OlNON
Monday, November 20, 1995 Page 4
Daily
Nebraskan
Editorial Board
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
J. Christopher Haiti.Editor, 472-1766
Rainbow Rowell.Managing Editor
Mark Baldridge.Opinion Page Editor
DeDra Janssen.Associate News Editor
Doug Koutna.Arts & Entertainment Editor
JeffZeleny.... .Senior Reporter
Matt Woody.Senior Reporter
James Mehsling.Cartoonist
Aaron Steckelberg/DN
Who blinked?
Both sides win in budget compromise
The flip of light switches that have been off for six days will be
heard today in federal buildings across the country.
Nearly 800,000 federal workers will return to work.
And while both Congress and the President breathe a collective
sigh of relief, the question is not who blinked?, but was this im
passe necessary?
Maybe so.
The U.S. government was paralyzed by gridlock for a week, but
the result was a victory for the long-term prognosis of the country.
“This is not a win for Republicans or Democrats, it is a win for
the American people,” said Senate Budget Committee Chairman
Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M.
Yet both sides are claiming victory.
But if each side has won, the people of this country may be get
ting the best of both worlds.
The Republicans have nailed down President Clinton to a a seven
year timetable for balancing the budget.
But Clinton is only committed to seven years if he can protect
his priorities of Medicare, Medicaid, education, environmental pro
grams and the earned income tax credit for the working poor.
Is this too good to be true?
Maybe so.
Only a preliminary budget has been signed. The real debate lies
ahead.
But the conditions under which this deal was cut portends well
for negotiations over the entire budget.
A balanced budget is desirable for the future fiscal health of the
country, but as it stood, the Republican plan was harsh and unfair.
But a balanced budget that protects Clinton’s priorities will po
tentially boost economic growth while keeping valuable govern
ment services intact.
Both Congressional Republicans and President Clinton have seen
their priorities upheld.
Such a scenario is good for everyone.
No one blinked.
Editorial policy
Staff editorials represent die official
policy of the Fall 1995 Daily Nebrasr
kan. Policy is set by the Daily Nebras
kan 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. Accord
ing to policy set by the regents, respon
sibility for the editorial content of the
newspaper lies solely in the handsof its
students.
Letter policy
The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the
editor from all readers and interested others. Letters
will be selected for publication on die 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 mate
rial 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 re
turned. Anonymous submissions will not be pub
lished. Letters should include the author’s name, year
in school, major and group affiliation, if any. Re
quests to withhold names will not be granted. Submit
material to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union,
1400 R St Lincoln, Neb. 685884)448.
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Sing a pore
The article, “Seow unveils
Singapore’s evils,” (Nov. 16)
regarding Francis Seow on
Singapore was a total dismayal to
me.
As a Singaporean, I would like to
clarify a couple of issues:
1. Many, many Singaporeans
love the former PM, Lee Kuan Yew.
He has been a blessing to this small
country of ours, and I feel so angry
with Francis Seow for citing Lee’s
style of government as “authoritar
tan.
Because of Lee, Singapore is still
a safe, clean, and fun place to live
and work.
Singapore is far from a “Stalinist
Russia.”
2. Singapore is an island para
dise.
Maybe, as according to Francis
Seow, “3,000 to 4,000 Singaporeans
emigrate from the country each
year.”
Did Francis Seow leave out the
countless thousands that would not
mind being a Singaporean?
The figure Seow gave could be
due to people who move for work- -
related reasons, or for something
else. Docs he truly know these few
thousands of people emigrate
because they cannot tolerate the
government?
Readers, be forewarned: Francis
Seow was not an appropriate
speaker for the Forum On The
World Issues lecture series.
Kirti S. Doshi
Sophomore
Business Mgt.
via e-mail
Thank You For
Pot Smoking!
In the article “Campus pot arrests
increase” (Nov. 8) is is stated that
13 teen-agers have been arrested
this semester for smoking marijuana
or for possession of marijuana or
i-;
drug paraphernalia.
In the seven most recent cases
police were contacted after the smell
of burning marijuana was noticed by
passers-by — not because the
residents were disturbing the peace
or presenting a threat to the other
residents.
I find it disturbing that the police
were notified because of something
someone was doing in the privacy of
their own room — something that
presented no danger to their
neighbors or anyone else.
Are the actions of the arrestees
such that they require police
intervention?
Consider that America’s favorite
legal drugs, alcohol and nicotine,
are solely responsible for thousands
of deaths every year, yet marijuana
has never been proven the sole
cause of a death due to usage.
Proof of brain damage and other
popular myths of marijuana use does
ff
Aaron Steckelberg/DN
not exist.
Whether one understands the
effects of marijuana use is not as
important as the principal that one
should have respect for another’s
personal freedom and privacy.
Matt Chmielewski
Junior
Mechanical Engineering
No rath
Regarding your Nov. 6 editorial
“Time to heal,” it contained strange
phraseology.
“Ruthlessness” in dealing with
enemies is not exactly innovative,
especially when the enemies’
avowed purpose is to utterly destroy
you—and especially when those
enemies have terrorized your
civilians for 47 years!
Israel has tried to “put down the
sword” since 1049, to little avail.
Norman Harris
San Diego
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