Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan • Page 6

Lansing State Journal Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution Tuesday April 6, 2004 OPIN ON Pastors Lansing State journal jlwm--' Founded 1855 0 COUQta -l-lrt ft-30 NT hfrtfvKMwL sis SEEMS ftPPROPRtWE- forget civil rights Editorial Board Michael G. Kane President and Publisher Michael K. Hirten Executive Editor Stephanie Angel Managing Editor Mark Nixon Editorial Page Editor Derek Melot Assistant Editorial Page Editor Melissa A.

Alford Human Resources Director Pamela C. Jodway Market Development Director Rachelle Franklin Classified Sales Manager Gabriel Santi Custom Publishing Editor Our opinions lobs bil. Federal Mogul is test case for power of tax breaks Much is riding on whether auto supplier Federal Mogul keeps hundreds of jobs in Michigan. The most obvious stake, of course, is with the people who stand to lose their jobs should Federal Mogul close plants in St. Johns and Greenville.

Michigan lawmakers, however, also have thrown a good measure of their credibility into the effort to save Federal Mogul. Last week, legislators completed work on bills specially designed to extend existing tax breaks to Federal Mogul operations. These bills should soon be law since Gov. Jennifer Granholm has indicated she will sign them. Much less certain is their impact on Federal Mogul's ultimate decision.

It has long been conventional wisdom in Lansing and other state capitals that aggressive use of tax credits and other incentives can lure and retain businesses. The Lansing area rightly takes great pride that its incentive package helped persuade General Motors Corp. to build new facilities here. More recent situations haven't ended so positively. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer issued layoffs in Kalamazoo when it merged with Pharmacia, despite state officials' pleas not to.

And Electrolux AB declined more than $100 million in public incentives in deciding to close its Greenville plant. Now comes Federal Mogul, which has been in bankruptcy protection since 2001. Will a special tax break affect its management's plans, or will this be another sad episode for Michigan? Everyone wants the news to be good; Michigan residents sure deserve some. But if it isn't, legislators face an unpleasant prospect that the economic solutions of the past offer no guarantees of the future and that they are responsible for coming up with a new way of doing things. Capitol Loop Lansing's traffic nightmare has begun.

The much-criticized, much-feared Capitol Loop road and utility project got under way. Monday, with the closure of part of Ottawa Street and the narrowing of Capitol Avenue downtown. For the next two years, parts of key roads will be work pits; drivers' language will be the pits; antl, downtown merchants hope they don't have huge fits as visitors seek alternate routes. In consolation, residents, drivers and merchants can recall the original Capitol Loop project was much larger in scope; and carried much greater disruption of traffic. State and city officials were so focused on getting needed road and sewer work done that they failed to consider the immediate impact on the community.

We, too, were slow to pick up on this concern until hearing from downtown merchants who detailed just what was at stake. The good news is government listened and responded. The project was revised to minimize disruptions to the area. Now, residents must gird themselves for the mess. And city and state officials must watch like hawks to ensure all the work is done as quickly as is practical.

Black clergy opposed to same-sex marriage ignoring past, Bible You'd think black Americans still struggling against a lingering, if muted, racism would occupy the front lines the battle against bigotry. But a knee-jerk antipathy toward gays and lesbians is rampant in black America, nowhere more evident than in the black church. Black ministers Cynthia Tucker often overlook more commonplace sins lying, gossiping, fornicating to denounce homosexuality from the pulpit, casting Christianity as a harsh and narrow religion of exclusion. As sins go, it's safe enough, I suppose, to denounce homosexuality. If gays and lesbians are no more than 10 percent of the population, their numbers in any congregation are likely to be small too small to threaten the preacher's paycheck.

Several of Georgia's black clergy took their distorted Christianity into the public square last month, urging the Legislature to endorse a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Their last-minute lobbying paid off, persuading a handful of black legislators to give the amendment a narrow victory. (The measure will go before Georgia voters in November.) The ministers' anti-gay activism is hardly the black church's finest hour. By using the Bible to defend bigotry, those black ministers joined the tradition of white Southern ministers who used Scripture to endorse slavery. obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ" Ephesians 6:5.) Like other conservative Christians, many black ministers blithely declare that human civilization has always recognized marriage as the union of one man and one woman, as sanctified by God.

