TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2007 WWW.KANSAN.COM
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
PAGE 4A
OUR VIEW
Bush speech should outline Iraq goals
Tonight's State of the Union address will be the sixth of the Bush presidency, a two-term tumult that has seen drastic changes in many aspects of American life. When Bush entered office, we had no Patriot Act, no war on terror, and no hint of the other vestigial evidence of the Bush era that will be superjacent to American culture for years after he leaves office.
So what should we expect from Bush in tonight's address, and what should we want to hear? The war in Iraq is clearly the prevailing media issue and political talking point, and the speech should be apportioned accordingly. We know enough of Bush to not hold our collective breath for an hourlong meculpa, but it is not unreasonable to expect a more conciliatory tone from the President, along with continued acknowledgement of error that began in his recent address. The "stay the course" mentality that helped Bush win reelection is no longer viable, as illuminated by recent opinion polls, and the White House speechwriters will attempt to shift accountability to the fledgling Iraqi government.
In the war portion of the speech, students should want more than tired platitudes from Bush. We have seen the rationale for the war shift from "imminent threat" to "spreading liberty," and our patience with the phrase-of-the-month reasoning has
FREE FOR ALL
Call 864-0500
To whoever lost the Acura car keys on the hill by JRP: Please call me and I'll get them back to you as soon as possible.
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Editor's note: Phone number has been deleted. KU Public Safety Office has a Lost and Found. It can be reached at 864-5910.
The only thing scarier than President George W. Bush is President Dick Cheney.
worn thin. Bush needs to clearly articulate both the desired goal and the strategy for reaching that goal; all the troop surges in the world are meaningless if the mission is not defined.
McKay Stangler for the editorial board
Expect Bush to devote a surprising amount of text to domestic issues, and only partially to distract from the Iraq imbroglio. Bush is reaching the point in his administration when he starts thinking about his legacy, and a series of solid domestic accomplishments could help him as much as it helped his predecessor. A few ideas are already known, including the proposed tax deduction for workers who purchase health insurance or use employer-supported plans. If Bush can put a dent in the disturbingly high number of Americans without health insurance, history will remember him more kindly.
Hey HU, do you think you can get off your ass and plow Lot 91 tonight after everybody leaves?
Thanks.
Over the 2007 State of the Union will be the melancholy pallor of lives lost and sacrifices made, and not even the grand tradition of the speech can make the assembled leaders forget those who are facing much more serious dilemmas half a world away. The President's speech should reflect the appropriate gravity of the historical moment, and we hope it will reassure, calm and inspire.
Grant Snider/KANSAN
I'm not just observing No-Undies Mondays, I'm celebrating it.
OK I know it snowed and all,
but I just saw a guy wearing
Uggs. That's just not right. Ever.
can attest.
If you're wearing Ugg boots, you deserve to be splashed by the bus's dirty, nasty, street water.
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People fail college, not because of the fact that they don't go to class. It's because Facebook loads about a million times faster than the KU Portal.
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Why in the hell is the quote of the day from Bob Knight, the coach of the team that just beat our asses? Nice timing, douche bags.
Global warming needs attention
COMMENTARY
While you were kicking it in your parents' basement, oozing charm for bigger tips at Applebee's, or "studying" the Lawrence bar scene in preparation for that pesky MCAT this spring, the media were not on winter break. They were steadfastly reporting about single most important conflict in the mind of the American public: the Rosie O'Donnell/Donald Trump feud. This crash of a titanic ego into an iceberg of hair (which also happened to have a titanic ego, albeit underwater) drew Americans to their televisions like teenage boys to a movie featuring Kate Winslet's breasts. And just like the movie Titanic, this clash of titans will probably last a Very, Long, Time.
But if you are like me, and afford celebrities religious devotion only on major holidays, there was another news item to divert us from this public display of self-importance.
BY GRANT SNIDER
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINION@KANSAN.COM
These alarming statistics have been attributed to El Nino (Spanish for "little boy who makes a warm spot in the Pacific Ocean") and global warming. El Nino is a natural occurrence, as those of you who have been in the shallow end of a public swimming pool
As you stood in the green grass in early January, wearing nothing but sandals and a smile, you may have heard that 2006 was the warmest year on record in the United States. Worldwide, 2006 was the sixth warmest year on record.
Global warming, however, has been scientifically linked to emission of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere in common industrial processes. The combustion of dead prehistoric life in the form of oil, gas and coal releases heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
The guilty parties involved include both energy producers (especially the petroleum industry) and energy consumers (you and me). Recently, two major contributors to global warming have horribly increased their emissions. Carbon dioxide from the mouths of Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump has turned the New York's winter climate from dreary to tropical.
The consensus among scientists not employed by the Bush administration is that humans and their industrial prowess have played some role in climate change. Anyone who has turned on his or her television, opened on a newspaper or walked within a 2,000-mile radius of Al Gore has heard all of the tired facts
and doomday scenarios associated with global warming. No problem, you say. Surely we can defeat the scorching summers with the miracle of air conditioning. And there is something to be said for a Winter Break that feels like Spring Break. So here are a couple of headlines you may have missed.
1. Exxon Cuts Ties to Global Warming Skeptics
Claiming "the issue has evolved," the oil behemoth Exxon Mobil has stopped funding an anti-global warming think tank. This is a promising shift from earth is flat skepticism to "the earth is round, now let's deal with it."
2. Polar Bears are Drowning
As the polar ice caps melt, bears are forced to swim deadly distances. This is bad news if you are a polar bear or a fan of these cuddly creatures. This is good if you realize that while listing polar bears as threatened species, the Bush administration's department of the interior first acknowledged human influence on climate change.
