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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 1989)
Editorial— I Supreme Court set for another session This past ivn k, thf 1 S Supremo (fourt opened tip a new session and exportations of an even more din mntii -dull to the riw;111 than last \eni are running high With the smoke rivaled conservatives hold a solid a i majority on the court Kon.dcl Reagan, in appoint ing two conservatives to the bench during his eight year tenure, put a definite rightward slant on the < nurt And with another conservative. George Hush, oi ■ i u py ing the t K a I ()ffii e things don t look good for the liberals Supterne Gourt nominations are lor life Three of the liberal |usii< es are mine than fit) \ears old It is pos sible at least one of these seats will br< rune vni ant dur ing the next four vents The conservatives left no doubt lhe\ were in charge last session, when lhe\ niadt several divisions on such key issues as ahoition and civil liberties However, the liberal cause is not all lost. Last year lustit e Sandra l)av ()'< funner was not as hard line i on servative as some of her cohorts would have liked On issues such as abortion oi religion she is a definite swing vote. Abortion will 011c r .igain In* <i major part cj! the court's docket. Lest July, the Justices gave states great or regulators powers The decision got mixed reviews, with both pro-and-anti choice advocates claiming vii - tory Three c ase’s are scheduled and should clear up the court's stand one way or another A new dilemma is euthanasia For the first time. Justices svill debate whether terminally ill patients can choose tin* right to die Their decision will set a prece dent. Two Constitutional rights, that of freedom of speech and separation of churt h and state, svill be up for review. The court svill decide on the constitutional ity of a federal act which opens public schools tor stu dent religious group functions. Other issues, such as obscenity, criminal lass and race discrimination, svill 1m; up for discussion. These decisions will affect national politics, as the abortion decision has affected politics. The conservative bent of the court has already in fluenced the caseload for the session. Liberals are tak ing their arguments to state courts, in the hopes of get ting interpretations more to their liking State legislatures art; also getting into the act The Supreme Court seems content to let legislatures make the tough decisions on volatile issues. Even the U.S. Senate is getting involved. Several senators are talking about legislation to overturn court decisions. Whatever side oi the politic.al spec trurn one sub scribes to, this year's < ourt session promises to be one of the most influential of the past decade. CA£ES IN THIS TERM. ) ) V A ^ »fu&wr & f Yfr <c»Vrr r**+r*p*~* Reward outweighs risk for Galileo probe (line more controversy over the space program has leaped onto the front page of the national st.ene This time it s over the (ialileo probe, clue to he launc hed on the spac e shuttle Atlantis Tuesdav morning Problem is. (ialileo carries nearly 50 pounds of plutonium, vvliic h is used to pow er the $1 1 billion spacecraft The* power supply known as a radioisotope thermoelec tric generator, or KT(i, carries lfi modules l\ac h is filled u ith four golf ball-sized piec es of plutonium dioxide ene ased in iridium shells Knvironmentahsts .ire worried about a repeal of the Challenger tragedy If there were to be another shuttle accident, oppo nents contend (lalileo's fuel source would spread into the atmosphere A federal judge ruled against the .inti nuclear group, and barring am more delays. (Ialileo will finalK be on its way. after 15 \ears of stalling After mut h soul-seen liing and thinking, we support the (Ialileo program Opponents say there is a 1 in- !5() c banc e of another shuttle disaster and of (Ialileo spreading its deadly fuel some e over c entral and southern Florida On the* othei hand. N ASA contends even it the shuttle explodes, the chain es of plutonium threatening the c i viliiin population is slim. We recognize the dangers of the pro gram. However, we also realize there is no alternative fuel source, (ialileo is set to orbit Jupiter, and solar power diminishes at lh.it distance, making solar panels unattractive to use. In addition, (ialileo offers the promise ol knowledge to fight environmental problems on Karth Part of its flight will take it past Venus, whose surface, warmed