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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 1991)
News Digest tssw&R— Victorious Edwards asks for another chance NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana Gov.-eleci Edwin Edwards, who turned fear of ex-Klans man David Duke into landslide victory and an unprecedented fourth term, appealed to his skeptics Sunday for the benefit of a doubt. Duke, meanwhile, looked to a national agenda. “I hope this time people will look at me less with a jaundiced eye and recognize from time to time I may have a good thought,” said Edwards, who has become known as a woman izer and gambler deft at skating on the edge of ethics and the law. Unofficial returns gave Edwards 61 percent of the vote in Saturday’s election. Nearly 1.7 million of the state’s 2.2 million registered voters went to the polls, a statewide record 78 percent turnout. Duke, a state representative and maverick Republican, won a majority of the while vote despite his past leadership of a Ku Klux Klan group and support of Nazism. “The people were told they would lose jobs, lose tourism,” Duke said. “They were threat ened with the loss of their livelihood if .they dared to vote for me. At the end, they weren t prepared to undergo the sacrifices they d have had to make or thought they’d have to make. Black leaders rejoiced at church services Sunday, as did business executives who had warned in television ads and letters to employ ees that a Duke election would cripple tourism, convention business and future major sporting events. “I’m delighted when I think of what he •* — could have done to our economy,” said French Quarter antiques dealer David Dixon, who spent $45,000 for his own radio and television ads. “But I think the way he was defeated—the big margin — we emerge as a kind of knight in shining armor around the country.” Edwards’ first three terms were marked by scandals, so much so that the voters shunned him in 1987, giving the job to Buddy Roemcr. But Roemcr finished third in the Oct. 19 open primary. Forced interest-rate cut attacked Bankers: Millions would lose credit WASHINGTON — As many as 60 million Americans could lose their credit cards and the economy could return to recession if Congress forces a reduction in credit card interest rales, bankers say. “Something like this gels to every consumer’s pockclbook,” said Mark Ricdy, president of the National Council of Community Bankers. “Is it the straw that breaks the camel’s back and leads us back into another recession? If it goes through, it cer tainly could.” Based on a spot check of a dozen major card-issuing banks, the Ameri can Bankers Association estimates that nearly half the nation’s 120 mil lion MasterCard and Visa users would lose their cards. Those who keep them could face sharply reduced credit limits, higher annual fees and loss of the standard 25-day grace period before interest is applied, the group said. ‘The Congress that bounces checks at its own bank should not try to tell real banks how to run their business,” said Philip Corwin, the group’s direc tor of operations and retail banking. A plan to impose a floating ceiling on rales won overwhelming endorse ment in the Senate last week, a day after President Bush suggested that banks bring down the rates on their own. Friday, the Dow Jones average ol industrial stocks plummeted 120.31 points, the steepest drop in two years. Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady blamed the fifth-worst decline On the Senate legislation and predicted that the market would rebound. “I don’t expect that legislation ever to see the light of day and I think the market will understand that,” Brady said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press.” “This is wacky, senseless legislation.” Brady said the legislation would ®‘rcsult in credit cards which are elit ist; the only people who would have credit cards would be the rich people.” Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, R-N.Y., sponsor of the legislation, said on the same program that it was “ridicu lous” to say the legislation precipi tated the stock market decline. “If there was competition, this legislation wouldn’t be necessary,” he said. “It’s not elitist legislation. Working-class taxpayers are being called on to bail out the banks for the bad loans that they have made.” Progress slignt in talks with China, Baker says BEIJING — Secretary ol Slate James Baker headed back to Wash ington on Sunday after a mission to China that he said produced some progress on human rights, trade and arms control, but not as much as had been hoped for. “I did not come here expecting a dramatic breakthrough,” he said after a five-hour session with For eign Minister Qian Qichcn. “The gulf is too wide to accomplish that in one trip.” Baker was the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit China since the bloody 1989 crackdown in Tiananmen Square that set back Sino-American relations. President Bush has sought to maintain a dialogue with China, but has run into criticism from some members of Congress. Baker, w inding up three days of talks with Chinese officials, said there had been “some gains... but not as much as we would have hoped.” The state-run Xinhua News Agency quoted Qian as saying: “To restore and develop Sino-U.S. re lations is the common goal of the two sides, for which both sides have made efforts.” The Chinese Foreign Ministry, also quoted by Xinhua, said the talks led to “progress on some is sues of common concern.” The Xinhua report did not mention human rights, although Baker said that was the subject of most of the discussions. \ " Ne\Sra&kan Editor Jens Pedersen Night News Editora Chris Hoptensperger 472-1766 Cindy Kimbrough Managing Editor Clans Brayton Alan Phelps .Assoc. News Editors Stacay McKsnzIa Dion ns Searcey Kara Walls Art Director Brian Shelllto Opinion Page Editor General Manager Dan Shattll & Wire Editor Eric Planner Production Manager Katharine P otic Icy Assistant Sports Editor Chuck Or sen Classified Ad Manager Annette Sue par Arts i Entertain- Publications Board ment Editor John Payne Chairman BIN Vobejda Diversions Editor Bryan Peterson 476-2855 Photo Chief Shaun Sartln Professional Adviser Don Walton FAX NUMBER 472-1761 The Daily Nebraskan(USPS 144-080) is published by the UNL Publications Board, Ne braska Union 34,1400 R St, Lincoln, NE, Monday through Friday during the academic year; weokly during summer sessions. Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas and comments to the Daily Nebraskan by phoning 472-1763 between 9 a m and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The public also has access to the Publications Board For information, contact Bill Vobejda, 436-9993. Subscription price is $50 tor one year. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Daily Nebraskan. Nebraska Union 34,1400 R St.,Lincoln, NE 68588-0448. Second class postage paid at Lincoln. NE. : ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 1991 DAILY NEBRASKAN JOIN US FOR A NATIONAL TELECONFERENCE ON WEDNESDAY Diversity In Higher Education: Can We Meet The Challenge? The Political Correctness Debate: What's at Stake? Campus Civility: How to Achieve and Maintain it The First Amendment and Campus Harassment Codes: Can They Co-exist? The Give and Take in Creating a Multicultural Campus Fraternities and Sororities: Avenues for Inclusion or Strategics for Exclusion? Minority Students: The Do's and Don'ts of Controlling Their Own Destinies Determining the collegiate Curriculum: Can Consensus Be Reached? Campuses today are facing the core issue of including while distinguishing different cultures, ethnic groups, races and ages into a sense of collegial community. DIVERSITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION: Can We Meet The Challenge? will bring together nationally recognized expens who will address the critical issues which determine the success or failure of achieving this often elusive objectivo. This solution oriented videoconference will provide an open forum for students, faculty, administrators and community members to engage in a constructive dialogue. You'll come away with a keen awareness of what to do, and not do, to create and ensure a multicultural educational experience for your students, faculty, staff and community. Wednesday, November 20 Nebraska City Union 12 noon- 2 p.m. Georgian Room (Open to students, faculty, and staff without charge) Presented by the UNL Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/ Compliance Office as part of the institution’s desire to move forward in cultural awareness. Croatia bargains for civilians after military loss of key town{ ZAGREB, Yugoslavia — Croatia resigned itself Sunday to its most damaging loss in nearly five months of war and bargained frantically to save thousands of trapped civilians “waiting for death” in the town of Vukovar. The Yugoslav army and allied Serb insurgents have taken 6vcr nearly all of the strategic Danube River town in a week of fighting with tljc Croatian rebels, and its capture would seal ' control of a slice of eastern Croatia. The Belgrade-based Tanjug news agency reported from Vukovar that some Croatian defenders were trying to negotiate a surrender. Others