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Page A4
August 29. 2007
O pinion
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
Put Women’s Equality Back in the Debate
Election season
perfect opportunity
M artha B i rk
L ast S unday w as W om en’s
Equality Day and aside from com ­
m em orations by a few female lead­
ers on Capitol Hill, it was hardly
noticed. But it m arks one o f the
m ost im portant days o f the last
century for w om en — the day the
final state ratified the 19th A m endm ent in
1920 — and w om en were granted the vote.
T hat year also m arked w hat suffragists
o f the tim e thought w ould soon be another
constitutional m ilestone, the Equal Rights
A m endm ent. W ith their new found fran­
chise, w om en believed they could co n ­
vince legislators to put w om en on equal
footing in the Constitution with men ( white
men from the beginning, black men since
passage o f the 14th A m endm ent in 1868).
But it was not to be. Here we are, 87
years later - a lifetim e in anyone’s book -
and w om en still hav en ’t achieved equal
by
constitutional status.
First introduced in Congress in 1923,
the ERA was not passed and sent to the
states for ratification until 1972, with an
artificial tim e limit o f only seven
years for approval by the states. In
that brief tim e it was ratified by 35
sta te s, but w as sto p p ed th ree
states short by m illions o f corpo­
r a te d o lla r s b a c k in g P h y llis
Schlafly's anti-woman storm troop­
ers, who feared unisex toilets more
than they valued freedom from discrim ina­
tion.
M ost U.S. citizens d o n ’t rem em ber that
fight, and many believe the ERA was rati­
fied. The reality is that the legal rights
w om en currently enjoy are not rooted in
the Constitution, but in a series o f statutes
like the Pregnancy D iscrim ination Act,
executive orders like affirm ative action,
and various rules interpreting laws such
as Title IX, guaranteeing equal educa­
tional opportunity. Because we d o n ’t have
an ERA, depending on their origin, all of
these can be revoked in the dead o f night
by any sim ple m ajority o f C ongress, bu­
reaucrats in a hostile adm inistration, or the
president himself.
G eorge W. Bush and com pany know
this very well. They have been system ati­
cally eroding the gains w om en have made
since they took office. They have w eak­
ened T itle IX through rule changes. A
public schools are allowed for the first time
since 1972.
W ith the ap p o in tm en ts o f John R o b ­
erts and S am uel A lito to the S uprem e
C o u rt, the assau lts on w o m en ’s e m ­
p lo y m en t rig h ts and legal a b o rtio n s
have begun in earn est. W astin g no tim e,
the C ourt has alread y u p h eld the first
The reality is that the legal rights
women currently enjoy are not rooted
in the Constitution. Here we are, 87
years later - a lifetime in anyone's
book - and women still haven't
achieved equal constitutional status.
m ajor one now allow s schools to force
girls, but not boys, to prove they are
interested in participating in sports before
they are given the chance to play, and so-
called “separate but equal” single sex
federal ab o rtio n ban since R oe v. W ade,
and sev erely lim ited w o m e n ’s right to
sue in cases w here th e y ’ve ex p erien ced
pay d iscrim in atio n .
Recently renam ed the W om en's E qual­
ity A m endm ent by its ch ief sponsor,
Carolyn M aloney, D-N. Y., the ERA is the
essence o f brevity: "Equality o f rights
under the law shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or by any
State on account o f sex." T h at’s the whole
thing. A sim ple concept that had the bless­
ing o f both political parties until the Re­
publicans struck it from their platform in
1980 and the D em ocrats follow ed suit in
2004.
It’s high tim e the ERA was put back in
the center o f public debate, and this long
election season is the perfect opportu­
nity.
W om en are now the m ajority o f the
electorate, and can control any election.
C lose to 80 percent o f the public, both
fem ale and male, favor an Equal Rights
A m endm ent. C andidates o f both parties
for the Congress and the presidency ought
to be listening.
Martha Burk is the director fo r the
Corporate Accountability Project for the
National Council o f Women's Organiza­
tions.
Rebranding the War
Marketing plan papers over the mess
productive.
H ightower
The report suggests that som e­
W hen corporations get caught
doing som ething nasty, they don't th in g m o re c o n su m e r-frie n d ly
r e a lly re f o rm - th e y s im p ly would be better received by the
"rebrand." This involves hiring a locals. He suggests a perky "We
bevy o f PR consultants to paper will help you" brand. Indeed, he
over the mess w ith a new, fuzzy- calls for the Pentagon to do a better
jo b o f understanding its consumer.
feeling corporate image.
O f course, when you're breaking
S o, th o u g h t th e c o rp o ra te -
minded W hite House, why not ap ­ dow n people's doors, calling in air
ply this same concept to the mess strikes that kill civilians, machine-
in Iraq? Thus, the Pentagon paid gunning families at checkpoints,
$4(X),000 o f our tax m oney to the and such - well, m aybe the Iraqis
Rand C orporation to try creating a don't see them selves as "consum ­
new "brand identity" for Bush's ers" o f our military.
Still, the study is onto som e­
w arm ongering, recasting his m ili­
tary operations in a m ore positive thing, noting that the enem y knows
light for the people o f Iraq, A f­ that "doing good w orks is a classic
ghanistan. and other places o f in ­ approach to w inning friends and
influencing people." Yes, but that
vasion and occupation.
Rand has produced a 211 -page requires a fundam ental change in
study titled, "Enlisting M adison the adm inistration’s actions - not a
Avenue: The M arketing Approach m ere m arketing spiff-up.
