Sulphur Springs News-Telegram (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 11, Ed. 1 Monday, January 14, 1991 Page: 2 of 10
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1
2—THE NEWS-TELEGRAM, Sulphur Springs, Thus, Monday, January 14,1991
editorials
It's not easy
on the hot spot
County’s United States
Hopkins County’
lat was probably the most difficult
here that arc
from Hopkins County
that we believe that S
On Saturday, Hopk
Representative made wna
decision of his career. Congressman Jim Chapman of
Sulphur Springs voted for a resolution that is likely to
commit this country to war with Iraq.
We don’t envy Jink’s role on Saturday. There are no
clear answers to the crisis in the Middle EasL There are
no firm answers of yes or no to the question: Will it be
worth the sacrifice?
We aren’t going to attempt to discuss the many issues
ie involved in a conflict that seems so far away
and yet so near — except to say
addam Hussein is evil, will build a
nuclear arsenal if given the chance, and won’t hesitate to
use it if he deems it necessary. As a result of that belief,
we support our congressman’s decision.
What we are discussing here is not only our representa-
tive, but a man that many of us have known almost all of
his,, or our, life. This is a time when that relationship
should be noted and applied by giving him the support of
friends, not necessarily because we agree with his vote,
but because of the enormous responsibility he has had to
shoulder in this crisis.
The News-Telegram has continued to endorse Jim
when he runs for re-election because we believe he is
qualified, dedicated and hard-working. Certainly, there
are times when we don’t agree with his politics and the
votes he casts. But, today is a day when we think any past
disagreements should be put aside in order to say that we
sympathize with him because of the agonizing situation
he encountered as our spokesman in Washington.
It’s easy for us to sit here in Hopkins CountAand, in
retrospect, say what could have been done or whWshould
be done. It’s not easy when you’re one of the ones who
makes the final decision that is likely to send Americans
into combat
—Mary Grant Davis
The opinion page
Why polls can be misleading
By William A. Rusher
It is common knowledge that a poll-
ster can get just about any answer he
wants by designing Jiis questions
carefully
During the later stages of the Viet-
nam War. it was common for poll-
sters to ask a representative cross-
section of the public. “Do you approve
of the way the president is handling
the war?’" Gradually the percentage
of those replying “No’ inched up-
ward. until at last it was possible for
the media to proclaim, with technical
accuracy, that “a majority of the
American people oppose the way the
president is handling the war’ — or,
more briefly and far less accurately,
’a majority of the American people
oppose the war ”
I cannot recall a single instance in
which the pollster, confronted with a
“No," ever went on to ask the obvious
next question: “In what way do you
think he is mishandling it?’ The me-
dia were quite content with the “No,’
and disinclined to paint the lily. We
were left to assume, and if necessary
were told, that a majority of Ameri-
cans opposed our whole enterprise in
Vietnam.
And yet. as other probes of public
opinion made abundantly clear, there
was never, from one end of the Viet-
nam War to the other, a majority of
the American people in favor of the
sort of bugout the left demanded and.
with the help of the Democratic Con-
gress. ultimately achieved. Holders of
that view, who undeniably ‘disap-
proved of the way the president was
handling the war,” had to be con-
joined with another, very different
current of opinion before majority
status was acquired.
This second current of opinion con-
sisted of that substantial group of peo-
ple who had no objection whatever to
America’s military presence in Viet-
nam, but opposed dragging the war
out to interminable lengths while our
William fi.
Rusher
leaders tried to think of some way to
win it without invading the North or
obliterating it with bombs. These peo-
ple. too, thoroughly disapproved of
“the way the president was handling
the war,” but there was not a dove
among them.
A recent issue of The New Yorker
displayed a similar misunderstanding
of a currently popular poll question
Pollsters are fond of asking people
whether “you think the country is
headed in the wrong direction,” or is
“pretty seriously off on the wrong
track,” or something of that sort.
There is usually an impressive pro-
portion of “Yeses’ in response to such
a question, and for some reason liber-
als tend to assume that these consti-
tute an implicit criticism of the presi-
dent — who is usually a Republican
and thus their sworn enemy.
To quote The New Yorker^’In a re-
cent Wall Street Journal NBC News
poll, fifty-one percent of those sur-
veyed said the country was headed in
the wrong direction, yet fifty-seven
percent approved of George Bush's
performance as president.” This
struck The New Yorker as an “odd
combination of findings.”
