OCR Text |
Show DAILY ~° Monday, April 17, 2006 EDITORIALS HERALD DoilySHerald EDITORIAL BOARD. Albert J. Manzi, President & Publisher Randy Wright, Executive Editor Donald W. Meyers, Editorial page editor Naney Hale, Public adviser Carole Newkirk, Public adviser Jason Bellows, Public adviser IN OUR VIEW Utah tax code confuses experts s Utahns finish up their income taxes today, they'll notice that lem was trying to link Utah's tax _codetolegislation sponsored by Rep. John Dougall, R-Highland. the instruction book The sheer bulk ofthe legislation advises checking the (120 pages) was difficult to evalumath one moretime ate in the time given, and there before sendingit off. was someconfusion Too bad the-Utah Tax er about the new tax strucCommission doesn’t take Itis hard ture. its ownadvice.If it did, : 4 A genuine“flat tax” the Legislature might be to imagine contains nocredits or tax getting ready to work onreforming the state's someone incometax. willing to The tax commission's economists, in calculating the cost of Gov. Hunts- man’s proposal to create a “flatter” incometax for Utahns failed to include a tax credit for income tax paid in otherstates. pete credit, totaling illion, was added in, .the cost of Huntsman’s proposal doubled to $100 million, and the governor canceled May's special sessionofthe Legislature, which.was going to addressthe income deductions. But Hunts- man’sproposal included partial credits for home mortgageinterest and take money f AWAY ITOM education, hewn whichis funded bi uni the ae tax, just t ki io make a political ‘ * point. annual session. Legislators added other credits, further muddying the water. Dougall, however,at- tributestheoversight to malice.In a Salt Lake Tri- Y * bunearticle, he claimed i ‘, tax issue that lawmakers didn’t get to during the charitable contributions. that Williams is opposed to the tax plan and cannot CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER rate numbers. Suggestingpolitical sabotageis a bit extreme. It is hard to imagine Immigration protesters need clear message _be trusted to give accu- someonewilling to take money away from education, whichis funded by any of the hundreds of thousandsof Hispanic demonstra- the incometax, just to Huntsmanshould have gone aheadas planned. With a. sur- tors who poured outinto the streets on April 10 may not know much makea political point. If Williams was trying to scuttle the plan, he wouldlikely have exaggerated the cost during legislative debates, not underestimated them. His error only madethe tax plan look better. Rather than cry sabotage, Dougall should lookat this as a chance plus somewhere arounda billion dollars, the “cost” could have been. managed.It wasn't too high for a tax system that people can actually ~ understand. But onehas to wonder how such a mistake could have occurred. The faux pas was madeby a English, but they've learned the language of American politics: Flags. Tons of flags. And make them American. Thatlast detail was lost on the first waveof protesters two weeksearlier whose highly televised demonstrations were distinguished by the ubiquity of Mexicanflags. Poor salesmanship. to promotetax reform.If the people in chargeofthe state's tax code senior economist with the tax commission, Tom Williams. The commission's chairman, If you are appealing to Americans to give youtherights andprivilegesofcitizenship, it is not a very good ideato hail cannot keep track of something like a tax credit, what hope is there for the average taxpayer? Pam Hendrickson,said the prob- Mexico, and an even worse idea to hold up signs suchas “This is our continent, not yours!”and “Honkiesareillegal aliens too.” But by April 10, the demonstrators were as American as applepie. All MEDIA VOICES stars-and-stripes and white T-shirts, a nice additionaltouch, painting thetelevision screen with the color of peace and brotherhood. As one demonstrator explained,“I think we have been some- Flea-market secrets whateducated.” And so they have. They From The Los Angeles Times, April 14, military procurement in terms of $640toilet seats and $436 hammers,but the phrase “military grade” actually implies somethingelse: a product that meets the most demanding specifications in the Butit does not behoove one whohas stealthily stolen into another's house to then make demands about rights — or to march underthe bannerof “The National Day of Action for ImmigrantJustice.” Justice? On what grounds do those who come into a country illegally claim rights? They seek good will and understanding. And Americans mightgiveit — but on request, not on demand. Martin Luther King hada case for justice that was utterly incontrovertible, yet he always appealed to