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Show 15 UTAH^jSTATESMAN FRIDAY, APRIL 1,2005 A word in Mugebe's ear Los Angeles Times A generation in southern Africa knows Robert Mugabe not as the courageous leader of Zimbabwe's fight for independence from u Britain but as the authoritarian ruler who clings to power by rigging elections and demonizing his opponents. This week's balloting fits the pattern. The country deserves far better than Mugabe, who has only led it deeper into poverty. Thabo Mbeki, president of neighboring Soutn Africa and one of the few leaders who has Mugabe's ear, should urge him to shape up. Independence for the land once known as southern Rhodesia was a sterling victory for the majority black population after decades of white colonial rule. Mugabe was a leader in the fight, was imprisoned for years and was looked on as a man who could make the transition from freedom fighter to statesman. He has not. , Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai would have defeated Mugabe in presidential elections three years ago had the vote been fair. But Mugabe supporters beat up opponents, moved polling stations and kept electoral rolls filled with the names of dead or fictional voters. There are. no signs of improvement this time. Mugabe won't let poll watchers from the U n ited States, Britain or the European Guest Editorial Union monitor the balloting. But South Africa is sending an official observer delegation. Mbeki should challenge Mugabe to let Zimbabweans vote freely. The South African president has regional prestige that Mugabe lacks; his urgings may not be heeded, but they need to be proclaimed. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice included Zimbabwe on her six-nation "outpost of tyranny" list during her confirmation hearings in January. That's a fair assessment. The fixed votes of recent years also demonstrate that elections do. not automatically add up to democracy, a fact the Bush administration should keep in mind as it pushes for greater freedom in the Middle East and elsewhere. Still, Mbeki and other African leaders should take advantage of Zimbabwe's elections to try to accomplish what the opposition has failed to do: push Mugabe to take pride in his status as the country's liberator and avoid being remembered as yet another ruler who stayed too long and descended from hero to tyrant This editorial appeared in Wednesday's Los Angeles Times. PRIVACY From Page 12 rests on recognizing the essential role that medical privacy plays in encouraging people to be honest with tneir health care providers and to seek medical care in the first place. That's why we take this inquisition so seriously, and why we remain determined to resist it every step of the way. Planned Parenthood is committed to working with law enforcement. Our clinicians are trained to identify suspected abuse, and we work closely with government officials to prosecute sexual offenders. But that is not what is happening in Kansas right now. Instead, Kline is conducting a fishing expedition, whose true purpose is to harass the doctors who provide abortions and intimidate the women who seek them. Meanwhile, earlier this month in Indiana, an agent of Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit marched up to three Planned Parenthood health centers and demanded the medical records of minors who had received reproductive health services like birthcontrol prescriptions and gynecological exams. Now the director of the Indiana MFCU has informed us he intends to seize about 70 additional medical records from 19 other Planned Parenthood health centers. We are refusing to participate in this violation of the public's trust and privacy. The unconscionable invasion of patients' rights in Kansas and Indiana is just the GOVERNMENT From Page 12 When congress came back over the weekend to pass legislation that would save Terri's life they crossed a threshold they have been crossing for years, that threshold is where the Constitution ends and tyranny begins. They undertook to save Terri's life with power that was not given to them. Article I section 8 of the U.S. Constitution designates 22 powers that congress has. These powers are distinct from those defined in Article II, the executive's power, as well as those in Article III, the judiciary's power. The Constitution goes in Amendment 10 to say, ''The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." final, supreme authority. It is responsible for the powers and rights that exist. It is the foundation for our society. And as such it is no respecter of persons. The law is blind and objective. This allows for the only kind of equality that can exist, equality before the law. The Constitution is our societal contractual agreement with each other. It is the agreement that we follow to live with each other. It created basic rules of behavior that we all had to abide by as well as modes of enforcement. Simply put, it is the ONLY reason our society exists. If we as a people do as we have, and continue to stand apathetically by and complacently allow Congress, the Judiciary and the Executive to take powers not enumerated There is no enumerated in the Constitution, then the power in Article I, section 8 rule of law, the foundation of that gives Congress the power our country, will be void. to save people like Terri. The Notice I did not say crumstate is tne only entity that has ble away, I specifically said that power, and if they do not void. The rule of law is only have a law already on the valid if and only if it is respectbooks, the right is left to the ed and upheld by the people. people; in this case Terri's con- Like any other contractual tractual partner: her husband. arrangement if one party I understand that this breaks its side of the agreesounds heartless, it is. The law, ment the other side is not held the fundamental building to its obligation under the block of civilized society, is contract. For example, if you just that. What the are under contract to buy a Constitution did was set up a house and the builder does ARE YOU INTERESTED (N AVIATION? not build it, he cannot claim right to the amount you would have paid him under the contract if he had delivered the house. Although this is a simple example, it is relevant. If the government does not adhere to the Constitution, they have broken their contractual obligations and are no longer exercising valid power. They have become tyrannical, a power unto themselves that can do what ever it wants, when it wants. Even if it is on your side today, ruling in your favor, it will eventually consume all power, every side, leaving none to you or I. Maybe this is why the founders included the Second Amendment. However you look at it, we as an American People need to wake up, throw off our complacent and apathetic attitudes and remember what this country was founded upon, the Constitution. We need to remember our legacy of freedom and how it is the only freedom that is compatible with government. We need to stand up for. freedom and make sure government stay in its place, limited and constrained. fared Scott Westbroek is a senior majoring in law and constitutional studies. Comments can be sent to jwestbroek@cc. usu. edu. tip of the iceberg. The threats to medical privacy - and by extension, to all of Americans' dearly held privacy rights - go way beyond local jurisdictions. Last year, in the course of litigation surrounding the federal abortion ban, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft demanded the complete medical records of 900 patients from six Planned Parenthood affiliates. Judge Phyllis Hamilton, however, who presided over Planned Parenthood Federation of America v. Ashcroft, rightly decided that the government could not take possession of them. Women seeking reproductive health care should never have to face the daunting possibility that politicians will pore over the intimate details of their private medical files without their knowledge or consent. Planned Parenthood has always protected the privacy of our clients. Over the years, leaders at many of our affiliates have shown courage and determination in resisting attempts to violate this sacred right. On the national level, we do not shrink from these battles either - in the case of the federal abortion ban, we fought long and hard in a court of law to protect a right that we, and our clients, believe should never have been in jeopardy in the first place. We must be vigilant in protecting our private medical records. Citizens, beware. Anyone, government official or otherwise, who wants to expose the details of your most personal concerns for a political purpose or an ideological goal does not have your best interests at heart. Karen Pearl is interim president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Then come earn your Private Pilot License with the Utah State University Professional Pilot Program. A special 9-week course begins on June 13 and ends August 13. For one low price you will receive 6 college credits, housing, food, transportation, flight fees, FAA checkride, textbooks, and equipment. Financial Aid is available for those who qualify. 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