The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 28, 1991, Page 3, Image 3
Banks
Bush must immediately reform
weak American banking system
Contrary to popular belief, there are pressing issues in the Un
ited States besides the Persian Gulf war. One of the most impor
tant of these concerns is the crisis of American banks.
Because of the growing financial instability of the larges
American banks, the President and Congress have begun discus
sions to reform the system. This reform includes plans to deregu
late banking, which according to the Jan. 12 Economist, "wouk
allow Danks to enter new businesses, join with new partners ant
spread across the country."
Deregulation may sound like a good idea, allowing banks to g(
into new profitable areas and boosting their profits. It sounds lik<
a way to create a more free market economy. However, as colum
nist William Grieder pointed out in the Feb. 7 Rolling Stone, dere
gulation does anything but that.
Deregulation had disastrous effects on the airline industry anc
the infamous savings-and-loans. Deregulation leads to unlimitec
competition, which leads to bankruptcies and eventually mergers
The net result is a few companies that dominate the industry
Monopolies are not part of anybody's idea of a "free market."
Even more dangerous is the proposal "to allow non-financia
CnmnAniftS tf> nwn mmmprrial hanlrc" (Frnnnmivt Tan Thi<
would make for huge megacorporations with a hand on the controls
of the economy; something believers in a free market shoulc
not want.
The regulation of the banking system limits what they can do
but also protects the small banks of the country from competition
from the big conglomerates. It is the small banks that take the
risks to provide loans to small businesses and to poor families thai
want to buy their first house.
Instead of making it easier on the rich banks, the Bush Administration
should direct the Federal Reserve to loosen the mone>
supply, providing cheap credit to finance economic recovery. The
government must think about financial equity in this country while
we fight for political equity abroad.
"YOU CALLEPA6AIN, SIR?"
The Gamecock
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Carolyn Griffin
Business Manager
ucueia inn uctiii&nuun win iry iu prim an tellers received. Leuers snouiu
be, at maximum, 250 to 300 words long. The writer must include full name, professional
title if a USC employee or South Carolina resident, or year and major if
a student. An address and phone number are required with all letters sent. The
Gamecock reserves the right to edit letters for style, possible libel or in case of
space limitations. The newspaper will not withhold names under any
circumstance.
I
I ^>
5
I i cttcdo
In* Cm I I Cm II v>
; Soldiers fighf
to protect U.S
r To the editor:
. This letter is addressed to a
those individuals who feel the ne<
to march in protest against o
president, our soldiers and our i
volvement in the coalition again
Saddam Hussein.
The purpose of this letter is
voice the opinion of an advoca
of our country's efforts. Supporte
of this war are speaking out a
over the nation. The silent majori
will remain silent no more.
Many people shout out again
what they believe is a war beir
fought over oil. It truly escapes n
how so many people can be s
naive. Anyone who thinks that th
war is simply over oil has no coi
cept of the complex nature of tl
situation or any knowledge of tf
basic facts.
If cheap oil was our only coi
cern, we could just pour all of 01
money into the development of n
fineries in other oil rich countrk
such as Mexico and Venezuel;
We would then have a vast enoug
?*
auuicc; ui uii iu 1101 even give oat
dam a second thought.
This war has far greater deptl
This war involves liberating
country under siege that has no rt
sources of its own to defend itse
against Saddam's tyranny.
As Americans, defenders o
freedom, we have exercised on
only logical option. There is n
reasoning with a madman who be
lieves that he is living out his des
tiny. Putting an end to Saddam'
aggression now is the only way t
assure that he does not develop th
nuclear technology that woul
make him an unstoppable force ii
the future.
When we consider Saddam's ac
tions, we must not forget the inci
dents in the past with other ruth
less dictators. Adolf Hitler is tto
prime example. He began his reigi
of terror by overthrowing smaller
weaker nations.
The world sought to appeas<
him rather than confront him im
mediately, which allowed hi:
power to grow immensely out o
control. There are no words evei
l&lIUJIQiy SUULIg WIVJUgll IVJ dlLCIIip
to accurately describe the pain an<
horror Hitler inflicted on masses o
innocent people.
