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Letters to the Editor

Putin not likely to be intimidated

President Donald Trump stated he would end the Russia-Ukraine war his first day in office. He made this insane statement a number of times. It’s not as if it was one of his looney-tune ideas of opening up Alcatraz again or buying Greenland or making Canada the 51st state. He stated this idea over and over of being a miracle worker and ending the war in one day. For anyone who believed he could accomplish this, I have the Pine Mountain Ski Jump on sale at a good price if you are interested. Do people honestly believe that a tough man like Putin, who could kill a man with his bare ...

The man who wasn’t there

Last night I saw upon the stair A little man who wasn’t there He wasn’t there again today Oh, how I wish he’d go away ... Apologies to Hughes Mearns and his poem “Antigonish,” but the man who wasn’t there is U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman. Bergman is the top spender in the U.S. House for the Reimbursement Program, as reported by The Hill, narrowly edging out Matt Gaetz. Bergman was reimbursed for more than $32,000 in lodging and nearly $12,000 for meals in 2023. He didn’t spend it meeting his constituents in town halls — Jack hasn’t had a town hall since 2017. Jack ...

Defending the rights of others

It is time for the President to do everything in his power to free Kilmar Abrego Garcia and cease the kidnappings and illegal incarcerations of migrants in El Salvador. Our rights are supposed to be inalienable. They are meant to protect us from government overreach and oppression. Your response to this truth may very well be, “This man is not an American and he is a criminal.” I cannot argue with that stance — but the man himself is not the reason for my concern. If he is guilty of a crime, convict him. If he is a violent gang member, punish him to the full extent of our ...

Fact-based history vs. propaganda

What is the difference between political figures claiming historical facts and professional historians talking about historical accounts? I believe this is a critical distinction that defines the difference between propaganda/political manipulation used by demigods forever and factual-based history. Professional historian research events with the objective of reporting events as true to those events as if they were actual witness to the event. Political figures reporting history report those events in ways that primarily will support their viewpoint or give them political advantages. ...

Reaching out to federal workers

These are both uncertain and frightening times for those who are employed by the federal government. We are reaching out to offer our Upper Peninsula federal community another “tool in their toolbox” as we grapple with daily threats coming from the current administration. We are NARFE, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. Since our founding in 1921, the association’s mission has been to protect the integrity of the nonpartisan, merit-based civil service and to defend and advance the earned pay and benefits of America’s civil servants. We are the ...

McBroom’s FOIA work appreciated

On June 15, 2015, I wrote this Letter to the Editor — “On July 1, 2015, there will be sweeping changes to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Law in Michigan. As stated by Mann & Hare, from The Review May/June 2015 (Michigan Municipal League), ‘The changes impact nearly every area of FOIA, including local policies required for FOIA administration, fees categories and methods of calculation, good-faith deposits and fee waivers, record available on the public body’s website, and the appeal process, including significant new penalties.’ “These changes are for the better. ...