T/t
w
Pagel
February 4,1551
ME
from Page 5
iu start looking ali
hey give you here, j
iig 12, the tradition!
there’s nothingti
Barone said. “This
e to be.”
^ are obviously im|
re. His jersey n
s his allegiance to
? Twelfth Man.
around with
they’re already
y, ’ because every
erseys," he said. "
n No. 12. My dadn
like and ever sim
> was that numbi
o be that number,
e 1 was eight years
The Battalion
INIOIN
Page 7
Tuesday • February 4, 1997
Standing in the
rocky West Texas
canyons near Fort
[vis, Richard McLaren
ks more like a science
;r, I was that numliicher on a field trip
sail, I wore it. Eve m a revolutionary on
wi Lsade to liberate
leas. He is the ambas-
is a little tight,
number.”
a few miles beta lorof the Republic of
tas, a group of earnest
tmisguided patriots
o believe Texas was
ver legally annexed
othe United States.
lidated High
mt for Brian Bar
ms a bit longer,
the season against
Kansas Univers
vhile guarding
;que Vaughn, Ban
merit to realize what
died so far this seas:
the ball went out
lad a little bitofrr
y got into the
id 1 thought, This
everything I’ve hi
he last year, and
000 people root
playing the natio
id and thought
nted.’ Then fives;
was in the game
thinking about it.
nited state of Texas
epublic of Texas militia paints frightening picture of Texas
Columnist
Jeremy Valdez
Senior
Engineering major
The Republic adamantly de-
sit is a militia. Indeed, the Re-
blic has distinguished itself
.. J m the garden-variety militia
! >vement in at least one impor-
tway: The Republic does not
orporate a white-power or ul-
-religious element into its
nding philosophy.
In fact, the vice-president of
Republic is an African-Texan.
don Dec. 5, 1996, the Republic
Barone said “li celled a splinter faction with
reme religious and racially-big-
d views. McLaren explained
it the faction, whose members
reusing their positions in the
public for financial gain, tried
start a rival Republic of Texas at
onvention in College Station in
e November.
The Republic may be misguid-
but it is equal-opportunity.
bter apathy leads to corruption on campus and capital hill
IELL
from Page 5
r of the Week
iman guard Brian
d outstanding bask;
lissouri, this weeh
o junior center Di
lis perfonnance
State. Quesadah
ctor all season, wi:T| ''he public’s lack of atten
)f the team usualkj 1 tion to politics enables
ne way on his play. politicians to take steps a
one center Kelvin ntoteattentive public would
g the lane and su$ levent - Wfe’ve all seen the
any shot taken wwspaper headlines: “Clinton
.int (five in the first p White House access to
la thumbed his nos ^ hes t bidder” “First Lady faces
-pick-to-be by step fusible indictment” “President
anger and calmly | rced t0 P lea se ,f case in
5-20 foot jump sho! PPreme Court,
dn, keeping the K Politicians abuse the tax
i striking distance. K others raise their own
stretched our , f ies - but most f 1 re-elected,
va State Head Cc;= F am P us - regents can raise
... c jeswithout feeling backlash from stu-
We were aware L Qr their pare ^ ts .
° u bas et ! 1 | Over the past four years the country and
s ai ted making |j scam p US h ave grown tired of hearing
t o s 11 e t ch to him L ut SC j Ulc | a i s Q f President Clinton.
bly got to him later |
d have.”
g. Super Dario finish
high 19 points,
n’t scoring,
However, the simi
larities between the
Republic and admit
ted militia groups are
disturbing.
Members of the Re
public consider all
federal employees to
be foreign agents with
no jurisdiction in
Texas. The compound
they call their “em
bassy” is protected by
heavily armed defense
forces. McLaren said,
between 15 and 50 citizens of the
Republic guard the embassy at
any given time.
There’s an element of duplici
ty in the Republic's stance to
ward militias. Even though
McLaren and the Republic may
spend today trying to distance
themselves from the militia
movement, they’ll welcome
armed militia support tomorrow
if a standoff with the federal
government begins.
The fear of a Freemen-style
standoff has the embassy’s neigh
bors nervous and frustrated. For
more than a month, they have not
received mail at their residences.
The Postal Service has stopped
delivery to the resort area, claim
ing the Republic’s defense forces
pose a danger to mail carriers.
