The Galveston Daily News from Galveston, Texas • Page 10

Page 10-A Call DougToney at 744-3611 or 986-7711, Ext. 233 DAILY NEWS OPINION Saturday May 21,1994 I 1 A I. II COT THE DAILYNEWS Texas' Oldest Since 1842 Les Daughtry Editor and Publisher Emeritus Dolph Tillotson Editor and ub isher DougToney Managing Editor Editorials Excerpts from recent editorials nationwide The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J., on Supreme Court nominee Stephen Breyer: or Judge Stephen Breyer, the Supreme Court nominating process has been a case of deja vu. He came up empty the first time his name appeared among the finalists to fill a vacancy on the high court. But he made it the second time and for good reason he has outstanding judicial credentials.

The fact that the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit was twice on President Clinton's short list of nominees was an indication he is eminently qualified to fill the vacancies, the latest created by the retirement of Justice Harry Blackmun. In Judge Breyer, the president has a nominee who is not only a highly regarded federal judge but also has strong bipartisan support on Capitol Hill, which should assure speedy and uncomplicated Senate confirmation hearings. Judge Breyer will bring to the court not only a high intellect but a background as a moderate consensus-builder, reminiscent of the man for whom he once clerked, Justice Arthur Goldberg. Judge Breyer has the potential to sustain the estimable legacy of Justice Blackmun.

The Chronicle-Telegram, Elyria, Ohio, on lobbyists: I physics, for every action there is a reaction. That is a law. In politics, for every scandal there is a reform. That is a laugh. Even so, the many disgraces.of Congress, from the House bank affair to the Keating Five sellout, have produced a happy response- restraints on lobbyists' gifts and influence.

Though a joint committee must reconcile the House and Senate bills, both would allow members of Congress and their staffs to accept gifts only from personal friends who are not registered lobbyists. Friends could also treat members to a free lunch or to a ballgame but only in the members' home states. (D.C. restaurateurs are fuming.) To counter stealth lobbying on these occasions, the bills prohibit discussions of The reforms would narrow the influence gulf between the common citizen and the professional Beltway persuader. Alas, they would not transform the incorruptible nincompoop or the upright zealot a reminder that the best reform is on Election Day.

San Diego Union-Tribune on democracy in Mexico: A mid the political chaos and violence in Mexico this year, two recent events show that democracy is still moving forward. One is (the recent) freewheeling televised presidential debate, the first of its kind in Mexico's history. Another is the decision to ask United Nations assistance to ensure the integrity of the Aug. 21 election. In the past, PRI candidates campaigned by going around the country bestowing construction projects and new social service programs.

Opposition candidates were never given an equal footing. The debate changed that. Permitting U.N. observers is another first. Unbiased scrutiny of the Mexican electoral system would not only quell foreign concern about voter fraud, but also begin to reverse the perception by many Mexicans that elections are rigged and the political process closed.

While plenty of skepticism remains about the prospect for free and fair elections, the debate and U.N. monitoring are definitely positive signs. And in these troubled times, the Mexican people and foreign nations need ample reassurance. WE HAVE J)M MOBLE Letters to the editor GOP AIDS stance is probably too late Apologies to AIDS victims and activists by the county GOP chairwoman may be misguided. Prior to the advent of antibiotics, quarantine was widely practiced for persons infected with contagions.

Notably, hospitals had isolation wards. Tuberculous patients were domiciled in sanitariums. My childhood home was quarantined to prevent the spread of scarlet fever (from me). Typhoid Mary was held in virtual house arrest for 30 years. Antibiotics do not prevent or cure AIDS.

The adage, "Your freedom ends where my nose begins," applies not just to boxing and dirty socks but to dreaded pox. The temerity regarding civil rights that has allowed AIDS to reach epidemic proportions in this country and abroad is appalling and astonishing. The Centers for Disease Control reports hundreds of AIDS cases for which sexual or needle transmissions do not fit. Perhaps there is validity to toilet seat and mosquito blood transmissions. Why not be prophylactic? The Galveston County Republican Party stance is likely too late.

What better scourge could one devise to reduce global overpopulation? D.E. Deese Dickinson Memorial helped put the hurt to rest It is with deep feelings of appreciation that I thank the Galveston Municipal Police Association for the moving memorial service held May 15 in remembrance of the officers who died in the line of duty. As a teen-ager, I remember the sudden loss of my father, Detective John W. Reifel, who died five days after he was shot while answering a burglary call. It is always sad to lose a loved one, but it's even sadder when no one, outside family, seems to care.

A flood of memories came to me during this tribute, such as how young my mom was to be a widow (early 40s); how we struggled without insurance or income; and, most of all, the years without dad in our lives. The recent remembrance, though a long time coming, is greatly appreciated. Now I can put the hurt to rest. Yvonne Reifel Macik Galveston If you don't vote, you can't complain If you don't vote, you can't gripe. What argument would one have when the bond issue comes up in November? Where would one's right fall when he asks for his street to be paved? You say your right comes from the First Amendment? I say your first right is to vote for the right to use the Bill of Rights.

