St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 14

B6 ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH EDITORIAL MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2001 ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH VJEVE PECIPED WHAT A FOUNDED BY JOSEPH PULITZER. DECEMBER 12, 1878 CONCEPT. EVERY PENNV WLL 60 TO THE LESS FORTUNATE 7 TAKC0T JOSEPH PULITZER II EDITOR PUBLISHER 1912-1955 MICHAEL E.

PULITZER CHAIRMAN CEO 1993-1998 CHAIRMAN 1999- JOSEPH PULITZER EDITOR PUBLISHER 1878 1911 JOSEPH PULITZER JR. EDITOR PUBLISHER 1955-1986 CHAIRMAN 1979-1993 FOR THE RICH TERRANCE C.Z. EGGER PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER MATTHEW G.KRANER GENERAL MANAGER ELLEN SOETEBER EDITOR 1 ARNIE ROBBINS MANAGING EDITOR CHRISTINE A BERTELSON EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR I know that my retirement will make no difference in its cardinal principles, that it will always fight for progress and reform, never tolerate injustice or corruption, always fight demagogues of all parties, never belong to any party, always oppose privileged classes and public plunderers, never lack sympathy with the poor, always remain devoted to the public welfare, never be satisfied with merely printing news, always be drastically independent, never be afraid to attack wrong, whether by predatory plutocracy or predatory poverty. POST DISPATCH PLATFORM 0 JOSEPH PULITZER APRIL 10, 1907 OWNED BY ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH LLC.

AN AFFILIATE OF PULITZER ROBERT C.WOODWORTH, PRESIDENT ANDCEO grimmy.com MIKE PETERS DAYTON DAILY NEWS AFGHANISTAN LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The role of women Mr. Powell expressed support for "a broad-based, representational government, which includes women." Many feminist leaders have pinned their hopes on U.S. and U.N. insistence that women be members of the new ruling government. But large-scale representation is highly unlikely.

The administration and all parties concerned with the plight of Afghan women will have to be patient and not make demands that are unrealistic or detract from other important measures. There will be at least one woman, a member of former King Zahir Shah's delegation, attending this week's meetings in Berlin to discuss a new Afghanistan government. But the Northern Alliance not known as a champion of women's rights says it considers the meetings symbolic. Insisting that women's voices be heard in planning the new government is an important first step. Their ultimate enfranchisement is a matter of national security theirs and ours.

As Ms. Hughes told The New York Times, "A society cannot be peaceful and harmonious if one-half of its members are imprisoned in their homes." There are immediate, basic needs of Afghan women like health care, education and employment that should be the highest priority for any new government. The United States must ensure that females of Afghanistan get an equal share of economic assistance to rebuild educational and health care infrastructures that have excluded them. This will go a long way toward giving Afghan women choices and chances to participate in their society. IT can only be for the better that the first ladies of the United States and Britain are calling for an end to the brutal degradation of women in Afghanistan.

Once the backbone of that nation's education system and 40 percent of its doctors, Afghan women were effectively removed from society and held prisoner in their homes when the Taliban came to power. Last week, the administration of George W. Bush invited feminist leaders to high-level meetings to discuss what the U.S. should do for women in post-Taliban Afghanistan. Such outreach can easily be seen as a safe and savvy public relations attempt to shore up support for the war worldwide and shrink the gender gap at home.

The administration will have to back up its promising, new concern with sustained efforts to help oppressed women even when there is no political payback. Its first steps are nonetheless encouraging. Eleanor Smeal, the former president of the National Organization for Women who now heads the Feminist Majority Foundation, was among those who attended meetings with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, Communications Director Karen Hughes and State Department Undersecretary of Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky. Secretary of State Colin Powell has sounded firm but reasonable positions. "The recovery of Afghanistan must entail the restoration of rights of Afghan women.

It will not be possible without them," he said. "The rights of women of Afghanistan will not be negotiable." In a State Department report, A perfect spot for satellite museum On Nov. 29, the building committee of the St. Louis Art Museum's board of commissioners will meet to consider our proposal for a feasibility study on use of the Old Post Office as a downtown art museum satellite and our offer to pay for that study. The committee's recommendation will be presented to the full board Dec.

10. We hope the board accepts our offer. We believe that the Art Museum has a rare opportunity an opportunity most museums would envy to make use of an architectural gem in the heart of the city. We believe that although there would be expenses in adapting the Old Post Office, the building itself could be donated by the federal government, free. We believe the St.

Louis cultural leadership will never find a more eloquent expression of confidence in the future of downtown and indeed the entire metropolitan area than this proposal. We believe the establishment of a satellite of a major art museum here will enjoy as much acclaim, attention and success as it has in Atlanta, Fort Worth, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York and London. Finally, we believe that conserving precious green space in Forest Park that might otherwise be used for museum expansion is something for which future St. Louisans will be grateful. Kay Drey Citizens for a Downtown Art Museum Satellite University City Early call aided Gore The Nov.

