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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 1981)
Viewpoint The Battalion Texas A&M University Thursday January 22, 1980 8 r a s i t Slouch By Jim Earle i /=<5e 0-*° “This is the last time Tm breaking it down and bringing it upstairs. From now on, if anyone wants to steal it, he can have it.” People to play wait-and-see By DAVID S. BRODER WASHINGTON — This time, the purists who insist that a new decade begins with the year ending with a 1 — not a 0 — have a point. This new year 1981, with a new administration and Congress gathering in Washington, repre sents a fresh start for the nation in a way that 1980 did not. The mood is hardly buoyant, but it is realistic — and there is a lot to be said for that. It is plainly going to be a time of hard choices, but that knowledge creates a climate where sensi ble debate may proceed without the disabilities of a dream-world where all good things may be done at once. The framework for that debate is well- defined in “A National Agenda for the Eight ies,” the soon-to-be-issued report of a blue- ribbon commission named in 1979 by President Carter and headed by William J. McGill, the former president of Columbia University. The introduction to the report notes that 20 years ago a similar commission named by Presi dent Eisenhower “reflected the optimism of an entire nation and a belief in the government’s ability to address and solve its problems both at home and abroad. Throughout the decade of the Sixties, the nation’s leaders expected that we could simultaneously eradicate poverty, go to the moon and win a war in Vietnam.” Advance stories on the commission report, for example, have provoked controversy by questioning the wisdom of federal urban poli cies designed to slow the shift of population and industry from the declining cities of the North east to the growing cities of the Sun Belt. What has not been emphasized is that the commission calls for the creation of a national “minimum security income” program as a sub stitute for the welter of federal state and local welfare programs — a step that by itself might offer more fiscal relief to New York City than the mix of urban-aid programs. “Today as we enter the Eighties...we fully realize that the nation cannot proceed on all fronts at once. The nation faces a decade of difficult choices.” The commission is right when it says that choices will have to be made in years ahead between “place-oriented” and “people- oriented” programs. And it is right, too, when it says that sorting out and choosing the right mixture of policies for the new decade is no task for the simple-minded. That is no news to the young David Stockman and the others struggling to frame Ronald Reagan’s first budget, and it will soon be evi dent to Congress and the country. But the necessity for choice does not equate in any way to a policy of passivity for the national govern ment. “The answers to our dilemmas,” the report notes, “do not lie in such slogans as ‘less govern ment,’ any more than they lie in automatic dependence on federal solutions.” The decade now beginning can be a challeng ing and rewarding time for those involved in those choices. But the first step is the recogni tion that there is no escape from choosing. Warped Time of hard choices marks decam By HELEN THOMAS United Press International WASHINGTON — The Ronald Reagan presidency is not starting from scratch. Many of his aides, top and middle echelon, know their way around the White House. They have been there before, most of them in the Nixon and Ford administrations. “I told you we would be back, ” a former Ford administration official said as he moved into the White House on inauguration day. The feeling that the more it changes the more it is the same does come upon one as the familiar faces reappear on the scene. Many of them had gone on to higher paying jobs, but the lure of power brought them back. The orderly transfer of power about which presidents speak so glowingly, especially on inauguration day, is really not all that orderly at the lower echelons. Carter aides were told to be out of the White House by 11 a.m. In effect, they would be intruders after that. Their passports were pick ed up. And their White House passes voided. Even as they worked on the details of the hos tage swap for frozen Iranian assets their papers were being carted away. Reagan has his White House staff and Cabinet in place, but that is about all. On inau guration day, he signed a document making a vast number of government officials “acting” heads of agencies. Although his head hunters have been recruiting and interviewing for weeks, hundreds of top federal appointive jobs remain unfilled. The government itself has gone into low gear with the departments and agencies “on hold” until the newcomers set policy and take charge. Euphoric would be the way to describe the incoming Reaganauts. Their sense of exhilara tion comes from long held Republican convic tions — and now they have a chance to prove it — that the government should take a back seat in the lives of Americans, and that freedom from red tape and regulation will return the country to prosperity. That was Reagan’s theme song throughout the campaign and his high note in his inaugural address, which he kept harking back to. “In this present crisis, govenmentis not the solution; it is the problem,” he said. To show that he is bent on keeping his cam paign promises, Reagan’s first official act was to order an across-the-board freeze on hiring in the federal government. He also is determined to abolish the departments of Energy and Edu cation while transferring some of their functions to other agencies. He hopes to make a grand splash in li 100 days, taking actions that he believe begin to pull this nation out of its ei slump and reduce rampant inflation February, he will send to Congress apai proposals to turn the tide, including a cent tax cut and deep cuts in the the last! Carter proposed. In working style, Reagan also will rent from Carter. Unlike some of his pi sors who learned early rising from roots, Reagan awakens at 8 a.m., has a lei: breakfast and apparently does not start li cial day until around 9 a.m. He