Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KENNY: FARMING FAT WITH FARM SUBSIDIES
FRIDAY,FEBRUARY 6,2009
COMING MONDAY
United States First Amendment
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Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
FREE FOR ALL
--natural doesn't really apply. Nature provides many things that can be both dangerous and unhealthy. The deadly fugu and sticks of organic butter are "all natural," yet no physician would recommended going on the butter-blowfish diet. We need to rely on logic and science, not nature, to help us determine what really is healthy.
To contribute to Free for All, visit Kansan.com or call (785) 864-0500.
My ears are larger than average.
--natural doesn't really apply. Nature provides many things that can be both dangerous and unhealthy. The deadly fugu and sticks of organic butter are "all natural," yet no physician would recommended going on the butter-blowfish diet. We need to rely on logic and science, not nature, to help us determine what really is healthy.
--natural doesn't really apply. Nature provides many things that can be both dangerous and unhealthy. The deadly fugu and sticks of organic butter are "all natural," yet no physician would recommended going on the butter-blowfish diet. We need to rely on logic and science, not nature, to help us determine what really is healthy.
The therapist on the Tyra Banks Show just said, "Invite your peeps."
You asked me for my sign, but I never got yours. Do we make a good match?
--natural doesn't really apply. Nature provides many things that can be both dangerous and unhealthy. The deadly fugu and sticks of organic butter are "all natural," yet no physician would recommended going on the butter-blowfish diet. We need to rely on logic and science, not nature, to help us determine what really is healthy.
The better to hear you with, my dear.
Electing Obama as president of the United States of America is an insult to the intelligence of the American
So almost 53 percent of those who voted in 2008 are an insult to American intelligence?
--natural doesn't really apply. Nature provides many things that can be both dangerous and unhealthy. The deadly fugu and sticks of organic butter are "all natural," yet no physician would recommended going on the butter-blowfish diet. We need to rely on logic and science, not nature, to help us determine what really is healthy.
No soup for you!
--natural doesn't really apply. Nature provides many things that can be both dangerous and unhealthy. The deadly fugu and sticks of organic butter are "all natural," yet no physician would recommended going on the butter-blowfish diet. We need to rely on logic and science, not nature, to help us determine what really is healthy.
To the girl throwing chocolates at boys on Valentine's day; where and when?
PAGE 5A
Ain't no seats!
So I walked into a bathroom at JuCo and realized it smelled like any sorority house on the KU campus — like alcohol and cheap perfume.
The girl who did the last roll-call at the Fieldhouse on Wednesday should probably do some HookedonPhonics.
Am I the only one who goes back on the Free for All page to see what I missed while I was asleep?
I just got news that Blink-182 was getting back together to present at the Grammys. Does this give any possible hint of them reuniting for good?
If you are my roommate, it's lame you're talking to me on Free for All. We're in the same
--natural doesn't really apply. Nature provides many things that can be both dangerous and unhealthy. The deadly fugu and sticks of organic butter are "all natural," yet no physician would recommended going on the butter-blowfish diet. We need to rely on logic and science, not nature, to help us determine what really is healthy.
To the guy sitting over there reading the paper: You're kind of nice
--natural doesn't really apply. Nature provides many things that can be both dangerous and unhealthy. The deadly fugu and sticks of organic butter are "all natural," yet no physician would recommended going on the butter-blowfish diet. We need to rely on logic and science, not nature, to help us determine what really is healthy.
To the beautiful biracial fellow who rode the 31st and Iowa Tuesday around 3:15 HI.
--natural doesn't really apply. Nature provides many things that can be both dangerous and unhealthy. The deadly fugu and sticks of organic butter are "all natural," yet no physician would recommended going on the butter-blowfish diet. We need to rely on logic and science, not nature, to help us determine what really is healthy.
I'm giving you a week. Sunday will be the tell-all day.
Boom. Roasted.
SCIENCE
'All-natural' food not necessarily nutritious
Fugu is a delicacy in Japan. It is large, gray blowfish prepared by the finest chefs and eaten by the bravest customers. The reason this succulent fish comes with a side of danger is because, if it is not prepared properly, eating it can kill you. The liver and gonads contain a toxin called tetrodotoxin, which, if eaten, will block nerves from firing, paralyze muscles, and kill by asphyxiation. Though most people would cringe at the thought of eating something that could also be their last meal, would they still order it if it were labeled as "all-natural"?
