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Show Ghe SaltLakeTribune OPINION READER ADVOCATE, AA2 @ PUBLIC FORUM. AA2 CTI, APRIL7, 2002 ‘MERUSSIAN VIEW, AA3 OUR VIEW Not English-Only The Oklahoma Supreme Court has declared Utah’s English-only law un- constitutional. Well. sort of, butit is one more strike against the ideas ex- pressed in such laws. Utah's law, however,serves onevital role: it isa reminder that Utahns recognized the need for effective English-language instruction in public schools and adult education programs. In an interesting process, the Oklahoma court ruled on miesconstitutionality ofan English-onlypetition some soughtto presentto the voters. Though proponents of the petition English proficiency from effectively communicating with their government. Even with the exceptions for constitutional conflicts, . ee ae tition] would disenfranchise ments of Oklahoma citizens by ae fering with their ability to access vital information necessary for a self-governing society . A similar t was made by earecuts of Utah'sinitiative. A par- tial response was embodied in the law that requires the State Board of Education to make rules promoting the apparently dropped the idea once the lawsuit began, the court examined the petition anyway, 2 decision one lone sees justice recognized as unusual. Despite the irregularities of ruling in a case with no opposition, the de- quickly as possible.” But Utah is somewhatconflicted when it comes to English-language learners. Two years after Utah’s English- cision is telling. Muchlike a 3rd Dis- only law took effect, state legislators trict Court judge in Utah, the Oklahoma justices determined that the asked why ESL programs were nec- essary. The answer, as the Oklahoma law was little more than symbolic. The court stated that since the provi- court recognized, is that without the programs a select group of citizens sion would have contradicted the U.S. and state Constitutions, it would be become disenfranchised, an unconstitutional result. unenforceable, despite 2 caveat written into the proposal that it would not less, this is one law that shouldn’t be be construed in a mannerthat would repealed. As longas it is in the code, violate the respective constitutions. The effect of the proposed law, the court determined, would be to “prevent citizens who are of limited Though the Utah law is meaning- all Utahns are reminded that ESL programs are required and are ex- pected to be “initiated, continued and Where Are Democrats’ Budget Ideas? expanded. . Pedophilia: No Quick Fix WASHINGTON — Some time after Congress comes back to work this week, the Democrats will have a chance to address the questions of David BRODER deficits, higher long-term interest rates, less investment and slower growth. Bycontrast, Caifornia Rep. Bill taxes, spending and fiscal policy. The Somehow the tragedy of sexual abuse by Catholic priests has been waylaid bycalls for married clergy. Pedophilia can’t be resolved through marriage, as a glance at any sex of fender registry attests. and cates se sexual abusers need to admit their culpability and accept responsibility for their actions, not get This does not exonerate some church leaders who hid or ignored lems. Like the priests who committed sexual abuse,leaders Thomas, chairman of the tax-writing budget resolution reported out of committee by a party-line vote will probably not come to the Senate floor Ways and Means Committee, says in a memosentlast week to his Repub- lican colleagues that the GOPtax bill “will create a stronger reboundthis until the energy bill is finished. But whenit does, the Democrats can have their say. ‘THE WASHINGTON POSTWRITERS GROUP theyallowed to be harmed,including the priests they simply moved rather If, that is, they have anything to policy. Their vagueness is leaving offer. When the House was debating this vital policy field to Bush and the than directing them to professional its budget resolution a few weeks ago, Republicans. married. To claim nothing bad would have happened had the priest had a nice wife at home trivializes a complex sexual dysfunction, and the resulting claims to the effect that the church will not change that. Although the created a haven for sexual abusers by budget resolution fashioned by North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad, the chair- harm to the victim. There is no simple be madethat celibacythins the ranks ofcandidates for the Catholics priests solution, nor is there any effective external solution. Pedophilia is an Chances are, the Senate debate helpor alerting the authorities. But requiring celibacy completely miss the mark. Perhaps there is a point to and in so doing has lowered the scru- would have to use the gimmicks and the devices the other [Republican] side used,”ifthe goal was to make the numbers politically palatable. Rather than fake it, the House Democrats punted. They come in versions and can rarely be identified place blame. Nooneisto blame for the acts of a except the pedophile. Neeee. achurch can't stop it, only the individual has control over his response to the impulse.If he can't control it, he must by sight. The solution for a church is not feigned ignorance or excommu- nication, it is to assist the person in coming to grips with his disease. Celibacy is not the issue, society is not to blame. A pedophile is responsible for his actions.Ifproblems exist, an individual doesn’t get to use the “societyor the rules ofan institution made me do it” excuse. Heat, But No Light The disintegration of a portion of Antarctica’s Larsen Ice Shelf last cooling, they didn’t make it into the captains’log books. In1895 on the other side of the But the budget resolution, though lacking the force oflaw, is designedto be the clearest statement of a party’s policy priorities. ee silent, the Democrats cannot be part ofserious political debate. They have been muzzled because they are caught in a three-waybind. They don’t want to challenge President Bush on military spending or homeland any rollback and in part because they fear being labeled tax-raisers. And with the budget veering into deficit, theyfeel constrained about urging additional spending, even for their traditional favorite domestic drill for more oil. poll, as being incoherent on economic had receded about 30 miles in the 54 years since James Clark Ross discovered it Whether a substantial chunk had simply collapsed, a la the Larsen Shelf, or whether the ice had