Better Late Than Never....... maybe....

Look for Vol. 2 Issue V - next week on campus.

PDF will be available next week as well.

Benedict XVI

From Fox News:

Before the conclave began, Ratzinger tried to set a tone of urgency, warning cardinals, bishops and others gathered in St. Peter's Basilica for the Monday Mass that the church must stay true to itself. He spoke of tendencies he considered dangers to the faith: sects, ideologies like Marxism, liberalism, atheism, agnosticism and relativism — the ideology that there are no absolute truths.

Viva il papa!

Gov't Priorities

Mount Clemems City Commission decided tonight to eliminate their Police Department.
They are going to contract out their needs to Macomb County Sheriff's office.

Read more behind the link below...

What is more important than a Government protecting the safety and freedoms of its citizens? What should be higher on a budget than police and fire protection? No wonder Michigan is the worst state when it comes to jobs. When you have City Commissions deciding to not only cut jobs, but to also cut the ability to remain free, you end up in a no win situation.

2006 can not come soon enough.

Vandalism at Wayne.

Details are still sketchy, but there was a large incident of vandalism and mischief on the 3rd floor of the Student Center. This happened shortly after the elections for Student Council.

Things seemed to be locked down due to some type of investigation. We will be watching this situation and bringing forth any information that is solid and confirmed by University officials.

Please check back for more info...

Papal Vote

We are staying on top of the Papal Vote...for now a day has passed with votes, but no selection as of yet. For now... our only consolation is the black smoke of progress and prayer.

We at the WR are offering our prayers and hopes that the successor to one of the most influential people on earth can be placed by God to lead His Church into future glory.

We will have news as it arrives.

Voting 4 Change

Student Council elections are sometimes lost in the fray. They are pushed to the back burner of not only local politics, but school politics as well. This is somewhat unfortunate, considering the amount of control and influence a council has over the University activities during a school year.

Vote 4 Change, won a landslide victory in the recent Wayne State elections. Their slate, although only 10 strong, was able to get all of its members elected. This, in spite of attacks from other candidates and groups, is a GREAT victory for WSU Students. We want to congratulate the V4C crew on a hard fought and worked campaign, and look forward to the good things to come.

For analysis and editorial click below.

For the past few years, the Student Council has been run and ruled by the same type of mentality: "Cater to the needs of friends and special interests." For a school that is so rooted in liberal ideology and mind-set, it is disconcerting to think and see how lopsided and intolerant the Student Councils of past have been.

The Vote 4 Change slate hopefully will change this. Looking back, the past 3 years have been pretty much the same old thing year after year. Now though, V4C has brought diversity, of the right definition, to the University community. If you look at the make-up of the V4C slate you will find a diversity unmatched in recent years by any council. Regardless of how you categorize this slate, they are diverse top to bottom. Everything from liberals, conservatives, Greeks, ethnicity, religion, major, student groups, class, residence, etc... they are different.

WSU has been needing this for a long time. Monochrome councils do not serve the school, regardless of hue. This applies not only to race but "hue of thought" as well. I do not think, nor would I support, a completely Conservative minded slate. I think that there needs to be a representation of all ideas on campus and on the council.

We have an amazing Dean of Students, who is willing to allow all students the opportunity to express their ideas and thoughts, in legitimate manners, on campus. The Student Council should be in the same mind-set, not only in allowing events to occur, but actively seeking them and promoting them. V4C will hopefully be that type of council.

Leading up to the elections, The Wayne Review, College Republicans, and Students for Life, had all either officially endorsed Vote 4 Change, or at least supported them in their campaign. Although there was no way to officially announce this, several members of the slate appreciated our support even if they were not of the same political and social persuasion.

The Wayne Review and myself, would like to wish the Vote 4 Change good luck in the coming school year, and hope that they hold firm to their promises and their platform of changing the way things operate around Wayne State. In a time where there is such a push for an active and vibrant campus life, this slate could be and should be the one to really bring that to fruition.

NAACP + SS = Confusion

Tonight at Wayne State, there was a panel discussion hosted and sponsored by the NAACP.

There were a couple of mixed messages sent.

1. Social Security is not in a crisis, it is fine, it just needs to be fixed, or it will become a crisis, the President's plan is bad, it will make Social Security collapse because the stock market is shaky, we should change Social Security in another way, like adding taxes or upping the age for collection.

