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Friday, February 15, 1991 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Give tribes benefit
Reservations could profit from tax collections; legislators try for equality for tribes, businesses
A battle is being waged in the Legislature about the state's right to collect taxes from businesses on the Potawatomi reservations.
Gas stations owned by non-American Indians on reservations are free from charging taxes to their customers. Because they are tax-exempt, they can charge significantly lower prices than those not on reservations.
Advocates of the proposal said taxation would make the stations more competitive with those off reservations.
The proposal would be successful in disallowing the businesses from taking advantage of the reservations' taxation policies.
But the state should not be the recipient of the tax revenue.
Indian reservations are recognized by the federal government as sovereign nations. They have the legal right to collect taxes from businesses on reservation land.
They should be the ones to collect taxes from the gas station owners. If the tribes have their way, they would be the ones to benefit
It is apparent that the reservations are in need of the money. If anyone should collect
Although the legislators are trying to create fair standards in taxation regulations, the American Indians' needs are being overlooked.
one taxes and benefit, it should be the American Indians.
Many legislators, who did not contact any of the tribes to discuss the proposed legislation, have shown their tendency to pay more attention to dollars than to the American Indian population.
If the gas stations did not comply, one $ ^{*} $ proposal would reroute 8 miles of Highway 75 so it would not pass through the reservation This would divert business away from the reservation gas stations.
Conflicts between states and Indian tribes have blighted our country's history far too long. Other states with reservations within their boundaries have achieved mutually agreeable tax legislation.
Kansas legislators should work toward a policy acceptable to American Indians as well as Kansas residents.
Debbie Myers for the editorial board
Finance disclosures
Republican Party files late, wastes time, money
T the Kansas Public Disclosure Commission has bestowed a dubious honor upon the Douglas County Republican Party
Party.
For the first time, the commission has taken steps to enforce public disclosure laws enacted in 1988, and that action is against the Douglas County Republican Party. The legislation requires state political parties to file campaign finance records with the disclosure commission.
The Douglas County Republican Party missed the past three filing deadlines - July 30, 1990, Oct. 29, 1990, and January 10, 1991 - each by more than 30 days. In fact, all three reports were filed Feb. 8.
Republican Party treasurer Phillip Bradley was wise to finally file, but some simple paperwork would have spared the Douglas County Republican Party a tremendous amount of embarrassment and Bradley a possible jail sentence and a large amount of money.
The long delays in filing the reports raise questions about where the campaign money came from and how it was spent.
As treasurer, Bradley may be held person ally responsible for failing to file. And the
punishment could include substantial fines and a jail sentence.
Carol Williams, executive director of the Kansas Public Disclosure Commission, said Bradley could be fined as much as $12,500 and could be sentenced to a year in jail.
Williams said this was the first time that the commission had established intent not to file campaign finance reports, and therefore, the first time action had been taken.
Williams said the commission would not take action on the third offense because Bradley filed those reports before the commission could begin legal proceedings, but the commission can levy a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for each of the previous two offenses.
She said failing to file also was a class A misdemeanor, and the commission had notified the attorney general's office. If the attorney general presses charges, a criminal penalty of up to $2,500'and/or a year in jail could be imposed.
What action the attorney general's office will take is uncertain, and the commission will decide on March 20 what action it will take
Rod Griffin for the editorial board
FLAXMAN university Daily Kansan
- SUNG TO THE TIME OF " THAT'S THE NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT IN GEORGIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA. . ."
Pan-Arab conference needed to bring about peace in gulf
In recent days, several Kansan readers have voiced their deep concerns about the present White House war initiative in the Persian Gulf. Some have opposed the White House action; some have supported it. But nearly all have been eloquent on the point that we need to support American morality in their country, that we must never treat them as we did Vietnam veterans or, I might add, Korean veterans.
Richard Colyer
Guest columnist
However, we also need to remember that beyond the first venting of emotions, and beyond the next stage of sign-carrying or flag-waving or floating such emblems as the yellow ribbon, we must quickly start working on a directive and a concrete plan of action. And we can't wait passively and hope that some George will do it. On this point, I want to share with other readers the text of a Jan. 28 fax sent to Sen. Bob Dole in response to the interest he expressed during a recent meeting with members of the Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice.
At the Jan. 25 meeting you generously held with members of the Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice, I asked you the following: "In the absence of any current White House peace initiative, would you support a U.S. Senate resolution calling for an immediate Pan-Arab peace conference, convened by Egypt, Jordan and Syria, which are the traditional Arab political centers and are backed by the United
Dear Sen. Dole:
Nations?"
As you recognized, this is clearly a proposition aimed toward balancing the Arab world's need to work out issues of security and security worldwide's need for peace.
Please allow me to amplify my rationale for the proposition.
rationale for the proposition:
■ Time pressure on shifting from present coalition attack methods is great because the early spring wind storms, beginning in February, virtually will eliminate our air superiority and allow Iraqi ground troops to Iraqi troops used to these conditions.
Recently, (Iranian President) Rafsanjani has repeated his pointed statement that the coalition has gone beyond U.N. Resolution 678, logically a cue that we cannot count on the coalition holding much longer to the course presently dictated by the United States. Iran quickly needs to find a way out of its difficult position, as do Egypt, Jordan and others.
A Pan-Arab conference would give both sides a possible face-saving venue, given that the entire Arab world looks with skepticism, if not hostility, on Western intrusion into their world in any case.
A conference could effectively separate Arab support for Saddam
However, we also need to remember that beyond the first venting of emotions, and beyond the next stage of sign-carrying or flagwaving or floating such emblems as the yellow ribbon, we must quickly start working on a directive and a concrete plan of action.
from that for the Iraqi people, thus undercutting the misguided idea that he is another Hitler followed by brown-shirted masses, and taking him off the propaganda throne that he is using effectively.
A conference would increase support for the democratizing force already at work in many parts of the Arab world, giving them a choice they do not presently have in any concerted or collective way.
A conference would help cure the international notion that the United States does not really back the United Nations. This perception was bolstered by our having divorced ourselves from UNESCO and having failed for the past several years to pay all our U.N. dues. We need to repair that dismal and hypocritical record.
- Richard Colyer is a member of the Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice.
TV coverage of war in gulf has been upbeat, not upsetting
ness, sleeping disorders and other periological ailments brought on by behavioural changes.
There have been widespread reports of people suffering from depression, nervous.
That would be understandable if they were relatives of those in the military. But because only two out of every 1,000 U.S. citizens are in the full area, most people don't even know someone who could be in danger.
If anything, I've found coverage to be almost soothing sanitized and upbeat. By using censorship and evasion, the White House and military brass very efficiently keep the war carriage out of our living rooms.
Yet they're suffering from extreme agitation because of what they see on television. And I find that surprising. We've heard from someone who TN coverage since fighting broke out.
During the one significant ground fight, we were told about it, but how
Mike Royko Syndicated columnist
Some of our soldiers were killed in that ground fight, but we didn't actually see their bodies. And even that shock was cushioned by the language a general used while telling us about it. He said that he was sorry to announce that there were about 12 "KIAs."
much did we actually see? Very little, except a few cannons shooting and an angry sergeant telling a subordinate to give the (bleep) back to work and the camera crew to do their (bleeping) interview later.
For a moment I wasn't sure what he meant, since almost everything is being described in a form of shor-
hand. As I quickly figured out, though, KIA means killed in action. The results are just as fatal, but KIA is much better than killed in action.
But at the same press briefing, most of the info wasn't about those who were KIA or even MIA. It dealt with the thousands of sorties our superior air power is piling up and our remarkable accuracy in hitting bridges. There is nothing unnerving about a bridge blowing up. On television, it isn't even as vivid as a video game.
Actually, the only TV images that come close to capturing the true misery of war are from Baghdad. We see Iraqi civilians numbly looking at the rubble of their homes, and at least once there were little wounded children on stretches in an Iraqi hospital.
When that hospital scene came on, a female co-worker gasped and bolted from my office. even though I
souted after her that the television reporter had said that the children had suffered only minor wounds. As I reassured her later, that can happen on a playground.
That's one of the reasons our military briefers won't give Saddam the satisfaction of hearing them talk about civilian casualties. They refer to it as collateral damage, another fine example of how they're trying to get people to realize that "kids" and "wounded women" are distasteful phrases. But collateral damage? That sounds like somebody lost the down payment on a car.
Another phrase that I find soothing is "friendly fire." Friendly is such a nice word. The dictionary defines it as "kindly . . . not hostile . . . amicable . . . supporting . . . helping . . favorable . . showing friendly feelings . . ."
The military uses it when we mistakenly hit some of our own soldiers,
which happens in all wars. But it
sounds less grim when they say
"friendly fire," rather than, "We
somehow shot them with one of our
missiles and blew them up."
They don't need to be alarmed
almost perky about it. It could be the
brand name of a fireplace log.
So I think that as time passes and our leaders go on to sheltering us from the more unpleasant scenes of war, we learn to fall down and begin sleeping better.
Sunday was a good example. I fliped on CNN and there I was in Disney World. What could be a bapher sight? Some pop singer was a dancer, some dancers in military costumes leaped about, and happy children looked on.
The song, we were told, was written for the troops and is called 'Dear Soldier,' by U.S.A.' or maybe it was, 'You're the great defenders of the U.S.A.'
Anyway, it was both inspirational and suitable for dancing, although my companion asserted that it wasn't totally accurate, since the U.S.A. hasn't been attacked, therefore we aren't really defending it.
Hey, Hey, Hey," which is what he actually sang.
But I won that debate. I showed her a publicity package I recently received from a giant real estate firm. And in their publicity material, the real estate people said that they had marketed some of the world's most expensive properties, such as a million Texasmans owned by a San Antonio prince and former on "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous."
By golly, that's one prince's house that will be safe from Hussein's tyranny.
Mike Royko is a syndicated columnist with the Chicago Tribune.
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