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Show c DESERET NEWS. SAIT LAKE CITY, UTAH THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 1977 A 5 We stand for the Constitution of the United States with its three departments of government, each fully independent in its own field Why U.S. should go slow on more ties with Cuba Only three month ago President Carter insisted that Cuba stop meddling in Africa and do a better job on human rights belore the U.S. would start normalizing relations with Havana. Yet this week the White House announced that negotiations are under way for the U.S. to exchange diplomats in what w'ould be a major step toward restoring relations that were severed 16 years ago. Either the Castro regime has undergone a sharp and sudden change regarding its policies at home and abroad, in which case this would have to be one of the worlds best kept secrets. Or the Carter administration has p of its own undergone a policy and is taking no particular pains to disguise its shift. Since other nations in the western hemisphere have resumed diplomatic relations with Cuba and since the U.S. recognizes foreign regimes as oppressive as Castros, the handwriting on the walls in the State Department and the Oval Office seems sufficiently clear. But theres no reason to set any speed records along the course Washington has marked out for itself. The slower the U.S. goes toward normalizing relations with Cuba, the easier it will be to discern and avoid the pitfalls. Moreover, this should be no proposition. The U.S. should undertake such dealings with flip-flo- Castro only on the condition that we get something concrete in return. As one of the top items on such a list, Washington should insist that Havana compensate the U.S. for the nearly $1.8 billion in American property in Cuba which Castro expropriated in the early MU s. 1 Castro should also extend the agreement with the U.S., an agreement which he has previously indicated his intends to rescind. Something must be done about the plight of the handful of Americans reported to be held in Cuban prisons for alleged political crimes together with a number of other U.S. citizens whom Castro has refused to let leave the island. Then there are the estimated 20.000 to 80,000 of his own citizens whom Castro is reported to have locked up for political reasons in work camps where torture is far from uncommon. Exchanging diplomats can improve the channels of communication between Washington and Havana. But before the U.S. embargo on trade with Cuba could be lilted, several laws would have to be repealed. Though there have been moves in Congress to do just that, lets see how useful the proposed new communication links are before deciding whether or not to do business with Castro. anti-hijacki- New hurdles for drugs? Should ding companies be forced to disclose their data on testing of new drugs? And should public interest representatives be appointed to advisory committees of experts that evaluate drugs for the Food and Drug Administration? Those two issues were raised this week in recommendations of the Review Panel on New Drug Regulation, which spent more than two years investigating alleged corruption and abuse in the FDA. There is no doubt that drug test disclosures would help some consumers mainly, those few who could interpret the test results intelligently. That, however, would require considerable background in pharmaceuticals or medicine. The great majority of the public would have to depend on such experts for its luiderstanding. Theres nothing wrong with that, provided amateurs dont pawn themselves off on the public as experts. The chief threat is that such a measure would be tantamount to forcing private businesses to disclose highly-secrprocesses and intentions to coman idea that is abhorrent in petitors the free enterprise system. Would the government also require Ford to disclose its new-ca- r plans to General et Motors? The idea is absurd. That view' applies also to the recommendation to appoint public interest representatives to advisory committees on new drugs. The review panel reasoned that such a move would give consumers a voice in deciding whether the social benefits of new drugs outweigh their risks. But drug evaluation committees already can make that determination, and there is no solid evidence that such a move would add anything to that process. There are indications, however, that it would add another dimension of frustration to the already-overenc- u inhered process of getting a new drug approved. Where it used to take only seven months to get approval for a new' drug before the 1962 amendments to the basic 1928 Drug Act, it now takes four to nearly nine years to accumulate the absolute proof oi a drugs effectiveness required by FDA. The result: Long delays in marketing new drugs that could be saving countless lives, and a steady upward spiral in costs. What the U.S. needs is more simplified procedures not new