Show - t IOA Standard-Examin- er Wednesday Standard-Examine- Sept 26 1990 r Editorials ouR country face? monumental WE IN CONGRESS ARE PREPARED TO ?AY ANY PRICE BEAR ANY BURPEN FR0BLEM9 BOTH AT HOME ANP ABROAP Get public opinion on courts building To Ogden’s good fortune another major downtown reconstruction program is in the works Plans for a modern functional 80000 square foot eight-stor- y building for district and circuit court operations in Ogden have risen to the top of the agenda for the State Court Administrator’s Office Site selection is expected to be made as early as Thursday Ogden Mayor Scott Sneddon has said the site may be decided that morning in a meeting if Ogden City and Weber County’s elected officials can reach accord What is before the two elected bodies is whether the state courts building should be proposed multi-stor- y crammed onto the park site south of the Municipal Building or designated for a more spacious site nearby adequate to accommodate an attractive building MuState courts are currently housed in the nicipal Building where some functions are working out of mere closet space aging utility lines are in constant need repair and court security has become a genuine concern The urgency for the site selection plan to be satisfied early to ensure legislative approval is understandable However there is division among ranks on whether the court building should be situated adjaproposed high-ris- e cent to the existing Municipal Building or located on 26th Street between Kiesel and Grant A third site which would destroy Ogden’s priceless Municipal Gardens Park was considered but shelved The decision should not be made in an atmosphere of differences The importance of choosing a site that is compatible with the economic rejuvenation of downtown Og- r RETHINK ANY POSITION REAP ANY OPINION POLLS ’nEA r- m - 1930 RJKr WORm 91AR lELiE&RAM-- t den is crucial wrong decision one made without adequate public input could have long term enormous consequences A courts study committee favors the 26th street site It would necessitate acquisition of land enough to provide adequate courts parking When completed it would extend the revitalization of yet another downtown block The Municipal Building site would swallow up a big chunk of the downtown green space Today’s modern building design would be in direct conflict with the art deco architecture of the Municipal Building Land for parking would be nil There is one advantage: There would be no land costs Before rushing a decision Ogden City and Weber County representatives have an obligation to give their constituencies and more than that property owners and downtown business proprietors an opportunity to discuss the courts building site at a public hearing It would be wrong to make a hasty decision especially one that disregards the recommendation of the citizens courts building study committee unless there are justifications to act otherwise stemming from opposition that could surface when the public speaks up The necessity for Ogden City and Weber County to work cooperatively and expeditiously to make the best possible judgment on where a new state courts building should be located is imperative Choosing the right site is inexorably linked to downtown Ogden’s ambitious economic rejuvenation It must be correct A Browning continues to boost hometown Although philanthropist Val A Browning spent a major portion of his life living on the European continent he proudly claims Ogden as his home He never wavered from his commitment and lifetime objective to make his hometown a better place Once again Mr Browning has stepped to the forefront to assist a worthwhile community endeavor He has contributed $500000 toward the local commitment of Olympic Games supporters to raise the additional amount over the $3 million earmarked by the Utah Sports Authority that will be crucial to the completion of an ice rink at the Weber State campus Brow ning 95 is the son of John M Browning founder of the Browning Arms Co which had its origin in Ogden The Browning is one of Ogden’s most illustrious citizens His generosity is building an endless legacy He has illustrated time and again with sizeable financial gifts that he values quality education health care and the cultural arts There are innumerable beneficiaries of his goodwill throughout Ogden and Utah: The Browning Fine Arts Center at Weber State the St Joseph High School library the Browning Arms Gun Museum at Ogden Union Station a contribution to St Benedict’s Hospital that enabled the establishment of a sophisticated cancer treatment center that serves the Intermountain west and facilities at most of Utah's major institutions of higher learning — and now the ice rink Although extensively honored by many governmental civ ic and community organizations for his generosity and philanthropic endeavors the courtly gentleman does not relish public acclaim He is content with the satisfaction that he is recognized as a lifetime booster of Ogden and quietly accepts the acknowledgements that he has had the ability to contribute to the betterment of his hometown Ogden again owes a debt of gratitude to John Val Browning He recognized a need and immediately offered to assist the local Olympic backers in their successful quest to finance the city's share of the ice rink assured for construction on the Weber State College campus Good riddance to misguided textile bill WASHINGTON — In the matter of a textile trade bill everything so far has gone precisely as expected The Senate as expected passed the bill on July 17 The House as expected passed it on Sept 18 The president as expected w ill veto it before the end of the month The House will then vote on overriding the veto If the veto is sustained as expected this misguided piece of legislation will have died its third death in the past five years President Reagan vetoed one predecessor bill in 1985 and another in 1988 Good riddance to bad rubbish This is what the bill would do It would freeze imports of textile products and nonrubber footwear at present levels for one year Then it would limit future increases to not more than percent per year In effect the bill guarantees the domestic industry its cushy share of the textile business forever and ever amen This is naked protectionism y as barefaced as the disastrous Act of 1930 This is not all the bill would do By effectively throttling foreign competition the bill would wallop American consumers with costs that cannot be justified by the ordinary rules of retail trade We are talking here of basic clothing — of such necessary items as socks underwear denim cloth cotton shirts We are talking of sheets blankets and bedding The bill applies to every product category of textiles and clothing and it applies around the 1 Smoot-Hawle- world If the American textile industry were in desperate straits some measure of temporary J James Kilpatrick relief might be warranted If the industry had been a champion of free trade and fearless