Show The Salt Lake Tribune Despite Debate Over Bork Americans Lean Toward A Conservative Top Court PRINCETON N J — President Reagan’s nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court has touched off a fierce political debate because of some of Bork's views on civil rights abortion and other issues The climate of American public opinion however narrowly favors a more conservative rather than liberal orientation in the court's future direc- tion In a new Gallup Poll 41 percent say they would like to see the court's decisions move in a more conservative direction while 32 percent would Award-Winni- ng Editors Note: The award-winnin- g Prison Mirror newspaper at Stillwater state prison turns 100 veors old on Aug 10 In the following Eldon Anderson 39 a former Inmate and member of the Mirror staff tells about the newspaper and Its founding by three members of the Jesse James gang and others Anderson is writer who served a free-lanc- e about 18 months for fheft favorable while positive Democratic assessments have improved from 35 percent to 52 percent Currently a 44 percent plurality feels the court has been impartial in’ its decisions while 37 percent think it has tended to favor one group more than another The latest findings however indicate a slight loss in credibility since 1967 when 47 percent felt it was impartial and 30 percent partial Following are the questions asked and the principal findings: "In general what kind of rating would you give the U S Supreme Court — excellent good fair or poor?” By Eldon Anderson Written for UPI FoundSTILLWATER Minn ed by murderers robbers and thieves The Prison Mirror at Stillwater state prison will observe its 100th birthday Monday as the oldest continuously published prison newspaper in the country “We think we are a good paper that just happens to be located in a prison” said editor Robert Taliae ferro who is serving life for - Ratings of Supreme Court first-degre- murder By George Gallup ’ ! - Jr prefer more liberal rulings 16 per- cent think the present direction is about right and 11 percent do not ex- press opinions Gallup surveys in the 1960s and 1970s consistently found the public to favor judicial conservatism over lib-eralism In a 1973 poll for instance 46 percent said they would like new appointees to be conservative in their political views while 30 percent pre- ferred liberals and 24 percent were undecided In the same survey 35 percent described the contemporary court’s decisions as too liberal 26 percent as too conservative the rest felt the decisions were about right (17 percent) or had no opinion (22 percent) As expected the public's views on the court’s philosophy are sharply di-- ! vided on the basis of political affili- ation race education and region By a ratio Republi- cans say they would like the court to move in a more conservative (57 per- cent) rather than more liberal (19 percent) direction Democrats take the opposite point of view though by a narrower vote of 41 percent to 32 percent Whites in the survey choose conservatism over liberalism 44 percent to 29 percent blacks line up strongly in favor of a more liberal court 53 per- cent to 27 percent Younger Americans (18-2- 9 years) college graduates and Easterners are evenly divided on which direction the court should follow but the prevailing view among older less people and those living outside the East is that the court should be more conservative in its future de-- " cisions Half the participants in the current survey (50 percent) rate the Supreme Court as either excellent or good substantially higher than the favorable ratings given the Warren Court in 1969 (33 percent) or the Burger Court in 1973 (37 percent) Since 1969 Republican opinion has grown from 28 percent to 51 percent well-educat- - V' A century ago the notorious Younger brothers who rode with the outlaw Jesse James were responsible in part for creation of the newspaper The three brothers Coleman Robert and James were serving Change in Favorable Rotings (Percent soying "excellent” or "good”) “Do you think the Supreme Court has been impartial in its decisions or do you think it has tended to favor one group more than another?” “In the future would you like to see the Supreme Court's decisions move in a more liberal direction or in a more conservative direction?” Liberal or Conservative Direction More More con- - Neither (Vol) No liberal servotive opinion The latest findings are based on interviews with 1607 adults 18 and older conducted in more than 300 scientifically selected localities across the nation during the period July 3 For results based on samples of this size one can say with 95 percent confidence that the error attributable to sampling and other random effects should not exceed 3 percentage points in either direction In addition to sampling error the reader should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls 10-1- £ Los Angeles Times Syndicate - D-I- Iran-Contr- Monday Aug 3 1987 - KHOMEINI VOWS US WILL PAY FOR DEATHS Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini said the deaths of hundreds of Iranian pilgrims in Mecca was the fault of the United States and vowed revenge "We hold America responsible for these crimes” the patriarch said in a message to leaders of Iranian pilgrims at the holy city in Saudi Arabia “God willing in an opportune time