PUBLIC FORUM : CLINTONITE'S SALEM SCENARIO MISSES MARK.``Return of the witch hunt'' by Arthur Miller Noun 1. Arthur Miller - United States playwright (1915-2005) Miller , Opinions, Oct. 16, is a vivid example of the president's defenders' refusal or inability to engage in critical thinking. The attempt to draw an analogy between the witch-hunting activities in Salem, Mass., 300 years ago and the impeachment impeachment, formal accusation issued by a legislature against a public official charged with crime or other serious misconduct. In a looser sense the term is sometimes applied also to the trial by the legislature that may follow. of President Clinton is preposterous. The people of Salem were driven by superstition, fear and mass hysteria mass hysteria n. 1. Spontaneous, en masse development of identical physical or emotional symptoms among a group of individuals, as in a classroom of schoolchildren. 2. . The goal of their inquisition was to execute the accused. Superstition plays no role in what the president has done. The charges are undisputed facts. Make no mistake about it. Neither he nor his defenders has denied what he is charged with. They only argue that his inappropriate demeanor, his misdemeanor, isn't serious enough to warrant impeachment. Certainly, Clinton does not fear his accusers. He has maligned ma·lign tr.v. ma·ligned, ma·lign·ing, ma·ligns To make evil, harmful, and often untrue statements about; speak evil of. adj. 1. Evil in disposition, nature, or intent. 2. Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr
Kenneth Winston Starr (born July 21, 1946) is an American lawyer and former judge who was appointed to the Office of the Independent Counsel to investigate the death of the for months, and his followers have pointlessly defamed those, such as Reps. Dan Burton Danny "Dan" Lee Burton (born June 21 1938), American politician, is a member of the United States House of Representatives for Indiana's At-large congressional district. A Republican, his first term in the United States Congress began in January 1983. and Henry Hyde
Henry John Hyde (born April 18 1924), American politician, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2006, representing the 6th , who are in a position to affect the outcome of the impeachment hearings. There has indeed been some mass hysteria, primarily on the part of the news media vying for readership and viewership ratings. Interestingly, die-hard liberal defenders such as the New Times and Geraldo Rivera “Geraldo” redirects here. For the British bandleader, see Geraldo (bandleader). For the talk show, see . Gerald Michael Rivera[1] (born July 4, 1943), known by his TV name Geraldo Rivera or simply Geraldo have helped lead this hysteria, along with more thoughtful betrayed liberals such as Chris Matthews This article is about the journalist. For the cricketer, see Chris Matthews (cricketer). This biographical article or section needs additional references for verification. Please help [ to improve this article] by adding additional sources. and Sam Donaldson Samuel Andrew Donaldson (born March 11, 1934 in El Paso, Texas) is a reporter and news anchor for ABC News, anchoring the Sunday edition of World News Tonight from its inception in January 1979 through the 1990s. . As Ann Coulter Ann Hart Coulter (born December 8, 1961) is an American conservative columnist, political commentator and best-selling author. She frequently appears on television, radio and as a speaker at public and private events. points out, most of the sources in her book, ``High Crimes and Misdemeanors The offenses for which presidents, vice presidents, and all civil officers, including federal judges, can be removed from office through a process called Impeachment. The phrase high crimes and misdemeanors is found in the U.S. Constitution. ,'' spelling out why Clinton should be impeached, are liberal newspapers and TV shows. Very little comes from conservative sources, which seem afraid to be too critical. Where Miller's column is most absurd is in its suggestion that ``the evident wish is to end the evil one's very existence.'' If the president is impeached and loses his trial in the Senate, he will not lose his head, as he might have done in merry old England where the impeachment idea finds its origin some 600 years ago. He won't be imprisoned im·pris·on tr.v. im·pris·oned, im·pris·on·ing, im·pris·ons To put in or as if in prison; confine. [Middle English emprisonen, from Old French emprisoner : en- either. Any form of punishment is expressly prohibited by our Constitution. The only thing that would happen to the president is he would lose his job. The convicted witches of Salem surely would have been thrilled to have such a sentence pronounced on them. - David C. Wilcox La Canada Flintridge Rep. Henry Hyde, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Judiciary Committee may refer to:
How can impeachment hearings proceed on the basis of such a discredited body of evidence? There isn't a conservative in this country who wouldn't revile the methods and results of Kenneth Starr's investigation if the target wasn't President Clinton. - Don D. Brown West Hills The Daily News Opinion on Oct. 6, ``Verbal flogging,'' is all wrong in its conclusion that the president should be the recipient of a verbal flogging in the well of the House. This is about more than a affair between Bill and Monica Lewinsky Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American woman with whom the former United States President Bill Clinton admitted (after initially denying) to having had an "inappropriate relationship"[1] while Lewinsky worked at the White House in 1995 and 1996. . There is credible evidence of criminal conduct that needs to be examined and questions need to be answered. This is much more than sex. It is about power and who wields it in this country. It could be one of the defining moments of our republic when we as Americans decide how to deal with the allegations against the president. Will we create an imperial presidency Imperial Presidency is a term that became popular in the 1960s and that served as the title of a 1973 volume by historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. to describe the modern presidency of the United States. where the chief executive does not have to answer to the legislative and judicial branches of our government, or will we establish that the rule of law pertains to all citizens? If we turn away from these allegations against Bill Clinton because of the presence of a sordid sexual affair we will be failing in our duty to ourselves and our republic. - Jeffrey S. Wall Lancaster I would like to thank Morris E. Schorr (Public Forum, Oct. 13) for clarifying the facts