the better angels of America’s nature.It is all the more importantforillegals, whose sion, to appeal to American generosity, opennessandidealism. expressed in quintessentially American Thereis much generosity in America to be tapped. Butthat will require two that his people’s struggle was always terms. There was nothing cynical or contrived about it Of courseit was good politics, but Kingwas passionatein his belief in America andin the belief that the to make a backupcopy of = important information. For The news way to moverecords from < others, they provide an easy hi security a bad name. Los Angeles Times staff writer Paul Watson reported this week that shopkeepersat local bazaars have been cd grade security a jowever, is giving hed military- bad name. computersto a central data storage center, which would becomea primetarget for attack anda potentially cat- | security is important, is to change the way people use the devices. Simply put, they havetostart acting as if every USB drive were heading toa nearbyflea market. And that means encrypting every potentially sensitivefile as a matterof routine It’s not very difficult to do; in fact, manyof the drives sold today come witha built-in ability to protect their contents. What's not easy is persuading people to take the extra steps required to use encryption, particularly when they're pressed for time. Again, these areissues the military is well-equipped to handle. Sensitive documents have been spilling out of U.S, bases ever sincethe first one was built, and each new form ofdata has generated a new kindofleak. But there are new kinds of waysto protect against such leaks, and the military should use them. DOONESBURY- Garry Trudeau If you find a strangerliving in your phonylength-of-staydistinctions are stripped awa aboutlegalization and amnesty. And we knowthey oppose the Housebill becauseit declaresillegals to be felons. But House Republicans recognize that they made a huge political er- ror with that languageandarepledged to removeit. Will the demonstrators support the rest of the Housebill, which would radically restrain new migration by-means of a physic: rier and other measures? If the answertothatis yes, then we have the makingsofa national consensus to combine the House and Senate bills — a fence plus amnesty — into a comprehensive newpolicy. But we need an answer. The Hispaniccivil rights movement is youngandlacking unified leadership. That would be an excuse for temporary incoherenceabout goals if'the massive demonstrations did notinsist on bringing the issue to a head now. The politically mobilized millions needtotell America where they stand: Are they readyto be welcomedinto the Ameti- » Charles Krauthammeris a columnist other side of your fence. with The WashingtonPost can familyasthelastillegals — or only that his ultimate intent is just to improve asthefirst of manymillions more? Iraq problemsno excusefor ignoring Iran support of China and Russia, two of the five permanent membersof the United | Weknowthey support thespirit of the failed Senate bill which, whenall the in classic American cadences, invoking Janice Sorensen | — exception? Are theyseeking open-ended immigration or do they agree that they should be the last waveofillegals? his ownlife and not to prepare the way for his various cousins waiting on the astrophic failure point. So trying to stop people from using USB drives would only generatea different set of problems. The answer,in military and civilian settings hee things.First, a changeof tone. Andsecond,a clarification of goals. ignore.Is the amnesty they are demanding/requesting the beginning or the end? Isit a precedent or a one-time — last time struggle for black equality wasa fulfillthe sacred languageof Lincoln, the Dec- | claims rest not on justice but on compas- Andthat's the critical issue that the demonstratorsand their supporters basement, you would be far moreinclined to let him stay if he assured you ment of America’s true creed. Whichis whyKingspokenaturally, if pointedly, oneposting to the next. In fact, having mobile personnel keep data on a USB drive maybe less risky than stolen. The news from Bagram air base in Afghanistan, however,is devices containing sensitive military files. The pen-shaped devices, also knownas USBflash drives, haveapparently been stolen by workers -the base andspirited past guar« Cehe files contained on somedrives were documents that named militants targeted for attack,identified Afghan officials suspected of corruption andrevealed the Social ity numbers of nearly 700 members of the armed services. Officials have launched a criminal probe intothe stolen drives, andthe investigation could result in the arrests of a