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Celebrating Diversity_______ August20,2008
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O pinion
Revving up for a
Dirty Campaign
A sOCcMLôîT
OfeNER.
First they charged Obama
with being eloquent
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Get on Board with Life Saving Defibrillators
I presented my concerns to was too busy and someone else
C ity C o m m issio n e r R andy would get back to me and I have
Leonard who in turn wrote a reso- not yet been contacted. I have
evening in February.
by C hristeen J ohnson
lution asking Portland Public worked and continue to work tire­
Since
Eddie’s
death
I
found
out
My son Eddie died February
Schools to put AEDs in all its lessly to save lives and families
a
lot
of
information
about
this
dis­
23, 2005 while playing varsity
the devastation that my family]
schools.
ease
along
with
sudden
cardiac
basketball for Grant High School
We presented this resolution has suffered from this loss espe
arrest and how Automated Exter­
while at Madison High.
to
the
City Council and it passed cially if it can be prevented.
nal
Defibrillators(
AEDs)
have
been
Eddie was diagnosed with a
My concern is that Portland
unanimously.
I attended a PPS
life
saving
in
these
cases.
heart condition in 2001 called Hy­
My fo u n dation’s m ission, board meeting the year my son Public Schools seems to be reluc­
pertrophic Cardiomyopathy or
HCM. He was banned from play­ since it was established in 2005, passed and stated my concerns. tant in putting these units in all of
ing any sports for one year and has been to raise awareness of I also met with the head of Safety their schools while all the sur­
then his doctor changed his diag­ undetected heart defects in ath­ and Risk Management and dis­ rounding school districts have
nosis to hypertension and re­ letes and youth. Todeploy AEDs cussed this issue. To date PPS done this immediately.
As you may know, just recently
into the com m unity, mainly has refused to put AEDs in all the
leased him to play.
a
life
was saved at Bally Fitness by
After an autopsy it was found schools. I helped with legislation schools. Donations were offered
one
of
these machines which is
that the doctor’s first diagnosis with Rep. Mark Hass and a law so money should not be an issue.
one
of
many
stories of survival in
I also tried to contact the new
was correct and Eddie went into was passed to require all school
our
community
since my son’s
sudden c ard iac arrest that districts to have AEDs in them. Superintendent and was told she
death.
I am deeply saddened that after
my son’s death on one of PPS’s
courts, and out of all school dis­
tricts, they are refusing these
machines despite donations be­
ing offered.
It leads me to believe that not
only is PPS not taking the loss ol
Return your ballot by mail or drop i f o ff at any designated voter
my son’s life seriously but also
dmpsite. Call 1-866-673-8683 to find a location near you.
not concerned about the remain­
ing children, teachers and staff
that are in these school buildings
with the potential to need these
machines.
VU.mr XXXIV • N,„.
I
I pray that another life doesn’t
have to be lost for PPS to get on
board. One life was truly enough
and three years is more than
enough time to realize this.
I am asking that others sup­
port me in asking the question
“why?” I plead for your help with
making the district accountable!
tocitizensof thiscommunity they
service and that contribute their* 1 *
tax dollars for these schools to
continue to operate.
Why not Portland Public Schools?
diversity111 Print
Participate in Democracy V ite
Christeen Johnson is the mother
o f E ddie B a rn ett Jr. a n d the
fo u n d er o f the Eddie Barnett Jr.
Foundation, Inc. Visit the fo u n d a ­
tion website at ebjrfbundation. org.\
D onald K aui .
First, they charged Barack
Obama with being eloquent . Then
they called him a celebrity. And
now, finally, they're accusing him
of being black.
Will these Republicans stop at
nothing?
In truth, it would be an exag­
geration to call John McCain's
campaign tactics thus far “dirty.”
Tacky, certainly, but they have
not yet risen or fallen to the level
of “dirty.” Although the ad lying
about Obama blowing off a visit
to wounded troops in Iraq so he
cou Id get a photo op comes close.
