2/12 Blotter

Sebelius has been stealing time from Kansas citizens for too long. She's a shill searching for a photo-op. Bad luck to her.

Dear Mark:
Your discovery of non-residential voting intrigued me. Often the corruptness of the political force in Manhattan goes unnoticed. With city hall zoning monopolies and public city officials getting fired for embezzlement and pornographic browsing on company property (bet you guys forgot about that), issues of great importance are constantly being under-rug-swept. The mere idea that smoking will be banned on sidewalks, parks, and bars will create a fathomless opportunity for the city to bully its citizens even more. As someone who smokes occasionally and whose hobby is jogging, I find it intriguing that non-smokers are attacking you and have the maturity to use asterisks as signs of aggression. The idea comes down to personal freedom, like you said. Since the early 90s, anti-smoking campaigns have labeled smokers as “bad people.” Smokers are not bad people. To assume that would be similar to me assuming that the non-smokers who added their comments to this article are not only invalid but inept at creating a decent argument…and that would be wrong. Some may argue that smokers affect others; some may argue that it is a personal right. But this article was about the power of voting being taken away from the citizens of Manhattan…and in case you didn’t know, that’s us. How much farther will this slippery slope continue before all decisions are made under the basement of city hall? Smoking hardly seems as important as the issue at hand. A city that will pass a ban without the votes of its citizens.

How did the commissioners vote?

hmm bunch of classic midwestern red necks...they all speak the same language-"either you are with us or against the U.S"

Wow...can we say ignorant and bitter? How dare HE accuse people of not supporting soldiers or veterans, just because they want to be in a healthier environment?! That is unbelievable.

They banned smoking in my hometown as well, and people were upset at first, but they're over it now, and there has been very little to no decrease in business.

Get a grip. It's 2008.

The original point was that Sebelius "appears" to be more involved with Obama's campaign then being governor of Kansas, which is a plausible argument. The other comments become an argument about environmentalism and industrialism - one that will be argued long after our children's great grand-children are gone. That's not really a bi-partisan issue, in my humble opinion.

I applaud the LPGA for their new policy. Too bad Congress can't get it passed

This is a lame op-ed. You have no facts or stats, just an indignant opinion without backup. Do some research before your next article kiddo.

This article is weak at best. If you're going to talk about those soot-belching power plants and how they are going to create "hundreds" of jobs and would keep us from "sacrificing our economy", you should provide some statistics. You don't really know how many jobs they would create, and I've seen no evidence that not having coal plants to power Colorado will have a significant impact on our economy. You say we should have them to "increase our energy supply". I didn't realize we were having rolling brown-outs out west. Next time you write an article, try to show some evidence of critical thought and don't just regurgitate the weak Republican talking points. It makes me laugh to see how much Republicans can't stand Sebelius' success as governor.

Funny that those power plants would of supplied power to surrounding states rather then Kansas. Also who is going to protect the environment if there is no government oversight? Private companies? ha!

Have YOU ever tried to cook eggs in a toaster? Hmmm? HMM? Didn't think so.

Just kidding. I think that the point made in this opinion piece is a good one--if we look to somebody else to complete us, we'll keep on being incomplete. So for those with whom the Christian spin on this article just doesn't jive (like me), take that from it, because whether you're religious or not, looking to somebody else to make you whole won't be as deeply satisfying as finding somebody with whom you can grow on your own.

Obviously, the previous person who commented has not received the right kind of love. Or else, he/she would understand where the author of this article is coming from. I agree totally with Ms. Reeves, she has the right idea about how to lead a healthy life. Don't rush your life. Let the Lord guide your love life, which will not happen when You think it should, it will happen when He thinks it should. Although, i do admit, at times even i wish i was already married and started on my way of happiness with my future spouse in God's glory. But, God will act on His own terms, not mine or anyone else's. For He is the Almighty and Most Powerful and none can be more than Him.

A few questions to the previous commenter:

Do any of us have the right to question the Will of God? Why should we be so focused on what WE think? This world is not our own, we are just passing through....

