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JOHN
LEMONS
dup
ela
on
male
tion
Monica
;y affair
of Ameri-
■iness.
at least
part isn’t.
Friday’s
of the
■port, the
■it has been exposed, actu-
r-exposed, before the en-
ld. Since the report’s de-
llions of Americans have
igrossed by material that
■viously appropriate only
pages of Penthouse, Hus-
limilar erotica,
if you have not succumbed
mptation of reading the
do yourself a favor, do not
t. The report is none of
’eswax.
Starr’s graphic 445-page
detailing the improper re
hip — read “extra-marital
— between Lewinsky and
i, is everywhere. Simply
“A Referral to Congress,”
sily accessible on hun-
3f Websites and excerpts
ublished Saturday in most
newspapers.
pie everywhere are reading
ort. They are, however,
l it for all the wrong reasons,
he age of Sally Jesse and
ipringer, shameful acts are
>d in prime-time. When it
to sex, Americans have
used to knowing the de-
nd they like it that way.
eed, the public is reading
Dort, not because they are
;ted in justice, but because
/ant to know who was do-
nom with what tobacco
fet in the Oval Office.
v s is a culture that is ob-
I with sex, and if the sex in-
; the most powerful man in
Drld, that makes it all the
titillating.
arly, Americans are not
ig Starr’s report because
re interested in justice. The
[can public engrossed by
S of midnight escapades in
/al Office is the same public
s recently as Aug. 18 gave
n a 66 percent job-approval
in a CNN/USA
/Gallup Poll.
d the American people been
ted in justice, the presi-
approval rating would have
ed as evidence that he has
n the law mounted,
ireover, it is an investiga-
lat many have wished
1 just go away. In an Aug.
>C News poll, 55 percent
pendents said Starr
Id have never looked into
a pwinsky scandal. Thus,
:he release of the report,
icans have seemed more
sted in burying their
in the sand than hold-
e president account-
o the rule of law.
e, the danger of Starr’s
t is the very thing that
s it so attractive. The
bit details contained in the
t are nothing short of gos-
in
sip. Of course Americans are in
terested in the lurid details of
the president’s sex life — lurid
details are interesting. But deal
ing in gossip is unhealthy and
bad form.
In his Aug. 17 speech to the
nation, where he clearly showed
he was sorry — that he got
caught, Clinton said this matter is
between himself, his wife, his
daughter and God.
“It is private, and I intend to
reclaim my family life for my fam
ily,” Clinton said. “It’s nobody’s
business but ours.”
Actually, the president erred.
This matter is between him, his
family, God and Congress.
Congress will decide whether
the president committed any im
peachable offenses.
The graphic depictions of the
president’s affair are in the report
for a very good reason — they es
tablish that there is substantial
and credible evidence that the
president perjured himself and
obstructed justice. But it is Con
gress, not the American people,
that needs to review sub
stantial and credible evi
dence of high crimes
and misdemeanors.
What the Ameri
can public does
need to know is
the president
very possibly
committed acts
of perjury, wit
ness tamper
ing, obstruc
tion of justice
and abuse of
power. These
are the allega
tions the
president
may face im
peachment
for, not kinky
sex.
Much like
a pig, the
president
cannot con
ceive of an
other
lifestyle
besides
the
one
that allows him to wallow in his
own filth.
Moreover, he resents the sug
gestion that he should be held to
a cleaner, purer standard.
There is, however, no reason
why the rest of the country
should be dragged down to the
president’s level of moral decay.
Let Congress sort out the
gross-out details of the president’s
sexual escapades so they can
hang him by his own libido. In
the meantime, the country would
be well-to-do to stay out of the
president’s pants.
Many Americans would not
be caught dead reading pornog
raphy. That the pornography fea
tures the president should not
change that fact.
John Lemons is an electrical
engineering graduate student.
STEWART
PATTON
W hat an
exciting
day for
America. Special
Prosecutor Ken
neth Starr’s “Re
ferral to Con
gress” has
finally been re
leased, summa
rizing months of
investigation and media hype
surrounding President Clinton’s
alleged wrongdoing.
All Americans should read this
report because it is their duty,
and, as Bill Cosby would say be
fore an episode of “Fat Albert,”
you just might learn something.
Americans do not seem to re
alize how lucky they really are.
Americans are blessed with so
much freedom and so many
rights that some
believe they
r
/
have too many rights and free
doms. The whole world sees the
United States as an example of
democracy that works.
An integral part of maintaining
a healthy democracy, however, is
citizens faithfully fulfilling the re
sponsibilities that go hand-in-
hand with their rights. Chief
among these responsibilities is
the duty to stay informed of the
actions of those we have elected
to public office.
In this manner, the public at
large is not just made up of pas
sive citizens; rather, by staying
informed Americans act as a
check against the power of pub
lic officials.
