4A - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 27, 2006 OPINION 6 0 Cl4le l Citl gttn ttilg DONN M. FRESARD Editor in Chief EMILY BEAM EMILYBEAM JEFFREY BLOOMER CHRISTOPHER ZBROZEK Editorial Page Editors Managing Editor EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 413 E. HURON ANN ARBOR, Ml 48104 tothedaily@michigandaily.com KIM LEUNO Box [4. IL/ Catch a Xenophobic Conservative Day WHITNEY DIBO An easy pill to swallow Wal-Mart's price drop a band-aid for medical costs Though some perceive Wal-Mart's citizens, many Americans have inad- latest pricing gimmick as noth- equate financial resources to access ing more than a PR pick-me-up, preventive health care, such as doctors' the discount chain's recent price rollback visits and screenings. Wal-Mart cannot marks the first of its kind. Last week, act as the sole defense in the battle to executives announced Wal-Mart pharma- overcome pricey drugs. Without access cies will sell a variety of popular gener- to affordable health care, many Ameri- ic drugs at a maximum of four dollars cans will still be beleaguered by high per monthly supply. The drug incentive medical costs. began this week in Tampa, FL, though While pharmacies backed by large Wal-Mart hopes to stock all its pharma- corporations are able to negotiate lower cies across America with these four-dol drug costs with pharmaceutical compa- lar generics soon. Wal-Mart's plan will nies, Medicare can't use its sheer size to certainly do more than just boost sales bargain for lower drug prices. Republi- and mend its image - it will make some can legislators - who would be quick prescription drugs more affordable for to point to Wal-Mart's drug plan as an consumers. However, even if the four- example of the free market addressing dollar trend swept through pharmacies the nation's health care crisis - made nationwide, making prescription drugs sure that the legislation enabling Medi- more affordable is only one element of a care to offer prescription drug coverage comprehensive set of health care reforms also forbade Medicare from negotiating America needs. for lower prices. Remedying that error Wal-Mart has been sure to highlight would save money - and the savings that the official list of generic drugs could be used to narrow the "dough- offered at four dollars a month totals nut hole" in Medicare drug coverage. 291 medications - though some pre- Currently, participants must cover the scriptions are counted multiple times full price of their drugs once the total for different dosages and forms. None- cost - to the plan and the consumer theless, Wal-Mart's pharmacy plan does - reaches $2,250; coverage doesn't include 90 of the most popular antibiot- pick up again until the consumer, often ics, antidepressants and other prescrip- a retiree on a fixed income, has paid tion drugs commonly found in medicine more than $3,000 out of pocket. cabinets across America. Other super- Wal-Mart's plan has shown the mar- store chains, such as Target, are already ket can provide part of the solution to imitating Wal-Mart's latest price-slash- high drug costs. But it is not a solution ing concept. to the lack of affordable health care. The discount on generic drugs will A four-dollar prescription is useless to benefit consumers - including Wal- those can't afford to see a doctor. While Mart employees, who need cheaper Wal-Mart's plan may relieve some costs, drugs thanks to their poverty-level America's health care system will need wages and inadequate health insur- far more comprehensive change to pro- ance. Not only do insured individuals vide universal care. Recent census data have the option to purchase the four- show the number of uninsured is ris- dollar drugs and sidestep the hassle of ing, while the proportion of the popu- dealing with insurance companies, but lation covered by an employer's health uninsured consumers will be able to plan is falling. Access to health care, it buy some prescription drugs at afford appears, is rapidly becoming a luxury able rates. good - and that's a failing that no sin- With nearly 50 million uninsured gle corporation can address. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Send all letters to the editor to tothedaily@michigandaily.com. tten- tion, eager immigrant hunters: If you were out early this morn- ing looking around for that prom- ised illegal immigrant hunt, don't fret - Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day has only been postponed until the end of the month. The University's chapter of Young Americans for Freedom will be the proud sponsors - and don't worry about the details; they will actually provide both a volunteer immigrant and a net. YAF gets points for shock value. We all know that our soci- ety responds particularly well to this type of in-your-face public- ity, and I suppose YAF can't be faulted for taking advantage of our societal need for sensational- ism. Still, as person who thrives on intelligent debate, I just lost a little more faith in the far right. Now I'm not a knee-jerk lib- eral - I think it's great when a conservative friend can make me question my own views and look at today's issues in a dif- ferent light. I wish we had more conservative activists at the University, because as Sandra Day O'Conner says, "a, robust exchange of ideas" always makes for an enhanced discussion. I want to listen to the right, even the far right - but events like Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day make me want to shut myself up in my little liberal closet and never come out. This event is not so differ- ent than last year's "Conserva- tive Coming Out Day," which was another insensitive attack, this time on members of the gay community coming out to their family and friends. It's times like these (or rather publicity stunts like these) that close my mind to the right-wingers on our campus. The ironic thing is immigra- tion isn't even an issue split clearly down party lines. Politi- cians