Page 28 - Flathead Beacon // 1.14.15

28 | JANUARY 14, 2015
LIKE I WAS SAYIN’ Kellyn Brown
Status Updates
AGENERAL PANIC SET IN ON NEW YEAR’S EVE in Whitefish. It wasn’t caused by the crowded bars and restaurants, or the weather or the lack of park- ing. No, this was far graver: cell service had crashed and no one could communicate – well, they could, but they would have to do it in person.
People stared at their phones as their texts failed to go through. They waved their arms in the air hoping to find a fleeting signal. And, for some, their plans were likely de- railed. I have sympathy for friends unable to connect to ring in the New Year, but less for those irked they couldn’t post their selfie on Facebook. No, when 2015 arrived, many revelers had to simply enjoy each other’s company instead of posting status updates online to prove what a great time they were having.
I use social media and may be too young to write a col- umn about the good old days, but I will anyway. I somehow managed to survive my youth all the way through college without a cell phone, social media page or computer that could process much faster than a typewriter. My younger friends wonder how it happened and, anymore, with my reliance on various gadgets, so do I. But I got by and even made a few friends along the way.
I tell these millenials that there are benefits to not having a cell phone – first and foremost is commitment. As a college student, when I made plans with classmates at the University of Montana, I was apt to keep them. Get- ting ahold of someone on their landline was spotty – they often either weren’t home or not answering their phone. So, when you told someone in person that you would meet him or her at 9 p.m., you did. There was less flaking by sending five-word text messages that ended with one of these :)
Being unavailable also had its benefits. If someone called your landline and you didn’t answer, that was that. You either couldn’t or didn’t want to talk. Today, try ig- noring a text message from a friend or significant other for more than 30 minutes without feeling guilty. I occa- sionally ignore my cell phone, but I’m also reminded what a jerk I am for doing that.
Finally, phones now are little computers and aren’t re- ally used to talk, at least among the younger set. Instead, they “check-in” with their locations and communicate in emoticons, Emojis and acronyms. They use the machines in their hands to express on social media how they feel about the weather, their dog or the politics of the day.
No, I don’t want to take a time machine back to the early 2000s. I love my phone for taking photos, checking the news and even talking. And yes, I peruse and post my own updates to social media. It’s fun. It’s convenient. I embrace it. So does just about everyone else.
While it’s unclear what disrupted the system on Dec. 31, I would guess it was simply a case of too many people using their phones in too small of an area, overloading the phone carriers. After all, it was New Year’s Eve in White- fish – the town was packed and there were a lot of selfies to take.
Recently, I told my nephews a story about my time working a summer job in Yellowstone National Park. “I had no cable!” I self-righteously explained. “I had no phone! I had no Internet!” They didn’t care. They had heard similar stories before and during this telling con- tinued to point their noses at their various devices.
Perhaps the story is stale, but I certainly enjoyed the holiday, watching the ball drop in a room full of people un- distracted by the temptation to record the moment in real time.
OPINION FLATHEADBEACON.COM
TWO FOR THOUGHT
Local Topics, Opposing Views
By Tim Baldwin
How do you fight terrorism? The underlying principle: self-defense. But how it is executed is the question. Experience is a tremendous teacher. Since 9/11, America has launched and sustained military action around the world. Terrorism seems only to be growing. Is a different approach needed now?
If other nations are aiding terrorism against us and our allies, Congress has the power (and duty) to declare war and pass acts of Marque and Reprisal against them. The goal should be finite and conclusive to avoid a prolonged war.
Other nations should take more responsibility for fighting terrorism in and close to their borders. Encourage them in this effort. Policing shadowy targets around the world is not America’s obliga- tion.
America should reconsider spreading its in- terest around the world. Produce energy, manu- facture products, and foster ingenuity here.
Secure our borders so we know who is here, why and where.
America should foster peace around the world by policing our citizens within the law and decen- cy. Do not encourage lawlessness in foreign na- tions by violating Americans’ rights.
