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Eighty-Six Years of Editorial Freedom
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, M 48104

Consumer bills wallow in Lansing


Friday, December 5, 1975

News Phone: 764-0552

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Force SALT to get tough

EVER SINCE THE League of Nations
was formed after World War I,
Americans have expressed a desire
for international agreements design-
ed to limit the world's ability to wage
war.
Missiles have become a bone of
contention among the super powers,
leading the United States and the
USSR to conduct SALT talks; ad in-
finitum.
Remember the Congressional fight
ove rthe Anti-Ballistic Missiles? The
country's only operational facility,
an installation in Langdon, North
Dakota, is being dismantled. It be-
came fully operational only a few
weeks ago, but stepped-up detente
and advancing technology outmoded
it, wasting money and throwing peo-
ple out of work.
Congress admitted yesterday, as
its critics had contended all along,
that the system was a mistake. The
ABMs could be overwhelmed by So-
viet warheads too easily.
MEANWHILE, C H A R G E S HAVE
been leveled claiming two possi-
ble infractions against thesSALT
agreement by the Russians. As part
TODAY'S STAFF
News: Gordon Atcheson, Mitch Du-
nitz, Jay Levin, Cheryl Pilate, Jeff
Ristine, Stephen Selbst,, Rick Soble
Editorial Page: Michael Beckman,
Bruce Braverman, Nancy Grech,
Paul Haskins, Tom Stevens
Arts Page: David Weinberg
Photo Technician: Ken Fink

of the - agreement, possible cheating
by one country which another un-
earths is supposed to be kept between
the two as long as possiblle.
Arms limitation talks should be
more than just elaborate scraps of
paper, to be ignored when either
party deems it inconvenient.
The ABM has been characterized
as nothing more than a bargaining
lever for the 1972 talks. The people
of Langdon are loosing their jobs be-
cause this expensive and unneces-
sary gambling chip has been washed
awe:, in the turbulence of the arms
Nlot only the on-site workers, but
also the townspeople who had no di-
rect connections with the installa-
tion, will find themselves looking for
other work because the circum-
stances and developments in the
arms race cast the ABM aside.
Weapons, warheads, missiles and
all sorts of military hardware have
been prolifirating faster than rab-
bits. Too many people in Langdons
across America have begun to rely on
war material as the source of their
daily bread.
The United States should deter-
mine a consistently peaceful course
to follow during the arms race and
stick to it. Trifling with missiles is
too risky.
The nations of the world should
stop fooling around with ineffective
agreements which can be nullified by
advancing technology or the whims
of one of the nations involved.

By JOSEPH TUCHINSKY
PIRGIM IS LOBBYING in the
Michigan legislature for the
passage of Senate Bill 1, the
Michigan Consumer Protection
Act.
SB 1,. reported out of the
House Consumers Committee on
November 6, then briefly side-
tracked to the Appropriations
Committee, should soon reach
the floor of the House of Rep-
resentatives.
It is, by far, the most import-
ant piece of consumer - protec-
tion legislation ever considered
by the Michigan legislature. If
it passes, it will put new powers
into the hands of law enforce-
ment officials, and more im-
portantly, into the hands of con-
sumers themselves. T h e s e
should deter many consumer
abuses which may now be at-
tempted with near impunity.
I say "if it passes" because
similar bills have been consid-
ered every legislative term for
nearly a decade. Each has died,
usually passed by the House,
then killed in the Senate.
THIS YEAR, THE process
wss reversed. Nearly identical
bills were introduced in the
House and Senate, but -unlike
previous years, the Senate bill
was taken up first. It wasn't
treated kindly in the Senate Ju-
diciary Committee, though. The
bill the committee reported out,
and that was passed by the Sen-
ate, was so badly weakened
that consumer organizations,
inculding PIRGIM, are uni-
formly opposed to it.
We feel Michigan would be
better off without any Consum-,

