634 lines
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634 lines
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| P o l i t i c s O n l i n e M a g a z i n e |
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| Volume 2, Number 1 |
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| Publisher/Editor ................................. Josh Renaud |
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| Contributing Editors/Consultants ................. Mark Waelterman |
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| ................. David Killoren |
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| Columnists ....................................... Kevin Salks |
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| ....................................... Josh Renaud |
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| Contributing Writers ............................. Shai Sachs |
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| ............................. Shawn Hayes |
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| ............................. Joe Antonucci |
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| Distributed by .......................... GrossWorld Publishing Co. |
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| P o l i t i c s O n l i n e M a g a z i n e |
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| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
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| Table of Contents |
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| Introduction to Politics Online Magazine ......... The Editors |
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| Congressional Resolutions ........................ Josh Renaud |
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| Cutting PBS? ..................................... Shai Sachs |
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| POM Does '95 ..................................... Josh Renaud |
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| Conflict of Interest ............................. Kevin Salks |
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| The Two Party System Myth ........................ Jackie Bradbury |
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| The Clinton Administration ....................... Shai Sachs |
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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| Introduction |
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| The Editors |
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\==============/
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Welcome back! This is the official New Years release of POM, and we are
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glad to be here. 1994 held some interesting prospects for us at POM, and we
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were dealt some pretty lame cards. But we pulled off a coup, and now we are
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committed to bringing you a monthly online magazine of the best quality. this
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issue is pretty late, but we were busy getting LOTS of articles, so please bare
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with us.
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This month we have some interesting articles, namely the "Congressional
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Resolutions" by Josh Renaud, "POM Does '95" by Josh Renaud, "PBS: A National
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Concern?" by Shai Sachs, "Conflict of Interest," by Kevin Salks, and "The Two
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Party System Myth" by Jack Bradbury. The latter article was exceprted froma
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Missouri Libertarian magazine. I figured it would be interesting to see things
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from a point-of-view not many people are aware of: The Libertarians.
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Also, mourn with us the loss of Rap City BBS. It was one of our major hubs
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of support, but it is now gone. Hopefully, we are told, a reincarnation of Rap
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City will be up later on in '95.
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Anyway, happy belated New Year! Enjoy the holidays while they last and
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prepare for an exciting new year. This issue of POM has _SIX_ articles, which
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is our record so far. Hopefully the number will be higher next month. Remember:
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Wherever you found THIS edition of POM, rest assured, another will be there
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next month.
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... The Editors ...
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%************************************************************************%
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| Congressional Resolutions |
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| Josh Renaud |
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\===========================/
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Have you made your New Year's Resolutions yet? I haven't, but then again, I
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NEVER make them, so nothing has changed [grin]. Well, Congress has never made
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any New Year's resolutions before, either. But I plan to change that. My
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article this month is a list of resolutions -I- think Congress needs to make.
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First and foremost: Fiscal responsibility. My number one complaint with
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Congress is that it doesn't know how to keep a balanced budget OR how to keep
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from increasing spending. It's high time we saw drastic cuts in governmental
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programs. Welfare is the best place to cut. The Republicans are claiming they
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will be reforming welfare. Guys, I've got news for you: Welfare doesn't need
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reform. It needs elimination. The Republicans are also working on a Balanced
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Budget Amendment. EXCELLENT! If they can pull this off, Congress will begin to
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come back to a more beneficial state for the people.
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Second, take a stance on important issues and make some policy. The issue
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of gays in the military is a prime example of the flip-flop of Congress and the
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Executive branch. Either allow them or disallow them. Make up your mind what
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you are going to do. This type of stance will make big enemies, but equitable
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compromise is not going to be reached. The one exception to this would be
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abortion. This is a moral issue, and not the government's responsibility.
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Government funding to abortion clinics should cease, and let the other
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abortion-related issues settle themselves out. But besides that, it is time for
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Congress to tell the people what they have decided to do. No more waffling.
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Third, work together with the other two branches of government. Mostly this
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applies to the Presidency, but to a lesser degree, also the Judicial branch.
