The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 52

0 EDITORIALS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1996 "This is really unbelievable. Every day we have a new scandal involving the foreign corruption of America. This must stop and it must stop today." Bob Dole, on Indonesian contributions to President Clinton. Forum SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1996 "Again, my heartfelt congratulations to the city of Louisville and everyone involved in adding this wonderful asset River-Walk to our city." Armand I. Judah, Louisville 40216 Re-elect Clinton HUGH HAYNIE'S WORLD BACK IN TIME TO WACO tICT WHILE VfA CONGRESS.

WOT YJUltX Q4 THE Ekh OF W' jLrt WHILE I was in Waco last week, I found the past that Bob Dole was talking about. It survives in a town full of spare, shady neighborhoods that have made it through another summer bake. The sun is merciless in the heart of Texas. But some things thrive, like the leathery, stunted oaks. And civility.

what they are. You couldn't explain either one to a foreigner. There's also the mystery of Dr Pepper 10-2-4 bottle. When I was young, DP bottles were marked with a clock face, its hands pointing to numbers 10, 2 and 4. I never did know what that meant.

I didn't question it. 10-2-4 was a verity. Inside the Dr Pepper Museum, you stand by a replica of the soda fountain where a voung pharmacist named Charles Alderton until hp GOVERNMENT IS OVER. doubtless reverse both. The President was also right, in his anti-crime package, to provide funding that will eventually create 100,000 additional community-based police officers, precisely the type of protection demanded by law-abiding citizens in high-crime areas.

On the environment, the President can claim some important initiatives, in areas such as expansion of federally protected wild spaces, habitat protection agreements and a new pesticides bill However, his most important accomplishments in this area were to withstand the anti-environment, anti-regulatory assaults of the Republican Congress after the 1994 elections. Mr. FOR TWO YEARS, Bill Clinton's opponent has often seemed to be House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the architect of the "Republican Revolution" of 1994. The actual GOP presidential nominee, Bob Dole, has struggled to step from the shadows of the two dominant figures in American politics. President Clinton is on a dazzling political run.

Never a liberal, he has positioned himself with extraordinary skill as a progressive moderate. He has tended to the needs and desires of blue-collar and middle-class voters with deficit reduction, the family leave act, ine iowii gui no nisi skyscraper back in 1911. The Amicable Building once expenmeiiieu mm oyiupa uuui came up with the base for DP, which his employer eventually named for the father of a girl whom he once loved back in Virginia: Dr. Charles Pepper. On the fountain sit lovely bottles of fruit syrup in many colors.

But none marked "prune." I asked a lady in the gift shop about prune juice, and she behaved as if I had passed gas. I guess it's impolite to ask probing questions about the formula for DP. I did learn that the 10-2-4 gimmick was is a handsome, simple shaft that rises off the Central Texas plain. As far as I can tell, it's still Waco's only skyscraper. Sometime in the intervening years they put big red neon letters on the building, and today, from the top, you can scan the site of the for Endorsements DAVID HAWPE 'jfr ft 3- fcfc' 1Cv mer Indian village on the west bank of the sr vlvs introduced in 1926 by account executive Earl Racey, who won a $25 bonus for coming up with the slogan, "Drink a Bite to Eat at 10, 2 and 4 o'clock." During World War II, nutritionist Dr.

Walter Eddy was hired to find out whether a wartime ban on using sugar for soft drinks (it was needed for explosives) was justified. His pamphlet, "The Liquid Bite," was used to persuade the ration board that war workers needed their soft drink pick-me-ups. From the beginning, Dr Pepper sold itself mr ho vuhv it was JfX A "W-w -v ir. TiC Brazos River. The first house built by a white man was on the east bank.

The Civil War was a setback, but by 1870 the largest suspension bridge in the country opened in Waco. It extended 475 feet over the Brazos at a cost of $130,000. The place was on the move. By 1886 the state's oldest institution of higher education, Baylor University, had packed its state charter (signed in 1845 by tho loct rtrocirlont nf thp Rpnnhlir nf Texasl Clinton successfully beat back House attempts to cripple the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act and to weaken the Superfund law. On the other hand, we believe that he erred seriously in signing this year's harsh Republican welfare reform bill, which we fear will harm millions of children and will dump many adults from the welfare rolls without adequate job training or prospects.

