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Show A9' Smby, September 262004. EDITORIAL DiroiMts BOARD Albert J. Maori, President & Publisher Randy Wright, Executive Editor Donald W. Meyers, Editorial page editor John Castelli, Public adviser Christian Harrison, Public adviser Sam Rushforth, Public adviser IN OUR VIEW TUB CBRISTIAM SCIZXCB MONITOR Polygamy abusers in iMoim deserve harsh treatment -f? wetn one under "Duh." tionship with a child. There is litUtah Peace Officers tle point in disrupting consenting Standards and Training adutt relationships like Green's, Council, the entity that where no abuse is occurring and establishes the rules for II the people involved are happy Utah's JUL. with their lives.. The state police officers, has decided it should But let us be clear. There's step in, always will punish pohowevlice officers who er, to protect distinction an important practice victims of abuse those who polygamy. The between a sexual POST Council are held against decided such ofrelationship with a their will or ficers are who are subadult woman consenting breaking then-oat- h jected to physito uphold and a relationship with a cal or emotional the law. harm. Women child. There is little point in in abusive relaThe decision came after the or disrupting consenting adult tionships conviction of girls who are Rodney Holm, a relationships like Green's, too young to (which police officer in where no abuse is occurring marry the polygamist by definition enclave of and the people involved are constitutes Hildale, on abuse) should happy with their lives. The have a way out. charges of unlawful sex with Their abusers a mjnor. He had state should always step in, should be taken a teenaghowever, to protect victims stopped by er as a polygaevery means at those who are society's disposmist wife. Holm of abuse was sentenced al held against their will or Holm will at to aiyear in least do some who are subjected to . prisbnforthe offense. time, though he physical or emotional harm. is getting a Thefactthat it took the con light sentence. But he s not viction of a po- ' lice officer to likely the only offender. Evibring the Offidence suggests there are others cer Standards Council to this momentous decision is a reflectipn of like him still flouting the law. Administrative leaves or even disthe ambivalence that prevails in Utah on the question of polygamy. missals from law enforcement The council's soft stance that will not cut it. Any abuser should it will punish (it did not say prosebe punished, but an' abuser with a is a rebadge should be handled harshly. cute) offending officers flection of the double standard Clearly, keeping police officers that prevails. When a Tom Green who practice polygamy off the force is a good thing. It will make can .be prosecuted to the full extent of the law for a technical vio- it easier for women and girls in the polygamist subculture to come lation, and when the very girl he forward and report abuse to the married decades ago is now an authorities. When the authorities adult who, far from wanting out, professes her love for him and has are themselves polygamists, hopelessness becomes the norm. And become his chief defender, inthat has to stop. equity comes plainly into view. POST is sending a long overdue Let's have a little consistency here. If Green can be sent to jail, message that peace officers are so should any polygamist police required to uphold all of Utah's officers. laws, not just the ones that dont conflict with their personal be--. But let us be clear. There's an Ms. Now the state's prosecutors important distinction between a should roll into high gear against sexual relationship with a conall polygamist abusers. ' senting adult woman and a rela-- .J ! , an, The Bush Bandwagon HERALD POLL , Ban was a waste of time, effort Herald poll The "Assault Weapons" Ban was a waste of time and effort except insofar as the political backlash in the 1994 elections demonstrated the lack of popular support for it. Because it was unconstitutional, nothing further should need to be said. However for those who believe effectiveness is more important than constitutionality, it wasn't effective in reducing crime, either. In fact, it couldn't have reduced the crime rate by more than the percentage of crimes in which the "banned" weapons were used, which was less than one percent. I Bob Lidral Marlborough, Mass. Recently we asked the following question at the Daily Herald Web site, www.harktheherald.com: Citizens don't need assault I favor the assault weapons ban because most of the agencies in the country do. Police leaders are for it but officers like the idea of an armed citizenry? I wonder. If citizens have rifles or shotguns, that's fine but I see NO need for bullets. or Uzis, AK-4Actually, I'm more afraid of the gun LOBBY than the guns themselves. The NRA's refusal to accept any type of restriction is unfortunate. The Second Amendment argument is a real stretch because comparing the circumstances of 18th century America with today is 7s Effects from the storms are felt in Haiti cop-kill- le er ludicrous. ' New York Daily News, ' Sept. 24, 2004 ery, and what's happening there humanitarian now is a IKenBaldridge Pleasant Grove full-blow- n crisis. Haiti is ridden with decaying the Dominican human and animaL fewer than 30 corpses Mass graves are being dug to from Hurricane avert pestilence but pestilence Jeanne, the toll in' Haiti stands still threatens. Rescue workers are above 1,100. It will go higher. More than 1,200 struggling to Haitians are get food, clean water and medmissing in Why would neighboring ical supplies floodwaters and mud slides. An bags nations that share an island and bodyhardesto the estimated , 250,000 are w experience such drastically t-hit areas. homeless. Desperately different effects from hungry Haitians Why would are mobbing reneighboring nathe same storm? lief workers and tions that share The answer begins an island expe- fighting among themselves for rience such of Haiti's with rape scraps of bread. drastically difAnd the air is ferent effects its environment filled with cries from the same of mourning. storm? Nearly 90 percent of The United The answer the country has been States, itself begins with Haiti's rape of dealing with deforested - primarily the aftermath its environ- to provide cooking fuel. of hurricanes, ment: Nearly 90 , is nevertheless percent