Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 25, 1986)
Page 2/The Battalion/Tuesday, March 25, 1986 Opinion Dime-store Aggie philosophy can't run the county r Texas A&M has an interesting method of dealing with problems. “Highway 6 runs both ways” is the answer to all our troubles. Of course, this atti tude doesn’t solve problems, it just ignores them. Loren Steffy Translated, “Highway 6 runs both ways” means “don’t make us deal with our shortcomings, we don’t want to change anything.” This catch-all answer is usually directed at students who dare to speak out against tradition or fail to show blind respect for alumni bank ac counts. Such malcontents are labeled “Bad Ags” and pointed in the direction of Austin (even though you can’t there on Highway 6) — a fate which, in Aggie- land, is feared more than exploding lep ers. President Reagan has been subscrib ing to this dime-store Aggie philosophy in hyping his proposal for increased aid to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. The president and his silver-tongued buddy Pat Buchanan claim that backing the Contras is the “American” thing to do. The counterrevolutionaries in Nicara gua have been dubbed “freedom fight ers.” It’s unclear whether this means the Contras are fighting freedom or fight ing for freedom, but nevertheless, those who oppose the Reagan policy are being branded “un-American.” The president is attempting to unite Congress by using the same scare tactics employed by die-hard traditionalists at A&M. Here if you don’t think the way “good Ags” do you’re a liberal. In Wash ington, if you don’t agree with Reagan on Nicaragua, you’re a commie. Now a unified student body is an ad mirable goal, but it’s unreasonable to ex pect 36,000 students to think the same way. It’s absurd to imply that just be cause they don’t agree with every tradi tion they have no loyalty to our school .and should go somewhere else. Reagan’s claim that not supporting the Contras is anti-patriotic is equally ab surd. The president doesn’t have a mo nopoly on democratic ideals and values. Opposing the Contra aid proposal doesn’t make members of Congress less patriotic. In all the mudslinging, Rea gan has forgotten opposing views is why our system of government works the way it does. Supporting the president’s Contra policy because he says it’s the “Ameri can” thing to do is itself an “un-Ameri can” activity. Democracy is more than being a puppet on strings to a president who allows his Marxist paranoia to over ride common political and economic sense. Reagan is trying to paint the Ni caraguan picture in black and white, but he’s working from a pallet of grays. The Contra debate is critical. Those who oppose sending more money to the rebels aren’t turning against our coun try, they are trying to decide on the best course of action for America. In short, they’re putting our system of govern ment into action. Reagan’s freedom-fighter rhetoric not only stifles this democratic process, it uses a bandwagon propaganda ap proach to foreign policy. The president seems a little old to be playing the if- you’re-not-going-to-play-my-way-pack— up-your- marbles-and-go-home game. The debate will continue, and well it should. But what was supposed to be an United Feature Syndicate AWGUUES HOLTON P55T Mail Call Disgust and dismay EDITOR: I read with disgust and dismay the opinions of Carl Krieger published in the mail call section of Monday’s Battalion. Krieger has a shallow knowledge of the issue of apartheid and the freedom of South African blacks. If those young people dying and being arrested each day were akin to him. I’m sure he’d cry out for justice. Dawn Wright Grad Student U.S. citizens are not the only ones with rights. Every being has rights, but some beings violate the rights of other beings with impunity. The United States should not assume the role of the black sheep among a white flock. South African blacks want their freedom and they will get it, U.S. intervention or not. Words of truth EDITOR: In reference to the “My book is better than yours” opinion article March 13: Besides, since when has the U.S. been known to make the best decisions in world politics? It sided with the rebels in many wars in the African continent. Do you remember Vietnam? Isn’t Reagan begging Congress to pass a bill for $100 million of aid to the Contras, a rebel group trying to overthrow the government? Karl Pallmeyer speaketh the TRUTH. Amen! Janet Morkin Reclaiming the spotlight? EDITOR: And what in the name of good will is that flaky quotation from some anthropologist? That statement is openly racist. If you know anything about the history of black America, you will realize that many blacks did invent things that advanced the culture of this country. But as we all know, blacks should never be given credit for such outstanding achievement. Open up your mind Gabriel Elliott . man reaps what he sows. A universal message EDITOR: I would like to thank Karl Pallmeyer for encouraging people to read the Bible, whatever “translation” it may be, and to ask themeselves some serious questions. I did and it completely changed my life. A wise man does indeed ask many questions, and he will find the answers to a large number of them in the Bible. He has to take the first step though and read it for himself. Now, after a few months of relative obscurity to clear the air, he is on the rampage again. His present target is ostensibly the EPA, though the net objective of his attacks, according to the New York Times, is senior administration officials. Meese claims that they kept members of the House from seeing EPA files on the toxic waste program because money was being witheld for political purposes. My guess is that they wouldn’t turn over the files to the attorney general’s investigators because Meese’s dossier was among the files. Or maybe the poor man is just reaching for straws,to have a chance to get back into the news again. William H. Clark II Speaking of questions Karl, how many textbook editions do you know of that are exactly alike, word for word? An arithmetic book, for instance, may be translated into thousands of languages and versions, but no matter how or why you read it, one plus one still equals two. q Contra Diction The res vere inspe |zos Co it. The /food sei ction re| jDavid J( n|tarian; taurants ve gen Irations ■says res l70s or 1 ous viola! It. Sc