McGuinn sauntered on
stage playing Bob Dylan's "My Back
Pages" and I was transported back to the mid-Sixties, sitting in my
cousin's house watching "Hootenanny" on TV, and
thinking how cool that one Byrd was, not only because of his long hair
and hippie clothes but because of those little tinted glasses that
perched so cooly on the bridge of his nose.
It may be time for a new slogan for Michigan Democrats. How
about "Taking Irrelevancy and Illogic to New Heights"?
The
state legislators who took months to balance the state budget (with a
plan they promptly had to change) are now on the brink of failing to
find a way to conduct a do-over Democratic primary election.
Hillary
Clinton was to make a hastily arranged appearance in Detroit today to
argue for going ahead with a proposal to hold a primary June 3. But
Barack Obama's campaign and several state lawmakers have concerns about
the plan, and the clock is ticking. The legislature has to take action
by Thursday, before it begins a two-week break.
As proposed,
anyone who voted in the Republican presidential primary would be banned
from voting again in the June 3 Democratic one. That could cost Obama
more votes than Clinton. He, along with all of the other major
Democratic candidates (except Clinton), withdrew from the January
primary. He also has generally run stronger than Clinton among
Republicans and independents willing to cross party lines. So more of
his potential voters are likely to be ineligible to vote in June.
On
the other hand, at least Republicans couldn't flock to the polls to
make mischief on another Democratic primary like they did in Texas and
Ohio (see posting below).
Of course, all this would never have
happened if Michigan Democrats hadn't so eagerly embraced the cockeyed
idea of moving their primary to January in the first place. The idea
that Michigan would somehow be more relevant by holding its primary
sooner was illogical, given that you can't predict how a primary season
will unfold.
Besides, although Iowa and New Hampshire may get
more attention because they have long been the first votes of the
primary season, their real influence is measured in convention
delegates, not attention. Combined, they'll have 87 delegates at this
year's presidential convention. Michigan would have had 156.
If the legislature doesn't approve the June 3 do-over by Thursday, we
may end up with none. Now, that's irrelevancy.
Michigan Democratic
Chairman Mark Brewer told the Associated Press that he's sorry
some Democrats might not be able to vote if there is a do-over.
"I regret that that might be the case, but it's a national party rule
and we have no choice but to follow it," he said.
Just like we had to follow the rule about not holding a primary before
Iowa and New Hampshire ...
Barack Obama gave a major
speech
on race yesterday in the wake of publicity over comments made by his
former pastor (see posting below). If the speech doesn't quiet
criticism, maybe he can announce that he's just discovered that he's
been spelling his last name wrong all these years. He's really Barack
O'Bama, just another Black Irishman from Chicago.
Just wondering: If
Obama is elected president will we have to change the name of the White
House?
If you want to see
a well-reasoned and well-written opinion on what the United States
should do as the war in Iraq starts its sixth year, an editorial in
Tuesday's Orangeburg Times and Democrat of Orangeburg, S.C. spelled it
out very well. You can read it at:
timesanddemocrat.com/articles/2008/03/18/opinion/13011538.txt.
Opinion
Artilleryj
|
MICHIGAN
Click on a headline from the archive or scroll down through the stories below it.
