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Show akc abf Suit tribune Samlv Grady Better to Trade ' Saturday Morning January 4, 1986 Section A Page Greetings Than Missiles 10 Newspaper Knight-Kidde- r WASHINGTON - As all you students of film fantasy know, the big question in "Kueky IV" is whether aging Rocky Balboa can come out of retirement to handle a bionic Russian giant named Ivan Drago You know how that one came out. After the noisy Rocky's standing in the ring, an American flag draped over his shoulders, the battered Commie hulk at Ins feet. "'Cause I'm a fighter." mumbles the triumphant but modest Rocky. "I didn't ask to be one. but that's what I am. That s the way I'm made." Return Utah Primary Election To Previous September Date has-bee- Last fall's election didn't unequiv- The League of Women Voters of Utah has taken another responsible, informed position on an issue of interest to state voters. The league believes, as others should, that election primaries belong in their traditional spot on the campaign calendar. It wasn't until 1983 that the Utah ocally prove that theory, but neither did it remove the possibility. Only an average number of voters cast ballots during that primary election, when a larger turnout might have been expected. After all, both major political parties had put up their best contendincumbent-freers for a wide-opecontest. Legislature decided the primary n, should be held the third Tuesday in August, approximately three weeks earlier than usual. That decree ignored a Tribune poll showing Utahns strongly opposed the change and overrode then-GoScott M. Mathcsons veto. Utah Attorney General David Wilkinson, a Republican, and Pat Shea, Democratic Party chairman when the legislation surfaced, told the league that extra campaign time was provided for purely political reasons. As Mr. Wilkinson put it, Republicans in power simply wanted more time for their gubernatorial candidate to gain name recognition in the campaign against the popular Democrat in power. Ironically, Gov. Matheson declined another term and left the state with a meaningless, if not counterproductive, law; a law which cou' work against the Republicans in future In a cartoon sense, the same question was at stake in the First Annual U.S USSR Television Greeting Card Contest. Could Rocky Reagan. 74 years old and paunchy from too much holiday turkey, hold his own against young, aggressive Big Mike Gorbachev? Sure, we knew Reagan had been the TV heavyweight champeen. We'd seen him in Reagan I, II and III knocking off Jimmy Carter, Tip O'Neill and Fritz Mondale on the tube. But there were whispers that the champ had lame ducki-tis- . Even Republicans were roughing him up. And this new kid. Gorbachev, had shown at Geneva he had slick Western e The additional three weeks between the primary and general election also encourage campaign spend- ing; the kind of spending that obviously offended more than a few Salt Lake City voters during their 1985 municipal election. More than likely, the extra time exceeds the average voters attention span, thereby reducing interest in a choice which must be made in distant November. The league further discovered that it's difficult to find election judges for an August primary. Problems with scheduling, ballot justiprinting and party fication used for retaining the August were not serious enough primary under the previous rules to warrant much attention in the past. They certainly don't outweigh reasons for returning to a September primary elec- 1 elections just as easily as it might have helped them in the last one. Legislators should recognize, as the league already does, that an August primary, when many voters are out of town, discourages voter participation. moves. Millions would be watching from Odessa to Oshkosh. Some without hangovers. The New Year s Day match was unprecedented. A zillion years ago, Richard Nison had spoken on Russian TV. And later Leonid Brezhnev haa rambled on the U.S. tube. But this was historic stuff Reagan and Big Mike lobbing cliches in the electronic ring, no holds barred. Could the old champ from Tampico handle the brash upstart from Stavropol' Yep. This scorecard rated the electronic duel: Reagan 1, Gorbachev 0. tion now. The partisan impetus for altering Utah's election schedule has passed. The party in power could do the public a favor by resurrecting the states tried-and-tru- e Reagan came out of his corner fast, jabbed Gorbachev on Star Wars," hammered him on human rights in the Soviet Union, stuck a thumb in his eye on "regional conflicts" (code for Afghanistan). He even threw in some Russian slang, "ehisoye nvebo" (clear skies), and closed with "spasiba" (thank you). September primary. Some Aerial Confusion The first news report