xt7c862bcj1n https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7c862bcj1n/data/mets.xml The Kentucky Kernel Kentucky -- Lexington The Kentucky Kernel 2006-12-01 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, December 01, 2006 text The Kentucky Kernel, December 01, 2006 2006 2006-12-01 2020 true xt7c862bcj1n section xt7c862bcj1n Volleyball team moves on in NCAA tourney

Cats beat Ohio University I PAGE 3

 

WWW. KYKERNEL. COM

Check out this week's big movies
See PAGE 6

 

"DECEMBER 1,2006

KENTUCKY KERNEL

 

Seminar
points out
far-reaching
meth dangers

By Blake M. 1E
newsfikykernelcom

Methamphetamine use is not just a drug prob-
lem

According to Assistant U. S. Attorney Hydee
Hawkins its a “national epidemic.“ affecting other-
wise law abiding Americans and their children, and
is the number one drug that law enforcement battles
today.

This was the focus of an hour- long symposium
last night in the Small Ballroom of the Student Cen-
ter for National Methamphetamine Awareness Day.
The day was created after President George W. Bush
issued a proclamation earlier in Nov.ember

“On National Methamphetamine Awareness Day.
we underscore the dangers of methamphetamine and
reaffirm our collective responsibility to combat all
forms of drug abuse,“ Bush wrote in a statement.

Hawkins was the speaker at the event. She has
been prosecuting meth cases for 15 years.

Three students and eight adults listened to
Hawkins as she detailed the physical effects of meth.
the basics of meth production and the effects of
meth usage and production on children.

Sometimes called the “poor man's cocaine."
Hawkins said that the effects of meth last for 14 to
16 hours and that the user cannot sleep during that
time. She said she has seen many cases of truck dri-
vers using meth because it allows them to drive all
night.

“I can‘t think of anything worse than an 18-
wheeler on the road with a driver that‘s under the in-
fluence of meth." she said.

Because of its potency. 99 percent of users are
hooked after their first try. Hawkins said. There are
1.5 million regular meth users in the US. with one
to two labs being discovered each day.

“If you do not stop. if you do not get help. you
will die." Hawkins said.

In addition to death. meth usage can cause blind—
ness. tooth decay and birth defects as well as many
other health complications.

Hawkins stressed that meth affects many chil-
dren.

From 2000 to 2005. 15.000 children were re-
moved by law enforcement from homes with meth
labs. she said. Many of these children had been ex—
posed to the chemical fumes used in making meth.
but the long-term dangers of such exposure are un-
known.

Kentucky is one of 41 states currently restricting
the purchase of pseudoephedrine a common

See Math on page 6

 

Video game
tourney gives
to Children’s
hospital

By Emily Coovert
news@kykernel.com

Videogames and helping children.

UK‘s chapter of Phi Sigma Pi. a co-ed National
Honor Fraternity. hopes both will be on the minds
of gamers this weekend as it hosts a Halo 2 tourna-
ment to benefit the Kosair Children‘s Hospital in
Louisville.

The chapter is teaming up with a national char—
ity called Child's Play. which donates toys to chil-
dren‘s hospitals. for the event. The tournament will
be held from 11 am. to 8 pm. Saturday in the Cat‘s
Den in the Student Center. The fraternity is hoping
that enough people will sign up to fill all 128 tour-
nament slots.

“Gaming appeals to a wide range of people. and
that‘s what we‘re about." said Erin Malony. presi-
dent of the chapter and a philosophy and political
science senior. “It gives people (on campus) the op—
portunity to come together and have fun for a good
cause."

Although participating in the tournament is
free. the chapter hopes that the gamers will throw
in a few bucks. said Jessica Cox. public relations
committee chair and linguistics senior. She‘s hop—
ing it will be enough for Child‘s Play to buy some-
thing fun for children.

“We would like to raise money for a full (gam-
ing) system and a game — so about two hundred
dollars." Cox said.

All the donated money will go to Child‘s Play,
who donates toys to children‘s hospitals.

