A4 Tuesday, October 16, 2012
OPINION
Debates a snooze? Open them up to more candidates
Last campaign season at this time, my neighborhood had erupted in yard signs, which advocated for an even split of Democratic and Republican candidates. Today, a few lonesome signs hint that voters aren’t as fired up about candidates, and they’re downright sick of this dreary, endless campaign. The debates perked things up a bit. Partisans could root for their guy, as they would in a boxing match, but the debates themselves are just one more reminder that our democratic process has been hijacked. Former Gov. Gary Johnson, campaigning for president as a Libertarian, has run a spirited race, as we expected him to, and he’s developed a following, despite being shut out of the debates by the two major parties and the networks. So the issues and our choices boil down to two well-worn views. Johnson has lately become a
EDITORIAL
SHERRY ROBINSON
ALL SHE WROTE
hero of the long crusade to open the debates after filing a complaint with the FCC and a lawsuit. He found the walls around the debates more difficult to scale than Mount Everest. You may already know that since 1988, the debates have been controlled by the Commission on Presidential Debates, a creature of the two major parties. The commission wrested control of the debates from the League of Women Voters, and sets its own rules. The League predicted darkly that “the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the Ameri-
Roswell Daily Record
can voter.” Since 2000 the commission has set the bar at a showing of 15 percent support in the polls to be allowed to debate, and the networks feebly go along with this. Johnson, who’s been polling at 6 to 8 percent, argues that the commission’s criteria are “inconsistent and arbitrary” and have the effect of preselecting candidates. And it is arbitrary. In 1996, Republican candidate Bob Dole refused to debate Ross Perot, even though 76 percent of voters wanted to hear Perot. Similarly, in 2000 Pat Buchanan and Ralph Nader were excluded, despite popular demand to hear them. Johnson argues that one third of voters don’t identify with either party. The Federal Election Campaign Act allows federal matching funds for a showing of 5 percent of the vote. Another reasonable criterion could be a candidate’s appear-
ance on a certain number of state ballots. The 15 percent barrier is also a Catch-22. How can candidates build a following if nobody hears them? If a tree falls in the woods ... “That is just wrong,” Johnson said. “We owe it to our supporters and to the process to take this basic unfairness and clear bias to those agencies whose job it is to ensure that the power of the airwaves is not being misused in an arbitrary manner.” The nonprofit Open Debates (opendebates.org) argues those points and adds that even if a long-shot candidate “can’t possibly win,” third-party candidates and movements have in the past given us such measures as the abolition of slavery, unemployment insurance, Social Security and child labor laws. That’s because a major party may adopt an issue that gains momentum. What if the powers that be had
allowed Johnson into the debates, along with other credible third-party candidates? Well, these charades would be less of a snooze. Viewers, offered some flavors other than vanilla and strawberry, might discover that in their hearts they’re really a Libertarian, a Green, a (fill in the blank)? We would then look more like a representative democracy and more like other nations, with multiple parties. And the subject matter would expand beyond what the dominant parties want to discuss. This month, after Johnson’s supporters and Open Debates pelted debate sponsors with letters and email, two — Philips Electronics and the YWCA — pulled out, saying the commission was a captive of the two parties. It’s not what he set out to do, but Johnson has moved the needle on the dial. © New Mexico News Services 2012
New space pioneer named Dragon
For a while on Wednesday, the International Space Station was an ice cream stand serving chocolate-vanilla swirl. The frozen treat came as a surprise, flown up aboard the unmanned Dragon spacecraft, built by the private Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, based in Hawthorne, Calif. The 10-year-old company was founded by Elon Musk, the founder of PayPal. According to an MSNBC report, Space Station Commander Sunita Williams said, “Looks like we’ve tamed the Dragon. We’re happy she’s onboard with us. Thanks to everyone at SpaceX and NASA for bringing her to us ... and the ice cream.” SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket successfully lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, bringing supplies destined for the ISS into orbit. The Dragon was launched from NASA’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. According to MSNBC, the mission “is the first of 12 resupply flights SpaceX will fly for NASA under a $1.6 billion deal.” “This is the first operational private space flight,” Rand Simberg told us; the adjunct scholar at the Competitive Enterprise Institute is an expert on space technology and policy. “It’s a precursor to actually flying a crew into orbit with the same payload. Eventually, there will be commercial flights,” within two or three years. Simberg said the Russians fly private passengers into space for $50 million, but SpaceX soon will do it for $20 million. On the same day as the Dragon docking, soprano Sarah Brightman said she soon will be zooming into space with the Russians and might do a “space concert.” “This is the future of space exploration,” Simberg said. This, indeed, is the passing of the torch of space exploration. Much of the technology for the original space program was