i £frlligan Dai1s
420 Maynard Street, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Edited and managed by students at the
University of Michigan
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual
opinions of the author. This must be noted in all reprints.
Thursday, July 15, 1971 News Phone: 764-0552
NIGHT EDITOR ALAN LENHOFF
Rejectinag peace
THE NIXON administration's rejection of. the peace
plan offered by the South Vietnamese Provisional
Revolutionary Government (PRG) is simply a natural
continuation of policies thus far followed both in Indo-
china and around the world.
The PRG plan would allow for simultaneous release
of U.S. prisoners synchronized with the withdrawal of
U.S. troops. Nixon's policy has been that every U.S.
prisoner must be released before the troops are all pulled
back.
In addition, the new PRG plan would set up a neu-
tral coalition government - not necessarily controlled
by the PRG - to replace the "freely elected" Thieu re-
gime. The "freedom" of the elections is in serious doubt;
the Communist organization is illegal and may not par-
ticipate.
The new plan eliminates the emotional impact of
Nixon's position that the prisoners must be freed before
the troops are withdrawn. His public relations campaign
to drum up support for his stand is grinding to a halt as a
result.
BUT THE PLAN has been rejected. Nixon must have
some other reason for remaining in Vietnam than his
concern for the POW's.
Now that the administration's key reason for re-
maining in force, whether air power or ground troops, has
been shot down, the American people can ask legiti-
mately, "Why are we still there?"
And the Nixon regime will be hard-pressed to find
an answer which deviates more than a fraction from the
old Johnson line that we are fighting communism abroad
before it arrives at home.
The administration may say there are "certain ele-
ments that are unacceptahle" in the peace proposals, and
then try to discuss them in secret, unoublicized discus-
sions. It may say that the war is "winding down," despite
the fact that we are now involved in three countries in-
stead of one and the amount of bombing has increased
under the Nixon administration.
But when the camouflage is drawn away, it will be
found that our involvement in Vietnam is not some
strange aberration of one president, but rather com-
pletely in line with the rest of U.S. foreign policy.
THE PENTAGON paners adequately support the first
part of this statement. Sabotage of the 1954 Geneva
agreements under Eisenhower and contingency plans to
bomb North Vietnam in 1964 verify the unfaltering U.S.
attitude that South Vietnam must be kept anti-commun-
ist at any cost.
But what is perhaps more shocking than the con-
tinuity of our Vietnam involvement is its relation to
other U.S. activities abroad. The sunnort of military dic-
tatorships in Greece. Spain and most of Latin America,
the overthrow of a democraticallv-elected government in
Guatemala in 1954, the Bay of Pies invasion and the
sending of marines to the Dominican Republic are all
part of the foreign policy of the leader of the "free
world."
However, listing a string of interventions, coups and
planned overthrows says nothing ahout why they occur
with such regularity. Why is the United States motivated
by a compelling urge to plot counter-insurgency plans
and break up guerrilla movements?
What is it about these movements that is so threat-
ening to the most technologically advanced country on
earth?_
NATIONAL LIBERATION movements overseas first of
all threaten American investments. When Castro
came to power in Cuba, he nationalized U.S. interests in
sugar, utilities and other industries. Obviously, the U.S.
will try to protect private American holdings in any way
possible.
The U.S. government has always seen in national
liberation movements the seeds of its supposedly deadly
enemy, communism. It labels a band of guerrillas "com-
munists" and thus holds the prerogative of using all the
weapons at its disposal to smash this vicious foe.
It does not pay attention to the fact that by smiting
down a popular movement it is supporing an oligarchic
dicatorship. That is not the issue. At question is whether
the U.S. will be able to support its economic position over-
seas or whether it will eventually succumb in the strug-
gle. This point will only be decided in the future.
-ZACHARY SCHILLER
Women's caucus? Burlesque!
SAN CLEMENTE - President
Nixon and his top diplomatic ad-
visers aren't so busy trying to end
the war that they don't have time
for a few jokes.
Since it isn't nice to laugh it up
over blacks or other oppressed
minorities (at least not where peo-
ple can hear) Dick and his bud-
dies turned to an old standby butt
they. knew wouldn't offend any-
body important.
Secretary of State William Rog-
ers started it all during a picture
taking session at the beginning of
a meeting with photogenic Henry
Kissinger, just back from Paris,
and Nixon.
While ego-tripping merrily be-
fore the photographers, Rogers
mentioned last weekend's women's
political conference. With a sly
grin, Kissinger said that writer
Gloria Steinem was there.
"Who's that?" asked Nixon, as
Kissinger snickered lustily.
"That's Henry's old girl friend,"
leered Rogers.
Then Rogers described a newspa-
per photograph of four of the mili-
tant women who spoke at the cau-
cus, which aims at getting more
women into high office.
"What did it look like?" giggled
Nixon, who apparently has never
seen Steinem, Betty Friedan, or
Representatives Shirley Chisholm
of Brooklyn and Bella Abzug of
Manhattan.
"Like a burlesque," guffawed
Rogers.
"What's wrong with that?" the
President asked, showing that he's
just one of the boys after all.
i
-
Letters to The Daily
The real Taylor?
To The Daily:
A CONTEMPTIBLE note from
far-right SGC member Brad Tay-
lar deserves critical attention. He
sneers at striking janitors, gar-
bage men and others who work
hard for next to nothing, calling
them "looters" and "destroyers"
of the bankers and industrial oli-
garchs who (he quotes from Ayn
Rand) "have carried the world on
their shoulders, have kept it
alive," and so on ad nauseum.
