NEWS
The Michigan Daily - Monday, October 31, 2005 - 3A
ON CAMPUS
Trick or treat at
the Duderstadt
Center party
The Duderstadt Center will be hosting
a Halloween celebration to commemo-
rate the grand opening of GroundWorks
Media Conversion Facility and the
Computer-Aided Engineering Network
Hotline.
Students can participate in a Hal-
loween scavenger hunt to win prizes.
The event will take place from 2 to
4 p.m.
Halloween party
on 4th floor of
Michigan Union
The Michigan Union will hold a Hal-
loween party from 7 to 9 p.m. today.
Students can decorate pumpkins and
cookies and also participate in costume
contests.
Korean author
reads excerpts
from novel
Korean author Hwang Sok-Yung
will speak on his acclaimed book "The
Guest" at the University today.
Sponsored by the Korean Studies
Program, Hwang will read excerpts
from his book and on-site translations
will be provided. The event will be
held in the School of Social Work room
1636 at 4 p.m.
Prof speaks on
energy policy
BLUElab, the University organiza-
tion that works to find solutions to global
development programs, will be hosting
a lecture by Prof. Tom O'Donnell in the
University's Science, Technology and
Society program. He will be speaking
on the country's current energy policy.
The event will in room 1311 of the
Electrical Engineering and Computer
Science Building on North Campus.
CRIME
NOTES
Caller reports
intoxicated person
in Couzens
A caller reported to the Department
of Public Safety yesterday that an intox-
icated subject was in the 4200 corridor
of the men's bathroom of Couzens Resi-
dence Hall.
The subject was conscious at the time
and cited for an MIP. A Huron Val-
ley Ambulance transported the subject
,away.
Calculator and
wallet stolen from
subject's backpack
On Saturday, a caller reported to DPS
:that her wallet and TI-86 calculator were
stolen from her backpack while she was
in the Shapiro Undergraduate Library.
The caller said she had left her
belongings in the library unattended for
about 15 minutes.
THIs DAY
Frenzy to cut taxes permeates Capitol
Senate Republicans' tax cut
plan faces questions after several
proposals are abandoned
LANSING (AP) - Regardless of whether
the latest plans to cut business taxes are good or
bad, they raise the question - is this any way to
decide policy?
This past week alone, Senate Republicans
unveiled a plan that cut business taxes by a limited
amount over four years while putting in place a cap
on future spending.
Then, in a sudden flip, House Republicans aban-
doned an already-passed proposal to sell off part
of the state's tobacco settlement to raise $1 billion
to invest in new and existing high-tech businesses,
and said most of the money should be used instead
to pay for a business tax cut. They also walked
away from their own business tax cut plan they'd
already adopted.
It's clear from the flurry of announcements
that everyone from the Republicans who lead
the House and Senate to the Democratic gover-
nor and business leaders is desperate for some-
thing to pass.
East Lansing economist Robert Kleine, a for-
mer director of the state Office of Revenue and
Tax Analysis who has been through past business
slumps, says ideas are being floated at the Capitol
willy-nilly.
"This is always what happens. It tends to result
in some ill-advised policies," he says. "You try to
respond ... with something that's not going to be
that effective, just to show the public you're doing
something."
Right now, lawmakers and administration offi-
cials are flustered, with some downright angry
about not being consulted over the latest plans.
Republicans seem determined not to give Dem-
ocratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm any victories she
can run on during her re-election campaign next
year. Meanwhile, Granholm is sniping at GOP
leaders for not passing tax cut or investment bills,
ignoring the fact that months of talks have not led
to an economic recovery plan that can get both
sides on board.
Several economists say Republican House
Speaker Craig DeRoche's latest plan has several
flaws, including the fact that it may not promise
enough tax relief to keep companies here that can
get bigger tax breaks in other states. But it does
meet several goals:
It promises an immediate cut, something
Granholm proposed with her own plan to cut
the single business tax by more than 35 percent
on Jan. 1. The latest plan offers a 10 percent cut
over four years, starting with a 5 percent cut
on Jan. 1. The other 5 percent cut would come
in 2008.
