A p ril II, 2007
Page A4
O pinion
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
Corporations Stealing Iraq’s Oil
co rp o ra tio n s !
T h is schem e is n o th in g but a
J im H ightowkk
by W estern corp ora tions. T h is was
A bu m pe r stic k e r about the Iraq
kept seeret fro m both the Iraqi and
W a r asks: "W h a t’s o u r o il d o in g
A m e rica n peoples, but the dra ft
lice n se fo r B ig O il to p lu n d e r a
has now been sub m itte d to the Iraqi
n a tio n and its p e o p le . So m uch
by
un de r th e ir sand?"
O f course, the Bushites h o tly
d e nied that th e ir disastrous w a r is
about g ra b b in g the second-largest
p a rlia m e n t fo r its a p p ro va l, so de­
fo r Bush & C o m p a n y 's rh e to ric
ta ils o f the th ie v e ry have leaked
about
ou t.
Ira q ." T h e y 're u s in g o u r tro o p s
"b rin g in g d e m o c ra c y to
"It has
The law w o u ld tra n sfo rm Iraq's
to g iv e aw ay Ira q 's o il... and its
n o th in g to d o w ith o il, lite ra lly n o th ­
huge o il reserve fro m a n a tio n a lly
in g to do w ith o il," barked D o n n ie
ow ned resource to a p riv a tiz a tio n
s o v e re ig n ty .
T o leant m ore about this sham e­
R um sfeld!
m odel, opening tw o -th ird s o f the
fu l rip o ff. ca ll the w atchdog gro up
k n o w n o il fie ld s to fo re ig n c o n tro l.
O il Change Intern ation al at 202-
o il reserve in the w o rld .
C o u ld that be yet another o f th e ir
Instead o f parliam ent m aking the
lies? Yes!
A cabal o f kleptocrats - in c lu d ­
m a jo r d e c is io n s o v e r o i l, an
in g the Bushites, the Ira q i cabinet,
unelected a u th o rity called the Fed­
and the m a jo r o il c o rp o ra tio n s —
eral O il and Gas C o u n cil w o u ld take
has d ra fte d a new o il law re q u irin g
charge. A n d guess w h o w o u ld have
Ira q to open up its fie ld s to co n tro l
seats on th is c o u n cil? T h e m a jo r o il
518-9029.
Jim Hightower is a radio com­
mentator, writer, public speaker,
and author o f Thieves In High
Places: They've Stolen Our Coun­
try And It's Time to Take It Back.
Racism in Mainstream Media
Don Imus hate speech was more of the same
R ep . C arolyn
C heeks K i i . patkh
by
k
T he com m e nts made
’ -A
i ‘£ H 1
r< > r»
an egregious e rro r; it is a
about d iv e rs ity in the m edia and
blatant and ca llo u s d is ­
to le ra n c e in A m e ric a . T h e y p ro ve
regard fo r the struggles
that w e s t ill have m uch w o rk to d o
by ra d io p e rso n a lity D on
and
to b re a k the c h a in s o f b ig o try ,
s a c r ific e s
th e se
Im us w ere co m p le te ly in ­
yo u n g w o m e n face as
ra c is m , a n d s e x is m
sensitive, in ap prop ria te ,
they strive to im p ro ve the
sh a ckle o u r c o u n try .
and ig no rant.
q u a lity o f th e ir lives.
These yo u n g w o m en
H is to ric a lly , M r. Im us
th a t s t ill
M r. Im u s ’ p u b lic a p o lo g y is
n o t e n o u g h . I am c a llin g f o r the
deal w ith the pressure o f
im m e dia te te rm in a tio n o f M r. Im us
statem ents w ith m in im u m re trib u ­
being.student-athletes at a p re d o m i­
and h is e x e c u tiv e p ro d u c e r B e r­
tio n . T h is m ost recent d is p la y o f
na te ly w h ite u n iv e rs ity in a c o u n try
nard M c G u ir k .
blatant ignorance is a m icro co sm o f
w here the odds are already stacked
C B S R a d io and M S N B C m ust
racial and sexist lawlessness that
against them . T h e y need and de­
a lso in crea se th e ir re p re se n ta tio n
exists in m ainstream m edia and o u r
serve o u r support.
o f A fr ic a n A m e ric a n s and o th e r
has made in fla m m a to ry
society as a w h ole .
