Opinion
In the red
Politics prevent restraints on spending
Members of Congress seem to be planning to leave
Washington in droves this election year.
Almost 50 representatives and six senators have an
nounced they won’t run for re-election. While some are simply
getting old and others have been plagued with scandal, a
growing number of Congress members simply are fed up with
die frustration.
Among the last group is Sen. Warren Rudman of New
Hampshire. Regarded by his peers as one of the most influen
tial and effective senators of the last decade, the Republican
said in a Time magazine interview he was tired of the “inability
of Congress to accomplish a great deal.”
Rudman, perhaps best known for his efforts on the 1985
Gramm-Rudman-Hollings budget law to reduce the federal
deficit, said what is needed most in our gridlocked Congress is
some accountability.
He is right.
As voters get steamed over minuscule messes such as the
House banking scandal, the country faces nothing short of ruin
from out-of-control spending.
Americans realize this situation cannot continue, but no one
wants to sec his or her particular programs cut, and even fewer
want to pay for programs through higher taxes. The masses
play their fiddles, and their country is burning down around
them.
wniic Doin Kcpuoiicans ana ucmocrais Know wnai must uc
done to shore up America’s economy, they also know that their
opposing party would crucify them if they were to take those
painful but necessary first steps.
“Everybody knows what to do,” Rudman said. “We know
how to do it. We’re always afraid to do it.”
Rudman has said that America would be better served if the
government were controlled by a single party, be it the Demo
crats or the Republicans. Interparty bickering has stagnated the
system, and America’s penchant to vote for a Democratic
Congress and Republican president feeds this frustrating status
quo.
That simply must not continue. Rudman told Time that Con
gress was about to lead America into an era of annual deficits
of $400 to $500 billion, which he said would “truly wreck the
country.”
Rudman foresees a day before the turn of the century when
solvent foreign governments will be able to dictate terms to a
loan-hungry United States. It is a frightening future Rudman
has tried to avert by spreading his word, but few seem to be
listening.
So the senator is packing up, leaving the infighting and do
nothings behind. We hope that as he fades out of the public
life, his colleagues in Washington think about what he has said.
> “We’ve got to lake some political risks and risk some
political careers ... the country is at stake, and we ought to do
it."
Abortion lobby deceives public
Kappie Weber’s recent letter (“Gag
rule ‘appalling,’ disregards women’s
health,” DN, April 7) suggested an
attempt by President Bush to deceive
the public about the Title X regula
tions. Randy Moody of Planned Par
enthood stated in an April 1 Lincoln
Star article that “Bush has misled the
press and the public” with his guide
lines on the Title X regulations.
Theirclaimsof deception by Presi
dent Bush on the Title X regulations
are laughable coming from two abor
tion-rights activists whose organiza
tions have been at the forefront of
deception regarding the Title X regu
lations.
The abortion lobby skillfully crafted
(and the media uncritically accepted)
the term “gag rule” as a “hot-button”
word to divert attention away from
the intent of the regulations, which
was merely to return Title X to its
original design of providing pre-preg
nancy family planning services —
not abortion counseling and referral.
Thus, no “gag” exists because preg
nant women are outside die scope of
thisgovemment program.
Tne abortion lobby’s claim that
the regulations violated the exercise
of free speech was not only incorrect
but hypocritical when you consider
that its efforts to change the regula
tions would require Title X recipients
to counsel on and refer for abortion,
which would equate to forced speech.
Finally, the abortion lobby’s pin
nacle of deception and irresponsibil
ity was its claim that the regulations
deny women information when their
lives or health arc in danger. The truth
is that the regulations not only allow,
but require, referral to specialized
medical care for medical conditions
that may complicate pregnancy.
It’s the height' of arrogance and
hypocrisy for the abortion lobby falsely
to accuse President Bush of decep
tion of Title X when it has led the way
in deceiving the public on this issue.
Shirley Bauer
Lincoln
-EDITORIAL POLICY
Staff editorials represent the offi
cial policy of the Spring 1992 Daily
Nebraskan. Policy is set by the Daily
Nebraskan Editorial Board. Its mem
bers are: Jana Pedersen, editor; Alan
Phelps, opinion page editor; Kara
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wire editor; Wendy Navratil, copy
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ist; Jeremy Fitzpatrick, senior re
porter.
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Editorial columns represent the
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According to policy set by the re
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KIRK ROSENBAUM
Employment search traumatic
44 T ob” has never been one of
| my favorite words. There
Ir is a good deal of ugliness
and anxiety packed in those three
letters, and even the best of jobs usu
ally ends in resentment and confu
sion.
Yet a job was what I was in search
of last week, a temporary position to
help stave off my accumulating bills.
Normally, I avoid jobs like gunfire or
jury duty, but this time I really needed
one. Especially since my plasma had
been rejected by a nurse who nerv
ously told me, “Uhh... I don’t think
we can use this.”
