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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 2012)
Page 12 Il!C ^ìovtlanb Qî)baerüer Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. New Prices Effective May 1,2010 Martin Cleaning Service Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Residential & Commercial Services Minimum Service CHG $45.00 A sm all distance/travel charge m ay be applied CARPET CLEANING 2 Cleaning Areas or more $30.00 Each Area Pre-Spray Traffic Areas {Includes: 1 sm all H allw ay) 1 Cleaning Area (only) $40.00 Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area {Hallway Extra) Stairs (12-16 stairs - With O ther Services)-. $25.00 Area/Oriental Rugs: $25.00 Minimum Area/Oriental Rugs ( Wool): $40.00Minimum November 7, 2012 Exoneration for Rep. Maxine Waters We applaud her leadership M arc M oriai . It is alw ays big new s w henever ethics charges are brought against a M em ber o f Congress. Convictions,, though rare, also m ake headlines. W e understand that bad new s sells. But we also think it is a big deal when a respected M em ber o f C ongress is co m p letely ex o n erated o f ethics ch arg es — e sp ecially w hen that m em ber is som eone as pow erful and effective as C alifornia C ongress- w om an M axine W aters. In case you m issed it, in S ep tem ber, after a th ree-year investigation. R epresentative W aters, a 2 1 -year veteran o f the H ouse and a senior m em ber o f the H ouse Financial Ser vices C om m ittee, w as cleared o f all charges related to her role in assist ing m inority-ow ned banks get b ail out help through the g o v ern m en t’s T ro u b le d A sset R e lie f P ro g ram (TARP). W hile h er husband ow ned stock in one o f those banks, the investiga tion found that the help that bank received w as the result o f a request she m ade on b e h alf o f all m inority banks. H ouse E thics C o m m ittee Special C ounsel, Billy M artin co n cluded, “T he evidence in the record does not support a know ing viola- by increase contracting opportunities for m inority- and w om en-ow ned b u s in e sse s. R e p r e s e n ta tiv e W a te rs a ls o fo u g h t to e n su re that in w in d in g d o w n stru g g lin g fin a n c ia l in s titu tio n s, re g u la to rs c o n sid e re d the im p act on lo w -in c o m e , m in o rity , a n d u n d e r s e r v e d c o m m u n itie s w here acc e ss to m ain stream b a n k ing is a p ro b lem . A nd to help stem the tid e o f h o u sin g fo re c lo su re s, she se c u re d $1 b illio n - w ith an a d d itio n a l $1 b illio n c o m m itm e n t U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. (left) and National Urban fro m th e T re a s u ry D e p artm en t - League President Marc Moriai. to h elp u n e m p lo y e d h o m e o w n e rs re c e iv e lo w -in te re s t lo an s to pay tion o f ethics rules o r any standard nancial crisis o f 2008. th e ir m o rtg a g e s. o f co n d u ct w ith respect to Rep. In her role as a senior m em ber o f A s a m em b er o f the C o n gres M axine W aters.” the Financial S ervices C om m ittee, sional B lack C aucus, W aters has Since h er initial 1991 election to Rep. W aters played a key role in also traveled the country to shine a the H o u se , W a te rs h as b e en a shaping that legislation and was spotlight on the problem o f urban staunch advocate for m iddle and successful in including provisions unem ploym ent and has w orked w ith w o rk in g class fa m ilie s and has specifically designed to protect low- C o n g ressio n al m em b ers o f both fought hard for m inority inclusion incom e and m inority citizens. parties to pass critical jo b s legisla in the financial services industry. In B ecause o f her, there is now an tion. fact, she w rote the legislation creat O ffice o f M inority and W om en at W ith the retirem ent o f B arney ing the O ffices o f M inority and each o f the federal regulatory ag en Frank, C ongressw om an W aters is W om en Inclusion as part o f the cies such as the T reasury D ep art in line to be the ranking D em ocrat on D odd-Frank W all Street Reform and m ent, the Federal R eserve, the F ed the H ouse Financial Services C o m C o n su m er Protection Act. eral D eposit Insurance C orporation, m ittee. W e applaud h er leadership D odd-Frank puts in place the m ost and others. and are pleased that her Ethics C o m com prehensive financial regulatory T hese offices will w ork to re m ittee ex o n eratio n rem oves any reform m easures since the G reat verse years o f underrepresentation obstacle to h er ascendency. D epression and is intended to p re and ensure the gender, racial and Marc Moriai is president and vent a repeat o f the reckless W all ethnic diversity o f the w orkforce chief executive officer o f the Na Street b