Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 116, No. 40, Ed. 1 Sunday, May 17, 1998 Page: 4 of 34
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Wttiam*
EDITO
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Wag
SUNDAY, MAY 17,1998
Letters to the editor
Weekly Special
Newt silent on GOP embarrassment
'A little bit of heaven'
T* *i
I ana
Mt*
wot as
By JACK ANDERSON
ud JAN MOLLER
* House Speaker Newt Gmgric
R-Ga.. is beck to his old ways.
M Mb ufoy Ooi laft me tm earth. Now I
■Mtokww haw to*yl draft yw too* IS In* a let of ««* for me
M to lvU hM. I drarit God raray
wife, Jane) crimes also became
mom sophisticated ooce the press
inquiries and criminal investiga-
tion be«an. Not only did this de-
lay defection of
which once premised ns a gov-
eremcnt that “works better and
costs less* - is now merely hop-
inf to smvive the scrutiny of a
federal audit scheduled to take
place in two years. That gives the
CUaiottiies Mt time to
straighten oat a set of ledgers
disorganised enough to make an
aatoharau.1
’eflfc were not
t mm “a bi-
as I am. Ids
So I
- to
Too had the Hook Republicans
refuse to focus on the crimes that
A new law calls for the Treas-
ary Departresat to present the
Oenatal Accounting Office with a
consolidated finamdal statement
One might guess that such ac- every year far audit and review.
The statement would cover every
to continue to conceal dm illegal
fund raising from the voters in
\
God far
We brings* Exhibit A ope lay
. a**
tions • documented in detail by
the Justice Depattment • would federal ftgSocy
spot the Republican Patty to cut The new law meant that this
__ its ties io Kim. But not in thd jpear, for the fifk time ever, GAO
Kim, a Crihsraia Republican Omgrich GOP. The speaker who’s auditor* were givens crack at —..------- -v-
‘ ‘ —" * L vowed-» amid.-;, fo# GUutou Ms Sam’l financial records, very rales that helped bring
• Mia in evar|tspaech Sfee’1 tot (not SraprttngTva- deficit back down.
______ this year has Rdpohdtil
m aVtinger of a more inclusive with a ddaftaing Silence.
headed for la feet, it look Rep. John
ssm&swi
assets that we, the taxpayers,
bought.
While certainly disturbing, the
results of the audit are not swpns-
ing. Top-level officials at the
GAO have been confiding to us
for yean that the government’s
financial management system is
haywire ~ and has been that way
for as long as anyone can remem-
ber.
SURPLUS POLITICS - Law-
reoce Kudlow, one of the eco-
nomic architects behind the Rea-
gan Revolution, is at it again.
Kudlow, whose policy prescrip-
tions helped plunge the country
imp an ere of unprecedented defi-
cits, is now raging Republicans in
Congress to do away with the
the
V mt*
of our young
ttoay*lt*s awe-
n baby to an eideriy person, .
I do! Whenever I go to Be proud of your community md
chrach or the doc- goodwrak.
of time with i
never been to
Iran herein this
person. I have
iwnwH may
Everyone I
Frankie Harper
but u long
time stayer, I hope!
Route 9 Box 1581
\i Livingston
GOP,.Kim ^ ^ . . . . ,
Mri « et*. K&S&lSft
trank monitoring bracelet around skoal Committee, to convince
his ankle. Kim k serving a two- Gingrich that the party shouldn’t
month sentence after pleading endec* Kim in his primary. Al-
gidity to accepting more than though the party normally en-
$250,000 in iltyal foreign and’ dorses incumbents when they face
corporate contributions to his a primary challenger, the petty is
campaigns. He is allowed to staying neutral in the race be*
travel only between his home in tween Kim and state Rep. Gary
Northern Virginia and his office Miller. ,
on Capitol HilL
It turns out Kim got off rather REINVENTING WHAT? - So
easy, J««tpng from the govern- much ft reinventing government
meat’s Feb. 6 sentencing memo- The Clinton administration -
the GAG re-
ports, “"significant financial sys-
tems weaknesses, prthfemi with
fhfhifflilkflii. in-
complete documentation*, and
weak internal control*, including
computer control*, prevent the
government from accurately re-
porting a large ponioo of k* as-
sets, liabilities, and costs. These
deficiencies affect' the reliability
of the consolidated financial
statement* and much of the un-
derlying financial information."