Our obsession with image and superficial talents is extraordinary. Extraordinarilly pathetic that is. I'm disappointed that we can't seem to get our minds out of the gutter and focused on more important things- like taking care of our environment, feeding hungry populations around the world and protecting endangered animals.

You are an inflamatory asshole with no sense to your argument whatsoever. Take your head out of your ass and realize that just because you're able to kill yourself with internal smoke damage does not mean you have a right to suffocate the rest of us. Yes, you have the right to make yourself sick and die (and I wish you would hurry it along really) but you do not have the right to inflict that same destiny onto the rest of us. Smokers are the ones participating in a universal unheathly act, therefore, SMOKERS should have to take it outside. Non-smokers don't HAVE an unhealthy habit that can be TAKEN outside. And by the way, studies show second hand smoke is not only annoying and disgusting, it's just as dangerous to those breathing it in as it is to the smokers. So quit whining you pansy and grow a fucking brain.

Before you write, read and judge first. This is not a place for biase. The song which the girl performed is not Chinese anthem at all. And talking about politics, the only country which messed up the world is USandA. I totally understande your feeling that you cannot bear the developement of China. And my suggestion is that to go out and see the world by yourself. Couch potato knows nothing.

This is the first time I heard that Obesity kills more than lung cancer or use of cigarettes and I don't really believe it. Really what it amounts to is that it really doesn't matter if Manhattan is smoke-free because it won't impact businesses and bars and that is the main concern not to ban smoking. If we were in Olathe or a suburb of some city, yes, it would probably have an effect on your attendance and business because people only have to travel 5-15 minutes to another place where they are allowed to smoke. However, here in Manhattan people are less likely to travel to Junction City to eat or Topeka because of the rise in gas prices.
I went to Lawrence recently and it was so wonderful to be in smoke free establishments. My eyes didn't burn, I could see and didn't smell and I wasn't breathing in nasty smoke. So just go smoke-free Manhattan!

and kids within an inch of their lives, then pulled out a gun killling them first before turning the weapon on himself. No 3 year old has stumbled across a full pack of cigarettes, and accidentally shot himself in the face with it. No school children have smuggled in a pack of smokes and used them to murder their classmates and teachers, along with themselves. Which of the two "drugs" cause more harm and destruction, cause the disintigration of lives and families, rendering good people homeless and children scarred? Cigarettes or alcohol? But is there a commercial of some Jackass standing outside Anhauser-Busch with a loudspeaker and a truck full of body bags? Nope, just tv ads with a few of Hef's girls telling you they'd LOVE a little Captain in them... Joe Camel was banned for attracting a "young audience, including children, to smoke", but the commercials with the guys ranging from average joe to douchebag that have the hottest chicks most 13 year old boys have seen climbing all over them, seemingly INSATIABLE for that cool, crisp taste of the rockies sure discourages them from EVER wanting to try that product. Come the f**k on. Try worrying about the anti-christ herself, Miss Paris Hilton, who has made it MORE POPULAR THAN EVER to be a dumb, drunk, strung-out,SPOILED, self-indulgent, self-entitled vagina flashing whore. What of the generation of young girls that have known no different, who are just getting to middle school or high school, and have it ingrained in their mind that the way to get attention, popularity, dates, for boys to like them, to feel attractive, ALL those things that mean life and death to you at their age is to act like a dumb slut. Every day girls are giving in, and taking on the role of a grown woman, (Or what they think a grown woman would act like, aka as much sex, sex appeal, sexual innuendo, sex with their girlfriends, etc. What they think is sexy until someone finally, hopefully teaches them about class and self-respect). They hang out with much older men/boys, put themselves in very foolish positions because they have their youth and innocence working against them, and wind up participating in activities that will make them feel ashamed the rest of their lives. I think that would be much harder to get over years of therapy than if they tried a few cigarettes, decided it made them cough and their hair stink, give it up & never look back.
To sum it up, keep your eyes out for the truly twisted things going on out there. If you want a worthy cause to take up and fight for, there are so many things that are much more worth your time than trying to take a holier-than-thou approach on smokers. & always keep in mind, once Big Brother gets his foot in the door, it's a LOT harder to get him back out again. The government already has FAR too much say in our day to day lives, why surrender more power to them? Let us, the people, decide what we want in our restaurants, bars, pool halls, pubs, bowling alleys, Bingo houses, all of it. It's our money from the sweat on our backs that keep these places alive, and our tax dollars that pays for all the government propaganda, hoping to get the public to keep feeding into their agenda. Pay no attention to the war behind the curtain, the drunk beating his wife, or the 24 year old guy having his way with the 12 year old girl. Smoking is the devil. Cigarettes are the real evil, what's really out to get you. If you truly believe all that nonsense, please lemme know where you got that pair of rose-colored glasses, I want to make sure to get me a pair, so I can live with the same pathetic obliviousness that you people ******AND BY THE WAY: TO MARK GIEFER, POSTING ELI NEAL FTW!!!!!!11:********Maybe if you weren't sitting there bitching about "douchebags and fags" you could get out more, and wouldn't be so pissed off because your wiener hasn't been touched since prom (probably from your "fat" prom date, that later blew your lame ass off. Don't take it personal, maybe she was just into guys with more than 2 brain cells to rub together, who could handle themselves in a fight instead of crying about it, and didn't have the grammatical abilities of a 6 year old. Or maybe it takes more than 3" to keep her happy. Pft...gee you're right, stuck up bitch!) Or maybe you're just a good old homophobe, because deep down inside you know the truth; you were the little "douchebag" staring a LITTLE TOO LONG AND HARD in the locker room? Whatever the case, you should try comin on out of that closet...the weather's just fine,.

