opinion_
Jackson will bring
issues to campaign
The announcement by Rev. Jesse Jackson that he will be
seeking the Democratic nomination tor president is, like South
Dakota Sen. George McGovern says, "all to the good.”
Finally, an aspirant for the nomination who isn't bland and
born with oatmeal for brains has come forward, an aspirant who
isn't lost among the usual throng. Jackson is intelligent, ar
tic ulate and c harismatic.
Jackson ended speculation he would seek the nomination
by formally announc ing Thursday. He vowed to "give a voice to
the voiceless, representation to the unrepresented and hope to
the downtrodden."
Jackson doesn't mumble or give lip service to his advoc acy
of the poor, women and minorities. That's really refreshing.
"My candidacy will be a quest for a |ust society and a
peaceful world," Jac kson was quoted as saying. "My candidacy
will help to change the present course of our nation and to
rekindle the dormant flames of idealism for all Americans."
Jackson plans to spearhead his campaign with a "rainbow
coalition" consisting of blac ks, Hispanic s, women and the poor.
In this instance* Jac kson will be* truly voic ing the concerns of the
voiceless. The difference between Jackson and the other
Democratic contenders is that he's not a politician first, and
hasn't become just another servant to the federal bureaucracy.
As a Baptist minister and civil rights activist (a protege of the late
Martin Luther King) Jackson is trom the* streets and knows
whereot he speaks.
Jackson will be the* impetus to blac ks and other minorities to
register to vote. This will enfranchise groups that previously had
little reason to participate in the democratic process.
If nothing comes of Jackson's run for the nomination still he
will have put the issues important to blac ks and other minorities
at the tore of the campaign. All the Democratic hopetuls will
have to address the* issues Jac kson raises. Perhaps the honorable
among them will follow through if he becomes president.
A shame ACLU
refuses Barker case
It's unfortunate the American Civil Liberties Union has
declined to act as legal counsel for Melissa Barker. But, it's
almost understandable.
Barker is the 26-year-old University student who refused to
sign the Selective Service draft registration compliance form and
was subsequently denied $3,200 in federal tinanc lal aid. She
then vowed to fight the Solomon Amendment.
For Barker, her refusal to sign the compliance form was an
act of conscience. Although, tor the ACLU their refusal to take
on the case was less conscience and more practicality.
According to Dave Fidanque, director of the* Fugene chapter
of the ACLU, the decision, reached Friday by the lawyers' com
mittee of the lot al ACLU, was tor "prac tic al reasons rather than
theoretical arguments.”
It all boils down to the ACLU's resources, which probably
would be stretched to the limit in a case the magnitude of
Barker's. Fhe ACLLJ also considered the likelihood of winning
the c ase — not that they considered it unwinnable.
The ACLU could have pursued the* Barker case in state
c ourts, using Artie le One, Sec tion Three of the Oregon C onstitu
tion, which states: "No law shall in any case
whatever . interfere with the rights of conscience,” as the main
argument.
It's almost understandable tor the ACLU to pull out of the
case. The AC LU is partic ularly busy these days and their
resources are limited. Although, it the Barker cast* is winnable
and of such magnitude it's to the shame of the Lugenc* ACLU
they don't pursue it.
As for Barker, she intends to pursue her case. Perhaps a
politically or socially ac tive* individual or group, with reserva
tions about mandatory draft registration tor tinancial aid and
more ready resources, might consider engaging legal service's to
participate in Barker's act of conscience'
Oregon doily
emerald
fhe Oregon Daily f merald is published Monday through In
flay e»< ept during rum week and va at ion v hy the Oregon Daily
f merald Publishing Co., at the University ot Oregon, iugenr. OI,
'»7ai)i
The fmerald operates independently ot the University with
otlKes on the third lloor ot the trb Memorial Union and is a
member ot the Assoc utted Press
News and editorial Mfc-Sttl
DMpiay Advertising and Business UkITI]
ClamiM Advrrtiung Uk4M)
Production AM-41BI
Cirr ulation MASS It
?***■ 2
WELL. WHILE YOUfQLKS' ARE (SlflRMW'ME AS
INTEW SECRETARY, I'P UK£ TO SiNG
YOU A UL' SONG / M?CTE
ABOUT mCHIN'IHTHEmT,
AND MY LOYE Of NATURE ANt>
THE AND MY
HOSS, BETSY, AND MY POG5HER
AND MY QD syetton hat, and
miomnic,op,mw
am BLUE SKY, AND 7WE
ttAUflfUL RNBRS AND
STEAMS, AND ALL
THAT,.
letters
The false, devoid
Having read Brad Simpson's let
ter on Oct. 28 concerning the
Grenadian invasion, I am compell
ed to reply to his assertions
which, in effect, were completely
false and devoid of factual bases.
First of all, his statements that
the American citizens on Grenada
were not in danger and were
allowed to leave freely is
ridiculous. If Simpson had
bothered to pay attention to any
newspaper, radio, or television
report, he would have di stove red
that following the execution of
Maurice Bishop and subsequent
coup, a “shoot on sight" curfew
was instituted. In addition, the
water supply to the St. George's
Medical School which housed the
Americans was cut off. Cuban and
Grenadian troops stationed
themselves in and around the
campus. All flights to and from
Point Salines Airport were
suspended. Furthermore, ac
counts given by the evacuated
American students proved
unanimously and conclusively
that they felt they were in danger.
They also wholeheartedly praised
the U.S. military for its quick and
decisive action. As one student
put it, "It wasn't an invasion, it
was a rescue."
