Monday, March 31, 1986
Page 4
Daily Nebraskan
IT Jl
Itooa
Nebrayskait
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
War qam
'Wise' moves hurt U.S.
While UNL students were on
spring break last week,
leaders in the United
States and other foreign coun
tries played games that should
spark fear in every draft-age stu
dent. Saying U.S. forces had entered
its waters, Libyan President Moam
mar Kaddafy fired missiles at
U.S. ships in the Gulf of Sidra,
missing the targets but remind
ing Americans once again of the
Libyan leader's unpredictable
nature.
Then it was reported that the
Nicaraguan army invaded neigh
boring Honduras. The U.S.-sup-ported
Contras are stationed in
camps on the Nicaraguan border.
Some diplomats have said Nica
ragua invaded the territory to
protect itself from the Contras.
Others claim Nicaragua is start
ing to export its revolution into
other Central American coun
tries. Both of these actions require
the immediate attention of the
United States, but the Reagan
administration and Congress
should be careful in their actions.
In Nicaragua, the risk exists
that the United States will wrong
ly intervene in the affairs of a
nation that desires only to live in
peace. On the other hand, there
is the risk that, in the absence of
increasing U.S. intervention in
the dispute, the Marxist Nicara
guan government will export its
revolution.
Both the Senate and House
have debated these issues in
deciding whether to give the
Contras $100 million in military
and non-lethal aid. The Senate
tudeni
Spring break gets out of hand
All that sun and fun asso
ciated with spring break
went a bit too far this year,
especially in normally quiet Palm
Springs, Calif.
Police were called in to han
dle students who got together to
party and have some fun. The fun
eventually turned destructive.
Some students sprayed mace into
officers' faces. Others assaulted
them. In Palm Springs alone,
more than 70 people were injured,
mostly with cuts and bruises,
news wires reported.
What started as innocent water
fights turned into street block
ades that stopped approaching
motorists. Students opened the
cars' doors and ripped clothes
from several women.
Editorial Policy
Unsigned editorials represent
official policy of the spring 1986
Daily Nebraskan. Policy is set by the
Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board.
The Daily Nebraskan's publish
ers are the regents, who established
the UNL Publications Board to super
Vicki KuKha, fiVMor, 472-1766
Thom (iabrukW'wiez, Managing Editor
Ad lludler, Editorial Page Editor
James Ko rs, Editorial Page Editor
Chris Welsch, Co Dt'Sfc CMr"
last week approved the measure,
which now goes back to the
House. Rather than accepting
the $100 million proposal blindly,
the House, like the Senate did, is
looking into ways to appropriate
the aid only if negotiations be
tween the Contras and Sandinis
tas do not materialize.
In the past, international
opinion consistently has opposed
military forays into innocent
neighboring states. Congress and
Reagan should be cautious in
making future decisions regard
ing the conflict. We hope the
American public is smart enough
to vehemently oppose any Vietnam
like U.S. involvement in Nicara
gua. Regarding Libya, Reagan didn't
keep his cool. Some high-ranking
officials have said the Reagan
administration provoked Kad
dafy' s missile attack by entering
waters Kaddafy warned them to
avoid. Although the Libyan mis
sies missed their targets, U.S.
retaliations sunk three ships and
damaged a Libyan radar station
on the coast.
It's obvious the U.S. military
exercise simply provided the
country a chance to flex its mus
cles and convince Americans that
their country should intervene in
actions like those in Nicaragua.
The United States' already-trained
reputation throughout the
world can't stand such "wise"
moves.
Reagan has indicated he's con
cerned with the growth and
spread of Marxist governments.
By pulling stunts like the one
last week in Libya, the president
is alienating the Third World.
rammpaoe
In addition, police in Palm
Springs reported that arrests this
year were up 50 percent. More
than 400 people were arrested
since spring vacation began
March 21.
And students who traveled
south to Florida also got out of
hand. Police have reported some
vandalism around Fort Lauder
dale. Last year, three students
fell from balconies and died in
the Daytona Beach area. This
year, more died or were injured.
No doubt about it, spring break
is a time to let loose and enjoy.
It's a time to shed the winter
shells of wool and denim and
kick back with a cool beer. But a
good time can go too far, espe
cially if it starts to involve vio
lence, as it did this year.
vise the daily production of the
paper.
According to policy set by the
regents, responsibility for the edi
torial cjntent of the newspaper lies
solely in the hands of its student
editors.
m
OIL PRICES
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1 ,7j5m.
U.S. dons wresting togs to tango
Underneath his dapper exterior,
President Reagan longs for the
togs of a professional wrestler; he
has an undeniable penchant for body
politics.
When a lunatic or a commie starts to
get him down, he can barely restrain
himself from using his viscious atomic
drop, or maybe just applying an elbow
to the Adam's apple after a quick spin
into the turnbuckle. He's got a Hulk
Hogan mentality that just won't quit.
Admittedly, there's nothing like a
body slam to let someone know where
you stand. And few people deserve a
body slam as much as Col. "Mad Dog"
Kaddafy, who taunted Ronald "Peace
keeper" Reagan with insults about his
acting.
To Reagan and Kaddafy, the conflict
in the Gulf of Sidra was a cage match in
the arena of world politics.
