xt779c6s1t7j https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt779c6s1t7j/data/mets.xml The Kentucky Kernel Kentucky -- Lexington The Kentucky Kernel 2006-06-29 Earlier Titles: Idea of University of Kentucky, The State College Cadet newspapers  English   Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. The Kentucky Kernel  The Kentucky Kernel, June 29, 2006 text The Kentucky Kernel, June 29, 2006 2006 2006-06-29 2020 true xt779c6s1t7j section xt779c6s1t7j THE

Breaking up is hard to do: How Phil Mickelson should get over his U.S. Open loss and
rekindle his flame for the game BACK PAGE

Ke rnel

 

Kentucky

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Rondo
heads to
Boston

By Tim Wiseman
THE KENTUCKY mm

In the first NBA Draft since the
league instituted a 19-year-old mini-
mum age rule. upperclassmen domi-
nated the first round.

But the wait did not last too long

for UK sophomore
Rajon Rondo, who
was taken off the
board at the No. 21
spot by the Phoenix
Suns last night.
Later. Rondo was
dealt to Boston. The
Celtics acquired Ron-
do in exchange for
the payment of veter-
an forward Brian
Grant‘s remaining contract and a fu-
ture first-round draft pick. Grant offi-
cially retired yesterday

“(Rondo) is the best finisher in the
draft." said Boston head coach Doc
Rivers in an interview with ESPN Ra-
dio. “1 think he’s going to be a good
defender at the point guard position
in our league for a long time."

A former McDonald‘s High School
All-American. Rondo led the Cats in
points. steals. assists and rebounds
last season. He also led the Southeast-
ern Conference in assists.

While his per-game averages rose
in almost every category his sopho-
more season, he continued to struggle
with his jump shot. finishing with a
shooting percentage of 48 percent.

“1 think there‘s too much made of
it." Tubby Smith said in March of
Rondo‘s shooting. “His job is to dis-
tribute the ball. penetrate and find

See Draft on page 6

 

Lexington Green

screens
indie-film fare

By Kerstin Mitchell
‘, THE KENTUCKY KERNEL

The future holds some big
changes for Cinemark's Lexington
Green Movies 8 theater.

Tomorrow. the commercial the-
ater will become an art house, fea~
turing independent films on all eight
screens.

“We are proud to offer a greater
variety of independent film choices
to the moviegoers of Lexington."
said Cinemark President Alan Stock
in a press release. “An eight-screen
art house will be a welcome addition
to the Lexington market. and we
hope that the public will support our
efforts to bring the very best of inde-
pendent film to the Lexington mar-
ket.”

The conversion from theater to
art house comes on the heels of yes-
terday's grand opening of Cine-
mark's 16-screen theater at Fayette
Mall.

“We’re opening another first-run
theater with your typical Hollywood
offerings _, ‘Superman Returns.’ ‘Pi-
rates of the Caribbean.‘ " said Ter-
rell Falk. Cinemark‘s vice president
of marketing and communications.

Falk said Lexington Green's shift
to art house offers Lexington “the
luxury of an eight-screen theater
and a wonderful selection of pure
art." Of its 315 theaters. this is Cine~
mark’s fourth art house.

Before Lexington Green's switch.
the Kentucky Theatre on East Main
Street was the only indie-film venue
in the city.

“Lexington is growing and there
are evidently more needs for more

See Indie on page 2

Art House Rock

What: Lexington Green Movies B's opening day
as an art house theater

Mien: Tomorrow

lhere: 200 Lexington Green Circle

Fins: ‘Kinky Boots: 'A Prairie Home Compan-
ion.’ 'Thank You for Smoking' and 'Tristram
Shandy. A Cock and Bull Story' and the Lexing-
ton premieres of 'Brick,’ ‘Keeping Up with the
Steins.’ 'On a Clear Day' and 'The Proposition'

 

 

 

 

mmmmmam

 

 

Celebrating 35 years of independence

I’ll live with the emotional trauma Whether
he’s in the world or not.”

