Chickasha Daily Express (Chickasha, Okla.), Vol. 102, No. 151, Ed. 1 Friday, September 3, 1993 Page: 2 of 14
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tempnint
By Robert J. Wagman
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Plan should promote healthful living
By Sarah Overstreet
THE WAGMAN FILE
By Joseph Perkins
I
Robert Maynard spoke the truth
By Joseph Spear
Berry's World
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Tami Butler, Adv. Mgr.
Lewis Cook, Circ. Mgr.
Dr~nd~ D~Lnr Mfino AAononor
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Terry Ferris, Managing Editor H.S. Caldwell, Press Room Supervisor
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2
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UALAW
To help or hinder
Should GOP obstruct Clinton plans?
JOSEPH
SPEAR
ROBERT
WAGMAN
JOSEPH
PERKINS
A LOCALLY OPERATED MEMBER OF THE
DONREY MEDIA GROUP
Donald W. Reynolds, Founder
SARAH
OVERSTREET
Should the GOP
continue its absolute
opposition to every
proposal put forward
by the Clinton
administration or
become Involved in
trying to shape
legislative proposals?
•Chickasha Daily Express
•Friday, September 3,1993
•Page 2
ing and the requirement that all re-
cipients work for their checks. How is
the GOP to oppose this very Republi-
can concept. Too expensive? Too bu-
reaucratic? Possibly the only thing
they can hang their hat on is that the
Clinton proposal will include a 25-cent-
an-hour increase in the minimum
wage.
Reinventing Government. The
Clinton administration's plan to reor-
ganize and streamline the federal gov-
ernment will contain so many
long-sought GOP objectives — such
as reforming civil service rules and
privatizing government functions —
that many on Capitol Hill can’t wait
to see what the GOP will come up with
as a reason to oppose it.
Crime Bill. How can the GOP oppose
funding 100,000 new police officers? It
is likely the GOP will oppose a proposal
in the Clinton package to do away with
mandatory minimum sentences for
drug crimes. Jails have become so
Ta'
Uhickasha Aailg Express
Brenda K. Haney, Publisher
The broad outline of President
Clinton's national health plan, an-
nounced in mid-August, depends
largely on rearranging how we use
what’s already available. It relies on
making employers pick up a bigger
share of health costs, developing in-
surance-buying cooperatives to help
small businesses get better insur-
ance rates and encouraging compe-
tition among health plans.
The hows and wherefores will
come later, the president says, but
unless his vision expands to a broad-
er view of the health-care puzzle
we’ll still be in trouble. Here are
some goals the president should add
to his list:
1. For a national health program
to pay for itself and not bankrupt us,
it must truly be a “health" program
that teaches and promotes health
and prevents disease. What we’ve
had largely is a “disease" program,
a group of after-the-fact services to
mop up after the damage is done.
Insurance companies have to
begin paying for routine health
screening, which most physicians be-
lieve is necessary to maintain good
health. Historically, they have been
reluctant to pay for preventive
exams, paying for tests only when
there is reason to suspect disease.
2. Insurance companies must offer
incentives for the insured who prac-
tice good health habits — namely,
lowered rates. Unlike other forms of
insurance, where I am charged at
I first met Michael Jackson five
years ago. I came away with but one
impression of the man whom the
celebrity mags Vanity Fair and People
declared the most famous entertain-
er in the world: He truly was the
nicest human being I had ever met.
The pop star was not simply strik-
ing a pose, pretending to be gentle
and guileless before his adoring
public while running roughshod over
his hired hands away from the public
eye. I have seen him in close quar-
ters several times since our first
meeting and he has only confirmed
my initial impression.
Which is why it pains me to read
the recent spate of sensational sto-
ries about Jackson quoting anony-
mous sources (naturally), who offer
unsubstantiated second-, third- or
even fourth-hand dope alleging that
the pop star fondled and had sexual
relations with somebody’s child.
These are the verifiable facts that
have emerged in the case: The child
in question, a 13-year-old boy, is at
the center of a bitter custody battle
between his estranged parents. His
mother says she was not aware of any
abuse of her son. Jackson’s repre-
sentatives say he received an extor-
tion demand of $20 million, which he
refused.
That a man who so loves children,
who has donated millions of dollars to
various children’s charities, who has
graciously opened up his wonderful
home to terminally ill children, who
sets aside thousands of free concert
tickets at his tour stops for disadvan-
taged children, would have his good
name so besmirched is an injustice.
