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Show "My theology, briefly, is that the universe was dictated but not signed. " :. Christopher Morley, American author (1890-195- 7) . 21, 1990 Op o4 Season f grafflyl Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday for many because it brings together family, good food, and an occasion to take stock of bow life is treating them. We can't say "all is well" this Thanksgiving in ytah, but we can say things are pretty 'i ' good. - can be thankful for a local We econo- my which appears to be bucking the ' national trend to recession, In fact, the economy along toe Wasatch Front is quite vigorous. We can be thankful for a beautiful fall and the hope of a wetter winter than in recent drought years. ; We can be thankful that while far we stack up well against from perfect other parts of the country when it comes to crime rates, cancer rates, and a host ;pf other statistical barometers of lifestyle. We can be thankful for the pleasant .diversion of a football team ranked high in the college polls and a personable young quarterback who may win one of tins game's greatest honors. We can be thankful for a wide variety of choices In shopping, entertainment, -- Herald comment and recreation. We can be thankful that loved ones in the Middle East have, thus far, stayed out of harm's way and the guns of war have remained silent We can pray an alternative to shooting and killing will yet be found. We can be thankful that every day there are thousands of acts of kindness committed by people in mis area; of teachers, neighbors, coaches, police officers, scoutmasters, nurses, and friends who go the extra mile. And there is so much more for which we can and should be thankful. There is much pain in today's society and much of it Is right in our midst. But we are well blessed here and our pains are fewer than almost any other place in the world. Happy Thanksgiving! thou-san- ds Letters LecricrchSp needed 'Editor: ; Help! The Republican Party in Utah .County is still in need of leadership! Mon-tee- n Gordon's solution is to hide her head in .; the sand, ignoring the news, whether it be "television or newspaper, so it will not upset "5 Oood leadership assumes responsibility, CaeejB the facts, and responds to existing conditions, Including the media, - Using Stephen Studdert as the scapegoat tor Inefficient party leadership is an insult to everyone in the Republican Party. Iw'The people have spoken and elected Bill Orton as congressman. The Republican Par ty leadership needs to unite and support Bill i in the same way they would expect the J Democrats to support their Republican con-- i gressman! ' Monteen Gordon, Utah County Republican ; Party chairman is furious, declaring any Republican that voted for Bill Orton is not a ., Republican. The Third District has been very divided ; I I this year and now has the option of uniting ! and supporting the congressman elected to help our district, or continuing the bitter division and emotional battles. United we ;3ftand, divided we fall! Let's all support Bill Orton for his term as congressman and be stronger and better Z prepared for the 1992 election year, and hope for better Republican Party leaders in 1992. m "Remind me to be thankful this Thanksgiving we don't have to sit through any more political TV ads." package occupied the front of our Lifestyle Section which Is prepared by editors other than the ones who handle local news stories. The local publication that ran the story on its front page did so on Oct. 23, two days after the Herald and one day after the event In question began. The other stories on that Oct 23 page were a federal clean air bil item (which ran In the Herald on the day before), news of a Provo bank robbery (which appeared In the Herald on the same day), and an advance Item mi an upcoming county commission meeting on the old courthouse (a Wednesday, Oct. 24 meeting which the Herald covered and reported on Thursday, Oct. 25). i I ', , Z Z Janet . Olson Provo i Questions plccomont Z Editor: The Provo Z City PTA Board of Managers would like to thank you for your article of Oct. 21 concerning "Red Ribbon Week." i', As your article stated "The goal of the Z week-lon- g campaign is to promote aware- - 5 Z ness and to display the determination that jj Americans have in the battle against drug abuse." The war against drugs involves a cabinet Z level position in the federal government. The drug problem is the number one concern of '.T. communities across the nation and is the number one threat to America's youth ' n j to-da- Hundreds of hours were spent preparing the "Red Ribbon" event. Our organiza-tio- n alone donated over 8,000 hours to the ; ; effort. Many local city and county employ-- ; ees were alio involved. I T In this light we wish you had chosen a ; ;;more prominent place for the article than on All the other papers in the area Page 'chose to place the story either on the front 1 ; page of their local section or, indeed, featured it as a front page, full color, ; 1', headline story. The day your coverage ran, " the local section "headline story" was on a ' movie being shown at a local hotel about ! '. Africa. The full page story, with four large of African animals was interesting photos -but hardly, in our view, as news worthy or ;as ' important to the community as our ' I 'nation's struggle against substance abuse. - We need your support to rally more ;! ZZ community involvement in the various projects our organization produces and '.' ; : merely ask that, in the future, you consider Z, "'for 4-- w ', . 