Online press releases give the
Republic an opportunity to com
plain about how, among other
things, the U.S. Immigration and
Naturalization Service rounded
up 600 illegal aliens in the Hous
ton area, some who were “sover
eign citizens of the Republic.”
Another press release announces
an alliance between the Republic
and a group claiming to be the “Em
pire Washitaw de Dugdah-
moundyah” of northern Louisiana.
Many who view these docu
ments get a “you must be kid
ding” feeling, as though they were
reading the musings of a bunch of
adults trying to start a club to rival
the Elks Lodge. This feeling evap
orated for me personally after I
spoke with a seriously sober
McLaren in the presence of two
armed bodyguards. The members
of the Republic weren’t joking.
But McLaren can’t truly recon
cile with the deals the Republic
makes with two of their personal
devils: lawyers and foreign eco
nomic interests.
McLaren forecasts a bleak fu
ture for the American legal system.
“Lawyers and judges have
reached an all-time low of corrup
tion. God help them if this thing
ever breaks out into armed con
flict,” he said. “I doubt if that
group of people will be around
long, because everyone knows
who has caused the problems.”
The Republic has employed
McLaren not only as an ambas
sador, but as a legal expert. He
can use international law to file
liens and letters of reprisal against
the state of Texas and private citi
zens who have wronged the Re
public in some way.
The Republic has filed liens
on $93 trillion worth of state
property. So if the Republic has
the opportunity to heed Shake
speare’s advice “to kill all the
lawyers,” it is likely they will re
place them with their own brand
of legalists.
And although McLaren claims
87 percent of Texas’ wealth and
resources leave the soil never to
return, the Republic uses legal
processes to lay claim to the land
and personal assets of its ene
mies so it can sell them on the
international market.
The fatal flaw by the Repub
lic of Texas is that it is a more
reactive movement away from a
corrupted federal government
than a proactive return to the
virtuous and just status of Tex
an sovereignty.
The rugged beauty of the
Fort Davis mountains frames an
intriguing tale which can be
rather humorous, if you leave
out the part about the devoted
men with guns.
Columnist
Glenn Janik
Sophomore
Political science major
In Aggieland, most of us
could not care less who killed
Vince Foster, how Hillary Clin
ton made $100,000 in the fu
tures market or if Asian foreign
policy is influenced by political
donations. It seems the country
has turned a deaf ear to the ex
istence of the president, and
the political scene of America
continues to become a darker,
more cynical realm.
Public expectation is the
main factor contributing to
public apathy regarding these
scandals. United States citizens have a low
expectation of the president. A CNN/Time
poll taken before the last presidential elec
tion showed 61 percent of respondents
had “serious concerns” about Clinton’s
character. These concerns, however,
failed to deter most from voting for the
incumbent.
Comedian Chris Rock is one support
er. “Clinton has real problems — that’s
why I’m voting for him,” Rock said. While
Rock’s point is tongue-in-cheek, it
demonstrates that much of America has
accepted Clinton’s character flaws and
chooses to ignore his scandals. His
charm and ability to relate to the Ameri
can people overcome his shortcomings
in the eyes of voters.
Those who listen to the allegations
against Clinton often get lost in the de
tails. The scandal involving Clinton and
Asian campaign donors is serious enough
to merit a $6.5 million congressional in
vestigation. The scandal involves an In
donesian bank and its interactions with
commerce department officials, resulting
policy changes and the subsequent cover-
up by the Democratic National Commit
tee. Even the most avid Rush Limbaugh
listener is buried in this avalanche of de
tails. It becomes easier to change the radio
station, or look for a more interesting
opinion article.
Then there is the “this does not affect
my life” attitude, which individuals spout
as an excuse for not paying attention to
Clinton’s problems. Students may wonder
how renting the Lincoln bedroom to cam
paign contributors affects Joe Aggie. The
answer is tax dollars. But eventually,
someone will hire a staff, launch an inves
tigation and issue a report.
While most of us could not care less
about taxes, the real effect from these
scandals is the “OJ.” syndrome. Unless the
scandal involves the murder of your wife,
your beauty-pageant winning children or
your pets, no one will care. The media and
the public eye cling to the most lurid and
glamourous stories, leaving the political
actions to C-Span.
