TO THE EDITOR:
Have you noticed none of our Hollywood elite have been to or assisted the citizens of storm ravaged North Carolina and Florida? Where is George Clooney (the radical liberal political advisor to Biden)? Where is Bruce Springsteen, Barbara Streisand, — the elite members of The View, Rob Reiner, Oprah, The Rock? Where is our neighbor, Canadaian Prime Minister Trudeau (The U.S. has spent millions assisting with their fires)...Where are they?? Oh my mistake, what was I thinking...they’re all radical self centered liberals. I apologize.
George Quinn
Big Lake, MN
TO THE EDITOR:
In response to Timothy Myers’ letter published on October 17, 2024, I would like to clarify some key points about this November’s referendum for our schools. Of the three ballot questions presented to voters this November, only Question Two proposes a levy change that would raise school property tax rates relative to previous years. This increase would be $15 per month for a home valued at $400,000, which is roughly the average in our school district. That amounts to $180 per year, over the levy’s 10-year term. I am concerned that Mr. Myers’ claim of a $1,800 tax increase for the average homeowner could be misinterpreted as a $1,800 increase each year, rather than over the full decade. The other two questions, Questions One and Three, would functionally extend existing levies that already support things like learning technology and updates to our school buildings. Think of these levy extensions like a newspaper subscription. Voting “no” would be the equivalent of canceling your subscription, while voting “yes” would be the equivalent of renewing your subscription at the same price that you are currently paying. But instead of paying for news, you’re paying for resources that support our schools. Regardless of how you vote, I sincerely hope that everyone takes the time to be informed about this important decision. BigLakeThrivingTogether.org is the referendum’s informational website,
but you can always reach me at t.truebenbach@biglakeschools.org with any questions.
Tim Truebenbach
Superintendent
Big Lake Schools
TO THE EDITOR:
Regarding the Patriot editor’s column addressing election issues: 1) Former President Trump kept his campaign promise and did appoint three extremist pro-life judges to overturn Roe V. Wade. He has taken credit for that whenever he has the chance, bragging, “After 50 years of failure… I was able to kill Roe V. Wade, much to the shock of everyone.” (5-17-2023) 2) Painting one party as leaning toward “…instituting anti-police legislation” is misleading. After George Floyd’s murder, there was some knee-jerk reaction to defund the police. Clearer heads prevailed. The DNC 2024 Platform states, “We need to fund the police, not defund…” Congressional Democrats have secured nearly $400 million this year to fund public safety projects. Republicans, about $272 million. Public safety funding discrepancies are stark in swing states: In WI, NV, PA, AZ, GA, and MI, Dems have secured between 3x to an astounding (WI) 15x the public safety funding of Rs in their states. 3) Thinking about the next four years, I would implore people to check out the facts regarding inflation, economy, immigrants, immigration, the deficit, and other issues affecting us. Perhaps the editor should heed the same advice.
Kathy Geary
Becker, MN
TO THE EDITOR:
On October 17, The Patriot editor published a column regarding issues. The editor is not required to be truthful and knows that. However, there are qualifications for real editors, such as: “They will verify facts, ensure readability and understanding of the content for the reader and check for grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors.” (learn.org). I would like to focus on one issue, immigration. The editor says the southern border is a hot mess with over 21 million illegals. In reality, the number is a little over half that. Regarding migrant crime, as one who is both on the board of directors and treasurer of a non-profit that assists migrants, I can attest that the crime rate among immigrants is lower than that of US-born citizens. And, closer to home, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, undocumented immigrants paid nearly $222 million in Minnesota and local taxes in 2022. Nationwide, they paid nearly $100 billion in federal, state, and local taxes. And their tax rate is much higher than wealthy taxpayers. I invite readers to skip the rhetoric and read what would happen to the Minnesota economy yourself at https://conservancy.umn.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/b31736b0-f561-428e-81d3-92450f9d880d/content.
Nancy Hassett
Big Lake, MN
TO THE EDITOR:
The October 17 edition of this paper contained a long column regarding election issues. The Patriot is not required to be truthful, however there are requirements for real newspaper editors. A relative of mine has a Master’s Degree in Journalism and I have learned that a newspaper editor usually has a bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, or English, along with writing and proofreading experience. (bls.gov). They will check facts, making sure that the article is readable, understandable, and check for grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. (learn.org). Above all, Editors factcheck to make sure what they are telling their trusting readers is true. That can be accomplished easily in the age of the internet, with factcheck sites such as factcheck.org, politifact.org and mediabiasfactcheck.com. I find it particularly disturbing that this long column was not factchecked, since extreme right groups are very “relaxed” about sharing the truth. It appears that the Patriot’s editor has swallowed the right’s propaganda completely. Before you vote, please do a little factchecking of your own.
MaryJo Cobb
Becker, MN
EDITOR’S NOTE:
For clarification, a “column” is an opinion piece. It is not meant to be a standalone news article but instead the author’s opinion about a subject. Topics our writers have for their columns are wide-ranging and left to creative expression, discovery and personal experiences. Therefore our editorials are not bound to any fact-checking discourse.
