Commentary
Oregon Daily Emerald
Friday, January 7, 2005
NEWS STAFF
(541)346-5511
|EN SUDICK
EDITOR IN CHIEF
STEVEN R. NEUMAN
MANAGING EDITOR
IARED PABF.N
AYISHA YAMYA
NEWS EDITORS
MEGHANN CUN1FF
PARKER HOWELL
SENIOR NEWS REPORTERS
MORIAH BAUNGIT
AMANDA BOLSINGER
ADAM CHERRY
KARA HANSEN
AND IONY LUCERO
NPWS REPORTERS
CLAYTON (ONES
SPORTS EDITOR
JON ROETMAN
SENIOR SPORTS REPORTER
STEPHEN MILLER
BRIAN SMITH
SPORTS REPORTERS
RYAN NYBURG
PULSE EDITOR
NATASHA CHILINGERIAN
SENIOR PULSE REPORTER
AMY LICHTY
RYAN MURPHY
PULSE REPORTERS
CAT BALDWIN
PULSE CARTOONIST
DAVID JAGERNAUT1I
EDITORIAL EDITOR
JENNIFER MCBRIDE
A1LEE SIATER
TRAVIS WILLSE
COLUMNISTS
ASHLEY GRIFFIN
SUPPLEMENT
FREELANCE EDITOR
GABE BRADLEY
NEWS FREELANCE EDITOR/
DIRECTOR OF RECRUITMENT
DANIELLE HICKEY
PHOTO EDITOR
IAUREN WIMER
SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
TIM BOBOSKY
PHOTOGRAPHER
NICOLE BARKER
ERIK BISHOFF
PART-TIME PHOTOGRAPHERS
BRET FURTWANGLER
GRAPHIC ARTIST
KIRA PARK
DESIGN EDITOR
WENDY KIEFFER
AMANDA LEE
DUSTIN REESE
BRIANNE SHOL1AN
DESIGNERS
SHADRA BEESLEY
JEANN1E EVERS
COPY CHIEFS
KIMBERLY BLACKF1ELD
PAUL THOMPSON
SPORTS COPY EDITORS
AMANDA EVRARD
AMBER LINDROS
NEWS COPY EDITORS
LINDSAY BURT
PULSE COPY EDITOR
ADRIENNE NELSON
ONLINE EDITOR
SLADE LEESON
WEBMASTER
BUSINESS
(541)346-5511
IUDYR1EDL
GENERAL MANAGER
KATHY CARBONE
BUSINESS MANAGER
REBECCA CR1TCHETT
RECEPTIONIST
NATHAN FOSTER
AIBING GUO
ANDREW LEAHY
JOHN LONG
MALLORY MAHONEY
HOLLY MISTELL
DISTRIBUTION
ADVERTISING
(541)346-3712
MELISSA GUST
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
TYLER MACK
SALES MANAGER
MATT BETZ
HERON CAUSCH-DOLEN
MEGAN HAMLIN
KATE HIRONAKA
MAF.GAN KASER-1.EE
MIA LE1DELMEYER
EMILY PHILBIN
SHANNON ROGERS
SALES REPRESENTATIVES
KELLEE KAUFTHEIL
AD ASSISTANT
CLASSIFIED
(541)3464343
TRINASHANAMAN
CLASSIFIED MANAGER
KATY GAGNON
SABRINA GOWETTE
LESLIE STRAIGHT
KERI SPANGLER
KATIE STRINGER
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
ASSOCIATES
PRODUCTION
(541)3464381
MICHELE ROSS
PRODUCTION MANAGER
TARA <1 MAM
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
JEN CRAM LET
KRISTEN DICHARRY
CAMERON GAUT
JONAH SCHROGIN
DESIGNERS
The Oregon Daily Emerald is pub
lished daily Monday through Fri
day dunng the school year by the
Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing
Co. Inc., at the University of Ore
gon, Eugene, Ore. The Emerald
operates independently of the
University with offices in Suite
300 of the Erb Memorial Union
The Emerald is private property.
Unlawful removal or use of
papers is prosecutable by law
■ In my opinion
tyranny of the few
The recent attack on the Oregon
Commentator by the Programs
Finance Committee should remind
us all that, while we need to ensure
that minority groups are protected
from the will of the majority, there
are times when the reverse is true
and the rights of the majority need to
be protected from the agenda of a
small minority.
A note of caution: The “tyranny of
the few” argument is often misused,
like when conservatives argue that
same-sex marriage is an attack on
their rights as heterosexuals. This ar
gument might hold water if gay and
lesbian activists were advocating
mandatory homosexuality. Until that
day, it is nothing more than a lie.