October 30, 2008 Poll shows Rogers is vulnerable John Beckett, Opinion Artillery Could Democrat Bob Alexander unseat U.S. Representative Mike Rogers from what is generally regarded as his safe seat in Congress? A new poll says it’s possible, especially if Barack Obama carries the district comfortably, as it projects he will.  Mike RogersThe district includes not only all of Livingston County but all of Clinton and Ingham counties, the southern portion of Shiawassee and the northern portion of Oakland counties. A Republican, Rogers has represented the district since 2001 and can count on strong support in LivCo and in most of the outlying areas. But in Ingham County, the most populous county in the district and the home of Michigan State University, things are much more tenuous. Although Rogers, of Brighton, has been endorsed by the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus, the district’s largest paper, the Lansing State Journal, recently endorsed Alexander. “There's no doubting that U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers is a personable, articulate representative for mid-Michigan in Washington,” the State Journal said. “However, Rogers, despite all of his skill, cannot overcome his own political choices, his own voting record. The Brighton Republican is far more in tune with the messages of the national Republican Party than the needs of mid-Michigan families. “By contrast, Democrat Bob Alexander of East Lansing wants to talk about health care; he wants to talk about jobs. Those two issues are of keen importance in 2008. ... the combo of Rogers and Washington has not worked out. As far back as 2004, an LSJ editorial stated, ‘He is not the moderate, independent-thinking Republican we hoped he would be ... that he appeared to be. Nor has he shown himself to be a fiscally principled conservative.’ “... Eighth District voters, though, should visit www.votesmart.org and look over Rogers' voting record. It is telling. Alexander does not have a voting record to review. Voters must rely on his stated intentions. He says he will be a leader in ending the war in Iraq and in expanding health-care coverage to uninsured and under-insured citizens. Those are issues that resonate locally. ... Mike Rogers has been a reliable vote for the Bush administration and its policies. That choice has not benefitted mid-Michigan. Bob Alexander will be a vote for doing things differently. And, in 2008, that's what mid-Michigan needs.” The phone poll, conducted by Christensen & Associates September 15-26, found that Rogers is vulnerable to defeat, with about two thirds of the voters in the district either ready to replace Rogers or undecided on whether to re-elect or replace him. The survey says the 8th District is positioned to vote Democratic at the top of the ticket, with 46% favoring Obama, 36% backing McCain, and 18% undecided. “Obama’s coattails can only help Alexander to unseat Rogers,” the Alexander campaign says. “Mike Rogers’ Bush Rubber-Stamp policy is inconsistent with the district, and a liability for his candidacy. When voters were told about Rogers’ strong support for President George W. Bush voters abandoned Rogers in favor of Alexander or (sic) to undecided. “Provided with balanced statements on both candidates, Rogers’ support dissolves, Alexander takes the lead. Voters are deeply troubled by Rogers’ strong support of President George W. Bush. Alexander takes a significant lead among voters; 51% to 31%, a large swing in support of Alexander.” The survey’s margin of error is +/-6.9 percentage points. October 2, 2008 Michigan senators split  on
bailout voteJohn Beckett, Opinion Artillery 10/2/08 -- Michigan’s Democratic senators split in Wednesday night's vote on the bailout package, with Sen. Carl Levin voting for it and Sen. Debbie Stabenow voting against it. Levin said, “The risks to the economy are just simply too great to let this continue to free fall. There’s too many people’s pensions and savings and businesses that could get wiped out." But Stabenow said in a statement the bill “did not do enough for the people of Michigan.” She added that the bill “is fundamentally the wrong approach to fixing our economy. We need to start from the root of the problem - helping families stay in their homes and keep their jobs.” Good for Stabenow. Although women of her age often have trouble maintaining sufficient calcium, her backbone seems to be getting stronger while Levin's continues to weaken. This is still a bad bill, putting taxpayers on the line to bail out greedy people who should've known better. Furthermore, taxpayers aren't getting enough in return, and the way markets rebounded Tuesday and performed faily well Wednesday may indicate that this crisis has, like the Iraq war, been sold more on emotion than reality. As Michael Moore writes, "The richest 400 Americans -- that's right, just four hundred people -- own MORE than the bottom 150 million Americans combined. 