built by Boeing and such predecessors as McDonnell Douglas. Neil Armstrong, who in 1969 became the first man on the moon, died Aug. 25. And on Sept. 21, the last space shuttle, Endeavour, landed in Los Angeles, bolted to a NASA 747, after a farewell flight over space landmarks. Although SpaceX launched the Dragon from NASA’s Cape Canaveral facility, Simberg said launching rockets soon will be privatized as well. “By getting NASA out of the business of getting into space, it can concentrate on going beyond orbit.” Some of these projects include the Mars Scout program in 2013, to study the Red Planet’s atmosphere, and the James Webb telescope, named after NASA’s administrator during the Apollo program days, a successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. Simberg said the private efforts by SpaceX and other companies will drive down prices, allowing such projects as the Bigelow Commercial Space Station, planned by Bigelow Aerospace of Las Vegas. According to the company’s website, “We anticipate construction of our first space station to begin with a Sundancer (habitat module) launched in early 2014, and that by 2015 the station will be available for client use.” Maybe they’ll serve ice cream for dessert. Guest Editorial The Orange County Register DEAR DOCTOR K: I’m scheduled to have surgery soon, and I have never been under general anesthesia. How can I be sure I won’t have a severe reaction to the anesthesia? DEAR READER: Severe reactions to anesthesia, fortunately, are extremely rare. You may be concerned, in particular, with a severe, sometimes fatal, reaction to anesthetics called malignant hyperthermia. It usually occurs during or after surgery, but it can occur whenever anesthetic drugs are used. This includes emergency rooms, dental of fices and intensive care units. Malignant hyperthermia is caused by a rare muscle
The Obama challenge for next debate
President Obama is in trouble. Poll after poll shows Mitt Romney gaining ground almost everywhere, and Gallup even has the governor ahead by two points nationally. Also, reports say there is a low-level panic going on inside the Obama re-election headquarters in Chicago. So it’s crunch time for the president. He must perform well in the debate tonight or begin auditioning for a cable pundit job. Anyone who knows Obama understands that he likes being the underdog and will most likely deliver a rousing performance at Hofstra University. Obama is certainly
Doonesbury
ASK DR. K UNITED MEDIA SYNDICATE
abnormality. In this inherited condition, muscle cells have an abnormal protein on their surfaces. The protein does not greatly affect muscle function. As a result, many people are unaware of this abnormality. However, when certain general anesthetic drugs interact with the abnormal protein on the muscle cells, they cause the muscles to contract force-
BILL O’REILLY
SYNDICATED COLUMNIST
aware that another emotional no-show will doom him. In Denver, he looked like he spent the pre-debate hours at a medical marijuana shop. But the “town hall” debate format today gives a slight advantage to Romney. The candidates will field questions
fully and to keep contracting. This sustained muscle contraction generates a lot of heat. As a result, the following symptoms develop: — a dramatic rise in body temperature — rigid or painful muscles — flushed skin — sweating — rapid or irregular heartbeat — rapid or uncomfortable breathing — brown- or cola-colored urine (from a brown-colored protein in damaged muscle cells) — very low blood pressure (shock) — confusion Symptoms usually occur
from undecided voters selected by the Gallup organization. After the question is posed, Obama and Romney will have two minutes to answer it. The moderator, Candy Crowley, a CNN correspondent, will then jump in to “facilitate a discussion.” What this means is simple: The regular person asking the question will most likely frame it in a general way allowing the candidates to pretty much say whatever they want. For example: Question: “My cousin Otis has been unemployed for eight years. How can you get him a job?”
within the first hour after exposure to the trigger medication. As soon as malignant hyperthermia is suspected, doctors must act quickly. They should immediately stop giving the trigger medication and stop the surgery. Doctors then give the drug dantrolene (Dantrium). Dantrolene relaxes the muscles and stops the dangerous increase in muscle metabolism. With prompt treatment, symptoms should resolve within 24 hours. However, if a severe reaction develops before treatment begins, complications may develop. These can include respiratory or kidney failure. See DR. K, Page A5
Answer (President Obama): “If Otis had worked at an American car company, he’d be employed today because I saved that industry.” Answer (Mitt Romney): “I had a cousin named Otis, too, and when I tur ned the Olympics around, I gave him a job. You get the idea. What will most likely happen during the town hall is that Obama will hearken back to the first debate and list all the “lies” he and his handlers believe Romney told. Only he
25 YEARS AGO
See O’REILLY, Page A5
Oct. 16, 1987 • Students at Washington Avenue Elementary have won the President’s Physical Fitness Award for the seventh time, more than any other school in New Mexico. The students are the 1986-87 State Champion Award Physical Fitness Award winners, presented annually by the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. The award is presented annually to schools in each of three different enrollment categories in each state which qualifies the highest percentage of eligible students, ages 10-17. Washington Avenue participants, coached by Lloyd Howeth, won in Category B, with 134 students of eligible age.