See Halo page 6

V

CELEBRATING 35 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

 

 

 

 

ALIJEGARZAISTAFF

Education sophomore Danny Charles, left, strings lights on the Kappa Sigma house along with finance sophomore Matt Birunoff and civil engineering sopho-

more James Nyquist yesterday afternoon.

LIGHTING UP
CAMPUS

 

Members of the Kappa Sigma fraternity
decorated their house on Hilltop Avenue by
stringing lights across the roof, in the windows
and around the trees yesterday afternoon,
spreading a little holiday cheer to campus.

 

 

ELLIOTT HESS I STAFF

Members of Sigma Kappa put up Christmas lights and decorations on their house yesterday afternoon

 

 

Nobel winner to speak on proving Einstein theory

91 Katie Saltz
news kykernelcom

Wolfgang Ketterle is probably not as well known as Bill Nye the Sci-
ence Guy among most college students. But then again. Bill Nye has
never won a Nobel Prize.

Nobel Laureate Ketterle will be on campus today to discuss his work
in the field of atomic. molecular and optical physics.

Ketterle. a physics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology. was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize for physics along with two
other physicists at the University of Colorado. UK physics and astrono-
my professor Susan Gardner said that the research Ketterle did was mon-
umental because it achieved the Bose- Einstein Condensate.

The Bose- Einstein Condensate refers to a state of matter achieved
close to absolute zero the temperature at which there is no heat energy
remaining and molecules stop moving. In 1925 Albert Einstein predicted
that atoms would behave abnormally once they reached temperatures
close to absolute zero basing his theory on the works of physicist
Satyendra Nath Base. In 1995 70 years after this prediction was made.
Ketterle proved the theory.

“They proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that this theory really ex-
isted in practice “ Gardner said

Keith MacAdam a professor in the UK Department of Physics and
Astronomy. said that before Ketterle s work physicists had only reached
the temperature of one- th-ousandth of a degree above absolute zero.

“They reached onc~millionth of a degree aboxc absolute zero."
MacAdam said. “That is colder than anything in the universe. Atoms
were displaying strange and unfamiliar quantum mechanic properties,"

With these conditions. Ketterle was able to study the properties of a
new condensate.

“They achieved a situation where a cloud of extremely cold atoms
fell into Iockstcp with one another and acted as one unified thing."
MacAdam said. “They could study the properties of the new condensate
to find out what atoms do when they are not separated but acting in con»
cert."

This kind of technology has to do with precision measurements and
time keeping. but MacAdam said the specific applications of the research
are still unknown.

“In research you often find the answers before you know the ques-
tions.“ MacAdam said. “People think that researchers know what they
are doing. but the very nature of research is that you don‘t know what
you are doing.“

MacAdam encourages people to come listen to Ketterle and catch a
glimpse of the outermost boundaries of physics.

“Ketterle is the most brilliant. creative and enthusiastic figure in his
field." MacAdam said. “He is a very good speaker with colorful and in—
teresting graphics."

Ketterle will be speaking at the Chemistry- -Physics Building at 3 .30
p. in. today.

Maroon: 257-1915; Advertising: 257-2872

 

 PAGE 2 | Friday, December 1, 2006

your dailydose _of entertainment, pop culture and fun kernel ‘ Ql ._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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From near-strangers
to inseparable,
Britney Spears falls
under the spell of
new best friend
Paris Hilton as the
single stars take
LA. by storm

After Britney Spears took
the stage at the American Music
Awards to present the honor of
Best Female Soul/R&B artist
November 21 in I-.A.. she
ditched hcr formal gown and
headed over to the Hollywood
Hills home of new friend Paris
Hilton for a VIP aftcrparty. But
when Spears arrived and saw
the LA. fashion queens. she
second-guessed her look of
jeans and a shirt. "Britney felt
insecure about her outfit." a
guest says. "so Paris brought her
up to her bedroom closet and
dressed her up in a blue tutu
with a sequined sweater. plus
whitc high heels to sex it up."
Hilton donncd a tutu of her own
to match hcr BFF's. and the two
headed down to Hilton's in-
housc stripper pole to dance. "At
one point. they came running
out. as happy as schoolgirls.
straight to the bar." says a party—
gocr. "Paris lcd Britney behind
the bar and asked the bartender
to make several shots of a green
drink with vodka."

