4A the university daily kansan
opinion
friday,october 17,2003
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directly elected. To use an extreme example, judges serve for life and are appointed by the president, who was elected by a group of electors, who were elected by state legislators, who were elected by the people themselves. The 'framers' included just about as many layers between the people and government as they possibly could.
To the men of KU: If you see something you like, why don't you just ask the girl out and stop acting like idiots?
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I am really tired of seeing all of these people walking around with other colleges on their shirts. We go to KU. Seriously, show some pride.
My Chinese fighting fish could so kick your Chinese fighting fish's ass. Bring it.
The Greeks scare me, especially big groups of them. Whenever I see them I go the opposite direction. Sometimes I run the opposite direction.
I forgot how addictive coke is.
I saw a unicorn. Wow.
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I am getting hazed. Help.
Wow, the Internet is down again Rucking FesNet.
You're on my pumpkin
Why are there so many people from Minnesota? Why don't you go back there?
A falling tree branch just almost hit me in the head. What is God trying to tell me?
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surreality
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14
Joe Thurston for The University Daily Kansan
perspective
California spectacle shows political hypocrisy; system will need overhaul to keep parties in line
Politics and hypocrisy seem to go together.
Though the California recall election is done, with "the Terminator" emerging on top, something has to be said. The election itself showed the hypocrisy of the political process like few political events in recent memory.
COMMENTARY
The Republican and Democratic parties are based upon different political philosophies. The Democratic foundation generally seeks to have more government under the control of the people directly. The traditional conservative generally seeks the original intent or underlying philosophy of the framers of the republic, which was to have very limited public control of government. The reasoning is that you don't want a government responsive to public whim, but to public interest.
A glance at the U.S. Constitution reveals this idea.The president is not
Matt Dunavan opinion@kansan.com
The California recall was an enormous step toward being immediately responsive to the people's whims. The
That's not to say the Democratic Party doesn't pull the same stunts. During the Gore/Bush election fiasco of 2000, both parties constantly changed positions in the race for the state of Florida's ballots.
Of course, this didn't happen. The recall effort was spearheaded by Republicans, citing, ironically, the Democratic notion of being responsive to the people more directly. When I pointed this out to one of my friends, he acknowledged the hypocrisy but said the important thing was simply that California now had a big 'R' next to it.
When ballots came in after the deadline, the Democratic Party, which should have been calling for public responsiveness, called for strict rule-of-law and the discarding of those ballots, which incidentally came from overseas military personnel who voted for Bush.
Republican Party of California should have been first in the vanguard to defend the idea that the traditional system should be kept in place, waiting until the end of the term of Gov. Davis and then simply not re-electing him. After all, government by the mob is not too far off from tyranny.
Many say Arnold couldn't be any worse than Davis. True or not, sacrificing your moral position for political gain is pretty despicable.
We all should admit that politics are messy. They involve compromise between people of differing religions, ethical systems, views of what is the good for the public and political philosophies
When politicians themselves cease to concretely have any of those things and view elections as games to win or lose, perhaps it's time to rethink the enterprise and demand a change.
Dunavan is a Topeka senior in political science and philosophy.
letters to the editor
Patriot Act column contained several errors; here are facts
I share Ali Cullerton's deep fear of the ironically named Patriot Act.
This law allows secret break-ins and email tracking, secret searches without probable cause or independent warrant and secret snooping in your credit card, library, medical and bank records. You can't challenge it or even find out about it, and it is illegal to tell you it happened. These procedures are now mainly being used in cases unrelated to terrorism.
However, it is important that the case against that act be made honestly and accurately, and Cullerton's Oct.13 commentary contains several errors.
1. The new definition of domestic terrorism is indeed frighteningly broad, but not as broad as Cullerton said. Basically, you have to support some group that illegally risks human injury while pursuing political goals. Operation Abolition, Greenpeace and the FBI are historic examples, not Amnesty International. (In practice, prosecution will be selective.)
2. Some thousands of people were indeed secretly arrested after Sept. 11 and held for prolonged periods under brutal conditions with no charges filed and no access to a lawyer or judge, yet
none have been charged with terrorism.
Most of their names remain secret. (Much of this was documented in a June 2 report by the Department of Justice itself.) However, this was not authorized by the Patriot Act, but ordered unlawfully by Attorney General John Ashcroft. It would be authorized under Ashcroft's proposed Son of Patriot Act.
3. You cannot (yet) be stripped of your citizenship for civil disobedience, though the Son of Patriot Act proposes that penalty for domestic terrorism.
David Burress research economist Policy Research Institute national board member American Civil Liberties Union
Fictional Patriot Act column could have used fact-checking
The recent editorial "Patriot Act disregards Constitution" that ran on Oct. 13 was more full of fiction than fact. The Patriot Act is not the boogy man (Kansan columnist) Ali Cullerton or the National Lawyers Guild is making it out to be. The government cannot search your house or office without a
warrant. It cannot monitor your e-mail without a court order.
A quick read of www.usdoj.gov/usao/mie/ctu/FAQ_Patriot.htm will show just how off-base the claims were. The claim that "...agents can break into your homes and offices without a warrant. Agents can also wirepat our phones without court orders." is specifically refuted:
"Q: Does the USA PATRIOT Act eliminate judicial oversight of federal law enforcement activities?
A: No. ...federal agents still must obtain a wiretap order from a court based on a detailed affidavit setting forth probable cause before they can install a wiretap. Agents still must obtain a search warrant from a court based on a showing of probable cause before they can search a residence. ...Courts retain the power to suppress evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution."
This Web site will go a long ways toward ending a lot of the confusion people have about the Patriot Act.
Mel Grindol
graduate
mechanical engineering
Shawnee
This has been a bad couple of weeks for University of Kansas' retired faculty and staff.
First, we learned that our health insurance premiums would increase by $61 per month next year, from $255 to $316. Unlike many other states, Kansas provides no subsidy for health insurance premiums for its retirees. Then we discovered that in the new KU telephone directory we are no longer listed in the main register of faculty and staff, but have been marginalized in a separate section at the end of the primary listing, where we will remain virtually unfindable. This was done without consultation with the very active Endcott Society of retirees, which certainly would have been happy to check with its members on their preference on this matter.
Retired faculty receive University cold shoulder
As I have said to friends in the past, if the University wants to be permanently rid of its retirees, let it keep Dr. Kevorkian on retainer!
Elizabeth C. Banks Lawrence retired associate professor of classics, Emerita
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