Letters 03-28-2016

March 25, 2016

Women Beware

These are perilous times for women. If you are female, be prepared for the upcoming Dark Age. If Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee, you’re going to be in the crossfire of a right wing misogynist blowback the likes of which you have never experienced. You’re going to hear the terms bimbo, Hildabeast, ugly, fat, and other words to describe the first female candidate for president. Every inch of her body will be will be subject to mockery by the same men who sported Sarah Palin buttons that said "Coldest State Hottest Governor."

If you’re near a Trump rally, beware of flash mobs of angry men pushing and shoving women like rag dolls. If you’re an older woman, be prepared to hear that women your age are road kill or too emotional to function. If you’re a wife, you’ll hear these men blame Mrs. Clinton for her husband’s affairs and claim that she’s not fit for duty for trying to navigate that betrayal for the sake of her daughter. If you’re a young woman of color, you’ll be reduced to a welfare queen looking for free stuff.

Everything you believe about who you are as a female will be challenged as they string Mrs. Clinton on the tree of male liberty and attempt to beat her with misogynist insults. I regret to inform you that the juvenile bullies on this political schoolyard maybe your dad, your uncle, your brother, your husband, your son, a coworker or friend you’ve always respected, or a man who claims to be a Christian. And God forbid, you may find some women who are participating in these sexist assaults. If you hear it, shut it down. Don’t be an enabler. Be an example to our girls.

Julie Racine, Marion

Fair and Balanced?

At the latest Republican debate, Fox News came prepared to ask the tough questions. They went after Trump’s tax plan that would greatly increase our debt and income inequality by giving the biggest tax breaks to the wealthy. While exposing the ramifications of a candidate’s policy is fair game, Cruz’s tax plan was not exposed, even though his plan also increases the debt and income inequality. Fox confronted Trump for being endorsed by KKK member and Cruz attacked Trump for not denouncing such an endorsement. Fox made no mention of Cruz being endorsed by an extremist anti-abortion group that believes killing doctors who perform abortions as justifiable homicide.

Fox questioned Trump’s plan to ban Muslims from our country but no mention of Cruz’s plan to ban Muslims coming from Syria. Perhaps Cruz is right, that there is a war on religion and he is leading the charge.

While Trump is well known for wanting to build a wall to prevent illegal Mexican immigrants from entering our country, Cruz has a similar plan.

Besides not being fair and balanced, Fox News covered up the fact that Trump and Cruz are very similar.

Ronald Marshall, Petoskey

Heroin Statement

Heroin use is an epidemic of extreme proportions in northern Michigan. Period. How will it be addressed properly?

Joe Connolly, Traverse City

Military in School

Your maturing child in public school has frequent encounters with military recruiters present in the schools. Other groups such as Veterans for Peace are restricted.

Students have indicated that recruiters’ pitches are strong on patriotism and adventure, giving little or no mention of adverse effects such as loss of control over your life for a number of years, chance of being maimed or killed, increased risk of being raped and risk of emotional consequences such as PTSD and increased likelihood of suicide.

Yes, the military has many advantages, but the whole story should be told.

The people in your child’s high school who have access to your child are the school counselors whose responsibility it is to help students seek out all pertinent information on careers and to help students make well informed decisions. Insist that your child’s counselor be well informed on all aspects of the military experience.

Remember, if you send your child into war, say your final goodbye. The person who returns may be someone else.

Bernard Hachett, Professional Counselor and Veterans for Peace

Reps in the Dark Our savior, Representative Dan Benishek is once again looking out for us. Dan voted for the Dark Act, a bill to block mandatory GMO labeling. Here’s a list of Michigan Representatives that want to keep you in the dark. MI1 – Dan Benishek (R), MI10 – Candice Miller (R), MI11 – Dave Trott (R), MI14 – Brenda Lawrence (D), MI2 – Bill Huizenga (R), MI4 – John Moolenaar (R), MI6 – Fred Upton (R), MI7 – Tim Walberg (R), MI8 – Mike Bishop (R)

Tom LaMont, Kaleva

Fighting the Strawman

Democrats are wasting time campaigning against a Republican strawman. Donald Trump will not be the Republican nominee and he does not want to be president because that is not his game plan.

