EDITORIAL
Babysitter unjustly
curses nomination
Only two weeks after Zoe Baird withdrew from the
U.S. attorney genera! race. President Bill Clinton's sec
ond choice drooped out of the running. The reason?
Because her babysitter had been an illegal alien for
seven years. (Insert Twilight Zone theme here.)
As it turns out. federal Judge Kimba Wood didn't
actually do anything wrong. Unlike Baird, she hired her
babysitter in 1986. before an Immigration law was
passed prohibiting employers from knowingly hiring
undocumented workers. As she told Clinton adminis
tration officials, sho "complied with all immigration
laws" and paid "all required taxes."
In light of this. Clinton acted too quickly in dismiss
ing Wood. Certainly he wanted to avoid additional
embarrassment on the illegal alien issue. Keaction
against Baird was
strong from both Con
gress and I ho public,
and asking a woman
who knowingly broke
the law to become
attorney general was a
mistake, This was. after
all. a brand new
administration looking
to avoid screw-ups.
Saying she
wasn't politically
viable is
understanelable,
but not
excusable.
Hu! Wood was not
Zoo Baird. Sho was a qualified candidate with a solid
legal bat kground. Her only offonso was following Baird.
A Clinton aide admitted her dismissal was not a legal
judgment, but a political one. The president has already
taken enough heat in the early going to alter any judg
ment he makes. But Wood was a good candidate with a
clean record. She deserved confirmation proceedings
where Congress could have determined her ability. Say
ing she wasn't politically viable is understandable, but
not excusable.
Even Congress criticized Clinton for his quick dis
missal of Wood. Sen. Alan Simpson, one of the more
conservative voices in (ho Senate, said Wood "was as
honest and true as an arrow." Usually when Simpson
likes a Democratic choice, she has an excellent chance
of confirmation.
Another potential controversy surrounding Wood
was her one-time training as a Playboy Club bunny in
the 19G0s. Though Clinton officials deny this was a far
tor in her dismissal, insiders say the administration
wanted to avoid embarrassing jokes. The last thing Clin
ton needs is a Quayle.
The Clinton administration partially defends its
action by claiming Wood didn't come clean when orig
inally asked about employment records. She apparently
dented three times that she had hired illegal aliens,
thereby angering the administration when they discov
ered the truth.
But Wood's actions were excusable given Clinton's
problems. Her babysitter was legal, making the term
"illegal alien” a hit of a misnomer. Wood deserved
more respect than to be dismissed while innocent.
Oregon Doily
PO 00X )«M lUOCNf OPtGONJiUCO
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fM GONNA GET
SOME OF THAT..
1 JUST PIPN'T
GET it.
BOV are THEY
.GONNA GET IT..
The Three Faces of Bob Packwood
LETTERS
Knew Carson
Kd Carson and 1 lived in the
some dorm our first year on
< .impus, and though vve were
by no means t lose friends, he
seemed then to possess on in
telligence and rationality not
always common in first-year
college students
My communication with Car
son since then has been limited
to Ins articles in the Oregon
Commentator. u journal that I.
as a lilwral, frequently find my
self at odds with (and there an
ilines my summation of that re
lationship would tie consider
ably less charitable).
Despite this, I cannot recall
having read anything by Carson
that was not infused with an
insight and intelligence that
enabled me to explore a view
point I may not have considered
or agreed with
I have never seen evidence of
rai ism or homophobia in his
writing, and 1 consider Corson
to be one of the few "conserva
tive” writers fulfilling the
potential of rightist thought to
contribute a bn lam ed exchange
of opposing ideas so key to our
education.
To convict him through mere
association with morons who
prodma- tripe such as the "bull
dyke-' cartoon {Commentator.
December 1092) is grossly
unfair and goes against the
ideals of personal liberty that
we on the left claim to trumpet.
I wish him luck in his new posi
tion.
Jamie Bakum
English
Strike two
Kudos to Emerald sports edi
tor Dave Charbonneau
Although modesty must have
prevented hint from admitting
it, Charbonneau scored a media
coup by getting interviews with
the 18-year-old • guests-- of
some Portland Trail Blazer
players from the controversial
night in Utah.
lie found out, for example,
that "these girls were looking to
score just as much as the play
ers were.-- that "you know they
were looking for attention," and
(hat "they stayed when things
got hot. and they consented"
[GDI:, Feb 2)
Charbonneau lias i leered up
any possible confusion regard
ing one "girl's" statement that
she felt frightened and intimi
dated into having sex. and the
puzzling medical evidence of
vaginal trauma.
1 can appret iate Charbonneau
not wanting to make the rest of
the media feel bad. but next
tune why not be brave and
at knowledge his soon es? After
all. some less astute Emerald
readers might jump to the con
clusion that Charbonneau is
simply convicting the vii tints
out of prejudice and promoting
sexual stereotypes, and basing
his article on an outdated rape
mvth — "She must have been
asking for it "
It was only the Emeralds re
cord of journalistic integrity
that clued me in to the only
possible explanation
Charbonneau was actually re
peating what the "guests" had
told him. Good job Now they
can call off the trial
Steve Ramseur
Sociology
Not confirmed
This is in response to a Ian
lift Emerald artii le, “University
< ites OPS officer w ith harass
ment violation." concerning a
complaint of sexual harassment
in the University Office of Pub
lic Safety
This complaint has been the
subject of a thorough investiga
tion. in full complianc e with all
applicable University policies
and procedures covering allega
tions of sexual harassment
Although personnel matters
must remain confidential and
specifics on individual cases
cannot he provided, we wish to
note, significantly, that this
investigation did not confirm
all the details reported in the
Emerald article
The University is committed
to providing a safe and we lemm
ing environment that is resjiect
ful of the rights of all members
of our community in the com
ing weeks, we and others will
be making a renewed effort to
reucn i miiui-iih, i«i<
ultv and staff with information
on tin* nrrtn of resources that
already ovist on our campus to
help those who fool they have
boon victimized bv sexual
harassment
Linda King
Alison Baker
and five co-signers
University Affirmative Action
Administrative Council
Strike three
It seems that the foundation
of this nation's legal system no
longer ovists 1 once hoard that
those accused of a crime wore
innocent until proven guilty.
But according to the enlight
ened Dave Charbonneau, "Blaz
ers go mall hopping for fun."
and Rondine Niki Rouch,
“Shed myths" {ODE, Feb. Z). •
this idea no longer applies
Everyone has heard of the
alleged Portland Trail Blazer
scandal, yet Charbonneau and
Rouch have already cracked the
i aso for the Salt Lake Cit\ dis
trict attorney It seems Charbon
neau knows for a far t these girls
did have sev with alleged Blazer
players Was he in Salt Lake '
Did he party with the Blazers?
And Rouch has at road \ deter
mined these girls were gang
raped I was not there, and nei
ther were Charbonneau and
Rouch Maybe the girls consent
ed to sex, or maybe it's a big
story. The only thing we do
know for sure is that our legal
system says anyone accused is
innocent until proven guilty.
And come to think of it, none
of the Blazers have officially
been accused of any crime Yet
Charbonneau sees fit to assess
guilt and at the same time
demean the entire Blazer orga
nization.
Just what we need is another
journalist pointing fingers and
deciding the truth for us. It is
this thinking, as expressed by
both Charbonneau and Rouch.
that sends thousands of inno
cent people to prison every
year. But. hey. those two know
the real story, or at least they
want us to believe so.
Jason Porter
Management