The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 66, No. 109, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 28, 1983 Page: 2 of 8
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ommentary
The North Texas Daily
Page 2 Thursday, April 28,1983
Editorials
Constitutional erosion
The Supreme Court this week agreed to decide whether
the U S. Immigration and Naturalization Service can raid
factories and block exits in searching for illegal aliens.
Last July, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San
Francisco judiciously ruled that the INS tactic of raiding
factories and blocking exits violates the Fourth Amend-
ment's ban of illegal searches and seizures The federal
government, seemingly anxious under the reins of Presi-
dent Reagan to continue subjugating the American peo-
ple. appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which
is expected to hear the case early in 1984.
The federal government’s argument is revealing: Not
only does the circuit court decision make it harder for the
INS to apprehend illegal aliens, but. the Justice Depart-
ment argues, it may cast doubt on the validity of certain
longstanding police practices directed at capturing crimi-
nals mingling with innocent citizens.
In other words, such Gestapo police practices as setting
up roadblocks and stopping drivers may be unconstitutional.
The Fourth Amendment guarantees the rights of citi-
zens to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and
effects against unreasonable searches and seizures. It de-
clares that w arrants can be issued only for probable cause
and that they must detail the places to be searched and
persons or things to be seized.
When the government argues that a circuit court ruling
places the consitutionality of common police practices in
doubt, it misses the point. Arguing that a ruling declares
one practice of the government unconstitutional also de-
clares other practices of the government unconstitutional
is not an argument against the ruling, but for it.
The Justice Department complained to the Supreme Court
that the mling effectively destroys the ability of the INS
to catch illegal aliens at factories. The ruling still allows
the INS to search factories, but now it may question only-
workers who it has reason to believe are illegal aliens,
and not a factory’s entire work force.
One would hope that the Supreme Court would waste
little time in upholding the circuit court's conscionable
ruling. But in 1979. the Supreme Court ruling on the
right of police to stop drivers indiscriminately found in
favor of the police—provided all motorists are stopped.
That ruling, which etched into the U.S. legal system
the right of authorities to search the masses for a few
offenders, is one of the most disgraceful of that august
body, clearly violating the intent of the framers of the
Constitution.
Certainly, illegal immigration is a problem that needs
to be solved. Congress has been considering illegal im-
migration legislation for years. The Supreme Court shouldn't
consider the question of whether the INS will be handi-
capped in its ability to ferret out illegal aliens: rather it
should concentrate on the constitutionality of conducting
searches that encompass the entire work force of a facto-
ry-, and leave the immigration headache to Congress.
The Supreme Court should dismiss the absurd, yet dan-
gerous. objections of the Justice Department, and uphold
the circuit court’s ruling
Letters
Bet on the House
Cartoon angers desk clerk
The Texas Senate approved a bill Tuesday to make
pari-mutuel betting on horse races legal in Texas—the
first such action taken by the Legislature in 50 years.
Now it's up to the House.
All money betted at a pari-mutuel racetrack goes into a
pool This pool is divided among the state, the race win-
ners. the track and the bettors. The state will get 8 per-
cent of that pool. Five percent of the pool will be used
for welfare payments to families with dependent children.
Three percent of the pool will go to the Texas water de-
velopment fund. Five percent will go to race winners and
5 percent will go to the race track. The rest will go to
winning bettors.
The incentives are plain. Money for the neediest of
welfare recipients and needed money for the development
of new water supplies to supplement Texas' current sup-
plies and possibly prevent a severe water shortage in the
future. Money that Texas has been exporting to Louisiana.
New Mexico and Arkansas will remain in Texas, bolstering
its economy.
The Texas Horse Racing Association estimated that pari-
mutuel betting will bring S4.8 billion into the Texas econ-
omy. increase tax revenue by $126,000 and employ 50.000
people.
If the bill is approved by voters, an eight-member com-
mission comprising six gubernatorial appointees, the state
comptroller and the director of the Department of Public-
Safety will regulate the industry under the Texas Horse
Racing Act.
But the most important part of the Senate bill is that it
calls for the issue to be determined by voters in a state-
wide referendum in November of 1984.
The people of Texas, not special interest groups in the
legislature, will decide pari-mutuel betting’s fate.
The Senate bill will legalize pari-mutuel betting on a
local-option basis. Voters in individual counties will de-
termine if their county is to have pari-mutuel gambling.
Unfortunately, a Texas House subcommittee is keep-
ing its pari-mutuel betting bill from a full House vote.
It is ridiculous for the House to take such an action—
or inaction. Opponents of pari-mutuel betting are betting
that the Senate passage of the bill will pry the House
pari-mutuel bill out of a hostile committee.
Recent polls have show n that the vast majority of Texans
want pari-mutuel betting. The Senate has responded to
the will of the people, now it's the House’s turn.
