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Bush’s comments
were accurate
In response to Adam
Scharn's Sept. 17 column:
While Adam Scharn's attempts
to defend President Bush’s com
ments about the war on terror
during his interview with The
Today Show's Matt Lauer read
like a solid semantic rebuke of
those pundits who pounced on
the story, it would appear that
Mr. Scharn is in fact guilty of tak
ing the context itself out of con
text. Note that even Bush tried
to play the controversial remark
off as just another entry in a long
list of verbal fumbles and inar
ticulate gaffes, saying, "I guess
I should have been a little more
eloquent. 1 ’ Well, that's probably
true, Mr. President.
Ironically, the president’s
statements may be the first
documented case of the presi
dent being right about some
thing with regards to the vaguely
defined "war on terror” and the
ill-conceived conflict in Iraq.
As Noam Chomsky has put it:
"Bush planners know as well as
others that the resort to force in
creases the threat of terror, and
that their militaristic and aggres
sive posture and actions provoke
reactions that increase the risk
of catastrophe. They do not de
sire these outcomes, but assign
them low priority in comparison
to the international and domestic
agendas they make little attempt
to conceal." In other words, the
war can't be won because war
was the wrong strategy in the
first place.
Clint Bland
Class of 2005
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Bike theft not
adequately
handled by UPD
In response to Mike Wal
ters' Sept. 20 column:
I would like to thank Mr. Wal
ters for informing us of who is re
ally responsible for our bikes get
ting stolen. I have had a bicycle
stolen, along with my roommate
who has had two stolen from him.
Each of the bikes was locked. Ev
ery time the thefts were reported
and nothing was accomplished,
UPD said, "We'll look into it” and
we never heard another word.
In my opinion, if we can put
tracking devices on squirrels, we
can bait some thieves by putting
similar devices on bicycles. Let’s
think, IS.
Let's serve the customers.
Do something about it. Find out
which racks have the most bicy
cles stolen from them and install
surveillance cameras.
Inaction is not going to help.
Thieves don’t care if the bike is
engraved. They care when they
get arrested for theft and get
convicted.
Juston Thompson
Class of 2005
UPD should shift
focus to better
serve students
IA i
In response to Mike Walters'
Sept. 20 column:
believe, in matters of theft
Jon campus, the responsibility for
prevention and prosecution lands
squarely on the University Police
| Department. Unfortunately for
(students, the resources of the
UPD are strapped after equip-
Jping their cars with the latest
(generation of flashing lights and
night-vision technology, which I
am sure has reduced crime to
I almost nothing.
However, the rest of UPD’s re
sources are being used to com-
Sbat the greatest danger to this
University: not terrorism or the
rampant STI explosion, but un-
[ derage drinking.
I am sure we all can see that
[underage drinking is the sole
[ cause of all problems facing this
I University, including stolen bikes.
Why should UPD divert their at
tention away from this very peril
ous and very profitable situation
and concentrate on problem that
will not yield them any money
whatsoever? An MIP is worth
S200 or more to the UPD where
as a recovered bike isn’t worth
one red cent.
Furthermore, I would like to
personally applaud the UPD’s ag
gressive bike recovery program
that has yielded zero bikes recov
ered out of 37 stolen bikes. Many
will say that investigating stolen
bikes is a waste of time and re
sources that the UPD cannot af
ford. I totally agree. In fact. I also
agree that investigating sexual
assault, burglary and motor ve
hicle theft are a total waste of re
sources that can be better spent
on catching minors drinking.
Todd Stewart
Class of 2005
Bush’s tax cuts
are equitable
In response to John David
Blakley's Sept. 20 column:
In Mr. Blakley’s column, he
seems to repeat the tired Demo
cratic Party assertion that Pres
ident Bush's tax cuts only favor
the wealthy, and they (and tax
cuts in general) are the causes
of fundamental disparities be
tween the rich and poor within
our society.
I am to assume that Mr.
