Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 118, No. 97, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 7, 2000 Page: 4 of 26
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EDITORIAL
... J*
FAGE 4A
THE POLK COUNTY ENTERPRISE .
•
THURSDAY, DECEMBER7,MM 4;
Letters to the editor
Need to rethink policy
To the editor:
)
As an American living and
working in Saudi Arabia for the
past four yean, I have had many
supervisors who are Palestinian
Because of this. I've come to
know Palestinians as people
(indeed, friends) rather than just
faces in a newspaper, and I’ve
been faced to re-examine my
preconceived notions of (hem as
people
Most Americans are unaware of
the history of the Middle East,
and of the Palest]man/Israeli con-
flict in particular. It surprises
many, for example, that Palestine
was a predominantly Arab nation
comprising all of picseni-day Is-
rael up until 1948
The Balfour Declaration, as
part of the settlement of World
War I, gave Britain authority to
divide Palestine as it saw fit. In
it| tradition of Divide and Con-
quer, Britain allowed a conflict to
bfrild between the Arabs who
Palestine their home, and
number of Jewish im-
to the area In the ensu-
Palestimans were faced
oi their land into a tiny piece of
teTqnry called the West Bank,
ar d many hundreds of thousands
m xjl were settled into refugee
ct nips in Jordan, where genera-
tions:: have lived and grown up
o' e&he past SO years.
Tfw continuing conflict today
m the event 50 years
forced removal of a
from their land and
This is why they are so
, and wouldn't we be, too, if
forced to live in virtual
s -- in tents -* for the bet-
of our lives?
conflict durina the past
weeks, nearly 100 Pales-
have been killed many of
smtt jtooc^f children
g rocks at Israeli tanks
ich fire back at the children.
Spfollite television now shows
these sorts of atrocities live on
television sets all acro« the Arab
world. The problem Jor Ameri-
cans (especially those'of us liv-
ing in the Middle Babt) ia that
America is a primary Supplier of
weapons to Israel, including these
sorts of ranks and guns that are
being used to kill young children.
niece of ooe of my colleagues,
who was shot by Israeli soldiers
as her father fixed their broken
down car on the side of the road
Comforting my colleague in the
aftermath of this tragedy wu a
sobering experience fa me. as an
American in light of this experi-
ence. I was faced to confront se-
rious issues I had never thought
of before, including the possibil-
ity that an American-supplied
gun might have been used to kill
this precious child.
It is our duty as Americans not
to ignore these crucial foreign
policy issues We should ask
ourselves why our country sup-
plies arms and retains such close
ties to a country who fires on
children, and whose parliament
openly approves the torture of
political prisoners? (reported by
CNN a year ago) Though we all
have deep cultural and religious
ties to the Holy Land, it is time
to recognize that the present ctay
government there has become in-
creasingly foreign to our own
American sense of justice and
equality.
The U.N. Human Rights
commissioner. Mary Robinson,
last week condemned Israel's use
of excessive force against the
Palestinian people. Many more
are calling fa a fact-finding force
to monitor this aggression. As
Americans, we must realize that
if we sell arms to countries that
fire on defenseless civilians, then
we all risk having the blood of
innocent children on our hands
And those of us living in the
Middle East, risk the backlash of
the peoples' anger at us, as
Americans.
If you are upset at the possibil-
ity of your tax dollars being used
in this way, you should write to
your congressperson. This is sent
with the hope that my many Jew-
ish and Arab friends can someday
live together in peace in one
country, without borders.
Ryan Stubbs
P.O. Box 1963,
Al Khobar 31952,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Intelligent
One of those recently killed
wu Mohammed Al-Durrha,
whose death wu caught live by a
French TV crew. As his father
shielded the 6-year-old ^oy behind
a rock, Israeli commandos repeat-
edly shot both father and son in
cold blood. Many other children
have been killed, including the
To the editor:
It takes an intelligent person to
persuade the system that he's re-
tarded
John Wells
3388 Baggett Road
Livingston
Give all year round
To the editor:
There's a lot of good folks out
there who would be glad to do
something fa those in need, if
only someone would ask them to
share. So I'm uking! Keep every-
thing you really need, but please
share a small part of the excess
things you have with those who
have little or nothing; through no
fault of their own. And remem-
ber, the need is year-round, not
just at Thanksgiving and Christ-
mas times.
Thanks so much fa sharing
(year-round).
Give To Receive
If you've ever been real hungry
with no place to call your own,
There's lots mote who have
been there
and you're really not alone.
There's people out there wait-
ing
for the scrapes we throw away.
Fa us it's not worth saving
but fa them, a Holiday.
Some people have more
clothes at home
than they will ever wear.
They still don't share it with
the poor.
'cause they were never there.
If you have all the things you
want
and much more than you need;
Now's the time to help some
folks
with food and clothes they
need.
Both the giver and receiver
will have reason to rejoice.
You see. the Lord Himself was
^ou can still remember
en you had no place to
poor.
I hope you hear HIS voice.
I
place at night to lay your
good shoes fa your feet,
you've ever been real down
Edward C. Huey
3510 County Road
Goodrich
made it through that hell;
overed to the good life,
ie words will ring a bell.
ikes so very little
make a difference in one's’
lly if you've known
with lots of toil and strife.
