B01   1 <#FROWN:B01\><h_><p_>Clinton as a free-trader<p/>
B01   2 <p_>The Democratic presidential candidate took a sure step by 
B01   3 giving support to a North American common market<p/><h/>
B01   4 <p_>GOV. BILL CLINTON deserves credit for endorsing the North 
B01   5 American Free Trade Agreement at the risk of offending major labor 
B01   6 organizations whose backing he counts on in the presidential 
B01   7 election.<p/>
B01   8 <p_>In deference to these constituents, Clinton put some conditions 
B01   9 on his promise to advance the accord if he is elected next month. 
B01  10 But as president, he would have sufficient leeway to reach 
B01  11 supplemental deals with Mexico and Canada on stronger protections 
B01  12 for the environment and labor standards, and against unexpected 
B01  13 surges in imports damaging U.S. industries.<p/>
B01  14 <p_>The free trade pact, on which negotiation was completed in 
B01  15 August, would knock down remaining barriers and join the three 
B01  16 nations in the world's largest trading bloc - 360 million people 
B01  17 with a combined annual output worth $6 trillion. It is an issue in 
B01  18 the presidential campaign because President Bush has accused the 
B01  19 Arkansan of waffling on the question.<p/>
B01  20 <p_>While endorsing the pact, Clinton needled the administration by 
B01  21 asserting that the text had <quote_>"serious omissions,"<quote/> 
B01  22 which he proposed correcting with additional accords before 
B01  23 ratification.<p/>
B01  24 <p_>Clinton suggests creating international commissions on 
B01  25 environmental and labor standards. He would reserve the right to 
B01  26 re<?_>-<?/>erect barriers against import surges. Bush's trade 
B01  27 representative, Carla Hills, believes there are enough such 
B01  28 protections already in the agreement.<p/>
B01  29 <p_>Clinton's pro free trade announcement is welcome, and might 
B01  30 steer the Democratic leadership away from protectionist 
B01  31 demagoguery, such as that espoused by House Majority Leader Richard 
B01  32 Gephardt of Missouri, who seeks renegotiation of the pact.<p/>
B01  33 <p_>Clinton sees far enough ahead to know that free trade is not a 
B01  34 killer of jobs but a necessity for creating them through increased 
B01  35 exports and greater international prosperity.<p/>
B01  36 <p_>Democrats used to be champions of that truth, and should be 
B01  37 again.<p/>
B01  38 
B01  39 <h_><p_>Shipping sushi to Osaka<p/><h/>
B01  40 <p_>IT MAY SOUND like the modern-day equivalent of taking coals to 
B01  41 Newcastle, but shipping sushi to Osaka has much to recommend it.<p/>
B01  42 <p_>It means jobs, as American workers fashion the sushi, which is 
B01  43 then frozen and sent to Japan. It means lower prices for Japanese 
B01  44 diners - American sushi costs about half as much as 
B01  45 Japanese-made.<p/>
B01  46 <p_>And finally, the westbound sushi trade means the United States 
B01  47 has made a small rent in Japan's rice curtain, which unfairly 
B01  48 shelters a $35 billion a year market from foreign competition.<p/>
B01  49 <p_>So, it was good news the other day when Japan relented and let 
B01  50 in a shipment of 950 frozen sushi samples from Escondido to the 
B01  51 44-restaurant, Osaka-based Sushi Boy chain. Japanese food 
B01  52 inspectors had held the samples hostage for several days in an 
B01  53 Osaka warehouse.<p/>
B01  54 <p_>The sushi met the requirement that 20 percent of their weight 
B01  55 be from ingredients other than rice. But inspectors worried: What 
B01  56 if the fish and the rice separate? Well, they decided, sushi just 
B01  57 isn't sushi without attachment of fish and the sticky 
B01  58 vinegar-flavored rice.<p/>
B01  59 <p_>Sushi Boy plans to start making sushi in its Escondido plant in 
B01  60 November, shipping about 2 million pieces a year to Japan. In Sushi 
B01  61 Boy restaurants (coming soon to the U.S.), a conveyor belt carries 
B01  62 sushi in endless circles to diners, who help themselves.<p/>
B01  63 <p_>We'll leave to Sushi Boy whether Japanese eaters will buy 
B01  64 defrosted, prefab American sushi instead of its fresh domestic 
B01  65 counterpart, even at half price.<p/>
B01  66 <p_>But we do think an important principle comes out of this sushi 
B01  67 skirmish: Governments shouldn't tell consumers what to eat or what 
B01  68 not to eat. Protectionism limits choices and raises prices.<p/>
B01  69 <p_>If Japan had a kernel of sense, it would open its rice markets 
B01  70 to everyone. Protectionism only benefits Japanese rice farmers, 
B01  71 co-operatives and a few government bureaucrats. A free market works 
B01  72 in the interests of everyone else in the world.<p/>
B01  73 
B01  74 <h_><p_>Save the tiger<p/>
B01  75 <p_><tf_>-Chicago Tribune<tf/><p/><h/>
B01  76 <p_>WITH SO much international concern about the dwindling number 
B01  77 of great beasts such as elephants and rhinoceroses, little 
B01  78 attention has been accorded the plight of the tiger.<p/>
B01  79 <p_>Elephants are slaughtered for the ivory in their tusks, highly 
B01  80 prized for ornamental carvings; rhinoceroses are killed for their 
B01  81 fibrous horns, which are used as medicines, aphrodisiacs and for 
B01  82 such ceremonial accouterments as dagger handles.<p/>
B01  83 <p_>Now comes word from the World Conservation Union in Switzerland 
B01  84 that there are perhaps only 7,000 tigers left in the wild, 
B01  85 scattered in regions of Asia and Siberia, with most of them in 
B01  86 India. Within 10 years, there may be none, except for those in 
B01  87 zoos.<p/>
B01  88 <p_>The tigers are being killed for their bones, which, crushed and 
B01  89 powdered, are a prime ingredient in ancient folk medicines used in 
B01  90 China and Chinese communities in various<}_><-|>part<+|>parts<}/> 
B01  91 of the world.<p/>
B01  92 <p_>The Chinese believe that these medicines and 'tiger wine' made 
B01  93 from the bones can enhance strength and cure a variety of ailments, 
B01  94 among them rheumatism, ulcers, malaria, typhoid, burns, nightmares 
B01  95 - even eruptions under the toenails.<p/>
B01  96 <p_>The poaching is so severe that in one wild preserve in India, 
B01  97 the tigers were reduced from 44 to 15 in two years. And the price 
B01  98 for the bones is so rewarding - as much as $170 a pound and 
B01  99 escalating - that poaching is expected to increase, leading to 
B01 100 almost certain doom for the tigers.<p/>
B01 101 <p_>In response, the Chinese have begun experimenting with breeding 
B01 102 farms to produce enough 'industrial tigers' to satisfy the demand 
B01 103 for bones.<p/>
B01 104 <p_>Ours will be a richer world with tigers still in the wild; it 
B01 105 would be richer still if such animals weren't diminished by ignoble 
B01 106 or dubious human activity.<p/>
B01 107 
B01 108 <h_><p_>All shook up<p/>
B01 109 <p_>Once somnolent, the campaign awakens suddenly with agreement of 
B01 110 the Bush and Clinton camps to hold three debates<p/><h/>
B01 111 <p_>AFTER WEEKS of horsing around, the presidential candidates have 
B01 112 agreed to debate. This is good. The American people will finally 
B01 113 get to see how George Bush and Bill Clinton match up. That's the 
B01 114 best way to make a choice: the old-fashioned way. No sound bites or 
B01 115 slick ads, just a contest of mind vs. mind.<p/>
B01 116 <p_>Coupled with Ross Perot's re-entry, the debates save the race 
B01 117 from boring inevitability. Clinton's lead was growing steadily. 
B01 118 Nothing Bush did worked. Not family values. Not going negative. Not 
B01 119 the pork barrel. Not train trips through mid-America.<p/>
B01 120 <p_>Say what you want about Perot (and we have), his sprite-like 
B01 121 dashes on and off stage kept us from falling asleep. He's turned 
B01 122 the campaign from something resembling, say, 'King Lear,' into 
B01 123 something more like 'Midsummer Night's Dream.'<p/>
B01 124 <p_>Was it coincidence that Clinton and Bush agreed on debate dates 
B01 125 within hours of Perot's self-resuscitation? Perhaps.<p/>
B01 126 <p_>More fun under the Big Top is suggested by Perot's inclusion in 
B01 127 the debates.<p/>
B01 128 <p_>His running mate, James 'Man of Steel' Stockdale, a graduate of 
B01 129 a North Vietnamese prison camp, apparently will join Al Gore and 
B01 130 Dan Quayle in a single vice-presidential debate. Public-school 
B01 131 graduate Quayle says he's at an educational disadvantage against 
B01 132 private-school grad Gore, who's also a Vietnam vet. We doubt Quayle 
B01 133 will bring up the Indiana National Guard.<p/>
B01 134 <p_>In the main events, Perot will undoubtedly force discussion of 
B01 135 the budget deficit, not a favorite topic of the Big Two. Bush has 
B01 136 piled more than $1.2 trillion onto the national debt, and critics 
B01 137 think President Clinton would be an even bigger contributor.<p/>
B01 138 <p_>For settling the debate, we commend both the Clinton and Bush 
B01 139 camps. They did the right thing, and each side compromised to do 
B01 140 so.<p/>
B01 141 <p_>Three presidential debates ought to bring the candidates, and 
B01 142 the issues, into focus. All that's required is for voters to tune 
B01 143 in. Let the shows begin.<p/>
B01 144 
B01 145 <h_><p_>Enact workers comp reform now<p/><h/>
B01 146 <p_>GOV. WILSON'S new list of 'reforms' for the state's workers 
B01 147 compensation system increases the mystery of why - politics aside - 
B01 148 he vetoed all of the Legislature's plan to achieve $1.15 billion in 
B01 149 savings. Several parts of the Republican governor's package match 
B01 150 or closely resemble the Democrat-sponsored legislation he 
B01 151 rejected.<p/>
B01 152 <p_>He challenges the legislators to approve his new version 
B01 153 without hearings and without much change at a special session 
B01 154 starting Thursday.<p/>
B01 155 <p_>Similarities between the vetoed bills and the governor's new 
B01 156 plan include limits on numbers of medical evaluations of injured 
B01 157 workers, higher standards of proof in claims of mental stress and 
B01 158 use of managed care organizations to hold down costs of treating 
B01 159 injuries. Wilson also renewed his backing for repeal of the minimum 
B01 160 rate law assuring profits for workers' compensation insurance 
B01 161 companies - they get 32.8 percent of the premium dollar for profit 
B01 162 and expenses whatever their inefficiencies.<p/>
B01 163 <p_>The overriding need in realizing savings is to control costs 
B01 164 borne by employers for the $11 billion program covering workers' 
B01 165 on-the-job injuries. Savings also would permit increases in the 
B01 166 inadequate benefits that finally reach workers. The seemingly clear 
B01 167 aim of public policy, unfortunately, is buried in partisan 
B01 168 rhetoric, with Wilson vowing to seek the electoral defeat of 
B01 169 legislators who oppose him on the question.<p/>
B01 170 <p_>The two sides should call a truce in the political war and 
B01 171 quickly enact the reforms - including sensible anti-fraud measures 
B01 172 - on which they agree or almost agree.<p/>
B01 173 <p_>Those savings can be realized now. Then the governor and 
B01 174 Legislature should give longer consideration to proposals that call 
B01 175 for deep thought - like changes in the law that would profoundly 
B01 176 affect the rights of injured workers.<p/>
B01 177 <p_>With the state's economic health and the welfare of millions of 
B01 178 jobholders at stake, this is no matter for political 
B01 179 game-playing.<p/>
B01 180 
B01 181 <h_>The last lion<h/>
B01 182 <p_>VINCENT HALLINAN died Friday at age 95. He lived just long 
B01 183 enough to:<p/>
B01 184 <p_><*_>black-triangle<*/> Scan the obituaries of J. Edgar Hoover 
B01 185 and the rest of his devoted enemies: <quote_>"They're all 
B01 186 dead,"<quote/> he once said. <quote_>"It's a great disappointment 
B01 187 to me."<quote/><p/>
B01 188 <p_><*_>black-triangle<*/> See most of what were once his 
B01 189 ultra<?_>-<?/>radical notions, such as civil rights, become the law 
B01 190 of the land: <quote_>"How anybody could stay out of the civil 
B01 191 rights disturbances and still hold up his head, I don't 
B01 192 know."<quote/><p/>
B01 193 <p_><*_>black-triangle<*/> Become a very wealthy man, doing well by 
B01 194 doing good. As probably the best trial lawyer of his era, he 
B01 195 pioneered in bucking the system with personal injury suits that 
B01 196 required Big Business to pay damages to victims of corporate 
B01 197 negligence: <quote_>"The only reason for going to law is to get 
B01 198 money, except in criminal cases."<quote/><p/>
B01 199 <p_><*_>black-triangle<*/> Justify all those years of serious 
B01 200 boxing. In his 90s, confronted by a mugger, he knocked the man 
B01 201 flat. He didn't condemn such people. <quote_>"I think that men have 
B01 202 become more cynical and more desperate. I think we are in a period 
B01 203 that is marking the collapse of an economic system."<quote/><p/>
B01 204 <p_><*_>black-triangle<*/> Soften his views on religion. Once an 
B01 205 altar boy, he was a Navy officer in World War I when he read the 
B01 206 works of Thomas Paine and became an ardent atheist who sued the 
B01 207 Catholic Church to prove the existence of God. Much later: 
B01 208 <quote_>"A lot of people need religion. The world is a rough, tough 
B01 209 place."<quote/><p/>
B01 210 <p_><*_>black-triangle<*/> See one of his sons, Terence, elected as 
B01 211 a member of the Board of Supervisors in a city of refuge for 
B01 212 Vincent Hallinan's father, an Irish fugitive from British law.<p/>
B01 213 <p_><*_>black-triangle<*/> Note how editorialists of The Examiner 
B01 214 regarded him in the early years with choleric contempt, then with 
B01 215 furious respect, later with a certain esteem and, finally, with 
B01 216 proud admiration.<p/>
B01 217 <p_>We won't see his like again.<p/>
B01 218 
B01 219 <h_><p_>Hands off the library<p/>
B01 220 <p_>The plan to cut the budget of San Francisco's libraries by 10 
B01 221 percent is insane; Jordan should reconsider<p/><h/>
B01 222 <p_>WE URGE Mayor Jordan to attend one of the upcoming meetings of 
B01 223 community residents who are concerned about the effects his 
B01 224 proposed budget cuts of $1.7 million would have on our city library 
B01 225 system.<p/>
B01 226 <p_>The mayor needs to see firsthand what the branch libraries are 
B01 227 doing for our city.<p/>
B01 228 <p_>Visit North Beach, for example, on Wednesday nights, when the 
B01 229 branch is open, and ask the many elderly residents. You'll find how 
B01 230 much they rely on it.<p/>
B01 231 <p_>Or the Richmond branch, where many of our recent Russian 
B01 232 immigrants are learning new career skills, and where every day a 
B01 233 goggle of students go to do homework.<p/>
B01 234 <p_>Or the Main Library across Civic Center Plaza from City Hall, 
B01 235 where the chess program provides the only warm, safe neighborhood 
B01 236 magnet for the 5,000 children of the Tenderloin.<p/>
B01 237 
B02   1 <#FROWN:B02\><h_><p_>Powerless, but not hopeless<p/>
B02   2 <p_>FPL STRUGGLES TO COPE<p/><h/>
B02   3 <p_>HURRICANE Andrew has darkened not only moods and spirits, but 
B02   4 blacked out homes and businesses as well. That is causing all sorts 
B02   5 of inconveniences, and in some cases endangering personal health 
B02   6 and security. It's just one of the countless grim legacies that the 
B02   7 killer storm left behind.<p/>
B02   8 <p_>As of yesterday afternoon, more than 750,000 people in Dade, 
B02   9 Broward, and Palm Beach counties had no electricity, and Florida 
B02  10 Power & Light was urging many of them to brace for a long wait. 
B02  11 Bothersome as that situation is, it demands patience and a general 
B02  12 understanding of what is prolonging the darkness.<p/>
B02  13 <p_>FPL personnel are being flooded with complaint calls from 
B02  14 people demanding immediate restoration of their electric power. 
B02  15 Their frustration is of course understandable. But that frustration 
B02  16 is being inflamed, irresponsibly, by some local radio hosts and a 
B02  17 few hysterical listeners who are urging the public to call the 
B02  18 company to protest. They are part of the problem, not the solution. 
B02  19 The effect of their behavior is to make it harder for FPL to do an 
B02  20 already overwhelming job.<p/>
B02  21 <p_>South Floridians must understand that FPL is scrambling to 
B02  22 restore power as soon as possible. Crews are working around the 
B02  23 clock to achieve that goal, beginning with priority areas such as 
B02  24 hospitals, shelters for Andrew's thousands of homeless victims, 
B02  25 police, and fire stations. They labor under intense national 
B02  26 scrutiny, which adds to the pressure.<p/>
B02  27 <p_>Some power outages are actually a pre<?_>-<?/>cautionary 
B02  28 measure, safeguarding people and property from potential harm. In 
B02  29 most cases, though, power is out because FPL equipment in the three 
B02  30 counties suffered severe damage that can't be repaired overnight. A 
B02  31 case in point is FPL's Turkey Point nuclear plant, which was not 
B02  32 producing any power because Andrew blew away virtually all of its 
B02  33 transmission wires.<p/>
B02  34 <p_>Admittedly, Turkey Point was supposed to have done better. 
B02  35 Supposedly hurricane-proof power pylons there collapsed in the 
B02  36 onslaught. No doubt FPL will soon learn of other storm plans that 
B02  37 failed, and will have to recoup and explain.<p/>
B02  38 <p_>But pledging an all-out restoration effort, the company says 
B02  39 that it expects to restore electricity to all of Broward County by 
B02  40 Thursday. In Dade, many residents north of Kendall will be without 
B02  41 power for a week, and those south of Kendall can expect to spend 
B02  42 three weeks or more in the dark. That is roughly consistent with 
B02  43 the pace of power restoration in Charleston, S.C., in the wake of 
B02  44 Hurricane Hugo - a less destructive storm.<p/>
B02  45 <p_>Unfortunately, no amount of complaining will shorten those 
B02  46 timetables. It may, in fact, slow recovery, destroy morale, and 
B02  47 feed a darkness that is more than literal.<p/>
B02  48 
B02  49 <h_><p_>Dry well rings hollow<p/>
B02  50 <p_>WATER PROMISES UNKEPT<p/><h/>
B02  51 <p_>WATER IS proving to be the most critical problem left behind by 
B02  52 Andrew - not the anticipated flooding, which was not as bad as 
B02  53 expected, but broken pipes and seepage elsewhere. The latter left 
B02  54 much of the region's water<?_>-<?/>distribution system with zero 
B02  55 pressure and residents without safe drinking water. For safety's 
B02  56 sake, all of Dade County remains under a boil-water order, but 
B02  57 given the total destruction in Florida City, Homestead, and 
B02  58 Southwest Dade, and absent electricity, those were difficult 
B02  59 demands with which to comply.<p/>
B02  60 <p_>The inconvenience and annoyance of Monday and Tuesday could 
B02  61 turn to something much worse later in the week. Especially if the 
B02  62 damaged Black Point sewage treatment plant can't be brought back on 
B02  63 line or bypassed. Functioning public water and sewer systems are 
B02  64 society's first line of defense against epidemic illnesses such as 
B02  65 cholera and typhoid. With health department officials predicting 
B02  66 that it may be two weeks before the water system is fully 
B02  67 operational, delivering water safe to drink, there is a sense of 
B02  68 alarm assuaged only by the willingness of people to share. Indeed, 
B02  69 bottlers who showed up to distribute free water were a Godsend for 
B02  70 many of the hardest-pressed residents.<p/>
B02  71 <p_>When the crisis passes, however, there must be some answers to 
B02  72 the question: Why? Following Hurricane Hugo, water and sewer 
B02  73 officials were assuring Dade residents that they, and their system, 
B02  74 were prepared and would function even in a Category 4 storm. 
B02  75 Emergency generators were in place at every pump station. The 
B02  76 assurances ring all too hollow now, and a full investigation is 
B02  77 warranted.<p/>
B02  78 
B02  79 <h_><p_>We shall overcome<p/>
B02  80 <p_>THE REBUILDING BEGINS<p/><h/>
B02  81 <p_>THOUSANDS of South Floridians have the numb feeling of 
B02  82 mourners, seeing little reminders of normal life that offer sharp 
B02  83 contrast to the depth of despair.<p/>
B02  84 <p_>Some of us have lost only the familiar comforts of the nice old 
B02  85 oak, or electricity. Many others, though, have lost the houses that 
B02  86 were home, that were built with hope, sweat, and large, scary 
B02  87 mortgages. A few have lost loved ones, paying the storm's ultimate 
B02  88 price.<p/>
B02  89 <p_>Will South Florida, especially Cutler Ridge, Homestead, and 
B02  90 Kendall, ever recover? In a way, no. Those of us who have taken 
B02  91 great losses will bear scars in our souls. Some of us now have 
B02  92 financial burdens from which we may not fully recover. Nearly all 
B02  93 of us will carry the new and clear knowledge of our vulnerability. 
B02  94 How so much can be lost in a few hours. Only fools can say today, 
B02  95 it can't happen to me.<p/>
B02  96 <p_>Some day, though, the rubble will be cleared. The canopy of 
B02  97 green will spread anew. Institutions will be reborn and rebuild 
B02  98 <&|>sic, and so will families. South Florida has proved - again and 
B02  99 again - its resiliency through hurricanes, through financial 
B02 100 collapses, and through sudden, large waves of penniless 
B02 101 refugees.<p/>
B02 102 <p_>Miami and all of South Florida have always emerged stronger and 
B02 103 it <&|>sic will again. Pioneers and refugees alike have amply 
B02 104 proved, we can and we do rebuild from little.<p/>
B02 105 <p_>We have the most important resource - ourselves. We have 
B02 106 neighbors who continue to report to duty at our police and fire 
B02 107 departments, utility companies, hospitals, and other essential work 
B02 108 places, despite their own worries at home. In fact, some are 
B02 109 working even though they have <tf|>no homes.<p/>
B02 110 <p_>We also have neighbors who have performed those big and little 
B02 111 acts of heroism and kindness: the rescue of trapped families, the 
B02 112 sharing of fresh water, the two hours of time with a chain saw to 
B02 113 clear a driveway.<p/>
B02 114 <p_>We will need much more kindness and heroism, big and little, 
B02 115 for months to come. We will need patience now to restore basic 
B02 116 services, and in the long-term to restore the flow of commerce. We 
B02 117 will need courage, too - and confidence drawn from the knowledge 
B02 118 that we have coped. We can cope. And we will cope.<p/>
B02 119 
B02 120 <h_><p_>Bush: A fighting speech<p/>
B02 121 <p_>LET THE DEBATE BE JOINED<p/><h/>
B02 122 <p_>AMERICANS have waited nearly four years to hear what George 
B02 123 Bush gave them on Thursday night: an animated, tough, and 
B02 124 forthright defense of his approach to American government. It was 
B02 125 an impressive and remarkable moment. Impressive, because the 
B02 126 president combined strong terms with passionate argument. 
B02 127 Remarkable, because he has waited four years to do it.<p/>
B02 128 <p_>His supporters would protest, as he himself did before a 
B02 129 jubilant Republican convention, that he has been pressing the main 
B02 130 elements of his program for his entire term. But his vigorous 
B02 131 convention address effectively disproves that. The speech, and the 
B02 132 far-flung program that it contained, had earnestness and urgency, 
B02 133 if not always freshness. In the 48 months since the last Republican 
B02 134 convention, the president has displayed such fervor only in foreign 
B02 135 affairs.<p/>
B02 136 <p_>George Bush can - and on Thursday did - argue forcefully for 
B02 137 his brand of supply side economics: for spending freezes and income 
B02 138 tax cuts, tort reform, unregulated enterprise, and his beloved tax 
B02 139 cut on capital gains. He defended open trade. He rejected national 
B02 140 programs for health care (and even, by implication, threatened to 
B02 141 freeze or cut Medicare and Medicaid). Like these ideas or not, 
B02 142 there was no mistaking his commitment to them.<p/>
B02 143 <p_>But this ferocious advocacy is a skill that, however potent, he 
B02 144 has hardly ever employed. Nearly all of the achievements in 
B02 145 domestic affairs for which he took credit - the Clean Air Act, the 
B02 146 Americans With Disabilities Act, and (incredibly) a Civil Rights 
B02 147 Act that he had first vetoed - were conceived and promoted by 
B02 148 others. His curious passivity has persisted even through 19 or more 
B02 149 months of economic hardship.<p/>
B02 150 <p_>So how to explain the sudden vigor of Thursday night? Insiders 
B02 151 give incoming Chief of Staff James Baker much of the credit. Some 
B02 152 of the speech's most forceful language was reportedly inserted in 
B02 153 the final day or two. That would suggest Mr. Baker's belated 
B02 154 influence.<p/>
B02 155 <p_>Mr. Bush, on the other hand, insists that advocacy would be 
B02 156 wasted on an intractable Congress. True enough, Congress has 
B02 157 acquitted itself miserably. (The president expended nearly a third 
B02 158 of his speech saying just <tf|>how miserably.) Yes, Republicans 
B02 159 hold little sway there. And no, presidents don't have much power to 
B02 160 steer domestic policy on their own. But those are all the reasons 
B02 161 why the fire of Thursday night should have been lit 20 months ago, 
B02 162 when Mr. Bush's popularity was stratospheric. Instead, he 
B02 163 squandered that opportunity and now must scurry to recoup.<p/>
B02 164 <p_>One speech won't achieve that for him. Nor will several. 
B02 165 Americans must come to believe, in the next 73 days, that the zeal 
B02 166 of this convention won't promptly go back into mothballs if George 
B02 167 Bush goes back to the White House. That won't be easy.<p/>
B02 168 <p_>But on Thursday night, he proved that it is possible, and that 
B02 169 he means to do it. If so, the historically important differences 
B02 170 between Mr. Bush and Democratic nominee Bill Clinton should get a 
B02 171 sprightly airing and hearty debate. The public deserves no less, 
B02 172 and is hungry for more.<p/>
B02 173 
B02 174 <h_><p_>Still better in the Bahamas<p/>
B02 175 <p_>AS THE PINDLING ERA ENDS<p/><h/>
B02 176 <p_>SOUTH Florida has intimate ties to the Bahamas. It's as if both 
B02 177 places formed part of the same Caribbean country, a land of islands 
B02 178 and seaside cities that transcends national borders, joined by 
B02 179 history, geography, and the perpetual movement of peoples. Indeed, 
B02 180 Miami is closer in spirit to the Bahamas than to much of 
B02 181 Florida.<p/>
B02 182 <p_>Hence, events on the islands have a special resonance in South 
B02 183 Florida. They needn't even be Earth-shattering events. This week, 
B02 184 for example, an era came quietly to an end in the Bahamas. It ended 
B02 185 peacefully, as Great Britain's dominion of the islands ended in 
B02 186 1973. As peacefully as life in general passes in the Bahamas, 
B02 187 islands of openness and relaxed tolerance.<p/>
B02 188 <p_>Lynden Pindling, the founding father of Bahamian independence 
B02 189 and the country's prime minister during the last 25 years, lost 
B02 190 Wednesday's general elections to Hubert Ingraham. Mr. Pindling 
B02 191 graciously conceded defeat. That is how he has mostly governed 
B02 192 these lovely islands - with graciousness and steadiness. Even when 
B02 193 his government was accused of being autocratic. Even when he was 
B02 194 under international scrutiny, accused of corruption and of letting 
B02 195 drug-traffickers ship their wares through the Bahamas. The 
B02 196 allegations, though worrisome, were never proved.<p/>
B02 197 <p_>The end of the Pindling era will leave most things as they are 
B02 198 in the Bahamas. The new prime minister does not intend to alter an 
B02 199 economic policy that relies on tourism and on conveying the 
B02 200 Bahamas's tranquility and stability to the world. Who would be so 
B02 201 foolish as to alter paradise?<p/>
B02 202 
B02 203 <h_><p_>Two cases, two concerns<p/>
B02 204 <p_>CHILDREN IN THE MIDDLE<p/><h/>
B02 205 <p_>SHARON McCRACKEN, a 50-year-old lesbian from Fort Lauderdale, 
B02 206 was convinced that she would be an excellent foster mother. So she 
B02 207 worked doggedly through the system to convince officials too. Now 
B02 208 she has done so.<p/>
B02 209 <p_>Meantime, a longtime Dade County wrestling coach, a man revered 
B02 210 by children and admired by adults, worked through a different 
B02 211 system - the courts. Now he is suspected of using it to get young 
B02 212 boys for his sexual pleasure.<p/>
B02 213 <p_>Nothing binds these dissimilar cases except this: They both 
B02 214 offer compelling reasons for the South Florida community to examine 
B02 215 continuously what it means when it avers to do <quote_>"what is 
B02 216 best for the children."<quote/> Both cases demand that people as 
B02 217 individuals, not as part of arbitrary classifications, be judged 
B02 218 fit - or not - to contribute to the welfare of children.<p/>
B02 219 <p_>Dick Jordan stands accused of sexually molesting dozens of 
B02 220 young athletes over a 14-year period. The torment, sadly, stills 
B02 221 haunts many who trusted him.<p/>
B02 222 
B02 223 
B02 224 
B03   1 <#FROWN:B03\><h_><p_>What voters should watch for - and ignore<p/>
B03   2 <p_>The season of campaign sleaze is upon us, but there are ways 
B03   3 for voters to filter it out.<p/><h/>
B03   4 <p_>So you think the presidential campaign has been nasty so far? 
B03   5 You ain't seen nothing yet.<p/>
B03   6 <p_>As Election Day grows nearer and the stakes get higher, this 
B03   7 contest will head where all the others have - mudward.<p/>
B03   8 <p_>Despite the candidates' high-minded pledges to steer clear of 
B03   9 personal attacks, ample amounts of dirt have been hurled by both 
B03  10 sides already.<p/>
B03  11 <p_>Don't despair. Tune out the discouraging spectacle of infantile 
B03  12 antics and tune in what's really important.<p/>
B03  13 <p_>The three most important topics are: Deficit, deficit and 
B03  14 deficit. How the next president plans to eliminate this $333.5 
B03  15 billion drag on the economy will dictate everything else the 
B03  16 government can and cannot do. Listen for a credible commitment to 
B03  17 deal with the deficit, get the economy growing and create jobs 
B03  18 before launching programs.<p/>
B03  19 <p_>Next: Everything else. How will the candidates resolve the 
B03  20 nation's other pressing problems, and how will they pay to do 
B03  21 it?<p/>
B03  22 <p_>On their agenda should be coping with the health care crisis; 
B03  23 repairing crumbling bridges, highways and water mains; reversing 
B03  24 and preventing environmental damage; reviving educational 
B03  25 achievement; reducing crime; and stemming a growing intolerance of 
B03  26 racial and other differences.<p/>
B03  27 <p_>No president can, or should be, solely responsible for curing 
B03  28 these ills, but his leadership will be crucial. Acknowledging the 
B03  29 limitations of the highest office and envisioning a role for 
B03  30 individual and community efforts are also vital elements of being 
B03  31 'presidential.'<p/>
B03  32 <p_>At last as many topics are safe to ignore: Murphy Brown's baby, 
B03  33 Hillary Clinton's legal theories, Barbara Bush's motherly mien, 
B03  34 anyone's cookie-baking proclivities, Dan Quayle's creative spelling 
B03  35 and Bill Clinton's creative grammar.<p/>
B03  36 <p_>By following these guidelines, you may discover precious 
B03  37 nuggets of leadership gleaming amid the slime. With luck and 
B03  38 effort, you'll be able to cast a vote in November without feeling 
B03  39 dirty.<p/>
B03  40 
B03  41 <h_><p_>Help protect home buyers<p/>
B03  42 <p_>Home buyers deserve the right to know what condition home 
B03  43 they're buying - warts and all.<p/><h/>
B03  44 <p_>It's a maxim of home buying that during the first hard rain 
B03  45 after you move in, the basement turns into a scale model of 
B03  46 Okefenokee Swamp.<p/>
B03  47 <p_>Or the wiring opts for early retirement. Or the furnace emits 
B03  48 noises usually associated with processing raw scrap metal.<p/>
B03  49 <p_>And, innocently or not, the sellers knew but didn't mention the 
B03  50 flaw before pocketing your cash and leaving town.<p/>
B03  51 <p_>Mandatory sell-disclosure laws promise to lower the frequency 
B03  52 of such unpleasant, often litigious surprises - although they may 
B03  53 never be eliminated, given the cantankerous potential of both 
B03  54 houses and humans.<p/>
B03  55 <p_>Five states have such statutes, ending at least some of the 
B03  56 uncertainty inherent in buying a home - the costliest purchase most 
B03  57 people ever make.<p/>
B03  58 <p_>That's why everyone gains from the get-it-on-the-table openness 
B03  59 that mandatory disclosure laws foster.<p/>
B03  60 <p_>Buyers appear to file fewer complaints, say regulators in 
B03  61 California, which has required disclosure the longest, since 1987. 
B03  62 Most brokers and agents say such laws short-circuit debate about 
B03  63 whether they told buyers of defects - the accusation behind two of 
B03  64 three lawsuits now filed against them.<p/>
B03  65 <p_>Even sellers gain. They needn't rip houses apart seeking flaws 
B03  66 - just disclose known ones. That can nudge them to fix faults that 
B03  67 could slow a sale - or leave them liable afterward.<p/>
B03  68 <p_>Disclosure laws also wouldn't end buyers' need to get houses 
B03  69 inspected, or absolve agents and brokers from their legal duty to 
B03  70 disclose known defects.<p/>
B03  71 <p_>But such laws would smooth home buying for all involved. More 
B03  72 states should adopt them. Making the first mortgage payment should 
B03  73 be the biggest jolt most home buyers have to face.<p/>
B03  74 
B03  75 <h_><p_>Andrew's lesson: Disaster planning pays dividends<p/>
B03  76 <p_>Florida's smooth evacuation is a testimony to federal, state 
B03  77 and local emergency planning.<p/><h/>
B03  78 <p_>When Hurricane Andrew struck, South Florida was ready.<p/>
B03  79 <p_>That doesn't happen by accident.<p/>
B03  80 <p_>A remarkably well-choreographed evacuation effort succeeded in 
B03  81 convincing an estimated 700,000 people to move out of harm's 
B03  82 way.<p/>
B03  83 <p_>Such plans are a testimony to intense federal, state and local 
B03  84 preparation.<p/>
B03  85 <p_>The federal government chipped in with a remarkable piece of 
B03  86 computer wizardry called 'SLOSH,' for <quote_>"sea, lake and 
B03  87 overland surges from hurricanes,"<quote/> that predicts which areas 
B03  88 due to be hit by a hurricane will be flooded.<p/>
B03  89 <p_>Another computer model predicts how long it will take to 
B03  90 evacuate specific areas, so state offices of emergency preparedness 
B03  91 know when to start issuing evacuation orders.<p/>
B03  92 <p_>Then there are local efforts, like Miami Beach's mock disaster 
B03  93 drills for the elderly over the past three weeks.<p/>
B03  94 <p_>More grim news is probably on its way, as reports from hard-hit 
B03  95 areas come in and the hurricane rages on. But the teams who 
B03  96 prepared for this disaster, and those who heeded their warnings, 
B03  97 deserve credit for keeping that bad news from being far worse.<p/>
B03  98 
B03  99 <h_><p_>Protect telephone privacy<p/>
B03 100 <p_>Congress should ensure that federal snoops after our phone 
B03 101 records get the busy signal more often.<p/><h/>
B03 102 <p_>As you read this, some FBI, IRS or other federal agent could be 
B03 103 trolling through your phone records to learn who you called, when 
B03 104 and for how long.<p/>
B03 105 <p_>You don't have to be a criminal. Or even under suspicion. And 
B03 106 you can't stop it: The Supreme Court has agreed your phone records 
B03 107 belong to the phone company - which routinely provides tens of 
B03 108 thousands of them to anyone with a federal subpoena.<p/>
B03 109 <p_>But Congress, where legislation is now being studied, can do 
B03 110 something: Tighten the standards government agents must meet to get 
B03 111 local and toll-phone records. Those records can disclose as much as 
B03 112 conversations and should get equal protection from casual 
B03 113 government 'fishing expeditions.'<p/>
B03 114 <p_>They don't now. Just ask the Alicia Patterson Foundation. Its 
B03 115 phone records were among those the IRS subpoenaed when trying to 
B03 116 learn who leaked an embarrassing story to reporter Gregory Millman 
B03 117 - even though, at the time, Millman's only contact with the group 
B03 118 had been to call for an application.<p/>
B03 119 <p_>The foundation's phone network, Bell Atlantic, got 22,000 such 
B03 120 federal orders in 1991. Pacific Bell already has received more than 
B03 121 12,000 this year.<p/>
B03 122 <p_>Clearly, reviewing phone records has become routine. An agency 
B03 123 need claim only that they're relevant to some investigation; 
B03 124 neither judge nor grand jury reviews such claims. But to wiretap, 
B03 125 an agency must affirm to a judge that the subject is under 
B03 126 investigation. Then, it can record only those parts of 
B03 127 conversations linked to the activity being probed.<p/>
B03 128 <p_>Congress should make it just as tough to see and copy phone 
B03 129 records.<p/>
B03 130 <p_>Law officers should find this no more a burden than the 
B03 131 workable laws that regulate wiretaps. In a democracy, the focus 
B03 132 should be protecting the rights of the majority, not nabbing a few 
B03 133 crooks.<p/>
B03 134 <p_>Where the feds go fishing should be determined by more than 
B03 135 just a hunch.<p/>
B03 136 
B03 137 <h_><p_>Don't reject private initiatives in education<p/>
B03 138 <p_>Private corporations could help the USA's public schools make 
B03 139 higher grades.<p/><h/>
B03 140 <p_>When school bells ring this fall, hundreds of businesses will 
B03 141 show up in the nation's classrooms. Corporations provide mentors, 
B03 142 scholarships and equipment, from notebooks to computers.<p/>
B03 143 <p_>A 1991 study found 65% of grade<?_>-<?/>school students 
B03 144 surveyed were enrolled in districts that received a total of nearly 
B03 145 $1 billion in cash, materials or services from businesses.<p/>
B03 146 <p_>Now a bigger experiment is in progress - contracting businesses 
B03 147 to run public schools - and, despite misgivings, it's an experiment 
B03 148 worth trying as long as public oversight is retained.<p/>
B03 149 <p_>The private firms hire teachers, maintain school buildings and 
B03 150 select subjects the students are taught.<p/>
B03 151 <p_>Baltimore and Miami school officials have given Minnesota-based 
B03 152 Educational Alternatives a contract to manage some schools. The 
B03 153 company's new approach promises personally tailored study programs 
B03 154 and smaller classes.<p/>
B03 155 <p_>Entrepreneur Christopher Whittle's Edison Project plans 1,000 
B03 156 for-profit schools that he says could replace publicly run 
B03 157 schools.<p/>
B03 158 <p_>With test scores falling and dropout rates rising, such new 
B03 159 approaches should be welcomed, albeit with caution.<p/>
B03 160 <p_>For-profit public education raises a daunting question. How 
B03 161 will these schools make money for themselves without cutting 
B03 162 educational corners?<p/>
B03 163 <p_>For-profit schools must not be allowed to skim off highly 
B03 164 motivated and affluent students, a guaranteed cost cutter that 
B03 165 would hurt those most in need.<p/>
B03 166 <p_>They cannot be permitted to skimp on the product they produce - 
B03 167 education - the way a fast-food chain can cut down the size of a 
B03 168 hamburger. The goal is not to churn out products driven by profit 
B03 169 margins, but well-rounded students who can succeed in college, in 
B03 170 vocational school and in life.<p/>
B03 171 <p_>And the schools must not become an excuse to shift 
B03 172 accountability away from public officials, parents and 
B03 173 taxpayers.<p/>
B03 174 <p_>School officials must assure that for-profit schools avoid 
B03 175 those pitfalls. But they can't afford to rule out new ideas 
B03 176 thoughtlessly. For-profit schools deserve a chance to make their 
B03 177 case.<p/>
B03 178 
B03 179 <h_><p_>Soaked by Andrew<p/>
B03 180 <p_>On another subject, USA TODAY argues the storm shows federal 
B03 181 flood insurance should be junked.<p/><h/>
B03 182 <p_>Taxpayers will be lucky if Hurricane Andrew lets them dodge 
B03 183 another bailout - of the federal flood insurance fund.<p/>
B03 184 <p_>Flood insurance - sure to be soaked in claims by Andrew - is 
B03 185 supposed to be self-funded but has been only since 1987. The fund 
B03 186 now has $359 million from premiums. But there is no certainty that 
B03 187 will be enough.<p/>
B03 188 <p_>If Hurricane Andrew does its worst, moving from the Gulf coast 
B03 189 to flood inland areas, the fund will be hard pressed. And this is 
B03 190 only the first hurricane of the season.<p/>
B03 191 <p_>If the fund runs out of money, taxpayer loans will be the only 
B03 192 alternative to default.<p/>
B03 193 <p_>That's a needless risk. Congress and Bush should consign flood 
B03 194 insurance to the same scrap heap reserved for other storm detritus. 
B03 195 Those who use it can buy insurance from private companies.<p/>
B03 196 <p_>The federal fund puts taxpayers at risk to provide insurance 
B03 197 for those who can afford to buy costly coastal property - 82% of 
B03 198 all policies - or those who build in flood plains. Such unsafe 
B03 199 areas now have 40% more structures than before the insurance 
B03 200 began.<p/>
B03 201 <p_>Structures for which taxpayers could be left footing the bill 
B03 202 after the next 'big one,' unless Congress acts now.<p/>
B03 203 
B03 204 <h_><p_>Federal jobs programs must be made to work<p/>
B03 205 <p_>The federal government should play a vital role in providing 
B03 206 job training for those hit by economic forces.<p/><h/>
B03 207 <p_>There's nothing like the fear of losing a job to change 
B03 208 someone's tune on federally funded jobs programs.<p/>
B03 209 <p_>President Bush joined the chorus this week with a belated but 
B03 210 welcome call to increase federal spending for jobs programs he once 
B03 211 sought to cut.<p/>
B03 212 <p_>Bush's proposal: Raise job-training spending from $740 million 
B03 213 to $2 billion over five years to train the unemployed, youth and 
B03 214 displaced workers, including those threatened by the North American 
B03 215 Free Trade Agreement.<p/>
B03 216 <p_>Bill Clinton has a similar job-training plan that has one great 
B03 217 advantage over Bush's: He says how to pay for it.<p/>
B03 218 <p_>Clinton calls for a 1.5% payroll tax on employers, but Bush 
B03 219 won't say how he'll finance his proposal unless he wins 
B03 220 re<?_>-<?/>election.<p/>
B03 221 <p_>Apart from spending, both candidates have the right idea about 
B03 222 a strong federal role in job training. When trade agreements, a 
B03 223 prolonged recession, global competition and technological advances 
B03 224 leave workers stranded, government has every reason to intervene - 
B03 225 and a track record to prove that intervention helps.<p/>
B03 226 <p_>The few studies there are of federal jobs programs show most 
B03 227 have succeeded at improving the employability of those who go 
B03 228 through them: They raise average wages of disadvantaged trainees 
B03 229 between $400 and $800 a year, teach life skills and speed up 
B03 230 re-employment.<p/>
B03 231 <p_>Some changes that could improve that record:<p/>
B03 232 <p_><*_>black-triangle<*/>Get a clear picture of private-sector job 
B03 233 needs before funding new programs. Some programs persist in 
B03 234 training people for the kinds of low-skill manufacturing jobs that 
B03 235 are rapidly disappearing.<p/>
B03 236 <p_><*_>black-triangle<*/>Make sure programs work by measuring the 
B03 237 success of their graduates. That enhances the value of the training 
B03 238 for those who complete it, as well as holding the programs 
B03 239 accountable.<p/>
B03 240 <p_><*_>black-triangle<*/>Streamline the administration of the 60 
B03 241 federal programs and 51 state programs to eliminate duplicate 
B03 242 efforts.<p/>
B03 243 <p_>Federal jobs programs may not work miracles, but they do 
B03 244 work.<p/>
B03 245 
B03 246 <h_><p_>Unite the United Way<p/>
B03 247 <p_>On another subject, USA TODAY outlines the challenges facing 
B03 248 United Way's new head.<p/><h/>
B03 249 <p_>After a stormy year of financial mis<?_>-<?/>management and 
B03 250 falling revenue, the United Way of America could use a bit of 
B03 251 peace.<p/>
B03 252 
B04   1 <#FROWN:B04\><h_><p_>Quit Feeding the Flab<p/><h/>
B04   2 <p_>Here's one of the iron invariables of U.S. politics: Someone 
B04   3 will always come up with another reason to draw more money into 
B04   4 Washington and parcel it back out to the governments back home. We 
B04   5 of course have the limitless 'unmet needs' of which state and local 
B04   6 officials readily make us aware, but now our Keynesian economists 
B04   7 fear that forced public-sector thrift during the recession could 
B04   8 spiral into something more depressing for the whole country.<p/>
B04   9 <p_>Sounds like something the Democrats might propose. But leave 
B04  10 aside the doubtful theory and take a hard look at the premise: 
B04  11 Where are the jolting cuts at the state and local levels? The 
B04  12 broad, outrageous truth is that while nearly every other corner of 
B04  13 American life has had to economize lately - even the Postal Service 
B04  14 is downsizing, for heaven's sake - the governments closest to home 
B04  15 have just kept growing and growing and growing.<p/>
B04  16 <p_>To be fair, much of it is to attend to mandates from the next 
B04  17 level up. A lot, however, is just nest feathering or the building 
B04  18 of empires. Nor is this the first thing cut, either; that honor 
B04  19 usually belongs to library hours. But before revving up the fiscal 
B04  20 engines, consider our favorite measurement arrow, the payroll.<p/>
B04  21 <p_>The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that growth 
B04  22 in state and local employment - mostly the latter - actually 
B04  23 accelerated between July 1991 and last month. As the rest of the 
B04  24 nation cinched its belt, 250,000 more names were added to the 15 
B04  25 million on these payrolls, which include school districts. 
B04  26 Seasonally adjusted numbers show this increase continued as spring 
B04  27 became summer, when the start of an 'austere' new fiscal year was 
B04  28 finally supposed to cut into the ranks. And it's not all because of 
B04  29 a youth-jobs program, either.<p/>
B04  30 <p_>BLS has broken down the numbers by states, through June. In 
B04  31 some instances, there's evidence of real tightening: in 
B04  32 Massachusetts, New York and Illinois. Elsewhere, some progress on 
B04  33 the state rolls has been undone at the various local levels, which 
B04  34 are often adjuncts of state government; this mixed record is true 
B04  35 in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, California and especially Florida. 
B04  36 Finally, there are states growing fatter in both categories; 
B04  37 Wisconsin, Arkansas, Washington, Hawaii and, most strikingly, 
B04  38 Texas. While Ann Richards was wowing the press corps, the public 
B04  39 payroll grew by more than 30,000, or nearly 3%, over the past year 
B04  40 in her strapped state.<p/>
B04  41 <p_>An organization of conservative elected representatives, the 
B04  42 American Legislative Exchange Council, this month fleshed out the 
B04  43 municipal side of the story. The nation's mayors are constantly 
B04  44 caterwauling about federal cutbacks, but ALEC found that though 
B04  45 Washington is sending the cities less to administer, overall 
B04  46 federal aid to urban residents increased in the 1980s.<p/>
B04  47 <p_>More important, the statehouses and the tax bases of the cities 
B04  48 themselves more than made up the revenue difference - $3.57 for 
B04  49 every federal dollar lost. New York City over this period gained $7 
B04  50 for every $1 it gave up.<p/>
B04  51 <p_>Detroit and St. Louis lost ground in funding, but they also 
B04  52 suffered huge depopulation during the 1980s. But some shrinking 
B04  53 cities, Atlanta and Philadelphia in particular, made out like 
B04  54 bandits, according to the ALEC study. And Washington, D.C., which 
B04  55 lost a quarter of its population during the cunning Marion Barry 
B04  56 years, not only collected considerably more locally, it 
B04  57 <tf|>increased its federal handle.<p/>
B04  58 <p_>Denizens of the nation's capital know that the boodle didn't go 
B04  59 toward improved public services. What was it spent on, in cities 
B04  60 across the U.S.? ALEC found the biggest gainers, more than the 
B04  61 woeful schools and hospitals, were the public-housing bureaucracies 
B04  62 and mass transit. The culprit? Inefficiency. ALEC calculated that 
B04  63 operating costs, adjusted for inflation and population changes, 
B04  64 rose an average of 28% in the 1980s in 41 surveyed cities. The 
B04  65 biggest leap was in the District of Columbia, but New York, San 
B04  66 Jose and San Francisco were close behind.<p/>
B04  67 <p_>The reason, according the ALEC, comes <-|>to down to having too 
B04  68 many people on staff, and paying them too much relative to the 
B04  69 private sector. Not only has this practice been unabated by the 
B04  70 downturn, but specialists in public finance seem to think it will 
B04  71 continue.<p/>
B04  72 <p_>And why not? The Center for the Study of the States reports 
B04  73 that state tax revenue was up 8.9% for the second quarter of 1992 
B04  74 over the same period a year ago. It attributes the bulge to the 
B04  75 higher taxes enacted last year during the supposed fiscal crises. 
