St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 16

6B ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 1995 THE POST-DISPATCH PLATFORM 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 I'KINIIM, NEWS, ALWAYS BE DRASTICALLY INDEPENDENT, NEVER BE AFRAID TO ATTACK WRONG, WHETHER BY PREDATORY PLUTOCRACY OR PREDATORY POVERTY.

Founded by JOSEPH PULITZER December 12, 1878 JOSEPH PULITZER. EDITOR AND PUBLISHER 1878-1911 JOSEPH PULITZER, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER 1912-1955 JOSEPH PULITZER EDITOR AND PUBLISHER 1955-1986, CHAIRMAN 1979-1993 MICHAEL E. PULITZER, CHAIRMAN AND PRESIDENT NICHOLAS G. PENNIMAN IV, PUBLISHER WILLIAM F. WOO, EDITOR FOSTER DAVIS, MANAGING EDITOR EDWARD A.

HIGGINS, EDITOR OF THE EDITORIAL PAGE April 10, 1907 JOSEPH TUTOR 901) North Tucker Boulevard 63101 (314) 340-8000 rPft. hi $. mm. EDITOR! ALS SEN. TACKWOOD HEARINGS Closed to the Public When Mickey Met Roseanne I i I rill iTTII TOW? 'Don't Peek, Folks' LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE One day after the Walt Disney Co.

stunned the entertainment world with its purchase of Capital Cities-ABC the strongest TV network, Wes-tinghouse said it was buying CBS, the weakest of the big three networks. These deals, valued at $25 billion between them, aren't the first entertainment mergers, but their trend raises a question: Does the formation of such media giants threaten the diversity of news and entertainment? The answer is no. True, Disney-Cap Cities will be the largest purveyor of entertainment programming. Disney studios is also already a major supplier of programming, not only to the networks, but to its own cable operation, the Disney Channel. It also owns theme parks, stores, and publishes books and magazines.

But despite its financial and creative power, it has limited control over the means of distributing its products. Now it will have ABC to air its programming, but it won't be an exclusive franchise. Cap Cities-ABC is a powerful outlet for distributing programming from a variety of sources with 225 affiliated stations, eight it owns outright and controlling interests in ESPN, Lifetime and It also owns newspapers including the Kansas City Star and the Belleville News-Democrat. So ABC will be a formidable competitor, even in the newly turbulent atmosphere that saw two major networks bought in two days. Both NBC and CBS have cable interests, though fewer than ABC's; also, their parent companies NBC's is General Elec tric aren't as rich as Disney.

Popular TV shows make so much more money than less popular shows that the race goes to the favorite product, not to the friendliest or lowest-cost supplier. So while ABC may finance some of its purchases more easily than its rivals can because it has more money behind it, they won't be Disney programs unless those are the best available. Entertainment companies have long been growing. In recent years, Viacom, a major cable company, bought Paramount Motion Picture Group; Time-Warner Inc. owns Warner Bros.

Television, Time-Warner Cable and Home Box Office; and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. owns the Fox Broadcasting Co. All three are trying to build broadcasting networks, too. The Disney-ABC combine is just more of the same, though it will likely stimulate more mergers and larger companies. Still, they exist in a world where the ways of delivering programs are growing quickly.

Even the phone companies may soon gain permission to offer a TV signal, while direct satellite broadcasting is expanding, too. Giant companies are not a problem as long as their news divisions remain independent. Even newspapers are not threatened by mergers though combinations are occurring there, too Gannett Corp. just bought Multimedia Broadcasting. As long as competition exists, synergy is benign, and competition will remain for one simple reason people buy content, not brand loyalty.

Fewer Guns, Feiver Shootings stitution and expect our elected officials to promote this attitude. Weber wrote that simplistic answers are seldom reliable; I agree. The problems of pur country are monumental; our solutions will be hard to accomplish, not impossible. The Christian Coalition is voice of the voting religious and has begun to unite us as a voting block. We are family oriented, but we are involved in as many issues as Congress introduces.

