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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 1992)
natal care-i ? costs and^ onic billinjuB ves. ament ha; r uncontiW 00 billion (j. Thursday, September 24,1992 Opinion The Battalion Page 11 >n Tuesday lany of thee Quayleat! lush loves' aid. There; for his pres: speech, (Jj 1 of studentsi held up am sked to be nublicant!! on, and cfe ; govemore llywood. u hire of Am fleeting o self the vicia lurphyBrcs mocking th n comedy a night. Editorials True change in politics of Tears, aa is an amaa htbeani Voting only way to bring it about t at the i) agenc auphasrai As the Oct. 3 deadline for voter •gistration approaches, various or- Knizations are stepping up activi- ; les to encourage new and non-tra- elves." ptional voters to let their voices be jvor,bvp:-leard in the Nov. 3 elections, v andhnB Voter registration cards are avail- relief efion4ble through the Brazos County nation K i.# 0 t er Registration Office, the league of Women Voters, the U.S. postal Service, public libraries, and sidentsoiff ar * ous campus political organiza- d hoffiddons such as the College Republi- t ns and Aggie Democrats. The wide range of locations pro- tly visits hiding cards allows no excuse for failing to register. ,in jlrfd disenchantment mounts over Iss the Millais that rock state and national governments from the Guerrero ie final stag graduation revelations to the House jforetheivijche^k-bouncing fiasco, voting pro- ivestoppedkides citizens isolated from the closed-door dealings of politics with the opportunity to control the politi cians themselves. While protest carries with it the stigma of radicalism, voting pro vides an anonymous means to voice an opinion that may not coincide with those of friends and relatives. While writing letters to officials does not guarantee that favored is sues will be discussed, voting tugs at the ears of incumbents desperate to retain their political positions and neophytes hungry to ascend the po litical ladder. As students in other corners of the world withstand violence and terror to express their political be liefs, students in the United States must not stand passively by and ig nore their right to participate in the political process. Get registered, get involved, and get out the vote. Sell-out or survival? oreign investment actually a boon The AppleTree company recently I approved a reorganization plan thich will make a Japanese bank , ...the supermarket chain's largest l bySlhihareholder. and their* The AppleTree acquisition is the ) toldtheflfktest example of how foreign in- vrong,arrestment can help, not harm, U.S. ^companies. I Recent acquisitions by Japanese investors such as record companies and skyscrapers have led many mericans to typify the Japanese as lie ultimate conspicuous con sumers, intruders with a yen for ide, to se£ : ; [buying. Some even say Japan will ' ‘ inevitably buy America away from lie Americans. j Yet Japan is only the second largest foreign investor in the Unit- Id States. British investors own —^f$108 billion in U.S. assets. Japan wns only $83 billion. dren wetf included f£ d sodom)' wed as D) nore fham af Faille ;ther. of them, ^ lives in hat fop Foreign investment injects need ed capital into a currently weak U.S. economy. At a time when some American businesses must borrow more money simply to pay the in terest on previous loans, the de mand for available capital threatens to send interest rates spiraling sky ward. Instead, foreign investors supply this much needed cash, subsequent ly keeping interest rates down which helps the floundering econo my. The whole scenario appears to be an endless cycle which increases American dependence on foreign investors, but the fact is that foreign lenders are helping American com panies survive. And as American businesses re main in business, American work ers continue working. [jupofl ponsiblf ollege Republican tactics overbearing Tuesday, I attended Dan Quayle's ipeech. After an hour and a half of vaiting, we finally got into G. Rollie White. Once in we were being ushered to iections by people with air horns. All bis was fine, but one of the ushers got arried away. In my section, one voman kept screaming and yelling at People to stand up, 45 minutes before iuayle spoke. In front of me, were ibout six people who were not landing. The one adamant usher stood behind fle yelling at them to stand. When she >vas informed that they didn't want^to stand, she took her air horn, put it between the heads of two of the students, blew away, and yelled again. I considered this extremely rude and obnoxious. People have a right not to stand, and her behavior was completely out of line, not to mention probably deafening. I don't know if she was part of the organization sponsoring this event, but I can't imagine any organization condoning this kind of tactic or behavior. The nation was watching A&M that day, and we had the opportunity to display the best of Aggieland. Such behavior can only tarnish our image in the eyes of the public and reduce us to the level of other universities. Susan Emmons Class of'95 Former Republican snubs party, Quayle Well Ags, what a great treat, thee greate Dane Quaylee in our midst. For all of you that agree that it really is time to "take back our culture" this is the time to show your support. I thought I was a Republican until I realized that this is every American's country whether they're a Seminole, Civics lesson on a Missouri road Would-be sportswriter compares sausage, politics COLUMBIA, Mo. - Amidst the prematurely launched oranges of a wannabe Orange Bowl-bound crowd of Mizz-who fans, the Aggies nar rowly escaped the nation's inbred heartland with a 26-13 victory over the Missouri Tigers. But the real story of the day lies not in the game itself but in the story of a dedicated, determined, persever ing few good Ags who defied the threats of an extended drive through this nation's inbred heartland and emerged victorious in Columbia. The real story of the day was not the story but who covered it — that would be me, the humor columnist, the Lena Guerrero of the sportswriting world. Two people. One small car. Two bottles of Nehi Grape. Two moon-pies (steadfastly surviving in their plastic wrap pers since 1958). Three sticks of beef jerky. One "Hot-ra- geous" sausage stick (noxiously emitting gas that could damage the ozone layer). Three bags of barbecue pork rinds (vaguely reminding us of Elvis and momma). One six-pack of warm beer. One processed cheese substance. One squashed frog. One splattered "miscellaneous." One near-miss on an opossum outside of McAlester, Oklahoma. 65 unidentified road-loaves. 1,578 miles. 