Show ? t w - ttTinnrt yTKgy The Salt Lake Tribune Flock Isn’t Sheepish Even After Losing Its Shepherd Right-Win- g New York Times Service NEW YORK — Amid the general — though not entirely warranted — euphoria over the signing of a Sovi- - i 1 ' 1 far-rig- i that - Even Sen Bob Dole who is waf-fling on the issue before he’s forced to vote for Reagan’s treaty rebuked the president for this observation — although Reagan knows the right- wing mind better than Dole ever wilL The Dole complaint was well-manered however compared with the profoundly offensive remark by Howard Phillips that the president had become “a useful idiot for Soviet - - propaganda" But Reagan knew what he was talking about Many opponents of arms agreements actually do believe that a showdown is inevitable and that rather than re- dudng its armaments and lulling it- self with words of peace the United States should be building its strength for Armageddon An INF treaty op- ponent writes me for example that he's against it because “Soviets should: 1 Remove the Berlin Wall 2 Get out of Afghanistan 3 Get out of Cuba 4 Get out of Nicaragua” None of that has anything to do with the treaty or with arms control It's a demand for victory Time magazine points out that r ’ Soviet-America- - - - ! Tribune Readers’ Opinion inspection and are the most extensive in any arms treaty These critics including Richard Perle for ' merly assistant secretary of defense and a leading administration arms-contrstrategist must know that the United States itself drew back from more intrusive verification procedures no more wanting to open its most sensitive facilities than the Russians do Rather than any of this three other bitter pills probably are proving too hard for the extreme right to swallow: — The relatively innocuous INF treaty is billed on both sides as a step toward a more sweeping strategic n treaty possibly to be signed in Moscow next year so some right-win- g prancing and posturing is calculated to bring pressure on Reagan not to agree to such a treaty — That the Reagan administration is devoting the major effort of its last year to any kind of treaty-makin- g with the hated Soviet Union and godless communism is a clear signal to Howard Phillips and the American right that their moment in the sun is passing if there ever was a Reagan Revolution in their eyes it's ending not with a bang but a whimper — Perhaps worse Reagan himself — the hero of the right the man who led the progeny of Bill Buckley and Barry Goldwater out of the wilderness and into Washington — has betrayed the faith by entering into a pact with the keepers of the Evil Empire Nothing could show more ' clearly how the pressures of politics diplomacy and security inexorably drive presidents to the center but few events could be more repugnant or disillusioning to those who believed in him most truly ol the fury of President Reagan's erst- while supporters stands out like a sore thumb or a sore loser They can dish it out moreover but they can't take it When Reagan said only what many of these rightists had given him ample reason to believe — that they “basically down in their deepest thoughts have accepted that war is inevitable” — you might have thought he had accused them of wanting war and nuclear war at - The Public Forum n - even the ineffable Phillips speaking for something called the Alliance charged that if the INF treaty were ratified “a major battle of World War III will have been lost by default" — which suggests that “World War III” really is a foregone conclusion down in the “deepest thoughts” of that particular mind What’s riling the far right to so much foam at the mouth? Surely not the new treaty itself since its strongest supporters claim only that it's useful but limited and since Washpredict Senate ington ratification by a wide margin Thus the treaty seems neither worth all the fuss on the right nor likely to be defeated by it Nor are many on the furious right making the weak but plausible case espoused by A1 Haig that the treaty diminishes Western nuclear deterrence in Europe — although the United Styles managed head-counte- rs well-enou- missiles on with no medium-rang- e that Continent in the 1960s and 1970s By 1993 moreover when all INF warheads are withdrawn the United States retain about 3250 nuclear warheads in Europe not to mention British and French nuclear forces Some other opponents are criticiz- ing verification procedures al- though those agreed upon include arms-reductio- Otis Pike : A Letterfor Christmas Is Rare Gift Newhouse News Service VERO BEACH Fla — A mas present arrived in the mail last week and it was so lovely I must share it What makes a lovely Christmas present? If you look at what the merchants are hustling in theur ads you might think it depends on the cost The more it costs the lovelier it has ' to be v One of the papers last Sunday had a nice diamond ring for $22500 an old mirror for $18000 an older cof-frbox (whatever that is) for $32000 an old tapestry for $80000 assorted watches rings and pins plus some assorted coats made from dead animals that cost assorted tens f thousands of dollars The really expensive stuff of course they didn't put prices on indicating the items were priceless They were " lovely There can't be anything wrong with giving expensive gifts at Christmas The first Christmas gifts you ll reading about were gold and frankincense and myrrh and the people who gave them were reputed to be wise Gold and frankincense “and myrrh were very expensive items then 'The wise men gave high- price