Salt Lake Tribune | 1995-05-28 | Page 45

Opinion The Salt Lake Tribune SUNDAY, May 28, 1995 NEWSOF THE WEIRD Page D-6 PAGE D1 POLITICAL CONFETTI Page D-5 OUR VIEW The Salt Lake Tribune's Editorial Position Bold Action on the Budget The Senate’s passage Thursdayofits plan to balance the federal budget by the year 2002 marked truly historic occasion. It put both chambersof Congress on record in favor of a blueprint for a balanced budget, which Washington hasn't seen in a quarter-century. Beyondthat, it provided a more responsible counterweight to the House proposal. With the House's 238-193 passage of its plan 10 days ago and the Senate’s 5742 approvalofits resolution Thursday, the Republican Congress has taken a bold step to put the nation on a more sound fiscal course. Now, however, GOP solidarity (only one Republican in either chamber voted “no” on the final plans) will be tested in the upcoming conference to reconcile the two proposals. The mostcontentiousissue will be tax cuts. The more dogmatic House Republicans want them; the more prudent Senate Republicans don’t — until deficit reductionis achieved first. The senators have the better of this argument, both economically and popularly. Deficit reduction is what the voters want; heaping a tax cut on topofit at this pointis not sensible. The Senate tookits stand on tax cuts earlier last week in what may have been amoretelling vote than the final budget resolution. By a resounding 69-31 count, with 23 Republicansjoining the minority Democrats, it rejected Sen. Phil Gramm’s amendmentto include a tax cut similar to the House’s in the Senate bill. It was the propersignal, andit was a rebuke for Gramm — atleast for the moment — in his presidential jockeying with Sen. Bob Dole. Before Thursday's final vote, the Senate did pass an amendment that would dedicate any federal dividends derived from the balanced-budget measures — estimated at $170 billion over seven years, but most of it coming after the turn of the century — toward tax cuts. That keeps the priorities in their proper order: deficit reduction first, tax cutslater if feasible. The House’s call for some $350billion in tax cuts is simply unwise,not just from the Democratic view that the cuts would benefit the wealthy but also from the hard reality that such a tax cut necessitates more severe spendingcuts in Medicare and Medicaid. Those trims will be difficult enoughto sell to Americans; better to keep them as modestas possible. In addition to the tax cut and those deeper slashes in medical programs, the Housebill also calls for increased defense spending — about $68 billion greater than the level proposed by the Senate. The combination of greater defense spending andhefty tax cuts looms too Reaganesquein the face of the nation’s high deficits. Houseconfereeswill certainly press for their beloved tax cut, and they will probably get one. Butit better be a lot closerto zero than to $350billionif this deficit-reduction course is to be a responsible one. The Republican Congress has not taken the big stepsyet. Butit has taken thecritical first one. All Heart Losing a child is the most devastating of experiences. Nine-year-old Adam Ashton’s loved ones were understandably grief-sticken at his untimely death. But by sharing his life with others, his family can know that Adam’s wholesome impression on this world continues. Adamdied from injuries suffered in a traffic accidentlast Sunday. With generosity of spirit, his family donated his organs so that another child mightsee, a mother’s failing heart might be replaced, and the lives of other patients might be improvedand prolonged. The West Jordan Boy Scoutwas described as a typical, curious third-grad- er wholoved go-cartriding, bug collecting and building model cars and airplanes. But he and his family actually are exceptional. In making Adam’s story known,his parents undoubtedly will encourage others to follow their example. Given the critical need for donororgansin this country, a positive response is important. Patients often wait months or years for compatible organs. Many don’t survive the delay. Adam’s dad, Wayne Ashton,said his son ‘‘was all heart.” How appropriate, then, that his heart and other organs should now helprestore the health and happinessof others. And howinspiring. Subduing Racial Rancor The time was notripe for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on race-based scholarshipslast week. A court decision might have prematurely imposed a judicial answer on a question that needs to percolate longerin the political pot. Therestill may be far-reaching consequences from the High Court’s refusal Monday to review the University of Maryland’s scholarship program, which the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals found in violation of the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause. Students elsewhere in the country may be encouraged to dispute racially exclusive scholarships, and other courts may look to the Maryland case for guidance. Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act could preventevenprivate schools receiving federal money from designating scholarships for racial minorities. Even more significant, Congress might take the High Court's restraint as permission to weaken controversial affirmative action laws. Race-based scholarships, representing 5 percentof financial aid going to undergraduates and 10 percentto graduates nationwide, are part of affirmation action’s goal of improving minorities’ education and job opportunities. Percentages of African-Americans and Latinos whoattend college have notincreased dramatically the past 20 years and lag well behind that of whites. But like admissions standards and hiring quotas, racial scholarships now are be- ing characterized as preferential treat- ment and reverse discrimination. Given continuing disparities in en- rollment and employment figures, it would be unfortunate if race were soon outlawedas a criterion for college admission and scholarships. White students often retain an advantage because of historical discrimination against blacks, higher incomes and, in Ivy League and professional schools, their parents’ alumnistatus. Yet a case can be madethatother factors, such as low income, might better reflect educational disadvantages deserving special consideration. It is hard to justify extra money for a wealthy black student whenan equally qualified white student cannot afford college without assistance. Arguments like these are just gaining momentum throughoutthe country. California launched the controversy with a proposed referendum ontheissue, and presidential candidates now are criticizing quotas in federal contracts. Opinion polls show two-thirds of the public opposing affirmative action. A consensuson possible compromisesis nowherein sight. It is risky and even unwise for the SupremeCourt to movetoo far ahead of the public on sensitive social issues like race. It cuts short discussion that might generate good ideas and preparesociety for consensus and change. An abrupt up or downvote on affirmative action, for example, might escalate racial resentment andconflict. The U.S. Supreme Court has reduced that risk by holding back on an issue that many peoplesee as a threat to this country’s commitment to equitable opportunity. TheSalt LakeTribune UTAH'S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1871 PASTPUBLISHERS PUBLISHER John F, Fitzpatrick (1924-1960) Dominic Welch EDITOR James E. Shelledy John W. Gallivan (1960-1983) Jerry O'Brien (1983-1994) Harry E.Fuller, Jr. KEARNS-TRIBUNE CORPORATION, 143 S, MAIN ST, SALT LAKE CITY, 84111 » eC COME HELL OR HIGH WATER, MRS. QUIMBY VOWED To PLANT HER PETUNIAS BY MEMARIAL DAY’ Peace in Northern Ireland Is at Least Conceivable JAMES G. DRISCOLL FT. LAUDERDALESUN-SENTINEL FORT LAUDERDALE — Will all nec- essary parties buy Sinn Fein leader's vision for peace in Ireland? Gerry Adams maylook like a yuppie, with his well-trimmed beard, modish eyeglasses and linen sport jacket — buthe’s decidedly not. He is, instead, something of a mythic figure who grew outof his Belfast hardscrabble beginnings, survived vicious imprisonmentbythe British andnow carries a message of encompassing, inclusive peaceforall of Ireland. Exhausted butebullientat the end of a 14-city U.S. fund-raising tour, Adams sweptthrough Florida over the weekend, stopping in Tampa and Orlando before two appearances in Fort Lauderdale before cheering audiences. Everywhere he chanted the same mantra, urging ‘‘generosity of spirit” by all who live in Ireland toward all wholive there. Is Adamsto be believed? Is he an Irish bagpiper of peace, a naif who foolishly thinks belligerent factions in Northern Irelandwill learn to tolerate each other? Or is he a cunning agentof the Irish Republican Army, bent on using the Sinn Fein political party he heads to undermine ancient foes and get back at them for centuries of discrimination? Adamsdoesn’t fit neatly into any category, but he’s nofool andfar from naive. If he’s an IRA puppet,it mustbe the best disguise in Irish history, for there’s not one shredofvindictivenessin his oral or written recipes for a peaceful Ireland. He envisions a secular Ireland of one nation coveringthe entire island, with the British pushed from the six northern counties. Church and state would be separated, divorce and women’srights guaranteed, andfull civil rights offeredto all wholive on the island This froma Catholic, a nationalist and a republican — three code wordsthattraditionally describe oneside, in a progressive order of ferocity, in Northern Ireland’s struggle. The three-level code for the otherside is equally specific: Protestant, unionist, loyalist. Adamsisn’t the only Northern Irish resident whohas brokenfree of those old chains, andthepolitical outlook they imply. At grass-roots levels of unionists, there’s a yearning to continue the more peaceful conditions of today. Nine months of tranquility, after the IRA cease-fire of last Aug. 31, have been accepted gladly by the 1.5 million residents of the six northern counties. Who wants a return to the bloody. 