Page 28 - Flathead Beacon // 2.18.15

28 | FEBRUARY 18, 2015 OPINION LIKE I WAS SAYIN’ Kellyn Brown
Dress Codes
DAVID “DOC” MOORE SAID HE WAS JOKING when he told a reporter that he thought yoga pants should be banned. The Missoula representative introduced legislation last week that tried to strength- en the state’s indecent exposure law in response to some naked and scantily clad bicyclists who rolled through his town last summer.
Under the bill, tight-fitting beige clothing could be considered indecent, and after the House Judiciary Com- mittee hearing, he told the Associated Press, “Yoga pants should be illegal anyway.” The proposal was quickly ta- bled, but not before it went viral and drew interest from a number of national news outlets.
Moore’s legislation would include as indecent “any de- vice, costume, or covering that gives appearance or simu- lates” a person’s private parts. While the lawmaker was hoping to deter a repeat of the “Bare as You Dare” bike ride in Missoula, which upset many of his constituents, per- haps the entire Legislature should avoid the issue of how people dress for the remainder of the session.
Before lawmakers convened in Helena, House leader- ship circulated an updated dress code explaining “mem- bers of the Montana Legislature are required to dress in formal business attire during the session.” It probably should have stopped there, but instead included a series of bullet points, one of which directed women to “be sensitive to skirt lengths and necklines.”
At the time, House Minority Whip Jenny Eck told Lee Newspapers that the “phrase is right out of the 19th cen- tury.” And she’s right. What makes it more bizarre is the change in dress code was not in response to women actual- ly wearing revealing clothing. Yet neither that nor Moore’s proposal is surprising, as summed up by Washington Post writer Alexandra Petri: “As long as the idea persists that woman must be responsible not just for their own attire but for men’s thoughts, it’s not nearly as unbelievable as it should be.”
And that’s a problem – one that is not limited to the Montana Legislature.
Last year, yoga pants and especially leggings made news as several school districts across the country began banning them because they were “distracting” other pu- pils. Girls were humiliated, parents were upset and stu- dents staged walkouts.
How students dress is a conversation worth having among school district personnel, but Christian Science Monitor reporter Lisa Suhay also asked a fair question af- ter the controversy came to a head in Massachusetts: “How does something as soothing as comfortable pants designed for the practice of meditation and fitness become such a regular hot button issue?”
In Montana, the response to Moore’s bill has largely been lighthearted. Tamarack Brewing Company in Mis- soula changed the name of its beer “Sip ‘n’ Go Naked” to “Sip ‘n’ Go Yoga Pants” and offered it for $1. Another brew- ery there, Draught Works, simply offered free beer to any- one wearing yoga pants or speedos.
Montana Code Annotated already says indecent ex- posure includes a person knowingly exposing themself to “cause affront or alarm” to others. A first offense carries a penalty of up to $500 and six months in jail; a third offense carries a fine up to $10,000 and 100 years in prison.
Municipalities can and should enforce the law on the books. As the Associated Press mentioned in its story on Moore’s legislation, “the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Barnes v. Glen Theatre Inc. that state prohibitions on pub- lic nudity are constitutional.”
At the same time, discussions of yoga pants and hem- lines at the state Legislature are a really bad idea. Even if I weren’t dating a fitness instructor who wears yoga pants of varying colors to work every day, I would still believe that.
FLATHEADBEACON.COM
TWO FOR THOUGHT
Some Topics, Opposing Views
Tester and the DSCC
By Joe Carbonari
So, Congressman Ryan Zinke. When he ran for Congress I didn’t foresee how fortunate he might be. The threat from the Islamic State and the disarray in the Republican Party have gotten him into the big game faster than I had guessed. We’ve got a country seemingly without direction, an external threat, an emasculated Congress, and now Ryan Zinke – the everyman’s hero. So Zinke vs. Tester for Senate in 2018?
My gut reaction to both Zinke, and Sen. Jon Tester, is positive. I like them both. Now, some- what unexpectedly, they have both been thrust onto the main stage – Tester with his appoint- ment to head the DSCC and Zinke as a potential man-for- the-moment in a divided GOP.
