Show ' irnMtmAtm jCm Saturday September 28 2002 A4 The Herald Journal Regional view Discrimination wrong in any size company from The Daily Herald I you happen (o work for one of the thousands of small businesses in Utah you don't have the protection laws of The Utah Supreme Court ruled last week that a woman who said she was fired from her job because she wouldn't continue a sexual relalion-shi- p with tier boss couldn't sue under Act ' the Utah Because her company employed fewer than I S people it was exempt Likewise the court ruled that another woman who claimed she was fired from her job for being pregnant couldn't sue her employer because the company was too small “Some will undoubtedly accuse this court of opening the door for - small employers in Utah to discriminate” Supreme Court Justice Richard C Howe wrote in his opin- ion “Those who do so ignore the reality that it is the Legislature that primarily holds the power to' open and shut that door Until the law is changed this court must enforce it as it is now written whether we agree with it or not" Howe is right: The legislature crafted the bill and put in the rule on the theory thata small business could be wiped out by a discrimination laVvsuit But he is wrong to pass the blame to the Legislature when the court is the arbiter of what is constitutional Our legal system is based on a simple premise: equal justice All are equal regardless of race age religion or social standing or so the theory goes While reality doesn’t always mesh at a major corporation It would not have been unpalatable for the court to say the state’s approach to the discrimination law was wrong This isn’t legislating from the bench it's exactly how the system of checks and balances is supposed to work The Legislature was wrong in the first place for crafting a law that emphasizes a company’s profits over the civil rights of its employees And it was wrong for the court to uphold such a law We recognize that a discrimination or sexual harassment lawsuit can be expensive even for large corpora- iions For a small company that doesn't have the benefit of a human resources staff to monitor policies and practices or one that can't afford to keep legal counsel close at hand a lawsuit could be overwhelming Mechanisms are available for disposing of frivolous lawsuits summary judgments or countersuits For example these Can be costly Even if successful they may represent a Pyrrhic owner yictory for the accused of wrongdoing But workers clearly need protection from any employer! large or small that would violate civil rights And the Legislature should develop a means of giving it to them without running the risk of burdening small business This should not be terribly tfiffi- ' cult A law could be crafted for example to require mediation in discrimination caseinvolVing small businesses This would reduce many costs by eliminating the need for lawyers depositions and the other elements that can make a full-sca- le legal defense prohibitively expen-- r- v sive Such a concept may not provide to " workers at small companies all the protections now enjoyed by those at large businesses but it would be a move in the right direction Since the Supreme Court chose the narrow path the Legislature ought to revisit this issue when it convenes in January A large class of Utah residents should not be denied justice simply because they work at small small-busine- Get to know food’s history ss By Ellen Goodman The Boston Globe r "court' missed a chance to affirm the principle of equal justice by striking ' down a law that puts people on an uneven footing in the legal system simply because their employer may be small If discrimination is wrong at a company that employees 10000 it is just as wrong at a company that employs 10 The employee who experiences discrimination at a small company is no less harmed than one ' companies Your view 'r Aid to Israel cultivates conflict To the editor ‘A couple years ago I visited several countries in the Eastern Mediterranean including the region of Palestine I enjoyed seeing many of the historic sites important to Chris- tians Muslims and Jews 1 also saw to some extent the highly developed and prosperous conditions of the Israelis their extensive prison sys- tern along with the deplorable conditions many Palestinian people live under I found the Palestinians many of whom arc Christians to generally be devout God-fearipeople! They were trying to survive by running small shops or were employed doing menial labor jobs for the Israelis They were intelligent industrious people with little or no opportunity for or life with dignithe Israelis It hands the of under ty Was no wonder they strike but using whatever means available to them Most of the world secs this ty and wonders why America is so d in our support of the ng ! ' ' ' Israeli government and their expansionism After some research I found why the Israelis are so prosperous and so domineering over the Pales- tinians It is due in large extent to the enormous financial aid provided to Israel by the US In the “Washington Report on Middle East Affairs” (WRMEA) I read where US aid to Israel is approximately one third of the total American foreign-ai- d budget even though Israel comprises only 001 of the world's population and has one of the world’s highest per capita incomes US taxpayers have spent more than $135 billion on Israel development and military since 1949 This amounts to more than $23000 per Israeli We are currently spending about $3 billion a year on economic and military aid to Israel This is about twice the entire general fund for die state of Utah Israel is slightly larger than Box Elder County In addition according to WRMEA there is more than $15 billion in pri- -' vate US funds that annually go to one-side- See YOUR VIEW on A10 r A this time of year I get tomatoes at my favorite local place A hopeless tomato snob I only eat the vegetablefruit about six weeks a year I don’t know what you call the things that pop up in salads all winter I call them garnish Anyway this local woman grows enough varieties from cherry to beefsteak to satisfy my annual lust Furthermore they’re organic She allows no pesticides Indeed