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Show gait akf Sribtinr Monday Morning Section January 13 1986 NfouUM1cmiK into mine? Of Ml WE Gw OPtMTS IN W-THE WORLD WOK Tun oat WWTI.. trttTKlFoLI A x K&? ft ABIDIN' TUCE.. Legislators Should Be Content To Tread Water This Session As they launch the second, 45-da- y general session of the Utah Legislature today, state senators and representatives are faced with at least 300 proposed laws and resolutions. They would do well to approach this challenge with restraint. Another tight revenue picture and pressure for tax reform require some particularly tough fiscal decisions. But if lawmakers resist the temptation to tamper with a generally responsible tax structure and rely in- stead on Gov. Norm Bangerters reasonable budget recommendations, they can Gpend more of their valuable time polishing past statutes and improving life in Utah. Gov. $2.7 Bangerters largely status billion budget proposal mar- quo, ginally provides for the states major, public educawhile maintaining tion growth most other important state programs and temporarily avoiding a politically improbable tax increase. Lven though the state flood fund would be partially drained in the process, the plans advantages probably outweigh the risk of exposing Utahns to additional Great Salt Lake damage this spring and summer. In light of public pressure to reduce property taxes, a major source of public school funds, efforts to levy new taxes for education and other state needs wouldnt get too far in the legislature this year. However, law immediate problem makers should keep in mind that such a stance only postpones the inevitable. Burgeoning school enrollment growth soon will force some kind of tax increase for education. Reducing or restricting relatively low (compared to other states) property taxes at the expense of high sales, income and business taxes now, as some leading legislators have suggested, will only limit the states revenue options next year. By acknowledging the merits of the governors major proposals early, lawmakers can spend more time on issues some of the other, on their agenda this year. Among those worthy of serious consideration are additional amendments to state liquor laws, which still could be more reasonable and equitable. Proposals that would adapt family laws to todays social situation and would protect the rights of children also deserve attention. Other worthwhile measures would enhance economic development in Utah, recognize the needs of violent-crim- e victims, resurrect the states old election calendar, make utility service provisions for the needy and pay for prison expansion. Instead of breaking a lot of new ground that could alter the course of Utahs future, then, state senators and representatives generally should use this 46th session of the Legislature to stabilize the state by improving upon past decisions. non-budg- et Church -- State Dilemma The federal government is prevented, by court interpretations of the First Amendment, from subsidizing religious activities. Yet that same government indirectly supports church-controlle- d colleges and un- iversities through student grants, scholarships and loans. If that kind of arrangement can work for the feds, it should also work for Utah. Tacitly, it already does sometimes. But technically, constitutionally, public agencies in Utah still cannot contribute anything to any relig- school. The Utah State Board of Education and State Board of Regents are sponsoring a constitutional amendment which would allow certain exceptions to that rule. As they consider ious-oriented the matter, lawmakers and voters must be extremely careful about overstepping appropriate boundaries between church and state. Utah needs more public school teachers than its public colleges and universities ordinarily would produce through the end of this century. To head off a crisis by attracting more students to classroom careers, legislators bolstered the states teacher scholarship program a couple of years ago. Even at that, the state cannot meet the challenge without help from Mormon Church-owneBrigham Young University, which trains a major portion of the teaching force at a considerable savings to taxpayers. Given Utahs growing need for teachers, BYUs continuing contributions to public education and the federal governments ability to subsidize private school students, it seems appropriate to extend state teaching scholarships to BYU education students. To do that, however, it may be necessary to alter a provision of the Utah Constitution. That provision says, Neither the d Legislature nor (any other public entity) shall make any appropriation to aid in the support of any school, seminary, academy, college, university or educational institution controlled by any church, sect or denomination whatever. By changing the words, to aid in the support of, to read, for the direct support of, as the states education boards suggest, indirect support of church schools through state scholarships might be compatible with the Constitution. That minor change may solve the scholarship problem, but the ambiguity of the term direct also could open the door to new questions and possible misuse of the law. For example, is a contribution for a building on d a campus direct or indirect support? Would the state be indirectly supporting a church seminary program by sharing public school facilities, administration or faculty? And is the award of study grants to a church school indirect aid? The point is, unless precautions are taken, the addition of one word could obscure legitimate lines between religion and government, tiprelaping the delicate church-stat- e The off in balance. Utah tionship comin a more for conflict potential munity dominated by one church is great. With a full investigation by legal experts, perhaps another, way to accommodate the scholarship issue could be fourd It might also be possible to include restrictions in the proposed constitutional revision that would reduce church-affiliate- chances