4
Monday, February 8,1993
OPINION UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
IN OUR OPINION
Legislature should look at outdated liquor laws
The controversy surrounding the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages has been a concern since the early days of Kansas' statehood. With the prohibition of the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages in 1880, Kansas began its strong tradition of prohibitionist policies and its desire to be a dry state. Although there have been obvious changes since the stringent laws and attitudes of that time, the Legislature has made very few substantial modifications in its alcohol regulations. The attitudes and economy of the state have evolved, yet the Legislature has failed to review or modify its inadequate policies.
Many of the current deficiencies in the state's alcohol policy stem from the Liquor Control Act of 1949. This legislation, perhaps sufficient at one time, is now struggling to accommodate the needs of today's alcohol industry. One of its most recognized downfalls is the prohibition of the retail sale of liquor on Sundays.
Without any concrete rationale or practical reasoning, the state is still using an outdated mentality to influence and control the sale of alcohol in today's market. Due to the fact that liquor is available on Sundays in bars, clubs, and restaurants, the message that the state is sending is both unclear and contradictory. By allowing liquor to be served in some establishments, yet restricting its sale in others, the state is merely providing an inconvenience and an obstacle to the public instead of a true deterrent. Inevitably, those people who want a drink on Sunday will have a drink on Sunday.
The Liquor Control Act was also responsible for the creation of the Alcoholic Beverage Control, known as the ABC. Originally established to enforce the package sales of liquor in the state, the ABC has since had its powers broadened to monitor all aspects involved in the sale of liquor. The ABC is also responsible for the laws that limit the sale of liquor from retail outlets.
At the time of its creation, the ABC lacked the resources to monitor a large number of sales locations. Therefore, it limited the number of outlets available, claiming that this would provide a more effective means of sales control to underage buyers. This, however, was fifty years ago. Considering the growth of the ABC, as well as the stagnation in availability of locations for liquor sales, it seems the resources now available would allow an expansion of the market. It would make sense for the Legislature to provide a more convenient means of purchase for the public.
Due to decades of neglect and a stubborn insistence to avoid change, the policies of the Kansas Legislature have become outdated and burdensome, both to industry and to consumers. The current alcohol beverage laws rarely reflect the realities of the 1990s, but instead cling to the attitudes and concerns of the 1940s. Recent efforts to regulate alcohol have been nothing more than short-term solutions for long-term problems. It is time for the Legislature to stop hiding behind the patchwork of laws it calls an alcohol policy and reexamine its faltering stance.
MICHAEL TAYLOR FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Kansan Editorial Board:
Kris Belden, Greg Farmer, Vered Hankin, Jeff Hays, Val Huber, Kyle Kickhaefer, Stephen Martino, Jolina Mathews, Colleen McCain, Martaga McCloud, Chris Moeser, Simon Naldoza, Jeff Reynolds, Chris Ronan, and Michael Taylor
Kansan Columnists:
Steve Chapman, J.R. Clairborne, Lisa Cosmillo, Francesca Glyn-Jones, Andrew Gilman, Cecile Julian, Ann Jurcyk, Marvin McNett, Shelly Solon, and Julie Wasson
Clinton's abortion policy turns him into a feminazi
with mental and physical problems.
Many women do not know of the services that provide free emotional and medical expenses. I guess not telling women about the choices available to them makes the decision easier. How convenient for the doctors that make a killing on abortion.
Thanks to Clinton, women will not be told the information people should have before a medical procedure, like the risks. Women should be told that during an abortion there is a risk that their uterus may be punctured or that they may become sterile. And if they do become pregnant they are much more likely to have a tubal pregnancy. There is also the near certainty that they will suffer post-abortion syndrome. Legality does not equal safety. Since abortion was legalized, seven times the number of women have died from abortions.
There seems to be a lot of Rush Limbaugh experts at KU, so maybe you all could help me. I'm still unclear about some of the parameters surrounding his terminology. You all have astually defined a feminazi "as an individual whose sole goal is to have as many abortions performed as possible." Fine. I understand the connection between abortion and a Nazi mentality. After all, the racist, eugenic agenda of Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, is well documented.
There is also the Freedom of Choice Act still looming. So my question still remains: Is Clinton a feminazi? I find this particularly puzzling for a man who is himself a product of a crisis pregnancy. A man who in his inaugural speech said he wanted less talk about rights and more talk about responsibility. A man whose running mate said in a debate against Dan Quayle that he and Clinton wanted fewer and fewer abortions.
Fewer abortions? As far as I can tell, since Clinton has been in office, he has done nothing but insure that the number of abortions only continues to increase.
Ann Jurczyk in the Kansas City, Kan., graduate student majoring in liberal arts.
Further, if I have him correct, I agree with Rush — there should be a distinction between feminists and feminazis. If feminists work to help women, I do not understand how they could be for abortion. Abortion does not help women. It hurts them. This is the point that the feminists, including Susan B. Anthony, Victoria Woodhill, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Matilda Gage, recognize. Thus they actively worked against abortion as part of their goal to aid women.
Hillary Clinton has the right to serve in the administration
Defined as the few moments before people start throwing the vegetables
The Kansan was wrong to criticize the appointment of Hillary Clinton to a position in her husband's administration.
