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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 1974)
--editorial Stripping Wilbur Mills High above the common rabble Wilbur towers, undisturbed by life's ups and downs. Something fine within him prompts his gay outlook on life...A born companion for anyone who is down and out. — Valedictory, 1930 Hendrix College Troubador Conway, Arkansas The House Ways and Means Committee voted last month to do away with the oil depletion allowance. The full House is certain to follow suit. Why? Well, it has a lot to do with the fact that a stripper friend of committee chairman Wilbur Mills got a little tipsy and went for a swim in Washington, D.C.'s Tidal Basin. This incident was the culmination of a police chase of a car which was speeding through the city with its lights out. Wilbur Mills was in the car. So was Annabel Battistella —also known as Fanne Foxe, the Argentine Bombshell. At the sight of the police, the inebriated Bombshell jumped into the Tidal Basin. Wilbur Mills, the very image of respec tability, the man who refuses social in vitations and watches Lawrence Welk, was tarnished. And the personal power he has wielded in Washington was sorely damaged. He was forced into supporting the abolishment of the oil depletion allowance to avoid a further erosion of power. Last weekend. Mills appeared on stage with Foxe, who he referred to as "my little Argentina hillbilly." He talked about writing a film script—"It's Not Burlesque" —which would make Foxe a star. "I've been an angel to a lot of people," said Mills. "I'm always interestea in a piece of property. The last one flopped. Shirley MacLaine flopped." So now the House Democratic Caucus is considering stripping Mills of his chair manship because he appeared on stage with his stripper friend. But Mills' relationship with his "hillbilly" has nothing to do with the House, with taxation or with Mills' chairmanship. Mills should lose the chairmanship—but not because of h«s choice of friends. He sho1 .ose trie position because for years he has run the committee like a personal fiefdom. Of the nearly 30 standing committees in the U.S. Congress, only Ways and Means operates without sub^ committees. Mills sits in judgment over everything that goes through the committee. He arbitrarily manipulates agendas. He ignores bills he dislikes. He sneaks bills through without real Congressional approval by using some very questionable tactics. He threatens members who consider voting against him. But until now, House liberals have chosen not to attack Mills. Nobody in this country understands taxation the way Mills does. And he has used his knowledge to pass out juicy tax plums to the oil industry, the mining industry, the dairy industry and other hig businesses. "Mills voting record," according to Ralph Nader's study of Congress," generally speaking, is conservative, by some measures, increasingly so. . . In recent years Mills has demonstrated little en vironmental and consumer concern." Liberal House members have resented Mills' arbitrary actions, but they have not seen it necessary to learn the tax rules themselves so they could meet Wilbur in substantive combat on the issues. Instead, they have decided to pun an ena run, and attack him tor his personal life—a matter that should have no relevance to his professional duties. Mills has been admitted to a hospital with an unspecified ailment. If Mills' recent activities - which are out of character—are signs of a mental or emotional collapse, then they would be grounds for depriving him of power. But this has not been proven. Mills should lose the chairmanship of Ways and Means, but he should lose it for the right reason. And that reason is not that he plans to write a movie script or keeps company with an Argentine Bombshell. mm] ■SCREEN | ^ Sv/'s> \MC ® DON'T CALL YOUR CDNGRESSMAH ■ IRVIHG rri&aW, RKisgut kMCRDHIffif 'J. B., WOULD YOU TRADE A FEMALE LEAD FOR SOME INTERESTING INFLUENCE ON TAX RELIEF FOR THE INDUSTRY?' Letters What right? I find Don Chapman's reference to Athletes in Action as "a band of touring bible jocks” very of fending. What right has "Mr." Chapman got to incriminate a bunch of hard working athletes just because their beliefs off the court may not coincide with his? Take note of Oregon's Jeff Nelson: probably the most devoted basketball player on the Oregon team. Jeff exemplifies what the Oregon program is all about. Are we to criticize the Oregon program because Jeff's religious beliefs off the court may be stronger than most? Mr. Chapman take note, one's religious views will not in any way hinder their athletic performance. A band of touring bible jocks we are not, and neither are the Athletes in Action. Michael Dubin senior, psychology Et recreation Only a klutz According to a recent Emerald article, Dave Simmons received a phone call from the IFC chair person who told Simmons to either stop his budget request for the Alternative Film Society or the IFC might