Just another night on the

Girls
gone

firemen Wild!

Spears-Hilton puny tour. which.
after stops at L.A.'s hottest
nightclubs Hyde (November 22
and 25. when they actually split
a pair of stockings and each
wore one leg), Teddy's (Novem-
ber 22) and Les Deux (Novem-
ber 24). may be coming to your
town soon - or at least your TV
screens. A Fox rep tells Us ex—
clusively. "Britney and Paris are
cohosting the Billboard Awards"
on December 4 in Las Vegas.
where the twosome first con-
nected on November 19. "I love
her," Hilton. 25. told Us while
shopping in Malibu. California.
November 27. ”She is the sweet-
est girl I know. She's so down-
to-eaith. I just want her to smile
and be happy.” Hilton seems to
have the magic touch: "I‘m do-
ing great!" Spears tells Us.
"Everything is fantastic."

Wonder Twins

Things might have not felt
so fantastic if the newly single
Spears. 25. hadn't found herself
all alone November 19. just
three weeks after filing for di-
vorce from Kevin Federlinc. dad
to her two sons. Sean Preston.
l4 months. and Jaydcn. 2
months. In Las Vegas to record
some tracks for her new album.
Spears was invited out by Palms
resort honcho and longtime
Spears family friend George
Maloof. who decided to play
BFF matchmaker and bring her
to dinner with Hilton. 25. "Brit-
ney has been fascinated with
Paris for a while." says a source
close to Spears. "Especially

while she was out of the 'cool
crowd' that was going out.”
Adds another Spears confidant.
”Britney literally knows no onc
in Hollywood. And Parts knows
everyone." After a meal at the
Venetian's Tao Asian Bistro.
Spears and Hilton retreated to
the ladies' room. when: they
locked themselves in a bath—
room stall to primp for 20 min—
utes. (In the process. Spears lost
her black tic.) After a stop at
nightclub Tryst. Spears got to try
her luck with her role modcl at
blackjack (winning. of course.
$15,000) at the Playboy Club.
before finally retiring at 6 am.
to Spears' suite at the Sky Villa
for a no—boys-allowcd sleepover.
"They just let loose and had a
good time." says a mutual
friend. And what's more. Hilton
herself realized she never had a
real friend like Spears before.
"Neither of the ladies have any
close 'girlfricnds' they can speak
to freely." says a close Hilton
source. "Issues of jealousy al—
ways come up. Britney isn't
threatened." In fact. she's open
to any tips from Hilton. particu—
larly in the style department.
"Brit asked if Paris could help
her with a complete makeover."
says a source close to Hilton.
"Paris has agreed to take her
shopping for a new wardrobe."

And so Spears‘ skirts have
been getting shorter and shorter.
and her necklmcs have become
more and more plunging as she
has spent almost every night of
Thanksgiving week with Hilton.
keeping a schedule that would
make even the most avowed
club kid beg for mercy.

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Friday
December 1, 2006

PAGE 3

Chris Miles
Asst. Sports Editor
cmiles@kykernel.com

 

 

HISITDB

‘ ‘ I really thought we
were g in the tournament. I

was a little disappointed we lost, but
we did some positive things and
we’ve got to take that and continue

,1

on.

— UK guard Joe Crawford on the Maui Invitational

 

 

ROUND WON

 

Cats win first NCAA tournament game for first time since 1992

 

 

 

23 kills in the game

PHOTOS av THOMAS SANDS | STAFF
UK middle blocker Queen Nzenwa left and outside hitter Ashlee Fisher block the ball against
Ohio University 3 2 in the first round of the NCAA tournament last night Nzenwa had a team high

By JD. Williams
spons@kykernel.com

West Lafayette IND. « The UK volleyball team ac-
complished what they couldn t last year as they defeated
Ohio University 3- 2 1n the opening round of the NCAA
tournament yesterday at Purdue University.

