European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 2, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and stripes a Page 11anh Landers letters far Ann Landers. Of All the screwball asinine muddle headed half baked lets i have seen from your Corre no dents the one from san Jose advocating the Legal Patton of drugs takes the cake. Let us consider the ramifications of such a decision. Drugs would become much cheaper a at least one fifth the Cost then five times As Many Neon la could and would buy them we would then have five _ Imes As Many addicts. This Means instead of Only inn Noo addicted babies being born to addicted mothers each year we would have half a million. After the addicts got their Legal fix they would then of out and steal Mug and murder to get More from illegal sources. This is what happened when heroin was legalized in Britain. T we would immediately need several times the present number of police officers judges physicians psychiatrists nurses hospitals nursing Homes mental institutions jails and prisons to round up Corral store warehouse watch Over treat process arrest and incarcerate the increasing number of lawbreakers zombies and dope Heads. In addition to All this we would have a monumental problem involving morality and ethics. Can you imagine a civilized government becoming an accomplice in the crime of destroying its own citizens the Challenge facing us is to decrease the number of addicts not explode it. . In Celina Ohio dear Celina thank you for your letter. Read on dear Ann Landers i have been following with interest your readers letters on drug legalization. I have concluded that legalization would be a disaster. If we made drugs cheap Legal and readily available drug use would surely escalate. Legalization advocates say drug use is a matter of personal Choice. But what about the 100,000 babies born each year to crack addicted mothers these infants Are ravaged by cocaine before birth. What Choice did they have and what about High school students according to the National High school senior Survey Over 60 percent of High school seniors Are drinking alcohol at least once a month. This is bad news. But marijuana and cocaine use Are not nearly so prevalent. According to the same Survey 18 percent of High school seniors smoke marijuana at least once a month and less than 4 percent use cocaine. The truth is that the current policies of enforcement and education Are working. Consumption of marijuana and cocaine among seniors is roughly half what it was Only a few years ago. If you want to reverse the gains we Are making if you want to see marijuana and cocaine use among High school students Rise to the level of those now using alcohol go ahead and legalize drugs. When you legalize something you Are saying it is of. American education has enough troubles. Do we want to broaden the availability and legalize the consumption of substances that make our students less attentive less competent and less energetic every Survey i have seen indicates that the vast majority of americans done to want it. A William j. Bennett director office of National drug control policy Washington . Dear William Bennett my mind is made up. In a with you. C creators Syndicate a general explains stance on obscenity this is in response to a letter to the Community commander published recently in the Kaiserslautern american. Brig. Gen. Lawrence Boese states that a Ramstein a supplement to of Reg 30-30 will address a a obscene bumper stickers on pos privately owned vehicles and that a effective now those stickers come  the example Given by the original offended letter writer was the bumper sticker a St  its not Clear but apparently the writer was also offended by the modified sticker a it happens because he knows what a a it really Means. As a frequent user of Ramstein facilities i am concerned As to what criteria will be used to determine  How about a have you hugged your kids today a these people May be into bestiality and with goats yet How about All those German vow golfs with the Rabbit symbols depicting Well you know what rabbits do. How about German language bumper stickers will Security personnel be sent to language school so they can learn to read German stickers will a list of prohibited stickers be published in the stars and stripes will it be updated regularly a name withheld Pir Masens West Germany editors note a Brig. Gen. Lawrence e. Boese commander Kaiserslautern military Community replies i understand your concern about what criteria will be used to determine what is obscene with regard to prohibitions on Ramstein. Obviously obscenity is difficult to define when you get to cases that Are close to the boundaries of what is and is not acceptable As you accurately Point out. _ historically what a obscene has been the subject of much interpretation. Justice Black once captured the problem when he stated a i know it when i see  the definition of obscenity changes with the eyes of the beholder. The supreme court has told us that different standards Are appropriate in different communities however standards of some sort Are appropriate in any Community. Obscenity is a class of speech that has historically been restrict Able and punishable without offending the protections of free speech. As you Are aware the Kaiserslautern military Community is a Community of families Many of whom have children and Many of whom hold sincere religious beliefs. Therefore a regulation is being finalized which lays out common sense guidelines As to what is appropriate and what a not appropriate in terms of obscenity in our Community. The Crux of the regulation is the word  no one is going to be penalized for uttering phrases or sporting bumper stickers that any reasonable person  find offensive considering the people Likely to hear or see the communication in question. On the other hand we Arentt going to allow obscenity to be forced into the View of our children simply because some Small fraction May consider it acceptable. Those folks Are certainly free to Trade obscenities in private. I think you la see both common sense and Good judgment exercised by those tasked with enforcing these standards for the Benefit of concerned citizens like you and me. Trost criticizes editorial cartoon in stripes on feb. 8,1 landed in Rota Spain the final Stop of an overseas trip to visit my counterparts in several nations. Shortly after our arrival i read that Days edition of the stars and stripes my first  newspaper in three weeks. The cartoon on Page 10, Popeye leaving a burning ship labelled a Navy a with a a a Sailor remarking a things must really be getting dangerous when he jumps ship a really caught my attention. What message were you trying to convey to your readers that the Navy is a dangerous place that people Are a jumping ship a or some other derogatory intent today a Navy is Safe and ready. Our Navy men and women serve proudly in supporting our country a National Security needs around the Globe and they Are staying in today a Navy in record numbers. On the other hand if you re referring to the spate of incidents last fall which led me to direct a Navy wide safety stand Down you re not Only publishing old news but ignoring the fact that 1989 was one of the safest years Overall in Navy history the safest in aviation history with statistics driven principally by the tragic explosion aboard the battleship Iowa. We in Navy leadership positions Lake seriously our responsibility to provide a Safe working environment for All our personnel. I Challenge you to take As seriously your task of accurately informing our personnel overseas who depend so heavily on you. A . . Trost chief of naval operations a More readers comment on bbl service in regard to the letter a Reader lauds bbl As alternative to an a i would like to add that i have listened to the bbl world service broadcasts in English on a daily basis in the Wiesbaden Mainz area for Over 10 years. I have had no problems receiving the signal at 648 Khz on the Standard am broadcast. I use an inexpensive radio with no special features and have received the bbl at 648 Khz at other locations in Germany such As Berchtesgaden and Chie Sec with Little or no difficulty. A Tom Miller Mainz West Germany regarding the recent comments recommending bbl radio As a viable alternative to an i heartily agree. You need not however Purchase a shortwave radio a merely turn to 648 Khz on your am radio dial. It is on the air 24 hours a Day. The main drawback with the am broadcast on bbl is that it also broadcasts in German 4 45-5 45 . 4 30-5 . 6 30-8 . And French 6 30-7 . 11 30 .-12  5 30-6 15 . All times Are get. Once hooked on bbl radio you will probably want greater Access to the broadcasts in English a and therefore Purchase a shortwave radio. I did. A Rick Kearney Wiesbaden West Germany All letters to the editor must contain the full printed name and address of the writer and must be signed. We do not read unsigned letters but we will withhold your name on request and protect your privacy. All letters Are subject to  european edition col. Gene e. Townsend Usan commander editor in chief it. Col. Suzanne l. Phillips Usan Deputy commander editor in chief Marie Kominicki Mert Proctor Deane b. Mcdermott production manager managing editor circulation manager this newspaper is an authorized unofficial publication for members of the military services overseas. Contents of the stars and stripes Are not necessarily the official views of or endorsed by the . Government the department of defense or the . European command. 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