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Show AID Wednesday, April 27, 2005 Public Forum Letters to the Editor What is your opinion? The Vernal Express welcomes letters from its readers concerning any subject pertinent to the Uintah Basin. There are no restrictions on contents, if not libelous, vindictive vin-dictive and in good taste. The letters need to be a reasonable length, two typewritten double spaced pages. Letters must be submitted exclusively to the Vernal Express and bear the writer's writ-er's full name, signature, phone number and address. Letters for the sole purpose of expressing express-ing thanks to individuals or groups will not be printed in the forum. Letters may be mailed to P.O. Box 1000, Vernal, Utah 84078, faxed at 789-8690 or through email at editorvernal.com. The name or names of the persons submitting letters must appear on all published letters. All letters let-ters are subject to condensation. Letters express the opinion of the writer and are not necessarily necessar-ily the opinion of the Vernal Express Editor. I VSMART KID.' 7 & I Ipv STjl I ISMART ALECK? T I John Glenn article Dear Editor, Last week's paper had a story that I wrote about the early pioneer life of John Glenn, which there was a paragraph about him and Harry Ratliff that I want to clarify. The way it reads would cause one to think it pertained to the gold dredging operation which is not the case, as the thing involved here is the large phosphate bed north of Vernal, much of which is being mined today. It was Harry Ratliff who in 1915 claimed up much of this vast deposit As for John Glenn's connection here, well, he knew about the phosphate phos-phate quite awhile before Mr. Ratliff came here. In fact just two years prior in 1913 he had sent phosphate samples to Salt Lake City for analyzing analyz-ing and tried to get someone interested in doing something with this enormous deposit. The answer he always got was that without a railroad rail-road there was absolutely no hope as transportation transpor-tation was the key issue. So with no encouragement encourage-ment or financial backing he gave it up and later Harry Ratliff with the backing of Humphries Investment Company went on to make history in the phosphate industry. It was rather ironic that Mr. Ratliff came here as an employee of a railroad company trying to locate a route for a railroad which by the way never materialized and it would be well over 40 years before this sleeping giant would be activated and several more in which to bring it into the large operation opera-tion it is today. In many ways John Glenn and Harry Ratliff were much alike. They both saw great opportunities opportu-nities and had dreams of making them become a reality. Mr. Ratliff lived to see this materialize but Mr. Glenn due to tragic circumstances was unable to do so. But one thing for sure, he is one of the greatest of our pioneers even though I feel he never received the credit he so well deserved. George Long i Vernal Sovereignty RMP article Dear Editor, For one to claim that Indians have no Constitutional rights is a very serious charge. But perhaps there is some truth to the statement under certain conditions. If a person were to be in Canada or Mexico, would he have any U.S. Constitutional rights or protections? Probably not Both countries are sovereign nations where American Constitutional law does not reach. If a person is in an American Indian reservation reserva-tion which is claimed by them to be a sovereign nation (as it ought to be) such as it is in Canada or Mexico, would he not be within the jurisdiction jurisdic-tion of tribal law where the U.S. Constitution also does not reach? If both the U.S. and the Tribe are sovereign nations as they claim, neither has jurisdiction over the other unless treaty agreement intervenes. inter-venes. Does such an agreement exist? Were it otherwise, only one is sovereign and the other is a vassal state which must do as the superior state demands, but in the absence of the superior state's agreement the U.S. Constitution may not reach. American Indians have dual citizenship two nations their tribal citizenship and U.S. citizenship. Thus, a Native American can serve in the U.S. military with great distinction and honor as well as take part in any legal activity he may choose with all rights and protections of any citizen while in the jurisdiction of U.S. Constitutional law. On the other hand, that does not necessarily necessar-ily hold true for any U.S. citizen, even a native American of a different tribe, while in the sovereign sov-ereign territory of a particular tribe. That tribe makes and enforces its own laws or so it would seem. Could it be that is what the attorney meant when he said members of the local tribe did not have a Constitutional right on the issue brought before the U.S. Court for actions done by its own government within its own sovereign nation? Bruce A. Daniel, DDS Vernal Backflow Prevention Dear Editor, Out of town this past week, I was surprised to get an abundance of calls from local businesses busi-nesses here in Vernal upset with an article in this past week's Express. Returning home today (Saturday), I am shocked to read the article about the extension of the BLM's RMP comment date in the April 20 edition of the Vernal Express located on page B-2. This article has taken verbatim from a recent alert message sent out by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance to its membership in an attempt to generate comments slanted towards their obstructionist objectives. What is concerning is that the Express has printed this article and in no way discloses where this article came from andor whose views it represents. This is not the direction that is recommended by the majority of this community, its citizens or its elected officials. Those of us that represent our citizens and businesses in this County have personally spent countless hours over