NATION
THE BATTALION
1 • • •
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EDITORIAL
Necessary action
Commandant buys time to
investigate incident
The inadvertent meeting of anti-war protesters and Ross
Volunteers Honor Corps organization in front of the Academic
Building Feb. 3 must have been awkward for both parties; the
cadets engaged in a regularly scheduled drill practice as those
in the peace vigil looked on.
The allegations that resulted from the encounter may well
have been a misunderstanding, but Corps of Cadets
Commandant Lt. Gen. John Van Alstyne should be applauded
for the swift and and straightforward manner in which he
dealt with the complaints. Suspending the operations of the
Ross Volunteers, pending an investigation into the incident,
may have seemed to be an overreaction considering the tri
fling nature of the allegations. The cadets' loud drills and
marching formations certainly interrupted the peace vigil, and
the protesters may understandably have felt intimidated, but
it was clearly unintentional, and the Ross Volunteers cannot
be expected to adjust their practice schedule for the conven
ience of protesters.
Other allegations - that while conducting their drills, a few
cadets pointed their non-functional drill rifles in the direction
of the protestors and uttered negative comments - do not
seem to constitute the sort of misbehavior that would warrant
temporary suspension, even if true. However, in choosing to err
on the side of caution, Van Alstyne has demonstrated his com
mitment to making the Corps a more open and visible institu
tion. The protesters have said they are pleased with the way
Van Alstyne has responded to their complaints. Whether the
Ross Volunteers are ultimately vindicated or, if it is found that
some cadets behaved inappropriately during the drills, all par
ties can be confident that they were treated fairly.
Sometimes the process is just as important as the result, and
even though on the surface the charges are not terribly serious
and the confrontation seems to have been a misunderstand
ing, Van Alstyne has handled the complaints in a manner that,
fegardless of the findings of the investigation, will bolster con
fidence in the Corps.
FHE BATTALION
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor in Chief
Managing Editor
Opinion Editor
Neivs Editor
Brandie Liffick
Sommer Bunce
George Deutsch
Sarah Walch
Asst. News
Member
Member
Member
Melissa Sullivan
Rolando Garcia
Matt Maddox
Brieanne Porter
The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must
be 200 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 sub
mitted in person at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid student
ID. Letters also may be mailed to: 014 Reed McDonald, MS
1111, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-1111.
Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: mailcall@thebatt.com
Opinion
The Battalion
Page 11 • Tuesday, February 11, 2003
Money Woes
Foreign aid would be better spent on domestic front
F or quite
some
time,
the United
States has
been consid
ered the ulti
mate world
power in sev
eral areas.
Not only is it
one of the strongest economic
powers worldwide, but it also
harnesses a great deal of mil
itary power and political
influence.
America has provided aid
to hundreds of foreign coun
tries for years in the form of
supplies, military aid, negotia
tion mediations... the list is
endless. On the surface, for
eign aid sounds like an effec
tive way to form friendly
alliances with countries by
willingly lending a helping
hand, but this policy may be
leading America down the
path of destruction.
First of all, while the
United States is a strong
nation, there is room for
improvement on the domestic
front. According to the L.A.
Times, President George W.
Bush asked Congress to
approve a budget in excess of
$1 billion for the aid of hun
gry people in other nations.
That is almost $300 million
more than what was budgeted
for hunger aid in 2002. Yes,
there is a pressing demand to
help impoverished countries
around the world, but this is a
tremendous budget amount,
especially considering the
number of homeless and starv
ing people that live in this
country. Could that money not
be used to their benefit? In
addition, should the American
taxpayer be held responsible
for funding other nations’ food
supplies? The answer is quite
simple — no.
Domestic issues should be
taken care of first. Too much
money is being expended on
other countries while issues in
ERIN
PIRRUNG
the United States
are left open and ■ -
unfinished. With
the billions of dollars
spent each year in foreign
aid, the nation could devise a
national health care plan for
those without insurance or
perhaps provide more funds to
potential college students who
cannot afford tuition. These
precious tax dollars would be
better spent here at home,
where they are needed, rather
than overseas.
In the effort to feed fam
ished countries. Congress is,
in essence, throwing taxpay
ers’ money away. By sending
food to these countries,
America is only encouraging
them not to seek out solutions
of their own. It would make
more sense to invest the
money in educating these peo
ple on how to produce their
own food and how to manage
nation-wide rationing. At least
through these methods the
countries might actually
become self-sufficient enough
to move away from aid and
toward independence rather
than relying solely on hand
outs from other coun
tries.
Evidence suggests that
American police action over
seas may increase the threat of
terrorism against the United
States. A relationship exists
between the amount of U.S.
involvement in international
issues and the amount of ter
rorist attacks it receives,
according to the Pentagon’s
Defense Science Board. The
1993 attack on the World
Trade Center was a reaction of
Islamic groups to U.S. inter
vention in the Middle East.
Terrorism is a particularly
fearful topic in America today.
If foreign aid and intervention
causes terrorism to increase,
surely it makes sense to limit
intervention to stop terrorist
acts against America. In gen
eral, there are less internation
al conflicts that require the
intervention of the United
States, so the money normally
used to fund these
causes should be
available for use at
home.
