It's Yooperland, Not Gitmo North.

An editorial in the May 29, 2009 Saginaw News supported the idea of exploring transfering detainees from Guantanimo Bay, Cuba to a newly built super max prison in Michigan's Upper Pennisula. Under President Obama, as he promised during his campaign for President, he plans to close the facility in Cuba and transfer it's detainees to other places. Since most countries don't want the detainees, and there is not a solid idea in place, Congress is refusing to release funds until a better idea comes up. So that brings us to here, the News opinion today. This editorial is in response to calls from such politically diverse voices such as Senator Carl Levin (D) and former Governor John Engler (R) to consider the idea. The News said that the reasons it should be considered are the income from the Federal Government to house them there, the jobs it could create, and the vast openness of the U.P. In response to the editorial, and the idea in general, I say

NOT A CHANCE IN HELL SHOULD THIS COME TO BE!

Our Upper Pennisula is a beautiful, natural place that attracts thousands of visitors yearly. It's pristine scenery, and wonderful wildlife, are among the best things Michigan has to offer. So why would anyone want to possibly screw it up with this idea?

Has anyone considered the negatives of this idea? As soon as the transfer was made, the MediaMachine would be all over up there. Imagine the folks from CNN, ABC, FNC, or CBS running around up there. They would be all over harassing people, needlessly stoking little things into major events, and destroying the peace and calm of the area. Why would we want to have this happen? No one would be able to vacation without seeing the trucks and crews from the MediaMachine. Talk about screwing everything up!

How about we add in potential protesters. Imagine these people wandering around, unchecked, disturbing the quiet for the locals in an area. I think it would affect the wildlife in a harmful way. They would just add to the cluster that the U.P. doesn't need.

And then, what about potential sympathizers? What happens when these people descend on our U.P.? Could some be armed? Could someone try and commit a small scale terrorist attack? What would this do to it?

Pure and simple, this is a STUPID idea! It's one thing to be stuck on a Naval Base on a distant island, quite another to have them landlocked here in Michigan. Things that are not happening on Cuba because of it's being a unfriendly island, and being a U.S. Naval Base, might happen here. There is just too much at risk. We cannot afford to have one of the nicest areas in the Lower 48 states possibily destoryed, or even messed with, by bringing these detainees here. It's time to drop this hair-brained, ill-concieved idea.

It's Yooperland, Not Gitmo North