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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 2, 1981)
The Battalion Viewpoint October 2, 1981 Slouch By Jim Earle ‘What a terrific idea! An all-white T-shirt!’ Credibility is threat to problem Reagan By DAVID S. BRODER WASHINGTON — The fiscal year is one of those bits of jargon that thrives in its own natural habitat, the corporate report or the agency budget, but is never quite at home in a living-room discussion or barroom bull- session. But in Washington this week, the talk is that the new fiscal year, fiscal 1982, will be a year like no other. That, of course, is be cause the first round of Ronald Reagan’s budget and tax cuts were effective on Oct. 1, and the effects, both good and ill, can then begin to be measured. As a journalist, I am in a weak position to tramp on anyone’s enthusiasm for some thing new. Novelty, real or simulated, is the lifeblood of our business. But what strikes me as we all prepare to enter this new fiscal year and maybe this new era is the enduring importance of one of the old est and most basic political rules of them all. That rule is: Keep your commitments. Jimmy Carter fell victim to disregarding it, as much as he fell victim to inflation, the OPEC oil squeeze and the messed-up Ira nian hostage situation. The rap on Carter, from politicians who knew him before he came to Washington, was that his handshake was sometimes something less than an ironclad guarantee. He started getting in trouble in this capital when politicians of his own Democratic Party learned, to their chagrin, that he was capable of changing his mind about tax re bates, water projects and national health programs, sometimes without bothering to inform them. By the time he was reneging on things like the neutron bomb deploy ment and the Iowa debate challenge, the game was up for him. Reagan and his administration — com posed of more experienced and tested poli ticians — had every reason to profit from Carter’s unhappy example. But, increas ingly, they too seem to be falling into the same trap, with the same results. And that is more worrisome for the long run than the financial quavers that usher in the new fis cal year. The elderly in this country, to take one example, understood Reagan to say pretty plainly in his campaign that whatever the financial problems in the Social Security system, he was not going to tamper with the commitments that had been made or the benefits that had been promised. They be lieved that because he had said in October 1980, that the ‘‘over-riding goal’ of any So cial Security reform must be that “the be lt is not too late to halt the damage. But it is none too early to focus on the risks of reviving the credibility problem that ulti mately crippled Jimmy Carter. This threat is a lot more serious to the Reagan adminis tration’s future than another month of high interest rates. Warped Reader responds to editorial T>\i Editor: Mr. Al-Khowaiter seems to lack a ground basis which will justify his noble intention to familiarize the American public with the “root causes” of the Arab-Israel conflict (Battalion, Sept. 30). Reader's The state of Israel was established in 1948. Not as an immediate solution, but rather as an accomplishment of the bible prophecies and the dreams of Jews all over the world during nearly 2,000 years of exile. Oppression of Jews has not been exclusive to Europe. To mention only the short period before the state of Israel was established, Jews were slain in Damascus in 1948, in Iraq in 1941, in Lybia in 1945, in Egypt in 1946 and 1948, and in Yemen in 1947 and 1948. Sabri Jiris, a PLO official wrote in 1975: “This is hardly the place to describe how the Jews of Arab states were driven out of their ancient homes, how they Forum were shamefully deported after their prop erty had been commandeered or taken over at the lowest possible valuation.” tstur*- Israel was owned by Jews before !’-ipn<l percent by arubs who lived there, fermi= cent by arabs who lived in other ciwej'P ^ More than 70 percent of the land AP 1 ed by the British government of and it passed to the ownership of my guest to check this!). ■f as The United Nations 1947‘ Parti solution’ offered both the Jews andff;' their own separate states. Israel anfl the resolution in spite of its ridiil geographical boundries. The Paw Arabs rejected it in the pursued" all.” This is why over 55 percent of the immig ration to Israel since 1948 has been from arab countries, not European. It is today’s fashion to play thed the oppressed minority but this pan issue seems to deserve a deeper I Maybe this is why the American mil has a different picture of the stateo(| than that of Mr. Al-Khowaiter E As for “taking away the peasant’s land”: 8.6 percent of the land area now known as ■he ■ at ■ks Roni and Pere #itudi Bs, Btv id nefits of those now receiving — or looking forward to receiving — Social Security must be protected. But twice he has tested that faith by amending the understanding. Twice he has proposed delays or reductions in prospec tive benefits. Twice he has stirred a hor net’s nest of criticism. And twice he has backed off. More broadly, the President said that there would be certain social “safety-net” programs for the “truly needy” that would be “exempt from cuts.” But now his budget director, David A. Stockman, says “we can never promise” such exemption for any program. Stockman also explained last weekend that the commitments he and others, speaking for the President, made to Repub licans in Congress in order to secure their votes for last summer’s keystone budget and tax bills were not really commitments either. At a luncheon with reporters, he said, “People develop expectations...