'fior t lattò (Ohserner Page A 4 O pinion Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of The Portland Observer War is Always Evil What has happened to our country and our world? by B ernice P o w e u . J ackson “War may sometimes be a necessary evil, but no matter how necessary, it is always evil, never good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children.” Those were the words of Presi dent Jimmy Carter in his accep tance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize. Must we learn that anew in every generation? The pictures of the abuse and to rtu re con ducted by U.S. troops and pri vate contractors turn my stomach and those of mil lions of Ameri can s. T hey threaten the lives o f A m erican troopsstillinlraq and they may threaten any pos sibility of good will by many Iraqis and many in the Arab world in the future. But we should not be sur prised. War is always evil and sometimes even good people do evil things during war. Should we be surprised? Those pictures were horrible and Congress and the Ameri can people, not to mention the Iraqi people, rightly demand jus tice. But, I wonder, where were our cries o f outrage when pic tures surfaced of the children injured in the siege of Fallujah and other Iraqi cities? Are not the broken bodies of Iraqi chil dren just as horrible? M a y 19. 2 0 0 4 tured Iraqis. Did we stop to think about what the image of U.S. troops holding prisoners in Abu Ghraib would say? Did we care? And then I was struck with three little words in the state ment of Army Maj. Gen. An tonio M. Taguba, “two pri vate contractors.” It seems that there may have been pri vate contractors— a.k.a. m er cenaries involved in some of the abuses at this prison. It’s one thing to talk about private contractors providing supplies for our armed forces, but it’s As I looked at the pictures and saw the woman soldier standing above the naked bod ies of the Iraqi prisoners, I won dered to myself, is this what so many of us who have fought for equal rights for women worked for? What could she have been thinking? As I looked at the pictures of the hooded prisoner standing with wires extending from his arms, I thought about the 2,805 docu ’ Are these new pictures from the Abu Ghraib prison a remnant o f the racism o f our past? — Bernice Powell Jackson mented cases o f lynching of African Americans in this na tion. And I w asn’t the only one— others, including both Af rican A m ericans and Arab Americans, are remembering those horrible picture postcards of black men, women and chil dren hanging from trees, some times with crowds of white fami lies having lunch nearby. So I have to ask, are these new pictures from the Abu Ghraib prison a remnant of the racism o f our past? And, speaking o f the Abu Ghraib prison, what were we even doing there? It was an in fa m o u s p ris o n , w h e re Saddam Hussein’s soldiers tor another thing altogether to talk about private contrac tors doing the actual work of the armed forces. How do we hold them accountable for what may be considered war crim es? War is evil. We need to say that. We need to apologize to those who were tortured and abused and to the people of Iraq. We need to hold not only our military accountable, but those civilian leaders of the military as well. We need to question the role of private mili tary contractors and we need to search into our souls about what has happened toourcoun- try and our world. ♦♦All classes are free of charge! African A m erican H ealth Coalition, Inc. Presents for your health, Wellness W ithin REACH Activity Calendar Aerobic? Pilate? Mallory Ave. Christian Church Matt Dishman Mon, Wed, Fn, 6-7am, Pierce • 5:30-6:20pm, Granville • 6:30-7:30pm, Hickerson Mon, 12:15-1:15pm, Jenkins Humboldt Elementary Stretching/Body Sculpting Tue, Thu, 6-7pm, Keller (Class courtesy o f Hatt Dishman) Low Impact Aerobics Daniel’s Memorial Church lue, Thu, 7-8am, Lois Tue, 7 :15 -8:15pm, Granville Walking Group Peninsula Park W ater A erobic? ( C o n t a c t A A H C ) Salvation Army Matt Dishman Sat, 12:30pm, Woods African Dance Tue, Thu, 9 -1 Oam. Hasan Matt Dishman Weight Mgnt./Conditioning U. of Portland Indoor Track Matt Dishman Sat, 10-1 lam , Addo Yoga W ild Oats Market Body Conditioning W ild Oats Market Tue, Thu, 7:3O-8:3Opm, O'Rourke Sat, 9:3O-IO:3Oam, Nickerson This court has gotten involved in deciding political issues when it appears to benefit Republicans, but seems to use the shield o f nonpartisanship when it comes to enforcing the voting rights o f African Americans. - judge Greg Mathis Supreme Court Fails on Voting Rights by J udge G reg M athis Nearly four years af ter the U.S. Supreme Court decided to engage in partisan politics and the majority Republican- appointed Justices se lected Bush as Presi dent, the high court re cently ruled against an important voting rights case. In a 5 to 4 vote the justices ruled against a democratic chal lenge to an unfair Pennsylvania redistricting map. The case in volved efforts by the Republi can controlled Pennsylvania leg islature to redistrict their con gressional maps in a manner that would reduce the political power of democrats and mi norities, resulting in less minor ity political power in the U.S. Congress. The practice of Congressional redistricting