The President has long Medicare, environmental pro-tection and anti-crime laws. Just as important, he emerged as an effective shield against most of the excesses of Mr. Gingrich and his Republican congressional colleagues during the past two years. We believe Mr. Clinton is best equipped to lead this country for the final years of this century, and we endorse him for a second four-year term.

We do so with no disrespect to Mr. Dole. He is un Haas ie Moscow enigma: Is it Boris Yeltsins aa neaiiiiiui, winvn mwj -v viewed with suspicion in my neighborhood. If it was good for you, how could it taste good? And what about prune juice? If it really had prune juice in it Well, Harry Ellis says only that the formula is "a blend of pure natural flavors including vanilla, caramel, fruit acid, essences and extracts." Notice he doesn't say which fruit acid. When I got back to my motel from the opponents' time bomb? a READERS' FORUM and moved to Waco.

By the 1890s (as historian Harry Ellis describes it), the 14,000 local residents were referring to their town as the "Athens of Texas" or the "Six Shooter Depot." I guess it depended on which crowd you ran with. The big event in the fin de siecle era was a train wreck. It happened on purpose, staged by a promoter who worked for the Katy line. His imagination was fired by witnessing a boiler explosion during a train trip home from St. museum, it occurred to me that I didn have any cash for a cab to the airport.

I asked the President Bill Clinton been committed to welfare substitutes employ- THE MARCH: ONE YEAR LATER reform that lady at the motel desk tor tne nearest money machine, and she pointed to a Shell station past the highway underpass. When I jogged back into the lobby, wet shirt stuck to my back, I breathlessly asked her to call a cab. "Do you think you'll have time to make it?" asked a friendly fellow who was leaning urt acIt 1 Hn't knftw what his ment for open-ended federal enti Louis. He drew a crowd of 40,000 to a place called Crush just north of Waco, to watch 35-ton locomotives ram each other at 60 miles per hour. One spectator died and several were injured.

It was a great success. Not long after, the local bigwigs decided to exploit Waco's role as a cotton center by erecting a Cotton Palace. It looked like a 1 in nnn RiverWalk Svonderfiil asset' I enjoyed reading the article concerning the new RiverWalk. As a runner, I have had the pleasure of running on the RiverWalk on numerous occasions. The article indicated that there were three places where you may obtain water along the route.

It must be noted, however, that there is no water available directly on the path itself. As much as I love the RiverWalk, I would strongly urge the city to place water fountains directly on the path in sufficient numbers so that it is possible to run the entire length of the path with an adequate water supply. Again, my heartfelt congratulations to the city of Louisville and everyone involved in adding this wonderful asset to our city. ARMAND I. JUDAH Louisville 40216 against uic ucoi.

i uw t- function was, but he was willing to take me to the airport right away if I didn't have time to wait. "Service isn't real good here," hp cairl hplnfullv. Things begin to roll when a few good men and good women decide the time for change has come. Of course, it's a sign of these times that everything demands instant analysis. But there's no legitimate point in rushing to either prove or disprove quickly whether the Million Man March achieved all its organizers had hoped.

It's silly to believe that every man and boy who attended the March were instantly converted. It's silly as well to argue that the Million Man March wrought miraculous nuge spamsn mission auu nciu tuple. I guess everybody in town could have had a seat, if kids sat on parents' laps. Destroyed by fire, it was rebuilt in 1910, then poverty, injustice and racism. Thirty-three years have passed, and many still don't get it; still haven't caught up with the ideals and visions espoused in the speeches 33 years ago, and especially by Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr. Nowadays, virtually without thinking, many quote Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech. But they have no recollection, political understanding, or even simple appreciation of how daring and utterly revolutionary it was only 33 years ago for a black man in America to stand up tall and As it developed, the cabdriver was a grizzled guy, age 59, with seven grown children. He "made a lot of money" in some kind of business and retired to Waco with three new boats: "One for show, one for go, and one to take to the fishing hole." He hunts Cotton fair and exposition with its Queen's Ball and Society Ball.

