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Show Page A12 The Salt LakeTribune OPINION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER9, 1998 OUR VIEW The Salt Lake Tribune’s Editorial Position The New Home Run King Mark McGwire, a man of Bunyan- esque proportions, has broken one of America’s most cherished sports records in grand style. McGwirehit his 62nd home run of this glorious base- ball season Tuesdaynight, punctuating a summer-long chase that captivated a nation and endeared the congenial sluggerto those who followed him. In breaking thesingle-s run record that Roger Maris s years ago, McGwire saved himself the pressureof a deadline byhitting No. 62 with 244 weeks and 18 gamesstill remaining in the season. No last-minute heroics or asterisks for him. Maris, whose record enjoyed a long retrospectivethis summer, had no such luck in 1961. He faced much more pressure then, from people who didn’t want him to surpass the legendary Babe Ruth to the commissioner's chargethat he hadto break the record within 154 games. Maris entered the 154th game that year with 58 homers and, in a gallant effort under duress, hit one homerun, one foul homer and two warning-track drives into a Baltimorewind before surrendering. McGwire made sure hedidn’t have to go downtothewirelike that. After bogging down in mid-August, when he wasstuck on 47 homers for more than a week, he beganthe remarkable streak that ended with the record Tuesday. Hehas hit 15 homeruns in the last three weeks, a dizzying pace when one considersthat the major-league record for homersin a month is 20,set byhis season-long accomplice, Chicago's SammySosa,in June. Much has been made of what MeGwire’s chase has donefor baseball andits sagging fortunes. Certainly, he and Sosa have drawnplentyof attention to the sport, but in a way the home run chase also accentuated one of the sad realities of modern baseball: Regular-season excitement now must be generated more by individual, rather than team, accomplishment. The baseball barons did this to themselves by introducing the wildcard system five years ago, effectively depriving their fans of old-style pennant races, Consider: Without realignment, the National League West — with Atlanta, San Diego and Houston all pushing toward 100 victories — would be offering a most memorable Home Confinement for DUIs Rep. NoraStephens, a northern Da- vis County Republican, has made a namefor herself as the Legislature’s most ardent foe of drunkendriving. So it comes as a surprise that she will sponsor a bill to allow people convicted of driving under theinfluence of alco- hol to serve their sentences at home while wearing electronic monitoring bracelets. In someeyes, that would beletting drunks off easy, especially compared to jail time. But the proposal makes sense and deserves a serious hearing. Theideais both practical and cognizant offiscal reality. The representative from Sunset points out that a sev- by the National Highway afety Administration showed that only 3 percent of people who served their sentences at home were later caught for drunkendriving viola- tions again This is a lower recidivismrate than for many of the crimes for which peopleservetimeinprison, yet the cost to taxpayers is minuscule compared to the money Utahns cough upfor the state's burgeoning penal institutions If home confinement is this succe ful, only fools or officials with no con- cept of fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers would prefer jailing these offenders. Tobe sure, getting such a proposal codified in Utah law will be an uphill battle. But the idea has an important ally in Stephens, whose reputation as a stern foe of mixing alcohol with driving is beyond reproach. She cannot be accused of being soft on drunkendrivers. In fact, the bill is the brain child of an ad hoc task force Stephens organized on drunken driving. Its members include law enforcement officers, people involved in substance-abuse treatment and prevention, and interest groupssuch as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, For years, the propensity of the state’s legislators has been to criminalize more and more behaviors, upgrade the gravity of divers offenses and add moreprison beds — all at greater cost to taxpayersin both moneyandliberty The Stephensplan represents a possibility to do something less expensive but just as effective in discouraging drunken driving. Stephens should pursue her idea, and her colleagues next January should treat it with the seriousnessit deserves. ANOTHER VIEW oot of Western civilization, from the heel to law and international trade. An farm earlier this summer, however, is roviding compelling evidence that the Sumerians garnered more than a few ps about civilization from a remarkble, little-known Neolithictribec: the Trypill arthed lating yphisticated Trypillian city back to 4000 BC, a time when nost other peoples were living in tiny villages. Composed of about 3,000 build- ings arranged in concentric circles and housing as many as 15,000 people, the city became part of the Sumerian empire around 3000 BC The excavation has produced some THE PUBLIC FORUM Letters from The Tribune's readers moreegalitarian culture. Forinstance, the excavation indicates that the Trypillians divided their city into segments where extended families got together to make decisions — possible evidence, says archeologist David Anthony, of a “kind of consensus-based decision-making completely