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Letters to the Editor

Buck the norm

A few weeks ago I had to go into the emergency room of DCH for an ailment. After correcting the problem, I was put into a waiting room for about 10 to 15 minutes as my paperwork was being processed. Not having my phone with me, and there being no TV or magazines in the room, I decided to make use of my time and do some pushups and body squats. The nurse walked in and asked why I was breathing harder than normal and I explained I was doing some body exercises. She replied, “Oh, you’re a character.” She said it nicely so I just humbly smiled. So if I sit there for 15 minutes and ...

MDOT should consider more left turn signals at intersections

As I travel along the US-2 corridor through Iron Mountain, east through Norway, and then back, I have noticed the amount of traffic that is traveling this busy highway. These vehicles are traveling at speeds between 50 to 60 mph, my guess. There are small vehicles to larger vehicles, as in semi-tractors pulling trailers or logging trucks pulling “pup” trailers. What I find unsettling is the fact that, as these vehicles are traveling these speeds, there are no left turn signals for vehicles waiting to turn left. I do not see drivers slowing down when they approach a green light, ...

The essence of American ideals

Is choosing to prioritize us over them an acceptable moral choice or does it matter? This is an issue that underlines refugees from war, violence, poverty and growing up in America without being accepted as American. The late Jonathan Sacks, the former chief rabbi of Britain, wrote, “To insist that being loved entails that others be unloved is to fail to understand love itself.” To me, this is the essence of peace, human morality and American ideals. If we truly are going to find peace, I don’t believe it will be by building walls to human suffering as we have tried on our ...

Echoes of ‘Harry and Louise’ ads

EDITOR: Remember “Harry and Louise”? I do. TV ads in which Louise voices her fears of a “government takeover” of health care. Whispers of shortages, denials and “death panels” swept the country. Deep pockets paid for those ads and deep pockets paid for the busloads of tea party protesters who roamed about, spreading fears that, somehow, never materialized with the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Years before, in response to the Clinton administration’s ill-fated attempt to establish universal health care, the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation had developed a plan ...

Takes issue with letter on LaFave

EDITOR: Definition of inoculation (Merriam-Webster): the act or process or an instance of inoculating especially: the introduction of a pathogen or antigen into a living organism to stimulate the production of antibodies. I am confused about Tracy Asanuma’s letter to the editor in Thursday’s The Daily News. When did state Rep. Beau LaFave ever say NOT to be inoculated against COVID-19 or any disease? This inaccurate statement for political points is not doing the public any good. I know people I care about who have died from COVID and I know more people who have died from other ...

LaFave gambling with public health

EDITOR: Recently state Rep. Beau LaFave has given his full backing to those who oppose mask mandates. He was even gracious to introduce bills that would right the wrong of an unfair mask mandate. At present perhaps LaFave thinks it is politically advantageous to support those who support personal liberty over public health. The debate on masks looks very different when one is watching a loved one battle this disease. LaFave has gambled his political future on the idea personal freedom outweighs public health. It isn’t just LaFave’s political career that is at stake but also the ...