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Page A4
^Jnrtlanb (Obsevuer
November 29, 2006
O pinion
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
Losing Ground
Affirmative Action under attack
b e tte r 10 lhe (éditer
Thank You Supporters
I cannot begin lo tell you how
impressed I am and frankly, hon­
ored by my friends and neigh­
bors.
Obviously I'm disappointed in
the results in my race for county
com m issioner. 24,152 north and
n o rth east P ortlan d neighbors
voted for me in the District 2 race.
The difference as of the last count
was 4,242 votes. I am curious to
see where those votes were con­
centrated. I believe we saw a
sense o f people feeling once
again enfranchised and voting. I
hope they will not be discour­
aged.
I am proud of our campaign.
We focused on the district, both
as a place and as a unique assem ­
bly o f neighbors. We focused on
people and their needs and hopes.
We sought to show the voters in
the district what kind of com m is­
sioner I would be.
I am also proud to have been
funded largely by relatively small
donations from people who live
and work in the district. It is an
unfortunate reality o f modern
politics that money, w herever it
comes from, is the means to get a
candidate's message to voters.
In the case of District 2, which is
not a fin ancial c e n te r, huge
amounts of outside cash can sim ­
ply flood mailboxes as well as
radio and TV time, overwhelming
a grassroots candidate.
I continue to believe that it is
vitally important that the commis­
sioner who represents north and
northeast Portland has strong ties
to the community he or she repre­
sents.
I continue to believe that north
and northeast Portland deserve a
seat at the table, a seat with a vote,
when decisions are made. I believe
that the voice of the community
must be in the room when decisions
are made.
I wish Jeff Cogan the best, and
encourage you to contact him as
the new commissioner.
Lew Frederick
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SLOW DOWN!
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ads @ P<’rtlB H ttsft'cr.coni
Poker Sets for Kids?
J ett M arotta
Has Santa's workshop moved
to Las Vegas?
Get ready for what has be­
come an annual marketing on­
slaught o f gam bling-related toys,
books and paraphernalia as we
approach the holiday shopping
season. My current favorite ex-,
ample is the Pink Poker Night
“ It's A Chick Thing" Kit, where
by
NEW SEASO NS
M A R K E T
Partu platters
Z *
S A TU R D A Y
A N D
M ADE EASY
S U N D A Y
1 1 a m —5 p m
O n e o f th e g r e a te s t p le a s u r e s o f th e h o lid a y s e a s o n is
th a t w e s e e m to fin d th e tim e to v is it w ith fr ie n d s a n d
fa m ily . T o h e lp y o u g e t r e a d y fo r y o u r p a rty , o r ju s t to
p re p a re
fo r u n e x p e c te d
v is ito r s ,
f o c u s in g o n p a r ty p la tte r s
th is
w eekend
w e 'r e
W e ll b e s a m p lin g s o m e o f
o u r fa v o r ite in g r e d ie n ts a n d o ffe r in g tip s o n h o w to p u t
t o g e t h e r a q u ic k a n d d e lic io u s p r e s e n ta tio n W e ll m a k e
it e a s y fo r y o u to ta k e h o m e w h a te v e r y o u n e e d fo r y o u r
h o lid a y p a n tr y
D o n 't h a v e e n o u g h tim e ? W e ’ll c u s t o m -
m a k e y o u r p a r ty p la tte r s fo r y o u . C h e c k o u t o u t y o u r
o p t io n s o n p a g e 1 3 o f o u r F e s tiv itie s b o o k le t, a v a ila b le
a t a n y o f o u r s to r e s , o r o n lin e
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s ix o t h e r P o r t l a n d a r e a l o c a t i o n s
in ,|t iM.t ( in n , M a t iiis
dents aren't the only ones
The day afterthe Nov.
losing out: Without the
7 G eneral E lections,
guarantee of a certain per­
many progressive think­
centage o f governm ent
ers celebrated the Demo­
contracts, many minority
cratic victories. Civil
firms in California went out
rights activists, how­
of business. With no law in
ever. were mourning
place to protect them, his­
what appears to be the
torically underrepresented
beginning of the end of affirmative populations - i.e. people of color
action as we know it.
and women - no longer have the
Affirmative action was imple­ access to the opportunities they
m ented by President Lyndon need to thrive.
Johnson in 1965 as a way to assist
Women and people of color
oppressed groups in achieving aren't the only ones who'll lose
equality. Over the years, affirma­ ground if other states follow Cali­
tive action policies have taken hits, fornia and Michigan and vote down
hut the courts, both low and high affirmative action policies. Already,
upheld the law. Now, it's the Ameri­ this country is losing ground in the
can people voting down affirma­ global marketplace to countries I ike
tive action, state by
China and India
state.