was bound to confuse, but the second one only made things more unclear. First came the news that Donald Engen, the federal aviation administrator, said 1985 was one of aviation's safest years. Safest years? This in a year when more than 2,000 people died in civil aviation disasters around the world; the most ever in a single 365-da- y period. Then came the news that the Na- tional Transportation Safety Board briefsaid, in essence, those ings, delivered, with pantomiming flight attendants standing in the aisle of your plane, are almost worthless. The reason: People don't listen to them. Now it doesn't take a federal agency to tell us that. Anyone with ordinary observation abilities who has flown more than a couple of times knows that passengers can. and do, find dozens of other things to do while the flight attendants deliver the mandatory, Federal Aviation Administration-required instruction as to where the emergency exits are and where the oxygen masks will fall from. Now if people aren't listening to flight attendant safety briefings, the FAA's chief can flatly say that 1985 was one of aviation's safest years0 Two things suggest themselves. One, that on the basis of miles flown, fewer the industry's passenger-miles- , killed or were injured than people ever. In other words, more people were flying and a greater portion of on-boa- how-com- e them reached their destination uneventfully. Second, maybe too much emphasis placed on those safety briefings. Perhaps a plethora of other factors contribute to aviations essential safety, despite a record year of is being disasters. This was what Mr. Engen emphasized, in something of a back-doo- r approach, when he said the FAA has not found a common thread in the cause of 1985s tragedies: We've looked at everything wre can and we're dealing with maintenance and were dealing with the operational factors. Were trying to deal with terrorism and were developing new means to detect explosives. Were working across a broad front to make things safer We're also bringing up and working on . . . our air traffic control system." In other words, aviation is a complex and complicated industry, involving a multiplicity of things, people and disciplines that, except for sensational, but still rare, exceptions, have been blended into a safe and smoothly functioning operation. It is because people are worrying about and working to improve seemingly trivial things like the effectiveness of passenger safety briefings, as well as more monumental concerns, like keeping airplanes from running into each other, that aviation in 1985, as it has been for years, remained about the safest way to get from A to B. Still, it would be a bit more comforting to see flight attendants a bit more consistently enthusiastic when they tell us to place the mask over your nose and mouth and continue to breathe normally." year. The 1986 bald eagle count is scheduled for Jan. 10 and 11 and observers are optimistic about another successful vear for Utah eagle watchers. Rep- resentatives of this nation's avian symbol have already been spotted in the perched in cottonwood trees on carien western sit, feeding around the Great Salt Lake, and soaring along river valleys throughout the state. Because they are somewhat timid and distrustful of humans, many Utahns have not had the pleasure of viewing these majestic birds in the wild. This can be remedied if motorists scan the tops of tall trees during their wintertime travels through the state. An alert traveler can usually find at least one bald eagle perched near Interstate 15 somewhere between Salt Lake City and St. George and in the trees along the Weber, Logan, Jordan, Sevier, Green and Colorado rivers. The sight of one of these gigantic birds sitting quietly m a bare tree or soaring effortlessly above a Utah valley is welcome consolation during the dark, dreary months of winter snow-covere- d $ don't know how it played in downtown Moscow, but Reagan was brisk, cordial, and assertive. 'Cause he's a salesman, that's the way he's made. Gorbachev was somber as an undertaker who'd lost his dog. His tepid generalities sounded like a Hallmark card. His spiel must have been written by the Commissar of Platitudes. Sure, this historic TV exchange was welcome. But why such a boring format0 No wonder Moscow revelers ignored it, and U.S. TV addicts grumped they were missing the bowl parades. What we had was two Talking Heads. Gorbachev sat woodenly in front of wallpaper that looked like a rug maker's acid nightmare. Reagan appeared to be making a political ad. What the Great Greeting Card Contest needs is cutaway shots, pictorial zing. Even in the Soviet Union, where "Swan Lake" is hot TV stuff, the rhetoric had to be Dullsville. Next time both sides should hire