People must have the arms and means to pro- tect themselves individually and locally.
Take power out of the hands of political and economic imperialists and elites and give it to the people, showing the world what a democratic re- public is supposed to be.
By Joe Carbonari
The threat posed by violent Islamic extrem- ists is large and growing. Between the Islamic State and Al Qaeda, active Islamic militants number in the tens of thousands. This is serious. We must tighten security and trade some privacy for safety.
Sufficiently reducing the threat from the Is- lamic State alone will entail more military en- gagement on our part. We will kill some Jihadists, and make some more. It is inevitable and neces- sary. We should regret, however, not celebrate it. Human decency includes all peoples and places.
The end we seek is safety. We want to be able to move around, at home and in the world, feeling relatively secure from physical attack. Now, vio- lent Jihadists are making the world unacceptably unsafe.
Their line of thinking calls for the defeat of non-believers, violently if required, and re- version to Sharia Law, which was rooted in the harshness of centuries-old desert life. It is not suited for today.
It does, however, suit many disaffected and angry youth, especially Muslim youth. It can pro- vide a vehicle for the improvement of their sense of self.
This must change. What they do is not good. It must be shamed by Islamists, their peers – clear- ly and consistently.
This fight is about a line of thinking. We can’t just kill people. We must meet, and defeat, the thought
Fighting Terrorism
GUEST COLUMN | Tony Berget, Gregory Larson and Mark Peck
Cabinet-Yaak Grizzlies on Road to Recovery
Recently, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies (AWR) issued a press release stating it is consid- ering filing suit because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had decided not to list the Cabinet-Yaak grizzly bear as endangered. While it is entitled to its opinion and can do as it pleases, the population numbers it used to support its case were incorrect. It is vital to base decisions about the management of this population on credible data. That is why a large coalition of environmental groups, timber and mining companies, and county, state, tribal and federal agencies raised $1.7 million to support the Cabinet-Yaak DNA study headed by the non- partisan U.S. Geological Survey. We note that the Alliance for the Wild Rockies was not a contributor to this effort.
Because statistical estimates of grizzly bear population size are often misinterpreted and were used incorrectly in the AWR press release, in the following we provide a summary of the results of the study prepared by USGS scientist Kate Kendall, the project’s principal investigator:
“The 2012 DNS-based study of grizzly bear abundance in the Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystem (CYE) detected 42 different individuals and used mark- recapture methods to estimate the number of bears not sampled. Total estimated average population size (the average number of bears present at any one time) was 44.2 with a 95% confidence interval of 42 – 65. This means that the real population size is most likely to be 44 bears. The confidence inter- val indicates that there is a 95% chance that the
true estimate falls between 42 and 65 bears. Be- cause 42 different individuals were verified during sampling, we know the population cannot be lower than 42. Calculation of average population size ad- justs total population estimates downward in pro- portion to the amount of time part-time bears are present on the study area. The study also estimated the size of the super population, the number of full- and part-time residents in the CYE, at 48.0 bears with a 95% CI of 44 – 62. The preceding estimates were made using traditional mark-recapture mod- els. Estimates made using spatially explicit cap- ture-recapture models (a method developed more recently) are 43 bears present on average at any one time and 50 full- and part-time bears present.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife monitoring program has found that grizzly bear population trends in the CYE has improved in recent years and is no longer declining. USFWS researcher Wayne Kasworm re- ported to our commission that in 2014 he person- ally documented a female grizzly with three cubs and another female with two cubs. Two additional females were released into the CYE this year from another population. With a 95% probability that the true population trajectory, and no known mor- talities in 2014, we feel that substantial progress has been made in enhancing conditions for griz- zly bears in the Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystem under the protections offered by Threatened designation and that the population is on the road to recovery.
Tony Berget, Gregory Larson and Mark Peck are Lincoln County commissioners.