This country only
wlierc many °*
On E lection
has
to
look
to
Californ-
o
ur^
c^
Day, M ichigan
voters decided to ia to see what happens service jobs are
do away with affir­
when there are no laws ou,sourced-
mative action. The
T hese c o u n ­
law 's opponents ht place to protect
tries are pro­
d u cing more
are ecstatic; they historically oppressed
say affirmative ac-
.
college gradu-
.ion is nothing Populations.
ates at much
more than reverse
faster rates than
discrimination and believe that, ul­ theU.S.
timately. it will harm America.
If large segments of our popula­
Since the courts have failed to tion are unable to access a quality
agree with this thinking, there are education, this country will never
plans to take this issue to each state be able to compete. Without affir­
and give it to the people to decide. mative action, minority owned busi­
Michigan was the latest victory in nesses won’t be able to compete
this misguided cause. But.thiscoun- with larger corporations and many
try only has to look to California to of this country's citizens will never
see what happens when there are be able to realize their version of the
no laws in place to protect histori­ American dream.
cally oppressed populations.
Until a better solution for ad­
Ten years ago this November, the dressing race and gender dispari­
people of California voted to pro­ ties in hiring and education is de­
hibit public institutions from giving veloped, this country must sup­
preferential treatment based on race, port and uphold the policies that
sex, or ethnicity. According to currently stand.
Newsweek magazine, the law school
Racial and economic justice is a
at the University ofCaliforniaat Ber­ national issue; the states and indi­
keley enrolled only one black stu­ viduals cannot he left to make this
dent the year after Proposition 209 decision. If America is to sustain
passed; 268 students were admitted herself, affirmative action must stay.
to the law schixrl that year.
Judge dreg Mathis is national
Ten years later, the University of vice president of Rainbow PUSH
California at Los Angeles projected and a national board member of
that only 96 of the 5.(MM) freshmen the Southern Christian Leadership
enrolled in this fall were black. Stu­ Conference.
V is it u s o n l i n e a t w w w n e w s e a s o n s m a r k e t . c o m
for $29.95 you can have "every
thing a chick needs to host a
fabulous girls' night in."
So what's the fuss? I received
this e-m ail from a concerned
mother o f two:
“ I want to know how much I
should be worrying about gam ­
bling and the health o f my kids.
They watch poker tournaments
on TV, their friends wear cloth­
ing with references to poker, and
I heard my son talk about playing
poker with friends."
She is not alone in wondering
about the effects o f ongoing ex­
posure to gambling. Today’s is
the first generation to grow up in
a society w here gam bling is
widely accepted, advertising is
ubiquitous and gam bling activi­
ties are commonplace.
Research indicates that 60-90
percent o f youth engage in gam ­
bling, and that youth problem
gam bling rates are 2-4 tim es
higher than those of adults. Sur-
veysof Oregon teens tell usdrugs.
alcohol and gambling often travel
together, yet many parents see
gambling as a relatively safe pas­
time and encourage it as an alter­
native activity.
Although we don't know the
ultimate effects o f today's gam ­
bling popularity, we do know
both children anil adults can and
do get caught up in gambling in a
way that is harm ful to them ­
selves and others around them.
This Is not to say that if your
child is gambling you need to
panic - most kids engage in
some form o f gambling and most
don’t develop gambling problems.
But you do need to recognize thai
gam bling carries risk and ap­
proach it accordingly, as you
would tobacco use, drug use ot
fastening your car’s seatbelt.
What do you look for if you're
concerned your child might have
a problem? W atch for signs such
as lying about gam bling, gam ­
bling superseding other activi­
ties, using money to gamble that's
supposed to be used for other
th in g s, b o rro w in g m oney to
gamble, or stealing and letting
schoolw ork suffer.
Another suggestion I gave the
concerned mom was to talk to
her kids about gambling. Help
children make sense out o f what
they see on television, in the news
and in the community. Discuss
rules and expectations for be­
havior, and follow through with
consequences.
Be clear about your own val­
ues but avoid sw eeping state­
ments (all gam bling is bad) or
threats ("if I ever catch you bet­
ting m oney..."). Kids feel im­
mortal, so scaring them doesn't
work; threats invite rebellion.
As a parent, you play the most
important role in preventing prob­
lem gam bling behaviors in your
children.
Jeff Marotta is problem gam­
bling services manager in the
Oregon Department o f Human
Services Addictions and Mental
Health Division. For additional
information on youth gambling,
visit Oregon. gov/DHS/addiction/
gambling or call the Oregon
Problem Gambling Help Line at
1-877-2-STOP-NOW.