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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 1999)
EDITOR Josh Funk OPINION EDITOR Mark Baldridge EDITORIAL BOARD Lindsay Young Jessica Fargen Samuel McKewon Cliff Hicks Kimberly Sweet I Our - VIEW Party poopers Partisanship affects budget outcome Budget shenanigans continue on Capitol Hill. Twenty-one days into fiscal year 2000, President Clinton and a Republican Congress still haven’t come to a definitive answer on the budget. Clinton vows a veto of everything that comes across his desk. He’ll probably have to sign a stopgap extension tonight to keep the government running. Make no mistake, Clinton is making a power play here. And after last week’s knock down of die nuclear test-ban treaty, the first in U.S. Senate history, it’s not surprising he would do so; it was his baby. Clinton got burned once; he won t get burned again. Hence, these newly stalled budget talks are linked to the test-ban treaty, no matter how different the issues might be on the surface. Nine months ago, Republican leaders (including Trent Lott) started courting their own party for votes on the treaty. Nine months ago, Clinton was in the midst of an impeachment trial. The seeds were laid then. As the voting approached, it became clear that it would split down party lines, regardless of the ramifications to other nations. It had little to do with the treaty and more to do with partisanship - the Republicans breaking out against Clinton. Democrats tried to get the vote delayed so more time could be spent on debate. By a 55 45 vote, the delay was turned down. Hence, in a 48-51-1 vote last week, the treaty, which would have banned all nuclear weapon testing, including underground test ing, was shot down by Congress. An angry president retaliated with the veto, and here we are, stalled in traffic, again. The day the test-ban treaty was shot down was a dark day for partisanship, one of the darkest. It’s one thing to screw your own country, but it is entirely another when other nations are a part of the mix. Ihe United States is viewed, fairly or unfairly, as a world leader in foreign affairs. When it doesn’t ratify a treaty that has been easily ratified by some of the same people in the past, what message does that send? That, maybe, it might be OK for Pakistan to test nuclear weapons. India, too. Is that die real truth? Of course not. But not every nation understands the niceties of our two-party system — that this is more of a 'game than it is foreign policy. The United States needs to understand the responsibility it has to the rest of the world. Clinton can re-submit the treaty next year. For now he can only be stubborn about the budget. It’s a sorry state of affairs and one that reflects poorly on our country. The issue will come up again, and we encourage voters to express their interest in the test-ban treaty. Until then, we can at least wipe the egg from our faces. Editorial Policy Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Fall 1999 Daily Nebraskan. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, its employees, its student body or the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. A column is solely the opinion of its author. The Board of Regents serves as publisher of the Daily Nebraskan; policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. Tne UNL Publications Board, established by the regents, supervises the 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 student employees. 4 . v Letter Policy The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor and guest columns, but does not guarantee their publication. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject any material submitted. Submitted material becomes property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Anonymous submissions will not be published. Those who submit letters must identify themselves by name, year in school, major and/or group affiliation, if any. Submit material to: Daily Nebraskan, 20 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St. Lincoln, NE. 68588-0448. E-mail: letters@unlinfo.unl.edu. Obermeyer’s VIEW foaoWlMCr THE LEAD Of THE OFFICE bf SCHOLARSHIPS ANP FINANCIAL Alp, THE OFFICE OF RFEKTRAVoh AND _ Records ensures its 'jzk compliance._ / SO Uftve log ^ I cmPLSm>TH£ l IBSTS ON SySTlEm? < y%S, WITH F/WWS RBSOLTS! f\FT£K ThT' f Benumb- cfruem) leum, m ST ILL 8£ 88l£ To Lose OJ£fpjp£ £Ups PISR66-ARD cWU&e of flPDfEss Fopml AND m mi sema&K rnnsXX \ with fH5 sme i&bl of efficient 5 \ £>H~ flND TH£ (M&eniAL tNTc.D _ — PHONAL ComiHUUlCATIOM ■ SHIH-5 6£N£fAT0K !