Ultimate70s.com: 1970's History Day By Day

This Day In 1970's History: Tuesday December 8, 1981

President Reagan began budget talks and the process of deciding what steps -- all politically distasteful -- he should take to reduce the deficit for the next fiscal year from its newly projected record total of $152 billion. Amid discord on what course to follow, the White House said that "little can be done" now to reduce the projected record deficit of $109 billion in the current fiscal year. [New York Times] A costly farm bill was approved by a House-Senate conference after more than a month of haggling. The compromise, which would cost taxpayers at least $11 billion over four years, marked a qualified victory for President Reagan in his effort to slow non-military spending. [New York Times] Thirteen coal miners were killed as an explosion collapsed a mine shaft in the Tennessee mountains, the authorities reported. It was the third mine accident in the Appalachian coalfields in the last five days. [New York Times] Student religious groups were upheld by the Supreme Court. Voting 8 to 1, the Justices ruled that a public university that permitted student groups to meet on campus for secular activities must also allow students to meet for worship and religious study. [New York Times] Many ex-Green Berets sell their skills to unfriendly governments and repessive regimes, according to federal law enforcement officials and former Green Berets. They said that the specially trained men were often recruited by fellow veterans of the Army Special Forces who contended, apparently falsely, that the missions had been sanctioned by the C.I.A. [New York Times]

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