B04  76 The payroll numbers nationwide confirm that this money is being 
B04  77 extracted from gaunt taxpayers to perpetuate flabbiness in 
B04  78 government. It lies with the voters to stop the bloat.<p/>
B04  79 
B04  80 <h_><p_>The Korea-China Calculus<p/><h/>
B04  81 <p_>It had to happen that South Korea and China would finally go 
B04  82 public with their status as political bedfellows. The two announced 
B04  83 in Beijing that they are normalizing diplomatic relations. Now is 
B04  84 the time to start thinking about how to help Taiwan.<p/>
B04  85 <p_>Ties between China and South Korea have been growing at North 
B04  86 Korea's expense since the late 1980s. China's tyrants don't mind 
B04  87 running their own communist state, but they expect better sense 
B04  88 from their friends. And China's party leaders have apparently 
B04  89 noticed that their old flame, gaunt communist North Korea doesn't 
B04  90 stack up to the rich, democratic-capitalist South.<p/>
B04  91 <p_>So far, so good. We can all celebrate this Beijing-Seoul 
B04  92 embrace as one more way of isolating communist North Korea, and so 
B04  93 bringing Asia one move closer to polishing off the regional end 
B04  94 games of the Cold War.<p/>
B04  95 <p_>The dark side of this otherwise pleasant development, however, 
B04  96 is that Pyongyang is not the only place in Asia where a government 
B04  97 is waking up lonelier today for Seoul's tryst with Beijing. The 
B04  98 other odd man out is the democratizing Nationalist Chinese 
B04  99 government on Taiwan.<p/>
B04 100 <p_>This is where the world's leading democracies would be wise to 
B04 101 step in as a friend and escort, right away. It is not remotely in 
B04 102 the interest of peace, stability or generally ending the Cold War 
B04 103 in Asia to isolate Taiwan further. By virtue of its trade, 
B04 104 investment and brilliantly successful economic example, Taiwan 
B04 105 happens to be one of the most powerful forces engendering liberal 
B04 106 change in mainland China.<p/>
B04 107 <p_>Now, however, Taiwan stands alone as China's declared prey in 
B04 108 the region, recognized by only 29 countries, while 197 others 
B04 109 recognize the communist mainland regime. Notified last week, of 
B04 110 Seoul's imminent diplomatic shift, Taipei pre-empted the break by 
B04 111 announcing that it would freeze out South Korea - cutting 
B04 112 diplomatic ties, suspending all air links as of September 15 and 
B04 113 ending preferential trade treatment.<p/>
B04 114 <p_>The actions of both Seoul and Taipei are understandable. South 
B04 115 Korea in recognizing China is seeking foremost to eliminate the 
B04 116 immediate local threat posed by North Korea. And Seoul, in ditching 
B04 117 the democratizing capitalists of Taipei for the communists of 
B04 118 Beijing, is following a precedent set in the 1970s by many free 
B04 119 countries that have pandered to China with far less to gain. On 
B04 120 Taiwan, President Lee Teng-hui is under pressure to take some 
B04 121 face-saving action against South Korea. Democratization on Taiwan 
B04 122 has come far enough so that President Lee must answer to an 
B04 123 electorate that is irate over this latest diplomatic defection. 
B04 124 Taiwan's people have been throwing bricks at the South Korean 
B04 125 Embassy in Taipei, and boycotting dealers of South Korea's Hyundai 
B04 126 cars.<p/>
B04 127 <p_>But the important fight here is not the current tiff between 
B04 128 Taiwan and South Korea. What matters on a world scale is the basic 
B04 129 fight to end the communism that continues to endanger the peace in 
B04 130 East Asia. China is for South Korea a convenient bedfellow right 
B04 131 now, but not a worthy one. The world's democracies could greatly 
B04 132 lessen the blow to Taiwan by moving fast to show that they 
B04 133 appreciate their natural friends.<p/>
B04 134 <p_>America, instead of threatening to wall out China-made 
B04 135 underwear in the name of supporting free trade and human rights, 
B04 136 could more clearly and consistently penalize China's faults simply 
B04 137 by showing support for Taiwan's virtues. The General Agreement of 
B04 138 Tariffs and Trade could stop holding up Taipei's application 
B04 139 pending Beijing's admission, and wave Taiwan through the gate 
B04 140 first. The goal should be to insure that South Korea's gain is a 
B04 141 loss of status not for Taiwan and Chinese liberalism, but for 
B04 142 communism in Asia.<p/>
B04 143 
B04 144 <h_><p_>The Clintons and the Lawyers<p/><h/>
B04 145 <p_>President Bush claimed last week that Bill Clinton <quote_>"is 
B04 146 being backed by practically every trial lawyer who ever wore a 
B04 147 tasseled loafer."<quote/> But don't take his word for it. Listen to 
B04 148 the trial lawyers who know Mr. Clinton best.<p/>
B04 149 <p_><quote_>"I can never remember an occasion,"<quote/> writes 
B04 150 David H. Williams, when Mr. Clinton <quote_>"failed to do the right 
B04 151 thing where we trial lawyers were concerned."<quote/> Mr. Williams 
B04 152 should know. As president of the Arkansas Trial Lawyers 
B04 153 Association, he's been sending out fund-raising pleas for Governor 
B04 154 Clinton to his fellow plaintiff's attorneys around the country.<p/>
B04 155 <p_><quote_>"Can I recommend that your folks put their money behind 
B04 156 Bill Clinton for president? Not just yes, but hell yes,"<quote/> 
B04 157 Mr. Williams wrote on July 10 to the head of the Houston trial 
B04 158 lawyers' group. <quote_>"Dig down deep and give."<quote/><p/>
B04 159 <p_>Some of our best friends are lawyers, but their solicitude as a 
B04 160 class for Mr. Clinton deserves more exposure than it's so far 
B04 161 received. The decline of the U.S. justice system is one of the 
B04 162 major political issues of the 1990s. A nation that has 70% of the 
B04 163 world's lawyers, and its most backlogged courts, is in danger of 
B04 164 becoming less a nation of laws than a nation of lawyers and 
B04 165 lawsuits.<p/>
B04 166 <p_>Studies out of Brookings and elsewhere have estimated the 
B04 167 burden of lawsuits on the economy from $120 billion to as much as 
B04 168 $300 billion a year. But the social cost may be even higher. The 
B04 169 threat of lawsuits has stopped the development of birth-control 
B04 170 devices and made delivering babies a high-risk profession. A family 
B04 171 is now suing in Maryland because of injuries its daughter sustained 
B04 172 playing high school football. Her enterprising attorney claims the 
B04 173 board of education failed to warn her of football's risks, a sport 
B04 174 whose violence is on TV every autumn weekend. Had she been barred 
B04 175 from playing, of course, the school could have been sued for Title 
B04 176 IX sex discrimination. Now the costs of her playing will be borne 
B04 177 by the school district's taxpayers - not to mention that some judge 
B04 178 may well force them to drop football.<p/>
B04 179 <p_>This social impact, by the way, is why Hillary Clinton's legal 
B04 180 ideas are a legitimate issue, contrary to the view that every 
B04 181 criticism of her intellect is somehow unfair. Pat Buchanan and 
B04 182 other Republicans strain credibility when they say she equates 
B04 183 'marriage' with 'slavery'. It's her advocacy of <quote_>"children's 
B04 184 rights"<quote/> that is fair game. Mrs. Clinton has said that 
B04 185 children should be <quote_>"competent persons"<quote/> under the 
B04 186 law with standing to sue.<p/>
B04 187 <p_>The law already allows for this in cases of abuse, as it 
B04 188 should, but Mrs. Clinton wants to go much further. 
B04 189 <quote_>"Decisions about motherhood and abortion, schooling, 
B04 190 cosmetic surgery, treatment of venereal disease, or employment, and 
B04 191 others where the decision or lack of one will significantly affect 
B04 192 the child's future should not be made unilaterally by 
B04 193 parents,"<quote/> she wrote in 1979. This is the sort of litigation 
B04 194 liberalism that uses 'rights' as a cudgel against the common sense 
B04 195 decisions of communities. (In a letter nearby, the Children's 
B04 196 Defense Fund denies that it's litigious.)<p/>
B04 197 <p_>This world view is also why the plaintiff's bar so loves 
B04 198 Clinton&Clinton. In Mr. Williams's fund-raising letter, he explains 
B04 199 how legal reform was stopped dead in Arkansas in 1987. <quote_>"We 
B04 200 immediately got on the horn to the Governor about this and the tort 
B04 201 reform part of the legislative package was pulled,"<quote/> Mr. 
B04 202 Williams boasts. <quote_>"It has never come back up."<quote/><p/>
B04 203 <p_>He can barely contain himself. <quote_>"During another session, 
B04 204 I remember a bill that had whistled through the Arkansas House and 
B04 205 Senate that would have given immunity from liability to 'good 
B04 206 Samaritan' doctors who provided medical care to indigent 
B04 207 patients,"<quote/> the trial lawyer writes. <quote_>"Once again we 
B04 208 got on the horn"<quote/> to Governor Clinton, who vetoed the bill. 
B04 209 This is the same candidate who claims to be outraged by the lack of 
B04 210 health insurance for the poor.<p/>
B04 211 
B05   1 <#FROWN:B05\><h_><p_>The Primary Results<p/><h/>
B05   2 <p_>Tuesday's primary election had more than its share of surprises 
B05   3 and close races. The voter turnout in the Savannah area - somewhere 
B05   4 around 50 percent - was encouraging as well.<p/>
B05   5 <p_>The biggest shocker on the local scene was Joe Mahany's upset 
B05   6 of incumbent Chatham County Commission Chairman Robert McCorkle in 
B05   7 the Democratic primary. Mr. McCorkle, who has served on the 
B05   8 commission for 22 years, was beaten by Mr. Mahany by nearly a 
B05   9 2-to-1 margin.<p/>
B05  10 <p_>The chairman's defeat by members of his own party is a clear 
B05  11 indication that voters want a change in leadership. The victor, Mr. 
B05  12 Mahany, will face one of two Republicans, Commissioner Julie Smith 
B05  13 or Ray Gaster, who were the top vote-getters in the Republican 
B05  14 primary. No matter who wins in the November general election, 
B05  15 Chatham Countians will begin 1993 with a new commission chairman on 
B05  16 board.<p/>
B05  17 <p_>In other contests, the crowded fields in the 1st District and 
B05  18 11th District congressional races virtually guaranteed runoff 
B05  19 elections, which will be held Aug. 11. Barbara Christmas, a 
B05  20 Democrat, ran a strong campaign in the 1st District and will face 
B05  21 either Buddy DeLoach or Bryan Ginn in the runoff. That winner will 
B05  22 run against State Rep. Jack Kingston of Savannah, who easily won 
B05  23 the Republican nomination.<p/>
B05  24 <p_>In the newly-drawn 11th District, Cynthia McKinney and George 
B05  25 DeLoach will vie for the Democratic nod, while Republicans Woodrow 
B05  26 Lovett and Savannahian Michael Pratt will fight to carry their 
B05  27 party's flag. All four have an unenviable task, since this crazily 
B05  28 configured district stretches from Atlanta to Augusta to 
B05  29 Savannah.<p/>
B05  30 <p_>In various judgeship races, Charles Mikell handily won the 
B05  31 election for Superior Court judge, proving that his experience on 
B05  32 the State Court bench paid off. State Supreme Court Justice Leah 
B05  33 Sears-Collins, a Savannah native, won her race to keep her seat, 
B05  34 guaranteeing a measure of diversity on the high court.<p/>
B05  35 <p_>One disappointment was the statewide race between Labor 
B05  36 Commissioner Al Scott and challenger David Poythress for the 
B05  37 Democratic nomination. Mr. Scott has been doing an admirable job as 
B05  38 labor commissioner; Mr. Poythress has been manufacturing issues and 
B05  39 tossing mud. Unfortunately, the below-the-belt tactics apparently 
B05  40 had an impact in the three-person race (Savannahian Frances Bright 
B05  41 Johnson did surprisingly well) and Mr. Scott and Mr. Poythress go 
B05  42 into the runoff.<p/>
B05  43 <p_>On a more upbeat note, local voters wisely chose to return 
B05  44 Dorothy Pelote and Tom Bordeaux to the Georgia House. There, they 
B05  45 will be rejoined by Diane Harvey Johnson, who had little trouble 
B05  46 reclaiming her old House seat.<p/>
B05  47 <p_>On the Chatham County Commission, Republican David Saussy 
B05  48 turned back former chairman Bill Stephenson's bid to get back on 
B05  49 the board in the 1st District. He goes on to face Democrat Marty 
B05  50 Felser. Incumbent Deanie Frazier was the leading vote-getter in the 
B05  51 5th District, but Democratic challenger Clifton Jones Jr. forced 
B05  52 her into a runoff. In the 7th District, Eddie DeLoach won his race 
B05  53 and will follow in the footsteps of his father, outgoing 
B05  54 Commissioner James DeLoach.<p/>
B05  55 <p_>In school board races, congratulations are in order for 
B05  56 incumbents Daniel Washington and Andy Way and former State Rep. 
B05  57 DeWayne Hamilton. All three won their respective nominations, and 
B05  58 Mr. Washington and Mr. Hamilton will join the board because they 
B05  59 have no opposition in the fall. Mr. Way, a Republican, goes on to 
B05  60 face Democrat K.B. Raut.<p/>
B05  61 <p_>Credit is also due Tax Commissioner Barbara Kiley, who handily 
B05  62 won the Democratic nomination. She meets Republican Bill Atkinson 
B05  63 in November.<p/>
B05  64 <p_>A final winner Tuesday was the voting public. Getting people to 
B05  65 the polls for primaries isn't easy. Yet, half the voters in Chatham 
B05  66 County did their duty.<p/>
B05  67 <p_>That's a positive trend. It's also one that the public, and the 
B05  68 politicians, should try to build on through November and beyond.<p/>
B05  69 
B05  70 <h_><p_>President Should Settle Up<p/><h/>
B05  71 <p_>Some local Democrats are getting some cheap laughs at the 
B05  72 expense of President Bush, who still owes the city some $14,000 for 
B05  73 a campaign visit here back in March.<p/>
B05  74 <p_>Actually, that's not too surprising. Most politicians are 
B05  75 notoriously slow in paying their debts. Sitting presidents are no 
B05  76 exception.<p/>
B05  77 <p_>Still, it would behoove the president if he settled up with 
B05  78 City Hall sometime soon. While the delinquency isn't going to mean 
B05  79 a thing to most voters, it has to be a little embarrassing to his 
B05  80 supporters.<p/>
B05  81 <p_>Besides, it's not as if he's strapped for cash. Published 
B05  82 reports say that his campaign is sitting on a $7 million surplus 
B05  83 from his primary campaign fund that he has to spend before the 
B05  84 Republican convention, so as to qualify for federal campaign funds 
B05  85 in the general election.<p/>
B05  86 <p_>Coming across with $14,000 for the city of Savannah should be 
B05  87 painless. And while that's not a lot of money to the city either, 
B05  88 local taxpayers shouldn't have to foot the bills for political 
B05  89 rallies, no matter which party stages them.<p/>
B05  90 <p_>Thousands of area residents jammed the riverfront to see and 
B05  91 hear the president. He got its money's worth for the pre-Georgia 
B05  92 primary pick-me-up. Now he should finish the job and pick up the 
B05  93 tab.<p/>
B05  94 
B05  95 <h_><p_>An Unpleasant Surprise<p/><h/>
B05  96 <p_>A month ago, Savannah seemed on its way to getting a 5-percent 
B05  97 cut in federal flood insurance premiums. That was welcome news for 
B05  98 residents and business owners who could use the discount.<p/>
B05  99 <p_>But lately, representatives for the Federal Emergency 
B05 100 Management Agency changed their mind. The agency says it won't cut 
B05 101 rates because of <quote_>"serious deficiencies"<quote/> in flood 
B05 102 control here.<p/>
B05 103 <p_>Why the sudden turnabout? And more importantly, how can it be 
B05 104 resolved?<p/>
B05 105 <p_>Taxpayers are spending millions of public dollars to improve 
B05 106 drainage in the community. Not so long ago, FEMA was applauding 
B05 107 Savannah for some of the measures it was taking to improve flood 
B05 108 control and reduce the risk of flood damage. Happily, it looked as 
B05 109 though the investment would soon be paying off through reduced 
B05 110 insurance premiums.<p/>
B05 111 <p_>Now it appears the anticipated rate cut may be headed down the 
B05 112 drain.<p/>
B05 113 <p_>The feds are faulting the city for allowing five buildings - 
B05 114 four private homes, scattered from Coffee Bluff to west Savannah, 
B05 115 and the Goodwill Industries building - to be built below the 
B05 116 nationally designated flood plain without adequate protection.<p/>
B05 117 <p_>They also contend that several structures were given 
B05 118 certificates of occupancy before the elevation was formally 
B05 119 established, as required by FEMA regulations.<p/>
B05 120 <p_>City Manager Don Mendonsa says this is the first he has heard 
B05 121 about any problems. He says all previous contacts with the agency 
B05 122 had been positive.<p/>
B05 123 <p_>But Glenn Woodard, who works for the state Department of 
B05 124 Natural Resources and serves as FEMA's representative, tells a 
B05 125 different story. He contends that trouble was spotted last 
B05 126 November, and that state and federal officials have unsuccessfully 
B05 127 prodded the city for months to make corrections.<p/>
B05 128 <p_>It's clear that a breakdown occurred somewhere. But what's most 
B05 129 important is to correct what's wrong so Savannahians can save a 
B05 130 little money on their premiums.<p/>
B05 131 <p_>Mr. Mendonsa says he will send a detailed explanation to FEMA 
B05 132 about the buildings constructed below the flood plain. That's a 
B05 133 start. Perhaps the agency can be persuaded to change its mind. 
B05 134 After that, city and FEMA officials need to do a better job of 
B05 135 comparing notes so that such unhappy surprises don't happen 
B05 136 again.<p/>
B05 137 
B05 138 <h_><p_>Ugly Campaign Tactics<p/><h/>
B05 139 <p_>Responsible voters in Georgia have reason to be concerned about 
B05 140 the tone and direction of the state labor commissioner's race.<p/>
B05 141 <p_>Al Scott, the incumbent labor commissioner, is the target of a 
B05 142 barrage of ugly charges from challenger David Poythress, who has 
B05 143 wound up opposing the incumbent in a runoff set for August.<p/>
B05 144 <p_>A Savannahian and a former state legislator, Mr. Scott has 
B05 145 performed capably at the Department of Labor, but you wouldn't know 
B05 146 that if you listen to his opponent.<p/>
B05 147 <p_>It is fair for a candidate to question his opponent's 
B05 148 qualifications and competence. But Mr. Poythress goes well beyond 
B05 149 that. He exceeds the limits of fairness. He emphasizes at every 
B05 150 opportunity the race of Mr. Scott. This is blatant. There's nothing 
B05 151 subtle about it.<p/>
B05 152 <p_>A black, Mr. Scott was appointed to his post by Gov. Zell 
B05 153 Miller. He is the first person of his race to hold the statewide 
B05 154 office.<p/>
B05 155 <p_>In addition, Mr. Poythress claims Mr. Scott took a bribe. This 
B05 156 is an unsubstantiated charge that is not borne out by the FBI tapes 
B05 157 Mr. Poythress claims are supportive of his allegations.<p/>
B05 158 <p_>The tapes were made by an undercover agent operating a 'sting' 
B05 159 against another state legislator. The legislator, Rep. Frank 
B05 160 Redding, has not been convicted. A mistrial was declared in his 
B05 161 case. Al Scott was a government witness at the trial. He was not a 
B05 162 co-defendant.<p/>
B05 163 <p_>If the investigators had evidence that Mr. Scott took money for 
B05 164 his vote, why wouldn't they have sought his indictment along with 
B05 165 Rep. Redding?<p/>
B05 166 <p_>If they had suspected Mr. Scott, wouldn't they have gone to him 
B05 167 and tried to trap him the same way they set up a trap for Mr. 
B05 168 Redding?<p/>
B05 169 <p_>Mr. Poythress also complained to the State Ethics Commission 
B05 170 about Mr. Scott, claiming the incumbent broke the rules on raising 
B05 171 campaign money. The commission dismissed the complaint.<p/>
B05 172 <p_>Ironically, Mr. Poythress is supported by the forces of former 
B05 173 Labor Commissioner Sam Caldwell, who was forced to resign his 
B05 174 office under a cloud of scandal and wound up spending time in jail. 
B05 175 Mr. Poythress obviously is not as sensitive about his support as he 
B05 176 is about Mr. Scott's alleged conduct.<p/>
B05 177 <p_>Political contests should be settled at the polls by citizens 
B05 178 who are not confused or misled by unconfirmed rumors and charges. 
B05 179 We deplore this type of political attack whenever and wherever it 
B05 180 is made. We hate to see it happening in Georgia.<p/>
B05 181 
B05 182 <h_><p_>Jones Falls; Newt Hangs On<p/><h/>
B05 183 <p_>Among those who got jolted in the Georgia primary voting was 
B05 184 Democratic Rep. Ben Jones, the former TV actor. Among those who got 
B05 185 scared but escaped defeat was Republican Rep. Newt Gingrich.<p/>
B05 186 <p_>Rep. Jones fared poorly in a Democratic race won by state 
B05 187 legislator Don Johnson. Mr. Johnson, chairman of the state Senate 
B05 188 Appropriations Committee, accused Rep. Jones of working for perks 
B05 189 and privileges, voting against voluntary prayer in school, and 
B05 190 being out of touch with voters in eastern Georgia's 10th 
B05 191 District.<p/>
B05 192 <p_><quote_>"The commercials and the rumors and things like that 
B05 193 are as tough as we've ever faced,"<quote/> Mr. Jones complained. 
B05 194 Yes, they were tough. But they summed up his House stint pretty 
B05 195 well. He has been doggedly liberal.<p/>
B05 196 <p_>Mr. Johnson, however, is not home free. He must still survive a 
B05 197 fall contest.<p/>
B05 198 <p_>Newt Gingrich, the House minority whip and Georgia's only 
B05 199 Republican in Congress, edged Herman Clark, a former state 
B05 200 legislator who ridiculed Mr. Gingrich for writing bad checks, 
B05 201 voting himself a pay raise and using a limousine. In this case, the 
B05 202 criticism was also fair because Rep. Gingrich did all those things. 
B05 203 But he was not a major culprit in the House overdraft scandal, he 
B05 204 apologized for having been involved, and he voted to publicize the 
B05 205 names of all those who had written overdrafts. He redeemed himself 
B05 206 somewhat by properly supporting openness and reform of the system 
B05 207 that brought about the scandal. He also has given up his 
B05 208 limousine.<p/>
B05 209 <p_>One of Mr. Gingrich's prime virtues as a congressman is his 
B05 210 ability to put burrs under the saddles of the Democratic House 
B05 211 leadership. For that reason, Democrats will work hard to beat him 
B05 212 in the fall. But the minority whip's abrasiveness doesn't void the 
B05 213 fact that what he says often needs to be said. Washington wouldn't 
B05 214 be quite the same without him.<p/>
B05 215 
B05 216 <h_><p_>Keeping Up With Crooks<p/><h/>
B05 217 <p_>The days of the police six-shooters became numbered when more 
B05 218 criminals started packing semiautomatic pistols. The Chatham C   
B05 219 ounty Police Department is the latest to modernize.<p/>
B05 220 <p_>County police officers are being issued .45-caliber pistols, 
B05 221 which hold 8-shot clips, to replace their 5- or 6-shot .38 
B05 222 revolvers.<p/>
B05 223 <p_>It's good that officers will be less likely to be out-gunned. 
B05 224 With more sophisticated hardware on the market, those who protect 
B05 225 and serve shouldn't be put at a disadvantage.<p/>
B05 226 
B05 227 <h_><p_>Still Needed: Great Orators<p/><h/>
B05 228 <p_>Great oratory is still missing from the presidential election 
B05 229 campaign.<p/>
B05 230 <p_>Most of us who like it are still smarting from President Bush's 
B05 231 lackluster State of the Union address in January.<p/>
B05 232 
B06   1 <#FROWN:B06\><h_><p_>Bush gets back in the game<p/><h/>
B06   2 <p_><quote_>"Good judgment,"<quote/> George Bush said, launching 
B06   3 into the hardest part of his acceptance speech at the Republican 
B06   4 National Convention, <quote_>"comes from experience, and experience 
B06   5 comes from bad judgment."<quote/><p/>
B06   6 <p_>He then went on to confess that <quote_>"with my back against 
B06   7 the wall,"<quote/> he made a <quote_>"bad call"<quote/> in 1990 on 
B06   8 <quote_>"the Democrats' tax increase."<quote/> It was, he said, a 
B06   9 <quote|>"mistake" he would not repeat in a second term.<p/>
B06  10 <p_>Not to raise taxes wasn't the only lesson he learned in his 
B06  11 first term. He also learned not to make ironclad pledges like the 
B06  12 one he had to explain away Thursday.<p/>
B06  13 <p_>His acceptance speech contained nothing remotely similar to his 
B06  14 1988 vow of <quote_>"no new taxes."<quote/> Even his promise of 
B06  15 possible across-the-board tax cuts was carefully hedged: He will 
B06  16 <quote|>"propose" such cuts, to be offset with <quote_>"specific 
B06  17 spending reductions that I consider appropriate, so that we do not 
B06  18 increase the deficit."<quote/><p/>
B06  19 <p_>Bush did not win the election with his speech. But he did get 
B06  20 himself back in the game. He displayed spirit and determination, 
B06  21 combined with an appearance of mastery and control that had seemed 
B06  22 to elude him for many months.<p/>
B06  23 <p_>For that matter, his running mate, Vice President Dan Quayle, 
B06  24 also showed himself to better advantage than he customarily does. 
B06  25 Quayle was no Pericles, but neither was he a laughingstock.<p/>
B06  26 <p_>Bush left no doubt that he intends to try to repeat the 1948 
B06  27 strategy of Democrat Harry Truman: run hard against a do-nothing 
B06  28 Congress dominated by the opposition. Given the bad odor that 
B06  29 currently envelops Congress, it could be both a successful gambit 
B06  30 and a justified one.<p/>
B06  31 <p_>Bush's speech was filled with derisive references to the 
B06  32 <quote_>"gridlock Democrat Congress,"<quote/> and he persistently 
B06  33 linked opponent Bill Clinton to Congress and its financially 
B06  34 undisciplined ways.<p/>
B06  35 <p_>But Bush led, appropriately, with his strength: foreign policy. 
B06  36 He sketched the dramatic changes over the last four years in the 
B06  37 geopolitical landscape and claimed a rightful share of the 
B06  38 credit:<p/>
B06  39 <p_><quote_>"I saw the chance to rid our children's dreams of the 
B06  40 nuclear nightmare, and I did. Over the past four years, more people 
B06  41 have breathed the fresh air of freedom than in all of human 
B06  42 history. I saw a chance to help, and I did. These were the two 
B06  43 defining opportunities - not of a year, not of a decade, but of an 
B06  44 entire span of human history."<quote/><p/>
B06  45 <p_>But celebrating his foreign policy triumphs was the easy part. 
B06  46 Bush's real challenge was to persuade the American people that he 
B06  47 has a domestic vision and a plausible program to get the economy 
B06  48 moving again.<p/>
B06  49 <p_>The vision was captured in a couple of sentences: <quote_>"The 
B06  50 defining challenge of the '90s is to win the economic competition - 
B06  51 to win the peace. We must be a military superpower, an economic 
B06  52 superpower and an export superpower."<quote/><p/>
B06  53 <p_>The economic program was more problematic, largely because of 
B06  54 the issue of taxes and the sense of betrayal that many people - 
B06  55 especially conservatives of his own party - feel because of Bush's 
B06  56 abandonment of his no-new-taxes pledge.<p/>
B06  57 <p_>The president made the necessary apology. But, hewing to his 
B06  58 overall theme, he laid the blame principally on the Democrats. 
B06  59 <quote_>"I underestimated Congress' addiction to taxes,"<quote/> he 
B06  60 explained.<p/>
B06  61 <p_>Except for the suggestion of tax reductions and a gimmicky plan 
B06  62 to let taxpayers earmark 10 percent of their payments for debt 
B06  63 reduction, Bush proposed nothing economically that he had not 
B06  64 offered before. That's good, because anything he could have 
B06  65 proposed probably would have been irresponsible.<p/>
B06  66 <p_>What was different was the perspective in which he placed his 
B06  67 proposals: as the sharp, <quote_>"whom do you trust?"<quote/> 
B06  68 alternative to the alleged profligacy of Congress and a Democratic 
B06  69 presidential nominee who already has spoken of new spending and a 
B06  70 new tax increase.<p/>
B06  71 <p_>Indeed, the question for voters in November is the one that 
B06  72 Bush returned to again and again in his speech: Whom do you trust? 
B06  73 Bush has made himself, once again, a plausible answer.<p/>
B06  74 
B06  75 <h_><p_>It's time for these to go<p/><h/>
B06  76 <p_>A political campaign is often filled with a language all its 
B06  77 own. Fortunately, outsiders aren't usually subjected to it unless 
B06  78 they wander into the wrong bar on election night.<p/>
B06  79 <p_>Not this time. The 1992 presidential campaign is in serious 
B06  80 danger of being captured by the clich<*_>e-acute<*/>d interests. A 
B06  81 plea to the campaigns: Stop it.<p/>
B06  82 <p_>For instance, there is the once-pithy five-word phrase that 
B06  83 emanated from the anger over the Senate Judiciary Committee 
B06  84 hearings into Clarence Thomas' nomination to the Supreme Court: 
B06  85 <quote_>"They just don't get it."<quote/><p/>
B06  86 <p_>For a brief time, <quote_>"they just don't get it"<quote/> 
B06  87 meant something. It was directed by women toward men who thought 
B06  88 that women got some hidden pleasure out of crude, graphic pickup 
B06  89 lines or other forms of sexual harassment. It has been diluted into 
B06  90 a clich<*_>e-acute<*/> line uttered by any politician or 
B06  91 single-issue activist to describe the other side. Just the other 
B06  92 night, Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.) searched for a way to describe how 
B06  93 Democrats have responded to the fall of communism, and he settled 
B06  94 on, <quote_>"They just don't get it."<quote/> Three times he said 
B06  95 it. Enough.<p/>
B06  96 <p_>Next up, the multiplying variations of Lloyd Bentsen's 
B06  97 <quote_>"I knew John Kennedy"<quote/> quip. It was one of the most 
B06  98 memorable lines of the 1988 campaign, used by the Democratic vice 
B06  99 presidential nominee to put down his GOP counterpart, Dan Quayle. 
B06 100 <quote_>"I knew John Kennedy,"<quote/> Bentsen told Quayle, and ... 
B06 101 everyone knows the rest. Now it is a standard campaign put-down.<p/>
B06 102 <p_>Granted, it was used quite cleverly by Ronald Reagan 
B06 103 (<quote_>"I knew Thomas Jefferson"<quote/>), who managed to be 
B06 104 charmingly self-deprecating while he took a slap at Bill Clinton. 
B06 105 But Quayle couldn't leave it alone. He had to trot out his own 
B06 106 version in his acceptance speech Thursday night and, predictably, 
B06 107 it fell flat.<p/>
B06 108 <p_>Remember, Bentsen lost.<p/>
B06 109 <p_>The leading candidate for future clich<*_>e-acute<*/> status 
B06 110 has to be, <quote_>"It's time for them to go."<quote/> This is a 
B06 111 surprise, because it was a clumsy, instantly forgettable conceit 
B06 112 when Al Gore used it at the Democratic convention. But the 
B06 113 Republicans revived it at their convention, and it was as clumsy 
B06 114 and forgettable for them as it was for the Democrats. So, forget 
B06 115 it.<p/>
B06 116 <p_>Drop the political clich<*_>e-acute<*/>s. Before it's too 
B06 117 late.<p/>
B06 118 
B06 119 <h_><p_>The taxman's knocking on the door<p/><h/>
B06 120 <p_>This is dodge-the-bullet week for Cook County property owners. 
B06 121 In the next few days, a postcard will hit the mailbox with all the 
B06 122 impact of a brick hurled through a window. It'll be the property 
B06 123 tax bill - more specifically, and confusingly, the second 
B06 124 installment of the 1991 tax bill, payable nine months into 1992.<p/>
B06 125 <p_>Some homeowners will greet the bill with a sigh of relief. It 
B06 126 will be high, a little higher than last year, but not too dramatic. 
B06 127 These are the folks who didn't go through reassessment roulette in 
B06 128 the past year. Chances are, though, they have a pretty good idea 
B06 129 when the assessor next will darken their door.<p/>
B06 130 <p_>Many homeowners in Chicago will be astonished when they see 
B06 131 their bills. They were reassessed in the past year, and chances are 
B06 132 their property assessments soared. Those who were savvy enough to 
B06 133 calculate the reassessment's impact when that notice arrived will 
B06 134 have some inkling of what to expect. But many people aren't that 
B06 135 savvy, and the bill will come as a shock.<p/>
B06 136 <p_>The reassessment notice's <quote_>"fair market value"<quote/> 
B06 137 probably didn't reflect their property's true value. The tax due 
B06 138 will have little to do with their ability to pay it.<p/>
B06 139 <p_>And this passes for tax policy in Illinois.<p/>
B06 140 <p_>The new tax rates issued last week are another reminder of how 
B06 141 confusing, and often unfair, the property tax system has become. 
B06 142 Anyone attempting to figure out one's own bill in advance has to 
B06 143 run a daunting gantlet of figures: assessment, state equalizer, 
B06 144 homeowner's exemption, new tax rate.<p/>
B06 145 <p_>Property taxes can have a depressing effect on a community's 
B06 146 ability to draw business and industry, and often the biggest burden 
B06 147 falls on those towns that most desperately need more business and 
B06 148 jobs.<p/>
B06 149 <p_>The new tax rate in Dixmoor (14.639) is more than twice the 
B06 150 rate in Lincolnwood (7.162), largely because property values in the 
B06 151 southern suburb are much lower than those in the northern suburb. 
B06 152 But kids in Dixmoor still have to go to school, fires have to be 
B06 153 doused, police have to be on patrol. Without a strong property tax 
B06 154 base, the burden on property owners has to be that much higher.<p/>
B06 155 <p_>Property tax caps in the collar counties will help dampen the 
B06 156 rise in bills, and a law that delays the use of new reassessments 
B06 157 for one year in Cook County will cause some easing of the confusion 
B06 158 and suburban 'sticker shock' next year.<p/>
B06 159 <p_>But if property owners want relief from their tax bills, they 
B06 160 will have to acknowledge that the burden must shift to some other 
B06 161 tax. And they will have to encourage the Illinois legislature to 
B06 162 accomplish this.<p/>
B06 163 <p_>At this point, too many people in the legislature are too 
B06 164 petrified of a tax-backlash to consider a shift that would lower 
B06 165 property taxes and raise income taxes. They expect they would get 
B06 166 the blame for the tax increase and no credit for a drop in property 
B06 167 taxes.<p/>
B06 168 <p_>Maybe they just need a little encouragement.<p/>
B06 169 
B06 170 <h_><p_>China and South Korea make up<p/><h/>
B06 171 <p_>In late August 1950, as events moved toward China's entry into 
B06 172 the Korean War, the Chinese government declared: <quote_>"North 
B06 173 Korea's friends are our friends. North Korea's enemy is our enemy. 
B06 174 North Korea's defense is our defense."<quote/><p/>
B06 175 <p_>Forty-two years later, North Korea has almost no friends left 
B06 176 and its economy is collapsing. Meanwhile, an infinitely more 
B06 177 pragmatic China makes common cause with the North's enemy, 
B06 178 capitalist South Korea, and worries along with the rest of the 
B06 179 world about North Korea's nuclear intentions.<p/>
B06 180 <p_>Dramatic evidence of how things have changed came Monday when 
B06 181 South Korea and China, putting economic aspirations ahead of 
B06 182 ideological differences, signed an agreement restoring diplomatic 
B06 183 relations.<p/>
B06 184 <p_>Clearly, both Seoul and Beijing recognized that formally ending 
B06 185 decades of enmity could further the already robust trade and 
B06 186 investment activity between them. And neither, understandably 
B06 187 enough, was willing to be held back by outmoded policies.<p/>
B06 188 <p_><quote_>"The normalization of ties between our two countries 
B06 189 marks a significant turning point in world history in that it 
B06 190 heralds the beginning of the end of the Cold War in East 
B06 191 Asia,"<quote/> South Korean President Roh Taewoo told Koreans in a 
B06 192 televised speech.<p/>
B06 193 <p_>For his part, Chinese Premier Li Peng declared that the 
B06 194 official rapprochement <quote_>"has great significance for peace 
B06 195 and development in Asia and the world."<quote/><p/>
B06 196 <p_>The new relationship comes at the expense of a couple of old 
B06 197 ones. In Seoul, Taiwan lost standing as South Korea accepted that 
B06 198 the Beijing government is <quote_>"the sole legal government of 
B06 199 China."<quote/> And North Korea, despite China's assertions that it 
B06 200 remains a friend and ally, is now more isolated than ever.<p/>
B06 201 <p_>How the totalitarian regime of President Kim Il-sung reacts to 
B06 202 its worsening situation is a crucial question.<p/>
B06 203 <p_>If there is any political wisdom at all in Pyongyang, North 
B06 204 Korea will begin to moderate its austere, oppressive policies now 
B06 205 that it can no longer expect any real support from China.<p/>
B06 206 <p_>Beijing would like the North to get on with the process of 
B06 207 reunification with South Korea. Movement in this direction has 
B06 208 snagged on Pyongyang's failure to live up to an agreement calling 
B06 209 for inspections of nuclear facilities in both North and South 
B06 210 Korea.<p/>
B06 211 <p_>Neither South Korea nor the West believes North Korea's 
B06 212 contention that its Yongbyon nuclear complex is for peaceful 
B06 213 purposes only. In fact, the fear is that the North is trying to 
B06 214 build nuclear weapons. Hence the urgent need for rigorous 
B06 215 inspections.<p/>
B06 216 <p_>Until the world is satisfied that North Korea poses no danger 
B06 217 of triggering a nuclear weapon, welcome news like the China-South 
B06 218 Korea deal cannot be received with the wholehearted joy it 
B06 219 deserves.<p/>
B06 220 
B06 221 <h_><p_>A military stance that's hard to defend<p/><h/>
B06 222 <p_>Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer served as an Army officer for 26 
B06 223 years. Along the way, she won a Bronze Star during the Tet 
B06 224 offensive in Vietnam, earned a Ph.D. in nursing and rose to the 
B06 225 position of chief nurse of the Washington State National Guard.<p/>
B06 226 
B07   1 <#FROWN:B07\><h_><p_>The school board must move on reform<p/><h/>
B07   2 <p_>Those who put together the Chicago school reform law had a 
B07   3 clear intent: to bust up the central bureaucracy under which 
B07   4 education had so sadly deteriorated and to push decision-making and 
B07   5 dollars down into local schools.<p/>
B07   6 <p_>From long experience, though, legislators and reform advocates 
B07   7 were wary about whether the bureaucracy would willingly redefine 
B07   8 itself. So they built in an enforcement mechanism, adding 
B07   9 educational and administrative reform to the oversight 
B07  10 responsibilities of the School Finance Authority.<p/>
B07  11 <p_>The reform architects' fear proved unfortunately justified. 
B07  12 Despite the seating of a new school board, the hiring of a 
B07  13 superintendent from outside the system and the explicit mandates in 
B07  14 the 1988 law, the status-quo crowd at Pershing Road headquarters 
B07  15 has generally prevailed, fighting true decentralization at every 
B07  16 turn.<p/>
B07  17 <p_>Now the finance authority, after four years of frustrating 
B07  18 struggle on the issue, has finally said to the school board: 
B07  19 enough. The authority is insisting that the board develop a 
B07  20 realistic, meaningful reform plan.<p/>
B07  21 <p_>The reform plan as outlined by the School Finance Authority is 
B07  22 not flawless. Neither is the amended version the board is to vote 
B07  23 on today. There are inherent risks in sweeping dispersal of 
B07  24 decision-making, and the process cannot be expected to work 
B07  25 perfectly.<p/>
B07  26 <p_>But it's clear that what exists has not been effective. And 
B07  27 it's clear the authority is only doing its duty -to the law and to 
B07  28 the children of Chicago -after the board failed to do its own.<p/>
B07  29 <p_>Some board members, administrators and their supporters have 
B07  30 put up an ugly, vitriolic battle. But let's call this fight for 
B07  31 what it is.<p/>
B07  32 <p_>It isn't, as imputed by the likes of State Rep. Monique Davis 
B07  33 -who just happens to be a $54,971 school board administrator -a 
B07  34 power grab by white business interests or a fifth column for school 
B07  35 vouchers. This is a fight by the school superintendent, his staff 
B07  36 and his allies to hold onto power that, by law, they no longer 
B07  37 possess. This is purely a matter of their own political and 
B07  38 personal interests.<p/>
B07  39 <p_>The finance authority itself happens to be three-fifths 
B07  40 minority. It includes parents of Chicago public school students. 
B07  41 But the real issue here is what's in the interests of more than 
B07  42 400,000 city children. Propping up a stubborn bureaucracy is 
B07  43 not.<p/>
B07  44 <p_>Meanwhile, the board has until Monday to get its budget 
B07  45 genuinely into balance and meet a deadline for finance authority 
B07  46 approval. The board's arbitrary action Tuesday to void labor 
B07  47 contracts would not seem to make for a legally balanced budget. If 
B07  48 the board fails to work out a realistic spending plan, state law 
B07  49 would transfer even more control to the School Finance Authority. 
B07  50 Despite this potent threat, the board is still playing games with 
B07  51 bogus budgets and -incredibly -hasn't even met with teachers to 
B07  52 discuss options.<p/>
B07  53 <p_>The verdict's not in on whether sweeping decentralization will 
B07  54 make the city's schools better or even worse overall. But no one 
B07  55 will know until the board gives it an honest trial.<p/>
B07  56 
B07  57 <h_><p_>The ticklish politics of ethanol<p/><h/>
B07  58 <p_>More than the heat and humidity made Gov. Jim Edgar 
B07  59 uncomfortable Sunday at the Illinois State Fair.<p/>
B07  60 <p_>Preparing for President Bush's campaign stop, Edgar, an 
B07  61 unabashed cheerleader for ethanol, wondered what Bush would tell 
B07  62 farmers about the future for the corn-derived alternative fuel.<p/>
B07  63 <p_>Would he side with corn growers and promote expanded markets 
B07  64 for ethanol? Or would he accede to those concerned about air 
B07  65 quality and uphold proposed restrictions on its use in some major 
B07  66 cities?<p/>
B07  67 <p_>Bush met privately with farm leaders, but he said nothing 
B07  68 publicly about ethanol. His silence bespoke volumes about the 
B07  69 delicate politics of clean air and special interests in this 
B07  70 election year.<p/>
B07  71 <p_>In Illinois, corn farmers sell about 17 percent of their crop 
B07  72 at premium prices to ethanol producers such as Decatur-based 
B07  73 Archer-Daniels-Midland. The producers, in turn, get a federal tax 
B07  74 subsidy to make ethanol-blended fuels competitive at the pump.<p/>
B07  75 <p_>But science has turned what would seem like an easy political 
B07  76 home run into a potential foul ball. Burning ethanol-blended 
B07  77 gasoline reduces emissions of carbon monoxide, but it also creates 
B07  78 more harmful ozone and smog than pure gasoline, especially on 
B07  79 warmer days.<p/>
B07  80 <p_>That's why William Reilly, Environmental Protection Agency 
B07  81 administrator, favors a proposed rule that would restrict the use 
B07  82 of ethanol during the summer in nine major cities, including 
B07  83 Chicago. The limitation would begin in 1995.<p/>
B07  84 <p_>Although they took part in negotiations on the rule last year, 
B07  85 the ethanol proponents say they misunderstood. Now facing slower 
B07  86 growth in ethanol sales, they want the rule changed, contending new 
B07  87 evidence will show ethanol-blended fuels can be used in the largest 
B07  88 cities year-round without damaging air quality.<p/>
B07  89 <p_>Corn growers have been promising such data for some time 
B07  90 without delivering. In the meantime, the White House is said to be 
B07  91 looking for a political compromise. One possibility might be to 
B07  92 push an ethanol derivative that meets the clean air standards and 
B07  93 likely can be processed in oil-company refineries.<p/>
B07  94 <p_>Such a step would please farmers because it would boost ethanol 
B07  95 use. Some oil companies would be happy to run the product through 
B07  96 their refineries, although ethanol producers, undoubtedly, would 
B07  97 object.<p/>
B07  98 <p_>Lost in this high-wire balancing act, unfortunately, is good 
B07  99 public policy. Everyone should be looking for the most efficient, 
B07 100 least expensive way to reduce pollution.<p/>
B07 101 <p_>Bush has reason to worry about political support from Illinois 
B07 102 farmers. But in seeking a compromise that won't alienate too many 
B07 103 voters, he shouldn't turn his back on good science and clean air in 
B07 104 the cities. For now, unfortunately, that means restricting 
B07 105 ethanol's use.<p/>
B07 106 
B07 107 <h_><p_>Is there life without political signs?<p/><h/>
B07 108 <p_>From the Department of Laws You're Not Likely To See Passed in 
B07 109 Your Lifetime:<p/>
B07 110 <p_>A Lake County Board member -Larry Leafblad of Grayslake -has 
B07 111 this extraordinary idea that people wouldn't object if they were 
B07 112 deprived of political signs, posters, stickers and handbills. He 
B07 113 has proposed an ordinance to ban them from utility poles and road 
B07 114 rights-of-way and has been trying to whip up support for the idea 
B07 115 -a notion that is as popular with most politicians as northern 
B07 116 spotted owls are with loggers.<p/>
B07 117 <p_>You are familiar with this material. If you were not before the 
B07 118 March primary, when there were more candidates than registered 
B07 119 voters in Illinois, you probably were in some emirate where 
B07 120 elections aren't necessary. It was a banner season for political 
B07 121 paraphernalia, with scarcely a sign, sign post, tree, telephone 
B07 122 pole or highway shoulder neglected in the metropolitan area.<p/>
B07 123 <p_>It also brought the proliferation of a new concept: candidates 
B07 124 vying to see how many political signs they could stake 
B07 125 consecutively in the shortest distance along a roadway. This 
B07 126 presumes, apparently, that the more people see a name, the more 
B07 127 likely they are to remember it. But while this may enhance 
B07 128 recognition, it is not as entertaining as those old Burma-Shave 
B07 129 signs.<p/>
B07 130 <p_>Therein lies the principal objection to this campaign strategy: 
B07 131 It is annoying. There are some folks who plain don't like being 
B07 132 bombarded with political messages wherever they travel and bristle 
B07 133 at the unsightly nature of them, especially in the abundance they 
B07 134 were this spring. It is more annoying when the signs, posters, 
B07 135 stickers and handbills remain up long after an election. And 
B07 136 sometimes -when they obscure important road signs -they can be 
B07 137 hazardous.<p/>
B07 138 <p_>Of course, if we start passing laws just because something is 
B07 139 annoying, then we should pass laws just because some people are 
B07 140 jerks, or too silly. Hmmm.<p/>
B07 141 <p_>No one knows for sure if these messages do any good. No one 
B07 142 knows if they do any bad. This probably is why they are so popular. 
B07 143 And once the first signs appear, they breed faster than wire coat 
B07 144 hangers.<p/>
B07 145 <p_>Because Leafblad's proposition would have to be approved by 
B07 146 colleagues up for re-election, he is swimming against a strong 
B07 147 current. The most novel argument against his plan came from board 
B07 148 member Robert Depke: Since we incumbents already are known to 
B07 149 voters, it would be terribly unfair to our challengers to deny them 
B07 150 this opportunity. Is it any wonder that this guy got to be board 
B07 151 chairman?<p/>
B07 152 
B07 153 <h_><p_>A ruling on the law, not abortion<p/><h/>
B07 154 <p_>Circuit Judge Thomas O'Brien issued a legal ruling, not a 
B07 155 political statement, when he refused to block the resumption of 
B07 156 abortions at Cook County Hospital.<p/>
B07 157 <p_>The judge's decision in the dispute between Cook County Board 
B07 158 President Richard Phelan and a handful of county commissioners will 
B07 159 be viewed as a victory for abortion rights and a defeat for 
B07 160 opponents of abortion. That's not the case. The judge was asked to 
B07 161 rule on the delineation of authority between Phelan and the board. 
B07 162 That's all he did.<p/>
B07 163 <p_>The commissioners argued that Phelan lacks the legal authority 
B07 164 to restore abortions at County Hospital without the board's 
B07 165 approval. But the court proceedings demonstrated that their 
B07 166 argument didn't hold up.<p/>
B07 167 <p_>No ordinance or policy rule clearly restricts the authority of 
B07 168 the president or hospital administrators regarding health 
B07 169 procedures. The obvious precedent for this case was former 
B07 170 President George Dunne's unilateral decision to stop abortions at 
B07 171 the hospital and Dunne's subsequent orders, on a case-by-case 
B07 172 basis, to allow them in certain circumstances. The board has never 
B07 173 set an explicit policy prohibiting abortion.<p/>
B07 174 <p_>Board members argued that public funds cannot be spent without 
B07 175 their approval, but there is no budget line item for abortion, just 
B07 176 as the board does not direct precisely how much money will be spent 
B07 177 on appendectomies, heart surgery or gunshot wounds.<p/>
B07 178 <p_>It is possible O'Brien's ruling will be overturned on appeal. 
B07 179 More likely, this dispute will drag on through other lawsuits once 
B07 180 this one is resolved. Abortion opponents are waiting in the wings 
B07 181 to file more litigation.<p/>
B07 182 <p_>Abortion doesn't belong in the courts; it belongs in the 
B07 183 legislatures. In this case, the judiciary has been asked to rule 
B07 184 only on government procedure and not on the appropriateness of 
B07 185 abortion. But it shouldn't have gone to court at all.<p/>
B07 186 <p_>O'Brien rightly called this case <quote_>"a perfect example of 
B07 187 legislative timidity"<quote/> by lawmakers who wanted the court to 
B07 188 be a <quote_>"surrogate decision-maker."<quote/> Commissioners 
B07 189 might yet seek a board vote on the issue, but they probably won't, 
B07 190 and the abortion foes don't have the votes to override a Phelan 
B07 191 veto, anyway.<p/>
B07 192 <p_>Abortion is a legal medical procedure, one that can be 
B07 193 performed at a reasonable financial cost. As long as it is legal 
B07 194 and not prohibitively expensive, County Hospital should provide it 
B07 195 for the largely indigent clientele it serves.<p/>
B07 196 <p_>One aspect of all this that has not drawn much attention is 
B07 197 that Phelan's plan includes several reasonable restrictions, 
B07 198 guidelines that probably come close to reflecting much of the 
B07 199 public's sentiment about the availability of abortion.<p/>
B07 200 <p_>A woman would be allowed only one abortion at the hospital in a 
B07 201 year's time. Abortion would be performed only in the first 
B07 202 trimester of pregnancy, except in cases of fetal anomalies, rape or 
B07 203 incest, or when the health or life of the woman is endangered. 