gifts ' et re-ca- - ‘ If you haven’t finished your “ Christmas shopping don't happen to ‘have any myrrh kicking around the ' house and are temporarily out of the tens of thousands of dollars you’d like to spend on something lovely for It’s a Right on-si- te treaty anns-reducti- someone consider something like the lovely gift that came in the mail last week While I haven't had it appraised I would guess the material cost would come in at about 42 cents That’s figuring 22 cents for the stamp a dime for the paper and a dime for the envelope All it was was a letter and all it did was lift the spirit and warm the heart That’s the best you can hope for from a gift The cost doesn’t have anything to do with it The letter was from a lady I didn't know She lives in New Jersey and her name is Agnes I’d give you the rest of her name and her address but I’m keeping this girl for myself Her handwriting isn’t great only margin- ally better than mine She said she has “attained the disgraceful age of nearly 87" is “doomed to outlive ev--' erybody forever” isn’t “dough-heavy- ” and “Of course I live alone" She wrote to say that my columns had meant something pleasant to her I’d give you more of her flattering words but even I have some threshold cf embarrassment She wrote with humor with grace with style showing not the slightest at being 87 alone hint of self-pit- y and not wealthy She gave me a lovely Christmas gift and the price was right This column of course is partly to brag about the fact that I have a admirer Perhaps it can be something more If someone has meant something good in your life this would be a great time to tell semi-secr- et A15 Saturday December 12 1987 them so Send them a lovely Christmas gift that will lift their spirit and warm their heart If you're a big shot and have a secretary leave her out of it If you have a typewriter leave that out of it too Pick up a pen and do it yourself No matter 42-ce- nt how execrable your handwriting may be the donee will take the time to figure out what you’re saying if it’s nice It doesn’t have to be someone you know Agnes and I weren't hot on each other until last week All of our lives are touched by other lives along the way Some people do us dirt but some ease our path go out of their way to help us over rough spots Forget the ones who did you dirt thinking about them only causes ulcers write a letter to a good guy Don’t phone him or her a letter is one of those rare gifts that does keep on giving Not only will they like it you’ll feel better too Whether it is indeed more blessed to give than to receive is one of those things you can never be sure about but saying “Thank you" to someone you should have said it to years ago will ' do wonders for the conscience Most of the Christinas gifts that will be passed around this year will cost a bundle They will ease the consciences of people who should have said “Thank you” more often during the year and are trying to make up for it with cash You can give silently some wondrous gifts for 42 cents Thanks Agnes for mine The wise men didn’t know everything A reading of your Dec 8 editorial “Victory Over Bigotry” seems to indicate that you believe free speech is a privilege not a right This may be true in some countries but it is not true in ours By calling it a privilege you tend to undermine a right that belongs to all Perhaps it would be wise to keep in mind the words of Judge Learned Hand: The First Amendment “presupposes that right conclusions are more likely to be gathered out of a multitude of tongues than through any kind of authoritative selection To many this is and always will be folly but we have staked upon it our all” BRUCE McKINZIE Will Add to Toll In the last few weeks I have been disturbed to hear that many communities and organizations throughout the state have banned means of AIDS education in their schools Is this a direct result of the cliche “what you don’t know can’t hurt you?” Personally that attitude scares me In the case of AIDS what we don’t know will kill us AIDS kills Short and simple It is a very scary disease that is sweeping the world and taking lives with it How can the people of these schools and communities not let their children be educated on AIDS and AIDS prevention? Not educating our youth on AIDS is simply going to add to the death toll TERRY G GEORGE West Valley City qualify them as experts on this complex problem We certainly are opposed to any action taken in the name of Presbyterianism Not Welcome The Aryan Nations in Utah are not welcome! I won’t deny that they have the right to espouse their twisted philosophy of hate and prejudice I hope however that Utahns will deny them a marketplace for their philosophy We must do everything within our power to peacefully prevent the spread of racism in Utah We must speak out against racism in every facet of our lives The Aryan Nations take silence as approval Their philosophy is totally lacking in any reason or rationality They find support for their bigotry only in twisted interpretations of the Bible This “harmless religion" is a demented and dangerous philosophy of violence intolerance and racism based in ignorance and paranoid fear The Aryan Nations came to Utah because they felt we would accept them and their deranged philosophy We must make it perfectly clear that we believe in equality and plurality and will not accept their philosophy cf hate and prejudice ' MICAH J CAMPBELL ‘ ’ A Special Place I am saddened by Judge Aldon J Anderson’s decision to let Garfield County “improve” a section of the