Once again, the pollster had not
gone on to ask the obvious next ques-
tion. “In what respect do you think we
are headed in the wrong direction?" If
he had, he would probably have clari-
fied much that baffles The New York-
er’s editors.
peopli
conclu;
when asked such a
broad, conclusory question, tend to
stand back from the press of ordinary
political issues and answer it on the
level it seems to invite: the level of
thoughtful speculation on long-term
trends
“Is America headed in the wrong
direction?" One thinks — or at any
rate many do — of the loss of reli-
gious faith, the decline in the ‘family
values,” the rise in drug use, the in-
crease in violent crimes, the upsurge
in exotic “lifestyles’ ... and answers,
almost automatically, “Yes.” But
dobs this imply, or ought it logically
to imply, dissatisfaction with George
Bush?
Of course not — in fact, probably
the contrary. Let liberals look else-
where for their consolations.
© 1991 NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE ASSN
1VE MADE HIM
AN OFFER HE
CAN’T REFUSE.
-IHOPEHECWLl MEAN
ICWT THINK HE CAN.
Bush avoids conservation
By Robert Walters
WASHINGTON (NEA) - President
Bush clearly is committed to drastic
military action to protect the Middle
East as a reliable source of crude oil.
''But he unfortunately is unwilling to
fashion and promote an equally tough
and comprehensive domestic energy
policy to reduce reliance upon that
imported petroleum.
Indeed, senior members of the
Bush’s White House staff dissuaded
Energy Secretary James D. Watkins
from even incorporating firm recom-
mendations to the president in his de-
partment’s recently completed study
— the most ambitious ever conducted
by the federal government — of na-
tional energy strategy.
Instead, White House Chief of Staff
John H. Sununu and Michael J. Bos-
kin, chairman of the President’s
Council of Economic Advisors,
threatened to withhold support of
Watkins’ submission unless it con-
tained only options from which Bush
could choose.
No proposal inspires more fanatic
opposition from Sununu, Boskin and
other auto industry apologists than
the concept of sharply reducing do-
mestic oil consumption by increasing
the fuel efficiency of passenger cars
and other vehicles.
That approach, initially embraced
by Watkins, is hardly revolutionary.
The Energy Policy and Conservation
Act of 1975 established Corporate Av-
erage Fuel Economy requirements
for all autos sold.in this country.
♦
♦
Those CAFE standards mandated
phased efficiency increases — from
. 44 miles per gallon in 1974 to 18 mpg
: in 1978 and finally 27.5 mpg in 1985
and subsequent years.
Under President Reagan — eVen
less concerned than Bush about ener-
gy conservation — the CAFE stan-
dards were compromised to 26 mpg in
1986,1987 and 1988. A small increase
to 26.5 mpg was belatedly authorized
in 1989 and the long-overdue 27.5 mpg
requirement is now in force.
But the Bush administration — re-
sponding to pressure from domestic
automakers — last year successfully
opposed proposed legislation mandat-
ing a new round of gradual CAFE in-
creases that would reach 34 mpg in
Robert
Walters
1996 and 40 mpg in 2001.
Unlike their Japanese competitors,
the auto companies basede in this
country have always resisted calls for
the production of smaller, fuel effi-
cient vehicles because they make big-
ger profits selling larger, gasoline-
guzzling vehicles.
Although the lumbering tail-finned
highway behemoths of the 1950s and
1960s are history, the buyers and sell-
ers of motor vehicles have collaborat-
ed to develop imaginative new ways
of burning excess fuel.
City dwellers, for example, during
the 1980s purchased millions of pick-
up trucks whose beds will never carry
a serious load of cargo and four-
wheel-drive vehicles whose tires will
never touch an unpaved road. Both
consume fuel at extravagant rates.
Competition from efficiency-con-
scious Japanese producers has led to
dramatic reductions in the weight of
passenger cars, which averaged more
than 2 tons in the early 1970s. But do-
mestic producers now encourage
younger buyers’ demands for turbo-
charged “performance” or “muscle”
cars that require vast amounts of
fuel.
