5B
Wednesday, February 27, 2002
THE BATTALION
EDITORIAL
Attorney Tom.
jury the case i
sguided conspq
ifjppoRT for Morales
led to prove «
led to the dea:Wien the next governor of Texas is sworn in next January, he
ry've got to nd the state legislature will immediately begin a hectic four-
ice chief aff-Bith session in which they will have to address pressing needs
hem in the pc i finding for education and health care while coping with the
i and strippecBest budget shortfall in more than a decade,
constitutional His is no time for on-the-job training — Texas needs a gover-
Lockhart \ or who can hit the ground running with an aggressive policy
onirary tothe genda and the leadership skills to enact it. That is why The
older MooreHa//on recommends voters in the March 12 Democratic pri
ck that the dHy cast their votes in the gubernatorial race for Dan Morales.
it had discreiHorales, a former state legislator and two-term Texas attorney
i s disposal. Herat, brings to the table a record of accomplishment in pub-
-rring to that c service unmatched by any of his opponents. As attorney gen-
■rth said, “it's ral he initiated the state's lawsuit against tobacco companies
>n of dispov. resulting in a SI7 billion verdict that is now helping to provide
•liberate indi- ealth insurance to needy Texas children.
leans thross a* Hth Morales and his opponent, Tony Sanchez, say improving
Hlic education will be their top priority, but only Morales has
Hlayed the political fortitude to make his rhetoric a reality. The
K is facing a S5 billion shortfall, and unlike Sanchez, Morales
■ not ruled out a tax increase. The simple truth is that as the
Hiomy is mired in recession, the state's needs are outpacing
^dwindling revenue, and students are feeling the budget
layed inhb 'urch in a big way as universities impose substantial fee hikes
) cover gaps in state funding.
, Iptead of posturing and pandering to voters. Morales has
I £1 T11Hp8 ec * to invest the resources necessary to make Texas schools
L best in the nation.
Morales is also committed to expanding access to higher edu-
B>n without employing divisive and discriminatory practices
■ affirmative action. Morales wants to broaden opportunities
■ financial aid to all deserving and needy Texas youth, regard
's of race.
■e Battalion is confident Morales' wealth of experience as a
ublic servant and his record of fiscal responsibility and standing
ip to special interests will make him a fine governor.
■rly voting is underway and the winner of the primary will
ace Republican Gov. Rick Perry.
miffs also si
r Mcxtre ha
institution a
cocaine aht
:n told of M
s azi memon
nade his i
standard. V
\ batten of
old former
tests he cond
e range of ih
lia. Jurors »
. ten/ed by i
g and sympto
ih ere nee and
Wendell 0
ver been dia3
■ HE BATTALION
of.” Ringh
Yates might
ed with
saw her for;.*^® 1 '
ing her hditor
to make sudi °P Editor
itHtoi
V ws Editor
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor in Chief MARIANO CASTILLO
Melissa Beosole
Brian Ruff
Cave a Carr
Sommer Bunge
Brandie Liffick
Member
Member
Member
Member
Jonathan Jones
Jennifer Lozano
Kelln Zimmer
Th< Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 200 words or less
d include the author's name, class and phone number. The opinion editor
ervks the right to edit letters for length, style and accuracy. Letters may be submit-
I inlperson at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Letters also may be
;■ to: 014 Reed McDonald, MS 1111, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
343-11 1 1. Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: mailcall@thebatt.com
e.
ty and
MAIL CALL
:d
lice of
erections about
e Monologues
response to Jay Herndon's
f call on Feb. 26:
VE
llfne of the directors for
t Vagina Monologues" I feel
pelled to provide clarifica-
fv'about the monologue
•red to by Jay Herndon in
iday's Mail Call. I agree
fterndon's statement that
! is the most vile crime that
be committed by a man or
NEW
STEM
US
at:
pfvj'hman.
iwever, the woman was not
d by a lesbian at the age of
she was raped by a male
d of her father's at the age
0. Her experience with a
ian at age 16 is consensual
is the catalyst that enables
to regain control over her
Her experience is the key to
learning to love and take
of herself.
