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Show wm OPINION PAGE A-17 THURSDAY NOVEMBER21 2002 Only the Beginning “Don't be too proud ofthis technological terror you've constructed.” — Darth Vader Theidea of taking scattered agencies and offices and melding them into a cohesive,efficient unit maybe laudable. The apparembers ofCongress were ent inability of traditional law flush with accomplishenforcement agencies such as the ment Tuesday when theyapFBIto deal with the terrorist proved the new Departmentof threat suggests that something Homeland Security, a $35 billion must change. behemoth thatrecasts vast segBut a new organization chart ments of the federal bureaucracy does not turn an incompetent as an antier ee agency into a comterrorism protec petent one. A torate. But the saga of this department ot Licee ity gress, The apparentinability any Sy bis ae ig oftraditional law enforcement agencies which is years away — om oeee rrorists. the courts and the such as the FBI to deal promises thatit is people tooversee with the terrorist threat 1l for our own its activities did notend with that vote. They have only begun. The new de- partment’s capac. ity to protect us from the newenemies offreedom, enemies who have ’ good do not give ee charbe. Buta our civil rights andliberties will new organization chart be res; does not turn an incompetent agency i into a competentone. us bon terrorists jut who will protect us from this terrorism efforts, devolve into rity Act should create a real con- bureaucratic bickering andcreate a Big Brother state where nothing is private is enormous, The new department willemploy some 170,000 people around the world and include operations as visible as the Coast Guard and as subterranean as the National cern that our governmentwill spy on us, well, because it can, and answeranyprotests with a claim thatit is not patriotic to question the government on such matters. sea created this superncy, Congress must remem- Analysis Center. Also thrown into the mix will be the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Secret Service,Customsand agency on our behalf, checking bothits effectiveness andits ethics, It is now the duty of Congress andthe courts, the people and partmentthat look outfor ani- tic spying does not overstepits The irony that this giant bureaucracy — Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia is wontto call it “this mon-stros-ity — was created under a president whootherwise claims to be about reducing the size and scope ofgovernment should not be lost on us,as it will not be lost to history. not allow the agencyto be politicized or to silence whistleblowers, and thatthe department’s activities are not held so sacred that they are not subject to the oversightofa free people. Because it is m,afterall, that we are supposed to be defending. Infrastructure Simulation and the parts ofthe Agriculture De- mal and'plant diseases, te‘tsduty its to oversee that the press,to ensure that domesbounds,that new laborrules do Citizen Hornacek ans who have dreamed of playing in the NBAlived vily Jeff Ho! They easily identified with this everyman from Dorisils nuts bolts style ofplay > Rune: Generous, on and offthe court, and seemingly un- awareofhisceHornacek took lebrity status, ena ; ly, but realized it | » conversation. Yetit is always clear heis there for his kids, not for the adoration thattrails in his wake. In fact, Hor- lomacek’s basketbal sume“reallie 9 same “ Hornacek’s basketball dite wes cuitsle” prowess was * “ undeniable. But it never has A overshadowed his prowessasahuman . ee es i imeorn Itisright thathis No.14 jersey now hangs aloftin the Delta Center, not just be- court; almost unique among his pobrs for fis fofrills, down-toearth style. Though never flashy on the he made shots from every angle and won more than a few games in his six years with the Utah Jazz with 3-point buzzer beaters that looked desperate — .S canse ofthe feats be but weren’t. In public, his unas- © minder to all ofthe type ofper- to him, yet commands respect for * onthe court below, butasare> son who wore it. * Since his retirement, Horhas been even more visi: ‘ble within this fe his kids are, he issure to be close at hand, from back-to- * school nights to school sporting events. For the curious , * he has a ready smile; for the * more bold, he engages in friendly suming demeanor draws people privacy. Hornacek’s basketball ess was undeniable. But it never his prowess as a human being. Fans hungry for athletes who truly are role models have always known Hornacek was among the the NBA had to offer. He still is. heSaltLakeTribune Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871 PastPubiichers Joho F. Fitzpatrick (1924-1960) Pebiicher William Dean Singieton John W. Galtivan (1960-1983) Esitor ‘ Welch (1994-2002) Ls Dominic Editorial sg Page Editor ‘The Salt Laike Tribune 143 §, Main St Sale Lathe City, Usa 84111 Managing F6ito: ‘ ; Te Reach Bs A Bit of Irony As 1 opened my “Trib” Sunday morning, I found a grocery bag included that announced an upcoming food drive for the benefit of the needy, bag and accompanying story announced faes sponsors and participating gré Wonderful! Wonderful! I'm all for it. But I couldn’t help noticinga bit of irony, On the same day in our LDS ward —and all others, assume — was read a letter from the First Presidency, urging all members to generously donate food on Nov. 23 for the same needy food pantry, Yet not a word of this or other such gestures in The Tribune. The religious persuasion of the recipients of this and other such aid does not matter. The food is to help all who are needy, whether LDS or not, In this manner does The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints often help in crises the world over, with food, fenees clothing and other I guess my question to The Tribune is, why the oversight? It seems your staff of excellent reporters who “coyer” the church should be as eager to pointout the good things the church does, as well as grab onto some issue they perceive as a slight to the Utah bodypolitic, and which would further engenderdivisiveness, R, CHARLES MITCHELL Centerville Politics Is an Ugly Word Politics is an ugly word in my vocabulary.It has taken on new meaning since Nov,5, After all of the blatant skulldug- gery the Republican Party has perpetrated on this state, the constituency votes them