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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1988)
Editorial Nebraskan University of Nebraska-Lincoln I . --1-—“ Mike Reilley, Editor, 472-1766 Diana Johnson, Editorial Page Editor Jen Dcselms, Managing Editor Curt Wagner, Associate News Editor Chris Anderson, Associate News Editor Joan Rezac, Copy Desk Chief Joel Carlson, Columnist --—, Risks smoked out Tobacco industry tries to hide dangers For years the tobacco in dustry' apparently has covered the dangers of tobacco behind a cloud ol smoke. According to secret docu ments uncovered as evidence in a lawsuit against three tobacco firms, the tobacco industry may have known more about the dangers of smoking than what the public was told. A lawsuit filed by Antonio Cipollone in New Jersey against Philip Morris, Inc., the Liggett Group, Inc. and Loril lard, Inc. seeks damages for his wife’s death in 1984 from lung cancer. The lawsuit is nothing new to the tobacco industry. Since 1980 more than 300 suits have been filed against the industry-, but none have been successful However, the recently pro duced documents, mainly inter nal memos from the three com panies, may make this case dif ferent. The documents seem to indi cate that the companies did not release information that they ohtained in internal studies that Imked smoking to diseases such as chronic bronchitis and em physema. Charles Wall, an attorney representing Philip Morris, claims the memos contain noth ing which proves the firms are guilty of a cover-up. Despite this, the three companies tried, unsuccessfully, to get the memos barred from the case. In addition, James Mold, a chemist who worked for Liggett & Myers from 1955 to 1984, told Newsweek that researchers at the company were told not to publish their findings. The re search showed that smoke is as hazardous to humans as it is to laboratory mice, Mold said. The discoveries of the memos and the testimony of Mold and others seems to show that the tobacco industry is guilty of attempting to hide the dangerous side effects of smok ing in order to increase sales. The Centers for Disease Con trol repon that 350,000 Ameri can die every year from tobacco reiated problems. If the lawsuit in New Jersey against the three tobacco firms finds that the to bacco industry has indeed cov ered up important experimental information and deceived the public, the industry should be held accountable for these deaths. Making a profit in business is important, but the end must jus tify the means. In this case, it does not. White male cries ‘reverse discrimination' I am writing in response to an issue which has been the topic of a lot of the editorial letters in the Daily Nebras kan, as well as papers nationwide and also the topic addressed by Mike Royko (Daily Nebraskan, April 5.) Everyone, it seems, thinks that they are getting the small piece of the pic. Everyone except while males who aren’t homosexual, that is. Re cently women, minorities and gays have pleaded their cause on the edito rial page. Many may have indeed suffered some sort of discrimination. If considerations of sex, race or sex ual orientation are sued in the pursuit of jobs, scholarships, housing, what ever, then I do believe it is wrong, not to mention illegal, and needs to be corrected. But has society gone too far? It disturbed me to hear that in several big cities, hundreds of cops and firefighters were laid off to be replaced by blacks and women. I have nothing against blacks or women in these positions, but they were given the jobs of others (white males) not because they were better at putting out I ires or catch ing crooks, but solely because they were female or non white. They were given extra consid cration over others because of their sex and race; isn’t that the definition of discrimination? Think about it. Most people realize that this “re verse discrimination” exists. Female co-workers recently were arguing with me over women’s rights, but nonetheless did agree with me that the person on the University of Ncbraska Lincoln campus with the least num ber of rights was a white, non-homo sexual male. When Gov. Kay Orr took office, the first response that I heard from the governor’s mansion was something about how great it would be to sec what she would do personally for the women of this state. Recently I was denied applications for two scholarship jobs. One was reserved for women, the other for minorities. Wouldn’t all hell bust loose if someone made a scholarship for white males only? I would try it if I thought that 1 wouldn’t get my tail thrown in the pokey, tried by a lady judge and prosecuted by a black attor ney who held a grudge because I was white and male. William Shcelc white male heterosexual Possible war blamed on ‘peace lovers I think the way David Forsythe, political science professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincolri, (Daily Nebraskan, March 18)chooses to defend the Sandinistan incursion into Honduras is absurd. In my opinion, though, it was not a reaction just to the Communist cross ing of the border but to Congress attempting to slam the door on our friends again. The Contras would not have been ( i th«‘ run in the first place, if the Democrats in congress hadn’t killed Reagan’s aid package pro posal. Forsythe was not simply expound ing ihc applications ol international law; he was really just choosing sides. I can understand that, though; it’s trendy now in intellectual circles to paint the United States black. If this thing evolves into a war involving our own troops, 1 person ally will blame the “peace lovers” who were so opposed to war of any kind that they ruined an opportunity to let another willing force do the fighting for us. Darin J. Knepper sophomore secondary education Yes , 1 Know Gre\ ) n n. <1 . i T .! i.l> I I Truck drivers among imbeciles Sennett runs over his most frustrating pet peeves of the road _ ... _ ... .... .... ..I_J___■ J_1. ■ L . L' L . 