The Hereford Brand (Hereford, Tex.), Vol. 89, No. 69, Ed. 1 Sunday, October 8, 1989 Page: 4 of 24
twenty four pages : ill. ; page 21 x 12 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
. ' I ’■
I
‘ “'t
Viewpoint
Hereford
Page 4A-The Hereford Brand, Sunday, October 8,1989
Bull
9
' il
f
X' . X
:-3
/
A
Resic
A
movement has declined in political
But he says that a politically
'They are
al politics for more than 25 years.
political operations.
White House.
I
lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
Editorial opinion
from around Texas
Speedy Nieman
Payroll cost$!
By
Speedy Nieman
Ann
His
Avei
Intel
Spec
of A<
We don’t know what the ultimate answer is. But we do
know that a small business cannot long stay in business and
pay 50 to 60 percent of its payroll costs for hospitalization
and worker’s comp for its employees.
Personally, we hope solutions are found to keep a free
marketplace for health care.
other conservatives haven’t been abortions, a victory for the right - if
critical, only curious. Nor, he said, abortion foes can get legislatures to
have there been any lingering take the next step. ‘‘They are
By The Associated Press
Here is a sampling of editorial opinion from around Texas:
ment would strengthen the presi-
dent’s hand in dealing with Con-
Nobody’s talking about
The Scots di<
ment, which
Ann
Jarr
,t!
The Lone
was awarded
recent Texas
held at the Z
The degree
awarded in i
level.
Jill is the I
Terri Jan Joh
the late Terry
freshman agri
A&M Univei
of the Colli
Johns
Jill Johnsi
Hereford
the Lone
Texas FF/
highest de
. .'A11
' • !•
<1
Why does worker comp require a special session?
Because it is a crisis situation. Worker comp insurance
premiums for Texas businesses have increased 148 percent
in the past four years and another 34 percent raise has been
asked for the next year. The same kind of heavy-handed
hikes have hit the city, county, school and hospital.
Worker comp rates have reached the point where many
businesses simply cannot pay them and are cutting back on
benefits or going without insurance. Under current state
law, such businesses run the risk of being bankrupt by a
compensation lawsuit if one of their workers is seriously
injured on the job.
This may not concern people who do not meet a payroll,
but it should. Most employees know that they pay 7.5
percent of their paycheck in the form of Social Security.
Some know that their employer also pays 7.5 percent. What
many employees do not realize is that employers also pay a
hefty worker comp insurance fee-which amounts to 28
•percent of payroll for some firms right here in Hereford.
The trial lawyers of the state like the present system
because they can collect 25 percent or more out of a worker
comp case if successful in court. They lawyers claim the
insurance companies are making money out of worker
comp, yet many companies have quit handling this type of
insurance because of losses.
IHUrflx TRIBI XI
I EDITOR’S NOTE - Walter R.
leaders of organizations identified Mears, vice president and columnist
for The Associated Press, has
Contemptible Attack Likely to Backfire
With Attorney General Jim Mattox not even a declared candidate in
the governor’s race, it seems just a tad early for him to be yielding to
the counsels of desperation - but how else can you explain his utterly
contemptible attempt to exploit the fact that State Treasurer Ann
Richards - who is officially in the race - is a recovering alcoholic?
...The attorney general said, “I think you’ve got to have very
strong-willed people, with vision, to lead this state forward. I’m just
saying that if drug or alcohol abuse keeps us from having that kind of
vision ...it could be very harmful for the state of Texas.”
What egregious rubbish. Numerous other Texas politicos.
Democratic and Republican, rushed to Richards* defense, but it was
the treasurer herself who offered the most telling rejoinder, stressing
the importance to any recovery program of humility, ‘‘the acceptance
that I am human. I am not perfect. Never will be. I think we need more
of that in public office, rather than big talk and big egos.”
Taken aback by the hostile reaction, the Mattox camp has been
backpedalling away from the issue...
-Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Oct. 2
The publ
pate in the
Jamboree C
Room of K
Home. Th<
conducted 1
Smith Coun
benefit the >
ation.
King’s N1
joined by
Citizens Cei
Home and
Center. Sigr
to any in tore
four location
Participar
pledges for
they rock in
roll in their
day-long jarr
and lasting
stops his ch
citizen. Inma
hours to wir
bucks.
This year
last year’s f
Deaf Smith
named No.
