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Show AA2 The Salt Lake Tribune OPINION Sunday,January 31, 1999 Story-en:LDS Culture, Olympic Scandal Meantto Provoke Thought, Discussion WhenThe Salt Lake Tribune explored READER ADVOCATE a possible correlation between the LDS culture and the current Olympic uproar, a number of readers gave the paper a left hook and said it was skating on thin ice. Headlined “Did LDS Culture Play Role in Olympie Scandal?” the story, publishedin the Jan. 23 Religionsection, examined how the unfolding Olympic drama could occur in a predominantly Mormonstatethat takes pridein its hon- esty, hard work andintegrity. Of the Tribune readers who called or SHINIKA SYKES wrote me, mostsaid they were upset, angry and/or offended by any suggestion that a so-called “LDS culture” appears moresusceptible to fraud becauseit is so trusting. have continued to ignore this question. But by doingso, it would be, as one caller put it, akin to ignoring the elephant in “The aspect of LDSculture that makes it susceptible to scandalis that the LDS culture is made up of humanbeings. Evi- why some readers were uncomfortable with the story. No one enjoys having something so close and personal under the spotlight, especially when thelight is dence demonstrates that the IOC problem did notoriginate in Salt Lake City,” wrote Michelle Van Tassell Nielsen of York, Pa. “Apparently, cultures around the globe arealso susceptible to scandal. I proposethe reason is that they too are madeupof humanbeings.” A half-dozen other readers concurred. Tom King of Salt Lake City called the story a ‘‘a cheap shot.” “Payments to IOC members happened in Japan, Australia, Atlanta and else- where,” hesaid. “Doesit mean that they are somehow influenced by an LDS cul- ture?” Tribune News Editor Tim Fitzpatrick recognized that some individuals would criticize the paper for examining the question. “The article reflects a discussion that is occurring in thousands of Utah homes, LDSand non-LDSalike, and it did not draw any unsubstantiated conclusions. It was intended to provoke thought, and obviously it did.” In fact, several readers applauded The Tribunefor having the courage to examine the issue. “Although I commend [The Tribune’s] efforts to address a possible connection between the LDS Churchand the [2002 Olympicbid], I am outraged that no mention was made of the enormousbribes that werefinally paid to both U.S. con- gressmenand several major newspapers by the LDS Church for the purpose of helping Utah attain statehood,” said Dan Hansen. “This state was born of bribery. Brigham Young’s historical defense was that bribery was not a bad thing because the ends were‘good.’” NO.NO.NO! the living room. Still, it is not difficult to understand THE PRESIDENT IS wera enciee, not favorable. If there are lessons to be learned dur- ing these days of national and international media focus upon the state, its ments of Salt Lake City reader Dolores Donohoo. “T havelived in Salt Lake City most of AsI have read aboutandlistened to the discussions and argumentsregarding the impeachment of Bill Clinton, it has caused serious reflection on the moral The facts indicate Bill Clinton is a A Whole New World? Reader Bill Price noted the growing appearance of but said “you never define what it means.” Good point. Consultation with various computer draft-dodging, immoral liar and is morally bankrupt. It can only follow that the alleged two-thirds of our citizens who approve of his actions also are morally bankrupt in philosophy if not in deed. WhenClinton, an impeached president, is named thenation’s most admired man wizards here at The Tribune and else- by a Gallup poll, the nation is really in wheresettled on this definition: cyberspace is the realm of all information accessible to the public by modemequipped computers. Put anotherway, it It is one thing to tolerate, overlook or forgive his moral indiscretions and perjury. But to admireimplies they wish to trouble. is a virtual world inside the real world be anddolike Clinton, whichis devastat- and existing in the space defined by the international link of computernetworks, ingto the social, religious and legal principles on whichthis nation was founded and becamegreat. the Internet. Cyberspace was apparently coined in the early 1980s by science-fiction writer William Gibson in his noveltitled Neuromancer. The prefix “cyber” is thought to come from the word ‘‘cybernetics,” by REGISTRATION | a Ls v= Presidential Legacy state of our nation. the word “cyberspace” in The Tribune, ‘s IN 203! : Letters from The Tribune’s readers mylife and planto live herefor the rest of mylife,” she wrote. “I refuse to be embarrassed about the [Olympic] scan- There will be life after the Olym- z THE PUBLIC FORUM people and culture, it may be the senti- dal. Buck up,citizens of Salt Lake City. Holdyourheads high. Be proudof your : IPROSEDTO BE I must admit Clintonis a “great lead- er” and with his pervasive charisma he cantelllies as effectively as hetells the truth. With his charismatic ability, he hasled his supporters to accepthis indis- Truth and Law Where to Write 1 Whensubmittingletters to the Public Forum,please include your full name, signature, address and daytime telephone numbers. Information other than your nameandthe city in which you live are kept confidential. Keepit short. Conciseletters develop- ing a single theme are more likely to be published. lease type and doublespace. tters are condensed and edited. @ Because of the volume of mail received, not all submissions are published. Mail to Public Forum, The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110. 