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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2017)
Page 2 The Skanner January 18, 2017 Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Bernie Foster Founder/Publisher Bobbie Dore Foster Executive Editor Jerry Foster Advertising Manager Christen McCurdy News Editor Patricia Irvin Graphic Designer Melanie Sevcenko Reporter Monica J. Foster Seattle Office Coordinator Susan Fried Photographer 2016 MERIT AWARD WINNER The Skanner Newspaper, es- tablished in October 1975, is a weekly publication, published every Wednesday by IMM Publi- cations Inc. 415 N. Killingsworth St. P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 Telephone (503) 285-5555 Fax: (503) 285-2900 info@theskanner.com www.TheSkanner.com The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Association 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. ©2017 The Skanner. All rights re served. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission prohibited. Opinion FROM THE PUBLISHER: Get Ready to Fight for Healthcare Justice T he inauguration of a new president should be a celebration of American democracy. An inauguration tells us that no matter what our party or politics, we can be thank- ful to live in a country where power is transferred peace- fully and the will of the peo- ple decides who our leaders will be. This inauguration, however, brings more fear than hope. The disenfranchisement of thousands of largely poor and minority citizens in states “ Bernie Foster Publisher has promised us “something great.” But the Republicans are re- fusing to say what a replace- ment would look like, possi- bly because they do not have a real alternative plan. And if Obamacare is repealed with- If Obamacare is repealed without a new plan, 18-20 million Americans will lose their healthcare that ultimately handed their votes to President-elect Don- ald Trump is just one of many shadows that hang over his election victory. What will this new presi- dent do? At the top of President Trump’s agenda is the repeal of “Obamacare,” the Afford- able Healthcare Act. In destroying this law, he has willing accomplices in the Republicans who now control Congress, and have fought tooth and nail against the idea that the richest country in the world can ensure all its citi- zens have affordable health- care. Repeal and replace, they say. And President-elect Trump out a new plan, 18-20 million Americans will lose their healthcare. That puts American lives at risk. And it’s just the begin- “ BE A PART OF THE CONVERSATION #SkNews take his federal subsidy. But Sen. Ted Cruz who is at the forefront of the repeal ef- fort, did not need to. He gets his healthcare through his wife’s employer — Goldman Sachs. So it’s not enough to say, ‘We’ll be happy to take what- ever Congress gives itself.” Because our millionaire and billionaire leaders have all kinds of money to take care of their own health needs. Nevertheless, the outcry against the repeal is growing, as people across the country realize how much damage it will cause. Lawmakers al- ready are hearing healthcare appeals that would break the heart of any feeling person. As we move into this un- charted territory, Oregon lawmakers nationally and with state leadership from Gov. Kate Brown are at the forefront of the fight to keep healthcare for all Americans. They can’t do it without our sup- port. 2017 is not a year to slink away and lick our wounds. It is time to make our voices heard. This year, more than ever, we need to rally, march, speak out and build bridges with red state allies who can hold our political leaders to account. Wake up Americans. It’s time to take the fight to Washington. It’s not enough to say, ‘We’ll be happy to take whatever Congress gives itself.” Be- cause our millionaire and billionaire lead- ers have all kinds of money to take care of their own health needs ning. Republican leaders have also pledged to remove the expansion of Medicaid and insurance subsidies, which will send the number of unin- sured Americans soaring to Congress and their families could sign up with the Health exchanges like everyone else, with a federal subsidy. Sen Jeff Merkley, for exam- ple, signed up for the Oregon Health Plan and refused to Why Some People Will Always Believe ‘Fake News’ I Local News Pacific NW News World News Opinions Jobs, Bids Entertainment Community Calendar RSS feeds 27 million, and then to 32 mil- lion by 2026. That’s according to the Congressional Budget Office. It gets worse. In a vote last week Senate Republicans made it clear they will not save the healthcare act’s most important measures. Under Obamacare, you could not be refused coverage for a so-called “pre-existing condition.” Senate Republicans used their majority to vote against saving that provision. They also voted against saving guaranteed coverage for chil- dren and for contraceptives. The Affordable Care Act is not perfect. Many of us hoped for a single payer system, as is the case in most advanced countries. But we will set- tle for any fair plan that en- sures every American can get healthcare when they need it. Under the Affordable Healthcare Act, members of have been thinking about the controversy surround- ing so-called fake news, much of which has been discussed in connection with the November 2016 elections. It is important to understand that “fake news” is a form of propaganda called “black pro- paganda.” Black propaganda refers to information that is manufactured to appear as if it is coming from one source when it is, in reality, coming from somewhere else. In the early 1970s, during the height of the Black Pan- ther Party, a children’s color- ing book surfaced that was inspired by the Black Panther Party. It was targeted at chil- dren and was available in of- fices of the Black Panther Par- ty. I remember looking at it once and noticing that one of the “stories” in it had children shooting police. I thought that was a bit intense, but it was only years later that I discovered that the coloring book had not been created by the Panthers at all. It was a creature of the COINTELPRO Bill Fletcher Jr. The Global African operation of the FBI, which utilized such techniques in order to discredit and destroy the Panthers. This was an ex- ample of “black propaganda.” In 2016, it became clear “ Someone who believed this story went so far as to show up with a rifle to “investigate” the allegation. Fake news is not new. What we should have learned over the years is that the best de- fense against so-called fake news is to question what you read. The fact that something appears on the Internet, even from what appear to be reli- able sources, does not mean that it is true or accurate. Fur- ther, even very sincere people remains the same. In the face of any information you must identify and validate the source; one should check to see whether there is indepen- dent corroboration; and then determine whether you be- lieve that it is consistent with other information that you know to be accurate. In all cases, there will be de- bates around how to interpret any information or data. But interpretation is completely different from agreeing on the facts themselves. The suggestion, for example, that there were masses of Mus- lims in New Jersey cheering the 9/11 terrorist attacks was backed up by NO facts. Nevertheless, it was spread around the In- ternet, because of the person who claimed to have seen it. Fake news, indeed. Bill Fletcher, Jr. is a talk show host, writer and activist. Follow him on Twitter @BillFletcher- Jr, Facebook and at www.billf- letcherjr.com. Fake news is not new. What we should have learned over the years is that the best defense against so-called fake news is to question what you read that there have been Inter- net sites that have circulated an immense amount of false information. These are not from official news agencies. A dramatic example of this was the false allegation that the Clinton campaign had a pedo- phile ring in Washington, D.C. can fall prey to a hoax, as I am sure most of us will admit. I was doing a training re- cently and the matter of ac- curate information came up. The basic question facing the class was how can one know what is true? That is not a new question but the answer