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P.O, B oa 3137. Portland. OR 97208,
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Send your letters to the Editor to:
Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208
Measure 37 could
damage recycling
e
B U
N A T IO N A L
women, African Americans, Latino/
Hispanics, Asian Americans, Native
Americans, and the disabled com
munity, this is a majority issue. With
out the protection o f law, those his
torically locked out w ill remain
locked out.
Dr. K in g never confused his dream
with American reality . That’s why he
said: “A society that has done some
thing special against the Negro for
hundreds o f years must now do some-
thing special for the Negro.” A ffir
mative Action.
Dr. K in g supported government
action to repair past injustices. That’s
why, when he was asked by a report
er if he felt it was fair to request a
m ulti-billion dollar program to assist
the Negro or any other minority, Dr.
K in g responded: “ I do indeed...we
have ample precedents for special
compensatory programs.” Affirm a
tive Action.
These G O P race polarization tac
tics are wrong.
idhmw
C O A 1L I1 T 11 O N
lasphemy
David Duke, Pat Buchanan, and Pete
Wilson in opposition to Affirm ative
Action. The Republican Party should
be ashamed o f this vicious dema
goguery. Ja ck Kem p and C o lin
Powell should denounce these tac
tics, today. And President Clinton
and D N C chair Don Fowler must
fight back, with money and advertis
ing in California, to defeat this G O P
wedge attack.
The Republicans are spending
m illions to create a racial wedge
issue, in a desperate last-ditch at
r s p
e
tempt to divide and polarize the elec
torate. Shame on them. And shame
on us i f we don’t fight back. Even the
late Lee Atwater, just before his
death, denounced such hateful tac
tics.
The truth is, Title IX has made
America better-just think about the
women ath letes on our Olym pic team.
The American with D isabilities Act,
o f which Bob Dole is justifiably so
proud, is also affirmative action. The
truth is, affirmative action is not a
minority issue. When we include
c
t i v
e
s
’ve been assured that
some teacher lounges
v
were buzzing following
last week's article, “Are You
Caught Up In The Net (of Educa
tion)?” And I may have interrupt
ed heated debates; Power of PCs
vs Oracle's network aficionados.
Old friends from the teaching fra
ternity (sorority?), parents and several
students among our readers expressed
concerns paralleling my own - appre
hension spurred by “a hastily and weak
ly-structured
excursio n
into
cyberspace”, powered by a hyperbo I ic
public relations effort with all bells
and sirens at full decibel. Several jo k
ingly observed, ”Well M cKinley, at
least you got that 15-minutes-of-fame
promised by Andy Warhol. And you
got yours thirty years ago!”
A favorable response from industry*
was not unexpected given that the
‘ launch pad’ was a Beaverton elec
tronics plant. But that aside, I was
especially concerned by a plaintive
query from a Jefferson High School
freshman. He had long-planned to gain
the same “fabulous experience” as an
older sibling in the school districts
“Saturday Academy" program at the
school as directed by Mr. Michael
Grice (until lately). “ Where has he
gone'.’ Why?," It is asked in the general
community as well-considering that
all announced goals were achieved.
A number o f parents and several
teachers added a pointed caveat to
their fulsome praise o f this particular
program; “there was such a marked
improvement in math skills but be
yond that, there was a renewed interest
and focus on academics in general. So.
why in the world isn’t there an across-
the-board application o f this success
ful teaching mode where these so-
called, slow-leamer' black children
are concerned? And what about the
past two decades o f deliberate, deceit
ful and debilitating neglect of future
Portland citizens? Ill-prepared for a
world o f technolo
gy ”
I have no more
information than the
many who make in
quiry: “Mr. Grice is
on leave on ab
sence’. He’s in San
Francisco doing even greater things.
