The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Monday, March 9, 2009 -- 3A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, March 9, 2009 - 3A NEWS BRIEFS WASHINGTON GOP official: No more money for GM without plan House Republican leader John Boehner said yesterday he doesn't support handing over more fed- eral money to keep General Motors Corp. afloat unless the automaker develops a viable and long-term business model and can pay back government loans. "Anything short of that is just throwing good money after bad," Boehner said on CBS's "Face the Nation." As part of the deal that provided $17.4 billion in federal aid to Gen- eral Motors and Chrysler LLC, the companies must seek changes in their contracts with the United Auto Workers by March 31. The car companies, which have asked for an additional $21.6 billion in fed- eral money, must bring their labor costs in line with those of foreign competitors' plants in the U.S. Although Ford Motor Co. has not sought federal assistance, it has reached an agreement with the UAW to freeze wages and make other concessions. Union members were expected to finish voting on the proposed agreement today. BAGHDAD U. S. announces 12,000 troops to leave Iraq by Sept. The U.S. military has announced that 12,000 American and 4,000 British troops will leave Iraq by September. Maj. Gen. David Perkins says that will reduce U.S. combat power from 14 brigades to 12 brigades. He also said yesterday that the U.S. is turning over more facilities to the Iraqi military as part of the draw- down. President Barack Obama has decided to remove all combat troops by the end of August 2010 with all troops gone by the end of 2011. The 4,000 British troops due to leave are the last British soldiers in Iraq. There are currently about 3K,000 U.S, troops in Iraq. ST. PAUL, Minn. -Months later, still no winner in Minn. Senate race What lasts longer than a Minne- sota winter? The struggle to choose the nation's 100th senator. More than four months after Election Day, Minnesota vot- ers are only marginally closer to knowing whether Democrat Al Franken or Republican Norm Coleman will represent them in Washington. The stakes go beyond Minneso- ta: Franken would put Democrats in position to muscle their agenda through with barely any Republi- can help, and he could be a differ- ence-maker on the federal budget and a proposal giving labor unions a leg up on management when organizing. Some Minnesotans, like actor Jared Reise, are past caring who wins and just want the state to regain its second senator. "This is a very important time to have everybody there, with the way the economy is," said Reise, of suburban Eagan, who didn't vote for either man on Nov. 4. "It's a little long-winded, this whole recount." MARYVILLE, Ill. One dead in Illinois church shooting Illinois state police say a man has shot a pastor to death and injured others at an church dur- ing a service in the community of Maryville. Illinois Master Trooper Ralph Timmins says the man walked down the aisle during the early Sunday service at First Baptist Church in Maryville. He said the man exchanged words with pastor Fred Winters and then pulled out a .45-caliber handgun. Timmins said the man fatally shot Winters once before the gun jammed, then pulled out a knife and wounded himself. Churchgoers tried to subdue the attacker and two of them suffered minor injuries. Timmins said officials don't know if Winters and the suspect know each other. - Compiled from Daily wire reports Obama to overturn Bush's stem cell policy Bush, supporters claim restrictions were defending human life WASHINGTON (AP) - Presi- dent Barack Obama's announce- ment today that he is overturning his predecessor's policies toward embryonic stem cells also will include a broad declaration that science - not political ideology - would guide his administration. Obama planned to reverse Pres- ident George W. Bush's limits on federally funded stemcell research through the National Institutes of Health and to put in place safe- guards through the office of Sci- ence and Technology Policy so that science is protected from political interference. The moves would fulfill a campaign promise. "We've got eight years of science to make up for," said Dr. Curt Civin, whose research allowed scientists to isolate stem cells and who now serves as the founding director of the University of Maryland Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regen- erative Medicine. "Now, the silly restrictions are lifted." Bush limited taxpayer money for stem cell research to a small number of stem cell lines that were created before Aug. 9, 2001. Many of those faced drawbacks. Hun- dreds more of such lines - groups of cells that can continue to propa- gate in lab dishes - have been cre- ated since then. Scientists saythose newer lines are healthier and bet- ter suited to creating treatments for diseases, but they were largely off-limits to researchers who took federal dollars. "We view what happened with stem cell research in the last administration is one manifesta- tion of failure to think carefully about how federal support of sci- ence and the use of scientific advice occurs," said Harold Varmus, a Nobel Prize-winningbiologistwho is chairman of the White House's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology. Bush and his supporters said they were defending human life; days-old embryos - typically from fertility-clinic leftovers otherwise destined to be thrown away - are destroyed for the stem cells. Obama's advisers sought to downplay the divisions. "I think we all realize, and the president certainly understands, there are people of good faith on both sidesofthis issue," said Melody Barnes, the White House's domestic policy adviser. "We recognize there are a range of beliefs on this." Rep. Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, said the focus should be on the economy, not on a long-simmering debate over stem cells. "Frankly, federal funding of embryonic stem cell research can bring on embryo harvesting, per- haps even human cloning that occurs," he said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." "We don't want that. ... And certainly that is something that we ought to be talk- ing about, but let's take care of busi- ness first. People are out of jobs." The long-promised move will allow a rush of research aimed at one day better treating, if not curing, ailments from diabetes to paralysis - research that has drawn broad support, including from notables such as Nancy Rea- gan, widow of the late Republican President Ronald Reagan, and the late Christopher Reeve. The move also will highlight divi- sions within the Republican Party, now in the minority and lacking votes in Congress to stop Obama. The proposed changes, which Obama planned to sign around noon Monday, do not fund cre- ation of new lines, nor specify which existing lines can be used. They mean that scientists who until now have had to rely on private donations to work with these newer stem cell lines can apply for government money for the research, just like they do for studies of gene therapy or other treatment approaches. DISSENT From Page 1A Frier used the example of a pro- fessor at the University of Wis- consin at Milwaukee who was disciplined after he publicly pro- tested university administrators' handling of a federal grant. In the case, Renken v. Gregory, Prof. Kevin Renken argued that officials from his university had retaliated against him for com- plaining about the way his univer- sity decided to use federal grant money from the National Science Foundation. Renken argued his protest against the university was pro- tected under the First Amendment because he was protesting a mat- ter of public concern. He asserted that the university should not have been allowed to take disciplinary action against him. Despite his claims, the Seventh District Court and the U.S. Appeals Court for the Seventh Circuit both held that Renken's complaints were not pro- tected under the First Amendment because Renken made the com- plaint as part of his official duties as a professor. Frier said if a university can pun- ish a professor for disagreeing with administrators at the university, then faculty will likely not express their true concerns. "If, for instance, I was in a dis- pute with an administrator over, for instance, a grant or something like that and the administrator had the capacity to say at the end of the day 'If you don't go along with me, I will lower your salary,' that makes a considerable difference to the discussion," he said. University Spokeswoman Kelly Cunningham said she doesn't believe the recent court cases at other universities would influ- ence anything at the University of Michigan. "Nothing in the recent court decisions affects or diminishes the University's deep commitment to academic freedom," she wrote in an e-mail. Frier said there is no immediate fear that this might happen at the UniversityofMichigan. Instead, he explained that SACUA is address- ing the regents because the body wants to avoid a potential future conflict. "We're talking about this in terms of what might happen down the line," he said. "There's no immediate question." Frier said SACUA doesn't have a specific course of action in mind right now, but is open to several approaches to prevent faculty at the University from being threat- ened by the court decisions. "Everybody agrees this should be negotiable," he said. "There are a number of specific forms." Although the report will be pre- sented to the regents, Frier said he doesn't expect they will take action on the issue. Instead, Frier said he thinks most of the work can be done between faculty and admin- istrators. "It's really just a courtesy to the regents," he said. "This is an issue of current concern to the faculty and so we wanted to convey it." "Some of these problems (in SOCIOLOGIST the black community) have gotten From Page 1A so severe now that it would be in our nation's best interest to have school dropout and teenage preg- specific, targeted programs to nancy rates - is naive, Wilson deal with them," Wilson said in an argued. Likewise, the author said interview while signing booksfor a one must consider the discrimina- line of fans. "Even if the programs tion that impoverished inner-city don't necessarily apply to every- residents face daily. one, it's in our best interest." He praised the president's He said such government speech on race from last summer, assistance would be necessary in saying it struck a balance between Detroit, a city that is more than 80 the two ideologies. percent black and has an