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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 1981)
I ©1981 Beer Brewed Dy Miner brewing oo., Miiwaimee, »vis. ige 10 THE BATTALION FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1981 I I t 1 i r ! t \ 1 ! I t l Mational \WACS package deal suffers first Congressional setback United Press International WASHINGTON — President teagan’s proposed Saudi arms eal is in a see-saw battle on Capi- al Hill, losing some fights, win ing others and heading toward a limactic showdown. The House Foreign Affairs Committee voted 28-8 Wednes- iay to block the $8.5 billion pack- ge, handing Reagan his first con- jressional setback on the measure hat he says is vital for Middle East ecurity. At the same time, Reagan, yhile lobbying 43 Republican enators at the White House, won over a second convert, improving his chances of victory in the Senate. Sen. Alan Simpson, R-Wyo., said he no longer opposes Reagan’s bid to sell Airborne Warning and Control System radar planes to Saudi Arabia. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who had also opposed the deal, said Tues day he now supports it. On the Senate floor Wednes day, five undeclared senators — Richard Lugar, R-Ind., Jeremiah Denton, R-Ala., John Warner, R- Va., Sam Nunn, D-Ga., and Har ry Byrd, Virginia independent — Unexpected pregnancy? A to Z Women’s Health Services Abortion to 20 weeks • Awake or Asleep • Prompt confidential appointments • Low fees Houston: 1-800-392-8676 Dallas: 1-800-442-4076 San Antonio: 1-800-392-8676 announced they would back the deal. Despite these defections and pledges of support. Senate oppo nents of the deal said they still believe they can kill it. For Reagan’s package to be stopped, a majority of the House and Senate would have to pass re solutions of opposition by Oct. 30. It appears certain such a resolu tion will pass the Democratic- controlled House. Reagan is concentrating his efforts in the Republican- dominated Senate, where last month 50 senators — half of the chamber — signed a resolution of opposition. Wednesday night. Congress began a weeklong Columbus Day recess, during which both sides are expected to lobby for support. Reagan told the senators who answered his summons to the White House that the proposed package is now “particularly im portant” in light of the assassina tion Tuesday of Egyptian Presi dent Anwar Sadat. The president has maintained the package would bolster Middle East security. Foes, however, fear the package could add to a Middle East arms race. Israel opposes the package, claiming it would endan ger its security. “I need you, your country needs you and the world needs you on this decision,” Reagan told the senators. “It was a hard sell by the presi dent,” said Sen. John Danforth of Missouri said, while remaining opposed. Assistant Senate Democratic leader Alan Cranston, an oppo nent of the deal, did not seem overly concerned about Simpson and Hatch’s defection to the Reagan camp. The House committee action came after 2Vz hours of debate, interrupted several times by floor votes, which some Democrats charged had been engineered by the White House to seek to delay the vote. ' Eighteen Democrats joined with 10 GOP members to reject the sale. Five Republicans and three Democrats backed the sale, including chairman Rep. Clement Zablocki, D-Wis. SmaJJ ELF project approved by Reagan United Press International WASHINGTON — Presi dent Reagan has approved a scaled-down version of Project ELF, a giant antenna grid in Michigan that will improve communications with the na tion’s submarine force, the Pen tagon announced Thursday. The controversial project — the source of years of bitter de bate between the Pentagon and critics in Wisconsin, Michigan and on Capitol Hill — will be operational by 1985 and cost $230 million, the Pentagon said. ' The approved plan for ELF — named for the “extremely low frequency” radio waves needed to penetrate the oceans’ depths — will consist of a grid requiring 56 miles of exposed cable in Michigan’s upper peninsula. It will be linked to an existing experimental facility with a 28- mile-long grid near Clam Lake, W’is. The modified system approved by the president com pares with original plans that would have required up to 2,500 miles of buried cable or exposed antennas. This plan touched off an outcry among en vironmentalists and residents of the proposed sites. The Pentagon announcement said the decision is the result of a review of strategic communi cations ordered earlier this year. The Michigan grid will be installed at Sawyer Air Force Base. Capt. Daniel Donovan, de puty commander of naval com munications said, ELF will per mit brief low-speed signals to be sent to submerged submarines in the Atlantic or Pacific oceans. The signals will consist of only a few code symbols — not lengthy instructions or “Doomsday” messages to launch nuclear missiles, he said. The wave length of a single transmission could be up to 2,500 miles long, Donovan said, The signals could instruct a submarine to remain sub merged in response to a present danger or to come nearer the surface to receive fuller instruc tions on more conventional fre quencies. “The system enhances the survivability of our submarine force” Donovan said, and would resist jamming by hostile forces. Michigan and Wisconsin were selected as grid sites be cause their peculiar geological structures improve the trans mission of extremely low fre quency emissions. “I don’t think there is an en vironmental problem,” Dono van said. However, Sen. Donald Riegle, D-Mich., said the long battle against the pro ject will continue “at every step of the congressional process.” j When the guys at Miller asked me to write an ad on writing, I said, “Forget it. Not even if you held a gun to my head’.’ So they held a bottle of Lite Beer to my mouth. They’re a pretty persuasive group. THUGS TO MUGS If you’re going to write anything, know what you’re talking about. And that means three things: Research, research, and more research. The more you know, the more you can tell your reader. Take my characters. A lot of them I base on actual people. There’s this buddy of mine who pops up in every book I write. In one story he’s a cop. In another, a pri vate eye. Once, I made him a millionaire. Using him not only helped make character development a heck of a lot easier, he was so carried away by the rich image, he bought me a lot of free dinners (and a lot of Lite Beer from Miller). So use the people you know as models. Even locations should be based on real things. If you’re writing about a bar, know that bar. Hang out there. Watch the bartender. The customers. Whatever they drink, you drink. When they drink Lite Beer, you drink Lite Beer. Re- I member-research is most fun when you soak up as much subject matter as you can. It can only help you paint a better picture. HI, DOLL No caper is complete without dames (or ladies in proper English). Experience has shown me that in mystery writing, the sexier the dames, the better. Experience has also shown me that sexy scenes make great punctuation marks. This is where research has the greatest potential. Use your own discretion in this matter. But when you write about it, don’t be too explicit. That way, your reader gets to paint a more vivid picture. CAPER TO PAPER O.K., you’ve got your characters, loca tions, and dames lined up. Now comes the good part: Putting your caper to paper. There’s no mystery to it. As long as you write the ending first, the rest will follow. Write short, terse, to-the-point sentences. Be as clear as possible. And make sure you’ve got the right stuff around for when you get thristy. After all, writing is pretty thirsty work. I suggest a couple of mugs of Lite Beer- who ever heard of a caper that didn’t involve a couple of mugs? Why Lite Beer? It’s a lot like me and my books-great taste, less filling (some people can’t get their fill of my books), and always good to spend time with. At any rate, follow my advice and, who knows-you might turn out a heck of a story. Or you might turn out to be a heck of a Lite Beer drinker. GREAT WRflMG SnKIS MIH A UTIIE USTOUM* A UTTLE BEER, AND AIOT Of LEGWORK. LITE BEER FROM NUUER. EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED IN A BEER. AND LESS. Budget cuts face GOP juggling United Press International WASHINGTON — Republi cans on the Senate Appropriations Committee want to juggle Presi dent Reagan’s proposed second round of budget cuts by digging deeper into defense and adjusting cost-of-living increases for benefit programs. Committee chairman Mark Hatfield, R-Ore., said the GOP members agreed they want to cut fiscal 1982 defense spending by more than Reagan’s proposed $2 billion, but set no specific figure. Staff sources said the Republi cans, meeting privately Wednes day, informally agreed to a $4 bil lion figure. The committee is com posed of 15 Republicans and 14 Democrats. Hatfield said Republican mem bers want an adjustment in cost- of-living increases in benefit prog rams instead of Reagan’s proposed 12 percent across-the-board cut back for most federal agencies. Reagan had considered a delay in cost of living increases for all benefit programs, including Social Security, welfare and unemploy ment. But he decided against the proposal after it was harshly criti cized as a Social Security cut. Hatfield said Republican mem bers considered Reagan’s prop osed 12 percent cut for most agen cies excessive because many of the reductions would fall on programs that were major victuul of spending cuts last summer. The president's proposed percent cut is designed to redutt fiscal 1982 spending by $8.4 bil lion. Hatfield said Republicai committee members felt this should be trimmed to $5 billion. Additional savings, he said, could be achieved through adjust ments in cost-of-living increasesin- benefit programs. Last month, Reagan proposed Congress cut $13 billion from fis cal 1982 funds. This would be in addition to the record $35 billion in cuts approved last summer, Hatfield said his panel sup ported the president’s proposal to reform entitlement programs, or basic benefit programs, for a $2.6 billion reduction; and his proposal for user fees and other tax code changes, $3 billion. He said his panel agreed on alternatives to the cost of living adjustment, including a threemonth deferral of the per sonal tax cut approved by Con gress this summer and excise taxes on liquor and tobacco. Meanwhile, the White House said Reagan is likely to veto a House-passed bill providing 64 billion more than he proposed for social programs. Aggieland reminder GET SHOT! Sophomores A-M — TODAY Sophomores N-Z — Oct. 12 — Oct. 23 As a special makeup, ALL FRESHMEN also may have their pictures taken during the sophomore schedule. PURYEAR UJ > DC O z 5 O o CULPEPPER OFFICES SUITE #140 CULPEPPER PLAZA EXXON o co > < £ X g x Yearbook Associates Studio Suite 140, Culpepper Office Park off Puryear Phone 693-6756