EDITORIAL
Put the ethics aside
and turn over diary
In the nows again,., and in the nows agatn. Son, Bob
Packwood sooms lo bo sponding more time on the from
pago of the newspapers than in the Senate.
Thoso pages of his diary that Packwood brought for
ward himseif. in his defense, are on the verge of being
used in the case of the prosecution as well. As unethical
as the personal matter may be. Packwood is the one who
brought more than 8,000 pages of recorded information
before the entire nation.
Packwood. however, picked his way through the pages,
allowing only those that he found beneficial in his defense
to be public knowledge. loot’s not forget that Packwood
is on the defense stand, not doing the accusing. The peo
ple who have Filed charges against him are entitled to the
othor side of the story.
Granted, it soems unethical to permit the public to page
through Packwood’s personal life, public servant or not.
But. as a member of the Senate, he is also 8 member of
one of the most prestigious organizations in the world,
which possesses a groat amount of power and respon
sibility. With that clout comes the power of the Senate
to impress upon its members the same degree of disci
pline, more so than any court of law. Membership in this
organization also imposes rules and obligations that are
to bo followed. If not followed, undesired, stiffer-than
usual repercussions are sure to result.
It is Packwood who invited the Senate Ethics Com
mittee to read his diaries. He put his diary on the stand
or, at loast, the part that would he a benefit to his defense.
Thon the committee, just like Packwood, was asked to
be put on the stand to determine whether it should bo
entitled to the rest of the story. The committee won. and
Packwood lost. Therefore, ethics aside, it’s time to turn
over the rest of the story — the rest of the diary.
Finish the case and close the books. This case is going
on and on. There is no need to launch it into the court
system and watch it drag on. Yes. Packwood is obviously
entitled to a fair ethics committee review on the charges
against him. If his diary were exposed, there could be
even more charges filed against him. Violations, if
exposed, will portray a more significant case with harsh
er allegations. But if the laws were broken, then Pack
wood should suffer the consequences.
Packwood said. "I would hate to think just because 1
kept a diary ... and the things I put in it, that that would
be a cause for resignation. Ana ... I'd hate to think that
we've reached the place where, if I exercise my consti
tutional rights, that this is the conduct unbecoming of
a senator."
It's more than flexing constitutional rights; it is the sim
ple fact that his representation may not be up to expec
tations.
The people of Oregon elected Packwood to represent
this state. They are entitled to a representative who
applies his undevoted attention to the work at hand, to
the people of this state. When Packwood ran for senator,
he also knew that what was expected of him far surpassed
that of a regular citizen. Whether or not the battle is over,
if the representation of this stato is jeopardized by per
sonal matters, then it’s time for him to step down.
Oregon Daily
Emerald
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MU
RATED
LETTERS
Puppets
American foreign policy does
not reflect any human dimen
sion, and it is basically on the
side of business and American
special interests.
American involvement in the
Middle hast (as in the Persian
Gulf War) not only brought
democracy to the region, but it
kept the dictators' power intact.
In Iraq, the brutal Saddam Hus
sein is still in power and contin
ues to kill the innocent Muslims
in areas south and north of Iraq,
In Bosnia, thousands of innocent
civilians are being killed every
moment, and still the United
States remains silent. In Soma
lia. the humanitarian mission has
changed to a military mission.
In the Middle East, the United
States and its puppets are ready
to wreak havoc on the general
population with the help of cor
rupt leaders such as Hosni
Mubarak of Egypt. King Eahd of
Saudi Arabia and Sheik Al Saba
of Kuwait
U S. foreign policy is not
doing what it is supposed to do.
The U.S. government chooses its
side according to its needs. Its
economic interest is more
important than human rights.
If the U.S. government cannot
police its own cities and citi
zens. how can it try to police the
whole world?
All Keyhanford
Urban & Regional Planning
Pro-life
Recently. C'-arol Berg wrote a
letter to express her concern
about selective abortions of gay
fetuses (ODE, Oct. 8). Her con
cern is shared by the Pro-Life
Alliance of Gays and Lesbians
and many other pro-lifers.