B07 204 Patients would receive counseling, including discussion of 
B07 205 alternatives to abortion. In effect, this would create a waiting 
B07 206 period. If the guidelines were followed, abortion at County 
B07 207 Hospital would not become a mere substitute for birth control, as 
B07 208 some have feared.<p/>
B07 209 <p_>This matter belongs in the County Board, not in court. If the 
B07 210 board doesn't have the temerity to challenge Phelan on its own 
B07 211 turf, it ought to leave the matter alone.<p/>
B07 212 
B07 213 <h_><p_>Bush's necessary risk in Iraq<p/><h/>
B07 214 <p_>When a president who trails badly in a political campaign takes 
B07 215 military action, his motives inevitably become the object of 
B07 216 scrutiny. George Bush's latest move against Saddam Hussein -sending 
B07 217 planes to enforce a ban on Iraqi military flights in southern Iraq, 
B07 218 site of a rebellion by Shiite Muslims -is bound to create suspicion 
B07 219 that he might be exploiting an international crisis for his own 
B07 220 ends.<p/>
B07 221 <p_>But the president's action in this case ought to be judged on 
B07 222 the merits of the policy, and Bush has done what needed doing: He 
B07 223 has confronted the Iraqi dictator in a way that punishes him for 
B07 224 defying the peace terms imposed last year, while making it a bit 
B07 225 harder for Saddam to keep his grip on power.<p/>
B07 226 
B08   1 <#FROWN:B08\><h_><p_>FROM THE PUBLISHER<p/><h/>
B08   2 <p_>Smoking out the true nature of an American presidential 
B08   3 contender is never easy, but with not-yet-declared candidate Ross 
B08   4 Perot, the journalistic challenge has been especially tough. The 
B08   5 billionaire businessman comes with neither a political track record 
B08   6 nor detailed position papers, and two weeks ago, he announced he 
B08   7 was cutting back on press appearances. Sensitive to criticism when 
B08   8 it hits home, Perot made no secret of the fact that he was unhappy 
B08   9 with his coverage in TIME - especially a story in the April 6 issue 
B08  10 that said he had displayed a <quote_>"thirst for 
B08  11 publicity."<quote/><p/>
B08  12 <p_>So when Houston bureau chief Richard Woodbury approached Perot 
B08  13 to arrange the in<?_>-<?/>depth interview that appears in this 
B08  14 issue, the first thing Woodbury got was an earful. <quote_>"Perot 
B08  15 is a quirky, prickly guy,"<quote/> says Woodbury. <quote_>"We 
B08  16 defended our reporting, but he wouldn't stop complaining. He really 
B08  17 held our hands to the fire."<quote/> It took a series of extended 
B08  18 phone calls, a formal letter and a long phone conversation with 
B08  19 managing editor Henry Muller before TIME finally got its foot in 
B08  20 the door.<p/>
B08  21 <p_>It was worth the effort. The session, conducted in Perot's 
B08  22 Dallas offices by Muller, Woodbury and senior writer Walter 
B08  23 Shapiro, ended up running for three hours. Shapiro, who has covered 
B08  24 every presidential campaign since 1980, describes it as one of the 
B08  25 most extraordinary experiences of his career. <quote_>"For once we 
B08  26 had the luxury of waiting out the sound bites, asking the follow-up 
B08  27 questions and then getting on to totally fresh stuff. It's a 
B08  28 wonderful moment when you realize you've been able to sort out 
B08  29 those things he really knows, those things that are smart but that 
B08  30 he has not been able to explain well, and those things that still 
B08  31 do not make much sense. You can't do that on TV. You can't do it in 
B08  32 a one-hop fuselage interview with Bill Clinton. And you certainly 
B08  33 can't do it with George Bush."<quote/><p/>
B08  34 <p_>That kind of access may grow scarce as the campaign warms up. 
B08  35 Woodbury, who has covered Perot since 1986, notes that the 
B08  36 take-charge Texan still works without handlers, travels without 
B08  37 aides and returns his own phone calls. But with his funds unlimited 
B08  38 and his polls still zooming, Perot can afford to be eccentric. 
B08  39 <quote_>"As the pressures grow, it will be interesting to see how 
B08  40 long the homespun style can endure,"<quote/> says Woodbury. 
B08  41 <quote_>"I'll know it's a new ball game if a media adviser starts 
B08  42 returning my calls instead of the man himself."<quote/><p/>
B08  43 
B08  44 <h_><p_>FROM THE PUBLISHER<p/><h/>
B08  45 <p_>Three weeks ago, our art department cover coordinator, Linda 
B08  46 Freeman, received a phone call from Maurice Skinazi, an 
B08  47 international businessman and art collector. Mr. Skinazi suggested 
B08  48 that if by any chance TIME was going to do a story on the Rio 
B08  49 summit, we should consider using something painted by his friend, 
B08  50 Brazilian painter Lia Mittarakis.<p/>
B08  51 <p_>Mr. Skinazi, who might consider a second career as an editor, 
B08  52 had guessed our plans exactly right. Yes indeed, we were readying a 
B08  53 special report on the United Nations Conference on Environment and 
B08  54 Development in Rio, and yes, we were in need of a cover 
B08  55 illustration. Freeman asked Skinazi to send a transparency of the 
B08  56 painting. Even though TIME rarely uses unsolicited artwork for the 
B08  57 cover, the simple beauty of this painting delighted everyone, and 
B08  58 art director Rudolph Hoglund decided to use it. <quote_>"Before I 
B08  59 told Lia about the situation, I asked her to name the most famous 
B08  60 magazine in the world, and of course she said TIME,"<quote/> 
B08  61 recalls Skinazi. <quote_>"She was simply elated that you would 
B08  62 consider her painting for the cover."<quote/><p/>
B08  63 <p_>Mittarakis' style is commonly known as 'naive art,' a term that 
B08  64 describes contemporary works that are painted in a folk manner. 
B08  65 Mittarakis, the daughter of Greek immigrants, lost both her parents 
B08  66 by the time she was 10 years old. She took up painting during her 
B08  67 teenage years while living in an orphanage. For years the artist 
B08  68 supported herself and two daughters by selling tropical scenes at 
B08  69 Rio street fairs. Her vibrant works - which have been called 
B08  70 'painted poetry' - eventually attracted the attention of European 
B08  71 critics.<p/>
B08  72 <p_>Although a detached retina has robbed Mittarakis of sight in 
B08  73 her right eye and she has lost 60% of the vision in her left eye, 
B08  74 she continues to produce canvases at home on Paquet<*_>a-acute<*/> 
B08  75 Island off the coast of Rio. The work reproduced on this week's 
B08  76 cover is an acrylic portrayal of the Tijuca forest overlooking 
B08  77 Rio.<p/>
B08  78 <p_>Our special report on the summit is part of TIME's commitment 
B08  79 to cover environmental issues, which began when we named Endangered 
B08  80 Earth as the Planet of the Year for 1988. Says senior editor 
B08  81 Charles Alexander, who edited the stories: <quote_>"The summit 
B08  82 itself can't save the earth, but it can put the nations of the 
B08  83 world on the right path."<quote/> Mittarakis shares that optimism 
B08  84 and hopes that <quote_>"by portraying the beauties of nature, we 
B08  85 can remind the world about what is at stake."<quote/> That is 
B08  86 exactly our intent.<p/>
B08  87 
B08  88 <h_><p_>FROM THE PUBLISHER<p/><h/>
B08  89 <p_>Every journalist dreams of working on the big story. Here at 
B08  90 TIME that means reporting or writing a cover story. By that 
B08  91 measure, veteran writers George Church and Ed Magnuson have had 
B08  92 enough dreams realized to last a lifetime - even if they live to 
B08  93 100. For Church and Magnuson are the only men in the magazine's 
B08  94 history to have written more than 100 cover stories each.<p/>
B08  95 <p_>From the agony of the Vietnam War to the exhilarating fall of 
B08  96 the Berlin Wall, a scrapbook of their work could serve as a 
B08  97 comprehensive index to the most momentous events of the past 
B08  98 quarter-century. Says editor-in-chief Jason McManus: 
B08  99 <quote_>"Church and Magnuson excel at the most demanding 
B08 100 newsmagazine art: writing fast news covers. Masses of information 
B08 101 must be quickly absorbed, mentally structured, and the relevant 
B08 102 facts, anecdotes and quotes smoothly mortised into place while 
B08 103 writing on the run."<quote/><p/>
B08 104 <p_>Church, 60, joined TIME in 1969 after spending 14 years at the 
B08 105 <tf_>Wall Street Journal<tf/>. He wrote his first cover, on the 
B08 106 inefficiency of American business, just one year later. Since then, 
B08 107 George has efficiently produced 104 more covers, hitting the 100 
B08 108 mark last summer with an elegant analysis of the disintegration of 
B08 109 the Soviet Union. But his own favorite is the 1986 cover on the 
B08 110 secret sale of arms to Iran. <quote_>"That's the one in which I was 
B08 111 really challenged,"<quote/> says George. <quote_>"I was writing 
B08 112 while the files were coming in and then rewriting to incorporate 
B08 113 the new things the correspondents had found out. I like that kind 
B08 114 of pressure. It's kind of suicidal. But I love it."<quote/><p/>
B08 115 <p_>No one understands that better than Magnuson, whose first cover 
B08 116 was a crash effort on nuclear testing that ran in 1962. He has 
B08 117 specialized in late-breaking stories ever since. <quote_>"There is 
B08 118 a real pleasure in putting them together under pressure,"<quote/> 
B08 119 he says, <quote_>"where you just stay up all night and get the job 
B08 120 done."<quote/> Ed has got 118 of them done, including 21 covers on 
B08 121 Watergate, four of them written in consecutive weeks in May 1973 
B08 122 for the U.S. edition of TIME. This year Magnuson, 66, will retire 
B08 123 after 32 years at the magazine. Looking back over his distinguished 
B08 124 career here, Ed recalls handling our coverage of the My Lai 
B08 125 massacre in 1968; the publication of the Pentagon papers - the 
B08 126 secret history of U.S. involvement in Vietnam - in 1971; the 
B08 127 nuclear accident at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 1979; and 
B08 128 <quote_>"a lot of plane crashes. I guess you could say I was a 
B08 129 bad-news guy."<quote/> For us and our readers, though, it has 
B08 130 always been good news when he and Church handled the bad news.<p/>
B08 131 
B08 132 <h_><p_>FROM THE PUBLISHER<p/><h/>
B08 133 <p_>Great ideas are often generated in the most unlikely places, or 
B08 134 so claims photographer P.F. Bentley, whose latest brainstorm 
B08 135 occurred while he was having dinner at a sushi bar in Nashua, New 
B08 136 Hampshire. Bentley was part of the press corps covering the state's 
B08 137 first-in-the-nation primary, and he was trying to devise a more 
B08 138 personal approach to the U.S. presidential campaign. Then it hit 
B08 139 him: Why not portray a run for the presidency from the inside 
B08 140 looking <tf|>out? A few days later, P.F. told associate picture 
B08 141 editor Rick Boeth that he'd like to hook up with the Clinton 
B08 142 campaign, a risky choice because the Arkansas Governor's candidacy 
B08 143 was in trouble at the time and his aides were suspicious of 
B08 144 becoming involved with the press. <quote_>"P.F. used all his 
B08 145 diplomatic skills to convince everyone in the campaign that he 
B08 146 could be a part of their lives,"<quote/> recalls Boeth.<p/>
B08 147 <p_>That hunch led to the special series of photos that appear in 
B08 148 this week's issue. Initially, Bentley and Clinton agreed to a 
B08 149 one-month trial run, but the candidate felt sufficiently 
B08 150 comfortable with the arrangement to continue it indefinitely. 
B08 151 <quote_>"We both understood that he would have to instantly trust 
B08 152 me,"<quote/> says Bentley. Campaign advisers were told to get used 
B08 153 to the photographer's presence in meetings, and Hillary Clinton 
B08 154 welcomed him to the family home in Little Rock. The first photos, 
B08 155 published in late March, ended with a Clinton win in Illinois. 
B08 156 Since then, Bentley has been privy to the Clinton campaign's 
B08 157 controversies, days of triumph and stolen moments of calm. His 
B08 158 photos capture the gritty reality of rumpled hotel rooms, 
B08 159 late-night strategy sessions and dinners of cold pizza, all shot in 
B08 160 black and white to emphasize the documentary nature of the 
B08 161 project.<p/>
B08 162 <p_>P.F., 39, lives in Stinson Beach, California, grew up in 
B08 163 Honolulu and has been a TIME photographer for 13 years. His TIME 
B08 164 presidential-campaign coverage won first place in the Pictures of 
B08 165 the Year Competition in both 1984 and 1988. In addition to his U.S. 
B08 166 political coverage, Bentley has shot assignments in Panama, El 
B08 167 Salvador and Haiti.<p/>
B08 168 <p_><quote_>"Clinton often acts as if I am not in the room at all, 
B08 169 and we can go a couple of days without speaking to each 
B08 170 other,"<quote/> observes Bentley. <quote_>"I've found him to be the 
B08 171 most casual politician I have ever worked with."<quote/> So casual, 
B08 172 in fact, that P.F. actually followed Clinton into the steam room of 
B08 173 his New York City hotel last week. The intrepid photographer could 
B08 174 take only two exposures at a time before the cameras fogged up and 
B08 175 had to be cleaned - but eventually got the shot he wanted.<p/>
B08 176 
B08 177 <h_><p_>FROM THE PUBLISHER<p/><h/>
B08 178 <p_>Olympic athletes know that extensive preparation contributes to 
B08 179 a great performance, and that's a lesson our photo department has 
B08 180 taken to heart. Operations manager Kevin McVea spent more than a 
B08 181 year mapping out TIME's technical requirements for the Barcelona 
B08 182 Summer Games. Readers will begin to see the results this week in 
B08 183 our coverage of the opening ceremonies. Thanks to new equipment in 
B08 184 place at our press center, we will be able to bring high-resolution 
B08 185 images to our readers in special sections on the Olympics so long 
B08 186 as there's a medal yet to be won.<p/>
B08 187 <p_>In Barcelona, the daily work of seven photographers will be 
B08 188 reviewed by associate picture editor MaryAnne Golon, Paris-based 
B08 189 picture editor Barbara Nagelsmith and picture researcher Mary 
B08 190 Worrel Bousquette. Imaging specialist Kin Wah Lam will transmit the 
B08 191 edited selections to picture editor Michele Stephenson and 
B08 192 assistant picture editors Karen Zakrison and Eleanor Taylor. A new 
B08 193 Eastman Kodak 2035 scanner will be used to send pictures to us here 
B08 194 at headquarters in a mere 45 seconds. The editors will sift through 
B08 195 these low-resolution 'first drafts' and pick the photos to be sent 
B08 196 via satellite to them in publishable form.<p/>
B08 197 <p_>Using scanning and transmission workstations developed by 
B08 198 Israel's Scitex Corp., Kevin and his crew will be able to produce 
B08 199 the final, high-quality photographs on site. The images will have 
B08 200 the same sharp quality as those scanned on our premises and will be 
B08 201 ready for use in the magazine. Notes McVea: <quote_>"These 
B08 202 innovations actually extend our deadlines. Four years ago, it took 
B08 203 up to five hours to process and send a single image from the Seoul 
B08 204 Olympics. With this technology, all that work takes just 35 
B08 205 minutes."<quote/><p/>
B08 206 <p_>McVea, 30, makes it his business to keep track of cutting-edge 
B08 207 technical developments. He worked at <tf|>Newsweek as head of 
B08 208 picture operations before joining TIME in 1988.
B08 209 
B08 210 
B09   1 <#FROWN:B09\><h_><p_>S. African Realism<p/><h/>
B09   2 <p_>POLITICAL realism may be getting the upper hand in South 
B09   3 Africa. The decision of the African National Congress to adopt a 
B09   4 more moderate policy toward negotiating with the administration of 
B09   5 President Frederik de Klerk could open the door to more rapid 
B09   6 progress toward a multiracial transitional government and 
B09   7 democratic elections.<p/>
B09   8 <p_>The ANC's move comes after intense internal discussion. Nelson 
B09   9 Mandela has represented the middle ground of negotiation and 
B09  10 compromise in these discussions, with ANC militants pushing for 
B09  11 heightened mass action.<p/>
B09  12 <p_>The latter tactic has failed in its immediate goal of toppling 
B09  13 leaders in the so-called black homelands.<p/>
B09  14 <p_>Mr. Mandela recognizes, realistically, that his organization's 
B09  15 best opportunity to secure a grasp on power is through continued 
B09  16 bargaining with the white National Party regime inn Pretoria. And 
B09  17 he rightly concludes that Mr. De Klerk - for all the ups and downs 
B09  18 in their relationship since the ANC leader left prison almost three 
B09  19 years ago - remains the white leader most likely to cut a 
B09  20 reasonable, politically valid deal.<p/>
B09  21 <p_>De Klerk, too, is constrained by realism to move toward 
B09  22 productive talks. Revelations concerning efforts by the South 
B09  23 African military to subvert the ANC have left the president little 
B09  24 room to maneuver. Judge Richard Goldstone, who heads the government 
B09  25 commission looking into allegations against the security forces, 
B09  26 doubtless has more revelations to come - even if De Klerk continues 
B09  27 to refuse his request for wider investigative authority.<p/>
B09  28 <p_>De Klerk needs political damage control. His best recourse is 
B09  29 expedited negotiations with the ANC. He, like the ANC, may have to 
B09  30 settle for a short-term resolution that doesn't give him everything 
B09  31 he wants in terms of long<?_>-<?/>term goals - for example, a 
B09  32 guarantee of substantial white representation in any future 
B09  33 government. Not only political stability in the country, but 
B09  34 economic recovery, hinges on progress in negotiations.<p/>
B09  35 <p_>ANC and government representatives have secluded themselves for 
B09  36 intensive talks in the days ahead. South Africa, meanwhile, will 
B09  37 shift into its summer vacation season, when little governmental 
B09  38 business is conducted. By early 1993 the negotiators should have a 
B09  39 plan for power<?_>-<?/>sharing.<p/>
B09  40 <p_>That plan will be born of political necessity, and it will be 
B09  41 criticized from many angles. But the process of negotiations should 
B09  42 also bring greater good will - an honest desire to move beyond 
B09  43 confrontation.<p/>
B09  44 <p_>That, along with realism and pragmatism, will be needed to 
B09  45 implement any plan.<p/>
B09  46 
B09  47 <h_><p_>Talks Worth Continuing<p/><h/>
B09  48 <p_>THE latest phase of the three-strand talks about the future of 
B09  49 Northern Ireland either <quote_>"has collapsed"<quote/> or 
B09  50 <quote_>"has been concluded,"<quote/> depending on where one takes 
B09  51 one's reading of events, from the headlines or from diplomatic 
B09  52 sources.<p/>
B09  53 <p_>No, the talks did not reach a comprehensive settlement of the 
B09  54 question of governing the six counties of the North. But for the 
B09  55 first time since the partition of Ireland in the 1920s, unionist 
B09  56 leaders sat down with ministers from the Dublin government. This 
B09  57 historic fact should not be minimized.<p/>
B09  58 <p_>That said, however, we must also note that once the whole talks 
B09  59 process moved from the procedural to the substantive, and the 
B09  60 various parties set forth their positions, the width of the divide 
B09  61 between them only became more apparent. The discovery of unexpected 
B09  62 areas of common ground that one might have wished, if not hoped 
B09  63 for, did not occur.<p/>
B09  64 <p_>Still, scoping out the breadth of a disagreement, finding out 
B09  65 which positions a party really holds to and which may be 
B09  66 negotiable, can be valuable.<p/>
B09  67 <p_>A next phase of talks is to be held in the new year, after a 
B09  68 new Irish government has been established (Nov. 25 is election day) 
B09  69 and has met with its British counterpart some time after 
B09  70 mid-December.<p/>
B09  71 <p_>The same 'strands' approach will be taken as has been the case 
B09  72 so far; that is, talks are to occur among constitutional parties in 
B09  73 Northern Ireland (those seeking unification with the south, and 
B09  74 those seeking to retain the link to Britain), between the north and 
B09  75 south within Ireland, and between Dublin and London. And as is 
B09  76 always the case in these situations, the informal contacts - quick 
B09  77 conferences in the corridors - are at least as important as the 
B09  78 formal ones.<p/>
B09  79 <p_>Meanwhile, it is clearer than ever that a unilateral British 
B09  80 military pullout from Northern Ireland would precipitate a civil 
B09  81 war, and the Dublin government has every bit as much interest as 
B09  82 London - indeed, more so - in preventing that.<p/>
B09  83 <p_>Skeptics may well be right that the current negotiations have 
B09  84 only a small chance of reaching a genuine political settlement to 
B09  85 the Northern Ireland issue. But realists would have to counter that 
B09  86 there is no chance of a settlement without such talks.<p/>
B09  87 
B09  88 <h_><p_>Tolerating Atrocity<p/><h/>
B09  89 <p_>SERBIA'S brutal <quote_>"ethnic cleansing"<quote/> in Bosnia 
B09  90 has been going on since May. The barbarity of the crimes has been 
B09  91 known in every world capital since June. But only recently has the 
B09  92 heinous nature of the acts been fully understood.<p/>
B09  93 <p_>Journalists in Bosnia have persistently found savagery beyond 
B09  94 the telling. They have shown that early ethnic cleansing was a form 
B09  95 of <quote|>"elitocide" - killing off the educated, thoughtful 
B09  96 Muslims who could have led a resistance. Former US Secretary of 
B09  97 State George Shultz was filled with <quote_>"a sense of 
B09  98 fury"<quote/> when reading of systematic internment and rapes of 
B09  99 girls and women in Bosnia.<p/>
B09 100 <p_>Decent people find it hard to live with such atrocity. As Mr. 
B09 101 Shultz put it, <quote_>"When forces of intolerance go wild, you get 
B09 102 a result that is intolerable."<quote/><p/>
B09 103 <p_>Yet so far the West has tolerated the wildness. Intervention 
B09 104 was ruled out in favor of the joint United Nations-European 
B09 105 Community talks in Geneva. But Western leaders have lost faith in 
B09 106 them. Last week, US Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger 
B09 107 indicated this by naming war criminals from the former Yugoslavia, 
B09 108 including Serb President Slobodan Milosevic and Bosnian Serb leader 
B09 109 Radovan Karadizc.<p/>
B09 110 <p_>Mr. Eagleburger seeks enforcement of the <quote_>"no 
B09 111 fly"<quote/> zone over Bosnia. This made for tough talk and high 
B09 112 drama - especially after UN mediator Cyrus Vance disagreed with the 
B09 113 no-fly zone enforcement. But step away from the headlines, and what 
B09 114 has actually happened? The answer: Little. All the essential 
B09 115 problems in Bosnia remain. Indeed, they are worse. Facts on the 
B09 116 ground have changed since the summer. Serbs are no longer trying to 
B09 117 take 70 percent of Bosnia: They now have it. Mr. Milosevic also now 
B09 118 knows the West won't act.<p/>
B09 119 <p_>The enormity of <quote_>"ethnic cleansing"<quote/> has sunk in, 
B09 120 but doing something about it has now become more complicated. Delay 
B09 121 has cost. Reiterating the decree of a no-fly zone and shooting down 
B09 122 a few planes will do little. Even lifting the arms embargo to let 
B09 123 Muslims defend themselves is late. Nor can the West afford to act 
B09 124 just to seem engaged, since even a minor scrape could give either 
B09 125 side a pretext for starting something bigger.<p/>
B09 126 <p_>Western action now will require a more serious effort. Doing 
B09 127 nothing out of concern that the cost might be great has ensured 
B09 128 that the cost will be great. Unchecked, ethnic cleansing is a 
B09 129 mentality of systematic hatred more dangerous by far than found 
B09 130 among, say, Somalia's war lords. It is a dynamic that could spread 
B09 131 east, beyond Yugoslavia; it already has adherents in Russia.<p/>
B09 132 <p_>The question isn't, What is the cost? The question is, Can the 
B09 133 West deal with aggressive evil?<p/>
B09 134 
B09 135 <h_><p_>IBM in Perspective<p/><h/>
B09 136 <p_>IBM may be down, but it's not out. The computermaker still 
B09 137 produces and sells more than all other US high-tech firms put 
B09 138 together. Some of its products are doing well, its staff still 
B09 139 includes many brilliant engineers, and its financial resources are 
B09 140 considerable. But, like other giants of American industry, IBM may 
B09 141 have lost its ability to dominate a whole field of enterprise.<p/>
B09 142 <p_>Critics point out that the company once prided itself on 
B09 143 holding a top position in all facets of the computer market. Its 
B09 144 chief competitors were thought to be overseas, especially in Japan. 
B09 145 But, in the end, it was smaller companies in the United States - 
B09 146 like Intel, Sun Systems, and Microsoft - that carved out profitable 
B09 147 niches and nudged <quote_>"Big Blue"<quote/> to the periphery.<p/>
B09 148 <p_>In the personal computer realm, particularly, IBM lagged. The 
B09 149 company's biggest profits had always been in large, mainframe 
B09 150 machines, and it continued to push those products even as the 
B09 151 market shifted toward desktop units that were both more agile than 
B09 152 and as powerful as the larger computers. IBM is hustling to catch 
B09 153 up now, and its PC line includes some popular items. The road 
B09 154 ahead, however, will be difficult.<p/>
B09 155 <p_>The degree of difficulty was shown by IBM's announcements last 
B09 156 week - possibly its first-ever forced layoffs, a $1 billion 
B09 157 reduction in research, a 1992 profit picture that shocked 
B09 158 investors.<p/>
B09 159 <p_>IBM executives talk of a devolution of power within the 
B09 160 corporation, with pieces of the business, like the PC branch, 
B09 161 gaining independence. But the greatest need may be an honest 
B09 162 assessment of the firm's greatest strengths and a determination to 
B09 163 build on those, letting other product lines fall away.<p/>
B09 164 <p_>When companies like IBM - or General Motors, or Sears - are 
B09 165 shaken, the whole country feels a jolt. Concerns about industrial 
B09 166 decline are rekindled. It's worth remembering that it has happened 
B09 167 before, when the railroads, of Big Steel, collapsed.<p/>
B09 168 <p_>Lots of people who thought their working lives were secure are 
B09 169 put out of work. A still-vigorous and competitive US high-tech 
B09 170 sector will absorb some of them, but there's no doubt IBM's dark 
B09 171 news gives Bill Clinton's promise to <quote_>"grow the 
B09 172 economy"<quote/> even more urgency.<p/>
B09 173 
B09 174 <h_><p_>No Time For Hate Conspiracies<p/><h/>
B09 175 <p_>CONCERN about US racism is renewed by the political campaign of 
B09 176 David Duke and the nod it gives to white racial anger.<p/>
B09 177 <p_>But what about new forms of black racism?<p/>
B09 178 <p_>Black anger is understandable. But racism, and the discontent 
B09 179 it spawns, is wrong in every form.<p/>
B09 180 <p_>That's why New York City College President Bernard Harleston is 
B09 181 right to remove Dr. Leonard Jeffries Jr. as head of the 
B09 182 African-American Studies Department. Dr. Jeffries would still 
B09 183 teach.<p/>
B09 184 <p_>A conspiracy theorist, Jeffries plays something of the 
B09 185 intellectual harlequin to his classes (blacks only, please) and the 
B09 186 public. His ideas, which as department head he sanctions as 
B09 187 'academic freedom,' run from kooky to dangerous: As <quote_>"sun 
B09 188 people"<quote/> blacks are superior to <quote_>"ice people"<quote/> 
B09 189 (guess who) because of a chemical in the skin named melanin missing 
B09 190 in whites. Or, that AIDS was put in Africa by whites in the World 
B09 191 Health Organization to attempt genocide. And this is the tame 
B09 192 stuff.<p/>
B09 193 <p_>While it's true, as the white male Shakespeare said, that 
B09 194 <quote_>"there are more things in heaven and earth ... than are 
B09 195 dreamt of in your philosophy"<quote/> - a factual basis for 
B09 196 Jeffries's ideas is probably not among them. Yet sadly many blacks 
B09 197 - 40 percent in a Harlem poll - believe this conspiracy theory.<p/>
B09 198 <p_>Jeffries, like grandstander Al Sharpton, has a following. But 
B09 199 most New Yorkers are uncomfortable with Jeffries's message. Last 
B09 200 summer he went too far. In an anti-Semitic public speech he 
B09 201 conjured up a movie industry conspiracy against blacks planned 
B09 202 <quote_>"by people called Greenberg and Weisberg and 
B09 203 Trigliani"<quote/> that Gov. Mario Cuomo denounced.<p/>
B09 204 <p_>No faculty would allow David Duke to teach the thinking that 
B09 205 made him a Grand Wizard; CCNY must discipline Jeffries. By demoting 
B09 206 him, Dr. Harleston (himself black) can send a needed message that 
B09 207 there are moral and academic standards.<p/>
B09 208 <p_>Now is a time for blacks, whites, Asians, Hispanics, and others 
B09 209 to respect diversity. No nation has ever done so. It can only work 
B09 210 by seeing that all folks under the sun are brothers and sisters.<p/>
B09 211 
B09 212 <h_><p_>Gerrymander Wars<p/><h/>
B09 213 <p_>A HANDFUL of people seated before computer screens are changing 
B09 214 the face of American politics.<p/>
B09 215 <p_>They are engaged in outlining new congressional districts in 43 
B09 216 states to reflect population shifts recorded by the 1990 census. 
B09 217 Most of these states require new district lines because they gained 
B09 218 or lost seats in the House of Representatives.<p/>
B09 219 <p_>Sophisticated computer programs facilitate drawing with 
B09 220 precision district borders that satisfy the Supreme Court's 'one 
B09 221 man, one vote' standard and also the mandate under the Voting 
B09 222 Rights Act to create black- or Hispanic-majority districts. Within 
B09 223 these parameters, however, the line drawers have a lot of leeway. 
B09 224 Thus, in many states political battles are being waged over which 
B09 225 party controls the computers.<p/>
B09 226 
B10   1 <#FROWN:B10\><h_><p_>GATT: WHO SAYS BUSH IS A LAME DUCK?<p/><h/>
B10   2 <p_>The transition from George Bush to Bill Clinton has temporarily 
B10   3 given the U.S. powerful leverage to move the long-stalled Uruguay 
B10   4 Round of trade talks ahead. Now relatively free from domestic 
B10   5 lobbying pressures, President Bush has turned his lame-duck status 
B10   6 to advantage by breaking the deadlock with the European Community 
B10   7 over farm subsidies. That clears the way to resume serious 
B10   8 bargaining at Geneva under the 108-nation General Agreement on 
B10   9 Tariffs & Trade on the full range of global trade issues, from 
B10  10 textile quotas to protecting patents.<p/>
B10  11 <p_>Until Jan. 20, President Bush has more political leeway to make 
B10  12 tough trade-offs among the demands of competing U.S. economic 
B10  13 sectors than incoming President Clinton is likely to have. But Bush 
B10  14 certainly will insist that key trading partners dismantle 
B10  15 long-standing trade barriers. Tokyo, for one, can't be allowed to 
B10  16 block rice imports while it benefits from open global markets for 
B10  17 its huge exports of cars and electronic goods. And India and Brazil 
B10  18 can't rip off U.S. pharmaceutical patents on the pretense that 
B10  19 economic under<?_>-<?/>development gives them the right to do 
B10  20 so.<p/>
B10  21 <p_>The GATT negotiations can lift the global economy out of the 
B10  22 doldrums by unleashing a vast surge of new trade. More than that, 
B10  23 the bargaining is a chance for each country to unshackle its 
B10  24 productive powers by getting rid of protections and subsidies that 
B10  25 hobble domestic producers. President Bush, in what could be one of 
B10  26 his greatest achievements, has led the way.<p/>
B10  27 
B10  28 <h_><p_>HOW TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL OF QUALITY<p/><h/>
B10  29 <p_>Big U.S. corporations on the front lines of the global economy 
B10  30 have taken to heart the principle that success begins with high 
B10  31 quality, to the advantage of consumers and workers alike. Defect 
B10  32 rates on U.S.-built cars are barely distinguishable from those of 
B10  33 their Japanese counterparts, and such companies as Xerox and 
B10  34 Motorola have become case studies in how quality drives corporate 
B10  35 performance.<p/>
B10  36 <p_>But there still are plenty of medium - to smaller-size U.S. 
B10  37 companies to enlist in the effort. And because quality practices 
B10  38 know no borders, the lessons these companies learn can be applied 
B10  39 around the world<O_>(page-64)<O/>.<p/>
B10  40 <p_>A lot is at stake. Most new jobs in the U.S., Asia, and Europe 
B10  41 are created by smaller companies. In America, they account for 
B10  42 one-half of exports. And big manufacturers often rely on smaller 
B10  43 suppliers for more than half the value of finished products.<p/>
B10  44 <p_>Recognizing this, bigger companies, most notably in autos and 
B10  45 electronics, have set stringent quality standards for suppliers. 
B10  46 More important, Detroit's carmakers and other companies are working 
B10  47 with suppliers to demonstrate how to achieve higher quality. That 
B10  48 still leaves many smaller companies without guidance, particularly 
B10  49 if they can't afford consultants' fees.<p/>
B10  50 <p_>Here, then, is an area where government and nonprofit 
B10  51 institutions can play a key role. In the U.S., 16 states have 
B10  52 initiated their own versions of the Commerce Dept.'s prestigious 
B10  53 Baldrige award to provide guideposts to upgrading quality. The 
B10  54 Minnesota Council for Quality also provides grants to local 
B10  55 chambers of commerce for education. The non<?_>-<?/>profit American 
B10  56 Productivity & Quality Center disseminates information that lets 
B10  57 companies compare their procedures with the best in various fields 
B10  58 through benchmarking.<p/>
B10  59 <p_>These programs deserve support. Another initiative long 
B10  60 advocated by BUSINESS WEEK, a nationwide network of 
B10  61 technology-extension services offered through federal research 
B10  62 laboratories or community colleges, would also help. The skills and 
B10  63 the information to significantly enhance the international 
B10  64 competitiveness of medium and smaller companies already exist. A 
B10  65 small investment in spreading knowledge would pay big dividends.<p/>
B10  66 
B10  67 <h_><p_>WESTINGHOUSE'S DO-LITTLE BOARD<p/><h/>
B10  68 <p_>Westinghouse Electric Corp.'s board of directors provides yet 
B10  69 another example of failed corporate governance. Even though the 
B10  70 company was teetering on the brink of financial disaster, it was 
B10  71 investor pressure - not the board - that moved CEO Paul E. Lego to 
B10  72 act <O_>(page-26)<O/>. The activist institutional investors that 
B10  73 began agitating this summer can take heart that Lego finally moved. 
B10  74 Getting action at other recent activist targets, such as GM and 
B10  75 Sears Roebuck, took years.<p/>
B10  76 <p_>Interestingly, Westinghouse's diversified nature made it more 
B10  77 vulnerable to activist shareholders because its disparate 
B10  78 businesses lend themselves to a fire sale. The activists demanded 
B10  79 an easy remedy, and the market applauded, pushing up the company's 
B10  80 stock by 24% on the day of the restructuring announcement - despite 
B10  81 a dividend cut.<p/>
B10  82 <p_>But a more important point is involved. Westinghouse shows just 
B10  83 how dysfunctional corporate boards can be - particularly at 
B10  84 diversified companies. No one believes, anymore, that a 
B10  85 professional manager can manage any kind of business. If making a 
B10  86 conglomerate work takes exceptional management, it takes 
B10  87 exceptional directors, too. Yet despite the need for greater 
B10  88 vigilance caused by problems in many of Westinghouse's diverse 
B10  89 businesses, the company's board did little. The company's finances 
B10  90 deteriorated, its market performance declined, and its investors 
B10  91 grew angry, but its directors didn't rise to the challenge. What 
B10  92 made Westinghouse directors think they could be effective monitors 
B10  93 of management at a troubled, diversified company without an extra 
B10  94 effort? Notes Stanford law professor Joseph A. Grundfest: 
B10  95 <quote_>"Where you find conglomerates, you often find a 
B10  96 dysfunctional governance process."<quote/><p/>
B10  97 <p_>If the board wants to burnish its tarnished reputation, it 
B10  98 should enact many of the reforms activists seek, notably creation 
B10  99 of a nomination panel to replace departed directors.<p/>
B10 100 
B10 101 <h_><p_>CHANNELING BIG STORES' AWESOME CLOUT<p/><h/>
B10 102 <p_>With enormous marketplace power, a small circle of merchants is 
B10 103 determining more and more how consumer products are made and sold 
B10 104 in the U.S. They're telling even the mightiest of manufacturers 
B10 105 what goods to make, in what colors and sizes, how much to ship, and 
B10 106 when. They are forcing suppliers to rethink whom they sell to, how 
B10 107 they price and promote products, and how they structure their own 
B10 108 organizations<O_>(page-40)<O/>.<p/>
B10 109 <p_>A vast consolidation in U.S. retailing has produced giant 
B10 110 'power retailers' that use sophisticated inventory management, 
B10 111 finely tuned selections, and, above all, competitive pricing to 
B10 112 crowd out weaker players and attract more of the shopper's dollar. 
B10 113 The top tier of superpowers includes Kmart, Target, Toys 'R' Us, 
B10 114 Home Depot, Circuit City, Dillard, and a few others. Leading the 
B10 115 pack, of course, is Wal-Mart Stores. The nation's No.1 retailer is 
B10 116 expected to grow 25% this year, to some $55 billion in sales, at a 
B10 117 time when retailers as a whole will be lucky to grow 4%.<p/>
B10 118 <p_>The increasing influence of these retailers has obvious 
B10 119 benefits for consumers. For starters, the stores are continually 
B10 120 wringing excess costs out of the U.S. distribution system while 
B10 121 squeezing price concessions out of suppliers. Many shun the 
B10 122 constant promotions, coupons, and 'sales' that introduce big 
B10 123 inefficiencies. Much of the savings gets passed along to consumers 
B10 124 in the form of lower prices. And because these retailers use 
B10 125 sophisticated information technology to keep close tabs on what's 
B10 126 selling and what's not, consumers are likelier to find what they 
B10 127 want in the stores.<p/>
B10 128 <p_>The risk is that small manufacturers, who lack the resources or 
B10 129 savvy to cope with the inherent bias toward large manufacturers, 
B10 130 won't be able to compete. Innovation and risk-taking could also be 
B10 131 diminished. Those dangers must be monitored vigilantly by federal 
B10 132 and state antitrust authorities. But pressure from the power 
B10 133 retailers also benefits manufacturers by forcing them to become 
B10 134 leaner and more nimble themselves. They're becoming more 
B10 135 competitive with each other - and with overseas rivals. Some have 
B10 136 wrested U.S. markets away from foreign manufacturers by cutting 
B10 137 costs or reducing cycle time, and some have even been able to 
B10 138 penetrate overseas markets, thanks to their new efficiency.<p/>
B10 139 
B10 140 <h_><p_>SEASONED ADVISERS CAN TAKE CLINTON ONLY SO FAR<p/><h/>
B10 141 <p_>In selecting leaders of his economic team, President-elect Bill 
B10 142 Clinton seems to be off to a good start at filling the most 
B10 143 important jobs in his Administration. His early choices, short on 
B10 144 fresh faces and long on Capitol Hill experience, are safe, intended 
B10 145 to convey a commitment to competence and moderation rather than 
B10 146 innovation<O_>(page-24)<O/>.<p/>
B10 147 <p_>Senator Lloyd Bentsen (D-Tex.) built a solid reputation as a 
B10 148 student of the economic impact of government policy during his six 
B10 149 years as Senate Finance Committee chairman and his earlier tenure 
B10 150 as Joint Economic Committee chair<?_>-<?/>man. His passion is 
B10 151 tilting the tax code to promote savings and investment, which 
B10 152 should sit well with the Clintonites.<p/>
B10 153 <p_>Representative Leon E. Panetta (D-Calif.), chairman of the 
B10 154 House Budget Committee, would run the Office of Management & Budget 
B10 155 with a fervor for cutting the deficit. The plan to nominate him is 
B10 156 a welcome signal that Clinton is serious about cutting the deficit 
B10 157 in half during his first term.<p/>
B10 158 <p_>Others who seem headed for senior jobs - investment bankers 
B10 159 Robert E. Rubin and Roger C. Altman, and former Congressional 
B10 160 Budget Office Director Alice M. Rivlin - are also familiar with the 
B10 161 levers of power in the capital.<p/>
B10 162 <p_>In his desire to staff up with folks who know how to get things 
B10 163 done in Washington, however, Clinton could overload his 
B10 164 Administration with the sort of insiders who have given Washington 
B10 165 a bad name. Experience is a virtue - but only to a point. We also 
B10 166 hope to see some of those bright faces from state governments, 
B10 167 business, and the universities that Clinton told us he was going to 
B10 168 bring to the capital.<p/>
B10 169 
B10 170 <h_><p_>HONG KONG NEEDS A QUICK, QUIET SETTLEMENT<p/><h/>
B10 171 <p_>To an outsider, the dispute between Hong Kong and China seems 
B10 172 like a tempest in a teapot. After all, the argument is about 
B10 173 increasing the number of directly elected seats on the Crown 
B10 174 Colony's legislative council - from 20 to perhaps 40 out of 60. By 
B10 175 no means does this amount to representative government, as the 
B10 176 Chinese fear. Yet Beijing's stern warnings to desist from the plan 
B10 177 have upset the Hong Kong business community, triggering gyrations 
B10 178 in the stock market <O_>(page-16)<O/>.<p/>
B10 179 <p_>The dispute has been inflamed by two issues: Governor Chris 
B10 180 Patten went public with the plan apparently without much 
B10 181 consultation with the Chinese. This mortified Beijing, which felt 
B10 182 it had lost face. Second, the Politburo is afraid that any change 
B10 183 could quickly spread to South China, whose booming economy is 
B10 184 directly linked to Hong Kong's.<p/>
B10 185 <p_>It's easy to be cynical about the British timing. After all, 
B10 186 they have been ruling Hong Kong for 150 years, so why the sudden 
B10 187 interest in democracy? But it is because of the British that Hong 
B10 188 Kong enjoys fundamental rights that don't exist in China, such as 
B10 189 the rule of law and civil liberties. Preservation of these rights, 
B10 190 they say, is the motive for making changes before the 1995 
B10 191 elections - the last Hong Kong will hold before China takes over in 
B10 192 1997.<p/>
B10 193 <p_>There is plenty of common ground for resolving the dispute 
B10 194 quietly, without China losing face. Any backsliding by Beijing 
B10 195 could deter the foreign investment so crucial to the Chinese boom. 
B10 196 For Washington, the proper response is to support bilateral talks 
B10 197 on electoral reform. But the U.S. should also make it clear that 
B10 198 China must move toward democracy and human-rights guarantees in 
B10 199 both Hong Kong and China. If Beijing is unwilling to accept reform, 
B10 200 pressure is likely to build in Congress to deny it 
B10 201 most-favored-nation status. That would hurt both China and Hong 
B10 202 Kong. The two sides should work things out - pronto.<p/>
B10 203 
B10 204 <h_><p_>THE MARKETS ARE APPLAUDING - SO FAR<p/><h/>
B10 205 <p_>Presidential elections take place every four years, but the 
B10 206 financial markets vote every day. And because participants vote 
B10 207 with their money, their message is always worth pondering. As 
B10 208 BUSINESS WEEK's editors and writers detail in the 1993 Investment 
B10 209 Outlook, investors like what they're hearing from Bill 
B10 210 Clinton<O_>(page-40)<O/>.<p/>
B10 211 <p_>They like the focus on economic growth and his attentiveness to 
B10 212 the role that private investment plays in financing that growth. 
B10 213 They like the emphasis on getting a long-term plan to reduce the 
B10 214 budget deficit. And they like the investor<?_>-<?/>friendly 
B10 215 leadership of his economic team.<p/>
B10 216 <p_>Keeping the confidence of the markets is critical. If the bond 
B10 217 market senses that Clinton is backpedaling on deficit reduction, 
B10 218 investors will bolt - and interest rates will jump. That would 
B10 219 raise the cost of capital and choke off the economic growth this 
B10 220 country so desperately needs.<p/>
B10 221 <p_>There are other areas where the market may turn on Clinton. The 
B10 222 President-elect is already committed to boosting taxes on very 
B10 223 high-income individuals. That is palatable to the markets as a 
B10 224 method of deficit reduction but will be repudiated if it becomes 
B10 225 the first step in a Democratic plan for a major redistribution of 
B10 226 income.<p/>
B10 227 
B11   1 <#FROWN:B11\><h_><p_>STEPHANIE SALTER<p/>
B11   2 <p_>Ted Kennedy: Product of the '70s<p/><h/>
B11   3 <p_>THE LAST thing I want is for anybody to feel sorry for Teddy 
B11   4 Kennedy. So that is not what this is about. As far as I'm concerned 
B11   5 all of those Kennedy boys - dead or alive - have wreaked more 
B11   6 personal havoc than they'll ever pay for.<p/>
B11   7 <p_>But this ratty new book, 'The Senator: My Ten Years With Ted 
B11   8 Kennedy,' is lower than low. Written by a former aide to the 
B11   9 senator from Massachusetts, one Richard E. Burke, the book rankles 
B11  10 me not because of the dirt it dishes on Edward M. - allegations of 
B11  11 cocaine, hot tubs, bimbos - but because of the period of time it 
B11  12 covers: 1971-1981.<p/>
B11  13 <p_>Come on, Burke, play fair.<p/>
B11  14 <p_>That was <tf_>The Seventies<tf/>, thus far the nadir in 
B11  15 post-war U.S. history. You could have followed millions of adult 
B11  16 Americans around during that same period and come up with a slimy, 
B11  17 embarrassing book about each of them.<p/>
B11  18 <p_>For many, the '70s was the decade of <quote_>"Whatever turns 
B11  19 you on."<quote/> Situation ethics of the personal persuasion 
B11  20 reigned supreme. The unofficial national credo was, <quote_>"If it 
B11  21 feels good - do it,"<quote/> and the anthem should have been, 
B11  22 <quote_>"Call Me Irresponsible."<quote/><p/>
B11  23 <p_>The '70s was before Mothers Against Drunk Driving slapped a 
B11  24 whole nation in the face and told it to grow up about its drinking. 
B11  25 Herpes was something only medical students heard about, and AIDS 
B11  26 was unknown and unimagined.<p/>
B11  27 <p_>THERE WAS a recession for part of the '70s, but it did not 
B11  28 carry with it legions of homeless and unemployed as we have now. 
B11  29 Consequently, whatever money you had was for spending. And we Baby 
B11  30 Boomers - deep into our I'm-gonna-live-forever 20s - spent it.<p/>
B11  31 <p_>In the '70s that I remember, a lot of adult Americans behaved 
B11  32 pretty badly. Oh, not all of them, I know (I heard Marilyn Quayle's 
B11  33 speech at the Republican Convention, too), but more than ever 
B11  34 before.<p/>
B11  35 <p_>Granted, I spent the first half of the '70s in the fast-lane in 
B11  36 New York, New York, living on the lower West Side, allegedly 
B11  37 working in Midtown and drinking Scotch all over. But I kept in 
B11  38 touch with high school and college friends from the Midwest; they 
B11  39 were not at Marilyn Quayle's house swilling RC Cola and discussing 
B11  40 creationism.<p/>
B11  41 <p_>As much as I hate it that Ronald Reagan ever got his hands on 
B11  42 the presidency of the United States, I'm not surprised. The '70s 
B11  43 were at once wild but depressing - not of a Weimar Republic 
B11  44 caliber, but wild and depressing nonetheless. They were fertile 
B11  45 ground for the emergence of a 'leader' who talked a great game of 
B11  46 old-fashioned American values - no matter how lame his actual 
B11  47 follow-through.<p/>
B11  48 <p_>IN MANY WAYS, that wild-but-depressing character is best 
B11  49 symbolized for me by the grotesque fashions of the '70s, especially 
B11  50 men's fashions:<p/>
B11  51 <p_>Helmets of hair with mutton<?_>-<?/>chops or skinny, 
B11  52 earlobe-length sideburns; bib-like wide ties with polyester suits 
B11  53 the color of ice cream; white shoes and matching belts; platform 
B11  54 shoes (yes, for men); florid polyester Nik-Nik shirts; 
B11  55 hip<?_>-<?/>hugging, bell-bottom trousers; shag haircuts.<p/>
B11  56 <p_>Even sex, of which there was no shortage during the '70s, was 
B11  57 sort of wild but depressing. When Jimmy Carter confessed to Playboy 
B11  58 that he felt bad because he had lust in his heart for women other 
B11  59 than Rosalynn, a lot of people thought he was a schmoe.<p/>
B11  60 <p_>Big deal, they said; he looks and dreams. Why not do?<p/>
B11  61 <p_>I remember, in particular, a personable woman, about my age, 
B11  62 with whom I worked in New York. Before she was 25 she was 
B11  63 semi-responsible for the break-up of two marriages and very nearly 
B11  64 a third.<p/>
B11  65 <p_><quote_>"I think marriage sucks,"<quote/> she said one night, 
B11  66 after the requisite six Dewars and waters. <quote_>"Why should I 
B11  67 respect a man's marriage vows when he doesn't?"<quote/><p/>
B11  68 <p_><quote_>"Why indeed?"<quote/> I probably said. My own 
B11  69 observations had led me to a similar cynicism, and I had not yet 
B11  70 grasped the feminist truth that, whatever you do to one of your 
B11  71 sisters, you do to yourself.<p/>
B11  72 <p_>No, the '70s was not America at its best. (Not that this decade 
B11  73 is much better.)<p/>
B11  74 <p_>And when I think about it, the words from a song in a minor 
B11  75 Broadway musical, 'Salvation,' come to mind. Written in late 1969 
B11  76 by Peter Link and C.C. Courtney, it's called, 'Let's Get Lost in 
B11  77 Now.'<p/>
B11  78 <p_>WITH ITS WILD-but-depressing refrain - <quote_>"So let's make 
B11  79 love and maybe tomorrow, if we still feel the same, we can do it 
B11  80 again"<quote/> - it foreshadowed a mentality that I believe drove 
B11  81 the '70s. Here's the best/worst part:<p/>
B11  82 <p_><tf_>Time is a butcher, killing everything in sight.<p/>
B11  83 <p_>He ain't lookin' at you, but in a minute he might.<p/>
B11  84 <p_>So, come on, pretty baby, drive tomorrow from your head;<p/>
B11  85 <p_>'cause in the long run, you know, we're all dead.<tf/><p/>
B11  86 <p_>All I'm saying is, from 1971 to 1981, Teddy did not act 
B11  87 alone.<p/>
B11  88 
B11  89 <h_><p_>IAN SHOALES<p/>
B11  90 <p_>The song of Muzak<p/><h/>
B11  91 <p_>AN OAKLAND rapper named Tupac Shakur was recently attacked by 
B11  92 Dan Quayle, who believed that the killer of a Texas policeman had 
B11  93 been listening to Mr. Shakur's '2Pacalypse Now,' before he pulled 
B11  94 the trigger. Mr. Quayle, apparently, was mistaken.<p/>
B11  95 <p_>The killer, in fact, had been listening to a rapper named 
B11  96 Gangster Nip. Despite having been listened to by a murderer, Mr. 
