Page A4 <Thr Jlortlanh (©bseçuer November 10. 2004 Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views o f The Portland Observer O pinion Free Speech is a Right 1RS investigation o f NAACP is political J udge M athis m ent Right and spoke out against In the 1960s, the FBI investi “the adm inistration policies o f gated and paid inform ants to in G eorge W . Bush on education, filtrate A frican-A m erican o rg a the econom y and the w ar in Iraq." nizations such as the Black Pan Ju lian B ond sp o k e o u t an d thers, the N ation o f Islam and u tilize d th e lib e rtie s w e 're all SN C C in an effort to intim idate a ffo rd e d u n d e r th e C o n s titu and destroy our struggle for ju s- tio n and now his o rg a n iz a tio n is by was founded upon principles o f dissent, free speech and fair rep resentation. By attem pting to stifle the voice o f the n atio n s’ largest civil rights organization, the IRS FT Why can’t we criticize policies that hurt African-American people ? That is what the NAACP is for. On the road with Family. It’s your world and this is your road! Loving the whole experience between point A and point B. Peace o f mind has no boundaries when you’re traveling with family. American Family Insurance. Over three generations of drivers have placed their trust in the auto coverage that means more peace o f mind on the road. Give us a call or visit us at www.amfam.com and lind out why nobody protects your auto like lamily. American Family Insurance. Check your local telephone directory for the agent neaZSBt you, Amanean Farn«/ Mutual Inaurane« Company and <ts Subsidiar«« AMERICAN FAMILY Homo Office Madison W! 53733 www.ainlam.com N S U R A N C E A O 000675 02004 All your protection under one root diversity Print Participate in Democracy R ttum xcur ballot by mail or d i p i f o ff a t any designated voter dnpxttc. Call 1 3 6 6 6 7 3 3633 to fin d a location nea> you. 1 **** 7 1 p o rtian b ©hserlmr ■ I •. r e . Election Ballots On Way rvicvv People o f color fin d a political fit & on Web YVVYYV.portlandohserYer.com CK- dg (Thr (In r lla iiit < 0h «rm rr ■T •--- ll’v«e»Y Call in A ■H nann^ As it quickly becomes more and more an electronic world. The Portland Observer endeav ors to meet the needs o f our readers and advertisers by going online. With the capa bility o f the Internet, the Portland Observer now reaches a broader audience, and thus sets your business in front o f a new generation. tice an d equality. M ore recently, federal agen cies unsuccessfully tried to si lence R ev. Je sse Ja c k so n by im plem enting an 1RS investiga tion against his R ainbow PUSH coalition. N ow th ey ’re going a f ter the n atio n s’ largest and oldest civ il rig h ts o rg a n iz a tio n : the NAACP. The right w in g ’s stronghold in our governm ent has reached even larger proportions. In a patently unconstitutional, bullying and fas cist m anner, the Internal R ev enue Service has gone on record as threatening to strip the N A A C P o f its tax-exem pt status. W hy? Because N A A C PC hairm an Julian Bond exercised his First Am end- at risk. W hy c a n ’t w e critic iz e p o lic ie s th a t h u r t A f r ic a n - A m eric an p e o p le ? T h at is w hat the N A A C P is for. It co n c ern s m e th at sp e ak in g up ab o u t p o li cie s that a d v e rse ly im p act the A fric an -A m erica n co m m u n ity is c a lle d “p o litic a l c a m p a ig n in g .” M aking speeches on b eh alf o f a candidate is cam paigning. Put ting up banners in neighborhoods on a can d id ates’ b eh alf is ca m paigning. Free speech is not c a m paigning. Free speech is a co n sti tutional right. T here is som ething very w rong in this country w hen free speech is attacked u nder the guise o f partisan p olitics. T his co u n try Ju d g e Greg M athis tram ples all o ver basic A m erican principles and rights. T o fight back, w e m ust sup port Julian B ond and the N A A C P and let the man and the o rg an iza tion know that w e stand behind them and know that their p erse cution and attack is politically based and intended to silence the