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A few final thoughts before the final Election Day
Editor:
Many of the voters have already made their choices-- I hope you chose wisely, and with informed consideration for the future. I fear half of you have not. For those remaining, consider these points.
You are unlikely to billet criminals in your basements, nor are we likely to put them in stocks on the Village Green. Therefore, we need a viable, evolved, safe and up-to-code jail. An updated facility has been previously, thoughtlessly rejected several times. Now do or die, if we don’t approve it for everyone’s safety, to face the reality of an expanding law-breaking population, it’Il cost us even more if the Government does a mandatory seizure, rewrites the codes, and we’ve no choice. Many of you have money for alcohol, dope-stores, one more piercing or tattoo, another phone app or “big ole truck”; how about for civic responsibility? My taxes are astronomical, but in this case, raise them a little now, not sky-high later. Be smart, support the jail.
Our library’s an essential source: inter-library loans expand your access to resources not always available locally, which helps spare your purchase power: computer services; educational materials your children as well as adults need, entertainment or learning. Your stock-broker couldn’t find a better investment than a library card. Support your community library!
We’ve a duty to our community, whether or not we directly use these resources. Recognize your responsibility, vote YES on these issues.
Lastly, the Senator’s race: I follow politics very closely, and Abdul El-Sayad has frankly not breathed what I discern as a true word since the campaigns started; represents groups and policies destructive to law-enforcement, America, and Israel; actively and intentionally courts disaster with his economic and social policies. Mike Rogers: *warts*? Possibly. But is El-Sayad what supposedly-informed voters really want? Think very very hard about this one: the supporters of deceitful politicians are just as guilty as they are for their iniquities, and deserve some of the blame. NO to E-Sayed!
Be informed, vote thoughtfully and responsibly.
Jim M. Gau
Hancock
Confronting history
Editor:
During a public conversation in Belfast, former President Barack Obama said that Jews seeking refuge "took land off people," adding, "And those people understandably said, 'This is injustice and I want my land back.'"
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded, "Our land is not stolen land." But that assertion should not obscure the documented history of Palestinian dispossession.
Israeli historian Adam Raz's 2024 book, Loot: How Israel Stole Palestinian Property, provides a carefully researched account of how ordinary Israelis and soldiers systematically looted Palestinian homes, shops, and farms during and after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War to prevent Palestinians from returning.
Looting encompassed everything from furniture, household items, and valuables to factory and farming equipment. The book also documents how these actions were acknowledged and lamented by contemporary Israelis, with Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, privately condemning the theft as widespread even as it continued.
Raz bases his work on extensive archival research, including newly opened records, eyewitness accounts, diaries, and newspapers, making the evidence particularly credible.
Palestinians lost more than possessions. They lost livelihoods, communities, and access to homes and land. An honest response to Obama must confront that history.
Terry Hansen
Milwaukee, Wisconsin