B11  97 Nip remains at large.<p/>
B11  98 <p_>No wonder the country's going to hell in a handcart.<p/>
B11  99 <p_>Inspired by Dan Quayle and by Bill Clinton's attack on Sister 
B11 100 Souljah, I've been thinking of making a citizen's arrest of Debby 
B11 101 Boone for the traffic accident she caused 12 years ago.<p/>
B11 102 <p_>I was driving along, minding my own business, when 'You Light 
B11 103 Up My Life' came on the radio. I couldn't help myself. Something 
B11 104 snapped. I began punching the dashboard with my fist, causing me to 
B11 105 veer into a parked car.<p/>
B11 106 <p_>Who's to blame if not Debby Boone? Is there a statute of 
B11 107 limitations on a provocation like that?<p/>
B11 108 <p_>We used to believe that the person who did the crime was also 
B11 109 guilty of it, but the times they are a'changing.<p/>
B11 110 <p_>IT'S JUST LIKE when Dylan went electric. Sure, it was upsetting 
B11 111 to the folk purists among us, but it was a shot in the arm to the 
B11 112 electric guitar industry. That meant jobs, folks, American jobs.<p/>
B11 113 <p_>And if the Republicans and Democrats are so concerned about 
B11 114 musical morality and job creation, why did the Democrats choose for 
B11 115 their theme a song by Fleetwood Mac, an English band?<p/>
B11 116 <p_>Why did the GOP choose for their theme a song from a musical 
B11 117 based on '<foreign_>La Cage aux Folles<foreign/>,' a French movie 
B11 118 about a gay couple? Is there a bipartisan conspiracy going on to 
B11 119 undermine America's precious musical heritage?<p/>
B11 120 <p_>It's a complicated issue. Music itself is problematic. On the 
B11 121 one hand, we believe that music hath charms to soothe the savage 
B11 122 breast. Muzak in the mall puts us in the mood to shop. KOIT in the 
B11 123 workspace makes us more productive.<p/>
B11 124 <p_>ON THE OTHER hand, music awakens savage impulses. Didn't the 
B11 125 waltz scandalize Europe? Didn't rock 'n' roll lead to juvenile 
B11 126 delinquency and bad Elvis movies?<p/>
B11 127 <p_>And if response to music is a learned behavior, how are musical 
B11 128 prototypes created?<p/>
B11 129 <p_>Theme music for westerns, for example, always seem to employ a 
B11 130 full orchestra, heavy on the French horns. What do French horns 
B11 131 have to do with cowboys? Try tootling a French horn next time you 
B11 132 lasso a dogie.<p/>
B11 133 <p_>Western fans may also have noticed that cowboys around 
B11 134 camp<?_>-<?/>fires play the exact same harmonica songs as movie 
B11 135 convicts on death row. What would Dan Quayle make of that?<p/>
B11 136 <p_>Movie music is frequently used as a kind of shorthand. Whenever 
B11 137 we hear those 'wokka wokka' guitars, we know that Shaft is in town. 
B11 138 If we hear a 'rinky-tinky-tin<?_>-<?/>tin' figure, we can be 
B11 139 certain we're close to Chinatown. Of course this is racist. We 
B11 140 never hear Debby Boone when we have establishing shots of white 
B11 141 suburbia, now do we?<p/>
B11 142 <p_>The process is mysterious.<p/>
B11 143 <p_>WHY IS IT when we hear two notes on a cello we know immediately 
B11 144 there's a shark in the water?<p/>
B11 145 <p_>Why do shrieking violins make us want to get out of the 
B11 146 shower?<p/>
B11 147 <p_><quote_>"Bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum"<quote/> means it's 
B11 148 time to circle the wagons. A wailing saxophone means it's time for 
B11 149 a beer. And the theme from Perry Mason always means it's time for 
B11 150 Perry Mason.<p/>
B11 151 <p_>Should we be reassured or frightened by this? Or both? If it 
B11 152 takes me back, for example, to hear Fever Tree do 'San Francisco 
B11 153 Girls,' the nostalgia is offset by the terrifying fact that I had 
B11 154 once liked this song in the first place.<p/>
B11 155 <p_>In this political year, here are some other musical questions 
B11 156 to ponder:<p/>
B11 157 <p_>Who do we hold responsible for the lambada?<p/>
B11 158 <p_>Why wasn't 'Cop Rock' a TV hit?<p/>
B11 159 <p_>Why is a tango sexy and a polka square?<p/>
B11 160 <p_>Why do armies always march?<p/>
B11 161 <p_>Why don't they waltz to war?<p/>
B11 162 <p_>WHEN A PRIMITIVE ancestor first banged on a hollow log with a 
B11 163 mastodon femur, did it shock a Cro-Magnon traditionalist who felt 
B11 164 that femurs should only be banged on rocks?<p/>
B11 165 <p_>Finally, if somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly, why the 
B11 166 hell can't I? Personally, I still blame Debby Boone.<p/>
B11 167 
B11 168 <h_><p_>KAREN O'LEARY<p/>
B11 169 <p_>Perot's quiet running mate<p/><h/>
B11 170 <p_>JAMES STOCKDALE, chosen by H. Ross Perot as his candidate for 
B11 171 the vice presidency, has lived since 1981 the quiet life of a 
B11 172 senior research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover 
B11 173 Institution.<p/>
B11 174 <p_>Hardly a conventional politician, he grants few interviews. His 
B11 175 articles and speeches address public virtue, personal heroism and 
B11 176 moral leadership, as well as stoic philosophy and endurance in the 
B11 177 face of adversity.<p/>
B11 178 <p_>These are subjects he came to know only too well when, as a 
B11 179 Navy fighter pilot, he spent 7 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in 
B11 180 North Vietnam. If he had yielded to torture, he might have 
B11 181 seriously damaged U.S. credibility.<p/>
B11 182 <p_>Stockdale had information that could have undermined America's 
B11 183 justification for escalating the Vietnam conflict.<p/>
B11 184 <p_>As it was, his courage, personal philosophy, and physical 
B11 185 stamina empowered him to stand up to torture and to lead his fellow 
B11 186 POW's to do the same.<p/>
B11 187 <p_>And if Stockdale's wife, Sybil Bailey Stockdale, had not 
B11 188 recognized a covert message in one of his letters, torture of POW's 
B11 189 might have remained undetected by the U.S. government or the 
B11 190 American people.<p/>
B11 191 <p_>Galvanized by the knowledge of her husband's suffering, she 
B11 192 launched a major effort to bring a halt to the abuse of all 
B11 193 POWs.<p/>
B11 194 <p_>A YEAR BEFORE Stockdale was captured, he had been commander of 
B11 195 the air squadron that was covering the Maddox, an American 
B11 196 destroyer, on the night it was supposedly attacked in the Gulf of 
B11 197 Tonkin.<p/>
B11 198 <p_>The alleged attack on the Maddox by Vietnamese PT boats was 
B11 199 used to justify U.S. retaliation and became the pretext for 
B11 200 escalating the war dramatically.<p/>
B11 201 <p_>However, Stockdale knew that there had been no PT boats close 
B11 202 enough to attack.<p/>
B11 203 <p_>Rather, he says the incident was due to confusion caused by 
B11 204 stormy weather, an inexperienced Maddox crew and misinterpretation 
B11 205 of an intercepted Vietcong radio message.<p/>
B11 206 <p_>He informed Washington, but the United States went to war 
B11 207 anyway and continued to maintain that the Maddox had been 
B11 208 attacked.<p/>
B11 209 <p_>Stockdale was caught in the middle: He knew the truth, but did 
B11 210 not want to give the North Vietnamese a valuable propaganda card to 
B11 211 play.<p/>
B11 212 <p_>When he refused to divulge information to his captors, he was 
B11 213 put in hand and leg irons for periods of torture that lasted up to 
B11 214 three days.<p/>
B11 215 <p_>For eight agonizing months, Sybil Stockdale didn't know if her 
B11 216 husband was dead or alive. His first letter brought both relief and 
B11 217 anguish, as she picked up a covert reference to torture: 
B11 218 <quote_>"One thinks of Vietnam as a tropical country ... but 
B11 219 there's cold and darkness, even at noon."<quote/><p/>
B11 220 <p_>She recognized the reference to Arthur Koestler's 'Darkness at 
B11 221 Noon,' a book that chronicled Soviet abuse of prisoners. She 
B11 222 concluded that her husband and fellow POWs were being tortured.<p/>
B11 223 <p_>She then developed an elaborate code for communicating with 
B11 224 Stockdale in the prison camp. In one encoded letter, he sent 
B11 225 disheartening information that his wife translated as: 
B11 226 <quote_>"Experts in torture.
B11 227 
B13   1 <#FROWN:B13\><h_><p_>Political conventions are devoid of, 
B13   2 disconnected from, reality<p/>
B13   3 <p_>Charley Reese<p/>
B13   4 <p_>OF THE SENTINEL STAFF<p/><h/>
B13   5 <p_>One word describes the Democrat and Republican national 
B13   6 conventions: disconnected.<p/>
B13   7 <p_>Both conventions were so surrealist, so disconnected from the 
B13   8 reality of American life, that the Comedy Channel convention 
B13   9 coverage seemed normal. After all, what were 15,000 journalists 
B13  10 doing at non-news events - two pre-planned, pre-programmed charades 
B13  11 designed for television in which every event and every word spoken 
B13  12 was pre-planned, pre-written, pre-edited and predictable?<p/>
B13  13 <p_>The anchors, commentators and Rolodex experts were all reduced 
B13  14 to banal chitchat - pretty expensive chitchat. As an aside, the 
B13  15 spectacle of a horde of journalists on expense accounts staring at 
B13  16 a Disney<?_>-<?/>like animation show reminds one that perhaps the 
B13  17 nation's news executives have a lot in common with General Motors 
B13  18 executives.<p/>
B13  19 <p_>Now I know what it was like to wake up and brush your teeth in 
B13  20 Hiroshima in the summer of 1945. I know what it was like to be 
B13  21 playing bridge on the Titanic, to be sleeping off a hangover at 
B13  22 Pearl Harbor in 1941. To hear the political rhetoric, one would 
B13  23 think America was in great shape - some minor problems with 
B13  24 recalcitrant Democrats or some minor problems resulting from 
B13  25 uncaring Republicans, but nothing really to worry about.<p/>
B13  26 <p_>One of two things is occurring, and neither is reassuring. 
B13  27 Either the major candidates are unaware of the economic peril this 
B13  28 nation is facing or they are deliberately misleading the American 
B13  29 people until one of them is elected.<p/>
B13  30 <p_>I despise the greedy Wall Street types who amassed so many 
B13  31 millions of dollars engineering job<?_>-<?/>destroying mergers and 
B13  32 acquisitions. At the same time, however, I recognize that these 
B13  33 parasites are smart when it comes to finances and money. I'm 
B13  34 beginning to think the explanation for the orgy of greed in the 
B13  35 late 1980s was that these rats knew the nation's economic ship was 
B13  36 going to founder and decided to grab some provisions for their 
B13  37 personal life<?_>-<?/>boats while there was still time.<p/>
B13  38 <p_>The present situation - an accumulated $4 trillion debt, an 
B13  39 annual interest cost of $200 billion or so, an annual deficit 
B13  40 pushing $400 billion, a continuing loss of jobs, and not a hint of 
B13  41 any political courage or economic understanding in either party 
B13  42 portends a dark future. We are on the eve of what Arnold Toynbee 
B13  43 called <quote_>"a time of troubles."<quote/><p/>
B13  44 <p_>But just as the politicians are avoiding the problem, so also 
B13  45 are they avoiding the solution, part of which is a government that 
B13  46 works. Neither the legislative nor the executive branch of the 
B13  47 federal government works. They are inefficient on a mind-boggling 
B13  48 scale and seem to lack the will to correct even the most obvious 
B13  49 defects in the process.<p/>
B13  50 <p_>It's hard for me to believe that we as a nation have somehow 
B13  51 become genetically incompetent to govern ourselves. After all, the 
B13  52 same people who do not seem able to make government work in a 
B13  53 competent manner nevertheless show a great deal of ability in terms 
B13  54 of improving their own personal financial status.<p/>
B13  55 <p_>The American people, as a whole, have been sold down the river. 
B13  56 They have become largely a propertyless proletariat, dependent on 
B13  57 paychecks for survival, but paid in a currency others are free to 
B13  58 inflate. That means the wage-earner can work to the point of 
B13  59 exhaustion and never get ahead. The average American has been 
B13  60 rendered economically impotent. He has no control over the 
B13  61 businesses he works for and he has no control over the value of the 
B13  62 money in which he is paid for his labor.<p/>
B13  63 <p_>Thus the average American today is worse off, really, than a 
B13  64 slave. At least in the slave's case, the owner had a selfish 
B13  65 interest in keeping the slave healthy enough to work.<p/>
B13  66 <p_>Today, however, the wage-earner is as expendable to the 
B13  67 capitalist as any other piece of equipment.<p/>
B13  68 <p_>Unless Americans relearn the art of thinking, they don't have 
B13  69 much of a future.<p/>
B13  70 
B13  71 <h_><p_>It's <tf_>not<tf/> OK to do whatever you want<p/>
B13  72 <p_>Cal Thomas<p/>
B13  73 <p_>LOS ANGELES TIMES SYNDICATE<p/><h/>
B13  74 <p_>Mary Fisher, the woman with AIDS whose eloquent, compassionate 
B13  75 and compelling address to the Republican National Convention 
B13  76 silenced the delegates even more completely than the invocations 
B13  77 and benedictions, left something out of her speech.<p/>
B13  78 <p_>She forgot to mention the role her ex-husband played in her 
B13  79 infection. She failed to use her moment in the sun to address men 
B13  80 who use intravenous drugs and risk acquiring infectious diseases 
B13  81 they then pass on to their wives.<p/>
B13  82 <p_>Fisher sought to identify with all persons who have AIDS, as if 
B13  83 the circumstances which led to her infection were common. She may 
B13  84 be the medical equivalent of everyone with AIDS, but the source of 
B13  85 her infection was different from most. She contracted it from her 
B13  86 husband who used intravenous drugs.<p/>
B13  87 <p_>Fisher is part of a tiny minority - women infected by their 
B13  88 husbands during marital intercourse. But her ex-husband is part of 
B13  89 a large majority, those who acquired the disease because of 
B13  90 personal behavior that could have been avoided.<p/>
B13  91 <p_>In her speech to the Houston Republicans, Fisher should have 
B13  92 addressed men who use drugs or those who commit adultery, and who 
B13  93 get AIDS and other venereal diseases that they pass along to their 
B13  94 unsuspecting wives. Married women have a fundamental right to avoid 
B13  95 being put at risk of disease and death by their mates.<p/>
B13  96 <p_>If a married man is going to cheat on his wife or abuse drugs, 
B13  97 the very least he should do is tell her so she can protect herself. 
B13  98 Why aren't women and editorial writers speaking out on this?<p/>
B13  99 <p_>The attempt by Mary Fisher to link her AIDS to all other AIDS 
B13 100 carriers is disingenuous and part of the politicization of a 
B13 101 disease that is handled differently from all others. It is also 
B13 102 part of an advocacy program led by the gay rights lobby and their 
B13 103 fellow travelers in the press whose condemnation is reserved only 
B13 104 for those who oppose their attempts to impose immorality on a 
B13 105 reluctant country.<p/>
B13 106 <p_>Appearing on CNN's <tf_>Sonya Live<tf/> program the day after 
B13 107 her speech, Mary Fisher said that <quote_>"people should be able to 
B13 108 do whatever they want."<quote/> Sonya Friedman should have noted 
B13 109 that it is precisely because Fisher's ex-husband did what he wanted 
B13 110 - abused drugs - that Fisher now has AIDS. Why do some say it is 
B13 111 hateful to state this fact?<p/>
B13 112 <p_>When a nation fails to set boundaries for acceptable behavior, 
B13 113 people believe there are none and do whatever they want. Why 
B13 114 shouldn't Woody Allen be surprised at the nearly universal 
B13 115 condemnation he has received for his acknowledged affair with the 
B13 116 adopted daughter of his lover, Mia Farrow? <tf|>Time magazine 
B13 117 quoted Allen as saying he didn't feel it was a moral dilemma to 
B13 118 have an affair with Farrow's child. If he thinks having sex with 
B13 119 Farrow is OK, who's to say it is out of bounds to have sex with her 
B13 120 daughter? Only those who wish to impose their morality on him, 
B13 121 right?<p/>
B13 122 <p_>If there are no rules for such things, no objective standard to 
B13 123 which people can appeal for right and honorable and decent 
B13 124 behavior, then Allen can say he was just doing what he wanted.<p/>
B13 125 <p_>It is the same with the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson. The 
B13 126 London tabloids published pictures of a topless Ferguson cavorting 
B13 127 with a man not her husband while her children watched. Hey, why 
B13 128 not? They were just doing what they wanted, and to say that there 
B13 129 is anything wrong with this is to summon people to hate and 
B13 130 fear.<p/>
B13 131 <p_>Give the adulterers and incest practitioners time to get 
B13 132 organized. As soon as they become big enough or loud enough, we can 
B13 133 expect to hear appeals from them for 'tolerance' and condemnation 
B13 134 of those who say that what they are doing is wrong.<p/>
B13 135 <p_><quote_>"Woe to those who call evil good, and good, 
B13 136 evil,"<quote/> says America's most banned and least consulted book. 
B13 137 There are growing numbers who are saying and doing precisely that, 
B13 138 and the woe they, and we, are feeling is the price we pay.<p/>
B13 139 
B13 140 <h_><p_>Your candidates won't fight for your economic 
B13 141 independence<p/>
B13 142 <p_>Charley Reese<p/>
B13 143 <p_>OF THE SENTINEL STAFF<p/><h/>
B13 144 <p_>I was sitting in a mall recently, waiting for a relative to 
B13 145 finish shopping, and out of 200 to 300 faces, I saw only one - that 
B13 146 of a young person - that reflected any happiness or joy. The others 
B13 147 were glum, worried or simmering with hostility.<p/>
B13 148 <p_>Why is this? I invite you to conduct your own survey. Observe a 
B13 149 crowd and note how many happy faces you see. If indeed we are the 
B13 150 best country on Earth, the freest and most prosperous, there ought 
B13 151 to be a lot of happy and content faces in every crowd. Why aren't 
B13 152 there?<p/>
B13 153 <p_>Obviously, regardless of what the politicians and the 
B13 154 institutional poohbahs say, Americans as a whole are worried of 
B13 155 dissatisfied or both.<p/>
B13 156 <p_>Neither Bill Clinton nor George Bush is going to discuss the 
B13 157 really important matters because they are both establishment 
B13 158 candidates. But here is the nut of the problem.<p/>
B13 159 <p_>Our goal as a nation should be, to the greatest and widest 
B13 160 extent possible, to be a nation of people who are economically 
B13 161 independent, which is to say owners of property - homes, farms and 
B13 162 businesses.<p/>
B13 163 <p_>Mortgage holders are not owners of property. What they own is a 
B13 164 debt. Usually these days, if it's a home mortgage, that debt is 
B13 165 three times larger than the just value of the property.<p/>
B13 166 <p_>To build a nation of economically independent property owners 
B13 167 should be our goal for the following reasons: (1) political rights 
B13 168 are meaningless to the economically dependent; (2) property owners 
B13 169 have a vested interest in stability, which means good government; 
B13 170 and (3) economically independent property owners can afford to act 
B13 171 on principles, whereas the desperate must always put survival 
B13 172 first.<p/>
B13 173 <p_>It's clear from the writings of early Americans that it was 
B13 174 their intention that America would in fact be a nation of 
B13 175 economically independent property owners.<p/>
B13 176 <p_>People, however, who lust for power over their fellow men also 
B13 177 recognize that the greatest barrier to their seizure of power is a 
B13 178 population of economically independent citizens. Thus, those people 
B13 179 do everything they can to prevent Americans from becoming 
B13 180 economically independent and to bankrupt those who are.<p/>
B13 181 <p_>It follows then, if we had honest political leaders, they would 
B13 182 be discussing this basic issue: What helps Americans become 
B13 183 economically independent and what forces them into economic 
B13 184 dependency?<p/>
B13 185 <p_>Instead they argue generalities - family values, liberal vs. 
B13 186 conservative, education, abortion, TV characters and other trivia - 
B13 187 anything in order to avoid addressing the main issues.<p/>
B13 188 <p_>The main methods of depriving people of their property or 
B13 189 preventing them from acquiring any are: taxes, usury, inflated 
B13 190 currency and establishment of monopolies.<p/>
B13 191 <p_>Do you hear any of the candidates discussing these subjects? 
B13 192 They only mention taxes, and that only in the sense of demagoguing 
B13 193 some minor cosmetic change. They won't open their mouths on the 
B13 194 subject of usurious interest rates, the corrupt monetary system or 
B13 195 the ever-growing concentration of business and industry into fewer 
B13 196 and fewer hands.<p/>
B13 197 <p_>This is the reason why in the past it never made any real 
B13 198 difference whether the man in the White House was a Democrat or a 
B13 199 Republican, a so-called liberal or a so-called conservative. It is 
B13 200 the reason why it won't make any difference whether you elect Bill 
B13 201 Clinton or George Bush. Neither one of them will stop the 
B13 202 monopolization and internationalization of business and industry. 
B13 203 Neither one will even talk about usury and bringing it under 
B13 204 control. Neither one will even mention the monetary system, which 
B13 205 robs both the active and retired worker through inflation. Neither 
B13 206 one will seriously consider lifting the tax burden and the 
B13 207 regulatory burden, which crush people's attempts to build 
B13 208 successful businesses.<p/>
B13 209 <p_>Watch and see for yourself.<p/>
B13 210 
B13 211 <h_><p_>Not all wives like their mates the way Barbara likes 
B13 212 George<p/>
B13 213 <p_>Mike Royko<p/>
B13 214 <p_>CHICAGO TRIBUNE<p/><h/>
B13 215 <p_>After listening to Barbara Bush talk about her husband, I asked 
B13 216 the blonde: <quote_>"What would you say about me?"<quote/><p/>
B13 217 <p_><quote_>"What do you mean?"<quote/> she said.<p/>
B13 218 <p_><quote_>"Well, Barbara Bush just publicly stated that her 
B13 219 husband is, and I quote: 'The strongest, the most decent, the most 
B13 220 caring, the wisest and, yes, the healthiest man I 
B13 221 know.'"<quote/><p/>
B13 222 
B14   1 <#FROWN:B14\><h_><p_>Bush's Regulations: The Unkindest Cut<p/>
B14   2 <p_>James J. Kilpatrick<p/><h/>
B14   3 <p_>Washington<p/>
B14   4 <p_>These are hard times for George Bush. Everybody is picking on 
B14   5 our kindly Caesar, and the most unkindest cuts of all are coming 
B14   6 from such a right-wing Brutus as the Heritage Foundation in 
B14   7 Washington.<p/>
B14   8 <p_>The conservative think tank has hung around his neck the 
B14   9 scornful label of <quote_>"the regulation president."<quote/><p/>
B14  10 <p_>This is a bum rap but an understandable one. The immemorial 
B14  11 political custom is that a sitting president gets thorns when 
B14  12 things go bad and bouquets when things go well, and generally he 
B14  13 deserves neither one.<p/>
B14  14 <p_>Herbert Hoover will be forever remembered for the Hoover 
B14  15 Depression, but the poor fellow was as blameless as Little Orphan 
B14  16 Annie.<p/>
B14  17 <p_>In the same fashion, Bush bears some of the responsibility -but 
B14  18 only some of it -for the increase in regulatory activity on his 
B14  19 watch. On the surface, the figures are sobering.<p/>
B14  20 <p_>The Federal Register, which records all federal proposals for 
B14  21 regulatory measures, ran to 53,376 pages in Reagan's last year in 
B14  22 the White House. In 1991, under Bush, the Register carried 67,716 
B14  23 pages.<p/>
B14  24 <p_>Under Reagan, the government hired 104,360 persons in 53 
B14  25 regulatory agencies. Under Bush the figure has grown to 124,994.<p/>
B14  26 <p_>In 1988, spending on regulatory programs amounted to $9.5 
B14  27 billion. Last year the same agencies spent $11.2 billion, and the 
B14  28 data are reckoned in constant dollars that give account to 
B14  29 inflation.<p/>
B14  30 <p_>These figures from the Heritage Foundation are substantially 
B14  31 confirmed in analyses from the Center for the Study of American 
B14  32 Business in St. Louis.<p/>
B14  33 <p_>In May the center predicted that regulatory spending will reach 
B14  34 $14 billion in 1993, with 126,000 workers engaged in administering 
B14  35 rules and regulations.<p/>
B14  36 <p_>A slowdown, says Heritage, <quote_>"is desperately 
B14  37 needed."<quote/><p/>
B14  38 <p_>Not many persons, and certainly not many persons in the 
B14  39 business community, would disagree with that assertion. Bush 
B14  40 imposed a moratorium last January on new regulations, and it looks 
B14  41 as if the regulatory budget for 1993 will show a tiny decline.<p/>
B14  42 <p_>Meanwhile, Vice President Dan Quayle is leading the 
B14  43 administration's charge against regulations that damage the 
B14  44 competitive position of American industry. This helps.<p/>
B14  45 <p_>To what extent is Bush personally to blame for the burgeoning 
B14  46 budget? The Heritage critics single out two laws for particular 
B14  47 attack -the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Clean Air Act. 
B14  48 Bush signed the former in July, 1990, and the latter the following 
B14  49 November.<p/>
B14  50 <p_>This is what gets overlooked. The disabilities bill soared 
B14  51 through the Senate in September, 1989, on a vote of 76-8. Eight 
B14  52 months later it passed in the House 403-20.<p/>
B14  53 <p_>The conference report cleared the Senate 91-6, the House 
B14  54 377-26. Is Bush alone to bear the blame for what this law will 
B14  55 cost?<p/>
B14  56 <p_>Consider the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act. The bill 
B14  57 cleared the Senate in April 89-11. It passed the House in May 
B14  58 401-21. In October the conference report won approval 401-25 in the 
B14  59 House, 89-10 in the Senate.<p/>
B14  60 <p_>What the record does not show is that Bush worked doggedly for 
B14  61 three months before the first Senate vote to pull some of the 
B14  62 sharpest teeth out of the bill. Minority leader Bob Dole threatened 
B14  63 a filibuster. Bush threatened a veto.<p/>
B14  64 <p_>In its final form the bill imposed heavy new burdens, but it 
B14  65 could have been much worse.<p/>
B14  66 <p_>The Heritage critics acknowledge that <quote_>"the precise cost 
B14  67 of regulation is extremely difficult to determine."<quote/> Having 
B14  68 said that, they proceed to give us some figures anyhow.<p/>
B14  69 <p_>Different scholars place the direct costs of regulation on the 
B14  70 economy between $636 and $857 billion a year. After subtracting 
B14  71 benefits, the net cost supposedly comes to $364 to $538 billion.<p/>
B14  72 <p_>Such figures are mostly moon<?_>-<?/>beam conjectures. Given a 
B14  73 sharp pencil and a large tablet, even a sophomore economist could 
B14  74 draw up a plausible tally.<p/>
B14  75 <p_>Some expenses under the disabilities act will be clearly 
B14  76 identifiable: It costs money to build a ramp for wheelchairs. To 
B14  77 meet clean air standards, expensive equipment will be required.<p/>
B14  78 <p_>Benefits are not so easily quantified, but they should not be 
B14  79 minimized. Fair treatment of 43 million disabled Americans is a 
B14  80 desirable goal to go for.<p/>
B14  81 <p_>My own feeling is that marginal improvements under the Clean 
B14  82 Air Act probably will cost more than they're worth, but it's a 
B14  83 close call.<p/>
B14  84 <p_>Anyhow, my point is that George Bush didn't add to the 
B14  85 regulatory burden all by himself. Congress voted overwhelmingly for 
B14  86 these programs. It's the guy in the kitchen who takes the heat.<p/>
B14  87 
B14  88 <h_><p_>Why the GOP is Ignoring 'Desert Storm'<p/>
B14  89 <p_>Art Buchwald<p/><h/>
B14  90 <p_>Washington<p/>
B14  91 <p_>Last year the wise people in Washington predicted that Desert 
B14  92 Storm would be the centerpiece of the Bush political campaign. The 
B14  93 president could not miss with all the film of our boys striking a 
B14  94 blow for freedom.<p/>
B14  95 <p_>You can read George Bush's lips from here to California, and 
B14  96 not one word has been uttered about the war.<p/>
B14  97 <p_><quote|>"Why," some may ask, <quote_>"has Desert Storm become a 
B14  98 bigger secret in Washington than Deep Throat?"<quote/> The answer 
B14  99 is that while it was the greatest show we've had on television in 
B14 100 ages, there was more to the Gulf War than met the eye.<p/>
B14 101 <p_>Capablanca was assigned eight months ago to put together an 
B14 102 entire <quote_>"Desert Storm Bush"<quote/> campaign. He was told to 
B14 103 spend all the money he wanted as long as he showed yellow ribbons 
B14 104 hanging on old oak trees.<p/>
B14 105 <p_>But although he is ready, he just can't get the 'go' sign from 
B14 106 the White House and is starting to suspect that he never will. He 
B14 107 told me:<p/>
B14 108 <p_><quote_>"The hitch is that since no one bothered to knock off 
B14 109 Saddam Hussein, he's telling everyone that we gave him agricultural 
B14 110 grants that he managed to turn into weapons to invade Kuwait. This 
B14 111 makes George Bush look bad."<quote/><p/>
B14 112 <p_><quote_>"I should think so. Didn't the president know that 
B14 113 Saddam Hussein would attack Kuwait?"<quote/><p/>
B14 114 <p_><quote_>"No, Mr. Bush thought that Iran was going to attack 
B14 115 Kuwait."<quote/><p/>
B14 116 <p_><quote_>"Why did he think that?"<quote/><p/>
B14 117 <p_><quote_>"Because the White House always gets Iran and Iraq 
B14 118 mixed up. They both start with an 'I.'"<quote/><p/>
B14 119 <p_><quote_>"Even if Saddam got the weapons from us to fight, he 
B14 120 didn't do very well in the field,"<quote/> I said.<p/>
B14 121 <p_><quote_>"No, but he is still getting away with murder by 
B14 122 building atomic weapons and germ warfare projectiles. If we bring 
B14 123 up Desert Storm, some wise guy Democrat is going to ask where the 
B14 124 supplies came from for Saddam to try to go for the big 
B14 125 one."<quote/><p/>
B14 126 <p_><quote_>"From the United States,"<quote/> I volunteered.<p/>
B14 127 <p_><quote_>"Yeah, but just because we gave forbidden material to 
B14 128 him doesn't mean we considered him a friend. In any case, the 
B14 129 Republican big shots think that if we mention Desert Storm, 
B14 130 somebody is going to say, 'Has Kuwait changed from the way it was 
B14 131 before we helped them?'"<quote/><p/>
B14 132 <p_><quote_>"It's ruled by a royal family. How can it 
B14 133 change?"<quote/> I asked.<p/>
B14 134 <p_><quote_>"The president promised the American people that our 
B14 135 boys were over there to fight for freedom and to liberate the 
B14 136 Kuwaiti people from the yoke of totalitarianism."<quote/><p/>
B14 137 <p_><quote_>"I don't believe that,"<quote/> I said.<p/>
B14 138 <p_><quote_>"We have it on tape, but we're not going to put it in a 
B14 139 TV spot because there are independents who will say 'What the heck 
B14 140 is he talking about?'"<quote/><p/>
B14 141 <p_><quote_>"Why don't we ask for a filmed statement from Saddam 
B14 142 denying that American money was used to equip his army?"<quote/><p/>
B14 143 <p_><quote_>"He won't do it. He says that he never interferes in 
B14 144 the internal affairs of another country. The truth is that Desert 
B14 145 Storm is a dead issue politically, and the whole exercise is one 
B14 146 that we can't cash in on, particularly if Congress appoints a 
B14 147 special prosecutor before the election."<quote/><p/>
B14 148 <p_><quote_>"It's a pity,"<quote/> I said, <quote_>"since it was 
B14 149 Bush's finest hour."<quote/><p/>
B14 150 <p_><quote_>"You better believe it. If you had had your pick of 
B14 151 Iran or Iraq, you would have done the same thing."<quote/><p/>
B14 152 
B14 153 <h_><p_>As Customary, Reflections on Tuesday's Elections<p/>
B14 154 <p_>Tom Coffey<p/><h/>
B14 155 <p_>Please permit, as has been your tolerant custom, some 
B14 156 reflections on the recent primary elections:<p/>
B14 157 <p_><*_>black-square<*/>First it was John Rousakis, and now Bob 
B14 158 McCorkle, the latter experiencing on Tuesday what the former did 
B14 159 last November when the voters ended his 21-year reign as mayor. A 
B14 160 lesson perhaps to local politicians: two decades is sufficient.<p/>
B14 161 <p_>Or, as many a mother has admonished a teen leaving the house 
B14 162 all dolled up on Friday night: <quote_>"Don't stay too long at the 
B14 163 party, Son."<quote/><p/>
B14 164 <p_>Still, Joe Mahany's upset of McCorkle in the race for the 
B14 165 county commission chairmanship came as a surprise to Yours Truly. 
B14 166 Didn't have nerve enough to predict in print, but I told anyone who 
B14 167 asked me, one-on-one, for a prediction that I thought Ol' Bob the 
B14 168 populist would win, especially considering the difference between 
B14 169 him and the challenger in name recognition.<p/>
B14 170 <p_>But Bob's 22 years in public office, Joe's low-key but steady 
B14 171 and make-sense campaigning, and the anti-incumbency wave -too 
B14 172 much.<p/>
B14 173 <p_><*_>black-square<*/>No surprise in the Republican runoff in the 
B14 174 chairman's contest. Two excellent campaigners in Julie Smith and 
B14 175 Ray Gaster, and with aired differences while stumping they have 
B14 176 helped to demonstrate that the GOP has come of age as a political 
B14 177 entity in our neck of the woods. Used to be that offices went 
B14 178 uncontested in Republican primaries.<p/>
B14 179 <p_>And Mahany will have a formidable foe in whoever wins the 
B14 180 runoff.<p/>
B14 181 <p_><*_>black-square<*/>Good Loser of the Night Award is shared by 
B14 182 McCorkle and Tom Taggart, who lost to Charlie Mikell in the race 
B14 183 for Superior Court judge. Both were gracious in defeat.<p/>
B14 184 <p_>Happily, there's no Poor Loser award. The others (at least 
B14 185 those who appeared on television) took defeat admirably.<p/>
B14 186 <p_><*_>black-square<*/>Barbara Kiley, who won her 
B14 187 first<?_>-<?/>round race for tax commissioner and faces opposition 
B14 188 in November, may be the rare exception among longtime incumbents. 
B14 189 The lady has demonstrated how to win ever since she and John 
B14 190 Rousakis co-honchoed the late Carl Griffin's first race for 
B14 191 sheriff. Her second-round test against Republican W.D. Atkinson 
B14 192 will be the biggie.<p/>
B14 193 <p_><*_>black-square<*/>State Rep. Dorothy Pelote -now there's a 
B14 194 political lady who always has known how to win, even before she 
B14 195 ventured out to seek public office, first as a county commissioner 
B14 196 and of late as a legislator.<p/>
B14 197 <p_>Years ago, she was her neighborhood's spokesperson and 
B14 198 unofficial ombudswoman in seeking such improvements as 
B14 199 play<?_>-<?/>grounds, drainage, better streets, lighting, etc. And 
B14 200 whatever Miss Dorothy wanted, she usually got. Her political 
B14 201 success is due to years of built-up respect from dedication to 
B14 202 constituents.<p/>
B14 203 <p_><*_>black-square<*/>David Saussy's first-round triumph in his 
B14 204 race for a district County Commission seat was nip-and-tuck against 
B14 205 Bill Stephenson, whose one-on-one method won him the county 
B14 206 chairmanship 12 years ago in an up<?_>-<?/>hill battle against the 
B14 207 so-called Establishment.<p/>
B14 208 <p_>Saussy used pretty much the same technique, but obviously with 
B14 209 slightly more persuasion. His race against Democrat Marty Felser in 
B14 210 November will be among the more interesting ones.<p/>
B14 211 <p_><*_>black-square<*/>Consider such factors as the accent on 
B14 212 women candidates at the recent Democratic National Convention... a 
B14 213 woman in the Savannah mayor's chair, women on Tuesday's ballot for 
B14 214 statewide, congressional, countywide and district offices, and the 
B14 215 Constitution which has, since 1920, accorded women the right to 
B14 216 vote.<p/>
B14 217 <p_>Now, imagine a lady's surprise the other day when, campaigning 
B14 218 by phone for a candidate, she was told by the lade on the other end 
B14 219 of the line: <quote_>"Call back and talk to my husband. He does the 
B14 220 voting in this family."<quote/><p/>
B14 221 <p_><*_>black-square<*/>As usual, there was confusion at some 
B14 222 polling places, and the tallying into the night was slow. It's 
B14 223 obvious we need a faster method of tallying, and when the money is 
B14 224 available the county should consider converting everything to 
B14 225 computer.<p/>
B14 226 <p_>Still, it wasn't all bad, at least not in my polling place. I 
B14 227 stood in line behind friend Willie Remley, who had six ahead of 
B14 228 him. When his turn came, he allowed that he had waited only about 
B14 229 10 minutes. Willie took just about a minute. I took less than that 
B14 230 because I voted GOP and had fewer offices to confront.<p/>
B14 231 <p_><*_>black-square<*/>The Dedication Award goes to those 
B14 232 supporters of various candidates who stood on street corners to 
B14 233 wave placards and give motorists the old high-sign. In mid-July 
B14 234 heat, <tf|>that's dedication.<p/>
B14 235 <p_><*_>black-square<*/>And who got rich off the primaries?
B14 236 
B15   1 <#FROWN:B15\><h_><p_>Abortion debate is becoming moot<p/>
B15   2 <p_>Marilyn Geewax<p/><h/>
B15   3 <p_>Few issues in U.S. history have stirred as much vehement 
B15   4 disagreement as abortion. In modern times, only conflicts over race 
B15   5 and Vietnam could match the nastiness that now characterizes 
B15   6 abortion debates.<p/>
B15   7 <p_>In many countries, ending a pregnancy is a quiet matter 
B15   8 involving a woman and her doctor.<p/>
B15   9 <p_>In the United States, abortion has been turned into a political 
B15  10 screen on which partisans project their fears. Each views the 
B15  11 picture clearly and can't understand why others don't see it.<p/>
B15  12 <p_>'Pro-lifers' look at the screen and perceive a nation in moral 
B15  13 decline. They see people having sex without concern for commitment, 
B15  14 marriage or the children they might conceive.<p/>
B15  15 <p_>When 'pro-choicers' view abortion, they see government 
B15  16 officials taking away a woman's right to self-determination. 
B15  17 Recognizing that all forms of birth control can fail, they believe 
B15  18 that forcing an unwilling person, perhaps even a young girl, to 
B15  19 give birth is simply barbaric.<p/>
B15  20 <p_>With the two sides engaged in this furious debate, few seem to 
B15  21 realize the outcome already has been determined. Abortion opponents 
B15  22 are losing - not to liberals, but to new drugs and technology.<p/>
B15  23 <p_>Anti-abortion firebrands can block clinics and push states to 
B15  24 regulate the procedure. For now, they are having some success. But 
B15  25 power to control the issue inexorably is slipping from their 
B15  26 hands.<p/>
B15  27 <p_>In coming years, women who wish to end pregnancies will be able 
B15  28 to take medication, such as RU-486, a pill now widely used in 
B15  29 France and England. The drug, which is banned by the U.S. Food and 
B15  30 Drug Administration, is bound to make its way into this country, 
B15  31 legally or illegally.<p/>
B15  32 <p_>Recently, the Supreme Court stopped a California woman from 
B15  33 bringing her dose of RU-486 into this country. That ruling was 
B15  34 intended to settle the issue - but it won't.<p/>
B15  35 <p_>Sooner or later, RU-486 will become available to U.S. women. 
B15  36 Doubt it? Just look at cocaine.<p/>
B15  37 <p_>Cocaine is a drug that many Americans want. They can buy it in 
B15  38 any city, even though government has spent billions to keep it from 
B15  39 entering the country.<p/>
B15  40 <p_>If enough Americans want a drug, they will find a way to get 
B15  41 it. Prohibition lasted just 13 years because so many citizens chose 
B15  42 to ignore the alcohol ban.<p/>
B15  43 <p_>Even if the U.S. government somehow can stop RU-486 from being 
B15  44 distributed widely here, no one will be able to stop the 
B15  45 proliferation of home-abortion kits. Women are using legal 
B15  46 equipment - glass jars, syringes and coils of aquarium tubing - to 
B15  47 end pregnancies in private.<p/>
B15  48 <p_>According to the Federation of Women's Health Centers, roughly 
B15  49 2,000 U.S. women are volunteering now to help pregnant women 
B15  50 perform home abortions. More women are learning to do the procedure 
B15  51 every day.<p/>
B15  52 <p_>Whether anti-abortion arguments make moral sense is an issue 
B15  53 for each person to decide. But right or wrong, abortions won't go 
B15  54 away. More types of abortion pills will be developed soon and more 
B15  55 laywomen will <}_><-|>learn to how to<+|>learn how to<}/> end 
B15  56 pregnancies without doctors present.<p/>
B15  57 <p_>Trying to turn back the clock to a time when women didn't have 
B15  58 access to reproductive information or birth-control technology is 
B15  59 futile.<p/>
B15  60 <p_>The ability to end a pregnancy is just a fact of modern life. 
B15  61 Blocking clinics and passing laws may be emotionally satisfying to 
B15  62 some, but such actions won't stop most women from choosing whether 
B15  63 to give birth.<p/>
B15  64 
B15  65 <h_><p_>Political pro strings along press corps<p/>
B15  66 <p_>By Leonard Larsen<p/><h/>
B15  67 <p_>Secretary of State James A. Baker III's descent from the 
B15  68 heavens to take over another George Bush presidential campaign has 
B15  69 moved backward from <quote_>"sure thing"<quote/> to <quote|>"maybe" 
B15  70 and that just goes to show how smart the man is.<p/>
B15  71 <p_>There'll be more drama in it now: Will the brilliant star risk 
B15  72 his reputation and pedigree on a mission impossible to rescue his 
B15  73 Texas sidekick, a president who's lower than a snake's belly in the 
B15  74 polls and sitting unhappily as first in a collection of dunces?<p/>
B15  75 <p_>It can't be done. So, of course, Mr. Baker will do it. And the 
B15  76 Washington<?_>-<?/>headquartered herd journalists who have built 
B15  77 the Baker reputation might soon be reporting a rejuvenated Bush 
B15  78 campaign, a new verve and savviness in an effort that was about to 
B15  79 be given up for dead.<p/>
B15  80 <p_>It was Mr. Baker himself, in the midst of another trot around 
B15  81 the globe, who deliberately dampened talk of the <quote_>"done 
B15  82 deal,"<quote/> orchestrating staff leaks at his pique with 
B15  83 underlings in the White House who were already talking about Mr. 
B15  84 Baker's return to Mr. Bush's side.<p/>
B15  85 <p_>As his staff leaked it and the trailing herd journalists 
B15  86 reported it, Mr. Baker - at the edge of a break<?_>-<?/>through to 
B15  87 peace in the Middle East - feared his work in foreign affairs might 
B15  88 lie unfinished without him.<p/>
B15  89 <p_>But there was the tug of loyalty back to his floundering 
B15  90 friend, it was also said, and there was the prospect that all would 
B15  91 be lost - Mr. Baker's monumental good works as well as Mr. Bush's 
B15  92 sorry presidency - if Mr. Baker didn't go back and save Mr. Bush 
B15  93 from what looks like approaching disaster.<p/>
B15  94 <p_>Mr. Baker stage-managed the sure thing prospect of his role in 
B15  95 the presidential campaign back to <quote|>"maybe" with polished 
B15  96 expertise, even acting aggravated during a joint news conference in 
B15  97 Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek.<p/>
B15  98 <p_>To a reporter inquiring about Mr. Baker's intent to leave the 
B15  99 peace process to go back to political campaigning, he suggested the 
B15 100 poor fool <quote_>"ought not to believe everything you read in the 
B15 101 papers .... There has been no decision made."<quote/><p/>
B15 102 <p_>So now it won't look so much like Mr. Bush and his friend have 
B15 103 been planning it for the past several weeks when Mr. Baker - 
B15 104 probably after helping cut the deal for $10 billion in guaranteed 
B15 105 loans for Israel - will move to salvage the pitiful Bush 
B15 106 campaign.<p/>
B15 107 <p_>If - probably when - the reassignment puts Mr. Baker back in 
B15 108 presidential politics, Washington herd journalism will dwell for a 
B15 109 while on his sacrifice and selflessness but will quickly turn to 
B15 110 marvel at his miracles.<p/>
B15 111 <p_>There'll probably be leaked stories of the new mood at the 
B15 112 White House as Mr. Baker dispels gloom, stories of the new clarity 
B15 113 of purpose in the Bush campaign, the sharpening of its message, the 
B15 114 spring in the president's step and the lift in his spirits.<p/>
B15 115 <p_>There'll be herd journalism's analysis by leak, revelations of 
B15 116 Bush and Baker man-to-man talks, palsy stuff but important in 
B15 117 stiffening the Bush backbone.<p/>
B15 118 <p_>And pretty soon, with the brilliant Baker back at the controls, 
B15 119 the media herd will report on the rehabilitation of the Bush 
B15 120 campaign and the Bush presidency: lean and mean, ready at last to 
B15 121 make a fight of it.<p/>
B15 122 <p_>All that, of course, will be pretty much Mr. Baker's view of it 
B15 123 and pretty much the way his Washington career has been reported by 
B15 124 a Baker<?_>-<?/>friendly media. If President Reagan was Teflon on 
B15 125 which nothing would stick, Mr. Baker is rubber, bouncing always 
B15 126 away from harm.<p/>
B15 127 <p_>It's seldom recalled by the herd that Mr. Baker was secretary 
B15 128 of the Treasury when the economic slide into debt and recession was 
B15 129 quickening and the savings and loan scandal was coming to an 
B15 130 untended boil.<p/>
B15 131 <p_>He left Treasury to head the 1988 Bush presidential campaign 
B15 132 but herd journalism never attached the dirty business done there to 
B15 133 Mr. Baker.<p/>
B15 134 <p_>And while State Department small fry and the president himself 
B15 135 have been pilloried for ignoring Saddam Hussein's belligerency and 
B15 136 for actually strengthening the Iraqi dictator, it all happened 
B15 137 while Mr. Baker was directing American foreign policy.<p/>
B15 138 <p_>What's to remember about Mr. Baker - whether White House aide, 
B15 139 Cabinet secretary, political pro or presidential pal - is that he's 
B15 140 not only smart; he's always his own best press agent.<p/>
B15 141 
B15 142 <h_><p_>2 is enough? For families, that's the subtle message<p/>
B15 143 <p_>By Ana Veciana Suarez<p/><h/>
B15 144 <p_>In the beginning, there were two of us.<p/>
B15 145 <p_>At restaurants we were seated immediately. We drove compacts, 
B15 146 small cars we could slide into tight parking spaces. Our grocery 
B15 147 bill was insignificant, our electric bill a source of admiration. 