on both sides of the fence agree that some kind of reform is needed, given the estimated 11 million living people with- out documentation in the United States. However, few are suggest- ing a remedy of total deportation - except, of course, people like Michigan State University's YAF chair Kyle Bristow, who said Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day is "a game the U.S. government needs to play about 13 million times." What a shame to take an issue that has the ability to bridge the gap between Democrats and Republicans and polarize it. Forget the name for a moment. What is the purpose of this event? Campus YAF chair Andrew Boyd says he wants to educate people on the topic of immigration. And maybe he does. In my opinion, though, Boyd and his YAFers are losers either way. If people don't show up for Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day, the group will look like ignorant xenophobes who isolated themselves from the campus through a startlingly offensive event. If people do show up, it will be another victory for overwrought sensationalism. At the end of the day, YAF's major fault here is dehumanizing a very human issue. The immi- gration problem is not about rounding up bunch of illiterate, low-wage workers and sending them back to where they came from. It's an extremely nuanced, multifaceted issue - complete with severe implications for our economy and workforce. Con- sider a couple that has been liv- ing in the United States illegally for 25 years, with college-age children who are American citi- zens - does this family merit deportation? These are the com- plex situations politicians must consider when they think about immigration. But say that YAF, even after considering the many layers of the immigration issue, still want- ed to come out strongly against any type amnesty for illegal immigrants. There are many ways to make a splash without alienating liberals, centrists and thoughtful Republicans alike. There is poignancy to an approach that clearly articulates the rationale behind a posi- tion taken, and does not simply seek to shock and offend. And I can respect conservatives who approach discussion with liberals in this way. With Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day however, YAF has only succeeded in perpetu- ating the left's already negative perception of the extreme right. Even the College Republicans have rightfully come out against YAF's event, wanting to distance themselves from it as much as possible. If College Republi- cans are serious about not being lumped with the sponsors of Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day, they should paint a sign or two and protest in the Diag alongside College Dems who will no doubt be out showing their disgust. Maybe YAF and other right- wing extremists don't want reach across party lines to make prog- ress. Morgan Wilkins, the mas- termind behind the Catch and Illegal Immigrant Day, said in an interview with The Michigan Daily that College Republicans are "naive" to think they can even enter into dialogue with Democrats. But we certainly won't get anywhere by heating up the culture war with inflam- matory eventslike this; which only serve to widen the chasm between the far right and well, everyone else. Dibo can be reached at wdibo@umich.edu. I 0" >4 6 S' i T-shirts don't stop genocide RAFI MARTINA a Daily gives gay-basher on Diag too much publicity TO THE DAILY: I found the article on Michael Venyah in the Daily yesterday extremely frustrating (Anti-gay speakers ignite volatile crowd on Diag, 09/26/2006). This despicable man's attempt at publicity has succeeded largely because of the Daily's decision to print this front-page story, complete with an offensive color photograph. It's bad enough that students have to stoop to this man's level by flicking cigarette ash, taunting and basically egging him on - but by the Daily's interview and photograph, Venyah has been encouraged to come back and do it all again. He now has exactly what he came -here to get. Megan Nestor Architecture and Urban Planning Hypocritical Wilkins should go back to Kentucky TO THE DAILY: I read the article about Morgan Wilkins with interest (Confessions of a young conserva- tive, 09/25/2006). What caught my eye is that, regarding her pregnancy, the writer stated that "...she chose to have the child" and "Wilkins said that deciding against having an abor- tion..." (emphasis added). I find these to be the most operative words of the article. Thank goodness that, thanks to the liber- als that she disdains, Wilkins had a choice to make regarding whether to abort her pregnan- cy or have a baby at 15. It was something that she decided to do. How hypocritical is it of her to freely make this choice for herself and then to dedicate her life's work to taking that very choice away from other women? She states that " ... conservative policies were the correct ones." I might add that they are the correct ones - for her. What she and other conservatives fail to understand is that a liberal philosophy leaves room for many viewpoints, including conservative ones. A conservative philosophy leaves no room for interpretation and makes no allowance for dif- ferent viewpoints. There is only one right way, and if you don't agree, that's just too bad. Wilkins, please go back to Kentucky and live your life as you see fit according to your personal values. I don't need you carpet-bag- ging your way across my city and telling me that my values aren't good enough. If it were not for liberals, you would probably still be in that gutter that you so valiantly climbed out of twice in your life and wear like a badge of honor. Robert Levine Ann Arbor In religion, hate is the message of a minority TO THE DAILY: As I stood in the Diag earlier this week to listen to the two preachers spout their message of hate, I noticed that a good portion of the crowd was made up of Christians who were horrified at the way their