the outfit that made Reagan's Morning in America" commercials - or the producto add some visuers of "Miami Vice" I R Reagan-Gorbache- v -- al pizazz. The bad news is that Reagan and Gor- bachev. beneath the froth about peace, remained bullheaded about arms control and space defense "If these new technologies become a reality," Reagan made his usual Star Wars pitch, it is my dream, well, to one day free us all from the threat of nuclear destruction." " Predictably, Gorbachev countered. it is senseless to seek greater security for oneself through new weapons." Like a broken record, were stuck on the old Summit Blues riff. Gorbachev wants a ban on the space gizmo that is Ron's obsession. "Where's the beef?" said Soviet spokesman Vitaly Churkin later. "If Reagan sincerely wants arms control, why not ban tests on nuclear explosions?" If you want beef," countered State Dept, deputy Mark Palmer, why not start agreeing on a 50 percent nuclear arms reduction?" OK, so the deadlock won't be broken by a gush of New Years pleasantries about peace. The Ron & Mike electronic show was the sound was like the Geneva summit better than ihe substance. But New Year's bombast is a step up from snarls and "Evil Empire" ranting. Let 'em keep dueling on the tube. Better to exchange cliches than MIRVs . Chisoye nyebo for '86. you guvs. For Sale: One Used Government Agency Universal Press Syndicate Wanna buy a used government agency0 You may be able to in 1986 The president has in mind the "privatizing" of the government, which means selling it. and as a first step he may put the Federal Housing Administration up for bid. According to a budget draft proposal, the buyer would get the whole thing, "including assets and liabilities." Maybe thats just the beginning. A lot of us would like to get our hands on a big government department and straighten it out or get it off our backs. Trouble is, who can afford one? The Saudis. the defense contractors and an odd lottery winner or two are about the only people rich enough to swing a hostile takeover of the Pentagon. Will other nationalities be eligible buyers0 These are details that have to be worked out The farmers are too poor to capture the U S Department of Agriculture, which they probably wish to do now more than ever since they heard on New Year's Day that the U.S D A is planning more foreclosures. Maybe they could pay in surplus grain. Ask yourself the asking price for the Internal Revenue Service, which of all departments might tempt the average taxpayer to take a flier. It might go for a bargain price Its computers are worthless - they mangled millions of returns last year. A number of rich people would like to buy it just to close it down Others might settle for an installation of a "multiple choice" return, allowing taxpayers to pick and choose what items their money is to be used for. For instance, you check schools, roads and street lights, but put an X in the box next to aid to the contras or loans to Chile. Such a system could lead to a much inure contented citizenry It might also kill off WASHINGTON Eagles Have Landed Along with bitter cold and dense fog. winter brings one of nature's most the spectacular animals to Utah bald eagle. As fall settles into Alaska and Canada, these huge black and white eagles take to the air and leave their northern breeding grounds for the relative warmth and abundance of food of the lower 48." One of their favorite destinations is Utah, where a record 1,263 bald eagles were counted last winter. Only the state of Washington had more bald eagles than Utah last A - some bad policies The corporations who don't pay any taxes are perhaps the people wealthy enough to buy the whole package Still, they might he willing to rent out various departments to the less affluent, but equally vengeful, elements. It's worth thinking about I assume Congress would be put on the block, too - although come to think of it. it mav have been bought and paid for already The RACs. you know They spend big bucks, and they get a good ieturn on their investment The Department of Energy could produce spirited bidding It does nuclear weapons Maybe some outfit like Beyond War, the richest and tomest of the peace groups, could pass the hat and raise the scratch to buy the cukes - for dumping purposes only, of course don't see much action around the Department of Health and Human Ser ices It's just not a winner for the likely investor Its clientele is terribly draining the old Social Security', the poor (welfarei, the unwashed (the homeless) No. HHS might not make it in the mat ketplace ( hi the other hand, if those souls who have been telling us about the parasites the welfare cheats and the willfully unemployed had a fund raiser. Ronald Reagan might go to it and