unexpected in a settlement of this size.” With only 30 of the 3,000 buildings ex- cavated, however, these theories remain speculation. Thereis a strong temptation to think that the remainsof ancientcities may possess clues for solving modern ur- ban problems, like the flight of city dwellersto distant edge cities. The truth is that urban flight dates at least back to ancient Rome, where the nobility, com- plaining ofthe dirt and the rabble in the The latest donnybrook about polygamyand the attendant abuse of governmental funds to support samecauses me to wonder if a past action wouldsolvethe problem quickly, without the expendi- ture of federal dollars. Remembering back to the fuel crisis and the Feds having totell the western states to enforcethe 55 mph speed law or the transportation funds would be cut off: Wouldnotthis be equallyeffective if the Feds weretotell Utah to “clean up the problem or your sundryfunds relating to welfare(of all types including corporate) will be sequestered until such time as you haye addressed and solved the problem,” Surely Sen. Orrin Hatch would not object to this. No dictatorial policies are ly haveto makethe choice. If, under the guise of religious freedom, a segment of the population wishes to have multiple wives, sobe it. However, I vehemently object that mytax dollars are supportingtheir illegal lifestyle. GEORGE YOUNG Vancouver, Wash this. It hasn’t done anygoodfor the gen- What Will History Say? eral public’s knowledge. We don’t need to knowthe sleazy details. All this has done is tosell a lot of newspapers, magazines and talk shows. The whole situa- PAT ROGERS Salt Lake City Marital Choice As a newcomer to Utah, I've been following with interest the controversy over polygamy, and I'm a bit confused, I also don’t think it's helping much that state politicians suchas Gov. Mike Leavitt and Sen. Orrin Hatch don't seem to know whatposition theywish to articulate. First, we should clearly separate the practice of polygamy between freelyconsenting adults from the abuseand incest cases which have come to light recently. These situations differ from polygamy, are never acceptable, and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Attention should also be paid, although it is a stickier issue, to whether or not polygamous families are able to support themselves financially. I, for one, do not really want my tax dollars going toward the cause. However, if they areself-supporting, then to my John F. Fitzpatrick (1924-1960) John W. Gallivan (1960-1983) JerryO'Brien (1983-1994) PUBLISHER é hy Theissue has also been raised to the of women, I agree, but if the women are adults and have with full knowledge freely chosen that lifestyle, then that is their decision, just as it should be their right to make decisions regarding their lives in other areas. Politics make for strange bedfellows, and it seemsa bit odd to find myself siding with Hatch about anything, but I feel that controlling women from the left can Dominic Welch be as detrimental as when done from the EDITOR right. I would like to reserve the right for James E. Shelledy garding their bodies andlifestyles on all KEARNS-TRIBUNE CORPORATION, 143 8, MAIN ST. SALT LAKE CITY, 4111 amy, e.g. the case of Andrea Johnson's death and welfare fraud cases. Putting the women and children “in the state books” forces their patriarchs to acknowledge them and becomeresponsible to them and for them The LDS Church could then begin to practice “the principle,” not only in spir- it, as it continues to do, but also in the realityof this estate. This would go far to heal the wounds andbring back into the fold those who havekeptfaith with “the principle” over the years. Then,the fowho have used the faith of their follow ers to exploit and abuse themin unrigh- teousness. Salt Lake City Oo Draper What will historians say about the events of recent weeks? Perhaps they will forgive and forget, perhapstheywill damn with faint praise, and yet, they maychooseto relate the facts as they see them andlet the public decide to believe it or not. Too often we are given so many conflicting reports of eventsit can be equated to Paviov’s dogs in his experiments. People refuse to believe most of what is reported or swallow everything as fact, whetherit is true or not. For the benefit of those not familiar with Pavlov and his work, he conditioned a dog to the point that eventually the poor dog wassalivating without being fed and was so frustrated that he just stood and quivered. Unfortunately, that is what has hap- pened to the American public. We can still think for ourselves, can't we? What has happened to good common sense and reason? Evil doingis evil doing no matter who doesit to whom.It doesn’t matter whetherit is a public official, a neighbor, or a friend. ‘The highestoffice in our land has been given a black eye because one individual choseto let his emotions get out of hand. SUZANNE MCKENNA Feeble Utah Leaders Why do polygamous women seem to be abovethe law? By participating in po lygamy, they are doing somethingillegal to begin with. They know about child abuse and other human abuse and yet don’t report it. One may well guess that they are accomplices. Theylie to get on welfare. Why are they above the law? Our state government for over 100 years has ignored the polygamistsituation with the sameattitude they do now. which is they have other matters more important. Had they done something back then, we wouldn't have these abuses now. So