6 OPINION WWW.KANSAN.COM/OPINION/ THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN Tell us your opinion Contact the Kansan at editor@kansan.com or call 864-4854. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 2003 Free for All Call 864-0500 Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansen editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded. For more comments, go to www.kansan.com If a woman really, really, really knows she does not want to have children, it would actually be cheaper for her to have her uterus removed than for her to buy tampons every month. Just thought everyone needed to know that I Uh, hi. I just want to say how ironic it is: KU built a new sports center but cannot pay student employees to keep open the Robinson Gymnasium, the old sports center. Today one of the construction workers drove a truck into a ditch. How sad is that? Do we really want these guys replacing the water main? Thanks. 图 Is it just me or did nobody go home for summer? It takes me just as long to cross town now as it does in the fall. Crikay, people! 满意 Summer Free for All: I want it, and it wants me. That should be the slogan. 宣 It's not drinking and driving unless you get caught. 能 You look like the Fourth of July and it makes me want a hot dog real bad. Free for All! Free for All! Wood! 扁 新 Free for All rules, with e Z and two O's. Will this get in? Will this get in? STINSON'S VIEW Zach Stinson for The University Daily Kansas SUBMITTING LETTERS AND GUEST COLUMNS The Kansan welcomes letters to the editors and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni. GUEST COLUMN GUIDELINES The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions. Maximum Length: 650 word limit Include: Author's name Class, hometown (student) Position (faculty member) LETTER GUIDELINES Maximum Length: 200 word limit Include: Author's name Author's telephone number Class, hometown (student) Position (faculty member) PERSPECTIVE E-mail: opinion@kansan.com SUBMITTO HIT TO Hard copy: Kansas newsroom 111 Stuaffer-Flint U.S. should listen to European nations In Belgium, they sell waffles in vending machines. It's one of many subtle differences between the United States and this country, which is located in the middle of Europe and bordered by France, Germany, Luxembourg and Holland. COMMENTARY Henry C. Jackson editor@hansan.com The waffle, aside from being a utilitarian confection that people here munch on for breakfast, lunch, dessert and occasionally dinner, also is a subtle illustration of the chasm between the United States and Belgium. Americans take pride in many things - their flag, their athletics, their particular breed of democracy and, for some (though not this columnist), their regime changing and nation building. But, alas, nothing as simple and pleasurable as a waffle. See, Belgium might be small, but it's a prideful nation too. And waffles, love them or leave them, are one of this nation's great successes. Want a quick test? Ask the next person you see what the first that pops into their mind is when you say "Belgium" or "Belgian." There's a lot more that Americans should know about Belgium than waffles. Belgium, for instance, is the center of the increasingly united and powerful European Union and the home of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's central command, of which the United States is one of the its most important members. Culturally, Belgium is, though often overshadowed by its neighbors France and Germany, among the best destinations in Europe for cuisine, art, ambiance and beer. Belgian chocolate is, debatably, the best in Europe - though the Swiss might argue. And, well, Belgians swear French fries were born there, too. Belgians maintain that frites, as fries are referred to in French-speaking countries, were not invented by the French. Though the potato was popularized by, among others, the Irish and Antoine August Parmentier—a confirmed Frenchman—the story goes that it was, in fact, a Belgian who first made the fateful drop of potato into boiling a vat of fat. It's Belgium and Europe's stance on another high cholesterol issue, the role of the Western nations in the rebuilding of Iraq, which gives pause, however. Much has been made of the so-called lack of loyalty to the United States shown by European countries such as Germany and France. Some Belgians even used an obscure Belgian law to file a war crimes complaint against U.S. General Tommy Franks. Living in Belgium, you can tell it takes a lot to rile up the masses. This country's passivity and lack of action are the stuff of legend and the butt of many a joke. So, however frivolous, the war crimes charges brought against Franks, they are an important reminder that the United States has severely damaged its relations in Europe. But why care about Europe? For starters, because the United States needs all the help it can get. The United States seems to have only two types of friends these days: Those who agree with everything they say (Britain being the biggest) and those who it fears not having --- CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE