Eighty-four years of editorial freedom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan Tuesday, Septembe r .24, 1974 News Phone: 764-0552 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104 Amnesty: Ambiguous offer? FOR A COUNTRY that has seen Watergate, secret bombings in Cambodia and CIA support of for- eign coups, the new edict handed down by Defense Secretary James Schlesinger Saturday wasn't too surprising. The announcement that the FBI will receive personal data gleaned from deserters who are requesting information regarding President Ford's amnesty, however, does strip away the remaining vestige of the Ford' Administration's credibility. While the Nixon pardon may have been well-intentioned and the am- nesty program a sincere attempt by Republicans and conservatives to "bring all the boys home," Schlesing- er's announcement exposes that at- tempt as a sham. - The military phone numbers for inquiries for clemency were purport- edly given in good faith. The few men who tried to meet the govern- ment halfway on a moral issue, un- doubtedly with mixed feelings about their country called these numbers in good faith. NOW WE LEARN that the informa- tion they gave -- generally name, service number and address - will be turned over to one of the most questionable agencies in American government - the FBI. ,The Associated Press report con- cerning this announcement stated, "There was no indication whether the information might be used to hunt deserters who remain at large." The nature of the personal informa- tion and Schlesinger's announcement - not to mention the FBI's previous activities - make the intention clear nevertheless. Perhaps it was too much to ex- pect the U. S. government to exoner- ate deserters for refusing to fight in a war which was considered interna- tionally -- and even in our own coun- try - to be immoral. But amnesty has been a tradition in 'this country. This is the first war where deserters and draft dodgers were not unconditionally pardoned afterwards, whatever the official rea- son for pardon may have been. JNSTEAD, THIS COUNTRY will chase down those exercising their freedom of conscience over the government's narrow perception of "duty," if, indeed, killing and maim- ing can ever be considered a "duty." Persecution will make a mockery of Ford's promises of "forgiveness." Schlesinger has promised to guard the information until Jan. 31, when the eligibility period for clemency is over. So, the misguided deserters who called expecting to encounter the true spirit of "amnesty" will have a choice: either turn yourselves in vol- untarily in a show of support for the Ford plan, or wait until you are rop- ed in by the FBI. Either way, they will probably have a healthy file at the FBI for the rest of their lives. Not much of a choice from the president who promised to "bind the wounds of a nation together." It's the end of the honeymoon alright. But it's only the beginning of a night- mare. -CINDY HILL White By PAUL O'DONNELL thinkin (HORTLY AFTER the publi- of mov cation of my interview with ialist two Palestinians living in Spain, (NSWF an envelope addressed to me to the arrived at the Daily offices. In-- 0 E side the envelope, which bore and ir no return address, I found deport printed material which includ- C ed leaflets concerning the Arab- ism an Israeli conflict, sheets which ing th told of the plight of "Rudolph White Hess, prisoner of peace," and "Jewis a copy of the newspaper White brand 'Power, "The Revolutionary gotten Voice of National Socialism." fromJ On the front page of the news- Jew," paper, between the words five, "White" and "Power," appears eralisn a large swastika. I wasn't long graphy in realizing what kind of "re- to ar volutionaries" were sending the pool;" mail. 01 The newspaper was, however, sociali somewhat of a disappointment. sired b If I expected some well-written- ian so if rascist journalism defending whom, the Aryan National Socialist Semitic philosophy, all I found was eight 0 Ju pages of traditional racial slurs remind and cheap bigotry. White Power matter reads like a "National Lam- thoses poon" satire of neo-Nazism, oc- Indepe casionally reaching such heights ers "1 of ludicrousness that its effect three d was more comic than anything purpos else. skulls gorilla WHILE A newspaper which skullsr condones genocide by maintain- of Dr. ing that "Hitler fought the Vonneg Alamo of the White race" is tried t hardly a laughing matter, some of Jew excerpts from White Power are teeth: worth recording