1M Ourfax numberis (801) 237-2316. Beverly Hurwitz wrote that “[Clin- ton’s] infidelity to his wife is not an impeachable offense” (Forum, Jan. 12). This shows that she, along with many others apparently, has missed the point in the impeachmentprocess. Of course, infidelity to a spouse is not an impeach- able offense. Indeed, not onearticle of impeachmentwas basedoninfidelity. Infidelity becomes the straw man argumentof choice for many. In herletter discussing the merits of white lies and how weall lie, not once does she mention the realissue, which is lying under oath in a judicial proceeding. What would happento ourjudicial system if we accepted her premise that “lying isn’t always offensive” and that there are “harmless lies that enable usall to live Give Up Hate January 22nd marked the 26th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in all 50 states. For American with our imperfections’? Would the oath ina judicial proceeding thus have to be, “I swear to tell the whole truth, except when it might embarrass meor reveal one of my imperfections”? If this were the case, the rule of law would be doomed. Thecrime of perjury would have to be abolished if we allow American mathematician Norbert Wiener, who used the term in 1948 to de- cretions and thus earned the nickname “Slick Willie.” If Clinton is not removed fromoffice women, this wise ruling brought an end to unsafeillegal abortions, and the inju- people to lie to save face. If we accept her argumentthatit is almost impossible cation in machine and animals. (There will be a test on this next week.) to be truthfulin sexual matters and thus nately, we could not mark this anniversary without reflecting upon the violent attacks that health providers continue to allow lies about that subject in the court- it difficult for Mormons to challenge leaders or ask tough questions. The story, in essence, was a follow-up to Utah and punished for his perjury, then no person testifying in any court of law should be punished for nottelling the truth. The crime of perjury should be ries and deaths that resulted. Unfortu- This was a a tough, hard-hitting story ingletters to The Tribune’s Public Fo- that explored the “view” that the hierarchical nature of the LDS Church makes officials, close to the bid effort, who said they did not knowlavish gifts, scholarships and moneyweregiven to IOC mem- bers. Tribune readers,like others across the nation and aroundthe world, wanted to know, “Why didn’t they know?’ scribe the study of control and communia Attention, Letter Writers: When send- rum via e-mail, please do not included formatted attachments with the message. Send your letter directly to (letters@sltrib.com). It is much easier for letter edilors to retrieve and scan your submission when the entire text is in the same format. This is why this was a timely and prop- er story for The Tribune to address, I foundit to be fair and well-written, and it offered food for thought from a num- ber of Utahns, in and outside of the LDS Church. Of course, The Tribune could he Reader Advocate’s phone number 's 237-2015. Write to the Reader Advocate, The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110. Email: reader.advocate@sltrib.com It Helps Lawyer Plan Your Estate If You Add the Debits, Credits Up One ofthe first steps in inheritance andestate planning is to make an accu- EDWARD McDONOUGH rate inventory of your estate. It is impor. tant to havea fairly accurate ideaof the size of yourestate, so that youwill know whetheror not you needtodoestate tax uptrusts for grandchildren You mighttry somethinglike this. Di- in the first columnontheright, accounts that are in your name onlyin the second column and the balancein the accounts that are in your spou nameonlyin the third column, This is easy to do for bank accounts. It's harder with other assets, but it is still important toidentify what is owned individually by you or by your spouse On the next line or two, perhaps you POINT OF LAW the same three right-hand columns to separate what you owe from what your Spouse owes and what you owe together List your home mortgage, bank loans, loans on your insurance policies, taxes andcredit card balances. Anddon't forget the note you owe to your sister-in-law, if it's