400 rich Americans have got more stashed away than half the entire country! Their combined net worth is $1.6 trillion. During the eight years of the Bush Administration, their wealth has increased by nearly $700 billion -- the same amount that they are now demanding we give to them for the "bailout." Why don't they just spend the money they made under Bush to bail themselves out? They'd still have nearly a trillion dollars left over to spread amongst themselves!" Moore, a true Michigan patriot, has his own 10-point bailout plan. I'm going to make a copy and send it to my congressman before Friday's vote, along with a message to vote against the bailout. I hope you'll consider doing the same.  Saturday,
August 9, 2008 Believe in magic? Sebastian and McGuinn still have it Soundtracks: Listen while you read For those of us who lived through them, and quite a few who came along later, the 1960s were a magical musical era. It was the decade of the Beatles and the birth of guitar-driven rock and roll as an entity distinct from the pop-toned version previously found on the Top 40. It also was the decade when a non-singer named Bob Dylan electrified folk music in more ways than one, giving the emerging guitar-based rock another direction in which to flow. You need not be a musical historian to realize that these developments laid the foundation for later artists like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the Eagles and Tom Petty, nor to appreciate this decade's historic influence on pop music in general. I was prompted to such profound thoughts Friday evening while reading Roger McGuinn's concert-program biography as I settled into a seat for the Michigan Theater's Legends of Rock and Roll show featuring McGuinn and John Sebastian. I had never made the connection between McGuinn, founder of the Byrds, and Petty. But as soon as I read it, I recognized its truth. Petty's ringing guitar licks are certainly the offspring of the Byrds' sound  Then Sebastian, founder of Lovin'
Spoonful, came on stage, smiling just
as impishly as he did 40-plus years ago, and I was promptly and
profoundly carried back to my teen years, and evenings spent exploring
my newfound right to drive a car around my little town while listening
to songs like "Do You Believe in Magic?" and "Mr. Tambourine Man."It was a marvelous way to spend an evening then, and it was a marvelous way to spend it Friday night. Sebastian in the Spoonful Sebastian's set featured a thorough if not complete sampling from The Spoonful catalog, including "Darling Be Home Soon," "Younger Girl," "Daydream," "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice," and "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" He also performed some blues and bouncy old-time numbers like Mississippi John Hurt's "I'm Satisfied," and he reprised his solo hit "Welcome Back," the theme from the 1970s TV show "Welcome Back Kotter." Time has taken its toll on Sebastian's voice, turning his distinctive twang a tad raspy, but he performs with enough good humor and enthusiasm, and with more than enough proficiency on the guitar, to make up for his vocal shortcomings.
A few minutes later,
McGuinn was
recalling how it was Sebastian who introduced him to what became his
signature specs. Sebastian called him outside one night in Sebastian also
contributed a
number of amusing and interesting anecdotes, such as how he admired the
songwriting of Motown's Holland-Dozier-Holland team and came up with
the basic chord structure of "Do You Believe In Magic" simply by
speeding up the chord progression behind a Martha and the Vandellas
hit. And McGuinn shared his tried-and-true formula for turning any song
into a hit: "Add a Beatle beat." Sebastian joined
McGuinn on a few
songs, adding some excellent harmonica work to blues songs like the
classic "St. James Infirmary." Then the rest of the show belonged to
McGuinn and his voice -- which has survived the decades quite well --
and to his picking, which remains astounding. He played electric guitar flawlessly on "Turn, Turn, Turn," and "Tambourine Man," and bounced among various acoustic guitars and even a banjo on tunes like "Chesnut Mare," "He Was a Friend of Mine," and "So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star." But the peak of the evening was when he announced that he was going to play something influenced by various artists and genres including John Coltrane and Andres Segovia, then launched into a killer acoustic rendition of "Eight Miles High." It was, as Ann Arbor News entertainment reporter Roger LeLievre described it, "simply mind-blowing, a mix of jazz, classical and rock all in the same amazing package." It was an outstanding
concert, typical of events at the Michigan Theater, which both
performers praised repeatedly.