here, if only as 0 D an indication of the kind of of thre Power: No big deal I ng that inspires this kind vement. The National Soc- White People's Party PP) platform, according newspaper, consists of: liminating Jewish control nfluence in America and ing all non-Whites;" Condemning both capital-' nd Marxism, and connect- em both with the Jews. Power denounces t h e ;h bargain basement of 'socialism' that has help under the table Jewish capitalism." "The reads an article on page "with his Bolshevism, lib- m, integration, and porno- y, is turning America in- racial and cultural cess- Advocating an "AYRAN st society of the kind de- by all the great pre-Marx- cialist founders - all of by the way, were 'anti- c hatemongers;' " ustifying white rascism by ding readers that "as a of fact, the majority of signing the Declaration of ndence were slave own- Elsewhere in the paper, drawings are shown which e to show that Negroid are closer in shape to skulls than Caucasian are. Here I was reminded Jones, the dentist in Kurt gut's Mother Night, who to prove the inferiority ws by examining their and )is-playing a photography ee swastika-wearing "Ar- yan women," and asking: "what normal woman wants anything to do with the kosher-keester- kissing, nigger-loving kind of 'man' who suckers in for Marx- ism?" AMERICAN neo-Nazism is not a new phenomenon, as anyone who ever saw or heard about Lincoln Rockwell, who founded White Power in 1967, knows. Nevertheless, there are those who advised against writing an article about the NSWPP on the grounds that such coverage would devpte too much space to a minute group of racial ex- tremists, and would even be a kind of free publicity for the movement. I received the copy of White Power, however, at a time of world-wide financial crisis and economic depression, when neo-fascist and right-wirig paramilitary organizations are springing up and gathering sup- port in many Western countries, particularly Italy and Great Britain. No matter how limited a fol- lowing the NSWPP philosophy might have, neo-Nazism and neo-fascism af'e tendencies which can't be ignored, espec- ially by those of, us who grew up in the rabidly anti-Commun- ist era that preceded detente. In those days, the domino theory was commonly taught and discussed in high s c h o o 1 civics classes and on editorial pages. Recent history, especially in South America, offers num- erous examples of domindes falling to the right rather than I I '-r'sa 54NooL. Sus5e$Ae OO:Cwt t,*C5e4ooL &kbARE COMi& ! I,'I ! 1 7-j .d to the left, particularly in times of economic difficulties (and when the U.S. has contributed to the fall of certain dominoes in that direction), Neo-fascism in America may be an unimport- ant political force, but it is one that should be paid attention to. IF NOTHING else, this arti- cle will serve to inform the un- knowns who sent me a sample copy of White Power's May edi- tion that they needn't send me any more literature. I suspect that the fellows down at the NSWPP headquarters might find more of a "kosher-kester- kising, nigger-lover" than a sup- porter of their "White Mlan's Revolution." Letters to The Chie: Typical of, U.S. policy LAST WEEK, OUR VERY OWN Sec- retary of State and part-time an- gel of peace, Henry Kissinger, sat in front of our very own Senate and ex- plained that the overthrow of the democratically elected Chilean gov- ernment was planned American poli- cy. Asked whether this action was. consistent with the stated American belief that foreign countries have the right to self-determination, Kissin- ger replied that the move was ap- proved by the President. Intervention was part of some plan - policy is policy and that's just the way things are, he explained. Of course, Kissinger's testimony, came as no surprise to many people. The reasoning behind U. S. foreign policy has always seemed somewhat of a mystery. Events in Chile have simply brought these inconsistencies into the open. In the past, things have often been done illegally, cov- ertly, and contrary to democratic principles, ()NE PART OF the government says one thing, while another agency does just the opposite: direct support is given to dictatorships such as the one which was overthrown in Greece while millions are spent to subvert a' democratically elected government in Chile. The only consistent charac- teristic of American foreign policy is its inconsistency. Despite changes in administrations, the same sick, ill-conceived plan to shave the world into some power-mad foreign policy marker's vague ideal still seems to linger. To the innocent observer, it would seem that only God should - or could .