VIEWPOINT *BUSH VS. KERRY - VS. NADER The Michigan Daily - Monday, August 9, 2004 - 5 A different angle SAM SINGER T AKE Two BY JARED GOLDBERG Recently, independent candi- date for president Ralph Nader appeared on Bill Maher's new show, "Real Time with Bill Maher," along with Michael Moore, former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell and Con- gressman David Dreir (R - Calif.). Toward the end of the show, Nader, who wasn't actually on the panel, made his appear- ance as a "special" guest. After Michael Moore and Bill Maher got down on their hands and knees and begged Nader not to run, Campbell gave him sound advice: "A vote for a third party here does not translate into any seats, into any say ... and if you help somebody win, then you're still a player. And the people who look to you get to be players." In parliamentary systems that exist in countries like Canada, France and a host of others, the people cast votes for political parties, not candidates. Enough votes for a single party entitle that party to gain seats in that country's legis- *ature. In countries like that, peo- ple like Ralph Nader are beneficial to democracy. Votes for a third party can allow that third party to gain seats in a par- liament and affect change, just the kind of involvement Ralph Nader wants here. Here's the problem: our electoral system does not favor third parties. In our country, we elect candidates, not parties. Unless a third party eets a majority of the votes, the otes for that third party are wasted. They do not get third par- ties seats in Congress. If the goal is to send George W. Bush back to Crawford, Texas, then Ralph Nader should heed the advice of Michael Moore and Bill Maher and not run in this election. Nader's flirtations with anti- Semitism aside, he has a message *nany Americans understand. He has spent a good portion of his life as a consumer advocate, challeng- ing the corporate world and its vast corruption. He has staunchly called for the prosecution of cor- porate criminals and believes both the Democrats and the Republi- cans have become lap-dogs for corporations and the corporate elite. Those in power need to respect the views and the will of the people they govern, not just those with money. Back in 2000, Nader's campaign for president was a useful one and provided an interesting alternative to the two parties. Four years after George W. Bush was appointed by the Supreme Court, all have seen the terrible mess that he has left in his wake. He sent our country to war based on false information, has proposed adding a gay marriage amendment to the Constitution and in effect discriminating against ordinary Americans sim- ply because of their sexual orien- tation, has withdrawn from the Kyoto Protocol which could be disastrous environmentally, pushed the Bill-of-Rights-crush- ing Patriot Act through Congress and gave the rich a tax cut in the hundreds of billions of dollars in the middle of the war, among other incredibly bad things. We no longer have the luxury of choos- ing the lesser of two evils. Because of our electoral system, votes for Nader are not beneficial to the ultimate goal of making George W Bush a one-term Presi- dent. I hereby give my own per- sonal request to Ralph Nader: You and Bill Maher are right; the Democrats can be just as bad as the Republicans sometimes. But, in order to beat George Bush, we need all the votes we can. So I beg you. I implore you: please do not run for President. Unless you want another four years of GW, I sug- gest you heed my advice as well. Goldberg is an LSAjnioranda member of the Dailys editorial board. The West A f r i c a n Republic of Mali is situated in the arid Sahel region, where the southern edge of the Sahara meets the sprawling savannahs. Insidious deforestation and soil erosion has accentuated the severity of the dry season, bringing acute droughts and dangerous dust storms to the pre- dominantly rural population. Perpetual famine, raging epidemics and contami- nated groundwater supplies have taken enormous tolls on average life spans. It is in these onerous conditions that the Malian farmer toils the parched land to cultivate the nation's principal cash crop - cotton. On a daily basis, workers of all walks of life endure the scorching cotton fields and congested processing plants in antici- pation of their meager compensations. In 2003, the average laborer in Mali earned an astonishing 82 cents per day and accumu- lated an annual income of $300. These extraordinarily cheap wages, combined with a relatively conducive farming climate have allowed Mali to export high volumes of cotton at prices close to the market floor. One third of Mali's population relies on cotton exports as their primary source of income. Minimal earnings from cotton production complement subsistence farm- ing to aid Malians in their battle against resource scarcity and destitution. Accord- ingly, poverty levels have been strongly correlated with the health of the cotton market. Between 1993 and 1998, a period of price stability and steady production outputs in Mali, poverty levels decreased by at least 8 percent in cotton-growing dis- tricts. One of the world's 10 poorest nations, Mali's undeveloped infrastructure has stalled any significant growth and cre- ated a dangerous reliance on commodity exports to sustain the well being of an extremely anemic economy. Already severely impoverished, the fate of Mali's continued existence dangles from the fick- le thread of global demand. Meanwhile, back in the heartland of America, state-of-the-art irrigation pumps shower acres of cotton while satellite-guid- ed combines roam the fields, harvesting dozens of crop rows at a time. Indeed, the face of modern day agriculture in the Unit- ed States is a far cry from its pitiable self- portrait imbedded within the 2002 Farm Bill. The heartwarming image of the self- sufficient farmer, plow in hand, which once personified the U.S. agriculture industry has been replaced by Agro-conglomerates and their fleets of John Deere tractors. What stimulated this rapid innovation and consolidation? Was it the market's demon- stration of comparative advantage and pro- duction efficiency? Quite the opposite. U.S. cotton farmers are leaning on a 1.5 billion dollar government crutch - a