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Show The Salt Lake Tribune, Wednesday, February 5, 1986 All Meaning of Space Program Needs Clearer Definition New York Times Service WASHINGTON President Reagan was so sensitive and so moving in his tribute to the fallen astronauts that you could almost hear Walt Whitman singing on the Illinois prairie: For we cannot tarry here, We must march my darlings, we must bear the brunt of danger, We the youthful sinewy races, all the rest on us depend, Pioneers! 0 Pioneers! This was the song of the American frontier and also the president's theme: We must go on, mourning but leaving the dead behind. When we get the tears out of our eyes, we may begin to see and think more clearly about the meaning of this tragedy, and wonder where we're going. The mechanical failures of that soaring machine, with its precious human cargo, will be investigated down to the last fragment found in the sea. But what of the purpose of this vast experiment in space? The name of the fallen bird was not the Explorer but the Challenger. Are we exploring the heavens, or challenging the Russians, or both? This we would like to know. Explosions not only light up the skies, but remind us that no matter how much we plan and hope, we can never be sure and are often surprised. Hitler thought that his Stukas and thousands of tanks would create a German Empire that would last for a thousand years. The French thought that their Maginot Line would defend Paris, and the Western nations fought two world wars to defend, as they thought, the freedom of Eastern Europe, only to discover that after the terrible slaughter Eastern Europe was turned over to the tyranny of the Russians. So we have to be careful and make allowance for the accidents of our policies and machines. The explosion in the Florida skies should make us wonder. Reagans Strategic Defense Initiative, or "Star Wars" policy, depends on the assumption that we might create, maybe in the next century long after he's gone, a shield that would defend the United States from hostile nuclear attack. But that assumes there will be no accidents, that maybe this defense system would work 96 percent of the time, as a High Frontier report suggests. We should not be so sure, however, that the 4 percent of missiles that get through would not destroy the Republic as we know it. Even in America we cannot be sure that we have avoided the dreams and Illusions of our allies in Europe. We too have been surprised by the tangles of human conflict beyond our borders. We were struck and surprised by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor. We ran into the Chinese in Korea and when General MacArthur approached the Yalu we had to decide whether to retreat or face again the use of atomic weapons to save his armies. Likewise, we thought that our modern weapons would intimidate the Vietnamese, and that our power would release our hostages in Iran, but all our plans and all our weapons failed. From the Bay of Pigs under President Kennedy to the murder of our Marines in Lebanon under President Reagan, the political and military record of the United States since the last world war should make us wonder whether the bravery of the pioneers who conquered this continent is "the right stuff" to bring peace on earth or conquer outer space. Reagan obviously thinks it is, and despite the doubts of the allies, most folks here agree with him. They go along with Whitman: Have the elder races halted? Do they droop and end their lesson, wearied over there beyond the seas? We take up the task eternal, and the burden and the lesson, Pioneers! 0 Pioneers! Well, it is a noble message, and we're well aware of the burden, but what of the, lesson? The lesson, I think, is that we have to; make allowance for the accidents of our ma- chines, and not assume that all our plans and! dreams and computers will work as we suppose. The Congress is back here now, thinking primarily about the budget and the. next election. George Bush is fussing with Jack Kemp and Governor Cuomo of New York, and the president is planning his delayed State of the Union message. The chances are that they will all grieve as they should for the victims of the Challenger, and agree that in their name the space program should go on, maybe with a bigger budget. But the questions will remain: Where arid we going with the space program and.fqr what purpose? Maybe in the State of Uw Union address this week, the president will answer those questions, and tell us how he intends to deal with them in the last three years of his stewardship. The Public Forum Tribune Readers' Opinions women who provide the services mandated Wants to Bet Utah needs a state-ru- by The lottery would be controlled as tightly as the liquor stores and the sin-ta- x all of which are contributing millions of dollars each week, toward meeting the financial needs of the state. Those who abhor gambling, smoking, and drinking can use their "free agency. Increasing taxes eliminates free agency. Also, it thwarts economic growth. A state-ru- n lottery, patterned after the California lottery