The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 229, Ed. 1 Saturday, July 17, 2004 Page: 4 of 16
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Baytown Sun and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Sterling Municipal Library.
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Saturday,
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About us
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TODAY IN SUN HISTORY
TODAY IN HISTORY
Keny, Edwards
care about us
Wanda Gamer Cash,
Editor and Publisher
SOWHATEVER
HAPPENED TO WE W
WO CRIED WOLF?
George
Plagenz
The First A
Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people;
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances.
401(1
ma
Jupiter, sending up towering fireballs.
Brazil defeated Italy to win its fourth
World Cup title.
Five years ago: A search began for the
missing plane that was carrying John F.
Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and her sis-
ter, Lauren Bessette, on a flight from New
Jersey to Massachusetts. (The plane had
crashed into the Atlantic Ocean the night
before, killing all three.)
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BECOME AN WTEUI60G
< OFFICER FORM CIA.
serious matter that should not
be treated lightly.
ByMK
The
use every day.’ So now I say,
‘What’s the big deal?”’
— The Bismarck (ND.) Tribune
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In 1981,114 people were killed when a
pair of walkways above the lobby of the
Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel collapsed
during a “tea dance.”
In 1996, TWA Flight 800, a Paris-bound
Boeing 747, exploded and crashed off Long
Stephen V
2223 N. Alex
Baytown, TX
281-428-195
www.edwart
Member SIPC
Edw
Serving Irx
Opinions
The big deal is that to hold
this attitude is to assure that we
will continue to dwell on the
gross and theumcouth in our
speech and eliminate all refine-
ment from life.
Still another group of the
unconcerned take the “live-and-
let-live” philosophy. These are
people who have been duped by
the “myth of the off/on button.”
seeing and hearing were the sort This myth says that if you don’t
you have to do is turn it off.
This way, the people who want
to see the program can see it
and those who don’t want to see
But don’t try to keep your fel-
low drivers from going 80 if
they want to.” The point is, the
reckless speed at which others
choose to drive can affect our
lives and safety, so we ought to
have something to say about it
The same goes for the moral
climate of our society. What
others do affects us.
The nonsmoker in the room
breathes the same air as the
“Get used to it,” was the mag- smoker who polluted it Just so,
azine’s suggestion of how we
should respond to the current
epidemic of vulgarity.
A mother who wrote to me
recently said, “Once I would
have been reluctant to have my
10-year-old son hear the lan-
guage they use in today’s
movies. But last week my son
told me, ‘Mom, it’s no worse
Our editorial board
The Baytown Sun’s editorial board meets weekly at 2 p.m.
Wednesday. Individuals are encouraged to visit the editorial
board to discuss issues affecting the community. To make an
appointment, contact Managing Editor David Bloom by calling
281-422-8302.
Members of the editorial board include: Wanda Gamer Cash,
editor and publisher; David Bloom, managing editor; Joseph
Lohan, city editor; Dee Anne Navarre, business manager; Jim
Anley, retired Sun managing editor; and Jane Howard Lee,
retired Sun reporter.
On federal highway money
Washington is wrangling about not just the size of the
new six-year highway bill but how the money will be
allocated among the states. The so-called “donor” states
— those who send more gas-tax money to Washington
than they get back, generally the more-populous states
— are supposedly serious this time about demanding
their “fair” share.
There will be more total money in any case.
The six-year bill that expired last Sept. 30 — but has
been extended, pending a new one — was worth $218
billion. The least we will get this time is the $256 billion
asked by President Bush. The House wants $284 billion,
the Senate $318 billion.
This sounds juicy, until you remember that the coun-
try’s roads and bridges are falling further behind every
year. The deficit is not in new construction desired by
some larger cities but just in maintenance of what we
have. Bush’s Department of Transportation says the new
bill would need to be $375 billion just to freeze the slide
in place (not to begin to reverse the damage).
In short, North Dakota has been a good steward of
highway dollars, its own and Washington’s. If there are
not enough federal dollars to go around, it’s time to look
at the federal tax — not to pick winners and losers
among the states.
In 1950, Gov. Allan Shivers made a bid.
for East Harris County votes in a goodwill
tour of Baytown.
In 1975, Lee College was notified that it
lost approval for instruction programs for
high school students in neighboring districts
because the Texas Education Agency said
certification requirements were not met.
In 1990, Crosby school disfrict trustees ?
voted to name the new school on FM 1942
Barrett Primary School instead of Crosby
Primary School.
In 2000, with the closing of Battleground
Let us hear from you
The Baytown Sun welcomes letters of up to 300 words and
guest columns of up to 500 words on any item of public inter-
est. Guest columns should include a photograph of the writer.
We publish only original material addressed to The Baytown Sun
bearing the writer’s signature. An address and phone number
not for publication should be included. We ask that submissions
be limited to one per month. All letters and guest columns are
subject to editing. The Sun reserves the right to refuse to pub-
lish any submission.