the past four years to work with the BLM and all groups to obtain a fair document that will provide not only multiple use while conserving our environment environ-ment but to also maximize the economic potential poten-tial that our local economy depends in respect to federal lands. To read this very slanted article that misleads mis-leads the public with this 15 year planning document docu-ment in our local paper is not only appalling but demands an explanation to its reasoning and objectives from the Vernal Express. Bill Johnson Vernal Dear Editor, I just received the Vernal City newsletter and do really appreciate the information on the Spring Clean-up and the work on the part of the city crews. However, the backflow prevention reminder is really a bunch of bolgonia. There is no doubt that if a main waterline breaks, that it will cause a vacuum in that line and that contaminants will enter the system. I don't believe that anyone, with any education in hydraulics will dispute that point. Where it turns into bunk is when these so-called backflow prevention pre-vention devices are required on all homes, businesses busi-nesses etc. This is nothing more than a fear tactic that all government agencies are very adept at, an another reason to add to the already too large and intrusive empire. I read where a situation occurred near Scranton, Penn. in 1964 when at the time of the break, the entire area was under a foot of flood water. This is the way our government fear mongers mon-gers get their foothold. In this case, motherhood and apple pie wouldn't work so what better scare tactic could be used than fear of contaminated drinking water. Gary (Red) Hatch Vernal The Wrath of God by Bill O'Reilly Bill O'Reilly The elevation of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to head the Roman Catholic Church is a clear and concise message from the College of Cardinals: "We are royally teed off." i u Everybody knows that the new pontiff is a tough guy who will not only throw the moneychangers mon-eychangers out of the temple, he'll kick them in the behind as they leave the building. Pope Benedict believes strongly in good and evil, and he's not shy about pointing fingers. His letter to American bishops about politicians and abortion abor-tion cost John Kerry dearly in the last election. The cardinals, of course, perfectly understand under-stand that Benedict is not exactly a cuddly guy and will not be "reaching out," as they say in California. But his hard-line theological approach appeals to church elders who have had enough. In the past three decades, church attendance in the USA and Western Europe has dropped through the floor. Just 25 percent of American Catholics attend mass weekly, and the number is in the single digits in longstanding Catholic countries like France. Secularism now rules the western world, and there are not enough priests to serve the remaining faithful. How do you say things are not good in Latin? In the face of this spiritual decline, the Catholic Church has decided to make a stand. It will not compromise, and it will not pander. You either toe the line or hit the bricks. Up to you. As a lifelong Catholic, I don't like this approach, but I understand it The West is now besieged by forces that want to wipe spirituality spiritual-ity completely out of the public square. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is the point organization in this effort It supports all abortion on demand, including late-term, no parental consent for minors having abortions, euthanasia with consent gay marriage and the free speech rights of the North American Man-Boy Man-Boy Love Association, which has posted instructions instruc-tions on how to rape children on its website. Gin's Gems Unmarked cars create hazard By Virginia Harrington Express Writer The local branch of the Utah Highway Patrol has recently obtained an unmarked patrol car. This is not the first unmarked law enforcement vehicle used in Uintah County and, unfortunately, unfortunate-ly, is not likely to be the last . I have no disagreement with the use of unmarked vehicles for undercover work, drug busts, sting operations or other crime-stopping activities when the suspects involved are known criminals or when the safety of the officers involved can be enhanced with these vehicles. I heartily disagree with the use of unmarked vehicles for routine traffic patrol. People who routinely commit traffic violations viola-tions generally get pulled over often enough that it doesn't take them long to recognize an unmarked vehicle. If they get a ticket once, they are likely to remember what the vehicle looks like. The lack of law enforcement identification on the vehicle then becomes a useless tool in the apprehension of habitual traffic law violators. Beyond the diminishing usefulness in stopping stop-ping speeders lies the danger these vehicles pose to innocent citizens. I'm not talking about an unmarked car speeding down the road. They always have a siren and a light on the dashboard or the visor and create no more hazard than marked vehicles in high speed chase situations. I'm talking about the trusting, innocent person per-son who gets pulled over by an unmarked car with a flashing light in the window and then finds out the driver isn't a law enforcement officer offi-cer at all. No, this person is a criminal intent on robbery, rape, even murder. By then it's too late for escape. When I was in charge of a rape crisis center, one of the first things taught in the prevention courses I took was, "Tell women never to stop for an unmarked car. That's one of the oldest tricks to get women alone out on the highway. It's also one of the easiest. Rapists have no trouble finding find-ing and installing flashing blue and red lights in their cars." I vividly remember one particularly horrible case from about 20 years ago. A woman in her 40s, a wife and mother of teenagers, was stopped by an unmarked