4A - Wednesday, October 5, 2011

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

4A - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom

fiid ioan BaI*I
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A (Cain)washed theory

STEPHANIE STEINBERG
EDITOR IN CHIEF

MICHELLE DEWITT
and EMILY ORLEY
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS

NICK SPAR
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.
a
Arrest this development
Plan to privatize prisons should be locked up
The city of Detroit is about to lose even more jobs as the
Michigan Department of Corrections plans to close the
Mound Correctional Facility and privatize medical servic-
es for prisoners. Approximately 2,000 employees will be laid off as
a result of the plan. While many legislators voice support for the
reform, stating that the changes have been "long overdue," those
opposed express concern over the negative impact on employees,
communities and families of those imprisoned. The relocation of
prisoners from the facility is another looming concern. The care of
prisoners should be state regulated, not privatized, to avoid poten-
tial negative consequences. Closing the Mound Correctional Facil-
ity is a viable way to cut costs from the state's corrections budget,
but closing prisons is not an effective way to solve all the problems
in the corrections system.

The fact that African Ameri-
cans vote overwhelmingly
for the Democratic Party is
probably obvi-
ous, but here
are some recent
presidential
election statis-
tics anyway: 96
percent of black
voters voted for
Barack Obama DAR-WEI
in 2008, 88 per- CHEN
cent voted for
John Kerry in
2004 and 90 percent voted for Al
Gore in 2000. Many theories have
been thrown around to explain this
phenomenon, and this year, Herman
Cain is joining in saying, "African
Americans have been brainwashed
... not even considering a conserva-
tive point of view" in an interview
with CNN last week. Does Cain's
"brainwashed" theory make sense?
The extent to which blacks support
Democrats is pretty staggering, after
all, Kerry received roughly the same
level of support from voters in his
own party at 89 percent!
Cain's theory implies that African
Americans aren't paying attention
to policy - voting blindly for Demo-
crats instead of voting for the party
that represents their interests. Noth-
ing could be further from the truth.
Consider this: According to Ford
School of Public Policy's National
Poverty Center, 27.4 percent of
blacks lived in poverty in 2010,
including a sickening 38.2 percent
of black children (both of these rates
are substantially higher than the
national average). Which political
ideology has stood up for the poor in
recent years? On one hand, Repub-
lican presidential candidates Mitt
Romney, Rick Perry and Michele
Bachmann have all said that the tax
base needs to be broadened because
many lower-income Americans
don't pay any income taxes (wait, I
thought they despise raisingtaxes...)

- as if those struggling Americans
are really in a position to help with
the economy. According to the GOP,
the people living in poverty are in
a better position to contribute to
taxes than the wealthiest among us.
On the other hand, the Democrats
have consistently held that the rich-
est Americans shouldn't get massive
tax breaks that ordinary Americans
don'tget. Theyhave also maintained
that at a time when many in the poor
and middle class are barely staying
afloat, government programs target-
ed at helping those people shouldn't
be cut unless the richest Americans
first pay their fair share of taxes.
If African Americans are aided by
liberal policy, and the Democratic
Party is the liberal party right now,
African American votes for Demo-
cratic candidates aren't surprising
at all.
Economics isn't even the whole
story. Throughout history, liber-
als have been consistently more
sympathetic toward social injus-
tices than conservatives. Affirma-
tive action, for example, is a liberal
idea. Democrats generally believe
that affirmative action is necessary
to compensate for discrimination
against affected minorities and pop-
ulation subgroups. The GOP seems
to believe that racism in America is
gone now and that everyone has a
level playing field. No more racism
in the age of Obama, right? I'll tell
you what - when African Ameri-
cans start to receive mortgage loans
at the same interest rates that whites
do (according to a study by the Hous-
ing Center in Cleveland, 58.7 percent
of upper-income blacks received
high-cost loans while 13.4 percent of
upper-income whites did), and when
African Americans are treated as
equals to whites on the road (blacks
caughtspeeding are ticketed at a 75.7
percent rate, compared with 66.6
percent of whites), then we can talk.
Perhaps African Americans are
also more likely to vote Democratic

because liberals tend to support
other subjugated minority groups,
and African Americans sympathize
with those people. Cain laments
about how blacks don'tembrace con-
servative views, but history shows
thatminorities have no other choice.
All the major social progress that
leads to a more inclusive America
has been spearheaded by liberals.
The civil rights movement, wom-
en's suffrage, repeal of "don't ask,
don't tell," acceptance of Muslims;
humane treatment of Hispanics and
the list goes on. Cain himself has
said in response to a question about
possibly appointing a Muslim to his
cabinet: "No, I will not ... there is
this attemptto gradually ease Sharia
law and the Muslim faith into our .
government. It does not belong in
our government." Can any African
American, knowing the pain of dis-
crimination, vote for someone like
Cain in good conscience?
Democrats
tend to protect
minority groups.
The GOP loves to talk about
Americans pulling themselves up by
their own bootstraps, but as Obama
has said before, you need boots first.
While the GOP is busy with its own
version of class warfare against the
country's neediest, Democrats are
promoting liberal policy to make
sure everyone gets a fair shot in life.
That, Mr. Cain, is the reason Afri-
can Americans are liberal. If you
think the GOP fights for minorities
as much as the Democrats do - fine,
that's your opinion. Just don't expect
African Americans to agree withyou.
-Dar-Wei Chen can be reached
at chendw@umich.edu.

