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, NOVEMBER 16,2010
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--and restaurants. Today, most people in this country cannot imagine how we could discriminate against others on the basis of skin color.
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--and restaurants. Today, most people in this country cannot imagine how we could discriminate against others on the basis of skin color.
I pity the fools who say things like; "Call of Duty' is my life" and "I spent 13 hours playing 'Call of Duty' yesterday."
I just got my ears pierced and haven't even told my parents vet. Rebellious!
--and restaurants. Today, most people in this country cannot imagine how we could discriminate against others on the basis of skin color.
Your unwant to ever speak to me again is blatantly :contradicted by your constant pursuit of my attention.
--and restaurants. Today, most people in this country cannot imagine how we could discriminate against others on the basis of skin color.
To the ones who wandalized the Jayhawk in front of the Union: WE GON'FIND YOU!
--and restaurants. Today, most people in this country cannot imagine how we could discriminate against others on the basis of skin color.
To the ladies who live on West Campus road ... I don't care how hot/important you think you are, I WILL run you over next time.
--and restaurants. Today, most people in this country cannot imagine how we could discriminate against others on the basis of skin color.
--and restaurants. Today, most people in this country cannot imagine how we could discriminate against others on the basis of skin color.
I hate you. Let's make love.
College is the best! Instead of calling teachers "teachers," we call them "professors" and I can pretend I actually go to
--and restaurants. Today, most people in this country cannot imagine how we could discriminate against others on the basis of skin color.
Best girlfriend ever. We had Harry Potter themed sex. I expelliarmused her robes so quickly.
--and restaurants. Today, most people in this country cannot imagine how we could discriminate against others on the basis of skin color.
--and restaurants. Today, most people in this country cannot imagine how we could discriminate against others on the basis of skin color.
Fact: squirrels are rats with bigger tails.
Pb as in Peanut Butter, or Pb as in Lead?
--and restaurants. Today, most people in this country cannot imagine how we could discriminate against others on the basis of skin color.
Just recognized my drunk- puke from Friday night in the stairwell. My bad.
--and restaurants. Today, most people in this country cannot imagine how we could discriminate against others on the basis of skin color.
I will literally pay someone in sexual favors if they will get me a copy of the physiology final from last year.
--and restaurants. Today, most people in this country cannot imagine how we could discriminate against others on the basis of skin color.
Of course people I went to high school with would try to rob a bank. And of course they would fail miserably.
--and restaurants. Today, most people in this country cannot imagine how we could discriminate against others on the basis of skin color.
I swear half of all the commercials I see are for cars, beer or car insurance. I wonder if there's a connection.
--and restaurants. Today, most people in this country cannot imagine how we could discriminate against others on the basis of skin color.
Best FB quote ever! "Just saw two guys cutting a roadkill deer's head off on 170. You stay classy, Kansas!"
--and restaurants. Today, most people in this country cannot imagine how we could discriminate against others on the basis of skin color.
P. R.O.C.R.A.S.T.I.N.A.T.E
--and restaurants. Today, most people in this country cannot imagine how we could discriminate against others on the basis of skin color.
Squirrels be crazy.
--and restaurants. Today, most people in this country cannot imagine how we could discriminate against others on the basis of skin color.
I just made out with you ...
and then your mom.
--and restaurants. Today, most people in this country cannot imagine how we could discriminate against others on the basis of skin color.
SEXUALITY
As movement gains momentum inequality fueled among gays
There's a major movement in the making and it's slowly showing success. I'm not talking about the Tea Party Movement or the Republican sweep in Congress. I'm also not talking about the initiative to legalize marijuana that was rejected in California earlier this month.
This one is not about economic policies, lower taxes or legalizing drugs; it's about fundamental human rights. So fundamental, in fact, that it requires people to lie about their identity and in some cases precludes them from having a family. I'm talking about gay rights.
