NSAN
009
Opinion
HARTZ: HOW TO VET YOUR POTENTIAL ROOMMATE
COMING TUESDAY
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2009
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That party last night was awfully crazy...
I didn't drunk call or text anyone this weekend. Now THAT is growing up.
I really need to learn not to drink so much that I spend the entire next day hungover.
--ship that is not coming at the best time.
I am so over the college party scene
I feel like a dollar-fifty.
Our neighbors can calm down. The squirrel was gross and we won't eat another one.
--ship that is not coming at the best time.
I just want to stay in PJs and cuddle all day...
Wow, I DON'T want to do this research paper, but I kind of want a college degree. Hmmm, decisions, decisions. And then there's always MarioKart.
So we're Facebook friends now. When's the wedding date?
Should trandomly kiss this girl wearing a "Kiss Me, I'm a Jawkah" shirt?
--ship that is not coming at the best time.
--ship that is not coming at the best time.
I want some pumpkin pie!
I just want my teacher to know that I would gladly pay money if I could get an "A" and never have to come to class again.
--ship that is not coming at the best time.
--ship that is not coming at the best time.
I support "Untied Students."
Dear professors: The point of a test is not to fail your students. It is to make sure that you are doing your job. Sincerely, Disgruntled student who is failing, yet hard-working.
My friend and I were pondering why alcohol was not free, and then we decided that cows should make vodka. Someone should get on that.
My iPod was on shuffle, and three Backstreet Boys songs just came on in a row. What a
I successfully got my mom, a hard-core K-State fan, to buy a KU Mom shirt. I consider my life complete now.
--ship that is not coming at the best time.
Stalin was kind of an asshole
EDITORIAL BOARD
NICHOLAS SAMBALUK
Sebelius' experience will help as Secretary of Health
On March 2, President Barack Obama officially announced his nomination of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius for the Cabinet position of Secretary of Health and Human Services. Sebelius served six years as governor following eight-years as State Insurance Commissioner. Her experience with health care and working across party lines would be an important asset to
Sebelius' nomination is an honor for her and for Kansas, but it also means a transition in state leadership that is
As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sebelius would work with President Obama on reforming the health care system by cutting insurance costs, expanding coverage and improving the quality of health care. She would also oversee Medicare and Medicaid programs and federal agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug
Administration.
While Sebelius served as Insurance Commissioner in 2002, she opposed the takeover of BlueCross Blueshield of Kansas, the state's largest health insurance company, by Indianapolis-based Anthem Insurance Cos. Inc. Sebelius argued that the purchase would have increased premiums for Kansans.
KANSAN'S
OPINION
Lt. Gov, Mark Parkinson will serve as governor for the remainder of Sebelius' term, but he said he would not
run for governor when the term expires in 2010. Parkinson said in a press release last week that Sebelius would remain in office until she was confirmed and that "in the interim, I will continue to be focused on the budget and other issues."
The state's budget problems reached a climax two weeks ago when Republicans in the Legislature forced Sebelius to approve a budget for 2010 before agreeing to release funds from
healthy state accounts to pay state employees. Parkinson would be entering the governorship in the middle of this crisis.
There has been speculation that Sebelius may have planned to run for the U.S. Senate seat that will be vacated by Republican Sen. Sam Brownback in 2010. Brownback recently announced his candidacy for the 2010 gubernatorial race. Chris Harris, communications director for the Kansas Democratic Party, said although the media liked to speculate about the senate race, there was no foundation for the assumption.
"The party never assumed Gov. Sebelius would run," Harris said.
Although the state may suffer when Sebelius leaves Kansas for Washington, her nomination for a Cabinet position is still and honor for the state. Her experience with Kansas health care and her ability to work across party lines should serve her well in her new position.
Samantha Foster for The Kansan Editorial Board
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Last week's items you might have missed. Check out Kansan.com Roundup for full stories.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The number of executive positions open at the University now that Richard Lariviere, executive vice chancellor and provost, is the finalist for president of the University of Oregon. Chancellor Robert Hemenway will be stepping down at the end of June. Lariviere has been at the University of Kansas since 2006.
THE CONTEXT
Weston White/KANSAN
The number of consecutive Big 12 Conference regular season championships the Jayhawks have won. The 83-73 victory against Texas on Saturday gave Kansas sole possession of the conference title.
The date ending to open currently closed streets around the Oread Inn. The city commission decided to keep the present roadblocks as well as additional streets closed until December.
