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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 16, 2004)
If Opinion The Battalion Page 5B • Friday, April 16, 2( Necessary evil \No-Fly list vital in protecting airline passengers from possible terrorist threats R ecently, the Transportation Security administration’s controver- ial “No-Fly” list has been ausing problems for many inocent people suspected f being terrorists. This list 5 distributed to airlines with structions to carefully earch and screen anyone eemed a threat. This includes extra searches, terrogations and long delays at the airport for eople unlucky enough to be on the list. In response, the American Civil Liberties nion (ACLU) filed a class action lawsuit gainst the Department of Homeland Security nd the Transportation Security Administration, argues that the list violates the passengers’ onstitutional rights and that profiling at the air ports should be stopped. In reality, this list and is implementation are just and necessary steps ceded to maintain national security. Opponents of this list make comparisons to Jeorge Orwell’s “1984,” but the simple truth the government is doing nothing wrong, he ACLU argues that the “‘No-Fly’ list vio- ttes airline passengers’ constitutional rights to reedom from unreasonable search and seizure nd to due process of law.” True, every U.S. itizen has these rights. However, the justice system has realized ™ hat there are limitations to these rights when a person enters a high-security area. Citizens ilso have the right to bear arms, but they can’t airy a gun into an airport. So, if a citizen is uspected of being a danger to others, precau- io. !1 oih leEii fectic into ijis g*fi iel lions must be taken. Searches of passengers and their luggage are also justified and accept ed security measures at an airport. Outside of the airport, such a search would be consid ered unreasonable and rightly so, but that does n’t apply here. Furthermore, people on this list should actually be searched more extensively due to the fact that government agencies have deter mined that they are a higher threat to security than the average airline passenger. Due process of law is also upheld. The passengers are never wrongfully arrested, nor are they ever accused of any crime. The worst that happens is an interrogation by security personnel to determine if they are a threat, and then they are released if they are not. Police officers can legally hold someone for 24 hours without accusing them of a crime. The longest any passenger on the list has been delayed is four hours. While airport security personnel are not police, the principle is the same, and no one’s rights are being violated. The ACLU also argues that many people are on the list because of their ethnicity or reli gion. This type of profiling should be allowed in the interests of security. If it is a known fact that the vast majority of airline hijack ings come from a certain group, it makes sense to focus security efforts more toward that group. The implementation of the “No-Fly” list has been a problem that needs to be remedied. The Transportation Security Administration needs to out line a clear-cut procedure for identifying potential threats to security. More importantly, once a person has been cleared and is no longer consid ered a risk, the per son needs to be taken off the list. Many people have been repeatedly harassed at numerous airports, even after they received a letter saying that they weren't a security threat. The ACLU also complains that the means by which security threats are assessed is kept secret from the public. What critics fail to understand is that the American public does not need to know everything the U.S. govern ment does. It is impractical and dangerous to reveal intelligence information and procedures to the people. While secrecy may be a scary thought to some, it is nonetheless necessary. The system may not be perfect, but that is hardly an argument for not using it. If nothing else, the use of the “No-Fly” list deters poten tial terrorists and gives peace of mind to air line passengers. The “No-Fly” list implemented by the Department of Homeland Security is a just and valuable security asset. It does not deny any basic rights guaranteed to citizens by the Constitution. The list can be a hassle to many people who are wrongfully placed on it, and something must be done to rectify that. However, the list should still be utilized as a valuable tool in the war on terror. Dan Rossell is a junior nuclear engineering and political science major. Graphic by Tony Peidra mi Money poorly spent The president’s tax cuts have hurt Americans in need while catering to wealthy interests JOHN DAVID BLAKLEY Since President Bush’s tax cuts were first iroposed. Democrats have been warning Americans about the two inevitable conse- to [iiences: further accumulation of wealth for tie already privileged and drastic cuts in s*f^ omestic programs around the country. For ome reason, many Americans have failed to eed the Democrats’ warning. Perhaps their ■ogic was too simple. ■ For example, 60 percent of the total benefit jfthe cuts has gone to the wealthiest 10 per cent, with 45 percent of the total benefit going to the top 1 per- [ent. about $54,480 a year versus an average of $47 for a family the bottom 20 percent of earners. This clearly benefits the jpper class, broadening the already vast gap in wealth throughout ie United States. And what about the warning about funding for (omestic programs? To explain this. Democrats have offered a ihd-boggling formula. When there is less money coming in than efore, something is going to have to go. According to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), ie domestic discretionary programs suffering cuts include envi- mnental programs, education and job training, veterans pro- ams and transportation. The administration is looking to these ductions in response to the increasing deficit. However, accord ing to the OMB, because these programs make up only one-sixth (jfthe overall federal budget. Bush’s tax cuts will cost more than [an be saved by eliminating these programs. Consequently, it ould seem that the country is losing valuable programs to pay r tax cuts that benefit the wealthiest Americans. )n» :|p So how much are we talking in cuts? A couple of dollars here, a few dozen more children without health care there? Hardly. According to the AFL-CIO, the Bush tax cuts will reduce domes tic discretionary spending to its lowest level in 46 years. Just a few of the programs include Title 1 education funding, which includes improving education for low-income and other dis advantaged children, providing housing vouchers for low-income families, the Clean Water Act State Revolving Fund to help states pay for sewage treatment plans, the Supplemental Nutritional Program for Women, Infants and Children, and Head Start. Perhaps people have not acknowledged the resulting costs of the tax cuts because the losses do not seem immediate or close to home. However, a new report from the House Appropriations Committee shows that every county in Texas is feeling econom ic tension