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Oregon Daily Emerald Wednesday, January 19, 2005 NEWS STAFF (541)346-5511 JEN SUDICK EDITOR IN CHIEF STEVEN R. NEUMAN MANAGING EDITOR JAREI) PABEN AYISHA YAHYA NEWS EDITORS MEGHANN CUNIFF PARKER HOWELL SENIOR NEWS REPORTERS MORIAH BALING IT AMANDA BOLSINGER ADAM CHERRY KARA HANSEN ANTHONY LUCERO NEWS REPORTERS CIAYION JONES SPORTS EDITOR JON ROETMAN SENIOR SPORTS REPORTER STEPHEN MILLER BRIAN SMITH SPORTS REPORTERS RYAN NYBURG PULSE EDITOR NATASHA CHIUNGERIAN SENIOR PULSE REPORTER AMY UCHTY RYAN MURPHEY PULSE REPORTERS CAT BALDWIN PULSE CARTOONIST DAVID IAGERNAUTH EDITORIAL EDITOR GABE BRADLEY JENNIFER MCBRIDE A1LEE SLATER TRAVIS W1LLSE COLUMNISTS ASHLEY GRIFFIN SUPPLEMENT FREELANCE EDITOR DANIELLE HICKEY PHOTO EDITOR LAUREN WIMER SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER TIM BOBOSKY PHOTOGRAPHER NICOLE BARKER ERIK BISHOFF PARTTIME PHOTOGRAPHERS BRET FURTWANGLER GRAPHIC ARTIST KIRA PARK DESIGN EDITOR WENDY KIEFFER AMANDA LEE DUSTIN REESE BRIANNE SHOLIAN DESIGNERS SHADRA BEESLEY IEANN1E EVERS COPY CHIEFS KIMBERLY BLACKFYELD PAU1/DIOMPSON SPORTS COPY EDITORS AMANDA EVRARD AMBER LINDROS NEWS COPY EDITORS UNDSAYBURT PULSE COPY EDITOR ADRIENNE NELSON ONLINE EDITOR SLADE LEESON WEBMASTER BUSINESS (541)346-5511 IUDY R1EDL GENERAL MANAGER KATHY CARBONE BUSINESS MANAGER REBECCA CRJTCHEXT RECEPTIONIST NATHAN FOSTER AIBING GUO ANDREW LEAHY JOHN LONG HOLLY MIS1T.LL HOLLY STEIN DISTRIBUTION ADVERTISING (541)346-3712 MELISSA GUST ADVERTISING DIRECTOR TYLER MACK SALES MANAGER MATT BETZ HERON CAL1SCH-OOLEN MEGAN HAMLIN KATE HI RON AKA MAEGAN KASER-LEE MIA LEIDELMEYER EMILY PHILB1N SHANNON ROGERS SALES REPRESENTATIVES KELLEF. KAUFTHE1L AD ASSISTANT CLASSIFIED (541)3464343 TR1NA SHANAMAN CLASSIFIED MANAGER KATY GAGNON SABRINA GOWETTE LESUE STRAIGHT KERI SPANGLER KATIE STRINGER CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING ASSOCIATES PRODUCTION (541) 3464381 MICHELE ROSS PRODUCTION MANAGER TARA SLOAN PRODUCTION COORDINATOR IEN CRAM LET KRISTEN DICHARRY CAMERON GAUT JONAH SCHROGIN DESIGNERS The Oregon Daily Emerald is pub lished daily Monday through Fn day during 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 Not in our house Fool me once, shame on you. Shame on the American people for letting a culture of torture become quick-fixed with a few mock trials. Despite the fact that the current regime has undermined the war on terror by reminding the anti-American world just how hypocritical we are, the voters seemed unwilling to oust President Bush, even when taking into consideration the horrors of Abu Ghraib. At the very least, the presi dent could offer himself some denia bility by outsourcing the torture as well as the tech jobs — but what do you expect from a government that can’t even figure out how to bribe somebody properly? Fool me twice... What did you think would happen in a closed camp of prisoners who are unable to see the light of day, much less a lawyer? The fact that Mr. Rumsfeld was keeping such respected organizations as the Red Cross away from our detainees might have been a clue that something was wrong — there is a reason that due process is so heavily enthroned in the constitu tion: The government was considered untrustworthy. The outrages at Guantanamo Bay have gone horribly underreported in the media. The New York Times tells horror stories gleaned from anony mous interviews of the overseers of a dark process of systemic humiliation, where one in six prisoners faced ille gal treatment. The only dishonor here is to America, where the shores that are supposed to be sweeping bastions of liberty have become nesting places for the apathetic shells of men and women who don’t seem to give a damn about enemas forcibly admin istered, Meow Mix commercials played at maximum volume and peo ple under the aegis of a government lolling pitifully about in its own feces. Apparently, all those wonderful values preached from every single politician’s pulpit can be swept under a throw rug. The U.S. signed a JENNIFER MCBRIDE QUASHING DISSENT declaration of human rights admitting that some civil liberties have no bor ders and that basic humanity cannot be taken away with a label of “enemy combatant.” Most of our treaties, our world obligations, might as well include the words: “as if. ” It is time to face up to a couple of myths: One, that the American people are the most generous in the world. We may talk big, but our pitifully small