Newsroom: (541) 346-5511
Suite 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.O. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
Email: editor@dailyemerald.com
Online: www.dailyemerald.com
Wednesday, August 20,2003
Oregon Daily Emerald
COMMENTARY
Editor in Chief:
Brad Schmidt
Managing Editor:
Ian Tobias Montry
EDITORIAL
Blackout
illuminates
necessity of
regulation
In the aftermath of the blackout last week
in which a mysterious run of errors wreaked
havoc in several U.S. states and Canadian
provinces, the American people are left with a
troubling question: Are we ready for a poten
tial terrorist attack targeted at our electrical
infrastructure?
Survey says no.
According to Newsweek, senior Bush ad
ministration officials have said the CIA has
believed for some time that terrorists are cur
rently seeking power grids in the United
States. And now that terrorists see the scope of
what can happen if they do, it's the govern
ment's responsibility to develop an upgrade
and contingency plan as soon as possible. In
the meantime, we can be thankful that we still
have time to do it before we're faced with an
other crippling attack.
So what's wrong with the power grid? One
word: deregulation. Power companies have in
creasingly been given the ability to sell power to
the highest bidder, but power grids are still con
trolled by the states. What results is a confusing
system desperately in need of modernization,
including a centralized control.
And in light of recent reports that U.S. Attor
ney General John Ashcroft will embark on a
campaign tour to promote his questionable
"anti-terrorist" USA Patriot Art, which 140 lo
cal governments and three states have con
demned as unconstitutional, we wonder
whether the government is focused in the
wrong direction. One must wonder whether
keeping tabs on American's reading habits is
more cost-effective and logical than, say, up
grading the power infrastructure.
Another distressing aspect of the whole af
fair is the time it's taking to actually pinpoint
what caused the blackout. In the hours fol
lowing the initial power outage, rumors flew
and fingers pointed, but nobody really knew
exactly what happened. They still don't really
know exactly what happened. President Bush
appeared in a news conference like he'd seen a
ghost, proclaiming that the event probably
wasn't a terrorist attack. Then officials did the
next best thing to admitting they had no idea
why the East Coast was in darkness: They
blamed Canada.
Meanwhile millions were left in the dark, won
dering and hoping this wasn't another Sept. 11.
If we've learned one thing from the whole de
bacle, it's that the United States is highly pre
pared to blame Canada in events such as cata
strophic power outages. Other than that, access
to a key utility Americans rely on for survival —
electricity — is extremely vulnerable to terrorist
attacks, and the U.S. government is not pre
pared to deal with it.
EDITORIAL POLICY
This editorial represents the opinion of the
Emerald editorial board. Send responses to
letters@dailyemerald.com. Letters to the editor
and guest commentaries are encouraged.
Letters are limited to 250 words and guest
commentaries to 550 words. Authors are
limited to one submission per calendar month.
Submission must include phone number and
address for verification. The Emerald reserves
the right to edit for space, grammar and style.
Media tarnish Kobe Bryant's sterling image
Lakers star Kobe Bryant was charged with
sexual assault after an incident in Colorado.
He stated to the media regret for his actions.
He faces four years to life if convicted.
Bryant will hope
GUEST
COMMENTARY
for an unbiased trial,
but for now he can
only control the
words of prayers ask
ing to be there for his
newly bom daughter Natalia.
The allegations Bryant faces stunned his
teammates, family and friends. Those who
witnessed his progression from high school
phenom to NBA poster boy know that such
actions are inconsistent with his disposition.
Now, a story of an attractive woman being
raped by a young professional athlete has cap
tivated a national audience and facts are
sparse. As a star entertainer performing in a
metropolitan area, Bryant's fame and adula
tion have set the stage for an extreme reversal.
His recognizable image is now being exploited
in a manner that tarnishes his accomplish
ments and overlooks a chance at redemption.