We are proud of our past, we learn from our mistakes and look to a God-grounded government. Linda Metcalf Lake Saint Louis Great Educator When our daughter was at John Burroughs High School, she often told us about her English teacher, Ben Wells, whose classes were "fantastic." I was the director of the Religious School at Temple Israel when it was at Kingshighway and Washington. I was looking for an educator to help teachers of adolescents make their presentation interesting. We had done this with our primary grades with great success with people trained in child development. With no special briefing, Ben took charge of a faculty meeting and showed teachers how to take lesson material and make it interesting to boys and girls of adolescence age.

The faculty were surprised and amazed to hear him do this. He also worked individually with some with great success. Ruth Isserman dividual liberty and individual responsibility. Barry Goldwater, in 1960 in "Conscience of a Conservative," wrote that the purpose of the conservative movement is to maximize the freedom of the individual. The corollary of maximizing freedom is to minimize the power of the state to determine how people will live their lives.

Conservatives do not want to preserve the existing order or any imaginary past order. Conservatives want to move forward into the future where the goal of gov-' ernment is to support that society that naturally evolves from the voluntary interaction of free men and women. In other words, our economy should be determined by the free market of commerce and our culture by the free exchange of ideas. Conservatives believe that human destiny is that which results from human action based on freedom of the individual with responsibility for self and respect for others. Many people, such as President George Bush and his supporters, may think of themselves as conservatives, but they are really not.

Sen. Bob Dole faces the test as to whether he is a conservative. Unless Dole is perceived as believing that people are competent to make their own decisions on matters affecting their lives, there will be much difficulty in Republicans agreeing on a presidential candidate in 1996. Leo E. Eickhoff Jr.

Des Peres In his July 24 letter, Guy McPherson asks when conserva Fighting Tobacco Will Take Courage After two years of hearings, the Food and Drug Administration concluded for the first time that nicotine is a drug that should be regulated. When FDA Commissioner David Kessler supported this finding, he put his job and political future on the line. The agency has proposed limited, initial steps for regulating to- bacco products and has thrown the issue to President Bill Clinton by submitting modest restraints on smoking that include new limits on tobacco advertising and measures to curtail young people's access to tobacco. It's about time people stand up to the tobacco industry and its powerful lobby. An election year is coming up.

Now is the time for all Americans to pressure their members of Congress to do something about regulating tobacco and curtailing the addiction of our youth. If the president does nothing with this recommendation, he is sentencing our youth to addiction to a potentially lethal drug. We can't let that happen. Tobacco kills. My father died after 10 surgeries and seven years of suffering from esophageal cancer, which was directly related to tobacco use.

It's time we stop watching our friends and loved ones die. We need to be a vocal America. The time is right. Kessler has opened the door to reform. Patricia A.

Nuoffer St. Louis Gephardt's Folly Dick Gephardt, the ever-entrenched politician, is at it again. This time it's Medicare reform. The veteran representative is singing the praises of a program destined for bankruptcy in seven years. Despite the startling statistics, Gephardt and the liberals continue to play politics with this critical issue of national concern.

Americans agree Medicare is necessary for our elderly and disabled. Although no reform is forthcoming from the Democrats, Gephardt and his cohorts persist in criticizing GOP efforts to keep the program solvent beyond 2002. Perhaps he is just too busy traveling all over the country collecting PAC dollars, making speeches and attending ceremonies. Gephardt came in with Jimmy As the Second Amendment crowd loads up for another misguided attempt to allow Missourians to carry concealed weapons, here are a couple of facts it should add to its arsenal. First, authorities in New York City report that handgun murders there are down by more than 40 percent in the first half of this year; second, they think the reason is that gang members are carrying fewer guns.

While no one can be sure of this cause-and-effect relationship, trying to achieve the exact opposite of what New York has done putting more guns on the street does not seem like the brightest of ideas. The crime statistics in New York have been as surprising as they are welcome. Through July 16, police reported 1,714 shooting incidents, 733 fewer than in the corresponding period of 1994. Total arrests are up 27 percent, but gun-related arrests are down 17 percent. Just two years ago, police say, one out of every 438 people arrested for not paying their fare on the subway was found to be carrying a loaded gun; this year, that figure is down to one out of every 1,034.

