4 OPINION :age 4 ~~~~Friday, October 31, 1986 TeMcia al e TeMihgnal 14 , : - . 3 Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan CVII, No. 42 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board All other cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily. Wasserman MeN WILL. IT eNvi? FIRST ITWPBS CRvIT IA o UR \WO~VV*NSM~P,,, Vol. X LL Lana STATE SENATOR LANA POLLACK should be re-elected to the 18th District Senate seat she has held for the past four years. She has worked hard for the University, Smost single-handedly restoring 3.2 million to the Research 2xcellence Fund after Senate *epublicans depleted it. k5 Education has been one of 1 ollack's primary concerns. She Chas served on the Senate Education ,Committee and stressed the importance of kindergarten through *twelvth grade as well as higher :education in her district, which t includes all of Washtenaw County. ;: Though Pollack lost some rank $n her committees when the emocrats lost control of the Senate in 1983, she has continued .I work hard, She has pushed for ,,e University to receive its requested appropriations from the state. Pollack is a firm believer in University autonomy from the state. She has said that there are b.nefits that could result from a ftudent seat on the University oard of Regents, but her commitment to such a realization is iarginal. Pollack advocates juvenile justice system reform and opposes japital punishment. Her proposed *ix , bills that call for stricter' pollution control standards would nstall harsher penalties and liability tonsequences for offenders. :Unlike her opponent, she supports 1 woman's right to choose abortion James B HE DAILY, WITH RESERVATION, :*idorses Governor James Blan - jhard for re-election. Blanchard's performance for the past four years has been adequate, and faced with 'Republican challenger, William Lucas, he is the better candidate. The Daily, however, strongly objects to Blanchard's willingness w to send the State National Guard to :,.train in Honduras. 2' Blanchard entered office at a time when the state of Michigan ::was in deep financial trouble-a kuge debt, low credit rating, high .*nemployment, and a poor bus - aised taxes to accomplish this, the xes were rolled back last year. Blanchard is committed to 'higher education. He increased s ate financial aid by 45 percent since he entered office and he. did s at a time when the federal government was cutting loans and grants heavily. Blanchard pressured the University Board of Regents into freezing in-State tuition two consecutive years and jhis year only allowed a tuition Acrease at the inflation rate. Blanchard also supports the ght of a woman to choose 4bortion whether she is rich or -poor. Blanchard has continuously vetoed bills from the state twit pm m rv INI NEXT, IT \NAS McCUA.TioNs OF FLA&1 NT OVFPCM A6 IW&#, Pollack I I v- I I 'VSN IT WI'S 1 ICTMEANTS FO FRAUD TRH af7,\ 6O1N& To TA)(ES // WA1AT No W ? ; _i -i Q, J O \}J P Y O m r I ag ...State Senator Lana Pollack regardless of wealth, and thus supports continued availability of Medicaid-funded abortions. Pollack's challenger Dale Apley is a former administrative assistant for Senator Nick Smith. He has voiced concern about toxic waste disposal but believes that Michigan coal burning plants standards are sufficient and that too much government regulation is count - erproductive. Michigan is a large contibuter to the acid rain problem through coal-burning industries; obviously, regualtion is needed. The Daily endorses Pollack for her support of the community, special emphasis on the environ- ment, education, and women's rights: she deserves voter recognition on November 4. LETTERS: Baker can't V V change system Ilanchard To The Daily: I would like to make a few comments on the significance, or the lack thereof, of the Dean Baker campaign. Capitalist-owned technology is taking more complete control of production through the use of computers, auto - mation and robotics ensuring that the vast numbers of perm - anently unemployed will con - tinue to increase dramatically, decreasing proportionately the number of consumers and consumption in the mar - ketplace. When products don't sell, factories close creating more unemployment. In an attempt to remain competitive in a declining market, factory owners are motivated to auto - mate further to lower (labor) costs, exacerbating the problem still more. This economic stagnation and decline at home forces American capitalists to try to protect their profit margins by maintaining and expanding their foreign markets with imperialistic force. Beyond these needs of imperialism, military pro - duction is an absolutely neces - sary economic stimulus. In addition to providing huge profits for "defense" con - tractors, it increases the demand for both non-military capital goods and consumer goods. Secretary of Defense Wein - berger said "the current arms buildup is half of the attempt to revitalize America," and Business Week states bluntly that "economists are counting on one constant to keep the economy going: defense spending." For Dean Baker to hold out, as he does in his political flyers, the promise of jobs and peace in the face of these forces for greater unemployment and military conflict is to publically announce economic ignorance or a willingness to practice the cruel deception common to bourgeois politics. The inherent drives of capitalism lead to joblessness, poverty, militarism and war. Nothing less than the class- conscious efforts of a revolutionary working class to eliminate capitalism and re - place it with democratic social ownership of the economy and the the ignorant. When the reform efforts of Malcolm