Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 72, Ed. 1 Sunday, September 16, 1984 Page: 4 of 32
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PAGE 4A-THE POLK COUNTY ENTERPRISE, SUNDAY SEPTEMBER If, 1M4
Editorial
Remember
Aug. 31 marked the first anniversary of one of
contemporary history’s most terrible crimes -
the deliberate Soviet attack on a Korean Airlines
747 shot out of the sky over Sakhalin Island north
of Japan last Aug. 31 (Sept. 1 in Asia) with the loss
of all 269 persons aboard.
The memory of this horror is painful enough.
Worse yet is the realization that the Soviets have
escaped any tangible censure. Indeed, they boast
that they would do the same thing if a civilian
airliner again violated Soviet airspace, however
innocently.
Had a lesser nation adopted such a barbaric
policy, the response might well have included a
protracted if not permanent boycott by the inter-
national air carrier industry.
As it was, major airlines and the international
airline pilots union denied service to the Soviets
for barely two weeks. The carriers and pilots then
returned to business as usual, despite their failure
to wring even so much as an apology from the
Kremlin, not to mention compensation to the vic-
tims’ families.
On a more ominous note, the Soviets refused
even to consider adopting new safety and verifica-
tion procedures that would make a repeat of the
KAL atrocity less likely. To the contrary, no less
an authority than Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei
Gromyko publicly reaffirmed that the Soviets
reserve the right to attack any foreign aircraft, in-
cluding a civilian airliner, violating what he call-
ed the Soviet Union’s “sacred” airspace. And
Marshal Nikolai V. Ogarkov, chief of the Soviet
General Staff, all but promised that any future
“intruders” would be shot down.
For five days after KAL flight 007 was blasted
out of the sky by two air-to-air, heat-seeking
missiles fired from an Su-15 fighter of the USSR’s
Air Defense Command, the Soviets denied
destroying the airliner. Only when the Reagan ad-
ministration released an audio tape of intercepted
/ radio transmissions in which the Soviet fighter
/ pilot acknowledged orders from his ground con-
trollers to destroy the Boeing 747 did the Soviets
admit that they were responsible. Since then, they
have waged a ceaseless campaign of disinforma-
tion peddling various fabrications intended to ex-
- - onerate themselves, or at least diminish their
> guilt, for the deaths of 269 innocent men, women
and children.
The most relentlessly pushed disinformation
has been that KAL flight 007 was a “spy plane” on
an intelligence mission. No scintilla of evidence
has ever been produced by the Soviets or anyone
else to support such a charge. It has been
categorically denied by the White House, the State
Department, the Pentagon and the heads of the in-
telligence committees in Congress. And in-
telligence specialists ridicule the notion that the
United States would employ a civilian airliner to
violate Soviet airspace and collect intelligence in-
formation.
The U.S. government operates a vast array of
reconnaissance satellites and other sophisticated
monitoring equipment. The satellites alone are
capable of gathering the most detailed
* photographic and electronic intelligence from
hundreds of miles in space. Why would the United
States, knowing that the Soviets had already fired
on, hit and forced down a Korean airliner that suf-
fered a navigation system failure in 1978, employ
a civilian airliner to obtain information that could
be safely and unobtrusively gathered from space?
Virtually all of the other Soviet claims, distor-
tions and outright lies about the destruction of
flight 007 have been shown to be demonstrably
false or grossly implausible. In the former
category was the fiction, effectively demolished
in -last January’s Reader’s Digest by defected
Soviet air defense pilot Victor Belenko, that the
Russians thought they were attacking an
American RC-135 reconnaissance plane. One
must wonder, therefore, why an unidentified State
Department official recently gave the Soviets
wiggle room on this important point.
The facts will always indict the Soviets for the
destruction of KAL flight 007 and the deliberate
murder of its passengers and crew. Future such
crimes would be less likely had the world done
much more than it did to demonstrate that
shooting down civilian airliners is simply not ac-
ceptable behavior even for the Soviet Union. But
the 269 innocents, including 61 Americans, who
perished aboard that doomed airliner will not
have died for nothing if their fate keeps fnee men
and women everywhere from forgetting the utter
ruthlessness of our Soviet adversaries.
r >
Do you have an opinion?
The Polk County Enterprise en-
courages readers to submit letters
voicing their views or opinions.
The letters win be published in
the Enterprise’s Letter to the
Editor column in Thursday’s or
Sunday’s paper.
The letter may be written on any
subject or issu. of interest
Letters which are submlted
must be accompanied by a name
and address and will be subject to
normal editing such as grammar,
punctuation and spelling. The let-
ters must be written within the
confines of good taste.
