Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 27, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 27, 1997 Page: 2 of 16
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Page 2 HwrEUy. Midi 27,1997
< •'
Murray and Mary Judaon
Publishers
Mary JudBon
Editor
Opinion
Port Aransas South Jetty
Member:
South Texas Press Association
. Texas Gulf Coast Press Association
Texas Press Association
National Newspaper Association
Donald Kaul
CO 11 ibunc Media Services
Confirmation process
" needs smarts at top
Another of President Clinton’s nominees bit the dust
this week This lime it was Tony Lake, the erstwhile
National Secunty Adviser who was up for Director of
Central Intelligence, a job that includes stewardship over
the CIA
He wasn’t rejected, he withdrew his name, claiming that
the confirmation process is
“nasty and brutish” and that
things had gone "haywire” in
Washington. It’s easy to get
that impression when you’re
being grilled day after day by
the likes of Sen Ric hard Shelby
of Alabama, chairman of the
(get ready for an oxymoron)
Senate IntelligenceCommittee
(Shelby is the kind of guy, when
he’s invited to a formal party,
wears a white on-while sheet )
Lake’ s confirmation process
had already dragged on for three
months and the end was not in
sight. Shelhy said he wasn't
sure Clinton s former National Security Adviser was the
man lor the IX I job Perhaps, hut I see the reasons Lake
was given such a hard time as these:
1 In 1970, he resigned as assistant to Henry Kissinger,
(hen National Security Adviser to Richard Nixon, in pro
tesi over the bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam
wai. thus committing the greatest sin an organization man
v an make being right on an issue on which your bosses are
wrong It's ruined tar more careers than blunders
Conservatives still don’t want to admit that the war in
Vietnam was a lousy idea and they seek to maintain the
I iction that those who saw its lolly at the time are somehow
tainted with disloyalty. (This is particularly true of conser-
vatives, like Shelhy, who did not serve in Vietnam ) In a
rational society, I ake’s protest would count as a plus in his
etlort to become Central Intelligence Director
We do not live m a rational society
2 Republicans want revenge for the going-over that
I )cmoc oils, when they were in the majority, gave Repub-
lican nominees like Robert Bork, Clarence Thomas and
John lower Rightly or wrongly. Republicans feel (hose
men didn't gel a fair shake during their confirmation
hearings and see no reason to give Democratic nominees
a free ride now that the boot is on the other neck Such is
I lie m the World’s Greatest Deliberative Body
Did I mention we don't live in a rational society1’
< Lake may not have been the man for the job He seems
an honorable person, bright certainly, but the hearings
have revealed several instances when his subordinates at
the National Security Council failed to tell him things, like
that China was attempting to lease our government, (or
example
II he can't get the little National Security Council stall
to confide m him, what's he going to do with the CIA, an*
outfit that thinks of the Declaration of Independence as a
Top Secret document and the Bill of Rights as optional ’
Don’t Ask Don't fell may work for gays in the military
hm I'm not sure it's the way to run a spy agency
In any case, he's loast President Clinton was ready with
another nominee almost immediately George Tenet, cut
rently the acting intelligence director The intelligence
fraternity rushed to the microphones to announce its undy
mg support for Tenet, until it was revealed that he might
have leaked some secret information to a newspaper once
upon .i time
()bserv mg ( Imion nominate people to important jobs is
like watching Wilt Chamberlain shoot foul shots Wilt
would let 11 v Irom the foul line and the hall would hit the
run. bounce around anil sometimes fall in, sometimes
out It was M) so So too with Clinton’s nominees Lake
tell out We ll see about Tenet
Personally. I wish Lake had stood his ground Clinton
satil he'd have supported him and who knows? maybe
he w on Id have I here’s a first tune for everything.
I he point is. il the Republicans are going to give us
comm nice chairmen like Richard Shelby (and Jesse Helms
and Strom Thurmond, for that matter), Clinton should
answer in kind When Lake quit, Clinton should have
named I )amcl Hllsherg, the hero of the Pentagon papers, to
replace him When the Senate rejected him, he should have
named l orn Hayden, one of the Chicago Seven
You think those people are unqualified to he Chief
Spunk ’ Perhaps, but if Richard Shelby is qualified to be
chairman ot the Senate Intelligence Committee,
everybody's qualified for everything.
