4A -Thursday, February 15, 2007 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 413 E. Huron St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104 tothedaily@umich.edu Nothing means more to me than making government work better for the working families of this state." - Comedian and liberal radio personality AlFRANKEN in a speech yesterday announcing his intention to seek the Democratic nomination for a Senate run from his home state of Minnesota in 2008. ERIN RUSSELL I J/ KARL STAMPFL EDITOR IN CHIEF IMRAN SYED EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR JEFFREY BLOOMER MANAGING EDITOR Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors. Adopting equality Joint adoption restrictions arbitrary and discriminatory nce upon a time in Washtenaw County, gay and lesbian couples were allowed to adopt children jointly just the same as heterosexual couples. Then in 2002, a Washt- enaw County judge declared that only married couples could adopt children jointly. Given state laws prohibiting gay marriage, gay couples were out of luck, the social progress this area takes WE ARE STILL MOULNIN LAST WCCK, OU THE LOSS OF AMEPICA'S I2(EST"ISATO$S -XAMINC-0 HEPOINE ANO ROLE MOE L, HE BPERISEPATOP ANO ANNA NICOLE SMIT H. FON SLIM PeAST ANT) SPPAY-ON BLIT TEP ALL THAT CAN B CONCUI12 o FPOM THIS IS THAT THE INV'ESTIiBATOPS WEPE HUNPY. ST AY TUNEi FOR ANOT HErP MONTH OF CO '"E. Tired of caring so much pride in utterly stunted. On Monday, State Rep. Paul Condino (D- p Southfield) introduced legislation that - if it s overcomes the perennial biases and bicker- s ing in the state House - would bring much s needed sanity and equality to the state's s adoption laws. a State law allows only married (and there- fore heterosexual) couples to adopt a child s and receive joint-custody rights. While t unmarried couples (homosexual couples a included) are permitted to adopt children, c only one of the partners can truly have cus- t tody rights. Rather than providing a lov- ing, secure home environment that we all a agree is critical for a healthy childhood, thisA system of exclusion causes insecurity and d uncertainty. And this is nothing compared c to the bureaucratic headaches that befall t the family if some misfortune fells the legal v guardian. r For example, if the legal guardian of an r adoptive child contracts a terminal illness, he f cannot simply turn over custody rights to a e partner or even another family member with- c out heading to court first. Should that legal guardian die or become incapacitated while p the legal system takes its winding course, the o child is removed from a loving home where i one parent still remains and is deposited into I the volatile foster care system. a Discrimination against gay couples was v exacerbated in 2004 when the state banned a gay marriage in a ballot proposal. This ballot i initiative codified the court ruling two years o prior by defining marriage as an exclusive t institution reserved only for heterosexual c SEND Daily's coverage ofNew Life h ignores church's mission S TO THE DAILY: t I have to admit that it is disappointing tov read an article that paints New Life Church b in such a seemingly uninformed light (NewC home for New Life, 02/12/2007). The Michi-C gan Daily's story fails to capture the essence of the church. The three elements of the churchv eople. So it isn't so much that the state bars same-sex couples from adopting jointly, it imply bars unmarried couples from doing o. Because they cannot legally marry, the tate's current adoption laws discriminate gainst gay couples. Condino's legislation would rectify the ituation by allowing unmarried partners o adopt children jointly, thus establishing a loving, two-parent home and avoiding a omplicated legal struggle and the tribula- ions of foster care should tragedy strike. Not surprisingly, the voices of intoler- nce on the religious right, particularly the Michigan Catholic Conference, oppose Con- lino's bill because they claim unmarried ouples, especially same-sex ones, threaten he well-being of children by failing to pro- ide "traditional family structure." These eligious groups would rather have children un through the turbines of state-controlled oster care than live in a loving, two-parent nvironment. And they claim to have the hildren's best interest at heart. If the state legislature passes Condino's roposal, marital status (and thus sexual rientation) will not be a determining factor n a couple's application for joint adoption. nstead, the determining factors will justifi- bly focus upon the couple's ability to pro- ide a safe, loving home for the child. There re good and bad potential adoptive parents n every group - married or unmarried, gay r straight - and legislators should ensure hat they put the safety and well being of children before any political agendas. LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU The result is a place where God is celebrated, onored and worshiped as best as we can. New .ife Church strives to offer services in a format hat is accessible and relevant to young people. ;o often people say that they have never been o a church service like this - people actually want to be there. We acknowledge that we are roken people who make mistakes and need God. The authenticity of our members' love for God and each other speaks volumes. I invite you to come by next week to see what I mean. Jim MacMillan, a photojournal- ist for The Associated Press who spent a year in Iraq, sits next to me in my war and literature class. He is here as a Knight-Wallace Fellow, a mid-career fellowship