Opinions

City council tries fixing budget mess

By Chris Hoitash · Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011

Ypsilanti’s City Council is trying to find ways to solve the city’s budget crisis, according to an annarbor.com article: “The Ypsilanti City Council instructed city staff to begin investigating a wide range of solutions to its projected $10.69 million budget shortfall.

Don't sweat the small things

By Neil Weinberg · Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011

It’s happening more and more. Something insignificant turns into a firestorm. You throw a stone into a river, and it floods the town.

Letter to the Editor: Gaddafi

By Erica Davis · Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011

I would like to commend The Eastern Echo on how they handled the sensitive subject of Gaddafi’s death.

Stop the religious double standards

By Silvana Taylor · Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011

Is practicing rituals that are associated with your religious beliefs offensive or insensitive? When an Islamic mosque was built near Ground Zero, several people seemed to think so. The terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center were very tragic, and I don’t think any American has forgotten the fear and sadness this event imparted. However, from a Constitutional standpoint, a document patriotic citizens often seem to reference, it’s simply not fair to halt the creation of a religious building.

Complacency

By Jesse Peck · Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011

I have discovered something that’s become a modern plague in today’s society. Something so profound and disturbing, it has become the standard for the average Joe: complacency.

Why exactly do we Occupy?

By James Tatum · Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011

In a discussion I had with fellow columnist Neil Weinberg, I admitted I couldn’t tell him exactly what the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protesters were against, or what the desired outcome was for the demonstrations, but I did know they were protesting in the right place. I still can’t answer the first two questions; because of the decentralized nature of the movement there isn’t a list of demands.

Snyder tax cuts to drop gas prices

By Chris Hoitash · Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011

“Governor Rick Snyder plans to propose dropping the tax Michigan charges on each gallon of gasoline and diesel fuel in favor of a tax on the wholesale price of fuel, Snyder senior adviser Bill Rustem told the Associated Press on Tuesday. “The wholesale tax of 6 cents or 7 cents per gallon initially wouldn’t cost drivers any more than existing taxes, Rustem said.

Hug campaign to lead to happy world

By Patrick Seick · Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011

Juan Mann is not a familiar name. However, he is the genius – perhaps I use that word loosely — behind the adorable, “Free Hugs Campaign.” The Campaign, which began in 2004, began an international phenomenon of PDA.

Decline of Netflix

By Neil Weinberg · Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011

It’s been a bad year for Netflix. A 60-percent price hike came out of nowhere and turned the DVD portion of the company into Qwikster and then back to Netflix.

Why economics?

By Professor Abdullah A. Dewan · Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011

Recently a student who already decided on a combined major with ‘Actuarial Science and Economics’ visited my office and expressed interest in taking mathematics as her second major.

Responsibility goes with age

By Silvana Taylor · Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011

America tends to be the land of extremes – from high obesity rates to radical political allegiance and the prevalence of corporate manipulation, the U.S.

Restructuring 'innovation'

By Patrick Seick · Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011

Steve Jobs recently passed away; his death garnering him favorable comparisons to the likes of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison.

Schools exist for students...

By Neil Weinberg · Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011

It seems as if we’ve always been having this fight, but it certainly flared up a little in the last year.

... But is reform unfair to teachers?

By James Tatum · Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011

“A senior Senate Democrat released a draft of a sprawling revision of the No Child Left Behind education law on Tuesday that would dismantle the provisions of the law that used standardized test scores in reading and math to label tens of thousands of public schools as failing,” reported the New York Times on Oct.