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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 27, 1984)
Friday, Ji Opinio Page 2/The Battalion/Friday, July 27, 1984 Barring journalists will mar Olympics At last, the eve of the Olympics is here. After mpnths of controversy — from security to boycotts to commer cialism — the Games are actually going to begin. Saturday’s opening ceremonies have been designed to provide a “20 goosebump experience,” according to film producer David Wolper, who choreographed the ceremonies. Fire works, musical tributes, dances and balloons will provide the pagaentry traditional to opening ceremonies, in addition to the march-in of the ath letes and the lighting of the Olympic flame. But all is not well amid the glitter, glamour and pagaentry of the Games’ opening ceremonies. The absence of the Soviet-bloc athletes will be conspic uous in a number of sports. Recent actions taken by the Interna tional Olympic Committee are causing a “20 goosebump experience” — from apprehension, not awe. The IOC has denied South African journalists the credentials necessary to cover the Olympic Games. South Af rica has been barred from Olympic competition since 1968, when more than three dozen countries threatened to walk out in protest of South Africa’s reprehensible apartheid policies. Apparently, the IOC has decided that South African journalists shouldn’t be allowed to cover an inter national sporting event because their native country doesn’t participate. News is news — whether it’s sports or politics or disasters. What country a reporter is from shouldn’t affect the coverage of the Games by foreign journalists. Reporters from the Soviet Union and other Eastern-bloc nations boycotting the Games will be in Los Angeles to record a sporting event — which is what the Olympics are sup posed to be. This move threatens to further mar the spirit of the Games — once again for political reasons. Excluding one country’s press is abominable. It is also a violation of a basic, vital principle in the workings of the United States’ democracy: free dom of speech. The USOC and LAOOC have marred the Games through their silence as much as the Soviets have marred the Games through their absence. — The Battalion Editorial Board mer w mom,, m w m Ger tickets m m miss AMfR/cA pmmz.. Rugl quar Seve Congress lifting debt ceiling tad by tiny tad By ELAINE S. POVICH Columnist for United Press International WASHINGTON — Raising the federal debt ceiling, usually a lump sum affair Congress tries to deal with infrequently, is being lifted a tad at a time this year as some members try to drag deficit reduction along behind it. The tactic has been only partially successful. The federal debt ceiling checks in at $1,573 trillion, following two small in creases in May and June. In compari son, efforts to trim the annual budget deficits are focused around the $100 billion mark and only about $63 billion has been approved so far this year. Despite drop-in-the-bucket charges, Congress is attempting to do some thing to reduce the deficit this year so No- it can claim success to voters in vember. With that goal in mind, Congress lifted the debt limit on May 24 by $30 billion. At the^ime, the prevailing wis dom was that the short-term increase would give House-Senate negotiators time to agree on $50 billion in taxes and $13 billion in spending cuts aimed at the deficit. That was accomplished in the fol lowing month, but by then, Congress was faced with the debt limit issue again at the end of June since the small amount of borrowing authority already was running out. The second time around, the debt- linked issue was how much to allow for defense spending. As the third part of the deficit trimming effort, Congress is attempting to curb defense spend ing. But the House wants to allow a 3.5 percent hike, while the Senate and President Reagan are holding out for a 7 percent rise. The Democratic-led House tried to force the GOP-controlled Senate into a compromise by turning down an other rise in the debt ceiling. The bluff failed — mostly because Congress was set to go on vacation — and Congress on June 29 hiked the limit by another $53 billion. That amount will carry the govern ment through August, which means Congress will be facing the debt ceiling hike then for the third time this sum mer. And the debate over how much money to give the Pentagon in fiscal 1985 still may be going on. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill., sug gested deferring the issue over until next year by passing a larger hike in the ceiling. He said that would give the incoming administration, whoever it is, a chance to “get its feet on the ground” before having to deal with the debt ceiling. But the twin pressures of the loom ing recess and a chance to keep the deficit-reduction issue alive ruled the day and the short-term hike was ap proved, albeit by only a few votes. As Rep. James Jones, D-Okla., put it: “Earlier this year we promised the American people we would enact a deficit reduction package. We have to use whatever leverage we can to finish the deficit reduction package.” Because the debt ceiling is some- Unii thing that must be lifted eventuil keep the government in business,i[ always ripe for linkage tootheriss It also has been a political hot poll with more and more politicians rei | ing to go on record for the hike. But telling the voters that Coif I WASH let the government go into defaif F erraro s: not a pleasant scenario either. “What else can we do but the debt limit increase that is belli us.” said Rep. George Gekis, R-Pa, i her perse |join Waltt I ition tax send the ® schools. “Fritz P a , . , »■, the issue As several congressmen pointed(I| raro during the most recent debate, 3} I will sup debt ceiling rise is not the place takes out draw the line on federal spendl judgment since the programs to be financed; t* 011 .1° the borrowed money already to ! been approved. American roaches being surveyed to distraction By DICK WEST Columnist for United Press International WASHINGTON — From the Agriculture De partment comes word of two new forward steps in mankind’s long, uphill and, thus far, losing struggle to cope with insects. One bright spot is the development of a spray- on birth control chemical for cockroaches. It’s called hydroprene and it’s beautiful. When you spy a cockroach, you don’t resort to traditional countermeasures, such as screaming and debugging the premises with a lethal pesti cide. Oh, no. You simply spray with hydrophrene, which keeps roaches from reproducing themselves. The chemical, I gather, is