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Opinion
The Battalion
Page 5 • Monday, July 26, 2004
Silencing the NRA
5/5/04, fiisj
ilack, $25t i
he National Rifle
Association of
America provides
Uservice to its mem-
rs: selecting politi
cs that best represent
[e interests of the
ganization and assist-
!g these politicians in
|eir campaign. Under
rrent legislation,
wever, this important
ie proven
0 leonispfi
nfo. 764-ti'
ie has been stripped from them in the
me of campaign finance reform.
The 2000 election led to campaign
ance reform in Congress, due in part
gely to the amount of soft money donated
state parties during the previous elec-
n as well as the amount of influence that
rtain special interest groups, such as the
IRA, touted. Soft money, which had no
amount limit under federal regulations, was
lily supposed to be used for local and state
i ections.
I In 2001, the beginnings of a campaign
I nance reform bill was written and co-
, wnsored as a bi-partisan effort of Sen.
mo™; i llss F e ' n S°Id D-Wis., and Sen. John Mc-
61-64W fain R-Ariz.
The McCain-Feingold Act considers all
v olations of the legislation criminal of-
nses, calling for federal prison sentences
d steep fines for offenders. The act also
stitutes a ban on broadcast, cable or satel-
;e television and radio issue advertising by
oups like the NRA. The electronic media
ackout would be enforced 60 days before
general election and 30 days before a pri-
■ary election if the government determined
that the advertising content “refers” to a
ft eral candidate.
235-3561. ■ Denying groups the right to support the
ng didate they see fit for office in a public
$325ro ij ay not only violates First Amendment
ghts, it doesn’t make sense. The NRA
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left to research the candidates on their own,
something that many of them simply don’t
have the inclination or time to do.
The fight against this law, led in the
Senate by Mitch McConnell R-Ky., showed
Americans the negative effects that the
implementation would have on the voting
population. Shortly after its Senate pas
sage, McConnell met with a free speech
coalition, of which the NRA is a member.
Included in this coalition are groups such
as the American Civil Liberties Union, the
Christian Coalition, the Business-Industry
Political Action Committee, the U.S. Cham
ber of Commerce, the National Right to
Life Committee, the National Association
of Manufacturers and the National Rural
Letter Carriers Association.
This action of conservative and liberal in
terest groups coming together to show their
dislike for the bill should have demonstrat
ed to Congress the bill’s unpopularity with
all of these interest groups — all affected
negatively by the legislation.
“The dirty word used to describe
unwanted influence is ‘special interest’
groups. That’s an inaccurate characteriza
tion,” Wayne LaPierre, NRA Executive
Vice President.
“The NRA’s four million members
should be proud to be a special interest
group,” LaPierre said. “Our special inter
est? Saving the Second Amendment to the
United States Constitution. Now we are
called upon to save the First Amendment.
That’s our special interest as well.”
Although this bill was passed in March of
2002, it has been a hot topic since then, in
cluding several cases that went all the way
to the Supreme Court. But, unfortunately,
the Supreme Court upheld the constitution
ality of this outrageous law.
Fortunately many are fighting to have it
repealed. Earlier in the year, Rep. Roscoe
Bartlett R-Md., introduced the First Amend
ment Restoration Act, which is a stepping
stone for having this law repealed. Behind
him, he has the full support of special inter
est groups such as the NRA, ACLU and the
Christian Coalition.
It is a sad fact that the government has
come to the point where it must regulate the
amount of money that can be donated
or spent by individuals, special
interest groups and unions. Ap
parently some politicians, so
worried about their status as
a politician and the amount
of money that they have
in their war chest, missed
the memo that life is not fair.
These politicians often forget
why they are there: to represent
the interests of their constituents.
It is a service done by interest
groups such as the NRA to educate the
public about politicians’ stance on the
issues, but it is the politicians
who are taking this right away
from them. This cannot be
tolerated.
Members of the NRA
should be proud of the
many years that the
NRA has fought for
Second Amendment
rights, and also join
in the fight for First
Amendment rights of
freedom of speech and
freedom of press, of
which the Campaign
Finance Reform Act
clearly violates.
Eric Brown is a senior
German major.
Graphic by Ivan Flores
Philippine negotiation tactics
should be emulated by U.S.
P:
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
erhaps aggressive action
is not the most effective
way to combat terrorism,
especially in today’s “civi
lized” society. Thanks to the
Philippines, a new strategy for
combating these murders has
been demonstrated, illuminating
the truth that negotiations and
appeasement are two very useful
alternatives to intolerance.
Recently, terrorists from
the group Islamic Army-Khaled bin Al-Waleed
Corps kidnapped Filipino truck driver, Angelo
de la Cruz, and paraded his frightened face on
Al-Jazeera while demanding the withdrawal of all
the 51 Filipino troops in the region.
Given the examples set by Japan, South Korea
and Bulgaria, all who opposed negotiating with
terrorists to save one of their countrymen, many
thought de la Cruz, a father of eight working in
Iraq to gain money to restore his child’s eyesight,
was done for.
