F e b ru a ry 9, 2000
Page A 4
(E lje P o r t h u t b ( ß h e e r u e r
Opinion
P o r tla n d
Articles do not
necessarily reflect or
represent the views of
(Elje J p o rtla u b (D b a e ru e r
Letters to the Editor
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(Oli serrici"
USPS 959-680
E s t a b lis h e d 1 9 7 0
STAFF
E
d it o r
C
in
h ie f
,
P u b l is h e r
Charles II. Washington
E d
i T o R
Larry J. Jackson, Sr.
B
u s in e s s
M
anager
Gary Ann Taylor
C
opy
E
d it o r
Joy Ramos
C
r e a t iv e
D
ir e c t o r
Dear Editor,
In honor o f the upcom i ng Valent i ne ’ s
Day holiday, I w anted to share with
y o u r re a d e rs s o m e in te r e s tin g
in fo rm a tio n I le a rn e d from an
“instruction m anual” o f sorts on the
subject o f love and m arriage. I m ean,
really, w hat is the secret to love?
W hat is the way to a happy m arriage?
These are questions that have been
asked and answ ered m any tim es.
Some o f the answ ers have been wise,
many stupid. Few o f them have shown
the way to being happy in love and
marriage.
The “m anual” I studied gave real,
dow n-to-earth, applicable tools to
actually use and apply to find the
right partner, to create a happy union
and im prove upon that m arriage. It
was based on the w orks o f A m erican
p h ilo so p h e r an d w riter, L. Ron
H ubbard and d ep en d s uniform ly
upon com m unication. Here are som e
o f his tips on selecting a partner, and
on som e causes o f conflict:
•
W h atisth e”com m unicatinglag”
o f the individual? W hen asked a
question, how long does it take him or
h e rto register and return (not ju st talk
back, but to actually answ er the
question presented)? T he length o f
tim e intervening betw een the tim e a
question or rem ark is addressed to a
person and the person answ ers the
original question or statem ent is
know n as his “com m unication lag.”
T he fast answ er tel Is o f the fast mind.
M arital partners w ho have the sam e
communication leig (meaning their rate
o f response to questions or rem arks
address to them is sim ilar) will get
along. W here one partner is fast and
one is slow, the situation will becom e
unbearable to the fast partner and
m iserable to the slow one. In the
book, Hubbard goes on to describe
how a person can decrease this lag
and quicken response time, making a
happier partnership.
•
A “com m unication line” is the
route along which a com m unication
travels from one person to another. A
m arriage can go on the rocks when
the line betw een partners is cut or
blo ck ed , such as a th ird person
in terferes, on e person w ithholds
com m unications from the other, one
person cuts com m unication to the
other by “clam m ing up,” one puts
u n n ec essary
or
p a in fu l
com m unication on the line, etc.
Jealousy com es about because o f the
insecurity o f the jealous person (the
je a lo u s y m ay o r m ay not h av e
foundation). This person is afraid o f
hidden com munication lines, and will
do anything to try to uncover them.
T he other partner thinks he o r she is
entitled to have open com munication
lines with anyone, whereas thejealous
marital partner insists that these lines
be shut down. The resultant quarrels
and disputes can be violent.
•
A fam ily that doesn’t continue
to create itsel fas a family will cease to
exist a sa family. Some people believe
a m arriageor family will hang together
through no effort o f its own. It w o n ’t.
You have to realize that a m arriage is
som ething you have to create into
ex istence and keep created, and when
you stop w orking at it, it will cease.
•
W hen in doubt, com municate.
By stu d y in g L. Ron H u b b ard ’s
courses in Scientology, my husband
and I have gained some very useful
and applicable advice, not only for
building a very sound m arriage, but
also for addressing the day to day
problem s that crop up in a marriage.
As a result, we enjoy each others
com pany as much today as the day
w e met!
Sincerely, Angie DeRouchie
Dear Editor,
Recent new s accounts have detailed
th e p lig h t o f h o m e o w n e rs w ho
discover that unused oil tanks are
leaking oil into surrounding soil -
e v e n th o u g h th e y th o u g h t th e
p ro b le m h ad b e e n c o r r e c te d .
According to a January 5 article in
The Oregonian,
“State officials suspect that hundreds
ofhom eow ners face sim i lar problems
from contractors looking to make
quick m oney closing residential
underground oil tanks.” O t the more
than 200,000 residential tanks in
O regon, three-fourths have been
abandoned and at least h a lf are
thought to be leaking oil. A ccording
to DEQ officials.
According to new legislation that
took effect in O ctober 1999, Oregon
law now requires homesellers to have
the oil pumped out o f any abandoned
tank known to be on the property
before the property is sold. To help
residents com ply with retaining a
state law and remove the uncertainty
and c o n fu sio n a s s o c ia te d w ith
retaining a contractor, NW Natural
w ill refer residential co n v ersio n
custom ers to Spencer Environmental
fo r a fre e o il p u m p an d
decom m issioning consultation. The
offer is good until M arch 31.
W e Thought your readers m ight be
interested in knowing more about the
dander o f leaky tanks and this hassle-
free w ay that they can rem ove a
potential environmental hazard while
sw itching to natural gas- a preferred
fuel source due to its decreased costs
and increased com fort and reliability.
