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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 2016)
Page 6 October 26, 2016 Your Carpet Best Cleaning Choice O PINION Martin After the Election, Back to Important Things Focus again on Cleaning issues that really Service matter J ames a. h aught Soon, thank heav- en, the 2016 election will be over. Ameri- cans can stop fussing over how many wom- en Donald Trump mo- lested, or what Russian hackers found in Hillary Clinton e-mails. Then, I hope, thinking people can focus again on issues that really matter: Can America finally gain com- plete universal health insurance covering all citizens as a human right -- a government-run national system suppressing medical costs, as exists in most democracies and all industrialized nations? Can economic changes reduce the amassing of wealth by the bil- lionaire one percent, and give the middle class a better chance? Can controls manage the pistol saturation that gives America the worst murder rate among civilized by Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Residential & Commercial Services Minimum Service CHG. $45.00 A small distance/travel charge may be applied CARPET CLEANING 2 Cleaning Areas or more $30.00 Each Area Pre-Spray Traffic Areas (Includes: 1 small Hallway) 1 Cleaning Area (only) $40.00 Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area (Hallway Extra) Stairs (12-16 stairs - With Other Services) : $25.00 Area/Oriental Rugs: $25.00 Minimum Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool) : $40.00 Minimum Heavily Soiled Area: Additional $10.00 each area (Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying) 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 the world’s largest -- continue costing taxpayers $1 trillion per year (counting veteran expense and interest on past spending done with borrowed money)? Will America continue impris- oning more than two million peo- ple, giving this country the worst incarceration rate among modern societies? Can changes prevent U.S. cor- porations from laying off Ameri- can workers and shifting produc- tion to low-wage countries -- and prevent U.S. corporations from stashing profits overseas to duck taxes? Can human rights grow more entrenched around the world to reduce cruelty? Etc., etc. After the tumult and shouting of the 2016 campaign ends, goals like these should get new atten- tion. They concern liberal democ- racy, the system of government of the people, by the people, for the people. During the past century, liberal democracy won enormous gains: Women won the right to vote. Couples won the right to prac- tice birth control. Retirees won Social Security pensions. Job- less workers won unemployment compensation and other safety net provisions. Labor won the right to organize. African Americans escaped Jim Crow segregation. Medicare and Medicaid expand- ed health treatment. The disabled and workers hurt on the job gained protections. Censorship of books, movies and magazines was wiped out. The Affordable Care Act ex- panded health treatment further. Gays won, first decriminalization, then the right to marry. In all these struggles, conserva- tives fought fierce resistance, but liberal progressives finally carried the day, improving humanity and western civilization. I hope this pattern continues forever. The 2016 election has been a carnival, a circus, a farce. In only a few days, it will fade into the past. But the deep public ques- tions -- things that really matter -- still will stare us in the face.nd– James Haught, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is editor emeritus of West Virginia’s largest newspaper, The Charleston Gazette-Mail. People in Power Who Do Not Want Us to Vote We can’t let them stop us m arC h. m orial The nation will soon conclude what is likely to be remembered as one of the most con- tentious Presidential campaigns in modern history. The campaign has been fraught with racially divisive rhetoric as the nation continues to struggle with issues of racial hostility and social inequity, as demonstrated by the wave of vio- lence that has taken so many lives over the last year. A lack of social and econom- ic opportunity is at the root of the unrest. The troubling divisive rhetoric that has characterized the 2016 Presidential race has fed the unrest. And only a historic, target- ed mobilization of resources can address the unrest. The National Urban League has a plan to elevate urban com- munities through targeted public investment, called the Main Street Marshall Plan. We also have a plan to hold police and communities ac- countable for unjustified violence against unarmed citizens, called the 10 Point Justice Plan for Police by UPHOLSTERY CLEANING Sofa: $69.00 Loveseat: $49.00 Sectional: $109 - $139 Chair or Recliner: $25 - $49 Throw Pillows (With Other Services) : $5.00 nations? Will pollution enforcement fi- nally reduce the catastrophic men- ace of global warming? Will marijuana become legal nationwide, ending the police-and-prison pro- hibition that works no bet- ter than Prohibition of alco- hol did? Will “black lives matter” become a reality, reducing police killings of unarmed African American men? Can better birth control prevent millions of unwanted pregnancies that drive desperate women and girls to seek termination? Will the barbaric death penalty finally cease in the United States, as it has in virtually all democra- cies? Will white supremacy fade as the rising tide of Hispanics, Asians, blacks, Pacific Islanders, Muslims, etc., makes America more multicultural, with no ma- jority? Will college become free for all Americans capable of advanced study? Will U.S. militarism -- by far Reform and Accountability. But plans on paper, written in the most compelling prose, with the most prescient rationale, mean nothing if we do not put in place responsible, for- ward-thinking governmen- tal representatives with the power to put these plans into action. The responsibility to put these plans into action lies with this generation. That responsibility boils down to just one almighty action: We must vote. The National Urban League is part of a nonpartisan Election Pro- tection coalition formed to ensure that all voters have an equal op- portunity to participate in the po- litical process. Election Protection provides Americans from coast to coast with comprehensive voting information on how they can make sure their vote is counted through a number of resources including a voter helpline 866-OUR-VOTE. If you or anyone you know ex- periences any irregularity while trying to register or vote, please call 866-OUR-VOTE. But please, vote. If injustice outrages you, if this recent cycle of violence grates at your inner core as a human being, then we must vote. If we want to fund urban infrastructure and build schools instead of juvenile deten- tion facilities, build libraries and community centers instead of pris- ons, we must vote. If we want universal early child- hood education … we must vote. If we want a federal living wage, tied to inflation, we must vote. If we want to fund urban infrastruc- ture and build schools instead of juvenile detention facilities, librar- ies and community centers instead of prisons, we must vote. If you want to see our tax dol- lars go to rebuilding West Balti- more and Inglewood, Chicago and Athens, Ohio, and Boone, North Carolina, as they have in Bagh- dad and Kabul, we must vote. If we want to see our urban youth working at summer jobs instead of floundering in hopelessness, we must vote. If we want to see the dream of a college education within afford- able reach for every student in America, we must vote. If we are to see justice done in the killings of our brothers and sisters at the hands of police and self-appointed vigilantes, we must vote. If we want to end the scourge of violence within African-American neighborhoods, we must vote. If we want to erase the AR-17 and the AK47 - the weapon of choice for terrorists and mass killings -- from our streets, we must vote. If we want no fly, no buy and univer- sal background checks, we must vote. If we are to honor the martyr- dom of Andrew Goodman, Mick- ey Schwerner and James Chaney, we must vote. If we want a com- passionate system of immigration reform that leads to dignity and citizenship, we must vote. If we want continued, robust funding for the Urban League’s highly effec- tive programs, we must vote. If our vision is an America with liberty, justice and economic op- portunity for all, we must vote. If we are to change the heart of this nation, we must vote. And if we are to achieve all this, through our vote, we must con- tinue to fight with everything we have to protect our vote. This is the first presidential elec- tion in more than 50 years to take place without the full protection of the Voting Rights Act. This year, 14 states will have new voting re- strictions in place for the first time in a presidential election. The new laws range from strict photo ID requirements to early voting cut- backs to registration restrictions. Those 14 states are: Alabama, C ontinued on p age 15
