Category: Letters

[Peninsula Pulse, Aug. 7-14] In the past, I’ve worked with Navy SEALs. They’re the best of the best of the best – the highest-performing organization on the planet. I asked them, “How do you pick the guys who go on SEAL Team 6?” They drew a graph for me.  On one side, they wrote “Performance,” […]

You ask, “What are these yard signs all about? How can maps be unfair?” The maps in question are the maps defining voting districts. They determine which candidates are on your election ballot for state and congressional races. If these maps are drawn so the boundaries define  areas that favor one group of voters (principally […]

As the family historian, I would like to add to the article in the Peninsula Pulse about Gilbert Farms (“A Visit with Gilbert Farms,” July 24).  In 1878, John Gilbert, with his wife and two young sons, set off from his father’s farm in Germantown with a loaded wagon pulled by a team of oxen. […]

Thank you for your recent article titled “Why Are Water Levels So High?” (Peninsula Pulse, July 2). Science is messy, and it takes time to go from hypothesis to theory. It’s a matter of observations that are measurable and consistent by a community of scientists working in related fields of study. Good science deserves respect and […]

My wife and I were headed back to Door County recently, and on I-43, I noticed some signage promoting the present occupant of the White House with the tagline, “Keep America Great.” I chalked it up to his unmitigated narcissism.  When we got home, I picked up my copy of the Pulse and turned to […]

Regarding the Door County Board of Supervisors’ vote to accept the donation for helmets and shields, I have some thoughts. Yay for the acceptance. And bravo and thumbs up to Richard Virlee for his enlightened take on the overall situation.  This cherished view that most of us hold of living in some kind of throwback […]

There were five letters to the editor in the Pulse the week of July 24-31. It appeared that four of them were blaming and/or accusing President Trump in some way for our troubles. Though to be fair, one of them just used the term “glorious leader,” so maybe it wasn’t sarcastic. I’m amazed by how […]

The events in Portland, Oregon, are a shocking betrayal of the American right to free assembly as enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The actions of federal marshals there show all the hallmarks of “secret police” who can pick up anyone and whisk them off without cause. This is a chilling example […]

When the Door County Civility Project began in 2013, our goal was to advance the cause of civility in everyday life to strengthen our community. I don’t think any of us imagined at that time that we would be living in the challenging world that we face today. Concerns about health, safety, family, economics, employment, […]

Rhymes with “terror.” Unless the presidential polls are 5 to 8 percent off, the “error” of alternative facts will soon be over. I believe there are three key issues that voters will have to deal with in the future:  1) Don’t elect a self-proclaimed genius for president. Truly, he had more skeletons clamoring to get out […]

Fruitless attempts to impeach President Trump for more than three years proved to be a waste of millions of taxpayers’ dollars. An ineffective Congress led by Pelosi, Schiff and the Democratic caucus neglected all else. The country was put on hold while they put critical issues on the “back burner.”  When Pelosi realized the futility […]

We are 100 days from the most important election of our lifetimes. COVID-19 has shone a light on three years of failed leadership under President Trump.  In Wisconsin, there have been nearly 40,000 cases of COVID-19, and more than 800 people have died because the Republican-led legislature has undermined every effort Gov. Evers has made […]

The courageous, gentle, passionate Rep. John Lewis – who dedicated his life to nonviolent activism and the struggle for equal justice – is gone. He will be sorely missed. During our election this November, I will miss hearing him talk about the sacredness of our right to vote and how – rather than making it harder to […]

During the last few weeks, as the U.S. cases of COVID-19 surged more than 66,000 a day and I heard people argue against wearing a mask because they value their “freedom,” I have wondered whether life in a human society can support this idea of unrestricted freedom.   The “liberty” declared in our founding documents was […]

Time to set the record straight. The vocal few anti-Trump haters sure post a lot of political messages. Misleading and politically motivated. There really isn’t much support or enthusiasm for Basement Joe, but the MSM created three and a half years of political propaganda to create it for power. No matter the propaganda, Americans can […]

In view of the litany of “horror stories” on evening newscasts about retirement homes and care centers, we need to share that life at Scandia Village in Sister Bay stands in stark contrast. Residents in the Meadows, Care Center, Woodview and Birchwood have been living in isolation since mid-March – following state mandates and protocols […]

We have seen during the past several months arguments about the necessity and the requirement to wear a mask to slow the spread of COVID-19. Our own president – in order to impress people with his masochism – didn’t begin to wear a mask until three months after medical authorities recommended their use. And today, despite the […]

“Conservation is a measure of civilization. If greed and bigotry are traits of barbarism, then general altruism and tolerance proclaim tremendous progress in the art of living.” — Historian John Ely Briggs, published in 1931 If you agree with that quote, then it follows that Trump is dragging the nation deep into barbarism almost 90 […]

I love reading the Pulse, and the Overheard column puts a smile on my face when I read it. We need more of this during these tense times. What I don’t think was appropriate or fair appeared in a recent Shout-Out column: “Shout-out to all the Black Lives Matter protesters who are showing their solidarity […]

Some will wear a mask but don’t want to be told they have to. Whereupon they drive home from somewhere observing the speed limit (for the same reasons), or else the arresting officer will tell them that they have to. Others cannot believe that the government might have the power to tell them what to […]