the water she uses comes from a well so pure that it was once used to fill the kegs of sailing ships Of course she isn’t the neatest person The tomatoes are in a bit of a tangle But as a consumer I am happy to report that she loves her work At times during the August drought she even donated her shower to die crop And while her tomatoes aren’t technically sweat-fre- e products it’s ' good to know that she has Social Security and health insurance For good measure none of her products eat up fossil fuels on their way to market I do not say this to boast of my green — in a red sort qf way — conscience In fact my season of consumer correctness won’t outlast the first frost But at least I know this woman personally Very personally And lately it seems we are all being called upon to know the person who planted our pistachios and the genealogy of the folks who brought our piggy to market not to mention the working conditions of those who fine our tomatoes from their cages Have you noticed? There was a time when most Americans grew their own food and made everything they needed In the early years of the 20th century one out of every three of us lived on a farm These days only about 1 percent of us do Most Americans laid down the hoe with an audible sigh of relief Our 1950s foremothers regarded the can opener as their chief agricultural tool Storybook children who used to visit grandparents on their farms now visit them at golf course condos The only agricyltural worker I knew growing up was Betty Crocker Then environmentalists started asking ‘’how green is your refrigerator?" and they weren’t talking about mold A growing world of ethical shoppers and correct consumers felt compelled to know mote about the shoes we walk in and the nigs we walk on We now have free-ranchickens and yes free-ranfish We have shade-grow- n coffee and chocolate We have a narrative line that goes from farm to cup ranch to plate As a green-as-gui- lt consumer I once had the idea for a parody of my own kind But that was before I read the Web site advocating recyclable menstrual pads Now there are signs of change in the store where I shop — The Holier Than Thou Market long a pioneer in segregating the organic from the con ventional It seems that the nutrition-- ' al information on nearly every prod- uct every box and every bottle has expanded to include biographical information Forget Ben and Jerry Let me introduce you to my breakfast Cereal ' guru Yogi Bhajan “who began to study with the great Yogis healers and Ayurvedic Masters of India” when he was still a child Have you met Annie who makes my macaroni and cheese and “has a scholarship program aimed at students who share our advocacy for the - : earth”? Do you know as much about your cheesemaker — not to mention her goats — as I do? And would you like to read a note from my maker of favorite spaghetti-sauc- e Italian ancestry in which he says all-ti- ' “We believe in long meals and at the table”? It bears the maker’s byline: Love Paola” I have a feeling that freedom from the farm has started to feel like disconnection It’s as if we’re dining with strangers Or Betty Crocker We’ve gone from raising crops to worrying about them We can get bur hands off farming but we can’t get our minds off it! So we’re now feeding our fantasy: Here on a small Maine island our happy little tomato farmer in her baseball cap and clogs fueled by her shade-grow- n coffee works the an acre of of) land Within (eighth sight of an (omnivorous) family of raccoons and within reach of a bumper crop of (four) eggplant she picks only the finest ripest tomatoes ' for your pleasure Enjoy “Love Ellen” lin-geri- ng ge ge fair-trad- ed 1 Other views Putting off new tax cuts welcomed Times Union Albany NY I a welcome sign that fiscal reality has begun to settle in House Republican leaders have decided to put off action on new tax cuts fra: ' now Just as encouraging their decision has the support of the White' House which recently had proposed a new round of tax relief to spur a sagging stock market But other events have overtaken Wall Sheet’s dismal performance The Bush administration is preparing the nation fra a war against Iraq that will cost between $100 billion and $200 billion according to fiscal experts That cost and the burden of paying for the larger war on terror- ism all but guarantee budget deficits 'for the next few yean if not longer i Mr Bush’s motives fra originally proposing yet more tax relief on top of his $135 trillion tax cut already in place were clear enough He was hoping to avoid the mistake made by his father who squandered ' his high popularity after die Gulf War with his seeming indifference to die domestic economy That cost him 10-ye- ar 1 the 1992 election Nonetheless there is still much that Republicans and Democrats can do in the way of tax reform Mallard Fillmore SOg£T I Jtek A&dmy jtfroosrA wmz&my &V00L £4NNA(rA S A eivz Wsyl ' § coMMUNny Lettersjpolicy Herald Journal j Editorial policy Ths Opinion paga it Handed to acquaint reader with a variety of viewpoints on mattsra of pubic Importance and provide membere of the community with a forum for their views Personal columns cartoone and letters from readere reflect the opinions of their writers and creams Editorials under to headtog ‘Our Vmf represent the view of the Herald Journal aboard Members of the adttorfal board: ' r DARRELL EHRUCKMtyadNor CINDY YURTWeatureeedtor BRUCE SMmypuMsfwr CHARLES McCOLLUMAnanaging editor t condusiens art mon to Stgatfimd out of multitude of tayues tfw timyk any fad of tuiforitattoe sdectkn — Juigt Immt3fcn4 American The Herald Journal welcomes Mare to the editor Potentially Kbetous or offensive letters wi not be pubfahed however and too edRor reserves too right to sdK all letters to conform to the length and style requirements of the Lsttere should ba: ' Typewritten and doubts spaced No mors than 450 words in length Addressed and Include daytime phone number tor purposes of verification Signed by too author IndMcfcals are kitted to one published let- ter wfthin any 304ay period AddreasE-ma- l letters to hjMer Ohjnewrecom Quest commentaries are also welcome and are run at to ednort discretion juitt (W2-1X- 1J v |