21 editorial, "Learning from Florida," was not well researched. Totally ignored in this editorial and in many news stories was the "early call syndrome." With the early call for Al Gore, it is estimated that Potter and powet Harmless and fun Harry'pot-ter? Unfortunately, no. Some, perhaps many, have heard of those stodgy Christians Complaining and warning abourJHar-ry Potter. If Americans wilhjnly think, they will see that there is good reason for concern. Harry Potter promotes a worldview opposite that ivhich functions as the foundation of American culture.

The yqjing hero is a sorcerer one whona-nipulates the powers of nature and spiritual forces for hisnBwn purposes. This kind of appeal to our natural desire for coahol and power is intoxicating indeed. The black arts that Hrry learns are devoid of an absjjjute and moral anchor, thus making their use prone to abuse, But this is not the underlying worldview of our culture.The source of the Judeo-Chrfslian philosophy of life actually warns against such fascination with sorcery and witchcraft. Why? Not because of some ancient, outdated, puritanical morality. No, because it feeds the natural bent of human nature for unlimited power.

Parents will do well to teach their children about the "stone" upon which Western civilization is founded, rather than the sorcerer's stone. Bruce Clark DeSoto Give them a break People who are on disability should be allowed the same courtesies that seniors enjoy, whether it be a cap on taxes or discounts at stores. We are also on fixed incomes and did not have the potential to build a nest egg due to our circumstances. D.M. Koeniti South County more than 10,000 votes were lost by George W.

Bush. Remember, western Florida is heavily Republican. There were many residents, who when they heard the call for Gore, didn't vote. Why not include that aspect in any and all stories, since, with over a plurality, Gore would not have challenged the results? Do your homework, and tell the whole story without prejudice. At least those whose ballots were double-punched got to vote.

The early call disenfranchised enough voters to make the outcome a moot point, with Bush the winner. Rev. Richard A. Laslo Virginia Beach, Va. Military tribunals President George W.

Bush takes the extraordinary step of authorizing military tribunals for suspected terrorist criminals, an act questioned by both liberals and conservatives. His public explanation for the order consists of saying it's "the absolute right thing to do" and "it's our national security interests that we have a military tribunal available." Does anyone else feel cheated by this pathetically inadequate justification for a significant abridgment of civil rights? I am still undecided on the issue whether tribunals are necessary for those apprehended in Afghanistan or, more broadly, for non-citizens arrested in the United States or whether such drastic action is needed at all. But I certainly require a deeper rationale for denying basic constitutional rights than the statement that "it's the right thing to do." And when the constitution is affected, all Americans have a right to a more detailed explanation than "national security." The president needs to disclose his reasoning and motivation. If he's not intellectually up to that, he shouldn't be president. N.Timothy Smith Webster Groves EAST ST.

LOUIS Out of balance THE EAST St. Louis City Council has achieved a kind of perverse greatness in its ongoing efforts to balance the city's budget without actually reducing spending or cutting services. The council's latest budget proposal is so bollixed up that the chairman of the state financial panel charged with overseeing the budget had to shake his head in amazement. "Revenues are overstated, and expenses are understated," W. Kenneth Gearhart, chairman of the beleaguered state Financial Advisory Authority, said last week.

The latest effort, he said, represented a "classic example" of how not to balance a budget. The problem, as we have noted before, is that every job in East St. Louis is a political job. Any budget cut affects someone's political constituency, thus reducing his or her power. But costs are up and population and tax receipts are down.

By law, the oversight panel has to sign off on the budget, meaning it must bear a reasonable resemblance to reality. Politicians in East St. Louis have trouble with reality. The budget for calendar year 2002 was due Nov. 1.

It was late and out of balance. The advisory panel kicked it back and extended the deadline, patiently explaining the many things that were wrong with it revenue that may not exist, unpaid deficits, unrealistic expense projections. The Council took all of that into consideration, massaged the figures again blew it. Part of the problem is that city officials insist on counting revenue from pie-eyed projections $100 million in development, 75 to 100 homes built or rehabbed each year. That would represent considerably more progress than the city made the last decade.

City officials would dearly love to have the state financial panel imposed 10 years ago as the price of a state financial bailout out of their hair. The panel's members, tired of dealing with budgetary foolishness and with no power to actually spend money, would like to go home. But that would leave the city's 31,000 residents utterly adrift. It's time for the state to stop fooling with people who won't get serious about their responsibilities. The financial panel should get more authority to help set budgets, not just advisory authority.

The business of East St. Louis needs competent business people, not incompetent politicians. Impact of cement plant is debated SCIENCE EDUCATION It is rocket science what our company has already done to understand the facts about potential impacts' to wildlife. We have been working with federal and state agencies, such as the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Missouri" Department of Conservation, to review these important issues.