voice o f civil rights against bla tant injustice. Judge Greg Mathis is chair man o f the Rainbow PUSH-Ex- cel Board and a national board member o f the Southern Chris tian Leadership Conference. The Good with the Bad is Bad Even with economic up tick, jobs fall behind tu re g ets w o rse if you are A fri can A m erican . In O cto b e r, a c c o rd in g to the U .S. D ep a rtm en t o f L abor, A frican -A m erican un em p lo y m e n t ro se by .4 p erc en t to 10.7 p erc en t. T h at is, o n ce ag a in , alm o st d o u b le the n a tio n a l u n em p lo y m e n t rate. Further, according to the U.S. BY U.S. D epartm ent o f L abor, 8.1 m illion R ep , E lijah E. A m ericans found them selves out C ummings o f w ork in O ctober. D espite the recent jo b creation figures, that is W h ile I am e n c o u ra g e d by the sam e num ber o f individuals the new s th a t the n a tio n ’s p a y who have been unem ployed for ro lls m ad e m o d e ra te s trid e s m ost o f 2004. d u rin g the m onth o f O cto b e r M oreover, that num ber does and new jo b s w ere c re a te d , the not reflect those w orkers w ho n a tio n ’s u n e m p lo y m e n t rate have given up looking for work. in c re a se d to 5.5 p erc en t. In ad T h ese u n em p lo y m e n t n u m d itio n , the u n em p lo y m e n t p ic b e rs are u n a c c e p ta b le . T h ey rep rese n t p eo p le w ho are h u rt ing and d e m o n stra te th at a l th o u g h so m e A m e ric a n s are g e ttin g jo b s , all A m eric an s are n ot b e n e fitin g . In o rd er for our econom ic pic ture to change for all A m ericans, we m ust w ork together here in C ongress and w ith the A dm inis tration to strengthen our jo b train ing p ro g ra m s and g iv e b u si nesses in cen tiv es to hire new workers. T he C ongressional Black C au cus will continue to pursue these types o f econom ic policies d u r ing the 109,h C ongress in o rder to uplift all A m ericans.” U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings o f Maryland is Chairman o f the Congressional Black Caucus. Drugged Driving’s Deadly Role Alcohol not the only intoxicant Evidence suggests that drugs other than alcohol are increasingly playing a role in traffic crashes and fatalities. More than 25,000 people were arrested for driving under the influ ence of intoxicants in Oregon in 2003. O f those. 1,400 were sus pected o f and evaluated for being under the influence o f drugs other than alcohol. D uring the sam e period, there was a four percent increase in intoxicant-related driving fatali ties statew ide, with 43 fatalities o ccu rrin g in the P o rtlan d tri county area. When people think o f driving responsibly, they most often de cide they w on't drink and drive. That same thinking needs to be appl ied to other drugs as w ell. These include over-the-counter drugs and prescription medicines as well as inhalants and certainly, illegal drugs. Like alcohol, they can con tribute to dangerous levels of driv ing impairment. Oregon DUII laws apply to men tal and p h y sical im p a irm en ts caused by intoxicants including alcohol, inhalants and illegal or controlled substances. Some over- the-counter and prescription drugs can impair drivers as well. courages drivers to avoid driving under the influence by designating a driver, taking keys to prevent others from driving under the influ ence and reporting drivers you suspect may be under the influ- Oregon DUII laws apply to mental and physical impairments caused by intoxicants including alcohol, inhalants and illegal or controlled substances. Some over-the-counter and prescription drugs can impair drivers as well. Holiday periods such as Thanks- giving. Christmas and New Y ear’s typically have higher traffic fatality rates than non-holiday periods. Safety officials with the Oregon Department o f Transportation en Advertise vvith diversity zzi 0 l?1 JJort lattò ence. For more information about DUII in Oregon and O D O T ’s impaired driving programs, call 503-986-4183 or visit: w w w .o d o t.state.o r.u s/ transafetyZImpaired_Driving.htm. 0f)li6Cri>er Call 5O3-288-OO33