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Letters

Catholic priorities... Reading in the Feb. 3rd Detroit Free Press of retired Catholic Cardinal Roger Mahony’s efforts to “shield priests from prosecution and keep parishioners in the dark about sex crimes against minors” leads me...

Wants to drive 55... Does anyone remember why a national 55 MPH speed limit was imposed by a law signed by President Nixon back in early 1974? This speed limit was in response to 1973’s oil price increases on oil shortages. Limiting vehicular speed was intended to reduce consumption of oil...

Pay attention, voters... As if the lame duck actions of the Michigan legislature weren’t enough, the GOP is now working on a new law to change the way our electoral votes are counted. State Rep. Peter Lund, R-Shelby Township, is sponsoring the bill that would tie our votes to the congressional districts instead of the number of electoral votes assigned to each state based on population...

Assaults weapons unnecessary... Do people really think they need assault weapons that fire 100 bullets without reloading to protect themselves? Do we really think that the federal government will confiscate our guns? If that is our fear, it seems to be a bit unrealistic when the federal government has drones and other sophisticated weapons which could be used far more effectively than gun power...

Features Patrick Sullivan Detroit News columnist Neal Rubin will be in Traverse City, March 5, to host the next National Writers Series event, an evening with Buzz Bissinger, a bestselling author whose book, “Friday Night Lights” was turned into a movie and an NBC television series. Although Bissinger takes the spotlight next month, we wanted to shine it on Rubin and find out more about this great columnist from the Detroit News.

Features Rick Coates

After a one year hiatus, Traverse City Winter Comedy Arts Festival is back and with a new partner, The National Cherry Festival.

“For all the right reasons, we’re taking our wintertime efforts that went into producing the Winter WOW!Fest over the past six years, and this year we’re putting them to great use by working together with the Traverse City Film Festival to make a world-class event that will benefit the entire community,” said Trevor Tkach, executive director of the National Cherry Festival.

Letters

True meaning of MLK Day... Something about Paul J. Nepote’s letter lamenting the “hijacking” of Martin Luther King Day by the gay community seems a little disingenuous. It’s hard to tell if he’s attacking the gay community, the use of public funds for the celebration, or the holiday itself, but I did not find it to be in the spirit Dr. King’s life...

Racist rant... It’s too bad that Paul Nepote considers himself a viable voice for the African- American community, when it’s clear by his racist rant (Letters, 1-28-13) that nothing could be further from the truth. It’s too bad that anyone with a brain will see through his weak claim that “the majority of the black community do not support homosexuality...”

Sick of it... Is it just me or is everyone sick of hearing about Paul Nepote’s anti-Homosexual diatribes? And now he claims that the LGB&T movement has hijacked MLK day. Really? Ludicrous at best. Yes Mr. Nepote, you are entitled to your opinion, and I to mine...

Watch out for meddlers... While Barack Obama won the state of Michigan in November, Republicans successfully invested millions of dollars in local elections to impact policy decisions. Proposal 2, designed to guarantee collective bargaining rights, was defeated by a well-financed campaign...

Christian values violated... I found a copy of your publication on the break room table at work today. I was instantly upset and ashamed that you are proudly telling the story of the two homosexual men in Traverse City...

Features Patrick Sullivan

There’s been a steady interest in John C. Mitchell’s book, “Grand Traverse The Civil War Era,” since it was published in 2011 but that interest has only picked up with the popularity of the movie “Lincoln” and renewed interest in the Civil War as events from that era celebrate 150 year anniversaries.

Mitchell sat down with the Express to talk about his book and his lifelong friendship with Peter Leonard, son of Detroit crime author Elmore Leonard.

Letters Reagan, Bush & guns... Why the hysteria over President Obama recommending the ban of assault weapons since Reagan and G.W. Bush did the SAME thing?

Guns & young men... Over the past decade, some reoccurring community concerns and thoughts that have come to mind. To me, it seems like we need to have some community reevaluation, rethinking, and changes. What say you?

Guns & the media... I agreed with your Random Thoughts column, re: violence in USA and gun control. Our perceptions are so ingrained about how safe we are here and how dangerous it is in foreign countries.

Slamming MLK Day... It’s too bad that Traverse City’s homosexual community continues their attempt to ride on the coat tails of black history. The majority of the black community do not support homosexuality or gay marriage, and are sick and tired of the sham that the gays and their allies continue to perpetrate on our citizens.

Snyder’s lack of jobs... Will Governor Snyder run again?  Total Michigan employment declined by 11,000 in December; however, the number of unemployed was little changed, edging upward by 1,000. The net impact was a 10,000 worker reduction in the state’s labor force over the month.

A better supreme court... We ask Governor Snyder to give serious consideration to the recommendation of the state’s bipartisan commission on Michigan Supreme Court elections.

Rigging the vote... Gerrymandering is the redrawing of congressional district lines to give one party advantage over the other in elections. Even though Democratic congressional candidates won the popular vote by over a million votes in the 2012 election, it was the Republicans who won the US House and both houses of our Michigan legislature due in large part to gerrymandering.

