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Show The Public Forum The Salt Lake Trihuue In a June 8 article entitled, "Studies Show Medical Care Needs Vary in Utah as Do Costs. Mr. Peter Singer states that "no one's considering costs. Hes wrong. I can say. as a member of this medical community for over 12 years, that costs of tests and treatment are considered everyday, in reference to cost vs. benefit to the patient. My father suffered a small MI some HMO did nothyears ago. His ing to investigate whether or not coronary bypass surgery should be done. He died a year later after another MI. By contrast, a neighbor of mine suffered a seizure about that same time. He had a CT scan, angiogram, neurosurgery and radiation therapy, and is enjoying good health seven years later. Which approach was more expensive?" If the Peter Singers are going to escape being considered an unnecessary expense themselves, they need to include in their analyses the cost of losing a life due to cost control, and the money saved expensive methods leading to early diagnosis and treatment, resulting in the return of a family breadwinner to a productive life in the community. cost-sensiti- R E. ANDERSON, M.D. Re-Establis- 2. How could an investigation Haines said he ordered three years ago turn up nothing when three years later Police Chief Willoughby now acknowledges that the whistle If you contribute to or draw annuities from any retirement plan you should be interested in a case in federal court in Washington, D.C. The case contests the federal governments responsibilities to pay retirement annuities to federal retirees. Justice Department attorneys take the position that the U.S. Government has no responsibilities blower's infor.nation was correct and that serious and possible criminal charges have been "uncovered." 3. Why doesn't the city protect whistle blowers? In the past three years, Channel 2 has uncovered two whistle blower incidents where the whistle blowers have retaliated against the city for giving information didnt want to learn. In both cases, the matters are of public and civic interest. I wonder how many other incidents there are that do go uncovered because whistle blowers have no legal protection in Utah? Other states are different. Why doesnt The Tribune undertake some public dialogue about whistle blowing statutes? New York Times Service BOSTON The mayor of Boston, Raymond L Flynn, keeps in shape by running He was m Washington the other day for a meeting of the Demo- - Forum Rules Public Forum letters must be submitted exclusively to The Tribune and bear writers full name, signature and address. Names must be printed on political letters but may be withheld for good reasons on others. Writers are limited to one letter every 10 days. Preference will be given to short, typewritten (double spaced) letters permitting use of the writers true name. All letters are subject to condensation. Mail to the Public Forum, The Salt Lake Tribune, Post Office Box 867, Salt Lake City, UT 84110. which Committee, he is a member, and at the end of the dav he ran a few miles. "1 got into a poor- Each of New Mexico s 300,000 gas utility customers will receive up to $700 in refunds this fall as a consequence of a consumer action. Though denied by groups anti-truthe utilities and the corporations involved, and not proven in an absolute sense, there seemed to be something to the allegation that it was collusion between Southern Union (New Mexicos equivalent of Mountain Fuel) and its gas producers that had driven up the price of the utilitys costs for gas. That is to say, the increasing costs had nothing to do with the free market. to pay the annuities; that the annuities are bounties of the government gratitudes and that Congress may give, withhold, distribute or recall such annuities at its discretion. If this argument is successful and if you work for someone like Kennecott or Sears Roebuck or Santa Fe or UP&L, you should be concerned because of the precedent it will set. If Uncle Sam can renege on his obligation, after requiring employee participation in the system as a condition of employment, then the company you work for may also renege on their commitment to you. Your retirement may also be withheld, reduced or even eliminated at the pleasure of those who control the fund. If you think it wont happen to you then consider the union busting that has been going on since the firing of the air traffic controllers. Your congressional delegation could help but they wont unless you insist. RAYMOND ASHLEY UEA a Whimp Please, William Stevenson (Forum, May rest assured that the UEA is nothing more than a paper turtle. The UEA has no tangible power to be feared by good Republican (or American Independent Party) politicians. That mythical political clout believed to be so threatening to the legislators is not a sword of Damascus. In reality, its nothing but a dulled sheet of paper. Completely innocuous. Come on, open the closet door and take a close look at this political boogey-maPoke it. Step on it Kick it. Trample it. See! It does nothing! Its powerless. Oh, sure, the UEA will utter meaningless slogans and hollow rhetoric such as Gee whiz, boys and girls, if you keep paying your dues and PAC donations, in another 50 years legiswell have