Sure, this movement is not new. But recently, it has gained new popularity because it finally shows visible success. "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT), which bars openly gay people from military service, is gaining politically important supporters, including Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Cindy McCain (in opposition to her husband John). A recent Pentagon report concluded that repealing the policy would do little harm to the effectiveness of the military.
It may still take a while to finally repeal DADT, but so did the gradual ban of segregation in the '50s and '60s. It started with schools and continued with colleges, buses
Let's Talk about Sex
I hope and believe that in a few decades, we will say the same about discrimination on the basis of sexuality. Right now, homosexuals are still denied their full First Amendment rights. If they serve in the military, they have to deny their sexual identity and lie to their fellow comrades whose lives depend on them. DADT is disrespectful to people who sacrifice their lives to fight for this country.
BY CAROLINE BLEDOWSKI
c.hybukkukan.kap.com
In most states, homosexuals are not allowed to marry or adopt a child if they cannot have one on their own, even if they would save a child from foster care and give them a safe and happy home.
Contrary to many myths created by religious and anti-gay groups, homosexuality is NOT a disease that can be cured. It is NOT a lifestyle that can be chosen.
Research has not yet been able to fully explain why we love one
person and not another. We don't know yet why exactly we feel sexually attracted to some, but not to others. But we know that homosexuality cannot simply be changed with surgery or therapy. Being gay is like falling in love: You know when it happens but you can't get rid of it, no matter how hard you try.
In the next century, people will look at our time in history as the period when many still thought homosexuals are inferior in sexuality, should not be allowed to marry their loved one or be honest about their sexual preference. Hopefully, they will say: "How could they think that! These were dark times and we're glad we're living in a better society now."
Why are some people denied the right to marry when those who break marriages through cheating are allowed to marry again? Why are some people denied the right to adopt a child when there is no indication that they would hurt the child? Why do some people have to lie about their identity when they render the noblest public service for this country?
In 10 or 20 years, we won't need to ask those questions. But first we need to act.
Bledowski is a graduate student from Cracow, Poland, in journalism.
EDITORIAL
HAPPY EID AL-ADHA!
MARIAM SAIFAN
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Not getting vaccinated will not reduce evolution of new strains
Although I appreciate the sentiment behind Monday's vaccination article, which was concerned with reducing the evolution of new strains of the flu virus, it was unfortunately riddled with incorrect information. The author attempts to argue that healthy individuals should not get the flu shot, as this might cause the evolution of new strains of the flu virus. This statement makes no sense if one understands how the immune system and inactivated viral vaccinations work. First, the flu virus injected into your body upon vaccination has been inactivated. This means that the virus is not capable of infecting the cells of your body. For multiple viral strains to exchange genetic material (read: mutate), they must all be co-infecting the exact same cell. Therefore, from a fundamental
standpoint, no virus injected into the body from a flu vaccination is capable of causing mutations in any other viral flu strain that may happen to infect a person. Second, the immune system will clear out any injected virus within 10-14 days. Thus, even if the virus in the flu vaccination were not inactivated, it seems unlikely that within 14 days, a different viral strain will infect the same person and produce successful mutant viral progeny.
In addition, there is a concept in the epidemiology world known as herd immunity. This concept states that after a certain number of individuals in a population have been vaccinated against a particular contagious pathogen, the unvaccinated individuals of the population will also be protected from the pathogen. Basically, the
more people that are immune to the flu virus, the less likely any one person will catch the flu. This is an important concept because it has ethical implications. There are groups of people in our community that cannot receive flu vaccinations because of immune disorders or organ transplants. Furthermore, as the previous author stated, immunocompromised individuals are at high risk for serious complications from the flu.
Thus, herd immunity is one of the few ways they can be protected. As such, if you do not get the flu shot, theoretically you are increasing the chance that a sick person will die from the flu virus.
CORRECTION
Author identification on a letter to the editor on November 3, "Letter was misleading - the pill does not cause abortions" by The KU Commission on the Status of Women incorrectly identified the president of the commission.
HUMOR
Pokemon is for serious fans, not just hipsters
O h, Pokemon. I remember being 14,
and being so extremely
into the idea of hating you with
all my heart.