Blakley believes that in for taxa
tion to be fair, the rich must pay
higher taxes than they are paying
now. Writing for the Wall Street
Journal, Lawrence Lindsey, a
former director of the National
Economic Council, notes that be
fore the Reagan tax cuts, the top
1 percent of taxpayers paid 16
percent of ail income tax.
Now, this same group pays 32
percent of all income taxes. Ad
ditionally, over this same period
of time, the top tax rate has been
cut from 70 percent to 35 per
cent. So, if one believes fairness
is based on what percentage of
the tax base is paid by the richest
individuals, then one would have
to assume that things are more
fair now than they were even
before Ronald Reagan, and that
raising taxes is not necessarily
the recipe for fairness.
Jonathan Shilling
Class of 2005
New Aggies must
act with class at
football games
While the Texas A&M football
team had a good win against
Clemson Saturday, the part of the
game that the students can con
trol was not the win. Toward the
end of the game, whoever was
on the third deck started chant
ing “Hey, ne, ne, ne ... goodbye"
and “Overrated” apparently did
not realize that we do not do that
at A&M. Although you can never
control what happens on the
field, as Ags, as the Twelfth Man,
you must act with class.
We as students can only stand
for our team, show that we sup
port them and continue our
reputation for being some of the
best and most well-mannered
fans in the nation. I understand
that many young Aggies have
never seen a good football team
and maybe haven't been taught
the correct Aggie code of con
duct; this is the fault of older
Ags, not theirs. So I’m writing
in today to tell younger Ags that
as Aggies, we never taunt teams
we beat, and we never harass
visiting fans.
I know that students as of late
have shown less team support
and less school spirit. There is
much argument over why, but I
hope that those who continue
to support the team and the
11,000 who failed to show up
Saturday for some reason, will
act as Aggies have always done:
with class.
Randy Doolittle
Class of 2005
Opinion
The Battalion
Page 9 • Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Pace By • MATT RICNEV
Spoiled bats
People's safety should take precedence over animals'
TONY PIEDRA - The Battmion
A lmost everyone who grew up in
Texas is familiar with the tradition
al symbols of this state. The Alamo
and the bluebonnet have become legend
ary representations of historical events or
moral principles that are important to Tex
ans. However, no such legacy can be found
in the state’s newest official symbol: the
Mexican Free-tailed bat, Texas’ official -
flying mammal. cindy
Even Uiqugh these bats were already mcreynolds
on the endangered species list, the Tex
as-based organization. Bat Conservation International (BCI),
achieved its goial of additional protective legislation in 1995,
when it successfully lobbied to have the bats recognized by the
state of Texas. The new regulations that emerged are creating
unnecessary rabies concerns for Texans. Therefore, the law
should be repealed.
According to Montgomery County’s animal control depart
ment, there have been as many confirmed cases of rabid bats
this year as in the past three years combined, and health officials
are warning residents to avoid all bats, particularly ones that
appear sick. To combat such threats, individuals traditionally
turn to extermination in the interest of public health. Prohibiting
these measures for the purpose of protecting bats puts humans at
risk, as events in the past several years have shown.
One man living in Montgomery County who bought a house
inhabited by bats was required to hire a specialist to remove
them and test them for rabies before they could be destroyed.
Even at Texas A&M, one student had to receive post-exposure
treatment after he came in contact with a bat that tested posi
tive for rabies. In response to the situation, University officials
issued a press release warning students against approaching or
touching any bat that is lying on the ground or otherwise ap
pears unusual.
While educating students on this potential threat is a good
idea, school officials as well as other individuals throughout the
state should legally be allowed to address the issue of rabid bats
by any means, including extermination. The arguments against
doing so are typical of most environmental issues. Activists com
plain that human encroachment on the bat’s habitats is jeopardiz
ing the species and therefore advocate legislative protection.
In one study, BCI states, “The lethal control of bats, even
when there is a proven potential danger to humans, often is sub
jected to careful scrutiny and interagency coordination.” This
statement reveals a fundamental flaw, in that it seeks to promote
the interests of animals at the expense of human health.