elected several lators. Please, lets call a spade a spade, or a paper turtle a paper turtle! JIM BENTON Sandy 31), Catholic-bishop-bank- er But the New Mexico development does make you wonder. After all, we have all noticed that scams in Utah are almost as frequent as they might be in, lets say, Chicago or South Bend. SCAMS is an acronym for Squeeze Customer And Make-eScream. But then, the scams in Utah are probably due to contamination of this pristine moral climate by outsiders who likely came from Chicago or New York or Atlantic City or even Philadelphia. I suppose . . . m My goodness! No! What am I thinking? Not in Utah! ED BRENNAN No Sleep at Prison Utah State Prison, now big social event. Rapists and favored criminals are allowed to visit and socialize with the general public, then walk out with the visiting group and board a street bus, unnoticed by our sharp-eye- d prison management Perhaps an investigation is in order to prevent giving dangerous people motel privileges. Killers and kidnapping rapists, escaping our maximum security prisons, are costing poor taxpayers enough money (before apprehension) to build large and better prisons, plus hire and better pay our good guards, who are daily putting their precious lives on the line. M.W. ROBBINS n. pro-teach- er Lazy Tribune Why is that Channel 2 again scooped The Tribune on coverups or scandals in Salt Lake is that City government? What is surprising The Tribune seems not to want to print anything much about the water department scandal. Dont you think The Tribune has any civic duty to ask on behalf of the public for factual answers to the following questions raised by the water department scandal? 1. Now that Albert Haines has admitted Racial Overreaction In response to an article published in the Salt Lake City Tribune May 30, 1984, titled Officer Fired For Jolson Act Saves Face," I feel the N.A.A.C.P. should take a very close look at the issue here. They should certainly be able to see that they are seeking to suppress one of the very American freedoms they have fought so many years for. Perhaps a Jolson act is somewhat derogatory to some Negroes. I dont see it as derogatory either now or in its original form but thats not the point. A person has a right to freedom of speech and expression in this country, even if that speech or expression is not popular. If Berger claimed he was prejudiced against blacks or that he was doing his act in part to degrade blacks, then he would certainly not be a suitable public employee. Since he does not make these claims, he has a right to his act and his job. I feel the police department was wrong to fire him, and the N.A.A.C.P. was very wrong to call for it. WILLIAM MORRE Evanston, Wyo. The Way It Was Here are briefs from The Salt Lake Tribune of 100, 50 and 25 years ago. June 19, 1884 Dr. Powers yesterday discovered three more cases of scarlet fever in this city, one at Charles Nelsons, on Main Street, one at the residence of Mr. Smith on Wall Street and another at the residence of Mr. Pratt on Main street. All these places were placed under quarantine regulations. June 19, 1934 Barabara Stanwyck puts appealing dramatic power into her new role in "Gambling Lady at the Victory Theater this week. As in her early hits, Edna Ferber's So Big she plays the daughter of a gambler, but there the likeness ends. The new picture offers no end of dramatic opportunities, which she realized with striking effects. June 19, 1959 The doors to thq Salt Lake Tabernacle will swing open Friday morning for the first sessions of the COth annual conference of the Mutual Improvement Assii., Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-daSaints. A reception at 7.30 a.m. on Tabernacle grounds will be the first official event of the three-da- y meeting, expected to attract some 23,000 youth leaders from throughout the United States. y s f' of Utility Squeeze Now, I realize that Utah is an extraordinary state in this land of ours. It is very difficult to imagine that the directors and managers of our utilities are anything other than men (and women . . . there probably are one or two) of the highest religious principles and moral standards in the exercise of their responsibilities to the community. This Roman Catholic and Notre Dame alumnus would even trust them to run the Vatican Bank (we tried a from the Chicago area with disastrous results . . . apparently he could not count too well), but not the Papacy of course. Platform eratic DAVID K. ROBINSON While insisting that they did nothing illegal, the utilities and corporations involved did agree to settle for $121 million. It is almost as if, to put it mildly, they had a guilty conscience. hes Tone of Civility st Uncle Sam May Renege AI5 Bostons Mayor being inlormed by a whistle blower from the water department three years ago, what kind of a police investigation did he order? over-zealo- 19, 1981 Antliom Erwi. Tribune Readers Opinions Life Sometimes Costs Tuesday, June VVlV Chi ctf&y Label them, Product of Afghanistan. Jim Fain Jackson Candidacy Opens Democratic Process to All Cox News Service WASHINGTON Jesse Jackson is scaring a lot of people who ought to know better. Forget the notion that this political Pied Piper will lead a boycott of Walter Mondale unless he gets a plum. Most