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NEWS: 76-DAILY
CLASSIFIED: 764-0557
www michigandall y. com
Friday
February 8, 2002
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New budget to
halt further spending
LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Gov. John
Engler's plan to give more money to Michi-
gan schools and protect spending for univer-
sities and community colleges is likely to
ease passage of his full state budget for fis-
cal 2003, key lawmakers said yesterday.
"The way we did the school budgets will
actually help the other budgets," said Senate
Majority Leader Dan DeGrow (R-Port
Huron). "They're still going to be very tight
and nobody will get more than a freeze."
Some Republican legislative leaders have
said they want to pass the budget for the fis-
cal year that begins Oct. 1 by late March.
Budget bills usually are wrapped up in June
or July.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Harry
Gast (R-St. Joseph), who has headed the
committee for 19 years, called that time
frame "kind of sudden and fast."
"There are some things in there that I
have a question about," Gast said of the bud-
get proposal. "I think it will be refined" as it
goes through the Legislature.
Democrats said Engler's proposal is based
on questionable accounting work and would
shift tough choices to the governor who suc-
ceeds Engler next year.
"(Even) if it works, it will explode in the
next governor's face," said Sen. Christopher
Dingell (D-Trenton). He said he found the
administration's accounting practices very
disturbing and likened them to the budget
problems of two decades ago.
Engler's budget proposal totals $39.4 bil-
lion, including $9.2 billion in the st.ate's
general fund and an $11.2 billion school aid
fund.
State budget director Donald Gilmer pre-
sented the budget proposal a day after
Engler unveiled a plan to give schools the
$6,700 per student they were promised next
school year and have taxpayers pay a portion
of their property taxes each summer to ful-
fill that pledge.
State Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith (D-Salem
Township) said the 2003 budget proposal
was based on "smoke and mirrors" and
accused the governor of leaving the state
fewer pots of money to tap for future spend-
ing. I
"We need a damn good (economic) recov-
ery" if spending levels are to remain as high
in fiscal 2004, said Smith, the ranking
Democrat on the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
House Speaker Rick Johnson said he's
optimistic the economy will rebound better
than some lawmakers' expectations.
"Is it as nice as it was three years ago?
No," said Johnson (R-LeRoy). "But every-
thing we're looking at shows the economy is
turning up."
Gilmer said the proposal holds the line on
spending and doesn't pay for any new pro-
grams.
"We're not in a position to be able to go
out and solve any new problems. We're
going to have to take care of the ones we've
got," he told reporters.
Still, minority Democrats charged that the
governor is being irresponsible with the
state's spending plan.
"This budget tells me that the Engler-
See BUDGET, Page 9
House minonty whip
shows favor to Rivers
By Louie Meizlish
Daily Staff Reporter
A donation from Rep. Nancy
Pelosi, the number two Democrat in
the U.S. House of Representatives, to
the campaign committee of Rep. Lynn
Rivers was sharply criticized this
week by Rivers' likely opponent in the
August 2002 Democratic congres-
sional primary, Rep. John Dingell.
Dingell said it was unprecedented for
a member of the House Democratic
leadership to favor one candidate over
another in a primary.
Dingell, who has represented parts
of Wayne County since 1955, and
Rivers, who has represented Washte-
naw County and parts of Wayne
County since 1995, saw both of their
hometowns fused into the same new
congressional district in a redistrict-
ing plan approved by Gov. John
Engler last year. Unless the Michi-
gan Democratic Party's court chal-
lenge of the plan is successful,
BRENDANOON yELL/Daily
Nursing senior Stephanie Thomson prepares a tanning bed at TanFastic on Main Street for a customer. The tanning
salon has seen an increase in business this month as spring break approaches.
TinCning lessens brn,
increases cancer risk
Rivers Dingell
incumbents Dingell and Rivers will
face off next August.
Dingell's criticism, first reported in
the Capitol Hill newsletter Roll Call,
centered on a $10,000 donation from
a political campaign committee oper-
ated by Pelosi (D-Calif.), House
minority whip, to Rivers' campaign.
Kori Bernard, spokeswoman for
House Minority Leader Richard
Gephardt (D-Mo.) said the leader had
not endorsed either candidate in the
primary, saying "the leadership stays
out of campaign elections"
Dingell told the newsletter he was
perplexed as to why a member of the
House Democratic leadership would
want to show favoritism to one Demo-
cratic incumbent over another who
has "been so helpful to the Democrat-
ic Party."
Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly
explained that the whip "gave the
donation before she had seen the final
(redistricting) map so she didn't
know" that there would likely be a pri-
mary.
The donation was made Sept. 10,
one day before Engler signed the
redistricting bill. It had been clear for
some time, however, that the Republi-
can governor would sign the bill,
given that it was developed by the
GOP-controlled Legislature. Pelosi
did not take over as minority whip
until last month, having been elected
to the post one month after she made
the donation to Rivers' campaign.
Rivers had supported Pelosi for the
See RIVERS, Page 9
By April Effort
Daily Staff Reporter
For Nursing freshman Christine Brown, tanning
before vacationing in sunny locations is necessary
to prevent severe burning.
"It is a big concern for me because I'm fair
skinned, and skin cancer runs in my family," said
Brown, who also uses sunscreen at the tanning
salon.
Despite medical risks, including skin cancer, tan-
ning before spring break has become a tradition for
many University students.
