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 9, 2010
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PAGE 5A
--you think about it.
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Girl that used to live in my apartment: just let you know, you owe student health services for your chlamydia test (that came back positive).
--you think about it.
Yes it is okay to stare. That's why we're wearing them.
--you think about it.
He looks like a cross between a turtle and a girl with Hepatitis C
--you think about it.
I'm convinced I will be murdered in the stacks.
--you think about it.
It seems as if the Free-for-all is abreast with titillating conversation.
--you think about it.
Call me, don't text me. It tell me nothing about you except that you're shy and can't spe
--you think about it.
--you think about it.
You are never TOO old to watch Scooby-Doo!
Is it wrong to like Bush as a person, but hate the politician?
--you think about it.
Just dropped the bottle of hand sanitizer into the trash. What to do...
--you think about it.
Just found a prime living space above a pizza shop that is down the street from my dealer. This is as close to a sign from God as I'm going to get.
--you think about it.
--you think about it.
To my lab partner: Stop writing your part of the report drunk.
I like turtles!!!
--you think about it.
Dear roommate, I've bought 30 rolls of toilet paper. You've bought 0. I am from now on no longer buying toilet paper. I will use your towels to wipe my ass. If you don't like it, buy some toilet paper. Love, your roomie!
--you think about it.
I sense a lot of unattractive males pretending to have standards ... count me in!
--you think about it.
Roll in. Cash out.
--you think about it.
Poor Chiefs.
--you think about it.
Every day I see my dream
--you think about it.
I am cleaning my apartment while jamming to K.C. & The Sunshine Band."Let's get down tonight"
--you think about it.
POLITICS
Bipartisanship is more than voting similarly
Last Tuesday night, after the Grand Old Party shellacked the Democrats, an elated and emotional John Boehner, the next speaker of the house, offered his interpretation of the "message" sent from voters.
At the National Republican Congressional Committee's victory party in Washington, Boehner said, "Across the country right now, we are witnessing a repudiation of Washington, a repudiation of big government, and a repudiation of politicians who refuse to listen to the people."
There's some truth to this.
The disconnect between voters and their elected officials has grown wider over the past few decades and can be gauged by the Capitol's inefficiency.
George Packer of The New Yorker recently pointed out how the Senate, "the world's greatest deliberative body," a place where great minds once worked together through compromise and debate, has turned into a political standoff, where lawmakers barely know one another because of their polarizing, ideological positions and their constant need to fundraise.
Instead of working together, Republican and Democratic lawmakers try to outmaneuver one another in a never-ending struggle for power, which is needed to pass laws nowadays because a simple majority doesn't work; supermajorities are required.
Starting the Conversation
This has led to a record number of filibusters and cloture votes that have nearly paralyzed Capitol Hill. Over the summer, in testimony before the Committee on Rules and Administration, Thomas Mann, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said, "The resulting procedural arms race has served individual and partisan interests but has diminished the Senate as an institution and weakened the country's capacity to govern"
BY D.M. SCOTT
Even worse, the ones incessant demands draw lawmakers outside the Capitol, like with "dialing for dollars", which fosters negligence inside the voting chambers.
Tom Daschle, the former Democratic leader, said that his chaotic schedule, micromanaged down to 15-minute intervals, left him lost at times and clueless as how to vote.
"If you're ever pressed, 'Why did you vote that way?'—you just walk out thinking, Oh, my God, I hope nobody asks, because I don't have a clue," he said in Packer's article.
An astonishing admission when
In his autobiography, Vice President Joe Biden wrote about a different era in the "70s, "Democrats and Republicans actually enjoyed each other's company," he wrote.
There was a time when lawmakers from both sides of the aisle lived in Washington, attended the same social gatherings and even ate lunch together. Relationships were built that fostered a bipartisan environment, Packer wrote.
Yet when triumphant Boehner said, "The American people are concerned about the government takeover of healthcare. I think it is important for us to lay the groundwork before we begin to repeal this monstrosity..."we know we are not moving toward a more efficient government. Going after health care is a fruitless endeavor when the president holds the power to veto.
It's time we move on; that's what the people mandated.
Our role as citizens goes beyond voting. Now, we must watch our lawmakers work and evaluate how they work together. This will more than likely mirror our own conversations. Will we discuss and listen? Or will we shout and point?
D. M. Scott is a junior from Overland Park in journalism.
CARTOON
MARIAM SAIFAN
GUEST COLUMN
Returning to gold standard means more than 'freedom' and 'liberty'
If platitudes are a disease, American politics is experiencing an epidemic. Politicians on both sides of the aisle are infected, some more severely than others. And who can blame them? It seems most Americans will always get behind vague, constitutional-sounding things like "personal freedom" and "protecting liberty," so why shouldn't candidates pepper their speeches with such phrases?
It's not that these concepts aren't important. But trying to back up every argument with rhetoric that sounds as if it was lifted from Patrick Henry trivializes the ideals that are being invoked and misinforms the electorate. This is especially true with a subject as complex as the United States' $13 trillion economy.
An acute case of the disease was on display at Rep. Ron Paul's speech in the IMU last week. The Texas Republican is a rare politician in many ways. He actually sticks to his principles, has delivered thousands of babies, and believes in a drastic overhaul of the U.S. economy. Paul wants to end the Federal Reserve and put the United States back on a form of the gold standard. So it is important for people to understand the consequences of those plans before
they buy a "Paul 2012" bumper sticker.
