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Friday, October 31, 1986 / University Daily Kansan
Opinions
Docking emerges as choice for governor
In a gubernatorial race that has proven to be close, if uneventful, one candidate still emerges as the best choice to serve the needs of Kansans and KU students.
Lt. Gov. Tom Docking, a Democrat from Wichita, is the candidate who will bring change and growth to the state.
His opponent, Republican State Rep. Mike Hayden, 42, has stressed his four years of experience as House Speaker. But the Atwood insurance agent's legislative record and his stance on most of the campaign issues casts doubt on his ability to represent his constituents.
The 32-year-old Docking, a KU graduate, has shown his interest in the opinions of students by his many visits to Lawrence and the KU campus. He has voiced concern about students' political apathy and has made an attempt to remedy the problem through repeated contact with students during the campaign.
Docking has shown his concern for state education and has addressed issues such as quality education and keeping the Kansaseducated within the state. His FUTURE program, which stands for Full University Tuition/Undergraduate Reward for Excellence, is an example of his awareness of education problems. Although there are some problems with the FUTURE plan, it demonstrated Docking's ability to approach difficult issues with imagination.
Both candidates support extensive alcohol and drug education. Docking has realistically aimed his drug reform efforts in areas such as mandatory sentencing for drug dealers and education to prevent drug use. But Hayden went beyond abuse
prevention and proposed drug testing of intercollegiate athletes; a narrow solution to a large problem.
Both candidates also support a range of economic sanctions against the South African government, but Docking opposes a grain embargo which Hayden has suggested. An embargo, Docking has said, would hurt Kansas farmers.
Capital punishment is the one issue where the two gubernatorial candidates split decisively.
Docking is firmly opposed to the death penalty, and has maintained that 99.9 percent of violent crime in Kansas would be unaffected by such a law.
Hayden strongly supports the death penalty and made it the largest component of his campaign as election day approached.
Docking fully supports pari-mutuel betting, realizing it will bring much needed tax money and jobs to the state. He also supports liquor by the drink. Meanwhile, Hayden has expressed his opposition to pari-mutuel wagering and liquor by the drink, but says he will support the two amendments if they are passed.
Docking is a candidate ready to revitalize the Kansas economy and pour more money into education — where it is desperately needed. He is innovative and ready to make difficult changes. He is also willing to listen and able to represent the people's needs.
Liquor by the drink: Its time has come
With Tom Docking in the governor's seat, Kansans will be guaranteed government with foresight and the strength to put us back on sound economic ground during the next four years.
When most students enter the polls on Tuesday, their first mark will probably be in the space next to Question No. 2, liquor by the drink.
To call it a "sin" amendment is antiquated and ridiculous. Kansas' drinking laws belong in the Dark Ages and have served only to stunt economic growth in the state.
Passage of the amendment would give each county the option to allow liquor sales in restaurants and bars where at least 30 percent of the income is earned from food sales. The amendment needs a majority of votes for passage on the state and county level.
True, the legislature can ask voters to remove the food requirement in two years. But it can also call for the amendment to be struck out entirely.
Opponents of the amendment, chiefly the lobbying group Kansans for Life at Its Best! led by the Rev. Richard Taylor.
argue that a vote for the amendment is a vote for death and injury and that it will increase alcohol-related accident deaths by making liquor more available.
Thirty-one percent of auto accidents in Kansas are alcohol related; 19 percent less than the national average. After the passage of a similar law in Oklahoma, the state reported a decrease in alcohol consumption. One can only assume that Kansas would meet with similar results. And it's a fair bet that the increased awareness of the deadly consequences wrought by drinking and driving has made Kansans more responsible about getting behind the wheel once they've had a few.
Lottery is the ticket to more state money
The service industry will finally be released from the bondage of the current laws and patrons will be spared the irritation of having to spend $10 a year plus another two to five dollars just to get a drink. In the end, though, the state gains the most — tax money.
Kansas could use an extra $30 or $40 million.
That's how much proponents of a state-owned and operated lottery say it could raise for the state after expenses. And although a vote for Question No. 4 next Tuesday does not guarantee a state lottery, it will allow the Kansas Legislature to establish one. And it is very likely that the Legislature would if the amendment passes next week.
A vote for the lottery is a vote primarily for added revenue to the state. The Rev. Richard Taylor, an opponent of the lottery and president of the lobbying group Kansans For Life at Its Best!, missed the point when he proposed as an alternative to the lottery a tax hike that would produce the same amount of revenue. The last thing that the state needs is another tax increase.
An alternative source of revenue would be a welcomed change.