back in office. It really doesn't matter what they call themselves, There is no accountability for the way they spend our tax money, They've spent millions on Gov. Mike Leavitt's Legacy Highway. Several billion on 1-15 and,after one year,it’s already under repair. Now, they are going to add 10 cents tax ona gallon of gas to pay for the Legacyfiasco.I've incurred a property tax increase of Foeageshcergethers om my modest home, and yet they are ern with a $3 tnillion deficit so LDS Earned Its Harvest sPhone Number: (801) 257-8888 Tribune Fax: (801) 257-8525 E-mail: letters@sltrib.com (Please sendtext only, attachments will not be opened) Mall: Public Forum, The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110 Letter Guidelines; The Tribunewelcomes letters of up to 250 words ontopics of general interest. Letters must include full name, homeaddress and day and evening phone numbers, Only the name and city of residence are published. Letters may be edited for length, grammar and accuracy, Due to volume, ot all submissions are published. UDOT Accounting Ames Kraemer, a construc tion company located directly beneath the goose thatlays golden eggs, is living large in a contractor’s dream come true — enterinto an open-ended contract with a public agency thatallows incredible rewards with no risk on a project destined for a court hearing. Surely, FAK has been laughingall the way to bank since Nov, 19, 2001, the day it was ordered to stop work on the boondoggle known as ee Highway. Then, during the uous process of getting paid for doing nothing, somebody in that think tank Utah pepe of ‘Transportation gets the brilliant idea of handing FAK a $50 million overpass to build, no competitive bidding necessary and not part of the Legacy Highway, designed only to give FAK crews something todo. Thedirector of this road building brain trusttells us, the investors, the overpass work will also reduce FAK’s standby charge by about $75,000 each work day,If carried outto its mathematical conclusion, UDOT is spending at least $50 million to save about $12.5 million in work-suspension costs, But they will get an overpass to the benefit of somebody,I’m sure. Now we see the UDOT director congratulating himself for another Job well done on the Legacy Highwa: in the form of picking another $6 mil lion off the depleted Utah money tree to demobilize FAK’s standby crews. Good work, director John Njord,although little late, It must be a relief to know that incredible amounts of money can be wasted, ga nothing, with absolutely noccoRE or concern about keeping yourjob. t's a luxury very few of us citizens have and one a responsible state employee iores peanibepublic's money Rony ap ada over this th: BUD GAUDREAU Centerville Seniors Deserve Better Why,as an able-bodied 22-year-old, when I go to Wal-Mart does a woman emerPe man me my Tim Fatrpatrick In a republic, debates on constitutional rights are passionate and polarizing, Fisher Ames expressed, “A monarchy is a merchantman, which sails well, but will sometimes strike ona rock,andgoto the bottom; whilst a republic is a raft, which would neversink, but then yourfeet areal ways in water.” ‘The Main Street plaza iss of those “wet feet” moments, E: son stated, “Property will be prot ed, Corn will not grow, unlesi planted and manured: but th will not plant or hoeit, unle: chances are a hundred to one,that he will cut and harvestit.” (Assays; Second Series on Politics, 1844) Farmerstoil long hours with their own resources to ensure a bountiful harvest. As farms increaseinsize, a passage between fields is often provided, Farmers consentto these ease ments to benefit others. These pas sages are usually defined by cedar posts and wire. Hunters frequent these passages. -TBy chet ack yeti a iefacrner’s property, desire the game, yet exercise discretion. Pe eepreot at the game from the passages, o1 throw stones at the farmer toiling in the field, They do not scale the wire and trample the beautiful crop; they understand the societal utility of pre serving the farmer'sfield. They sim ply hunt elsewhere, Consequently, ested, and the com ed, Like the farmer, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has toiled with integrity on this property. They generously, publicly and legally purchased this land. The harvest will be a spectacular area of peace and se renity when city officials extinguish the easement. This solution was alluded to by the 10th U.S. Cirtuit Court in Denver, This action secures the original intent of all involved and provides future entities desiring to improve our great community with precedent to proceed with confidence in the leadershipof ourcity. MICHAEL R. PEARSON Sandy Locking Up Our Land With great sadness | read the Nov. 9 Tribune article “Community Re mains Divided After Defeat of Monu ment Proposal.” For more than 40 years, my father owned a dairy farm in Emery County. After we milked cows, we would hop on our motorcy. cles and ride out to the San Rafael Swell on designated dirt roads, ‘This is the beautiful land of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The wild, wild West. How J loved the hot dry wind in my face as we rodefor miles, not seeing a soul. Seeing sights that city kids don’t know exist, but knowing that they, too, could get a taste of it. Why such sadness from reading this article? | saw words like “federal intervention and planning, abill filed on the East Coast,”UWA con tinues to push for 1 million acres of federally designated wilderness in the Swell.” I disagree with the federal govern ment locking up our land. | feel pet that my rights are being osgeneration will be the last to have free access to the wild, wild West. How sad to know that the ne Sey «> Jeary O'Brien (1983-1994) THE PUBLIC FORUM ; This new power maywell protect mastered the art ie new power? of remaining inTogether with visible to governments large and the hastily passed Patriot Act, small, has yet to be proved.Its the various secrecy and spying potential to weigh down antiprovisions of the Homeland Secu- and, not least, his unpretentious “TON THE OTHERHAND, NA AN UNBINSED,FAIR aed IMPARTIAL JACK MORMON” Suggests that something much hope that economic prosperity and peace we enjoy todayis a result of their sacrifice and hard work. abiding citizens like myself will be ce up, except to the minority who THOMAS R. GROVER DELEE SKEEN Sandy Logan - k |