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Letters to the Editor

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. ...

Take time to help caregivers

The American Legion Auxiliary is a community of volunteers that focus, and serve veterans, military and their families. “The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up,” per Mark Twain, an American writer once shared. The Menominee American Legion Auxiliary Unit 146 members attempt to do this on a regular basis. However, there has not been enough emphasis on the caregiver, adults and youth, that aid others with extra assistance such as Alzheimer’s, dementia, hospice, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), immobility, incontinence, etc., while taking care of ...

Tariffs will affect even products made in USA

I purchased a Stormy Kromer the other day. Inside at the back of the hat is an American flag and the statement: Made in USA in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula of globally sourced materials. So, the hat is made here but the cloth it is made from is imported. Many products are made this way; assembled here, but the items that go into it are made in another country and are imports. President Donald Trump may have put a 90-day freeze on the individualized country tariffs, but he has placed a general across-the-board 10% tariff on all imports. This probably means the price will be going up ...

Order will affect local libraries

The recent executive order that mandates the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to be eliminated to the maximum extent of the law WILL have consequences for local library services. Thankfully, the Dickinson County Library is largely supported by local taxpayers and does not receive any direct funding from IMLS. However, some popular and vital services we provide our patrons are funded with these federal dollars; namely, the Michigan Electronic Library catalog (MeLCat) and eResources. Due to budget constraints and physical space limitations, no library can hold ...