we shall deal with her The Americans will pay” HEARINGS END — The PUBLIC hearings ended after 41 days of testimony from 29 witnesses none of whom directly tied President Reagan to the diversion of arms-sale- s profits to the Contras “The president indeed has been vindicated” said vice chairman of the House committee Rep Richard Cheney However Republicans joined Democrats in a final round of speeches denouncing the secrecy and deception that brought the Reagan administration its greatest embarrassment "The story has now been told" chairman of the Senate committee said Daniel K Inouye He called it a chilling story of a flawed policy "kept alive by a secret White House junta despite repeated warnings and signs of failure” The rare collaboration of the House and Senate will continue the rest of the month First they will hear testimony from three CIA officials behind closed doors then they will draft a report on the affair In the meantime independent counsel Lawrence Walsh continues his separate investigation into the possibility of criminal prosecution of some of the affair's main figures STUDY SPARKS QUERIES ON STALLED HOUSING FOR ELDERLY — Salt Lake City’s Housing Development Corp met to review n a report intended to answer concerns about a public housfound themselves and questioning assumptions in the reing project port Board members Dolly Plumb and Frank Child questioned the increases and vacancy rates The report report's assumptions of rent 3 pegged vacancy rates at percent to 8 percent Mr Child said proposed rents in the housing project were at the market rate not below as might be expected Because of that vacancy rates should be increased to market rate too he said More realistic vacancy rates of 12 percent to 15 percent would reduce the project's income and increase current debt estimates Mayor Palmer DcPaulis was expected to review the report Tuesday IRAN-CONTR- Iran-Cont- debt-ridde- ra “The paper has taught me if I worked this hard on the streets I would probably still be out there" said Taliaferro 32 a Pittsburgh native who became editor about three years ago when his predecessor was transferred to another facility “I knew I could write but I didn't know I could write on the level of a journalist" Taliaferro said e Taliaferro convicted of murder in Wisconsin has been serving a life sentence at Stillwater since 1984 on an interstate prisoner transfer agreement The Mirror at first glance looks like a community newspaper — with articles on graduation church activities promotions and sports coverage But the newspaper also calls for sentencing reforms conjugal visits greater use of halfway houses offenders and for for better prison food For the past two years The Mirror has been judged the coun first-degre- non-viole- nt in an annual penal press contest sponsored by the School of Journalism at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale 111 try's best prison newspaper A prison spokesman said inmates who work on the newspaper mainly learn on the job though most of the staff members have had some writing experience including writing in college When the paper first began publication it was a weekly and contained advertisements from local merchants Later the ads were discontinued Now four inmates work full time and are responsible for all stories and photos in the biweekly paper which runs 12 to 16 pages The paper is typeset and printed in the prison's print shop by other inmates Taliaferro is paid $175 per hour for a nine-hou- r day and earns $126 every two weeks “We’re giving people a view of our society” said Taliaferro “We re here in jail But we are not just sitting here vegetating We are doing something" Apes May Understand More Than Man Suspects By Delthia Ricks UPI Science Writer LOS ANGELES — The many forks in the road of evolution that separated humans from their cousin primates the great apes took man on an advantageous path to just about everything Bigger brain greater dexterity power of reason ability to speak unique form of locomotion — a vainglorious litany of perks that could make other species feel as if they had completely lost out in the game of life If of course other species could ponder the problem and feel insulted But can they? Some scientists working in labs with apes raised in human environments and trained in sign language are minding their words these days being careful of a few things spoken in earshot of their test subjects These apes having mastered sign language may understand spoken English And even though humans have broken the communication barrier with apes the limits may not have yet been reached “Our biological heritage doesn't split that much from the apes” said Francine Patterson the Woodside Calif animal psychologist who has taught the gorilla Koko American' Sign Language Patterson wants to find out just how well her gorilla can distinguish between subtle word differences in an attempt to discover the extent to which humans can communicate with a lower primate Sunday Aug 2 1987 MEESE HAMILTON SAY LAWS WERE BROKEN Attorney General Edwin Meese III and Rep Lee Hamilton chairman of a the House panel said they believe laws were broken in the scandal a view at odds with that of President Reagan “I have not been impressed by the adherence to the law by a number of the actors in these events” Hamilton said on CBS TV’s "Face the Nation” Meese appearing in ABC’s “This Week With David Brinkley” said: “Yes If I didn't think that laws could have been broken I wouldn’t have launched the criminal investigation and sought an independent counsel” to pursue criminal charges foreign countries For outsiders the cost is $5 for 26 issues Scientists Minding Their Words Week in Review: Pul ic Part MECCA DEATHS HEAT IRAN TO A BOIL — More than a million people chanting “Revenge!” gathered in Tehran and cheered calls for the overthrow of the sheiks of Saudi Arabia where hundreds of Moslem pilgrims were killed The Iranian interior minister urged Moslems everywhere to attack interests of the United States which the Iran blames for the killings in Mecca “God you must avenge the blood of these martyrs” the Iranian Parliament speaker told the multitudes in the Iranian capital He called for the seizure of Saudi Arabia's vast wealth of "We’ve been testing Koko's auditory comprehension and have found that she's able to make quite fine discriminations between such words as ‘ear’ and ‘dear or ‘funny’ ‘mon” ey’ and ‘bunny’ Patterson said Koko a lowland gorilla answers questions by responding in ASL Patterson said Koko’s responses match those of a child taking the same tests Animal psychologist Roger Fouts of Central Washington University in Ellensburg Wash said the similarity between the DNA of human and ape is so strong that some scientists now “want to lump humans chimps and gorillas under the same genus Animal language is not an illusion said Fouts "because the thought is there” The psychologist is a proponent of the idea that language exists independent of speech Fouts has extended his experiments with Washoe to controlled tests of her ability to translate words she hears in spoken English to ASL “I read her a poem that someone had written about her and it had a stanza that was a little bit negative something on the order of ‘I used to fear you’ I asked her ‘What do you think of this poem?’ And she signed ‘Bad Koko good’ “I just read it to her in English because I didn’t know how to sign all of the words Actually I thought she might have liked the poem But she picked up on the area that seemed to be a little bit negative about 400-pou- Tuesday Aug 4 1987 - REAGAN DRAWS UP LATIN PEACE PLAN The Reagan administration and congressional leaders began hammering out a Central American peace proposal that would force Nicaragua to accept a cease-fir- e and democratic elections or face continued insurgency from Contras Besides the cease-fir- e subject to outside verification and the halting of US military aid the plan calls for restoration of civil liberties free elections and the withdrawal of most foreign military personnel from Nicaragua Beyond those conditions the plan would provide for the eventual resumption of direct talks between the United States and Nicaragua The Sandinista government already has rejected such a plan THIOKOL PASSES CRITICAL JOINT TEST Morton Thiokol's g in the fifth of 11 redesigned rocket joint passed a critical tests A similar joint with defects built into it also passed the test “This gives us great encouragement” said Allan McDonald head of the company’s joint redesign effort Engineers had cut slivers out of the insulation bond and the new joint’s additional “to simulate the worst possible scenario that could occur” said Mr McDonald The other joint had no such defects Both joints had a layer of grease outside of them to allow engineers to see immediately if there had been any leakage “and there was no evidence of gas out of either joint” said Mr McDonald CITY WONT BUY OVERRUN EXCUSES ON HOUSING PROJECT — City officials say a report written by the Salt Lake City Housing Authority to answer concerns about an housing project for the elderly is sorely deficient “It does not adequately answer the mayor’s concerns” Chief of Staff Mike Zuhl said Tuesday in the mayor’s absence The report was supposed to explain why proposed rents and administrative expenses have increased suggest ways to save on construction costs and offer proposals to overcome accounting problems It is lacking in those and officials say assumptions in the report specifically vacancy rates are overly optimistic The report assumes vacancy rates of 3 percent to 8 percent Vacancy rates in the valley are much higher a factor that would affect income needed to repay construction costs US-back- - over-budg- 500 vocabulary of a feline friend for a and friendly disposition signs sign-langua- ge Hearings Winds Down Iran-Cont- ra test-firin- United Press International Photo Koko is a “talking gorilla” with a et Wednesday Aug 5 1987 IRAN WARNS IT DEPLOYED GUIDED MISSILES — Iran has missiles in the Persian Gulf said Iranian Revodeployed radar-guide- d lutionary Guards Commander Moshen Rizai Rizai in statements reported by the official news agency IRNA and Tehran Radio also warned the gulf countries that thousands of armed speedboats had been stationed at various locations for possible attacks on naval targets Rizai did not give specifics about any of the missiles Silkworm Missiles or whether they included the Chinese anti-shi- p already said to have been stationed in the Strait of Hormuz REAGAN’S LATIN PLAN GETS WARY RECEPTION — President Reagan laid cut a peace plan for Central America that threatens Nicaragua with more US arms for