(The
Page A4
IJortlanh ©bserucr
O pinion
luly 25. 2007
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
Failed Leadership
Kills Troops
No sacrifices
from families
of the elites
w ill be horribly m aim ed and all
w ill su ffer traum a. T h ey are not
v ictim s o f the "enem y," but o f
A m erica's ow n failed "leaders."
It is im m oral to d o this to them ,
but there they are.
by J im H ightower
M eanw hile, B ush keeps say ­
L et’s be blunt. It's no longer ing that his w ar is essen tial to
th e Sunni insurgents, S hiite m ili­ A m erica's ow n security and is
tias o r al Q aid a bom bers killing the "challenge o f o u r g en e ra­
o u r troops in Iraq. W ashington is tion." B ut he is o b v io u sly lying
k illin g them .
to us. If it w ere true, all A m eri­
P resident G eo rg e W . B ush — can s w ould be en listed in the
still clin g in g to his disgraced n eo ­ cause. If it w ere true, w e'd have
con fan tasies - and the co n g re s­ h a lf a m illion tro o p s in Iraq, or
sio n al leaders o f both parties u n ­ m ore.
w illing to use their budgetary and
B ut that w ould m ean that the
o v ersig h t authority - are the o nes fam ilies o f the elites w ould have
w h o have 150,000 A m erican m en to be called to d uty - and this is
and w om en trapped in Iraq’s civil p o lit ic a lly u n a c c e p ta b le to
W ashington. A s o ne B ush su p ­
w a r.
T h e tro o p s are doing all they porter, Sen. Je ff Sessions, put
can, yet they have been betrayed it: " W e h a v e a lim ite d n u m b e ro f
by a W hite H ouse and C ongress m en and w om en w e can send to
th a t has no strateg y to m ake Iraq." In other w ords, do n 't call
"v ictory" possib le and is u n w ill­ on his fam ily or friends to m ake
ing eith er to provide the m assive any sacrifices fo r this "essen­
tro o p stren g th it w ould take to tial" war.
T hey are killing A m ericans in
se cu re that country o r to bring
o u r tro o p s hom e.
a w ar they know they can't w in
So, ou r m en and w om en are - and a w ar their fam ilies w on't
lo cked in a g ruesom e shooting join. T his is a dishonorable sham
gallery by U .S. politicians w ho and only W e th e P eople can
apparently intend to keep them stop it. P rotest m ore. P rotest
th ere for the y ea r and a h alf o r so louder.
left in M r. Bush's term . H un­
Jim Hightower is a columnist
d red s o f them will die, thousands and author.
Smoke around your children and
they could inhale
equal to 102 packs
of cigarettes
by age 5.
Candidates ‘Skate’ over Major Issues
Forum was
more ‘sizzle’
than steak
by
W illiam R eed
H ow s u c c e s s fu l
was T avis S m iley’s
All A m erican Presi­
dential Forum toward
helping black Americans determine
which o f the Democratic candidates
to vote for and support in the prima-
ries?
Few o f the establishm ent-ori­
ented blacks gathered to question
the candidates took notice o f former
Sen. M ike G ravel saying: “An area
areas that enrages me the m ost is
the w ar on drugs this country has
been putting forth the last genera­
tion. W e have 2.3 million human
beings in jail and 70 percent are
A frican A m ericans. I hope my col­
leagues will jo in me in standing up
and saying ‘W e'll do aw ay with
that.’ If I'm president, I'll do away
with a war on drugs that does noth­
ing but savage our inner cities and
put children at risk.
“W hen will we learn that the
issue o f drugs is a public health
issue? A ddiction is a public health
issue and not acrim inal issue where
w e th ro w p e o p le in ja il an d
criminalize them. If there's one group
o f people in this country that needs
men and women to prisons. Our
nation's ineffective and wasteful
‘wars on drugs’ plays a major role in
this. W e must place agreaterem pha-
Blacks need to stop politicians'
spending o f $50 billion-a-year on
what is essentially a war on us.
to face up to that problem and we
have had to face up to it, that is the
A frican Am erican com m unity."
G ravel pressed the point that the
w ar on drugs is a persisting source
o f devastation am ong blacks and
should end imm ediately.
Instead of the forum ’s attendees
grinning about pictures they took
with the “celebrity” candidates,
more should have been discussing
w hat G ravel said about the prob­
lems for African American com m u­
nities that stem from the ongoing
crim inalization o f drugs. The W ar
on Drugs has wrought havoc on
African A m ericans - w asted lives,
wrecked families and troubled chil­
dren.
For those who were not paying
attention. Gravel said: "W e are los­
ing an entire generation on young
I
and Republican politicians skate
over the hum an and econom ic dev­
astation African A merican com m u­
nities are experiencing from failed
drug policies and unjust laws?
Blacks need to stop politicians’
spending o f $50 billion-a-year on
what is essentially a w ar on us. We
need to cease the insane incarcera­
tions and use that m oney for treat­
ments on our sides o f town.
Som ew here tow ard the top o f
the Black Agenda should be some
steps to repeal m andatory sentenc­
ing laws and 'three strikes' laws that
send people away for life on non­
violent and m inor felonies.
The presidential popularity poll
leaders got out o f town before pub­
licly declaring w hether they “stood
w ith” G ravel on “doing aw ay” with
the nation’s drug policies and as­
sociated practices. But before cast­
ing a prim ary vote foolishly, a ques­
tion black voters should ask o f any
candidate: "If elected, w hat would
you do about m andatory sentenc­
ing laws and rehabilitation pro­
gram s?”
sis on rehabilitation and prevention.
We must de-criininalize minor drug
offenses and increase the availabil­
ity and visibility o f substance abuse
treatment and prevention.”
