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kind of letter that so many people write. I very rarely do that. If I don't have a position, I might write that; but I have a position on most things that are of importance and are before the Congress, because I try to keep up with the issues. So I will write to people: “No, I have an expertise in this area, and I don't think that your opinion is right,” and I'll try to educate them. On the other hand, might be persuaded that I really don't know as much as I think I know, and I will change my position. I've done that.
Some kid in my office -- I call him a kid, he's 25, an intern during the summer -- persuaded me I was wrong on an issue. We can talk about that if you'd like. I changed my position and I sent out 300 letters to people I had told I had a position which was contrary to the one that they were advocating. It had to do with commissaries. Ford had proposed that we close up the commissaries and not allow those that had retired from the military to use the commissaries, which gives them about a 20% reduction in their food costs. And I thought, “Well, why should we continue the commissaries and give them a reduction?” This kid, who was the son of a retired captain in the Navy, persuaded me that that was one of the things that they relied on when they stayed in the reserves and went into the Army and the armed forces and the Navy. This was one of the benefits, and to take it away from them after they had relied on it was wrong. I agreed with him. And so I sent a letter to the 3- or 400
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