Kmonologue, "The Little
hie Snorcher That Could," is
portrayal of one wotnan's
^experience, as are all the
ologues. They are not done
hock value, but to tell the
es of women who have
m< empowered because
have learned to love them
selves. Come and see the play
or read the book to understand
the stories of these women and
others like them.
Kate McCarthy
Class of 2002
Herndon stated that the char
acter in "The Little Coochie
Snorcher That Could" was 13.
She was 16. He also quoted
the character as saying that her
experience was a "good rape."
The word rape is never used in
the piece.
Herndon has obviously not
read the piece or made an
attempt to speak with anyone
involved in the play. This has
been the case a lot recently.
The Student Senate passed its
resolution condemning V-day
without visiting the festival or
speaking with anyone involved
in V-day. Truth should be
important to anyone trying to
present their point of view.
If Herndon had read the play
he would have realized that it
parallels his views that rape is a
"vile crime." Seek the truth and
your arguments might have a leg
to stand on.
Esther Robards-Forbes
Class of 2005
Dealt a bad hand
Lawsuit against Psychic Miss Cleo is pushed
ERANK CHANCE* THE BATTALION
A n automated message begins,
“Miss Cleo had a dream about
you. and she wants you to call her
back.” Consumers may hear this up to 10
times a day and countless times in the
few weeks after only one call to the now
infamous Jamaican psychic Miss Cleo.
Deceptive practices like this, along
with a laundry list of other complaints,
have the Federal Trade Commission
finally breaking Cleo’s crystal ball. With
the agency getting more than 2,000 com
plaints in the past 18 months, legal
action of some kind is overdue.
So the FTC. along with nine states, is
suing corny Cleo while also trying to
shut down her parent companies. Access
Resource Services Inc. and Psychic
Readers Network. These businesses are
essentially nothing more than a step
away from organized crime.
Howard Beales, the FTC’s director of
consumer protection, concluded that,
“It’s a mystery ... why Miss Cleo and
her employers haven't seen this coming.”
The only mystery is how these people
are not in jail.
For those who have not had the luxu
ry of seeing a Cleo commercial, the
woman presents herself as a Jamaican
shaman with insight into love, finance
and personal happiness. “It’s all in the
cards,” she says. “The cards never lie.”
In real life, though, this shaman is a
woman named Youree Dell Harris who
probably could not find Jamaica on a
map. Her psychic ability is about as
authentic as her thick Jamaican accent.
Harris’ television spots offer free psy
chic readings on calling a toll-free num
ber. But after dialing the number, con
sumers are instructed to call a 900 num
ber charging $5 a minute, easily making
one conversation as expensive as a
lengthy session of phone sex. The “free”
portion of the call is the first three min
utes, a time when the caller is almost
certainly on hold.
What makes matters worse is that the
people who call Miss Cleo are generally
down on their luck and misled about the
accuracy and expense of the service. So
those who are getting ripped off the
worst — college students, low-income
single adults and children, are the ones
who can afford it the least. A great
many of these poor souls take this psy
chic advice to heart.
Consider the case of Leonard Vickers,
whose daughter Malaika made a $289
phone call thinking the service was free.
This is understandable, because the serv
ice is advertised as free. During the
course of the*phone call she revealed that
she was 12, but the conversation was
allowed to continue. In this instance the
service prayed on a naive child.
Even the average “psychic friends”
call is $60, and many of Harris’ critics
have finally started speaking out. Rapper
Ja Rule has a skit on his latest album in
which a Cleo-sounding character, Leo,
tells a caller, “The charge is $60 a
minute. You’re going to hold on for 15
minutes. Are you cool with that?”
Interestingly enough, Cleo’s psychic
readers do not read tarot cards as prom
ised in the commercials. Florida
Attorney General Bob Butterworth
revealed the telephone psychics are
taught only to read scripts. While it is
true that the psychic “information” is no
more accurate coming from tarot cards
than a script, consumers are misled into
thinking they are paying for an actual
tarot reading.
Sadly, Miss Harris and her psychics
make their living by exploiting the mis
fortune of others. Make no mistake about
it, Harris is a greed-driven woman with a
criminal occupation. It is time that she
and her network are shut down and their
victims financially compensated.
