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Show OPINION PAGf 6 WEDNESDAY 1/12 Daily Utah Chronicle THE CHRONICLE'S VIEW Talkin' Giac and layin' smack F LETTER TO THE EDITOR We have the right to stand up for our beliefs are not more firm in our belief that we have a right to a moral society, then that right will continually be taken from us until we have no say as to what is acceptable and what is not. The bar of acceptability is continually getting pushed further and further aside until one day it will have no purpose, for it will bar nothing. I hope that those of us who care about society and are concerned with the direction that it is headed Editor: It is always extremely refreshing to hear when some people decide to stand up for their right to protect themselves and their communities from moral degradation. Too often the people of this great nation get persuaded that they have no such right and they fear the labels of "censorship" and "discrimination," which are words too loosely thrown around by the detractors of these morals. I continue to believe that if we will speak more loudly, like our own Christina Axson-Flynn. When similar situations arise that question whether we have the right to defend society's morals, we will not be afraid to let our voices be heard. Let us not be led to believe that we have no right to speak up for what we believe nor be made to feel guilty that our views are not necessarily the views of others around us. Clark Gunnerson Staff ans have been hard on U basketball coach Ray Giacoletti for no good reason. He's been criticized on message boards, around water coolers and game seats are left empty. Not only does he not deserve this critical apathy, but he's also had an incredible season so far. The Utes are 13-3 so far and have won the last eight games— three of which were against competitive teams. Additionally, they beat those tough teams by large margins. Giacoletti is doing well. The basketball MUSS has been strong and the ad campaigns are doing a wonderful job getting the word out about how exciting Ute basketball is this season. People talking smack about our team have no ground to stand on. We know it's hard getting over Rick Majerus. He was a legend and we had several really good seasons. Get over it! Quit comparing the two. To fill Rick's shoes, Giac would have to continually beat people over the head, consume his own bodyweight of food on a daily basis and violate every NCAA infraction possible without getting fired. That's too much to ask. An incredible winning record should be enough. No one realized how talented this team was before Giac showed up. Majerus had Marc Jackson benched for two years. At the last game Jackson made five of eight three-pointers and scored 23 points. The naysayers are making blithe judgments without looking at the numbers. If the pickle-suckers want to miss out on an incredible winning season, let them—but quit spreading negativity about a successful coach. Giacoletti deserves the same warm welcome we gave Urban. Sure Urban Meyer was replacing a disappointment and Giac is replacing a legend, but new faces and high-scoring players are exciting regardless of what "used to be." Maybe everyone is still bitter about the U being a revolving door or stepping stone (not at the same time, the door would get stuck) for coaches. Why? We should be used to it by now. It's a fact of life. Get over it. It's conceivable the loss to Utah State doomed the season in some minds. Awaken those people. The Aggies are a good team, especially at home. And the Utes are still upset about that loss and it continues to fuel them to greater and greater heights. U basketball deserves our sup-< port. This is going to be a great season. Unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of The Daily Utah Chronicle Editorial Board. Editorial columns and letters to the editor are strictly the opinions of the author. The forum created on the Opinion Page is one based on vigorous debate, while at the same time demanding tolerance and respect. Material defamatory to an individual or group because of race, ethnic background, religion, creed, gender, appearance or sexual orientation will be edited or will not be published. Huntsman: Waste not, want not on Envirocare The governor was a dubious candidate but is fast becoming a trustworthy leader I did not support Jon Huntsman Jr. for governor. Frankly, I wasn't pleased when incumbent Olene Walker didn't receive the nomination. For a plethora of reasons, all of which are no longer important, I did not think Huntsman was the right person for the job. Even though I had wanted someone else, I had to admit that Huntsman would probably do a fine job as well. He has now proven himself worthy of that confidence less than two weeks into his term. I'm not talking about his speeches, the parties he attended or the cabinet members he selected. On Jan. 6, The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Huntsman was planning to return a significant monetary contribution because he believed the donor's intentions in giving it were less than honorable. That donor was Steve Creamer, the new owner of Envirocare. Throughout his campaign, Huntsman made his opposition to Utah hosting more nuclear waste abundantly clear. Not only did one of his television commercials refer exclusively to his belief that Utah should not become the nation's nuclear waste dump, but he also refused any campaign contributions from Khosrow Semnani, then-owner of Envirocare. In the days leading up to the primary elections, Huntsman even criticized Nolan Karras for his close ties to the Envirocare owner and other Envirocare employees. Now Envirocare has a new owner: Steve Creamer. Creamer donated at least $40,000 to various Huntsman campaign efforts. $25,000 of this money was donated to Huntsman's political action committee the day before Creamer was publicly announced as a prospective buyer of Envirocare. The obvious thought is that Creamer was making an attempt to buy favor with the new governor in hopes that Huntsman would sign off on a plan to store hotter nuclear RuthAnne Frost Columnist waste in Tooele County. Creamer claims this is not the case, as he donated the money before he even completed his purchase of Envirocare. Regardless of the technical details, however, it seems clear this money could be seen as a bribe. Huntsman's Chief of Staff Jason Chafetz said, "If there was ever any thought that [the donation] is going to help with something with Envirocare, he was misinformed and will have quite the opposite effect as far as we are concerned." Huntsman has since announced his decision to return the $40,000 to Creamer, along