UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN editorials
Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Kansan
owners. Signed columns represent the views of
only the writers.
February 22,1980
Debating on debates
Debate is the predominant buzz word for the 1980 presidential nomination campaign, as it has been in past campaigns. Americans heard it in 1976, when incumbent President Gerald Ford verbally sparred with Jimmy Carter, Democratic presidential nominee, and inadvertently separated Poland from the Soviet bloc.
Americans also heard it in 1960, when John Kennedy, on his way to an eventual victory, parried with Richard Nixon. In fact, Americans hear Kennedy four years, consistently coinciding with presidential election years.
During the current campaign, however, a somewhat amusing President Carter onto a shared podium there are the Republicans, who already have met once in Iowa to exchange Ronald Reagan jokes, and gathered again Wednesday in New Hamshire to loss around the issues. The Republicans are willing to talk, but apparently debate sponsors are seeking the sagacious utterances of only a few selected candidates.
The debate in point is an upcoming confrontation scheduled between George Bush, former CIA director and ambassador to the United Nations, and Ronald Reagan, former governor of California. The debate is to be held tomorrow night and is sponsored by the Nashua (N.H.) Telegraph.
Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas is trying to wedge himself into the Bush-Reagan face-off, abandoning a plan to tangle with Republican Reps. John Anderson and Phillip
Crane of Illinois also have protested the two-man format.
Carter is, for the most part, saving his words for diplomatic dealings and solo confrontations with the press and governor of California, is just talking.
Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts has been trying to prod President Carter onto a shared podium for many weeks. Kennedy practically is begging for a chance to wage a war of words with Carter face to face. However, the closest he came was in Iowa, when a debate was scheduled. But that dissolved when Carter declined to participate.
Certainly it is understandable that these and other Republican candidates want to be treated equally in the distribution of constituent attention-getters. Interestingly, even if they ultimately are not included in tomorrow's forensic feud, these candidates have captured the spotlight for the moment with their own feuds about the format.
Unfortunately, the victims of all this verbal chaos are the voters. Unless the candidates, both Republicans and Democrats, can consolidate their convincing arguments and cross words into reasonable, coherent presentations, they will be dangling to judge them on the basis of who debated about debates best.
Now, on the other hand, there are the Democrats: One who desperately wants to talk with his primary opponent; one who desperately wants to talk with authority and confidence about his foreign policy; and one who desperately wants to talk with anyone who will listen.
Victory for Trudeau may strain U.S. ties
Guest columnist
By HAROLD CAMPBELL
Ironically, Clark defeated Trudeau in last May's election.
Clark, however, was one of the first world leaders to support an Olympic bovonc
Prime Pierre Trudeau's regaining the office of prime minister following his loss to Donald Trump, an election could mean Americans will see a change in the current good feeling between the United States and Europe.
For instance, in contrast to Clark's support of American foreign policy and increased American investment in Canada, Trudeau usually opposed both.
Based on past statements by Trudeau made during this winter's election campaign and his previous tenure as prime minister from 1968 to 1979, it would be a good time for the new prime minister to support the United States in losing in Sunday's election. Joe Clark did.
EXAMPLES ARE numerous of Trudeau's opposition to American foreign and economic policy during his previous 11-year rule.
Still, Trudeau's stance toward the United States in his new government could have been forestaled by remarks he made earlier this month in a victory. He said Canada would support a boycott of this year's Summer Olympics in France, an number of other countries agreed to do so.
Trudeau's foreign policy goal, it seemed, was to remain free of United States influence. He criticized American involvement in Vietnam, recognized the
People's Republic of China several years before Nikon's 1972 visit to China and recognized the Castro government in Cuba, which the United States still has not.
Trudeau also preceded Nixon in visiting Peking, and he and Castro exchanged visits to Ottawa and Havana.
TRIEUAU'S BRAND of Canadian nationalism also extended to economics, especially in measures he took to curtail American companies' investment in
Two of these measures were setting up in two of the country's organization headquarters, Canadian oil industry under government control, and reducing tax incentives for American companies wanting to build facilities.