X, the leaders of the Black Panther Party and the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. began to move from a racial base into a class-conscious area, they were all assassinated. Students of Jackson State and Kent State Universities were executed by gunfire without trial by agents of the capitalist state for activities in opposition to state policies. Social change belongs to those committed to socialist revolution, who will not be deterred by personal cost or by the long haul. Baker's influence as a congressman on a capitalist class who, through ownership of multi-national corporations set policy for nation-states, who direct governments into wars and war-like acts illegal by both national and international standards, will be absolutely nil. Individuals and Contra aid unjustifable Y To the Daily: I was angered by Carl Pursell's statements about Contra aid in his interview in the Daily (10/20). Once again Pursell failed to justify his support of the Contras: his claim that the Sandinista government poses a threat to U.S. security held no documentation. What is maddening about Pursell's statements is that behind their superficiality lies a very real war where Nicaraguans are being raped, tortured, and murdered by the Contras daily. It is time that the voters in this district ask the fundamental question, "What is the purpose of funding the Contras?" If the answer is to pressure the Sandinista government to negotiate on the Contadora peace process, think again. While the Contadora peace process has the support of fifteen Latin American countries, the United States is working to block attempts to reach an agreement. To quote a State Department memo, "We need to develop an active diplomacy now to head off efforts at Latin American solidarity, whether they are sponsored by the Contadora support group, the Cubans, or the Nicaraguans. We need to find a way to turn the pressure they bear on us or our friends to our advantage." (State Department memo, Sept. 4, 1985.) If the real purpose of the Contra aid is to overthrow the Sandinista government, Contra aid will not suffice. "It continues to be the assessment of the U.S. intelligence community that only U.S. Contras. Our votes should not be so unjustifiable on Tuesday, November 4th in the congressional election. -LisabKiser October 28 groups supporting him or ad' other politician in the capitalist arena are wasting their time, money, energy and hope anil are ultimately serving the cause of the reactionary Right b ! bringing movement for social change back into the machineiy of bourgeois politics wher change is impossible. -Robert V. Gray '6t Socialist Labor Party Ann Arbor Fan offended 4 ...Governor Blanchard To The Daily: The New York Mets have finally won a World Series Championship after years upon years of struggling, suffering, and futility. All Mets fans around the country are thrilled that their team has overcome obstacles, adversity, and the Red Sox to become World Champions for the first time since 1969. Obviously not everybody is as thrilled about this as I and other Mets lovers are. Apparently, Mark Bo- rowsky belongs to this latter category attributed to the fact that he is a Chicago Cubs fan (and a jealous one at that). But Borowsky takes his dislike of the Mets. a step further by attacking Mets fans and in particular New Yorkers by expressing inflammatory opin - ions ("Mets win; 'U' must live with the fans" (10/29/86). Other New Yorkers and I are tired of Borowsky and everybody else who think that all New Yorkers are loud, ob - noxious, and annoying. This stereotype is about as valid as claiming that all Michiganders are nothing more than dumb Midwestern farmers. I go to school here and know that this is not true. The same should be said for the former case. Borowsky's criticism is highly caustic, sarcastic, and obviously untrue. Not only can Mets fans read and write but they can probably do so might be impractical, so, following Borowsky's reas - oning, chopping off their heads might do the trick. Sadly, though, as Borowsky notes, these vital organs would eventually regenerate. Borowsky and others criticize New Yorkers and New York constantly. They sayl that New York is not the Big Apple but the Apple core. We New Yorkers like to say that Detroit is the same core months later. Many people here do not like New York accents. Well, we New York - ers are not that thrilled about Midwestern accents (and don't deny that you have accents because you do). I did not see Mets fans rioting the city, turning over cars, or lighting the city on fire after their team's victory celebration like the one in Detroit two years previous. Other people com - plaining and screaming about New Yorkers are louder than New Yorkers are themselves. Sure we New Yorkers could go4 back to New York but then where would the money come from the support the Uni versity? Maybe in-state tuitiop would then quadruple. What a thought! It seems very ironic that should one day in the future a New York Times editor approach Borowsky and ask him to work for their premieri taxes and has declared that there will be "no more free lunches." He would stop welfare payments to single adults, and eliminate Aid to Families with Dependent Children for parents under 18 years old. Lucas has criticized Project Self- Reliance; has vowed to cut school funding andthe Job Corps, and has said the Detroit police department should be put under state control. Workers League candidate Martin McLaughlin does not support sending National Guards to Honduras. He favors cutting back on the military budget, increasing social service spending by expropriating big business profits and refocusing spending