To the Editor:

On Wednesday, as I watched the glistening snow swirl around the wall I was framing in the woods of Trout Lake, I smiled at the thought of being called a Republican Big Wig. I wonder how many Big Wigs have snow blow down their neck while kneeling in the snow pounding nails?

Congressman Bart Stupak was a close friend to my brother and sister-inlaw, and Representative Gary McDowell I have known for a long time. I have voted for both of these good men in every election they have run in, and I always vote for the best person, though I kinda like being compared to Shawn Hannity and Bill O’Reilly. Good company, thanks!

I like to think that if I had been a citizen of Nazi Germany, I would have taken the side of those who spoke out against the evil of Hitler, at whatever cost. It is said that evil happens when good men do nothing, and so I spoke out against one of the few people in the world that is working to destroy America, and that is George Soros. He is, in my opinion, the epitome of evil.

I enjoyed Brian Grondin’s letter. I agree with most of what he said except I never did say that Mr. Ramelis was a traitor. What I did say was “contributions to MoveOn.org, to me, is tantamount to treason,” tantamount meaning “equal to.” Mr. Ramelis, if I offended you in any way, I apologize most sincerely. As far as those political panderers I mentioned, facts are facts, check the congressional record. I concede that there are a lot of very good, caring Democrat politicians. Though as an equal opportunity satirist, I have to add that the sorry affairs of the State of Michigan lie directly at the feet of our Republican legislators. It is my opinion that most politicians, no matter what party, are self-serving thieves of low moral turpitude.

It is just too bad that there is not a viable third party in America to keep these brigands in check. The only other option is to vote out all incumbents every election, that is, except the ones you own through PAC’s that you support personally. I do wish that Governor Granholm will invest into Michigan a viable, state-owned health care for all workers, though, but she won't.

Mr. Ramelis has noted that he works in the Newberry prison. Good for you, sir. It is my belief that the state of Michigan, by raising the number of inmates to a cube, and by the short staffing of officers, is putting you and your fellow officers at great peril. Inmates are being reclassified from three to two so as to lodge them in level two prisons. Riots are not far off. Once again, it is our legislatures of both parties and our Governor that spend hundreds of thousands on money for cool cities, but could give a damn about those who keep us all safe, whether correction officers or policemen. I had written many letters to legislators and the Detroit Free Press to keep the prison in Newberry open, as opposed to the private, expensive one in Buckley. But it was public pressure, not any certain party, that saved that institution.

I am not in favor of using nuclear bombs. America has them and we used them, twice, not to mention the small tactical battlefield nukes that are kept at the ready 24/7 on ships and in Air Force and Army bases. During the cold war, the U.S. Army had small tactical nukes ready to go out the end of cannons. Now we have small nukes in cruise missiles. A tactical nuke, though, is probably not as affective as a bomb known as a Daisy Cutter. We have been using hundreds of those in the Gulf wars. The kill range is everyone in one square mile. If Iran or North Korea sell or give nuclear bombs to terrorists, I have no doubt that America will, in fact, turn those countries into glass, like an animal rights activist who would eat a live gerbil if there was a great Depression like in 1929. If it was the survival of either your family or innocent children and women in Iran, which would you choose, your family or them?

Rick Weiss

St. Ignace