumbed to
the self aggrandizing vote trading,
deal making and corruption which
Black political empowerment was
supposed to change. Finally , there is
the view that neither the Democratic
or the Republican party really repre
sents the interests o f the masses of
Black people, that the Democrats
take Black people for granted and the
Republicans are a repugnant alterna
tive. This is the rather troubling state
o f affairs as it relates to Black Voter
participation.
In my judgement, though it is a
mistake to rely on electoral politics
exclusively, the ballot is still a potent
weapon which must be used in the
Black Freedom Struggle. For the
ballot to be the potent weapon which
Black America needs to advance its
interest, however. Black voter mobi
lization-participation must be tied to
a vision o f social change and social
transformat ion. There must be a c lear
sense that voting is about transform
ing an oppressive system and chang
ing the quality o f life for the masses
o f Black poor and working people
and other oppressed people.
Voting must not be reduced to a
mundane ritual o f replacing White
faces with Black faces in old places.
There is a need for visionary new
Black political leadership to rise up
from the community and community
struggle; a leadership that will re
main rooted in the community and
committed to social justice and so
cial change. Time and time again
Black folks have demonstrated that
they will vote for Black candidates
whom they feel are genuinely dedi
cated to changing the system and the
quality o f their lives.
orthe past several years,
I have been investigat-
t I ing the theft of Janette
Kent's $ 3 5 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 estate.
_T|f
C
As a fraud investigator. I have
investigated many cases o f theft and
fraud across our nation However,
never before have I seen such over
whelming and obvious evidence of
theft and fraud as is now documented
in the theft of Kent's properties.
The evidence is overwhelm ing that
Milton Brown stole Ms. Kent’s es
tate through obvious forgeries and
then compromised Norm Lindstedt.
K ent's former attorney and the per
sonal representative o f Kent ’s estate.
The evidence is clear and convincing
that Lindstedt has breached his con
tract with Ms. Kent which states he
cannot settle Ms. K ent's estate with
out her consent However, Lindstedt
entered into three secret agreements
with Brown to "settle'’ Kent's estate
for approx. 2% o f its value
Yet Ms. Kent has been denied a
trial on this obvious theft for the past
seven years. Why is that? Many peo
ple conclude that this is irrefutable
evidence that the Oregon judges in
volved are corrupt and have been
bribed by Milton Brown, whom the
evidence proves beyond any doubt,
stole Ms Kent’s estate
However, Ms. Kent believes it is
possible that some of the judges may
have been misled by Lindstedt's lies
and misrepresentations instead o f be
ing involved in the Brown-Lindstedt
conspiracy to steal Ms. Kent's estate
and deny her rights to a trial. The
question many people are asking is:
are these judges part o f the fraud or
were they defrauded by the fraud?
We will know the answer to that
question soon. Ms. Kent has filed a
motion before the Presiding Judge of
Multnomah County, Judge Donald
Londer In the motion. Ms. Kent
asked Judge Londer to assign her
P etitio n to R em ove the “ PR",
Lindstedt to a judge who will hear it.
This Petition has never been heard
before and must be heard as a matter
o f law. A c c o rd in g to O RS
113.195(4): "When grounds for re
moval o f a personal representative
appear to exist, the court, on its own
motion, or on the petition o f any
interested person, shall o i J ci the
personal representative to appear and
show cause why the personal repre
sentative should not be removed."
Judge Londer responded by letter to
Ms. Kent that he has given the mo
tion to Judge Elizabeth Welch Judge
Welch should either hear this motion
herself, or assign it to a judge who
will We are still wait ing to hear from
Judge Welch regarding this motion
If Ms Kent is denied a hearing o f her
Petition to R em ove the “ PR ”.
Lindstedt, it would seriously impli-
cate Judge Londer and Judge Welch
in the Brown-Lindstedt conspiracy.
Ms. Kent has also filed a Breach
o f Contract case against Lindstedt
before Judge Edwin Peterson's Court.
Judge Peterson hastheevidence prov
ing beyond any doubt that Lindstedt
has breached his contract with Ms
Kent. Judge Peterson also has the
evidence that Ms. Kent's Breach of
Contract has never been heard previ
ously. nor could it have been heard in
other courts and should be heard in
his court.
The major evidence o f this obvi
ous theft and fraud have been con
densed into three books: the Summa
ry O f The Evidence Book, the Wit
ness’s Affidavit Book and the Fraud
Evidence book Also there is a Ap
praisal Book proving the value of
M s. K e n t's e sta te exceeds
$35,000.000. The judges now have
these books. Ifyou would iiketosee
this obvious and overwhelming evi
dence for yourself, they are on file
with the Multnomah CountyCourt in
two cases. They are on file in the
Probate Court, case no 8506-91295
which is the case now before Judge
Welch and they are on fi le in the Kent
v. Lindstedt BreachofContractca.se,
a
.1 better
31
'm trying to stay with
the plan, man", my usu
ally highly-organized
I neighbor confided in me. “But
doesn't it seem to you th a t this
past year has been far beyond
the ordinary in wear and tear on
I the human spirit?”
theatrical production while ignor
ing critical issues which are vital to
us all, have been allowed to grow |
out o f control So it is more at “re
group” than “relax”.
