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_4 Sen J.T. Wagenheim, Editor in Edl 1 wendy Hudson, car Nancy Sale Excuses Criminals' abuse of te? makes mockery of U.S. It's a problem running rampa standing up and talcing the h turning to what has come to 1 The accused claim ludicrous tl hallucinations or heard voices 1 them are getting off scott-free af gists and weekly visits thereafter. It's an excuse that makes assai tims and the guilty into not guilt] Harvard law professor Alan Der crime on one hand, but very soft < Lorena Bobbin's back home, given mistrials, after the jury w; decision, and a guy named Dan 1 instead of murder because he cl him less than fully responsible fo We recognize that there are ca problems, and were probably noi or those that would be in the bes To make matters worse, once their crimes, they are often giver other perks which cast a glamo crimes. Tonya Harding may be the nex begun telling stories of abuse by tinued practice of abusive condi Harding is indicted, her lawyer \ victim of the Kerrigan attack. Some claim these defenses shei offer insight about the pain and s committed the crimes. Why son overshadow the fact that they cor decide whether someone is guilt} are guilty. And that is what juries Do the crime, do the time. Society has become too soft, ai long as the opportunity for emani tinue to see some good acting i Clinton de< of nation's Last Thursday, former Presider Ronald Reagan made a return tri to Washington, D.C., for a dinne in his honor. Reagan spoke to th gathering, focusing on a rar defense of his record as a pres dent. He accused Pres id en Clinton and the Democrats c stealing his ideas and, at the sam time, discrediting his presidency. It is a relief to know Reagan ha< at least nne rhanre tri mihlirl f ?^?V. comment on the fraud and decei that has become the cornerstone c the Clinton administration. Unfortunately, the mainstrear media, who are for the most part ii cahoots with Clinton, do not offe any kind of truth on the 1980s o the Reagan administration. Clintoi and the media have painted th< 1980s as a period of economii greed with soaring deficits. At the same time, Clintoi adopts, or steals, policy after poli cy that is virtually identical to th< policies of the Reagan administra tion. What Clinton, the Democrat and the media did to help elec him over George Bush was to ere l:? -ri I:.?I ?i ait. uuu 15111 uta. nicy ntu auuu the economy of the 1980s, the) lied about who was actually responsible for the recession o 1992 and they lied about th< severity of the recession. First of all, the economy of the 1980s was the longest sustainec peacetime economic boom ir modern history. That is a fact supported by every kind of empir ical evidence known to mankind Clinton and the liberals couldn'i discredit these economic successes, so they took another angle. They created this notion thai economic success in the private sector, especially when enjoyed by the "rich" upper class and "big business," is somehow greed. What they don't tell you is A :JJU -i 1 miicma a uiiuuic uash niovcu out of the lower-income bracket more during the mid- and late-1980s than during any other decade. Another cornerstone of Clinton's argument has been that the gap between the rich and the poor grew during the 1980s. This is factually incorrect, provided you ""?aifttcock I Student Media Russell House-USC* J.T. Wagenheim Nancy Salomonsk Editor in Chief Carolina! Editor Lee Clontz Tony Santori Viewpoints Editor Sports Editor Carson Henderson David Mandrell Copy Desk Chief P*1010 P**10' Gordon Mantler Chris Muldrow Copy Desk Chief Graphics Editor Wendy Hudson Nora Doyle News Editor Asst. News The Gamecock is the student newspaper of th< University of South Carolina and is published Monday Wednesday and Friday during the fall and spring semes ters, with the exception of university holidays and exan periods. Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those of th< editors or author and not those of the University ol South Carolina. The Board of S'.udert thibl-ca.tions and Communication! is the publisher of The Gamecock. The Department ol Student Media is its parent organisation. intcock 'ing USC Since 1908 Chief Lee Clontz, Viewpoints Editor torlal Board son Henderson, Gordon Mantler, jmonsky, Tony Santori nporary insanity plea legal system jit in America's courtrooms. Instead of eat for committing a crime, people are >e known as "Th6 Abuse Excuse." tings like they had too much sugar, had rom their dogs. And a good many of ter a few months of conning psycholoilants into the assailed, villains into vic/ by reason of insanity, showitz says, "We are becoming hard on )n people who claim victimization." Erik Menendez and brother Lyle were is too dazed and confused to make a White was found guilty of manslaughter [aimed too much sugar in his diet left r his actions. ses where the accused did have mental : so capable of making sound decisions, t interest of society, the criminals have been "cleared" of t book or movie deals, a mini-series or rous light on even the most heinous t abuse-excuser. Her lawyer has already the skater's ex-husband claiming, "contct intended to disrupt" her career. If vill most likely try to portray her as a d light into the minds of criminals and uffering they went through before they teone committed a crime should not nmitted it. That's what trials are for: to r as charged, not whv or