encumbrances. At least those two recommendations deserve a quiet death. Cancel this computer deal American businessmen really wonder why they arent as popular as theyd like to be, consider the case of a firm called Control Data. In one stroke, this company has managed to insult Americans intelligence while also putting a fast buck ahead ol the national interest.' As the Soviets keep surpassing the U.S. in terms of one weapons system after another, its increasingly vital that America maintain its advantage in computer technology. Yet here Control Data is proposing to sell the Soviets a If super-sophisticat- computer it would take them several years to develop on their own. With a straight face, Control Data insists the Russians want the Cyber 76 computer just to improve their weather lorecasting. However, not only is this particular piece of electronic wizardry a decade ahead of anything the Russians have managed to build, it is also capable of tracking U.S. missiles, planes, and submarines. The U.S. Department of Commerce ought to revoke Control Datas license to exxrt the Cyber 76 and fast. Easier credit for women One of the chief complaints of womens rights advocates has been that women were frequently denied access to credit merely on the basis of sex. That also has been a "cause celebre" for pushing the Equal Rights Amendment.ReStarting this week, the Federal serve Board is requiring credit comfor panies to establish a credit identity a alxmt information women by recording s husband the both in married couple and w ife's name. Up until now, it has been difficult for a woman who is divorced or widowed to establish a new credit account. But in 1971, Congress passed the Equal Credit Opportunity Act which banned discrimination by marital status in granting credit. It wasnt until this week, however, that a new Federal Reserve Board rule took effect which directed credit card companies and some large merchants to open up credit rating lines for the wife as well as the husband. Thats a step, and a welcome one. It should also help remove any steam that might be left on the ERA drive. long-overd- On the half shell An editorial from the N.Y. Daily News MinThey found a clamshell in the the and other day nesota River the immediately of Engineers Army Corps halted work on a $281, 385 dredging project. The shell was tentatively identified as "lampsilis higginis, vulgarly known as Higgins Eye," which is an endangered species. A clam expert w'as flown all the way from Ohio to Minnesota, but he couldnt confirm the identification. So, we arc relieved to report, sanity returned to the project, and dredging was resumed. "Ah . . . Mr. Begin, don't do that . . .did y'all hear me, Mr. Begin? PLEASE, MR. BEGIN!" ERITIA BOmBECK A foggy decision in youth rape case permissive" town like Madison. Simonson asks, rhetorically. "should we punish severely a 15- - or who - WASHINGTON The languor of late spring, hitherto undisturbed by astonishments, has been disturbed by Judge Archie Simonson, keeper of the modern scales ol justice in the thoroughly modern community of Madi-- ' son. Wisconsin. P rom Simonson comes the thought that when a boy rapes a girl in the stairwell ot a Madison high school, the boy is only reading to the loosened normally moral fiber of a permissive society. A boy who did that was fortunate enough to wind up in Simonson's court. The boy's two companions in what a once was considered straight-forwarcrime were 14- and boys. The was condemned to a Milwaukee group home. Charges against the were dropped when he promised to testify against the others. Presumably his testimony helped convict the boy that Simonson found guilty ot behaving normally. Simonson sentenced that boy only to a year at home under court supervision. And what, you may well wonder, is supervision supposed to achieve? Behavior by the boy that is more normal? Less normal? This is a vexing question because Simonson's emphatic opinion is that the problem is not with the boy after all. hut with hoys will he hoys the social landscape, which Simonson says is planted thick with Extenuating Circumstances. In a sexually d reacts to it normally?" As evidence of permissiveness he cites prostitution, salacious newspaper advertisements. bars with nude dancers, and women who There dress provocatively: should be a restoration of modesty in America." And "Whether you like it or not. a woman's a sex object, and theyre the ones who turn the man on. generally. The prosex obvocative ject who was the victim ot the A tennis control. Women's groups, with their remarkable ability to miss the larger point, denounce Simonson's decision as "sexist." w hich it is. It also is hard to square with the rule of law, which is supimsed to shape and modulate desires, especially the most imperious. In Simonson's defense, note that he is an activist judge of a soil much approved these days, lie is susceptible to sociological transports: he is not distracted by dusty pi ece- - "Simonson's