- be concerned with controll- ing all the countries and people in the world. Not so! Foreign policy planners have evidently decided that the U. S. government should take it upon itself to interfere in the foreign and domestic issues of every single country. Editorial Staff DANIEL BIDDLE Editor-lb-Chief IN FACT, THE U. S. is so interested in the business of other nations it has dreamed up a policy which may be called "divine intervention." Its passion for meddling is largely satis- fied through the covert operations of the omnipresent CIA, backed by "al- mighty" dollars. If all else fails, the every-ready military machine is pre- pared to create even greater problems as in Vietnam. U. S. foreign policy is based on a vague understanding of reality. Un- til only recently, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, was recognized by the U. S. as the legitimate govern.- ment of mainland China, although his Nationalist regime has been in exile since 1949. Except during the missile crisis and the disastrous Bay of Pigs intervention incident, the U.S. has treated Cuba as if it didn't exist. Only recently has reality begun to take effect on the bureaucracy. Rap- prochement with the People's Repub- lic of China was a rational move. Re- newed relations with Cuba are under consideration. The covert operations in Chile, however, show that old poli- cies are still at work: the old plan is still in effect. ND SO IT GOES. The ruthless game of power politics is played without consideration of duly elect- ed governments or native popula- tions. The strategic view is utmost in the minds of foreign policy planners. The U. S. government's intense in- terest in the affairs of other coun- tries simply embroils it in a quag- mire of internal disputes of which it should have no part. Taxpayers' mon- ey is used to subvert foreign govern- ments, even democratic ones. American lives are lost propping up corrupt dictatorships. Surely no na- tional interest is served by these poli- cies! Perhaps some, good may come out of these subversive activities in Chile. Maybe someone in Washing- ton will recognize what a mess U. S. foreign policy is and do something to set it right. It's time to throw away the dominoes, destabilizers, and pow- er politics playbook. We need a for- eign policy that respects established foreign governments and shows some concern for the people of other coun- tries. It should be dedicated to world peace and practice the evenhanded- ness that it preaches. CS To The Daily: ON SUNDAY and Monday night, September 8 and 9, the CBS news team again exhibited partisan politics under the guise of "reporting the news." Spec- ifically, in regard to the inti- mated cross section of Congres- sional opinion regarding Presi- dent Ford's pardon of former President Richard Nixon. While I personally did not entirely agree with such ac- tion, I find the manner in which CBS handled the news coverage thoroughly digusting. According to other TV and radio broad- casts, at the time 1f the news programs and accompanying editorial opinions, the Congres- sional opinion was running ap- proximately 50-50 pro and con. The CBS news sampling of con- gressman and senators inter- viewed, indicated approximately 1 pro-4 con. Any fair minded person, regardless of his politi- cal persuasion, would be upset at such a perversion of the facts. It seems to me that this coun- try has undergone enough d&vis- iveness over many issues in the past ten years. Such blatant at- tempts to artificially induce public opinion against the Presi- dent should be abhorrent to ev- ery thinking person. This should be particularly so in this in- stance, when the facts that in- fluenced the President's decis- ion are not known to all of the members of Mr. Ford's staff, let alone the general public. Let us no longer be inluenc- ed by men who seek to reopen healing wounds and fnflict new ones. To do so will let the infec- tion spread and eat to the very heart of every United S t a t e s citizen. -iruce VanFarowe September 20 Levin To The Daily: I CAME to the Lawyer's Club today looking for an alternative to Governor Milliken. Instead of that, all I got w a s political Cream of What. Sander Levin must in my book be chalked up as one of the most imbecilic politicians I have even seen. But to start the afternoon off, we were treated to a campaign speech by Regent candidate Sarah Power, who told us she wanted to tell us "where I'm coming from". What we got was a joke about streaking that no- body understood, a five-minute history of her career, with heavy emphasis on the male politicians she has worked for (including Nelson Rockefeller). When someone finally asked her one question (on "open admis- sions") she stated that she had not thought about it. Oh, s h e did say she was against Re- gents censorship of films. And then she introduced Sandy Lev- in. From listening to him, o n e would think he was a mortician. Everything he didn't want to talk about was a "dead issue". Graduated income, tax. "It's not on the ballot." Of course, the n aetn fltune urlwth tim hn- major scandals, deaths and in- juries in some of our sleazier abortion mills precisely because politicians like -Levin and Milli- ken have refused to regulate abortion to ptotect people's health. Equal rights for women. "The Equal Rights Amendment is a dead issue in Michigan". Yet opponents of the ERA. failed by only one vote to get a resolu- tion rescinding its passage re- ported favorably out of a Mich- igan Legislature committee. Debates with Ferency as well as Milliken? Not until there are two-way debates with Milliken scheduled for Detroit Metropoli- tan television. I suppose the Lou Gordon show doesn't count, but then a lot of things don't seem to count when you are Sandy Levin. But there is to be a debate on the Lou Gordon Show. FINALLY, the most disgst- ing moment came when Levin refused to answer whether he would oppose George Wallace or Henry Jackson if they were on the national ticket. "National politics are a dead issue." But that didn't prevent him from at- tacking Gerald Ford. -Trudy Bykowski September 20" blind faith To The Daily: McGOVERN was behind Eag- leton 1000 per cent. Nixon back- ed his aides Ehrlichman and Ialdeman without question. Now, President Ford asserts that Henry Kissinger "has my full support and the unquestion- ed backing of the American people." Maybe, if that were true, unquestioned support is a major problem. returned to the community ei- ther on parole of upon the ex- piration of their sentences', pri- son officials acknowledge an obligation to attempt to rehab- ilitate prisoners and return them to constructive living. The Manual of Correctional Stand- ards of the American Correc- tional Association states that the prison's "basic purpose" is "the rehabilitation of those sent there by society." Many state sta- tues mandate that the state de- partment of correction or pris- on officials provide an affirma- tive program of rehabilitation. Despite this rhetoric and these statutory obligations, few pri- sons catually provide meaning- ful rehabilitative opportunities for their inmates. Rather, in most prisons educational and vocational training are gross- ly inadequate, and idleness is the rule. Also, programs of psychiatric and psychological counselling are understaffed or non-existent. THE QUESTION here is whe- ther prisoners have an enforce- able right of access to meaning- ful rehabilitative programs. An analogy might be drawn to the rights of prisoners, involuntar- ily committed to mental hospit- als. There have been some indi- cations, where the reason for commitment is the need for treatment, that failure to pro- vide treatment actually violates the inmates constitutnonal rights. The logical extension of this principle would require that, if rehabilitation is the primary purpose of imprisonment of adults,eprisons must actually provide meaningful rehabilita- tive opportunities. A prison should be obliged to furnish an inmate with an opportunity to acquire at least a high school education, to gain job skills ac- tually of value in the economy, to repair any medical defects he may have, and to benefit from psychiatric or psychologi- cal counseling if that is need- ed. No case has held that a pris- oner has a "right to rehabilita- tion." However, in Holt vs. Sav- er, 309 F. Supp 362 (E.D. Ark. 1970), a federal district court held that the failure of the Ar- kansas prison system to provide any meaningful rehabilitative programs was one constitutional significant factorbearing on the holding that the system was un- constitutional. The court rea- soned that the deprivation of rehabilitative opportunities, to- gether with the other oppressive conditions in the prison consti- tuted cruel and unusual punish- ment under the eight amend- ment THIS DECISION may open the door to a challenge to prison systems that do not provide sufficient programs or resourc- es to meet the rehabilitative needs