| Show m0-H- Don’t Reach for Stars Too Early With SDI quire bigger rockets than the United States will have available for years to come Proxmire said And Pentagon officials already are saying that if they move ahead with early Stars Wars deployment the United States will have to retreat from arms-contrproposals it has placed on the table at Geneva Switzerland These are reasons enough for Congress to prevent a Pentagon crash program to bring into being something it could call a strategic defense within the next few years Another more important reason is that the Reagan administration — nearing the end of its incumbency and drastically reduced in public confidence — should not be permitted to commit the nation any further to strategic defense Once final such a commitment would be a dramatic change in strategic doctrine dating back to the Eisenhower administration It probably would touch off a defensive arms race as costly as the offensive arms race It would end the prospect for a major arms-contragreement any time soon A fully effective population defense moreover probably never will be possible and it’s not even clear that a partial defense or a point defense of American retaliatory missiles would be worth the time and effort to develop and deploy it A new president will take office in two years He may be a Democrat Even if not he may have an entirely different view of nuclear strategy n and of the evolution of relations He may see strategic defense — as former President Nixon does — as a chip to be used in a grand compromise to reduce the Soviets’ offensive missile capacity Reagan’s own proposals to the Soviets — notably his suggestion at Iceland that each side adhere to the Missile Treaty for 10 years — allowed his successor proper latitude and flexibility But a crash program to deploy in the early 1990s would limit that successor’s national-securit- y choices make it far more difficult to reverse modify or delay the move to strategic defense and iniprobably foreclose arms-contrtiatives he might have wished to pur- The Salt Lake Tribune Animal Lovers Bark Up the Wrong Tree Chicago Tribune Service The organizations trying to elimi- ' ol New York Times Service NEW YORK — If a new ic Congress were to make a difference in only one thing it probably ought to be in President Reagan’s plan for a Star Wars strategic defense Now the Pentagon is talking of deploying elements of such a defense in the early 1990s — a dubious notion that Congress should dispel promptly and firmly The motives behind the Pentagon statements some of them by Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger seem plainly political Promising early deployment might make it more difficult for members of Congress to oppose or cut back Star Wars appropriations It might also give the project more credibility and momentum within a skeptical public just adminiswhen a scandal-weakene- d tration faces a new Congress in the control of the Democrats But no evidence of technological breakthroughs that could speed up deployment has been offered As recently as last fall the administration was making arms-controffers on its own assumption that strategic-defens- e deployment was at least 10 years away The weight of scientific opinion outside the administration holds that an effective strategic defense cannot be deployed until well into the future — if ever Sens William Proxmire of Wisconsin and Bennett Johnston of Louisiana — neither can be accused of being soft on defense or military needs — already have voiced strong opposition to the Pentagon’s hurry-u- p offensive Both are Democratic members of the Defense Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee The two senators said at a news conference that even if partial deployment were feasible for the early 1990s it would cost far too much — perhaps $100 billion some experts have suggested The senators also expressed doubt that the weapons involved could be fully developed so soon and suggested that the Soviets could counter those weapons relatively cheaply — with fake missiles and decoys for example or by attacking the satellites that would control the defensive system Just to place those satellites in orbit — an early phase of any space-base- d defense system — would re super-bargainin- g sue e Strategic-defensresearch should continue both to pursue at an orderly pace the technological possibilities and to guard against a surprised Soviet “breakout” in defense technology But why should a Democratic Congress allow Reagan’s Star Wars dream with all its predictable and unknown consequences to be imposed — like a Supreme Court justice or the current budget deficit — either on his successor or on the American future? The Public Forum Tribune Readers’ Opinions Cost Effective? In his “Common Carrier” article last Oct 12 Utah Transit Authority General Manager John Pingree mentioned UTA’s being given a No 1 award Although I congratulate him and UTA employees I take exception to his claim of operacost-effecti- tions How is UTA? For the period from January through September 1986 UTA received $17074949 from the V percent transit sales tax plus $15453920 in federal grants (tax money) plus $1068701 mostly from interest That nine-mont- cost-effecti- h totals $33597570 There were 12667437 single rides taken In other words each ride cost the taxpayers $265 That’s hardly cost ef- fective Advertising and special bus revenue brought in another $377463 or 3 cents per ride The fare-bo- x money brought in a measly $3908295 or an average of 31 cents per ride Each ride brought in $299 