blacks detest Ronald Reagan. No leader who helped re- elect the president could survive. Jackson walks a tightrope. To win concessions, he has to hang on to his balky nuisance value, but he cannot hurt Democratic chances. Almost as skilled a negotiator as preacher, he will play his weak hand artfully and probably end up stumping for Mondale. He is a proud man, willing to roll the dice, but both patriotic and pragmatic. Already he has boosted Democratic chances. Whether he has registered two million blacks, as he claims, or a more likely one million, they are all votes. Recent patterns show they will turn out in higher ratio than whites. Its hard to overstate the importance of this massive entry into the mainstream. It finally opens the democratic process to all. Jackson ended a universal cense of powerlessness. Run, Jesse, run replaced burn, baby, burn. anti-Reag- He also made serious mistakes, notabiy in the Hymie and Louis Farrakhan episodes, though these need to be viewed from a black perspective. Farrakhans firecracker rhetoric testified more to black sense of impotence than any physical threat, but violent words can breed acts, as Jews have reason to know. The Hymie incident was worse because it revealed an Jackson probably did not know he had. He is not an evil man m and will, I think, straighten out when he has time to confront his emotions. Some .grubby aspects of that incident have been little noted. They need to be understood because some Jews, for understandable reasons, have overreacted. Now that media stars have become powerful and wealthy in the hype world of showbiz politics, access to sources is viewed by many as the road to fame and fortune. It reflected neither coincidence nor brotherhood that most news organizations assigned black reporters to the Jackson campaign. Editors thought blacks would give them an edge. As bright competitors, the reporters went along. When Jackson used the code words, lets talk black to indicate he wanted to go off record, no one protested. They were pushinjg a racial edge without realizing it compromised them. The respected writer who revealed the episode bore another ambiguity when Jack-so- n referred to Jews as Hymies. He had been asked by his editor to invite Jackson to a reception at the editors house, which Jack-so- n may have seen as a plantation for them both. He can be forgiven for misreading the quid pro quos of Washingtons social scene though not for the bias his remark betrayed. The incident frightened those who do not grasp the enormity of black alienation. To blacks, democracy has been Catch 22. By offering hope and access to power, Jackson validates its promise. It is a historic achievement. Even white liberals, blithely unaware of their prejudice, are apprehensive of this advance. They ought to relax and enjoy it. What Jesses doing will make us all freer in the end. Andy Rooney Know Why Iran, Iraq Are At War? Ill Tell You . . . The Chicago Tribune Not today, but soon perhaps, I'll be explaining the war between Iraq and Iran to you. Ill tell you how the war started, what the war is about, who is fighting whom and why. I think by the time I finish my ex- planation, it will make a lot more sense to you than it does now. First, of course, Ili have to find out myself. I havent quite decided how, but Ill Roney probably start by ex- plaining the difference between the two countries. One of them is predominately Moslem and I think the other may be, too. If net, its something else. Ill make all that . clear for you. One of the big troubles with that war for most Americans is that the names of the two countries are so much alike. It isnt as though they were called France and Germany. Calling two countries France and Germany makes it a lot easier to tell them apart than calling them Iran and Iraq. Dont worry about it for now, though. Just as soon as I find out what its all about, Ill let you know. While Im at it, I might as well explain whats going on in India for you. Last week, hundreds of Indians were killed when the Indian Army attacked the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The Golden Temple is headquarters for the Sikhs. (Ill be explaining who the Sikhs are.) India, by the way, is no longer to be confused with Pakistan, although the food is a lot alike. I'll go into a detailed explanation of why Pakistan is no longer part of India and how the Sikhs in the Punjab differ from the Hindus or, more properly, the Hindi. i If I have time, Ill probably explain how the Hindus differ from the Sikhs, the Moslems, the Buddhists, the Baptists, the Seven Day Adventists, Jehovahs Witnesses, Methodists, Jews, Shintoists, Catholics and Confu-cianMost of the worlds wars have begun over religious differences between people who honestly believe their religion is the only right one, so I think it's important that you understand how the religions differ from each other. A detailed explanation will be forthcoming from me very, very soon, probably. Nor do I wish to exclude Central America. There are still a few people in the United States who dont completely understand why Nicaragua is constantly having trouble with its neighbor, Honduras. Ill be making that clear so youll all better understand our problems there. s. Because there's also some doubt about which