Their history is as wrongheaded as their theology. In "A History of the Wife," Stanford University scholar Marilyn Yalom writes, "In biblical days, a Hebrew husband was allowed to have more than one wife. For each, he had to give his father-in-law a sum of money," a practice which underscored the assumption that a wife was property. Indeed, a sober reading of Leviticus where homosexuality is declared an "abomination" makes that clear. The proscription against adultery is meant to prohibit a man from having sex with another man's wife, his property.

Sexual relations with his slaves (but not another man's slaves) were sanctioned. a man has sexual relations with a woman who is a slave, designated for another man an inquiry shall be held. They shall not be put to death, since she has not been freed; but he shall bring a guilt offering for himself to the Lord." Leviticus 19:20.) It is disappointing to see black ministers several of whom are old enough to remember the lash of Jim Crow brandishing the Bible against gays the same way Bull Connor wielded a billy club against civil rights marchers. Of course, they adamantly resist comparisons of the crusade for gay rights to the movement for civil rights. In a statement opposing same-sex unions, several black ministers wrote: "To equate a lifestyle choice to racism demeans the work of the entire civil rights movement." But Rep.

John Lewis, who faced down billy clubs and fire hoses, begs to differ. Supporting gay rights, Lewis recently said to a Senate committee: "We have been down this road before in this country. The right to liberty and happiness belongs to each of us and on the same terms, without regard to either skin color or sexual orientation." Amen. What do you think? Write Cynthia Tucker, Universal Press Syndicate, 4520 Main Kansas City, MO 64111. Your opinions Express yourself Letters to the Editor I Letters must be 150 words or fewer.

Include address and daytime phone number for veri- iff fication purposes only, iff Letters are subject to editing. Letters to the editor, opinion and Viewpoints columns, and articles submitted to the State Journal may be published or distributed in print, electronic or other forms. Questions? Call Mark Nixon at 377-1038. By fax: (517) 377-1298 I By mail: Letters to the Editor, Lansing State Journal, 120 Lenawee St, Lansing, Ml 48919 I By e-mail: opinionslsj.com Viewpoints Do you wish to write a auu-wora opinion 3 t0Pic general interest? I Call Derek Melot at 377-1256. I By e-mail: dmelotlsj.com raise gas taxes even more.

I'm a student at Michigan State University. I already have to deal with higher tuition thanks to Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Higher gas prices definitely won't help me pay for school Tom Gunnells East Lansing Kerry eyes jobs In response to Blaine Kelley's letter (March 29), here are highlights of John Kerry's jobs plan: increased funds for small business loans; a health-care tax credit for small businesses; a tax credit for manufacturers that produce goods in the United States; and greater scrutiny so federally contracted jobs aren't off-shored. A president can impact job creation.

For example, President Bush has proposed cutting the Small Business Administration by 25 percent. His energy plan continues to be dependent on oil Kerry will create 500,000 jobs by using new technologies. The president's changes to overtime rules allow companies to extend workers' hours rather than increasing hiring. According to an LSJ article: "In Lansing, at least 2,000 people have been laid off in the past six months Kerry's plan for education tax credits would help retrain these people. These are highlights of Kerry's plans to restore jobs.

More details can be found at www.johnkerry.com. Janeen Rastall Williamston Kerry isn't for vets Kerry's political ads promote his military experience as a plus for his election. He went to Vietnam, earned medals and came back.a hero. He then testified that his fellow military men were murderers, baby killers and torturers. If he had actual knowledge of this as a commissioned officer of the US.

military, he had a duty to identify the people and units involved so that they could be court-martialed. Actually, Kerry should have been court-martialed for either lying or dereliction of duty. I can't imagine any veteran in good conscience voting for Kerry. Robert E. Brush Haslett Kerry bipolar John Kerry will say anything 3 4 Schulz praised Congratulations to LSJ sports columnist Todd Schulz for telling the news as it really is.

The Lansing area is fortunate to have a sportswriter who does not "suck up" to Michigan State's or other schools' athletic departments. Just listen to your local TV sportscasters. The only reason they have been around so long is their nonreporting of specific issues. We, the tax-paying public, should be happy knowing there are writers out there who do not kowtow to the athletic departments. Lou Jacobs Holt Clarke credible The first reaction from the Republicans to anything critical of President Bush or his administration is to trash the critic.