Anyone who went to Paul's speech expecting a coherent articulation of his economic positions would have left unsatisfied. Beyond his general talking points, Paul did not discuss his reasoning very thoroughly. The libertarian said Americans need to know more about Austrian economics (a heterodox school of economic thought), but didn't mention which tenets of the school he agreed with or why.
Paul believes the Fed is the root of inflation. He argues that in the Fed's efforts to stabilize or stimulate the economy, it actually ends up making things worse. He relates this to his common theme of "liberty" by saying that the government is imposing an implicit tax on everyone, because inflation lowers the value of everyone's money. His solution to this problem? Abolish the Federal Reserve and back up the dollar with gold.
He did talk frequently, however, about eliminating the Federal Reserve (prompting raucous chants of "End the Fed") and putting the United States back on the gold standard.
Paul has stated in past interviews that he doesn't want the United States to go back to the 19th-century version of the gold standard. Instead, he wants to make currency redeemable in gold and silver, known as "hard currency." If the United States decided to strictly adhere to the gold standard — so that $1 of currency was redeemable for $1 in gold — the total money supply would shrink by 70 to 80 percent, Convibeara said.
Hopefully, most of Paul's supporters understand the policies they vociferously advocate. His preferred policies would have a huge effect on the life of every American. And it is not a decision voters should make if they are basing their opinions solely on vague pronouncements of "freedom" and "liberty."
Under the gold standard, every dollar of U.S. currency would
be backed by gold, meaning you could redeem a dollar bill for a set amount of gold whenever you wanted. Proponents argue the benefits of the system would include less severe inflation and a more stable international-exchange rate.
— From UWIRE, Will Mattessich for The Daily Iowan, University of Iowa.
CIVIL LIBERTIES
Iowa Supreme Court judged on specific decisions not capabilities
Human Rights for All
The election outcome in Iowa a week ago, concluding in the removal of three state Supreme Court justices, is disturbing for two reasons: it undermines the state's judicial system and it reinforces the very mind set that encourages bullying LGBT students in school.
the reason why United States Supreme Court justices can only be removed by impeachment is to prevent their decisions from being made.
The vote to remove the justices came after a conservative campaign under the guise of eradicating "activist judges". The campaign based this assessment on the court's unanimous vote to strike down a state law that outlawed same-sex marriage.
As Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the University of California, Irvine, School of Law, said in the New York Times, "What is so disturbing about this
Unfortunately, these judges did not have the same protection.
Clearly the court based its ruling on its interpretation of the law and the constitution, as it was supposed to do. Unfortunately, making a decision on such a controversial issue meant taking a risk.
The court found that the state law violated the equal protection under the law guaranteed by the constitution and that the law did not "substantially further any important government objective," said Justice Mark S. Cady, who was not one of the three removed from the court (New York Times).
BY KELLY COSBY
is that it really might cause judges in the future to be less willing to protect minorities out of fear that they might be voted out of office"
Also disturbing is this outcome's implication of the way our society views homosexuality.
Many people will continue to claim there is a disconnect between same-sex marriage rights and the vicious anti-gay bullying epidemic, but the longer we hold onto that fallacy, the longer this distorted mind set will continue to pardue our country.
Members of the national community cannot lobby against equal rights for LGBT citizens and then be shocked when schoolchildren bully their gay classmates. Teaching kids that certain people don't belong and don't deserve all their rights as citizens gives them ammunition and encourages discrimination.
As it is, our society's collective mind set may take some time to change. But, we should feel confident when judges like these put their own interests aside to do what they feel is right by the constitution.
Cosby is a junior from Overland Park in political science and English.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Salary issues larger than faculty freeze
As Lisa Wolf-Wendel pointed out, rising costs and static salaries create a de facto pay cut. On the whole, staff earn less than faculty, so we are hit disproportionally by cuts. Unclassified staff have been let go
I'd like to offer a different perspective on Stephen Gray's Nov. 3 story "Static faculty salaries amount to pay cuts." KU staff — both Unclassified and University Support Staff — haven't received a pay raise in two years, either. The issue of salary freezes is larger than just faculty.
because of budget cuts. Staff and faculty positions have been left open because of empty coffers.
I applaud the administration's willingness to fight for salary increases for all KU workers. I hope the Board of Regents and incoming Kansas Legislature fund higher education across the state to keep it the vital resource, economic engine and investment in the growth and vitality of the state that we know it is.
— Phil Wilke is the president of Unclassified Senate.
Chatterbox
Responses to the news of the week on Kansan.com
"Guess what? Your favorite candidate you just voted into office neither knows nor cares about your positions on issues. Also, your vote didn't really do anything to decide the election. Your vote only matters if it's the deciding swing vote in an election. Otherwise you're just wasting your time."
— "NarCap" in response to "Participation in election vital" on Nov. 5.
— "AnneS" in response to "No need for masturbation taboo" on Nov. 7.
"I absolutely agree. Thank you for stating what I assumed to be the obvious. And yes, it is a wonderful way to relieve stress. An added bonus is that it teaches people to be less embarrassed about their bodies and more comfortable with their sexuality."
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
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