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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 3, 1990)
The Battalion rjie Batta OPINION IS! Tuesday, April 3,1990 Opinion Page Editor Ellen Hobbs ruesday Williams doesn’t deserve attacks on his character Ge: Recently, there have been a great number of attacks made upon Republican gubernatorial candidate Clayton Williams’ character. I would like to point out a few facts about Williams and his situation. In regard to the faux pas Williams made at his ranch, he told a joke that made light of a truly horrible crime, and it was the wrong thing to say. Williams has expressed his deepest regrets for making the remark, and he has apologized in a very sincere letter, and on national television. The joke that Williams told was told among a group of men, mostly ranch Michael L. Lee Reader’s Opinion hands and reporters. I’m sure the ranch hands are used to that kind of rough humor, and likely, the reporters are too. Only the reporters thought they could add a little more mud to this race if they reported a gubernatorial candidate was making sexist remarks. If anyone is going to condemn Williams as a sexist, then they should go ahead and condemn every Aggie that graduated before 1.963, every male that has worked on bonfire, every fraternity member and the Corps of Cadets. This is not mentioning all other males, and most females, because at one time or another, we have made a sexist remark, or laughed at a slightly off color joke (and chances are they have too). As for the allegation of being sexist merely because he would rather face a man than a woman in the political arena, this is a misinterpretation of the facts. Williams is a true gentleman, and has the greatest respect for women. He would prefer to be more genteel towards a lady than an election battle would allow. As for the other personal attacks on Williams, let’s not define Williams as a racist, since some of his best friends are of hispanic origin, and he does not support the official English policy proposed to him. Why don’t we also refrain from calling him stupid, seeing as he started with nothing and has made almost a billion dollars, survived the Texas oil crunch, and is now worth $100 million dollars. You do not build a multimillion dollar empire by “thinking with what is between your legs” as Gary Carroll so ‘Tex’ is hereby announcin’ his candidacy for guvnership ignorantly and immaturely stateditl letter on March 27th. He used his intellect, and his great God-givenc for managing. Let’s not forgetthaiii governor of Texas is primarily a manager. If Williams’ detractors had first reviewed the issues instead of racinij defame Williams’ character, theyk(| have realized that he has theoniyb plan to crime in Texas. Accordingil Texas law enforcement authorities! percent of convicted felons were w the influence of drugs when they commited their crime. If we canted] the effect of drugs on our society, chances are that violent crimes willj down. associated Ah’m hereby announcin’ my candidacy for guvner of this fahn state. Oh, Ah know. Ah know ... Y’all want ta hear my platform. Well, sit back, relax an’ enjoy it. Plank 1 — Be tough. Ah’m tough. And if Ah’m elected guvner, Ah’ll be even tougher on crimnals! You drug dealin’? Then Ah’ll introduce ya ta the pleasures of bustin’ rocks ... with yer dang forehead! Ah mean it, boys! You a minor usin’ drugs? Then Ah’ll make ya eatchur license, and bust rocks ... with yer dang FOREHEAD! Ya’ll better be lisnen’! You killin’ people? Why, Ah’ll make ya bust rocks with yer dang forehead, and THEN, Ah’ll KILL YA! Yee-haw! You rapin’, son? Well, least you didn’t hurt her none, an’ she was prob’ly askin’ for it anyways. You know women. Plank 2 — Use good ol’ common sense. Did ya know Ah got lotsa common sense? Yesiree, lotsa common sense! Hell yes! Mucho common senso! Uh, frinstance! Ah got common sense enough ta keep quiet about this here abortion issue. Now, Ah oppose it, but Ah’m not sayin’ nuthin’ that might offend lady voters. Ya know how tempermental they can be, ’specially around THAT time of month. Heh heh, knowhutahmean? Say, didja hear (haw,haw) ’bout the homosexshul who ... aw, shucks, guess ya did. Plank 3 and 4 — Ejication and bujjit. Ah got a plan ta ejicate all our youngsters, so they kin grow up ta be jus’ like me. Y’all want ta go ta college but can’t afford it? Ah’ll pay tuition an’ books of every single poor student in Texas, or Ah’ll getcha that new-fangled technical training (don’t know whut it means, though). State bujjit? HAW! Ah’ll sell a few planes, a few cars, a few print shops an’ there ya go! Yeee-haw! And what’s more, Ah’m also an Aggie. Yee-haw! That means Ah kin act as stupid an’ ignorant as Ah want and nobody’ll care. It’s kinda charmin’, ya know? Kinda like when a baby pukes all over ya. “Ya gotta expect that, for goshsakes, it’s only a baby.” Well, Ah GUARANTEE, y’all kin