March 19, 2024

Letters 04-16-2012

April 15, 2012

Email your letter to: info@northernexpress.com

Please keep your letter under 300 words (one page).

Only one letter per reader in a two month period will be accepted. may be edited for length or to correct factual errors. Letters must be signed to be considered for print and a phone number is required for verification. Faxed letters are not accepted.

No medical marijuana?

When I read Patrick Sullivan’s April 9th article about Lori Montroy, I was shocked to learn that a new landlord was trying to evict this woman for the second time in two years for using medical marijuana to cope with her brain cancer.

Hasn’t she been through enough in the past two years? When I called Steven Wright, Lori’s new landlord on the phone to ask him why he would allow an oxycontin addict or an alcoholic to live in his apartments but not a medical marijuana patient, he said, "Oxycontin and alcohol aren’t against federal law. I promise my tenants a drug free, family environment."

So, according to Steven Wright, oxycontin and alcohol are ok in the "drug free, family environment" provided by Prime Properties Management but using marijuana for brain cancer is grounds for eviction.

Really? I think this is a case of Wright being wrong.

Bob Heflin - Williamsburg

A fair tax

Recently, CNN reported income tax fraud of a new sort. Thieves steal social security numbers, file tax returns on the accounts of these numbers and receive the refunds. The segment went on to suggest the IRS is not doing its part to curtail such activities.

The income tax has been seriously flawed from its inception. The income tax code contains seven times as many words as the Bible, is unreasonably complex, contains loop holes readily taken advantage of by the rich, and is easily cheated on. It’s very unfair.

The proposed Fair Tax is far superior to the income tax. If the Fair Tax is adopted, the IRS would be annihilated.

The Fair Tax is essentially a national sales tax with no exceptions. Everything purchased is taxed; everyone pays. The very poor are protected. It’s very fair and its collection simple. Its adoption would be a huge plus for American businesses: no more payroll taxes.

The price of American goods exported to other countries would be reduced substantially resulting in a huge boost to the American economy. Those same "made-in- America" goods bought by the American consumer would be reduced too.

Ask your congressional candidates about the Fair Tax before you vote.

Glen Terrell - Arlington, TX

Forests threatened

Love your forests? Concerned about logging? Forests all over Michigan, and recently around this area, your neighborhood, The Vasa Trails, Muncie Lakes, etc., are slated to be, and have been, nearly clear cut at an alarming rate.

Many of us are devastated by this, and want to know what we can do. The DNR is planning a presentation for us, and public input is crucial! Please attend April 18, 6:30pm at East Bay Township Hall, 1965 Three Mile Road, Traverse City, just south of Hammond Rd.

Concerned citizens are gathering to form a forest Advocacy Coalition. To get informed & discuss the future of our local & State Forests, and to be notified of upcoming meetings, we urge you to contact ForestCoalition@hotmail.com or call 231- 709-2323.

Jenevive Windwalker - TC

Tuttle appreciated

Please let Mr. Tuttle know how much I appreciated his column about the tragic death of his son, and how badly I feel for him.

He is one of my most favorite writers and is a true asset to your publication, and I wanted him to know that even people who he has never met can relate to his heartache and loss.

I thank him for sharing his grief, and it does remind me that my three young adult sons still need to know their parents love them, and they need our hugs.

Alan Couture - Gaylord

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