Opinion
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010
WWW.KANSAN.COM
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FREE
--struck many, including us, by surprise. Perkins didn't seem to suffer any negative consequences by leaving early. It had been previously
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--struck many, including us, by surprise. Perkins didn't seem to suffer any negative consequences by leaving early. It had been previously
Way to go, Lew. First you killed football at Wichita State, now you've effectively killed it at
It is my day to sleep in, and the City of Lawrence has decided to re-pave the street behind my house ... today ... at 8 in the morning
--struck many, including us, by surprise. Perkins didn't seem to suffer any negative consequences by leaving early. It had been previously
Ideal world: Bill Self is our basketball and football coach.
--struck many, including us, by surprise. Perkins didn't seem to suffer any negative consequences by leaving early. It had been previously
Working a minimum wage job just feels so futile when taking out student loans. Like trying to dry out the ocean with a hairdver
--struck many, including us, by surprise. Perkins didn't seem to suffer any negative consequences by leaving early. It had been previously
I've never used the "Just wait till basketball season" phrase so early into the football season before.
--struck many, including us, by surprise. Perkins didn't seem to suffer any negative consequences by leaving early. It had been previously
Cuz the chess club party don't stop!
--struck many, including us, by surprise. Perkins didn't seem to suffer any negative consequences by leaving early. It had been previously
I'm going to be drunk everyday until the beginning of basketball season.
--struck many, including us, by surprise. Perkins didn't seem to suffer any negative consequences by leaving early. It had been previously
--struck many, including us, by surprise. Perkins didn't seem to suffer any negative consequences by leaving early. It had been previously
So Deshaun Sands is hurt and we're going to play a true freshman over a proven running back? WTF?
--struck many, including us, by surprise. Perkins didn't seem to suffer any negative consequences by leaving early. It had been previously
We should turn the Kansas football games into a drinking game. Every time the other team scores, we drink.
Akwward roommate moments: Random playlist goes from Metallica to Miley Cyrus ... It's not mine I swear.
Mangino wouldn't have lost that game because he is a badass and when all the badasses get together they call him "Boss!"
Trying to predict females is like trying to predict your own death
--struck many, including us, by surprise. Perkins didn't seem to suffer any negative consequences by leaving early. It had been previously
JOE COLLEGE, PLEASE COME BACK!!!
--struck many, including us, by surprise. Perkins didn't seem to suffer any negative consequences by leaving early. It had been previously
What has Obama done? He's just like Turner. All talk no walk. The only difference is Obama hasn't lost to a third world country yet.
--struck many, including us, by surprise. Perkins didn't seem to suffer any negative consequences by leaving early. It had been previously
I'm twenty years old, how did I get my shoelace into such a huge knot?
I just spent the last two hours lying on the couch playing Pokemon and watching "Cash Cab." This is why I'll never get
--struck many, including us, by surprise. Perkins didn't seem to suffer any negative consequences by leaving early. It had been previously
EDITORIAL BOARD
Perkins helped athletics, but tainted school name
Tuesday's announcement that athletics director Lew Perkins was resigning effective immediately sent shockwaves through the university community.
Although Perkins had announced in June his intention to leave next September, the suddenness of his departure
images during Perkins' term.
To be sure, Perkins was instrumental in a number of positive decisions for athletics and the University since becoming the athletics director in 2003.
Perkins leaves behind a significant legacy-both good and bad.
Under his leadership, the Booth Family Hall of Athletics was added to Allen Fieldhouse, new football facilities were built near Memorial
reported that his contract contained a retention bonus of $2 million if he stayed through June 2011. Although he leaves in early September, he will still receive approximately $2 million.