— Holly Dunn Pendleton, on the execution of the Railroad Killer, Angel Marturino Resendiz

Former UK student
Holly Dunn Pendie-
ton, the only
known survivor of
the Railroad Killer,
is pictured here in
2002 at the Court-
yard Marriott Hotel
in Louisville.
Pendleton often
thinks about the
attack that
changed her life.
Pendleton and her
boyfriend, Chris
Maier, were
attacked by Angel
Maturino Resendiz,
known as the Rail-
road Killer, in
August 1997. Maier
died after being
struck in the head
by a 52-pound
rock; Pendleton
was stabbed.
raped and beaten.
More than two
years later,
Pendleton testified
against Resendiz
and he was found
guilty of capital
murder and sen-
tenced to death.
Resendiz was exe-
cuted Tuesday in
Huntsville, Texas.

um IOXLEV |
ktnnn FILE morn

Convicted murderer's death

doesn't culminate in closure w

Despite Tuesday's execution of the Railroad Killer,
former UK student and victim combats memories

By Crystallittle
iHEKni'uckv mu

Holly Dunn Pendleton does-
n‘t feel vindicated.

Relieved. maybe
vindicated.

The former UK student is
the only known survivor of an
attack by the “Railroad Killer."
Angel Maturino Resendiz.

Resendiz was executed
Tuesday night in Huntsville.
Texas. for the murder of Dr.

but not

Claudia Benton seven and a
half years ago. He was linked
to at least 15 murders near rail-
road tracks around the country.
including i’endleton’s
boyfriend. Chris Maier. The
two were attacked during La-
bor Day weekend. on Aug. 29.
1997. near Norfolk Southern
train tracks just off Waller Av-
enue.

After demanding money
from the couple. Resendiz be-
came angry when the two had

no cash on them just debit
and credit cards. l’endleton
told The Kernel in a 2002 inter-
view. Resendiz lifted a :32-pound
rock and struck Maier in the
head then stabbed l’endleton
with an ice pick. raped her. and
left her for dead.

When Pendleton came to at
about :i a.m.. she walked 1:30
yards to a house. where Lexing-
ton resident (‘had Goetz an-
swered the door and called the
police.

She spent five days in l'K
Hospital. recovering from a
shattered jaw and eye socket
and numerous cuts.

See Pendleton on page 2

”MIST”?

Musicians Rhonda and Sparky Rucker (right) performed Appalachian American folk songs during a Freshman Summer
Program presentation at the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center yesterday.

www.kykernel.com

Spindletop
facelift
ill-received

UK's conceptual plan for
alumni retirement center
upsets Spindletop Club

STAFF IENIT

UK is in discussions to turn
Spindletop Farm, a faculty, staff and
alumni gathering place in northern
Fayette County. into a 400-person re-
tirement facility. the Lexington Her-
ald-Leader reported last week.

The retirement community
would house an assisted-living facili-
ty. a nursing home. a facility for peo-
ple affected with dementia. and a
clinic. according to a memo com-
posed by a Spindletop Club member.
It would also include patio homes
and independent-living apartments.

A conceptual plan has those
buildings going where the club‘s
pools. tennis courts. picnic area.
playground and snack bar are now.

Members of the Spindletop Club
are drawn from UK alumni. staff
and faculty. The university bought
the 1.000-acre Spindletop Farm in
1959. and the club has been operat-
ing as an alumni rendezvous since
1962.

Spindletop Hall. the farm‘s his-
toric mansion. would undergo a $9
million to $12 million renovation.

But the plan is far from reality:
there are several complications that
haven’t yet been addressed.

Among those is financing. UK
spokesman Jay Blanton told the Her-
ald-Leader that UK doesn't have the
money to finance the renovation of
the mansion.

The total cost of the retirement
village community construction
would be $150 million. and UK Presi-
dent Lee Todd told the Herald-
Leader that the new facility would
accrue a $9 million annual payroll.

There is also a zoning issue that
wouldn‘t allow the construction of
the patio homes. as Spindletop was
zoned “Professional Office" in the
1970s. But that could be overlooked
as a part of an entire project.

The plan has upset many of the
club's members. who pay yearly
dues that amount to about 31 million
for the current. recreationally-based
facilities.