Burr Trail I am a native of Utah and the Burr Trail has always been a special place for me I have used the trail many times and each time I am surprised and awed by the beauty of the area I am outraged by Garfield County’s rapidity in beginning construction before all the environmental studies are complete and its arrogance in not notifying any of the concerned entities when construction was to begin I believe that permission to proceed should be denied until all environment studies are complete The work already done has left irreparable damage Let’s not allow more damage to be done to one of Utah's scenic wonders KRIS DANGERFIEID Add to List The Presbyterian Church has a long history incredibly rich with examples of sincere disagreement between various groups of its members The time has come to add to that list In The Tribune'S Nov' 28 religion page 14 clergymen were reported as opposing US involvement in Nicaragua Seven of these clergymen were members of the Presbyterian "Church USA to which we belong They like all other Presbyterians have the duty to follow the dictates of their own consciences however their personal opinions on this political issue should not be construed as representative of the position of all other Presbyterians Many of us are convinced that the Presbyterian clergy have no special insight wisdom or knowledge which which would in any way be construed as supportive of the brutal and atheistic Ortega government JOHN A DAVISON JANET N DAVISON FRANKLIN H FERICKS CAROLYN FERICKS ’ Orem 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 Costly Delays taxpayer I am becoming quite alarmed as well as highly irritated at the number of frivolous lawsuits being filed to delay needed projects throughout the state of Utah T notice that Wayne Petty has filed to try to persuade a judge to issue an injunction against improvements programmed for the Burr Trail Hopefully Mr Petty’s attempt to further delay the project won’t get off square one But if it does it will result in Garfield County paying an additional several thousand dollars to mobilize a contractor to the project pulling the contractor off the project and then having to remobi-iiz- e As a - again If Mr Petty wins it will be a great expense to Utah’s taxpayers I wonder if we as taxpayers should be seeking redress from those groups who file these unending frivolous appeals Under Rule 33 of the Utah Court of Appeals “If the court determines that a motion made or an appeal taken under these rules is ei ther frivolous or for delay it shall award just damages and single or double costs including reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party" The federal courts have similar provisions I sincerely hope Garfield County will make every possible attempt to see that just damages are recovered from these groups who have already cost residents of this state millions of dollars on this and other needed projects throughout the state of Utah DAN F NELSON Orem Look Within At this beautiful but busy time of the year let us recall the admonition “Love not the world neither the things of the world” Church-goinmembers of Christian faith will recognize these words from the New Testament But that is what they are and remain — words in a book to be read on occasions A quick look at some present day g religious organizations reveals elab- orate structures nchly carpeted decorated to please the eye and attended for the most part by memd bers who are over-feand in many cases dissipated and bored with it all With a Pharisee's smug they point with pride to their regular attendance acquisition of titles and tithing receipts and feel they have acquitted themselves as children of d over-dresse- God And among this congregation are men and women leaders in community and national affairs who stumble hopelessly ia times of crisis because they have not learned that the most dangerous enemy we face lies within ourselves Preoccupied to an almost fanatical degree with material welfare of the body promptings of the spirit go unheeded with tragic re- sults There is no single device for making love work outside a little effort on our part If we would conquer the enemy within we must reorganize our personal conduct so that the spirit not the letter of Christ’s teachings becomes evident in our daily life This is not sn easy task We have the knowledge — let us reinforce it with love FRANK HOWARD Nondiscriminatory After reading the article “Davis District Withdraws Film on AIDS” (Dec 7 Tribune ) there seems to be more concern with our children hearing words such as condom contraceptive or intercourse than with the actual problem — AIDS After watching several of my friends deteriorate and die from AIDS-relate- d illnesses the pain and suffering of all involved have become quite apparent AIDS is moving into the mainstream heterosexual community The only way to fight AIDS at this point is education Education on what AIDS is how it is transmitted and how to prevent AIDS from being transmitted People teenagers included are not going to stop having sex and it’s foolish to think that they will stop I would rather have my children hear the word “condom” a thousand times before I would stand by and watch them die from AIDS Let’s educate every one on AIDS AIDS does not discriminate because of a person’s age CLYDE H PECK Drawn and Quartered ITS k 'PEM MS fWSE MISSUS HE&nOJTCF ffiMSTAN T1S AND YOU GivEHIAAThESKKEIS Of TEFLON' WS MEDIUM JEWSGO r- 'I HEARD tWORS HE WAS IN TOWN gUT TW SECU&tYS I GET NEAR HlhA foAIT ' BEEMSQ LCANtf i r 1 1 - |