melted at the blistering pace of a half-mile per year is unknown. In anyevent, no one used the discovery to drum up support for a Kyoto-type agreement, perhaps realizing that isolated climate changes are a poor measure of overall global health. That isn't to say America and other countries should not strive to Take 1823 for example. James Weddell sailed to a latitude of 74 degrees south that year through an icefree sea that today bears his name.In ensuing years, impenetrable pack ice a ee eda north of the Englishman's stopping point. If this rapid buildup of bergs triggered any concerns about global Crumbling ice shelves will never alarm most Americans as much as the specter of a collapsing economy. UTAH’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1871 John F. Fitzpatrick (1924-1960) John W.Gallivan (1960-1983) Jerry O'Brien (1983-1994) Democrats criticized it — from both the left and right — to makeits prospects on the Senate floor look questionable. - If the Democrats want to reclaim their voice on the economy, they coulddo worse than to spend a couple of hours teading the just-‘published _ issue ofBlueprint, the magazine ofthe Democratic Leadership Council and PUBLISHER Dominic Welch EDITOR James E. Shelledy EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR Randy C. Frisch THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 1435. MAIN ST. SALT LAKE CITY , 4111 come.” Those views cannot be reconciled and — for the sake of the country’s economic understanding — should not be blurred, either by the silence House Democrats chose or the lukewarm endorsement of Bush's economics implied by Conrad’s budget resolution. In 1993, every single congressional Republican voted against Clinton's first budget, arguing that the increase in top-bracket tax rates it included would throw the countryinto a re- cession. They were wrong; the economy Butat, they voted the « couragety dictiparictinns maining promised breaks — almost all for upper-income people — should the Clinton administration make the be frozen. argument that Bush essentially re- Sen. Ted Kennedy months ago proposed doing just that, to help fi- now have largely Gene Sperling, the head of the Clinton White House National Economic Council, writes that “the high costs of President Bush’s [2001] decision to put an expansive tax cut first and savings for debt reduction and Social Security last become more evi- ee Last year, most Democrats op* posed the Bush tax cut, and even more of them nowbelieve that the re- its Progressive Policy Institute. There, several of the leadinglights of nance the military and security buildup and to payfor such things as a Medicare prescription drugbenefit. Sperling, as befits a New Democrat, makes a more modest proposal: Freeze the top two rates, affecting only families with incomes over $190,000, and reduce the estate tax rather than abolishit. dent with every passing day.” Those But congressional Democrats are afraid to go even that far. What's the use of a partythat won't give votersa Sperling and other authors say, include a likely decade of sic as the budget? real alternative on something as ba- Apologize for Slavery — Then Move On Slogging through the slavery reparations debate is an exercise in whiplash. One side ofthe brain says, “This is idit .” summoning all the usual and obstacles to a legal resolution, including: the statute of “crime” committed KATHLEEN PARKER surrounding disbursement funds —how much, to whom, by whom, and how? And the fact that, though ab- But howdo you, in good conscience, do nothing to heal the wounds of such horrent, slavery was 4 legal institu- an immoral past? I'm not soothed by the usual “Hey, what about the tion during the times targeted in recentlawsuits. Corporations named in lawsuits ee a Cat cae: very — Aetna, CSX and werentbreaking any laws at the Jews?” arguments against reparations. Or others insisting affirmative action has been sufficient compensation. Enough already. time. By what standard can today’s wrote what many whites as well as stockholders be held accountable for the centuries-old transgressions of dead people? That's the logical side of the brain Then there’s the other side that says, “Well, they do have a point.” Slavery is so unconscionable that it’s hard even to think about. Where whites to feel sympathetic toward perhapsjust causes that are purposely divisive vehicles for their self-aggrandizement. TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES SheSaltLakeTribune PAST PUBLISHERS plan than differences, Republicans voted solidly against it. And enough pluses, which disappeared. The resultis that the public views the to poll after or launching new attacks on plans to has more similarities to Bush’s own versed Clinton's policy of fiscal restraint bypushing through his tax cut onthe basis of projected budget sur- programs. mandating unreasonably high mileage levels for U.S. cars, trucks and SUVs. Others are trying to resurrect the infeasible Kyoto accord man of the Senate Budget Committee, year andfaster growth in the years to Myron Magnet of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research recently blacks believe: “Instead of looking What then is the solution? This part really is simple: President Bush. Whatever his flaws, it seems clear that the man comes equipped with a good and fair heart. He's the perfect actorfor slavery’s final curtain call Bush should take command of the slavery reparations issue immediately and bring an end to the debate’ Apologize for slaveryin a clear and unequivocal voice, create a commis- sion to studyslaveryandits effectson today’s African-Americans,as well a" on whites wearyof being blamed for whatever ails others, and continue. the discussionforlong as it takes for Americans of all stripes to say, “Well and done.” In so doing, he might help put the corporate compensatory issue in its proper perspective, which is too to become a colorblind society of equal opportunity.” It is true that America has worked hard tobe colorblind, butit’s dishon est to say that we are. Yet it's also dishonest to saythat only whites are to blame. Certain black “ whose baiting voices dominate any discussion of race, make it hard for much too late. As a rich bonus, the president's taking charge would force hikers always on the lookoutfor new vehicles to self-glorification. Without victims, the race-baiting crusaders would be forced into silence — a priceless finale to the tragedy of slavery 4 |