M r. Im us ju s t does not get it. He
p e o p le o fc o lo r a ta ll le v e ls w ith in
T he na tio n a l and lo cal m edia
n e tw o rks p ro u d ly tout the ascen­
sion o f D o n Im us fro m n o torio us
‘ shock jo c k ’ to cre d ita b le news
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source, w h ile ro u tin e ly a ffo rd in g
h im a free pass to m isuse the a ir ­
w a ves to p ro m o te h is n a rro w ­
m inded and o ffe n s iv e propaganda.
T hese y o u n g w o m e n e x h ib ite d
Mr. Imus' crass and offensive
remarks speak to a broader issue
about diversity in the media and
tolerance in America.
stre n g th o f m in d , b o d y and s p ir it
to m ake it to the c h a m p io n s h ip
does not reco gn ize— and does not
th e ir o rg a n iz a tio n s and p ra c tic e
gam e. H o w e v e r, M r. Im u s d id not
w a nt to understand— the damage
z e ro to le ra n c e to w a rd s ra c is t,
celeb rate th e ira c c o m p lis h m e n t o r
and de stru ction he caused w ith his
se x is t, a n ti- r e lig io u s , and o th e r
t h e ir s k ills .
s te re o ty p ic a l, ra c is t c o m m e n ts .
d is c r im in a to r y c o m m e n ta rie s .
In ste a d , he c o m m e n c e d a d i­
Such statem ents destroy and d i­
A d d it io n a lly , I u rg e the F ed­
re c t a ssa u lt on these y o u n g la ­
vid e instead o f encourage and e m ­
eral C o m m u n ica tio n s C o m m issio n
dies, m a k in g n e g a tiv e re m a rks
brace. A t a tim e w hen o u r c o u n try
(F C C ) to m andate d iv e r s ity tr a in ­
ab ou t th e ir h a ir and r e fe r r in g to
faces im m ense challenges in ed u ­
in g and to im p o se fin e s a g a in st
th e m u s in g w h a t m ig h t be the
catio n, em p lo ym e nt and healthcare,
b o th n e tw o rk s .”
m ost d e ro g a to ry te rm y o u can
o u r c h ild re n need to be buoyed by
c a ll a n y w o m a n — re g a rd le s s o f
hope— not broken by hurt.
C ongressw om an C arolyn
Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Miclt., is
chairwoman o f the C ongres­
sional Black Caucus.
her race.
M r. Im u s ' b lu n d e r is m ore than
M r. Im u s’ crass and o ffe n s iv e
rem arks speak to a broader issue
Gambling Treatment Works
T R iC flM E T
Hear it from a
former addict
See where it takes you.
trimet.org/jobs
by J eff
in g th is sp rin g be fore a
M ahotta
The scene was a pubi ic hear-
A fte r seeing a te le visio n c o m m e r­
egon L e g isla tu re . The
c ia l u rg in g treatm ent, she says she
5 0 -ish man at the w it ­
got in to treatm ent, w h ic h showed
ness table was a rtic u ­
her how to channel her interests
late and was dressed
in to o th e r a c tiv itie s . "T h a n k fu lly , I
pro fe ssio n a lly. B u t his
also have a good jo b and a sup po rt­
personal story o f bat­
ive fa m ily ," she says.
tlin g a g a m b lin g p ro b le m was one
SEASO NS
that le gislators d o n ’t often hear.
M A R K E T
D.
New
rra n s fe? a X e ÜS,Oniers'
9 e ' a s i » 9 i r ip ,'o " ' s
AT A R B O R L O D G E
U)e are a re^Car pharmacy \ I
t r W e h a v e k n o w le d g e a b le , frie n d ly p h a r m a c is ts
w h o h a v e th e tim e to s h a r e in fo r m a tio n .