DRIVING CAN BE
A CONTACT SPORT
State Capital Highlights
Contested election reminder of 1874
CoapUed by
MIKE COX
Texas Press Association
AUSTIN -- An important elec-
tion challenged over a technicality
of the law The matter goes to the
Supreme Court while political fu-
tures hang in the balance in the
capital city of Texas. Someone
from Florida is causing problems.
Austin in November 2000? No,
Austin in 1874
The contested Nov. 7 presiden-
tial election, in which Democrat
Al Gore garnered the most popular
ballots while Republican George
W Bush apparently collected the
most ballots in the Electoral Col-
lege. has left Austin in political
limbo.
It has been 126 years since any
other election polarized - and para-
lyzed - Austin to such an extent.
On Dec. 2, 1873, Democratic
challenger Richard Coke defeased
the Republican incumbent Gov.
E.J. Davis, by a two to one mar-
gin Recount? No matter the vote
totals, the matter was nearly de-
cided with guns
Davis, first elected m 1869, had
been an officer in the Union army
during the Civil War His 1873
opponent had served on the Con-
federate side
A native Floridian, Davis had
not been a popular governor There
had been talk of impeachment
When the election results finally
came in, most Texans thought
they were nd of Davis. But on Jan.
5, 1874, in a decision styled Ex
Parte Rodriguez, the Texas Su-
preme Court held the election to
be unconstitutional.
At issue was this language in
MEDttRCNIMJ*
the state’s election law: “All elec- ,xbt
tions... shall be held at the count:'' in3b
seats of the several counties until not*
otherwise provided by law; and the ao(n
polls shall be open fa four days.” jniyj
The fight was over the meaning of q,)rf|
the semi-colon after the word
"law." n*}*
Based on this decision, which kj
most historians believed was ^n,q
reached on the basis of partisan
politics, not a reasoned interprets- 4-^
tion of the law, Davis declared he 0j|0y
would not vacate the governor’s „
office. 10
Coke, in turn, said he would not
glurl
(tCCORPINGIXMY LEGAL TEAM IS
<Ml£NfflNGWUR*MUGHnm
FORME BECAUSE THE PREGHAKT CHAD
ON TOUR BAU0 CLEARLY ,
rnmwvmvmiiKy
k
be denied the governorship, ,.w
matter the findings of the pro- ^
Davis Supreme Court. 3,n[‘
For two weeks, from Jan 5 to
Jan. 19, Austin verged on civil
IOOW
lUO^
insurrection. The Capitol became j.
an armed camp as two different
sets of party partisans, legislators ^
and other elected officials tned to . '
keep or gain control of the build- ^
mg.
A war could have started on Jan.
ob to
16, when a pro-Coke party forced
open the state arsenal and removed
rifles arid ammunition. Fortu- .
. lIlKO
to
nately, Coke ordered the men
nr ol
return the weapons
Davis, meanwhile, had appealed
President U.S.
Gnuu for help. The president rec- ^
ommended that Davis “yield to the
verdict of the people.” ;
When the president turned down
a second request fa federal troops, ^
Davis reluctantly decided to step
down.
qbil
Pursue Vietnam opportunity
t,
Despite all the tension, the only /’ 1
shooting that resulted from the in- ' ' , (
cident was a 102-gun salute fired
on the Capitol grounds after ‘
Coke ’ s inauguration. j y q
The lesson for Texas during the
2000?
i*(iu
Fa four decades, Americans
have struggled to understand the*
culture and people of Vietnarp.
We’re still not doing well.
President Clinton's historic
speech Friday at a Hanoi university
was interpreted by a translator who
spoke in a dialect many of those in
the audience couldn't understand.
The fault lies with the U.S.
Embassy, which apparently was as
ignorant to the language nuances as
it was to so much about Vietnam
when we jumped in there 40 years
ago, believing we knew what was
best for that nation and how to
achieve it.
Fortunately, the result this time
was not nearly as damaging.
Hearing a southern dialect they
didn't understand, some of the
students shook their heads and
pulled their earpieces out. They
missed Clinton telling Vietnamese
leaders to open their society and
their economy, and to give their
people more freedom and human
rights, but they probably got the
idea.
Fortunately, gestures sometimes
speak louder than words, and the
president's visit to Vietnam was an
important gesture, for both
countries. The Vietnamese reacted
with delight when Clinton stopped
His receptirai from Vietnamese oRolitlfal efpfessionr^
leaderSlfo tfii ftfcas* iriu predictably } That is not encouraging.
arrest and
ile results
,
cooler. One presidential adviser said ^^TTCmeTheless, L'linidmrTight to
the officials indicated they have
different interpretations of human
rights. That is an understatement.
But over time these interpretations
can change, and clearly Clinton
thinks one of the incentives fa
changing them is the potential fa
more trade with the West. With
trade come information, contacts
and communication, all keys to
opening closed societies. Where
guns failed, ideas may yet prevail in
Vietnam.
