Newsroom: (541) 346-5511
Suite 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.O. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
Email: editor@dailyemerald.com
Online Edition:
www.dailyemerald.com
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Commentary
Editor in Chief:
Michael J. Kleckner
Managing Editor:
Jessica Richelderfer
Editorial Editor.
Pat Payne
Friday, January 23,2003
Too much
attention
surrounds
football
Guest editorial
This Sunday, millions of Americans
will be enjoying the festivities that go
along with Super Bowl XXXVII.
Over the years, the Super Bowl has
become one of the most watched events
in television history. For many, the
game itself is just an afterthought.
There are people who watch the Super
Bowl just for the commercials. Others
watch it for the halftime show. There are
even those who will tune in to other chan
nels to see what kind of crazy halftime
spectacle will be on display. The birth of
“Celebrity Death Match” on MTV oc
curred during a Super Bowl halftime.
The Super Bowl has become a major
cultural event in America, so much so
that it has developed into something of
an unofficial holiday. On Monday morn
ing, discussions around the office water
cooler focus on the game, the commer
cials and the halftime show.
A recent study conducted by the Uni
versity of Toronto in Canada dealt with
the increase in traffic accidents after the
game is over. According to the study, the
surge in traffic accidents is most pro
nounced in the losing team’s area.
Both fatal and non-fatal crashes rise
after the game, causing an average of
seven additional deaths and 600 extra
injuries, according to the study.
The researchers theorized that driv
ers become distracted because of the
disappointment of their team losing.
With so much frantic energy applied
to the Super Bowl, it would be nice to
see that same degree of attention paid
to less trivial matters. The State of the
Union address is only two days after
the Super Bowl. This is an important
event in the lives of Americans, espe
cially in light of the numerous domes
tic and foreign political issues domi
nating the news every night.
The crisis with North Korea, a possi
ble war in Iraq, affirmative action, the
economy and health care are issues
that have been in the news almost dai
ly. The country is going through a cru
cial time in its history.
Americans should be paying as
much — if not more — attention to
the aforementioned issues as they do
the Super Bowl.
Professional sports is an escape for
many individuals who don’t want to al
ways focus on the harsh realities of the
real world. But when does obsession over
a sporting event become too much?
That same energy should be geared
more towards finding solutions to the
problems that plague the American
landscape.
This is written by the editorial staff
of the Daily Vidette at Illinois State University
(U-WIRE). Their opinions do not necessarily
reflect those of the Emerald.
SINNER! bear the mark of abortion s
SHE .SHOULD HAVE
USED t>ROTEcnOiNL
3
BtASflteMY. SHE
SHOULD HAVE USED
“THE POWER
OF PRAYER.
Lack of education undermines U.S. history
Guest commentary
I am writing in response to “The
Communist disguise” (ODE, Dec. 9).
While I was not surprised to hear the
“There are several other countries
that already have a Communist gov
ernment” argument, I feel that M.
Reilly Cosgrove’s reasoning behind
such a statement is based on half
truths and misinformation. Not only
does such a statement misrepresent
American history, it also relies on the
schoolyard “Take your ball and go
home” tactic that is so often used
when people argue against such
things as socialism and communism.
Cosgrove writes that if the Amer
ican people wanted communism,
they would have voted it into office
long ago. I find it amusing that this
statement comes only three
months after the United Nations of
ficially stated that capitalistic
democracy, because of such things
as corporate donations and so on,
does not work.
Cosgrove also writes that Marx
ists “utterly fail(ed) to recruit
Americans, too.” This statement is
often used when arguing against the
non-patriotic ideas of communism
and socialism. However, it does not
in any way represent the actual his
tory of the United States. Does Cos
grove not enjoy the weekend, the
eight-hour day, or the abolition of
child labor? Corporate owners did
not give the above realities to the
American people. They were fought
for by the workers — the “proletari
at” of this very nation. Many of
these workers carried the red card,
the majority at times, and yet such
realities remain unmentioned.
