The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, December 02, 1987, Page 3, Image 3
Viewpoint I
Wednesday, December 2, 1987 THE GAMECOCK 3 -
AMY DELPO Editor in Chief
STEPHEN GU1LFOYLE Copy Desk Chief
1 IlC BRENDA BLYTH News Editor
| BRAD FARRAR Viewpoint Editor
VjBttlCCOCK TAMARA WILLIS Features Editor
$ WAYNE WASHINGTON Sports Editor
KEITH JONES Photography Editor
ROBB LANE Graphics Editor
J PAULA WU.I IUWILZ, ucat tuuor
Meeting
Real motives for peace effort
by Soviets should be examined
The Soviet Union is trying to enter the 21st century as a more
advanced nation, or so it would seem.
Indeed, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, in an interview this
week with NBC's Tom Brokaw, discussed a movement toward
peace and prosperity for the coming years. The Soviet Union is a
world leader in many areas. Militarily, their only competitor in
terms of technology and raw tonnage is the United States. But
the Soviets have a long way to go if they have any hopes of improving
their standard of living in the future.
The Soviet Union spent $258 billion on defense, including expenditures
for more than 4 million military personnel, or 14 percent
of their gross national product in 1983. That is a monumental
expense. The United States uses just more than 6 percent of
its r.NP to fund a military that in manv wavs is better than the
Soviet defense. The key here: our GNP is almost twice as large
as theirs. Simply put, we have more money.
This will continue to be the case unless the Soviet Union
^reduces its defense spending. And Gorbachev knows it.
Therefore, he is wise to play the nice guy, reformer role. It
would be foolish to enter a bidding war with a nation of unparalelled
economic resources like the United States. Further
escalation in an arms race would ? at best ? keep the status
quo in the Soviet Union.
Is Gorbachev genuinely interested in peace, or do his motives
run deeper? On the surface, he seems to be unlike any recent
Soviet premier. Indeed, at times he seems quite personable. But
compared to his predecessors, that is not saying much. One
might ask what Gorbachev's position would be if his country
were experiencing an economic boom? Perhaps then we would
know his true character.
The United States is in a position to be taken advantage of,
and if we are gullible, we could lose a strategic advantage at the
upcoming conference. The Soviets have broken faith before.
_ Maybe this newfound amiability is out of necessity. It also looks
W? suspicious in light of recent American discovery of a Soviet version
of the Strategic Defense Initiative.
The Soviet Union cannot continue to pour billions of their
hard-earned rubles into a defense they may never fully use. They
arc in dire straits economically, and everyone knows it. Gorbachev's
true nature is still unknown. The United States is
holding the cards at the upcoming summit. It will be interesting
to see how we play our hand.
I 1
"YOU'RE HYSTERICAL"
(DI90 7
_ .1 Tlie Staff
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Assistant Copy Desk Chief Comics Fditor
: Andy Bcchtel Tracy Mixson
Assistant News Kditors Historian
Todd Uines Bobby Jones
Jeff Shrewsbury Adviser
Assistant Features Kditor Hill Rogers
f-'irdous Bamji Acting Student Media
Assistant Sports Kditor Director/Advertising Manager
Rae Leigh Margaret Michels
Assistant Photography Kditor Production
Jonathan Williams Chuck Norris
; Dutehook Kditor Son Ma
^ Jenny Sharpe Assistant Advertising Manager
Dawn Miller
I.elter* Policy: tht i,amtfotk ?M 10 <? l"l"l kllm Itturi UouM k?, al rmlmum. J? la >00 ?ordi lom Citth
tdltortoh ihould ?ol ?ir?rd SO# ?ord? W? tttint ih< rt?kt lo ?dl! klltrt loi il)W o? poitibk lltwl Ttu (,amtco<k nil) not ?ltkhold
nimti under ?> ilriumtH?<?
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Death penalty
"Why do we kill people who kill people, to show
that killing people is wrong?"
This statement, an anti-death penalty slogan of
the American Civil Liberties Union, appears simple,
but says a lot about the reasoning and legalities
of capital punishment in the United States.
James Bowden, a mentally retarded black man,
was tried for murder by an all-white jury of which
blacks were excluded. He was executed in Georgia
in June 1986.
Sentenced to death as an accomplicc in a
murder, Doyle Skillern was executed in January
1985. A short time afterward, the actual killer,
having received a life sentence, became eligible for
parole.