16 hours. East Texas. Oklahoma. Southern Missouri. A&M Vs. Mizz- who. Throttling the roadways — as only a wannabe sportswriter can do with sports-cliches burning at my side and questionable press credentials awaiting me in Missouri — it was a road trip from hell; it was an assignment from hell. What was I doing here in the only states aside from Arkansas and Louisiana that think a family tree is a wreath and that roadkill is an hors d'ouerve as Oklahoma hiked up its leg and rained on us like a dog on a fire hydrant? What was I doing here in southern Missouri where peo ple build go-kart raceways next to their trailer homes and across the street from their Osmond Family Showcase Au ditoriums? It's really quite simple. I was faking it. Like Texas Rail road Commission Chairwoman Lena Guerrero and her pseudo-UT (yeah, right) degree before me, I was coasting down the roads to that journalistic mecca of the sportswrit ing universe, the University of Missouri, pretending I was something I'm not — namely a sportswriter. And they were sending me, humor columnist from hell, to cover the game? Let me tell you, folks, the closest I've ever gotten to sports is dodging the East Texans who were darting out into traffic to gather their Sunday dinners from the highway. But hey, if Guerrero can do it — even to the point of fooling the t.u. alumni association — anyone can and ev eryone does, including me. The fact that a public official has the gall to forget about her academic status, overlook the fact that the university neglected to send her a diploma and then continue to par ticipate in the race attests to the fact that lying, cheating and stealing really isn;'t that hard to do — even if you are just a columnist pretending to be a sportswriter. The fact that Gov. Richards still endorses Guerrero gives this Great Pretender permission to keep up the bad work — and gives others lik 2 her the impetus to follow in the long and undignified tradition of filth and corruption that makes state and national government rank right up there with the ingredients in "hot-rageous" sausage sticks. In these trying political times, nothing really is as it seems. And that's a pretty scary concept when you're trot ting into the polling place, vote in hand — or throttling down the highway where people ask, "Yer not from 'round here, are ya nun? You got all yer teeth and you don't have the same last name as all us." But at least I made it home again, 48 hours later. No more pork rinds. No more moon pies. No more beef jerky (Do you know what they put in that stuff?) No more road- loaves. And one bad case of indigestion. And when it was all over and I filed my first sports story Sunday night, the sports editors told me to hang up my cleats and return to the opinion page from whence I came. Maybe Governor Richards should tell Lena Guerrero to do the same. Sucks to be you, Mizzou, but at least you're not Lena Guerrero. You heard it here first. Feducia is a senior English and history major STACY FEDUCIA Columnist /ILL YoU tf££D To Kno\J You [£AM£d /A/ KtWfRCMTfhl ~ A%M STYLE African-American, Anglo or anything else. As far as supporting the party that wants to "take back our culture" I ask what is "our" culture? Can Hispanics join, or Asians? Or is that the culture of the Mayflower descendants, the few, the proud, the pretentious. As far as supporting Judeo-Christian heritage, sorry Moslems, Buddhists etc. Now the Republican party schedules a visit by the great Dane Quaylee. This seems like a great chance to learn more about the candidate and have a discussion of the issues. But the Republicans tell us we can go to the rally, but we can only wave signs printed by the Republican Party. Sounds like something they don't even do in Russia anymore. Freedom of speech? Not for Dan Quayle. How would it look on television, if in the home of the George Bush library there were signs of discontent towards the administration? First tell me whose country this is, then whose culture, then tell me what to say ... NOT. Thanks, Republicans. This is no longer the party of Reagan but the party of Buchanan and Duke. Jose Gonzalez Graduate student Rapists should think about their crimes I just read about the girl who was raped in Briarwood this weekend, and it really upset me. The girl is my age and Briarwood is very close to where I live. Rape is one of my biggest fears; I know at least five girls off the top of my head who have been raped, and those are only the ones who have confided in me. I consider myself very lucky that I'm not on that list, but unfortunately it may just be a matter of time until I am. I have a few questions for these guys — not just the two from this weekend, but any guy who has ever committed a rape. I may not get the answers, but I would like them to think: What the hell possessed you to do that in the first place? Were you having a macho contest with your buddies? Did it make you feel good at the time, hearing her scream and cry for help? Did her fear actually turn you on? How do you feel now, knowing your actions will scar her for life? Think back to that night, what you did to her. How would you like that happen to your mother? or your grandmother? Or your sister? Or your girlfriend? Because believe it or not, they live life fearing guys just like yourself. Or how would you like that to happen to you? (And I don't mean by a girl either ... I wonder how big and macho you'd feel then.) I hope you're getting my point. Absolutely no one deserves that kind of humiliation and degradation. I don't care how pretty, ugly, fat, skinny, bitchy, trampy, or drunk she may be. Nobody deserves it. And finally, to the girls, please watch out for yourselves. Granted, not all men were fathered by pit bulls, but we shouldn't let the bunch spoil a few good apples, right? It can happen to you. It isn't necessary to hate men to be smart about them, because there really are some genuinely nice, respectable men out there and they are not hard to find. But please be careful anyway. A. Yurkosky Class of ’94 Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the opiniorvpage staff and editor in chief only. They do not represent, in any way, the opinions of reporters, staff, or editors of other sections of the newspaper. Columns, guest columns, and Mail Call items express the opinions of the authors only The Battalion encourages letters to the editor and will print as many as space aBows in the Mail Call section. Letters must be 300 words or less and include the author's name. We reserve the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters should be addressed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald /MaB stop 1111 Texas A&M University CoBege Station, TX 77843