Miraculously, though, Filipino
3/2/2, sw President Gloria Macapagal-Ar-
royo caved to the demands and
took the requisite steps to appease
the terrorists.
This is wonderful for de la
Cruz and his family. But it has
brought about a firestorm of criti
cism from other countries in the
coalition, most notably the United
States and Australia.
According to Fox News and
CNN, the United States and Aus
tralia claimed such capitulation
only fuels the desire to kidnap
more innocent civilians and en-
If a country
grants (a terror
ist) amnesty and
refuses to allow
coalition forces to
interrogate him,
that country is
harboring him.
Report, has become revered in the Arab World.
Egyptian Novelist Gamal el-Ghitani told Fox,
“ I used to laugh, despite the ghastly daily news,
about how a bunch of poor, helpless Iraqis with
primitive weapons are forcing the greatest super
power to negotiate.” Libyan University Profes
sor, Ibrahim el-Firjani proclaimed, “Fallujah has
shown America the real Arabs, not those lining
up to surrender.”
Turn now to Saudi Arabia, a so-called ally in the
War on Terror, which granted amnesty to surren
dering terrorists while simultaneously refusing to
permit the FBI to question any of them; not even
Kahled al-Harbi, the associate of Osama bin Laden
who surrendered to benefit from the amnesty.
One can’t help but reflect on President Bush’s
words that, “the United States will make no distinc
tion between terrorists and those who harbor them.”
A terrorist is a terrorist whether he has surren
dered or not, and if a country grants him amnesty
and refuses to allow coalition forces to interrogate
him, that country is harboring him. It’s that simple.
Surprisingly, though, no announce
ment has come from the White House
iterating the relationship between the
United States and the Saudis is being
reevaluated, but in an act of hypoc
risy the White House did issue such a
statement about the relationship with
the Philippines.
The U.S. officials must get this
through their heads: If U.S. policy is
to never negotiate or show any leni
ency towards terrorists and their sup
porters and sympathizers, then stand
by it at all costs or shut up.
President Arroyo should be com
mended for saving a man’s life that
otherwise would have been lost in
In response to the Thursday’s news
article entitled, “Daily Texan questions
A&M business school rank:”
The Battalion displayed a blatant dis
regard for the truth in its Thursday, July
22, article “Daily Texan questions A&M
business school rank” ...
The Battalion’s article quoted A&M
officials’ accusations regarding the Texan
story as verified facts. It failed to obtain
comment from The Daily Texan’s editor
and managing editor, who have the right
to respond to allegations of wrongdoing
or unethical reporting. It also failed to
contact other universities or U.S. News
and World Report for contextual infor
mation as the Texan did. This is sloppy
reporting on the part of The Battalion.
Additionally, The Battalion falsely rep
resented The Daily Texan’s article as the
assertions of one reporter. A news story
is a result of an investigative process, not
the unqualified opinion of one writer. The
first statement of the Society of Profes
sional Journalists Code of Ethics is, “Seek
truth and report it.” The Daily Texan’s
article involved a month of research, two
open records requests and interviews with
at least nine people, three of whom were
current or former A&M officials ...
But while A&M officials quoted in The
Battalion have attacked The Daily Tex-
ans’s credibility, they still have not sub
stantially attacked our reporting. Ques
tions remain about the reliability of data
supporting the A&M business school’s
rise in the 2003 U.S. News and World
Report rankings. We encourage The Bat
talion staff to hold these officials account
able and find answers to these questions.
And we stand by our story.
The Daily Texan staff
Editor’s Note:
The Battalion acknowledges that only
one side of the controversial issue was
reported in Thursday’s paper, and that
the newspaper’s editing staff regrets that
a higher news reporting standard was
not maintained in the editing process.
danger other coalition members in Iraq.
This is the pot calling the kettle black.
First, let’s not kid ourselves, coalition members
have been in danger since they first set foot in Iraq.
Secondly, it’s insulting to listen to blatant lies
«71$^from U.S. officials who claim to renounce negotiat
ing with terrorists; they’ve been doing it all along.
Recall Fallujah, the now infamous Iraqi city,
where several troops and workers were captured
and brutally murdered by Iraqi civilians who later
desecrated their bodies and dragged their limbs
through the streets as crowds cheered.
This city deserved severe coalition retaliation
but the United States caved, in a manner similar to
that of the Philippines, fearing that their response
would appear too brutal. In fact, some members
of the Iraqi council resigned because they claimed
that a United States response was unprovoked.
As a result, Fallujah, according to a Fox News
vain. Besides, the Philippines’ presence in the
region is only a symbolic one and honestly, what
purpose does a symbol serve nowadays anyhow?
In today’s society a symbol is just as meaningless
as overrated terms like honor, determination, and
justice. One can only hope that future generations
will rediscover these meanings, but until then
Americans should enjoy living in Oz.
Nicholas Davis is a senior
political science major.
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