OPINION
7A
WEDNESDAY. SEPTEMBER 1.7 2008
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
McCain dispels rumors of sexism by surrounding himself with women
ASSOCIATED PRESS
McCain's preparatory pose for his induction into Ripley's Believe it or Not Wax Museum is always a crowd pleaser.
To dispel the notion that Republican presidential nominee John McCain picked Alaska Gov Sarah Palin as his running mate based on her gender, Republican presidential nominee John McCain made an appearance on a TV show targeted directly toward viewers based on their gender.
You seem to have a lot of internal miscommunication among your campaign staff. Palin was a surprise, and now only Cindy seems to receive the e-mail about dressing like ketchn
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The women grilled him on issues such as abortion, Palin and why he didn't give them hugs. In a display of the forceful, journalistic insight that "The View" is known for, a tense moment occurred when Joy Behar told McCain his campaign ads were lies. Overall, though, McCain was met with applause from the audience. Republicans were relieved to know that they can put lipstick on a pig and have it cross its legs and gab it up with the gals.
McCain followed "The View" appearance with a taping of the "Rachel Ray Show," which will be aired Sept. 22.
McCain referenced the appearance in a later interview; "To ask if Sarah Palin is unqualified to be vice president just because she is raising
a family is absolutely ridiculous. Rachael Ray is a parallel example of the power of women's multitasking. Women are able to cook and talk
at the same time! No one would be asking a man that because we don't cook when a woman is around."
The appearances were selected
to allow McCain to court women voters, based on the level of annoyance of the host's voice, from a scale of whale tones to Sarah Palin.
When Palin was offered nomination, I didn't blink for a second. Because I can't.
After a hands-off media approach following her nomination, Sarah Palin agreed to a three-part interview series with ABC's Charles Gibson. Because Palin's political career is still at its dawn, the ABC interview was a pre-natal test for possible maladies during her vice-presidency, for which we have no choice but to endure.
In order to evade criticism from both parties, Gibson needed to seem critical but unbiased, stern yet open-minded.
To reassure voters, all Palin had to do was not be herself.
Palin didn't hesitate for a moment when Gibson asked if she felt ready to be VP: "I feel completely up to the challenge. For instance Charlie, I am really good with names, Charlie. Ahmadinejad, Charlie, I know how to pronounce that, really, Charlie, I do. Putin, Charlie? That's an easy one. It sounds, Charlie, just like Palin! Charlie, I are really into mnemonic devices for that sort of thing, Charlie."
Although at times she seemed derailed by unexpected questions, Palin recovered brilliantly from missteps during her interview. When confronted about President Bush's policies, she guffawed, "The Bush doctrine, Charlie? He probably has a specialist, don't you think?"
Gibson wisely avoided gossip questions about her husband's DWI and Palin's daughter, Bristol, but he did ask about her views on global warming, earmark spending and gun control.
Palin didn't give clear answers about the first two issues, but strongly advocated widespread gun usage, looking Charlie firmly in the eye and saying. "I believe every U.S. citizen has the right to shoot themselves in the foot, Charlie, just like I am doing now."
Gibson appeared visibly perturbed during most of the interview, but after three days, the session ended on a pleasant note when Palin powered down and recharged in her iGOP dock.
One of these things is not like the other
What is the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom?
Lipstick What is the difference between a pig and a hockey mom?
What is the difference between a polar bear and hockey mom?
Oberthaler is a Wichita junior in English.
One is killing the other.
What about the narco-terrorists?
While that horse we call the War on Terror is beaten to death in the Middle East,we too often forget the very real war on terror being waged — and lost — in Mexico.
Violent crime attributed to Mexico's extremely powerful drug cartels has claimed more than 4,000 lives since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006 — 2,700 of those this year. Kidnappings, beheadings and public assassinations of police officers are the biggest acts of terror that have swept over Mexico.
The chaos is dragging down the economy. Investors are becoming wary of doing business. According to the BBC, Mexican laborers in the troubled American housing industry have sent 6.9 percent less back home compared to the year before. Money sent back from workers outside the country is Mexico's second largest source of legal foreign income, after revenue from oil.
In June, the United States began a three-year plan of aid. Though timely, it is not enough money and not comprehensive enough. Giving $1.4 billion is
pitiful in the face of a multi-billion dollar a-year drug industry, where an estimated $15 billion a year crosses the United States-Mexico border in cash.
If we were so concerned about Iraqis under Saddam, why do we ignore our own neighbors? Are these cartels not terrorists? The message that the Bush administration transmits when it ignores Mexican narcoterrorism is that killing for money and power isn't as bad as killing for religious idealism. But that makes perfect sense, doesn't it?
