The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Merrill Foto News, its publishers, Editor, or staff.
To the Editor:
Long ago a Man named Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee when he caught sight of two men named Simon Peter and Andrew. They had just cast their net into the water, for they were fishermen. Jesus called out to them, “Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men!” Jesus did not say to them, “Drop that net and do what I say or I’ll seize your possessions and have you punished!” Those men followed Jesus of their own free will because he was a Man of kindness, compassion, and leadership.
When I read the recent letter from the Holy Cross Sisters, I was shocked. The current occupant of the Oval Office and his administration have displayed none of the qualities that Jesus had. That’s why so many do not wish to trust or follow them. Many of these deceivers threaten us and openly mock God. They revel in perversions of all sorts. They fight for the right to have innocent children murdered. The experimental chemicals they say we must take have proven to be of dubious value. The ineffective masks they force us to wear ring with a symbolism of those who once wore the swastika armband. They fight to take our God given freedoms away.
Perhaps the good Sisters should re-evaluate who they are really serving, Almighty God or Joe Biden. Thank you and God bless America.
-Jeffrey Krall
Merrill, Wis.
To the Editor:
Last week I tried to attend an Active and Aware Citizens (AAC) meeting at the T.B. Scott Library. It was a brainstorming session on how to spend tax payer dollars on a possible “Recovery Grant” for Merrill. NOWHERE in the email sent out did it mention masks would be required to attend, but the Library staff were quite insistent based on their policy.
This meeting should be considered discriminatory in that it was not held in a facility where ALL active and aware citizens could freely participate and the AAC should be looking for a different location to hold future meetings. It appears that based on policy or location, we now have entities telling us they really don’t want ALL active and aware citizens to participate in this type of meeting; only those willing to comply with this level of government overreach in the first place. I’m sure any recommendations coming forth will be very one-sided.
While this may have been a simple oversight by the AAC group to inadvertently exclude citizens with different thoughts on the pandemic response, I feel it is a very slippery slope we are traversing as a society.
As to the library masking policy, the facility is funded by tax payer dollars. It should be freely and equally accessible to all citizens. I expect that it won’t be long before one will need more than a library card to check out a book here!
– Extremely Frustrated Citizen
LaDonna Fermanich
Merrill, Wis.
To the Editor:
Re: The Concept “Stigma”
Many times in history we have been imposed upon to say there is a stigma, and many times we have complied. Told to direct a stigma at rape, for generations we did, stopping when our consciousness was raised to the harm we were doing. For a brief and terrible time, we were instructed to direct that term at AIDS. Far too many of us complied. Before we stopped, far too many people died.
Today we are being urged to direct that same prejudice at mental health issues, and again, far too many of us are complying, far too many people are being hurt.
It is time to stop again. Personally and editorially, it is time to stop.
– Harold A Maio, retired mental health editor
Ft. Myers, Fla.
To the Editor:
Three years ago, the GOP in Madison failed to eliminate the office of Treasurer in a landslide of voter protest. Now, they are trying to remove the citizens voice in choosing our own government. They have proposed “eliminating elections” for three positions they wish to control. Rep. Sortwell, co-author, claims they are “not eliminating anything” with their proposal to eliminate elections. They want these elected positions to become Cabinet appointments which GOP legislators would have the power to approve or deny. This is an attempt to eliminate your right to vote. The GOP wants to take away your choice and make it theirs. Sen. Roth, co-author, stated, “We are giving the choice to the people,” as he proposed legislation that will take the choice away from the people.
Listen to their words. Both Rep. Sortwell and Sen. Roth claim they are “not eliminating anything” and “are giving voters a choice” as they propose legislation eliminating elections and taking away your choice. They stand in public and say this with a straight face. Apparently, they are quite confident in the gullibility of their constituents.
This would affect every voter in the state, regardless of viewpoint. The GOP has tried, and failed, to challenge the legitimacy of elections. That didn’t work. Now, they are trying to eliminate the elections entirely so that they don’t even need to challenge the results.
Madison conservatives consistently work to dismantle the system by which we are governed. They should be able to lie better.
– Doug Curtis
Gleason, Wis.
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