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Show HERALD DAILY A6 Thursday, Editorials EDITORIAL March 8, 2007 BOARD Craig Dennis, President & Publisher Randy Wright, Executive Editor Donald W. Meyers, Editorial page editor GUEST OPINION The Lost Scandal ROBERT D. NOVAK D enis Collins, a Washington journalist on the Scooter Libby jury, described sentiments in IF HIM (ME CLINTON TO UTAH... OH MY HECK! iLOOOOOOICEDout the window... was told she was undercover Fitzgerald had argued that whether or not she was covert was not material to this trial, and Federal District Judge Reggie B. Walton AMD WHAT POPCORN!! had so ruled. Yet, in his closing the jury room reflecting arguments, Fitzgerald referred to Mrs. Wilson's secret status, and in answer to a reporter's question after the verdict, he said she was POPCORMPOPW"0 those in the Senate Democratic cloakroom: "It was said a num"classified." Where's Rove? ber of times In fact, her being classified Where are these other guys?" that is, that her work was a Besides presidential adviser did not in Karl Rove, he surely meant Vice government secret President Dick Cheney and maybe itself meet the standard required for prosecution of the leaker (forPresident Bush. Oddly, the jurors mer Deputy Secretary of State appeared uninterested in hearthe Richard from Armitage) under the Intelligence Armitage, ing Identities Protection Act of 1982. source of the CIA leak. That statute limits prosecution to "It's about time," said Senate exposers of covert intelligence Majority Leader Harry Reid, reactivities overseas, whose revelajoicing in guilty verdicts against tion would undermine U.S. intelliScooter Libby, "someone in the Bush administration has been held gence. That is why Fitzgerald did not move against Armitage. accountable for the campaign to Some questions asked me in manipulate intelligence and discredit war critics." But Libby was television and radio interviews after the verdict implied that I found guilty only of lying about revealed Armitage's name to how he learned Valerie Plame's identity. Reid and Democratic col- Fitzgerald. Actually, in my first interview with Fitzgerald after he leagues were after much bigger had been named special prosecuof staff. chief than game Cheney's Democrats had been slow retor, he indicated he knew Armitage was my leaker. I assumed acting to my column of July 14, that was the product of detective 2003, that reported former diplowork by the FBI. In fact, Armitmat Joseph Wilson's mission to age had turned himself in to the Niger was suggested by his CIA employee wife, Valerie Plame. By Justice Department three months before Fitzgerald entered the September, when the Justice Dethe case, without notifying the White partment began investigating House or releasing me from my CIA leak, Democrats smelled ana or Watergate. other requirement of confidentiality. On Fox's "Hannity & Colmes" They were wrong. DaThe Libby trial uncovered no Tuesday night, super-lawyvid Boies said Fitzgerald never plot hatched in the White House. The worst news Tuesday for fire- should have prosecuted Libby brand Democrats was that Special because there was no underlying criminal violation. Boies scoffed Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald was at Fitzgerald's contention that going back to his "day job" (as U.S. attorney in Chicago). With no Libby had obstructed him from exposing criminal activity. Boies, underlying crime even claimed, who represented Al Gore in the the only question was whether OMTHEFETCHW AAAAAPRI COT TREE! LETTERS the Good reasons for printing the Trolley Square photo lished the Trolley Square victim s picture. If they had, they would understand, and perhaps, change their view. I don't think the Daily Herald sensationalized the event or published that photo to gain attention. I don't think the picture was graphic. I agree with your view that sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. And if it were one of my family members, yes, I would want the picture published, so that people would be shocked enough to want to do something about preventing an event like this from happening again. i Anne-Mari- e Mickelsen, 2000 election dispute, is hardly a Bush sympathizer. But neither is he a Democratic partisan trying to milk this obscure scandal. George W. Bush lost control of this issue when he permitted a special prosecutor to make decisions that, unlike going after a drug dealer or mafia kingpin, turned out to be inherently political. It would have taken courage for the president to have aborted this process. It would require even more courage for him to pardon ooter Libby now, not while he is walking out of the White House in January 2009. Provo The criticism of the Trolley Square photo is hypocritical The barrage of letters concerning the photo of a Trolley Square victim seem hypocritical, at best. The paper