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Show "Happiness is a sort of atmosphere you can live in sometimes when you're lucky. Joy is a light that fills you with hope and faith and love." Adela Rogers St Johns, journalist (1894-198- Cs Opiums 3) public service Those who pay careful attention to the Senate Ethics Committee's hearings ca the Keating Five's role in the savings and loan debacle are about to discover how money buys results on Capitol Hill. During the nest few weeks there will be much lawyerly wrangling about whether the five senators, Alan CranDennis DeConeini, ston, John Glenn, John McCain, and Donald Riegle, improperly tried to prevent federal regulators from closing Charles Kea ting's financially troubled thrift The operative word here is improperly, because lawmakers routinely intervene on behalf of their constituents. What is obvious, however, is that some constituents, because of their large financial contributions, get better service than others. Certainly no average citizen could command the personal attention of five senators as Keating did. Keating, who is awaiting trial in California on securities fraud charges, won't be testifying during the Senate hearings. But he already has made clear his motives in donating $1.3 million to the five senators. During one speech, for instance, Keating boasted that the donation was designed to retain their services on his behalf. The senators responded by applying various degrees of pressure on federal regulators to go easy on his thrift. By successfully delaying the government's seizure of Keating's S&L, the senators wound up costing taxpayers an additional $2 billion in bailout costs. The disposition of the senators' cases ultimately will turn on how the Ethics Committee defines 'legitimate constituent service." And that will be a difficult cash is the call, because special-interecoin of the realm in Congress. One wonders how many of the sena- o, st Editor: I have been following some of the articles in the Herald about the proposed Seven Peaks Resort. After reading today's article about air quality, I finally feel I must express my views on the proposal. It is ironic that the positioiung of the article in the Nov. 14 Herald entitled "Study clears Seven Peaks on carbon monoxide" should be positioned (in its second page) directly adjacent to the air pollution report. The "Overall Air Clarity" section listed today as being "good," but in parenthesis stated: "However, the air quality in downtown Provo yesterday from 4 p.m. to midnight was over the healthful limit of 117." We know we have a problem here already with carbon monoxide yet approval has been given for a major influx of more exhaust in a concentrated area. How can more exhaust from more cars be o.k.? Another issue with the Seven Peaks proposal which concerned me is that of financial backing for the project. Mayor Jenkins says: "We believe the final analysis will be the financial ability of Seven Peaks to go ahead with the project." I propose the mayor look into Borcherd's financial record as thoroughly as some have looked into the records of our recent congressional candidates. What Borcherds proposes to do will affect all of us as much as some of the decisionmaking of our congressional representatives. If they are able to prove they can finance the project, what then? Can Mr. Borcherd's group hold up if there should be year after year of losses at the resort? What if they were to be successful for 10 or 20 years only? Would a functioning ecosystem have been destroyed and traded for a dream of no substance? What if they were to be successful always? Do we want that instead of what we have or could have if we considered other plans for the area? I hope we will look to e effects of our actions the very and not sell our souls for what some may consider a financial or recreational gain for long-rang- Provo. Denise H. Williams Provo Treason at State? Editor: Who in the U.S. State Department negotiated the give away of the five (5) Alaskan Islands, contiguous to billions of barrels of oil reserves and huge gas deposits, to the Soviets? I understand from The American Sentinal that tnis action has been secretly earned on for almost 10 years, and that everything is now in place for the giveaway, awaiting only Senate approval on Treaty Document The American people should be made aware of this act of treason on the part of some of the members of our State Department. I demand that Secretary Baker release the names of the officials andor staff who have been advocating and working on this give-awaI also feel that President Bush and the CIA should be made aware, immediately, of those implicated in this covert action. At a time when we are willing to go to war to protect the world's oil in the Middle East, we are giving away one of our own major sources of supply. This does not make sense! The State Department has absolutely no business making deals with any foreign governments without the full knowledge and period! approval of Uie American people Please resign Mr. Baker, if you cannot 101-2- y. NOV. Thursday 22. 