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star-news 4a The Goodland Star-News / Friday, October 10, 2008 opinion from our viewpoint... Gloves come off; no knockout punch The gloves may have come off for the second presidential can- didate debate Tuesday, but neither side came close to a knockout punch. The town hall format was supposed to benefit Republican candidate Sen. John McCain, but Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama appeared as comfortable with the open format that allowed the two men to move around and get close to the audience arranged in a semi-circle. McCain took advantage of close audience at the end of the debate to touch one of the people who asked a question on the shoulder and shook his hand. The man was a retired U.S. Navy chief, and McCain thanked him for his service and said that as a young Navy lieutenant he had learned much of what he knew in the Navy from the chief’s he had served with. Tom Brokaw of NBC was the moderator, and tried to keep the discussion moving and to follow up the questions giving each candidate a chance to answer. At times Brokaw had to keep re- minding both men of the time constraints and the lights around the floor to show when the person’s time was up. Questions asked both by people in the audience and from e- mails sent in covered mostly the economy, but there were ques- tions about foreign policy and a couple of general questions about how each man would handle things if they were elected. On the economy McCain said he had a new proposal to help the mortgage problem that if elected he would have his Treasury Sec- retary go out and buy all the bad mortgages and re-negotiate them with the homeowners at a lower rate so they could stay in their homes. He said he felt getting the housing market stabilized was a key to getting the country’s economy moving ahead again. Media and financial experts said after the debate that McCain’s plan would add another $300 billion to the already $700 billion that Congress passed last week, and most polls indicated it was not something the public felt was a good idea. Problems with the peace symbol McCain had promised before the debate he was taking the gloves off and would go after Obama on several areas. To those “What’s the big deal with the peace symbol? I had never heard of it representing watching McCain did appear more aggressive in some of his Why don’t you like it? I think they’re cute,” floyd, mary anything negative. Upon learning attacks on Obama’s record, but in nearly every situation Obama our 13-year-old daughter said while we were of its origins, I couldn’t with a good seemed to be able to blunt the attack. shopping for back-to- school clothing and brown conscience wear it knowing it had school supplies. represented hate toward my faith.” Probably one of two memorable points of the debate were when commentary McCain was talking about an energy bill on the floor of the Senate. You can’t miss it. More and more, they are • Everywhere you look now you will It was “loaded down with goodies, billions for the oil companies, appearing and popping up everywhere. We see the sign. The design is especially and it was sponsored by Bush and Cheney. You know who voted saw peace symbols covering every surface D for disarmament. The semaphore letters are prevalent anywhere items for teenag- for it? You might never know. That one (pointing to Obama). You imaginable; earrings, necklaces, purses and surrounded by a circle to symbolize Earth. ers and young adults are sold. know who voted against it? Me.” many different styles of shirts at various stores It wasn’t long before the design traveled to To most young people, they think they are Talking about understanding his tax plan Obama said, “... I including a t-shirt of Hello Kitty sitting atop the America where other movements ranging from cute, in vogue and popular. But anyone of an think it’s important to understand, we’re not going to solve Social huge retro symbol, plus more. But they are not the anti-Vietnam protests, the counter-culture older generation often associates the peace Security and Medicare unless we understand the rest of our tax just for girls. Guys’ t-shirts, belts, backpacks, of the ‘60s and ‘70s and the environmentalists symbol with anti-war protesters. It brings back policies. And you know, Sen. McCain, I think the “Straight Talk and posters for either sex abound throughout used it. memories from our own youth of hippies with Express” lost a wheel on that one. the shopping mall. American pacifist Ken Kolsbun wrote the their promotion of the counterculture with its “So let’s be clear about my tax plan and Sen. McCain’s, because But don’t think they are just on inexpensive book, “Peace: The