Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 16, 2001)
onday, July 16, 2001 o PINION Page 5 THE BATTALION i ad). This rate ai get an additional jled to end to qua Until death do us part Proposed amendment banning same sex marriage is closeminded, unlawful TORCYCLE asaki Ninja S4200. Call Cars M arnage can take on wo forms. a zx-ii GPZ Ru ffy: first is a and Hines exhaus: i •[ ■ eh; ious- Med state- /ulcan 750, excel S3150/OB0 Ca PETS jons tor sale| >k Si00, txithai neht of two ouls joining n an eternal and loving bond hat supersedes any and all nan-made laws or dictums. je morphs. 279-0^. .||'he second is a state’s iies Kittens, Ca:< -ecpgnition of the partnership -eods! Occasio r : & others 55. Brazos Tft. vo citizens who have de eded to share legal and fiscal .. .i Chocolate uc< responsibilities until death or itreadyTWorm^B legal termination of the puppies Bus- ownership. ormed Si95. r ’^]'his simple division of ideas has felines toraiiB 1 herent in the concept of 10 except ra&as =• the division of church and 25-8610.15-mir 5 tatc, yet a coalition of reli- \[_ ESTATE gio us leaders and so-called r home ten check outtfxsi v 3.34-acres, barri p. Just minutes to 1304 Los Robtes. C. land Realty. Be - ; - 846-5735 or W DMMATES s needed I use. $250/mo. 680-0576 needed SbdrmTT +bills. 979-229-S: sad i ng to further blur the al- ready-fuzzy division by pro moting an amendment to the ■S. Constitution stating that Image only can be between a man and a woman. ■Spurned by Vermont’s year- old civil union law — granting marriage-like rights to same-sex couples — the Alliance for Mar riage is attempting to ensure that any partnership outside of its dogmatic concept of mar riage is to be deemed illegal, The members of this organ ization have evidently failed to realize that the division be tween church and state exists because, while religious-based organizations are assured the right to discriminate how they wish, this country’s govern ment is based on the commit ment to uphold the freedom of its citizens, unless that freedom poses an inherent danger to the common good. The freedom of two mem bers of the same sex to join in legal matrimony may pose a danger to certain group’s sense of right and wrong — and churches may most defi nitely interpret it as a danger to people’s souls.. However, until God per sonally steps up to the podium of the U.S. Senate and states that he will strike down the nation with fire and brimstone unless it outlaws this type of union, it poses no threat to the common good. Members of this coalition state the amendment is validat ed because recent polls have indicated that the U.S. popu lace does not support gay or lesbian marriage on a ratio of as much as two-to-one. No rational person would deny that a majority of Ameri cans do not believe that gay or lesbian marriage is religiously validated. After all, America is mostly Protestant with Catholicism coming in a strong second. The majority of bodi these churches do not condone unions of same-sex couples. However, there was a time when many — maybe even most — Americans did not be lieve diat interracial marriage should be allowed. Many read aloud dogmati cally interpreted passages from their Bibles, Korans and Torahs in strict opposition to what they considered a travesty against humanity. T hey assured lawmakers that allowing the interracial unions would cause strife in America’s cultural systems and would lead down the slippery slope to legalized bestiality and incest. Anyone publicly displaying these opinions today would be promptly labeled as an igno rant bigot and laughed at, yet these are the same arguments against gay marriages used by the Alliance for Marriage. In 20 years, they will be laughed at as well. Until then, America’s gov ernment and citizens should resist any addition to state or federal law mandating the legally irrational discrimina tion against law-abiding citizens. Stuart Hutson is a senior journalism major. ANGELIQUE FORD/Tw Battalion seded. (umished, 3 +bills. (979)777-S8J )drm. 2bth, ne» 'J lust, $350+ !t garage, backya' J 3ira 696-8952. leeded, 3bdrm2f» i. +1/3bills, on Dtf dem. garage, fz d for fall moves t, afrium, $3l5r 58-3070 Tracy share co\jr> Vt . 5 plus uWHieV'; ^1 led, M/F, 3b<®*| jse. furnished a® l3 ij backyard. PaulB'®! :rvices lenslve Driving. W !! Ticket dismissal^ M-T(6pm-9(r ! Fri.&Sat.