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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 22, 1992)
inj water; cat- e fishery mbersof s %;go«| Jve beea 'f the Bra;,; 'orefisb <5 numbe:; 'ds, mos! md range somelimiis the same LITICS Thursday, October 22,1992 The Battalion Page 9 ndependent vote no waste, Perot says Candidate rejects 'politics as usual'; supporters waiting for personal campaign $ haste "hereof per reds: >n gold 'ows and •rente:: hinglte aitsjtroii! the ship e, mostfii tewiai live bait tart. "dernmis 1 potmdssl illet; redds mdWest hutmanr tMataph trout wij > strawb dSwinv THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DALLAS— Ross Perot sought on Wednesday to counter argu ments that votes for him are wasted, re leasing new ads that say instead, iThis is no time to waste our votes on politics as usual." ■ Meanwhile, aides said they ||oped he would be on the stump soon. And they said the campaign had begun lutting together plans for a Perot idministration. The 60-second commercials are iimed at voters who Perot sup porters fear will shun him on Elec tion Day because they view his Perot : ties; live atJlOper es He hasmt ugh Torofi ivtng nre entyofpte cheers vk :nded lore runs in I ired hows ies thatk .'ersusspec ther distci chance of winning as slim — even though they were impressed by his debate performance. The four separate ads focus on trickle-down economics, hfealth care reform, urban problems and government waste. Each ends by saying, "This is no time to waste our votes on pol itics as usual. It is time for a candi date who will get down to busi ness." In Monday's final presidential debate, Perot himself said voters should "stop letting these folks in the press tell you you're throwing your vote away." Despite Perot's third-place standing, general counsel Clay Mulford said the campaign was encouraged by independent polls after the debates that showed 60 percent of those surveyed viewed Perot more favorably and overall support had doubled to the mid to high teens. "We think, with that 60 percent more favorably disposed for us, that we can capture only a third of that, coupled with the amount we've already increased in the polls, and prevail," Mulford said. Perot has not decided where to personally campaign, if at all, aides said. But they also said they hoped to announce a schedule Thursday. "Perhaps some rallies, perhaps some visits to particularly inter esting facilities, perhaps some town halls," said Orson Swindle, leader of the Perot supporters' or ganization. "All over America, we're looking at it." Perot's running mate, retired Adm. James Stockdale, would likely join him on the stump. Swindle said. Stockdale has met with editorial boards of several California newspapers in recent s^ogife 1 % itttifc l n their ns; ing tolWj :onferenci. ; will be 11 ;endast)i!t vis Sattej jliseumil mfair, against ,250- ngard f a fenult more lift take i handle the men en won’t the field, the!' yball ;tbe on both Taxpayer-funded mass mailings on the rise, watchdog group says THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON- Thirty-one million pieces of taxpayer-fund ed mass mailings from Texas congressmen have been stuffed into Texas mailboxes since the start of the 102nd Congress, a watchdog group said Wednes day. For the first nine months of this year. House members from Texas mailed 11.5 million newsletters, cards and other franked mass mailings to their districts, the National Taxpayers Union Foundation said. The NTUF, a non-partisan group seeking reform of frank ing laws, based its report on in formation obtained from the U.S. Postal Service under a Free dom of Information Act request. The study found there was a 40 percent hike in House mail volume for the first eight months of this election year compared to the same period a year ago. "With the election approach ing, the House again went into a franking frenzy," said David Keating, president of the NTUF. "Excessive use of the frank is undermining the fairness of elections by subsidizing incum bents." Keating said 310 of the House's 435 members spent more on franking this election cycle than the $108,506 spent two years ago by the average challenger on an entire cam paign. Eighteen of Texas' 27 con gressmen spent at least $108,506 on taxpayer-funded mailings since the start of 1992. Dallas Democrat Martin Frost led the list, with $333,235 in postal costs and 2.5 million pieces of mass mail. Each lawmaker's postal al lowance varies, based on how many people live in the district. This year, lawmakers were al lowed to spend up to 67 cents per district mailing address and also could transfer up to $25,000 from their office accounts into their mailing budgets. Last year, the amount was 87 cents per ad dress. When ranked by cost per ad dress, Frost was second among Texas members and 44th among all House members. The top spender in Texas, per address, was Lufkin Democrat Charlie Wilson, who ranked 10th among all House members. Other leading spenders in Texas, based on cost per ad dress, were Houston Democrat Mike Andrews, ranked 68th; Fort Worth Democrat Pete Geren, 88th; and Sugar Land Re publican Tom DeLay, 96th. Those spending the least per address were: Austin Democrat JJ. "Jake" Pickle, ranked 433rd; Rockwall Democrat Ralph Hall, 425th; Stamford Democrat Charles Stenholm, 417th; Mis sion Democrat Kika de la Garza, 405th; and Houston Democrat Craig Washington, 380th. Defenders of Congress' tax payer-financed mail system say it allows them to stay in touch with constituents and respond to their problems. "Do (critics) ever say any thing about how they would propose a congressional office maintain communication with constituents?" asked Elaine Lang, Wilson's press secretary. Lang defended Wilson's postal expenditures and noted that he has not issued a newslet ter since last spring. "We stayed within our bud get. And, our mailings include critically important things like notices of when the mobile office is going to be