The Cats (19-11) overcame an early deficit against
the Bobcats (28- 5) to take the game (20- 30. 30- 27 24- 30.
3036.15-9) and advance in the NCAA tournament for
the first time since 1992.

Early in the first game OU pounced on UK and took
a 15-6 lead that left the Cats in dismay and resulted in an
immediate timeout by head coach Craig Skinner to focus
his team.

"I told them (during the timeout) it was important for
us to stay positive and consistent and get focused because
we knew that Ohio was capable of having a big offensive
night and obviously they were doing just that." Skinner
said.

Senior defensive specialist Jenni Casper answered
Skinner‘s call with a dig to keep the ball alive for a kill
by freshman outside hitter Heather Hausfeld that started a
6-3 run for the Cats.

But as UK mustered a stingy defensive and an offen-
sive surge. OU was able to keep its lead and ended the
game on a 12-8 run to capture the first game of the match
with a lopsided .30— 20 w.in The Bobcats offensive blitz
was catapulted by limited attack errors. In the first game
Ohio s hitting percentage was 32 .5 and had only live er-
rors. as UK strugg led nabbing only 13 kills on a 14.0 hit—
ting percentage

After losing the first game. the Cats looked to their
All-Southeastem Conference du'o. sophomore middle
blocker Queen Nzenwa and junior middle blocker Nicole
Britenriker to provide the lift for the Cats.

In the second game the middle blockers combined for
a combined 16 kills on a .842 hitting average and no er—
rors.

‘C utting back on errors increases the chances of cap-
italizing on offense Nzcnwa said.

With UK ahead l8—l7 and ()U attempting to make
the score even. sophomore setter Tess Edwards leaned
over to motivate N/cnwa.

“We do really good blocking together so I told her to
get up high toward the center." Edwards said.

Nzenwa did just that. and sparked the Cats to rally.
She recorded her sixth kill of the game. and after UK
gave up a point to Ohio she nabbed her seventh of her
team high 23 kills. increasing the Cats‘ lead to 29-27,

"(Nzenwai is definitely a good player and she is a
high jumper." said Ohio junior outside hitter Stephanie
Blackburn. "She‘s so tall and ljust couldn't jump that
high." Blackbum said about defending Nzenwa.

A service ace by UK sophomore defensive specialist
Alisa Pierce clinched the game for the Cats 30-27.

UK lost the third and the players had their backs
against the wall in the fourth and fifth games in a gut-
wrenching seesaw showdown.

 

Cats hope to carry defensive

By Jonathan Smith
jsmhh®kykernmm

When junior guard Joe Crawford
dove for a loose ball not once. but
twice on one possession in UK's
game against College of Charleston
on Tuesday night. it seemed to send a
spark through the team.

Unfortunately for the Cats. his
hustle play came in the second half
when the game was no longer in
doubt.

“That‘s something that we hadn‘t
really seen." said head coach Tubby
Smith. “Not just with Joe. but the en-
tire team."

As the Cats (4-2) prepare for
their showdown with No. 6 North
Carolina (5~l ). they can take into the
game the fact that they bounced
back nicely from the disappointing
l-2 trip to Maui by holding

Charleston to 32 percent shooting.
and by the double-digit margin of
victory.

But a link in all of those games
has been the Cats' tendency to not
start out with full intensity.

If the Cats keep the trend up to-
morrow in the 21.800 seat Dean E.
Smith Center. home of the Tar Heels.
they could be in for a repeat of the
2004 game. in which they fell behind
24-6 and 36-19 en route to a 91-78
loss.

