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Flag burning Flag burning is heinous act, but a freedom we should have The Senate approved a ban on burning or otherwise defacing the American flag Thursday, and this country won't be the same again. The ban, previously approved by the House, cleared the Senate 91-9. It was returned to the House for consideration of changes. Key votes came on two GOP-sponsored changes in wording V.O* 1-a ~i -* - - - * tiiat lA^uiuviaid aaiu wuuiu JiKCW U(UC1U1 pnrdSlIlg llldl WclS U6signed to beat back expected court challenges to the bill's constitutionality. Republican critics say the bill already is likely to fail such a court test. They call for a constitutional amendment as urged by President Bush after the Supreme Court in June overturned the criminal conviction on Texas flag-burner Gregory Lee Johnson on the ground his freedom of speech had been violated. The skirmishing on the Senate floor, however, was between Democrats seeking to push their bill through and Republicans hoping to replace it with the proposed amendment. That measure comes up later this month. The bill calls for up to a $1,000 fine and year in jail for anyone who bums an American flag or defaces it in any one of several other ways. Conservative Republicans urge the amendment on grounds that it would settle the issue once and for all ? it could not be challenged in court. But an amendment is far too drastic a measure for this issue. A law is bad enough, but at least a law can be challenged everywhere. An amendment can't be so easily challenged. It is true that burning the flag and defacing our national symbol is a heinous act worth contempt and scom. But it is an act of expression no matter how it's viewed. There should never be a law outlawing one's right to express himself. Hopefully this law will be struck down by the courts, but noting tne record 01 the court m power nght now, that could be a long shot. And that is too bad. What could be the next mainstay of freedom to bite the legal dust? c ;'' ? -i ^ a<ww tPtTTl *r.u>iAS f*fr-nrr+.TCHI tu r I" I | 1 he Gamecock Editor in Chief Assistant Photography Editor . WAYNE WASHINGTON JULIE BOUCIIILLON ; Managing Editor Viewpoint Editor J HAL MILLARD JEFF SHREWSBURY : Copy Desk Chief Datebook Editor ; KATHY BLACKWELL JAN PHILLIPS ; Assistant Copy Desk Chief Coinics/Graphics Editor ROBYN THOMPSON ROB LANE ; News Editor Graduate Assistant KELLY C. THOMAS KRISTIN FRANCIS I Assistant News Editors Gamecock Adviser : D- R- HAYNES ERIK COLLINS JEFF WILSON Director of Student Media ' Carolina Life Editor pn ron7a R0BERT THOMAS Production Manager ; Assistant Carolina Life Editor LAURA S. DAY ' GIBSON Assistant Production Manager ; Sports Editor RAY BURGOS CHRIS SILVESTRI , , . Advertising Manager I Assistant Sports Editor MARGARET MICHELS BRANT LONG Assistant Advertising Manner ; Photography Editor JEFFREY B. THOMPSON TEDDY LEPP ^cucrs raacji me uamecocK win try to punt all letters received. Letters should be, at a maximum, 250 to * 300 words long. The writer should include full name, professional title if an employee with USC or Columbia , resident, or year and major if a student. An address and phone number are required with all letters sent. Guest editorials should not exceed 500 words. We reserve the right to edit letters for style or possible libel. The Gamecock will not withhold names under any circumstance. ; 'JT \ ^ Bush's credi Bush sat there behind I his desk last month and yill looked straight into the camera while holding a V bag of crack cocaine, f J the country gasped. * ' Jk ' Every person in the nation saw that huge bag ^ ^ of "useless chemicals" J ^ggflr jj and said to themselves, w K M "Oh my god, the presi- -gdm dent is holding crack sold right out in front j ?? of the White House. J Gil This drug problem Shrewsbury must really be awful." ^?-? It was an effective visual aid. Here is the president sitting in front of a television camera, with most of the countr listening to every word to hear how he is goinf to attack this drug problem, and he holds out drugs for us to see. We believe what he is saying is a heartfelt appeal for the entire country fc rally around his new drug plan. He wants us to believe in him and what he is doing. And we did. we believed when he spouted off statistics and rhetoric. We believed him when he held the drug up to our scrutiny. We believed him when he said the crack had been obtained from a drug dealer right across the street. And we believed him that he was seriously attacking a serious problem with serious programs. But he lied to us. He sat there and looked us Letters to the Writer's letter 3S*! m not dom was personal was ren * voice. I will were gi To the editor: understai Ms. Simmons, a studen I feel it unnecessary to attack housing you personally in a public forum, "they a: as you seem to find it necessary to These si attack me. Please feel free to get in iMCpr touch with me, and we can discuss high re; your difficulties in a more private homeless manner. I never claimed that Marie- Ms. Si Louise Ramsdale "sold out." In priate to fact, it may interest you to know the univt that I am working with her in an charging effort to satisfy the different fac- monetary tions at USC. Also, what you have fact, my chosen to call complaining is actu- my posit ally students exploring all options services of free expression, including only exp university-approved protest fense. Al I feel q A second point in your most re- legal su cent letter explains that students such as who choose off-campus housing going sign leases and forfeit certain pri- undergrai vileges in the process. This is true. However, those policies are out- I will < lined Dre-sienins. not nost- is hi ah r 1 CP O' I " v agreement. Your guests or private does nee activities are not the concern of went up your landlord (unless those activi- phrase th ties are damaging). will only Your next argument is that each more tha housing contract is totally indepen- Federal N dent. You are wrong. It is a stan- creased, dard issue contract outlining the crease we obligations of both parties. These The d obligations are outlined in pre- wrong. I signing. However, with regard to der, nor visitation, the contracts were Encourag changed AFTER signing. To para- the housi phrase section 7 of the general but it doe housing contract: All changes to this contract will be held null and i a __ lunuy is iosi v right in the face, smiled and lied through his | teeth. The crack was not just randomly pickui up i the park across the street The drug dealer did not just happen by. The drug deal was a set up 1 so Bush could