If the House passes the bill, it then goes to Gov. Mark
White, who has already indicated he would sign the bill.
White is apparently more attuned to the political will of
Texans than certain House members, who are using the
bill as an opportunity to push their personal beliefs on
horse racing on Texans, instead of effecting their constit-
uents will.
The Senate's passing of the pari-mutuel bill is respon-
sive to Texans's desire, and hopefully will be a indica-
tion to the House that it should do the same.
This letter is in regard to the editorial
cartoon that appeared in Tuesday's edition
of The Daily. That cartoon was the third
that has appeared in The Daily as a com-
ment on the NT housing system.
As the day desk clerk at Kerr Hall and
as an employee of the housing department.
I am offended My job is difficult and I
try very hard to help our residents in what-
ever way I am able, which is not always
an easy task.
If one of our residents has a problem,
be it personal or otherwise, they are more
than welcome to come to the Housing staff
(resident assistants, desk clerks, custodi-
ans, hall directors, administrative staff) for
help If we are not able to help them, we
generally know who to refer them to.
To imply that we don't care is an insult,
if we didn't care, we wouldn't be here.
Carol Oakley
627 Bernard Apt. 27
NT's loss is Oil's gain
Trent Eades' column in the April 20th
issue of The Daily hit very close to home
with me. Last semester. 1 was elected to
the Student Association and was fifth in
balloting.
At first. 1 was very proud of myself. Then
I learned 1 achieved this goal with a whop-
ping 40 votes. The apathy on this campus
is unbelievable, which Eades showed in his
column
But the apathy comes far short of stop-
ping with the SA elections, which is why
you can find me at Oklahoma University
next year.
Eric Harrison
R.O. Box 9343
Review misses point
When I began to read Denise Kohn's re-
view of "An Officer and a Gentleman. " I
mistakenly assumed that it would be a re-
view of the film. Instead. Kohn proceeded
to review the characters in it
Granted, the film's main characters were
not overly appealing, but I don't believe
they were intended to be. The film, after
all, chronicled the transformation of Richard
Gere's character from an uncaring oaf to a
gentlemanly officer.
Kohn also dismisses the story as "stereo-
typical." While the basic plot of boy-meets
girl has certainly been used before, rarely
has it been presented with such taste, ac-
curacy and cinematic skill.
Had the review examined the overall qual
ity of the film, it would have undoubtedly
mentioned the fine acting, and other excep-
tional aspects of the film that garnered a
total of six Academy Award nominations
Apparently, a great many other students
disagree with Kohn's assessment, since sev-
eral of the Ly ceum showings played to ca-
pacity crowds.
Scott Murphy
NT Box 7039
Iran persecutes Baha'is
For the last four years, the Baha'is in
Iran have been subjected to relentless per-
secution. They are members of the Baha'i
faith, a peaceful, independent, worldwide
religion that has followers in almost every
nation
The Baha'i faith constitutes no threat—
political or otherwise—to the Iranian gov-
ernment or its society. Baha’is are. by re
ligious principle, law abiding and non-
political. W hat is threatening to the govern-
ment is that Baha'is are adherents of the
teachings of Baha'u'llah I1XI7-IX92).
Since Islamic interpretation holds that
Muhammad was the last of God's messen
gers. Baha'is arc viewed as following a
heretic.
The NT Baha'i Association invites NT
students and faculty to help us prevent fur-
ther persecution by letting their congressmen
and senators know their sentiments.
Janet Huggins
Chairperson
NT Baha'i Association
Slaying of Harker Heights policeman shocks town
Supreme Court uses case of Thomas Barefoot to determine limits of appellate process
WASHINGTON—Tuesday, the Supreme
Court hey;an considering the case of a Texas
inmate sentenced to die by injection, in a
case that could determine the pace of exe-
cutions nationwide.
Thomas A Barefoot, convicted of the
1978 murder of a policeman, was mere days
away from execution when the Supreme
Court approved a stay on his behalf The
court will use his case to study the appel-
late process of capita! convictions and
punishment
Harker Heights grew out of the Johnson
grass outbacks of Killeen: dry, arid Bell
County hills coupling the flat north and the
hilly central portions of Texas in a bastard
zone—too dry to be scenic and too hilly to
be farmed
Stripped in against Highway 190—the
umbilical to Fort Hood and soldiers' dollars—
the Heights was the first city to go wet in
order to court Gl money. It is not a garden
spot.
But when, during the scorching summer
of 1978. arsonists took to the city like fire-
flies to a dim light, the residents were un-
derstandably upset. In quick order, a cou-
ple of bars, a nightclub and the city's only
Gibson's Discount Center became nighttime
torches, daytime ashes in the sun.
