Commentary .;. : : : : : -
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The Tar Heel
Jeff Hiday, Editor
Jon Broadway, Nexus Editor ,
Joel Katzenstein, Arts 9 Features Editor
, Low L. Thomas, Photography Editor
Ginie Lynch, Associate Editor
Andy Hodges, Sports Editor
Staff: Scott Bower, Mary Clifford, Gwen Haujey, Les A. Hamashima, Marlynn Ruth Jones, Ben Perkow
ski, Bill Riedy, Susie Spear, Mike Toole. D.A. Trevor, Edith Wooten, Rebekah "Wright, Advertising:
Paula Brewer, manager, Mike Tabor, coordinator, Terry Lee, representative. Business: Anne Sink, interim
manager. SecretaryReceptionist: Kim Baker. Composition: UNC Printing and Duplicating Department.
Printing: Hinton Press, Mebane. .
Brown's false impressions
'Don't get caught'
Ah, to be a reporter in Washington these days. These are the times
that make a Woodward or a Bernstein or a Hirsch out of a "hungry,"
but green, newsman. Who is the mole? What top Reagan administra
tion official will be first to get the axe as the case of the Carter cam
paign book does its best to become a full-blown scandal? Baker?
Casey? Stockman? Surely, somewhere, there is a Deep Throat to tell
all. -
But maybe not. Is it fair to compare Debategate with Watergate? To
many, such is analogous to a comparision of apples and oranges, or,
worse yet, Central America and Vietnam. The press is being accused of
overplaying the issue. Such a charge is not surprising, and in fact, it is
incredibly common. But this time the charges deserve serious con
sideration and reflection.
The press corps in Washington could continue to hound evefy
White House aide and official available, and perhaps the reporters
would uncover that an illegal espionage operation was conducted by
Reagan's 1980 campaign staff.
Or, equally possible, the press might create such a charge.
Responsible journalism is a must at all times, but coverage of this is
sue deserves kid glove treatment. Politics is politics, and some Carter
aides admit they might have welcomed information such as the
Republicans obtained. Perhaps it was only luck that the Republicans
broke the cardinal rule of espionage: Don't get caught.
Now that they face intense scrutiny from public and press alike for
the second time in a decade, the question of coincidence or habit is
raised. Let's hope it is coincidence.
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
To the editor:
I am writing concerning an article published
lin the June 23 Tar Heel. ("The Que works to
build up strong musical reputation in Chapel
Hill") The article describes a new band, The
Que, that is playing in the Chapel Hill area
and focuses on the manager and drummer
David Brown. He is quoted as saying several
things about bis former band, the John Santa
Band, that could most charitably be described
as confused.
For about a year I worked for the John San
ta Band as a roady. In that time I thought I
came to know the band and its members fairly
well. Clearly, however, I was in error because
the article describes a band that I am totally
unfamiliar with. In particular, I'hadn't realiz
ed that Mr. Brown played keyboards and sang
other than at the end of one song in which as
part of the stage show the musicians traded in
struments and played for several bars. It was
my understanding that John Santa had written
and arranged all of the band's music. And I
am excited to hear that Mr. Brown worked on
z. John Santa Band album, which I hop? will
be out soon, because the only recording work
that I know of the band doing was to produce,
tapes that might lead to an album contract and
to train those band members that were un
familiar with studio work (including Mr.
Brown).
To me, the most incomprehensible parts of
' the article are those that describe unhealthy
r tension within the John Santa Band and char
- acterize that band as a group that Mr. Brown
.yould Jhave to get away from in order to get
things done: right. The other four musicians
r and the two technical people of the John Santa
Band seemed to me to be highly talented indi
viduals who strove to be the best that they
could be at their respective crafts and to meld
their collective abilities into a unified whole.
Other band members that I have spoken to
will admit to some degree of discord concern
ing some aspects of the band's music, prob
ably not a surprising consequence of assem
bling seven talented people. But none of these
other band members have described to me
problems with the John Santa Band of the
magnitude conveyed by the article. All of the
; other musicians have expressed willingness to
.do studio work with John Santa should he
begin recording an album. Mr. Brown's un
healthy tensions with the John Santa Band can
perhaps be better understood when illumi
nated by the quote of Mr. Brown's friend Julie
Plunkett, "At times David does tend to be
more of a dictator than he thinks and does a
lot more decision making than he will admit."
I do not mean to disparage in any way Mr.
Brown's talents as a drummer in a poprock
band or as a percussionist in a concert setting
(I attended one of his recitals in which he
showed a fine grasp of the material). Nor do I
wish him any ill in his efforts to form a band. I
do, however, find bewildering his remarks
about a band and about individuals that I care
very much for. Mr. Brown's remarks concern
ing the John Santa Band seem to me to convey
a completely false impression of John Santa
and the other band members. If Mr. Brown's
comments are an accurate reflection of his
views . toward his previous band and its
members, then I would strongly advise the
members of The Que to read carefully the last
published sentence of the article as they con
sider their own future with that band.
