Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Viewpoint Election Presidential election again offering listless candidates Politicians. Issues. New Hampshire primary. Feb. 18. Gee, v can't wait. Is it just us, or have all of the presidential candidates of 01 generation been as boring as a scoreless extra-inning baseba game? For the past eight elections, the United States has been forced I elect a president from a quagmire of non-charismatic politic ideology. True, Ronald Reagan was charismatic and made us fe good about spending, but we're feeling repercussions from h short-sightedness. What the United States needs is a progressive president with trace of charisma. Unfortunately, we won't Find a candidate of th sort for at least another four years. Look at the candidates this year. Yawn, pass the Vivarin please George Bush. Nothing but a rich Texan whose actions resemb Mikhail Gorbachev. Bush has no effective strategies, and he \i;al1r\\i/inrr ir? i'nHor?ioi/-vn Timr* t/-v rvnt ffir*/-* ill iiiuwioiuu. 11111^ IU ?uit mill uui W1 U111 w. Pat Buchanan. This is the same guy who thinks the homele: should all be thrown into jail. The one thing the United State doesn't need is another conservative in office. David Duke. Got any crosses and white hoods? Enougfi said. Bill Kerrey. I don't think we need a candidate whose last nam reminds us of a Stephen King movie. Besides telling jokes aboi Jerry Brown and lesbians in a bar, he has no real political talent. Jerry Brown. Is the United States ready for another California in office? We don't think so. Paul Tsongas. Aren't those ads with him swimming too chees> Besides, he hasn't presented any kind of a platform. Add the fa< he's in remission from cancer, making him seem weak, and w have another Democrat flop. Shades of Michael Dukakis and Wa ter Mondale revisited. Tom Harkin. The only Democrat with real flair may be too lit eral. Harkin wants an isolationist agenda and in this time of worl unity, it may not be the smartest move. Bill Clinton. First action on poor Bill's agenda should be clear ing up his alleged affair mess. Otherwise, he may be the Demc crats' best hope. However, he needs to stop talking in circles. H has some good ideas, and if he overcomes the affair rap, he ma have the best shot. Abodt the only Americans looking forward to the Democrati and Republican conventions are FOX's owners because "Marrie With Children" will get better ratings. That is if viewers don't fall asleep before they get up to ehang the channel. lfiERfc'5 5ONAETHIM6 /OU PROfeftSLV WON'T ITT ^ mmmMwi f X PUT MV \ GEE, SOti X FOOT IM MV MOPE Voy KAOUTH AGAlM / WASHED IT FIRST. TOD Ay, pop //// ^ ^ '* N?XT UP;"ALL THE PRESIPEMT'5 VE/V" ^ U-> Po^ WHAT'S ^ X DOWTKWOW-^Q^ M^?C?55IO< Ti _ Mfa, -Br I "V | BLS3UUL l l stated purpose? Why buy I alms spending White elephant of a buildin only give high priced adnr 0X1 ravasa nt more per,cs> su?^as ? windows overlooking the skyline, private bathrooms 1 o the editor: own pa^ng lot? Why not USC President Questioned About ^en[ housing money on som Extravagant Spending. will benefit the students, s No, this is not a rerun of newspaper condilioni jn more dorms? headlines of 18 months ago, when Hoi- Lel Mr palms tQ dcrman was forced to resign But it house jn or Septemb could and should be tomorrow s head- ajr conditioning and see ho, line. Our new president John Palms, u wh al a limc when ,es was supposedly brought to USC to is ( lQ ^ , bring some fiscal responsibility to the education in Soulh Carolin srhnnl svstf.m Kill nolninu hac u a a .u a- . J- c buying a building which will changed, and Ihe profligate spending of ^ ? smaf, scctlon student s tuition and taxpayer dollars , , 9 continues the financial trail blazed by cornmuni y. his budget conscious predecessor. If we reduced the surplus; President Palms is pressing for the tors at USC, we wouldn't purchase of a building for future admi- office space. Oh, one fina! nistration needs that only has 51 per- how on earth will this puri cent of its 155,000 square feet useable erate new income for the i for office space. Why buy a building President Palms, look foi when only half of it can be used for its spend money wisely, and fi I Questii Trina Freeman Rite Biology major Mar "I don't think it's up to us to "Alt /e decide something like that. I thin think it's up to God." det< jr tod ill " to * JBD*: ^cros is Gun safety n le s Guns don't kill people. People people. ss This is surely some nifty little Natic 10 ftlflp AQQHPlQtiAn nnKl\r> mlotmno nunto - tu^wiuuun puunv iviauuno vjuuia that for the most part is true. However, f pie with automatic assault rifles can ki lot of people real fast. ^ Blanket gun control is not the answei the problems of crime, accidental killii and people who snap and decide to n school yards filled with children. Howe1 there is no reason to allow the sales of '? sault rifles or not have a manditory age ;t extended waiting period for anyone look e to buy a gun. [- Guns certainly should remain legal those people who like to hunt