was correct in using the photo; the press reports reality, not what we want reality to be. That photo creates a powerful image. This is the power of a photograph, and it taught as much (if not more) than any written word. What about the hundreds of photos of killed and maimed Iraqis that we see almost daily? I guess they are somehow lesser people, since no one complains about that. It's OK to publish photos of dead Iraqis, Kashmiri earthquake victims or tsunami corpses but not a local resifront-pag- e Robert D. Novak is a sydicated conservitie columnist with the Creators Syndicate. MEDIA VOICES dent? From the Los Angeles Times, March 5, 2007 more newsworthy than biting a dog is a candidate turning down money from the U.S. Treasury. Yet it's possible that, next year, both major party nominees for president will decline to accept about $80 million in federal funds generated by a taxpayer checkoff, confident that they can raise more on their own. Seemingly resigned to this break with three decades of tradition, campaign reformers are seeking swift congressional action on a more generous system of public financing for the 2012 presidential election. The current system of public financing for presidential races is an idea whose time is past. Congress shouldn't rush into fixing the broken system for 2012 until the lessons of the 2008 election cycle are fully digested. No one doubts that the public financing system is in trouble. In 2004, both President Bush and deSen. John F. Kerry, clined to accept matching funds in Even the primary season because doing so would have imposed curbs on what they could spend. In the general election, however, both nominees forswore private money and accepted $75 million each from ve HG600P e ready seen? I applaud both the photographer and the photo editor for being willing to show us the reality of the situation. I Eric Beecroft, Provo ., salute for Donna Kelly and condolence for Bundy family A Deputy County Attorney Donna Kelly was correct to divert the Terece case, involvBundy negligent-homicid- e ing the death of her daughter, who died of bacterial meningitis while being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. It is satisfying to know that Kelly made her decision in the interest of justice and was confident that Bundy had no intent of hurting her daughter, Rachel, in any way. Hats off to Kelly. Oh, by the way, "buffalo chips" to 4th District Court Judge James Tay- 4-- 1 system. At the very least, one fact is 2007 is far too perfectly clear early to set the rules for 2012. lor for his expressed concern for the safety of Bundy's two children, and wondering if the Division of Child and -- face-savin- y .) Schet-selaar- Orem Bruce Tinsley MALLARD FILLMORE Garry Trudeau ss ns ... V mps&y& e deaths or deaths have they al- Hollywood-movi- computer-gam- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, has indicated that she won't accept public funding in either the primary or the general election cycle. Sen. Barack Obama, is hedging his bets on the latter. Under current law, the first $250 of an individual's contribution to a primary campaign is matched by $250 in federal funds. Under the Feingold bill, there would be a match for the first $200 of a contribution. Expenditure limits would be raised, and candidates would be required to accept public financing in primaries if they wanted to make use of public funds in the general electioa Finally, the bill would encourage candidates to accept public financing by providing additional funds to a candidate whose opponent opted out of the DOONESBURY TTAKBIimtS Tao. Iraqis, the Treasury. y law-abidi- The photo shows what violence means. This is what killing looks like, and we need to see it. This photograph is a teaching moment for our children, not something to be glossed over and tucked away. If you don't want your kid to see this, ask yourself: How many dead Money for nothing Senate Bill 251 restricts Family Services should investigate. The Bundys have suffered enough defend one's self right with the loss of their child; please, no The University of Utah's effort to more charges or investigations. I Marilyn West, restrict concealed-carrpermit holders Provo under the premise of "a safer campus" would be amusing, were it not so exHerald should give evidence pensive and misguided. There have always been guns (or for its nuclear material fears gun equivalents, such as crossbows, On Feb. 26, your editorial, "Radioac- swords) and there always will be. The tive free speech," perpetuates misinonly real question is who will have formation regarding nuclear materials. them. Refer to the problem of radioactive History illustrates that those with the intent to do evil have guns, and iodine and thyroid cancers: Most of the radioactive isotopes of iodine have they try to disarm fuuire victims. half lives that are measured