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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1993)
ctoberl ge 5 ' e groupf„ t i woesw 1-3 start. Tech's pr /lor last' m and wi ?re and tli ■ 4-0." h R.C. Slo aock will ■am, espec situation, to Tech, | Opinion Friday, October 1,1993 The Battalion Page 7 1 EVERYONE IN THE U.S. KNOWS Hint: ONE PERSON WHO COULD BE OUT OF A JOB IF NAFTA IB* IS PASSED. Jlt^ rw aw**/ i is in a tion. if the toughs ue, but we'i rations to expect.” ch has onet a ms in them- ■io of widert- , quarterbati orris, it nany weapons earn in thena "They preset: to teams be a one dimer against A&H areer as contest, t together) utive ” has been lim it 48 yards ami n two game: veraged 184 tse against the ars. This year yards in this weekwil ge for the Ag puts a 1 ense," Sir o control /e got to scon :'re playing ant offense, will be a ven d anyone vk i our pass it- Nicaragua free thanks to efforts of the Contras T GUEST COLUMN JORGE L. WHEELOCK >wn As d Press - Doug e-run homer h five RBIs as the Texas •akland Ath- 1 highlighted to help the rom a 3-0 d off a five- vo-run dou- sponse to Humber to A. Jorge's letter on Sept.22 de meaning Oliver North and the freedom fighters of Nicaragua. Our wish is not to de fend Oliver North, al though it would be well worthwhile, but to correct Humberto's warped facts about the Nicaraguan revolution of 1979 and the Nicaraguan freedom fighters. A revolutionary movement in the 1970s called Sandinismo swept through Nicaragua. The leaders of the movement promised all lower- class Nicaraguans a better educa tion, health care and land reform, while assuring Nicaragua's high class that their victory would not only upkeep Central America's most prolific economy, but would create less political turmoil than the existing dictatorship. The Sandin- istas enjoyed the support of most Nicaraguans and hence won the revolution. Shortly after their victory, the regime began to confiscate private, Nicaraguan-owned companies, land and houses, while pursuing, incarcerating and murdering those who refused to give them up. This led many Nicaraguans (about 500,000) to flee their country into political exile. Not only did the Sandinistas confiscate compa nies and properties, but made themselves legal owners of them. During their 12 years in power, the Sandinistas were militarily funded by the Soviet Union to carry out attacks on neighboring countries; something Humberto lorge fails to point out in his let ter. In exchange for military aid. ENTS win, won't cover 0-jbrever for Rice ie the Homed Frof} scores!! Mizzou scortt^ against a guy turnedt^ actly is an 'Orangery Montana for this op 25spot with k needs suepach after M arm discards Trojans^ ached on their backs ^ ven win taking abrt^ ‘bout if wc take a 11 flagging the Sandinistas offered Nicaraguan crops and other nat ural resources to Eastern block na tions. While many Nicaraguans struggled in exile and Nicaragua's remaining population starved in a sacked nation, Sandinista leaders enjoyed ownership of the coun try's key industries. Contrary to what was stated in Humberto Jorge's letter, the San dinistas, who had surged to pow er in defense of the poor, had completely betrayed them. Under their rule, Nicaraguans lacked food, not to mention better health care or a better education. San dinismo had not only ruined the country's economy, but also abol ished Nicaragua's social freedom. The military tortured and killed anyone who spoke out against them. They committed thousands of human rights viola tions, some still being discovered today. Frustrated Nicaraguans took arms against the Soviet- backed Sandinistas. The "Contras" as they called themselves, fought relentlessly in the mountains of Nicaragua. The U.S. backed Contras were not murderers of farmers, as suggest ed in Humberto Jorge's article, but instead represented Nicaragua's only hope for freedom. Overwhelming pressure by the Contras led the Sandinistas to call for free elections in 1990. The re sult of the election was a victory for democracy. The same Nicaraguan people that had supported the rev olution in 1979 overwhelmingly voted out the Communist Sandin ista regime, putting an end to the country's darkest era. Nicaraguan Students at Texas A&M thank God and heroes such as Oliver North, Ronald Reagan and George Bush. For it was their unconditional help that made it possible for Nicaraguans such as us to live in our country again. Jorge L. Wlieelock is president of Nicaraguan Students at Texas A&M 'Don't worry, I can fix it' Yeah, right Mechanically declined learn from maintenance mistakes MACK HARRISON Opinion editor W hat is it that drives men to fix? Even as a small boy, I remember well my father's response to my mother's most often spoken statement, "Dear, this darn thing won't work any more... I think it's bro ken." His reply, which didn't seem to require actual sensory percep tion of the object, or even knowledge as to what it was, inevitably was, "Don't worry, I can fix it." Being a prosthodontist, his occupational skill was to repair or replace missing teeth and gums for geriatrics who otherwise had to eat their steak in daiquiri form. As a result, there was always an abundance of what my family simply referred to as "denture material." It was usually pink, and it was every where. Upon close inspection, one could make out tiny oral blood vessels coursing through the knobs of saucepan lids, broken screwdriver handles, door lock thingies on the truck, appliance switches and even shot gun stock alterations. Anything or any part of anything that was made of a plastic, a met al or wood, could be repaired with that stuff. And my dad could fix it. To this day, when asked by inquisitive