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.
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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.
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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
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Mary-Lynne Rice,
Lifestyles Editor
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