()n with itie comedy
We live in a time of take Watch out he's on the take'
l ake me nut to dinner Wetrx>k 'em 78 to 76 We took them
lot about a hundred thousand in that deal Take me to the
show, l ake my hand, I’m a stranger in paradise, l ake me
out lo the ball game. Take me to St Louis, Louie
We are a take society. That’s why it’s so nice to have a
friend who brings hack who gives hack what you gave
We have such friend. Peg and I Her name is Little Rocks
Ann She is a Labrador Retriever with whom everything
she can get into her mouth is returnable Her greatest joy in
life is to give; instead of take. This trait is common to the
whole breed of Labrador Retrievers
and other breeds of retrievers such
as Water Spaniels, Chesapeake Re-
trievers and Golden Retrievers. They
are bred to retrieve game for hunt-
ers. But nowadays they are, like our
Ann, even more frequently used to
retrieve frisbees . or sticks thrown
in the water. A whole sport is built
on this powerful urge to give back
Field Trails for retrievers were
brought to this country by Ambas-
sador to the Court of St. James
Averell Ham man The sport which
is still a sport of kings in England (Queen Elizabeth is an
enthusiastic participant and breeder) became a passion of
the well-to-do of the East Coast...the Duponts, the
Vanderbilts, the Belmonts. Slowly the sport crept south-
ward where duck hunters took to this new sport. It is now
Cactus Pryor
competition v
the country like golfers for
national championships
I’ve trained three Field
like golfers for weekend trials...aiming at the
I’ve trained three Field Champions and Amateur Field
given it up for i
Miss Little Rock*
from the fair
i shots in the I
ingm
| biBSaH
And if h’s • good day
backyard and she’II get to
in tire..* frisbee...ume af
yo-yo. ha nine lo
'
IjD
leisurely enjoyment,
if she’ll please go retrieve
tuUdl yard. OT,jn«.iii
SPrmsBbb*
IN THE
IFICHASt
Mfi GIRLS
__ »
i
THINK 111
SW AT SCHOOL
W® 00 ID THE
UHWf
A
\V\r
m .v
m
You're not stupid, so don't vote like it
Spinoff
M AK >
HhNKhi
11 DM )N
Em i ok
issue Not good
You have to be i arcful what you ask
tor
You might gel n
I've always asked tor contested races,
and I've usually gotten my way,
whether I liked il ot not.
I'm going to go out on a limb again,
and ask voters to really (RHAI l.Y,
R! Al I Y) look at the candidates Most
ol them have taken advantage of our
ot ter ot free space to make a statement
Some have not Whether they have or
not is no reason to vote tor them or not
Voters have to do a little work, too
Most of us are inclined to vote tor or
against a candidate based on a single
It you really want to east a goixl vote -- one you can live
with for two or three years read all you can, then start
asking questions
It a candidate hasn't made a statement in the paper, call
and ask about his/hei qualifications and reasons for run
ning for office.
It a candidate's statement didn't answer your questions,
call and ask him/her to clarify their positions.
Candidates Night is another opportunity to learn about
the candidates Call me or write me with your questions
and concerns, and I'll use that information lo develop my
questions Then attend Candidates Night to see how the
candidates respond.
Whatever you do, don't vote for or against a candidate
because "so-and-so said such-and-such and they ought to
know" That's a vote based on ignorance and you're not
stupid!
Letters to the editor
Library fee a bargain
bout dollars tor access lo the binary Facilities ot Port
Aransas has seemed like a great bargain lo us. It is hard to
imagine anyone resenting that modest contribution. In
fact, in our case il is a way foi us (o give back to the
community which has made us teel so welcome. Thank
you all
bin and Virginia Spellman
Normal, If
Praise tor terry
I would like lo compliment the people w ho operate the
terry here in Port Aiansas We have been coining here lor
I 2 years as Winter I e vans and have a I w ,iv s stayed here tot
Spring Break when the liattie on the ferry increases
greatly
I his year we have noticed how organized the whole
process is and how quicklv they gel you on and oil the
ferry No long lines and liaidly any waiting and at least
three femes on each side to get I he i .ns across quickly
Good )ob, guys and gals
Janice Lindstrom
Winter Texan from Minnesota
Birding economy
How fortunate we would be il birders spent $XX5 a day
in our city Unfortunately. I must have had an "out ot
mind" experience at tJic Chamber lunch this month
From surveys taken m the Rio Grande Valley, birders
who travel to Texas to "bird" spend and average ol $XX5 on
an average visit which is a week Thai brings n down to
something a little more realistic.
