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Letters to the Editor

Whose facts are we using?

To the editor: At a meeting sponsored by the Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce in late 2019, held in Houghton, I asked Rep. Jack Bergman if our elected officials should tell the truth to their constituents. Initially, he though the question was a joke, but after I assured him it was not, he said. “Yes, but it depends on the what facts you are using.” If that is the case, then what facts set is he using to publicly recognize President-elect Joe Biden as our next president, and why did he sign on to a Texas lawsuit that sought to overturn the election results in states, including ...

Do our votes count?

To the editor: I am very surprised that no acticle in your paper has occurred regarding the attempt by state Rep. Greg Markkanen and U.P. Rep. Jack Bergman to disenfranchise the voters from our own state of Michigan and three others. Markkanen and Bergman’s websites both echo the same claims of voter fraud in four states that has yet to convince any court that there is ample reason to believe it may be true, all the court filings have been thrown out including the Texas lawsuit that asked that the votes in four states, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia and Pennsylvania be thrown out, ...

Forfeiting credibility

To the editor: With a court record of one win and 57 losses at worst or one win and 30+ losses at best (appeals continue to occur), Donald Trump has stretched his claims of election fraud beyond credibility. Unfortunately, those that represent Northern Michigan and the western U.P. (Jack Bergman and Greg Markkanen) refused to recognize the preponderance of evidence and court losses that have mounted since Nov. 3. They each revealed a critical flaw in human judgment by signing on to a nationwide demonstration of loyalty rather than choosing to level with their constituents that ...

Striking up conversations

To the editor: The 2018 Father’s Day flood was a traumatic event, as we all know. We’re used to challenging weather in the Copper Country, but this was something else. The water came down and down. Streets became raging rivers that then ran through houses. Houses moved across the road. Precious life was lost. The flood recovery was slow and is ongoing. We were warmed by the helpfulness of neighbors and the helpfulness of the neighborly who came from far away. Somehow, it did not matter what the political opinions of the injured or the helping were. Our human spirit lifted us up ...

A little jääräpää

To the editor: For almost a year, I’ve watched the Copper Country, like every other corner of our vast world, suffer through COVID-19. Most of our folks have risen to the challenge with ingenuity, a dollop of grace, and a pinch of good will for their neighbors. We’ve donned our masks, social-distanced, and sacrificed in small and not so small ways our sacred ceremonies and cherished celebrations, sometimes our livelihoods, and oftentimes our sanity. These folks overflow with that special brand of Copper Country chutzpah we might know better by the Finnish, sisu.  Sadly, we’ve ...

Open letter to Bergman

To the editor: In my career as a pilot and serving with the military, I have spent a lot of lonely moments in different parts of the globe. As an officer with relatively down to earth beliefs, media news from home can sometimes be troubling. Americans are a diverse bunch and sometimes things are said, and things are done in America that go against the grain. In those times, a long way from home, I took pride we have a democracy which gives us the right to say and do and live just about any way we wish, even if I did not agree. That is why I proudly served. You recently signed on to ...