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Gridlock, we all know, is something that has existed forever. I am not
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suggesting an end to gridlock. Gridlock can be very good. But the government
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needs to go out, see what the people of America want, and work together to do
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it. If it means tax cuts, then cut the taxes. Tax money does NOT belong to the
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government. If the people want a cut, GIVE IT TO THEM. Make up for it by taking
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out wasteful programs, like welfare.
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Finally, destroy the civil-help programs, including welfare, medicaid,
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medicare, and other bureaucracies. Government is for the express purpose of
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governing. We are paying them to make laws, enforce them, keep them in line
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with the Constitution, and defend our country from enemy nations. When they
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begin intruding into the private sectors, offering hand-outs, making promises
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to cure social ills, and trying to be our big brother, they make a mess.
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Government has NEVER successfully instituted a social program that was
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successful in elimintating the poor and homelessness problems, or curing the
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social/family ills of a nation. NEVER. So stop trying, please. I am paying you
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to govern, not to patronize.
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I feel 1995 could be a very productive year for us. The new Congress seems
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to be committed to achieving its goals. Hopefully these goals will be firmly
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put together, agreed on by both sides, and then passed. This type of fluid
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movement is only beneficial if the programs are good, and will ultimately help
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us all.
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%*************************************************************************%
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/\/ Flash BBS /\/
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-= Running on an Atari ST with FoReM ST software =-
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What do we have to offer? How about this:
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Over 45 subboards on the Xnet and CrossNet, with nodes ranging all
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over America! 15 online games, like Space Trade Elite, Space Empire,
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Football Pool, and Assassin. Megs and Megs of files for your
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downloading pleasure!
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[314] 275-2040
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14.4 USR modem
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%**************************************************************************%
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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| PBS: A National Concern? |
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| Shai Sachs |
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\==========================/
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Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich calls public broadcasting the
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"media of the elite", and subsequently wants federal funding for it to
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be eliminated. Both the label and the proposal are preposterous; they
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are the fingerprint of the Gingrich Regime: silly and unjustified.
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First, the label. Gingrich considers CNN and C-Span, the cable
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network's answer to public broadcasting's educational programs, the real
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arena of action. He believes that public broadcasting is, as cited
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before, "the media of the elite".
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Anyone who thinks it over will realize that his labels are simply
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untrue. Public broadcasting is free, and anyone can use it. It
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features programs that appeal to children and adults, liberals and
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conservatives, and men and women. A wide, diverse cross-section of
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America uses public broadcasting, and appreciates it tremendously.
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Anyone can tap into public broadcasting's vast expanse of information,
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and many people do.
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On the other hand, consider cable television. CNN and C-Span, while
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certainly worthwhile stations, come with a price tag attached. They do
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not reach the rural parts of the country. In fact, about 40 percent of
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the country does not receive cable.
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Calling public broadcasting the "media of the elite" is an outrage
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and an insult to anyone who grew up watching Sesame Street and Mr.
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Roger's Neighborhood. It is a complete hypocrisy; it is parallel to
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calling a homeless man an "elitist", and labeling a wealthy aristocrat a
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working-class American.
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Next, the merits of public broadcasting over cable television.
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Public broadcasting is, bar none, the crown jewels of the media. It
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provides high-quality, educational programming, such as "Sesame Street",
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for children, or, as a local example, "Donnybrook", for adults. The
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programs stimulate thought and creativity; they inform viewers about the
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issues of the day. Public broadcasting is cheap for taxpayers: each
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resident of the country pays only twenty-nine cents per year. And,
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finally, and most importantly, anyone can access public broadcasting,
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regardless of their social status: public broadcasting is free. Public
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broadcasting is an excellent example of public and private sector
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cooperation.
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In stark contrast, cable television does not surpass public
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broadcasting in any way. Far from it: cable television represents the
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worst that media can be. The cable alternative is one of extreme
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violence, inexcusable language, and extremely immoral adult scenes.