The Mound Correctional Facility, which
currently holds 1,000 prisoners and costs
$32.6 million per year to operate, is set to close
in January 2012. The corrections department
will save up to $63 billion by 2013 by cutting
from its budget, which is largely funded by the
state rather than federal subsidies. Bids from
private corporations to run the Woodland
Center Correctional Facility: in Whitmore
Lake, which will hold mentally ill inmates, are
currently being discussed. In addition to clos-
ing the Mound facility, Republican Gov. Rick
Snyder hopes to implementa number of priva-
tization measures in the coming year, which
include the privatization of prison stores and
food services. Closing the facility will also
diminish revenue and jobs for the city and
nearby businesses.
Closing an entire facility isn't an effective
way for Michigan to reduce its corrections
budget. Instead, changing the operational
structure of the system and putting in place
the necessary procedures for closing prisons
would be more appropriate than privatizing

the system. Dangerous criminals should be
locked up in a more stable facility upon the clo-
sure of the Mound Correctional Facility while
criminals with less severe offenses should be
sent to rehabilitation centers to seek the help
they need. This will allow Michigan to dras-
tically reduce its corrections budget and treat
prisoners humanely.
Though Snyder has many privatization
initiatives in mind, these measures have the
potential to cause the mistreatment of prison-
ers. If companies take over, the treatment of
prisoners may be in jeopardy. These corpora-
tions operate for profit and there wouldn't
be any oversight to ensure the prisoners are
receiving proper care and food. It's important
that the care of prisoners be state regulated to
minimize the negative impacts that will result
from shutting down the facility.
The state needs to work on reducing the
correctional budget by changing the overall
system. State regulation should triumph over
privatization to ensure humane and just treat-
ment of those imprisoned.

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS:
Aida Ali, Michelle DeWitt, Ashley Griesshammer, Patrick Maillet,
Erika Mayer, Harsha Nahata, Emily Orley,
Teddy Papes, Timothy Rabb, Seth Soderborg, Andrew Weiner
What's another ,2,000 miles?


SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@MICHIGANDAILY.COM

The Students forLife exhibit
on the Diag was offensive

and the Rwandan G
To put it short,
gusted with your
actions. I understan
the issue you are;

TO THE DAILY: nothing wrong with
To the campus organization Students for son to use fear mo
Life and the representatives from the Center ism to bully indivi(
of Bio-ethical Reform: you believe. I beli
On Monday, I had the unfortunate oppor- to an opinion, whe
tunity of observing your display as I was choice, Democratc
walking through the Diag to my classes. tive or liberal. Bu
While I was not able to stop and chat with must be openly dis
any of the members in attendance, I assume dignity, not with sc
your massive posters conveyed your message If anything, I th
accurately. enced me to never1
What I saw was ultimately sickening and being associated w
offensive, and I'm talking about something sationalist, ignoran
other than the pictures of dead fetuses. If I than your picturesc
remember correctly, your organizations were Sincerely,
equating abortion to horrific tragedies such
as the Holocaust, the lynching of African Tobias Franz
Americans during times of racial oppression Engineeringjunior

enocide.
I am infuriated and dis-
organizations and their
nd you have passion about
advocating, and there is
h that. But there is no rea-
ngering and sensational-
duals into believing what
eve everyone has a right
ther it be pro-life or pro
or Republican, conserva-
t differences in opinion
cussed with respect and
are tactics or hype.
ink your booth has influ-
become pro-life, because
vith people who use sen-
.t tactics scares me more
of dead fetuses.

