^ '^ o rtla n h (©bsemer E mbracing D iversity
Page A4
August 3, 2005
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views of The Portland Observer
O pinion
Democracy Under Threat
Patriot Act renewal is not justified
history that civil rights groups have
been subject to such invasive ac
The First Amendment
tions.
During the black liberation
of the U.S. Constitution
movement, the FB I's Counter Intel
promises Americans free
ligence Program (Cointelpro) fo
dom of speech and the
cused
its energy on investigating
right to assemble peace
and
disrupting
the activities of or
fu lly and sp e a k out
ganizations
that
were considered
against the government
‘radical.’
Dr.
Martin
Luther King Jr.
and its actions.
and
the
Southern
Christian
Leader-
Over the years, these
shipConference.the
Black
Panther
Party,
rights have been threatened, all in the
Malcolm
X,
Elijah
Muhammad
and
the
interest of national security. Under the
Nation
of
Islam
were
all
heavily
moni
guise o f ‘protecting’ the American pub
lic, the FBI has routinely investigated tored.
Cointelpro’s sole purpose was to dis
those that dare to criticize the policies of
credit
these powerful voices, stilling the
the American government, even though
movement
and maintaining the status quo.
they aren’t accused of any crime. This
Thankfully,
they were not successful.
monitoring not only fails to protect the
Though
many
of the groups, the Black
American people, it also undermines our
Panther
Party
especially,
were destabi-
basic rights to organize and participate in
lized
by
the FB I's ef-
the democratic process.
W e m u s t r a i s e o u r forts’ the messas e Pre-
In the shadow o f the
Sept. 11 terrorist at-
.
vailed. Let’s hope that
tacks, Congress rushed C o l l e c t i v e V O IC C S Cl 11 Cl rig h te o u sn e ss
tri-
by J udge
G reg M a i his
into law the Patriot Act.
Among the act’s provi-
sions are the expansion
W h y N o t N u m b e r One? America is behind in child care
by
M arian W right E delman
The U.S. likes to be number
one in most things and we boast
about being the leaderofthe free
world. Why then are we so con
tent to lag behind many other
less wealthy industrialized na
tions in policies protecting chil
dren? What does it tell us about
what and who we value?
Among industrialized coun
tries, the United States ranks first in mili
tary technology, military exports, defense
spending, gross domestic product, in the
number of millionaires and billionaires and
in health technology.
But we are ranked 12lh in living stan
dards among our poorest one-fifth of chil
dren, 13"’ in the gap between rich and poor
children, 14th in efforts to lift children out of
poverty 18lh in the percent of children in
poverty, 22nd in low birth weight rates, and
25,h in infant mortality.
The U.S. is next to last
among donor nations in the
proportion of GDP devoted to
international aid to impover
ished peoples, and next to
last among 16 industrialized
countries in the proportion of
GDP devoted to income sup
port for non-elderly families.
We are at the very bottom
among 16 industrialized countries in the
proportion of children living in poverty after
all income supports are counted, and last in
protecting our children against gun vio
lence.
A ccording to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, U.S. children
under age 15 are 9 times as likely to die in
a firearm accident, 11 tim es as likely to
com m it suicide with a gun, 12 tim es as
likely to die from gunfire, and 16 times as
likely to be m urdered with a gun, as
children in 25 other industrialized coun
tries combined.
O f the 191 m em bers of the U nited
N ations, the United States o f A m erica
and Som alia (w hich has no legally con
stituted governm ent) are the only two
nations that have failed to ratify the U.N.
C onvention on the Rights o f the Child.
Black infant m ortality rates in our
n ation's capital exceed those o f 55 na
tions including the Baham as, Barbados,
and Libya. Tw enty-six m ajor industrial
ized countries provide paid parental
leave; the United States is not one o f
them. The United States is the only in
dustrialized nation that does not provide
guaranteed prenatal care for every preg
nant woman.
Marian Wright Edelman is founder
and c h ie f ex ecu tive o fficer o f the
Children's Defense Fund.
Administrative Assistant, Council Office. $15.51 - $20.17 hourly. FT. Deadline: 8/15/05.
Provides secretarial and administrative support to Metro Council and staff; provides back up to
front counter.
Assistant Curator - Condors, Oregon Zoo. $56,410 - $78,410, annually. FT. Deadline: 8/11/
05. Assists in overseeing the daily activities of the Animal Care Section of the Living Collections
Division primarily in the Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation and the Zoo’s Bird Section.
Catering and Restaurant Manager, Oregon Zoo. $44,940 - $61,100, annually. FT. Deadline:
8/9/05. Plans, organizes and oversees catered event activities; assists with the management of
the food services outlets.
School Resource Specialist, Solid Waste & Recycling Department. $42,079 - $56,338
annually. FT. Deadline: 8/16/05. Performs public outreach and planning activities including
providing technical recycling program assistance to schools (K-12), and developing and imple
menting waste reduction education activities for children and families.
Secretary, Planning Department. $12.41 - $16.59/hour. FT. Deadline: 8/11/05. Performs
clerical, receptionist and secretarial duties to support department staff and office operations.
To access the complete job announcement and
required application materials, visit our website at
www.metro-region.org/jobs or pick up a complete packet
at Metro Human Resources, 600 NE Grand Ave., Portland.