1 .' j ! j i t important than those of certain special interest groups. Drug education programs ZZ deserve better placement than page : The Provo City PTA coara or managers t' 4-- Editor's Note: In tact, the story at Issue top billing on the front page of the Oct. 121 Herald, we singled it out for display in ! tZgot J Z-- J ', ' Hon to Important news that we did not run One. Stories that did run on Page TP One that day included a report on the - on Page pending federal tax hike, a story about a i local business providing supplies for our mops in aauai nraoia, a swry reporung me Zi likelihood of war In Saudi Arabia, a story l'about federal funding of abortions being rejected, and a "good news" story about volunteers marching in support of the family of a kidnapped child. Page A4 IS our page of local news on Sunday and the Red Ribbon ' Story got top billing on that page. We do not nave a local season on aunaays; ine sunca Too many umbrellas Editor: If F.D.R., at the time Hitler was making his moves, had done at that time what George Bush did when Hussein made his move, we would not have had World War II. It is true that we would have suffered casualties as we may at this time, but some of my buddies that died in that conflict would still be around now had F.D.R. put his foot down and said "that's it" like Bush did this time. But prior to World War n there were too many world leaders that listened to the man with the umbrella, Chamberlain. And in the present crisis we too have way too many people with umbrellas running around. The liberal news media and the liberals in Congress make up the largest group of "blabber-mouths- " ever assembled, whose motto must be, "It is no secret until I let everyone know." A case of point is CNN and the Noriega Tapes. Boy, they all give me a pain in the "you know where" that even aspirin or Tylenol won't relieve. I was a member of the 104th Timber Wolf Division in World War II and we were nationally recognized for our successes as night fighters. We were never once defeated by the enemy. And our secret weapon was surprise. The enemy never knew what was going to happen until it happened. No boxer ever won a fight if he telegraphed his punches. And yet, some members of Congress and the news media want President Bush to do Just that. No thank you. They can Just wait and see along with me. ElwinABred Logan Send cards Editor: I'm Kristy McCarthy. I'm 12 and will pretty soon. I go to Galena Middle School in Galena, 111., and I'm a seventh grader. I'm writing to you to learn more about Utah. I would love it if your readers would send me a picture postcard of your area. You could send it to: Kristy McCarthy, Galena Middle School, 1230 N. Franklin St., Galena, IL 61036. Thank you. Kristy McCarthy Galena, 111. Hi, be 13 Arizona: racisior just Moponosiri? When did the NFL become the vessel of social justice? Arizona voters quite sensibly refused to submit to the commands of NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who had admonished Arizonans that rejection of a measure establishing a state holiday for Martin Luther King might lead to the loss of the 1993 Super Bowl. The voters properly rebelled against the intrusion, and Tagliabue announced his intention to carry out his threat. Although the nation's Indignation Industry has been excoriating Arizona voters for their "Racist decision," there is reason to believe that the decision was inspired less by racism than by the delightful contrarian streak in the state's personality, (Another example of this trait can be found in the fact that Arizona doesn't observe Daylight Savings Time.) Furthermore, those who seek to set apart a King Holiday in Arizona may yet prevail, and probably would have had Tagliabue not served as a catalyst for opposition among Arizonans. With nicely ironic symmetry, the King holiday controversy has coincided with the revelation that King was guilty of plagiarism as a graduate student. Although the revelation played no part in the vote in Arizona, it does provoke further consideration of King's worthiness as a national icon. King's signal contribution to the American Enterprise was the patient, persistent insistence that Americans should be measured "not by th2 color of their skin but by the content of their character"; the Civil Rights movement helped to rectify a defect in the corporate character of the nation. LEGISLATURE OUGHT TO ENACT kWN For tills reason it is traglNbgt those who seek to beautify King insist that be cannot be Judged by the content of his character. From what has come to be known about the untidy aspects of King's character (sexual infidelity, plagiarism), and abiding misgivings about his political career (connections with communists, his lust for economic redistribution), there is reason to tolerate honorable disagreement regarding . the merits of a King holiday. Arizona is particularly entitled to such disagreements: during the 1964 Presidential campaign, King detected elements of "Fascism" in Barry Goldwater's philosophy. There may be vestigial resentment among Arizonans regarding that campaign, and perhaps a sense that by honoring King they would tacitly validate King's Judgment of the state's most notable politician. But regardless of the exact alloy of motivations manifest in the Arizona vote, the episode weighs disquieting things about the permeation by politics of American life. The beauty of the old republican idea was the primacy of the private over the political; this concept has not survived re-ca- Travel agent cancels ivorii iviih government - WASHINGTON Maryland travel agent Jack Skloff knows firsthand how cavalier the federal government is with your money. For the past seven years, his company, Dimensions Travel, has made travel plans for several federal agencies. But no more. Skloff has kissed $7 million a year in business goodbye because, "I didn't want to continue to help them to rape the taxpayer," he told us. "I want to work for people who say, 'Jack, save me money,' not 'Jack, spend my money.'" No longer will he face the rush to book tickets to Las Vegas and Palm Springs for "meetings" Just because it's the end of the federal fiscal year. (One