As the 22-story Amicable Building rose, builders tapped into an underground spring that produced so much water it had to be niimnpr! out hefnre construction could begin you should meet Susan Johns or Martha Juckett. They are clearly the better candidates in these races. I encourage you to vote for them and to give them your support. JOHN T. BRASCH Louisville 40204 Peterson's 'integrity' It's time for a change in Frankfort, and Carl Peterson, candidate for state representative in the 35th District, is our best choice.

Peterson is a man of high integrity. He has a plan to eliminate excessive taxes, promote quality education and provide affordable health care. On Nov. 5, a clear and sensible choice is a man with a vision for the future and a plan for change. He is Carl Peterson.

C. VITTITOE Louisville 40220 Crimm 'clear choice' Ron Crimni's dedication to his family, friends and community makes him the clear choice for 47th District state representative. His ability to stay balanced in the center without leaning too far to the left or right, while remaining fair to all is a rare and valued quality these days. We need to send Ron Crimm to the state legislature in November! BEVERLY GRIFFIN Louisville 40223 Letters to the editor are welcomed. They should be addressed to: Readers' Forum The Courier-Journal P.O.

Box 740031 Louisville, Ky. 40201-7431 Our e-mail address is: cjletterlouisvil.gannett.com Letters can also be faxed to us at: (502) 582-4290. Best-read letters are under 200 words and on topics of general interest. A letter must be original and contain the signature, address and daytime telephone number of its writer. The editors reserve the right to condense or reject any letter and to limit frequent writers.

interest (i.e. wastelandfills, Fairdale Playtorium), and find new ways for existing programs that are failing to make needed change (i.e. KERA). Bratcher supports only tax cuts, through downsizing our state's spending, while doing more for its people. Our state wastes money, and its constituents don't receive a benefit for that waste.

So instead of wasting, let's give the money back to its rightful owners, you! Let's send a common man who is full of integrity, honesty and a belief in God and his country to Frankfort. Let's send a man whose allegiance is to his constituents, not to his buddies. Let's send Kevin Bratcher to Frankfort on Nov. 5 CHRIS SOMMER Louisville 40291 WHAT IF only 25,000 black men had shown up last year for the Million Man March? What if only 10,000, 1,000, or just 500 men had come? Would the Million Man March have been a failure? I think not. There was a radical difference between the Million Man March and other pilgrimages to djyjJI the nation's capital.

It had to do with purpose, MPMf and not simply size. If The men who went fl to Washington did so -y expectantly and prayerfully, but they PMyMi didn't go mumbling, and with heads bowed BETTY or hats in hand to beg WINSTON the government for BAYE anything. The poet, Haki R. I Madhubuti, writing in deer with a bow and won't take a shot from farther than 40 yards. "Don't hurry," he said as he unloaded me into the tiny Waco terminal.

"There won't be a line." He was right. I walked up to the counter where not one, but two folks treated me like again. Waco became known as the "City of Wells" and "Geyser City." Some of the drilling produced water as hot as 106 degrees. That pure artestian water was critical to the development of Waco's most famous ry Browne and Jo Jorgensen, rule Cyberspace. However, no third party web sites were mentioned at all.

Browne leads, or trails narrowly, in virtually all Internet polls. This fact is reported widely. Your reporter should be aware of this and would have noticed if he had bothered to visit the sites reported in his story. Instead, the one reference regarding Libertarians listed 1,446 messages on Compuserve's Political Debate Forum, with 1,442 of those about Libertarians. Mark Kuhn of the Commission on Presidential Debates stated that chat groups do not necessarily represent the public at large.

In the interest of journalism, your reporter might have asked who is represented here the computer literate, the young, the well-informed perhaps. Then again, these may not represent America's public at large. Rock the vote, dudes. TOM WIMMER Columbia, Ky, 42728 'The better candidates' As a Republican, I have typically supported the candidates of my own party. This year, however, I will be proudly supporting two Democratic legislative candidates.