The club's members. and its gov-
erning body. the Spindletop Club
board. are upset because the new fa-
cility \vould disrupt the scenery
around the mansion. which is locat~
ed in the middle of the 1.000-acre
farm and across Ironworks Pike
from the Kentucky Horse Park.

Another complication is that the
retirement community would garner
control of Spindletop from the club's
board. The retirement community.
in the development-stage plans.
would sit on 94 acres. while the
recreation faculties would sit on 52
acres. and be moved from their cur-
rent location to make way for the re-
tirement compound.

 

Email
newsm Irvkernelcom

An .‘\ppalachian .-\mcrican
folk music pcitormancc took
place yesterday at the .\ lattin

Luther King .I r. (Iultural

(Icntcr in the Student

(Icntcr. Duo Sparky and
Rhonda Ruckcr entertained
listeners with traditional folk
music that includcd guitars.

slide guitar and spoons.
Thc cycnt was presented by
U "s Office for Multicultural

and Academic Affairs and
hosted by the UK Freshman
Summer Program.

See more photos on page 2

Imam: 251-195

 

  

PAGE 2 I Thursday. June 29. 2006

APPALACHIAN AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC, CONT. FROM PAGE 1

minimum I mrr

Musician Sparky Rucker played guitar on a folk song sing-along during a Freshman Summer
Program presentation at the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center yesterday. Rucker
played guitar, slide guitar and the spoons during the event.

.usong'

&- i

2%

idanee

not
old

mmrmu | sun

Rhonda Rucker plays harmonica on an old folk song
during her performance with Sparky Rucker yester-
day in the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center.

 

 

Pendleton

 

Continued from pagel

About two years later. Resendiz sur-
rendered on the bridge connecting
Zaragosa. Mexico with El [’aso. Texas.

Two days after Pendleton graduated
from UK. she flew to Houston to testify
at Resendiz's trial. He was found guilty
of capital murder and sentenced to
death.

Since the attack almost nine years
ago. Pendleton has devoted herself to
raising awareness about sexual assault.
She's spoken at Centre College in
Danville and DePauw University in
Greencastle. Ind. On June 20. she re-
ceived a Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Award for Outstanding Public Service
for her advocacy work and her role in
developing Holly's House. a child and
adult advocacy center for victims of vio-
lent crimes in Evansville. Ind.

Though Pendleton has declined in-
terviews during this time. she issued a
statement to the press about Resendiz‘s

execution.

“I have to say that I guess it will be a
relief when he’s not in the world any-
more." Pendleton said in the statement.
“But I’ll live with the emotional trauma
whether he‘s in the world or not.“

Pendleton also said she‘s tried to put
the execution out of her mind.

“It brings up emotional feelings i
haven‘t felt in eight or nine years." she
said.

But raising awareness and working
with Holly's House have been instru-
mental to her healing process.

“The scars will never completely go
away.“ Pendleton said. “but I have
learned to live past the trauma and I
have focused my energy toward helping
others.“

Email clittlevu kylrernelcom

_ V Forfimore information on Holly Dunn? l
_ Pendleton. visit www.hollykdunn.com.

> For more information about Holly's House,
3 visit www.hollyshouse.org.

l
l
l
l
ter, call 253-2511 or (800) 656-HOPE. l

l
i To contact the Bluegrass Rape Crisis Cen-
i

 

 

 

 

 

A K

VOTED #1 APARTMENT COMMU

Great location —
walk to class

Swimming pool
Fitness center
On-site management

24-hour emergency
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Individual leases

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Indie

Continued from page 1

 

theaters.“ said Fred Mills. manager
of the Kentucky Theatre.

AmStar‘s new 14-screen theater
complex. located just south of Man
O' War Boulevard on Nicholasville
Road. and Fayette Mail's new 16-
screen theater are within several
miles of each other and Cinemark
had to decide what would best fit
their needs. Mills said.

But the Kentucky Theatre is not
just an art house it hosts inde
pendent films, local bands for the
younger audience. and national and
international acts. Mills said.

“We have a very loyal audience.
especially with the university com-
munity." he said. “I think every-
thing will be OK we'll be OK."