Although the retention bonus is not taken from taxpayer money, the fact that it will be doled out despite Perkins' early exit should raise eyebrows. At this point, the reason for the premature payout can be only be speculated, but whatever the reason, it is one final bad image for a university and an athletics department that has suffered more than its share of bad
Stadium, KU football won the Orange Bowl and men's basketball won the NCAA championship. But his time as director was also marked by controversy. Packing
was behind the use of a points system for Fieldhouse seating, which resulted in many longtime donors losing their traditional seats. He was in charge when it was discovered that employees in the athletics department had diverted over $1 million in tickets for personal use and profit. He was in charge when football and basketball players slugged it out last fall near Wescoe Hall. He was in charge when Mark Mangino faced accusations of abuse and subsequently resigned.
Perkins was also under suspicion of violating ethics in
regards to exchanges of basketball tickets for exercise equipment. Although he was cleared of any wrongdoing at the university level, a state-level ethics investigation remains ongoing.
A story last month in the Kansas City Star also detailed Perkins' use of the University's plane, which we believe was wasteful and excessive.
It may be tempting when looking back on Perkins' tenure to turn a blind eye to the dark times experienced under his leadership and focus only on his successes. But this urge must be resisted.
The worst lesson that could be taken from Perkins' time at KU would be that scandal and questionable practices are simply the cost of doing business.
Poor ethics, or the appearance of poor ethics, must not be tolerated. No amount of fundraising or number of national championships should ever exempt any leader within this university - athletic or otherwise - from the highest standards of conduct.
At the end of the day, Perkins had tainted the University's name and unfortunately, but rightly, had to go.
EDITORIAL CARTOON
— Jonathan Shorman for The Kansan Editorial Board.
GENERAL PETRAEUS KNOWS I'M ENDANGERING AMERICAN LIVES, BUT I DON'T CARE! I'M GOING TO PRETEND THAT I REPRESENT CHRISTIANITY AND I WILL DESTROY THIS HOLY BOOK BECAUSE I PRETEND THAT AL QAEDA REPRESENTS ISLAM!
INFLAMMATORY RHETORIC
GUEST COLUMN
HATE SPEECH
IS NEVER PRETTY
During economic uncertainty, financial knowledge essential
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke put it best at his Aug. 27 Jackson Hole speech: We are having a "crisis of confidence" in the U.S. and abroad.
Here is a condensed list of overlooked economic and market indicators every person should know if they're interested in making money.
This statistic is important because of its timeliness to the markets as compared to the monthly released unemployment level statistic.
Though the market is unpredict able at this point in time, there is no reason to throw in the towel and wait on the sidelines.
When you are comparing weekover-week statistics, look for trends not just reversals.
By following these basic indicators, you will be able to formulate your own expectations of where the general market may be heading in the near future.
A movement can be considered a trend after three to four weeks of
One indicator is unemployment claims that are released weekly by the Department of Labor.
There is money to be had; you just have to know how to approach the markets.
the same direction move. Going forward, the key is spotting a trend of more people landing jobs and fewer people applying for unemployment benefits.
The U.S. is currently looking at the highest number of unsold homes it has ever seen, about 12.5 months' worth of supply.
Once we see existing homes being bought up, then we can anticipate the addition of new homes to the market as the demand for homes will eventually exceed supply.
These vacant homes need to be bought up before the market can recover.
Housing inventories give investors the number of existing unsold homes in the marketplace.
This will reinvigorate the housing markets.
The VIX is the barometer of implied volatility of S&P 500 index options. The S&P 500 is used as the default market by professional investors because of the diversity that the S&P illustrates with its 500 companies compared to the DOW, which tracks only 30 companies.
The meaning and mathematics behind the VIX are quite simple.
You must first understand that the VIX is an annualized number;
so we can infer that by dividing the current VIX LEVEL of 23 (recalculate every second during a trading session) by the square root of 12 (months in a year) that the market expects the S&P 500 to move up or down 6.64 percent over the next 30-day period.
23/ $ \sqrt{1 2} $ months = 6.64 percent volatility over the next 30 day period.
Use the VIX as a measure of when to enter and exit the markets based upon your appetite for risk.
The lower the VIX, the less risky the perception of the market is.