Not only is the imposition of the death penalty in
the United States cruel and unusual punishment,
but also innocent and mentally disturbed people
have been legally executed.
Evidence suggests that death sentences are imposed
discriminated against blacks and the poor.
Many arguments are used in attempts to defend
killing capital offenders by methods such as electfocutiori,
lethal poison injections, gas asphyxiation,
hanging and-firing squads, depending on
where one commits a capital offense in the United
States.
In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the
death penalty was "cruel and unusual punishPlaying
poker,
Is it just me, or is my family nuts?
Before you answer, let me tell you about what a
typical Thanksgiving Day holiday should be for
most people, according to the normal friends I
have.
A typical Thanksgiving Day by every normal
standard begins at about 10:30 a.m. Mother has
been up since just after dawn, and there is a lilting
scent of freshly baked pics and browning turkey
tumbling around the house.
Dad gets up shortly thereafter as the coffee
aroma ? decaffeinated of course ? tickles the inside
of his nose. He washes up, gets the paper and
sits down for a cup of java at the breakfast table.
He might say "good morning" to his lovely wife,
but in some families this is optional.
And there he will sit for the next two hours.
Between the time Dad has his tilth cup ot cottce
and the time Brent Musburger says "We'll be back
at halftime. . (that would be between about
11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.) the kids have staggered
down the stairs holding their heads and trying
desperately to push their matted hair into place.
Mother sends them all to get dressed before the
relatives show up at 1 p.m., and Dad watches the
Detroit Lions lose, another Thanksgiving
tradition.
Just as Mom has everything about ready, the
relatives show up one by one, licking their lips and
imagining what they can do to the house in three
short hours.
Anyway, after the third quarter, the kin is there;
the bird is done; the family sits down to give thanks
? a beautiful, peaceful day with family.
f
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I v^uiuiuii muiig didate cxp
about Dole ?5
; deal. Als<
To the editor: not been
I was expecting the pre- town" is
Thanksgiving issue of The Gamecock spoke to
to be an enjoyable one. After all, and USC
USC crushed the Titters. Unfor- Veteran's
: tunately, my expectations were trip to th
quickly shattered, because the col- Secretar
umn titled "I wonder if Dole enjoyed Fili/.abeth
USC's victory" cast a sour note on return t<
the win. Thanksgi'
four visit?
If Stephen Guilfoyle dislikes a alone, an
:?i a f,
V.UIIUIUUIV, lie .1IIUUIU Ul ??U.J i? IV
least examine the facts before he Guilfoylc
writes a speculative column like his I woul
recent Bob Dole attack. Considering presidenti
the previous visits by Paul Simon and Columbia
Jesse Jackson, USC is hardly "the Doles ha*
Republican university." 1 am however,
t
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ALL THE
^ iiMrarn V 5upR^EI
At the Buci^t Summit.
r wrong, not s
S ci m u 01 >
merit" and violated the Eighth and Fourteenth
Amendments to the Constitution. However, in
1976, the court reversed its decision after states
revised their death penalty statutes promising fair
and proportionate imposition.
And although capital punishment is the law of
the land, there is no conclusive evidence of it making
society safer, undermining the most frequently
used argument of capital punishment being a deterrent
against violent crimes.
The death sentence has no worthwhile benefit to
society. It only fulfills the desires of families and
loved ones of murder victims to have vengeance on
the offender.
, drinking is mj
Somehow it has never worked like that for my
family.
For my clan, the day doesn't begin until at least
kickoff ? except for my mother, who probably
had been up since at least the pre-game show.
My sister and 1 stagger from our rooms, draped
in ratty T-shirts and sweatpants, and fall back
down on the couch just as the Lions fumble on
their first run from scrimmage. Ana soon my stepfather
arrives holding a peanut butter and jelly
sandwich in one hand and a Diet Coke in the other.
Then the relatives arrive ? both of them.
My grandparents are a strange duo, always smiling,
even though they both get up at about 5 a.m.
everyday for no reason I can find.
The normal family is dressed in sweaters and
nice clothes for Thanksgiving, but other than my
grandmother and mother, everyone else is dressed
in raggy jeans or sweatpants.
