NEWS The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 21, 2004 - 3 CAJcT S MSA votes to support textbook Caucuses see record turnout The turnout at Monday's Iowa Demo- cratic caucuses, at more than 121,000 registered voters, marks the largest crowd of caucus-goers in Iowa history. Turnout estimates last weekend ranged between 100,000 and 125,000 voters. Gephardt rally has all the trimmings Even by providing an open bar and a free Chuck Berry concert before the caucuses, U.S. Rep. Gephardt of Mis- souri could not muster the support for a caucus victory in Iowa. Guitar leg- end Chuck Berry hyped supporters with a version of "Johnny B. Goode" whose chorus was altered to "Go, Go Dick, Go, Go." Poll: Most caucus voters are anti-war In an entrance poll broadcasted by CNN before caucuses were called to order, 75 percent of voters said they opposed the war in Iraq. But the cau- cuses' most prominent opponents of the war, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, finished behind Kerry and U.S. Sen. Edwards of North Carolina, both of whom sup- ported an October 2002 resolution authorizing a war with Iraq if neces- sary. Still, there is some debate as to how important the war even was to Iowa voters in choosing a presiden- tial candidate. A New York Times/CBS poll conducted Jan. 12 to 15 stated that 15 percent of the 1,022 persons polled cited the econ- omy as the most important cam- paign issue, while only 6 percent cited the war in Iraq. Dean camp remains unshaken after third-place finish Dean's third-place, 18-percent fin- ish in the caucuses came much to the surprise of voters who had watched the candidate climb the polls and shat- ter a Democratic record for most funds raised in a single quarter, $15 million by Dean for the quarter end- ing Jan. 1. Yet in the waning hours of Dean's post-caucuses celebration, held in the Val Air Ballroom in West Des Moines, U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa.) told The Michigan Daily, "The underpin- nings of the Dean campaign are stronger than any of the other candi- dates." Gephardt delivers patriotic speech after caucus loss Gephardt, in an address Monday night preceding his decision to pull out of the contest for the presidency, told support- ers and members of the media, "I've said in this campaign many more times than the media following this campaign have wanted me to say it, that my father was a milkman and my mother was a secretary. ... So my life is an American life." He added, "I consider myself to be the luck- iest person alive." Kerry emphasizes his wife's support Candidates received enthusiastic support from listeners at rallies throughout the weekend in Iowa. Rhythmic chants of "Dick and Jane" and "J-K All the Way" and "Go, John, Go" could be heard at Gephardt, Kerry, and Edwards gatherings. At Kerry's celebration party on Monday night he thanked his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry for all her assistance on the campaign. When the crowd responded with chants of "T-H-K, T-H-K" Kerry said, "If you continue like that she'll show you some of her African ... (pause) African," trailing off. Heinz Kerry was born in Mozambique. Kerry continued by saying, "I couldn't thank Teresa Heinz Kerry enough for her help." Caucuses draw global coverage Reporters from Al-Jazeera, the Kyoto News, the London Daily Herald and college newspapers wound their way through Des Moines' Skywalk walk- ways last weekend during the caucuses. Tourism skyrockets during election sea- son in Iowa and its capital "bustles with new energy" said Des Moines residents Doris and Norm Knight. Behind the cameras. GOP By Cianna Freeman Daily Staff Reporter In its second year of operation, an online stu- dent textbook exchange will begin to receive money from the Michigan Student Assembly after representatives voted to allocate funds to the website during last night's meeting. The website, DogEars.net, is a secure site that serves as a cheaper alternative to campus book- stores. The online bookstore allows students to exchange used and new textbooks among them- selves. After a preliminary run during which site mangers did not charge MSA, the website is now endorsed and paid for by MSA. Currently, 1,420 books are selling online with about 870 transactions totaling $9,000, said MSA Rep. Jesse Levine. DogEars.net is used by thirteen other universi- ties nationwide, such as Columbia University and he University of Indiana. "Columbia University has heavily publicized their website and their transactions have totaled around $100,000," said Levine. However, some MSA members were skeptical of sponsoring the website. "The website is a good idea because it can stop unnecessary e-mails. However, the e-mail system does seem to work," said Rep. Laban King. "I feel that we should be talking about adver- tisement not because DogEars.net is not some- thing new but it is something that (the) majority of students have not heard of," he added. MSA representatives also discussed the Annual Association Big Ten Students Conference. This weekend, nine of the 11 Big Ten schools will send student representatives to the conven- tion of student governments to discuss issues that are prevalent on their various campuses. The conference is a good way to network with other campuses, MSA Treasurer Elliot Wells- Reid said. "The goal of this conference is to start working through the ideas and projects that you want to accomplish as a student government," Wells-Reid said. "It allows students from (the) Big Ten to interact, discuss current issues, and network, so when they return to their home schools they can carry out the proposals." Tim Wise, a prominent white anti-racist essay- ist and activist, was chosen as one of the speakers at the conference. "ABTS is traditionally mostly whites. So when we were thinking through how we wanted to communicate the concept of diversity and our exchange experiences as a student body with affirmative action, we thought that Tim Wise was a good choice of someone who we knew the audience would connect with," Rep. Jackie Bray said. At