Biography of a Symbol.” anti-Western and anti-Christian views, stoned, we’re not going to be able to deal with entitlements unless we items like bumper stickers. The resurrected He says, “The symbol really got going over loitering and smelling of illegal drugs. In the understand the revenues coming in. I want to provide a tax cut peace sign is on Fendi bags, limited-edition here during the 1960s and ‘70s, when it became 1960s, years before this generation of youth for 95 percent of Americans, 95 percent.” VW cars and even high-end jewelry. Tiffany associated with anti-Vietnam protests.” The was ever born, hippies were sticking flowers The third and final presidential debate will be at 7 p.m. on advertises a platinum peace sign pendant cov- anti-war protests and presence of the symbol in National Guard rifles and tripping-out at Wednesday at Hofstra University, Hempstead, N.Y., with Bob ered in 4.8 carats of round-cut diamonds worth grew in correlation to the fighting in Vietnam, Woodstock. Images of anti-war protesters Schieffer of CBS News moderating. $4,500. Kolsbun said. “This, of course, led some scorning and spitting on Vietnam veterans Local races in many of the battleground states and the huge The peace sign provokes different feelings. people to condemn it as a communist sign.” brings back negative visceral feelings about increase in registered voters will be something to watch as we To us, symbol represents the 1960s counter- However, if Holtom did some research, he the peace symbol for us. get closer to this important point in the nation’s political history. culture of the hippies and anti-war protesters. would have found that the symbol had already To celebrate the Big 5-0 for the peace sign, — Tom Betz To others, it has just the opposite effect. To been used — by the Nazi Germany 3rd Panzer chic New York department store Barney’s is them it symbolizes a utopian world of peace Division, wearing them on their uniform from throwing a Peace and Love holiday extrava- and unity. 1941 to 1945. ganza this fall called “Have a Hippie Holiday.” Many trace the symbol’s origin to a 1958 While some say it’s 50 years old, others Barney’s asked top designers top to create The Goodland Star-News nuclear weapons protest march when British maintain it goes back to the time of Nero dresses inspired by the peace symbol. In ad- (USPS No. 222-460. ISSN 0893-0562) artist Gerald Holtom created a design for the persecuting the early Christians, thereby call- dition, the store is featuring items it commis- Member: Kansas Press Association CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament). ing it a Nero cross or Broken cross because sioned such as tie-dye Converse hi-top shoes Inland Press Association Colorado Press Association Holtom, a former WWII conscientious objec- Saint Peter was purportedly hung on a cross and a pricey peace-sign key ring. Barney’s National Newspaper Association tor from London persuaded the group of which up-side down by Nero. Others point out that British creative director, Simon Doonan, says e-mail: [email protected] he was a member, the Direct Action Commit- it resembles the ancient Nordic and Germanic “It’s a symbol of the mainstreaming of counter- Steve Haynes, President tee Against Nuclear War (DAC), that a visual pagan rune symbol for death. And then there culture ideas, of things that were part of the are those folks who argue it can be found on Tom Betz, Editor 20 08 image would help in conveying their message alternative lifestyle — like environmentalism 2008 some Nazi SS officer’s graves. Pat Schiefen, Society Editor to “Ban the Bomb.” …it’s that ultimately what the hippies would After considering a few different designs, “I remember coming home one day with a have wanted?” Sharon Corcoran, Reporter Holtom settled on using the semaphore-the shirt with a huge peace symbol on it because Floyd and Mary Beth Brown are bestselling Jordie Mann, Jessica Corbin, Advertising Depr. flag-signaling alphabet. The letter N, repre- I thought it looked cool,” said one middle- authors and speakers. Together they write a Sheila Smith, Office Manager senting nuclear, has the signaler’s arms point- aged Christian woman named Melanie. “My national weekly column. To comment on this ing down at angle, super-imposed on the letter mom flipped and I couldn’t understand why. column, e-mail [email protected]. Nor’west Press Jim Bowker, General Manager Richard Westfahl, Betty Morris, James Jackson Whodunit? Lana Westfahl, James Ornelas, Tasha Shores Barbara Ornelas, Elizabeth Brock, Judy McKnight I listen to all this talk in the media about the Did President Reagan panic? Were there failure of the bailout in the House last Monday michael calls for bailouts? No.