VIEWPOINTS
E Oif QRiAt $ OPIMIOMS llIHRS TO fMMOiTQR
On first and goal, GOP
keeps jumping off-sides
■ OUR OPINION: Back
to back embarrassments
plague the Republicans
High! smack in the middle
of an important presidential
election year, and only a
year-and a half after Repub
licans l>mamo the majority
in Coflgrws, the Republk an
Party still can't Mem to
shake it* bad public-imago
problem.
The party'* image ailment
has attached itaelf to the
GOP like a lingering, aggra
vating head cold that refuses
to go away.
A depressed political
immune system aside, the
dual barely had lime to set
tle over the uproar caused
by U S. Sen Bob Park
wood's public disgrace
before U.S. Rep Wes (Cooley
(another Republican) came
tripping and stumbling onto
the national stage
Now the national media
are scrambling all over
themselves to report on a
never-ending laundry list of
the man's misdeeds It's no
wonder Cooley's persona]
and political life has turned
into a Journalistic feeding
frenzy — the guy is a walk
ing media event.
Cooley is being grilled,
roasted and raked over the
coal* because he allegedly
falsified marriage docu
ments In ordur to remain eli
gible for a government loan:
he claimed at one point,
under oath, to have earned a
law degree and a master's
degree (both untrue) and
because he has made state
ments about being a part of
MM 007-like top secret
underworld These are just a
few of the allegations Coo
ley is facing
Where did the Republi
cans find this guy? How did
he get elected? Possibly the
Mime way former U S. Rep
Den Rostenknwski, • Demo*
crat accused end convicted
of severe! improprieties, did
— by a lot of people forfei
ting to < heck end verify hie
background.
Whoops Yes. • person's
past can catch up with
them. Especially if that per
son lives under the intense
scrutiny of the public eye.
Thanks to the blessings of
an open society and a public
snd media that serve as
watchdogs, the truth is
bound to come out sooner or
later.
And in the middle of thia
political free-for-all (or ia it
a free fall?) Bob Dole has
pulled out all the stops in
nta bid for the presidency.
Like him or not. the man
should be respected for his
recent mow from Congress
While his move ia all politi
cal, it’s still a gutsy and
wise one
Dole has effectively dis
tanced himself from Repub
lican-controlled Washington
and will be sble to claim
that any further GOP mls
cues will have been made
without hi* presence or
influence
Though Dole a power play
might not be enough to
bring him from way behind
in the polls for a victory
over Clinton, it ia an all-or
nothing attempt and Dole is
playing it for all he's worth
This ia Dole's one and
only dum.* at the While
House. Though the odds are
stacked against him. it's
always fun to watch some
one try to puli off a darxling
trick play.
We can only watch to see
where Dole’s Hail Man
ends — in the end stone or
out of bounds.
ear
.
25 *»»»*»
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JDQUTSGOMC
AJFTERTWE
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V
UHfRS
Save tilt press?
Th* Lane P»«i Club it at »n
important orotaroad* Th* dub
hat ttaadiiy tin rtutMHi in main
barthip sine* it* founding
W*. th* core group of people
that h*» hold it togtther, do not
wtcit to *«*» th* dub dm, but
unlsta com* other* are willing
to thouldor **m* of th* wort w*
think th* chapter i* terminal
TH* prett dub hat limped
•long with lilil* mum of tup
putt TH* 110 mumlwrthip dure
hare barely mretd pontage h*
mwtlittm
To be honeat. our moil *uc
ceatful program* have been
underwritten by th* Willamette
Valley (iiapter of th* Society of
Profetskmal Journalist* SP) it
lineally taund Th* thaptsr it
planning to hold professional
development programs in tan*
County and fill th* gap. if the
prere dub jut phated out Thre*
of th* five tan* Prett < Job board
member* alto tit on th* SPf
board
By nerving on bolb board* w*
often feet at though we are
duplicating tarvica* and dou
bling our work It it the current
hoard * feeling that, with tha JUT
chapter still growing, the two
organisation* are working at
croat purpose*
Should the dub b* revived?
