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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1999)
The Battalion O PINION Page 11 • Monday, November 1, 1999 Taking fame to a new level Washington, D.C., American people, sufferingfrom an influx of politics-loving celebrities “II MARIANO CASTILLO DY WAGES ■ S ; annual' "’m considering running against you in the year .2000 because, though I Ido consider you a fine piece of [tail], I cannot believe that any I man can fix anything anymore.” Roseanne Barr jokingly used I these words to give Warren Beatty a hard time about his consideration of running for [president in 2000. While Barr’s quote may be a funny example of celebrities going into politics, there is nothing humorous about the lineup of presidential hopefuls for the next millenni um, which resembles an “E! Entertainment” parade more than a group of able, experienced leaders. Since television began covering politics, it has slowly turned more and more to the entertain- Iment value in it, until the two are now almost in- jdistinguishable. Celebrity status has become an • «•!■? ■important political asset. One illustration of how the famous have an ad- fa B vantage over others is shown in A1 Gore and Bill TTp9tBBradley’s race for Democratic front-man status. ✓ YMUB Bradley has a higher celebrity status than his fel- H^^Hlow candidates, and it is propelling him ahead in the polls. It seems the thought of a president who can sell magazines by being on the cover and who would tower over other heads of state makes voters drool. A better example of how popularity can be a le of them inad : B resource is Texas Gov. George W. Bush, whose im- ht with his mop jlmense popularity from the legacy left by his fa ting the inferno. iBiher has led to millions of dollars in campaign involuntaryma™contributions. Critics have been quick to point out in the fire. Bflaws, such as rumored past drug use and using ms ignored safer.* his father’s Congressional connections to stay out lonsinthebuildiriBof danger during Vietnam, but people seem will- heir \vorkandfe|ling to overlook the skeletons in candidates’ clos- up.unsupenised jets if they are household names, were high school^ Bush is one of the most qualified candidates for ng in the secoiffB the job, hut voters should just acknowledge his past ?a, it is illegalfoiB instead of giving blind support and skirting the Con or of a newly p The supervise!! ly mopped the® hit thinner. it those under 1S| ncy exit, and nur ise smoke, king for the bare; fire. ictims sprawledit were discovered in troversial issues that arise. Perhaps if David Duke had played professional foot ball he would have been elected governor of Louisiana. It seems in the new millennium anyone with a fa mous name and some money will throw their hats in the American political ring. The symbol of this move ment is none other than Donald Thump who has an amazing amount of support considering most voters only know him only because of his fortune. Donald Thump is the last person America needs as president. Perhaps his consideration of candida cy should be taken lightly, as it has been reported the “Draft Donald Thump” Website is owned and funded by Thump, not voters. Everyone used to joke politics in America is a game, but not until Jesse Ventura was elected gov ernor of Minnesota did Americans realize how true that assessment is. Ventura’s election inspired two other profession al wrestlers to seek public office — “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan and Rick “Nature Man” Flair are now both candidates for the 2000 presidential elections. If voters do not remove their heads from the televi sion and pick their leaders based on merit instead of Nielson ratings, it will be only a matter of time before the WCW Party is formed. Celebrities taking advantage of their popularity to run for office is only part of the problem. The bigger problem is the societal one: voters see celebrities as saviors who will take America into the 21st century. Supporters of the Grassroots Party have not been quiet about their plans to make Woody Har- relson their nominee for president. The party feels Harrelson’s hemp-legalization, vegan and environmental movements are what America needs. Also, it probably realizes just the fact its candidate is an actor will double its votes. Harrison Ford and Michael Douglas have not sought nominations, but because they both have starred in movies in which they played presidents, a draft movement to get them from the silver screen to the White House can be expected any day. There even is a group campaigning to draft Michael Jordan as president. They actively campaign in cities and on the Internet. What if Jordan were to listen to them? There is little doubt he would stand a good chance of winning the position of leader of the free world despite having no previous political expe rience, just based on his popularity. A similar group is petitioning to push Oprah Win frey into the White House. Maybe she could win hostile nations over by recommending a good book. The problem with electing television and movie stars is that they like to talk too much, and a lot of what they say will be embarrassing to themselves and, if elected, the nation. Ventura’s comments about religion being a “crutch for the weak” is a re minder Hollywood candidates are not politicians who have done some acting, and vice versa. The way presidential elections are beginning to shape up shows a flaw in Americaji culture — putting popularity over actual experience. If voters RICHARD HORNE/Thf. Battalion do not want to see the White House move from D.C. to L.A., they will have to cut through the fat to get to the issues and experiences of candidates to find the best leadership for next year. Mariano Castillo is a sophomore international studies major. tables. ie worst sinceatef in T)?4.Tte fire kilted i - ' Tv SINCE THE hWSE VOTED WE CAN BE SUED FOR DENIAL OE CARE , I SUP POSE WE SHOULD ADMITr HHXW MAIL CALL •52 | Comic only reflecting true nature of “Aggie spirit” would like to commend the authors of the : ihane comic strip "Side Burn Club" for being [faithful keepers of what I have observed to be j tAggie Spirit.” Giving up on trying to be cre- ‘ ative, they have resorted to merely mocking I another equally inane strip ("Fish") every I chance they get. Sure beats coming up with [their own ideas, right? However, it fits in well here at A&M, be- j cause what I have observed about Aggies is ithat most of us would rather bring someone ■se down than elevate ourselves. Case in B)int — the anti-UT propaganda thrown in ]one’s face here. Aggies would rather put »lvin urinating on a Longhorn than an A&M I sticker on their trucks, or wear an anti-UT ! shirt rather than an A&M shirt. In