Opinion
Nebraskan
Tuesday, February 8,1994
Nebraskan
Editorial Board
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Jeremy Fitzpatrick.
Rainbow Rowell. ..
Adeana Left in...
Todd Cooper.
JejfZeleny. ..
Sarah Duey.Arts
Willian Lauer.
... Editor, 472-1766
. Opinion Page Editor
.Managing Editor
. ..Sports Editor
Associate News Editor
& Entertainment Editor
Senior Photographer
K 1)1 IOKI W
Penny-pinching
Clinton deserves a hand for budget cuts
Although $176.1 billion sounds like a lot of money, it’s
surprisingly low for a federal budget deficit.
President Clinton’s budget proposal, presented to Congress
Monday, boasts the smallest deficit since 1989. The president
himself predicted one year ago a budget deficit of more than $300
billion for 1995.
Much of the savings comes from cutting 115 small programs
and by refusing budget increases to others. However, Clinton also
proposed increased spending on dozens of programs like Head
Start and highway construction that will help America be stronger
in the future.
The plan would spend less on Medicare, making it more expen
sive for some of its elderly beneficiaries, and would decrease
Medicaid payments to states.
This must be handled very carefully. Cuts should not harm those
who cannot afford to pay more for Medicare. Cutting Medicaid
payments to states could force state budgets to buckle under the
pressure. This shuffling of responsibilities could just mean higher
state taxes.
Some of Clinton’s proposal, like raising tobacco taxes to reform
health care, may seem drastic. But drastic measures must be taken
to hold back the national debt.
Clinton will need to exercise extreme care to get his plan ap
proved by liberals who criticize his cuts of social programs and by
conservatives who say he hasn’t cut enough.
For his budget-trimming efforts, Clinton should be applauded.
When considering his proposal, Congress should leave most of
these cuts intact and find more wherever possible.
Right on target
Gun law step forward to ending violence
The Congress is considering legislation that would make
most crimes committed with a gun a federal offense. The
law should be passed and lawmakers should work for even
stricter ways of controlling the destruction caused by guns.
The Senate passed a version of the law in November that would
transfer cases where a gun was used to federal court. To be
prosecuted under the law, the gun used would have had to cross
state lines at any time — even when it was transported from the
manufacturer to gun stores.
The proposed law would strengthen the three-strikes-and-you’re
out crime legislation supported by President Clinton. The gun law
would widen the scope of crimes that could be counted as one of
the three strikes toward a life sentence.
The House must now pass the proposal for the law to move
forward. Although there is some concern about the number of cases
it would send to federal court, lawmakers should support the
legislation.
Violence in the United States is out of control, and the preva
lence of guns is one of the main reasons. Stronger gun laws
wouldn’t instantly solve the problem of violence in this country, but
it would be a step forward.
The passage of the Brady Bill last year shows that Americans
want lawmakers to act to stop the senseless gun violence in this
country. Congress should continue the momentum the Brady Bill
started and make most crimes committed with a firearm a violation
of federal law.
I m lout m l'<>i i< \
Staffeditorials represent the official policy of the Spring 1994 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 of Regents. Editorial columns represent
the opinion of the author. The regents publish the Daily Nebraskan. They establish 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 111 it I'm k s
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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
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Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., Lincoln, Nob. 68388-0448.
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Prospect of new baby scary
I’m late. I lie in the bathtub and
stare at my stomach as the water
drains. I study it from hipbone to
hipbone, thinking that I could lay a
book or a ruler from side to side across
the bones, and it would balance. I
think it is beautiful.
As I watch, a pulse beat begins to
steadily throb under my navel, mak
ing it move. The movement reminds
me of baby feet and baby shoulders,
the way my children moved under my
skin — at first as gently as butterfly
wings, then like ripples in a pond, and
finally as emphatically as a beating
drum.
I lie back, writing and watching
until all the water is gone, and my
body dries itself in the air.
My sons’ voices drift up from down
the stairs. They are fighting over toys,
bickering over imagined slights, ar
guing about having to share breathing
space. What would I do with one
more?
I’m late. I count off the months on
my fingers and stop after nine —
SeptemW. The beginning of a new
semester. Bad timing. Poor planning.
What planning? I never conceived of
this happening to me. Bad pun, not
funny. Nothing is funny, not now.
I think of my friend, Abby, back in
class, days after her son’s birth, sitting
on a pillow to protect her aching anat
omy. I wonder how it could be done;
how I could juggle breast-feeding and
biochemistry, (Jiapers and term pa
pers, four children and advanced re
porting?
I don’t want to have an abortion.
I don’t want to have a baby.