The letters will also be subject to
editing for libelous or slanderous
statements and commercialism.
To submit letters, mail them to
“Letters to the Editor,"Polk Coun-
ty Enterprise, P.O. Boa 1276, Liv-
ingston, Texas 77361.
State Capital Highlights
Appointment historic first
By Lyndell Williams
AUSTIN - Gov. Mark White last
week scored an historical first with a
newly appointed Secretary of State.
Ending much speculation White nam-
ed Myra McDaniel, his former general
counsel, to the post vacated by long-
time ally John Fainer. McDaniel is the
first black ever and the first woman in
51 years to serve as Secretary of State.
Just a week ago, former Secretary of
State George Strake, who served under
Republican Gov. Bill Clements, criticiz-
ed White for allowing the secretary of
state’s office to propose a 36 percent
budget hike for itself after White had
told state agencies to hold down spen-
ding requests.
Now state chairman of the Texas
Republican Party, Strake hit the
budget for seeking 64 new employees
and a 381 percent increase in profes-
sional fees.
But acting secretary Ed Davis said
Strake had targeted their highest fun-
ding level for political reasons, and said
a good deal of the budget was actually
going to help Stroke’s party.
More than $3 million is designated to
pay for party primaries, with about 85
percent going to Republicans because
of their growth.
Water Plan
A key senator from arid West Texas
told Texas water administration of-
ficials to quit talking and do something
about water problems.
John Montford, D-Lubbock, called
the latest water plan report “jibber-
jabber”, and criticized it for not pro-
viding for agriculture needs.
When the plan’s architect defended it
by questioning the availability of MO
billion over the next 20 years for state
water-related improvements, Montford
speculated that the current drought
might prompt legislators to act.
Drought-Resistant?
Speaking of the drought, State Rep.
Dudley Harrison, D-Sanderson, says
the livestock which is surviving in West
Texas may be a more drought-resistant
strain.
When his new lambs were sold many
weighed over 50 pounds, “which isn’t
too bad considering how livestock out
here has had to cope with the drought”,
he said.
Harrison said he was both surprised
and hopeful that a healthy new stock
was emerging from the costly dry spell.
Converting Wasteland
Fresh bade from Israel where he in-
spected large-scale projects to enhance
water in agricultural wastelands,
Texas Land Commissioner Garry
Mauro is negotiating with Isreali con-
sultants to bring their techniques to
arid West Texas.
Mauro’s office manages more than
800,000 acres of public land in West
Texas, and if the price Is not excessive,
he may promote idiot projects for
various types of irrigation and water
recovery.
A spokesman said the Isreali
engineering consultants are recognized
world experts in agricultural produc-
tion in arid lands.
Spouse Immunity
Texas A tty. Gen. Jim Mattox last
week urged legislators fight child abuse
by eliminating a spouse’s immunity
from testimony in cases of assault or
violence against a family member.
The present law is a major obstacle to
the successful prosecution of child
abuse, Mattox told a joint panel on child
abuse and pornography.
"Spouses cannot testify against each
other in several cases, even when they
want to, because the law prevents it’’
Public Works Bill
Sen. Hector Uribe of Brownsville, is
planning to Introduce a state public
works bill in the coming session to
relieve a Rio Grande Valley economy
still facing high unemployment.
The measure was passed by the
Senate in this summer’s special ses-
sion, but time ran out before the House
could consider it.
The bill sets up a fund which could be
used In areas of chronic unemployment
caused by natural or economic
disaster.
Bullock Report
A prediction from State Comptroller
Bob Bullock last week viewed the Gulf
Coast as the Texas economic
powerhouse for state government cof-
fers.
Bullock said the economies of Dallas
and Austin were diversifying and would
soon catch up.
West Texas, of course, led in tax
revenues paid from oil and gas produc-
tion.
East Texas Politics
J t W-* ~ s- . ’ *
f »l «| q ,,
Dugas needs new issues
By PAUL FORTNEY
Enterprise staff
LIVINGSTON - Louis Dugas Jr., the
Republican opponent of U.S. Rep.
Charles Wilson, is apparently running a
campaign based on press releases sent
through the mail.
Dugas, in the past few weeks, has
mailed several statements attacking
Wilson’s voting record and attendance
in the House.
The last statement used the results of
a survey to “prove” that Wilson was out
of step with his constituents on the abor-
tion issue.
Wilson has voted in favor of allowing
the use of Medicaid funds to pay for
abortions for women on welfare.
The incumbent representative has
also never made any secret of his posi-
tion that whether or not a woman has an
abortion is “none of the government’s
business.”
