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Thursday, February 2, 1989 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Soup and smoke don't mix
Smoke hangs in the air above the "No Smoking" sign in Wescote cafeteria. In Union Square, everyone must walk through the smoking section to put away his tray. Non-smokers who eat on campus are forced to take a side order of nicotine with their lunch.
Across the country, the battle between smokers and non-smokers has become an all-out war. Many smokers resent being told not to smoke, and non-smokers resent being forced to inhale life-threatening carcinogens.
to inhale life-threatening carcinogens. Although smokers view non-smokers as whinners who want to take away their rights, non-smokers may be robbed of something more precious than a pack of smokes. An article in USA Today recently reported that passive smoking may cause 3,000 to 15,000 deaths a year.
...tiring them, though the smokers don't value their own lives, but they are putting the lives of those around them in jeopardy.
the surgeon generally issued results of a study that concluded the women went through 20 cigarettes a day, and a non-smoker subjected to those fumes got the equivalent toxins of one to two cigarettes.
use one to two cigarettes.
Is it too much to ask that someone who wants to smoke simply do it outside or in his private space? Smoking sections don't cut it when the room is wide open and the fumes engulf the area. And when non-smokers are forced to enter the smoking sections to put away trays, it defeats the purpose of having them.
So by sitting in Wescoe cafeteria you not only can get watery eyes, smelly clothes and a headache, you can get cancer or heart disease.
And you thought all they had to offer was soup and sandwiches.
Jill Jess for the editorial board
Surely U.S. government employees whose jobs involve covert dealings will be keeping a close watch on Oliver North's trial. And considering the stakes involved, the rest of us would be wise to do the same.
The legacy of Oliver North
North faces 12 of the 16 felony counts originally listed last fall in his indictment. Gone are the charges arising from the diversion of arms-sale profits to the contras. The remaining counts chiefly allege that he lied to cover up the mess. The case, which began Tuesday, may set a precedent for future accountability of this nation's intelligence.
accountability of this hard man. Brandon Sullivan, North's defense attorney, has postured the pretrial defense behind the argument that, whatever North may or may not have done, he had at least perceived permission from above. Further, he argues, the case can't be made without classified documents. Although it's true that the secret parts of classified documents often are deleted for court use, prosecutor Lawrence Walsh decided it wouldn't be worth the hassle on the two diversion-of-funds charges. Those would have been tougher to prove and most likely to draw the distracting partisan flavor of the Nicaraguan conflict into the courtroom.
The most concrete charges remain. North faces charges of repeatedly lying to Congress and the attorney general, illegally accepting a $13,000 security system plus personally using $4,300 of contra money. Sullivan contends that defending these charges also would require classified documents.
Tough-on-crime conservatives swiftly jumped to North's defense, contending that the remaining charges were flimsy. No other similar case would continue on such weak ground, pouts television pundit Pat Buchan.
James Farquhar for the editorial board
But are North's charges insignificant? The maximum penalties of the charges would carry 60 years imprisonment and $3 million in fines. And larger issues are at stake. Issues such as whether we should be handing the reins of national security and policy to persons who aren't subject to scrutiny, and whether those people could ever be held criminally accountable for wrongdoing. North's breach should not be taken lightly. Letting him off the hook would send a clear message, a message we shouldn't be sending, to those who deal in national security.
The editors in this column are the opinion of the editorial board. The editorial board consists of Julie Adame, Karen Boring, Jeff Euston, James Fuarquh, Cindy Harger, Jennifer Hinkle, Grace Hobson, Jill Jess, Mark McCormick and Mark Tillford.
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Us vs. them mentality futile
Communist paranoia in U.S. may be ghost from past, not reality of 1989
Growing up in the 1960s about two miles from the end of the B-52 runway at McCoy Air Force Base in an Orlando, Fla., neighborhood providing a place for reform in the air.
perspective on the Gorbachev era reforms in the Soviet Union.
