Endorsement missing facts
Since when does the editorial board of the Daily endorse candidates for nomination? In its June 2 editorial, “DFL should endorse Janezich for Senate,” the board offers an opinion of one person based on no evidence or facts whatsoever. The editorial highlights Janezich’s superior honesty, professionalism and personality, but fails to give any kind of evidence to support this statement.
Sen. Rod Grams was the author of the $500-per-child tax credit that put $500 million in Minnesotans’ pockets. Sen. Grams has held more than 70 town meetings around the state promoting a privatized system of Social Security. Also in Friday’s Daily was an article suggesting that Sen. Grams wants to hand our Social Security money over to stockbrokers.
I’m curious where the Daily is getting its so-called facts. All the writer of the editorial had to do was read Thursday’s St. Paul Pioneer Press to quote Grams when he said that he wanted to give people the option to do whatever they wanted with the money they deposit in Social Security. Grams’ plan allows money to be put into stocks, bonds, CDs or savings accounts. I’m sorry, but I really don’t think the DFL debate is the place to go to find out about Sen. Grams’ plan to save our money.

Skyler Weinand,
junior,
finance

Wagner hypocritical on Vietnam
I am writing to comment on Pete Wagner’s cartoon that appeared in Tuesday’s Daily. The cartoons drawn by Wagner during the final week of spring semester did nothing but preach antiwar beliefs. Each cartoon belittled American existence in Vietnam and pointed the war out as a mistake in American history, especially the May 2 “Vietnam War Heroes” cartoon. But in this new cartoon, he completely rotates his stance on the war to compliment Gore for participating in a war that he only weeks ago condemned.
In the “Vietnam War Heroes” cartoon, Wagner said a real hero was one who refused to participate in a rich man’s war. By that thought process, Bush would be the hero rather than Gore, because he didn’t participate. But suddenly, Wagner’s beliefs have changed. This is pure hypocrisy.

Dan Pearson,
senior,
Institute of Technology

Elian case shouldn’t divide Republicans

This is a confusing time for many Republicans. Those of us who support the return of Elian Gonzales to his father have been thrown overboard by most leading Republicans. For those of us who think the way I do, silence appears to be the only option. This is because there is a strange sense of unease about being on the side of Janet Reno for the first time.
However, I wish to point out to like-minded Republicans that they need not despair at the immaturity of our party. The passion for Elian to remain in Miami and the anger at Reno over the raid are symptoms of weakness in the Republican Party that we need not placate. The reality of the regime in Cuba ruled by Fidel Castro is bad. That does not mean that family values need to be overturned. It also does not give the government the right to deny a father his wishes for his 6-year-old son, even if his ideology offends us.
The idea that Elian would be better off in America, even without his father, is irrelevant because perhaps 80 percent of the rest of the world could find their material well-being enhanced by moving here. We cannot be the doormat for every economic immigrant in the world.
The extent to which Elian will be controlled in an Orwellian communist regime is also sad. Again, however, that isn’t our responsibility to correct. Cuba isn’t only bad for Elian; it is also bad for everyone else who lives there. Elian should not have been singled out the way he was by the Miami family and Cuban community, in violation of his father’s wishes. Because Cuba is not the worst case of a badly ruled country — looking better than Sudan, North Korea, Myanmar or even much of China — I find it offensive that the Republicans who have sided with the Miami relatives against Elian’s father are so shallow in their moralism. Propinquity should not be the measure of moral outrage.
The public education system in America’s big cities, in fact, do not offer much better skills, learning and prospects than being schooled in Cuba. Communism is the doctrine Cuban school children gravitate around, but politically correct liberalism, with drugs, homosexuality and violence, often are the doctrines our schools will gravitate around. Frankly, I’m not sure Elian’s mind-control, Orwellian-schooling prospects in Cuba are all that bad in comparison.
Reno was overly generous in giving the Miami family weeks to reconsider their desires for Elian. As soon as they denied the immediate return of the boy to his father, it became a kidnapping. As soon as the Cubans in Miami began demonstrating around the house, the effect of the situation became anarchy. Much is made by leading Republicans about the negatives of the raid. This is hyperbole. It was professionally done in a manner that minimized the potential for violence and confrontation.
The difficulty for Republicans such as myself is that now we’re castigated in the worst terms by many in our party. This is a very strange time. We are finding ourselves on the side of Reno and so many other liberal Democrats. Worse yet is the constant passionate outbursts in the press and media by leading Republicans against Reno over this whole matter. It is as if the whole Republican Party has been lost to blind passion.
I wish to point out to my fellow Republicans who support Reno in this matter that our party is not acting this way out of strength. Ours is a party that lost to Clinton and has been beaten in many other political tests. It is a damaged party. Therefore, it is a party that is vulnerable to being swept up by any sort of rally call that offends Clinton and Reno. This, then, affirms that we Republicans who can stand against this tidal wave and acknowledge support for Reno in this matter are above being tempted by knee-jerk reaction. If we truly have the interests of our country at heart, then we must accept that there is much responsibility to be mature and wise in matters that would otherwise appeal to more shallow feelings. The court’s ruling against the asylum demand by the Miami family merely affirms our correct judgment under the law and on principle.

Joe Roche,
staff,
educational psychology