Saturday, August 9, 2008 Detroit mayor needs to do the right thing When he was processed at the jail, the mayor was wearing a shiny gray suit with matching vest and a French-cuffed shirt with "Mayor" embroidered on the sleeves. -- Friday's Detroit Free Press And now he’s wearing an electronic tether. Probably not his preferred kind of bling, but maybe it matches the embroidery. It’s time for Kwame Kilpatrick to, as Spike Lee once said, do the right thing. Which in Kilpatrick’s case means resigning as mayor of Detroit. There’s no reason to think he sees it that way, judging from his recent behavior, but the reasons why he should are mounting almost by the hour. The developments of the last two days – Kilpatrick being jailed for violating his bond, banned from traveling outside of Detroit, ordered to wear an electronic monitor, and charged with two counts of felony assault by Michigan Attorney General Michael Cox – are almost impossible to ignore. But the actions that prompted these reactions – violating his bond and allegedly assaulting a Wayne County sheriff’s deputy – show that Kilpatrick is a man who thinks he can ignore any rules he wants to ignore. This is not a quality you want in an elected official. And the future doesn’t hold any promise that things will improve for Kilpatrick. He faces a potential 15-year prison term if convicted of perjury, obstruction of justice and official misconduct stemming from a sex scandal and his handling of a whistle-blower lawsuit. The new charges carry a maximum penalty of two years in prison. And Governor Jennifer Granholm has scheduled a September 3 hearing into a Detroit City Council petition to remove Kilpatrick from office. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors are investigating a $47-million-a-year sludge disposal contract involving Synagro Technologies of Houston, which the council approved last November. That investigation is part of a wider city government bribery probe that has included federal wiretaps of the mayor's father, Bernard Kilpatrick. This isn’t doing Detroit’s image any good. Crain’s Detroit Business reported Friday that at the first round of the 90th PGA Championship at Oakland Hills Country Club, talk about the mayor was overshadowing the event. “It’s unfortunate, the timing, while we have this great event in town,” said Renee Monforton, director of communications for the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau. Newspapers from Detroit to Gaylord are calling for Kilpatrick to resign, as are many leading figures in the state. “There's a saying that evil persists when good people say nothing. I'm hoping this opens the eyes of the business community, the religious community and all people of good will -- including those who love him -- to pressure him to leave office,” said the Rev. Samuel White III, pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Detroit. State Sen. Tupac Hunter, D-Detroit, practically begged Granholm to remove Kilpatrick from office: “This should be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Come on, what do you need?” He’s right. Granholm has seemed reticent to take action against Kilpatrick, probably because she doesn’t want to alienate his supporters from the Democratic Party. But if she waits much longer, she could be alienating many more voters. There’s a national political component, too. Because Kilpatrick is black, the longer he remains in the spotlight the more he may harm the chances of Barack Obama. There really is no meaningful link, just that both are black and both are Democrats, but Republicans won’t be reluctant to tie the two together. Obama needs to win Michigan in November, and his chances of doing that will be much better with Kilpatrick out of the way, Then there are the very real problems of Detroit, like a failing school system and the challenges of luring more new businesses, residents, conventions, etc. None of those things are helped by having Kilpatrick as mayor. Granholm isn’t seeking re-election this year. She wouldn’t be harming her political career or her party’s future by ousting Kilpatrick. In fact, the case against the mayor has now reached such critical mass that she would help both by dismissing him. The only defensible reason for delaying until after September’s hearing would be to make sure that she’s acting fairly and giving Kilpatrick a chance to address the accusations. If Granholm thinks that is the best way to proceed, so be it. But nobody could fault her for taking action now. In light of the sheer volume of charges, it seems trite to mention that Kilpatrick has not been convicted of any of these things. The presumption of innocence is a cornerstone of our