collectable. Total your columns Toidentify life insurance, you'll probably needfive columns, showing whether estate you own, and againlisting the val who is the beneficiary, and whois the joint Do the samethings on the next lines with your 401Ks, IRAs, or other retire ment accounts, List your stocks, bonds, and accounts receivables, eventhe note from your brother-in-lawif it’s collect able. List any partnerships and other business interests you may own, looking for market valueor liquidation value Don't forgettolist your things, There maybe a lot of value in your automo: biles, boats, musical instruments, jewel ry and furniture. Next add upthe col umns, getting a total value for what you surance company, whois the insured, owner A last category might be inheritances which you expect to get. Be realistic y 4 ic bombingthat killed a security guard and permanently injured a nurse, and anthrax and bombscares thatterrorize patients and staff. In our own newspaper ‘was a report of an auction of itemscele- brating bombings and other violence at health-careclinics (“Extremist Abortion Foes Hold Auction,” Tribune, Jan.22). that is precisely what our system of laws provides for. If people don’t like this result, then they need to act to try to change the system. In this, President Clinton is being given no special treat- compass any situation in which the survival of our form of government, and/or welfare of the nation, is threatened by a president. However, we presently enjoy conditions of peace and prosperity unequaled in history and the only threat to government posed by Clinton is that he is a better politician than his adversaries. Since these people can't beat himatpolitics, they want Clinton impeached, and that is not a legitimate use of the im- mand toendhate-filled rhetoric that in- deed does incite people to act out their hate of others. I ask them to support a return to civil discourse — “civilized,” passionate give-and-take of intelligent, views free of hate and violence. I also challenge “pro-lifers” to do more than preach, Join us in taking real steps to increase access to pregnancy prevention services and to provide honest, accurate information, including ab- stinence,to our teen-agers. BEVERLY COOPER Utahns for Choice Salt Lake City Oo Dismal Realities? ‘There have been questionsraised as to where Mayor Deedee Corradini has gone since the Olympic scandal became the talk of not only the city but all over the world. Councilwomen Joanne Milner and Deeda Seed seem to have short memories. It has not beenthat long since our mayor had her own starring role in two investigations. And now her name comesup in this one. As mayor ofSalt Lake City and a member of the bidding committee, you can bet your bottom dollar Mayor Corradini knows morethana little bit about what's peachment power. going on. Especially whena good friend To say that Clinton is clearly “guilty” of something does not automatically lead to the conclusion that he ought to receive the harshest possible punishment, Our law does not provide for the death penalty for writing bad checks, and it does not bribery; this form of doing business is provide for impeachment(the harshest possible punishment) for non-critical perjury. Whenhis term of office is up, Clinton can beprosecutedfor any actof perjury of hers is Frank Joklik. It has beensaid that prostitutionis the oldest form or business. Not true. Try used by everyone every day in one form or another, What really surprised meis the way the people have reacted — likethey can't believe this could happen here in Salt Lake City or Utah. Reality, where are ou? committed during his presidency. If heis so prosecuted, his will be one of the very But, afterallis said and done, Deedee Corradini will still be mayor, Robert rare instances where similar acts received such treatment, The House im- Garff will become the president, Frank stock in the family business, that would could testify that they were so treated, and in doing so only demonstrated exact- steadof to his sons. Onthe other hand, if your mother owns $10 million worth of be good information for your estate planning lawyer to have. Whenyouare armed with the true facts about your ownestate, then you and your lawyer will be ableto custom design the right planfor you peachment panel found a few others who ly how much theexception prosecution for garden variety perjury really is in our country. Likewise, the decision could be madetonot prosecute, and only then would thepresident be held to the samelevel of legal accountability that an averagecitizen committing the sameof- fenses would Edward McDonough is a lawyer in private practice in Salt Lake City. ( Joklik will become an advisor to Garff, with a raise in pay and millions for re- tirement, Dave Johnsonwill be an advisor to whoever replaces him, with a fat raise and a million or two for retirement And poor Tom Welch will haveto resign for the second time and will be givenan other job