Attached is additional inform ation
on the program. W e’d be happy to
h e lp a rr a n g e in te r v ie w s w ith
representatives from NW N atural,
S p en ce r E n v iro n m en tal an d the
O re g o n D E Q , as w ell as lo cal
h o m e o w n e rs w h o a re ta k in g
advantage o f this hassle-free w ay to
rem ove their leaky tanks.
Ill follow up with you shortly; in the
m eantim e you can reach m e at 503-
248-9468
Nathan Olsen,for NW Natural
Shawn Strahan
Juneteenth’s Liberation
4747 NE Martin Luther King,
Jr. Blvd.
Portland, OR 97211
503-288-0033
There are tw o hearts
B elo nging to two people
They beat as one. Som etim es.
They beat out o f rhythm . Som etim es
But whether they beat w ith the beat
lo e e th e r
Or beat like they're fo llo w in g their ow n
»eat
They beat as one.
T h e W hite s pretend the beat's theirs
T h e B la c k s pretend the beat’s theirs
N either w ould dare adm it they w an l what
the other has
W h ile they stand bunched together on
the banks o f the moat o f loneliness
T h e W hites on one bank, the B la c k s on
the other
Its still waters keeping the apart.
Y e t bondin g them together.
T h e y stare at each other. T h e y drool at
each other.
Preach ing truth to their sou ls; I want
what those people have
A n d a ll the w h ile the A s ia n s loo k and
laugh w hile they sharpen the spear
T h e y ’re getting ready to d riv e into their
h e arts.
Another look at
juvenile (in) justice
Forty-six years after desegregation o f our n atio n ’s public schools, stating
data shows that African American students have suffered disproportionately
from suspension, expulsions and corral punishm ent in U.S. classroom s.
W rites Dr. Leroy Purnell, deanoflaw at Northern Illinois University: “While
the disciplinary process in a public school is not a crim inal trail, it is one in
w hich the possible sanctions justifies a significant level o f due process
protection.” In other words: Black kids are being introduced early to a
crim inal process as jail intervention, rather than education intervention,
becom es the norm in A m erican’s school discipline process.
It is no leap o f im agination to surm ise that students who are pushed out o f
schools w ithout an education safety net are m ore likely to indulge in
antisocial behavior, which can lead to arrests and more unwanted pregnancies
w hich can lead to few er life options.
Because o f draconian drug sentencing laws and the nasty residue o f the
U.S. “w ar on drug users,” 13 percent ofblack men, com pared to ju st 2 percent
o f w hite m en, are disenfranchised from the right to vote thanks to a tag o f
“convicted felon.”
Even more disturbing is that nearly one in three A frican A m erican males
in age group 20-29 is under crim inal justice supervision on any given day,
including being in prisoner ja il, on probation or parole. T he stats for female
inmates, most o f whom are also first tim e, non-violent offenders are equally
disturbing.
Today, the 1965 V oting Rights A ct cannot protect our youth from losing
voting privileges because o f felony convictions, not like skin color that
disenfranchised their grandfathers two generations before them. W ho
needs a poll tax, w hen y o u ’ve got rap sheets?
A new C olum bia Uni versity study, “ The C olor o f justice,” now reveals that
African A m erican youths are m ore than tw ice as likely as their w hite
counterparts to be transferred out o f a juvenile ju stice system and tried as
adults. Said the co-author, “ the imbalances this study reveals are stark, vast
and deeply disturbing,” com m ented Dan M acallair, the associate director
o f C olum bia’s C enter for V iolence Research and prevention.” . .. There is a
double standard: throw kids o f color behind bars, but rehabil itate w hite kids
w hocom m it com parable crim es.”
It should be noted that in D ow ner’s Grove, IL ju st last w eek, Caucasian
students tw ice took a bom b to school and still avoided jail. T he ju d g e said
he was “tro u b le d ... but posed no threat to other students.” In Decatur, six
boys were expelled fortw o years, without the option o f alternative schooling,
because o f 16-second first fight. They will be prosecuted this year for their
alleged participation. Before o f Rev.Jesse Jackson intervened, these boys
w ere kicked into the streets to sink or swim w hile they served there:
sentence.”
In California, Proposition 21 is another example o f draconian juvenile policy
attem pting to becom e law. If approved by voters this M arch, the measure
would allow prosecutors, instead o f judges, to decide w hether a juvenile
be tried as an adult for a violent crime. Said Jackson, “It’s hard to avoid the
conclusion that the U.S. system o f punishm ent isn’t about crim e or justice,
but rather is about social co n tro l... The human costs are incalculable.
Y oung people arrested for drugs are brutalized once in jail. Prison becom es
their university. Its lessons are not uplifting .
This nation touts itself as being leader am ong all industrialized counties.
It will now lead the world in incarcerations w hen by V alentine’s Day, an
estim ated two m illion A m erican will be locked behind bars, 500,000 more
than in China. This num ber o f m ajority black and brown people, join an
estim ated five m illion other U.S citizens w ho are now on probation.
Fax 503-288-0015
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