Weston White/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
THE CONTEXT
THE CONTEXT
The amount of money available for distribution by Student Senate in upcoming hearings. Last Tuesday, Student Body President Adam McGonigle suspended Student Senate Treasurer Alex Porte. Porte will not be able to attend the allocation hearings. McGonigle suspended Porte after Porte released a memo to The Kansan in which McGonigle outlined his plan adjusting student fees.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
PAGE 7A
Weston White/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
THE CONTEXT
The number of years fraternities and sororites have put on the Rock Chalk Revue, which was held this weekend. Students wrote, directed and performed skills for the theme "In the Nick of Time" to celebrate the revue's 60th anniversary.
Weston White/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
THE CONTEXT
The number of years the University has sponsored women's athletics. Alumni and students participated in celebrations honoring the 40th anniversary. As part of the events, Marlene Mawson, former coach of basketball, volleyball, softball, field hockey and tennis, was inducted into the Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame.
POLITICS
Goodbyes to the governor
After a successful six-year run, "The Kathy Sebelus Show" is going off the airwaves. Here's why that's a good thing:
2. The party-switching strategy is over. To attract moderate voters, Kansas Democrats brought prominent Republican politicians into the fold. Both of Sebelius' running mates and former Attorney General Paul Morrison switched parties to run for office. But talk about a failed strategy. Neither Parkinson nor his predecessor, John Moore, will have served more than his initial four-year term, and Morrison resigned amidst a sex scandal. Finally, Democrats will have to look for a new plan.
1. Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson's not running for anything. Although there is concern from both parties about the former state Republican Party chair turned Democrat being the next governor, Parkinson's withdrawal from running next year will allow him to make decisions that are in Kansas' best interests.
3. 2010 can be a real race! With heavyweight Sen. Sam Brownback and his competition, four-term Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh, running on the Republican side, a real Democratic challenger could emerge. Sebelius' departure might allow many new faces a spot in the limelight.
Surely departing Gov. Kathleen Sebelius found time during the past year to boot up TurboTax. Right?
Perhaps it's safe to imagine that Sebelius won't be the fourth Cabinet appointee to exit in a cloud of shame. Still, her transition brings with it two perspectives.
These are prime times to bail, be it for CEOs sailing into retirement, a chancellor waving goodbye or a provost taking a promotion on the West Coast. KU students can be forgiven for feeling left behind. After all, state employees' pay and our income tax returns hung in the balance last month in a grapple about the budget.
A second way to look at this is that she couldn't pass up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It's not every day one sees a layhawk in the White House. It is easy to hastily decry her decision but there's always that outside chance that there is no conspiracy behind the move.
Health care reform may be one of Gov. Sebelius' main policy objectives as the new Secretary
of Health and Human Services, but she will also become a new leader of the nation's scientific endeavors. She will oversee a variety of scientific governmental organizations, from the Centers for Disease Control to the Food and Drug Administration. But most importantly to the scientific community, she will supervise the National Institutes of Health, the agency in charge of promoting America's medical research.
Sebelius will need to provide the leadership for basic and specialized research, which are both necessary to promote the growth of new technologies and ideas. These grants will not only provide a surge of scientific advancement, but the resulting innovations may help catalyze economic growth.
Sebelius is set to veto, for the fourth time, state legislation that would allow two large coal-fired power plants to be built in Holcomb. The question looming before everyone is: What happens if she goes to Washington first?
The answer seems promising: The person taking her place will be Mark Parkinson, who The Kansas City Star says "is the stronger opponent of the plants." But it's unknown whether Parkinson has the political capital to corral enough votes to sustain the veto. In the end, the question only reminds us how important it is that our voices are heard. As the nation moves forward on climate change, we need to start looking forward to clean energy solutions that create green jobs in Kansas.
I don't read the newspaper, so when somebody asked me how I felt about "Kansas losing a great leader," I felt absolutely blind-sided. Then I feel like shouting at the top of my lungs:
"Why is Steve Walsh leaving as the lead singer of the seminal progressive rock group Kansas!!!!!"
Why would he leave thousands, nay, millions of fans hanging? "Carry On, Wayward Son" will never be the same without Walsh's spellbinding tenor! "Dust In The Wind" just won't bring out the lighters the way it did in the 70! And they have other songs, too!
After asking around, I learned Walsh is leaving to join something called the Department of Heath and Human Services. That's the crappiest band name I've ever heard. If Steve Walsh thinks I'm going to become a huge fan of this new project just because he's Steve Walsh, he's got another thing coming!
I mean, yeah, I'll buy their album and go to their concerts, but I will NOT follow them throughout their entire tour the way I did with Kansa! "no, sir!"
Probably just their Midwest dates.
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