legal system, and Kilpatrick is entitled to it just as much as anyone else. But he isn’t just anyone. He’s the mayor of the nation’s 11th-largest city and Michigan’s most important one. As mayor, he has certain responsibilities to the people of Detroit and certain conditions he must fulfill. One would think that not acting like an asshole is one of these responsibilities, and that doing so constitutes what is more politely called misconduct, for which he can be removed from office. He could do everyone a big favor by seeing the light and resigning. It might not be easy for him, just as it can’t be easy seeing his once-promising political career going down the tubes. But nobody – Spike Lee included – ever said doing the right thing is easy. It’s just right, and even Kwame Kilpatrick should be able to see that by now. Thursday, June 19, 2008 Stewart R. Mott: The passing of a progressive prince The death of Stewart R. Mott last week has occasioned far too little comment, especially by progressives. A philanthropist who gave much to progressive causes, Mott was a rare individual, the son of a top General Motors exec who chose to drive a battered Volkswagen, live part of his life on a Chinese junk, and raise a mini-farm with a chicken coop and compost pile above his Manhattan penthouse. He once held a party with an array of guests that included an elephant and two donkeys. Mott died Thursday night at age 70, the end of a life that included making large donations to progressive politicians like Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern, and to causes including birth control, arms control, feminism, civil liberties, abortion and governmental reform, gay rights and -- perhaps in keeping with his eccentric nature -- research on extrasensory perception. One of the names on former President Richard Nixon's "enemies list," Mott was once described by Nixon aide Charles W. Colson as "nothing but big money for radic-lib candidates." Colson, Nixon's chief counsel, subsequently served seven months in prison for obstruction of justice in the Daniel Ellsberg break-in and was disbarred. Meanwhile, Mott was called before the Senate Watergate Committee (which also was investigating so-called "political dirty tricks") -- and cleared of any wrongdoing. Mott
was a relentless advocate for transparency in government, financing or
starting the Center for
Defense Information, the Project on Military Procurement,
and the Fund
for Constitutional Government. When campaign finance reform
laws
enacted after Watergate limited the amounts he could donate personally,
he became a pioneer in raising political money through direct mail. He also was a "consistent supporter" of the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy, which said in a posting on its web site: "A man of many appetites, he seemed to derive pleasure from giving away money to support causes he believed in. Luckily for us, open and accountable government was one of those causes. For fifteen years, he sent us checks that helped anchor and sustain this Project and Secrecy News." Among Mott's appetites: radishes -- he said he stayed awake nights thinking of new varieties -- and sex. Once quoted as saying he'd had sex with 40 women in the last year, Mott publicly corrected the number to 20. He also was known to print the names of sex partners in newsletters. His father, Charles Stewart Mott, instrumental in expanding General Motors to Flint, Michigan, was one of the country's richest men, worth $500 million when he died. Stewart Mott often didn't see eye-to-eye with his father. But their philanthropy has been similarly positive. The elder founded the Flint-based Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, which had more than $2.6 billion in assets in 2006. It sponsors a variety of projects aimed at, among other things, "strengthening the nonprofit sector; promoting people’s rights, responsibilities and participation; and improving race and ethnic relations." The Mott
Foundation's impact is evident in
Brighton, with its highly successful Community Education
program that is modeled after the one founded by the foundation in
Flint in
the 1930s, and in similar programs throughout the United States and
Europe. Nonetheless,
Stewart Mott once described his father as "a zoo-keeper." They once
went a year without speaking (although they later reconciled). "The disadvantages of being wealthy are, in my experience, few," the son told Tim Weiner of the New York Times two years ago. If that conclusion seems transparent, so does this one: Stewart R. Mott did quite well, and much good, with his wealth. (For more, see
Douglas Martin's excellent article on Mott for the New York Times.)