the Contras in the absence of a dramatic shift toward Democracy by Sept 30 Reagan claimed bipartisan support for the plan which is rooted in conditions Nicaragua has rejected in the past Contra leader Adolfo Calero characterized the plan as “a repetition of the same concepts that we have floated around before" but added "For peace you have to keep on trying” Members of both sides of the aisle in Congress expressed skepticism over the plan DID BANGERTER OPEN THE DOOR FOR SELBY? — Pierre Dale Selby plans to argue that a comment of Gov Bangerter’s made several weeks ago biased his hearing before the Board of Pardons which likely is his last chance plead for his life Gov Bangerter told a reporter on June 19 that he’d "be very disappointed if it Selby’s death sentence weren’t carried out” Selby will argue that the entire Board of Pardons should excuse themselves from his hearing because they are appointed by the governor and Bangerter’s comment has biased his chance for a fair hearing before them Thursday Aug 6 1987 ORTEGA: WITHOUT TALKS REAGAN’S PLAN IS A SHAM -Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said the new Reagan peace proposal will only be “a publicity stunt” if the United States refuses to talk directly with his government US Secretary of State George Shultz responded cooly to Ortega’s proposal for direct talks on Reagan's initiative Shultz did not reject Ortega's proposal outright however saying Washington is willing to talk to all countries involved in a solution to Central America’s conflicts He added that the United States would accept direct negotiations only if they contributed to a regional solution HOFMANN’S LAUGHING AT YOU LDS SCHOLARS TOLD -"Mark Hofmann frankly is laughing at you” Deputy Salt Lake County Attorney Robert L Stott told LDS Church historians at a symposium at Brigham Young University Mr Stott said Mormon historians did not “show the necessary skepticism” toward Hofmann allowing him to perpetuate his web of deceit and fraud LDS historian Dean Jessee We while pointing to others whom Hofmann duped admitted “ contributed to Hofmann’s career” LDS Apostle Dallin Oaks told the historians that the LDS Church was one among many whom Hofmann deceived Elder Oaks said media coverage of the bombing deaths of Steven Christiansen and Kathleen Sheets to cover up Hofmann's sale of fraudulent Mormon documents has included “some of the most sustained and intense LDS Church-bashin- g since the turn of the century When all the wounds have scarred over and when tempers have cooled will any good have come of the documents portion of this episode with As for me I hope we all will be less inclined to act Mark Hofmann? and speak precipitously and more inclined to reserve judgment about ‘new historical discoveries' " the significance of Friday Aug 7 1987 REAGAN TO LET CONGRESS KNOW OF COVERT PLANS -President Reagan promised he would notify Congress of all covert operation decisions within 48 hours except in the most exceptional circumstances a move prompted by the secret undertakings in the scandal Reagan made a brief Oval Office announcement of the new procedures for keeping Congress informed of covert dealand Sen William Cohen ings Sen David Boren his Boren is the chairman of announcement for at desk the him joined the Senate Intelligence Committee and Cohen is vice chairman The committee promoted the policy changes to diminish the chances of the Senate and House Intelligence committees again being shut out of a decision such as the US arms sales to Iran major foreign-polic- y PARDONS BOARD PUTS NO LIMITS ON SELBY HEARING -Refusing to disqualify itself the Utah Board of Pardons put no material limits on the scope of evidence to be presented in the commutation hearing of condemned killer Pierre Dale Selby Instead the board r time gained an agreement that the state and defense abide a limit each on their presentations allowing both parties to decide for themselves what evidence and witnesses are most critical to their positions The essentially unlimited scope of evidence was a win for the defense which wants to argue general questions surrounding Utah's application of the death penalty Selby is scheduled to die Aug 28 Iran-Cont- ra la five-hou- —By Phil Sahm r i MJSkMkM rn m M MM A3 Prison Paper Turns 100 their role in an bank robbery at North-fiel- d on Sept 7 1876 when they decided to put their talents to other uses The first issue of the newspaper carried the motto “God helps those who help themselves" and was distributed to about 400 people in the old territorial prison in downtown Stillwater Fifteen inmates pooled $200 to start the paper which is thought to be the only prison publication ever started with inmates’ money including $50 from the Youngers The first issue listed one editorial staff member editor Lew P Schoonmaker but the masthead also listed two compositors and the d printer’s devil cleanup boy) Coleman Younger Today The Prison Mirror a sprightly tabloid is published every other Friday behind the walls of the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Stillwater and is read widely by the prison's 1158 inmates and 450 staff members who receive it free The newspaper also has paid subscribers in 49 states and three life sentences for Sunday August 9 1987 MM MM jS m M m Ms M t I 4 0t M S0 M 4 M 0t'Mt 4 M M'tM M MM M jwf 04 |