Ukiah Daily Journal from Ukiah, California • Page 4

THE UKIAH DAILY JOURNAL OPINION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 1986 EDITORIAL Let tribes decide Under the U.S. Constitution, American Indian tribes are considered sovereign nations. And, like other nations, it has been up to the tribes to describe who is, and who is not, an Indian. Now, in an effort to cut the $807 million federal Indian Health Service budget, Reagan administration officials are proposing new regulations that would provide free medical and dental benefits only to Indians who can prove they have one-quarter Indian blood, for federally recognized tribes, or one-half Indian blood, for non-recognized tribes. Alarmed Indian health care providers estimate that two-thirds of the eligible 75,000 Indians in California will lose their benefits, forcing, them to seek care from county and state health programs already stretched to the limit.

Federal officials say they want benefits to go on to those who are most needy. But it does not follow that one's percentage of Indian ancestry determines one's need. Furthermore, the regulations would disproportionately affect western U.S. tribes and especially Southern California tribes who have not been recognized by the federal government or under federal control as long as most eastern tribes. Many California Indians cannot verify their bloodlines because of lost or destroyed records, in part because of the legacy of the 1950s-era congressional termination of many western tribal charters.

Indian leaders argue that, under the Constitution, only Congress has the authority to intervene in Indian affairs. We would not expect federal bureaucrats to decide who is, for instance, a Canadian.Certainly Canadians would be justified in objecting.We see no reason why the executive branch should now unilaterally decide who is an Indian. The regulations have been proposed before, but only this year have they reached the point where public hearings are being scheduled around the nation. Many Democrats: in Congress have gone on record protesting the proposed regulations.We hope their Republican colleagues will help fight a plan that would separate thousands of Indians from health care and from their proud ancestry. The Almanac Today is Wednesday, Aug.

27, the 239th day of 1986 with 126 to follow. phase. I Jupiter, iars and Saturn. Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include German philosopher Georg Hegel in 1770; novelist Theodore Dreiser in 1871; English automaker Charles Rolls in 1877; movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn in 1882; novelist C.S.

Forester in 1899; Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th president of the United States, in 1908; Nobel Peace Price winner Mother Teresa in 1910 (age 76); actress Martha Raye in 1916 (age 70); singer-actor Tommy Sands in 1937 (age 49), and actress Tuesday Weld in 1943 (age 43). On this date in history: In 1859, the first successful oil well in the United States was drilled near Titusville, Pa. In 1928, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, outlawing war as a means to settle international disputes, was signed by 15 nations in Paris. World War II began 11 years later. in Adolf Hitler served notice on England and France that Germany wanted Danzig and the Polish Corridor.

In 1983, a quarter-million people marched on Washington to mark the anniversary of the "Freedom March" led 20 years earlier, less one day, by Martin Luther King In 1985, Defense'Secretary Caspar Weinberger canceled the Army's $1.8 billion "Sergeant York" weapon system as ineffective. A thought for the day: Philosopher Georg Hegel wrote, "What experience and history teach is this that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it." LETTERS JACK ANDERSON Just what Haiti needs Port-au-Prince, Haiti On a small, dusty farm beside a gravel road on the outskirts of the city, I discovered the rarest of all political animals: a leader who doesn't want to lead, a ruler without political ambition, a military strongman who wants to hand his power over to civilians. State Department officials told me about this unique person; they said Lt. Gen. Henri Namphy didn't seek political power doesn't want it and assumed it only out of a sense of duty.

Our outgoing ambasador to Haiti, Clayton McManaway, confirmed that the chairman of Haiti's military Junta is driven by duty, not ambition. Without exception, people who know Namphy describe him as a patriot of uncommon integrity, who is as honest as he is blunt. Still, I didn't believe them until I met Namphy for myself. I found him still living on the modest farm he owned before he took over the Haitian government. He declined to move into the presidential palace; the opulence of its former occupant, ousted dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, disgusted him.