release "damaging" information on Mr. Simmons. How can Simmons possibly imagine he is being blackmailed? Simmons obviously "misun derstands'' the IFC's "humanitarian" personal threats toward him. Can't Simmons see what a tremendous "favor" the IFC is doing him by warning him before screwing him over? Simmon's otner iaeas are even more ludicrous. He believes once students have paid the incidental fee they should not be charged additional money to see ASUO movies. Isn't that stupid of him to think students should get something for their money? The IFC is their infinite wisdom have much better ideas for spending student's money. They recently allocated the Gay People's Alliance money to promote Gay Pride Week. Now some reactionary bigots feel the GPA should pay for their own activities. We enlightened students, however, are willing to spare GPA members the unfair burden of having to waste their own money on their activities. After all, University students take great pride in their local Gay People's Allinace no matter how much money they scak out of us. Only a klutz like Simmons would want to spend the money on other things. Thomas Bonner Not departments In a recent interesting and in formative article on the geology department a quotation attributed to me came out with a somewhat different meaning than originally stated. I said that if Oregon could not support its numerous in stitutions of higher education it should close some and distribute the money among others. I did not refer to departments. Ewart M. Baldwin geology department Go Big Cream? When did the University change its school colors to cream and grey? I'm referring to the new rally uniforms: cream and white checked blouses and skirts with solid cream vest tops, trimmed in army green, along with grey shoes! And the yell kings with cream and white checked pants and white shirts. The rally always seems to complain about students without spirit, but how can students get excited over bland cream and drab grey. What happened to Spirited Yellow and Fanatic Green? Terry Haskin senior, marketing Dig 'em up! In response to recent personal harrasment of a student by members of the Incidental Fee Committee, I have one comment only. Why don't we set up a campus intelligency agency (CIA)? The sole purpose of this agency would be to dig up skeletons from students pasts. In the event that a skeleton could not be located, the agency would be delegated the authority of creating one. The agency could be particularly effective in keeping IFC members in check. One agency member would be assigned to observe each IFC member 24 hours a day. All I can say is that if the ASUO decides to fund such an enterprise, could they please put me in charge of Kevin Farrel? After all, anyone who thinks that there is a skeleton in someone else's closet probably has plenty in his own. This is an opinion only. Jill Slaton Misleading I wish to comment on Leah Maher's letter of Dec. 2 for I believe much of its content was misleading. Palestine and its people did not miraculously arise from the sea with the coming of the Jews. The Jews came to Palestine and found it populated. It was populated with Palestinians. The Jews who remained were Palestinian Jews. With the coming of Christianity and Islam, Palestinian Christians and Moslems made their ap pearance. Palestinian is not a term intended to exclude any religious group. When the Romans, Byzantines, Moslems jnd Crusaders, Mongols and Otoman Turks, and British inve^ed anH colonised Palestine, the lives of all Palestinians were affected regardless of religion. If Ms. Maher is interested in reading testimonials concerning love of Palestine she whould not neglect to read the thousands of testimonials written by Christian and Muslim Palestinians throughout history. If the Western world is unaware of Palestinian history, culture, tradition, dialect and national aspirations, it is not because these have not existed, but because of Western ignorance. If one is to believe the British War Office of World War I, promises made to Zionists concerning a homeland for Jews in Palestine was motivated by the fear that Jews would oppose the Allies by working for the Ger mans. If one takes Winston Churchill's statements of 1922 seriously, the Jewish homeland that was to be created was never was intended to become a nation. Palestine is and has been the land of the Palestinians. It will forever remain so. Wendy Mazyed library graduate Letters poliey The Emerald will accept and try to print all letters containing fair comment on ideas and topics of concern or interest to the University community. Because of space limitations, letters must be no more than 250 words — typed, triple-spaced, dated and signed with the person's major or discipline. Longer letters will be shortened at the editor’s discretion. Longer opinion columns will be run whenever possible after being submitted to the editorial page editor. The limit on opinion columns is 1,200 words using the same format as letters.