A variety of factors have been reported as contributing to the change. The New York Titties quotes crime experts as saying that a strict crackdown on young gang members carrying guns is a big part of the improvement. Some of the policed actions have been criticized as taking too lightly the civil liberties of people who have shown no reason to be under suspicion, such as frisking people who are playing their radio too loudly or drinking beer in public. While such tactics may go too far, police say not so many people are carrying guns as a result. If fewer guns are leading to fewer shootings, as common sense would cause everyone to suspect, why do some people feel that allowing more guns is the best way to fight crime? Despite protests from police chiefs and others, the National Rifle Association, the Second Amendment Coalition and others persist in trying to persuade the Missouri Legislature to legalize concealed weapons.

With next year being an election year, the pressure is sure to continue. The latest figures from New York City should be a potent weapon for opponents. Finally, Good Gift Rules For The Senate St. Louis Active Elderly It has been a delight to read recent stories by Theresa Tighe, which feature the spirit and achievements of octagenarians and nonagenarians. Reading about Viktor De Jeney's latest artistry as a violin maker and Pauline Sanders' pursuit of cycling is a joy, for they embody the very goal of OASIS: continued personal growth and service to the community as we age productively.

De Jeney and Sanders, who is a member of the OASIS speakers bureau, demonstrate that one's development and contributions to society do not end when grandchildren are grown and paychecks turn into Social Security or pension payments. Seven hundred OASIS members will return to the region's elementary schools in September, giving more than 1,000 children the extra boost to build self-esteem and learning readiness through the OASIS In-tergenerational Tutoring program. Throughout the year, OASIS The Senate has finally passed tough limits on gifts senators may accept. While the ban had long been pressed by Democrat Carl Levin of Michigan and Republican William Cohen of Maine, it was Arizona Republican John McCain who delivered enough freshman Republicans to pass the measure. He also best expressed the new rule's rationale, saying that it shows that senators will live like their constituents do.

One of the most serious complaints against Congress is that it appears to live far above the level of average Americans and they resent it. The gift ban should help cure that problem. As of Jan. 1, senators may no longer accept any privately paid travel, or gifts or meals of more than $50, or more than $100 in the form of gifts or meals from any one person in any one year and the $50 limit on gifts and meals will count toward that limit. The only exceptions are gifts from relatives or close friends, and the friends may not be lobbyists.

This rule is a great improvement on the current gift limits of no more than $250 from any one source per year, which don't count gifts of $100 toward the limit, as well as unlimited free travel to charity-related sports events. Surprisingly, the bill wasn't easy to pass, though the final tally was 98-0. Two amendments were offered to weaken the ban. One would have permitted senators and their staffs to take unlimited gifts as long as none amounted to more than $50, and the other would have allowed paid travel to charity events. Missouri's Sen.

John Ashcroft voted for both amendments, despite his strongly expressed commitment to cleaning up government and cutting down on extravagance. So did Sen. Christopher Bond, who thought paid charity travel represented no conflict of interest and that the public didn't care about it. But in the end, both senators voted for the tough ban, as did Illinois Sens. Paul Simon and Carol Moseley-Braun.

The Senate's action is a resolution that does not need action by either the House or the president. It also is not binding on the House, where GOP leaders express scant interest in such tough rules. But maybe the overwhelming Senate vote will make them think again. It would be nice, of course, if both chambers also thought about campaign finance reform, too a much bigger problem. tives will learn they cannot change the past, the truth and they can't stop the future from happening.

What is your future1, Mr. McPherson? When "liberals" have increased the tax rate to 90 percent? When liberals have confiscated all the privately held firearms? When liberals have eliminated the rights of Christians to practice their religion? As is the current liberal tendency, McPherson distorts history by blaming every problem on conservatism. It was a socialistic tax increase coupled with liberal (loose) financing schemes that caused the Great Depression. Vietnam is a complex problem that was initiated by a Democratic president and escalated by two others. Most conservatives consider Richard Nixon to be a moderate at best.