fedart: agency called Skloff one SeptemWf and exclaimed, "We've got $49,000 left in our travel budget. Set up some meetings! We'll figure out what they're about later.") Our associate Jim Lynch has examined the ledgers of several federal agency travel budgets for last year. The amount spent on travel in September, the end of the fiscal year, is almost double that spent in August and most other months too. That's not all. Skloff said federal travelers are encouraged to use their frequent WELL I'M ONE AROONANMUO THINKS TUB ABROAD America's plunge into egaBtarianism. "Everything within the state; nothing outside the state; nothing against the state.!' Thus ran Mussolini's totalitarian formula. The doctrine of America's egalitarians is that all filings are political, and not even football is exempt nothing from political scrutiny. Yet this isnt quite correct: The private morals of figures (such as King) who are part of the liberal iconography are exempt from any criticism. Virtue is most significant when It is exercised in the absence of an audience. suffered lapses like most of us King of virtue. His lapses may be considered sufficient to disqualify him as a man worthy of consecration through a holiday (I believe that such is the case); but we all should be alarmed that once again as a synonym "virtuous" is being st for "politically correct." More than any other Arizonan, Evan Mecham has been abused for being "racist." Yet, as former aide Matthew Scully reports, Mecham's private practice of the virtue of friendliness belied his public image as a "racist." Part of that practice involved a black cleaning lady in the governor's office, whom Mecham befriended. Mecham's predecessor, Bruce Babbitt, never had time even to chat with the the idealist who estabwoman. Babbitt lished a King holiday by decree, who loudly reminded everybody within the sound of his voice that he had "Marched in Selma with King" apparently didn't see much virtue in being nice when the cameras weren't rolling. ELVIS signed a new memo saying that Burns would return on the same day as the others, flying first class as the others were. It wasn't true, but it bought Burns a ticket with enough face value that it could S Date Van Atta be exchanged to cover his extra vacation travel. UNITED Carr says he wrote the second memo to FEATURE give comparative costs for Burns' travel plans. Burns says the trip was "fully SYNDICATE above board." Carr and Burns both noted that the travel is being reviewed by the office. flyer miles to upgrade their tickets to first NRCs legal In the massive federal budget, $400 is class rather than save them for a free barely loose change, but for Skloff it was coach ticket later. Not only is the government wasteful. one more straw on a back that was Skloff has seen it he downright stupid already broken. "I've been called a fool when it comes to venturing outside Wash- for giving up $7 million in business," he said. "Maybe I am a fool, but at least I'm ington D.C. One federal travel coordinator called Dimensions asking for help to find an honest fool." A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE -Pthe town of Vicinity. Her office told her to book travel to St. Louis ajid Vicinity, but resident Bush has told his intimates why she couldn't find it on the map. Another he reneged on his pledge for no new taxes. federal employee asked for help folding the He still thinks the best way to reduce the town of Ma conga. As it turned out, the deficit is to cut spending, not raise taxes. deadline forced But the Gramm-Rudma- n destination was Macon, Ga. Skloff has also had to cope with some him to compromise that principle. He d feared that the automatic dequirks, like the bureaucrat who kept Gramm-Rudma- n cuts under would have from advance boarding passes manding airlines that didn't issue them, and the crippled the economy, and he would have woman who complained to him that there been blamed because of his stubborn stand were "gay people in the lobby" of the San against taxes. A continued stalemate would Francisco hotel where Dimensions booked also have further eroded public confidence her to stay. She also griped that the in his administration. So he caved in. The military-industricounter in the bathroom was too small to Is still complex building weapons to iron. hold her curling Skloff said he doesn't mind going above fight a war with the Soviet Union. Even and beyond the call of duty for his clients. more incredible, the Pentagon is developBut seven years of watching the govern- ing an elaborate system of satellites, comment throw away taxpayers money went puters and robots to keep a nuclear war beyond common sense. Skloff did not bid to going after the first devastating strike, as continue his contract work with the govern- if it would make a difference. The billions ment last spring. But he still had some of dollars are more urgently needed to leftover contracts to fulfill with a few repair the economy and restore America's agencies, including the Nuclear Regulatory competitive capabilities, or there will be Commission. precious little worth protecting. KenChairman NRC In late September, neth Carr went to Europe for an international meeting on nuclear energy. An assistant who went along, Stephen Burns, to stay in Europe after the Address letters to PO Box 717, Provo, UT Elanned a vacation, so he wouldn't be 84603. They should be typed, double-spacecoming home with the rest of the team, and less than 400 words in length. Letters according to a travel document Carr filed must be signed and include the writer's in August. and a dayUme phone name, address But when it became clear that Burns number for verification. Address questions would have to spend about $400 of his own about letters to Editorial page editor, money to change his return ticket, Carr Jack Anderson across-the-boar- al y HfcSO' j Lottors policy d, |