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Show , THE MAGNA TIMES, THURSDAY, JUNE SO, 19SS PAGES Editomalopimon The modern newsmedia and how they threaten democracy By Glen I Thurow - Critics of the newsmedia are often accused of threatening freedom of the press. The modem newsmedia, however, endanger democracy not because they have the liberty to report what they want, but because they are an immense, concentrated, irresponsible and unchecked political power. Power in the media is now concentrated in New York and Washington, in the hands of people with essentially the same outlook on politics. When Alexis de Tocqueville witnessed the vehement and outrageous attacks upon the government launched by the American press in the 1830s, he saw that these attacks were not nearly so dangerous as they seemed. This was in large part because the press was diverse. Ownership was found on the local level, and cities of any size at all had more than one newspaper, frequently of opposing political views. This diversity both fostered discussion and prevented die authority of the press from speaking with one voice. ' Today, however, most newspapers are part of chains, depend upon national news sources, and seldom have competing newspapers in the same ciky . The decisive television news is completely national in scope and control, and centered in one city. And as recent books such as The Media Elite have demonstrated, the media today are not only concentrated in lacale, but in outlook as well. men. Their control is concentrated in the hands of a few more much now these men the of carry Moreover, opinions weight than did the opinions of journalists of former times. Tocqueville noted in the 1830s that no responible public figure would write openly for the newspapers because the media elite of that day were generally people not deemed proper for respectable society. The grubby, prying, and intemperate reporter was not someone you would want to invite to eat at your table. Nobody, Tocqueville wrote, would give any weight to the personal opinions of jounalists. Their opinions had to carry the day by their inherent weight, not by the social prestige of the newsmen, which was less than zero. character of the media. Today immense social prestige cloaks the Not only does the media present a united front, but the leading figures of the media are now stars, persons of glamor, good looks, wealth, and prestige. The Federalist Papers noted that the strength with which people hold to their opinions is very much related to the number and prestige of the people who hold the same opinions. In the media we not only have a uniform political opinion, but we have that opinion endowed with all the prestige of the glamorous and in people. And we have no alternative sources of equal prestige to conterbalance this influence. One of the dangers presented by the excessive power of modem media elites is precisely the temptation it offers to increase governmental control of the media. If the United States should face some great threat and the media were the media we have today, the pressures and good reasons there would be to curb the irresponsible and concentrated power of the newsmedia might be overwhelming. like-mind- ed Modern day cooking still important By Dennis Hinkamp Consumer Information Writer Utah State University like-mind- ed d Thank you, Lois S. Cash Magna MAGNA TIMES USPS J. HOWARD g Letters to the Editor should be typewritten STAHLE Editor BONNIE M STAHLE Advertising-Offic- e Dale Manager J. Neilson Reporter-Photograph- t Kent Goble Sports Writer Published Thursdays fodmoiNr send chew ; 4 Mc$na Tfenes res&rs 3255-MO- 9124 Weal 2700 South, Magna Utah 84044 Publisher-Managin- respective chapters of their lives. A book of life is being written and added upon with each successive generation. We look upon our community and clearly see the scars of time. We see the ravage of neglect. The disfigurement. The decay and disarray. And yet we are not ashamed. We know that what once was will be again. The time of travail will have its end. A metamorphosis will cause the intagi-bl- e essence that is the spirit that permeates this community to take shape and form once again, breathing renewed strength into the transformation that will then occur. Wood and brick, mortar and stone do not build monuments. It is the heart of man that shapes and molds that which we perceive as meaningful and good. It is not a misshapen wall of crumbling stone that touches the heart, causing man to struggle against all odds to touch its weathered edges. Fore the world is littered with the rubble of countless fallen civilazations. But it is the symbolism that we ascribe to the monument that breathes life. That speaks of unfulfilled desires and of ultimate destiny. That stands for our eternal aspirations. Ta ofoddrewte: 904 kgrK,Utoh y 8-- 4 ; S : : Second Class Postage Paid at Magna Utah 84044 - double-space- d whenever possible. Letters will be edited for clarity, good taste and length. The Magna Times will not publish unsigned letters, but the authors ' may request anonynity The author should