The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, August 24, 1998, Page Page 2, Image 2
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BcGamt
Sert'iug the Carolina Community
EDITORIAL BOi
Jennifer Stanley, Edit
Kurt Johnson, Vieupc
Rob Gioelli, Assistant Vie
Kathleen McCormick, El
Strikes agaii
rorism shot
Almost immediately
after our
military's recent Our Military retal
missile attacks in against terrorist at
?? uan- i. Eud on U.S. Embassi
Afghanistan, the
media and the
public have ac- JIMM
cused the President
of ordering Despite doubts, I
these attacks to citizens and intei
distract us from need to beprotec
his current domestic
problems.
But these same
critics might try to remember that are r
these were in retaliation for ter- live i]
rorist attacks that were specifi- caus<
cally focused on the U.S. Govern- viewi
ment. American citizens were D
killed and American property was critic
destroyed. they
Many find it hard to believe, othei
but there are individuals and A
groups all over the world who don't we t(
like us very much. In some of these terec
people, that dislike has grown in- senc<
to outright hatred. Then there are shoe
men like Osama bin Laden, who in tt
is using his personal fortune to de- mac)
clare war on our country. Poin
In this post-Cold War society, cons
threats to national security are happ
not as clear cut as they were be- B
fore. The president used to have a powe
hot line to Moscow, so problems have
could be discussed before there cour
was an international incident. But targ<
with groups such as bin Laden's, Ame
there is no line of communication, nora
no established diplomatic policy, talis
To help combat a threat of this I
nature, normal diplomatic means viet
can't be used. Retaliation should but 1
be as swift and as decisive as pos- 1
sible. The point of these attacks in veloj
Afghanistan and Sudan was not can
simply the flexing of our military the e
muscle, but a psychological threat are s
to those who would infringe on the culti
personal safety of our citizens. tJ
According to the State De- the >
partment, there are more than 3 ests,
million U.S. citizens who reside izenf
abroad. This does not include gov- ways
ernment and military personnel play
and only counts people in major to tl
metropolitan areas. pick
Counting these people, that esce,
number creeps over four million, and
This is a significant number of peo f|fe
Bc6am0
~ "**Q Sen ing the Carolina Community s
The Gamecock is the student newspaper of The University of South
Friday during the fell and spnng semesters and five times dunrig the sumn
penoas. opinions expressea in me uamecoc* arc ujvsc m un cum.no u< ?u
The Board of Student Publications and Communications is the publisher i
is the newspaper's parent organization.
The Gamecock
Jennifer Stanley Editor in Chief Rob Undeey
Sara Laden helm Managing Editor Jessica Barfleld
Kurt Johnson Viewpoints Editor Jackie Poston
Josh Lonon News Editors Todd Money
Erin Reed Rosalind Harvey
Kristin Freestate Features Editor
Bryan Johnston Editorial Assistant Rob Gloelli Asst.Vit
Nathan Brown Sports Editors Brad Walters
Nlkkl Thorpe Photo Editors Kenley Young
Sean Raytord Ruth Nettles
Brian Rlsh Online Editor Denlsha Graham Assi
Student Media
Ellen Parsons Director of Erik Collins f
Student Media Jeff Stensland Grac
Lee Phlpps Advertising Manager
Sherry F. Holmetuiassinea Ad
Manager
Carolyn Griffin Business Manager
Jim Green Creative Director
iHHBil
I
" I
rod?
since 1908
\SD
or in Chief
lints Editor
wpoints Editor
iitorial Writer
ist tervs
guts
pie, who, although
they do not reside
iates within our borders,
tacks still deserve our proes
tection, especially
from radical terrorist
organizations.
thh Unlike most of
the world, terrorism
7.5. is not a threat we
rests live with every day.
ted Violence for religious
or political beliefs is
relatively rare in our
country. But there
nillions in other places that
n fear of random violence bei
of their religion or political
3.
emocrats and Republicans
ize each other constantly, but
don't fire bombs at each
*'s houses.
s Southerners and Americans,
jnd to live a somewhat shel1
existence. There isn't an ab2
of trash cans on the Horse
for fear of bombs being put
tern, and officers with subline
guns don't patrol Five
ts. In many places, these are
tant reminders to what has
iened and what could happen,
ut as the most prosperous and
irful country in the world, we
i to accept the fact that our
ltry and its citizens are a
3t for many different groups,
rica represents arrogance, ignce
and the horrors of capim
to millions worldwide,
ionald Reagan called the SoUnion
the "Evil Empire,"
;o many, we are that empire,
rhis is especially true in deling
countries where Amerimoney
is helping to boost
conomy, but American values
seen as corrupting the local
ire.
iut no matter our stature on
vorld stage, American interand
especially American cit3,
must be protected. In many
3, terrorists are just like the
ground bully. If you stand up
iem, they think twice about
ing on you again. But acquiand
they will attack you again
again.
