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Show Thursday, July 17, 2008 DAILY HERALD AS Editorials EDITORIAL BOARD Rona Rahlf, President & Publisher Randy Wright, Executive Editor Jim Tynea Editorial Pageditor IN OUR VIEW Parks confab a boondoggle?- our hundred superin- tendents of national parks have flocked 1 to Snowbird for a II M conference this week. 1 1 Utah naturally welcomes them and hopes they enjoy their stay. For taxpayers, only a few questions arise, such as Why? Why there? Why now? How much does it cost? And what are they up to? It's a rare event. The previous confab was held 20 years ago. So one must wonder why it's necessary. In the two decades since the last meeting, the National Park Service seems to have rolled along adequately. There's no indication that parks could not have continued another couple of decades without this big, friendly 1 1 II I 1 r. At the gathering yesterday and today, park superintendents reportedly were scheduled to discuss how to get Americans to reconnect with their parks, to develop new leaders and to prepare for the system's 100th birthday in 2016. Presumably, the Park Service already has procedures for doing all that. Couldn't 400 park bosses individually send their ideas in to Washington, where the decisions will be made anyway? After all, the Utah confab reportedly will cost $1 million, including transportation and lodging. The parks could surely use money like that. Snowbird isn't exactly the Red Roof Inn. Of course, we're sure these public servants worked out a good package deal, like the resort's Days of '47 package. For only $47 per person, this deal "includes accommodations and a choice of one of the following: an Aerial Tram ride, Peruvian Chair and tunnel or a single ride on the Alpine Slide," according to Snowbird's Web site. For 400 superintendents for two days, that's only $37,600, making us wonder what the other $962,400 was for. Regardless of cost, some might wonder if a private resort was the best choice. The last such meeting was held in Grand Teton National Park, which seems appropriate. What, they don't like their own parks? If the superintendents are there to get psyched up for how wonderful the national parks are, a national park venue would be most appropriate. They could even camp in tents to save money. HOW SOON THEY LEAVHr - CAM THEY (T They could enjoy the grand vistas, or ponder the problems up close. Think of the educational and public relations value of having GET HERE? the parks superintendents fanning out over one of our great national treasures to eyeball both its glories and flaws. While they're at it, they could pick up litter or guide tourists or do something else useful. One objection might be that such a gathering would happen right during the busiest park seasons, shunting tourists aside. That, however, brings up the question of why the heads of our national parks are away from their jobs at the busiest time of the year for most of them. It's like department store executives meeting in a remote city on the day after Thanksgiving. It might have been better for the superintendents to meet in, say, late fall, when presumably visitor traffic fkcS&w. I --- Then again, speaking of autumn, the question arises as to why it's been held in the late autumn of the Bush Administration. In half a year, a new president will take office. It's impossible to say what Barack Obama or John McCain will do about the national parks, if anything. By this time next year, the whole picture for the national parks might look entirely different. Which brings us back again to the central question: What are they going to be doing, really? News accounts hint that the park bosses will be asked to dream up ways to lure more private funding. Nothing wrong with drumming up support for the parks. On the other hand, some fear that Iraq finds itself at a 'McBama' moment f e're reaching a "McBama" moment in Iraq when realities In other words, the security gains within Iraq are still a work in progress. Upcoming provincial elections will hopefully cement Sunni political participation. Increasing public trust in Iraqi security forces will, hopefully, create a real national army. But the Iraqi body politic is still extremely fragmented. There is still violence and mistrust within and between sectarian groups. Four million refugees, both inside Iraq and in nearby countries, provide rich fodder for those who still want to destabilize the country. These social and political fragments swirl around like pieces in a kaleidoscope, continually forming new patterns. The reason for the progress of the past year is that Gen. David and Ambassador Ryan Crocker have repeatedly taken advantage of these shifting patterns. Examples: When Sunnis rose up against or when Shiites tired of radical Shiite militias, Petraeus and Crocker backed them up. Yet Iraq is still splintered. More time is needed to solidify the pattern before a definitive timeline is set. My guess is that Maliki will settle for a vague withdrawal horizon. Some form of agreement on retention of U.S. troops for a couple of years will probably be on the ground may force the positions of John McCain and Barack Obama to converge. Last week, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri and aides raised the issue of withdrawal of U.S. troops. Iraqi officials are negotiating a formula to legally define the status of American forces in Iraq, after a United Nations mandate expires at the end of 2008. But any candidate who wants dramatic drawdowns during his first term needs to pay close attention to complex shifts going on in Iraq and the Middle East; any U.S. president will have to "refine" his Iraq positions in 2009. Maliki and his aides have been waffling on the issue of a timetable. What's going on? First, intense Iraqi political jockeying in advance of provincial elections later this year. Second, intense pressure on Iraqi political factions from Iran. Maliki's political faction is small and weak, so he is playing the nationalist card. But, while displaying independence, Maliki is still hedging his bets. He knows the reason Sunni insurgents are no longer a problem is that 100,000 of them are now on the U.S. payroll. They still need to be integrated into the reached. Iraqi political system. could go over- high-rankin- MEDIA VOICES State old granddaughter and I My were standing inside the NE corner of ar free-mark- et Chuck-A-Ram- at 14th South & State a when we heard (and felt) a pickup crashing into the building at that corner. When I looked out, another vehicle, heavily damaged, was in the southbound lane of State. Why mention yet another accident? Because my wife and I invariably sit in the same corner when we eat. Part of our "entertainn ment" is to watch the constant at that intersection. Drivers constantly misjudge the distance, the speed and the amount of traffic flowing on State. Only because of some very perceptive drivers on make State do many of the it through unscathed. And so much driver carelessness. As we left we walked to the corner of State and 14th to view the damage. We watched two drivers, totally unaware of each other, almost create the one making a another accident left turn from State, the other making a right turn from State. They almost hit before either realized the other was there. Driving our area is always a chance undertaking. And as we watch, a lot of this foolishness happens while driving with a cell phone up to the ear. I Wayne Kuehne, Orem, Utah left-tur- near-miss- d -- Chuck-A-Ram- (mmmmT I j lill TO a, change. user TOYOURimiCOUmYAS BFEPIOmHOUiae a tin A if pap... HTW.