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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2001)
ents have cbncu •aid on a ^ the pharm with diii apy drugs forci' fish vs. Farmers environmentalists place animals before humans k<-sman Jeff L ; say what was t ? four-hour at Robert A mazingly. Research Mr: / \ some peo- niacy. I \.ple in our he said the Society value int'e- arch was not t^llbr forms of ne affidavit use: Species over .•.arrant for r- human life. In of the pharma: Hamath Falls, Be.. one such jI going bac* : species, the sucker fish, is putting 3 missed m a?>farmers out of business and forcing he said Haggling families to look for a is charged whole new way of life, ts of tamper^* Jjhe sucker fish, which is protected nd adulteratorb) the Endangered Species Act. has ■•dications Gt- caused an irrigation system that he provided ■; helps parched fields receive water . oncologist. fn in a lake to be abandoned, locent but hRi^»ig a tion was severely scaled back :>urtney has a tJensure enough water remained for rvestigators suc k e r fish. The much-needed Higation system helps pump life B° the economy, put food in chil- Otein S6€ r s mouths and enhance the farm ers production. The Claremont Btitute reports that there are 1.4(X) Kail farms on the verge of becom- in;: worthless plots of land because | these fish. From the beginning, the of mad (AP rvu s have captu of a type of s*d pnons. pa that might I and other dis-: Endangered Species Act was Hawed. ?ins are mole:. It was enacted by Congress in 1973 sts had though to help save the bald eagle, the t alone Pc national bird. Instead, it created a leveland Clime Wreaucracy ra n by unelected people estern Pei- who could care less for the common nentists show American. These people decide what ked they feel are endangered or threat- search teams ^ ened species. Once someone from ►een trying to the U.S. Department of Interior rmal. harmle; decides what species to protect, the into the dead\" species is guarded from any kind of g. which dec harm or pursuit: hunting, shooting, e. and how wounding, killing, trapping, captur- m clumps ,ing or collection. The Department of n link, which!, ' searchers piC ntermediate stf JS. :he first timer an in-betw*!! Vivien Yee off mic. hat prions canf ) tests to detect )f prion-relatec t ie search for (hi airing. Interior also has expanded the pro tection to any kind of action that modifies or breaks down the envi ronment or weakens essential behav ioral patterns of the endangered species. The problem that befalls this bureaucratic system is that it does not consider the repercussions on human life. Regardless of the families who rely on the land to make a living, like the fanners of Klamath Falls, there is nothing any one can do once a species is added to the list. Fann families will, no doubt, have a rough winter ahead all because the sucker fish must be pre served at all costs. Proponents of preserving certain species must reevaluate their priori ties. Sure, it is nice to be able to save an animal, but not at the cost of human life. Unfortunately, this is not the only instance where a species took priority over human life. Four firefighters died in an out-of-control forest fire because helicopters could not snorkel water from the Chewache River. Bureaucrats pre vented this life-saving procedure because the river was a habitat for endangered species. The sucker fish really must be a huge contributor to oflr society to put small children and families on the backbumer. Americans need to take back their way of life and their country. This nation was built with blood, sweat and tears of the com mon citizen, and now the govern ment is turning its back on them. Our representatives should step up for the common citizen and repeal laws that tear away at the fabric of our society. Representatives should not fear being voted out of office for standing up for the working family, but standing up for a sucker fish just might get them voted out. People of Klamath Falls, and elsewhere need a Congress with a backbone When the Endangered Species Act was first created. Congress did not take the steps to cre ate the initial list of endangered species. In effect, this allowed Congress to run away from controver sial dispute, but reap the benefits after they saved the bald eagle. Enough is enough, and as Congress sits idly by, two anneal officials are sitting in the shade of a small building that houses the valves to the irrigation system in Klamath Falls. Meanwhile, crops have already died, and farmers’ land values have plummeted by 50 per cent. And the sucker fish swim on. To some people, the farmers’ state of existence is menial when it comes to an animal’s right to swim where it wants to. America needs to reevaluate the Endangered Species Act and put people first, where they should be. The sucker fish has been given the same status that our forefa thers bestowed on every American — life, liberty and the RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION pursuit of happiness. In this case, the sucker lish has a greater pri ority to be happier than the farm ers and the families in Klamath Falls. Brian Cheat lie is a junior political science major. FBI methods in busting crimes raises privacy issues I! n an obscure case of loan sharking and gambling in New lersey, the issues of pri vacy and government Intrusion have been aised. The govern- tent's case against nterostingresw fcj CO( j erno g 5 car j 0 _ Drsa new aspe. Bncludes information gath- otein. said D* cre( i by a device that records every keystroke vho works in _ : anade on his computer. Scarfo owns Merchant ology field at l&ervices in Belleville, NJ. The use of this California al • jtype of technology verges on the edge of the invasion ot privacy. Government intrusion into the private lives of citizens has been aided by tew technological advances. Although Internet communication is not as protected as other fonns. perhaps steps should be taken in that iirection. There need to be clear and strict guidelines regulating the use of this technolo gy to protect the public from Big Brother's irying eyes. Court documents said the government hfid a 3()-dtiy search warrant that allowed the FBI to “install and leave behind software, firmware and/or hardware equipment which [would] monitor the inputted data’’ in Scarfo's comput er. But the question is whether the key-logger system is equivalent to a wire tap. If it is the same as a wire tap, then the FBI should have requested a “Title III,” which is an electronic communications wiretap order. The govern ment argues that since the information did not gather information via