[OCR maa
Dice I'MJH AiHaMiMAiMajliilp
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ier with the exception of university holidays and exam
ithor and not those of The University of South Carolina,
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HjsTr
u flWTP-Li
Mormoi
In a time when the president i
ting more action than Ron
my, U.S. Embassies are being 1
up 1
-' than
,C| the"
f St OIK
KURT JOHNSON of u?
columnist strug
on ol
more
tiple" issues.
Polygamy.
Yes, polygamy. The act of h
one or more wives and/or husb
It is a major problem throuj
this great country of ours, but n
in that great salty state of Utah,
is the onlv state where polygamy
ally considered a problem.
Well, it recessed for a while
people forgot there was a state
Utah. Everybody thought ther
just a Great Salt Lake in its pla
But then, all of a sudden the
Jazz were playing the Bulls in th<
Today's 1
WILLIAM FOLKS
columnist
When the Bill of Right
enacted in 1791, the fr
of our Constitution pr<
thought they'd succeeded in <
lishing a viable counterbalance
flaws of the government.
The free press was to be a
vigilant mechanism for our sociel
fense and self-correction, and wa
ly guaranteed as such in the
Amendment. It was to be our i
ment.
"The press was to serve th
erned, not the governors,"
Supreme Court Justice Black ir
" The government's power to cen
press was abolished so that th<
rnmoin fnrQUflr iroo fn PPn
YVUUiU l&lllUUi 1U1VV Vi. UVV vu vvu
government."
Today, members of the mass
still bear this objective respons
not to the president, or to the mt
of Congress, but to you and I, an
Americans.
Yet, never before in the 22
history of this nation has the ]
Estate, composed of all journ
strayed so far from this ideal. Ne
fore have the self-serving agei
Presidents, politicians, lawyers;
businessmen so recklessly int<
with the functioning of a fair a
press.
XTPOINI
fj Of
OT if yc
ns take fun
s get- Championship Finals, and we realized
J ere- that, "hey, there's a place called Utah!"
blown That's when this problem of
nore polygamy was revived. The problem
the can be traced back some hundred years
dent, ago, when a guy named Joseph Smith
year decided he wanted to start a new relibug
gion that involved chickens and ear
send wax.
r o r 1 d However, this was not considered
lother "kosher" in the organized states at
J Age the time, so he traveled west and foundi
a r 1 y ed Utah and the Mormon religion.
n z e Here's an interesting tidbit: there
some were not cars at the time, so he rode a
1 a r e bicycle out to this new land. That's why
gling some Mormons today ride bikes now
t h e r, instead of drive cars?they are paying
"mul- homage to that long, dirty bike ride to
the "promise land."
Anyway, he found out there were
aving no chickens in this new land and he
ands. didn't have enough ear wax to fulfill his
ghout master plan, so for whatever reason,
he concocted the idea of polygamy,
which j mean> really, why on Earth would
r 1S re" you want more than one spouse? Yes,
I can see the whole male "menage-atrois"
fantasies come into focus, but after
the amazing sexual things you could
6 was do to each other, some which you
Cx j. , thought to be mere theory, what's the
5 NBA use^ ^er ^at' ^'s no
The reason newly-recognized Utah
has had a resurgence in this problem
nedia losing;
3 The American mind, once genuinely
respected and honestly approached,
is now utterly and irreverently dismissed
as being incompetent. From
,s w a s trustworthy, well-informed citizens, we
amers have swiftly and shamefully been re ^KoKlxr
? i . i i , . i i _
duced to hapless targets, voluntary vicestab
tims of fraudulent claims and blatant
to the misrepresentations perpetrated by our
"media culture."
living, Far from serving its Constitutiontys
de- duty as our watchdog, the mass mes
wise- dia of today seems more focused on fighti
First iug for the intruders table scraps,
nstru- Sound fatalistic? Consider the following
excerpt from John F. Kennedy
gov- Jr.'s May 1998 George editorial:
wrote "The proliferation of media means
11971. that power has shifted away from electsor
the ed representatives to unelected comi
press mentators," Kennedy writes, "yet regsor
the ular folks have no option to address that
change other than just tuning out."
media Tuning out?
ibility; The "unelected commentators"
jmbers would never allow for that sort of ind
to all dividualistic defiance. Alternatively,
they offer "Popgate 1998," a made-for2-year
television sex scandal starring our PresFourth
ident, Bill Clinton, and a 21-year-old
alists, White House intern named Monica
sver be- Lewinsky.
idas of For almost eight months now, the
Vurr Tim Pnccorf'c F.loannr .Tnhn
A1IU Wig X 1111 liUOOWVU, UJVUUUi vy AAA v u j ? v?.??
irfered McLaughlin's, and Pat Buchanan's of
nd free the world have hijacked our airwaves
with some of the shoddiest, most rep
I ZH 3 j j | | t] k I I.iikI \^,yon
H plv?K* numlxi
c
' si
e...
