4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, January 20, 2006 OPINION lhbe £libig&rn 3IaUIQ JASON Z. PESICK Editor in Chief SUHAEL MOMIN SAM SINGER Editorial Page Editors ALISON Go Managing Editor EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com NOTABLE QUOTABLE We do not object to a long-term truce with you on the basis of fair conditions that we respect." - Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, offer- ing a truce to the United States and its allies in a video-taped message translated by BBC monitor- ing, as reported yesterday by BBC News online. F ISTER~A(Ov I }*= 1 A GEOFF SILVERSTEIN MN f U R;MAYOR AND FRIENDs Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their author. Smoking lm Focus on tobacco steals from other issues J oth the facts and the manner of their presentation sounded especially daunting. In a mark- edly grave tone of voice, University Vice President for Student Affairs E. Roys- ter Harper told the University Board of Regents a surprising new statistic: Enter- ing their first year first year of college, about three percent of University stu- dents smoke cigarettes. After their first year, that number jumps to 25 percent. Although the statistics were unusual - the Dean of the School of Public Health Kenneth Warner called them into ques- tion, saying,i"There's no way that's accu- rate' - the regents' shocked response was not. For a number of years, smoking has remained a dominant health issue in the country, garneringmuch attention due to well-organized campaign against it. The days of high school smoking loung- es have given way to an age of Nicorette patches and widespread education cam- paigns. Smoking remains a legitimate and pressing health concern, but over the past several decades, anti-tobacco activ- ists have been successful in changing the public's perception of smoking. The possibly erroneous statistics Roys- ter cited could be interpreted as a sign that University Health Services needs to put more efforts toward preventing tobacco use. But what may be more telling is the level of concern these statistics raised. Few other public health campaigns have been as successful at convincing the general public that smoking is more than just a bad habit. Public health activists can learn from the successful efforts to fight tobacco use. Mental health issues, for example, have remained stigmatized for years, and efforts have only just begun to increase the public's awareness and understanding. Smoking on campus may be a real problem and should be treated as such. However, the celebrity status tobac- co use receives can also serve as an important example toward changing public perception on other, less publi- cized health concerns. Centuries in the making IMRAN SYED DENMAtGOGUEs DEBUNKED I What if I sat here and said that Christopher Colum- bus didn't discov- er America? "Big whoop," you'd dryly reply. Being a good little pupil of revi- sionist history, you'd surely know about the Native Americans who inhabited this land hundreds of years before 1492, and even the Vikings who explored the New World 400 years before Columbus. But a map unveiled this week in Beijing suggests that another man may have beaten Columbus to America: a Chinese eunuch named Admiral Zheng He. Oh, the irony if this proposition of a Chinese Muslim find- ing America more than 70 years before Columbus is proven true - in a day when an emerging China looms over American hegemony. That China was once a great maritime power is not disputed, nor is the fact that Admiral He was an excellent seafarer. More disputed are his legendary accomplishments, which may include exploring America in 1418, rounding the horn of Africa 76 years before Vasco da Gama, circumnavigating the globe 100 years before Magellan, and discovering Australia 300 years before Cap- tain Cook. So what? Scrutinizing the past is the best way to prepare for the future, I'm sure someone wise once said. If the aforementioned is indeed true, after discovering America, China did not seek to colonize but instead retreated into isolation from the world stage for hundreds of years. But China never really left us - in fact, it's with us today in ways only old economists with thick glasses, huddled in stuffy corners of Lorch Hall, bother to evaluate. The Chinese currency, the yuan, was pegged to the dollar from 1994 to the middle of last year. As economist Paul Krugman would tell you, this created a "weird" situ- ation. Though the Chinese economy remained behind its American counterpart during this time, Chinese capital flowed into the United States, rather than the other, more conven- tional, way around. The Chinese government kept buying large amounts of U.S. bonds, and it currently owns somewhere in the neigh- borhood of $615 billion in U.S. assets. When it was unpegged last July, the yuan grew in comparison to the dollar. Strangely enough, though China pegged its currency to the dol- lar to protect it during the Asian economic crisis, it looks like the dollar is the one that's been getting the free ride all these years. Now, if you're like me, you've had enough of this "Oh boy, look out for China" non- sense. If China is so big and bad, then why are we still totally the greatest nation ever? Are we though? The future of any country is defined by its present priorities, and ours just aren't in order. We cut funds for the greatest investment in our future - higher education - in order to finance unwarranted wars, while China has increased higher education funding almost tenfold in the