September 3, 2008
Page A4
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Defining Moment
Barack Obama's nomination
» J-J
by R alph
B. E verett
As we recognize the nom ination o f Sen. Barack
O bam a, D-111., as the D em ocratic Party's candidate
for President o f the United States, we mark the
realization o f an A m erican ideal.
It has been less than a half-century since African
w. A m ericans could only d rea m o f participating inour
dem ocracy and civic life.
Senator O bam as victory will forever alter the politicso f our nation.
He is an exam ple o f talent, diligence and passion at its finest. We
com m end his success and share in his triumph.
This defining m om ent in our history will forever impact our
children and their beliefs in their ow n possibilities to reach their full
potential.
As we celebrate this m ilestone, we must rem em ber where we
began. Dr. M artin Luther King's dream is no longer a dream, but it is
a symbol of progress. Senator O bam a and the Am erican people have
breathed life into Dr. King's lofty dream that he first spoke o f 45 years
ago at the Lincoln Memorial.
"Now is the time to make real the prom ises o f dem ocracy," Dr. King
said during the M arch on W ashington, A ugust 28, 1963. The prom
ises o f dem ocracy are indeed com ing to life and we hope to continue
to see them realized by all citizens o f all colors. This is a great day for
America.
«STErÄ*«*
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7
POINTING
. w
®
T
kettle BLACK
Ralph B. Everett is president and chief executive officer o f the
Joint Center fo r Political and Economic Studies.
Stop Spinninglhe Truth
The facts don’t lie
by L oey P owell
thoughtful consideration about
what might be done to address
them.
Here are some stats to chew
on:
For all the rich countries in the
world for which there is data, the
U.S. has the highest infant m or
tality rate, hom icide rate, teen
age birth rate, incarceration rate,
child poverty rate, overall pov
erty rate and people living alone.
The U.S. has the sm allest
m iddle class, the largest wealth
gap between the rich and the rest
o f the population and the lowest
voter turnout.
It’s time we stopped spinning
the truth - like the truth repre
sented in these stats - and start
taking a long, hard look in the
mirror, admit that there are sig
nificant problem s confronting
our country and that there ju st
might not be easy answers to
any o f them.
If w e sto p p e d sp in n in g
enough to regain our balance,
we will recognize that we have to
work to g e th e r- across the aisles,
across the streets, across neigh
borhoods. across self-interests
- to turn things around posi
tively for those who bear the
greatest burden o f our dysfunc
tion.
A resource on how to get your
questions answered is included
in "O ur Faith, O u rV o te ,” now'
a v a ila b le
at
u c c .o rg /
ourfaithourvote.
E v e ry b o d y s p in s it. T he
spokespeople for politicians spin
it. The talking heads on news
shows spin it. The teacher in the
classroom spins it. The preacher
spins it. Your last lousy date spins
it.
Everybody spins it. The truth,
that is. If I say the glass is half full,
y o u 'll say it's half em pty. If she
says the dog ate her hom ework,
he ’ 11 say it was the cat. Truth i s an
illusory thing so m e tim e s-a real
ity for one, a nightm are for an
other, a facade for som eone else.
How do we know who is telling
the truth? How do we know when
a candidate is lying to us or telling
us Fite it really is?
Does it have to take investiga
tive journalists to uncover the
real story? Dr are we going to hold
onto the distortions and lies put
out initially about o n e’s oppo
nent even when they are clearly
shown to be false a week later'?
(R em em ber those w eapons of
mass destruction that led the U.S.
intow arw ith Iraq? N o tth e re -y e t
a significant portion o f the public-
still believes that the presence of
W M Ds is why we invaded Iraq.)
Statistics - hard, cold num
bers - d o n ’t lie. They sim ply ex
pose what is there w ithout com
mentary. I wish we had more dis
cussion in the com ing months
leading up to election day about
some statistics that paint a trou
Loey Powell is a co-team
bling picture o f our country. I leader with justice ministries in
w ish w e c o u ld h a v e so m e the United Church o f Christ.
What Are College Presidents Thinking?
and je o p ard ize the I ives o f more
te e n s .”
In the early 7 0 ’s, a num ber of
states lowered the drinking age
and nighttim e fatal crashes in
creased 17 percent in the 18-20
age group.
by J udy C ushing
But in 1984, President Reagan
The recent announcem ent by
some lOOcollege presidents float signed the N ational M inimum
ing the proposal to low er the D rinking Age Act, which said if
drinking age from 2 1 to 18 is noth- states d id n 't adopt a drinking age
ing short o f irresponsibility and o f 2 1, they would see 10 percent
o f their federal highw ay funding
foolishness.
It’s also a selfish copout that cut. So now. all 50 states and the
would have horrific im plications District o f Colum bia have set a
in our state and throughout the drinking age o f 21.