(but) we never made any commitments. ” Well, that just won’t wash with the Republicans who were involved, and who understood that assurances had been given about the fund ing of dozens of programs vital to their dis tricts. What happens when one politician be gins to doubt another’s word is a swift and sickening destruction of the mutual com mitments that are essential to success. Without that mutual trust, government it self becomes impossible and the course of policy unpredictable. People inside an administration get con fusing signals from the top and are no longer certain what is the real policy line. The country saw that last week in the contradic tory statements from Cabinet officers and White House aides on school lunch prog rams and the future of revenue-sharing. Then the congressmen who have been willing to put their necks on the line for the President retreat to their customary cau tion, and the chief executive finds himself without the allies he needs to win the bat tles on Capitol Hill. Something very like that is happening to Reagan on the new round of budget cuts. .RIGHT, MR. PRMHDKNT. V/F-’I i. 'IURN OFF THE SIGN.. It s your turn United Way needs more support lexas |pk co ha: talk pi The [look t lom) b AM l ’oinink (nd Pr frizes a tvardec i To ei jnust sul aphv ol 4k1 a 1; be colh I'We iheren id Sh< (ervices illcctio BVV W( picre I Fossil ■tion a night a fltal enj 6s, We Editor: Cleaner ‘grode’ stories ft the' pr. 1 After Be basis fatemei P bring :ial coll ‘''pond f This letter is in regard to the apparent lack of support demonstrated by Texas A&M University faculty, staff and students to this year’s United Way Campaign. Editor: Surely one or more of the 19 agencies funded by the Brazos County United Way touches most of you in some way. Faculty and staff — think about the scouting, educational and recreational programs your children are involved in. And students, think of the various job opportunities and volunteer positions pro vided by these agencies. I had been avoiding yell practices be cause I was embarrassed by the “grody” Aggie jokes I remember from last year. Re cently, I heard from friends that the yell leaders have decided to clean up their stor ies. So I went to this last midnight yell and much to my surprise and delight, the stor ies were much cleaner. But now a new rumor has deflated my renewed excitement — some say absence of crudeness was due to tb moran sence of the PM magazine anchoupdaboi Please clarify this matter — are weAtwitest 1 finally changing one of our less honorJbcfin traditions, or are we hanging onto the! form of humor? At any rate, for those of us who embarrassed to be seen by fellow Ags,d dally guys, and visitors when sex-re r jokes are told, I’d like to give oun" thanks to the yell leaders for the change for one of our most exciting yell practii Michele Du Mond| To date, only 25 percent of Texas A&M’s campus goal of $56,000 has been reached. This year’s Brazos County campaign ends Oct. 2, but it’s never too late to give. Your contributions are the only way the United Way can work for all of us. Sherry Evans By Scott McCullar I P --- U>?r-.r.=-^=. : r^r|( /protect your designer jeans with the NEW TEXAN SIZED BELT BUCKLE FOR THAT NIPPLE- 0N-THE BUTT look ©®»3!»/a©SK! -— JEA/V5 THAT /AAKE A SZRL FEEL LIKE A WOMAN TUPLESS BLUE JEAN LAGOON STARRING MISS "TuST-PAST-PUBERTy" HERSELF, BROOKE SHIELDS The Battalion USPS 045 360 MEMBER Texas Press Association The Battalion also serves its a laboratory wnvs/wH Editor Angelique Copeland students in reporting editing and photography cl4 Managing Editor Marcy Boyce w ' f /| e Department of Communications _ ”... T ,, . Vnestions or comments concerning any editorial W City Editor ^ Jfne G. Bros ^ { ^ Asst. City Editor Kathy O Connell Photo Editor CregCammon LETTERS POLICY Sports Editor Ritchie Pnddy Focus Editor Cathy Saathoff . ... . , OA ., .j a a rr j-. i-v ll • Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 wortf] Asst. Focus Editor Debbie Nelson , h and ar( . sllhjec| t<) ^ cllt |fthex arc News Editors - Jennifer Afflerbach c(lito „ a| staff res( , 1 ,,. s the riRht to <;di( | ( , tcrs for stv U Berme Fette Belinda McCoy lenKth> , )ut wi || IMak( . ( , V( . ry t() mailltaill t |„>' Diana Sultenfuss intent. Each letter must also he signed, show the adiM Staff Writers Frank L. Christlieb an( ] phone number of the writer. Randy Clements, Gaye Denley, Ferry Duran Columns and guest editorials are also welcome, aiid^ Nancy Floeck, Phyllis Henderson not subject to the same length constraints as lettq Colette Hutchings, Denise Richter, Rick Stolle Address all inquiries and correspondence to: Editor.! Nancy Weatherley Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M Uiiiv<« |! | Cartoonist Scott McCullar College Station, TX 77843. Graphic Artist Richard DeLeon Jr. Photographers Brian Tate The Battalion is published daily during Texas A&M ' Becky Swanson Dave Einsel and spring semesters, except for holiday and examinat> periods. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester, S EDITORIA1 POl ICY 7 per school year and $35 per full year. Advertising r*f furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald BuJ The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper ing> Texas A&M University, (lollege Station, 1X 77845 operated as a community service to Texas A6cM University and Bryan-College Station. 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