that allows established journalists to live off of a stipend and take a year of classes at the University. Given that he was part of the AP team that took home the Pulit- zer Prize for K best Breaking News Photog- raphy in 2005,r his fellowship is t obviously well- . deserved. Last week, MacMillan showedourclass WHITNEY a small selection of his photos DIBO from Iraq. In a - darkened room on the fourth floor of Angell Hall, he took us through the war-torn streets, introduced us to bloodied, grieving families and put faces to the American soldier body count. When the lights came back on, our class was visibly shaken. Those pictures didn't belong in Angell Hall, amidst my Hemingway nov- els and colored-coded notebooks. They belonged on the front page of The New York Times, taken by some unknown photographer. It upped the stakes to know that the man sitting next to me actually saw these people and took these photos. As I left the room, I began to feel a strange sense of guilt. I had watched the astronaut attempted murder story unfold on CNN all weekend, but flipped channels during the Iraq war updates. What would MacMillan think of my watching E! last night, tryingto figure out how exactly Anna Nicole Smith had died? I asked MacMillan to have cof- fee with me the following week at Espresso Royale, a perfect atmo- sphere for a conversation about academia's isolation from the war. While students studied diligently and engaged in excessively cerebral conversation around us, MacMillan showed me additional photos from his embedment. We talked about campus's detachment from the war - how students seem tired of talk- ing about Iraq, tired of watching the news and tired of reading the paper. If this trend was irksome to me, I assumed it would infuriate MacMillan. But I was missing the point. The academic bubble plays a role, of course, but MacMillanwas more con- cerned with why the Iraq media cov- erage is not reaching the American public - why even the most poignant photographs continue to come and go without really stirring the American conscience. "I used to think, this pho- tograph will be the one that ends the Iraq War," he said. But the equivalent to the Napalm Girl photograph from Vietnam has yet to surface. Or maybe it has - and we are all too compas- sion fatigued to reallylook. Compassion fatigue. Apparently someone has invented a phrase for what I and so many other Americans are experiencing. To my understand- ing, the symptoms are as follows: Quickly skimming newspaper arti- cles about Iraq while you stand in line at Starbucks, not feeling any- thing in particular when you hear about another deadly car bomb or suicide bomber, becoming emotion- ally immune to the staggering body counts and, of course, failingto really see the photographs MacMillan and his colleagues are sending home from Baghdad. The symptoms of compas- sion fatigue are everywhere on this campus, but the cure is definitely harder to come by. MacMillanwent easyonus. He said we don't have to sit down and read a dozen articles on Iraq each morning or watch hours of gruesome war foot- age on CNN every night. In fact, that strategy could worsen our collective condition. The best wayto keep up on Iraq, MacMillansays, istogoto news. yahoo.com for a few minutes every- day and search the words "AP Bagh- dad." Read the first story that comes up in its entirety, internalize the body count and try to understand the rea- sons people are beingkilled everyday. "The consistency of this war is being lost," MacMillan says. "You can't just think about Iraqwhen it gets an extra splash on CNN." And all the information is at our fingertips - more sothaninanyother war. It's all out there for the taking, everything from soldiers' personal blogs to the graphic photos newspa- pers won'tprint. All the toolswe need to really taste this war are available to us at the click of a mouse. Compassion fatigue blunts outrage about war in Iraq. "I'm not telling anyone how to feel," MacMillan says, "I'm just telling them to feel responsible." For me, responsibility means drop- ping my classic cover-up line, "Hey, I voted for Kerry," and the like. Maybe it was this detachment that allowed me to flip channels during the CNN Iraq updates. After speak- ing with MacMillan, it became clear how convenient it is to view Iraq as the Bush administration's mistake as opposed to America's war. Tak- ing responsibility, whatever that may mean for each person, is the best remedy for compassion fatigue. At least that's what MacMillan said - and I think I'm going to take him at his word. Whitney Dibo is an associate editorial page editor. She can be reached at wdibo@umich.edu. service (music, "slice of life," and sermon), are meant to help students and members of tlie Karen Ostafinski community better connect with God. When Alum the band plays, the congregation has an oppor- tunity to worship God as they hear passionate music and sing lyrics that are infused with the truth of God's word. The crowd does not wor- Lett ship the band, nor does the band see their role as that of a "performance." We just love to play All readers ares music and honor God with the musical talents ters to the editor. F he has given us. We like to join the crowd in name, college an worshiping God together. Univer Second, having failed to mention the "slice of life" and sermon elements of New Life's ser- Letters should vice, the Daily omitted two essential parts of words. The Michig who we are. The "slice of life" element gives to edit for length, cl church members the opportunity to share submissions beco their personal experiences