SRI

sions, is a long, com-
plex bill. But reduced
to its essence, it does
two simple things. It
defines and forbids de-
ceptive business prac-
tices. And it creates
remedies for the con-
sumer who suffers
from the forbidden
practices."
House floor. The House version
of the bill, House Bill 4433, an
'even stronger bill than the origi-
nal Senate bill before the com-
mittee weakened it, was in the
Consumers Committee when
SB 1, in its Senate-emasculated
form, arrived there. The com-
mittee had its choice of moving
either bill. If it had reported
out HB 4433, after House pas-
sage it would have had to go
back through the Senate com-
mittee where it might have suf-
fered the same death as pre-
vious years' bills.

er Protection Act this year than
with SB 1 as it passed the Sen-
ate. That way, with nothing on
the books, we could try again
next legislative term.
Why then are we so pleased
with the prospect that SB 1 may
pass?
Because a funny thing hap-
pened to SB 1 on the way to the

in both ver-

INSTEAD, IT REPORTED
out its own substitute bill which
combined the Senate bill num-
ber with virtually the entire con-
tents of HB 4433, only slightly
weakened by committee amend-
ments.
This "House Substitute for
Senate Bill 1" is the bill now
reaching the House floor.
If the strong House substitute
SB 1 is approved by the House,
as seems likely, the bill will
have to go back to the Senate,
but not through the committee
process again. Either the Sen-
ate can accept the version
passed by the House or more
likely, can require a House-
Senate conference committee to
reconcile the differences be-
tween the two versions.
No one can predict what sort
of bill will result from the pro-
cess - and it is still conceiv-
able that it will be so weakened
in conference committee that
we will once again urge that the
bill be killed so we can try
again next year.
But if a decent bill comes out
of the process, Governor Milli-
ken pledged to sign it into law.
SB 1, IN BOTH VERSIONS,
is a long, complex bill. But re-
duced to its essence, it does two
simple things. It defines and
forbids deceptive business prac-
tices. And it creates remedies
for the consumer who suffers
from the forbidden practices.
The House version has a
broad and flexible definition
which the courts and a rule-
making committee can use to
respond to the future innova-

specific current practices which
are prohibited. The prohibitions
would be universal, applying to
all businesses.
The Senate version, opposed
by PIRGIM and other consumer
advocates, has only the laundry
list, and makes no provision for

tions of fly-by-night merchants loophole opposed by the Com-
It also has a "laundry list" of merce Department itself.

.. . pledges support
new problems except returning
to the slow legislative process.
The Senate version is not uni-
versal in coverage. Deceptive
practices by utilities, intra-state
moving companies, insurance
companies, banks, and other
businesses regulated by agen-
cies in the Michigan Depart-
ment of Commerce are exempt-
ed - a glaring and unjustified

THE REMEDIES ARE more
similar in the two bills. Both
allow enforcement by the At-
torney General or a county pro-
secutor, who can ask a court
for an injunction to stop the vio-
lation, or sue for damages, on
either an individual or class-ac-
tion basis. Both also allow any
individual to sue for an in-
junction or for individual or
class damages. To make it
worthwhile to sue in cases of
small losses, and to deter mer-
chants from small deceptions,
the consumer who wins an in-
dividual suit gets back both
lawyers fees and a minimum
recovery from the merchant,
$200 'in the Senate bill or $300
in the House bill. The House
bill allows enforcement also by
the Commerce Department ag-
encies, which PIRGIM favors.
If you were going to write
only one letterthis year to a
legislator, the one which would
probably save you and others
the most money over the long
- run is a letter urging- your State
Representative to support the
House committee version of
Senate Bill 1 and to vote against
any weakening amendments to
it.
Pirgim reports is a regular
feature of the Public Interest
Research Group in Michigan.
Joseph Tuchinsky is a Pirgim
staff-writer.
'aves
al caucuses inside their unions,
based on a class-struggle, anti-
capitalist program. The Spar-
tacist League/SYL supports
such caucuses as the Commit-
tee for a Militant UAW (local
1364, Fremont, Calif.) whose de-
mands for sit-down strikes
against lay-offs, 30 hours work
for 40 hours pay, expropriation
of the auto companies, and a
workers party to fight for a
workers government can lead
the struggle against the eco-
nomic crisis to a direct attack
on capitalism itself, the root
cause of the crisis. Sch cau-
cises provide the only viable
alternative to the pro-capitalist
bureaucrats.
THESE ISSUES ARF import-
ant to students as well. It is the
organized labor movement
alone that has the social muscle
to smash tuition hikes and cut-
backs. Seeking to win students
to - a working-class perspective
to overthrow the rotting capital-
ist system, the SYL pledges its
support t the campus unions, -
and its unconditional defense of
the unions against Administra-
tion attack.
Ray Bishop
Spartacus Youth
League
Dec. 1

