anuary 18, 2017
Page 15
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President-Elect is a Pathological Liar
c ontinued froM p age 6
another, and we have had our share of presidents with
serious character issues. But Trump is a case apart,
someone so out of touch with traditional American val-
ues—compromise, equity, openness, community, jus-
tice, lawfulness, respect for difference—and so unpre-
dictable in behavior that I tremble to think how he can
possibly deal sensibly with the complicated foreign and
domestic problems we face.
I do have one project I would like to see materialize
right now: media representatives, mainstream and alter-
Reclaiming the Dream
King Boulevard and traffic got heavier
many drivers rolled down their car win-
dows to give the protestors high-fives, took
photographs with their smart phones and
honked their car horns in praise.
As the march passed by Geneva’s Shear
Perfection Barber and Beauty Salon, a man
who was getting his haircut ran outside
with a plastic cape still on and his barber
carrying a black electric razor. A voice
rang out to the marchers and asked if the
cops had killed another person that day.
When the marchers reached the North
Police Precinct at MLK and Killingsworth
Street, Reye guided the group off to a side
street. Standing next to a police car with
an officer in the driver’s seat and his ve-
hicle lights on, Reye took to the bullhorn
and said: “Now, we’re going to have a four
and a half minute of silence. Do you know
c ontinued froM p age 4
Raiford held up the new banner with
7-year-old Rachelle Davis for a photo op.
Davis’ mother, Karen, said she appreciated
the event’s family focus and having an op-
portunity to voice her concerns at a protest
that was planned during the day when it
felt safer.
Don’t Shoot Portland activists Lauretta
Reye and Red Hamilton grabbed their bull-
horns at about 2 p.m. and began the march
by heading out of the park onto Rosa Parks
Way. The chants began, “First name Mar-
tin, last name King. Whos’ Streets? Our
Streets!” Drivers patiently waited on the
side, some mouthing along with the chants
and giving ‘thumbs up’ from the inside
their warm vehicles.
As the marchers reached Martin Luther
native, come together to issue a joint challenge to the
Trump team, and Donald Trump in particular, to start
communicating regularly, directly, and factually with
the American people on the major policy issues. “Stop
lying, stop hiding, and fulfill promises.”
Mel Gurtov, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is professor
emeritus of political science at Portland State Universi-
ty and blogs at In the Human Interest.
why we’re having a four and a half minute
of silence? To honor Michael Brown, who
was shot by police in Ferguson, Missouri.
Do you know how long his body was left
in the street bleeding before it was taken
away by an ambulance? Four and a half
hours.” The marchers and children hung
their head in prayer and then headed back
to the boulevard.
When the protest stopped at the old
Burger Barn, a relic of a building owned
by Teressa Raiford’s family and the site of
a racist possum incident by police in the
1980s, a group of women nearby standing
on the sidewalk were smoking cigarettes
and began to dance along to the march
chant: “All my life I’ve had to fight, but
I’m gonna be alright.”
The sun was sinking behind the city sky-
line when the march arrived at the Martin
Luther King Jr. landmark. On the corner
in front of the statue stood Pro Life pro-
testors carrying signs with hurtful slo-
gans like “Hillary for Jail” and “Planned
Parenthood: The Democrat Negro Project
that Kills Black People.” After a few brief
and sharp words, Don’t Shoot organizers
announced on the bullhorn: “We do not en-
gage in ignorance. Do not engage.”
Raiford thanked the King march partic-
ipants for their dedication in freezing tem-
peratures and their generosity by donating
three cars full of items for houseless peo-
ple.
Don’t Shoot Portland’s Reclaim Martin
Luther King March was the first of at least
six local protests coming during the same
week as President-elect Donald Trump’s
inauguration. Most of the marches and
protests will happen on Inauguration Day,
Friday, Jan 20 and this weekend. With
Trump’s promises in his racially-divisive
campaign and choice of presidential cab-
inet members, many in the nation fear that
the clock will be turned back on long time
and hard won civil rights.
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C alendar
SUNDAY
15
First Super Bowl
Played in 1967
Hat Day; first top hat
was worn (1797)
22
Brian Wildsmith
born, 1930
National Blonde
Brownie Day
29
Baseball Hall of
Fame established
(1936)
National Puzzle Day
January 2017
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
16
Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. Day
Prohibition, 1920
23
Measure Your Feet
Day
National Handwrit-
ing Day
National Pie Day
30
Franklin D. Roos-
evelt born, 1882
(23rd President)
17
Muhammad Ali
(Cassius Clay)
born, 1942
Benjamin Franklin
born, 1706
24
Gold Discovered in
California At Sut-
ter’s Mill in 1848
by John Marshall
31
Backwards Day
Jackie Robinson
born, 1919 (Base-
ball Great)
R
18
Raymond Briggs
born, 1934
Beginning of the
Lewis & Clark
Bicentennial
25
Opposite Day
First Winter Olym-
pics held, 1924
19
Artist Paul Cezanne
born, 1839
Popcorn Day
26
Australia Day (first
settled, 1788)
FRIDAY
20
Inauguration Day
(Every 4 years:
2013, 2017, 2021)
Cheese Day
SATURDAY
21
National Hugging Day
First flight of the Su-
personic Concorde
(1976)
27
28
Lewis Carroll birth-
day
National Geograph-
ic Society Founded
(1888)
Chinese New Year -
Year of the Rooster
Jackson Pollock
born, 1912 (Artist)
National Kazoo Day