EDITORIAL EPA’s gutless act puts owl in trouble Many have tried, few have succeeded. And in the end. the Environmental Protection Agent y jus! didn't want the chance to play deity. The EPA Wednesday hacked out of the so-called "(iod Squad’’ hearings on the spotted owl, leaving on vironmentalists fuming and the Bureau of Land Man agement dancing in the aisles. With the main government environmental group — albeit a waffling one — out of the picture, the 44 Ore gon timber sites the BLM wants to log are one step closer to becoming mountains of two by-fours. In addi tion, the fate of the spitted owl is crvstali/ing— even tual extinction. Why the EPA bowed out is up for conjecture. In December, the group argued its way into the hearings, claiming it had a right to participate in any decision af fecting the nation's environment. The EPA was correct — it did have a vested interest in what the (iod Squad decided It was the EPA’s duty to oversee the hearings and submit relevant and vital testimony Didn’t work out that way. By leaving the hear ings — whatever the reason — the EPA man aged to sabotage any hopes environmental ists had of influencing the squad EPA testimo ny ( arries much more weight than non-gov ernmenta! sources EPA findings on the envi ronmental impact of logging the 44 areas will now probably not he heard The quickie self removal has opened debate on whether Bush is pulling strings to influence the hear ings The EPA isn't talking, and there is no smoking gun. so any such accusations are simply guesswork But the pullout is odd. No matter whose side vou’re on. logger or owl. not hearing .ill the facts means a biased, one sided confer No matter whose side you're on, logger or owl, not hearing all the facts means a biased, one-sided conference. The 4.(>()() acres in debate seem a pittance, unlo vou're an owl or logger .Should the Endangered Species At t he upheld, some timber workers will lose their jobs If the (iod Squad allows logging, the s(rotted owl will he in danger of extinction. Such dilemmas make tor difficult and unpopular decisions. Regardless, the EPA’s wimpy action is an insult Wh.it the (iod Squad needs most is a reasoned debate on both sides of the issue not a B1M dominated ses sum The EPA has done a disservice to its name COMMENTARY POLICY Commentaries should be between 750 and 1,000 words, legible and signed, and the identification of the writer must be verified upon submission. The 1'nu-raUi reserves the right to edit for grammar, style and length it necessary. _ Emerald P O BOM )1M. iUCCNt OHIGON9/403 Tt«*i Dragon ['ia,"y | • Mo *i«ii " > v' * '*w» ! 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Claa*rtiad Adiartiaing 146 414 3 ** 4«E FAll foe Pbus ake 'MG / '.I '-.s •* Sr, . u t r s\t COMMENTARY U.S. is lobbying its future away li, M - i As the linlled Suni's it ono rm continues to flouncl*?r nod wallow lIs way mil of mild nt i-sslon. and as thr flit lion year is upon us, many American political commentu lors and public Ians art lining up In lake potshots a! the Japu flf sf The Japanese am one of the prominent reasons why the country is losing markets, which means losing jobs and adding lo unemployment a! a lime the country can nil afford it, so say the protec tionist sup porters The anti protectionist forces i .muter that proter ttonisin, meaning retaliating against na tions tfial - cose then c.irket< to ..at goods through i iusing our ovv n mar ki ts, is simpi s the wrong way to achieve the in tended goal of total free trade between nation slates as it on!\ tore es more, not less t losed markets ill tile game o! lit tor tat it- til sides m the deiMil- ii.is e valid points in fact, the protei llomsts and inti protei tlonlsts are alter the same goal free and tart trad mg pr.u tu es How ewr. their means to a< lueve the intended result are about as sat tsfying as paying ingii tuition l! public polic \ sw ngs in hind the protei tionist \ tew it is iikek Atnerii a will bn cam more isolated from its trailing partners including, ini! not limited to. Japan ibis will up the ante In a dangerous bidding war larills and quotas would go through the root \meru ans would be fore ed to pa s double, may lie triple, i urrent pru es and the possibility exists that lull em bargoes might result In the end nobody wins So where should polit \ go' What should Ameru a do to right the wrongs in the trade imbalance, especially with the Japanese/ In order to start find ing answers, the country must realize the initial premise which surrounds the discus sum, " The Japanese