Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
United States First Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2009
Cohen: Obama's Nobel Prize surprising, but not undeserved
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--heart attacks. States and counties with smoking bans have seen a 15 to 30 percent decline in heart attacks since 2004, according to a University of Kansas School of Medicine research study. A statewide smoking ban could result in 2,160 fewer heart attacks in Kansas, according to the KHPA.
I just want some damn bacon.
My roommate makes bacon every other day, and the entire floor is infiltrated with the smell. You are welcome to come by and get some sniff for a reduced price.
--heart attacks. States and counties with smoking bans have seen a 15 to 30 percent decline in heart attacks since 2004, according to a University of Kansas School of Medicine research study. A statewide smoking ban could result in 2,160 fewer heart attacks in Kansas, according to the KHPA.
I walk out of my way to avoid you every day.
--heart attacks. States and counties with smoking bans have seen a 15 to 30 percent decline in heart attacks since 2004, according to a University of Kansas School of Medicine research study. A statewide smoking ban could result in 2,160 fewer heart attacks in Kansas, according to the KHPA.
Damn you, Marketing 305. Why have a test the day after fall break?
The Miley Cyrus and The Notorious B.I.G. remix is the
--heart attacks. States and counties with smoking bans have seen a 15 to 30 percent decline in heart attacks since 2004, according to a University of Kansas School of Medicine research study. A statewide smoking ban could result in 2,160 fewer heart attacks in Kansas, according to the KHPA.
I hate "Party in the U.S.A," I can't seem to go out without hearing it. it's a terrible epidemic.
--heart attacks. States and counties with smoking bans have seen a 15 to 30 percent decline in heart attacks since 2004, according to a University of Kansas School of Medicine research study. A statewide smoking ban could result in 2,160 fewer heart attacks in Kansas, according to the KHPA.
--heart attacks. States and counties with smoking bans have seen a 15 to 30 percent decline in heart attacks since 2004, according to a University of Kansas School of Medicine research study. A statewide smoking ban could result in 2,160 fewer heart attacks in Kansas, according to the KHPA.
Do they have Merry Maids around here? My dorm room is filthy.
Free For All is the new Yahoo! Answers!
--heart attacks. States and counties with smoking bans have seen a 15 to 30 percent decline in heart attacks since 2004, according to a University of Kansas School of Medicine research study. A statewide smoking ban could result in 2,160 fewer heart attacks in Kansas, according to the KHPA.
Anyone else hear the Campanile tweaking out at about 9 p.m. Sunday night? It rang like 30 times.
--heart attacks. States and counties with smoking bans have seen a 15 to 30 percent decline in heart attacks since 2004, according to a University of Kansas School of Medicine research study. A statewide smoking ban could result in 2,160 fewer heart attacks in Kansas, according to the KHPA.
I'm going as a Kansas State hillbilly for Halloween. I win.
My history professor is actually Professor Quirrell.
--heart attacks. States and counties with smoking bans have seen a 15 to 30 percent decline in heart attacks since 2004, according to a University of Kansas School of Medicine research study. A statewide smoking ban could result in 2,160 fewer heart attacks in Kansas, according to the KHPA.
--heart attacks. States and counties with smoking bans have seen a 15 to 30 percent decline in heart attacks since 2004, according to a University of Kansas School of Medicine research study. A statewide smoking ban could result in 2,160 fewer heart attacks in Kansas, according to the KHPA.
Goddamn it, KU. Fix your servers.
The boy that sits in front of me in my "intro to Meteorology" lecture is the definition of douchebag.
--heart attacks. States and counties with smoking bans have seen a 15 to 30 percent decline in heart attacks since 2004, according to a University of Kansas School of Medicine research study. A statewide smoking ban could result in 2,160 fewer heart attacks in Kansas, according to the KHPA.
Lady Gaga is so incredibly annoying.
--heart attacks. States and counties with smoking bans have seen a 15 to 30 percent decline in heart attacks since 2004, according to a University of Kansas School of Medicine research study. A statewide smoking ban could result in 2,160 fewer heart attacks in Kansas, according to the KHPA.
My favorite part about having an absentee roommate is being able to shower at 2 a.m. without worrying about waking her up.
--heart attacks. States and counties with smoking bans have seen a 15 to 30 percent decline in heart attacks since 2004, according to a University of Kansas School of Medicine research study. A statewide smoking ban could result in 2,160 fewer heart attacks in Kansas, according to the KHPA.
My favorite part about having absentee roommates is that I can masturbate at 2 a.m. without worrying about waking them.
--heart attacks. States and counties with smoking bans have seen a 15 to 30 percent decline in heart attacks since 2004, according to a University of Kansas School of Medicine research study. A statewide smoking ban could result in 2,160 fewer heart attacks in Kansas, according to the KHPA.
