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NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2009
POLITICS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Barack Obama addresses Congress in a speech Wednesday. The president discussed the current criticism of the health care plan. He also emphasized Republicans and Democrats coming together in order to achieve reform.
Students split on Obama speech
Some expressed hope, others cynicism, after president's address to Congress on health care
BY JESSE BROWN
jbrown@kansan.com
Throughout American history, presidents since Theodore Roosevelt have attempted to crack what some consider to be one of the nation's toughest issues: health care.
President Barack Obama.
Congress on Sept. 9, addressed both the criticisms and the new direction the nation would take with the hotly discussed issue.
Like Congress, KU students have varying viewpoints on Obama
points on Obama's plan.
bership coordinator for College Republicans. "There's four bills floating out there right now, and he never once specified any of what he was talking about and he basically talked about the same thing that he always talks about. You know, we need to cut costs; obviously we need to cut costs. How are we going to cut costs?"
"I just thought it was more of the same ... obviously we need to cut costs. How are we going to cut costs?"
One of the primary complaints about Obama's speech is the uncertainty of how the new administration plans to tackle the health care reform.
"I just thought it was more of the same," said Mav Davies, mem-
MAY DAVIS College Republicans
the speech covering everything," Johnson, Lawrence junior, said. "You can't get into every detail. Of course he was vague. In this coming week there's going to be a lot more developments and a lot more specifics, but, yes, I can see how that would be a criticism."
"It's just a 45-minute speech covering
The vagueness of the speech was something that Libby Johnson, a Democrat and off-campus senator for Student Senate, said that she could understand but didn't necessarily see as a problem.
Johnson said that she also wanted to hear the details of Obama's plan to reform health care.
In a bipartisan agreement, Obama is planning to reduce the financial effects of lawsuits for medical malpractice.
"There's certain parts of the plan that I think Republicans very much agree with." Eric Foss, president of College Republicans, said.
Doctors, in order to fight these lawsuits, buy insurance for themselves so they can cover the costs of such lawsuits.
Some, however, have argued that the money could be used for better purposes.
"I'm happy to hear he's willing to concede on that point, but I'm going to wait to see if he actually
Foss said that he was hesitant, however, to think that Obama would actually change the policy, despite having discussed the matter on national television.
"It's just a 45-minute speech covering everything. You can't get into every detail."
LIBBY JOHNSON
Off-campus
student senator
does or not," Foss said.
Although Obama has become known by many for his powerful public speaking, some observers said that they were still left wanting details.
"I think the president is a very talented public speaker, and he's very good at using soaring language," Foss said. "I think if the Democrats want to start winning people over to their side on the health care bill, they're going to need to start proposing real policies, not just soaring language."
Although four bills from different committees are currently out there, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said that his Senate Finance Committee, the last committee involved, would meet in about two weeks to begin drafting legislation.
Edited by Alicia Banister
STATE
A matter of identity: Under Salina pit bull ban, tests for breed arise
Red Lyon Tavern
A touch of Irish in downtown Lawrence
944 Massachusetts
832-8228
ASSOCIATED PRESS
question, Angie Cartwright's family pet, Lucey, had never bitten anyone, or had never acted out aggressively.
mal control. The officers picked up the dog and collared Lucey in the process.
When Cartwright's brother's dog, which she was pet sitting, got loose from her yard someone called ani-
The officers explained that they were taking Lucy to a veterinarian for a breed check — a professional
SALINA, Kan. — Salina animal control officers knew the dog they saw looked like a pit bull.
It didn't matter that the dog in
opinion to determine Lucey's breed. Since 2005, Salina has had a ban on owning unregistered pit bulls and mixed breeds that are predominantly pit bull.
Today, Lucey is back home, and Cartwright credits a genetic test kit that helps pet owners identify the heritage of their mixed-breed dogs.
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There are at least three retail genetic tests currently on the market for dogs.
THE LOCAL
The test found a minor amount of Lucey's DNA came from Staffordshire Bull Terrier genes — a little more than 12 percent, not close to a predominant percentage.
One of those is the Wisdom Panel MX mixed breed analysis, which is offered by a local vet clinic, Town & Country Animal Hospital, 1001 Schippel. Wisdom Panel is the only one that uses a blood test; the other two use cheek swabs for samples of DNA.
"Maybe this can save someone's animal, hopefully," Cartwright said.
animal, hoperhy, Cartwright said.
Without the test results,
Cartwright and her family would have been faced with finding Lucya a home outside of Salina, or leaving her at the animal shelter to be either adopted out to someone not from here or destroyed.
Each retail canine test now on the market has a different way of breaking down the breeds of dogs. The Canine Heritage Breed Test classifies the breeds as primary, secondary and in the mix, meaning the amount or percent of the dog that is a specific breed.
BioPet Vet Lab's DNA Breed Identification test has levels one through five, breaking down each he thinks the test has validity.
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