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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 1978)
■■■editorial-^ Capitalizing on fear When the Soviet nudear-powered spy satellite drop ped on northern Canada, both the international system of spying and the threat of nudear power became clearly evident. The spy satellite systems of the United States are now being questioned by defense offidals and the nuclear threat posed by those satellites seems buried under the calls for escalation in the American spy satellite programs. The furor raised by the CIA and other defense agen des over the satellite systems concentrated mainly on the Soviet buildup of spy satellite systems, reportedly becom ing more advanced than American spying machines. Soon after the Soviet satellite descended on Canada, the CIA descended on Congress to request another $56 billion for the next five years to develop more spy satellites, particu larly the hunter-killer variety. The CIA and defense department public relations teams are hard at work. We re skeptical of the CIA requests. Historically, the CIA and the defense establishment have used information like the tale of the Soviet satellite — information which they provide and no one but the select few in the high echelons of government know to be true or complete—to capitalize on public and congressional fear of Soviet military might. They capitalize on that fear, typically, by requesting more money. And according to some sources, the U.S. already has at least the beginnings of a hunter-killer satellite system. We can’t believe that the defense establishment is revealing all the facts about the U.S. satellite system. What we read in the press is obviously already common know ledge, the tip of what may or may not be a very huge—and very dangerous — iceberg. Not the least of the dangers involved is the possibility of more accidents with nudear-powered satellites like the Soviet one. There have already been seven satellite acd dents (the Soviet mishap is the seventh) and three of them involved U.S. satellites with nudear power sources. The nudear reactor in the Soviet satellite, had it ex ploded, could have created a nudear explosion far greater than the first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Even without such an explosion, the radiation from the satellite is extremely dangerous and the half-life of the radioactive material is 713 million years. A large increase in the U.S. satellite program would undoubtedly cause a similar in crease in the Soviet program, adding another spiral to the arms race. It is perhaps necessary to maintain spy systems cap able of keeping track of Soviet — and American — military installations if detente is to succeed at all. Both the Ameri can and the Soviet governments have agreed to the use of such systems. But in light of the fact that the defense establishment and the CIA lie so frequently about their operations and reveal only information which will boost their cause for bigger budgets and more armaments, the defense recommendation that the U.S. satellite program be drastically increased can’t be taken without quite a few grains of salt. V. J Letters Hawaii distorted I found the Associated Press ar ticle written about Hawaii (Emerald, Feb. 3) very disturbing, totally one-sided and a gross in justice to the people of Hawaii. The article states the facts of overpopulation, unemployment and outrageous taxes which in themselves should be adequate reasons to inhibit growth. But the implications of the article go much further, “If you want to stay, be prepared to find Hawaiians trying to yank the welcome mat out from under you." Exceedingly graphic, it accuses us of aggressive rejec tion and “we want your money but not you". What the article does not men tion is many states, including Oregon, are “guilty” of stringent residency laws aimed at dis couraging settlement; that every large city in the U.S. has strict urban zoning regulations for the explicit purpose of keeping the less privileged out; that California (one of a number of states) has on several occasions passed legisla tion restricting immigration of Filipinos. Chinese, Japanese and Page 4 Mexicans, all in direct violation of United States treaties; and more recently the great protest that came about when homeless Viet namese refugees sought immig ration. These situations are analagous to ours, but do not excuse us. There are other circumstances which are “neglected” in the arti cle. Admittedly we rely on tourism for much of our state income, but Hawaiians don’t like it and many programs are being instituted to make the islands self-sufficient. We are in the unique position of being an island chain, thus lacking in many natural resources. Those that we do have are extremely li mited. With an annual growth rate of 50,000 added “outsiders", not to mention our own offspring, we are headed toward mass disaster, with housing already virtually im possible to buy. The article also distorts the pending legislation. One of the major reasons for the mass im migration is our lax welfare laws. One of the most lenient in the na tion, it is possible for almost any one to qualify for support, regard less of length of stay. Much of the legislation is aimed toward stop ping this. The remainder of the legislation merely makes it more difficult to move there through taxes and restrictions. But no limit ing quotas are being set, that would be unconstitutional! It’s simple, just as Eugene wishes to retain it’s present at mosphere of a friendly, pleasant middle-sized town, nice place to live. So, the people of Hawaii wish to retain some of it’s fast disap pearing culture and unique way of life. Perhaps our only crime is the legend of Hawaii’s hospitality. For us it is a way of life, maybe it shouldn’t be so. In the past few months we have been repeatedly criticized