Battalion
o PINION
Page 11 • Wednesday, October 6, 1999
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The Lurid Linda
ripp’s humiliation deserved; lawsuit should be dropped
Rks personal se
jcrets faster than a
neadk jizzling tabloid!
der dr_: ^ Wronger than a
A am; terpuffalo! Is able
.'Ider: ta p^ private conver-
(amaiTrjons j n a single
rtmann;w[i it’s a bird'. It’s
hanisir.
e V zk No it’s Linda Tripp,
inlyn ynda Tripp definitely has utilized
h accoui jis minutes in the spotlight,
ilieestir she has a shady background, includ-
■ases)
re.
Katz,
alist
spital
; Classified job positions with Fort
■s Delta Force and the Pentagon,
ealso has appeared in numerous
ijpiiacy theories involving Vince
ster’s suicide and has been at the
nedici:: nter of two presidential sex scandals.
:e of ai; Crawling out from beneath the ruins
ts life, yet another White House scandal,
a use gt:p^'ould-be hero of the masses (or
todni L c: sffesses) is back in the limelight,
le stud, pp is suing her employers, citing
adult, blic humiliation and the public re
aid therNse of her private FBI employment
ae reai :ords.
i that
idies
effect:
drug wi
iproval
ch pi
Tlripp has proven herself to be un-
istworthy and manipulative, and this
■vsiiit is just another example of her
Bing for the political straws of no-
riety, fortune and scandal by innova-
cely tweaking the truth.
DA. The : As chief informant in Kenneth
n Ksscm’s case against the Clintons, Ttipp
gs. joihded illegally taped conversations
eensettcitlifriend Monica Lewinsky as
iiian LiTawinsky discussed an affair with
•esident Clinton.
Tlipp is simply a gossip and a sabo-
with her cross hairs on the Clinton
irtiinistration.
Sabotage does not require bombs or
ink what itlmatic weapons. For Tripp, sly ma-
Bilation and half-truths have proven
ids of adequate. A holdover from the Bush
sh-the-Padministration, Tbipp has not con-
Bedher dislike for the president or
.n aVeadds associates.
:ketsT/’iff%?, who added great expense to
; “Bla '
a piduitd]
a dewi
orkers cai
1
edy fa
a launcli
n up, in'
in to da
x 14
had beet
eAirfon
the American taxpayers during the
Whitewater investigations and stabbed
former friend Lewinsky in the back by
exposing the affair to the media, has
earned any humiliation she received.
Now, the mass media will taunt her a
second time.
Tripp’s attempt to pocket money
from the repercussions of her own
poor judgment is a slap in the face of
America. This woman’s indiscretions
paved the way for her becoming a po
litical joke.
Unfortunately for Tbipp, any jury in
possession of its common sense will
deny her the compensation she seeks.
Her political failures and public roasting
should not cost anyone a single red cent.
Tripp's attempt to
pocket money from
the consequences of
her own actions is
laughable.
History clearly speaks for her repu
tation. Before the Lewinsky investiga
tion, she was the last person to see
Vince Foster, the Clintons’ personal at
torney, alive.
Even earlier in her career, she
played the friend to Kathleen Willey, a
White House aide who subsequently
filed sexual-harassment charges
against Clinton.
Maybe a new career will unfold for
this supporting character — business
consultant. She may not handle her
own business well, but she seems to
have her nose in everyone else’s.
Continual coincidental entangle
ments involving the White House
might lead one to believe Tripp has a
personal agenda. She may not have
publicly declared war on the Clintons,
ViEW POiNTS
igns of the times Mugging manners
n the ground floor of the Butler
Building, standing just below eye
level, are two windows with anti-
nfire signs put up over five years ago
Dr. Hugh Wilson. When Wilson first
played the signs, the windows were
indalized and covered in all sorts of
bris, including rotten food and mud.
Now, five years later, the custodians
id Dr. Wilson have stopped cleaning
e windows and the signs stand behind
dark green film of mildew. The two
gns, which read “Bonfire: dumb as
it" and “Bonfire: arrogance, WASTE,
upidity” are dirty eyesores many stu-
fents are accustomed to overlooking.
However, what is worse is the image
lese obstructed signs give to A&M’s
sitors. Most students at A&M are al-
iady familiar with the overwhelming re-
ponse any criticism of Bonfire will
voke. But to visiting parents, guests
nd academic officials, the moldy reac-
onto a different opinion does not re-
lect well on A&M.
