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Show AA2 ‘The Salt Lake Tribune OPINION Sunday, April 23, 2000 ra Constructive Criticism Is Ideal, prooe Not a Rude Personal Attack tential candidate dropped from 55 percent in 1987 to 38 percenttoday. Also, an overwhelming 74 percentofthe respondents said that large political donors have too much influence on which candidates become nominees, while 64 percent say average voters havetoo little influence. When asked about the coverage of the i 26 percent said the news media are biased in favor of Republican George W. Bush,while 14 percent see a bias in favor of Democrat Al Gore. Results are based on telephone interviews‘conducted ofa nationwide sample of 1,205 adults. There is a sampling error of plus or minus3 percentage points. Q Words of Wisdom? The following are some practical thoughts and musings gleaned from readers during mytenure in the reader advocate’s chair: @ When making changes in the newspaper,tell the reader aboutit in a prominentspot and doit several times. Newspa- has released several studies on publicatti- per readers are creatures of habit. They like to know where to find favorite features, the comics, Ann Landers, TV listings and puzzles. @ Whenwriting about a new product, tell readers where to getit. tudes toward newsworthy issues. These were scientific polls in which every demographic segment of the population was represented: Pollsters for the Washington, D.C.os i tank, which regularly ReaderAdvocate’sphone number is (801) 257-8999. Write to the Reader Advocate, The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110. E-mail: reader.advocate@sltrib.com a Voters to Press: ‘Back Off: Over the past few months, the Pew Research Center Regulation of Day-Care Centers Offers Parents Some Comfort As the motherofa soon-to-be 2-year-old, I am faced with the day-care dilemmas so many mothers deal with each day. Dropping a small child offat day care is always difficult for me, even though I know my son enjoys himselfat the center. But news stories of deaths andinjuries occurring in day-care centers heightens my anxiety. As alawyer, it also makes me wonder what régulations govern day-care centers. -Of course, regulation can’t take the place of competent, caring professionals. I am very confident about the ability of my sdn’s providers to take care ofand nurture hbm in myabsence. However, should I ever have to move mychild,it is good to know there are some minimal standards a persdn must meet before sheis granted access tdchildren. For those parents who use an hourly day-care facility (and other providers as ~ well), state law provides for the developmentof rules regarding the management ofthe facility. The rules are written by the Departmentof Health with the advice of a committee composed of people who use hourly facilities, people who work in the faeilities, people who work in other types of'day-care pies, and health-care progenerated by these groups incinde beaicvonikeneats for all einployees,rules for medi- security meacgtion to children, -sgres, activities, discipline, and safety and sanitation within the facility, down to requiring that employees wash for 20 seconds with soap and water after performing designated tasks. To be a director, a person must be 21 with@ high achool’diisoma or GED and know the laws and rules governing the center. These seem like fairly easy standards to attain, but there is more. The diit,ora JEAN HILL with limited exceptions, and undergo initial training in established areas related to child care. Each child-care director must also provide 10 hours of continued training in required topics during the year. For including the director, must also submit to acriminal background check at the time of employment. A care facility must also have on staff and on duty atall times at least one person who is certified in infant and child CPR and first aid. It must also have a designated employee whois trained to dispense medication and people on call who can report for work within a short period oftime if the child-care facility finds itself with more kids per caregiver than the rules allow. inarelated field and at least four All is not lost if the di “i ome pac Lettersfrom The Tribune’s readers Sue ’Em All Support Bennett Stand lam writing to express my support for Sen. Bob Bennett, who voted against the proposed flag desecration constitutional amendment, and my disappointment in Sen. Orrin Hatch, who proposed and voted for the amendmentthat, if adopted, would restrict our fundamental and traditional rights. This amendment would’have,for the first time in our nation’s history, the Constitution for the express purpose oflimiting our First Amendment rights to freedom of expression — all for something that even amendment proponents admit happens only a handful of times a year! I am a veteran and member of the American Legion and it upsets me when one burns, destroys or desecrates the flag of the United States of America, but I would rather have a piece of cloth destroyed than have the freedom of political Where to Write @ When submitting letters to the Public Forum,please include your full name,signature, address and daytime telephone numbers. Information other than your name and the city in which youlive are kept confidential. @ Keep it short. Concise letters developing a single theme are more likely to be published. @ Please type and doublespace. @ Letters are condensed andedited. @ Because of the volume of