and/or col } or for those people who feel that they n ^ a gun for protection, but none of these p pie need assault weapons for any reas Even BB guns pose some threat when proper precautions are not taken to ens safety. This danger continues to increase e the fire power of the weapon increas y When the guns people want to purch reach the level of assault rifles, the chai c for harm becomes far too great, d Right to bear I Individual rights are ultimately protect by the right to bear arms. The government and police exist to pi tect individuals against most abuses, but timately, in their absence, the protection body and property depends on the ability an individual to thwart infringement of th rights by all means possible. Of course there should be limits agaii people who want to obtain assault rifles a rocket-powered grenades. These weapo ^ would represent far more of a threat th the protection they would bring against prospective burglar. Handguns, hunting rifles and shotgui on the other hand, should not be controll \ past the extent of a one or two-day waiti w period, and handguns should be the or category of firearms to require registrati or permits. Restrictions on where, when a y how these weapons are to be carried shoi 2 be abolished. ? One of the main contentions of gun cc $ trol advocates is that getting rid of the g weapons will cut down on violent crime That is only addressing the symptoms ol society without looking at the underlyii cause. A | If you have ar a you would like to see addressed ^ drop it in a Suggestion Box or Call T a .useless that will improve the education; g that will the administrative quality of USC linistrators John W. Griffiths III kvn offices, History graduate student Columbia spend'sm- Program nee ething that ? uch as air RllSSiail DOOS ive in his To the editor: w hc'hkes Editor's note: This letter is ret s and less 08 U WQS Sent 10 U S' RePrese and less Floyd Spence. on cr As a constituent voter of yoi 3 ?re. we tT'ct' * am siting to express a c - ^ ^ t !cr regarding U.S. relations with Rus l..v Certainly, this sounds far rei from the everyday concerns administra- American citizen, but with the < need more situations in both the United Stat 1 question, Russia, we should be careful chase gen- overlook opportunities which mi university? to our mutual advantage, r ways to I would like to see NASA or services current opportunities with the Ri on: How do you feel about the dc ;hie Brandon LeRoy Kennedy keting major Music Educatior hough it's a controversy, I "To me it's bett k it's a necessary evil to suffers by beinc ir crimes violent enough than by taking ; eserve it." eye. Nothing is I s Fir?^ V . * leans regulation kill And besides that, the more of them there are, whether in private collections or still in >nal the stores, the more chance there is that tion these rapid-fire death dealers will fall into >eo- hands that will not use and store them prop11 a erly or will use them for criminal purposes. Sure, idiots and criminals can get guns, but r to hopefully the less of them we allow to float lgs, around out there, the less chance the bad kill guys will have to get their hands on them, yer, Therefore, all types of automatic assault as- weapons should be made illegal to sell or and own, and regardless of other gun types that :ing should remain legal, there should be a thorough background check on the potential for purchaser as well as a waiting period and lect maybe a manditory safety test. This will not eed erode anyone's rights. Guns will still be >eo- legal for those who feel they have some on. need to purchase one, and hopefully it will the reduce criminals, hotheads, crazies and unure safe people from hurting themselves or J as others. ;es. ase - Dennis Shealy nee Dennis Shealy is a columnist for The Gamecock. arms important ed The underlying cause of violent crime in America, at least most of it, is drugs. If you ro- want to stop violence associated with drugs, ul- the only rational option is legalization, un- ] of restricted legalization of marijuana, and of federal regulation of heavier substances, eir This will result in an drastic decrease in gang-related violence, and free resources ist for police enforcement in other areas. \ nd Gun control advocates also use the examns pie of other countries. They say gun control an works in Britain. But there you have a \ a small island nation of paranoid limies, look- i ing over each other's shoulders, with black- 1 is, suited bobbies strutting around with billy 1 ed clubs, ready to pounce. They don't speak of > ng Britain's inherent societal oppression as a 1 ily result. on Here in America, we have a nation of nd more than 240 million, with a mixture of ild cultures that naturally breeds conflict. No amount of restriction is going to ease that >n- conflict. If they can't use guns, they'll use se molotov cocktails and car bombs, like they J. do in Northern Ireland, a - Jack Dunn ng Jack Dunn is a staff writer for The Gamecock. i Issue or question in Cross Fire or USC Voices, Please he