Bad Ass Job Mark!! Keep speakin the truth, for all of those that don't have a voice!! Pay no mind to the ignorant f**ks that're bound to have to leave their comments, stupidity is truly the new epidemic of the 21st century. Always remember: those that mind don't matter, and those that matter don't mind.

ok, I like the webpage, but could you slow down the automatic changing of the frontpage stories? I start reading a headline and the page changes, kinda disturbing.

Yes, I have a comment or two. I think the author made several valid points, mainly those about OUR civil rights; aka our rights to personally decide/choose whether we want to participate in a LEGAL activity, or a business' right to choose how they would like to conduct their own business. I'm an adult who last time I checked payed taxes to my government to protect and serve me, not take over my mother's job she had when I was 16. We seem to have lost sight that the big business of the government works for us, and we should't be condemned to streetcorners, entryways, DSA's, or ANYWHERE FEELING LIKE SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS for participating in a perfectly legal activity. I know we now live in a country that has chosen to demonize smoking with their cheese-dick commercials that plague my television every thirty seconds, explaining to me the same shit my health teacher did 15 years ago as if I am an infant and must be reminded that inhaling smoke can lead to health problems; A veritable "smoke screen" if you will to merely focus the sheeps' attention away from the war we've plunged ourselves into, or the fact that many of us can no longer to afford to even fill our cars with gasoline anymore, or that the government doesn't give a damn about your health, but the "big business" that our health care system has become doesn't want to have to foot your bill if you do get sick, or it might cut into their trip to Maui this year. Since you are all so health-conscious, why don't you spend more time concerned with the soaring prices of fresh produce at our local grocery stores, about the thousands of private truckers who losing their business, their livelihood, due to soaring diesel prices. Last time I checked it took a lot less time to starve to death than to die from the second hand smoke you just might catch a little waft of coming from the 80 year old man sitting 2 booths down from you, enjoying the simple life pleasure of a cup of coffee and a smoke just as he has for the last 60+ years of his life. A person who has spent the majority of their lives hard at work, paying TAXES to that government no less, now will have big brother stepping in and telling him or her what's best for them, and forcing them to abide. For the last time people, LEAVE THE FUCKING SMOKERS ALONE. You absolutely have a right to your smoke-free establishments, but when did we lose our right to indulge in a legal substance amongst the company of other smokers? When did we become second-class citizens, forcing us all, INCLUDING our elders, (for which we should all be ashamed) the people who made this country what it is today and gave us more than we will ever be able to return to them, stand outside in snow, sleet, rain, smothering heat, 50 mph winds, etc just to have a cigarette because they decided to go have Sunday brunch after church like they have for as long as they can remember, until the government stepped in and DECIDED FOR HIM whether or not he can have that legal cigarette inside like a human or outside like a dog. Once again, I'm not a doctor, but I'm pretty sure pneumonia or heat stroke is a LITTLE more fast acting than throat cancer. Look, if we're gonna start bitching about the "evils" in this country dragging us down as a people, what about obesity? This is a HUGE problem plagueing millions of people of all ages, races, sex, background, etc. Hey, maybe we could use your logic and ban McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell, all of it due to the possible health implications, short and long term, of ingesting such total garbage! There we go, problem solved! Now also the workers of such garbage-dispensing establishments won't have to suffer from the same problems as the customers; no longer will they eat mounds of saturated fat for their lunch break, washing it down with delicious high-fructose corn syrup. Yes, and the government can start mandating exercise routines for all of us to abide by! Why stop with smoking?! All we need is a few measly signatures, and we could start clearing the way to never having to think again! Gracious old Uncle Sam can force us to quit our vices by banning bhem everywhere; next, he can tackle the drunk driving issue we have in this country (you may be less familiar with this issue; we spend so much warning you of the evils of smoking we plum forgot about good old alcohol! Hey, didn't we prohibit that once before too? I don't remember that workin out too well...) Yes yes, good old alcohol; beer, liquor, wine, coolers, etc. All