Page A 4
N o v e m b e r 24, 1999
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Opinion
B o rtla n b
Ofttrsrrurr
A rticles do not
necessarily reflect or
represent the view s o f
(The ^portlanb Obaerucr
Jury verdict on auto parts
a victory for consumers
When competing successfully is a “Crime”
G eorge C. L andreth __________________
E xecutive D irector , F rontiers or F reedom
On Friday, Novem ber4*, U.S. District
Thom as Penfield Jackson issued a
207 page decision that contained
findings o f fact in the governm ent’s
antitrust law suit against M icrosoft.
These findings o f fact are not the
ju d g e ’s final ruling on the case - they
are sim ply his findings as to the basic
facts in the case. N ow attorneys on
both sides w ill spend m onths arguing
how the law applies to the facts and
w hich facts are m ost important.
R eview ing Judge Jack so n ’s findings
o f fact m akes it cleat that he ju st
doesn’t get it - and this isn ’t the first
tim e Judge Jackson failed to get it.
Earlier in this sam e case, an appellate
court overturned Jackson and upheld
M ic ro s o ft’s r ig h t to d e sig n its
products as it saw fit. T hat was not
the sort o f ruling one w ould expect a
federal ju d g e to get wrong.
Judge Jackson’s findings o f fact seem
prem ised on the notion that Microsoft
is a m onopoly. A ll o f this m ay sound
plausible to the uniform ed, after all
M icrosoft is a very large and very
successful com pany. But in reality,
m ost o f Judge Ja ck so n ’s findings o f
fact are nothing short o f absurd. In
econom ics and law being successful
or large do not a m onopoly m ake?
F ortiani»
©baerUcr
USPS 959-680
Established 1970
STAFF
P
u b l is h e r
Charles W ashington
E
d it o r
Larry J. Jackson, Sr.
C
E
opy
u s in e s s
M
anager
Gary Ann Taylor
C
r e a t iv e
D
developed at such a dizzying rate it is
impossible that M icrosoft has limited
innovation. In fact, M icrosoft has
been a leader in m aking the Internet
more accessible to average-every­
day co m p u ter users. M oreover,
M icrosoft has been such a pow erful
innovator that is has pushed other
com panies such as N etscape and
AOL to im prove their products. Who
gains w hen M icrosoft’s com petitors
improve their product to keep up with
M icrosoft? C onsum ers
F in ally , M ic ro so ft p ro d u c ts are
am ong the b est in the industry.
M onopolies are not typically known
forproviding the highest quality. Yet,
W indows has sim plified com puter
use for m illions o f people w ho were
intim idated by D O S ’s cum bersom e
operating system. W ord, Excel, and
Access. Explorer, outlook Express,
and pow er Point are industry leading
softw are applications. T he only
com plaint I’ve heard about M icrosoft
products is that they offer too many
features and are too pow erful. That
is like complaining about a dishwasher
because it cleans even the dirtiest
dishes.
A sk yourselfhow M icrosoft offering
im proved softw are for low er prices
h arm s c o n s u m e rs ? H o w d o es
M ic ro so ft g iv in g aw a y its w eb
browser harm consum ers?
Joym akers. The contribution o f such
a space, like all contributions to Toy
& Joy, m ay be tax-deductible.
S in c e 1 914, b e c a u s e o f E d d ie
Boatright and one little boy, m any
children’s bitter tears have turned to
tears o f jo y . It is still our b elief that
every child deserves this joy. It is our
dream to m ake it happen for every
single one. O n their behalf, please
jo in us in our search.
Sincerely,
age. W e can do the rest.
The law states age cannot be a hiring
factor. Yet governm ent form s allow
for date o f birth inform ation to be
requested. A lso, the burden o f p ro o f
for age discrim ination lies upon the
applicant and is nearly im possible to
prove.
W on’t you help. Thank you.
