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Whitmer A Tyrant? Jack Bergman thinks so. In a fundraising communication he recently sent, Bergman said, “I did not fight for this nation for 40 years to come home to be ruled by a tyrant like Gretchen Whitmer.” At least the soldierturned-politician didn’t turn to the hyperbole used by the state GOP brain trust and the mob parading around the Capitol. When they refer to the governor as a tyrant, they frequently label her a Nazi, and sometimes Hitler. Of course, this raises several questions about Bergman besides his professionalism. What is his definition of a tyrant? Did he “fight for 40 years” to be ruled by a tyrant like Donald Trump? Or has he not been paying attention to Donald Trump’s behavior for the past three years? A common definition of a tyrant leader is one who governs cruelly, unjustly, arbitrarily, and oppressively. Tyrants throughout history have typically been individuals who use his/ her power to: seek absolute authority and control, silence critics and a free press, eliminate dissent, and use the power of the state to punish opponents and rivals, disregard and put him/herself above the law, and use the power of his/her position to enrich him/ herself, family, and close associates. This doesn’t even come close to describing Whitmer, but we’ve witnessed many examples of this behavior from Donald Trump. Yes, Whitmer has instituted some onerous restrictions in her executive orders. These are temporary measures. And they were put in place to protect the citizens of this state in the face of a deadly pandemic. Bergman has spent his time in office praising and supporting Donald Trump 100 percent. Not once has he spoken out about Donald Trump’s outrageous behavior. While our governor spent her days trying to do the right thing for our state, Donald Trump spent his time worrying about his popularity, spreading disinformation, lashing out at critics, and blaming others for his failure to lead a credible national response. Maybe during his “40 years of fighting for this nation,” Bergman should have spent some time studying what tyranny and leadership really mean. Peter Raphael, Maple City
and we must do everything in our power to defeat him. Joe Biden was not my first choice. But I won’t just be voting for him; I’ll be talking to my neighbors, supporting his campaign, and doing everything possible to make sure he’s our president come January 2021. I call on others to join me. Sam Bennett, Traverse City Think About What You’re Endorsing “A man with nothing left to lose is a very dangerous man, and his energy/anger can be focused toward a common/righteous goal. What I’m asking you to do then, is sit back and be honest with yourself. Do you have kids/ wife? Would you back out at the last minute to care for the family? Are you interested in keeping your firearms for their current/future monetary value, or would you drag that ‘06 through rock, swamp, and cactus to get off the needed shot? In short, I’m not looking for talkers, I’m looking for fighters. And if you are a fed, think twice. Think twice about the Constitution you are supposedly enforcing (isn’t “enforcing freedom” an oxymoron?) and think twice about catching us with our guard down — you will lose just like Degan did — and your family will lose.” [Letter from Timothy McVeigh to Steve Colbern, as quoted in the 2001 book “American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing” by Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck.] So I ask Rep. Jack O’Malley and Senator Curt VanderWall: How comfortable do you feel about jack-booted camo-clad neo-Nazi thugs brandishing assault weapons in the Capitol building? Even in the balcony of the legislative chamber! Are you “cool” with that? What if they were Black Panthers instead? Cat got your tongue? Larry Hauser, Lake Leelanau What’s the Plan, Man? I know what’s best for home protection (a 12–gauge shotgun). And a 30-30 is good for deer hunting. But I’ve never seen anything that tells me what works for germs or a virus. I want the economy to improve, but the suggestions by many Republicans seem to be that, as a grandparent, I should die for it. That seems a little extreme, but that’s true of most Republican ideas. They pass a trillion-dollar tax cut for the top 1 percent, and now we must cut Social Security and Medicare to pay for it. Why don’t we ever cut back on aircraft carriers? I have watched tax cuts since Reagan’s “trickle-down theory”: You give tax breaks to the rich, and everyone will gain. Something that has never happen, nor ever will. These are questions that come to mind when I’m home too long, but what I couldn’t do is spend 14 hours on Twitter — on Mother’s Day, no less — but the fat guy in the White House could and did. A guy who really believes in families, yeah. Again, just asking. Don Seman, Bellaire
Anybody But Trump “We’ve got to make Trump a one-term president.”—Bernie Sanders It was with that quote that Bernie Sanders endorsed Joe Biden. And as a strong Bernie supporter, I think it’s important people know I’m voting for Joe Biden this November. Trump has shown himself to be a threat to our public health and safety throughout the coronavirus pandemic. He is the worst president in U.S. history,
Some Questions 1. Why would you ever vote for this tyrant who puts profit above the health and wellbeing of the citizens he represents, touts death as collateral damage, and even ignores a dozen warnings in the Presidential Daily Briefings (early January) that the COVID-19 virus was already in this country? 2. Why did Trump withhold CDC guidelines from the states? The watered-down guidelines were only released when the media exposed this administrative action.
