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