B15 148 We even had trouble filling a large top-loader with our weekly 
B15 149 laundry.<p/>
B15 150 <p_>Now with four children, I look back at those days and wonder if 
B15 151 they ever truly existed.<p/>
B15 152 <p_>Our lifestyle was transformed subtly with the first child, but 
B15 153 it changed exponentially with each child thereafter, as much our 
B15 154 doing as the doing of the shrinking-family society that surrounds 
B15 155 me.<p/>
B15 156 <p_>America, I have concluded, has become the home of the 
B15 157 two<?_>-<?/>child family. An extra kid or two throws off the 
B15 158 delicate balance of the economy. Why, even most board games - a 
B15 159 popular (and inexpensive) pastime for our family - allow only four 
B15 160 players. Someone is invariably left out.<p/>
B15 161 <p_>For most people, four children constitutes a large family. We 
B15 162 discovered that when I was pregnant with our youngest more than two 
B15 163 years ago. The announcement was met with a modicum of apprehension 
B15 164 by friends.<p/>
B15 165 <p_>My husband's side of the family, most of whom have only one 
B15 166 child, accepted the news with raised eyebrows.<p/>
B15 167 <p_><quote_>"How will you ever keep track of all of them?"<quote/> 
B15 168 asked his cousin, a mother of one.<p/>
B15 169 <p_>Admittedly, such reaction has taken me by surprise. I'm one of 
B15 170 five children, and that, among my extended clan, was considered a 
B15 171 small troop. Family get-togethers were a blast, and you never 
B15 172 needed classmates for birthday parties.<p/>
B15 173 <p_>Nowadays, more than two children invites unwelcomed 
B15 174 speculation. Everybody hints at what you do on cold evenings.<p/>
B15 175 <p_>There is a pernicious belief, too, that those of us who have 
B15 176 more children are single-handedly destroying the environment, 
B15 177 perhaps even enlarging the hole in the ozone.<p/>
B15 178 <p_>Society plots, in small but cutting ways, against families with 
B15 179 more than two children.<p/>
B15 180 <p_>Contests invariably award prizes for a family of four, which 
B15 181 means you can leave part of the gang behind or pay for them to come 
B15 182 along. The latter choice tends to offset any contest gain, 
B15 183 though.<p/>
B15 184 <p_>I am no longer fooled by the kids eat-fly-stay free 
B15 185 advertisements, either. They mean one paying adult per free child. 
B15 186 It's as if the remaining children in the family did not exist in 
B15 187 the minds of Madison Avenue.<p/>
B15 188 <p_>I've always been comfortable with whatever number of children 
B15 189 I've had, though each took some adjusting and expanding, 
B15 190 particularly in the furniture department. When there were two, I 
B15 191 thought of this as a nice even number, yet three turned out to be 
B15 192 more fun. And four made it possible for each child to have an ally 
B15 193 - an important strategic move in sibling wars.<p/>
B15 194 <p_>I became accustomed to eating at a large dinner table as soon 
B15 195 as we outgrew dinettes, and I've long stopped buying single 
B15 196 servings or anything smaller than family size.<p/>
B15 197 <p_>But one thing still gets me: How come all the close parking 
B15 198 spaces are for compacts only?<p/>
B15 199 
B15 200 <h_><p_>Balanced budget a bitter bill<p/>
B15 201 <p_>Strapped states, cities would have to face consequences<p/>
B15 202 <p_>By David Rapp<p/>
B15 203 <p_>GOVERNING MAGAZINE<p/><h/>
B15 204 <p_>Washington - The balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution 
B15 205 flamed out in Congress this summer. But it will almost surely be 
B15 206 back.<p/>
B15 207 <p_>Anti-deficit sentiment is too strong across the country for the 
B15 208 amendment's sponsors not to try again sooner or later.<p/>
B15 209 <p_>In the end, it may still be up to the states - with their power 
B15 210 to ratify constitutional amendments - to decide whether a balanced 
B15 211 federal budget is necessary or even desirable.<p/>
B15 212 <p_>Just about everyone in Washington believes that a 
B15 213 balanced<?_>-<?/>budget amendment would sail through the 38 states 
B15 214 needed to ratify it. After all, the states balance their own 
B15 215 budgets; all except Vermont are required to do so. Wouldn't they 
B15 216 want Washington to play by the same rules?<p/>
B15 217 <p_>Not necessarily. The whole balanced-budget issue presents 
B15 218 states with some puzzles they probably want to think through before 
B15 219 the amendment ends up in the legislatures' lap.<p/>
B15 220 <p_>In most states, a balanced budget is more fiction than reality. 
B15 221 Some regularly borrow from pools of money outside the 'general 
B15 222 fund,' such as capital budgets or pension funds. Others count 
B15 223 revenue that won't really arrive until the next fiscal year. Many 
B15 224 more simply delay making obligated payments - to suppliers, to 
B15 225 salaried employees or to local governments.<p/>
B15 226 <p_>But there is a more important reason why states should think 
B15 227 twice about ratifying a balanced<?_>-<?/>budget amendment.<p/>
B15 228 
B16   1 <#FROWN:B16\><h_><p_>Poor, Misunderstood Garbage<p/>
B16   2 <p_>By William Rathje and Cullen Murphy<p/>
B16   3 <p_>BOSTON<p/><h/>
B16   4 <p_>In the spring of 1987, all eyes were on Mobro 4000, the 
B16   5 infamous garbage barge that sailed from Long Island in March and 
B16   6 spent 55 days plying the seas in search of a place to deposit 3,000 
B16   7 tons of municipal solid waste. Five years later comes the summer of 
B16   8 the trash trains, two of which, laden with tons of New York City's 
B16   9 garbage, wandered the Midwest in search of landfills before heading 
B16  10 home and dumping their loads where most city garbage goes in the 
B16  11 first place: the Fresh Kills Landfill, on Staten Island.<p/>
B16  12 <p_>One could not drive through the Midwest this summer and escape 
B16  13 the radio reporters tracking the trains. Nor could one escape the 
B16  14 barrage of commentary, some directed generically at New York, most 
B16  15 of it focused on the garbage 'crisis'. The message was that 
B16  16 Americans are generating far more trash per capita than they can 
B16  17 ever hope to deal with and that we're desperately short of 
B16  18 solutions.<p/>
B16  19 <p_>That is an unfortunate message, because it happens not to be 
B16  20 true. The trash trains and garbage barge are imperfect examples of 
B16  21 what they are supposed to symbolize. The barge's voyage was the 
B16  22 result of an economic gamble by an entrepreneur that went awry. It 
B16  23 was not the result of a lack of ways to dispose of Long Island's 
B16  24 garbage. The farce of the trains involved labor and permit 
B16  25 disputes, equipment failures, bad weather and court orders that 
B16  26 combined to disrupt what is otherwise the vast daily shipment of 
B16  27 garbage from the country's most congested areas to less congested 
B16  28 ones with landfills.<p/>
B16  29 <p_>The U.S. does have serious garbage problems. We produce more 
B16  30 municipal solid waste per capita than many other industrialized 
B16  31 countries, and we dispose of it less efficiently. But it is also 
B16  32 true that we sometimes exaggerate our problems and emphasize the 
B16  33 wrong ones. In fact, there seem to be few subjects of public 
B16  34 significance on which opinion is so consistently misinformed. And 
B16  35 misinformation can lead to alarm, despair and bad decisions.<p/>
B16  36 <p_>The misperceptions involve matters as diverse as per capita 
B16  37 garbage volume (we're <tf|>not producing more by leaps and bounds) 
B16  38 and biodegradation (not much of which happens in landfills). One 
B16  39 especially significant misperception concerns landfills. The 
B16  40 landfill problem we face is usually described like this: 50 percent 
B16  41 of existing landfills will close within five years. But all 
B16  42 landfills are not equal: Many of those being closed are small and 
B16  43 environmentally dubious, whereas newer ones are much larger and 
B16  44 much safer. And it has long been the case that 50 percent of all 
B16  45 landfills will close in five years. The waste<?_>-<?/>management 
B16  46 industry has never seen the need to maintain limitless capacity. 
B16  47 The difference today is that new capacity is getting harder to 
B16  48 find.<p/>
B16  49 <p_>Why ? The reasons often have nothing to do with the claim that 
B16  50 we're running out of room for safe landfills. Yes, in some parts of 
B16  51 the country we have run out of room. But few nations are as endowed 
B16  52 with open territory as the U.S., and suitable land is available 
B16  53 even in relatively populous areas. A survey of eastern New York 
B16  54 state in the late 1980's for possible landfill sites pinpointed 
B16  55 locations that together made up only 1 percent of the land under 
B16  56 study but added up to about 200 square miles. The obstacles to new 
B16  57 sanitary landfills are less territorial than psychological and 
B16  58 political.<p/>
B16  59 <p_>This brings us to the heart of the matter. The garbage crisis 
B16  60 is not a crisis caused by growing amounts of garbage. It is caused 
B16  61 by an evaporation of political will.<p/>
B16  62 <p_>Sensible ways of dealing with disposal exist. Sanitary 
B16  63 landfills can safely handle garbage in many places around the U.S., 
B16  64 perhaps even most. Recycling is no panacea, but it is essential 
B16  65 everywhere. Consumers can help by buying products that are 
B16  66 recyclable or that have a high post<?_>-<?/>consumer recycled 
B16  67 content.<p/>
B16  68 <p_>Incinerators are necessary in some places, and her and there 
B16  69 may even have to shoulder most of the burden. Incinerators are not 
B16  70 the smoke-belching monsters of yore and can operate within 
B16  71 stringent environmental guidelines. And they can be made safer if 
B16  72 some items, like batteries and some plastics, are disposed of 
B16  73 separately. Incinerators do require, however, that workers be 
B16  74 trained to think of pollution control as more important than energy 
B16  75 production.<p/>
B16  76 <p_>Beyond these means of disposal, market forces, in the form of 
B16  77 graduated fees linked to the volume of garbage that households and 
B16  78 businesses throw away, can be harnessed to give consumers - and, 
B16  79 through them, manufacturers - an incentive to reduce the volume of 
B16  80 discards.<p/>
B16  81 <p_>Clearly, we have ways to dispose of our garbage. What seems no 
B16  82 longer to exist is the capacity to make important decisions about 
B16  83 fundamental policies - a problem that afflicts us in many 
B16  84 arenas.<p/>
B16  85 <p_>New York City's leaders recently arrived at a tentative 
B16  86 compromise on a long-term plan for the disposal of city garbage, 
B16  87 one that relies heavily on recycling and incineration. Whether that 
B16  88 plan would work is probably less open to doubt than whether the 
B16  89 city has the will to adopt any plan at all. When it comes to 
B16  90 political gridlock on this issue, New York remains a world-class 
B16  91 city.<p/>
B16  92 
B16  93 <h_><p_>Recycling, Minus the Myths<p/>
B16  94 <p_>By John Schall<p/>
B16  95 <p_>NEW HAVEN<p/><h/>
B16  96 <p_>Recycling is a noble idea, its critics concede, but they say it 
B16  97 won't work and costs too much. Many supporters say recycling and 
B16  98 composting can take care of the entire solid waste problem. Both 
B16  99 sides perpetuate misconceptions that New York City's proposed solid 
B16 100 waste management plan should help dispel. As the City Council 
B16 101 prepares to vote next week on this plan, it should not be dissuaded 
B16 102 by any of the following myths.<p/>
B16 103 <p_><tf_>Recycling is costly and an environmental 
B16 104 extravagance.<tf/> The city's proposed recycling program may be 
B16 105 costly but it is also cost-effective. Managing solid waste is 
B16 106 expensive, regardless of the method used. The city's plan shows 
B16 107 that half of the waste could be captured in well-planned recycling 
B16 108 and composting programs, at a lower cost than it would take to bury 
B16 109 or burn it.<p/>
B16 110 <p_><tf_>Recycling is too difficult and people don't 
B16 111 participate.<tf/> True, not all New Yorkers will sort their trash, 
B16 112 but the success of the proposed plan does not depend on 100 percent 
B16 113 participation. By making the program simple and consistent, 65 
B16 114 percent to 80 percent of New Yorkers could reasonably be expected 
B16 115 to participate, based on experience in New York City and 
B16 116 elsewhere.<p/>
B16 117 <p_>Currently, the city's patchwork recycling programs differ from 
B16 118 neighborhood to neighborhood. Under the new plan, recycling would 
B16 119 be uniform throughout every borough. People would be required to 
B16 120 sort recyclables into only two containers - one for paper and 
B16 121 textiles, the other for glass, metal and plastic. It would be 
B16 122 complemented by a public education campaign, and perhaps every 
B16 123 block would have a volunteer recycling coordinator. More products 
B16 124 would be recycled, including textiles, junk mail and plastic bags. 
B16 125 More recycling facilities would be built, and the current 
B16 126 collection method, in which two trucks stop at every building, 
B16 127 would be streamlined to require only one truck.<p/>
B16 128 <p_><tf_>A lack of markets for recycled materials will make 
B16 129 recycling meaningless and uneconomical<tf/>. Dozens of states have 
B16 130 passed laws in the last two years that require makers of packaging 
B16 131 and many consumer goods to reuse up to 50 percent of all the 
B16 132 materials they produce. Many other states including New York are 
B16 133 considering such mandates, and Congress may pass similar Federal 
B16 134 laws. These laws create markets, and the trend will only continue 
B16 135 as landfills nationwide fill up and pressure from environmentalists 
B16 136 increases.<p/>
B16 137 <p_>Recycling makes economic and environmental sense. A study 
B16 138 released in June by the Tellus Institute, a nonprofit research 
B16 139 organization in Boston, reports that most industries have found 
B16 140 using recycled materials technologically feasible, and that this 
B16 141 has reduced toxic pollutants, greenhouse gases and ozone-depleting 
B16 142 emissions. According to the American Paper Institute, paper mills 
B16 143 using recycled materials were five times more profitable last year 
B16 144 than those using virgin fiber.<p/>
B16 145 <p_><tf_>The issue is recycling versus incineration.<tf/> Under the 
B16 146 proposed plan, from 50 percent to 65 percent of the 28,000 tons of 
B16 147 waste the city produces each day would be prevented, recycled or 
B16 148 composted. The remainder cannot be sent indefinitely to the Fresh 
B16 149 Kills landfill on Staten Island. Unless new ways of handling the 
B16 150 waste are developed, including more energy producing incineration, 
B16 151 New York will have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year 
B16 152 exporting garbage. The city's proposed plan isn't a recycling vs. 
B16 153 incineration plan: it maximizes recycling and composting and buries 
B16 154 or burns only the remainder. Recycling works. By approving the 
B16 155 plan, the City Council can take a giant step toward an 
B16 156 environmentally and economically rational approach for handling 
B16 157 waste.<p/>
B16 158 
B16 159 <h_><p_>The World Needs An Army on Call<p/>
B16 160 <p_>By David Boren<p/>
B16 161 <p_>WASHINGTON<p/><h/>
B16 162 <p_>Americans are not enthusiastic about having the United States 
B16 163 stand alone as the policeman of the world. There is a feeling that 
B16 164 we simply no longer have the resources, given the pressing need to 
B16 165 rebuild our strength at home, to play that role any longer.<p/>
B16 166 <p_>This does not mean, however, that Americans have been lulled by 
B16 167 the dangerous siren song of the new isolationists. We understand 
B16 168 more clearly than ever that our economic well<?_>-<?/>being and 
B16 169 national security depend on developments and relationships outside 
B16 170 our borders.<p/>
B16 171 <p_>No American, for example, wants to allow Saddam Hussein to 
B16 172 thwart United Nations weapons inspections and rebuild his military 
B16 173 capability. No American can remain indifferent to the images of 
B16 174 starvation and brutality in detention centers in Bosnia and 
B16 175 Herzegovina; the hideous policy of "ethnic cleansing" is something 
B16 176 many of us never expected would occur again in our lifetimes. It 
B16 177 has filled our people with a sense of moral urgency and an 
B16 178 overwhelming feeling that we must do something to stop it.<p/>
B16 179 <p_>But while Americans want something done, they do not want to do 
B16 180 it alone. For the United Sates to act, the burden must be shared. 
B16 181 It is time to create a genuine multilateral mechanism that can deal 
B16 182 not only with these crises but also those that inevitably lie 
B16 183 ahead.<p/>
B16 184 <p_>Instead of shrinking from the task, we should welcome the fact 
B16 185 that we are the first generation, perhaps in centuries, to have the 
B16 186 opportunity to act boldly in the absence of confrontation between 
B16 187 great powers.<p/>
B16 188 <p_>The opportunity for the United Nations is clear. In the 
B16 189 aftermath of World War II, President Truman wanted to empower the 
B16 190 new United Nations to create a new world order. Addressing the 
B16 191 General Assembly at its opening session in October 1946, he said, 
B16 192 <quote_>"We shall press for the preparation of agreements in order 
B16 193 that the Security Council may have at its disposal peace forces 
B16 194 adequate to prevent acts of aggression."<quote/><p/>
B16 195 <p_>That promise was never realized because of the cold war and the 
B16 196 Soviet Union's use of its veto power on the Security council.<p/>
B16 197 <p_>But under Article 43 of the United Nations charter, the 
B16 198 Secretary General still has the authority to ask member nations to 
B16 199 designate military units that can be deployed in the event of a 
B16 200 crisis <quote_>"to maintain international peace and 
B16 201 security."<quote/> In June, Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali 
B16 202 asked member countries to make that authority a reality.<p/>
B16 203 <p_>Richard Gardner, a professor of international law at Columbia 
B16 204 University, proposes that 40 to 50 member nations contribute to a 
B16 205 rapid-deployment force of 100,000 volunteers that could train under 
B16 206 common leadership and with standardized equipment. Intelligence 
B16 207 could also be shared to allow the United Nations to anticipate 
B16 208 problems and take pre<?_>-<?/>emptive action.<p/>
B16 209 <p_>It is time for us to create such a force, and the United States 
B16 210 should take the lead in proposing it.<p/>
B16 211 <p_>Of course, details would have to be worked out. The War Powers 
B16 212 Act would have to be amended to insure that the United States does 
B16 213 not surrender its right to final approval of committing American 
B16 214 troops to life<?_>-<?/>threatening situations. Members of the 
B16 215 United Nations that lack veto power in the Security Council could 
B16 216 condition their commitment to a rapid-deployment force on the right 
B16 217 to withdraw units for their own urgent national security 
B16 218 interests.<p/>
B16 219 <p_>Still, the existence of such a force, uniformly trained and 
B16 220 ready to act, would go a long way toward making the 'new world 
B16 221 order' more than just a slogan.
B16 222 
B17   1 <#FROWN:B17\><h_><p_>Prejudice and 'problem people'<p/>
B17   2 <p_>Clarence Page<p/><h/>
B17   3 <p_>There is an old story about a cat who jumped onto a hot stove 
B17   4 once and found the experience to be so profoundly unpleasant that 
B17   5 he never jumped on a hot stove again. Of course, he never jumped on 
B17   6 a cold stove, either. Ruth Jandrucko of Miami, who was mugged in a 
B17   7 parking lot in 1986, can identify with that cat. Ever since she was 
B17   8 mugged, the 65-year-old woman says she panics at the sight of black 
B17   9 men.<p/>
B17  10 <p_>She's not alone. As a black man who has had the experience of 
B17  11 being passed over by taxis, seeing women wait for the next elevator 
B17  12 rather than get on alone with me or seeing people suddenly lock 
B17  13 their car doors at a red light when they see me standing on the 
B17  14 nearby corner, I know she's not alone. Shelby Steele, the black, 
B17  15 middle-class conservative writer, calls these <quote_>"little 
B17  16 slights"<quote/> that I should best ignore while keeping my eyes on 
B17  17 life's larger prizes.<p/>
B17  18 <p_>I try. Still, it's tiring. And enraging.<p/>
B17  19 <p_>Anyway, what separates Mrs. Jandrucko's story from countless 
B17  20 other cases of individuals coping privately with the aftermath of a 
B17  21 violent crime, according to <tf_>USA Today<tf/>, is this: She has 
B17  22 persuaded Florida authorities to sympathize with her enough to 
B17  23 award her full disability and $50,000 in workers' compensation, 
B17  24 since she says she can no longer work at the racially integrated 
B17  25 company where she was employed before the accident.<p/>
B17  26 <p_>Maybe Dan Quayle is right. Maybe we do have too many lawyers. 
B17  27 The news sparked inspiration of a financial kind in the imagination 
B17  28 of the friend who called to tell me about it. <quote_>"I've got a 
B17  29 business proposition for you, Clarence,"<quote/> she said. 
B17  30 <quote_>"We can consult people on things to be afraid of so they 
B17  31 can collect workmen's compensation."<quote/><p/>
B17  32 <p_>Prejudice for profit? Now, there's a twist on Reagan-era 
B17  33 enterprise. Ah, yes, I can see it now:<p/>
B17  34 <p_>Can't work in high-rises because you fell off a ladder, and now 
B17  35 you panic at the sight of anything taller than a chair? Sue. Can't 
B17  36 get to work because a fast-closing door caught you in the rear, and 
B17  37 now you panic at the sight of doorknobs? Sue. Spurned by a baseball 
B17  38 player, and now you panic at the sight of sports fans? Sue.<p/>
B17  39 <p_>Maybe my friend, who happens to be white, and I are being too 
B17  40 heartless. Or maybe we're just being too jealous.<p/>
B17  41 <p_>After all, I might like some compensation for the two 
B17  42 unpleasant occasions in my southern Ohio youth when I was assaulted 
B17  43 by roving bands of young white males who happened to have rural 
B17  44 Southern accents. They weren't after my money. They just wanted to 
B17  45 beat me up. They didn't like black people. Who knows? Maybe each 
B17  46 one of them was mugged by a black man, too. I didn't stop to 
B17  47 ask.<p/>
B17  48 <p_>I escaped serious injury, but I confess that the experience 
B17  49 causes me to flinch even today when I am approached by a pickup 
B17  50 truck that has a gun rack in the rear, a Confederate flag on the 
B17  51 bumper and a hound dog riding shotgun. I know better than to expect 
B17  52 all good ol' boys to be racial bigots, but prejudices are not 
B17  53 rational.<p/>
B17  54 <p_>Yet, if my unpleasant personal experiences had left me with a 
B17  55 phobia so fierce that I panicked at the sight of white people, I 
B17  56 would have a tough time not only finding work but also living in 
B17  57 this country, my home, which I love in spite of its flaws and 
B17  58 occasional foolishness.<p/>
B17  59 <p_>Unfortunately, America is infested with a national fear of 
B17  60 young black males that exceeds rational basis. Since urban blacks 
B17  61 commit more crime proportionately (although not numerically) than 
B17  62 whites, many people reason that it's better to be safe than sorry 
B17  63 and dodge all young black males.<p/>
B17  64 <p_>Of course, most victims of black criminals also are black, 
B17  65 although that brings little comfort to whites caught in the 
B17  66 spillover. I received a memorably poignant letter from an aging 
B17  67 white Chicago woman whose family I know. She was mugged with 
B17  68 extraordinary brutality by several young males who happened to be 
B17  69 black. She wanted me to know that her resulting wariness of all 
B17  70 young black males on the street was based on something more than 
B17  71 irrational prejudices.<p/>
B17  72 <p_>She was writing in response to an essay I had written about how 
B17  73 sad I felt that, when my cute little 3-year-old son grows up in 10 
B17  74 years to become a teen-ager, chances are good that he will suddenly 
B17  75 be perceived as someone you should cross the street to avoid.<p/>
B17  76 <p_>If we haven't taken steps to heal this problem by then, don't 
B17  77 tell me how proud you are of America's racial progress.<p/>
B17  78 <p_>A national phobia has grown up around a distorted picture of 
B17  79 poverty and its bitter fruits, like crime, and the news story about 
B17  80 Mrs. Jandrucko's personal phobia symbolizes it. Since the '60s, 
B17  81 when poverty, high crime and broken families usually were reported 
B17  82 as a problem that touched all races, it has been transformed 
B17  83 through the distortions of media and political processes into 
B17  84 something else: a black problem.<p/>
B17  85 <p_>By every index, poverty, high crime and broken families 
B17  86 continue to plague white communities, too, but, by transforming all 
B17  87 of these problems into black 'pathologies', it is easier for 
B17  88 Americans to think of blacks as a 'problem people,' in the words of 
B17  89 Dorothy I. Height, president of the National Council of Negro 
B17  90 Women, rather than as fellow Americans with problems.<p/>
B17  91 <p_>Mrs. Jandrucko's case symbolizes a country that avoids engaging 
B17  92 its national racial hang-ups directly in a way that can lead to 
B17  93 long-term healing. Instead, we make short-term pay-outs while our 
B17  94 irrational fears fester.<p/>
B17  95 If Mrs. Jandrucko has a severe psychological problem with black 
B17  96 folks that resulted from one bad experience, maybe we'd all be 
B17  97 better off if she received psychological help instead of help in 
B17  98 avoiding black folks. Maybe that's another good argument for 
B17  99 national health insurance. We need to plug the gaps in physical and 
B17 100 psychological care we have in this country. We need to bridge some 
B17 101 social gaps, too.<p/>
B17 102 
B17 103 <h_><p_>Gore's book is good case against him<p/>
B17 104 <p_>George Will<p/><h/>
B17 105 <p_>Someone retrieved Rudyard Kipling's poem <tf|>Recessional (the 
B17 106 one about <quote_>"dominion over palm and pine"<quote/> and 
B17 107 <quote_>"lesser breeds without the Law"<quote/>) from the 
B17 108 wastebasket where Kipling had tossed it. Whether that someone did 
B17 109 literature a favor is debatable. Clearly Al Gore's book <tf_>Earth 
B17 110 in the Balance<tf/> is wastebasket-worthy.<p/>
B17 111 <p_>The senator says our civilization is a <quote_>"dysfunctional 
B17 112 family."<quote/> He favors <quote_>"wrenching transformation of 
B17 113 society,"<quote/> altering <quote_>"the very foundation of our 
B17 114 civilization."<quote/> Some leaders have effected such changes. 
B17 115 Moses, Jesus, Mohammed. But the U.S. government?<p/>
B17 116 <p_>His environmentalism is a caricature of contemporary 
B17 117 liberalism, a compound of unfocused compassion (for the whole 
B17 118 planet) and green guilt about <quote|>"consumptionism" (a sin that 
B17 119 Somalia and many other places would like to be more guilty of). His 
B17 120 call to <quote_>"make the rescue of the environment the central 
B17 121 organizing principle for civilization"<quote/> is embarrassing. Who 
B17 122 wants politicians who are unaware of the comical figure they cut 
B17 123 when announcing new <quote_>"central organizing principles"<quote/> 
B17 124 for civilization?<p/>
B17 125 <p_>When Mr. Gore asserts, as he did yet again on television last 
B17 126 Sunday, that <quote_>"the world scientific community"<quote/> is in 
B17 127 <quote|>"consensus" about global warming, he is being as cavalier 
B17 128 about the truth as the Bush campaign has been about Mr. Clinton's 
B17 129 tax increases. Mr. Gore knows that his former mentor at Harvard, 
B17 130 Roger Revelle, who died last year, concluded: <quote_>"The 
B17 131 scientific base for greenhouse warming is too uncertain to justify 
B17 132 drastic action at this time. There is little risk in delaying 
B17 133 policy responses."<quote/> Mr. Gore knows, or should know before 
B17 134 pontificating, that a recent Gallup Poll of scientists concerned 
B17 135 with global climate research shows that 53 percent do not believe 
B17 136 warming has occurred, and another 30 percent are uncertain.<p/>
B17 137 <p_>Mr. Gore is marching with many people who not long ago were 
B17 138 marching in the opposite direction. <tf_>New York<tf/> magazine's 
B17 139 Christopher Byron notes that Stephen Schneider of the National 
B17 140 Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, is an 
B17 141 <quote_>"environmentalist for all temperatures."<quote/> Today Mr. 
B17 142 Schneider is hot about global warming; 16 years ago he was 
B17 143 exercised about global cooling. There are a lot like him among 
B17 144 today's panic-mongers.<p/>
B17 145 <p_>Mr. Gore complains that the media, by focusing on controversy, 
B17 146 threatens the planet by creating skepticism about the agenda for 
B17 147 which he insists there is scientific consensus. Actually, too often 
B17 148 skepticism (about Love Canal, acid rain, the - it turns out - 
B17 149 non-existent Northern Hemisphere hole in the ozone layer) is 
B17 150 vindicated long after being portrayed in the media as a moral 
B17 151 failing, rather than an intellectually debatable position.<p/>
B17 152 <p_>Mr. Gore, who has spent most of his life in Washington's 
B17 153 governing circle, overflows with the certitude characteristic of 
B17 154 that circle. He knows the future and knows exactly what it 
B17 155 requires, which turns out to be an unprecedented expansion of 
B17 156 government - spending, regulating, evaluating technologies, and 
B17 157 transferring wealth abroad.<p/>
B17 158 <p_>He has mastered the Washington art of arguing that his agenda 
B17 159 won't really cost anything. You know: This or that program or 
B17 160 regulation will make us healthier or smarter or better behaved, and 
B17 161 therefore will make us more productive, so economic growth will 
B17 162 increase and so will revenues, and thus everything will 
B17 163 <quote_>"pay for itself."<quote/> Mr. Gore's new wrinkle on this is 
B17 164 environmentalism-as-business-opportunity. We shall prosper by 
B17 165 making environmentally <quote|>"necessary" products. Perhaps.<p/>
B17 166 <p_>But we know who certainly will prosper. Ronald Bailey in 
B17 167 <tf_>National Review<tf/> reports a Rand study that shows that 80 
B17 168 percent of the money spent by an environmental program Mr. Gore 
B17 169 sponsored - the Superfund, for cleaning up contaminated sites - has 
B17 170 gone in fees to one of the Democratic Party's most powerful, and 
B17 171 financially grateful, constituencies: lawyers.<p/>
B17 172 <p_>The hoariest cliche in modern American politics is 
B17 173 <quote_>"Marshall Plan"<quote/> for this or that (nowadays usually 
B17 174 <quote_>"the cities"<quote/>). It is being given another trot 
B17 175 around the track by Mr. Gore's call for a <quote_>"Global Marshall 
B17 176 Plan."<quote/> He is vociferous against the <quote|>"hubris" of our 
B17 177 technological civilization but he partakes of the hubris of the 
B17 178 government class which, having failed at its banal but useful 
B17 179 business down the street (schools, bridges, medical care), has an 
B17 180 itch to go global.<p/>
B17 181 <p_>Mr. Gore's particular ideas (lots of new taxes, treating the 
B17 182 automobile as a <quote_>"mortal threat"<quote/> to civilization, 
B17 183 and much more) have no constituency. But what is dismaying is the 
B17 184 way he trades in ideas, uncritically embracing extremisms that seem 
B17 185 to justify vast expansions of his righteousness and of the power of 
B17 186 the government he seeks to lead.<p/>
B17 187 <p_>His unsmiling sense of lonely evangelism in a sinning world 
B17 188 lacks the sense of proportion that is produced by a sense of 
B17 189 history - and of humor. The planet is more resilient, the evidence 
B17 190 about its stresses more mixed and the facts of environmental 
B17 191 progress more heartening than he admits. His book, a jumble of 
B17 192 dubious 1990s science and worse 1960s philosophy 
B17 193 (<quote|>"alienation" and all that) is a powerful reason not to 
B17 194 elect its author to high office in the executive branch, where 
B17 195 impressionable people will be bombarded by bad ideas in search of 
B17 196 big budgets.<p/>
B17 197 
B17 198 <h_><p_>Congress avoids fiscal restraints for its staff<p/>
B17 199 <p_>Stephen Moore<p/><h/>
B17 200 <p_>It is often said that Washington, D.C., is a city where people 
B17 201 come to do good and end up doing well. Nowhere is that more evident 
B17 202 than on Capitol Hill, where members of Congress and their growing 
B17 203 legions of staffers are doing well indeed.<p/>
B17 204 <p_>This past January, as the U.S. economy continued to sputter, 
B17 205 unemployment continued to escalate and congressional approval 
B17 206 ratings sank to a near all-time low, Congress rewarded itself with 
B17 207 a $4,400 pay raise. Members now 'earn' $129,500 a year - a larger 
B17 208 income than that of 96 percent of all Americans and four times more 
B17 209 than the median wage earner makes.<p/>
B17 210 <p_>Speaker of the House Tom Foley, D-Wash., and Senate Majority 
B17 211 Leader George Mitchell, D-Maine, even do better. Mr. Foley makes 
B17 212 $166,200, and Mr. Mitchell makes $143,800. Remember that the next 
B17 213 time Mr. Foley and Mr. Mitchell start one of their demagogic 
B17 214 rich-bashing escapades. They are the rich.<p/>
B17 215 <p_>A case might be made that the 535 elected members of Congress 
B17 216 deserve to be handsomely paid.
B17 217 
B18   1 <#FROWN:B18\><h_><p_>Nukes for Sale<p/>
B18   2 <p_>KARL GROSSMAN AND JUDITH LONG<p/><h/>
B18   3 <p_><quote_>"The time has come to consider creating a global system 
B18   4 for protection of the world community,"<quote/> Boris Yeltsin said 
B18   5 on January 31, addressing President Bush and the United Nations 
B18   6 Security Council. <quote_>"It could be based on a reorientation of 
B18   7 the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative to make use of high 
B18   8 technologies developed in Russia's defense complex."<quote/> 
B18   9 Yeltsin's proposal is a hot deal for the former enemies: Russia 
B18  10 gets cash, the United States, nuclear technology - and power 
B18  11 through the militarization of space. The losers are the planet and 
B18  12 its peoples.<p/>
B18  13 <p_>A deal to buy Russia's Topaz 2 space reactor was struck more 
B18  14 than a year ago and announced in January 1991 at the eighth annual 
B18  15 Symposium on Space Nuclear Power Systems in New Mexico. Nikolai 
B18  16 Ponomarev-Stepnoi, first deputy of the Kurtchatovis Institute of 
B18  17 Atomic Power in Moscow, explained at the time, <quote_>"Our 
B18  18 institution got its budget cut 50 percent and ... we need to look 
B18  19 for finances from different sources."<quote/> As for the cost to 
B18  20 the United States, Richard Verga, director of key technologies for 
B18  21 the Pentagon's Strategic Defense Initiative Organization, said that 
B18  22 Topaz 2 would be used in a program with an overall cost of $100 
B18  23 million. The Topaz, a reactor that produces energy through nuclear 
B18  24 fission as it orbits the Earth, uses a <quote|>"thermionic" design 
B18  25 - technology in which Russia outstrips the United States. It could 
B18  26 be mass<?_>-<?/>produced here to provide power to weaponry on Star 
B18  27 Wars battle platforms.<p/>
B18  28 <p_>The Topaz 2 deal poses stiff competition to General Electric, 
B18  29 which is developing a Star Wars nuclear reactor of its own, the 
B18  30 SP-100, and is causing a split among U.S. policy<?_>-<?/>makers. In 
B18  31 a January 6 memo the White House Office of Management and Budget 
B18  32 ordered the Energy Department and NASA to give preference to the 
B18  33 Topaz 2 because <quote_>"the potential availability of the Topaz 2 
B18  34 ... offers new possibilities,"<quote/> and it cut D.O.E.'s SP-100 
B18  35 budget for 1993 from $40 million to $30 million. The Pentagon also 
B18  36 favors the Topaz, claiming it can be deployed in three years at a 
B18  37 tenth the cost of the SP-100, which has a price tag of $1.6 billion 
B18  38 and can't be tested until 2004. But D.O.E., longtime friend to 
B18  39 G.E., insists SP-100's liquid metal heat system is <quote_>"ahead 
B18  40 of thermionics."<quote/><p/>
B18  41 <p_>This past January the Russians were back with more deals - and 
B18  42 some veiled threats of selling to Libya - at the ninth annual 
B18  43 Symposium on Space Nuclear Power Systems. This time they were 
B18  44 peddling their nuclear-powered rockets. Coincidentally, the 
B18  45 Pentagon had just disclosed some of its own plans for 
B18  46 nuclear-powered rockets. Scrubbed in 1972 after seventeen years of 
B18  47 development as too dangerous and too costly (at $1.5 billion 
B18  48 already spent - $6.5 billion in today's dollars), the project was 
B18  49 covertly reopened for Star Wars in 1987, code-named Timberwind and 
B18  50 kept in deep secrecy. Nuclear<?_>-<?/>powered rockets, with a 
B18  51 stronger blast force than conventional ones, would theoretically be 
B18  52 able to loft the massive lasers, particle-beam devices and other 
B18  53 heavy Star Wars weaponry into orbit. Air Force spokesmen admitted 
B18  54 to a cost of $800 million for the project. The designer and 
B18  55 manufacturer of the U.S. nuclear-powered rocket engine is Babcock 
B18  56 and Wilcox, of Three Mile Island fame.<p/>
B18  57 <p_>Lost in the scramble for dollars and technology is careful 
B18  58 consideration of what the nuclearization of space can cost the 
B18  59 planet - in dollars and in lives. In dollars: The Star Wars budget 
B18  60 jumped from $2.9 billion in 1991 to $4.1 billion this year. The 
B18  61 White House in calling for a record 1993 Star Wars budget of $5.4 
B18  62 billion.<p/>
B18  63 <p_>In danger: There has been a 15 percent failure rate in both 
B18  64 U.S. and Soviet nuclear space hardware. The most serious U.S. 
B18  65 accident occurred in 1964, when a plutonium-powered satellite fell 
B18  66 toward Earth, breaking up i the atmosphere and showering plutonium 
B18  67 over vast areas of the planet. Russian nuclear-powered satellites 
B18  68 have also fallen to Earth. The 1978 crash of Cosmos 954 covered a 
B18  69 broad swath of Canada with radioactive debris. Topaz or SP-100, 
B18  70 Timberwind or Russian rocketry, they're Chernobyls in the sky.<p/>
B18  71 <p_>Government documents on Timberwind told of a prototype of the 
B18  72 nuclear rocket failing on the ground. Still, the Pentagon planned a 
B18  73 test flight, which for <quote|>"safety" reasons would take place 
B18  74 mostly over water around Antarctica, though New Zealand is on its 
B18  75 path. A government analysis put the chances of the nuclear rocket 
B18  76 crashing into New Zealand at 1 in 2,325. (For some perspective on 
B18  77 these odds, recall that the chances of a Challenger-type disaster 
B18  78 were estimated at 1 in 100,000.) The Topaz 2 has been used in only 
B18  79 two missions, in 1987. Both ended because of a malfunction in the 
B18  80 reactor.<p/>
B18  81 <p_>This past July, insuring against accidents with U.S. nuclear 
B18  82 space machinery, NASA and D.O.E. signed a Space Nuclear Power 
B18  83 Agreement limiting U.S. liability in the event of a nuclear 
B18  84 accident in space to $7.3 billion to Americans for property damage 
B18  85 or death from radioactive contamination and $100 million, total, 
B18  86 for citizens of all other nations. Five months earlier, the United 
B18  87 States withdrew support for U.N. draft guidelines on the use of 
B18  88 nuclear space devices because the Defense Department and NASA 
B18  89 feared that Star Wars might be hindered by such a treaty. It's the 
B18  90 nuke world order.<p/>
B18  91 
B18  92 <h_><p_>Toxic Banking<p/>
B18  93 <p_>DOUG HENWOOD<p/><h/>
B18  94 <p_><quote_>"I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of 
B18  95 toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should 
B18  96 face up to that."<quote/> The publication of these words, from a 
B18  97 leaked internal memo, caused a rush of bad publicity for their 
B18  98 author, World Bank chief economist Lawrence Summers, who now claims 
B18  99 he was being ironic and provocative. There were calls for his 
B18 100 resignation. But Summers was expressing honestly the logic of his 
B18 101 discipline and his employer.<p/>
B18 102 <p_>Summers - whose salary is 225 times the per-person income of 
B18 103 the bank's Third World clientele - is a whiz-bang Harvard 
B18 104 econocrat, a class that believes religiously that money is the 
B18 105 final measure of value. Happiness is a growing G.D.P. Legal issues 
B18 106 can be resolved as competing economic claims, and ethical decisions 
B18 107 can be translated into dollar terms, with the cheaper alternative 
B18 108 always preferable.<p/>
B18 109 <p_>In his memo, which criticized a draft of the bank's <tf_>World 
B18 110 Development Report<tf/>, Summers was applying cost-benefit 
B18 111 analysis, which measures the value of a human life by the stream of 
B18 112 wages remaining to it. Say it will cost Global Megatoxics $1 
B18 113 million to install a state-of-the-art scrubber in its chimney. If 
B18 114 Global determines that not spending this sum will shorten the lives 
B18 115 of five people by ten years apiece, all that would be lost would be 
B18 116 the present value of these fifty years of wages. At a wage of 
B18 117 $1,000 a year, the cost of the five lives can be figured at 
B18 118 $41,000, thanks to the magic of compound interest; at $30,000 a 
B18 119 year, they're worth $1.2 million. As Summers said in his memo, 
B18 120 <quote_>"health-impairing pollution should be done in the country 
B18 121 with the lowest cost, which will be the country with the lowest 
B18 122 wages."<quote/><p/>
B18 123 <p_>Since the costs of pollution - always priced in dollars or 
B18 124 their equivalent - rise with development, Summers argued, it makes 
B18 125 sense costwise to dump in Africa. If a pollutant is going to cause 
B18 126 <quote|>"prostrate" [<tf|>sic] cancer, a disease of old age, why 
B18 127 not locate it in countries where people aren't likely to live long 
B18 128 enough to get it? He concluded this section by saying that 
B18 129 disagreement with this logic suggests the belief that things like 
B18 130 <quote_>"intrinsic rights to certain goods, moral reasons, social 
B18 131 concerns, lack of adequate markets, etc. could be turned around and 
B18 132 used more or less effectively against every Bank proposal for 
B18 133 liberalization."<quote/> Exactly; as they should be.<p/>
B18 134 <p_>It makes no sense for Summers to resign; he expressed the 
B18 135 bank's logic perfectly. It's a bank, and acts like one. It may 
B18 136 preside over a steady erosion of Third World incomes relative to 
B18 137 First World ones, but it makes big money. Last year, after paying 
B18 138 $7 billion in interest and fees to its investors and bankers, it 
B18 139 had a $1.2 billion surplus and a rate of return that commercial 
B18 140 banks would envy.<p/>
B18 141 <p_>What's a public institution to do with that kind of surplus? 
B18 142 The bank's executive board spends a lot of time working that 
B18 143 question over. In 1991 it decided to contribute $267 million to its 
B18 144 soft-loan affiliate, which lends to very poor countries at 
B18 145 concessional rates, $29 million to the Global Environment Trust 
B18 146 Fund and stuff the remaining $904 million into its hoard of 
B18 147 'retained earnings,' which now stands at $11.9 billion. According 
B18 148 to Unicef, preventing vitamin-A-deficiency blindness would cost $6 
B18 149 million. Preventing <quote_>"the great majority"<quote/> of 
B18 150 childhood malnutrition deaths would cost $2.5 billion. But adding 
B18 151 to the World Bank's surplus is a higher priority.<p/>
B18 152 <p_>In recent years, the bank has moved away from 
B18 153 project<?_>-<?/>oriented lending - power plants and dams - and 
B18 154 toward structural adjustment lending, in which credit is 
B18 155 conditional on adoption of a standard austerity/deregulation 
B18 156 package. Not surprisingly, these schemes have savage effects, to 
B18 157 which the bank has a ready answer - more loans. The bank is lending 
B18 158 its clients more money to treat the poverty, social dislocation and 
B18 159 environmental damage that earlier loans helped create. The bank 
B18 160 funds greenhouse-gas reduction schemes in countries where the 
B18 161 greenhouse-gas producers were initially financed by the World 
B18 162 Bank.<p/>
B18 163 <p_>Bank publicity makes much of a new environmental consciousness, 
B18 164 but actions tell a different story. The bank exempted structural 
B18 165 adjustment programs from environmental review even though their 
B18 166 point is to work human and physical resources harder which can't be 
B18 167 friendly to people or their environment. It has redlined its 
B18 168 environment department, leaving it little power. World Bank claims 
B18 169 to a larger role in global environmental politics - to be pressed, 
B18 170 for example, at this spring's United Nations Conference on the 
B18 171 Environment and Development - should be beaten back with heavy 
B18 172 sticks.<p/>
B18 173 <p_>Whether or not Summers returns to Harvard, waste export will be 
B18 174 a growth industry for these sluggish times. The practice of 
B18 175 shifting dirty industries to poor countries is well established. 
B18 176 Greenpeace follows the routine stuff all over the world - German 
B18 177 (per capita income: $20,440) plastic to Argentina ($2,160), U.S. 
B18 178 ($20,910) mercury to South Africa ($2,470), car batteries from 
B18 179 everywhere to Brazil ($2,540). Plastic dropped into recycling bins 
B18 180 is likely to be shipped to Malaysia ($2,160). The logic is 
B18 181 impeccable.<p/>
B18 182 
B18 183 <h_><p_>IMPLANTS: TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES<p/>
B18 184 <p_>KATHA POLLIT<p/><h/>
B18 185 <p_>The F.D.A. hearings into the safety of silicone gel breast 
B18 186 implants have ended with a split recommendation by the advisory 
B18 187 panel: Rejecting an out<?_>-<?/>right ban on the devices, it urges 
B18 188 that implantees be registered in clinical trials, to which only 
B18 189 women who needed the surgery for reconstructive, not cosmetic, 
B18 190 purposes would be guaranteed admittance. Which is it - 
B18 191 <quote_>"Panel Backs Marketing of Implants"<quote/> (<tf_>The 
B18 192 Washington Post<tf/>) or <quote_>"Experts Suggest U.S. Sharply 
B18 193 Limit Breast Implants"<quote/> (<tf_>The New York Times<tf/>)? You 
B18 194 be the judge.<p/>
B18 195 <p_>Whatever else they were, the hearings were great theater. There 
B18 196 was the perfidy of Dow (Napalm? Agent Orange? What's that?) 
B18 197 Corning, the largest manufacturer of the implants, which was 
B18 198 revealed to have lied and stonewalled for almost thirty years. 
B18 199 There was the pious greed of plastic surgeons, who aggressively 
B18 200 marketed the devices as a <quote|>"cure" for <quote|>"micromastia" 
B18 201 (small breasts, to you) and now warn of an epidemic of 
B18 202 <quote|>"hysteria" in breast<?_>-<?/>enlarged women newly 
B18 203 enlightened about the risks of autoimmune disorders, painful 
B18 204 scarring, obscured mammograms. There was a hero, too, if a few 
B18 205 decades late - David Kessler, the F.D.A.'s energetic new head. But 
B18 206 most of all there were breasts - sex, beauty, fashion, women, 
B18 207 women's bodies. Does anyone think the implant story would have been 
B18 208 plastered all over the news media if it was about orthopedic 
B18 209 shoes?<p/>
B18 210 <p_>The real breast-implant story, though, isn't about women's 
B18 211 bodies; it's about their minds. In the postfeminist wonderland in 
B18 212 which we are constantly being told we live, women's lives are 
B18 213 portrayed as one big smorgasbord of <quote|>"choices" and 
B18 214 <quote|>"options", all value free and freely made, and which 
B18 215 therefore cannot be challenged or even discussed, lest one sound 
B18 216 patronizing or moralistic. Thus, women <quote|>"choose" to have 
B18 217 implants, we are told, to please men - no, wait, to boost their 
B18 218 self-esteem - and who are you to criticize their judgment?
B18 219 
B18 220 
B19   1 <#FROWN:B19\><h_><p_>Task Proves Too Great for Bush<p/>
B19   2 <p_>George F. Will<p/><h/>
B19   3 <p_>HOUSTON - The Republican convention succeeded in the sense that 
B19   4 the party clearly spoke its mind. It was, perhaps, a costly 
B19   5 success, because it proved that there can indeed be indecent 
B19   6 exposure of the mind as well as the body. Let us begin with the 
B19   7 president's speech, which had the merit of being merely inadequate 
B19   8 rather than, as many others were, strange.<p/>
B19   9 <p_>His speech was not up to the demands that his political 
B19  10 condition placed upon it. Judged, as the speech must be, against 
B19  11 the background of behavior that his condition has caused, his 
B19  12 speech was (in T.S. Eliot's phrase) <quote_>"dry sterile thunder 
B19  13 without rain."<quote/><p/>
B19  14 <p_>It is not news that when Nature was dishing up rhetorical 
B19  15 gifts, Bush did not hold out his plate. But by the verve of his 
B19  16 delivery here he proved, again, that practice makes adequate. 
