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Show The Salt Lake Tribune, 16 All Saturday, AurusHO, Drciivn and Quartered AS AMERICAN APPLE PIE AS ... v PETEcrOR PETECFOR I'LL CPJtfifJU. fell JcigarettFI metal f CKA.A&K A&sjr.VT YCO for. vtsvwwcs w.y TELLIUM me TPCTH 9J5 if vaksTcP A30CT ME . " jirAy.sKAterti 7MrA Moderates Given Radical Label Members of the Left Are Ignored by Media in America By Jeff Cohen and Linda Valentino Special to the Los Angeles Times Robert S. McNamara. William E. Colby. Jody Powell. Are those men leftists? That is what our television networks would have us believe as they frame the debate on national policy. Bereft of makeup and klieg lights, those men are stalwarts of the political center pragmatic and moderate. They would be the first to object to the label "leftist. Yet in TV debates, they are regularly called upon to do battle with partisans of the ideoGeorge F. Will. Willogical right liam F. Buckley. Nowhere to be found on television are true partisans of the American left. camDuring the nuclear-freez- e paign, leaders of the peace movement had to watch from the sidelines as TV debates repeatedly cast former Secretary of Defense McNamara and former CIA Director Colby in the role of doves. Those men, who had been denounced by the peace movement for Vietnam War atrocities, were the "responsible freeze advocates preferred by television. Meanwhile, articulate spokespersons of the left are deemed not ready for prime time or even the Take the case of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Noam Chomsky, author of a dozen can left and its contributions to society. The left has consistently been in the forefront of social movements whose objectives eventually have been accepted by the majority of the public By contrast, liberals have of- - off-hou- books on U.S. foreign policy. Chomsky receives standing ovations at overflow audiences on campuses across the country, but if he is not allowed into the discourse on television and the other mass media, he might as well be in political exile. Ironically, while Chomsky is marginalized on the political fringe in his own country, his views on international relations garner major media attention in Western Europe. The media of our European allies are far more receptive to leftist viewpoints. In fact, it has been so long since progressives were afforded their place in political debate that many have forgotten the rich history of the Ameri Jeff Cohen is the director of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, based in Aew York. Linda Valentino is on FAIR 's national advisory board. ten been hovering timidly about the edges of social movements while others put their lives and livelihoods on the line. Examples: The left, then referred to in the press as radicals," were prime movers in the abulition of slavery. The left was in the forefront of the movement for women's suffrage, and has played a vanguard role in today's feminist movement. The left's opposition to U S. mili- - tary meddling in Latin America new concern. admonished civil-righleaders to "be patient, the time isn't right yet." The left opposed the liberal Roosevelt administration's internment of Japanese-American- s during World War II, which was supported by liberal Chief Justice Earl Warren, who was then governor of California. The left was practically alone in defending civil liberties in the face of McCarthyism, while many liberals committoadied to the tees, naming names and pointing fin"Not me, him. gers Perhaps the single greatest achievement of the American left in this century is the movement that it built in opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. While the liberal Kennedy and Johnson admin is no istrations waged the war, the left movement, spearheaded the anti-wa- r initially on campuses. Later, with liberals in Congress and the media either still sitting on the fence or defending the Vietnam debacle, the left extended that movement to vast numbers and anti-wa- r sentiment ultimately brought our boys home. History teaches us that what is "left" today is often the common wisdom of tomorrow. If progressives were on the air speaking for themselves, instead of only being spoken about, there would be less ignorance about what the American left believes and what it has accomplished. The left has proposals to meet todays challenges. The American public has a right to hear them. ts movements have blossomed in the United States since the 1890s when a radical named Mark Twain declared I am op"I am an posed to having the eagle put its claws on any other land. The labor movement and the struggles for the minimum wage, the eight-hou- r workday. Social Security and unemployment compensation were all pioneered by progressive left activists. witch-huntin- Johnny-come-lateli- The left, which championed civil rights as far back as the 1930s, was in the forefront of that movement in the 1950s and 1960s, while liberals, typified by the Kennedy administration, g 2 WEEKS ONLY! OPEN MON 12-- 5 The Public Forum Tribune Readers Opinions Winning Thanks wish to thank the voters of Legislative District 46 (Bennion, Kearns, West Jordan and part of West Valley City) for their confidence in me. The 1 percent vote was gratifying. I look forward to a positive, upbeat campaign for the November election. I appreciated the endorsement of outgoing Rep Kevin C. Cromar. 53 DAROL L. WAGSTAFF Republican Nominee Utah House District 46 Leave Nicaragua Alone How does one interpret our government's denunciations of Daniel Ortega and the Sandimsta revolution, our continued financial support of a proxy army, and the economic sanctions imposed against Nicaragua1 At least two things are clcyir. First, the United States cannot allow the dramatic gains in literacy, health care and land reform of the Sandinis-ta- s to continue successfully. This would set a bud example for our dependencies in the region. US poverty, illiteracy, unconscionable infant mortality and state terror must remain the only viable alternative in countries oppressed by our "strong men" and plundered by our corporations Second, Nicaragua must be pushed into the Soviet camp to justify sending in U S troops and bombers Tepid support of a diplomatic "solution to our current aggression is merely posturing Only our military is competent to solve the problem of how to deal with one of our former depen sanctioned t t dencies that decides to use its resources to raise the quality of life for all of its citizens. Mr. Reagan and Mr. Shultz have decided not to dictate" to South Africa. It is time they stopped "dictating" to Nicaragua. STEVEN HARPER 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 writers true name. All letters are subject to condensation. Mail to the Public Forum, The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box H67, Salt Lake City, Utah say that both parents were employed and that they attended school up to four nights a week. Don't get me wrong. I think what these two people did is terrific and I would be the last one to begrudge anyone an education, but I feel The Tribune is doing a disservice by glorifying the fact that these people got on with their lives while bringing a child into the world for someone else to raise I think parents better start realizing children need them more than anything (le. higher salaries, bigger houses, master's degrees) and if they choose to become parents they should accept the fact that they can t pursue all their lofty goals and still give their children the nurturing so vital in the first five years of life NANCIE CANEEN ROGINSKI Holladay full-tim- e The article "Master's-DegreProject Became Family Affair," Tribune. Aug 17, disturbed me because it holds up as an example the fact that Mr and Mrs Barton had a child while they weie heavily involved in both career and school The article repeats over and over how the pregnancy was planned and how much the couple looked forward to the birth of their child, yet "Ms Barton (only missed a week of summer lass woik She was hack in school, dropping the baby off, rushing off to hand in an assignment, before she went back to work " It goes on to e Swivel Chairs. 1995. Genuine Leather Investments in I was dismayed that Mr. Gorbachev's recent extension of his nation's nuclear test moratorium was readily dismissed as "not giving away much," as if the lives of all the humans in the world didn't really count Meanwhile, our government continues to detonate "practice" nuclear weapons on a regular basis I would like to commend the Soviets, no matter how small their gesture, since billions of lives ultimately rest on the sensible control of already massive nuclear arsenals Propaganda aside, the facts dictate that if there is one nation that bullies the world through mindless nuclear policy, it is us GREGORY SCHRAW Perfect accent chair. Assorted colors (reg 687) IN PAIRS 399. ea. Singles 429. Luxury Classic chair design 8 way springs, choice of color peg 2074 ) CHAIR & 1195. OTTOMAN Western Styling, luxury and comfort 80w x 31h - 37d (reg 1812) Nuclear Bully H4I10. 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