Gamecock Newsroom at 777-7726. i il, not in the field 0f space exploration. Despite the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russian infrastructure for space exploration remains intact. We could use their heavy payload launch vehicles to rlo transport equipment needed for the construction of the space station. tThe Russian government would rharcrp a mndp.st sum rplativp tn rhp cost of our developing and utilizing our own capabilities. We could save our orinted d?llars while helping these people on ntative the'r way t0 ^ree enterprise. As we approach the 21st century, ur dis- suc^ co^at>?ration will Pave the way to oncem make other ambitious projects, perhaps ;sja even an international lunar base, more moved feasible. of an Note: if you are in agreement with ^urrent the contents of this letter, the office of es and Congressman Spence would love to not to ^ear frorn you- -oca^ ?ffice le'e" ght be phone number is 254-5120. Please repeat to them the contents of this letter, utilize .lames R. Bauernschmidt issians MIBS graduate student * " ' iath penalty? jHttks.- <33wRGilMMNR69Hi^H^NINHMIM * Angela Hernandez 1 major Athletic Training major er if someone ' a9re? with it. Actually, I ] incarcerated don't think they use it an eye for an enough." earned then." Politics expensive - Eric Ward Money is perhaps the most powerful influence in our society. Greed drives us. It drives us to improve and imagine, to ingenuity and creativity. And it drives our government. To use a cliche, money is the oil of the governmental machinery. There are a lot of ways to view this abysmal fact. It's inevitable, and it's entrenched, but is it fair? Consider lobbyists. The amateur politicians. Consider this: Of the people, by the people and for the people. All of them, not just silk-suited, articulate influence peddlers carrying fat checkbooks and thin scruples. Ask yourself a question: Do you think the founding fathers would look favorably upon vote j \ buying? And the bottoip line is, & 1 that's exactly what's happening. \ Companies and interest * groups large and small pay peo- , ^ pie exnorbitant sums to do ev- * * erything in their power to influ- ^ if ence whether laws are passed ? and the details of these laws. This is how it works. A lobbyist tries to establish a relationship with a lawmaker by milling around outside Congressional chambers, lighting cigarettes, buying meals and drinks, maybe picking up a round of golf or two. Once a relationship is developed, the lobbyist has the lawmaker's ear. End of story. Whether lobbyists cross the thin legal line, which they often do, as was the case recently in South Carolina, is really not the issue. The issue is fairness. John Q. Public doesn't have the resources to petition lawmakers in the same manner. The system allows big money to win. There's no equality. Lawmakers and lobbyists argue that any legislator whose worth a damn doesn't allow the fact that a lobbyist picks up a check to be an influence. That's a total cop out and an absolute lie. Two problems. One is that many lawmakers themselves aren't vorth a damn and are influenced. Two is that a free this or a free that is a powerful jsychological influence. Understand human mentally. It's like courtship. And it's an ego boost. The awmaker sits on the patio of some Washington, [).C. cafe, sipping brandy and eating roast duck vhile listening to the concerns of Mr. Marlboro, Vtrs. Cable T.V. or Mr. Military Contractor. What about Mr. Waiter, Mrs. Autoworker and Mr. Janitor? Lawmakers say citizens can write letters or attend meetings, but that's not the same. It's black and white. It should be totally illegal to spend any money on lawmakers in any form. It's unconstitutional to say lobbyists can't petition lawmakers. They can continue their happy marriage, but in dutch style. Each pays for his own lunch, etc. And to make things more fair, lawmakers should be forced to hold public forums in their districts to hear their constituents, perhaps bi-monthly. It should be a job requirement. It's fair, it's right and it's coming, whether they want it or not. IGamecock Editor in Chief Eric Ward Managing Editor..... Tige Watts Copy Desk Chief Kathy Heberger Asst. Copy Desk Chief Jennifer Jablonski Viewpoint Editor Shelley Magee News Editors... Patrick Ville gas/Gordon Man tier Asst. News Editor Kim Everitt Carolina! Editor Greg Rickabaugh Asst. Carolina! Editor Lee Clontz Graphics Editor Ryan Sims Photography Editor Virginia Marshall Asst. Photography Editor Eric Glenn Sports Editor Ben Breazeale Asst. Sports Editor Chad Bray Faculty Adviser Erik Collins Asst. Advertising Manager Melissa Owenby Asst. Classified Manager Amy Taylor The Gamecock will try to print all letters received. Letters should be 200-250 words. Full name and professional title, or year and major if a student, must be included along with address and phone number. The Gamecock reserves (he right to edit letters for style, possible libel or space limitations. The Gamecock will not withhold names under any circumstances.