Lexington Herald-Leader from Lexington, Kentucky • 8

ilKiIiEliWpllil Lexington Herald-Leader Timothy KaRy President and Publisher Tom EMsn Managing Editor The Lexington HerakJ-Leader is a Knight Ridder newspaper published by the Lexington HerakUeader Co 100 Midland Avenue Lexington Ky 40508 Editorials reflect the opinion of the editorial board Members are Timothy Kelly Pam Luecke Vanessa Gallman editorial writers Larry Dale Keeling Jamie Lucke Audrey Lee Rita Gatton and cartoonist Joel PetL Editor and Vice President Editorial Page Editor nsm AS September 17 1999 Editorial Pace Editor Vanessa Gallman (606) 231-1393 Commentary Editor: Rita Sl Gatton (606) 231-3235 hleditorialherald-leadercom HERALD4JEA0ER CARTOONIST Hal Ethical hit-and-run cable-TV show is vehicle for re-election welcome To WHAT tttffefeV To ft GRACIOUSLY PReTlNTieus APITAi world it looks like he had far more luck hitting up lobbying interests than he had in soliciting support from non-lobbying interests An equally obvious concern is that the sponsors of show are buying influence with and access to a member of House leadership They deny any buying of course and Clark denies any selling to be expected But who among you really believes these same businesses and organizations would sponsor this show if Clark were an average Joe on the street? A show of hands please Anyone? Anyone? OK enough said An equally troubling but somewhat less obvious ethical concern involves the fact that Clark a Louisville Democrat will be up for re-election next year Maybe have opposition maybe he But if he does he will have the advantage of hosting a hometown cable-TV show through most if not all of the election year His name and face will be there for the voters of his district to see on a regular basis ami it cost his campaign a dime Most of the cost will be borne by corporations that are legally barred from making campaign contributions And even if corporate contributions were legal the amount they are paying to sponsor TV show is twice the amount they could give to candidate Clark We suspect what this show is all about a thinly disguised skirting of campaign finance laws designed to promote re-electiom If the ethics commission see that maybe the Registry of Election Finance can Ethical behavior like beauty often is in the eye of tiie beholder That being the case will someone please buy new spectacles for the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission and House Speaker Pro Tern Larry Clark? Clark sees nothing wrong with having lobbying groups and other vested interests pay $4000 apiece in annual sponsorships to put his face before Louisville TV viewers on a regular basis Apparently the ethics panel agrees with Clark In Much the commission issued an opinion saying it is OK for a legislator to host a public affairs TV show and to solicit sponsorship for it The only caveat the commission included in the opinion was that solicitation of sponsors should be and not targeted at lobbying groups This week show premiered on cable TV in Louisville The sponsors included seven businesses that are registered with the state as lobbying interests and two companies that were represented by lobbyists until a few months ago The four known sponsors without present or recent lobbying representation are a Realtor a bank the labor union Clark belongs to and tiie National Electrical Contractors Association not a stretch to imagine any one of these four occasionally being interested in what the General Assembly is doing So the ethical problem with tins situation? 'T One obvious concern based on what is known about paying tiie bills for show is whether his solicitation of sponsors was truly If it was w-iii other way to look at it is to add the percentages and divide by two From this we can see that only 5 percent of teenagers have at least one tattoo Control of schools is at heart of evolution debate The decision by the Kansas Board of Education to remove the theory of evolution from educational requirements is not the end erf life as we know it One would think this is the case if attention is paid to the high priests of the religion of science whose ranting has been extensively covered by the media Science die religion of the 20th century like all religions can be of benefit when practiced with moderation and common sense However blind adherence to orthodoxy has created a modem version of the Inquisition where anyone who does not agree with the version of the creation or any other subject is publicly ridiculed What is so threatening about the people of Kansas allowing die parents teachers and administrators of the various districts to choose what their children are taught? Believe it or not the states once had control of their schools before the federal government decided to The only ones threatened by local control of schools are the anti-Christian socialists of the National Education Association and government bureaucrats who want to continue to transform public schools into political orientation centers Neither science nor religion has a franchise on truth Blind adherence to one or the other is a dead end that only leads to prejudice and bigotry Kudos to the Kansas school board for the courage to take control of its schools Wended Curtis Paris could restore faith to a more prominent dace in our society OWMI CofllM Butler Stop blaming guns When reading Ellen article on US Rep Carolyn McCarthy and her fight far gun control I became dismayed by yet another person who was missing the point Again die Columbine issue was brought up and in an attempt to place the blame die American fingers have pointed to gun-maters and distributors The key issue concerning Columbine is not how die children committed the horrible acts but why? By placing the blame on gun-makers and distributors politicians and parents teach their children how to externalize blame which detaches kids from their behavior Today's students no longer accept accountability for their actions thus our society must make personal responsibility the crux in the way we educate our children We should each take blame and look inward far what we can do to curb violent crimes As a future teacher I plan to get involved in the lives demonstrating die right way to handle confrontations and maintaining my belief in die innate ability of all students to succeed a small step but a start What do you plan to to? DavkI latfe Lexington Miscalculating tattoos In the July 6 article old it was stated that percent of teens 5 percent of boys 5 percent of girls already have at least one tattoo" This is a misleading use of statistics When using percentages of