Sunday, May 4, 2008Truth elusive in Roger's remarks Congressman preaches GOP's nonsense gospel If they weren’t coming from a congressman – our congressman – they would be laughable. Actually, the remarks made by U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, at the Livingston County Republican Party's annual Lincoln Day Dinner Friday evening still are ridiculous. But since he is our congressman, they also give us some insight into how his mind works and how he will campaign for re-election. According to the Livingston County (almost)-Daily Press & Argus, “Rogers stressed the importance of getting Americans to believe in America again and how Democrats' increased taxation and regulation are hindering the country's progress.” Last time I checked, Republicans still hold enough Senate seats to block any and all legislation, a Republican president still wields the power of veto, and Democrats do not have enough votes to override vetoes. And for most of the last seven years Democrats have had even less influence. So even if Democrats wanted to, they couldn’t have raised any taxes in the last seven years without Republican support. Which makes Rogers’ statement about “increased taxation” demonstrably false. Of course, Republicans see almost everything except war as increased taxation. In a December 2007 report blasting the current Congress as bad for business, the Republican Study Committee criticized (among a great many other things): * The hike in the minimum wage; * A law allowing the federal government to intervene in negotiations over the price Medicare pays for prescription drugs; * A law that raises taxes on oil companies and directs the proceeds toward renewable energy research; * And a law that allows shareholders of public companies non-binding votes on executive compensation (italics mine). Rogers also over-emphasized Democrats’ impact on increased regulation – only more so, since the president appoints department heads who oversee regulators and makes the budgets for the departments. And not only has the Bush administration come up with few new regulations, it’s been downright lame about enforcing regulations already on the books. Under the Bush administration, the number of prosecutions, new investigations and total convictions have all dropped by more than a third at the Environmental Protection Agency. Enforcement of civil rights cases has also dropped. As for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Bush has cut its budget (when adjusted for inflation) every year he’s been in office, its staffing levels have not kept pace with the growth in the American workforce, and government agencies conduct fewer than half the number of workplace inspections conducted 30 years ago. The result, as reported by the Office of Management and Budget, is predictable: “After three decades of significant progress, declines in workplace fatality rates have stagnated in recent years.” But Republicans such as Rogers, who have made lowering taxes one of their battle cries traditionally and especially in the past decade or so, never mention the valuable programs our taxes fund. Meanwhile, they want us to believe in America – and presumably to believe in them – despite all they’ve done to ruin it. Rogers said he was surprised during a visit with Okemos High School students that they seemed dejected with the state of the country. “They honestly believed the world was going to combust in 26 minutes. I was shocked — shocked, and said, oh, wow, what work do we have to do.’” Isn’t it shocking – shocking – that high school kids would feel less than sanguine about their country? What possible reasons could they have? Aside from seeing their parents laid off and struggling to avoid foreclosure, or seeing themselves struggling to afford college, or wondering where the hell they’re going to get jobs without college educations, or wondering what kind of jobs they’re going to get even with college degrees, or being disillusioned with the Iraq war and/or with adults apparently unable to rise above racism, or wondering where the hell they’re going to get a job this summer, I can’t think of any. But Republicans have little concern for such concerns. They accuse Barack Obama of looking at the world through “rose-colored glasses,” as Saul Anuzis, chairman of the state Republican Party, did Friday, while wearing spectacles that are more than a little tinted themselves. To them, the economy is sound, the mortgage meltdown no big deal, and the ongoing carnage in the Middle East progressing nicely. Their chief concern is getting Americans to believe it. “I think about Ronald Reagan, and I think one of the reasons he was so successful is because he made all of us believe in our country,” said Allan Filip, chairman of the Livingston County GOP. “It's important those kids in Okemos realize we live in the best country in the world.” First, Mr. Filip, Reagan didn’t enhance my belief in America. Second, although American ideals might be the best in the world, America in practice is something else. The best in the world? At what? Not health care, where we rank 37th according to the World Health Organization. Not in infant mortality, in which we rate second-worst in the developed world. Solar power? We’re a distant third behind Germany and Japan. Education? Among the world's 30 richest countries, our students are 17th in science and 24th in math. We do, however, lead the world in having the most people in prison. So I can see why you want to indoctrinate these kids while they’re still young. If you can’t get them to swallow your bullshit now, what chance is there they’ll do it when they’re more mature? Meanwhile, Rogers spouts nonsense like this: “The Democrats, instead of providing incentives and rewarding General Motors for producing a lithium-ion battery for cars, instead say ... we're going to tell you how to build your car.” This is at best an exaggeration. Even so, it says something about how Rogers will campaign in the fall. Not surprisingly, it looks like the truth won’t play a major role. Opinion