Does anyone wonder why we sang "Puff the Magic Dragon" in elementary school?
--heart attacks. States and counties with smoking bans have seen a 15 to 30 percent decline in heart attacks since 2004, according to a University of Kansas School of Medicine research study. A statewide smoking ban could result in 2,160 fewer heart attacks in Kansas, according to the KHPA.
I missed all my classes and I'm going to be an hour late to work, but I made $100 today!
You know it's serious when you start sleeping with him sober.
POLITICALLY CORRECT Good or bad: More troops to Afghanistan
In what has become President Barack Obama's biggest foreign-policy decision thus far in his term, many top officials have urged him to send as many as 40,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. Here's what three of our columnists think about the possible troop increase.
LIBERAL
LOUDMOUTH
BEN COHEN
Troop surges make me a little nervous. There's this feeling I get that our entire foreign policy is based around the idea that you should throw as many soldiers as possible at something. Yes, it'll quiet down an opposing force for a time, but that isn't exactly a lasting strategy for peace.
When it comes to Afghanistan, I can't fault the idea of increasing troop levels entirely. The Bush administration was criticized in its later years for putting so much emphasis on Iraq that it almost seemed as if the country we began our "War on Terror" in had been placed on the back burner.
Obama campaigned on the idea that Afghanistan needed a renewed focus, and if troop levels are increased, that is a way of making good. That being said, increased troop levels alone can't end the Taliban insurgency or promote the country's hedging democracy.
We can and should remain involved in Afghanistan, but there needs to be an emphasis on strengthening infrastructure. If we can't do that, we will accomplish very little in terms of stabilizing the region and improving our image on the international level.
Cohen is a Topeka senior in political science.
DANTHOMPSON
We must think carefully before we expend even more money and more American lives on a war with no straightforward path to victory, but sending more troops is the least bad option.
Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the American commander in Afghanistan, is correct in his conclusion that we must escalate the conflict to a committed counterinsurgency campaign, or we will fail to stop the Taliban from dragging the country back into the dark ages. Such an outcome would be a brutal letdown for the population of Afghanistan, and it would prove to be far worse for American national security in the long run.
Such a surge could be no panacea, but it will demonstrate our commitment to the people of Afghanistan and serve as a necessary stopgap that will open the possibility for a political solution upon which our success ultimately depends. This means reforming or circumventing President Hamid Karzai's corrupt, incompetent administration, winning over the myriad warlords and tribal leaders in the hinterland and establishing effective government away from Kabul.
Thompson is a Topeka senior in economics.
When it comes to pushing a radical left-wing domestic agenda, the administration wants to move at breakneck speed. From economic stimuli to bailouts to a healthcare takeover, everything is viewed as a "potential disaster" if we don't act quickly.
Apparently the war in Afghanistan is different. Obama's clear and tough language on Afghanistan during the presidential campaign has given way to uncertainty and waffling.
The Obama administration has been under fire for not sending more troops ever since Gen. McChrystal warned the war "will likely result in failure" if more forces aren't sent.
Where is the urgency we've been accustomed to from this administration? It doesn't seem to apply when our troops are dying in the field.
Obama is trying not to disappoint his far-left friends, but he does so at his own peril.
The president needs to listen to Gen. McChrystal and Gen. Petraeus, who successfully used a surge to bring peace to an unstable Iraq.
— Compton is a Wichita senior in political science.
Go to Kansan.com to vote and send your topic ideas to pc@kansan.com
WHO DO YOU THINK IS POLITICALLY CORRECT?
Smoking ban should pass
POLITICS
Sen. David Wysong (R-Mission Hills) has been trying to pass a statewide smoking ban for the past three years. Recently, Wysong has asked the Board of Regents to back his efforts. The political weight of the Regents has yet to be decided, but members of the KU community should urge the Regents to support a statewide smoking ban.
As an asthmatic, secondhand smoke is especially harmful to me. It's always frustrating when others light up without any consideration or respect as to how their habit might cause harm.
In spite of this, I am also an advocate of personal choice. In the past I have supported a business' right to choose whether to ban smoking within an establishment. My view was that if others wished to dine or drink in a nonsmoking environment, they could choose from nonsmoking establishments.
It has been hard to ignore the obvious health benefits other states have experienced with public smoking bans. Today, smoking has become less of an issue of personal choice or liberty and more an issue of public health concern.
Smoking-attributed illnesses cost Kansans nearly $927 million a year, according to the Kansas Health Policy Authority. Fourthousand Kansans die each year from smoking-related diseases, including those caused by secondhand smoke.
Twenty-four states currently have statewide smoking bans, according to Smoke Free America. A statewide smoking ban would likely encourage smokers to quit, and therefore would also decrease state health costs for treating tobacco-related illnesses.