include any pertinent telephone numbers and addresses; such information will be kept strictly confidential and is only for the editors use. Address such correspondence to: i The Magna Times, 9124 West 2700 ; The 84044. . South, Magna, publication can be reached at Office hours are 8:30-- 5 p.m. 259-565- Monday-Frida- y. I- and McFadden, now a professor in the College of Family Life at Utah State University, says American household and family patterns bear little resemblance to those of 100, 50 or even 20 years ago. Home economics has changed to keep up with changes in the family and home. She says high schools are still teaching home economics, but the titles of the courses have changed. Home economics often comes under the heading of living skills, financial management or nutrition and health. Home economics skills always have been and still are important to survival even in a computerized world. Cooking is only one of many skills taught in home economics, but it is a skill you shouldnt neglect unless you want your child to end up marrying the first person who comes along with homemade biscuits and peach preserves. Tax initiatives would cut county revenues One of the Utah tax initiative proposals now being checked would cut county property taxes by an average of 30.6 percent and reduce total county operating budgets by an overage of 16.6 percent. This was reported by Utah Foundation, the private tax research organization in their regular annual analysis of county budgets in Utah. The study points out that the effects of the initiative proposal would vary widely among the several counties of the state. Salt Lake County, for example, would be required to reduce its county revenues by $29.7 million. This reduction would be equal to 46. 1 percent of total non-deproperty tax revenues and 20.3 percent of the total county operating budget. On the other hand, die proposed initiative would have no direct effect on county operations in Wayne YA I DONTV CAN STANDS Dear Editor: I am not sure how to word this, but someone told me to write to you. So here goes. ' A lady friend and I walk around the Pleasant Green Cemetery every morning. We are both in our 60s and have met a couple of men with water in their trucks. They mow the lawn, plant trees and work like hell to keep that cemetery looking great. We were all talking about it and the more I talked the angrier I became. I think that it is just plain laziness on the part of the Magna people that we cant all get out there and help. We need to get off of our cans and work at keeping it like the Mormon pioneers and all the other people that have been buried there would want and expect us to do. , ... . u The veterans who fought in all of the damn wars for us and gave their lives should also have their resting places kept clean and treated with respect. Little flags should be placed on their graves, not just one or two days a year, but all the time. We owe them that and more than we can ever pay. I was wondering why the veterans here and in West Valley cant see that those graves be kept up, to help keep them a sacred place. We owe Magna and the veteransthat much. I was bom and raised here and when I think of what people and business here have done to this community, it breaks my heart. People could donate money to help the ones that are working so hard to keep the cemetery up. I will do all that I can. I told one of the men at the cemetery that I would keep the veterans graves clean. And he said, okay, thats your job. Now, I dont know if you will print this, but I just want people to know how some of us feel and are willing to do all that we can. The Wailing Wall in Jerusalem is more than just a scarred and battered remnant of the past. It is, instead, an altar to the future where mankind may come to worship and dream of a time when right and justice will once agin be transcendent. A time when form and image will be aligned to the infinite and the eye and heart of man will be as one. Next year in Jerusalem will then have been uttered for the last time by those whose long pilgrimage will be at an end. The wall is but a pile of stone and yet it has been gradually imbued by faith with a life of its own. Nojonger is it inanimate but the living embodiment of the heart and soul of a nation; of a family that is being inexorably drawn home. There is a certain corrollary in our feelings about Magna. There is a certain sense that this is home. Generations have come and gone but the feeling remains. There is a wellspring of personal devotion that seems to perpetually flow from the hearts of those who have hallowed the place with their living til time has closed the Economics Association from 1984 through 1987, says that in todays dual career families there is less time for teaching these skills at home. Children still need to learn basic food preparation skills and nutrition information. Home economics classes in middle and high schools may be the only place they can learn these Bake biscuits and the world is yours. Forget the personals, the dating services and those new telephone dating party lines, all you really