Despite the evidence that
terrorism is influenced by
intervention and the increas
ing economic problems at
home, the foreign aid budget
keeps climbing. Combined
with the overall risks, this
should indicate to Congress,
as well as the American tax
payers, that foreign aid funds
would be much better spent at
home. Perhaps if the govern
ment put more funds into
resolving domestic issues, tax
dollars would be spent on
things relevant to taxpayers
rather than overseas issues
that have nothing to do with
the American public.
Erin Pirrung is a junior
English and psychology major.
imination, prosecutor
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MAIL CALL
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417
16 toll fro*
In response to Leann Bickford's Jan. 10
column:
Was the recent article by Leann Bickford a
serious effort at journalism? We think it
wasn't.
While the underlying premise that the
space shuttle has flaws is justified, her erro
neous historical references and gross sim
plifications of a complex subject bring us to
question her analysis.
Contrary to Bickford's statement, astro
nauts went to the moon in Apollo capsules,
not in space shuttles. She wrote that
Challenger was destroyed "nearly three
decades ago." It fell on January 28, 1986.
She asserts that "no NASA manager was
iired," yet nearly 5,000 employees lost
their jobs following the Challenger disas
ter. She criticized the lack of an escape-
capsule system. However, even a cursory
study shows that a viable capsule design
effective at 18 times the speed of sound
would be prohibitively heavy, bulky and
expensive.
More generally, we believe that mankind
definitely has its place in space. The pres
ence of our best and brightest sparks the
imagination of the world. Many important
experiments cannot be carried out by
machines alone, because humans are more
capable and flexible. An astronaut can
fepair and maintain equipment, duties still
beyond the capability of a machine.
Despite the technical challenge, our
future does not lie entirely on the cradle of
farth. We should venture out and realize
uur potential, and never rest on our laurels.
Sebastian E. Gay and Jeff Hillhouse
Graduate students
Department of Electrical Engineering
My brother is in the military, so my moth
er and I send care packages and letters to
the troops overseas. They really love to get
all sorts of books and CDs. One of the troop
members, Elijah Smith, wrote back with a
poem for my mom.
He describes how much he loves to hear
from people and how much it means to
have contact with the outside world.
"Here is a poem for you by me...
Though I may not know you, I feel your
concern.
I am thankful, grateful and willing to
learn...
That out there, in this cold, cruel world,
people like you still shine like a pearl.
Though we have never met, your names I
will never forget.
Your words, and letters bring much com
fort... to a solider, far from home and in a
battle zone.
Though I may not know you, your heart
and words ring true.
Though far apart, we are closer still.
Through our computers pour our will.
I thank you for all the time that you give
me. When I read what others write, I feel free.
Free from this war, and free from fear.
Late at night, my memory of home seems
so clear.
My days are long, my nights drag on.
The highpoint of my day. Is seeing what
you have to say.
Though I may not know you, I feel you."
Poem by Elijah Smith
Submitted by Christen Bringhurst
Class 2004
Davis mismanaged
the California budget
C alifornia currently
faces a $34 billion
budget deficit, and
California Gov. Gray
Davis decided one way to
make up for this budget
shortfall is to expand
casino gambling on
Native American
Reservations.
According to The New
York Times, the casinos have a
profit of $5 billion dollars, and
the state of California receives
less than $100 million of this.
The legal agreement that covers
a deal between California and
the Native American
Reservations, called a compact,
was negotiated by Davis — the
same hypocritical Davis who
said he was “not generally
inclined to support measures that
allow more than a modest expan
sion of gaming.” Davis is saying
one thing and doing another. An
L.A. Times article considered
California “the fastest growing
state in terms of gaming revenue,
slot machine growth and
employment.” The problem is,
and continues to be, one of polit
ical expediency versus long term
benefit for the golden state.
The compact that Davis
agreed to in 1999 has been held
up as a model of how not to
write a compact. According to
The New York Times, New York
and Connecticut
designed compacts that
were designed as com
plete opposites to
California’s compact,
and are considered suc
cesses. The compact
New York signed with
just one tribe resulted in
$400 million of revenue
with more regulation.
California’s compact neglected
to cover the issues of regulation,
oversight and the environment.
As a result, conflict between the
state and the Native American
tribes has ensued.
a
If Davis and the
California legislature
had exercised more
restraint and foresight,
the state of California
would not be facing
such a large budget
crisis.
Davis’ answer to the preced
ing problems is to renegotiate
the compact. This idea is funda
mentally flawed because Davis
cannot legally dissolve one com
pact and negotiate a new one.
Davis has to convince the Native
American tribes to give up bil
lions of dollars and subject
themselves to new regulation
without much to offer them in
return. The one bargaining chip
Davis holds is that the state has
the right to license the number of
slot machines within it. To gain
greater regulatory control and
more revenue, Davis is poised to
allow a huge increase in the size
of gambling in California to get
more money for a budget crisis
that he helped create.
If Davis and the California
legislature had exercised more
restraint and foresight, California
would not be facing such a large
budget crisis. California would
not be considering doubling the
size of Native American casinos
without thought to the social
consequences and costs. The
governor has not commented on
the social and economic cost of
thousands of new gambling
addicts. Davis did not allocate
money for a gambling addiction
treatment program in his new
budget, and he clearly sees this
as a quick fix without consider
ing long-term consequences.
This is the mindset that created
this crisis in the first place.
Jonathan Havens is a senior
history major.
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