A statewide smoking ban could not only decrease smoking-related illnesses and costs, but may also decrease the number of
Not only would customers benefit from public smoking bans, but also employees of bars, restaurants and other establishments would no longer be put in the danger of secondhand smoke.
The smoking ban in Lawrence has had obvious positive effects on students. I have appreciated breathing cleaner air as a result of the ban. Gov. Mark Parkinson has said that he will make a statewide smoking ban one of his top priorities.
Consequently, students, faculty and other members of the KU community should urge the Regents to also support a statewide smoking ban. Although people do have a right to endanger their personal health by smoking cigarettes, students, employees and other citizens also have a right to breathe clean air and not contract illnesses and diseases caused by secondhand smoke.
Brown is a Wichita junior in journalism and political science.
CONVICTED OF KILLING PEOPLE DUE TO SECONDHAND SMOKE.
MARIAM SAIFAN
STUDENT LIFE
Fall break trip to Austin deepens perspective
Fall break was just another week for me last year, but my decision to visit a friend in Austin, Texas, during this year's break has been a rejuvenating and eye-opening experience, if only for the amazing number of similarities the city has to Lawrence.
As I write this, Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" rests unmoved on the floor, the frantic sounds of Austin's traffic reverberate off the bricks of the apartment complex and the remaining rays of sunlight begin to disappear beneath the backdrop of taco stands and laundromats.
I try to replay the scenes still lingering from my guided stroll through the University of Texas: There's the Jefferson Davis statue, here's the philosophy building and — oh my God — is that the football stadium?
Even The Daily Texan, the University's student newspaper, has a watered-down version of Free For All (From the Oct. 16 paper: "Taco Bell beef cakes. Like pancakes, but with beef")
Austin bustles with all walks of life: the hippie, the death metal guitar player, the intellectual, the high school quarterback and everyone in between. I have to look only in front of me to recognize the parallels to Lawrence. "Keep Austin Weird," proclaim several bumper stickers on passing vehicles. The Spiderhouse, a locally owned coffee shop/bar/music venue, looks like Java Break's big brother with its regular clientele and creative decor.
I hesitate to introduce the cliché where the small town kid travels to the big city and learns a lesson in between, but it's hard for me not to draw from my experience in Lawrence during my exciting, albeit brief, stay here. Lawrence, like Austin, provides a haven for all interests, and sometimes I take that for granted throughout the rigidity of the semester.
Until recently, I rarely recalled the initial optimism and excitement that the first year of college inevitably brought me. If it wasn't for a trip to this big city full of back alleys, country radio (Texas' Web site sites 11 stations) and elected officials, these things might have still been dormant in my current perspective.
Indeed, when the semester's workload becomes a burden, it's hard to keep perspective on anything other than term papers and homework assignments. I'm usually not one to attribute my experiences with a concrete or symbolic explanation. But if there's one thing I've been reminded of during my stay here, it's to not take for granted my time at the University of Kansas.
I attend a nationally known University in the heart of one of the most popular college towns in the country. There's a great academic and athletic reputation here, which can turn the town into the spotlight of the Midwest on a Tuesday night basketball game or it came become a laid-back destination for an afternoon study session.
Mark Twain once said, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do."
These "things" are different for each student, but perhaps a good start is a trip to Austin.
Boultinghouse is a Girard sophomore in journalism and history.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Show your support:
Stay for both halves
Students talk about the football players fighting and making our school look bad. Well why does this not go both ways? Local newspapers are beginning to pick up on it.
Tully Corcoran, KU beat writer for the Topeka-Capital Journal, wrote on his Twitter, "KU's football players are 'disappointed,' a little irritated at fans that leave early, especially
You're watching a then- undefeated Top 25 football team play a close game at halftime on homecoming and half of you leave early? What a joke. I hope that the students that leave early know they are embarrassing their school.
I can't begin to express how disappointed I am in the KU student section at football games. First the sun was too hot, and now the excuse has turned to it being too cold. Couple that with the number of students ready to leave to go continue drinking and you get a pathetic excuse for a student section.
in close games, especially on homecoming."
Maybe getting drunk is more important than giving your Top 25 football team home field advantage. If you're going to expect the football team to represent the school well, then quit making the KU students look bad by leaving at halftime.
You can bet that the football players are more than just a little irritated, but they aren't going to come out and start a war with the students, too. Maybe KU students don't know how lucky they really are. Maybe the students should spend a day with some alumni and they can hear about the days when KU football was lucky to win a couple games.
— Max Vosburgh is a junior from Topeka.
Do students not even realize they are witnessing the best three-year run in Kansas football history? They are getting to watch the best quarterback in school history; a person whose name will one day be etched into the ring of honor around Memorial Stadium.
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