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
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it those under 1S|
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ise smoke,
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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.
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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