3. Trump claims that his action to close the country to China limited the spread of COVID-19; however, when he made that decision mid-January, the virus was already in our country from Europe. Why did Trump ignore the recommendations from Obama’s transition team that the country needed to prepare for a possible outbreak? 4. Why would you consider this narcissistic con man who thinks he knows more about climate change than 100 scientists across the globe and has removed our country from the Paris Climate Accords? 5. How can you trust Trump, who endorses Putin, of Russia, over the three intelligence agencies in our own government? These agencies did conclude that Russia interfered in our 2016 election on Trump’s behalf. 6. Why would you ever vote for Trump, who made the world unsafe by backing out of the Iranian Nuclear Arms Agreement, which allowed Iran to further enrich uranium? 7. How could you begin to trust the integrity of a habitual liar when The Washington Post has recorded over 18,000 of Trump’s lies or distortions to his base and the entire country? 8. When the tyrant Trump is challenged or advised by any of his staff, they are fired, including, recently, four IG watchdogs investigating the administration’s activities. 9. To reelect Trump would be a big mistake. Turn Michigan blue again.
CONTENTS features Crime and Rescue Map....................................7
20 Fascinating People.....................................10 McGee’s 72..................................................19
columns & stuff Top Ten..........................................................5
Spectator/Stephen Tuttle...................................6 Opinion.............................................................8 Weird................................................................9 Astro.........................................................18 Advice.......................................................20 Crossword..................................................20 Classifieds.................................................22
Ron Dykstra, Beulah Pay Attention, Youth The young and the ambitious should be watching and taking notes. I see a polarized consensus on an ideal of the greater good that’s divided between the liberal autonomy of rugged individualism and the paternal macro-management of collectivism in an age of progress. The collective conscience is starved for reconciliation in its wildly inconsistent interpretations of social contract and civic duty, and I see a young demographic for whom these points will merit serious philosophical deliberations. To say that I’m left with an ominous feeling in light of our collective response to the coronavirus would be the understatement of all understatements. In fact, the absence of universal outrage on grounds of principle alone illustrates to me the problem with America’s special “soft” brand of tyranny. The largely emotion-driven and irrational rhetoric of the collective fearmonger misses the greater point. No one is questioning the institution of science. No; the individualist objects to authoritarianism on a fundamental level. As such, the magnitude of COVID-19 as it relates to public health is immaterial so far as it concerns the merits of coercion in the name of protection from an invisible threat. What precedent have we set here? Should we not be at liberty to go about our lives and our private capital endeavors free from coercion unless and until we can quantifiably be shown to have directly and demonstrably infringed upon the rights of another specific individual? Silly, here people are proclaiming their notional support for sweeping authoritarian measures, and they’re doing it by citing a collective interest — all the while we’re dealing with a nation in which the very essence of the agreed-upon social contract values first and foremost rugged individualism as the collective interest. Call me a stubborn idealist, but was not this nation itself born of stubborn idealism?
Cover photo by Amanda Adams Northern Express Weekly is published by Eyes Only Media, LLC. Publisher: Luke Haase 135 W. State St. Traverse City, MI 49684 Phone: (231) 947-8787 Fax: 947-2425 email: info@northernexpress.com www.northernexpress.com Executive Editor: Lynda Twardowski Wheatley Finance & Distribution Manager: Brian Crouch Sales: Kathleen Johnson, Lisa Gillespie, Kaitlyn Nance, Michele Young, Randy Sills, Todd Norris, Jill Hayes For ad sales in Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Boyne & Charlevoix, call (231) 838-6948 Creative Director: Kyra Poehlman Distribution: Dave Anderson, Dave Courtad Kimberly Sills, Randy Sills, Roger Racine Matt Ritter, Gary Twardowski Listings Editor: Jamie Kauffold Reporter: Patrick Sullivan Contributors: Amy Alkon, Rob Brezsny, Ross Boissoneau, Anna Faller, Jennifer Hodges, Craig Manning, Jillian Manning, Clark Miller, Al Parker, Michael Phillips, Steve Tuttle, Copyright 2020, all rights reserved. Distribution: 36,000 copies at 600+ locations weekly. Northern Express Weekly is free of charge, but no person may take more than one copy of each weekly issue without written permission of Northern Express Weekly. Reproduction of all content without permission of the publisher is prohibited.
Derek W. Meyer, Traverse City
Northern Express Weekly • may 25, 2020 • 3