with any implied future favors that might have come with it. This action is to be commended as incredibly honorable. The fact is Huntsman could have kept the money and still maintained his commitment to blocking nuclear waste in Utah. If I were governor (heaven forbid), I would have just kept the money and then thumbed my nose at Creamer when he came asking for approval to exercise the Envirocare license to store B and C level waste. However, Huntsman did not want to leave any doubt in the minds of Utah citizens regarding his dedication to keep our state clean and safe. Huntsman has claimed that the improvement of Utah's economy is his number one priority. Technically, allowing Envirocare to store Class B and Class C waste at its disposal site a mere 80 miles west of Salt Lake City could stimu- late our economy—at least in the short term. But rather than go back on his vow to keep hotter waste out of Utah, Huntsman is holding firm. He is showing a resolve that the governor will need in the fight to keep deadly nuclear waste out of Utah in the future. Integrity is doing what you say you will do. Jon Huntsman Jr. has vowed to keep nuclear waste out of Utah. By returning Steve Creamer's donations, Huntsman has renewed his commitment to that vow. Gov. Huntsman has proven himself as a politician of integrity during his first week in office. As for those who voted for him, rest assured that your confidence was well placed. Those who did not vote for him can be confident that while he was not their first choice, he is proving to be a commendable politician in an era of reprehensible elected officials. letters® ch ro n icle.utah.edu A gift given with an evil heart profits nobody Federal aid is obligated charity and inferior to private donations R esponse to the Dec. 26,2004 Asian tsunami has been amazing. Private donations from individuals, groups and corporations have been tremendous. These private donations are better than federal foreign aid and United Nations mismanagement. Contrary to the cold, uncaring, stereotypical depiction of corporations, businesses have stepped up to lead the charge. It is being seen that humans are running the businesses, and making decisions on various factors of this catastrophe, including factors beyond just the bottom line. The CNN Web site has a list of major companies that have made large contributions to relief efforts in the forms of money, supplies and underwriting logistics. This list is pages long and only includes wellknown companies such as American Express, Pfizer, Intel, Disney, Starbucks, Sears, Coke and Pepsi. Most of the companies have pledged more than $1 million in donations. Besides these firms, there has been a major outpouring of donations from companies of lesser prominence throughout the United States and the world. Corporations can be charitable and profitable at the same time. Charitable giving boosts consumer confidence. Starbucks is donating $2 for every pound of a certain brand of coffee sold. This is a good way of maintaining business and subsidizing beneficial programs. Many companies offer donation-matching programs, wherein the company will contribute one dollar for every dollar an employee donates. These are great programs because they involve people personally and amplify the results of charitable efforts. Individuals have raised tons of money in contributions to relief efforts. The money is coming from people everywhere. In all walks of life people are giving, from milliondollar celebrity contributions to the widow's mite. At my church, many people offered to help. Religious doctrine, as an example, became religious practice. Those receiving are better off for what they have received and those giving are better Off for what they given. That said, business is the most effective route for disaster relief. International businessmen already Edward Stevenson Columnist have networks and contacts established to organized relief efforts. They hold durable capital such as trucks, freight ships and storage facilities. These are needed for delivery and distribution of supplies. They are. already on the ground and have the ability to put relief dollars into immediate action. Private charities such as Doctors Without Borders are more effective than governments in giving aid because they don't confront antagonistic nationalist sentiments or restraints imposed by economic sanctions. Compare this to the United Nations, which after only a few weeks into the current crisis, has been severely criticized for its lack of ability to organize relief efforts. It has demonstrated poor management of funds from various governments, particularly in turning that money into effective aid. The UN's activities are part of a larger political game by those who are willing t6 use human suffering to bolster their political power. Name-calling and self asserted saintliness by government officials reviles the vanity and superficiality of political foreign aid. Japan, which has promised the most foreign aid, has ambition to gain a seat on the Security Council. It is hoping that the relief effort will be its leverage to gain influence. UN Undersecretary-General Jan Egeland calling Western nations "stingy" promoted a contest of who is more moral. But foreign aid does not demonstrate morality. Governmental aid is not money 1 generated by those willing to help, but rather by those forced to pay taxes. As the ethicist Murry Rothbard stated, "If a man is not free to choose, if he is compelled by force to do the moral thing, then he is being deprived of the opportunity of PLEASE SEND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR TO LETTERS@CHRONICLE.UTAH.EDU being moral." Hence, large pledges of foreign aid cannot make a country more moral than another because tax- generated giving is not charity. As voluntary individual donations have demonstrated, tax funded foreign aid is unnecessary. BBC News reported Britain's private donations have outpaced the British government's pledges. Disney reports that it has money set aside for sporadic disaster needs. Savings for a rainy day— what a novel idea! Compare this to our federal government— drowning in debt and unstable in tackling even foreseen disasters. In some sense it is tragic that it took a disaster of such magnitude to make people feel responsible to help others. Nevertheless, we have shown that we are capable of providing aid in mass amounts to those in need through voluntary contributions without political involvement. I hope the generosity and private aid demonstrated in the tsunami relief efforts may be part of continuing trend and paradigm for local and global welfare. letters@chronicle.utah.edu |