I am reminded of the observation
by Claire Booth Luce that no good
deed goes unpunished.
dustry’s highest honor) in one
evening.
The pop star released seven No. 1
singles during the 1980s, more than
any other artist, according to Bill-
board magazine. He also grossed
more than $125 million in tickets sales
during his last world concert tour, the
biggest box office of any tour in his-
tory.
All of Jackson’s remarkable cre-
ative and artistic achievements, all of
his admirable humanitarian and char-
itable works, have been brushed to
the side in the wake of the scurrilous
assault on his character. The scan-
dalmongers in the media delight in
lumbia University period. I had been
reporting on the FBI's methods, in-
cluding the agency's outrageous prac-
tice of keeping files on black activists
under such generic headings as “CP,”
for Communist Party, or “BP,” for
Black Panthers, and Maynard wanted
me to tell his students about my work.
I went to New York with a brief-
case full of classified FBI memos on
such black heroes as Martin Luther
King Jr. and Ralph David Abernathy
and passed them around freely. A CBS
correspondent working with Maynard
was obviously disgusted at this mon-
strous breach of national security and
slinked from the room. Not Maynard.
He was fascinated with what I had
turned up, and he and his students
grilled me for the better part of an af-
ternoon.
In the years since, I periodically
wrote to Bob Maynard and he always
found time to reply. I am proud to
have known him, however incidental-
ly. If there’s a heaven up there, as
we've been told, I am confident he is
residing in a special corner of it that
has been reserved for the truly good
and decent.
©1993 NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE ASSN.
MI
es-r-
J
22
ag
I think the ground shuddered a bit
on Aug. 17, the day former Oakland
Tribune publisher Robert Maynard
died of cancer, as if the planet itself
was surrendering a part of its soul.
What was it about this man who
spoke truth about painful problems
but managed to do so without sound
ing strident or conniving? This man
who shunned cliches and buzz words
and talked about the race crisis in
common sense terms with logic so
m
YoU SaY THe
Voices WoN’T
LeT YoU SleeP?
The irony of this whole sordid
affair is that among the ranks of
celebrity sports figures, matinee
idols, TV personalities and pop music
stars, few have led as exemplary a
life as Michael Jackson (who, it
should remembered, has had to con-
tend with his celebrity status since
he was the 8-year-old lead singer of
the Jackson 5).
He has never had to check into
the Betty Ford Center for alcohol
abuse (Elizabeth Taylor). He’s never
been arrested for drug possession
(Paul McCartney, Steve Howe). He’s
never been investigated for rape
(Rob Lowe, Mike Tyson). He’s never
beaten up a girlfriend or spouse
(Jackson Browne) He’s never been
booked for publicly exposing himself
(Pee Wee Herman). He’s never been
stopped for carrying an unregistered
firearm (Harry Connick Jr.).
What he has done is endow more
than 100 scholarships through the
United Negro College Fund. He
helped build a special burn treat- _
ment center at Brotman Memorial
least in part by the risk I take — dri-
ving a sports car, having a high acci-
dent or traffic violation rate, heating
with wood — I get no such break in
health insurance. If I eat a diet high
in fat, work at a breakneck pace with
a butt between my fingers and get no
exercise, I pay the same rate as the
person who runs 15 miles a week,
meditates to relieve stress and counts
fat grams as if they were live hand
grenades.
If health insurance were priced ac-
cording to lifestyle habits, an employ-
ee who practices preventive health
habits would cost his employer less in
insurance fees. Would that lead to dis-
crimination, with employers hiring
only non-smokers who keep in line
with the height-and-weight charts? It
doesn’t need to. Employees who per
sist in living an undertaker’s dream
can pay the difference between the
rate employers pay for workers who
practice good health habits and their
own higher-risk rates.
3. We’re going to have to tax the be
jabbers out of cigarettes and alcohol,
and perhaps even some foodsrIf you
think that’s a radical idea, consider
that some medical researchers esti-
mate that as much as 46 percent of
Americans’ illnesses are smoking-re-
lated, another 10-15 percent is attrib-
utable to alcohol (although since most
alcoholics smoke, how much damage
comes from which habit is murky) and
being overweight contributes to a va
riety of serious health problems.
Blair Justice, in his book “Who Gets
Sick: Thinking and Health,” blames
(Pa.) Gazette & Daily when he won
his Nieman. At the Washington Post,
he became a star reporter and worked
his way into editorial ranks.
