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B eyond M ainstream
N o m in ee’s
record in
hum an
rights is
dreadful
on race, gender, age, and disability. He has
pushed his extrem ist agenda through and
in num erous public speeches.
W illiam Pryor is far beyond the m ain
stream o f America. His w ords and abysm al
* record in protectingcivil,constitutional and
hum an rights dem onstrate that he is an
avow ed extrem ist and legal activist. His
ideological agenda o f limiting C ongress’
ability to pass laws aim ed at protecting
Bv W ade H enderson
T h e U .S . S e n a te
should reject the nom i-
nationofW illiam Pryor
to the U.S. C ircuitC ourt
o f A ppeals for the 1 1th
Circuit.
W hen i t com es to the
rights o f w om en, m i - Wade Henderaofl
norities, seniors, and
in d iv id u als w ith d is a b ilitie s, P ry o r’s
against discrim ination and inequalities
w retched reactionary record dem onstrates
should certainly disqualify him from a life
a desire to return to A m erica as it w as
tim e appointm ent to the federal judiciary.
before C ongress enacted legislation p ro
In his role as o n e o f the architects o f the
tecting those rights.
so-called “states ’rights” m ovem ent, Pryor
A s A labam a attorney general, Pryor
not only challenged the co nstitutionality
w orked to turn back the clock on federal
o f the V iolence A gainst W om en A ct, but
protections against discrim ination based
has also argued that the Suprem e C ourt
Pryor has urged Congress to consider
eliminating a key provision o f the Voting
Rights Act, which protects the right to
vote fo r African-Americans and other
racial minorities,
should cut back on the protections o f the
A ge D iscrim ination in E m ploym ent Act,
the C ivil Rights A ct o f 1964, the A m eri
cans w ith D isabilities A ct, and the Fam ily
and M edical Leave Act.
P ryor has urged C o n g ress to consider
elim inating a key provision o f the V oting
R ights A ct, w hich protects the right to
vote for A frican-A m ericans and other ra
cial m inorities, stating that it is “an affront
to federalism and an expansive burden
that has far outlived its usefulness."
H e also criticized the Suprem e C o u rt’s
decision in United States v. Virginia, w hich
found unconstitutional the denial o f ad
m ission to w om en by the V irginia M ilitary
Institute, a public university.
O ver the course o f his career in the attor
ney general’s office, Pryor has also been a
vocal opponent o f the rights o f criminal
defendants. In one infam ous case, he vigor
ously defended A labam a’s practice ofhand-
cuffing prison inmates to hitching posts in
the hot sun if they refused to work on chain
gangs or otherwise disrupted them , arguing
that the practice did not violate the prisoner’s
right to be free from cruel and unusual
punishm ent. The Suprem e Court rejected
P ryor’s argum ents, citing the “obvious cru
elty inherent in this practice.”
Wade Henderson is the executive
director o f the Leadership Conference
on Civil Rights.
In F u n d in g H ead S ta r t, F ir s t D o N o H a rm
Bv J im J ones
adm inistration's education reform - falls
In full disclosure, I adm it I am not privy
$6.1 billion short o fw hat was planned in the
to the conversations betw een the Senate
president’s education bill. Now, the presi
m ajority leader and the president o f the
dent is explicably dism antling Head Start.
1 U nited States. N onetheless, it is clear that
The Head Start program begun 38 years
P r. Bill Frist has w y e f .- jq h Q p l^ p ^ s i^ p t^ , ,3§o as a prom ise to A m erica’s poor chil
Bush in the physicians’ golden rule, “First, , dren, addressing thecom plex n atu reo f pov
do no harm .”
erty and providing them with opportunity.
In tw o years, President Bush turned a
W hile there is no single pan acea for
$280 billion surplus intoarecord $455 billion
eradicating poverty and no one program
budget deficit. His unnecessary tax cut for to alleviate its d ebilitating effects. H ead
millionaires led to economic turmoil, leaving
Start represents the best o f w hat w e o ffer
the largest num ber o f youth w ithout sum to o u r n atio n ’s poorest children.
m er jo b s since 1948. His superfluous divi
Head Start serves only three out o f every
dend tax cut doesn't apply to 90 percent o f five eligible pre-school children and only
Latino children, and his fiscal policies con three out o f every 100 eligible infants and
tributed to record numbers ofblack children
toddlers. Instead o f providing m ore re
living in poverty.
sources to truly expand the program , the
ln2000,he vowed that education w as his
A dm inistration proposed an “ increase”
priority, then proposing the sm allest in barely enough to cover inflation. It further
crease in seven years. This y ear's budget
proposed to devolve authority and funding
fo r T itle I - c e n te r p ie c e o f th e
mandates on ill-equipped states, themselves
facing budget deficits o f $70 billion - 85
billion for 2004. Nearly every state has a
deficit in the current fiscal year. As a result,
32 states havecut theircom m itm ent toearly
childhood services. The president w ants to
pass the buck w ithout passing the bucks.