Clinton will continue to struggle these
next four years. The first lady may face
criminal indictment, former cabinet offi
cials may face jail sentences and the presi
dent may be forced into claiming execu
tive privilege to save his job. The country
could easily be thrown into a constitution
al turmoil, but cynicism will continue and
the political world will remain under its
dark cloud. How will our campus and the
rest of the country react? Hopefully, indi
viduals with the sense and compassion it
takes to make a stand on these issues will
step forth.
Editorial Round-up
ind around thebasl|The following are a sample of
^ of his 14 rebounds
ble-edged sword’’
‘He shot the ballwel
' more pleasedwitli
ig. If he scores 25
oesn’t mean we’re
torials from around the state.
Waco Tribune-Herald on
cleaning house at FBI:
Both Congress and President
inton need to demand that FBI
i game. If he gets! rector Louis J. Freeh clean
it’s a different issue
:e games like
esada may filially?'
mounce his name
ng other than ale*
er.
Spot
Bm
)use at; the nation’s top law en-
rcement agency.
JThe public, not to mention the
ttion’s entire justice system, re
lies that FBI operations be
love reproach. Instead, over the
t several years, the FBI has
n found guilty of a series of
fidence-shaking scandals,
n the past several days, it has
n revealed that the FBI is pun-
ng a high-ranking scientist-
nt who for years attempted to
the FBI administration to clean
[sloppy and slanted lab work,
he whistle-blower, Dr. Fred-
Whitehurst, finally got the
pector General’s office to in-
tigate his claims. A final re-
t that will be released later
month upheld all the claims
de by Whitehurst...
ideo Man#
died SundJ
&M Athletic
anager Bob M
ne early Sunday moi
essor and Life S’I
)r. Rick Rigsby will 6
jmorial services —j
: 10 a.m. WednesdffWhitehurst claims that sloppy
i lab work not only botches ev-
nce examinations, but the FBI
ohas slanted the outcome of
estigations to assist prosecu-
. These charges could impact
Oklahoma City bombing case
well as force a re-examination
he World Trade Center bomb-
to mention just a few of the
^ ^ jes possibly impacted by this
r'W 1 I tst FBI scandal....
*t’s time for Congress and the
sident to demand the removal
he last vestiges of the closed-
ks, good-old-boy network at
FBI. If the FBI can’t be trust-
can any government agency
[trusted?
Chapel on campus.
licans
ight
lections
*esident
h
you:
:s for Eva Darski.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram on
House ethics committee:
Look at it this way: would YOU
accept a position on the House
Committee on Standards of Offi
cial Conduct?
Not if you get out of it, consid
ering the recent history of the
ethics committee.
Yet the only way that the
House can repair its machinery
for enforcing rules and ethical
standards is to find better people
than some of those who helped
make the Newt Gingrich episode
such a tragedy for the House as a
institution — and then leave
them alone.
The heightened partisanship
in the House spread to the ethics
committee in a way it never had
before during the last two years.
Just as Speaker Gingrich and Mi
nority Leader Dick Gephardt
don’t speak to each other, so did
Chairwoman Nancy L. Johnson,
R-Conn., and ranking minority
member Jim McDermott, D-
Wash., not consult with each oth
er as previous ethics committee
leaders had.
As Majority Leader Dick
Armey, R-Irving, and Gephardt
approach the moment when they
must appoint the rest of the com
mittee (it has only one member,
Rep. James V. Hansen, R-Utah),
there is a question whether the
committee idea can still work in a
House noted more for bared teeth
than for camaraderie.
Perhaps it can, if members are
found who revere the House as
an institution more than they
worship partisan positions. Even
then the ethics committee must
be used as intended — as the
judge of questions involving
House rules and the ethics of
House membership rather than
as a arena for political attacks,
partisan advantage and the
whole “gotcha” atmosphere into
which Washington (both parties
are guilty) has descended
Austin American-Statesman
on America Online gridlock:
America Online Inc. admitted
to the world that it was selling the
bear’s skin before the bear was
caught and promised a fair recom
pense to its frustrated subscribers.
Anyone who believes the
problems with AOL are over has
n’t been calling. A busy signal is
still a frequent reply to AOL calls,
and notification that the Internet
is inaccessible is not uncommon
if you can connect.
AOL prefers to characterize
the flap as a to-be-expected
glitch created by the surging in
terest in online services and In
ternet access as millions more
Americans journey into cyber
space each week. But that is not
the case.
America Online brought on
the trouble through aggressive
marketing — marketing attor
neys general in several states
said amounted to a deceptive
business practice.
