Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 16, 2002)
< 16, 2002 Opinion The Battalion Page 7 • Tuesday, July 16, 2002 ly the heavily armed Airline pilots should be allowed to carry guns on planes to protect passengers CAYLA CARR ;ers will be j ads while ii Ganges. ■erouta day Wellborn \ )rge Bush n Drive w Wedne;. srricades wi ring the b 15 PI * nce ^ e P t - * * ’ many proposals )ns / | u ? loni W have been made to ensure C amteilf J Americans’ safety from terror- o ex efcisetB^ Q ne 0 f most controversial , ^ '' e3 '' priiposed aviation safety regula- 15 "■ons is to arm pilots. On July 10, CNN reported the House of Representatives passed a bill allow- ire pilots to carry firearms in the cockpits of their airplanes, s were orr Commercial air,ine P ilots are Ousted daily with other’s lives and m Sunday LfP ould teeI in contro1 if their P^me is ever threatened, ck becausei 11 is im P erative that something be done to ensure passengers’ In the ever# fety on Guns for pilots allow a sense of security not Wednesdc { obtainab,e with stron g er cockpit doors. Police and security Id be del>l fficers use guns to ward criminals, and pilots should be »ven the same opportunity. I Recently a document was presented to the ^trol I s Department of Transportation by the I R nil ^' r li ne Pil° ts Association International. 1.0 milllO fcuring the 1960s, the Federal Airline f C0CaiHf Administration aut l lor i zec l the arming of flight Irew members to help prevent hijackings to , Texas (AP p ba - The program proved very effective and Patrol age ! llthough nothing is foolproof, perhaps armed t $8.5 mililots would have helped prevent the tragedies ne concealed lurrounding Sept. 11. partment of | Those opposed to arming pilots argue ter- c, the Bofit 'orists on suicide missions are not concerned tnday. ivith survival. However, they are concerned ol agents won ivith completing their mission, and know- affic chedtpoi ing there is a chance they could be inter cepted might discourage them to try. Pilots will not be allowed to report o to the airport with their personal firearm; the weapons will remain in the cockpit at all times. These guns will be owned by the airline, but pilots will be able purchase their own firearms. Training would also be provided for any pilot who wishes to be in possession of a gun in the cock pit. Self-defense training is also required for all flight attendants. According to ABC News, a senior research scholar at the Yale School of Law has written a book on the basis that states which have “enacted laws faety allowing for the carrying of conceakd handguns have seen a rpaiPQ d | v ° KoA r« ecreas e in confrontational in ^crimes.” If this is the case, allow- ingpilots to possess guns in the cockpit would decrease hijacking attempts. According to CNN, opponents ilso argue that if a plane is hijacked, irmed F-16s are prepared to shoot [own the commercial jet. However, as Transportation Committee Chairman Don Young, R-Alaska, argues, “It is imperative that under these cir cumstances, we must allow trained and qualified pilots to serve as the last line of defense against such a potential disaster.” According to CNN, a poll of the Allied Pilots Association revealed that 78 per cent of its members support arming pilots with guns. The Airline Pilots Association was also polled and 73 percent of its members were in favor of using guns as a form of air line defense. Pilots are trusted by passengers and risk their lives daily when they board a plane. They deserve to feel safe when flying and guns can provide them with personal security they have earned. If our skies are to become safer, pilots need a way in which to defend themselves, their passengers and the planes they fly. Cayla Carr is a senior speech communications major. rrias discovei f inspecting III ut 9:40 p.n Rodriguez-Re i and a 38fS passenger fan b arrested, uiz was diaiged an with intentlo caine, and hii iringwassetfe nagisttafe road isti. primal# Border Ratio! jthofc^k truck. a se 2 264 pound' .1s, the vehits ne were ug Enforceme n in Corpi unty rged foi :heme Texas (AP) man has 1 dozens j in what fed laid was a tt erne run h Overton. Jr., 68, J 2 tty, was ind ts of wireftf j money' ing to a n j by the the East; :xas after i/as unsea RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION MAIL CALL Animals treated well in circus life /n response to the July 11 mail call: vered theft ty's home ted by a n Wednesday sed of 000 NettfR ave markt hroughout ranteeing s 1S on in v£i l ase states. isphalt road lO, N.M. ( neets thej) ogordo en 11 asphalt iave a nsion of 3 two citi fiS me rubbed ;en used ' New sndecker ;hway Departs Well Ms. Leslie, to avoid being a hypocrite, you must want to do away with all other forms of "exploitative" or violent entertainment as well, right? Say goodbye to A ggie football, boxing, action movies, horse rac ing, petting zoos, and dog shows. Pretty soon, we'll have the blandest society °n Earth. I suppose it is better for an elephant, or another animal, to live in its natu ral habitat and get massa cred by a predator, than to five a much longer life of relative luxury with a cir cus. Getting regular meals and veterinary care, in exchange for a few hours Per week of standing on their hind legs, sounds iike a sweet deal to me. Instances of abuse are rare, but animal groups yse these isolated •nstances to scare the Public into thinking all cir cus animals are tortured 0n a daily basis. Circus enimals, for the most Part, are given adequate care because it is in the circus owner's best inter est to do so. When ani- mals are slaughtered for P’feat, it is done in a from recyd f ' lired tires we have | i 5 mil'' 000 tires>; 5/ " said deP J Pete Rahr 1, r huma ne manner. I can't say the same for the predators in the animal kingdom. If you really are against violence towards animals, maybe you should advocate the elim ination of predatory ani mals, because they are far cruder to other animals than we are as humans. But the irony of eliminat ing some animals for the greater good of most ani mals would be an ethical dilemma that would most likely cause your precari ous moral philosophy to shatter into a thousand pieces. I'd say it is time you start researching the inherent fallacies within the concept of "animal rights," instead of just regurgitating the inaccu rate and alarmist ram- blings of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Jon Apgar Class of 1999 According to Julie Leslie's mail call letter I shouldn't train my dog. I don't see how what these animals have been trained to do is any differ ent than