Page 2/The Battalion/Friday August 2, 1985
SUB
Better late than never
While the recent crackdown jon alcohol-related crimes for
motorists has had a noticeable effect on crimes such as drunken
driving, another facet of the transportation industry had been
unaffected by any restrictions — until now.
After 12 years of deliberation, the federal government an
nounced Wednesday new safety regulations which will prohibit
railroad employees from showing up for work under the influ
ence of drugs or alcohol. Employees will be prohibited from us
ing intoxicating substances wnile on the job and new employees
will be screened for drugs. Toxicological testing will be used in
accidents where worker impairment is suspected.
Railroad workers previously were not bound by any restric
tions, although the National Transportation Safety Board rec
ommended such rules be adopted 12 years ago.
It’s about time the federal government took action in this
area. Why did it take 12 years for the government to determine
railroad employees shouldn’t be allowed to show up for work
drunk?
Since 1975, 48 train accidents have been linked to alcohol
and drugs. Thirty-seven people have been killed, 80 injured and
$34 million worth of property has been damaged.
People who ride trains, as well as people who work on them,
deserve the same protection that motorists currently receive.
The obvious threat that alcohol and drugs pose to the safety of
all involved with railroad operations has been ignored by the
government for long enough.
Finally action has been taken — the new regulations go into
effect Nov. 1. But if the obvious solution to the problem had
been in effect years ago, the fatality rates for alcohol and drug-
related train accidents could have been much lower.
The Battalion Editorial Board
Madonna never stops
taking her clothes off
Rock star Madonna is having recurring blasts from her past.
When “Penthouse” publisher Bob Guccione announced his
magazine would run a 17-page spread of nude photos taken sev
eral years before Madonna’s stardom, she shrugged it off.
Then “Penthouse’s” primary competitor, “Playboy,” also re
leased Madonna-bares-all pictures, but the singer claimed she
wasn’t ashamed of her past.
Now Madonna is suing to prevent the release of “A Certain
Sacrifice,” a soft-core pornographic movie made about five
years ago. The film features Madonnna in an orgy scene.
Supposedly, Madonna only authorized that her body and
voice be used but not her name.
What’s the difference? By now, nude pictures of Madonna
are almost as common as clothed ones. Of course, true Madonna
groupies wouldn’t want to miss her in a live-action orgy.
But even if Madonna wins her lawsuit and gets her name re
moved from the film, “A Certain Sacrifice” will still benefit from
the publicity surrounding the case. The movie will simply be re
ferred to as “the flick Madonnna wanted her name out of but
not her body.”
How ironic that after all the sexually-explicit photos, it’s her
name Madonna’s worried about having exploited. She ought to
try wearing a. suit instead of filing one.
The Battalion Editorial Board
More to people of Nicaraguo
than meets the blinded eye
A few weeks
ago I wrote an ar
ticle about Amis-
tad, a tour of Nica-
ragua being
organized by Ab-
bie Hoffman.
Hoffman, who
was involved in
many protest
movements dur-
Karl
Pallmeyer
ing the 1960s, will
lead a group to Nicaragua this August
to observe the effects war has had on the
country.
Amistad is an attempt to make
friends with the people of Nicaragua
despite political differences. In the arti
cle, I urged people to get involved and
protest American support of the war in
Nicaragua.
The article got some response. Some
people thought that I was an anarchist
for advocating a peaceful, instead of a
military, solution in Nicaragua. Some
people were interested in the trip and
asked how they could participate in
Amistad.
I got a call from a young man last
week who had a more personal interest
in the trip. His mother was ill and
needed medicine that she couldn’t get in
Nicaragua. He had tried to send the
medicine through the mail but postal
service to Nicaragua has been cut off
due to Reagan’s trade embargo.
Many people have a limited view of
Nicaragua. It is all too easy to say that
the entire problem is that two warring
factions are struggling for power. Or
that the rebel Contras are trying to over
throw the Marxist Sandinistas. Or that
the Sandinista government is being
usurped by Contra guerillas. But there
is more to it than any of these explana
tions.
There are about 2.4 million people in
Nicaragua. The country was ruled by a
military dictatorship under Gen. Anas-
tasio Somoza-Debayle.
In 1974 martial law was imposed af
ter the Sandinistas captured several gov
ernment officials. Between 1974 and
1979, the Somoza regime went on
bloody manhunts to punish the Sandi
nistas. These manhunts resulted in the
death or torture of many civilians. Civil
war broke out in 1978.
The war, which had the popular sup
port of the majority of the people of Ni
caragua, resulted in the resignation and
exile of Somoza on July 17, 1979. Free
elections were held and the Sandinistas
set up a Marxist government.
Many of the officials from the So
moza regime fled to neighboring Hon
duras. In Honduras they formed guer
rilla forces to try to re-establish their
rule in Nicaragua.
These guerrillas, the Contras, asked
for U.S. military aid for their cause. In
June Congress approved $14 million in
aid to the Contras. This brings the total
to $87 million spent to overthrow Nica
ragua’s properly-elected government.
Currently there are seven U.S. airbases,
two U.S munitions storage depots, two
radar stations and about 10.0001:
soldiers in Honduras. Thereij
plans to build at least two morcij
bases. Honduras is full of the sac
type of “advisers” who were respo:
sable for Vietnam.
