Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 1980)
page 4 daily nebraskan tuesday, march 4, 1980 Problems in. court expected if bong Mil passes Caught up in a typical wave of moralistic emotionalism, the Legis lature last week allowed introduction of a bill that would ban sales of drug paraphernalia in the state. While the issue raised in the bill may deserve public consideration, this newspaper questions the wisdom of suspending unicameral rules to allow the bill's introduction with only 23 days . left in the session. Seven days notice is required before a mandatory public hearing, further reducing the time senators have to deal with the issue. Also, the' hearing will be in Omaha, where letters and editorials printed in The World-Herald have demonstrated a public fear of para phernalia, Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers is calling the measure the "World-Herald bill." While public opinion is an import ant consideration in the introduction of bills, because of the short time tfie Legislature has allowed itself, the concerned public can, at best, expect an over-emotional, shoddy and superficial job of dealing with the issue. ' Because of the bill's apparently overwhelming public support, "greas ed" is an accurate term to describe how it will travel through the Legis lature. The danger in dealing with an in herently emotional issue in a very short period of time is that the bill will not be specificenough, and will be enjoined - in part or in whole -by the courts. Thus, the Legislature will find it self obligated to spend more time, perhaps as soon as next year, spend ing taxpayers' money to do the prudent job that should have been done in the first place. Other states that have dealt with the issue have had trouble getting a bill specific enough to stand up in court. And, because the bill would , threaten certain business interests, a suit certainly would be filed within days of the measure's passage. For the Nebraska Legislature to imagine that it can pass a legally specific bill on a difficult subject in only 23 days is naive and arrogant. Further, the benefit of rushing such a bill through must be weighed against the time lost for other bills. Although some state senators, and apparently some citizens, think pass age of the bill will save some young people from getting involved with drugs, it will not, Such a premise only shows how little the Legislature knows about the subject with which it has chosen to deal. Which came first, marijuana or the bong? Clearly, bongs and other drug paraphernalia would not be produc ed if there was not a demand for . them, created by people who smoke marijuana or use other drugs. The Legislature is seeking a band- aid remedy for a problem it has not been successful in addressing. That problem is drug traffic and abuse, and banning paraphernalia sales, while it may win a-few votes for supporters, will not reduce drug ' traffic. The money spent to enforce such . a measure could be much better spent on addressing the real problem, if in fact the Legislature wants to tackle the complex situation. If instead lawmakers want to win votes with symbolic rhetoric, Patrick Venditte's anti-paraphernalia bill is the route to take, ' . . -'" ' -y- .'" . r . ' ' :- ; . Maybe next year, after the greased measure has been declared vague and unenforceable, the senators will take the time to consider alternative measures, like making it a felony to sell paraphernalia to minors, a much easier law to write, and equally popular with concerned parents. ; Randy Essex In Monday's (March 3) Guest Opinion, Mr, Schofield argues: "At a university only scientific disciplines , have a right to 'a place," Personally, I greatly enjoy liter ature and fine arts, and would fight to retain their place on this campus. But even were this not the case, I would take objec. tion to this impetuous and careless state ment. To pompously declare that scienfitif disciplines, and therefore scientific analyses . and viewpoints, are the only legitimate fare for students and people in general, is at best ; innocuously absurd and at worst dangerous. Earlier in his opinion, Mr," Schofield criticized the Church for, among many things, intolerance, This intolerance for other views and id?as that the Church did not agree with, apparently (I will accept Mr, Schofield's account, as, I am no Church historian), led to "obscurantism and ob- fuscation," to "lies" and "self-decept-tions," and to a "blood-soaked record of misery I And all these atrocities seem attributable to intolerance of others and narrow-mindedness, Well, as the song by the Who goes, "Meet the new bossSame as the old' boss," To replace one set of intolerance and narrow-mindedness with another hardly seems much of an advance ment. To tolerate only scientific views seems fearfully close to what the Church is attacked for earlier; so close that I can't see any significant differerence,1 1 would hope that