The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 68, No. 46, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 21, 1984 Page: 2 of 6
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Wednesday, November 21, 1984
Editorials
A beastly scare
The Animal Liberation Front, a militant animal-rights
group, is back in the news again. This time it's serious.
The group has claimed to have spiked samples of Britain's
best-selling candy with rat poison to protest medical experi-
ments on monkeys.
With this action, the group has proved that it is no
more humane than those they accuse of mistreating animals.
In fact, the group's action proves they are worse. They
may not have actually poisoned candy, but cither way,
the situation isn't funny. The ^
act is very serious.
Scotland Yard said at least
several Mars candy bars con-
taining warning notes had been
found in stores in five cities.
The wrapper of each candy bar
was marked with a cross and
each contained a warning mes-
sage that said, "Read carefully:
This is not a joke. This confectionary has been adulterated."
So far no one has yet been poisoned by eating one of
the bars and no one has died. Not yet.
The group did specially mark the candy so that someone
might not accidentally eat it, but this does not make the
act any less wrong. In fact, someone might decide to act
on the scenario offered by the group and seriously hurt
someone. Remember the Tylenol scare and all the imita-
tions that followed shortly thereafter? They weren't very
funny.
The group is targeting Mars candy bars, claiming that
the manufacturers mistreated monkeys in tooth decay
experiments. The group's rationale is ridiculous and absurd.
The Animal Liberation Front acts as if experiments per-
formed on animals to benefit humans are inhumane. They
appear to hold the belief that an animal's life is more
precious than that of several human lives that could be
saved from discoveries made in experimentation, or lost
by eating poisoned candy bars.
Animal-rights groups such as these protested the use of
a baboon heart in a transplant operation that gave life to
Baby Fae, a girl who otherwise had no chance for survival.
Is it cruel to give a human a chance at life at the expense
of an animal?
The groups who protested the
taking of a baboon's life, saying
that the girl would not likely
survive, probably think the ba-
boon died in vain. But did it?
Doctors learned a lot from the
operation which might be used
to save another life.
Animals are necessary for
experimentation that benefits humans because their body
systems are much like our own and can be easily studied.
Without animals, where would we be?
Some activists who protest the inhumane treatment of
animals in experimentation arc well-meaning people who
want to be sure that animals aren't mistreated and this is
good. However, the efforts of such overzealous groups
like the Animal Liberation Front overshadow their efforts
and make the whole cause seem preposterous.
The media is probably wrong in giving the Animal
Liberation Front so much coverage; it's just what it wants
and just why it pulled the candy bar stunt. However, the
nature of the group's crime makes the incident hard to go
unreported. Unfortunately.
Chtfr
A few things to be thankful for
Holiday tips
The Thanksgiving holidays begin tomorrow and that
means plenty of turkey; spending time with relatives, ones
you love and ones no one would be caught dead with at
any other time of the year; and lots of stuffed students.
The Daily staff wishes all NT students, faculty and staff
a very happy holiday weekend and takes this time to pro-
vide a few tips for coming back safe and sound on Monday.
First of all, and most seriously, anyone who drinks
more than a couple of beers, glasses of wine or any other
holiday libation shouldn't drive. And anyone who knows
he is going to be responsible for transporting fellow stu-
dents or-family members should limit his drinking to a
couple of beers, glasses of wine or other holiday libations.
There will be plenty of people out there, the roads will
be wet in many parts of the world, and the crowd in your
car will likely be loud and lively. All this leads to a need
for extra careful driving, which cannot be accomplished
with anything less than the fullest control over reflexes
and thought processes. Being even just a little bit tipsy
can mean the difference between life and death for you.
someone you love or an innocent stranger.
In a lighter vein. The Daily encourages everyone who
is flying home to get to the airport at least 90 minutes
before his flight is scheduled to leave. Dashing out onto
the runway just as the steps arc being pulled up is a terrific,
dramatic ending for a movie, but it loses much of its
charm in real life. Not to mention the fact that, as there
are very few internationally known celebrities at NT, the
plane is not likely to wait for you, and airport coffee
shops are not among the coziest places in the world to
spend Thanksgiving.
The Daily encourages anyone planning to ride a bus
home to have his head examined.
When watching football games at a relative's house,
make sure that the homeowner either shares your belief
in exactly what team plays the "best damn football in
America" or that he is. at least, open to others' opinions.
Getting to spend the night in the hammock out on the
back porch is not much of a treat in November.
Christmas shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving
may be hazardous to your health and should be attempted
only with extreme caution.
For students: When parents ask you what you've learned
in college, they only want to know what's been taught in
the classroom. They probably have no desire to share your
newly acquired information on sex, drinking and drugs.
For faculty members: When your parents ask you what
you do for a living, tell them you drive a truck. You may
not respect yourself in the morning, but at least they won't
ask you when you're going to get a real job.
