Show TT Ooinion The Herald Journal Logan Utah Wednesday March Wight conclusions an more likely to be gathered out of a multitude of is than through any kind of tive selection' IM —Judge Learned American uriel (1I7MSS1) Page 16 31 1999 effort another diplomatic Commentary I Don’t regulate — let cable-Trates rip ! UNDERSTANDS HAVE A WISH TO DIE V By Adam D Thic r Scripps Howard News Service where now each has only one And many telephone companies with their big T end of March brings the end of federal regulation of the prices cable-Tcompanies can charge for “upper-tier- ” programming such as CNN ESPN and MTV This has led some consumer advocates to charge that cable companies will boost prices To this the only appropriate response can be: So? Nowhere in the Constitution does it say Americans have a right to cheap cable television Cable-Tcompanies should be free to charge any price they want and if consumers don't like it they can always drop cable or switch to a competing service such as satellite TV But politicians have always treated America's cable-Tindustry as the Rodney Dangerficld of the communications industry For two decades lawmakers and regulators have imposed stricter regulations on cable than on almost any other industry In fact even after March 31 price controls will remain in effect on “basic-tier- ” programming such as network and locally produced shows Slapping cable with price controls that don't apply to its competitors isn't fair Today more than ever cable faces vigorous competition that threatens its longterm survival For example more than 9 million customers have already dropped cable for satellite TV By year's end Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) subscriber-shi- p which is growing by more than 30 percent per year could top 10 million households giving DBS providers more than IS percent of the total television market Furthermore the impending roll-oof will television mean broadcast digital networks can triple or even quadruple their existing channel capacity providing all new competitors to cable V V V ut bankrolls and nationwide brand names continue to ponder entering the videoservices marketplace Finally there’s the Internet The World Wide Web offers a stunning array of news and entertainment options for consumers and as more real-tim- e programming makes its way onto the Web cable could face even bigger challenges In this new and vigorously competitive environment cable companies need two things to survive The first is capital Cable providers need money — lots of it — to develop new consumer services to meet the rising tide of competition from DBS broadcasters telephone companies and tlie Internet According to The Wall Street Journal cable firms have already taken great strides to address these competitive threats investing roughly $20 billion over the past three years to upgrade from analog to digital systems This is allowing cable providers to improve the visual and sound quality of the pictures they deliver while more than doubling channel capacity from roughly 30 or 60 channels today to 200 or more in the near future But cable will need even more capital to complete this task while simultaneously offering new service options such as Internet access or telephone service to consumers Given this set of challenges what business does the federal government have imposing regulations on cable that could literally cripple the industry? Of course to raise money in private capital markets cable companies need a second thing: the regulatory freedom they now lack Investors are loathe to sink money in an industry forbidden by law from charging what it must to make a profit Cable needs to stand on an equal regulatory footing with its rivals - might soon have three or four We NBC CBS ABC and FOX channels Adam 0 Thierer is the Walker (allow In economic policy at The Heritage Foundation a Washington-based public policy group Your viow compare Clinton to a dog To the editor: While I am normally indifferent to Elwin Allred's opinions I must take grave offense to his last editorial which ran in The Herald Journal on Tuesday March 23 In paragraph three of this letter Mr Allred compares Bill Clinton to a male dog who is always on the prowl to satisfy his sexual desires Let me say to you Mr Allred that I know of no dog regardless of breed or temperament which deserves comparison to Bill Dogs are kind loyal dutiful creatures — the lowest of which have more discipline and decency in the last hair of their tail than does Bill Clinton in his entire being I understand that you are my elder but respectfully on this issue I believe you are way out of line sir I v ould hope that you will issue an immediate apology to dogs everywhere