Editorial
Award encourages
integrity in politics
Former California Supreme Court Chief justice Rose
Bird will receive the first annual Wayne Morse Integrity in
Politics award in Eugene on Saturday. The awards dinner
should Ik? well-attended and the honor encouraged to
continue.
This award is designed to exemplify politics as an
honorable profession and to recognize individuals who
uphold Morse's pledge of independent judgement. Morse is
a former U.S. Senator from Oregon.
What is now commonly known as the Wayne Mom?
pledge reflects the criteria used for selecting the first reci
pient of the award. Morse stated: “I will exercise an in
dependence of judgement based on the evidence of each
issue. I will weigh the views of my constiuents and party,
but cast my vote free of political pressure ami unmoved by
the threats of loss of political support.”
l-aura Olsen of the Wayne Morris Historical Park Cor
poration said the award was initiated to show the good side
of politics. “Too many people see politics as a dishonorable
profession because we only hear about the bad things that
happen.” she said.
Hopefully this award can promote and highlight the
quality and integrity Wayne Morse exemplified as a Senator.
In a time when politicians are scrutinized and punished for
their faults and indiscretions, this award comes as a pleasant
spotlight.
The dinner ceremony will take place at the Valley River
Inn. Tickets to attend can Ik? purchased at the Literary Lion,
or by contacting Randy MacDonald at 344-5306 or by leav
ing a message at the Sister University Project in Suite 3
EMU. extension 3194.
Media attention given to girl
excessive and unnecessary
The ability of the media to rally people to a cause was
demonstrated in full force recently when lH-month-old
lessica McClure fell 22 feet clown an abandoned well in
Midland. Texas, last Wednesday. The world followed the
fate of the child as she was rescued and millions continue to
follow her medical progress.
While the story of the child is touching and important,
the news coverage it received was excessive. The Register
Guard and The Oregonian ran the story spread over the front
page on both Friday and Saturday, enable News Network, a
24-hour cable news station, aired live reports from the scene
every 15 minutes while rescuers worked to save McClure.
This amount of coverage was not neccessary. Granted
the story was tragic and brought to the forefront, once again,
the dangers of abandoned wells. But it does not merit the at
tention it received.
It is sad that with a power to inform and persuade the
media devotes so much time and money covering this story
when it could be covering more important issues.
Other issues, such as Contra aid or the fighting in the
Persian Gulf have a much greater impact on our everyday
lives. Even though the plight of a small girl in Texas gives us
something to hope for and something to care about with im
mediate impact in our lives, it should not be taken to such an
extreme.
■ a
WAX, TBtYRE OUR< !! y
Commentary
Nicaraguan policy based in bias
We all know what is behind
our policy towrard Nicaragua,
right? Why else would so many
l>eople in a nation so well in
formed either explicitly support
through action or tacitly sup
port through inaction the cur
rent policy and tactics.
Commentary By
Will Holbert
According to the emminent
scenario artists of W'ashingon.
the story goes something like
the this: All sectors of the
Nicaraguan society rose up
against a vile dictator, but since
then, a small opportunistic
group of communists bullied
their way to power, silenced the
opposition, ruined the economy
and began preparing an army of
conquest.
Fortunately, a small band of
patriots held out. Most of the
original political leaders of the
revolution joined the armed op
position. The United States
liegan supporting the rebels
because the Nicaraguan people
want to be liberated from com
munist tyranny. The United
States has a long-standing
IMilicv of supporting freedom
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loving people in struggle, well,
.it le,ist most of the time.
If you don't believe that
scenario, there are viable "na
tional security" reasons for sup
porting the rebels. It is only a
matter of time before refugees
are streaming across the Rio
Grande. Soviet military bases
line the Uarribean and the
Panama Canal is closed.
Resides, the Nicaraguan
government supports other
revolutions and is involved in
drug trafficking, right?
Its simple. Facts support
scenarios, scenarios support
policy, and policy supports ac
tion. That's why Vice President
George Hush received the
loudest applause at his an
nouncement of his presidential
candidacy when he promised
ongoing support for the
Contras.
The discriminating reader
may observe some problems
with these arguments, not the
least of which is that they are
built on suspicious or fabricated
evidence. Because Nicaragua
has open borders, there has
tieen no shortage of fact finders
and unbiased media scouring
the countryside looking for
evidence of repression or ex
pansionism. You can read
analysises from the U.S.
government and it's supporting
intellectual cadre, and you can
read international and unaf
filiated studies. With some at
tempt at synthesis and correc
tion for bias, you will un
doubtedly come away with
serious doubts about the
credibility of the these
arguments.
There is little evidence that
the Nicaraguan people want to
be liberated, much less by the
United States (or its proxies),
which have already liberated
Nicaragua on several occasions.
Outside of fanciful conjecture,
there is no evidence of threats to
American life or property by
Nicaraguans Although the na
tional security argument can be
extrapolated to a hysterical ex
treme. that is one of the less
savory rationalizations you are
left with when the facts are
exposed.
The Reagan admistration
swims to have accepted the in
validity of the more appealing
justifications. Why else would
they be grasping at logical
straws and turning up the
hysteria in their public postur
ing? If the facts supporting their
policy held any semblance of
reality, why would they resort
to these pathetic tactics?
One of these pearls is the old
standby that Nicaragua is
masterminding a disinforma
tion campaign. Without even
relying on the many thorough
analysises of Nicaragua, it
challenges the imagination of
even the ill-informed how a
country the size of Arkansas,
ravaged by war. underdevelop
ment and poverty manages to
manipulate the American press
and public opinion. Given the
media's and the government's
singular attention to emotional
ly loaded incidents and anec
dotal evidence supporting U.S.
policy, it would be easy to
reverse the accusation.
The latest brilliance is this
drivel about the Contras
somehow insuring progress
toward democracy. It is painful
to hear seemingly intelligent
people like Secretary of State
George Shutlz and his assistant
Klliot Abrahins attempting to
advocate that by funding a gang
of mercenaries we are ac
complishing anything more
than the terrorism of an im
poverished and defenseless
civilian population The more
likely tactical purpose of the
Contras' putrid little war is that
it helps to fulfill a prophecy of
economic disaster.
Undoubtedly we are due to
endure all sorts of misrepresen
tations about the degree of suc
cess of the Arias peace plan
The administration has already
tipped its hand that it will call
the plan a failure on Nov. 8th
and seek massive funding for
the Contras before Thanksgiv
ing Clever how so many in this
country are now poised to see
Nov. 7th as a deadline for peace
in the region, when in fact the
plan is to begin on that date.
If you support by action or in
action the administration's
policy and the rationalizations
behind that policy become un
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