even more effective than the rhythm system or other modus operandi of planned parenthood. As to the moral justification for using this type of insect control, I refer you to the Agriculture Research Service. I can only say it’s a pity the static population crowd hasn’t discovered a simi According to projections, the world is headed for big trouble because of the rampant birth rate. Anyone who has tried to find a parking place in this city on a summer Sun day afternoon can easily believe such predictions. It was lidy aired dale sine mate at Conventi Ferrar to pay he :hoo lie sel lar spray that would work on human beings. According to projections, the world is headed for big trouble because of the rampant birth rate. Anyone who has tried to find a parking place in this city on a summer Sunday afternoon can eas ily believe such predictions. Nevertheless, people in all sections of the globe keep on merrily adding to the population. Entomologists assure us that cockroaches sprayed with hydroprene “live out their normal life spans.” The chemical merely “locks roaches into a state of sexual immaturity.” How much better off the world would be if more people were locked into a similar state, at least during their teens. The department notes that “many roaches de velop evolutionary resistance” to conventional in secticides. Yes, and not just resistance. I’ve seen roaches that appeared actually to thrive on insect poison. Exposing them to systematic surveys is, hot ever, to my knowledge, a new approach toil problem, and I commend the research service if its brilliant innovation. If the surveys prove effective in reducing annual boll weevil infestation, perhaps reseai ers will be inspired to try other types of pa| work suppressants. porter of sal to give The t The other rosy outlook referred to above con cerns boll weevils. A department press release re ports that eradication efforts begun in 1983 are right on schedule, thanks to a program of “care fully timed pesticide applications and systematic surveys.” Some public opinion polling companies are, we know, hard pressed to make ends meet non-election years. Let’s put them toworkasof season exterminators, surveying boll weevils. I can see how systematic polls could be eve more efficient than birth control chemicals curtailing insect populations. Anyone who has even spent any time in them old cotton fields back home can tell you that boll weevils have a way of surviving pesticide applica tions, however well timed. The latter merely insures that “matings duce no offspring.” However, a boll weevil cockroach either, for that matter, which has toe systematically surveyed, is unlikely to get in| mood for mating at all. The Battalion USPS 045 360 Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Rebeca Zimmermann, Editor Bill Robinson, Editorial Page Editor Shelley Hoekstra, City Editor Brigid Brockman, News Editor Kathleen Hart, News Editor Travis Tingle, Sports Editor The Battalion Staff Assistant City Editor Robin Black Assistant News Editors Dena Brown, Bonnie Langford Staff Writers Ed Alanis, Kari Fluegel,Bob McGlohon, Sarah Oates Copy Writers Karen Bloch, Cyndy Davis Copy Editor .*. Tracie Holub Photographers Peter Rocha, Eric Evan Lee Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper operated as a community sendee to Texas AScM and Bryan- College Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the Editorial Board or the author, and do not necessarily rep resent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, faculty or the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography classes within the Department of Communications. 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. Letters Policy Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in length. 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 be signed and must in clude the address and telephone number of the writer. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday dur ing Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holiday and examination periods. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per se mester, $33.25 per school year and $35 per full year. Adver tising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald Build ing, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. -oik - Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. Letter: Mondale election would hurt nation's economy NO V STD Dl Ci 77 Editor: (The following is an open letter to Brazos County Democratic Party Chairman Ron Gay, in response to a Democratic fund raising letter.) Dear Ron: You make no mention in you letter how disasterous four years of Fritz (Mondale) would be, so I have nothing to compare another four years of Re publican administration with. My own suspicions are that if by some cruel twist of fate Mondale is elected, business confidence would plummett and we would shortly be into a four year climate of “stagfla tion,” being bullied and victimized overseas, and having unfair reverse discrimination programs rammed down our throats at home. I would predict at least a doubling of the “misery index” and a rash of tax increases to keep up with the un bridled expenditures that Reagan, try as he might, has been unable to re strain due to an irresponsible DEMO- CRA TIC House of Representatives. Mondale would eventually be aban doned (like Carter was) by all the spe cial-interest groups he currently has in tow — when they find out he can’t sat isfy them all and still have a thought about the interests of the majority of the Americans, that is, those of us not in one camp or another. Since Mondale is no darling of the media now, within two years he would have scorn heaped upon him by the media establishment and the true leadership of the country would pass back to the Congress, from whence Reagan had temporarily wrest it, and where leadership is frequently bung ling or wrong-headed. You claim that young people have lost guaranteed student loans, which is a charge my wife — a redpienl year of a GSL — would refute uneif vocally. Perhaps the finandal ned test was strengthened, but this »1 long overdue. As for the other whining charjf certainly Medicare, etc., has not cut enough! And double-digit inter* rates? Ask the heavily borrowing® gress about that one! (Perhaps ino» productive era, the real opportutf cost of money is reflected by rates.) More to the point, I wish tl Americans could elect the Speaker! the House, so that we could berid ( the current impediment to real! government. Please reconsider y< desire to “Beat Reagan” and coi your blessings. Randall Revie* P “C E