4
Wednesday, January 12, 1994
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
President should disclose Whitewater documents
Watergate it ain't. President Clinton's dealings in a failed Arkansas business venture are hardly fodder for a respectable Washington scandal. Clinton needs to keep it that way.
By supporting the appointment of an independent counsel and cooperating with that individual, Clinton can keep his presidency on track and pull the plug on Whitewater for good.
The first step toward quelling the controversy appointing independent counsel is not Clinton's to take. But it is a move he should endorse. With a bill designed to provide guidelines for such appointments already approved in the Senate and moving through the House, the question isn't will there be an independent investigation, but when?
The answer should be. "Now.
The disclosure of all documents related to the Whitewater venture should come next. Although these papers were given to the Justice Department, their subpoenaed status has elicited calls of cover-up from Clinton's critics. By making the papers public, he could please the press and quiet the Congressional cannibalism that is running rampant in Washington.
As Clinton nears the end of his first year as president, retaining his credibility has never been so important. With a list of first-year accomplishments second only to that of President Eisenhower, there are many things he still would like to do. He will get them done, but not without the support of Congress and the American people. And not without their trust.
So let the counsel be selected. Let the papers be inspected. With the truth about Whitewater out in the open, the speculation and accusations will disappear like water down the drain.
SAMANTHA ADAMS FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Commercials should stress condom's failure rates
By producing and airing new commercials promoting condom use, the national Centers for Disease Control and the major television networks have shown a commitment to public safety. However, the issue these commercials fail to address is that condoms are not fool-proof and the only 100 percent sure means of protection from AIDS is abstinence.
With condoms marching across television screens all over the country, it is apparent that the times are changing. We have entered an era where it is not only practical, but absolutely necessary that people be educated about protecting themselves from AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Abstinence is mentioned only briefly in the new safe sex commercials. The public is led to believe that as long as condoms are used, all is well in the world.
Although CDC research shows that latex condoms are 98 percent effective against HIV when used correctly and consistently, it is a fact that condoms are consistently used incorrectly. People need to be informed that even though they think they are protecting themselves, they may still be taking a risk.
Although abstinence may not be realistic for many, the new commercials should emphasize it as the most effective means for avoiding AIDS. If people are going to gamble with their lives, they need to know what their odds are.
For information on protecting yourself from AIDS call the CDC's toll-free information hotline at 1-800-342-2437.
DONELLA HEARNE FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
KANSAN STAFF
BEN GROVE, Editor
LISA COSMILLO, Managing editor
TOM EBLEN
General manager. news adviser
BILL SKEET, Systems coordinator
Editors
EDITOR
Assistant Managing Editor...Dan England
Assistant to the editor...J. R. Clairborne
News...Kristi Fogler, Katie Greenwald,
...Todd Selfert
Editorial...Colleen McCain
...Nathan Olson
Campus...Jess DeHaven
Sports...David Dorsey
Photo...Doug Hesse
Features...Sara Bennett
JUSTIN GARBERG
Business manager
JENNIFER BLOWEY
Retail sales manager
JEANNE HINES
Sales and marketing adviser
Business Staff
Campus sales mgr ..Jason Eberty
Regional Sales mgr ..Troy Terwester
National & Co-op sales mgr ..Robin Kring
Special Section mgr ..Shelly McConnell
Production mgr ..Laura Guth
Gretchen Kootenherlschin
Marketing director ..Amy Casey
Creative director ..John Carlton
Classified mgr ..Kelly Connexsy
Teamshoot mgr ..Wang Chen
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Valentine's gifts won't rekindle spark when love goes wrong
Love will rejuvenate the economy.
"How so?" you wonder. Read on. I
have a story to tell.
The Place: Oak Park Mall, a commercial utopia. The Time: a little after 1 p.m. on Jan. 2, 1994. The Players : your humble writer and her shopping companion, X.
We are here for the inevitable postChristmas task. Refunds, exchanges, whatever you do, it's a hideous experience.
While braving angry swarms of militant shopper, X and I decide to stop by Hallmark to pick up some thank-you cards for the gifts that I thankfully no longer possess. Upon entering, I am confronted by a smiling raconc. A red mask is tied coyly over its plastic eyes, and "I luv you!" is tattooed to it's stomach. Looking past this bit of wildlife, I see rows of glittering red cards proclaiming "LOVE." The crimson walls hold more furry creatures which come in unnatural variations of red, and curiously enough, they all sport ecstatic grins on their synthetically furry faces.
Something is obviously wrong on Planet Earth. Christmas lights are still
wrapped around trees and houses, people are still recuperating from New Year's and stores are already trying to exploit another holiday. I knew something was up when I got spritzed with two perfumes and one cologne at Dillard's. I'm afraid to even approach Victoria's Secret now. I don't need middle-aged men stumbling over their beer guts trying to see if I'm their "wife's size" while I'm lingerie shopping.
scent.
As the astute reader can probably guess, X and I left. When I reached home, I sat down in the La-Z-Boy and reclined. The mall merchants gave the impression that if you truly love your honeybunch, you would purchase a ball of fur and a bottle of
"Say it isn't so!" I cried to no one in particular. Then I reviewed the relationships of several close friends for a clue as to what love is, how it endures and where blatant marketing tactics fit in. I concluded that love defeats definition, it doesn't always endure and business is profitable mainly for business people.
For example, X, whom you met earlier, recently ended a three-year relationship with Y. Over a series of holidays, they accumulated presents ranging from the well-intentioned, but not quite what X needed, elephant candle to elegant wristwatches. But Y was a bit too fervent in showing X how bottomless Y's bank account was and didn't quite hear what X was saying. So X left. Had Y cooled off with the love tokens, X might not have felt trapped and ignored. Last I heard, X hooked up with Z, who showed X with attention, not objects. True love comes from within, apparently, and not from the wallet.