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Conservatives, who despise this programming and cry that it is eroding
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our morals, must remember that destroying public television will leave
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only the immoral contents of cable television to entertain children and
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adults alike. Furthermore, cable television cannot and never will reach
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everyone. It is far too expensive for cable companies to reach rural
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areas, and cable television will always cost a monthly bill. Therefore,
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only well-off suburban or urban residents can access cable, leaving the
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rural viewers and the poor out in the dark.
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Eliminating governmental funding from public broadcasting will
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certainly destory a number of public television stations, and seriously
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cripple many others. Many rural stations will certainly fall almost
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immediately. Others will only barely manage to provide their services.
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Meanwhile, urban stations will suffer as well. While most will not
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immediately cut off services, almost all will certainly have to decrease
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the quality of their programming to compensate for the lost funds.
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Meanwhile, taxpayers will not feel the difference in their pockets.
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While millions of federal dollars might seem an incredible burden, it
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would not be enough to significantly decrease the deficit, or pay for
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any substantial tax decreases.
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Taxpayers will hurt if federal funds are recalled. Their children
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will not have access to shows like "Sesame Street", that teach the kind
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of morals that adults would be proud of. Their children would be
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subject to the mercy of ruthless cable television, the source of many
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horrible programs. Taxpayers themselves would no longer benifit from
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interesting and intelligent news shows, such as the McNeil-Lehrer News
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Hour. They could no longer rely on the unparalleled news analysis of
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the MacLaughlin Group or Donnybrook. No taxpayer would have the
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advantage of waking up each morning to National Public Radio's morning
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show. Again, adults would have to rely on commercial television to
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replace public broadcasting, which it could not do.
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Public broadcasting is a boon to everyone. It is the best example
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of working, effective, government cooperation with the private sector.
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It costs taxpayers almost nothing, yet public broadcasting educates,
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stimulates, and entertains viewers. Government could not provide us
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with a better service for a lower price, and we would be ill advised to
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eliminate it.
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To even consider replacing public television with cable is the most
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outragoues and ludicrous notion ever considered. It should be swiftly
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and resoundingly rejected by the Congress.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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| POM Does 95 |
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| Josh Renaud |
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\===============/
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I was asked to write a small article about our 1995 plans at POM. Well,
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I'll do just that, but please bear in mind, these are just plans, and nothing
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has been finalized.
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Number one on our agenda is this: Getting more writers. A magazine can not
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be good without content. And right now, we are suffering, and we are suffering
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drastically. We are scowering every place imaginable, looking for articles to
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put into POM, like the excerpted article "The Two Party System Myth" this
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month. If you would like to write, please contact us, using the information at
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the end of the magazine.
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When we -do- have enough writers, we will get the Political Chat Match up
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and running every month. The Match is an online debate that we capture and then
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place into POM each month. We had planned to do the Match from the very
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beginning, but a lack of dedicated writers thus far has prevented us from doing
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it.
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Also, we plan to get a forum reserved on the Den of Happiness BBS, get an
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official Internet address, and open up a WWIVnet POM subboard. These three
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advances will help us automate our distribution, as well as spread out and
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reach more people. I am also working with someone who will put POM in the Rush
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Limbaugh subs on CompuServe, as well as people to distribute POM on GEnie,
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Delphi, Prodigy, and the new e*World.
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We plan on getting White House press releases delivered to our online
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address as they come out, so hopefully we can pick out interesting ones and put
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them in POM. No other magazine (Printed or online) offers White House press
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releases for public consumption.
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These and other changes will be attempted throughout 1995. If, indeed, we
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can pull all of this off, we will rise to the forefront of online magazines. We
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are determined to get better and better, until WE are the standard. You can
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help us. Send us feedback, continue to read us, and maybe even write an article
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for us. POM plans to do '95, and do it good.
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%*************************************************************************%
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| Conflicts of Interest |
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| Kevin Salks |
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\=======================/
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Hello, all! I am Kevin Salks, a relatively new writer to POM. I plan on
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writing monthly. If YOU can write at all, I encourage you to help out and do so
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as well. Anyway, this column is about MY views, which are inherantly moderate.