<■ / still epoKeij. y vetuJQfmvH DN LETTERS Royal pain I find it pretty sad that Angie Klein and Matt Meyer did not receive any acknowledgment for their crown ing as Homecoming queen and king. Matt and Angie are two outstand ing students. The time they give to their respective houses is immeasur able. They are constantly involved in community service or doing some thing for the betterment of the univer sity. I find it very upsetting that when our fraternity had 70 cases of beer confiscated it made front page, but two people receive one of the most prestigious awards decided by stu dents, and they are not recognized. Aaron Gilson senior finance Testifyin’ In response to Jeremy Patrick’s (DN Oct. 14) “Incident sparks con cern about children’s exposure to reli gion:” AMEN, BROTHER!!!! Todd Hill senior biological systems engineering Brother Patrick Jeremy Patrick’s assertion that “logic and reason mean nothing...to 95 percent of Christians” misses the point. For most people of faith, logic and reason are not irrelevant but sim I 3 ply not of primary importance: Our belief is rooted more deeply in expe rience than abstraction. And while I’m the first to admit that my faith certainly is “a crutch... (to) rely on when life gets difficult,” I trust this is a testament to my rela tionship with a caring creator, not simply a testament to my own weak character. Finally, I understand and encour age Mr. Patrick’s desire to present “the seeds of doubt” to his young nephews. Doing this may in time lead them to drop their simple beliefs and embrace atheism — or perhaps it will help them arrive at a deeper, more adult faith. Jon Ritz graduate student English Being a Christian Mr. Patrick, being a Christian is not about hating anyone. It is not about being afraid to question. It is not even about going to church or quoting Bible verses every day. Being a Christian is about recog nizing our own deficiency before God, asking for forgiveness from Jesus and living our lives in a way that would please him. God is the judge, not me. We all choose how we want to live, but not believing in God does not make him any less real. Mike Wittmaun junior communication studies Homosexual agenda Jessica Flanagain (DN Oct. 14) has once again proven that ignorance has a very loose tongue. I must confess, it gets rather tire some feeling the need to defend the so-called “homosexual agenda.” I resent the implication that soci etal acceptance of homosexuality will eventually lead to a societal acceptance of more deviant sexual preferences. I believe she made liberal men tion of pedophilia as an example. How dare you imply that pedophilia is a mere few steps beyond homosexuality? The day our society, as a whole, is * permissive towards sexual abuse, is the day our society no longer deserves to exist. But according to Miss Flanagain, we homosexuals are paving the way. I truly fail to see the connection. Roxane Gay graduate student English This train This letter is in rebuttal to the story in Friday’s DN (“Train path troubles students”). Wah! Give me a break. The trains have been traveling along these tracks for years; now because a bunch of whiny students don’t like to have to wait for them, BNSF is just suppose to re-route all trains away from cam pus. Please. If you don’t like waiting for the trains, use the lUth btreet bridge. Trains are re-routed around this area on football Saturdays because there are 70,000+ people attending the game. BNSF does this because it wants to, not because it has to. So quit your bitching and leave the house a few minutes early or take a different route. Jana Bartels senior business education Gun totin’ wackos Responsible journalism applies to photography as well as the written content of a newspaper. However, in Friday’s DN, Lane Hickenbottom seems to have lost his mind in the pursuit of a cool photograph. 1 can t believe today, that with the media constantly necessitating safe gun ownership, a photographer would be stupid enough to place him self at the business end of a rifle. Before you try to justify the photo by telling yourself that the gun was unloaded with the action open, real ize that it is not only your personal safety that is at risk but the safety of others who are influenced by your lax attitude toward a firearm. And shame on Nicole Allaire for allowing such a stupid idea to progress to fruition. It is the responsi bility of people who know better to protect the fools from themselves. Kyle Long senior psychology/economics