in revenues out of which $265 came from tax subsidies During that same nine months UTA carried a mere 145 passengers per mile at an operating cost of $210 per mile revenue per mile The fare-bo- x amounted to 46 cents UTA was tax subsidized $164 per operating mile Let’s have That is not for our taxes cost-effecti- no-fa- SAMUEL S TAYLOR Forum Rules Public Forum letters must be submitted exclusively to The Tribune and bear writer’s full name signature and address Names must be printed on political letters but may be withheld for good reason 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 writer’s true name All letters are subject to condensation Mail to the Public Forum The Salt Lake Tribune PO Box 867 Salt Lake City Utah 84110 Rest of the Facts can understand Preston M Motes 's attitude regarding Judge Mau-- e Jones’ dismissal on the charge of :gally killing a moose against Greg own with the limited information The Tribune's report I would ve felt the same way As for Mr tes the facts are as follows: was hunting in the thick brush ening day of deer hunt A moose I and I surprised each other I stopped and waited for the moose to move or react to my presence he was about 30 feet away from me He started toward me I tried to deter him by waving my arms and yelling The moose continued toward me My only option was to turn and run through the brush and across the meadow toward some trees The moose being faster than I caught up about halfway across the meadow I shot the moose in the head two feet away while running at full speed Slightly different from shooting anything that moves I called the Fish and Game took them to the site and helped take care of the animal After a full investigation by the Fish and Game the recommendation was that no action should be taken against me by the Fish and Game I had done the only thing possible under those circumstances For being honest I was rewarded with two days in court and a $100 “contribution” to the state Accurate reporting could have altered the opinion of concerned sportsmen of Utah like Mr Motes and myself GREG BROWN Critical Questions was driving from my daughter’s place in Sandy to my mother’s place in Sugar House As I passed the intersection of the old Keith O’Briens and the First Security Bank (going from south to north) I smelled the strong odor of natural gas I called Mountain Fuel and reported a gas leak I carefully explained I was a visitor from out of town but I once lived in Utah and so I was somewhat familiar with the area I was describinjg I gave the address of the intersection and explained it was in Sugar House On Dec 29 1 Legislators Play ‘Lottery’ In Gambling on Welfare Legislators debate whether Utah should institute a lottery to raise revenue nearly every year but the state already has another type of lottery that legislators and Social Services officials routinely participate in The gamble is how many people will need public assistance during the year and the winners or losers are the people who enter poverty Last year legislators decided about 13000 people would need welfare assistance and also decided to provide a 2 percent increase in grants The in- crease was never given because the caseload grew so quickly that Social Services didn’t have enough money “We were at about 12800 cases when the legislators agreed to 13000 for this year” Social Services Director Norman G Angus said “We’d had a 2 percent increase the year before and 2 percent the one before so it felt reasonable” But by December the welfare caseload stood at 14047 cases a full 1000 14300” he said “but I’m afraid that what will happen with that is we’ll wind up having to incur a 2 to 4 percent decrease in payments” And as legislators gamble on whether they’ve provided adequate funds for public assistance it’s the recipients who take the real risks They may get grants at present levels which provide $376 monthly to a family of three they may have their grants cut by 4 percent if more people go on welfare Or if tax increases are high enough they may get a 15 percent grant increase that legislators are listing as their sixth priority just as long as extra funds are available anti-cruelt- y food on my plate with the animal on the hoof or the bird on the wing My attitude toward steak is the same as a woman’s attitude toward a fur coat — the animal and the coat do not seem related The steel trap or the slaughterhouse do not occur to either of us We all look for ways not to worry We don’t worry about mink coats because the 20 or so minks that go into making a coat are raised on what they euphemistically call “ranches” The mink live for that one purpose If they weren't valuable for their fur they would never have been bred to life in the first place We meat-eater- s say that about cattle It’s weak The ranches the mink live on are not to be confused with the kind of ranch President Reagan owns either These wild little animals are kept in tiny filthy cages for all their brief lives because their skins are most valuable if they are unblemished The mink are often drowned or suffocated when their time comes to become a coat Even this is better than being caught in a leg trap Civilization’s effort to become more civilized sometimes seems like a losing battle How any society treats its animals is an indication of the degree of its civility During our stewardship of earth's civilization we ought not pamper our pets with vitamin-enriche- d dog food on one hand and close our eyes to the fur stripped from the animals caught in steel traps on the other Senator Soaper About the