Newspaper Page Text
Jasper Dorsey
A Criminal Congress?
“IT COULD probably be shown by
facts and figures that there is no distinct
ly native American criminal class . . . ex
cept Congress.”
Mark Twain said it years ago and his
wisdom has become reinforced over time,
now perhaps most of all.
w 0
CONSIDER: Markets, foreign and
domestic, are scared to death of the U. S,
Congress, and with good reason. The ir
responsibility of Congress contributed
greatly to the stock market's fall. The
trade deficit is an obsession of Congress,
although most Congressional wolf-criers
are reacting to their union leadership. A
recession usually generates a trade surplus
but economic growth is far superior in the
long pull, even if it produces a temporary
trade deficit.
The markets aren’t spooked by trade
deficits, they fear bungling policymakers
in Congress, who tend to ‘‘rescue’’ us by
“doing something” even if it's destructive.
The Treasury Department has driven the
U. S. dollar down about 40 percent to fight
the trade deficits by making exports
cheaper. It hasn't worked. Congress and
Treasury Secretary James Baker together
can cripple international trade.
* * *
PRESIDENT REAGAN'S leadership
has been weakened significantly by the
continued hammerhead attacks by Con
gressional Democrats. This also con
tributes to skepticism by our foreign
friends as well as the markets at home. No
wonder investors question who is in charge
here.
The wild, unending rain-dance by witch
doctors driving the Democrats’ Iran-
Contra Hearings, contributed to the
malaise worldwide. Especially because our
allies see through it as partisan politics
and wonder why the American people
tolerate it. The hypocrisy of the political
posturing damages the Presidency, the
President and the Contra cause. Eager
partisanship may help Democrats win the
White House and lose Central America to
the USSR. But could, in the end, cause the
Democrats to lose not only the White
House, but the Congress, as well.
ONE OF THE savage chiefs, House
Speaker Jim Wright, is trying to lead the
liberal Democrats toward their top goal of
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Perils Of Video Bud
WORKING for a newspaper isn't
always what it seems to be. I found that
out soon after I started working for The
News. There are often more things involv
ed than people often think.
Such is the case with working on high
school publications. At Chattooga, we
have our newspaper and yearbook staffs
combined into Student Publications.
We're one group, and yet two separate
staffs. We each have different jobs to do.
* * *
HOWEVER, there are some times, like
when there's a full moon or when the creek
rises, we sort of trade jobs and help each
other out. This event happened not long
ago, when we filmed the annual yearbook
video. '
See, each year we always show this
video in an attempt to get our sales cam
paign off to a good start. Trouble is, the
video has to have some kind of clever skit
for its opening and closing sequences, with
the candid, around-the-school video shots
sandwiched in the middle. This year, the
Herculean task of writing the skit fell upon
me.
* * *
“BOYOBOY,” I said when I was in
formed of this wonderful news. What
would I write it about? I sat around for
about three days, trying to think of a good
situation. I do the same sort of thing
before I write this column. Anyway, the
Student Publications staff was having its
annual Halloween House of Horrors about
this time. Hmmm, I thought. Opportuni
ty knocked, and I opened the door and
decided that we would film the skit on loca
tion at the House of Horrors.
I wrote the script, which turned out to
be a take-off of the Indiana Jones movies.
I had my friend Jeff Reynolds in the lead
role as famed adventurer Alabama
Reynolds, and I cast myself and another
feliow, Guy Chambless, as his trusty
sidekicks.
* * *
BESIDES Jeff, Guy and me, the rest
of the cast included Kyle Pledger, Jason
Beck, Jason Espy, Cheri Teague, Kenny
killing Contra funding, without being
caught or held responsible for losing Cen
tral America. A one time moderate
conservative, Wright became an ultra
liberal in order to get and keep the
Speakership. He's also stolen the initiative
to bury the Contras by asserting himself
as the top negotiator with the Sandinista
dictator and Cardinal Obando y Bravo. Be
ing in violation of the U. S. constitution
doesn’t bother him. Wright also offered
some of his own anti-Contra staff to assist
the Cardinal.
Wright's opposition is not new. As Ma
jority Leader 3% years ago, he and eight
leftist Democrats, including the infamous
Ed Boland, of the Boland Amendments,
wrote a ‘Dear Commandante” letter to the
dictator Daniel Ortega: ‘‘We want to com
mend you and members of your govern
ment for taking steps to open up the
political process in your country ... We
support your decision to schedule elections
this year, to reduce press censorship and
to allow greater freedom of assembly for
political parties.” What steps? What
freedom? What elections? Tip O’Neil looks
better everyday.
* * *
CAN CONGRESS do anything con
structive about the budget deficit? Don’t
bet on it, for Congress really doesn’t want
fiscal discipline. More than anything,
anything at all, they want reelection. Any
spending reduction they perceive as a per
sonal threat.
This feeble, recent effort is timid even
tortuous and its sponsors will flee at the
first sound-off from home, for too many
members mostly represent special, narrow
home interests and not the national
interest.
* * *
THE PRESIDENCY has been greatly
underminded and weakened. We may lose
Central America to the Ortega-Wright
partnership. Robert Bork, the most
qualified man named to the Supreme
Court in years, was lynched by a smear
campaign. Gephardt's protectionism
refuses to die in Congress. The markets are
in turmoil, and the people who know best
are alarmed over the rush to accommodate
the USSR with the INF Treaty.