need to know is how to cook. More hearts have been won over by the smell of bread in the oven than any of those expensive perfumes with the trashy advertisements. I dont even know anyone who makes popcorn from scratch. Everything is prepackaged for microwave cooking. This has nothing to do with sex roles. Neither gender does much cooking anymore. My mother is a wonderful woman, but cooking was never a priority. I didnt starve as a child because she was such a great defroster. Like most Dads, mine could Only cook things that ended up smothered in barbecue sauce. When we think of education we usually think of math, science and computers. We often forget that children also need to learn survival skills. Joan McFadden, who was executive director of the American home Trap PMfitixiDD0 By W. Kent Goble Magna, Utah power in the hands of the media. We should drink about changing that proces with the object of diminishing the medias influence over it. Newsmen should never be given the prestige gained by moderating candidate debates, for example, as though they were the ones who rise above partisanship and were the proper governors of the political process. We should also take every possible occasion and our political leaders to point out the weaknesses, ethical lapses prejudices, and superciliousness of the newsmedia. Finally, we shoud support any measures dial would diversify the media, socially, politically, and economically. And we should reject out of hand the claim of the media to be the spokesman for the American people or humanity. Such stands and actions would present no threat to freedom of the press; indeed, they would help to restore a free media which would once again perform the vital fiinction of fostering the democratic deliberation fieedom of die press ' was meant to serve. One should keep in mind that not every restriction placed on the excessive privileges claimed by todays media infringes freedom of the press. However, the basic problem is not the medias excessive fieedom. The problem is their excessive power. The media are composed of a group of people unelected by the American people, unrepresntative of them, and holding moral and political standards not shared by the majority of Americans. These people should not determine the direction the United States is headed; they should not rule. Consequently everything should be done, not to restrict their fieedom but to lessen their power and influence when possible and, when not, to bring about a better exercise of their power. to lessen not the freedom but the power If one keeps this goal in mind of the newsmedia it becomes apparent what should be done. There are many reexopportunities and ways to decrease the power of the media. We need to amine any institution that inadvertently gives the media power. Consider how the present primary system for nominating presidential candidates puts great bt i 1 Aj Meyers 1987 Truth is still stranger than fiction By Dennis Hinkamp Consumer Information Writer Utah State University ' two-thir- Astrology is apparently in the White House and on the front pages of our newspapers. Famous actors are consulting crystals. Here in Utah a man was caught selling jugs of plain water to cure all sorts of diseases. Has the world gone mad? No, its just another day in the wacky world of health fraud. If you study the subject, youll find that health fraud is timeless. There are several museums in the U.S. dedicated to collecting some of the more famous examples of health fraud. For instance: Its hard to believe that as recendy as 1958 there were 10,000 members of the Spectra Chrome Institute. Followers of its founder Dinshah Ghadiali, believed that sitting in front of different colored lights during certain phases of the moon could cure any disease. Even more unbelievable was that people were willing to pay $475 for the L privilege. Soon after the Russians launched the worlds first satellite, an enterprising American quackster created the Russian Sleep Machine. At a time when the world was in awe of Russian technology, Dr. Cyril Solomon created a machine based on Russian discoveries that turned three hours of sleep into eight. It actually consisted of two heating pads that covered the eyes and throat. Some of the greatest quacks of the 50s were selling uranium ore-fillsacks and mittens to treat cancer, arthritis, bursitis and asthma. Uranium filled sacks were thought to be the ultimate heating pads. One of the most creative quacks of the 50s was Dr. Wilhelm Reich, who created his own type of energy. Called orgone energy, it was supposed to be accumulated from the atmoshphere and channeled into the body to cure cancer. Reichs Orgone Accumulator resembled a small tin foil lined dog house. A general theme to quack medicine of the 50s was electricity and magnetism since the scientific understnading of these forces was still In infancy. Some of the more creative quack machines were the Sonus and the Electro Metograph. the All of these contained the latest in scientific looking switches, dials and meters. None of the gimmickery actually relieved anyone of anything other