Sincerely
G eorge C. L andre th ___________ __ ________ ___________________________________
E xecutive D irector F rontiers of F reedom
A nyone w ho drives an autom obile, and occasionally find a need to visit a body
shop, should be celebrating a pro-consum er jury verdict on O ctober 4,h. J urors
in M arion, Illinois ruled in favor o f 4 m illion State Farm policyholder who
accused the auto insurer o f cheating custom ers by ordering body shops to use
substandard repair parts. The verdict recognized and com pensated the victims
o f State F arm ’s illegal conduct. M ore im portantly it sent a clear m essage to the
insurance industry that consum ers will not tolerate underhanded tactics that
fatten the coffers o f insurance com panies w hile harm ing their policyholders.
I am well aw are o f the details o f this case. I was a w itness for plaintiffs and my
V ideotaped testim ony was show n to a jury. A s a body man with 50 years
experience, I know my sheet m etal and can state without any doubt that the
car parts central to this case are not equal to original parts. At issue is what
the autom obile industry calls non-original equipm ent m anufacture or non-
OEM o rcrash parts. Inplain English, they are called after-market, substandard
or, perhaps m ost accurately, counterfeit parts. I fyou drive a m id-range or lower
priced car (H onda, Plym outh, Toyota, Ford)and your car was dam aged in the
last fifteen years, chance are pretty good the vehicle was repaired with these
substandard parts. The after-m arket crash parts m odeled on factory originals
but are m ade w ithout the benefit o f factory specifications. The parts are inferior
and their use m ay present safety risks or low er the value of the automobile.
Policyholders in O regon have a right-under Oregon statute and the language
o f insurance policies- to have repairs m ade with parts that are factory quality,
the sam e quality as those that are replaced. The purpose o f these rights is to
insure that the vehicle com es out o f the body shop in as close a condition as
possible to its pre-accident condition. In other words, when we as consum ers
purchase insurance, the insurance com pany prom ises to m ake us whole in case
o f a loss. T h a t’s w hat w e expect and the law says we have a right to expect it.
A fter ten w eeks o f trial, the ju ry decided that State Farm insisted parts used
for its policyholders w ere not factory quality. This decision was based upon
insisted State Farm docum ents. O ne internal m em o, signed by State Farm
executive Bill Hardt in April, 1997 Stated: “We may say it is like kind and quality,
but the bottom line is that it is not the same. "H ardt”s memo was a key document
for the jurors. It show ed that State Farm officials knew that the parts were
inferior, but insisted that they be used anyway. There was no question that
such conduct violated the rights o f policyholders w ho are I entitled to receive
all the benefit State Farm prom ises to provide in its insurance contracts.
Judge Speroni said: “ State F a rm .. .m isrepresented concealed, suppressed or
om itted m aterial facts concerning non-OEM crash parts with the intent that its
policyholders rely upon these deceptions, in violation o f the C onsum er Fraud
Letters to the Editor
d it o r
Joy Ramos
B
Basic econom ic theory teaches that
monopolies dom inate the market and
use their m onopoly pow er to, am ong
things: (1) increase prices forcing
hapless consum ers to dram atically
overpay for goods because there is
no other option; (ii) slow innovation
an d
d e v e lo p m e n t
of
n ew
technologies and processes so that
m onopoly can better m aintain its
pow er and profits, and (iii) provide
inferior products to consum ers on
the assum ption that they have no
place else to go.
I f the federal theory governm ent and
Ju d g e Ja c k so n are c o rre c t th a t
M icrosoft is a m onopoly, it m ust be
th e c a s e th a t M ic ro s o ft is (I)
in c re a s in g p ric e s, (ii) lim itin g
innovation; and(iii)providing inferior
products. L et’s exam ine the facts and
see.
M icrosoft products are now cheaper
than ever. Every new releases o f
softw are do m ore and cost less.
Microsoft now gives aw ay its browser
a n d its e -m a il a n d c o n ta c t
m anagem ent software. They update
this free software regularly to improve
it and make it more powerful software?
How are consum ers harm ed by free
softw are?
T he co m p u te r in d u stry an d the
Internet are growing so rapidly and
n ew te c h n o lo g ie s a re b e in g
ir e c t o r
Shawn Strahan
4 7 4 7 NE Martin Luther King,
Jr. Blvd.