for abuse. Most other changes recommended for education provisions in the Utah ConsL.uti-this year recognize accepted piactice and have been ade quately studied and debated. This one doesnt and hasnt, but it should be before its put to any votes. vfau&TlK W&M itySEHDtJ'- SOU AO utm, tw w mi iosr I Mu. mu'" Nelson Lars-Er- ik Its Time to Tight Terrorism New York Daily News Should we knock off Palestinian terrorist leader Abu Nidal, mastermind of the murderous attacks on the Rome and Vienna airports? How about Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy? He too has the blood of innocents on his hands. I can ask these questions aloud. If a member of the U.S. government should ask them, he would technically be breaking the law. An executive order signed by President Reagan on Dec. 4, 1981, says: No person employed by or acting on behalf of the U.S. government shall engage in or conspire to engage in assassinations. Furthermore, we cannot even hint to some friendly party that we would like them to do the deed for us. The executive order adds: No agency of the Intelligence Communi- WASHINGTON - Dick West Hangover Cure May Come From Space United Press International - You might think the reuseable shuttle program serves no useful purpose other than cluttering up the sky with a few more communication satellites, but you would be wrong. From out of outer space may come the worlds first hangover-fre- e alcoholic drink. Judging from the holiday season just passed, that would certainly be a blessing. After a study of space sickness, one of Canadas first astronaut trainees concluded that the dizziness, nausea and disorientation that sometimes afflict the crews of space ships have a lot in common with hitting the bottle too hard. His research shows that space sickness and the ill effects of too much alcohol may be related, says one report. In other words, develop a substance that protects astronauts from such attacks and science may give bottlers a substance that feeling. precludes that morning-afte- r If so, the space program surely would be ranked as a commercial and humanitarian success, regardless of what other spin offs it might have. One reason research of that nature is so timely right now is an annual Survey indicating that more corporate employees attended office parues this season than last. It may be, of course, that some of the convivial workers were motivated more by health concern- - han by festive smuts According to another recent study, drinkers are healthier than types, with the healthiest of all As t np college professor put it, "Either o. ...king beer is healthier or attracts healthier drinkers." I knew beer could put roses in your cheeks, not to mention the coloration of the nose, but this survey found that wine drinkers likewise reported in sick less often than teetotlers as did those who favor the hard WASHINGTON ty the CIA, FBI, Department of State, Treasury Department, Drug Enforcement Agency, Pentagon, National Security Council, National Security Agency shall participate in or request any person to undertake activities forbidden by this order. Assassination was first outlawed as an instrument of U.S. policy by President Ford, following disclosures that over the years the CIA had plotted to assassinate or conspired with assassination attempts on Fidel Castro, former Dominican strongman Rafael Trujillo, leftist Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba, Che Guevara, Chilean chief of staff Renee Schneider and Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem. President Carter continued the prohibition, and so did Reagan. So what? asks Clark Clifford, elder statesman of the Democratic Party, former aide to Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Carter, pillar of the Eastern liberal establishment. Asked how we might fight back against terrorism, Clifford replied: I would hope that herculean efforts are being made to penetrate these organizations. There are persons who can be bought in every country of the world. If a certain number of persons are liquidated, it would be a very useful way to go at it. But what about the law against assassinations? he was asked. We have a government of laws, he agreed. "As long as the government of laws solves it problem by using its laws, that is fine. But now there has come up a situation that is not encompassed by our concept of government by law. We must defend ourselves as best we can. I have no qualms about tracking down, searching out, finding and taking care of terrorists. It does not bother me. Should the law be repealed? ivep in mind, however, that the latter study was conducted in Canada, as was the study of space sickness. Those Canadians appear to come up with survey conclusions that might seem a mite strange to the rest of the North Amer;- an continent, and parts of South America as well. Keep in mind, also, that the study was financed in part by the brewery industry. Even so, the prospect of attending holiday parties without experiencing dizziness, nausea and disorientation the next morning is bound to make future invitations brighter. Meanwhile, fortunately, most companies give their employees ample time in which to recover Of the companies respond. ng to a survey conducted by the makers of Bells scotch whiskey, all were closed on New Year's Day this year Perhaps unfortunately, only about 6 percent gave their employees Jan. 2 off as well. That lapse could be made less noticeable bv serving hangover-fre- e drinks. What science needs to develop now is a substance that would prevent office party attendees from being made to feel dizzy, nauseous or disoriented by their fellow employees If the space program can accomplish that feat, it truly will be performing a remarkable service for ma, kind t side-affec- ts Chinese, Soviet Policies Cant Be Compared New York Times Service PARIS The extraordinary development of China under Deng Xiaopings modernization has led to some misconceptions in the West. People wonder whether something similar is likely in the Soviet