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Page A4
March 9. 2005
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
O pinion
Momentum
for Justice
Supreme Court on right course
The most
basic o f values
is a respect for
human life. |
by G reg
M athis
M ajor decisions m ade by the
U.S. Suprem e C ourt over the last
three years give hope to our con­
tinuing struggle for justice. T w o
years ago the court upheld affirm a­
tive action w hen it ruled the Uni ver-
sity o f M ichigan is allow ed to p u r­
sue d iv e rsity in its adm issio n s
policy. Last year, the court banned
the execution o f the m entally re­
tarded and last w eek it banned the
execution o f juveniles.
T he hope now is that in the near
future the death penalty, w hich dis­
proportionately affects blacks, will
also be struck dow n by the high
court.
T he decision to outlaw the ex­
ecution o f juveniles w as a surprise
to many.
A t a tim e when the political mood
o f the country leans tow ard con­
servatives w ho advocate for the
death penalty, its relieving to see
that the sam e court that j um p started
this co n serv ativ e m ovem ent by
selecting Bush as president five
years ago, can still uphold the C on­
stitution.
Based on the Eighth A m end­
ment o f the U.S. Constitution, which
bans the use o f cruel and unusual
punishm ent in our ju stice system ,
the court voted 5 to 4 in favor o f
overturning a 1989 decision allo w ­
ing ju v en ile executions.
T he U nited States w as one o f
only a few countries that allow ed
the death penalty for m inors. The
few other countries such as Iran,
C hina, and Pakistan allow it only in
rare circum stances. M ost o f the
civilized w orld obviously know s
that executing im m ature and under­
developed teenagers is inhum ane.
Studies have long indicated that
the teenage brain is not equipped
to handle the life and death conse­
quences o f teenager’s actions and
does not becom e fully operational
until adulthood. T h a t’s w hy we
d o n ’t allow them the freedom o f
choice until age 21.
O f the 22 youngsters that have
been executed since 1976 the m a­
jo rity o f them have occurred in
T exas, som e under the w atch o f
form er governor, now president,
G eorge W. Bush. T his is no doubt
a setback for him and other advo­
cates for the death penalty.
Hopefully, with the m om entum
o f this decision we will get closer
to banning the death penalty alto­
gether, young and old. In recent
y ea rs, it has been d isc o v ered
through the use o f DN A, that many
o f those w ho have been sentenced
to death w ere actually innocent.
T h a t’s reason enough to end the
death penalty.
T he Suprem e C o u rt’s decisions
interpreting and applying the C o n ­
stitution should be based on com ­
m unity standards o f the U.S. popu­
lation. Certainly those standards
are subject to change, based on
o u r ev e r-c h a n g in g v alu es and
norms.
It is now tim e to apply the cruel
and unusual punishm ent clause
o f the constitution’s Eight A m end­
m ent to outlaw the death penalty
altogether.
T he m ost basic o f values is a
respect for hum an life. It is hypo­
critical to fight fo r the preserva­
tion o f life for the unborn and at the
sam e tim e support executing the
living.
Judge Mathis is chairman o f
the Rainbow PUSH-Excel Board
and a national board member of
the Southern Christian Leader­
ship Conference.
College Access Put in Jeopardy
Programs like
Upward Bound
help low-income
by A rnold L. M itchem
Nearly 5 ,3 0 0 O regon high school and middle
school students w ould lose th eir college o p ­
p o r tu n ity p r o g r a m s u n d e r th e B u s h
ad m in istratio n ’s prop o sed 2006 budget.
T he cuts call for elim in atio n o f tw o popular
and successful co lleg e access pro g ram s -
U pw ard B ound and T alent Search. T h ese p ro ­
gram s help low -incom e students b ecom e the
first in th eir fam ilies to attend college.
P articipation in these program s is based on
by M ichael L eachman
First, the good news: O regon’s
hunger rate has improved. Though
our rate is still high, we made it easier
forfamilies working in low-wage jobs
to get food stamps.