1 spent most ot tnc last two weeks behind the wheel of a car, including treks to east ern Oklahoma and Atlanta. I have always loved to drive: I enjoy the mental vacations afforded by endless hours on the super-slab. However, thcrcareafew improve ments that would make this pleasure complete. It has been said that some thing strange happens to a human being when he or she dons a motor ized vehicle, and I have almost 4,()(X) miles of road experience since the beginning of spring break to bear out the conclusion. In keeping with my tradition of offering a slate of pel peeves each semester, I wish to spe cialize this spring and offer the fol lowing schedule of automotive an noyances: • Highway construction. This has to be everybody’s favorite aggrava tion. I issue an unconditional chal lenge to anyone to offer me a justifi cation for the wav road renairs arc handled on the average interstate. You know the scene. You sec the orange sign that announces “Right lane closed — merge left.” Then, for 2 1/2 miles you drive past perfectly good road blocked off by overgrown candy com. Finally, you come across the con struction — one heavy machine belching smoke, one guy filling a crack with hot tar, and seven people standing around watching. The lane is blocked for another 3 miles before you arc allowed access to the whole road. In the meantime, 61 cars have piled up behind a 1968 Fury III going 35 mph and sporting a bumper slicker that says, “If you can read this you arc too close.” This already infuriating experience is raised to fever pitch when the scene is repeated four times over a 60-mile stretch. There can be no rationality behind such a process. Why have endless miles blocked where no one is work ing? Why not pul everybody on one spot at a time? Why is half the crew always on lunch, even at 4:30 in the afternoon? And what about Naomi? • i tuck urivcrs. rsoimng win soncr you up like peering into your rear view mirror and seeing nothing but “MACK” spelled backwards. I am convinced that more than 90 percent of the truck drivers in America arc more concerned with their schedules and their own machismo than they are with any notions of courtesy, legality or even safety. There is no one among us who has not had an 18-wheeler barrel past us at 90-plus mph, only to slow to45 on the next hill and have all the cars they just blew off the road pass them up, only to be ty phooned on the next downhill. 1 have been passed by speeding semis in ram, snow and fog when 1 know that they could not stop for an emergency if their lives (or worse, someone elsc’s life) depended on it. _1-1 Please don’t write me letters about your cousin w ho is a truck driver and has just been nominated for saint hood. I know that there must be a few who walk upright and can sign their names without practice. I have an uncle who drove a truck for years and is a real sweetheart. But my experi ence, and yours, too, teaches that the overwhelming majority have no busi ness even walking the streets, let alone controlling 20-ton deadly weapons. My brother-in-law was almost killed last fall when a tractor trailer rig pulled out in front of him at an intersection. The driver’s explana tion? “I thought sure he would stop.” Brilliant. Notice that all of the words are one syllabic. • Tailgalcrs. Pardon me, but when I am going 65 mph, I don’t want your bumper 12 feet from mine. Believe it or not, people have had to stop and .^lUW uu w 11 ^uuvivmj v/n liiv ini^iiwuv. I will not put up with a situation in which my responding to an emer gency would endanger my family, just because you think I should be speeding. I have this theory that tail gaters are would-be truck drivers who couldn’t pass the intelligence exam. But it isn’t even the average tail gatcr who really gets to me. Most members ol this species will barrel down on you, slow down 10 feet off your stem, suck your exhaust for a few minutes, then lake the first oppor tunity to /.oom around and give on coming traffic coronaries. Then you’re safe till the next Neanderthal catches up with you. But there is a special breed that tai Igates not as a means, but as an end 1 have had people ride my bumper for miles, passing up many chances to pass, turn off or beam up. Sue h a breed is immune even iu uic uiu ngimy wp thc brake” trick. Nothing will deter them from their appointed task ol irritation. I once slowed to 20 niph. trying to no avail to get a guy to go around me. I finally pulled oil the road, and even then 1 think he was considering pulling over with me. What is going on in these people’s minds? Well. I have not even mentioned those strange animals who w ill ride in my blind spot for 20 miles rather than touch the accelerator or brake. I guess there is some sort of divine right ol cruise control. 1 also have not railed on speeding police cars, motorcy clists who ride on shoulders and be tween lanes or people who change lanes and then leave their blinkers on through three states. But you gel the idea. If your life is a little too pleasant, if you have not had your quota ol ulcer-producing stomach acid, it you have found yourscll growing confi dent in the future ol the human race, just take a little drive. That's where the rubber really hits the road. Sennett is a graduate student in plnl"s" phy and campus minister with < 1 •* rcer Christian Fellowship. w.i.ii^iiv/vi v/uuunai.^ Ul ficial policy of the spring 1988 Daily Nebraskan. Policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. Its mem bers arc Mike Rcilley, editor; Diana Johnson, editorial page editor; Joan Rezac, copy desk editor; Jen Dc selms, managing editor; Curt Wag ncr, associate news editor; Chris Anderson, associate night news edi tor and Joel Carlson, columnist. Editorials do not necessarily re lied the views of the university, its employees, the students or the NU Board of Regents. I he Daily Nebraskan’s publishers arc the regents, who esianiiMi^' UNLPublicationsBoardlosupcrvi.se the daily production ol the PaP°r’ According to policy set by i K regents, responsibility lor the edi o rial content of the newspaper iss solely in the hands of its student <. i1 tors. .. Letters will be selected for publi cation on the basis of clarity, origi nality, timeliness and space avail able. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit all material submit I led. Anonymous submissions will nol be considered lor publication. Letter should include die author’s name, year in school, major and group af filiation, if any. Requests to withho i names will not be granted. Submit material to the Daily nc braskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 14(H) k St., Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448.
