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$ Page 2/The Battalion/Wednesday, August 24,1983 Medi here Commission to study hunger in America Government invents new wheel to spin by Arnold Sawislak United Press International WASHINGTON — With the excep tion of “waste, fraud and abuse” and its own red tape, it is hard to think of a s bee practice: trying to mute criticism of fore ign aid by changing the name of the program or the agency that doles out the money.) In any case, all of those commissions, subject has been studied more often by the government than hunger. So when President Reagan announced recently he had appointed a new commission to study hunger in the United States, it came like a breath of used air for anyone who has been watch ing Washington for any length of time. Starting with John Kennedy, almost every president has ordered up studies of hunger, poverty, welfare dependency or some other problem that amounts to the same thing under another name. ( The different labels affixed to these studies is similar to another Washington If all goes as expected, the new group eventually will report to the president, and the same old procedure will ensue. committees and task forces eventually reached conclusions, the White House usually announced that the problem was being addressed, and in a few cases even declared it was on the way to solution. If all goes as expected, the new group eventually will report to the president, and the same old procedure will ensue. At this point, it may be asked, to mix a couple of metaphors, whether the admi nistration is not just inventing a new wheel to spin. The answer is “no” if the political justi fication for all these studies of the same general subject is understood. To begin, the government is not as dumb as it sometimes seems. Almost surely, it already knows how much hun ger exists in the United States. With a couple of telephone calls to the Agriculture and the Health and Human Services departments, the president should be able to get a pretty good pic ture of the situation along with a list of possible solutions. But information isn’t always what presidents want from study commissions. First, they want to demonstrate con cern with a problem that affects voters. In this case, the sympathetic well-fed as well as the hungry. Ibere is nothing like appointment of a blue-ribbon, non partisan, distinguished panel of experts to show that the president is aware of a problem. Secondly, they usually try to pick com mission members who will arrive at what There is nothing like appoint ment of a blue-ribbon, non partisan, distinguished panel of experts to show that the presi dent is aware of a problem. political scientists call “political truth” — conclusions that coincide with the presi dent’s views on the subject. In these cases, one ol the purposes of the commissionistliati vide an “impartial” outside sourtti recommendations the presideni.j The report, by the way, needJ the administration isdoingagtxd the best one that can bedoneontkij lem. It can call for a radicalneJ ture, if that is what the presideml] cided is needed. Finally, a study commissionij the president from the initialreri its recommendations just in caseiis] osals outrage the public,orworseij president. If the report is what thepia wants and isn’t being pelted wnk] eggs, there is plenty of White by Anne M. h Battalion Re] Because of bett better general hea proved medical tei rapid population g ablv half the peop on earth are alive t< Don Self, Texas A professor of hur medicine. ■ “Before the tur tiny, nature tool whether a physicia or not,” Self says, physicians have m their disposal to from taking its coi HBut where sho draw the line on k son alive? time tunity for the White House tons whole project appear to be ontt brilliant idea. Guess who. I “Each case h nuances to it and I lythat the line ougl where the patient \ drawn,” Self says. ■ “Sometimes it i: noi to do what hes. But for the a general rule of t Jns should, and part do, carry out K’d by Kelley Battalion ■Two new degre department nam an option na approved by tl Council now i approval by Chai Hansen, the Texa oard of Regent: Coordinating Bo; The Academi Wednesday apprc ihment of two ograms — a PI pblogy with a: chaeology and ; :al science. The proposal icsting the and torate program si and for rchaeologists, Jained in nautic and the other sen lions within ; Bmstantly The Battalion USPS 045 360 Member ot Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference Editor Hope E. Paasch City Editor Kelley Smith Sports Editor John Wagner News Editors Daran Bishop, Brian Boyer, Beverly Hamilton, Tammy Jones Staff Writers Robert McGlohon, Karen Schrimsher, Angel Stokes, joe Tindel Copyeditors Kathleen Hart, Beverly Hamilton Cartoonist Scott McCullar Photographers Brenda Davidson, Eric Evan Lee, Barry Papke Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting news paper operated as a community service to Texas A&M University and Bryan-Collcgc Station. 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 faculty mem bers, or of the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography clas ses within the Department of Communications. Questions or comments concerning any editorial mat ter should be directed to the editor. Letters Policy Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in length, and are subject to being cut if they are longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for style and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must also be signed and show the address and telephone number of the writer. Columns and guest editorials also are welcome, and are not subject to the same length constraints as letters. Address all inquiries and correspondence to: Editor, The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M Uni versity, College Station, TX 77843, or phone (409) 845- 2611.' The Battalion is published Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday during both Texas A&M regular summer sessions, except for holiday and examination periods. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester, $33.25 per school year and $35 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald Building, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. United Press International is entitled exclusively to the use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it. Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. sting master’s It takes guts to reduce the deficit fogram in an Ijexas A&M Unit structured to pro this new directio “Considering I by Mary Beth Franklin United Press International In June, Congress took the First step to linimize the deficit by passing a budget ^solution calling for $73 billion in un- WASHINGTON —When members of Congress left town Aug. 4 for an ex tended summer recess, they left a num ber of unanswered questions to haunt the halls of the Capitol Hill in their absence. The biggest one is what to do about the federal deficit that is projected to top a record $200 billion this year, and re main near that level for at least the next three years. Everyone knows how to do it: cut spending and raise taxes. But Congress and the White House are playing a game of chicken over the issue, each daring the other to make the first move. No one seems to have the guts for the challenge in the dawn of a pres idential election season. President Reagan had an idea. Although he opposed any tax increases in 1984 or 1985, he has proposed a $46 billion revenue increase in 1986 by im- E osing a surtax on income and a $5 a arrel oil import fee. But his White House and Treasury Department lieute nants never pursued the issue. minimize resolution calling specified taxes and $12.3 in spending cuts over the next three years. But the resolution was merely a bluep rint, and meaningless unless Congress approves implementing legislation, which it has not. economy are the ones accutely affected r.Bh by interest rates, like housing. Big deficits means the government must crowd out private borrowers in the credit markets to finance its red-ink spending. Despite the better-than-expected eco- unic news in recent months, interest Consequently, the nation’s homebuil ders are scared and are mobilizing their members during the recess to lobby members of Congress on their home turf. our present mas and our past expi Ways and Means Committee Gk W can offer a s Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill., faces a f™ quandry. He believes Reagans! make the first move to reduce his high budget deficit. To demonstrate the extent S| problem, Rostenkowski held a ogram within Courses to be loctorate pre lected from gr r level undergi in related discip Despite the better-than- expected economic news in re cent months, interest rates re main high and could choke off recovery. In an emergency mailing to its mem- " ' T ‘ ’ As ' ' bers Aug. 8, the National Association of of Home Buiders said, “It is vitally im portant that you contact both of you U.S. senators and your U.S. representative and the president during the August congressional recess demanding that they reduce government spending to re duce the federal deficit in order to lower mortgage interest rates.” on July 20 to determine if thered support for tax increases. J u 1 lie general consensus on the® ^ 1 | the White House and at the(FedeiBL/d,XJL<J serve Board) is that we cannot® annual $200 billion deficits — tltjL „ „ 1 1. venues must lie increased aniH 1 spending must be reduced,” hesf the start of the hearing. “The political facts, However, rfj ferent story. Bucking the forces old — beginning with the president' take an extraordinary act of courage from Congress.” rates remain high and could choke off recovery. The result would be even high er deficits and possibly a reversal of the downward trend in unemployment and inflation. The most vulnerable sections of the Senate Finance Committee Chairman Robert Dole, R-Kan., has repeatedly ex pressed his frustration with his congres sional colleagues’ propensity for dump ing the burden of reducing the deficit on his taxwriting committee. In the Democratic-controlled House, Congress returns to work Se| Prospects for decisive action on ficit are meager. Only a combination of public and escalating interest rates will col 1 the lawmakers to do their duty United Press I I DALLAS — “Jock Ewing Me ship” granted Methodist Univi sode of the televi las” prompted sc to the school tha of the program c lish a genuine si The schok nded as a plot son on “Dallas” ing widow, Mis: Getting ahead in media world still depends upon good looks Berry's World it by Dick West United Press International WASHINGTON — One of the nice things about print journalism is that a typewriter has no video capability. Even with the video display terminals now widely used in newsrooms, make-up is superfluous. Tnose of us who have nothing much going for us except our good looks are ? |uickly written off as just another pretty ace. In theory, at least. In practice, it doesn’t always work out that way. I’ll be frank to say I have never known an attractive young woman to join the Washington press corps without new career opportunities soon opening up for her. I’m not saying it there has never been a professional failure with sex appeal. I’m just saying I am unaware of any ex ceptions to the rule. And meteoric rises have been com mon enough to lead to the conclusion that some of the reaction to the Christine Craft case comes under the heading of pious posturing. Ms. Craft, 1 should explain for the benefit of readers who may have had their heads in the sand this summer, won a $500,000 judgment against her em ployer on grounds she was deemed un suitable to continue as a television anchorperson because of age and appearance. (The term “anchorperson,” inciden tally, is almost always female in gender. Male leads on TV news shows usually are “anchormen.” Women occupying com parable positions are identified as anchor persons. ” (So much for sexist terminology. Now back to you, Chris.) Life, as John Kennedy once observed, is basically unfair. In particular, it is un fair to homely reporters. One can, without having a patrician profile or noble brow, enjoy a certain suc cess as a TV weatherman. (Or, as in the case of distaff performers, weatherper- sons.) But there simply is no getting around the fact that where socalled hard news is concerned, beauty usually is a valuable adjunct to brains. And that condition prevails in the print, as well as the electronic, medium. I’m not implying that looks are every thing. Even a Miss America might have trouble landing a job as a cub reporter if she were totally vacuous upstairs. Furthermore, it is possible to write, or report, so well that one’s words will be printed even though one has crooked teeth or some other physical blemish that diminishes one’s attractiveness. When it comes to push and shove, however, and all other things being approximately equal, a person who has something to offer besides raw talent is more likely to get ahead — anchor, weather or otherwise. That is the way it has always been, and that is the way it is likely to remain. Although one’s employer may be strictly unisexual, news sources likely are not. I once asked a fetching young col league if her sex was helpful to her in getting news stories on Capitol Hill. “Sure,” she replied, brightly and forthrightly. “Isn’t yours?” Anyway, my advice to a homely indi vidual of either sex seeking a career in journalism is to consider another line of work. Either that, or hire a good lawyer. “Betterput these on, guyslfl folks in the apartment abort are into Jazzercise. ” Tell mi • To • Cc • Oi • W Loi