4 - Friday, October 19, 2007 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu 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. Z'7 ; "' r) 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: Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor. Letters should be under 300 words and must include the writer's full name and University affiliation. All submissions become property of the Daily. We do not print anonymous letters. Send letters to tothedaily@umich.edu. a 0