Ismail
neursm kykernel. com

llll \iiiiiiii IOI‘\I\
/i/c/>o/
\\ \iini |\\l i \

Jul) olh. Xl’\l .i
lickcl l’iicc -» \D

- UK's Alcohol Research

(‘enter in the Department '

of Psychology Is conducting

a number of studies involvmg
the etletts of alcohol on behaVIoi

I Participants should be between 21*
’3”: years of age for alcohol studies

0 Partictpants ages [820 are also
needed for other studies not
involving alcohol

llic' ht'Iilllt‘Li
Il-l l .isl \l.iin \iicci

linuilt'l

. b Particxp‘ants Will be WELL:
PAID for their time

0 Entertainment. food and
beverages are proVided after the
study in a comfortable setting

Call 257-3137 for more
Information

 

 

 

wish I’d taken my class

i

 

Set your own study hours
with Independent Study!

 

 

 

 

W

Program

Room 10 Funkhouser Building - 257-3468

www.uky.edu/isp

 

 

 

' LEXINGTON

695 Winnie Street | 859.226.9068
royallexington.com

Ownoanndpmfuolonollymanngedbym AMiRicAN < AMi'iIs (:oMMUNiriES

NITY BY UK STUDENTS 3 YEARS IN A ROW

 

 

 

 

  

Thursday
June 29. 2006
PAGE 3

Fe atures

Ellen Sawyer

Features Editor

Phone: 257-1915

E-mail: IeaturesOkykerneI.com

 

FMEXFWE I In theaters and on shelves

IN THEATERS
THE DEVIL WEARS
PRADA

Think your boss is a complete
tool? Well. (s)he may be. but
you haven't met magazine
editor and perpetual (exple-
tive deleted) Miranda
Priestly. And soon after she's
hired at the Runway maga-
zine. hapless personal assis-
tant Andy Sachs (Anne
Hathaway) wishes she’d never
met Miranda. either. Still,
Meryl Streep's turn as an
uber-you-know-what. played
to eerie ice-queen perfection,
makes this well worth the
price of admission. Based on
the chick-lit tome by the
same name. At Cinemark
Fayette Mall, Regal and
Woodhill.

SUPERMAN RETURNS

First of all, the list of people
skipped over for the role of
Superman reads like a roster
of "Cosmo Girl!" cover boys.
Josh Hartnett. Ashton Kutcher.
Paul Walker and Terry
O'Connell were all in discus-
sions for the role, and Jim
"Iesus"CaviezeI expressed an
interest. Naturally. unknown
Brandon Routh got the role of
his life. In this episode of the
series. the Man of Steel comes
back to Earth to fight Lex
Luthor (Kevin Spacey) and
win back Lois Lane (Kate
Bosworth) after a five-year
absence spent visiting the

ON TAP

TONIGHT
VIIIeIlIIIIes WI South 75

destroyed remains of
Krypton. Clearly worth see-
ing. At Cinemark Fayette
Mall. Regal and Woodhill.

a couple of cities in California
this weekend, it should
expand nationwide over the
course of Iuly. considering the
national buzz of Al Gore's "An
Inconvenient Truth.” With the

WOWNWWFOX

Anne Hathaway (left) and Meryl Streep star in the film adaptation of
'The Devil Wears Prada,’ which hits theaters tomorrow.

we Ki: is”: it
stresses s: were

This is director Chris Payne's
curiosity-piquing documen-
tary looking into the birth,
life. and death of the idea of
the electric automobile. and
how forms of renewable ener-
gy are a part of the next gen-
eration. Narrated by Martin
Sheen ("The West Wing") and
also features Tom Hanks and
Mel Gibson. Though it's only
being played in New York and

9 pm. The Dame. Tickets cost $5.

JoIIIIBe

and the Outliers

9 pm. Sou hqate House, Newport. Free.

TOMORROW
Nickelllack

7:30 pm. US. Bank Arena, Cincinnati.

Tickets cost $39.50 to $47.50.

The Apparitions Vl/ Scourge of the Sea and These

United States

9 pm. The Dame. Tickets cost $5.

Hank III WI Murder Junkies

9 pm. Southqate House, Newport. Tickets cost $15.