unem- "Unlike Bill Cosby or the talk ployment rate of nearly 11 percent. show hosts you see on TV, Barack Wilson said the area's situation Obama does not isolate structure is even more dire because of the from culture," he said. "Obama sputtering auto industry. Two of sees that they are very much tied the Detroit Three automakers, together." Chrysler LLC and General Motors The 73-year-old, who was Corp., have both raised the specter named one of Time magazine's 25 of bankruptcy in recent weeks. Most Influential People in 1996, "If that happened, it would have has consulted the Obama admin- a devastating effect on the black istration frequently,' prescribing community," he said. "I shudder to solutions for the problems plagu- think what would happen if they 'iAinwrica'1 cities. ' °" "dup filing bankruptcy. Wilson, who holds 41 honorary The audience seemed split by degrees including doctorates from Wilson's talk, but most agreed that Columbia University, Dartmouth his new book would raise debate. College, the University of Penn- Laura Norton-Cruz, a gradu- sylvania and Princeton University ate student in the School of Social used lofty rhetoric during his talk. Work, said the author seemed to Rather than talking freely, he read overlook key aspects from his talk from a 40-page stack of papers and and book. cited 15 books and studies. Many "I'm sure it will be a goodbook," in the crowd - largely comprised said Norton-Cruz, who has read of graduate students and profes- Wilson's award-winning "The sors - had pens and notebooks out, Truly Disadvantaged" from 1987. writing down Wilson's key points. "But it just sounds like he neglect- About midway through his lec- ed the gender issue, and that pisses ture, Wilson said the government me off because a lot of researchers should implement policies spe- of urban inequality leave that part cifically aimed at helping impov- out." erished blacks. The statement Kim Lijana, a graduate student marked a departure from Wil- in the School of Education, put it son's previous philosophy, which bluntly: favored programs that benefited "It's absolutely controversial," all poor people. Lijana said of the book's premise. In this Feb. 11, 2009 file photo, thousands of people line up at a federal government job fair in downtown Atlanta. If the current recession lasts into April 2009, it will be the longest in postwar history. Recession on track to be longest in postwar period If recession lasts into April, it will pass the 16-month mark from 1981-1982 WASHINGTON (AP) - Fac- tory jobs disappeared. Inflation soared. Unemployment climbed to alarming levels. The hungry lined up at soup kitchens. It wasn't the Great Depres- sion. It was the 1981-82 reces- sion, widely considered America's worst since the depression. That painful time during Ron- ald Reagan's presidency is a grim marker of how bad things can get. Yet the current recession could slice deeper into the U.S. economy. If it lasts into April - as it almost surely will - this one will go on record as the longest in the postwar era. The 1981- 82 and 1973-75 recessions each lasted 16 months. Unemploymenthasn'treached 1982 levels and the gross domes- tic product hasn't fallen quite as far. But the hurt from this reces- sion is spread more widely and uncertainty about the country's economic health is worse today than it was in 1982. Back then, if someone asked if the nation was about to expe- rience something as bad as the GreatDepressionthe answer was, "Quite clearly, 'No,"' said Murray Weidenbaum, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Reagan White House. "You don't have that certain- ty today," he said. "It's not only that the downturn is sharp and widespread, but a lot of people worrythat it's going to be a long- lasting, substantial downturn." For months, headlines have compared this recession with the one that began in July 1981 and ended in November 1982. -In January, reports showed 207,000 manufacturing jobs van- ished in the largest one-month drop since October 1982. -Major automakers' U.S. sales extended their deep slump in February, putting the industry on track for its worst sales month in more than 27 years. -Struggling homebuilders have just completed the worst year for new home sales since 1982. -There are 12.5 million people out of work today, topping the number of jobless in 1982. "I think most people think it is worse than 1982," said John Steele Gordon, a financial historian. "I don't think many people think it will be 1932 again. Let us pray. But it's probably going to be the worst postwar recession, certainly." The 1982 downturn was driv- en primarily by the desire to rid the economy of inflation. To battle a decade-long bout of high inflation, then-Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, now an economic adviser to President Barack Obama, pushed interest rates up to levels not seen since the Civil War. The approach tamed inflation, but not without suffering. Hardest hit was the industrial Midwest; the Pacific Northwest, where theloggingindustrylagged from construction declines; and some states in the South, where the recession hit late. Frustrated workers fled to the Sunbelt to find work. In Michi- gan, which led the nation in job- less workers, newspapers offered idled auto workers free "job want- ed" ads in the classified section.