Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 14, 2018)
Page 2 The Skanner Portland & Seattle November 14, 2018 ® Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Bernie Foster Founder/Publisher The President and the Press: Unhinged Attacks Are Repulsive A Bobbie Dore Foster Executive Editor Jerry Foster Advertising Manager Christen McCurdy News Editor Patricia Irvin Graphic Designer Monica J. Foster Seattle Office Coordinator Susan Fried Photographer 2017 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. ©2018 The Skanner. All rights re served. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission prohibited. Local News Pacific NW News World News Opinions Jobs, Bids Entertainment Community Calendar LOCAL NEWS BRIEFS n F ebo m me • nts TheSkannerNews o k • learn • co in y o u r c o m m u n d ay ! • L i ke u s o ac it Updated daily. to y • Opinion cursory look at the win-loss column after last week’s mid-term elections suggests that nobody left the table emp- ty-handed. Democrats gained control of the House of Rep- resentatives, Republican’s expanded their control of the Senate, hundreds of state legislative seats flipped from Democratic to Republican, and Democrats gained guber- natorial, Attorney General, and other key positions. But both democracy and the truth took a hit during the midterms, when the Pres- ident of the United States ob- fuscated, prevaricated, and just plain lied every chance he got. And then he had the nerve to say he tells the truth “when he can,” which really means he tells the truth only when it serves him. During the midterm campaign, 45 notably attacked Democratic opponents any way he could, often with the vilest of lies. African American political candidates, and especially Stacey Abrams (Georgia) and Andrew Gillum (Florida) were the focus of his ire. While 45 counts the mid- term election as a victory, he was so testily obnoxious in the press conference the day after the election that it is clear that Julianne Malveaux NNPA Columnist he felt the loss. And when a bully is beaten, he lashes out. CNN’s Jim Acosta was the vic- tim of his ire. Because he was persistent in asking a ques- tion, he was falsely accused of putting his hands on some- one, and his White House “ en in the press. He told CNN’s Abby Phillips that she “always asks stupid questions” when she asked him whether he el- evated Matt Whitaker to act- ing Attorney General because he will impede the Mueller in- vestigation. Stupid is the per- fect way to describe a presi- dent who does not even know how to use Google search to figure out that his pick to re- place Jeff Sessions is biased against an investigation he is now charged with supervis- ing. Phillips, a consummate and smooth professional, The President’s hostility toward the press is bad enough. His par- ticular antipathy toward African Americans is even worse press pass was revoked. At the same press conference, the so-called leader of the free world was rudely dismissive to American Urban Radio’s star reporter, April Ryan, repeatedly telling her to “sit down.” Then, on November 9, he attacked Ryan, calling her a “loser” and saying that she “doesn’t know what the hell she is doing.” He said he might consider yanking her press credentials. The president is on a roll when it comes to Black wom- surely understands that she is in good company. Trump loves to attack Black women, especially those who oppose him (like Maxine Waters) for their intellectual acuity. At the same press confer- ence where he melted down on Jim Acosta, the president also attacked PBS White House correspondent Yamiche Al- cindor, describing a question she asked him about the term “nationalist” as a “racist ques- tion.” Alcindor, who says she has interviewed several white supremacists that are “excit- ed” by their leader, asked a perfectly legitimate question of the president who has been stoking racial fires since he announced his candidacy. In attacking both the question- er and the question, 45 again showed his biases and his hos- tility both to the press and to some of the individuals who cover him. No president enjoys intense press scrutiny, especially when things are not going his way. But no president has been more rude, dismis- sive and offensive toward the press. No press secretary has been more rude and ob- noxious than Sarah Hucka- bee Sanders. And none has attempted to curtail press freedoms with the vitriol that Trump has. Mr. Trump says he will pull the press credential of any member of the press who is not “respectful” to him. In his tiny mind, disrespect is the same as merely asking diffi- cult or uncomfortable ques- tions. He and Sanders would undoubtedly feel better if there were no press ques- tions, just syncopated fawn- ing. Read more of this commentary at TheSkanner.com Our Vote: More Than A Desire for History, The Very Strides to Make It T he midterm election was nothing short of historic and yet again, our com- munity is leading the United States of America to- wards progress. According to a CNN exit poll, 90% of African Ameri- cans voted for a Democrat in Congressional races across the country last Tuesday, propelling the Democratic party to our first majority in the House of Representatives since 2009. In Georgia, 97% of Black women who voted, voted for Stacey Abrams to become the state’s first Black female governor. It wasn’t just our desire to make history in Georgia that drew us to Stacey’s campaign. It was our collective under- standing that a vote for Stacey Abrams was a vote to raise the voices of Georgians that have been suppressed for far too long. It was a vote for a new Georgia, and in turn, a new America. But all progress is fought for. Like Stacey said on elec- tion night, there are people that tried very hard to keep certain voices quiet. I firmly believe that if this election had happened in a country with a developing democra- cy and there existed a simi- lar scenario – one in which one of the candidates was in charge of overseeing the very election he was running Rep. Karen Bass Senator (D-Calif.) in – the United States would rush to monitor the election to shine a light on this obvi- ous conflict of interest. Such a contradiction by itself is worthy of scrutiny, especially if that scenario is playing out “ at all, announced that Dem- ocrats were under investiga- tion for attempting to hack Georgia’s voter registration files. Just over a week ago, a fed- eral judge ruled that Georgia would be forced to change parts of its “exact match” pro- tocol, a voting requirement that came under scrutiny leading up to the election when it was revealed that more than 65 percent of the voter registrants whose appli- cations were rendered “pend- This was about the misinforma- tion that Stacey’s opponent ped- dled throughout the campaign and how he took advantage of his tax- payer-funded position to help run his campaign in a country, or a state, with a rich history of voter suppres- sion on the basis of race. But what happened in Geor- gia wasn’t just about job titles. This was about the misinfor- mation that Stacey’s oppo- nent peddled throughout the campaign and how he took ad- vantage of his taxpayer-fund- ed position to help run his campaign. On the Sunday before the election, Stacey’s opponent, equipped with no evidence ing” as a result of the law were African American. This coupled with remarks from Trump threatening that any “illegal voting” would be met with “maximum criminal penalties” less than 24 hours before the first polls opened only further revealed a coher- ent strategy of voter intimida- tion. But what’s redeeming about the democratic process is that voices will be heard one way or another. Once again, our community led the way towards progressive change in Florida and Louisiana, re- buking Jim Crow-era laws designed to strip our consti- tutional right to vote. In Florida, we voted to re- store the voting eligibility of millions of Floridians with past felony convictions. As a result, more than 1.4 mil- lion Floridians who were not allowed to vote in this past election will be able to in the next one. As of 2016, there were more than 400,000 Black people unable to vote due to felonies. Imagine the impact these voters will have in 2020. In Louisiana, we passed a proposition eliminating an- other Jim-Crow-era law that allowed juries to convict someone without a unani- mous decision. Researchers claim this is a back door cre- ated to make it easier to put Black folks in jail in the South. That law is no more. This is the change we bring when we vote. Taking back control of the House of Representatives is one thing but making history while doing it is another. The United States House of Rep- resentatives will have more than 100 women Members of Congress for the first time ever. Read more of this commentary at TheSkanner.com nt • lo c a l n e w s • eve