B19  17 Unfortunately, this adequacy was a reminder that his problem has 
B19  18 not been his lack of style but rather his abundance of 
B19  19 insincerity.<p/>
B19  20 <p_>The speech would have been far better for a candidate for a 
B19  21 first term. As the umpteenth reiteration of mostly familiar items, 
B19  22 from tax cuts to school choice to term limits, for which he has 
B19  23 been only intermittently and impotently ardent, it repeatedly 
B19  24 raised a ruinous question. For example, when the man under whom 
B19  25 domestic spending and regulations have exploded says, 
B19  26 <quote_>"government is too big and costs too much,"<quote/> people 
B19  27 wonder why years five through eight will be better than years one 
B19  28 through four have been.<p/>
B19  29 <p_>Once upon a time political parties talked about things that 
B19  30 were clearly public matters, things like land for homesteaders, 
B19  31 anti-trust policies, rural electrification, Social Security, 
B19  32 medical care, defense and so on. Not so Wednesday night.<p/>
B19  33 <p_>Then Republicans made <quote_>"family values"<quote/> their 
B19  34 focus. In the process they showed that their view of government is 
B19  35 out of focus, and they pounded the phrase <quote_>"family 
B19  36 values"<quote/> into shapeless mush with a bad odor.<p/>
B19  37 <p_>Marilyn Quayle's speech was evidence for those who say women 
B19  38 should be kept out of combat not because they are too physically 
B19  39 frail or morally fine but because they are too fierce to respect 
B19  40 the rules of war. In a speech that launched an evening of sustained 
B19  41 innuendo, she said - well, tip-toed to the edge of saying - that 
B19  42 Bill Clinton <quote_>"took drugs"<quote/> and <quote_>"joined in 
B19  43 the sexual revolution"<quote/> and <quote_>"dodged the 
B19  44 draft"<quote/> (<quote_>"ran from his responsibilities"<quote/> was 
B19  45 Lynn Martin's version an hour later.) And he probably believes 
B19  46 <quote_>"that commitment, marriage and fidelity"<quote/> are 
B19  47 <quote_>"just arbitrary arrangements."<quote/><p/>
B19  48 <p_>As for Mrs. Clinton, Mrs. Quayle implied that Mrs. Clinton is 
B19  49 one of those women who <quote_>"wish to be liberated from their 
B19  50 essential natures as women"<quote/> and who in the 1960s believed - 
B19  51 may still; can't be sure - that <quote_>"the family was so 
B19  52 oppressive that women could only thrive apart from it."<quote/><p/>
B19  53 <p_>Next, Barbara Bush said: <quote_>"However you define family, 
B19  54 that's what we mean by family values."<quote/> Fogginess is, 
B19  55 apparently, a Bush family value. Her contribution to the evening's 
B19  56 thoughts about government was that families are good. But coming 
B19  57 hard on the heels of Mrs. Quayle's philippic, and later spiced with 
B19  58 Pat Robertson's revelation that the Clintons are hatching 
B19  59 <quote_>"a radical plan to destroy the traditional family,"<quote/> 
B19  60 Mrs. Bush was just a kinder, gentler coda to one long innuendo: 
B19  61 Democrats may hug their children, but probably don't really mean 
B19  62 it.<p/>
B19  63 <p_>The Republicans' graceless rhetoric here compelled two 
B19  64 conclusions.<p/>
B19  65 <p_>For all their talk about America's <quote|>"strength" and 
B19  66 <quote|>"greatness," their tone is of frightened timidity. These 
B19  67 are <quote_>"America the Endangered Species"<quote/> Republicans, 
B19  68 terrified that neither <quote_>"family values"<quote/> nor the 
B19  69 nation can survive Mrs. Clinton.<p/>
B19  70 <p_>And Republicans have caught a particularly virulent version of 
B19  71 the Democrats' quite-virulent-enough tendency (remember the Bork 
B19  72 confirmation fight) to turn political disagreement into moral 
B19  73 assault.<p/>
B19  74 
B19  75 <h_><p_>Times Change and So Does Writer's Task<p/>
B19  76 <p_>Carole Ashkinaze<p/><h/>
B19  77 <p_>The ghosts of <quote|>"Bugs" Moran and Dion O'Banion don't lurk 
B19  78 here any more. Having an alderman in the family doesn't mean you 
B19  79 have a job. It's easier to find a cappuccino on Clark Street than a 
B19  80 chili dog. Chicago has changed and is changing in some disorienting 
B19  81 ways.<p/>
B19  82 <p_>That much has been obvious since the Sun-Times gave its 
B19  83 blessings three years ago to an Op Ed column with a liberal, 
B19  84 feminist slant - a radical departure for what a colleague described 
B19  85 (I think unfairly) at the time as a <quote_>"working man's 
B19  86 newspaper"<quote/> in a <quote_>"'dems' and 'dose' kind of 
B19  87 town."<quote/><p/>
B19  88 <p_>Lacking the perspective of a native Chicagoan, I couldn't 
B19  89 accept either characterization. The Chicago I knew prided itself on 
B19  90 the excellence of its universities and libraries. The Sun-Times was 
B19  91 chock full of women's bylines. The <quote|>"dems" and 
B19  92 <quote|>"dose" I heard tended to be the affectations of 
B19  93 college<?_>-<?/>educated Bears fans from Beverly; they might swill 
B19  94 <quote|>"brewskis" and festoon the Picasso at Daley Center Plaza 
B19  95 with a Cubs cap - but they stood in line for hours outside the Art 
B19  96 Institute when a Monet exhibit came to town.<p/>
B19  97 <p_>The women I met - from Operation PUSH's Willie Barrow, 
B19  98 philanthropist Marge Benton and Personal PAC's Marcena Love to 
B19  99 politician Miriam Santos, the ACLU's Colleen Connell and educator 
B19 100 Paula Wolff - were formidable.<p/>
B19 101 <p_>There had to be others.<p/>
B19 102 <p_>We didn't have a happy hodgepodge of cultures, either, despite 
B19 103 the hype. Our town's racial and ethnic boundaries were straining at 
B19 104 the seams. Its schools were on the brink of disaster. Its infant 
B19 105 mortality rates rivaled those of Third World nations. It seemed 
B19 106 full of invisible people.<p/>
B19 107 <p_>Chicago was their town, too, but it was just beginning to feel 
B19 108 their behind-the-scenes machinations, gentle persuasions and rage. 
B19 109 Though renowned for the fearlessness of its journalism, it had more 
B19 110 than its share of columnists who wanted to slow the rate of change, 
B19 111 so far as women and families were concerned. I had a chance to 
B19 112 write a different kind of column, and I jumped at it.<p/>
B19 113 <p_>Is this beginning to sound like the reminiscence of somebody 
B19 114 who isn't going to be writing in this space any more? Right you 
B19 115 are. But I'm getting ahead of myself.<p/>
B19 116 <p_>Wanting to make the most of my allotted space on Tuesdays, 
B19 117 Thursdays and Sundays, I decided that nobody would ever have to 
B19 118 wonder where I stood on the 'gag' rule, abortions at Cook County 
B19 119 Hospital or the exploitation of ancient Indian burial grounds. 
B19 120 There would be no cavalier dismissal of sexual harassment or women 
B19 121 candidates here; no turning away if rabid anti-Semites questioned 
B19 122 the rights of Jews to participate in elections.<p/>
B19 123 <p_>And the result has been gratifying. If Carol Moseley Braun's 
B19 124 campaign hasn't proved that change is stirring, nothing does. 
B19 125 Remember the smiles that women who didn't even know each other 
B19 126 exchanged on elevators the morning after her primary victory? 
B19 127 Everybody's writing and talking about women now.<p/>
B19 128 <p_>My columns have made some people, especially abortion foes, 
B19 129 angry. But I've heard from single mothers, rape victims, priests 
B19 130 and people with disabilities, too. They've taught me about their 
B19 131 struggles and thanked me for making them visible. Sometimes, they 
B19 132 moved me to tears.<p/>
B19 133 <p_>They also got me thinking about missed opportunities and roads 
B19 134 not taken, things I addressed in a social policy context (with 
B19 135 co<?_>-<?/>author Gary Orfield) in a 1991 book, <tf_>The Closing 
B19 136 Door<tf/>, about the persistence of poverty in Atlanta, my 
B19 137 hometown. Then I heard that Jimmy Carter, the ex-president, had 
B19 138 declared war on poverty in Atlanta. And that there was a task for 
B19 139 me, if I was interested.<p/>
B19 140 <p_>Imagine that. So without further ado, and with the hope that 
B19 141 women will continue to be visible in these pages, I return this 
B19 142 space to the editors.<p/>
B19 143 <p_>I'll miss you, Chicago, but I'm off to Atlanta for a while. 
B19 144 Bye, y'all.<p/>
B19 145 
B19 146 <h_><p_>Bush Plays the Shell Game With Proposal for Tax Cut<p/>
B19 147 <p_>Carl T. Rowan<p/><h/>
B19 148 <p_>WASHINGTON - Give a clever, cynical politician an audience of 
B19 149 his blindly faithful and together they can make snake oil seem like 
B19 150 the elixir of life.<p/>
B19 151 <p_>George Bush and the power-protecting conservative delegates 
B19 152 proved that anew Thursday night in the closing hours of the 
B19 153 Republican convention in Houston.<p/>
B19 154 <p_>Consider the issue of taxes on which Bush flamfloozled voters 
B19 155 in 1988 with his <quote_>"read my lips"<quote/> deception. This 
B19 156 time the media and key delegates were propagandized for a week with 
B19 157 leaks that President Bush would make a <quote|>"stunning" promise 
B19 158 of an across-the-board tax cut.<p/>
B19 159 <p_><quote_>"What a great political coup this will be, because 
B19 160 everybody loves a tax cut,"<quote/> some pundits said. Well, let's 
B19 161 look at what Bush actually promised:<p/>
B19 162 <p_><quote_>"I will propose to further reduce taxes across the 
B19 163 board - provided we pay for these cuts with specific spending 
B19 164 reductions that I consider appropriate."<quote/><p/>
B19 165 <p_>The party faithful could shout and cheer, but the average 
B19 166 American, in debt, jobless, laid off, worried about keeping kids in 
B19 167 college, fearing the loss of a long-cherished home, had better be 
B19 168 smart enough to ask: <quote_>"What the hell did Bush mean?"<quote/> 
B19 169 Would his <quote_>"across the board"<quote/> tax cut mean that his 
B19 170 friends making a million bucks a year would get a $100,000 windfall 
B19 171 while the family struggling along on $20,000 would get a $2,000 
B19 172 saving? That would fit Bush's demonstrated mentality.<p/>
B19 173 <p_>The president gave a clue that his obsession is still to get 
B19 174 tax laws that reward his rich friends when he demanded for the 
B19 175 umpteenth time a reduction in capital gains taxes on the money 
B19 176 those friends make from selling stocks, bonds, real estate and 
B19 177 other investments. The tax cuts Bush 'promises,' but did not spell 
B19 178 out, will not bring relief to one percent of the Americans who now 
B19 179 suffer.<p/>
B19 180 <p_>But listen again to the words Bush used to explain how he would 
B19 181 ensure that the tax cut did not add to budget deficits that have 
B19 182 crippled America throughout his and Ronald Reagan's 
B19 183 administrations: <quote_>" ...we pay for these cuts with specific 
B19 184 spending reductions that I [I meaning Bush] consider 
B19 185 appropriate."<quote/><p/>
B19 186 <p_>We'll have probably 150 new faces in the Congress after the 
B19 187 November elections, but we sure won't get a majority of lawmakers 
B19 188 who would cut spending in areas that Bush regards as "appropriate." 
B19 189 Bush would cut spending on Medicare and Medicaid, even as he rails 
B19 190 against any reasonable national health insurance plan. This 
B19 191 president would cut the food stamp program, which has provided 
B19 192 life-sustaining food for 27 million Americans during a recession 
B19 193 that he said didn't exist. The WIC (Women, Infants and Children) 
B19 194 program that provides vital nutrition to poor pregnant women and 
B19 195 their babies would get zapped by Bush.<p/>
B19 196 <p_>Mr. Bush's lollipop promise of a tax cut is more cruel and 
B19 197 diabolical than was his <quote_>"no new taxes"<quote/> lie of 
B19 198 1988.<p/>
B19 199 <p_>Even snakes wouldn't slither through the oily proposal that 
B19 200 each taxpayer be able to check a box on his or her return saying 
B19 201 <quote_>"reserve 10 percent to reduce the national debt."<quote/> 
B19 202 Suppose Congress ever were stupid enough to enact this gimmick and 
B19 203 taxpayers checked off $100 billion. That would reduce the $4 
B19 204 trillion national debt by $100 billion while increasing the current 
B19 205 budget deficit by the same amount - unless Mr. Bush found a way to 
B19 206 cut spending by another $100 billion. Note that in four years he 
B19 207 hasn't cut a nickel out of White House spending, either for staff 
B19 208 and its uses of airplanes and limousines, or for his patently 
B19 209 political trips at taxpayers' expense.<p/>
B19 210 <p_>Mr. Bush's <quote_>"tax cut"<quote/> proposal and his 
B19 211 <quote_>"checkoff box"<quote/> to reduce the national debt are part 
B19 212 of a shell game that surely has won the admiration of every 
B19 213 swamplands real estate con man in Houston and 3,000 miles beyond, 
B19 214 in every direction.<p/>
B19 215 <p_>President Bush seemed to exult in his jibe at Bill Clinton's 
B19 216 so-called <quote_>"Elvis economics."<quote/> He said that under 
B19 217 Clinton, <quote_>"America will be checking into the 'Heartbreak 
B19 218 Hotel.'"<quote/> It was as though Bush was unaware that millions of 
B19 219 Americans have checked out of their homes and bankrupt businesses, 
B19 220 including the Houston hotel where he claims to have his official 
B19 221 residence. But the faithful were in no mood Thursday night to ask 
B19 222 George Bush how much he knows about <quote|>"heartbreak."<p/>
B19 223 <p_>Mr. Bush may get a big upward 'bounce' in the polls just 
B19 224 because people who see his party faithful cheering think 
B19 225 momentarily that they must open their gullets to join the clamor.
B19 226 
B20   1 <#FROWN:B20\><h_><p_>Here Come the Eager Beavers<p/>
B20   2 <p_>Liberals, thinking government is a scalpel, are hot to operate 
B20   3 on the body politic<p/>
B20   4 <p_>George F. Will<p/><h/>
B20   5 <p_>James Carville, Bill Clinton's Clausewitz, talks like an Uzi, 
B20   6 in bursts. He should do the president-elect a final favor by firing 
B20   7 off for him the story of the traffic lights on Florida Street in 
B20   8 Baton Rouge, Louisiana.<p/>
B20   9 <p_>A decade ago, Carville helped elect as mayor of that city a man 
B20  10 who promised to synchronize the traffic lights on the main drag, 
B20  11 Florida Street. By God, said the candidate, using a rhetorical 
B20  12 trope then fashionable, if we can put a man on the moon, we can 
B20  13 smooth out the herky<?_>-<?/>jerky stop-and-start nonflow of 
B20  14 traffic. So the new mayor straightaway turned to Carville and said: 
B20  15 Get it done. Carville called the city's traffic engineer and said: 
B20  16 Make it happen. The engineer said: OK. But it will cost bushels of 
B20  17 money. The computers will have to be jiggered. And there will be 
B20  18 these problems with left-turn lanes. And, besides ...<p/>
B20  19 <p_>The traffic on Florida Street still does not flow.<p/>
B20  20 <p_>But even if Carville tells this cautionary tale to Clinton and 
B20  21 to the swarms of eager beavers now bearing down on Washington it 
B20  22 probably will not do a lick of good. Washington had better brace 
B20  23 itself for the arrival of a lot of liberals who really believe that 
B20  24 government is a sharp scalpel, and who can hardly wait to operate 
B20  25 on the body politic. Or, to change the metaphor, they are eager to 
B20  26 go marching as to war.<p/>
B20  27 <p_>The Cold War is over, but the governmental hubris that the war 
B20  28 engendered lingers on. Liberals, who often have faulted U.S. 
B20  29 foreign policy for its alleged bellicosity, are enamored of 'wars' 
B20  30 on the home front. Burton Yale Pines, a leading conservative, 
B20  31 believes the Cold War gave rise to a misplaced confidence in 
B20  32 Washington's capacity to do things not related to the Cold War, but 
B20  33 which were called 'wars' anyway. The powers Washington acquired to 
B20  34 run containment of Communism seemed to give Washington legitimacy 
B20  35 as architect of ambitious domestic undertakings. Washington 
B20  36 declared 'wars' on poverty, crime, drugs and AIDS, spoke of a 
B20  37 <quote_>"Marshall Plan"<quote/> for the cities and a 
B20  38 <quote_>"Manhattan Project"<quote/> for education. The language of 
B20  39 war lent spurious plausibility to the idea that the government's 
B20  40 skills in foreign policy could be as successfully applied to 
B20  41 solving the social problems of an individualistic, pluralistic 
B20  42 society.<p/>
B20  43 <p_>Actually, the importation of martial language into domestic 
B20  44 governance began before the Cold War. Franklin Roosevelt, in his 
B20  45 first Inaugural Address, said he might ask Congress for 
B20  46 <quote_>"broad executive power to wage war against the emergency as 
B20  47 great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact 
B20  48 invaded by a foreign foe."<quote/> Eight months before that, FDR 
B20  49 had told the Democratic convention that the nation should resume 
B20  50 the <quote_>"interrupted march along the path of real 
B20  51 progress."<quote/> The 12-year interruption had been the interval 
B20  52 of Republican rule between Woodrow Wilson - a war leader - and FDR, 
B20  53 domestic 'commander in chief' treating a domestic difficulty as the 
B20  54 moral equivalent of war. Wilson, who disliked the Founding Fathers' 
B20  55 purposes in designing the separation of powers, was impatient with 
B20  56 institutional inhibitions on government's freedom to alter the 
B20  57 balance between <quote_>"the power of the government and the 
B20  58 privileges of the individual."<quote/><p/>
B20  59 <p_>Before Clinton surrenders to the siren call of the Wilsonian 
B20  60 presidency, read Terry Eastland's 'Energy in the Executive: The 
B20  61 Case for a Strong Presidency.' Eastland traces some problems of the 
B20  62 modern presidency to Wilsonian grandiosity in the conception of the 
B20  63 president's duties. Wilson, writes Eastland, was the first holder 
B20  64 of the office to believe <quote_>"that Presidents are to lead the 
B20  65 people ever onwards and upwards - to an unknown destination only 
B20  66 history can reveal, but which, as the decades have passed, 
B20  67 inevitably seems to have required larger and more costly government 
B20  68 whose reach extends more deeply into the states and the private 
B20  69 sector."<quote/> Wilson declared that <quote_>"the size of modern 
B20  70 democracy necessitates the exercise of persuasive power by dominant 
B20  71 minds in the shaping of popular judgments."<quote/> Thus began the 
B20  72 inflation of the presidential function: The president as the 
B20  73 public's tutor, moral auditor and cheerleader.<p/>
B20  74 <p_><tf_><quote_>"Salvation by society"<quote/>:<tf/> Clinton, who 
B20  75 will be the sixth Democratic president since Woodrow Wilson, leads 
B20  76 a party still awash with Wilsonian liberalism's desire to conscript 
B20  77 the individual into collective undertakings. Wilson presided over 
B20  78 the 'war socialism' of modern mobilization. Walter Lippmann and 
B20  79 other 'progressives' thought war could be a healthy antidote to 
B20  80 America's excessive 'individualism' and <quote_>"the evils of 
B20  81 localism."<quote/> The public, properly led by a <quote_>"dominant 
B20  82 mind"<quote/> at the pinnacle of the executive branch of the 
B20  83 central government, could be nationalized and homogenized and made 
B20  84 into good raw material for great undertakings. The greatest of 
B20  85 these was to be what Peter Drucker calls <quote_>"salvation by 
B20  86 society"<quote/> - society, controlled by government, would perfect 
B20  87 individuals. Hence, Lyndon Johnson. One of his aides, Harry 
B20  88 McPherson, described how LBJ envisioned the nation as a patient 
B20  89 whose pathologies were to receive presidential ministrations:<p/>
B20  90 <p_><quote_>"People were [seen to be] suffering from a sense of 
B20  91 alienation from one another, of anomie, of powerlessness. This 
B20  92 affected the well-to-do as much as it did the poor. 
B20  93 Middle<?_>-<?/>class women, bored and friendless in the suburban 
B20  94 afternoons; fathers, working at 'meaningless' jobs, or slumped 
B20  95 before the television set; sons and daughters desperate for 
B20  96 'relevance' - all were in need of community, beauty, and purpose, 
B20  97 all were guilty because so many others were deprived while they, 
B20  98 rich beyond their ancestors' dreams, were depressed. What would 
B20  99 change all this was a creative public effort ..."<quote/><p/>
B20 100 <p_>It is a wonder we did not wind up with a Department of 
B20 101 Meaningful Labor and an Agency for Friendly Suburban Afternoons. 
B20 102 LBJ promised a Great Society <quote_>"where the city of man serves 
B20 103 not only the needs of the body and the demands of commerce but the 
B20 104 desire for beauty and the hunger for community."<quote/> Today 
B20 105 Americans would settle for cities where the basic needs of the body 
B20 106 (such as protection from bullets) and the rudimentary requirements 
B20 107 of commerce (order; adequate education and transportation) are 
B20 108 provided.<p/>
B20 109 <p_>Clinton's eager beavers should ponder that, perhaps during a 
B20 110 herky-jerky drive down Florida Street.<p/>
B20 111 
B20 112 <h_><p_>Europe, Our Former Ally<p/>
B20 113 <p_>The bitter trade dispute reveals isolationism is growing on 
B20 114 both sides of the Atlantic<p/>
B20 115 <p_>Robert J. Samuelson<p/><h/>
B20 116 <p_>We call the Europeans our 'allies'. This reference is an 
B20 117 increasingly outdated relic of the cold war. The bitter trade 
B20 118 dispute now raging between America and Europe merely captures a 
B20 119 larger reality: Western Europe is so self-absorbed that it's 
B20 120 aggravating the conflicts of the post-cold-war world. An alliance 
B20 121 presumes common goals. In practice, Europe gives only lip service 
B20 122 to the common goals we supposedly share.<p/>
B20 123 <p_>Ever since World War II, Americans have correctly favored 
B20 124 greater European unity. The Common Market spurred economic recovery 
B20 125 and helped subdue the hatreds of two world wars. But the latest 
B20 126 exercise in unity - embodied in the 1991 Maastricht Treaty - no 
B20 127 longer deserves our admiration or support. It aims to create a 
B20 128 single European currency by 1999 and to remake the European 
B20 129 Community (EC) into something of a superstate. These foolish 
B20 130 ambitions are bad for Europe, bad for the United States and bad for 
B20 131 the world. They inhibit Europe from playing a constructive role in 
B20 132 international affairs.<p/>
B20 133 <p_>Everyone knows the basic problems of the post-cold-war era. The 
B20 134 first is to help Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union 
B20 135 establish prosperous and democratic societies. The second is to 
B20 136 nurture cooperative mechanisms that enable countries to maintain 
B20 137 peace, healthy world trade and a cleaner environment. And the third 
B20 138 is to foster strong global economic growth. On every count, Europe 
B20 139 has been unhelpful.<p/>
B20 140 <p_>It has been unimaginative and stingy in dealing with the former 
B20 141 Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. It has been totally ineffectual in 
B20 142 Yugoslavia. Its heavy farm subsidies threaten the global trading 
B20 143 order: precisely the type of cooperative framework that's now 
B20 144 needed. As for the economy, Europe's slump is self-inflicted and is 
B20 145 hurting the rest of the world. The slowdown resulted from poor 
B20 146 economic policies - rigid European exchange rates and high interest 
B20 147 rates - adopted to cope with German reunification.<p/>
B20 148 <p_>Europe aspires to join the United States as a superpower. The 
B20 149 trouble is, Europe provides no practical or moral leadership. 
B20 150 Building a more grandiose Europe serves as an all<?_>-<?/>purpose 
B20 151 excuse to shirk global responsibilities. Europe's message to 
B20 152 everyone else is: be selfish like us.<p/>
B20 153 <p_>Consider the current trade dispute. In 1962 the EC eliminated 
B20 154 its tariff on soybeans. As soybean imports rose, the EC sought to 
B20 155 stem the tide by massively subsidizing its own farmers to grow 
B20 156 competing oilseeds: sunflower seeds and rapeseed. Europe's oilseed 
B20 157 production jumped from 1.5 million metric tons in 1976 to 11.7 
B20 158 million in 1991. Meanwhile, its imports of oilseeds (mainly from 
B20 159 the United States) dropped from 7.6 million tons to 6.3 million 
B20 160 tons over the same period. In effect, the EC's subsidies revoked 
B20 161 the 1962 tariff concession. That violates the rules of the General 
B20 162 Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).<p/>
B20 163 <p_>In 1989 Washington complained to GATT. The GATT twice ruled in 
B20 164 our favor. The Europeans refused to remedy their violation. Only 
B20 165 after long negotiations did we retaliate: 200 percent tariffs to be 
B20 166 imposed on $300 million worth of European food imports (mainly 
B20 167 wine) in December.<p/>
B20 168 <p_>Global leadership requires the capacity to identify larger 
B20 169 international interests - consistent, to be sure, with a nation's 
B20 170 own interests - and pursue them, even at some immediate domestic 
B20 171 political cost. This has been the hallmark of postwar U.S. 
B20 172 leadership. We helped Europe and Japan rebuild after World War II, 
B20 173 kept a strong military and maintained relatively open trade 
B20 174 policies. It is precisely this capacity that Europe lacks.<p/>
B20 175 <p_><tf_>Irrelevant goals:<tf/> On trade, perhaps the worst 
B20 176 calamity - a breakdown of GATT - will be avoided. By threatening 
B20 177 Europe with real penalties, the tough U.S. retaliation may prompt a 
B20 178 settlement of the soybean dispute and the broader GATT talks. Even 
B20 179 if this occurs, though, Europe seems fated to remain self-absorbed 
B20 180 by the impractical and irrelevant goals of the Maastricht 
B20 181 Treaty.<p/>
B20 182 <p_>Take a common European currency, which would replace national 
B20 183 ones, like the French franc. In the United States, a single 
B20 184 currency works because, among other reasons, people migrate from a 
B20 185 region of economic weakness to one of strength. Europe, divided by 
B20 186 language and culture, lacks our flexibility. It's hard to create an 
B20 187 economic policy that suits all countries. The bad experience after 
B20 188 German reunification confirms that.<p/>
B20 189 <p_>Even if a common currency could work, it is irrelevant to 
B20 190 Europe's immediate needs. If Eastern Europe and the former Soviet 
B20 191 Union slide into chaos, it won't matter whether or not Western 
B20 192 Europe has a common currency. The economic and social effects of 
B20 193 this anarchy - unwanted immigration, perhaps more strife as in 
B20 194 Yugoslavia - will be overwhelming. But Western Europe focuses on 
B20 195 Maastricht instead of the more critical problems in the East.<p/>
B20 196 <p_>Europe cannot be made into a nation: it is a permanent cluster 
B20 197 of nationalities. The unrealistic effort to do so is increasingly 
B20 198 unpopular. The Danes rejected Maastricht, the French approved it by 
B20 199 2 percentage points. People fear being submerged by a faceless EC 
B20 200 bureaucracy. To overcome hostility, Europe's leaders pander to 
B20 201 local interests. They are insensitive to outsiders, including us. 
B20 202 Farm policy is one area where we've suffered; Airbus - Europe's 
B20 203 subsidized commercial jet maker - is another.<p/>
B20 204 <p_>What Europe should do, as columnist William Pfaff writes in the 
B20 205 International Herald Tribune, is follow its <quote_>"past model of 
B20 206 progress through pragmatic economic integration."<quote/> 
B20 207 Specifically, it should bring Eastern countries into its market as 
B20 208 quickly as possible.<p/>
B20 209 <p_>The Persian Gulf crisis showed that Europe needs us. But we 
B20 210 also need Europe as a superpower. All nations are looking inward, 
B20 211 perhaps (as after World War I) dangerously so. Americans won't make 
B20 212 the sacrifices for global leadership unless other rich nations do 
B20 213 likewise. Unfortunately, the Europeans won't play. They merely want 
B20 214 to advance their own agenda. Their isolationism feeds ours. Down 
B20 215 that path lies a world without superpowers.<p/>
B20 216 
B20 217 <h_><p_>This Economy Won't Walk<p/>
B20 218 <p_>Yup. But it may not be quite as crippled as you've been led to 
B20 219 believe.<p/>
B20 220 
B21   1 <#FROWN:B21\><h_><p_>Judge Bea's case<p/><h/>
B21   2 <p_>This is to correct inaccuracies and to supply facts neglected 
B21   3 by your writer in his article about me (<quote_>"Judge profits from 
B21   4 poverty program,"<quote/> Sept. 27). Far from abusing the U.S. 
B21   5 Department of Transportation Minority-Disadvantaged Business 
B21   6 Enterprise program as charged by your article, our family business 
B21   7 (Ampac) met the letter and the spirit of the legislation.<p/>
B21   8 <p_>The program is not a 'poverty program.' It was never designed 
B21   9 to provide benefits to the needy. It is an 'affirmative action' 
B21  10 program that provides an opportunity for minority enterprises to 
B21  11 participate at all levels of government contracting, not just in 
B21  12 the low-scale janitorial and house repair sectors. The hope is that 
B21  13 minority entrepreneurs will hire and promote minority persons. 
B21  14 Ampac did just this. We had 80 percent minority employees, placed 
B21  15 at all levels of the company.<p/>
B21  16 <p_>Manufacturing reinforced concrete pipe is not a backyard 
B21  17 industry. It requires a factory, land, capital and people. Ampac's 
B21  18 competitors in the Southern California market were all companies 
B21  19 listed on the New York Stock Exchange, either directly or through 
B21  20 their parent companies.<p/>
B21  21 <p_>One of our competitors, Hydro (a subsidiary of Consolidated 
B21  22 Gold Fields, which received over 45 percent of its income from 
B21  23 South African gold diggings and is largely owned by De-Beers, the 
B21  24 South African diamond cartel) challenged Ampac's disadvantaged 
B21  25 business enterprise (DBE) certification before Caltrans. We 
B21  26 demanded a hearing at which evidence was challenged and presented. 
B21  27 We won. Hydro appealed to Washington. We won again.<p/>
B21  28 <p_>We didn't win based on any 'legal argument.' We won, fair and 
B21  29 square, on the substance and merits.<p/>
B21  30 <p_>Your article also charged that I misused office stationery by 
B21  31 seeking <quote_>"to advance the private interests of 
B21  32 others"<quote/> in responding to Caltrans inquiries and implied I 
B21  33 refused to supply the information requested. Nothing could be 
B21  34 further from the truth.<p/>
B21  35 <p_>My letter of April 20, 1990, to Caltrans was not a response on 
B21  36 behalf of Ampac or Radco. It was a response to Caltrans demands for 
B21  37 information regarding my relationships with Ampac and Radco. Your 
B21  38 writer again "neglected" to print that after questioning the 
B21  39 legality of the department's request. I nonetheless answered the 
B21  40 specific requests of the Caltrans letter writer.<p/>
B21  41 <p_>I continue to consider the matters submitted to the U.S. Senate 
B21  42 to be inappropriate for comment at this time, due to the pending 
B21  43 nomination [for a federal judgeship]. That includes financial 
B21  44 matters.<p/>
B21  45 <p_>CARLOS BEA<p/>
B21  46 <p_>San Francisco<p/>
B21  47 
B21  48 <p_>It amazes me that a well-intentioned program that provides 
B21  49 minority businesses with government contract opportunities can be 
B21  50 so easily manipulated. I am equally amazed and angered that a 
B21  51 person like Superior Court Judge Carlos Bea, who is not Latino, 
B21  52 African American, Native American or Asian American, can legally be 
B21  53 considered a disadvantaged minority. After all, he is a white 
B21  54 European (he was born in Spain).<p/>
B21  55 <p_>Many of us in the Latino community have lamented over this 
B21  56 predicament that people like Bea, who have a Spanish surname, are 
B21  57 the first to say they are Latino (they hail from Latin America) and 
B21  58 have faced historical discrimination in this country, when they in 
B21  59 fact fail on both accounts.<p/>
B21  60 <p_>FILIMINO REYES<p/>
B21  61 <p_>Menlo Park<p/>
B21  62 
B21  63 <h_><p_>Bush can't manage<p/><h/>
B21  64 <p_>I was very disappointed in the column by William Randolph 
B21  65 Hearst Jr. (<quote_>"Why Bush may win,"<quote/> Op-Ed, Sept. 27). 
B21  66 Hearst definitely seems out of touch with the impact of the current 
B21  67 economy, deficit, AIDS and other significant problems, and the lack 
B21  68 of action by the Bush administration.<p/>
B21  69 <p_>Bush simply lacks management skills, and is unwilling to 
B21  70 recognize problems and unable to develop actions to resolve them. 
B21  71 The more I read, the more I am convinced that Bill Clinton and Al 
B21  72 Gore have the energy, intelligence, vision and management skills to 
B21  73 tackle our significant problems.<p/>
B21  74 <p_>If the U.S. were run as a business, Bush and Dan Quayle would 
B21  75 be fired for poor management, incompetence and complacency.<p/>
B21  76 <p_>GEORGE M. HUNT<p/>
B21  77 <p_>San Francisco<p/>
B21  78 
B21  79 <h_><p_>State plans for extra income don't endanger parks<p/><h/>
B21  80 <p_>For the record, no one in the state parks systems has 
B21  81 'embraced' such ludicrous notions as a Disney-run railroad at Mount 
B21  82 Tamalpais State Park, as implied in your editorial, 
B21  83 <quote_>"Turning parks into profits: the Ansel Adams 
B21  84 Marriott"<quote/> (Sept. 27).<p/>
B21  85 <p_>Although the editorial notes that I as state parks director 
B21  86 asked for a study of whether additional concessions can be granted 
B21  87 without <quote_>"violating our resources,"<quote/> it seems to 
B21  88 suggest that this department has a cavalier attitude toward parks 
B21  89 resources.<p/>
B21  90 <p_>At one point in this year's state budget process, the 
B21  91 Department of Parks and Recreation came within just a few votes of 
B21  92 having to close 100 of the 270 state parks. Your suggestion that 
B21  93 parks be closed rather than that serious studies of alternative 
B21  94 funding be conducted simply won't work without serious adverse 
B21  95 impacts on the parks.<p/>
B21  96 <p_>State parks are not enclosed by barbed-wire fences that allow 
B21  97 them to be protected when money is not available to staff and 
B21  98 maintain them. A closed state park unit is not immune to 
B21  99 trespassers and vandals.<p/>
B21 100 <p_>A continuing decline in general fund support for state parks 
B21 101 has already resulted in a stiff increase in visitor fees. I am most 
B21 102 troubled by your suggestion that state parks have a historic 
B21 103 mandate to enact fees that <quote_>"exclude all but the 
B21 104 affluent."<quote/> We are exploring ways to reduce fees to make 
B21 105 parks more accessible to people of all income levels.<p/>
B21 106 <p_>This year the department has begun a restructuring that will 
B21 107 save over $10 million annually by eliminating supervisory and 
B21 108 headquarters positions. We will also shift personnel to field 
B21 109 positions so that we end up with more people working at the parks 
B21 110 themselves. The California state parks system has fewer staff 
B21 111 positions than it did in 1986.<p/>
B21 112 <p_>With a mandate to protect and preserve California's natural, 
B21 113 historic and cultural resources and to provide for public enjoyment 
B21 114 of those resources, this department would be remiss if it did not 
B21 115 study every possibility for reversing the decline in financial 
B21 116 resources.<p/>
B21 117 <p_>One such possibility is an expansion of privately operated 
B21 118 concessions that provide legitimate visitor services in a manner 
B21 119 that won't harm precious resources. No development, no matter how 
B21 120 financially lucrative, will be undertaken in the state parks if it 
B21 121 degrades natural and cultural resources.<p/>
B21 122 <p_>DONALD W. MURPHY<p/>
B21 123 <p_>Director<p/>
B21 124 <p_>Department of Parks and Recreation<p/>
B21 125 <p_>Sacramento<p/>
B21 126 
B21 127 <h_><p_>City Hall salaries and automobile perks<p/><h/>
B21 128 <p_>The Insiders' salary story (<quote_>"Jordan's pay tops all U.S. 
B21 129 mayors,"<quote/> Sept. 28) combined with their car story 
B21 130 (<quote_>"City Hall brass rides high while pinching 
B21 131 pennies,"<quote/> Sept. 24) only reinforces the cynicism the 
B21 132 average person feels toward government.<p/>
B21 133 <p_>These salaries have no relation to any kind of reality 
B21 134 concerning productivity or efficiency. The way these salaries are 
B21 135 set is nuttiness run rampant. No wonder most people think of 
B21 136 themselves as caught in the pincers of greedy <quote_>"public 
B21 137 servants"<quote/> and greedy <quote_>"public service 
B21 138 consumers."<quote/><p/>
B21 139 <p_>RICHARD N. PREVOST<p/>
B21 140 <p_>San Francisco<p/>
B21 141 
B21 142 <p_>I got very angry when I read The Insiders column Sept. 24 (on 
B21 143 city automobiles). I feel that the leading problem in the San 
B21 144 Francisco city government is fiscal irresponsibility.<p/>
B21 145 <p_>On one hand we are promised our second increase of Muni fares 
B21 146 within a six-month period. On the other hand, Muni head Johnny 
B21 147 Stein gets a 1992 Ford for his use. He is not alone. Other city 
B21 148 officials are abusing their privileges. These vehicles are being 
B21 149 used outside of The City, during off hours, without any city 
B21 150 markings.<p/>
B21 151 <p_>Meanwhile, Mayor Jordan requests budget cuts and the Finance 
B21 152 Committee debates them. I hope the committee decides to cut the 
B21 153 personal transportation perks of city employees. I call for the 
B21 154 Board of Supervisors and the mayor to conduct an investigation into 
B21 155 abuse of the privileges of these people. Find a way to put the city 
B21 156 seal on these vehicles in a way it can't be removed. These are not 
B21 157 times for fiscal irresponsibility.<p/>
B21 158 <p_>MARTIN P. VOJEWODA<p/>
B21 159 <p_>San Francisco<p/>
B21 160 
B21 161 <p_>In regard to the recent <quote|>"scandal" about the use of city 
B21 162 cars by top S.F. executives, it would seem to me that the general 
B21 163 manager of a <quote|>"company" with more than 3,000 employees, such 
B21 164 as Johnny Stein of Muni, might just be entitled to a 
B21 165 <quote|>"luxury" ($14,000 is luxury?) Ford Crown Victoria. I'm sure 
B21 166 he has occasion to transport officials from transit agencies around 
B21 167 the world as he shows off Muni's facilities. I imagine transporting 
B21 168 three or four people in an economy car (sub<?_>-<?/>compact) can't 
B21 169 be impressive or comfortable. The same probably holds true for 
B21 170 other city department heads to one degree or another, but let us be 
B21 171 reasonable.<p/>
B21 172 <p_>Rather than a <quote_>"meat ax"<quote/> approach, taking these 
B21 173 vehicles back and assessing city officials what I think would be 
B21 174 exorbitant fines (three times the normal mileage rate for past use, 
B21 175 in one proposal) for what has obviously been a practice (right or 
B21 176 wrong) for many years, let's take a reasonable look at the use of 
B21 177 city vehicles. A reasonable solution will benefit the needs of 
B21 178 department managers and their subordinate managers, their ability 
B21 179 to respond to emergencies and their general overall service to The 
B21 180 City as a whole.<p/>
B21 181 <p_>MARK DONOVAN<p/>
B21 182 <p_>San Francisco<p/>
B21 183 
B21 184 <h_><p_>Marines vs. AIDS ad<p/><h/>
B21 185 <p_>I grew up in a U.S. Marine Corps family. My father was in the 
B21 186 corps for 38 years and I am a proud son. The Marines have always 
B21 187 been my idea of the highest and finest branch of service. But today 
B21 188 I feel differently.<p/>
B21 189 <p_>These men who valiantly raised the flag at Iwo Jima have taken 
B21 190 on a new foe: A grass-roots organization dedicated to saving lives 
B21 191 from the devastation of AIDS. Marine Corps lawyers have taken on 
B21 192 the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, a non-profit education 
B21 193 organization. Why? A model in an anti-AIDS ad wears a tattoo of the 
B21 194 Marine Corps emblem.<p/>
B21 195 <p_>Even if this were proved a <quote_>"trade<?_>-<?/>mark 
B21 196 violation,"<quote/> what American would give consent to this 
B21 197 mean-spirited lawsuit? And if the Marines win this suit, what would 
B21 198 they gain?<p/>
B21 199 <p_>The Marine Corps will pay any price and pursue any action to 
B21 200 distance themselves from the stigma of homosexuality. What they 
B21 201 don't realize is that AIDS is everyone's problem - gay and straight 
B21 202 - and that education is one of the few ways of preventing it.<p/>
B21 203 <p_>The AIDS Foundation has a slim budget and could quickly spend 
B21 204 all its money on this case. The Marines obviously have no budget 
B21 205 problem. We, the taxpayers, are picking up the bill. How sad that 
B21 206 the Marines are spending tax money to pursue legal actions against 
B21 207 an organization that is working to put an end to AIDS.<p/>
B21 208 <p_>As a proud member of a longtime Marine Corps family, I feel 
B21 209 betrayed.<p/>
B21 210 <p_>JOHN HOFFMAN<p/>
B21 211 <p_>San Francisco<p/>
B21 212 
B21 213 <h_><p_>Electoral win-lose folly<p/><h/>
B21 214 <p_>The presidential race has become a heated and fierce footrace 
B21 215 to the White House. As mere spectators we find ourselves almost 
B21 216 breathless, tense with anticipation to see who will win.<p/>
B21 217 <p_>The most disturbing part of this win-lose format is that it 
B21 218 polarizes the candidates. Each tries to represent the winner, the 
B21 219 good, while making his opponent out to be the loser, the evil.<p/>
B21 220 <p_>This notion of a winner and loser in a presidential race is 
B21 221 absurd because the only losers are voters.<p/>
B21 222 <p_>ALEX COSTA-STEVENS<p/>
B21 223 <p_>San Francisco<p/>
B21 224 
B21 225 <h_><p_>500 years from now?<p/><h/>
B21 226 <p_>This being the 500th anniversary of the beginning of 
B21 227 colonization of this land by the European nations from over the 
B21 228 horizon, it might be interesting to try an exercise.<p/>
B21 229 <p_>From today's perspective, let us imagine what the world 500 
B21 230 years from now would look like? I would wager that a significant 
B21 231 number of people have difficulty perceiving what human life will 
B21 232 look like-- provided we make it that long.<p/>
B21 233 <p_>If more corporate high guys and their political friends would 
B21 234 think ahead several generations, we might see a different set of 
B21 235 decisions being made in behalf of the Earth and those of us who 
B21 236 inhabit it.<p/>
B21 237 <p_>Of course, we may choose to picture the Earth in 500 years with 
B21 238 no human life on it. The choice is ours.<p/>
B21 239 <p_>DON L. EICHELBERGER<p/>
B21 240 <p_>San Francisco<p/>
B21 241 
B21 242 <h_><p_>Bush's bid for <quote|>'trust'<p/><h/>
B21 243 <p_>So we're supposed to trust George Bush. Bush said he knew 
B21 244 nothing about illegal arms sales to Iran. He brushed aside evidence 
B21 245 showing his complicity in illegal acts, saying it was an 
B21 246 underling's <quote_>"error of judgment"<quote/> and wouldn't happen 
B21 247 again.<p/>
B21 248 
B23   1 <#FROWN:B23\><h_><p_>Help Aristide return to power in Haiti<p/><h/>
B23   2 <p_>To The Editor:<p/>
B23   3 <p_>Over the past 10 months, The Herald has attempted to cover the 
B23   4 coup against Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the democratically elected 
B23   5 president of Haiti.<p/>
B23   6 <p_>Does the Bush administration want President Aristide to return 
B23   7 to power? If yes, what is President Bush doing to secure President 
B23   8 Aristide's return? If no, then President Bush owes an explanation 
B23   9 to Haitian Americans, Haitian nationals, and the American 
B23  10 people.<p/>
B23  11 <p_>Why must this matter take so long to resolve? How is it that 
B23  12 the leader of the world is unable to assist the Organization of 
B23  13 American States in bringing about an end to this untenable 
B23  14 situation in Haiti? Why did State Department officials meet with 
B23  15 army-backed Marc L. Bazin's minister of foreign affairs recently? 
B23  16 Does that imply a tacit recognition of the Bazin regime?<p/>
B23  17 <p_>The United States traditionally has portrayed itself as the 
B23  18 bastion of democracy. Would it not then be correct to reinstate 
B23  19 President Aristide to power immediately? Has President Bush 
B23  20 forgotten that he pressured the OAS and the United Nations to 
B23  21 facilitate elections in Haiti in December 1990? These were 
B23  22 recognized as the first truly democratic elections held in Haiti's 
B23  23 history, and Father Aristide emerged as a winner with over 67 
B23  24 percent of the electorate.<p/>
B23  25 <p_>What is the World Bank's explanation for inviting to its annual 
B23  26 meeting an unconstitutional, <tf_>de facto<tf/> regime headed by 
B23  27 the former finance minister of dictator Jean Claude Duvalier? Is 
B23  28 the World Bank considering lending money to the Bazin regime? Even 
B23  29 if the Haitian Chamber of Deputies votes on such a loan, only 
B23  30 President Aristide's signature can validate that action.<p/>
B23  31 <p_>We are definitely at an impasse. The Haitian problem needs to 
B23  32 be resolved soon. We the Haitian people want our president back.<p/>
B23  33 <p_>PAUL SYLVESTRE<p/>
B23  34 <p_>North Miami<p/>
B23  35 
B23  36 <h_><p_>On unincorporated Dade residents' needs<p/><h/>
B23  37 <p_>To The Editor:<p/>
B23  38 <p_>I am a member of the Dade County Citizens' Advisory Committee 
B23  39 on Incorporation. I wonder whether the legal reasoning upon which 
B23  40 U.S. District Judge Donald Graham based his judgment (declaring the 
B23  41 present countywide system of electing county commissioners to be in 
B23  42 violation of the Federal Voting Rights Act) considered the dilution 
B23  43 or debasement of <tf|>all of the nearly 2 million unincorporated 
B23  44 Dade residents' votes. The current system allows the residents of 
B23  45 Dade's 27 municipalities to vote on what in fact is the municipal 
B23  46 government of the <tf|>unincorporated area of Dade County, to wit: 
B23  47 the Metro Commission.<p/>
B23  48 <p_>Unfortunately, and perhaps unknowingly, Judge Graham's judgment 
B23  49 has failed to mention the express finding of the advisory 
B23  50 committee's February report that the votes of <tf|>all of Dade 
B23  51 County's unincorporated-area residents in any election for county 
B23  52 commissioners are diluted or debased by as much as 46 percent. That 
B23  53 is because residents of the county's 27 municipalities participate 
B23  54 in this particular election.<p/>
B23  55 <p_>Furthermore, the dilution or debasement of the 
B23  56 unincorporated<?_>-<?/>area residents' vote will continue if the 27 
B23  57 municipalities' residents continue to vote for county 
B23  58 commissioners, no matter whether there are countywide or 
B23  59 single-member election districts. That is particularly true if each 
B23  60 unincorporated-area resident will now be limited to voting for only 
B23  61 one commissioner.<p/>
B23  62 <p_>I respectfully suggest that Judge Graham review the Citizens' 
B23  63 Advisory Committee's report. He should include in any redistricting 
B23  64 plan the committee's recommendation to divide the unincorporated 
B23  65 area into municipal-service areas based upon communities of common 
B23  66 interest and geography, so that unincorporated area residents can 
B23  67 elect their own true municipal officers.<p/>
B23  68 <p_>BRIAN. W. PARISER<p/>
B23  69 <p_>Coral Gables<p/>
B23  70 
B23  71 <h_><p_>Address the issues<p/><h/>
B23  72 <p_>To The Editor:<p/>
B23  73 <p_>Did the president condone Deputy Campaign Director Mary 
B23  74 Matalin's reference to <quote_>"bimbo eruptions"<quote/> in the 
B23  75 Clinton campaign? If he did, then I'm really disappointed.<p/>
B23  76 <p_>Once again the Republicans will lose my vote. Whatever happened 
B23  77 to addressing the issues, keeping one's integrity, and promoting 
B23  78 constructive political discourse? Mary Matalin should join the 7.7 
B23  79 percent of Americans without a job.<p/>
B23  80 <p_>JIMMY BLACK<p/>
B23  81 <p_>Miami<p/>
B23  82 
B23  83 <h_><p_>Avi<*_>n-tilde<*/>o's reality check<p/><h/>
B23  84 <p_>To The Editor:<p/>
B23  85 <p_>I am disgusted at County Manager Joaquin Avi<*_>n-tilde<*/>o's 
B23  86 $30,000 salary increase (to $157,000 from $127,000)!<p/>
B23  87 <p_>We are in the midst of recession, and as both local and state 
B23  88 taxes increase, government services seem to get worse.<p/>
B23  89 <p_>Mr. Avi<*_>n-tilde<*/>o should give himself a reality check. 
B23  90 Many people have lost their jobs and no longer can make their 
B23  91 mortgage payments. As a public official who earned over $10,000 a 
B23  92 month, he was well compensated.<p/>
B23  93 <p_>CARLOS E. RUIZ<p/>
B23  94 <p_>Miami<p/>
B23  95 
B23  96 <h_><p_>Free trade mugs the U.S.<p/><h/>
B23  97 <p_>To The Editor:<p/>
B23  98 <p_>A new, great menace to our struggling economy and dwindling 
B23  99 jobs is in the making. This one is a creation of President Bush, 
B23 100 under the misleading name of <quote_>"North American Free Trade 
B23 101 Agreement."<quote/> A more descriptive title would be, 'The 
B23 102 Upcoming Economic Mugging of the United States and Canada by 
B23 103 Mexico.'<p/>
B23 104 <p_>The present negotiations covering this trade agreement will 
B23 105 produce devastating results for the average American still lucky to 
B23 106 have a job today. Not just companies, but whole industries will 
B23 107 begin moving south of the border to the land of low-cost labor and 
B23 108 high profits.<p/>
B23 109 <p_>Proponents in the United States maintain that Mexico, through 
B23 110 this newly found prosperity, will be in a position to become our 
B23 111 best customer. But for 50 years, Japan has refused to buy U.S. 
