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The Conning of Black America
BOSS HOGG
C h r is tm a s T re e I /) t
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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.
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