“That's going to be very essential.
probably critical for the whole game.
that we don't fall behind as far as we
did (in 2004)." said center Randolph
Morris. “It's going to be a tough job
but I think we‘re up to that chal-
lenge."

For the Cats. it‘s been a challenge
to not fall behind by less than five
points in the first half.

In four of the six games. the Cats

SHiI‘T
BLUBUPHSS

‘We didn t stop them and they didn t stop us said
Ohio head coach Geoff Carlston.

After an offensive explosion in the second game.
Skinner changed the team s game plan to buckle down
more on defense. That change pushed the Cats to a v icto—
ry.

“Going into the fourth and fifth games they were out-
digging us by about 15 digs. and it ended up they out dig
us by four. so I know our defense was able to capitalize
on some shots that they weren t making Skinner said

After winning the fourth game and with the team's
season goal of advancing in the NCAA toumament on
the line. the Cats were focused on getting out of the
opening round with a win.

“We knew that it was do-or-die at that point." said
Britenriker, who finished the game with 20 kills on a .567
hitting percentage. “We were not ready to go down. so
we threw everything we had out there and grinded it out
to the end."

UK will play Purdue in the second round of the
NCAA tournament after the Boilermakers swept St.
Louis yesterday in their opening round (.30— 2]. 30- 20 32
30).

 

Middle blocker Queen Nzenwa nits I’lt’, ha 1 it
last night against the Bobcats

have trailed by at least five points be
fore halftime.

Against Memphis. UK got down
by six before losing by 17; against
UCLA. the Cats dug themselves into
a 17—point hole; in the season opener
against Miami University. UK fell be—
hind by IO. before rallying to win.

In the Charleston game on Tues-
day. the Cats had to come back from
a five point deficit to win by 16
points.

The worst part about the sluggish
start against Charleston was that the
Cats scored only half a dozen points
by the 10-minute mark in the first
half.

“Early on in the game we did not
set the intensity level." Morris said.
“We picked it up toward the end of
the half. and we started playing the
way we wanted to."

One reason the Cats may have
gotten off to the slow start against

Charleston on offense was because of

the work they put in on defense after
coming back from Hawaii.

ln Maui. UK gave up an average
of 78 points per game. and allowed its
three opponents to shoot 49.5 percent.

To fix that. the Cats focuscd hard—
cr on defense in practice. which the
team said may have caused the early
lapse on offense.

“We started the game excellent on
defense. but we couldn‘t get it going
on offense." Crawford said. “We did
pick it up. but we‘ve got to figure out
a way to play well on both ends of the
floor."

And if the Cats don‘t. they might
not be able to make up for a lack of
enthusiasm against a Tar Heel team
that knocked off No. 1 Ohio State on
Wednesday.

“We don't need any motivation."
Morris said. “They‘re in the top-5 and
that‘s motivation enough."

“mama?

momentum With them to Chapel Hill

Lilo_rt!i Carolieusylt

UNC/(S—l)

Pos. Player Ht. Wt. Cl. Pts.

G Ty Lawson Sell ‘83 fr l1 C . 1'
(‘ Wayne Ellington 6-4 195 Fr ”33 ' v
F Heyshawn Terry 6-8 232 Sr 8.3

F Tyler Hansbrough 679 245 So 28 7

F Brandan Wright 6-9 205 Fr lb 7
“assists

. UK l4~2l
Pos. Player Ht Wt CI. Pts.

Hamel Bradley 8—2 l76 Jr

Joe Crawford 6-5 2H Jr

Bobby Perry 6—8 215 Sr

Sheray Thomas 6-8 236 Sr

Randolph Morris 6-11 259 Jr
assists

“r- . n

DiGH IllI Hfllll‘ Hgl' fr llllllllBiH‘SHill GHPD
or sign up on lillfi: W.

 

   
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
     
   
    
  
  
  
    
   
   
 
   
  
    
    
    
   
   
     
    
    
 
  
      
  
 
 
 
    
     
      
      
     
   
      
    
   
   
   
  
   
    
  
  
    
  
   
  
  

 

 
 

 

frrday

December 1, Jittlo
Page 4 .