Without the vote there would be no Bill of Rights for you to gripe under. My advice to people who think voting has no meaning in their lives would be to learn how this country is held together. It's not held together with your rights alone. The glue that holds those rights in place is your birthright of the vote. That's the first duty of an American.

Anyone thinking different is in the wrong country and should leave without argument because you don't real- ly have one. Herman Hodges Galveston Galveston visitor spots hummingbird I recently visited your lovely coastal city and was interested to know if bird-loving folks keep hummingbird feeders out for birds, since Austin has so many "hummers." I was always told there are none in Galveston. While in my daughter's front yard, a beautiful iridescent hummingbird greeted me within arm's length, ready to feed off the flowers in a small, colorful garden. This happened on Beaudelaire Circle. Vesta Rutledge Austin Write The Galveston County Daily News welcomes letters of up to 150 words, and guest columns of up to 475 words, on any public issue.

Guest columns should include a photograph of the writer. We publish only original mail addressed to The Galveston County Daily News bearing the writer's signature. An address and phone number not for publication must be included. Atewswill publish letters with the author's name withheld, but authorship must be verified before publication. Those who write letters are asked to limit their entries to one per month.

All letters and guest columns are subject to editing. The Daily News reserves the right to refuse to publish any submission. Mail or fax letters to: Doug Toney Letters to the Editor The Daily News P.O. Box 628 Gafveston, Texas 77553 Fax: 740-3421 Today In history The Associated Press Today is Saturday, May 21, the 141st day of 1994. There are 224 days left in the year.

This is Armed Forces Day. On this date: In 1881, Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross. In 1832, the first Democratic National Convention got under way, in Baltimore. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh landed his Spirit of St. Louis near Paris, completing the first solo airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

In 1956, the United States exploded the first airborne hydrogen bomb over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific. In 1968, the nuclear-powered U.S. submarine Scorpion, with 99 men aboard, was last heard from. (The remains of the sub were later found on the ocean floor 400 miles southwest of the Azores.) In 1991, former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated during national elections by a suicide bomber. Today's Birthdays: Novelist Harold Robbins is 78.

Singer Leo Sayer is 46. Actor Mr. is 42. Doonesbury 7HANK5. YOU TOO.ALS5KJ WHAT5 YOUR i THOUGHT I'PTOCtON OUTTDTHa COASTANP ON A ORPO X)Me 5TANP-UP, OK WORK.

RIGHT, see UNVEKU5AR. I FORYOU J05AY- WVBGOT 6RAPZ5. Charley Reese America must stay out of Haiti ome people, including senators and the president, are talking about using military force in Haiti. The United States should not do that. First, the United States has no moral or legal right to invade another country not at war with us.

Call it what you like, it's international gangsterism. A big country bullying a small one. There will never be peace as long as countries use force to settle disputes, and I hold with Ben Franklin that there's never been a good war or a bad peace. Second, the United States has no interests at all, let alone strategic interests, in Haiti. If there were another 1,000 miles of open seas between Haiti and the United States, the politicians wouldn't even be talking about it.

They only talk about it because of the nuisance of Haitian refugees. Third, you can't restore democracy to Haiti, assuming you wish to call one election democracy, by installing an ousted president at the point of a Marine bayonet. Fourth, it's time for the United States to stop doing for other people what they should do for themselves. I can't speak for you, but I'm tired of people leaving their country, coming here, forming a lobby and hiring a public relations firm, and asking us, "Will you send your sons down to my country to fight for my liberty?" The answer should be no. The United States is a free country because more than 1 million Americans died to make it free and keep it free.

If the 200,000 Haitians living in the United States want democracy in Haiti, I suggest they stop by a gun store, buy a rifle and go back to Haiti and fight for it. After all, Haiti is not being oppressed by foreigners. Haitians are oppressing Haitians, though I suspect the amount of oppression is being greatly exaggerated by those who want the United States to do their work for them. I suspect, too, that the majority of Haitian refugees are refugees from the terrible poverty, not from political oppression. But the United States cannot fix their economy either.

We cannot be the Mary Poppins of nations. Our own economy needs a lot more than a spoonful of sugar. Is our refugee policy racist? You bet it is. Thanks to an amendment by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, any Soviet Jew who says he or she fears political persecution must be accepted as a refugee.

Cubans get the same red carpet, a holdover from the Cold War days when anyone fleeing a communist country had a good chance of being accepted as a refugee. Haitians? Well, they have to prove they are fleeing persecution, as do Asians and others. Like our foreign policy, our refugee policy is based on lobbies and campaign contributions, not principles. Actually, we should repeal the political asylum laws and not accept refugees from anywhere. In a world of 5.5 billion people, including 250 million Americans, it is an archaic concept.

But if that gaggle of politicians we call a Congress cannot bring themselves to face reality and repeal asylum laws, then they should at least have one set of rules for everyone, no exceptions. The present policy is so unjust it stinks like a pile of dead rats. Charley Reese is a nationally syndicated columnist. 1994 by King Features Syndicate Inc..