EDITORIAL New energy strategy barely gets support Lust Wednesday, the House passed 381*37 the first energy strategy bill in more than a decade. The mam moth 1,500-page piece of legislation is supposed to guide America's energy use into the next century. It's about time. Some of tho bill's provisions are quite extraordinary, if not common sense — requiring the federal government to cut back on energy use, a moratorium on most offshore drilling and new efficien cy standards in the private sector, to name }ust the highlights. However, tho bill is hardly perfect. From this cor ner, it gots lukewarm approval; a polite, back-of-the hand, symphony clap. In February, tho Senate passed a similar measure. The two bills now go to a conference committee, and eventually, the president's probable signature. It is hoped the joint committee will strike some of the par ticularly noxious parts of the existing bill and add some of the more environmentally sound ideas left out. For sturtcrs, the House and Semite bills both would streamline sturt-up licensing for nuclear pow er plants. Rep. George Miller. D-Calif.. had pro posed an amendment that would make it easier for critics to stop construction of the plant if safety con cerns were raised, but the House deleted the propos al. Trying to ram through a nuclear power plant li cense without sufficient Aesthetic considerations aside, If an oil platform were to go glut off the Oregon coast, It would destroy the state's fishing and tourism Industries. debate from the people who would huve to live near it seems short-sighted and dangerous. The pros and cons of nuclear energy can be debuted in another forum, but oven supporters of the plants should agree that stifling debate about safety concerns is just pluin dumb. The only part of the House bill Bush and Co. has threatened to veto is tho extension of the limited mora torium on offshore drilling of the Outer Continental Shelf. The Senate version has no such provision, and Energy Secretary )umcs Wutkins has alreudy stated he and the rest of tho Cabinet gang would push to get tho proposal dropped in the joint conference. One cun be sure the Republican administration is getting heavy prossure from profit-monomaniac oil conglomerates anxious to turn the West Coast into a muss of oil derricks and pipelines. Aesthetic considera tions aside, if an oil platform wore to go glub off the Oregon coust, it would destroy tho state's fishing and tourism industries. In comparison, the Alaskan oil slick would look like the spillover at tho local gas sta tion. The energy plan debate is not over yet. The confer ence committoo will provide a groat forum to talk ubout the particulars. Nuclear power and offshore oil drilling are just too important to ignore and let Bush and Co. have its way. 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LETTERS Eat this Whoever wrote the Moy 22 editorial need* to oat hi* word* Talk about prejudice, bigotry, etc.! The writer accuses the Or egon Citizens Alliance of trying to Impose Its will on others, and demoting Springfield resi dents (gay* and lesbians) to sec ond-doss citizens, '11100 it said people who voted for Measure 20-OB could be guilty of trying to •‘ostracize, stigmatize and condemn." The homosexual community and their supporter* seem to never tire of using buzzwords and seeking to engender sym pathy. Straight people are al ways accused of bolng "fearful, ignorant and homophobic.” Whoever wrote the (xlltoriul Is more likely fearful and Ignorant of the (X^A members. As homo sexuals continuously assert, "Why, we're your friends and neighbors lawyers and doc tors, etc. ..." Co in the free speech area during Cay Prldof?) Week If you want to see people trying to shove their Ideas, religion and philosophy down other poople's throats! If lt‘s such a groat thing to take pride In, loave It alone ... others will rec ognize It. 1 haven't found anyone yet that can define the "rights" that pooplo say they aro losing. All of us have the sume equal rights under the Constitution. Seeking minority status is a "special right After the measure passed, the homosexual community began making all kinds of threats as to what they would do. With all the hate crimes committed against individuals und busi nesses In the area, what a great idea! ' We'll show 'em!" I suggest that certain people clean their own backyards first. Ron William* Eugana Double drivel I'm writing in rosponse to Don Peters' May 21 common lory. To bo perfectly, frankly and utterly blunt, it made mo run 11 y terribly III. It is flip, irreverent attitudes such as the one displayed in this piece that have reduced our fine example of a political system to the decaying, corrup tlon-infested mess It Is today. If this young man has nothing to say about this election other than what campaign servos the best food during ballot-count ing time, he has no right to say ho "really (does) love politics." Perhaps if know-it-all typos like Peters would get off thoir "ha-ha, aren't I clevor" trips, and join the rest of us in trying to effect real, lasting and mean ingful change in this sick, de generate society of ours, we would ovontuolly bo loft with nothing more Important to dis cuss than food. Out until then, there ore vital ly important Issues to deal with, and it would greatly be hoove the Emerald to devote more space to doing just that, and less space to the self-serv ing drivel of self-righteous, self serving, in-your-face clowns like Peters Teresa Knezok Orephlce Editor, Oregon Com mentator Just do it In response to Debra Prye'e letter (ODE, May 26), I would like to say that all of the people Involved with CARE and the many other organizations on campus fully understand that a man can be raped, and that his assailant can be a woman as well. While we rocognlze this and do what wo can to not overlook It. It's hard to focus on the many issues of rape (i.e. worn on, men, cntidren, eidors ... ev erybody!) with the small hand ful of dedicated and over worked students and faculty we have actively involvod in work ing to create a rape-free envi ronment on this campus of over 16,W)0 people. Because we have so few peo ple involved in a relatively large community, we need to put our energy in one direction so we can be as effective as pos sible. We recognizo tho most prevalent issue is the woman survivor/male assailant scenar io; therefore, we focus our at tention there. Until we got more members, that's tho way It will be. (Take this as an open invita tion to get involved.) My udvlco is instoad of wor rying about what we involved people don’t got done, worry about what you’re preventing from getting done by not being involved. Rape is everybody's issue, so all aspects will not gel fully rucognizod and dealt with until everybody gots Involvod. Until that time, don't look to the peo ple doing something already to start your ‘‘People Against Fear" organization. Chances are, these people are already doing everything they can. Scan Foxtay Co-d tractor Man Agalnat Rapa Speakbeck Springfield voters have spo ken in support of the OCA and Its messages of hate. Now it is time to speak back. Today I am beginning a personal boycott of all Springfield businesses until measure 20-08 Is rescinded. I urge others to do the samo. David R. Sokoloff Physics LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor must be limited to no more than 250 words, legible, signed and the identification of the writer must be verified when the letter is submitted.