Megan Bunnie, editor in chief
Keith Smiley. managing editor
We: Blevins. opinions editor
DIIiIBh Shh, multimedia editor

 

KEINEL EnnoniAL Bonn

Brenton Konliul, copy desk cnret
Jonathan Smith, sports editor
Ellen Slwyor, features editor
Alice Raymond, copy editor

The Opinions page provides a forum for the exchange of ideas Unlike news stories. The Kernels
urrsrgned editorials represent the Views of a majority of the editorial board. Letters to the CdllOl, columns, cannons and
other features on the Upmions mgr: reflect the Views of their authors and not necessarily those of The Kernel

 

KERNEL EDITORIALS

Despite increased test
length, GRE changes
will benefit students

Ignoring for a moment the terrifying idea of sitting in a
room for fotrr hours instead of two and a half to take the
GRE. the changes that will take effect in the fall should ac—
tually tum out to benefit students.

Every student who applies for a graduate school pro-
gram must take tfiis exam. which is expanding from five
sections to seven sections and will be set up in a new linear
form. according to Monday‘s Kernel article.

“This is the biggest change in the 55-year history of the
test; it is going to affect every aspect of getting into the
graduate school of your choice." said Jung Lee. GRE pro—
gram manager for Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions. in the
Kernel article.

Considering how big of a change this is and how long
it's been since the GRE has had such a change. Lee and his
colleagues probably debated the pros and cons extensively
before making the final decision.

And a change like this. while sometimes hard to accept.
deserves some respect from those it will affect.

The current version of the exam is set up in an adaptive
form. so that the difficulty of each question asked is based
on answers to previous questions. As a result. a student
could potentially flop a question and never make it to other
questions that he or she would be perfectly capable of an—
swering.

Security issues are also a problem with the current ver-
sion.

“The current test has a pool of questions each test draws
from and some students would post the questions on the ln—
ternet." Lee said in the Kernel article. "The new linear form
prevents repetition of questions."

The new linear form also gives students a chance to an—
swer all the possible questions on the exam. Focusing on
higher cognitive and reasoning skills. it should give a better
prediction of how successful a student will be in graduate
school.

Other changes. such as the decreased number of testing
times during the year and the different scoring scale. will
take some getting used to. but shouldn‘t have a negative ef-
fect. Although the test will be administrated only 30 times
each year. there will be more testing locations. and students
should be able to plan ahead in order to schedule their test
day without much difficulty.

As for the increase in time. well no one really wants to
sit down and take a four-hour test. but the test should be
more accurate and more fair as a result. And as students
who plan on getting into medical school or law school
would probably argue to those whining about the added
time. the MCAT lasts over five hours and the LSAT lasts
three hours. so the new (iRE length is not as ridiculous as
it appears.

All in all. as much as the idea of a four—hour GRE
makes most students who plan on taking it cringe. it should
be worth it.

Funds for UK
suicide prevention
program worth it

The number two cause of death among Kentucky's
youth is surcidc. which accounts for twice the number of
citizens deaths resulting from homicide and AIDS. accord—
log to Dr. .IllIlt‘ (‘crt-I. an assistant professor of social work
at [K and the Kentucky Suicide Prevention (‘rroup‘s chair-
woman.

Now through the Garrett Lee Smith Act enacted in Con»
gr‘css. Kentucky is set to rcccivc $1.2 million in funding
over three years to combat the high number of suicides.

Dr, Mary Bolrn»Rcccc. director of llK's Counseling and
'l‘cstrng (‘cntcrz agreed that suicide is a major problem.