I r O u r p r ic e s a re c o m p e titiv e W e a c c e p t m o s t
in s u r a n c e p la n s a n d a re a d d in g o th e r s a s
r e q u e s te d .
I t W e s p e c ia liz e in c u s t o m c o m p o u n d in g .
Me
P h e rm e o
Mo
Y O U R L O C A L L Y O W N E D , N E IG H B O R H O O D P H A R M A C Y A T A R B O R L O D G E
N IN T E R S T A T E A V E N U E & P O R T L A N D B L V D • 5 0 3 .4 6 7 .4 8 4 8
w w w .n e w s e a s o n s m a r k e t.c o m • M O N -F R I 9 a m - 7 p m • S A T 9 a m - 6 p m • S U N 1 0 a m 4 p m
B ut suppose yo u are m arried to
a p ro blem g a m b le r w h o refuses to
" I wasn't a person w h o was steal­
seek treatm ent. H e lp is s till a v a il­
in g y o u r car stereos,” he to ld the
able. G e ttin g in to co u n se lin g w ill
co m m itte e , "b u t that's where I was
help yo u understand that yo u are
headed. T h ro u g h treatm ent I got
not alone, yo u are not to blam e, and
the to o ls necessary so I c o u ld get
that its o ka y to accept o u tside as­
on m y feet."
sistance.
T o d a y he is am o ng the m ore
A lth o u g h total abstinence is the
than 80 percent o f O regonians fo r
best answer fo r m any pro blem gam ­
w h o m free, c o n fid e n tia l treatm ent
b le rs, it is n 't a re q u ire m e n t o f
fo r a g a m b lin g a d d ic tio n has been
O regon's treatm ent program . For
successful, m eaning that six m onths
some people, it ’s enough to co n ­
later they e ith e r are g a m b lin g less
vert th e ir g a m b lin g fro m spending
o r not at a ll.
harm ful am ounts o f tim e and m oney
O n any g ive n day ap p ro xim a te ly
1,300 O regonians are in treatm ent
\Ne fill p r e s c r ip tio n s — in c lu d in g a n tib io tic s ,
h ig h b lo o d p r e s s u r e m e d ic a tio n s ,
a n ti- d e p re s s a n ts , b irth c o n tr o l, a n d m o re .
became interested and then hix,ked.
c o m m itte e o f the O r­
in to an occasional recreational ac­
tiv ity .
fo r g a m b lin g disorders, some o f the
T o get in to treatm ent, one need
estim ated 7 5 ,000 o f o u r neighbors
o n ly ca ll the to ll-fre e h e lp lin e : I-
w h o are believed to have a cu rre n t
8 7 7 -2 -S T O P -N O W
serious p ro blem w ith g a m b lin g . It's
6766).
( l -8 7 7 -2 7 8 -
a safety net paid fo r by the O regon
One w om an says she gave her
L o tte ry , and the sad fact is that
husband an u ltim a tu m to ca ll the
m ost people w h o w o u ld be n e fit.
he lp lin e a fte r he ga m bled aw ay
O regon's free treatm ent fo r gam ­
$50,000. W ith o u t treatm ent, she
b lin g a d diction, w h ich ty p ic a lly has
says, "w e w o u ld n 't be m arried,
a va I uc o f approx i mate I y $ 1. 2< X). i s
there's no do ub t in m y m in d ."
recognized n a tio n a lly as a m odel
fo r its effectiveness.
A n o th e r w o m an , w hose hus­
band in curred $ 120.IXX) in sports-
A n o th e r O rego nian rem em bers
g a m b lin g debt, says, " I t not o n ly
she began w a tch in g a frie n d gam ble
saved o u r m arriage but it also helped
$40 to $60 on v id e o p o ke r d u rin g
me becom e stronger."
her lunch hours. T he fo rm e r n o n ­
JeffMarotta is problem gambling
services manager in the Oregon
Department o f Human Services.
ga m bler, a re lig io u s person w h o
describes h e rse lf as con serva tive.