* It avoids requiring about 22,000 busi-
nesses - including insurance companies that
would be hit with higher premium payments
- to pay more to cover the cost of the cuts.
Republicans didn't want to cut taxes for some
businesses but raise them on others, as Gran-
holm had proposed.
It pays for itself, at least for three years,
by selling off $700 million of the state's future
tobacco settlement. The governor and GOP Senate
Majority Leader Ken Sikkema didn't want a busi-
ness tax cut to force less spending on education or
health care for the poor.
It still sets aside $300 million from selling
part of the tobacco settlement to invest in high-tech
businesses that are starting up or expanding in the
state. Granholm had wanted $2 billion, but would
have had to ask the voters to approve the sale of
bonds; the House and Senate already had agreed to
use $1 billion from the tobacco settlement money
for the investment fund. It's not clear if Granholm
or the Senate will agree to less than $1 billion, but
Granholm has said she doesn't want to spend the
tobacco settlement on tax cuts.
Report: Absentee
ballot handling
questionable
DETROIT (AP) - The handling
of the city's absentee ballots has been
questionable, with some cast by peo-
ple registered to vote at abandoned or
demolished buildings, according to a
published report.
A review of election results, prop-
erty records and databases of regis-
tered voters uncovered procedures
that experts and some election offi-
cials described as questionable, The
Detroit News reported yesterday.
City Clerk Jackie Currie has been
accused of irregular election practices
in several lawsuits, and thesnewspaper
said its findings raises questions about
NAACP
Continued from page 1A
Lisa Bakale-Wise, a member of SSAA,
applauded the NAACP's decision to con-
demn BAMN.
"We don't agree with BAMN's tactics
or style of organizing, so we prefer not to
work with them," Bakale-Wise said, "We
see the NAACP as a valuable ally, and we
agree with their decision."
Moffett said that because BAMN sup-
ports affirmative action and has "at least
seemingly good intentions" - and also
due to a desire to show solidarity against
MCRI - the NAACP has shied away
from speaking out against BAMN in the
past. But the use of the students in Thurs-
day's rally left the NAACP with no choice
but to condemn the group, she said.
the security of some ballots ahead of
the city's Nov. 8 vote for mayor and City
Council.
"We find things all the time that are
appalling," said Mark Grebner of Practi-
cal Political Consulting in East Lansing.
Grebner has studied Detroit's election
results for 30 years and compiles a list
of voters that he sells to political candi-
dates.
Currie has refused to explain any
of the problems uncovered by The
News or outlined in court cases.
She, along with her deputy, Vernon
Clark, denied there are any prob-
lems with the vote in Detroit.
Moffett added that, because BAMN's
leaders are white, they "feel they have a
need to make themselves seem more legit-
imate" by recruiting black students.
"They have a habit of tokenizing black
students, young and old," she said.
BAMN organizers say they consider the
use of middle- and high-school students
vital to the organization's success. Royal
said BAMN paid for 20 charter buses to
bring about 1,000 students to campus from
Detroit schools, including the high schools
Lewis Cass Technical, Cody, Oak Park
and Mumfords as well as the K-8 school
Malcolm X Academy.
"Every successful social movement has
always relied on the initiative and leader-
ship of youth," Royal said. "We need more
middle- and high-school students leading
the way now."
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C H OCOLA T E L O U N G E
Cefebrate Sadbzueen at
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Keep your operating system up-to-date
Install antivirus software
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In Daily
History
' Conservative
students attack
MSA's policies
Oct. 31, 1985 - Due to the Michi-
gan Student Assembly's resolution to
support demonstrations against Vice
President Bush, a growing number of
conservative students have attacked the
student government for ignoring the
range of student opinions on campus.
Recently, conservative students who
have criticized MSA have begun a
small-scale campaign with posters to
encourage students to revoke their man-
datory $5.07 per term fee for MSA. The
poster mocked an earlier one protesting
D
Buy a larger hard drive
Students, take the
Computer Security 101
Final Exam at
safecomputing.umich.edu
.. . .. . ...