Susan Johns (32nd District) is a candidate who would serve the St. MatthewsEast End well. She is an experienced legislator who is fiscally conservative and moderate on social issues, totally in step with the constituents in this district. She faces Dr. Phillip Hulsman, who is closely connected to Dr.

Frank Simon through his group, The Freedom Heritage Forum. His only issues are abortion and medicine. Martha Juckett (47th District) is a proven hard-working community activist who would work to undo problems in the MiddletownAnchorage Jeffersontown area. Her opponent is Ron Crimm who, under his watch as chairman of the local Republican Party, allowed the religious right to take control of this group. If you live in one of these districts, a numan Deing.

Waiting for the flight, I studied an intriguing recipe in my new Dr Pepper cookbook mushrooms with a stuffing of i i I rtf ActiaA ham 9 tahlp- "History gives us many lessons about how evil systems have collapsed when people changed one by one by one. Of course, it's a sign of these times that everything demands instant analysis." product, Dr Pepper. The original well that produced the water for bottling is still there, roped off in a corner of the Dr Pepper Museum at 5th and urcdULi uinua, a ui ucn.u nwm, spoons of butter, 2 tablespoons of chopped onions, a half teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, a little salt and 13 cup of Dr Pepper. tne latest issue oi Essence, said the men went to commuter plane lumbered toward a tha minrlnur caw the tall steel changes in DiacK America, or ior mai matter, miraculous changes in the hearts and minds of those who have generally negative attitudes toward black men. It's more reasonable to absorb the lesson many of us first grappled with in our religious instruction, which is that there is no such thing as cheap Grace.

Confronting and resolving the issues and the personal and political challenges that compelled a million black men from every corner of the United States, and every walk of life and political persuasion, to meet in Washington on Oct. 16, 1995, and to stay there for eight hours or more without incident, will take time. To believe otherwise is worse than naive. What's more, confronting and resolving the sort of complications that make it difficult or impossible for many black men to be the fathers, husbands, providers and citizens they'd like to be isn't only a challenge to the men who went to Washington, or even the millions of others who didn't go but were there in spirit. It's also a challenge to a nation whose leaders rarely wish to admit that, no less than the men at the march, they also have much to apologize and atone for publicly.

Why can't we just accept that the Mary, on the flat flanks of downtown, nere the railroad tracks stretch past still-vacant lots that were cleared by a tornado in 1953. This part of town never really has recovered. The museum was not on my intinerary, but I couldn't resist a visit. If nothing else, I thought I might get the truth about prune wasnmgtonio engage in senuua confrontations with ourselves and the l-i 1, 1 itlni. frUnt fka rw-inror tn boxes that clump together in downtown Hnnctnn rlpfltr hlpak and more attached wonu, anu icii luiuwmg mm mc pvj.w transform was within ourselves." say I have a dream that "one day this nation will rise up and live out the true to the current business of Dallas and Atlanta than to Houston's Dast.

meaning of its creed: We hold these trutns to be self-evident; that all men are created So there, from the moutn ana mina oi a black man who attended the Million Man juice. Dr Pepper is one of the great enigmas of Give me Waco, with its one skyscraper still attached to a peculiar history. And peo March a year ago tnis momn, we ieam mm it wasn't a protest march, but a spiritual act equal. There is no magic wand. No presto and ple who would help a stranger catch his plane.

oi ainrmation, re-aiiinnauuu auu reconciliation. American cunuie. Nobody knows what it is. Asking somebody to name the Dr Pepper flavor makes about as much sense as asking what kind of food a White Castle is. It's just a White Castle.

It's just Dr Pepper. They are questionably a man of courage, exhibited in overcoming a childhood of Depression-era poverty and in rebuilding his life after suffering a terrible wound during World War II. He won the well-deserved respect of Democrats as well as Republicans as a Senate leader. But the country is at peace, the economy is reasonably healthy, the President has accomplished some impressive achievements in the past four years, and none of the accusations hurled at Mr. Clinton has resulted in convincing evidence of disqualifying misconduct.