"I was aware of Duvalier's excesses," Namphy told me, "but it was much worse than I had imagined." Face to face, the military strongman is disarming. Of medium phyusical proportions and stocky build, he seems through some knack of carriage to be larger and more powerful than he is. He has an arresting face, with pleasant, amiable lines yet an intimation of ruggedness. His whole personality lights up every time he smiles. He displays an athletic conditioning yet he talks enthusiastically about books and asked knowledgeable questions about my own latest book.

I spent an evening with Nam- phy, three informal hours, while his small daughter tugged at him, struggled into his lap, hugged his neck and begged for snacks. I questioned him 10 different ways about his political ambitions. The answer was always the same; he had none. At last he became exasperated with the subject. "I am military man, and I have no interest in civilian office," he said in his native French, speaking through an interpreter.

"But even if I were a civilian and burned with political ambition, I would not want to be pesident of Haiti." The nation's problems, he explained, are too overwhelming. He spoke gravely about Haiti's terrible misery. The treasury has been drained; the economy is close to collapse; the land has been sapped; the population is impoverished. He has made repeated trips into the hinterlands to visit with the people and find out for himself what their needs are. Once he drove a pickup truck, unaccompanied by aides, bodyguards and presidential trappings.

He asked questions, without revealing his identity, until someone recognized him. Clearly, Namphy is tormented by what he learned. As he talked about the needs of the people, he broke into English. "These are good people," he said. Then he turned to me, his eyes moist.

"Yes," he repeated, "they are good people." Associates told me he anguishes over the plight of the people. Said Foreign Minister Jean-Baptist Hilaire: "I know this man. I know how he has suffered. The United States seems preoccupied, Namphy said, with elections. "Washington is in a hurry for us to become a democracy," he said.

"The people don't want democracy. They want jobs." He is eager, nevertheless, to turn the country over to civilian rule, but he is worried about the presidential candidates. Some are demagogues who might become dictators if they gain power; others are crooks who want to strip the treasury of what little is left, Namphy fears. He said most Haitians are naive, trusting people who can be fooledk by a demagogue. He has scheduled presidential elctions in 1987.

During the interim, he hopes to educate the people by introducing democracy at the local level. But he is willing to rush the process and hold earlier elections if the United States will take responsibility for the consequences. I never thought I would ever advocate keeping a military junta in power. But in my opinion, the longer Namphy can be persuaded to remain at the Haitian helm, the better off Haita will be and the more likely he will be succeeded by a true democracy. CASTRO CONNECTION: Across the waters in neighbor- big Cuba, Fidel Castro is watching Haiti with a hungry eye.

Intelligence sources say he hopes to exploit Haiti's deepin- ing poverty. Haitian revolutionaries have been trained in Cuba to sabotage the economy, hasten Haiti's economic collapse and form a communist state out of the wreckage. BABY DOC'S LEGACY: Before ex-dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier fled Haiti a few steps ahead of an angry mob, he turned over the government's bank account to his successor, Lt. Gen Henri Namphy. According to one report, there was less than $2 million left in the national treasury.

After the bookkeeping was straightened out, a source said, Namphy had only $500,000 to run the government. Duvalier and his cronies absconded with billions. Nam- phy has retained lawyers and accountants to figure out exactly how much, to trace where it has gone and to try to get it back. WASHINGTON WINDOW Reagan running against Washington By HELEN THOMAS WASHINGTON (UPI) President Reagan says he has "always felt the nine most terrifying words in the English language are "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." The president spent eight years as the governor of California and he is nearing the end of his sixth year in the White House, and yet he speaks of government with disdain. But in recent years government per se has been the whipping boy of politicians and aspiring presidential candidates.

Both President Jimmy Carter and Reagan ran against Washington as the intruder. Both extolled the joys of being amongst the people and both could not wait to get to Washington. If government is so bad, and so often the scapegoat, one has tc vender why they chose it as their ultimate careers. Perhaps because he has so little esteem for the government he has often selected men and women who have fallen by the wayside and who have either been fired or forced to resign under allegations of misuse of their off ice. Holiday decorations To The Editor: "Let us remember we are the belongings of the world and not its owners" Wendell Berry.

