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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 1996)
VIEWPOINTS EOITORIALS OPINIONS' lETTtBS TO THE EOtTQR Wyden is best choice for Oregon, America ■ OUR OPmiBtt: As me slate s next senate*, Ron Wyden will represent Oregonians honorably The and i* near. With only two weeks to go tie (ore the tm I lot deadline in the ion tent inns race for the stale's new U S senator. University student* and fat uity will join millions of other Oregonians in decid* ing who will represent and lead them in the years ahead Ron Wyden should be that leader. With more than 22 years in public service and 15 in Congress. Wyden knows the ins and outs of the system and has a proven track rec ord for staying true to the needs of his constituents, From the outset, he has been, and continue* to be. a staunch supjHirter of the rights of the elderly and an opponent of the Republican push for drastic cuts in Medicare and Medic aid. (ails, he savs. should be made in the imiltibilimn dollar defense budget before the Senate starts axing soc ial programs This logic has eluded congressional Republicans Wyden oppose* any law* that would restrict or limit Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to opt for a legal aUir lion. He has maintained hi* unflinc hing support for the gay and lesbian community (shocking enough for any politician), inc luding civil rights protection and ace ess to same-sex marriages Despite ads that paint Wyden as a "lax ami-*pend liberal,” Wyden supports welfare reform and a two year limit on welfare recipi ents who are physic ally aide to work He also fas balanc «d budget, but not the budget proposed by Newt. e« *T. He ha* Mid he will not vote for any budget that slashes programs for seniors or education Wyden attended mostly public school* end graduat ed from the University Sc hool of Jaw He main* tains that the future of this slate and this country are inextricably linked to the quality of oduc at Ion In addition. Wyden ha* not lived a life at luxury. Unlike his opponent, hi* politic al success has come from hard work and estab lishing grass raoti organisa tions to empower citizens Unlike many politicians, he has worked (rather than paid) for hi* success, Fqualiy important is the* effect Wyden could have on the future of not just Ore gon, but on the c ountry as well. The Senate already ha* a Republican majority brim ming with followers of the party line blotting another Republic an la that majority, especially one who *j>ew» its dogma so unctuously, would do nothing to set Oregon apart or lo speak to the needs of working t lass Oregonians Finding a senator w ho supports big business is easy in any state These men get elec ted because they receive financial bat king from people of influence and can afford expensive campaigns Hut Oregon has been given a choice with Ron Wyden He will stir things up in the Senate, but he wilt also bring them together. He is one of the people rather than an employer of them He votes to clean up rivers rather than polluting them He is an Oregonian raiher than a millionaire who lives here I lo is one of us I le deserve# our vote. »*j>* >'*** itaM *»!>< *»«»*# tuMaw fw *m **<.:** ma •*»w*. >«*•«• * *•*<*» *«M Mt r<w«! <*pim MMem**’*! *«■<**•«*> w» MS at <h)<Mkn» wu*** *■ Uaa|Utl( Sift *n(UatlUnt tta 5)(tUatst tt !*a ) tMt nH Wittiit Ut (Mia UI|U(lt »HUunina MtUMtttt tt(a ttmtmamm !<m !■««»<« H MM4W g*Qp*% (vumkvum t« a* l«a»<M Omul*tr* . tfwmr • Pnm» iwiw w*«* ftHM**'* ••■MM u.. ».>« Catnatanat *aut* nit*a a*a t yantat* tlatiaat 4 alaMn '( Wu* tu *•»»• NMMi Gw* tM| >W> *•»*'.» » * <•) *m*t Jm*t ‘WmiMI Mwl Mill *•>* i’M «M» MMn III t Mr IM Saw* WMI tn«l ' «v-‘ >w> «, r:u>- ««»* M: >a n«n»«ft> «. 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I Public opinion of gowrunwmt ,, SO<U*Sf Jl***f£ to nttttMOf mvn Jlf) UTTERS Burning question Congress ii i*«icwing tin* Flag Protection AntndmMi (H | Re* ?