For everyone: Don't eat so much that you'll be unable
to get into your clothes next week.
Since it's nearly Thanksgiving. I figured
today would be as good a time as any
to take time to give thanks for some of the
little, and not so little, things in life. So
here is a brief list of some of the things
I'm thankful for.
• Spring schedules arrived on time.
• President Al Hurley, who decided to grant
us poor peasants some mercy and allow us
to pay our tuition in January rather than
December.
• The cold weather. Now, I realize that
some people may not view this as much of
a blessing, but let's face it folks, by the
time mid-November gets here, it ought to
be cold. And if it's cold on Thanksgiving,
my grandparents will light a fire in their
fireplace.
• The elections are finally over, and we
don't have to listen to the Republicans tell
us that only Reagan supporters are patriot-
ic Christians.
• Living in a country where elections are
handled peacefully, and where once they're
over, people accept the outcome and go
on about their lives.
• Living in a country where 1 am still free
to say that 1 don't like Ronald Reagan any-
more today than I did on Nov, 6.
• Reagan has been unofficially re-elected
(it's not official until the electoral college
votes in December) for nearly half a month,
and despite the predictions of some Dem-
ocrats, the economy has not collapsed, and
a nuclear holocaust has not yet begun.
• Jesse Jackson and Gcraldine Ferraro for
having the courage to expand the defini-
tions of liberty and equality for all Amer-
icans. By staying in the race for the Demo-
cratic party's nomination for president (even
when it was clear that he was fighting a
losing battle), Jackson proved that a minority
could run a credible campaign lor the presi-
dential nomination of a major party. Ferraro's
campaign helped to prove that a woman
has the fortitude, the intelligence and the
persistence to run for national office.
Tonya
McMurray
• Rainy Sunday afternoons that give you
a chancc to catch up with your reading.
• Good books.
• Good movies.
• Old movies, even the bad ones.
• Dads who put money in your checking
account.
• Moms who wouldn't think of coming to
visit you without bringing food and other
goodies.
• Sisters who write you letters just to say
they miss you
• Little children who make you believe in
the wonder of life.
• The people at the Print Shop who work
just as hard as those of us on The Daily
staff. Contrary to what many people believe.
The Daily does not just magically appear
in the newsstands.
• Picky journalism professors who insist
on perfection and make sure we are aware
of it when we fail to live up to their expec-
tations.
• "Doonesbury."
• T he Dallas l imes Herald for not censor-
ing "Doonesbury."
• "Bloom County."
• "Bench ley."
• Molly Ivins. I don't always agree with
her. but it's nice to know Dallas has at
least one token liberal.
• T he fall semester is almost over if you
can just survive term papers and the like.
• Denton County voters elected two worn
en to the County Commissioners Court mak-
ing Denton the first county in Texas to have
a majority of women as county commis-
sioners.
• The Declaration of Independence and its
ideals. America does not always live up to
them, but it's nice to live in a country that
claims such high ideals.
• The United States Constitution and its
amendments—especially the first one.
• Puppies.
• Air ferns because they make it possible
for those of us who don't have green thumbs
to still pretend that we have plants.
• Poetry.
• The human spirit because without it we
would almost certainly be doomed.
• Humor because every now and then we
all need to be reminded that things are not
as grim as they seem.
• The football season is finally over at NT.
• Somewhere on this planet there has got
to be a department store that has enough
self-control to wait until alter Thanksgiv-
ing to put up its Christmas decorations.
Giving them the bird
Writers express opinions on Thanksgiving, famine and affluence, but columnist isn't sure he agrees
For those people who haven't blown off
classes today and left Denton to go home
and get the bird, and who are sitting around
reading The Daily. I thought I might have
some thoughts about Thanksgiving to share.
Well, I thought. I really don't. But hav-
ing volunteered to write this column, and
since deadlines must be met. I invited two
other writers to share their thoughts about
the Thanksgiving holiday.
The first is Ixonard Feldstein. who spends
his time living off his savings and research-
ing Babylonian mythology. The second is
the Rev. Wilson Bckhart. who operates, in
his own words, "a coast-to-coast ministry
attempting to resolve the errors of today's
modern world." I hope you enjoy their
views.
Feldstein: In light of the starving mass-
es around the world. I don't see how we
Americans can morally find it in ourselves
to sit about, watching huge men banging
away at each other in stadiums and gorg-
ing ourselves on the flesh of innocent
animals.
Ours is a decadent society. We aren't
even thankful for our good fortune. Instead,
we continually gripe about taxes, the cost
of housing and burned dinner rolls. Is that
intellectual depth? Is that doing anything
to stop the oncoming specter of mass starva-
tion?
I should think not. If we were really as
decent as we think we are, we would fast
on Thanksgiving and spend the feast mon
ey on famine relief projects instead.