There is no doubt that the law
country.
A s an O re g o n n o n -p ro fit has been effective in saving lives.
d ed icated to the p rev en tio n o f Studies by the National Highway
alco h o l and d ru g a b u se, we Traffic Safety Administration has
agree w ith M ark R osenker, the show n that raising the drinking
actin g c h ie f o f the N atio n al age to 2 1 from 18 has resulted in
T ran sp o rtatio n S afety B oard, 900 few er traffic fatalities annu
w ho called the idea “a national ally involving teens.
And according to recent polls,
tragedy to turn back the clock
Lowering the
drinking age is
a copout
the A merican public overw helm strong correlation betw een stu
ingly agrees that the current drink dent drinking and physical and
sexual assault, depression, anxi
ing age is ju st fine.
So instead o f saying that the ety, and school failure. And as
problem of binge drinking on cam alarm ing, is alcohol poisoning
puses would sim ply go aw ay by from binge drinking that can re
legalizing it-w h ic h is ludicrous- sult in death.
And college adm inistrators are
- college adm inistrators need to
finally step up and tackle the prob going to need to com m unicate
loud and clear that the overriding
lem head on.
It’s time for real leadership in m essage to students, parents,
form ulating cam pus alcohol poli trustees and alumni is that alco
cies, instead o f dream ing up ways hol is o f f lim its if y o u ’r e n o t2 1 .
This would be a radical shift in
to limit potential liability.
And any such policy should the college culture, no doubt. But
include strengthening efforts in cultures’ change and this one can
p rev en tio n , in te rv en tio n , and too.
Make no m istake — partying
enforcement.
Colleges need to inform and students drink to get drunk. With
educate students and their par this latest move by som e college
ents (which still hold alo t o f influ presidents, one w onders what in
ence on their kids, not to mention the world they’ve been drinking.
Judy Cushing is the president
helping with tuition) about the
wide range o f consequences of and chief executive officer o f
binge drinking. There is a very Oregon Partnership.
Wake Up Call on HIV
by M arc
M orial
TheCenters for Dis
ease Control and Pre
vention recently re
leased a report show-
i ng that ne w HIV infec-
tions are 40 percent higher than
previously estim ated, with the
majority o f new infections occur
ring among African Americans.
Chiropractic Auto Injury Clinic, PC
Zchon R. Jones, DC
333 NE Russell St., #200, Portland, OR. 97212
African Americans make up
only 13 percent o f the popula
tion, yet account for 45 percent
of all new HIV infections. The
CDC report begs the question:
As the face o f AIDS in America
has turned increasingly black, have
our federal government and many
o f our fellow citizen s sim ply
stopped paying attention?
About 6< X).(XX) African Ameri
cans are now HIV positive and as
many as 3().(XX) are infected each
year. According to an analysis by
the Black Aids Institute, despite
extraordinary improvements in HIV
(503) 284-7838
treatment, AIDS remains the lead-
ing cause of death among black
women aged 25-34, and the second
leading causeof death among black
men aged 35-44.
Blacks make up 70 percent of
new HIV cases among teenagers
and 65 percent o f HIV-infected
newborns. At a time when the ac
tions of our federal government
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We 've Moved!
R ussell Si
8
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and others are resulting in fewer
deaths and greater access to af-
fordable antiretroviral drugs in
places like Namibia and Cambodia,
African Americans make up only 13
percent o f the population, yet account fo r
45 percent o f all new HIV infections.
Dentures
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We are located on the
corner ofM LK and Russell
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above the coffee shop.
Are we still paying attention?
sub.wnpti<>n<ff portlandobsener.com
more black Americans are living
with AIDS than the infected popu
lations in Botsw ana, Ethiopia,
Guyana, Haiti, Namibia, Rwanda or
Vietnam.
In fact, according to the Black
AIDS Institute, if Black America
were a country, it would rank 16th
in the world in the num berof people-
living with HIV.
T h e B ush A d m in is tra tio n
should be applauded for its alloca
tion of $50 billion in new em er
gency AIDS funding for the global
fight against the disease, but I
agree with NBLCA president and
chief executive officer C. Virginia
F ie ld s ' c o n te n tio n th a t the
president's focus on combating
HIV/AIDS overseas has not been
matched with a commitment to
fighting (he epidemic here at home.
We need better and more tar
geted prevention efforts. We must
also do more to promote needle-
exchange programs, improve test
ing in prisons and deal with issues
like poverty, homelessness and
dnig abuse which are known incu
bators for the disease.
But governm ent can't do this
job alone. W e must do more in our
own com m unities to change be
haviors and end the stigma and
hom ophobia that keep us from
reaching out to those in greatest
need.
Marc Morial is president and
chief executive officer for the
National Urban League.