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Opinion
Page
A4
Wednesday,
March 2,
2011
Founded in 1832
GEORGE D. HUDNUTT
Publisher
LIZ SHEAFFER
Managing Editor
OTHEROPINIONS
Showing some
backbone
United Nations Human Rights Council
gained legitimacy by outsting Libya
Something odd happened Friday in Geneva: The
United Nations Human Rights Council, derided by
conservatives and liberal human rights advocates
alike as a toothless and sometimes hypocritical
organ, actually did the right thing. For the first time
ever, it voted to expel one of its members for com-
mitting atrocities.
That member was Libya, whose tyrannical leader,
Moammar Gadhafi, reportedly has ordered soldiers
and armed mercenaries to slaughter those protest-
ing his regime. The decision on Libya’s suspension
went to the General Assembly, which confirmed the
suspension Tuesday. The unanimous vote by the
much-maligned Human Rights Council is a sign that
it might be more worthwhile than its critics sup-
pose.
The current council was created in 2006 to
replace the widely discredited Human Rights
Commission, a farcical organization whose 53 mem-
bers included some of the worst human rights
abusers in the world; as then-U.N. Secretary-
General Kofi Annan observed, countries sought
membership “not to strengthen human rights but to
protect themselves against criticism or to criticize
others.” Not satisfied
with the reforms, the
George W. Bush admin-
The unanimous istration withdrew from
vote by the much- the council, but the
maligned Human Obama administration
rejoined in 2009.
Rights Council is
We thought that was
a sign that it the right decision, but
might be more not because we had any
worthwhile than illusions about the
its critics suppose. council’s agenda or
effectiveness. It was still
a bastion of bad behav-
ior, stacked with repres-
sive regimes such as Libya, Cuba, Saudi Arabia and
China. Just like the old commission, it continued to
focus on perceived abuses by Israel against
Palestinians while taking little action elsewhere. But
we believed the U.S. could have more influence over
the building of a better council by working within it
than from without. And, in fact, over the last four
years it has become clear that the council does rep-
resent an improvement over the old commission, if
not as big an improvement as we’d like.
Perhaps its most valuable contribution is the
“universal periodic review,” in which the human
rights records of all 192 U.N. member states are
opened to scrutiny. The council has little power to
follow up on these reviews or to take much action,
but shining a spotlight on repression does embar-
rass dictatorial regimes and in some cases has
prompted changes. Following its review, Saudi
Arabia promised to abolish the guardianship sys-
tem, in which male permission is required for
women to work, study, marry, travel or use public
services, and to end the death penalty for juveniles.
By voting to expel Libya, the council has demon-
strated that it is capable of fulfilling its mandate to
suspend countries that commit “gross and systemat-
ic violations of human rights.” Obviously, we would
have been happier if Libya had never been allowed
to join. But when it comes to improving U.N. insti-
tutions, it’s all about baby steps.
— Los Angeles Times
AP
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks in the
U.N. General Assembly before a vote Tuesday at U.N.
headquarters to boot Libya from the U.N. Human
Rights Council.
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WWW.MEDINA-GAZETTE.COM
LETTERSTOTHEEDITOR
Kasich wants unions to go,
but he’s only galvanized them
Gov. John Kasich makes public employ-
ees out to be faceless bureaucrats, and
blames them for the financial troubles of
the state and local governments. But they
are not faceless bureaucrats, they are
your mother, father, brother, sister, friend,
neighbor, a member of your congregation
and members of your community. Public
employment is not welfare. It is just com-
pensation and benefits for a valued pub-
lic service.
Public employees pay taxes, buy houses
and cars, pay on mortgages, buy groceries
at the local supermarket, shop the local
stores, employ local child care and their
children attend public schools paid for by
property taxes they pay. Without their
economic contribution, you would have
higher unemployment, property values
declining, foreclosures and small busi-
nesses suffering.
The truth is even if every state
employee was fired, it would barely save
the state one fourth of its gaping $8 bil-
lion budget deficit. Kasich portrays
unions as greedy. The Ohio Civil Service
Employees Association has worked with
the state to save $240 million in compen-
sation in the current contract.
Everyone just needs to roll up their
sleeves and get to work. Kasich has not
even approached public sector unions.
Public sector unions stand ready to
engage in a dialogue. Public employees
are all too aware that concessions are
Nixonian ‘law’ resurfaces
President Barack Obama has said his
view of same-sex “marriage” is “evolv-
ing.” Apparently he thinks that the law
should be based on a kind of Darwinian
jurisprudence that allows it to “evolve”
and become whatever the ruling politi-
cians at a given moment say it is (or
isn’t).
How else to explain the decision by
the president and his attorney general,
Eric Holder, not to
defend the Defense of
Marriage Act, signed into
law by President Bill
Clinton in 1996? The Sen-
ate vote was 85-14; the
vote in the House was
342-67, an indication of
overwhelming public
support to keep marriage Holder
for opposite-sex couples.