"I'd like to tan ahead of time, so I won't get
burned in Florida during spring break," LSA fresh-
man Lauren Reed said.
Though tanning may seem to lessen the risk of
sun burn, a new study published in the Journal of
the National Cancer Institute said that people who
use tanning devices are 1.5 to 2.5 times more likely
to have common kinds of skin cancer than people
who do not use the devices.
"You will be happy about tanning now, but when
See TANNING, Page 9
Lecturer
Talk radio
recounts
hardships
of poverty
By Rahwa Ghebre-Ab
For the Daily
Twenty-nine percent of Ameri-
cans suffer from poverty and eco-
nomic hardships every year, forcing
them to do things such as skip
meals, and prohibiting them from
paying their rent, according to
political essayist Barbara Ehren-
rich's lecture last night addressing
the plight of low-wage workers in
America.
Ehrenreich was the featured
speaker at the 10th annual Mullin-
Welch lecture, sponsored by The
Center for the Education of
Women.
"No job is unskilled," said Ehren-
rich. "Every job takes intelligence,
concentration and stamina."
Ehrenreich based her lecture on
her best-selling book, "Nickel and
Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in
America." She described her under-
cover journalistic experience of liv-
ing in three different cities,
working a total of five low-paying
jobs, including a maid, a nursing
home aide and a hotel room cleaner
i4 - in .an ntnm- to .nlr. Pni m t c
U.N. has lost
0 t *
obje etivi
official said
By Tyler Boersen
and Andrea Pappas
Daily Staff Reporters
Denis Halliday, a former United Nations Humanitarian
Coordinator in Iraq and nominee for the 2000 Nobel Peace
Prize, said last night that the United Nations has lost its ability
to act as an objective force in international politics.
"As a result of the policies and resolutions, and the neglect
of some resolutions ... I think the United Nations has lost its
credibility, its leadership and is even perceived to have lost its
independence," Halliday said.
During a lecture included in the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Symposium, Halliday criticized the General Assembly for
submitting to American political pressure, and said the U.N.
Security Council has begun to look like a G7 meeting.
He expressed concern for the Bush Administration's foreign
policy and the "axis of evil" Bush defined during his State of
the Union address last week. He added that there is no evi-
dence that Iraq had any connection to the Sept.11 attacks, and
that there is no justification for creating aggression.
"Out of frustration and anger, Mr. Bush feels he needs to
take on the world with violence," Halliday said. "I think (the
axis of evil is) counterproductive for the relations between the
United States and these three countries ... (and) it undermines
the advancements made in democracy in Iraq."
Halliday, a career U.N. diplomat with 34 years of experi-
ence, became administrator of the "Oil for Food" program in
Iraq in 1997. A year later, he resigned from the position, blast-
ing the United Nations for its lack of attention to humanitarian
issues in Iraq.
"In many parts of the world, they look at the U.N. today and
LESLIE WARD/Daily
Former United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator In Iraq
Denis Halliday spoke yesterday as part of the Martlin Luther
King, Jr. Symposium.
regret that it doesn't seem to stand up for human rights, it
doesn't respect its own charter," Halliday said.
U.N. sanctions have strongly contributed to maintaining
famine throughout Iraq, Halliday said. The sanctions have
been strongly supported by the U.S. government, including the
administration of former Secretary of State Madeline
Albright, who made her support clear during a lecture at the
University last fall. Halliday said he disagrees with Albright,
and said that sanctions are not the only method the United
States could employ in the region.
See HALLIDAY, Page 9
BRENDAN O NmLL, Dily
LSA sophomore Brian Farrar hosts "The Bottom Line," a talk and debate
program on WCBN. The show will air this afternoon.
Letter describes Haddad's conditions in prison
By Jeremy Berkowitz
Daily Staff Reporter
In one of his few contacts with the outside
world since detained Dec. 14, local Muslim leader
Rabih Haddad sent a letter to Andrew Thayer of
the Chicago Coalition Against War and Racism
this week that was released to the public yesterday.
In the letter, Haddad described his 54 square foot.
cell inside the Chicago Metropolitan Corrections
Center where he has been held for the past three
mmfAtn
fittings to hold straps if it should become necessary.
I have a camera fixed on me right outside my door
that has completely deprived me of any kind of pri-
vacy," Haddad wrote.
Haddad also talked about the sanitation condi-
tions in the prison.
"I am allowed three showers a week for which I
have to be cuffed to walk 10 paces to the shower
that has a door similar to my cell's door," Haddad
wrote. "I forgot to mention the waves of cock-
roaches that invade the cell at night and crawl all
over eurvthing inclulding me."
where he may be asked questions about the charity
he co-founded, the Global Relief Foundation, and
its possible connections to terrorism.
Despite the conditions, prison has not dampened
Haddad's spirit.
"All of this has done nothing but harden my will
and strengthened my resolve to overcome and per-
severe," he said.
The federal government is still, refusing to com-
ment on any aspect of Haddad's case, including his
incarceration.
Clarence Cranford ir. nihlic information officer
but did say the prison is certified.
"The conditions of confinement of any inmate is
not public information," he said. "Our institution is
accredited by the American Correctional Associa-
tion and the Joint Commission Accreditation of
health care organizations."
In response to Haddad's letters, Robert
Verdeyne, director of standards and accreditation
for the American Correctional Association, said
that, while he was surprised about the issues of
sanitation and telephone rights, he thought no
asnect of Haddad's confinement was illegal. 4