4A the university daily kansan
opinion
tuesday, November 18, 2003
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Here is a news flash for Kansas and Missouri drivers: The left lane is for passing, not for driving ten under the speed limit.
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So I am sitting in Osawatomie, Kansas, waiting on a train. This is why I love Lawrence. There are no trains.
Hi. I am from New Jersey and I just wanted to say that the first day of classes is on a Friday next semester Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
There is a sausage on the floor in the hallway.
Why are all guys afraid of commitment? Stop being such freaking babies.
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reality check
perspective
Satirical movie reminds us how mainstream media 'wag the dog'
We've all done it.
Bleary-eyed, watching television at 2 a.m., we've all flipped passed one of many 24-hour cable news networks and let the ticker at the bottom of the screen scroll world events into our lives.
GUEST COMMENTARY
If you haven't noticed, such tickers and networks are becoming less trustworthy. Because I don't appreciate the knee-jerk biases on both sides of the two-party political spectrum, I argue that CNN probably bats left-handed and that Fox News is certainly not fair and balanced.
But there is a reason for this.
However, the Reagan administration's deregulation regime — and it really was, from its handling of the FCC to the FDA — declared the Fairness Doctrine dead and vetoed too.
Seeming so distant now as to be forgotten by almost everyone, the Federal Communications Commission, from 1949 to 1987, required that mass media networks present coverage of controversial issues that was "balanced and fair,"hence the obviously self-conscious and false Fox News slogan. This FCC policy became known as the Fairness Doctrine, to ensure the issues were not spun with bias from political parties or special interest groups.
Sean Pauzauskie opinion@hansan.com
Jennifer Wade for The University Daily Kansan
both houses of Congress voted to enact it into law. Its detractors argued that it was a burden, and even that it violated free speech
This lack of honesty in macro-scale and grassroots media will likely not improve, unless we as citizens begin demanding real fairness in journalism. A new Fairness Doctrine is not likely to come in the next several years, especially considering the recent plan by mass media to consolidate into even
Sixteen years later, extreme factions of both the Democratic and Republican parties are barking mad at each other, one of the biggest bones of contention being biased news reporting. Conservatives whine about liberal media; liberals whine about slanderous conservative radio. No matter where your heart rests, both sides are, on some level, guilty.
larger fountains of biased information.
To the credit of 24-hour news networks, they almost inevitably must interpret certain pieces of news, in order to avoid half-hour segments that run like broken records of factual information. The scrolling ticker already accomplishes this.
However, it's time to start seriously examining our media, to keep it as free of bias and propaganda as possible. A great opportunity to do so would be by attending Student Union Activities' showing of Wag the Dog at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Hawk's Nest on the first floor of the Kansas Union. The movie portrays the relationship between the media and the government in ways that will provoke your senses of what constitutes truth and what constitutes hogwash in the public news media. It will be an entertaining, good way to get your mind going about the important issues at hand.
Hopefully, next time you're up at 2 a.m., your eyes might not be so bleary and willing to believe what they see, and will stop letting a biased media treat you like a canine appendage.
Pauzauskie is a Topea senior in English and cell biology. He is forums coordinator for Student Union Activities.
perspective
Relieving stress before finals easy with detoxification diet plan
With the approaching threat of finals, stress levels are rising. Soon, nights will be filled with cheap coffee, chain-smoking, two hours of sleep and take-out food. We will sit night after night twirling our neglected hair, staring blankly at open books and flinching every time our eyes droop and our heads tilt. With the inevitable stress woven into the schedule of finals, would you prevent it if you knew how?
COMMENTARY
Detoxification is both a change in diet and a spiritual renewal in its simplest sense. Committing to a detoxification diet for a few days will clean out the unnecessary junk clogging the body and serve as a time for re-evaluating life. While the body rids itself of internal clutter, you will find yourself tackling outside projects as well. Your energy will be restored, your body and skin clean, your spirituality soaring and your mind clear. Detoxifying before a stressful event, such as finals, helps put everything into perspective.
I suggest a detoxification diet.
Detoxification is an ancient remedy used to clear symptoms, treat disease and prevent future problems. There are many forms of cleansing, from liquid to fasting, the body and spirit, most dealing with little to no food intake
Alexis Cullerton
opinion@kansan.com
In our over-eating, pleasure-hungry society, detoxification is often overlooked. At the same time, the need for detox is ignored or excused as an ancient myth. The positive effects of detoxification are so obvious and widely used that to ignore it can lead to health problems, emotional instability and lack of motivation.
bathing and exercise. While the body is cleansing itself, toxins are excreted through sweat, saliva and bowel movements. This process allows our overworked digestive organs to catch up, leaving the body and mind rejuvenated.
When sick, animals refrain from eating. This allows the energy within the body to tackle disease rather than overexert itself with the hindrance of digestion. When well again, which is quicker than usual without eating, the
animal is both rejuvenated and clean. Understanding the logic in this, humans began fasting and detoxifying centuries ago. Many terminally ill patients also have sought the miracle of fasting or detoxification and been given a second opportunity at life.
Aside from being a health booster and mind stimulator, detoxification is a spiritual renewal. Spiritual leaders such as Jesus Christ, Paramahansa Yogananda, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. have advocated fasting for a spiritual and physical health. When allowing your body to leave behind the unneeded it renews itself.
When detoxifying, be sure to take your personal needs into account. The process for a diabetic person, for example, is different than for athlete. People with heart problems are not recommended to detoxify before contacting a physician. Many different diets can be found online or at the library, so read what is out there before choosing the best option for you. Whoever said your body is your temple was right. We are a what we eat, and we owe it to ourselves to be as healthy as possible.
Cullerton is a Chicago senior in creative writing.
10
editorial board
Vandalizing Nebraska cars slashes reputation
While Nebraska secured the football victory in typical fashion, the fans' trip home was not typical when some Nebraskans found their vehicles' tires slashed.
Last Saturday, fans of the Nebraska football team awoke in Lawrence after making the trek to town, hoping to see the 35th consecutive occasion of their team pounding Kansas on the gridiron.
Lawrence police estimated that about 40 cars were vandalized. Lew Perkins, Kansas athletics director, could offered an apology and said his department would assist the police investigation. No arrests have been made and Lawrence police are continuing to investigate the case.
As much as KU fans would like to think that the actions of a few people do not represent the University of Kansas as a whole, it does. Local businesses offered gift certificates to Nebraska fans affected by the vandalism. The athletics department joined in by offering free tickets to the same fans in conjunction with an official school apology.
Sadly, it won't be enough to overcome the tarnished image the city and University sustained from some people's irresponsible actions.
There comes a time when fans become human beings and need to go home.
There comes a time when those human beings should not have to pay hundreds of dollars to repair vandalism sustained just for being fans of a visiting team.
Masquerading at night and slashing tires cannot be interpreted as anything more than cowardly, cruel and utterly unnecessary.
Unfortunately, what was done is done. With all the money in restaurant and hotel bills as well as ticket prices that thousands of Nebraskans pumped into our community, those fans don't deserve to have their property damaged.
Worst of all, the KU community's image suffers from this kind of idiotic behavior.
Even without the money they contributed on their trip to Lawrence, they should have been treated like human beings and not had their tires slashed.
Even more embarrassing, Nebraska fans typically have been among the classiest in college football. They traditionally applaud the visiting players as they head to the locker room after a game, regardless of the team and how it did.
No one should be surprised if they hold off their applause for the Jayhawks next year.
Steve Vockrodt for the editorial board.
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