States cannotduplicate H eadStart’sstan-
dards. There's no evidence that state-funded
program s are m ore successful than Head
Start in closing the "achievem ent gap” be
tw een poor and higher-incom e children.
State pre-kindergarten initiatives fall far
short o f the federal standards.
N ow that the House, by a single vote, has
passed this block-granting schem e, per
haps the Senate majority leader review the
basic philosophy o f his profession. And,
when the Senate considers Head Start in the
fall, Dr. Frist could start the debate by advis
ing his colleagues to “First, do no harm .”
Jim Jones is vice president, programs
and policy, Children's Defense Fund.
G r e a te st H o n o r to S erv e
Dear Portlanders,
and funded until the L egislature acts.
O ne o f the greatest honors o f m y life
W ith these and other efforts since 1993,
is to se rv e y o u a sM a y o rsin c e 1993. Y our
Portland is safer; countyw ide per capita
civic interest and involvem ent inspires
incom e has grown; citizens rate the livabil
m e to alw ays do my best. I hold sacred the
ity o f neighborhoods higher - results that
trust you place in m e to lead this com m u helped Money m agazine rate Portland as
nity. 1 seek to govern by setting an ex the m ost livable city in A m erica in 2000.
am ple o f hard w ork, innovation and ac
H ave w e succeeded at everything we
countability.
tried? N o, but it is necessary to take som e
O ver the past 10 years, w e ’ve m ade
risks and face a few disappointm ents to
Portland a better place to live. I am o v er push P ortland’s progress forward. Have
w helm ed with gratitude when I think o f all
w e solved all problem s? O bviously not,
the people 1 w orked with w ho helped
for w ith each success is a set o f additional
com plete a list o f accom plishm ents that
challenges to w ork on. W e m ust reform
m akes Portland the envy o f m any other
our business taxes; protect our ratepayers
A m erican cities.
as PG E is sold; im plem ent the updated
I am proud o f projects such as the
econom ic developm ent strategy to p re
extension o f lightrail lines to the airport
pare for our econom ic recovery and get
and Expo center; com pletion ofthe street m ore P ortlanders back to w ork; close the
car; expansion o f the O regon C onven student achievem ent gaps in low perform
tion C enter; creation o f new neighbor
ing schools; com plete the transfer o f Ross
hoods in the R iver D istrict and South
Island to the city; decide the future o f
W aterfront; launch o fth e R iver R enais
M em orial C oliseum ; launch the build out
sance; construction o f N orth A m erica’s
o f South W aterfront; finish the necessary
largest C hinese C lassical G arden and the
w ork to arrive at a final decision on b ase
Eastbank E splanade; restoration o f our
ball; com plete acom prehensive review o f
historic C ity Hal I and the C ivic Stadi um;
policies and practices at the Portland P o
and the rebirth o f O ldtow n/C hinatow n,
lice B ureau; and set plans to extend
N orth and N ortheast Portland neighbor L ightrail along the transit m a ll...ju st to
hoods — w ith the C entral E astside, St.
nam e a few tasks on m y “to do” list.
Johns, G atew ay and Lents on the way.
W ith the local and national recession
I am also proud o f groundbreaking
lingering, w hat Portland needs m ost over
policies and initiatives that reshaped city
the next year and a h a lf is a M ayor w ho is
services like the C ity ’s first com prehen com pletely dedicated to the jo b at hand.
sive econom ic developm ent strategy; sig
A fter 32 years in elected office, w hat I
nificantly-increased funding for the arts;
w ant m ost a year and a h a lf from now is to
the Y outh G ang A nti-G un T ask Force
focus m y energies on new adventures and
that stopped a rapid escalation o f gun
challenges, and spend m ore tim e with
and gang violence in the m id -1990s; our
friends, m y son and m y grandson.
graffiti abatem ent and auto theft pro
For these reasons, I w ill not seek re-
gram s; the annual R egulatory Im prove election as Mayor.
m ent W orkplans; the F air C ontracting
I haVe another year an d a h a lf as your
and E m p lo y m en t S trateg y to assist
m ayor to continue leading this city to a
w om en and m inority ow ned businesses;
m ore prosperous future, and I intend to do
m aintenance o f o u r triple A bond rating; ju s t that.
reduction o f adm inistrative costs that
W ith w arm regards,
saved m illions o f dollars; and the protec
Vera Katz
tion o f our schools by keeping them open
Mayor
N ot
W hat
W as
M ean t
A headline in a letter to the
editor in o u rJu ly 27 issu ed id not
covey the opinion o f the w riter
and w e regret the error.
Northeast Portland resident Linda
Kanzinger did not suggest another
community forum with police over
the Kendra James' shooting.
She proposed a forum w ith
out the police, for the public at
large to hear the injustices suf
fered by people o f color.
In Kanzinger's letter, she said
police andcityofficials at last month's
James forum were not interested in
hearing the public’s concerns.
our best.
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