fewlight-fingered workers. But that won't stop the problem. Nomatter how secure, the base will always be vulnerable to the . theft of information, no matter how it’s stored. But the importance To be sure, thatis not a high crime. ther King, whose genius was to ensure protect data from being Afghanistan, trying to link all military selling portable storage involved in the immigrantcrusadeis the violation of immigration lawsbytheillegals themselves. anandthatthe military take some market. “Military-grade security,” for example, from Bagram typically means the best air base in giving military-grade toric national crime. The principal crime are nowreading from theoriginal civil rights textbook written by Martin Lu- are an inexpensiveandreliable way . available technology to ries they had been thevictimsofa his- andsensitivity of this information, as well as its easy portability, debasic steps to protect it. The drives are on the bases because they fill a need. For some conscientious soldiers, the devices ost people think of laration and Exodus. Butit is not enoughto speak in the right cadences, You need to know how to articulate and frameyour goals. Americans instinctively knowthe difference between thesetwocivil rights crusades. Blacks were owed.For centu- resident Bush’s approval is now consistently slidingcloserto nil, mainly dueto the war in Iraq and his perceived inappro- priate handling of the situation. Most Americansdis- GUEST OPINION approvewith the way the waris being handled, and many believe that America should never have entered the country in thefirst place. While the opinions of the people are vital to the role of democracyin the country, their disapproval in this case maylead to a disturbing changein the country’s international policy. While the United Statesis wrapy upin the rebuilding ofIraq, the situation is being usedas a shield by Iran in its questto gain access to nuclear power. Because ofthe tainted image the United States hasobtained in the United Na- tions over weapons of mass destruction, the leadersof the country are now hesitant to take any action against Iran. Iran has timed perfectly its bid for nu- clear power,as it realizes that few of the more powerful countries will confrontit in this matter. The United Nations is currently taking the most diplomatic course available, banking on the often-wavering Nations Security Council who also have strongties with Iran. Depending onthese countriesto keep an unstableIran in checkisriskyat best. As these countries are finicky and do not have an entirely peaceful history with muchof the world, they are more likely to side with Iran with their own powerfulnuclear weapons in the case ofa conflict. Considering possible leaks from Russiato Iraq before the United Statesinvasion,thealliance with Russia maybe too weak to countonin crisis. The United Nations’ unwillingness to take a stand againstIran,but instead negotiate with them,will likely be un- wise. Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahma- dinejad,is testing the United Nations, Thesituation has manyof the same dilemmas as did the struggle with Iraq. Iraq wasled bya clearlyviolent dictator whowasnegotiated with for years be- fore action was taken. However. when Iraq was invaded the mission seemed a failure because weaponsandbiological warfare tools were not found. While no weaponsof massdestruction were foundin Iraq, the country was a viable threat with a tyrannical dictator capable of becoming a threat to Americans. Becausethesituation in Iraq looks different than what Americans expected does not make it a failure. The country’s risk ¥ liminated, and therefore Iraq houghit were nevera threat ase of Iran. the United States must not back down forfearof political disapproval. It cannot take the most saying he will cause the United States peacefulroad in the hopesthat the “harm andpain,” denying thereality threat will subside. The United States missiles,all the while claiming to have peaceful wishes for nuclear power. It takes little reading between the lines to see that Iran has few peace- growing peril head on and refuse nuclear powerto Iran. of the Holocaust andtesting powerful and United Nations must confrontthis Invasion must alwaysbe the last resort, used onlyif absolutely necessary, out Iran mustnot be allowed to attain nuclear ful intentions. Despite Iran's blatantly violent goals, the United Nations is try- powerand become a world menace. ibility as a peacekeeping organization. » Janice Sorensenis a journalism major at BYU and anintern at the Daily Herald. ing to negotiate. However, with each unchecked incendiary remark of Ahmadinejad, the United Nations loses cred- MALLARDFILLMORE « BruceTinsley |