of which eats away at your liver and internal organs, and completely impairs your judgement, a side effect I have yet to hear about associated with cigarettes. I have yet to hear the story of the girl who smoked SOOO many cigarettes, she lost control of her car and was mangled and killed in the wreck. Not to mention the family of 4 she T-boned, who's lives are ruined and will never be the same. Or a story of a man who smoked SOOO many cigarettes, that he lost control, beat his wife and kids within an inch of their lives, then pulled out a gun killling them first before turning the weapon on himself. No 3 year old has stumbled across a full pack of cigarettes, and accidentally shot himself in the face with it. No school children have smuggled in a pack of smokes and used them to murder their classmates and teachers, along with themselves. Which of the two "drugs" cause more harm and destruction, cause the disintigration of lives and families, rendering good people homeless and children scarred? Cigarettes or alcohol? But is there a commercial of some Jackass standing outside Anhauser-Busch with a loudspeaker and a truck full of body bags? Nope, just tv ads with a few of Hef's girls telling you they'd LOVE a little Captain in them... Joe Camel was banned for attracting a "young audience, including children, to smoke", but the commercials with the guys ranging from average joe to douchebag that have the hottest chicks most 13 year old boys have seen climbing all over them, seemingly INSATIABLE for that cool, crisp taste of the rockies sure discourages them from EVER wanting to try that product. Come the f**k on. Try worrying about the anti-christ herself, Miss Paris Hilton, who has made it MORE POPULAR THAN EVER to be a dumb, drunk, strung-out,SPOILED, self-indulgent, self-entitled vagina flashing whore. What of the generation of young girls that have known no different, who are just getting to middle school or high school, and have it ingrained in their mind that the way to get attention, popularity, dates, for boys to like them, to feel attractive, ALL those things that mean life and death to you at their age is to act like a dumb slut. Every day girls are giving in, and taking on the role of a grown woman, (Or what they think a grown woman would act like, aka as much sex, sex appeal, sexual innuendo, sex with their girlfriends, etc. What they think is sexy until someone finally, hopefully teaches them about class and self-respect). They hang out with much older men/boys, put themselves in very foolish positions because they have their youth and innocence working against them, and wind up participating in activities that will make them feel ashamed the rest of their lives. I think that would be much harder to get over years of therapy than if they tried a few cigarettes, decided it made them cough and their hair stink, give it up & never look back.
To sum it up, keep your eyes out for the truly twisted things going on out there. If you want a worthy cause to take up and fight for, there are so many things that are much more worth your time than trying to take a holier-than-thou approach on smokers. & always keep in mind, once Big Brother gets his foot in the door, it's a LOT harder to get him back out again. The government already has FAR too much say in our day to day lives, why surrender more power to them? Let us, the people, decide what we want in our restaurants, bars, pool halls, pubs, bowling alleys, Bingo houses, all of it. It's our money from the sweat on our backs that keep these places alive, and our tax dollars that pays for all the government propaganda, hoping to get the public to keep feeding into their agenda. Pay no attention to the war behind the curtain, the drunk beating his wife, or the 24 year old guy having his way with the 12 year old girl. Smoking is the devil. Cigarettes are the real evil, what's really out to get you. If you truly believe all that nonsense, please lemme know where you got that pair of rose-colored glasses, I want to make sure to get me a pair, so I can live with the same pathetic obliviousness that you people ******AND BY THE WAY: TO MARK GIEFER, POSTING ELI NEAL FTW!!!!!!11:********Maybe if you weren't sitting there bitching about "douchebags and fags" you could get out more, and wouldn't be so pissed off because your wiener hasn't been touched since prom (probably from your "fat" prom date, that later blew your lame ass off. Don't take it personal, maybe she was just into guys with more than 2 brain cells to rub together, who could handle themselves in a fight instead of crying about it, and didn't have the grammatical abilities of a 6 year old. Or maybe it takes more than 3" to keep her happy. Pft...gee you're right, stuck up bitch!) Or maybe you're just a good old homophobe, because deep down inside you know the truth; you were the little "douchebag" staring a LITTLE TOO LONG AND HARD in the locker room? Whatever the case, you should try comin on out of that closet...the weather's just fine,.