Not that it will be easy. Writing
in the current edition of Foreign
Affairs Magazine, Andrew J. Pierre,
an authority on diplomacy and
national security affiliated with
Georgetown University, said the
Communist Party there is
ambivalent about economic reform
and has "a deeply rooted anxiety"
about the pace of change. Party
members control the military, the
media and state-owned enterprises.
By contrast, most Vietnamese are
indifferent to the party. The
problem is that "in a society with
no legal opposition, no right of
assembly and no autonomy for the
try to rebuild relations with the
world's 12th most populous nation,
60 percent of whose citizens are
under the age of 30. They were
never at war with us, nor we with
them. It is not just for their sake,
but for ours, that we, in Clinton’s
words, begin to see Vietnam "as a
country, not a war."
An opening has been made. It
would be wise fa the next president
to build on it.
Reprinted from the Peoria Journal
^t*r’ Copley Editorial Service
waning days of the year «/w. , ^
Painful as the presidential election
process has been this year, at least *_
the only confrontations have been
between the spin meisters, the “
lawyers and the cotty. * M ooy
As the year Mof) slowly
out of calendar pages,'at least one
thing is certain: The 77th session ’
of the Texas Legislature convenes ’
on Jan. 9. ^
As of late in November, more j,,,1
than 400 bills have been prefiled.
rod
Do you have an opinion?
The Polk County Enterprise encourages readers to submit
letters expressing their views and opinions.
The letters will be published in the Enterprise's "Letters to
the editor" column on Thursday or Sunday.
The letters may be written on any subject or issue of general
interest.
Letters must be accompanied by a name and mailing address
and will be subject to editing for grammar, punctuation,
spelling and length.
Letters must include a telephone number for verification. We
will not publish the telephone number.
Readers should keep their letters brief and to the point. Each
letter should contain no more than 650 words. Letters
exceeding that length will be subject to editing or withheld
from publication.
Letters will also be subject to editing for libelous statements
and commercialism.
This column is not meant as a forum for political candidates,
although we welcome comments from the public concerning
campaign issues. During election campaigns, we will not
allow reference to specific local candidates.
Letters may be submitted in person; mailed to "Letters to the
editor," Polk County Enterprise, P.O. Box 1276, Livingston,
TX 7735 L, sent to the Enterprise by fax to (409) 327-7156 or
sent e-mail to <polknews@livingston.net>.
Deadline for letters is 5 p.m. Tuesday for Thursday's
newspaper and 5 p.m. Friday for Sunday’s newspaper.
POLK COUNTY
Lawmakers have until March 9
for filing bills or joint resolutions . ^
that are not local or not considered ^
an emergency. *
In Austin, despite the political rs#orf
uncertainty brought about -y the ^
contested national election, lobby-, '
ists and interest groups are poring
over bills as if they were Christ-'j
mas shopping lists. „
------w ........... 1
nd oj
ENTERPRISE
1
ALVIN HOLLEY, PUBLISHER
Telephone Number 327-4357
(USPS 437-340)
WEBSITEiWWW. EastTexasNews.Com
E-MAILS: polknews@livingston.net - etexnews@samlink.com - polknews@etexnews.con^ ^
Texas 77351 under the Act of Congress of March 3,1987. Entered ))j
as Second-Class Matter at the Post Office at Livingston, Tx. #iv
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
Barbara White, Editor
Emily Banks, News Editor
Van Thomas, Sports Editor
Greg Peak, Area News Editor
Vicki Coker, Living Section Editor
Gordon LeBarron, Photographer
PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT
Cameras / Platemaking
Don Holeman, Paul Holley
Pressroom Personnel
Adrian Dunn, Beamon Goodwin,
Willis Woods, Shane Bartlett
Mailroom / Circulation
Lee Torres -
COMPOSITION DEPARTMENT v
Jennifer Kingsbury, Supervisor
Stephanie Seek, Joan Alexander, Kevin Wiley
ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT
Linda Holley, Ad Manager
Sandra Jackson, Kay Loy Cuevas, Kelly Rood
Linda Jacobs, Classified Manager
Patty Hankerd
PRINTING DEPARTMENT
Jennifer Birdwell, Supervisor
Kevin Wooten
BOOKKEEPING DEPARTMENT
Georgia Bailey, Manager
Barbara Wilson, Dee Sisson, Misty Reed
SUBSCRIPTION RATES - $20.00 per year tax included, in county, ,
$22.00 per year, out of county, $24.00 per year out of state. Publ ished semi-
weekly, Sunday and Thursday at 100 Calhoun in Livingston, Texas by the
Polk County Publishing Co.
Any erroneous reflection upon the character, standing a reputation of
any person, firm a corporation which may appear in this newspaper will
be gladly corrected upon being brought to the attention of the publisher.
Opinions expressed in columns are those of the w riter and not necessar-
ily those of this newspaper. % .14
Opinions expressed in editorial are those of the Enterprise.
POSTMASTER: Postage Paid At Livingston. Tx. Please Send Address H
Changes To P.O. Box 1276, Livingston. Texas 77351. ^
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White, Barbara. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 118, No. 97, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 7, 2000, newspaper, December 7, 2000; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth789334/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.