Secondly, Simpson's assertion
that Pres. Ronald Reagan's
justification for the invasion was
"based on 'what if' presumptions
rather than fact" demonstrates
Simpson's complete lack of
understanding of the situation. In
reality, the administration's
reasons for its actions and its
predictions of the resistance that
might be encountered on
Grenada showed to be drastically
less than what was actually en
countered. Instead of 600 Cuban
"construc tion workers," over 1000
heavily armed Cuban "soldiers"
engaged American troops at Point
Salines. In addition, six large
warehouses were found, each
packed with every hand weapon
tdttor
Managing (ditor
News editor
Assistant News editor
editorial Pagr editor
Piloto editor
Sports editor
Sidelines editor
I nlertamment I ditor
Assistant intrrtammenl editor
Night editor
A Mortal* editors
Higher education
llepartments and Sr hoots
Student Government
features
Politic s
t ommumty
General Stall
Advertising Manager
Classified Advertising
Production Manager
Controller
Debbie Mow let l
Sandy (ohnslone
Frank Shaw
Brenda fhornton
Cort lernald
Dave Kao
Doug levy
lohn Mealy
Angela Allen Morgan
Kim l arlson
Mm heir Malassa
Doug Nash
Melissa Martin
|im Moore
loan Herman
Brooks Darell
Me hele Malassa
Darlene Gore
Sally OI|ar
Victoria Koch
lean Ownbey
imaginable. A complex radio and
intelligence network was
discovered to be in place, a net
work designed and intended for
military purposes. All of this clear
ly proves that Reagan did not in
itiate the invasion based on
presumptions other than tacts.
On the contrary, it was the other
way around.
Finally, a piece of advice for
Simpson. Before you eagerly leap
upon your soapbox again and
preach your unfactual, unfound
ed, and untrue drivel, I suggest
that you first find out what the hell
you are talking about.
Brian Anderson
junior, finance
Hostages
In the grim atmosphere that sur
rounds the sight of American ser
vicemen returning home in
caskets.... I grimace and wonder
how long it will be before some
cause-blinded zealot drives an
explosive-laden truck through the
fence of an American nuclear
facility.
I guess the post-war generations
on both sides of the Iron Curtain
have grown up as hostages to
nuclear technologies, first in
weapons systems, and now the
nuclear industry. I've never been
comfortable with a gun pointed at
me. . . is there an H-bomb with
your name on it?
If the Soviets were to launch a
successful first strike would there
be any honor in frying 180 million
Russian women and children in
revenge? Would it raise the dead?
Maybe I should take Dr. Sagan's
advice to write OI' Ronnie Reagan
and Yuri Andropov and tell them I
think they are both out of their
(fucking) minds.
Embrace the earth and reach for
the stars.
"Whenever any form of govern
ment becomes destructive of
these ends, it is the right of the
people to alter, or to abolish it,
and to institute a new govern
ment as to them shall seem
most likely to effect their safety
and happiness."
Thomas Cranander
international studies
Bad, bad news
Okay, I know we're all getting a
bit sick of bad news: Lebanon,
Grenada, the breakdown in
nuclear arms reduction talks, the
impending deployment of nuclear
missiles in Western
Europe . The future does not
appear very promising from the
current perspective.
Want to know how to make all
the current bad news seem not so
bad? A recent Parade magazine
featured an article by scientist
Carl Sagan detailing the latest fin
dings about what a nuclear war
would do to the earth and the at
mosphere. It's not exactly fun
reading, but as Sagan points out,
we must fight the tendancy to
deny what such an event could
happen by confronting the facts.
Sagan and his associates studied
serveral different nuclear war
scenarios. In the average
"baseline” case, the earth's
temperature would drop to -13
degrees Fahrenheit and stay freez
ing for months, due to the vast
amounts of dust and smoke
thrown into the air by bomb
blasts. Virtually all crops and farm
animals would be destroyed.
About one billion people would
be killed outright, another billion
would die from injuries and radia
tion sickness, and of the remain
ing two billion, most would starve
to death.
Do you feel the denial tendancy
coming on? You want to forget all
of this? I haven't told you half of it.
Get the article and read it. It only
takes 15 minutes and it may
change the way you think about
our country's policy of building
more and more nuclear weapons
as a "deterrent" to catastrophe.
Brian Trostel
senior, finance
Throw out lifeline
"Neither have blinked."
There you have a three-word
paragraph that appeared in a re
cent Emerald editorial discussing
the Grenada invasion. The three
words, unfortunately, don't
belong together. "Neither" always
takes a singular verb, as in
"Neither one has blinked.” In the
next paragraph you tell us that
"the number of 'buffer' third
world countries appear to be
diminishing .." The countries
aren't diminishing. It is the
number that is diminishing. Later,
you list three occurrences and tell
us there "is an inkling..."
May I suggest the next time you
publish an editorial on such a
serious subject you make sure the
author and copy editor have both
taken (and passed) |-250 (Jour
nalistic Writing)? If they cannot
grasp the basics of grammar, how
can we trust them to possess any
valuable insights into world
fjolitics?
University journalism pro
fessors Lauren Kessler and Dun
can McDonald have written that
language is our lifeline. As jour
nalists, you are the keeper of this
lifeline and you have the ability to
instill in it all the power and
nobility of the pen. You also have
the ability to ridicule it — and your
own credibility as well. To mis
quote Thomas Paine, "These is
the times that try men’s souls."
Wesley Uno
GTF, 1-250
Tuesday, November 8, 1983