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Wednesday, February 9, 2011
UW professors discuss Egypt’s political future
The Pack are back
By Patrick Tricker The Daily Cardinal
anna jeon/the daily cardinal
Green Bay Packers fans flocked to Lambeau Field to welcome home the Super Bowl XLV champions and the Lombardi Trophy Tuesday.
Political science professors Howard Schweber and Jeremy Menchik expressed optimism about a democratic Egypt but doubted the ability of protesters to bring it about at a forum Tuesday. “It is conceivable [President Hosni Mubarak] could be gone the end of the week,” Schweber said. “It is conceivable that he could hang on until September … I think the answer to that question is no longer in the hands of the protesters.” Mubarak may have avoided being ousted, according to Menchik, though he is unlikely to keep significant power. He fostered fear of instability and radical groups to stay in power, according to Schweber, by opening the border with Gaza, which risked letting in Muslim insurgents, and by having plain-clothes security forces loot cities.
“Mubarak’s strategy was simple all along,” Schweber said. “‘If you don’t accept me, then chaos will follow. It’s me or the radical extremists. It’s me or Egypt goes up in flames.’” Schweber and Menchik emphasized the role that other groups, including the military, the Muslim Brotherhood and the secular middle class, would play in determining the path Egypt’s government would take. They downplayed fears that the Muslim Brotherhood would gain power through the polls and revert to an Islamic state like Iran. “The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is not a violent radical organization,” Schweber said. “Let me state this more strongly. The stuff you hear on television about this being a modern 1979 is hysterical fear-mongering.” Although they have ties egypt page 3
State senate passes bill requiring 2/3 majority vote to raise taxes By Ariel Shapiro The Daily Cardinal
The state Senate passed a bill Tuesday requiring a two-thirds supermajority in order to raise taxes. The bill passed with a vote of 20-12, with State Sen. Julie Lassa, D-Stevens Point, as the only Democrat supporting it. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, slammed Democrats for not supporting the measure to prevent tax increases, calling the bill a “last line of defense” for businesses. “It’s always amazing to see how hard the Democrats will fight for their tax hikes,” Fitzgerald said in a statement. “The way they acted today, it was like a kid getting
their favorite toy taken away.” State Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller criticized Republicans for failing to pass measures that would actually create jobs. “While failing to create any jobs, Republicans have touted the importance of the ‘message’ their bills are sending,” Miller said in a statement. “But this legislation is a loophole-ridden gimmick that seems to send the message that Republicans believe the people of Wisconsin can be easily fooled.” Gov. Scott Walker praised the legislation, which already passed through the Assembly in January, and is expected to sign it into law. The Senate also passed legislation that will undo changes
to auto insurance requirements made under the Democratcontrolled 2009-’11 legislative session, resulting in lowered minimum coverage. State Sen. Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin, was pleased with the legislation, saying the former requirements could have priced insurance out of the reach of families suffering from the recession. However, state Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, said this bill is a setback for Wisconsin drivers. “I have fought for mandatory auto insurance for over two decades, and I was proud to be able to get it passed into law last session,” Carpenter said in a statement.
Driver hits car near Union, arrested for alleged drunk driving A 49-year-old Madison man was arrested after allegedly driving drunk and hitting a parked car near Memorial Union Monday. Madison Police arrested the suspect, Jeffrey Johnson, on tentative charges, including a fourth offense of operating a vehicle under the influence. A 21-year-old Madison man was driving behind the suspect, who was driving his Cadillac at about five mph, according to a police report.
The witness told police he watched the Cadillac veer to the right and strike a parked car. The witness then got out of his vehicle, walked up to the suspect’s driver’s side window and told him he should put the car in park, according to Madison Police Department spokesperson Joel DeSpain. The witness told police he thought the driver was intoxicated. “The man behind the wheel just stared at the concerned citi-
zen and continued to drive east toward Lake Street,” DeSpain said in a statement. The witness followed the suspect in his car and approached the suspect when he stopped at the corner of Lake Street and East Johnson Street. The suspect took his keys out of the ignition after the witness ordered him to do so, police said. Police then arrived at scene and arrested the suspect.
ben pierson/the daily cardinal
SSFC Legal Counsel Tyler Junger made a case against CFACT’s funding eligibility at a student judiciary meeting Tuesday.
CFACT knowingly violated UW policy, says SSFC By Ben Siegel The Daily Cardinal
The Student Services Finance Committee cited new evidence from a federal court case to argue against the funding eligibility for Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow at an Associated Students of Madison Student Judiciary hearing Tuesday. CFACT is a conservative, freemarket-oriented organization that advocates against creating “green jobs” and aims to disprove widespread disbeliefs about global warming, according group’s website. Based on e-mails between
CFACT members in their regional and UW campus offices, SSFC Legal Counsel Tyler Junger said CFACT knowingly violated UW System policy, which forfeits their eligibility to receive funding. “Documents discovered after the original decision was delivered prove that the violation of ASM equipment policy was, in fact, intentional,” Junger said. SSFC denied CFACT funding eligibility for the third consecutive year this fall due to a violation CFACT page 3
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”