Some may argue that by read
ing Starr’s report one would only
stay informed of one side of the
issue, but this view would ignore
the broader context in which
Starr’s report is situated.
First, Starr has a duty to gath
er all the relevant facts sur
rounding any wrongdoing under
his investigation, not just those
facts supporting impeachment.
The report is therefore funda
mentally different from a prose
cutor’s case in a normal crimi
nal trial.
Second, if Clinton is so ea
ger to present his side of the
story, why did he refrain
from doing so in the many
months between the begin
ning of the investigation
and the release of the re
port? Additionally, if
Starr’s report does lead
to an impeachment
hearing in the House,
Clinton will have
opportunity to
present a de
fense.
Third,
since the
beginning
of the in
vestiga
tion, the
public
has been
exposed
only to
leaks from
Starr’s re
port while
we have
heard Clin
ton speak
personally
on national
television;
Starr’s re
port evens
the score.
It could
also be ar
gued that
Graphic by Brad Graeber/Thk Battalion
Starr’s report contains only in
formation of a private nature,
and Americans do not have a
right or duty to stay informed of
the president’s private life.
However, Starr’s report con
cerns whether the president lied
under oath — a very public of
fense; the subject matter which
the president lied about not of
any consequence.
Additionally, when a presi
dent takes the oath of office, he
is bound by the constitutional
duty to “take care that the laws ‘
be faithfully executed.”
The public has a right to know
and a duty to determine if the
president has failed to perform
this essential task.
Americans should also read the
Starr report for its educational val
ue. Starr’s “Referral to Congress”
provides a unique opportunity to
see behind the scenes of the im
peachment process, a process that
does not occur very often.
Many Aggies and Americans
in general are woefully ignorant
of how the justice system works.
Although presidential impeach
ment is different from a normal
criminal trial, the Starr report
would help Americans under
stand how a trial proceeds and
the burdens of evidence imposed
upon each side.
Instead of learning about the
impeachment proceedings sec
ond-hand through news commen
tators or columnists, Americans
should read the report themselves
so they can personally judge the
president’s actions.
Sure, the Starr report contains
some “salacious and lewd” sec
tions describing the actual en
counters between Lewinsky and
Clinton (the Houston Chronicle
even put a “may be offensive to
children” disclaimer on the front
of the report).
However, the report is porno
graphic only in a detached. Na
tional Geographic kind of way.
For the average American, read
ing those parts of the report will
be less exciting than watching
cable on Friday after 11 pm. For
better or for worse, most Ameri
cans are so used to raunchiness
that the Starr report will be tame
in comparison.
Additionally, the lewd parts
make Starr’s report much like a
grown-up version of “Barney” or
the “Teletubbies”. There is some
entertainment value along with
the educational content. While
kids dance around and learn how
to love each other, grown-ups can
read about oral sex and learn
about the constitutional duties of
a president.
You voted him into office,
folks, so you now have a duty to
read and learn about what he
has been doing.
This will hopefully be your
last opportunity to personally
witness an impeachment pro
ceeding, so get your copy of the
Starr report today and read the
allegations for yourself.
Stewart Patton is a senior
sociology major.
fcliitevch
jr
Wi
Vs.
Parking situation
needs attention
In response to Chris Huffines’
Sept. 9 column:
I cannot believe the column
Chris Huffines wrote on parking.
Huffines must not drive on
campus or he would not have
written this column. For those of
us living in the real world, most
of what you said was pure fiction.
First, you mentioned the won
derful Texas A&M bus system as
an alternative. Wrong.
I rode the bus from the Wehner
building to the Zachry building lot
yesterday, and after waiting 40
minutes for it even to show up,
dispatch decided to skip the
Zachry lot stop and go straight to
the Commons.
It took me over an hour to
reach the friends I carpooled
with. You mention “other mea-
MAIL CALL
sures PTTS has taken to ensure
student safety.” But, they can
only buy so many scooters.
Other universities with popula
tions our size may have similar
problems, my point is that we are
the largest campus in land size
and still do not have enough
parking spots.
You said students are just too
lazy to find the “little lines that
define a parking space.” From the
experiences of myself and every
one I have talked to, there are vir
tually no spots open in the morn
ings — anywhere.
I have left my apartment an
hour before class and still found
nothing but more Ags looking for
a place to park.
PTTS is going to claim there is
enough parking in the far lots,
but that is only true later in the
day when everyone is leaving —
and we already covered the “ex
cellent” bus service on campus.
It is funny you keep referring
to us as kids who need to act like
adults. Almost daily I hear facul
ty in the guys’ locker of the Rec
Center talking about how hard it
is for them to find a parking spot.
The staff is having problems find
ing parking. Do the math. A lot of
cars, few spaces. Grow up.
Patrick Brensinger
Class of ’01
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