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Letters To The Editor

What’s real problem?

People are up in arms because protestors in Los Angeles are waving Mexican and Salvadoran flags instead of American ones. I don’t carry a flag myself; I’ve never found salvation in a piece of cloth. But let’s be clear: the outrage here is not about symbols. It’s about who is allowed to grieve, to demand dignity, to be visible. If you’re more offended by a foreign flag than by children held in detention, or by police swinging batons at demonstrators, your priorities are showing. This country has always made it dangerous to be poor, brown, or undocumented. ICE didn’t invent ...

Pretender isn’t great

“A day for remembering.” This was The Mining Journal headline on May 27. Yes, I remember well my cousin, Wayne, who died on Omaha Beach. Yes, I remember his brother, Paul, who died ... parachuting over France, only miles away from where his brother lay on the beach. Two boys from Springfield, Ohio, who died fighting against fascism. Their parents earned a gold star to hang in their front window. I remember it well. And I will likely never forget the affront I felt when I read the utterly shameless and loathsome Truth Social missive the present, so-called commander-in-chief ...

Cuts harming Americans

I learned that effective ... May 18, there will no longer be 24-hour staffing at the National Weather Service Office in Marquette. What does this mean? No weather forecasting services/updates at night. A sudden storm at night on Lake Superior? Mariners cannot seek shelter. A sudden thunderstorm with large hail, heavy winds, possible tornado? None of us can seek shelter. An unexpected sudden snowstorm at night with make travel hazardous? Drivers cannot alter plans or seek shelter. Anyone with extended time living in the UP knows these things happen regularly. Nationwide, the NWS had ...

Time to wake up

I grew up in a very patriotic home. Every morning my father would put the flag up on a large pole that he cemented in our front yard. Dad was a police officer who believed in our country and following law and order. However, out of all my family members, my mother was by far one of the most patriotic on both sides of the family. She always believed that the United States was the best country on earth. My mom was a naturalized citizen. She was born in Poland and lived with her parents and sisters in a small farming village.   One day in the late 1930's, Russian soldiers burst ...

Open letter to Bergman

Dear U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, You were quoted in the news as saying, “It’s not what you’re against, what are you for? Show us what you’re for and then let’s have a dialogue.” I’m reasonably certain that many of your constituents have already expressed their views on what they stand for. Let me share mine. What I am for, and what I want you and all of my governmental representatives at all levels of government to be for, are... Easy access to nutritious and healthy food for every person to eat, not 46% of our children in the UP being food insecure. Enough fresh water ...

Slippery slope cited

U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R–Watersmeet, is running an online ad that said he is fighting for our way of life. That choice of words scares an old man like me. During the 1950s, 60s and 70s, those words were a rallying cry for southern segregationists. The way of life those folks were defending was about keeping non-white Americans in their place. Even though the work of those non-white people was vital to the success of the economy, those workers were disrespected, denied equal rights and often considered to be dangerous. My concern is that a lot of talk about immigrant workers from ...