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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 1980)
Slouch by Jim Earle “JVe decided to make myself available to do some under cover investigation work. Now if I could get someone to give me a large sum of money in an unmarked envelope, Id have a starting point, and a very good time. “ Opinion Brezhnev like Big Bad Wolf Soviet President Leonid I. Brezhnev bears a striking resemblance to the Big Bad Wolf who devoured Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother and then tried to con Little Red by staging an impersonation of the late, lamented granny. After ordering more than 80, ()()() Russian troops into Afghanistan to slaughter tens of thousands of Afghan rebels and use nerve gas against those opposed to becoming slaves of the Kremlin, Brezhnev now has called for a “continuation of detente,” “curbing of the arms race, “an end to the conflict situations in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Near East, and “establishment of a peace zone in the Indian Ocean. Now that the forces of “Nice Guy” Leonid have almost surrounded the Middle East oil fields and have marshalled large numbers of troops, tanks and other armored vehicles on the borders of Iran and Pakistan, this “kindly” Russian leader wants to reassure everyone of the Soviet Union’s peaceful intentions. And just to show that he isn’t afraid of dissent, “Peacelov- ing” Leonid has sent Andrei Sakharov to Gorki to shut him up and keep him away from counter-revolutionary Western reporters. What big eyes you have, Chairman Brezhnev. What big ears you have. What big teeth you have. All the better to grab a country and chomp it to death, eh, Granny? St. Louis Globe-Democrat the small society by Briclcman I TMlNK !T^ TIA^ 'S&TTl.&P Washington Star Syndicate. Inc. WH&N X WAS Yo\)g AS£ Yz?U We(2e /U-£eAPY A £A£Y- 2-/5 'dgi The Battalion us ps LETTERS POLICY Iji'ttcr.s to the editor should not exceed 300 tcords and are subject to beinfi cut to that length or less if longer The editorial staff reserves the right to edit such lettirs and doe', not guarantee to publish any letter. Each letter must he signed, show the address of the uriter and list a telephone number for i frifieation. Address correspondence to h’tters to the Editor. The Battalion. Room 216. Reed McDonald Building. C'ollege Station. Texas 77643. Represented nationally by National Educational Adver tising Services, Inc.. New York City. Chicago and lz>s Angeles. The Battalion is published Monday through Fridas from September through May except during exam and holidax Jeriods and the summer, when it is published on Tuesdax hrough Thursday. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester. $33.25 per school year; $35.(X) per full year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Address; The Battalion. Room 216. Reed McDonald Building. College Station. Texas 77843 United Press International is entitled exclusivelx to the use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserx ed. Second-Class postage paid at College Station. TX 77843 045 :m MEMBER Texas Press Association Southxxest Journalism Congress Editor Roy Bragg Associate Editor Keith Taylor News Editor Rusty Cawley Asst. News Editor Karen Cornelison Copy Editor Dillard Stone Sports Editor Mike Burrichter Focus Editor Rhonda Watters City Editor Louie Arthur Campus Editor Diane Blake Staff Writers Nancy Andersen, Tricia Brunhart.Angelique Copeland, Laura Cortez, Meril Edwards, Carol Hancock, Kathleen McElroy, Debbie Nelson, Richard Oliver, Tim Sager, Steve Sisney, Becky Swanson, Andy Williams Chief Photographer Lynn Blanco Photographers Lee Roy Leschper, Paul Childress, Steve Clark, Ed Cunnius Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of the University administration or the Board of Regents. The Battalion is a non-profit, self- supporting enterprise operated by students as a university and community newspaper. Editorial policy is determined by the editor. Viewpoint The Battalion Texas A&M University Friday February 15, 1980 Washington Window Census to cost over $1 billion By USC [The stri By DONALD LAMBRO United Press International Beginning April 1, the government is going to ask you some personal questions about your marriage, separation or divorce, your toilets, bedrooms, and kitchen, your mortgage payments and ancestral back ground. These and other subjects are in the gov ernment’s 1980 census, the costliest and some say the most complex census ever undertaken in the United States. Nearly 90 million questionnaires will be sent to households across the country. Any one refusing to answer them may be liable to federal prosecution and a $100 fine. Most of the census will be done by mail, but those who do not respond will be vi sited by government census-takers, as many as 250,000 of them, who will ask these questions in person. All of this costs money, big money. The latest estimate places the cost at over $1 billion, or more than $4 per person, over four times what it cost to count the popula tion in 1970. Federal auditors predict the 1990 census will cost $2 billion. Among other things, Uncle Sam wants to know how many bedrooms, bathrooms and telephones you have; whether you have a bathtub or shower, or both; whether you have air conditioning and if so, how many units. The government also wants to know how many times you have been married, di