EDITORIAL
Seeds of scandal
sowed by Reagan
The Kentin^ 5 are probably no more or no less
guilty of influemie-peddling than their colleagues. But
when the cost to L'.S. taxpayers is $500 billion, some
one has to be sacrificed.
The five senators are charged with trying to keep
the federal government from seizing the failing Lincoln
Savings and I .nan. whose chairman was Charles Keat
ing. The senators are accused of taking contributions
from Keating for their help.
The real culprit is Ronald Reagan and the deregu
lation of the banking industry in the 1980s.
Savings and loan institutions used to follow strict
guidelines regarding the lending of money and the
buying of bonds. But Reagan relaxed the rules and let
the operators of savings and loans buy junk bonds for
get-rich-quick schemes.
The problem is twofold. Ambiguous guidelines
make it difficult to enforce wrongdoing, and the peo
ple who are supposed to be watchdogs run in the same
pack as those they are watching.
The federal government is the ultimate overseer of
savings and loans, but those five senators had to really
screw up to get hauled before the Senate Ethics Com
mittee. The committee is composed of six senators and
a special prosecutor.
The Senate is a powerful organization that should
not be policing itself. It’s likely all 100 senators in
Congress have taken money for favors at some time or
another, although proving it is another matter. Savings
and loans must Ire regulated again to prevent this situa
tion from reoccurring. Some kind of civil board, com
pletely separate from the rest of the government,
should be in charge of watching politicians.
Campaign contributions must be regulated, also.
The amount of money donated to any campaign must
be limited. And no candidate should accept donations
from businesses or individuals whose contributions
may create a conflict of interest for the candidate.
Ton banking institutions failed in the United States
in 1980; more than 200 failed in 1989.
Millions of taxpayers are going to pay for the mis
takes of a few crooks who wanted a piece of the Ameri
can dream. But taxpayers are responsible for their own
nightmares by electing fools to office and not paying
attention to what the fools are doing.
Deregulation loosened the rules that let Keating in
vest foolishly. Then he tried to buy the senators' influ
ence. We need a real watchdog committee — one that
is not already cozy with thrifts or congressmen.
me—
Vftaitjevep happened
to the good oF dyys
of Fabbet* Ftaiwgan
Play a part in curbing drunken drivers
With the Thanksgiving vacation upon
us. and the start of the holiday season, the
campaign to rid the roads of drunk drivers
has l>egun again in full force.
Our country has one of the worst records
for drinking and driving in the world. This
is mostly because drinking and driving was
tolerated for many years Slap-on-the-wrist
penalties led to a society that was able to ig
nore the number of deaths < a used by drunk
en drivers every year.
Now. with the proliferation of groups
such as Mothers Against Drunk Drivers,
drinking and driving has become a national
concern. Attitudes about driving while
drunk have changed significantly in the past
decade, but there is stdl a long way to go
Kach one of us is .1 potential victim of a
drunk driver Therefore, everyone should
get involved in the battle against drunk driv
ing in some war Whether that involvement
means joining organizations sue h as MADD
or Students Against Drunk Driving, or just
being a designated driver for your friends,
everyone has a role to play. People who turn
a blind eye to a drunk getting into a car are
as morally responsible for the damage that
person may cause as the drunken drivers
themselves.
Taking a life because of drunken driving
is one of the most heinous wastes imagin
able. Unlike people who die in auto acci
dents because they choose not to wear seat
belts, victims of drunk drivers have no
c hoice in the matter. Drunken drivers are
c housing to risk other people's lives every
time they get behind the wheel.
This should not be tolerated. Many peo
ple still say drunken driving laws are too
still However, after an honest look at the
number of lives that are simply wasted each
year, it is obvious tb.it no law could be too
strict
LETTERS
Coke is it
1 suggest smi gel lilt* f.it ts
str.uglii liefore printing in your
mi tailed nesvsp.iper Coca-Cola
has helped in the fight against
apartheid.
Coca-Cola suppnrteii the trip
for Nelson Mandela to the t'lilt
ed States Coke in Atlanta
raised funds to assist in the
democratization process and
created new sanctions against
the government of South Afri
ca.
