1
3
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opinion
Letters:
Confederate flag
stood for tradition
Editor:
Although Steven Weiss may hold valid
prejudices against the “slave sale” and
Confederate flag bearing traditions hon
ored at Texas A&M, he is decidedly
biased in his judgement of the character
of the South.
To the men and women who formed
it, the Confederacy stood for their de
fense of the southern way of life, and we
have a right to be proud of many of the
traditions and values bequeathed to us.
To this daughter of the South, the
Confederate flag embodies all the attri
butes that make the South, Texas, and
this University such a special place.
by your remarks that you are a vegetarian
and simply do not eat steaks and hambur
gers.
Coming from a ranching background
I know of many times animals were made
pets and then slaughtered for personal
consumption or sent to packing houses.
There is nothing cruel or abnormal about
keeping an animal as a pet and then eat
ing it.
In case you are a vegetarian just re
member that the next time you reach into
the meat counter at the supermarket you
may be be picking up some little girl’s
prized and beloved show steer.
Mark Randolph ‘86
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Fan hopeful for ’84
Eating pets not cruel
Editor
In response to King’s letter to the edi
tor in Monday’s Battalion, I have one
question for her: “Ms. King, do you eat
meat?” If you are a vegetarian, I do not
agree with your thinking, but I will give
your opinion some respect. I will assume
Editor:
Don’t let the t.u. game dampen your
spirit! Our young team put the scare to
them and Coach Sherrill and the team
will beat them in ’84. If not, then in ’85.
The Band, Bonfire, Yell Leaders, Fish
Drill Team, Corps March In, Coaches
and Team, and Aggie Fans were all out
standing!
Keep the faith — our time will come!
Space technology program
alternative to nuclear war
by Chris
Bill Leftwich
Metal detectors key
to ‘boosting’ revenue
by Dick West
United Press International
WASHINGTON — If you are one of
those tourists who feels unduly restricted
by the new security arrangments at the
U.S. capitol, look at it this way:
fa
Each time you pass through a metal
detector, you’re receiving a free medical
checkup.
It is true that visitors who start a
machine beeping may be searched to de
termine if they are carrying potentially
deadly weapons.
But that is a small price to pay for
discovering that you may have a poten
tially deadly blood disorder.
Your family physicians probably
would charge you an arm and a leg for
the same information.
I discovered the beneficial side effects
of metal detectors, also known as magne
tometers, in the December issue of Omni.
The magazine reports that anyone who
touches off an alarm, but isn’t carrying
any metal objects, may be suffering from
hemochromatosis.
That ailment is described as a heredit
ary disease in which the iron content of
human blood reaches toxic levels.
Omni quotes one medical specialist as
saying the symptoms of hemochromato
sis often are mistakenly attributed to di
abetes or cirrhosis of the liver.
If the iron deposits in your veins are
large enough to get you mistaken for a
terrorist, you may be sure that more than
the liver is acting up.
Once you are released by the Capitol
oft
Police, the FBI and other minions of the
law, you probably should visit a doctor
for therapy and prescriptions. There is,
however, no charge for walking through
a metal detector. In fact, it’s mandatory,
and has been ever since someone ex-
loded a bomb near the Senate chamber
ast month.
I’m just wondering how long Congress
will continue to provide this valuable ser
vice at taxpayer expense.
Granted, the lawgivers make up the
legislative bodies that previously brought
us Medicare, Medicaid and other
goodies. But when the House and Senate
adjourned last month, they left behind
huge budgetary deficits, and no discern-
able means of erasing the red ink.
Here is a chance to increase security
and revenue at the same time.
I am referring, of course, to coin-
operated metal detectors, similar to the
do-it-yourself blood pressure machines
that are beginning to appear in arcades
and other public places.
Admittance to the Capiol still would be
by magnetometer only. Only visitors
would be required to deposit a certain
sum, say a 50-cent piece, in the slot before
passing through.
The idea of charging admission to see
our lawgivers in action, or what passes for
action in Congress, might be repugnant
to many citizens. Clearly, however, half a
buck for a hemochromatosis checkup is a
bargain.
All visitors to Capitol would profit
from a cheap diagnosis. And the volume
of visitors, particularly during the tourist
season, is large enough that even a small
fee would do wonders for the national
debt.