Translation: The federal gov-
ernment literally cannot account
for billions of dollais’ worth of
Speaking recently at a gather-
ing of top Republican donors,
Kndkw predicted that the federal
government will ran a budget sur-
plus of more than $1 trillion over
the next five years.
Kudlow would like to see that
money used for a series of large
tax cuts. But that would involve
tearing down the “pay as you go”
budget rale, which essentially
says that anything you take out of
the budget you must put back in.
So far, he has no firm commit-
ments from Capitol Hill. But this
issue is sure to heat up in the
coming months.
oming r
cwW
lfM, IWM tain IjrWkaU, be.
Quit hiding the truth
Tu the editor:
Truth nutters. It matters to the
American people, and it matters to
the well-being of ora country. It
appears the Democrats are trying to
hide it from os.
Congressmen Jim Throra; mem-
ber of the Hodfe Government md
iSLiS
Mr. Turner voted the liberal Demo-
crat line again and prevented the
truth from being told.
It is very disappointing for our
congressman, who professes to be
fair and bipartisan, to vote in a par-
tisan manner to cover-up and
Stonewall the attompt to get to the
truth about the penetration of the'
election by foreign powers, and the
Vets fall victim to 'old shell game'
By ROBERT W.
SPANOGLE
Remember the old shell game?
Three walnut shells, a pea, and at
open-faced child of God, better
khewn as, "the mark."
The coo map tunning fee.gwue
puts the pea under one shell, deftly
SSSKS?? TOi^srst =S£=3S' --
providing veterans health care for
tobacco-related illness would cost
Bern in mind that only 185
claims have been approved in five
years. Nonetheless, OMB esti-
mated $17 billion. That hardy
squares with the claims experience
from 7953 to 1998, but it did pres-
ent an opportunity to deny a serv-
»that they were previously
proved by the Clinton Justice Dt-
Did President Clinton, Vfe
President Gore and the Demob*
National Coimhittee sell but Amer-
ica to Communist China fat ex-
change for campaign contributions?
This committee requires a two-
third majority to grant immunity.
DetoocatPtoty.
Mr. Tumfe'will have the oppor-
tunity... to mole again for immu-
nity for thfoe witnesses. Hopefully,
fie will change his vote and the
committee can question them.
for * small wrov, g- tha fco-eamfetk* to retinas based on
mark to guere where tlifc pee is hid- nothing more than projected cost
den. The mark may win ooce er and case toed
Water concerns voiced
i
To the editor:
! hsre bean reading the conoens
for the people on the local was*
systems el I have alto looked a lit-
tle further into the problem than
tot*. Back in daft Dec. 12 tihtira
the Enterprise a legal notice wm
run by Temp* Water Supply Corp.,
notifying the public of concentra-
tions of radium and gross alpha
emissions, but also telling the peo-
ple to drink the water anyway aid
no consequence of cancer would
come to diem.
I began to qpiestion these dsec-
tives and begSh wid) calling Mr.
Johnson aS wto prescribed and h*
referred me to Mr. KhSbd, where 1
was given the number for the Texas
Natural Resource snd Csoservatian
Commission in Austin st 512*239-
twice, but in the end the bn min
always takes down the cash.
There «e times, and this is one
Of them, when the budget process
in Washington is a "shell game."
However, unlike a small bet, the
budget process has a serious impact
on veterans and their families. And
last week veterans fell victim to a
federal shell game.
When the President submitted his
of Tempe Water System’s wells in boA** to he proposed
the Bonds Road area.
Dorothy Steele
210 Red Oak
Livingston
IT! analogous to denying Service
connection for mustard ga* or
Agent Orange becauae . too many
people were injured--* classic case
of the fox patrolling the ben house.
We’ve seen this game before, fir
too many times.
Based on the OMB estimate,
some genius Suggested that the
government take this future sav-
ings-that doesn’t exist-and use it
to pay for the highway MU. And
they’re playing the old shell game
with you-making it look like the
pea’s under one shell, when it’s
really not there at ail.