Mr. Dole has failed to explain persuasively why voters should make a change. In fact, in thrashing about for issues, he has performed some breathtaking political flip-flops. Mr. Dole has been a deficit-cutting hawk throughout his career.

His proposal to slash income taxes by 15 percent and capital gains taxes by half was a stunning abandonment of principle. Coupled with child tax credits, most economists believe, the impact of his proposals would be a rapid increase in the deficit or a level of spending cuts even Mr. Gingrich's corps couldn't stomach. Equally disheartening was Mr. Dole's reversal of 30 years of support for affirmative action, and his shift from moderate to mean-spirited positions on immigration.

And his support of tolerance of abortion-rights supporters in the Republican Party crumbled within days under pressure from the Christian Right. On the other side, we cannot embrace Mr. Clinton without reservation. But we do find both his record, and his promise, preferable to Mr. Dole's.

There is no question that the economy spurred by the President's budgetary and tax steps in 1993 has grown steadily during a period marked by increased employment, low inflation and rising investment values. Mr. Clinton was right to push the Republican Congress to increase the minimum wage. The President did not deliver the middle-class tax cut he promised in the 1992 campaign, but Republican claims that ne stuck the middle class with a large tax increase are untrue. The great bulk of new income-tax revenue came from the wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers.

The President's proposals for his next term including capital gains exemptions for most home sales, tax credits for many college expenses and expanded Individual Retirement Account opportunities would be useful to millions of American families, but are far more modest in budget impact than Mr. Dole's tax cut. Mr. Clinton exhibited political courage when he successfully pushed a ban on automatic weapons and the Brady Bill's handgun controls. Republicans would open sesame.

Meaningful rhanpp takes time and it David Hawpe's column appears Sundays and Wednesdays in The Forum. tlements. But he could, and should, have promoted his own, more moderate welfare proposals early in his term, instead of pushing ahead first with his mismanaged health-care reforms. However, Mr. Clinton is still preferable to Mr.

Dole in revisiting areas such as funding for food stamps or welfare benefits for immigrants. Mr. Clinton's defeat in health care leaves him with little political capital with which to try again. However, the country will look to him for leadership in solidifying Medicare. Mr.

Clinton fended off the initial Republican congressional onslaught to reduce the program drastically, and he has narrowed the partisan differences. Early next year, he should form a two-parry effort to resolve how to put Medicare on firm footing. In the area of foreign policy, Mr. Clinton has a record of some success and no tragic blunders. But he has often seemed inattentive and slow to react effectively.

During the next four years, it seems almost certain that Russia and China will undergo major leadership changes, peace processes in the Middle East and Bosnia will either take hold or unravel, important decisions will have to be made regarding NATO expansion, and nuclear proliferation will become an even more urgent issue. Mr. Clinton will need to pay attention and probably to shake up his foreign-policy team. Finally, we, too, are uncomfortable with evidence of ethical lapses in the Clinton White House. Some character issues are irrelevant or were judged by the electorate four years ago, and a long, intensive investigation into what is known as "Whitewater" has yet to produce solid, damning evidence.

But some other areas especially the misuse of FBI files in the White House are legitimate grounds for concern. There is no evidence of personal wrongdoing by the President. But he should be intolerant of ethical sloppiness or abuse and should insist on a disciplined White House staff for which inappropriate use of the FBI and its files would be unthinkable. In the end, though, the voters only have two choices: They can re-hire President Clinton, or they can fire him in favor of Bob Dole. In our view, the case overwhelmingly points to a second term for the President.

Major candidates for president who were not endorsed today are invited to respond. Letters of no more than 200 words will be published if received by mail, by fax (582-4066) or by our first floor receptionist at 525 W. Broadway by noon Wednesday. 0- takes work. Thus, the Million Man Man was an atypical demonstration, which means that it defied use of typical measures to determine its failure or success.

Supports Bratcher Increased property assessments, a failing KERA system, legislators voting a 50 percent increase in their pay, a continued downtownEast En bridge saga, Fairdale Playtorium deceit, is what Kevin Bratcher is against. Bratcher is a U. S. Navy veteran, who now teaches at a local technological institute. He is a common man with a common yet simple message put more money into the hands of his constituents, protect his district's by the 1963 March on Washington: the segregation in public accommodations; a the friendlv The Million Man March was symbolic, and there is power in symbolism.