M ETRO
AA/EEO Employer
The City of Portland is Seeking Proposals
From Professional Trainers
d e m n n rl th e
g o v e r n m e n t b a la n c e
o f terrorism laws to in-
.
, c
» at a time when the na-
t h e n e e d f o r n a t i o n a l tion was stiii reeling from
clude “domestic terror
s e c u r ity w ith th e
the terro r,st attacks,
ism, ” subjecting politi
Congress was percep-
cal organizations to sur
n e e d f o r i n d i v i d u a l tive enough not to ex
veillance and accusa-
fo n s ol criminal activ- Cr e e ( Jo m a n e ] j u s t i c e . tend the law too far into
the future. Key provi
lty. The law also autho- J
J
sions of the Act expire
rizes secret searches,
gives law enforcement officers the right on Dec. 31. President Bush has already
to monitor phone and Internet usage and urged Congress to renew the bill, saying
allows them to access personal records, it doesn’t violate Americans rights, but
all with little supervision from the courts protects them. Too often in this country’s
and without any proof that a crime has history, the government has attempted to
silence the voices of individuals and or
been committed.
Under the Act, the FBI has investi ganizations committed to ensuring all
gated several civil rights and antiwar pro Americans are respected members of this
test groups, including the American Civil society. We must raise our collective
Liberties Union. In its files, the FBI has voices in protest and demand the govern
nearly 1,200 pages o f information on the ment balance the need for national secu
ACLU, a leading critic of President Bush rity with the need for individual freedom
and his war on terror. The ACLU is a and justice.
Judge Greg Mathis is chairman o f the
nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that
has worked to defend the rights of people Rainbow PUSH-Excel Board and a na
tional board member o f the Southern
i across the country for over 80 years.
This is not the first time in this nation’s Christian Leadership Conference.
Strengthen Asbestos Protections
Complacent public not aware of dangers
by
Y ugen F ardan R ash ad
As Portland’s summer heats up
a flick of the air conditioner brings
cool relief. Stepping from the shower
you reach for the hair dryer. You
rumble through a humid attic to find
a dust- covered photo album for
visiting relatives. Not thinking that
any of these activities may increase
your exposure to asbestos.
Contact with this fiber can cause
lung cancer, asthma, and mesothe
lioma, a deadly asbestos-related
disease. And routine contact is
exactly the issue at hand.
Asbestos is found in any num
ber of commonly used household
items, and construction of houses
and buildings from tile floors to
ceilings, roofing materials, and in
sulation used in attics and walls.
Extreme warning should be exer
cised for home remodeling, and
public buildings and businesses
scheduled for retrofit or demolition
as dus, is release into the atmo
sphere.
Because the disease is latent,
meaning a gestation period of up to
20 years typically follows illness,
most people diagnosed discover
they have a disease only years later.
And now the U.S. Senate wants to
pass a bill that, among other prob
lems with the legislation, fails to
make asbestos illegal in the United
States.
One of the things SB 852 does
is take the burden off the court
system. What it doesn't do is pro
vide protections to industry work
ers and consumers. The bill allows
companies to pay into a trust fund
($140 billion) in the form of a tax.
Victims will be compensated from
the fund and avoid court cases. But
opponents wonder what happens
when the money runs out, and how
will the bill affect cases currently
being tried?
One advocacy group believes
bureaucracy will complicate m at
ters because paying compensation
from a trust fund is compromised as
money runs out.
Judy A rndt's husband was di
agnosed with a lung cancer consis
tent with asbestos exposure and
died in 1999. Chris Hilsenback
worked in the shipyards of Port
land during the 1960s. Arndt says
the right to a jury trial makes all the
difference, a right that will disap
pear under SB 852. What about the
housewives and sons and daugh
ters that washed dirty laundry of
factory, dock and shipyard work
ers exposed to the fiber?
^lortlanb (Dbscrucr Established 1970
USPS 959-680 __________________________________
In Oregon, between 1948 and
1993 approximately 164,040tonsof
asbestos was shipped to 11 sites
from Libby, Mont. From 1979 to
2001 838 people in Oregon have
died from mesothelioma or asbes-
tosis. National numbers of fatali
ties from this period range from
5,000 to 10,(XX). A study by the
RANDgroupestimates 2,500people
are diagnosed with asbestosis each
year in the US.
If SB 852 is to pass revisions are
disparately needed regarding the
amount of the trust fund, medical
criterion, and consum er/w orker
protections. Most o f all, ban as
bestos use.
Make no mistake this is a very
complicated document. But going
to an air-conditioned pubic build
ing, drying your hair, or searching
your attic for a family loom isn’t.
Oregon Action encourages citi
zens to contact the offices o f Sena
tors Gordon Smith at 503-326-7525
and Ron Wyden a, 503-326-3386 to
make a prudent decision informed
by what is best for all Oregonians.
Vote noon SB 852.
Yugen Fardan Rashad is a field
representative fo r Oregon Action,
a local non-profit group dedicated
to economic and social justice.
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Program targeted to managers and supervisors. Tasks include curriculum
development, training delivery, and program evaluation for approximately 700
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tions to Lynda Lewis, Project Manager (503) 823-4140,
llewis@ci.portland.or.us. Minority, women and emerging small businesses
are encouraged to submit proposals.
umphs once again.
Though the Patriot
Act was signed into law
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