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Show Ice/lg“ vn w itht tut humanity is a poor human stuff. " St tit turner Truth. American abolitionist (c. l 797—1883) Monday, March 1, 1993 The Daily Herald Alter settling into the Oval Office. be summoned House Democrats to urge immediate reform. but was firmly rebuffed by Speaker Thomas Foley. I)~Wash. During his speech to a joint session of Congress. the president once again called on lawmakers to “pass a real campaign finance reform bill this year.” But because Clinton is understandably preoccupied with selling his economic plan. the issue of campaign re— form is in real danger of disappearing from the congressional radar screen. That's unfortunate. because nearly everyone agrees on the need to change the way congressional campaigns are financed. No fewer than 225 current members of the House promised to support reform legislation. Many sena— tors also claim to want an overhaul. So what's stopping lawmakers from enacting such a bill? The simple an— swer is political self—preservation. Rep. Robert Toracelli. (D-N.J.), put it accurately when he warned that changing the rules on campaign finances could very well cause the Democrats to lose control ofthe House. . LTndcr the current system. tnost incumbents who seek re—election are al— most invincible. House members nearly always prevail over challengers because incumbents can heavily outspend their opponents. Nearly half of all House campaign contributions come from political ac— Ilorald Eminent l tion committee funds. And approximately 90 percent of all PAC contributions go to incumbents. This unhealthy symbiotic relationship explains why so many lawmakers are in the grip ofspecial interests. Instead of placing a $1.000 limit on PAC contributions, as has been suggested. why not outlaw them altogether? If lawmakers were truly serious about reform, they also would require Editor: Having recently moved here from out of state. I am constantly dismayed that in a state where the predominate religion teaches love of fellow man. turn the other cheek. love they neighbor and hate the sin. love the sinner. that there is so much intolerance of other people's pointofview or beliefs. In listening to local radio talk shows and reading letters in the state‘s newspapers. I ‘ am shocked at the total unwillingness of individuals to even acknowledge that another point of view may exist. let alone that it might have some merit. Further. people don't seem to be content to just disagree with the point of view ex— pressed which certainly is their prerogative. they seem to have to go on and attack the individual personally for having and ex— pressing that view. Whether people in Utah like it or not. there are and always will be different views ‘ on politics. economics. sexual orientation/ cducaiton. and yes. even religion. A little more understanding. or at least tolerance for. a different point ofview (without necessarily agreeing with it or condon— ing it) w ill make for a more comfortable and cohesive em ironment for all of us. Absent that. perhaps L'tah should change its state motto to "Do as we say. not as we do. " Albert G. Smith Pleasant Grove that there are problems ouside ofthe school. and the teachers could at least let the kids know that they are worried and want to help them if they can. l think that the teachers should be qualified to deal with problems that their students are having outside of school. Maybe stu— dents would be able to talk through some of these problems so that they could focus on their school work. That would lead to an increase in academic standing. If these things could be reformed. a majority of our American students would find success. Kimberly Gagon Provo Impressed Editor: I was impressed by the anicle on February 19. "Most don't understand sacrifice." How true! In my opinion, the basic reason for “chronic malcontents" is this: Many of our children and some of their parents have been raised in an affluent society. given more things than they needed. things they did not have to work for. They have been taught that government and parents owe them a living. In some homes and some schools they have been taught it is OK to get what the world owes you in any way you can except by working for it. They may have been taught that it is all right to just “do your own thing” without concern for others. In a selfish. misguided. unprincipled and Godless society the product we have can be predicted and expected. With this back» ground. our country is bound for moral ; . Editor: Why are America's public schools failing decay. And it is mostly because moral codes based upon the Christian ethic have been their students? What can be done about it? I don‘t think enough money is making it taken from our schools. If we really want a into the classroom I feel like teachers need tumaround we should put God back into our to be paid more. so better qualified will society. our schools. our government and Chose to teach. As it is right now. people our homes. We should begin with our little teaching beause they aren't qualified to do or children to teach them right thinking for they are the hope ofthe future. beunything else. Ifthere was competition for teaching petiWe are to blame for the conditions now. I tions due to a larger income. people would say. "we" because I am of the older generabe more willing to become qualified to tion who have allowed the people like Madeteach. line Murray O‘Hare to tell us how to keep - Teachers should also be qualified and God out of schools. government and even hold a degree in the subject they are teach- churches. We, the silent majority have let Why schools fail ing; therefore. sports coaches should not be the agnostics. the queers. the homosexuals. :-'... teaching academic core classes unless prop- and abonionists give the orders. We have erly trained to do so. not had the intestinal fortitude to speak up . I feel more money needs to be spent on and fight for right and truth and decency. 