Letters:Pro.s
To The Daily: tions of sex discrimination in
'the classroom.

t 4,
S./
t rwrM w

I AM A STUDENT in Soci-
ology 303, "Race and Cultural
Contacts," taught by Professor
Ozzie Edwards. On October 15,
1975, the lecture topic for this
course was "Black Demography
and Ecology." In the course of
this lecture the issue of breed-
ing camps in the pre-Civil War
South was raised by a student.
A discussion regarding their ex-
istence was ended with a state-
ment by Dr. Edwards that "Be-
sides it's impossible for a man
to rape a woman." Several peo-
ple reacted to this statement
demanding clarification and
further discussion, but Dr. Ed-
wards refused to continue dis-
cussion during class time.
I have since attempted to re-
solve this issue with Dr. Ed-
wards both verbally and in writ-
ing. In both contexts, I asked
that Dr. Edwards clarify his
statement and/or allow equal
class time for presentation of
opposing viewpoints. In his let-
ter to me dated November 10,
1975, Dr. Edwards restated his
positions by saying "forced sex-
ual relations were virtually im-
possibld." These same requests
for redress were repeated on
November 14, 1975. To this date,
Dr. Edwards has not chosen to
pursue either option.
I FEEL THAT MAKING this
remark to a class of 70 people
serves to perpetuate very dan-
gerous myths about women and
rape. I was personally offended
by the statement and perceive
it to be an irresponsible use
of class time to spread personal
prejudices under the guise of
scholarship.
I believe that remarks such
as this one, should not go un-
challenged, and that this inci-
dent emphasizes the need for
formal mechanisms through
which students can resolve ques-

Denise Shoug
December 4
A nti-semii-stism
To The Daily:
I HAD A FAMILIAR feeling
in the pit of my stomach after
reading Ruth Gersh's letter: for
some reason another Jew has
chosen to miss the point. The
fact that the letter includes
amazing inaccuracies (destruc-
tion of non-Jewish heritage in
Jerusalem? Jewish superiority
as a tenet of Zionism?) is not
as important nor as disturbing
as the fact that the writer has
missed the blatant anti-Semitism
so clearly a' part of the U.N.
resolution. It isuthis anti-Semit-
ism and the failure to recognize
it as such which causes con-
cern.
The U.N. resolution condemn-
ing Zionism creates a double
standard for Jews and non-
Jews. It is hard for me to un-
derstand how the term racism
can be applied to Israel's poli-
cies toward Arab Israelis (the
right to vote, hold office, serve
in the armed forces) when
rampant persecution against
Jews and others (including
Christians in many Moslem
states) flourishes. It is incon-
ceivable that a Jew hold of-
fice in Saudi Arabia. It is a
fact that many Arabs hold pub-
lic office above the municipal
level in Israel.
It is a familiar theme. When
a Jew does something objection-
able (strange, unfamiliar) it is
morally wrong, racist, exclu-
sionary, demonic, impure, evil
and cause for persecution, holy
warsand discrimination. Israel
is a Jewish State. When a non-
Jew does the same or worse it
is accented or condoned. (As I
write this the radio announces
a terrorist bombing in Jerusa-
lem which is hailed by- the

rei
P.L.O. as an heroic event
double standard is a corne
of the definition of anti-Sen
and the supporters of the
resolution have, by their a
rekindled this most histo
hideous form of ethnic pe
tion.
I, A JEW, am threate
it.
David Berg
November 14
To The Daily:
VETERAN SELL-OUT
Leonard Woodcock des
upon Ann Arbor recen
"mediate" the ragingc
versy in UAW local 200
non-support to either the
Unity Caucus or the oppo
al Clericals for a Demc
Union CDU indicates r
non - partisanship nor con
on his part, but rather th
indifference of the UAW
national to the plight of c,
clericals.
During the clericals' o
ing drive, the Spartacus
League urged affiliation
American Federation of
County, and Municipal
ployees (AFSCME). The f
growing union in the U.S
CME is gaining more an
legitimacy as the union o
lic and campus emp
Clericals should have
with the AFSCME - org
service and maintenan
ployees as a step towards
ing one campus unionf
campus workers. The UA
sought the clericals' fra
not out of any committm
organizing the unorganize
rather to providera fi
pool to heln offset their
ing dues base brought ab
lav-offs in the auto plant
T H E G R A D Uf
EMPLOYEES Organizal
now faced with a simila