"Pr‘c\eiitirrg suicidc is every body‘s business and not just
the responsibility of mental health professionals." Bolin-Re-
ccc said, “It is crucial that any Iiiiits of suicide risk be taken
sc'l'lUllsI} "

Sriicidc \\ as tIrc | Ith-rankcd cause of death in Kentucky
fr'orrr I‘NZ through 21 till arid 15 percent of people seen at
the ('oririsclrng and Testing ('entcr rcportcd having suicidal
thoughts. according to Bolm Rcccc

This moricy is important to the state and to the young
people belost the age of 31. “from suicide most affects.
'I'Iic funding to Kentucky mcrital health ser'viccs will go to-
ward suicide pr‘cwntrorr and awareness as well as increased
availability to those iir need. This is an important factor in
decreasing suicides in Kentucky.

 

 

This is a positive step for Kentucky and for the youth of

thc ('oiiirrioiiwcalrh Perhaps the riiost important part of this
funding is the benefits it will give to survivors. loved ones
.rnd other people conitcttcd to a suicidal lovcd one.

“I’r'cu‘ntrrig stricidc is every body 's btrsrncss and not just
thc responsibility of mental health professionals." Bolin—Rc-
ccc said. “It is crucial that any hints of suicide risk be taken
seriously."

With this grant money. suicide prevention will be.

 

r

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Send a quest column or letter to the editor to Opinions Editor Wes
Blevins Please limit letters to 350 words or fewer. Be sure to
include your full name. class and major with all submissions.

E-mail: opinions®kykernelcom

 

Columnists needed

The Kernel is looking for new wlrrriinists to write for the Opinions
page on a regular basis (‘olunmrsrs at all interests Will be considered.
but The Kcrncl C\p{'tl}tll) sccks those who have an interest
in local issues

Contact We: Blevins It opinionsOlryliornoleom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ctr
9§

 

 

Make the world safe for democracy ——
but make sure it’s safe here first

A recurring theme in President George W.
Bush’s speeches since the fall of Saddam
Hussein has been that people everywhere

yeam to live in free-
dom.

"As Americans. we
believe that people
everywhere prefer free»
dom to slavery and that
liberty. once chosen.

' improves the lives of
all." Bush said in an
Oct. 6. 2005 speech to
the National Endow—

 

BRENION merit for Democracy.

KENKEL Racists of a right—

Ketne'I wing bent have been
columnist

critical of these plati—
tudes. arguing that at-
tempts to build democra-
cy in the Middle East will fail because Arabs
"only understand force" and are incapable of
self govemment. Enlightenment values. the
argument goes.ju.st aren‘t for everyone. espe—
cially not people whose skin happens to be
dark!

Brit we need not make false and bigoted
generalizations about foreigners to show that
Bush is wrong about a universal yeaming for
frcedorii Plenty of Americans choose tyranny
over democracy in their everyday lives.

I‘m not talking about the US. public‘s
continued complacence about federal in»
fringemerits on our civil liberties. such as
warrantless wiretapping or indefinite deten—
tion of American citizens. Only White House
decisioii-iriakei‘s and Washington bureaucrats
actively participate in those institutions of

tyranny: the rest of us just passively accept
them.

Rather. I mean the local oligarchies to
which so many people freely cede their per—
sonal liberties: the “homeowners’ associa-
tions" that wield unseemly power over subdi-
visions throughout suburban and exurban
America. They decide what people can do on
their own property. going far beyond reason-
able rules like “Don’t play cymbals on the
front lawn at 3 a.."m and into micromanaging
what can be hung on the porch.

To wit: Last week. a horneowners‘ associ-
ation in a subdivision 270 miles southwest of
Denver told Lisa Jensen. who had put a
peace—sign-shaped Christmas wreath on her
house. that she would be fined $25 for every
day that she did not take down the wreath.
according to articles in the Denver Post and
the Associated Press. Apparently the peace
symbol violated the prohibition of displaying
"divisive" materials outside. (The association
eventually relented and dropped the fine
threats. though only after overwhelmingly
negative national press coverage of the case.)

I think this case just might encapsulate
everything that‘s wrong with America right
now.

First you have the militarism — going
beyond the oft-uttered (and never-disagreed—
with) “support the troops." into making war a
desirable value in itself. What else are we to
take from