Mac Monroe
Chapel Hill
Santa arid band 'outstanding'
To the editor. ;
I was upset by several of the comments
made by David Brown of The Que regarding
the John Santa Band. I can understand that
David was disappointed when the band broke
up (he did not "quit"). They were an' out
standing musical group. I cannot understand
David's backbiting comments. Since I do not
want to launch a personal attack on David's
character, I will just say that, despite his im
pressive talent as a drummer, if he continues to
behave as he has in the past, soon no one will
want to play with him. As for John Santa, all I
can say is he is one of the nicest, sweetest,
good guys around, and I know he gave David
more chances than most people would have.
Of course, David's behavior was not the only
factor in John's decision to break up the group
there was also a problem in trying to find a
new bass player. But I would like to leave a
clue for The Clue read the last paragraph of
that interview carefully. Elaine Royal
Hillsborough
con round
It is evident that many of the women in this
nation don't want Ronald Reagan to stay in
the White House for a second term. This week,
Kathy Wilson, chairman of the 73,000-member
National Women's Political Caucus, called on
President Reagan not to run for re-election.
Indeed, Wilson said that the group regards
Mr. Reagan as a "dangerous man" to woman's
rights. -
The group's main gripes against President
Reagan are his opposition to the equal rights
amendment and abortion; plus his refusal to
support substantial legislation to guarantee
. economic equality for women.
The decay of Ronald Reagan in the eyes of
the Caucus began at the 1980 Republican Na
tional Convention. There, in a break from 40
years of party tradition, Reagan supporters
took away their endorsement of the equal
rights amendment from the party's platform.
Public opinion polls show that President
Reagan has considerably less support among
women than he does with men. A recent New
York runesCBS News Poll showed that a
24-point gap between Republican men and
women on the question of whether President
Reagan should be re-elected 86 percent of
the men felt that Reagan deserved a second
term, but only 62 percent of women agreed.
Obviously," this apparent resentment could
be a great obstacle for Reagan should he
choose to run for re-election. Reagan had best
clean up his act with the women in this nation
lest they prove to be the nexus in his defeat.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Latin American Unrest
In Central America, chaos and U.S. politi
cal influence continues. In El Salvador, the
negotiations remain at a standstill thanks to
Richard Stone's apparently unsuccessful at
tempt to bring both guerillas and the Salva
doran government to the bargaining table.
Reports of yet another missing person in
Guatemala, disclosed this past week, show
that all is not well for the Rios Mott govern
ment. The disappearance of Lucretia Oreliana
Stormont, a lecturer at Guatemala's University
of San Carlos and the 34th person missing at
large, is indicative of a society where violence
and instability lurks just below the surface and
is a reflection of the shakiness of the Rios
Mott government itself.
The latest news in Honduras is that Presi
dent Reagan is escalating the attempt to use
Honduras as his unofficial training camp for
Salvadoran troops. . The Hondurahs worry
that their honor, among other things, is at
stake with a U.S. training base in their front
yard.
Elsewhere in Latin America, resistance to.
the military-backed and notedly repressive re
gime of Chile's Gen. Augusto Pinochet is sur
facing with increasing prominence. Not unex
pectedly, military personnel in the area remain
omnipresent.
On Sunday, the president of the Christian
Democratic Party and two other opposition
party presidents were jailed because they
sought a national protest against the govern
ment of Gen. Pinochet. Interesting,' especially
since the Christian Democratic Party is known
for its moderate political idealogy.
The Police Blotter
Closer to home, violence has been hard-
pressed lately to rear up and show its ugly
form .in the Chapel Hill vicinity. Not that it
hasn't tried. The city's double-trouble dual
elite law enforcement agencies, the Chapel Hill
Police Department and UNC's Campus Police,
successfully met two attempted burglaries
head on last week.
On Saturday, the alarm system at a new bar
becue restaurant on the bypass went off in
truder on the premises. Officers quickly formed
a dragnet and flushed the culprit from his hid
ing place beneath a table. Town and campus
cops joined forces in the effort, sporting a
style any SWAT team could be proud of.
A public safety officer's work is never done,
however. The next night, an alert employee
(perhaps a dishwasher?) at a Rosemary Street
Mexican restaurant spotted a stealthy, shad
owy form clamboring over the establishment's
fence. Police were quick to the scene, and they
arrested a 26-year-old would-be cat burglar.
It is truly reassuring to know we are in such
competent hands. Have one on us, fellahs.
Written by Ginie Lynch, associate editor, and
Jeff Hiday, editor.
a ,10,4 The Tar 3Heelf Thursday, July .14, 1S33