What the mess tells visitors is that
itudents will stoop to any level to put
town any hint of dissension.
The University needs to clean and re-
lairthe windows and students need to
tospect the signs for what they are —
>ne man’s opinion, which he has the
ghtto display, even if it goes against
he mainstream view.
Until students grow to respect differ-
nt perspectives and the way they are
isplayed,the arrogance and stupidity
entioned on Dr. Wilson’s sign will con-
inueto be true.
— Eric Dickens
B ringing a lighter to Midnight Yell
Practice is a lot like sending for a
mail-order bride from the sumo cul
ture. One never knows what one will get,
but chances are it will not be good.
Any female using a lighter at yell prac
tice is likely to attract every drunken man
within a fifty-foot radius that is desperate
for the touch of a non-synthetic woman,
in much the same way that a week-old
pizza draws undesirable insects.
The insensitive actions of these men
disturb single women who are just look
ing for a little harmless fun.
Few women enjoy being groped by an
intoxicated stranger who forgot to spit
out his Copenhagen.
Everyone concerned would be happi
er if the above-mentioned men would
use a little more thought when choosing
their “prey.”
If a man feels it is absolutely nec
essary to attend yell practice dateless
and sloppy drunk, he should at least
find someone as inebriated as him
self to mug down with when the lights
go out.
In this case, at least the woman will
probably not remember the harrowing
experience, thereby saving herself years
of intensive psychotherapy.
If the drunken men in the crowd can
not show a reasonable amount of con
sideration, they should consider staying
home with their respective synthetic
women and watching “Jerry Springer Un
censored” reruns.
Plastic does not have feelings or
self-respect.
— Jessica Crutcher
but her actions speak for themselves.
She has never hesitated to throw the
personal affairs of others onto the me
dia bonfire, yet she wants compensa
tion after getting licked by the flames.
Admittedly, Tripp may have acted
with the best of intentions. She may
have fancied herself a patriot.
But her actions brought further hu
miliation upon this proud nation.
Concerning the president, the public
is more interested in maintaining re
spect for the highest office in the land
than it is in explaining oral sex to their
four year olds.
Scandals have always plagued presi
dents. And while America should not
condone President Clinton’s activities,
it also should avoid bolstering the posi
tion of a tattletale.
When the presidency is allowed to
be devalued, the United States as a
whole is weakened. Linda Tripp per
sonifies America’s digression into a
Springer-esque, tabloid-fueled society.
Like her earlier truth-twistings,
Tfipp’s case is weak, damaging and
uncalled for. Americans must not per
mit barber-shop gossips to gain finan
cially from the public humiliation of
political characters.
Her actions must not be celebrated
with monetary reparations. Facing
public censure for felonious wiretap
ping is the just desert for her actions.
For those who nonetheless wish to
lend a hand to this would-be heroine,
the Official Linda Tripp Website offers
a solution.
For a donation to her legal-defense
fund, fans can receive their very own
“I Believe Linda Tripp” bumper stick
ers. The bumper sticker would look
smart between “I Believe in Santa” and
“Elvis Lives” bumper stickers. For the
time being, though, Linda Tripp just
needs to shush.
John T. Baker is a junior
agricultural development major.
ERIC ANDRAOS/The Battalion
MAIL CALL
Bonfire losing its
traditional spirit
Two years ago, as a fresh
man, I was very enthusiastic
about Bonfire — cut and stack.
I attended them all until I was
turned off by the treatment that
I received from a redpot.
One night, I was going to visit
some friends who were camping
out at stack.
It was raining, and I stepped
over a log to avoid a mud hole.
Suddenly, I was approached by
a redpot who yelled at me and
shoved me back to the other
side of the log.
I am very petite — 5 feet 4
inches, 95 pounds — not a size
that responds well to being
shoved by a large male. Had he
simply asked me to leave his
area, I would have gladly left.
Upon reaching my friends’
campsite, I was told that I had
stepped into redpot perimeters,
an area that females must not
enter unless they have slept
with a redpot. After this experi
ence, it became obvious to me
why one might hesitate on be
coming a candidate for eligibility
to enter the redpots’ area.
I feel as though Bonfire has
lost some of the teamwork and
Aggie spirit traditionally associ
ated with it — the things that
make our school stand above
others — and a lack of common
decency in general, nothing like
the traditional Aggie spirit. I
would love to be a part of build
ing something as amazing as
Bonfire, but not if it requires low
ering myself to being treated as
anything other than the lady and
traditional Aggie that I am.
