Viewpoint
The Battalion
Texas A&M University
Tuesday
April 18, 1978
Italian plain talk
Maybe it does take one to know one. At least it does when you’re talking
about common criminals.
Despite the high-flown rhetoric, that is exactly what Italy’s “Red Brigades’
are — kidnappers and murderers. Their fellow crooks know how to deal with
them and their demands for sparing the life of former prime minister Aldo
Moro.
In a statement for the Rome newspapers, a group of criminals demanded
Moro’s release . . . “If the Brigades do not meet our deadline, we will tell our
companions in jail to do away with a member of the Brigades.’’
There’s a certain ring of sincerity to that.
And clarity.
The Philadelphia Daily News
[KflWWlttt-wWi:
TheBoMBThreat
David S. Broder
The ironies of changing politics
ST. PAUL, MINN. — There are days in
the life of a political reporter when it
seems that a Higher Power, working
through its agent, the airline guide, is or
dering one’s path.
How else can you explain the unforced
symmetry of a day like last Saturday, when
jet schedules made it easy and almost in
evitable to attend a lucheon in Lincoln,
Neb., honoring the retirement of Sen.
Carl T. Curtis, R-Neb., and a dinner in St.
Paul, dedicated to the memory of Sen.
Hubert H. Humphrey, D-Minn.
Humphrey and Curtis! Could any two
men more aptly symbolize the opposing
political currents that flowed through
Congress and this nation from the 1940s to
the 1970s? Civil rights, the struggle with
communism, the expansion of the welfare
state — classic conservatism and definitive
liberalism — these two Midwestern
senators somehow were always marching
to different drummers.
Each was, in his own way, also the sym
bol of a dominant state political party: the
Republicans of Nebraska and the
Democratic-Farm-Labor party of Min
nesota.
And yet, in an irony that would be sus
pect if it were not so uncontrived, neither
party, as it assembled for its farewell sa
lute, was at all confident it could preserve
the heritage it had inherited.
In Republican Nebraska, where GOP
ineptitude gave the Democrats a Senate
seat in 1976, the personal popularity of re
tiring Gov. J. James Exon, the Democratic
Senate candidate, seems likely to thwart
the bid by Curtis aide Don Shasteen to
succeed his boss in the Senate. Next year,
both Nebraska senators could be Demo
crats for the first time since the infant Re
publican party brought Nebraska into the
Union in 1868.
Republicans hope to end their slide by
regaining the governorship. But whoever
survives their four-man primary — an un
exciting veteran congressman, a conserva
tive retired college president, a free-
spending millionaire businessman, or a
young mayor brimming with Jaycee
bonhomie — may have a hard time uniting
a party which has been split down the
middle by past ideological and personal
feuds.
In Minnesota, the Democratic domi
nance that was built when Humphrey
came home from his own 1968 presidential
defeat, is being challenged across the
board this year. The governorship and
both Senate seats are up, and realistic
Democrats were conceding Saturday that
they could come out of November with
none of the three jobs — or all three.
Humphrey has been dead less than
three months, but already the strains
within the party are beginning to show.
Vice President Mondale, who inherited
the role of party leadership, may have his
work cut out for him to keep his home
state’s Democratic party intact.
Mondale’s successor, appointed Sen.
Wendell Anderson, D-Minn, trailed his
Republican challenger in the most recent
published polls. Anderson’s stand on the
emotional environmental issue on Bound
ary Waters preservation and his studied
neutrality on the issue of abortion have
drawn criticism from the militant liberals
in his party.
Rep. Donald M. Fraser, D-Minn, the
likely nominee for the Humphrey seat
now that interim Sen. Muriel Humphrey,
D-Minn, has announced she will not run
for the remaining four years of her hus
band’s term, has the opposite problem.
Fraser has been so outspoken an advocate
of abortion rights and environmental pro
tection that some Democrats fear he may
not be able to gain support from the
Catholic and labor constituencies which
are vital to the party’s success.
