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Show APRIL 1996 EDITORIAL Orrin Hatch’s Land A New York Times editorial recently called Sen. Orrin Hatch’s move to hide the so-called Utah Wilderness Act inside a parks omnibus bill as nothing short of “legislative extortion.” It is difficult to argue with that assessment. Hatch, and his Utah colleague, Sen. Bob Bennett, knowing that opposition was growing to the “Anti-Wilderness Bill,” made a slightof-hand move to insert it with as many as 40 other pieces of legislation governing parks. If you don’t like Utah’s red rock wilderness, Hatch’s plan was shrewd. In order to scuttle the bill that opens up 4 million acres of wilderness to Grab and Other Extortions debated at this writing. But whether it passes along with the Utah Wilderness Bill, one thing is Hatch and Bennett, along with Anticlear: their Utah Republican colleagues in the House, Hansen and Waldholtz, care lit- tle for the majority view along the Wasatch. Christopher Smart Of course, that is nothing new. The sham public-process that arrived at this legislation should have sounded an alarm to everyone that our would also have to stop dozens of bills that make development, senators sense and are important across the nation. The parks omnibus bill is being Republican leaders cater to special interests, rather than to the public. As the omnibus bill goes forward, Sen. Bill making Bradley an of New attempt to Jersey, take the is Utah Wilderness Bill out of consideration. When it comes to looking out for the needs of Utahns, we have to depend On a senator from New Jersey to protect our rights. That should give pause to all Utahns who voted Republican in the last election. But what is perhaps as disheartening, is that Bradley doesn’t know that the Snow Basin land exchange, that will effectively give millionaire Earl Holding all the public land in Snow Basin, is also hidden away in the parks omnibus bill. Tim Price, a Washington resentative of the D.C. Southern rep- Utah Wilderness Alliance, says that the Snow Basin land exchange isn’t on the radar screen. It is a piece of stealth legislation that was sold to Congress by Hatch and Hansen as necessary for the Olympic Games. Far from necessary, the so-called trade of 1,320 acres of the most beau- tiful land in northern Utah to Holding, guarantees a Deer estate development Valley-like real there of condo- miniums, hotels, townhouses and luxury trophy homes for the wealthy. Recently, Ann Wechsler, from organization Save Our Canyons, eled to the nation’s capital to awareness on the Snow Basin giveaway. But she was told by Root of Negative American Politics? Could Be Professional Wrestling By Rick Brough Wie: the matter with our political discourse today? What’s causing the belligerence, the meanness, the negativity? Well, after checking with hundreds of trend-spotters (who are posted in observation towers across the country) I believe I have the answer: The current negative attitude is defined by the Republican Party. The Republican Party is defined by its zealous right wing. The right wing, in turn, is defined by the American South (due to the so-called “Southern Strategy” that the party has followed since Nixon days). And the South is defined by its love for professional wrestling! Now, I already knew that pro wrestling is the most complex cultural phenomenon of the 20th century. It combines the speed and grace of athletic competition; the absolutes of a medieval morality play; the stylized form of Kabuki; and the plot twists of Melrose Place. All this plus sterioids! However, I didn’t realize how pro- depends on whether they win or lose; and (c) regardless of whether they win or lose, the civilized world survives, leaving them to fight another day. It's no accident that CNN and WCW Wrestling are both produced by media mogul Ted Turner. The one difference is that “Crossfire” has no “Loser-gets-his-hair-cut-and-has-toleave-the-Beltway” grudge matches. Speaking of losers, I believe professional wrestling can provide some interesting job opportunities for defeated presidential candidates. Not that I’m proposing Pat Buchanan and the rest of the candidates step into the ring. That would be absurd, when the average 250-pound hulk only qualifies for the flyweight division. But many politicians would be ideal as wrestling managers. e I don’t know why Ross Perot hasn’t gone into the wrestling game already. Give him a loudspeaker, put him at ringside and the sound of his carping, grating voice would be more agonizing for any opponent than the dreaded Figure-Four Leglock. e Texas Sen. Phil Gramm could foundly our political atmosphere was affected by the sport until I was channel-grazing on cable. On CNN’s “Crossfire” program, the participants were bashing each other over trade manage a hillbilly wrestler, who would be known as Gramm’s Cracker. e Steve Forbes has wasted a lot deficits and immigration Four 450-pound wrestler, and trained him to Doom deploy the feared Flat Tax Attack on channels over, the policy. Legion of was thoughtfully analyzing how deep a dent they could make in Hulk Hogan’s head by bringing it into contact with the ring post. Look at the similarities: (a) the most skilled participants bray loudly and at great length; (b) they posture as if the fate of the civilized world of his money in the presidential race. On TBS, he could have found some opponents. (He could brag that he only needed 17 percent of his strength to achieve victory.) As he leapt from the top rope onto victims, audiences would scream, “Flatten him! Flatten him!) e Pat Buchanan would become a wrestling promoter, to advance his Bennett that it was a nice, neat pack- protectionist views that American jobs are being siphoned off to foreign plants. He would introduce “NAFTA Man,” a masked Mexican wrestler who is taking jobs away from U.S. wrestlers. NAFTA Man would feud with Big Mac, ostensibly a former auto worker who now has a job flipping burgers. (Mac will use the spatula hidden in his trunks to defend himself — but only in very extreme circumstances!) It’s true, you can look at wrestling if you want to find the right-wing psyche of America. The sport first reached a peak of popularity during the conservative 1950s, when the most famous (and hated) grappler was the _ effete Gorgeous George. (Is it just coinci- dence that the current leadership of the Utah Legislature reached their formative TV-viewing years at about this time?) F° 20 years, view. Hulk But in Hogan the travraise land Sen. wrestling the and faded from 1980s, suddenly Ronald Reagan became popular idols at the same time. During this period, political analysts feared that Reagan’s administration would get us involved in a shooting war in Nicaragua. But did you ever see a Sandinista villain featured once on a wrestling card? Not bloody likely! On the other hand, Arab villains had been a staple for years. It was easy to predict that our next major military conflict would be in the age and that Holding shouldn’t have to fight for the public’s land to build his exclusive destination resort. Ironically, the land in question was given to the US Forest Service 60 years ago because it had been deforested and over-grazed. During the last six decades, taxpayers have nurtured it, apparently so that the oil baron, Holding, might have a nice mountain ski resort. If nothing else, this ought to show voters that Utah’s Republicans have contempt for the public’s ownership of land. The privatization of public lands is a battle cry for the conservative Republican movement. And now we know how it will be accomplished — by simply giving wilderness and other areas, like Snow Basin, to special interests, so that they can profit at the expense of the general public. Conservative.Republicans have been successful in convincing voters that the enemy is big government, all the while taking millions in campaign contributions from big corporations and business interests. But those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it. Government was created, in part, to protect the public from the powerful corporations and monied interests, like Earl Holding, that now see their chance to steal public lands as part of the Republican Revolution. Those who care about birthright of public land and who their want public lands and parks for their chil- Middle East. (I will also predict that Americans will never support a serious involvement in Bosnia because the average wrestling fan, who clearly dren and ought to reconsider who understands the half-nelson and couldn’t tell a even if one was Hansen and Waldholtz would rather see their wealthy supporters profit than to see the preservation of public PAGE 4 difference between a a three-quarter-nelson, Serb from a Croat — thrown in his lap!) @ their children’s children, best repre- sents their interests. It's clear now that Utah Republicans like Hatch, Bennett, lands. @ |