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Letters To The Editor

Fact not fiction

To the Journal 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, ...

Hands off

To the Journal editor: It’s been 10 years since Donald Trump entered the political landscape. It’s also been 10 years since I first started coming to the Upper Peninsula, a place that appealed to me because of the kindness and strength of Yoopers, and the vast and majestic beauty of Great Lakes, rivers and boreal forests. The U.P. as I’ve experienced it is a libertarian and supremely tolerant place. Almost everyone I’ve gotten to know up here agrees on a big chunk of the important issues in life. Respect for nature/the environment crosses political lines, because being awed ...

Trump badly missed mark

To the Journal editor: (Recently), I witnessed, televised from the Oval Office, perhaps the most deplorable example of diplomacy in American history. Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelinsky, was seeking renewed U.S. support in a three-year war of aggression against Ukraine by Russia, under the leadership of President Vladmir Putin and offering the U.S., in return, access to Ukrainian mineral resources. President Trump and his vice-president assumed the role of bullies, attacking President Zelinksy with untruthful (fact check it for yourself) statements and comments belittling his ...

He who would be king

To the Journal editor: I used to be a Catholic. I drifted away after high school and college, but then returned to the church after some difficult times in large part due to an inspiring and compassionate Father Charlie here in Negaunee. I left the church again because of a not-so-inspiring pastor who couldn’t help but preach partisan politics. Now I am inspired by a diminutive female Episcopal Bishop Budde who stood like a giant in humbly asking the new president, he who would be king, to have mercy on the poor and dispossessed who seek shelter and security in our great and ...

Musk, DOGE are out of control

To the Journal editor: DOGE is not a department; it is an extension of the executive branch attempting to circumvent the limits on presidential authority. The creation of a U.S. government department or agency requires at least four things: 1) legislative oversight 2) a narrow set of authority, mission and accountability 3) transparency and 4) review and confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Because a billionaire created a clever acronym (department of government efficiency) does not mean we should trust his competency or his motives. The enablers of DOGE, Trump and his party ...

Trump out of line

To the Journal editor: Wow, what did I just watch! A U.S. president doing a commercial for a car company, on the White House driveway!? And who stood with him? The car company’s owner and his 4-year-old son. Just another example of how far this president will go to new and his supporters. Was he paid for this commercial or were the networks who ran it? Oh, wait a minute, he was paid since Elon Musk donated $280 million to his 2024 campaign for the presidency. And now I have read, Musk will donate another $100 million to two political groups associated with Trump. This is ...