It was not a one-day or even a 12-month wnndpr that so manv seem to crave. veal iaiti Rights Act. In that same year, Title VII of iho 10A4 Art tnnW pffprt HisallowinS iob "PeDDer-UoDer rr i 111V 1 1 discrimination in private business. IOC? Afrmon. It was not about the media, a year later, expecting to comb black communities and find instant miracles.

in me years niai iuiiuwcu isw, ruin.au-American men and women ran for and won 'Vote for' Clark The people of Louisville and the surrounding area need to be introduced to one of the best state representatives in Kentucky's General Assembly, Perry B. Clark. Clark has represented Jefferson County's 37th District with the integrity and courage of a well-qualified statesman throughout his freshman term. While standing for the principles of liberty and responsible self-government for all Kentuckians, and for government staying out of people's lives, Clark was not often with the majority or with the leadership when it came time for the vote. He has represented the voice of his constituents well.

His voting record speaks for itself. Clark is the man for the job in the 37th District. If the 1996 regular session is any reflection of how we can expect our representative to vote and conduct himself in Frankfort, we can expect our area to be represented in a most professional and moral way. Vote for Perry B. Clark on Nov.

5. JOHN SCHNELL Louisville 40217 'This is front-page I felt like I was living in a hick town when I picked up the Oct. 15 Courier-Journal and found that the biggest headline on the front page was a two-column spread, well above the fold, proclaiming in half-inch high letters that of says Alex Sanders eligible to play." My immediate reaction was "So what?" This is front-page news? If it belongs there at all, it should be an item in the sidebar referring readers to the Sports section, where it does belong. A quick look through the first section found a number of stories on pages 3, 4, 7 and 8, any one of which is more worthy of front-page space than the Sanders item. Give us a break! NORMAN C.

UPDEGRAFF Louisville 40205 Northup cartoon 'appalling' Your editorial cartoon showing Anne Northup as a witch was totally appalling, grossly inappropriate, utterly without merit, and far beyond what ought to be the limits of rational political discourse. Northup has demonstrated remarkable dedication to public service, a strong legislative record, and is carrying out a very solid and ethical campaign. How ironic that The Courier-Journal has chosen to vilify Northup because of her association with the current Republican leadership, while Mike Ward embraces one of the most morally and ethically challenged administrations in our memory. Perhaps, once again, Hugh Haynie has placed the broom on the wrong foot. Haynie and The Courier-Journal owe Northup, her family, and your readers a sincere apology.

Haynie should then draw himself a broom on which he should fly off into a long overdue permanent retirement. MARK H. O'BRIEN Louisville 40223 American society 'the loser' After many months of campaigning by the presidential candidates, involving charges and countercharges, accusations and denials by both sides, it seems abundantly clear that the American public doesn't care how morally reprehensible the candidates are. No matter who wins the election in November, the American society is the loser. JOSEPH R.

ESTES Louisville 40220 seats in the U. S. Congress. Still, there is nnlu Ann Amoriran in fhp II IVlllllOn lViail iviaim auucvcu vruai niuoi ui the men said it did. That was to have a healing effect on their souls, and to leave them, some for the first time, feeling more optimistic instead of pessimistic about who, whose and what they are.

This is the beginning of success. And the beginning, as Madhubuti wrote, of many black men's discovery that they "are not an endangered species." That, in fact, they have the potential to be an "empowered mass of men, recapturing the spirit and authority of our ancestors." Betty Winston Baye's column appears Thursdays in The Forum. bystemic cnange, wneinei wimui a person, a family, a community or a nation, takes time. Consider the 1963 March on Washington. WORDS, WORDS, WORDS BY MICHAEL G.