SATURDAY

Lucero vrl Murder By Death, Vedera and The Ladybirds
9 p. m. Headliner' 5 Music Hall, Louisville. Tickets cost $12.

SUNDAY
Chris Monce and The
9 pm. Southqate House,

TUESDAY
The Lexinqt
9 p. m. The Dame

WEDNESDAY
Parlour Bo

Iv/ Modena Vox

ewport. Free.

on-F tte Urban County Superqroup
.aTieckets cost $3.

9 pm. The ame. Tickets cost $5.

COMING SOON
7: 30 p. m. Jul

Candlehox vr/

.Freedom Hall, Louisville
Tickets cost 53.50 to $63.50.

8 pm. July 8. Boqarts, Cincmnati. Tickets cost $20 to $22.

current oil crisis, i.e.. how the
US. is starting wars over it
and all. alternative energy
sources is a topic that needs to
be discussed. and movies are
the perfect vehicle to get emo-
tions flowing and protests
started. Reviews suggest that
the story is told from an unbi-
ased point of view, but if
you're going to make a movie,
you probably have an opinion
in there somewhere. Also. it
makes the Sheen/Gore ticket in
2008 pretty appealing; Sheen

I For the week of JUNE 29 - JULY 5

going from Hollywood presi-
dent to actual president would
be pretty rad, if he could take
the writers from "WW” and
put them in his Cabinet.
Theaters TBA.

0N SHELVES
FAILURE TO LAUNCH

In a triumph of creative
moviemaking, 35-year-old
Tripp (Matthew McConaughey)
suspects his parents. Al and
Sue (Terry Bradshaw and Kathy
Bates) have set him up with
his dream girl (Sarah Iessica
Parker, who may have some-
thing here with starring in
unwatchable chick crap. She
should look into a TV series) to
get him to move out of the
house. Those factors combin-
ing into hilarity is as certain
as enjoying a new Rascal Flatts
song. The only saving grace
this film may have is the pres-
ence of Rob Corddry (The Daily
Show). Hopefully, Corddry's
part will be bigger than it was
in "Old School." Yeah. he was
in "Old School." Rated PG-i3
for language. partial nudity
and sexual content (gulp
better not be Kathy Bates. I
think I'd rather see Corddry's
butt).
—- Compiled by managing editor
Chris Iohnson. who doesn't really
hate women, just the ch0ices they
make in regards to entertainment.
Email
cjohnson'u k_l'kernel.c0m

KENTUCKY

214 E. Maui St. ' 231-6997

' www kentuckytticatie com

FREEI’AIKIIG Wanda-MW omummmwmm.

 

Held Over! 4th Week!

 

 

 

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Graduate School Dissertations

 

 

 

Name: Tor-131m Bae
Protram Political Science

Mummy The Developing Countries
m“ Participation (norm Matters

Peacekeeping Operations: Explaining
ttieJndMalasian onestan.Thai

Home
Maor Professor Dr, Donald Gross
Date: 07/06/2006
Time: Loo PM.

Place: I645 POT

Illne: Mark Alan WurtIi
Pinon: may
Dissatatron' ' Title: kale ui Act-I lay-um m
Paramyrovnis I Mediated
Membrane fusion Events
Mqor hofessor, Dr. Item D Sarge
Date: 06/28/2006
Time: ILDD AM.
Place: 202 BBSII

llame21ettrey Lynn Yates
Progrn: Physiology

Dissertation Title The genetic regaiztion at the
response 01 hematopoietrc
stem/progenitor cells to the cyto
statrc agen hydroryiiiea

MM! Professor Dr. George [slus

Date. 07 '07; 2006

Time 1000 A M
Place MS 508

Name Ioseoh Peter Medendorv
Program Pharmaceutical Sciences
Dissertation Titte' Chemometncs. Silecmlscolll- 10"
Sensors for Integrated Senstng and
Processing Advancing Process
Analytical ”(ethnology

Mayor Prolessor Dr James Pauly
Date 06 29 2006
Time 200 PM
Place 222 Coileze nI Pharmari

 

 