The costs o f the W ar on Drugs
are incalculable, as are the adverse
social, econom ic and political co n ­
sequences o f w eakened com m uni­
ties, dim inished opportunities for
econom ic m obility, and extensive
disenfranchisem ent.
Bottom -line the forum showed
that there’s not a dim es worth of
difference am ong the establishment
candidates: and the African A m eri­
cans in the Howard audience, as
William Reed is president and
well as the post-event m edia "echo
cham ber,” accepted m ore sizzle chief executive officer o f Black
than steak from candidates. How Press International and publisher
can African A m erican analysts and o f the "Who's Who in Black Corpo­
voters continue letting D em ocratic rate America Register."
RMNNHHnBMHHNMMMM
’Sicko’ Indicts Health Care Industry
Everyone has the right
to breathe clean air,
especially our children.
ize sick people and taxpayers.
vices. He presents doctors and suffering from severe respiratory
"Sicko" puts human faces on our other em ployees o f insurance com ­ diseases and a host o f other ail­
national healthcarecri- panies and H M O s prom oted and m ents from exposure to dust and
sis. A grieving mother given bonuses based on the num ­ debris at G round Zero. M oore took
by M arian W right E delman
w h o se 2 -y e a r-o ld ber o f medical procedures denied them to the U.S. m ilitary base at
1 am not in the habit o f doing
daughter had a high sick people. In one case, a young G uantanam o Bay, C uba, to get the
movie reviews but I recommend
fever, was gripped by w om an with cancer was denied same free, top-notch health care
everyone see M ichael M oore’s
a seizure and rushed medical treatment because she once that the U.S. military claim s it is
docum entary "S ick o ” about
to the nearest hospi­ had a yeast infection, w hich the providing to "enemy com batants."
our health care system , which
tal, but w as turned com pany claim ed was a pre-exist­ After he failed to enter the base, he
took them to a H avana hospital
leaves 45 m illion A m ericans unin­ away because the hospital wasn't in ing condition.
Moore takes us to Britain and where they received extensive free
sured, including 9 million children. her H MO's network. The mother was
)( dhs
The Film show s how corporate told the child had to be moved and France, which have had universal d iag n o stic tests, treatm en t and
TOBACCO
A N D E D U C A T IO N
interests
guided by profits rather that any care provided by the receiv­ health care since the 1940s. N ochild m edication for w hich they paid
PROGRAM
aid for by the Oregon Department of Human Servie
than by an interest in preventing ing hospital would not be covered. or adult would be denied care in nominal sums.
In none o f the countries Moore
and curing health problem s victim- Leaving that hospital denied the child those countries because they had a
vital emergency care. She slipped pre-existing condition or because visited are children denied care or
into a com a and died on the way to necessary care was "tooexpensive." provided a lesser standard of care
the HM O facility.
There's the middle-aged couple,
both professionals with health in­
O re g o n
D e p a r tm e n t
su ran ce, w ho w ere ban k ru p ted
o f T ra n s p o rta tio n
w hen th eir insurance com pany
stopped providing health cover­
age after her bout with cancer and
his heart attacks. They w ere forced
W hen he asks patients how much for lack o f health insurance or
to sell their hom e and m ove into
their daughter's storage room. We they are being charged for the care money, as is too often the case in
see a 22-year-old single m other and they receive, they laugh and say the United States.
I hope "Sicko" pricks our co n ­
cancer survivor from Michigan who there is no charge because every­
drives to Canada and poses as the body is included in the National sciences and catalyzes a robust
national debate about our broken
com m on law wife o f a friend to get Health Service.
crews are currently replacing two highway
Interstate 5 Is under construction!
France, in addition to universal health care system. The film asks
free clinical care in that country.
bridges outside Wilsonville, and a paving
A nd we experience disoriented, healthcare, maintains a 24-hour medi­ timely questions our political lead­
Be safe, be prepared and be patient as the project between Capitol Highway and the
indigent patients pushed out o f cal care service staffed by doctors ers need to answer.
Oregon Department of Transportation Tualatin River will be complete this fall.
If other countries can guarantee
hospitals, put in taxis and dum ped, who make house calls. When is the
repairs and modernizes our highways
health care to all o f their citizens,
last
time
any
of
us
had
a
doctoreóm
e
still
in
their
clinical
gow
ns,
on
the
How can you prepare? Stay informed with
and bridges.
streets o f Los A ngeles’ Skid Row. toourhom e? "Sicko" explores some why can't ours? If Canada, Euro­
up-to-the-minute information about traffic
M oore exposes how far some o f the myths about health care in pean nations and Cuba can take the
Between Portland and Medford, drivers will and construction by visiting TripCheck.com
pass through 19 active construction zones or calling 5-1-1.
insurance com panies go to avoid other industrialized dem ocracies, profit m otive out o f caring for
on 1-5 in 2007. In the Portland metro area,
paying for medical costs and the including supposed long waits for people, why can't we? Why are
there 9 million uninsured children
volum inous list o f ailm ents insur­ care and underpaid doctors.
O ne o f the m ost dram atic seg­ in A m erica?
ance com panies call "pre-existing
Marian Wright Edelman is presi­
conditions" to deny treatm ent, can­ m ents o f the film involves three first
cel policies or dem and repaym ent responders to the 9/11 attacks on dent o f the Children's Defense
M iM inuuurM TiTratiinfinm nacT
for already received m edical ser- the W orld Trade Center who are Fund.
Puts human face
on crisis
F
ODOT IS KEEPING
OREGON ON THE MOVE
SLOW DOWN!
BEI I ER ROADS AHEAD
Π1
If other countries can
guarantee health care to all o f
their citizens, why can't ours?