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Daily Daily
Disclaimer: If you intend to be offended in any way by the following post, please skip over it and move on to the next one. This is an individual viewpoint. It is only the opinion of its author (Joe S). It is neither endorsed by nor represents the views of the College Democrats at the University of Michigan, the Michigan Federation of College Democrats, the Michigan Democratic Party, or the Democratic National Committee.
1. There’s an above-the-fold picture of some guy buying potatoes. While the photo itself is just mediocre, the root of the problem it that this guy’s purchase does not concern me in any way. What does buying potatoes have to do with anything? It might have been interesting if the guy was Ralph Williams, Juan Cole, or Sam Marvin, but it wasn’t.
2. Rich people might donate less to charity if Obama reduces their tax deductions on charitable donations. It’s a reasonably well-written article that has currency here at the University. Let’s be sure to convince Stephen M. Ross to make a donation to LSA before the change takes effect. (I’m sure we could promise not to build an orange building!)
3. Nick Sheridan allegedly broke his leg. Rich Rodriguez can pass him over if necessary, because we have some new QB recruit.
4. Crime Notes: Someone damaged a piano in MoJo.
5. The editorial laments the loss of the Ann Arbor News and challenges the quality of online journalism. Typical. Nose-in-the-sky print reporters think they’re better than bloggers. And excuse me, but Kicking Ass Ann Arbor is as fine a news source as any.
6. There is an op-ed by Ibrahim Kakwan that defended child labor. It started off by arguing that it is better to have children work in factories than work as prostitutes. Okay, I agree with that. But then it went on to maintain that child labor is good, because “it makes things cheaper for Americans.” Sorry, Mr. Kakwan–that’s one of the most depraved arguments I’ve ever seen in an op-ed. Shame on you.
7. There’s an article about hockey. I know this is probably blasphemous here in Michigan, but I don’t follow hockey and don’t know anything about the sport. As my goal is not to embarrass myself, I’ll merely acknowledge that there was an article about it on page 5A and not make any effort to score points by attempting discuss it.
8. I forced myself to read the “the fashion b-side.” This is the first time I’ve ever read the Daily’s arts section; now I know I wasn’t missing much. It was just several pages of pictures of random people. Not that I don’t see hundreds of random people on the Diag every day, or anything. I probably won’t ever bother to read it again.
9. There was only one sudoku. There are usually more. How puzzling.
Posted in Blog, Daily Daily
Tagged Child Labor, Daily Daily, DPS, fashion, football, obama, Potatoes, Puns, Sam Marvin, Social Justice, Sudoku, taxes
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Inside the Beltway
The District of Columbia’s nearly-600,000 residents pay federal taxes like all other Americans (except perhaps the few politicians who forget) and serve on federal juries and in the nation’s armed forces. Despite fulfilling these responsibilities of citizenship, however, citizens living in the so-called “capital of the free world” are denied voting representation in Congress.
Congress is currently considering the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act (in the House as H.R. 157 and the Senate as S. 160), which would help remedy the situation by granting the District of Columbia voting representation in the House of Representatives. The bill is a political compromise that aims to attract Republican support to granting the heavily-Democratic District of Columbia a seat in the House. The bill would expand the House to 437 members, with one of the new seats going to the District of Columbia and the other going to heavily-Republican Utah, which is currently next in line to receive an additional House seat.
An effort to pass a similar bill failed in the 110th Congress. The bill passed the House, but fell three votes short of overcoming a Republican-led filibuster in the Senate. With expanded Democratic majorities in both houses in the 111th Congress, however, the bill is very likely to pass. It is likely to come to a floor vote in the House sometime this month. It passed the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs today by an 11-1 vote (Senator John McCain cast the single vote against the bill) and will likely come to a vote in the full Senate later this year.
Watch Colbert’s take on DC voting rights.
UPDATE: According to the AP, a preliminary Senate vote has been scheduled for February 24.
Coolest. Chart. Ever.
This chart, from WaPo, is a comparison of Barack Obama and John McCain’s tax plans, showing how each plan will affect the amount of taxes people in each income group pay.
For people who prefer colorful images to long descriptions and numbers, let this one quickly lay to rest the assertion that McCain’s tax plan is better for the middle class.
*UPDATE*: Alan Greenspan has already come out against McCain’s tax plan:
“I’m not in favor of financing tax cuts with borrowed money.”
I know. It seemed like such a great idea to me too.
Posted in Barack Obama, Blog, Economy, John McCain
Tagged Add new tag, Barack Obama, John McCain, taxes
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Bonus Quote of the Day | Campus Edition
I would like to bring you a very special Bonus Quote of the Day from our very own University of Michigan College Republicans. Today our dual viewpoints ran in the Michigan Daily… There was a glaring contradiction in the explanation of John McCain’s economic policy – take a look.
First.
Low taxes are essential to creating this pro-growth environment. That’s why McCain has pledged to make permanent the tax cuts passed in 2001 and 2003.
Secondly,
McCain has made a career of being a maverick reformer, fighting wasteful spending that costs American taxpayers billions of dollars and breeds record-high deficits and corruption. He broke with his party in 2001 and 2003 to oppose the tax cuts because they would lead to greater deficits.
So which is it? Did he oppose them before he supported them? Where does John McCain stand on the economy?
Posted in Blog, College Republicans, Quote of the Day
Tagged College Republicans, John McCain, taxes
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The Siege of House Speaker Dillon
One result of the 2006 election was that Andy Dillon (D-Redford Township) became the Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives. One result of the 2007 budget battle was a recall campaign aimed at several legislators across the state that voted for the budget agreement, which included some tax increases.Â
Now, most of the recall campaigns have fizzled into oblivion, except the one to recall House Speaker Andy Dillon.Â
The recall campaigns have been financed and led by Leon Drolet - familiar from the Prop 2 fight and director of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance – who has taken it on as a personal battle against Dillon. The mood on the ground in Redford Township has become increasingly hostile as petitioners have taken to the streets in droves to gather the necessary signatures before thursday. Besides carting in outside petitioners, the Drolet campaign has been caught paying citizens to sign the petition. The article in the Detroit Free Press describes the situation as…Â
On the streets of Redford Township and Dearborn Heights, it has been a seething, name-calling scrum of public rallies, court fights, verbal confrontations and charges of deception, law-breaking and police harassment.
This campaign really comes down to a symbolic fight over the future of the State of Michigan. On one hand are the politics of a conservative ideology that led this state into its current economic and financial mess. On the other hand is the legitimization of the Democratic majority in their battle to fix Michigan. A blow against Speaker Dillon would be a symbolic blow against the entire party and the gains it made in the 2006 election.Â
Last week we heard about an ugly bill that Speaker Dillon was bringing to the House floor concerning abortions. This bill was not only a bill to force rank-and-file Democrats into putting down a vote, but test for Speaker Dillon to see 1) if he would bring it to the floor and 2) how he would vote. His district is far from being a safe Democratic seat, and forcing him to take a stand on worthless bill like that is another tool in the Republican cache. Bringing the fall of Andy Dillon, a potential Democratic gubernatorial candidate, would be a prize for a Republican Party that has seen nothing but failures in the state of Michigan as the voters reject their ideology.Â
The drive to recall Andy Dillon must be defeated. The tactics of the petitioners are eerily similar to Florida 2000, Ohio 2004, and Prop 2 2006… all maneuvers by the Republican Party to take power at any cost. Â Â
Posted in Blog, Democratic Party, Elections, State Legislature
Tagged 2006, 2008, 2010, Andy Dillon, Leon Drolet, MCRI, michigan, Prop 2, taxes
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