Portland, OR 9 7211
503-288-0033
Fax 503-288-0015
e-mall pdxobaervOaol.com
P ostmaster :
Send address changes to
Portland Observer
PO Box 313 7
Portland, OR 9 7 2 0 8
Periodical Postage
paid in Portland, OR
Subscriptions are
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D E A D L IN E S
FOR ALL SUBMITTED MATERIALS:
ARTICLES:
Monday by 5 p . m .
A cross the nation, T oy & Joym akers,
— fire d e p a r tm e n ts a n d th e ir
firefighters - have enlisted in the
effort to m ake sure every child can
participate in the excitem ent o f the
holiday season. O ne o f the best-kept
secrets in tow n is that P ortland,
O regon, is the hom e o f the original
Toy and Joym akers. C h ief Eddie
B oatright inspired the idea eighty-
five years ago. A firefighter from
P o rtlan d ’s S ellw ood district, one
Christm as he fixed a red w agon for a
little neighborhood boy w ith a tear in
his eye. It w as an idea that spread like
wildfire.
“ B e c a u se e v e ry c h ild d e s e rv e s
C hristm as,” was the thought o f the
firstT oyandJoym akersbackin 1914.
Today, thejoy ofgiving and receiving
is recognized as a traditional part o f
the holiday season for people o f all
faiths. C hildren, esp ecially , look
forw ard to this tim e o f year, w hen
their im aginations are kindled by the
anticipation o f N ew Toys!
A nd the volunteer spirit, first ignited
by “Good ol ’ Eddie,” is still the driving
force ofPortland Fire B ureau’s Toy &
Joym akers. M an y o rg an iz atio n s,
businesses, an d m em b ers o f the
com m unity have given their support
in many ways. But now the firefighters
need the help o f the com m unity m ore
than ever before!
On January 1,2000, T oy & Joymakers
will have to be out o f the present
location and w e will have no facility
for toy storage or office space from
w hich to operate our program!
The need for a large building for Toy
& Joym akers is imm inent! W e need
your support to help find a building
available for year-around use by the
P o rtla n d F ire B u r e a u 's T o y &
A ct.”
The M arion ju ry ’s decision benefits not only State Farm policyholders, but
other consum ers as well. M any other insurance com panies also have insisted
on the use ofafter-m arket parts. Their policyholder now have the am m unition
to fight such illegal conduct. T h at’s good news to rem em ber the next time your
Jack Albert
car is in need o f repair.
Dean Johnston, CEO, Toy &
Joymakers, Portland Fire Bureau
Telephone: (503)493-8476
Fax:(503)249-2941
Im agine this: You're pro u d o f the
children you raised. Your grandkids
are talented and beautiful, too. The
reality of retirement has finally arrived
and it's even better than the fantasy
G ood D ay
O lder w orkers are being ignored. M y
personal experiences have shown
that this segm ent o f the population is
being tu rn ed aw ay from jo b s in
epidem ic proportions. A t sixty-one I
am unable to even get interview s for
jobs I am w ell qualified to perform.
Y our station has recently aired news
segm ents from the netw ork that have
docum ented the difficulty employers
are having finding w orkers because
o f the low unem ploym ent rate. It is
also reported that they are paying
youth up to $10.00 per hour even
w hen they have no skills.
But you have said nothing about
older w orkers. Sham e on you! There
are a few agencies in Portland who
deal w ith o ld e r p ersons seeking
em ploym ent, b ut they are largely
ineffective. W e need your help in
getting this m essage to the public.
W e also need agencies w ho can send
us on jo b interview s know ing that the
prospective em ployer is aw are o f our
ou have family behind you.
You couldn't have done it w ithout
family behind you. American Family
Mutual Insurance. When it comes to
y o u r future, over 70 years in the
insurance business is experience you
can trust. W ith over six million policies
in an operating area of 14 states and
a consistent rating of A+ (Superior,
from insurance rating authority A M .
Best, we've got the kind
of stability that invites you
to relax. A n d isn't th a t
precisely w hat you had in
mind? So, call today and
talk to a helpful, friendly
agent. Then dive right in.
We ll be close behind you.
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Intel S ite-Jones Farm 4 - Ronier Acres Hillsboro, OR
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