if our governor andstate legislators take their oath of office seriously, they can stop these abusersof humans andthe law for the future genera- tions. Our Utah congressmen and senators worry more about humanrights in China than in Utah. Why? My hatis off to the the Tapestry women; they have more guts than our lawmakers and law officers, and I would hope otherlaw-abiding citizens in Utah would support their cause. DAVID L. COOK Fruit Heights Oo Pick Up Trail Litter ments of the Bonneville Trailin the foot- effect that polygamyis contributing to the disempowerment and diminishment UTAH’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1871 the shadowsoftheillegal world of polyg- I would like to thank the Bonneville Shoreline Trail Committee for their hard to teach us. But it’s unlikely that the excavation, however historic, is going to find a paradise. PAST PUBLISHERS Marriages, births, and deaths would be recorded. By this data, the women and childrenin polygamist households would exist, Now, they live a quasi-existence in Should we not hang our heads and be mind it becomesanissueofreligious and ashamed, not for the man, but for what lian civilization will no doubt have much TheSalt Lake Tribune be regulated. Polygamy should belegalized and regulated because: friends and relatives from out of state Oo such as those in Sumerian cities like Ur are the inevitable, if unfortunate, prod- uets of civilization. ‘Trypillian civilization, however, shows several signs of a Draper having 4 liquor license. We have It is really too bad that someonelifted thelid on our presidential garbagecan. I can't see what good has comefromall It is axiomatic that morality cannot be legislated (no matter how hard our honorable legislators try), but morality can cusofthe legal system would be on those A Stinky Situation personal freedom, and should be allowed under the Constitution, along with other types of freedoms such as homosexuality and abortionrights. tinues to unearth new wonders, Trypil- Let Them Drink 1 am in favor of the South Mountain Golf Club and The Point restaurant in who golf and would also appreciate being able to have a drink. KATHLEEN L. BENSON Oo city, chosetolive in ruralvillas. id and often oppressive caste systems Where to Write 1S Whensubmitting letters to the Public Forum, please include your full name,signature, address and daytime telephone numbers. Information other than your nameand thecity in whiehyou live are kept confidential M Keepit short. Conciseletters developing a single theme are morelikely to be published 1 Please type and double space @ Letters are condensedand edited. @ Because of the volumeof mail re ceived, not all submissions are published @ Mail to Public Forum, TheSait Lake ‘Tribune, P.O, Box 867, Salt LakeCity, Utah 84110, 8 Ourfax numberis (B01) 237-2316. involved, the goodcitizens in Utah mere- provocative claims. Historians and archeologists have long presumedthatrig- As the excavation in the Ukraine con- Regulate Polygamy Cut Utah’s Federal Aid 0 Not Quite Paradise Lost ircheological dig begun at a Ukrainian ““WOWS THE HEALING PROCESS COMING ALONGP” tion stinks! From TheLos Angeles Times Theingenious Sumerians properlyget redit for most of the inventions at the Trf ASR Oe Ws pennant race this season. Instead, all three are walking away with their watered-downdivisions. Given that a summerlike this can onlybe a one-timeoccurrence (howinteresting couldit beif it happens again next season?), there is no assurance that baseball can ride McGwire’s strong shoulders to long-term prosperity. But at least it had a summerof joy and wonder, courtesy of a muscular redhead who seemed to enjoy the ride as much as the rest of the country did. a Tegan \\ OSS iiN L e KF I PHL Y women to make informed choices resides of the political spectrum. TRINA SEEFELDT Salt LakeCity he hasdone to our country? His indiscretions have put the spotlight on the United Statesin the eyes of mostof the world. His family has to deal withit, as he says, in private. But this affair is not private. When a former president got into trouble, he at least had the decency to resign his office and savehis family fur- ther embarrassment. They were able to rally around each other, in private, and live the remainderoftheir lives with the knowledge that he did the right thing in the end even though he had brought shameto his country Hopefully, one would think that present circumstances should be no different. We could clean out the White House and begin with a new slate. The memory work and tenacity in building the seghills above Capitol Hill, the Avenues and the University of Utah. Their efforts in obtaining rights of way, negotiating with property owners, working withcity plan- ners and coordination volunteers have culminated in a marveloustrail system. ‘Thesetrails provide city dwellers an opportunityto enjoya little piece of nature within walking distance from their homes and are cherished by those who use them. Since these trails provide a welcome relief from the overcrowdingofthecity below, I would request that users help maintain these trails. For those users who feel the need to leave their beer won't go away, but it would give the cans, cigarette butts and otherlitter on thetrails, please note that your mothers the right thing had been done. DORIS E, BURNS KERRI L. ADAMS American people a chance to know that Spanish Fork maynothike these trails so you need to pick up after yourselves. Salt Lake City |