- Fri(f^-i! pm), Sat(0am-2xT merica. Walk-ins 1 . Lowest price aW Dr., Ste.217. WH’ early. (CP-0017|. 1 Test; Hope Preys' : Station 695-9193. Abortion Peer to® JTORS aded. Call 846-0 .S. should follow he majority of Ameri cans, and college students in particular, appear to be uninterested in the complex af fairs that take place Beyond their Ipceans. The im pressive resurgence of Ireland is one story that many have missed. Opinions of Ireland are likely frozen in time since 1846, when a potato famine dev astated the Emerald Isle, and the Katholic, desperately poor Irish, faced a seemingly impossible assimilation into American culture. Since then, much has changed in both countries. And now, little, old Ireland has up- aged Europe, pointing the way for an economic renaissance. I The small island is in the middle of ajboom, and the United States and Europe would do well to take notice. The Irish have discovered what the United States needs to rediscover, and Europe should learn — lower tax rates are very good for the economy. Ire land has been an aggressive tax cutter, a fact diat upsets the statist European Union. Voters there recently dealt a blow to the Brussels-based EU, reject ing the Treaty of Nice, which is neces sary for member countries to ratify for continued expansion. This has been a long time coming. The European Union had voted to formally condemn Ireland’s fiscal policies on the odd premise that tax cuts overheat the economy and, lead to inflation. Nothing of the sort has happened. The Washington Tithes re ports that just 15 years ago, unem ployment topped 15 percent, and “government spending consumed more than one-half of economic out put, confiscatory tax rates stifled growth and budget deficits skyrock eted to 15 percent of the gross do- Ireland's mestic product.” Long in contention for die title of the world’s poorest developed coun try, more than 200,000 Irish people immigrated to seek new opportunities The Irish have discovered what the United States needs to rediscover, and Europe should learn — lower tax rates are very good for the economy. in the booming U.S. economy of the 1980s. Ireland now has to import many of its workers, most coming to compete in what is fast becoming the high-tech center of Europe. Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy, part of 10 supply-side economists, who in 1986 offered opinions aimed at solv lead with tax cuts ing a very bad economic situation, has stated that the EU condemnation was an act of “envy.” Panic might be the better word. In the mid-1980s, the tax relief started in earnest. The top personal income tax was reduced from 65 per cent to 42 percent beginning this year. Also, corporate income tax rates have been greatly reduced, alio wing, for a boom in foreign investment. The Irish now enjoy one of lowest corporate tax rates in the world, and that will be slashed to 12.5 percent in 2003. Growth has averaged 10 percent for the last six years and has consistently been triple the EU average. The French, German and Italian leaders of a more centralized Europe favor the harmonization of tax rates — upward. But Ireland’s low-tax, business-friendly climate and flexible markets have again demonstrated the magic of low er tax rates. Critics of supply-side economics claim that reductions cause budget deficits, when in fact they help to bal ance budgets. Ireland is currently en joying its first surplus in 50 years, per haps the most impressive result of the rate reductions. More money in the hands of people with strong incentives to work and create can do wonders. The talents of entrepreneurs and resources will con tinue to flee from the stifling policies of high-tax nations toward the pros perity of the low-tax ones. For 15 years, Ireland has bravely stood up against mounting pressure from unac countable Belgian bureaucrats advo cating the statist status quo. In the process, McCreevy and his country men have unleashed the “Celtic Tiger.” As Ireland continues to boom, maybe others across the globe will start to take action. Jonathan Jones is a junior political science major. »0/f t > Clarification I In Jason Bennyhoff's June 21 column 'Tire Power/' purchasers of the AR-50 and the EMD Windrunner, both .50 caliber sniper rifles, are subject to all federal requirements including a background check. The analogy to buying pellet guns was an exaggeration. es. wmsst r I The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 300 words or