Page 2/The Battalion/Thursday, April 21, 1983
opinion
Media decides political issues
by Art Buchwald
Larry Speakes, President Reagan’s
press secretary, has blamed the media for
the administration’s disastrous defeat on
military spending in the Senate Budget
Committee. Speakes said Congress was
responding to a public informed by a
press that was not giving the administra
tion’s defense program a “fair shake.”
Larry, for once, knows what he’s talk
ing about.
As soon as the president announced
he wouldn’t budge from a 10 percent
increase in military spending, a group of
opinion makers met at The Class Reun
ion restaurant to discuss what action to
take.
Sam Donaldson, of ABC, said: “I
think the president has gone overboard
on defense, and I am not prepared to
give him a dime until he tells me how he’s
going to spend it.”
Leslie Stahl, of CBS, agreed with Sam.
“I oppose sticking a lot of MX missiles in
the ground until the Joint Chiefs of Staff
assure me that they are not vulnerable to
Soviet attack.”
“Is this your personal opinion?” I
asked.
“It is not only mine, but Dan Rather’s.
Dan feels ‘Dense Pack’ basing is unfeasi
ble and a waste of money.”
“So do Tom Brokaw and Roger
Mudd,” Chris Wallace, of NBC, told us.
“They’re for cutting the president’s milit
ary request in half.”
Helen Thomas, of United Press, said:
“I’ve read the defense budget from cover
to cover and there is. a lot of waste and
fraud there. Why should I support Wein
berger if the Pentagon won’t clean up its
act?”
Rowland Evans and Bob Novak, media
hardliners, who speak with one voice,
said together: “If we don’t give the presi
dent what he’s asking for, we will be send
ing a message to the Soviets that they can
get anything they want in the Geneva
disarmament talks. We say Reagan isn’t
asking enough. You ultra-liberals are
tying the president’s hands, just at the
time when the Soviets are starting to real
ize we mean business.”
We all ignored Evans and Novak, as we
usually do, when the question of national
security comes up.
I said: “No one wants a stronger de
fense than my readers do. But I must
know what our defense policy is. If the
military will just tell me what they plan to
do with the money, I would be the first to
say, ‘Go get ’em boys.’ But as long as the
president has his feet in concrete, I have
to be a nay-sayer.”
Tom Wicker, of the New York Times,
said: “I couldn’t agree with you more. I
want to know if we are preparing to fight
a limited nuclear war, a prolonged nuc
lear war, a two-ocean war, a one-ocean
war, or a police action in space.”
David Brinkley said: “What gets me is
that the military will come to the media
and tell us they only need $ 10 billion for a
new weapon, and once they develop it,
they’re going to return next year and say
it will cost us four times as much as they
originally thought. I got badly burned on
the F-18 fighter plane, and I’m not going
to get sucked in again.”
Columnist James Kilpatrick said: “I
think you’re all talking a bunch of clap
trap.”
We waited for him to continue, but
apparently that’s all he wanted to say.
Sarah McClendon said: “I can’t justify
a $2 trillion military expenditure over
five years when there isn’t enough money
to take care of the sick and the poor. 1 say
cut.”
“Then the consensus is,” I said, “that
the Reagan-Weinberger military budget
is totally unacceptable, and they’re going
to have to go back to the drawing boards
and come up with something the media
can live with.”
“What’s our next step?” Mary
McGrory asked.
“We start a steady drumbeat of nega
tive thought about defense expenditures,
and let Congress take it from there.”
Letters: Tuition hike opposition
Editor:
Recently, a group of Texas A&M stu
dents testified in favor of a new tuition
increase bill now in the legislature. In
1981, I testified against a similar bill —
and in that year over 700 students from
all over the state of Texas filled the gal
leries of the Texas Senate in support of
that opposition.
When I faced the Senate Education
Committee, I was representing students
who were desperately in need of financial
aid to remain enrolled at A&M. These
students spent many hours trying to ba
lance loans, part-time jobs and school.
The minority, who testified in favor of an
Berrys World
"Don’t fret! Now, we wait for the Soviets to
make a missile reduction proposal and we
reject IT!”
increase were the very students who re
sponded yes to questions like, “Did your
father buy your car, pay your gas, finance
your housing, etc.,” but then replied,
“but I work in the summer to pay my
tuition.” These are not the people who
are going to suffer from an increase in
tuition.
If you are one of those who need help
with financial aid, my advice to you is to
have yourself duly represented. Contact
Kent Caperton and tell him you need
their help. Or write Tim McCormic, c/o
UT Student Lobby, who is coordinating
the statewide student effort that I was a
part of in ’81. The effort was successful
for two years but you need to help your
self now.
Tom Schwartz ’81
Speeding cars
Editor:
Well it happened again. As I was rid
ing my bicycle to class on East Main
Drive, I was nearly run over by one of
those fine outstanding Ags who drives a
car. As most of us can imagine, a 2,000-
pound car is no match for a bicycle and
rider and probably more easily imagined
is the consequence of the two in an acci
dent. The cyclist would obviously lose.