rdice

a tr

.) This portant affiliation decision.
rstone Here, too, the SYL encourages
mitism votes for AFSCME, as opposed
e U.N. to the American Federation of
ctions, Teachers (AFT). Militants must
rically reject the narrow professional-
ersecu- ist appetites which characterize
most pro-AFT sympathies. The
ned by vulnerability of GSA's to Ad-
ministration attack - can be
fought only by linking with oth-
er campus and government
workers, as well, as the indus-
SYL trial working-class - one of
the major lessons of the GEO
artist strike last winter.
cended At the same time, affiliation
dtly t per se will not guarantee that
contro- the workers interests will be
1. His fought for. Victor Gotbaum,
ruling New York City AFSCME chief
sition- whose traitorous refusal to mo-
ocratic bilize his' union in response to
neither the city's financial crisis left
nfusion municipal workers defenseless
he real against government - corpora-
Inter- tion attacks, is just as much
capus the bosses' waterboy as Wood-
cock.
rganiz- THE CDU, WHICH the SYL
Youth defends against the Unity Can-
to the c's' vicious red-baiting witch-
State, hunts, offers a strategy of sim-
1Em- ple democratic unionism to fight
fastest- for a bigger piece of the shrink-
.,AFS- ing capitalist pie, of which
d more there is not even enough to go
of pub- around.
loyees. The alternative is certainly
united not decertification of local 2001.
ganized Militants must build opposition-

ce em-
sbuild-
for all
W tons
anchise
nent to
red, but
.nancial
shrink-
bout by
ts.
ATE
tion is
rly im-

Omission:
Because of technical complications, a sub-
stantial part of the first answer in the Health
Service Handbook column was unintential-
ly omitted yesterday. The answer will be
printed in full in next week's column.

sI

Detente more than status quo

CARLA HILLS

A ffirmative Action turncoat

By PAUL HASKINS
jCARLA HILLS IS doing for feminism
what Sammy Davis Jr. did for black
pride.
Jerry Ford made Hills Housing and Ur-
ban Development secretary last year. And
everybody and her sister naturally took it
for a long-overdue and only slightly token
recognition of equality of the sexes.
So what if a deep and abiding belief in
equal opportunity didn't prompt Ford to
pick Hill? So what if his real motivation
was a deep and abiding fear of what Betty
might do if he ducked the women's move-
ment much longer?
No matter. Therimportant thing, we all
thought, was that somehow a woman had
finally weathered the long road between
the kitchen and the Cabinet, and that the
millions of minority Americans whose lives
dangle on HUD red tape could breathe
more easily with one of the number run-
nine the show.

might not have revenue sharing to kick
around any more.
Of course that alone is nothing to hold
against her. After all, it's her office that
handles the revenue-sharing funds and she's
openly endorsed the policy in the past. You
don't throw out the bearer with the bad
tidings.
But it' did create just the right mood for
her next eye opener. She advised the urban
bureaucrats to reorder their community
development fund spending priorities - so
that more could go to preserving cultural
"amenities", like neighborhoods around
parks, landmarks, colleges and such. In
other words, funnel more money into the
lower and middle-class pockets of the city.
Gee, that's great, Carla. But then what
do you tell the urban poor, the people who
live on top of each other and next to rats
and worse? Because when you put limited
CDRS funds into polishing museum steps,
vnil take it away from welfare mothers
with hunerv kids And they're probably