Trump considers himself to be the "king of deal makers." His greatest thrill is manipulating others into some arrangement where he controls the outcome, ultimately to his personal benefit. His supporters see this as a type of power that makes him a winner, and no matter what he does, they continue to support him.

Why would he want to be stuck in Washington, be polite to people, or downsize to flights on Air Force One? He has a better "deal" in mind and Democrats are going to gift wrap it for him. Trump already has a sizable number of delegates and supporters that threaten the establishment. Disenfranchising these delegates would splinter the party, while letting Trump be the nominee would hand a victory to any Democrat.

Now comes the Trump "deal." Suppose he gives his delegates and campaign support to an establishment Republican like John Kasich. This would be a good deal for everyone and a great deal for the Republican Party.

But Democrats have campaigned hard against the Trump strawman, wasting considerable press, political ads, and debate rhetoric. When he is out of the picture, there will not be enough time nor money left to rally against the eventual nominee, but the twenty years of anti- Hillary lambasting will continue to haunt her majesty. Should the prophesied nomination come to pass, there would be no better gift to the Republicans than Hillary on the ballot.

On the other hand, a Bernie nomination would continue to advance fresh, positive proposals for an interesting campaign.

David Petrove, Interlochen

Tuttle Is Off

Mr. Tuttle, I protest. Methinks you paint with far too broad a brush. The power of the written word lies in the details. "Us vs. Them," (3/21/16) is a total train wreck. Next time, instead of briefly addressing several major topics connected with a weak subject thread, write one column properly skewering Bernie, and thank you so much for actually writing about Bernie again. Didn’t you get the memo? You display arrogant-elite-disease by saying that Bernie’s targeting of Wall Street sounds somehow right to people looking for scapegoats for their own circumstances.

That the facts don’t line up with the accusation is just an inconvenience. Even 6th graders know that they have to give specific details to support their argument. Then, regarding Traverse City’s Commissioners, aren’t you just salivating with all the material there? It’s surely worth an entire column.

I’m concerned. Do you have too much material to espouse? Are you submitting sloppy copy? I usually love your columns. Perhaps a vacation is due.

Still your fan, Judy Childs, Traverse City

Bernie Bashing

Is anyone else tired of Steven Tuttle’s Bernie bashing? Week after week he dismisses Bernie Sanders while singing Clinto’s praises; now he’s gone too far ("Us Vs. Them," 3/21). Tuttle claims Sanders is trying to scapegoat Wall Street firms and big banks for America’s woes, but "that the facts don’t line up with the accusation is just an inconvenience."

Excuse me? Maybe he should Google the Glass-Steagall Act, and its repeal under Bill Clinton. This 1930’s Great Depression era law served to keep banks from gambling with investor deposits, and its repeal was the main factor in the financial crisis of "˜08. Perhaps Tuttle doesn’t remember the stock market nose-dive, and his house wasn’t under water for years like mine?

A lot of Americans rightfully blame the banks, and see Hillary Clinton getting ready to do exactly nothing to reign them in. Sanders has already said he’d reinstate Glass Steagall. Clinton would not. Hey, why bite the hand that feeds you? Keep drinking the corporate Kool- Aid, Mr. Tuttle!

Scott Jones, Kalkaska

WAR

What is it good for? As the old Vietnam protest proclaims: " War is good for business; invest your children."

Yes, war is good for business; the business of selling products for killing. World arms sales are up 14 percent, with the U.S. supplying the largest amount. Modern weapons of destruction such as drones and missiles have isolated us from the horror of death and environmental destruction. Endless wars built on meaningless pretexts are sucking us dry economically and morally. Why do we keep arming the world and expect a different outcome? Because war profiteers don’t want peace; it would cut into their profits.

Perhaps when war stops being profitable, when death profits are taxed 100 percent, we will come to our senses. Maybe when we realize violence doesn’t work, we will choose non-violent alternatives like education and diplomacy.

We know what has happened to every empire in history. As Martin Luther King said: "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on war than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."

We must regain our humanity.

Ann Rogers, Traverse City