This is not an issue about the
dangers of smokii*; oven the to-
bacco companies acknowledge the
medical risks of tobacco ufe.
This is an issue about a govern-
ment that eaceuragM and upportod
the use of tobacco by young men
and women Serving fat the mUftary-
many of them in their ttinS~md
die same government is now deny-
ing responsibility for its actions.
Simultaneously, while denying
service connection for veterans, our
government does support compen-
sation for civilians who were sub-
jected to a much less pervasive cul-
ture of tobacco use.
The President, the House, the
Senate-they all want a multi-
billion dollar settlement with re-
medied care, too?
That’s the issue. If the tobacco
companies are responsible, then the
government is also responsible.
Unfortunately, ^government is
beginning to sound like big to-
bacco: "We are not * fault, it was
your personal choice to smoke."
The fact is, both encouraged the use
of tobacco and both should have to
help those they hurt
The American Legion opposes
denying veterans service-connection
for tobacco-related illnesses. We
will be demanding that Congress
preserve this legitimate service-
connected benefit
Please contact your Senators and
members of Congress with the
same message. Urge them to pre-
serve health-care benefits and com-
pensation for those veterans who
trusted Uncle Sam when they were
young, and now need his help in
•; •
e
♦
I have now received inform.*^ health benefits for veterans afflicted
in the May 10 edition of the Enter- tobacaMdated illnesses and
prise that another legal notice was nicotine addiction,
run regarding the same disclaimer This service connection had been
for the Bonds itoad area well, at Allowed, since 1993, by a ruling of
was previously given back in D©. die General Counsel of the Deprat-
cember for the other well. ment of Veteran* Affairs, the per-
I also want to note that the exact who speaks for the admmisan-
statetnents disclosing responsibility *“0 on legal issues affecting ve«r-
of Tempe Water Supply were run in ml\ tntv% , .
both cases while maintaining the Smce 1993’ 7(261 clairas
feet that the TNRCC notified them bee*1 received; of those, 3,258 have
of irregularities and necessary ere- 1)66,1 denied, 4,003 arc still pending,
sumption of responsibility mder lnd °°ly 185 ckim* tave hern
the Federal State Drinking Water K^nted. It’s a difficult claim to
ASl What is going on? I was won- Prow, but the service connection is
deiing about past evidence of exten- te^. . „ , , , ,
sive numbers of oncer deaths back H^oncally, the federal govon-
in the 1940s and still have a cmv ment. represented by the Depert-
Commission in Aultin St 512*239- of the result of the study learina “rent of Defense, and before di* tbs
1000. I notod to all involved fey the responsibility on the meSan War D«IMrtmc,u. has been on* of
concerns for glnetiS oanSetytinoes age being 34 years old, which left ^ targei1 Pnrveyort of tokecco in
of consuming the water with such ‘ - *—
high levels. I questioned the dhec-
tive and got a call back from the
TNRCC and a chemist named
Yibin Shi. 1 tiked Mr. Shi if there
could be genetic consequences to
offspring of those who reportedly
would not suffer any personal rami-
fication. I also sited Mr. Shi if
Studies cduld be don* to supply til
possibility, and he told me th*
fundamental research already existed
to the fact that consumption of ra-
dium and gross alpha emissions
dees leave evidence of genetic pre-
dispositions to cancer rod similar
doncicncics.
I contacted Emergency Manage-
ment, County Judge John
Thompson’* office, as wen as our
local metis to attempt to educate
the public of the possible oonse-
quenoee of consumption of the wa-
ter. La* I knew, the media warned
me to Allow up the story rod let
it went, men-
eliminating service connection rod that’s what they did. Then the old Mcco companies to stop teenage »hc twili»ht of th«r
liAolfh fnr —*----* aMmoiuI tikfelt SSfM rootlu tirti HitUMetinu IffiflkitlP Bflfl flftwi/U liMfth . .. . .
shell game really got interesting.
For a while, it took a real pro to
figure out where the pea was hid-
den.