These agencies ultimately have to decide whether the project will cause an impact. Interestingly, under the leadership of the Fish and Wildlife Service, the agencies recently concluded that a neighboring company of ours could expand its barge and fleeting facilities activities similar to what'1, we have proposed without'im-pacting the pallid sturgeon. The Post-Dispatch has correctly reported that this project will create hundreds of good paying jobs and will provide economic opportunity in this region. Still, environmental issues are critically important, and that is exactly why our company has invested so much time over the past couple of years to determine the facts. As you can see, we are commirpd to maintaining a balance between economic opportunities and environmental protection.

Mike Mullin Director of Government Affairs and Communication Holnamlnc. Chesterfield questing, i This 4,000 acre site of pristine habitat is an ecological treasure. The most fitting outcome would be to have the land set aside as a nature reserve. We urge the Corps of Engineers to deny the requested permits. Yvonne Homeyer Conservation Chairperson Webster Groves Nature Study Society Webster Groves The Nov.

16 article, "Cement plant could be threat to fish, expert says," was unbalanced and included inaccurate information. The story's headline inaccurately implied that an SIU professor had reached some conclusions about the effect of our proposed cement manufacturing facility on the pallid sturgeon. In fact, that professor indicated he could not make any determination about the plant's effects on the fish. He had not read studies already conducted about potential impacts to wildlife, and he was unfamiliar with the details of the project. Your readers should also know that this researcher last found fish in the area three years ago.

He also stated that the pallid sturgeon prefers a very specific habitat on the Illinois side of the river, and he acknowledged that our project would not affect that habitat. The story also failed to include How many endangered species does it take to stop Holnam? So far, three endangered species have been found on or near the 4,000 acres of pristine habitat just 45 miles south of St. Louis where Holnam Inc. proposes to build a cement plant. Holnam, part of a multinational corporation based in Switzerland, is planning its largest U.S.

cement plant on the site, including a harbor and limestone quarry. Remarkably, the property has never been developed. From the low-lying flood plain along the Mississippi River to the rugged wooded hollows and ravines, this site is home to many species of birds and other wildlife. Robert Sheehan, a fisheries professor at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, testified before the Clean Water Commission's hearing this month in Jefferson City that the pallid sturgeon, an endangered fish species, has been found in the Mississippi River at the Hol-man site. The pallid sturgeon revelation comes on top of this summer's discovery of two other endangered species, the Indiana bat and gray bat, on the property.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Missouri Department of Conservation have recommended that the Army Corps of Engineers deny the permits that Holnam is re A NATIONAL measurement of student achievement in science shows no significant change among students over the past four years in eighth grade except in Missouri. The 2000 National Assessment of Educational Progress singles out Missouri as the only state that showed significant score gains from 1996, when students first took the national exam, to 2000. Not only did Missouri's students advance at a rate greater than their peers in the national sampling, but they also scored well above the national average on the test they took last year.

Illinois students, who took the test for the first time in 2000, scored near the national norm. The news, however, is not all good. Twelfth-graders here, and nationally, performed poorly. Nearly half lacked basic knowledge of science for their grade level. That shows how much work remains to help high school students build on the knowledge they acquired in middle school.

President George W. Bush, who has declared education a priority, must make sure science gets the same attention he's giving to reading. An article in Science magazine earlier this month attacked the federal government for a "lack of scientific leader- ship" that has "produced serious mistakes: -(-the isolation" of the United States from meaningful participation in global climate policy and the misreporting of the number and character of available embryonic stem cell lines." As a nation we need more scientists. We need inventors, engineers, doctors and computer designers. We need botanists, veterinarians, chemists, astronomers and physicists.

We need experts to continue moving forward with stem cell research, plant science and genetics. We need more highly trained professionals to defend against bioterrorism, anthrax and chemical attacks. For Missouri's students, the results are encouraging. The extra emphasis schools are giving science appears to be working. State and local educators credit tougher academic standards introduced in 1994 and students getting more hands-on experience in science.

Earlier this month, the American Federation of Teachers praised the state for having clear and specific science standards at all grades. Partnerships between schools and businesses like Monsanto or institutions like the Missouri Botanical Garden work, too. They send science professionals into classrooms and help teachers bring science to life. Such proven successes must continue in Missouri and be encouraged elsewhere. In a world where the swiftly advancing frontiers of bi-.

ology are shaping public policy, ethics and even the odds of global survival, scientific literacy for all citizens is essential. Send us a letter for publication Mail: Letters to the Editor, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 900 N. Tucker St. Louis, MO 63101; Fax: (314) E-Mail: Letters must include name, address and daytime phone number for Addresses and phone numbers will not be published.

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