Merged With the Willamette Val
ley Chapter of the Sodary of Pro
fottional Journalist*? What do
you think?
Gwyrw Copeland
Lan* Prow C»ub PreaKJanl
Small problem
Americana are vary angry with
th* large increase in gasoline
price* At bad at price gouging
by th* latg* oil companies it; it
la tar from t'wir worst action*
Shell and other oil companire
tupport tha brutal dictatorship
of Sony Ahacha in Nigeria, who
executed playwright Ken Saro
Wiwa and many other activist*
Shall hat cauted terrible envi
ronmental devastation in the
homeland of the Ogoni people:
tometimm running pipeline*
right through people'* yards
Unocal and other* tupport the
brutal military dicialorthip in
Burma
Phillips. Texaco. Shell and
many other oil companire hare
king been involved in Indonesia
and support the regime of Suhar
to, who slaughtered a million of
hi* own people in 1985.
in 1975, the regime was
involved in an invasion into East
Timor killing 200,000 East Tim
onus# and imprisoning thou
sands of others, including
women and children in concen
tration camps where they often
died of starvation This atroci
ty is still occurring and the oil
companies are over there explor
ing for off in the Timor gap
between Australia and East Tim
or.
These a» the real crimes of oil
companies! Price gouging of
American consumers is of small
: onsequence in comparison
Gary Sodboroogb
BeWtower. CaMomta
Inauguration
On May 20. Lee Tenghut was
inaugurated as Taiwan's first
nationally recognised president
to be elec ted by popular vola.
Obviously, the transformation of
Taiwan to a democratic country
has been tremendously
enhanced by this act.
Two months ago, lust before
Taiwan's general election, Chi
na attempted to cause the Tai
wanese not to vote through the
use of intimidating "war games"
and missile teats
Ironically, the opposite hap
pened The Taiwanese people
united in the election of the new
president
The unification was seen at
the University when the Chinese
Student Associate and the Tai
wanese Student Organisation
cooperated in a protest demon
stration against China's aggres
•ion Both organizations, though
tenanted on some philosophy
cal and political issues, repre
sent Taiwanese students
TSO would tike to send our
best wishes to President Lee
Teng-hui.
We would alto like to thank
CSA few its concern for Taiwan
during its time of crisis and
acknowledge CSA's participa
tion during this truly monten
tous time in our country's his
tory.
SNng-dyeChen
President ot TSO
Secret taping
Sen. Bill Dwyer and Commit
tinner Jerry Rust called a prat*
conference on May 13 lo
announce their collaboration in
defending the right of clergy to
have privileged, confidential dis
cusaiont with inmates in lame
County and state correction*
institution*. The letter said:
We are here to defend our free
dom of religion. We are here to
ensure the proper reparation of
church and state To that end,
we call for the following five
actions.
• We hereby call for an inde
pendent investigation to deter
mine how long and to what
extent has the secret taping of
inmate confession* to the mem
her* of clergy been going on
Under whore instruction? Mow
many cases could this apply to?
It has been intimated in our
brief discussions with church
officials thai this may have hap
pened in other counties in Ore
gon Therefore, tlie district attar
ney'» investigation should be
statewide In addition, we would
ask the attorney general to issue
an advisory opinion regarding
surreptitiously taped inmate
confession*
• The immediate destruction
of alt materials, note*. Iran
script*, tape* from this confes
•ion and any other confession
that was obtained in a like man
n«r is mandatory
• The district attorney and the
sheriff must voluntarily adopt a
policy that would prohibit such
taping in the future. If uneamry.
I will ask policy/ordinance to be
enac ted in Lane County to pro
hibit such taping in the future
• Sen Bill Dwyer will seek a
state statute that will spell out
in unmistakable language that
such taping is to be prohibited
in the state of Oregon.
• The quality of Justice in
lame County has been badly
t ompromised by this incident
Apologia* from all officials upon
whose watch this occurred
should be made If confession is
good fur the soul, then a confes
sion of emir by the district attor
ney is in order.
Bill Dwyer
Former state senator
Jerry Rust
Former Lane County
Commttatoner