Carl Levin was investigating the arsons
one hot night, when someone who didn't
want to be investigated shot the Heights
policeman through the brain
For days. Bell County police radios were
electric with the news of the shooting. Shot
in cold blood, they said, one shot to the
forehead. Died in a muzzle flash, a few
dry hills from where Bell natives remem-
ber the last time marauding Comanches
slaughtered white folk.
Those were bad summer days to be a
black man. while the police followed leads
pointing to a black suspect, or a long-haired
white, while police were searching for a
long-haired white, or anyone else who fit-
ted the description of the moment It was
a good time to lay low , stay cool, and off
the hot streets.
Levin was buried in a parched plot in a
Killeen cemetery. Harker Heights doesn't
have one. A sweaty police firing squad fired
a last cracking salute, and photographers
snapped shots of Levin's stepson kneeling
in prayer. The shots made the state photo
wire for a day.
Discrete inquiries to the Harker Heights
Police Department determined Mrs Levin
and family would not be turned out in the
street for a lack of cash State and federal
funds to the family of a murdered police-
man. bank donations, social club donations
and the HHPD donations collected in a plas-
tic mayonnaise jar on top of a computer
terminal were all turned over to the fami-
ly. Trusts for the children and stepchildren
were established.
Levin was lauded by every police depart-
ment in the state. Fellow cops taped their
badges black. Telegrams blew in like dry
leaves. The president of the local junior
college presented the widow with Levin's
posthumous diploma for law enforcement
studies. Levin was remembered in every
church service that week.
Thomas A. Barefoot, occupation: oilfield
worker, didn't stay low enough. He was
arrested for Levin’s murder as he stepped
from a bus. surrounded by the state's finest
On Barefoot they found a pistol later iden-
tified as the Levin murder weapon. At best.
Barefoot was very unlucky to have picked
the weapon up At worst, he got caught.
Barefoot was brought back to Bell County
in chains, to a front-page trial prosecuted
by district attorney Arthur C. "Cappy"
Eades. Eades did not portray Barefoot as
a nice guy: a drifter, a roustabout, a killer.
Few thought much more of him. Ihe reporter
who covered Barefoot's trial for the local
paper and for the Associated Press wanted
to pass on only one additional question to
Barefoot: "Ask him if he's going to try
to shoot Saint Peter in the head if he can t
get into heaven,"
The Bell County courthouse was jammed
every sweaty day of the trial, as witnesses,
reporters and other hangers-on became
caught up in the seemy trial.
The jury quickly found nothing more re-
deeming in Barefoot than had Fades.
Guilty.
Killing a policeman on duty carries a
heavy sentence in Texas
Death,
Levin has been dead five years this
summer. He isn't much remembered out
side his family . Other policemen have died,
some murdered. Heights has grown, and
there's a new Gibson's
Barefoot has joined a thousand other death
row convicts and is waiting his turn at the
needle.
The North Texas Dally
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66th Year North Texas State University Denton. Texas
Printed by the North Texas State University Printing Office
Southwestern Journalism Congress
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PACEMAKER 6 TIMES
ALL-AMERICAN 76 TIMES
LAURIE GRIFFIN, editor
DUANE PELZEL, advertising manager
Bob Ward photographer Phil Carter ad representative
G Nelson Greenfield, cartoonist Mark Techmeyer. ad representative
Jeff Hill, cartoonist Diane Valentine, ad representative
Ed McVey. cartoonist Rodger West ad representative
The North Texas Daily, student newspaper of North Texas State University, is
published daily, Tuesday through Friday, during the long semesters and
weekly during the summer sessions. The NT Daily is not published during
review and examination periods or school vacations. The Daily is a non-profit
newspaper providing information, entertainment and commentary for the
NTSU community. It serves as a laboratory educational experience for stu-
dents in reporting, writing, editing, advertising and photography classes within
the journalism department. Students receive grades according to the quality
of work done for the paper.
Ralph Gauer. managing editor
Ana Barerra, news editor
Debbie Cordell, news editor
Trent Eades editonals editor
Libby McMahon, editorials editor
Luann Dunlap staff writer
Chris Kornman. staff writer
Robert Shelton, news assistant
Angela Payne, news assistant
Jacque Johnson, entertainments editor
Denise Kohn. arts writer
Daniel Cavazos sports editor
Charley Wilson, sports write'
Eric Gay photographer
Gina Junk, photographer
Susan Thomas, photographer
SUBSCRIPTION RATE—$12 annually or S6 per long semester and $3
per summer session
Box 5278, NT Station, Denton. Texas 76203
Editorial offices 565-2353 or 565-3576
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Signed commentaries, cartoons and readers letters reflect the opinions of the
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The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 66, No. 109, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 28, 1983, newspaper, April 28, 1983; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth723552/m1/2/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.