The argument that low-income citizens would be "victims" of the "evil" lottery is insubstantial. True, millionaires don't often win the lottery, but at the same time no one will be forcing these "victims" to play. And no one will be forcing them to vote in favor of it Tuesday, either. It is the majority that will be responsible for the passing of the amendment. Those same voters will be the ones playing the lottery.
The lottery is just one example of efforts to bring income to the state while keeping Kansas dollars out of neighboring states' lotteries. It's a simple, effective way to help support the state. It's worth your vote.
In other states, such as California and Illinois, the lottery has proven to be an easy way to bring and keep money within the state.
News staff
Lauretta McMillen...Editor
Kelly McMaster...Managing editor
Tad Clarke...News editor
David Silverman...Editorial editor
John Hanna...Campus editor
Frank Hansel...Sports editor
Jack Kelly...Photo editor
Tom Eblen...General manager, news adviser
Business staff
David Nixon...Business manager
Gregory Kaul...Retail sales manager
Denise Stephens...Campus sales manager
Stuart Dempw...Classified manager
Lisa Weems...Production manager
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Endorsements
The Kansan Editorial Board met and voted on candidate and issue endorsements. These endorsements will appear on the editorial page for the rest of this week.
On the issue of capital punishment, the board reached an evenly split vote. Consequently, endorsements may mention the candidates' stand on capital punishment when it is applicable, but the issue was not a determining factor in any Kansan endorsement.
Frog should go for Ron's job
The sun has risen over the political arena. At last I have a candidate that I can support without reservation. A candidate whose qualifications are such that I encourage her to run for
Gil Chavez
Columnist
the U.S. Senate instead of Douglas County Commissioner. She should also set her bullying eyes on the White House. I am positive she could beat George Bush in 1988.
Agnes the Frog, who recently challenged Nancy Hiebert's candidacy for commissioner, is a newcomer to politics. Her only qualification for office is that she is a Northern Crawfish Frog, one of the state's threatened species.
Her critics may say that being a threatened species hardly qualifies her for any political office. Actually, it is to her advantage. It makes her a member of a rare group of politicians.
I'm not talking about the New Deal Democrat or the moderate Republican, whose numbers have dwindled in recent years. I'm talking about an ever rarer politician, one who is concerned about protecting animals and the environment.
It seems everyone likes animals so long as it is not too great of an inconvenience. Few people will openly admit to hating them. But as soon as it is discovered that they are in the way of some greater cause, such as an oil rig or a highway, then the animals are guaranteed to catch hell.
The general philosophy is that animals are fine as long as they're in zoos and not out in the countryside obstructing progress. Of course, if they have some economic value then they're in big trouble — especially if they have fluffy, soft fur.
The Kansas City Star recently ran a large ad for a fur salon. In the center stood a woman wearing a heavy coyote fur.
Unlike Conan the Barbarian, she wasn't wearing the skin from animals she had killed for lunch. She was wearing skins because furs are expensive and, therefore, a status symbol.
The furs were particularly expensive to the animals that wore them.
The rarer the animal, the more expensive the fur. So the species that can least afford it become status symbols. The endangered ones pay the dearest price. What's more expensive than common coyote fur? A cheetah skin coat. It may be illegal, but there's always the black market.
If she just sat in the mud, zapping bugs, she'd do as much for the environment as most senators, who daydream of being president, and the president, who daydreams of old movies.
An example of this marketing phenomenon occurred a few years ago when junips discovered cowboy boots. Everyone knows real cowboy boots are made of cowhide, the by-product of hamburgers. But within a few months, people were wearing lizard, python, ostrich, shark and just about anything else that could be over-priced and stretched over a foot.
cowboys in Scottsdale and Houston had bothered to read anything, they would have known that elephants are having a bad go of it in Africa. Or maybe they did, and they thought "Big deal, the boots look good with my Calvin Kleins."
Worst of all, there were elephant boots. If the rich dudes posing as
We need to pay more attention to what's happening to the earth in general. That's another reason why Agnes should run for the Senate. It seems nobody wants to hear about what is happening to the planet -- that we are slowly killing it.
The ozone layer in the earth's atmosphere is eroding because of air pollution. This isn't a good sign.
Mailbox
Governor spot critical
I strongly feel that the problems facing our state dictate that we elect the most capable and experienced person available as our governor. That person is Mike Hayden.
The person who is elected to be our governor for the next four years will face the most difficult task of any chief executive in recent Kansas history.
Brad Finley,
Atwood sophomore
The ozone is what keeps the atmosphere from heating up and melting the polar ice caps. If a polar melt were to occur, the resulting floods would submerge much of the land. The ozone also blocks solar radiation, protecting us from an instant sunburn whenever we step outside.