1000 5CJPAL TIMET SHOOT tors sitting in judgment of their colleagues have themselves gone to extraordinary lengths to assist a big contributor. We know, for instance, that was involved Sen. David Pry or, in a series of questionable decisions that led to the savings and loan debacle, which will cost taxpayers half a trillion dollars. The Wall Street Journal reports that in im Pry or blocked a bill that would haved provided thrift regulators with $15 million to close corrupt and mismanaged S&Ls. That same year, former Rep. Jim Wright, kept the measure bottled up m the House at the behest of Texas thrift owners. The "moral of these and numerous other examples is that big money buys access to and not infrequently favors from powerful politicians. In fact, influence peddling is so commonplace on Capitol Hill that many lawmakers rationalize their conduct as public service, even though it is done for a price. Sen. Cranston, for example, continues to insist he did nothing wrong, even though a paper trail of memos shows he refrom his top ceived nearly $1 million in contributions from Keating after running interference for him. The Ethics Committee, which will render its judgment before year's end, can recommended disciplinary action ranging from a written rebuke to expulsion. Yet the real verdict will be rendered by the voters. And the polls suggest that most, if not all, of the Keating Five may find their constituents no longer want It might be wise for Jake Novak, a sendees. their University sS Illinois student, to keep a low profile for a while. After today's column, he might not be the most popular lad on fc (SURPRISE!!) er Draft would bring peaceful feelings high-pric- ed Letters Selling souls? Sl Herald comment fund-rais- 1 v control the members of your State Department better than tliis. The State Department and Jimmy Carter gave away the Panama Canal. What will Texas? Or pertiaps they give away next California? As you can see from this letter, I am horribly disappointed in our State Department. Mis. Clev Harmon Provo Thanks for support Editor: I wish to thank all of the people who voted and supported me in the recent election for County Recorder but while reading several letters to the editor I was appalled at one which suggested that the candidates of the Democratic Party lacked the intelligence to win over the Republican candidates of Utah County and site went on to say that she was surely glad that it was over and the majority had spoken and the most qualified had won. It is true that the majority now rules but I disagree with her that it was because of the difference of intelligence of the individuals between the two parties as being the main reason that the Republicans are still in control of Utah County government. As far as I am concerned, all individuals from both parties were qualified and are qualified to seek any office which is open. The Democratic Party is in lack of money in which to help out their candidates and so all of the Democratic candidates have had to use their own money and funds in order to run for office with the idea to give the people a choice in government: either for a liberal form of government such as the Democrat Party is, with plans to heip the average and poor Americans with HUD and other federal funds and to give the rule of government back to the people; or to choose the conservative form of government such as the Republican Party, which caters to the wishes of the rich and special private individuals, with their benefit and interest being their main concern. Making all of the laws and decisions for the benefit and interest of a few private individuals and for their own use. With their desires coming first before all others. We must not forget a famous speed) which was given by Jesus on the Sermon on the Mount, (Matthew Chapter 7, Verse li "Judge not that Ye be not judged 2 for with what "judgment Ye shall be judged and with what measure Ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." Louise Futile Orem Send cards Editor: As part of my social studies class 1 have adopted your state for the rest of this year. I am trying to learn as much about Utah as I can. It would be really helpful to me if you could print this letter in your local newspaper. Folks could see this and then mail me anything they can that would teach me more about your wonderful state. At the end of the year our fourth grade class is putting on an Fair and I will be very proud to display all the things that I receive from your people. Thank you very much. I'm really anxious to get some mail' My address is: Mrs. Emery's Class. Wiscassct Middle School. P.O. Box 