state- controlled respirator for an industry that should have died from natural causes decades ago. Government subsidies allow the U.S's 25,000 cotton farms to compete (and in most cases out-compete) with naturally cheaper foreign exports. Since grant distri- bution is more often than not determined by output levels, itis the large agro-busi- nesses, not the individual farmers, who col- lect the majority of the funds. Combine inexpensive production costs with conve- nient export subsidies, and you have high volumes of discounted U.S. cotton drown- ing foreign markets and putting downward pressure on global prices. This market dynamic was responsible for stripping Mali of $43 million in exportrevenues in 2001. Doesn't hit home? Trade justice and references to international ethics too pedes- trian? For those who feel that the conven- tional arguments against farm subsidies are inadequate or exhausted, consider this: despite widespread poverty, Mali remains a functioning democracy. Freedom House characterizes the country's electoral process as competitive and participatory - a legitimately fair system. One more thing: Mali is at least 80 percent Muslim. In the eyes of the U.S., these two traits make Mali a global prototype for the successful syn- thesis of democracy and Islam - a citadel of hope in an increasingly volatile region. Yet a U.S.-led campaign against Islamic fundamentalism, a dogma that is fueled by economic hardship and its attendant acri- mony, cannot credibly coexist with internal policies that continue to drive developing nations towards the margins of poverty. Perhaps an obstructed War on Terror will be the catalyst needed to draw the attention this issue deserves. Singer can be reachedat singers@umich.edu. Flyering: a brief introduction ELLIOTT MALLEN iR-TIONAL EXUBEANCE WWW.MICHIGANDAILY.COM SAM BUTLER 'it . S'ABoX gS V~I a1-ei-+ ruh en , en-rerft-ers get FOR ito pol+ics Arnol d&The Gipper discoss +h colcerts for Kerttj have a confession to make. It's a con- fession that will bring me such scorn, such contempt, such disdain that I might as well be traipsing about town with a giant red letter on my chest. I a am a person you see every day. You've learned to ignore me, you've learned to avoid me or you've learned to just bite the bullet and deal with me. I am someone who habitually hands out flyers on the Diag. Flyering is not easy to learn and is especially difficult to master. Just finding a cheap place to get flyers is a daunting task. While you could go to Kinko's to crank out hundreds of festively-colored advertise- ments, this can cost upwards of seven cents a sheet. Itsis much cheaper to take advan- tage of our University's abundant resources and find a poorly-guarded copy machine abandoned in some remote corner of an even more remote department. The lack of reliability that comes with using a 20-year old machine made by a long-dead compa- ny is more than made up for by the non- existent costs. Once you've got a giant stack of paper, stake out a spot on the Diag. While it seems logical to stand in the center near the M so as to reach more people, this is not the case. Seeing as pedestrians act as if they and the flyerer are two similarly- charged magnets, giving them less room is desirable. There are four main choke points on each corner of the Diag where the walk- ways merge into the brick-paved gathering place in front of the Grad Library. Standing in the center can result in becoming over- whelmed and disoriented by targets mov- ing in all directions, inevitably causing the flyerer to collapse into fetal position, weep- ing pitifully. Covering the choke points means that you'll only deal with traffic coming from two directions, giving you the ability to remain focused and relatively sta- tionary while pedestrians have no choice but to confront you. Gangs of four are especially efficient, as you can put one person at each choke point. This way, pedestrians passing through the Diag will have to confront at least two people handing out your flyer, doubling your chances of success. Also, exposing people to more than one flyer dis- tributor ensures that personal biases won't prevent someone from taking your flyer. Uncomfortable with approaching an ex- significant other or that one guy from you knew from high school who was a lot cool- er than you then but is still struggling to adapt, having fallen several rungs from the top of the social ladder? Not a problem: your cohort down the sidewalk will take care of it. There are many types of people you'll come across while flyering. There are peo- ple who start talking louder and with greater urgency into their cell phones as they walk by you, sending the impression that their conversation about whether Pancheros or Big Ten is the superior burrito place is infinitely more important than your piece of paper. There are people with little white iPod earphones who suddenly become so engrossed in their music that their eyelids start to droop and they focus directly ahead, losing so much control of their other senses in their state of indie rock bliss that they lack the ability to notice you. There are rival flyerers who will pretend to be extremely interested in your event and then try to talk you into coming to theirs instead. And, if your flyers are politically motivated, you'll meet people who are interested in you only because they want to prove how wrong you are. All of these people are easily dealt with. The cell phone and iPod people aren't going to listen to you: just make sure they grab a flyer. Keep your conversations with the rival flyerers short yet courteous. When dealing with those who disagree with your politics, it's helpful to have a low-power cattle prod nearby. Littering the sidewalk with the twitching bodies of your ideologi- cal foes will encourage potential debaters to just keep on walking. Flyering is an art that is not just under- appreciated; it's not appreciated at all. It requires more tact and strategizing than simply standing on a sidewalk and stick- ing pieces of paper in people's faces. With patience and practice, you too can get people to not only acknowledge your exis- tence but also half-heartedly take interest in what you're trying to pitch for two- thirds of a second. Mallen can be reached at emmallen@umich.edu.