Now some of you may say, "Wow, bad grammar again." But that is my point, listening to this panel made my head spin. I felt dizzy, which is how the readers must feel after that run-on-sentence they just read, because the issue kept spinning.

2. Republicans are unethical and hate old people and black men. Why? Because if they weren't they would simply make the wage threshold (any income above this level is not used to pay into the SS system) from 90,000 to a higher amount.

My question is, how many people who make over 90,000 need to worry about SS? Probably zero. If so, raising that threshold puts more money in, but it will also take more money out. Also, why do they need a solution to something that isn't a problem?

There was no press, and the panelists contradicted each other. The worst thing was during the Q&A. On separate occasions there were long pauses after questions were asked before someone answered. Yet, once questions were answered, the panelists on more than 2 occasions said, "I don't think I answered your question but..."

Maybe it was good that there WASN'T any press.

Super Size My Tax??

America's "First HIP-HOP Mayor" is sparking more controversy. During a speech today he slipped in a comment or two about the ever controversial "Fast Food Tax."

This has been floating around since January, and the idea is to put a 2% tax onto all fast food purchases.

The obvious implications of this are stunning and horrifying enough... but supposedly there is an even deeper and more vile situation which runs in the shadows. Allegedly the reasons behind the tax, which is coupled with a new property sales tax, are that the city is looking for new revenue sources to fund the newly proposed budget. This is a budget that was supposed to have cut-backs and eliminations within it, to fit into the current city income structure.

Why does the city need more revenue if it is proposing a reduced budget that is supposedly lower and leaner than previous ones? Why are there new revenue sources proposed? We aren't 100% sure, because the City has been vague on this.

More analysis to come after Kwame answers press questions on this tomorrow...

HARD NUMBERS.

Lately I have been criticized for my discussion on numbers and facts.

Here are some hard numbers:

3069 - The total number of signatures collected in a 2.5 week period by Michigan College Republicans. These signatures were petitions to the U.S. Senators from Michigan, asking them to consider LOOKING at Social Security reform.

2103 - The 2nd place total from the State of Arizona.


667 - Wayne State's contribution. This placed Wayne State 3rd nationally for individual school results.

Congratulations to the Wayne State University College Republicans. Maybe the Michigan US Senators will consider at least LOOKING at Social Security reform.

Estimating.

The point of an estimate number, is obvious. It is a guess on the amount of SOMETHING.

Sometimes estimates are wrong, think about that time that you were given an ESTIMATE on how much something would cost... it ended up being more didn't it?

Or sometimes, when you are promised something with an estimate number... it usually ends up being less... it's a theory and practice all in one.

Never though, believe the estimate to mean "This is how many...."

For example... the Marches... where an estimate is given BEFOREHAND.... the number is usually not true. Especially if it is in the name of the event.

Now... let us take the current example of estimation. The Pilgrimage to Rome. The two places that you should listen to estimates from are the Vatican and the Italian/Roman authorities. Sure they could have an agenda and be wrong, but it's an estimate remember.

Now, when you have the same people giving the same numbers (within a short time frame) the number should be the same. Sure day to day, it might change based on observation and data, but for the most part it should stay within some sort of pattern, flow, or relative size.

Analysis Below....

Let us see if we can detect a pattern...

CBS/AP Report (4-4) 2mil.. ok... 2 days after the death, Ill accept this
BBS NEWS REPORT (4-4) Hundreds of Thousands? As in not millions? Hmmm... the 18k an hour also only puts about 432k people in a 24 hr period past the Pope... seems a lot lower than the Million that other sources have reported.
CNN (4-7) Ok I know things change.. but in 3 days.. they found 3 million more people coming to ROME?

Here is the point. Sure its hard to guess how many people are coming...I'll grant that. What is disappointing is that it's obvious some are not willing to talk about how EXTRAORDINARY this whole situation is. It's the POPE, people are religious, this man changed the face of history.

Just give the numbers... don't be afraid.. it may sound like alot... because it IS!
This is the most momentous social/traditional event in the modern era. God Rest Reagan, but it even surpasses his funeral. As it should. Don't play games with numbers... if you aren't sure... use MILLIONS... not hundreds of thousands, or a low ball number.