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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 1981)
Viewpoint The Battalion Texas A&M University Tuesday February 17, 1981 Slouch By Jim Earle ‘And how was your Valentine’s Day?‘ Doubt characterizes Byrd’s office world By DAVID S. BRODER WASHINGTON — To enter the office of Senate Minority Leader Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia is to enter the world of Democratic doubt and indecision. Byrd has not moved. By indulgence of Republican Majority Leader Howard H. Baker, Jr., the veteran Democrat is still in the same luxu rious quarters he occupied when he was majority leader. But the feeling of power and permanence that pervaded the place until last November’s election has been re placed by a palpable sense of uncertainty. Bob Byrd, now 63, came to the House in 1952, moved to the Senate in 1958 and be came his party’s leader in 1976. Except for the first two years in the House, he has always been part of the majority. Like a good many other Democrats, he thought that status was guaranteed, and he cannot believe the change can be more than tem porary. “The last election,” he said the other day, “was a referendum on frustration .... People voted for a change, and it’s impor tant we Democrats give the new President a fair trial of his policies. But that pendulum will swing back. People will tire of the far- right, ultra-conservative, single-issue poli tics. They will see through it soon.” Maybe. But in the meantime, Byrd and his band of outnumbered Democrats must cope with Ronald Reagan and the resurgent Republican majority — a task for which the minority leader’s previous experience offers little preparation. Reagan, he confesses, is a puzzle. Byrd found the President’s first speech on the economy “a masterpiece” of political com munication and expects this week’s State of the Union address to match it. But, like other Democratic congressional leaders who met with Reagan on the upcoming eco nomic package, he found the President sur prisingly “shallow” on substance. When Reagan was asked, for example, about areas where he hoped to achieve large-scale savings, he told the congression al leaders his well-worn campaign anec dotes about the “welfare queen” of Chicago who was on the rolls with 100 different names, and about the welfare worker who showed other workers how to increase their income be quitting their jobs and going on the dole. As Byrd told the story, it was plain he was less impressed by the anecdotes than Reagan’s campaign audiences have been. But still the man and his mandate are facts of life, and Byrd is supposed to be a Warped Who’s sane in the rat race? Bam, Bam, Bam! I woke with a start. But then I didn’t hear anything in the trailer house. Bam, Bam, Bam! This time I was sure the noise originated outside my head, so I uncovered and walked to my roommate’s room. “Barry? You having problems?” He didn’t answer. Standing in the dark with only what’s between me and my Calvin Kleins in the 60-degree temperature, I had a flood of rob- ber-and-violence-causing-type images en gulf me. Some dudes are beating the snot out of my roommate, I thought. Bam, Bam, Bam! What are you, a man or a mouse, I thought. Open the door and go in. I looked in to see Barry, with his fist in the air, leaning off his bed. Bam. “Sorry mice.” Bam, Bam. “What the hell are you doing?” I asked him. “Mice woke me up scratching on the wall,” he said. “You’ve never heard them?” I smiled my “I’m sane and you’re not” smile, chuckled under my breath, and said I hadn’t. “You’ve never heard ’em scratching in between the walls? Man, they make so much noise I can’t sleep sometimes. Sorry mothers,” he said. “I was in the front of the trailer (14 x 65 feet) once when I heard noise Leftovers By Todd Woodard Then frenzied scratching from them beside my bed started. I touched thew! and could feel the vibrations from it. Ask; as they are on that side of the panelling, I’m on this side, no problem, I thought.ft not going to beat on the wall. But the continuing noise was so lorn] had no choice. Bam, Bam, Bam. from the back door. I though someone was trying to break in. When I went back to check the door, I heard them running through the walls. I started hitting the walls to give them a shock.” I nodded in the dark, wondering what kind of esoteric drugs someone had put in his