Tuesday, February 12, 1885
Daily Ncbraskan
Pago 5
Technology a
v
amw C J... I n i . . .
I E-uwaru fccuens: The other ni?ht I
1 ) heard you intervimd on Nationd Public
Radio's "All Thfe rms.w'' 4
sued cf technological breakthroughs for the
handicapped.' It tarried out that you have been,
paralyzed to the neck dr.vn since you got polio
at the age of 14 and now yoa want a device that
would l et you write with the aid cf a computer. It
W.it. v. :s crz-g to he, E&berts, fcttat yea
r .::.:: i this cleviee rlmest ia rc&g it
mi raadsalied wheelchairs and tfcat sort 'of
thlKt The Nt9sa TCSa'ii'ttt tbact tha krV.'ff
Etcnc-y for th39 dKrfeffS.-iril fact atanft th
ces theiscfes tad hew. teipsisnt t&qr'are to
tha fcaadlcped. Tta- writing device : crcili
enrich pur life.' Too" bod you don't hava t-s
iscneyfsr.it -
I listened, Roberts, and I got mad. Not ct you
mind you, but at us. I could not believe you wan
so mild mannered. I would have been angry. 1
would have won dered about a ration that could
spend (4 billion for MX missiles, $5.2 billion for
Bl bombers and ti.7 billion for Trident subma
rines and missiles ar.d could not, under any
program, come up with t 20,000 to enrich a single
life. There's something wrong here, Roberts,
something arfJy wrong. .
Of CCnreo,. you're not alone, lucre's no :
money for a 1st cf worthwhile things. There is '
less money for food stamp, welfare, college aid
ar.d even drug mi clcchol 'rehabilitation ccn
tem Tnore's no r.er.ry to sva some poor
tear's tsm and. netting to train unemployed
sterlrcrkcrs. Ksi a cent .fcr.kpl Services,
csatimlt vJbziZ tnlthe Job Gap. it
tzzz tist the wealth cf t.coastqr is oing:
into the nB&syesi the debt pcnt: Since
lfe2kthe eilrirJstrstioa hra' pent ever $1 fcH-
lien fcr the rerts-n. . ;v
' "'Oh, SobsrtJ, l?s mrcXzi edn in America.
Don't you knof it? Csa you a yoarfcesi to see
the sun? On the prcsm, yoa isenticnsd what a
CziZzi22 the meohjfized rhet!chsir bed made
to you: "All oft sudden, I could turn and seewho
had come in the door." Until that moment, I
lor, tianaiccipDec
could not imagine such disability and how some
thing as seemingly prosaic as a mechanized
wheelchair could make such a difference. Turn
around Roberts and see the sun.
You know Roberts that if you talk this way
people will think you're some -sort of bleeding
heart. Compassion is out li!ie csiling women
Ms. It's as if compassion was trendy or some
thing and now the nation (knock on wood) has
found itself and returned to old, basic values.
Denmark would give you your writing device.
Miyte some other countries would, too. tkt
here. We're back to basics here. Want a missile,
you co have missile. Want to make a life for
yourself; too fcsd. .
' TkZTQ'a eomlMn terribly wreng
here, Roberta, Every time I pick up the paper, Vn
told that the economy is booming. Ii&atica is
down and tha gross national product is up and .
the dollar is as h!jh a the proverbisl kite. Cor
porations 'are reporting record prc-ts and eve
ryone is fcs'ir.g hat used to be cslled a good
year. The pxssidcat ssj?s that everything is e-s
goo4 3 it could be could not, in fact, be
better and yet we have to ti'.ten our belts.
Austerity, austerity. There is much we cannot
afford. Your writing device, unfortunately, is one
cf those things. Tough luck, Roberts.
And to tell you the truth, Roberts, I'm doing
pretty well myself. My income goes up and my
tax rate goes down and I could really afford to
piy more taxes, only no one asks for it. I think
I'm supposed to save my money .so that ethers
can invest it or I'm supposed to spend it to keep
the economy cooking. I'm not sure which, so I'm
doing both. What a patriot I am me and til the
people like me. Thrcu h taxes we could ke ep you
In prosthetic devises for the rest of your life
no S7. cat. Dut for acme reason, ve won't. Elame It
cn the deficit.
Roberts, this is some sort cf cruel jske. The
t nation in the world cannot aford ths
pie and lives, but 523 at the tfecsht cfdeingth.'
same with a dollar, ty lowering taxes and gvlag'
the rentagon wkt it ants, we've created a ftisa
fiscal crisis. There could be money for you,
Roberts, but the president his' made sure' that
there isn't. ; , .