-- I T". lilt r' . in ii sn i xi naest to comment Fax to 344-298- 5 Mail to P.O. Box 717, Provo, UT 84603. I Letters must include the author's full name, address and daytime phone number. I We prefer shorter letters, 100 to 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. Lisa Greenhalgh, Santaquin MALLARD FILLMORE SHOULPYOUPmAhN WELCOME d letters to dhlettersheraldextra.com the statement "federal bureaucrats would decide where to send your tax dollars." Do you mean to tell me that the only way we can get our federal tax dollars back into the state for such worthy projects as road construction and educational programs is to use appropriations earmarks? Isn't there another more legitimate way? I would like to hear more specific ideas about how to bring our nation's spending under control. I personally believe that our government is a reflection of us as a people. What we tolerate in ourselves (for example debt or dishonesty), we tolerate in our elected officials. You state that a member of Congress has "to learn to work within a frustrating system". That may be true but we can and should ask if that system is ethical and if not, seek for Garry Trudeau eeum.rouwufmm tffPZ, Trudy Rubin is How I have been reading with interest about Republican congressional candidate Jason Chaffetz's comments on earmarks. My first impression was that maybe we have someone here that has the courage to question how things are done in Washington. Your editorial left me with more questions. Especially alarming was d I 1 a columnist and member for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Her columns are distributed by McClatchy-Tribun- e Information Services., I editorial-boar- Better ideas on spending needed Bad drivers abound on been privatized while the risks are socialized. Why let executives and shareholders skim off the big montook a trifecta of ey in the bubble years then ask the public to pick up the pieces when ideology, delusion and corrupt the housing market goes south? Washington leadership to creBear in mind that Fannie and ate the conditions that led to the Freddie Fannie in confidence of mortgages are not of the collapse Mae and Freddie Mac, which hold very risky subprime variety that are fueling most of the foreclosure or guarantee over, half of Americrisis. The law requires that their can mortgages. The dive in their stock prices last week gave the mortgages meet certain standards. ofBut falling house prices and other Reserve Federal and Treasury economic factors are putting presficials little option but to draw up taxpayer rescue plans. Fannie Mae sure on even prime mortgages, and Freddie Mac are a strange hy- and the two companies have been and allowed to keep f righteningly brid government-sponsoresmall capital requirements. They subsidized but privately owned and listed on the New York Stock have a total capital cushion of $83 billion, a meager sum to back $5 Exchange. They inject liquidity into the housing market by buying trillion in debt and other obligais the result in part of mortgages and repackaging them tions. That Fannie's famous army of into securities. Fannie and Fredlobbyists that deterred both die guarantee their mortgages, and what that promise means is at Democrats and Republicans from demanding tighter regulation. the crux of today's bailout. Their As Barron's magazine has charan gov"implicit" carry mortgages the bailout: "Socialism acterized is bit a which ernment guarantee, takes hold in U.S. finances. Get lower than the "explicit" backing over it." Yes, the United States attached to Treasury securities can't let Fannie and Freddie go credit faith and "full that is, by the under, and take what's left of the of the United States." and Fannie housing market with them. But can see, As we the taxpayers can sure as heck Freddie are too big and importake back control of the compatant to fail so the taxpayers are nies. Fannie and Freddie should extending what amounts to an become the government agencies of mortgages. guarantee explicit they once were. In other words, the profits have From the Providence Journal, Tuesday, July 16: M A smart presidential candidate would recognize that surging nationalism will limit the length of a large U.S. troop presence. Iraq is not Japan or South Korea, where troops could remain for 50 years, a situation McCain has cited. But the candidates must also recognize most Iraqi leaders still aren't ready for all U.S. troops to leave. Another key reason for Iraqi leaders' hesitation is their reluctance to be dominated by Iran. Iraqi leaders, indo cluding Iran's Shiite not want to be controlled from Tehran any more than they want American domination. Nor do they want Iran and the United States to fight their battles on Iraqi soil. Obama ought to recognize that setting a fixed timeline now would leave Iraqis dependent on Tehran and undercut any U.S. leverage. It would make it harder to solidify the current gains. Maliki knows this; that's why I doubt he'll insist on a firm date for a U.S. withdrawal. Nor should any president who hopes to withdraw most U.S. troops in his first term. LETTERS Socializing risk I ,li GUEST OPINION board. In other words, it might not be too long before we're visitUinta National ing the Coca-Col- a Forest, Zions Bank National Park, or, near Moab, Golden Arches National Park. All in all, the suspicions linger that, just possibly, this event was ofg an excuse for ficials to indulge in some perks to of office and for higher-up- s engage in political posturing. If the parks superintendents benefit from the meeting, great. Let us, the public, learn from it, too. Let us more carefully scrutinize future government endeavors, in the hope that future junkets are planned for more appropriate times and places. DOONESBURY S JINN till, f has fallen off. 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