Bryant has maintained positive relations
with the media and has no history of criminal
behavior. Yet, some hungry news outlets have
taken extremes by releasing questionable in
formation regarding the woman involved,
who has yet to reveal herself to the public. Af
ter all the exaggerating and sensationalizing
are analyzed, most turn out to be mere
hearsay Bryant's image lies on the brink of dis
appointment at the expense of the fresh news.
Helping lead the Lakers to three consecutive
championship titles, the articulate young man
made his critics swallow comparisons to Michael
Jordan and take notice of a new breed of super
star. Incredibly, Bryant's public image was largely
positive leading up to his unfortunate mistake
This case in not about crime and punish
ment — only moral retribution. No one but
Bryant and his accuser truly know all of what
happened that fateful night, and passing judg
ment on either party would be unfair. In a sit
uation like this, it is crucial that law and
morality are distinguished. Bryant's main fo
cus throughout the trial will be mending the
damage he caused his most loyal supporter —
his wife Vanessa.
Dan Jones, a freshman majoring in journalism
at Eastern Oregon University, lives in La Grande.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Republican voices
make message stronger
I have to agree with Greg McNeill on his
Aug. 14 guest commentary ("ASUO must in
clude Republican voices," ODE) that a more
politically diverse group of students would
have painted a better picture of who cares
about the lobbying effort at the University. Es
pecially when we have such a high level of
College Republicans in our midst here at the
University, it would have made a whole lot of
sense. 1 say this as an active member of the
College Democrats and an avid and self-de
scribed liberal, who probably agrees with Mc
Neill once every other blue moon.
Now, I realize that ASUO is technically sup
posed to be nonpartisan. The sad fact of the
matter is that those in the student body who
choose to vote in ASUO elections are not, nor
do they elect their ASUO representatives with
a nonpartisan mind when these elections
come around. It is therefore important for
ASUO, when dealing with issues such as edu
cation budgeting that have been split down
partisan lines in the Oregon Legislature, to
present its lobbying efforts as truly unified
among the student population. The message
would have been even stronger than at other
universities to include College Republicans in
the University's lobbying effort, as we are infa
mous for being liberal, and even radically so.
Ethan Firpo
sophomore
anthropology
College Democrats, Students for Dean
Be respectful: Take a bath
Readers, I have one simple request to make
of the general public: Would you people
please bathe on a regular basis?
1 know many people do bathe regularly,
and often use soap and shampoo, too. But
there are also a lot of people who feel they
have every right to impose their personal
choices on everyone else. I'm sure those peo
ple are going to be quite outraged when they
read this, but I am serious. I don't care what
lifestyle they choose, or how they dress, as
long as they don't stink.
They must not understand that when a per
son has a foul odor it is absolutely impossible
to ignore them. It is distracting and rude to
force someone to have to put up with that sort
of thing. So, if you are one of these people,
and you have any sense of decency, please take
a shower or bath and use soap. If you expect
to be treated with respect you must take the
first step and treat your fellow students with
respect.
Grant Leffler
senior
accounting
ONLINE POLL
Each week, the Emerald publishes
the previous week’s poll results and
the coming week’s poll question.
Visit www.dailyemerald.com to vote.
Last week: How do you feel about gays
being in positions of religious authority?
Results: 95 total votes
It’s the same as a straight person in the
position - 35.7 percent, or 34 votes
It’s a positive step in the right direction —
22.1 percent, or 21 votes
God will have his day with them — 20
percent, or 19 votes
Military mentality; don’t ask, don’t tell -11.6
percent, or 11 votes
It’s outrageous, and I quit going to church -
5.3 percent, or 5 votes
Leave me alone! — 5.3 percent, or 5 votes
This week: What's the best college movie of
all-time?
Choices: “Back to School"; “Dead Man on
Campus"; “Girls Gone Wild: Endless Spring
Break"; “National Lampoon’s Animal
House"; “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder";
“Old School"; “PCU"; “Real Genius";
"Revenge of the Nerds”; Leave me alone!