that is doing so much for that state and educational system, would keep millions of dollars that Utah residents are spending elsewhere, here in Utah. JUDY DONALDSON state-owne- residents-at-larg- e. If Sen. Sandberg and those of his ilk feel impelled to harpoon efforts to honor a notable American, they should not do so at the expense of state employees. RHETT F. POTTER Executive Director Utah Public Employees Association lottery. n d on cigarettes ever-increasi- i Grade A Idea Forum Rules Public Forum letters mit be submitted exclusively to The Tribune and bear writers 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 writers true name. AH letters are subject to condensation. Mail to the Public Forum, The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110. Real Pornography I am pained by a state that expends hundreds of thousands of dollars and countless s to monitor pornography in televiand written works, yet allows movies sion, the obscene waste of human life on the west side of Salt Lake City. WENDY GUNTHER Layton Perhaps the time has come to turn over a portion of the public education system to the at its own LDS Church and let it operate it expense somewhat in the manner that Roman Catholics and other denominations have operated their own school systems for generations. Schools outside of the public school system have saved the taxpayers throughout the country billions of dollars. The LDS Church already has the nucleus of such a system with its seminaries adjacent to many public schools. The children of Utah are our treasure. But along the Wasatch Front, where perhaps 50 percent of the population is in the non- Mormon or indifferent-Mormo- n categories, the tax burden for the education of these delightful little people is starting to generate real friction where there should be no heat. The children are much too important to be caught in the middle of an intensifying controversy when there is a possible, if not highly probable, solution that would shift the cost of their education to where it properly belongs. ED BRENNAN man-hour- King -- Size Insult During my many years of working on Capitol Hill, it has become apparent that the cradle of Utah government is a prominent breeding ground for inaccuracies and misinterpretations. For example, Sen. Wayne Sandberg, Lake, was quoted as opposing the establishment of a state holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for economic rea- lt sons. State employees, Sen. Sandberg said, already get 53 days off a year, when you include paid vacation, holidays and sick leave. A personnel analyst for the State Division of Personnel Management reports the average employee is entitled to 37 days of a number comparable to those paid leave provided in private industry and by the federal government. (The optimum amount of paid leave for a senior worker would be 43.5 days.) Furthermore, it is the exception when each of those days of leave are actually used. Many state workers retire each year with an accumulation of scores of unused sick leave Racism, Too At a recent meeting in Ogden a black woman said Dr. Martin L. King Jr. was the greatest man since Jesus Christ. Evidently the majority of the Utah legislators have the same feeling. The bills they have passed will eliminate the names of great men of our traditional state holidays in favor of King. Legislators ignored the poll that showed 60 percent of the people were against the King holiday and only 34 percent in favor. Those who voted in favor of the King day sacrificed their integrity and groveled under the blackmail cries of racism. They have elevated King above Brigham Young, the father of our state, and probably above George Washington, the father of our country. The holiday should be called Civil Rights Day to honor all those who worked for civil rights; King; Thomas Jefferson; Abe Lincoln; Eleanor Roosevelt; Lyndon Johnson and many others. To the black people who objected to this name, I say that is black racism. HOPE BISBING Brigham City Interesting Point Doesnt it seem ludicrous to legislate the law, while allowing the mandatory seat-betransportation of children in the back of an open pickup with no restraints whatsoever? GERRY EAGER West Valley City lt days. To imply that the state suffers economically because of overly liberal annual leave, e policies is an affront holiday and men and to the dedicated and sick-leav- hard-workin- g JJaynCS n J ohnSOn i nr. iv Fiscal Woes Have the Congress on Edge The Washington Post WASHINGTON The caning of Massachusetts abolitionist Carolinian Charles Sumner by Preston Brooks signaled that civil war was inevitable in America. Brooks, if you remember your history, rained blow after blow upon the seated Sumner until the cane shattered and the northern senator lay bloody and senseless in the aisle of a nearly deserted Senate chamber one afternoon in 1856. Even more telling as augury of the future was the aftermath of that violent attack: Brookss Southern constituents hailed him as a hero, gave him gifts of more canes, reelected him to Congress. Sumner, confined for years to a wheelchair, his spine