only time they try to see how many people they can cram into a telephone booth these days is when you’re waiting to make a call It’s getting so that a horse race better bet than the human race Once again social services will be taking a gamble If the caseload grows at the present 89 percent increase rate next year Mr Angus will have 15300 families on welfare The governor has suggested funding 13049 cases The legislative fiscal analyst went for 13872 but had to decrease grants 4 percent to do it Mr Angus thinks he could get by with 14600 to 14700 cases Legislators on the social services and health appropriations subcommittee approved the analyst’s budget but said a caseload of 14300 is their first priority if additional funds are available from proposed tax increases If they get a few more dollars they’ll allot for 14600 cases And if the caseloads don’t grow that quickly the money would be returned to state coffers at year’s end Depression Peer Pressure Predicting caseloads is hardly an exact science because they are af- fected by so many imprecise factors Who can possibly guess what the economy will do how many women will be left alone to raise children following a death or divorce and how many displaced workers will result from businesses that go broke? Low Self-Estee- m Alcohol Abuse Fear of Failure Drug ' v & Sexual Identity Even the legislative fiscal analyst noted that he disagreed with his own proposed caseload size and grant de- Family Disruption Eating Disorders crease “I disagree with the analyst in this case” mused fiscal analyst Marion Wittwer who must budget relative to state revenue projections “It is just that’s all the money I have” The governor took a gamble too when he recommended 14300 cases based upon the size caseloads were three months ago as the budget was compiled Mr Angus noted “We were appreciative of even the you or someone you love has a problem call the Western Institute of Neuropsych3try We are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week If The Western Institute of Neuropsychiatry A PJA “Around the world on a tank of that’s not bad but the gas Democrats expect to get better mileage out of Iranscam” Hospital at the University of V tali The Western Institute of Neuropsychiatry is owned by Psychiatric Institutes of America a is a If you live by adages it’s hard to reconcile the belief that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks with the theory that you’re never too old to learn above the approved budgets Because everyone eligible must be paid Mr Angus eliminated the approved 2 percent grant increase added $6 million in federal and state dollars to the budget and hoped the caseload wouldn't go any higher I learned Jan 12 that the Sugar House First Security Bank had to be evacuated because of a gas leak Jan 9 and that they are still having problems This leak was reported by me nine days earlier Why wasn’t that leak found sooner? Did the gas company check out the report I called in? The person who took my call did not ask my name address or phone number If the gas company intended a serious search wouldn’t they have wanted a way to contact me again if they needed further information? I think Mountain Fuel has some critical questions facing them Their Utah customers and the state's governing agencies might like some answers VB BARTLETT Tempe Ariz nate cruelty to animals are right but they’re a little shrill They give people the impression they’re on the lunatic fringe Readers tend to associate them with the rich woman who dies and leaves a million dollars to her cat With the probable exception of Greenpeace which has been effective against the baby seal slaughter and a few notable local groups organizations trying to protect animals from abuse and torture have been largely ineffective They certainly haven’t discouraged women from wearing fur coats d The question of spring traps with jagged teeth that snap shut on an animal's leg has been the object of humanitarian organizations’ attacks for 100 years Their work has made animal lovers feel better but it hasn't done much for the animals There are more leg traps and more animals being caught by the leg than ever before Thoughtful compassionate women who would open the screen door to let a fly out before they’d kill one do not associate the fur coats they wear with the cruel and bloody death of the animals whose skin they are made of I don’t want to join their organizations or get their voluminous literature depicting the horrors of vivisection I’m on the side of the people fighting cruelty to animals I wish they were more effective Maybe they ought to direct their campaigns against the women who wear the furs intead of against the trappers The men who make their living catching and killing animals are a tough lot They think of their trade as a manly one and they’ve become inured to hard death They’re used to seeing animals that have been tortured or starved to death in their traps The way to make sure fewer animals are caught in traps is to discourage people from buying and wearing fur coats The organizations might try having some of their women members follow and men with signs reading "This Animal Died A Horrible Death" The fear of being the object of public scorn would discourage most women from going out in their fox raccoon or mink coats Anyone who eats animals as I regularly do is on shaky ground talking about cruelty to animals But like most people I don’t associate the steel-jawe- ol Soviet-Ameri-ca- A7 Wednesday January 28 1987 part of the NME Specialty Hospital Group |
