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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 23, 1995)
EDITORIAL White House street closure prudent The Firs! Family will 1k» a bit safer now, after a move made over the weekend to curtail vehicle access near the front of the White House. President Bill Clinton acted on the recommendations of the Secret Service and others on Saturday as ho closed Pennsylvania Avenue, the main Washington thorough fare to vehicle traffic in front of the White House. Sev eral other recommendations, including a review of air traffic in the vicinity of the White House, were also approved. Improving security at the White House is a pru dent idea. The world was a different plat e hack when a road was built in front of the White House Federal buildings weren't bombed II make % the area safer (or everyone, im lulling the f;ener a I puhlu and throats against presi dents weren't as common as they are today. The world seemed safer than it does today. But the fart is the world is more dangerous today Presidential politics inspire some people to take drastic measures against the president and his family. Only sev eral months ago. a man sprayed the area around the White House with gunfire from in front of the building. Before that, a man t rashed a light plane into the side of the White House. Obviously, security must be a major concern of White House officials. Closure of Pennsylvania Avenue to vehicle traffic will not solve all security problems at the White House. Peo ple who are bent on firing on or bombing the White House will still be able to fire a gun from the sidewalk or find another way to Injure the president, but eliminating vehic les from the security equation will give the Secret Service and local police a beltur chance at protecting the White House from violence. It would seem much easier to have police officers monitor people walking around Pennsylvania Avenue rather than have them try to patrol drivers traveling by the building. Some who have disagreed with the closure have said closing Pennsylvania Avenue to cars will have a psy chological impact on the public, implying the White House and government is less accessible in general. However, the White House isn't any less accessible to the public with the closure of Pennsylvania Avenue to vehicles. Instead, it makes the area safer for everyone, including the general public. No longer will it be possi ble for a < ar to ram the gates around the White House or for a car-bomb to explode in front of the building. The area in front of the White House gates will be converted into a "pedestrian mall” of sorts, which will allow peo ple a larger area to walk in front of the White House or assemble for protests. President Clinton made the right choice in moving to ban vehicle traffic from the front of the White House. For the minimal impact it creates, the action helps to make the White House and surrounding area safer for every one. Oregon Doily ► o (oi m* cmr&ow *r«u Th-* Pit-t l merakt s% putsja^y Monday f <-<i3y ih«j arxJ T uMdtty ***1 Thursday during ttv* tumm* t'y !N» OrtQOn f rr.«rm3 Co , hx tfvs Un*v*r*ay ol Oregon. Oregon Tn» fmt^akJ op*#*!#* »'xfcsp«fx**o»‘y o* KXf Ur*v©»s<ty wrtl> off*** «t 300 of me t. rli M«wucy 1*1 ,vvl «* A ol fNe A$*0OJ*«d l ,% private property Th* removal vK U1M» of paper* >a protect ilMWe t*y E<fctor-m-Chtef K*fy Scjfo CcfiUVUll t d*lcvr N#W* Aft Ecftto* Fr**4«nc« EdHo* uavta I rxyTN Ro(£>* tt««v«4 P-«a*«rf to« B0flir\*9fc> Hew* tduo* Mv n Sport* Editor Os »*M/ Supp4«m«ftt* Editor T'.^trt No* Nigfit Editor lew. 8dttw#ifc A»mci«i« Editor* Amy Govt*nmint?Ac%MarcaM>n# t. ft*atd* Corrt«vrt(f>. 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Ms>i’> M. -. v!.J .• - Mr *i,• .and, Dayton Y<np Newsroom OffiC# 346-S511 msti CNftpiay Advertising 346*3712 Advertising 346-4X3 •** i* * ■ PRESIDENT GINGRICH-? tVAND PlCKTO MOUSE SPEAKER SUCCESSOR 4M|ar WSgkc fNAUGUAAl A00RCSV 7 WoOPS, 46 EtTIMPoftANtOOi, witw couop cmabtj,_ A NEW RIlXnONtH*p W<Tw BOB 0OCE„ WUIMtM M ANX MOW WTP TOOw_ j«» TWEMuRr StcwrrAKT RUPtRT MuRoocm„ PRESIDES OVER TME REDUCTION Of COVERNWtfNT. AlM^H.ASTWElAST /vjvernment gwpun®. 'touRt PREt>^ s ■ OPINION Jim’s word not necessarily gospel Bkiw Womack Jrust »■. sure as vehk les going I eight miles under the speed I limit on (Joburg Road. Bible in made his spring term visil to the University Though I’ve only been here since last year, 1 understand he is a regular feature to the grassy knoll In the KMU courtyard That soap box and the blue tap are all too familiar to us stu dents The words he spews are all too familiar to us as well. While listening to him last Tuesday. I heard him threaten bodily harm to a listener because he was !