In 1979, the Gannett Corp, selected
Maynard to edit the Oakland Tribune.
Four years later, with typical chutzpah,
Maynard persuaded Gannett to sell the
newspaper to him in a leveraged deal
The company itself put up $17 million,
accepting the paper’s assets as collat-
eral. Maynard borrowed another $5 mil
lion from a local bank, and he was in
business as America’s first black pub
obesity for 20 percent of all disease,
physical inactivity for another 10-15
percent and drug addiction for anoth
er 5-10 percent. Sufficient taxes on the
purchase of substances linked to dis-
ease could provide the money neces
sary for long-term care of the
chronically ill.
4. For decades, insurance compa-
nies required hospitalization for many
procedures that didn’t need it. Getting
a check meant checking in. Some in-
surance companies are beginning to
reform this practice, and we have to
guarantee that the trend continues.
5. We have to curtail the unwar
ranted hospital expansion, which has
led to the doubling of unused hospital
beds over the last 30 years, enriching
builders and some lenders and forc-
ing hospitals into a scrap for patients
and sometimes into bankruptcy.
No matter which way we go, our
health is the shared responsibility of
health-care providers, recipients and
insurers. If the government can help
these entities strike a proper balance,
it won’t need to simply take more tax
payer money to shell out on a diseased
•system
<1993 NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE ASSN
.inAnW,40 n.. j A —4-
• ivu. •UM09 »tovi
The Chickasha Daily Ex-
press welcomes letters from
readers. To make this space
available to as many writers
as possible, brief letters are
preferred. Those unsigned
will not be published. Letters
advocating or opposing a
candidate for public office,
those discussing an election
issue will not be published in
the final two weeks prior to
the election. We reserve the
right to condense or reject
any letter.
P.O. Drawer E
Chickasha, OK 73023
pave,ARSeNjo,
Jay, CHevY,
CPNaN--THeY
NeVeR SToP!
WASHINGTON (NEA) - With Con-
gress returning from its summer
break to a plate full of important busi-
ness, Republicans in the House and
Senate are faced with a very basic
question: Should they continue their
absolute opposition to almost every
proposal put forward by the Clinton
administration or become involved in
trying to shape legislative proposals?
So far, things have been made rel-
atively easy for the GOP. First there
was gays in the military — something
virtually all conservatives were able
to agree the voters back home did not
want. Then there was the budget deal
that contained sharply increased
taxes on the wealthy, something all
good Republicans could oppose.
But upcoming are numerous issues
that are far from black and white,
which will present Republicans with
significant problems.
Health-Care Reform. This is the
No. 1 issue. Every poll shows that
most Americans, regardless of party
affiliation, believe basic health-care
reform is needed. But given the po-
litical importance of the issue, Re-
publican operatives believe the GOP
will have to oppose the Clinton plan,
no matter what it is. They will argue
it costs too much, increases govern-
ment control and limits patient choice,
and they will argue that it hurts small
business.
The problem is that, unlike the
budget debate, where the GOP was
never forced to put forward an actual
program of its own, its own polis show
that almost everyone wants health-
care reform. So the Republicans, if
they are going to fight the still-unseen
Clinton program, will have to put for-
ward a comprehensive program of
their own. It remains to be seen if they
will be able to do so.
The North American Free Trade
Agreement. This threatens to tie the
GOP into knots. Here you have a De-
mocratic president who is fighting to
save a treaty negotiated by a Repub-
lican president — George Bush — in
the face of significant opposition from
key groups, such as organized labor,
in his own party. Add to this the fact
that opposition to the treaty is a cen-
tral theme of Ross Perot, and you end
up with total confusion in the GOP
ranks.
Welfare Reform. During the 12
Reagan-Bush years, the GOP cried
that Democrats in Congress con-
stantly blocked any kind of meaning-
ful welfare reform. Now it is expected
that the Clinton administration will put
forward a wide-ranging reform pro-
posal featuring mandatory job train-
D
crowded with minor and first-time drug
offenders that state and federal sys-
tems are have to let hardened, violent
criminals out early to make room. The
GOP will say Clinton is soft on crime
if he proposes eliminating minimum
sentences, even though it is supported
by almost every federal judge, 70 per-
cent of whom are Republicans ap-
pointed by Reagan or Bush.