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Today I am tackling a topic that has come to the forefront of the media: Newt
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Gingrich, speaker of the House, and his book deal.
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Recently, Gingrich announced he had made plans with a major printing
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company to write a book. Now, obviously the question arises: Isn't this a
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conflict of interest? Writing a book while in a position of legislation is not
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exactly conducive to legislating. However badly this move was thought out, the
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media has jumped at the chance to dent the new Republican Speaker's
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reputation.
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With a new Republican majority in both the House and the Senate, Gingrich
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is a leader of the GOP. The media, notoriously Democrat and biased to
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liberalism, has been searching for a scapegoat. And they've found one. Now,
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here is the ultimate question: Is this treatment justified? I must say no. Why?
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A simple reason, of course. Mr. Gingrich's deals are his own business. However
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if the public feels this is such a bad thing, they WILL speak up about it. And
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then an inquiry may begin, thus resolving once and for all any problems or
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conflicts.
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But I have another point of light to bring up. Former-senator (now Vice
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President) Albert Gore wrote a book while serving as a senator. Yet nothing was
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said about it. Well, unless you count the reviews of the book and the promoters
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raving it. What was this book? It was a slew of Mr. Gore's personal feelings on
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such topics as animal rights and the environment. Mr. Gore, in case you didn't
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know, is a staunch liberal Democrat. Perhaps this is why nothing was ever
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mentioned about his writing a book being a possible conflict of interest.
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It all boils down to this: The media is biased, and they have let that show
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through way too much. Whether writing a book while in office is indeed a
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conflict of interest remains to be resolved. But the media certainly has it's
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motives for reporting this incident way off kilter. If I remember correctly,
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they are supposed to be informing the public of happenings in an objective,
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unbiased method. This has not happened. To those responsible for this
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absurdity, I say "STOP IT!" And to Newt: You made a blunder. At least this
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gives you a lesson in how the media eats Republicans alive. Next time something
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like this happens, make sure you think the moral and civil implications through
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very carefully. And to Mr. Gore: Why aren't you commenting on this? Perhaps
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it's time to cross partisan boundaries and defend Mr. Gingrich, or even better,
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denounce both of your actions.
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I'll see you next month with another article from MY point of view... :)
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| THE TWO PARTY SYSTEM MYTH |
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| Presidential Elections: |
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| The Multi-Partisan Truth |
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| Jackie Bradbury, Secretary |
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| Missouri Libertarian Party |
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People in the United States have been clinging to a myth for a very long
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time now - that the United States is a two party system. Heck, they use the
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term "bipartisan" as if it means that all views are represented, when in fact
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it is only two opinions out of many. We Libertarians know this is incorrect
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(and we have been using the term ourselves lately in Columbia, meaning
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Libertarians and Greens), but it's nice to have it verified by outside
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sources.
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The source I used is my old college days history textbook:
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_Essentials_Of_American_History_. It lists all of the Presidential elections
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from 1789 (I added 1988 and 1992): it lists most of the candidates who got
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anything near a significant vote total or an electoral vote.
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See the chart below (Ed. Note: At the end of the article) As you can see,
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in fact a _three-way_ race is more common than any other. Three-way races make
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up 44% of all of our Presidential elections, as a matter of fact (23 out of 52
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total), and two- candidate races only make up 37% of all Presidential elections
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in history... We have even had a few four and five-way races as well (19% of
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all elections). And as an interesting note, look at how rare a two-way race is
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in the 20th Century as compared to the previous one. Perhaps we could
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speculate WHY the cycle swings from multi-candidate elections to two- candidate
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elections.
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It may have something to do with social upheaval - you can point to many
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of the multi-party swings and they tend to correspond with social movements
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such as women's suffrage, the civil rights movement, etc. They also somewhat
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correspond to economic stability as well, such as the current economic crisis
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(our national debt) corresponds with the current multi- candidate swing in the
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cycle. I'm sure a more competent political scientist than I can figure out
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what happens and why: the important thing is that, whatever the reasons, you
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can see that indeed multi-candidate and multi-partisan politics are no
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strangers to democracy in the United States.