Taking the average daily rate here SI TO, plus ftxxl $40.
plus incidentals of film, souvenirs, attractions (boat rides)
$25 (on low side), plus miscellaneous $10 this averages
$205 a day Birders tend to stay in clean, average or slightly
above average properties. Our “average" properties range
from $70 to $200. thus making the average $ I TO If birding
is “good” they will hub/spoke an area (driving distances
and then return to accommodation on a daily basis) These
are conservative figures
Carol Ann Anderson
Executive director
Chamber of Commerce Tourist Bureau
No to censorship
i yard with her shagging the
knows we’Fl go out to the
g back tom her greatest ioy
.She’s a four
>’s not on the
Accolades to you for printing the "controversial letters
from Gene Schultz, William Tempelmeyer and Bill
Goodson.” I hope you never resort to the suggested censor-
ship recommended by the latter and I have thoroughly
enjoyed the glib and ever informative provocation’s of the
former two individuals
Please don’t give into requests by hard boiled folks who
are still harboring grudges for p'asl historical errors made
by mankind. We need more laughter, less laws to suit a few
and more letters from educated people from all over the
country. Keep it going. Mary Judson, how do you take the
heat?
Your “Sentinel” in San Antonio
T.L. Hayes
Setting priorities
In the past 40 years, volumes have been written and
spoken about what’s happening to our nation's children
- from Why Johnny Can’t to children to
mothers on welfare. We’ve all stood by like sheep with
blinders on in a field of wolves pretending someone
besidcaTfliSKtff ir Brprpamarur Mmr
innocent children. It’s time we woke up and did a little
simple arithmetic.
Millions of people work for $5 an hour, minus (deduc-
tions wd expenses) just logo to work. They’re lucky to
bring home $600• month. There’s an additional problem,
though. They have children. In order to work they have to
find asms ana to anas for their chil * ~
. ax', i*.A1:ZaJeZilLi,x! i '
Letters
to the Editor
Loners should be limited to approximately 300
words and contain valid signatures, mailing
addressee, ai weff is cfoy and evening telephone
numbers where the writers may bn reached.
Mmwsaalpasaena writing letters win not be wttfahaid
from publication. Mass-produced form letters will
not be published. Only one letter per person will
be published in a 30-day period.
Tidemarks
C M. Henkel Jr.
man brilliant
leaves $.T40 a month which means for about $2 12 an hour,
those folk*»are taking menial jobs and leaving their chi I -
dren lo lx1 rawed by strangers, who are also taking home
little more than $2 12 an hour tocare for them THIS is the
value our nation places on itschildren and the pride itgives
its work force. It’s appalling, but it’s the brutal truth
In Port Aransas we’re not much different, though we
have floated a bond to build a swimming prxil and ball park
lor our children. While I respect anyone who has the
interest of children at heart it just might be that our children
have greater needs.
Now we re talking about adding a one cent (occupancy)
tax and spending the money on a golf course or arts and
entertainment center I appreciate art, theater and sports as
much as the next fellow Still. I wonder about our priori
ties In gentler days, one took care of one's own first I
wonder about the statement our (air city is making about
compassion and family values since it s almost impossible
lor the people employed by its hotels, motels and condos
(not to mention restaurants and shops) to afford small
children - to be “family" There are spaces for only 24
small children here in day cares. I suppose it would be
bizarre to suggest some of our tax money be spent for a full
scale day care which was free, supported by adding 5()tf
and was paid a minimum wage This would not interfere
with private day cares, as it would be only for low income
families, OR any parent who was willing to work for
minimum wage It would attract a greater family-oriented
wot k force and give the businesses a nice tax deduction. Of
course 5()g $1 a day is pretty exorbitant. We might set a
precedent for the entire nation!
Meanwhile, let’s continue to give lip service to caring
about our children, and their struggling parents. That pay
a price Lip service doesn't cost a thing, it's only our
consciences that pay a price
Anne Foster
Port Aransas
Boaters have rights, too
Re: Opening the pier to surfing
What an idea! Does this mean that as a fisherman I no
longer have to observe the limits imposed on boaters about
coming too close to the piers? It will be great when the
Speckled Trout show up in the surf this summer, I will be
back to fish next to the pier on the south side where the trout
stack up on their move to the north. Fishing from my boat
would mean no parking permit and no revenue for Horace
Caldwell Pier.
The only drawback is when the fishing is hot and heavy,
it would be hard to take time to untangle someone from my
anchor rope
Let’s get real! If the surfers can’t drive down to the surf
pier to surf then let’s think about building a surfing pier
with no place to stand on lop for fishermen
I am sure that Mary Goldsmith and company will he
thinking of my nghts as a boat fisherman as well as the
surfers I can hardly wait for the surf fishing lo pick up.
Clark A Miles
Pon Aransas
mo: just a
matter 6f semantics?
ANCIENT CURMUDGEON; “Be not ignorant of any
thing in a great matter or small.” - Ecclesiastics
ON THIS Monday morning the rain is falling in torrents
as it has without surcease for most oflhe past 24 hours. And
March is usually one of our dry months. 1 suppose that after
the 3.4 inch||rriiC3&uredon my gauge last week that it may
now well beTqjixince I did not empty it then, Wednesday
a week ago. To^jT" *
rain since Idst
week 6.8 inches.