vehicle. The driver turned out not to be a law enforcement officer. He was a hardened killer. He forced the woman into his car, drove her to a remote area, raped and tortured tor-tured her repeatedly, then shot her. Men can also fall victim to criminals who take advantage of the trust many citizens have in law enforcement Men have been robbed, had their cars stolen, been beaten, tortured and even murdered mur-dered by criminals who use this technique. The danger increases when citizens know their law enforcement agencies are using unmarked vehicles for general patrol purposes. If they find themselves being pulled over by an unmarked car, they assume it's the local sheriff, highway patrol or police. They trust they won't be harmed beyond being ticketed for a traffic infraction. Most of the time this assumption is correct. The assumption only needs to be wrong once for tragedy to strike. I have heard the argument that people aren't stopped on the highway if they aren't breaking one or more traffic laws. That argument doesn't hold water. Sometimes a driver is stopped because a tail light or brake light has burned out Sometimes a driver is stopped because his or her car matches the description of a stolen vehicle or of one used in the commission of a crime. Being a safe driver is no assurance of protection from criminals impersonating an officer. Unmarked vehicles create a dilemma for innocent inno-cent people. We feel compelled to stop when that flashing light comes up behind us. But we also want to have absolute certainty that the driver of the vehicle is truly a law enforcement officer. We can't have that certainty when the vehicle is unmarked. Yes, criminals can steal marked police cars and use them to commit crimes, but the chances of being caught before a crime can be committed is pretty high. That's not true when a criminal modifies his own car to look like an unmarked police vehicle. I can't tell the public what to do if they are pulled over by an unmarked vehicle. I can report what the rape prevention classes have advised. If you have a cell phone, dial 911 and ask the dispatcher dis-patcher to verify that the vehicle in pursuit is legitimate. If it isn't, ask for immediate help. If driving in town when an unmarked vehicle attempts to pull you over, head for the nearest law enforcement agency. If you think you can't get into the building before being caught by the driver of the unmarked vehicle, keep your doors locked and lay on your car horn. Don't do beep, beep, beep. Just keep one solid beep going until help arrives. If out on the highway when an unmarked car tries to stop you, try to stay ahead of the vehicle. If it truly is law enforcement and you refuse to stop, it won't be long before back-up officers arrive. Once those marked vehicles pull up beside you, you know it's safe to stop. Could this lead to charges? Of course, possibly even felony charges. Each individual must make the decision weather to face charges of refusing to stop or becoming the victim of a vicious criminal. crimi-nal. One of the things people are told repeatedly is do not let anyone, even police, in your house without first checking their official identification. identifica-tion. I believe this same advice extends to your vehicle. If you stop and ask for ID, and the person per-son turns out to be a criminal, it's too late. Once that gun is at your head or that knife is at your throat, asking for ID seems rather pointless. It is my opinion, and the opinion of every woman I have talked with about this topic, that a change needs to be made. The law should not allow unmarked vehicles for routine traffic patrol. Any innocent person who is afraid to stop for an unmarked vehicle should not be subject to criminal charges. The ACLU opposes public funding for the Boy Scouts because their oath mentions God, the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools, public pub-lic displays of the baby Jesus at Christmas and any restraint on Internet pornography in public libraries. For the most part, the western media sympathizes sympa-thizes with the ACLU and promotes its point of view. Thus, the secular message is a constant in our society - the hits just keep on coming. . And where is the opposing point of view? Well, there are a few media outlets that give traditionalists tradition-alists a fair shake, but very few. So the Catholic cardinals feel isolated and surrounded. They can preach to the choir on Sunday but get battered by the news and entertainment enter-tainment media the rest of the week. A strong papal voice countering that situation is soothing. sooth-ing. And that's why Cardinal Ratzinger is now Pope Benedict XVI. . I believe organized religion can be a champion cham-pion of human rights and provide resistance to secular societies, which, if they progress much further, will never be able to defeat the fanatical Islamic fundamentalists. The more permissive the western world becomes, the more it rejects discipline and avoids confronting evil, the greater great-er the danger to freedom will be. Pope Benedict is facing a rapidly changing chang-ing world, and perhaps he will be a strong and persuasive shepherd against eviL The danger is that he will be so rigid that he will erode the spiritual core even further, thereby helping the secularists. But the new pope may have an epiphany and realize good people will rally against evil if the case of clear and present danger is made rationally ratio-nally and with compassion. I am praying that happens. The other side is hoping it will not Veteran TV news anchor Bill O'Reilly is host of the Fox News show "The O'Reilly Factor" and author of the book "Who's Looking Out For You?" To find out more about Bill O'Reilly, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers writ-ers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creator8.com. This column originates on the Web site www.billoreilly.com. COPYRIGHT 2005 BiI10Reilly.com. |