Saber rattling by those attor
neys general (including Dan
Morales, Texas attorney general) is
why the company quickly acqui
esced to demands that it halt its
advertising, repay subscribers and
admit the truth in future ads: the
truth that you can expect difficul
ties getting into AOL and the Inter
net. ...
As interesting as the online
world may be, the fact is that prof
it has been elusive in cyberspace.
AOL was pushing harder than it
should have been — legally and
morally — in order to increase
subscribers, hoping to attract ad
vertisers and build revenue. And
they stepped over the line of good
business practice.
M AIL
Free thought aids
in spiritual growth
Mr. Platt’s letter to The Battal
ion on Jan. 30 is much appreci
ated. Hopefully, it provided
stimulus for those seeking truth
to do so more fervently. His dis
agreement centered around Ms.
Phillip’s implications that “the
only viable religion is Christiani
ty” and that “free thought in
hibits one’s spiritual awaken
ing.” I write to voice the biblical
assessment of these two issues.
First, Christianity is not the
only viable religion. Viable is de
fined as “able to grow.” Many
other religions-Buddhism, Is
lam, Taoism — exist and flourish
in different parts of the world.
Despite the growth of various re
ligions, there is and can be only
one truth concerning our pur
suit of the Deity. That truth is Je
sus Christ. Only He bridges the
canyon between corrupt man
and a Holy God. Free thought
does not inhibit, but rather
stimulates, one’s spiritual awak
ening. The French philosopher
Blaise Pascal wrote in the 17th
Century that we all have a God
shaped vacuum in our souls.
Therefore, if our mind is free
and our hearts honest, the eye of
our soul will be awakened to Je
sus who is the way, the truth,
and the life.
Jesus does not “encourage
discord between Christian and
non-Christian students” but
rather communicates a love for
all people because we are creat
ed in God’s image. This love of
Jesus draws people together. It
even calls one to love those who
reject the Truth. Mr. Platt is
right: “It is possible for all faiths
to co-exist and indeed thrive to
gether.” The Truth, on the other
hand, stands alone and cannot
permit lies.
Chris Sneller
Class of’97
Accompanied by 8 signatures
Racist remarks
alienate student
I was orphaned in Korea as a
boy and adopted into a Mexi-
can-American family in 1975.
Anthropologically speaking,
culturally that is, I am an
“American.” I came to Texas
A&M for its academic excel
lence in Mechanical Engineer
ing. When I decided to apply
and attend, I had no idea that
racism was so prevalent here.
Here, in short, is the day I was
rejected as an “Aggie”:
I was crossing University, go
ing to McDonald’s, and two “Ag
gies” leaned out their car win
dow and yelled, “You F**cking
F*ggot Chink.” On that day, I
stopped being an “Aggie.”
That happened last fall,
about one month after I was at
T-Camp. After T-Camp, I was
pumped! Wow! I was part of a
great university. I had enthusi
asm, went to yell practice, to the
football games, Silver Taps, but
not to Bonfire. By that time, I
was no longer an “Aggie.”
Now, that was the first time
that that had happened to me.
What I did not do was to return
the profanity and hatred, for I
am not an “Aggie.”
This same event happened to
me for the fourth time tonight. I
can’t wait until I graduate and
get out of this "wonderful” town
called Aggieland.
Please understand that I don’t
think that 100 percent of the
students here are racists. But,
that percentage, in my opinion,
is increasing steadily as my neg
ative experiences increase. I’ve
met many wonderful people
here and have many friends, but
I am not accepted at A&M be
cause I have a stereotypic ap
pearance.
It is my strong suggestion to
add "... and not be a bigot...” to
the “Aggie Code of Honor.”
Kevin Barrios
Class of’97
The Battalion encourages letters to the ed
itor. Letters must be 300 words or fewer and
include the author's name, class, and phone
number.
The opinion editor reserves the right to edit
letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters
may be submitted in person at 013 Reed Mc
Donald with a valid student ID. Letters may also
be mailed to:
The Battalion - Mail Call
013 Reed McDonald
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
77843-1111
Campus Mail: 1111
Fax: (409) 845-2647
E-mail: Batt@tamvml.tamu.edu
For more details on letter policy, please call
845-3313 and direct your question to the
opinion editor.
-^Vv' ;Vv TV ’ .