expect it from me. Ah’m only a dumb cowboy — it’s part of mah charm. An’ if a bunch of fancy pants, Yankee, city-folk intulectchals say it cain’t be done, y’all tell ’em “Bull hockey! Y’all don’t know Ron ‘Tex’ Garza!” Yee-hah!! P.S. — Don’t y’all tell any of mah fellow Republicans that mosta mah policies come from dang government interventionist, liberal. New Deal Democrat ahdeals. Jim Mattox has not been able tot his influence as attorney generaltoc the use of drugs in Texas. Andasktl have all seen, Ann Richards is notai ready to address the question of dr:; abuse. Mattox has formally accusedi of abusing illegal substances, andct that he has proof. I guess that only know, because according to the Democrats, everyone except them: is lying. Before h Lari, Hous j ceived an u jtants: “Wh cry-’’ Running '■ cate busine 1 “Remem | said recent against Dei ‘ The subj : the Repub \ nor, said fi j torney Ger 1 surer Ann | are in a rui “I wouk i with a won ■ “I know j fuse to elat And no j is strewn v St. bun Ron Garza is a junior English major. Blaphemous Mattox is far from Christ-like candidate Now, I’ve seen everything. This past Sunday at the Bethlehem Baptist Church in Houston, Jim Mattox compared himself to Jesus Christ. Talk about blasphemy. According to Mattox, Jesus was not a low-key leader, and he feels “a great kinship to him in a number of ways.” Mattox continued by saying that he represents Christ, and then made a parallel between his actions that make people angry and Christ’s. “Sometimes my opponents call me a little too tough, sometimes they say, ‘Jim, you’re not a good politician because you make some people mad.’ But I say to them, the fellow that I worship, made people so angry and so mad at him that one week they would take him into Jerusalem, proclaim him as the king and wave palm branches in front of him, and a week later they would demand his crucifixion.” Damon Arhos Assistant Opinion Page Editor Mattox to be comparing his life to the life of Jesus Christ is paradoxical. The big question: Where was all of this leading? Why did Mattox stand at the pulpit comparing himself to the only person who never committed a sin? The big answer: “Are you going to go vote? Amen. Remember Jim Mattox and I’ll remember you, too. I really will.” I have no problem with Mattox claiming that he is a representative of Christ. Every Christian is a representative of Christ. But for How ironic it is that Mattox said to the congregation, “I worship the Jesus that grabbed the whip and chased the money changers out of the temple,” when he was tried in 1985 on commercial bribery charges. The man who was supposed to be going after criminals in our state was too busy with his own trial. And how about those income tax statements, Jim? Do you have something to hide? If not, why not disclose them? It’s about time that you did. remember the voters if elected? Would he be honest with the people of T exas? Can we trust him with the power that the governor has? Jesus Christ never told a lie, either. But Mattox has the reputation for being one of the biggest liars in the state. In the words of Ann Richards, if it comes out of his mouth, it’s probably a lie. Will Mattox really Ann Richards is quoted as saying, “Jim Mattox has made a lot of promises in this campaign and has failed to deliver on them.” Bingo, Ann. Mattox just continues to sling the mud around, always mumbling something about a state lottery. Mattox also said that he doesn’t fear losing the election. He said that he started the campaign on his knees asking for God’s assistance. “I didn’t ask the Lord to help me win,” said Mattox. “I asked him to help me do the right thing, to have the courage to walk out in the arena.” And if we’re lucky, the lions are licking their chops. Damon Arhos is a senior journalism major. I personally find it truly amazing: with all of the internal strife the Democrats have, that they still haven to make as big of a scandal as thevel for Williams. But, it is a fact thattlitif will blow any slight mistake William makes way out of proportion,becaiii they know he is a strong candidate,; one of them is going to face him in November. In conclusion, what this situation demonstrates is that Clayton Willian not experienced in working in the political arena. This in no wayimpfcl that he will not be a great governorl T exas, and indeed the opposite will true. It does show that Williamsisnnl like Ann Richards and Jim Mattox, all of the other generic politicians, Everything he says is not canned,slitll and preapproved by his campaign manager. It seems that Texans are readyfon change in Texas politics. They are of the pre-molded politician and the mudslinging campaign. It seems they want a “good of boy” who is notafi to scrap it out with the legislaturein order to do what is right for Texas, just what is right for self-servingde A vote for Clayton Williams isnota “vote for stupidity.” It is a