in seconds Requiring disarming in this way to days, with the longest of these being is dangerous. Disarmed victims are 59.4 days. subject to abuse, rape, murder and In five half lives, there's about 3 genocide. People have a fundamental right to percent of the original quantity left. defend themselves. In another five half lives, it's down to Senate Bill 251 restricts that right about 0.09 percent. That means that in g device for a uniand is a two years, it's down to 0.02 percent. that has irresponsibly There's essentially none of these isospent versity thousands of taxpayer dollars in legal topes of radioactive iodine left from fees pursuing "a cure for which there the Nevada surface tests. However, if you wish to continue to is no known disease." Why is it difficult to understand that carry the nuclear fear banner, you can strontium-90- . of the responsible, problem investigate This is a longer-live- d permit holders (who isotope (half-lif- e concealed-carrhave not been doing the shooting) is 28.78 years). This can result in an elevated probability of certain types aren't the problem? of cancer. Why is it difficult to understand that this money would be better spent if it But if you're interested in finding were focused on protecting the camout the long-tereffects of nuclear pus from illegal gun carriers, those exposure, read the article on the aftereffects of the Chernobyl disaster in with evil intent? I Richard Turner, 2006 issue of the November-DecembHeber City American Scientist. If there's a real reason for fear, then Our great forefathers were back it up with valid information, not with hype and misinformation. encroaching immigrants, too I Bryan Peterson, In his Feb. 19 letter to the editor, Provo Frank Schetselaar wrote, "America's The stinging neglect of local greatness has been built upon immigrants." spelling bee competition Our nation's forefathers came here the same way that today's illegal immiThe spirit of academic competition in Utah is not dead yet, but it's dying. grants come: without the permission of Several years ago the Daily Herald those already in possession of the land. Our forefathers conquered and took over the sponsorship of the rekilled the previous occupants. (Algional spelling bee, which the Deseret though, it's more convenient for us to Morning News dropped, and our children were given a chance to shoot for use terms such as "discovered" and "settled" to describe their actions.) the national competition again. Then, the forefathers and their posUnfortunately, interest in the spellterity established their own ing bee seems to be declining. rules about who else could come here. The number of students at the re Today, for enough money, one can gional bee has been consistently droppurchase citizenship in this country. ping since the outset. This year, the contest has not been advertised at all, But honest and hardworking poor and a date has not been set. (The spell- people can't live here legally unless denying them admission violates a ing bee is typically held constitutional right of a U.S. citizen, or Several schools and most parents we don't like the government of their don't even know of the spelling bee's existence. country of origin. While I cannot deny that restrictions Given that the Salt Lake area doesnt 's on immigration are necessary, even have a regional spelling bee, I am grateful to the Daily Herald for its proposition that we should treat immigrants as burglars flies in sponsorship here. But I would like to see more time and thought given to the the face of basic principles of human bee, and more done to promote it to rights and general decency. We should treat oil people with rethe schools. spect, regardless of their skin color, Parents, ask your school about this the language that they speak, the wonderful competition. Let the schools and the newspaper religion that they choose to follow, or the country they were born in know that spelling is an important life I Ryan Nelson, skill, and that the spirit of academic Provo competition is not dead in Utah Valley. Julie Grit ton, to Subscribers must not have read your editorial stating why you pub Iran-Contr- Libby had consciously and purposefully lied to FBI agents and the grand jury about how he learned of Mrs. Wilson's identity. While my column on Wilson's mission triggered Libby's misery, I played but a minor role in his trial. Subpoenaed by his defense team, I testified that I had phoned him in reporting the Wilson column and that he had said nothing about Wilson's wife. Other journalists said the same thing under oath, but we apparently made no impression on the jury. The trial provided no information whatever about Valerie Plame's status at the CIA at the time I revealed her role in her husband's mission. No hard evidence was produced that Libby ever DPISH? wss I W 12. 1x ) J r ' 1 - i- - WJ VJV |