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Show da Viewpoint Hun m Mtem -- I $ eztallrletters Cent. number 30, falling behind stated spending $6,000 or more per student, per year. Heres a question, Family values debate goes on throughout world, Davis County What type of test scores and how great an education would our children get if Utah spent the national av erage of $4,0 10 on our children?" Gass size is another factor related to test scores. It's been studied I The battle over family values is raging all over the world. And from everything we've seen recently, the conflict is very real. i This was pointed out to us in an message sent to us via our eztalk address reserved for letters to the editor. The message was far too long to be printed on this page, but we hope to summarize a few of its points here. It is all the more pertinent in v iew of this week's World Congress of Families II held in Switzerland. The message dealt with a conference of American Mothers, Inc. , held in Hawaii a few months ago. Most of the information was attributed to Richard Wilkins, director of the World Family Policy Center at Brigham YOung University. We tried to contact him before he left for Geneva, but he had already departed for the conference. News reports from the conference itself, however, have underscored what Wilkins was trying to say to the American Mothers group. i In Hawaii. Wilkins spoke of the battles he'd had at a United Nations conference. called Habitat II, held in Istanbul. Turkey, in 19. Wilkins hadn't wanted to attend that event, disheartened at the family values battles he had lost right here in Utah but he was persuaded to go after all. !What Wilkins and other family-friendl- y organizations noticed at the Instanbul conference was that the delegations were packed with organizations vehemently opposed to traditional family values. Chief among these reportedly was the Women's Caucus, an organization led by feminist Bella Abzug. Through the work of these groups at previous family conferences, a final draft of a United Nations document that was to be approved included language in marriage and abortion on demand. . support of same-se- x What happened this week in Geneva was reminiscent of what happened to Wilkins back in Istanbul three years ago. Last Sunday night's meeting was supposed to be held in St. Pierre's Cathedral in Geneva, but was moved to a smaller facility when officials of the Swiss Reformed Church objected to one of the speakers being Catholic. Later, they inquired if the conference was being organized by Mormons. Although they were told it was being sponsored by an interfaith group which included Mormons among its participants, that was enough. The National Protestant Church and the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches didn't want the group to use even its smaller chapel. Sunday's opening ceremonies, instead, were held at the Nago lilton. What was heartening in Geneva was the outpouring of delegates in support of fraditional family values and a worldwide acknowledgement that families are under attack. iSimilar shenanigans were pulled on Wilkins and groups in Instanbul. but the effect was far worse. After considerable shuffling of meeting sites, etc.. Wilkins was selected to try out to be among 10 final speakers who would address the policy making delegates assigned to draft the final United Nations document. But as he attempted to speak, our reader reports, he was denounced and shouted down by members of the Women's Caucus, demanding that eight of the final 10 speakers be from their organization. They also called the family the most oppressive unit of society and the root of every war since the beginning of time. After a three-hou- r battle, Wilkins was still selected to be among the 10 finalists, each of whom was to receive just 10 minutes to speak. The next morning, our reader notes, it was discovered that eight representatives of the Women's Caucus had somehow worked their way onto the roster.! Since there were now 18 speakers instead of 10. each person's remarks weit to be reduced to six minutes. The eight extra women called for sanction for homosexual marriages and other items noted earlier. They also reportedly called for the elimination of religion as it was an obstacle to progress." One Algerian delegate who was incensed at the diatribe, was quoted as calling it a display of radical lesbian feminism. All these speakers used far more than their allotted time, leaving Wilkins amid hisses and bixis. In the short time allotted all that only four minutes W ilkins had time to do was read the LDS Proclamation on the Family. Our reader reports he was given a standing ovation, while one radical feminist later was reported to have said that people like him hardly deserved to live." The Habitat draft on families did change after that meeting, says our reader, reaffirming the centrality of the family, defining marriage as the union of a stance. husband and a wife, and softening its This week's World Conference on Families was a direct outgrowth of what happened at Istanbul in 19. The goal was to bring the silent majority out of its silence and to stand up for the family. Lest you think that this has nothing to do with Davis County, Mary Ellen LDS General Relief Society President and a resident of North W. Smoot was one of the key speakers at the conference. And just last Salt Lake week, the Gipper received a call from a local resident complaining about our new monthly column by Marcia Z. Ford. National First Vice President of American Mothers, Inc. (and a Davis County resident) because her organization does not recognize homosexual and lesbian marriages. The caller also expressed support for the Women's Caucus. So both sides of the worldwide debate are present right here in Davis County. While it may seem that international events such as these have little impact on daily life here, some local residents are already in the forefront of this momentous issue. And the