cocoa. “Right, no problem, we’ll talk about it in the morning,” I said. When the morning came, Barry tried to convince me he was right before we left for the Texas A&M rat race. He told me to listen at night for the rodent rumblings. I promised I would try. A week passed. I had heard no noise. Barry had hit the walls only a few times that week. He’s coming out of it, I thought. Sleeping peacefully Wednesday, I had a nightmare of bones being sawed. I could see the teeth passing through a femur and bone meal falling out the sides. The sawing noise woke me up. I listened. No noise now. No bam, bam, bam. The little beggar squealed and scunie toward Barry’s end of the trailer. Hey.tk was fun, I thought. Sated, I slept. But hearing those mice at nightenjoiis the simulated cedar panelling, I askedk ry for ideas to combat these orally inspire: fiends. Poison ’em, I said. Nope. They might crawl up in thero and die. Then they would stink. Trap ’em, I said. Nope. How are we going to getthetnf between the walls? Radiate ’em, I said. Nope. The nearest plutonium dump: somewhere near Utah. Besides, we doti have any dishes big enough to hold allwi need. We may just have to live with it 1m while, he said. “But I do have a suggestion, ” he said “Why don’t you acquire a taste for grid cheese?” He smiled his “I’m sane and you’reM smile. realist. This week, Reagan will propose his tax-and-spending cuts to Congress and the Democrats will have to respond. Byrd’s re hearsal efforts at a response were more than a little bit scatter-shot. “There’s no question some programs ought to be cut,” he said, mentioning CETA public-service jobs, legal services and food stamps as likely targets. The Sen ate Democrats, Byrd says, were ahead of Reagan as economizers, voting a balanced budget last spring (in an exercise that was regarded as phony by many economists and, in any event, was quickly undercut by the 1980 recession). “We have demons trated our commitment to a balanced- budget,” he declared, “and we will work with this President because when he suc ceeds, we succeed.” On the other hand, Byrd said, he does not believe “the cost of government can be cut 2 or 3 percent a year for the next five years, while we’re improving our defense, unless Mr. Reagan goes back on his pledge not to reduce or change some of the entitle ment programs.” When asked if the Senate Democrats wish to be categorized — in the oversimpli fied language of us journalists — as a loyal opposition setting aside partisanship to sup port the President in needed economizing, or as a dogged band, striving mightily if not always successfully to protect programs needed by farmers and city-dwellers, the aged and the poor, Byrd gave a perfect poli tical response. “We’ll do both,” he said, adding, “It’s not really an inconsistency. We realize that people voted for a change. We Democrats have to readjust and reevaluate ourselves. We are not going to protect a program just because it was started by JFK or LBJ.” But, he added, in yet another of the sharp swerves in the conversation, that open- mindedness does not apply, at least in this case, to the New Frontier-Great Society programs of the Economic Development Administration and the Appalachian Re gional Commission, which have poured millions of dollars into West Virginia and which Reagan has reportedly ticketed for extinction. “Those are not make-work programs,” Byrd said, in explaining why he would, “re sist” their destruction. “They are vital for our state to improve and progress.” It’s all part of the game of touching up — but not really tackling — a popular new President. But it’s a lot less fun than being majority leader of the United States Senate. It’s your turn Bike collision prompts this letter Editor: As you can tell, my penmanship isn’t the greatest. You see, I was recently involved in a two-bike collision that broke a bone in my hand. Because of this incident, there are two matters I would like to discuss. The first matter is bicycle safety. Simple rules of courtesy should be obeyed by everyone. Generally, it is safer to fall to the right of the thorough fare, whether pedes trian, cyclist, or driver (I also consider it the duty of bicyclists to watch out for pedes trians. Most are very courteous and yield the right-of-way if they know you are there). It is also recommended that bikers use bike lanes when provided, and