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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 10, 2002)
April 10, 2<M)2 Page A4 (Dbtemrr O pinion Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views o f (Tlje^Jnrtlanî» (JDbseruer The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 1996 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRi IDUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. 5032880033 • FAX5032880015 • EMAIL:, Bush's Marriage Proposal Misguided by In February, President Bush unveiled proposals for changing the 1996 welfare reform law, which C ongress m ust reauthorize this year. Included is a proposal to provide up to$300m illion for state- based initiativ es “focu sin g on family form ation and healthy m ar riage activities.” W hile the goal of stable fam ilies is laudable, the fo cus on m arriage is m isguided. T he P residen t’s m arriage p ro posal is dangerous because it re lies on fiction: nam ely, that the only thing m issing from a single m o th er’s life is a man to take care o f her. It appeals to the hopeless rom antic, and that isn’t rational. W e d o n ’t n eed an O reg o n m atchm aking agency. O ur C o n gressional delegation should not get involved in this illusion. John Lewis in an administra tor with the Oregon Center for Public Policy. e s t ^ 3 id e W subscriDtion@Dortlandobserver.com , Jackson Urges Middle East Reconciliation J ohn L ewis W The Portland Observer—Oregon’s Oldest Multicultural Publication-is a member of the National Newspaper Association-Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Repre sentative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver. "There is a w orsening state o f crisis with global consequences in the M iddle East. O ur n atio n ’s human rights, political, economic and military interests are at stake. T o blam e P resid en t Bush is w rong, to have high ex pecta tions o f his leadership and the Secretary o f State, C olin Pow ell is right. “O ur influence in the w orld an d o u rrep u tatio n iso n trial. We are not responsible for starting this round o f violence, how ever we must assum e responsibility for stopping it. We need the U nited States and the United N ations to act. W e need to use the United States and its allied strength to enforce U nited N a tions R esolution 1402. W e m ust intervene with the highest level o f leadership. “T he political prison status elevates Y asser A rafat to the status o f a m artyred sym bol and illa m e tte strengthens him politically. It iso lates the U nited States in the re gion and leaves our ally, Israel, vulnerable and alone. Humiliation policy does not punish, rather it exalts A rafat. “O u r S ep t. 11 c o a litio n is w eak en in g . O u r p resen t role as silen t and m ilitary p a rtn e rs to the in v asio n into the co m p o u n d strengthen anti-A m erican forces ag ain st a llie d g o v e rn m en ts and c o n trib u te s to d e sta b iliz a tio n . T hat is why they are u n iform ally ap p ealin g to us to c h an g e o u r p o licy and o u r rh eto ric . W e are n o t an in c o n s e q u e n tia l th ird p arty in th is c o n flic t, yet w e are to o d ista n t d ip lo m a tic a lly to be so clo se m ilitarily and fin a n c ially . O u r in terest and e x p o sure is su b stan tial. “T he Palestinians and the Is raelis are holding each other in a death grip, bound by pain, fear and p o litics. N eith er has the f^ iv e r C Z ° m b in e d SUBCONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES ^ e w e r O strength to turn the other loose. O nly President Bush can call both and get a response. A nd with that kind o f pow er, he m ust pry them loose from each other and create a venue to negotiate and break the cycle o f fear and death and crate a buffer zone or a bridge betw een the two. The jai 1 w arden and the pri soner can not negotiate peace. Self-dem o lition - the language o f despair is fed by hum iliation policy. Thus, planning funerals and not fu tures feeds o ff o f the present policy. “W e m ust do a m ore difficult thing than choose sides, we must choose reconciliation. T hat is the heavy lifting that o u r nation can and m ust do to m ove it to w ards stability in the region.” Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. is the founder and president o f the Rainbow Push Coalition that's based in Chicago. ' ro ie c t No charge to participants. Registration required. R e g is te r b y A p r i l 16. 2 0 0 2 Contract Opportunities & Project Networking Social APRIL 18, 2002; S:00PM-7:00PM GAME, Cascade Plaza, Large Conference Room 4134 N. Vancouver Ave. Portland, OR 97217 Sponsored by lmpregilo-Healy s . a healycompany CIM«AI (ONKACKMi WHY: Notice of Upcoming Contract Opportunities WHO: M/W/ESB, SMP, Local Contractors, Suppliers & Professional Services Providers Facilitated by V. West Contracting & Consulting ° Services. * Inc * To register call V. IVesf, 503/493-6027 Come learn of how millions of contracting dollars will be spent by April 1, 2006 constructing the City of Portland s West Side Willamette River Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Project Come and learn how your firm may participate in this project. Coach Them to be Champions in the Classroom, Too B y H ugh B. P rice The N ational C ollegiate A th letic A ssociation to u rn am en t’s w in-or-go-hom e form at sim ulta neously puts a prem ium on both an entire team ’s unquestioning com m itm ent to team w ork, and yet also on the necessity in virtually every gam e o f an individual d e ciding to rise above others to make the difference. It’s too bad the enjoym ent the collegiate gam e brings has to be - unnecessarily underm ined by a fact that can no longer be ignored in discussing higher education and its varsity athletes. T hat issue is w hy do so few o f these varsity athletes, especially in football and basketball, not graduate on tim e or not at all? T he statistics about varsity- level athletes w ho d o n ’t graduate w ithin the standard graduation- rate m easuring stick o f six years from entrance - especially at the m ajor football and basketball c o l leges is astonishing. A c c o r d in g to la s t y e a r ’s stu d y by the K night F o u n d a tio n In te r c o lle g ia te A th le tic C o m m issio n , o n ly ab o u t a th ird o f the m ale bask etb all p lay ers at th e to p 100 o r so N C A A c o l leg es g ra d u a te on tim e, a rate th a t’s fallen sh arp ly in the last five years. T he N C A A itself puts th e rate at 4 0 p e rc e n t, w hich it say s is the se c o n d -lo w e st rate in n early tw o d ecad es. The national graduation rate for all college students is 56 per cent. Last year only four o f the 28 first-round selections in the N a tio n a l B a sk e tb a ll A sso c ia tio n draft had com pleted four years o f college. The problem is still largely con fined to the m ale side o f the gen der line. T he top four w o m en ’s team s in the tournam ent have an average graduation rate o f 66 per cent; the top four m en ’s team s; 32 percent. But many see sim ilar prob lem s ahead for w om en athletes as those gam es becom e m ore ex cit ing - and lucrative to the televi sion netw orks, and the schools them selves. L e t’s ask the varsity athletes w hat are they doing w ith their tim e, and w hat are they thinking - or not thinking - about th eir fu ture. A nd let’s ask their parents what advice th ey ’re giving their ch il dren. A nd then, le t’s ask the high school coaches and the teachers and g u id a n c e c o u n se lo rs and principals about their responsi bility to equip these superb ath letes w ith, at least, respectable academ ic skills to get them ready not ju s t for college, but for life. A nd finally, le t’s ask the c o l lege and university coaches and deans and presidents to stop ra tionalizing their exploitation of these young people. T hese colleges and universi ties understand that their respon sibility to the athletes w hose e x ploits on the playing field that brings them such acclaim , should incl ude coaching them to be cham pions in the classroom , too. Hugh B. Price is the president o f the National Urban League. H. & B. Too NOW OPEN Oregon’s Oldest Licensed Pawnshop 4709 N.E. Martin Luther King Blvd. 2 blocks south of Alberta Weekdays til 6 p.m. - Saturdays til 4 p.m. Free Parking - State Controlled Rates - Se Habla Español www.hbloan.com Oregon Family Business for over 50 years L
