Opinion
Page 2/The Battalion/Friday, December 7, 1984
People at bottom
of Reagan's list
Merry Christmas America.
President Ronald Reagan announced today that he will be
proposing budgetary cuts that will save the government $34 bil
lion. Reagan has submitted a list of “terminations and reform
cuts.” Here are some of the items on Santa’s hit list.
All loans and Financial assistance provided by the Small Busi
ness Administration would be eliminated. The budget would
eliminate the 1986 cost-of-living adjustments in food stamps,
child nutrition programs, veterans’ compensation and pensions
and Supplemental Security Income for the needy, aged, blind
and disabled.
Many transportation subsidies for railroads, ports, and wa
terways would be eliminated. Urban development action grants
aimea at stimulating private investment would likewise be elimi
nated.
Other discretionary programs listed for cutbacks include the
Special Supplementary Food Program for Women, Infants and
Children, the Job Corps, agricultural research and conservation,
Coast Guard operations and the maintenance of public lands
and national parks.
Another $14.4 billion will be sought from such programs as
student loans, veterans’ health benefits, farm price supports,
crop insurance, economic aid to foreign countries and in the op
erations of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The Battalion Editorial Board realizes that these cut propo
sals are still to be submitted to Congress for approval and what
ever revisions they wish to make.
The unsettling aspect of Reagan’s newest suggested cuts is
that it again targets programs that are necessary and important
to many people. And, once again, military spending avoids the
budgetary knife.
The Battalion Editorial Board
Not planning to lose sleep over it
Reagan has credit limit, ton
By ART BUCHWALD
Columnistfor The Los Angeles Times Syndicate
A man knocked on the door of the
White House the other night and the
president, in his pajamas,answered it.
“Yes?” Mr. Reagan said.
“I’m from the Visa card company,
and you owe us $210 billion. We were
wondering when you planned to start
paying on it.”
“Two hundred and ten billion? I
thought it was only 170 billion,” the
president said.
“That’s what you told everyone dur
ing the election campaign. But it turns
out it’s 210, give or take 5 billion. You’ve
been using your credit card for the past
four years, and I think it’s time you ac
knowledged the debt.”
“Who is it?” Mrs. Reagan called from
the top of the stairs.
“It’s a man from the Visa credit card
company who says we owe him $210 bil
lion.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Mrs. Reagan said.
“I only bought two.suits at Adolfo’s.”
The Visa man said, “These were not
for personal purchases. They are gov
ernment related. I have all the receipts
here. Defense, Social Security, Medi
care, Human Services and entitlements.
We can’t stay in business if people just
keep using plastic and don’t honor their
debts.”
Has anybody out there got
a job for a liberal arts major
Well, I made it. December graduation
is less than a stone’s throw away and I’m
standing at the threshold of my future
with a ring on my finger, a diploma nearly
in hand and still no job offers in sight.
Mark
Spicer
But then again, what did I expect from a liberal arts de
gree anyway, even if it is from Texas A&M? A ticket to the
jet-set? Hardly.
I had been forewarned about the meager beginning sal
ary of jobs for those graduating with degrees similar to mine,
yet I continued on in my studies. I enjoyed them. I also had
something to prove to myself and I have done so.
I guess I shouldn’t complain considering no one forced
me into this major. Still, after spending four and one-half
years beating my brain to death with studies, living ridicu
lously below poverty level, working part-time to help Finance
my education and accumulating an $8,600 debt in educatio
nal loans, I had hoped for something better — you know, a
“real” job. For all my trouble, I feel I deserve a job that would
allow for a comfortable lifestyle, pay all the bills, permit a sav
ings account and the purchase of a new car.
Both my roommates also are graduating in December
imp^ meals and sleepless nights?
don’t do windows.
Mark Spicer is a senior journalism major.
CIA agents must have trouble sleeping
Overthrowing a government is a nasty busi
ness. Unlike Luke Skywalker fighting the op
pression of an evil empire, undermining the
exsiting governmental body is not glorious.
I was reading some excerpts from the CIA’s
Nicaraguan guerrilla manual which caused
Loren
Steffy
tics the CIA is advocating in Nicaragua. Our forefathers certainly
used “selective violence” in dealing with the British. We, too, created
“martyrs” — remember Nathan Hale?
such a ruckus in Washington. I found their choice of words in
triguing, but more interesting, or perhaps more disturbing, was the
realization that this book was an occupational instruction manual.