While many congresspersons and
other politicians weresimultaneous-f
ly screaming their concern with |
crime and the right to bear arms
(almost any kind), a rising tide of
radical right wing populism was
pushing the development o f self-
styled militias and armed camps on
a nationwide ba
sis. Belatedly, a
still so m ew h atl
By
hesitant m edia
Professor
Informs us that!
Mcklnley
‘yes, these peo
Burt
ple have now l
reached a state o f I
armed insurgency such that they not
only trash their neighbors and local
law enforcement, but the vaunted |
FBI as well
The growing strength, interstate!
organization and capacity for vio
lence on the part o f these groups,
and their threat to the basic fabric o f I
our society, could well have been
constrained by a timely interven
tion had the media assigned just half I
the resources it devoted to the f
How could I not help but agree?
I Or not go along with his firmly
announced intention to "lay back
relax, and maybe get into some o f
I that good summer reading’ you
I suggested "
As w ith the
I case in many re
cent c o n v e rsa
tions, I have mar
veled at how
m any o f us —
I black, white, gray
or grizzle, as my mother used to say
-- have forcefully expressed this
desire to slow the pace and regroup.
And this is not happening at the end
o f the calendar year, or at the end o f
the Federal fiscal year, nor at the
end ofsome great agricultural cycle
(harvest time). This almost univer
sal expression o f a great ennui or
weariness o f spirit would seem to
coincide exactly with the advent o f
the summer break in the education
cycle.
Simpson trial. And there are many
No, "it is not in the stars, dear
o f us who wonder what other ugly
Brutus’, but it does appear that we
surprises await us, events and issues
have joined our children and youth
that have not received that glaring)
| in gaining a temporary refuge or
light that media have always prom
hiatus from offending pressures or
ised as “guardians o f our liberty.”
regim ens. “ I feel y o u r pain
As the toll o f black churches)
"(smiles)."I feel as though I've had
burned to the ground rises each week
in a painful reminder o f the old |
an undeserved whipping" comment
ed one beleaguered reader. “ 1 was
“adage, “the South shall rise again,”
[ beat over the head all year by that
bitter black ministers who deplore
big time establishment media which
the relative disinterest o f both the
sought to make a new holy grail out
media and federal authorities One
oftheO .J. Simpson trial. And then,
despairing deacon was driven to a
when their grandiose, billion-dol
most unchristian" thought, "when I
lar theatrical production fizzled out,
will they act, when they start burn
no conviction, no lynching, ‘they’
ing synagogues?" (Remember the)
belligerently went after the jury,
Deacons For Defense?).
and then an entire race-rather than
On a recent talk show, I heard a |
the system which, encourages such
quote that sounded very familiar,
farces.”
though it was not attributed. I looked |
“Extremely well-stated”, I told
it up.
this person who is very active in
"F ind out ju st what any people |
I community affairs, but I still had to
wilt quietly submit to and you have |
get in my usual reminder that it is all
fo u n d out the exact measure of in-
very well to relax somewhat but
ju stice and wrong which will be[
also to remember that “eternal vig
im posed upon them, and these will I
ilance is the price o f liberty." And I
conlinue until they are resistedwith f
point out that a wilful, if not recre
either words are blows, or vv/z/rI
ant establishment media put most
both "—Frederick Doulass.
o f its personnel, resources and re
“Best Indian Emancipation 4 1
search into that year-long Simpson
August, 1857. ”
f
(Elje ^ o rtla n b (©bseruer
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Charles Washington—Publisher
The PORTLAND OBSERVER is located at
4747 NF. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
Portland, Oregon 97211
503-288-0033 * Fax 503-288-0015
Will Judge Don Londer And Ed Peterson Follow The Laws?
J ohn S alter ,
F raud I nvestigator
Relax, Regroup, Even Repeat If Necessary -
But Don’t Retreat
OREGON'S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION
Update Of The Kent Case
bv
\p e r s p e c t / r e s
case no. 9407-05244
This evidence has also been dis
played in various television shows
and has been discussed on various
radio shows and newspapers. I ndeed,
and the evidence o f theft and fraud is
so obvious, millions o f people, in
cluding various agencies, are follow
ing Ms. Kent’s cases as a test case to
test the integrity o f our judiciary.
Clearly, the judges should follow
their own statues, the laws, the con
stitution and rule in accordance with
the evidence. If they don't, the only
possible conclusion is that they are
co-conspirators in possibly the larg
est. most obvious theft in our h¡story.
This is a matter o f grave concern
for all Oregonians and all Ameri
cans. IfMs. K entcan’tg e ta tra il with
this kind o f evidence. Who can? If
these judges do not follow the laws,
they should be indicted by a Grand
Jury and removed from office. We
will follow with an update regarding
any further developments in this case.
If you would like to help and/or de
sire further information, please call
(503) 727-2484.
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