Apart from the devastating environmental impact of global warming, consider what would have happened if we had baked the planet a century earlier. No icebergs. No tragic shipwreck. No Kate Winslet and Leo DiCaprio romance. No cinema classic.
Snider is a Mulvane junior in chemical engineering.
>> COMMENTARY
Minimum-wage raise a weak way to help poor
Well, the Democrats have been in Congress for less than a month now, and they are already up to their well-intended but misguided policy-making. Their recently acquired majority was sworn in on January 4, and less than a week later the House had passed its bill concerning an increase in minimum wage. This policy is well-intended because it is good to give more money to the poorest workers in society. But it's misguided because, not only will it fail to achieve its goal of giving money to poor people, but it will distract from better method of attaining that goal.
One consequence of an involuntary increase in wage is the plight of the employers. When forced to
pay employees more, the bossman, to keep the business going, would have to either lay off employees and make remaining ones work fewer or harder hours, reduce spending on employee benefits or take up illegal practices such as smuggling or racketeering.
Another disadvantage is that it keeps people from thinking about and taking advantage of better programs. My personal favorite anti-poverty government program (and who doesn't have one?) is the magnificent yet underhyped Earned Income Tax Credit.
The EITC was created by President Ford, and was subsequently increased by every president except Carter, present buffoonery
BY ZACH WHITE
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINION@KANSAN.COM
included. It gives the lowest income taxpayers breaks in their taxes or refunds, instead of present policy of taking more of their money and then somehow finding a way to give it back to them via poorly managed social welfare programs.
What makes ETTC better than increasing minimum wage is that it cuts out the ridiculous and fum
bling middleman, government, and is more focused on helping the nation's poor. Only about 25 percent of people working for minimum wage are at or near the poverty line. Many are teenagers or college kids with night and weekend jobs. But 100 percent of recipients of a tax credit made for the poor are poor.
Unfortunately the IRS says that nearly one quarter of those eligible for EITC do not receive their credit because they don't know about it or don't think that they can receive it, resulting in billions of dollars left unclaimed every year. The good news is that there are several programs nationwide whose specific purpose is to help those who deserve this credit to receive it.
All Milton Friedman mumbo-jumbo aside, if the Democrats and labor unions are really working for low-income workers, as they claim, then they should stop infringing on the rights of employers for the purpose of helping teenagers purchase Papa Roach tickets, and should instead work on and with policies that directly aid these workers, like EITC. Because if it's a program that Reagan thought was worth half a hoot, then by George, there has got to be something to it.
White is a River City, Iowa, sophomore in Japanese and journalism.
COMMENTARY
Maintain happiness with early openness and honesty
Seeing how people affect each other and how their experiences shape themselves, their perceptions and the lives of those around them is intriguing if not inspiring. Let's dabble in the arts of sociology, psychology and ethnography together and acknowledge our art of living.
>> TALK TO US
Write in, tell me what you are feeling and experiencing. I'm here for the semester. Let's start this right: hearts on our sleeves.
Hughes is a St. Louis senior in journalism.
As this is my inaugural column as your lifestyles and relationships columnist, I am opening myself up to you. People's life experiences often develop into walls or an emotional hiatus — keeping those around them at a safe and comfortable distance. But what is a safe distance? And can we truly experience life if we're alone? You might argue yes. And I would respond, but why? You've got ten my pledge of honesty. I'd like yours.
Natalie Johnson associate opinion editor
864-4974 or nighosoni@kansan.com
Gabriella Souza, editor
664-8544 or youzakkan.kan.com
Nikole Kelley, managing editor
664-8544 or nickelley.kan.com
Patrick Ross, managing editor
664-8544 or pressku.kan.com
Courtney Hagen, opinion editor
664-8544
Lindsey Shirack, business manager
864-4014 or lshirack@ikansan.com
Honesty isn't a choice. Society says if you wear your heart on your sleeve you're a sap. But a recent study proves that being sappy can keep you happy.
Isn't it obvious? The higher the level of openness and honesty in people in a relationship, the easier it is for them to relate to each other.
Jackie Schaffer, sales manager
864-4462 or jschaffers@ikansan.com
Malcolm Gibson, general manager, news adviser
864-7647 mnihonlson@kancan.com
LETTER GUIDELINES
This study showed that relationship satisfaction strongly correlates with the level of self-disclosure of the individuals in the relationship. Interviewed couples that reported a higher level of self-disclosure during their first semi-annual interview were more likely to still be together by their second interview. Also, this study showed that a higher level of self-disclosure closely correlated with the length of a relationship.
Jennifer Weaver, sales and marketing adviser 864-7666 or jweaver@kansan.com
A new relationship can be the strongest natural high: it brings a last call of the night, someone to camp out with for the next big game and the knowledge that someone is thinking of you. Your one-step program to staying in the high, staying happy and avoiding an unnecessarily messy detox is an easy one. Be open and honest from day one.
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"Self-disclosure" — or the willingness to talk about one's self with another — is one of the key factors in the quality of a relationship, according to a study covered by the article "Self-disclosure in romantic relationships and friends among American and Japanese college students" in the "Journal of Social Psychology"
GUEST COLUMN GUIDELINES
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EDITORIAL BOARD
Gailinne Souza, Nicole Killey, Patrick Ross, Courtney Hagen
Natalie Johnson, Alison Kieler, Tasha Riggins and McKay Stangler
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