If Richard Clarke (who testified before the 9-11 Commission March 24) is not credible, then how did he hold the key counter-terrorism posts in the last four aciministrations? Vice President Cheney said Clarke didn't know what he was talking about because he was "out of the loop." Excuse me! If Clarke was out of the loop, then, the administration put him there. Does it make any sense that an administration would not include the head of counter-terrorism when discussing and making decisions affecting the protection of our country and its citizens? One of the other charges against Clarke's credibility is that he is promoting his book. Perhaps he is. But, why would a book have to be full of lies in order to sell? Margery Clark-Lewis East Lansing Automakers blow it Walter Schmidtman's letter (March 30) encouraging us to buy American-made cars ignores a critical dilemma. As the daughter of UAW and Teamster members, my loyalty has always been to American workers.

Unfortunately, buying American doesn't assure support for our workers. The Big 3 have no such loyalty. In the name of profit, they increasingly outsource more and more American jobs to the detriment of our work force. Moreover, how stupid is it to reduce the buying power of your own constituents? Finally, there are slim American-made pickings for those of us who have another loyalty that is, to the environment and the need to conserve non-renewable resources such as petroleum. Rather than making the development of fuel-efficient vehicles a priority, the Big 3 have created a market for and manufactured increasingly less fuel-efficient vehicles.

More greed and stupidity. What's more important, our present or our children's futures? NancyA.Wonch Lansing Kerry will cost us Gas prices are at a record high It's starting to really hurt people's pocket-books. High energy prices hurt the economy, too. John Kerry says he wants to lower gas prices to help people out He won't tell you that it's politicians like him who raised gas prices to begin with by adding on huge gas taxes. Though he'll talk about lower prices now, if Kerry's elected, he'll work to to be president.

He's the an-ti-NAFTA candidate who voted for NAFTA; the anti-war candidate who voted for the war; and the pro-Michigan candidate who voted to decimate the auto industry. This willingness to say whatever his audience wants to hear has given Kerry a strong temporary position in the polls. As voters learn more about Kerry, or perhaps I should say the two Kerry personalities (the one based on what he says and the other based on what he does), the worse Kerry will do. Jason Miller Williamston Nader helps Bush At election time, make sure you remember who you want out of office. Ralph Nader's bid has brought many smiles to Republicans and many heart attacks to Democrats.

Let's consider for a minute what kinds of people are going to vote for Nader. I'll give you a hint. Not Republicans. Unfortunately, that leaves the Democrats and the independents. Though I feel the current, two-party system is not the best and even agree with Nader on some of his stances, there is no way he is going to win.

So, rather than throwing your vote away this November, remember that if you vote for Nader you are only helping George Bush. And taking away votes from John Kerry is riot going to help anything. The only way we are going to defeat Bush is by saying farewell to Nader. (See you in 2008). Dave Sommers East Lansing Take cue from FDR In a March 29 letter, headlined "Get competitive," the writer asked someone to seriously answer how a Kerry-led government could fix the economy.

I cannot respond to what John Kerry will actually do, but I can refer to history to make a suggestion. In the 1930s, our economy was in shambles. President Franklin Roosevelt applied the theories of economist John Maynard Keynes, who advocated government spending in order to prime the pump of the economy. By actively hiring unemployed workers for federal programs, FDR was able to get American workers back to work and restore confidence in the economy. Maybe we can still learn from history.

Meanwhile, I have one more suggestion to true patriots. Whenever possible, buy goods made in America! BillKnuth East Lansing Reader has had it Your newspaper's views have become way too liberal. First came your extensive coverage of gay activities and issues. Now you even publish pictures of gay couples along with "real" wedding photos. Your latest approach to showing your total acceptance of the whole gay idea was John Schneider's column March 21 using a grandmother as whipping post because she (like many of us) cannot and will not accept the notion that a gay lifestyle is acceptable.

I don't want to read about it and will show my disapproval by not reading your paper anymore. David Parkhouse Six Lakes CAMPAIGN TRICKS All the news that isn't true We know CNN is struggling with Fox News for viewers, but is the solution for the cable network to broadcast false information that may aid the Republican Party? Last week, CNN reported and then retracted claims that lyler Crotty, a 13-year-old boy apparently bored by a recent speech by President Bush, had been edited into the scene, apparently as part of a comedy routine by TV personality David Letterman. Its source: the White House. Fact: The boy wasn't edited in. Fact: The White House did NOT complain.

Fart: CNN's credibility and judgment here are the real joke. I Stupid Campaign Tricks is a recurring feature designed to highlight the ridiculous aspects of modern campaigns and media coverage. We encourage submissions from readers. Please send the offending or amusing articlequote to dmelotlsj.com, along with your full name, town and a daytime phone number..