whv not thev should focus on. id criminals are all too aware of it. As cipation by insanity exists, we will conn America's courtrooms. ceit cause problems e T'lSfw&mp* Tommy Touchberry y COLUMNIST it ^ adjust the average family incomes a for new census information, which ^ reflects the growing rate of divorce r and single-parent households. The fact is, as a result of 1 Reagan's tax cuts, the upperincome taxpayers contributed ~ more in taxes absolutely (total dollars), and they paid a larger share (percentage) than during the previous years. Why? Simply because the upper class invests, everyone prospers, s the economy grows and the upper class has more income to tax. u\vn._x iww a. nucia.i wuuiu say, wnai t about the recession of 1992?" Well, that's simple too. First, ; President Bush, with all good ^ intentions, commits political suicide by compromising on a taxand-spend program devised by the liberal Congress. Add a worldwide j recession brought about by a ( downturn in the business cycle and you have a recession. Please don't be fooled by the lies and deceit of Bill Clinton. True, he has adopted many conservative ideas, like crime issues and welfare reform. Still, his conservative ideas are greatly outnum, bered by his liberal ideas and his | liberal cronies, like Hillary, Janet Reno and Donna Shalala. And by the way, the next time 1 see one of those "I do blame you for 12 years of Reagan and Bush" bumper stickers, I am going to ask that npr?nn n/hv thpv klnmp mp |-? * * WH ?w M.MJ U1VJ L/IUII1V IIIU for the revitalization of America's economy and the return of America to a position of greatness in the world through military and economic strength. A simplethank you would suffice! ws 777-7726 Chris Carroll . . -tz. Cootdinatorof Student Media Ivertising: 777-4249 Laura Day iX: 777-6482 Production Manager Columbia, SC 29208 J'm Grwn Asst. Production Manager ;y Keith Boudreaux Gregory Perez Asst. News Production Asst. Brian McGuire Emily Peterson Gradua,e ^ Asst. Photo Renee Gibson Jimmy Debutts Advertising Manager Asst. Sports J. Taylor Rutland _ . . _ , Asst. Advertising Manager Paul Jon Boscacc. Erik Co)lins Cartoonist Faculty Advisor Letters Polky ) The Gamecock will try to print all letters received, i Letters should be 200-250 words and must include full name, professional title or year and major if a student. : letters must be personally delivered by the author to f The Gamecocl: newsroom in Russell House room 321. , The Gamecock reserves the right to edit all letters for f style, possible libel or space limitations. Names will not be withheld under any circumstances. P by coming up \ may not be pe 9K %Wl(l View| t&wJi Jk' iiyi ofl '^MMMMHPMMR =^!^ */~ w "We have spoken with pers< premises, and these SGA candid; With the SGA elections coming up I'm compelled to write two intriguin candidates should be pondering. The: a nutshell, are visitation policies in tive residence halls and the level of sa tain areas of campus. rirst, mere s tne matter ot tne visit; on campus. The policy needs to be cl only for students but for the univer; With the policy being as strict as it are leaving university housing to find apartments throughout the metropolii This migration off campus is caus lose revenue, which causes tuition r and, in addition, creates limitations activities and organizations. A conti this trend would most definitely ere rift in campus life as a whole, and tha Ferrets less dangerous than domestic pets To the editor: I read your article in The Gamecock. There are some things I want to add to your column, if I can. Lots of people have called me now about ferrets. If people don't call their representatives, my bill won't pass. Some representatives have told me I am the only person who cares about the ferrets and that there cannot be a bill just for me. In this state, any ferret whose owners cannot keep it or who gets lost or is found is killed. That is not true for any other animal. Wild animals get to go back to the wild, and domestic and exotic animals get new homes. There is a black market for ferrets. These animals get no health care. There was a rabid ferret in South r<!?xl..in inrn i? ^_i.. v^aivsima in 1774. 11 w<w UIIC Ul Ulliy 14 ever in the United States. In the 1980s alone, there were 1,882 rabid cats, 1,511 rabid dogs and 3,140 rabid livestock in the country. In 1990, the USDA licensed LMRAB-3 rabies vaccine for ferrets. It met or exceeded all standards all other vaccines for other animals must meet for safety and effectiveness. South Carolina not only will not recognize it, but also has told i veterinarians not to use it. That makes no sense. < Do you tl 5am ecock points SEEEr o onnel of at least three buildii are regulations designed by ites should f iiicic lias never uccn a rceorueu transmission of ferret-to-human rabies, and no one through history mentions one. Since 1990, no ferret that got the IMRAB-3 has got rabies. Studies I wrote and called for from all over show something DHEC will not even look at: that rabid ferrets do not shed the rabies virus in their saliva. I started writing and then calling representatives because DHEC would not meet with me or see my papers. If people like ferrets, have ferrets or care about ferrets, could they please call their representatives soon? Katie Sweeney 10-year-old ferret advocate Greenville Georgia state flag product of racism TVv fKo A V UAV VU11U1 I am writing in