Opinion
Seasons Change, So Must We
Guest Opinion
By Shelly Charron | April 26, 2025
As a region that thrives on seasonal tourism, we are starting to notice a change in the air. There is anticipation building as we prepare for the return of tourists and seasonal residents. However, this shift brings some significant challenges. Our local restaurants, shops, hotels, farms, parks, and construction sites need workers, and those workers need housing. Without adequate housing options for our workforce, our economy suffers. Restaurants become short-staffed, leading to … Read More >>
Diversity Matters
Guest Opinion
By Karen Mulvahill | April 26, 2025
Variety is the spice of life, right? So, what’s all this fuss about diversity? According to City University New York: “The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect for the full range of human characteristics…” Could someone please explain to me why that isn’t a value you’d expect of a just society? In our profit-oriented world, just being good humans is never motive enough. Therefore, much research has gone into placing a … Read More >>
Follow the Rules
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | April 26, 2025
There is not a section, paragraph, sentence, or word in the United States Constitution that says the Legislative and Judicial branches of the government are subservient to the Executive branch. Not one. The Founders conceived of three equal branches of government checking and balancing each other. This would be clear to anyone who has actually read our Constitution or took a high school government or civics class but, alas, many MAGA Republicans … Read More >>
DEI Overreactions
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | April 19, 2025
Most people consider equality to be a good thing; equal opportunities, equal pay, equal consideration. We also like the idea of being included, and diversification is almost always a recommendation for investments and collections of all sorts. That’s why DEI (diversity, equality, inclusion) programs started as a popular idea; difficult to argue against the concepts at least in the abstract. But, of course, we found ways to take DEI concepts to extremes, … Read More >>
Transgender Panic vs. Common Sense
Guest Opinion
By Tom Gutowski | April 19, 2025
In Executive Order 14168, signed on his first day in office, President Trump declared that “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female,” and that “these sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.” The deciding factor in determining gender, according to the order, is what type of reproductive cells the individual produces. While this may seem like common sense, it … Read More >>
America’s Fascism, Past and Present
Guest Opinion
By Peter Bormuth | April 19, 2025
Though its original author is disputed, you’ve no doubt heard the quote: “When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in a flag and carry a cross.” Has the United States succumbed to fascism by reelecting Donald Trump? To answer that question, a historical perspective is helpful. Mussolini defined fascism as “corporate control of the state.” According to that definition, fascism has arrived. Not including dark money, fossil fuel interests poured … Read More >>
Civilization or Barbarism? A Christian Perspective
Guest Opinion
By Walt Wood | April 12, 2025
"Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Our faith begins with confession. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. I have a beef with fellow Christians who ignore the threat of authoritarianism by hiding behind the words: “I am in this world, but not of this world.” It is a simple excuse to avoid responsibility in our … Read More >>
Some Truths about Autism and Vaccines
Guest Opinion
By Isiah Smith, Jr. | April 12, 2025
In 1998, the highly respected scientific journal, The Lancet, published a study that sparked the theory that vaccines cause autism. In 2010, the article was retracted after the editors discovered that the conclusions had been based on fraudulent data from a study involving only 12 children. The Lancet wrote that the 1998 paper published by Dr. Andrew Wakefield and his colleagues “are incorrect, contrary to the findings of an earlier investigation.” Wakefield … Read More >>
Big Protests, Bad Bets
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | April 12, 2025
The Hands Off! protests of a couple weeks ago were impressive in their size and scope. According to various media reports, gatherings took place in some 1,400 American communities with nearly 600,000 people signing up in advance (per CNN), and even more participating. Locally in Traverse City, 4,000 people reportedly showed up to express their displeasure with a variety of issues. Protests even occurred in several European cities including Paris and London. … Read More >>
Irrational Decisions
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | April 5, 2025
The irrational decisions now happen with such dizzying frequency that it’s almost impossible to keep track. If it was something we valued, there is a pretty good chance Donald Trump and Elon Musk will destroy it. Let’s start with the arts, in which the current administration never had much interest until now. Since it was founded in 1971 as a bipartisan, semi-independent part of the Smithsonian Institution, the John F. Kennedy Center … Read More >>
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