hmm what next...burn the constitution and use bible to govern?So stay in a marriage even if you are unhappy?Stop rubbing your dumb interpretation of religion on others.

So should people behave as bible orders?
Ephesians 5:22 said --Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord....gone are the dark days when women are treated as posessions...all supported by the bible.

Ephesians also approved of slavery...
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. (Ephesians 6:5 )

So would the world be a better place to live in if we live as the bible preaches....definitely not

but the world will definitely be a better place to live in if everyone has a little bit of commonsense and humanity...which you seem to lack.This is a newspaper and its high time its stops publishing thrash.

This article is a clear plug-in...anyone from collegian works at sonic??

The exhibits were a visual treat!!!

The article reeks of Sinophobia...

I used to live in Fort Collins, CO, which enacted a smoking ban several years ago while I still lived there. Prior to the ban, the same arguements and and statments that are being made here were made there....restaurants thought they'd go broke, smokers angrily said they'd never frequent eating establishments, bars or whatever, ever again......the smoking ban passed anyway.....3 years later, (this summer in fact) the local newpaper talked to restaurant owners about the effect the ban had on business.....long term, no effect to businesses, AND the smokers are still showing up.....in fact, someone proposed some kind of legislation to allow restaurant and bar owners to apply for a "smoking license" which would allow smoking within their establishments (kind of like a liquour license) and overwhelmingly the restaurant and bar owners said they didn't want to participate.....there is reams and reams of scientifically vetted research that states that second hand smoke is more dangerous than the smoke a smoker inhales, that the air handling equipment in most buildings is incapable of removing smoke to a level that is "safe" for people breathing passive smoke, and that, to quote the last Surgeon General "there is no level of second hand smoke exposure that is safe" to support a smoking ban. I don't give a hoot if some smoker wants to smoke, give themselves emphysema, lung cancer or heart disease. I do care however, about that person poisoning me. Is that smoker (or smokers) going to pay my medical bills if I get one of the above diseases thanks to them?

It does, indeed, take away civil rights from us. I don't smoke and have no vested interest in the smoking issue, other than the rights that are stolen. I choose not to frequent establishments that permit smoking. In so doing, I am voting with my pocket book. Smoking is pretty stupid, but since tobacco is a legal product, available to legal aged users, then let them smoke. But to push the smokers outside, then it begins to affect me. Smokers tend to congregate close to the door of the businesses and I have to wade through the smoke to pass by them. Leave them alone. Let them enjoy their legal right to smoke. Or, prohibit it entirely. Quit playing with people's rights to a legal product.