the beginning of last night's meeting, MSA also held an open house, which invited students to learn more about what student government does and becoming a part of the Assembly. "It was a really good opportunity for people who didn't get involved last semester to have a chance to become a part of MSA. Committees and commissions are open all the time we are always looking for students, senior and freshman to get involved," said Communications Commit- tee Chair Rachel Fisher. "I was also impressed with all the different kinds of people who came - freshmen, sen- iors, those involved in the Greek system and those who live in the dorm," she said. Declaration of Independence Automaker expects to get larger market share in 2004 DETROIT (AP) - Financing oper- ations and asset sales propped up earnings at General Motors Corp. in the fourth quarter as profits from the automotive business fell, but the com- pany beat Wall Street earnings esti- mates and provided an optimistic outlook for 2004. The world's largest automaker said yesterday its net income for the Octo- ber to December period equaled the $1 billion it earned in the same period a year ago. The most recent quarter's results, also boosted by special items, amounted to $2.13 a share, compared with $1.71 a share in the fourth quar- ter of 2002. Revenue rose to $49.1 billion from $45.6 billion a year earlier. But global automotive operations were off 31 percent from strong results in the fourth quarter of 2002 when GM used heavy consumer incentives to post extremely robust sales and meet U.S. market-share goals. GM's global market share declined to 14.7 percent last year from 15 per- cent in 2002. U.S. market share for 2003 was 28 percent, down from 28.3 percent a year earlier. "While overall market share was down, we were pleased with our sales momentum in the second half of 2003," GM chairman Rick Wagoner said in a statement. "As we continue our aggressive new-product cadence, we're optimistic about increasing mar- ket share in 2004." GM is scheduled to introduce 12 all-new vehicles in the United States this year. GMAC, the company's financing arm, earned $630 million in the fourth quarter - a fourth quarter record. For the year, GMAC reported income of $2.8 billion, up from $1.9 billion in 2002. Income from mort- gage operations more than doubled, but many observers say that side of the business is likely to moderate this year as the wave of mortgage refi- nancing fades and national fiscal poli- cy likely tightens. Merrill Lynch analyst John Casesa said GMAC's earnings accounted for roughly three-quarters of the automaker's total net income in the fourth quarter, yet he lauded the company's overall performance given the difficult pricing environment because of costly rebates and financ- ing deals to spur sales. GM and other major automakers have said they hope an improving economy and other factors will allow them to scale back incentive offers this year, though no one has backed off yet. "GM's fundamentals are improving steadily in the face of an increasingly competitive environment," Casesa said in a research note. "However, the difficulty of reducing incentives in an overcrowded North American market is a major factor limiting margin "GN's fundamentals are improving steadily in the face of an increasingly competitive environment" - John Casesa Analyst, Merrill Lynch expansion." GM's global automotive operations earned $396 million in the fourth quarter, down from $574 million in the year-ago quarter, excluding spe- cial items. Fourth-quarter results reflected lower income in North America, increased losses in Latin America, reduced losses in Europe and sharply higher profits in Asia Pacific. GM attributed higher pension and health care costs in the United States to the deterioration in profits. The automaker said it generated $32 billion in cash last year - three times its original target - which allowed it to contribute $18.5 billion to U.S. pension plans and $3.3 bil- lion to a trust for retiree health care benefits. GM ended the year with its U.S. hourly and salaried pension plans fully funded after beginning 2003 nearly $18 billion behind. AP PHOTO Regent Lord Master Tim Harrison of the newly declared Republic of Boon Island, Me., reads the island's declaration to break off from the United States yesterday with the help of Security General Ron Foster. Detro00it cops plead 1yto corruption, ace 1Ti--e in meson DETROIT (AP) - Two of the 18 current and former city police officers facing federal charges of conspiring to violate the constitutional rights of suspects pleaded guilty yesterday in the case and agreed to cooperate with the government by testifying. Troy Bradley, 36, of Detroit, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of conspiring to deprive individuals of constitutional rights, while Nicole Rich, 25, of St. Clair Shores, pleaded guilty to a misde- meanor charge of aiding and abetting the deprivation of rights, the U.S. attor- ney's office said in a statement. The pair acknowledged writing false police reports to justify arrests. Bradley had been charged with conspiracy against rights, deprivation of rights and aiding and abetting the deprivation of rights. Rich had been charged with con- spiracy against rights, aiding and abet- ting and lying to investigators. Messages seeking comment were left with attorneys for Bradley and Rich. Under a deal with prosecutors, Bradley agreed to accept six months in prison, resign from the police force and appear in a videotape in an FBI-spon- sored program to teach law enforcement personnel to stay honest, the Detroit Free Press reported on its website. Rich accepted a year in prison and resigna- tion. But if they provide substantial assistance, the government agreed to recommend probation. Conspiring to deprive individuals of constitutional rights carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, while aiding and abetting carries a maxi- mum sentence of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. A sentencing date hasn't been set. Don't Spend Spring Break Broke.