a scholar, could accept, or at least tolerate, a multiplicity of viewpoints. Whether I, or anyone else, accept what Josh McDowell has to say is a matter for each individual to decide. And everyone should be ' allowed to decide. Josh McDowell has a right to express what he believes, and people have a right to be al lowed to hear it. And it doesn't stop there;, these rights belong to everyone, even (God forbid!) scientists, So, what do you say we have a little tolerance and a little open-mindedness? Who knows, we might even learn something valuable, ... John Vitek Sophomore, Economics More letters on Page 5 J j js: :. wr- wmfV- , . . ' VWA'W B3VMMwmmwM mm excuse... row 10 miyiys TOTAL,. NOW G&T PRfiSSeP I Active voters focusing on fundamental values WASHINGTON-Whether or not you like the results, there is a sense that the 1980 presidential selection system is working well so far. Despite the distortion resulting from the continued absence of the sequestered gentleman whose job is at stake, the primaries and caucuses are re fleeting the intensity and volatility of the voters' feelings about the country and the men who would lead it. And there is more rationality to the results than a first glance would suggest. ' The best news is that Americans are voting in increased numbers whenever they have a chance. From the first caucuses in Iowa, turnouts in both parties have exceeded advance predictions and have been far above the levels seen in the 1970s. That is no surprise. When I first explored the campaign scene last fall, I was struck by the seriousness with which voters were quizzing the candidates and the frequency with which their questions centered on the most funda mental values: freedom, independence, the security of the nation's future. That intensity has grown as inflation has accelerated, posing a direct challenge to our familiar economic freedoms, and as events in the Persian Gulf region have dramatized America's loss of control of its own destiny- and Us own citizen-diplomats. The voters understand well that these are hard times and they are discarding candidates who seem to them too' Hawed or too frivolous for such circumstances. It is abundantly clear that the electorate is far from making a final decision on who can stand that scrutiny Tlie extraordinary volatility of this campaign is reflected in the finding by Richard Wirthlin, Ronald Reagan's poll s er, that 48 percent of the, Republicans in New Hampshire changed their minds about their candidate pre ference during the month of February, and one-third switched in the final week before the voting. That is tough on those who take advance polls for' newspapers and for political pundits of all stripes-two categories of people God put on earth to embarrass. But it clearly suggests that the modesty, with which President Carter's backers are accepting congratulations for their victories over Ted Kennedy and Jerry Brown is well advised. More than ever, the basic political wisdom is that what goes up can come down. And a President who holds his current popularity despite the frustration of his foreien policy and the failure of his economic policy has a Ion way to drop if and when the turnabout comes. 8 Meantime, there are indications that the voters are paying attention and getting things j?retty well in focus at this preliminary stage of the selection process. The interviews done by ABC News with voters leaving the polls in New Hampshire convey a reassuring sense of rationality in the voting decisions. Among the Democratic voters, those who felt most concerned about the problems of the poor and elderly went for Kennedy 3-to-l, Carter finished third behind both Kennedy and Brown among those most concerned about inflation and energy. But on foreign policy, Carter .overwhelmed his opponents. The real story of the Democratic choice was reflected In those same voters' feelings about the personal qualities rL, "len-u,th5 bal,ot' A"10" Ac Democrats most concerned with leadership qualities, experience in govern ment and the ability to get things dofie, Kennedy rated -2ih .0 . Ca"eL' But amonS thosc most concerned in?. aPres,denl 'honesty and his stability in time of !! 7argl,ls .ot Carter were overwhelming. The sad , Z(J KCnn!dy ? m U is the Publ jgment on his personal character that is crippling him,- . hi, nn8 e,RePublicai", Ronald Reagan's victory was wi hlfJ sir.on8 approval from those most concerned mm i leadership and honesty, among the personal qualities, J " 3nd uhoIdin8 down government spending and cernPdPakaT?8 the issucs n Republicans most con S rl f?re,gn PoIicy and experience in government Geote BTi y betWeen ReaSan and ncr4JP tionn 7i"- V 111056 .most concerned about energy ques- konorh!,. nWO Partles gave much more consideration to iconoclasts Brown and John B. Anderson. be wed'eT ." Af m,?ent the voters are displaying will e needed as this fascinating election year continues. Id 1980, Tha Washington Pot Company