Tester is clearly, reassuringly, straight for- ward. He will vote his heart, his head, and his conscience. He has worked the earth and recog- nizes base values. He does not bend easily to an ill-wind. He can be trusted. His work with the DSCC will show how effective he can be.
Zinke is needling him now on the Homeland Security Bill as it relates to the loosening of im- migration policy. It helps Zinke establish his conservative bona fides, probes Tester a bit, and gets press. Yet, it bothers me. Zinke is eventually going to have to show more consideration for the lives of the millions of “illegals,” and for those whose lives they touch. Leaders lead. A “passer” not a “blocker” be.
By Tim Baldwin
According to Markos Moulitsas, founder and publisher of the Daily Kos blog, Montana does not represent the diversity of the Demo- crat Party and as such, Sen. Jon Tester is not best qualified to chair the Democratic Senatori- al Campaign Committee (DSCC). Tester is thus in a position of having to show the DSCC that he is broadly liberal but also show Montana why he is more purple than blue.
Decision-making can become awkwardly difficult for politicians. Political gravity doesn’t pull in one location; it pulls in a variety of loca- tions, all of which can influence direction. The Constitution was designed this way. Then, add political parties to this. Leaders in these par- ties influence policy and priorities for legisla- tors. National media can really distort the truth of political decisions, but politicians know this affects people’s perspectives. If competition im- proves quality of human behavior, these com- peting interests should make better politicians.
Tester would like to influence which Demo- crats get elected across the U.S., but he has an antagonist who thinks he is not liberal enough; and Congressman Ryan Zinke thinks Tester’s votes indicate he is not representing Montana’s values in D.C. but is beholden to the Democrat Party. I hope that politicians elected to repre- sent an entire state would not put party (or any- thing else) before the people, but the only way to tell is to pay attention.
GUESTCOLUMN | JohannaClark
Say ‘No’ to the Water Compact
Again, I find myself questioning my state and federal government’s thought process regarding the controversial 2015 CSKT water compact.
Fellow ranchers and state legislators have somehow decided that my family’s ranch is somehow less important than that of my neighbors, purely because of acreage or the need to work two jobs to cover the expenses of raising a family in modern day America. Again, the political aspirations of our representatives are casting a shadow on the little man..
Recent studies and articles in various publications have described the impossible task of a successful agriculture in our current economy. I believe the words they utilized over and over were impossible. No thriving farming/ranching operation was handed down to our family. We chose to build a successful operation ourselves that required great personal sacrifice, hard work, long hours, along with a determination to succeed.
We as an agricultural family have lost the ability to “play” in any normal sense of the word, but have mastered the art of getting a job done as a family. Our children know the meaning of work ethic and the strength behind a promise and a handshake.
Small business is what has built our great nation and families working two or more jobs to make ends meet is a cold reality. We as a family put 100 percent into every task and responsibility and while we as an agriculture community are tending to family, stock, water and land, we count on those elected to represent us to perform in the same manner.
Our family tends to every irrigation ditch, hand line and wheel line, recognizing the importance of
every drop of water flowing through. The thought of not being able to produce enough feed for our stock due to water uncertainty is as painful as the thought of not being able to feed our children at the table each night.
We touch and care for every calf as it touches the ground and our stock is more like family than an income source. We mourn every loss as a newborn or its mother surrenders its life back to whatever greatness allows us to lead this life, all the while trying to remember that this is a growing business. We, no matter our size, are helping to care for millions of American families every day.
So again I ask, “Why are my family’s opinions or needs any less important than that of ‘corporate’ agriculture?” I argue to you that they are not, regardless of political opinions. I argue that we are the definition of what America’s values were built upon. We are a vested valuable Montana citizens and I once again ask my representatives to stand for small business agriculture.
My family is small business America and I do not support the current version of the CSKT water compact. This compact does not clearly quantify, determine or justify the amount of water that could or would be delivered to my land for future and present use. “Trust me” is not an option here. A forever contract needs to be specific. Our Legislature cannot repeat “Obamacare” and pass yet another document to find out what’s in it at a later date.
I ask my representatives to say no to the 2015 CSKT water compact.
Johanna Clark lives in Saint Ignatius.