for me in regard to Ken Starr's investigation of President Clinton. I am sorry, however, that Schorr is under the illusion that the charges against Clinton are suspect because of right-wing prejudice. By the president's own admission he has committed: Perjury perjury (pûr`jərē), in criminal law, the act of willfully and knowingly stating a falsehood under oath or under affirmation in judicial or administrative proceedings. while under oath, a legally punishable offense. Obstruction of justice A criminal offense that involves interference, through words or actions, with the proper operations of a court or officers of the court. The integrity of the judicial system depends on the participants' acting honestly and without fear of reprisals. by withholding material evidence in the discovery process, a legally punishable offense. Witness tampering  This article or section may deal primarily with the U.S. and may not present a worldwide view. , a legally punishable offense. Lying to the American public, a moral offense. As a Democrat who voted for Clinton, I would like to believe that Starr's investigation is nothing but a partisan witch hunt. But facts are facts. The Republicans don't need Starr to do their dirty work for them. They've got Clinton. - Sandy Richard Simi Valley Let me remind those voters who are concerned about bigots' throwing the first stone at the president that the biblical reference is to a woman who already had been convicted and condemned to death when that caution was given. It was a request for mercy, not for dismissal of charges. The equivalent situation for Bill Clinton would be if President Gore pardoned him after the Senate found him guilty and removed him from office, thereby preventing any subsequent indictment and possible prison term for the ex-president. We're not even close to that stage yet. Stone throwing isn't a possibility until the Senate passes judgment. - Wm. O. Felsman Woodland Hills Subsidizing the IMF IMF See: International Monetary Fund IMF See International Monetary Fund (IMF). Can anyone explain why the International Monetary Fund is constantly requesting more infusions of money from the taxpayers, while at the same time assuring everyone that it has have never lost a dollar on so-called loans to countries in trouble around the world? Congress approved $18 billion Oct. 15. Is anyone keeping score? - A. Shepard Reseda LAUSD LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles, CA) health plan I read in disbelief that the Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. is planning to provide basic health care to more than 250,000 students (``Student health upgrade; LAUSD unveils care plan,'' Daily News, Oct. 16). Is this the same school district that earlier in the week was trying to decide between giving teachers a pay raise or buying new textbooks? Before the LAUSD attempts to take on such a large responsibility as health care, maybe it can attempt to raise its dismal test scores. Responsible parents such as Amparo Barrea, who was quoted in the story, know that low-cost programs already exist. We do not need to duplicate such programs in the schools. - Matthew Schaaf Granada Hills Caring for the aged In response to ``The challenge of caring,'' (Daily News, Oct. 11): When are we going to confront the realities of life? As the article points out, in our parents' time, their parents died by 65. Today, most 65-year-olds can look forward to 20 more years of life. The question is what kind of life. Every technological advance keeps people living longer but not necessarily better. The strain on the caregivers reaches beyond the breaking point. Ellen Sperling fits the pattern shown on the chart in the story. Daughters make up 29 percent of all family caregivers. It takes a very strong person, a saint with the patience of Job, to endure. She has to be a caregiver to Dad, a wife to her husband and a mother to her sons and still try to hold out just a smidgen for herself. This is going to get much worse as the boomers themselves age. Why can't we give Dad a shot and say good night? We put dogs and cats ``to sleep'' every day, but we force humans, both the elderly and the caregivers, to suffer living hell. - Woodrow J. Hughes Northridge Conservancy won't be scapegoat The brush-clearance ordinance is not being ignored by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy is an agency of the state of California in the United States founded in 1979 and dedicated to the acquisition of land in the Santa Susana and Santa Monica Mountains and the Simi Hills, north and west of Los Angeles, for preservation as open . The conservancy is not about to be the scapegoat for some bureaucrats down at Fire Department headquarters who apparently have spread untruths and exaggerations to deflect the City Council's ire at inaction on the 6,000 properties - of 180,000 hillside properties within the brush-clearance area - that are out of compliance. Of the 180,000 hillside properties, exactly 137 are lots with buildings adjacent to conservancy parkland that fall within the clearance zone. They represent less than 0.0008 percent of all such lots. Of these, 116 or 85 percent have already been cleared by the conservancy to historical standard. The remaining 21 lots are scheduled for brush clearance within the next month and generally are located in less fire-prone areas. Clearly, brush clearance to historical standards is not the issue. More to the point is the fact that the city changed the rules in 1997 to require 200 feet of fuel modification next to structures, 100 feet more than previously required. For the parklands administered by the conservancy, this extra 100 feet represents old-growth chaparral that has never been cleared. The cost of initial clearing to the 200-foot standard is estimated at $165,000. The conservancy submitted a budget request for this money in September of 1997, but was turned down by the Department of Finance. Early this year, Assemblyman Wally Knox, D-Los Angeles, submitted a budget augmentation request for the full $165,000. The Legislature reduced this amount to $50,000, but even that was vetoed by the governor Aug. 21. No matter how worthy the cause, the conservancy cannot spend taxpayer dollars not appropriated to it. If the City Council and conservancy work together, the problem can be solved before the Santa Ana season is upon us. But it doesn't help to have politicians and newspapers blame the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy for what amounts to less than 0.0008 percent of their citywide brush-clearance problem. - Joseph T. Edmiston Executive director Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Malibu |
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