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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 10, 2003)
_______________________________ ® lje J lo r tla n h CObseriier_________________________ Pecembe, 10,2003 O pinion Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views o f The Portland Observer P ortland O bserver USPS 959680_________ ] T Established 1970 A 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., F -t N-C H i e r , P u r l i m u Charles H. Washington d it o r E D I T O K Michael Leighton It i s m F Portland, OR 97211 E i r t í o s M < ,v s c t n Mark Washington C I I » T l H I D i k í c t o » Paul Neufeldt O rn e e tie m c e i Kathy Linder R e p o r t e r Jaymee R. Cuti 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. P ostmaster : Send address changes to P o rtla n d O bserver PO Box 3 1 3 7 , P o rtla n d , OR 9 7 2 0 8 P e r io d ic a l P o s ta g e p a id In P o r t la n d , OR i S u b s c r ip t io n s a re $ 6 0 . 0 0 p e r y e a r 5 032880033 • FM 503288O015 • EMAIL'. l The Conning of Black America BOSS HOGG C h r is tm a s T re e I /) t 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. A l.l. RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART W ITHOUT PERM ISSION IS PROHIBITED. M ilitary spending also is a masterful way o f taking public funds, collected in taxes from the general population and funneled to m ultinational corporations. The current effort to m ake Iraq into a U.S. gas station is a great case in point. C ongress has approved $87 billion to rebuild Iraq. This is in addition to the $79 billion spent to date on the war. Politi cally w ell-connected com panies are war profiteering o ff m ilitary contracts. CEO p a y a t d e fe n s e contractors rose 79 The Bush adm inistration is pushing percent from 2 0 0 1 a dangerous agenda that will set back to 2002, com pared the gains o f the C ivil Rights m ovem ent w ith 6 p e rc e n t for generations. It has been taken over raises at the aver com pany. by an extrem ist ideology referred to as a g e neo-conservatism or for short, neo-con. T h eir $5.4 m illion The nam e neo-con is m isleading be average pay w as 577 tim es as m uch as cause there is nothing new o r neo about the pay o f Arm y privates in Iraq. this con. W hen A m ericans think o f defense N eo-cons put forth an agenda o f less spending, they think o f m oney to en governm ent to protect us (the average sure the safety o f the general public. A m erican) and more governm ent to en N ow the question m ust be raised, have rich them selves (the econom ic elite). the billions o f dollars spent on Iraq for Less governm ent m eans dism antling national defense protected A m erica? T he answ er is clearly no. A m erican laws that protect public health and more governm ent m eans passing law s to help soldiers are dying alm ost every day in corporations and enacting m assive tax Iraq. It has becom e clear that Iraq was cuts for the rich. T hese tax cuts have never an im m inent threat to the United already taken over $3 trillion aw ay from States. The im m inent threat is that the half-trillion dollar deficit will drain funds serving the A m erican people. for basic social service program s. The im m inent threat is Bush under-funding his N o C hild Left B ehind A ct, so that children will be left behind to the tune o f $ 1 1 billion. The im m inent threat is that hundreds o f thousands o f students will receive less governm ent help to go to college. The im m inent threat is that 2 million jo b s have been lost since 2(M) I and that Black unem ploym ent is rising faster than at any tim e since the mid-1970s. F o r th e n e o cons, the suffering o f th e A m e ric a n people is irrelevant. They see subsidized healthcare, ed u ca tion, and Social Security as nothing but w asteful big governm ent, obstacles to m aking bigger profits. N eo-cons want to con the A m erican public out o f these program s and limit governm ent aid to only w ealthy people and corporations. The A m erican public has other ideas about how their m oney should be spent. Seventy-six percent o f A m ericans sup port overturning B u sh 's tax cuts for the rich in order to pay o ff the cost o f the ill- advised w ar with Iraq. Seventy-tw o percent oppose increas ing the deficit to pay for this war, and 82 A d m in is t r a t io n je o p a r d iz e s C i v i l R ig h ts g a in s C h r is tm a s T rees The American public has other ideas about how their money should be spent. percent oppose cutting dom estic pro gram s. Yet Bush is ignoring the will of the A m erican people in order to stay true to the con o f the N eo-C onservatives, just as he ignored the will o f the world in deciding to go to w ar w ith Iraq. We A fricanA m ericans are the con stituency with the most to lose from this conning o f A m erica. W e m ust be at the forefront o f m aking A m erica live up to its ideals. From the H om estead Act to theG I Bill, A m erica has invested billions in m aking sure its citizens have the op p o rtu n ity to a ttain a m id d le -c la ss lifestyle. Just as A m erica began to ac know ledge Blacks as citizens, it is now pulling up the econom ic ladder that had been so readily available previously to white A m ericans. Pouring funds into national defense and tax cuts for the rich will institution alize the racial wealth gap for genera tions to com e. If we follow the neo conservative agenda, the U.S. will not be able to leave the legacy o f racism behind. Black A m erica m ust notfall vic tim to this con. Dedrick Muhammad is the coordi nator o f the Racial Wealth Gap project at United fo r a Fair Economy, a group that raises awareness o f the damaging consequences o f concentrated wealth and power. A ny T re e O n Lot 020.00 A Card to a Solider B y B onny P. L ee 4 2 7 N E C ook S tr e e t @ T he com er of M LK & C o o k P o r tla n d , O R 9 7 2 1 2 A d v e r tile w ith d iv e rs ity » , î,,r f c o r t h n t b < O b s e r v e r C a ll 5 0 3 - 2 8 8 - 0 0 3 3 One day Karen took the time To make a card, she was only nine. It was beautiful and she was glad. It was going to the front line, to her dad. On the envelope, this is what it read, To My Dad, is all that it said. Her mother was going to address it real soon. Hui it got mixed up with other mail and was mailed at noon. The postman said, “It must be fo r a soldier, " He put it with the rest that he had sorted over. Into a bag, then on a plane headed far, fa r from home. The plane suddenly had to land because o f a terrible storm. Christmas was but one day away, what else could go wrong. The mail crew followed a moaning sound, And removed a soldier off o f the ground. The soldiers on the front line could sure use a good lift, Along with this mail came a very special gift. A card with a ribbon, addressed. To My Dad On the front o f the envelope, is all that it had. The card was protected, on the inside it said, Merry Christmas, / h iv e You Dad, is what it read. Also, “I love you and miss you too" signed by “your darling wife Sue. ” Hey! said the crew, let’s just give it to him. He has a little girl and her name is Karen. When the soldier got the letter, all he could do was cry. "Please fo r me, ” he said. "Tell my family good bye. The rescue came too late fo r this one man? And his card, he held tightly in his hand. The reporter told this touching story. All the mail was delivered and they gave God the glory. In the dead soldier's pocket was a picture o f two, “ We love you. ” it said, “from Karen and Sue. ” Ronny P. Lee is a resident o f northeast Portland. t Ve o J" E J) our best Attention SENIORS Red Delicious Apples Sliced Pork Loin Rib Half Safew ay Senior Shuttle Service! 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