ustxtxb_obs_1989_01_06_50_00002-00000_000.pdf

o -=-4-AIVNI,I.-”” w 1′ :.11 _:r.. -4 1 jobm E TEXAS A JOURNAL OF We will serve no group or party the truth as we find it and the are dedicated to the whole above all interests, to the rights foundation of democracy; we none but our own conscience, look or misrepresent the truth the powerful or cater to the ignoble Writers are responsible for for anything they have not themselves publishing them we do not necessarily agree with them because this SINCE r.7 . server if ..-k a 4k. , -L_.. milli-___: FREE VOICES but will hew hard to right as we see it. We truth, to human values of humankind as the will take orders from and never will we over to serve the interests of in the human spirit. their own work, but not written, and in imply that we is a journal of free voices. 1954 Publisher: Ronnie Dugger Editor: Dave Denison Associate Editor: Louis Dubose Editorial Intern: Gregg Watkins Calendar: Elisa Lyles Washington Correspondent: Richard Ryan Contributing Writers: Bill Adler, Betty Brink, Warren Burnett, Jo Clifton, John Henry Faulk, Terry FitzPatrick, Gregg Franzwa, Bill Helmer, James Harrington, Amy Johnson, Michael King, Mary Lenz, Dana Loy, Tom McClellan, Greg Moses, Rick Piltz, Gary Pomerantz, John Schwartz, Michael Ventura, Lawrence Walsh Editorial Advisory Board: Frances Barton, Austin; Elroy Bode, Kerrville; Chandler Davidson, Houston; Bob Eckhardt, Washington, D.C.; Sissy Farenthold, Houston; Ruperto Garcia, Austin; John Kenneth Galbraith, Cambridge, Mass.; Lawrence Goodwyn, Durham, N.C.; George Hendrick, Urbana, Ill.; Molly Ivins, Austin; Larry L. King, Washington, D.C.; Maury Maverick, Jr., San Antonio; Willie Morris, Oxford, Miss.; Kaye Northcott, Austin; James Presley, Texarkana; Susan Reid, Austin; Geoffrey Fred Schmidt, Fredericksburg; Robert Sherrill, Tallahassee, Fla. Layout and Design: Layne Jackson Typesetter: Becky Willard Contributing Photographers: Vic Hinterlang, Bill Leissner, Alan Pogue. Contributing Artists: Eric Avery, Tom Ballenger, Richard Bartholomew, Jeff Danziger, Beth Epstein, Dan Hubig, Pat Johnson, Kevin Kreneck, Carlos Lowry, Ben Sargent, Dan Thibodeau, Gail Woods. Managing Publisher: Cliff Olofson Subscription Manager: Stefan Wanstrom Publishing Assistant: Joe Espinosa Jr. Development Consultant: Frances Barton THE for a three-week interval between issues in January and July \(25 issues per 7th Street, postage paid at Austin. Texas. POSTMASTER: Send form 3579 to P.O. Box 49019, Austin, Texas 78765 SUBSCRIPTIONS: One year $27, two years $48, three years 569. Fulltime students $15 per year. Back issues S3 prepaid. Airmail, foreign, group, and bulk rates on request. Microfilm editions available from University Microfilms Intl., 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Any current subscriber who finds the price a burden should say so at renewal time; no one need forgo reading the Observer simply because of the cost. Address all correspondence to: The Te.vas Observer, 307 West 7th Street, Austin, Texas 78701. Sensible and Wise I can’t do very much to support the Observer, as The Progressive and Washington Spectator need help, too. And then all the charities, and Common Cause and Nicaragua, etc., etc. However, your editorial supporting Dukakis was so sensible and wise \(I sent to make this gesture check enclosed. Helen Rubar Bath, New York Cruel Remark Bob Sobel’s rebuttal to James Harrington’s criticism of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians \(TO, ballpark of give and take debate until, after suggesting the Israelis might all be killed in a “blood bath,” Sobel asked, “I am curious to know if Mr. Harrington would show remorse.” What an insulting and cruel question to ask about Harrington, a lawyer who has devoted his life to fair play and constitutional liberty. The Harringtons and the Sobels \(and the on such issues as free speech, due process, racial justice, and separation of church and state. I would be more kind to Jim Harrington. Malay Maverick, Jr. San Antonio Prisoner Deaths in Custody In your endorsements of the candidates for the Judiciary \(TO, that “in his valedictory legislative session Doggett passed bills . . . requiring reports [to the Attorney General] on prisoners’ deaths in custody.” I thought you might be interested in a recent law passed on the national level that was based on this legislation sponsored by former Senator Lloyd Doggett and former Representative \(and now San Antonio City In the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, Congress requires states to report annually “the number of juveniles who died in custody and the circumstances under which they died.” Gary Bledsoe with Attorney General Jim Mattox’s Office forwarded and explained the details of the Texas law to the Congressional Subcommittee over the JJDPA reauthorization. For the past five years, General Mattox and Mike Feary, the staff member who handles the reports, have done a good job in implementation. Jeff McFarland with Congressman Dale Kildee and the Subcommittee on Human Resources used this Texas information in the formulation of a staff recommendation that was unanimously approved by the Subcommittee in the JJDPA reauthorization. Of course, simply gathering data on deaths in custody is only the first step toward preventing these deaths. In Texas, Rep. Larry Q. Evans has been pushing for more investigation and even prosecution by the Attorney General for those responsible for prisoner deaths. Hopefully, this new federal law will continue to follow Texas’ lead by considering follow-up investigation \(and deaths in custody. Texas should be proud of its pioneering legislation on this most important issue. Charles Sullivan Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants Washington, D. C. Public Appeal Tom McClellan is trying to process what must be considerable pain and unhappiness in his personal life with his silly political arguing that is a very thin disguise to the trained eye. I did the same thing for many years but I finally got the kind of help I needed. Now my writing has public appeal at times and I occasionally get published. When it is not up to par, editors do not impose it on the public. I suggest the Texas Observer apply the same standard to McClellan. My family has faithfully subscribed to the Observer for many years. In addition, there have been some proud moments when articles authored by my father appeared in its pages. But if the below-standard composition that has characterized the recent McClellan submissions is going to continue, I will be less inclined to say I enjoy reading the Observer much less mention that my father has been published there. Alex de Schweinitz Beaumont The Observer welcomes comments from readers. Short letters \(two or three “Dialogue”, The Texas Observer, 307 W. 7th, Austin, TX 78701. DIALOGUE 2 JANUARY 6, 1989