to reduce political power of a party or minority group is as old as politics itself. Gerrymandering, the name given to this practice, occurs when the political party, which has control of the state leg islature, re d raw s the voting maps and dissects n e ig h b o r hoods to cre ate a voting district that the party in control knows they will win. In past years, the U.S. Su preme Court has struck down this practice as a violation o f the “one man, one vote” standard of American democracy. In the 1960s, the court was active in outlawing this practice because it was frequently used to dilute the voting bloc of African Ameri cans who were fighting for po litical empowerment. The current Republican domi nated U.S. Supreme Court in an opinion written by Justice Scalia, reversed the courts usual pro tection of voting rights and Scalia even stated that such cases should never have been heard by the court because it involves political issues beyond the courts jurisdiction. This same Supreme Court, which in this current case of Vieth vs. Jubelirer allowed Re publican gerrymandering, has repeatedly invalidated black- majority districts. In other words, this court has gotten involved in deciding political issues when it appears to benefit Republicans, but seems to use the shield of nonpartisanship when it comes to enforcing the voting rights of African Americans and other minorities. On the eve of a hot and heavi ly contested summer campaign for the presidency, both candidates must be challenged on whether they will be sure to appoint Su preme Court Justices that will ensure voting rights. Judge Greg Mathis is chair man o f the Rainbow PUSH- Excel Board and a national board member o f the South ern Christian Leadership Con fe re n c e . Uninsured Numbers are Staggering African Americans among hardest hit Editor’s note: The following is from Cover the Uninsured Week, a diverse group o f orga nizations representing thou sands o f individuals, business owners, union members, edu cators, students, health con sumers, hospitals, health insur ers, physicians, nurses, faith leaders and many others: One in five-orapproximately 7.3 million - African Ameri cans in the U.S. are uninsured. More than one-third do not have a regu lar doctor’s office or health center at which they can get the medical attention they need, despite their heightened risk for certain chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. Being uninsured means Afri can Americans go without medi cal care when it is needed. It means minor illnesses become major ones because care is de layed. In fact, the Institute of Medicine estimates 18,000 adults in America die each year be cause they are uninsured and can’t get proper care. Many African A m ericans age and are placing insurance out o f the reach of millions of working Americans. That’s why Presidents Ford and Carter and national cam paign spokesperson, TV star Noah Wyle, the National Medi- Many African Americans who currently have private health coverage through their jobs are at risk o f becoming uninsured, i whocurrently have private health coverage through their jobs are at risk of becoming uninsured. Rising costs are making health coverage unaffordable for busi ness owners who would like to provide their employees with affordable health care cover cal Association, the National Council of Negro Women and some of the most influential or ganizations in the United States in sponsoring Cover the Unin sured W eek - to encourage Americans nationwide to join together to help find a solution. Letters to the Editor Travesty of Justice Daniel's Memorial Church, 1234 NE Killingsworth Matt Dishman. 77 NE Knott (12th 4 Kdlmgsworth) HunboWt Elementary, 4915 N Gantenbein Peninsula Park. 700 N Portland Salvation Army. 5325 N Williams Malory Avenue Christian Churdi (Gym), 126 ME U. of Portland Indoor Trade, 500 N Willamette Alberta Wild Oats Market. 3535 NE 15th "M u st be 21 or older to participate Please contact AAHC before showing up to the first class and for more information at 503-413-1850 or kdempsey@aahc portland.org. Please receive approval from your doctor before beginning exercise class. The tragedy of the police kill ings of (often) innocent victims is not only the death of human beings, hut also the death of human justice. The prime witness cannot testify against the police or de fend his or hers own integrity. If a police officer professes fear Contact AAHC at 503-413-1150 or visit our web site at wwwaahc-portland.org ond, through weeding out para noid, em otionally unstable po lice recruits, and finally, by instituting a more positive phi losophy of criminal justice that re s to re s , ra th e r th an c o n dem ns. Charles E. Long Northeast Portland Advertise with diversity /// Racial anB Ethnic Approach«, to C o m m u n ity H e a lt h A Program nl llip A fro in A u ro ra n Mmllh Coalition. Inc Sponwrad by Itie C ro w n 1er OWeaw Control and Proventi«, (COC) and possesses a vivid imagina tion of impending violence, the officers may shoot to kill with impunity, knowing the grand jury will exonerate the slayer based upon “self-defense.” This travesty o f justice must com e to an end. First, through the Oregon Legislature, sec- ül" rt lattò (iDhscrucr Call 503-288-0033 ads@poillandob s c ia c i . com