“Ward Connerly envisions a perfect world, where there’s equal access to education and hate crimes don’t exist. Ward Connerly lives in a dream world, but we live in California.”
– CA state Assemblyman Mark Leno

Although Mr. Leno was talking about Ward Connerly’s Proposition 54 in California, I think the comment could also apply to Michigan, where he’s pushing a ban that would prohibit the government from using affirmative action. As a reminder Michigan is also unlike his dream world, just this summer Benton Harbor was scarred by rioting and the otherwise conservative Detroit News has joined liberals to support affirmative action because racial division happens to make poor business sense. In California, Connerly already passed Prop. 209 that banned affirmative action by the government of that state or at their public universities. Prop. 54 is a racial information ban that would forbid government from asking anyone about their race, on the ballot in November. From TomPaine.com:

“We have said the initiative and language is deceitful and misleading,” said Paul Turner, a steering committee member. “It is a mockery of the civil rights movement. It’s intended to appeal to mainstream white voters that this is something they can support and feel good about, without any guilt or responsibility to be inclusive on racial matters.”

“Once people read this [ballot measure], they don’t bother to educate themselves,” he said. “People want to believe it, but it’s not true.”

Howard Dean is planning a $1 million in TV ads to air in six states. In the ad, which has not yet been shot, Dean will tell Americans:

“I opposed the war with Iraq, when too many Democrats supported it, because I want a foreign policy consistent with American values,” the script says. “As governor, I created jobs, balanced budgets and made sure every child in my state had health insurance. As president I’ll make sure every American does too.

“Visit my Web site, join my campaign,” he will say, with the Web address and toll-free number displayed prominently on screen. “Together we can take our country back.”

I suppose America has been ruled by right-wing wealthy white men for so long that the minute a moderate says “I won’t kill your children in an imperialist war to benefit my friends in the oil industry, and I won’t deprive the most vulnurable members of our society healthcare” frustrated liberals open up their checkbooks and dance in the streets. Meanwhile, what’s wrong with a single-payer system of healthcare like the one proposed by Clinton in 1992? Why isn’t Dean talking about campaign finance reform – in my mind, still badly needed? Why isn’t Dean talking about gun control? Oh, that’s right – the NRA gives him an ‘A’ rating. Luckily the Wall Street Journal thinks he’ll be “pulling a George McGovern” mostly because they’re hand-wringing over his claims he would repeal the Bush-era tax cuts. Maybe somebody should remind them that for most voters – even the upper-middle class – the tax cut was something of a joke, a few hundred dollars at most. Maybe the Journal should look harder, I’m sure they’d be able to find something to celebrate:

From last September:
“I’m much more conservative than President Bush is when it comes to money,” Dean said by phone last week. He added that in his campaigns for governor, he has always enjoyed the support of the National Rifle Association.

‘Michigan is at the center of it all’

The Detroit News ran a lengthy piece today about the anticipation leading up to the admissions policy the University is expected to release, if the newspaper is to be believed, this week. The university plans to apply the new policy for the class entering January 2004. However, were there’s smoke, opportunistic Trotskyite organizers aren’t far behind:

“Luke Massie, a national leader for Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), said groups like his, which have organized students in support of affirmative action, will be closely monitoring the new system.

Officials said they strive to enroll a student body that is academically excellent and diverse, something that will not change. But enrollment of specific groups varies from year to year depending on the characteristics of the applicant pool.

Meanwhile, the article interviews one person who seems to have put their finger on an important issue. The points system was a secret until a FOIA request by Carl Cohen forced the University to make it public, and the result of the supreme court striking it down is that the University can create a new, secret policy. One positive outcome of the lawsuit is that everybody knew exactly what the policy was, although I find it hard to believe the FOIA requests won’t quickly follow the announcement of a new policy:

“”For critics of affirmative action, this might be worse,” said Samuel Issacharoff, a Columbia University law professor who represented the University of Texas in a case that temporarily banned the use of affirmative action in Texas.

“One of the odd things about the two decisions is that they reward nontransparency,” Issacharoff said. “The undergraduate admissions program had transparency. This is a consequence … they now won’t be able to easily ascertain what they’re doing.”

> From Det. News: “U-M readies new policy”

I’ve recieved the first feedback to my ‘Inside the Daily’ series:

“just wanted to let you know that i’m looking forward to your daily manifesto. i wrote for arts from [late 1990s] and while arts is certainly a different beast than news, edit and sports (who, of course, segregated and made it a different beast), the politics within the section and endemic to the paper at large often bothered me. that, and the utter lack of control, and worse, lack of teaching and nurturing practiced by editors there. (have they brought back a copy desk? they should. valuable skill that i wish i had.) but i often wonder if the daily is really any different than any other university paper, and the truth is i don’t know; politics are everywhere, but quality can exist independent of internal catfights.

[name withheld at request of author]“

Long-time Detroit News Columnist George Cantor has been fired after nearly 40 years of service under unclear circumstances. In 1998, Cantor’s daughter Courtney died after falling out of a window in Mary Markley Hall, and an autopsy revealed the date-rape drug GHB in her blood stream. Cantor made a $100,000 settlement in a lawsuit with the University, and also sued the fraternity Phi Delta Theta, where he alleged she had been drugged. The frat was shut down at Michigan but is now attempting to re-start their chapter here.

ITCS has announced they are now blocking the Sobig.f virus sent to any “@umich.edu” email address, and “ITCS is very close to implementing a full antivirus blocking capability for the umich.edu mail-relay hosts. We will inform the campus as soon as we have this capability in place.” They are also warning people who purchased services from them that a server containing credit card information was broken into, although they don’t believe the information was accessed.

Articles of note:
> “It’s move-in time again”
> Local Mars Viewing Information
> “Patriot act stirs vigorously held opinion”

I’ve spent most of today putting the finishing touches on what will hopefully prove the last word for me about the Michigan Daily: a special week-long series titled “Inside the Daily.” I’ve posted an introduction and a listing of what to expect – I’ll be posting it in five sections the week of September 1 through the 5th.

> Read the introduction to “Inside the Daily” here