B23 112 output of 95 percent of our products. Mexicans will do the same, 
B23 113 because in a short time they will be in a competitive position to 
B23 114 make more cheaply for themselves the very products that we want 
B23 115 them to buy from us. As with Japan and Germany, Mexico will end up 
B23 116 being our Frankenstein monster, and competitively devour us.<p/>
B23 117 <p_>BOB RIJOCK<p/>
B23 118 <p_>North Bay Village<p/>
B23 119 
B23 120 <h_><p_>Eastern Europe tragedy merits front-page play<p/><h/>
B23 121 <p_>To the Editor:<p/>
B23 122 <p_>On Aug. 5, an article describing the bombing of Serbia during 
B23 123 the funeral of two children appeared on page 14A of The Miami 
B23 124 Herald. This same story appeared on the network news on Aug. 6 as a 
B23 125 headline story. More progressive reporting of events in the former 
B23 126 Yugoslavia appeared in Anthony Lewis's excellent column (Aug. 5, 
B23 127 View<?_>-<?/>points, 17A) provided by The New York Times News 
B23 128 Service.<p/>
B23 129 <p_>There are relevant international issues being addressed through 
B23 130 the reporting of European events, the importance of which The Miami 
B23 131 Herald seems to miss.<p/>
B23 132 <p_>There is an international situation going on in Bosnia and 
B23 133 Herzegovina. Even though much of the American public does not 
B23 134 understand the political subtleties of such an issue, they at least 
B23 135 will be interested enough to turn to pages 14A and 17A in order to 
B23 136 read more about it, having been informed of some of the atrocities 
B23 137 believed to be going on in that corner of Europe.<p/>
B23 138 <p_>Even though the article on page 14 was simply factual reporting 
B23 139 of an incident, it should not only be encouraged, but should be 
B23 140 given front- or second-page attention.<p/>
B23 141 <p_>I hope that the editor will give these European concerns better 
B23 142 exposure in the future, and contribute to American humanity's 
B23 143 general awareness of worldwide events in doing so.<p/>
B23 144 <p_>JILL GILBERT<p/>
B23 145 <p_>Pembroke Pines<p/>
B23 146 
B23 147 <h_><p_>Hispanic isn't a race<p/><h/>
B23 148 <p_>To the Editor:<p/>
B23 149 <p_>Gary Illas's July 25 Readers' Forum letter neatly summarizes 
B23 150 the confusion we all experience in distinguishing between race and 
B23 151 ethnic background.<p/>
B23 152 <p_>A classic example was on your front page: Peru's President 
B23 153 Alberto Fujimori obviously is Hispanic and at the same time is of 
B23 154 Asian extraction. Hispanic is an ethnic background, not a race.<p/>
B23 155 <p_>The difficult question arises: If Pik Botha immigrated to the 
B23 156 United States and was naturalized, would he check the 
B23 157 'African-American' block on his census form?<p/>
B23 158 <p_>ROB CARDWELL,<p/>
B23 159 <p_>West Palm Beach<p/>
B23 160 
B23 161 <h_><p_>Simpson isn't the only popular Homer<p/><h/>
B23 162 <p_>To the Editor:<p/>
B23 163 <p_>On July 28, Herald writer Tracie Cone wrote about Howard 
B23 164 Robinson's ad asking people to call him if they'd be interested in 
B23 165 reading and discussing Homer's Iliad.<p/>
B23 166 <p_>Surprise, surprise! Some 30 to 40 souls met at the bandstand in 
B23 167 Hollywood Beach. For over two hours we read and discussed. One 
B23 168 woman was an expert in Greek history, and Robinson himself provided 
B23 169 background material and information.<p/>
B23 170 <p_>What thrills me is to find that a literary oasis exists and can 
B23 171 thrive in the midst of sleaze a la Channel 7 and its ilk of 
B23 172 grocery-line checkout 'journalism.'<p/>
B23 173 <p_>Some of the people who attended already belong to Great Books 
B23 174 clubs (one from the North Miami Public Library) but are ready for 
B23 175 more, more!<p/>
B23 176 <p_>Several young people joined the group, so fuddy-duddy -  
B23 177 Not.<p/>
B23 178 <p_>Thank you for having the wit to pick up on a unique story, and 
B23 179 for publishing it.<p/>
B23 180 <p_>MARION L. HALLAM<p/>
B23 181 <p_>North Miami<p/>
B23 182 
B23 183 <h_><p_>Welcome garbage police!<p/><h/>
B23 184 <p_>To The Editor:<p/>
B23 185 <p_>Herald staff writer Charles Strouse's attitude toward 
B23 186 enforcement of the ordinance against illegal dumping of trash in 
B23 187 stations designed for residential use is one of ridicule 
B23 188 (<tf_>Garbage police on patrol<tf/>, July 30). Yet if more county 
B23 189 enforcement officers did their jobs, we would have fewer zoning 
B23 190 violations, building code violations, and yes, illegal dumping.<p/>
B23 191 <p_>Unfortunately, some people just won't get with the program 
B23 192 unless there is a penalty -  and even then, some won't comply.<p/>
B23 193 <p_>For example, since July 1, businesses and multifamily units 
B23 194 were supposed to have recycling programs for employees and 
B23 195 residents to participate in. The management of my office building 
B23 196 (in Coral Gables) tells me that it's the waste-hauler's 
B23 197 responsibility to set up the program; the waste<?_>-<?/>hauler 
B23 198 tells me that the owner has to sign a recycling contract so it can 
B23 199 put out a bin ($26 per month); and the Coral Gables Public Works 
B23 200 Department tells me that it isn't enforcing its own ordinance.<p/>
B23 201 <p_>When I confronted the owner about the law, he basically said: 
B23 202 <quote_>"Oh, that won't go into effect for another year."<quote/> 
B23 203 So what's the point in having an ordinance if it's not enforceable? 
B23 204 How many businesses and condos don't care about saving resources or 
B23 205 about the solid waste problem? Plenty. To them, recycling is just 
B23 206 another bureaucratic scheme to plague private enterprise.<p/>
B23 207 <p_>When we have to permit yet another landfill or, God forbid, 
B23 208 shell out millions for a polluting garbage incinerator, those who 
B23 209 now smirk at the thought of a <quote_>"garbage police"<quote/> 
B23 210 ought to remember how silly they thought mandatory recycling 
B23 211 was.<p/>
B23 212 <p_>KAREN YOUNG<p/>
B23 213 <p_>Coral Gables<p/>
B23 214 
B23 215 <h_><p_>Overrun by aliens<p/><h/>
B23 216 <p_>To The Editor<p/>
B23 217 <p_>I disagree with Herald Editor Jim Hampton's Aug. 2 column, 
B23 218 <tf_>Toss a legal lifeline to Haitians<tf/>. I and a lot of other 
B23 219 men didn't risk our necks defending this country from our many 
B23 220 enemies all through the past 200 years just to see the place 
B23 221 overrun by a bunch of humanity from Third World countries.<p/>
B23 222 <p_>When a place gets overrun like this, it has a depressing effect 
B23 223 on wages for everybody. No one gets ahead. I have lived in this 
B23 224 town almost all of my 40 years, and it is apparent just by looking 
B23 225 around Miami that when a load of poor people washes ashore, the 
B23 226 place gets poorer. A few fast buck operators might make a killing 
B23 227 in the short term, but the rest stay broke.<p/>
B23 228 <p_>In a way, I take it personally about Mr. Hampton and his 
B23 229 Editorial Board colleagues wanting to be nice guys. I think that 
B23 230 their hearts are in the right place, but their brains ain't.<p/>
B23 231 <p_>As far as worrying about any other Third World country going 
B23 232 down the tube, that is too bad. Some places on this Earth are 
B23 233 blessed, and some are not. We are, and others are not. Life is 
B23 234 essentially cruel, and I for one have enough problems without 
B23 235 worrying about getting overrun again. If you want them here that 
B23 236 bad, give them your job. I need mine.<p/>
B23 237 <p_>BRIAN SHARP<p/>
B23 238 <p_>Miami<p/>
B23 239 
B23 240 <h_><p_>On the bosom beat<p/><h/>
B23 241 <p_>To The Editor:<p/>
B23 242 <p_>Those who have written concerning crime downtown and in support 
B23 243 of Rafael Kapustin's Aug. 6 Viewpoints Page article, <tf_>Downtown 
B23 244 Miami: 'Mayday!'<}_><-|>:<+|><}/><tf/> should be aware that all is 
B23 245 not lost. The police are focusing on more<}_><-|>-<+|> 
B23 246 <}/>important offenses.<p/>
B23 247 <p_>Just visit Rickenbacker Causeway or Virginia Key Beach and 
B23 248 watch what happens when a tourist from Europe or Brazil drops their 
B23 249 bathing suit top.<p/>
B23 250 <p_>You will witness the finest display of police tactical response 
B23 251 and command and control performed with immediate precision. Yes 
B23 252 sir-ree!<p/>
B23 253 <p_>As citizens and taxpayers, you should be proud. The next time 
B23 254 you or your co-workers are victims of crime, take comfort in 
B23 255 knowing there are no bare bosoms on Miami's beaches.
B23 256 
B24   1 <#FROWN:B24\><h_><p_>How Taxpayers Might Stop Deficit 
B24   2 Spending<p/><h/>
B24   3 <p_>Editor:<p/>
B24   4 <p_>It seems to me the foremost problem to be addressed by 
B24   5 candidates in the coming presidential election should be the 
B24   6 federal deficit.<p/>
B24   7 <p_>Amazingly, the general public hasn't protested with the 
B24   8 ferocity a problem of this magnitude demands. I feel this is due in 
B24   9 part to the fact that the dollar amounts involved are so large the 
B24  10 common taxpayer can't relate to them easily.<p/>
B24  11 <p_>Time magazine of June 22 took projections of government 
B24  12 spending and revenues for 1992 and scaled them down, based on 
B24  13 household incomes from $20,000 to $100,000.<p/>
B24  14 <p_>Example: Annual income, $40,000; total existing debt, $144,981; 
B24  15 annual interest on debt at 5.1 percent, $7,398; other spending, 
B24  16 $47,472; total annual spending, $54,870; additional debt acquired, 
B24  17 $14,870.<p/>
B24  18 <p_>If you had $144,981 left to pay on your mortgage and were 
B24  19 earning $40,000 a year, would you borrow an additional $14,870 in 
B24  20 1992?<p/>
B24  21 <p_>I feel the recently exposed congressional check-writing scandal 
B24  22 inspired such public outrage because it somehow proved to some 
B24  23 people what they've always suspected. It's not that our elected 
B24  24 officials can't balance the budget (or their own checking 
B24  25 accounts). It's that they choose not to.<p/>
B24  26 <p_>Perhaps we should be made to write two checks to IRS at tax 
B24  27 time - one for our normal tax and one for our share of what the 
B24  28 government spent beyond its means in the previous year.<p/>
B24  29 <p_>First, it would be fair in that people who actually benefited 
B24  30 from services provided by deficit spending in the previous year 
B24  31 would have to pay for them rather than passing the bill on to 
B24  32 future generations.<p/>
B24  33 <p_>Second, the general public would be outraged to the point of 
B24  34 demanding a truly balanced budget.<p/>
B24  35 <p_>ROB MAHARREY<p/>
B24  36 
B24  37 <h_><p_>Court's Beachfront Decision Reinforces Property 
B24  38 Rights<p/><h/>
B24  39 <p_>Editor:<p/>
B24  40 <p_>The Sierra Club to the contrary notwithstanding, the Supreme 
B24  41 Court's June 29 decision in Lucas vs. S.C. Coastal Council does not 
B24  42 <quote_>"gut environmental law."<quote/><p/>
B24  43 <p_>It merely returns a small measure of protection to the rights 
B24  44 of property owners that the founders of this country created when 
B24  45 they added the Fifth Amendment to our Constitution.<p/>
B24  46 <p_>The property rights and takings clauses are models of clarity 
B24  47 and brevity: <quote_>"No person shall be deprived of property 
B24  48 without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for 
B24  49 public use without just compensation."<quote/><p/>
B24  50 <p_>Mr. Lucas was clearly the victim of an unconstitutional taking 
B24  51 (the Coastal Council forbid him to build on his beachfront lots 
B24  52 because of erosion), but cases such as this involving total loss of 
B24  53 value due to an act of a governmental entity are, and will continue 
B24  54 to be, relatively rare.<p/>
B24  55 <p_>Mr. Lucas bought the property (near Charleston) in reliance on 
B24  56 the land-use regulations then in force, but the S.C. Coastal 
B24  57 Council changed the rules retroactively and he was forced to seek 
B24  58 relief through the judicial system.<p/>
B24  59 <p_>Mr. Lucas's perseverance may encourage others to sue when their 
B24  60 property rights are taken from them by administrative 
B24  61 procedures.<p/>
B24  62 <p_>It's very disturbing that the reaction of the Sierra Club to 
B24  63 the Lucas case is to equate property rights to greed. Carried to 
B24  64 its logical conclusion, the Sierra Club seems to be saying that all 
B24  65 undeveloped property should be taken by the government, without 
B24  66 compensation, in the name of public welfare.<p/>
B24  67 <p_>It's becoming increasing<&_>sic<&/> apparent that <quote_>"the 
B24  68 Green tree has Red roots."<quote/><p/>
B24  69 <p_>JOHN C. SNEDEKER<p/>
B24  70 
B24  71 <h_><p_>Our Judicial System: A Retort<p/><h/>
B24  72 <p_>Editor:<p/>
B24  73 <p_>I hope attorney Kevin Street (Letter, Sunday, July 12, 'Is Our 
B24  74 Judicial System Sick? No, It's the Best in the World') wrote a 
B24  75 letter to Terry Santiago expressing his sympathy over her husband's 
B24  76 June 6 death as I'm sure he has written to the Saltysiaks, 
B24  77 MacPhails, Kellys, Valerie Armstrong's mother and others, assuring 
B24  78 them the judicial system will do everything in its power to protect 
B24  79 the rights of individuals who perpetrated the ultimate crime 
B24  80 against their loved ones.<p/>
B24  81 <p_>I'm sure they'd like a lesson in how the criminal is treated 
B24  82 versus how criminals treat their victims. Apparently the fact the 
B24  83 chief witness for the prosecution in a murder case is dead means 
B24  84 little to Mr. Street.<p/>
B24  85 <p_>He feels the rights of the defendant must be protected and is 
B24  86 glad courageous lawyers and judges have improved our society. I 
B24  87 only wish he would direct me to this improved society he and his 
B24  88 peers have created.<p/>
B24  89 <p_>Perhaps this society is the one described by Cade in 
B24  90 Shakespeare's 'Henry VI,' where everyone <quote_>"agrees like 
B24  91 brothers."<quote/> The only problem is, Dick wants to <quote_>"kill 
B24  92 all the lawyers."<quote/><p/>
B24  93 <p_>I made no threat of violence in my tirade, as Mr. Street labels 
B24  94 it. I only pointed out the direction the country is going. And I 
B24  95 suggest Mr. Street spend some time in court, as even I know the 
B24  96 jury doesn't plead a case.<p/>
B24  97 <p_>RICHARD F. TUYLS<p/>
B24  98 
B24  99 <h_><p_>A Humanist Speaks Out<p/><h/>
B24 100 <p_>Editor:<p/>
B24 101 <p_>Priscilla Carlton explained in her Sunday, June 14, letter 
B24 102 ('Atheism and Humanism: Dispelling the Ignorance'), in a clear and 
B24 103 powerful style, the definitions and differences of the terms 
B24 104 'atheism' and 'humanism.'<p/>
B24 105 <p_>Nancy Buttimer's June 28 letter ('Religion, Character, 
B24 106 Decency') is a beautiful example of tolerance with believers and 
B24 107 non-believers.<p/>
B24 108 <p_>Then came Luther Nichols's July 5 letter ('Some Thoughts on 
B24 109 Humanism') with his anxiety concerning humanism. What kind of laws 
B24 110 would we have, he asks, if atheists (and humanists) were in 
B24 111 control? Perhaps he should re-read the Carlton and Buttimer 
B24 112 letters.<p/>
B24 113 <p_>As a member of the American Humanist Association, I can say we 
B24 114 presently number less than 20,000 in the United States. We are made 
B24 115 up of various levels of believers, agnostics and atheists.<p/>
B24 116 <p_>If we were in control (which we don't want to be), there would 
B24 117 be much less federal and state law concerning control of individual 
B24 118 behavior of the victimless type.<p/>
B24 119 <p_>The current domestic war on drugs would be throttled back and 
B24 120 turned over to health agencies rather than police. There would be 
B24 121 considerable<&_>sic<&/> more research and education on the effects 
B24 122 of harmful individual behaviors.<p/>
B24 123 <p_>Crimes against individuals and property would be managed much 
B24 124 more rapidly. There would be no difference between the sexes in the 
B24 125 eyes of our law.<p/>
B24 126 <p_>Our goal would be a lot less government and much more 
B24 127 freedom.<p/>
B24 128 <p_>We would hope all individual behavior would be based upon 
B24 129 rational choices, tolerance, and the courage to accept choice 
B24 130 consequences rather than the fear and punishment model presented in 
B24 131 Mr. Nichols's letter.<p/>
B24 132 <p_>Most of all, we would encourage all people to take control of 
B24 133 and become responsible for their lives.<p/>
B24 134 <p_>If you wish to know more about humanism, go to your local 
B24 135 public library and read some issues of the Humanist magazine.<p/>
B24 136 <p_>Also, check out and read Corliss Lamont's book, 'The Philosophy 
B24 137 of Humanism.'<p/>
B24 138 <p_>HORACE W. SHEWMAKER<p/>
B24 139 <p_>Cobbtown<p/>
B24 140 
B24 141 <h_><p_>Get Rid of the Rebel Image<p/><h/>
B24 142 <p_>Editor:<p/>
B24 143 <p_>I like to add some input on the flag issue. The great state of 
B24 144 Georgia has come a long way since the days of old and if we're to 
B24 145 keep moving ahead, we must forget the past.<p/>
B24 146 <p_>It's hard to forget when the flag reminds us of the way it used 
B24 147 to be in Georgia.<p/>
B24 148 <p_>I think changing the flag would change the way other states 
B24 149 look at Georgia. In ridding ourselves of the rebel image, we can 
B24 150 only advance further.<p/>
B24 151 <p_>Thank God for Gov. Zell Miller and others who favor the change 
B24 152 and the new image for this great state of ours.<p/>
B24 153 <p_>God bless Georgia.<p/>
B24 154 <p_>GENE MINOR<p/>
B24 155 
B24 156 <h_><p_>A Perot Backer's Plea: Come Join Us<p/><h/>
B24 157 <p_>Editor:<p/>
B24 158 <p_>Ross Perot has a debt on his shoulders that makes the national 
B24 159 debt seem comparatively trivial. He owes his supporters and all 
B24 160 those who favor the concept of an independent political party one 
B24 161 thing, a presidential candidate.<p/>
B24 162 <p_>Personally, I'm glad Mr. Perot is gone now rather than after he 
B24 163 took office, if he had no stomach for it. But he should at least 
B24 164 name an heir to his place in his movement. The 20,000,000-plus 
B24 165 volunteers and uncounted millions of voters who were willing to 
B24 166 hand him their voting blocks on a silver platter know the two-party 
B24 167 system in America is dead.<p/>
B24 168 <p_>The 'Perot Party' wasn't really about Ross Perot anyway, it was 
B24 169 about freedom of choice and recognition of the failure of both the 
B24 170 Democratic and Republican parties to run this government by and for 
B24 171 us. That hasn't changed, even if Mr. Perot's resolve has.<p/>
B24 172 <p_>Those of us who dreamed the dream can't go back to the 
B24 173 two-party system, regardless of how warmly and hungrily Bill 
B24 174 Clinton or George Bush want us. We'll likely write in ourselves 
B24 175 first. But what we really should do is stay united and bring in a 
B24 176 new independent party, candidate and platform to a yearning 
B24 177 America.<p/>
B24 178 <p_>The 'Perot Party' (new nomenclature needed) would carry on the 
B24 179 ideals we believed in and fought for in the first place, and win - 
B24 180 forcing an entirely new form of democracy in this country for 
B24 181 generations to come. Imagine the possibilities.<p/>
B24 182 <p_>I'd also say to supporters of Bush and Clinton that, rather 
B24 183 than us join them, they could now vote with a clear conscience and 
B24 184 be part of the future by joining us, that powerful new grass-roots 
B24 185 independent party with all the momentum instead.<p/>
B24 186 <p_>Applications and resumes for prospective officeholders are now 
B24 187 being accepted.<p/>
B24 188 <p_>JIM ESHLEMAN II<p/>
B24 189 
B24 190 <h_><p_>Statesboro: Grow Up<p/><h/>
B24 191 <p_>Editor:<p/>
B24 192 <p_>In a recent article in the <tf_>Savannah Morning News<tf/>, 
B24 193 staff writer Laura Milner quoted Statesboro City Councilman John 
B24 194 Newton as stating the city of Statesboro helps <quote_>"maintain 
B24 195 the integrity of what a single-family residential area should 
B24 196 be"<quote/> by limiting the number of unrelated roommates living 
B24 197 together and the number of vehicles parked on private property in 
B24 198 certain neighborhoods. These limits are set by city ordinance.<p/>
B24 199 <p_>Councilman Newton goes on to say, <quote_>"A family unit has 
B24 200 people working in the daytime and coming home and wanting a little 
B24 201 peace and quiet."<quote/> He further states he thinks all Georgia 
B24 202 Southern University freshman students should live on campus and 
B24 203 implies they need to <quote_>"learn responsibility toward the 
B24 204 public and the folks around them."<quote/><p/>
B24 205 <p_>If these attitudes are shared by the majority of the city 
B24 206 fathers and the 'movers and shakers' of the city of Statesboro, 
B24 207 then as a city, Statesboro is undeserving of a university the 
B24 208 magnitude and caliber of GSU. It's precisely these close-minded and 
B24 209 socially-retarded attitudes that cause many of the growing pains 
B24 210 communities in our country experience as they undergo the 
B24 211 transition from big towns to small cities.<p/>
B24 212 <p_>If Statesboro wants the prestige and social and economic 
B24 213 benefits of being host to such a fine, sophisticated institution as 
B24 214 GSU, then as a city it needs to learn to accept some of its own 
B24 215 inevitable 'urbanity' and 'grow up' in mind, as well as in size.<p/>
B24 216 <p_>JACK FLETCHER<p/>
B24 217 <p_>Pembroke<p/>
B24 218 
B24 219 <h_><p_>Change in DUI Law Was Unfair<p/><h/>
B24 220 <p_>Editor:<p/>
B24 221 <p_>Maybe someone can give me some advice. I'm running out of 
B24 222 options for a solution.<p/>
B24 223 <p_>I recently called the State Department of Public Safety in 
B24 224 Atlanta in hopes of obtaining my temporary driving permit. The date 
B24 225 I was to get it was April 27,1992.<p/>
B24 226 <p_>It was then that I found out about a new law.<p/>
B24 227 <p_>The clerk informed me it would cost $690, plus completion of 
B24 228 DUI school at a cost of $155, and also SR22 insurance, which is 
B24 229 very expensive. The clerk said the $690 was because of a new law 
B24 230 passed April 1, 1992.<p/>
B24 231 <p_>Let me explain my feelings on this. First, I don't condone 
B24 232 drinking and driving. It's a very serious offense. It's very 
B24 233 dangerous and does cost many lives everyday.<p/>
B24 234 <p_>But like any crime, there's a price to pay. I honestly believe 
B24 235 I've paid mine. I spent 5 1/2 months at Hardwick (GWCI) and six 
B24 236 months on intense probation, meaning curfew, alcohol tests nightly, 
B24 237 and considerable restrictions on freedom.<p/>
B24 238 <p_>During that time I did some serious soul-searching, and began 
B24 239 to turn my life around. I started taking medicine, and getting 
B24 240 treatment. I am a recovering alcoholic. This was not something 
B24 241 anyone made me do. I did it on my own, and by the grace of God, I'm 
B24 242 finally, after all this time, somebody.<p/>
B24 243 <p_>I guess the thought that most goes through my mind is, if a 
B24 244 person commits armed robbery, or even manslaughter, they're allowed 
B24 245 to go free, after being deemed 'fit for society,' and are allowed 
B24 246 every privilege and freedom provided by law after time served.<p/>
B24 247 
B25   1 <#FROWN:B25\><h_><p_>Who's Behind Hysteria in the Main 
B25   2 Woods?<p/><h/>
B25   3 <p_>To the Editor:<p/>
B25   4 <p_>Your Aug. 2 news article on Mainers who are worried the Federal 
B25   5 Government will take their land for a wildlife refuge implies that 
B25   6 there is a genuine threat this might happen. There isn't.<p/>
B25   7 <p_>You report that last year the Government bought 318,000 acres 
B25   8 to add to national parks, forests and other public land units. 
B25   9 Three of the four agencies that purchased these areas did not use 
B25  10 condemnation at all. The fourth, the National Park Service, did use 
B25  11 its condemnation powers in some cases, almost exclusively to 
B25  12 purchase tracts in Florida's Everglades eco-system, which the 
B25  13 owners had bought sight unseen and do not live on.<p/>
B25  14 <p_>The Mainers are suspicious of the United States Fish and 
B25  15 Wildlife Service, which manages the adjacent Moosehorn National 
B25  16 Wildlife Refuge. Last year, not one of the 235,727 acres aquired by 
B25  17 the agency around the country was obtained through condemnation. 
B25  18 The landowners near Moosehorn should believe the refuge manager's 
B25  19 assurances that they can either keep their land or sell it.<p/>
B25  20 <p_>This is one more example of nationwide efforts, financed mostly 
B25  21 by the extractive industries and their allies, to whip up hysteria 
B25  22 among citizens by convincing them that steps to protect our 
B25  23 environment will hurt them.<p/>
B25  24 <p_>GEORGE T. FRAMPTON JR.<p/>
B25  25 <p_>President, Wilderness Society<p/>
B25  26 <p_>Washington, Aug. 12, 1992<p/>
B25  27 
B25  28 <h_><p_>Monterey Safeguarded<p/><h/>
B25  29 <p_>To the Editor:<p/>
B25  30 <p_>An ad from members of the environmental community criticizing 
B25  31 the recently announced designation of the Monterey Bay National 
B25  32 Marine Sanctuary makes accusations that do not reflect the 
B25  33 hard-fought safeguards for this treasured portion of California's 
B25  34 coast (Op-Ed page, July 22). To counter a few of the more obvious 
B25  35 misrepresentations:<p/>
B25  36 <p_><*_>bullet<*/> No offshore oil drilling will be allowed in the 
B25  37 area.<p/>
B25  38 <p_><*_>bullet<*/> No contaminated dredged materials can be dumped 
B25  39 in or adjacent to the sanctuary. Through a unique, 
B25  40 co<?_>-<?/>operative planning effort joining the Corps of 
B25  41 Engineers, state and other Federal agencies, ports, fishermen and 
B25  42 environmentalists, a permanent ocean dump site is being studied to 
B25  43 the west of the sanctuary. But the eventual plan is required by law 
B25  44 to prevent damage to the sanctuary; and sediments disposed at the 
B25  45 site must be sands and muds that are as clean as or cleaner than 
B25  46 current conditions found in this pristine area.<p/>
B25  47 <p_><*_>bullet<*/> All pesticide runoff and sewage disposal into 
B25  48 the sanctuary must meet the strict state and Federal requirements. 
B25  49 Further, all discharges must be upgraded to secondary treatment, 
B25  50 and the state has committed itself to revise its coastal 
B25  51 water-quality plan in keeping with the purposes of the 
B25  52 sanctuary.<p/>
B25  53 <p_><*_>bullet<*/> Finally, the state has entered into a joint 
B25  54 agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
B25  55 to insure meaningful regulation of water quality in the sanctuary. 
B25  56 To complement the agency's proposed sanctuary staff of five, who 
B25  57 will implement all regulations, this agreement brings to bear 
B25  58 hundreds of the state's water-quality experts.<p/>
B25  59 <p_>The remaining claims in the ad similarly distort the purposes 
B25  60 and achievements of this largest marine sanctuary in the country. 
B25  61 Fulfilment of the sanctuary purposes will be difficult, given its 
B25  62 size and that this is also the first marine sanctuary adjacent to 
B25  63 major population and agricultural centers. Under Gov. Pete Wilson, 
B25  64 California has committed its resources to working with the National 
B25  65 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in bringing this dream to 
B25  66 reality. <p/>
B25  67 <p_>KEN WISEMAN<p/>
B25  68 <p_>Undersecretary for Environmental Protection, California 
B25  69 E.P.A.<p/>
B25  70 <p_>Sacramento, Calif., Aug. 3, 1992<p/>
B25  71 
B25  72 <h_><p_>Alaska's Park Pennies<p/><h/>
B25  73 <p_>To the Editor:<p/>
B25  74 <p_>'City Dwellers Want U.S. Park Funds to Go East' (front page, 
B25  75 July 27) makes a good point: that the public really does need more 
B25  76 accessible open spaces.<p/>
B25  77 <p_>But national park lands in Alaska do not, as you state, use a 
B25  78 large percentage of the National Park Service's budget.<p/>
B25  79 <p_>The Alaska region receives only 3.4 percent of the Park 
B25  80 Service's $1.3 billion budget, though 70 percent of national park 
B25  81 lands for the entire United States are situated there. Now 3.4 
B25  82 percent is not a big slice of the pie, when national park lands in 
B25  83 Alaska exceed 54 million acres and some Alaskan national parks are 
B25  84 the size of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont combined.<p/>
B25  85 <p_>In 1980 you supported increasing National Park lands in Alaska 
B25  86 from close to 8 million acres to more than 54 million acres. We 
B25  87 warned at the time that management of new Alaska National Park 
B25  88 lands would affect the budgets for recreation lands in the southern 
B25  89 48. No visitor access by road is possible to at least 10 of the 15 
B25  90 national parks in Alaska, and demand for that access in Alaska's 
B25  91 national parks is up too.<p/>
B25  92 <p_>TED STEVENS<p/>
B25  93 <p_>U.S. Senator from Alaska<p/>
B25  94 <p_>Washington, Aug. 2, 1992<p/>
B25  95 
B25  96 <h_><p_>In Algeria, Not French, But Arabs Suffered<p/><h/>
B25  97 <p_>To the Editor:<p/>
B25  98 <p_>Re 'Still Aching for Algeria, 30 Years After the Rage' (Toulon 
B25  99 Journal, July 20):<p/>
B25 100 <p_>In describing what is generally identified as one of the most 
B25 101 brutal colonizations suffered by Africa, the Fench historian M. 
B25 102 Bandicourt relates how French troops occupying Algeria in 1830 
B25 103 would sever the limbs of Arab women to retrieve the silver leg and 
B25 104 arm rings they wore.<p/>
B25 105 <p_>Such violence continued more than a century, as the colonial 
B25 106 authorities ruthlessly subdued the Arab population and confiscated 
B25 107 and settled tribal land with French <foreign|>'colons', also known 
B25 108 as <foreign_>'pieds noirs'<quote/>.<p/>
B25 109 <p_>There is not a word of this in your article. Instead, you tell 
B25 110 us only that the <foreign_>pieds noirs<foreign/> enjoyed a 132-year 
B25 111 <quote|>"presence" in a country they considered their home, but 
B25 112 were forced to leave en masse because of an Arab <quote_>"blood 
B25 113 bath"<quote/>, your epithet for Algeria's revolutionary struggle. 
B25 114 Now, their former residences and neighborhoods in that country are 
B25 115 <quote_>"run<?_>-<?/>down"<quote/> or <quote_>"in ruins"<quote/>. 
B25 116 You would have us believe that a great injustice was done to the 
B25 117 French by the Algerians.<p/>
B25 118 <p_>In detailing the experiences of the <foreign_>pieds 
B25 119 noirs<foreign/> during the revolutionary war, you speak only of 
B25 120 Arab <quote|>"atrocities". But it was the French who showed a 
B25 121 penchant for gross brutality: they killed a million Algerians in 
B25 122 the eight-year war against the nationalists, and uprooted large 
B25 123 sections of the rural population by a relentless bombing 
B25 124 campaign.<p/>
B25 125 <p_>The use of torture by the French military was widespread. Why 
B25 126 is this aspect of the war denied? Among the ideological precepts of 
B25 127 the 'new world order' is one that describes the third world as 
B25 128 brutish and backward, and justifies continuing domination by the 
B25 129 advanced Western countries in economic, political and military 
B25 130 terms. This outlook can be seen in your article.<p/>
B25 131 <p_>One would expect you to maintain a certain objectivity about 
B25 132 such crucial issues.<p/>
B25 133 <p_>MUHAMMAD SAAHIR LONE<p/>
B25 134 <p_>Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., Aug. 3, 1992<p/>
B25 135 
B25 136 <h_><p_>Must Doctors Always <tf|>Do Something?<p/><h/>
B25 137 <p_>To the Editor:<p/>
B25 138 <p_>After reading your news article on the risks associated with 
B25 139 the drug <}_><-|>ritrodrine<+|>ritodrine<}/>, used to prevent 
B25 140 premature births (front page, July 30), I was left with a flood of 
B25 141 emotions.<p/>
B25 142 <p_>I am among the lucky. My only cross to bear for having been 
B25 143 born to a mother who took the drug DES in the 1950's to prevent 
B25 144 miscarriage was to remain on strict bed rest for the last six 
B25 145 months of my two pregnancies, to have two sutures surgically placed 
B25 146 around my cervix and to take ritodrine. At the end, with much 
B25 147 praying, I had two glorious children.<p/>
B25 148 <p_>The scars of others run deeper: malformed reproductive organs, 
B25 149 multiple miscarriages, premature births, vaginal cancers and the 
B25 150 curse of sterility. And yet, lucky or unlucky, the feelings of 
B25 151 having been indelibly damaged by a drug whose effectiveness was 
B25 152 ultimately found to be nil persist in all of us who were 
B25 153 exposed.<p/>
B25 154 <p_>Given my history and knowing I took ritodrine while pregnant, 
B25 155 imagine my terror as I read your report. The word ritodrine popped 
B25 156 out, my pulse began to race, and I began to shake, not knowing what 
B25 157 fate awaited me. Was it to happen to me again - a <quote_>"double 
B25 158 dose,"<quote/> as my physician husband called it? What would it be 
B25 159 this time - my health, my children's, some other hidden time 
B25 160 bomb?<p/>
B25 161 <p_>Fortunately, the newest information on ritodrine does not seem 
B25 162 to hold out the same horrors as DES. Yet the experience is the 
B25 163 same: an ineffective drug exposing pregnant women to needless risk 
B25 164 and sometimes even death. How is it that such a thing should happen 
B25 165 again?<p/>
B25 166 <p_>Most disturbing of all was the statement of a prominent 
B25 167 obstetrician that although he thought the new data on ritodrine 
B25 168 should <quote_>"sway doctors to use no drugs in most 
B25 169 cases,"<quote/> he himself was not sure he or others would follow 
B25 170 that course: <quote_>"most doctors would rather give some treatment 
B25 171 than do nothing."<quote/> Who is being treated, the physician or 
B25 172 the patient?<p/>
B25 173 <p_>Isn't it possible that if physicians were more highly developed 
B25 174 and educated in doctor-patient relations - that is, in empathy, 
B25 175 understanding and communication - it would offset their driving 
B25 176 need always to do something?<p/>
B25 177 <p_>JANET RIVKIN ZUCKERMAN<p/>
B25 178 <p_>Mamaroneck, N.Y., Aug. 1, 1992<p/>
B25 179 
B25 180 <h_><p_>Treat Hypertension With Right Mix of Drugs<p/><h/>
B25 181 <p_>To the Editor:<p/>
B25 182 <p_>'Treating Hypertension Without Giving Up Sex' (letter, Aug. 1), 
B25 183 by Dr. Elliot Wineburg leaves the impression that all medications 
B25 184 used in high blood pressure management cause impotence, and that 
B25 185 nondrug measures are usually effective.<p/>
B25 186 <p_>A new generation of drugs lowers elevated blood pressure: ACE 
B25 187 inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, alpha-adrenergic blockers, 
B25 188 centrally acting agents, beta blockers and diuretics. In skilled 
B25 189 professional hands and with some patience, the right combination of 
B25 190 drugs can almost always be found - without intolerable side 
B25 191 effects, and that includes impairment of sexual function.<p/>
B25 192 <p_>Most doctors agree that hypertensive patients of whatever race 
B25 193 should first be treated with a low-salt diet and a weight-reduction 
B25 194 program. However, such measures alone suffice in only a minority of 
B25 195 cases: when the blood pressure level is only mildly or moderately 
B25 196 elevated; when the disorder is salt-dependent (less than 50 percent 
B25 197 are), and when the subject is significantly obese.<p/>
B25 198 <p_>Severe hypertension, however, with its risk of serious vascular 
B25 199 complications, requires normalization more qickly than diet and 
B25 200 weight loss can possibly effect. In such cases, medication is 
B25 201 necessary early on.<p/>
B25 202 <p_>Biofeedback and psychotherapy may play a supportive role in 
B25 203 some anxious individuals, but they cannot be considered mainstays 
B25 204 of treatment.<p/>
B25 205 <p_>ISADORE ROSENFELD, M.D.<p/>
B25 206 <p_>Clinical Professor of Medicine<p/>
B25 207 <p_>N.Y. Hospital-Cornell Medical Center<p/>
B25 208 <p_>New York, Aug. 1, 1992<p/>
B25 209 
B25 210 <h_><p_>Let's Reject Concept of Dogs as Designer Jeans or Sports 
B25 211 Cars<p/><h/>
B25 212 <p_>To the Editor:<p/>
B25 213 <p_>Larry Shook in 'Bad Dogs' (Op-Ed, Aug. 8) raises the important 
B25 214 issue of the increasing frequency of genetic diseases in pure-bred 
B25 215 dogs. However, he misses the point when he suggests that this 
B25 216 should be dealt with by having the American Kennel Club refuse to 
B25 217 register such animals or by forcing the pet store to cover the 
B25 218 owner's associated medical expenses.<p/>
B25 219 <p_>First, Mr. Shook ignores that there are individuals knowingly 
B25 220 responsible for the suffering of sick dogs. For every dog suffering 
B25 221 from a genetic disease that survives to adolescence or adulthood, 
B25 222 there are many more that die as puppies or shortly thereafter. 
B25 223 Second, and most important, the vast majority of people do not show 
B25 224 dogs and therefore do not need pure-breds.<p/>
B25 225 <p_>There are millions of adorable, loving, healthy mixed-breed 
B25 226 dogs waiting for homes in shelters across the country. The majority 
B25 227 will be destroyed. Puppy mills and irresponsible show breeders will 
B25 228 churn out defective dogs as long as there is a market for them, 
B25 229 even as shelters are forced to destroy dogs that can provide love 
B25 230 and companionship. The problem can only worsen as the frequency of 
B25 231 deleterious genes increases in the pool.<p/>
B25 232 <p_>People should ask themselves whether what they want from a pet 
B25 233 can be fulfilled only by a pure-bred and whether they must accept 
B25 234 that, for this, the mixed-breed dog they reject must die. Few 
B25 235 people who want pure-bred dogs are themselves pure-bred! Are dogs 
B25 236 now to be considered on the same level as designer jeans and sports 
B25 237 cars?<p/>
B25 238 <p_>KAREN S. ZIER<p/>
B25 239 <p_>New York, Aug. 9, 1992<p/>
B25 240 
B25 241 <h_><p_>Relief on Auto Alarms<p/><h/>
B25 242 <p_>To the Editor:<p/>
B25 243 <p_>'Wailing about Wails' (Topics item, Aug. 12) echoes the 
B25 244 feelings of New Yorkers on the usefulness and nuisance of car 
B25 245 alarms. Gov. Mario M. Cuomo has signed a bill I sponsored that 
B25 246 outlaws the sale of new car alarms that sound for more than three 
B25 247 minutes or that can be set off by other than direct physical 
B25 248 contact.<p/>
B25 249 
B26   1 <#FROWN:B26\><h_><p_>NAFTA Seen as Resulting in Devastation for 
B26   2 Mexico's Corn Growers<p/><h/>
B26   3 <p_>Regarding Part 3 of the series 'Farming a Shrinking Planet,' 
B26   4 the article 'Trade Deal With the United States Puts Many Mexican 
B26   5 Farmers at Risk,' Nov. 4: If the North American Free Trade 
B26   6 Agreement (NAFTA) is passed, I am concerned about the possible 
B26   7 effects it could have on the 2.7 million corn producers in 
B26   8 Mexico.<p/>
B26   9 <p_>Any benefits NAFTA might bring to Mexico would be outweighed by 
B26  10 the problems brought on by the displacement of millions of farmers 
B26  11 and their families due to a drastic reduction in the production of 
B26  12 the nation's largest agricultural product - corn. Under NAFTA, 
B26  13 Mexican farmers could not hope to compete with US farmers, due to 
B26  14 climate conditions and geographical disadvantages.<p/>
B26  15 <p_>I fail to see how an agreement such as NAFTA, which is intended 
B26  16 to benefit all participating countries, can justify the risk of 
B26  17 possible economic disaster for a nation by reducing or eliminating 
B26  18 the production of its main food staple. A nation cannot eliminate 
B26  19 the livelihood of millions of its people without causing an 
B26  20 economic domino effect. One problem leads to another. If NAFTA is 
B26  21 passed it will not be as profitable or beneficial to the overall 
B26  22 economy of Mexico as expressed by the proponents of the 
B26  23 agreement.<p/>
B26  24 <p_>Alisha Whitaker<p/>
B26  25 <p_>Burnsville, Miss.<p/>
B26  26 
B26  27 <h_><p_>Empathy for French farmers<p/><h/>
B26  28 <p_>Regarding the editorials 'Against the Grain,' Oct. 28, and 
B26  29 'Back From the Trade-War Brink,' Nov. 12: About one-third of the 
B26  30 farmers in Nebraska have been forced from the land by rising costs 
B26  31 and falling farm prices during the last 10 years. Similar 
B26  32 statistics apply to other agricultural states. This is 'progress' 
B26  33 under the so-called free-market system? During this time 
B26  34 agricultural-business giants such as Con-Agra of Omaha, Neb., and 
B26  35 Cargill of Minneapolis have become bigger and richer.<p/>
B26  36 <p_>I sympathize with the French farmers because, under the 
B26  37 international free<?_>-<?/>market system of GATT, the General 
B26  38 Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, they will also see their numbers 
B26  39 greatly reduced by rising costs and falling farm prices.<p/>
B26  40 <p_>Hank F. Bohling<p/>
B26  41 <p_>Auburn, Neb.<p/>
B26  42 
B26  43 <h_><p_>A mandate for the UN<p/><h/>
B26  44 <p_>Given the emerging regional trends in the direction of peace, 
B26  45 it is time that the United Nations General Assembly changes both 
B26  46 the tone and the content of its resolutions regarding Israel. With 
B26  47 the sole exception of the United States, UN member nations continue 
B26  48 to pass resolutions which repeatedly have the effect of hindering - 
B26  49 not helping - the peace process.<p/>
B26  50 <p_>One important case in point is the UN's refusal to allow 
B26  51 Israel, like other countries, to hold key positions such as a 
B26  52 nonpermanent membership on the Security Council, the presidency of 
B26  53 the General Assembly, and chairmanships of various committees. 
B26  54 Without this, Israel uniquely continues to be denied full 
B26  55 participation in the work of the UN, and an opportunity is being 
B26  56 missed to grant Israel the international acceptance it needs as it 
B26  57 considers the risks it must take in the peace process.<p/>
B26  58 <p_>The current (47th) session of the General Assembly provides the 
B26  59 chance to reverse the UN's defamation of Israel. It is crucial that 
B26  60 all Americans seeking constructive change in the fragile Middle 
B26  61 East encourage our government leaders to work with foreign 
B26  62 representatives to end this trend of 'Israel-bashing.'<p/>
B26  63 <p_>Mark J. Levinson<p/>
B26  64 <p_>Boston<p/>
B26  65 <p_>President, American Jewish Committee<p/>
B26  66 <p_>Greater Boston Chapter<p/>
B26  67 
B26  68 <h_><p_>A Two-Sided Coin: Feeding the Hungry and Preserving the 
B26  69 Land<p/><h/>
B26  70 <p_>While I applaud the four-part series 'Farming a Shrinking 
B26  71 Planet,' there are serious oversights in the perspective from which 
B26  72 the articles were reported. In Part 1, 'Can the Earth Feed 
B26  73 Everyone?,' Oct. 21, the question presumes that our current norms 
B26  74 of eating must be maintained. Nutritional research and 
B26  75 environmental awareness have lent great weight to the argument that 
B26  76 we must change our food consumption patterns dramatically.<p/>
B26  77 <p_>Regarding Part 2, 'How Far Can Technology Boost Output?,' Oct. 
B26  78 28: The emphasis is on new genetics and new varieties. Why not 
B26  79 emphasize the value of intensive gardening and the role of policy 
B26  80 in encouraging subsistence and sustaining farming rather than 
B26  81 export production?<p/>
B26  82 <p_>Regarding Part 3, 'Will Trade Barriers Fall,' Nov. 4: In 
B26  83 looking at the global arena, examples are given of the 
B26  84 counter<?_>-<?/>productive nature of agricultural subsidies. The 
B26  85 underlying assumption is that the global marketplace is the best 
B26  86 way to provide the world's food. The tragedy is that the cost of 
B26  87 such production is hardly borne by consumers in the short term.<p/>
B26  88 <p_>Regarding Part 4 How Is Change Affecting Farmers?,' Nov. 12: 
B26  89 Where is the discussion about programs to link consumers directly 
B26  90 with producers? Where is the discussion about the awareness among 
B26  91 farmers that the land cannot continue to produce with agribusiness 
B26  92 practices? The global economy will work only when farmers, the 
B26  93 land, and consumers enter into a mutually enhancing 
B26  94 relationship.<p/>
B26  95 <p_>Marilyn Welker<p/>
B26  96 <p_>Columbus, Ohio<p/>
B26  97 
B26  98 <h_><p_>The immigration issue<p/><h/>
B26  99 <p_>The article 'Immigration Issues Land in Clinton's Lap,' Nov. 
B26 100 18, points out our continuing problem of hordes of people from 
B26 101 already-crowded countries trying to enter the United States 
B26 102 regardless of quotas. In addition to seeking answers to our present 
B26 103 dilemma, we should take a long-range view and give more help to 
B26 104 fast-growing countries in their efforts to spread family 
B26 105 planning.<p/>
B26 106 <p_>The US devotes less than 3 percent of its total foreign aid 
B26 107 appropriation to bringing down the birthrates of less-developed 
B26 108 countries. In contrast, billions go to military aid and to 
B26 109 developmental and infrastructural projects that will soon be 
B26 110 overwhelmed with too many people. Let us hope that the new 
B26 111 administration will resume our contributions to the United Nations 
B26 112 Population Fund and the International Planned Parenthood 
B26 113 Federation. No additional money is needed; just modified 
B26 114 priorities.<p/>
B26 115 <p_>Keith C. Barrons<p/>
B26 116 <p_>Bradenton, Fla.<p/>
B26 117 
B26 118 <p_>The Opinion page article 'US Refugee Policy Faulted,' Nov. 12, 
B26 119 is an excellent review of the issue. The author notes that our 
B26 120 refugee policy has outlived its historical mission. The same could 
B26 121 be said for our entire immigration policy.<p/>
B26 122 <p_>The United States currently allows entrance of more immigrants 
B26 123 each year than the rest of the world's nations combined allow into 
B26 124 their countries. And this quota does not take into account refugees 
B26 125 and family members of immigrants who enter the US each year.<p/>
B26 126 <p_>Do the immigration-policy makers truly understand the long-term 
B26 127 implications? Through natural increase and legal and illegal 
B26 128 immigration, America is adding at least 3 million people to its 
B26 129 population each year. Conservatively, in 50 years, there will be at 
B26 130 least 400 million Americans.<p/>
B26 131 <p_>If the US limited its total number of immigrants to the total 
B26 132 number of people leaving the US each year, which is approximately 
B26 133 200,000 people, would not that be a wise policy in the long run? 
B26 134 Responsible policymaking must be based on long-term not short-term 
B26 135 benefits.<p/>
B26 136 <p_>G.B. Lloyd<p/>
B26 137 <p_>Southwest Harbor, Maine<p/>
B26 138 
B26 139 <h_><p_>The US Government's 'Tough Love' Approach to Somalia<p/><h/>
B26 140 <p_>The good news is that Washington has decided to apply 'tough 
B26 141 love' principles in Somalia, where disorder is so severe that less 
B26 142 than half the donated food and medicine gets past warlords and 
B26 143 looters to reach the multitude of innocent victims. The bad news is 
B26 144 that our troops risk undertaking a dangerous mission without a 
B26 145 clear objective. An open-ended notion of why they are there could 
B26 146 lead them into the very quagmire everyone wants to avoid. We need 
B26 147 to be explicit with ourselves, our allies, and Somalia that our 
B26 148 sole objective is to safeguard the humanitarian relief operation - 
B26 149 not to take charge of the country politically. Drawing the 
B26 150 distinction is vitally important:<p/>
B26 151 <p_><*_>black-square<*/>Troops should be used to take control of 
B26 152 ports, airfields, and storage facilities used for relief purposes; 
B26 153 to escort food convoys and personnel; to protect distribution 
B26 154 sites; to provide a communications network and air-mobile rescue 
B26 155 capability; and to organize and train local civilian guard forces. 
B26 156 And they should do so in the face of opposition from warlords, 
B26 157 using whatever force is necessary.<p/>
B26 158 <p_><*_>black-square<*/>American troops should not be used to 
B26 159 settle clan feuds, chase down warlords, or police political truces 
B26 160 or cease-fires. The time may come when outside forces are needed 
B26 161 for these purposes, but that is another mission, involving a 
B26 162 different set of policy judgments.<p/>
B26 163 <p_>Inevitably, the presence of an imposing modern military force 
B26 164 will lend political stability to the situation. But for now, let's 
B26 165 focus squarely on saving innocent lives from needless 
B26 166 starvation.<p/>
B26 167 <p_>T. Frank Crigler<p/>
B26 168 <p_>Arlington, Va.<p/>
B26 169 <p_>US Ambassador to Somalia, 1987-90<p/>
B26 170 
B26 171 <h_><p_>A serious peace proposal<p/><h/>
B26 172 <p_>The Opinion page article 'Peace Process Hang-Up,' Nov. 25, 
B26 173 implies that Israel has made significant confidence-building moves 
B26 174 which are not reciprocated by the Arab participants to the Middle 
B26 175 East peace process. The steps described are largely cosmetic and 
B26 176 aimed at the United States, not Palestinians or other Arabs.<p/>
B26 177 <p_>Considering the scale on which Palestinians have been stripped 
B26 178 of their property and human dignity during 25 years of Israeli 
B26 179 occupation, Israel has a long way to go to convince anyone that it 
B26 180 is serious about peace. Real confidence-building steps include: an 
B26 181 end to torturing prisoners, collective punishments, and land 
B26 182 confiscations; permission for diaspora Palestinians to return as 
B26 183 permanent residents to their former homes in the West Bank, Gaza 
B26 184 Strip and East Jerusalem; and an end to the taxation system. These 
B26 185 are reasonable expectations of a country that describes itself as a 
B26 186 Western-style democracy.<p/>
B26 187 <p_>Lee Elizabeth Britton<p/>
B26 188 <p_>Petoskey, Mich.<p/>
B26 189 
B26 190 <p_>The author of the Opinion page article 'In Occupied Lebanon,' 
B26 191 Nov. 25, distorts Israeli and Hizbullah policy in Lebanon.<p/>
B26 192 <p_>Israel's policy is clear: It has no territorial claims against 
B26 193 Lebanon, and its sole concern is the safety of its northern 
B26 194 population, which continues to experience cross-border infiltration 
B26 195 attempts from Lebanese territory. With proper guarantees and a 
B26 196 peace treaty, Israel is prepared to withdraw from the security 
B26 197 zone.<p/>
B26 198 <p_>Hizbullah's policy is also clear: It is an anti-Western, 
B26 199 anti-Israel terrorist organization bent on taking American and 
B26 200 Israeli lives. Hizbullah does not accept the legitimacy of a Jewish 
B26 201 state in the Middle East and has launched terrorist attacks against 
B26 202 Israel's northern population.<p/>
B26 203 <p_>The complexities of the Middle East must not blind observers to 
B26 204 stark realities. The Lebanese practitioners of violence and their 
B26 205 Syrian and Iranian patrons are responsible for delaying progress on 
B26 206 the Israeli-Lebanese front.<p/>
B26 207 <p_>Bluma Zuckerbrot<p/>
B26 208 <p_>New York<p/>
B26 209 <p_>Anti-Defamation League<p/>
B26 210 
B26 211 <h_><p_>Clinton's Middle East Policy<p/><h/>
B26 212 <p_>Regarding the article 'Mideast Talks Hinge on Clinton,' Nov. 