GARTNER Senate Carol Moseley Braun, (D-Ill), tirVin oloptoH in Naturally, there were setbacks along the ,1 1n4- pnll.Kirf It was organized by a coalition of religious, labor, political and civil rights activists and attracted about 250,000 people. Thp cathprinff occurred 33 vears ago. Yet way, DUl me loo maim gut a i luiuug. History gives us many lessons about how evil systems have collapsed wnen people changed, one by one by one. as a nation, we are still struggling with and arguing over the same issues raised back A vintage advertisement tor Dr Pepper: Waco's most famous product.

urAi ade Aun DDnciTQ- THE ISSUE THAT'S NOT BEING DISCUSSED 39.6 million in 1995, the Lewin Group Inc. estimated that 45.5 million people will be uninsured by the time a new president takes office in 2001. When the insurance question is raised, both Clinton and Dole have claimed credit for the Kennedy-Kassebaum bill, which passed Congress this year and which would guarantee portability of health insurance to people changing jobs. rule" on doctors that would deny patients information about more effective, but more expensive, treatments. Dole said that fee-for-service medicine must not be eliminated, but did not explain how the family doctor was to be preserved.

As for managed care, he said, "You're going to have to watch it." Thanks a lot. The problems of the insured are one thing, but there is also a growing problem ously. The plumber swore continually. (Mnemonic device: continuous ends in "ous," which might stand for "one uninterrupted sequence," Theodore Bernstein once noted.) Loathe and loath. Loathe is a verb, and it means to despise or hate.

Loath is an adjective, and it means reluctant or unwilling. I am loath to go to the dentist; I loathe pain. Loathe is pronounced to rhyme with clothe; loath to rhyme with both. And as 1 was looking up something in the dictionary, I ran across this timely item: "The same man who gave us dynamite gave us the Nobel Peace Prize, an irony that was surely not lost on the pacifistic Alfred Nobel himself. It is perhaps less well known that Nobel also contributed the word dynamite.

Coined in Swedish in the form dynamit the word was taken from Greek dunamis, and the Swedish -it, which corresponds to our suffix -ite used in various scientific fields. Greek dunamis also gave us words such as dynamic and dynamo and itself probably goes back to the verb dunnsthai, 'to be from which comes dynasty." SAN DIEGO On the morning of the final presidential debate of 1996, the top-of-Page 1 headlines and news stories in The San Diego Union-Tribune were on affirmative action, presidential ethics and the "crossroads" in the medical system. During the Wednesday night debate, the nation heard a great deal from President Clinton and Bob Dole on the first topic and from Dole on the second. It heard much less from them on the final one, which likely will have the California-San Diego. The story by reporter Rex Dalton raised questions of how "the fragile safety net for medical indigents" will be affected if control of the major hospitals shifts "from community leaders to a large corporation beholden to shareholders." If this were an isolated phenomenon, it might be of concern only to people on this sunny coast.

But comparable developments are taking place across the country, including my hometown of Arlington, where the community hos Don't misuse: Persuade and convince. Persuade means to win over by argument. Convince means to prove with evidence. Persuade is often followed by never is. I persuaded him to take an umbrella.

I convinced him that it was raining. Flaunt and flout. Flaunt means "to exhibit ostentatiously." Flout means "to show contempt for." You flaunt your pearls; you flout the law. Eager and anxious. Eager means showing keen interest or desire.

Anxious means uneasy or apprehensive. You eagerly await the arrival of your mother. You anxiously await the arrival of your mother-in-law. (An aside about eager and its synonyms, from The American Heritage Dictionary. "Eager suggests intensity of interest and impatient desire: eager to travel abroad; eager to learn.

Avid implies ardent desire and unbounded craving: has an avid ambition to succeed, an avid sports fan. Keen suggests acuteness or intensity of interest or emotional drive: takes keen pleasure in music. Agog implies a state of heightened anticipation: the prospect of Christmas left the children Continuous and continual. Continuous means without interruption. Continual means repeatedly.

The faucet dripped continu mmnitmm Billups 'qualified' Charlie Billups is a highly qualified candidate for the Kentucky House of Representatives, 34th District. He is a University of Louisville graduate who learned leadership skills as a lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. He is an honest, decent family man. He successfully ran his own business. We have known him for over 40 years.