fought on despite a cease-fire that went into effect Saturday. A senior Croatian government official in Zagreb, the secessionist republic’s capital, said there wasliule hope that the defenders could hang on. The official, who spoke on condi tion of anonymity, said the govern ment was most concerned now with trying to stop the suffering of the remaining 12,000 to 15,000 residents and that would probably mean evacu ation or surrender. The Croatian government told the army that if it permitted harm to civil ians, “no one will be able to guarantee the security of officers and soldiers of the Yugoslav People’s Army on Croatian territory.” U.N. envoy Cyrus Vance arrived in Yugoslavia on Sunday to work on details of a possible peacekeeping mission. But the United Nations has said it will not send troops unless a firm cease-fire is established. Fighting slowed in most of Croatia, including around the Adriatic port of Dubrovnik, when the 13th European Community-sponsored cease-fire in the civil war went into effect Satur day. But the Serb-led forces choking Vukovar battled on for a victory in their three-month siege of the city. EC spokesman Ed Kocstal said any improvement of the army’s position, regardless of whether fighting was involved, was a cease-fire violation. Croatia has been tom by civil war since it declared independence June 25. More than 2,000people have been killed, and Serb-led forces have cap tured a third of the republic’s terri tory. Serb nationalists want to make Vukovar the capital of an new au tonomous region carved out of Croatia. Serbia claims that Croatia’s 600,000 ethnic Serbs would be persecuted if the republic became independent. Croatia says Serbia is using the mi nority issue to seize territory as Yu goslavia disintegrates. Isolationism threatens to curb foreign aid WASHINGTON — A tide of iso lationism is sweeping Capitol Hill, andlhcanti-forcign-aid frenzy threat ens to slam the door on loan guaran tees for Israel and help for the Soviet Union. With the economy struggling, American politicians have turned inward. In the last two weeks, the House overwhelmingly killed a for eign aid bill and Democrats were forced to back down from a plan to send $ 1 billion in humanitarian aid to the Soviet Union. The flames were fanned by Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, D Mainc, who proposedpaying for new unemployment benefits for Ameri cans by cutting future foreign-aid spending. Mitchell and other Democratic leaders, notably House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt of Missouri, have flayed Bush for focusing most of his attention on foreign policy and ne glecting the home front, a theme that proved its electoral appeal in this month's Pennsylvania Senate elec tion. There, Democrat Harris Wofford decisively beat Bush’s former attor ney general, Dick Thornburgh, by playing on fears of losing American jobs overseas and emphasizing do mestic issues, pledging to “lake care of our own.” With Congress about to adjourn for the year and elections looming less than a year away, the^utlook for foreign aid is dismal, according to lawmakers, lobbyists and administra tion officials. That includes the $10 billion in loan guarantees Israel needs to help absorb Soviet Jewish emigres, as well as whatever aid might be contemplated for the unraveling Soviet Union. “It’s going to be virtually impos sible for the White House to win passage of any foreign-aid bill in4he next six months to a year,” said Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the House subcommittee that controls aid spending. “The American public is going tc say, ‘To hell with all this interna tional stuff,’” Obey said in an inter view. “And everything in the foreign aid bill will be a casualty.” “Mitchell has unleashed a mon ster,” said one senior administration official, speaking only on condition of anonymity. “Every 15 minutes, somebody s going to be solving their domestic funding problems by taking it out of foreign aid. We’ve got our armor on. Victories are going to be measured for the next 12 months by what bul lets we can dodge,” the official said. Bush acknowledged the difficulty in private remarks last week to U.5. Jewish leaders in New York. Accord ing to the notes of one participant, the president said, “There’s just no con stituency for foreign aid.” And he expressed frustration with the Democratic attacks. “I help America with my efforts in the foreign arena. I help exports. Can you believe that Gephardt, criticizing me for being in Madrid (at the Middle East peace talks)?... We need to do the things that are right for those who need our help.”
