Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 2000)
Septem ber 27, 2000 Page A 4 (The ^lortlanò ©bseruer £ q P u r I lau d ® Opinion Articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of (Tl|r Jtlortlanb ODbaerupr Death Penalty Flawed (Elje •Portiani» (©bseruer T h e C lin to n A d m in is tra tio n should offer the leadership required to guide the U nited States aw ay from judicial executions A Justice D epartm ent study has reportedly found significant racial and geographical disparities in the appli cation o f the death penalty at a fed eral level and indicates that m inori ties - particularly A frican Am ericans have been disproportionately tar geted. It also reportedly show s that pur suit o f death sentences by federal prosecutors is not uniform across the country despite efforts by A ttorney USPS 959-680 Established 1970 d it o r P C in h ie f , u b l is h e r Charles H. Washington E d i T o r Larry J. Jackson, Sr. B M u s in e s s anager Gary Ann Taylor A sst . P ublisher Michael Leighton C opy E d it o r Joy Ramos C r e a t iv e D unfair. "T his ‘A m erican-roulette’ isa h u - man rights scandal for w hich there is only one solution abolition,” Dr. Schulz said. In an A ugust 1999 letter respond ing to A m nesty International’s find ing in its rep o rt on race and the U.S. d eath p en alty . K illin g w ith p re ju dice, the Ju stice D epartm ent agreed that “ it ca n n o t be d isp u ted that the circ u m sta n ce s o f m any o f the id en tified c a s e s .. . raise concerns.’’H ow ever, the departm ent said that this w as a m atter for the states and that at the federal level “every effort has been m ade to force less race as a factor in the decision as to w hether to seek the death penalty." T he depart m ents ow n review seem s now to indicate that “every effort” has not been enough. A m nesty International noted that the U.S. regularly violates interna tional standards on the death pen alty, including the use o f it against children, the mentally impaired, those denied adequate legal represention, those w hose innocense is in serious doubt, and foreign nationals w ithout appeals m ust take a stand against such violations by saying that it can- not interfere in individuals sta te s’ use o f capital punishm ent. H isto ry sh o w s th a t c o u n trie s th a t have ab o lish ed sta te e x e c u tio n s - now m o re than h a lf o f all n atio n s - h av e n o t d o n e so o n the b asis o f o p in io n p olls, b u t have relied upon the co u rag e an d v isio n o f leaders to ad o p t a lte rn a tiv e s to th is b ru tal an d b ru talizin g p u n ish m e n t,” Dr. S ch u lz said. “ T h e d eath p en a lty is b ey o n d repair. A m o ra to riu m o f federal e x ecu tio n s w ould b e a co n stru c tiv e first step to e n d ing the death p en a lty o n ce an d for all.’ letters To The Editor Joe Sperm is a bad seed STAFF E G eneral Janet Reno to m ake it so. “N o one should be surprised that the federal death penalty is display ing the sam e lottery like qualities that plague capital justice at a state level,” said W illiam s F. Schulz, Executive D irector o f A m nesty International USA “W e urge President Clinton to exercise leadership on this life-and- death issue. A m nesty International and others have consistently docum ented how prosecutorial discretion, coupled with issues o f politics, race and econom ic status, have rendered the U.S. death penalty arbitrary, discrim inatory and ir e c t o r Robert Parker 4 7 4 7 NE M a r tin L u th e r K ing, Jr. Blvd. P o rtla n d , O R 9 7 2 1 1 5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 3 3 Fax 5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 1 5 e-m ail Bush Ad Disgusting 1 am w ritin g to ex p re ss m y to tal d isg u st w ith th e m o st re cent R e p u b lic an ad a tta c k in g A1 G o re ’s H ealth C are Plan. T he ad v e rtise m en t, w h ich I u n d ersta n d , w as p ro d u ce d by the sam e p eo p le w ho cam e up w ith th e “ R a ts” ad, is clea rly m islead in g and false. It d em o n strates the d ep th s to w h ich the R epublic’s w ill go to scare, shock and even lie to se n io rs, like m e, to get votes h ere in O regon. As I understand it, A1 G o re’s