4 - Friday, October 19, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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the University of Michigan since 1890.
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Ann Arbor, MI 48109
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He's a giant of the 20th century. Is he a racist?
No. Is he wacky? Sometimes."
- Nobel laureate Eric Kandel on fellow laureate James Watson,'the co-discoverer of the DNA double-helix,
who recently made comments insinuating that Africans are genetically predisposed to be
intellectually inferior to Europeans, as reported yesterday on newsday.com.
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
andillustrations represent solelythe views oftheirauthors.
The Daily's public editor, Paul H. Johnson, acts as the readers' representative and takes a critical look at
coverage and content in every section oftthe paper. Readers are encouraged to contact the public editor
with questions and comments. He canbe reached at publiceditor@umich.edu.
Incomplete recall
Voters should dole out punishment more appropriately
nrthe wee hours of Oct. 1, state legislators finally exercised
responsible leadership and agreed on a budget that would
mitigate the Michigan's $1.75 billion deficit. After months of
partisan bickering, the legislature finally voted in favor of the least
popular of necessary evils - a tax hike. A state shutdown was avert-
ed, but not everyone was satisfied. Last Thursday, anti-tax activists
moved to recall lawmakers who voted in favor of the necessary tax
increase. Those targeted for recall include five Republican and five
Democratic legislators. It is an unfortunate comment on the state
of our democracy that responsible lawmakers are recalled and the
liars who truly deserve to lose their jobs are consistently reelected.
The cause of our time
Al Gore is a Nobel laureate, and
that's a weird concept. Love
him or hate him, though, you
can't deny that
Gore has done
very well since
removing himself
from the political
spotlight after the
2000 election. He
won an Emmy and
an Oscar, cham-
pioned the "Live KEVIN
Earth"wconcerts BUNKLEY
and now has a
Nobel Peace Prize.
Gore is the steward of the global
warming cause, and that Nobel Prize
should signal to the rest of us that it
has become the cause of our time, the
cause of our generation, and Gore is
the one to lead it - preferably from
the White House.
A group called draftgore.com
placed a full page in The New York
Times last week calling for signatures
to persuade Gore to enter the 2008
presidential race. More than 200,000
people have signed the petition on the
group's website. Gore has denied a
desire to enter, and that's too bad. It
has been too long since a candidate
ran on a meaningful issue that can
unite the country. If Gore were to run
not as a blue Democrat or a red Repub-
lican, but as the green candidate (and
I don't mean Green Party), he could
have true bipartisan support. With
the country picking sides between
Rudy and Hillary, Gore could be the
better alternative for supporters of
both candidates.
All that said, it's looking increas-
ingly unlikely that Gore will run. He
may be the carrier of the torch on this
cause, but we cannot afford to overlook
global warming even if he doesn't run.
This is especially true in Michigan.
Detroit automakers have dodged
calls for higher automobile mile-
age standards, but that sort of out-
dated thinking has caused all of the
Big Three to fall behind Toyota in
worldwide sales. Rep. John Dingell
(D-Mich.), who represents Ann Arbor
and has longstanding ties to the auto-
motive lobby, must now give them up
and realize that even Toyota is helping
to defeat American mileage standard
legislation. Passing a 35 miles per gal-
lon standard would put our country at
par with Europe and Asia, and it would
force the Big Three to innovate rather
than procrastinate.
The only way Ford, General Motors
and Chrysler can get back on top is
by developing hydrogen fuel cell and
ethanol-based vehicles, among other
green innovations. Imagine if the place
where the auto industry started could
bring it back from the gutter. But those
types of initiatives cannot be under-
taken in our state unless businesses
are willing to stay and investhere.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm can bring
business back to Michigan, and heed-
ing Gore's call is the way to do it. A tax
increase was recently passed to bal-
ance the budget, but businesses want
tax breaks. Michigan has a diverse
energy grid, and if Granholm would
do what California does and offer atax
credit to any company that saves its
customers money by increasing effi-
ciency, companies would be lining up
to move operations to our state.
