Ö'* l’c •) J nr t lattb (Observer
Page A4
July 9. 2008
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It’s Summertime and
the Living ain't Easy
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Economy is week and growing weaker
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economic downturn.
The overall impact is that many
people are not able to secure the
income needed to support their fam i­
lies and keep them healthy. The
Reclaiming Our Youth
by . |i dge
G rk <; M athis
Last week, Rainbow
PUSH launched its na­
tio n a l “ R e cla im O u r
Y outh” campaign at its
annual con fe re n ce in
Chicago.
The goal is to bring
parents back together w ith teach­
ers to save young people from the
pull o f the streets and to w ork in
partnership to increase pressure
on elected o fficia ls to fight for equal
funding fo r all school districts.
Congressmen Jesse Jackson Jr.
and Danny D avis o f Illin o is joined
educators and 150 school superin­
tendents from around the country
to launch the campaign and dis­
cuss the education disparities that
com m unities o f co lo r face.
Such a crusade is desperately
needed. There are stories com ing
out o f school districts across the
country that paint a picture that is
far from rosy.
Some students co m p la in the
curriculum presented to them is
outdated and below grade level.
They say books and computers are
in short supply and teach­
ers aren't fam iliar w ith the
material they teach.
T eachers c o m p la in
that students lack inter­
est and c o m m itm e n t.
They say some parents
It is no wonder the drop out rate
fo r black and Latino students is so
high: About ha lf finish high school,
compared w ith one third o f w hite
students. Drop outs are tw ice as
likely to live below the poverty level
as high school graduates. They
also earn $35,000 less per year than
col lege graduates - over the course
o f a lifetim e, this adds up to about
$1 million.
The jo b m arket is c o m p e titiv e
and positions fo r those w ith o n ly
a high school education are rare;
w ith o u t one, an in d iv id u a l w ill
struggle. T h is is a problem that
affects us a ll. B y w o rk in g to ­
gether, students, parents, teach­
ers and lawm akers can im p ro ve
o u r education system and save
o u r c h ild re n .
The 150 superintendents who
support PUSH'S campaign have
agreed to bring together parents in
their districts to ask them to sign a
s ix point pledge prom ising to take
their kids to school, meet teach­
ers, exchange phone numbers, turn
o f f the television fo r three hours a
night and w ith their children, jo in
a spiritual institution.
This last step is critica l: C om ­
munities o f co lo r are faced w ith so
many challenges; our faith is what
w ill help us overcome. Involved
parents m otivate students, m ak­
ing their path to academic suc­
cess that much easier.
There is p roof that, w ith a some­
what level playing fie ld and com ­
m itted adults in their corner, our
children do more than achieve,
they excel.
Rainbow PUSH is w orking to
create such a playing fie ld , one
that combines pressure on la w ­
makers to develop education fo ­
cused public p olicy w ith a net­
w ork o f parents, caregivers and
students who acknowledge just
how important their com m itm ent
is to overall success.
Judge Greg Mathis is national
vice president o f Rainbow PUSH
and a national board member o f
the Southern Christian Leader­
ship Conference.
1
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continued rise in the cost o f staples
like gas and food is also a huge
obstacle to economic stability and
w ill force most low - and moderate-
income fam ilies to use their gov­
ernment rebate checks sim ply
to keep their heads above wa­
ter.
The National Urban League
recommends an infrastructure
stimulus package focused on
jo b creation to improve the lives
o f struggling Americans across
the country.
A n d w ith A fric a n A m erican
teens experiencing a devastating
unemployment rate o f nearly 30
percent, we are in dire need o f the
immediate restoration o f the Sum­
mer Youth Jobs Program.
As the statistics clearly show,
em ployment fo r a grow ing number
o f Am ericans is still a "dream de­
ferred." As such, we must continue
to push fo r federal policies designed
to strengthen our economy and put
more Am ericans back to work.
•Marc H. M orial is president and
chief executive officer o f the Na­
tional Urban League.
Fighting the pull o f the streets
By working together, students,
parents, teachers and lawmakers
can improve our education
system and save our children.
are ghosts, not attending school
function and showing little to no
interest in their c h ild 's education.
School administrators say they are
doing the best they can w ith the
lim ited resources available to them.
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M a K( M o RIAI.
The Bureau o f Labor statistics
has now confirm ed what we have
known for a long time - the A m e ri­
can e c o n o m y is
weak and grow ing
weaker. So, we are
faced w ith the fact
th a t m ore than
100,000 Americans
have lost their jobs -
80,000in Marchand
another 20.000 in
A p ril. In fact, this year has seen a
steady erosion o f employm ent w ith
a total loss o f a quarter o f a m illio n
jobs since January. By any mea­
sure, this is bad news fo r o u r
economy, but it's even worse news
fo r African Americans.
