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
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to edit letters for length, style and accuracy.
Letters may be submitted in person at 014 Reed
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may be mailed to: 014 Reed McDonald, MS
1111, Texas A&M University, College Station,
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