by the infa mous "greenhouse effect.” is hot enough to melt a Hoick It is hoped In studying Venus' atmosphere, we can combat our own global warming. With the new technology contained in the probe, we will, for the first time, get a detailed look at Jupiter. Cialileo will also make two flvbys of Karth. Kacli time, a video camera will be pointed at the ozone hole over the South Pole Maybe, just mavbe, we can learn more about that too. Space exploration in general has been criticized as a waste ol both time and mon ey We disagree No one will dispute we have serious problems on Karth Hut In studs mg other planets and their problems maybe we < an learn something about our own. -Letters_ FjII guy I'm relieved lh.il thf 01)1' ((lit li) believes Kep David l)i\ vv.is unaware of (In- alleged mishandling ol funds In thf I >cmoi r.it ii daunts The ODl si.ili'd tliiil om* nt tin* riMsons ihm believe l)i\ is innoi fill is be< ause hf's i ooper.it ing vvith thf investigation l)i\ is trff to cooperate with thf investigation h«*< .mse hf h.is allowfd thf hl.mif lo tall on I arl Wifdfraendfrs. his good triend and tornifr ( am us \d ministratm forget lovaltv. it s i rum h tinif Makes yon won dfr how loval l)i\ is to thf fai f Ifss voter whfii thf going gfts tough ? I)i\ and \\ ifdfr.ifndfrs worked side hy side to promote thf Oregon Demur rath I’artv On Oi tuber ■) Dt\ was i]uoted in 7Tie Oregii/i/.iii as saying "(VVifderaendfrs) never told me what hf was doing and I’vf never asked and i wouldn't even want to venture a guess Wiederaenders worked for Div I)i\ could have asked him anything It sounds like |)i\ was afraid to ask questions Or mavbe. just mavlie. I)i\ didn't hav c to .isk Hut. I'm overjoved that the 01)11 believrs l)iv I was morti find that the people of Kugene who are alwa\s on the move to promote justiie in the world, might stop lor a moment and look in then ow n ba< kvanl I II.ink ( aid lhe\ have not I was afraid people might start asking questions sillv me |ulic lluher journalism Devastation Many art* l>\ now aware ot lilt* tragic destruction occurring to tiit* rain forests of Central and South America Debt rid don. export-driven mmomiis art* clearing land to. among otln-r things satisfy our di‘sirt*s for cheap beet Perhaps not as well known but mi less devastating is the disappearance of tropic .tl rain forests in Africa and Southeast Asia I his has resulted in much suffering to indigenous cut lures as well as the loss of un i minted flora and fauna All this is done so that we may en joy furniture or dinitoruare made from teak, mahogany, r.imin. and other tropical hard In light ot the above, what r an a person do? Boycott prod m ts made of teak or other hard woods, especially those labeled "made in Thailand " There is at least one business locally marketing furniture made from tropical woods, namely Scan Design W rite or (.ill enc ourag ing them to discontinue these produc t lines Kurt her. a local public sta tion M.('( helps market these products through underwriter ails 1'his was brought to then attention repeatedly, and the ads were dropped before the hist radiothon only to reappear without explicit mention of rosewood and teak I or .m ostensibly progressive voii r In carry announcements ill this sort serins highly inap propriate II \ou have thought til contributing to hl.t'C, con sulci postponing sending liiiuls t all or write informing them of your dec ision Alternatively one might sup port K\\ AX or send .1 donation instead to the Rainforest Action Network, till Hroadwav. Suite A San I rani isi o (.A «I4 1 t t (•art Nolan Stall Morale I read the article. Morale at Physical Plant better with new director" |Ul)l'. ()i I ti) with ie lief As one employed by tin state tor over a decade it is gratifying to know that one *1 my fellow workers. Linda king has found no evideiu e 't "real" nepotism at the Physical I’l.ml I i an rest easier now that I know her husband was promat ed to his position as grounds crew supervisor solely oil the basis of his abilities I hank you. king, for straightening that out. and for forthrighth pronouncing that, while the problem ot people in power hiring their family and friends has not existed before, it will never happen again Hill Smee Staff --Letters Policy_— Ilit: Emerald will attempt to print all letters con taining comments on topics ol interest to the Univer sity community. Comments must be factually accu rate and refrain from personal attacks on the character of others.