coming to town." Frost said a "very significant" portion of his postal spending is from town hall meeting notices. Cutting back on franking expen ditures could end up hurting constituents, he said. "You wouldn't be able to have town hall meetings as of ten," he said. "The only way you can really get the word out to people is to directly mail (no tices) to them." Frost noted that the House al ready has reformed franking practices, imposing limits on how much members can spend annually. "We've made some very significant changes," he said. Critics note that historically Congress' mail costs go up dur ing election years as lawmakers seek to increase their publicity back home. Frost's expenditures remained relatively constant from last year to this year. Some Texans, how ever, significantly increased their mailings this year. El Paso Democrat Ron Cole man, who faces a stiff challenge from Republican Chip Taberski, has spent $100,208 so far this year, compared to $47,706 last year. In another tight race, San Antonio Democrat Albert Busta mante has spent $103,001 in the first nine months of this year, compared to $37,076 for all of last year. Beaumont Democrat Jack Brooks has spent $73,953 this year, versus $9,500 for all of last year. Washington, the Houston Democrat, has spent $52,636 this year, compared to $7,445 last year. days. Perot will broadcast the second part of a biography program Thursday night on ABC. In an excerpt released Wednes day, Perot recalled his involve ment in Vietnam POW issues and said, "This is going to be dealt with as a head-on priority. We're not going to duck it." Perot has also bought half-hour time slots on Friday and Saturday on other networks. Despite Perot's longshot odds, Mulford said some thought has been given to pulling together a transition team and Cabinet. "We wouldn't have to worry about political party debts and obligations to the Democrats or to the Republicans. People have con tacted us expressing interest if things go the way we think they will, which would be our victo ry/' he said. S&L directors show Lanier, others favor, officials say THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HOUSTON- Federal regula tors are using a deal between Houston Mayor Bob Lanier and failed University Federal Savings Association as evidence that thrift directors allegedly rubber- stamped ventures with promi nent businessmen without proper review. The Resolution Trust Corp. filed a federal lawsuit in February against Entex, the Houston gas utility that bought the thrift from Lanier in 1977, and 16 former University officers and directors. Lanier, who was not mayor at the time of the transactions, is not a defendant in the lawsuit. But regulators allege Lanier was shown favoritism in a deal with University that will cost taxpay ers more than $13 million. "This loan and the related joint venture relationship exemplify University's penchant for afford ing preferential treatment to cer tain borrowers, including Lanier, to the detriment of the institu tion," Resolution Trust, the feder al agency responsible for bailing out failed thrifts, said in the law suit. The Houston Chronicle report ed Wednesday it had obtained a copy of the lawsuit, which has been placed under seal by U.S. District Court Judge David M. Hittner. The lawsuit accuses En tex of lying to federal thrift regu lators about the financial condi tion of Entex and University. En tex had to file detailed financial documents with regulators in 1987 because the company need ed, and gained, regulatory ap proval to sell the thrift, which failed two years later. MSC Barber Shop Serving All Aggies! Cuts and Styles Reg. haircuts starting at $6. Eight operators to serve you Theresa-Ramona-Laura-Kelly-Yolanda Wendy-Troy-Hector 846-0629 Open Mon.-Fri. 8-5 Located in the basement of the Memorial Student Center MATH-PHYSICS-MEEN I A I 4. ^ TUTORING |ATS GROUP J | WED 10/21 THUR 10/22 | SUN 10/25|MON 10/26 J MEEN 213 CH 3.8 TO 3.12 MEEN 213 CH 5 HOMEW PR #3 - #60 MEEN 213 CH 5 HOMEW PR #119-195 MEEN 213 TEST #2 REVIEW MATH 150 CH 4-5 REVIEW MATH 150 CH 3, 4, 5 TEST REV 10 pm-1am MEEN 212 HOMEW #8 MATH 150 CH 3, 4, 5 TEST REV 10 pm-1am 25$ FRIDAY Bar drinks & Draff SATURDAY GAME ON 2 BIG SCREEN T.U/S Doors open af 1:00 Hot Does, Nachos & Frito Pies $1.50 Spicy Bloody Mary & $3.50 Pifchersmil halftime! 25$ Bar drinks & Draft 8-11 846-2146 WE ARE LOCATED ON 301-B PATRICIA, NORTHGATE, BEHIND 7/11-2 PESOS. Sponsored by the Hellenic Student Association. Galleria (Salon Galleria 6alon Welcomes Marty Rhodes from the Houston area. Marty is a native of Navasota & has over 17 years of salon experience. He specializes in cuts, colors, & perms. FOIL HIGHLIGHTING 268-0101 Call for an appointment 1711 BARAK LN. SLUE 106 BRYAN. TEXAS /VEDA 'L)D9J BuiJ88Ul6U3 idiunf jaipjoQ ho] — „*aVH U3A1 3A#I soinrana JLS3a„ FREEBIRDS EHSlSBimRiTO 319 UNIVERSITY DR NORTHGATE When is a Sale not really a Sale? When the Prices Have All Been Reduced - PERMANENTLY! RingCrest® Products for all the Aggies in Your Life! RingCrest® Paperweight Afoiv $11^5 Cast bronze, felt bottom. Ringcrest® on Walnut base Now $19^5 with three lines engraved. Single Ringcrest® Plaque Now $31 £5 Perfect “Thank You" to Parents or Spouse In the Albertson's Center College Avenue South at University 846-2376 Melvin Cooper, Manager I AGGIELAND f=A WARDS ACCIf FILM SOCIETY!*! iHHiOKIMA An MSC Student Programs Committee “A CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT A MASTERPIECE” - DiiritlAiisen. XBYSVi'EEK W MUCH FUN TMT IT BECOMES A GUILTY PLEASURE” -Vincent Cnnby. 77//: V/:ll YORK TIMES ANTHONY /VANESSA DhitAVE % EMMA IT * fHOMPSON *TONIGHT* 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Admission is $2.50 ...RUN don't walk! TOM CRUISE NICOLE KIDMAN A FAR AND AWAY |po-i3|<a». IttOaiEE Friday, Oct. 23 7:00 & 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Oct.24 Midnight Admission is $2.00 All films will be presented in Rudder Theatre Complex. • Call 847-8478 for more info