That would also attract companies
that are developing alternative ener-
gies like wind and solar power, and
these companies would need work-
ers both to research these things and
make them. Michigan has thousands
of unemployed workers who could
get back into the workforce, and all it
would take isa little tax reform.
Global warming is
undeniable - with
or without Gore.
A story last August in The Detroit
News reported that of all candidates,
declared and undeclared, Gore is the
favorite among Michigan Democrats.
It makes sense then that our state
should be committed to his goals.
Gore is running out of time to declare
for the 2008 campaign, but even if he
is serious about staying away, he has
made it so that global warming can no
longerbe overlooked.
The candidate who recognizes the
importance of the issue will stroll into
the White House, and it may yet be
Gore. Legislative initiatives, especial-
ly in the state of Michigan, must move
forward regardless. Inaction is no lon-
ger an option.
Kevin Bunkley can be reached
at kevrbunk@umich.edu.
a
The tax hike - consisting of a .45 per-
cent increase in the state income tax and
the implementation of a sales tax on cer-
tain services - was simply unavoidable.
Although Republicans continue to call for
cuts in spending, state services are already
cut back to dangerous levels. Knowing
that cuts alone could not balance the bud-
get, state Republicans still held out and
pushed the state into a brief partial shut-
down. Fortunately, the closure was halted
just hours later by the hurried passage of a
budget that included tax increases.
While anti-tax activists call for the heads
of those state legislators who voted for the
tax increase, they are lavishing praise on
some of Michigan's congressmen in Wash-
ington, who recently cast an infamous vote
to oppose a tax hike. Unfortunately, those
congressmen - including Republicans Joe
Knollenberg, Thaddeus McCotter, Pete
Hoekstra and Tim Walberg - showed off
their supposed fiscal conservatism by vot-
ing against the State Children's Healthcare
Insurance Program, a program that would
have been expanded by an increase in the
federal cigarette tax. Despite opposition
from those four Michigan Republicans,
the bill passed in the House and Senate,
before being vetoed by President Bush.
If passed, the bipartisan proposal would
have expanded healthcare to more than
4 million children whose families can-
not afford private coverage and who don't
qualify for Medicaid. The president and
his supporters claim that S-CHIP isn't
worth the $35 billion that would be spent
throughout the next five years. Though the
cost is high, the benefits to children and
poor families across our state and country
would be immense.
However, some of the state's representa-
tives in Washington think defending their
feigned reputation as so-called fiscal con-
servatives is more important than helping
sick children. It's interesting that Knol-
lenberg, McCotter, Hoekstra and Walberg,
those supposed defenders of small gov-
ernment and minimal spending, continue
to write blank checks for the president's
$100,000-per-minute scam known as the
war in Iraq (in fact, Hoekstra remains
convinced there were WMD's in Iraq).
As the proposal to override Bush's veto
on S-CHIP was brought up yesterday
before the U.S. House of Representatives,
all Republicans that had previously voted
against S-CHIP refused to change their
votes - Knollenberg, McCotter, Hoekstra
and Walberg among them. The override
failed by just 13 votes in the House.
One vote does not define any legislator,
but for Michigan's duplicitous Republicans
in Washington, this is but the latest in a long
line of failures. These congressmen are only
fiscally conservative when it is convenient;
in other words, they have no backbone and
no reason for continuing to represent us. We
cannot continue to keep voting for incum-
bents who are failing to show the moral con-
victions of true leadership.
voters on all sides of the political spec-
trum were upset at those who voted
against S-CHIP: Health care for children
is something both Democrats and Repub-
licans support. We must remember that
and, come November 2008, we must aptly
punish the moral hypocrisy of these rep-
resentatives and vote them out of office
before they can do any more damage.