KANSAAN STAFF
GREG FARMER
Editor
GAYLE OSTERBERG
Managing editor
TOM ELENL
General manager, news adviser
BILL SKEET, Technology coordinator
Editors
Asst Managing ... Justin Knupp
News ... Monique Guisalain
David Mitchell
Editorial ... Stephen Martino
Campus ... KC Trauer
Sports ... David Mitchell
Photo ... Mark Rowlande
Features ... Lynne McAdow
Graphics ... Dan Schauer
Business Staff
Campus sales mgr ... Brad Breon
Regional Sales mgr ... Wade Baster
National sales mgr ... Jennifer Porter
Co-op sales mgr ... Ashley Hessel
Production mgrs ... Amy Stumbo
... Ashley Langford
Marketing director ... Angela Clevenger
Creative director ... Holly Perry
Classified mgr ... Bill Turner
Art Director ... Dave Haiker
Letters should be typed, double spaced and fewer than 200 words. They must include the writer's signature, name, address and telephone number. Writers affiliated with the University of Kansas include class and bureaucrats, or faculty or staff cognition.
Guest columns should be typed, double spaced and fewer than 700 words. The writer will be photographed.
The Kansas reserves the right to reject or edit letters, guest columns and cartoons. They can be masked or brought to the Kansas newsroom, 111 Statford Flint Hall.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
While many feminists are bent on abortion rights, it wasn't always this way. In "Sisterhood is Powerful," Robin Morgan does not see abortion as a feminist issue — she barely mentions it in the book's 577 pages. The "feminization of the abortion movement" was a clever public relations ploy by Planned Parenthood, which came later. Could it be that there is nothing ultimately liberating about abortion? Since 1973, in the 20 years of legalized abortion, there have been more than 30 million abortions (4400 a day). Despite this staggering number, women constitute the fastest growing group in poverty. Child
Fact. During Clinton's first Friday in office, 225,000 people marched to the White House and the Capitol grounds to protest Roe vs. Wade. But ignoring his pledge to be a president of the people, Clinton refused to acknowledge this committed crowd. As the march proceeded, he signed a pro-choice executive order.
Why shouldn't Bill Clinton use his wife in the administration? Hillary Clinton has a history involving the issue of health-care policy and more importantly, she has an agenda. She knows what needs to be done, and she knows how to get it done. She
Fact: Another part of Clinton's executive order no longer requires abortion clinics to give women information about the risks or about alternatives such as adoption. Many women do not know of the two million couples waiting to adopt, or the 20,000 couples willing to adopt babies
Clinton was elected with a movement toward change. If this change grants competent people the opportunity to serve this nation, then I don't see the problem.
With this appointment, Clinton is being very honest with the public about his wife's role. An administrative appointment may have kept Rosalynn Carter from nosing her way into cabinet meetings when her husband was president.
This may not have amounted to a hill of beans, but cliches are overused, yet we still use them to communicate. I guess that's just the way the cookie crumbles.
Sarah Stewart Wichita senior
Andrew Gilman is a Norman, Oka., sophomore majoring in English.
STAFF COLUMNIST
So while I think I understand the need to distinguish between feminists and feminazis, what I am not so sure about is who is included in this force. Namely, is Bill Clinton one of them? There is a debate in feminist studies about whether a man can truly be a feminist. Does this same debate extend to the ranks of feminazis?
abuse, sexual abuse and rape also are on the rise. Weren't these problems justifications for terminating unwanted pregnancy? Perhaps we need more abortions. Thirty million are not enough.
political appointment because of her marital status.
You said it yourself, Hillary Clinton is intelligent. She was not given this role because she is the president's wife. She was given the authority because she is a competent individual. Clinton would be stupid not to use her. I think it is safe to point out that if a Democrat other than Clinton had won the presidency, Hillary Clinton may well have become the nation's first woman attorney general. She did not get a
goes beyond the hand-shaking politics that her husband practices. Hillary Clinton will be able to make significant progress with a troubling issue.
We might have won the battle but we haven't won the war, so don't count your chickens, or even bite the hand that feeds you, because it's not over till it's over. Behind the scenes, or in other words, what's happening is once in a blue moon we need to look before we leap, and think about what we are saying. How can we make a point if we're always hot under the collar, because we all know that a rolling stone gathers no moss, and this just isn't lip service either. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, take heed and realize communication solves the worlds problems. If this doesn't ring a bell, or you think out of sight, out of mind, realize it all about being understood. This is far from my swan song, but it's time to raise Cain, not bite the dust, look alive and face the writing on the wall.
STAFF COLUMNIST
ANDREW GILMAN Cliches are greener on other side of the fence
Let's just sleep on it, and if you happen to wake up on the wrong side of the bed, don't worry, we'll be happy, eventually you'll see the light. Maybe I just have a screw loose or have lost some of my marbles, or maybe my head is just in the clouds, but I believe that society is on the right path, and come what may, through thick and thin we should see this to the end.
Take this with a grain of salt. One thing that is as clear as day is that the pen is mightier than the sword. Because every time we turn around, we realize that it is a jungle out there. What it all boils down to is that clutches are one form of communication that is overused.
1906 FM
We all know that an honest day's work earns an honest day's pay, but these days the way the ball has been bouncing we're lucky to get one red cent, or even a pretty penny. All we really have to do is practice what we preach and understand that it's not the end of the world. In fact, it's really like we are on cloud nine.
No one has to be the fall guy here. We're all in this together. To communicate, we all need to be on the same page because if we're not we could be between a rock and a hard place. It's not like I'm letting the cat out of the bag, and mum certainly is not the word, for this is no laughing matter, but it is the last straw. We need to communicate and the sooner the better, but always better late than never, because the time is now, and change can be within our grasp.
As luck would have it, right here right now is the time to lay it on the line and do the right thing. Everyone should just keep their shirts on, be calm, cool and collected, and when it's all said and done, we as a people will stand together and realize that from time to time, words do hurt more than sticks and stones.
Rome wasn't built in a day, and it's going to take time, but it goes without saying that if we beat around the bush it could cost us an arm and a leg. Life is short, play hard, just do it. Hey, actions speak louder than words, and although words may never hurt you, you'll find what comes around goes around. Remember nothing ventured is nothing gained.