when it comes to funding for entitlements such as Medicare, Children’s Healthcare Insurance Program (CHIP) and veterans’ pensions. According to the report, which covers the estimated caseload and total dollar losses due to Medicaid cuts for 2004-05, Brazos County will lose more than $14 million in Medicaid and CHIP funds. While a dollar amount may not show the injury these cuts induce, the caseload reduction numbers for Brazos County paint a more sympathetic picture. Nine hundred thirty parents in poverty will lose prescription drug benefits, 221 elderly and disabled per sons will lose community care, 170 children, 99 pregnant women and 51 medically needy persons will be cut from Medicaid, as well as 960 children who will be cut from CHIP enrollment in Brazos County alone. It is not likely that anyone in the Bush administration, nor the MAIL CALL citizens who put the president in office, have ever had to fear being without prescription drugs or health care for themselves or their children. It is a situation beset with an incredible sense of helplessness, fear and guilt. It is a situation in which rhetoric about “pulling yourself up by the bootstraps” does not help. Twenty-seven percent of Brazos County lives below the pover ty line. This includes 2,000 mothers with children below 18. If the poor are expected to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, the government must first give them the boots — housing, education and of course health care. The lack of compassion seen through out the Republican party from Bush down to the voter is inexcus able. Spouting rhetoric about the personal responsibility of the poor may help them relieve their conscience about their exceed ingly comfortable lifestyle while children go without medicine, but it does not solve the problem. Domestic discretionary spending and entitlement programs have been implemented because of the common belief that America can do better. The U.S. government can do better for children, parents, veterans, the elderly and the ill. However, when an administration puts in place an agenda that values the desires of the wealthy over the distress of the truly needy, it is apparent the administration does not share this belief. John David Blakley is a sophomore political science major. [rossword puzzle clue demeans nerds 11 am an avid fan of the daily cross- j/ord printed in The Battalion, and it las been my friend and companion jirough many a long and dull lecture, therefore, you can imagine my indig nation during STAT 211 on Wednesday, when I discovered that the answer to clue 5-Down, “Geek,” l(as intended to be “Nerd.” As a com puter science major, it’s bad enough Ithat I must confront ignorance about ||iese two terms on a daily basis; to pee such an egregious misconception printed in our cherished and respect- ! school newspaper is an outrage. (To set the record straight, the word |eek,” which originally referred to jideshow carnival performers whose Izarre acts would typically include biting the head off of a live chicken, las now come to be defined as “a person regarded as foolish, inept, or clumsy;” “nerd,” on the other hand, as come to be “a term of praise; a arson who identifies what is truly Jteresting and important and does n’t care to be distracted by trivial jatter and silly status games.” ■To assert that the crossword was not created by The Battalion staff is inconsequential; were such a travesty to be committed against other minori ty groups, the student body and administration would be in an uproar. Sadly, until public awareness is raised about the nerd lifestyle and people take the time to educate themselves about our status, we will remain an overlooked and invisible segment of the population. Caleb Bell Class of 2005 Tutoring professors out-teach A&IVTs Everyone knows that Texas A&M is a great school. On the other hand, does the meaning of good school have to include classes in which the professors are no better teachers than the other students in the class? I’m definitely not saying all professors for every subject are like this, but from what I’ve gathered, there are quite a few. I attended my first MATH 141 tutor ing and review session last night, the night before the third exam, because I could not let myself fail yet another exam. Of course it’s partially my own fault, but I noticed a problem: The instructor in the review session taught me more in three hours than my pro fessor has taught me all semester. Why must I pay extra to receive the teaching I deserve as a student at A&M, paying tuition as high as it is already? Fifteen dollars well-spent, I’d say, but what about the other $13,000 I’ve paid to be here? Don’t get me wrong; I love A&M and I would never want to choose another school over being here, but I just don’t see why I must go elsewhere to learn the mate rial I pay so much to learn here. Robert D. Arndt Class of 2007 The Batt's revealing photos need to go I was quite offended with the content of The Baft yesterday. On the front page, there was a picture featuring a woman with a skin-tight shirt. For some reason, I still picked up a copy. I opened it up only to see more pictures of scantily clad women. These weren’t even cartoons; they were actual real- life people wearing next to nothing. They were wearing swimsuits to be exact, how offensive! I can’t believe you allow this type of content in a University publication! Swimsuits do not have a place on this fine, upstanding campus. Having those extremely offensive drawings were bad enough, but I can’t under stand why you might publish pictures of something I might see in real life on any given spring day. What are you thinking? This garbage has to go; I prefer to see women in business suits and drawings who have no physical fea tures. I expect you to clean up your act. Chris Wilson Class of 2006 Senior class council shouldn't get tickets Recently I’ve heard many com plaints about the cost of Ring Dance tickets: $70 a couple if I’m not mistak en. It has been brought to my attention by a 2005 Class Council member that members of the 2004 Class Council are getting their tickets for free. I’m sure their defense will be that they have worked hard to set up Ring Dance and to represent the senior class and that they have “earned” a free ride to Ring Dance. But isn’t leadership putting the people you lead or represent before yourself? I didn’t see anything on the Association Web page about Class Council members needing more hours or a better GPA to earn their rings. So what makes them so privi leged to deserve free tickets? From a group of people who preach about all Aggies being equal, this move seems rather hypocritical. It’s good to know that Class Council can set the ticket prices with no worries about emptying their own pockets. Maybe for their final effort this year they can work to raise tuition for all students not involved in Class Council. Tim Ball Class of 2004 The Battalion encourages letters to the edi tor. 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 submitted 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 77843-1 111. Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: mailcall@thebattalion.net