emphatic opinion is that the problem is not with the boy, but with the social landscape planted thick with extenuating " rapist's "normal" behavior was wearing tennis shoes, jeans, a blouse and a turtleneck sweater. Madison is the state capital. seat of the progressive" tradition of which Wisconsin is inordinately proud. Madison also is the home of the University ol Wisconsin. Simonson obviously regards himself as a man tor stormy times, keenly alive to the temper of the age. Although his thinking is as vague as log. he has tried to lx true to a modern thought: It is normal, indeed it is a natural right, to indulge natural desires, especially the most imperious ones. But lost somewhere in the tog there is a serious point: "Progressive" communities that tolerate the casual, commercial intlaming of sexual passions should not be amazed. and clearly comprom dents: he is not inhibited worries about what would become of the law if all judges were as frisky as hi is in pioneering theories ol moral responsibility and nor rnalcv The Siriioiisonian doctrine seems to be that it is normal, and barely reprehensible, to surrender to strong desires stirred by whatever stimuli society provides. Simonson is just unusually forthright in joining (do we not favor the unity ot theory and practice?) the sociological theory that people are mere toys in the hands ot social situations Perhaps Simonson will ad lust his jurisprudence it it stirs in tennis court in Plains, Ga.! A ise their right to be righteous, when the Hallies leap out ot Madison's reac- tionaries an imperious desire to do him bodily harm. Some people consider such a desire normal Don't you understand? Friends, either you are closing your eyes to a situation you do not wish to acknowledge or you are not aware of the caliber ol disaster indicated by the presence ot a tennis court in vour community. trouble with a Well, ya' got trouble my friends capital T that rhymes with I) that stands for DEUCE! to You're probably thinking I'm the tennis court built in Plains, Ga., last month to accommodate its first big World Tennis tournament, but that 's what they said when someone broke out a deck ol cards in Las Vegas and said, Its something to do until the symphony hall is finished." I used to live in a sleepy little hollow that had never heard of tennis. For sport, we used to go into town every Tuesday and watch them change trusses in the drugstore window. Then one day, a city slicker came out and eyed a patch ol ground behind the hardware store. He said, Mothers of Centerville . . do your children come in whining every afternoon. Theres nothing to do? Are you so you need a seat belt for each knee? Is your husband dying ot terminal paleness? Do you want to believe that the family that plays together gets their own TV series? Well. Centerville needs a tennis court and you're gonna get it today. The rest is history. Centerville got its tennis court and was never the same again. Brother turned against brother. (You creep! If it was on the line don't you think I'd have said so?") Mother turned against daughter. (Get serious. Are you considering dating a boy who isnt even seeded? What is everyone going to think?") Neighbor turned against neighbor. (Look. Fred. uu and Velma are our very best friends, but you one mure time and were going to call it.") Husband turned against wife. ant nut coming to bed until you say my second serve in the first game of the third set was IN!") Families turned against families. don't care it she IS my sister. I can't invite a B player to an A dinner party.") The town was literally ripped apart Grass didn't get cut. the livestock didn't get fed, the library was as quiet as a tomb, and the clerics sat around and in between sets. prayed tor rain I hope the good people of Plains, Ga., heed the telltale signs ot corruption before it is too late. Are tourists passing by the Carter homestead and asking. "Did Bud Collins really broadcast from here?" Is Billy Carter wearing a sweat band? It so, the first time someone cracks a peanut in their teeth at set the whole town could blow! jaunt over-reactin- g loot-fau- lt (I (I . SYDflEY HARRIS Carter's vote reform The newest political machine is television, and the Carter electoral reforms w ill strengthen it. By listening too closely to Senator Bayh, the President has been bought. There are two main with the Carter electoral reforms: (1) The destruction of the electoral college will remove the powers of and small minorities states, and increase the power of the major television states. (2) The proposal to registrapermit election-dation will vastly strengthen organizations able to truck thousands of persons to the polls. The purpose of the electoral college was to prevent a merely majoritarian democracy, by taking care to see that the claims ol small minorities were well protected. Senator Bayh never understood this. He agonizes about the legitimacy ot a candidate who wins a minority of the popular vote, but