Mr. Reagan must give himself a
booster shot, get up, and fight hard to win
back his Presidency.
Commentary
By Buddy Roberts
Cranmore and Jerry McNair, popularly
known by the abbreviation Jerry Mac.
Jerry took Guy’s place in this filming,
because Guy was unable to make it, as
originally planned.
The story had us going into this rambl
ing old house in search of a book of infinite
wisdom, or something like that. The house
was supposed to be full of monsters and
the like, obstacles, as it were, to keep us
from getting to the book.
THIS, BY THE WAY, was around the
first of November. It had recently rained,
the day before we were going to shoot, to
be exact, and it was a dark, overcast day.
It was also freezing cold, and none of us
had had sense enough to bring a jacket.
We arrived at the house and got
everything set up. The script called for
Jeff, Jerry Mac, and me to walk out into
this pasture beside the house, and then
walk back toward the house for the open
ing scene. This wasn't hard; it was really
a short walk. Thing was, it was cold. Our
teeth were chattering at a very rapid speed
by the time we reached the house. Then we
had to stand out front and deliver a cou
ple of lines each before we went in.
NOBODY, as it turned out, knew his
lines. We did it ad lib most of the way
through. Another problem. It was dark in
side the house. Very dark. We could hard
ly read the scripts that we brought along.
Before long, though, we were into the
main part of the story. We met a mad doc
tor, disposed a werewolf with the unlikely
weapons of a leaf blower, a weed eater, and
a whip, and survived a fight with a rather
noisy monster, characterized very well by
Jason Espy. . ;
AFTER FREEZING in that drafty
house, we were finally finished. So much
for the video. We filmed it, and it was over.
At least that was what everybody
thought. The camera we used was suppos
ed to be able to film by candlelight, the
equivalent of which we, amazingly, had in
see COMMENTARY, page 6-A
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A |
Letters
To The
Editor
Enjoys
Roberts’
Column
Dear Editor:
I enjoyed reading Buddy
Roberts comments on the
*Golden Age of Radio" in the
Dec. 3 issue of The News. It's
refreshing to see one very
young person who appreciate
really fine works of art such as
the old-time radio shows that
have survived over the years
from the early 40s and 50s. The
entertainment they %rovided in
their heyday gave the listener
a flight of fancy unequalled
anywhere. TV has never beeg
one to challenge anyone, muc
less provide group entertain
ment for famfili‘es.
Don’t get me wrong, I love
TV and my family watches it
quite a bit and VCR's are
wonderful, but could you do
homework, read an Ellery
Bueen mystery, listen to the
rime Doctor and Jack Benny
and Ozzie and Harriet, all at
the same time and do a good
job at any of them if TV were
substituted in place of the
radio? I've done it and still
made top grades in school, not
so with %‘%r
With radio, your imagina
tion was wonderfully keen and
the pictures were exactly as
you wished them to be, and
there were no four-letter words
to dampen your enjoyment.
The entertainment, without ex
ception was aimed at the fami
ly. With TV, *‘viewer discretion
is advised’’ is a common
watchword.
You could ride with Gene
Autry on the Melody Ranch,
fly with Captain Midnight,
soar with Superman into outer
space, ride with the Highway
Patrol, dodge bullets with the
Gangbusters, laugh with Jack
Benny, Fred Allen, Bob Hope,
cry with the Rfi,ght. to Hafiy
piness and Ma Perkins, fight
crime with the Shadow, go in
to court with Mr. District At
torney, Harrington and Miss
Miller, and when someone ask
ed, “Who was that masked
man?”’ it wasn't a joke, it was
fun and exciting.
I still have the good fortune
to have reel after reel of good
entertainment on ta;ifz in my
library and can play Lum and
Abner continuously for about
100 hours, Lone Ranier for
about 100 hours, laugh with
Jack Benny and Fred Allen
and Fibber McGee and Molly
for hours on end without
repeating a thing. What a
shame our young folks never
get a chance to hear good old
ashioned fun without sex and
violence.
Thanks, Buddy, for your
column, it was great and
brought back some nice
memories of some pleasant
hours in those “‘thrilling dal\;s
of yesteryear...out of the
East come those thundering
oofbeats . .. "
Roland Nunn
Route 1, Box 160
Trion
More
Support
For Finster
Dear Editor: ]
This letter is written in sup
fiort of the preservation of the
ev. Howard Finster's
“Paradise Garden.” It is in
deed one of the world’s most
noteworthy folk art en
vironments, and a physical
monument to an important
American artist.
Howard Finster’s rei)uta
tion continues to grow by leaps
and bounds. Ten of thousands
have visited his garden, and
millions have become aware of
it through national publicity
such as Life Magazine and the
Tonight Show.
Wake Forest University
has a special relationship with
Rev. Finster. As early as 1979
we displayed his paintings, and
have invited him as a visiting
artist to lecture on three occa
sions. Wake Forest University
Kroduced the 45rpm record of
is ori%:nal song, ‘‘Just a Lit
tle Tack,”” and contributed to
the production of his 33rpm
record album. ;
Paradise Garden was the
mainet that brought attention
to the Rev. Finster and led to
his international success. We
at Wake Forest University en
courage your participation in
the preservation of this very
special - environmental
sculspture §arden.
incere Py,
Victor Faccinto .
Director, Fine Arts Gallery
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, N. C.
See Additional
Letters To
The Editor
On Page 6-A
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