2 _high quality books and equipment and Why can't we present a solid front for enough ofthese things need to be purchased decency"? Are we too proud of our own for all ofthe students to be involved. position? Are we too self-righteous to conI have found that because the schools are son with our fellow Christians? Perhaps we lacking in these areas. teachers are having a need to hit bottom. be stripped of our affludifficult time being prepared and getting the ent homes and be brought to our knees students involved in the material. before we can learn to respect the beliefs and I believe if more teachers could use visual goals of others. Apparently we are better aids to show what they are teaching rather equipped to handle adversity than prosperithan just lecturing to the students. you Would ty. My prediction is that we will know find the level of interest would increase. sacrifice. enforced sacrifice. before we learn The small class sizes would also make it to support and love one another. easier for the teachers to take interest in the Wilma Ray students. and they could inquire of their Provo teachers on an individual basis and not feel uricomfortable about it. The students would most likely do better. Letters policy Address letters to PO Box 717. Provo. . ldays or has not turned in homework for the UT84603. They must be signed and include ‘ 4"- . 1 Small class sizes would also allow teachers to be a little more concerned when a .student has not attended classes for several whole term. If the teachers would sincerely inquire of these students. they might find A . that candidates raise campaign funds only from within their home states. This would help ensure that politicians solicit contributions from people they are supposed to serve, instead of from lobbyists inside the beltway. Congress also should ban the carryover of campaign funds from one election to another. a practice that enables incumbents to amass huge war chests and discourage potential challengers from even entering the race. Finally. lawmakers should end so— called “soft money” abuses. This re— fers primarily to contributions funneled through political parties in order to circumvent limits on contributions to individual candidates. In his inaugural address. President Clinton proclaimed: "Let us resolve to reform our politics so that power and privilege no longer shout down the voice of the people. ” Cleaning up the corrupt campaign finance system is the crucial first step toward that end. batters Tolerance, please .— “Mekong: kc .. l s. ADE jgekfikgyakkiah the envy years C: Pow \s a candidate. Bill Clinton promtsed to retorin campaign finance laws in order to counter the inordinate influence of special interests over lawmak- smoofiéu Nuts-s... 4 Time for reform writer 's address. and daytime phone number fur verification. /, "Yet, CaiRBON MONOXIDE ts AN iNTEKESTiNG tDEA — T LET$ SEE IF LANCING THE Boll. DoE$ THE TRICK inst DOCToK‘EBu A poll that Clinton doesn’t want taken Most early polls show that an over— whelming majority of Americans believe in President Clinton‘s economic plan and are willing to make sacrifices to see it work. These poll results can be interpreted several ways. They can be taken to mean that many Americans are willing to make personal sacrifices for the general good. The polls can also mean that those who are required to make little or no sacrifice themselves think it’s a swell idea if someone else does. . And there is a third possibility: The questions being asked by the pollsters are designed to get positive answers. Take this typical polling question: “Would you be willing to pay more taxes to stimulate the economy and create new jobs?” Only a heartless. unpatriotic skinflint could answer no. Or something like this: “Would you be willing to pay a little more to help your children and grandchildren have a brighter future?" Except for a childless Scrooge or two. the answer would be a resounding yes. Which is why I can’t completely trust the recent poll results. I think the pollsters are asking the wrong questions. [H were designing polls on this issue, my questions would be phrased different~ ly. And. I believe. more realistically. My first question would be: “Are you willing to hand over more of your money to a small group of politicians who have a history of spending it like drunken playboys?” That‘s a valid question. since we are talking about Congress. which in recent years has found more excuses to squander other people's money than any king, emperor. pharaoh. sheik or rock star in the history of the world. Or we could put the question another way: “Do you believe it is your patriotic duty to entrust more of your money to a pack of moochers. double-talkers and deadbeats? ’ ’ Not to be unkind. but that’s what they Mike noyko And you won’t even be able to see the nutty thing through your telescope. . Have they chopped out all of the “Star Wars” money? No, the billions are still there. The idea of “Star Wars” was to prevent the Russians from hitting us. But it doesn’t seem to matter to Clinton and Congress that the Russians can now barely hit their vodka bottles. Has it occurred to them that maybe we: should wait until better times to build a $12 Syndicated Columnist billion superconducting supercollider? Yes, scientists say it will be helpful in answering profound questions about the 'are. As a group, they mooch millions of nature of the universe. But for the time dollars in campaign contributions from being, maybe we should be spending that special interests that try. and usually suc- $12 billion on answering profound questions on the nature of city schools that can’t ceed, in buying their votes. And when it comes to the art of double teach kids how to spell the name of the talk, listen to them try to explain what they street on which they live. Have they really looked at the billions in were doing when the savings and loan scandals were taking shape. Their alibis farm subsidies? And have any of them would have bewildered Sherlock Holmes. explained why we subsidize farms, which As for being deadbeats. if the average are businesses. but we don’t subsidize person has hard times and blows a few toolmaking shops, car repair garages, payments on his house, car or furniture, lamp makers and thousands of other busithe national credit computers label him a nesses‘? My poll might include this question: financial fiend. But Congress runs up billions in debt and rewards itself with big “Are you willing to pay higher taxes if raises, fat pensions and an army of flun- every member of Congress insists on spending your money on his hometown kies. But let me go on with my personal list of . pork barrel projects to help him suck up to his contributors and voters?” polling questions. And this one: “Are you willing to trust How about something like this: “Are you willing to pay higher taxes even if your money to people who, deep in their President Clinton and Congress figure you hearts, think you are a chump?’ ’ That’s a valid question. Throughout his are too dumb to notice that they haven’t cut huge chunks of blubber out of the obese campaign, Clinton fibbed about his tax plans. Now he figures that with enough budget?” pie-in-the-sky promises, the chumps will And apparently they do believe that. Has Clinton or any member of Congress forget it. And Congress is betting that no matter demanded that we junk plans for a space station that scientists say has no scientific what it has done to us in the past, the value and military experts say has no mili- chumps will be so busy reading the sports pages or watching TV mayhem, we won’t tary value? If they have, it must have been in a faint notice that it’s happening to us again. whisper. No, it’s still there —— a $30 billion So the final question in the poll should gift to the businesses that will build and sell be: ‘ ‘Do you consider yourself a chump?’ ’ us this trinket. But what is $30 billion to Unless Clinton and Congress are perthe high rollers in Washington? It’s only suaded to put Tubbo the Budget on a crash $120 per man, woman and child in this diet, there can be only one honest answer. country. That’s $480 for a family of four. And only a chump would deny it. Cancer fighters protest lobbyists’ use of FOIA WASHINGTON — On the eve of one of the most aggressiveanti-smoking campaigns ever launched by the government, the National Cancer Institute fears that tobacco lobbyists are snooping through its Syndicated Columnist SIST poses one of the greater threats to tobacco’s turf. A Tobacco Institute spokesperson con— firmed that two FOIAs have been filed because they want “to know what’s going files. gleaning gems of information about on. These (NCI) are folks who want to upcoming tactics and strategy. And it‘s all proper. Far from employing some sinister black-bag technique. the Tobacco Institute is relying on the Freedom of Information Act to keep tabs on NCI plans regarding the American Stop Smoking Intervention Study. or ASSIST. “We have competition between the public health system and the tobacco in- than 60 large studies, will be drawn from discriminate against the customers of our dustry," said one NCI source. “Through the Freedom of Information Act, the to- in devising methods to help people stop member companies. ’ ’ “The anti-smoking community has an smoking and prevent nonsmokers from starting. With the American Cancer Socie- action plan of raising our smokers’ taxes, ty chipping in $25 million, ASSIST hopes limiting their opportunities to smoke,” the to reach 18 million smokers and prevent 2 spokesperson argued. “So obviously it’s million young people from starting. NCI in our interest to know what’s going on. officials believe they will save 1.2 million We are asking for public documents. If Americans from premature smoking-relat- they are doing something they’re trying to keep secret with public money, they ought ed deaths. Public health officials call this educa- to be ashamed of themselves. ' ’ The FOIA factor, according to NCI oftion; the tobacco industry calls it taxpayer- bacco industry has access to the plans of sponsored lobbying — and has launched an ficials, has thrown public health officials -the communities in this country who are intensive counter-offensive on the federal off balance. attempting to reduce tobacco use. I can and state level. “It does to some extent paralyze the think of no other reason they would want Although FOIA is a popular research because it takes a very small staff and these things other than to obstruct the tool traditionally employed by journalists achievement of public health goals. This IS and historians, NCI officials believe that very consistent with their behavior._" two separate FOIAs filed by the Tobacco Under ASSIST, $l35 million in con- Institute over the last 18 months are detracts were awarded to public health de— signed to head off the public-health campartments in 17 states. State and local patgn. community coalitions will use the money The tobacco industry spends nearly $3 to apply proven anti-smoking strategies. to billion each year promoting and advertispopulation groups which are at high risk ing through mediums ranging from sponfor tobacco addiction. The coalitions will sorship of tennis tournaments to billeducate local officials about public health boards. policies that combat smoking such as reBut the tobacco juggernaut seems to be stricting tobacco promotions, raismg ciga- losing steam, suffering from shrinking rette taxes and limiting access by minors. market shares and unable to block antiA decade of cancer research. or more smoking initiatives on the state level. AS- diverts them into copying papers," said one official. ‘ ‘And it’s a little intimidating to get some of these things. We know that there is somebody out there who has ac- cess to infomiation, very much inside information about important public health programs." Some officials believe the extensive, wide-ranging requests were designed to intimidate and slow up the NCI. The materials first have to be retrieved and checked for privileged information, then checked by various institute officials. Finally, an institute employee has to spend several days or weeks copying the documents. |