We may be in a period of extreme uncertainty, but the use of basic economic and stock market indicators are necessary when trying to navigate these rough seas.
There are many indicators to look to, but these three should give you a foundation as you enter the market.
—From UWIRE. Marley Hughes for the Central Florida Future at the University of Central Florida.
FREE SPEECH
Even Fred Phelps'hateful speech must be protected
A few weeks ago, a federal judge in Missouri ruled that it is unconstitutional for the government to limit protests near funerals.
Yes, our favorite Topekans, of the infamy.
This ruling strikes down a Missouri law from a few years ago. The suit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, on behalf of — saywhat? — the Westboro Baptist Church.
The key to winning in this court case was the freedom of speech cemented in our Constitution.
Obviously, the First Amendment says that we may say what we like, just no slander or libel. This means that Fred Phelps and his clan may say as they like, no matter how despicable it is.
And as strange as it seems, I believe the ACLU was right to fight for them. Sometimes the right decision is not always the most popular decision.
It also means that criticism, and more importantly, critical dialogue, is protected. With this critical dialogue we learn from Westboro.
What is wrong with this church? Who are they appealing to, and why? Are these problems solely within Westboro Baptist or are there insidious, subtler issues we must address across many churches?
With a discussion on this, such things as certain religious fundamentalism and homophobia, among others, can be examined, and we can figure out and study how the ideas as a whole affect people and what can be done about it -what can be done to decrease the negative experiences of people who are hurt by these things. Criticism and disagreement foster conversation.
Conversation leads to growth.
Progressive Perspective
Also, the right for counterprotesters to do their thing isprotected. That too is important, not only because I personally often find counter-protesters dreadfully funny, but because difference of opinion is necessary for a democracy.
Some counter-protests can be
BY ALI FREE
afree@kansan.com
We must use our disagreement, and turn it productive.
especially productive, such as when it involves someone such as Daniel Held, a junior from Seattle, who at last semester's Brown Bag Drag raised more than one thousand dollars for Planned Parenthood, while across the street the Westboro gang fruitlessly demonstrated their hate.
The country has the opportunity now with the Dr. Laura debacle, who recently went on an on-air tirade which included repeated uses of the n-word.
Is this going to spur on that fabled discussion on race that, as Kansas columnist D.M. Scott pointed out a while ago, we sorely need but haven't yet had?
I don't know. Maybe not among the country as a whole, but even now it is still fanning the flames and getting more people involved.
If you have the freedom of speech,you also have the responsibility to be accountable for what you say. Yes, you can say offensive things and spout empty rhetoric to your heart's content, but back it up or admit that you can't.
Speakers have this responsibility to their
What I find most disturbing about this situation is not the tirade itself, but the fact of Sarah Palin and Dr. Laura complaining that her first amendment rights were violated by the storm of condemnation that followed her tirade.
Democracy needs freedom of speech so people can learn about other ideas, criticize those ideas and pick the better ones to move on with.
Free is a sophomore from Blue Springs, Mo., in women's studies.
Chatterbox
Responses to the news of the week on Kansan.com
"Though we should be careful not to let our perceptions of a nation-state define our view towards a group of people, I think that the common attitude towards China as a potential threat is absolutely warranted considering the way the government manipulates currency as policy, spies on us and develops weapons explicitly designed to counter our forces in the Pacific. China has a hostile military relationship with us already given the Taiwan situation. Finally, the country as a whole has a very questionable record in regard to human rights and there is still rampant abuse of power going on."
— "concernm" in response to "China should be seen as a partner, not as a threat" on Sept. 6.
"We could use some hard hitters like Middle Tennessee. Our kills were balls that had deflected off MT hands, not hard driven balls. Your libero just about got killed last night. Let's try to protect the back row a little better."
— "Esu4sports" in response to "Team gets first taste of defeat" on Sept. 7.
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
The Texasman Editorial Board are
Alex Garrison, Nick Gink, Erin Brown, David
Cawthon, James Chadwick and Shauna
Blackmon.