EDITORIAL
North acquittal caps
five years of scandal
After four years of living in the nation's spotlight
and being seen as either government lackey or military
evil incarnate, Oliver North w;ls cleared last Monday of
all charges stemming from the Iran-Contra scandal.
U..S. District judge Gerhard Gesell dropped the last
remaining charges against the former White House na
tional-security aide. Gesell did this after North's former
boss Robert Mar.Farlane said two weeks ago that the re
tired Marine lieutenant colonel's Senate testimony four
years ago influenced MacFarlane’s own testimony at
the trial.
Gesell determined that North, who had been grant
ed immunity for the Senate hearings, could not be
charged with anything stemming from his testimony
It's incredibly confusing, but right in line with the
rest of the Iran-Contra scandal, a cover-up that featured
slick h^gul maneuvering, disorienting testimony and
unbelievable lapses of memory by the main partici
pants. The result of these governmental deceptions was
to leave onlookers totally confused about what actually
huppened — which was probably what the cast behind
the scandal was striving for in the first place.
Back in 1987. North
wont from obscure govern
ment aide to. depending
on whom you talk to.
shining American patriot
or disgusting military
puppet. Now North, freed
from the embarrassing
millstone of his convic
tions. can go back to harp
ing his ultra-conservative
views for $25.(X)0 a pop,
which is roughly equiva
lent to his yearly retire
ment pension from the
Marine Corps. North, who
characterized the scandal
as "five years of fire,” is
obviously not entirely dis
traught over the course his
life has taken.
Iran-Contra is the most
IT. COL OLIVER NORTH
tarsi
embarrassing government scandal since Watergate,
and, like Nixon's faux pas. the entire truth may never
be known. After almost five years, it is unclear whether
President Bush knew what was going on. Was Reagan
in on it? What the hell actually happened?
Questions, questions, questions — all of which are
waiting for answers. And time is running out. The stat
ute of limitations is five years, meaning Independent
Counsel Lawrence Walsh has only six months to file
additional charges. Walsh says more prosecutions are
forthcoming, but after four years, it seems unlikely fur
ther investigation will turn up anything.
How convenient that the dismissal of charges
against North comes on the heels of the confirmation
hearings for Robert Gates, Bush's nominee to head the
CIA.
Gates, who was deputy director of the CIA when
Iran-Contra first surfaced, is described as a organiza
tional maniac by close associates. For a person who
supposedly has a head for facts and figures. Gates
seems to have selective amnesia when it comes to the
scandal.
All in all. Iran-Contra remuins a serious blemish on
the American government. Very little about it is
known, and after five years, public interest has become
one of apathy. The truth, whatever it is, will probably
never be fully revealed.
"I don't expect an economic recovery soon. The Democrats are so weak,
Bush won't need to orchestrate one to get re-elected.”
Council’s phone games Springfield’s loss
Before killing its Human Rights Commis
sion over legal and ethical clashes, Spring
field's City Council should consider a re
vamped, bandaged version.
The recent council vote to disband the
commission stemmed from controversy sur
rounding Mayor Bill Morrisette's request for
the resignation of three City Council mem
bers who orchestrated a "coup" to overturn
the appointment of Ron Sinaiore, a Univer
sity affirmative action department employee.
Bruce Berg, Larry Schanz and Ralf Wal
ters used a computerized mail system to ce
ment their vote against Sinacore's appoint
ment because they feared he would be too
"radical" for the conservative group.
Publicized h-mail doc
uments also voiced the
council members' desire to
maintain Christian control
of the commission, as well
as nominating anti-gay
rights advoi ate Melody
Kelsay as Sinacore’s re
placement.
In an effort to cleanse
the commission of evil
forces like Sinacore, the squeaky-clean coun
cil members came inches from violating Ore
gon's open meeting laws. Though no official
ruling has been made regarding this action,
tlie members' actions are questionable be
cause they conducted council business out
of the public — as well as the rest of the
Council's — e\ e.
There .ire some obvious problems to be
dealt with, but an\ therapist or self-help
book will tell you that problems are normal
and one doesn't solve them by running
a vs a\
Springfield and its surrounding areas
need this commission; it's worth the time
and effort to salvage it.
Without some sort of mechanism in
place to deal with occurrences like the re
cent WOW Hall cancellation of an anti-racist
concert because of skinhead threats, or the
Juno 25 area assault of a black, male, or the
fact that Eugene police department records
show that several skinhead gangs have
moved into the area, these problems will
only worsen.
With a few changes here there and ev
erywhere, the much-needed commission
could survive. The question rises, however,
as to what degree and by whose standards
the committee should be rearranged. Here's
a few ideas.
First of all, Berg, Schanz and Walters
should either learn more about Oregon s
meeting laws or sic the moral police on
Springfield and its
surrounding areas
need this
commission; it’s
worth the time and
effort to salvage it
themselves, since tney ei
ther didn't know what they
were doing, or they knew
all too well.
Next the council mem
bers should check their
righteous consciences and
memories, as this is not the
first time a religious elite
tried to control the demor
alized masses.
It is not these council members place to
pass judgment on, and subsequently try and
reform the moral character of the committee.
Kach member not only has the right, but the
obligation to personify his or her value sys
tem. Doing so preserves the diverse quality
of the group that is necessary to correctly
represent a perhaps more-colorful-than-real
ized Springfield population.
And of course, the replacement of
Sinai ore by Kelsay would have to be un
done. A liberal view would only balance,
and therefore better, the conservative com
mission's power structure. What is so scary
about that? Besides, these guys have God on
their side.
No doubt it would take some work to re
solve the commission's conflicts, but worse
yet, consider the alternative.
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