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Tuesday, September 29, 1987 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Presidential power
President Reagan is an expert at getting tough. It's what he does best.
Now Congress must get tough with the president.
Reagan refuses to follow the terms of the 1973 War Powers Act, saying that it doesn't apply to U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf. Reagan calls attacking Iranian vessels in the Persian Gulf a defensive action that isn't hostile enough to warrant the War Powers Act.
The controversy arose again on Sept. 21 after a U.S. military helicopter attacked an Iranian ship. U.S. officials have said they tracked the Iranian ship by radar and air surveillance for several days and discovered that it was laying mines. In addition, U.S. sailors placed explosives on the Iranian ship and sunk it.
The War Powers Act would force Reagan to give Congress reports on U.S activity in the Persian Gulf. Congress also would have the power to end U.S. military involvement, regardless of the Reagan administration's opinion.
Reagan should not be given a free hand in this situation. He needs to be held accountable to the American people. Congress represents the American people.
Congress should insist on its Constitutional rights in the decision-making process now, before it's too late.
Criminal catchers
In a recent sting operation code-named Project Looking Glass, the U.S. Postal Service and the attorney general's office took aim at a most despicable crime - child pornography.
Unfortunately, the project also shattered some cherished tenets of fairness in criminal prosecution.
Doing business as the fictitious Far Eastern Trading Company, the Postal Service sent fliers soliciting purchase orders to people who were known to have bought pornography through the mail in the past. These orders actually were filled, using materials that were reproduced from previously confiscated photographs, magazines and films. Buyers were later arrested.
Though buying pornography that exploits children is a crime, the arrests made under the sting may be thrown out of court because of the tactics used. The solicitations may constitute entrapment.
The government would have done better to track down and punish the producers of child pornography than to pursue individual buyers through legally questionable tactics.
Child pornography is a serious offense. As Kansas City attorney Mike Lerner put it, "people who exploit children like that should be put away."
TV timeout
As every Jayhawk fan knows, Kansas basketball suffers slightly away from Allen Field House. We have won 48 consecutive games at home, but our road record lags a bit.
Last year, the basketball program suffered when, in the middle of the conference race, the team played four consecutive games on the road for national television. This year, the traveling threat is back. To schedule games in accordance with network schedules, KU again must face a road schedule that is demanding and a hindrance to its quality of play.
As it stands, KU will have seven national TV appearances tns season, only two of which are at home. In the heat of conference games, the Jayhawks play four road games with only one home game squeezed in. The heavy road schedule is due to the scheduling of games around TV appearances.
Coach Larry Brown told one newspaper, "It hurt us in the conference race last year to play four times on national TV in the middle of the race. I don't want it to happen again."
Jayhawk supporters don't want it to happen again, either. Scheduling around TV appearances hinders the players' performance, and thus the quality of the game. TV revenues are indeed high, but scheduling to accommodate networks during conference play is unfair. Top-rate conference play should not be sacrificed for sporadic TV coverage.
Correction
Because of an editor's error, Barbara M. Paris, administrative officer I in the department of English, was misquoted. In her letter to the editor, she wrote, "While I'm 100 percent behind the Margin of Excellence Program, it simply must not be classified employees who are sacrificial lambs — yet again."
Editorials in this column are the opinions of the editorial board.
News staff
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"NO FOOTBALL?! WHAT GOOD IS FALL WIDDONFOOTBALL?!"
U.S. aid promotes democracy
Despite the recent approval of the Guatemala peace plan by Central American leaders, the United States should continue its support of the Nicaraguan freedom fighters. And tomorrow, when Mr. Obama will visit Congress should be prepared to renew its opposition to the Sandinista's stronghold in Nicaragua.
The call for restoration of aid, which President Reagan has made, should not be considered an attempt to undercut the peace process agreed upon in August, but instead, as Sen. Bob Dole said, it should be viewed as "a hedge against Sandinista bad faith."
This type of hedge tactic, as Dole suggests, would place the appropriated money in an escrow-type account so that in the likely event of Sandinista non-compromise with the accord, the designated monies would be made available to contras to further their democratic pursuits. In the less likely scenario of Sandinista compliance, the money would be retained by the U.S.
This is the most sensible approach the U.S. can take, given the sorry record amassed by Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega and his Marxist counterparts, Ortega's "revolution without frontiers" must be needed than a mere signature and a few cosmetic promises, because the stakes are too high.
The U.S. can't afford to put its unbounded faith behind a man who publicly stated that elections "in no way, like a lottery, decide who is going to have power. For this power belongs to us."
Marxist Nicaragua, controlled by Ortega, is a troublesome island of oppression in the wave of
The Sandistas betrayed the people's revolution in 1979, reneged on a promise made to the Organization of American States to democratize, and have undeniably committed themselves to the war against Islamic states throughout Central America. This threat both benefits fragile democracies and the security of the U.S.
Tomas Borge, Interior Minister of Nicaragua,
etched Sandinista intentions and their Marxist commitment in stone by saying, "Our) revolution's moral imperative and historical character make it inevitable that the energies released here will be universal in all Central America."
democracy that has swept Central America since Reagan took office in 1981; witness the democratic rise of nations such as Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador during this period. And the U.S. should not compromise these unprecedented gains in the region by abandoning the contras, especially in light of Ortega's trip to Cuba to "consult" with Fidel Castro, just hours after signing the agreement.
Some liberals would like to blame Reagan for the numerous problems in Central America. Critics say that Reagan, not Ortega, is at fault and that he is the one making peace impossible.
The fact is, Reagan sees a short-term solution, like the cosmetic Guatemalan agreement, as only a progressive move; he realizes that more concrete steps must be taken to provide a realistic, long-term solution that is both beneficial to the Nicaraguan people and to the United States.
