RUST COMMENTARY: A BIG FATHER'S DAY -- AND A FAMILY REUNION TO COME

Time marches on. Sunday was FATHER'S DAY. My father's dead ... I'm alive ... and four of my six children are either fathers or mothers blessing Wendy and me with 11 grandchildren.

All of them will be visiting us this week to be with their brother GARY II, family and friends who will be visiting us from their home in OSAKA, JAPAN.

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In a fatherly remembrance of what has been and might have been, former Coach RON SHUMATE shared with us some of his thoughts last week in one of the finest letters we've ever received.

Yes, time marches on, but to RON ... thanks for the memories you've brought to US ... and may the wind be to your back and GOD shine his light upon you and your family.

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Just Wondering

Why isn't phonetic spelling spelled the way it sounds?

Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?

If you're in a vehicle going the speed of light, what happens when you turn on the headlights?

Why is it when you transport something by car it's called a shipment, but when you transport something by ship it's called cargo?

Why is it that when you're driving and looking for an address, you turn down the radio?

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Mexico-U.S. relationship improving:

The Mexicans were delighted with President Clinton's recent visit to Mexico. He was the first president to visit since Jimmy Carter. It was also important to the Mexicans that 10 Cabinet members went to Mexico prior to the president's visit to meet with their contemporaries and try to work out the difficult issues. The Mexicans like President Clinton because of the help he gave when they were in financial trouble, and because the problem over drugs has lessened. The Mexicans were particularly proud of the two declarations which were signed by President Clinton and President Zedillo Ponce de Leon, one dealing with drugs and the other with migration. The ambassador said that both agreements were based on respect and cooperation, something that has not always existed in the past.

The Mexicans believe the drug problem is joint. As President Clinton observed, the United States has 5 percent of the population, but 50 percent of the drugs are consumed here. The Mexicans have a problem controlling the transit of drugs. The ambassador indicated that "Mexico bashing" was not going to solve the problem. The Mexicans recognize they have not done enough and also recognize their internal corruption. However, they have 23,000 soldiers in the field trying to eradicate crops and are making massive efforts on the internal problems.

The ambassador feels that NAFTA is working well. Mexico is now the third largest trading partner of the United States, and by the end of 1997 it will be second, replacing Japan. He also indicated that U.S. studies show a positive although modest impact on U.S. jobs. He did indicate there were particular problems, such as Florida tomatoes. Ambassador Silva-Herzog stated that in the long run, solving the problem of illegal immigration rests on economic development in Mexico. Mexico needs better than a 5 percent growth rate to keep in Mexico many of the people who immigrate to the United States. He indicated that the problem is excess labor in Mexico and a demand for cheap labor in the United States. -- Lou Frey, Jr., former member of Congress (R-Florida 1969-79)

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Pressure mounts on the EPA to ease proposed antipollutant rules.

The White House privately orders EPA head Browner not to sign the tough regulations until weaker measures get another look. Democratic mayors and governors in the Midwest and unions lead protests that the antipollutant rules will cost jobs. Browner may have to accept changes brokered by the White House's National Economic Council.

Environmental groups complain Browner hasn't gotten support from Gore, her former boss. "The silence from Gore on this one is deafening," says U.S. PIRG's Gene Karpinski. Also silent is house Democratic leader Gephardt, pressed by unions to oppose the rules. Gleeful Republicans, who oppose the regulations, hope the White House will do their job for them.

Environmentalists say the White House is clouding its role. "They want the blood on Browner's hands," one says. The EPA says the process is normal. -- The Wall Street Journal

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Hyphenated Americans

America is slowly sinking into a multicultural, racial preference morass. In New York, students ready to graduate at two colleges (!) are unable to pass English exams. And in Detroit an Egyptian immigrant has filed suit demanding that the federal government change his racial classification from white to black. He argues that he has been denied special scholarships and programs because of his white classification.

Can it get any more absurd? A system that encourages immigrants to fight over their racial classification is a system that will lead to ethnic conflict. By the way, the gentleman filing the suit isn't claiming any past discrimination -- he is arguing that he deserves special consideration ahead of other Americans solely because of physical characteristics, including the tone of his skin and his kinky hair. (I am not making this up -- he actually makes this argument in his legal brief.) South Africa divided "spoils" this way -- America shouldn't.