The world would have beer
foolish to believe that Saddan
would be satisfied with the acquis
ition of merely Kuwait. He is ;
madman on a rampage with no re
gard for human life. If permittee
this man will seek to turn the Aral
world into his own persona
empire.
A man this irrational, a mar
who claims that "Americans wil
swim in their own blood," is i
man that can only be dealt with bj
the use of force.
I am not just some cold outside
observer to this war with nothing
in my personal life at stake. Thi:
tragedy has affected my life ven
deeply. I have had to stand bad
and watch as both my family anc
friends have marched off to the
front lines. It is their loyalty, dedi
cation and willingness to serve thi<
country has inspired me to actively
and persistently voice my suppor
of them and their efforts in the glf.
i I believe that it is a blatant con
TO THE ED1TC
tradiction to claim to support the
soldier but not the war. They are
doing their job. They are doing
what they have been trained to do.
It is only because of those brave
men and women a half a world
Ill ci ytuj uiai ill 11115 tUUIIUy
^ even have the right to voice their
ur opinions. ?
n_ Regardless of how anyone feels
st about this war there is nothing that
can be done to change the events
to that have already occurred. There
te is no turning back. The decision
re has been made and the plan put
LU into action. Dividing the country
ty now will serve no purpose. Every
citizen has justification for their
st anger. I am infuriated!
,g The direction of that anger
ie should be at Saddam Hussein.
i0 President Bush in no way wanted
js this war any more than any other
1. American. It's time to pull
ie together in support of our nation's
ie efforts, its leaders, its men and
each other.
God bless our soldiers and bring
ir them home safe!
?_ Alice Branton
>s USC College Republicans
a.
j! Animal testing
not intelligent
a
To the editor:
If The Office of Sponsored Programs
and Research has been circuf
lating letters and pamphlets exit
plaining why USC needs to use
o animals in research. The tone of
' the letter is conspiratorial ? para>
phrasing, the content implied it
s was "US" (researchers and faculty)
0 versus 'THEM" (students and anie
mal rights' advocates).
d What this letter failed to menn
tion was that, consistently, animals
have served as poor models for the
development of human medications
and treatments. In the Sept.
17, 1990 issue of Time magazine,
e the National Cancer Institute (NCI)
n ended 35 years of torture when it
stopped using animal tests and
conceded it had "been using the
s wrong system as a screening device."
NCI scientists are now ems
ploying automated devices and
f computers to test potential cancer1
fighting drugs on human cancer
t cells.
i Other examples of invalid anif
mal test results include the drugs
r^iactKulctllknctfAl / **?nn ?f
J lOlllUVOUUl ^WUIV^II was Ci"
i fective on animals but harmful for
i humans), penicillin, digitalis and
aspirin (which are effective on hui
mans but harmful to animals).
Many alternatives to animal test1
ing now exist: one-celled organ)
isms, tissue or cell cultures, iso1
lated organs, computer techniques
and other mathematical models,
i mechanical models, clinical studies
1 and patient observations.
i With so many alternatives avail/
able, one must ask why any institution
would cling to the inhumane
i practice of animal experimentation.
; The reason is that the research
5 game is quite lucrative for some
/ "scientists."
: Dr. John Orem, Texas Tech
1 University, received over $5 milj
lion from taxpayers for his "research:"
cutting holes in cats'
; skulls and windpipes into which he
r implanted electrodes and forced
t animals to stay awake for fear of
drowning by making them balance
on pedestals in water-filled drums.
)R
The supposed purpose of this research
was the study of Sudden Infant
Death Syndrome and Sleep
Apnea, but medical experts maintain
that John Orem's "work" has
ABSOLUTELY no practical application.
It is ironic that while Orem
was raking in big money, he was
not channeling any of it into
anaesthesia for the cats.
The fact is animal research is
NOT essential and the secretive
manner in which the Office of
Sponsored Programs and Research
I L.J ^L!- . ?
nas appioauieu uns issue lens me
it is very much aware of the
public's intolerance to animal
cruelty.
It is time to end the "gravy
train" for researchers ? let them
earn their money in a way that
does not involve torturing animals.
Leisha Eastergard
Business administration graduate
student
Letter wrong
about blacks
To the editor:
As a white person, I did not take
offense to Octavia Wright's Jan.