«| and similar bilU ihat prohibit the burning of the U S (lag Tho Constitution should not be amended to prohibit n«a* tainting Amen* an* deplore the act of burning the flag and view it a* unpatriotic Howevnr, a* U S Supreme Court fustn ® Oliver Wendell Hobaas staled HO \mr% ago. "Hie (imAilutloQ tmrtM. t» not only freedom lor the though! and expression «« agree with, hui ficedom from that though! that um hate * The Kirat Amendment to the U S Constitution w*t ratified to prut** t unpopular and controversial *V HiImsIh expression* such at flag burning White amendment proponents present many emotionally valid reason* to proton Amenta'* symbol their intent is to actually In pass the Constitution The Supreme Court ruled that previous flag protection act* violated the First Amendment and were therefor* utu (institutional Thus, ratifying the proposed flag amendment would directly contradict the First Amendment This would not only unnecessarily amend the Constitution, it would severely Until the First Amendment's protection of speech that Americans hold so dearly Proponents argue that dag burning is symbolic action, not speech, and therefore would not contradict the First Amendment However, the Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. Johnson in 1989 that flag burning is ’symbolic political speech" and protec ted by the First Amendment The flag ’does serve as a central symbol of national ideals, but sanctity lies with the ideals themselves, which can't be harmed by burning the flag.’ says Oregonian columnist Stephen Chapman Finally. there is no compelling need for a flag ptoitM tton amendment. The House of Representative's Commxiit' on Rule* learned that less than fifty flag burning incidents wit*- known to have (Kiufwd since the nation's i m option Although both sides have valid concerns on this emotional topic, such a flag protec tion amendment is not needed, and would severely limit the First Amendment's protection of free speech. The U S Supreme Court determined in Tevaa v Johnson If it "if th«ie is a k principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that government msy not prohibit expression of an idea simply Iwcause society finds |the| idea itself offensive or disagreeable.** Sue Simona Pre-doumaiism Denying reality On November 2fi, The Oregonian ran a syndicated article by Hillary Clinton that contained some rather disturbing message* Mrs Clinton was attempting to give a positive Thanksgiving message, both for her own family's good fortune and her country's honorable ways Good marks for trying to be positive, but the message ultimately meant nothing in light of her surprising Ivory Tower naivete Mr*. Clinton wrote that Americans "take for granted the cleaner air we breath and she lakes and rivers we swim in and fish in today that were polluted a few years ago I have spent time on some clean rivers in America and Canada, and I have never once seen someone take them for granted My experience has shown me that people marvel at the awesome beauty of the rivers and their ecosystems, a respect that is derived from the knowledge that they are becoming scarcer. And as for the fish tn those rivers, there are species of salmon lining up for membership in the not-to exclusive endangered spm u»* club. 1 think of that and take nothing for granted Mr*. Clinton claims that, unlike the third world countries. "We don't worry about the dangers of unsafe water." Perhaps Mrs, Clinton has not tasted the faucet water in New Y'ork, or Los Angeles, or Portland or any other city where lap water is a healtn hazard. Perhaps site forgets that Kviatt and Perrier are im port mi Clean air? Where does Mrs Clinton arrive at this conclusion about clean air? Like most of us. she live* in a city, and I think that most urban dwellers are keenly aware that the air is far from clean Mrs Clinton goes on to write that "We forget the positive ways our live* have been improved during this century because we have a government willing to solve problem* people face in their everyday lives." Which America is the Fust Lady referring to? Freud would observe wryly that Mr* Clinton i* living in denial, choosing to ignore painful realities as opposed to addressing and dealing with them, and I would agree with him Optimistic, positive perspectives on the world can only be appreciated when thov are based in reality Kristian Olsen Graduate Journalism LETTERS POLICY The Oregon Daily fmeraW wt« attempt to print as letter* containing comments on WO ■cs ot merest to the Urwersay community Letters to the etkto»must be limited to no more than 2S0 words, legfeie. ogned and the identification ot me writer must be ventied when the tetter it submitted The E mar aid reserves the nght to ed* any letter tor length or style