And most families sit around and talk family
r editor
hat any Democratic can- straight about the oth<
ressing an interest in atten- before he attacks tl:
otball game would receive Gamecock too.
reatment given to Bush and
even get a jersey out of the Ar
implying that Dole has International slut
present "on campus or in
i ridiculous; the senator ? i|?pn
a large group of veterans I-I
students at Seawcll's on 1
Day and made a special Witl
\e fianie. His wife, former
y of Transportation To the editor:
Dole, visited USC and will On behalf of Studen
3 Columbia during the would like to thank tl
ving holidays. Those were nuinity for extendi
, in the month of November welcome to Sen. Robei
d only one of those visits the Carolina-Clerr
)otball game (contrary to Regardless of the comp
's insinuation). partisan individuals, I I
d like to see any and all was well received; and
ial candidates visit USC and will return to USC in t
i with the dedication the and speak to students
ji* ?>vhihit?vt I vi Miild hone I hf? ;i^ ?><*v
that Guilfoyle gets his facts Democratic rivals hav
i aeierrem
In addition to the deterrence argument, there arc
other attempts to justify executing Americans. hZ:;
Many speak of the high cost of maintaining j ;vT
murderers in prison and on death row, although
studies reveal that court appeals, which are common
and necessary for serious criminal offenses, l~
can cost twice as much as imprisonment for life. L: j
A common emotional argument is used when all
else is unconvincing. It goes something like this:
"If someone came into your home and killed your
family, don't they deserve to be killed as well?"
Some would answer "yes" to this question based
on emotion and a desire for vengeance, although :v:
killing the offender would not bring back one's te
family and would certainly not be punishment for |||
the offender.
Although I am against the death penalty, I agree
with those who argue that murderers have all too t||
often gotten off easy. However, more effort must ||f
be made to improve the correctional system and the p?
judiciary process. Politicians and correctional of- m
ficials must find effective means of deterring ||
violent crimes and not depend on the myth of the ^ p
death penalty being a deterrent."* p
eapnai pumsnment may oe me law or me lanu in ~
the United States, but so too was slavery and
segregation at one time. When Americans become
better informed of the death penalty's unfair, cruel
and inhumane nature, it will be abolished as well.
f Thanksgiving
things until the turkey is done, but my family sits
around and argues about which NFL cornerback
has the most interceptions returned for a
touchdown when his team is winning in the third
quarter on Thanksgivings during years with a seven
in them. And my grandmother always has the
answer.
Then, just as the Lions throw their second interception,
my mother starts mixing us drinks ?
strong ones. She says it's the holiday cheer. She
doesn't drink much, but takes great joy in getting
us hammered.
Then, after an hour-long gorging and a two-hour
nap, my grandmother announces it's time for yet
another family tradition, poker.
She gets the pleasure of announcing it, because
the woman has not lost money since Harry Truman
was president.
My wnoie larrniy loves to piay carcis, ana most
of the time they win, but the hard part to accept is
most of the money they win is mine.
1 could take Kenny Rogers for his house and
cars, but my grandmother takes my lunch money.
So let's review. Most people spend Thanksgiving
with their relatives, talking and probably singing
Christmas carols. I spend it drinking and
gamming.
Most grandmothers are sweet little women who
bake cakes and cuddle their grandchildren. My
grandmother is a sweet little woman who drinks,
watches football and takes every cent 1 have in
poker.
My family is not right, but then again we ain't
wrong either. We just march to a different beat.
I
;r candidates past.
icm in The For those who may not know, Sen.
f /-aI? hoc '? 1/inn an/I Hicf inmiicKpH
<1 IVUf, (111 V4 Ui.lllll^UMIIVU
political record. Before entering nany
C. Adams tional politics, Dole was a member of
lies freshman the Kansas House of Representatives
and later the prosecuting attorney for :
Russell County. In 1960, Dole
LlV'U entered the U.S. House of RepresenItatives
and remained there for four
1111 y ,erms unt" lie was elected lo the
Senate in 1968. Other positions Dolehas
held include being the
ts for Dole, I Republican National Chairman and
hie USC com- a'so the 1976 Republican nominee
ng a warm vicc president.
t Dole during Again, we thank you in joining to
ison game. welcome such a highly outstanding
laints of a few political figure as Dole to the fine city
elt the senator of Columbia.
I hopefully he
he near future D. Troy Mullinux
personally on Political science junior
era! of his rress secretary
c done in the Students For Dole
1