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Show "He art dedicated la the public interest, to fairnesx and uccurucy, to innovation and growth, and to the restless pursuit of excellence." PuliUer mission statement EDITOR: DONALD W. MF.Vl.RS if"" tag X By r JOSEPHINE ZIMMERMAN I parts of the country today is celebrated as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but in Utah it is observed as In most Donald Kaul Warner merger means you have a new world e AQL-Tim- Don't toil me you haven't got mail, you'vi- got. mail; everybody does, or soon will. Now that America Online, - the world's biggest Internet company, has merged with Time Warner, the soning. I remember covering a state convention of the Eagle Forum at Utah Valley State College when McAllister sat in an honored place on the convention's podium. President Gayle Ruzicka introduced the convention's keynote speaker that day as "the greatest living statesman in the United States today." That speaker was Evan Mecham, former wall-to-wal- around-the-cloc- l, entertainment, news, sports, all from interactive media blather 'a'single source. Is this a great country, or what? It's hard to get your mind around (, how big this merger ..is. It puts together more than 50 percent of the nation's business, 20 percent of the cable TV business, 16 percent of the record business and 18 percent of the movie business. It includes 33 magazines, five publishing houses, Club and the e on-lin- LETTERS TO THE EDITOR k h Looney Times cartoons. I thought 1 heard Stephen Case, the 'AOL honeho, say that the merger wasn't just about money it was about making, the world a better place. AG MONDAY, JANUARY 17, GUEST J COLUMN I Utahn and deposed governor of Arizona the man who canceled the observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Arizona. DESPITE THE opposition to King, one fact remains. Martin Luther King was instrumental in bringing about monumental changes in this nation. Many others were involved in the battle, but King was the outstanding leader, and his assassination made him even more of a hero. There was a time when blacks were terrified by the threat from southern "You'd better watch out, nigger, police or well throw you in jail." That threat could mean beatings, torture or even death. How many brutal and gruesome lynchings took place across the country? Human Rights Day. It was several years ago that former State Sen. LeRay McAllister, argued eloquently and successfully in the Utah Legislature to keep the day from honoring Martin Luther King, claiming that it should observe the rights of all people. Legislators went along with his rea- world's biggest media company, we are about to be encased in a cocoon of non-sto- -. i T THE DAILY HERALQ (www.heraldextra.com) 4 MY TURN ' OPES ON 4 Despite the opposition to King, one fact remains. Martin Luther King was instrumental in bringing about monumental changes in this nation. King, drawing on the pattern set down by Mahatma Gandhi, urged his followers to demonstrate peacefully and In essence, he said, t3o ahead and throw us in jail," and the police did. Black protesters went to jail in such numbers that the police were overwhelmed and finally had to abandon the practice that they had used for so many years to intimidate dissenters. y. . MANY OF us watched our televisions in horror as the police used fire hoses, vicious police dogs and night sticks against peaceful demonstrators. It took television to expose the long . standing injustice. And in the long run it was the oppressors who lost the batfe against rights for blacks and other minorities, just as Gandhi's protest was successful in freeing India j from the British, It is unfortunate that Utah cannot recognize the man who was at the forfer front of the change. The battle still isn't over, but there is no question that, because of King's leadership, signifi" cant changes have been made in the roles blacks can, now fill in America, non-violen- t: Josephine Zimmerman covers Utah, County for The Daily Herald. '.'. ; , Oil rti J . mi Provo needs BYU Kll students , four-and-a-ha- lf ' WHENEVER A rich guy says that the deal hi''s working on isn't about money, it's about money. I found Ted Turiier's reaction to the merger much more candid. Turner, a major Time Warner stoeKholder who made $2.8 billion on the announcement of the deal and stands to make $2 bil- lion, or so more when it is consummated, compared his excitement at the deal to the feelings inspired by the first time he made love. This is only the beginning, you know, the first sign that the companies will begin to use their stratospheric stock evaluations to .buy up companies that actually make things. If AOL, which was hardly more than a garage .operation 13 years ago. can swallow the empires of larry Luce, Jack Warner and Ted Turner-ia single byte, what is not possible? Ladies and gentlenrcn, we are witnessing the end of the Age of the Nation-Statand the beginning of the of the Age Corporation State. Instead of being separated by race, creed, ethnicity and geography, the 21st Century will see us organized along corporate lines. It won't happen in my lifetime, but happen it will. - . f high-tec- h 1 e UNLESS THE merger fails, of course. The mixing of t wo vast corporations of differing styles is never an easy thing. There will be some bloodletting before peace reigns, if ever. But I wouldn't bet against Case. When he started his company the leader in the field was called Prodigy, a child of Sears and IBM. His little effort was given no chance to survive against a rival with such deep pockets. Case arrived at the idea of virtually giving away his service to build up his subscriber base and eating the losses. If Case didn't fail back then, when he was David