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Show POMOOM Sun Advocate Cosbys class act As was the case throughout its CANDIDATE survey: run, eight-yea- r the recent final episode of The Cosby Show drew criticism for airing a TV comedy while violence and anarchy held sway in the streets of Los Angeles. In this case, the decision to broadcast seemed defensible, given the integrity of the program in question. And characteristically, Bill Cosby came on camera at the end to ask Americans to "pray for a better tomorrow, which starts today." From its inception, criticism of "Cosby" came mainly from those who thought the Huxtable TV family wasnt black" enough: They were too affluent, too removed from the grit of the ghetto, too too much like a blackface happy and Father Knows Best, a 1 950s sitcom that has been criticized in retrospect for drawing a well-adjuste- 4b Tuesday, May 19, 1992 DEFICIT? HOW WOULD YOU ELIMINATE THE I'D RAISE u I'D CUT f SPENDING. REVENUES. d, too-pristi- white family life, as if comedy must always show family life warts and all. The answer to that argument is that The Cosby Show" transcended the black stereotypes that have been all too commonly portrayed on TV. If the portrait that emerged seemed somewhat idealized, the fact is that many black families have become affluent. The Huxtables were legitimate role models, not only for their affluence and not only for blacks: Their humanity, their mutual love and respect, their devotion to education and to social tradition deserve praise and emulation in their own right. Nor did Cosby neglect the uniqueness of black experience. Bill Cosby, a major benefactor to black from the paintings by institutions, saw to that black artists that adorned the walls of the Huxtable home to the frequent references to black colleges and historical figures to the occasional inclusion of d a social problem. It was always subtle, but always to the point and never preachy. And beyond its sensitivity to real life, Cosby was a highly professional, very funny show, just what good TV ought to be. portrait of middle-clas- s race-oriente- Constituents also deserve criticism So low is the public's regard for Congress that incumbent has become a dirty word. It calls up unable to handle their own images of private bank, much less the federal1 budget. Lots of incumbents deserve criticism. But so do lots of their constituents. For the underlying blame for corrosive deficits and slow growth falls only partly on Congress. A large part falls also on those who insist that Congress keep sending them benefits, never mind the costs. Only recently has the exent of that cost been measured by the Congressional Budget Office, which related Internal Revenue Service and census data. The results, summarized in a recent Atlantic Monthly article, are sobering. For example, federal benefits this year will be greater than the entire 1981 federal budget. Some benefits, often mislabeled entitlements, are all but invisible. If you get health insurance through your employer, for instance, you get a tax savings on the portion of premium your employer pays. That savings alone totals around $60 billion a year. With so many similar benefits Social Security income, deductible mortgage interest, others its not surprising that distribution is perverse. Half, or about $400 billion annually, goes to households earning more than $30,000. self-serve- rs tax-exem- pt Current Issues Forum Issue: Should el pari-mutu- wagering be placed on the November ballot? YES: You cant say nothing is being done to prevent illegal drug activity in Carbon County. One of the most successful and programs is the interesting anti-dru- g DARE (drug abuse resistance education) program being taught in East Carbon and now in Wellington. I recently spent some time with Wellington Police Chief Lee Barry talking about the first educational program there. He is thrilled with its success. The program not only teaches the kids to say no to drugs, it teaches them how to say no and why they should say no. It also teaches them alternative activities. It teaches parents how to recognize signs of possible drug abuse, how to communicate with kids and even how to establish guidelines and parameters for discipline. The program is Does the program work? I guess only but the essays written by grade classes how to stay off drugs. He the Wellington Elementary students inditook his time to teach the fifth grades in cate the program had an impact. Let me this school, Jennifer said. She also told share a few of their comments with you. the fourth grade students to look forward Cassidy Jones said she will not take to having Mr. Barry as a DARE teacher. Lee said the programs teachings seem drugs because drugs get you high, but when you come down, you come