of the in a to country nas ' assistposition Haiti r been deforested and other is primarily to nations fueL land struck by the cooking provide storms. America can help rebuild No frees, no tree roots to hold the land and pressure the United the soil No tree roots to hold the soil; no protection from landslides Nations to send peacekeepers to when the rains come. And this help stabilize the society and, eventually, the government. summer, the rains came in hurri-can- e And while the administration force. decides what to do and it must The answer continues with the do something dreadful poverty that is synonyyou, the individual, can reach out to the reputable mous with Haiti along with the ' fact that a stable, democratic gov- charities that are trying to nelp. In the family of man, all these vicernment is about as alien to the Caribbean nation as a snowstorm. tims are brothers and sisters. Do Its people are no strangers to mis- -' not abandon them. .' ' Government research about the effect of the assault weapons ban has been inconclusive. Police in San Jose, Calif., Uzi and found tested a that 30 rounds could be fired within five seconds. So why does the gun lobby claim that assault weapons are only cosmetically different from ordinary firearms? ic "Was the assault rifle ban a good idea?' 26.9 J0" -- ' Yes 73.1 'S -- O - ' ... '"A tSethGrandy Orem J How to comment NOTE Results are unscientific and numbers may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding. letters to dhlettersheraldextra.com Total votes: 1,398 weapons rank-and-fi- MEDIA VOICES Weapon difference more than cosmetic 5 to Mail to P.O. Box 717, Fax Current poll: "Should Dan Rather be fired?" Polling is open at our Web site until Thursday at 1145 p.m. - STAFFDaily 344-298- Provo, UT 84603. I Letters must include the author's full name, address and daytime phone' number. I We prefer shorter letters, 100 and 200 words. Letters may be edited for length. I Writers are encouraged to include their occupation and other personal information. I Because of the volume of letters, we cannot acknowledge unpublished letters. I Letters become the property of the Daily Herald. Herald Complete waste of money The "Assault Weapons Ban" was a complete waste of money and I thank God that it was allowed to sunset. Now if we can get rid of some of the other 20,000 unconstitutional laws on the books I Ted W. Blonchard San Jose, Calif. While - . , 4 ' : . v i ' . '"''" ;.'. 'Mri--!!'.T;i- RUBEN NAVARRETTE JR. Teach children to be hungry for success an earlier column, I wrote wth all of life's and conveniences, I still hope to raise my children to be hungry for success. But one woman called me on it, asking the logical question: "How do you define success?" IH tell you what I sometimes tell audiences of college students about choosing careers, setting goals andbeing subject of what makes a person successfuL Before parents can explain what success is, they first need to explain what it isnt. It isnt something you put in your wallet, and it doesnt have a price tag. In our society, we talk a tot about money because it seems an easy way to keep track of who's achieving what and at what speed. successfuL And yet the material things 1 I teU them the first thing the salary you earn, the kind ' is about of car you drive or the size ' have to they worry house you own arent the finding their passion the most reliable gauge of how one thing they like to do atove everything else and well you're doing. There are those who have amassed plenthen somehow find a way to make a living at it. Do that, I ty of wealth and yet whose ,' tell them, and the rest win fan hves are terribly unfulfilled. Parents might even give into place. If they do what they tove, they'll be willing to their children some benchinvest the time to become remarks, telling them that ally good at it. And if they're they! be successful if : really good at something, ,' They dd their job weH, they'll be fairly compensated ' provide for their family and in whatever wa possible for tt. With the right combi-nation of talent, courage and make a difference in pec-pl- e's lives. persistence, I tell them, anything to possibte. They try to leave the world better than they found That's what parents should be telling their children. In- - , it, even if it means starting stead, too many are afraid of srnan with their town or neighborhood. "pressuring them and so : they never dare broach the They raise good, decent " and responsible children who understand hard work, never I look down on anyone, and dont see themseives as entitled to everything. I They help the less fortunate, comfort the afflicted and, whenever possible, lend their voice to defend those who can't defend themselves. I They five their life without regrets or second thoughts, and, if possible, serve as an inspiration to others. Young people need to hear things like that. And parents need to spell them out, especially in a society such as ours where, too often, it seems impossible to talk about success without dwelling on the monetary kind That's the problem, insisted the woman who challenged me to come up with a definition in the first place. She warned me against putting too much emphasis on what one does for a living, or what kind of salary one earns. She said she hates it when moms tell people that they dont work. They do work and hard, she said. They Just ' happen to not collect a salary. Sounds like something my , In . e mother would say. She worked outside the home, as !! well as at home, but she nev- - " er had a career like my r. " She does however have a favorite saying from Jackie ' Kennedy - about how if you ; mess up the raising of your !! kids, nothing else you do in '', life much matters. For many in my genera- tion, being able to stay home " and raise kids is considered a luxury. Having grown up in the 1970s, with both parents working, we were latchkey j kids who whipped up our l snacks. own Now that we're having kids of our own, many of us !! are determined to provide them with a different reality. ;j I know plenty of people with !! Ivy League degrees who spend their days playing tea party or taking their children to the park, and who couldnt Jj be happier. It's just a guess, but I sus- pect that people who make these kinds of choices have no trouble defining success. !! after-schoo- I Ruben Navarrttte's is a columnist with the Dallas '; Morning News. 4 |