348. Wiscasset, Maine 04578. From your fnend in Maine 1 revor M. All-Sta- campus. He wrote ine an unusual letter. Unusual in that it expresses a view that few people his age share. Jake said: "Quite a while back, you wrote about possibly reinstating the military draft. Your basic argument was that it would be an incentive for our youth to get involved in U.S. affairs and not appear You received a substantial so brain-deanumber of letters from people strongly opposed to your idea." That I did. And "strongly opposed" puts it mildly. I was called an "insane ( obscenity)," a "bloodthirsty (obscenity)," a "youth-hatin- g (obscenity)," and many other unflattering terms. Actually, I was impressed by the creativity of the obscenities. Some of those kids could have gone into the Army and exchanged endless variations of the "F" word with any old drill sergeant. However, I decided to drop the subject. For one thing, most Americans of all ages oppose a military draft. Second, there are few congressmen brave or suicidal enough to even mention it. But now along comes Jake Novak, of the He goes on U. of I. in to say: "At the time you wrote that, I thought it was a dangerous idea because I knew that I would be eligible for the draft. "Now that the Iraq .crisis is blossoming, you would probably think that my views have changed, but they have not. "The students here are intelligent at solving math problems and analyzing literature, but the majority know surprisingly little about current affairs. This is not necessarily their fault, since much of our time is spent studying and reading. "There is time, however, to learn about the outside world, but we need an incentive. This is why I think the idea of tiie d. Urbana-Champaig- n. Mike Royko TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES draft would be enough to get them more involved. "Although I dread the thought of having to go to the Middle East and fight in weather, that is exactly the reason why I think the possibility of being drafted would be so effective in getting us involved in world affairs. "I must stress, however, that the reinstatement of the draft should be a threat, not an actual course of action, because I would rather be uninformed than have my eyes plucked out by one of Saddam Hussein's soldiers." Young Mr. Novak is right. The draft, or even the tlireat of the draft, would be enough to instantly raise the consciousness of America's youth to heights we haven't seen in two decades or more. In fact, their collective consciousness would be so heightened that the deans of universities all over America would probably have to call out the riot police to keep the Edininistration buildings from being dismantled. We'd have tens of thousands of students marching, sitting in, climbing trees, tearing at their hair, holding hands, swaying, singing sad songs and waving signs that say: "George Bush Eats Arab Babies." Jake Novak is too young to remember the '60s and early "70s. So he probably doesn't realize that there has never been a generation, or generations, tliat was so 130-degr- peace-lovin- g and war-hatin- g. They de- plored the shedding of even one drop of blood. And many were deeply ashamed to he Americans because American bombs were falling on Vietnam. Many students took to spelling America with s X,: Amerika. I beheve that was supposed to make it Gercianic, indicating we were no better than the JSazis. Student leaders were .all over the TV Jalk shows. I remember being on program with a student from the University of Clucago who opened the program by saying that the president was a fascist, I was a fascist, the other newsmen on the show were fascists, his parents were fascists and the university .chancellor was a fascist. When the show ended, I told him that J thought he had been a bit intemperate, but that if I had the opportunity, I'd probably throw him into a concentration camp. Then in an instant it was over. It was as if someone had flicked a light switch. Presto, the throbbing social conscience that had spread across America went limp. The anti-wa- r, signs went into the trash bins. Even if you offered free beer and marijuana, you couldn't get enough students together to hold a peacenik sit-iThat amazing transformation happened on the day the president signed into law the end of the draft. At that moment, about 99.9 percent of those who had sobbed over napalm, .Christmas bombings and man's inhumanity to man suddenly began looking for jobs on Wall Street. Those who had deferments because they had taken schools teaching jobs in poor inner-citsaid: "Goodbye, you poor ghetto children. I'll miss you, but you have served your purpose, so it is time for me to go seek my fortune in a nicer neighborhood." In other words, once war stopped .threatening their hides, they didn't .care much about anybody else's hide. pro-pea- ce n. y So while Jake Novak