RUST COMMENTARY: KEEPING YOUR WORD: POLL SHOWS MORE CONFIDENCE IN HUSSEIN

Whom do you trust? Fox News has released a poll which ought to concern the White House. The public was asked this question: Which is more likely: that Saddam Hussein will "keep his word and allow inspections of presidential palaces" or that Clinton will "tell the American people what really happened with Monica Lewinsky." Thirty-six percent put their trust in Hussein, 16 percent in Clinton and 30 percent said neither! Polls like this show that no matter how many "spin artists" the White House hires to influence the news, the American people have reached a conclusion about Bill Clinton's character and values that isn't likely to change. -- American Renewal

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Iraq: Remember it? The U.N. agreement with Iraq is only a deadly intermission, weakening future inspection efforts, enabling Saddam Hussein to sell more oil and increasing opportunistic pressures from France, Russia and others to ease or end sanctions.

Saddam will challenge President Clinton again. That the administration passively let U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan make this deal demonstrates how unnerved Clinton was by that raucous Columbus, Ohio, town meeting. Annan's judgment is suspect. He headed U.N. peacekeeping efforts in 1994, when, inexplicably, he brushed over warnings from the commander in charge of peacekeeping troops in Rwanda that massacres were imminent. Annan ignored pleas to take preventative action. Shortly thereafter, genocidal bloodletting commenced, and more than 500,000 people perished.

Honest bookkeeping: Washington should separate the Social Security Trust Fund from the federal budget. No private business is allowed to loot surpluses in its pension fund for current operating income.

That's why the hype about a budget surplus is just that. Washington this year will siphon some $100 billion from Social Security. Until 1969, Social Security was treated as "off budget." President Lyndon Johnson changed that to create a fictional budget surplus as he left office. Getting Social Security off budget again not only will be honest but also will help thwart President Clinton's desire to add $150 billion of additional programs and entitlements. -- Steve Forbes

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Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not, but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. -- Epicurus

Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get. -- Anonymous

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Speaking up in Geneva: In the midst of the Clinton/Lewinsky affair, less public attention is being given to the rapidly unfolding developments in the various fund-raising scandals involving the Democratic National Committee and the 1996 Clinton campaign. But the arrests and indictments continue to pile up, with Maria Hsia, Johnny Chung, and Charlie Trie now in federal custody or facing charges (Chung is cooperating with FBI probers). There is much more to the fund-raising morass than the connection to individuals allegedly attempting to influence U.S. policy toward Beijing, but this aspect of the scandal remains remarkably current because our policy toward the People's Republic of China remains remarkably timorous. -- Washington Update

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The following is a thoughtful read from "The SOWER," a monthly newsletter distributed from Sikeston that shares "an encouraging word of hope for farmers and ranchers."

With all of the letters to the editor we receive on the environment ... I'd like you to take time to read this for its perspective. Thank you.

Worshipping the creation: As we look at the environmental movement and the people who espouse it by word (often untrue) and deed (many times in federal courts) we often find folks who put the creation (land, streams, fish, animals) far above the God who created them. Most Christians are concerned about and care for the creation that God in His wisdom and grace has provided for us all. However, a concerted effort is being made by the "green crowd" in this country as well as other parts of the world to elevate the creation above God and the people He created.

Green is a label for extreme environmentalists and "greenies" may be described as people who worship the "creation" instead of worshipping the Creator. This definition was put forth by one of the participants at the 1998 Rural Restoration Conference and is worth repeating. Paul's writings in Romans 1:18 and 25 probably refer to manmade idols created by the ungodly people of his time, but these scripture verses could well apply to today's extreme environmentalists who make idols out of God's creations and ignore or have passing regard for the God who created the wonders of nature that we all enjoy.

"For even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God ... for they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator."

The green movement originated in Europe and has rapidly spread to other continents. The "greenies" don't seem to care much about the humans that God created, but rather place wilderness areas and the birds, animals, fish, insects, and plants that inhabit those and surrounding areas far above mankind and his everyday living. In addition the "green folks" continue to push their agenda of critters above people onto private lands as well.

There is no doubt that in our prosperous country we should be conservation-minded and not despoil and pollute the soil, water and air around us. We should use our God-given wisdom to conserve and manage our natural resources and not give ourselves over to irresponsible living with no regard for the provisions of God. Balance is needed in that current U.S. wilderness areas and U.S. national marine sanctuaries are important in maintaining biological diversity in our nation.

God in His great wisdom gave Adam (man) dominion over the animals and the rest of his creation as evidenced in the first book of the Bible. "And God created man in his own image ... and God said to them, be fruitful and fill the earth and subdue it; and rule over ... every living thing that moves on the earth." Genesis 1:27-28. In addition "The Lord God took man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it." Genesis 2:15.

These same environmental extremists, like Chicken Little, have led us to believe that the sky is or will fall on our heads in the immediate future if we don't follow all their unproved theories. As columnist Walter Williams says, "Few groups have been so consistently wrong yet so revered by the political, intellectual and media elite as have environmentalists." Williams goes on to say, "They've been predicting that the world's going to run out of coal, oil, gas, food, and arable land for decades. If anything, the world's known supply of things environmentalists said we're running out of -- has increased."

Global warming, biospheres, heritage rivers and Freon gas control/elimination are just a few of the recent events foisted on the United States in the name of environmental problems or programs for our country.

Leaders of the green movement, whether they are private nonprofit organizations, government officials or tree huggers in the field believe that they possess superior knowledge and wisdom compared to the vast majority of the citizens of our country. The opinion of these liberal environmental folks is that they should make country shaping decisions by executive decrees, legislation, court actions, or well orchestrated media efforts. While they have initially aimed their efforts at public lands (national forests, BLM lands and wilderness areas), control of private lands is high on their agenda.

Many well-intentioned, rank-and-file members of these green organizations are caught up in the loose rhetoric and emotional lies spread by the leaders of these groups as well as some government officials. Most of their proposed actions are backed up with little, if any, scientific evidence. Hollywood and TV types love to find a "cause" to promote and many in our national media immediately publicize those causes even if they have little or no scientific basis for their claims.

Farmers and ranchers unwittingly aid this green cause when an isolated incident of pollution or wildlife destruction occurs on private land. A small segment of private industry has in the past contributed to the green cause by unwise mining or processing of natural and man made resources. Natural and state legislation now largely controls these negative resource actions. The rest of us aid the green movement by doing nothing, saying nothing and just staying in our personal comfort zones. "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing." (Edumnd Burke) -- Peter C. Myers Sr., The Sower

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The Noah Principle: You don't get credit for predicting a flood -- only for having built an ark.

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