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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 23, 1986)
Page 2/The Battalion/Monday, July 23, 1985 ‘Click’ solutions hove remote possibilities NASA's space race hurdles NASA’s current deluge of problems couldn’t have come at a more critical moment in the space race. While the American shuttle program has been put on hold until 1988, the Soviet Union and China are on the verge of major scientific advancements in space exploration. NASA’s troubles go beyond the grounding of the space shuttle. The House Armed Services Committee plans to cut $550 million from the shuttle’s military operations budget. The space agency also has shelved its journalist-in-space program, with some officials predicting it could be 10 years before another civilian makes a space flight. As if those setbacks weren’t enough, the widow of Challenger pilot Michael Smith has filed a $15.1 million wrongful-death suit against NASA. Smith claims her husband knew his fate seconds before the explosion, despite restored tapes of the crew’s conversation to the contrary. Other lawsuits from astronauts’ families are ex pected to follow. Meanwhile, NASA’s toughest competition, the Soviet Union, is making great strides. Two cosmonauts returned to Earth July 16 after spending four months in orbit. The Russians’ latest accomplishment, the Mir space station, is expected to be the building block for future pro jects, such as space-based factories, laboratories and repair complexes. During their stay in Mir, the cosmonauts were supplied with food by two unmanned spaceships — the first time this has been done. In addition, they made an intra-orbit trip to the older Salyut-7 station, another first. China also has been making giant leaps for mankind, announcing that it plans to offer com mercial launches for foreign satellites aboard the Long March rocket. The proposal has drawn fa vorable responses from dozens of nations, in cluding pride-swallowing inquiries from the United States. At least some of these revenues could have been accrued by NASA if the shuttle were operational. NASA has enjoyed a lead in the space race al most from the word go. But the other contend ers rapidly are closing the gap by capitalizing on our careless handling of the shuttle program. Let’s hope NASA can pick up the pace and get back in the running. We can’t afford another episode of hare-like carelessness. Our rivals are not moving at a turtle’s pace. The Battalion Editorial Board The Nsoi Chancellor, Bolivian drug raids no cure The Click family was at home. It was s o m e t i m e i n the future and the family had a remote-con trol unit for ev ery appliance in the house. Richard I hey called it Cohen the clicker. The clicker controlled the television set, the hi-fi and the videocassette re corder. The person who held it was very powerful indeed. Then one night something happened. Click. The Click family was having its usual light over who would control the television set. Alex Click, the son, held the clicker in his hands and would change the channels when he wanted. He would also mute commer cials, which was annoying to other members of his family who thought that commercials were the best things on television. Daddy Click com plained and so did Mommy Click. Alex Click, as usual, just ignored them. Daddy Click rose from his chair and strode over to Alex in a menacing fashion. Alex Click aimed the clicker at his father. Click. Daddy Click froze in place. “What have you done?” Mommy C 1 ick asked in alarm. Alex (dick looked down at the clicker and just smiled. “You have muted your father,” Mommy Click cried. “Hit the button and release him or I’m going to send you right to bed.” Alex Click aimed the clicker at her. Click. She was si lent. Alex Click was excited. He was just 10 years old and felt very powerful. He usually felt powerful when he controlled the clicker, but this was something special. He got up from the chair and went to the window. Outside, a garbage truck was grind ing away. Alex Click aimed the clicker at it. Click. It was silent. Alex went downstairs. He aimed the clicker at the toaster and, after a while, it popped. He opened the refrigerator door that way and started the blender. Then he pointed the clicker at a plant and it drooped over. He knew that if he ever un-muted his parents, he would get hell for that. Alex Click went out into the street. He started his father’s car with the clicker. He had never driven before, but he had grown up watching “The Dukes of Hazzard,” so he climbed in through the window and drove off. He got to an intersection and had to stop for a red light. He aimed the clicker at it. Click. It went green. A cop looked in amazement, but Afej smiled and aimed the clicker aiill The cop ducked and Alex roareda,9 Alex Click went to see the U.S® ■ ate. Jesse Helms was speaking in|J| port of a negligence lawyer who® dent Reagan had nominated iiH court of appeals. From the gallervfl turned his clicker. Helms froze inM ' sentence. Most of the Senate appla.H but Vice President George Bush,pnH ing, tried to say something.® pressed the “candor” button and® denounced the Reagan economic® gram, admitted he was confuse® abortion and then left to chan&® watchband while the Senate laugh® Alex Click lef t the Senate. He; p, a bank machine, aimed the dicket® and got enough money to fly tod® wood. I fe went to the singles bar ® future where everyone was abo.||! but had had plastic surgery to® them look 35. The place wash® youthful people talking about Med® and constipation. Alex aimed thee® and in a flash everyone was silent.® Alex was awed. Then lie went to a movie ® where he found Sylvester Sij.® filming a scene in which he jump® a helicopter and kills people font ® books. Alex clicked him frozen and® lone started to cry. Alex laughed. 