How can Jim Harbaugh not have known about Connor Stalions' ticket scheme? | Letters

How can Jim Harbaugh not have known about Connor Stalions' ticket scheme?

As a life-long fan of the University of Michigan football program, it greatly pains me to write this, but I believe it's time for Jim Harbaugh to be fired over the sign-stealing scandal.

The current scandal involves U-M staffer Connor Stalions, who purchased tickets for games against Michigan’s conference and possible future College Football Playoff opponents for the exclusive purpose of having an advantage in football games.

While Harbaugh denies any involvement or knowledge of Stalions’ activities, this protestation rings hollow and unbelievable. Does anyone really believe that Harbaugh had no prior knowledge of a member of his own staff purchasing tickets in his own name?

Are we really supposed to take Harbaugh’s word for it, that he had no knowledge of Stalions' activities and that Harbaugh did not personally use any of the scouting information? This prospect is dubious at best.

Lee Enochs

Detroit

Weigh in on latest Harbaugh controversy: Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.

I drive an EV. The lack of fast charging stations is embarrassing.

I read with interest recently the industry concerns about the slow acceptance of electric vehicles. ("Forget the UAW strike, the real crisis may be a lack of demand for EVs," Detroit Free Press, Oct. 27.) As an early adopter (2022 Mustang Mach E) I can tell you firsthand the issues those who want to adopt are experiencing.

The government and companies keep announcing many new fast charging stations, buy they never get installed. I have been using U.S. 2 in the U.P. and I-75 north of Standish as benchmarks, and it should be an embarrassment to our governor and industry leaders to see the low number of fast charging locations which have been installed.

Also, I placed an order for a Cadillac Lyriq in May of 2022. If GM can not fill an order in 18 months, how does the GM leadership expect the customers to transition?

These two basic issues must be addressed if Americans are to be expected to embrace the EV "revolution."

Eric Carey

South Lyon

Would you buy an EV? Tell us why — or why not — at freep.com/letters.

All-EV GM lineup is a strategy for a second bankruptcy

Well, well, turns out that the $30,000 Equinox EV that GM’s CEO Mary Barra talked about incessantly over the last few years is really going to cost $49,000. ("GM to open order banks for the Equinox EV. Here's the price and the range," Detroit Free Press, Oct. 27.) Don’t hold your breath waiting for the lower-priced base model, which won’t sell, anyway, since customers don’t like stripped down models.

The whole idea of forcing GM to an all-EV future is a strategy for a second eventual bankruptcy. The best strategy would be to end selling gasoline-powered vehicles and offer EVs, H2Vs and BIOVs (powered by bio-mass made ethanol) and let consumers buy what they prefer.

Don Siefkes

Clinton Twp.

Don't dance around it: Cars are killing pedestrians

The Freep has recently published a few articles reporting on “the rising number of pedestrian fatalities” in Michigan and nationally. ("Michigan sees 17% increase in pedestrian deaths, October deadliest month," Detroit Free Press, Oct. 31.) These articles make statements like: “a 17% increase in pedestrian-involved fatalities,” and “7,508 people died walking on or along U.S. roads in 2022.”

This kind of phrasing focuses on the tragic outcome but doesn’t identify the cause — as if all these unfortunate pedestrians are dying mysteriously in the street. Are they dying because they are having heart attacks in the crosswalk? Tripping over their own shoelaces? Being ambushed by wolves? Or are pedestrians dying because cars are crashing into them?

I hope the Freep continues to report on this serious issue because it needs attention. But please, tell it like it is: Pedestrian fatalities don’t just happen. Pedestrians are people, and people get killed when other people drive cars into them.

Andrew Wald

Detroit

Without a ceasefire, there's no path to peace

So much of our attention has been focused of late on the shocking news reports from Gaza and the Israeli border. Yet the U.S. remains committed to military support of the Israeli state. Have we learned nothing over the past 20 years?

If you look at the lessons in Afghanistan, what it taught us more than anything is war is not the answer. If we really want to achieve a just and lasting peace, which should be everybody’s goal, the key is achieving a ceasefire in order to negotiate that. You can’t negotiate while families are being massacred and communities are being wiped out on either side.

Whether one feels led to promote the Palestinian cause or support Israel, the fact remains. War has not proven to be the answer to violence in the Mideast.

John Deikis

Chelsea

Weigh in on Lansing. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.

Local preemption is pro-growth strategy

Special interests in Lansing, including several major labor unions seeking new leverage over job providers, continue to push lawmakers to pass legislation that would unleash Michigan’s 1,800+ local governments (7th most in the country with 1,200 townships, 535 cities and villages, and 83 counties) to create their own confusing patchwork of employment laws and regulations.

However, the writer of a recent Free Press guest column (“Rick Snyder took power from Michigan cities. This Legislature must restore it,” Detroit Free Press, Oct. 24) argued the proposal is simply about “restor[ing] local government rights”, claiming it could even “benefit local businesses.” Others have gone even further to mask the impact of their proposal by promoting it while wearing silly costumes, long before Halloween.

Regardless of how proponents attempt to downplay economic dangers contained in this proposal, the reality is thousands of small businesses in the membership of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and several other pro-growth advocacy organizations are very concerned about its negative impact on job growth.

Our opposition isn’t about politics. It’s about economic realities, like an employer’s ability to afford mandated benefits, or their capacity to administer multiple layers of regulations on impactful issues like minimum wage, staffing levels or mandatory paid leave. Small businesses could be forced into making hard choices about funding mandates or cutting jobs.

Simply put: We cannot make Michigan the best place to start a career and grow our population if we enact policies that make it harder to create jobs.

Our opposition also isn’t about whether employers should offer a fair wage or any other particular benefit. Rather, it is about who should make these decisions. We support decision-making at both the state and federal level to avoid a complex web of vastly varying rules and regulations governing private employers’ relationships with their employees. Doing anything else will create inconsistency, future uncertainty, and a bureaucratic, red-tape nightmare for job providers – and employees, who will ultimately suffer those consequences.  

Finally, our opposition is grounded in concerns about runaway politicians, who could make some areas of our state “high-cost islands,” limiting community access to jobs and necessities, and, ultimately, discouraging population and economic growth in our state.

Lost in this conversation is the fact that Michigan is not alone in giving the state sole authority to create a uniform set of regulations regarding private employment policies. In fact, 44 states link have moved to set fair and understandable statewide labor laws, a trend that has picked up significantly since 2013.

Changing this now would make Michigan an outlier, and further hamper our state’s ability to compete with other states for new jobs and investment. This is because companies are not likely to make substantial capital investments in a state where any local governments could at any time change the rules of the game.

If Michigan is serious about boosting our economy and population, we cannot afford to roll the dice with this policy change. Resurrecting a failed, risky era when Michigan had high unemployment and decreasing workers’ wages is not what Michigan needs to compete and ensure we’re the place to work, do business, live and play. In fact, it’s a recipe for disaster.

Wendy Block 

The writer is senior vice president of business advocacy at the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Great Lakes Growth Coalition, along with the Michigan Manufacturers Association, Detroit Regional Chamber, Grand Rapids Chamber, Michigan Bankers Association, and West Michigan Policy Forum, which supports pro-growth economic policies 

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jim Harbaugh and Connor Stalions, GM's EV lineup, local preemption