voteforai Ag, and a great future for Texas. Gig ’em Claytie. Burglars |St. Michae of South 0 [more than nic equipm IStoppers re Sometiir [day, March tdows of tl Ichael’s / J entrance, t They r | stole electr ing Sony ^ jAM/FM ca ; tification Spectricon identificat (G.E. V 6H2S543C 'computer. Detects person wa Blood sU scene, whi lieve the jured by 1 During academy Michael L. Lee is a senior political science major. Mail Call What is I.D.? EDITOR: Many of my friends here at A&M jokingly refer to me as the “interior design” major. They tell me that industrial dis tribution is in the College of Engineering because there is no where else to put it. Although this is all in fun, many people here have never heard of the program or have no idea what I.D. majors do when they “grow up.” Some people pretend to know because they’re too embarrassed to ask while others could just care less. The situation deserves some attention. The versatility of the degree is what makes it so unique and appealing. Industrial distribution prepares students for sales and sales management positions with manufacturers and wholesale distributors of industrial equipment, machin ery, components and value-added services. Customers in clude original equipment manufacturers, construction con tractors, refineries and material production plants to name a few. Graduates may even choose purchasing or consulting as a career. Dealing with such a wide variety of products as well as those who design, test, service and ultimately use these prod ucts requires the graduate to be a professional with many ca- pabilitites. Classes in business, data processing, engineering, communication and human relations fill the curriculum in or der to provide the students with a well-balanced blend of needed skills. Research is an important part of the I.D. program. The Thomas A. Read Center for Distribution Research located in the Fermier Building is coordinated and operated by faculty members, staff and student workers. Information from this research are provided to companies in many different indus tries through seminars conducted by faculty members. Compared to other departments, industrial distribution may seem small with only 484 students. Unfortunately, due to increased popularity and limited facilities, this is full capap- city. But for those of you who are interested, don’t worry. There will be space for approximately 75 new students fol lowing May graduation. A surplus of applicants has made competition for these spaces fierce and only a select few will be considered. you are, no doubt, a nice person with good intent. But, your thinking, as portrayed in your letter, is quite flawed. You pre sent the argument of “greater threat,” saying that the atheist, James Hammitt, has everthing to gain and nothing to lose by believing in Jesus. You appeal to the idea of possibilities, and present Mr. Hammit with only two of them — the Christian Heaven/Hell versus Nothing. If we are considering possibilities, Bill, we have to admit that the consequences of not believing in Jesus are infinitely more than the two you presented. There are many religions, whether we know about them or not, many interpretations of religions, and many more possible gods. Jerry Jones ’90 But what if Christianity is wrong? It’s not so cut and dry, huh? No one’s options are limited to just the two you selectively presented. It is not my point to attack your beliefs. Bill, but simply to make you and others aware of the problems with your argu ment. Mr. Hammitt is presented with several religious and non-religious possibilities, more than two of which are mu- tualy exclusive. And so the argument of “greater threat” isn't fit to be used to make a decision regarding any of them. To follow it makes faith amount to fear. EDITOR: This is in response to Bill Pirkle’s letter March 27. Bill, Bud Cox ‘90 I The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Scot Walker, Editor Monique Threadgill, Managing Editor Ellen Hobbs, Opinion Page Editor Melissa Naumann, City Editor Cindy McMillian, Lisa Robertson, News Editors Richard Tijerina, Sports Editor Fredrick D. Joe, Art Director Mary-Lynne Rice, Lifestyles Editor Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-sup porting newspaper operated as a commu nity service to Texas A&M and Bryan- College Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editorial board or the au thor, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, faculty or the Board of Regents. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday during Texas A&M regu lar semesters, except for holiday and ex amination periods. Mail subscriptions are S21.50 per se mester, $43 per school year and $53.75 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, Col lege Station, TX 77843-1111. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College Station TX 77843-41 11. Adventures In Cartooning by Don Atkinson Jf 1 Tex: 'i