How conveniently opponents of the president's policy forget that, in 1891, it was the U.S. that offered to help disband the contras if the Sandinistas would adopt basic democratic principles and keep their revolution a domestic affair. But Ortega declared his revolution "profoundly anti-Yankee and Marxist-Leninist," which ended the proposals.
And many also forget that it was President Jimmy Carter, not Reagan, who originally suspended aid to the revolutionaries in Managua. After the revolution, Carter sent more aid in 1979 to Panama, and then in 1982 to Zulia in the four previous years combined. But Ortiz lies and broken promises ended U.S. assistance.
Now Reagan is supposed to end his support of the contraes and embrace Ortega's "promises." If Reagan doesn't, critics will say that he's the one impeding the peace process.
The United States should, in an effort to assure Sandinista compliance with the Guatemala accord, adopt a plan similar to the one suggested by Sen. Dole that pledges support to the contrains. This would not be a disruptive move, just a clear message to Ortega that the U.S. is wise to his ways and that it will not rest until democracy in Nicaragua is a reality.
Christopher Wilson is an Olathe junior majoring in political science and economics.
K·A·N·S·A·N
MAILBOX
Write your senator
I recently sent this letter to Sen. Nancy Kassebaum. My hope in writing her was to have my voice heard in regard to her upcoming vote on contra aid. I written to her before, and to her credit, she has always faithfully acknowledged my letters with one or more form letters. Granted, she's a busy lady, but I really wonder whether she ever reads these letters. I'm sure her staff must go through a majority of them. They probably just show her a tally of overall opinions. By sending a copy of my letter to the Kansan, I thought it might stand a better chance of her reading it. It might also encourage others to follow suit and write to her.
When contra aids finally come up for vote, you voted against the people of Kansas! You admitted that of all the issues you'd ever voted on you received more contact from your constituents on contra aid than on any other and that you were convinced that the people of Kansas were for the most just against contra aid. Yet knowing this, you went ahead and voted against us!
Contra a tie is coming up to bat again, and quite frankly I'm about to give up on you. I worked myself sick last spring to help educate people in Kansas about the evils of the contras, trying to get folks to make contact with you as to their opinions on contra a tie.
Dear Nancv.
You don't know the furor you caused among us. I no longer feel that I live in a democracy. My voice is not heard because you chose to veto it. You chose to override the people's vote, presuming your own to be more educated. That's not your place. Yours is to represent the
overall voice of Kansas, which you failed to do.
Even if you feel we are wrong and even if we are wrong,
we did not vote you into office so that you could override us. You have to let us make our own judgments, for the possibility of you being wrong about a certain issue is greater than the possibility of the majority of your constituents being wrong.
Meanwhile, people are being murdered, kidnapped, raped and tortured with our tax money; silos are being binned up along with trees; electric plants or electric plants; crops are being burned; all because you and the minority of the U.S. people have chosen to harass these dirt-poor people.
Why not befriend Nicaragua? Ask for forgiveness. Stop contra aid. Stop the contras. Build schools. Send teachers. Build hospitals. Send doctors.
Unfortunately, poverty makes the most critical ground for communism and revolution. Why not pour aid into friendship aid? Only then will communism be weakened. Only then will democracy stand a chance. Nicaragua badly needs doctors and teachers. The Cubans send the Nicaraguas Cuban teachers who naturally add a little Marxism to their ABCs. We should send U.S. teachers so that democracy can be given an equal voice.
Give peace a chance. I beg you! Stop the killing. Vote no on contra aid. You don't have to be pro-Sandinista to be anti-contra aid. Support the (Costa Rican President) Arias plan. It's a wonderful one, especially because it was formed by all of Nicaragua's own most immediate neighbors. Vote for the people of Kansas in the process. It's your duty.
Called to action
Marta Ines Brow, Lawrence senior
I do not know about anybody else, but I am angry! I am from a small town in Wyoming and when I came to school this fall I noticed that tuition had risen $147.50 for out-of-state students. I do not object to paying for my education as long as I receive the classes I need and want, and am provided with the essentials for getting this quality education.
But it really upsets me when I end up standing in line for hours just to be told that three-quarters of my classes are closed. What's worse is when I do get into my classes, they are so full that neither enough books or chairs are provided. What about the libraries? Rumors have it that they do not have the money to buy current material. I also have been told that KU lost nine professors last year due to low-paying salaries.
I am addressing my fellow students. This is our chance! Let's get involved and let the governor know that we are concerned and willing to take the necessary steps to keep KU the respected and highly-rated school that it is.
Great — so what can we do? We can become a part of H.E.R.O. The Higher Education Rescue Operation is designed to create a general awareness of this upcoming proposal. It encourages the students to write to the governor and urge him to say "yes" to the Margin of Excellence.
This is ridiculous! I am paying $3,200 a year (and more now), to attend the school I honestly love, but I want to see action. Is anybody else feeling my frustration? I chose KU because of its reputation as a top public university. I do not want to see KU declared to be a mediocre school. Come on everyone, let's do something about this!
The Board of Regents has realized that we are facing a dilemma. They proposed a program called Margin of Excellence This is a three-year proposal to increase KU's overall budget to 95 percent of those of our peer institutions and to increase professors' salaries to 100 percent of those of our peers.
Sherri Sweers, Green River, Wyo., sophomore
BLOOM COUNTY
OPUS, DEAR... I MAY
ONLY BE A HEAT HALLUCIN-
ATION. BUT I'M STILL
YOUR MOTHER AND
YOU'LL LISTEN TO ME...
by Berke Breathed
.