The battle continues to rage over whether illegal immigrants are the major cause of double-digit joblessness among poor, unskilled young Black males.

Recently, I was at a restaurant with a group of friends eating some great food. I was chowing down on some barbecue chicken pizza, and the only thing at the table that was better than that was the conversation of both old and new friends.

There were many topics of conversation, one of which was the employment of teen-age Blacks. There was no short supply of opinions, but I quickly realized that there was a short supply of parents. Only two people at the table had any children.

As a dusty haze settles over her trailer, Judy sits alone on the wooden steps outside her door. She's taking a break while her 11-month-old granddaughter, Myan, sleeps. The child has been sick with a respiratory ailment made worse by the dust that comes through the trailer's vents.

"Divorced Mother of Two, Working Way ThroughCollege, Allegedly Raped, Abused by Gang." Had the headline read that way, the fury would have been great. The facts that the police didn't arrest anyone, that the gang was not talking, that it took two days for the police to search the scene of the crime would have added to the anger.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has finally released a statement concerning the issue of illegal immigration. It is a rather anemic outline of certain principles the organization feels should guide immigration policy.

Does George W. Bush have the numbers 6, 6 and 6 tattooed on his head? In recent years it has become popular for every calamity, natural or man made, to be ascribed to the end times, the last days, Armageddon. If the end is near, the nation most responsible is the United States of America.

District selling out JeffersonA recent editorial in The Oregonian suggests Jefferson High School…

Another Portland police chief has come to office with high hopes, only to see those hopes dashed. Chief Derrick Foxworth has been placed on paid leave amid allegations of sexual misconduct. But one thing remains to be seen: Will there be further casualties?

Here we go again. The administration says "regime change" is needed. Warnings are issued about the threat posed by the "mad man" who leads the oil-rich country. Alarming intelligence estimates are leaked about nuclear weapons programs.

The vice president warns about "monumental consequences" if the alleged efforts to develop nuclear weapons are continued. The president is said to feel invasion is his mission. Neoconservatives call for military action.