subgroups to determine percentages of a larger group it is not enough to merely add the percentages of each subgroup The percentages for each group must first be multiplied by the percentage that die subgroup composes of the total group If we assume that there are an equal number of teen-age boys and girls in the country each of die two groups composes half of the total number of teen-agers Then we should calculate: 50) (05 50) 05 An Lexington Falcons belong I happened upon the government access channel recently and saw die peregrine falcon live-camera watch I am an animal lover and I found it to be offensive and upsetting These birds are birds of prey they kill pigeons doves and songbirds alike I know that this is the intended purpose far them in downtown Lexington but I think it should be done I particularly care to watch it on TV These birds should be in national parks or sanctuaries not in downtown Lexington! Nancy Simpson Lsdniton By water conservation The idea of a water pipeline from Lexington to the Ohio River is simply ridiculous Such a pipeline would surely serve as a new infection corridor far the urban sprawl that has already buried much of die Bluegrass region under a carpet of asphalt Furthermore do we really want to drink water that has been in a pipe far seven days and has die terrifically polluted Ohio River asasouroe? Lexington has no need far this water in the first place If we all sacrifice a little and perform some simple water conservation measures every spring and summer as a preventative measure this community will have no need far an additional water supply I lived through die droughts of die early 1960s in a house where our water source was rain captured in a large astern During those terribly dry years we were extremely cautious with our water usage Our conservation efforts paid off we never ran out of water Reducing demand is die key to protecting Lexington from water shortages Unfortunately because water is supplied by a company that like any other company is driven by profit it wants to keep demand far its product as high as possible and have an unlimited supply hence maximizing profitability PU PHOTO In addition to horses horse farms and the Kentucky Horse Park Lexington has horse statues and Thoroughbred Park to keep them in Perfect horse sense Lexington can claim more than one equine title Church-state According to newspaper accounts George Bush in his bid for the idency proposes that government work with organizations of faith to make society better What a refreshing concept that government would work with instead of against faith organizations As candidate Bush said government change people but faith can The American Civil Liberties Union aided and abetted by liberal newspapers has succeeded in making matters of faith an anathema in public places But the irony of secularism which the ACLU promotes is that it is just as dogmatic and unyielding as most faith articles the ACLU attacks Not everything about faith organizations has been constructive to society but on balance the good far outweighs die bad For example hospitals schools art music and altruism have all benefited greatly from a religious motivation I am unaware of die ACLU sending a missionary to a foreign country to minister to die Bide and afflicted During and after the disastrous flood of 1997 Falmouth received much charitable assistance from organization sthroughout the nation more than 75 percent was from churches or faith-related organizations Missing in action are the ACLU rights organizations and the Herald-Leader a great trumpeter far justice but rarely mercy If charity is one measure of the goodness of society it appears that faith organizations win over our more secular brethren Perhaps just perhaps strong leadership from a president 4 Symbol of protest I did not have die opportunity to see the photograph of Judy Licato the American flag I did however rod Peggie Ryder's letter concerning the picture Ryder seem to understand that although die American flag may represent the heritage which includes not only die Emancipation Proclamation the Bill of Rights and fighting Hitler's Reich bid also slavery concentration camps the Vietnam War and white male suffrage she fails to see that the ability to mode the most banc representation of America is what makes First Amendment rights so valuable If we are permitted to make a parody of only thaw things not sacred to anyone then we have no worthwhile right to expression at alL While using die flag to convey dissent may seem rather juvenile it should and will always be a way to gain attention far a cause while simultaneously increasing the blood pressure of people the flag instead of protecting our basic freedoms OW Burgstl The Herald-Leader welcomes letters on topics of public interest Letters should be No more than 250 woida Any exceptions will be made at the discretion of die editors We reserve die right to edit all letter submitted for brevity' content and clarity Original not copies or form letters ntM Information: Sign your letter and indude your street address and daytime and evening telephone numbers (Phone numbers are used far verification only) MaN to: Letters to the editor Lexington Herald-Leader 100 Midland Avenue Lexington Ky ty tec (606) By o-maR: hleditorialherald-leadercom Quostlons: About letters call (606) 231-1441 Winningest Horse Capital of the World bred too many stakes winners here to let this title slip by us How about a horse race to settle it? A kind of claiming race you might say pit our finest against theirs any day Got baby go! The Horae Capital Capital of the World No not a typo With the record-high auction prices paid for horse flesh surely more money is spent on horses here than anywhere else Horse Souvenir Capital of the World Paintings postcards pins toys T-shirts tumblers books bags and blankets gewgaw supply be beat Horaecom Capital of the World Everyone else is cashing in on why not us? Horae Capital of the World With the Worst Drivers We win hars down So some upstart locales have the nerve to claim that they hold the Horse Capital of the World title Pure horse manure we say Sounds like a bunch of swagger to us But what if wrong? What if there is some Grand Indisputable Universal Horse Measuring Stick out there? And suppose Cooke County Texas or Marion County Fla or Chantilly France stands a smidgen taller than Fayette County Then what? not be outdone No sir There are all sorts of distinctions we can tout Historic Horse Capital of the World Chantilly might be a few years older than Lexington but mainly a training center got breeding too That gives us a legup i.