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Fridav. November 5,1993
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
Head Start program should be expanded
The Head Start program needs to be expanded to include more and younger children if its goals of better preschool preparation are to be met for the nation's atrisk children. Today, it serves 721,000 of the nation's atrisk four-year-olds in programs across the nation, including the Head Start center in Lawrence.
Supporters of the program say that the best way to break the cycle of poverty is through education and that one of the most successful and cost-effective ways to improve education is to start the learning process at a young age, even before the start of kindergarten. While the Head Start program cannot substitute for the involvement, caring, and stimulation needed from parents for proper development of the child, it can provide a valuable aid for children whose families are unwilling or unable to provide the kind of preschool care children need.
Last week, a government task force said that Head Start's goals require that it be expanded to reach more and younger children. Only half the eligible children participate now because of lack of funding, and it is undeniable that the earlier a child's mind is stimulated, the better student the child will be in kindergarten and throughout school.
While the need for expansion is clear, it also is clear that mindless expansion and funding increases for social programs conflict with budgetary needs and domestic policy experience. The Head Start program has been a success, though, and a thoughtful expansion would eventually reduce the need for other social programs that might reach children with too little help too late. The Clinton Administration should work with leaders from both parties in formulating a comprehensive plan for the expansion of Head Start.
CHRIS REEDY FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Red Cross relieves victims of disasters
When disaster strikes, America counts on the Red Cross to help the hurt and lost get on with their lives. In the past few years, nature has dealt one deadly blow after another in America. Fires, floods, hurricanes and other such disasters leave thousands of people hurt or without resources each year. Recently, Red Cross volunteers have provided invaluable assistance to the victims of the fires in California.
The Red Cross is a non-profit organization devoted to giving its time to people in need. The design of the organization is to help those who cannot help themselves as a result of events beyond their control. Types of relief include clothing, food, and medical care.
Nationwide, the Red Cross has thousands of volunteers who are ready at a moment's notice to help where calamity strikes. In the last few years, the most notable disasters have included Hurricane Andrew and the Great Flood of '93. For example, the money that was raised for the flood alone was in excess of $21.5 million.
Today there are the victims of the tragic series of fires that have swept across southern California. Now more than ever people are depending on the Red Cross to help them cope.
The Red Cross is the country's largest volunteer organization to help disaster relief efforts. Its quick and precise response to disaster has earned it credit as an organization to be praised. The Red Cross is a beneficial organization that deserves our recognition and support.
CARSON ELROD FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
KANSAN STAFF
KC TRAUER, Editor
JOE HARDER, CHRISTINE LAUE Managing editors
TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser
BILL SKEET, Systems coordinator
Assistant to the editor ..J.R. Claiborne
News ..Stacy Friedman
Editorial ..Terrifyn McCormick
Campus ..Ben Grove
Sports ..Kristi Fogler
Photo ..Klip Chin, Renée Koeber
Features ..Erza Wroth
Graphics ..John Paul Fogel
AMY CASEY
Business manager
AMY STUMBO
Retail sales manager
JEANNE HINES
Sales and marketing adviser
Business Staff
Campus sales mgr ..Ed Schagger
Regional Sales mgr...Jennifer Perrler
National sales mgr...Jennifer Evenson
Co-op sales mgr...Blythe Focht
Production mgrs...Jennifer Blowey
Kate Burgess
Marketing director ..Shelly McConnell
Creative director ..Brian Fusco
Classified mgr..Gretchen Koosteleinrich
Letters should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 200 words. They must include the name of the person whose name is in the letter, with the University of Kansas must include class and hometown, or faculty or staff position.
The Kanan reserves the right to reject or edit letters, guest columns and cartoons. They can be mailed or brought to the Kanan newsroom, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall.
NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
A little sacrifice now will prevent loss in the future
The budget deficit is like a cancer that threatens to overwhelm the patient.
When the government borrows hundreds of billions of dollars, it takes money that could be used for private investment.
This investment could go into new factories, laboratories, roads and bridges, schools and future technologies that create jobs, increase productivity, raise wages and improve the standard of living.
The biggest waste in the federal budget is interest on the federal debt
Under the Clinton budget plan narrowly approved this year, that interest is projected at $278 billion in the year 2000.
