Thursday, April 17, 1986
Page 4
Daily Nebraskan
TC J5a
Vicki Ruhga, Editor, 472,1766
Thorn Gabrukiewicz, Managing Editor
Ad Hudler, Editorial Page Editor
James Rogers, Editorial Associate
Chris Welsch, ZA C7mV
NebraMcan
University ol Nebraska-Lincoln
"i
Mi () AJima
Deirense c3
Inefficiency
We've all heard the bad
news about defense spend
ing: ridiculously overpriced
coffee pots, toilet seats and com
mon tools.
We've also seen the indict
ment of a number of defense
industry executives. But the bad
news may have been overempha
sized in the press.
A recent "blue-ribbon panel of
experts" known as the Packard
commission has concluded that
most cost overruns are not a
result of intentional fraud or
dishonesty. The panel, appointed
by President Reagan, concluded
that most of the cost overruns
result from simple inefficiency.
That's the good and bad news.
The good news is that the
problem of defense procurement
policies might not be as difficult
to remedy as was previously
thought. After all, if the overruns
come simply from inattention to
detail, they will be much easier
to take care of than if they pro
ceeded from people intention
ally mucking up the system.
The bad news is that billions
upon billions of dollars still are
wasted on inefficient procure
ment policies.
The study concluded that
Critical thought
Necessary to a civilized society
The Rulo murder trials have
ended with both defendants
being found guilty. Michael
Ryan was found guilty of first
degree murder; his son, Dennis,
was found guilty of second
degree murder. Both await sen
tencing. The sentencing will end one of
the most bizarre chapters in
Nebraska history.-It was more
than bizarre; it was perverse.
Extreme brutalization was
practiced on the Rulo farm. It's
impossible to understand how
the events could progress as they
did. Jonestown-type occurrences
understandably can occur in
strange and far away places like
Guyana or California, but they
are not supposed to happen in
Nebraska.
Who really knows why it
occurred. We can only identify
several themes in the twisted
theory of conplWIieit fcqny
spirators" are ufectrie
under every bush, information
critical of the group's beliefs
immediately are discredited.
Editorial Policy
Unsigned editorials represent
official policy of the spring 1986
Daily Nebraskan. Policy is set by the
Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. Its
members are Vicki Ruhga, editor,
Ad Hudler, editorial page editor;
Thorn Gabrukiewicz, managing edi
tor; James Rogers, editorial associate
and Chris Welsch, copy desk chief.
Editorials do not necessarily re
flect the views of the university, its
Bars wmmmmm
spurs waste
Pentagon standards were too
specific amd that commercially
produced products were often
sufficient quality for military use.
One example cited in a Chris
tian Science monitor study was
the military purchase of micro
chips. According to the article,
the Pentagon requires cost
increasing testing and reliability
indications far in excess of civ
ilian requirements.
While this was necessary in
past years, the Packard report
concludes that this strict testing
is no longer necessary. Instead,
today, it only serves to inflate the
cost of the chips.
The Monitor identified other
problems with the current pro
curement process. These includ
ed ordering spare parts after the
production facilities were obso
lete, ordering too little quantity
for cost-effective buying, poor
accounting procedures and "the
simple exercise of poor judg
ment by acquisition personnel."
All of these problems can be
taken care of through procure
ment policy revisions. Given cur
rent budget pressures, the Pack
ard commission's recommenda
tions need to be implemented
immediately.
Thus the basis of rational argu
ment is destroyed.
If people disagree with the
view that a conspiracy exists,
they can be written off either as
those who has been duped by the
conspiracy, or as agents of the
conspiracy. Both reactions des
troy the ability to deal adequately
with critical information.
On top of this, when the only
"approved" information comes
from the mouth of a fallible
human, trouble is the only result.
Independent, critical thinking
did not occur on the Rulo farm.
Ostensibly this was because
Michael Ryan was a prophet who
spoke for God. Yes, even biblical
prophets were appraised criti
cally. In Paul's first letter to the
Corinthians, he teaches that a
prophet's message was to be
approved only after critical exam
inatjpn. But such safeguards were
jlacking'iriulol
; ,Th$ Jltyd murders demonstrate
ilfcit'QHIiSiK&king skills are
ftq$& exatm a civilized society.
Without 'sucn'skilis, Che seeds of
brutality and dehumanization
surely can grow.
employees, the students or the NU
Board of Regents.
The Daily Nebraskan's publishers
are the regents, who established the
UNL Publications Board to super
vise the daily production of the
paper.
According to policy set by the
regents, responsibility for the edi
torial content of the newspaper lies
solely in the hands of its student
editors.
Smell t
Respite needed from demands of
My rapture was approaching the
point of unconsciousness. I was
walking across Centennial Mall,
completely lost in the incredibly pleas
ing aroma emerging from countless
flowering trees and shrubs. It is a rite I
cherish and in which I unashamedly
indulge during the early weeks of
spring. Right in the middle of my
dreamland rush, however, two women
crossed the street carrying bags of fast
food from one of the ubiquitous Q
Street eating establishments. Both were
wearing quite strong fragrances.
Suddenly the redolence of spring
that had so pleased me before became
repulsive. When mixed with the strong
smell of greasy fast food and the
equally strong mix of two totally in
compatible colognes, the once elegant
bouquet became, to coin a phrase, "a
stench in my nostrils." Olfactory caco
phony had set in.