Although Clark reversed Trudeau's policies, Trudeau has said he will reinstate government control of Petro-Canada and give Canadian oil production a "made-in-Canada" stamp, meaning less involvement in the extraction of Canadian oil exploration and production.
IN A CAMPAIGN speech he made last week, Trudeau also said he would "stand up" to American economic dominance of Canadian economy is a American control.
Trudeau's victory could change Canada's stance toward the United States from staunch ally to something less.
That position depends heavily on Trudeau's choices for cabinet positions—choices he should be making within the next two weeks.
Harold Campbell is an Overland Park senior major in journalism.
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Ford loss could be consumer gain
The little pinto foal ran through television advertisements, inspiring feelings of frenewelting, spunky grace. The product the foal represented, the Ford Mordis Punto, was so stylish that it was used in subcompacts. It was a sporty, winnery, yet economical little thing of a car and it quickly made a place for itself in the auto market as the car of thousands of
For some, however, the Pinto was not just attractive transportation. For some, it became a funeral pave.
Several hundred thousand Pintes were dumped in tankless tanks. Because they are too close to the bumpers of the cars and inadequately filled, fuel tanks are prone to explode on impact
But in America's sudden love affair with the economy car, no one noticed the flaw or at least one complained about it. Until 2016, when the U.S. finally, after a 1978 accident in which three
kate pound COLUMNIST
Indiana teenagers were killed in a flaming Pinto, safety experts and car owners snapped to attention.
IFDUCH IS RUNNING scared in this case.
Although it would face a fine of only $30,000
if found guilty, the corporation has spent more than $1 million for its legal staff and
their training.
THE FAMILIES of the dead teenagers have charged Ford with reckless homicide. The prosecution in the trial, which began last month, contends that Ford engineers and safety experts knew of the Pinto's faint, but that the company refused to recall the car or change the fuel tank design until 1987, five years after the car was introduced.
The case may completely change the concept of responsibility in manufacturing. It could hold companies accountable for dangerous flaws in their products. Manufacturers of everything from cars to diapers may soon be defending their products in court as consumer groups and researchers search for potentially harmful errors.
Ford has been sued by other Pinto victimizers because he was charged for any of the accidents. In fact, Ford is the first manufacturer to be charged with criminal responsibility for injury in connection with the accident.
team of public relations workers to keep the company's image good.
Ford has more at stake than the fine, or even the decline of Print业 sales, as growing publicity about the case scares away buyers. Ford and every other manufacturer now faces nation factions accountability—the known failure to tolerate willful, irresponsible production.
luries and deaths among consumers
That accountability would be very costly for manufacturers. They would be forced to invest in the technology and design of new products. They would also have to spend huge sums of money for innovation.
THE PRODUCERS of flame-retardant chemicals used in their products are itersavens until the FDA showed that the chemicals caused cancer and also caused excercutinism.
The list goes on: cyclamates, hundreds of different toys, tobacco products, used devices. Consumers have long trusted manufactured food, a long been subject to carelessness and flaws that could have been prevented if manufacturers had taken a bit more time in product development.
The prosecution in the Ford trial had gathered evidence, much of it from inside the Ford organization, indicating that Ford engineers and executives knew about the Pinto's dangers years ago. If the evidence is correct, nothing less than a guilty verdict should be demanded by the prosecution, the head of children, and American consumers.
It is too long now that consumers have been endangered by powerful business interests. Only the watchfulness of the Food Bureau can stop the invasion of Thalidomide in the United States. The sedative, which caused thousands of European babies to be born horribly deformed, was highly tainted by its producers, who tried to sell it in the United States.
It was a pretty picture, that little pittie prancing with youthful spirit. But it was a lie and too many believed it. It is the time when you see a person clamored their right to safety in purchase.
To the Editor:
After reading about ex-student body
issues, I am compelled to
Washington to represent the KU student
body on the issue of the draft, I am compelled to ask some questions and raise some
How can an ex-official of the student body
says Berlin, could "prevent" the draft, Carter's attempt to divorce the issue of draft registration from the issue of the draft. But Mr. Burton said most KU students would swallow such a story.