With that in mind, I think it’s high
time that the people in charge of plan
ning at TAMU should consider the re
moval of the “parking lot” on East Main
Drive. Once this is done it would be a
good idea for those Ags who drive to
campus to realize that East Main Drive is
no longer a two-lane thoroughfare and to
drive on it accordingly.
As long as the “parking lot” exists on
this street there exists a higher than aver
age chance that another name will be
added to the flag pole for Silver Taps or
to the roll call at Aggie Muster.
Andy Jones ’83
Slave sale
Editor:
When I stated in my letter to the editor
April 13 that I didn’t care to see slave
sales reenacted, I didn’t mean that I
didn’t want them to be reestablished
(although it is true that I don’t want this).
What I meant is that I did not care to see
what I consider to be an imitation of that
system by which human beings are
bought and sold reenacted (i.e. staged as
in a play) on campus.
I apologize for the confusion this may
have caused.
As far as freedom goes ... It is a bit
ironic that minorities are minorities
when it comes to students and adminis
trators at this school, whereas they be
come majorities when it comes to our cus
todial and maintenance crew. It is equally
ironic that you did not even comment as
to the virtues of excluding women from
our “Fightin’ Texas Aggie Marching
Band.”
Kevin Johnson ’84
Watch found
Editor:
I found a lady’s watch outside Zachry
Engineering Center about two weeks
ago. I’ve been looking for a letter, but
there hasn’t been one. If you’re in
terested in getting your watch back, call
Ted at 260-7007 and tell me what it looks
like.
Ted Callahan
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Radio to Cuba:
lost in the waves
by Maxwell Glen
and Cody Shearer
HAVANA — Does the State Depart
ment need to beam 14 hours of daily
radio programming to this Caribbean is
land to inform Cubans about the won
ders of the United States and the evils of
Fidel Castro?
Most level heads in Washington think
not. But after spending the better part of
a work week here, even the most rabid
anti-commqnists could see (and hear)
that the Reagan administration’s Radio
Marti project, now awaiting congression
al approval, would be redundant, dan
gerous and fiscally wasteful.
When first introduced last year, Radio
Marti was to be an independent radio
operation, broadcasting from Washing
ton via four 250-foot antennas in Key
West, Fla. Programming was to include
news, rock music, weather reports,
American baseball game broadcasts and
time checks — all for $ 12.9 million in the
first year.
But the proposal, passed by the House,
eventually died in the Senate. U.S. broad
casters had complained that Radio Marti
would share its frequency with WHO-
AM in Des Moines, Iowa, and the Repub
lican majority wasn’t about to leave
Ronald Reagan’s old employer vulner
able to interference from the Key West
station or Cuban jamming.
This led the State Department to prop
ose three alternative frequencies: one
already used by Voice of America in its
Spanish broadcasts to Cuba; “off band”
slots at either end of the AM dial; or short
wave. All three possibilities have been in
corporated in a bill sponsored by Sen.
Paula Hawkins (R-Fla.) that would also
allow the U.S. to rent air time from pri
vately-owned stations. Unless U.S.
broadcasters succeed in adding expen
sive provisions to compensate stations
disrupted by Cuban interference, the
Hawkins bill would cost a modest $6 mil
lion this year.
Though Americans know little about
this island nation, Cubansalreadyto
great deal about the States. BecaustC
reside only 90 miles south of Floridi
sidents have no trouble tuning in
ican TV and radio programs.
For instance, we’ve been able
National Public Radio’s “Mornin[
tion” on the Armed Forces Radio
work; Southern U.S. commercialstai
such as Miami’s all-news WGBSfi
give us 22 minutes, we’ll give you!
world"); and the two major worlds
vices from the Voice of Americaandii
ish Broadcasting Corp.
At the same time, however, theRes|
administration wants Radio Martin
all that available offerings are not
anti-Castro propaganda tool. Itw
like to counter the admittedly^ |
views of the state-controlled Cuban[i
with additional stories about ^
adventurism, Latin American
and Cuba’s economic troubles, w
jecting a better image of the I'd I
States.
All of this could get out of handJ I
station, says Ricardo Alarcon, vice* |
ter for f oreign af fairs, would by d(«
tion be “hostile” and prompt Ha"
either to jam or to “counterbroadc*
the U.S. (an action to which thePendj
planners would respond by knocking
Cuba antennas).
Radio Marti (named after Jose Ml]
19th-century Cuban patriot still retfl
here) would be a sorry waytosffl
Cuba’s well-educated (by Caribbean!
dards) population. Ronald fa!
would be better advised ifhispolicfj
ers understood that most Cubans?
long differentiated between theD
ernment and the American people]
markably, a long history of invaj
embargo, harassment and
by Washington hadn’t kept
we met from a deep admiration I
Americans.
But all-hype radio, run by Unclej
will only f urther Cuban disrespetlj
our government.
The Battalion
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