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Letters to the Editor

Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan reaction

EDITOR: We, the leadership of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan, are saddened by the news that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette has called upon its clergy to withhold baptism and other sacraments from persons who are trans, transgender and non-binary until they deny their personhood and repent of who they are. This is does not reflect the loving, liberating and life-giving God we know. We believe and proclaim the Good News that all people are created in the image of God and that all people are beloved children of God. Because this is true, we are called to advocate ...

Monsters are due

EDITOR: Some of you will remember seeing this episode. Everyone else should find a way to watch it. “The Twilight Zone” original series, the episode was “The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street.” The aliens didn’t have to invade Earth and fight to take over. All they did was find a small group in the suburbs where everyone knows everyone, and they all got along. The aliens land (hover) a couple of blocks away. The locals know that they heard a spacecraft land a block over. The aliens start doing tricks on the residents on Maple Street. The lights go out and then come back on in ...

America: Time to re-focus?

EDITOR: The United States of America, since its Declaration of Independence in 1776, has stood the test of time to become one of mankind’s greatest experiments. Our founding fathers pushed back against tyranny and set out on a journey of freedom and liberty. The United States Constitution was born. For over 225 years the Constitution has been the foundation of our republic. I recently read a letter to the editor (Nov 30 – “LaFave gambling with public health”) in which the writer stated their belief that public health supersedes the liberty and freedom that the Constitution ...

Mask study conducted in 2011 has limitations

EDITOR: This letter is regarding Ralph Blasier’s letter “Mask Facts (COVID 19)” and “Mask facts two, COVID”, and specifically concerns the study Mr. Blasier cited that was conducted by “faculty of the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney Australia” (titled “A cluster randomized trial of cloth masks compared with medical masks in healthcare workers” published in BMJ Open in April of 2015). The study itself was conducted across 14 hospitals in Hanoi, Vietnam with participants being monitored for a total of five weeks ...

Lies, damned lies, and statistics (Mark Twain)

EDITOR: Ralph Blasier’s letter on 11/30 discussed ‘the first randomized clinical trial’ of medical vs cloth masks on respiratory or influenza infection in health care workers (HCWs), but gave no article citation so readers could check it out for themselves. The study, funded by 3M - that manufactures masks- was done in Vietnamese hospitals in 2011. The only statistically significant finding was that HCWs who wore cloth masks had a higher relative risk for influenza-like illness than medical masks wearers (http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006577). Over 4 weeks, 29 of 580 ...

Mask facts two, COVID

EDITOR: On November 30, the Daily Press published a letter from me discussing limitations of COVID masks. I have recently been criticized by Brian Black for my letter (December 6). In my letter, I did not differentiate between protection of the wearer versus protection of the person facing the wearer. I did discuss that all of the available masks have a short limited life, after which they don’t protect anyone. After the life of the mask is passed, blowing air around the sides of the mask protects no-one. In my letter in paragraph one, I discussed the only randomized clinical ...