M arch 13, 2002
Page A4
Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views o f
(E ljc ^ o r tla n i» ( 0 b a e ru e r
h im iu ti
Michael Leighton
- iN - C H itF .P u ii.is H tit
Charles H. Washington
A sst ,
E d it o »
(Observer
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C o n E d it o
Joy Ramos
E d i t o i
Established 1970
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Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New York, NV, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver.
Bush’s Contempt
for Social Security
B y T erry M c A uliffe
D emocratic N ational C ommittee
T o d a y ’s p ro je c tio n s fro m th e C o n g re ssio n a l B u d g e t
O ffice reaffirm s the grim fact that the B ush A dm inistration
w ants to raid the Social Security T rust Fund every year from
2003 to 2012, ju s t w hen the pro g ram faces the first w a v e o f
bab y b o o m e r retirem ents.
T h e P re sid e n t’s fiscal reck le ssn e ssa n d m isg u id e d p rio ri
ties are c le a r - h e ’d rath er g iv e p erm an en t tax b reak s to the
w ealthiest A m ericans than protect the solvency o fo n e o f the
5 0 3 2 8 8 0 0 3 3 • F A X 5 0 3 2 8 8 0 0 1 5 • EMAILi
m ost popular and successful governm ent program s in A m eri
can history.
Health Disparity Needs Our Attention
This is ju st the latest exam ple o f the Bush A dm inistration ’ s
contem pt for Social Security, w hich has given generations o f
A m e ric a n s a d ig n ifie d retirem en t. T h e P resid en t w a n ts to
Too m any African Am ericans die from preventable diseases
T h e A f r ic a n A m e ric a n
H ealthCoalition isanon-profit
organization w ith a purpose o f
raising the aw areness ofhealth
issu e s w ith in th e A fric a n
A m erican com m unity ofP ort-
land through health education,
advocacy, a n d research.
O u r vision is to becom e the
health iest A frican A m erican
com m unity in the nation. T ak
ing ch arg e o f your h ealth is
essential for living health ier
lives.
D iabetes, do y ou have it?
Perhaps you have this disease
and d on’t even know it. Diabe
tes along w ith cardiovascular
disease, and H IV are the lead
ing causes o f death am ong
A frican A m ericans today.
D id you know that diabetes
is p ro v en to be linked w ith
cardiovascular disease? Since
the sym ptom s associated with
d iab etes o ften go undetected
or untreated, other health prob
lems are elevated. Such health
p ro b lem s include cardiovas-
lack o f k n o w le d g e an d e d u
c a tio n
about
th e s e
d iseases.
A t a recent aw ards c e r
em ony to reco g n ize diabetic
O regonians that have lived for
^D iabetes along with
cardiovascular disease, and HIV
are the leading causes o f death
among African Americans today.
cular issues, stroke and nerve
damage.
S ta tistic s sh o w th a t A fri
can A m ericans have the high
est ra te o f d e a th d u e to p re
v e n ta b le d ise a se s th a n any
o th e r race o f p e o p le in the
w orld. W hy? B ecau se o f the
over 50 years w ith the disease,
our president and c h ie f execu
tive officer, w as ap palled to
note that not one perso n o f
co lo r in the entire state w as
receiving the aw ard.
At the time, how ever, she
could think o f a fam ily in the
glfòiSutàl fil *■ sap*-
Your prayers are answered. You can afford private school.
Enroll your child for St Stephen's 94th year now!
All-Day Kindergarten & Grades 1-8
Active Before & After School Day Care
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iit
4226SETaylor' p° rtland
(Located in the Hawthorne District ■ 3 miles from down town)
Call 503 235-7040
Culturally Diverse A ll Faiths Welcome Full Curriculum
community that had recently lost
three family m em bers to diabe
tes while the fourremaining fam
ily m em bers had already lost
tw o toes each before the age o f
40 because o f the disease.
As the president o f the Links,
Inc. w rites, every m em b er o f
the A frican A m erican C o m
m unity know s o f an uncle who
only had, “a touch o f su g ar,”
but w ent blind at 45 or the aunt
w ho w as, “pleasingly plum p,”
but died o f a heart attack b e
fore she w as 55.
Diabetes isa silent kil ler. These
are the individuals thisproject will
target and indoingso,the African
American DiabetesCarc Services
Linkage Project will address the
health disparity that plagues the
state and the nation.
