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.
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Do all thoie negative
political adk really work?
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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
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