foreign aid budget may not swell much despite tsunamis. The U.S. pledged $1.1 billion to the city of Bam, Iran, rocked by earthquakes in 2003, but, according to the Econo mist, only $16.7 million ever man aged to make its way to the humani tarian coffers because tax cuts are apparently more important than hu man lives, as long as those lives are far enough away that the media forget them after the cameras are gone. Another myth is the idea that our military can do no wrong. How can you trust an organization to police it self when torture occurs not once, but twice, months apart in two different places? National security is the first priority of any government, but if there is so little to be gained, why are we embarrassing ourselves, generat ing more guerilla fighters and destroy ing our ability to negotiate with the world if those actions can’t even guarantee us a little safety? I’d bet money that more Ameri cans can name the football teams in the playoffs than can discuss the de tails of any of those resoundingly im portant issues, which is perhaps why the Republicans in Congress are happily licking President Bush’s cowboy-booted feet. Their cowardice sickens me and makes me ashamed I ever considered myself a conserva tive. Where is the backbone of the Grand Old Party? Where is the back bone of the people who voted for them? Can’t anyone outside of news paper editorial pages at least pretend to care about the qualifications of a man who called the Geneva Conven tions “quaint” and “obsolete?” The Bush Administration’s protec tion of rights has been less than rab id, and Congress has still failed to es tablish an independent watchdog group that can monitor the govern ment properly. President Bush has graciously gummed the wheels by setting up his own committee, but somehow their autonomy strikes me as less than complete — it might have something to do with the fact that the oversight board has no pow er of subpoena. Federal judges ap pointed one after another tear up our civil rights like predators, and the ad ministration is trying to anoint W. David Hager, a doctor who refuses to prescribe birth control prescriptions to unmarried women, as head of the FDA’s Reproductive Health Drugs Ad visory Committee. These actions are pretty much uncontested in favor of tongue-biting party loyalty. Courage in the Senate is apparently a dish served ... well, never. If Congress continues this phenom enally appalling trend of rights-shred ding that makes the Supreme Court look like a bunch of hippies, we in flammatory columnists may all be facing manacles by 2008. Freedom of speech and religion are already on the chopping block. One thing is certain: I’d prefer Miss Beazley, President Bush’s newest Scottish terrier, to be attorney general over Mr. Gonzales. If the American people knew a thing or two about pride, they’d be willing to scream with one voice: “not in our house.” jennifermcbride@ dailyemerald. com INBOX LTD charges higher prices for lower quality service I am addressing the fact that for the last two years the LTD bus service has increased our prices and decreased our bus service. In other words we are paying more and getting less. And now they want to cut the drivers’ pay and benefits—to what end? I thought LTD was the community’s transit service provider, but it seems more like LTD is in the business of creating grandiose public works projects in stead of serving their customers wants, which is decent bus service like we used to get. The following is taken from a poster displayed prominently all around LL. Bean in Freeport, Maine and also is dis played where I work. I think that Mr. Hamm and other board members need to be reminded just why they are there and why LTD exists: What is a customer? A customer is the most important person ever in this office ... in person or by mail. A r customer is not dependent on us ... we are dependent on him. A cus tomer is not an interruption of our work... he is the purpose of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him ... he is doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so. Judy Young Eugene LTD drivers only want what magagement owes If I were to ask, “Would you like your employer to pay for all your ben efits?” I doubt the response would be, “No, I love having wages deducted from my check.” People have been led to believe that they are not wor thy, that they are undeserving of the employers paying for their benefits. It saddens me people