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Letters to the Editor

The results of playing up fears

Is this a country dominated by fear? To me, fear results in responses such as isolation, suspicion, irrationality, violence, discrimination, panic and extremism. This appears to be the state of the country today. We saw it recently in a young person shot twice for ringing a doorbell at the wrong house, a young women shot for turning into a wrong driveway, and several innocent people of color killed by police and civilians. Fear has made this country the most dangerous and violent country in the western world. Our answer has been more guns, less regulation and, in some places, no ...

Opposed to IM school millage

To all the voters of Iron Mountain, please consider some things before going to the polls on May 2: 1. North Elementary is not paid off yet. They are hoping to sell it. What is it a desirable location for? 2. New proposed Early Childhood/Kindergarten Academy will be on streets with traffic to the west side and next to a very active church. 3. The superintendent in a public forum said the current enrollment trend dips then levels off, dips and levels off, never mentioning an increase. Keep in mind the birth rates are declining. The administration hopes the new Kindergarten Academy ...

‘Thoughts and prayers’ again

It’s “thoughts and prayers” time again for the NRA-paid politicians, bowing in obedience to the NRA and the gun industry whose wealth is derived from the blood of America’s slaughtered children. According to The Gun Violence Archive, 73 children age 11 or younger and 166 children age 12 to 17 have been killed so far this year. Since 2019, there have been 2,510 mass shootings. The same source lists 1,200 little ones, 11 and younger, and 4,840 children ages 12 to 17 have been killed. Since 2019, 189,982 Americans have died by guns. (Source: Gun Violence Archive for 2022-2023 and ...

On powering up electric vehicles

Over the past couple of months I have had family and friends make comments that electric vehicles are a passing fad. It will take 24 hours to charge the vehicle at home (think 2011 Chevrolet Volt). The other most common comment is they do not want to stand around for 20 minutes waiting for their car to fill up. Both comments are true — but as Paul Harvey would say, there is “the rest of the story.” True, it will take 24 hours to change an empty electric vehicle using a 110 V, single-phase electrical source. A 110V charger is a Level One charger. It uses the same type of power as ...

Teaching about recent events

“Mama, what does ‘indicted’ mean?” my daughter asked one night as I prepared dinner. Words like “indicted,” “presumed innocent until proven guilty” and “grand jury” required a lengthy explanation. Yet with the historic indictment of President Trump, these are words my daughter must know to understand the world around her. It is a world where Capitol police were attacked by fellow Americans who thought the 2020 presidential election had been stolen. In this world, former Vice President Mike Pence and other lawmakers fled for their lives ahead of a maddening crowd ...

Praying for discernment

Although I disagree with many things that are published here, never have I thought about sending a derogatory response to anyone’s home. Unfortunately, that occurs nearly every time that I send a letter to the editor. I’ve even been told that I’m not a real Christian because of what I believe. I think that’s a sad commentary on where we are in this country. Why is there so much division and downright hatred? I may not agree with you, but I don’t hate you. Your opinion doesn’t make you a bad person. But disagreeing with you doesn’t make ME a bad person, either. Not only ...