Right now, it's more at the level
of a high school jock yelling in­
sults at the smart kid
who's stealing his girl.
"Nyah, Nyah, you're an
intellectual and your
mother dresses you,”
that sort of thing. Kid
stuff.
Dirty, 1 image, is not
far away; it depends on
thepolls.IfM cCainfalls
behind in the poiis, you
? I f McCain falls
behind in the
polls, you are
rea lly gOUlg tO See
some nasty ads.
are really going to see
or emai 1 ads @ portlandob server.com
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M a r k W a s h in g to n
C nnTivt I b m i m e : P a u l N e u f e l d t
A im n n siso : K a t h y L i n d e r
D an Kaul is a W ashington
co rresp o n d en t w hose opinion
p ie c e is m a d e a v a ila b le b y
m inulem anm edia.org.
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uneral
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i
■
calling attention to the fact that
Obama is black without actually
having to say it.
People, most of them, don't like
to admit their racism. They ex­
press it in other ways, largely by
believing ridiculous rumors. Here
is a sampling of the things people
say about Obama and what they
actually mean:
—“He's arrogant." (He's black.)
— "He's not patriotic.” (He's
black.)
— “Won't say the Pledge of
Allegiance.” (Black.)
— “H e's a M uslim .” (Way
black.)
M c C a in ’s
c a m p a ig n
scratches those itches and will
continue to do so because he
doesn't have much of a cam ­
paign without them.
However, more than the race
card, the McCain people are play­
ing the dumb card.
They think the A m erican
people are dumb enough to take
seriously these trivial, empty
“charges” they keep leveling
against Obama (including that
Barack's suggestion that we keep
our tires inflated is somehow
silly).
The dumb card worked for
George Bush against A1 Gore
when the Republicans used Gore's
smarts (“He invented the Intemet-
-h a -h a .” ) against him.
Let us, in these dire times, hope
it does not work again.
Caring hands in yo u r tim e o f need
ffl"' ^(.lortlanh (©bseruer
Call 503-288-0033
Established 1970
...................................... .......... ..........
some nasty ads.
Right now, the McCain camp
is content to go with the tried-
and-true Republican tactic of at­
tacking its opponent's strengths.
Does Obama have a remark­
able gift for phrase making? He is
accused of being glib. So was
Winston Churchill, of course, but
nevermind.
Is he able to draw huge, en­
thusiastic crow ds w herever he
goes? He is accused of being a
celebrity, a fellow traveler of
Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.
Is that w eird or w hat? The
McCain people have a candi­
date who can barely fill a coffee
shop and they're trying to paint
that as an advantage?
This is w hat Paris H ilton's
m other— a M cCain contributor
by the w ay— had to say about
that ad: “ It is a com plete waste
o f the country's time and atten­
tion at the very moment when
millions of people are losing
their hom es and their jobs. And
it is acom pletely frivolous way
to choose the next president of
the United States.”
The McCain peopleeven went
so far as to show Obama hitting
that three-point shot in front of
thetroopsinlraq. It was a marvel­
ous moment and a great shot but
the only reason you might want
to call attention to an opponent's
basketball skills like that is to
emphasize that he is, well, black.
Although, frankly, black guys
tend to take it to the rim. If s white,
suburban players who settle for
the J.
Then, when Barack predicted
To contact
Il!'P o rtla n d (Observer
R e p u b lic a n s w ere going to
stress the fact that he didn't
look much like the pictures of
presidents- on our money, the
M cCain cam p was quick to yell
“ Race card, race card. He's play­
ing the race card.”
Oh please. Black candidates—
-unless they're running for office
in a predominantly black city or
congressional district—have no
advantage in playing the “race
card.” For every person who
votes for them because of their
race, two or three will vote against
them for the same reason.
If anything, w henever the
McCain campaign says "race
card,” it's playing the race card.
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