Features Patrick Sullivan “The guy is dressed like a commando out of a bad movie,” Roote said. “He’s got on camo from head to toe, boots, and he’s got two shoulder holsters, each one holding a handgun, ready to draw at around chest high. You can’t imagine. I told my brother to get on the ground.

Features Erin Crowell

Not many couples spend their honeymoon getting married. But for Traverse City residents Rob Stow and Jeremy Evans, they were doing just that when they took a train from New York City to a courthouse in New Haven, Connecticut.

In August of 2009, the two gay men arrived and filled out the application that would legally bind them as a married couple, and handed it to the county clerk employee wearing a baseball cap.

“It was very mundane for her,” Stow chuckled. “It was so nonchalant.”

Letters wim death mystery... I am concerned about the drowning death of Arianna Alieto in the Northern Michigan University swimming pool after the team worked out in the pool on November 30.

Right to Work myths... So called “right to work” (RTW) laws are best understood as state government interference with privately negotiated contracts to weaken and defund unions. A real “right to work” is not at stake anywhere in the USA. Since 1947, it has been unlawful for private employers and unions to require workers to join a union to obtain a job.

The debt debate... I was sorry to read that Stephen Tuttle hasn’t figured out the dynamic underlying the deficit battle. The purpose of that fight is to impose austerity and cut federal programs in an effort to balance the budget, a program that is clearly failing in the European Union.

Stop the violence... If “your” woman hits you, call the police. FIRST! You may have one chance to avoid going to jail.  Don’t imagine that you can handle it yourself. Don’t imagine that anyone will ever listen to your side of the story if you don’t take it to the law right away.

The value of whole foods... Thank you for the whole food story featuring Dr. Mary Clifton. As a certified instructor for Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) Food for Life programs, I can attest to the dramatic health improvements people gain from eating real food. I’ve had students get relief from arthritis pain and step away from their meds, elimination of migraines, diabetes reversal, significant drops in blood pressure and cholesterol, and that is just a start.

Features Jim Motavalli

After back-to-back trips to the Detroit Auto Show and the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, I’ve put together a pretty good picture of where the auto industry is headed in 2013.

The big news at CES was cars bristling with electronics to both allow them to drive themselves and to do just about anything you could possibly want with infotainment, including access the cloud. CES isn’t an auto show, but it may as well be these days—Lexus, Ford, Audi and many more were there.

Features Robert Downes

What happens when you take more than 15,000 photos on a city street and spin them into a time lapse video?

For real estate photographer Jason Hulet, the result is a surrealistic portrait of a day in downtown Traverse City that has viewers on YouTube and Facebook awestruck over its psychedelic colors and dreamlike progression.

Scan the accompanying QR code with your smartphone or visit the Video Seen link at northernexpress.com to see for yourself.

Features Robert Downes

Once a week, professional endurance athlete Josiah Middaugh likes to strap on his snowshoes or crampons and charge up one of the Rocky Mountain ski runs in Vail, Colorado.

“Winter is a key training season for me,” says Middaugh, who grew up in East Jordan and has since become one of the top multisport athletes in the world.

Letters

Ending gun violence... Guns don’t kill people. People with guns kill people. It’s the relationship that’s lethal. While preserving our right to own guns the following suggestions would decrease the likelihood of future gun violence and mass murders.

Our plant allies... As the song goes: “from a distance the world looks blue and green and the snow capped mountains white.” It reminds me of Michigan’s sales pitch to tourists “Pure Michigan.” From a distance it is a stunning view, but if we take a closer look there are some serious problems now and more to come.

Hair & there... Re: T.J. Tracey’s letter, 1/7: According to the line item in the December 24 My Style, one had to assume that I seek out $96 haircuts. Yikes! My haircuts at Shear Pleasure are actually $22. The $96 “hair” was my recent bi-annual splurge on a frost/shampoo/cut.

Occupy TC pitch... Remember the Brown Shirts ? (With apologies to Pastor Martin Niemoller)

First they came for the poor, and I did not speak out,
Because I was not poor.
Next they came for the immigrants, and I did not speak out,
Because I was not an immigrant.

ALEC’s bad influence... Congratulations fellow Michiganders! Our once proud state is receiving national media attention thanks to our governor and state legislature. We are evolving into a ruling oligarchy. I speak of the evils of the DeVos family, the Koch brothers, and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Features Patrick Sullivan Douglas Charles Hastings has never received a “key to the city” from Traverse City leaders, but he did get his hands on a key that’s arguably much more valuable.

Hastings managed to get a copy of a key that unlocks any of the city’s parking meters, sturdy steel containers that can be laden with change. A single meter can hold up to $300; a double, up to $600.

Features Erin Crowell For one hair or wax appointment, clients at the Foiled Hair Lounge in downtown Traverse City are transported, for a moment, to the urban feel of a city landscape. With just the tops of buildings—including nearby businesses and churches—in view, the hair studio gives the impression of a city loft.