Shockingly, the threat is real,
and it is not restricted to gay
fetuses in some hazy future.
There are many indications that
selective abortion is already a
growing problem.
One recent study reported
that of fetuses diagnosed with
Down's Syndrome. 92 percent
were aborted. The new U.S. Sur
geon General has called lower
numbers of Down's Syndrome
babies a “positive health effect”
of abortion.
Low numbers of girl babies in
China and India, and the link to
sex-selection abortions, has
recently been reported. In the
United States. 62 percent of
geneticists interviewed in 1992
said they would be willing to do
amniocentesis solely for the pur
pose of gender identification, a
number computed to he 1 per
cent in 1973.
Doctors specializing in late
term abortions say they are
doing more abortions because
sonograms are becoming so pre
cise they can detect even the
subtlest defects in the fetus.
Columnist Alexander Cock
burn writes, "The shape of
things to come can be summed
up ... (by) eugenics decked out
in the respectability of modern
technology. First you knock out
the embryos with Down’s syn
drome and similar ailments,
then you widen out from this
beachhead."
With abortion on demand,
selective abortion is a very real
problem. At-risk groups include
all who are outside the prevail
ing culture. Abortion, far from
being a private choice, has very
far-reaching public implications.
Kathleen Freeman
Computer and Information
Science
Baha’i faith
The Baha'i faith, incorrectly
titled "Baha'ism" [ODE, Oct.
28). is an independent world
religion proclaiming the one
ness of God and the oneness of
humanity, supporting the stan
dard of unity of all religions and
including millions of adherents
from every ethnic, national and
religious background. It con
demns all manner of prejudice
and superstition and declares
the purpose of religion to be the
promotion of amity and con
cord. Its holy scriptures direct
Baha'is to the highest standard
of personal conduct and to loy
alty to their government. Its
worldwide record of activities
dedicated to peace and unity is
open to alt.
T.J. Fooladi's repeated, under
handed and misguided attacks
on the Baha'i faith can do no
harm, but they are tiresome. It is
a matter of record that in Iran,
Baha'is have been persecuted by
every government, both monar
chical and ecclesiastical, since
the beginning of the faith in
1844. It is the Baha'is in Iran
who are systematically mur
dered and raped, whose holy
places are demolished by mobs
with pickaxes and whose rights,
jobs and properties are taken —
not the other way around.
Baha'is adhere to a different
standard, as stated by
Baha’u'llah: "They that are
endowed with sincerity and
faithfulness should associate
with all the peoples and kindreds
of the Earth with joy and radi
ance, inasmuch as consorting
with people hath promoted and
will continue to promote unity
and concord, which in turn are
conducive to the maintenance of
order in the world and to the
regeneration of nations."
Bevertee Patton-miller
Faculty Adviser
Baha'i Campus Association
Paid dearly
A reply to Joseph Borton's let
ter on the University of Wash
ington assault caso {ODE. Nov.
3).
You refer to the journalist’s
"disgusting opinion" for stating
that "the victims were not
harmed.” When a journalist
writes that a victim is not
harmed, we understand that he
or she means "not physically."
How a victim felt or should feel
"inside” is not for you or any
one else to say. In fact, by focus
ing on the pain you think a vic
tim should feel. I think you
contribute more to the problem
than to the solution.
The women involved obvi
ously did the right thing by
reporting the intruders, and
those young men have paid
dearly for their foolishness
Aside from their punishment
under the law and by their
school, the Emerald humiliated
them publicly by putting their
mug shots on the front page
[ODE. Nov. 2). a measure which
struck me as rather perverse.
Perhaps you would like the
Emerald to display those
women’s inner feelings on the
front page, too? Let's hope jour
nalism never comes to that, if it
hasn't already.
Mark Gifford
English
LETTERS POLICY
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be verified when the letter is submitted.
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style.