and in the future please limit your comparisons of Clinton to alien life forms or other swrsnr such creatures name Arthur Taylor North Logan Beef up firefighting on valley’s west side To the editor This afternoon (March 26) we had a fire about two blocks south of our farm in Pdcrsboro I would like to praise their quick response to my call About four years ago we had a wild Are in the same area requiring a helicopter to dump water on the fire along with Logan city and Mendon fire departments It would be very important to beef up and strengthen the Mendon Fire Department due to the influx of new homes going up throughout Mendon and Feters-bor- o community I think it would be significant for controlled burning in this area due to large acreage of crescent wheat in the Petcrsboro and Mendon areas to prevent damage to property and wildlife habitat m mainstay for 23 years offering weekly issues of fluffy-not-filli- mm IDAHO SENATE Senate District 32 (includes Franklin County) — Robert L Geddes 370 Mountain View Drive Soda Springs ID 83276 Springs IDAHO HOUSE House District 28 (includes Franklin County) — Robert C Geddes 7235 N 2600 West Preston Home and business phone 852-137- ID 6 83263 uncovered new evidence that her lover was a Roswell alien Me: Really? I thought the Roswell aliens were responsible for Jon Benet's demise and that Elvis was the one who knocked up Di Lynn: Please Elvis would never do that! Besides he was sighted in Park City in the six months prior to Di’s accident so he couldn't be the father Me: Hmm Wasn't Clinton in Park City during the Elvis sightings? Lynn: Whoa! Are you suggesting that Bill Clinton is really Elvis in disguise? You may be right After all they’ve never been seen together Me: So maybe ng “news” to those of us who prefer not to read an insightful costs analysis about rising health-car- e while we wait for a root canal Its slick pages are filled with snazzy photos celebrity speculation and heart-tuggistories about real people With no pretensions toward serious news People is a ng pastry devoured quickly newsstand Those two purchases weren't quite as embarrassing as when I furtively bought three tabloids The Star National Enquirer and The Globe at the grocery store to use in a class exercise Honest It really and truly was for a class project as I repeatedly explained to anyone within earshot Tee hee Giggle Blush I wouldn’t dream of buying them for myself Honest However my husband and I do use tabloid headlines as conversational topics when we wait in line with a cart full of groceries: Me: Oh my gosh The Enquirer says that Princess Di was preggers when she died Lynn: Worse than that The Star Elvis-Clinto- &! m czA Atxtm SSfTT Despite pantingly purple headlines there wasn't a whole la of text to go with the photographs Perhaps that's the secret of People When you know an interruption is immi- - ? nent ie in a docta’s waiting room ' there’s no point in getting seriously involved in text People is very easy to put down when the nurse calls of Bruce and Demi’s marriage (For those of you who aren't on a basis with the stars that’s Bruce Willis and Demi Moore) The cover of the magazine displayed a photograph of the couple in happier days with a computer down the middle of the generated photo subtly suggesting trouble between “Hollywood's Golden Couple’’ I bought the BruceDemi magazine because their residence near Sun Valley Idaho was a mere five miles from our former Idaho home After nine years of renting out our house we had just finished a frantic few months prepping it for sale I planned a letter to Bruce and Demi hoping to convince them that our house would make perfect guest quarters fa their Hollywood buddies “The house is close enough fa your guests to drive over fa dinner but far enough that they won't catch you measuring your thighs consulting with your plastic surgeon popping steroids You might also consider using the house as servants’ quarters” first-na- ri-i- -p a yourf-nam- rf- - Given a choice between “You and'’ Your Colon" and a photo essay on “The Stars go to the Oscars” who wouldn’t! - and n ? Princess Diana By this time listeners have begun edging away giving us a clear shot at the checkstand My People purchases both took place in the past 12 months The first furtive buy was a feature story on the breakup vi prefer People? Last week I bought People's Since I anniversary issue (March am woefully out of touch with past andfr' present cultural icons I excused the pur-- p chase as an educational opportunity Browsing through the magazine was like unearthing a forgotten scrapbook those famous faces triggered personal memories Where were you when you heard that Elvis died? When the Chal23-ye- ar 15-2- 2) ' -- lenger