When asked for comment about the
charges, an attorney for the psychic net
work, Sean Moynihan, said, “If the FTC
had only bothered to call, we would have
explained.” Surely, even he can see the
irony in that statement.
George Deutsch is a junior
journalism major.
Political reform at free speech expense
I f one listens closely, the faint
sound of tearing paper can be
heard. That sound emanates
from Capitol Hill, where a phys
ically small but fundamentally matthew maddox
mammoth section of the Bill of
Rights may soon be torn out.
The Campaign Finance Reform Bill now making its way through
the House of Representatives is a wolf in sheep’s clothing aim
ing to clean up politics at the expense of free speech.
While it is rare that both sides of the political aisle agree on
something, both Democrats and Republicans have found time
to slander Enron officials for political gain. While proof has
yet to surface showing that the millions of dollars donated by
Enron to both parties bought them anything from the current
administration. Democrats and Republican Sen. John McCain
have rushed to pass legislation that rids money from the halls
of congress. Not surprisingly, the proposed legislation fails to
address the accounting practices at fault in Enron, and instead
attacks the First Amendment.
The McCain-Feingold Senate Bill and the Shays-Meehan
House Bill, as they are called, outlaw television and radio “issue
ads” by non-profit groups and special interests within 60 days of
an election. They also restrict the money donated to parties but
increase the amount that can go to individual candidates.
The so-called “special interests” targeted by the House bill are
made up of “little guys” from across the political spectrum, the
same “little guys” who got burned in the Enron collapse. When a
group of like-minded people want to pool their funds to either run
ads or contribute to a political party, they become branded as a spe
cial interest corrupting the government. From the National Rifle
Association to the Sierra Club, from the Christian Coalition to the
Teamsters Union, all special interests are made up of little guys.
The bills imply that money from groups or companies is the
source of corruption in Washington. That is false. It is already
illegal for corporations to donate directly to federal candidates,
and has been since 1907. Money is an abstract and inanimate
object. Corrupt politicians are the source of corruption in poli
tics. By passing this bill. Congress admits its own weakness in
the face of a bribe.
When Bill Clinton and running mate Al Gore violated cur
rent campaign finance law, nothing was done. Soliciting funds
at Buddhist temples and from the vice president’s office were
excused. What can be concluded from today’s congressional
outcry is that the interests of the American Association of
Retired Persons are more subversive to American national
security than those of communist Chinese nationals. Enforcing
current laws would eliminate corruption, something the new
legislation cannot do.
The United States Supreme Court has declared this form of
censorship unconstitutional. The 1976 Buckley v. Valeo case
upheld the principle that money spent on political speech is
essentially free speech itself. The Supreme Court also specified
that “too much money” in politics is not an acceptable justifica
tion for restricting campaign financing.
If Shays-Meehan becomes law, neither power nor money will
leave politics, just the public voice. It will actually increase the
ferocity with which politicians seek funds. Once the people are
out, another entity will fill the void. Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas,
warned, “If we limit the power of people to spend their money,
we strengthen the power of people who exert influence in other
ways.” The network media are next in line for that power, and
are estimated to be 90 percent aligned with the Democratic
Party. During the 60 days prior to an election, media outlets can
do their own campaign ads through TV interviews that support
candidates and spin the facts.
The bills protect incumbents, who have free mailing privi
leges, at the expense of challengers. Since incumbents are
already in the news, the public will always hear about them.
Hypocritically, the bill specifies that it will not affect candidates
of this year’s election, so congress has exempted itself from its
own law. This campaign finance reform will do nothing more
than further secure elected seats for independently wealthy,
entrenched candidates who have connections to Washington and
the media.
In the short run, Shays-Meehan may be to the advantage of
one party or the other, but in the end it will be a detriment to all.
Congress must trust the American people to be intelligent
enough to sort through the ads presented and judge for them
selves. Congress draws its power from the consent of the gov
erned. The minute people’s constitutional right to criticize is
removed, American democracy stands on shaky ground.
Matthew Maddox is a sophomore
business administration.