His focus as a representative will be crime reduction, promotion of small businesses as the key providers of jobs, and reduction of taxes through governmental efficiency and elimination of waste. He will be a true citizen legislator. STEWART and ANN COBB Louisville 40205 DAVID S. BRODER company plans and requiring workers to pay higher deductibles and copayments. On all of these matters, the candidates are largely silent.

They endorsed a bipartisan commission always a convenient dodge to wrestle with the looming bankruptcy of Medicare. And when moderator Jim Lehrer asked them directly at the first debate in Hartford, "What do you think should be done about the health care system?" they went back to talking about the Kennedy-Kassebaum bill and the wonders it is supposed to perform. Clinton said here that he'd like to see another million youngsters added to the Medicaid rolls. Dole had made a similar suggestion in Hartford, saying that "there are a lot of uninsured people in this country, particularly children, that should be covered" and suggesting that one way to do it was to "expand Medicaid." The Republican budget, of course, projected large-scale savings in Medicaid and returning the program to the states. Dole also told the Hartford audience, "In America, no one will go without health care." Pick up the paper, candidates, and smell the coffee.

The real world says otherwise. Washington Post Writers Group Increasing numbers of Americans are pondering: How will 'the fragile safety net for medical indigents' be affected if control of the major hospitals shifts 'from community leaders to a large corporation beholden to shareholders'? ufye (Eourter-JJmtrnal A GANNETT NEWSPAPER FOUNDED 1826 EDWARD E. MANASSAH. president and publisher MARK SILVERMAN, executive editor DAVID V. HAWPE, editor largest direct impact on the peo-pie of the nation.

Despite two well-phrased questions about the subject, Clinton offered few solutions that measure up to the scope of the problem and Dole virtually none. The story in the local paper reported that a giant Tennessee-based, for-profit hospital chain called ColumbiaHCA Healthcare Corp. was poised to take control of "about 40 percent of the region's medical care" by buying out one local, nonprofit group with six hospitals and by taking over management of two medical centers now run by the University of pital is joining the very same health care corporation. Since the collapse of the Clinton health care plan in 1994, a vast consolidation has been taking place in the private marketplace, raising the question of how consumer interests will be protected from these medical trusts. When a health care worker raised these problems at the Wednesday night town-meeting debate here, Clinton said he favored federal legislation to prevent managed care companies from imposing a "gag But the Lewin study points out that "the impact of this (Kennedy-Kassebaum) legislation is likely to be small since 45 states had already enacted similar legislation by 1995." Any gains it brings, the study said, will be more than offset by employers dumping retirees and dependents from of people without insurance an issue the candidates are reluctant to face.

The American Hospital Association recently released a study it commissioned on this issue. Based on the trends in the last seven years, which saw the number of uninsured grow from 30.6 million in 1988 to KEITH L. RUNYON. opinion editor EDWARD A. BENNETT, editor of editorials STEPHEN J.

FORD. editor of The forum KATHY FOWLER. editor. Readers forum BERT EMKE, chief editorial writer LAUREL SHACKELFORD, JILL.IOHNSON KEENEYanJ BETTY WINSTON BAYE, editorial writers NICK ANDERSON, cartoonist HUGH HAYNIE, contributing cartoonist 'Rule Cyberspace' You recently presented a frontpage story of approximately 78 column inches on the 1996 presidential campaigns, the use of Internet web sites, and campaign-related sites such as C-SPAN's and the Debate Commission. Unfortunately, the writer missed entirely the real story: In 1996 the Libertarian candidates, Har WILLIAM L.

ELLISON deputy managing editor SANDRA DUERR, assistant managing editornews ARTHUR B. POST assistant managing editorioperations MERVIN AUBESPIN and ROCHELLE RILEY, associate editors Correction A letter from Stewart Sellers, published Oct. 13 said, in part, "I read David Hawpe's ridiculous condensation of the 'English only' cause that some thoughtful people in this country are pursuing." It should have said "condemnation." Editor. Michael Gartner's Words column appears Sundays and Wednesdays in The Forum..