1 Alex had a good time in Hoik® He shut up Charlton Heston. He:® Sean Penn at a cocktail party,aslec® a question and left him frozen!® eternity with his Fist cocked. Ale\® to New York and shut up Ed® That took two clicks and a freshk® While in New York, he clicked^® people carrying ghetto-blasters air!® motorists who were driving dtli'fj radios on top volume. Alex Click returned to Washinf® He went to a presidential press con® ence and clicked the presidentsiletH the middle of a sentence. Theprra® made gestures, shrugged hisshou® and no one noticed that he was no® ing anything. Later, Larry Speaks 1| what the president meant tosayandl eryone was happy. . Finally, Alex Click went home. clicked the plant and it stood ' straight. He found his fatherstillfr® in place and his mother still in mid® fence. He clicked twice — click,didy “Change the channel," Daddy® ordered. “No, keep it where it j Mommy Click added. Alex Click® wonderful. He was home. Copyright 1986, Washington Post Writers^ for U.S. addiction! The Reagan ad ministration has supported a coop erative venture with the Bolivian National Police in an attempt to cap- t u r e a n d p r o s - ecute the produc ers of cocaine in Bolivia. This in cludes American troops with the latest design in helicopters, the Black Hawk. The two-month campaign against the processing plants signals the start of the Reagan decree that illegal drugs are presently a threat to our country’s security. Americans now consume 60 percent of the world’s production of illegal drugs. While 20 million use marijuana, four to eight million are regular cocaine users, and 800,000 are heroin addicts. More than 12 tons of heroin, 65 tons of marijuana and 150 tons of cocaine are overrunning this nation. Profits from the sale of illegal drugs totals 100 billion dollars each year. The Bolivian-U.S. anti-drug effort desperately is needed to help rid this country of rampant drug use, which has increased the amount of crimes com mitted by addicts in order to buy more narcotics for their habit. The Drug En forcement Agency, along with the Coast Guard and Border Patrol, should be given top priority and much higher funding if they are to accomplish the drug-war job assigned to them. But there are problems which accom pany the enforcement of these laws and the attempt to stop narcotic production. The first problem is attacking the wrong source of drugs. Plants from which narcotics are produced are grown because there is a market available — a big one. The largest share of the North American drug market is created by the demand for drugs in the United States. While a crackdown on drug manufac- turers in the hinterland of Bolivia may help slow the incoming supply, it will not eliminate the source. As long as The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Editor Opinion Page Editor Citv Editor .Yens Editor Sports Editor ....Michelle Powe Loren Steffy Scott Sutherland Kay Mai leu Ken Sury Editorial Policy The Battalion is n non-profit, self-supporting newspaper operated us a comtnunity service to l exus A&M and Brvan-College Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the Editorial Board or the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions ofl'exas . Vc<.A/ adtninistratoi s. faculty or the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratot \ newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography classes within the Department of Journalism. The Battalion is published 1'uesday through Fridas during the I'exas A&M summer semester. Mail subscriptions are $ 16.75 pci semester. $66.25 pet school s ear and $65 pet full s eat . Ads ertising rates furnished on request. Our addtcss: Ihe Battalion. 216 Reed McDonald Building. I'exas AAL\M University. College Station. TX 77846. Second class postage paid at College Station. 7 A 77846. ROSl .MAS I ER: Send address change- fo The Battalion. 216 Reed McDonald. Texas A£L\M L nis ersits. College Station TX 77846. American drug users maintain their in satiable addiction, there will be those who are willing to produce and distrib ute a very profitable cash crop. The second problem with the at tempted crackdown in Bolivia is the amount of money made. With Ameri cans spending enormous amounts of cash, the organized crime rings easily can afford to buy off the important offi cials that could interdict the valuable trade routes. This includes both U.S. and South American governmental em ployees. The acceptance of buyoffs and bribes are not uncommon to the devel oping Third World, where income from jobs is notoriously low. An interesting note is the lack of surprise, due to prior announcement, w hich warned the drug processors of an impending raid. Another problem in the drug wars is that these “primitive” processing labs certainly will be replaced. They were primitive for good reasons — low cost and the ability to be rebuilt quickly. This allows producers to put forth minimum effort and investment but provide an easy escape with no loss. Yet the most dominant factor in the drug war affecting the permanency of cocaine production is the amount of em ployment and capital offered to the re gional population. Drug money in Bo livia adds up to $600 million, more than all the legal exports. Drug-related em ployment creates jobs for 6.5 million people. Many of the natives are poor, unemployed and have numerous mouths to feed, so they will grow ; ' vest and process coca leaves in fP available spot of ground just top® food for the table. The only avenue for success lies® the remaining hope of eradicatiifp present level of drug use in thiso The government’s chance of sit t fully solving this problem is somej' questionable. The present attitude of manypt ' is to ignore the problems of the® user and attack the distributor o® narcotics, which does nothing but ! der Johnny’s quest for the evasive I® Mark Ude is a senior geography: and a columnist for The Battalion United Fee lure Syndic* te