Amid the sustainability dis-
cussions happening around
the University, there are
events in motion
that have drum
circles every-
where up in , ,
arms. Trans-
Canada is cur-
rently in the
process of
having plans JOE
approved to SUGIYAMA
extend its Key-
stone pipeline
through parts of Montana, South
Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Okla-
homa and Texas. This move by the
Canadian company is under fire
by environmental groups across
the country and has been the
focal point of protests - resulting
in nearly 1,000 arrests - in our
nation's capital.
This issue dates back to 2008
whenthe first proposal forthe exten-
sion was given - the preliminary
approvals by the National Energy
Board followed in March 2010. Yet
with a final endorsement by Presi-
dent Barack Obama expected to be
handed down before the year's end,
environmental groups - like the
National Wildlife Federation - are
turning up the heat on the protests
and perhaps with good reason.
On Aug. 26 the United States State
Department issued its Final Envi-
ronmental Impact Statement (FEIS)
concerning precisely what the title
implies - the effect the Keystone
XL will have on the environment.
The report highlights topics such
as oil spill potential and response,
greenhouse gas emissions and the
effect the expansion will have on
the Northern High Plains Aquifer
system. Despite the extensiveness
of the report, it did little to sway
NWF's senior vice president Jim
Lyon, who claims the FEIS "still
fails to address the key concerns for
landowners and wildlife."
This may be somewhat true, but
I'm going to go out on a limb and
trust the State Department isn't

secretly trying to destroy the Great
Plains. The State Department has
covered most of its bases concerning
the potential effect of the Keystone
XL expansion. One of NWF's main
concerns - thoroughly addressed
in the FEIS - is the Northern High
Plains Aquifer system. This aquifer
system accounts for nearly 30 per-
cent of irrigation and agricultural
water supply in the U.S. and lies
directly beneath the proposed path
of the pipeline.
A failure in the Keystone XL
extension would undoubtedly have
a significant impact on the acute
region where the spill occurs, but
the State Department is certain that
an oil spill would not have a devas-
tating effect on the entire aquifer.
This conclusion is based on studies
of previous spills occurring in loca-
tions with similar relationships to
aquifer systems. In these cases, only
limited regions of the aquifers were
affected. The State Department
goes on to say "in no spill incident
scenario would the entire North-
ern High Plains Aquifer system be
adversely affected."
The various environmental con-
cerns of the NWF are warranted,
but based on the extent of the FEIS,
it seems like the State Department
has done its homework. Naturally,
reservations will always linger in the
minds of those hell-bent on saving
the environment, but in this case the
reward appears to outweigh the risk.
Part of the reward is an ener-
gized economy. The $7 billion proj-
ect would create nearly 20,000
job opportunities during the con-
struction and operation phases of
Keystone XL. This alone might be
enough to get the seal of approval
from Obama. The U.S. already has
200,000 miles of existing pipelines
that supply thousands of jobs and
deliver a product that we can't seem
to live without - what's another
2,000 miles of pipes?
The U.S. should be devoting a
large sum of money toward the
research and development of a sus-
tainable energy source, but that

doesn't change the fact that our
country runs on petroleum. Though
it would be nice to one day live in
a zero-emissions world, the fact
remains that such a world doesn't
exist and probably won't for quite
some time.With that in mind, it ends
up being economically and - believe
it or not - ecologically friendly to
spend money on improvingthe oil
distribution system, which in the
long run will cut down costs and
emissions associated with the trans-
portation of oil.
Your Prius can't
run on sun and
rainbows forever.
Another pessimism associated
with Keystone XL is the idea that
the extended pipeline is going to
increase America's dependence on
oil. That's like saying if a drug dealer
moves next door to a crackhead,
the latter is going to become more
of an addict. Not true. It just allows
the crackhead to get his fix with-
out going to the shady part of town.
For a country that already imports
10 of its 15 million barrels of oil per
day, we should certainly be looking
for ways to better interact with our
polite neighbors to the north, and
distance ourselves from an increas-
ingly tumultuous Middle East.
There is no clear answer to the
Keystone XL pipeline dilemma, and
though the project isn't set in stone,
it seems inevitable. You can talk all
you want about the negative impact
this pipeline is going to have, but in
the end, even your Prius can't run
on sunshine and rainbows forever.
TransCanada has its shovel ready to
break ground on the project, and it
might be time for the opposition to
stop kidding itself.
Joe sugiyama can be reached
at jmsugi@umich.edu.


Learn aboutgenocides before
making false comparisons

tance: The Wartim
ish Partisan Faye Sc
Graduate Library. H
annual Raoul Wallet
recalls efforts to save

TO THE DAILY: currently being syste
Yesterday's anti-abortion display in the ing actual genocide.
Diag serves as an affront to those on campus folks will find these e
passionate about putting an end to actual your quest to end a "
genocide. As columnist Harsha Nahata elo- meet up at one of th
quently put it (Engage in meaningful debates, common ground? M
10/4/11), comparing abortion to the Holo- presume your seatsM
caust is both nonsensical and offensive.
For those who spearheaded this display I Brianna Knoppow
challenge you - attend the "Pictures of Resis- Rackham student

e Photographs of Jew-
hulman" in the Hatcher
ear a speaker during the
nberg lecture as he or she
African citizens who are
matically murdered dur-
Surely you anti-abortion
vents just as important in
genocide." Maybe we can
ese events and find some
ore than likely though, I
will be empty.

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