The Battalion
USPS 045 360
McnibwT <>t
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
Editor Hope E. Paasch
City Editor . Kelley Smith
Assistant City Editor Karen Schrimsher
Entertainment Editor .... Rebeca Zimmermann
Assistant Entertainment Editor Shelley
Hoekstra
News Editors Brian Boyer, Kathy Breard,
Kevin Inda, Tracey Taylor,
Chris Thayer, Kathy Wiesepape
Photo Editor Eric Evan Lee
Staff Writers Robin Black,
Brigid Brockman, Bob Caster,
Ronnie Crocker, Elaine Engstrom,
Kari Fluegel, Tracie Holub,
Bonnie Langford, John Lopez,
Kay Denise Mallett,
Christine Mallon,
Michelle Powe, Stephanie Ross,
Angel Stokes, Steve Thomas,
John Wagner, Karen Wallace,
Wanda Winkler
Copy Editors . Kathleen Hart,
Susan Talbot
Cartoonists Paul Dirmeyer,
Scott McCullar
Photographers Michael Davis,
John Makely, Dave Scott,
Dean Saito, Cindi Tackitt
The BrntHlion ntso serves as a lnb<)rntory newspaper
for students in reporting, editing and photography clas
ses within the Department of Communications.
Questions or comments concerning any editorial
matter should he directed to the editor.
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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 lot-
style and length, but will make every effort to maintain
the author’s intent. Each letter must also be signed and
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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 L'ni-
versity. College Station TX 77843, or phone (409) 843-
2611.
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77843. .
(Editor’s note: Robert Dalglish is a sopho
more electrical engineering major.)
by Robert Dalglish
one error can be catastophic when deal
ing with nuclear confrontations, we are
led to our final option.
On Nov. 21, after viewing “The Day
After,” many Americans suddenly de
cided that they were against nuclear war.
It is hard to imagine any rational human
being who is not. The problem that re
mains is how nuclear war can be avoided.
The proposed answers are easy to under
stand but not all of them are practical.
reader's forum
The first, which is rapidly gaining
popularity among Americans, is disarma
ment. As with any other anti-technology
movement, disarmament will work. It re
moves the power necessary to cause dam
age. We can voluntarily remove nuclear
power from our midst. This will not,
nowever, solve our problem. Can we ex
pect the Soviet Union, conquerer of
Hungary, Poland, and Afghanistan, to
stop their world revolution simply be
cause we fear their power? Definitely not.
We can rid ourselves of the technology
we fear, but it will remain with those who
do not share our sentiments. Our second
option is to use all of our wisdom, com
passion, and knowledge to avoid conflict.
This is a sound philosophy and it has
served us well in the past. It has, unfor
tunately, failed on occasion and since just
That option is one which you, as Amer
icans, have laughed at all too often. It is
the movement of man into space. In
1969, NASA had serious plans to accom
plish this. Included in these plans were a
100-man space station, orbiting lunar sta
tions, a station on the lunar surface and a
reusable space shuttle. All of this was
scheduled to have been accomplished by
the mid-1980’s. In 1969, we had the tech
nology to take the first step in decreasing
our absolute dependency on earth. We
lacked only the desire. We have not lost
the technology. We can begin advancing
our frontiers into space at will.
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By advancing in space technci 'Nation-relat
create another field of compem r r - Donald
no longer concentrate only onanH^ C 3 V !* en !
but on developing new technologi
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lishing more profitable stationsi t/ar
and extending our influencetov T 0 f one . yei
threatens no one else. These iliicredited uni
not only harmless, they can bepmgrees in th
Has our economy ever been asIwNation,
it was from 1950 to 1970 when J exas A&I
new technology and the spacep' niyers ‘ t ‘es
more seriously?