No one wants to talk about the white haze of pollution over the Grand Canyon; it's too depressing. Acid rain is slowly killing lakes and streams as far away as northern Canada. There's nuclear radiation from accidents and weapons testing scattered throughout the planet. And deforestation is stealing 28 million acres annually from the great tropical rain forests.
Our state's economy needs revitalization, our state's funding needs restructuring, funding for our educational systems needs improvement and reasonable "fault" needs to be returned to our legal liability system. Also, we face the complicated task of implementing any of the five constitutional amendments that are passed in this election.
I feel that Mike Hayden is clearly the most logical choice to be our governor during the years when we must find reasonable solutions to these important problems. During Hayden's four years as one of our representatives in the House, four years as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which recommends all state expenditures, and fourteen years of total legislative exercise, he has been a knowledgeable of the complexities of state government that few people ever achieve. Hayden has also exhibited leadership qualities that are definitely needed to be an effective governor.
Our government certainly should give substantial assistance to the African National Congress in its effort to overthrow the South African government. Imposing a grain embargo, however, will accomplish nothing desirable.
Hayden mistaken
On Nov. 4, Kansas voters will find five amendments to the Kansas Constitution on their ballot. Amendment No. 5 is a resolution to remove the State Board of Education's constitutional authority to adopt regulations in the areas of accreditation and certification. In discussing this issue, the State Board of Education noted it is opposed to this change because it believes:
No on BOE issue
Mark Cline Lawrence graduate student
Within 35 years, it is expected that 20 percent of all plants and animals will be extinct.
In proposing a grain embargo against South Africa, Kansas gubernatorial candidate Mike Hayden is exhibiting a serious lack of intellectual acumen or ignorance of South Africa. If we were successful in creating a food shortage in South Africa, what group of people would be starving, and what group would have their bellies full? It is simply impossible to envision racist white South Africans starving themselves in order to give food to black and Asian people.
This amendment is not necessary for the betterment of schools in Kansas; the change will not improve the
Considering all this, and that the federal government has proved that it's unconcerned about these problems, I think Agnes is a logical choice for the U.S. Senate.
The frog could do no worse. If she just sat in the mud, zapping bugs, she'd do as much for the environment as most senators, who daydream of being president, and the president, who daydreams of old movies.
operation of Kansas schools; it will hinder the best interests in education because the Legislature has many issues to debate in the three months it is in session each year, while the State Board of Education meets each month during the year to discuss education issues only. Also, the Legislature already has substantial and sufficient authority over the State Board of Education. Almost every act of the State Board of Education, where money is concerned, must be authorized by the Legislature.
I urge you to vote "No" on amendment No. 5 and leave in the Kansas Constitution the authority now vested in your Kansas State Board of Education, whose sole interest is education of students in Kansas.
Connie Hubbell Member, State Board of Education
Branson concerned
During her 25 years of community service in Lawrence before winning a seat in the Kansas House of Representatives in 1980, Jessie Branson showed her concern for people. And in her three terms as Representative, she was the 44th district. Branson has extended that concern to the entire state.
Among her accomplishments: increased salaries and improved benefits for state employees; automobile safety seats for babies and small children; prenatal care for low-income women with high-risk pregnancies; pre-school education for handcapped 4 year olds; improvements in nursing homes, including 24-hour licensed nursing care; and helping establish a statewide poison control hotline at
the K.U. Medical Center.
Branson's outstanding record of concern for all the people of Kansas, and especially for those with special needs, makes her the logical choice for voters of the 44th District when they go to the polls Tuesday.
Joe Orrick Prairie Village sophomore
Not an alternative
As an avid listener of KJHK for over five years, I am surprised and appalled by David Hale's attitude toward "Womonsong," a program of women's music that Hale and his board have been objecting to.
Has KJHK forgotten their roots and reasons for being on the air—to provide a "Sound Alternative?" KJHK has had a controversial history but the people involved have been strong. We've seen speech and individuality. Now it has become apparent that KJHK itself is guilty of prejudice and censorship.
Hale's comments in Wednesday's Kansan concerning "Womonsong" made it clear that he and his board have a sexist and homophobic attitude toward the program. I plan on keeping a close eye on the outcome of Kiesa Harris' complaint. If KJHK continues to fight the ideas that they are supposed to stand for, I will start a campaign to urge people to exercise against the notion of choice and choose not to listen to KJHK. I believe KU students should realize that there is something wrong when their local outlet for alternative views tries to promote censorship in its own ranks.
G. Kevin Elliott Lawrence freshman