training our own animals to "perform" to our wishes. Christ! Findley Class of 2002 The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 200 or less and include the author's name, class and phone num- ^ er ‘ opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters for length, style an d accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 014 Reed McDonald w ith a valid student ID. Letters also may be mailed to: 014 Reed McDonald, MS nil, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843- 1,11 Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: mailcall@thebatt.com Democrats in bed with bad business T he political circus is back in Washington, and along with the usual ele phant, there is a new animal on display. The “jackass” has debuted, masquerading as a creature knowledgeable of ethics and savvy in business. Congressional Democrats, rather than serving the interests of their constituents, have been busy scrounging around for dirt on President Bush. Tom Daschle and Dick Gephardt, the party's Senate and House top dogs, paraded out unemployed Enron and WorldCom ex employees for a news conference and blast ed Republicans and corporate fraud in the same sentence. If one was uninformed, they might be led to believe it was Republicans, not Democrats, that have been in bed with bad business from the get go. That could not be further from the truth. For at least the fifth time since 1994, George W.’s 1990 stock trade while on the board of Harken Energy has been called into question, despite the SEC Enforcement Chief and Democrat William McLucas’ statement, “The facts just didn't support any judgment that this was something that would result in a serious enforcement proceeding.” Ralph Smith, the broker who handled the Harken stock trade over a decade ago, told The Daily News there was no impropriety. He explains the idea to sell the 200,000-plus shares of stock shortly before Harken’s collapse was not even Bush’s idea. An institutional investor who was interested in purchasing shares of the stock contacted Smith. When Smith asked Bush if he would like to sell the shares. Bush replied he would need to seek legal advice first. Once getting the go ahead from Harken lawyers. Bush sold the shares. Smith went on to insist the only reason the stock trade has been questioned was for political reasons, further stating that Daschle and Gephardt are “a couple of rats.” Despite renewed attacks on Bush, Democrats have more skeletons in the closet when it comes to corporate impropriety than Republicans. Daschle has called on Bush to release all information about his stock sale MATTHEW MADDOX to “just let everybody see what is there.” Daschle, meanwhile, ranks within the minority of congressional members who do not release tax returns to the public. This is likely because his wife, Linda Daschle, is the successful owner of a lucrative lobbying firm. Her more than two dozen clients include American and Northwest Airlines — who received a multi-million dollar bailout after Sept. 1 1 via congressional legislation passed by Daschle. Loral Space and Communications, who paid Linda’s firm half a million dollars last year for services was also slapped with a $14 million penalty for releasing secret missile technology to China. According to the Washington Post, L-3 Corp., which sells bomb-detecting technolo gy, hired Mrs. Daschle after its product was rejected by the airlines for inferiority. After Linda worked for them, explicit instructions were placed into federal legislation requiring the Federal Airline Administration to pur chase L-3’s product. Both Daschles claim there is no conflict of interest with Linda lobbying. Their reasoning: she only lobbies in the House, not in the Senate. Surely, no one in the House knows or has connections to Tom Daschle. Meanwhile, Daschle’s Democratic coun terpart in the House and partner in denounc ing Bush, Richard Gephardt, is speaking out. “It is hard to lead when you haven't done the things that you're asking others to do,” said Gephardt of Bush’s past business deal ings. Gephardt himself has a history of cre ative accounting. He has previously claimed a homestead exemption for a home in North Carolina in which he did not qualify and also did not report his partial ownership in a beachfront vacation property, while still receiving a tax deduction on it. Another politically motivated individual weighing in on Bush’s business experience is Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe. “It's time this CEO, President Bush, took responsibility for his actions as a private businessman and as President of the United States,” McAuliffe said. Of special interest are McAuliffe’s own business practices that more closely resem ble those alleged of Ken Lay rather than those of the contentious observer that he claims to be. It is public record that McAuliffe made 18,000 percent profit off of Global Crossing before the company’s recent collapse. Most indicative of wrongdoing though is McAuliffe’s and other’s running of Federal City Bank. McAuliffe, despite being finance director of Gephardt's failed presi dential campaign, also served on the bank’s board. During Gephardt’s presidential run, the bank loaned his campaign $125,000 in what might have been a violation of election law. In an attempt to gain more congressional seats in the midterm elections, those on the left side of the aisle have shown no remorse in doing exactly what they accused Bush of doing a year ago — talking down the econo my. Democrats fear angering the public if they oppose Bush on the War Against Terror. All other mud previously slung has not stuck, so this is what it comes down to. The Democratic think tank is already looking to expand the accounting issue into an entire slew of election year political footballs, including Social Security and free prescrip tion drugs. It is interesting to watch the same politicians that for years said what happens in one’s private life is not fair political game call for probes into Bush’s personal finances. Also odd is the rarely stated fact that during the Clinton years, Enron execs got overnight stays at the White House and overseas busi ness deals and government loans were nego tiated by the administration. Bush should avoid the fray and refuse to play election-year politics. He needs to instead choose to use his knowledge of mar ket forces and corporate boardrooms via his MBA and personal experiences to do what is right. Bush is clean. To stay that way, he should leave the ringmaster duties up to Daschle and Gephardt. Matthew Maddox is a junior political science major.