It will purchase no health care, weapons, flood relief or space stations.
The Concord Coalition, a bipartisan grass-roots organization chaired by former senators Paul Tsongas, D-Mass, and Warren Rudman, R-N.H., issued in September "The Zero Deficit Plan: A Plan for Eliminating the Federal Budget Deficit by the Year 2000."
To cut $251 billion a year by the year 2000, the plan proposes a gradual phase-out of portions of Social Security, Medicare and other entitlement programs for people with incomes of more than $40,000.
This would save $68 billion.
Reductions in 50 domestic spending programs would save another $29 billion, and defense spending cuts above current plans would save $7 billion more.
Revenue would be increased by phasing in a 50 cent-per-gallon increase in gasoline taxes and big increases in "in" taxes.
Another proposal, from the bipartisan Strengthening of America
Commission, chaired by Sens. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., and Pete Domenici, R-N.M., suggests a combination of domestic and military spending cuts and a new kind of income tax that would tax income used for consumption but exempt income that flowed into personal savings.
The lesson from these ideas is that the deficit is not going to go away just by "re-inventing government" and eliminating expenses such as $600 toilet seats in military aircraft.
It will take real short-term sacrifices to do the job.
But the longer we delay, the more tragic the consequences and the more painful those sacrifices will be.
The Sheboygan Press Sheboygan, Wis.
Cloning research must stay despite concerns
Such an uproar erupted after a report about the cloning of a few human embryo cells that one would have thought infants were being manufactured on an assembly line.
The Vatican branded the relatively modest experiment as "perverse."
Reacting to the controversy, the scientists who conducted the experiment assured a worried public that successful cloning is very "species-specife." That is, it works in some animals but does not seem to work in others.
Such Orwellian manipulation of human reproduction seems unlikely in the near future and might well be impossible.
Suspending related research entirely until a national policy is agreed upon—as has been suggested by some ethicists—would be an overreaction.
Shutting down valuable research
while the medical and academic communities engage in what promises to be a lengthy debate would not be smart.
Instead, institutions involved in that research must work on reaching consensus on what procedures are acceptable and which are not.
Florida Today
Clinton inconsistent by supporting gay ban
Melbourne, Fla.
By taking to the nation's highest court his case against gays and lesbians in the military, President Clinton has dragged his credibility as a leader of conviction that much lower.
The administration, battling a lower court ruling that the military ban on homosexuality is unconstitutional, successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to delay that ruling until the Justice Department can make a formal appeal.
While such aplea might be consistent with the administration's recent efforts to undo the work of a Los Angeles district judge, it doesn't square with the values ... Clinton espoused last fall when he talked boldly of abolishing the 50-year-old policy.
It is troubling to watch him gird to battle for it in the chambers of the Supreme Court. ... His position today is as inexcusable as it is inconsistent.
At its optimistic best, that position recalls the political waffling that characterized the first days of ... Clinton's presidency. At its sinister worst, it betrays the deception that has come to characterize much of American politics.
The Times-Picayune
New Orleans, La.
COLUMNIST
Tolerance has a place in bathroom graffiti, too
I read an interesting thing on the bathroom wall the other day that pertained to tolerance. In a nutshell, it said everyone had a right to his or her own beliefs. I thought this was very refreshing, since bathroom walls usually are covered with comments berating others' opinions.
During the last few weeks, I have seen stalls splashed with comments about abortion, religion, government and sexual orientation. After the comments, hateful conversations on the stall usually followed among people with opposing views. The majority of the remarks were not about the subjects but about the people voicing the opinions. People who do this demonstrate their ignorance about the topics or about people in general. People are always going to disagree about certain issues. It's a fact of life, and it allows us to be individuals.
To respect people, you have to respect their right to choose their own opinions. I would prefer to know an individual rather than a copy of myself. Whether our opinions agree or clash doesn't matter as long as they're not stated in an offensive manner. In a generation in which "political correctness" is of concern, everyone is touchy about how people express themselves. Whether scribbled on a bathroom wall or spoken, opinions should be stated with sensitivity.
I am not saying people should fold on their beliefs, but that they should not associate a difference of opinion with hate. Sometimes hate and opinions can be confused when dealing with such sensitive topics as sexual orientation. Homosexuals often deal with prejudice and discrimination, which are forms of hate. Hate should not be seen as an opinion but as a character flaw.
