Burleson Star (Burleson, Tex.), Vol. 18, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 6, 1983 Page: 2 of 25
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2A-Burleson Star. Thursday. January 8. 1983
Editorials/Opinions
.. ’ i
i
A rose by any party label
BACK TO NORMAL-
Shakespeare perhaps said it best a
few hunched years ago when he had
Juliet mutter something about a rose by
any other name having basically the
same fragrance. Our heroine in this in-
stance was referring specifically to
Romeo when she found out what family
he was from but, like most truths, her
statement also has broader applica-
tions
Perhaps if she were alive today and
professes the Democratic faith, Juliet
might say something similar about
Rep Phil Gramm, if indeed he does
follow through with his threatened
switch to the Republican party
He was to announce that decision at a
Wednesday press conference in College
Station
But if a rose by any other name
smells the same, then Gramm—who
has blossomed into one of the nation’s
top legislators—will continue to be the
same conservative, fiscally responsible
congressman he has always been
Regardless of party labels
AND WE THINK his philosophy of
conservative government best echos
the sentiments of most voters in the
state’s sprawling Sixth District
In other words, Rep. Gramm by any
party name does an excellent job of
representing the views of his con-
stituents in Congress And it was just
that dedication to principal that was
responsible for his losing his position on
the House Budget Committee.
According to Gramm’s own words:
“It punishes me for practicing in
Washirfgton what I've preached at
home ”
He also charged that the action by the
House Democratic Steering and Policy
Committee “disenfranchised’’ the
voters in his predominantly conser-
vative district.
While Rep Jim Wright claims that
Gramm’s removal from the budget
committee was not a punishment, but
the withholding of a reward which
would have been bestowed for “respon-
sible behavior,” in actuality it amounts
to nothing more than retaliation for
Gramm’s persistence in putting princi-
ple above parly
WHILE PUTTING principle above
party may be heresy to politicians such
as Wright and Tip O’Neill, we don't
think it sounds so far fetched to voters
in the Sixth District Whatever^ party
banner Gramm chooses to continue his
political career under, we think Sixth
District voters will also place principle
above party and give their undiminish
ed support to Gramm
A honest congressman by any party-
label is becoming a rarity in Congress
and about as hard to find as the fabled
honest man We believe Gramm is one
of those congressmen regardless of
whether the parenthesis following his
name is <D Tex> or (R Tex > — JWM
Phone or be phoned is the question
Does one keep a phone to be
called or to make calls? It’s not
a pointless question Until now,
the cost of hooking up every
telephone customer to the rest
of the system was borne in large
part by callers In fact, ever)’
long-distance toll included that
cost. But now the Federal Com-
munications Commission has
decided it is the potential re-
ceiver of long-distance calls
who should pay that access —
all of it. By 1989 — after a five-
year phase-in period — ail tele-
phone customers will have to
pay, on average, an extra $8 or
so a month for the capacity to
make and receive long-distance
calls, while the toll charges for
actually using that capacity will
decrease between 30 percent
and 40 percent.
For heavy long-distance
users, the result will be a signif-
icant drop in phone bills. Cus-
tomers making about 40 min-
utes of long-distance calls each
month should come out more or
less even. Anyone making fewer
calls will lose out. It's those
smaller users who will be pay-
ing more for the chance of re-
ceiving calls. And the question
is: Is that fair?
According to one public inter-
est group, it isn’t. It> the "large
and heavy users’that derive a
benefit from being able to reach
virtually everyone in this coun-
try on the phone," the group
says And these, mostly com-
mercial users “do have a re-
sponsibility to shoulder some of
the cost of maintaining univer-
sal service.” The long-distance
carriers, however, argue that
toll charges are the wrong place
to recover the costs of universal
access, since the cost of access
— unlike tolls — has no relation
to the number or length of calls
made
You can see the philosophical
dilemma. But the Federal Com-
munications Commission didn’t
really have to get hung up in it.
Applying a little common sense,
the regulators might have real-
ized that people have phones
both to receive and make calls,
that both callers and not just
answerers benefit from univer-
sal access, and that both, to be
fair, should share in defraying
the expense of keeping small
users attached to the system. It
wouldn’t have been hard to ar-
range
(Reprinted by permission of
The Sacramento Bee)
Letters To The Editor
Dear Sir .