down lowto be working. One of the stress relievers er than you were before. If a friend tried he taught advises the students to push to get me to do a drug, I would tell him if hard against a wall for two or three he was really my friend, he wouldnt want minutes when stress builds up. As he was me to do drugs." Good point Cassidy. waiting for the color guard to bring in the Jennifer Timothy said she wants to flags for the graduation ceremony for the keep her body healthy. I will never take DARE students, he looked out in the hall drugs, drink alcohol or smoke," she says. and noticed the Boy Scouts were all pushI can do that by avoiding it, like not going ing against the walls of the hall. The program is sponsored by the Welto parties that are going to have people there that want you know take drugs, lington City Police Department and the smoke or drink. Carbon County School District. HopefulDid the kids enjoy the class? Listen to ly, we will see it expanded to include Price this. We should all thank Lee Barry for schools soon. It works. his wonderful job of teaching the fifth time will tell, Because of extensive lobbying by the LDS Church, legislators were unfairly persuaded to ignore the advantages wagering would bring to the horse industry and to the rural Utah economy. Questions of whether the democratic process was circumvented remain. Putting the issue on the ballot will give opponents and proponents a chance to argue their cases before the public. Then in November, the citizens will be able to vote intelligently according to their own beliefs. pari-mutu- el NO: Lobbying elected officials is part of the democratic process. Besides, the values represented by the LDS lobby represent the values of the majority of voters in the state. Had the Legislature believed otherwise, betting would now be law. Even if the question is placed on the ballot, it is likely the outcome will be against wagering. In a representative democracy, the elected officials' decisions are considered the will of the people. pari-mutu- el you would like to voice your opinion on the issue of parti-mutuwagering you can do so by calling the Current Issues line: question number 1 . Cost of each call is 50 cents. Current is Issues by ATP Inc., Vernal, Utah. If To the question, Should all high school girls be required to take a class in careers" with an emphasis on Math and Science as a requirement for graduation?: 62 answered Yes and 38 No. Few responses. al The opinions expressed In the Current Issues Forum do not necessarily reflect those of this publication. By JOSEPH WALKER 24-ho- Guest columnist Tell the truth you havent paid much attention to your spleen lately, have you? Dont worry you're not alone. I mean, its not like theres a National Spleen Association out there working to increase public awareness of spleen diseases and disorders. We dont have volunteers going to door-to-do- or raise money for spleen research or rock stars joining forces to produce a music video for "Our Ductless Friend, The Spleen." And through years of professional and ama- teur late-nig- ht hopping, I dont recall ever zapping across a spleen telethon (Come on, channel- - folks, lets get these ur tele- phones ringing for Jerrys spleen!"). , From a public relations standpoint, the spleen has a couple of problems. The first has to do with function. Everyone knows the basic job description for hearts, lungs, brains, stomachs and kidneys, right? But by show of hands, how many of you know that the spleen is where your bodys required lymphocytes are produced? (Whats that? Youd like to know what a lymphocyte is before you answer? Exactly my point.) f The second public relations problem for the spleen lobby is romantic. Not only do we understand the important bodily function other organs perform, but we have extended their function from the physical to the emotionaL One who has been deeply hurt by a loved one is said to have "a broken heart. Love has likewise been known to addle the brain, put butterflies in the stomach or land a blow like a which, of kidney punch course, takes your breath away. Now try to conjure up a little romance with this line: One look at you, baby, and my spleen started pumping out lymphocytes like crazy!" Not exactly ifyoull pardon the expression. Of course, if youve ever had spleen trouble its a different story. A young friend of mine named Brandon was recently involved in a motorcycle accident. Thankfully, he was wearing a helmet so it wasnt nearly as serious as it could have been. But nobody ever said anything about spleen protection. These days, every heart-warmin- g, breath Brandon draws reminds him painfully of the existence of his spleen. His doctors say itll be three months before he can run again and at least six months (Continued on Pago SB) |