rake ill a few billion tor the cause of making the dispossessed hill I p I heir Socks I i I The Justice Department might set hands reaching for wallets. There are those who would take out a second mortgage or their life savings for the pleasure of sacking the attorney general. Many a Harvard law professor is probably even now fantasizing the farewell interview- "Mr Meese. why The same impulse might start a drive to purchase the Department of Education. Devotees of the public school system would die to pink-sli- p Secretary William J. Bennett, the zealot who rattles the tambourine for private schools. On the other hand, the' people with the bucks are probably those, who think "Tom Sawyer" is a dirty book and who want to ice the hot stuff in "Romeo and Juliet.' I think the CIA would get a good price. collecPolygraph fanciers and invisible-intors would covet it. So would the wimps who want to shut it down. Again, though, there are the new patriots who would like to bring back the rack and the thumbscrews for leakers and who want to lob the grenade into the men's room of the Kremlin. k don t you resign and spend more time with the Constitution'. That was our original intent in buying this heap " Maybe, on second thought, we should not sell the government. You can t be sure who would want to buy it. When Resolutions Fall Short Wishing Will Make It So News America Syndicate I have no New Year's WASHINGTON resolutions. But there are some things I wish for in 1986 with all my heart I hope: That the Congress will agree on. and President Reagan will approve, tax reforms that give a break to the working poor, especially the women who head households and are struggling to bring up their children properly That every school and church in America will launch campaigns to help young women ty Medical Examiner's office in Seattle show fatal that from the 1971-7period to 1981-83 child abuse cases involving males rose from 37 percent to 80 percent. That affluent Americans would admit that they can pay more taxes without lowering their lifestyles appreciably and thus wipe out stifling budget deficits without sub- jecting the country to a war over whether we spend less on defense or take more from the hides of Americans who rely on social pro-- ! grams. That South Africa's President Pieter Botha and other white leaders would begin a dialog with Bishop Desmond Tutu and other; responsible blacks. Coloreds and Asians -- . this being the only way to dismantle apart-- : heid without putting the country through ter- ribly destructive years of bombings, killings and other atrocities. That President Reagan would begin a dialog with blacks who truly represent almost 30 million black Americans - this out of a realization that America is weakened in terms of military defense and economic competition when 12 percent of its people are subjected to neglect, benign or malignant. and left to wallow in a chronic depres- ; , - avoid pregnancy so that the tragic numbers of children having babies will not grow. More than a million teenage Americans are getting pregnant every year, and after the miscarriages, abortions and shotgun marriages. some 270.UUU girls are bearing babies out of wedlock That both government and private industry will accept the reality that more women w ith young children are working - because they fiave to and choose to Thus there ought to be both government and business commitments to the maintenance of child care facilities that would protect children from sexual and oilier abuses and begin to prepare them foi happv. productive lives We now have almost jo million headed hv women. with no man present, and in 1984. 22 6 percent of the nations children under 1!! ye.ns of age lived with one parent Pediatries. the journal of the American Academy et l't dull le epm ts this til tit h that serious and even fatal child abuse is being committed more frequently by men unemployed husbands, boyfriends, who habvsit while the nio'fier woiks Records from the King Conn -- hnu-ehol- I sion That scientists discover some causes and cures for the dread disease AIDS, first to ease the suffering and save the Imes of a lot. of people, but just as importantly to spare this society the arguish of setting up modercolonies of "lepers," of people to bo n-day "quarantined" from everything worth hav-- ' mg in life That, against all apparent odds. President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev will find a way between now and their summer summit meeting to reduce the deployment ol deadly missiles on this planet, but also to spare mankind the cost and the perils of an arms race in space New Year's resolutions are easier But I prcfci to grasp a line from one of the favorite movie songs of my boyhood will make it so " "Wishing |
