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Corrections
Charlie White and Meryl Davis
Olympic Champ Has Jewish
Family, But Is Not Jewish
After a phone call four years ago from
what we thought to be a reliable source,
the Detroit Jewish News erroneously
Fellow Frugal Traveler
Saves Money In Israel
I booked part of my Israeli trip the day
after you came out with the cover story
on my Jewish News ("Frugal Travelers"
Jan. 2). Wow — it was the best.
The money I saved will go to the bris
of my great-grandchild in Jerusalem.
Part of the time I spent in Tel Aviv
visiting with family and friends.
Discovering with new eyes 21st-cen-
tury Israel — how sweet is that?
Esther Liwazer
Farmington Hills
Easing Of Gun Rules Could
Have Prevented Massacre
Professor Liviu Librescu is deserving of
honor and recognition for his heroism
on the tragic day in April 2007, when a
sick and disturbed individual snuffed
JN
vadAg woug7
S
icigkpgg
reported that Olympic Gold Medal ice
dancer Charlie White is Jewish. We later
received a phone call from Charlie's
mother, Jacqui White, saying that nei-
ther she nor Charlie is Jewish.
We can now clarify after a conversa-
tion with a reliable source close to the
family that the new Olympic cham-
pion had a Jewish step-grandfather, a
Michigan-based physician, to whom
Jacqui White's mother was remarried
for 37 years until his death in July 2013.
Their blended family included his
Jewish sons from a previous marriage.
Charlie White's mother, Jacqui, and
her birth siblings were raised Catholic.
While Jacqui and Charlie, who also was
raised as a Christian, were exposed to
Jewish traditions and holidays, they are
not Jewish by religion, birth or identi-
fication.
We regret the error and congratulate
Charlie White and Meryl Davis on
their Olympic championship.
out 30-plus lives at Virginia Tech (Feb.
20, page 3). In remembering Professor
Libriscu for saving lives that would
otherwise have been lost, we should
also reflect on the circumstances
leading up to the Virginia Tech tragedy.
Suppose the good professor (and
also, others 21 years of age and older)
had been allowed to carry handguns. At
worst, the Virginia Tech shooter might
have killed numerous people before
being shot himself by someone exercis-
ing concealed-carry privileges. At best,
said shooter — knowing that any adult
over 21 might be armed — might have
been deterred from initiating violence
in the first place.
We should remember that in the
months leading up to April 2007,
Virginia Tech re-affirmed its no-guns-
allowed policy, with the intellectual com-
munity breathing sighs of relief. We now
realize (or at least some of us do) that
this was the perfect setup for a massacre,
as the perpetrator knew that nobody
would be in a position to shoot back.
From what I understand, if Professor
Libriscu had been teaching in Israel,
he would have been allowed to carry
a gun. If that had been the case at
Virginia Tech, perhaps he would have
been in a position to do more than just
push against a door with all his strength
when that sick, disturbed person sought
to break into his classroom.
Your Legal
Issues
Tick
..
.
Yes, you guessed it '"rock."
I
hare the joy of your simchah
with the community in the
JN's March 20 Celebrate!
issue.
We're inviting readers to send in
photos from their weddings, bar/bat
mitzvahs, brit milah, baby namings
and other ceremonies from 2013-
14 for our annual "Community
Portraits" feature.
Photos must be high-resolution
jpgs (500k-lmb) and not taken by a
professional.
In "Art Lovers Feast" (Feb. 13, page
47), the people in the photo were mis-
identified. They are Geri Feigelson and
Gordon Hollander.
Ask Attorney
Ken Gross
about...
Email photos by March 6 to
jheadapohl@renmedia.us along
with a caption that identifies the
people in the photo, their city of
residence, the ages of any children
pictured, and the date and place of
the event.
Any questions? Call (248) 351-
5110.
Alex Kovnat
West Bloomfield
Help Stop Cuts In
Special Education
This is a call to action. The Michigan
Department of Education (MDE) is pro-
posing catastrophic changes to the rules
that govern how students with individu-
alized education programs (IEPs) are
educated in our state's public schools.
The public comment period is short and
ways to comment are limited, http://
www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-
6530_6598-321773--,00.html.
The MDE's reason for the proposed
revisions is "to align with federal
language" Anytime the MDE says it
is revising special education rules to
"align with federal language" it is code
for "reducing special education that
exceeds the federal minimum:'
The unacceptable reality: Last year
only 52 percent of our 12th grade stu-
dents with IEPs received a regular diplo-
ma — 28 percent below the 80 percent
target set by the U.S. Dept. of Education.
Brutal truth: Michigan's past glory
as an early supporter of special educa-
tion and students with disabilities has
Letters on page 6
That was easy. Let's try
another one. If you have
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at 20% interest, how much interest
will you pay per year on the debt? The
Answer is $6,000. If you are in a 30%
tax bracket, do you know how much
you need to make to pay your taxes
and net $6,000 to pay the taxes? The
Answer is $8,571. If you are making
$85,710 per year, do you know much
of your income you are wasting on
the interest? The Answer is 10%. Next
Question - If you have credit card
debt like this, do you know what you
should do? The Answer is YOU NEED
TO TAKE ACTION to get rid of the
debt, so the $8,571 goes to pre-tax
retirement savings instead. If you earn
7% on your money in an IRA or 401(k),
do you know how much the $8,571
will be in 15 years? The Answer is
$226,405. If you would rather have the
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do you know what to do? The Answer
- Call Thav Gross - we do many things
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February 27 • 2014
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