We’ve got great health care in this nation, but it has
become so sophiscated, so technology-oriented, that it is
more than we can pay for. Personally, we believe that we’re
in the final stages of a free marketplace for health care.
Those who are insured can no longer carry the burden of
those who are not.
We may be just a few years away from government-
mandated health care. And that will be the first step toward
placing all health care and all health personnel under federal
supervision at federally-mandated prices and costs. With
the fed’s history at running such programs, imagine what a
tax burden that would produce!
The Texas legislature, in November, will meet for the
third time to reform the state’s system of worker
compensation insurance. In a regular session and in a
special session, the Texas House passed a reform package
designed to give workers a better deal and to ease the
burden of insurance premiums for businesses. Each time,
however, the Texas Senate shot down the House bill and
supported one of its own-a bill which is.not much reform at
all.
fl
BABBLING BROOKS
By John Brooks
Maybe it was all just a cruel practical joke cooked up in some Little
Rock coffee shop about this time last year.
"We don’t get no respect," said one. "We’re beating the heck out of
all those Texas people in the Southwest Conference and they’re still
makin’ fun of our pig hats.
"If we want to wear funny molded plastic hats on our heads, that’s
fine. Besides, they keep your ears warm on those cold days in Lubbock
and keep the rain off your head when it rains at the Cotton Bowl on
Jan. I.”
"There’s nuthin in the Constitution to keep ya from yellin’ ‘Soooo-
ooocecceeey!!!’ like a fool," said another. "I’m tired of everybody
lookin’ at me like I was a fool or something whenever we go out there
and kick the bejesus out of all those Texas teams."
"We need to teach those Texans a lesson they’ll never forget," said
another, known around the coffee shop as ”JJ." "We need to buy one of
their pro football teams.
"We’ll make them so bad that they’ll never call us "Arky” or "pig
brain" or any of those other disgusting names anymore."
they laid out a grandiose plan.
-You can’t win in the NFL without an experienced quarterback.
Trade or run off any experience and go with one or two quarterbacks
who have never taken a professional football snap. Pay them lots of
money so it looks good.
-Don’t have anyone with Olympic sprinters’ speed in the backfield.
If you do, trade him away for a bunch of draft choices so you can keep
stocking the team with untested rookies.
-Since those draft choices don’t equate into players for the first
year or two, stock your team with castoffs from other teams.
-Find pass receivers who have hands of Teflon. Every now and
then the untested rookie quarterback might actually have a chance to
throw the ball. You don’t want people messing up the master plan by
actually catching the ball.
Bud Adams, the owner of the Oilers, got the first phone call. Bud
told them to head back northeast or waaaaaayyy south, the same place
Bud has been telling people to go for a long time.
Bum Bright got the second phone call. Just so happened that Bum
was looking for a buyer for his football team (the Cowboys, not the
Aggies), and so was the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Owning gold-plated bathroom sinks is one thing, but pro football teams
are another thing entirely to the FDIC.
JJ and Bum cut a deal real quick. The Arkansawyers had ’em a
professional football team.
Make that alleged professional football team.
One of the great things a lot of former fans of this football team
have discovered is the Sunday afternoon nap. Back in the olden days
these fans' collective heartbeat was about 240 beats per minute as they
waited to see if Don-Craig-Roger-Danny-Steve would lead them back
from the almost-dead to win yet another game.
Meanwhile, JJ and his buddies are having a guffaw party back at the
Little Rock coffee shop.
They done good.
<T?
oOo
What a difference a comma makes: If you want to get fat, don’t eat
fast. If you want to get thin, don’t eat, fast.
oOo
I’ve had enough Donahue, Oprah and game shows on the boob tube
to last at least a year! And, I didn’t even watch any "soaps". I’ve been
sidelined with pneumonia the past week, giving me ample opportunity to
view daytime television. I know one thing for sure-I’d rather be work-
ing.
The topic for one of the Donahue shows was racism, and the
audience was composed primarily of high school students. Some of the
youngsters came up with some good statements, but one impressed me
as being remarkably sharp.
"We haven’t solved a thing with all this talk," said a young Black
student. "All we’ve done is help build the ratings for this show!"
oOo
We noted with interest a story about a principal in Dallas who used
an old, but innovative way of dealing with junior high fights.
The principal invited two battling boys to put on the boxing gloves.