It’s a shame he is gone-was he found
guilty' o f subjecting some long-held
faleshoods about black IQs to close
scrutiny?” And then the inevitable,
"Was it about money0 Did he go down
to San Francisco where he could get a
white man’s ‘ pay for comparable
work0”
The district can ill-afiford to have
publ ic or staff projecting these scenar
ios. Not with television programs like
“60 minutes” showing what incredibly
high levels o f academic achievement
can be reached by black and Hispanic
kids—dedicated and motivated teach
ers in a common-sensical learning en
vironment o f their own design and
under their direct control. This was the
exhilarating “Monroe Doctrine" doc
umentary that played in September.
The inspiring video tape is something
you must have.
I was quick to order a copy for
myself and the nearby ‘Black Educa
tion Center’, an exemplary institution
itself. A $200,000 a year black, curric-
ulum supervisor for the entire City o f
New York quits her job w ith this big
city school system failing at its tasks
and giving the usual excuses. She in
vests her I ife savings in an independent
school, recruits and equally dedicated
staff and goes from there. For info on
the $29.95 tape, call station W G BH ,
1-800-255-9424.
N ext w eek:
community par
By
ticipation model
Professor
where I organized
Mckinley
my Toastmasters
Burt
C lu b —engineers,
teachers, mer
chants, phone company employees,
ranchers, etc.-in support o f my ‘com-
puter/math demonstration; The trend
o f white teachers and parents sending
their kids over to my office for aid in
developing m otivational models
around the incredible accomplishments
o f the ‘Black Inventors’; The inexpli
cable turndowns at Benson High
Schools and at O M SI (Australia and
Japan like my concepts); President
Nixon and my scheduled ‘Rose Gar
den’ presentation that was canceled;
That Belmont St. basement.
Lately, I have cited texts that may
have seemed relatively advanced. I
thought it useful to emphasize that
arithmetics/ mathematics involve an
essential connection between quanti
tative concepts, symbols, and the lan
guage employed in their manipula
tion, e.g. semantics, semeiotics. There
follows some down to earth volumes
useful to student, teacher or parent for
many o f us, numbers' still have the
habit o f getting up and walking away’;
me too.
“ Mathematics For The Million:
How to Master the Magic o f Num
bers”, Lancelot Hogben, W. W. Norton
and Co. pb. This still papular classic
has been a standard for some time.
“ Mathematics In The M aking”
Lancelot Hogben, Doubleday and
Company, this 1961 classic is out-of-
print, but i, is a treasure at any price; try
your used book stores. It has proven
such a boon to students, adults includ
ed. Also there are the well-illustrated
opening chapters on counting and
measurement, and there is a very wel
come acknowledgement o f the contri
butions o f di fferent races and cultures;
a jewel!
“A History O f Pi", Peter Beckman,
St. Martins, 1971 you will find this
little treasure very satisfying if, like
me, you occasional ly need a I itt le I ighter
but relevant reading. Page 24 illus
trates the African’s derivation o f Pi
(o ff 1%), but i’ve found their 2500
B.C. formula at only 0.0001 error us
ing “Ph:”.
“Number Words and Number sym
bols: A Cultural History ofNumbers,”
Karl Menninger, M E T . Press, 1977.
This book is the most’ interesting and
accurate account you will ever read
about how the major cultures o f the
world developed their concepts o f
numbers, counting, quantities and
measure. Editor says, “excellent lin
guistics and etymology but you don',
have to be philologist or mathemati
cian to enjoy it (480 pp).” A must for
those who would design a meaningful
curriculum intheseareas(public,home
or alternative).
-Continuednext week; with addi
tional and later bibliography.
Civil Rights Journal: CIA And Drugs?
BY
To the editor:
Measure 37. the so-called “bot-
tle deposit” initiative on the No
vember ballot, would do consider
able damage to the progress we've
made since we adopted the Bottle
B ill in 1971. Here are two reasons
why.
First, our existing law includes
just six kinds o f pop and beer con
tainers. These six apply to 90 per
cent o f the roadway, beach and
stream-side litter in Oregon. This is
the main reason why Oregon looks
so much better than other states! On
the other hand. Measure 37 applies
to almost 60 types o f items from a
grocery store, items that are prima
rily consumed at home, and which
account for a very small percentage
o f litter. Wha, a mess!