By MARY NASH
Editor's Note: The following
is an unsolicited guest editorial.
VICTOR PERLO, well-known
Marxist economist and au-
thor, will be speaking on "The
Economics of Detente" on Fri-
day at 7:30 p.m. in the Greene
Lounge at East Quad. Perlo, a
longtime supporter of peaceful
coexistence and detente, will
examine in his lecture some of
the major questions that have
been raised about the economic
consequences of detente for U.S.
consumers and workers, as well
as its effect on radical social
change.
During President Ford's re-
cent visit to China, and in
Daniel Moynihan's speech Tues-
day, important political ques-
tions have been raised regarding
Soviet-U.S. detente which need
clarification.
The U.S. has intervened in
numerous countries, most not-
ably Koren, the Dominican Re-
public, Lebanon, Cuba - and of
course, Vietnam. These inter-
entions invnlved CTA intrigues

On the domestic front, opponents
of detente say it is a "one-way
street"; that the Soviet Union
will benefit while the U.S. peo-
ple derive little, if any benefit
from it. Let us investigate these
charges.
Detente means relaxation of
tensions and creation of an
atmosphere in which countries
with different economic systems
can have relations based on
peaceful coexistence and com-
petition. Agreements can be
signed limiting nuclear arms,
prohibiting aggression, remov-
ing trade barriers and starting
cultural exchanges. It means
that neither revolution nor coun-
ter-revolution should be export-
ed, i.e. imposed from without.
However, detente does not
mean a freezing of the status
quo in the world and does not
rule out continued support for
indigenous liberation move-
ments. On the contrary, it is
those who support systems of
colonialism and apartheid who
in fact violate the idea of peace-
ful coexistence. Wherever a ma-
iority is forcibly prevented from

liberation movements violate the
idea of peaceful coexistence?
Let us examine situations in
which Soviet support was giv-
en.
In the 1960's and 1970's, the
U.S. tried to overthrow the Cu-
ban revolutionary government
and fought a genocidal war
against the Vietnamese people.
The Soviet Union and other so-
cialist countries aided the Cu-
bans and Vietnamese in their
struggles for independence from
imperialism. U.S. propaganda
claimed this was Soviet inter-
vention, but it is clear today
that it was the United States
that was intervening to thwart
the will of the people. The Viet-
namese and Cubans run their
own countries today, not, in a
way that the U.S. authorities
like, of course.
Clearly these movements did
not take shape as a result of
Soviet aid; they were not ex-
ported from the Soviet Union
and implanted or imposed on
the people. They and other
movements like them today
were propelled by mass dis-

guese colonialism and apart-
heid. The Soviet U.nion aided the
movements for self-determina-.
tion of the peoples of Angola,
Mozambique, and Guinea-Bis-
sau which for years fought Por-
tuguese colonialism-the MPLA,
FRELIMO and the PAIGC; re-
spectively. Today; the PAIGC
and FRELIMO are running-
Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique
-as they see fit. In Angola,
the MPLA still has a fight on
its hands; the U). and South
Africa are fighting hard to keep
that country inside-the imperial-
ist orbit because of its great
economic wealth and strategic
political importance.
In view of these facts, the re-
cent claim by Ford and Kissing-
er that they support "self deter-
mination for Angola" shows the
extent of their depravity. Their
claims that the Soviet Union is
"violating detente" by aiding
the MPLA are intended to mask
the U.S. effort to introduce neo-
colonial domination to Angola.
At the 4th Conference of Non-
Aligned Nations, Fidel Castro
made the following comments

freeze
the underdeveloped world? What
worker is exploited in any coun-
try of Asia, Africa or Latin
America by Soviet capital?.
Is it true that detente is a
"one way street"? If not, how
does it benefit U.S. people?
Arms limitations would pre-
cipitate a cut in the billion dol-
lar. U.S. military budget, releas-
ing tax money to be spent on
pressing social needs: rebuild-
ing cities, building hospitals,
schools, day care centers, mas-
sive low cost housing, medical
research, environmental protec-
tion. The abilities and energies
of tens of thousands, now unem-
ployed, would be needed.
FORD SAYS HE WANTS to
negotiate from a "position -of
strength"; this is nothing but
the old imperialist game of
maintaining military pressure-
with the threat of using your
military might to enforce your
will. Basically, Ford and other
representatives of U.S. big busi-
ness want to retain a huge mili-
tary arm as the instrument to
protect what remains of their
empire. In addition to the con-
tinuing danger of war, the cost