Yet Union. But then, spending those youthful days in a paranoid Florida education system, learning the "truth" about the "red menace" and playing on the neighbors' freshly dug bomb shelters adds to that perspective.
tion. Certainly that background influenced the following commentary, which is about a conversation with a card-carrying member of the Soviet Communist Party.
Communities.
After pleasanties and a few snifters of men, given manicane with my host, Dr. Bagrat Edelian, KU's visiting Professor, I broached the subject of whether communism was a viable modern economic system. Let's face it, the Soviets are having some problems.
the Soviets are having some problems."
"You know, Tom, my friend, we have saying," Edelian said. "Communism makes great ideology, but lousy practice."
I could tell that he was going to be a tough nut to crack. Nevertheless, I went straight for the threat with my best communist-behind-everybush line. I challenged him to explain the Soviet pledge to overthrow imperialist governments, by violent means if necessary.
My education in brinkmanship diplomacy had not prepared me for a conciliatory response.
Tom
Wilhelm
in means." I suspect Tom, that you are concerned about the "suspect" strength of our army and its internationalist duty," the Soviet said. "And there is no mistake — we do have strong military force, just as you do. But this is not the issue. If you are saying that Soviet leaders in the past, even the
Staff columnist
Americanism vs. Communism course had purposely replaced thought and observation with the more efficient task of regurgitating information.
recent past, took advantage of the world situation through armed intervention, then I say that you are right and they were wrong!
"You can call it 'making the world safe for democracy' or 'advancing communism' - the patterns are the same in their basic facts."
This should not have been happening. All the training from the mandatory high school "Americanism vs. Communism" course had purposely replaced "thought" and "observation" with the more efficient task of regurgitating information. Still, I managed to conjure up the images of my fourth grade class during the routine, now-extinct, civil defense drills. I asked about the Soviet nuclear force modernization program in the face of the much-publicized INF reductions.
"While you think that current reduction of troops and equipment and some nuclear weapons is a ploy to weaken NATO's position, in its basic
form, it is correct action from a country that says it only wants a defensive force," he said. "Tom, who cares if it is believable or not. The point is that it is happening!"
in the name of Kennedy's ghost, was there no end to this stinging logic! My last doomsaying effort to exercise the truth from my natural enemy was to demand a prognosis of our diametrical systems and of the role of the Communist Party in it.
"Tom, I am member of Communist Party of the Soviet Union. I say to you this: the party should not be involved in bureaucracy and government as it is now. It is difficult for us to unravel the party from the state, but we are only now beginning to think about how to achieve this."
"As for our mutual existence on this planet, I believe that Marx and Lenin did not know what it would be in 1869. I believe that, much like your own founding fathers, they provided a basic manifesto which was flexible enough to adapt to a future world. Yes, in the past this has been abused, just as your own civil liberties and federal responsibilities have. In the future, Tom, I predict that we will become more capitalistic and you, with expanding human-welfare legislation, will become more socialistic. I say save the discussion of communism until then."
While many questions were left unanswered and some not adequately answered, the ghosts from my past and the new ones brought about from Rambo movies have left me alone for awhile to think rather than fear. And to enjoy a good cognac with my Armenian friend.
Cultivate new interests to banish blahs
- Tom Wilhelm is a Lawrence graduate student in Soviet/East European Studies.
Experts recommend ways to maintain sanity through the dullest season of the year
We've entered the dullest, most depressing time of the year in most of the United States. People suffer from the post-holiday blahs. The mis
erable weather keeps us indoors. Election excitement is over. Football has wound down, and baseball hasn't started yet. Wallets have been tapped out by Christmas spending and the Social Security bite.
So the question we face is, how to glide through January, February and March as painlessly as possible; how to find a way to brighten our spirits and keep busy and make the time fly by until spring arrives.
I've talked to several experts in psychology, social work and recreational therapy, and they've helped me put together a list of things to do that will help you through these long, gray months until the sun and the muggers come out again.
gain.