25-year guerrilla war, in which 3.200 Irish ofall backgrounds were killed? Adams’vision might not materialize or could be years away. Aninterim arrangement is possible, in which Ireland and Northern Ireland cooperate in ‘“‘crossborder institutions.” There would be joint commissions on tourism, agricul- ture, transportation and fisheries. Maybe limited change would assuage anxious unionist leaders, who fear being overwhelmed by a religiously oriented government in Dublin. Their overblown fears are, to them, quite real. Adams’ next stop could becritical to the peace process. In Washington this week, hewill attend an economic conference on investment in Ireland. and will meet privately there with Sir Patrick Mayhew,Britain's top government minister in Northern Ireland. A few monthsago, British Prime Minister John Major complained his stomach would turnif Sinn Fein met with Britain's government at a ministerial level. Two weeksago, that happened in Belfast, and Adams’colleague Martin McGuinness reported noevidence of indigestion among the British Nowthe level will elevate a notch, as Adams and Mayhew circle each other warily. It’s not quite the equal of the Rabin-Arafat handshake, but close enough Adamswill press for talks involving all political parties in Belfast. while Mayhew demands a “decommissioning” of IRA weapons. Adamswill urge that all sides relinquish their arms. In the background, Clinton as well as Democratic and Republican members of Congress will pressure the British. Clinton and Irish-American lobbies have been influential in the peace process. Will this process unfold as anotherIsraeli-Palestinian tangle, with squabbling and back-pedaling, or something like South Africa, a favorite reference point for Adams?There, talk of half-measures toward peace was overridden by a powerful impetus for total change in government. There, too, winner Nelson Mandela was gracious to defeated whites, who joined his government It’s not beyondthepale to conceiveof a similar rush towarda wholly newIreland A taste of peace, as in Belfast and Derry can becomeaddictive Self-Armed Militias Are Kidding Themselves DONALD KAUL CHICAGO TRIBUNE SERVICE CHICAGO — After reading interviews with a goodly number of specimens, it seemsfair to concludethat your average militiaman — I refer to members of the paramilitary groups that call themselves the Oklahoma Militia, the Iowa Militia, and so forth — is no dumber than a fence post. Neitheris he smarter. The flakiest of these people think that the government is implanting computer chips in their buttocks so that it can keep track of their whereabouts and that the government is putting coded marks on traffic signs to help direct U.N. troops in their takeover of the country on D-Day Every helicoptertheyseeis a sinister harbinger of the approaching invasion. If notall of them are completely wacko, nearly all of them share hatred of gov- ernment and a fear that, soonerorlater, government troops will come for them. This is why they need guns and whythey prepare themselves to use them. Wacois a big thing with them. To most of us the incineration of David Koresh and his followers in Waco, Texas,in 1993 wasthe tragic result of a foul-up. To them it is proof that the tyrannical government is out to get them andthat they'd better be ready to defend themselves, Actually, that’s close enough to completely wacko to passforit in twilight. The United Nations is going to take overthis country? Whatare they talking about? The U.N. can't even take over Somalia, The U.N. would be no better than even money against the Kripps and the Bloods, depending on who had the most tanks. Asfor Waco, it standsless as an example of governmenttyranny thanit does as a monument to government stupidity From thefirst moment, when the government agents ran up to the Branch Davidian building all but wearing bull's-eyes on their chests, the operation was a botch. It remained a botch during the negotia- tions when they blared music over loudspeakers in an effort to break the Davidians’ spirit, and it didn't get any better when the newly appointed attorney general, Janet Reno, appeared on the scene. | give her full credit for trying to save the lives of the children inside the compound by the novel methodofcrashinginto their buildings with tanks and pouring tear gas over them. I guess the department was short of napalm that day, (Do youever get the impression that Ms. Renoisn't the brightest light on the porch?) One should never forget, however, that as monstrously stupid as the government was in Waco, it was essentially Koresh’s fault, He was the one whobroke the law Hewas the one who refused to surrender or release the children He mayeven have been the onetostart the fire. Too bad aboutthe kids, but Koresh got what he deserved. That brings us to the ultimate insanity > ofall of this militia business, They think they're getting ready to defend them selves against the government. They're kidding themselves. Whenthe government, good or bad, de cides to get you, you're got. Koresh had an arsenal that a small European country might envy. What good did it do him? The same with the Randy Weaver bunch in Idaho. They had guns, so what” All it did was get a couple of them shot Morality aside, it is reality that gives the lie to G. GordonLiddy's now-famous instruction to shoot for the head’ when government agents burst through the door unannounced, So you shootfor the head, then what? You get killed, that's what And they've gotit wrong when they say the governmentis putting computer chips in their fannies to keep track of them, If the government is doing that, it's to con trol their minds.