Breaking News

Letters to the Editor

Foreign aid vital to US security

EDITOR: The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the U.S. economy hard, with an estimated 3.5% decline in real GDP for 2020 (BEA, 2020). To mitigate some of the economic hardships, Congress enacted a $2.3 trillion spending package combining the Fiscal Year 2021 Omnibus Appropriations bill with approximately $900 billion in pandemic-related relief. Public frustrations have grown after delayed implementation and lower than expected relief. One resonating question has been, why are we spending taxpayer funds on foreign assistance while we struggle economically at home? Foreign assistance is often ...

Grieving over Atlanta shootings

Our country has once again experienced a mass killing. On March 16, eight people were killed in the Atlanta area, six of them Asian American women. This is a cause for grief on at least four levels. First, of course, I grieve for those who lost their lives, and for those who lost their loves ones. The victims were people made in the image of God, whose lives were snuffed out because of someone else’s anger, fear, and violence. Secondly, I grieve over the fact that there is a strain of anti-Asian prejudice in American society. Our country has a long history of bias, exclusion, and ...

Respecting the people’s vote

It seems to me that a large part of the Republican party is consumed by the belief in a lie about former president Donald Trump’s election outcome. American history professor Kristin Kobes Du Mez summed it up this way — “It’s a cause that really works against any perception of the common good, or any idea of loving your neighbor as yourself, or any idea of common grace, that there can be goodness and human flourishing and truth outside of your church, your sect, or, you know, your base.” Trump lost the election based on three compelling facts. He lost the certified Electoral ...

Helping rather than criticizing

A few years ago, a former classmate of mine told me about another classmate that had a couple nervous breakdowns. The person stated that he/she needs to get their “bleep” together. Later that day, it occurred to me that instead of the classmate chastising the person, would not it be a better idea to try and reach out and see if one could help? I don’t think the breakdowns were a goal of his/her or something that was wished for in life. I do practice what I preach, by the way — I did reach out to the person. So, the next time you hear of a person struggling in life with the ...

Moral choices with vaccine

I am so grateful to have been part of the first wave of COVID-19 vaccinations in Marquette County! I am sure you think that is because I am over 65 years of age and thus, more vulnerable to this virus. While that is true, and I am also happy to do my part to help our country achieve herd immunity, I do have another important reason. I was able to be inoculated with the Pfizer vaccine, which along with the one by Moderna, is morally permissible for Catholics to receive. Neither of these vaccines was designed, developed, or produced using cell lines from aborted babies. Although both ...

Backs Florence school millage

I’ll vote “yes” on the school referendum question on the April 6, 2021 ballot. Interestingly, even with a “yes” vote and passage of the referendum, the millage rate for the school’s share of my property taxes will not increase over the next three years! In 2024, the fourth year of the referendum, the mill rate will still only increase to the level it was in 2019. Even if my taxes did increase, the most important asset we have as humans is our children. Seeing they have a free and appropriate education — regardless of income, social status, religion, race or disability ...