The University should not only
recruit outside of the state
TO THE DAILY:
A Daily editorial last week pointed to a drastic drop in
state funding for education as a harbinger that will force
college admission administrators to look outside Michigan
for the talent poolidesired for incoming students (Un-level-
ing thefleld,10/12/2007). To suggest that diminishing state
funds will result in cuts to extracurricular and sport pro-
grams is a valid point. To draw a conclusion that involve-
ment in extracurriculars and sports will provide colleges
with the ideal renaissance student is a bigstretch.
The single greatest factor influencing college admis-
sions is ability to pay for education. While higher edu-
cation may purport to require increasingly demanding
criteria for admission, competition for money influences
college admissions more than the need to include stu-
dents from different economic, racial, religious, social
and gender communities.
Isbabysittingyour siblings whileyourparentswork an
extracurricular activity? What about working at McDon-
ald's to help pay the bills for a family struggling to make
ends meet? Given the unusually distressed Michigan
economy, legislators must decide what form of funding
will best serve its colleges and universities. A college stu-
dent's success is determined by the ability to meet degree
requirements, not the ability to attend football games or
join student clubs. Should state government subsidize
buildings and programs unrelated to matriculation?
Michigan residents rise above the cookie-cutter
applicants to higher education. We are unique, talented
people with the ability to change the future, not just
leave it in limbo. We are the biologist or the engineer
whose talents will cure cancer, AIDS and Alzheimers,
and whose compassion will fund health care for those
who can't afford it. Our state universities should be
proud to admit Michigan residents.
Audrey Jackson
Alum
Stem cell research would bring
many economic benefits .
TO THE DAILY:
It was interesting to find an article about the proposed
repeal of the state's ban on embryonic stem cell research
('U'scientists welcome stem cell ban repeal, 10/17/2007) in
the same edition of the Daily that included a story about
the importance in Michigan's future of the technology
industry (Tech industry is key for state's future, leaders
say, 10/17/2007). One of many substantial benefits of
SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU
embryonic stem cell research is its ability to boost the
economyin a state like Michigan, which is suffering from
economic downfall.
Scientists around the country are workingin a thriving
biomedical industry that incorporates embryonic stem
cell research - an industry that does not exist in states
like Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Louisiana,
Indiana and Arkansas. When people read that list of six
states, Michigan sticks out like a sore thumb. We think of
Michigan asa center for growth and progress, not as one
of the most restrictive states in the country.
Proponents of embryonic stem cell-research know that
education isthe most powerfulweapon; when people learn
the truths about the research, their support follows. In the
Daily article on stem cells, Pam Sherstad says Right to Life
of Michigan would not support any research that would
destroy an embryo. However, the current ban onembryon-
ic stem cell research does notprotect a single embryo from
destruction; it only impedes the groundbreaking research.
The only embryos used for research will be donated
embryos that have no chance of ever becoming a child
and are going to be thrown away. It was once unfortu-
nate that in-vitro fertilization clinics produce extra
embryos and defective embryos that had to be discarded.
But embryonic stem cell research has allowed for that
unfortunate downside to instead be a source of hope and
progress. The trash-bound embryos can be saved from
destruction and used to help curea myriad of diseases.
I urge everyone to educate themselves about this com-
plicated issue. Discover the truths; they will prove how
ethical' and promising embryonic stem cell research
really is.
Landon Krantz
LSA junior
The letter writer is president of the Student Society for
Stem CellResearch.
There is no better solution than a
tax increase. Accept it already.
TO THE DAILY:
Columnist Robert Soave argues that Michigan's
expansion of the sales tax to include some services will
destroy the economy and eventually the state itself
(Taxes are a dubious solution, 10/09/2007). If taxes are a
dubious solution, then please provide abetter one.Unfor-
tunately, Soave relies on a basic downward-spiral argu-
ment without using any relevant facts. One could use his
same argument to criticize any tax ever proposed in the
history of the world. Baseless criticism without solution
should not have a place in any newspaper.