While promoting those cars — spe-
cifically designed to travel at high,
unsafe speeds — the automakers
sanctimoniously argue that fuel effi-
cient autos are dangerous because
THE WORLD ALMANAC*
DATE BOOK
Jan. 14, 1991
Today Is the Uth
day of 1991 and the
25th day of winter.
they invariably are smaller and
lighter. Thus, the producers claim,
they do not provide adequate post-
crash protection for their occupants.
But fuel efficiency of 45 mpg is at-
tainable through the use of existing
technology without any sacrifice in
fchfdty. Moreover, European ahd1 Jap-
anese automakers — as well as Gen-
eral Motors — have produced high-ef-
ficiency prototypes that average
more than 60 mpg in city driving and
better than 80 mpg when cruising
open highways.
The Bush administration conve-
niently ignores those realities while
insisting that government interven-
tion, in the form of enhanced CAFE
standards, would constitute unwar-
ranted meddling in a theoretical “free
market.”
In ordinary times, that would be de-
plorable. When the White House is
prepared to go to war to protect ac-
cess to Persian Gulf oil but is unwill-
ing to insist upon conservation of oil-
based fuel, it is outrageous.
© 1991 NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE ASSN
Letters to the editor
VA ignores head injuries
By Jack Anderson
and Dale Van Atta
WASHINGTON - If war erupts in
the Persian Gulf, those who play
numbers games in the Pentagon say
as many as 30,000 American soldiers
could come home in boxes. Among
the living could be 10,000 injured sol-
diers with serious head wounds. They
will be given a hospital bed and pre-
cious little else.
The U.S. military, which promises
lifetime medical care for veterans,
has no head-injury rehabilitation
units in its hospitals. There will be no
therapy for the impairments that
The public forum
T
M
T
Y*
T
F
i
til
1
TODAY’8 HISTORY: On this day in
1922, the Irish Free State was
established.
Important election
Editor, The News-Telegram:
One of the most important elec-
tions to affect the people of Sulphur
Springs and Hopkins County will
take place Jan. 19. The result of this
election will set the course for the
economic vitality and quality of life
in this area for ourselves and for
our children and even their
children. It is most important that
as individuals we make the deci-
sion to invest in the future of Sul-
phur Springs. '
Nobody wants to pay more taxes.
However, the real cost of the Vi
cent increase in sales tax is mini-
scule compared to the cost of not
approving this increase. These
funds will provide the tools neces-
sary to attract new industries and
businesses that will broaden our tax
base, expand our economy and
provide quality jobs for all who
lives in this area. The alternative is
to watch our property taxes in-
crease while our children move
away to find employment.
The sales tax spreads the burden
among all consumers in the city,
not just property owners and not
just residents of Sulphur Springs. It
amounts to only an additional $5 on
$1,000 of taxable goods purchased.
It is totally locally controlled and
must be used for specific purposes.
It is our only chance to realistically
compete with other areas and bring
economic growth to Sulphur
Springs and Hopkins County.
Please think and please vote.
Tommy F. Thompson
Sulphnr Springs
plague a soldier with Iraqi lead in his
or her skull.
The common American health in-
surance policy will cover head-injury
rehabilitation for civilians, but a sol-
dier who risks life in the desert must
simply lie in bed and hope for
recovery.
Our associates Jim Lynch and Paul
Parkinson examined this gap in medi-
cal coverage offered to American
soldiers.
The Pentagon is inexcusably be-
hind the times. Private hospitals have
had head-injury programs for years
— long enough to persuade insurers
to finance the care. But the Pentagon
remains skeptical, calling the thera-
py “unproven,” and often refusing to
pay for it unless that therapy will re-
turn a soldier to active duty.
Thousands of Vietnam veterans are
victims of this policy. Many had their
heads patched up as though doctors
were treating broken ankles, and then
were sent back to active duty, some
with a handful of pain killers.
Richard Shannon was shot in the
head in Vietnam in 1968. When he re-
turned to active duty, “I couldn’t even
remember how to spit shine my
boots.” Shannon was placed on kitch-
en duty and dropped in rank. Finally
he was booted out of the Army and
told to check into a Veterans Admin-
istration hospital. There he got drugs
to control seizures. He lived for years
on a $160-a-month disability check
from the government.