outcome of debates such as these will undoubtedly affect all of us at some point. With today's network of communications, interconnected economies and whether good or bad will reach global political ties, every wind of change Davis County in some form. In this case, the battle for the preservation of families as we know them has been joined. The outcome should be of vital concern to every one of us. f I i 1 and proven that test scores are directly related to class size. My '4 A I IJ it Ml V , n Jr1 i , 'o H," Cyclops humbugs greatest entertainers The views expressed in this column are the opinion of the writer and not necessarily those o f the ownership or man- agement of this newspaper. It's a topic of the staple its head. fringe. They complain But Madonna is Number Five? that modem history texts center on McJunk, featuring politically correct Hie panel must have been caught in and entertainment heroes over the a disco time warp on this one. To select Madonna Number Five, four culturally significant and inventive slots abov e a great talent like Lucille types that contributed to this counBall, is to place a premium on sleaze, try's dominance. They're not totally wrong. Any ambitious studio production and thehistory teacher or textbook author atrics. who spends more space on Vince " Madonna is important only Lombafdf than Thomas "Edison because she's famous; to select her as d should be promptly the fifth greatest entertainer of the in the public square. past 50 sears is to believe the Spice Girls will cure cancer and Courtney But it's also foolish to discount Love will become a nun. the importance of entertainment figures as an ai biter of culture. One can It's difficult to quibble with most of the second 10 greats." Giants like easily argue, for instance, that F.lv is Presley had more of an impact on Bob Dylan, Marlon Brando. Barbra American society than any president Streisand. Alfred Hitchcock, the since Franklin Roosevelt. Rolling Stones. John Wayne and The key is separating the wheat Elizabeth Taylor all affected socifrom the chaff. And that's what ety's view of art. In some cases, like makes this month's special issue of Dylan and Brando, their influence is much stronger than ever their royalEntertainment Weekly so interesting. A panel has attempted to rank in ties and music grosses. But Audrey Hepburn as the 16th order of importance the 1(K) greatest entertainers of the past 50 years greatest entertainer of the past 50 ). The list is informative. years? Sure, the lady typified grace The list is quarrelsome. The list is and daintiness. (It's a shame some of exasperating. Hepburn didn't rub off on It's also fun to read. I lere Cyclops Roseanne!) But her career spanned sets the panel straight on where they only 15 years, and her style hardly missed their mark. spawned a flood of imitators. The first four selections the Hepburn has had less impact culturd Beatles. Elvis. Marilyn Monroe and ally than the Steven Spielberg hold up well. Johnny Cash and the Man in Music was indelibly altered by the Black was left off the list! first two. Monroe remains, an icon It's hard to argue with Stephen nearly four decades following her Ring (21 ). Mary Tyler Moore (22). Bill Cosby (24) and Oprah Winfrey death, and Spielberg has done nothon (31). But how does author Tom ing less than turn movie-makin- g horse-whippe- (1950-21XK)- often-overlooke- Wolfe edge out the more deserv ing by ranking as the 28th greatest entertainer of the past 50 years? Only six human beings east of new York City-havever read anything he's written, and the guy is more recognized for his effete white suite, hat and cane than anything he's ever plunked out on the typewriter. Any panel who doesn't list Dick Gark but pays homage to Tom Wolfe has consumed too many dry martinis at Manhattan restaurants. Jazz innovator Miles Davis (39). TV innovator Norman Lear (40), Talk show innov ator Johnny Carson (42) and reggae innovator Bob Marley are all honorable choices. But why does late actor James Dean (41) rank ahead of a real pioneer like Jackie Gleason (49)? As the article notes. Dean lived fast, died young and left a corpse." But greatness doesn't come from three mov ies. ..and a man doesn't achieve greatness just because he belted down a few too many whiskey sours and didn't look at the speedometer of his Porsche 550 good-lookin- g Spyder. There's all kinds of miscues. Placing Titanic director James d Cameron (95) over the play write Neil Simon, ranking the Sex Pistols (69) in front of the d Robin Williams (91 ). putting Joni Mitchell (63) ahead of d the Joan Baez, ignoring Motown pioneer Berry Gordy... You get the drift. If Cy clops were in charge, the list would be 100 percent accurate. ..And there's no way the truly average (singer Elvis Costello. 94) would be included on the same list as the truly inventive (Monty Python. 77). not-liste- multi-talente- not-liste- treaty which would mean any American accused of a hate or other crime, etc. could face trial in a foreign country by a foreign z court The promoters of the L;N are urging the creation of a new army, a UN Peace Force that would control all of the world's arms and arms 4. i i ClipperToday Complete North Davis coverage from Kaysvilk to Sunset Published by Clipper Publishing Co. 197 North Main Layton, Utah 84041 Office hours: 8:30 a m. - 5:30 p.m. Phone: 547-980- Fax: 0 Clipper Today is 547-137- 4 Monday thru Friday eztalkclippertoday.com published every Thursday and distributed to residents of Kaysville, Fruit Heights, Layton, Clearfield, Clinton, Syracuse, Sunset West Point and South Weber. The views expressed in the letters and columns on this page are those of their authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the ownership, management or staff of Clipper Today. Total circulation in excess of 38,000 copies. j i Publisher: R. Gail Stable Editors: RolfD. Koccher, Tom Sales: Bussclbcrg Aaron Glauser, Judy Hammcrschmidt Martin Ehman, Display advertising deadline: Friday, 5 