eh av io r that caused the fi- and senior m anagem ent, as well as tional Urban League. Heavily Soiled Area: Additional $10.00 each area (Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying) UPHOLSTERY CLEANING Sofa: $69.00 Loveseat: $49.00 Sectional: $ 109 - $ 139 Chair or Recliner: $25 - $49 Throw Pillows (With Other Services): $5.00 ADDITIONAL SERVICES • Area & Oriental Rug Cleaning • Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning • Deodorizing & Pet Odor Treatment • Spot & Stain Removal Service • Scotchguard Protection • Minor Water Damage Services SEE CURRENT FLYER FOR ADDITIONAL PRICES & SERVICES Call for Appointment (503) 281-3949 Give Peace Science a Chance Big stick ideology has run its course P atrick T. H iller “ Speak softly and carry a big stick; you w ill go far” w as a trad e m a rk d e s c rip tio n o f T h e o d o re R o o sev elt’s foreign policy. T o no surprise, the recent election turned politicians into stick-carrying h u n t ers - only now it does not seem necessary to speak softly. M itt R om ney’s ideas for a "peace ful planet" required us to have a strong m ilitary, second to none. Sim ilarly under P resident O b a m a ’s m ilitary spending has gone up e v ery single y ear h e ’s been in office, and that the U nited States spends m ore on its m ilitary than the next 10 countries com bined. T he “big stick ideo lo g y ” is o u t dated and it is tim e for o u r leaders to acknow ledge the reality o f construc tive w a y s’o f conflict tran sfo rm a tion. In tern atio n al R elatio n s ex p ert by Jo sh u a G o ld ste in , H arv ard p sy cho lo g ist Steven Pinker, historian K ent Shifferd, and m any other c o n flict experts and institutes rem ind us that the w orld is becom ing m ore peaceful. T here are reasons. S hifferd em phasizes that w e are not talking about som e kind o f uto pian peace, but one that is real and that can be d escrib ed by global trends o f an evolving peace system . Som e o f those trends are the rise o f hum an rights, w o m e n ’s rights, the em ergence o f supranational in stitu tions (e.g. the U nited N ations), n o n violence as a substitute for w ar (e.g ., the T unisian and Egyptian rev o lu tions), and conflict resolution tech niques inform ed by peace research and education. L e t’s dw ell on the last ones for a m om ent. A re w e talking about real science? T he an sw er is yes, peace science and conflict resolution are social scientific fields. By exam ining both the th eo reti cal and the practical aspects from m ultiple perspectives, peace scien tists inform and are inform ed by w hat is happening on the ground. T here are o v er 450 undergraduate, m a ster’s and doctoral program s and research centers on peace studies and conflict resolution in 40 c o u n tries and 38 U.S. states, according to the Peace and Justice Studies A s sociation. At the height o f the C old W ar there w ere only 36. T h e se in stitu tio n s e q u ip s tu dents w ith research skills and real istic tools to engage in constructive conflict resolution efforts and in form the public on viable altern a tives to violence. T rue, there still are m ilitary studies program s and entire m ilitary academ ies. B ut le t’s face it - they are “old school,” antiquated, out o f fashion. T he trend is clearly going the o th er way. E ven R otary Interna tional, arguably the w o rld ’s largest service organization, w hich is c e r tainly not know n as a radical, op p o sitional, or even controversial o rg a nization, is heavily invested in fund ing R otary Peace C enters and R o tary Peace Scholars w hose w ork encom passes peace building w ithin the fram ew ork o f transnational o r ganizations or public policy m ak ing, hum anitarian aid, hum an rights advocacy or peace education. So does p eace science offer ideas on how to deal w ith Iran, “the g re a t est threat o f all,” a “ state sponsor o f terrorism ,” led by “the w orld’s w orst actors” in a region “ in tum ult” ? (The d e s c rip tio n s u se d by P re s id e n t O bam a and G ov. R om ney in the third presidential debate.) The a n sw er is yes. D avid Cortright, director o f policy studies at N otre D am e’s Kroc Insti tute for International Peace Studies, points to m issing evidence on Iran’s nuclear capabilities and the N uclear N onproliferation Treaty. He points to the alm ost certain escalation in a cycle o f violence in the M iddle East in case o f military strikes as well as the need to com bine sanctions with in centives for Iran to begin a construc tive path o f conflict transformation. L o u is K rie sb e rg , a fo u n d in g scholar in the scientific field o f c o n flict analysis and resolution, rem inds us to look m ore closely at the Iran ’s internal division and p ow er struc- continued on page 19