are-thgood guys and which are the bad guys in the guerrilla war in either El, or San, Salvador, I'll find out and let you know once and for all about that, too. Everyone hates war, everyone says. If were going to do something about stopping wars, we ought to do what we do with any problem. We study it and write a report. Thats why Im going to do this public service, explaining all the wars of history, just as soon as I get some free time. Ill be explaining not only the differences that brought on the war between Iran and Iraq, but Ill also be telling you the details of the Punic Wars, the Napoleonic War, The Crimean War and the Peloponnesian War. I'll refresh your memory about The Crusades and what the Crusaders were crusading for and why they killed so many people doing it. Ill tell you whether Attila the Hun was really all that bad a guy or not. I wont leave one war unexplained if there is an explanation for one. er part of the city, mostly black, " he said here the next day "I saw these kids playing basketball, Mr. lewis so I stopped and played with them Then we talked and 1 told them how I played basketball in high school how I came from a poor family and went into politics "You could see that just that little bit of encouragement meant something to them Thats what we should all be doing, whatever we are encouraging people." In just about any other politician that to be story would be too good to be true believable A white Irish politician stopping to play basketball with black kids and trying to make them feel better about their lives? But the people of Boston know by now that it is true of Ray Flynn. Here is another running incident he described. "Sometimes my schedule k so tight I have to get up real early to do my training One Satuiday in February I got up at 4, and it was bitter cold. I ran to the Newton firehouse and back, about 22 miles. As I passed Kenmore Square I saw these two men from Public Works cleaning up from the student parties the night before and on the way back I saw them again: two black men. I stopped and thanked them for the good job they were doing for the city. After I got back here and had a shower I found out their names and addresses. I got $5 gift certificates from McDonalds and sent them with letters to their wives. One night I was in a neighborhood meeting in Roxbury. A woman came up and thanked me. I didnt really know what she meant, but I said, Thanks, I was glad to do it. But she pulled on my shirt sleeve and told me she meant the letter and the McDonald's certificate. You know, she said, this man gets to work 45 minutes early. He shows your letter everywhere. He's never felt so good in his life. I tell you that because its my belief that if you treat people with respect, it matters. We have a serious financial problem. We dont have the money to give people the services they deserve. But we are going to make people feel good about themselves. The most striking thing about Ray Flynns five months as mayor is the attention he has devoted to the racial tensions that have disfigured Boston for years. His No. 1 priority is obviously tolerance among the Irish and blacks and others who have their tight little neighborhoods in this highly ethnic city. One of the first things he did was to see that the widow of a black hospital worker killed by the police years ago got the $800,000 she was due in a federal civil rights judgment a payment that the predecessor administration of Kevin White had refused to make. Flynn handed the check to her personally. When white youths harassed a black family, he rushed to the neighborhood. He has more prominent black appointees than any previous mayor of Boston. All of that surprises people because Ray Flynn comes from South Boston, an Irish working-clas- s area that bitterly resisted school busing. And he was part of that resistance as a state legislator and city councilor. Ten years after the federal court order, he I didnt still thinks busing was wrong think it would improve education for black or white but he says it is time to move on. How did his people in South Boston feel about what he was doing as Mayor? I asked. "They disagree with different things I do, he said, but they think I believe in what Im doing. And its hard to be angry at someone if you think hes honest. A lot of blacks in this city think whites are getting all the services because theyre white. A lot of whites think blacks are getting all the services because they're black. I walked in here with the firm belief that neither was getting much of anything. If you convince them youre going to be fair and consistent Look, we have this much . . People think I am consistent and that seems to be the key: equitable treatment for everybody. Ray Flynn is a populist, but without the demagogic overtones that word often carries. Everything is low-keunassuming, without ego. He never asks Howm I doin? He wants to know how you are doing. He never tries to get attention by provocation. His aim is civility and he has a tone of civility in Boston. It is the politics of symbolism to a great extent so far, but symbols do matter. When he has gone to a racially troubled neighborhood, the trouble has stopped. For the people who have been touched by his modest presence, the symbol is reality. . ... A |