It's a cold morning, this administration has
given you, Roberts. You can't even write a letter
of protest , .
1 :S, V.'a:.:.T;!lsn Post YMSsra Cre-up
"
j2a
it m
romtcai oeiiejs
- If one wishes to wield his political power, he
should do so through the proper channels that
our government provides, and failing in that they
should take advantage cf the opportunity cf free
speech as I am doing r ow. (Although I wonder
how long freedom cf speech will exist in this
country, since my friends were not allowed to
exercise this right).
I hope the attackers' fellow conservatives
would be as outraged as I was to learn of these
nihilistic tactics.
Furthermore I urge anyone, whether conserva
tive or liberal, who meets with this kind of abuse ;
to st the names or descriptions of their attackers
, and report the incident to the police and press.
Don't 'be bullied into sulssissloa by ;ihose
persons too ignorant to even perceive the
principles cur country upholds.
Cynthia Murder
. . senior
theater
A'merwan emisumers pay
for 'nationalized medicine 1
Merely comparing one flawed system with
another is no way to justify the American
Medical system. Nobody, least cf all myself,
would claim that the British National Health
Service is perfect by any nesns, lacking as it so
clearly does s'iflcient funding or sensible labor,
union practices. Since the sulpct cf the NHS.
was mentioned, howwer, 1 fa;M point out that
;this system brevet jroiv the bodyscaaner
I j ; ' Gifts for 'i)'nm VeieiiMne -: . . : ' J
1 ' j
- rrrY' r ?zzzP ,v i- a
' x o ;j 1 -
H . ? . :) . j
- ' Jt - - thJ j
j : f J ()
I x ... y ' ca , - - ; 1
I :"- y
1 v . J . I
i'l Fins Jewelry -Priced from 30 !
I " . .. - . j
I 1 XV .- ' : ' s I i
1 1
r ,,' ;: '11
T . . . .... . 7 a : 3 i t
and led the way in the development of pros
theses and other bioengineeiing feat3. Sweden is
developing the world's first bionic arm that uses
nerves to activate arm functions. Clearly, there
fore, the technology is not lacking purely due to
a different method of financing only money
and management skills. '
As far as heart transplants are concerned, to
my knowledge few patients have been under 55.
We should not get bogged down, however, with
detailed specifics of two systems. There are more
than two alternative solutions.
One question I am often asked is: who will pay
for "nationalized medicine?" My answer is a
question also: who i3 paying for your system? The
answer to both questions is the same: "You are." .
In the first case, through taxes, and ia the
, second, via insurance companies. The difference
r is thai insunsce companies make a prct, while
' the government, supposedly, does not Who ever
heard of an insurance company being short cf
money? Thus, by tolerating these intermediaries
you, as health care consumers are paying not
only for your health care, but also for the
salesmen, overheads and profits of the insurance
companies and the voluminous paperwork that
this generates. Notice that all this does not
mean that doctors have to stop earning the
fabulous salaries that they are so notorious for
(viewed through European eyes, where few
doctors earn more than 190,000). If nothing else
was changed than the method of collecting your
money, the effect would save the undisclosed
proportion of your money swallowed up by the
insurance companies, and secondly make
equal health care available to all
Richard Andrews-Koryta
-graduate student'
;" ' mechanical engineering
) I V A T ? f I t . A
-yiium l i-)) H
ii' I. "I
aWi l imilNMfti iimJi.
The bottom lirie when buying contact
lenses is more than just the "advertised price.'
At Fami!y Contact Lens Center, we believe your
vision and the hea!th of your eyes deserve the
finest professional care and materials available. : '
. Thsts why we offer, the widest variety of -conventional
contact lenses, plus a- unique
selection of designs and materisls for people ;
with special visuil needs...and at a price you can
dford. For 'example: ' ; '
: tmxi e&ra-tr-in Ifydren Zero 6 soJt lenses
transmit rror oxygen to the eve tor greater comfort
ttJX'J tefk sell lensss
that correct astigmatism
HEW i'-ra-Cin hsrJ (snsss
lor sensiLve eyes .
MEW $ami-sa!t csyrtn permealb's lenses
for peqj'e unable to wear conventional hard lens materials
Call us at 483400-3433-5757 for more information
cn cur free consultation service and 60 day trial ceriocL
Yeull agree, it's quality Visual, care at au afford
price.
.,V
3