Oregonchanged its eligibility rules
in 2000 so that a family o f three could
earn 43 percent more and still get the
vital fo o d stam p b en efits. T h e
Arnold L. Mitchem is the president o f the
non-profit Council fo r Opportunity in Educa­
tion.
changes also allowed food stamp
families to ow n a reliable car.
W e’ve reduced hunger in large
part because we got more federal
food dollars into Oregon to help our
working families. The added federal
support also put more money into
local economies.
Now for the bad news: President
Bush wants to eliminate the provi­
sion that Oregon used to expand our
food stamp program. If the president
gets his way, Oregon will immedi­
ately have to take food stamps away
from about 11,200 Oregon families
working in low-wage jobs.
Another 4,500 Oregon families
with elderly or disabled members could
also lose access to food stamps. And
an unknown num berof Oregon fami­
lies with a reliable car or more than
$2,000 in assets would also be cut off.
The president’s proposal would
be a serious setback for O regon’s
cam paign to reduce hunger.
Senators Gordon Smith and Ron
Wyden lead the so-called Hunger
Caucus in Congress. They may be able
f
The president’s budget takes
.
r i
.
, ~
food out oj the cupboards oj
j
lOW~Wa^e WOlKlPlff JUmilieS Olid
hands the proceeds to extremely
wealthy families.
|
r
to restore the provision that allowed
the expansion. Unfortunately, even if
they succeed, other cuts the president
seeks in key federal programs that
invest in low-wage working families
could undermine our effort to reduce
hunger.
These programs include nutrition
for newborns and young children,
childcare assistance, rental housing
assistance and other forms o f invest­
ment in low-wage working families.
Is America really so broke that we
can no longer afford to help children
and their low-wage working parents
eat three square meals a day? It
doesn’t seem so; the president wants
even more new tax breaks for million­
aires.
H is budget takes food out o f the
cupboards o f low -w age w orking
fam ilies and hands the proceeds to
extrem ely w ealthy fam ilies by in­
creasing their deductions and ex ­
em ptions.
O regon should have the flexibil­
ity to choose a different approach.
A fter all, w hat we ’ ve been doing has
been working.
Charles Sheketoff is the execu­
tive director o f the Oregon Center
fo r Public Policy.
University aT
BANK
Jason W. Ruecker
Loan Officer
ificates and two-year degrees in 60 fields, including dental
engineering technologies, automotive service and multimedia!
Spring
term
starts
Behind program .
It is tragically shortsighted o f the Bush ad ­
m inistration to seek to end these program s in
the nam e o f N o C h ild Left Behind. Standardized
tests in high schools cannot be a reasonable
substitute for one-on-one m entoring and rigor­
ous instruction for students w ho have low
aspirations and little support.
W e hope that m em bers o f C ongress, includ­
ing the m em bers o f the O regon delegation, will
act to save U pw ard B ound and T alent Search
because these program s are vital links to ed u ­
cational opportunity for thousands o f first gen­
eration low -incom e students in O regon and
across the country.
Serious Hunger Setback: Recent gains may be lost
Each year 5,000 students
transfer their PCC credits
to universities. You can too!
Dual-enrollment partnerships
Oregon State University, and Tl
Credits that transfer to almost
University-level freshman
Classes from morning k f night
the metro area and anytime onl
Financial Aid available
fam ily incom e.
O ur high school and m iddle school stu ­
d ents need m entoring and en co u rag em en t in
preparing for and applying to college because
th eir fam ilies have so few resources. Instead,
th eir lifelines to college w ill be cut o ff if C o n ­
gress lets this proposal stand.
U pw ard Bound and T alent Search serve
more than 455,000high school and middle school
stu d e n ts, d isa b le d stu d e n ts an d v e te ra n s
across the country. M illions o f students have
gone on to college and becom e productive, tax-
paying citizens after com pleting these pro­
gram s during the nearly 40 years o f operation.
The $ 4 6 0 m illion in nationw ide federal fund­
ing for U pw ard Bound and Talent Search na­
tionw ide w ould be shifted to help pay for an
expansion o f President B u sh ’s N o C hild Left
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