ELI NEAL FTW!!!!!!11

i thank manhattan should issue a ban on douche bags. there are so many douche bags in this town that i think it's time that we pass some legislation against said douche-baggery. within the ban should also be prohibitions on v-neck tshirts with crosses and billabong board shorts and backwards hurley hats. also cross tattoos, along with any other kind of religious tattoo. also make it illegal for retard army dudes to drink in aggieville because they're all a bunch of whiney fags that just want to start fights. idk why people in the military are such huge fags but they are. all they do is get in fights and drink to much and hit on fat girls that know that they're gay but have sex with them anyway because they're fat and nobody wants to have sex with them and they think they can also get money from the government if they marry said army fags

Alumni..don't be scared to admit you still read the fourum

Very nice article, Rebecca. The Collegian should write more stories about Fort Riley — it truly is a gold mine of stories.

Where is the byline on this story? Also, it is concerning that a staff member's relative was interviewed for this story. Let's do some original reporting.

Sounds great, my former colleagues. Keep up the hard work, and here's to a great semester. I'll be reading online everyday.

This webpage is so much better than the past several years

OK, first off if a person is eating or drinking things that are unhealthy they are not sharing or exposing dangerous toxic chemicals with the other patrons of the restaurant. Unlike smoke from cigarettes which contain numerous toxic chemicals. As far as the construction worker tearing down houses or buildings, check the OSHA guidelines, they do require a person to wear proper clothing and masks, if the person decides not to abide by the guideline and gets sick than they will not be able to file any type of Workman's comp. suit. Next, one very important aspect is the cost of second hand smoke. Every year people get sick and die because of second-hand smoke and the costs always trickle down to the tax payer. The costs to combat millions upon millions of dollars due to second-hand smoke to the tax payer. Even if you are the tax payer that doesn't go to bars or smoke you have to help pay for a disease that other people cause. As a political science major you should understand that bills are passed everyday without the public (who barely shows up to vote) voting on them. And finally your point that the government should not interfere with the business owners and it infringes on their rights, I would like to remind you of one of many instances where government interaction was an absolute must. Jim Crow laws, no smoking is not the same, but you use the same argument, " It is not the place of government officials to dictate what business owners can or cannot allow in their own establishments." When it comes to the health and safety of the general public it is the job of the government to protect all of us.

Thank you for writing exactly what I have been telling people about this subject for months. Also when considering a smoking ban I think it is important to consider the places that are effected by a ban like this, restaurants and bars. The majority of restaurants in this country serve incredibly unhealthy food full of grease fat and cholesterol, and obesity and obesity related illnesses now kill far more Americans every year than cigerettes, so I find it ludicrous that people are up in arms over the possiblility that they might suffer some health effects from my smoking while they are at the very same time filling their bodies with fattening food and alcohol. Because trust me a few breaths of my smoke is really nothing to your body after the 5 jager bombs, 3 tequila shots, 5 beers, half a gumbys pizza and 2 cups of ranch you just ingested

That's an incredibly well written article and it makes me want to see the show. Thanks for bringing that to our attention.

Gimmie a break. Soldiers on campus? Did they sing "Ohio" by Neil Young? Students actually went to this? How embarrasing.

i am confident that obama will not pick sebelius to be a part of his campaign.
*******************************************************************************
stella
Kansas Drug Addiction

i am confident that obama will not pick sebelius to be a part of his campaign.
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stella
[url="http://www.drugaddiction.net/kansas"]Kansas Drug Addiction[/url]

K-State has always had a trremendous reputation of coming together and that includes the community of Manhattan and the State of Kansas. I'm sure all will be dedicated to see that the campus and Manhattan is safe and in shape for the arrival of students. My experience of when I lived there showed me just how great the people of the Midwest are when there is a need!