Can you imagine coming home from work, setting down your
briefcase, taking off your coat, and having your wife ask “How was
your day, dear?”. “Pretty good. I ‘coerced several Nicaraguans into
carrying out rebel assignments,”’ or “Not bad, we administered
some ‘selective violence.’”
And, while we never “neutralized” any British government offi
cials, we could be accused of getting the help of professional crimi
nals. In the eyes of the British Empire, many of the foreign officers
who aided our cause were criminals.
When we view the other side of things, we change the language a
bit. For example, Anwar Sadat was assassinated, not “neutralized”.
Whatever the words, guerrilla warfare is a nasty business, but in
some instances, it is necessary.
The CIA has everything you need to know about guerrilla war
fare in their book and others similar to it. This sort of knowledge has
been around for a long time. The price of democracy seems to be a
long, bloody struggle.
Our own American Revolution employed many of the same tac-
Still, I wouldn’t want to be the one to come home and put my
head on my pillow knowing I helped “neutralize” a government offi
cial, organized “selective violence,” or hired a professional criminal.
The end result may be democracy, which might justify the nasti
ness, but I wonder how those CIA guys sleep at night.
Loren Steffy is a weekly columnist for The Battalion.
“Don’t worry about getting paid. My
tax advisers are now working on a plan
to see that you get your money.”
“How do they propose to do that?”
“We’re cutting back on spending, re
forming the tax structure and lowering
interest rates. Listen to my State of the
Union address.”
Mrs. Reagan yelled from the top of
the stairs, “Tell him we didn’t run up
the bill. Congress did.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Mrs. Rea
gan said. “I only bought two
suits at Adolfo’s. ”
The Visa man heard her. “The card is
made out in your name, Mr. Reagan.
Whether you like it or not you’re re
sponsible.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll borrow the money
to pay you,” the president said.
“Do you realize how much interest
you’re going to pay on $210 billion?”
“My staff deals with minor details like
that,” the president replied.
“Mr. Reagan, the reason we gave you
a Gold Visa card is that in 1980 we con
sidered you a good credit risk. You
made a big deal that Jimmy Carter was
in debt to us for $90 billion, and you
promised if you got his card you
wouldn’t owe us anything in 1984. Now
you’ve more than doubled his debt, and
we’re getting very nervous.”
LETTERS:
Cassavoy not really
that bad of a guy
and will have absolutely no difficulty finding gainful employ
ment with degrees in engineering technology and geology.
When I think about it, all three of us have spent relatively
the same amount of time, money and energy in acquiring our
perspective degrees.Yet, when I do finally get a job, I’ll be
making two or three times less than either of them. Some
how, it doesn’t seem right.
As far as I’m concerned, their degrees are no more im
portant than mine. However, we live in a democratic society
with a free-enterprise economic system that obviously thinks
differently or our salaries would be comparable.
I have considered making myself more marketable by
staying in school and working on a master’s degree, but that
would mean at least another two years of sacrifice, of continu
ing to live in a financially depressing situation and of borrow
ing even more money to ootain this additional educational
goal.
Won’t someone please offer me a decent job now and
are me the agony of another two years of headaches, ulcers,
EDITOR:
This is a letter in response to the re
cent “We hate Ed Cassavoy” letter.
I’d like to know what gives a person
the right to sit in judgement over some
one else?
Being unique in a crowd of 37,000-
plus conformists does not qualify one to
be labeled as “a bleeding-heart liberal
two-percenter.”
Some advice: Next time you take pen-
/crayon in hand to grace people with
your suggestions, remember: it’s quite
hard to predict the outcome of a foot
ball game precisely.
Yes, Ed did exaggerate excessively —
and maybe unnecessarily. Maybe he was
trying to prove a point.
Just be glad that our newspaper is
somewhat of a forum for expression
and not solely an example of Aggie
propaganda which is stained deep ma
roon.
Gigi Shamsy
Class of 1986
Scandal at A&M:
tradition broken
Mrs. Reagan shouted, “Teaiiig^
doesn’t want our business
we’ll use an American Express c
card.”