plan protects M edicare by placing the entire M edicare surplus in a lockbox, so it can only be used for M edicare and paying dow n the national debt. A1 G ore’s plan will also modern ize Medicare and w ork to eliminate fraud and waste. He will also, make sure seniors can choose their ow n doctor and a health plan that makes sense for them. 1 also believe G o re’s plan for prescription drugs is best for all seniors. His plan w ill establish a voluntary, affordable prescription drug plan and he w ill ensure 55 to 65 years olds can buy into M edi care. Thank you for your tim e and consideration in this im portant matter. Lolita A. Darby, Retired Educator North Portland n ew s@ p o rtlan do b server.co m sufaecdptton@porttandofaeenerxom ads@ portlandobserver.com P ostmaster : Send address changes to Portland Observer T hank you Portland O bserver I am w riting to thank you for this assistan ce th a t you an d T h e O b serv er p ro v id e b y p u b lic iz in g o u r needs fo r v o lu n te ers. Y o u r n ew sp a p er has p ro v id ed o u r S e n io r C o rp s p ro g ra m w ith se v e ra l n ew v o lu n te e rs w ho w ill im p a c t th e liv e s o f h u n d re d s o f c h ild r e n in th e re g io n . It m e an s a lo t, n o t o n ly to o u r p ro g ra m , b u t th e sc h o o ls , c h ild re n , an d f a m ilie s th a t o u r v o lu n te e rs a s sist. T h e P o rtla n d O b s e r v e r ’s c o m m itm e n t an d s u p p o rt is a g re a t a s s e t to th e e n tir e c o m m u n ity . I lo o k fo rw a rd to w h a t o u r fu tu re h o ld s b e c a u s e o f th e s e r v ic e y o u c o n tin u e to p ro v id e . Randy Lucas Senior Corps Volunteer Recruitment Specialist Measure 9 Threatens Local Control B a llo t M e a su re 9 is a d ire c t th re a t to th e lo c a l c o n tro l o f o u r s c h o o ls th a t w e no w en jo y . L o c a l p a r e n ts , te a c h e r s an d s c h o o l b o a r d s k n o w w h a t’s b e s t fo r o u r k id s - i t ’s th e ir jo b to g u id e o u r k id s e v e ry d a y ; i t ’s n o t th e jo b o f a sp e c ia l in te re s t g ro u p w ith a n a rro w a g e n d a. B a llo t M e a su re 9 w o u ld e s ta b lis h a n ew d ic ta te fro m th e s ta te , a n d th e b u re a u c ra c y th a t a c c o m p a n ie s th a t, to m a k e d e c is io n a b o u t h o w to te ac h o u r k id s in o u r o w n sc h o o ls. T h a t v io la te s th e lo c a l c o n tro l w e v a lu e w ith o u r sc h o o ls r ig h t no w . F o r m o re in fo rm a tio n a b o u t h o w M e a s u re 9 is d a n g e ro u s fo r k id s a n d d a n g e r o u s fo r s c h o o ls , p le a s e c o n ta c t J e n n i fer W e b b e r, N o on 9 C o m m u n i catio n D irecto r at 503-232-7176. “Planned Parenthood’s Big Sex in dustry is now exploiting children in the same way Big Tobacco did-with a car toon.' ’ said Ed Szymkowiak, national di rector ofStop Planned Parenthood Inter national. Szymkowiak was referring to Planned Parenthood’ latest affront-a walking, talking, sperm-like cartoon wear ing sunglasses. On S ept 16, children watching the Celebration Parade in Eugene, Oregon wereexposedtoJoeSpermashemarvhed along with giant condoms and birth con trol pills-with a bevy ofhumans, dressed as sperm, chasing others dressed as eggs. Joe Spenn ads are now on Eugene City buses. “Planned Parenthood has created a cartoon character that will cause even very young children to become inter ested in sex,” Szymkowiak added. “Joe Sperm deserves the same negative re sponse drawn by Camel cigarettes’ Joe Camel led kids to dunk smoking is ‘cool.’ Joe Sperm will do die same for contra ceptives and sex. Planned Parenthood’s so-called ‘safe sex’ can lead to sexually transmitted diseases abortion and seri ous post-abortion problems The citizens o f Eugene should kick Joe Sperm and Planned Parenthood out o f town.” Bill Shepherd, executive director o f Planned Parenthood m Southwestern Oregon, admitted recentlythatJoe Sperm ispartofabirthcontrolprogramaimedat the poor in the region. "The beauty o f this program for Oregon,” he said, “is that the federal government will match our state funding on a 9-to-l basis. Right now Oregon’s putting in $ 1.5million, and the federal government is adding $ 