Senators Rockefeller (W. Ya) ail
Spare* (Pa.) admitted an aund-
ment to Settite Concurrent Resolu-
tion 86, the Senate budget resolu-
tion, to preserve the veterans bene-
fit for tobacco-related illness. It
passed 98-0. The American Legion
salutes Senators Rockefeller rod
Specter for their courage and hon-
esty.
Fora time, it looked like justice
had prevailed; a legitimate service-
connected health benefit had ban
preserved.
But not so fast The shells
shifted again.
With deft Slight of hand, the Scn-
________ ate accepted a substitute ansnd-
the majority of the'peopie‘in tte States- “*«. It restored $J0.5 billion (the
age of natural risk of developing Con^der the four-pack of dgw Congressional Budget Office's es-
cancer and depicting the population *?*** “sued ta Kand c rationA ** of the potential cost of tie*
.. . rrrr* $1 cartons in the PX and COmmis
smoking md provide health care.
Most of us agree. No more bill-
boards or Joe Camel.
But, what of foe teenagers who
Started smoking the cigarettes Uncle
Safe gave them in World War n,
Korea and Vietnam, and now need
mu* not fail those with whom we
saved.
Robert W. Spanogle ft na-
tional adjutant of the 2.9-
mUllen member American
Legion, the nation's largest
veterans organization.
I head nothing
»to see, however,
as old. I think it is more propa-
ganda and irresponsibility being
portrayed for our tax dollar as this
issue is swept under the rug for
Lord knows how much longer. Mr.
Shi from the TNRCC did tell me
that thefe high rates did not occur
overnight and reasonably have been
in existence for many years while
they rose to current levels.
In closing, I want to question
what is going on with our drinking
water? Why is disclaimer being
made in conjunction with available
evidence and directives? I also want
to question the feet of Lake Living-
ston originally being developed as
industrial water for Houston and
was never intended for human con-
sumption either, yet those original
directives were never intended to be
followed, even when DDT was toed
all ova the Trinity River Basin
beck when fanning was booming
and before the lake came in.
Robert Earl Trollinger
816 W. North St.
Livingston
saries, and the whole military cul-
ture of "Smoke 'em if you got
'em," and "the smoking limp is lit
throughout the ship."
Even * one of the bloodiest bat-
tles of history, the asirolt on fwo
Jima, the armed forces brought in
100 million cigarettes with the
material of war. Throughout his-
tory, tobacco has been distributed to
servicemen and women, courtesy of
their "Uncle Sam."
This point is important because
smoking was demonstrably an inte-
gral part of the military culture,
bolstered by sanctioned smoke
breaks, cheap tobacco and wide-
spread usage by even/one from one-
term teenagers to lifers. If "Joe
Camel" ads are responsible for ci-
vilian addiction, as the courts have
ruled, then foe military is equally
culpable, if not more So.
That brings us bade to foe old
shell game. Before the budget went
up to Congress, the administration
asked its budget gurus * OMB to
estimate what die future cost of
ing veterans’ tobacco-related ill-
nesses) to fob budget resolution,
eliminated the benefit for veterans,
and called for a study. It passed 52-
Study? Study what? The advene
relationship between tobacco rod
health is well known. It's printed
on the side of every jw-ir 0f ciga-
rettes. If we collected the studies
already written on the Subject, they
would fill the capital all the way to
the dome.
The substitute amendment gave
your Senators and mine the perfect
out. Now they can say they voted
to keep a veterans' benefit by sup-
porting the Rockefeller-Specter
Amendment But where's the pea?
Under which shell do we find the
goods?
If you watt to find out where
your Senators really stnd on this
issue, you have to ask them how
they voted on the substitute
amendment
If they voted for the Rockefeller-
Specter amendment rod also voted
for the substitute amendment
POLK COUNTY
ENTERPRISE
ALVIN HOLLEY, PUBLISHER
Telephone Number 327-4357
(USPS 437-340)
WBBSnti www.dto>»UOtnfecentf E-MAIL: Uv/n«detnetoam
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Total 77351 under the Act of Congress of March 3,1987.
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White, Barbara. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 116, No. 40, Ed. 1 Sunday, May 17, 1998, newspaper, May 17, 1998; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth791220/m1/4/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.