The CIA has been trainingl
soldiers along with Contra guerrl
in Honduras for the past five yeat
During that time the Contras ha'
made several attacks in Nicarap
and have been responsible foriks
sands of deaths.
With this buildup of militai
strength and Reagan’s trade ei|
bargo, an all-out war between
Contras and the Sandinistas is ii
table. The Reagan administrati
would much rather support IT
than help a Marxist government.
As with all wars, it will notbei!
governments that will suffer. In
be the people who will suffer
cause of the embargo, a person's!
ing mother can’t get the medicinesk
needs. Because of the Contras, to
sands have died. The mother and!
million other Nicaraguans are tnit;
their best to live a normal life in!
abnormal situation. So far we had
done our best to make that situalK
TY
partm
cies in
noritii
U.S
Wedn
The people of Nicaragua, rej
less of their political beliefs,
made a valuable friend if that P
million was used for other purposes
Karl Pallmeyer is a senior jouM‘
lism major and a columnist for ft
Battalion.
A testy situation or invasion of privacy?
By ART BUCHWALD
Columnist for The Los Angeles Times Syndicate
/
Psychological testing in the U.S. gov
ernment has come under fire from seve
ral congressional committees, who feel
that asking job applicants a series of
questions to gauge their personalities is
an invasion of privacy. The test that has
come in for the most criticism is the
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality In
ventory, a 566-question true or false
quiz.
As an answer to the MMPI, one of its
critics has developed the North Dakota
Null-Hypothesis Brain Inventory,
which the reader is invited to take right
now. Answer true or false:
1. I salivate at the sight of mittens.
2. If I go into the street, I’m apt to be
bitten by a horse.
3. Some people never look at me.
4. Spinach makes me feel alone.
5. My sex life is A-okay.
6. When I look down from a high
spot, I want to spit.
7. I like to kill mosquitoes.
8. Cousins are not to be trusted.
9. It makes me embarrassed to fall
down.
10. I get nauseous from too much rol
ler skating.
11. I think most people would cry to
gain a point.
12. I cannot read or write.
13. I am bored by thoughts of death.
14. I become homicidal when people
try to reason with me.
15. I would enjoy the work of a
chicken flicker.
16. I am never startled by a fish.
17. My mother’s uncle was a good
man.
18. I don’t like it when somebody is
rotten.
19. People who break the law are wise
guys.
20. 1 have never gone to pieces over
the weekend.
21.1 think beavers work too hard.
22. I use shoe polish to excess.
23. God is love.
24. I like mannish children.
25. I have always been disturbed by
the size of Lincoln’s ears.
26. I always let people get ahead of
me at swimming pools.
27. Most of the time I go to sleep
without saying goodbye.
28. I am not afraid of picking up door
knobs.
29. I believe I smell as good as most
people.
30. Frantic screams make me ner
vous.
31. It’s hard for me to say the right
thing when I find myself in a room full
of mice.
32. I would never tell my nickname in
a crisis.
33. A wide necktie is a sign of disease.
34. As a child I was deprived of lico
rice.
35. I would never shake hands with a
gardener.
36. My eyes are always cold.
Now for the results. If you have an
swered more questions false than true,
you should try for the Peace Corps.
If you answered 18 true and 18 false,
you should apply for work with the
Voice of America.
If you refused to answer some of the
questions, you might work for the White
House.
If you held your hand over the ques
tions while you answered them, you
should go into the FBI.
If you talk about this test to anybody
else, then you could never get a security
clearance and you’d better stay where
you are.
SAME OLD S W„I STARTED 001 TAPlMCi SESAME ST. AND
MR.ROOERS.THEN I MOVED UP ID AMERICAN BANDSTAND
AND WHEN THE C0RS F/NAHV BUSTED ME I WAS HOLDING
^ HOURS OF MAGNUM PI, AND7HE MONDAY NIGHT MOVIE,
Ml
The Battalion
USPS 045 360
Member ot
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
The Battalion Editorial Board
Kellie Dworaczyk, Editor
Kay Mallett.John Hallett, News Editors
Loren Steffy, Opinion Page Editor
Sarah Oates, City Editor
Karen Bloch, Acting City Editor
Travis Tingle, Sports Editor
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The Battalion Staff
Assistant City Editor
Katherine Hurt
Assistant News Editors
Cathie Anderson, Trent Leopold
Entertainment Editors
Cathy Riely, WalterSinitk
Staff Writers Karen Bloch,
Ed Cassavoy, JerryOslin,
Brian Pearson
Copy Editor Trent Leopold
Make-up Editor Ed Cassavot,
Columnists Cheryl Clark,
Karl Pallmeyer
Photographers Greg Bailey,
Anthony Caspet
Editorial Policy
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operated as a community service to Texas A&M ^
Bryan-College Station.
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of tl*
Editorial Board or the author, and do not necessuril) rep
resent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, m*
or the Board of Regents.
The Battalion also serves as a laboratory news}
students in reporting, editing and photography das#
within the Department of Communications.
The Battalion is published Tuesday through Friday dur
ing Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holidayar^
examination periods. Mail subscriptions are$16.75per*-
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ifui
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Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald
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POSTMAS TER: Send address changes to The Bald-
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