Artillery's Recommended Links
Sunday, April 27, 2008Detroit NAACP hosts real Rev. Wright Michigan, which hasn’t had much to be proud of lately, now can take pride in something besides the Detroit Red Wings. Our state can be proud that the Detroit chapter of the NAACP had the courage to invite the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the controversial former pastor to Sen. Barack Obama, to speak Sunday evening at the NAACP's annual Freedom Fund dinner. The Detroit chapter, which is the oldest chapter in the nation, once again demonstrated leadership by hosting Wright, who became a lightning rod for criticism when excerpts from some of his sermons critical of America were widely aired and discussed on TV news programs recently. His appearance – which drew an estimated 12,000 people to Cobo Hall – gave the former leader of 6,000-member Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago a chance to show people he’s not the wild-eyed radical portrayed by so much of the media. “I’m sorry your local political analysts are saying that I'm polarizing and my sermons are divisive,” he told the crowd. “I’m not here to address an analyst’s opinion. I stand here as one representative of African-American church tradition, believing that a change is going to come.” Speaking of Republican Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, who called him “divisive” during a recent forum attended by leaders of Detroit and Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties, Wright said, “I am not one of the most divisive. Tell him the word is descriptive.” The Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit NAACP chapter, said the group wanted to show people there’s more to Wright than the excerpts endlessly looped on TV. “... we knew that the looping was looping out the truth,” Anthony said. The choice of Wright was also designed to send a message about freedom of religion, he said. “We must not allow anyone to dictate what can come from the pulpit of African-American churches.” Those who couldn’t attend Sunday’s $150 a plate dinner or those who still harbor doubts about Wright can get an even better grip on the man by watching a rerun of Friday night’s Bill Moyers Journal on PBS. Moyers again showed why his program is one of TV’s best by conducting his typically solid interview. Or, read a transcript of the show at PBS.org and you’ll see that most of the media has been wrong about Rev. Wright. Wednesday, April 23, 2008Nice going, ladies Girl basketball players decline in wake of lawsuit Here's hoping the parents who sued the Michigan High School Athletic Association are happy. The fruits of their lawsuit are ripening, but the resulting smell is not pleasant. The numbers are in for participation in winter high school sports -- the first since the MHSAA had to switch several sports seasons to comply with rulings on the lawsuit -- and they're not good. The number of girls playing basketball dropped 4 percent to its lowest total since the MHSAA began tracking participation in 1991-92. Such a drop-off might not seem like much. But the trend had been steadily upward ever since high schools began offering girls sports back in the early 1970s to comply with the federal law known as Title IX. Meanwhile, the MHSAA is probably going to seek bankruptcy protection because of the $7 million cost of litigating the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. All this because a few female volleyball players from the western part of the state felt their chances for college scholarships were harmed by Michigan's high school seasonal alignment, which didn't mesh with the majority of states. It didn't matter that producing college-caliber athletes is not the primary purpose of high school sports. Or that only a tiny percentage of high school athletes, boys and girls, goes on to receive college scholarships. Or that the plaintiffs, even if playing "out of season" in high school, still had an excellent avenue to attract colleges' attention in Amateur Athletic Union competition. Nor did it matter that the original complaint had a ripple effect that eventually caused several sports, both boys and girls, to change seasons. The MHSAA lost the suit, and it and its members had to scramble. Playing both boys and girls hoops in the same season forced some coaches who had coached both sexes to choose one. The switch made access to gyms for practice a harder thing to schedule, and it made scheduling referees more difficult. No matter. Even though the old system had been working just fine. Most of the above problems with complying with the ruling were expected, even cited by the MHSAA as evidence why the changes shouldn't be forced. But a drop-off in participation wasn't in that catalog. However, there's always the law of unintended consequences, like driving away participants by making pursuit of scholarships too important. And unfortunately, it's a law that can't be appealed. |
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2008
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