The Battalion
OPINION
Thursday, August 2,1990
Court confirmation
process too political
It is unfortunate that the confirmation process for the U.S.
Supreme Court has degenerated into a political battle remi
niscent of a presidential campaign.
Two weeks a^o, President Bush nominated David Souter to
replace Justice William Brennan on the Supreme Court and im
mediately the mud digging and slinging began.
The Senate, under its constitutional responsibility, should
only advise the president and support or reject his nomination of
a Supreme Court justice. It should not press Souter with ques
tions dealing with any specific issue that might come before the
Court. To do so only politicizes the process.
Our forefathers intended to give justices lifetime appoint
ments so they would not be subject to short-term pressures from
administration to administration.
Groups have tried to pressure Souter to disclose his stance on
key issues such as abortion. This pressure needs to be stopped.
Some Senators are calling Souter a “blank slate” because of
his absence of written opinions and judicial writings. However,
Souter should be considered a “clean slate” by the Senate. The
Court might gain a judge that will perform as a justice should —
as an impartial mediator of fact and law.
The Battalion Editorial Board
Foul ‘art’ shouldn’t be funded
The arts have made the news again.
Last Summer the National Endowment
for the Arts (NEA) was taken to task for
subsidizing the photograph of a cross in
ajar of urine. This summer, people are
wondering why the NEA hasn’t
subsidized 2 Live Crew.
The only time our federal
government will spend our tax dollars
on a religious object is when a cross is
dropped in ajar of urine, or when a
tortured Virgin Mary is contorted into a
tie rack.
Last summer’s controversy had
nothing to do with free speech. It had
everything to do with tax-subsidized
speech.
Serrano’s exhibit of “Piss Christ” and
other trash was subsidized with $ 15,000
f rom the NEA. Robert Mapplethorpe’s
homoerotic pictures were going to be
subsidized with $30,000 in taxpayer
monies before the NEA wisely cancelled
the exhibit.
No amendment was considered nor
was any bill drafted that proposed
censorship. The debate was whether
you and I should pay for the exhibition
of a portrait of Robert Mapplethorpe
with the handle of a bullwhip up his
rear end.
If Mapplethorpe or Serrano or their
supporters find a child pornographer
or satanic cult to fund their garbage,
more power to them.
The bigger issue is whether the
United States should be subsidizing art
at all. I don’t remember Article I of the
U.S. Constitution saying “and 5 percent
of the budget will build art galleries for
exhibition of Michelangelo’s portraits,”
(not that the “artists” in question are
Michelangelos).
In 1988 the NEA gave 4,600 grants
totaling $ 156.3 million. Did the grant of
$5,000 to a jazz drummer in Brooklyn
“to support intensive one-on-one study
with percussionist Warren Smith”
provide for the general welfare? Not
mine.
Since the NEA was established in
1964, the endowment has handed out
$2.3 billion. A lot of victuals could be
put on a poor man’s plate for $2.3
billion.
If there is a good argument against
any taxpayer-subsidized art, then surely
the least we can do is put a couple of
minor strings on the art we do subsidize.
After all, the federal government puts
strings on everything else.
Jon
Beeler
Columnist
A few simple restrictions should be
placed on the NEA. These restrictions
should prohibit grants for artwork that
depicts sadomasochism, homoeroticism,
child pornography or graphic sex acts,
or that endorses racism or sexism, or
reviles religious symbols.
If you and I are going to pay for art,
then the least we can do is insure that
the art is not obscene. If you like
obscene art, then pay Serrano to defile a
crucifix; don’t ask me for money.
It’s amazing that burning a cross will
land you in jail, but urinating on it can
earn you $15,000 from your fellow
Americans.
The NEA should stop insulting
taxpayers. If the private sector will pay
for obscenity (assuming it does not
violate criminal statutes), fine!
However, Americans have a right not to
be offended, mocked and denigrated
with their own tax dollars.
When Sen. Jesse Helms fought the
good fight last summer, he said on the
Senate floor: “Artists have a right, it is
said, to express their feelings as they
wish; only a philistine would suggest
otherwise. Fair enough, but no artist has
a preemptive claim on the tax dollars of
the American people.” He evidently had
no care for censorship.
To the “artists” that defile the crucifix
or urinate in another’s mouth for a
quick snapshot, we need to say “no” to
more taxpayer money. They should be
advised “to go out and test the magic of
the marketplace,” as Ronald Reagan
often said.
In case someone comes screaming to
you about all the attempted
“censorship” of the arts within the last
year, and compares the NEA
controversy to the rumored 2 Live Crew
censorship, you would do well to arm
yourself with a catalog of
Mapplethorpe’s portraits and a clear
understanding of free speech versus
subsidized speech.
Jon Beeler is a junior nuclear
engineering major.