In many, that label inspires confidence in the health or safety of a product, but the adjective "natural" on products from cereal boxes to bottles of vitamins doesn't really guarantee any level of merit. "Natural" means only that what you are eating came from a natural source, and nature certainly isn't looking to do you any favors. Fugu fish, after all, are willing and able to enact their revenge on the humans who eat them.
What people really want is assurance that their food is safe and healthy, and whether something is
On the other hand, many artificial compounds work well as preservatives or drugs, keeping you from getting botulism from your food and treating you correctly if you do. New health foods go out of their way to state that they have been made with "no preservatives," but the only impact the consumer will see is the product's shortened shelf life. Preservatives keep bacteria and other bugs from eating our food before we do, which is one of the perks of being an industrialized nation. The consumer has nothing
to fear from preservatives. Because we are ingesting them in such minute concentrations, they have a negligible effect on us.
There are two authorities who should, and do, guide your health and safety choices: the Food and Drug Administration and your doctor. The former has a watchful eye over what gets sold in supermarkets, casting a large net in preventing anything harmful from entering the market, as well as recalling anything dangerous already being sold (for example, spinach with "all-natural" E. coli). The latter has a close relationship with your well-being and can tell you what your diet should contain, such as more Vitamin A or less cholesterol. This duo is really responsible for keeping all of us alive and healthy, and we should respect their opinions about any "all-natural" product. A quick purchase in the natural foods aisle at the grocery store cannot substitute for getting exercise and truly eating right.
EDITORIAL CARTOON
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Folmsbe is a Topeka junior in neurobiology.
NICHOLAS SAMBALUK
STUDENT LIFE
With opposing fans like these, we can just give up
The other night I was watching the Baylor game on television when, as ESPN typically does before a commercial break, the camera cut to the most raucous fans in all of Waco. Texas.
You see, this Baylor fan managed to mine two lodes of fundamental comic effectiveness. First, he derided what is our apparent inability to find our own butts with our hands.
That was when I saw it. The most brilliantly antagonistic sign I'd ever seen. Written not by mortal hands on mere poster board, nay, this sign was written by the gods themselves: forged of the finest composite recycled white papers in all the land, scrawled with markers of the most pure green and incandescent yellow ever created. This was no more ledger to announce that SportsCenter was coming up next. No. This was something of a more cosmic, divine inspiration.
"You're not in Kansas anymore!" Sheer, unadulterated, unmitigated brilliance.
"Wait — I'm not in Kansas anymore? But I thought — oh no, they just scored 50 points while I was distracted."
Second, he went straight for the
ANDREW NEUBAUER
jugular with a reference to a movie that came out before most of our parents were twinkles in our grandparents' eyes.
The sad truth is that people have thought of this joke many, many, many times before. It seems that every time someone thinks that it would make an instantly unforgettable sign, there's inevitably a cameraman nearby who finds the sign inspired and original. I've counted signs with the exact same phrase at least 12 times this school year. You would think the networks would stop rewarding this behavior.
At the Orange Bowl I counted no fewer than three signs that informed me that I was no longer in Kansas (admittedly I did, for a time, assume that Miami, Fla., was a few miles south of Coffeyville). At some point you would figure that the director would realize they played the same joke three times. He was probably too busy
"It's funny because it's true! They're NOT in Kansas! You see? Like the movie!"
doubled over in fits of hysterical laughter.
I should begin lurking at sporting events with a sign that says "This Joke hasn't been Funny Since 1939." Every time the cameras cut to someone with the sign, I will slow-motion dive in front and let the world know how I really feel: annoyed that people can't come up with anything better than the beat-to-death horse that is the "Wizard of Oz" joke.
I wonder whether Kansans get this kind of treatment anywhere else in the world. I can totally imagine Nancy Pelosi going down the roll in the House, when suddenly her eyes get just a bit ahead of the name she's calling. Impishly looking up from the list, she asks for Dennis Moore's attendance before belting out a mighty, "Hey Moore! You're not in Kansas anymore!"