„ In 1983, Shannon got a good look at
his medical files. He learned that a
piece of his brain had been surgically
removed 15 years earlier as part of
the initial treatment for the bullet
wound. “If they had just helped to re-
teach me.to do simple things,” he told
us. “I’m not nuts.”
The VA agreed to re-evaluate
Shannon's case and gave him com-
pensation for 100 percent medical
disability.
Other Vietnam vets are still trying
to get access to modern therapy.
Thomas Murphy survived a bullet in
his head during his first combat mis-
sion in Vietnam. The only “therapy"
he got was a psychiatric drug called
Haloperidol. Not until 1987 did the
VA agree to pay for therapy from a
private head-trauma program.
Murphy was making progress, and
then the VA told him it planned to cut
off financing for the therapy last fall.
nam Veterans of America organiza-
tion protested, did the VA change its
mind and agree to continue paying, at
least for the time being. Murphy
doesn't know when the rug will be
pulled out from under him again.
“When soldiers join the military,
they think they have cradle-to-grave
medical coverage, but they don’t,”
said Dr. Andres Salazar, director of
the Vietnam Head Injury Study.
Copyright. 1991, United Feature Syndicate. Inc
What hath 'Godfather' wrought?
By Lewis Grizzard
I haven't seen “The Godfather, Part
OT yet That's because I decided
before I saw “Godfather III" I ought to
go back and watch I and II to refresh
myself on the doings of the Corleones
; up to where we left them.
I So I picked up tapes of the two
: earlier epics and watched a marathon
of Godfathering.
In Godfather I we first learn of the
phrase, ‘Make him an offer he can't
refuse."
This means, in the mom basic of
terms, if Marlon Brando, the God-
father, asks you to do something and
you do not comply, be certain to hide
your horse
We also learn that Michael Cor
leone, the Godfather’s youngest son,
has no taste in women.
That’s because he gets hooked up
with Diane Keaton, whom Fve never
Lewis
Grizzard
I
considered that attractive. In fact
when she played opposite Woody
Allen in “Annie Hall" I kept mistaking
her for an ugly lamp.
A lot of people get killed in the first
Godfather. The Godfather's oldest
son succumbs to 19 guys with
machine guns hiding in a toll booth.
The Godfather’s son-in-law dies
when he forgets the oldest rule in
gangster movies — never sit in the
front seat when there’s a guy in the
back who knows how to reverse the
Heimlich maneuver.
In the end of the first Godfather,
the Godfather himself dies. But it’s
from natural causes. He mumbles so
badly that when he complains of
chest pains, his doctor thinks he’s
saying, “My hemorrhoids are killing
me, Doc," and fails to order an EKG.
Godfather n picks up with Michael
Corleone succeeding the Godfather
as Godfather, Jr., who, the minute he
takes the oath of office, develops his
own noticeable mumble.
In Godfather II, we learn the
phrase, ‘Murmur, frimble, Jumble,
humble,” which is Michael Corleone
mumbling to Diane Keaton, “Get out
of my house, you slice of mildewed
laaagna.”
A lot of people get killed in
Godfather II, also — the most notice-
able of whom is Michael Corleone’s
last living brother, Fredo.
Fredo’s a wormy sort of character
who dresses poorly and gets on
Michael’s nerves, so Fredo violates
yet another rule of gangster movies:
never turn your back on a guy with
whom you are sharing a fishing boat if
he didn’t bring along a pole and has
never filed a tax return.
At the end of Godfather Q, we see
Michael sitting alone In his lake
house, looking rather depressed
because he can’t think of anybody
else he needs to have whacked.
I don't know what to expect in
Godfather III. More of the same, I
suppose.
A guy gets choked to death here. A
guy gets shot in the eyeball there.
Wilbur threatens to testify against
Michael and Mr. Ed pays the consequ-
ences.
Regardless, what an appropriate
time to bring out such a movie, I was
thinking.
; Christmas Day
C 1990 by King Future* Syndicate, Inc.
Berry's Worfd
B
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if
1 STOPS Hike
® 1990 by NEA. Inc /0
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Keys, Clarke. Sulphur Springs News-Telegram (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 11, Ed. 1 Monday, January 14, 1991, newspaper, January 14, 1991; Sulphur Springs, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth823614/m1/2/: accessed July 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Hopkins County Genealogical Society.