The issue of protective legislation for bats in Texas raises the
larger question of the legitimacy of similar environmental regu
lations. Obviously, it is necessary to prohibit actions by eithpr
individuals or corporations that would directly endanger people.
However, there can be no moral basis for a law that reverses
this principle by threatening the physical or economic welfare
of those to whom it applies, even in the interest of protecting a
natural entity.
In his essay “The Philosophy of Privation,” Peter Schwartz
writes, “Environmentalism takes as its premise that nature must
be protected, not for man but from man. It is not human welfare
that sets the standard by which environmentalists make their
judgments.” Because of this, Texans should not be so quick to
embrace such environmentalist propaganda as an official Hy
ing mammal of the state. Regulations such as those protecting
the Mexican Free-tailed bat constitute another step in the in
cremental encroachment on personal liberties. In the spirit of
independence and self-determination that is this state’s legacy,
Texans must be willing to take a stand against environmental
regulations that put people at risk.
Cindy McReynolds is a senior
electrical engineering major.
Incorporate the Constitution
on newly designed dollar bill
T he eerie all-
seeing eye, un
finished pyra
mid and American
seal that are found
on the reverse side of
the $1 bill are all too
familiar to anyone
who has ever used
a vending machine, JIM
but their meanings foreman
are long outdated
and forgotten.
The unfinished pyramid, symbolizing that
the United States will always be improving,
the all-seeing eye, representing America’s
belief in divine guidance and the Great Seal
of the United States are all accurate, time-
honored depictions of the American spirit.
However, with knowledge of their meaning
as low as it is, the time has come for a new
icon to carry the meaning of democracy.
For several years the idea of a new $1
bill has been addressed in the House of
Representatives and the Senate. The idea,
conceived by middle school teacher Randy
Wright, is to place an abbreviated version
of the Constitution on the reverse side of
the bill, according to csmonitor.com. Al
though there has been little opposition to
the proposal, deemed the Liberty Bill, it
has been pushed around Congress for the
past three years.
The benefits of a paraphrased Consti
tution on the back of the most circulated
piece of printed American currency are
overwhelming.
“While 75 percent of Americans say
that the Constitution is important, relevant
and makes them proud, only 6 percent can
name all the rights and freedoms found in
the First Amendment. Sixty-two percent of
Americans cannot name our three branches
of government,” Wright said.
The Liberty Bill has the potential to
deepen the understanding of the Constitu
tion for anyone who carries it.
Every year, the United States spends $500
million on programs promoting the philoso
phies of democracy in other countries. The
need for such programs would drastically
decrease, thanks to the more than four bil
lion $1 bills that circulate internationally.
The estimated cost of redesigning the $1
bill was estimated to be about 1 percent of
the budget previously mentioned.
The United States has grown so accus
tomed to the natural rights outlined in the
Constitution, they are sometimes taken for
granted. It is difficult to imagine living in
a world where the people serve the gov
ernment. Unfortunately, many people live
in countries where democratic doctrine is
prohibited, and those people are often led
to believe the United States is a godless,
greedy and corrupted nation because they
do not understand the philosophy that made
it so wealthy.
Luckily, American ideals may not
be welcome in tyrannical countries, but
American money most certainly is, and the
Liberty Bill could easily communicate the
ideals that victims of oppression have been
denied. Infiltrating anti-American territory
for the purpose of teaching forbidden ideas
is as simple as revamping an old image.
Of course there is still something to be
said for the current $1 bill design. The
new design, which can be viewed at www.
libertydollarbill.org, is not intended to
completely scrap the old. In fact, the para
phrased Constitution is simply ghosted over
the current symbols, making them faded but
still recognizable.
Generally, the $1 bill is redesigned ev
ery 10 years, and with a new design that
has overwhelming benefits already avail
able, it should not be a difficult decision for
Congress to make, or so one would think.
Perhaps in the meantime, Congress should
consider revising its image as well, but this
time with something more along the lines
of an indecisive tortoise than the well-re
garded eagle.
Jim Foreman is a junior
mechanical engineering major.