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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 1993)
OPINION Nebraskan Monday, August 30,1 Jeremy Fitzpatrick.. Kathy Steinauer.... Wendy Molt....... Todd Cooper \. Chris llopfensperger Kim Spurlock...... Kiley Timperley.... Nebraskan Editorial Board University of Nebraska- Lincoln ... Editor, 472-1766 Opinion Page Editor ... Managing Editor .Sports Editor . .. .Copy Desk Chief .Sower Editor Senior Photographer F.niTOKI \1 In our back yard Nebraskans must not tolerate hate crimes he body of a Lincoln man who had been missing for nearly a month was found early Friday near Branched Oak Lake. Two men from Kansas have been arrested in the case. The victim, Harold Grover, was last seen leaving a Lincoln bar that is frequented by gay men and women. The men arrested in this case are suspects in assaults and robberies of gay men in Topeka, Kan., and officers in Lincoln and Kansas are sharing information on the cases. While Lincoln police officers say they do not know what provoked Grover’s death, the facts in these situations seem too clear-cut to be just coincidental. Lancaster County Sheriff Tom Casady has warned that all patrons of bars need to be careful when leaving with people they do not know well, especially in light of this incident and other recent assaults in Lincoln and Omaha. Of course everyone should use common sense in these situations. But the possibility of intentional gay-bashing in Grover’s death is frightening. While it is still unclear exactly what provoked Grover’s death, now is the time to make it clear that hate crimes such as gay-bashing will not be tolerated. The recent incidents against gay men and women in Nebras ka show this state is not immune to this form of violence. Gay rights groups in Omaha have said that gay-bashing is on the rise there, and many gay men and women are frightened by it All people have the right to go where they want without worrying about what other people will think about it, ot, more importantly, if they will be safe. The people who wish to take away this freedom through gay-bashing cannot be tolerated. Break it down Government needs rebirth, reinvention Responding to charges that the federal government is wasteful and inefficient, the Clinton administration is preparing a new plan to reinvent the way the government does business. The proposal, called the National Performance Review, has been formulated by Vice President A1 Gore and about 200 staff workers. It is designed to make the federal government work better for less money. The plan will be officially released Sept. 7 when Congress opens for its fall legislative session. The plan is expected to recommend the elimination of 149,000 federal government jobs and cuts from programs such as agricultural subsidies and regional field offices. It will also propose new ways to simplify government purchases. Purchasing and contracting rules are expected to change to give the government more flexibility in its spending. Federal agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administra tion also could be transferred to partial control by the private sector under the plan. The National Performance Review is a step in the right direction. If it delivers as promised, it will make the govern ment more efficient and bring some common sense to govern ment purchasing. But tne plan is not tne oniy answer, ana u can war* umy u u passes with all its proposals in place. Similar promises to reinvent government in the past have yielded only slogans. Real government efficiency must come every year when the Congress passes the federal budget. But streamlining the size of government and simplifying its purchases are positive steps that should be approved. i i>i i<>i<i >i i< n Staff editorial! represent the official policy of the Fall 1993 Daily Nebraskan. Policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. Editorials do not necessarily reflect the views of the university, its employees, the students or the NU Board ofRegents. Editorial columns represent the opinion of the author. The regenu publish the Daily Nebraskan. They esublish the UNL Publications Board to supervise the daily production of the paper. According to policy set by the regents, responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its students. _ I I I I I It l’< >1 l( \ The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor from all readers and interested others. Letters will be selected for publication on the basis of clarity, originality, timeliness and space available. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject all material submitted. Readers also are welcome to submit material as guest opinions. The editor decides whether material should run as a guest opinion. Letters and guest opinions sent to the newspaper become the property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Anonymous submissions wilt not be published. Letters should included the author’s name, year in school, major and group affiliation, if any. RoquesU to withhold names will not be granted. Submit material to the Daily Nebraskan. 