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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 1982)
> t opinion Battalion/Page 2 February 15,1982 A pictorial history of 1983 fiscal budget by Dick West United Press International WASHINGTON — By now you might be thinking that President Reagan’s fiscal 1983 budget has been analyzed every way possible. II so, you underestimate the range of the analysts. T here remains one small void I shall endeavor to fill posthaste. Here, then, is a review of the budget’s artistic qualities: Basically, there are two ways of con templating a budget. One way is to study the numbers and try to make sense of the arithmetical pro jections. Or, if multi-placed digits make your eyes glaze over and your head swim, you can skip the ciphers and simply look at the pictures. Stern realities compel us to conclude that nobody really understands all those figures. Even David Stockman, the statis tical-minded budget director, conceded as much in a magazine interview last year. Visual aids, therefore, are highly im portant in putting a budget message across. It is in the field of graphics that the 1983 compilation shows perhaps the most room for improvement. As in the past, budget artists leaned heavily on three types of graphs to illus trate the situations we are up against. I think of them as “mountain range,” “sky line” and “pie” art. A “mountain range” graph divides the economy into topographical layers, or strata, reminiscent of the geology of the Mesozoic period and Earth’s crust during the Silurian era. The top line traces the peaks and val leys as they currently exist. It is not sym bolism that inspires confidence in the economy. Indeed, the impression I get is that Death Valley lies just beyond the next peak. A “skyline” graph depicts an economic condition by means of little skyscrapers that rise to various heights, much as the office buildings in midtown Manhattan. Anytime I encountered a skyline in the budget, my thoughts flew immediate ly to the need for urban renewal. The familiar “pie” graph, for its part, is a circle divided into proportionate seg ments, much as your old Aunt Mossy used to slice her peach pastries after Sun day dinner. That type of illustration is likewise conducive to dubiety and qualms. What it does, essentially, is whet a con gressman’s appetite for a larger piece of the pie. And there goes fiscal mo eration out the window. Clearly, OBM is in need of some new budgetary symbols. One type of graph it might want to consider could be pat terned after an astronomer’s charting of the firmament. Over there amidst the nebulae would be the deficit projections. Proposed out lays for education and energy would be represented by “black holes.” And shoot ing comet-like across the chart is the Pen tagon budget. Such a graph would give budgeteers the advantage of precedence. Astronom ers don’t know what they are doing either. WHAT TIME IS IT BOYS AND GIRLS? WE DON'T KNOW, WE'RE IN THE LIBRARY! ‘Kermit people’ newest controversy Slouch By Jim Earle conresr MO ZUilMEii kZF.TlHC ACCOUNT SOCIETY ii/M CM<L( “I think that they have stumbled onto a way of picking up attendance. ” Editor: In response to the young ladies who expressed belief in the omnipotence of Kermit kind, let me say that I disagree with both your sentiments and your sup porting argument. You seem to feel that if a person is tromped by clubfoot Kermits it’s his fault for not relinquishing right-of-way simply because they’re Kermits and outnumber him. I say you are wrong. Nowhere in my copy of the student handbook does it say that the Corps has right-of-way, or even right-of-anything. They are merely fellow Aggies who dress differently, and, as such, have no more right to use the campus sidewalks than any other student or group of students. What they did was just plain rudeness! As for your supporting argument — no, I wouldn’t stand in in the path of an oncoming train. The railroad company has purchased the right-of-way. They own the tracks and I would be trespas sing. Ergo, I would move. The Kermit people, however, have not paid for the priviledge; hence I would loathe to grant it simply because I was outnumbered. We all have our pride, you know. Finally, I hope that if the engineer of your train saw my car stalled on the tracks, he would stop before somebody got hurt. V.M. Nicoli Graduate Physics T.A. Editor: This is to the unfortunate so-called Aggie who was too stubborn to move out of the way of the Freshman Drill Team. Well Robert L. King, these men of the Freshman Drill Team are nothing else but Aggie Honor. In past history they have won numerous Texas State Cham pionships and National Championships. Incidently, there are no more National Championships because our Freshman Drill Team kept winning all of them. Your acchsations of a lack of honor areT' 1 quite unwarranted. Our Freshman Drill Team has brought more honor to this University than you ever will my friend. They don’t win without hard work and a •lot of practice. The Freshman Drill Team practices two hours Monday thru Friday, eight hours on Saturday and six hours on Sunday. They have brought nothing but honor and integrity to this glorious Uni versity. Next time, you may exercise a little common sense and consider that it is far easier for one person to move than a tight formation of men carrying ten Since you are a senior, 1 would tit you would be able to read a sarcas letter and be able to understand the tral meaning of it. But 1 guess that much to ask of you so I’ll explain. Mr. King didn’t mind being around by the CTs, nor did hems being “gently nudged” as he was He’s fully aware of the intricacies of d« order drill. What lie questioned wadi outfit’s C.O. yelling obscenities at hill Roger Ka the Univ point at Pol by Solidar were othe — a spea sion of tli OnNatio Dr. M searcher Foundati the Sovi been invc martial 1; land so it and in lo: that the agreed ti * I wouldn’t care if the C.O. wasCoi Sheril 1 or Dr. Vandiver, he didn’t any right to yell ohscenities at anol Aggie. Actions by such a “matureTeai only hurt the image of the Corps. 