Let’s leave aside for the moment any
moral, religious, historical or cultural
reasons for maintaining the legal status
quo on marriage, which has precedent
dating to biblical times. The president
and his attorney general have concluded
that because the DOMA is being chal-
lenged before the 2nd Circuit Court of
Appeals, which they say “has no estab-
lished or binding standard for how laws
concerning sexual orientation should be
treated” — they will circumvent or over-
rule judicial authority and decide the
matter for themselves. This “we are the
law” thinking is what we oppose in Mid-
dle East dictators.
Holder contends that because of past
“discrimination” against gays, the 2nd
Circuit Court will, or should, apply a
more “rigorous standard” to such cases
and when they do, the DOMA will be
found unconstitutional.
Doesn’t this sound strangely like
Richard Nixon’s approach to the law? It
was Nixon who told David Frost in 1977,
“When the president does it, that means
that it is not illegal.” So when the presi-
dent and his attorney general refuse to
coming their way. They just don’t want
their voice in the workplace to be
silenced. Kasich just wants unions to go
away. I have news for him. Unions are not
going away. In fact, the Republicans’
actions are galvanizing union solidarity as
never before. Thank you, Governor.
GEORGE YERKES
Wadsworth
Unions are a form
of organized crime
As I watch the antics and the onset of
panic among the union slugs, I feel a
certain warmth come over me. Payback
is tough and all those drones who lis-
tened to their union bosses over the
years, voted like sheep for the listed
Democrat and supported the latest cry
for another bond issue for the children
are finally getting some payback. Before
you jump on my case, I am a former
teacher, and a recently retired federal
investigator, and I must say that I gave
the unions a chance in both vocations,
and dropped them like a hot potato
when I saw that they were just another
leg of organized crime, primarily set up
to protect the lazy and the incompetent.
Ask yourself if you remember the
three best teachers in your life. What
were the others doing? Maybe I just
worked in two unusual school districts,
but my fellow teachers were more inter-
ested in pursuing each other than being
the best teacher they could be. I am still
laughing at the idea that the unions
really expect any Republican to support
CAL THOMAS
defend a law they have taken an oath to
uphold, isn’t that the other side of the
same coin? Imagine the reaction from
the Left had George W. Bush announced
his administration would no longer
defend Roe v. Wade because he thought
it unconstitutional and it would eventu-
ally be overturned by the Supreme
Court.
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich in an
interview with Newsmax.TV on Friday
said he thought the Obama-Holder deci-
sion not to defend the DOMA in the
courts might be an impeachable offense
and that the House may “zero out
(defund) the office of attorney general
and take other steps as necessary until
the president agrees to do his job.” He
later softened his stance on the issue of
impeachment, saying instead in a state-
ment to reporters that, though impeach-
ment is clearly not an appropriate
action, “Congress has every responsibil-
ity to demand President Obama live up
to his constitutional obligations.”
The president and attorney general
believe there are no “reasonable” argu-
ments in favor of retaining the DOMA.
Constitutional attorney John Whitehead
disagrees. Whitehead tells me he thinks
the Obama-Holder tactic is “an attempt
to provide cover for the president’s deci-
sion to achieve a repeal of the DOMA
through the courts as opposed to an
even-handed evaluation of the strengths
of the legal arguments.”
Whitehead notes that Holder has
acknowledged a binding circuit court
precedent which holds that “classifica-
tions based on sexual orientation are
subject to ‘rational basis’ scrutiny.”
Under such scrutiny, Whitehead says, “a
them. What hypocrites. Maybe they
should ask for all that union money
spent on political action committees? It
just might be interesting if “merit” once
again became the model we all seek and
the reason to pay someone more dollars.
I have not even begun to go after the
college professors who teach two classes
a week for $150,000. They deserve spe-
cial attention, especially when you pay
your kid’s tuition. I just love this coun-
try.
RICHARD L. REPASKY
Medina
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Holder contends that
because of past
“discrimination” against
gays, the 2nd Circuit
Court will, or should,
apply a more “rigorous
standard” to such cases
and when they do, DOMA
will be found
unconstitutional.
Doesn’t this sound
strangely like Richard
Nixon’s approach to the
law?
legislative classification based on sexual
orientation would be upheld if there is
any conceivable basis to support the
distinction; a court is not to judge the
wisdom, fairness, or logic of the legisla-
tive choice.”
Whitehead adds, “Because rational
basis scrutiny is extremely deferential to
the decision of the legislature, the deter-
mination that it applies to a particular
classification basis is usually outcome
determinative; where rational basis
scrutiny applies, that equal protection
challenge is almost always denied.”
That is why President Obama and
Attorney General Holder are wrong to
pre-judge the outcome of this case in
the courts, not to mention their rejec-
tion of congressional authority. Isn’t this
ultimately about the separation of pow-
ers?
Write to Cal Thomas at Tribune Media Services,
2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY 14207
or by e-mail at tmseditors@tribune.com.