The Visa man yelled back, “Am
Express wouldn’t touch youpeopltj
a 10-foot pole.”
“I don’t think this is the tintj
place to discuss how mudmoxev
the president said. “Why
come to my office in the morning:" I
“Because your staff won’t let tntJ
the Visa man said. “Every time 14
see you they tell me you’re takingaf
I don’t like to make night calls,!
is the only time I get to speal;
principals who are in hockuptoi
ears.”
“Okay, so maybe I spent mod
should have. But if you let me!
card. Ell cut back on all rnysp
and 1 assure you by 1988 1 would
you more than 100 billion,
be in your ballpark?”
[nore I
The
vhich
nity C
iold e;
ibr $h
Har
develo
Centei
bough
honor
“It’s
“We don’t seem to have anyc
do we?” the Visa man said.
uty t
land i
the ch
iehab
Met
hre al
and s:
The president shut the doon
went upstairs.
Mrs. Reagan said, “1 think I
very rude of the credit card p
wake us up and tell us weowedtJ
$21 0 billion. It could ruinoursleep j
■
ir
‘Not mine,” the president said
TA
vieldi
fhurs
learet
them
lock.
Thi
Dave
filled
ht the
Some students and faculty at theli
ticulture/Korestry building have I
asking about the pair since theird
pearance and have indicated shodij
dismay over the deteriorationol.l
standards.
REMEMBER, Good Aggiesi
lie, cheat, steal, FLAMINGONAPoi
erate those who do.
tonsic
the co
Th
eadir
fclosui
land.
Nit
side t
Sad At
Mark Sebolt, ’78
Cecilie Siegel, ’85
Who draws d.p?
EDITOR:
Who does “d.p.”?
Robert Dowdy, ’87
accompanied by 19 signatures
EDITOR:
A scandal in Ay
GOOD AGGIES DO NOT LIE,
CHEAT, STEAL OR TOLERATE
THOSE THAT DO. Well Aggie, 28 No
vember was a sad day for T exas A&M.
A sacred Aggie traaition was broken.
On this day in the Horticulture/Forestry
building a pair of endangered birds
were stolen. They were placed by the
fountain in the Horticulture/Forestry
building on 27 November. T hese birds
were an endowment from two students
who wanted their fellow Aggies to enjoy
them as much as they had.
There have been numerous rumors
floating around about who committed
this outrageous crime. One report said
that Patty Hearst and a group of terror
ists have flamingonapped the pair; an
other report claims that an angry stu
dent is holding them until he is assured
an A in a certain class; but those reports
were dismissed as cranks. There are
other reports, however, that indicate it
was an inside job; an employee of the
University, no less.
Is this to be tolerated, Aggies? Is
nothing sacred? Would the administra
tion tolerate the theft of other endow
ments? If the new Carrillion was stolen,
would they take it sitting down? What if
you came to campus to watch a football
game only to discover that someone had
made off with Kyle Field? Think about
it; how would you feel? Is is safe for Re
veille to roam the campus with, only one
guardian?
The two pink, plastic flamingoes stole
the hearts of some of the students dur
ing their brief stay and were named
Pink and Floyd. This species was a com
mon bird in the fifties, seen in the front
yards of finer neighborhoods every
where, but they have been dying out
since the mid-sixties.
The Battalion
USPS 045 360
Member of
Texas Press Association
Sout h west J ou rnalism Conference
in memoriam
Bill Robinson, 1962-1984,Editor
The Battalion Editorial Board
Brigid Brockman, Editor
Shelley Hoekstra, Managing Editor
Ed Cassavoy, City Editor
Kellie Dworaczyk, News Editor
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Travis Tingle, Sports Editor
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Assistant News Editors -
Tammy Bell, Cami Brown,JohnHalfc
Assistant Sports Editor
Charean Willi® 5
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Shawn Behlen, Leigh-EllenClari ;;
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Brandon Berry, DainahBullarj
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Karla Martin, Sarah Gate
Tricia Parker, Lynn Rae Pot*
Columnists Kevin Inda, LorenStefi
Editorial Cartoonist MikeLa*
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Copy Writer CathyBenti*
Photo Editor Katherine
Photographers Frank Irtf
John Makely,DeanSa®
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