with God. In the sermon, the pastor teaches straight from God's Letters will be p word, offering insights and often weaving in ness and the amou personal anecdotes and television/movie clips letters to tot relevant to the topic. JACK DOEHRING $' ers Policy encouraged to submit let- Please include the writer's id class standing or other sity affiliation. d be no longer than 300 an Daily reserves the right larity and accuracy, and all me property of the Daily. rinted according to timeli- nt of space available. Send hedaily@umich.edu. EMMARIE HUETTEMAN The Church's silenced peacemaker' In a church that empowers an offensive, gay-bash- the result of his outspoken efforts to protect victims of ing, anti-Semitic leader while silencing an international abuse. He added, "I don't regret (speaking on behalf of voice for peace, there is no place for disappointed Catho- the victims) because I still think it was the right thing lies like me. to do." Judging by the applause of his congregation, they I've measured my life in Sundays spent disappearing thought he did the right thing, too. into wooden pews as priests follow the commands of And so a man guilty of supplying medicine to hospi- the Church hierarchy, espousing love and acceptance on tals in Baghdad, supporting a more accepting Catholic one hand and contradictory political propaganda on the stance on homosexuality, comforting American hostag- other. Over the past month, I've watched the contradic- es in Iran in 1979, testifying on behalf of conscientious tions pile up - Catholic League President Bill Donohue objectors, fostering hope in his economically-depressed basked in the glow of media attention for his criticism of Detroit parish, and co-founding the international peace Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, while organization Pax Christi hasbeen removed from service. Detroit bishop and peacemaker Thomas Gumbleton was Apparently, Donohue's disdain for gay people, Jews, and forced to resign his post. . liberal bloggers is a more palatable stance. The Catholic League, which earns its tax-exempt sta- The Catholic League's work to single out dissenters tus protecting Catholics from "discrimination," recently seems almost comical. After all, it need not look further created a media spectacle after Edwards hired bloggers than many of the people filling its pews each week. More Melissa McEwan and Amanda Marcotte. Both women seriously, Donohue may be guilty ofviolatingthe League's criticized the Catholic Church's stances on issues like tax-exempt status by interfering in political affairs. Dur- homosexuality, abortion and contraception, and some- ing the 2004 presidential race, Donohue even announced times used vulgar language in doing so. Such predilec- that anyone who voted for the "idiot" Democratic nomi- tions earned the bloggers the label"brats" from Donohue, nee John Kerry (who, by the way, is Catholic) in light of who has his own history of offensive language. his refusal to condemn abortion was "cooperat(ing) in He called upon Edwards to fire the two bloggers evil." But with such evils as poverty and war plaguing our immediately. Edwards responded by saying that while world, doesn't it seem naive, even insulting, to attribute he disagreed with the bloggers' opinions and would not "evil" characteristics to a presidential candidate? allow offensive language in his campaign, he would not Facing unforgiving public cynicism in the wake of fire them. Outraged, Donohue replied, "The bloggers are abuse charges, the Catholic Church cannot afford to no longer the issue. Edwards is the issue." Apparently, move backward. What it needs more than anything the Catholic League will not tolerate tolerance. is progress. It needs more leaders who recognize and Neither will the Church. In January, the Catholic respond to the larger issues without being side-tracked hierarchy abruptly removed a beloved Detroit leader by minor doctrinal disagreements. What it needs, unde- from service. According to the Church, Bishop Thomas niably, are more Bishop Gumbletons - leaders who Gumbleton had already passed the retirement age of 75 prove that seemingly idealistic values like international and was due to retire. However, the 77-year-old and his peace and unconditional love can translate into realistic parish assert that the Church had other reasons for get- goals, and who live their lives based on that truth. ting rid of him - specifically, his recent support of leg- While Bishop Gumbleton has worked to foster peace islation to extend the period during which a victim of in the world's most wartorn areas, Donohue has repre- clerical abuse may sue the Church. sented Catholicism through petty attacks on presiden- With his own experience as a teenage seminarian tial candidates. Unfortunately, his voice is the loudest. abused by a priest, it seems Bishop Gumbleton has only Where is our hope when the Church silences the peace- followed God's calling to speak for voiceless victims of maker? abuse. In hin last words to his parish, he pointed out that there are pastors older than he who continue to serve Emmarie Huetteman is an LSA sophomore the Church. This indicates that his removal must be and a member of the Daily's Editorial Board. Editorial Board Members: Emily Beam, Kevin Bunkley, Amanda Burns, Sam Butler, Ben Caleca, Brian Flaherty, Mara Gay, Jared Goldberg, Emmarie Huetteman, Toby Mitchell, Rajiv Prabhakar, David Russell, Gavin Stern, John Stiglich, Jennifer Sussex, Neil Tambe, Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Wagner, Christopher Zbrozek i r 4 '. ,, \ ,, i , 1 y , i 4