last decade. What put America on top in the first place was a pro- ductive workforce well suited to the world economy, and it doesn't look like we'll have one of those much longer. Maybe China is ready to pass us. Considering that no repub- lic in history has lasted more than 300 years, perhaps it's about time too. It's not like we're doing anything about it. Though Tom Friedman may yell himself hoarse, no one in the dubious Dubya admin- istration seems to care that the federal deficit keeps fattening. Talk radio continues to sing the president's praises, commending him for spending billions to drive back the evil Islamic terrorists - ignoring, of course, the fact that almost nothing the president said leading up to the Iraq war turned out to be true. Indeed, the brilliant puppeteer known as Dick Cheney famously declared that "def- icits don't matter." Maybe not to you, Dick - you're almost 65 with a weak heart - but think of the children! The amount of debt America is in today is mind-boggling, even to the president's usual conservative allies. Stuart Butler of the Heritage Foundation declared, "To do nothing would lead to deficits of the scale we've never seen in this country or any major industrialized country. We've seen them in Argentina. That's a chilling thought, but it would mean that." This "that," let me clarify, is the infamous Argentine economic crash of 2001. Of course, China faces many obstacles, and its potential bid for world dominance is likely decades away. Still, following in the trailblazing footsteps of Admiral He, you might say, China may soon become the most powerful nation in the world. And you know what the screaming heads will say then. Conveniently forgetting all we could have done to prevent this, forgetting the deficits we racked up and forgetting the massive amounts of spending, the airwaves will emanate with "I told you so's." Rush Limbaugh may well remind us that he said long ago Muslims were a danger to America. Never mind that this one lived almost 600 years ago. A world leader needs sensibil- ity in its actions and its rhetoric. Poor old America has had neither of late. Dishonorable discbarge EPA sbould stand firm dn standaids here's been plenty of toxic dis- charge from the White House lately, but it's the stuff coming out of companies all over Michigan that has environmentalist groups out- raged. The Environmental Protection Agency is considering easing stan- dards for reporting toxic discharge, switching from the ever-arduous "long form" to the more streamlined "short form." While reducing unnecessary paperwork should be second-nature to the EPA, switching to the short form is counterproductive because it does not require companies to disclose the exact amounts of the carcinogens, heavy metals and other poisons they release. The EPA's plan, which will be enact- ed this fall if it receives final approval from the agency, calls for limiting the use of the long form to only the top dogs in the pollution game - those releasing more than 5,000 pounds of toxic waste. This is a significant increase from the previous long-form cut-off at 500 pounds. But the short form leaves the exact quantities of specific pollutants undisclosed, which is unacceptable because some toxins can have disastrous impacts even in small amounts. Here in Michigan, 156 companies would no longer have to report the quantities of specific toxins released. The EPA should not wilt in its mis- sion to find and hold accountable those responsible for environmental damage just to save polluters from some paper- work. Though this proposed change in reporting standards would do noth- ing to alter the actual amount compa- nies are allowed to pollute, it sends the wrong message to polluters. Relax- ing the reporting standards of toxic discharges is the first perilous step in moving toward less stringent environ- mental standards, The changemakes it easier for com- panies to skirt environmental stan- dards, and without proper enforcement of regulations, even the mighty long form is just a piece of paper. Now is a time for the EPA to bear down, hold its ground and perhaps make a trip over to the copy machine to run off a few more long forms. Syed can be reached at galad@umich.edu. En pty pantries C~w inftunding for fIbod prog rams ponsible VIEWPOINT A word from the American Family Association BY BRYAN KELLYUorganization which happens to be leading GM has since then run out of money, and the fight on, for, through and in remem- soon GM workers will be out on the street, Listen: I am a card-carrying, family-asso- brance of America's cultural values, say we where we will probably refuse them food, ciating American member of the American are boycotting something, that sort of state- clothes and shelter. Such is the plight of the Family Association, and I am here to put a ment should carry some kind of weight. working poor. human face on an otherwise faceless group. We have decided to boycott Ford Motor Ford has now decided to advertise in such My face, if you can imagine it, is beautiful, Company, not because banning the Coca- and such a homosexually targeted magazine. as is my ass - the kind you sinners covet, Cola Company wasn't enough (although (Facts, like the name of the magazine spe- thank you very much! dumping all of my Coke into a polluted lake cifically - and all facts in general- do not I am writing to remind all at the Uni- in homage to our fallen brothers overseas interest me.) We feel that it is only a mat- versity that we Christian conservatives are was certainly