B26 213 10: I find it distressing that <quote_>"Clinton's own definition of 
B26 214 Palestinian self-determination"<quote/> does not entail Palestinian 
B26 215 statehood. What then does it entail? What does President-elect 
B26 216 Clinton think is the appropriate resolution for the question of 
B26 217 Palestine? It is unwise for Mr. Clinton to make statements 
B26 218 concerning such a delicate and complex matter without being 
B26 219 informed of the facts and realities of the situation.<p/>
B26 220 <p_>His understanding of the situation does not take into account 
B26 221 prevalent, accepted positions and decisions of the international 
B26 222 community or statutes of international law. This includes his 
B26 223 position on Israeli settlements in the occupied territory, on Arab 
B26 224 East Jerusalem, and on the right of Palestinians to 
B26 225 self-determination.<p/>
B26 226 <p_>The settlements are illegal, according to international law and 
B26 227 are major obstacles to peace. The overwhelming majority of the 
B26 228 nations of the world, including the nation Clinton will lead, does 
B26 229 not recognize Israel's annexation of Arab East Jerusalem, and the 
B26 230 right to self-determination is an inalienable right to all human 
B26 231 beings.<p/>
B26 232 <p_>In this regard, it is imperative that Clinton appoint 
B26 233 specialists who understand the history, politics, and culture of 
B26 234 the region and its people to advise Clinton and enable him and his 
B26 235 administration to deal with the issue in a responsible manner.<p/>
B26 236 <p_>F. Abdelhadly<p/>
B26 237 <p_>Cliffside Pk., N.J.<p/>
B26 238 
B26 239 <h_><p_>Winter in Bosnia<p/><h/>
B26 240 <p_>The continued fratricidal fighting in the former Yugoslavia, 
B26 241 the revelations about the death camps, and the coming of winter 
B26 242 underscore the need for effective and immediate humanitarian action 
B26 243 to relieve the suffering in Bosnia and the region. Because of the 
B26 244 sophistication of Serbian forces, military intervention is not 
B26 245 easily attainable but should not be ruled out.<p/>
B26 246 <p_>In the absence of immediate military intervention, the 
B26 247 following interim should be undertaken: Resettlement must be 
B26 248 provided for far greater numbers of concentration camp survivors; 
B26 249 aid to United Nation's agencies must be increased and speeded; 
B26 250 protected shelters must be available for those who will be forced 
B26 251 to leave their homes owing to freezing temperatures and conflict; 
B26 252 Croatia must be induced to accept additional refugees on a 
B26 253 temporary basis.<p/>
B26 254 
B27   1 <#FROWN: B27\><h_><p_>'BESSIE' & ANITA HILL<p/>
B27   2 <p_>New York City<p/><h/>
B27   3 <p_>I agree with Nell Irvin Painter's conclusion that the black 
B27   4 woman's role in history, past and present, is largely ignored or 
B27   5 demeaned ['Who Was Lynched?' Nov. 11]. However, she incorrectly 
B27   6 cites Bessie, in Richard Wright's <tf_>Native Son<tf/>, as the 
B27   7 first murder victim of Bigger Thomas. Bessie was the second murder 
B27   8 victim. In contrast to the essentially accidental killing of the 
B27   9 white woman, Mary Dalton, Bessie's murder is depicted as 
B27  10 premeditated and particularly brutal, making Bessie's death far 
B27  11 more horrifying. Thomas rapes Bessie, smashes her head with a brick 
B27  12 and finally tosses her down an airshaft, where she freezes to 
B27  13 death.<p/>
B27  14 <p_>As Trudier Harris points out in her essay <quote_>"Native Sons 
B27  15 and Foreign Daughters"<quote/> (<tf_>New Essays on 'Native 
B27  16 Son'<tf/>, Cambridge University Press), <quote_>"Wright does not 
B27  17 respect his own creation [Bessie] .... Bigger and the whites for 
B27  18 whom she works use Bessie to their own physical and emotional 
B27  19 ends."<quote/> Painter is on the mark when she states that black 
B27  20 women are treated as two-dimensional both in Wright's novel and in 
B27  21 real life - as all could see in the treatment of Anita Hill.<p/>
B27  22 <p_>Elise Fischer<p/>
B27  23 
B27  24 <h_><p_>GIRLS & BOYS IN THE BAN<p/>
B27  25 <p_>New York City<p/><h/>
B27  26 <p_>In his recent editorial, '<tf|>Ecce Cuomo' [Dec. 2], Tom Gogola 
B27  27 refers to two cases of antigay bias in the U.S. Armed Forces. Would 
B27  28 that the odious discriminarory policy of the Pentagon were limited 
B27  29 to those two instances. Unfortunately, gay service personnel like 
B27  30 Joe Steffan and the lesbian reservist Gogola mentioned are released 
B27  31 from the military at an astonishing rate. Since 1982, more than 
B27  32 10,000 men and women have been discharged from military duty on the 
B27  33 basis of perceived or admitted homosexuality. That translates 
B27  34 roughly into 1,110 individuals per year, or just over three persons 
B27  35 per day.<p/>
B27  36 <p_>My colleague Barbara Boxer and I have recently introduced a 
B27  37 resolution in the House to instruct President Bush to rescind the 
B27  38 ban on lesbians and gay men in the military. Our resolution has 
B27  39 forty-seven sponsors. The resolution is straightforward, 
B27  40 acknowledging what at least three studies by the Pentagon itself 
B27  41 have already concluded: that gay men and lesbians have served our 
B27  42 nation, at peace and at war, with the same dedication and 
B27  43 professionalism as heterosexual service personnel.<p/>
B27  44 <p_>Ted Weiss<p/>
B27  45 <p_>Member of Congress<p/>
B27  46 
B27  47 <h_><p_>N.E.C.L.C. & C.O.s<p/>
B27  48 <p_>New York City<p/><h/>
B27  49 <p_>Bruce Shapiro, in his article on Gulf War conscientious 
B27  50 objectors, 'The High Price of Conscience' [Jan. 20], asks, 
B27  51 <quote_>"Where are all the civil libertarians?"<quote/> I can speak 
B27  52 only on behalf of myself and the National Emergency Civil Liberties 
B27  53 Committee (N.E.C.L.C.); we are, and have been, on the front lines 
B27  54 representing, pro bono, hundreds of soldiers seeking advice and 
B27  55 serving as counsel for many of the resisters named in the 
B27  56 article.<p/>
B27  57 <p_>As one of only three attorneys representing approximately 
B27  58 twenty resisters held at Camp Lejeune, both in the hearings on 
B27  59 their C.O. applications and in their criminal trials, I spent eight 
B27  60 months working solely on their behalf; my time was donated by the 
B27  61 N.E.C.L.C. Other attorneys, also acting for the N.E.C.L.C., fielded 
B27  62 hundreds of telephone calls from soldiers seeking legal advice 
B27  63 relating to their military status.<p/>
B27  64 <p_>Indeed, those of us who spent most of our time on the front 
B27  65 lines at Camp Lejeune often wondered where the press was. For 
B27  66 example, Enrique Gonzalez, a first-year law student, activated with 
B27  67 only two weeks left on his contract, found medically unfit for duty 
B27  68 and recommended for discharge as a C.O. by the Marine Corps, was 
B27  69 found guilty of desertion and missing troop movements after a mere 
B27  70 thirty minutes of deliberation by a Marine Corps colonel. He was 
B27  71 then sentenced to thirty months' imprisonment and given a 
B27  72 dishonorable discharge. This outrageous conviction received 
B27  73 virtually no press coverage. As Shapiro mentions, Amnesty 
B27  74 International adopted Gonzalez as a prisoner of conscience and 
B27  75 named him a worldwide prisoner of the month. However, this resulted 
B27  76 not from some spontaneous action by the European peace movement but 
B27  77 from a tremendous effort by the War Resisters League and Hands Off! 
B27  78 Moreover, the clemency granted Gonzalez was the consequence of 
B27  79 months of hard work by myself and others and not merely by virtue 
B27  80 of Amnesty's campaign, as Shapiro intimates.<p/>
B27  81 <p_>N.E.C.L.C.'s contribution to the anti-Gulf War effort was a 
B27  82 natural consequence of its commitment to civil liberties. We were 
B27  83 active during the Vietnam War, representing draft resisters and 
B27  84 challenging the legality of the war. While I agree in large part 
B27  85 with Shapiro's critique of the American left's inaction, I believe 
B27  86 credit should be given where credit is due. Not <tf|>all civil 
B27  87 libertarians sat on the sidelines; some of us actually engaged in 
B27  88 hand-to-hand political combat.<p/>
B27  89 <p_>Hillary Richard<p/>
B27  90 
B27  91 <h_><p_>GRANDMAS<p/>
B27  92 <p_>Sacramento, Calif.<p/><h/>
B27  93 <p_>Do add to your <quote_>"handful of groups"<quote/> that have 
B27  94 kept the C.O.s <quote_>"at the center of their attention"<quote/> 
B27  95 an organization of which I am a member, Grandmothers for Peace. A 
B27  96 number of us worked on behalf of California's Erik Larsen and many 
B27  97 others. I think the war frenzy and all the tragic so-called 
B27  98 'patriotism' that fevered the nation helped keep publicity about 
B27  99 the peace movement's support for military resisters to a minimum. I 
B27 100 wrote to my Congress members and others to ask their help for the 
B27 101 C.O.s. I had <tf|>no reply from any of the men to whom I wrote.<p/>
B27 102 <p_>Margaret M. Waybur<p/>
B27 103 
B27 104 <h_><p_>GREENS<p/>
B27 105 <p_>Keene, N.H.<p/><h/>
B27 106 <p_>The Monadnock Greens of Keene, New Hampshire, would like to 
B27 107 inform <tf|>Nation readers that in December we adopted 
B27 108 conscientious objector Paul Cook through the organization Hands 
B27 109 Off! During the horror of the Gulf War, the courage of the 
B27 110 conscientious objectors was a source of strength for many of us 
B27 111 facing the blinding rhetoric of flag-waving enthusiasts. The 
B27 112 Monadnock Greens hope to support Paul during his imprisonment at 
B27 113 Camp Lejeune and also to educate the public on the unfair treatment 
B27 114 of conscientious objectors.<p/>
B27 115 <p_>Darcie Boyer<p/>
B27 116 
B27 117 <h_><p_>SHAPIRO REPLIES<p/>
B27 118 <p_>New Haven, Conn.<p/><h/>
B27 119 <p_>Not just credit but honor is due the handful of attorneys, 
B27 120 including Hillary Richard, who defended Gulf War resisters in the 
B27 121 military. My comments were directed not at them or at the tireless, 
B27 122 always admirable N.E.C.L.C. but at the many prominent civil 
B27 123 liberties advocates who remained silent and at large, 
B27 124 well<?_>-<?/>funded organizations like the A.C.L.U., which failed 
B27 125 to lend its legal resources and publicity apparatus to what was 
B27 126 after all a free<?_>-<?/>speech fight.<p/>
B27 127 <p_>Several community-based peace organizations like the 
B27 128 Grandmothers for Peace and the Monadnock Greens have contacted me 
B27 129 about their efforts on behalf of C.O.s. The passion these scattered 
B27 130 groups brought to adopting imprisoned military resisters proves an 
B27 131 important point: Support for C.O.s should be central to the peace 
B27 132 movement's efforts. Support for C.O.s is not only just but gives 
B27 133 citizen-activists concrete tasks and attainable victories - so 
B27 134 essential to the morale of any movement, and so often elusive 
B27 135 during the Gulf War.<p/>
B27 136 <p_>Readers may be interested in developments since my article went 
B27 137 to press. In late December, Dr. Yolanda Huet-Vaughn's sentence was 
B27 138 reduced on military appeal to fifteen months. She is imprisoned 
B27 139 under medium security at Leavenworth, even though by the Army's own 
B27 140 standards she merits less restrictive confinement. In January the 
B27 141 Marine C.O.s released last fall from Camp Lejeune filed a lawsuit 
B27 142 (with help from the N.E.C.L.C.) challenging their commanders' right 
B27 143 to prohibit them from speaking publicly. The court-martial of Tahan 
B27 144 Jones has been set for late February at Camp Lejeune.<p/>
B27 145 <p_>Bruce Shapiro<p/>
B27 146 
B27 147 <h_><p_>'ABOUT THAT AD ... '<p/>
B27 148 <p_>Portland, Ore.<p/><h/>
B27 149 <p_>You are right: The ad for Positive Realism's program to 
B27 150 <quote_>"straighten out"<quote/> gays and lesbians is thoroughly 
B27 151 offensive to queer readers and flies in the face of everything 
B27 152 <tf_>The Nation<tf/> stands for, with the possible exception of 
B27 153 free speech. The ad strikes me, a proud gay man, as equivalent in 
B27 154 its obscenity to an ad for child pornography or a recruitment ad 
B27 155 for the K.K.K. In your 'apology' for running the ad ['About That 
B27 156 Ad,' Feb. 10] you make the common progressive mistake of treating 
B27 157 gay issues as merely political. It is more than a political issue; 
B27 158 the ad insults the integrity and dignity of gays and lesbians.<p/>
B27 159 <p_>An ad like this is dangerous. Someone struggling with his or 
B27 160 her sexuality might attempt this program. It would inevitably fail 
B27 161 and reinforce the belief that being gay or lesbian is a disorder 
B27 162 and that the person must truly be diseased because he or she failed 
B27 163 to become straight.<p/>
B27 164 <p_>Here is a good idea for all the lesbians and gays who came away 
B27 165 from that ad with that familiar dull sense of rage. Call that silly 
B27 166 outfit and tell them exactly how happy we are being what we are, 
B27 167 and that even if we could change, we would never want to.<p/>
B27 168 <p_>Bill Wilkerson<p/>
B27 169 
B27 170 <h_><p_>ABOUT THAT DISCLAIMER ... <p/>
B27 171 <p_>Studio City, Calif.<p/><h/>
B27 172 <p_>Please stop confusing censorship with editorial policy. You 
B27 173 don't run right-wing editorials. Is <tf|>that censorship? Surely 
B27 174 you reject unsolicited manuscripts that are well written but 
B27 175 politically incorrect. Is <tf|> that censorship? Well, guess what? 
B27 176 You don't <tf|>have to run a politically, humanly incorrect ad just 
B27 177 because it <quote_>"does not seem fraudulent."<quote/> It's a free 
B27 178 country! You have the right to reject ads! In fact, your other 
B27 179 disclaimer, the one on the Classified page, begins with your 
B27 180 <quote_>"right to ... reject ... any advertisement."<quote/> So if 
B27 181 you didn't reject this ad what <tf|>do you reject? Disclaimer or 
B27 182 no, your acceptance of that ad endorses it. I considered canceling 
B27 183 my subscription, but I'll wait for your Institute for Historical 
B27 184 Review double truck.<p/>
B27 185 <p_>Sharon Bell<p/>
B27 186 
B27 187 <h_><p_>FROM THE ADVERTISER<p/>
B27 188 <p_>Culver City, Calif.<p/><h/>
B27 189 <p_>I appreciate <tf_>The Nation's<tf/> spirit of open discussion. 
B27 190 I don't view homosexuality as evil or a disease. I consider it an 
B27 191 unhealthy choice - nothing more or less. There are many people with 
B27 192 homosexual feelings who are unhappy about it. I help them change. I 
B27 193 am against eliminating a homosexual from any job he is qualified 
B27 194 for. I also think homosexuals should be allowed to marry, even 
B27 195 though I don't recommend it. My gripe is not with homosexuals. I 
B27 196 have no licenses or degrees. For the last seven years I have been 
B27 197 helping people make the change from gay to straight. My gripe is 
B27 198 with the 'experts' who claim it can't be done.<p/>
B27 199 <p_>Joe Zychik, director<p/>
B27 200 <p_><tf_>Positive Realism<tf/><p/>
B27 201 
B27 202 <h_><p_>'TWOFOLD OVERSIGHT'<p/>
B27 203 <p_>Paris<p/><h/>
B27 204 <p_>Why was Gilberto Perez - whose name is unfamiliar to me but 
B27 205 whom I take to be an informed film scholar - so unkind, indeed so 
B27 206 unscrupulous, as to fault at some length (for <quote|>"modernism" 
B27 207 and <quote_>"proletarian sentimentalism,"<quote/> which is fair 
B27 208 enough) an article of mine on W.S. Porter published some fifteen 
B27 209 years ago, at the very outset of my work on the period, while 
B27 210 studiously ignoring my book <tf_>Life to Those Shadows<tf/>, which 
B27 211 appeared early this year and which, being entirely devoted to the 
B27 212 early cinema, would have fit nicely, it seems, into a review 
B27 213 dealing with recent publications on the subject ['In the 
B27 214 Beginning,' Nov. 4]. The book devotes exactly 100 pages to the 
B27 215 question of the social composition of early film audiences in 
B27 216 Britain, France and the United States and shows that I believe that 
B27 217 blanket answers, encompassing different social formations, are 
B27 218 wholly inadequate.<p/>
B27 219 <p_>As for the <quote|>"modernism" of the early cinema, I have 
B27 220 shown the fallacy of this projective reading (including my own 
B27 221 early tendency to sacrifice to it) in an article published eight 
B27 222 years ago and collected in another book that also appeared at the 
B27 223 beginning of this year, <tf_>In and Out of Synch<tf/>. A twofold 
B27 224 oversight seems unlikely. My impression is that any scruples were 
B27 225 simply overridden by the desire to produce a 'neat' article.<p/>
B27 226 <p_>No<*_>e-umlaut<*/>l Burch<p/>
B27 227 
B27 228 <h_><p_>PEREZ REPLIES<p/>
B27 229 <p_>New York City<p/><h/>
B27 230 <p_>The three books I chose to review (among several others I could 
B27 231 have reviewed, including Burch's) were a sampling that enabled me 
B27 232 to consider certain important issues pertaining to early cinema and 
B27 233 to film history and theory more widely. Because Burch made a 
B27 234 significant contribution to the rethinking of early cinema that has 
B27 235 taken place in recent years, I mentioned him in my article even 
B27 236 though I wasn't reviewing his book. I thought I was recognizing him 
B27 237 rather than attacking him (for me <quote|>"modernism" is not a term 
B27 238 of attack, and <quote_>"proletarian sentimentalism"<quote/> - his 
B27 239 term, not mine - is nothing to be ashamed of), and it didn't occur 
B27 240 to me that he would take offense.<p/>
B27 241 
B12   1 <#FROWN:B12\><h_><p_>Has Bush Really Flipped on Abortion?<p/>
B12   2 <p_>DEBRA J. SAUNDERS<p/><h/>
B12   3 <p_>FINDING GEORGE BUSH'S definitive position on abortion before 
B12   4 Bush became Ronald Reagan's running mate is no easy feat.<p/>
B12   5 <p_>Groups such as the National Abortion Rights Action League 
B12   6 insist that Bush has flip-flopped from an earlier pro-choice 
B12   7 position. Yet Bush's pre-running mate public statements on abortion 
B12   8 are such a mish-mash, it's hard to pinpoint just where he stood. 
B12   9 And the search to pin down Early Bush is made harder by the fact 
B12  10 that most databases start with stories printed in 1985.<p/>
B12  11 <p_>Supporting those who argue that Bush was pro-choice are the 
B12  12 president's one-time affiliation with Planned Parenthood, his 
B12  13 erstwhile championing of family planning and his tendency to eschew 
B12  14 social conservatism in pre-Reagan days.<p/>
B12  15 <p_>The most damning bit of evidence is an interview in the March 
B12  16 1980 Rolling Stone in which Bush said, Ronald Reagan 
B12  17 <quote_>"opposes me for not wanting to amend the Supreme Court 
B12  18 decision on abortion. I happen to think it was right."<quote/><p/>
B12  19 <h_><p_>The Stealth Position<p/><h/>
B12  20 <p_>A 1980 position paper, supplied by the Republican Mainstream 
B12  21 Committee, from the Bush Iowa campaign belies a pro-choice stand. 
B12  22 The paper stated that Bush is <quote_>"personally opposed to 
B12  23 abortion"<quote/> - which in those days often was code for personal 
B12  24 opposition but support for choice. But it also said that Bush 
B12  25 supported states' rights on abortion and opposed federal funding 
B12  26 except in cases of rape, incest or to save the mother's life.<p/>
B12  27 <p_>The paper said Bush was opposed to a constitutional amendment 
B12  28 banning abortion because he <quote_>"believes there is a need to 
B12  29 recognize and provide for exceptional cases - rape, incest or to 
B12  30 save the life of the mother."<quote/><p/>
B12  31 <p_>At no point did the paper assert that Bush was pro-choice or 
B12  32 pro-life. The curious voter reading this paper could assume basic 
B12  33 agreement with Bush, whatever the reader's abortion persuasion. In 
B12  34 1980 pols got away with such fudging.<p/>
B12  35 <p_>Bush has flip-flopped on rape and incest; he has vetoed 
B12  36 measures to fund such abortions.<p/>
B12  37 <p_>But was he pro-choice? By NARAL's current standards, no. What's 
B12  38 more, you have to figure that if Bush publicly supported Roe vs. 
B12  39 Wade, there would be much more than the Rolling Stone article to 
B12  40 show for it. (NARAL also produces an NBC transcript in which early 
B12  41 1980 Bush said, <quote_>"I do not want to change the Constitution. 
B12  42 There is some freedom of choice that exists under the law today, 
B12  43 and I would support the law."<quote/> But that's it for 
B12  44 contemporary evidence.)<p/>
B12  45 <p_>And the thing with Bush and the elliptical way he talks, well, 
B12  46 it makes you wonder whether he was being goofy and left out words 
B12  47 that would have changed the meaning. More likely, Bush was talking 
B12  48 out of both sides of his mouth.<p/>
B12  49 <p_>Before becoming Reagan's running mate, Bush didn't seem 
B12  50 particularly concerned about abortion; if he were, he would have 
B12  51 talked about the issue more frequently and with specificity. Now 
B12  52 Bush evokes the subject at every chance.<p/>
B12  53 <h_><p_>Evolution, the Wrong Way<p/><h/>
B12  54 <p_>The president has admitted to a change in his position; he 
B12  55 calls it an <quote|>"evolution."<p/>
B12  56 <p_>Vice President Dan Quayle's position seems to be evolving too. 
B12  57 He has supported outlawing abortion. Then Tuesday Quayle said, 
B12  58 <quote_>"What I am trying to do and what the president's trying to 
B12  59 do is to get more reflection on the issue of abortion before the 
B12  60 decision is made."<quote/><p/>
B12  61 <p_>That's a move to mushy ground, and a natural one. Many who have 
B12  62 called themselves pro-life blink when they realize their agenda 
B12  63 could bring a return to the days of coat-hangers. They are appalled 
B12  64 by abortion, but as the prospect of victory approaches, they 
B12  65 hesitate for good reason. Whether Quayle sustains this worthy doubt 
B12  66 remains to be seen.<p/>
B12  67 <p_>What Bush calls evolution, I call decline. After years of 
B12  68 throwing sops at the far right, his presidency brought an end to 
B12  69 the days when the GOP gave the religious right mere lip service.<p/>
B12  70 <p_>Technically, Bush's abortion position may not be a flip-flop. 
B12  71 It's worse, because Bush went from being wishy-washy to solidly on 
B12  72 the wrong side. It's perverse: He flips on hard promises, then 
B12  73 stands tough on the one issue where few want or expected him to. 
B12  74 Figure that, having betrayed fiscal conservatism, Bush felt he had 
B12  75 to embrace social conservatism or he wouldn't be able to portray 
B12  76 himself as a conservative at all.<p/>
B12  77 
B12  78 <h_><p_>Burma's Quiet Prisoner Maintains Her 'Presence'<p/>
B12  79 <p_>KAREN SWENSON<p/><h/>
B12  80 <p_>DAW AUNG San Suu Kyi's goal is a democratic government where 
B12  81 all regions and ethnic groups are represented, said the Nobel Prize 
B12  82 committee in awarding the 1991 Peace Prize to this woman under 
B12  83 house arrest in Rangoon, Burma.<p/>
B12  84 <p_>While the award honored Suu Kyi, it was a threat to the 
B12  85 government which under Ne Win has steadfastly fought against his 
B12  86 country's ethnic groups. In fact, the government cites its struggle 
B12  87 with the ethnic population as the reason for spending over half of 
B12  88 its budget on defense.<p/>
B12  89 <p_>Meanwhile, it meets this expenditure by selling gems and 
B12  90 logging franchises to the Thais, who help out with money and arms. 
B12  91 The Chinese in 1990 also supplied $1.2 billion in arms. Japan cut 
B12  92 back on its aid to Burma in 1991, but it remains the only major 
B12  93 nation outside China, to keep up high-level contacts with Burma.<p/>
B12  94 <p_>Burma's human rights record is one of the worst in the world, 
B12  95 as cited by both Amnesty International and Asia Watch. The Nations 
B12  96 Commission on Human Rights has sent officials to Burma.<p/>
B12  97 <p_>The U.S. Senate last year passed a resolution congratulating 
B12  98 Suu Kyi and condemning the Burmese government for repression and 
B12  99 human rights violations, yet a number of U.S. businesses continue 
B12 100 to conduct business there.<p/>
B12 101 <p_>Pressure from the outside world, however, has had some effect. 
B12 102 The Burmese regime recently released a few political prisoners and 
B12 103 allowed Suu Kyi's husband, Michael Aris, to visit his wife for the 
B12 104 first time since December 1988.<p/>
B12 105 <p_>Guarded by soldiers with fixed bayonets, Suu Kyi has as 
B12 106 visitors only a young girl who looks after her, and an intelligence 
B12 107 officer. Still Rangoon is filled with rumors about her: that she 
B12 108 converts her guards so that they must be changed frequently; that 
B12 109 she heard about winning the Nobel prize on her shortwave radio; 
B12 110 that she gave up playing the piano because her strings broke.<p/>
B12 111 <p_>Her absence is a presence in the minds of her countrymen and 
B12 112 women, just as her silence has spoken to the world.<p/>
B12 113 
B12 114 <h_><p_>Benicia Home<p/><h/>
B12 115 <p_>THE WHITE HOUSE has bestowed a singular honor on a Benicia 
B12 116 recovery home for men with alcohol problems, citing the Adobe 
B12 117 center's participants for developing good character and values 
B12 118 while devoting themselves to serving their community.<p/>
B12 119 <p_>The Adobe home, which helps the residents build self-esteem 
B12 120 through activities such as repairing houses and cars for the 
B12 121 elderly, received the Daily Point of Light from the Bush 
B12 122 administration.<p/>
B12 123 <p_>The award is designed to recognize those who successfully 
B12 124 address the country's most pressing social problems through acts of 
B12 125 voluntary commitment to the community. The Daily Point of Light 
B12 126 program is a welcome promotion of volunteer service.<p/>
B12 127 
B12 128 <h_><p_>Poignant Pleas<p/><h/>
B12 129 <p_>WHEN ALL THE HOOPLA and campaign rhetoric of the Democratic 
B12 130 National Convention are long since forgotten - probably a few weeks 
B12 131 from now - Elizabeth Glaser's heart-felt plea on behalf of present 
B12 132 and future AIDS sufferers should remain burnished in the nation's 
B12 133 memory: <quote_>"America, wake up. We are all in a struggle between 
B12 134 life and death."<quote/><p/>
B12 135 <p_>Glaser, who contracted the HIV virus in a blood transfusion and 
B12 136 unwittingly passed it on to her two children, joined fellow AIDS 
B12 137 sufferer Bob Hattoy Tuesday night in wrenching open the closet that 
B12 138 has kept AIDS mostly isolated from the political agenda. In 
B12 139 separate, prime-time speeches, they displayed to the Democratic 
B12 140 delegates and the TV audience a quality of compassion, anger, 
B12 141 frustration, fear and love that transcended politics and spoke 
B12 142 directly to the moral core of America. As Representative Pat 
B12 143 Schroeder of Colorado exclaimed afterwards, <quote_>"If that didn't 
B12 144 touch your heart, you don't have one."<quote/><p/>
B12 145 <p_>PART OF what was said was partisan - dealing with an alleged 
B12 146 Bush administration failure to respond adequately to the AIDS 
B12 147 epidemic. But the broader message that came across was a plea to 
B12 148 respond to AIDS not as a political or moral problem, but as a 
B12 149 public health catastrophe that affects the entire spectrum of the 
B12 150 human family.<p/>
B12 151 <p_>As Hattoy, the Clinton campaign's environmental adviser who 
B12 152 discovered a month ago that he has AIDS, put it so eloquently: 
B12 153 <quote_>"We are your sons and daughters. Fathers and mothers. We 
B12 154 are doctors and lawyers. Folks in the military. Ministers and 
B12 155 rabbis and priests. We are Democrats. And yes, Mr. President, 
B12 156 Republicans. We're part of the American family."<quote/><p/>
B12 157 
B12 158 <h_><p_>U.S.-Mexico Nearing Deal<p/><h/>
B12 159 <p_>AS DEMOCRATS basked in the warmth both of New York's humidity 
B12 160 and the uncharacteristically smooth functioning of their nominating 
B12 161 process, President Bush was demonstrating practical, effective 
B12 162 leadership out here in California.<p/>
B12 163 <p_>At a San Diego meeting with Mexican President Carlos Salinas de 
B12 164 Gortari, Bush told reporters that the North American free-trade 
B12 165 talks were in the <quote_>"top of the ninth inning"<quote/> and 
B12 166 that domestic politics will not prevent speedy conclusion of a 
B12 167 treaty.<p/>
B12 168 <p_>That's good news. Divisive voices have been raised about this 
B12 169 U.S.-Canada-Mexico pact: The usual retrograde protectionist ones; 
B12 170 the cry by labor that jobs will be lost and wages affected; the 
B12 171 sounds of environmentalists who fear Mexico will become a low-cost 
B12 172 refuge for polluting U.S. companies. But many of these problems 
B12 173 have been addressed, and there is no doubting the ultimate benefit 
B12 174 to all parties involved of a free trade zone extending from the 
B12 175 Yukon to the Yucatan.<p/>
B12 176 <p_>A MAJOR HURDLE was surmounted recently when Mexico agreed to 
B12 177 open its financial services industry - long shielded from 
B12 178 competition - to the U.S. and Canada.<p/>
B12 179 <p_>The parties will be meeting for final negotiations on July 25. 
B12 180 And while the U.S. Supreme Court's decision giving tacit approval 
B12 181 to the kidnaping of a Mexican charged with complicity in a drug 
B12 182 case may have cast a shadow over U.S.-Mexico relations, there are 
B12 183 indications the process will stay on the rails.<p/>
B12 184 <p_>President Bush is quite properly pressing ahead, and will not 
B12 185 allow the election to deflect this important effort. That's 
B12 186 leadership.<p/>
B12 187 
B12 188 <h_><p_>Greatest Female Sex Symbol of All Time?<p/>
B12 189 <p_>CONTI<p/>
B12 190 <p_>(Asked at various locations)<p/><h/>
B12 191 <p_>Edward Myotte, 38, not working, Vallejo:<p/>
B12 192 <p_>Marilyn Monroe. What a body. She was so soft looking. She must 
B12 193 have had some good cosmetology work. Being on drugs, she couldn't 
B12 194 have kept up that way without it.<p/>
B12 195 <p_>Paul Uliana, 50, electrician, San Bruno:<p/>
B12 196 <p_>Brigitte Bardot. She was totally animalistic and it was the way 
B12 197 she pouted. She gave the appearance of being self-assured, and 
B12 198 anyone who has respect for themselves is sexy.<p/>
B12 199 <p_>Eric Thorsen, 29, electrician, the Sunset:<p/>
B12 200 <p_>Kelly Bundy from 'Married With Children.' She's naive and makes 
B12 201 herself available to the opposite sex, which is appealing. She's 
B12 202 very easy. She's a possibility.<p/>
B12 203 <p_>Jim Simms, 31, electrical maintenance man, Fremont:<p/>
B12 204 <p_>Cindy Crawford. She's sleek looking. It could be her hair. The 
B12 205 different ways she fixes her hair. It's always wild looking. It 
B12 206 doesn't look all perfectly in place.<p/>
B12 207 <p_>Seth Kilbourn, 27, public policy major, Berkeley:<p/>
B12 208 <p_>Madonna. She exudes a real sensuality and sexuality that's 
B12 209 refreshing. It's honest and it challenges the status quo. It 
B12 210 challenges conventional notions of female sexuality.<p/>
B12 211 <p_>David Jay, 33, claims examiner, the Richmond:<p/>
B12 212 <p_>Grace Kelly exuded class and sensuality. She had an air of 
B12 213 sophistication and seemed to be someone that would be out of reach. 
B12 214 Someone you would put on a pedestal.<p/>
B12 215 
B12 216 <h_><p_>Camille Paglia - born to be mild. Not.<p/><h/>
B12 217 <p_>IF YOU have any sense, I kept telling myself, you will stay out 
B12 218 of the Camille Paglia House of Horrors. No feminist writer gets 
B12 219 near Camille Paglia without losing a pint of blood and at least one 
B12 220 eye.<p/>
B12 221 <p_>Paglia was born ticked off because she's a girl and not a boy. 
B12 222 She fights like a man - viciously and to conquer - which excites 
B12 223 the hell out of a lot of people but has nothing to do with the 
B12 224 advancement of feminist dialogue.<p/>
B12 225 <p_>Camille Paglia calls Susan Sontag a <quote|>"bitch." She calls 
B12 226 'Backlash' author Susan Faludi <quote_>"stupid and naive,"<quote/> 
B12 227 'The Beauty Myth' author Naomi Wolf <quote_>"profoundly 
B12 228 hypocritical"<quote/> and <quote|>"bourgeois," and Gloria Steinem 
B12 229 <quote_>"an outmoded tyrant."<quote/><p/>
B12 230 
B22   1 <#FROWN:B22\><h_><p_>Chilling Specter<p/><h/>
B22   2 <p_>Editor - Ross Perot claims his mission is to serve the American 
B22   3 people, to do whatever it is we want him to do. The tragic 
B22   4 consequence of his billion-dollar fantasy, fed by a host of 
B22   5 well-paid sycophants, is that he fails to understand we Americans 
B22   6 do not speak with one voice. We are, in fact, a nation with many 
B22   7 voices crying out on behalf of countless interests. Even given the 
B22   8 clear choice between a candidate supporting a more prominent role 
B22   9 for government and a candidate advocating a laissez faire approach, 
B22  10 we were not a decisive bloc.<p/>
B22  11 <p_>From which quarter would Ross Perot get his mandate? From an 
B22  12 800 line set up to count only the yea votes? How would he hear from 
B22  13 the rest of us? We are not like the 'shareholders' in a business. 
B22  14 Investors have a single-minded goal: bottom-line profit. Sell more 
B22  15 widgets for the best price while incurring the least cost. But we 
B22  16 in this nation do not sell widgets, and the definition of profit is 
B22  17 different for each of us.<p/>
B22  18 <p_>Ross Perot opted out of the chance to plead his case, to answer 
B22  19 the voices of defiance that had only begun to be heard when he quit 
B22  20 the race in July. The specter of Ross Perot on the political 
B22  21 landscape, with his bag full of money to buy out the fair process 
B22  22 of debate, sends a chill up my spine.<p/>
B22  23 <p_>BETH CONNOR<p/>
B22  24 <p_>Los Altos<p/>
B22  25 
B22  26 <h_><p_>Ross for Boss<p/><h/>
B22  27 <p_>Editor - Naturally we are hesitant with Mr. Ross Perot, but why 
B22  28 must we continue to be this way when we finally have someone who 
B22  29 doesn't care to race because of name calling or because of 
B22  30 candidates who are playing up to the media?<p/>
B22  31 <p_>We finally have a candidate who is running because of the 
B22  32 issues that are affecting the United States as a whole, as a 
B22  33 democracy. Why must we burden ourselves by turning the candidacy 
B22  34 into a soap opera?<p/>
B22  35 <p_>Right now we need a president who is a businessman, who can 
B22  36 project where we are 50 years from now. We do not need someone 
B22  37 whose own state is bankrupt and someone who is walking around with 
B22  38 no concept of the people. We need someone to help us, the American 
B22  39 people, not to define who we are or our beliefs, but to aid in the 
B22  40 economy and give us the chances we need again to fulfill the 
B22  41 American Dream ... of freedom.<p/>
B22  42 <p_>F.P. DERWILLERBY<p/>
B22  43 <p_>Oakland<p/>
B22  44 
B22  45 <h|>Titillating
B22  46 <p_>Editor - Golly gee-whiz gang, seems I had to check my 'family 
B22  47 values' at the door when I opened Wednesday's Chronicle. Those 
B22  48 titillating photos of Madonna's mounds and Crawford's cleave ... 
B22  49 butts in Berkeley ... it was all too much for me! I snapped. I'm 
B22  50 now casting my vote for Joe Bob Briggs for prez.<p/>
B22  51 <p_>STEVE SALAZAR<p/>
B22  52 <p_>Santa Rosa<p/>
B22  53 
B22  54 <h_><p_>'Sore Sport'<p/><h/>
B22  55 <p_>Editor - Ross Perot; the Will Rogers wanna-be, the candidate 
B22  56 was-a-be, the contender never-be. We've got him back: the 
B22  57 buffoonish, bumpkin billionaire who claims to be different, a 
B22  58 change and an outsider. Outside and different from what? Here's a 
B22  59 guy who made a bulk of his money from dealings with General Motors 
B22  60 and the Pentagon. How much more inside can you get? How many 
B22  61 billionaires do you know who are not <quote_>"ego-driven, 
B22  62 power-hungry people"<quote/>?<p/>
B22  63 <p_>Anagrammatically speaking, Ross Perot = Poser Sort and Sore 
B22  64 Sport.<p/>
B22  65 <p_>BRIAN LEHMAN<p/>
B22  66 <p_>San Rafael<p/>
B22  67 
B22  68 <h_><p_>Women for Clinton<p/><h/>
B22  69 <p_>Editor - Bush and Clinton are running neck and neck among men, 
B22  70 but Clinton far out polls his rival among women. A quick comparison 
B22  71 of their records reveals that there are very good reasons for 
B22  72 women's preference for Clinton. Bush vetoed the following 
B22  73 provisions in legislation passed by Congress, all of which Clinton 
B22  74 supports: establishment of an Office of Research on Women's Health; 
B22  75 a requirement for inclusion of women in clinical trials in medical 
B22  76 research; increased funding for research on breast and ovarian 
B22  77 cancer, osteoporosis and contraception; the Family and Medical 
B22  78 Leave Act; over<?_>-<?/>turn of the 'gag rule' that forbids 
B22  79 health-care providers that receive federal funds from giving 
B22  80 low-income women information about abortion.<p/>
B22  81 <p_>In addition, Bush opposes and has threatened to veto the 
B22  82 following other provisions, supported by Clinton: the Freedom of 
B22  83 Choice Act, which would protect women's legal right to choose 
B22  84 abortion even if Roe vs. Wade is reversed; full funding of Head 
B22  85 Start, WIC and childhood immunization by 1996; and restoration of 
B22  86 the U.S.'s contributions to the United Nations Population Fund.<p/>
B22  87 <p_>This adds up to a remarkable record of indifference by Bush to 
B22  88 women's health, to their reproductive freedom and to the health and 
B22  89 well-being of infants and young children. Women support Clinton 
B22  90 because we know that he supports us.<p/>
B22  91 <p_>EMILY STOPER<p/>
B22  92 <p_>Oakland<p/>
B22  93 
B22  94 <h_><p_>Diversity at Boalt<p/><h/>
B22  95 <p_>Editor - Boalt Hall's changes in its admissions policy are wise 
B22  96 and welcome. Contrary to what critics say, the new policy poses no 
B22  97 threat to diversity. The new admissions rules will promote real 
B22  98 diversity - diversity of life experience, culture, political belief 
B22  99 and outlook - and replace the old diversity which was based on 
B22 100 immutable characteristics, such as race, which aren't directly 
B22 101 related to how an applicant has spent his or her days on Earth.<p/>
B22 102 <p_>CLINT N. SMITH, student<p/>
B22 103 <p_>Boalt Hall Law School<p/>
B22 104 <p_>Oakland<p/>
B22 105 
B22 106 <h_><p_>Why Bush<p/><h/>
B22 107 <p_>Editor - Enough! We have been blitzed by constant media 
B22 108 propaganda consisting of subtle, too extremely obvious, anti-Bush 
B22 109 messages! One cannot read a newspaper or watch TV without being 
B22 110 subjected to biased political statements.<p/>
B22 111 <p_>On the other hand, Clinton has been allowed to smooth talk his 
B22 112 way across the country, telling every special-interest group 
B22 113 exactly what they want to hear, and leaving many of the negative 
B22 114 campaign tactics to a very willing, primarily Democratic media, 
B22 115 eagerly scrambling to help him in his attempt to win the White 
B22 116 House.<p/>
B22 117 <p_>Think America! And put the blame where it belongs: a Democratic 
B22 118 Congress, a changing world economy and worldwide recession, an open 
B22 119 door policy and a negative media.<p/>
B22 120 <p_>There has never been a more crucial time for experienced 
B22 121 leadership, if the U.S. is to remain a superpower. It is vital that 
B22 122 we continue with a president who has the respect and admiration of 
B22 123 world powers and the strength of character to do what is in the 
B22 124 best interest of the American people rather than what is 
B22 125 politically expedient and 'attractive.' And that man is President 
B22 126 Bush!<p/>
B22 127 <p_>KRIS GUILIANI<p/>
B22 128 <p_>San Francisco<p/>
B22 129 
B22 130 <h_><p_>Sex, Abortion And the GOP<p/><h/>
B22 131 <p_>Editor - I am dumbfounded by the conservative Republicans who 
B22 132 prefer a Democratic victory in California to a platform compromise 
B22 133 on their definition of family values ('Bickering Hurts State's GOP 
B22 134 Candidates,' Chronicle, September 22).<p/>
B22 135 <p_>The right claims the moral high ground and implores its 
B22 136 disciples to stand firm and seek the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. 
B22 137 The position is so extreme, lacking in thought and common sense, 
B22 138 that there is no longer room for Republicans like myself. Why is a 
B22 139 party that professes the virtues of parental responsibility asking 
B22 140 the government to outlaw something it is incapable of enforcing? 
B22 141 Parental responsibility means explaining sex and birth control to 
B22 142 adolescents when the hormones start ragging. I grew up in the ivory 
B22 143 tower of the upper middle class and have found to my amazement that 
B22 144 more than half of my friends never had a discussion about sex with 
B22 145 their parents. Outlawing abortion ignores the all important 
B22 146 parental role in preventing pregnancy in the first place.<p/>
B22 147 <p_>When conservative Republicans stop seeking a simplistic and 
B22 148 unworkable solution to a complex moral dilemma, maybe the party can 
B22 149 get on with the business of winning an election.<p/>
B22 150 <p_>STEVE FILLIPOW<p/>
B22 151 <p_>Alameda<p/>
B22 152 
B22 153 <h_><p_>Oust Congress<p/><h/>
B22 154 <p_>Editor - Congress has deliberately attempted to sabotage the 
B22 155 Bush administration at the expense of the country. They should be 
B22 156 ousted not Bush.<p/>
B22 157 <p_>Voting for Clinton is a vote for socialism and a sucker's 
B22 158 bet.<p/>
B22 159 <p_>With inflation low, interest rates low and no outside threat, 
B22 160 the reason for the recession is clear - over-regulation.<p/>
B22 161 <p_>KENNETH DEKKER<p/>
B22 162 <p_>Lafayette<p/>
B22 163 
B22 164 <h_><p_>No Contest<p/><h/>
B22 165 <p_>Editor - The radical right-wing of the Republican Party has 
B22 166 been promoting an anti-environmental theme throughout the 1992 
B22 167 election campaign. No candidate is more pronounced in this view 
B22 168 than Bruce Herschensohn. Mr. Herschensohn believes that 
B22 169 environmentalists are socialists, that the Environmental Protection 
B22 170 Agency and Endangered Species Act should be abolished, that 
B22 171 offshore oil drilling should take place up and down the California 
B22 172 coast and that both the Clean Air and Clean Water acts are 
B22 173 <quote_>"con jobs ... unworthy of a free society."<quote/> Not only 
B22 174 are these positions absurd, they expose Mr. Herschensohn as being 
B22 175 unworthy of high public office.<p/>
B22 176 <p_>The Senate needs leaders who understand the reality of the 
B22 177 environmental threat and are willing to advocate solutions. 
B22 178 Candidate Herschensohn who would repeal both the Clean Air and 
B22 179 Clean Water acts is not such a person.<p/>
B22 180 <p_>Barbara Boxer, however, is such a leader. She has consistently 
B22 181 been one of the strongest environmental advocates in the Congress. 
B22 182 She understands that if our grandchildren are to inherit a clean, 
B22 183 liveable environment, public policy favoring the environment will 
B22 184 have to be established now. Clearly, if one cares about the 
B22 185 environment and the health of the planet there is no contest 
B22 186 between the candidates. 'Senator' Herschensohn would allow further 
B22 187 degradation of the environment. 'Senator' Boxer would lead the 
B22 188 fight to preserve and restore it.<p/>
B22 189 <p_>ROBERT H. SULNICK<p/>
B22 190 <p_>American Oceans Campaign<p/>
B22 191 <p_>Topanga (Los Angeles County)<p/>
B22 192 
B22 193 <h_><p_>Man of Change<p/><h/>
B22 194 <p_>Editor - As California headed into a recession, the Congress 
B22 195 voted itself a 40 percent pay raise. Among those voting for the 
B22 196 raise was the self-proclaimed candidate of 'change,' Barbara 
B22 197 Boxer.<p/>
B22 198 <p_>Boxer made her name in Congress by attacking the Pentagon for 
B22 199 spending $7,500 on coffee pots - then she turned around and voted 
B22 200 against firing the House elevator operators.<p/>
B22 201 <p_>Her definition of government waste is simple: if it's spent on 
B22 202 her and her pals in the Congress, it's a bargain - no matter what 
B22 203 the cost.<p/>
B22 204 <p_>Bruce Herschensohn delivered more than a dozen television and 
B22 205 radio commentaries against the 1989 congressional pay raise. I 
B22 206 trust him to bring change to the Congress.<p/>
B22 207 <p_>GERRY SNYDER<p/>
B22 208 <p_>Danville<p/>
B22 209 
B22 210 <h_><p_>No Gimme's<p/><h/>
B22 211 <p_>Editor - Re: Sharon Johnson's letter, 'Unshackle Women' 
B22 212 (Chronicle, September 29). I read and hear many opinions akin to 
B22 213 those expressed by Ms. Johnson. She states that <quote_>"women will 
B22 214 flourish in any position if they are given a level playing field in 
B22 215 the workplace."<quote/> Who wouldn't?<p/>
B22 216 <p_>I realize it is not in vogue, but nevertheless I offer Ms. 
B22 217 Johnson and anyone who thinks like her to reconsider. In real life 
B22 218 no one is given anything. Respect, position, renumeration, success 
B22 219 and anything else worthwhile, are earned by hard work, dedication, 
B22 220 perseverance and personal responsibility. Not by gimme!<p/>
B22 221 <p_>ART WALLSTEAD<p/>
B22 222 <p_>Merced<p/>
B22 223 
B22 224 <h_><p_>7th on Sale: a Zoo<p/><h/>
B22 225 <p_>Editor - <quote_>"7th on Sale"<quote/> I hope was a huge 
B22 226 success in spite of itself. Friday night I'm told was wonderful, 
B22 227 but for the rest of us peons, Saturday and Sunday was a zoo!<p/>
B22 228 <p_>Too crowded, slow moving, long lines, sessions starting way too 
B22 229 late, and worst of all old, old merchandise - more like a 
B22 230 high-class rummage with a tax write-off for the designers.<p/>
B22 231 <p_>I'm not the only one who said <quote_>"never again."<quote/><p/>
B22 232 <p_>NINA STONE<p/>
B22 233 <p_>San Francisco<p/>
B22 234 
B22 235 <h_><p_>WAVES Reunion<p/><h/>
B22 236 <p_>Editor - I am trying to locate WAVES that we served with during 
B22 237 the Korean War to have a 40th reunion. I am looking for all WAVES 
B22 238 stationed at El Toro Marine Base in Santa Ana, Calif., working in 
B22 239 Navy supply of the infirmary during 1953-1956. Please contact Mona 
B22 240 (Foster) Benson, 16713 E. Queenside Dr., Covina, Calif., 91722, 
B22 241 regarding a 40th reunion in the spring.<p/>
B22 242 <p_>MONA BENSON<p/>
B22 243 <p_>Covina (Los Angeles County)<p/>
B22 244 
B22 245 <h_><p_>'FAMILY VALUES'<p/><h/>
B22 246 <p_>Editor - It's laughable to see a scoffer like Quayle acting as 
B22 247 a press agent for family values.<p/>
B22 248 <p_>The very system that bestowed him with privileged status - the 
B22 249 modern industrial system - has from the very beginning declared war 
B22 250 on the family by dragging fathers and mothers out of the home to go 
B22 251 to work for someone else, by turning people and nature into objects 
B22 252 to exploit and transform into money and by forcing everyone to work 
B22 253 harder and longer for less pay. Our system idolizes money and 
B22 254 judges everyone in terms of it. Thus, family values are constantly 
B22 255 under fire from the very processes of the 'free' market and 
B22 256 everyday life.<p/>
B22 257 
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