Please send signed letters to: Wanda Gamer Cash or David
Bloom, The Baytown Sun, P.O. Box 90, Baytown, 77522. Or, fax
them to: 281-427-1880. Or send us an email at sunnews@bay-
townsun.com.
we all breathe the same cultural
air and live in the same cultural
climate. The speech, behavior
and habits of society create
an atmosphere that is the same
for all.
Which begs the question:
Is this what the world is
coming to?
Perhaps you feel better, Mr.
than the language kids in school Cheney, but your verbal slip is a
a
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Editorial roundup
On ILS. inteHfeence failures
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s report on
prewar intelligence assessments was released on a Friday,
which in Washington is often a way to bury embarrassing
stuff as people turn their attention to the weekend. As peo-
ple digest the information, however, they will find that the
report is devastating.
Its key conclusion — that “most of the major key judg-
ments in the Intelligence Community’s October 2002
National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), ‘Iraq’s Continuing
Programs for Weapons of Mass Destruction,’ (were) either
overstated, or were not supported by, the underlying intelli-
gence reporting” — is backed by voluminous documenta-
tion and makes hash of the case presented for going to war
with Iraq.
A paragraph early in the 30-page conclusions section
sums up a great deal: “The IC (Intelligence Community)
had long assessed that Iraq maintained its ambitions to
obtain (weapons of mass destruction) and would seek to.
resume full WMD efforts once UN sanctions and inspec-
tions ended. Accordingly, after UN inspectors left Iraq in
1998, (Intelligence Community) analysts began to look for
evidence that Iraq was expanding WMD programs.
Analysts interpreted ambiguous data as indicative of the
active and expanded WMD effort they expected to see.”
West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller, ranking Democrat on
the committee, was probably correct when he said, “We in
Congress would not have authorized that war... with 75
votes, if we knew what we know now.”
If the report has any weakness, it is its failure to acknowl-
edge that the intelligence community’s failure might have
been linked to political pressure.
— The Orange County Register, Santa Ana, Calif.
she could get a message to my daughter, and
that I should have called earlier. I explained
why I’d not called earlier, thinking profession-
al courtesy would sway her, but to no avail.
She then stated that all she could do was put
me through to the coach’s extension so 1
could leave a message (which, as it turned .
out, was not heard until the next morning).
Thankfully, my daughter had the common
sense to realize my schedule had abruptly
changed, but she still was not too happy waiting
alone and not knowing whether to walk home
or continue to wait
Incidents like this are why I applaud the
school board’s decision to allow cell phones.
, Baytown
On the Medicare probe
An internal investigation has confirmed that the
Department of Health and Human Services threatened to
fire Medicare’s chief actuary if he told Congress that the
estimated cost of the prescription drug bill was far higher
than the White House was letting on.
The probe said no criminal laws were broken, that
Medicare’s then-chief official Thomas Scully was within
management rights in withholding the information and
threatening to discipline chief actuary Richard Foster if
he released it to Congress.
The White House put the cost of the drug bill at $395
billion. Foster put the cost at $534 billion, maybe even as
high as $600 billion. If those figures had been known in
advance of the House vote, the drug bill would not have
passed. Even at $395 billion, Congress had no way of
paying for it. And some think tanks believe the real 10-
year cost may be something like twice that figure.
And what of Thomas Scully, the official who ordered
the estimates suppressed? He’s gone to work as a lobbyist
for the drug companies that stand to profit from the cost-
ly new entitlement.
claiming he “felt better” after
saying it
Cheney had his defenders.
One man on the street, in a TV
interview, said, “It shows the
vice president is human like the
rest of us.”
But far from offering us an
excuse for our failures and
shortcomings, to be “human” is
to be “a little lower than the
angels” (Psalm 8), endowed
with such qualities as self-con-
trol and self-discipline.
Two 30-something couples I
know recently took Off for the
movies looking forward to an
evening of fun. It was a short
evening. Because of the large
number of salacious scenes,
they walked out of the movie
before it was half over. But
what one of the women said
that particularly caught my
attention was, “What we were
In defense of my statements,
published July 11 in The Sun, and
in response to Gina Bibb’s
remarks, published July 14,1
would like to reiterate my belief
that the Democratic nominees
represent the future of our nation.
If those who opprise the ticket
would speak in terms of facts and
the harsh realities that face our
nation rather than play on the
emotions of The Sun’s readership,
we could open a rational dis-
course. But let’s be specific to the
issues: The Democratic Party
holds a pro-choice platform. To.
clarify, this means that the party .
defends and protects a woman’s
right to choose. It is not about
promoting abortion — the issue
is about rights.
You talk about respect for
human life, but the unemploy-
ment rate is at it’s highest since
the Great Depression, increasing
numbers of civil rights violation?
are surfacing under the Patriot
Act, millions of American chil-
dren are uninsured— whois
respecting their human rights?
The Bush Administration? * I
Absolutely not.