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Figure 1: "US ELECTIONS - NUMBER OF PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES"
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Number of Candidates
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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_______________________________________________________
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1789 o
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1796 o
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1804 o
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1812 o
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1820 o
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1828 o
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1836 o
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1844 o
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1852 o
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1860 o
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1876 o <----Longest 2 Candidate Streak
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1884 o
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1892 o
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1900 o
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1906 o
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1916 o
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o <-Longest 3+ Cand.Streak
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1924 o
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1932 o
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1940 o
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1948 o
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1956 o
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1964 o
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1972 o
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1980 o
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1988 o
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_____________________________________________o_______________
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^
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|__Presidential Election Years
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(This interesting article was taken from the SHOW ME FREEDOM, June 1993 issue,
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a publication of the Missouri Libertarian Party).
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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| The Clinton Administration |
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| Shai Sachs |
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\============================/
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Bill Clinton's Presidency is in a very troubled situation. The crime
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bill which he loved so dearly suffered a major reduction last year in the House
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of Representatives. It passed, but has had no effect on the old Gephardt
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health-care reform bill, which First Lady Hillary Clinton said was closer to
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the original Health Security Act of 1994, offered by the Clintons originally.
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With health-care reform as one of the main, if not the main issue, the Clinton
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Administration is on the brink of a very dangerous political cliff.
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But how has Clinton's administration proceded so far? The oft-criticized
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administration has had various successes and failures, from everything from the
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economy to foreign policy. The following is a look at some of the issues
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facing the President:
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Economy
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-------
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Clinton has so far stressed the economy more than any other problem
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facing the country, or seemingly so. As of last year, the unemployment rate
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had fallen 1.5% since his inaguration, seeming to indicate success. However,
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his economic plan far exceeded simply dealing with unemployment.
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Budget Deficit: Clinton entered office with a $329.1 billion deficit, and
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20% of the population angry as wet hens about the national debt. Since then,
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the deficit has fallen to an estimated $167 billion for Fiscal Year 1995.
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Clinton started with a deficit-reduction bill last summer, which would cut,
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over several years, $500 billion. That figure is now estimated at $700 billion
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worth of cuts, due mostly to rising revenue, not falling spending. The Clinton
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administration now repetitively boasts the first three years of deficit
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reduction since Harry Truman (despite the fact that the first year of deficit
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reduction -- fiscal year 1993 -- was initiated by George Bush.)
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"Reforms": Bill Clinton and his administration may be known in history as
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the most sweeping social reformer since Lyndon B. Johnson. He once tried
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reforming both the health-insurance system, a feat on its own, and is now
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trying to reform the welfare system, a task which is none too easy.
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To Clinton's credit is his very dilligent work on reforming the
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health-insurance system, perhaps one of the most earnest, massive efforts since
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Medicare and Medicaid. As a result, the country could have seen one of two
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things: either a very massive change for the better in health insurance, or a
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|
very angry group of voters at the polls last November. Guess which one
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happened. The health-insurance reforms have faced numerous misinformation
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attacks, as well as informed attacks on the original Health Security Act, such
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|
as the large bureacracies which it would set up. Also attacked, with good
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reason, were the methods of funding, primarily the employer mandate, which
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continues to face extinction in Congress. Bill Clinton has worked remarkably
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hard for the health-care reforms he promised the country, and they have thus
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far been thoroughly defeated.
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In the meanwhile, the President has also started working, much more
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quietly, on welfare reform. His proposal, which attempts to put an end to
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subsidizing of teenage mothers, and to put people back on a payroll, were
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overshadowed heavily by the health-care reform efforts. Now that Congress is
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controlled by welfare-hating Republicans, is reform imminent?
