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lanuary 12. 2005
Page A4
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
O pinion
TriM et H onors K ing Legacy Paying for Public Opinion
Bt
B ki i
e
W atts
M artin L uther K in g ’s w ork b e­
gan by advocating for tran sit-d e­
pendent people.
By increasing serv ice on this
M artin L uther K ing D ay, beyond
typical holiday schedules, T riM et
ensures that no one is left behind.
If you plan to ride the bus this
M LK D ay, be th an k fu l T riM et
d id n 't run its usual holiday sch ed ­
ule and leave thousands o f riders
stranded.
A group o f T riM et operators
ra is e d s o m e q u e s t io n s a b o u t
T riM et’s service on the King Day.
T riM et G e n e ra l M a n a g e r F red
H an sen 's co n clu sio n not to o p e r­
ate a reduced holiday schedule was
sound. He cited “the effect this
w ould have on transit dependent
riders w h o may have to g iv e up a
day o f pay o r even put th eir jo b at
risk if they are unable to get to w ork
becau se o f lack o f tran sp o rtatio n .”
W hile w e sy m p ath ize w ith our
T riM et brothers and sisters w o rk ­
ing durin g the K ing H oliday, such
a sch ed u le w ould not be in keeping
w ith D r. K in g 's le g a c y . F re d
H an sen 's policy increased the se r­
vice, o v er a typical holiday sch ed ­
ule, to en su re m em bers o f o u rc o m ­
m unity have access to th eir jo b s
and M artin L.uther K ing D ay a c ­
tivities.
By the w ay. this is o n ly an issue
because quite a few b u sin esses
and o rg an izatio n s d o n ’t reco g n ize
the M artin L u th er K ing D ay as a
holiday. If they did, there w o u ld n ’t
be a need fo r in creased transit
service.
M ay b e o th e r b u s in e s s e s
should set up and create po licies
that m eet the true sp irit o f Dr.
K in g ’s w ork. E qual access for all.
Bruce Watts is a local African-
American leader and director of
diversity and transit equity fo r
TriMet.
Advertise
with
diversity in
fjiirth m b
(Obstruer
Call 5(13-
288-0033
Propaganda
illegal, dangerous
and covert
by U .S.
R ep . E lijah E . C ummings
I am appalled to learn that the
U.S. D epartm ent o f Education has
ap parently used tax payer dollars to
influence public opinion by paying
political com m entator A rm strong
W illiam s $240,000 to prom ote the
N o C hild Left B ehind Act.
Furtherm ore, it is unbelievable
that the Bush A dm inistration used
lim ited taxpayer dollars to self-pro-
m ote N o C hild Left Behind, while
u n d e r f u n d in g m o n e y fo r o u r
schools, books, technology, and
after school program s.
Sadly, it appears that this is not
an isolated incident. T he G overn­
m ent A ccountability O ffice just
reported that video new s releases
concern ing the dangers o f m ari­
ju an a. involving actors pretending
to be reporters and distributed by
the O ffice o f N ational DrugC ontrol
Policy, constitute "covert propa­
ganda."
C overt propaganda to influence
public opinion is illegal, unethical
and dangerous. It violates funda­
mental principles o f open govern­
m ent, it distorts the free press and
Congress authorized approxim ately
$122 billion to im prove public-
schools an d close ac h ie v e m e n t
gaps. H ow ever, to date, this effort
has been underfunded by $27 b il­
lion.
I am disappointed that the A d­
m inistration gave priority to help­
The fact that the Administration
would spend valuable taxpayer
dollars to hire Mr. Williams to help
mislead the public about its true
efforts in education reform is
unforgivable.
the public’s right to know.
T hese latest reports are appall­
ing. The fact that the A dm inistra­
tion w ould spend valuable taxpayer
dollars to hire Mr. W illiam s to help
m islead the public about its true
efforts in education reform is unfor­
givable and deserves im m ediate
answ ers.
“U nder No C hild Left Behind,
ing a political com m entator profit
while refusing to provide funds
prom ised for academ ic support for
low -incom e students, after-school
program s, and other N C LB initia­
tives.”
Congressman Cummings repre­
sents the stale o f Mary land and is
member o f the Congressional
black Caucus.
Bush Appointees Do Not Reflect America
j by J udge G reg M athis
M u ch has been said about the diver­
sity o f P resident B u sh 's cabinet appoint-
| m en ts, but a close look at all o f his
ad m inistration appointm ents reveals that
su ch d iversity is an invention o f the
B ush spin m achine. T he reality is the
sam e as his fiscal and tax policies: to
Bush proves
time and again
that his interests
are not in line
with ours.
I
b en efit the status quo.
A recent "N ewsday" report revealed
the gross under-representation o f B ush’s
cabinet picks as opposed to C linton’s. In
fact, the num bers are so low, they dem on­
strate a definite under representation of
A frican A m ericans in the federal govern­
m ent. T he report concluded that o f B ush’s
2,8(X)administrationjobs, blacks only hold
7 percent o f them . In contrast, under
C linton, blacks held 16 percent. Even more
shockingly. Bush aw arded over half o f his
appointments to white men. In contrast,
Clinton awarded 57 percent o f his appoint­
m ents to women and minorities.