neighbors, "How'd you fix that?" a denture grin is usually followed by, "Denture material." As I grew up in this, "Don’t throw it away; I can fix it," atmosphere, I discovered amongst my friends and acquaintances that there are basically three kinds of men. Those who can fix absolutely anything — to whom other men will bow; those who couldn't fix a gin and ton ic; and the most common of all, men who think they can fix anything — who after hours of frustrated cussing and super-glued fingers, inevitably worsen, or in a fit of rage, smash that which was repairable. Although I'm not quite certain where women fit into this "fix it" urge. I'm inclined to think it's a testosterone thing. Women, utilize this primal, male, "I can fix it" mo mentum to somersault their men into ego-euphoria. Thereby, not only getting many tasks accomplished, but earning many "ego-chips" as well, to be cashed in at a later date. I would guess that even female me chanical engineers balk at minor door hinge repairs to capitalize on a guy's desire to wield his mighty screwdriver and save the fair maiden. Men can be so clueless. Unlike my father — who can fix anything — I will attempt to fix anything, succeeding only about half of the time. For every incred ibly brilliant repair, there is an equally in credible failure — such as a shelf load of books plummeting to the floor, a completely reassembled motorcycle with one rubber piece left over, or a girl's car stereo installa tion that now sounds like rustled cellophane; she did save 30 bucks however. As any "fixer" knows, a failure is not just a failure, but also a great way to learn what not to do next time — like remembering to securely fasten the ceiling fan to the ceiling, or making sure you removed all the tools from under your hood before driving off. In addition, much joy comes from a situa tion repeating itself that you completely botched the time before. With any lucik, the onlookers will be new ones, oblivious to pre vious pandemonium. They're always so mis takenly impressed. The only problem with this brand of adulation is that often, because the repair attempt was so ridiculously stupid in the first place, you never ever get another chance to redeem yourself. I once took a girl, her visiting brother and his friend night-sailing in the dead of winter on a windy lake. They were awed by my navigational skills. Basically, when the land starts looking bigger, I turn the boat. We were drinking ice cold beer "stealth- sailing" in total darkness — due to earlier electrical wiring repairs — and were a tad chilly ... okay, frostbitten. I decided to dazzle them further and rig the gas stove to not only light the cabin but heat it as well. After the ' fire - you could see it from shore -1 knew that my pale, shivering, saucer-eyed friends would never give me the chance to prove what an idiot 1 wasn't. The saddest fixer of all however, is the one who won't. These are the individuals who love duct tape, and they are extremely easy to spot. Scotch tape, masking tape, duct tape and staples are used to repair almost every thing. Although that gray tape is possibly the greatest invention of the century, it was never meant to hold a windshield on a car or a leg to a table. Disaster is eminent. The other tool for the non-fixer is the hammer. If something is not working prop erly, just beat it a few times and presto, no re pairman is necessary. This method is partic ularly effective on Nintendos, alternators and even this compu t er, whi c h is nO t w#rk!ing pr@pe rly. IT! be;;; r ight baa ck... ********■*•**-* Frank Stanford is a graduate philosophy major AMD VJB TAKE TH& BACTOfZ Oi* ArJC?, A 6»TA bAViVTA 0A0Vf Pflo &L& MO f ia/H£ win-,.. EAT £»HoftTf> f w # • • CAMERAS itJ 'T'HE ClASSRooM ... you frHotfuo T*»»-*- • j* Thf y l-i**- HiM THAT THj> 3*>'0 f \ity A<Uk *****. , . . . >/! YOU KHOVJ, VJORRigp A&OVT MC SMITH* &lrJC.g Wg HAP THE CAMERAS iN TH£ CuASS, HE'S 0g£N KlMPA 6TRANGE... Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the editorial board. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of other Battalion . staff members, the Texas A&M student body, regents, administration, faculty or staff. Columns, guest columns, cartoons and letters express the opinions of the authors. The Battalion encourages letters to the editor and will print as many as space allows. Letters must be 300 words or less and include the author's name/class, and phone number. We reserve the right to edit letters and guest columns for length, style, and accuracy. Contact the opinion editor for information on submitting guest columns. : Address letters to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Mail stop 1111 T#as A&M University ' “" : *::^tation / ..fX:..77B43 ' " The scapegoat as the U.S. national symbol? Don't blame me GUEST COLUMN I n a few short years, the bald eagle, America's national symbol, will be extinct. As long as the Nation al Rifle Association is around, this is guaranteed. After all, idiots, guns and wildlife don't mix very well. We'll have plenty of time to mourn these ma jestic creatures. What America needs to do is start planning for the fu ture. We're going to have to find a new national symbol soon. With all of the bu reaucracy that's plaguing the federal gov ernment, we need to start the search for our new symbol now. The big question is, "What's it going to be?" I'm sure everyone has their personal favorite. Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey, but that would screw up Thanks- MIKE MORRIS giving. The conservatives would proba bly vote for the elephant, but that's no good either because the elephant will also be extinct soon. I figure the liberals would have a cou ple of ideas as well. Their first would be the donkey, but that one's no good. The rest of the world already thinks Ameri cans are a bunch of jackasses. There's no sense in proving them right. Another choice could be one of the many serial killers they've gotten released, but Ameri can money would not be worth much if it featured a picture of a tattoo-covered guy with a pickax in one hand and a scalp or two in the other. Once the politicians had their say, businesses would probably be next in line. Exxon and Kellogg would probably want the tiger, but neither the NRA nor Alaska would stand for that. The tuxedo syndicate would want the penguin, but few people would like a bird with useless limbs for a national symbol. It would re mind them too much of the disabled, and America has done such a good job of ig noring the disabled. The lawyers and doc tors would want their symbol to repre sent the nation, but how do you put a pic ture of a dollar bill on the dollar bill? None of these ideas are really good. America is going to need a symbol that will be truly appropriate. American's de serve a symbol that they can relate to. The symbol has to have a mystical quality to it. It must be something that the rest of The scapegoat is something to which every single Amer ican can easily relate, and it has the lofty, mystical repre sentation that our national symbol deserves — it's men tioned throughout the Bible. the world can respect. I've got the perfect idea for our new national symbol. It should be the one, the only, scapegoat. You may ask, "Why the scapegoat?" Why not? It's the perfect symbol to represent the true modern America. The scapegoat is something to which every single American can easily relate, and it has the lofty, mystical representation that our national symbol deserves — it's men tioned throughout the Bible. The scapegoat really does represent America. Nothing is ever our fault. It's al ways someone else's fault. "Don't blame me. I voted for the other guy-" Democrats blame the Republicans. The Republicans blame the Democrats. Con gress blames the President and vice versa. We always lay the blame at the other guy's feet. The scapegoat can also represent the little guy. If you don't believe me, just watch the news. A few months ago, a man was tried for the murder of a high way patrolman. He was videotaped com mitting the crime, yet he claimed he was innocent. It wasn't his fault. It was rap music that made him do it. The jury didn't buy it, but the officer's widow sued the artist and his label anyway. This isn't the first time music has been blamed. The group Judas Priest was sued by the parents of two teenagers who killed themselves. The parents claimed that the subliminal message in the music — which allegedly said, "Do it" — made the kids commit suicide. I guess the fact that the guys were high school dropouts addicted to alcohol and drugs had noth ing to do with it. The world will also find the scapegoat symbol acceptable. They will finally un derstand Americans. After all, it has been the cheap labor of the Japanese that makes their products sell so well. It cer tainly isn't the fact that the Japanese make better products. Texas A&M was recently visited by a national hero, Oliver North. I truly be lieve he is a hero. The Iran-Contra affair does not make him a hero in my eyes; the fact that he took the blame for everyone else makes him a hero. He truly repre sents what America has become, and I salute him. By the way, if you don't agree with me, it's not my fault. The devil made me do it. Mike Morris is senior teacher's certification major "GE Sf^s M TY Watch where you're sticking those labels This is my third year of Batt reading, and I have to say that many times I have been amused, disgusted, horrified, an gry, depressed and impressed by letters that have appeared in Mail Call. Never have I laughed as hard as I did, though, as when I read the letter by Joel Dunn (Sept. 24). In it, Joel criticized Anand Patel for criticizing those anti-Clinton shirts that have been seen around campus. Then Joel goes on to say that "bleeding heart liberals are all the same." Hmm ... sounds like we have a vicious little cycle of passing judgment here. I would just like to clear up a few things here. Yes, 1 think of myself as a liberal. (Actually, open-minded is the term I like to use.) And yes, I think those T-shirts are in bad taste, not because I support Clinton but because I respect the president as the leader of our country, regardless of party. However, more than that, I respect freedom of speech and re alize that my opinion is my own, and I cannot force anyone to stop expressing their views simply because I do not agree with them. See, we "bleeding heart liberals" are not all the same. Perhaps this is nowhere more apparent than in gender. I am a female, and "Ms. Patel" is a male. Maybe next time, Joel Dunn will write a more cautious letter when faced with an unfamiliar and non-gender specific name instead of labeling people falsely. Or maybe that is not possible — Joel Dunn seems to like labels. Lisa Ranallo Class of '95 Smokers: watch your butts outside dorms The new campus non-smoking poli cy has spawned a new problem. The smokers may not be fouling the air in side buildings anymore, but they are polluting the ground with the ends of their cigarettes. There is an abundance of cigarette butts littering the areas outside of the residence halls. The smokers must make an effort to dispose of their litter properly just like they would any other trash, or maybe the University can provide ashtravs outside of the buildings. Just because cigarette butts are small does not mean that they are not polluting our beautiful campus. Kristen DeRocha Leah Smith Class of'96