Bint k South African leaders
such as Mandela Desmond
Tutu and Dr Nihota Matiante
have praised (area-Cola for
their important and significant
efforts to promote black em
powerment in that country
Coca-Cola pays no taxes, has
no investment and no assets in
that country Coca-Cola has
helped in the fight against
apartheid Coke established the
Kquat Opportunity Foundation
South African-based funds
dedicated to laying down the
foundation, or rather, ground
work, for post-apartheid South
Afrii a
Trustees, most of whom are
black are Tutu. Alexander
(abulniti Themliela. Pali I ran
i.is Mohanal. Sibatebo
Mohgane. Cert Thammes
Cerval. Arthur Chaskalsam ami
Allan Hoesak
( let your facts up to date and
in order, or are you just print
ing this negative garbage be
cause Pepsi is a sore loser?
Sine e Eugene is so protest hap
py about everything that comes
along. I'm about ready to rank
your newsletter up there with
the Enquirer newspaper
l.eanne Sherman
Eugene
Assumptions
In response to Michael Sears'
letter concerning CIA fairness (
ODE. Nov. H>). we feel that we
were falsely represented and
stereotyped, that our motives
were disregarded and substitut
ed w ith false accusations
Sears' letter drew parallels
between abortion issues and
CIA recruitment This is obvi
ously an incorrec t parallel. Al
though both these issues re
quire individuals to make their
own dec isions, CIA rec ruitment
should ex i ur off campus, in tiie
same way that almrtion does
I Ins wouldn't limit anyone's
i him i'
As a journalism major. Soars
should interview his subjects
before making assumptions
about their moral, political and
social views Sears' letter men
tioned that the CIA protesters
were hypocrites and "people
who simply hate the CIA." If
he had bothered to interview
any of these protesters, he
would have found that we are
not only concerned with re
cruiting tactics, hut also the
CIA's illegal and inhumane ai
tivities
For example, the CIA's direi t
support ol Salvadoran death
squads has led to the murder of
t.O.()()() people Also, the CIA
has been implicated in selling
arms to Iran with the profits go
ing to support the Contra war
against the Nicaraguan people
My allowing the CIA on cam
pus, we're tolerating sue It il
legal activities.
Former CIA agent John
Stock well staled in 1>IHH that
"the CIA poses an ultimate
threat to democracy and should
lx- dismantled for the good of
the United States and the
world
Stockwell's sentimimt;. are
strongly supported by our I)e<
laration of Independenc e: "that
whenever any form of govern
ment becomes destructive of
these ends, it is the right of the
people to alter or abolish it.
and to institute new govern
ment."
YVe felt that we were acting
as responsible citizens and im
plementing a necessary change.
Sears not only failed to check
his sources, lie also relied on
rash assumptions
Hayden Koio Badih
Annalisa (lhasan
Eugene
Another species
In response to Frank him
baugh's letter regarding Ingrid
Newkirk’s speech and views on
animal rights [ODE. Nov. 14):
I think l.imhaugh should re
alize that the human race is
simply another species of ani
mal So much for an "animal is
an animal."
Also, Mr l.imhaugh swims to
think that animals are not indi
viduals He seems to define in
dividuals by what something
(an or cannot do silly's
don’t drive, cats don't build
This seems an arbitrary way
ol defining individuality. Hv
this definition it would seem
Limbaugh would not deem
people in "primitive” cultures,
or people who are retarded or
disabled, to tie individuals.
I think a better definition of
an individual would lie some
thing with a personality and
preferences of its own. Under
this definition I think animals
are quite clearly individuals. I
have known many non-human
animals of many species and
have found no two an; alike.
After all. one factor in the sur
vival of most species is genetic
diversity. So, it only makes
sense that animals would la' in
dividuals.
You know, when 1 look at a
pigeon. 1 fail to see Mozart, too,
but 1 do sit; an individual with
a life of its own a life that is
worth my respect and protec
tion.
Kathy Yonker
Eugene