has surrounded himself by trusted) who are champing at the bit to run thegoi ment Reagan-style. His Cabinet also is in with his philosophy. There is little ro« dissenting opinion. Only the Democrat Congress can provide that, and they indi they are prepared to give Reagan the tradii honeymoon. If they do, it will be more than theyd Carter, who never recovered from his a early on to cut out what he believed werei HJ less projects. And so it’s a time of testing for Reagan people who gave him the mandate will wait On the contrary — as both the ongoing budget analysis and the commission report make plain — the one option that is not avail able to America is the continuation of the status quo. What is required is a searching reexamina tion of existing government to the forces shap ing the private economy. In some areas, that will likely and properly lead to a reduction of the federal role. But in others, there may be new duties forced on the government. Uni 1 Hur H Parki Univer; rail as Dons, i not see The securit) ets wer her am 41,358 the sam Parsi mg oil Wits a day nigl 0th deredai Friday is National Handwriting Day Scrawlers: Practicing poor penmanshii By DICK WEST United Press International WASHINGTON — Jan. 23 — John Han cock’s birthday — is National Handwriting Day. All over the capital, grandees of the new Reagan administration presumably are learning to sign their names with inscrutable squiggles. An enigmatic signature is a status symbol for superstars celebrated enough to give auto graphs and for government officials eminent enough to sign important papers. Hen-tracking signifies that the inscribers have arrived at the pinnacle and now find their time too valuable to waste forming the actual letters of their names. But these marks of great ness are reserved for true luminaries. For the rest of us, an unfathomable signature is simply an indication of illiteracy. Hence the Writing Instruments Manufacturers Associa tion is urging scribblers everywhere join a scrawl-ender program. The grand climax of the push for readable handwriting is today’s national “scrawl-out” — an entire day during which everyone is asked to write not “a single illegible word.” Sponsors of the campaign recognize is it diffi cult for habitual scribblers, many of whom started scrawling at an early age, to quit cold turkey. The program therefore is geared to a phased withdrawal. Participants supposedly taper off scrawling and taper onto legibility without the wrenching psychological shock so often associated with abrupt changes in handwriting. Here is the broad outline the association ex pects scrawlenders to follow: — “ ... work up to legibility slowly, one letter at a time, then one short word, then a polysylla bic word, until you finally achieve an entire legible sentence.” — “If you feel a need to scribble, call a friend or relative whose handwriting you admire and ask him or her to bolster your determination. ” — “If you make it through the day, try it for another day, then another, then another, until you have broken the illegibility habit.” I certainly give the association credit for good intentions, but I question whether the sen ender approach will work for scribblers wlw really hooked on hen-tracking. It’s goingtol* strong measures to reach them. As my contribution to National Handwri Day, I offer these reinforcing suggestions; — In hotel lobbies, railroad parlor cars' other public places where writing desk provided, the association should post si! reading: “Thank You for Not Scrawling. — All public libraries designate certainai' as “nonscrawling sections” in which scribM 1 would be prohibited. — Each writing instrument turned on 1 members of the association should bear tlld lowing message: “Caution: Scrawling; hazardous to your penmanship.” The Battalion I SPS 045 360 By Scott McCullar HOW [ SPENT M CHRISTMAS THIS' |S S0A4E Op THE EQUIPMENT USED FOR SKIING. 0£JN& PITTED FOR SKI BOOTS IS LIKE SLirriNG YOUR FEET INTO A FAIR OF BOWLING BALLS. VACATION: PT.J.-TH/5 IS COLORADO (NICE COUNTRY IF YOU like the color wyjTEi) WHITE incidea/tally IS ALSO THE COLOR OF BAVDA6ES A/VP FLASTE.R-0F-PAR\ THIS \s THE SKI LIFT. ITS PURPOSE IS TO LULL YOU INTO A RESTFUL CALM ON THE WAY UP, AND THEN SPIT YOU OUT ONTO tHE slopes... BUT, IT DOES SHOW TOU LOTS OF SCENFKy { (By ORDER OF STATE LAW COLORADO IS NOTHING BUT SCENEP)). MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism C.ongres: Questions or comments concerning any editorial should he directed to the editor. Editor Dillard Stone Managing Editor Angel Copeland Asst. Managing Editor Todd Woodard City Editor Debbie Nelson Asst. City Editor Marcy Boyce News Editors Venita McCellon, Scot K. Meyer Sports Editor Richard Oliver Focus Editor Cathy Saathoff Asst. Focus Editor Susan Hopkins Staff Writers Jennifer Afflerbach, Carolyn Barnes, Jane G. Brust, Terry Duran, Cindy Gee, Jon Heidtke, Belinda McCoy, Kathy O’Connell, Ritchie Priddy, Rick Stolle Cartoonist Scott McCullar Photo Editor Greg Gammon LETTERS POLICY Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in- and are subject to being cut if they are longer. Theeditorinl^ reserves the right to edit letters for style and length, bill make every effort to maintain the author's intent. Each must also be signed, show the address and phone mimberd'l’ writer. Columns and guest editorials are also welcome, andafff subject to the same length constraints as letters. Addresi 1 inquiries and correspondence to: Editor, The Battalion,^ Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College Station. 77843. EDITORIAL POUCY The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper op erated as a community service to Texas A&M University and Bryan-College Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or the author, and do not necessarily repre sent the opinions of Texas A&M University administrators or faculty members, or of the Board of Regents, The Battalion is published daily during Texas A&M’sfill^ spring semesters, except for holiday and examination peril Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester, $33.25 per sd* 1 year and $35 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on ^ quest. 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