Union, and they imagine that China is going capitalist. Both ideas are based on false assumptions. There is a crucial difference between . latura can be expected even to think of such a thing. Deng is building on the utter wreckage left by the Cultural Revolution. Gorbachev is tinkering with a system that he and his colleagues believe to be basically sound. There never really was egalitarianism in the Soviet state, and the flourishing black market is tolerated as a necessary fact of life that the theory refuses to acknowledge. Whether or not Dengs concept succeeds will probably be an open question not only until the next leadership that is forming comes to power but for at least another whole generation. If it does, that would be the greatest possible challenge to the Russians because it would put at issue the legitimacy cf their rulers, based on their claim of knowing how to make a Communist society function. But Gorbachev doesnt have to face the positions of Deng and the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, rooted in the widespread purges that both Communist parties have undergone. Deng was purged three times for his opposition to Maoist policies, the last time as a capitalist roader. He came back to put his views into effect. They are not capitalist, but they do accept a degree of market discipline and incentives, which undermine the austere orthodox belief that absolute egalitarianism is more important than production. Therefore, he has no need to apologize for the past. He is evidently having the traditional Chinese trouble with the entrenched bureauracy, as well as with elderly party leaders who never shared his views. But his own consistency gives him a certain freedom for innovation. This is not the case in the Soviet Union. The peope Stalin purged stayed purged. The leadership represents the heirs of a system that has mellowed in its methods but not in its principles. To open the Soviet economy the way Deng is trying to do in China would imply an admission that the principles were not correct. The Russians have made changes in the past. Lenin's New Economic Policy, which Stalin ended, did experiment with foreign investment and a relaxation of central economic controls. Stalin himself tried to use limited incentives in his Stakhanovite program But there has never been a Soviet accep-tan- c of the new Peking dictum that Marx "did not overrule the laws of supply and demand " For.Gorbachev to do so would mean refuting what was done to build the Soviet Union into a mighty power. No one who has made his way up through the Soviet that beer-swille- stuff. No, no, no, Clifford said. Leave the law on the books. Just get the job done and dont talk about it. But now that we have this law on the books, were stuck with it. To repeal it would provoke an outcry that America has legalized murder. And to many people, assassination is wrong under any circumstance, even when the target is a vicious, psychopathic threat to human life, like Abu Nidal. As an enlightened editorial writer wrote in New York, Capital punishment of any sort has no place in an enlightened society. Absolutely correct. But look around you look on the subway, look at the number of locks you have on your door, look at the thugs who glower at you from doorways, look at the humiliating body and baggage searches you go through just to get on an airplane, look at the concrete barriers that have been set up at the White House, the tank traps outside the Capitol and the State Department. Look at the bodies lying on the airport floor in Rome and Vienna. Is this an enlightened society? You personally may be enlightened, but the enemies, domestic and foreign, who would kill you are they enlightwithout a second thought ened? And who is it you, the enlightened, or they, the benighted that sets the tone of modem life? and If we are at war with these people they certainly seem to be at war with us let us fight the war. Wars produce casualties. This government had no qualms about shelling the hills above Beirut in 1983, killing innocent people in an attempt to prop up the government of Amin Gemayel. The bombing of the mental hospital on Grenada was a regrettable error, one of the inevitable of war. Why is it murder to kill the guilty, on purpose, and not murder to kill the innocent by reckless accident? And is it not equally murder to allow Abu Nidal to continue to kill? now. Nothing in Marx dictates the Soviet structure; it has simply been taken as typical because the Soviet Union was the first state to proclaim Marxism as an official ideology. Deng is developing another version of communism. The vagaries of interpretation have drained Marxism of meaning as a clear-cu- t model. What is left in sharp, crystalline pattern is Leninism, which the Chinese state cherishes as much as the Soviet Union does. Marxism can be defined as a theory that considers property the foundation of all power, and therefore holds that putting economic power in public instead of private hands will assure a fair distribution of all benefits. Leninism can be defined as a method of organizing political power so that it has control of the economy and is so overwhelming that no other power base can challenge it. It remains vigorous in China. Capitalism isnt truly an ideology, though some try to make it sound like one. It is a technique for organizing the economy that has proved not only very productive but a good support for democracy, wh.ch is an ideology. Democracy holds that people have a natural right to differ from their governor and among themselves, and that their const ,t must be the source of power. No one should hold his breath until Gorbachev takes Dengs road, or until Deng adopts capitalism, which is unacceptable under Leninist rule because it tends to create a counterpower. For the West, it is always preferable when such countries concentrate on their internal problems instead of interfering with others. If the Russians would just follow China in that direction, the world could breathe more easily ts |