against Goliath, I have no reason to believe he'll fail now. Not in a country where corporations are allowed to buy unlimited political influence in the guise of free speech. AOL doesn't even have to buy free speech anymore; it owns it. Donald Kaul is. a columqkj with the Des Moines Register. His column appears Mondavs. As a year resident of Provo, BYU graduate, and spouse of a current BYU student, I read your "Road Scholars" article with disgust. Provo's traffic congestion is not solely caused by BYU students. In summertime, the same inconsiderate drivers do not signal, run red lights, ignore pedestrians, and drive slow in the fast lane. This indicates the problem is not limited to BYU students. It is impossible for a BYU student to shop for groceries without a car. The bookstore sells a few necessities at outrageou prices; but for everyday items, most students on a budget must go elsewhere. There are no major retailers within walking distance of campus. UTA already stops at BYU, but is inadequate. A person with a busy schedule cannot wait for a bus to get to their destination on time. The thought of 29,000 BYU students living on campus is also ludicrous. How about making professors, staff, and their families live on campus as well? They drive, too. We could create our own city, grocery stores, - W- - W?VG$j,.. o (t92cHXt etc. with that large of population. It seems this is what many residents of Provo wish. They, would soon find that many of their businesses could no longer operate without us. Ever hear of the proverbial, "Don't bite the hand that feeds you?" Provo needs to realize they would be as insignificant as any other small Utah town without BYU. Joan Roldan Provo I II1 i under the Carter administration, with hundreds of thousands of small business and farm failures giving rise to suicides, divorce and depression in the lives of those affected. once-an-ho- How and why did that social disas- ter occur? Because government first encouraged debt and expansion with an oversupply of money and then quickly turned 180 degrees to dry up the money supply and institute 21 interest rates. Where did the faulty money-suppltheory find its origin? From the prominent egghead economists in our so called institutions of higher learning. Unfortunately the story does not end in economics since bad theory seems to be commonplace in those who would lead us. While it is increasingly obvious that individuals with no countervailing moral beliefs are affected by violence which they observe in videos and movies, it -- percent y appears that certain professors are going to be the last to discover truth in this matter. Then we have both revisionist history and attacks upon historical men Question academic leaders Some readers may recall the financial disaster which came to a head of character where facts are changed and personal flaws are either exag- gerated or created. We should not omit from our list of the bizarre in academia the radical feminists and the environmental extremist. 'My point is that the sacred cow of "academic freedom" should not bar a critical examination of philosophies advocated by those who are (or fancy themselves to be) professors in our institutions. My congratulations to professor Hammond at UVSC for a step in that direction. F.T. Gardiner Provo , City drives up building cost Before I can begin to build my house in Provo I must first confront a pack of ravenous wolves. . First, they start by telling me that I must have a permit to build my house. This is my house, my lot, my money and my sweat. Getting permission requires a lot of time and gobs of money. They break it down for you so you can , nil ''" it a little bit at a time. You must first post a bond of $1,000. This is to protect the city from something I must do might hurt them. It is like paying the Highway1'" Patrol $100 because I just might 8 wallow speed. ' , They then tell you that you must pay $1,078 to hook up the water and $5733 to hook up to the sewer. This money is ; paid for the privilege of hooking up to; services. the , Next, the city needs to look at your, , house plans. There is a $1,009 fee for . city-provid- looking. IAn Then the state makes me pay $15 sq they can make sure the city does its j6b. There is $135 for electrical hook is completed up. That actual hook-u"j by the city. Now the city makes sure they inspect four or five times. This fee is"' pn $810. So far, I have spent about ,v $5,000 for the privilege of building" my house on my property with my' " money. Oh, by the way. I have decided not to build my house in Provo. Dwight J. Barrett p Orem THE DAILY HERALD LETTERS POLICY The Daily Herald welcomes your letters to the editor. . Please remember to include your full name, address and phone number where you can be reached. Only your ' name and the city in which you live will be published. All other information will be' kept confidential. . Anonymous letters will be discarded. Letters must contain 250 or fewer words, or be approximately one page, typed and double spaced. Your letter will be better read if it concerns one central theme or idea. All letters will be edited for length, accuracy and clarity. The Herald encourages community discussion of issues in a responsible manner. Please send your letters to: Editor, The Daily Herald P.O. Box 717 1555 N. Freedom Blvd. Provo, UT. 84603 Letters may also be faxed or The fax number is The address is: ldeanher- 373-548- .z aldextra.com. If you have questions, call jiu Jii Opinions Page Editor Donald W. or Editor Mike,; , Meyers at 344-254- 4 Patrick at 344-254- tot Dopnesbury r'""- III Mill By Garry Trudeau Mallard Fillmore By Bruce Tinstey J!SL lve9H0UU &BACK ATTWMOmLtUmiN THCHOM. KV MIGHT feffflty a wasp M Mm new feem& POt C 3 vm-poo-eomavf- yi a |