Retail businesses encourage materialism and create a false sense of reality (*News Flash*) I think that people
should do something special for their amorous partners but not because an execs tell them to. Granted, roses and candy can be thoughtful reminders of affection, but they should not impersonate the real thing. When your sweetie belches loudly and scratches his crotch during the Chief's game or cleans the gunk from under her fingernails at dinner, are drooping roses or crumpled candy wrappers going to rekindle the spark? And suppose you don't receive the expected accountments of Valentine's Day. Your relationship has just become extremely dysfunctional until (or unless) the offending party makes amends.
Gift-giving is not an entirely bad thing, but materialism will get love nowhere. Leave the economy to the experts and their golfing partners. Do something that no store can, even Tiffany's. Break out of the Feb. 14 rut and give your sweetheart a kiss when he or she least expects it. And if you do buy something, go for the stuffed raccoon. Sweetums can use it for target practice when you forget to call.
Allisha Aora is an Overland Park freshman majoring in biology and English.
Reproducing the Beetle, a mistake?
You will probably be as pleased as I was to learn that Brazil has plans to start reproducing the Volkswagen Beetle. The company obviously made this decision because it feels there are far too few cars the size of regulation NFL footballs bursting into flames on the world's highways, which is something this country has been sorely lacking since the "Le Car" was discontinued.
Beetles, also known as "slug bugs," "herbies" and "those little black insects that, when you squash them, make a sort of crunchy sound," were produced in mass quantities from the early '60s until 1981 when, in a stroke of sheer legislative genius, the Reagan Administration released a study revealing that over 50 percent of automobile crashes in this country are caused by "cars going really fast and then slamming into each other."
Among other things, this report confirmed that Beetles, with their engines in the rear, were capable of being compacted into chunks of metal that would easily fit in a
Since the time of this report, however, tremendous advances in technology have been made, spawning a desire in car manufacturers to create the safest automobiles possible. Unfortunately, these advances have not made their way to Brazil yet, so the Beetle will be constructed in the same original mold by factory workers who are
woman's handbag in the event of a head-on collision. The report committee also found that while some Beetles make a "crunchy" sound, others tend to produce a more "squishy" sound. Then the committee went out for drinks.
trying to see how many floorboards they can install before lunch. Still, we should be glad to know that the Beetles will be roaming the streets again even though analysts claim that, in this country, there are already 3,417,967 Beetles in operation for every city block.
I have a Beetle myself, and I really enjoy it, so I'm not sure why I have this constant urge to charter a plane loaded with a 20-megaton crate of Disney movies such as "Herbie Coughs Up a Sprocket" and drop them into the head Volkswagen engineer's living room.
It may be because of this one particular problem: The engine has to be replaced more often than most people replace toothpaste. I'm on my third engine right now, but I know now why the other two exploded. It's something my mechanic calls a "long block."
He says that Super Beetles, which is what I have, differ from regular Beetles in that a regular Beetle uses a "short block" or "stock block" engine
while a Super Beetle requires more "kick" or "hundred dollar bills." Apparently, my first two engines had been too small, so I finally broke down and had a long block installed. And my mechanic was right about the two engine types.
The "short block" was a small, contorted jumble of wires and tubing whereas the "long block" is a small, contorted jumble of wires and tubing with the words "LONG BLOCK" handsomely engraved on the side for a nominal fee equivalent to adding a billiards room onto my mechanic's house. But hey, you should feel the difference.
Incidentally, I understand that to kick off the Beetle's renewal, Volk swagen plans to send hundreds of cars as gifts to prominent individuals throughout the world. Let's hope with the Beetle's repair record and its flaming dashboards, that Ross Perot receives several.
Scott Agni is a Topeka sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Who'sinationsresents being labeled as liberal
I am writing in response to Lance Hamby's "Student Senate's Decision Against Funding Club is Discrimination" (Dec. 7, 1993) in which he claims Who'sinations is a "liberally oriented publication." As the one ultimately responsible for everything that is printed, I must object to the cheap-shot use of that particular stereotype. The fact that we are not the product of an organization within the establishment and that we have no reservations about printing potentially controversial material in no way whatsoever implies we are "liberal." In fact, several of our editors and staff are personally quite conservative.
I invite the (KU Federalist) Society to "promote a forum for the discussion of law and public policy issues" (as they claim their purpose to be) by submitting articles for publication as anyone — conservatives and liberals alike — is encouraged to do.
David Tamasi Publisher of Who'sinations
Tougher laws needed for reduction of crime
In the past few months there has been an increase in the kidnapping, molesting, and killing of youths. These tragedies need to be stopped.
Most of the criminals who commit these crimes are repeat offenders. If they are kept in jail, the list of their victims will stop. Money [for the additional jails] could come from reappropriation of money from other areas. The children of this
We need to pressure Washington to pass tough bills against crime, especially crimes against children. There are hundreds of thousands of children kidnapped every year in America. If there were federal statutes making any crime against a child a federal offense, the number of crimes would decrease. If Congress would pass a minimum sentence of forty years without parole or plea-bargaining, the number of such crimes would decrease.
country are worth sacrifice. The building, maintaining, and manning of these prisons will create jobs and help stimulate the economy.
The prisons should be built according to the number of representatives each state has in Congress. If a state needs more prisons, they should petition for the extra. This way each state has at least four new prisons.
People have the power to change the country. Each of us can write to Congressional members and our president and ask them to start legislation for a crime bill geared toward protecting children. All you have to do is write; they will listen.
Timothy Mathews
Timothy Mathews Overland Park sophomore
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