21 editorial on the plight of
African-Americans today, l do not
see her as wagging her finger at
whites in particular. Rather, I
sense a sadness on her part; a sadness
because racial discrimination
is still a reality, adversely affecting
all of us in the United States.
While Octavia Wright is disheartened
by the plight of AfricanAmericans,
I am disappointed with
those of European descent. I am
particularly grieved by Spiros Papleacos'
assertion (Gamecock, Jan.
23) that it is low I.Q. scores by
blacks that account for their low
economic and social status in the
United States.
The following is a paragraph
from George K. Cunningham's
text, Education and Psychological
Measurement (1986):
"Loehlin et al (1973), in a study
of blacks, found no association between
the prevalence of blood
groupings inherited from Europeans
and level of intelligence.
Studies of racial mixture and level
of intelligence have also failed to
show more than a slight relationship
with intelligence.
These authors also report data
suggesting that for blacks at the
upper extremes of intelligence, 140
and above, there is a tendency to
find less of an admixture of European
ancestors. This is the opposite
of what would be expected if
differences in intelligence test performance
were largely genetic."
(p.256)
I hope Loehlin's findings cast
shadows on this whole issue of intelligence.
Intelligence tests were
designed to predict academic performance,
not to prove racial
superiority. Indeed, if I.Q. scores
were used to determine racial
superiority, it would not be us of
European descent who come out
on top, but the Japanese.
My thanks to Alex Suaudom's
letter (Jan. 25, Gamecock) which
attends more closely to disputing
claims made by Spiros Papleacos.
Grace Vale McFarland
Counselor education graduate
student
Bf
I
Whites hinder
blacks in U.S.
To the editor:
We are writing in response to
Spiros Papleacos' article in the
Jan. 23 Gamecock. Papleacos' article
displays a degree of ignorance,
and yes, racism that detracts from
an otherwise valid argument.
First of all, to imply that African
Americans blame most of our ills
on whites without looking at all
aspects is unjustly judgmental. The
biggest problems of African
Americans is that too many of
them have no self love or respect;
this serves to make us our own
worst enemies.
Outside-of this majority, our ills
have, like it or not, been the result
of white, snnre.marv Who eke. has
regarded us as non-human until
1865 and for the following
hundred of years treated us as
second-class citizens? Whites have
structured society so that we never
rise above this status.
Additionally, you accuse African
Americans of paranoia; this
paranoia is not unfounded.
If you look at the slaughter of
six million Jews in Nazi Germany
(due to their dark complexions),
the wholesale murder of 22 million
blacks in the Belgian Congo, the
annihilation of Indian nations in
the Americas and the'slaughter of
Vietnamese civilians, it is obvious
that whites have no problem killing
people of color. The Aryan
track record dictates our paranoia.
On the issue of Dr. King, he is
not the god many African Americans
make him out to be, but he is
a great man, a man who was not
perfect.
Besides, who are you to pick
African-American heroes based on
your mixed emotions? You insult
an advocate who inspired millions
of people (black and white) to
strive for a more humane society.
In response to your remarks on
culture, it may surprise or even
humble you to know that the African
culture you describe as "of a
Mediterranean variety* is the civilization
that gave birth to your own.
Despite this, we agree that without
a sense of cultural nationalism African
Americans will never be free
in this racial powder keg.
Concerning the issue of race and *
intelligence, you referred to the
eugenic ravings of Murray and
Herstein. If you look objectively at
history, you will find that blacks
originated civilization in Africa
1 A t_ 11 _ 44 ! M *- -
anu /\5ia wane superior wnues
groped in the darkness of Europe
(read Herodotus and you will see
this). To even base intractable racial
differences on culturally and
socioeconomically biased tests is
absurd.
It is going to take more than 25
years of human ? not civil ?
rights to undo the previous 345
years of murder, rape and, yes, disrriminaHnn
that ?;p oo o nonnlo
UWV11 bliu V TTV UJ U yvupiv
have experienced.
Yes, some integrationist blacks
(NAACP) cry too much sometimes
and do not take the burden of uplift
on our own shoulders, but the
"blindness" here lies in the bigotry
and ignorance of people like yourself.
Peace.
Chris Lindsey
History senior
Sam Livingston
Psychology senior