March 29, 2024

Letters 4-28-2014

April 27, 2014

EMAIL LETTERS 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.

Happy Belated Easter

Happy Easter to all of you! On this day of celebration, I will have no truck with cynicism or anger. Today will be about hope and resurrection and love will reign supreme. Once again we will attach our spirits to the banner of the Risen Lord, and bathe in the glory that is to come.

There will be little girls in pretty dresses and people that we don’t recognize in church. Preachers with dollar signs in their eyes will count the people in pews and allow themselves the illusion of self-importance once again. This only happens twice a year, you know. Smiles of relief will reside on the faces of all that winter is gone.

Back home, the ham is cooking, Dad’s face is stuck in the paper, and Johnny and Susan are playing their vampire video games. Mom will be at the kitchen sink, preparing the feast, with the dog at her feet waiting for something to fall off the counter.

Gosh, I just realized. When I only present one side of the coin, there really is nothing else to say at this time so my "sermon" will be short. Easter is a time to remember the joy and the victory. Too bad it only lasts for a day.

William E. Scott, Traverse City

Stealing from Education

Governor Snyder’s proposal to fix roads by converting the sales tax on gasoline at the pumps to a fuel tax at the wholesale level is a camouflaged raid on the school aid fund. The Michigan constitution and the Proposal A were combined to assure that the public school aid fund would receive 4 percent of each 6 percent sales tax collected. For every $500.000,000 of sales tax that is removed at the pump and converted to a tax at the wholesale level on fuels, Michigan public schools will lose $333,000,000 annually.

Our public schools cannot afford this assault and need your clamor to stop and desist the actions of Gov. Snyder, Rep. Schmidt, Rep. MacMaster, and Senator Walker. Following the guidance of his minion, John Dixon, the governor has proposed this sleight of hand to raid schools of their due support, to fix roads by shifting funds rather than facing the responsibility to underwrite this public need to repair our roads with tax support named for that purpose.

It is time that we require our leadership to stand up and meet their public responsibilities rather than spend their time finding ways to divert previously committed resources to their current passion. Anyone who tries to move funds away from K-12 education to the "for profit private sector" of education is playing directly into the hands of the DeVos family and the Mackinaw Center’s assault on public K-12 schools.

James McKimmy, Rapid City

Congrats to Students

Congratulations to all the area high schools who participated in the Academic WorldQuest program and contest. How we view ourselves in relationship to other countries and how they view us is paramount to understanding our world and our place in it. It is gratifying to know that our young people are willing to give their time and attention to these matters. A particular salute to the Traverse West Senior High for winning their trip to Washington D.C. to compete at the next level.

Lou Ann McKimmy, Kewadin

Trending

Mysterious Michigan Reads

We can’t think of a better way to spend spring break than with a great book. Northern Express asked local bookseller... Read More >>

Heirloom Recipes With Heritage, History, and Nostalgia

Before we begin to stash our coats and put winter behind us, let us remember what years past have taught us…fake sp... Read More >>

A Floral Family Affair

In the quaint downtown of Elk Rapids sits Golden Hill Farms, a shop where the artistry of floristry meets the rustic charm... Read More >>

A Look at Originalism

O Tempora O Mores! Oh the times, oh the culture. This Latin phrase relates to both the 18th century and our current times.... Read More >>