Letters

Name cleared
My son and I again want to thank The Northern Express and Anne Stanton for
telling our story (“Branded For Life,” March 23, 2009) detailing our
experience with the juvenile justice system and the Michigan Sex Offender
Registry (SOR). So many positive things have happened since then.
We were successful in finally finding an attorney who understood the
nature of our situation. We only had three years from “Jim’s” release from
state custody to petition the court for removal from the SOR. We filed in
June with only days to spare. The judge saw reason and granted our
petition, but my son still has a felony conviction on his record.
Since then “Jim” has thrived. He has stopped hiding behind his hair. One
of his teachers commented that it was so good to see his face and eyes. He
is getting excellent grades and scored a 92 on his ASVAB. His enthusiasm
about his future is awesome. Last year at this time he was laying around
in his room thinking that his life was over because of a mistake that he
made when he was 10 years old.
It was bad enough that his childhood and innocence were taken away from
him by being exposed to a bunch of sexual deviants in treatment. Finding
out that he had to register quarterly as a sex offender for at least 25
years was unbearable.
More than once I left the jail in tears over the humiliation of having to
drag my child in to register as a sex offender - it was also a horrible
ordeal for my son. Every three months we were reminded of what happened.
Having the police at my door on more than one occasion has also been
embarassing for us. We are so grateful that it is over.
I am still being billed by the court for Jim’s “treatment” and I am paying
what little I can afford. As a single mom with two children there isn’t
any extra money in our budget for the $12,000 plus owed by me to the
court. I hope to address this issue in the future.
Thanks again for telling stories like ours that the mainstream media
ignore. You provide a valuable public service and we are forever grateful.

“Sandy” and “Jim”

(“Branded for Life” involved the case of “Jim,” a 10-year-old boy who
inappropriately touched his 11-year-old cousin on the outside of her
underwear and was branded a sex offender. - ed.)

Kiss Kontroversy
This is in response to Rick Coates’ recent article about the group Kiss
not being admitted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
I agree with much of Rick’s article with a few exceptions. I agree that
far too many inductees are admitted each year. I mean, what are the
qualifications? Is it how popular a group was, how influential or cutting
edge they were, or simply just longevity in the music business?
I love jazz, and Billie Holiday was a great jazz vocalist, but can anybody
really explain why she’s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Please
explain to me what in hell Madonna is doing in there, as well as Percy
Sledge, the Dave Clark Five, and yes, even Richie Valens. I can
understand Madonna being in the “Pop Icon Hall of Fame,” but someone
please tell me what influence her music had on rock and roll? Also, Kiss
in the Hall of Fame! Come on, do theatrics and popularity alone qualify
this group to be admitted? If that’s the case how about admitting the
Archies, or Freddie and the Dreamers?
Rich Cenci • Lake Ann

Tea Party viewpoint
There was a copy of your latest issue floating around our office this
week. I picked it up and read the first few pages. Robert Downes’
article contained some of the biggest liberal fabrications I have read in
months. “The war on terror seems to be over”; “we’re not in a Great
Depression” are only two of the many fabrications in the article not to
mention the bailouts and health care. We are in a major recession and it
is going to get worse under our current leadership and the mis-directed
spending.
I take exception to your cartoons on your letters page, especially the
put-down of the tea party groups. I have a relative that attended both the
Million Man March and Tea Party in Washington. He informed me that there
were more then half again many people at the Tea Party and they did not
leave a mess to clean up after the rally. You are nothing but another
liberal rag spreading liberal lies and you will see none of our
advertising dollars.

Tim Butler • TC

Provide Medicare for all
Everybody seems to agree we need health care reform. And I believe
everybody on Medicare is satisfied with with it. So why can’t we have a
program like Medicare for everybody?
WE have all of our government employees, military, veterans, postal, city,
and state workers on some sort of program, along with a lot of others such
as school employees and almost all retirees.
People say, well why should I pay for somebody else’s health care? Well,
look at it this way: if your employer pays for it, the people that are
buying his product or service are paying for it. So unless you are super
rich where you don’t have to work, somebody else is paying for your health
care and you are already helping to pay for others. So let‘s get together
and have health care for everyone, not just the fat cats.

Alfred W. Wilkins • TC


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