p.m. Camera-read- y ad deadline: Alonday, 5 p.m. i Classified advertising deadline: Tuesday, 10 a.m. "1 R COPY i i Mk largest class has 42 students. The last article I read on the subject states that the national average class What type of test is less than 20. scores and how great an education would our children get if Utah had national average class size? This brings us to the final problem; Teacher salary. If the national class size average is only one-haof I be should class, my largest paid twice for teaching this particular class? No, neither I nor the teachers I know and work with expect that, but I do believe teachers want a fair salary for the time and effort they put in. I'm positive every teacher in Utah would take a salary based on national test score averages. As I mentioned above, the test scores for Utah students is about number 30 out of the 50 states. Teachers salaries in Utah are about number 40 out of the 50 states. In my rough estimation. Utah teachers would be facing about a 20 percent increase in lf pro-fami- ly I A A5 CLIPPER TODAY THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1 8, 1 999 Don't keep motor vehicles from trail Editor I am writing to you to tell you what I think about the proposed Bonnev ille Shoreline Trail. I am in favor of it for walkers, horseback rid- ers and mountain bikers. I become more powerful than any single country, including the United States. No more Constitution, no Bill of Rights, no freedom. 2. Have you ever seen more have attended a Centerville City Planning and Zoning Committee Meeting and a Centerville City Council Meeting. There are some people who want to ban motorized vehicle use from the mountain altogether. I do not think it would he right to ban one form of recreation for anothwho really likes er. I am a to ride motorcycles, so 1 think we should have both forms of recreation. If it is decided that these can't be on the same trail, then 1 think there should be two different trails, but not do away with the motorized Are teachers crying, or are they concerned? r ditor: I recently read an article in a newspaper asking. What are teachers crying about " Being a teacher. 1 though I would respond with three of the major problems I see with the Utah Fducational System; the amount of money being spent per student, class size, and teachers' salaries. vehicles. Kyle Worrell Many reasons to get U.S. out of the U.N. Editor. Listed below are the first of 12 good reasons to get the United States out of the United Nations. 1. A world government would forces. This includes us. Time is far spent for the American people to wake up and begin to take part in the saving of our Constitution and free agency . We are taking part, whether we will or not. R hi and Sorrtut Sorensen Bountifid killings, massive starvations all over the world, since the founding of the UN and all in the name of "peace keepers?" 3. The UN has strongly pressed for the ratification of the Genocide Parents with children in public schools in Utah need to know that Utah spends about half the national average on their children's education. The national average is a little over $4,000 per student, per year. Utah's average is about $2,000, the lowest in the United States. That doesn't mean our children are getting a bad education. Until recently. Utah students have tested in the top 20. Utah is now around salary. I know teachers want the latest textbooks, materials, and technology for their students. I know teachers want smaller class sizes. I know teachers want salaries that compete with other states with similar test scores. I know that teachers want their salaries and benefits main- tained with a respectable cost of ing increase each year. I liv- know teachers have asked for these things in a respectable manner. I know teachers want these things without a big fight. I know teachers want these things to better their classrooms. better their teaching, better their own lives, better our children's lives, better our communities and better our society. I believe teachers are crying.. .crying for a better future for all. Jeff Hendrh ks Teacher-Sprin- g rile High School Republicans will make sure people stay poor Editor. The GOP controlled Senate and the GOP controlled House Ways and Means Committee both passed minimum wage increases of one dollar over the next three y ears recently. These bills are tied to special interest tax breaks for businesses worth $18 billion and $33 billion Big Deal! How are to live on this going poor people extrav agant raise? The poor get the shaft and corporations get billions in tax subsidies! That is par for the Republicans. Our legislators all voted for it. These fat cat GOP millionaire hypocrites make me sick. I would like to see them try to live on minimum wages. Jesus once said, "The poor you will have with you always." The Republicans will make sure of that. Gil Montano, Layton L't respectively. DUP seeks to know who wants book Editor The book My Farmington by Margaret Steed Hess was printed in 1976. All copies have been sold. The Daughters of L'tah Pioneers in Farmington receive many requests for this book and are considering reprinting it. We really need to know how many people are interested in buying a book. We can't make a decision on the price until we have an estimate of how many to print, but we hope to keep the price under $25. We also want to add a supplement with corrections of the original book. Please send corrections and comments to: D.U.P. My Farmington" book. P.O. Box 917. Farmington. UT 84025. We really need your help! Farmington D.U.P. ozta!!cletters policy Clipper Tixtay welcomes letters to the editor and will do its best to include as many as possible each h eck. Please mad or fax your letter to the address or fax number at the far left on this page. Or simply us at eztalk chppertt x lay com U resene the right to reject letters for any reason and to edit letters for length or content. All letters must be signed and should list the writer's |