THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 28, 1996 TAG: 9604260022
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
In ``Why is this deal bad?'' (editorial, April 17) you use such inflammatory leftist rhetoric as ``costly embarrassment,'' ``federal government might do to twist a goal,'' ``What diabolical purpose,'' ``application requires local-improvement plan,'' ``used by federal bureaucrats to damage education,'' ``Help us understand why we cannot enjoy the same trust,'' and the ubiquitous leftist chant ``kowtowing to an extreme faction'' in order to attack and demean the governor's stance.
You pretend not to understand the issue of federal intrusion into our educational system, while citing the ``mom-and-apple-pie `goals' of Goals 2000- - and as ``goals'' they are admirable. But tell me in the context of achieving those ``goals'' who, what, when, where and, most important, how? Everyone can agree on the goal of ``world peace,'' but who would we make ``emperor of Earth,'' and would we be willing to achieve that goal through any means?
Answer this: Would The Virginian-Pilot accept 30 cents per customer in federal money to adhere to the following ``journalistic Goals 2000'':
1. Employees of The Pilot shall report to work prepared to produce a world-class paper on a daily basis.
2. The Pilot shall be on every doorstep by 5:30 a.m.
3. Everything published by The Pilot or its affiliates or subsidiaries will be placed, in its entirety, on the World Wide Web and shall utilize the latest technology.
4. The Pilot shall ensure that anyone ever quoted by The Pilot has the opportunity of rebuttal to the full satisfaction of the person quoted.
5. Equal time shall always be granted on the editorial page.
6. A method of establishing standards and measuring performance in an unbiased manner shall be established to ensure that The Pilot practices world-class journalism.
Would you take the money? If not, please ``walk us through the logic.''
My late father-in-law, Cap'n Jack Spencer, had a lot of colorful sayings. One of them was, ``God save us from the do-gooders.'' I am only beginning to understand the wisdom of Cap'n Jack, who ``slipped into surly bounds'' a year ago this month. Your editorial writers should have met him.
JAMES E. MUNFORD
Virginia Beach, April 19, 1996 by CNB