Second, Measure 37 would do
severe damage to the progress Ore
gon has been making toward recy
cling. Why ’ Because we are getting
used to curbside recycling and tak
ing our trash to places where it can
be recycled. That was one o f the
main goals o f the original Bottle
B ill. We Never intended grocery
stores to be junkyards for more and
more empty containers like 37 pro
poses. Why should Oregonians re
verse the productive trend toward
recycling programs that has made
us one o f the leading recyclers in
the nation? Also, the exemptions
and inclusionsdon't make any sense.
Why include 6 oz. juice cans but
exempt 5.5 oz. juice cans? Why
include low-alcohol wines but ex
empt regular wines? Why include
senior nutritional supplements but
exempt premixed alcohol drinks?
Our state legislature has passed
lots o f laws that don ’t work, but our
Oregon Bottle B ill isn't one ofthem.
I’m proud to have been a part o f
something that is really working. I
was the original author and chief
sponsor o f our Bottle B ill law in
1969 and 1971.
It makes us-m yself. the two co
authors and 23 original legislative
supporters o f the Bottle B ill—un
happy that someone wants to come
along and fiddle with something
that has worked so well.
I hope Oregonians see through
all the smoke on this one and vote
N O on Measure 37.
—Sincerely, P a u l Hannem an.
To the editor:
It is time for Oregonians to in
crease recycling efforts Measure
37 w ill accomplish expanding O r
egon’s landmark Bottle B ill 94%
o f all bottles covered by our Bottle
B ill get recycled compared to less
Measure 37 w ill triple the recy
c lin g o f d rin k s like Sn ap p le ,
G ato rad e, ju ic e , and bottled
water
Beware o f the millions that w ill
be spent to defeat this bill from out-
of-state corporations about Oregon.
Sincerely—Jo e heating
than 30% lor non-deposit bottles.
he Rainbow/PUSH Ac
tion Network this week
blasted the Republican
Party's attempt to misuse the
image and words of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., with their mis
leading TV ads against affirma
tive action in California. Rever
end Jackson called the GOP ads
“blasphemy!”
For the right-w ing Republicans to
try to put Martin Luther King on the
same team as David Duke is nothing
short o f an atrocity.
A ll C a lifo rn ia n s —indeed, all
Am ericans-w ho support equal op
portunity, tolerance, and fair play
should come together now to de
nounce thisdivisive, cynical, hostile,
political trick. We must stop Prop.
209. Those who never marched with
Dr. King, nor stood with him in times
o f turmoil, must not be allowed to
mis-speak his name, misquote his
words, and misinterpret his dream.
D r K ing would never stand with
Beyond The Net, There Are Human Beings
31
D eadline Jor all su bm itted m aterials:
A rticles:Friday, 5 :0 0 p m Ads: Monday, 12:00pm
Name:
Address
City, State:
»
p
4747 NE Martin Luther King. Jr. Blvd.,
Portland, Oregon 97211
503-288-0033 • Fax 503-288-0015
Email: Pdxobserv@aol.com
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Attention Readers!
Charles Washington
Publisher A Editor
Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily
Reflect Or Represent The Views O f
(Clje
lattò ffihscrucr
o ’ i /
t
| |
B ernice P ow ei . i . J ackson
onspiracy theories are-
nothing new in comrnu-
nities of color.
I rememberthe rumors circulating
after the riots o f the 1960’s that the
government was building concentra
tion camps for black folks. Prepos
terous? What happened to Japanese
Americans during world War II?
What about the government’s experi
ment with black syphilis patients in
Alabama during the 1950'sand later?
Now, we read in a respected daily
newspaper that for most o f a decade
the Central Intelligence Agency
( C IA ) supplied crack cocaine which
was sold to street gangs in Los Ange
les in order to funnel millions of
dollars in drug profits to a C IA -
backed guerilla army in Nicaragua.