I toyed with the idea of participat
ing in a Harris Labs study but decided
against it. 11’s not that I’m vehementl y
opposed to filling my system with
unpredictable chemicals, mind you.
It’s just that such studies remind me
of that Stephen King novel in which
college students arc experimented upon
and end up going insane and gnawing
their own flesh.
As an alternative, I visited one of
a nominal fee for finding people jobs
they never really wanted in the first
place. They gave me a five-page
application and a chair at a table with
half a dozen other hopefuls.
The first section was a list of every
job known to man and instructions for
the applicant to circle the ones he had
held. My list was not too impressive
— ditch digging, unloading meat
trucks, removing asbestos, etc. As an
afterthought I added arc welding and
over-the-road truck driving. Maybe a
few exaggerations and bald-faced lies
would make my application sparkle
among a bunch of deadbeats.
The obligatory criminal record
section was next. Usually, it is best to
answer “No” when asked about fel
ony convictions and act offended that.
your integrity was even questioned.
However, I was surrounded by sinis
ter-looking characters who were
watching me carefully. Their arms
were covered with crude tattoos,
undoubtedly the work of artistically
inclined cellmates.
So I answered “Yes” and gave
each of my fellow applicants a know
ing nod.
The rest of the process involved
similar questions. By leaving out
lengthy gaps of unemployment, fir
ings and inevitable clashes with
management figures, I had a fairly
impressive application. I turned it in
with confidence and then sat down to
wait my turn.
Certainly after all that screening 1
fly leaving out
lenfthv taps of un
employment. firings
and inevitable
clashes with manage
ment figures. / had a
fairly impressive ap
plication. / turned it
in With confidence
and then sat down to
wait mv turn.
would be given a prestigious and well
paying position. Now that the reces
sion is receding, new jobs are open
ing up by the thousands. Granted,
most of them require a minimal level
of intelligence and motor skills, like
bouncers or Lincoln police officers.
Then there are jobs for which there
are far too many applicants (Mike
Tyson’s dance instructor, for instance.)
Finally, there are do-nothing jobs,
like Maytag repairmen, University
Regents and domestic-policy advis
ers in the Bush White House. These
are those not-whal-you-know-but
who-you-know” jobs we’ve all heard
about.
One debatably attractive position
is the recent vacancy at the head of
the Gambino crime family. Since John
Gotti was relieved of his executive
duties, an extensive search for a re
placement has begun. All applicants
must be familiar with mob-related
statutes and keep off the telephone at
all times. Perks include lawyers, guns,
money and a bulletproof limousine.
Even if you don’t land this posi
tion, don’t get discouraged. New
openings within the Cosa Nostra crop
up suddenly and violently. And if you
don’tcatch on with the Mafia, there is
a position available as director of the
Low-Level Waste Compact right here
in Nebraska. The pay and perks are
even better than those of a mob boss,
but without the risk factor.
So don’t pay any attention to
newspaper headlines and network
anchors — the job market is boom
ing. The university is looking for a
new vice chancellor, the Democrats
are searching for a decent front-run
ner and the Russians soon will be
seeking a new president. Executive
level vacancies also arc expected soon
in Libya and Iraq.
Therefore, I had reason to be en
couraged, especially when the beau
tiful secretai7 at the employment
agency approached me with a smile,
saying, “I found you the job you’ve
been looking for—something appro
priate for your talents.’’
My mind raced. Was she going to
make me a captain of industry? Sam
Walton’s replacement? One of the
Neville Brothers?
Or maybe she was just going to tel 1
me to forget about working and take
me home to fix us dinner while we
sipped good wine and listened to her
stereo. Her paycheck would support
us both as we embarked on a lengthy
and mutually destructive relationship.
For the first time in weeks my future
looked bright.
Imagine my horrible disappoint
ment when she handed me a hard hat
and instructions to report to a local
dog-food factory that needed some
body to clean out their protein vat.
“They’ll give you your boots and
gloves when you gel inere,” she said,
still smiling. “Lunch will be provided.”
I mumbled my appreciation and
wandered out to my car with a poorly
drawn map and orders to meet some
body named Guido at Loading Dock
2.
Would Karl Marx have partici
pated in such obvious worker exploi
tation? Probably not But Marx never
had a mean-spirited landlord, either,
and his mother probably bought him
his groceries.
When I arrived at Loading Dock 2,
Guido handed me a shovel and a pair
of hip-waders. How had 1 arrived at
this? It was then that Guido left to
find the jackhammer and I ran out to
my car and sped off down the alley.
What would Walt Whitman think of
me?
I didn’t care. Just looking for a job
had been a horrible experience that I
probably shouldn’t share with read
ers of a family newspaper. Needless
to say, I won’t do anymore job hunt
ing until I’ve fully recovered from
this trauma. Unless of course, the
Gambino thing comes through.
•
Rosenbaum is a senior history major and
a Dally Nebraskan columnist.