Not even Rowdy Roddy Piper could
think of a better place for a no-holds-barred
slam-fest than behind "The Line
of Death." Even the Iron Shiek would
balk at the thought.
But Reagan didn't, and he won the
match, leaving a slew of suicidal Libyans
under the briny deep.
Yep, Reagan "proved his point. The
United States won't be pushed around
by a looney pretender to the throne.
With vastly superior muscle, Reagan
Reagan's war against Penthouse porn
interferes with public's right to know
Behold the most recent issue of
Penthouse Magazine and a gamey
one it is. There is a partially clad
wench on the cover, a story about
"North Carolina's Holy War on Sex,"
something about Sikh terrorists being
trained in the United States and, in
this magazine so dirty that it has been
condemned by the government's com
mission on pornography, a book excerpt
written by, of all people, William F.
Buckley Jr.
Yes, William F. Buckley. The conser
vative columnist. The novelist. The
host of "Firing Line." The editor of The
National Review and, along with his
wife, Pat, a close friend of Nancy and
Ronald Reagan and a frequent visitor to
the White House. That William F. Buck
ley. And, yes, that Penthouse. The very
same magazine cited on page 9 of the
draft report prepared by the Attorney
General's Commission on Pornography
the part dealing with soft-core por
nography. In the draft, the commission
states that 7-Eleven stores "are the
leading retailers of soft-core porn mag
azines in America" and "the single
most important outlet" for Penthouse.
"Profits made by 7-Eleven on porn run
KJ I
n tries body-slam politics
acted the part of Andre the Giant
against one of the Smerdiakov midgets.
Americans can breathe easier knowing
they can visit the Gulf of Sidra, which
is, afterall, a prime vacation spot.
Unfortunately for all of us, however,
body politics follow the same logic as
the stuff that goes on in the squared
circle.
Chris
Welsch
"Peacekeeper," like Hulk Hogan,
has won the match, but he has only
aggravated the situation and further
irritated "Mad Dog." Instead of calmly
and gracefully accepting defeat, Kad
dafy made more insults and threats
than ever. And the Third World is
solidly in his corner.
"Mad Dog" doesn't have the forces
to take his show on the road it's
unlikely that he could muster anything
to compare to the Sixth Fleet for a tour
of the Gulf of Mexico. (An aside: The
United States would not tolerate Libya's
navy in the Gulf of Mexico not 12 or
200 miles from Tampa.)
into the millions." In case you don't get
the commission's drift, Penthouse is
porn.
But is it? The truth is that I don't
know. I know it's what we used to call
dirty because, to paraphrase Justice
Potter Stewart, I know dirty when I see
it and I see it all over this particular
Richard
Cohen
issue of Penthouse. The letters are
pornographic, the photos of naked
women are lewd and the cartoons are
just plain dumb. Yet there is also fic
tion by Buckley an excerpt from his
latest novel. Whatever it is, it is not
pornographic and neither, for that mat
ter, was Buckley's July, 1984, Pent
house piece of Jesse Jackson al
though, truth be known, I'm just guess
ing there. I never read it.
It takes Buckley in his role as fellow
traveler of pom (a Pomko) to point up
both the absurdity of the Reagan admini
stration's anti-pom effort and, if I may
WJh
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with Libya in gulf
So "Mad Dog" is likely to do just
what "Peacekeeper" was chastizing
him for in the first place: terrorizing
the West. Reagan's brutal adventure
will escalate terrorism and anti-U.S.
sentiment the world over.
But the cage match in the gulf was
great for U.S. morale. We stood up
against a really tough guy, and now
we'll pay for it dearly. Count on it. Not
even Hulk Hogan beats the Iron Shiek
every time, and you cannot body slam a
suicidal terrorist who is in an airport
with an Uzi and grenades.
Now that Reagan has his wrestling
togs, he's reluctant to take them off. No
sooner did he blow off a few Libyan tug
boats, than he's challenging Daniel
"Red Menace" Ortega to ajungle match,
a la Corporal Kirchner.
Why stop there? Chile has set its own
"Line of Death" far beyond the 12 mile
international limit. There are many
other uppity countries that deserve a
good body slam.
Like pro wrasslin' this body politics
business is popular so popular that
one has to wonder about the mentality
of the blood-thirsty fans who seek fist
to-the-face answers to complex prob
lems. Welsch is a senior journalism and Eng
lish major and a Daily Nebraskan copy
desk chief.
be so bold, its epic hypocrisy. Not only
is the president's pal-cum-intellectual-mentor
writing for a magazine his offi
cial censors consider pornographic,
but so for that matter does his son.
Young Ron now toils for Playboy. Like
me and Saul Bellow, he is a writer.
Censors, though, are totally without
subtlety. They don't realize that the
president is not serious about porno
graphy, otherwise, as day follows night,
he would banish Buckley and his son
from the White House or make them
both wear bags over their heads. In
stead, the censors take both the presi
dent and Ed Meese at their word. They
have made up their minds about Pent
house, Playboy and similar magazines.
They have already defined pornography
as "a serious national problem" and
have been up to their ears in smut
trying to do something about it. They
would dearly love to censor. Only the
Constitution stands in their way. Darn!
But others have already been moved
to action. In Washington, for instance,
the two largest drugstore chains have
stopped selling Playboy, Penthouse
and similar magazines. The result of
See COHEN on 5