Latest news with #DaveBing
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why should some workers get a tax break on tips?
Aside from the 1968 World Series, my adolescent highlight was unexpectedly meeting Mr. Dave Bing in Ann Arbor in the early 1970s, then a player for the Detroit Pistons, while he was sidelined by an eye injury. After reading about Mr. Allan Hughes ("He 'loved' Barry Sanders as a Lions staffer, and Jocko Hughes still loves Detroit today," Detroit Free Press, May 25), I can say that it would have been a pleasure to meet Mr. Hughes as well. Kudos to him for his humanity and dedication to serving others. Victor Turner Concord, North Carolina Rather than sacrifice forests for solar farms, why don't utilities seek out roofs of large industrial facilities? (Editor's note: Last week, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources halted a plan to install solar panels on state-managed forest lands.) The shade of the solar panels would reduce air conditioning loads while keeping the generation closer to the users to minimize transmission losses. It could be a win for both parties. Dennis Green Farmington Hills Can anyone explain to me why some people who work in America deserve to not pay taxes on part of their earnings, while other workers who make the same amount must pay on all of them? Perhaps President Donald Trump and those who are leaning towards voting for this economic package feel they have found a way to encourage those folks to vote for them. Yes, it is illegal for them to write them a check to buy their vote but isn't this the same thing, just done in a different way? If we are going to offer this tax break to some workers, why are we not offering it to all that are in the same economic situation? There must be a reason, but it escapes me what it is. Think about it, please. Mitchell Radcliff Ann Arbor If we are going to tariff foreign goods at higher rates, why not try to lower our national debt, instead of trying to find ways to lower personal and business taxes? Why not force foreign countries to take back the tariff money the U.S. is charging their companies to bring foreign goods into our country? The U.S. would give back the tariff money by buying back U.S. Treasury bonds held by these foreign countries. That would finally start lowering our national debt, which is better than the U.S. Congress always raising our government's debt ceiling. Thomas Lukshaitis Sandusky, Michigan I had a deep conversation recently with a friend about the true goodness of people who are widely considered 'good Christians.' It really made me think about preconceived notions concerning religion and religious people that many of us have, so I thought I'd share. I am not very religious, but I have many close friends and relatives who have always been quite religious or found god later in their lives. This friend and I were discussing how it was that I could disagree with many of their beliefs, but I could still think of them as great people. At first glance, they are 'good Christians' who seem to love their neighbors and are kind people. The second glance is good too. It's easy to see that they really try to adhere to most of the teachings of Christ. They care for people, help people, pray for people, and are just good, upstanding members of society. More: Mackinac Policy Conference left early childhood education off this year's agenda | Opinion It is the third glance that got me wondering. While thinking of the disagreements that I might have with my religious friends, I had an epiphany. The so-called Christian tenets that my friends and family follow that I don't believe in, are not, in my opinion, very Christian at all. The most egregious example is that they use their religious beliefs to discriminate against those that are different, specifically those in the LGBTQ+ community. They interpret the Bible incorrectly to say that transgender people don't really exist, or that gay people are sinners, directly contradicting Jesus' teaching to love your neighbor as yourself. Now, the people that my friend and I were thinking of in my circle are truly very sweet people. They would never overtly discriminate against someone in this community, but this was the realization that my friend and I came to: While they aren't discriminating blatantly, they are still in fact discriminating. If you don't go to a gay wedding of a relative because it is not natural, you are spreading hate and unacceptance. If you tell your son that transgender people are an abomination and not just a different type of person, you are potentially propagating violence. If you scoff at someone who puts their preferred pronouns in an email, you are lending credence to the idea that they are weird and wrong. More: Detroit's Board of Police Commissioners needs major changes to be viable | Letter It is still tough for me to conclude, as my friend surmised, that maybe they are just bad people, but it did get me thinking. They may not be bad, but what they are doing is bad … and is there really a difference? Alton Fisher Redford Submit a letter to the editor at and we may publish it online and in print. If you have a differing view from a letter writer, please feel free to submit a letter of your own in response. Like what you're reading? Please consider supporting local journalism and getting unlimited digital access with a Detroit Free Press subscription. We depend on readers like you. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tax on tips, national debt, solar farms, and good Christians | Letters
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Vanderbilt basketball commitment Chandler Bing explains origin of name, 'Friends'
Chandler Bing has seen exactly zero episodes of the hit television show "Friends." Vanderbilt basketball coach Mark Byington's latest commitment doesn't have any acting chops. But when the senior out of Pace Academy in Atlanta announced on social media April 29 that he committed to the Commodores, the jokes about his name − the same as Matthew Perry's character on "Friends" − were resurrected. Advertisement Bing, who averaged 19-plus points, 6-plus rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals per game for Pace last season, said he was named after a bishop, not the TV character. "My parents weren't even thinking about the show," Bing told The Tennessean. "My mom has seen the show, but when they were naming me, I guess she didn't watch it that much, wasn't even thinking about that." Chandler Bing is related to Dave Bing Chandler Bing has never met Dave Bing, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, former Mayor of Detroit, a member of both the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams and the founder of Bing Steel. Advertisement Dave Bing, who also is former NBA player Jalen Rose's godfather, is Chandler Bing's grandfather's first cousin, making him a distant cousin. Dave Bing was a seven-time NBA All-Star, the 1967 NBA Rookie of the Year, the 1968 NBA scoring champion and a two-time All-NBA first-team selection. "I haven't spoken to him," said Chandler, the Commodores' third high school recruit. "My dad knows him very well." As for the "Friends" jokes, Chandler Bing, who heard them a lot, "especially when I was younger," knows he hasn't heard the last of them. "I actually haven't watched the show," he said. "But I never really had a problem with (the jokes). Once people told me about it, I was like, 'OK, well, I know I'm going to get it a lot now.' " Why Chandler Bing chose Vanderbilt Bing is a 6-foot-6 forward who previously was committed to Texas State. He also had offers from Georgia State and Troy. Advertisement He said he chose Vanderbilt for several reasons, including the level of competition in the SEC. "Playing against the best guys ... that was definitely a big part of it," he said. "It was a pretty easy decision for me. Going up there, seeing the campus, the facilities, the city. It definitely was a spot, a place where I can grow on and off the court." Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. Reach him at pskrbina@ and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina. Follow his work here. FYI: Chandler Bing, Vanderbilt basketball commit, has same name as Matthew Perry 'Friends' character Advertisement ANOTHER ONE: Vanderbilt basketball adds Washington wing Tyler Harris in transfer portal This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt recruit Chandler Bing explains origin of name, 'Friends'
