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Show Saturday, March 11, 2006 ‘ DAILY eae EDITORIAL HERALD DoilydHerald EDITORIAL BOARD Albert J. Manzi, President & Publisher Randy Wright, Executive Editor Donald W. Meyers, Editorial page editor Nancy Hale,Public adviser - Church burnings areno joke igi studentsarelearnt that there are limitsfo shea jokes. studentst! ht 2 it would be oe “to spread skunk oil around the school. Unfortunately, they unrestimated how well their joke ould be appreciated, as well as he potency of the skunk oil They now face 90 days suspenionforstinking up the school. Weunderstand why schoolof-ficials' noses are in a knot, but the ‘punishmentseems little over‘board. Afterall, the ideal punish- ‘ment would be memorable, not a -grant of free vacation from school. ‘A morefitting punishment would be making the prariksters clean up :the mess. This would teach them sabout consequencesin a practical, ‘hands-on way. i + While we do not condone -spreading skunk juice around «schools, we can see how a kid imight findit funny. It’s essentially _ za harmless prank that does no ‘lasting damageto property or «persons. : Unfortunately, the same cannot -be said about the church burnings tin Alabama.Three college students ‘werearrested this weekfor setting fire to nine Baptist churches saroundthestate, churches with ‘largely black congregations. One of the mensaid five of the churches weretorched as part of a practical joke gone awry. Others were burned to coverthe arsonists’tracks. Sorry,but there's nothing funny about setting a churchon fire. Painting the “Y”red is a practi- cal joke that can be dealt with in the samespirit as it was given — makethe perpetrators clean it up. Burning a church, on the other hand,does real harm to property and people. These fires were a waytotell black people that they could not even count on God to protect them if they refused to mindtheir place in thé stereotypical Southern caste system. And nobodylaughed. People werein fear, worried that the night riders had come back once again to wreak havoc on sacred institutions andinnocents. Houses of worship are sanctuaries that deserve vigorous protection by society. The Geneva Conventions makeit a war crime to destroy a house of worship or to subvert onefor use as a military installation. A church should never be used as the butt of a cruel and pointless joke. Unlike the Springville skunk oil case, the punishmentfor the arsonists should be severe. They are not young pranksters. They are terrorists and shouldbe treated as such. Beehives & Papeninen patahears Buffalo Chips ji) Buffalo Chip to People for the Ethical Treatmentof Animals for proving that vegetarians are stupid lovers. A scantily clad couple cavorting at the corner of Provo's University Avenueand Center Street were supposed to be demonstrating that a vegetarian diet improves ‘one’s sexlife. What they actually showed was how manyplaces on the human body an icicle can form. Activist Mike Brazell was wearing nothing but boxers;his partner, Theresa Moore, was in a tube top andlight flannel pajama pants. They didn’t smooch much, probably because it was so cold their lips would have stuck together, like kissing a flag pole.If a vegetarian diet means the best you do is shiver on street corner in your skivvies, we'll stick with primerib, thank you very much. andfor serving as the Croatian ambassadorto the United States. Wewon't forget you, Kresh. Buffalo Chip to the hooligans who beheaded statue. of Christ in an Orem cemetery. Someonebrokeoff the head andleft hand ofthe statue that stood in the center of Timpanogos Memorial Garden and took them away. The cemetery’s owners are offering a reward for informa- tion leading to the arrest of the vandals. How aboutthrowing in a free cemetery plot that can be used immediately after a few irate to Kresimir Cosic for one last honor from Brigham Young University. Cosic, the Croatian Olympian who was a basketball superstar in Provo andhis homeland,hadhis jersey number formally retired at the Marriott Center. The ceremony honored his on-court performance from 1970 to 1973 andhis rolein blazing the trail for international collegiate athletes. Cosic was also honored for his work in the LDS Church “The United States mayhave the power to cause harm andpain,butit is also susceptible to harm andpain. Soif the United States wishes to choosethatpath,let the ballroll.” —Javad Vaeidi, head of the Iranian delegation to the International Atomic Energy Agency, warning the United States not to interfere with Iran’s nuclear pro- gram orface the consequences. The United Nationsis considering economicsanctions againstIran for developing nuclear weapons. “We have not abandoned hopes residents get their hands on the for a diplomatic solution. This new phase of diplomacy is intended more forcefully to convinceIran to turn g@. Beehive to Utah Valley State College President Wil- back from its nuclear weaponspro- miscreants? liam Sederburgfor standing in for Gov. Huntsman, who was supposed to give the keynote -@~.- Beehive (posthumously) Nuclear Showdown address at the Big Business Expo at UVSC Thursday. Huntsman’s security detail canceled the engagement whenhis motorcade ran inte traffic jams at Point of the Mountain. So the Guv rang up the Préz, and Sederburg took over the gig. The former Michigan legislator's silver tongue was in excellent working order, no doubt lubricated by a $50 million state appropriation for a new library.If wehada hat, we'dtipit to Sederburg, and to UVSC’sfuture. gram.” — Gregory Schulte, U.S. representative to the IAEA,oninternational efforts to shut down Iran's nuclear weapons program MEDIA VOICES Don’t dilute food-safety labeling standards From the Kansas City Star, March 3, 2006 good theoretical case canbe madefornational standards in food-safety labels. As consumers, we all pay more when the ‘sellers of products must meet avariety of differentstate regulatory requirements. But if federal lawmakers want to trumpstate regulation on food safety, they should only do so if they are prepared to ensure that federal standards are adequate. This will obviously require standing up to heavy lobbying pressure from certain business interests. Our economic system is based on consumer choice. But for consumers to make good choices, they need clear, accurate information about what they are buying. bill to consolidate labeling regulation in Washington has gained traction in the House,attracting a fair amount ofbipartisansupport. Manystateofficials object to los- ing authority. No surprise there. Of greater concern, however, _are the objections of food-safety 's and consumer advocates to the legislation.They have pointed to weak spotsin fe regulation that need to be fixed. If Washington grabs moreauthority from the states,it must also accept a greater igation to protect DOONESBURY- Garry Trudeau Ov tieDate in 197 zal ~ CANE OUT of Meetinem |