vorced, separated, or widowed; how many hours you worked last week; how you got to work; how long it takes you to commute; your mortgage payments; what your house is worth; how well you speak English; where you lived five years ago; your race or ancestry. Most Americans will get one of two forms. The short form, sent to 78 percent of the population, takes an estimated 15 mi nutes to fill out. The long form, sent to the other 22 percent, is supposed to take 45 minutes to complete, but for many it will take much longer. A college-educated Washington Post reporter wrestled with the long form for over 75 minutes The Census Bureau has been counting the population since 1790, although in the beginning Washington confined itself sole ly to what the Constitution requires; that Americans be counted every 10 years solely to determine how many seats each state is to have in the House of Representatives. Since then, however, the census has grown into a complex and lengthy sociolo gical and demographic survey in search of precise and often personal data about every able House committee aide insisli The General Accounting Olfe gress’ auditing arm, has been high of the census’ sharply increasd charging that if the count is condu; dent actly as it was in 1970, the taxpav n would be close to $400 million let man, woman and child in America. One of the chief reasons behind the gov ernment’s desire for data about population, income and ethnic origins is the massive expansion of federal assistance programs. At least $50 billion a year in grants and other aid to states and localities hinge upon the census’ figures. Most of this added cost isbeiui with Congress’ approval on wbatti believes is a misguided effort toredi undercount. The bureau esfc McCal undercounted the population in E 2.7 percent or about 5.1 millionpe ‘the he; ironnr or of ( ddres lairs, Ti lance arces a Lesso: t,” M Ider 1 0 Even so, many critics of the census say its inquiries far exceed the need for this type of information, producing mountains of data unnecessarily demanded by bureaucrats, academics, sociologists, trade associations and industries. Rather than spend huge ami money on elaborate new programs duce an admittedly small unden GAO officials say that Census could arrive at a relatively accurate unde, i through statistically proven estiflU | methods and then add the figuresf population totals. By “A lot of this information is simply un necessary to the efficient performance of government programs,” one knowledge- And if you are thinking that the only comes once every 10 yean, again. Congress has ordered anof* sus five years from now. people igof ’i irsdav Langch profess pie ii Ider ' ed b 'enot | Winne B to add |§t| f;Tool( lUf mtCon m T'"' P ( a tech \ the sc entit is p||iy fre Letters snem Editor: I am writing this letter because there are some things that need to be said by whom I believe to be the silent majority. The Un ited States is being threatened at all angles by Communist, Socialist, and third world countries. This is not news to any of us for the papers bear evidence to the fact. Not only is the U.S. being threatened, but many small democratic countries are suf fering under Communist aggression as well. At the height of these crises, Presi dent Carter strikes a blow for the free world when he calls for the reinstatement of the draft and threatens war for Communist aggression. And the first cries that are heard are “We don’t want another Viet Nam!” Nor do I. I don’t like backing out on friends and allies. We fought that war to try and prevent precisely what is happening now in Cambodia and Viet Nam. They have become cannibalistic socieities of mass genocide because of Communist agression and our unwillingness to stop it. And after all the small pawns of countries are under Communist control, the U.S. will fall. Be lieve it; this is the Communist doctrine. I refuse to see this happen. Therefore, if war comes and I get drafted, I will fight with all my heart and spirit because my mother, my sister, my friends, and my country are all worth it. I refuse to see Americans die from majority talks about crises i starvation. I refuse to see Communist tyranny laugh in our faces if they finally get the upper hand. But what is the most unbe lievable part of this entire saga, is that there are vocals who support this very idea. They stage anti-draft rallys. They call the draft “selective slavery.” They say, “Let the all volunteer army fight the war. The draft made us lose in Viet Nam. ’’ The majority of the all volunteer army couldn t uniformly get on a bus and travel to Dallas without suffering a casuality. The all-volunteer army has failed. We lost in Viet Nam not because of the drafted army, but because it was a politicians war. And we know what many politicians are like. But I am not angered over this, for everybody has the right to speak their mind. What is unfair and angers me the most aretb kers who threaten to leave this; the draft is reinstated. These people* self-centered they couldn’t care I fellow American, or for that matterais human being, dies. When these# leave this great country, I say goods ance. America will be the greaterf And to those people I say FelizNavii Joyeux Noel depending on whether)! north or south. And for those wholb^ 1 are in this silent majority, be danuifl that you are Americans and not cofil Bill McSpaddfs Scott Britt THOTZ By Doug Gra/iflil