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Friday, April 26, 1991 / University Daily Kansan in
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Civil rights bill
Legislators and White House should re-evaluate dismissal of legislation providing bias protection
A group of about 200 big business leaders last week surrendered any hope of drafting a federal anti-discrimination bill that would protect minorities from unfair employment practices.
The group, known as the Business Roundtable, has been working with civil rights groups on the bill since December. They have dropped negotiations not because a compromise seemed unattainable or because the bill was destined for a White House veto. Rather, under pressure from White House officials John Sununu and C. Boyden Gray, the businesses have ended talks with civil rights leaders.
The White House has dealt a tremendous blow to civil rights groups and businesses that were working toward improving employment opportunities and conditions for minorities. Without these efforts, minority workers have no legal recourse against job bias.
Negotiators reported that they had reached agreement on nearly all points of the bill and that they had resolved concerns that the bill would create hiring quotas. President Bush cited an aversion to hiring quotas when he vetoed anti-discrimination legislation last year. But the bill appeared to be nearing a form that would garner enough congressional support to
pass with a majority that a presidential veto could not override.
The chairperson of American Telephone & Telegraph, Robert Allen, who initiated the talks and led the pullout, said he ended the negotiations because his efforts were being undercut on all sides. But civil rights groups say Allen's decision was largely influenced by White House pressure.
A representative for the Business Roundtable said the issues surrounding the bill were clouded by partisan differences. And some congressional Democrats, who originally supported the legislation, have raised concerns that the bill could damage Democratic candidates in coming elections.
The White House has chosen to ignore the need for civil rights legislation in favor of partisan consensus. But rather than attempt to resolve these differences, it has given up on the legislation altogether.
Legislators and White House officials should re-evaluate their decision to drop the legislation. The lack of such a bill would be detrimental to a segment of society that needs federal insurance against unfair employment practices.
Meelanie Matthes for the editorial board
Ill-advised bill
English as Missouri's language is discriminatory
J Jim Crow-type laws are back, but this time it is Hispanics who are the victims. A bill that would make English the
A bill that would make English the official language of Missouri was passed by the state's senate last week. The creation of an official language discriminates against those citizens who do not speak English, particularly members of the Hispanic population.
The one-line bill simply states, "The English language is the official language of the state of Missouri." An earlier version of the bill specified that it would apply to "the ballot, the public schools and all government functions and actions." In other words, none of these would be made accessible to non-English speaking citizens.
Voting rights would be limited to only those who speak English, a blatant violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and reminiscent of the Jim Crow laws in the South. Public school and government records would be available only in
English, which would put the non-English speaking citizens at an obvious disadvantage. Their awareness of important events in their communities would be limited.
Fortunately, the first version of the bill was revised after few senators supported it. However, rewording the bill does not make it any less biased; it only conceals its discriminatory nature.
This "English only" bill is an anachronism in a country that calls itself the "melting pot."
Even if the bill is only a symbolic one, as its supporters say it is, the confusion and discrimination created are not worth any bother. The bill now will move on to the Missouri House of Representatives, where it is expected to pass.
Maybe the House members will see through this effort to stamp out diversity, and block this unjust bill.
Juli Watkins for the editorial board
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The reality of the situation differs greatly from Tippet's version. Bottom up, a single line is used.
$ \sqrt{a} c 4-2 5-9 $
She compares the plight of the Kurds in Iraq to the daily suffering of Blacks in South Africa, saying that she feels "nauseated" whenever she thinks of the United States and its allies. She also describes an apartheid. Anyone who ignores the suffering of Blacks around the world is "either blind or evil and does not deserve to live." I believe Tippett needs to spend less time trying to analyze world politics and more time understanding the disturbing personal views, ideas that are inflammatory and have no place in the Kansan.
Tippett is intolerant
The University Daily Kansan has a serious problem which must be addressed immediately. The problem is Arda Tippet, staff columnist. I refer specifically to her column in the April 24 issue, the one in which she proceeded to put not only herself, but the entire Black race, on a pedestal. It is a shame she is allowed to voice her disturbing hatred of white people in a large university newspaper. If she had felt the comp屈ses of racial tensions, she would understand that she is only worsening the problem of racial oppression and alienating herself from the rest of her community.
South Africa, but the United States is not evil by choosing not to militarily liberate the victims of apartheid, as Tippett would prefer. Presently, the Kurds are suffering more than Blacks. They are starving in mass numbers. The United States is correct in trying to give them humanitarian aid, rather than interfering in the internal affairs of South Africa.
Cameron Meier
Lawrence freshmar
Spraying done safely
I was surprised at Julie Waters letters in Monday's Kansan. I found out that she finds much of her information from others around her.
I was the one driving the tractor that day. Yes, these chemicals could be dangerous if sprayed directly on a person, but not on what we are spraying. We are spraying the trees to protect them. One of my jobs, while working in the open hills, people so they do not get sprayed accidentally. But, this would be done out of courtesy even if we sprayed only water.
I am not an expert on the chemicals used, but the supervisor of spraying is. If they were not willing to spray them, I know I would not be out there from midnight till dawn with them.