alwayus ride on the right edge of the street, so that cars may pass without leaving their lane of traffic. Obeying these rules may not have saved me a broken bone, but they may save someone a wreck. The second matter concerns the Quack Shack. When I realized that my hand might be broken, I called the Quack Shack to see if they were open Saturdays (they are). I’m very busy with 19 hours, and don’t have many time blocks of 2-3 hours open. They also said they were having a slow morning, and come on in; I would get prompt atten tion. I had a test two hours from that time but I went anyway. I would have been out in 45 minutes or less (I know — a miracle), except for the patient ahead of me. It seems she’s a vet student who knew a little about her disease and wanted to impress the doctor with her knowledge. She wouldn’t leave until si* discussed every facet of her condition' —symptoms, causes, diagnosis, develop ment and prognosis taking up a consideratl' amount of time. Consequently she w; almost an hour of my time, the doctor! time, and other patients’ time, needless!) I respect a patient’s right to be informal but in a busy clinic such as the Quack Shad where everyone is on a tight schedule,« should all be considerate of others and not go overboard. Lisa Nixon The ii a few gc Cadets i trained and ans A li some e; believei Univers tored fc march-i But The meet th deadlin Tom V officer : Thei Southei instigat ject rea could 1 even if son sai< Tho restoral be usee and ma A f cannon wood f By Scott McCullar BOV, THIS GIFT SHOP COVERS IT ALL DOESN'T IT? RELIGIOUS ITEMS FOR BAPTISTS, CATHOLICS, TEWS, WOftnONS, . . BUDDHISTS, hnUSLI /AS, QUAKERS, C HR IS Tl A N SCIENTISTS, HINPOS . ISN'T IT AMAZING HOW GOD fAAP£ 50 MANY DIFFERENT RELIGIONS? l*VE ALWAVS HAP THE FELLING SOME OF US ARE IN FOR A REAL PISA PP01NTNIENT WHEN WE PIE. The Battalion MEMBER ISPS 045 460 Texas Press Association The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper It* out west Journa ism .onenss students in reporting, editing and photography classei Editor . . . . Dillard Stone within the Department of Communications. Managing Editor Angel Copeland Questions or comments concerning any editorial matw Asst. Managing Editor Todd Woodard should be directed to the editor. City Editor . Debbie Nelson Asst. City Editor Marcy Boyce LETTERS POLICY News Editors Venita McCellon, Scot K. Meyer Letters to the Editor should not exceed 350 words it Sports Editor Richard Oliver length, and are subject to being cut if they are longer, fl* Focus Editor Cathy Saathoff editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for style an* Asst. Focus Editor Susan Hopkins ! e " g *’ ^ ut ,' v ? 11 make eve 7' < f ort . to m , ain ‘ ain ,h v e au ‘ h ^ Staff Writers Carolyn Barnes, ,n ‘ ent . Each let * er Tfu ^ ' x ^ t'x „ . ^ a nd phone number ot the writer. Jane G. Brust, Terry Duran, Bernie Fette. Columns and guest editorials are also welcome, and * . Cindy Gee, Jon Heidtke, Glenn Krampota, not su bj e ct to the same length constraints as letters Kathleen McElroy, Belinda McCoy, Marjorie Address all inquiries and correspondence to: Editor, H* , McLaughlin, Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M Universit'. Kathy O Connell, Ritchie Priddy, Rick Stolle College Station, TX 77843. Cartoonist Scott McCullar r ^ Photo Editor Greg Gammon The Battalion is published daily during Texas A&M’sW Photographers Chuck Chapman and spring semesters, except for holiday and examinatW Brian Tate periods. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester, $33 » EDITORIAL POLICY P er school year and $35 per full year. Advertising The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper U ^ addres^The^Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald Build operated as a community service to Texas A&M University Texas A&M Uni versit y , College Station, TX 77841 and Bryan-College Station. Opinions expressed in The Bat- talion are those of the editor or the author, and do not United Press International is entitled exclusively to tk* necessarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M Universi- use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited toil ty administrators or faculty members, or of the Board of Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved Regents. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX77MJ Ws. IS