The two rounds of two minutes each didn’t even go the distance before
the two boys shook hands and hugged.
Principal Frank Romero decided on that course of action rather than
suspending the pair. Romero argues that the boys’ dignity was not
maned, and the parents of the two have not complained about his
handling of the incident. However, central office administrators sus-
pended the principal with pay while the situation is being investigated.
The Dallas principal ought to get a raise for using some common
sense!
oOo
Several months ago, U.S. Education Secretary Lauro Cavazos, former
president of Texas Tech, called for a crackdown on the number of
defaults on federal student loans. Some institutions were cited for
having extremely high defaults on such loans, but there are some bright
spots.
Texas A&M has been cited for having a remarkably credit-worthy
student population. Of the 40,000 students who have obtained guaran-
teed loans, the university has a default rate of ony 4.4 percent. The rate
is the lowest in Texas and among the lowest of 2,600 institutions in the
U.S.
And that’s no Aggie joke!
Schlueter Goes, Texans Rejoice
Not many people will be crying in their beer over State Rep. Stan
Schlueter’s decision to resign.
The Killeen Democrat has been one of the most powerful and
divisive lawmakers in Texas, thanks to his friendship with House
Speaker Gib Lewis. As head of the calendars committee, which
controls what bills will be put on the floor for a vote, Schlueter often
allowed good legislation to die.
One of the leading recipients of lobbyist largess despite not having
had an opponent in years, Schlueter plans to become -surprise - a
lobbyist.
Because of his use of lobbyist and campaign donations, Schlueter’s
transition may not be so easy; it was recently disclosed that he was
spending more than $9,000 a month from those sources to support
himself in Austin.
Lewis has already appointed an interim chairman of the calendars
committee, but special care should be taken to select a chairman who
will not use his gavel like a sledgehammer.
Schlueter will not be missed. To paraphrase the country-western
song: “Thank God and Greyhound He’s Gone.”
-Port Arthur News, Sept. 25
Act Quickly on Drug-war Plan
Now that the U.S. Senate has overwhelmingly approved a $9.4
billion compromise plan for financing the drug war declared earlier
this month by President Bush, we urge the House of Representatives to
act quickly in giving its blessing to the proposal.
...There reportedly is concern among some congressional aides that
some representatives are not satisfied with the financing plan, which
calls for spending more than $1 billion over what Mr. Bush
recommended.
Clearly, the need to pass and enact the anti-drug program is no less
than urgent....
The Senate plan ... would increase federal spending for locaklaw
enforcement as well as for prevention and treatment programs. It also
would give higher priority to rehabilitation and education programs...
The financing plan would force cuts of about four-tenths of 1
percent in federal programs that involve disbursement of discretionary
funds. Reductions in the military budget would be based on flexible
guidelines. Programs that provide benefits, such as Social Security,
would not be affected under the Senate plan...
The senators also agreed on another thing last week: that the drug
war is just beginning and it's not likely to be won with this initial
salvo. Similarly, nearly everyone agrees the strategy has flaws. ... But
it is a first step. The consequences of doing nothing are too horrible to
contemplate...
-Dallas Times-Herald, Oct. 1
Legislation for Disabled Could Be a Hindrance
All decent people sympathize with the disabled and try to help them
when necessary. The charity of Americans is renowned worldwide.
And most Americans go out of their way to treat fairly, in the
workplace and elsewhere, those whome Providence has disabled.
For this very reason, the last thing we need is the involvement of the
federal government in the lives of disabled Americans.
Going counter to such common sense is the Americans With
Disabilities Act passed by the U.S. Senate; the House is poised to pass
the act as well, and President Bush says he’ll sign it into law.
The act purportedly gives civil rights guarantees to the disabled. In
fact, it will hurt them, and it is bad law.
Even though it allegedly gives equal rights to the disabled, the act
turns them into a special class of persons, separated in law from others.
As with other civil rights legislation, we can expect that the act will
lead to affirmative action schemes and other attempts to give the
disabled special advantages...
-The Odessa American, Sept. 29
a Hott "
oOo
It may have been Aggie grads, however, who were trying to outdo
each other with their crops. One morning the first Aggie farmer sent his
son to borrow his neighbor’s cross-cut saw. "Tell him I want to cut a
watermelon."