He probably knows as well as
the rest of us that the "pity the
poor robber baron" school of
warmed-over Social Darwinism
only conceals the ugly reality of
the American past - nearly all
the rich and powerful got that
way by inheritance. Their ances-
tors enjoyed the government's
policy of crushing labor and soc-
ial unrest in the name of laissez
faire while subsidizing the rail-
roads (among others), and toler-
ating monopolies. fraud and t h e
corruption of the democratic pro-
cess.
PART OF Taylor's nonsense is
explained, of course, by the like-
lihood that he fantasises that he
is an entrepreneurial Nietzschean
Superman. But it is also further
evidence that this self-styled
Uebermensch has political pur-
poses unknown to many of those
who elected him. Taylor ran for
SGC on the moderate-to-conser-
vative Student Caucus platform,
which stressed such moderate
themes as political neutrality for
SGC, fiscal responsibility. etc. But
he boasts of spying on the Peo-
ples' Peace Treaty convention -
whether he is a paid police spy
or not, cannot be determined -
and says he'd like to tell the
House Internal Security Commit-
tee all about it.
I accuse Taylor of deceiving the
electorate about his real political
opinions and of threatening the
democratic left on this campus
with the spectre of government
repression. Far from being a li-
bertarian, he is more than will-
ing to use the power of the state
to intimidate people whose poli-
tics differ from his own. Now
that his role as a reactionary
and a government flunky is out
in the open, students should be
able to decide if he is unfit. b--
cause of his deceptions and his
willful entanelement with govern-
ment repression, to serve on our
student government.
The All-Campus Constitution
provides that SOC or the student
body can recall SGC members,
and perhaps they ought to do so
- that way the students them-
scelves, at the next campus elec-
tion, may make the final judg-
ment.
Bob Black, '73
July 7
Have you heard .. .
To The Daily:
WE WOULD LIKE to suggest that
The Daily publish a community
news column twice a week similar
to that of a small-town newspaper.
Organizational notices (when print-
ed), ads, and calendars do not
cover everything that is happening.
The column might include things
like: "The grapevine has it"that
Peter Pick, formerly the yoga
teacher for the Free University,
is in town staying with so-and-so,
phone no. such-and-such." Or,
"Have you heard that Randy Smith
was in an accident and is at the
U Hospital?" Or, "It looks as
though Peter Jackoff has finally
found his fate-mate. Congratula-
tions, Pete." Such a column could
be of real service to the people of
the Ann Arbor community.
Terry Moers,
Office of Student Fublications
Judy Blender,
Office of Student Publications
Jim Toy
Gay Liberation Front
July 12
Teenyboppers?
To The Daily:
WE ATTENDED the John Sebas-
tianconcert. Until we read your
courageous article, we thought we
dug it. How naive were we! Leave
it to The Daily to penetrate to the
very core of reality while scatter-
ing our sugar-coated illusions.
Little did we know that all the
nice people around us were "delin-
quent teenyboppers." Leave it to
The Daily to separate the "delin-
quent teenyboppers" from the rest
of us.
For a time it seemed that John
Sebastian was enjoying himself and
that the people around us were en-
joying themselves. Thank you,
Stuart Gannes, for sacrificing your
enjoyment for the sake of eternal
vigilance. And as for you John
Sebastian-no more Mr. Niceguy!
Ken Wilson
Nancy Wilson
Mark Kinzer
Dan Hausrath
July 10
Help the lady
To The Daily-
WOMEN S RIGHTS, Queen Jane
revisited (Ma Kettle?); air pollu-
tion; Vietnam, yes but no;-but
this is all a meaningful digression
but with hope to impress that oc-
casion is but in tthis hour. For at
hand we have Don Quixote without
his Sancho, Prometheus bound
again in chains, Cyrano with not
but a nose to be downcast of.
In search of work and place of
habitation, I came once again to
that tranquil city where those peo-
ple are undaunted by the tran-
sports of the day. Needful of a
place at weary day's end to rest
my head and sore-felt feet I came
upon the domicile where in earlier
years I labored far into the night
in small and modest room typing
strenuously details of laboratory
procedure. Remembering that the
lodging was kindly outfitted to my
tattered state of affairs this being
accounts, I consented within myself
to ask the kindly elderly matron,
who with meticulous care kept this
lodging, for room thereat. Asking
this of her I was informed that in
their fashion the authorities, or
those said being in charge of said
matters, had seen fit to condemn
a part thereabout of this dear lady's
premises, nothwithstanding these
grounds are in a very fit manner of
condition, and but in them lack the
modern convenience of air condi-
tioner and the like that hardier
souls abhor.
I SHALL forego mentioning this
lady's long service to her commun-
ity in appointing of fit conditions
whereby a student may study and
become but of at least of the light
of wisdom. I shall forego mention-
ing that the small stature is the
foundation of society itself. I shall
forego mentioning that many are
the transgressions of the large-
concern university on the spirit
which it seeks to uphold.
I shall say in this righting of a
wrong, in this right but paltry in-
stance a huge institution with big
feet would be taking a small best
step forward.
Albert A. Pontello
July 12
;.
}
' '
"Where are you, Daniel liisberg,
now that we need you?"