The Battalion
(USPS 045 360)
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Southwest Journalism Conference
Associated Collegiate Press
The Battalion Editorial Board
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Editor
Melissa Naumann,
Managing Editor
Damon Arhos,
Opinion Page Editor
Holly Becka, City Editor
Meg Reagan,
Lisa Ann Robertson,
News Editors
Clay Rasmussen, Sports Editor
Eric Roalson, Art Director
Todd Stone, Lifestyles Editor
Editorial Policy
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High level of cholesterol in
blood can be disheartening
Columnist offers advice on how to avoid heart disease
According to Dr. Tom Lister, staff
physician at the A.P. Beutel Health
Center at Texas A&M, one-third of
the female students who request birth
control pills have blood cholesterol in
the low 200s. Lister says that, “Tw’o
hundred is already too high. These
women are too young to have these
numbers, and do not pay enough
attention to what they eat.”
Cholesterol is now a common
word, but what is it?
Cholesterol is a waxy substance
that is found in your body and in
certain foods. The body normally
produces 65 to 70 percent of its own
cholesterol, and gets the rest from
food.
Why is cholesterol important?
Cholesterol is used to make sex
hormones, to form vitamin D, to help
transmit nerve impulses, to form bile
acids and to keep cell membranes
healthy.
Can cholesterol be a problem?
Yes, even though cholesterol plays
an important role in one’s body,
cholesterol can lead to coronary heart
disease when blood cholesterol levels
are too high.
What is blood cholesterol?
Blood cholesterol is the cholesterol
that circulates in the blood stream.
Three types of particles named
lipoproteins carry cholesterol:
• Very low density lipoprotein
(VLDL): This lipoprotein primarily
carries triglycerides and normally
does not contribute significantly to
blood cholesterol levels.
• Low density lipoprotein (LDL):
It is also called “bad cholesterol.”
LDL is responsible for depositing
cholesterol in the tissues, and is the
major contributor to the build-up of
atherosclerotic plague.
• High density lipoprotein
(HDL): It is also called “good
cholesterol.” HDL carries excess
cholesterol away from the cells to be
eliminated from the body. People
with high levels of HDL may be at
lower risk for heart disease.
Erika Gonzalez-Lima
Health Columnist
When are blood cholesterol levels
too high?
The National Cholesterol
Education Program guidelines are
(Cholesterol — mg/dl):
• Desirable: Total: less than 200;
LDL: less than 130.
• Borderline: Total: 200 to 239;
LDL: 130 to 159.
• High risk: Total: 240 and above;
LDL: 160 and above.
Are there other risk factors for
heart disease?
Risk factors include being male,
having a family history of coronary
heart disease, smoking, having high
blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, or
vascular disease and being more than
30 percent overweight. Borderline
cholesterol levels are treated as high
risk levels when two or more of the
above risk factors are present. An
HDL cholesterol level below 35 mg/dl
is also considered a risk factor for
heart disease.
Can cholesterol levels be
improved?
Yes. You can help lower your
cholesterol levels by making
appropriate dietary and life style
changes. Begin a “heart-healthy” diet
and wait one to three months before
expecting to see any changes in your
blood cholesterol levels.
What life style changes may affect
cholesterol levels?
Weight loss can reduce LDL and
total cholesterol levels. Aerobic
exercise for a minimum of 20
minutes three times per week may
increase HDL cholesterol.
What is the “heart-healthy” diet?
To lower your LDL and total
cholesterol levels, reduce total fat,
saturated fat and cholesterol from
your diet. To increase your HDL
levels, eat more fish and soluble fiber.
A dietitian can counsel you on these
guidelines:
(1) Achieve and maintain ideal
bodyweight through exercise.
(2) Reduce total fat intake to less
than 30 percent of total calories.
(3) Make wise “fat” choices:
• Saturated fat: Consume less
than 10 percent of total calories
(“hard” fat— for example, meat fat,
butter, cream, cheese, as well as
coconut oil, palm oil, palm kerneloil,
cocoa butter, and other hardened or
saturated fats like stick margarine).
• Increase intake of
monounsaturated fats (olive, peanut
and canola oils).
• Select some polyunsaturated
fats (safflower, sunflower, corn,
soybean and cottonseed oil).
(4) Reduce cholesterol intake
below 300 mgs per day.
(5) Increase soluble fiber intake
(oat bran, guar gum, pectin, beans
and legumes, some fruits and
vegetables).
What if these changes do not
work?
If after three months your blood
cholesterol levels do not become
“desirable,” it is time you see a
registered dietitian. After six montto
of strict dietary changes, your
physician may consider using drug
therapy if your blood cholesterol
levels have not changed.
Why not start now with a drug
treatment for cholesterol?
It is always better to reduce blood
cholesterol levels with diet and
lifestyle changes. Drugs used to lower
blood cholesterol may have
undersirable side effects. Your
physician will consider these possible
side effects before selecting an
appropriate drug treatment for you
u
H
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Have a question on a health issue? Writetothi
Health Columnist, Dr. Erika Gonzalez-Lima, ShM
Health Center, Texas A&M University, College Slat'
TX 77845-1264. Letters will be answeredarwnyttm
through this column in The Battalion. If an indiviitm
reply is expected, please include your name, address M
telephone number.
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