Vote them out!
Speaking as a retired Bath Township detective, allow to me add some light to the fine column by Larry Gabriel. My profession believes that in the war on marijuana, God is on our side. We are doing his work. No matter how much death, misery and destruction we bring upon citizens, we are still going to heaven. When we do admit to a few mistakes, that is simply the collateral damage that wars always generate. No matter, we are still going to heaven.
Zealots like Brooks Patterson and Sheriff Bouchard seriously believe that God made cannabis for no reason. It is junk. Although they believe that Michigan citizens should have the right to own and even carry deadly force, that same citizen should not be allowed some dried, green plant in their homes for any reason. Do not look for a rational thinking here. The only way to remove zealots is to vote them out.
Seattle did it; you can too. —Howard Wooldridge, Drug Policy Specialist, COP, Citizens Opposing Prohibition, Washington, D.C., citizensopposingprohibition.org
We should grow up
Re: "The quality of mercy" (June 15) and the item, "Wiener dog tales" — once again, Jack Lessenberry's timely column had me nodding my head in agreement. There's more than a hint of hypocrisy in everyone's overheated indignation at this example of a politician's human weakness. The eagerness of Mr. Wiener's critics to pillory him makes me wonder what kind of skeletons are hiding in their closets. I've never been able to understand why politicians' sex lives should have any bearing on their ability to serve their constituents. Short of child molestation, there really isn't any private sexual activity that should be the business of the general public. I remember at the time of former President Mitterand's death in 1996 seeing photographs of his wife and mistress mourning alongside each other at his funeral. While I am no great fan of the French, I believed at the time and still do how very sensible an attitude that displayed on the part of the French public. Can you imagine a similar scene being played out here at a statesman's funeral? The American public needs to grow up and concentrate on the affairs that really matter. —Gail Gilchrist, Berkley
Gone, but not forgotten
As a former Detroit area resident, I was glad to see your publication chronicled the life and death of honorable peace activist Al Fishman ("Remembering a hero," May 25). And, of course, neither was I surprised to find nary a word about his death in Detroit's so-called "major daily newspapers." —Gary Dymski, Lake Grove, N.Y.
Doesn't get Gaga
Re: "In defense of Gaga" (June 8), it seems like everyone around me likes Lady Gaga, but I guess you could file me in the "doesn't get it" group of society.
I don't see her music as anything new at all. I see it as the same corporate music that has been shovel-fed to us for decades now. Comparing Lady Gaga to punk rockers is like comparing Bill O'Reilly to punk rockers: It just doesn't fit. If anyone were to listen to "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga and then listen to "How Low Can a Punk Get" by the Bad Brains, in spite of HR's homophobia, they would immediately know who the real punks were if they are honest with themselves.
Don't get me wrong, though: I have a deep respect for the activism Lady Gaga does for equality and the LBGT equality. But I just see her as very ugly, not physically, but spiritually. She seems to be spiritually dead, and to compensate for that she has to constantly keep up with Tom Green distractions of a higher and higher caliber. —David Seaver, St. Clair Shores
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