is right the draft would catch the attention of students it wouldn't be worth the hassle. the protests and the marches, The s, I could handle. Tiie self serving hypocrisy, no thanks. sit-in- New FDA chief must lay down the law The new co:nmissioner the Food and Drug Administration, David Kessler, is telling confidantes, "I'm not going to protect crooks." That's not something that most federal agency heads have to spell out when they take the job. But the FDA, once known as a tough regulatory agency, has been branded as corruptible. Kessler, 39, is now the medical director of New York's Albert Einstein College of Medicine. When he takes over the FDA next month, it should be something like grabbing the helm of the Exxon A'aldez after it hit the reef. Agency morale is low. The FDA has had a stand-i- n leader for more than 11 montiis since commissioner Frank Young was a casualty of the forced to resign generic drug scandal that occurred under his watch in 1989. Four former FDA chemists testing generic drugs have pleaded guilty to accepting thousands of dollars in illegal gratuities from drug companies. Last month, the former chief of the FDA's generic drug division, Marvin Seife, was convicted of lying to federal investigators when he denied having accepted meals from generic drug executives. e The FDA's credibility is at an low. The agency is catching heat for prematurely approving life support medical devices. The most recent investigation looked into allegations that FDA agents were using their inside information about drug approvals to play the stock market. A source told us that the investigation came up dry and no report was filed. Kessler knows that he is stepping into an office where his predecessor was hung out to dry'. Tune and again Younj: was caught unaware by scandals under his nose, and he was left looking like a buffoon. Congressional investigators knew more about what WASHINGTON all-tim- godfather is Sen. Orrin Hatch, Kessler is a former consultant to the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee where Hatch is the senior Republican. Kessler should not walk gingerly into his new office. He should let it be known that there's a new sheriff in town with no tolerance for the old way of doing business at the FDA. FINANCING TERROR The most vicious terrorist group in the world, the Shining Path of Peru, made a deal with the Medellin cocaine cartel of Colombia to protect the coca crop in Peru. But the cartel has been weakened by a Colombian government offensive and that has allowed tiie Shining Path to branch out in the drinj business. The group has taken over the cocaine paste labs of the cartel and its air strips in Peru. It is aiso forcing farmers to cultivate coca, and anyone who resists is killed. The objective of Sliining Path leader Manuel Guzman is nothing less than to take over Peru. h. of Jack Anderson & Dale Van Atta UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE was wrong with the agency tlian Young He left office mumbling about being betrayed. One congressional source told us a big concern on Capitol Hill is that Kessler doesn't "get captured" by any bad elements that linger in the FDA. The hope is that Kessler will be sawy enough to do the right thing and restore the FDA's reputation as a protector of the public. Those who know Kessler think he won't be easily duped. He has privately vowed tliat he won't put up with any more corruption. He told one friend, "All I want is 10 minutes of Dingell's time.'' It would be an interesting 15 minutes. led the conHep. John Dingell, gressional investigation in the generic drug scandal with the help of Richard Kusse-row- , the inspector general for the Health and Human Services Department. Dingell tried to push through a bill in the last session tliat would have temporarily closed the doors at the FDA to any drug company convicted of fraudulent dealings with the agency. But the bill was defeated and the generic drug companies dodged the bullet. Similar legislation is expected to be floated in the next session of Congress. Sources told our associate Jim Lynch tliat Kessler is respected by Democrats and Republicans, but tliat his political did - - Ten years ago American farmers stagti one of the most vigorous protests Washington had seen since the Vietnam War. They rolled their tractors into the capital to draw attention to their claims tliat federal policy was favoring big corporate farms and strangling family farms. It's time to roll out the tractors again. The farmers have come to depend on federal subsidies, but the 1990 Farm Bill yanks many of those subsidies out from under them. Tliat sounds like a good idea, but in reality it leaves family farmers only two options. Either food prices go up, or farmers call it quits. The develonly winners will be tiie opers waiting to turn those farms into suburbia. L real-esta- te |