Our right to free speech allows everyone the opportunity to express his or her own views. It gives us the chance to see both sides of an issue Through this expression we are allowed to form our own opinions How we choose to express those opinions is our decision. To do it constructively, in most cases, is to avoid alienating those who oppose us.
If I offended bathroom-wall debaters, I apologize. Some of the things I've read in stalls were intelligent, whether I agreed with them or not. Tolerance is the key to being sensitive to others' views and beliefs. So, if you are going to express an opinion, have something intelligent to say about the issue and not something hateful to say about the person.
Tiaha Heyka is a Leeward senior majoring in psychology and creative writing.
"But it's so unfair for those without insurance!"
Limbaugh is correct; government is bad
I and almost everyone I know are not bent on dividing the population into various groups and subgroups as you say. All we want is to live our lives and be responsible for our own actions. I should be able to live my life how I see fit, as long as I do not infringe upon the rights of others.
What exactly is this dangerous trend you are talking about? Is it this perceived selfishness of looking out for ourselves, or should it be the new administration's holier-than-thou attitude which feels only it can solve our nation's problems?
No, Mr. Kimmel, Rush is right, at least to a substantial degree.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
All you do throughout your column is arm-wave. I have no quarrel with wanting a decent job, good education or affordable health care. When did Limbaugh ever say any of these qualities of life were bad? It's the implementation that is unconscionable. My father owns a small business. The budget bill alone is going to make it much more difficult for him to expand and turn a profit, but now you want to force him to pay up to $4,000 per employee for a mandated health insurance plan, which may not even be the type of plan his employees want? Two people have left since the start of the year, and with Billary's tax and health care plans, he cannot afford to hire anyone new. Taxable revenues and wages have thus gone down. What happens if because of this health care bill he or others like him go out of business? People go out of work.
More government involvement in our lives restricts our personal freedoms. And now you want to allow the government to command 14 percent of the U.S.GNP?
No, what is unfair is that the government comes up to me, points a gun at my head and says that I will pay Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and subsidize health insurance with my hard-earned wages, all for people whom I have never met before, or I will go to jail.
Armen Kurdish
Wichita graduate student
Columnist is immature lacks understanding
Poor Anne Bailey, you are truly an fortunate writer. You simply lack the qualifications to write about the issues you choose to write about.
Perhaps in the future, when you have matured,
you can truly accept the challenge of dealing with
racial issues. For now, I suggest you keep your
ideas to yourself.
Why do you persist in writing about things you know nothing about? It seems you are trying to derive conclusions from a void, the void being your mind and the experiences it lacks. Maybe you should spend your time writing fairy tales rather than editorials. It seems you may already have a sizable source of fictitious ideas you can draw from.
I understand it may not be entirely your fault you are growing up not fully comprehending the things that are happening around you. Perhaps too often your ideas and perceptions of life are supplied for you from others. Maybe you should invest a little time trying to understand why you see the world as you do. Perhaps if you were willing to be more objective your perceptions of reality could become clearer.
Todd Kindred
Overland Park sophomore
Television not required for a person's survival
I agree with Anne Bailey's Oct. 28' editorial that television should not be censored — but there is one part that bothered me. There are, in fact, other alternatives for sheltering children from the "harsh realities of television" than locking them in the closet.
Ms. Bailey also puts forth the idea that we could teach kids the difference between right and wrong (what happens when all things wrong become fashionable, Anne?) although she dismisses the idea before it even has a chance to sound reasonable.
Television is not one of the basic needs for survival. Anyone who reads the newspaper regularly — even just the comics and the "Dear Abby" crap — is more up to date on the world and culture than an average TV addict. I can think of several instances where an interesting, even free-thinking individual was buried deep inside a four-hours-of-TV-a-day couch potato, which was only discovered after they pretty much quit watching the damned thing.
There is one more alternative, and it happens to be the simplest and the most effective: not owning a TV.
Television is not a requirement for citizenship in this country—yet.
That's right! With my own money, and my own mind, I can choose not to buy a TV!
It's great to be alive, isn't it?
Jess Truesdale
Las Vegas freshman
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