The crack cocaine provided in this
scheme, we are told, helped spark a
crack explosion which devastated the
African American community not
only in Los angeles, but across the
nation.
It’s almost too diabolical to be
lieve, built according to the San Jose
Mercury News, that is exactly what
happened. A recent series done by
this California newspaper examined
the actions o f a Los Angeles crack
dealer names R icky Donnell Ross
and his connections with drug dealer
Oscar Danila Blandon Reyes, who
allegedly had ties to a Latin Am eri
can-based C IA agent who told them
that they were raising money for the
Contra revolution. That revolution,
you may remember, was supported by
the Reagan administration but received
only limited funds in its early days of
operation. I, was the need for addition
al funds to support the Contra’s gueril
la war that caused the linking o f co
caine sales and the war
The series in the San Jose Mercu
ry News examines how Blandon’s
boss in the cocaine operation, Juan
Norwin Meneses Cantarero, has nev
er spent a day in a I I S prison even
though the federal government has
known o f his drug dealings since
1974. Indeed, agents from four gov
ernment law enforcement agencies
have complained that their investi
gations were hampered by the C I A or
unnamed “ national security” inter
ests. Even a U.S. Senate subcommit
tee was unable to pierce the wall of
secrecy surrounding these operations.
One o f the most frightening as
pects o f this story is the decision by
Blandon, the middleman, to make
cocaine, which had been only avail
able to the rich, affordable and avail
able to the masses in the African
American community in South Cen
tral Los Angeles. Within only a few
years, crack cocaine had devastated
the African American community
across the nation.
Using the Crips and Bloods street
gangs as distributors, Blandon and
Ross were able to devise an extraor
dinary marketing strategy. As a re
sult thousands o f young black men
are now serving long federal prison
sentences for selling mere handfuls
o f the drug and thousands o f African
American families are in crisis.
During the Congressional Black
Caucus fall meeting, a hearing was
held on these al legations and several
thousand jammed into a hearing room
to hear more about these charges. As
a result congresswoman Maxine
Waters, in whose district most o f this
occurred, and other members o f the
Black Caucus met with C IA D irec
tor, John Deutch. Mr. Deutch said he
had no reason to believe such allega
tions, which would have taken place
before his tenure. But he expressed
his outrage at the charges raised and
pledged to ge, to the truth in this
matter He assured Caucus members
that an independent investigator will
look into the allegations and make a
report within two months.
Is this just another conspiracy the
ory? Or did agents in the C IA con
spire to sell drugs in the African
American community to fund their
own guer:Ila activities in Nicat<t^ua?
For the sake o f all o f us, we must find
ou, the truth.
Francesconi for City Council
To the editor:
t here are several good candidates
in this year’s Portland City Council
races, bu, none have J im Francesconi s
commitment, roots and track record of
success in helping inner Northeast and
North Portland Jim has worked for 20
years for our community ever since
beginning as a full-time volunteer at
St Andrew's church a, N .E. Alberta
and Ninth Avenue
Jim Francesco n i has already
achieved wonderful successes for our
community. He has been instrumental
in creating the Youth Employment
and Empowerment Coalition that has
produced nearly 600 jobs for gang-
involved youth in Northeast and North
Portland That has plugged these young
people into the economy-rather than
thecriminaljusticesystem The saving
to us all in reducing crime and heart-
ache to families is beyond measure.
Jim has been a leader o f the Port
land Organizing Project, a coalition o f
16 churches in North and Northeast
Portland that is a veritable rainbow
coalition showing how citizens o f dif
ferent backgrounds, the elderly, the
working poor, renters and homeowners
can unite for concrete actions.
Sewer rates are lower for many in
Southeast and Northeast Port land, and
more citizens can afford homes today-
-because PO P’s successes at city hall.
And importantly, Jim pledges to
expand his neighborhood-based prin
ciples to our most pressing housing,
jo b s, crime and traffic problems
throughout our entire city. He has
earned my vote November 5 to be
come our next Portland City Commis
sioner.
—Ave! Gordly