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Free Trade: In 1993, President Clinton put forth a large lobbying effort
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as he attempted to pass the North America Free Trade Agreement, despite attacks
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by labor unions and Ross Perot. Since that time, the economy seems stable, and
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exports to Mexico appear to be on the rise. He worked on a much broader, though
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quieter, attempt at free trade. Acceptance of the General Agreement on Tariffs
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and Trade, or GATT, has been a quiet goal of the Clinton administration. This
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|
is one of the few goals they were able to attain. The treaty will lower or
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freeze many international tariffs, and, among other things, establish a World
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Trade Organization to oversee the regulations of trade in participating
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countries.
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Combining all these aspects of his economic plan, the President claims
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|
good economic stability. It is true -- somewhat. Although the economy has
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|
been growing steadily, the Federal Reserve Board, having raised interest rates,
|
|
is now trying to slow down that growth to a slow but steady beat. Some
|
|
political speculators believe that this move is intended to prepare for
|
|
stimulated growth in late 1995 or during 1996, the next presidential election
|
|
year.
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Environment
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-----------
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When he was selected as Vice Presidential running mate, Al Gore's history
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|
was as an environmentalist Senator from Tennessee. However, the dminsitration
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|
has not conducted any broad efforts to favor the nvironment recently, except
|
|
for a policy issued two years ago that the hite House would buy and use
|
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recycled paper, a light victory for ecyclers, whose overflowing stock of
|
|
recycled paper was beginning to treaten the future of the recycling effort.
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Human Rights
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------------
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Clinton has been fairly quiet on human rights, with a few exceptions.
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|
However, certain issues seem to stand out in the last two years.
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Clinton started off his presidency with a review of the Army's policy
|
|
towards homosexuals. Although his public image was somewhat scarred by strong
|
|
opposition from such military experts as Colin Powell and Sam Nunn, Clinton was
|
|
able to better the military policy with a compromise "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
|
|
policy, which has been criticized as a compromise of human rights.
|
|
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|
The Clinton administration began with the army in Somalia, a move started
|
|
in December of 1992. The continuing effort there was labeled a humanitarian
|
|
and democratic effort, and it was, until the death of 18 GIs forced Clinton to
|
|
leave Somalia for safer ground.
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|
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|
Early last year, the administration, with strong efforts by former
|
|
Majority Leader Gephardt, threatened to punish China's Most Favored Nation
|
|
trade status as a result of continued, consistent, brutal human rights abuses.
|
|
Clinton, however, chose to renew the status, remarking on China's seat in the
|
|
Security Council, and her fast growing economy, not to mention the reliance of
|
|
over 100,000 jobs in the United States on Chinese importing and exporting. His
|
|
move quickly prompted criticism by human rights groups and many Congressmen,
|
|
who blamed Clinton of sending a message to China: dictatorship and brutal human
|
|
rights abuse would not only be tolerated, but also subsidized, by the United
|
|
States.
|
|
|
|
On the home front, Clinton's stance on the death penalty has been brought
|
|
into question. The penalty, which was to be broadened in the crime bill,
|
|
backfired on Clinton as some members of the House of Representatives found the
|
|
death penalty too strong a barrier to them to allow it in the crime bill. In
|
|
the meanwhile, the debate has continued to spark controversy, although the
|
|
Supreme Court has ruled it to be constitutional (in that it is not cruel and
|
|
unusual).
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The Vice President
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|
------------------
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|
Although usually a minor part of the administration, the Vice President
|
|
has found a very active niche, relative to other Vice Presidents, in Clinton's
|
|
administration. Al Gore has established both the National Information
|
|
Infrastructure and the National Performance Review (NPR). The first was aimed
|
|
at a federal role in the so-called Information Superhighway, and has prompted
|
|
activation on the federal level to put the government on-line. Many government
|
|
agencies have found great success on the Internet, including the White House,
|
|
and have been prompted by Gore's efforts to digitize the country. Gore also
|
|
worked on decreasing bureacracy in the NPR, and savings since then have been
|
|
estimated in the billions. Although the Vice President has not been palying a
|
|
role in many controversial issues, he has played an important, unexpectedly
|
|
active role in the administration.
|
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Copyright (c)1995 GrossWorld Publishing Company
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