She would bring the house down.
Neubauer is a Lynn Haven, Fla., senior in journalism.
STUDENT LIFE
Meet the 'man-child'
It's hard for me to expect guys to be particularly responsible, ambitious or monogamous. In my experience, very few young men have all these qualities and the ones who do are surely badgered by their friends. A "Nice Guy" will go to extremes to prove his manliness to friends through activities like beer Olympics. This peer pressure is only getting worse. But what I never knew is that this annoying trend is strongly influenced by women.
It seems these days that everything from magazines to box-office smashes are revolving around the crude behavior of males. Men glorifying their near-alcoholism, sleeping with as many women as possible and retaining immaturity far into adulthood are not only accepted, but embraced. How did guys get this way? When did a man in his mid-20s stop being consistently financially stable, with his own house and family, and turn into a video game-obsessed bar hopper living with fellow bachelors well after college?
What no one ever considered during the feminist movement of the 1970s or the "Girl Power" phase of the '90s were the potentially negative effects that the changing roles of women could have on men. Kay S. Kymowitz of the City Journal wrote a captivating piece on the "New Girl Order" — a distinct group of women in their twenties and early thirties characterized as hyper-achievers: They have college degrees, reside in urban areas and view marriage as an option, not a necessity. Currently, more women than men are attending college not only in the U.S., but also the U.K., Australia, Germany and other countries. Only 25 percent of 25-year-old women in 2000 were married with children, as opposed to 75 percent in 1970. The days of attending college for an MRS degree are quickly dying out, but rather than compete with women for jobs or each other for a lovely and intelligent
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RICHELLE BUSER
>
Kymowitz calls them "Man-Children." A typical Man-Child likely has or is obtaining a college degree, and lives with pals in an apartment decorated with posters of half-naked girls. He has a love affair with a favorite sports team, avoids meaningful relationships at all costs, never misses an episode of South Park, and idolizes professional Man-Children such as Tucker Maxx. He sounds like basically every guy I know. Their mentality: Without marriage, a house mortgage, kids, etc., what's the rush in growing up?
After looking at it in this perspective, I quickly gained clarity on the traits I hear girls gripe about most when it comes to relationships: "He was so drunk he threw up in my bed last night." "He said he doesn't remember, but he made out with her in front of me." "He's a sixth-year senior, but he had a rough semester — or four." Not the most appealing qualities, but I must admit Man-Children aren't completely terrible. They can be good fun as friends, even if they're a nightmare to date, and with boys sleeping off hangovers until 4 p.m., girls are getting an even bigger jump-start on the future. Bottom line, guys are really only harming themselves. Ladies, let them skip class to smoke pot and play Halo until their eyes bleed. We'll be busy taking over the world, then getting married (to someone at least a decade older) when we're bored.
Buser is a Columbia, III., junior in journalism and English.
lady's hand, young men have decided to extend adolescence for as long as possible.
Freedom versus fear-mongering
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Don't take my word for it, read the actual legislation: "It is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right
She misrepresents the legislation by suggesting that it would put a variety of restrictions on everyone from medical professionals to state governments. Instead, FOCA lifts the restrictions anti-choice legislators have put on a woman's right to choose since the Roe v. Wade decision.
On Jan. 29 The Kansan ran a letter to the editor about the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) that started out by talking about the "very scary American future" that the writer believes FOCA represents. She began in that way for one very simple reason: Opponents of the Freedom of Choice Act are trying to scare people.
to choose to bear a child, to terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability, or to terminate a pregnancy after fetal viability when necessary to protect the life or health of the woman."
If Tara Elpers is against abortion, it is her right to choose not to have one. It is not her right to make that decision for anyone else. All FOCA does is ask us to trust women with their own lives. I am almost always willing to choose freedom over fear-mongering. That's why I support FOCA.
FOCA is about making sure that women have control over their own bodies by stopping undue governmental interference with what is quite possibly the most personal decision a woman could ever have to make.
Andrea Peterson is a junior from Manhattan
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansas Editorial Board are
Brenna Hawley, Tara Smith, Mary Sorick, Soren
Hayes and Ross Stewart
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