1988_02 The Daily Collegian February 1988

              Page 2   Friday, February 5,1988
Opinion
McCue's View
Yesterday Congress shot King Contra, the
killer guerilla, in the wallet. At last report,
Faye Reagan couldn't be reached for
comment about his paramour's wounds.
Reader
Response
to The Daily Collegian is welcome. Please
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The Daily Collegian, Keats Campus Building California State University Fresno, Fresno, California 93740-0042. Letters must be
signed and have the author's name, telephone number, and address.
Leave me alone
Dear Editor.
On my way through the Free Speech
Area, some blond ROTC flyboy referred
to me as a "jerk" because I would noi
sign his stupid petition.
If his petition called for a cut in military
spending and a cui in aid to the Coniras
ihen maybe I would sigh it. Otherwise,
please leave me alone when I walk to
class.
Hoping for world peace.
Bill Linn
Getting to the point
Open Letter to All People With an
Opinion:
Ladies and Gentlemen, I daresay many
of you have lost your ability to think
rationally! Now before you all get bent
and offended, let me say that this doesn't
mean everyone who argues for any issue;—the group I am addressing is, fortunately, a small minority.
To begin with, let me point out that I
do not disagree with your ideas. On the
contrary, I consider myself to be very
open to new and progressive thinking.
However, there are limits to all good
things. Whenever you argue your point,
try a new technique: Listen to yourself.
Often, the arguments you make are
ludicrous and, in fact, discredit the very
points you are trying to get across.
Occasionally, people get so caught up in
the ir ideas, any idea becomes fact
For example (and the specific instance
that prompted me to write this letter),
feminists occasionally lose sight of basic
physiological differences when arguing
their case. Regardless of equality in intelligence, decision-making ability, or even
dexterity, there ejuMtliffeTeiicesmbcdily
structure which makes males physically
stronger and faster than females. This is
not an opinion, it is a statement of
FACT! This is why Ben Johnson holds
lhe world record for the 100-yard dash and
not Evelyn Ashford; why Carl Lewis can
jump farther than Jackie Joyner-Kersee, or
why males hold virtually all records for
power-lifting maximums. Yet today a
feminist argued with me about this very
subject. She insisted that these facts just
weren't true. This contention is both
erroneous and ridiculous.
Of course the point I am trying to gel
across has absolutely nothing to do with
lhe feminist movement, specifically. If
you take this as a slam on the feminist
movement, you're missing the point
This example merely illustrates how ridiculous peoples' arguments can get
Differing opinions and argumentation are
both healthy and essential elements in a
democracy. However, ihe art of voicing
one's opinions has become a problem.
So next tune look at your points of contention in an objective light
Intelligence!
Sincerely,
Nicholas D. Wells
Putting politics in
the sports arena
Jon Matsune
In the months prior to every presidential election, there's always a mass distribution of political merchandise and
catchy political slogans. You know, the
"I Like Dee" buttons, the huge signs reading "Give 'em Hell, Harry,"  the goofy-
looking straw hats with Tippecanoe and
Tyler, Too."
But that stuff is getting old. Today's
politicians need other ways to reach the
people while, of course, showing as little
substance as possible.
My idea is to put some action into lhe
campaigning. Make things a little bit
more athletic-oriented.
First of all, they make their political
merchandise look more like the stuff you
find at the ball park. Just imagine lhe
Michael Dukakis bobbin" head doll, ihe
toy Republican elephant autographed by
all the Republican primary candidates, and
the nostalgic Ronald Reagan teflon batting helmet.
And with thai, ihe catchy political
slogans could be replaced by catchy
nicknames. You see, the Republicans,
one team in the ballgame, could be
dubbed ihe "Over ihe Hill Gang," while
ihcir opponents, lhe Democrats, could
call themselves the "No-Name Defense."
Think of the flashy individual
nicknames there would be and how a
sports broadcasicr like ESPN's Chris Ber-
man could take over the campaign
coverage.
"Here, we have highlights from Gary
Bleeding' Han campaigning in New
York. My, look at the nice handshake
(roll footage of Hart giving a handshake),
such grace that man has. Let's take
another look in slo-mo. (re-roll footage of
Hart giving a handshake).
"Meanwhile, in Boston, Jesse 'Action'
Jackson tries to arouse some New
England support with a speech (roll
footage of Jackson giving a speech), lust
look at the fire in that man's delivery (re-
roll footage of Jackson giving a speech).
"But Jackson's going to have some
tough competition because Bruce "the
Boss" Babbitt is hard at work in New
Orleans rallying some Southerners.
Watch how fluidly he gets into his car
(roll footage of Babbitt stepping into
limousine). One foot at a lime, smooth
and sweeu You'd almost think there
wasn't an entourage around him. There's
no Gerald Ford here (re-roll footage of
Babbitt stepping into limousine).
"Now, lei's go across the court lo Los
Angeles where Republican candidate
Robert 'Don't Call Me' Dole is trying to
win some votes. Oh! It's garbage time,
here. Dole is criticizing George 'Mulberry' Bush (roll footage of Dole making
mean gestures as he speaks). Such
strength and speed that man has (re-roll
footage of Dole making mean gestures as
he speaks)."
Then, after the primaries and the
selection of each party's candidate,
Berman would be on hand once more to
call the first Super Bowl of Politics.
"We have an update just in from California where Dole is leading Simon in the
popular vole 48 percent to 44 pcrcenL
Bui that's still anybody's ballgame as
only 12 percent of the precincts have reported.
"Now, let's go over some of the earlier
popular vote scores. In New Hampshire,
Simon whipped Dole 55 percent to 42
percent, but in Florida, Dole rallied for a
resounding 59-40 victory.
"The overall score is still very close as
Simon is now 13-10 in both electoral and
popular competition. But remember,
folks, Dole once trailed George Bush in a
big game a few months back and came
back to win. This one is sull very much
in the air."
Most of you people probably think
sports and politics don't mix, but
remember, our political world is full of
ex-jocks. Nixon played college football.
Ford played college football. Jack Kemp
played football, Senator Bill Bradley
played pro basketball and represenlative
Jim Bunning played major league baseball.
Maybe if we mix some of the
competitive spirit of sports with ihe
importance of politics, lhe Deniccratic
Convention could get better television
ratings than the Super Bowl.
Jon Matsune's column appears every
Friday in Tbe Daily Collegian.
The Daily Collegian
JoAnn Baltau - Editor in Chief
Lisa Kim Bach - Managing Editor
Tracy Correa - News Editor
Anna Daza - Copy Editor
Sharon Kuan - Ad Manager
Kenny Low - Business Manager
Jon Matsune - Sports Editor
Kurt Hegre - Photo Editor
Ron Holman - Asst. Photo Editor
Rob Evans - Graphics Editor
Susie Tombs - Ad Production Mgr.
Jeff Markarian - Asst. Business Mgr.
T. James Madison - Entertainment Editor
Richard McCue - Staff Artist
Staff Writers - Donnell Alexander, Jana Lee Briscoe, Elizabeth Coleman,
Steve Fountain, Barry Grove, Lois Henry, Kendall Kerr, Maryann Milligan,
AngelaValdivia, JenniferWhiteley,MikeButwell
Sports Writers - Steve Fountain, Lee Passmore, JimProulx, Brian Veneski
Photographers - Akemi Miyama, Lane Turner
Advertising Reps -Eric Anderson, Jeff Bauman, Tony Martin, Dave
Spencer
Circulation - Bill Lerch Distribution - Rob Enge
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