faith was being por- trayed. In an almost apologetic way, they were explaining that this is really not what Christi- anity was about. I wanted to take the oppor- tunity to point out, during the holy month of Ramadan, that the situation is analogous to the unfortunate use of al-Qaida and the like as representatives of the peaceful religion of Islam. The important thing for us to remember is that there is no inherent hatred or violence in these faiths - only in the hearts of a tiny minority of so-called "followers." Ryan Jaber The letter writer is an LSA senior and a cartoonistfor the Daily. Isaac Davis: Has any- body read that Nazis a are gonna march in New Jersey? Y'know, I read this in the newspa- per. We should go down there, get some guys together, y'know, get some bricks and baseball bats and really explain things to them. Socialite: There is this devas- tating satirical piece on that on the op-ed page of the Times, it is devastating. Isaac Davis: Well, a satirical piece tn the Times is one thing, but bricks and baseball bats really gets right to the point. A scene from Woody Allen's "Manhattan." n Spanish class the other day, I couldn't help but notice the T-shirt a girl in my class was wearing. No doubt my eye gravitated in that direction in part because she was one of the prettier girls in the room, but also because the shirt was bright green and emblazoned in white- script with the words "Stop the Genocide in Sudan," fixed above a similarly stark white drawing of what looked to be a destitute, non- Arab African woman. We could, I suppose, debate the chauvinism inherent in the depiction - the stereotyped "African" look of the woman, the use of a woman as a victimized symbol, etc. - but frankly, I'd rather continue my story. Our paths inadvertently crossed in the hallway - that romantic kismet of coinciden- tal direction - and I figured I would say something nice about her shirt, something to the effect of how "awesome" it was and inquiring where someone could purchase one. I'm no Don Juan, but I nonetheless thought my overture to be sincere and ami- able. She responded tepidly that she got it in high school, but it could still be purchased online at the website of one of the count- less nonprofit ventures whose names are invariably composed of varying placements of the words 'save,' 'stop,' 'genocide,' and 'Darfur.' All these syntacti- cal variations supposedly dem- onstrate a desire to surcease the (by all measures) appalling acts of genocide occurring before the eyes of a disinterested world. I'm skeptical of aid work, but we were on the same page, which is precisely why I had inquired about the T-shirt. Then I went a step further, attempting wit in my trademark frankness. I've always found the volunteer International Bri- gades of the Spanish Civil War as embodying liberal activism: That foreign nationals - from myriad countries would volun- teer their lives to fight fascism in a foreign country demon- strated to me both the zeal and fortitude requisite of strong liberalism. Those like George Orwell, Stephen Spender (both writers) and the American vol- unteers of the "Abraham Lin- coln Brigade" inspired my own half-serious idea for a crack bri- gade of young American liber- als willing to arm and train to fight the Janjaweed in Sudan. It's something I had thought a lot about recently (at least as an alternative if I don't get into grad school): Getting together some committed liberals, hiring a few old vets to instruct us in weapons, map-reading and all the part-and-parcel necessary for training, and then heading off to Sudan. To be sure, it's a half-cooked idea. Pampered college kids probably don't make for good soldiers. And some might say that more violence is the last thing the situation needs. But these nonprofit aid groups aren't doing shit to stop the genocide; Sudan is basically a failed state, vacated of its sovereignty if it permits a sub-state militia to troll its territories. There is suf- ficient humanitarian and legal cause for idealistic vigilantism. What better way to fight a sub- state militia than with a sub- state militia? So I mused: "I think we should just form a band of trained vol- unteers to fly to Sudan and fight against the genocide. Like Orwell in the Spanish Civil War, y'know?" Not even a smile from her. Just a grunt. I tried again, saying, "Seri- ously, we'd go over and kick some Janjaweed ass." Still nothing. Perhaps she mistook my joke for irreverence towards the admittedly serious situation. Surely that wasn't my intent. But more importantly, there is a distressingly repressed facet of liberalism that the event demonstrated: Contemporary liberals in Clinton's mold (i.e. Rwanda) have entirely balked at the notion of resisting - as in using force - against totalitar- ian or genocidal regimes. The Camus-Orwell branch of vigi- lant liberalism is all but extinct. The post-1968 delusion of paci- fism and nonviolence has reared an entire generation of milque- toast liberals bereft of any of the fortitude or resolve vital to the liberalism of the past. In its stead, they have placed complete faith in nonprofit aid work and the fumbling mess of interna- tional deliberation characteristic of the United Nations I don't want to put a bumper sticker on my car to stop geno- cide in Sudan. And I don't want to wait for the money I send to an aid organization to percolate through its bureaucratic coffers before it translates into real change. I'm for bricks and baseball bats over "devastating satire" or ineffectual diplomacy. Martina can be reached at rmartina@umich.edu. JOHN OQUIST LivE oN ouR FeT "NO HOMOS GO TO HEAVEN"? vSERIOUSLY? THIS IS WHAT'S SEXUAL PREFERENCE WAS THATI AM THE LORD THY GOD IMPORTANT TO Ytat? THIS IS JUS IMPORTANT GOD PASABLY TAKE THIS TABLET, MFE O VE.GsEZL YOUHAVE WOULDVE MADE A BIGGER DEAL MOSES. A HAMMER OR CHSEL? ILL BE WLBE AE T IEAtt. TAK ' ' SACK IN TEN MINUTES... / THAK YOU DON'V SO MUCH, LORD, CAN'T DES- 1B A J HOMO . A.