Editorial
Meese and money;
Reagan's black mark
Add Attorney General Ed Meese's name to the growing
list of current and former Reagan aides who have been or are
under investigation. Meese has garnished legal scrutiny for
his involvement in the shady netherworld of crooked arms
contract deals — once again calling into question the integri
ty of the highest rar’.ing law enforcement official in the
country.
Meese admitted last month that in 19B2. when he served
as Reagan's presidential aide, he used his influence and staff
to help Wedtech. formerly a tool and die manufacturer turn
ed defense bidder, win a $ri2 million Army contract.
Meese is the only attorney general to be investigated
three times. The first was in 19B4 during Senate confirma
tion hearings. He was recently put under investigation for
his involvement in the current Iran-Contra fiasco, and the
latest investigation came last week when a special pro
secutor took over the justice Department's inquiry into the
Wedtech scandal.
The central question surrounding Meese's latest govern
mental faux pas centers on whether he misused public office
for personal gain In 19B5. Meese invested $90,000 in a
limited blind partnership with Wedtech. so his interest in
that company was substantial.
Moreover, Wedtech. now defunct, had a sordid history
of financial Improprieties, and many of the company's
former employees recently have admitted bribing govern
ment officials to gain non-competitive contracts. This fact,
along with Meese’s backroom dealings, casts a pall on the at
torney general's integrity.
Regardless of what the special prosecuter finds. Meese's
conduct as a public official rests on shaky ground. Until the
special prosecuter releases his findings. Meese temporarily
should step down from office. With the barrage of scandals
that have riddled the current administration, the retention of
Ed Meese merely adds insult to injury.
Missile attack on US. ship
both regrettable and tragic
The Iraqi missile attack of an American naval frigate last
Sunday has highlighted the pitfalls of gunboat diplomacy
and comes as a regrettable and tragic incident.
Twenty-eight crew members were reported dear! with
21 injured. Pentagon officials report the frigate, christened
The Stark, radioed the Iraqi plane and had one minute's war
ning there were incoming missiles, but for unexplained
reasons it did not defend itself.
President Keegan has called for a heightened state of
alert, permitting American forces to fire on threatening
warplanes. Unfortunately, this comes after the fact. Due to
the number of ships attacked in the Persian Gulf during the
6-year Iran-lraq war, our warships should have had this
clearance from the time we entered those turbulent waters.
Although Iraq claims the attack was inadvertent, this
hardly absolves them from responsibility, and the Iraqi
government must lie held liable for an apology and
reparations.
This kind of an attack is the stuff from which major wars
are made, and the Keagan administration must act cautious
ly yet firmly to insure the safety of our ships and citizens as
well as preserving international peace.
.MiMUMilllllL
Letters
Battling bands
On Thursday. May 7. I saw a
banner that red "WANTED:
HANDS (ANY KIND) FOR A
HATTI.K OF THE HANDS .” I
called for more information and
was told where to submit a
demo tape.
I was also told that the bands
would not be judged on the type
of music they played, but on
their musical ability. Hut I soon
found that not to be the case
My band is called Out of (kin
trol. and we play punk
rock/speed metal. My band has
a combined total music playing
experience of about 19 years,
but I guess that talent is not
what you need
You need to be a friend of one
of the organizers or maybe play
some mainstream popular
music. It is obvious that a band
that is against the "norm" will
be rejected as we were.
I suppose I was asking too
much of the organizers for us to
be judged fairly Maybe next
time I'll have them to my house
for punch and cookies and we
can listen to the new Whitney
Houston album. That way. if we
become pals, my band will get a
chance to play in this so-called
"Battle of the Hands.”
Oregon Daily
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My hand just wanted a chance
to participate; we don't really
care about winning it. All we
ask is that the organizers not
mislead potential contestants by
saying "ANY K.INI)" of bands
will play. It is obvious that they
cannot assume responsibility to
do what they say.
Ron Bush
Theater arts
Victim's right
What's more important, the
rights of a child or the right to
privacy of some creep who
molests that child? That ques
tion is being delated in Califor
nia at this time.
According to a segment of
KTVU news (Oakland, Calif.),
which aired in April of 1W87, a
police department in California
is considering testing rape
suspects for AIDS — as they
now do for other sexually
transmitted diseases. Sounds
» reasonable, doesn't it?
Well, the ACLU is screaming
that this violates the suspect’s
rights. According to the news
report, the ACLU is against
testing for AIDS against a per
sons will.
That's insane! How would
you like to tie a mother of a
raped child and have to worry
that every time that little boy or
girl got sick, it might be AIDS?
Anyone who gives a child AIDS
deserves no rights except to a
speedy execution for murder!
Yes. AIDS is a political
disease. It's been made into a
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Suite .too KMU.
political disease by liberals so
caught up in the "rights” of the
carrier that they would rather
sacrifice innocent people than
support sane, fair policies.
ijiri Parkman
Elmira, Ore.
Power abused
This is in response to a letter
by Dan Goulet in the ODE, May
14 entitled "Crack down."
Ear from behaving like “a
drunken mob on a witch hunt.”
the striking 4-| school teachers
have behaved with commen
dable self restraint in the face of
a school board which refused to
negotiate a contract for the year
beginning September ol '86 {the
teachers had worked seven
months without a contract
before the strike) and police of
ficers who flagrantly abused
their powers.
At Churchill for instance, the
police charged a crowd of
strikers who wore blocking the
entrance of a busload of scabs,
without giving strikers time to
clear the area.
One police officer clubbed a
teacher in the lower abdomen,
knocking her to the ground,
then kicked her. Another struck
or shoved a radio reporter, but
refused to give his badge
number as required by law.
leaving his victim unable to file
a complaint (KZEL, tape of the
incident. Monday. April 27).
Again, during a demonstra
tion by strikers at the l.ana
County Fairgrounds, a police
officer arrested a network
cameraman, and tried to expose
the videotape he'd been making
of the incident (The Oregonian.
May 5, 1987). While that
borders on the pathetic, it is still
a clear and flagrant violation of
freedom of the press.
If there are villains in the
strike, they are not the teachers,
but those police officers who
abused their authority and those
who set the policies that allow
ed such abuses to happen.
Cat Faber
Biochemistry graduate student