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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 1981)
Viewpoint Lo< Too i The Battalion Texas A&M University Wednesday April 29, 1981 M Slouch By Jim Earle Tie s disturbing it again. By STEVE GERSTEL United Press International WASHINGTON — The first rumblings from the right are rolling off Capitol Hill as President Reagan moves beyond the first 100 days of his administration. The visible discontent is, so far, a mere glimmer — certainly nothing which could be construed as marring Reagan’s excep tionally smooth relationship with Congress. It is, however, a sharp reminder of the constant peril for Reagan’s programs posed by Congress’ ultra-conservatives. The first breach, which apparently was unexpected, occured just before the Senate and House wandered away for one of their frequent times-out, this one in celebration of Easter, the week before and the week after. It came when three conservative Repub licans, joining all the Democrats, killed Reagan’s budget in Senate Budget Com mittee. The three were Sens. William Arm strong of Colorado, Charles Grassley of Iowa and Steven Symms of Idaho. Grassley and Symms, a pair of freshmen transfers from the House, are included in any mention of staunch conservatives in the Senate. Yet, they are, at the same time, considered open to persuasion. Armstrong is more difficult to characte rize than Grassley and Symms and has established somewhat of a reputation as a maverick. But he is ferociously in favor of a balanced budget, which seems to be his top legislative goal. The reason given by the three defectors on the committee is that the budget resolu tion showed a $44.7 billion deficit for 1984. In the administration’s master plan, 1984 is supposed to be the year of the balanced budget. As a result, Armstrong said, he could not vote for an “unpolished diamond” when, with some more cutting, the stone could be turned into a “perfect jewel.” The general feeling is that the Arm- strong-Grassley-Symms troika could have been turned around. The assumption is that the concerns of Armstrong, Symms and Grassley will be met — presumably through assurances of deeper cuts for fiscal 1984 — and the Reagan budget will get through the Senate just about intact. From the very beginning, Reagan has had to assume that ultra-conservatives would support him only as long as he did not start drifting to the center. They have participated politely in the “honeymoon” period and have voted for Reagan’s nominees, despite serious misgivings over some appointments. The exception has been Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., their leader. Helms has voted against some of Reagan’s cabinet choices and has sought — apparently with some success — to block others. But the time may not be distant when Reagan is going to have to accomodate the ultraconservatives — or risk being encir cled by Democrats, GOP liberals and the right. The Republican margin in the Senate is very narrow — 53-47 — and the slightest erosion can undermine his programs, just as the budget resolution was waylaid. And in the House, the Democrats still command a majority. small society Brickman Warped Brief thief could be anyone By KATH Bat With the dge” in the A female friend of mine had her under wear stolen Thursday. All 15 pair. Plus a bra. She got her drawers cleaned out, it seems, when the spin cycle on her washing machine stopped. She stepped out of her apartment washateria for a few minutes then came back to move the clothes to a dryer. She saw nothing amiss until she started folding clothes from the dryer. That’s when she realized she had met her Washerloo. Now losing some undies might seem funny. And it is. But the loss of 15 pair of lace and nylon could run into some money. Think about women’s underwear. Taken from a random sampling of three other women that I could find who wear under wear, I calculated the average cost of female briefs to be $4, with a variance of $3. For testing purposes, we assume that no Holly wood brands are in the sample because they would shift the average toward double di gits. Leftovers By Todd Woodard But with a pair costing $l-$7, just the sheer cost of new panties would range from $15 to $105. That’ll take the fruit out of your loom. Speaking of fruits, who would rip off 15 are finding it: to take the r courses to gel But knowing that silk-footed pt ^ce' 0 f a bro; snatchers roam the washaterias unner, Dr. Chari me. Nothing can be as close to youasjn associate vice underwear. Knowing that someone ispt mic affairs, ss vy to my privies would devastate me. culty student: And the inconvenience. What if all w Iniversity is underwear were gone? Imagine one dar sion , a curric blue jeans, where nothing came beh fi nsed prograir you and your brand. Or you were planning to wear shortstl next day, and all the robber bare-on had! behind were some Valentine’s Day bet; encrusted boxer shorts or high rise, i thigh cotton panties. Whoever heardd mid-thigh tan line? number of n irements. For instan •oleum engi and the arch have five-yea “My bacf he said, “anc ^education in pairr — Someone who needed the briefs. — Someone who wanted to throw a party and hang the undies off lampshades. — Someone who needed patches for a parachute. — You have a good imagination. Fill one in of your own. This is just a warning. These nyb ferysympath cotton blend crazies could be anywlet iCation core c Playing pinball across from your load. Sb He said ^ ing at your load of whites just comingii the rinse cycle. Lusting over the laj trimmed special pair that your girlfriei boyfriend gave you for Christmas. But I have a secret to beat these peopl I never change. Ultra-conservatives are threat to Reagan is < I Even thou tense as th a possibi ifinion and tl A. Divine, p the Universi | “There is future,” Div iculty mem Ilassroom C till the dan race.” The speec luctant Bell World War I Dient of Hist “The othe: react to Sovi Try dictating a letter to the editor From secretaries to letter-writing By DICK WEST United Press International WASHINGTON — Are you a bit bleary- eyed, body all aching and wracked with pain, from so much celebrating? It figures. With hardly any time to recover from the festivities associated with National Secre taries Week, we now find ourselves whoop ing it up in celebration of National Letter Writing Week. Back-to-back observances of this sort can take a lot out of a person. Nevertheless, there is something to be said for keeping them separate. If you let Secretaries Week slip by with out paying due homage to the honorees, you can partially atone this week by writing a nice letter of apology. Although not directly connected with the program, one of the highlights of National Secretaries Week was the appearance be fore a Senate subcommittee of Phyllis Schlafly, head of an organization opposing ratification of the Equal Rights Amend ment. Many secretaries are women and Schlafly imparted some timely advice on how women workers can avoid sexual harass ment on the job. “When a woman walks across the room, she speaks with a universal body language that most men intuitively understand,” Schlafly testified. “Virtuous women are seldom accosted by unwelcome sexual propositions or familiari ties, obscene talk, or profane language.” Yes, and apparently it pays to be homely as well. The latest issue of Working Woman magazine, published during Secretaries Week, reports that “being beautiful can be more of a hindrance than a help” to business careers. Perhaps Mac Davis will compose a theme song for secretaries — “Oh, Lord, it’s hard to be homely when you’re sexy in every way.” Anyway, there you have the secret of female success — modesty and plainness. Now back to National Letter Writing Week. The latter celebration is sponsored by the friendly folks at the U. S. Postal Service who brought you the 18-cent stamp anchk now threaten to bring you the nine Zip Code. One of the themes of this year’s ob ance is: “The importance of letters to tin editors to the American way of life.” The postal service doesn’t care howyo write such letters as long as they bearsul cient postage. But certain groups arenrf rigid, among them the Writing Instrumeit Manufacturers Association. WIMA, if I may call it that, would lib everyone writing a letter to the editor touif pen and ink. But not just any pen. Pointy out the psychological advantages of win; matching pens with letters, it makes thesf recommendations: “Sharp points for cutting remarks; points for getting messages across toobtus recipients; thin points for weak argument fine points for intricate issues; broad point for sweeping statements.” WIMA’s advice, incidentally, was type* ritten. By L Bat After mi Basement pected to oj summer. 1 lowever, is iemester. The Base been under tember. Thi will be to : lemsthe ne said Dwigh for MSC B; Work oi pected to weeks, sai< associate d plant. Bids Pul on Frederic The Irnpa Scholarly E Library. Praeger and vice cl The Wes m ks, ener c y. militan tics. Westvie oiation for era tes wifi v orsities a: By Scott McCullar BULLET IN'. PU£ TO THEIR AUPIENCES' ABSOLUTE REFUSAL TO ALLOW AAO MORE misrepresea/tative pro- 6RAMMIW& ON THE A1R, MOST networks and LOCAL TV STATIONS ARE COttPLETEL/ S’HUT MW/V! BECAUSE VIEWERS SUDDENLY TAKEN PERSONALLY, ONLY HI&HEST QUALITY HAVE TELEVISION THE PR06RAA15 REMAIN. NBC 15 FOREVER OUT OF THE BROADCASTING BUS I NESS, AND THE OTHE R NETWORKS ARE DEEP IN PANIC. ANNOUNCERS OF COMMERCIALS ARE REDUCED TO 5/ MPL Y HOLDING UP THE PROpUCT. SALES OF REMOTE C0A/TR0L SILENCE DEVICES FOR TELEVISIONS' NAVE SOARED. MEANWHILE, VERY POPULAR PASTIMES WITH FORMER VIEWERS are the converting OF THEIR SETS INTO AQUARIUMS ANP PLANTERS. The Battalion ISPS " MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Editor Dillard Stone Managing Editor Angelique Copeland Asst. Managing Editor Todd Woodard City Editor Debbie Nelson Asst. City Editor Marcy Boyce Photo Editor Greg Gammon Sports Editor Ritchie Priddy Focus Editor Cathy Saathoff Asst. Focus Editor Susan Hopkins News Editors Venita McCellon, Scot K. Meyer Staff Writers Carolyn Barnes, Jane G. Brust, Frank L. Christlieb, Terry Duran, Bernie Fette, Phyllis Henderson, Colette Hutchings, Belinda McCoy, Kathy O’Connell, Denise Richter, Rick Stolle Cartoonist Scott McCullar Photographers Chuck Chapman, Brian Tate 045 .160 Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspajierfr [ students in reporting, editing and photography cl2. # *|[ within the Department of Communications. Questions or comments concerning any editorial ws^ll should be directed to the editor. EDITORIAL POLICY The Battalion is a non-proBt, self-supporting newspaper operated as a community service to Texas A&M University and Bryan-College Station. Opinions expressed in The Bat talion are those of the editor or the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M Universi ty administrators or faculty members, or of the Board of LETTERS POLICY Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 word: * length, and are subject to being cut if they are longer, editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for style* length, but will make every effort to maintain the aull« ,i | intent. Each letter must also be signed, show the addr^H and phone number of the writer. Columns and guest editorials are also welcome, and a* not subject to the same length constraints as letter Address all inquiries and correspondence to: Editor, IV Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University’|| College Station, TX 77843. The Battalion is published daily during Texas A&M s6l and spring semesters, except for holiday and examinaW periods. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester, $33® ] per school year and $35 per full year. Advertising T 1 * | furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald Build ing, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843 United Press International is entitled exclusively to^ use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to 3 Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserve- Second class postage paid at College Station, TX Titi 1C