Why not build a new Lucas County jail on the site of the former Southwyck mall (“Fast track,” editorial, April 17)? It has utility services, land for future expansion, and roadways.
There will be increased transportation costs, because the new jail would be farther away from court buildings. And some Southwyck area residents won’t want a jail near them. But if it is built attractively, those people eventually will accept it.
SUZY LOWERY
Pine Trace Drive
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Nugent strikes a sour note
If Ted Nugent had kept his word, he’d be dead or in jail by now, which is what he boasted would happen to him if President Obama were re-elected in 2012. The rocker also has called Mr. Obama a “subhuman mongrel.” And now Mr. Nugent is going to headline this year’s Northwest Ohio Rib-Off musical lineup (“Rib-Off, rock ’n’ roll acts to return in August,” April l9).
That Mr. Nugent is coming here is pretty disgusting to me, because I’d like Toledo to be viewed in a positive light. But it’s a free country.
I hope my fellow Toledoans notice that The Blade is a major sponsor of the event, and make sure it gets the message that it should not be sponsoring Mr. Nugent.
TOM BARDEN
Kenwood Boulevard
Nugent should be accorded rights
I’m happy The Blade’s ombudsman, Jack Lessenberry, defends Ted Nugent’s right to free speech (“Even the outgageous Nugent has right to free speech,” commentary, April 20).
But if, as he wrote, “readers of The Blade editorial page know that the newspaper is totally opposed to everything Ted Nugent stands for,” is he telling us that The Blade is against the freedom that Mr. Nugent should expect as an American?
DAVID MALINOWSKI
Sylvania
Don’t like Nugent? Don’t listen
Ted Nugent, while a good musician, is probably not someone that even the far right wing of the conservative movement would invite to a tea party.
I doubt whether the authors of the U.S. Constitution intended for freedom of speech to give the likes of Joe McCarthy the right to ruin people’s lives by screaming “communist.”
If you don’t like what someone is saying, don’t suppress that person’s speech. Just don’t listen.
RICK DAVIS
Sylvania
Rib-Off now not family friendly
I was appalled to learn that the Rib-Off is providing Ted Nugent a stage from which he can voice his political message of hatred and discrimination.
I would have considered the Rib-Off to be a family event, but obviously I am wrong. Children should not be exposed to his vitriol.
RON LANGHALS
West Bancroft Street