response to Matt McCord's letter in the Feb. 7 Gamecock defending the Georgia battle flag. First, 1 would like to inform Mr. McCord that regardless of where one resides, whether in or link the abuse e )u have the court dockets full vith things even though they irtinent. It just crowds the Tim Stello Political science senior ive to say so. It seems like it /v v/nvj*. a vv/piv iia?v lkj laivv, their action." Sarah Nickel English senior i m*o par \ * ?6DINK _ I fll J II.I.III.UJ autHii 12s who are verv concerned langed, not JmBMK?" iity as well. a 8reat tragedy, is, students Second, there is the ir houses and ty, which, according to can area talked with, is a t>ig goi ing USC'to ' piint'^r Wittf : ates to rise held at gunpoint in fr for student someone being mugged inuation of raped or beaten because ate a great less than satisfactory an it would be parking garages. The DHEC Vector Control says there is not a vaccine that the manufacturer and the USDA feel comfortable with. The manufacturer refutes this and the USDA licensed and approved it. lhe rabid terret in Horry County had not been vaccinated. T'U 1 1 1 _ _i flag to support a system that gives people the right to oppress others also makes him a racist. Furthermore, if you support or refuse to acknowledge the racism a xcuse has gone "Yes. I think it has context. I don't re H^| legitimate purpose El H"No. Because for overlooked. With like they can come c J the university. We only enfoi ocus on safe Items sl many stuck Jay Tilley when daytil I'm impt COLUMNIST many ?* th coming fn thought SG I'm sure thi latter of on-campus safe- ^is a8a'nst several students 1 have Many otf icern. It's almost to the cussed, sue >uch as sdrtieone being parking site ont of the Towers, or hear my cc , kidnapped or perhaps one of then : of poor lighting and a Perhaps i lount of security in the and it will 1 a door in tf out of the state of Georgia, the offensive meaning of the flag can be understood throughout our nation. In fact, the name of our country, the United States of America, means that all our states, Georgia included, are united as a whole. Therefore, the symbols of one state depict the beliefs of our nation. The Confederate flag, regardless of its Southern heritage, does not symbolize what America, the South, or even the state of Georgia stands for today, as does the American flag. If it deserves its place in history, then it should be put in a muse .i_ i . . . um wun omer nistoricai items, not inside stadiums and on top of statehouses that serve and represent an entire state. Yes, native Georgians offended by the flag may be a minority, but their feelings are still important. Just because a majority rules does not make the majority right. As far as his attempt to communicate the intentions of the designer of the flag, it is obvious that he has failed to realize that, throughout history, it has been common for the most vicious racist to deny the fact that he supports racism. For many years, there have people that claim not to have a racist bone in their body and then go home to put on their white cape and mask. For a man to design a Wednesday, February 9, 1994 xWwv/JX'X?'. iSSBSS* iSSiiiii /C!> ^Vlllfllllt HH. IHIP h~1.#7' Wlth the cleanliness of their xe them." Chris Muldrow SGA Elections Commissioner ty, housing ich as these must be improved, or :nts will literally be scared off campus me has concluded. essed by the campaign platforms of e presidential candidates, and this is om someone who, until recently, iA was a farce. I kind of still do, but ere aren't many people who will hold me. ler issues on campus need to be dish as what to do about the piss-poor, jation, but 1 hope the candidates willy ncerns ana attempt a solution when. i is elected next week, then I'll have more respect for SGA, )e more than just names and titles on le Russell House. that is clearly present in such a flag, then you sir, are just as bad as those who fought so fervently for racism to continue. People today ^ need to stop fighting for what they have the democratic right to do as American citizens, and start thinking about what they have the moral obligation to do as a human being. Are you so willing to exercise your rights that you are not concerned about the millions of other people, Georgians included, that are so deeply hurt by this symbol? Before you ridicule the AfricanAmerican journalists for walking ( out, you should first do some t research on black history and oppression so that you can understand what motivated them to take these actions. I support those journalists, whether they walked out on the national anthem or Georgia's^ state song, because I too could not; stand to hear words of our anthem,which stands for equality and free-, dom, while at the same time looking at the battle flag. Finally, I suggest to you that you realize that the "piece of cloth" flying over your capital is very impor- * tant. It is not the flag, but the meaning that aggravates so many people. So if America, South Carolina or Georgia plans to begin to solve such important problems as violence, they must first look to their rooftops which houses a symbol of hate. Toby Jenkins Public relations freshman too far? [ . Some people take it out of ally think they use it for any Charlie Eaddy ementary education sophomore many years abuse has been the new laws, people feel forward with their story." LaTasha Gandy Biology junior ' r fv P