Blind patriotism, such as that ex
hibited in Cosgrove’s comments, is
an example of the lack of education
many Americans have today. Had
the columnist done research prior
to bashing “radical” professors on
campus, he would have found that
communism has a rich and tragic
history in the United States. He
would have found that it was not
“voting” that stopped communism,
but rather it was oppression in the
name of Truman/McCarthy. Harass
ment, torture, murder and impris
onment all played a crucial role in
dealing with and stopping the rise
in communist thought. Voting,
however, played no role at all.
I find Cosgrove’s lack of accurate
information to be an insult to the
ancestors and history of the nation
he is so eager to defend. If we, as a
university, are to critically analyze
the structure of society, we must
first understand its history. Blind
faith in our founding fathers has
caused great harm to our nation,
primarily because it does not en
courage debate. Rather, this faith
stops discussion with schoolyard
statements, such as “just move to
another country.”
It encourages us to sit passively,
with our hands extended to the sky,
waiting for gifts of justice and freedom
that will never be handed out. The
weekend was not a gift from a benev
olent GEO. Rather, it was fought for
by the people, the “proletariat,”
many of whom were Marxists.
Dylan McManus is majoring in fine arts.
Government circumvents true measure issues
Guest commentary
Why are we being deceived by our elected offi
cials? When I received my Voters’ Pamphlet, I
read every pro-and-con argument about Measure
28. In a nutshell, nearly every pro-tax increase
argument was based on two factors: “It will only
cost the average taxpayer a small amount each
month” and the scare tactic of “how devastat
ing and severe the cuts in services will be.”
Why are we not being told the truth? Why
are we not being told that the cuts to services
and the increases in costs will be implement
ed whether Measure 28 passes or not? In fact,
in regards to the Oregon Health Plan, the cuts
in services and the increases in fees have al
ready been made.
Because of recent catastrophic health prob
lems, I have not been able to work and have been
forced to rely on the Oregon Health Plan. I re
ceived a new medical card on Jan. 9 and am now
required to make a co-pay of “two to three dollars
for drugs not covered by my plan.” This makes no
sense to me. if tne medications are not covered,
I pay full retail for them. I am now also required
to make a co-pay of “three dollars for outpatient
services not covered by my plan.”
The mental health portion of my benefits pack
age has also already been eliminated. On Jan. 10,
I received another medical card. In addition to
the co-pays and cuts in services mentioned
above, the dental portion of my benefits package
was eliminated. I was informed by OMAP that on
Feb. 1, my co-pay for drugs will increase to “two
to fifteen dollars for every prescription.”
Are these co-pays illegal? According to an
AP article out of Portland, “Pharmacies sue to
block drug co-payment,” published in the
World on Jan. 9:
“Pharmacies are upset that under Medicaid
rules, they cannot require payment of the co
pay. If a patient refuses to pay it, the pharmacist
must still fill the prescription without being re
imbursed by Medicaid ... failure of Health Plan
customers to pay the co-pays would cost phar
macies #1.4 million ... drive some pharmacies
out of business ... and deprive patients of care.”
Does this also apply to outpatient services?
If Oregon is anything like California, and I
cannot believe it isn’t, priorities must be re
arranged. This year California faces a #3.3 bil
lion budget deficit. Fraud in California’s Medi
Cal health care system alone is estimated to
cost its taxpayers #2.6 billion a year. This fig
ure doesn’t include waste and the cost of pro
viding benefits to criminals who have broken
our laws by entering our country illegally. If
state officials spent our tax dollars eliminating
fraud and waste and denied benefits to non
citizens, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
It is imperative that we demand honesty
and accountability from our government. It’s
way past time for our elected officials to ac
cept the responsibilities, both fiscal and oth
erwise, we citizens must live with every day.
We don’t have to wait for Measure 28 to fail.
The cuts in services and the increases in fees
have already been made. If Measure 28 pass
es, where will our increased taxes go?
W.O. McGuire lives in Coos Bay.