mail received, not published. all submissions are @ Mail to Public Forum,TheSalt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110 @ Our fax numberis (801) 257-8950. speechrestricted in any way. Free speech is the most valuable non-violent tool to No Excuses changing our governmentthat we have, and in the words of President Kennedy:“If we donot allow the people to rebel peace- fully, they will rebel forcefully.” I thank Sen. Bennett for helping ensure that America remains a world leader in liberty. Unfortunately, the proposed amendment will return next year. I strongly: urge Sen. Hatch to rethink his position on this type of constitutional amendment, and instead ensure that our Republic remains a world leader in promoting liberty. LANCE FINN HELSTEN Orem Q Thoughtful Decision I give lot of thoughtto issues raised in The Tribune, and feel that a daily dose of news keeps the little gray cells active. Manytimes, after reading the Public Forum letters, I give in to the wild notion of shouting “Yes!” and making an appropriate fisted gesture. The April 3 lettets deserved several shouts, but the mosttelling feature article on the front page held a real lesson for me.It was the low-keystory ofjet pilot Richard Steiner’s decision to give up his high-tech and highly respected station offlyingjets in favor ofsoaring planes and gliders. To me,his decision should apply to and inspire older car drivers to rethink thei insistence on continuing drivingwhenit is a provenfact that slowing reaction times and diminishing hearing and sight represent increased dangers to themselves and other drivers. Myreactionis not, repeat not, a meanspirited bid for clearing the roads and highwaysofolder folk; I defend my opinion further by saying that I am fast approaching that age group myself! I would like to call attention to this fine man’s admission that advancing age may well affect his driving skills — and offer Steiner a hurrah for his thoughtful decision. MARGARET MAXWELL I read Robert Kirby’s columns (Tribune, April 1 and April 4) with a great deal of interest. For several years I have followed and enjoyed Kirby’s column on The Tribune’s Web page, and I have also followed and enjoyed Cherie Woodworth’s humor pieces on Mormon humor and in other electronic publications. I consider both Kirby and Woodworth to be fine writers and excellentsatirists with a lot to offer the Mormon community. LDS Conference Center, I knew as soon as IsawKirby’s column that ithad beenlifted almost directly from the earlier work. I also knew that several thousand other members of the MormonInternet community would make the same connection and that, more likely than not, Kirby would be forced to give somecredit to the source from which he borrowed large portion of his column. Thus I was not surprised that Kirby's April 4 column cont an acknowledgment of Woodworth’s considerable contribution to his previous effort. I was, however, surprised by the tentativeness ofthat acknowledgment and by Kirby’s unwillingness to accept any responsibility for an act that most journalists would consider a serious breach of professional ethics. Kirby did not just lift vague ideas or occasional phrases from somebody else’s work; ofthe 566 words in the April 1 column, 373, or 66 percent, were lifted directly, without attribution, from another published source. This, by any credible definition, is aclear case ofplagiarism. The fault does not lie, as Kirby suggests that it does, with the Internet. Journalists have the same obligation to verify sources and credit quotations that come from the World Wide Web as they do with any other medium,It is also not relevant that Kirby did not know whooriginally wrote those words; he knew thathe didn’t write them, and before publishing them under his own name, he had a moral and professional obligation to find out who did. Well, duh! All this time, I've been laboring underthe delusion thatI alone am responsible for any choices I make in life, good or bad, right or wrong. Nosir! No longer doI haveto suffer all those nasty feelings of guilt and remorse.It’s just not myfault! Why, I can eat all the BaskinRobbins fudge brownie ice cream I want, and if my cholesterol suddenly elevates, well, I'll just sue ’em.It’s not my fault, right? It’s theirs for tempting me with all those wonderful treats, and they don’teven have any government-mandated warnings on their ice cream labels. AndifI decide I wantto drink a tWelvepack of-beer a day and run therisk of becoming an alcoholic, why, I'll just sue Miller Brewing Companyfor making their darn beer so easy to get. Yeah!It’s not my fault. And if I should lose my job because I decide I want to play solitaire all day rather than put in an honest day’s work, why,I’lljust sue Bill Gates for making that addictive game so readily available on my Microsoft menu. Yeah! ‘And if I should dig myself into debt so — that I havetofile for beer: rl just blame Visa and Mastercard.Afterall, it's their fault for sending me all those pre-approved credit cards with their skyhigh creditlimits, right? And if I’m late for work every day, it’s David Letterman’s fault for having his TV show on so late at night. Yeah.I'lljust sue ’em all! And maybe I should start smoking so I can get my share of extortion money in case I ehoukd suffer from lung cancer,like that woman in San Francisco whojust got a $21.7 million verdict from that jury of “tall children” who think that we're all too stupid to make our own choices in