Lisa Kelley
Class of '01
SERIES
special
Beyond the Bottom Line
I t is becoming increasingly clear that
the Republican Party is the puppet of
the nation’s big businesses.
A bill passed last month along party
lines in the House of Representatives, the
most recent evidence of industry’s undue
influence on the GOP, would require
most class-action lawsuits be transferred
from state to federal courts. There are
signs of preliminary support for the bill in
the Senate, as well.
The law represents a triumph for in
dustry and a blow to consumer rights.
Because stringent rules in federal courts
limit the quantity and types of claims
judges can hear, the bill’s passage would,
in practice, prevent a host of currently vi
able lawsuits from being brought against
large companies.
Such a proposal may appear benign on
the surface, but it is a disaster in disguise.
The bill would deprive individuals of the
crucial ability to hold industries account
able for their behavior.
Most House Republicans support the
measure because of huge lawsuits recent
ly brought against tobacco companies.
The crippling of tobacco by class-action
lawsuits has made many other industries
fear the power of litigation.
They should be afraid. Class-action
lawsuits are meant to curtail corporate
deviance with the threat of legal action.
Corporations, by definition, exist to
maximize profits for their shareholders.
They care about the bottom line. So the
threat of class-action claims is one of the
few things capable of keeping their profit-
hungry hands in check.
It is not a stretch of the imagination to
believe companies will gladly be naughty
when it advances their interests. Thanks
to class-action litigation, memorandums
were uncovered proving tobacco compa
nies knew they were deceiving con
sumers about the risks of smoking.
In a more recent ex
ample of corporate chi
canery, yesterday’s is
sue of The New York
Times reported the rul
ing of an Illinois jury
on a class-action law
suit against State Farm
Insurance.
Lawyers in the case
proved that the insur
ance company required
mechanics to use
cheaper, generic car
parts for automobile
repairs instead of parts
made by the vehicles’
manufacturers.
State Farm explicitly
told policyholders that
the parts were not sig
nificantly different
from new parts, even
as company officials
voiced their own
doubts about the parts’
quality in memoran
dums to one another.
The lawsuit was
filed and the deceit al
leged when plaintiffs
discovered the generic parts often did not
fit well and reduced the performance and
resale value of their cars. One of the
lawyers, Elizabeth Cabraser, told the
Times the parts “don’t have quality con
trol, and they’re not crash-tested.”
These kinds of revelations about busi
ness sleight of hand would remain forev
er secret if plaintiffs did not have the abil
ity to bring class-action lawsuits against
industries. Adam Smith’s invisible hand
may govern the market, but it does not
guarantee it will be moral. To ensure
moral practice, the long arm of the law is
needed. The job of deterrence may not al-
LEGAL
ISSUES
Part 3 of 5
Class-action
lawsuits:
Proposed
legislation
would give
unfair ad
vantages to
industry.
ways be pleasant, but if the courts do not
do it, no one will.
The legislative branch certainly cannot
be trusted to slap the hands of business
es, because its hands are in the pockets of
big business. These days, where there is
money, lawmakers are not far behind.
And since industries are a major source
of campaign contributions, legislators are
unlikely to pass laws which would se
verely restrict industry.
Instead, they are likely to vote in ways
that will keep the campaign dollars flow
ing, passing laws which make their in
dustry bedfellows happy and preventing
laws which scrutinize and regulate busi
ness activities.
Therefore, it falls to the judicial branch
to provide recourse for individuals
harmed by corporate misconduct. Strip
ping the courts of this responsibility is a
veiled blow to America’s hallowed sepa
ration of governmental powers.
The bill is all the more surprising giv
en traditional Republican dogma. Many
of the same representatives who support
the legislation were elected on platforms
pledging to return control of many issues
to the states. In an ironic twist, this Re
publican-authored bill calls for control to
be wrested from the states and given to
federal courts.
Aside from being internally inconsis
tent for the GOP, such a shift in caseloads
would overburden already overflowing
federal dockets.
A fine line must be walked when it
comes to civil law. Litigation should not
be used to accomplish the job of legisla
tion, but neither should legislation en
croach on the valuable role of litigation.
This latest Republican misadventure
draws dangerously close to the latter.
Caleb McDaniel is a junior
history major.