Gov. Rudy Perpich, D-Minn, who suc
ceeded Anderson in that office, has been a
media success story so far. But the same
Democrats who worry about Anderson
and Fraser fear that his gift for symbolism
may be no more durable an asset for Per
pich than it has been for President Carter.
And that brings to mind a final fillip of
that altogether serendipitous day.
At the Curtis luncheon in Lincoln, it
was slightly startling to hear Rep. Barry
Goldwater, Jr. R-Calif., the keynote
speaker for his father’s old friend, re
peatedly invoke the name of John F. Ken
nedy in support of the kind of sweeping tax
cuts he and other young conservatives now
advocate as the best medicine for an ailing
economy.
But it was even more surprising to
realize at the end of the Humphrey
dinner, which did include a personal visit
from the Vice President of the United
States, that almost no one had uttered the
name Jimmy Carter.
Some days, politics is even better fun
than baseball.
(c) 1978, The Washington Post Company
Is it too soon for ‘four more years’?
By HELEN THOMAS
UPI White House Reporter
WASHINGTON — Although he is not
even halfway into his second year in office.
President Carter has the country wonder
ing whether he will run for re-election.
“I don’t definitely intend to run for re-
election,” he said. “I haven t addressed
that question at all.
The automatic reflex is to assume that
most presidents want a second term, bur
densome as the highest office in the land
can be at times.
But most presidents also like to keep
friend and political foe guessing and they
are not likely to tip their hand so early in
the game.
For Carter to say he was not going to
run again would make him an instant lame
duck. Then the scramble would begin with
candidates cropping up all over the place.
Because he is titular head of the Demo
cratic Party, it is assumed that he would
get the nomination again, all other things
being equal.
But assumptions can be carried too far,
and almost any political pundit in Wash-
Washington Window
ington is operating on the theory that
California’s Gov. Jerry Brown is preparing
to challenge Carter in 1980.
If Carter were not to reject another
term at this point, he would be a freer
man, and yet bis hands would be tied. He
would have less clout with Congress and
his ability to get things done would be nil.
In foreign affairs, adversaries might hold
the line and just decide to sit tight. The
Soviets could decide that they might get a
better bargain from a future president in
the strategic arms limitation negotiations.
Certainly, that is what the Soviets did in
1974 when they decided that Richard
Nixon was through. From that point on,
the SALT negotiations and Nixon’s trip to
Moscow were pointless.
When Lyndon Johnson electrified the
world by announcing that he would not
seek re-election, he, no doubt, felt liber
ated. His stock, which had reached a low
point, went up. But his effectiveness was
hardly enhanced. Vietnam had done him
in.
Sometimes a president decides he has
had enough. Harry Truman could have
run for another full term. Although the
new two-term restriction was passed in his
time, it did not apply to him.
Carter likes to leave people guessing.
And he has made no bones about the fact
that he likes the job. His wife says he is not
a quitter, but wants to make his decisions
on “what’s best for the country.”
Few politicians have that luxury. They
may decide in their own minds what they
believe is best for the country. But they
do not rule by fiat, and must take the
constituency with them every inch of the
way. Then they must convince Congress
and the people that is the right way.
Interesting enough. Carter said that he
had not made up his mind whether he
would run again at a time when the news
papers have been highly critical of his lead
ership qualities and decision making.
Time has not run out for Carter and
there will be many months before he is
forced to make the ultimate decision on
whether to seek four more years in the
presidency.
Letters to the editor
No awards for Aggie breakfasts
Editor:
I have often read about and heard of
how good A&M’s dormitory food service
is. As a resident of the Commons area, I
can say that lunch and supper are. usually
good meals and probably a cut above that
served at other universities. But I doubt
very much that A&M has brought home
awards for its breakfast. To put it bluntly,
breakfast in the Commons is terrible.
The quality of the breakfast meal is sim
ply not consistent with the quality of the
other meals. The powdered scrambled
eggs are edible once in a while, but hard to
take as a steady diet. They have a stale
taste and often are served cold. The fried
eggs are fine if you like watery yoke cover
ing your plate.