I consider him a liberal. The Emancipation Proclamation was the work of a Republican (conservative) president. Liberals today are disguised to-talitarians (neo-communists), who want to destroy religion and replace it with statism. They do not believe in freedom, except for those of the same stripe. On the other hand, whose dictionary defines conservatism as stagnation? Not Webster's! Or is this just a veiled attempt at distorting the truth and a weak try to change history? For a truer definition: a political philosophy based on tradition and social stability, stressing established institutions and ring gradual development to abrupt change; moderate, cautious, discreet person.

That's not -so bad after all. Greg Murphy Pacific; We want to know what our readers think. Mail your opinions to Letters From The People, St Louis Post-Dispatch, 900 North Tucker St Louis, Mo. 63101, contact us by e-mail at letters pd. stlnetcom, or fax your opinions to (314) 340-31 39.

Please keep letters short and to the point; they may be edited for length or clarity. Letters must include name, address and daytime phone number for verification. Because we receive so much mail, we cannot acknowledge or return A Not A Cheap Shot After All Carter and should be removed with Bill Clinton. Let's return government back to the people. Debbie Wheelehan Mehlville Tangled Heritage I am writing in response to Gloria Weber's July 13 Commentary article, "Our Nation's Tangled Religious Roots." I am not a female Lutheran minister, nor am I a defeated one-term state representative.

But I am a member of the core group that brought the Christian Coalition to the Missouri-St. Charles County Chapter. Weber's commentary, although written as though it is a historical account of our religious heritage, is in fact a distortion of the great legacy of our forefathers. Our country was first settled by Europeans fleeing their homes due to the religious persecution. We members pursue new adventures and topics that time had never previously permitted them to study.

From architecture and watercol-ors to economics and the re-emerging Russia, OASIS enables individuals over 55 to stay on a course of connectedness to community and a high quality of life. Thanks for showing that age is not something to fear but rather to embrace when one is disciplined about taking the risk to grow. Marsha K. Clark Director OASIS St. Louis Conservative Ideas "Conservatism" and "conservative" are terms that are misunderstood.

Guy McPherson, in his July 24 letter, resorts to a dictionary definition of "having a disposition to preserve the existing order and to resist or oppose change." Such a definition may have application in England or Latin America, but it has no relevance to the conservative movement in the United States for the past 40 years. Conservatives believe in in The Clinton administration's program to distribute free vaccines to millions of children has turned out to be a classic example of why the public has become weary of costly federal initiatives to solve social problems. Immunizing children should be a national priority, but this program was so poorly conceived and managed that it fell far short of that objective. In 1993, President Bill Clinton turned the child-immunization issue into a national campaign, arguing that high vaccine prices were a major barrier to immunization. Mr.

Clinton persuaded Congress to set up the free-vaccine program, to offer immunization to children 18 and younger who were eligible for Medicaid or whose private health insurance did not cover vaccines. The results show that drug companies and other critics weren't taking cheap shots at this program. The General Accounting Office has just completed a year-long study that refutes the administration's key premise for launching the program. The agency found no sufficient evidence to con- elude that what parents must pay for vaccines was a major barrier to children's timely immunization. The administration should have known as much from the experiences of several states in New England that already offer free vaccines.

The immunization rates in those states were not much better than those in states where parents had to pay for the vaccines. The GAO added that the government's poor record-keeping system made it impossible to determine whether children who needed vaccines were getting it. The agency also cited more promising alternatives to the current program. These included coordinating immunization services with larger public programs, such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children, and requiring that vaccines be covered by health insurance policies. The federal government is expected to spend another $457 million on Vaccines for Children this year.

This flawed program only helps add to the public perception that Washington is just dying to your money. i ber asks us to judge these settlers by today's standards of multicul-turalism and diversity, It is ludicrous to expect these people, in their zeal to protect their religion and its traditions, to accept compromise and diversity in others. The Christian Coalition has taken an approach, unfamiliar to voting Christians, that advocates an accountability of our legislators. We accept the validity of the Con.