Dear Michigan State football team,
You’re seriously making my head hurt.
Trying to wrap my head around all the things that happened Saturday night in Minnesota is like trying to understand what happens when objects enter black holes. I’m sure there’s a way to figure everything out, but to really get it, you have to end up crushed.
For my first three years of college here at State, I was gifted one horrifying loss per year: Notre Dame in 2006, Northwestern in 2007, and Ohio State in 2008. I really don’t think anyone deserves what has happened this year—four absolutely crushing losses against Central Michigan, Notre Dame, Iowa, and most recently, Minnesota.
By a combined total of 15 points.
With each game decided in the final seconds.
And each game having a particular if-...
Lifestyle
Dear Coach,
I think it would be best if you had William Gholston sit out the Wisconsin game. I am willing to shrug off most of the personal fouls that were committed during yesterday's game because while they were unnecessary, they at least resembled things that one might expect to happen during a normal game of football. However, grabbing a player's facemask and twisting his helmet while he is at the bottom of a pile and cannot rotate his shoulders is never acceptable. People may say that this game will live with the players for the rest of their lives, but winning or losing a football game is meaningless compared with breaking one's neck.
I know that Will is part of a star defensive line and that his presence or absence could have a huge effect on the next game's outcome. I know...
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Dear Rutgers fans,
First off, let me say I'm sorry. I never intended to be offensive or rude when I posted the observation on my Twitter page. Because it's factual, I still don't quite understand where all the uproar came from.
"Rutgers will never be a Big Ten contender until it can convince prospects like Rashan Gary to stay home."
The thought came to mind because Gary, a five-star defensive tackle rated by 247Sports the No. 1 overall player in the 2016 class, is visiting Ohio State this weekend. He's also high on Michigan, Penn State and Alabama.
Though Gary plays at Paramus (N.J.) Catholic, Rutgers, the home state school, is likely not going to have a chance to make it deep in his recruitment, let alone actually sign him.
Which got me thinking about what it takes to...
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Dear Prime Minister Harper and President Calderón:
We write on behalf of the members of Amnesty International Canada (Francophone and Anglophone branches) and Amnistía Internacional México to urge that human rights issues be given priority attention during the visit of President Calderón to Canada.
We understand that your agenda will focus on strengthening cooperation between Canada and Mexico, including strategies to promote trade and investment, as well as to confront migration and security concerns.
There are serious human rights dimensions to all of these issues that need to be front and centre amidst discussions and decision-making. A human rights-based approach is crucial if there are to be solutions that protect the security, dignity and well-being of all the citizens...
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Dear Prime Minister:
Re: Stop the Attack on Employment Equity
As Canadians who believe in a discrimination-free society, we are writing to express our grave concerns regarding recent comments made by the Hon. Stockwell Day, President of the Treasury Board, who insinuated that the Federal Employment Equity program is barring qualified Canadians from job opportunities in the federal public service.
We are equally dismayed by similar comments made by the Hon. Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, who stated that all Canadians should have an equal opportunity to work for their government based on merit, regardless of race or ethnicity, as if to suggest that unmerited candidates from racialized communities are taking over the jobs of qualified...
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Dear Mr. Harper,
Actually, as you will see shortly that we are actually closely related, let me call you Stephen. You see we both have the same Mother. It’s not that our human mothers aren’t different, but when you think about it, how did we get to be fully grown adult humans from that tiny fertilized ovum we started out as? It’s only by absorbing the plants, and the animals that eat them, as well as the water, sunlight and air, that we were able to grow. Which means that every atom of our bodies comes from the Earth. So the Earth is literally our Mother. Which makes us brothers.
Not only that but it makes us related to everything on Earth, including all those things that make life possible, like the water, air, soil, bacteria, insects, fish, birds, trees, mushrooms, rocks … all...
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Dear Sir:
My name is Sara Kalis Gilbert. My father, Captain Pieter Kalis, worked in the Canadian Coast Guard for many years, beginning in 1959, he retired in the mid-eighties. He worked on the weather ships, the ice breakers, captained the CCGS Skidegate through the Northwest Passage in 1975 (for which he received commendations in Ottawa), and rounded out his career as Master of the CCGC Rider out of the Kitsilano Coast Guard base. He was lauded for his abilities and many of his crew members attribute their career advancements and skills to the example he set.
As a child, I heard the harrowing stories of rescue at the supper table, I heard the commentary regarding the lack of much-needed repairs and seaworthy vessels; but mostly, I heard the dedication and the desire to serve a...
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Dear Mark Edmundson,
I read your article, “Poetry Slam,” in the latest issue of Harper’s and I’d like to respond directly to your “slam” of contemporary poetry by offering the same audience an alternative perspective:
Using only brief fragments of single poems from only 9 living poets (including 1 Canadian, 1 Irish, and 1 actually dead)(endnote 1), Mark Edmundson lambasts the current state of American poetry. I think it’s important to bring to the attention of a larger readership the recent misdirected and lazy criticisms lavished upon contemporary poets that distract from the depth, diversity, and relevance of the work itself. Yes, some readers actually seek out and find poetry that is intellectually, emotionally, and relationally vital.
There are two basic cause/effect...
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Prime Minister:
Toronto – May 29, 2014 – As June approaches, so too does National Aboriginal History Month. As you know, this is a profound opportunity to celebrate the many contributions of Aboriginal peoples and nations, to acknowledge Canada’s colonial history and to recognize the ongoing inequities experienced by many Aboriginal children and families. For UFCW Canada, this month acts as an opportunity for our members, staff and leadership from coast to coast to coast, to connect or reconnect with the struggles of the first peoples of Turtle Island.
While the Federal Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development issues statements celebrating the achievements of Aboriginal peoples, Canada has had a long and notorious history of oppressing, excluding, and marginalizing...
2,558
Dear Brother Harper:
I have just received your letter of December 15, in which you "close the books" on the matter of our having a public discussion of Herald of Truth. You say, "I am closing the books with this letter, taking for granted that this letter of yours (published in the Gospel Guardian of December 23) is expressive of your final decisions in the matter, which decisions I cannot accept."
You astonish me. The letter to which you refer contained my acceptance of your propositions. You refused to sign the propositions which I considered a fair statement of the difference between us, and sent your own propositions, saying "Sign this or there will be no debate." I signed your propositions and returned them to you, adding only the words "relative to Herald of Truth" — and am...
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