What I am talking about is real
tyranny from the few, and nowhere
is this more evident than in the
U.S. government’s current war
against indecency. When one or two
complaints from the overly sensitive
public, or the politically motivated
activist, can cause a single clueless
bureaucrat to threaten our constitu
tional rights, then something is
terribly wrong with the system. That
is exactly what happened to the
Commentator, and that is exactly
what is happening to broadcast radio
and television.
Indecency complaints are up dra
matically at the Federal Communica
tions Commission. In 2002, the FCC
received 14,000 complaints. In the
following year, that number leapt to
more than 240,000. FCC Chairman
Michael Powell has used this spike to
argue for more severe indecency
laws; after all, the public is obviously
clamoring for them. Right?
No so fast. According to Media
Week, somewhere in the neighbor
hood of 99.8 percent of FCC com
plaints have come from a single
Lack of election integrity
threatens democracy
I believe that it was the moral duty
of all of our senators and representa
tives to take a stand and not certify
the election results. Why? Because
this was an election which: (a) is not
only completely unverifiable, but (b)
is unverifiable in light of continuous
ly mounting evidence of fraud and
voter suppression, (c) has at least
three lawsuits pending regarding the
lack of integrity of Ohio's election
procedures, and (d) given how sus
pect it is, will undermine both the
American public's faith in democra
cy and America's credibility with the
rest of the world, if allowed to move
forward unchallenged.
In short, no one (never mind a
public official) can, in good con
science, certify the accuracy of
something that dubious without first
INBOX
double-checking the results, a task
which is now impossible.
Every patriotic citizen should be
concerned about this, too. Election
integrity is not a partisan issue. If we
don’t have fair and accurate elec
tions we don't have democracy, no
matter what your party. And without
democracy we don't have America.
All elected officials who didn’t fight
for the founding principles of our
country don't deserve to serve in
public office.
Erica Bolliger
Portland
OSPIRG launches local,
international campaigns
Thank you for including the
Oregon Student Public Interest Re
source Group’s international cam
paign work in your Jan. 4 article,
"Tsunami affects hearts, minds in
Eugene.” OSPIRG is generally
regarded as a locally minded group,
and I applaud your efforts to include
our tsunami relief campaign in
your article. In addition to working
on this campaign, we will be leading
a huge campaign to protect the
McKenzie watershed (along with
our drinking water) from logging ef
forts, working to reduce the costs
of textbooks and, as always, fighting
hunger and homelessness in the
Eugene area.
If students are interested in getting
involved with our Students for Tsuna
mi Relief campaign, or any of our oth
er campaigns, I would encourage
them to come to our general interest
meeting on Jan. 12 at 5:30 p.m. to
learn about and get involved in our
campaigns.
Stephanie Erickson
Eugene
c
Letters to the editor and guest commentaries are encouraf
submissions are preferred Letters are limited to 250 woi
include phone number and address for venfication. The Er
DAVID JAGERNAUTH
CRITICAL MASS
source: the Parents Television Council,
a conservative activist group.
PTC was created in 1995 “to en
sure that children are not constantly
assaulted by sex, violence and pro
fanity on television.” Its Celebrity
Advisory Board is filled with people
you’ve never heard of and Pat
Boone. In addition to other things,
the board comes out with a list of the
best and worst television shows of
the week. In the best category: “Joan
of Arcadia,” “A Clay Aiken Christ
mas” and everything on PAX. In the
worst category: “Will and Grace”
(obviously), “Friends” and every
thing on MTV.
PTC members scan the airwaves
for anything they deem indecent
and then spam the FCC with com
plaint letters. For example, the FCC
proposed a $1.2 million fine for
the show “Married by America” af
ter it received 159 complaints. The
show had a national audience
of more than 5 million. T\ims out
those complaints came from 23 indi
viduals, and all but four complaints
were identically worded. A handful
of fundamentalists are dictating
what is decent for 5 million satisfied
(albeit moronic, but nevertheless
satisfied) customers.
The problem extends much fur
ther than the boob tube. The ex
treme Christian right is changing all
aspects of this country based on a
moral system not shared by the
REGON DAILY EMERALD LETTERS POLICY
ed, and should be sent to letters@dailyemerald.com or submitted at the Oregon Daily Emerald office, EMU Suite 300. Electronic
ds, and guest commentaries to 550 words. Authors are limited to one submission per calendar month. Submissions should
rerald resenes the right to edit Ex space, grammar and style. Guest submissions are published at the discretion of the Emerald.
majority of Americans. Its supreme
guidance has led to more govern
ment intrusion into our private lives.