34 Nebraska Union. 1400 R St., Lincoln, Neb. 68388-0448. Ft \i w I’m i ps Exodus of freaks alters commune he Sea Monkey bones washed out of what was once their little home and into the sink. little crowns and tridents clat tered down the drain, followed by tears. I suppose from there the poor buggers floated down to the Great Sea Monkey Collective, that niche some where in the world's sewer where Sea Monkey parts congregate and plot revenge against a cold, uncaring world. “One day ...” the sewers whisper. “One day soon...” mi Tliwlttea victim* of man * cru elty to Sea Monkeykind were killed in the great parade of Freaks through the commune Isle Broddick. Living in a commune, as I do, you see a lot of Freaks and Thralls, lapping up on the shore of humanity, ripping meat off the carcass of civilization like some pack of wild Hellbeasts, howling at Elvis as they spiral downward into the pit* _ Thus it was. They came and came, and some in the commune welcomed them. The Isle, where I have rested my old and weary bones these past years, has meant to most a place to be free, a place to smoke a cig, a place where men are men and no one minds if you gut that deer on the coffee table. “Hell, that deer don’t need no guts anyhow,” someone might have said, raising a beer stein to pagan gods. “And where’d we get this beer stein?" But for all its glorious debauchery, for all its disregard to the rules of society, the Isle is not immune to change. And this summer, as space time shifted slightly, several of the communemates were ripped from the fabric of the Isle, tossed asunder like sea scum on the tide. The first of these travelers disap peared just one step ahead of the Long Arm of the Law. Don’t be fooled: Local businesses become upset when you write several thousand dollars of As colorful characters filed out the Isle door, entering daylight for the first time In months, the rest of us began to pick up the pieces out of the commune wreckage. bad checks in one day. One moochmate found God tbiottafe Robitusain, ■ drinking dextromethorphan hydrobromide on his way to the Light and a Christian school. ' Another of the moochmates was sacked from his job of lying on our couch. We all agreed he was very good, even professional, at lying around. No one disputed that. Some times he could lie there all day with out even waking up. But unfortunate ly, with the economic times the way they are, we had to let him go. Even our f ctional roommates such as Jack Crow, who used to buy so many books and tapes from mail order clubs, moved to an abandoned house on 28th Street to avoid bill collectors. And with these departures, the Parade of Freaks dwindled. Occa sionally we’ll hear from some lost soul, but by and large they stay away. As colorful characters filed out the Isle door, entering daylight for the first time in months, the rest of us began to pick up the pieces out of the commune wreckage. I washed out the Sea Monkey tank, knocked over by a Thrall one day as the King and Queen Monkey were teaching the Prince how to play Sea Monkey baseball. “Run up on those grounders, Timmy — Hey! What’s going onnnnnnnnn...” Perhaps that moment was the be ginning of the end. The wild com mune of old began to consume itself, like a snake munching on its own tail* A freak inferno roee up, and M Monkey blood fed the hungry flamedi Out of the smoldering ruins came a new breed of communemate. He came with his dog and a pledge to one day fix the toilet. His name was Jason. Suddenly, the commune was re born. As a Phoenix scratches its way from the ashes, the Isle Broddick strug gled back into Life. Oh, the place itself is still the same. The little white house still sits there, Creeping Red Fescue grass calling like Sirens to passersby from the front lawn. But something has changed. Per haps we just grew up. Maybe we simply tired of Freaks. That Brown Recluse Spider Farm in the attic might have been a bad idea. Nowadays, the commune might even be considered tame. Maybe we’ll become a McGruff House or start up a Neighborhood Watch. Of course, it might just be a phase, a sort of catharsis. Maybe that McGruff dog will show up and find the orgy has begun again. We’ll rip off that silly trench coat of his and tell him to join in. And ol Liver-Eatin’ Johnson, nibblin’ on some supper, will wel come him with open arms. Pkelpa It a wilor tew >-editorial major, ■ Daily Nebraska* tealor reporter Bad a col uaalst. a The Daily Nebraskan wants to hear from you. If you want to voice your opinion about an article that appears in the newspaper, let us know. Just write a brief letter to the editor and sign it (don’t forget your student ID number) » and mail it to the Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 ‘R’ Street, ** Lincoln, NE 68588-0448, or stop by the office in the basement of the Nebraska Union and visit with us. We’re all ears.