pleasant), but because we feel ter of time before homosexuality ruins Ford people too, and we, like Jesus Christ and we have found exactly what it is that has as well - when all of Ford, symbolically straight people, deserve rights too. Princi- been destroying America's Big Three auto- lusting after the loins of another man, will pal among these rights is the right to boycott makers: homosexuality. destroy itself through its own depravity. corporations. Just consider these carefully selected We urge Ford to look to its Japanese Look at the success of historic boycotts. facts compiled just recently: General Motors counterparts, like Toyota and Honda, who There's the Boston Tea Party that led to the gives benefits to homosexual members of its don't support the rainbow at all, and instead American Revolution and put an end to tea- workforce. GM is also about two months shame all of their countries' homosexuals times everywhere; the boycott of triangular away from total bankruptcy. I don't believe into harakiri. Just see how successful it is to shirts that nearly closed the Triangle Shirt- I need to elaborate on the glaringly obvious be not pro-gay, Bill Ford and Rick Wagoner, waist Factory (though not in time to save correlation between these two variables. and pray to the Holy Spirit for relief from hundreds of lives); the boycott of Christ- It all began with the Pontiac Aztec, argu- these urges and for your own soul! mas by Jews and Muslims everywhere that ably the gayest American car ever produced, Thank you for your attention. is slowly ruining the American economy. with the possible exception of the Studebak- (Hava nagila indeed!) er. With the help of some grossly incompe- Kelly is an LSA sophomore. He is not a So when we, a three-million-member tent leadership and prayers from the AFA, member of the American Family Association. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Ithough steep federal budget deficits in recent years will inevitably require that the gov- ernment balance the Bush administra- tion's reckless support of irrational tax cuts, few predicted that disadvantaged mothers, seniors and children would end up paying for the war inlIraq and tax cuts to the wealthy. The Commodity Supplemental Food Program, a benefi- cial service that provides food to more than 50,000 people nationwide, is one among many social programs that will suffer funding cuts next year. Unfortu- nately, it seems that society's most vul- nerable members are, yet again, paying for their government's fiscal misdeeds. The Commodity Supplemental Food Program .focuses on improving the diet of underprivileged mothers, children and seniors by providing USDA commod- ity foods that include dairy products, fruits and vegetables - basic staples for healthy diets that many of the program's recipients cannot otherwise afford. By supplying actual food rather than food stamps, this program fills a unique and important role. When perusing grocery store aisles armed with food stamps, consumers may be tempted to get the most for their money by buying the cheapest products, which rarely prove to be the most nutritious. The CSFP circumvents this problem by providing food with high nutritional value to foster healthy lifestyles, a fundamental neces- sity for growing children. Programs like this one play a vital role in society and should not have to suffer due to economic difficulties. Because of these cuts, program leaders will have to tell 7,700 Michigan residents that they will no longer receive aid to keep their children healthy. To cut funding from those most in need in order to pamper the wealthy exposes the nation's mis- placed social and economic priorities. Surely leaders could find other sources of revenue without heaping the burden on the hungry. The government has a responsibility to take care of all the peo- ple it represents - not just those with big bank accounts and deep pockets who support legislative campaigns. Extensive research exposes columnist's hidden agenda TO THE DAILY: If I wanted, I could dissect Jesse Singal's The tricks they use (01/19/2006) piece by piece and show how replacing "Republi- cans" with "all politicians" would make it much more accurate. As I read it, I couldn't help but wonder if Singal is delusional or just writing partisan garbage so that a majority of readers agree with him. How- ever, looking back at some of his previ- ous work, this approach is hardly new. My Atheist President (12/02/2006) is just a stab not well-spoken; Bush doesn't get the real world, etc. I, for one, am tired of Singal's column's wasting space by repeating again and again that he does not like President Bush and that all the country's problems are caused by Republicans. Nick Flieg Engineering graduate student Harvard's got nothing on 'U' president, football fans To THE DAILY: Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for Harvard, but let me know when they pack 100,000 fans into a stadium every Saturday in the fall. Then we'll compare apples to apples. As a reader, I'd like to see more features like this in the Daily. Also, tell Forest Casey he did an excel- lent job on the photos for the Coleman article. Dan O'Conner LSA freshman Editorial Board Members: Amy Anspach, Andrew Bielak, Reggie Brown, Gabrielle D'Angelo, John Davis, Whitney Dibo, Milly Dick, Sara Eber, Jesse Forester, Mara Gay, Jared Goldberg, Ashwin Jagannathan, Theresa Kennelly, Mark Kuehn, Will Kerridge, Frank Man- ley, Kirsty McNamara, Rajiv Prabhakar, Matt Rose, David Russell, Katherine Seid, Brian I