fit that little political nugget int( his speech ? for dramatic effect He lied. HE LIED. ^ Most of the country knows there is a treImendous problem with drugs in our society. Most know that indeed crack could probably tx found within a few blocks of the White House, if not right across the street. But it is irritating, if not downright insulting, that our president, ir an attempt to unify the parties under one common goal, felt he had to lie to make his point. ~ We would have gotten the point anyway, but hi * and his speechwriters felt it was necessary to fabricate an ideal visual example of the y problem. ' On the large scale of the drug problem and the way Bush is handling it, the lie was a little one. It really didn't hurt us that much because we understand the intent of the effect he was going for. But for a president to sit there and boldly lie to the entire country about a problem we should be trying to be as honest and forthright about as we can, did great damage to his credibility. Who is going to believe him now about anything? Will the country be now watching his news conferences waiting to catch him in another fib? Maybe, maybe not editor ess reduced to writing and TTCJ/^1 i-U! f )y both parties. This was 111 11 5 ? the students' choice ? I loved without a student is backw agree that most students To the editor: ven an option. I fail to As * junior here at id your logic that because experienced the go it did not agree with the judgments of Holderr contract but signed it, that other decision maker: 5 individuals sold out." three years. Consequ udents simply chose the finally decided EXAC ' two evils, a home with wrong with this in strictions or becoming seems the ultra-consc ers of this state and l refuse to let USC gro immons, I do feel it appro- major university that continue a lawsuit against of any authority has :rsity at this time. I am not take the first step to < ; the university for any that sheds national lij r value, or lawyers fees. In USC will NEVER b lawyers are supportive of USC as long as this ion and are offering their backward, naive trail pro-bono. The university's continues. ...:n 1/I13W Will UC 1U WWII uc: an institution of this size, For a perfect exam] uite sure that there is a am writing about, lool iff that handles matters lutely sacred opportu this. Your money is not versity could have ha< to bickering with ing Stones had pe duates. Williams-Brice Stadi the largest stadiums ii igree with you that tuition east Mr. King Dixon j nough, and the university sion making staff ma d full funding. Housing blunder, and a selfish 6 percent To again para- denying the use of th e contract; Housing costs the Stones, go up 1.5 percent and no n 2 percent only if the This concert, were linimum Wage Law is in- occurred, would have The conditions for in- lions of dollars in re^ :re not met. university, and to the ictation of morality is umbia metropolitan i am not engaging in slan- this area will never ki am I suing the innocent decision makers in citi< ing students not to sign lotte, Raleigh and , ng contract is an option, smart enough to seize s not solve the problem. opportunity. So long Laurie Kay Snelson mains passive and ign English junior fact, USC and Coluir rith crack lie But either way, the country will always have that in the back of its mind and will always be skeptical of anything he proposes. Bush has hurt himself badly on this one. It's one thing to say things you thought were correct and be wrong. People can understand that from their elected officials. They're human too. But when one of them gets on the tube and outright distorts the truth, people are going to be offended. Did Bush think we're all too stupid to ever find out? Obviously so. This kind of tactic is typical of Bush and his political hootenanny. They've been presenting this kind of staged political event since he ran for the Republican primary. 5 First, it was a flag in every shot, now it's crack from a bogus drug deal. What's next? A computer-generated picture of Gorbachev burning babies? Bush didn't have to lie about this. He could have just held the crack aloft and told where it really came from, but he chose not to. He chose to go for the effect and damn the truth. Whether it was all his doing, or none of his doing, or all his staffs idea or just something they kicked around the office, it doesn't matter. A trust has been compromised, and the country won't forget it He's really hurt himself and us bv treating * w such a terrible problem with such awful judgment And how long will it be before anyone trusts his judgment again? ' J main a nothing. Gee, maybe after a . IKing few concerts, USC would have m enough money to better the parkar CI ing situation, or buy a new computer, or go a year without a tuition hike. Wouldn't that be nice? USC, I have Why was this decision made? od and bad Perhaps old blood and guts Dixon nan, Fair and thinks only football should be s at USC for played in football stadiums. Giant ently, I have Stadium? RFK? L.A. Coliseum? -TLY what is Hoosierdome? Measly Carterstitution. It Finley Stadium? . . . ? I saw the trvative lead- Stones at RFK stadium in he university Washington, D.C., last week. The w up into the security force was minimal, and in it is. No one fact was never even needed, the guts to What's more, I am quite certain Io something that the Redskins will be able to ght on USC. play there next week. >ecome THE Perhaps officials are understancmsll.tnu/n /loKK, n>l>i/>t?n? Untd ? ? uaui; iwuv/iaui iu uuiu a wuiiu^il Od i of thought immense as the Stones' tour for the maiden performance in the stadium. But what excuse will offiple of what I cials use when they turn down c at the abso- another smaller show? nity the uni- Columbia and USC stand on the J if the Roll- verge of being propelled into a rformed in multi-million dollar concert urn, one of market, and unless someone takes n the South- the initiative to allow something and his deci- like this to come to USC, Columde a crucial bia and the university will continue decision, by to play subservient roles to the e stadium to likes of Charlotte, Raleigh (N.C. State), Durham (Duke and UNC) and Atlanta (Georgia Tech). ? it to have The naivete, the backward thinkbrought mil- ing, and the small town attitudes of 'enue to the USC's decision makers must entire Col- change. Students, local residents irea, money and Columbia merchants are all iow because being deprived of an outstanding es like Char- opportunity. Atlanta are It's time for Columbia and USC an excellent to really DO something! as USC reorant to this Scott Saunders ibia will re- Public relations junior