To speak to the issue of same-
sex marriages, I point to the fact;
that not so long ago interracial ;
marriages were similarly taboo ;
and now they are commonplace. I
am the product of an interracial. •
household: My parents have been
married for 30 years, my brothers
and I are college-educated. Not so
bad, if I say so myself. But the .
intolerance people have for things
they don’t understand just shows!
fear and unwillingness to include!
those who are “different.” In
terms of politics, we elect politi-
cians to defend our Constitution,•
not legislate morality. Don’t bring
God into the equation if you’re
not ready to accept everyone in
our society, as God intended it.
As for John Edwards being a
trial lawyer, you fail to mention
that he defended the common,
working man against big business
— the very thing that the Bush
administration (specifically Vice
President Dick Cheney and
Halliburton) stands for. Edwards-
' came from humble beginnings in
a small, working town similar to
our own and made his American
dream come true.
Ms. Bibb, I appreciate your
opposing viewpoint, but as a 40
year resident of Baytown,
■ Aren’t you worried about the
fate of Social Security?
■ Aren’t you worried about
veterans benefits being taken
away to pay for the unjustified
war in Iraq?
■ Aren’t you worried about the
recession and the state of the
economy?
■ Aren’t you worried about
the future of education for your
children?
■ Aren’t you worried about
your rights?
John Kerry and John Edwards
are, and I whole-heartedly sup- ,
port their nomination.
Amy L Hinojosa
Baytown
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On Londor
Today is Saturday, July 17, the 199th day
of2004. There are 167 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On July 17,1945, President Truman,
Soviet leader Josef Stalin and British Prime
Minister Winston S. Churchill began meet-
ing at Potsdam in the final Allied summit of Island, N.Y., shortly after departing John F.
WoridWarll. *' -" .=—, ■
On this date:
In 1821, Spain ceded Florida to the United
States.
In 1898, during the Spanish-American
War, Spanish troops in Santiago, Cuba, sur-
rendered to U.S. forces.
In 1917, the British royal family adopted
the name “Windsor.”
In 1944,322 people were killed when a
pair of ammunition ships exploded in Port
Chicago, Calif.
In 1975, an Apollo spaceship docked with
a Soyuz spacecraft in orbit in die first super-
power link-up of its kind.
In 1979, Nicaraguan President Amstasio
Somoza resigned and fled into exile in
Miami.
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Founded 1922
i David Bloom,
Managing Editor
Fred Hartman, Publisher Emeritus
1950-1974
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TelLeste 17.2
RetailVent 7.7
Cell phones in schools can be a big help
In response to Steve Dean’s letter published
in Sunday’s Sun, I agree that there win be some
shenanigans on the part of some students if cell
phones are allowed on a limited basis in school.
However, I have to disagree with his assess-
ment that all the teachers and staff do every-
thing to make sure the kids are taken care of.
This past spring, our daughter participated
in track at Sterling High School. On one
occasion, a faculty meeting was rescheduled
at the school where I teach. I was not going to
be able to pick her up as previously arranged
after practice. I called the Sterling office at
3:30 p.m. (as soon as my afternoon duty was
finished), to let her knoW I wasn’t coming. I
was told by the person answering the phone
that it was after hours and there was no way
Time to change the headline
A few years ago, I wrote a
column that carried the head-
line, “We are turning into a
nation of slobs.”
That headline is now outdat-
ed. Today, it should read, “We
have turned into a nation of
slobs,” a people without refine-
ment or class.
What helped to push us over
the brink—from a warning of
impending danger to a fait
accompli — was an obscene
remark made recently by the
vice president of die United
States, a crude expletive direct-
ed at Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt
To make matters worse, not
only did the vice president not
apologize after having had time
to reflect on what he said, he
of things one hopes the world is like something on television, all
not coming to.” “
That is what is frightening.
Are we in a moral decline that
will take the world down with
it? George Orwell may not have it won’t have to.
fathomed our four-letter world, But this is as dangerous as
but we can apply his words with saying, “If you believe in the
equal force to our own situation. 65 mph speed limit, obey it.
shocked us even further by pro- “If you want to corrupt a peo-
ple,” said Orwell, “first corrupt
the words in which they express
themselves.”
We are well on our way.
More than a decade ago (in
1990), Time magazine ran a
cover story titled “Dirty words:
America’s foul-mouthed pop
culture.” Sad to say, Time’s rem-
edy was as depressing as the
story it told.
Kennedy International Airport, killing all
230 people aboard.
In 1998, Nicholas II, last of the Romanov
czars, was buried in Russia 80 years after he
and his family had been executed by the
Bolsheviks.
Ten years ago: Fragments of comet
Shoemaker-Levy 9 continued to smash into speedway in Highlands the previous week,-!
T,miter ™ Houston Park had its
version of humper-to-bumper traffic
Saturday night About 150 cars raced, 50 i
more than a normal. •
In 2003, although the bill had already ■
been signed into law, Gov. Rick Perry ;
signed for a second time a bill that requires;
the state to develop rules for non-hazardous
industrial waste landfills.
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Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Cash, Wanda Garner. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 229, Ed. 1 Saturday, July 17, 2004, newspaper, July 17, 2004; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1184987/m1/4/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.