Breaking News

Letters to the Editor

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 ...

Presidential overreach

EDITOR: What does a king/autocrat behavior look like? The definition of a king is a male monarch of a major territorial unit. An autocrat is defined as a person, as a monarch ruling with unlimited authority. Our form of government defines that Congress as making the laws consistent with the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, and the Courts to interpret the law when needed. The President is not given the right to make law, or define what a law means. The President is not there to manipulate or look for obsolete/vague laws to take actions that the majority of legal scholars ...

Not imagined

EDITOR: Imagine that your wife and children can only watch as armed men in uniforms drag you to a waiting vehicle. They have no warrant and you will have no day in court. They will tell the news media that you belong to a criminal gang and that you are in the United States illegally. They are federal agents and they must put numbers on the board In El Salvador, your head will be shaved and you will wear white pajamas, like thousands of other prisoners. It won’t matter that you committed no crime or that you have a visa or a green card and are a lawful resident of the United States ...

Addressing wage gap for women on annual Equal Pay Day in US

Today, March 25, is the national observance of Equal Pay Day, when women and men around the country recognize the wage gap between working women and men — and offer potential remedies to address pay inequity. According to statistics released in 2024 by the U.S. Census Bureau, women earned only 83% of the median annual salary paid to men. In other words, for full-time, year-round workers, it took women 15 months to earn what men earned in 12 months. Michigan women are paid just 82% of what men receive, while Wisconsin women are paid 83% of what men earn. Women and our families are ...

An open letter to Elon Musk

This is a letter directed at Elon Musk. Dear Elon, On your media site, X, you posted: “My companies make great products that people love and I’ve never physically hurt anyone, so why the hate and violence against me?” Perhaps growing up in South Africa, you never were introduced to the Charles Dickens’ classic, “A Christmas Carol.” You may want to read it, for I dare say it may enlighten you as to why people dislike you. May I suggest that there are several reasons for people to react negatively toward you: 1. You are the world’s richest man, yet you have ...

What would we give up for peace?

There once was a country that held the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal. In the interest of “peace,” the U.S. persuaded that country to give up its arsenal to Russia in exchange for “security guarantees.” Soon after, they lost their territory of Crimea with no intervention from any of the parties who signed what is now the meaningless Budapest Memorandum. In the interest of “peace” they carried on but under new threat for more invasion. That invasion came and it came again from Russia. Ever since they have been fighting for their very existence. Many Americans have ...