I am outraged by the story of dog
slaughter in the Jan 3 Si«r. It seems to
me that Gene Paulson must have
become carried away by his job on the
Fort Worth Police Department
My husband has a stressful job with
the city of Fort Worth, but he would
never assume that he could destroy
other peoples animals because he
deemed they should be, or because he
was “under stress ” Perhaps Paulson
needs to avail himself of the free
psychiatric services offered Fort Worth
policemen
Dog lovers everywhere need to band
together and seek legal representation
in cases such as this. There surely is a
way someone can be stopped and
punished for such deeds
Obviously two-legged animals, in
some cases such as this, are much more
to be feared than four legged
Kettye Rowland
Burleson reacts to party switch
Phil Gramm resigned his
post as Democratic
Representative from district
six in Texas and has left the
Democratic party because
he “cannot work with a
political party that seeks to
limit the effectiveness of a
member.”
Gramm said he is taking a
risk, but in the final analysis
he must do what he thinks is
right. He also said, in a
speech delivered Wednesday
morning, that he expects an
all-out effort to deter him
with the help of liberal politi-
cians like Rep. Jim Wright.
President Reagan has in-
vited Gramm to join the
Republican party and with
this in mind, The Star polled
public opinion to see whether
they will be affected by his
party switching when next
election comes up.
Of the 18 people who
responded, eight said
Gramm’s decision to switch
parties would not affect their
vote, one said he would vote
for Gramm because of the
switch and nine said they
would vote against him
because of it.
Evelyn Wilbur said she
would vote against Gramm
next time. “To me, a
Bl'Rl.ESON STAR
(USMmSS)
Srrond-Clais Pottage paid at
Rurleton. Texas, JMti.
Democrat is a Democrat,”
Wilbur said. “I don’t see how
a person that is a Democrat
can switch over and be a
Republican.”
Ss« llutson
Chuck llutson
James Moody
Mary Cowley
Board Chairman
I’uhltshrr
Editor
Sr. Account Exec.
Subscription Price 112.*5 Per Year
In Johnson And Tarrant Counties
Other Arena Of Texaa. IIS.I5
Outside Texas. IIS.*5
The Burleson Star is an indcpen
dent newspaper published twice
weekly on Monday and Thursday in
the interest of Burleson and adja-
cent areas by Burleson Publishing
Company, Inc, 319 N Burleson
Blvd . Burleson. Tx . 76028 Any er-
roneous reflection on any individual
or firm will be corrected if brought
to the attention of the editor Ad-
dress all correspondence to the
Editor, Burleson Star, P.O. Drawer
909, Burleson, Texas 76028
POSTMASTER: Send address
changes to Burleson Star, PO.
Drawer 968, Burleson. Texas 76028
★-
Tom Creemer
Tom Creemer thought
Gramm did the right thing
switching parties. “I think if
a feller is going to vote
Republican he ought to be a
Republican," Creemer said.
“A man should stand up for
his own party. I would if I
were in Congress. ” }
Tom Jones agreed that
Gramm should have chang-
ed. “I feel he misrepresented
me as a Democratic con-
gressman,” Jones said. ”1
voted for him last time, but I
doubt I’d vote for him again
even as a Democrat.”
Another who thought
Gramm did the right thing
was David Allen, but for dif-
ferent reasons than the rest.
“I think switching to the
Republican party was the
best move he could have
made," Allen said. “I think
the Democrats benefited
Gramm more than they
wanted to by eliminating him
from the budget committee. ’’
Daryl Nance said he didn’t
vote for Gramm the last time
so there is a pretty good
chance he wouldn’t vote for
him again no matter which
party he was with. “I vote for
•a man because of what he
stands for, not because of his
party.
Agreeing with Nance was
Mrs. R.J. Knox who said she
would vote against him in
either party. “He hasn’t
represented me the way I
wanted during this term.”
Curly Roberts also thought
the vote should be for the
candidate rather than the
party. “Phil’s all right I
guess," Roberts said. “I was
for most of the things he was
for. As for my voting for him,
it all depends on what he
comes out for. If he’s going to
knock Social Security, I’ll be
against him. I’m against
Reagan now because of how
he's handling it. I get mad
every time I think about it
We worked for it and it
should be ours.”
B.V. Grogg said Gramm’s
decision definitely affects the
way he’ll vote. “I don’t like a
turncoat,” Grogg said. “He
was doing a fair job in con-
gress, but there’s no way I’ll
vote for him as a
Republican.”
In contrast to Grogg, Ed
Kevercomb said he’ll pro-
bably vote for Gramm
anyway. “He's represented
me well so far,” Revercomb
said. “He’s entitled to vote
the way he sees fit.”