O ne o f our goals is to p a rt
ner w ith A frican A m erican
churches and beau ty /b arb er
shops to raise aw aren ess in
the community.
W e believe that our health
has a part in the m inistry. W e
m ust focus on risk reductions
and prom ote spirituality and
w holeness. W e m ust unite as
one against these plagues that
are overcom ing the A frican
Am erican community.
T he A A H C is plan n in g an
A frican A m erican p a sto r’s
breakfast to raise aw areness
about diabetes, but w e c a n 't
do it alone. W e need your sup
port and involvem ent.
For m ore inform ation or as
sistance, call Lois C riss o f the,
A m erican H ealth C oalition at
503413-1850.
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Good Credit, Bad
Credit, No Credit,
Little Credit
No Problem!
Local 503-280-8000
Toll Free 1-877-280-8100
8 0 4 0 NE Sandy Blvd Suite 10OB. In Portland
tu rn S o cial S e c u rity in to S o cial In se c u rity , by p u rsu in g a
p riv a tiz a tio n p la n th at w o u ld c u t b e n e fits an d e x p o se o u r
retirem en t sav in g s to the w h im s o f a v o latile stock m arket.
A n y o n e w ho thinks private retirem en t accounts are a good
idea sh o u ld talk to E nron em p lo y ees.
»
T o m a k e m a tte r s w o rs e , it a p p e a r s H o u se R e p u b li
c a n s h a v e a s e c re t p la n to v o te o n th e P r e s id e n t’s
p riv a tiz a tio n p la n a fte r th e N o v e m b e r e le c tio n s. T h is bit
o f trick ery is sim p ly a p lo y to a v o id acco u n tab i lity . I f they
b e lie v e th is is th e rig h t th in g to d o , th e y o u g h t to h a v e the
c o u r a g e o f th e ir c o n v ic tio n s . T h e y o u g h t to g o o n the
re c o rd n o w w ith an u p -o r-d o w n vote.
Outlandish Raises
for City Managers
T h e e x e c u tiv e b o a rd o f Local. 189 o f th e A m e ric a n
F e d e ra tio n o f S tate, C o u n ty a n d M u n ic ip a l E m p lo y e e s is
o p p o se d to th e P o rtla n d C ity C o u n c il’s c o n sid e ra tio n o f
g iv in g th e ir to p m a n a g e rs up to 26 p e rc e n t pay raises.
T h e p ro p o se d raises are o u tlan d ish a n d sh o ck in g given
the present eco n o m ic clim ate.
F o u r m o n th s a g o c ity le a d e rs c h a stise d , flo g g e d and
belittled union leaders for a sk in g fo r a m o d est raise du rin g
co n tract negotiations w ith the city.
C ity leaders e v en w en t as far as to im ply union m em b ers
w e re u n p a trio tic fo r re q u e stin g raises g iv e n th e e v e n ts o f
Sept. 11. W e e n d e d up w ith a 2 .9 p e rc e n t c o st o f liv in g
increase.
' 4
W e ch ailen g e the city ’s p ro cess fo r ju sti fy ing the raises
fo r m a n a g e rs u p to 26 p e rc e n t. M a rk e t su rv e y s sh o u ld be
g u id e d by a c o n siste n t fo rm u la a p p lie d to all e m p lo y e e
groups.
T h e c ity d isp u te s a n d re je c ts o u r re q u e sts fo r ra ise s
acco rd in g to m ark et d em an d , b u t seem in g w ith o u t h e sita
tion are w illin g to ru b b e r stam p raises fo r th em selves.
Join Us!
^
As we honor those
who have given of
them selves to the
N o rth /N o rth e a s t
P ortland Area.
Tickets are av ail
able by calling The
Salvation Army at
(503) 493-3925.
2002 C om m unity Pride A w ard Honorees:
C h a rle y a n d C h a r lo tte B r a n d o n ,
D r. O tis F. B ro w n , L in d a J e a n H a r r is ,
R o b e r t R ic h a r d s o n , a n d
C h a r le s H. W a s h in g to n
Tuesday, March 19th 6:00 pm
M o o re S tr e e t C o m m u n ity C e n te r
5 3 3 5 N W illia m s A v e n u e
Advertise
with diversity
in
iln ' } J o r t l a n b
(O b s e rv e r
call
503 .28 8 .00 33
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