Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, November 10, 2004, Page 4, Image 4

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    Page A4
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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.
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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
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Election
Ballots
On Way
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People o f color
fin d a political fit
& on Web
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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