did tins to uv is fundamentally wrong The real fault lies with our selves as a nation and what our very own government allows to happen in regards to lobbying, buying cd influence, and the- re volving door of employment prac tiers As tin- \ew AV/urb/ic simply stated: " The real si an dal m Washington is not vvh.it is dune illegally. hut what Is dune legally I apart runs one of the largest continuous political campaigns in this country and this prlt e tag is i heap in i omparison to the Japanese political system of campaigning At least S-100 mil lion each year is spent hiring Amerlian lobbyists in Wash inglon, lit . super lavvvers. lor mer senators and House mem bers former high-ranking cabi net offh ials and even former I' S presidents Japan does not allow oilier nations to manipulate its cur fit itlurtt taught in schools, es pet i illy in university programs when universities are bought up. or hae.kri ili-il l-v lapaitese donors America does litpun does not depend upon other nations financing its thinking about Japan's long term role in the world econo my America does, and the is Uihiished Japanese think tanks ! - .ir tins nut Atm t . an sc hoi ars will often not t ritii l/e the hand' that feeds them Japan does not permit its politicians or parties to accept donations Iroin foreigners Atnerii a d.«-s Japan, -lise docs not tolerate its high guv eminent t j I fie nils In-, oming other nation's top luhhyists and adv isers Amerii a does in sum, Amem a tolerates lor eign interference in its domes tii affairs Ivelore trade even is dlsi ussed Japan does not The dei lining Amerii an i ivic v irtin is the problem The villains by the lapam-se and other foreign interests is not the real problem in the trade de-hate It is an Amerii art problem and it is an American weakness America's competitors simply use the If gal opportunities afforded them to maximize their advantage All the talk aUiut protection ism and anti-protectionism is missing the mark and won't really solve our problems In so many political Issues, we let ethii s slide Unfortunately the American puhlu has gotten so used to sleaze that when the honest truth is spelled out the puhlu doesn’t know how to in ternalize it and adopt it lor the health of the nation The debate should refoc us on the ethics of influential Ameri cans who have willingly sup ported the cheapening and con corruption of not only the con duct of public servii r to tho ii.i tion. but our national interests The criticism offered up takes tbri'i! forms hirst, they chiitii the exumin.ition of for eign influence over American polite s and Institutions reads "Met airlhyism " Hut the issue is not so muc h about patriotism or ideology as it is about wide spread, identifiable corruption all legal and tolerated in offi cial Washington circles Second, the all too familiar chime of "racism" or in this case the familiar lepan bash ing" is utilized to blunt criti (isms lor Japanese influence peddling The rate card is a le miliar gambit used to discredit concerns of Americans over policies that affect their lives Obv umsiy . some Americans are still rai ist. but legitimate issues are denied the opportunity to be discussed because of this stigmatizing label 1 malls , these \merican and foreign operatives object to in spection and criticism of their activities on grounds that thev are playing the "game" t>y American rules Their point is tfi.it Washington permits insid ers in the government to peddle influence to the highest bidder Mv point is that the "game" itself is harmful to American interests and requires reform Throughout history, the l. S has utilized both prut is tionist policies and less protectionist policies both have met with little success Protectionism, in force be I ore the (treat Depres sion. is credited with having added to the problem of eco nomh recovery The current negative trade imbalance speaks to the sun ess of anti protectionist polity Neither really works ‘The corruption of American government by domestic inter ests is no less destructive than bv foreign interests Depending upon il we allow foreign inter ests to legally continue lobby ing the halls of Congress, and paying Americans to do so, will determine if we make any real difference in achieving the in tended goal of free and fuir trade among nations A nation without civic virtue and ethics is a nation that probably won’t survive the tests of time any way Thus, if we are unable to learn from history we are doomed to repeat it Mike Colson is u puhtii^l sci t'iu r major at the t 'niversity.