by the media for the very same reason. It’s time for the other side's point of view. But all of these facts do not jus tify the behavior of the Hawaiian people. It is our fault for everyone’s misconception of “paradise.” It is our job, no, our sworn duty and obligation to wel come everyone with open, loving arms of aloha! Brian Tamanaha Junior, English Debate impossible? One wonders where Mr. Holden got the impression, expressed in his letter of January 24, that our debate on biorhythms that was to have taken place on KUGN Radio just before Christmas was going to be rescheduled for sometime this term. There was, in fact, never any possibility of such a re scheduling since I left Eugene permanently at Christmas time, having completed my PhD, for a job here in Boston. Mary-Beth Bowen, moderator of KUGN’s Talk Radio, has confirmed to me that she explicitly informed Hol den of this when attempts to schedule the debate were origi nally made. In an earlier column (November 23, 1977) Mr. Holden stated that he did not like to “load them stu dents’ down with tacts”. His letter of the 24th of January demon strates the truth of that statement. Terence Hines Research Psychologist GRECC/VA Outpatient Clinic Boston, Mass. The Emerald will accept and try to print all letters and opin ion columns containing fair comment on ideas and topics of concern or interest to the University community. Letters and opinions will be run on a first-come, first-served basis. Both letters and opinion col umns must be typewritten, using 65 character margins, and should be triple-spaced. Letters and opinions must be signed and the author s field of study (or faculty status) noted. Tuesday, February 7, 1978 -—Washington today Congress to tinker with taxes By WALTER R. MEARS AP Special Correspondent WASHINGTON — President Carter has a word for Congress as it prepares to tinker with his tax cut and reform program: don’t. But Congress will, as sure as death and taxes. So it is hard to see what Carter gained with his warning that any changes in his economic game plan will risk putting the whole thing out of whack. Carter said his economic pro gram is too finely tuned to be al tered without inviting trouble. That stakes out a firm bargaining posi tion on the tax measures and jobs programs he has recommended to Congress. In the end, there al most surely will have to be some compromise, but that can be worked out between the White House and Congress. However, Carter can’t negotiate and he has said he won’t seek to legislate, the voluntary inflation control system he listed as a key element of his economic blueprint. That request for wage and price restraint under voluntary guidelines has run into skepticism in the business community. The president said long ago he would not seek authority to en force wage and price restraints, so he doesn't have much to bar gain with on that point. All he can do is ask for coopera tion, as he did at his news confer ence on Monday. “Economic policy depends, for its success, on a very careful bal ance between different interests, between sometimes conflicting national needs, between doing too much on the one hand, doing too little on the other,” the presi dent said. "To modify one element of a balanced plan can often de stroy this balance and can aggra vate our economic problems. He said his proposals strike the right balance, with a net tax reduc tion of $25 billion, counting the $9 billion that would be saved through his reform proposals. “Without these needed re forms, we would not be able to afford so large a tax reduction,” Carter said. But reform is a synonym for increase in some tax categories and the Carter pro posals, far more modest than he outlined as a candidate, already are encountering some resistance in Congress. Rep. Al Ullman, D-Ore., chair man of the House Ways and Means Committee, has expres sed concern at the net cost of the Carter tax package. So he’s talking about paring down the reductions. On the other hand, there’s pressure to raise the ante, and Ullman is concerned that it will grow stronger when the tax bill reaches the Senate. Carter said his jobs programs, including $1.1 billion in new funds for youth jobs and to encourage private business to hire the unem ployed, also are a crucial element in a balanced economic program. On that front, there will be pres sure from liberal Democrats to spend more. Then he urged acceptance of his voluntary inflation control program, which the administration now has spelled out more exp licitly: “I have asked each group to hold its increases in wages and prices below the level that it aver aged in increases for the last two years.” AFL-CIO President George Meany already has denounced the proposed restraints, calling them a step in the road toward controls. There is evidence of that concern among businessmen, too. With all those pressures at work, Carter will have quite a job keeping the balance he said is es sential. His insistence that the program should not be altered re calls his position at the start of the long, still inconclusive fight for an energy bill. At the outset, he proposed a nickel a gallon gasoline tax to penalize excessive consumption and vowed to “fight for it until the last vote in the Congress.” It got nowhere, and he didn’t fight much. This fall he has staked out a fallback position, of sorts. He said the four phases of his economic blueprint had to go together. Then he added: “If the Congress should change any of those factors — which I hope they will not — then we would have to use our own influ ence in the Congress and with the American people to try to induce them to accept some reasonable alternative which would still keep a balanced economic package.” m,NS. HISfelNS,LETS RUN THK0U6H TOUR EURES AS A WOMAN ASTRONAUT— WNNR6HT HERE IS fflFFEE NO CREAM,NIOOUS THERE IS TEA WfTH, AND I'M PLAIN MILK."
