November 16. 2005
Œlîe|J o rtlattò (©bseruer
Page A2
Bush Approval Rating Hits New Low
.
Black support
scant 2 percent
President Bush has the lowest rat­
ing among blacks of any president in
recent memory , registering a scant 2
percent, according to an NBC News/
Wall Street Journal poll. The survey
had a possible margin of error ot 3
percent which means his approval
rating am ong African Am ericans
might be close to 5 percent or as low
as minus 1 percent.
Overall, a Washington Post-ABC
News poll shows that 60 percent of
Americans disapprove ot Bush s han­
dling of his job and only 39 percent
approve. An Associated Press-lpsos
poll registered Bush's approval rating
at 37 percent, the lowest ot his presi­
dency.
While Ken Mehlman, the chair of
the Republican National C om m it­
tee, has made outreach to African
A m e ric an s part o f his p a rty ’s
tr
V * <
1
George Bush
agenda, Karen Finney, com m unica­
tions director for the Dem ocratic
National Com m ittee, said that black
Katrina Work
Unfulfilled
particular, they say small and
minority-owned businesses in
the Gulf Coast have been short­
changed.
FEMA promised to boost
the number of contracts given
to minority-owned businesses
but in the last month the per­
centage has increased only
slightly, from 1.5 percent to 1.8
percent o f the $3.1 billion
awarded. That’s still well be­
low the 5 percent of federal
contracts normally set aside
for minority-owned firms.
“FEM A's performance falls
far short,” said Mississippi Rep.
Bennie Thom pson, ranking
Democrat on the House Home­
land Security Committee and a
member of the Congressiona
Black Caucus. “The federa
government must make a ma­
jor shift in both policy and imple
mentation if the lives of the
people of the Gulf Coast are to
be effectively rebuilt and re-
:
i n n n m P L ' i’/ i r
show that household incom
es for
black A m ericans have declined
m ore than $2,000 under Bush. The
C ensus Bureau also said that nearly
25 percent o f all blacks lived in
poverty in 2004, an increase o f
over 250,000 over the past tw o
y e a rs.
The Census Bureau also reported
that in 2004, the num ber of blacks
without health insurance remained
at about 7.4 m illion, or nearly one in
five.
‘Peace Mom’ to
Resume War Protest
“It’s significant that we do not let up on
this administration,” said Hadi Jawad, co­
founder of the Crawford Peace House,
which supported the protesters during their
August vigil. "It is critical for our democ­
racy that we continue to ask the same
questions that Cindy Sheehan asked this
summer: What is the noble cause for the
war with Iraq, and at what point do we say
enough bloodshed has happened?”
Sheehan, whose 24-year-old son Casey
was killed in Iraq last year, has traveled the
U.S. spreading her anti-war message.
(A P)— The fallen soldier’s mother who
drew thousands to her 26-day war protest
near President Bush's Crawford, Texas
ranch this summer plans to return for
Thanksgiving next week, despite new
county ordinances banning roadside camp­
Minority firms put on hold
Despite a month-old pledge,
a promise to hire more minor­
ity-owned firms for Hurricane
Katrina work in New Orleans
and the Gulf Coast is largely
unfulfilled.
The no-bid contracts for
temporary housing, worth up
to $100 million each, were
given to Shaw Group Inc.,
Bechtel Corp., CH2M Hill Inc.
and Fluor Corp, right after
Katrina struck. Charges of
favoritism helped prompt last
month's pledge by the Federal
E m ergency M anagem ent
Agency, but now officials with
the Homeland Security De­
partm ent, which oversees
FEM A. say the contracts won't
be awarded again until Febru­
ary.
The disclosure dismayed
some lawmakers and business
groups that believe the Bush
administration has not done
enough to ensure Katrina con­
tracts are spread around. In
I
Am ericans have made no gains un­
der Bush.
“ B u sh ’s low ap p ro v a l ratin g
among African Am ericans is based
on the fact that African Am ericans
are worse off under this president,”
Finney said. “Time and time again.