On returning, the boy replied. "Bubba said he couldn’t possibly let
you have his saw until tomorrow. He’s only halfway through a potato!”
'A \ .
s / / 7
That feller on Tierra Blanca Creek says another thing about being
married is that your mistakes never go unnoticed.
oOo
"Peace is not God’s gift to his creatures; it is our gift to each other."-
Elic Wiesel
last winter after a controversy that interview and in a monthly newslet- here, and we helped to change 1988. Indeed, Weyrich told his
misbehaving' with women ers of his operation, conservatives had real power ... victories were evidence of conser-
.i—.. ti—-i~..--:—. “We will only be powerful in vative weakness.
against another conservative stem- sional district and state politics. Washington when we once again
med from concern about Tower’s I’ “ ’ "
character and about leadership at conservatives who think they are
the Pentagon. t " ' ' 7
Weyrich says he is asked about can’t convert that into political
the Tower episode at his organizing action. As an example, he points to
weekend, to meet, he said, with 25
,...o o . r with conservative causes, and then
problems in his contacts with the absolutely "unprepared for' that begin training about 75 people in reported on Washington and nation-
White House battle," Weyrich said. political operations. al politics for more than 25 years.
An AP news analysis
Conservative movement a Paper Tiger
By WALTER R. MEARS And conservative business seems Weyrich contends that liberals
AP Special Correspondent
____________ _, ______ . . 1 and
left Paul M. Weyrich, he had has a staff of about 55, and has just because their forces are organized movement ... as a paper tiger,”
_ . - _ _______a__a - *• •• Mt _ _ __ _■ JU.__»_at__j *_____a a___a «»»_ • a__n»t e - ■ •
first choice for secretary of defense, buildings near the foot of Capitol campaigns. Conservatives, he said, close to the mark.
"But it need not be so,” he said.
We are only a paper tiger because
John G. Tower, the former Republi- die righty and says he was guilty of
Because of it, Weyrich said in an Yes, we had and have influence they didn't want him nominated in
surfaced when Weyrich accused ter sent to about 600 leading back- certain policies. But we have not supporters that Bush’s 1988 primary
him of misbehaving with women ers f*
and whiskey. He said his testimony have lost clout in precinct, congres-
He calls it a confusing time for speak for a powerful movement
7 J71 “ , > outside Washington - when we have strengthened conservative move-
making ideological headway but taken the countryside," he wrote
them.
.... r„, — r Weyrich said he plans to test his gress.
and fundraising appearanceTfor his the Supreme Court decision permit- operation first in Wisconsin. He and taking on George Bush,” he said.
Free Congress Foundation, but that ting state legislatures to restrict bis cadre went to Madison last
American conservative movement But while his outfit has prosper- operations to Washington when
from the bottom up, using the ed, Weyrich says the conservative Ronald Reagan became president.
2" movement has declined in political Mao “r—
That sounds unlikely, but it is no power over the past 10 years. He he said: ‘In aqy revolution, take the
fall,”’ Weyrich told his backers, conservatives; they didn’t want him
"Our strength is not in Washington, on the Reagan ticket in 1980 and
And conservative business seems Weyrich contends that liberals "Recently, a high White House
to be thriving. Weyrich’s organiza- are outnumbered now, but can win official who is sympathetic to our
WASHINGTON (AP) - When tion raised $3.34 million last year, political and legislative fights view described the conservative
we left Paul M. Weyrich, he had bas a staff of about 55, and has just because their forces are organized movement ... as a paper tiger,"
just undermined President Bush’s expanded its row of small office and disciplined for state and local Weyrich said. “Unfortunately, he is
Now he has decided to rebuild the Hill. started moving people and political
But while his outfit has prosper- operations to Washington when
tactics of Mao Tse-tung. ~ movement has declined in political Mao “was correct in one thing we are not organized.”
That sounds unlikely, but it is no power over the past 10 years. He he said: Tn aqy revolution, take the President Bush never has been a
less plausible than the undoing of blames a sort of Potomac fever on countryside and the capital will favorite with doctrinaire Republican
can senator from Texas, rejected by it himself,
the Senate for secretary of defense F
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Brooks, John. The Hereford Brand (Hereford, Tex.), Vol. 89, No. 69, Ed. 1 Sunday, October 8, 1989, newspaper, October 8, 1989; Hereford, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1348554/m1/4/: accessed July 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Deaf Smith County Library.