The Congress is too hesitant right now to take on the issue of quotas and racial preferences. Newt Gingrich has said publicly and privately that first the GOP must prove it "cares" about minorities. The party of Lincoln does care, and it should prove it with an approach based on Martin Luther King's finest moment -- his appeal to his fellow Americans to judge each other by "the content of their character, not the color of their skin." Otherwise we will find ourselves divided into clans fighting for special preferences with one man's gain always another man's loss. -- Washington Update

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Dead donors

An additional $200,000 in donations to President Clinton's re-election campaign has been traced by federal investigators to phony corporations and dead people! Most of the money was funneled through John Huang and Charlie Trie. Trie owned a Chinese restaurant in Little Rock, Arkansas that Clinton frequented as governor. A clear picture is emerging that large amounts of money into the campaign originated from an "unknown source," and I believe that unknown source is most likely the Chinese government! Of course, as I have reported before, the key figures in the federal investigation have left the country and are reported to be in Asia -- perhaps in China itself. --Washington Update

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Forbes recently interviewed 11 top executives on how they handle stress. Three commented on stress as follows:

1. J. William Codinha, head of litigation, Peabody & Brown.

I used to be more stressed when I was younger, when I felt that a lot of people knew so much more than I did. I felt compelled to learn more and do more and always drive myself. It was only when I was 35 that I felt comfortable with my ability.

2. Wayne Brothers, president, Teledyne Water Pik.

The stress we feel is different from what our parents dealt with. My father was a television repairman for Sears. Maybe two times in his 30-year career did the electronics change so significantly that he had to change the way he did his job.

Now we're talking about those types of changes somewhere in the five-year range. You're constantly in a relearning mode, always trying to catch up.

3. Stephen Lynn, chief executive officer, Shoney's Inc.

I never lose my spiritual perspective. My job is to run the race well. God chooses who the winners are. If I can recognize what is my responsibility and give up what I don't have authority over, it takes off an awful lot of stress.

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For years, the differential between the wages of union and non-union workers has been narrowing. In 1982, union members enjoyed a 7.1 per cent advantage; by 1985, the gap was 4.4 per cent. In the first quarter of 1997, the tables have finally turned: unionized workers now receive 0.8 per cent less than their non-union peers. The last prop beneath organized labor's claim to be the cornerstone of worker prosperity has collapsed. -- National Review

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Being a disgraced Clinton official is one of the more lucrative jobs in Washington. It earned Webb Hubbell at least $400,000 and perhaps as much as $1 million in an eight-month period. Was this "hush money" to keep him from cooperating with Ken Starr? No, no, the White House assures us. Defense No. 1: President Clinton, asked at a January press conference about a Lippo Group payment to Hubbell, said, "We did not know anything about it." Reality: Lippo honcho James Riady was hanging out with Clinton in the days before the Hubbell arrangement, and with other Clinton associates for whom finding "work" for Hubbell was a favorite pastime. Defense No. 2: Everyone was just trying to help out an old friend. Reality: Some of those involved in fashioning Hubbell's golden parachute, like Erskine Bowles -- then head of the Small Business Administration, now White House chief of staff -- knew him only slightly. (And if the payments were an exercise in compassion, why didn't the White House brag about them instead of hiding them?) Defense No. 3: No one at the White House knew Hubbell was in serious trouble with the law, and so there was nothing strange in finding "work" for him. Reality: Two close Clinton associates knew the seriousness of the charges, and in fact worked to persuade the White House that Hubbell needed to resign. Defense No. 4: There is nothing to hush up. Reality: On another Whitewater front, the Administration is struggling to withhold from investigators the content of two conversations between White House lawyers and Hillary Clinton (who Starr says has changed her sworn testimony over time). What is so unnecessary to hush up that the White House will go to such lengths to keep it secret? -- National Review

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Home-schooler triumphs

One of the traditional spring events in Washington that draws wide attention is completely nonpolitical: the National Spelling Bee. This year, as papers reported (including an obviously intrigued Washington Post), the national winner was a home-schooled eighth grader from Brooklyn, one of 17 home-schooled competitors in the finals. That fact lent added interest to the story and underscored some basic truths: there are good reasons to home school, and good results for those who do.

This outcome should certainly give a boost to parental choice in education. Post columnist William Raspberry abandoned his opposition to school choice in a well-written column, citing the numbing pessimism of parents about their failing schools. Talk is growing on Capitol Hill that Democrats and Republicans alike are suggesting that President Clinton's mistargeted education tax breaks be converted to education savings accounts. All of this is good news for a cause that looked stalled just a few short months ago. -- Washington Update

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Passing Notes: Outspoken Missouri state Rep. Charles Quincy Troupe, D-St. Louis, is enlisting a new ally in his battle to improve the city schools. In a letter June 10 to Mayor Clarence Harmon, Troupe decries the "whole issue of the miseducation (sic) and the lack of education for most of the St. Louis public school students"-and urges Harmon to support charter schools, mandatory parental participation in public school activities, and a series of communitywide forums to focus public attention on the problems of the city's school-age children. ...--Jerry Berger, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

~Gary Rust is president of Rust Communications, which owns the Southeast Missourian and other newspapers.