of the inmates. In states with strong statutory require- ments for affirmative rehabili- tative programs, perhaps the challenge should be made on statutory, rather, than federal constitutional grounds. The fact that imprisonment of Daily dicially tractable. For example, if an inmate is found guilty of some disciplinary infraction, he may be transferred to a maxi- mum security unity where his participation in rehabilitative' programs is severely curtailed. SIMILARLY, prison classifi- cation decisions have a decisive influence on whether an'inmate has access to rehabilitative op- portunities. If he is considered troublesome, he will be relegat- ed to a maximum security classification where he will have limited educational, vocational, recreational, and other oppor- tunities. Administrative decisions as to an inmate's participation in the educational program will also determine whether he will have a chance to acquire skills need- ed for success on parole and subsequent to his release. Since all these matters have such an important 'impact on the in- mate's present and future life, decisions denying access to re- habilitative opportunities should be made with simrupulous re- gard for procedural fairness. In other words, requirements of procedural due process should apply to these kinds of decisions as well as to disciplinary decis ions imposing severe punish- ments. -Matthew D. Jones Jackson State Prison No. 119136 September 14' sell out To The Daily: SINCE I became eligible to vote, I have been on the fringes of the Democratic party. With the candidacy of Dr. Ed Pierce, I way almost drawn into the fold. And had he won the pri- iary vote recount I would have unequivocally supported him. During the interim period, when Dr. Pierce and Reuther campaigned together, I harbor-' ed a faint hopethat, if Reuther should win the recount, he would continue to stress the is- sues that Dr. Pierce 'has brought fI to the campaign. But I w a s wrong..That opportunistic, lab- or-leader's nephew with connec- tions at the top immediately cal- led on the "big guns" of the Democratic Party. Reuther is no longer merely a labor-lead- er's nephew but Reuther-Ken nedy-McGovern -Mondale -Hum- phrey. t Reuther Dr. Ed Pierce based his cam- paign on issues that were of primary importance to the peo- ple, and consequently the peo- ple formed the backbone ,of his campaign. Reuther, however, is an imported candidate with no roots in the community and no real idea of the community's wants and needs. Hence, he is forced to rely on the "big guns". But those "big guns" conjure up the same dark im- ages that are usually associated with Richard Nixon - Humph- rey and the'milk fund, and Kennedy's infamous midnight ride. The only difference is that they were quickly able to blur the facts. And just as quickly John Reuther will' be- come a blur. The Democratic Congressional candidate is no longer the people's candidate; he is the Democratic Party's hopeful. Well, I'm not so hope- ful.- -Alan Konell - Sideswipes A quickie glossary toeonoBmi EperiS By BOB SEIDENSTEIN-- Kissinger As an American people, I can testify that no one gets my ,unquestioned support. It is dis- turbing to have any President make such an unthoughtful statement. If the lessons of hu- man and political history have 'any relevance to the contempor- ary moments it must be that re- presentatives of any constitu- ency must bear constant skep- ticism and continuing assess- ment. IN CASE you haven't noticed, the economy is back in the news again. But if you are like most newspaper readers you don't know your rediscount rate from your laissez-faire. So, as a public service, a n d with no extra charge, this col- umn will present a glossary of everyday economic terms guar- anteedato get you through the' next panic. Let's start with the basics and then work our way up high a's the prime interest rate. MONEY - The foundation of American capitalism, the root of all evil. What they want, whnf t n 'nt ornt aharlf ECONOMIC ADVISOR - Per- son Who can solve all financial crises with three -phases, to wait, "Let's exercise a little caution, let's have a little restraint, let's try a tax break for big busi- ness." THE BUSINESS - What American industry and the gov- ernment usually give us. GOVERNMENT REGULA- TION - What big business is against unless it is designed to protect big business. BROKER - What we are get- ting all-the time. BANK - Destination of oi1 company executives having a good laugh. TAXPAYER - Citizen work- ,a fr. a, t',a n'n-narnmiAnt