DeanW. Baxtresser
First-year law student
0
EMAD ANSARI E
Religious incompetence
Looking up from an essay I was writing for
a world religions class comparing the story
of Adam in the Quran and the Bible, I heard
a woman on the Diag screaming phrases like:
"God is looking for sluts and whores like you"
and "You can fool your teachers, you can fool
your doctor, you can fool your parents, but
you can't fool God."
In a liberal institution like the University,
religion, a personal choice, is being forced
out of the private sphere and into the public
sphere. Preachers Michael Venyah and Chris
Lemieux's involvement last week at the LGBT
Affairs Office rally has come under intense
scrutiny. What did they hope to achieve by
antagonizing an integral part of the commu-
nity that the University strives to build for
diversity? Did anyone on the Diag that day
even listen to them?
"God will send Jews and gay people to
Hell," they reportedly said. Well, too bad for
them. Enjoy your ride to Heaven and let other
people live the way they want to.
Almost every Christian student would feel
embarrassed being connected in any way
to Venyah and his cohorts - just as almost
every Muslim student feels unfairly judged
when identified with a radical Islamic hate-
monger. Venyah has no right to judge people
on their religious beliefs, sexual preferences
or point of view.
If Venyah's intentions were as noble as he
claimed, and if he really did want people to
realize that Christianity was the correct way
of life, his approach was certainly not the way
to go about it. Presenting the ridiculous notion
that Christianity is concerned solely with con-
demning "Jews and gay people" to Hell did not
help him in his goal of making Christianity an
attractive option for all "non-believers." It's
little wonder that Venyah faced the furious
reaction to his views that he did in both last
year's LGBT rally and the one last week.
Venyah's organization, "Soulwinners,"
is the most vocal radical religious group to
appear on campus at any point during the year.
The group's website, soul-winners.org, boasts
its Save Our Students (S.O.S) program, with
the description, "Daily, on college campuses,
this country's future presidents, pastors, pro-
fessionals, are spoon-fed the strychnine of
Satan's soul-damning, Christ-denying, lies,
beneath the sugar-coated guise of 'science'
and 'secular humanism."
As Venyah continues on his 27-state, 64-
campus tour to "spread the message of the
Lord" to universities all across the country,
it seems students in Michigan are, as always
glad to see him leave - just like they would
be in the case of any other radical self-righ-
teous preacher. In fact, this is one of those rare
issues that the Spartans from Lansing and the
Wolverines actually find themselves agree-
ing upon. In 2006, Venyah protested at both
Michigan State University and in Ann Arbor,
receiving similar backlash from both groups
of students, showing exactly how strongly the
students feel about his portrayal of Christian-
ity asa reflection of his personal views.
Venyah is just one example - albeit the one
we can most relate to - of the attempt to need-
lessly imposea religion onto others. The mode
of conveyance that groups like Soulwinners
use insults everyone else's knowledge, because
they assume that the rest of the population has
never thought about what it believes in. They
think we are blindly following something that
society has imposed on us. The assumption
that extremist religious groups make about
the inherent ignorance of the country's stu-
dents is as far away from reality as their idea
that "diversity is a pretext for encouraging
homosexuality and sodomy."
Instead of pointlessly infuriating young
adults all over the country, Venyah would do
more good, for himself and everyone else, by
just sitting in on a few Religion 201 lectures.
Emad Ansari is an LSA freshman and a
member of the Daily's editorial board,
ARIELA STEIF
To OA.
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EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS:
Emad Ansari, Kevin Bunkley,
Ben Caleca, Milly Dick, Mike Eber,
Brian Flaherty, Gary Graca,
Emmarie Huetteman, Theresa Kennelly,
Emily Michels, Gavin Stern, Jennifer Sus-
sex, Neil Tambe, Matt Trecha,
Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Wagner
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
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letters to the editor. Letters should be
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writer's full name and University
affiliation. All submissions become
property of the Daily. We do not print
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