The freedom to decide ethical mat
ters has been increasingly taken out
of our hands. We are now told what
is right and true from a religious plu
rality in Washington. The lack of
choice in our personal lives — from
what we can say to what relation
ships we can form to how we can
seek pleasure and happiness — is a
trend that leaves the majority of
Americans disturbed.
For example, over-the-counter sale
of the morning-after pill Plan B was
blocked by the Federal Drug Admin
istration after conservative and
religious groups argued that easier
access to the drug would encourage
young girls to have sex, an argument
made about all forms of contracep
tion. But a new study by the Univer
sity of California concluded that
the groups’ fears are completely
baseless and that easier access to the
morning-after pill could safely re
duce unwanted pregnancies. Unfor
tunately, in this day and age, reli
gious delusions are more powerful
than sound science.
Conservatives are a minority
group on this campus, and their
voices need to be protected. Those
offended by the content of the Com
mentator are also in the minority.
Appeasing the latter minority group
against the majority, and muzzling
the minority conservative voice on
campus, is far from a progressive
act. The same can be said for the
war against indecency. At the end of
the day, freedom and choice is best
for everyone, and judgment as to
what is decent and moral should be
left to individuals, not government
committees, to decide.
davidjagemauth@dailyememld.com
■ Out loud
“Political courage is not political suicide.
Ignore the lobbyists. Ignore the politics.
TVust the people.” — Republican governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday in his
State of the State address.
“We know people just want less spam.” —
John O’Rourke, senior director of Microsoft’s
consumer strategy division, on Wednesday
about concerns from Internet users.
“To allege that the 2,000 Americans working
here are conspiring in an effort to abuse or tor
ture the men under our charge is foolishness.”
— Guantanamo’s commanding Army Brig.
Gen. Jay Hood on Wednesday about suspected
prisoner abuse by U.S. soldiers at Guantanamo
Bay Naval Base, Cuba.
“Do not use for personal hygiene.” — Warn
ing label on a toilet brush that won Michigan
Lawsuit Abuse Watch’s contest for the wacki
est consumer warning label of the year.
“Thank God he’s come. Thank God.”
— Mohamed Bachid Madjid, a resident of
Jakarta, Indonesia, about Secretary of State Colin
Powell’s visit as he looked from a bridge into the
Aceh River, where two bloated corpses floated in
the aftermath of December’s tsunami.
“Boo!” — More than 72,000 fans at the Or
ange Bowl after Ashlee Simpson’s halftime per
formance.
“The Supreme Court a long time ago turned
into an organ that just takes politically orient
ed decisions.” — Taras Chornovil, losing
Ukraine presidential candidate Viktor
Yanukovych’s campaign manager, arguing
that the election be declared invalid because
of massive fraud.
“You’ll always know where I’m coming
from.” — Eugene City Mayor Kitty Piercy on
Monday at her first State of the City address.
“In our eyes, we don’t need money. We
don’t need formal recognition to do the things
we do.” — Gary Blackwell, Portland Student
Action Council interim president, on building
a student advocacy group at Portland State
University.
“Tsunamis cross entire ocean basins. If some
thing happened in the Philippines, we’d have
10 hours of warning.” — Ray Weldon, Univer
sity professor of geological sciences, on the pos
sible impact of a tsunami on the Oregon coast.
“One of the outstanding concerns for us
is, ‘Where are the photographs?”’ — Anne
Leavitt, University vice president for student af
fairs, on Dec. 8 about missing photos of as
many as 200 children photographed at Univer
sity child care facilities by a man who has since
been charged with aggravated incest.”
“Legal positions that you have supported
have been used by the administration,
the military and the CIA to justify torture
and Geneva Convention violations by military
and civilian personnel.” — Sen. Edward
Kennedy (D-Mass.) to Attorney General
nominee Alberto Gonzales during his confir
mation hearing.
“Some of us feel it sends the message that the
purpose of this retreat was not fufilled.” —
ASUO Public Relations Director Nathan Strauss
about repaying funds from an Oct. 10 retreat
where ASUO attendees drank alcohol and
smoked marijuana.
“We never really had a policy,” University
Vice President for Administration Dan Williams
on the Universitiy’s new bad weather policy
and the previous lack of procedures for
inclement weather.
— Gathered from The Associated Press
and Oregon Daily Emerald news reports