'fiCRM/SS/ON TO COH£ ABOARD, GRANTED...WHENEVER YOU'RE READY.
David Allen
Jane Hewitt agreed with
Revercomb, "Gramm did
what he felt was right rather
than what the party said and
that’s okay with me,” Hewitt
said. “Sometimes the issues
are more important than
what a particular party
wants to do. I’m not really a
party person. I think you
need to look at the issue in-
volved and make an honest
decision about it. That’s not
always what the party
wants.”
Hans Belitz is another who
supports Gramm regardless
of his party. “I’d vote for
Rita Watters
Phil Gramm even if he ran
independent,” Belitz said.
“He represented me the way
I wanted him to, he just
didn't do enough of it.”
Melanie McVan said
Gramm lost her vote when he
switched. “I usually vote a
straight Democratic ticket,”
McVan said. “I think he was
doing what he could, but he
was under too much pressure
from the other members of
congress. I don’t think the
Democrats acted properly
when they took away his seat
on the House Budget Com-
mittee."
The switch infuriated Rita
Watters who said she doesn’t
like people who play Mickey-
Mouse games. “Everyone
has their standards,” Wat-
ters said. “When we put
someone in office, we expect
them to carry through. I
think he was doing a good
enough job representing me,
but nobody should play
games with our trust.”
Girl favored by expectant father
1982
By TERRY M. EVANS
My child arrives sometime around
the second week in May. People are
shocked when I tell them that I want a
girl: it seems men are supposed to want
sons to carry on their family names. My
reason for wanting a girl provokes even
greater astonishment
Society has dictated that the “nor-
mal" toys for boy children are GI Joe
dolls and associated guns, tanks, hand-
grenades. etc. Pretend battles with
these devices teach a child that It's
okay to kill people as long as they're the
enemy.
Girl children, on the other hand, are
given dolls and the associated para-
phernalia for pretending to take care of
and love a human being.
THE LESSONS THAT society has
determined children must be taught,
then, are that for boys to become men
they must be willing and able to destroy
life, while girls become women when
they create life, k want more than
anything else in mykhild's education a
respect for life. noTjust the lives of his
or her family, race, religion or country,
but for the lives olthe world
Some of my friakds and acquaint-
ances have told me I'm being ridiculous
when I insist that no gun. not even a toy
one, will come into my house. They say
it will be unfair of me to deny my son
the fun of playing soldier, cops and
robbers, or cowboys and Indians. Be-
sides that, they say. guns are a reality
of our world and 1 can’t make them go
away by ignoring them. I'll be hurting
my child by not allowing mm iu
with toy guns and become familiar with
what guns are and how they are used
After all. they add, it's only make
believe, only pretending, it can't hurt
anything to play games
1 wonder what people who feel this
way abouUjuns think about drugs. 1
wonder what they would say if someone
suggested they give their children little
pieces of surgical tubing bent spoons
and toy syringes so they can pretend to
shoot junk into'themselves. After all,
drugs art a reality in this world and
they can't make the problem go away
by Ignoring it.
HOW ABOUT TINY cigarrette pap
era and pretend marijuana so they can
play like they're getting stoned? As
tong as it’s a game there can't be any
harm can there?
But, drugs are different, they're ille-
gal. Substances like marijuana are
illegal because of their potential for
damage to the bodies and minds of the
people, especially children, that come
in contact with them
I could stand and throw joints at a
child all day and do no harm other than
make the child think I'm mad. If the
child were to pick up a joint and play
with it or, God forbid, use it, there are
many possible detrimental effects spe-
culated by medical authorities, but
death or mutilation is not among them.
Remembering that their potential for
damage is the reason drugs are con-
trolled and unauthorized possession of
them is illegal, explain to me why guns
are legal
1 prefer to tell my child that all these
and other unpleasant things exist in our
world and explain what he or she might
do when encountering any of them. I
pray I will be able to educate my child
about the world without giving first-
hand experience in the form of playing
games.
BUT, I DO NOT want to have to
flight society while I raise my child. I,
will be overjoyed if my wife and I,are
i girl, but we will both be
i healthly baby of either
blessed with a ,
tickled with a
In fact, the only reservation I have
about raising a girl is, how do I explain
boys to her? But, maybe boys are
something girls don’t have to have
ained
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Moody, James. Burleson Star (Burleson, Tex.), Vol. 18, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 6, 1983, newspaper, January 6, 1983; Burleson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth760655/m1/2/?q=Lamar+University: accessed July 3, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Burleson Public Library.