Here are some of their ideas:
Mike Royko
Syndicated columnist
Brooding. Brooding is overlooked as an absolutely great way to pass dull time. And it's something you can do by yourself anytime. Just pick out all of the things that you hate about yourself; or think back to all of the terrible mistakes you've made in your life, things that make you feel guilt and shame. Or think about all of the cruel and thoughtless ways your
Here are some of their ideas:
Drinking: Getting roaring drunk has always been a remedy for the diarrheas, especially in parts of the world that have long, cold winters. In Finland, for example, so many people use this means of flushing off the blasts that the government provides free fhangover stations to administer oxygen and massive vitamin doses. So you might consider throwing a log on the fire and becoming absolutely stinky. So often, throw on another log, bite the top off another jug and before you know it, April will be here. All of the loudmouthed birds will be chirping and you can take a bath, shave off your three-month beard growth, throw all the empties in the alley, stagger outside for a breath of fresh air and walk down to the neighborhood saloon for a drink.
friends, relatives, co-workers and neighbors have ever hurt your feelings. Then sit in front of the fire or in a dimly-lit room and dwell on them at length. Go over them time after time, reliving each awful and shameful detail. The hours will just fly by. (You can combine your brooding with drinking and have one heck of a time.)
Winter sports: Cross-country skiing has become very popular and downhill skiing is still growing. There are also winter campings clubs and ice fishing. But I don't recommend any of these. They can give you a heart attack, frostbite or broken legs. The best winter sport is shooting pool. You meet really fascinating people in pool halls or bars that have pool tables. You can gamble and swat and see game lights and buy ice skates. And even if you're not a pool player, don't worry. You can play the pundball machines or just hang around. Something is bound to happen.
is bound to come.
Correspondence: People don't write letters anyway, and they should. It's a wonderful form of human contact. And it's an inexpensive but constructive way to fill empty time — especially by writing hate letters. So make a list of the 10 or 20 people you hate most and write them long, totally honest letters telling them why you hate them in vivid detail. They don't have to be famous people, although that's always fun. Friends, relatives, neighbors, coworkers and old flames will do, then consider a flexible handwriting system, then consider cassettes. With a cassette, you can grow, snarl, hiss, shriek, weep and say any old obscene thing that pops into your head.
Novels: You might consider writing an obscene novel. Make yourself the hero or her-
one. You might be surprised at how well you can write and come up with colorful ideas. Your book might even be published. And even if it isn't, later in the year, you can give it to someone — a friend, loved one or a stranger to whom you are attracted — as a birthday or Christmas gift.
Binoculars: Powerful binoculars are great fun for high-rise dwellers whose windows look out at other high-rise dwellers. If the binoculars are strong enough, you're bound to find someone whose drapes are open. You can watch other people eating, sleeping, talking to each other, having sex, exercising, murdering each other and all kinds of things. Or you and a friend can open your drapes and pretend to murder each other and if the police show up, you'll know that somebody was watching.
Holding someone hostage: Usually, husbands take their wives and kids hostage, although boyfriends occasionally seize their girlfriends. Whatever time case, it's a lively wintertime activity. Just flipping a chair or lamp through the window, screaming some crazy threats and in no time the police will have your place surrounded and will be talking to you through bullhorns. The TV cameras will show up, so after an hour or two, or even longer, you can surrender to a TV reporter. You might wind up spending a couple of weeks in a nuthouse, which could be a surprisingly interesting way to get through the winterold dorms. And when it's over you'll have your very own videotape of the police dragging a hysterical you to the paddy car.
Those are just a few of the things the experts recommend. And if you have any pet ways of fighting off the winter blahs, just send them in and I'll be glad to share them with the other readers.
But, please, don't suggest the old reliable "send out for a cheese and sausage pizza." It's loaded with cholesterol and I don't like to recommend anything dangerous.
■ Mike Royko is a syndicated columnist who writes for the Chicago Tribune.
BLOOM COUNTY
by Berke Breathed