a majority of electoral votes. He does not worry enough about the legitimacy oi a candidate who wins the poj vote in a tew great opulation centers, while running a distant second throughout vast regions ot the country y Consider the first two elections after the Carter reforms are enacted (if they get that tan: In IPSO, the major candidates heed their campaign staffs, who show them the numhers." Since all they need is a majority of one. why not go where the votes are? More precisely, how can they afford not to place most ot their dollars on the top ten major media markets"? The competition will no longer aim at counting electoral votes by state. The competition will aim at the highest Nielsen ratings. By PM. Buss TV will stride across the land. Jews, Catholics, blacks, tanners and other minorities will suffer. White Protestants are the largest single mineni-t.V- . and ol those evangelical Protestants are by tar the most numerous. The electoral college system gives minorities a chance to seize center si age in the battle for the electoral vote of key states. The Carter television sy stem will now deprive them ol their lew pressure points. They will disappear into the Carter soup. The prineijde ot diversity will suiter. Homogenization will intensiiy. The electorate mass At the other extreme, meanwhile, the Caller Bayh vviii he treated as a system will hold out to the next George Wallace vvliu comes along a bargain he can not refuse (Most likely in lhsn or lost this will be a new leader on tile lett By (livid 1 Ivory towers iilg the electorate, a third paily candidate will be aide io jirovont anyone's receiving a majority ot votes. The threat ot forcing a run-o- fl will pull the national debate to ward the extremes. In tile worst ot all jiossihle ways, the Carter Bayh reforms will unhinge the deli cate balance ol our federal system and gravely weaken the structure of our original and uniquely success! u pluralism. It will simultaneously encourage homogeniza tion and hlandness. while exciting extremists with visions ot grandeur. The genius ot tile electoral college sy. tciu is (a) to give minorities key battlefields in wlneh to state their ease and (hi to di seoOi ,iu- - extleloists who must wiu. not merely a national percentage ol dissi dents, hut enough dissidents in several states to cany those states The second major weak ness in the Carter reform is invitation 1o its wide-ope- n unions, corporation', univer sities. churches, and every other organized body to swamp the polls on election day with every moveable body. Television will sell the i m age. E e c t i o n d a y machines will bus the bodies The potential lor de magoL.uery i' enormous 1 Jimmy Caller is more than mes-ia- l. I.el us pray Hint the Fathers ot Ibis country will torch e him. lor lie knows not w lint lie does a court? 1 have always rcsenled the jihrase ivory tower" when referring to a jilaee where intellectuals and artists are siqqiosed to reside. For one thing, if is a misreading of the original way it was used. e introduced the hrasc when he one like Victor contrasted two types of writers Hugo, whose work dealt with the real world and its injustices, the other like Alfred dc Vigny, who retreated into a solt romanticism and lived in an "ivory tower. Ajiart tnmi the tact that it i' the w inters like Hugo who are read and remembered, and the ones like de Vigny who are forgotten, it scorns to me that in our contcmjmrary society it is not at all the intellectuals amt artists who live in an ivory tower; rather, it is precisely those men who imagine themselves to lie the most realistic" and "practical." As a prime example, a few months ago in Now Orleans. Thomas A. Murjihy, chairman ot General Motors, told a convention ot automobile dealers that tougher government regulation would come aboul i! auto products and services were not improved "We are learning the hard way," he said, "thai the publics opinion ot the automobile counts lor more than sales gained or lost. Every jtoorly built car. every neglected repair job. every reason tor complaint and every impolite response is an mvilation to more regulation." Murphy then went oil to say that "adverse public opinion" tomes betore government regulation, and that the automobile is the most complained-abou- i product in tin- country, with one out of four owneis experiencing some degree ot dissatisiactioil with their cal s This is precisely vvliat the critics ot the industry had ieen saying for decades -- - and lor which they were cither snubbed or rebuked by the spokesmen tor the auto companies. The question now is: who lives in an "ivory lower" - the jieojile who make and sell produi ts. or the people who Iniy them? Murjihy admits the ear makers wcie late m lecognizmg the extent ot jitihlic dissati'iaction 'because vve were so engrossed ill the daily competition lor business." But the real bottom line is whom you jilease. not how many ears you happen to sell this car or next Saiut-Beuv- - 1 |