ores c on say achiev ng sevt [abund; He s; ght clo n whi educated debate by intelligent elected officials has degenerated into a childish argument of name-calling, which will resolve nothing. The debate should fo cus on the issue at hand, not how high certain s can I th ins ing di Jl^ffersoi night clos Be is be Loren Steffy is a junior jouraajjji infecti jor and the Opinion Page ed;:|Bf ant * a{ ^ B. a sew; congressmen register Reagan Patriotism Meter. The Battalion. Similarly, while it is true that the Bible has been translated into many different versions its messages are still the same. A big one is that God loves all of us and has provided a way for us to be whole in our hearts, minds and bodies. You can translate that message into as many versions as you wish, but any way you look at it, it’s still a positive message, one of hope, fulfillment and answers. Edwin Meese III, our venerable attorney general, is on the loose again. Late last year, you may recall, he attacked the Supreme Court by saying that it had misinterpreted the purpose of those who penned the Constitution: T. Jefferson et al. Meese tried to conjure his own interpretation upon that noble court, buy was quickly silenced. Bfc KGB has the bef of both worlds The American order directing the Soviets to re duce their U . N . mission from 250 to 170 citizens has caused a furor in Moscow. The Kremlin has ac- ^ cused the United States of directly damaging Soviet- U.S. relations. ness we do with Great Britainconii by our American ambassador in gal. uilding, omplete I tie f ood e< int dc he rep point I oints (m2 lartment ant about Someth! ion must I ays. J mighl tion il t viola led wh iere or Art Buchwald Rejected by State, the CIA wasilrall viola ral place for Webster to go next£B ls P ectl for funds to cover the Soviet 11 scoundrels. But Bill Casey wasnj # ( ing. He told Webster, "Any mor( r y an wa can get our hands on goes to lobHett. Sco gress for covert f unds for NicarcMwed a Webster went back to his ofti oxes 1 What the Russians don’t know is that the State Department could not go back on its directive even it if wanted to. This is why. It is no secret that Soviet U.N. diplo mats spend a minimal amount of time on the U.N. business and the majority of their time spying for the KGB. It is also no secret that the FBI keeps tabs on the Soviet diplomats 24 hours a day. Everyone was happy with the ar rangement until the Cramm-Rudman- Hollings bill was passed dictating severe cuts in the government budget. Even the FBI was hit hard and told to cut down on its services. Bill Webster, the chief of the Bureau, went over to the Office of Management and Budget and protested he would not be responsible for the security of the na tion if he lost his funds. He cited FBI surveillance of Soviet U.N. personnel as a typical example of the type of work that could not be performed if the cuts went into effect. The OMB chief suggested that in or der to balance the budget the F'BI follow the Russians only 60 percent of the time. But Webster said it wouldn’t work. Once they were aware of the cutbacks the KGB would use 40 percent of the time they weren’t followed to do their dirty work and 60 percent to lead the FBI on a wild goose chase. The OMB then suggested that since they were Soviet U.N. spies, the surveil lance money might come out of the State Department budget. George Shultz had apoplexy when Webster called, and said he didn’t have enough money to make a call to the Soviet mis sion much less tap a Russian telephone line. Shultz told Webster that because of Gramm-Rudman the State Department is so broke it is seriously considering closing the United States Embassy in London and having whatever U.S. busi- wrestled with his problem. TheitB 1 ^ ^ occurred to him that as an flaB| hr> ^ n measure he might assign one FBI™ follow two Russians. But l to toliow two pointed out to him that the plan fall apart if one KGB mantooka the Bronx and the other board! ferry for Staten Island. inspe e — S I given foe ee on iven in The FBI director was doodlingf^j^ gust when the big idea cometoiii o a i What would happen if the UnitedBcas A tossed out 100 U.N. Soviet spfected 1 Then his agents would only haveifY oul low half as many spies. B , Webster called up Shultz andl“ e him if it was legal. The Secretanf 0 i at ; on Webster could throw out as man'{ices tha sians as he needed to meet his Gf* Rudman budget quota. WhenfSCORJ what the reaction of the Soviet^ be, Shultz said in his opinion** would be no objection asW| Webster laid off the same FBI agents as Russian employed out of the United States. T hus legally cleared, the ann®! ment was made last week andtltf-f U.N. personnel were told bluntly home. Well, the Soviets screamed I murder — but here is the parin' knows about. There was joy in headquarters in Moscow whentBt mission cut was announced. It appears that the Soviet Unit* the equivalent of a Gramm-Rudmi of its own, and the KGB hadtef dered, for budget reasons, to cn| on its spies in the United States! were just about to do it whenthcGj States moved first and ordered! Russian agents to leave New Yol now the KGB has the best worlds. It can blame the Unitedj for the forced removal oftheirspi meet their Grammovich-Rudinsl'I get cuts at the same time. Art Buchwald is a columnist Los Angeles Times Syndicate. The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board 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 include the address and telephone number of the writer. Editor Managing Editor Opinion Page Editor. City Editor News Editor Sports Editor Michel^ Kay'! 1 Loren ; Jem .Cathie Anil! Travis* Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper operated as a community service to Texas A&M and Br}^ Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the Editorial Board or the author and do not necessarily rtf 1 ** 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 dasses^ Department of Communications. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday during Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holiday ^' tion periods. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester, $33.25 per school year and $35 per full year. Advertising r 'Th> nished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald Building, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, Texas A&rM University, College Station, Texas 77843