THE POLITI-
CIANS’ new
motto: “Give me
liberty or give me
death, but give me
dollars first.’’ Jhe
last five quoted
words did not
come from Patrick
Henry, instead,
Mortimer
Zuckerman, edi
tor and owner of
U.S. ryws & YVorld Report
wealthy, even though I disagree with him often as not '
Only the veriest of fixils will dispute hts addition lo the
words of the fiery Virginian, they are confirmed daily,
indeed hourly in the broad gamut of news coverage, print
and airwaves. Sorrily for the moment I forget the numbers
of dollars a politician must necessarily raise each week to
win election or reelection. That prompts reflection upon
last year’s 13lh District congressional race. Any readers ot
this column at the time must know I rather noisily dis
avowed all candidates from both parties, espec ially both
Republicans. First the then incumbent Greg Laughlin.
elected Democrat turned Republican My decision there
was based on the PAC money he controlled, a eircum
stance I was persuaded to believe that made him unbeat
able Then while his Libertarian opponent became Repub
lican and eventual winner, Ron Paul, must certainly raised
enough long green to beat the Laughlin war chest, most
likely accomplished by playing footsie with extreme con
servatives and religious rightists in the district fix) sun
piistic, but supposition nearly impossible to deny
Back now to the Zuckerman addition to Henry’s words.
Neither party is without guilt, except the optimist among
the electorate may find the occasional, elected official in
Washington for whom “not guilty" may be pleaded It
would be all too easy to till this entire column with dire
forebodings on the above No one, from the White House jj
downward is without guilt, so leaving me to predict, no $
matter how slick he may be, (he Arkansan will not survive ;«
a second term Nor do I think he will be impeached, instead £
leave of his own free will when the time comes.
BEING KIND, few Americans will contest the conten- >
non that as a president Jimmy Carter was no great shakes^Jj
but as a man he is one of honor, integnt^and sinceritj^*®^
Today many if not most will agree, his greatest transgres- 5
ston in office was his 1977 decision to turn over the *
PanamaCanal to the Panamanian government in 1999, two l
years hence I disagreed with that judgment then, even as
now, so dismissing the judgment as being another instance
of Jimmy on his moralistic high horse Panama’s Foreign
Minister is Ricardo Arias, who I presume to be a member
oi (nc saint- wc-jimy aim |Hiiiiicaiiy poweriui Panamanian
Arias family of the late 1920 s
Having no ideas 4s to Ricardo Arias' age I suspect that
it is unlikely that he is one ol the Arias family who attended
the small military academy in the little Vtrginia town of my
youth, the same as attended by many among my friends,
also my younger brother In those days, and I write with
reasonable accuracy, 1924 28. there were three Arias
brothers at the sch<x>l Their father was then either presi
dent of Panama or otherwise high in the government In
any event I knew all the boys because they were frequent
guests in our home. Unlikely because of the stretch of the
intervening years, the current Foreign Minister was one of
the trio More plausible, a son, nephew, even a grandson.
Toretum to my respected foreign correspondent, Georgie
Ann Geyer. ever cautious and analytical, but never afraid
to be bold, she notes with some pleasure, preparations for
transfer of Canal Zone authority are moving smoothly
Quoting Arias, she notes "The only unusual thing on
December31,1999 will be the ships blowing their whistles
as they proceed in canal transit On the other hand it seems
reasonable to suspect Panamanians expect profitable re
turns to become a bonanza to their poor country. Trouble
there, the canal has never been, nor intended to be a money
making proposition for the U.S. which has consistently
poured hack all earnings into canal operation and mainte
nance, evident to anyone who has had the experience of
more than a single romantically impressive passage
AS OF THE moment there remains much to he learned
and said <m the subject of the Navy Base at Long Beach,
Calif , to a Chinese shipping company. Presumably asso-
ciated with the deal, indications of an unpleasant smell
emanating from 16(H) Pennsylvania Ave. We shall see'
AT THE RISK of being charged beating an old drum,
the unwisdom of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Min
ister, in proceeding with construction of Jewish living
quarters in Jerusalem. No matter his posing, his hatred of
the Arab people is without bound Having said that, I as
always deny anti-semetic charges
C M. Henkel, Jr. is a retired newspaper publisher living
in Rrxkport.
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Judson, Mary. Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 27, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 27, 1997, newspaper, March 27, 1997; Port Aransas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth623792/m1/2/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Ellis Memorial Library.