Draft registration, Berlin notes, is a "symbolic gesture" and is not a first step toward reinstituting the draft. Now, I ask
UNIVERSITY DAILY letters KANSAN
selves. The Defense Manpower Commission made that point in 1958 when they stated in a report to the president and Congress that, "the changing nature of war and its dangers will not allow for any lengthy period of time for an emotional mobilization for a major conflict."
represent KU students on this issue? Was she student body president during this conference on the topic of that question was there not some of her trip to another institution where students she is supposedly representing, could be expelled, or referendum included in the Student senate elections scheduled to fill that purpose? If so, how could it do that when very few students knew the question would be
This sort of "representation" is patently unfair. Including the very serious issue of the draft in the balloting without adequate representation and assignment of the principal of fairness.
I was especially dismused to see Ms. Berlin accept the doublethink put out by the Carter administration. Draft registration.
The draft has been used in the past for slowly escalating conflicts in far-off third world countries. The people of the United States have expressed that they do not want anymore Vietnamese.
how is that going to affect the Soviets? If it is just a gesture it will have no impact whatsoever. If it is more than a gesture, we should step down toward reinforcement of the draft
We do not need the draft and that is clear to many of our political and military leaders. Draft legislation is being considered by lawmakers. Most military leaders agree that we could not win a conventional war because of our inability to transport and deploy troops in the Pacific, successful war in the Persian Gulf (or Western Europe for that matter) only with the use of nuclear weapons. The war would be much more dangerous or man or woman dragged could hit the beaches.
The Draft will not help us defend our-
Many people embrace the draft as a way to keep our military forces strong and increase the number of the troops. To those who believe only the only way to do that, say, I increase the pay.*
Right now the military is filled with the poor and the disadvantaged who have no better options in civilian life. An increase in pay would attract more people and increase the strength and quality of the armed forces. The draft is simply a technique to force the soldier to subsistulate the cost of the military low-coping low-paying and unwilling servitude.
Efforts to reintroduce the draft must be resisted. The Kansas Anni-Draft Committee is active in cities in the state. We include college students, high school students, workers, the young and the old. We urge you to join with us when we are ready. Before they call you. You can call us at
... and I suppose you have a list of demands?
Eric Kirkendall
482. 6344 or come to our meetings, which are held at 2 p.m. every Saturday in the Kansas Union.
Lawrence graduate student
To the Editor:
Unsigned KSU jabs disgusting, unfitting
As both an alumnus of Kansas' State University and a KU graduate student, I was ashamed of the tact taken in the last game when Ms. Elena described fun reaction at Saturdays' KU-RState basketball game in Manhattan. That some KU students take such joy in bering their sister school seems to be no less important than the action of the KState crowd.
Seeking to perpetuate the admittedly falses "Snoop Hill" tag that has so long actioned, he and his team have editorial made reference to statutes that are apparently meant to intimate that KState is merely bush league. Let it be known that KState will not finish in the final four of the NCAA three times and that KState coach Jack Hartman will continue to perform percentages among active college coaches.
Kansans as a whole have much to be proud of when it comes to the level of basketball played here. It would be to Kansans that they should be within the realm intended, that for competition and sportsmanship. While I cannot condone the antics of the KsSTate students who acted unreasonably, neither should we allow the blanket and unsigned student to participate in the game. They are not beftailing to the student populace or to the goals of this institution.
Casey S. Halsey
Casey S. Halsey
Topeka first year law student
Iran revolution not celebration for all
To the Editor:
I am writing in response to a window display in the Kansas Union. It reads "Islamic Revolution in Iran, 1st Annual Celebration."
Certainly the majority of KU students, including myself, were pleased at the events in Iran last February. The Shah exited after a week and told his own people. The new government, led by the Ayatollah Khomeini, created a tremendous optimism for the future. Basic human rights, ruthlessly suppressed under the shah, had good triumphed over the forces of evil.
Or did they? The Islamic Revolution in Iran has precipitated one ugly event that remains unresolved. Consequently, there have been 16 mosques and the 50 American hostages in Tehran and their families back home. For them, life is hell. The families of those hostages recently marked a date on their tear-stained uniforms 'Emaslah Takeover,' 10th Day.
Phillip S. Braverman Wichita senior