The bacon is often a mass of greasy fat
with very little meat and very little taste.
At times, I have found the sausage totally
unedible. It has a strange taste, is very
greasy, and sometimes cold. I could go on
and on.
To its credit, the food service offers a
good selection of foods, including a variety
of fruit. However, for a while now, I have
either skipped breakfast or settled for dry
cereal because the food is so bad. Dry
cereal is hardly a substantial meal, but it is
the most difficult item for the food service
to botch up.
I don’t imagine I’m the only one settling
for cereal or no breakfast at all because of
the poor quality of the food. This is cause
for concern because some students pay
around $400 a semester in board payments
for two meals a day. Further, many con
sider breakfast the most important meal of
the day.
I would cordially invite President Miller
or other A&M officials to make an unan
nounced visit to the Commons for break
fast. They may be disappointed at what
they find.
—Steve Lee, ’79
Derby Day decor
Editor:
I would like to thank the Friday night
decorating committee of Sausalito apart
ments for painting my car. I was perplexed
at the writing on the windows, for it was
GREEK to me; but I must admit the car
was much more colorful. The two hours I
spent scrubbing paint and shoe polish off
of the car (including the paint and mold
ing) could have been better spent.
I never realized the benefits that
sororities and fraternities have to offer and
I am happy to have helped in the celebra
tion of their Derby Day. Judging from
their actions of Friday night it is hard for
me to imagine where they would put the
derbies considering where their heads are.
I will agree that a couple of rotten ap
ples do not ruin the barrel, but they sure
make the barrel smell.
—Russ Engel, ’77
Class ‘unsealed’
Editor:
As a member of the class of ’78, I would
like to apologize to all succeeding classes
for getting in their way. For some reason,
someone was hired to do a job that they
were unqualified or unable to do, and now
everyone must walk around the mistake
where before there was no obstacle.
I am speaking of our permanent gift to
this campus, namely the school seal
mosaic, placed on the Academic Building
floor. It seems the persons responsible for
contracting the job chose the artisans for
reasons other than their skill, and now
there is a fragile, sloppy representation of
our school emblem for all to see that hin
ders movement of Future Aggies for fear
of it falling apart. Certainly not at all the
intended durable, beautiful seal to be
placed where all could admire it and be
reminded they should be proud of their
Aggie Heritage.
To make matters worse, I am sorry to
say that the people responsible are settling
for a second best solution by roping off the
area, when what should be done is tear it
all up and have it done right, or replace it
with the original tile and get out of the
way.
— David W. Loper, ’78
Correction
In Connie Burke’s article on Parents’ Day
weekend in Monday’s Battalion the win
ner of the award for overall participation
for March to the Brazos was Squadron 10,
not Squadron 12 as reported.
The Battalion regrets the error.
Slouch by Jim Earle
“THAT’S TH’ LAST TIME I’M LETTING MY MOTHER
VISIT MY ROOM!”
Top of the News
M
Campus
Shihab to perform in ceremony
Naomi Shihab, a poet and songwriter, will be guest poet at the
Texas A&M University Poetry and Fiction Awards Ceremony Wed
nesday night in the Memorial Student Center Basement Cof
feehouse. The ceremony will feature Shihab performing with a guitar
accompaniment. She wrote the title song for Meisburg and Walters
album, “Just Like a Recurring Dream. Shihab’s work has appeared
in several anthologies and periodicals and two ol her chapbooks of
poetry, “Tattooed Feet’ and “Eye-to-Eye have been published by
the Texas Portfolio Press.