nearly mutilated, his brain area damaged, recovered to become a hero and Senate firebrand of the North. I concede it to be stretching the allusion, but that historical picture came disturbingly to mind last week at the opening of the second and final session of the 99th Congress. There, paradoxically, given the seeming tranquility of that opening day, was evidence of the underlying tensions and frustrations that permeate Congress and all of official Washington these days. Shortly after 2 pm, when the Senate was nearly deserted and the galleries almost empty, Pat Moynihan of New York rose behind his small desk at the rear of the chamber, beneath the clock. Gripping his chair, he delivered a point of personal privilege. He was defending his honor, his record of patriotism, his military service dating from his 17th birthday, his votes over many years in the Senate for a strong American defense. Passion and anguish marked his words. a great scholThe idea that Moynihan ar of government who has served Republican and Democratic presidents inside the White House, as ambassador to India, as U.S. emissary to the United Nations and as a senfelt ator, always with highest distinction impelled even to recall some of that record underscores the charged emotions in Washington today. The raw nerves among lawmakers and policy-makeare simply explained: the and the specter of excruciating dilemmas it poses. Reduce budget deficits by cuts alone, the president still insists . . . and let there be no tax increases . . . and let defense spending be maintained or increased . . and let Social Security benefits be preserved. And all this miracle takes place in a crucial election year where courage and independence are diminishing political commodities, and everyone knows that, on this issue, there are no easy winners cn any votes. Moynihans act of grew out too. He was of responding to an exchange the previous Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press with Texas Phil Gramm. In defending the bill that bears his name, Gramm made support of the legislation a matter of patriotism. He described himself as one of the country's strongest supporters of national defense; then, looking at Moynihan, who voted against the bill, labeled him one of the weakest. In the opening-da- y Senate scene two days later, a handful of Democratic senators arose to defend Moynihan, and to make a common and broader political point. They all warned, as did Moynihan, of the dangers of bitter division arising in this session of Congress. Let us not take this most difficult and trying and testing of sessions and turn it into accusation, and innuendo, Moynihan said. We lived through that in the period of Joe McCarthy. We have had enough of it around here already. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, the only rs . self-defen- s, Democrat-turned-Republica- name-callin- Exotic Weapons Dont Have Lawmakers Up in Arms Chicago Tribune Service An acquaintance has made CHICAGO me the gift of an Oriental weapon called a a pretty little thing that throwing star looks like a Christmas tree ornament. It's metal and is shaped like an eight-poistar. Each of the points is a needle-shar- p edge, and if you throw it at something, it will tear or stick in the target. And if your target is a person, it would maim or even people on the head. A bat would probably do just as well, but these are prettier and can be concealed in ones pocket. For more serious aficionados of mayhem, there are samurai chains, which are long chains that have weights on the ends. You whip them through the air at your ene- - This person gave me the throwing star because he's a concerned citizen and is alarmed at the fact that you can buy such things at a store in Chicago. The store has a catalog, which I've been over the thumbing through. And it sells a wide varicounter or through the mails ety of the kind of weapons that are seen in the bloodier kung fu movies. sampling: 25 different kinds of throwing Two s to stars. inches to almost 5 inches. And stars that fold up so you can safely carry them in your pocket until you find somebody you want to puncture. There's something called a nunchaku, which is a couple of heavy sticks joined by a short chain. It is used, I'm told, for whacking About Three-pointer- eight-pointer- And it gets better. There are blowguns, for shooting spike darts. And heavy leather gloves that have as many as 16 sharp spikes sticking out of them. If you give somebody a punch in the chops with one of those, no more chops. If you're the slapping type rather than a e puncher, no problem. Theres a on hand and has wrist that you strap your four spikes sticking out of the palm. Or if you really want to kick a guy when he's down, you could slip a thing over your shoe that gives you spikes on the ball of your half-glov- kill. A v Mike Royko foot. my, they wrap around your enemy's neck or no more enemy. boink! head, and If the poor guy is still thrashing about, you can dispatch him with your ninja shoge kama, both of knife, or your steel-bladwhich are axlike devices that look like stock-yar- d e tools. There