R e p u b lic a n s have m ade em pty
prom ises about outreach while con­
tinuing to make decisions that are
disastrous for the A frican-A m eri­
can com m unity.”
U.S. C ensus B ureau statistics
Cindy Sheehan, the mother o f a U.S. soldier killed
in Iraq, during her arrest last September during a
sit-down protest outside the White House. (AP
photo)
ing.
Cindy Sheehan, of Vacaville, Calif., and
at least a dozen supporters are prepared to
be arrested as they return to the makeshift
campsite along the road leading to Bush’s
ranch, where he is expected to spend the
holiday.
San Fransisco Handgun Ban Approved
(AP) — Voters approved ballot m anufacture and sale of all fire­
measures to ban handguns in San arm s and am m unition in the city,
Francisco and urge the city’s pub­ and makes it illegal for residents
lic high schools and college cam­ to keep handguns in their hom es
puses to keep out military recruit­ or businesses.
Only two other major U.S. cities
ers.
The gun ban p ro h ib its the - Washington and Chicago - have
implemented such sweeping hand­ to challenge the initiative in court,
arguing that cities do not have the
gun bans.
Voters backed the proposed gun authority to regulate firearms un­
ban in the Nov. 8 election by a der California law.
The military recruitment ban won
margin of 58 to 42 percent.
with
60 percent in favor and 40
A coalition led by the National
Rifle Association has said it plans percent against.
Seattle Author, Entrepreneur to Visit
Edwina Martin-Arnold is cook­
ing up more than cheese steaks in
her popular Seattle restaurant Phila­
I believe in my
delphia Fevre. She
has ju st published
her third novel en­
titled Chocolate Fri­
day and will be sign­
ing p e rso n a liz e d
copies of the new
publication on Satur­
day, Nov 19 at 2 p.m.
at Reflections, 446
N.E.Killingsworth
St.
Readers will en­
joy this spicy tale
and find it to be
both romantic and
suspenseful.
The first per­
son narrative of
the book quickly
Edwina Martin-Arnold
draw s the reader into the world of
O livia A nderson, a sedate E n­
glish professor who learns the
real m eaning of necessary hu n ­
ger when she is enticed to take a
walk on the w ild side and attends
an all male revue with a distinct
urban edge. There, she discovers
more about herself and her hid­
den desires.
Math Stress Eased with Online Help
Many people see a math prob­
lem and panic. Ask them to balance
their checkbook, determ ine the
square footage of a room, find the
error on an invoice, or even calcu­
late a w aiter's tip, and they'll just
freeze up.
Mt. Hood Community College
math teacher Ivy Bishop believes
her new online math course can
Her course, “Everyday Math,”
help people move beyond their
can
be taken online from the conve­
fears and gain the self-confidence
nience
of your home or office, and
they need to solve common math­
at
any
time
of the day or night.
ematical problems.
For more information about this
Bishop is calm, patient, and re­
spectful as she helps her online course and more than 300 other
students gain com fort with the online courses, contact Mt. Hood
notion of using math at home, at Community College’sCommunity
work, while shopping, at the bank Education department at 503-491-
7571 orvisitwww.ed2go.com/mhcc.
and elsewhere.
Are you
or
someone
you know
pregnant
Jerry - Positive since 1988
Healthy Birth Initiative (HB1) is a program lor
African American women and their families living
in N /N E Portland.
H B I offers:
• Transportation to medical and social
service appointm ents
• H om e Visits
• Incentives
• Health education classes (free childcare and
transportation when attending any HBI
group or class)
• Information and referrals to com m unity services
For more inform ation contact:
?
I felt alone after I learned I
had HIV. How I get strength
from other positive guys.
We share ways of staying
healthy and protecting our
negative partners Keeping
quiet about HIV means more
of our community suffers
Healthy Birth Initiative can help.
Health Department
W JfJortlanb ©bneruer
1 Icalrhy Birth Initiative
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Portland, Oregon 97211
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