fact, I would bet a viable alternative to |thje Vision 2020 plan, in many Aggies' minds, ds managing to convince people UT is not a j||top-10 public university by 2020. How about we all just concentrate on doing Lthe best we can and let everyone else take icare of themselves? Sabas Abuabara Graduate Student ICorps members show no [respect for other Aggies At Midnight Yell this past Friday night, my girlfriend and I brought a prospective student iflth the hopes of sharing the spirit of the Uni versity and encouraging her to attend A&M. When we sat in the front, so that she could have a good perspective of the yell practice and a good view of Reveille, we were told by a freshman in the Corps of Cadets Company E- 2 that no one but the Corps and their dates were allowed to sit in the first 20 rows. When we refused to leave, knowing there is no such policy, the cadet sat with several of his buddies a few rows back and began talking in a voice loud enough for all to hear about how "the problem with this Uni versity is that bastards like this don't re spect the Corps." The fact that the so-called "keepers of the tradition" feel they must bully the rest of the student body and lack the decency even to keep their language clean in front of two ladies makes me wonder what tradi tions they actually keep. While I have always been proud to be an Aggie, I was thoroughly ashamed at the ex ample set by one of the most visible groups on campus and that this is the im age visitors to our University see. Courtney Sherman Class of '00 The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 300 words or less 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 per son at 013 Reed McDonald 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: battletters@hotmail.com “Junk" forwards, chain letters ruin helpful email revolution A s electronic mail revolu tionizes the communication process, those who take advantage of this modern technol ogy need to be con scious of its pitfalls and avoid them. Aggies, given unlimited Internet access after paying the University’s computer access fee, are especially susceptible to the everyday decep tions and hoaxes transmitted via email. Anyone who opens an in-box should be aware some documents are junk, and the circulation of these documents should be discontinued. It is nearly impossible for an indi vidual with an email address to avoid receiving a single forward or chain letter. Identifiable by the “fwd:” tag in the subject box, these emails include jokes, nostalgic stories, virus warn ings, chain letters or even Bible vers es. And in any given network of college students, there inevitably is one person who seems to derive immense pleasure from sending out as many forwards as technologically possible. Of course, it is hard to resist “e-moon- ing” a friend or passing on a chain letter during a particularly bad week. After all, who really knows if those things are for real. Nobody wants their social life to falter simply because they did not keep the chain going by forward ing it on to many others. However, there are those who have become “trigger-happy,” un able to resist the simplicity of click ing on the forward button and clut tering the in-boxes of friends, coworkers and even employers. Yes, some Internet jokes are funny, and some stories are worth reading. But excess will always ruin a good thing, and sometimes the text is not the only thing being passed on. The larger problem is not in the annoyance of these letters, but in their irresponsibility, deceptiveness and viral capabilities. Recently, an email circulated dis cussing the U.S. House Bill 602P. Ac cording to the document, 602P would apply a fee of five cents to every e- mail. The money would then go to subsidize the U.S. Postal Service. This false Internet document was so widely circulated and believed that it drew the attention of Congress and the Postal Service, prompting both or ganizations to post disclaimers on their home pages stating the bill was a hoax. 602P is a classic example of the anti-information being passed on through the Internet. The more email is integrated into the everyday routines of Americans, the more believable anything passing through the Web becomes. Out of laziness and habit, Ameri cans believe anything typed out in front of them. GABRIEL RUENES/The Battalion Email hoaxes like 602P were prob ably thought up by high-school stu dents with nothing better to do on a Wednesday afternoon than to send out a few copies of the latest lie. It[is not as if creating a deceptive emaS is a particularly difficult thing to do. Anyone with Internet access can send a document via email, and if they wish to do so anonymously, they simply have to change their identity information before hitting the “send” button. If at least one person falls for the chain letter, government warning or other message presented, the email is virtually guaranteed to circulate through the Web in no time at all. For now, it is nearly impossible to prevent hoaxes and chain letters from overcrowding in-boxes, but “delete-a-phobia” has run rampant in society long enough. Individuals who regularly use email are the ones who can best stop perpetuating the problem. Americans need to use their common sense. If an email seems too good to be true or contains shocking new informa tion, verification is only a click away. Since most people who use email are typically those who already have some sort of Internet access, it would only require a bit more effort to go to company home pages to verify con tests or email offers. In many cases, companies have disclaimers posted or at the very least an easily accessible page dedicated to press releases. For $1,000 at the click of a mouse, doing a little research first is hardly too much to ask. Email users should also be aware forwards are one of the major sources for computer viruses. The attachment Happy99, for instance, illuminates the screen with a neat little fireworks display as it simultaneously infects one’s computer with a hard drive- smashing virus. Attachments are cool, but one should always run a virus scan before distributing any sort of file. Email is an incredible tool for com munication and will undoubtedly , continue to be such in the next centu ry, but anyone who uses this resource needs to be cautious. It is bad enough friends become annoyed with forwards, but one day these forwards could be potential threats to expensive computer sys tems. The next virus warning, Inter net contest or chain letter could be carrying a virus, and individuals who unconsciously hit the “for ward” button without really being aware of what they are sending are the ones who will spread the junk the Internet has to offer. Elizabeth Kohl is a junior accounting major. ELIZABETH KOHL