Kaine: Rusheltha Valaooa Daii
Program: Veterinary Seem
Dissertation Iitle: Inrlentifrcation oI ens-acting ele~
meats controiig gmrpression ii
Sarcocystis neurona
Mqor Protessor. Dr. Barry Fitzgerald
Date: 06/29/2006
Time: 1:00 PM.
Place: Dept. 01 Veterinary Science

 

 

Harrie: Ablit Mukheriee
Progln: Geology
Dissertation Title: Deeper Grouidnater Flour and
Chenistry II the Arsenic lifected
Western Bengd Basin. West Bengal.
India
Mjnr Professor. Dr. Susan Dimmer

Date: 07/03/2006
Tlne‘ L00 PM
Place: 303 Stone Ilesearoh Building

Name Christopher Raymond Wood
PrWill“ Economics
Dissertation Title Compensating Workers for On The
Job hurry and Mines;

Mqor Professor Dr W’fliain II Iloyt
Date (ISIS/2006
Time 1000 A M
Place BL 321

 

Name Hanging Dar
Prawn Statistics
Dissertation Title Parameter Estimation: and
Homogeneity Tests in Mixture
Modelt

Mayor Prnlewrr Dr Arnold St'nrnnm
Date 06 11 30%
Tim 100 PM
Place POI (Si

 

 

 

Mane: Ilaera'i Jae
Progam: ms Admtrahon (PIiDI
Dissertation Title: An Investiytion of lorlrteracy
Consumers" Process-Ia of Written
Advertisements
Ma'or Professor. Dr. Merl M. Ilaekoart
Date: 07/71/2006

Tm: 200 PM.
Place: “6 (tattoo College IIAI

 

 

Name. Valeria Sigal Escalada
Pinoam Plant Physrology
Dissertation Title Interactions ol AVG. MCP and heat
treatment on apple Iriiit ripening
and oualrty after harvest and cold
storage
Mayor Professor Dr Arthur Hunt
Date 07072006
Time III-00 A M

Place S 301

 

 

 

 

www.rgs.uky.edu/gs/gradhome.htmI

 

 

 

 

 

236 BOLIVAR STREET
LEXINGTON, KY 40508

EXPERIENCE THE UNIQUE

CONTRAST OF THE OLD & NEW

WITHIN THE WALLS OF
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Thursday
June 29, 2006
PAGE 4

inions

Editorial Board

Crystal Little, Editor in chief
Chris Johnson, Managing editor
Wes Blevins, Opinions editor

  

   
 

  

Tim Wiseman, Sports editor
Doug Scott, Staff columnist
Andrew Martin, Staff columnist

    
   

   

 

   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   
  
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
   
   
    
   
   
     
   
    
    
       
   
   
  
  
    
    
  
   
   
    
  
  
   
   
  
   
   
  
   
  
  
   
   
    
   
  
  
   
  
 
    
  

 

 

IN OUR OPINION

Laud (don’t—lament)
UK’s Spindletop plans

When UK announced last week
that it wants to put a 400-person re-
tirement community on the uni-
versity-owned Spindletop Farm in
rural northern Fayette County,
Spindletop Club members were
outraged.

We fail to see how the loss of a
glorified country club is really all
that significant, especially since
UK is willing to issue bonds to pay
for the much-needed $9 million to
$12 million renovation of Spindle-
top Hall.

The university’s plans for this
retirement community for UK fac-
ulty. staff and alumni will feature
patio homes, apartments and other
buildings. And, according to the
matriarchs of Spindletop Hall, this
would completely ruin the locale’s
aesthetics.

“I live in Chevy Chase," Trudy
Sims, whose family has belonged
to the club since the ‘70s, told the
Lexington Herald-Leader last
week. “I wouldn't drive 25 to 30
minutes to be surrounded by
buildings."

“I feel like I‘m going to be
homeless," Stacy McGoodwin. a
member of the club for 10 years,
told the Herald-Leader.

Liz Croney, a UK alumna and
mother of three children who has
belonged to the club for 20 years,
said that she and her fellow club
members were “absolutely dis-
traught, like a bomb has been
dropped on us out of nowhere" in
a Herald-Leader interview.