>eing interrupt ed (like he should complain about that) This is the same per son who tells his listeners they’re just not that bright A friend told me Bible Jim uses sui h wonderful props as the '"fag funnel" and the "fag whistle ” I'm sun* that will away more people than even Jesus thought possible More than anything though, his style must not be forgotten This man has the approximate grat e and charm of Sen Alfonse D’Amato, only without the smile He has to have one of the most acidic personalities I've witnessed in recent historv. Veiling at people like he's on fire seems to lie all he knows Personally. I am a Christian And when people like Bible Jim dei ide to inflict the campus with the venomous speei h he does, it's frustrating to me and those who call themselves Christians. The situation reminds mo of the time when stories surround ing Jimmy Swaggart were ruling the airwaves. it was a difficult time for Christians Most of us weren't committing adultery or abusing power But that's about all we heard Christians wore doing. It seemed we were portrayed b\ the media ns greedy, immoral hypocrites The very image of the church was damaged by the Swagger! episode and other scandals. This is not to say that Chris tians aren't human, and they won't fall It is to say that those who fall, like Swaggart, shouldn't rush hack into the ministry and morally crash again. Bible Jim. in many ways, is like the Swaggart of the Univer sity. Though he's not falling morally (as far as 1 know), he gives a Imd name to Christianity I'm not the only one who thinks Bible Jim is hurting Christianity Danny O' Neil (that's the for mer quarterfmi k of the Universi ty football team for you people that never make it to the hack of the Emerald) got up next to Bible Jim toward the end of the day and said that Bible Jim and his cohorts were an "embarrass ment" to Christianity As you can imagine, this didn't go over too well Danny was promptly called “Biblical vomit" and a "jerk" by one of the cohorts Yet O' Neil stayed i aim and asked one of the cohorts to find a place in the Bible that said his venomous style was sane tinned by God lie couldn't find one. Trying to give some balance to the previous tirades of Bible Jim, O' Neil then said the message of the gospel was that of love. Amen. Danny. "For God so loved the world." A friend and myself tried to converse with Bible Jim after he had boxed up his soap box We were attempting to show him that love was a lot better approach than venom. He wouldn't listen and even dared to say God's love didn't do any good for the non-Christian. This especially infuriated me because love is the very thing that draws people to God. Obviously, many of the onlookers were not taking the “Bible Jimmites" seriously. It seemed to be more of a source of entertainment. This became all too clear dur ing the noon hour last Tuesday. At that time, a mainstream Christian got up in front of the sandwich board people and started sharing the truth of the gospel He was giving a bal anced approach to the Bible, sin and the whole message of salva tion. Some stayed and listened Hut Bible Jim took off “preaching" again, and 1 noticed many of the listeners going over to hear Bible Jim instead of the man who was balanced in bis approach to preaching. A lot of people apparently didn't want to really know the true message of the gospel as much as they just wanted to see a show — a show Bible Jim delivered. It was almost circus-like. Yet this a University where even church attendance isn't something most of us see every week It worries me that in today's society no one knows what true Christianity is any more. Christianity is a message of hope it's a message of love (list as the cross showed Yes, they are rules and stan dards The user-guide to Chris tianity. the Bible, is dear about that Yet unlike what the soap box people would have you believe, it's a lot more than just rules, it's a personal relationship. I have another year to go here, so I'll get to witness the Swag gart of our campus one more time But I would hope instead of turning his show into a success, let's try something different — lot's ignore him. This way, though the slow drivers on Coburg Koad will probably continue to be some thing we can count on, maybe Bible Jim won't. Brian Womack is a columnist for the Emerald