State
Hill opposes forced gas sales
Texas Attorney General John Hill says Texas gas producers should
not be forced to sell to customers out-of-state. Hill, speaking in
Granger Monday, said he planned to appear before the U.S. Su
preme Court Monday in a case in which a Fort Worth producer has
been ordered to sell gas to a California firm. Hill said this case will
determine whether a federal agency can force Texas gas producers to
sell gas in the interstate market. He added that this case could set a
dangerous precendent. Hill also noted that Briscoe did not support
Texas farmers when Congress rejected an emergency farm-aid bill
last week. “Our governor did not bother to help our farmers try to
line up votes in the Texas delegation,” Hill said. “Nor did he try to
convince the president he should reverse his opposition to this farm
legislation.
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Nation
Ski tram accident kills four
Four persons were killed and 31 injured in a freak ski tram accident
in Squaw Valley, Calif. The ski tram dangled from a safety wire over
the snow-swept Emigrant Peak slope. “There was screaming, crying
and wailing,” said Dr. Patrick Mulrooney of Modesto, Calif. The tram
had just left High Camp, moving down the slope. At 8,000 feet, it
slipped the cable. The tram fell 50 feet before being caught by a
safety wire which ripped through the roof and pinned three victims to
the floor. After the initial hysteria the survivors huddled together in
the cabin, sang songs and prayed. Rescuers used ropes and a T-bar
chair to rescue the survivors.
World
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Radioactive contamination feared
One nuclear device was planted on a Himalayan peak in India by the
U.S. researchers in cooperation with the Indian government in 1967.
Prime Minister Morarji Desai said Monday another device was lost in
an avalanche. The first device worked for a while but was later re
moved and returned to the United States. Worry that the lost device
could spread radioactive contamination through the Himalayan snow
has caused the Indian officials to admit the joint operation with the
United States. Desai told Parliament that the devices were planted in
the Himalayas because of the international situation that existed in
1965. The nuclear devices were planted to spy on Communist missile
development.
Tornado flattens Indian cities
A tornado killed as many as 200 persons, injured 500 others and left
1,000 persons missing in southeastern Orissa state, India. Officials in
New Delhi reported Monday. The tornado almost leveled five vil
lages in an area about 100 miles west of the Bay of Bengal Sunday. In
less than 10 minutes the tornado flattened nearly every structure in
the villages. Calcutta in West Bengal state was also damaged by a
twister. Seven persons were killed and several others were injured.
Quakes rock Sicily, strand many
Five persons are dead and as many as 400 families are homeless
after more than 30 tremors from earthquakes rocked the 9,920-square
mile island of Sicily Sunday. Many of the tremors were felt across the
Straits of Messian in Calabria, at the toe of the Italian boot. Four
elderly Sicilians died of heart attacks during the quakes and another
person was killed in a car accident while fleeing his home. The homes
of more than 400 families were damaged in various Sicialian towns.
Seismologists said the strongest shock measured 5.6 degrees on the
Richter Scale. Anything over 7.0 on the scale is considered capableof
doing widespread damage. The epicenter of the quake was cited
halfway between Sicily’s northern coast and the volcanic Eolian Is
lands. The quakes woidd have been more destructive, scientists say,
if the epicenter had been on land.
HOI
CL
Brigades sentence Moro to die
The Red Brigade terrorists, who kidnapped Italy s ex-Premier Aldo
Moro, have sentenced him to death after a “people’s trial, a com
munique issued Saturday said. President Giovanni Leone said he
thinks the terrorists will not dare kill Moro. The Italian government
had previously rejected any dialogue with the terrorists since the
March 16 kidnapping of Moro and the murder of his five police
bodyguards. Ransom has not been discussed publicly and observers
say each side seems to be waiting for the the other to give in. "The
interrogation of the prisoner Aldo Moro has been completed,’ said
the latest communique from the Brigades, a leftist terrorist group
which is trying to force a revolution of the Italian Communists.
“There is no doubt that Aldo Moro is guilty and he has been therefore
sentenced to death,” the message said.
Weather
Fair to partly cloudy skies with warm afternoons and
mild nights. High today mid-SOs, low tonight low 50s.
High tomorrow mid-SOs. Winds from the northwest at
8-15 mph diminishing this afternoon.
The Battalion
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Editorial policy us determined by the editor.
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