“It's like Vietnam,” Croney
said in reference to UK’s plans.
“They said. ‘We have to destroy a
village to save it.’ ”

You’ll have to forgive this edito-
rial board — we’re still reeling at
that horrific, classless use of
metaphor. Renovating an elitist
club and turning it into a retire-
ment haven for UK faculty, staff
and alumni is not — and never
will be - in the same realm as raz-
ing Saigon.

To pretend otherwise is ludi-
crous.

In fact, it’s downright embar-
rassing.

Besides, all this fuss may result
in absolutely nothing. As UK
spokesman Jay Blanton said last
week, the plans are in the extreme-
ly preliminary stages, insofar that
zoning issues might put a complete
half on the project.

But despite the backlash, UK
should forge ahead with its tenta-
tive plans — the retirement center
would put 94 acres of the 1,000-
acre farm, which UK bought in
1959 for $850,000, to excellent use.

The university estimates that
the retirement community would
cost an estimated $150 million but
will need 200 employees and bring
in an annual payroll of about $9
million.

The project will create jobs and
generate funds — this is an imper-
ative investment and will also
show that UK cares about its re-
tired faculty, staff and alumni.

UK’s Research Foundation
should approve the retirement
community.

Meanwhile, the Spindletop
Club members who threatened to
pull their membership and go
somewhere else if UK goes ahead
with this plan should do just that.

 

Senate was right to reject
flag burning amendment

The United States Senate on
Tuesday voted 66-34 to reject a
Constitutional amendment that
would prohibit the “physical des-
ecration" of the American flag.

That the vote took place is
neither alarming nor surprising.
This amendment has been on the
Congressional agenda practically
every year since Republicans re—
gained control of both houses in
1995.

What is alarming is that only
one vote prevented the measure
from being sent to the states, of
which. three-fourths, or 38.
would have to ratify the amend-
ment before it went into effect.

While flag burning is certain-
ly a reprehensible means of
protest. it is just that , protest.
The Supreme Court has never
viewed speech as being confined
to the spoken or written word.

The American flag is a sym-
bol of the liberties under which
all Americans live. To prohibit
its desecration as a means of po-
litical speech would serve only to
dilute the very freedoms for
which the flag stands.

Kentucky’s senior senator,
Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville),
can rightly claim to have been
the deciding vote that kept the
First Amendment intact.

In a statement, McConnell
said that he personally holds the
flag dear, and views it as a “sym-
bol of freedom."

According to the Cincinnati
Enquirer, he added, “But behind
it is something larger — the Con-
stitution.”

For weeks, Republicans pres-
sured McConnell to vote in favor
of the amendment, but the sena-
tor never wavered, and ended up
casting his vote in favor of free
speech and the First Amend-
ment.

For that vote, months before
he is slated to become his party‘s
leader in the Senate. McConnell
deserves the thanks of Kentuck-
ians.

We do not honor the Ameri-
can flag by banning its desecra-
tion. The parchment which bears
our Bill of Rights is far more
valuable than the cloth that sym-
bolizes that document.

 

 

 

 

.Qfl -

 

   

 

 

TONY FISHER, THE KENTUCKY KERNEL

 

LEI'I'ERSTOTHEEDITOR

Where are the conservatives?

When Iwas a teenager in the
19605, dabbling in politics, my mom
and dad left the Democratic Party.
They’d had enough of street protests
and flag burnings, and made for the
shores of the party of Eisenhower
and Nixon.

They’d seen Democrats try to
solve all problems by throwing away
money, but government, they rea-
soned, should conserve. They were
conservatives.

They didn’t like the idea of gov-
ernment being in debt, and were
aghast at this new thing called a
“trade deficit.” The 1994 “Republi-
can Revolution” would’ve especially
thrilled them. Small government
and welfare limits would’ve been
right up their alley. But they were
true conservatives. Yes, keep the
government out of your pocketbook,
but also out of unnecessary wars,
your bedroom and your telephone
records.

