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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2004)
O cto b e r 20. 2 0 0 4 Page AS Clean election probably not in the cards bs R alph C. N eas With widespread predictions of a close national election, an unprecedented wave of new voter registration and new vot ing systems in place, the poten tial for problems is high. These can come from poorly trained poll workers, confused voters and improper actions by some state and local election officials. On top of all that, unscrupulous political operatives are looking for any advantage that will help In fact, the scope of efforts to limit voting in minority commu nities during the past two de cades is startling. “Ballot security” or “voter integrity” initiatives targeting mi nority communities are just one often-used method of intimidat ing voters. At least three times, these initiatives have been suc cessfully challenged in federal courts as illegal attempts to sup press voter participation. Other methods include dis c flÓR&A. ok Y inkee Go w o A ie z , Robbing citizens of their votes undermines the very foundations of our democratic society. them win, including voter sup pression and intimidationefforts. This is nothing new. In virtu ally every election, voters - par ticularly African Americans and other minorities - have faced calculated and determined ef forts to keep them out. While poll taxes, literacy tests and the physical violence of the Jim Crow era have disappeared, more subtle, cynical and cre ative tactics have taken their place. tributing flyers and other infor mation containing false infor mation about where, when and how to vote. There have even been recent incidents o f opera tives challenging individual vot ers at the polls by using armed private guards, off-duty law en forcement officers and fake poll monitors. Robbing citizens of their votes undermines the very founda tions of our democratic society. Politicians, political strategists No BR4ZEHLY STOLEN U K E lN zooo,.. and party officials who may consider voter intimidation and suppression efforts as part of their tactical arsenal should be exposed and prosecuted. State and federal officials, including Justice Department and national political party officials of both parties, should publicly repudi ate such tactics and make clear that those who engage in them will be face severe punishment. In a nation where children are taught in grade school that every citizen has the right to vote, it would be comforting to think that the last vestiges of voter intimidation, oppression and suppression have been swept away. It would be good MMBNMBBBMi to know that voters are no longer wrongly turned away from the polls, never knowingly misdi rected, misinformed, deceived or threatened. Unfortunately, it would be a grave mistake to believe it. To report incidents o f voter suppression or intimidation, or to get help with other kinds of problems on I lection Day, call I -866-OUR-VOTE for assis tance. P ilpli G. Neas is president o f People For the American IViiv Foundation, an advo cacy organization dedicated to civil rights, civil liberties and First Amendment prin ciples. SMB Bush Won’t or Can’t Tell the Truth by J udge G reg M athis A fter the last presidential debate, I am left wondering why it is so hard for our n atio n 's com m ander-in-chief to tell the truth. From do m estic issues to war to fiscal policy, George W. Bush ei ther ignores the truth, d o esn 't understand the truth or c a n 't speak the truth. W hatever the reaso n , none o f these u n truths sit well with me - and they should not sit well with anyone else either. By now, everyone should know that not only were there no weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq, Saddam Hussein did not even possess the ability to create such weapons. These weapons served as a major rea son to go to war and it was a false reason. A dditionally, Bush claimed that Iraq had connec tions with Al-Qaeda that had to be severed and could only be countered by war. We know that this is untrue. Not only did Iraq not have connections with Al- Qaeda, evidence suggests that Saddam had successfully kept Al-Qaeda out of Iraq. Bush lied. During the debates. Bush claimed that over two million new jobs have been added to the work force under his presi dency. The truth of the matter is that jobs have been lost under his presidency. Bush lied. Bush claimed that health care costs were high because of 49 percent. Putting aside, for now', that the actual per centage is closer to 43 per cent, the m otivation for the increase has been largely C on g ressio n al, with opposition from the White House. In plain English - C ongress, not the President, has been re sponsible for the anemic fund ing education has received un der B ush’s presidency. His medical malpractice lawsuits and higher insurance costs. This is not true. The Congres sional Budget Office, a federal institution, reported that mal practice insurance accounts for only 2 percent of health care spending. Bush neglected to tell truth about his record on educa tion. He claim ed to have in creased education funding by \ < / J b u d g e ts h av e p ro p o s e d cuts in education spending. Bush lied. America deserves a presi dent who does not feel the need to lie about everything his ad ministration does. Judge Greg Mathis is chair man o f the Rainbow PUSH-Ex cel Hoard and a national board member of the Southern Chris tian Leadership Conference. **Classes are free for qualified participants! AAHC African American Health Coalitio* . Inc. 7 Y \ v z \ \ Presents for your health, Wellness Within REACH Activity Calendar Aerobics Mallory Ave. Christian Church Mon, Wed, fri, 6-7am, Pierce • 5:3O-6:2Opm, Granville • 6:30-7:30pm, Nickerson P ila te s (C o n ta c t A A H C ) M att Dishman Tue, 8-9pm Low Impact Aerobics Daniel’s M em orial Church Tue, 7:15-8:15pm, Granville (Clan courtesy o f Matt Dishman) Stretchine/Body Sculpting The Christ we know values covenant relationships. Jesus' unconditional love can be found in all sincere, committed covenant relationships, including marriage between two persons of the same gender. W a te r Aerobics ( C o n t a c t A A H C ) Columbia Pool, M att Dishman African Exercise M att Dishman Sat, 10-1 lam, Addo Body Conditioning W ild Oats M arket Sat, 9:3O-IO:3Oam, Nickerson We invite our Christian brothers and sisters to think carefully and prayerfully before voting to take away from other Christian believers and potential believers, the right to marry, just because they are gay. Please vote NO on Constitutional Am endm ent 36. This message is paid for by the members and sojourners o f Metanola PexeCommunity United Methodist Church in Portland. For more information about us, call (5 0 3 ) 2 8 1 -3 6 9 7 or visit website: www.tearsoup.com/metanoia. Tai Chi ( C o n t a c t A A H C ) St.John’s Com unity C enter Tue, 6:30-7:30pm W alking Group Peninsula Park Sat, 12:30pm, Woods Lloyd Ctr, 1st FI. in front of Sears Tue, Thu, 6:30pm, Woods Classes W ill Resume Soon W eight Mgnt./Conditioning W h itak er Track Tue, Thu, 9-1 Oam, Hasan Kickboxing Mallory Ave. Christian Church Tue, Thuj 6-7pm, Keller Yoga W ild Oats M arket Tue, Thu, 7:30-8:30pm, Wren Columbia Pool. 7701 N Chautauqua Daniel’s Memorial Church. 1234 NE Killmgsworth Mallory Ave Christian Church (Gym), 126 NE Alberta Matt Dishman 77 NE Knott Peninsula Park. 700 N Portland St John's Community Center. 8427 N. Central Whitaker Track. NE 42nd & Killmgsworth Wild Oats Market. 3S3S NE ISth Chicago Step The witness o f the Holy Spirit in our church life, has opened our eyes to the truth that "God shows no partiality," (Acts 10:34) and that homosexual persons, no less than heterosexual persons, can and do enter into stable, long term marriages that replicate the covenant love uniting Christ and his Church. M att Dishman Tue, Thu, 7-8am, Lois **Please contact AAHC before attending the first class and for more information at 503-413-1850 or kdempsey@aahc-portland.org. Please receive approval from your dcctor before beginning exercise class. Must be 18 or older A ■Vzr U J J g R acial and E th n ic A p p ro a c h « « to C o m m u n ity H e a lth A Program of the African American Health Coalition Inc ’ /V M Sponsored by the Centers lor Disease Control and Prevention (C D C ) Contact AAHC at 503-413-1150 or visit our web site at w w w jah c-pordand.org Lljw