exploded? Remember Marissa Ayala conceived in order to provide a bone marrow transplant fa her teenage sister? How about Kato Kaelin Tammy Faye Baker The Mayflower Madame and the Texas Cheerleader murder ptot? People magazine has flourished in the age of die late ie 20th century It's a confection — light in nutrients heavy in sugar Although I try to stock my literary high-calor- food pyramid with nutritious written fare small portions of fluffy dessert magazines are a guilty pleasure Besides browsing through People sure beats reading about periodontal disease and the photos are much more appetizing Logan resident Karen Erlckson'a column appears on the Opinion page every other ‘Oink’ say transportation trust funds n any congressional conflict between pork and principle bet on the pork Bud Shuster does is chairman of the huge Shuster R-House Transportation Committee whose 75 members show little of that incivility toward each other that afflicts the rest of Congress Last year Shuster succeeded surplus-dippin- g in passing a budget-bustin- g $218 billioi highway bill that literally had something for every lawmaker What's to be uncivil about in a committee like that? Shuster succeeded in another neat trick He pressured Congress into agree ing that money from the highway trust fund which comes mostly from the gasoline tax be spent only on highways That effectively walls off highway programs from the general budget and Shuster doesn't have to battle to justify his spending as the other chairmen do Now he's halfway toward doing the same thing with the aviation trust fund That means airport construction and the like would not compete with other feder- al programs because the committee could automatically spend the $18 billion that comes in from taxes like those on airline tickets To be fair to Shuster the highway and aviation taxes were enacted on the promise that they would be spent on Mallard Fillmore c&f! So I was vitally interested in the health of the WillisMoorc union Alas I didn’t learn a whole lot from the magazine Othor viowt I da Boise ID 83720 To write your representative: The Honorable John Doe Idaho House of Representatives Statehouse Boise ID 83720 waiting-roo- Scrippa Howard News Service M R Peterson Petcrsboro To write your senator: The Honorable John Doe Idaho Senate Statehouse c You've picked them up in doctors’ offices read them while your car was being serviced and glanced at the colaful covers while waiting in line at the grocery store Perhaps a few of you have even subscribed People magazine has been a purchased People magazine off the meeiaasi To call your Idaho senator at the Senate or your representative at the House: call and ask lor the person by By Karen Erickson and leaving the reader with no aftertaste TWice seduced by a glitzy cover I’ve Lowmakors — IDAHO Fluff tops literary food pyramid cream-fille- d MnWKWaiNMHSMMHHHMMn Don’t RWFfW sfahlerOtusenet Herald Journal Il The Opinion papa Is Intsndsd to acquaint readers with a variety of viewpoints on matti of public Impoitanoe and provide members o( the community with a forum for their views Personal columns cartoons and letters from readers reflect the opinions of their writers and creators Editorials under the hsMNngOur View” represent the views of the Herald Journal lal board Members of the editorial board: BRUCE 8MITHpublshar CHARLES McCOLLUMAnanaglng editor MIKE WENNERGRENAHty editor CINDY YURTHfeatures editor highways and aviation But federal trust funds are accounting gimmicks the money goes into general revenues and the budget process requires that every spending program justify itself each year Defense does law enforcement does education does but now highways do na and soon aviation may not Shuster's support was vital to getting the Republican budget resolution passed but the price he exacted means there's no way that budget can ever be enacted Shuster is a throwback to the old school committee chairmen who disdained flashy ideology in fava of mastering the minutiae of programs and legislation In short they understood power and pork Says Shuster “It’s na the way I comb my hair" KH j The Harakl Journal wakxxnaa letters to tha editor Potentially Hbelous or offensive letters will not be published however and tha editor reaervea the right to adit afl tatters to conform to the length and style requirements of the Letters should be: Typewritten and doubfe-epece- d No more than 450 words In length Addressed and kiduds daytime phone number for purpoaee of verification Signed by the author Individuals are limited to one pubNshad latter wlthta any 304ay period Address letters to htottarOhnowsoom Guest com- mentaries are also wstcome and are nm at tha editor’s discretion I POO |