email that they were not required to get a wiretap order. Yet, the FBI used the information from the program to learn Scarfo’s password to decrypt his person al documents. Ronald D. Wigler, assistant U.S. attorney on the case, said (in The New York Times,), “Letters do not become 'electronic communications’ subject to Title III merely because they happen to have been typed on a computer.” Did the FBI have such broad reigns with the key-logger system that it violated Scarfo’s Constitutional rights? According to briefs filed with the court. Scarfo and his lawyers state “the keyboard logger collected every thing Mr. Scarfo typed, the court order per mitting its use violated longstanding constitu tional rules that search warrants and evidence collection should he as narrow as possible.” The system, the specifics of which the government will not make known in public, is very similar to the wiretaps in that the FBI sat around wait ing for Scarfo to type something that will help the case. The right to privacy is not a right that is thrown out the window with new technology. It is an inalienable right that even the worst crimi nal is entitled, unless a specific court order says that the government can intrude to stop illegal actions. Yet, to disregard this right, the govern ment has to have the proper court orders. This time it did not. The key-logger system is the same as a wiretap because it records personal information communicated between people like on a telephone. David Sobel of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, an advisor to the Scarfo team, said, ‘‘the idea of secret govern ment surveillance technology being installed with very little oversight or accountability is about as close to the common perception of Big Brother as anything 1 could really imagine.” The government maintains that it did not record anything from electronic communica tions, but they will not release the specifics of the system so that all parties can decide if the system did record information not covered by the search warrant. Without detailing the specifics of the system, the court should throw out the information gathered by it. The court also should classify the key-logger system as a Title III. Once that is done, the public can rest a little easier knowing that the government can not come into their homes without a Title III and monitor computer usage. Brieanne Porter is a junior- political science major. CARTOON OF THE DAY 002? >aci< Is I Reality programs bring out the worst in people RteoN'wf - © r viewing 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 person at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Letters also may be mailed to: The Battalion — Mail Call 014 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Campus Maifllll Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: opinion@thebatt.com Mail Call: mailcall@thebatt.com Do not send attachmentsi F or the past few years, America has been bombard ed with new television pro grams whose purpose is to portray reality. These shows have one major gimmick — playing to win money, and lots of it. The cast willingly begins their journey into the ruthless world of tele vised competition willingly, but money should not be that impor tant. These individuals give up their privacy for a cheap 15 min utes of fame, and that simply is not worth it. Being watched 24 hours a day and playing ruthless games to win money is not the most posi tive way to achieve success. It is a slap in the face to the hard working Americans, who take years to work their way up and make the same amount of money that these cast members can make in three months of degrad ing competition. Indeed, the repercussions the cast members face after the show has finished tanine are not often positive. In the second season of “Survivor” held in the wilder ness of the Australian Outback, fierce competitions and violent behavior was normal for their daily activities. TV. Guide's Michael Moses said that “Survivor” winner Tina Wesson endured “42 days of starvation, dehydration, and public humilia tion.” She had to make some harsh decisions just to play the game, and thinking of herself was her number one priority. Television time cannot replace human dignity. This won her a nice sum of money, but that is all she walked away with. The cast members are selling themselves to a ratings-starved network television industry with out full thought of the repercus sions for themselves. Beside endangering her health. Wesson demonstrated to her children and millions of Americans just how manipulative and backstahbing people can be. In real life, theie is no monetary reward for such had behavior. Another popular reality show is “Big Brother.” Each episode seems to reflect how selfish peo ple actually are. No one is able to trust another in the house hold, and they put on an act to save themselves from being evicted. Each person is compet ing in a popularity contest in order to win, but for those who have a conscience it can be dif ficult to cope. Bunky, for exam ple, regularly burst into tears as he strategically voted his.friends off the show. A poll taken by CBS asked individuals if they were a member of the house would they be ready to leave or would they stay. Out of 74,483 voters, around 68 percent would leave, and 31 percent of the voters said they would stay. At least some of the viewers can see through the these network cha rades. To willingly parade one self around for the entertain ment of others, participating in the type of manipulative behav ior citizens should shun, demonstrates the level to which some will sink for their 15 min utes of fame. The media certainly pays attention to the cast members lives after the show is over, but this fades as quickly as the nov elty of reality television. Jerri Manthey from “Survivor 2” had a dead end acting career until she was voted out of the Australian Outback. She has now posed for Playboy. Expect to never hear from her again. Auditioning to be a cast member in hopes that a career is furthered is extremely selfish and undoubtedly wrong. Acting is a grueling job, but people who are devoted will go after their dreams without taking a cheap side route to get there. Becoming famous is a dream come true for most people, but for the average American, all the money in the world should not persuade them to give up their privacy and expose themselves to the world. Reality shows allow people to place themselves in sit uations that reward the worst of human behavior. People should have more respect for themselves while getting a grip on what is truly important in life. Laine Cloud is a sophomi, biology maj