D o not be deceived by a few black
faces in high places. We m ust dem and a
governm ent that is totally inclusive from
top to bottom . W hat we have now is a
government in which white men fill 9 1 per­
cent o f senior executive level federal
positions.
From his attack o f A ffirm ative Action
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Judge Greg Mathis is chairman o f the
Rainbow PUSH-Excel Board and a na­
tional board member o f the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference.
Protecting Our Right to Vote
Stop this
Nonsense
Remedy needed
for election
irregularities
As a young A frican-A m erican
citizen, I have done research on
how the governm ent is making
Social Security h ard erto co m e by.
Social Security is supposed to
be a retirem ent plan for those w ho
c a n 't w ork anym ore and have paid
their due. Instead it’s going to the
rich w ho hav en ’t done a thing but
com p lain about taxes.
T h e governm ent is even m ak­
ing it harder for low -incom e A fri­
can A m ericans to receive Social
Security. African-A m erican fam i­
lies with single incom es have been
d enied Social Security benefits as
tw o -in co m e C au casia n ho u se­
h olds qualify.
T he governm ent needs to draw
the line and stop this nonsense.
Tiffany Hall
Southeast Portland
IN HONOR OF
M artin L uther K ing , J r . D ay
Monday, January 17, 2005
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like him.
A few sm iling faces here and there
cannot m ake up for policies that nega­
tively im pact ourcom m unity. Rather than
spotty face tim e. B ush needs to provide
a reflection o f the people and interests
that m ake up this country. T o do so is a
mark o f "com passion." T o do otherw ise
is ... well, m ore o f the sam e w e have com e
to expect from him.
Letter“"1“ Editor
AdiviSSlON
1*41, by r—
edbco*. -4 *• ’»’1—4 Ari
to the proposed privatization o f Social
Security, Bush proves tim e and again
that his interests are not in line w ith ours.
It m akes sense that in order to push his
policies forward, he needs an adm inistra­
tion full o f others w ho look, think and act
P O R T L A N D ART M U S EU M
1219 SW PARK AVE, PORTLAND, OR 97205 503 226-2811 portlondor»mu»eum.org
with voting m achines, and signifi­
cant flaws in registration processes
and procedures, ju st to nam e a few.
How can we possibly tell the
m illions o f A m ericans w ho cam e
out the polls in record num bers,
particularly o u r young people, to
by U .S. R ep . S tephanie T ubbs J ones
This past Thursday, the House sim ply get over it and m ove on.
Itiso n b e h a lfo fth o se m illio n so f
and Senate convened a jo in t ses­
Americans
w ho believe in and value
sion o f C ongress to certify the elec­
toral ballots o f the N ovem ber 2(X)4 our dem ocratic process and the
right to vote that I put forth the
Presidential election.
I. along with Sen. Barbara Boxer objection. If they are w illing stand
raised a form al objection to the at the polls for countless hours in
counting o f the State o f O h io ’s the rain as m any did in O hio, then I
electoral ballots. My colleagues can surely stand up for them here in
How can we
possibly tell the
millions o f Americans
who came out the
polls in record
numbers, particularly
our young people, to
simply get over it and
move on.
from the Congressional Black C au­
cus joined me in this effort.
I raised these objections neither
to put the nation in the turm oil o f a
proposed overturned election nor
to provide cannon fodder or parti­
san dem agoguery for my fellow
Republican M em bers o f Congress.
I raised these objections because I
felt it im portant toconduct a formal
and legitim ate debate about elec­
tion irregularities. I raised the ob­
jection to debate the process and
protect the integrity o f the true will
o f the people.
While some have called ourcause
foolish, I can assure you that my
parents, M ary and Andrew T ubbs
did not raise any fools. As a law yer,
form er judge and prosecutor. I am
duty bound to follow the law and
apply the law to the facts as I find
them.
In this case the facts are clear.
There were num erous irregularities
in O hio including large percent­
ages o f rejections am ong P rovi­
sional ballots, num erous problem s
U.S. Rep. Stephanie
Tubbs Jones
the halls o f C ongress.
If we can send our young men
and w om en overseas to give their
lives so that the people o f Iraq and
A fghanistan can have the right to
vote, then surely we here in C o n ­
gress can begin the discussion to
im prove our system so that we can
ensure that every eligible A m eri­
can is afforded their vote as w ell. If
we can send people all o v er the
world to m onitor elections in other
countries then surely w e can have
a system in place to m onitor our
own elections.
A gain, this objection did not
have at its root the hope o r even the
hint o f overturning o r challenging
the victory o f the P resident; but it
was a necessary, tim ely and ap p ro ­
priate opportunity to review and
rem edy the m ost precious process
in our d em ocracy. o u r right to vote.
C ongressw om an Stephanie
Tubbs Jones is the first African-
American woman elected to the U.
S. House o f Representatives from
Ohio.
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