European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 9, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes May columns George will cheer Ethiopia its Justice of the universe in 1972 Jonathan with a Nice sense of family was born on May his fathers birth so a few Days ago he attained the status of teen with All the prerogatives pertaining a wit has written hat adolescence was first considered a Hen a profession and now is a Jons acquisition of in that nation comes on the heels of ii recent ruckus Here about people like i be has Downs a genetic defect involving vary ing degrees of mental retardation sometimes serious physical when he was born we were bombarded with advice and much of it even 13 years ago there was More certitude than certainty in the most of which were too it is said we were All born trusting and and remain i am pleased that Jon has been like that like the rest of because it was depressing to be that Chil Dren with Downs syndrome arc such Happy that implied subhuman a mindless cheerfulness of the sort racists once ascribed to like the rest of is not always Nice or he has the special unhappiness of having More complicated feelings than he has the capacity to he certainly has enough prob lems without being badgered by bureaucrats telling him to quil avoiding the Central issues of his recently two officials of the department of Edu cation resigned after stirring a storm with interesting metaphysical and political one official was a woman who readers of this column met in 1983 when she was saying that a key reason for declining academic achievements is that the government has been catering to groups such As the handicapped at the expense of those who have the highest potential to contribute positively to this struck me As a frivolous analysis of a Complex phenomenon and a dangerous subordination of individual rights to calculations of social she wrote a just now in which she said As the sympathetic Wall Street journal phrased it we Are on Earth not mainly to promote our secular Equality but to use our varying earthly Circum stances to perfect ourselves Nice but what she really said was they the handicapped falsely assume that the lot Tery of life has them at this is not nothing comes to an individual that he has at some Point in his each of us is responsible for his life there is no injustice in the As unfair As it May a persons external circumstances do fit his level of inner spiritual development those of the handicapped constituency who seek to have others Bear their burdens and eliminate their challenges arc seeking to avoid the Central issues of their Jon avoids making his but is hot to confront James Kilpatrick Central issues of his such As Why the Baltimore orioles Start his father is trying to fathom How Jon summoned chromosomal Lowell chairman of the appropriations committee that deals with got very exercised about what the woman but Weicker probably gets exercised about Gilligan Island re runs and Rainy everything gets Weicker wrought and this Issue would have done so even if he did not have a son with Downs the woman resigned As did another education department who favors repeal among other pm that Law guarantees handicapped children a appropriate Public to Mil Lions of handicapped persons and their it is As substantively and As the voting rights act is to Black the official who advocated repeal was betraying a president who sup ports the two resignations detonated the Wall Street journals they issued another denunciation of us sinners who live within the Washington the journal said the two officials were victims of the usual crazed meaning the Beltway White cells in a feeding frenzy to destroy Ronald Reagan and re blooded the Strain of Manning the ramparts of righting purity May be getting to the we inside the Beltway no doubt have shortcomings unknown in South which the journal considers the perfect place to take americas but we know some including these Reagan opposes weakening pm he has enough problems without being saddled with supporters who define conservatism in terms of dismantling such protections and who associate conservatism with crack pot metaphysics about cheer ethiopians the perfect Justice of the if the journal can believe that America does or should want such then the journal can believe anything for that budget cuts and economic growth Are going to balance the the journal believes Washington Post writers group this Guy always throws away the Best its High time Tor the american press to eat Crow comedian Mark Russell Niada a joke of he said that with the invasion of armed forces Defeated a Small but exceedingly hostile and stubborn enemy the american to some of us who have spent our lives in the pentagons decision to bar press coverage of that invasion was no laughing with few professional journalists feel strongly that reporters must be permitted to cover military otherwise the people get Only the governments self serving we raised such a howl about being excluded from Grenada that the Penta gon in the defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger announced last a Small Pool of correspondents would be under pledges of strict reporters would be advised when and where to report for i was among those who assured from the Bottom of my that of course the press can be trusted to keep such a sum Mons let us eat at about 6 Oclock on april Rob Ert Obrien set in motion a test of the Pool Obrien is Deputy assistant Secretary for Public a duty officer telephoned a prearranged Contact at three Newsweek mag the associated Mutual radio and Cable news to counting two television technicians and a wire service the Pool was to consist of 10 designated they were to report to Andrews fab at 4 the correspondents were informed Only that they would be going to a hot Ana Rainy they arrived at an Drews on the they received shots against tropical diseases they ate a Quick breakfast with the 101st air borne and off they went not to an actual but to a military exer Cise in Michael assistant to says the correspondents themselves were just they never leaked a but the humiliating and Embarrass ing fact is that in this first test of the Pool the press somebody apparently the Man in charge at Mutual thinking he was doing what was expected of blabbed to the Bureau chiefs of eight other radio by three hours before the troops were to take off from the word was All Over news directors at lbs and Abc got wind of a possible big Burch was up All night Fielding indignant Calls from news organizations wanting to know what was going in the Wake of this according to the Washington Media executives said that Many Pool details had not yet been worked out with the Pentagon they saw the test As somewhat horsefeathers the Basic arrange ments for a press Pool were worked out months every major news executive in the country was aware that the Pentagon would test the the net the wire services and the major magazines and newspapers Long ago designated their this was a fire it broke marines and rangers invaded Grenada on the morning of under the command of vice Joseph our forces were Able to make the most of the element of Metcalf deliberately kept the american press in the suppose we had had the Pool plan then would the vital element of Confidence have been kept the abortive test surely will give Comfort to military officers their natural hostility to civilian busybodies has now been it will be exceedingly difficult for responsible elements in the press to respond to the cry we said you  be we must try to the Prin Ciple of military coverage by a free press is too valuable to be lost in this lamentable Obrien and Burch Are More forgiving than we have any right to expect them to we want to try Burch tells were not going to give Fine but if we fail As badly the next time we Are put to the in the real event the Pentagon understandably will Tell us to go Fly a and the press will have it Universal press Syndicate