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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
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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.
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RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
MAIL CALL
Animals treated well in circus life
/n response to the July 11
mail call:
vered theft
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New
sndecker
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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
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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.