1 wo have been upset by the language theC used also. pound rifles. I have the utmost respect for Corps, seeing as I’ve had three brot who were all in the Corps and aren officers in the U.S. military. But the tions of a few reckless individuals oi lower most non-reg’s opinions Corps. E. West Anderson ’83 CTs, I really wish you all wouldtj killing yourselves. We’re all really d proud of you. Editor: In reply to Ms. McCracken’s letter ab out the Kermit people: Bill Tillotson Hart Hi Letter: Hood’s apppointment to Senate ‘shocking Editor: Upon reading the February 1 1 issue of The Battalion, we learned that. Cadet Greg Hood had been appointed to the ‘ student senate. We are shocked by this action, particularly in light of the fact that no discussion of his appointment was made at any time during the meeting. We do not understand how a student may be suspended for disciplinary reasons one semester and then be allowed to return the next to accept a position in Student - Government. In our opinion, Mr. Hood - should consider himself lucky to be back 1 at Texas A&M at all. The student senate should feel certain that plent y of outside 1 ridicule will result from their action, and 1 justly so. Apparently the student senate is doing their best to reaffirm every Aggie I joke ever told. Our pride in Texas A&M University runs to the bone and actions 1 such as these lower the reputation of this institution in the eyes of all. Our suggestion is this: If the action taken by the student senate truly repre- ' sents the f eelings of the student body as it should, let’s erect a statue of Cadet Hood and his saber in the south end of Kyle t Fie 1 ' 1 ’ " for is having a personal crisis because he was denied the pleasure of viewing the post erior side of the woman in the “For Your Eyes Only” poster. We regret denying you that excite ment. We were not trying to make a social statement. It was merely a PR stunt and apparently it worked. Thanks to you it is drawing more attention than it probably deserves. By the way, the originals will be shown. Can’t wait? Thank you for your concern. peded in their proper functioning be cause of militant Arab tactics. The Texas A&M University commun ity must be concerned that students who are activists for militant Arab propagan da respect the rights of others not to be harassed in their enjoyment of cultural affairs and discussions. Down with sexism cartoon in the Wednesday, February edition of The Battalion. Editor: Thumbs down to Jim Earle’s sexist Wendy Schaftetf Department of Geolojr Dr. Emanuel Parzen College Station Tricia Paulas ‘83 Aggie Cinema PR Comparisons unfair Editor: Propaganda campaign Editor: geneiations oi Aggies to come. Gig ‘em. Billy Lemmons ‘83 James Turcotte ‘83 Shorts make their point Editor: This is in response to Mr. Pfeiffer who A letter in the February 2 Battalion from the Organization of Arab Students may signal the start of a propaganda campaign whose theme is stated in the letter: “Even America’s oldest friends in the Arab world are beginning to seriously doubt whether the U.S. government can ever off the yoke of Zionist control on its foreign policy.” Such statements are insulting to Americans as the Amer ican ambassador to the United Nations constantly has to point out. The charge of Zionist control is a myth promulgated to express the real complaint of Arab gov ernments: That Arab economic power controls U.N. votes but not the foreign policy of the U.S. government. All inter nationally oriented organizations, in cluding the International Student Asso ciation at Texas A&M University, are im Yesterday in The Battalion I read a letter written by a Mr. Murray Moore who responded to a pro-abortion letter. I respect his position on abortion, but the comparisons he made in his letter were unfair and rediculous. Having an abor tion is in no way comparable to murder ing “one’s aged parents,” as he put it. I believe the issue of abortion should be left up to each individual, to decide whether in her conscience it is a moral act. After all, Mr. Moore will never have to worry about being pregnant from a rapist, nor what to do if he was endanger ing his health by having a child. However, I agree with Kala Jo Philo; the government has no place in deciding what is moral and what is not. If this occurred, every four years America’s morality would change. If Mr. Moore is an unltra-conservative now, I would have hated to hear his political views under Jimmy Carter. Julie Adams ‘85 Legett Hall - The Battalion USPS 045 360 Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference Editor Angelique Copeland Managing Editor JaneG. Brust City Editor Denise Richter Assistant City Editor Diana Sultenfuss Sports Editor Frank L. Christlieb Focus Editor Cathy Saathoff Assistant Focus Editor Nancy Floeck News Editors Gary Barker, Phyllis Henderson, Mary Jo Rummel, Nancy Weatherley Staff Writers Jennifer Carr, John Bramblett, Gave Denley, Sandra Gary, Colette Hutchings, Johna Jo Maurer, Daniel Puckett, Bill Robinson, Denise Sechelski, Laura Williams, Rebeca Zimmermann Cartoonist Scott McCullar Graphic Artist Richard DeLeon Jr. Photographers Sumanesh Agrawal, David Fisher, Eileen Manton, Eric Mitchell, Peter Rocha, John Ryan, Colin Valentine Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting news paper operated as a community service to Texas A&M University and Bryan-College Stadon. Opinions ex pressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M University administrators or lacullfHt bers, or of the Board of Regents. 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