I want this all to go away.
I sit through my classes in a daze.
During the lecture, I focus all of my
attention on my abdomen. I feel a
twinge, an ache. I go to the bathroom
and check.
While I’m there I search my face
for possible shifts in my hormonal
balance. I see a pimple.
This is good. This is a sign.
By the end of the day, I am exhaust
ed. On the street, I notice every preg
I left a lot of dreams behind 12
years ago when I became
unexpectedly pregnant with my
first child. I wouldn’t trade
those years for anything, but I
don’t want to go back.
nant woman, every shrieking toddler.
In my mind, 1 see babies everywhere,
full of plump innocence.
There is a part of me that is prag
matic and rational; it mentally rear
ranges the children’s bedrooms. The
boys could get bunk beds. Converting
the fourth bedroom into my off ice will
wait. The money can stretch a little
further.
Later, in bed, I drift in and out of
sleep. Waking with my hair damp and
my body clammy as if I had just broken
a fever, I turn and curl toward my
husband’s warmth. H is sleep is undis
turbed. I curse the fact that I am the
only one worried about this.
Awake at 2 a.m., I think about
eggs. Last year in my daughter’s sci
ence class, they hatched chickens.
Every day my daughter and her class
mates watched the eggs, waiting for
the chicks to peck their way out.
The eggs had names: “Quitters”
were the eggs that didn’t make it;
“Yolkers” were unfertilized, the kind
we stir up into omelets. Finally there
were the “winners” who became yel
low balls of fuzz and won the hearts of
the class when they victoriously
emerged from their shells. I curse my
womb for being so fertile, for being a
“winner.”
I recount the days since my last
period, trying to remember the times
my husband and I had made love. Had
it been “safe”? Had we been careful?
I am 33 years old, not too old to
have a child. Perhaps even the perfect
age to start a family. An age at which
many of us have a sense of who we are
and what we need in our lives. I have
that now.
I’m beginning to know what I need
and want in relationships, in my ca-,
reer and in my spiritual life. I have a
network of support, friends, extended
family and a spouse.
I have all those things, and 1 also
already have children. I am not pre
pared physically, mentally or emo
tionally for another.
During these last few years I have
come to rel ish the order that has sprout
ed and is now blossoming in my life.
The welcome absence of midnight
feedings. The quiet of the house in the
morning after the children are off to
school. The renewed intimacy I have
with their father.
I have a vision of myself 10 years
from now, and it doesn’t include hav
ing a child in elementary school. In
stead it involves autonomous young
adults whose mother could join the
Peace Corps without having to worry
about chicken pox, spelling lists, soc
cer practice and dental appointments.
Being late makes me think about
that vision and what another baby
would mean for my future. I left a lot
of dreams behind 12 years ago when I
became unexpectedly pregnant with
my first child. 1 wouldn’t trade those
years for anything, but I don’t want to
go back.
I’m late. That’s my unchosen man
tra. I’m hoping for a new one.
Laage-Kabkk li a leaior a«w» editorial
ud sociology major a ad a Daily Nebnakao
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‘Double standard’
There has been a lot of talk this past
week about the danger of alcohol, its
availability and its place on campus. It
has been made abundantly clear that
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
has a very serious problem. There is
alcohol in the greek system and in the
possession of minors. It’s against
school policy and the law. And it’s
very dangerous.
Why then, after all this talk, does
the Daily Nebraskan still solicit the
sale of alcoholic beverages? I believe
this double standard takes away from
the credibility of your newspaper.
How can you preach about all the
dangers of alcohol, then turn around
and tell students where they can get
the most beer for their money?
Lincoln is a college-oriented com
munity. I’m sure there are more cred
ible businesses that will help fund the
Daily Nebraskan.
Patrick Ray Cole
sophomore
science
Whitewater
It came as a pleasant shock to me to
read your editorial “Foot the bill”
(DN, Feb. 1).
As a generally liberal newspaper, it
surprised me that you would have such
a conservative view regarding taxes and
people putting up or shutting up.
However, my pleasant surprise was
ruined when I read Chris Banks’ col
umn on Whitewater. He covered some
good points, but his comment “The
crime just isn’t that big and it was
several years ago’’ is totally inappro
Priate. His whole article was based on
resident Clinton not being guilty.
Now he says, moreor less, that Cl in ton
may be guilty, but we shouldn’t worry
about it—that we are hurtingClinton’s
chances to do well by not trusting him.
Everyone is innocent until proven
guilty, but if someone is guilty, we just
don’t ignore it, especially if it is the
president of the United States.
» Stephen E. Goodrich
professor
military science