Of course, this sounds nice but how
likely is it that our space program will
advance quickly enough to save us? After
all, there may be a nuclear war tomorrow.
w r
if life fre
There is another reason for moving
into space. Not only will the space
ram eventually allow us to survive if lite
on earth is, somehow, ended, but it may
also prevent a nuclear or even a conven
tional war. We live on a crowded planet
with power dangerously concentrated in
centers controlled by short-sighted men.
idation to
■ai it to be aw;
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We cannot ignore our prob^Fartnient c
earth. We must continue tohy memb
peaceful resolutions to our conllifl I lll0ns ‘ in(l
Without the space program, k F eiUs ^ 011
our problems will probably gel
Our population is increasing4 0 j sc | 1 Q| ars f 1 j
wer is increasing. We musteffi Q f
rontiers. For years we have plead Woods said
you to support our cause. Youffl°n placed or
recently been forced into aware ^larship is
our present situtaiton, but well? |? e y ,lir
pared for it. We do not offer simp t ^ 1 '
tions. T hink about the spacepr(( | m r ^ ns
Reagan aiding Israel militarily
by Helen Thomas
million in U.S. aid for development of the
United Press International
WASHINGTON — “He gave away the
farm,” was the joking observation of re
porters at the windup of President
Reagan’s two-day meeting with Israeli
Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir.
And reporters are still trying to figure
out what Reagan got in return.
Clearly, the president has decided that
the United States must bolster its military
E osture in the Middle East and has put a
>wer priority on diplomatic possibilities.
The threat of Soviet military power
and its backing of Syria with equipment
and advisers was strongly emphasized as
the motivating factor for the new closer
relationship with Israel.
opi
Lavi aircraft in the United States and
$250 million for procurement of Lavi
parts.
In terms of economic assistance, the
president said the United States and
Israel will begin negotiations shortly on a
free trade agreement intended to help
ease Israel’s trade imbalance. Israeli
firms also would be allowed to compete
for contracts to participate in the produc
tion of U.S. weapons systems.
Other areas of cooperation spelled out
by Reagan were: combined planning,
joint exercises and positioning of U.S.
military equipment in Israel, with an
administration official saying the list of
military concessions is “illustrative, but
not exclusive.”
Reagan said that the main focus of
their meetings was “the agony of Leba
non and the threats to our common in
said, “The United States willki I
complicitous in all Israeli actionsi'w-
non and the occupied Palestiniu | ?
“For all intents and purp
Reagan administration has scale
on any U.S. role as negotiator on
arbiter in the Middle East.”
Reagan still hopes that thesli ^
peace plan he offered on Sept I
can be revived, although it has Kg
jected on all sides.
He said that the Camp David I ^
between Egypt and Israel remS [
cornerstone of the peace process
with the U.N. resolutions inik
math of the 1967 and 1973 An
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money.
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Reagan and his aides are seeking ways
that they can bring home the vulnerable
Marine peace-keepers from turbulent
Beirut. They are especially anxious for
this to happen before Reagan’s expected
re-election campaign gets rolling.
terests.”
“Adequate security arrangements for
Israel’s northern border must be
assigned the highest priority,” Reagan
declared.
wars.
Whether Reagan’s decisionfon |
military alliance with Israel wi
enhanced peace in the Middle
draw the United States into then
of long-standing disputes rental
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His pollsters have found that despite
the president’s rising popularity the
tn<
tragedies involving the Marines have
been a sticking point with many potential
voters.
Reagan was not happy with the Israeli
invasion of Lebanon, particularly when
Americans saw the bombardment of
Beirut in the summer of 1982. A chill in
relations set in between the two countries,
particularly when Menachem Begin was
at the helm.
But all that seems by the board now.
During their talks, Reagan agreed to
U.S. and Israeli joint political-military
cooperation in the Middle East, pledged
to ask Congress for increases in military
aid for Israel and to write off some of the
$850 million in loans into outright grants.
In addition, the president agreed to lift
i an embargo on the sale of cluster-bomb
f shells to Israel, to provide up to $300
In terms of economic assistance,
the president said the United
States and Israel will begin
negotiations shortly on a free
trade agreement intended to
help ease Israel’s trade imba
lance.
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But the problem is larger than that.
There is the continuing factionalism in
Lebanon, the Syrian occupation with no
signs of an early withdrawal, and the
Israeli occupation of the West Bank and
Gaza with Reagan indicating no new in
itiatives to break the stalemate, although
he has branded it an “obstacle to peace”.
Some Arab leaders are bound to won
der why all the Christmas bounty for
Israel.
James Zogby, dirctor of the American-
ti-disc:
Arab anti-discrimination committee,
Can we get rid of our Th0 ■
ing decorations now?”