less and include the author's name, dass and phone number. |1 The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters for length, style and accu racy. Letters may be submitted in person at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid stu dent ID. Letters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 014 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Campus Mail: 1111 Fax: (979) 845-2647 E-mail: battletters@hotmail.com "Light trucks?" Hardly. Bill forcing SUVs to become more fuel efficient should be passed (U-WIRE) — We see the lifestyle on the commercials: Tearing it up down a muddy road, plowing through the snow, driving up to the top of die mountains. Ah, the free dom to roam the outdoors you get*in a sports utility vehicle! Of course, only about 13 percent of SUVs ever leave the road, so mostly they’re used for tearing it up down suburban streets, blocking the vision of the people behind them and sucking down that gasoline. Of those three things, con suming fuel like a fish con sumes water seems to be what SUVs are best at. The massive Ford Excursion gets 10 miles to the gallon. During a time of high gas prices, it would seem there wouldn’t be a demand for such things. However, “light trucks,” which include SUVs, pick-ups and minivans comprised nearly half of automotive sales in America last year. While pick-ups are extreme ly popular, it’s SUVs that are the hot new trend. The Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or the CAFE standard, which mandates that automotive companies keep an average fuel efficiency for all the cars they make, was created in 1975, when light trucks were less than 20 percent of auto motive sales. Since back then they were used mainly by farmers and ranchers for transporting car- So with SUVs, automotive compa nies have gotten away with making a big, popular car without the hassle of actually making it fuel efficient. go, the fuel efficiency average for light trucks was set at 20.7 miles per gallon. The standard set for passenger cars was 27.5 mpg. However, the SUV isn’t re ally a truck, because it can’t re - ally be used to haul farm eqmp- ment like a pick-up can. Many SUVs don’t have any more pas senger seats than a family sedan. And despite the ads, they’re rarely used for heading out in the wilderness with Bob Seger’s “Like a Rock” playing in the background. So with SUVs, automotive companies have gotten away with making a big, popular car without the hassle of actually making it fuel, efficient. But members of the U.S. Congress are at work trying to plug this gaping loophole. A bill introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., would make automotive com panies bring the average fuel efficiency up to 27.5 mpg for both passenger cars and light trucks. Rep. Joe Barton, R- Texas, chair of the House En ergy and Air Quality subcom mittee, has suggested he will introduce similar legislation. Legislation like Schumer’s is necessary not only for the pro tection of the environment, since cars that use more gas make more pollution, but also to do something about Ameri ca’s energy crisis. With more cars on the road that aren’t required to meet high fuel efficiency standards, we have more demand for oil. As Harper’s Magazine pointed out, if we started drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, we would be 42,000,000 gallons of oil richer a day. If the average fuel effi ciency of SUVs in America in creased 3 mpg, we would have 49,000,000 gallons. Of course, no amount of changes to the fuel efficiency standard will make SUVs safer. They’re still be twice as likely to roll over than normal vehi cles because of their high cen ter of gravity. Firestone has ar gued that the deaths attributed to their faulty tires may well be because of Ford’s badly engi neered Explorer. And then there’s Daimler- Chrysler’s Jeep Grand Chero kee, which the National High way Traffic Safety Administration has begun in vestigating due to reports that it goes into reverse with no reason as it’s being driven down the road. That could re ally mess up your transmission — not to mention your skull if you’re in front of an 18-wheel er hurling down 1-35. But at least the legislation wil\ cut down on the amount of pollution being spewed out by all the SUVs rolling down the road. Whether they’re rolling on their wheels or on their sides is another issue. Kris Banks Daily Texan University of Austin