My dictionary defines vandalism as "The willful or malcicious destruction of public or private property, especially of anything beautiful or artistic." Considering these two quotes together, 1 come up with a definition for the ultimate act of vandalism: the use of any kind of nuclear weapon, because it is designed to kill people and living creatures even more efficiently than it can destroy things, and it does destroy everything we admire as beautiful. Certain citizens of Ukiah participated in the International Shadow Project on Aug. 6 (Hiroshima Day). Silhouettes of children vaporized by the bomb were painted on the sidewalks in whitewash as a memorial tribute to the lives lost In the Hiroshima and Nagasaki blasts.City officials interpreted this act as vandalism, and the painters were arrested on those charges. The city could have allowed the painting as a holiday decoration for which no encroachment permit is needed.

On the U.S. Memorial Day, we honor the solidiers who died in the American Civil War and all our subsequent wars. Beginning with World War II, with its saturation bombings of European cities by both the Allies and the Axis powers, and the nuclear bombings, civilians became the mass casualties of military operations, a historical trend that continued into Viet Nam. Why shouldn't we observe this international holiday, Hiroshima Day, to acknowledge the civilian victims of wars, present, past and future? Carolyn Dora Ukiah Development problems To The Editor: I would like to address this letter to the city council members. The dust literally hasn't settled in the north part of town near the high school, and yet more subdivision is threatened if the general plan am- mendment is approved and Beckstoffer gets to sell his property to whomever.

We in this area feel there are too many problems that have to be solved before our neighborhood can handle any more people moving in.We need to solve some serious traffic problems, problems of overcrowding of Frank Zeek School, and drainage problems, the worst of which is yet to come. (Last year's flooding will be nothing compared to the drainage problems we'll have in the next rainy season). We need to figure out a way to cut down on all the noise and air pollution from having so many homes, duplexes, apartments and light industry added to this area. If the city needs increased revenue so badly, can't more homes be built on empty parcels of land within city there is such demand for new homes, I should think developers would like the price better, and the council wouldn't have to go to all the trouble of annexing and rezoning. Or is it rezoning and annexing? I should think there is available land much more suitable for buiding than irreversibly plowed under and paved over prime agricultural land, such as the 185 acres off Lovers Lane will be if it's rezoned.

I should think the city officials would want to concentrate on keeping their own house in order by helping to enhance the downtown area and giving more support to local merchants, many of whom have lived in Ukiah all their lives, instead of wooing outside developers and big shopping center complexes so that out-of-town interests can profit. Mary M. Dallas Ukiah California beware To The Editor: After watching the zombie-like appearance of Justice Rehnquist, before the Senate Judiciary Committee, we should be asking questions of our governor. Before we partake the Soviet-style, yes or no, conformation of Chief Justice Rose Bird, we should be told what zombie we will be asked to endure for years to come. Will he or she be cast from the mold that has become characteristic of the big town bully? JohnW.McLain Redwood Valley Letter Policy The Journal welcomes letters from our readers.

However, we reserve the right not to print those letter we consider may be libelous, in bad taste or a personal attack. Letters must not exceed 300 words in length and should be typed and double-spaced. All letters must be signed and include an address and phone number for verification. Ukiah Daily "Journal Mendocino County. California Donald W.

Reynolds, President Thomas W. Reeves, General Manager John Anastasio Managing Editor Claire Booker Circulation Manager Bruce Schlabaugh Advertising Director DeniseHall Composing Supervisor Eddie Sequeira Display Advertising Manager Yvonne Bell Office Manager TomDorsey Classified Advertising Manager Member Audit Bureau of Circulations LOCALLY OPERATED MEMBER DONREY MEDIA GROUP DOONESBURY YOU'Kt LOOm' A7HIM.AMI60! THANKSFOR THEYSAY mwe BAYS IN CHICAGO. YOUCANSKIPTHB CWAK-AND-K-BAR, JACK. closer NOW. THEY SAY ONLY WHEN THZPOG THZFATMAN BAYS IN CHICAGO.

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