Restore the dams
The editorial about the Boardman dams was very good. It would probably take the river at least 10 years to clean itself of all the debris starting with the Brown Bridge Dam. The muck and garbage that has settled at these dams would cost millions to clean up.
I would rather see the dams restored and the hydroelectric put back online. This was a cheap source of energy for many years. Sometimes I think the powers that be in this county and city act without much thought of what's good and bad for our area.
I was born in this area 75 years ago, and hope we are going in the right direction.
Basil Gray
Traverse City
Reform government
I was pleased to learn that Gov. Jennifer Granholm has taken the first step in reforming state government by merging the natural resources and environmental quality departments.
When you count the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general and judges at the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, legislators, various state department directors and the several hundred members of boards and commissions, the boards responsible for governing public universities and community colleges, judges, sheriffs, clerks, registers of deed, prosecutors, drain commissioners, surveyors, county commissioners, road commissioners and mine inspectors in the 83 counties, mayors, village presidents, council members, supervisors and trustees in the thousands of cities, villages and townships, and board members in hundreds of school districts, Michigan has too many politicians.
To put this in perspective, in Cheboygan County, where I serve, there is one politician for every 166 people.
Merging the departments was a step toward having a discussion on what government means and what it's supposed to do in the 21st century.
Whether it's in northern Michigan or Lansing, it's clear that government must be reformed.
Dennis Lennox
Topinabee
The writer is Cheboygan County drain commissioner.
Mental halitosis
Recently I heard Congressman Alan Grayson, D-Florida, call for members of Congress "to do their jobs" and "end the holocaust in America" by passing health care reform legislation.
For an elected official, or anyone for that matter, to make such a ridiculous comparison shows how far removed we as a society have come from knowing and understanding what an actual holocaust is.
Rep. Grayson ultimately lacks historical competency and relevance by comparing our present health care system to that of the systematic extermination of six million Jews, along with gypsies, and those mentally and physically disabled, murdered by the Nazi regime.
The comment was insulting and preposterous. Maybe Rep. Grayson can take advantage of his taxpayer-funded health coverage to diagnose and treat what I suspect is a bad case of "mental halitosis."
Karl F. Eichberger
Traverse City
Two edits, both wrong
Two editorials, both wrong. First, voters and their school districts that taxed themselves at a higher millage rate for education should not be punished because voters in other school districts chose not to support their schools with more money.
The purpose of Proposal A was to help districts support their schools through state funding because many weren't doing an adequate job. They were not supporting their systems through property tax.
Second; I have always felt centralized government was more efficient and less costly than local township government. However, I now see that it is worth the extra cost as a check against incompetent county government.
Green Lake Township Supervisor Paul Biondo is right, the rural townships should not have to pay for a failed septic treatment plant planned and built by other townships and county government involvement. The rural townships had no input or say in this fiasco.
If Grand Traverse County Commissioner Fleis' district wants to, good for them; the rest of us don't.
Don Dierkes
Interlochen
The writer is a former county commission candidate.
Stuck in the sandbox
Here we are stuck waist-deep in the sandbox.
Our exit hope from Afghanistan is to create a nation where one has never existed. It never had a national political structure nor an infrastructure. It has been governed by Muslim, tribal and warlord power bases that shift like sand as perceived advantage changes.
The American empire engendered permanent military bases (not Marines in embassies) in over 60 countries. The irony is the military used to protect America's economic interests in the world. Now, corporations are multi-national or simply produce products in foreign countries while the U.S. military continues to protect the interests of the corporations.
The military always has a war response to international conflict. That's why they exist, how they are trained and how they get promotions.
Oil companies, those that make military hardware and various other corporations make a lot of money preparing for and during wartime.
It is called the "military-industrial complex."
Question: Would the Middle East militants be here if we weren't there?
Edward Rom
Traverse City
Suggested source for cuts
I read with interest the other morning that our elected and/or appointed officials have financial problems as far as stretching the funds available to meet the excessive demands. My old Master Sergeant preached, "Lieutenant, just be glad you are not getting all the government you are paying for!" I guess we are now.
The proposed budget problem answer is to cut life-saving and protective "on the street" police and fire department personnel. A quick review of a list of state government office job titles suggested a better source: Administrative Assistant I, Administrative Assistant II, Administrative Assistant III, Administrative Specialist, Assistant Registrar, Associate, Community Development Spec I, Community Development Spec II, District Court Judicial Assistant I, Exec. Assistant, Legal Assistant, Medical Records Assistant I, Office Assistant I, Office Assistant II, Office Assistant III, Personnel Analyst I, Personnel Analyst II, Processing Assistant I, Processing Assistant II, Trainees and Vice Chancellor.
Robert Ackerman
Beulah
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