RevCyn

I'm still irate about Jackson County Commissioner Phil Duckham's carrying of a swastika sign to the healthcare rally/protest last week, and his comments to the press comparing Obama to Hitler. Because I am still irate, I am going to choose his latest remarks for my next rant. Reader beware. Since the statements Duckham made, there has been a press conference about the issue that I attended, and a County Commissioners' meeting that I did not. In the write-up of those two events, the Jackson Citizen Patriot writes : Reached by phone after the press conference, Duckham said he does not believe an apology is in order. Although his actions at the rally might not have been the best choice, Duckham said, he still stands by his comparisons between Nazi politics and Obama's plans for restructuring America. "Was it my best choice to carry the sign — no. In hindsight, I wouldn't have done it," Duckham said. "But I will stick to my point that I was trying to ...

Jackson County Commissioner Phil Duckham carried a sign with a swastika (with a circle and slash "no symbol around it) on it to the recent healthcare rally in Jackson, and the Jackson Citizen Patriot says in an article about the rally : "This is how Hitler started out," Duckham said. "First, Obama took over the auto industry, then the banking industry. We don't need him to take over the health-care industry." What follows is my letter to the "Voice of the People" (letters to the editor) of the Jackson Citizen Patriot: As a person of faith and as a citizen, I am appalled at County Commissioner Phil Duckham’s public actions and statements comparing Obama to Hitler. They were callous and insensitive comparisons. Comparing Obama to Hitler shows ignorance of Hitler’s motivations and actions, and insensitivity to the Holocaust survivors in our own community. I invite any making such comparisons to do more to inform themselves. Actions I have taken to in...

Today we had a rally for Healthcare reform in Jackson, MI. Somehow, people had gotten word that there was a rally scheduled at 4:30 to protest against healthcare reform, so various local groups got together to state a counter-demonstration in favor of healthcare reform starting at 3:30. I got notified of the event from several different agencies-- Organizing for America , the Jackson Democrats, the Michigan UU Social Justice Network , MichUHCAN , and Planned Parenthood , as well as some church members. After four e-mails in a row popping into my inbox about it, it was clear this was a big deal in Jackson. My husband and I got there a little after three, and things were already well underway. There was a table registering people, handing out signs for those without (we came prepared), and handing out buttons to locals only and stickers to all. It was being run by Organizing for America personnel. This event was happening at Rep. Mark Schauer 's Jackson office, and congressional s...