Letters 7/13/06

July 12, 2006

Go multilingual
Having lived and worked in a variety of countries where I didn’t necessarily master the native tongue, it was heartening to be consistently treated with respect despite my language barrier. I was never once made to feel a burden.
So when I read of efforts to deny immigrants the right to speak the language of their choice coming from people who are also critics of immigration, I can’t help but suspect a little creeping xenophobia.
When John Rohe, a man whom I respect for both his character and his writings, expresses fear that if we don’t limit the rights of immigrants we’ll end up, “....living in a nation with a permanent underclass of people that look and talk different than the rest, “ I can’t help but be concerned what truly motivates such thinking (re: Letters 7/6).
It’s clear to me how John wants to change the way people talk, but how and why would he care about the way people look?
And in the end, if John is really worried about an underclass, how in the face of billions of dollars being blown on unnecessary wars, graft in our nation’s capital, threats to our ecosystem - to which John writes so insightfully -- democracy for sale to the highest bidder, healthcare unavailable to 40 million citizens, the export of jobs, etc., etc., can John be seriously making the case that a multilingual society is a threat to self-governance when there are countless nations offering models of multilingual success?

Timothy Young • Empire

Ad sales strategy
I noticed with great interest that State Sen. Jason Allen included a piece of political advertising as an insert in the Monday Record-Eagle. How can this be?
Why, just last week Jason’s father Maurie wrote a blistering letter condemning the Eagle for daring to question Jason’s integrity. Maurie’s bitterness was so intense that he swore off advertising in the paper. In the prior week, Jason’s good friend Ross Childs also blasted the Eagle and encouraged the leaders of the community to abandon the paper until the paper conformed to the “Ross” style of journalism and cease their implications that Jason might have an ethical issue.
So why would Jason advertise in the Eagle? Maybe the Record-Eagle isn’t as bad as Maurie and Ross contend! Or maybe Jason simply uses his family and friends to front his dirty work all the while trying to keep his image lily white.
Maybe if the Northern Express spent more time investigating Jason, Jason might be willing to advertise more in the Express.

Jack Capehart • TC

Kidnapped state
President George W Bush has once again said Israel has a right to defend itself and the lives of its citizens.
Yes, Israeli soldiers are citizens of Israel. More often than not they hold dual citizenship and are also citizens of the United States or as in the case of the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is also a citizen of France. What is lost on the American public is Israel is a settler state built on Arab land.
Moreover, Israel continues to take more and more Arab land to the point that they now hold more than 85% of historic Palestine.
Everywhere in the U.S. media the captured Israeli soldier is being referred to as a hostage and his capture is referred to as a “kidnapping.”
If this is an accurate portrayal, why aren’t the over 9,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jail not described as “hostages” or “kidnapped,” even though most of them are snatched in the middle of the night from their homes and lands?
This double standard warp in terminology and understanding of the conflict attempts to lead us to accept that the U.S. and Israel are fighting “crime” and “terror” in Iraq and Palestine while the resistance in both countries are “insurgents,” “bandits” and “hoodlums.” Closer to reality is that both Iraqis and Palestinians are people who are fighting in defense of their own nations.
While 22 Arab countries agree to recognize Israel on 78% of Palestine if it withdraws from the 22% that is Gaza and the West Bank, Israel with support of its patron the U.S. has never accepted to recognize the rights of Palestinian natives to this slice of Palestine. So the fighting will continue.

Marian Kromkowski
Suttons Bay

Parking deck facts
Thank you to the Northern Express for providing unbiased reporting on the West Front Street Project and the public vote set for August 8. I particularly appreciated city commissioner Matt Schmidt’s insight into the value of this project.
Everyone has a deep appreciation for how great our downtown is, but there seems to be a lack of recognition that it is great because of the intense community planning that has occurred with great leadership by the DDA. Radio Center and the Hardy Parking Deck are incredible starts in the effort towards greater walkability and the elimination of surface parking lots. This West Front Street project, with over $5 million in state funds is a “no-brainer”: it cleans up a blighted area, provides residential units downtown and solves short and long term parking issues for that end of downtown. Local taxpayers pay nothing, and there is little to no risk - the developers’ taxes pay for everyone’s parking.
I hope Traverse City voters are paying attention to the FACTS. Thanks again for keeping the dialogue going, and reporting on this issue fairly.

Duane E. Marcotte • TC