are a variety of throwing knives, as well as a knife that has a handle that can be used as brass knuckles. That's useful, should you have a fit of compassion and decide to bash in an adversary's teeth, rather than carve him up. There are swords and spiked wristbands, sticks for bashing or poking, and even key chains that can also be used for poking out eyes or splitting heads. But the most original device at least for somebody who doesn't like crowded eleis a thing that looks like a small, vators folded telescope. You press it against somebody's ribs, touch a button, and a powerful spring thrusts it to full length. It's a cinch to break two or three ribs. Maybe you are asking: Why aren't there laws against these things being sold?" There are. In Chicago, you can't sell them to anybody under 18. Of course, you can sell I them to anybody over 18. And they can give them to somebody under 18. And thats why the police have been finding more and more of these things in the members. The throwpockets of street-gan- g ing stars, the police say, are a hot item among the little thugs. So is the rib buster. Those nunchakus two sticks connected by a chain were big for a while, a policeman told me, "but not so much anymore. The problem with those was that if you dont know what youre doing, you can whack yourself on the head. I'm not sure if this trend is good or bad. On the one hand, it is alarming that the street gangs have all these throwing stars, rib busters and studded gloves. On the other hand, maybe it means that those who use these trinkets can't get guns. As to the question of why it is legal to sell them in Chicago and most other cities, that's easy. It's legal because the lawmakers haven't made it illegal. Why haven't they? Maybe they just dont know, since there is so much they don't knife-knuck- know. Or maybe they figure that in a society where any psycho can buy his own arsenal, as long as why worry about a few stars you don't get them in your eyes. senator to have served as majority and leader, delivered a lecture about why. Senate rules require its members to speak ift the third person when addressing or referring to each other and thus avoid acrid, em1 " bittered, destructive debate. he Then said: I am concerned about this session if it 19 going to be one in which senators cast aspersions upon each other. It could become very personal about such matters, and it should not. I do not question the patriotism of Democrats or Republicans who voted for Gramm-Rudma- n or against Gramm-Rud-ma- n If there or for appropriation bills. is one thing we want to avoid doing in this body, it is just that. This is a body which depends greatly, and has over the decades, on the rie perhaps not that so much as on pa-- r tience, courtesy and comity toward each other. That is the only way this body can operate. If it becomes a body in which personalities are attacked and things are said that impugn another senators good faith or patriotism, Mr. President, this Senate is going to continue going downhill if that is what is going to happen here. J. James Exon of Nebraska, saying lie had just listened to a radio report quoting President Reagan as warning Republican leaders at the White House that if they didn't follow his mark on defense, they would not be good Americans, and also that tb Soviets will be watching their votes, added I am very fearful, Mr. President, that we are going to have, as the minority leader has indicated, a tremendously stressful sesJ ty ... sion. Were not about to replay the bombardment of Fort Sumter, and this isnt the Civil War revisited. But not since the divisive Vietnam period, and maybe since the poison; ous era of character assassination that was McCarthyism, do tempers seem to have run so high so early in a political year in Wash.i ington. The members are correct in worrying about the dangers of a stressful session. Last year, we witnessed the Congress of failure, This year we face the Conof gress of chaos. NOTE: I want to note the unusually heavy and almost uniformly unfavorable reader response to my recent column credits ing Reagan's leadership qualities with restoring the prestige and power of the presU dency after a long period of perceived! failure and political impotence. With the single exception of a corporate senior executive based in Connecticut, readers from Hawaii to Florida wrote to express indignation or outrage at such an analysis. One closer to here summed up the collective feelings by calling it "your worst column ever. That includes much territory, considering the many contenders Ive supplied. I cite this because it strikes me as evidence of the other, albeit minority, side of Reagan's high personal popularity rating. On the basis of this random sampling, a core of articulate citizens passionately opposes policies of his presidency and is increasingly frustrated by favorable media comment about him. This opposition appears to have grown as his popularity soars. Interestingly, virtually all cited budget deficits as a national crisis and expressed anger that Reagan seems to have escaped responsibility for it. i |
