Uncertain future cited

To the Journal editor:

What will bring on the next “Great Extinction Event?” Global warming? Sea level rise? A wayward asteroid? Maybe Yellowstone will blow its top and bury us all under a cloak of volcanic ash? The signs are there: Carbon dioxide is through the roof. Island nations are being inundated. Magma chambers are bulging at the seams. And who knows what intergalactic rock won’t be just another “narrow miss” as it spins around the cosmic roulette wheel? Will our number be up?

But let’s look on some other not-so-distant national calamities that we have seen of late and examine their not-so-mysterious causes: There was the “housing bubble” that burst in 2008 with its attendant stock market crash, ruining lives and decimating the futures of millions. The cause? Liberal Democrats had thought they could play God and declare that every American had the “right” to own a house regardless of their financial reality. They just didn’t have the omnipotent power to manipulate that reality.

More recently, the college financial aid crisis and its profound effects on the lives of our youth has come into focus. The cause? Once again, liberal Democrats playing God and pronouncing the “right” of every American to a college education regardless of financial status, intellectual ability, work ethic, and the ability to become viably employed enough to repay their loans. Oops! Unlike God, liberals could not “speak” that reality into existence.

Now comes the greatest national meltdown being wrought by would-be-God liberals: It is, indeed, the next “Great Extinction Event” and it has already begun. Forget the melting icecaps. Don’t sweat the raging wildfires. Pay no mind to calving glaciers and rising tides. The real signs of our imminent demise are closer and more foreboding than those. Schools are closing. Malls are being torn down. Five bedroom homes echo with an emptiness that a single person and their dog cannot fill. And help wanted signs hang unheeded by job-seekers who don’t exist.

We have killed ourselves. Self-spayed with birth control, sacrificed on the abortionist’s alter of me-ism, fiercely independent, or given to sterile unions with our own sex, the next crash is imminent. The “great extinction” of our time has long since begun. No enemy will need to conquer a nation that has already fallen on the sword of its own self-esteem. They will simply stroll across our borders unnoticed by a generation that was never born.

PAUL GROBAR

Marquette

Pine Ridge residents wonder

To the Journal editor:

It has been over a month since the July 30 fire at the Pine Ridge Apartments in Marquette. There are approximately 146 people now homeless.

We have endured much in the past weeks. The Salvation Army, Red Cross and Northern Michigan University were quick to respond, but my first few days were a nightmare. While I am grateful that the Superior Dome was offered for a shelter, it was a very hard environment to sleep in. When we complained, it was posted on a local media website that we were ungrateful. After a few days the shelter moved to Lakeview Arena. It seemed to me to be a much better place for tenants, until they all had to be moved into the community forum room because of activities at Lakeview Arena.

There has been bad communication since day one. I have received wrong information from Pine Ridge staff, 211, Marquette Emergency Management and the Red Cross. After being told to report to the Superior Dome, no one seemed to be in charge, and each agency gave conflicting information. I was yelled at and even in one circumstance laughed at when I asked a question of the Pine Ridge staff. At a press conference, Mayor Fred Stonehouse told us to be thankful it wasn’t worse.

Do you honestly think we are not grateful to be alive? I wanted to ask him if he had ever been homeless? Teresa Schwalbach, Marquette Emergency Management Program coordinator, and Jorma Lankinen, Marquette Housing Commission president, did not say a word. At another meeting, Dave Campana from the city commission was in attendance (he is not running for a seat, but his wife is). He said he had it better in the Army and he would see what the city commission could do. What did they do? Nothing. We are still waiting. Where is the city commission? They are probably at a groundbreaking for a new condo project.

The Marquette Housing Commission has now waived competitive bidding for repairs. It’s a month too late. How much longer until I and my fellow can tenants return home? I am bringing summer items back to my apartment. Do I need to get my snowshoes next time?

CAROL ONTTO, resident

Pine Ridge Apartments

Pets are a lifetime commitment

To the Journal editor:

Why do people have pets? The answer should be to provide them with a safe, loving, and happy home for the duration of their lives. For those who provide this, your pet will surely return the favor with unconditional love and so much pleasure. What could be more rewarding than that? Unfortunately, that’s not what happens for some pets.

For some people, pets are nothing more than a novelty, and when their “entertainment value” no longer exists they are neglected, abused, or simply cast aside. These people don’t understand that pets are capable of experiencing feelings. They understand love, fear, as well as the pain of abandonment. Also and contrary to what some people believe, allowing your pets to run free is not doing them any favors. By doing so you are exposing them to predators, diseases, as well as many other dangers.

Deciding to welcome a pet into your home should not be based on an impulsive decision. They are certainly not a toy or piece of furniture. They require love, attention, food, and occasional veterinary care which at times may be costly. It these are things you are unable to or unwilling to provide, then a pet is absolutely not for you. Again, when you adopt or purchase a pet that pet becomes your responsibility for the remainder of its life. Don’t make that life a miserable if you’re not prepared to care for it properly.

BRUCE GUSTAFSON

Marquette