The crab apple trees in front of Watson Library were infested with flat head apple borers that had made them unsafe. If you would have paid attention, you would have noticed that two had fallen from the big winds a few weeks ago, and if you look now, you will see that four new ones are in their place. You do not realize how much of campus would be consumed by insects if we did not spray.
Earth Day. I think I have picked up trash and planted enough trees and shrubs on campus to last many Earth Days. At the end of this week, I will put the trash left behind by those showing their support for Earth Day.
In answer to your question about
James Bland Overland Park senior
Yearbook misspellings
As a senior, I was excited to get my yearbook to be able to look back in print at my last year at the University of Kansas.
However, as I flipped through the pages, I became more and more disappointed with the 1991 Jayhawker. My name was misspeelled, which upset me, but the misspeelling is a little bit better. That was my name misspeelled, but more than half of the people I know had their names misspeelled.
We are not just talking about transposed women, either. One of the women in my sorority whose last name was Balasivalis with the last name of Baltasivalis.
One of the HOPE award winners has the wrong name with the wrong face. The list goes on. I used to be on a yearbook staff, and we were able to check galleys returned by the printers, but they don't not have that opportunity and was sloppy the first time, or it did not take the time to proofread the galleys.
I would gladly have waited a few more weeks to get my yearbook with fewer mistakes and spellings. But I will have to settle for a yearbook which costs $25 and is riddled with preventable mistakes.
Molly Wiegman Hays senior
Sununu's travels ridiculous, give new meaning to 'costly'
H how much money is $30,000? If you have to work all year for it, it's a bundle. For some who are better off, it might be what they pay in income taxes, so they think it's a bundle too.
But if you look at $30,000 as part of the massive federal budget, it's less than a trifle. It's like one grain of sand on a long beach.
And that appears to be the way John Sununu, the White House chief of staff, sees $30,000. It's hardly pocket-injuring money.
Sununu is an important man, of course, and we wouldn't expect him to hop a Greyhound or stand out on the highway-thumbling rides.
So he goes first class. No, even better than first class. It could be called super-luxury class. When he travels, he uses U.S. Air Force passenger jets, which are similar to private corporate planes.
Mike
Royko
Syndicated
columnist
operate. And that doesn't include the paychecks of the five-person crew.
So any time Sununu hops a jet for even a short junt, it's at least $4,000 to get there and $4,000 to return.
Some snoops say that since Sununu became a big cheese in the White House, he's used the planes about 140 times. If each flight was only an hour long, the cost would be well over $500,000.
But it's safe to guess that many of the flights ran much longer than that, because Sununu is said to have traveled all over on political missions, out West to ski and to other parts for the country to swat golf balls. So
we're probably talking upward of $1 million in travel costs. Not counting the cost of the crew.
One of his ski trips is reported to have cost $30,000. That's just for the travel. I assume he uses his own money for ski lift tickets.
As I said, $30,000 can be big money or chicken feed, depending on how hard you have to work for it. For someone who puts in a year of training as a nurse or riding around in a hospital, a car or fire, in a hospital, $30,000 might look like an impressive stack of currency. I have no idea how well Sunnies ski, but I did see a TV shot of him hitting a golf ball. And although he keeps his head down, it isn't a swing that I place a $30,000 price tag on.
Some mischief-making Democrats in Congress have been looking at Sununu's travel expenses, and they are calling for a thorough investigation to see what benefits U.S.
Members of the White House staff are indignant at the mere suggestion of impropriety. They say that every time Sununu uses one of the Air Force passenger jets for vacations and holidays, he reimburses the government. The only problem with that system is that the reimbursements don't appear to cover even a fraction of the actual costs.
taxpayers are getting from all these travel expenses. Especially those trips that have nothing to do with his salary, sliding a bail to a prison or hashing campaign strategy with an instant Republican politicians.
For example, on the $30,000-plus ski trip, Sununu is said to have chipped in about $1,100, which was the price of a first-class ticket on a commercial flight. So if you add the salaries of the crew, we're still talking about $30,000 or more that the taxpayers spend to let Mr. Sununu
slide down a snowy hill. The same system, paying for a commercial ticket, is used by the Republican Party.
'I have no idea how well Sununu skis, but I did see a TV shot of him hitting a golf ball. And although he keeps his left arm nice and straight and his head down, it isn't a swing that I'd place a $30,000 price tag on.'
The White House says there is no other way it can be done. Because Sununu is big so heat, it is necessary for him to always be available for immediate contact with the White House and other government agencies has to fly in a plane that has sophisticated and secure communications.
That makes sense. At any moment, the phone could ring and he might be asked: "CNN is showing more of those cold, miserable Kurds in the mountains. What should we do now?"
On the other hand, I don't know whether we should be so casual about spending what for many families Mr.er's income for a ski or golf outing.
Maybe the answer would be for Sununu to limit his golf to the courses in Washington, of which there are many.
There aren't any skiplies nearby, but he might consider taking up bowling. Many people find it enjoyable. And they might be able to bowl often if Sununu didn't spend their money on $4,000-an-hour jumps.
Mike Royko is a syndicated columnist with the Chicago Tribune.
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