competition unfairly battered by protected and subsidized producers abroad a case might be made for equal protection If domestic textile products were vital to national defense maybe limited exceptions could win approval The situation involves none of the above It is true that textile jobs have declined in recent years from 23 million in 1970 to 18 million in 1988 The number of producers has similarly dropped But the textile industry is not unique in this regard In this same period employment in steel has dropped by employment in leather products has and 300000 farms dropped by have disappeared These changes are part of a healthy economy Not every job can be preserved not every textile maker deserves to one-ha- lf two-thir- ds stay in business No convincing evidence suggests that the textile industry needs to be swaddled in additional batting The industry already is thoroughly protected Under what is known as MFA the Multifiber Agreement domestic producers benefit from more than a thousand quotas to which 38 countries have agreed Quotas cover roughly 75 percent of all imports of textiles and apparel and these quotas are buttressed by tariffs averaging 20 percent The Federal Trade Commission says these protections already cost American consumers more than $75 billion a year Just before the bill went to a vote in the House the textile lobby rushed into print with an emotional advertisement If American factories that make clothing had closed “our military personnel now would be dependent on foreign suppliers for their basic protective equipment” This is hokum Manifestly these plants have not been driven out of business they are doing very well thank you and our troops now depend upon foreign suppliers for thousands of items of military use This was some ad: “Today America faces two enemies: the military threat in the Middle East and the threat of imported textiles and apparel in American markets” This gives a new meaning to war Death to the Taiwan Bomb the Belgian bedspread! You would expect politics to figure in this situation and the expectation is on target One of the soundest most consistent conservatives in Congress is Sen Jesse Helms of North Carolina He is philosophically opposed to protectionism But Helms is involved in a close race for and he cast his vote in July for the jobs of his constituents Other members of both House and Senate ordinarily to be found on the sensible side have done the same thing They say this is good politics but I don’t know When George Bush was campaigning in South Carolina two years ago he came out flatly against a textile bill He carried the state by 236000 votes The people I suggest have more common sense than the men who represent them on the Hill Universal Press Syndicate rt! Newt’s jargon can spice speeches WASHINGTON — Newt Gingrich and GOPAC his conservative political action committee have taken the guesswork out of campaign speechmaking No longer will Republican candidates have to worry about whether they are conveying their vision for the future persuasively — or if they even have vision They'll just say SUCCESS MOBILIZE STRENGTH DREAM FREEDOM No longer will these same Republicans have to wonder whether they their Democratic opponents in the proper pessimistic light Thev'll rest easv pronouncing DECAY PATHETIC-FAILURE SICK g LIE Former professor Gingrich the House minority whip is general chairman of GOPAC The “National Grass-RooOrganization Building Republican Leaders for America's Future” routinely mails audio tapes of Gingrich's speeches as inspiration to the faithful Earlier this month the GOPAC must have figured that candidates needed direct help in choosing the right verbal stuff It compiled vocabulary lists and mailed them to some 6000 GOP candidates The list was in two parts One offered 66 “Optimistic Positive Governing Words" and phrases for candidates to use to define themselves and their message The other provided 64 “Contrasting Words" — can you say Negative? — for use against Democrats Under the headline “LANGUAGE: A KEY MECHANISM TO CONTROL" GOPAC explained that in candidate training sessions around the country “We have heard a plaintive plea: 'I wish I could speak like Newt’ ” Be assured it's no easy task to speak like R-- self-style- d ts Marsha Mercer proposals and the Democratic Party as a whole should be depicted as and ANTIJOBS Democrats THREATEN and DEVOUR and WASTE They are RADICAL CORRUPT SELFISH SHALLOW INSENSITIVE DESTRUCTIVE INCOMPETENT and INTOLERANT Here’s how Gingrich himself plugged suggested words into a speech to the Heritage Foundation last month: “Congress is a broken system It is increasingly a system of CORRUPTion in which money politics is defeating and driving out CITIZEN politics Congress is a SICKer and SICKer institution in an imperial capital that wallows in the American people's TAX money” Shortly after the lists were sent Howard “Bo” Calloway GOPAC's chairman mailed follow-u- p letters with a clarification: “Some 'of the words on this list such as ’traitor’ or ’betray’ should not have been included since they could be used in a context that would question the motiv es or patriotism of an opANTI-FLA- Newt As GOPAC quickly points out “That takes years of practice” And who’s got time (or it would seem the brains) to do as Newt did? W'hy spend years in college and graduate school and then teach history — all before launching a political ca- reer? The election is only weeks away but there’s still time to inject extra power into speeches direct mail TV spots and even campaigning GOPAC says “The words and phrases are powerful Read them Memorize as many as possible And remember that like any tool these words will not help if they are not used” Gingrich is described in “The Almanac of American Politics” as “a politician of ideas: he spews forth theories and political analogies and phraseslike a broken water main spews out water" But rather than encouraging would-b- e Newts to seek out and articulate their own political theories and analogies GOPAC sent d a sort of Cliff Notes The underlying idea is that candidates don't need ideas they need only emotionally charged door-to-do- simple-minde- words The words suggested for GOP candidates to use about themselves are warm and strong and vague The candidates should be PROFLAG and Thev should be TOUGH and LISTEN and LEARN and HELP and LEAD Thev should ELIMINATE GOOD-TIMIN PRISON and be PASSIONATE about PROSPERITY WORKFARE and REFORM Opponents regardless of their record or N E ANTI-FAMIL- Y ANTI-CHIL- G D ponent” Whoa Bo wait a minute When could traitor or betray be used when they do not question motives or patriotism? Gingrich also tried to distance himself from the GOPAC list saying it was not shown to him “If it had I would have insisted on emphasizing the importance of fairness in all political language" Gingrich said in a statement “I also would have omitted certain words from the list" One wonders why he agreed to sending the list at all m 5 Service Scripps Howard 4 |