Or. in order to lessen the impact of such
a sacrifice, we could do something a little
less drastic to aid the starving masses. That's
why I have developed a new project: Left-
overs for World Hunger.
ABSOLUTELY. SINCE ALL you bour-
geois pigs complain about the amount of
leftover food your wives make you cat for
weeks after Thanksgiving, you can now not
only eliminate that consequence of exces-
sive consumption, but maybe you can also
get rid of some of your guilt by actually
doing something to alleviate suffering in
other, less fortunate parts of the world. After
all, since you steal from them, since Ameri-
ca controls nearly half the planet's resources,
e
Jerry
Boulware
you can at least offer them the proverbial
crumbs from your sumptuous tables.
I personally plan to not cat any meat,
Some sunflower seeds and a couple of avo-
cados suit me fine. Turkeys arc beautiful
animals, in my eyes, and they should be
left alone. I am also quite fond of the cran-
berry bogs of the northeast, and I think
it's appalling that you buy the stuff, only
to have your 5-year-old k^is dump the sauce
into the planter near the table. It's a waste,
and I enjoy the ecological harmony of cran-
berry bogs.
So try not to feel too guilty tomorrow.
You really should feel guilty, and actually,
it's my secret hope you suffer from indi-
gestion. But I won't say that. Fnjoy watch-
ing your barbaric combat (i.e. football)
rituals, and donate your leftovers to charity.
Eckhart: It is my pleasure to address
you through the offer Mr. Boulware made
to me, and 1 want to say to you, "Have a
fine Thanksgiving." Wc truly do have a
great deal to be thankful for.
This is a great country, and God is on
our side. Wc have been blessed with the
bounty of nature on this day, and it is ours
to cat. I enjoy eating as well as the next
person, and I do remember my mother's
fine pumpkin pies. I was always thankful
for them!
America is the finest place in the world
to be. Wc can get in our cars any time we
want and drive dear across the nation on
good roads. Gasoline is a lot cheaper here
than in Europe or other such communist-
run parts of the world, where the govern-
ment does not allow the people to partake
of the God-given bounty they are entitled
to enjoy.
But those people have sinned. Many of
them don't even believe in God, or at least
not the ri/fht God. They worship f unny stat-
ues and such, and I'm not too surprised
the Lord has put them exactly where they
are. So if their governments do not allow
them to enjoy the gifts of God, it's their
own fault for being so easily drawn into
Satan's fist.
Tempt the heathens with promises of
communistic equality and plenty for all, and
they'll take the bail every time. Then, if
they complain, too bad. They have sinned.
And when we Americans, in all our good-
ness, offer them military aid in throwing
off their chains, they say, "Yankee go
home." Is that gratitude?
Wc are truly fortunate. We should be
thankful, and I am. This is the land of
Scotchguard. 7-hleven and Pulse machines
God's gifts are bountiful here, and we don't
have to wait for hours to get at them, cither.
So alter the turkey is pulled from the
oven tomorrow, and right before you put
the tirsi bite into your mouth, don't forget
to stop to say grace. Who knows, if we all
thank the Lord, maybe He will send a lii-
tlc more our way.
America is the land of inference and
diversity, What we really should be thank-
ful for is not only material things, but for
our freedom of thought and expression.
Maybe Americans lend lo forget about oth
ers who are less fortunate, but most of us
are not bad people. A little joke now and
then is OK, but hatred and scorn have nev
er produced anything positive.
Enjoy your days off , and be careful not
to overeat.
iS
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Ilie North Texas Daily
68th Year North Texas Slate University Denton, Texas
Printed by the North Texas State University Printing Office
Southwestern Journalism Congress Member
PACEMAKER 6 TIMES
ALL-AMERICAN 77 TIMES
Jel Ray, cartoonist
David Howard, cartoonist
Joseph Kent, illustrator
Debbie Henderson, ad representative
Kristin Morris, ad representative
Shawna Quinlan. ad representative
Robert Smith, ad representative
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TRENT EADES, editor
EDDIE RODRIGUEZ, advertising manager
Carole Jansen, managing editor
Beth Fulton, managing editor
Slelani Gammage, editorials editor
Russell Roe, editorials editor
Debra McGuire. staff writer
Angela Payne, staff writer
Jerry Boulware, inside edilor
Holden Lewis, inside edilor
Tonya McMurray entertainments edilor
Rob Lunde, entertainments writer
Debbie Willis, sports edilor
Ken Currin. sports writer
Joey Richards, sports writer
Bill Douthart, photographer
Rusty Hall, photographer
Michael Wetchensky, photographer
Jeff Cohen, photographer
Richard Calooy, cartoonist/illustrator
Chris Babcock, cartoonist
Casey Shaw, cartoonist
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Eades, Trent. The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 68, No. 46, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 21, 1984, newspaper, November 21, 1984; Denton, TX. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth332718/m1/2/: accessed July 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.