And I was like, "What? Hit by a train? Uh, are you being serious?" And then she got really mad at me, and was like, "Are you calling me a liar?"
I, like many kids my age, tossed my Pokémon trading cards in the back of my closet and let my copies of Silver and Red collect dust on my shelf. It was a terrible, goth-y, awkward time in my life, and I had no Pokémon to turn to when I got in trouble in school or that one time, when I asked that seventh grader out and she was like, "My boyfriend just got hit by a train. So, I'm kind of grieving."
Anyway, Pokemon had been such a staple of my childhood, and I was depriving myself of it simply because I believed I'd outgrown it. Then I discovered the Hipster Way NT (Not Trademarked ... yet). Hipsters love things ironically. You see, they wear trucker hats and skinny jeans and ride around on weird old bicycles, but they don't actually like any of these things.
These hipsters who practice the Hipster Way find it funny that people actually enjoy these trends, so they adorn the trends as a sort of weird joke. A lot of hipsters ironically like Pokémon. So for awhile, I lived in a weird hipster world in which I said things were "gay" ironically, and I nearly bought a bunch of Alf shirts, ironically of course. It was a wacky, upside-down world.
But I found myself still enjoying Pokemon unironically (well, all but the show and films, which are - let's be honest - so awful that they're good). I
BY CHANCE CARMICHAEL
ccarmichael@kansan.com
Some, I'm sure, were done ironically, but I was excited to see friends explaining and arguing just why Beedrill or Arcanine or whatever (that's not a Pokémon's name, but it would make a good one) are the best of all Pokémon. It was a proud moment for me, and I knew at that moment that Jesus was right. The meek will inherit the earth, and they will all have a favorite Pokémon and lots to say on the subject of a Pokémon MMORPG (c'mon, Nintendo!).
So, this December when Pokémon profile picture month comes again, don't hide behind irony. Accept the fact that you have a weird knowledge of the Kanto region, you downloaded Pokémon Snap on your virtual console the day it was released, and that you have a favorite Pokémon.
realized that if a genie appeared in my room, my second wish would be for Pokémon to be real and for me to be a gym leader (my first wish would be for more wishes, duh). I was always ashamed of my Pokémon affliction until December when millions and millions (yeah, I said it: MILLIONS) of people on Facebook changed their profile picture to their favorite Pokémon.
Carmichael is a junior from Mulvane in film and media studies and journalism.
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Chatterbox Responses to the news of the week on Kansan.com
For those that are concerned about their tax dollars supporting the possible side effects of contraception, why are you not also rallying against every other drug with side effects (many of which can be much more extreme) that the government subsidizes with medicare and medicaid?
"Those that are concerned about their tax dollars funding contraceptives should consider the much larger tax burden of the government supporting children whose parents are unable to care for them, and dealing with the consequences of deliquent children who do not recieve proper care.
For those that are concerned with the moral arguments of human life, do you spend as much energy protesting the wars we are waging, which are the primary reason that our country cannot manage its budget?"
— "Kall" in response to "Oral contraceptives harmful to women" on Nov. 4.
"If someone can comfortably talk about masturbation then good for you. If someone else feels that it is a private thing then who are we to decide that they are wrong? I don't think that Ms. Bledowski meant to do so but she defined those who do as normal and those who don't (or don't want to talk about it) as abnormal. It depends on your culture. In the navy there was a popular joke that said "How can you tell if a sailor just come off a six month deployment? With one hand he can crush a Volkswagon but he can't zip up his fly with the other." Jokes like that will get you fired in an office environment or crucified on TV if you are a public figure (not a comedian)."
LETTER GUIDELINES
— "Calvin" in response to "No need for masturbation taboo" on Nov. 11.
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CONTACT US
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
THE EDITORIAL BOARD Members of the Kanan Editorial Board are Alex Garrison, Nick Gink, Erin Brown, David Dahlman, Jonathan Shaun and Shaun Black