Wilson has said the Supreme Court
has decided the issue of a woman’s
right to an abortion and the only ques-
tion the Congress dan resolve is the use
of federal money to pay for them.
“You are either going to pay for the
abortion or you are going to pay for the
child on welfare,” Wilson has said at
numerous public meetings in the
district.
Since the question was brought up at
evej7 public appearance Wilson made
during the primary campaign and the
congressman said he personally didn’t
consider abortion to be murder, I find it
hard to believe the majority of Wilson’s
constituents (especially those who
vote) don’t already know where he
stands on the issue.
Dugas should try to find an issue that
wasn’t hashed to death during the
primary campaign by those four men
who tried unsuccessfully to deny him
renomination.
After all, the Republican has a hard
row to hoe in the Second Congressional
District since the overwhelming ma-
jority of the voters are Democrats and
even Jimmy Carter managed to carry
the district over Ronald Reagan.
Reagan carried three of the 15 coun-
ties wholly within the district, Ander-
son, Nacogdoches and Walker.
Carter received 80,536 votes in the
district to Reagan’s 73,203 and John
Anderson’s 2,198.
The totals do not include Montgomery
County since it is divided into three
districts.
Reagan did handily carry the county.
Balanced budgets
The proposed amendment to the Con-
stitution to require the federal govern-
ment to operate without a deficit is
within two states of forcing a constitu-
tional convention.
There are two ways to amend the
Constitution of the United States. The
one that has been used to adopt all of
the successful amendments is for the
Congress to propose by a two-thirds
vote and then secure ratification by
three-fourths of the states.
The other route is for two-thirds of the
state legislatures to pass resolutions
calling upon Congress to call a constitu-
tional convention to consider amend-
ments.
The danger in such a move is there is
no way to restrict the delegates, once
the convention is called, to consider just
the subject for which the convention
was convened.
Any constitutional convention could
theoretically rewrite the entire Con-
stitution and then throw the monkey
back on Congress’s back by asking
them to submit the new document for
ratification.
Ratification by three-fourths of the
states would still be required of any
amendment or changes made by the
convention.
Besides, it is easy for a government
to balance budgets if the people really
want it - all you have to do is raise
taxes enough to cover the projected
budget.
School districts and local govern-
ments already operate in this fashion,
first determining how much money
they will need for the coming fiscal
year and then setting the tax rate high
enough to cover the budget
It just isn’t an attractive choice to
most politicians and definitely not in an
election year.
But next year, if Mondale wins the
Democrats will raise taxes and if
Reagan is re-elected the Republicans
will enhance revenues.
POLK COUNTY
ENTERPRISE
ALVIN HOLLEY, PUBLISHER
USPS 437-340
Entered as Second-Class Matter at the Post Office at Livingston,
Texas 77351 under the Act of Congress of March 3,1897.
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
Barbara White, Editor
Grace Holman, Family Editor
Beatrice Hall, Special Correspondent
Van Thomas, Sports Editor
Greg Peak, Area News Editor
Don Hendrix, Special Sections Editor
Linda Peterson, Darkroom Technician
Paul Fortney, Reporter
PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT
Pressroom Personnel
Mike Sims, Production Supervisor,
Adrian Dunn, Paul Holley,
Beamon Goodwin, Ricky Taylor
Composition Personnel
Dorothy Wilson, Composition Supervisor
Valerie Lenox, Wanda Goins, Terry Maccmber, Linda Hunter
CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT
Felicia Fiscal, Circulation Supervisor
Roger Holder
ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT
Linda Dickerson, Ad Manager
Mary Jo Watson, Susan Lanting, Alise Curing ton
Linda Jacobs, Classified Manager
Patty Hankerd
BOOKKEEPING DEPARTMENT
Georgia Bailey, Manager
Diane Holley, Diana Fiscal, Laura Goodman
SUBSCRIPTION RATES - $13.00 per year, in county, $14.80 per year,
out of county. $15.50 per year, out of state. Published semi-weekly,
Sunday and Thursday at 100 Calhoun In Livingston, Texas by the Polk
County Publishing Co.
Any erroneous reflection upon the character, standing or reputation
of any person, firm or corporation which may appear in this
newspaper will be gladly corrected upon being brought to the attention
of the publisher.
Opinions expressed in columns are those of the writer and not
necessarily those of this newspaper.
Opinions expressed In editorials are those of the Enterprise.
Postmaster: Please send form 117$ to P.O. Box 1371, Livingston.
Texas 77351.
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White, Barbara. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 72, Ed. 1 Sunday, September 16, 1984, newspaper, September 16, 1984; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth810841/m1/4/?rotate=270: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.