" Hi" ~ V -'
Sli^hg
out of pc
"I mean, really, whi
want more than om
see the whole male
tasies come into foe
amazing sexual thir
what's the use?.Afte
is they have made a few laws saying
you can't have more than one spouse
you can't involve family members in the
concept of incest, and you can't use chickens
in ear wax rituals.
So one might think this would kil
the whole Mormon religion, but a fev
feisty Mormons said, "Hell no!" The)
were going to be rebels and have 1?
wives and make their 15-year-old daughter
marry her uncle.
But you know, I think the state was
doing these guys a favor. I mean, I've
heard people complain and complair
about having one spouse. But having
two?
Husband: "Honeys, I'm home!"
Wife 1: "Darling, my bike brok<
down today, and I'm pregnant with ou:
seventh child."
Wife 2: "Darling, I accidentally
on-purpose spent $750 on shoes today
oh, and I'm pregnant with our fiftl
child."
sight of ori
"Far from serving i
as our watchdog, tl
today seems more
for the intruders ta
rehensibly self-indulgent "reporting
the world has ever seen.
With each of the four major nei
works supporting their exploits, thes
"journalists" have wielded absolute on
niscience over a situation they kno1
nothing about. They have turned whs
was essentially a legitimate investigt
tion into a failed Arkansas land de?
into the biggest, most disgustin
spectacle of the decade. Insight has bee
replaced by speculation and we ha\
breatnea in every secona 01 tne a<
bauchery.
The Fourth Estate is our only r<
maining agent to combat governmei
infidelity, and we as citizens must tal
real responsibility for it's failings an
real action to bring it back into fine.
The one freedom the press is not gua
anteed by the First Amendment
the freedom to forsake the public
serves, that is, if we allow it to do s
President Clinton, if he indeed brol
the law, should be impeached. Log
cally, it's quite simple. He lied ar
iec< x'k will iry to print all letters received, letters six hi Id lx* 2^) VX) won
Liters must lx* personally delivered by the author to lite tiamecock iJl w
Hie (ijmecock reserves tlx* right to edit all letter lor style. possible lilx
"Post-tenure review means
that a tenured professor is
no longer guaranteed
a job for life."
ason Snyder, Media Relations
'.\\\-^^^l^^S^L^^!9^nrAft- Vyyf
a^rrr.y.v.v.-.. .vrjjj^^KM
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1 " ' | * ' * - ? < ?
. '.'.r/.'rtV.'.'.'.'.'.'.vr^.v.v .v.v.y.'.v.y.v.'.v.v.
'
g|yfA?fM^
llr J
college press EXCHANGE
ilygamy
f on Earth would you
e spouse? Yes, I can
'menage-a-trois' fan:us,
but after the
igs you could do...,
r that, it's no fun."
[ Wife 3: "Darling, I got fired from my
, job, caught the bathroom on fire, acci!
dentally threw your golf clubs in the
trash can, drank the rest of your beer,
and got pregnant by your boss, which
' will be our third kid."
Husband (crumbles to the floor and
[ starts helliously crying): "Calgone, take
1 me away!"
See, the real problem with polygamy
is that those who involve themselves
' in it, will go insane. Also, they take
up available women that other single,
T non-polygamical guys might have a shot
at.
I don't want some guy having 20
i wives when I'm struggling just to get
r one. Yo, I'm into religious freedom and
all that jazz, but when it interferes with
- my love life, then something has got to
, be done. I mean, come on man, everyi
body's got to have a fair chance. I'm really
a nice guy, really.
1 J t
^ /-* I -4 aH I n
gmai lucais
ts Constitutional duty
le mass media of
focused on fighting
ible scraps."
f should be punished, and it shouldn't
make one iota of difference whether 70
or even 100 percent of us think he's "doie
ing a good job".
The sins of President Clinton are
^ merely a media playground, and the
t more sinister and substantial evils lie
j in how we have followed the whole
a process, or, rather, how we have been
n led.
e Maybe one day in our near future
i- a new press corps will emerge, one comprised
of ethical, moral, and responsible
journalists who will reclaim the profession's
lost respectability. Maybe then
:e the American people can reinvest their
^ trust in the Fourth Estate as a respectable
profession, not as the bitterlg
ly vindictive industry it has become,
jj. Until that day, the concept of an ac
0 countable mass media serving me /\merce
ican citizenry with fairness and integrity
^i- is dead.
id It is up to each of us to revive it.
lis and must include lull name, professional title or year and major if a student,
srixim in Russell Mouse room l^fnail letters must include tlx* autlww's
I or space limitations Names will not lx* withlx'kl for any circumstance