life and be held responsible for them. To heck with free agency.It’s not myfault! Why, even myeternal salvation is assured, right? When I get up to those pearly gates, and St. Peter won’t let me through because I haven't earned my wings, why, T'lljusttell him it’s his own faultfor giving me all that freedom to make my own choices, when he knew all along how tempted I'd be. And ifhe doesn’t agree with my reasoning, why,I'll just sue him too! ’Cause it’s not myfault, right? So there! JAN NIELSEN Sandy a Feeble Effort ‘te The April 16 Tribune editorial notes that our Legislature passed a law during its recent session to include history of involuntary commitmentin the background checks for handgun purchases. The editorial praises this action and closes by stressing the need for “greater understanding ofand compassion for mental illness, and better treatment.” Whatthe editorial does not say is that this same Legislature failed to provide funding which would improve the public mental health services that might be able to prevent worsening symptoms of mental illness of lack of Q ConsiderBicycling Bill Mariluch, lamenting the rising price of gasoline, asks why “we cannot, or will not, develop economical individual transportation” (Forum, April 5). Allow me to suggest the bicycle. In terms ofwork performed per unit of energy consumed, it’s the most efficient mode of transportation ever discovered. In fact, there’s no species in the entire animal kingdom that travels more efficiently than a human on bicycle, Almost anyone can afford and ride one, and even.a moderately fit person can go 100 miles on just a sandwich. Gas prices are not an issue, which is one reason bicycles are prefredover automobiles fo esol transport irediition @ exvina tories, ninentine is better for your body, mind and community than driving. Best ofall, it's fun. to be held in the downtown Center. The new center is truly a great and spacious build- not population growth and providing.care. As a result, the public mental health system is itself in crisis, waiting impotently for the next tragedy to occur. The inclusion of Lancet commitweani beeen checks forpurchaseof Kudos again to The Tribune and to Salt Lake City for helping us to taste thejoyous fruitsofreligious diversity. PAUL D. LIACOPOULOS THOMAS TOLAND SMART Salt LakeCity Salt Lake City Otheremployees must also meetcertain standards. Anyone in the facility, whether paid staff or volunteer, must be over 18, 5 THE PUBLIC FORUM ment (28 percent); a previous affair (23 percent); marijuana use (23 percent); anti- depressantuse (20 percent); and an abortion (20 percent). By the way, the public’s interest in the sexual orientation of a po- attack. I urge those readers who see jour- nalists in the role of the pigeon to know that is not always the case. Sometimes, theyare the statue. For the record, Rivera is a red, white andblue native-born American with German and Hispanic ancestry. Sadly, he left The Tribune two weeks ago to become higher education reporter for the Seattle Times. "IT WAS A COMPLETELY UNMEDICATED BIRTH... UNTILWE STARTED HIMON THE RITALIN, OF COURSE. 7 MEREDITH ALDEN Director, Utah Division ofMental Health Salt Lake City 4 A Fa eel aaa Cad such individuals are angry at something other than whattheyreadin the story. It ought not come as a surprise to most folks that reporters andeditors appreciate reader feedback, but like all of us they bristle and shut down whenthefeedbackis more of a “shoot the messenger” personal taxes (65 percent). @,deIf the candidate has lied about either his academic or military record (61 percentfor both). Less than a majority support reporting the following categories: an ongoing affair (43 percent); homosexuality (38 percent); cocaine use (35 percent); psychiatric treat- di gen hae credibility with me because they suggest favored). (2) If the candidate has evaded paying —_= law enforcementofficials and the federal and state agencies distributing grants. "One reader was not pleased with the news story and sentthe following e-mail: “Hey, Ray, why don't you go back to whereverit is the hell you came from and push your affirmative-action [expletive deleted] there and see where you land up [sic]. This is America, not Nazi Germany, you fool! You are being duped,idiot.” Constructive criticism? It appears the reader, who shall remain nameless in this space for charity's sake, aimed his noxious ranting at the messenger, not the message. Is this person the pigeon or the statue? It is human nature for individuals to react to things we disagree with. This individual, undoubtedly, has concerns about equal opportunity guidelines. Instead of challenging the findings of Rivera’s investigative report, he attacks the reporter and suggests the reporter is from someplace other than Utah or even the United States. Because I favor constructive criticism, these types of rude, meanspirited and sanctimonious haranguings have little conducts scientific polls on the news media, asked Americans how far the press should go in examining the personal lives of politicians. They presented 13 situations, but a majority of the respondents said the press should report only on four of the 13. For example: (1) If a candidate is known to have physically abused a spouse (71 percent = law enforcementagencies and municipalitiés receive grant money and sign compliafce contracts that they follow equal opportunity guidelines. However, most ei- eosenruneepaovwnrne< pe READER ADVOCATE |