What's needed is a fresh approach to how we combat the emergence of structures that perpetuate terrorism: the nature of our political and economic policy toward Mexico, the drug markets in the United States and our policy in dealing with them, as well as an investigation into just how high the corruption in Mexico has spread.
Calderon is pleading for our help. In order for fresh policy and a healthy relationship between the United States and Mexico to happen, the call for cooperation from Mexico needs to be answered more emphatically.
And if we are going to truly wage a war on terror, then we are going to have to begin by advocating for the victims of terror in all its forms, wherever it emerges.
Anderson is a Perry junior in creative writing.
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You can read articles about the waste and the production costs (petroleum and natural gas, both non-renewable), the economic chain (the cost of production gets passed down to the consumer in the form of higher prices in the grocery store) and the toxic pollution of their manufacture. And you should. But this is an appeal to common sense.
7667 or mglbson@kansan.com
I'm ready. Show me them big buts.
You know the option exists. But do you know how easy it is to do?
How I finally transitioned to reusable shopping bags
take collect and process 90 billion plastic bags, recycling them to their next stage of life.
My environmental epiphanies typically develop slowly. It's less of an "a-ha" light bulb moment (CFL or otherwise), but usually little by little, like your biodegradable fork from the Union decomposing (in a landfill or otherwise).
That describes how, over 11 years of critical thought on the subject, I came to be a cloth-bag-carrying grocery shopper.
"Paper or plastic?"
Preference exists, I concluded,
as the man in front of us gathered
his army of plastic bags in the
same moment that my mother said,
"Paper. Double-bag it, please."
I'd heard the question dozens of times before it permeated the distracted existence I led as a 9 year old. I began to wonder why one was better than the other. How did people decide?
My quest to determine the best choice took me through stages. Paper emerged as the Round One victor, based solely on Mom's endorsement. Plastic made a strong showing on my first solo trip to the
And finally, or so I thought, came my environmental awakening. The choice to recycle whichever bag you take home renders the paper-plastic debate obsolete. In this stage, I stuffed bags into bags full of more bags that I took to the recycling center weekly, all the while bathing in self-satisfaction.
store because it was easier to carry
Americans use 90 billion plastic bags each year, according to The American Chemistry Council. In the best-case scenario that I conjured up, 100 percent of those would be recycled, which we all know is not the case. I can't imagine the energy and resources it would
Keep them in your trunk, and even though you may forget once or twice, the habit will form. Leave them out after you unload your groceries where you'll see them the next time you go to your car.
BUT...
What do I do when I forget?
BUT...
Lawrence has no ban in place, but Kevin Lawrence, a manager at the Clinton Parkway HyVee, said he had seen a dramatic increase in reusable bags in the last few months and predicted it will only increase.
I'm just one person. What difference will it make?
Then tell your friends. People are doing it, and it is making a difference. San Francisco banned plastic bags in November and saves 5 billion bags each month.
Plastic bags are free. I don't want to buy a cloth bag when I'm spending $50 on groceries.
Then don't. Use bags you already own. I bet you have old backpacks and totes you don't use every day. If you must buy grocery store bags, they cost about $1, which means after 20 5-cent refunds the store will give you for providing your own bag, it pays for itself.
BUT...
This idea's been out there. On an episode of "Home Improvement," Jill came home from the grocery store with, you guessed it, an armload of cloth bags.
I've been carrying cloth bags for years. This isn't news.
The length of time it took me to settle on an answer I'm comfortable with is pretty embarrassing. More embarrassing is that when I told my mom the good news, she was shocked that I wasn't already doing it and offered me some of her bags. Snap.
English is a Overland Park junior in journalism and economics.
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My friend's hand was scratched and when I asked her what happened, she said "Oh, I tried to dip my cat in some paint".
I really wish AT&T didn't suck. I want an iPhone.
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Straight boys are so gay.
Mmmm. asparagus.
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I don't know what to say, so I'll just say what's in my heart: Baboom, Baboom, Baboom.
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Half Baked Ben & Jerry's is amazing! Just throwing that out there.
My back itches like crazy.
I'd imagine that this is what being a leper is like. Maybe
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I have the weirdest dreams when I take naps.
This is a bad week for a whole lot of crap to be due.
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Whenever my friend sees a girl wearing leggings, she points them out to me. I agree with her. Wear some jeans and have some self-
I fantasize about 40-year-old fathers.
I've been waiting for years for the sweatpants-in-boots to go out, but I don't think it's happening
Dear girl who likes to watch porn: I once dated a girl that also enjoyed porn. She was a whore.
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I don't understand ugly people.
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I'm STD free!
My philosophy professor looks like a young Bon Jovi. I like
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I can see Russia from my house!
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I can always tell when my roommate posts here. Hello you.
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Marijuana is as much of a religion as Pastafarianism. All hail the Flying Spaghetti Monster!
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