13.5 mil lion” (Eugene Register-Guard S ept 19, 2000). “Obviously, Planned Parenthood is counting on the Joe Sperm ad cam paign to help diem get a huge chuck o f this $ 15 million pot o f taxpayer money." Wyden Applauds Oil Swap U.S Senator Ron W yden (D-Ore) is applauding President C lin to n ’s decision to release oil from nation’s strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). In a Feb letter to Energy Secretary Bill R ichardson, W yden had called in the D epartm ent o f Energy (D O E) to ini- tiate a lease exchange or “sw ap” o f oil from the SPR to give consumers some im m ediate relief from skyrocketing gas prices, and has repeatedly urged the adm inistration to release 30 m il lion barrels to head o ff supply shocks and severe price spikes “Tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve shows strong, decisive lead ership to help consum ers and sustain our economic growth. This will im m e diately increase the oil supply w hich sh o u ld bring d o w n prices at the pum p," W yden said. uppose a tree fell through your garage to n ig h t... WHO WOULD COME THROUGH FOR YOU TOMORROW? PO Box 31 3 7 Portland, OR 9 7 2 0 8 Periodical Postage paid in Portland, OR Subscriptions are $60.00 per year D E A D L IN E S FOR ALL SUBMITTED MATERIALS: ARTICLES: Monday by 5 p . m . ADS: Friday by noon The Portland Observer w elcom es tree lance submissions M anuscripts and photographs C om e to th e MBE/WBE/ESB CERTIFICATION WORKSHOP Are you a minority- or woman-owned business owner or contractor interested in learning more about contracting opportunities and the state minority- or woman-owned business, or emerging small business certification process? If so, this workshop is for you. Friday, September 29, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs (OAM E), 4134 N. Vancouver Avenue, Portland (Tri-Met bus line 5-Interstate). should be clearly labeled and w ill be returned ifaccompaniedbyaselfaddressedenvelope A ll • created design display ads becom e the sole property o f the new spaper and cannot be used inotherpublKahons o r personal usage without the w ritten consent o f the general m anager, un lesstheclient has pure based the composition o f such ad © 19 9 6 T H E P O R T L A N D O B SERVER ALL R IG H T S • Individual consultation sessions that may help shorten the certification process Presentations from various general contractors as they seek to meet their needs from subcontractors RESERVED, R E P R O D U C T IO N IN W H O L E O R IN For more information contact: P A R T W I T H O U T P E R M IS S I O N IS P R O Tyrone Henry 823-3315 or Loretta Ebert 823-3354 PDC Website:www.portlandd«v.org OMWESB Website: www.cbs.state.or.us/omwesb H IB IT E D . The Pottland O b s e rv e r-O re g o n s O ldest M ulticultural P u b lic a tio n -is a m em ber o fth e National Newspaper A s sociation-Fou nded in 1885. and The N ational Advertising Represen tative A rnalgamated Publishers, Inc. N e w Y o rk. N V . and Ih e W est Coast B lack Publishers Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver V You’re inside your house, safe from the big storm. When, b o o m ! Lightning strikes. Next thing you know, there's a tree all the way through your garage roof. Taking care of claims like this is what American Family Insurance is all about. Over 70 years o f experience means fast, efficient service and home protection you can trust. Life is unpredictable. That’s why it’s good to have a homeowners insurance policy you can count on. If a storm should put a tree through your garage tonight, it’s comforting to know you can depend on Family to come through for you tomorrow. Call one of our knowledgeable, friendly agents today. Or visit our website at www.amfam.com. Sponsored by the Portland Development Commission <PDC), C ity o f Portland, State o f Oregon Office o f Minority, Women and Emerging Small Business (O M W E S B ), M E T R O and the Port o f Portland Find out all the ways “Family” comes through for you! A ll Y our P rotection U nder One Roof. Check your local directory for the agent nearest you 020 0 0 American Family Mutual Insurance Company and its Subsidiaries Home Office Madison, Wl 53783 Home Office Columbus. OH 43240 wwwamfam com