If they were alive today, they’d be
appalled at the number of Republi-
can members of Congress under in-
vestigation for corruption. They
would have found the Republicans’
trillion-dollar boondoggle in Iraq
just as offensive as the useless De-
mocrat-led agencies of their own

y

And the idea that a Republican
president would move America from
a surplus to this yawning, endless
deficit would’ve made them furious.
After all, isn’t that what “tax and
spend" Democrats did?

But Democratic spending was a
drop in the bucket compared to cur-
rent Republican pilfering. No won-
der commentators like George Will
have long claimed that Bush and the
current Republican crop are not
conservatives at all.

Me, I’m a flaming liberal, a bit

homeless in the current climate, but
if my parents were alive, they’d feel
just as adrift in today’s “Party of
Abe Lincoln."

LAWRENCE MINGS

A fix for voter turnout

I read in the paper that illegals
might have voted in last month’s
elections, and oh, what an outcry.

But judging from the record low
turnouts at the polls, Isay let ‘em.
Someone’s got to make electoral de-
cisions for us, since apparently citi-
zens don’t want to.

Perhaps those who’ve crawled
through mud and dodged vigilantes
to get here will actually appreciate
the privilege.

BILL CARLISLE

Rather didn't bow to power

Dan Rather leaves, and the pro-
fession he helped elevate chases him
out with Enquirer-worthy snipes.
What were the headlines last week?
“Rather departs under cloud of
scandal,” “Dan Rather finally quits,
having stayed too long.”

Journalists have forgotten that
before Rather and his generation,
the media were a propaganda
branch of government, a ventrilo
quist at the service of the party in
power.

Rather and his cohorts made
journalism a force to be reckoned
with. They actually told people
things that mattered.

They were arrogant, even
haughty, because the government
they went after bad shamelessly
abused power (kind of like today),
and in order to take on those chal-
lenges, you have to be rather fat in
the head. You certainly can’t accuse

the press today of being fat in the
head. I’d say submissive would be an
apt description.

And perhaps that’s the reason
for all the nasty remarks as Rather
fades. Today, radio, TV news and
print journalism exist as a Bush ad-
ministration mouthpiece.

Now that the last giant of the
profession has departed, the media
can properly return to sniveling for
a seat at the table.

CHARLES SUMNERIAN

Blame Bush for pump prices

High gas prices are not the fault
of environmental regulations, as
suggested recently by GOP lawmak-
ers. Nor are they a Democrat-con-
trived smokescreen to divert atten-
tion from a “strong” economy.

These comments are not surpris-
ing. America’s oil sector has been
the primary donor to Republicans
since 2000. In fact, you’ll not find a
single Democrat among the top 20
recipients of big oil contributions.

By contrast, defense-industry
contributions are more evenly split
between the parties. This is notewor-
thy -— follow the campaign dollars,
and you’ll see the entire Republican
majority was paid for largely by oil
industry contributions.

So what will bring gas prices
down? In 2002, Bush’s senior eco
nomic adviser claimed that invading
Iraq would bring relief at the pump.
Conservative commentator Steve
Forbes said once we invade Iran,
we’ll see lower gas prices. These sug.
gestions won’t bring down gas
prices. Our gas woes are the result of
one-party rule, and will not abate
until we send the Republicans pack-
ing. They have fleeced us, and it’s
time for them to go.

GARY ELLIS

Car companies should take the high road, help solve oil crisis

    
 
   
   
  
   
  
   
   
  
 
  
   
  
  
  
    
     
   
  
 
 
  
    
   
   
  
 
 
   
 
 
   

 
   
   
   

You do know that the real reason we
went to war in Iraq was for the oil. right?
It wasn't the weapons of mass destruc-
tion or to save thou-
sands from an oppres-
sive dictator. it was oil
- the black gold that
Americans eagerly crave
to make their lives as
comfortable as possible.
The truth was that Iraq
had oil and we needed it.
I don’t subscribe to
this theory (surprise!) -----
the idea that Iraq was
based on the need for oil
but there are many
Americans still unsure
of the need to invade Iraq. And as the
years have passed with no sign of the
weapons of mass destruction and the con-
tinual loss of American lives people are
becoming wary of the war.

It‘s easy to spot those who didn't vote
for President Bush 7» just look for the
Kerry bumper stickers or the anti-Bush
sti