Instead o f enlisting M adison
to Earning Popular Support in T h e­
aters o f O peration." To win the A venue, the Bush adm inistration
hearts and m inds o f local civilians need to call in a couple of good
(a phrase you m ight recall from the kindergarten teachers to teach them
Vietnam W ar), the study says that that behavior is more important than
the "show o f force" brand that image.
Jim Hightower is a radio com­
Bush, C heney and Rum sfeld loved
mentator,
writer, public speaker
so much when they rushed into
and
author.
Iraq might have been a bit counter­
by J im
HMMM
____________ THE____________
SPINACOLUMN
Dr. Billy R. Flowers
An ongoing series of questions and answers about America’s natural healing profession
Part 20. It’s Just Your Nerves:
Chiropractic’s answer to an age old answer
: I have been to see a num ber tem . W hen pressu re or irritation
o f doctors about my head­ g e ts on n e rv e s ( s c ie n tific a lly
aches. The most recent one said know
it n as su b lu x a -tio n ), tension
was, “ju st nerves" Can C hiroprac­ in m uscles will result. In the neck,
th is tension w ill w ork its w ay up
tic help?
: Y our doctor was probably to the skull. N est, b lood flow will
right. C hances are it is your be altered . B efore you know it,
n e rv e s. A n in -d e p e n d e n t you
r e ­ will have another throbbing
s e a r c h te a m r e c e n tly a n ­ headache. In Chiropractic, we work
n o u n ced that betw een 90% and with reducing subluxations, releas­
95% o f all h ead -ach es w ere due
to p ressu re on the nerves. Y our
d o c to r w as p robably talk-ing
2124 N.E. Hancock Street,
a b o u t e m o tio n a l nerves. T he
rese arch team , o f co u rse, w as
ta lk in g ab o u t the n ervous sy s­
Q
A
ing the irrita-tion from the nerve
fibers. M uscles can relax. The
body will no longer send a m es­
sage o f pain and your headaches
will be gone for good! If y o u ’re
tired o f hearing that your problem
is “ju st nerves,” call us today.
W e'v e got the answ er to the “ju st
nerves” answer.
Flowers' Chiropractic Office
Portland Oregon 97212
Phone: (5 0 3 ) 2 8 7 -5 5 0 4
C1’r JJnrtlanb (flbscrucr Established 1970
USPS 959-680
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The Portland Observer •Oregon's Oldest Multicultural Ptiblication- isamemberofthe National Newspaper Association-Founded in IRMJ,
and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers. Inc. New York, NY. and The West Coast Black Publishers
Association, Serving Portland and Vancouver
Support Community Health Care Centers
Health without
regard of ability
to pay
by J udge
G reg M athis
M ore than 40 million
A m ericans arc uninsured
and cannot afford basic
health care services. The
majority o f them are black
or Latino and are children
or seniors. Because they lack the
resources, many o f these families
and individuals have to often d e­
cide between paying the gas bill
and seeing the doctor about a nag­
ging cough or other ailment.
It’s unfortunate that, in a coun­
try so full o f resources, so many o f
our residents have to make such
choices.
T here are options, though; o p ­
tions that benefit the uninsured,
doctors and ultim ately, the tax
payer.
C om m unity health centers are
one o f the m ost effective options
available to uninsured and low -in­
com e patients. It’s tim e more folks
knew about and utilized them and
it’s tim e more doctors com m itted
their tim e and talents to building up
such services.
C om m unity health centers pro­
vide health care regardless o f a
p atien t's ability to pay. These cen ­
ters serve over 14 million uninsured
and low -incom e patients who o th­
erw ise m ight not receive treatm ent
for their high blood pressure or
d iab etes, v accin atio n s o r o th er
medical services.
Recent studies have shown that
hospitals over charge the unin­
sured to m ake up for the mi 11 ions o f
dollars they lose each year in un­
paid medical bills. As a result, an
insured or poor patient may
receive a bill three times
higher than the one an in­
su re d p a tie n t re c e iv e s,
even w hen the illness and
treatm ent are the same.
G iven this d istu rb in g
fact, it is clear that health
care centers ultim ately pro­
tect low -incom e patients from the
and u n d erserv ed co m m u n ities.
They also provide scholarships and
loan repaym ents for graduates who
work in poor com m unities.
More doctors and nurses should
consider w orking with the NHSC,
either full-tim e or part-tim e or on a
volunteer basis, to ensure these
health care centers can continue to
grow. The NHSC provides a perfect
opportunity for medical profession­
als o f color to give back to their
communities.
Com m unity organizations can
It's time more doctors
committed their time and talents
to building up such services.
squeeze o f corporate hospitals.
Despite the m any benefits to the
com m unity, health care centers
d o n 't reach far or w ide enough.
This m ust change.
Less than a third o f those who
need free m edical services actually
seek treatment at com m unity health
centers. Though the num ber o f
p atien ts at the cen ters has in ­
creased by 200 percent since 2000
- a good thing; the increase shows
word about the centers is spread­
ing - there are mill ions more who go
untreated each year.
D em and for the services the
health care centers offer is much
greater that the num ber o f doctors
available to provide them. The N a­
tional Health Service Corporation
recruits doctors and other health
care professionals to work in poor
work with the com m unity health
centers to help spread the word
about their services on a grassroots
level, distributing flyers and other
m aterials on behalf the centers.
Churches can point their congre­
gations to the centers in their neigh­
borhood.
T he cu rren t h ealth care system
does not w ork for every A m eri­
can. Until universal h ealth care is
m ade av ailab le to each and every
one o f us, co m m u n ity h ealth c e n ­
ters are need ed to en su re even
the p o o rest A m erican can get the
m edical treatm en t they need and
d eserv e.
Judge Greg Mathis is national
vice president o f Rainbow PUSH
and a national board member of
the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference.