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Thursday, March 22, 1990 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Homeless count
Lawmakers must realize census' error margin before cutting money for homeless programs
The Census Bureau's efforts Tuesday to count the nation's homeless population
may paint a more accurate picture of how many homeless there really are. This number, if used correctly, can aid government officials in planning solutions to the homeless problem
problem.
Although it is naive to think that U.S. lawmakers can eliminate the problem by reviewing the numbers, any effort to alleviate it should be welcomed.
it should be venomous.
As long as government officials realize that the bear's numbers will be conservative, with a great margin of error, the count can be helpful.
hepital, if the count is used to look for programs and money that can be cut, as is feared by a number of advocates for the homeless who criticized the count, the effort was senseless.
Mitch Snyder of Washington, D.C.'s, Community for Creative Non-Violence said on "CBS This Morning" that he thought the number would be used to drive down the amount of appropriations for homeless programs.
appropriations to the homeless. Other people who work with the homeless have told them to hide and not participate in the count in an effort to protest potential
financing cuts by the government
financing cuts by the government Our government has to take the problem of the homeless in our country seriously, whether there are two homeless people or 2 million Even if the number is lower than expected President Bush cannot cut programs if he is indeed human.
Although it would be ideal to have an accurate count of the nation's homeless, no such thing should be expected.
In Wichita, a city with a 1989 population of 279,000, the census takers found no homeless persons on the city's streets.
That must have been quite a search.
Either the effort wasn't an all-out one, or Wichita city officials should be applauded for their efforts at eliminating the problem. Right Either way, this shows the fallibility of the count.
count:
Let's hope our government officials realize the potential for error. The number of homeless people in the United States has increased considerably since the last census was conducted a decade ago. It is a trend that we, as humans, cannot allow to continue, and our government cannot deny.
Liz Hueben for the editorial board
Briefly stated
■ After a 32-day lockout, the baseball season is about to begin. The settlement was reached after continued outcry from disappointed children, fans and President Bush. And about what? It's a simple game that boys dream of playing. Besides, no one is worth the money baseball players are paid. Money not only almost ruined this season, but it continues to erode the prestige of the game.
It would seem only fitting that the University adopt a policy concerning examinations that conflict with religious holidays. Such a policy would ensure that a student is not penalized for missing an exam because of a conflict with the celebration of a religious event. It is a courtesy that would benefit not just students, but teachers who wish to observe the holiday to its fullest.
Members of the editorial board are Richard Brack, Daniel Niemi, Christopher R. Raleston, John P. Milburn, Liz Hueben, Con S. Anderson, Angela Baughman, Andres Cavellier, Chris Evans, Stephen Kline, Camille Krehbiel, Melanie Matthes, Jennifer Metz and Scott Patty.
LETTERS to the EDITOR
KJHK complaints
Following the most recent dolop of boring rhetoric and accusations from KJHK's disgruntled ex-music director and its self-righteous general manager (March 9, Kansan), do we dare hope the hatchet has finally been buried? At least one less-than-ardent listener fairly cringes at the thought. What's left to enjoy all of the finger-pointing has subsided and the veritable river of whining mind-drool spawned 'by this alleged issue has run dry? Well, gosh, I guess there's always the music . . . maybe.
n charge of pushing buttons and pinning records be taught some basic on-air skills, i.e. creative introduction of music and intelligible weather forecasts?
Let's face it — as radio stations go, KJHK suffers from maladies much more obvious to the average listener than any dispute about ownership; also, sounding too "commercial" is the least of its worries. Let's not confuse commercialism with running a tight and tidy ship. Since the School of Journalism is officially running this one, shouldn't those students
As a devout follower of alternative music, I've tried desperately to enjoy listening to KJHK, however, there's one small problem: it's not quite as exciting as a Friday night in Osawatonie. Despite the quality of the local live music scene, radio in this area is sorely lacking and — for reasons other than its choice of music — KJHK is, in my opinion, no exception to the rule. It's time for all concerned to climb down from their egos and deal with the real issue: making KJHK an acceptable and accessible alternative music source which serves the interests of the students of the University of Kansas — and not just their own.
W. Scott Pinkston Lawrence sophomore
Nothing excluded
If it's written in spray paint on the sidewalk: IT'S VANDAILISM.
Michel Gler
Persona junior
News staff
Richard Brack ... Editor
Denial Niemi ... Managing editor
Christopher R. Ralston ... News editor
Lisa Moae ... Planning editor
John Milburn ... General editor
Candy Niemann ... Campus editor
Mike Consalde ... Sports editor
E.Joseph Durnge ... Photo editor
Stephen Kline ... Graphica editor
Kris Bergraul ... Arts/Features editor
Tom Etlen ... General manager, news adviser
Margaret Townsend ... Business manager
Teml Rank ... Retail sales manager
Measy Miller ... Campus sales manager
Kathy Stoke ... Regional sales manager
Mike Lathrop ... National sales manager
Mindy Morrison ... Co-op sales manager
Nate Stamos ... Product manager
Mindi Lund ... Assistant production manager
Carie Stanley ... Marketing director
James Glaasman ... Creative director
Janet Norholm ... Tearless manager
Wendy Starts ... Sales and marketing adviser
Business staff
Letters should be typed, double-spaced and less than 200 words and must include the letters, name, address and telephone number. If the writer is affiliated with the University of Kansas, please include class and homestead, or faculty at all positions. Guest columns should be typed, double-spaced and less than 700 words and will contain the names of people you are writing about.
be photographed.
the Kanase ranawar the right to reject or edit letters, guest columns and cartoons. They can be brought to the Kanase newsroom, 113 Staffer-Fall Hall, Lesters, columns and cartoons are the opinion of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University Daily Kanese. Editorials are the opinion of the Kanese editorial board.
U.N. watchdog has been put to sleep
Suppose there had been a United Nations in the 1930s when Hitler was on the rise. What would have happened if the world had demanded that the United Nations investigate Nazi atrocities?
investigate what occurred.
Those who still follow the United Nations will have no problem answering the question.
At first the United Nations would simply have ignored the matter. That's what it did in 1987 when the United States asked the U.N. Human Rights Commission to investigate atrocities in Fidel Castro's Cuba.
In due course, some bureaucrat would have reported the obvious about the Third Reich: persecution of the innocent, absence of law and a denial of any and all rights that conflicted with the will of the Fuehrer. This would have required the services of a special representative of the secretary general, diplomatic niceties and extensive hearings rather than just going out and buying a paper.
In its report about human rights in Cuba, or rather the lack of them, the U.N. commission cited 137 complaints of torture and other cruel and inhuman treatment, 13 executions for political crimes, seven disappearances and other acts. It was as if somebody had been appointed to keep a box score, and that's all.
But it has never been a secret that in Cuba the will of the Maximum Leader is law. A Cuban lawyer summed up the state of justice in his country years ago when he was asked about the effect of the Revolution on jurisprudence in Cuba: He just pointed to a television set in the corner of his office and said, "That is our law now." A German lawyer in the '30s would probably have pointed
Paul
Greenberg
Syndicated
columnist
to the radio. Technology changes in these matters; the essential evil does not.
What would the United Nations have done with such a report on Nazi crimes? It doubtless would have passed a resolution praising the Nazi regime for its willingness "to cooperate with the secretary general in maintaining his direct contacts on the issues and questions contained in the report." That's what it did last year in the case of Fidel Castro's Cuba. Last week, the United Nations finally got around to passing the usual toothless resolution in these matters. The vote was 17 against barbarity, 12 in favor.
Nor is Cuba's sordid little dictatorship untouched by such an "investigation." The report of the U.N.'s Special Representative to Iran is a casebook study of how to be strictly neutral between the oppressors and the oppressed. The latter are regularly referred to in this report as "terrorists." If the United Nations had investigated human rights in the Third Reich, it would probably have urged both sides, the Nazis and their victims, to exercise restraint — just as it did in Iran.
as it did with an "investigation" would have been predictable; The Gestapo would have retaliated against anyone brave or foolish enough to talk to the U.N. delegation. Witnesses would have been arrested, imprisoned and tortured. That's
what happened this year in Cuba.
when nailed to. To overate Mark Franz of the Heritage "Foundation," "The Castro regime has made a mockery of the Human Rights Commission by taking punitive action against individuals who cooperated with the group, subjecting more than 50 human rights activists to harassment, imprisonment
It would be unfair to accuse the United Nations of having become a mere innocent bystander in international affairs. It is more of a guilty bystander.
ment or torture. Castro's efforts to silence these critics have been documented by Americas Watch, among others." Mr. Franz's official title at the Heritage Foundation is director of the U.N. Assessment Project, which must be the most depressing job in town.
The United Nations seems to have been equally effective in Iran. To quote one report from the resistance "The regime executed more political prisoners in various cities during and after the U.N. visit." Somehow I don't think Salman Rushdie, the author sentenced to death by Teheran's mullahs for daring to write a book of which they disapproved, should look to the United Nations for succor. The last thing he needs is to be taken under the wing of the U.N. Human Rights Commission.
Wherever it goes, human wrongs seem to follow
Heinrich Himmler would have loved the U.N. Human Rights Commission; its list of witnesses would have saved him the trouble of drawing up his own list of suspects.
Meanwhile, the United States is preparing to pay back dues of $38 million to the United Nations — plus a contribution of some $205 million. Does that make us an accessory?
Paul Greenberg is the editorial editor for the Pine Bluff (Ark.) Commercial.
The United Nations also passed a resolution in the case of Iran, the evidence of which was: "We'll get back to this some time." Observer readers may have noticed a flurry of speculation last week about the Iranians using their good offices with various kidnappers to secure the release of Western hostages. Once the United Nations' meaningless resolution was approved, all such speculation ceased. The "moderate" Iranians always appear when Iran needs something — like missiles or an empty U.N. resolution. Then they disappear when the need is filled. You would think the gullibles in the West would have caught on to this routine by now. They haven't.
It would be unfair to accuse the United Nations of having become a mere innocent bystander in international affairs. It is more of a guilty bystander. By wrapping these crimes in wards of bureaucratize, it creates the illusion that some action is being taken to help the victims even as it muffles their screams. The United Nations, in short, is the kind of outfit that would hire Kurt Waldheim as its secretary general.
CAMP UHNEELY
BY SCOTT PATTY
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