Adding to the GOP’s problems in-the
Senate is the fact that several influ -
ential Republican senators are be--.
coming very uneasy at the sight of
GOP Senate Minority Leader Bob
Dole using his new-found celebrity to
move to the front of the GOP presi-
dential race. Other GOP senators see
themselves as just as viable candi-
dates as Dole, and you can look for in-
ternal GOP politics to come to the fore
as the 1996 primary approaches.
Finally, a number of Republicans on
the House side agree with Minority
Leader Bob Michel, a moderate, who
blistered the hard-liners in his own
party in a startlingly candid interview
in his hometown Peoria, III., newspa
per.
Michel said that the GOP in the
House is “the most conservative and
antagonistic to the other side” that he
has seen since entering Congress in
1957. His complaint is that the GOP
in the House has become too ob-
structionist and the members of his
party too unwilling to work construc-
tively to find solutions.
Many think that Michel has become
so disheartened that he will retire in
1994 rather than seek a 21st term If
that happens, there will likely be a
free-for-all within the House GOP over
who will succeed him.
©1993 NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE ASSN.
edeiN‘3
R/N.
newJ-Nea
NEWSPAPERS 3
OPEN THE DOOR
compelling that you could not doubt lisher of a major daily..
his conclusions? Astute as he was as a reporter,
This is not to say he shunned con- editor and publisher, it is for his work
frontation. Former Washington Post in promoting the rights and interests
executive editor Ben Bradlee recent- of minority journalists that he is most
ly described in a Post article how he likely to be remembered. In the early
first met Maynard in the mid-’60s, 1970s, he co-directed a training pro-
when Maynard was a Nieman fellow gram for minorities at the Columbia
at Harvard and Bradlee spoke to the University Graduate School of Jour-
class. “Maynard stood out in that nalism. In the late ’70s, he and his
crowd, not only because he was black wife, former New York Times reporter
in a profession where there were Nancy Hicks Maynard, founded the In-
damn few blacks,” Bradlee wrote, stitute for Journalism Education at
“but because he was confrontational, the University of California at Berke-
argumentative, mean and skeptical, ley. His goal was to create newsrooms
verging on the obnoxious.” A year staffed with minorities in the same
later, Maynard was working for percentages as the society at large.
Bradlee at the Post. But Bob Maynard did not preach
Bob Maynard was an impressive the superiority of anyone. He
person, a barrel-chested man with a preached equality and fairness. He
resonant voice who dressed to the preached hope. What he sought, he
nines and exuded confidence. Born in said in a speech last December, was
Brooklyn, N.Y., the son of immigrants a “healthy accommodation of our dif-
from Barbados, he dropped out of ferences ... a society of equity and in-
school at age 16 but managed to work elusion to replace one replete with
his way into the newsroom through inequality and exclusion.”
sheer talent and an indomitable atti- My only personal encounter with
tude. He was a reporter for the York Bob Maynard occurred during his Co-
Hospital in Los Angeles. He has nothing so much as cutting down to
opened his purse to Camp Ronald size a larger-than-life figure who
McDonald for Good Times, a place enjoys an unblemished reputation,
for children with cancer. And, lest it I have no doubt that Michael Jack- -
be forgotten, he helped raise millions son eventually will be cleared of the
for starving Ethiopians by co-writing accusations that have been made
and performing the now-famous against him. Anyone who knows him
anthem “We Are The World.”1 for the decent and upstanding person
Michael Jackson has done all of that he is knows that he could not pos-
this while soaring to the dizzying sibly do injury to any child.
heights of pop stardom that only My only real fear is that the neg-
such legends as Elvis Presley and ative publicity that has attended this
the Beatles have approached. sordid matter will discourage the al-
He has recorded four top-selling ready reserved and sensitive Michael
solo albums, including “Thriller,” the Jackson from having any future con-
biggest seller of all time, with more tact with his young fans.
than 42 million copies. On the
strength of that landmark LP, he joseph Perkins is a columnist for The
won an unprecedented eight San Diego Union-Tribune.
Grammy Awards (the recording in- ©1993 newspaper enterprise assn.
63%
Ig"
g(am-
LA..
1
OH,
YUCK!
Stop the injustice to Michael Jackson :
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Ferris, Terry. Chickasha Daily Express (Chickasha, Okla.), Vol. 102, No. 151, Ed. 1 Friday, September 3, 1993, newspaper, September 3, 1993; Chickasha, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1875959/m1/2/: accessed May 29, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.