feel this way. The goal of the LTD labor strike is not just about us; we're fighting for the good of the American labor force. Our direction takes us toward no em ployee contributions being the norm. Can you imagine a place where every one makes a living wage? Americans are going in the wrong direction. Just because everybody is doing it does not make it right. I would like to be clear about what we are asking for: no more money, no more benefits, nor anything else. All we want is to extend our current con tract. We are being asked to take cuts. If a strike occurs, the people hurt will be the customers, the same cus tomers hurt by fare increases and service cuts. It’s not just about health benefits, it’s about bad management choices. It is our goal to make things better for everyone. I would love to have six minutes in between runs to really listen to customers and literally walk them to their next bus making sure they got where they were going. Those days are gone, as are most as pects of customer service thanks to something they call efficiency. Rebecca Emerson LTD Bus Driver OREGON DAILY EMERALD LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor and guest commentaries are encouraged, and should be sent to letters@dail^merald,com or submitted at the Oregon Daily Emerald office EMU Suite 300 Electronic ^h1TS are Plerred, L!^rS T "" 2“ rds' and guest commentaries to 550 words. Authors are limited to one subSnSSSSraT ^bSoniS inr.lude phot ,e number and address for verification. The Emerald reserves the ngit to edit for space, grammar and style. Guest submissions are published at the discretion of the Emerald ■ Editorial LTD drivers might strike; Torturer gets ten years LTD leadership has one last chance to prevent strike The Emerald fully supports Lane TYansit District drivers, and other union members, in their struggle with LTD leadership. Today the two sides will sit down for one more try at mediation. The main issue in the dispute involves health care coverage: Union employees want to keep the benefits that they currently enjoy, while LTD insists it cannot af ford to do so. We hope that an understanding will be reached so that a strike can be avoided. But if LTD refuses to meet the union’s demands, the Emerald fully supports a strike, even though the impact would be very costly to University students and the Eugene community as a whole. According to an Emerald report (ODE: “Eu geneans back LTD drivers at demonstration,” Jan. 14), LTD gets over a half-million dollars in student fees to provide students with free, unlimited rides. Nearly 3,000 University stu dents and employees use the bus to get to and from campus. Lane Community College stu dents would be also be severely impacted if a strike occurs. We hope the LTD will refund student fees if bus service is shut down. We hope that University students will attempt to carpool to school. And we hope that the community will not blame the union for the added frustra tion. We must stand in solidarity with the drivers as they fight for the rights that all workers deserve: a family wage, health benefits and respect. Let the punishment fit the crime; justice must prevail in abuse cases Charles Graner received a sentence of 10 years for his role in the abuse at Abu Ghraib. Many Iraqis are disappointed at the sentence, some saying that he should serve his sentence at Abu Ghraib enduring the torture he inflicted on the prisoners under his care. Others have argued that he was simply doing what he was told, and should not be culpable for following orders. The sentence was an appropriate beginning. Graner deserved a decade for his immoral ac tions. He is a remorseless, sick man incapable of shame. After his sentence, Graner actually said, “I did not enjoy it. ” Right. That is why he was posing and smiling in those photos be hind a mountain of naked prisoners. I’m sure it was pure hell for him. Justice will not be served, however, if the prosecutions end here. Graner was not acting alone. He was a morally-challenged proxy for an evil scheme developed and condoned by his superiors. Those up the ladder must also be made to pay for their ac tions if this ruling is going to convince the Iraqi people and the world that we are seri ous about spreading the idea of liberty and justice for all. EDITORIAL BOARD Jennifer Sudick Editor in Chief David Jagemauth Editorial Editor Steven R. Neuman Managing Editor Shadra Beesley Copy Chief Adrienne Nelson Online Editor
