Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 25, 2013)
Opinion 2016 Dream Ticket: Hillary and Michelle? “Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now” B ERNIE F OSTER Founder/Publisher B OBBIE D ORE F OSTER Executive Editor T ED B ANKS Advertising Manager J ERRY F OSTER Account Executive L ISA L OVING News Editor H ELEN S ILVIS Multimedia Editor D AVID K IDD Graphic Designer M ONICA J. F OSTER Seattle Office Coordinator J ULIE K EEFE S USAN F RIED Photographers By Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. NNPA Columnist The 2016 national elections are not that far away. It is timely and important that we not wait until then to begin having constructive discussions about who should be given the opportunity and respon- sibility to succeed President Barack Obama. The questions of the future of politics, economics and equal justice should never be avoided. Especially given all the voter suppression enactments in many states over the last two years, we should be more vigilant about being politically conscious and civically active. My motive, therefore, is to stimulate a proac- tive dialogue now about the possi- bilities for viable candidates for the next national elections. Even with three more years in office, I believe that President Obama will be judged by history as one of the most effective presi- dents ever. He will be credited for leading the recovery and revival of the U.S. economy by encouraging the passage of the $787 million American Recovery and Reinvest- ment Act, with Wall Street reach- ing its highest investment level, ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, getting the Afford- able Care Act passed by Congress, E DUCATION S ERVICES Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. reduced the sentencing disparities in drug laws that have been devas- tating for African Americans and Latino Americans, and appointing the first African Americans as It is long overdue for qualified and experienced women to be elected president and vice president of the United States Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security. Therefore, any realistic specula- tion about who could be success- ful in following President Obama and Vice President Biden to the White House in 2016 should first be made in context of establishing continuity with the Obama admin- istration’s progress in economic revival, ending poverty, and pro- viding leadership in implementing a more inclusive national agenda The Skanner Newspaper, established in October 1975, is a weekly publica- tion, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc., 415 N. Killingsworth St., Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama are the most popular and well respected women in the nation P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228. Telephone (503) 285-5555. E-mail: info@theskanner.com World Wide Web site: http://www.theskanner.com The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Associ- rebooting the U.S auto industry, signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act ensuring equal pay for women, signing into law the Fair Sentencing Act that significantly elected president and vice presi- dent of the United States. Here’s a way to do both at one time: I pro- pose and endorse the election of Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton as the next president of the United States and Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama as the next vice president of the United States in 2016. Think about how millions and millions of voters would readily desire with great enthusiasm to have the historic opportunity to for the empowerment of all people who strive for a better quality of life in the United States. It is long overdue for qualified and experienced women to be vote for two former first ladies of the U.S. to be president and vice president. Today, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama are the most popular and well respected women in the nation. But this is not to be reduced to a mere popularity con- test. The truth is both Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama are very qualified, experienced and capable of leading the United States. Hillary Clinton, a Yale law grad- uate, former U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Senator is an expert on both domestic and foreign pol- icy. The Democratic Party will be victorious in 2016 if Hillary Clin- ton is nominated for president. Of course, the vice presidential candi- date in 2016 will be chosen by the nominee of the Democratic Party. As I have traveled recently around the country, I am pleased to report that there is a growing support for Michelle Obama to run for public office and being vice president would be a perfect fit. Michelle Obama is a Harvard Law graduate and a seasoned expert on commu- nity development and health care issues with a particular commit- ment to ending poverty for all peo- ple. Let’s be clear: they should not be elected because they are women; they should be elected because they are qualified to lead our nation. And those who profess to have a problem with electing two women didn’t complain when we’ve elected two men throughout the history of this nation. We all remember the tremen- dous surge in voter turnout in 2008 and again in 2012. And we know what created that enthusiasm. There are real repressive forces, however, that are now at work to increase systematic efforts to sup- press voting rights and voter turnout for both the mid-term 2014 and 2016 national elections. We cannot afford to go back- wards. We need to need to keep the forward thrust of the progress of the Obama-Biden administra- tion into a Clinton-Obama admin- istration in 2016. The future of America and the world will once again be at stake. The political and public dis- course will need a new stimulus in order to arouse a massive turnout of voters who will be committed to a progressive agenda and further socioeconomic transformation of our society and nation into a better place. What’s your view? Who will you support? Who will you vote for? Let the debate begin. “Forward ever, backward never!” This is not a time for cyn- icism or pessimism. We must envision the future for tomorrow out of how we see the present today. I see the Hillary Clinton- Michell Obama ticket as a winning ticket for 2016. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. is Presi- dent of Education Online Services Corporation and the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network and can be reached athttp://drbenjamin- fchavisjr.wix.com/drbfc ation and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re - spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. © 2013 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. To see The Skanner News on your smart phone go to theskannermobile.com or scan this QR code with your app. • • • • • • • • Local news Opinions Jobs, Bids Sports Entertainment Music reviews Bulletin board RSS feeds Fast Food Workers Deserve Better Wages The mainstream media has had difficulty understanding the erup- tion of strikes in the fast food industry. They have acted as if they have come out of nowhere and for no apparent reason. Nei- ther is true. The strikes in the fast food industry are the result of intolera- ble wages and working conditions faced by a workforce that has become increasingly dependent on this sector of the economy in order to survive. Today’s fast food industry is a bit different from days of old. The jobs in fast food are no longer being held exclu- sively by teenagers and 20- plus who are in school looking for some extra money. As the economy has reorganized and older workers have been thrown out of full-time employment, the fast food industry has become a location one step away from unemployment and homeless- ness for many workers of vari- ous ages. The strikes, which were initiated by organizing conducted by a proj- ect of the Service Employees International Union, have become a front-line in the battle against the Page 4 The Portland Skanner December 25, 2013 T RANS A FRICA Bill Fletcher Jr. polarization of wealth in the U.S. Specifically, these are fights over the immediate necessity to raise the minimum wage. Fast food workers are generally kept at sub- do not know from one day to the next whether they actually have a job that will last for any sig- nificant duration. The fast food strikes have come to resemble the movement for the 8-hour day from the 19th century. In that case, workers undertook strikes, demonstrations and other forms of protest – including the strikes that led to the creation of May Day as “International Workers Day” – in order to demand that there be a shorter workweek with no cut in pay. Today’s fast food workers are making an analogous The strikes in the fast food industry are the result of intolerable wages and working conditions standard wages and have to piece together various part-time jobs (much like workers in retail). They have few, if any, benefits and demand: they want a livable wage Fast food workers are fighting the good fight not only for them- selves but for other vulnerable workers. They know that their conditions will not improve by bargaining a contract one fast food outlet at a time, but that instead there needs to be a governmental raise in the minimum wage and, frankly, there needs to be industry standards to which all fast food— and retail—outlets are held. This will happen if and only if there is a continuous outpouring of public support, much of which has already occurred. Thus, these actions are being conducted by some very coura- geous workers of all ages who have decided that they have had enough. They need to know that you are backing them up. Bill Fletcher, Jr. is the chairman of the Retail Justice Alliance which supports workers in the retail industry fighting for fair- ness. He is also a Senior Scholar with the Institute for Policy Stud- ies, the immediate past president of TransAfrica Forum and the author of “They’re Bankrupting Us” - And Twenty Other Myths about Unions. He can be followed on Facebook and www.bill- fletcherjr.com.