than their money. The collections of old quack machines document that our fixiation on baldness and breast size has been with us for at least 100 years. There are cures for these two maladies represented in every time period. If there is a trend to be observed it is that quacks tend to capitlize on the things we dont understand and diseases for which there is no cure. Unfortunately, this probably means the museums of the future will be filled with quack cures for AIDS. ed FUm-0-Son- k, Micro-Dynomet- County. In addition to the reduction resulting from the property tax initiative, state aid to counties also would be cut if the tax rollback initiative is eventually approved. Counties and cities currently receive a portion of the net highway-use- r revenues for local road purposes. The tax rollback inititive would reduce the motor fuel tax and special fiiel tax rates from 19 cents to 14 cents per gallon. The countiess share of these cuts would amount to more than $5 million per year n Awarding to die repprt, Utahs 29 counties will collect1 estimated $289.4 million in taxes and other revenues and spend approximately $275.5 million -- from general operating budgets during 1988. These amounts could be adjusted as budgets are reopened during the year to deal with special problems and posiblc revenue shortfalls. For the state as a whole, county general expenditures were equal to about $164 per person. Per capita spending varied from a high of $1,167 in Daggett County to a low of $67 in Utah County. The wide range in per capit expenis ditures accounted for by the fact that certain basic services are required in all counties of the state, and that per capita cost for such servies tend to be high in the counties with small popultions. ' The analysis shows that more than 70 percent of all general county expenditures will be for the following purposes: (1) general government, (2) streets and public emprovements, (3) law enforcement, and (4) public health and welfare. Foundation analysts point out that the three largest revenue sources for the support of county government in Utah are (1) the property tax, (2) state aid, and (3) contributions and transfers. These three sources account for nearly of the total funds available in county budgets. Because of the elimination of federal revenue sharing several years ago, federal aid is much less important to county finances than it was in the past. It is expected that $20.6 million in federal funds will be allocated to Utah rmmti this year. This compares with $46.9 in 1984, and $38.1 in 1986. . The property tax cotiinues as the number one revenue source for operating county governments in Utah. Property txes included in the 1988 county budgets totaled $128.2 million, or 44.3 percent of all county general revenue. Proper-ta- x rates imposed by counties last year ranged from 0.4631 percent in Salt Lake County to 0.1712 percent in Box Elder County. The average county tax rate for the state as a whole was 0.3692 percent in 1987. PAGE 2 - 2 col Fish oils helpful Fish has always been valued as a source of high quality protein. Now a second and very important health benefit is apparent. The oils in fish may help prevent coronary artery disease. Fish are high in polyunsaturated fats, particularly Omega-- 3 fatty acids. Omega-- 3 fatty acids act in several ways to protect against heart disease. These include blood thinning, which helps to prevent clogged vessels, lowering triglyceride levels (a fat responsible for heart disease) and improving the ratio of good (HDL) to bad (LDL) cholesterol. Conclusions regarding the heart protective effect of fish oils were based on studies done on Eskimos and other fish eating populations. Although the diets of these groups were high in protein and fat, they had relatively little heart disease and low blood cholesterol levels. Scientists correctly concluded that a diet rich in fish was altering the fat levels in the blood. Researcher now predict that people who eat fish twice each week (12 oz) are half as likely to die from a heart REALLY WHEN ARE THEY, JOE? THERE ARE TWO PERIODS IN A MAN'S LIFE WHEN HE DONT UNDERSTAND WOMEN. ds attack. Certain fish such as salmon, albacore tuna, mackerel and herring have high concentrations of the Omega-- 3 fatty acids. Lesser amounts are found in trout, crab, scallops and shrimp. As yet, most experts are not recommending fresh oil suppplements. Supplements contain varying degrees of other vitamins such as A, D and E. These vitamins have a potential toxic effect over the long run if consumed in high doses. A possible side effect of the oil itself, if taken in excess, is a dangerously prolonged bleeding time. Fish oils are probably not a miracle cure for heart disease. A low fat, high fiber diet that includes a minimum of two fish meals per week, coupled with a regular program, of aerobic exercise, relaxation and avoiding tobacco, combine to give you the best chance against developing heart disease. If you have an interesting question for Sports Medline, write Dr. Stephen Henry, 1361 Tyler Park, Louisville, KY 40204. AND L MARRIAGE CCFOfZG AfiTGR |