Black unemployment, now at 9
percent, continues nearly to double
the current 5.1 percent rate fo r
Whites. Clearly, A frican Americans
are being hit hardest during this
\/o i
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o
An Oil Conspiracy?
L et’s consider
the evidence
by
D o n ald K aul
As we all know, gas prices have
taken o ff like a Jupiter rocket and
people are mad as hell about it.
They're thrashing around, looking
fo r somebody to blame.
Last month, Congress held hear­
ings on the matter, the 40th they've
held this year, tryin g to fin d out
w hat is causing these ungodly
prices.
They haven't found out yet (it
w ould take Congress five hearings
to learn how to fin d its hip pocket
w ith its left hand) but they’re get­
ting closer.
The main suspect these days
seems to be speculation. A s John
(He W ho Speaks W ith Straight
Tongue) M cCain said recently; “ In­
vestigation is underway to root out
this kind o f reckless wagering, un­
related to any kin d o f productive
commerce, because it can distort
the market, drive prices beyond
rational lim its, and put the invest­
ments and pensions o f m illio n s o f
Americans at risk.”
I f you don't understand that,
don't w orry about it. I don't either.
supposed to accept that Lee Harvey
Oswald was a lone assassin acting
alone and to do it w ithout giggling.
I know that. But I'm an old-fash­
ioned kind o f guy and when I see
something that looks like a con­
spiracy, walks like a conspiracy and
quacks lik e a conspiracy I say
“ Damn the torpedoes, it's a con­
spiracy.”
Let us consider the evidence:
M r. Bush (whose fa m ily fortune
was made in munitions and o i l ) took
us to w ar in Iraq on a series o f
prem ises that had the te n sile
strength o f wet toilet paper.
We went to war not because Iraq
had weapons o f mass destruction
or Saddam was g ivin g sanctuary to
terrorists or even because he was a
bad, bad man (although he was).
We went to w ar because President
Bush and the o il gang wanted to
install a puppet regime to ensure
that Iraqi o il Bowed to favored oil
companies.
M r. Bush's W hite House then
proceeded to botch the war but the
co n flict did help drive up o il prices
resulting in record profits fo rth e o il
companies. In the meantime, V ice-
President D ick Cheney's old com ­
pany. H alliburton, made a ton o f
money helping to botch up the war.
We went to war because
President Bush and the oil gang
wanted to install a puppet
regime to ensure that Iraqi oil
flowed to favored oil companies.
À
It’s not English. It’s not Spanish. It's
n o t even E sp e ra n to . It is
Washingtonese, a language used
by politicians to disguise the fact
that they don't have anything to
say.
Personally— defender o f Free
Enterprise that I am — I've always
thought speculation was the pur­
est form o f capitalism . You buy a
com m odity or piece o f land or what­
ever in the expectation it w ill rise in
price. H it does, you sell it and make
a lot o f money. I f it doesn't you say
"Waiter, check please."
So I really don't think that specu­
lation is the reason your eyes fill
w ith tears every tim e you have to fill
your tank.
But I do have a theory. I think it's
w w w .n e w s e a s o n s m a r k e t.c o m
you click, we deliver, (or pull up for pick up)
I
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the fru it o f a vast conspiracy set in
m otion by the o il companies in c o l­
lusion w ith high-ranking members
o f the Bush adm inistration, includ­
ing the tw o rankest. I mention no
names.
I know it's not fashionable to
believe in conspiracies. We re all
So everybody was happy ( w ith the
exception o f the fam ilies o f the
young people who were actually
fighting the war, not a large co h o rt).
M eanwhile, back at home, the
adm inistration was m aking every
e ffo rt to thw art efforts to reduce
consumption o f o il, from pooh-
poohing the threat o f global w arm ­
ing to refusing to consider an EPA
report that suggested raising m ile ­
age standards fo r autos w ould be
good fo r the economy.
O il prices kept rising u n til the
time was right fo r proposing more
oil-gang assaults on the environ­
m e n t-o ffs h o re d rillin g , tapping
into Alaska's A rctic W ild life R ef­
uge. And then, last month, Iraq
leaders tentatively O K 'd no-bid oil
contracts w ith the Western o il g i­
ants: E xxo n M o b il, Shell,Total and
BP.
Hark! Was that a quack I just
heard?
Me thinks it was.
Don Kaul is a Washington t or-
respondent.