with a big raise plus another million or twofor retirement There are two sayings that hold true Before you danceyou must paythefid- DARRELL PROWS dier" and “Therich look after therich,” FRANK A. NATION Salt Lake City Salt LakeCity ive. would be impossible to ascertain the truth in a sexual harassmentcase without demanding truthfulness about sexu- al matters. There would be no assurance that anyone would receivejusticeif facesaving lies were permitted in the court- room. Ourjudicial system, to work correctly andjustly, is dependent onthe truthfulness of everyone involved, even if, and manytimesespeciallyif, the truth is embarrassing or harmful. Clinton was impeached because he took an oath in a judicial proceedingto tell the truth and then failed to do so. We should expect and demand morefrom ourchief law enforcementofficer. CHERYL KEITH South Jordan caring people with widely divergent about this. There is no point listing the remote possibility your second cousin Alfred might leave his ranch to you in own, what your spouse owns and what you own together ‘Thenstart listing what youowe, using point of being completely indefensible. Presidents cannot be criminally prose- cuted while they hold office, because and misdemeanors” was intended to en- could list real estate, using the market value of your homeandany other real then ask for a result thatis severe to the tion intended impeachment under the current circumstances. “High crimes it's whole life, term, or a combination, the face amount of thepolicies, thein. ue in the columnindicating whether the ownership is yours, your spouse's, or Enoughalreadyof those mindlessletters that contend that the Constitution compels impeachment for the acts committed by President Clinton. These people always hide behind the camouflage of ‘no manis abovethe law,” and claim that the framers of the Constitu- vide a sheetoflined paperinto four col face. Weissuea callforall Utahcitizens to forswearviolence. In 1998, we have seen the murderof a physician in his own home,a deadlyclin- I challenge"pro-lifers” to join our de- Likewise, it is totally misguided to supporting charitable causes or setting line could say Bank Accountsontheleft List the balances of your joint accounts o Improper Trial ment, andit is foolish to contend otherwise. planning and whether you will leave enough resources to be concerned about umns, Write What We Own” at the top of the wide left-hand column and label the three columns on theright “Ours. “Mine,” and ‘'Hers” (or “His"’) Then label thelines. Maybethefirst deleted from ourjustice system, which would then render the system ineffective. I regret that Clinton has brought this situation upon himself. I can forgive him but I cannot sustain him as president. If heis not removed, his bad exampleswill leave a devastating legacy for future generations. WILLIS J. MICHAELSON Sandy room, sexual harassment laws would also have to be abolished because it Qo Strange Criticism Reading Steve Luhm’s article, “NBA Draft Is Hardly a Sure Thing” (Tribune, Jan. 17), I found myself lost in the logic condemning Walter Palmer's activities. | began to wonder Simpson had taken control of paper and a new bizarre off-court if Homer my newsuniverse emerged whereattending “a lecture at the Art Institute” was wrong andacting, well, like an NBAplayer wasright. Certainly, when Palmer returned to Utah as a Dallas Maverick and scored 18 points andtallied 11 rebounds, he demonstrated that he had some basketball talents. Yet, this article gives one the impression thathis intellectual gifts and in- terests cast a cloud of doubt about his abilities and, moreover, his character. Iam concerned aboutthe message given by officials from the Jazz. Thearticle stated that problems with Palmer included his interest “touring the country and seeing the museums.” After listening to reviews of Wilt Chamberlain's autobiography on the radio, watching Magic Johnsondiscuss his off-court lifestyle on the television, and, as the father of two daughters, sweating throughthe reading of Sports Illustrated’s exposeoftheille- gitimacy problem in the NBA, one is forced to ask some serious questions about the culture and climate of professional basketball, Exhausted by the constant bad news from professional sports, 1 found the anti-intellectual tone of the attacks on Palmer's character to be another unfortunate reminder of the loss of the ideals of sportsmanship in this count As high school and college freshmen leap into the NBA draft,it is easy to ignore the hypocrisy of the NBA mantra “Be cool, Stay in school." My concern with this article, however, reflects my fears that the “show me the money" corporateculture of the NBA is preferable over one's appreciation ofthearts, history and science, Certainly, an individual whouses free timeto improvehimself by attending lectures and visiting museums rather than “getting into trouble” should be recognized rather than ridiculed. DANIEL JOHN Murray |