Now don't get me wrong. I have
encountered very few women's scents
that I do not enjoy. And anyone who
knows me at all knows that I am not
frequently turned off by the smell of
food any food. Yet the combination
of t hem all was overpowering and coun
terproductive. I found myself resenting
each individual smell because of the
effect their combination had on me. I
could enjoy none of them for itself
because of the rude demands for atten
tion made by the others.
Such a story is the stuff of which
brilliant analogies to the human situa
tion are made. Being both a philo
sopher and a journalist, I could not
miss the opportunity.
A moment's reflection revealed to
me that my experience was not unlike
what I often undergo within this plural
istic society. While there may be many
LaRouche brainwashes and bullies
members into cult-like submission
Many people have a hard time fig
uring out what the LaRpuchites
really beljeve jn. Are they right
wingers or left-wingers or just plain
nuts? How can heyj be antiVmMe
when so many of;theifi are Jews 'v-
It sounds connisirig, but it can be
explained.
The hard-core LaRouche group, which
does full-time organizational work and
probably doesn't number much more
than 500 people, functions like a com
munist organization.
That's not surprising, since the peo
ple closest to LaRouche are those who
were with him in the late 1960s and
early 1970s, when he and they were
Marxists. They were the radical stu
dents he recruited during campus
revolts.
While the image they now project is
right wing because that's the group
they feel they can influence, they still
function more like Stalin-era commu
nists than anything else.
Just as Stalin had the final say on
everything in the Soviet Union liter
he flowers one at a time
voices worth listening to, each of which
can and should be appreciated for its
own unique contribution to the great
human dialogue, we are often eager to
destroy the effect that any one might
have by insisting that all be shouted
out at the same time.
The result is that each one loses the
sympathy it might otherwise gain and
is resented because of its contribution
to the general din. I often find myself
dismissing legitimate viewpoints, simply
because I am tired of listening, tired of
thinking, tired of being bombarded
with everyone's position at once.
James
Sennett
It strikes me that there is a better
forum for the dialogue our society
demands. Perhaps we need to be less
dedicated to our particular cause and
more dedicated to the system whereby
a variety of causes can be defended.
This would call forth from us a willing
ness to be patient while others speak,
and to allow for ample time between
presentations for the audience to com
prehend, digest, reflect and rest. I
know that I am always more ready to
listen to a differing viewpoint after a
good night's sleep. Perhaps, for exam
ple, the Democratic responses to the
president's speeches would be better
received if aired the morning after.
Beauty plus beauty does not always
equal beauty. It may equal pluralistic
overload and shut down. I wonder how
much of the right-wing reactionism and
ature, music, diet, military hardware,
you name itLaRouch&dictateswjhat,,
tyWtylloiMrsjviU believe arid' do.',' V 1
Royko
Their only friends and acquaintan
ces are fellow LaRouchites. They marry
among themselves. They read only w hat
LaRouche tells them to read. They
listen only to approved music. They're
not permitted to disagree with La
Rouche or criticize him. If they're
heard doing so, they could be reported
to his security branch. They report
each other for infractions, because
they're afraid that if they don't, some
body will report them.
Having children is virtually forbid
den among the hard-core members.
Pregnancy slows down production.
Children divert attention and cause a
change in values.
a.
pluralistic society
resurgent bigotry that has gripped our
country is no more than the exhausted
reaction of citizens tired of listening,
tired of thinking, needing a mental
vacation. We may best be able to help
our cause by occasionally granting
such a reprieve.
But, lest you wonder, I have stuck my
head out the window this week. I real
ize that the magnificent blossoms of
spring, with which my story began,
have fallen prey to the inevitable April
snowstorm. My tulips bit the dust along
with everyone else's, and I do have a
healthy respect for the dead. Actually,
the bludgeoning of Old Man Winter
adds an appropriate final stopping
point in my metaphorical excursion.
Despite my revulsion at the stench
of the combined emanations, I would
not have considered an April snow
storm as a possible solution. The des
truction of one contributor is no answer
to the dissonance, though fear that
such groundswells of conservativism
mentioned above could easily be per
verted to advocate such courses of
action.
The beauty of pluralism is that the
tension between order and freedom is
addressed and a healthy medium
struck. But movement to either side of
the dichotomy brings dangerous impli
cations. The proper appreciation of a
single element is diminished when
there is the lack of respect that results
in a shouting match. But the need for
relief from the confusion must never be
used to justify the arbitrary or even
selective silencing of any of the partic
ipants. Sennett is a graduate student in philo
sophy and campus minister with College
Career Christian Fellowship.
So, members are coerced into having
abortions, That's funny in a way, be.
cause the LaJtouchites haye tfeen try;
intoarjgrapfie ineinseives wiin
tW?OTjgAtL Hiojft by saying tney ai?
'against abort! eft, !
' " Jifsf "as: Stalfa' tfsW brainwashing
and bullying to convince his people
that only he knew all the answers to
everything, LaRouche used the same
tactics to convince his ninnies that
only he could save the world and only
they could help him do it. If they did
only what he told them to do.
LaRouche began doing this in the
1970s a process he called Operation
Mop Up.
It consisted of group sessions in
which the members were forced to
reveal the most intimate details about
themselves. They underwent vicious
psychological pounding. Some gave up
and quit. Those who stayed became
totally submissive and dependent on
LaRouche and the organization.
See ROYKO on 5
